DEEP PURPLE GREEN SMOOTHIE
1/2 cup frozen homegrown blackberries
1/4 cup frozen homegrown sour cherries
1/3 frozen banana
A dozen or so frozen strawberries
A tablespoon or so flax seed meal
Smallish handful fresh spinach
Water to blend
Blend all together. I added a teaspoon or two of sugar because it was quite tart. Another banana would have fixed that. Half of this is a tall glass.
Verdict--Very Good. I love using our homegrown stuff!
MEXICAN CONFETTI SALAD
One whole romaine heart, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cucumber, chopped
1/2 can black beans, drained
1/4-1/3 can corn
Tablespoon dehydrated onion
1/4 cup or more salsa
Tablespoon guacamole
Tablespoon-plus plain yogurt
Combine chopped vegetables in a large bowl, and heat beans, corn, onion, and salsa together to put on top. Garnish with a "dressing" of the combined guacamole and yogurt. I "guesstimate" this whole salad is about 400 calories. Note: I recently purchased single servings of salsa and guacamole in a combo pack at Costco. This makes them very convenient to use for a take-along salad of these ingredients!
Verdict--Excellent, and a very filling lunch. The sweetness and "bite" of the corn work nicely in the combination. It would be great with diced tomato and perhaps raw onion, but I just didn't make it that way. :-) By the way, I've taken to making my salads in the serving bowl that goes with my everyday dishes--a regular bowl just won't hold it all!
QUINOA MUSHROOM SOUP
Tablespoon olive oil
2 sliced medium onions
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
1 cup quinoa
1 pint beef stock or broth
1 quart water (these two ingredients in appropriate proportions for flavor)
1 pound portabella mushrooms, sliced
Tablespoon or so dry sherry
Seasoning as needed
Saute the onion and garlic in oil until browned and softened, then add quinoa and brown slightly. Add broth and water and bring to a boil, adding mushrooms and then simmering until quinoa grains burst and release their curly threads and mushrooms are tender.
Verdict--Good. I have never cooked with quinoa before, and I started it before I added the mushrooms and overcooked the quinoa. The recipe above reflects the adjustment that should be made. The nutritional value of it is good because of the higher protein content than with grains (it's actually a seed), but I'm not sure what I think. I'll try something else with it soon. I think this soup would be very nice with barley, too, or even brown rice.
TODAY'S MENU
Breakfast--DEEP PURPLE GREEN SMOOTHIE (half the recipe)
Lunch--MEXICAN CONFETTI SALAD
Snack--Adorable little cookie tart Betsy created for me from ground raw almonds and oats, a dab of cream cheese and butter to hold it together, egg white, a dash of Cointreau, and frozen peaches from our trees. She wanted to experiment with Nutritarian-type ingredients, and the firm-but-crisp little wafers were wonderful, especially with the juicy peaches on top. Two small ones totaled probably about 125 calories at most. I felt pampered. :-)
Supper--QUINOA MUSHROOM SOUP (about a cup, representing about 100 calories of quinoa); 1/2 cup butternut squash with a tablespoon of raisins and cinnamon and ginger; green beans; large pear
Out of curiosity, I ran the numbers for this day's food and came up with this, which I expect is within 10% accurate. From Fitday.com :
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Now I'm going to pick another day that will be easy to calculate (because I have good recipes). If you're curious, back up through the posts to find my own comments on my posts. I think I'm going to do this nutrition analysis from time to time, but I'm glad not to worry about it most days.
Oh, and if you're suspicious that my nutrition analysis comes out skimpy, try logging in a day of what you eat and see how it comes out! :-)
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