Nori Rolls

This whole week I’ve been Learning to Wrap Summer Rolls and Nori Maki and  it’s as easy as making tacos once you know the steps.  Just like tacos or burritos, it’s a bunch of chopping vegetables into slivers and having them ready in stackable plastic containers so you can lay them out in front of you when you’re making the roll.  Yesterday I tried a new idea.  I made a killer tuna salad for lunch with canned albacore, scallions, carrots, fresh holy basil, cucumber, slivers of fresh ginger and Duke’s mayo.  Then I rolled it into nori maki atop a bed of alfalfa sprouts.  Oh, man! Yum! Continue reading →

Summer Rolls – Yum

I spent an hour or so watching YouTube videos on how to make those delicious rice paper wrapped summer rolls that I get in the Thai and Vietnamese restaurants.   One day last week I was on the road all day and stopped in a Publix in Mt. Dora to pick some up for lunch for the drive home.  I like that they make them fresh at Publix.  I like California roll too, although I can do without the fake krab.  I thought, I could easily make these at home and I set out to do so the next evening.  A bit of a disaster, since the rice paper I had was from 2007 and it fell apart as I placed it in the hot water to soften.  I ended up wrapping too many veggies in green leaf lettuce alone, and having a big open mess to eat.  I set out to discover how to do it the right way.  That’s one thing I love about the internet:  you can learn how to do almost anything in a Youtube video, for free, without leaving home to take a class. Continue reading →

Back in the day, I ate way too much meat.  Sausage was often daily fare.  I hadn’t eaten it for years and am glad to now find turkey sausage that is lowfat and tasty.  I chopped a link into coins and sauteed them in a pan with 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp each fresh crushed fennel and coriander seed, half an onion, 1 carrot, 2 stalks of celery, a Golden Yukon potato, and 5 fat stalks of kale, with ribs chopped fine.  Stir to brown. Add salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, smoked paprike and a few shakes of ground cinnamon.   When the potato has browned, add 2 cups of lowfat chicken broth.  I also added a chopped tomato.  Simmer 20 minutes until flavors mix and smash half the potatoes down to thicken.  Serve with nutritional yeast sprinkled on top.

What is Goddess Grub?  Goddess Grub is a term a friend came up with to describe the fresh and healthy recipes he saw me post on my blog.     As I entered my 50’s, I suddenly got wise and found all the secrets of the Universe and was told by an angel how to live forever by eating a certain way. Well, ok, that’s bullsh*t, but I did have a few bouts of gallstone pancreatitis brought on by my formerly fatty and meat laden, lumberjack eating habits. Three bouts in the hospital in three years at $20,000 a pop wises you up real quickly. Continue reading →

I’ve written a lot on my main blog about the daily supplements I take as far as vitamins, minerals, amino acids, as well as the natural remedies I’ve found work for me.

Lift your spirits with holy basil
Holy basil may be used as a treatment aid for depression
Holy Basil Extract, a natural aid for stress, insomnia and depression
Holy Basil for Anxiety and Insomnia
L-theanine as a unique anxiety reliever
Theanine:  Natural Support for Sleep, Mood, and Weight
Vitamin D3 Reduces Risk of Common Health Concerns

Today’s lunch was Dreamfield’s rotini with veggies.  While the pasta (low carb, high fiber, low glycemic) cooked, I sauteed in a non stick pan half an onion, chopped, a handful of sugar snap peas cut in half, a handful of canned chick peas, drained.  I added 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp each fresh ground fennel seed, coriander seed, dry basil, dry oregano, garlic powder.  Cook on low heat until the pasta is ready.  Drain, add pasta to the pan and mix together.   I had some leftover roasted eggplant, so I added that as well.   Let it stand for a few minutes to blend.  I’ll do that again.

I love eggplant so am always looking for new recipes to include it. I limit my fat to 40-60 grams per day. Olive oil is 14g per tablespoon.  It cracks me up when I read recipes that say to saute the eggplant in olive oil.  I typically oven bake it crispy, or dry saute in a nonstick pan and add my oil before serving.  Otherwise, it will soak up as much oil as you add to the pan and want more.

Yesterday I woke up hungry and ate a banana while I decided what I would eat.  I hadn’t given much thought to food the past few days.  For breakfast, I sliced a yellow squash with a handful of mushrooms and some kale and sauteed it with some fresh garlic. I topped it with cheesy tasting nutritional yeast. If I eat something like this every 3 hours, I stay satiated and fueled. I don’t always have the discipline though. Continue reading →

I like to cook.  I like to cook light meals and half are vegetarian dishes.  For health and weight, I keep my fat grams to under 60 per day, so when cooking, I use a lot of fresh ground spices to keep the flavor high.  Some favorites are fennel seeds (licorce-y), coriander seeds (citrus-y), cumin seeds (smoky/nutty), mustard seeds (hot-ish) black cardamom seeds (aromatic, smoky/cool) and fenugreek seeds (maple-y).  How I use them is I crush the seeds using a mortar and pestle or using the spice grinder.  I often use equal parts of the above seeds (maybe 1/2 tsp each) but I always use less of the mustard seeds since they’re hot.  Most often  I saute the crushed seeds in oil in a pan before adding in my veggies. Continue reading →

This is my really flavorful low fat soup of chickpea, kale & pasta.  I’ve given you a chicken version at the end.  First grind one tablespoon each of fresh coriander seeds, cumin seeds and fennel seeds with one giant bayleaf and saute the spices for a few minutes in a little extra virgin olive oil at medium heat (a 5 on my stove, yours may be different.)  Add one chopped onion, one carrot, one celery stalk, the chopped leaves of 2 sprigs of rosemary and 6 garlic cloves to the pan of spices and let everything become golden and softly translucent.  Add one half can of chickpeas and all the liquid they came in.

Continue reading →