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Archive for the ‘Food’ Category

No More High Fructose Corn Syrup

Posted by terrepruitt on October 27, 2012

Awhile back, March 2010, to be more accurate, I posted about one of my favorite condiments. I use Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce in almost all of my marinades and whenever I cook meat. Sometimes I even splash it in my vegetables. I was upset back in March of 2010 when I realized that it had High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in it. This sweetener is being used in way too many products. I actually think that people recognize it to be an awful sweetener and so some companies are removing it from their products. I believe HFCS to be awful because it is made from corn and there is too much corn in too many products. One of the main problems with corn is that at least 88% of the corn produced in the United States (in 2011) was from Genetically Engineered seed. So, corn is an altered vegetable. Next the processing in which the corn has to go through in order to create HFCS involves many additional chemicals making it, in my opinion, a double-whammy of things I don’t want to eat. So annoyed was I that there was HFCS in the Worcestershire Sauce that I gave feedback on the Lea & Perrins site. Their response was that HFCS does not cause obesity. That was very odd to me since I never mentioned weight or fat or anything. I just asked if they could make their sauce without HFCS. Well, they are.

I am not saying that it was my doing at all, but I am just here to report that Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce does come in versions without High Fructose Corn Syrup. In my opinion it is only fair of me to report that. If I complain about something in a post on my blog and it gets changed, then it is only right that I post something about it being fixed. I am very excited that it no longer contains HFCS.

However it does contain “sugar” and the general rule with “sugar” is that if it just says “sugar” and not PURE CANE sugar then it was made from sugar beets. Sugar beets is another highly genetically engineered food. Ninety Five percent of sugar beet acres in the US were planted with the genetically engineered seed in 2011. Sugar Beets are “Round-up ready”. While sugar from sugar beets is from a genetically engineered food, I believe there is a lot less processing involved. With less processing the chances are there are less chemicals being used. So it is a whammy, but not a double-whammy, although it is a BIG whammy!

The less our food is processed with chemicals the better. The closer to natural it is the better. But again, when the vegetable has been genetically engineered it probably isn’t close to natural at all. But again, I for me, I would rather eat sugar beet sugar than High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Anyway . . . Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce now lists sugar as an ingredient instead of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Now if we could just get them to use Pure Cane Sugar . . . .

Or what I really need to do is try the kind that my Nia friend told me about. It is organic. But it doesn’t have anchovies (ewww, I know) and that is what makes worcestershire sauce worcestershire sauce.

Have you tried another brand of Worcestershire Sauce?

Posted in Food | Tagged: anchovies, condiments, genetically engineered food, Genetically Engineered seed, genetically engineered sugar beets, HFCS, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Lea & Perrins, marinades, Nia, PURE CANE sugar, Round-up ready, sugar beets, sweetener, Worcestershire Sauce | 9 Comments »

Genetically Engineered Foods Labeling Questionnaire

Posted by terrepruitt on October 25, 2012

1. Do you understand that 88% of all corn and 94% of all soybeans produced in the U.S. were grown from Genetically Engineered* seeds in 2011?

2. Do you understand that with 88% of all corn and 94% of all soybeans produced in the U.S. being from Genetically Engineered seeds that ANYTHING with corn ANYTHING (corn syrup, corn oil, corn, High Fructose Corn Syrup, etc.) or soy ANYTHING (soybean oil, soybean, soy protein concentrate, etc.) is more than likely a Genetically Engineered Food?

3. Do you think Genetically Engineered Foods should be labeled?

4. Do you believe the burden of labeling the Genetically Engineered Foods should fall to the manufacturer?

5. Do you believe the burden of labeling the Genetically Engineered Foods should fall to the retailer?

6. Do you believe that ALL Genetically Engineered Foods should be labeled or just MOST?

7. Do you believe that the Genetically Engineered Food itself should be labeled?

8. Do you believe that if the Genetically Engineered food product is not labeled the retailer should be responsible for doing so on the shelf or where the item is displayed?

9. Do you think that if the Genetically Engineered food product is not labeled (package/shelf/display) the retailer “generally must” be able to document why it is exempt?

10. Do you think an acceptable way to document exemption is to obtain a “sworn statement from the provider of the product indicating that the product has not been intentionally or knowingly genetically engineered”?

11. Do you think that it is acceptable that some food need not be labeled such as food “made from animals fed or injected with genetically engineered material but not genetically engineered themselves”?

12. Do you think that processed food that contains “one or more genetically engineered processing aids or enzymes” should be exempt from being labeled a Genetically Engineered Food?

13. Do you think that it is acceptable for there to be percentages of Genetically Engineered Food allowed in products without the product having to be labeled a Genetically Engineered Food?

14. Do you believe that it is acceptable for a governmental department to “adopt any regulations that it determines are necessary for the enforcement and interpretation of” an article?

15. Do you think that an acceptable way of enforcing a labeling law is to allow for lawsuits without demonstrating “any specific damage occurred as a result of the alleged violation”?

*Genetic engineering is the process of changing the genetic material of a living organism to produce some desired change in that organism’s characteristics.

Posted in Food | Tagged: Corn, corn oil, corn syrup, GE, genetically, Genetically Engineered corn, Genetically Engineered seeds, Genetically Engineered soybeans, Genetically Modified Organism, GMO, High Fructose Corn Syrup, soy protein concentrate, soybean, soybean oil | 12 Comments »

The Greens Go Round And Round

Posted by terrepruitt on October 23, 2012

I love the grocery store that is near the facility in San Jose where I teach Nia on Tuesdays. Right after Nia class I can easily stop by because it is literally on the way home. It seems so new because it is fresh and clean! They have a very large produce department. Today I purchased some dandelions greens. Yeah, I bought a weed. You might know that I have mentioned that different plants fall into different botanical families and how we might think of it as a vegetable but it is really a fruit according to the world of botany. I have shared how I cannot keep track of that. Well, I am going to have to start at least when it comes to greens. Apparently when you eat a lot of greens over an extended period of time you risk eat high level of toxin. It is important to rotate the family of greens.

The science behind it is that plants, what we call greens have a survival mechanism where they contain small levels of toxins. These toxins are contained in the plant in order to keep the entire crop from being depleted. The toxins build up in the body and cause reactions. So that keeps them from being eating in large quantities. The toxins are specific to a family of greens. Here are some families and the vegetables/greens that belong to them:

Plant Family: Brassicaceae/Cruciferae (cruciferous vegetables) – kale, collards, arugula, cabbage, bok choy, radish greens, mustard greens, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, turnip root greens, rutabaga, daikon

Plant Family: Amaranthaceae/ Chenopodiacea Family (beet family) – beet greens, beet root, spinach, chard, beets

Plant Family: Asteraceae – Romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, leaf lettuce, escarole

Plant Family: Apiaceae (carrot family) – carrots, parsley, cilantro, anise, celery, chervil, cumin, dill, fennel, parsnip,

Plant Family: Poaceae – wheatgrass

I’ve been mixing a bitter green, such as kale, with a mild green, such as baby bok choy or spinach. Now according to the families it’s ok to mix the kale with the baby bok choy, but if I want to rotate my greens by doing it between the different families then I shouldn’t mix kale and spinach. For me I think rotating between different families and keeping them separate will be easier than try to track two families then switch to another, but we will see. I love spinach and baby bok choy so I think it would be better for me to keep them separate so that I can have one or the other more often.

I have yet to try lettuce in a smoothie. As I mentioned, I just bought my dandelion greens and I have not used them because I have a large amount of spinach I want to try to make a dent in first. I did read they are bitter so, maybe this will be an opportunity for me to try lettuce in a smoothie. I feel that mixing a bitter green with a mild green cuts the bitter so that is what I have been doing. The information I have seen said that spinach is mild and that is what people start with so I was using that as my “mixer”. But now I will try to use something from the same family in order to keep with my plan of rotating between families.

I don’t know that I am really so concerned about these toxins building up to unsafe levels because I think I do a good job of switching, but this type of information gives me an extra push to really work to get the variety of greens in my smoothies. I mean aside from wanting to have more greens I do think of my smoothies as a way to get nutrients from greens that I would not normally eat. As an example, I eat spinach all the time so it is good to for me to “have” to branch out with some of these other greens. A good variety of fruits and vegetables is how we get the most nutrients out of our food.

Also, having this information is good because if you do start feeling ill/off you could look to this information to see if you are consuming too much of one thing and it may be the cause.

Do you rotate your greens? How do you do it?

Posted in Food, Vegetables | Tagged: baby bok choy, beet family, beet greens, bitter greens, collards, cruciferous vegetables, dandelion greens, family of greens, green smoothies, Kale, Nia class, Nia San Jose, Nia Teacher, Rotating greens, San Jose Nia, spinach, survival mechanism, toxic greens | 2 Comments »

Dirty Fungus Or Wet Fungus

Posted by terrepruitt on October 16, 2012

I stopped at the grocery store today on the way home from teaching my Tuesday morning Nia class for the City of San Jose and I had to stop myself from buying mushrooms. I love mushrooms. It would be nice to enjoy some mushrooms this week, but I have way too many other veggies from both the organic box that was delivered and from my trip to the Berryessa Farmers market. I need to make sure we eat those vegetables and don’t need to buy more . . . although I did by additional greens. When I went to the Farmers market I went to buy greens, but didn’t see any I wanted to I ended up with other veggies. I have gone to the store for spinach. So many greens means we don’t need the mushrooms. Which is fine because we have had them twice in the past seven days, so we will survive. We usually have them at least once a week. I always wash my mushrooms. If I don’t buy them already cut I wash them. If I buy them already cut it is too difficult to wash them. And I’ve learned that sliced mushrooms must be used the day I purchase them or the very next day. They cannot sit in the fridge for a couple of days. When I buy whole mushrooms I wash them. There are many, many, many who say not to wash mushrooms. Some say there is no need, while others give specific reasons as to why not to wash them. The reasons I hear for NOT washing them is that they absorb too much water or they will taste woody.

Well, I have always washed my mushrooms just because I like the thought of getting matter in which they grow off before I eat them. 😉 And a long time ago, about twelve years ago, I saw Alton Brown on Good Eats do an experiment that showed mushrooms really don’t absorb that much water when they are washed. It was a little, but not enough in his (and my) opinion to affect the mushroom. If you would like to see the weighing and washing for yourself it is on YouTube. Good Eats S02E13 The Fungal Gourmet. Alton starts talking about the waterlog theory about 2:30 into the video and true to the silliness of the show, he doesn’t actually get to the result until 3:50.

Some people still prefer to just use a brush to get the clods of dirt off the mushrooms. Some people use a damp cloth or a damp paper towel and wipe the mushrooms. I really like to wash them. Sometimes as I am working to get the dirt off they start to peel, it is as if they have an outer layer that just peels right off. When that happens that feels like a REALLY clean mushroom. It shed its outer skin. Now that I think about it, I think I am going to start running the sliced ones under water. Why I haven’t been all along I don’t know.

So what about you? Do you wash your mushrooms?

Posted in Food | Tagged: Alton Brown, Berryessa Farmer’s Market, Farmers Market, Good Eats, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, teaching classes for the City of San Jose, The Fungal Gourmet, washing mushrooms, wet mushrooms | Leave a Comment »

Still Searching For Creamy

Posted by terrepruitt on October 13, 2012

After subbing with Nia for a Zumba class today, I made a quick stop at the Farmers Market in our corner of San Jose. I wanted to buy some greens and remembered I could get some pita bread for my hummus. I finally made hummus with my new blender. I pretty much followed the hummus recipe I have and I like, but I think I put six teaspoons of the “bean juice” because I was thinking more liquid would make it a little creamier. I enjoy the creaminess of a specific brand that we used to buy. As I mentioned in my blender post the last few times I made hummus I ended up with whole-bean hummus which isn’t hummus at all, it is just garbanzo beans. So I was thinking that with a super blender it would make creamier hummus. Well, it is not creamier. So the creaminess is not just from blending. And there were still a few bean pieces, but not whole beans as in my last batch and not as many. This batch was also not as grainy, in general, as the last batch. I like making hummus in this blender as opposed to the other blenders or small chopper I have because it is easier to get it out. I have been told the best way to do it is in a food processor, but I don’t have one of those. And I think I have enough appliances at the moment, I will make do with my new super blender.

I made hummus for my niece once and I was talking about how I wanted it creamier so she jumped on the internet and found a website where a woman claimed that the secret to creamy hummus was taking of the HULLS or whatever that “shell” is on the bean. Do you know what I am talking about? That odd ectoskeleton that the beans seem to have? Well, my thought process is that the hull of the bean is part of what give the bean its fiber so I don’t want to remove it. That and, who wants to sit there and pull, pick, peel, or just make sure that the hull is off all the beans? Not me. I want the fiber AND that is one thing I am not willing to spend time on. The “uncreamy” hummus is not THAT bad. I think I will experiment with more liquid. More oil maybe? Or maybe more been juice? Maybe that will help it been more creamy. I don’t want it more watery, I want it more CREAMY. But it was a good batch.

I think the WildSide container that came with the blender allows for a lot of air to be whipped into the blends. I believe that is how this blender does not require a tamper as some blenders do. But it does whip air into things. I think it whipped a bit of air into the hummus, which is fine. Made it a little light and fluffy.

So I have been using my blender and I have been using for what I wanted it for. I use it almost everyday for smoothies and today, I used it for hummus. I am satisfied with the way it made the hummus. I am a little disappointed that it is not as creamy as I was hoping, but I have learned (I believe) that the secret to creamy hummus must be in the ingredients. If it truly is the peeling of the hulls then creamy hummus will not come out of my kitchen. Ha! Well, I guess one day I could experiment to see if that really does make a difference, but it will not become the norm. I don’t need creamy hummus that badly, my new blender does it just fine!

Besides buying it, what is the key to creamy hummus?

Posted in Food | Tagged: creamy hummus, Garbanzo beans, hummus, Nia class, Nia San Jose, San Jose Farmer's market, San Jose Nia, smoothies, substitute instructor, super blender, Zumba | 4 Comments »

Super Lessons Of A Super Blender

Posted by terrepruitt on October 11, 2012

A few things I have learned having a super blender and making smoothies. I really wish I would have had the presence of mind during some of these lessons to have taken pictures because I know that being able to see for yourself would have really helped bring the lesson home for you.

I learned kale is really bitter.

I’ve had kale cooked as part of my meal. I have had kale in a salad, but for some reason kale in a smoothie is really bitter. It could be that I used A LOT.

I learned a banana should be peeled before freezing.

One night I decided I wanted to try the frozen banana that everyone was talking about was so wonderful in a smoothie. So I put a banana in the freezer. The next day it was frozen solid. It can’t be peeled. I left it to defrost on my counter and it couldn’t be peeled after that either. It kind of just poured from the peel into a container. I refroze it and used it the next day.

I learned not to use more water and/or soap than the instructions instruct you to use when cleaning the blender.

I decided that I wanted the blender to get the lid clean too, so I put a lot of water in it and a lot of soup. I am not sure that the lid was even secured because it blew off the blender and the water went straight up in the air then landed all over my counter. And it was magic water because it seemed as if it doubled in volume.

I learned cucumbers do really mellow out the bitter flavors.

I have not used as much kale as that one time, but I have used it and every time I do I think the smoothie is going to be too bitter, but when there is a cucumber involved it is not. I really like cucumbers in my smoothies.

I learned protein powder also helps mellow out the flavors.

Protein powder DOES make the smoothie chalky and I have not had the desire to drink a completely chalky smoothie so I have not added a whole scoop. But even a half makes it chalky. I always taste the smoothie before I add the powder and yup, it makes it chalky, but I think maybe chalky is a flavor because the bitterness of some vegetables are mellowed with the powder.

I have confirmed (because I heard it before I started making them) that smoothies taste better cold.

I was drinking them without ice, then I remembered I had read that they are better cold and so I added ice. Yes they are. Although the other day it was chilly here and the thought of ice in the smoothie made me dread wanting to drink one. So I didn’t have a smoothie in the morning after my Nia class. But then as the day wore on it warmed up a bit so I had one later.

So, do you have anything you have learned making smoothies that you can share with me so I don’t have to learn the hard way? Do you have any things to share about a super blender?

Posted in Misc, Smoothies | Tagged: cucumber smoothies, frozen banana, green smoothies, Kale, mask the bitter, Nia, Nia class, protein powder | 6 Comments »

Fruits and Greens and Rainbow Things Smooth As Can Be

Posted by terrepruitt on October 6, 2012

Ok, I really am not going to turn this blog into a Green Smoothie blog, but . . . I have been making them almost every day and I really would like to share so we will see where it goes. And, as I have told you in the past, food posts are VERY popular. So my third ever green smoothie was Pear, Cucumber, Baby Bok Choy, and Rainbow Chard. It was pretty good. I don’t usually eat pears. There is a salad that I make in which I include pears, but beyond that, I don’t eat them. Cucumber I have almost every night in my salad. If you have read my blog for a bit you know I am in LOVE with baby bok choy. And this is my introduction to chard. I think that cucumber is a great equalizer. It really helps mellow out flavors. The pear worked well to sweeten the smoothie. I am thinking that chard is not that bitter because this was not a bitter smoothie. It was nice. It was smooth. This one goes on my list of likes. But right now I am just experimenting and putting whatever I have in the smoothies. I am not doing it to lose weight, or detox, or cleanse, or any other reason but to get more fruits and vegetables in my diet. So for now anything goes. And let me say, that everything does not really go!

Third Green Smoothie
1 C water
1 pear
2 inches of large cucumber
1 SMALL bunch of baby bok choy
2 leaves rainbow chard

With my fourth smoothie I was using watermelon and I thought I had read that if you use a really watery fruit such as watermelon you can skip the water. Since I was using such a large amount of watermelon I didn’t use any water. Worked out fine. It was not a pretty green so I used a dark blue glass, which made it even less pretty. But it was tasty. I really like watermelon in the smoothie.

Fourth Green Smoothie
1 1/2 C Watermelon
1/2 apple
1 small bunch baby bok choy
2 leaves rainbow chard

My fifth smoothie I wanted to make very green so I used a HUGE amount of kale. Four kale leaves equates to a lot of kale. This was the most bitter of the smoothies that I had at this point. That was a lot of kale. You may notice in the recipe I ended up with a lot of fruit. That is because I ended up adding the banana after I tasted it because it was really bitter. Since my point of doing this is to get more fruits and veggies and not anything else (as I’ve stated above), I don’t feel I have to suffer through my smoothies. This is not a torture, it is

supposed to be an enjoyable way to get some veggies and provide my body with additional nutrition, not make me suffer. So I added the banana. I will just use less kale next time. Because I really do want to be drinking more of a veggie smoothie than a fruit smoothie.

Fifth Green Smoothie
1.5 C Watermelon
1 apple
3 pieces baby bok choy
4 kale leaves
1 banana

It is really funny because cooking kale in foods and putting it in salad does not taste as bitter to me. But for some reason, whirred up in a smoothie . . . whew. Could be I don’t usually have THAT much kale. That was a lot of kale.

I actually have made more smoothies than I am putting in this post. So . . . I have learned a lot of things so far. That will probably be my next post. “Things I have learned on my smoothie journey so far . . . ” 🙂

Maybe there is a recipe here you might enjoy. Let me know if you try one. Or share what you are putting in your blender.

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Smoothies | Tagged: baby bok choy, bitter smoothie, fruit smoothies, Fruits and vegetables, green smoothies, Kale, rainbow chard, smoothies | 5 Comments »

Blender Banana Bread

Posted by terrepruitt on October 4, 2012

I don’t like to waste my bananas. My husband won’t eat them if they have one little tiny spot of brown. And I don’t usually eat that many bananas. So you might have learned from some of my posts that I usually use the over ripe bananas in banana bread or Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies. Both of these items are not low calorie nor low fat, they are just a way for me to use up my bananas and put a treat in my hubby’s lunch. I have a great recipe I found on the internet for banana bread. I think it was called the World’s Best Banana Bread and I actually think it is. I have issues cooking it though, it never seems cooked all the way through, but that could because it is hand mixed and the bananas kind of chunk up in the batter. Well, since I got a fancy new blender I have been trying to find things to use it for. In the recipe book there is a recipe for banana bread so I thought I would give it a try. Even though the ingredients get mixed in the blender the recipe calls for the bananas to be mashed. Before I stared I grabbed my camera fully intending on taking pictures along the way. The next thing I knew I was putting the pan in the oven. DRAT! I forgot to take pictures as I was making it. But I took some of the finished product. Can you see how smooth it is? Blender bread is really like “commercially made” bread.

I liked the taste ok. It was actually good. I think the vanilla yogurt added the extra sweet, yumminess. Since it has no butter it has to be less calories and grams of fat then my other recipe. And it really was good, but it was so . . . “commercial”. It was like a loaf of bread from the store. There was no texture, no chunks, no . . . personality.

In addition to using my blender the other reason I wanted to try this recipe is because it called for two bananas and that is what I had.

I can’t find the recipe on the Blendtec website and, of course, I did some modifying anyway, so here is what I did:

_________________________________

Blender Banana Bread

Using the WildSide Jar

2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/2 C low-fat vanilla yogurt
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 C wheat flour
3/4 C white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Add first six ingredients to the container and secure lid. Select “Batters.” After that has blended, add the remaining four ingredients to the container and secure the lid. Press “Pulse” 3-5 times until dry ingredients are incorporated. (Do not over blend.) Pour batter into greased 9″X5″ loan pan. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes.

_______________________________

I guess the WildSide Jar and the FourSide Jar for this blender are very different because there are additional/different instructions if you are using the FourSide Jar.

Well, I know that I have been posting a lot about my blender, but . . . I am trying to get a fraction of the money’s worth out of it! I will not turn this blog into a blender blog, I will post about Nia, exercises, other health stuff, and even Zumba, but I am getting some post out of my first uses of the blender.

Do you like your banana bread smooth? Or do you like it more rustic and chunky?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: banana bread, Banana Oatmeal Walnut Cookies, blender bread, exercise, FourSide Jar, homemade bread, low calorie, low fat, Nia, Nia exercise, power blender, WildSide Jar, Zumba | 2 Comments »

So Fast It’s Hot

Posted by terrepruitt on October 2, 2012

When you do something, like Nia or use a blender every day, it gives you a lot of material to post on a blog! I’ve been using my birthday present almost every day. When I first heard of “super” blenders that made soup I thought that was crazy. I thought that the blender had a heating element to heat up the soup. And there are some like that. But with the high-speed blenders, I didn’t realize the blades go fast enough to cause heat and heat up the soup. They go so fast it is hot! I didn’t think it would be something I would like. As you may know I love to make soup and one of the things I love about the soup I make is the fact that I do it all in one pot and then I use my immersion blender. I really like that. I don’t like having to pour cooked soup into a blender then blend it then pour it back into the pot to re-warm it. The soup recipes that I have seen for blender soup either have you doing that or have you cooking some if not the majority of ingredients before putting them in the blender. At this point, for some of my soups I will stick to my one pot and stick blender recipes. Another reason I like to make the soup in a pot is because I believe that cooking some of the ingredients as you go allows you to layer the flavors. Now, I know that phrase from cooking shows and I could be off base with what it means and what I am doing, but that is what I consider myself doing when I sauté onions and then garlic and then add the butternut squash and sauté it. Then add other spices, etc. It layers the flavors. But in a lot of the blender soup recipes you just dump it all in. Well, since I got the dang thing I decided to at least try one of the recipes for soup. I picked a recipe that does not require any other cooking. Just dump all the ingredients in the blender container and press soup. Now with that kind of ease I could maybe live without the layer of flavor if I liked the soup.

I like it ok. I think that if I followed the recipe exactly it would have more flavor, but I also think that if I follow the recipe exactly it would be too hot for me.

The recipe that came with the Blendtec Blender and is on their website is for Tortilla Soup.

Tortilla Soup

2 cups warm water
2 Roma tomatoes
1/2 large carrot
1 1 inch strip of red pepper
1/4 avocado
an onion wedge
1 1 inch X 1/2 inch chunk of pepper jack cheese Monterey jack
2 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon no-salt herb seasoning Italian seasoning
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder

The ingredients go into the blender in the order that they are listed then you press “Soups” on the blender and let it do its thing. It does really go so fast that it actually does get hot! Some people might like their soup piping hot so this MIGHT not be hot enough for them. But this type of soup is perfect at the temperature that the blender makes it.

It was not spicy because I didn’t use the pepper jack. I bet if you like that hot (spicy) cheese the soup is good with it. I will make it one day with the pepper jack because even if it ends up being too spicy hot for me, my hubby will eat it. For now, I am just using the Monterey jack.

The first time I made this it took me 30 minutes because I was going slow. The second time I made it, it was ready to eat in 20 minutes. So my title, So Fast It’s Hot, applies to the blades of the blender AND to the fact that this can be made and in a bowl in 20 minutes. Now that is HOT!

Before I got the blender I had an opinion about blender soup, what about you? What do you think about blender soup?

Posted in "Recipes", Food | Tagged: 20 minute meal, 20 minute soup, blender soup, Blendtec, fast soup, hot soup, immersion blender, Nia, pepper cheese, Tomatoes, Tortilla Soup | 6 Comments »

Going Green

Posted by terrepruitt on September 27, 2012

Yup, I am trying to do the Green Smoothie thing. Awhile back, I posted about not having time to eat breakfast before my Nia Classes. It is not that I don’t get up in time, it is that I don’t like to eat right when I get up. Then I think some time needs to pass after eating before I teach an exercise class. You might remember my post about how I was eating a banana on the way to class and I was ending up with heartburn. So I either have to get up an hour earlier or eat right when I get up. And/or maybe a green smoothie will help. Although I need to work on getting more protein in them then. Also, I am not sure about having that much liquid before class. I have found that the smoothies make about two glasses. Maybe I can drink one before class and save the other for after class. Oh, and, yes, I do do a lot of my thinking out loud on my blog . . . . 🙂 My last post was about my birthday present. So far I have used it five times. I’ve made three different green smoothies.

My second green smoothie consisted of:

1 Cup water
1 apple chopped
1/2 of a large cucumber (cut up)
2 leaves of rainbow chard (cut up)
4 ice moons

I started out with only one half of the apple. But after blending it, I decided that I wanted more flavor so I added another half. It seems that cucumbers are REALLY good at masking flavor, while they do have a distinct flavor it is very mild so it can somewhat cancel out some harsher flavors . . . . maybe . . . I will have to see. That seems to be what I have found so far . . . on my SECOND green smoothie.

I read on one website (I can’t remember which one I have looked at so many) the idea that green smoothies taste better cold. I think that is a valid opinion. I tend to agree.

I am laughing as I look at my pictures though because the amounts and ingredients listed yield two glasses and have you ever seen people make smoothies? And have you ever seen the pictures? The blender container is full to the top. Now I would say that two leaves of rainbow chard and a half of a cucumber is one serving of vegetables if not more, but AT LEAST one. And a whole apple is one serving of fruit. I think that is pretty good. I am not sure I can DRINK more. Plus I do still love to EAT my fruits and veggies. I am just curious as to who actually drinks a full blender container full. But we will see, maybe I will be that person. But for now I will drink my additional serving (or so) of veggies and my additional serving of fruit in my 24 ounces of green smoothie.

Would adding more veggies and less water yield as much? Is that how on shows, cookbooks, and websites the blender container is so full? Less water more vegetables? What do you think? Do you drink green smoothies?

Posted in "Recipes", Food, Smoothies, Vegetables | Tagged: banana smoothie, breakfast, exercise class, going green, green smoothies, heartburn, Nia, Nia class, Nia exercise, rainbow chard | 4 Comments »

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Terre Pruitt's Blog

In the realm of health, wellness, fitness, and the like, or whatever inspires me.

I teach yoga, Nia, and stretch online!

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