Whole food nutrition

[Kym Alexander]

Getting better nutrition has been a focus of the last few months. I work for the maker of a whole food nutrition product and it has afforded me a ton of new information on eating enough fruits and vegetables. Whole foods, in simple terms, are unprocessed foods that provide large amounts of nutrients such as fruits, veggies, and whole grains, the stuff you find on the outermost areas of the grocery store. The Standard American Diet (S.A.D. < with all the reports of our health issues due to improper eating habits, it is isn't it!) doesn't include enough of these foods. We have become a nation of convenience and processed foods. And it is literally killing us with diabetes, heart disease and some cancer.

In an effort to get the 5-13 recommended servings of fruits and veggies, I have started in recent weeks to eat more vegan and vegetarian meals. So I'll share the recipes and some of the things that I eat for anyone interested. Everyone should work to eat more fruits and veggies, I promise that you will feel better, your body will function better and you will have more energy. Even if it just means having 3 veggie sides with that pork chop, and a half a fruit with your bacon, egg and cheese biscuit, it will make a huge difference in your health!

Today, I made Mexican vegetable soup and it was delicious. It was a little more ingredient intensive than I like (I had to go to Kroger and Easy Way to get all that I needed), but I will make it again. I made honey cornbread to go with it.

Mexican Soup

6 cups vegetable broth
14 ounces canned diced tomato, Mexican-style preferred
2 cups fresh green beans (start with 8 ounces, then trim and snap into bite-size pieces)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small zucchini (about 8 ounces before trimming)
1 cup tomatillo, cubed (start with about 4 ounces or 2 medium tomatillos)
1/2 medium poblano chili pepper, chopped (I used something called a picadillo pepper)
1 medium jalapeño, membranes and seeds removed, minced (wear gloves or make sure you don't put your hand to your eyes!)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon fresh oregano (I used 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano)
2 roasted red peppers packed in water
1 tablespoon chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (these are found in small
cans in the 'Mexican' section and they are hot!!!!)
Salt to taste
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 2 limes)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Heat a large pot on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the vegetables and spices (canned tomatoes through oregano) as they're prepped. Add the
broth when it's ready. Whiz the red peppers and chipotle pepper in a
mini food processor and stir in. (Could you skip this step? Yes but do make sure to mash the chipotle
pepper to distribute as finely as possible throughout the soup.) Cover
and bring to a boil. Once at a boil,
partly uncover the soup, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer and
simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir in salt, lime juice and cilantro.
Serve immediately.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 43 Cal (6% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 70% from Carb); 3 g Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g
Sat Fat; 0 g Mono Fat; 8 g Carb; 2 g Fiber; NetCarb6; 3 g Sugar; 20 mg
Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 553 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0
points

I also made a Garden Vegetable Soup version of this a couple of weeks ago that I actually LOVED.

6 cups broth (today I used Light Vegetable Stock)

Cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 large onion, diced
4 teaspoons garlic (from a jar or substitute four cloves minced garlic)
1/2 cabbage, chopped (or use a bag of slaw, the biggest chunks you can find
vs the fine, don't skip the cabbage for it somehow makes the soup)
1/2 pound frozen green beans
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large zucchini, diced

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat on MEDIUM HIGH. Add the
carrots, onion and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes. Add all the
remaining ingredients EXCEPT the zucchini and bring to a boil. Cover,
reduce the heat to MEDIUM and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the
beans are tender. Add the zucchini and cook until the zucchini are
tender. Serve and enjoy!

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Cup: 61 Cal (3% from Fat, 24% from Protein, 73% from Carb); 4 g
Protein; 0 g Tot Fat; 0 g Sat Fat; 13 g Carb; 3 g Fiber; NetCarb10;
NetCarb10; 52 mg Calcium; 1 mg Iron; 701 mg Sodium; 0 mg Cholesterol;
Weight Watchers ..1 point

Both of these yummy recipes are WW recipes I got from this blog: http://kitchen-parade-veggieventure.blogspot.com/2006/01/day-285-weight-watchers-zero-points.html

[Kym Alexander]

This one looks easy enough http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1850,151187-235200,00.html

[LaSanta Jones-Teil]

no.. but the recipe above reminded me that I have an eggplant that's been in the fridge for 2 weeks (rotten). Never tried them, but I buy them and sell myself a dream as if Im going to cook and eat them. Mayb next go round

[Kym Alexander]

I don't' work for whole foods, man I wish I did, maybe I would get s discount! I can't afford that stuff either. I work for a direct sales company that makes a whole food supplement.

 

Did we speak about an eggplant recipe? I wish I could find a good one, so far what I've tried with the eggplant hasn't made me a lover of that gorgeous purple fruit.

[LaSanta Jones-Teil]

Great! Run this by your employer; changing the name Whole Foods to Whole Paycheck.....btw im waiting on the eggplant recipe as well ;)

[Quita]

good recipes.....

[Brandon Imhotep]

Took me 30 years to learn what real food and drugs are!

[Lumumba Ali]

Hotep sista!! I'm heading to the food store now..Thanks

[Clifford Black]

Namaska Kym,
This is good and I am happy that u put it up---keep this kind of information coming!!
(B)