Vegetables – Vessels and Vittles

Playing with Broccoli Cuts

I’m sitting here wondering if there is a real reason for broccoli cuts.?🤔

agriculture broccoli close up close up — Photo by slon_dot_pics on Pexels.com

I mean, Broccoli florets make sense; they are pretty, flavorful, and healthy, but ‘cuts’ are basically the stems – cut up, right?

AD586F1A-E222-4C9D-9D0A-53DB9F04E125 The picture looked all luscious and delicious but the bag of frozen cuts I bought did have one or two small florets…whatever, I really did expect what I got, not what was on the bag.

I added a bit more chicken broth and let the cuts get softer than how I usually eat my veggies but I had a plan. Then I got out my Ninja blender. I added the thoroughly cooked cuts, added a bit of half and half (all I had), added more broth, salt, pepper, ginger, turmeric and hit the ON button.

It whirred around until, it was light green, smooth, a bit creamy and ohhhhh so tasty.

VOILA! Turned those worthless cuts into a delicious gourmet soup.

I had some for dinner tonight. It’s a cold, dark, long winter night and this concoction hit the spot. I think I might try this with fresh broccoli stalks next summer.

7FC9327D-275B-4382-816E-6F8775D0ED63 — Might not look so tasty but this was quite delicious!

So, not only can you turn lemons to lemonade but you can also turn blah broccoli cuts into deliciousness.

Go make you some soup! 😎👍🏽

Turkey Carcass Make-Over

Ha! My title made me chuckle. 🦃🦃🦃

Well, I have never been responsible for a Thanksgiving dinner in my adult life. I’ve had to bring a dish occasionally but never has anyone looked to me for the Thanksgiving Day bird… thankfully. I think I cooked one myself one year just to see if I could do it. 🤷🏽‍♀️

However, I do like getting the carcass. This year I was invited to my friend’s house with her family and it was a wonderful time! After her husband carved the turkey he was prepping it for the trash! Hoooooollldd up!!!

Everyone looked at me strangely when I requested to take the poor carcass home but in my mind I could see the most delicious broth on my stove. I don’t have to plan family meals so I make things that work for me…. soups, sautéed vegetables, chicken/or a little beef burger and fruit make up most of my diet….the rest is occasional ‘cookie, chips, chocolate’…not even gonna pretend to be 100% right all the time… lol…it’s called being human.

Anyway, they wrapped the bird and I carried it home. Today I bought carrots, celery, and onions and made homemade turkey broth. Just for the record, my house smells so good right now.

ACBBF967-989E-4FBA-98BF-A946D97806F1

I put all the ingredients in a big stock pot I borrowed from my neighbor, added a gallon or so of water, then brought it to a boil. Then let it simmer for a couple of hours, then added more seasonings to suit my taste. I still had all the turkey parts in it. I’m going to let it cool in the refrigerator then strain it and skim any fat tomorrow.

I’ve only ever done this once or twice before and both times came out perfect. You can fund real recipes online for homemade turkey broth.

I plan to sip plain broth as a warm-me-up drink, or use it to add to vegetable soup recipes or simply when cooking vegetables…instead of using plain water I will use the broth. It’s quite tasty.

27DF7889-2063-4233-B811-3D0E614C419E

Just wanted to share this in case your turkey carcass looked too delicious to toss!

Thanks for stopping by!

Stay safe out there!

Love and hugs!🤗❤️

Hi …It’s Been a While

It has been a while people! Summer rolled on by as I was trying to ‘get things done’ around here. Now it’s Fall.🍁 And just like I wasn’t paying attention to the calendar I haven’t been paying much attention to my food choices. Sooooo, 11 pounds later I sitting here like … what exactly did I eat that equates to 11 extra pounds?🤨🧐😞

Really, it’s all good, well, not really good but … I’m trying to say I reacted so differently than I had in the past… which is growth in more than just my weight. Back in the day, those 11 pounds would have sent me spiraling but this time I KNEW I just needed to readjust and be aware…. stop the mindless grazing…but doesn’t this look goooood?… Warm Peach Cobbler from Brookwood Grill 😊. Tasted good too! Happy Birthday to me.💕

41460B21-8501-4B0E-88A7-E26DAFD136E5 — Warm Peach Cobbler!

…for the record, I shared this with another person….too much for me.

I did readjust… and have lost 5 of the 11 pounds so far. I had to change something though. For the past 2 years I’ve used the My Fitness Pal app, which I really liked…. just got bored with it and slowly stopped using it, which means I wasn’t tracking, and therefore was eating more. Uggghh! For me, logging my food, not necessarily every morsel but keeping a general idea of my calorie intake, is a GREAT HELP!

I switched to the Lose It! App. I LOVE IT! It’s colorful, engaging, lots of little tips and applications to play with…and it rejuvenated my desire to log. I only have the free version too. If you want to pay…there are lots of additional things to help you.

I have been eating fun stuff that I love to celebrate my birthday month. That’s over for now…. back to lots of water, lots of veggies, lots …OK, ‘some’ exercise 😂. I do feel better, less dense. I actually did a bit of a detox to get back on track… it helps a lot. I did start eating these….they are healthy, easy, delicious and not too caloric. There are a few different varieties all of them are good.

2AD992E2-EC9F-49BD-A57F-B1807C2022CC

Well, that’s all for now.

Lesson learned: The road to healthy living has U-turns, potholes, traffic violations, and sometimes a broke down vehicle but road side assistance comes along in various forms; a motivational article, an encouraging friend, and sometimes just a fun new app. 🤗

Peace and Love! 😘

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:

DDEBF663-25F7-4D95-A55F-EC09006BB090

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! 😘

Summer Spread

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

You will know when summer officially hits around my home because there will always be melon…. watermelon and cantaloupe. 😋.

Love watermelon especially… seriously, my summer Sunday routine includes church, then going to get a watermelon so I can cut it up and toss the rind for the Monday trash.

I buy seedless ones. There are some watermelon purists out there who only buy the seeded ones. I don’t eat seeded watermelons or fish with lots of bones for the same reason…. I hate excessive spitting during eating… too messy for me. Just my preference. When I was a little girl my family would drive from NY to GA and my dad would buy several big seeded watermelons to bring back home …. and amongst them was always a couple of little “Sugar Babies” (small round seedless sweet watermelons) for me.

Watermelon has many great benefits. Check it out here! Benefits of watermelon 🍉

I also love summer food colors so I decided to do a mostly clean eating colorful food week. When I do this, I like to include eating mostly raw, colorful foods, with low protein, and a smaller amount of cooked green veggies. This really helps when I need to have enough food to keep my energy levels going and my hunger down but also need to watch my caloric intake and do a mini-cleanse. Anyway, summer fruits and veggies do the trick.

392C82B7-7D37-45AD-ACEF-810B014880D0 — Watermelon, cantaloupe, orange/yellow/red peppers, sautéed green beans, sautéed spinach, and cucumbers

I will eat some protein because I’m not vegan or such, and eating a bit of protein keeps my metabolism fired up, and seems keeps my hair and nails in better shape. So, at some point in the week, I will throw a bit of salmon, or chicken on the grill…. a couple ounces per day is usually enough.

Try some of these summer foods… or any others. So delicious!

🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉🍉

Love and Peace!

🌺😎❤️