Cooking with Brenda...

Apr 12, 2012

There are days I get an inspiring topic to work on, then I come back, and discover that I cannot find the original post that inspired me, sigh.  Whomever wrote about the Heart Surgeon speaking out on Facebook - thanks!  I did respond to your original post, but sigh, I cannot remember where (I have, ahem, multiple FB accounts, shhhhh) I posted my response.  Here is part of what inspired me -- an article written by a heart surgeon who says inflammation is what is killing us, not cholesterol:

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/242516-Heart-Surgeon-Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease

Anyhow, I had posted my two cents mainly citing the lack of cooking skills in recent generations, and that the prepared foods we all (yup, me too) fall back on for quick, easy meals.  I was actually chatting in the bulk foods isle with one lady, and a couple in the fresh meat isle on my shopping trip, today.  Funny, I was giving cooking advice out like I was someone of authority. There was a saying that I cannot recall completely, "if there is more then five ingredients, beware..."  Also, if you are building your meals, you absolutely know what you are eating.  Pink slime has me freaked out, and I actually did look to see who used it, who didn't, who has quit... YUCK!  Back to what I was saying about learning how to cook, I was telling one couple that if they hand trim their meat, it is cheap and easy to make a meal for 4 - 6 people, and CHEAPER than buying the prepared foods. 

My cheater Carne Asada - two cans of Rotel, two pounds of lean beef (you can get carne asada sliced - I then slice it further, into strips) and a couple hours simmering in a pan - good eats!  Add some beans - think protein (not re fried, whole beans, yum).  If you want some carbs in the meal, think Quinoa made like Spanish rice -- mix in another can of Rotel (okay, I do have some prepared foods like Rotel in my pantry - any "Mexican Spiced" canned tomatoes will work) with the water you will use to steam your Quinoa - it is yummy!  Protein packed, and my daughter likes it better than just rice.

Someone on FB asked about ways to cook chicken - ha ha, EASY!  Any base - bouillon is what I usually start with - garlic, seasoning, even orange juice in a frying pan, add skinless chicken, and add veggies -- ding! ding! ding! Winner, winner, chicken dinner!  I started making orange chicken back in the early 1990's - I was just trying to figure something out for dinner. I grabbed chicken, orange concentrate, salt, pepper, and julienne vegetables, and my friends and family would beg for it!  So simple, and without need of fat!!!  The orange juice poaches the meat and adds flavor.  If you are afraid of mixing seasoning on your own, get a bottle of non fat or low fat salad dressing - pour a couple teaspoons in the frying pan, add water to it, then start adding the main ingredients.  Trust me, growing up without a mom to cook (she worked swing shift), I got creative very young.  I started adding bouillon cubes to rice water, and then just went from there.  Oooo, cook your broccoli in bouillon, your family will rave!  My ex Monster-in-Law admitted she missed my broccoli, as she never liked anyone else's before or since.  Grab fresh veggies & toss them in the pan, and you've got amazing and healthy sides.

Even at my highest weight, I never had high cholesterol, probably because I was a finicky eater.  I hate "rubber," that is what my daughter dubbed fat on meat at a young age.  Yup, my eating habits have ruined her for most foods!  If it isn't devoid of the fat, she turns her nose, and I hand trim all meats before cooking.  Yup, she is spoiled.  But, neither of us have Cholesterol issues.  I have had my heart valves checked, EKG's, Stress Tests, and have been told I have a very healthy heart.  Maybe it is my distaste for fast food that helped me, and I dislike mayonnaise, I just know healthy eating is going to give me a longer life.  Not that I am ancient or grew up in the sticks, my hometown had two fast food places, wait, three: Kentucky Fried Chicken, A&W Rootbeer, and Foster's Freeze.  My mom was not a great cook, and not home in the dinner hour, so my three brothers and I usually fended for ourselves.  In a way, I am glad I grew up without fast food, and that I was a finicky eater.

Pressure cookers will make any cut of meat amazing!  I cube my chuck, add V8 to my stock, and a few secret ingredients, I have the most amazing stew ever!  I have had people beg me for the recipe, but I only share with those I feel worthy, ha ha.  Truth be told, it is the ONE meal my mother taught me how to make, and I still have her pressure cooker alongside mine.  I have taught my own daughter how to prepare it, and she made it for her cooking final in her Cooking Class in High School (do I hear an A from the teacher?!)  Fast, no need for fat -- use broth for flavor!  Believe it or not, the type of onion you choose will change the flavor of any meal.  One secret divulged: Red onion is the ONLY onion I use making my mother's stew -- I tried it with whatever I had sitting around, it was just not the same.

If you and/or your family eat Fast Food more than twice a week -- you are NOT going to have an easy time keeping off all the weight you've worked so hard to lose.  I just realized today, I am almost 30 - THIRTY - BMI points lost -- so I have lost the equivalent to an overweight/obese person - sigh!  If you cook it, you can decide how much sodium, fat, and protein goes into your meals.  Think about the savings, I buy & prepare the majority of my family's meals, so we are saving from the days one of us would "run to grab something" when we were tired or just lazy.  Anyhow, eating healthy is my main topic today, the rest is just gravy (low fat!)...

Stay positive!
Brenda : )~

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