A perfect salad mix?

What is it with me and salads? I've posted quite a few lettuce related articles over the past years and sometimes wonder what the attraction is? The thing is, I feel that a good salad mix with an oil and vinegar dressing is good for the cellular engine that we call us! Of all the grocery items I purchase during an average week, produce veggies stand with a unique crowd! Raw meats, fish and produce are non processed foods, and as such have a low cellular carcinogenic impact over time. And, foods like this make them cells very happy!

December marks the start of the cold season!

While the title was meant as a double entrendre, December is a time of year when colds and the flu often make a big jump in the number of individuals affected! The reasons for this are numerous, but most hinge on the fact that the Holidays bring a lot more people together into closer proximity than at any other times of the year!

As the fever of the season sets upon us all, there is a felt and urgent need to get out and shop for Christmas gifts, to hit those office parties and to get together with loved ones. With more people moving about and bumping into each other, there are many more chances for those bad germs to spread! Add in the stress that the Holidays naturally bring, add in a touch of really cold weather and voila! You have the perfect recipe for getting those sniffles, aches and red noses that only colds can bring!

How can you avoid it all? Well, I suppose you could lock yourself away until March, but in general that's not a viable option. For most of us, we'll have to just shoulder through the gauntlet with a hope, aspirin and a prayer! But wait! There are some common sense things you can do to lessen your chances of falling ill, and here they are;

1. Wash those hands! If everyone would only do that numerous times a day, there would be a lot less illness going around!
2. Went you're out and about, stay alert! If you're in a crowed venue and you see someone that looks ill, then vacate the premises pronto, even if it's your dear old uncle Ned!
3. Avoid crowded shopping malls by going on-line or by at least choosing times when those germ pits are less crowded.
4. Say no to office parties! I know that's hard to do, but do you really wants to mix with highly stressed out co-workers who've just returned from a local malls, loaded with rhino virus?
5. Buy a can of Lysol and actually use it on door knobs, counter surfaces and such. Flu viruses can last for a long long time on certain 'fomites' – i.e. any object that can support a virus.
6. Plan ahead and do your grocery shopping, bank visits and such during off times. Early morning is really good as people who are already sick really hate to get out of bed early in the day.
7. Get a flu shot! Duh! (No, you can't get sick from the shot and yes, people actually do die from not taking this simple precaution).
8. Exercise, limit you intake of alcohol and eat well – Gee, I'm beginning to sound like someones mother!
9. Stay well hydrated – Drink 8 cups of water a day, at the very least!
10. Finally, if you do still manage to get yourself sick, do everyone else a favor and stay home!
    
     Update: Week 47 (basically through the end of November 2015)
    

    

    Let's try and keep that red line on the floor through vigilance, frequent hand washing and making sure everyone you know gets their shot!
    
    

Investigating convection oven cooking!

It was getting about time for me to venture into the world of convection ovens! Newly relocated into my newest digs, a condo with a questionable oven, I decided to acquire a Breville BOV800XL Smart Oven 1800-Watt Convection Toaster Oven with Element IQ! A table top unit that had garnered more than a few good reviews on Amazon.com.

In the coming weeks and months, I hope to put this unit to the test with a focus on seeing just how energy efficient it is! Stay tuned! One of my first tests will be a foil wrapped Hobo Meal!

Making stir fry meat more tender!

Stir fried meat can often be under cooked!

I like to make a stir fry combo fairly often for a hearty breakfast. Generally, my ingredients include a little oil, cubed stew beef, bell pepper, onion and oregano along with a splash of Worcestershire sauce. This combo generally takes only a few minutes in a skillet over medium high heat to prepare. My problem was that the cheap cuts of meat were generally still tough to chew after so short a cooking time and I wondered if the might be some sort of work around....

The answer, I thought might be to precook the meat and then store it in the fridge until it was ready to use. To that end, I took about 70 to 80 grams of cubed stew meat and placed it into a small ceramic pot over which I covered everything with water. This was brought a brief boil and then simmered for about thirty minutes. Once I thought the meat was tender, I drained off the water and placed the cooked meat in a small baggie in the fridge.

[Normally, the power used to accomplish this would add up over time, but since I made it using a Duxtop induction counter top, my cost was only a couple of cents]!

The next morning, I assembled my ingredients, prepared the stir fry as normal and thoroughly enjoyed the very fork tender meat!

A mini Thanksgiving meal!

  

A Thanksgiving meal that didn't bust the diet and yet was very satisfying? That was my objective for this effort. I decided on five ingredients for this meal; turkey, mashed potatoes, a slice of white bread, brown gravy, rice and cranberry sauce!

 Turkey, sliced

For the meat portion, I elected to purchase a package of pre-cooked Kentucky Legend sliced turkey! While it was a little on the pricey side, I knew I would use every bit of it up in sandwiches, later on.

Homemade mashed potatoes

My objective for making mashed potatoes was to see if a viable portion could be made from just one medium sized Russet. That in mind, I peeled the potato, cut it into equal chunks and simmered it in salted water for about 20 minutes. 

Lacking a legitimate potato masher, I used a potato ricer, reasoning it would make a decent substitute. And, amazingly, it did a stellar job! I then took a fork and mixed in about a tablespoon of melted butter and two tablespoons of shredded cheese. This was nuked in the microwave to melt it and voila! I was ready to eat it. The calories here for half a cup was about 95 with the butter and cheese! Next, I needed to make some gravy along with a side dish of 'Rice A Roni'!

White bread

When I was just knee high to a grasshopper, I can remember my grandfather tearing up a piece of bread and the ladling brown gravy over the top. If you've never tried this before, please do at least once in your lifetime.

Brown gravy

Making gravy from a mix is so simple even a person like myself can do it in a snap! Four tablespoons poured over the potatoes, bread and turkey equaled about 90 calories.

Rice A Roni

I had a small package of Rice A Roni that had been sitting in my cupboard for some time and decided that it might make a nice addition. This particular package advertised itself as being chicken flavored. I thought that would go nicely with the overall theme of the meal. 

For this prep, you need a large skillet mainly because your going to saute the vermicelli to a golden brown before adding in 2 1/2 cups of water and their 'special' seasoning mix. You briefly bring the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook it for about 15 to 20 minutes. A half cup will yield about 95 calories.

Cranberry sauce

What kind of Thanksgiving meal would it be if it lacked some cranberry sauce as a tart and tangy counterpoint to the entire offering? I prefer the canned jellied variety and if you find you have a hard time getting it out of the can, try this simple procedure. Remove the lid and then make a small puncture hole in the other end. Enlarge the hole with scissors and while holding the can over the plate, blow with your mouth into the hole while gently squeezing the can. Works like a charm. Note that each 1/2 inch slice will hit you with about 86 calories.

That was it! The whole deal came in at just over 530 calories, and so, was quite diet friendly as well as being very tasty! Note that I did not have any stuffing, as that ingredient literally does bulk up the caloric content very fast!

A Charlie's Thanksgiving in Forsyth MO!

It was November the 26^th and a Thanksgiving fever had gripped the land! Everywhere I looked as I entered Charlie's Steak, Ribs and Ale located in Forsyth MO, I observed hungry patrons completely violating sensible dietary standards. And, I was about to join them!

On this day, Charlie's or C's as I like to refer to this venue, was offing a Turkey Meal for just $9.99! As you can see in the picture, it was a really full plate that contained an estimated gazillion calories. Fortunately, I had worn my sans a belt stretch waistline slacks just for that occasion.

Unfortunately,  when I arrived, I had lost my appetite - however I did sit with friends and watched them chow down on what looked to be a great feast!

Reagan had it right! Trust, but verify!

I trusted a priest
I fell to his feet
And he raised me up there
Then cut me off at the knees

I trusted the law
They didn’t help me at all
I wound up black, blue, screwed
In the back of his car..

 https://youtu.be/65RkFL_yGpo

Billy Idol's opening lyrics in his song 'Save Me Now', rings very true as America slowly turns a corner and becomes ever more secular and anarchistic in both mood and deed! True to his words, Obama stated that by the end of his term, youse guys won't even recognize the place!