My opinion is that the problem is not that the peach came from Chile, but that they picked it too soon.
Wow, I hope your power doesn't go out. The worst thing that happens to us is that the power goes out when our water tank is almost empty. That means we run out of water, which is way more inconvenient than not having lights. We keep talking about getting a generator, but haven't done it yet.
All of a sudden, I really notice the price of groceries has increased. I spent around $100 this week and it was mostly produce. I got some chicken and some canned beans, too. I am going to make that Good Houskeeping diet soup and it requires cauliflower. I didn't even look at the price until later. It was over $3 for a medium-small head. Seems like a lot. In fact, all those winter veggies seem expensive. The Butternut squash comes from some gourmet outfit and is small.
Anyway, on my days off this week, I am going to be making soups/stews for my freezer. I manage to munch my way through lots of that stuff. Oh, and I am going to try to make broccoli soup using the pureed stems. We'll see how that comes out.
I wouldn't mind a trip to Chile. I've been there. The Chilean country side is a great deal like California. Even some of the weeds along the side of the road are the same. So, I'm not surprised to see grapes and peaches from Chile.
This morning I made Broccoli soup, curried carrot soup and the Good Houskeeping Diet soup. That should keep me eating for a while. I think I will make black bean chili tomorrow. I am not sure if the broccoli soup is good or not because I still can't taste anything. I feel so virtuous, getting all that done.
Gail- were the broccoli or carrot soup cream-style at all? When I run into that in a recipe lately, I substitute some non-fat evaporated milk, but I was wondering if there's a better solution? The one broccoli soup I tried used pureed potatoes as the cream factor, but it didn't seem to work too well. Maybe my expectations were too high?
All recipes from Everyday Food from the Kitchens of Martha Stewart Living.
I found the same recipe, twice, using oatmeal as a thickener. Both the carrot and the broccoli soup seem like purees rather than "cream" soups, but they are very tasty.
Creamy Broccoli Soup
1 T olive oil
1 medium onion, halved and sliced
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/3 c rolled oats
1 1/2 lbs broccoli, florets separated, stems peeled and cut into 1/2 inch rounds
Salt and Pepper
1. Soften onion in oil, 5 min. Add nutmeg; cook until fragrant, 30 sec.
2. Stir in ckn broth, 1 1/2 c water, the oats and broccoli. Season w/s and p. Bring to a boil; reduce the heat. Simmer until the broccoli is tender, 5 - 10 min
3. Puree soup in batches in blender or use immerson blender. return to pot, correct seasoning, serve immediatedly.
When I did this recipe, I cooked the stems longer than the florets, and I saved out a few florets from the puree process and added them back when I was done. I wanted a few whole ones.
I probably would never mess with any of these soup recipes if I didn't have an immersion blender. They are inexpensive, and make fast work of pureeing in the pan.
Curried Carrot Soup
2 T butter
1C choppped onion
1 tsp curry powder
salt and Pepper
2 cans red. sodium ckn broth (14.5 oz each)
2 lbs carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
1-2 T fresh lemon juice
2 T coarsley chopped frish cilantro for garnish (optional)
Sweat the onions, add the curry powder, salt and pepper - about 5 mins
Add the broth, carrots, and 3 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat; cover and simmer until carrots are tender - 20 mins
Puree the soup, add more water to thin, if desired. Reheat, stir in lemon ju. Garnish with cilantro.
I cut both of the following recipes down to one serving which sometimes messes up the recipe, but these were "yummo". For both I measured out 2 oz of dry pasta. The goat cheese was 1 oz of the Trader Joe's "lite" stuff. Where the recipe calls for butter, I used one tsp of really nice boutique olive oil. For the salmon, I wrapped a salmon steak up in a foil packet with lemon slices, s & p. I put it on the grill. Halfway through cooking I added the frozen peas to the packet. The lemony-salmony-grilly peas were really good. The reason for the reducing to one serving and grilling the salmon is that my DH wouldn't dream of eating any of this stuff, can't stand the smell of fish cooking etc. etc. He's a good guy with terrible eating preferences.
FARFALLE WITH SALMON, MINT AND PEAS
1 pound farfalle (bow tie pasta)
1 1/2 pounds skinless salmon fillet
Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
2 lemons, zested and juiced
1 (10-ounce) package frozen peas
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, plus more for serving
In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the farfalle until al dente according to the package directions. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water; return the pasta to the pot.
Meanwhile, season the salmon with coarse salt and ground pepper; place in a large skillet. Add 1/4 cup water and the lemon zest and juice. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover; steam for 10 minutes.
Add the frozen peas; steam, covered, until the peas are tender and the salmon is opaque, 6 to 8 minutes.
Transfer to the pot with the pasta. Add the butter and mint. Season with salt and pepper. Toss, gently flaking the fish and adding reserved pasta water as desired. Serve immediately, sprinkled with more mint.
Makes 6 servings
Goat Cheese with Rigatone
Ingredients
Serves 4 to 6.
1 pound rigatoni
Salt and pepper
1 1/2 cups crumbled goat cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
TOPPING VARIATIONS
1/4 cup slivered sun-dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, chopped or torn herbs, or pitted, sliced black olives(I used the black olives and fresh parsley for topping)
Directions
Cook rigatoni in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, according to package directions; drain, reserving 1/2 cup cooking water.
Return pasta to pot, and toss with goat cheese and Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper, and add some of the reserved pasta water as desired. Sprinkle with preferred topping, and serve.
Thanks for the recipes. Maybe I should look into that Martha Stewart cookbook, too. I watch her on TV, but she's so bossy that it kind of turns me off. I can't stand it when she tells famous chefs how to do their own recipes. But that's just a personal thing- lots of times I get good ideas from her recipes.
I would have never thought of using oatmeal as a thickener- I'm going to try that one first!
I just got new glasses with bifocals. They suggested the progressive lenses, so I took those, but they're driving me crazy. My folks prefer the plain ones, with the line. For those of you old enough to know what I'm talking about, what's your preference? I'm wondering if I should have them redo them as the lined bifocals. The only time you can see clearly with the pregressives is when you look straight ahead or straight down to read. Everything off to the side is blurry, and makes me kind of dizzy.
Nothing too exciting around here . . . We are having a very warm (well 60'ish) day of pouring rain and fogggggggg. At least it doesn't require shovelling.
Stick with the progressive lenses LIZ that's what I have. Any bifocals take a while to get used to and I don't think the lined kind are any easier, although they are usually considerably less expensive. In a few weeks, you'll probably feel fine about them. Only lasting problem is getting used to tilting your head to read signs and labels on things in stores because you need to look at them through the bottom part of your glasses. . Dead give-away that the person is wearing bifocals even if they have no visible lines.
See you later . . . which reminds me, GAIL, I'm definitly going to try that carrot soup recipe . . . thanks.
I have the lined tri-focals. I just love them. My eye doctor commented that I must have been really "ready" for them. When I started with the first bifocals, it took me about ten minutes to get used to them. The tri-focals took even less.
I think Linda is correct. You will get used to them. I thought the blended or progressive bifocals were pretty much just for vanity - I don't think you can see any better with them. Linda is also right about the tipping your head back thing - I do that even when I don't have my glasses on.
I liked the idea of using oatmeal as a thickener for the soup because oatmeal is one of those things we are supposed to eat, and here's a little additional hit of it. For some reason the idea of using potato as a thickener doesn't appeal to me. Potato starch might be ok. I was going to try a little flour, but then I saw the oatmeal recipes.
I had a good dinner tonight. Pan Seared Scallops (again)with Citrus Tarragon Sauce. Also, Fennel, orange and parsley salad. Steamed zuchinni with snipped fresh dill and a few oven-baked "french fries". Topped it off with a square of chocolate.
I did well with my eating today. Now if I can just quit for the day.....
Hi everyone. I'm a dog lover - just had to get that out there right away.
I am new to the Volumetrics plan but not to the concept. I'm pretty confused right now. I can't figure out if I am supposed to count calories or count ED. Is there a total ED number for the day or do you go by total caloric intake based on the worksheet in the book?
I'm not big on journaling because I find it tedious and frustrating. It has always been really hard for me to lose weight. I sort of gave up for the past few years because I gained a lot while pregnant and it just stayed with me. I was on antidepressants for ppd and weaned recently. I think being on the drugs made it even harder to lose weight. I'm hoping now that they are out of my system and I'm making better choices, I'll see a result. I've been exercising and watching what I eat for 6 weeks and lost 2.5 pounds. It wasn't quite the loss I was looking for but I've made so many positive changes that I consider it all progress.
I am so happy to have found this thread. I certainly need the support!
Wow . . . I hate time changes . . . all I wanted to do yesterday was sleep; although I did play with my new Wii enough to make my right wrist sore. I really need to practice because so far I've got a Wii fitness age of 76.
Luckily, we did not get hit too badly by our latest storm yesterday and today . . . cold and . . . certainly hope this weather pattern continues for a while.
to the group PPTURNER . . . and also . . . so glad to have you with us. The beauty of Volumetrics is you really don't have to count everything or anything, for that matter if you just keep all most everything you eat in the ED range of 1.5/1.7 or lower, you can't go too far wrong. Now, having said that, I guess I'd better 'fess-up' to the fact that I actually count everything -- calories, carbs, fat, and protein grams -- but that is because I'm diabetic and must keep solid control over my eating so as to space things (especially carbs) evenly across the day. You are doing well so far and please remember that the principles of Volumetrics are meant to be a lifestyle change rather than just an aid to weight loss.
Always remember, everybody, that it was the tortoise that finally won that famous race.
I was hoping for an opinion from those of you who have read both books on Volumetrics. I have the second book out from the library right now. I was planning on reading it to see if I want to buy it but I think I've gleaned all I can from it already. I can't locate the first book. Is it worth buying or does the second book sum it up again. Thanks!
New here...
. . . certainly hope this weather pattern continues for a while. 
to the group PPTURNER . . . and 
also . . . so glad to have you with us. The beauty of Volumetrics is you really don't have to count everything or anything, for that matter if you just keep all most everything you eat in the ED range of 1.5/1.7 or lower, you can't go too far wrong. Now, having said that, I guess I'd better 'fess-up' to the fact that I actually count everything -- calories, carbs, fat, and protein grams -- but that is because I'm diabetic and must keep solid control over my eating so as to space things (especially carbs) evenly across the day. You are doing well so far and please remember that the principles of Volumetrics are meant to be a lifestyle change rather than just an aid to weight loss. 
Which book?
