snacks – Vessels and Vittles

Sour + Greens = Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut might be one of those ‘love it’ or ‘hate it’ Foods. Although I go through seasons of eating it, I really like it.

1D0ECF1C-F850-43E1-B2B8-F90A7079BB36 — Definition from Miriam Webster Online

I was at Whole Foods a while back and couldn’t find the sauerkraut. One of the employees there led me to what she said was the best she ever had. Okay, I took the bait… and am glad I did. 2FEAA758-4314-4F90-816E-3068465B6B0F I wanted it because I’d had digestion issues and knew that fermented foods would help get my gut bacteria back in balance. This is what she showed me.

I finally opened it… weeks after buying it 😏…. and expected to taste, well sauerkraut. However, this was indeed… very good, fresh, not salty tasting, and not so overly sour. The store employee was correct…. probably the best I’ve had.

Well, decided to share a bit of info about Sauerkraut I found online…8 Surprising Benefits of Sauerkraut (plus how to make it).

1. It’s nutritious. I kinda knew that…it is cabbage. Cabbage is good for you. But look at all the other goodness in it:

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2. It improves digestion.

3. It boosts your immune system.

4. Read rest of article here… 8 Surprising Benefits of Sauerkraut (plus how to make it)

That’s all I’ve got today!

Toodles! 😘

My Secret Weapon for the Holidays

It’s that time of the year when I switch to eating more winter vegetables, i.e. leafy greens, squash, rutabaga, etc. With the holiday season upon us, I anticipate my diet will include out of the ordinary foods. I mean, I will likely have more party foods, sugar, snacks, etc. 😏

I do have a strategy that I use to combat the deluge of food associated with this season. You do know that the more sweets you eat the more you crave because it is addictive in addition to being delicious, right? Have you noticed how on the day after you eat a lot of food you tend to be more hungry than usual?

Well, the way I combat this is to KEEP a selection of ready to eat vegetables in my refrigerator so when the muchnies hit. If you are like me, when the hunger strikes I start rambling through the pantry in search of anything….and before I know it I have wolfed hundreds of calories in a matter of minutes.😩. I don’t even think I realized how many calories I could shove into my mouth in such a short time until I actually started tracking with MyFitnessPal. I was shocked! I easily added 500 to 700 calories (or more) in no time. Those little snacks over time add up to extra pounds.

Soooo … my secret (not so secret, really) weapon is having readily available vegetables. I have several Christmas parties scheduled in upcoming weeks so I decided not to purchase too many groceries this week. Instead I cooked some frozen veggies I had already.

This afternoon after church I made three favorites: okra, green beans, brussel sprouts.

F96276B9-82C7-4CD7-8AE9-54CAE290BCF2 — Whole Okra, Whole Green Beans, Brussel Sprouts

I used to majorly dislike okra until about five years ago. Now I love them. You know what? If you get a hunger attack, grab a couple cups of vegetables like this, drink some water and wait about 10 minutes, and the hunger subsides.

Vegetables are full of fiber and vitamins….and low calories! Even if you have other snacks afterwards you won’t want to consume nearly as much, therefore, you will eat less calories.

I am pretty basic in my veggie cooking. I use a teeny bit of coconut oil or olive oil in either my cast iron pan or my copper pan. I use a little bit of water because I’m not making soup here. Water seems to wash out all the flavor. I use high heat, cook them fast. So, my veggies stay green, and are done but not mushy. I add a variety of spices: Himalayan salt, fresh ground pepper, ginger, smoked paprika, curry spice mix, and whatever else looks yummy. By the way, adding spices reduces the need to add a lot of salt. That’s it. 😊

Anyway, just thought I’d pass this along in case you needed a strategy to help you get through the season.

Peace and love.

Looks Yucky … But Tastes Great 👍🏽

The hardest part of eating healthy for me is keeping the food variety going strong. Once I find a healthy calorie-smart delicious food I tend to stick with it, but after a while even the most fave food can become b.o.r.i.n.g. So, I am always in search of new and different (but not too crazy) foods.

Here are some foods I rarely ate before that are now a part of my regular food list:

cottage cheese
Spaghetti squash
mustard
eggs (straight from the farm)
riced cauliflower

A couple weeks ago I discovered a new food. Flatout light flat bread! Oh my! It’s perfect! I eat a lot of red/yellow/orange/green peppers, cubes, sweet onions, and lettuce…basically salad…but after eating so many of them, even I was getting a little bored with them.

Flatout These wraps come in plain, wheat, and spinach as far as I know. I bought spinach, and I wrapped up some veggies, tuna salad (made with tuna, a boiled egg and cottage cheese, yes cottage cheese). It looked sorta nasty but great day it was so good.

I’ve since had wraps with egg salad, veggies alone, and turkey breast slices.

Needless to say, I have an extra package of wraps in my freezer. Going to try making a flat bread pizza next.

Let me know if you ever try this product.

Happy wrapping!

Looks Yucky … But Tastes Great 👍🏽

Here are some foods I rarely ate before that are now a part of my regular food list:

cottage cheese
Spaghetti squash
mustard
eggs (straight from the farm)
riced cauliflower

I’ve since had wraps with egg salad, veggies alone, and turkey breast slices.

Needless to say, I have an extra package of wraps in my freezer. Going to try making a flat bread pizza next.

Let me know if you ever try this product.

Happy wrapping!

Talking About Snacks

I’m back! I hoped to blog more than I do but … life happens. I’ve been out of town a bit and while away I had a chance to think about blog topics. One thing I thought of was snacks.

If you are like me, snacks often become ‘main meals’. Since I don’t have to please anyone with my culinary talents I tend to eat a lot of random foods and try new (sometimes weird) food combinations. I thought I’d share some of my favorite snacks.

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1. DEEP RIVER ZESTY JALAPEÑO POTATO CHIPS:
YAAAASSS!!! I bet you weren’t expecting this, huh?

This is my #1 favorite junk food snack. I love kettle chips…. but they DO NOT love me (bloating from salt). So, now that I try to eat healthier I don’t eat them nearly as much as I used to. In the past year I’ve had them twice. So, no harm done physically.

Even though they are not a regular snack anymore, they stay at the top of the list for my go-to mental health prescription.

2. MINI PRETZELS KNOTS AND MUSTARD:
Something I’ve learned over the past 11 File May 09, 8 19 00 AM months is that the ‘crunch factor‘ is an important part of ‘eating’. Sometimes after eating I still wanted to eat, even though I am satisfied and not thirsty. I figured out that what was missing was the crunch factor. A hard crunch of a pretzel completely satisfied this need. So on occasion I will eat pretzels with mustard as a dip.

I am a HOT AND SPICY mustard girl. I have some mustard that makes my organs burn but it’s so good; and the best part is that most mustard varieties are only 0 to 10 calories.
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Side Note: This Sweet Hot Mustard right here had me lit up when I first tried it! The first taste is so sweet and just as your brain registers the sweetness the fire hits you and all normalcy vanishes…but it’s so good.

What else is in the buggy that day? … grapefruit, spinach, and lemon ginger tea.

3. FRESH CUT VEGETABLES:
This has become a favorite. I keep red, yellow and orange cukes and peppers peppers, and cucumbers in the refrigerator so when I have an attack to eat when I’ve already had a meal, I do not eat anything I’ll regret. I can eat unlimited amounts of this … guaranteed to be full and satisfied long before I’ve racked up any substantial calorie count. Typically, I sprinkle with salt, pepper and rice vinegar.

4. APPLES … APPLES …WATERMELON:
These are my two favorite seasonal fruits. I eat apples all winter and watermelon all summer. Both are good to me and for me.

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5. POPCORN (Made on the stove):
I don’t eat microwave popcorn, but I eat lots of popcorn… (filler food). I have one of popcorn those Whirley-Pop Popper that you put kernels in to make popcorn on the stove. I use a bit of coconut oil and I buy Amish kernels …. taste so good.

Whoever told me about putting Hot SAUCE on popcorn, I’m coming for ya …. that is the BEST SNACKING ever! Try it!
OK, that’s it.

6. BOILED EGG & COTTAGE CHEESE:
I texted this picture to my mother and she Boiled Egg and Cottage cheese snack responded with one word … “YUCK!” 😂😂

OK, it might not look all that appetizing but it does the trick. If you need a quick hit of protein and need to stave the hunger, this does it. The egg is about 70 calories and a 1/4 of cottage cheese is about 50 calories, so for about 120 calories, you get protein and a feeling of fullness.

What more do you want people? P.S. I don’t even register the calories for the cuke slices…. it’s minimal.

What’s that sprinkled on top? Cayenne Pepper. I put it on many edibles; it gives a little kick to your food, boosts your metabolism a bit and it’s good for you.

Now you have to tools to snack and not blow your healthy living goals!