Colorful Food

My son is so creative with his food sometimes. He made me oatmeal.

Isn’t he so sweet? I tell him he should be a cook. Or maybe a car mechanic. That way, I won’t have to fork out the thousands to have my car fixed. Yeah. Too many young people want careers in computers today. A nephew of mine is interested in making computer games– drawing the animated characters and designing stuff for them. What kind of career is that? I don’t know, maybe I’m showing my age, but making games isn’t a REAL job, it’s a hobby! At least they’ll keep the document scanning software companies in business….

We’re reading in our health book that colorful food, which is naturally attractive, is very healthful. Not artificial colors, of course! The bright reds, greens, purples, yellows and pinks of food. YUM. By the way, did you ever stop to realize that very few foods are truly blue? There’s blueberries, and …. and… I can’t think of anything else. Can you???

Anyway, colorful foods contain antioxidants and phytonutrients and all sorts of yummy stuff that your body needs. Raw is better for most fruits and vegetables, too.

Oddly enough, I like the appeal of bright red foods, but I don’t like to eat them very much. I like the colors of tomatoes, red peppers, etc, but I don’t like to eat them. However, I do like strawberries. I’ll eat anything green.

How about you? Are you attracted to one color over another? Do you like the color AND the taste, or just one over the other?

Going to Try: Garden of Life Raw Meal

I saw a friend of mine drinking this weird-looking green-drink recently. She said it was “Raw Meal” from Garden of Life. I tasted it and —ICK— it tasted like grass pulp. But the stuff is terribly, terribly nutritious. So I ordered some. I’m waiting for it to come in the mail, and I’ll be giving a review and maybe some tips on how to improve the taste.

I need to improve my health. After having Child #4, my health deteriorated quickly. I was very anemic and lost that youthful oomph I’d always had. I have always worked very hard physical labor all my life, and never really ate well or took care of myself. Now that I am older, my body is showing signs of unhappiness with all my neglect and hard toil. And the extra weight I’d gained over the years hasn’t helped at all. I considered taking the best diet pills and vitamin supplements… and I do still try.. but I am horrible with taking pills.

So I’m looking to eat better. The Raw Meal will help. It has 100% of everything! I’d read that adding fruit or juice to the mix helps with the taste. I’ll be experimenting!

Edamame: Cool Beans!

I’ve heard about the bean edamame (eh-dah-MAH-meh) for quite some time. I spotted it in the frozen section of the grocery store, and decided to check it out. It’s actually quite good! I wouldn’t say it’s the most amazing thing since chocolate bars, but it’s not too bad. The best part about the stuff is how it makes me FEEL. Wow, I feel like I could leap tall buildings or plan complicated orlando vacations after eating this stuff! And it fills me up quickly, too, so that I eat less of the starchy stuff.

OK, I’m getting ahead of myself. If you have not yet met edamame, let me introduce you. It’s a soybean. GET BACK HERE! IT’s not THAT BAD, REALLY!! Let me explain.

So it’s a soybean, but it’s a NICE soybean. It’s not pasty or bitter like the “regular” kind of soybean. Edamame is very popular in Asian countries, especially Japan, where the kids actually SNACK on this stuff! It’s extremely nutritious, and has a smooth, mild, slightly nutty flavor. It’s usually shelled and boiled for a few minutes, then eaten plain with salt. I usually eat about 1/4 cup (yes, I am eating it regularly!) a day, before a meal. WOW! I just feel so good after eating them, so healthy. The protein must go straight to my cells, because my energy perks, my thoughts lift, and I am not hungry after eating them.

Here’s the nutritional breakdown of these little green wonders, in 1/2 cup serving sizes:

# 120 calories
# 9 grams fiber
# 2.5 grams fat
# 1.5 grams polyunsaturated fat (0.3 grams plant omega-3 fatty acids)
# 0.5 gram monounsaturated fat
# 11 grams protein
# 13 grams carbohydrate
# 15 mg sodium
# 10% of the Daily Value for vitamin C
# 10% Daily Value for iron
# 8% Daily Value for vitamin A
# 4% Daily Value for calcium

It’s becoming more popular in the United States because it is so nutritional. Health benefits are said to be to lower cholesterol, regulate blood sugar (so it is promoted to diabetics), and help fight off cancerous cells.

I like it best plain.I’ve had it heated and eaten with dinner (potatoes, brussels sprouts, etc), but I actually prefer it as finger food, cold. After boiling and cooling, I sprinkle a little salt on it, and eat it with cheese and crackers, or a light snack. They are really good! The texture is smooth and the beans are slightly crunchy but not pasty like other legumes can be.

You can also toss the cooked beans into soups or salads, casseroles or stews, anything! It’s best not to overcook, because the bean will lose it’s sweetness and firmness that make it so appealing. I’m hoping this bean catches on as a snack for the American consumer. I so dislike our culture’s emphasis on chips, pretzels, and sodas as snacks. No wonder our society has so many health problems. I love edamame!