So what's Cookin'?

Guacamole with Red Peppers

4 avocadoes, halved & pitted

Grated zest & juice of 1 1/2limes

4 slices red onions, diced

1 jalepenos finely diced

1/2C. minced cilantro leaves

Salt & pepper to taste

Tobasco (optional)

1/2 red pepper, firmly, diced

Scrape avocados into a bowl. Add lime zest & juice mashing with a spoon or fork. Sir in onions, jalepnos,cilantro & a good pinch of salt & pepper to taste. Add tobasco if desire. ford in the red peppers & serve with your favorite chips and wedges of bell peppers.

Serves 8

Per serving 160 calories

11g carbs

2g protein

13g offat

no cholesterol

What you say?

"Tough times do not always last, but Tough People do!"

I am so delighted to find out that I made a big leap in my health plan today as I monitored my progress. There has been a 30 pound weight release. Not a loss as I am not seeking to find it again as well as a few others very happy benefits with it.

I can now get at it by resuming my walking program and being persistent.

One of the things I did and I was amazed at how quickly the relief came, but that was clearing my or I should re-delegating my time not trying to keep up with somethings that was taking a lot of time, a lot of energy and not knowlingly was raising my stress level. They weren't anything bad just a matter of grasping that I was ready to do something a little differently or less of it.

Part of it is getting back to what it is that my heart is telling me to do.

I read something last night that I had put off reading as it seemed to be a really good article, but had for the last 2 weeks put off reading because I was too distracted. So last night I read and regain a pleasure in the reading..

The article was called" Prepare to Thrive"

These were the bullet points:

1.Resolves to leave the Blues Behind: Facing hard times is not as difficult when you have a good attitude.

2.Accept the things you cannot change:You'll only spin your wheels worrying about things you cannot control.

3.Ditch old drama in the new season (I love this one): When negative people stir up trouble,simply choose not to participate.

4. Draw value from things that cost nothing:Enjoy the cmpany of friends,the laughter of children& the wisdom of filled people.

.Banish your Doubts & Embrace your Hopes: that says it all.

A good read...

Your Body's Many Cries for Water: You are not sick;You're" Thirsty by F. Batnanghelidj, MD www.watercure.com

Share a'Weigh©09

Share a'Weigh Movement©09

An excellent idea for keeping the joy going!

The original suggestion is no mine however it was a thoughtful suggestion by someone on another discussion board for motivation and adding a communbiy sharing as we have weigh release.

The original excellent thought was for every pound that is released tha apound of food is donated to a food bank, charity etc. here are all sorts of non-profits that could benefit.

Now the expansion is so ones with modest resources could participate is:

How about time?

Gauge your weigh to have an an hour equal a pound. Perhaps like 16 ounces is a pound so is 16 minutes of community service or 1 pound 1 hour?

Or 1 pound= 30 minutes of active lisening wih no interuptions

20 hug
Or 1 pound send a kind note?

1 hour of no judgement.

1 hour of spending time with someone you would walk right pas (no putting yourself in danger is part of that equation)

16 min of prayerful meditation

1 hour an health clinic tha serivce the poor.

1 hour assisting without judgement a friend who has clutter

1 big girl oufit, jewelry, makeup to a women's shelter.

16 minutes of no complaining.

Please send me all your suggestions so we can compile a list.

"When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares". ~Henri Nouwen

What nature teaches us about silence

Nature gave us one tongue and two ears so we could hear twice as much as we speak.
- Epictetus, philosopher


Too often we speak before we think and do not listen nearly as much as would benefit us. Today, examine situations where you might learn something by listening instead of talking. Some people can be challenging to relate to--a nosy mother-in-law, overbearing boss or co-worker, or simply your child wanting your attention. Instead of justifying your feelings or explaining your point of view, use effective yet concise words and then wait for a reply. Good leaders are always marked by being good listeners. When a friend needs to talk, resist the urge to give advice right away and just listen. We have an obligation to tame our tongues and give people the courtesy of being an attentive and engaged listener. Wouldn't you want the same respect? Everyone deserves to be heard. Give that thoughtfulness to someone this week.

www.sparkspeople.com

I thought this was timely to read this today after the distressing day I had yesterday. Last night as i was still somewhat agitated I was cleaning up my kitchen and while taking out the garbage I turned look up and some the most awesome night sky. It was clear sky brisk air and total silence. The sight was so wondrous I stood there as long as I could stand the cold and look at millions & gazillions of stars and I suspect there were more then the naked eye could fathom.

As I stood there I felt a lot of peace and calm. Thanking the Grand Designer of all this wonder I reluctantly went back inside and noticed my stress level had gone down. Eventually I went to sleep.

I had one of the best nights I had had in 2 weeks and woke up while not feeling completely up to speed, I was however far more in a better place then I was yesterday.

And was empowered to make phone calls filing a complaint about the actions put upon me yesterday nly to find out that it was not even my own doctor who did this but someone who had never met me, let alone exam me that behave irresponsibily. Seperate from the relief of knowing thatt the riginally doctor that I felt I had gain rapport with on my initial visit was not the culprit, but that I was more then the usual right that I was indeed simply stats for the one who did.

There are alternatives and viable things a person can do to be their biggest ally in their own well being, but what to me was significant how much people do not listen, are not avid silent listeners and hearers.

And it could cause someone's health if people don't slow don't be still & listen...

No one will write a definitve edit on me without my permission

Photograph Courtesy of Rainglo CreationsSeaview, Wa All rights reserved©05

Today I got some news that without a doubt sent me to a place of total despair and tested all the wherewithal I could muster. Without elaborating what I want to say to you all is that you have find something some place in you to be able to hold up and hold on when things can threaten to shut you down.

Sometimes there can be a medical professionals that can drop the ball & fail to see you as a whole human being, but as fat person and not anything else and they will treat you as you have no say, or that you are in denial, sprout off all kinds of comments contrary to what you know is true and right.

Do not let people bowl you over. And how you do that is become an informed advocate and ally for your health and well being. Though you may not as I do not have a medical degree, you live in your body. You know what you are. Do the research! Ask the questions, be mindful that the doctor works for you, you are paying in one way or another for their expertise.

If I had not spoken up and continue to protest or had been passive I would have been kept on medicine that was making me sicker and sicker. But more then that was the failure to give me all the information I needed to be an inform patient and an ally to my well being.

After I was able to have it register what was happening then I got mad.. And then I got active. Someone making a pronouncement on you is not written in stone. It also showed me that what I said and what was believed to be true was either not listen to or believe. All I was a bunch of stats, not a person. No alternatives or suggestions was made to assist in my well being, lets just pop her some pills and tell her this is how its going to be.

I say Nay, Nope, Nada, Uh-uh no you won't.

I have had great strides in my well being and will continue to progress. I have nothing to prove to the health care practitioner or anyone. this is my life, MY health and my quality of living that will continue to be shaped by this woman's hands.

Understand I am not in denial and want to work in harmony to be an ally for my own health and if I have to do what's needed I will do it. But you the practioner needs to see me, not stats. Don't make snap judgements & expect for me to go willingly or blindly just because you said so.
Oh yes I can (take my business & my body somewhere else)!

Now how cool is that?

Moon

Track Your Successes, Not Failures

http://www.shrinkyourself.com/

Track your successes, not your failures. Most people that are trying to eat well and adopt a practice of regular exercise are very quick to point out their failings. They often report ending their day with a mental record of the things they shouldn't have eaten and the exercise they could've done but didn't. This doesn't lead to success. In fact, it usually just leads to feeling of failure and defeat. If this doesn't work, what does? While it's important to be aware of your weak spots, it doesn't help you to keep track of them. What is far more beneficial is finding the places where you succeeded and then building on those successes.

For example, it's great to develop an awareness that you're more likely to exercise if you make a date to meet someone at the gym. That's something you can build on. You can then make a standing date to meet a friend to exercise instead of attempting to go alone. It's great to develop an awareness that when you avoid television at night, you also avoid binges. That's something you can build on. You can incorporate more nighttime activities that don't include TV (and subsequently don't include binges).

It's great to develop an awareness that you eat better when the kitchen is clean and you aren't overwhelmed with chores. That's something you can build on. By staying on top of chores and responsibilities you'll find yourself eating less.

What success (small or big) did you have today and how can you build on it tomorrow

Going To the River

"A pessimist is one who makes difficulties of his opportunities and an optimist is one who makes opportunities of his difficulties"~ Harry S. Truman

I was inspired to write this several months ago as I became one of the casualties of the recession and had to wander in the wilderness so to speak for a few months as I cut deep down to be able to survive. During this period of time a fellow New Orleanian,friend artist,colleague and all around wonderful human being, opened up her home for me in North Carolina. A few days before my departure to my new home in Oregon she took me to a private spot that she said always aided her when she need to be quiet and wail if needed or to sort out her thoughts. She taught me a lot about simply living and wholy living. There is little chance I will forget what I learned and to watch her gain a peace beyond measure still resonates with me as I reflect back even now.

For her and all my fellow citizens of the Gulf Coast, this is for you.

Going To the River
By Jacquelyn Hughes Mooney ©08

When I am in a way where words refuse to suffice...

Or the tides cannot soothe my ears with a melodic rhythm

And the gentle rustle of the sycamore tree sounds more like Beethoven's Fifth

Or cleansing raindrops feels more like crashing boulders surrounding my soul.

And the 12th of Never seems ever, ever more then one should bear.

Or the blossom that fell echoed so loud that even Nat's own velvet voice failed to quiet...

Relief seems to far away as the Serengeti is for me to stroll over

And the hope that the Middle Passage was a cruel, cruel joke.
That was not absolutely not funny.

I have to seek a place to replenish myself to go on another day.

So for me...

I am going to the river...
To sit & just be.

All rights reservedJHM 4-27-08©

Yummies to da Tummies

Peach Yoghurt Fizz

1 cup sliced peaches

1 cup vanilla yogurt

1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 cup club soda

Directions

Whirl peaches, yogurt, milk powder, and sugar in a blender until smooth.

Pour into 3 glasses and add club soda to top.

Serves 3

Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 146.8

Total Fat: 2.8 g

Cholesterol: 1.8 mg
Sodium: 55.3 mg
Total Carbs: 22.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 6.4 g

Orange Juice Fizz

Serves: 1

Whether you're suffering from nausea, heartburn, or just in need of a cool and refreshing snack or breakfast idea, this is the perfect nutritious pick-me-up. Leftover shake can be frozen in pop molds or 5 ounce paper cups with popsicle sticks.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons lime juice 1/4 cup orange juice1 teaspoon sugar1/4 cup club soda

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients and serve over ice.

NUTRITION INFO

Calories: 52

Fat: 0.2 g

Carbohydrates: 51.6 g

Protein: 0.6 g

Serves 3

Nutritional Info

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 146.8
Total Fat: 2.8 g
Cholesterol: 1.8 mg
Sodium: 55.3 mg
Total Carbs: 22.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 6.4 g

Linda's Kitchen, Moon's chimes, Del's flannel,& maybe a bit of that fudge too

While we are all striving to be the best human being we can and finding weighs to grow in health and well being may we always be mindful of the need for comfort, serenity, compassion & fidelity.

We will not always be up to par or on target as much as we like and that is human. The humanely thing to do is to find a moment to give peace a chance.

I have a propensity toward stress due to many external factors. It is what fueled my weight gain, my blood pressure, sleepless nights, and a malaise that sometimes is wearing and tiresome.

It was difficult at times to find a place in myself to give that peace a chance. 'Something a dear friend commented on about giving a friend, not herself, but her friend who had suffered a loss the desire for something from the view outside of Linda's window, the soft comfort & security of Del's flannel jammies, the soothings melodic sounds of my chimes and some juicy, delicious and healthy fudge so her friend could is going through this trial have an opportunity to give peace a chance.

Let up buy out time in many ways to secure a peace beyond all measure. Never underestimate the power of prayer and the healthiest trust, that our prayers will be heard and answered.

all we are saying... is give peace a chance...

We can work it out...

If you are interested in calculating how many calories you expend in a day go check out this site referred to be by www.onebodyonelifetime.com and Sandra (Thanks girl)

It can calculate how many calories you expend in activity a day including sleeping, sedentary light/ med/ heavy activities. www.nat.uiuc.edu As an example I expended 3398.3 today with light activity.

And this one that can tell you the caloric, fat etc for every kind of food you can imagine including a lot of fast food.
www.caloriecount.com
Today I consumed 1420 calories. My aim to be below 1963 calories per day in order to release 75 pounds by the end of the year at about 1.5 pounds per week.
And www.calorieking.com

D'lighted...

I had my physical yesterday and I am delighted to have said I've lost 10 pounds. I am not prone to step on a scale so I couldn't have told you where I was in the weight release program.

Today I am preparing Garlic Spiked Broccoli with Mushrooms & Rosemary for dinner. I haven't decided yet what I Will have with it but I think it will be a slice of oven roasted ham and sliced tomatoes. I spiced up some advertised "off the vine" tomatoes that smell absolutely wonderful the way tomatoes are suppose to.

Lunch is crab salad with a few pieces of crackers. I bought the crab salad at the deli yesterday which was really plan so off to add some seasoning to jazz it up.

PM I had the broccoli and it was delicious.

Roasted Salmon with Shallot & Grapefruit Sauce

serves 4

4 skinless salmon fillets, 5 to 6 ounces each
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
2 ruby red grapefruits
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon minced shallot
1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons honey
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons thinly sliced basil leaves


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Season the salmon with 1/4 teaspoon salt, place in a baking dish and roast until cooked through, about 18 minutes.

While the salmon is cooking prepare the sauce. Cut 1 of the grapefruits into sections by cutting off the top and bottom of the fruit, then standing it on 1 end, cut down the skin to remove the pith and peel. Then, with a paring knife, remove each segment of fruit from its casing and cut the segments in half. Set the segment pieces aside. Juice the other grapefruit and set the juice aside.

In a medium skillet, heat the oil over a medium heat. Add the shallot and saute until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the ginger, grapefruit juice, honey, and cayenne pepper and bring to simmer. Cook until sauce is reduced by about half about, 10 minutes. Add lemon juice and season with salt, to taste. Right before serving, toss the grapefruit pieces and basil into the sauce. Put the salmon onto a serving dish. Spoon sauce over the salmon and serve.

Cals 345
Fat 18
Carbs 16
Fiber 1
Protein 20

She served this over wilted spinach.

Creamed Spinach with Bleu Cheese and Pecans

serves 4

16 ounces Spinach, Frozen, Chopped - squeezed dry
2 ounces Bleu Cheese, crumbled or Provolone would be a real good choice. It needs a strong flavored cheese to bring out the sweetness of the spinach and pecans.

( even feta cheese?)
1/4 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
1 large egg
2 Tbsp Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 Tbsp Pecans, chopped

Beat egg and add milk and heavy cream. You can season to your tastes with salt and pepper and a little onion and garlic powder.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix the spinach, bleu cheese and egg/milk mixture. Stir to combine.

Spray a small casserole pan or 2 medium-sized ramekins with non-stick cooking spray. Spread the spinach mixture evenly. Top with Parmesan and Pecans.


Bake 350° for 25 - 30 mins


Cals 193
Fat 12
Carbs 7
Fiber 2
Protein 10

Bleu Cheese and Spinach make perfect partners in this dish and I LOVE the crunch of the Pecans and the saltiness of the Parmesan. I have served this as a side dish to Salmon, Chicken and Shrimp.

I've also eaten 2 portions as a light lunch with a side salad and a handful of wheat thin crackers.

Watermelon and Heirloom Tomato Salad

Serves 2 as an entree-size salad

• 2 green zebra heirloom tomatoes - washed and cut into wedges
• 1 large mortgage lifter tomato or other red heirloom tomato - washed and cut into wedges
• 1 pint small fry, red currant or other small red tomatoes - rinsed and caps removed if desires
• 1 small watermelon - seeds removed and cut into small wedges or slices - about 8 slices per plate
• 1 8 oz. tub of Sweetgrass Dairy fresh chevre
• 1 small bunch fresh basil - washed and dried and smaller leaves picked and kept whole
• good quality extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper, to taste
• good quality balsamic vinegar – optional

Arrange watermelon slices on plate as desired to form the base of your salad. Scatter heirloom tomato slices over the watermelon and place smaller tomatoes whole across the plate. Sprinkle basil leaves over the entire plate and add dabs of goat cheese, to taste. Drizzle the plate with a thin stream of extra virgin olive oil and season with salt and pepper. If you want to take this more into the realm of a Caprese salad, you can add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar to the salad. Serve immediately.

Pass the Cornbread

www.sparkspeople.com

Good-for-You Cornbread

Serves: 10

Recipe courtesy of the NLHB (www.nhlbi.nih.gov), part of the National Institutes of Health and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup 1% fat buttermilk
1 whole egg
1/4 cup tub margarine

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix together cornmeal, flour, sugar, and baking powder.
3. In another bowl, combine buttermilk and egg. Beat lightly.
4. Slowly add buttermilk and egg mixture to dry ingredients.
5. Add margarine and mix by hand or mixer for 1 minute.
6. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes in an 8-by 8-inch, greased baking dish. Cool, cut into 10 squares.

NUTRITION INFO
Calories: 179
Fat: 6.8 g
Carbohydrates: 26.2 g
Protein: 3.8 g

Garlic Spiked Brocolli & Mushrooms with Rosemary

www.sparkspeople.com
2-3 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups sliced button or cremini mushrooms

4 cups chopped broccoli

1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (or 1 tsp. dried)

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste



Directions

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add mushrooms and saute 3 minutes, until mushrooms release juice. Add broccoli and rosemary and cook 3 to 5 minutes or until broccoli is crisp-tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Makes 4 servings.


Amount Per Serving

Calories: 56.1
Total Fat: 2.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 25.7 mg
Total Carbs: 6.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.2 g
Protein: 3.9 g

'Maters

Tomatoes: Secret Weapon Ingredients

http://www.sparkspeople.com/

Ahem...allow us to introduce to you one of many Secret Weapon Ingredients. And what, you might ask, are Secret Weapon Ingredients? They are versatile foods that are perfect for mixing into many recipes and dishes and provide a nutritional punch to any meal. They are easy and convenient, and their health benefits are numerous. Do you have trouble making your kids eat healthy foods? Sneak these into their meals and their bodies will be grateful.

Tomatoes

This amazing fruit, which we commonly call a vegetable, is easy to add to meals. No matter its classification, the fact of the matter is that tomatoes are proven to reduce the risk of certain cancers, especially those in the digestive tract, by absorbing free radicals. They provide great antioxidant protection for your body. As a bonus, they are probably one of the easiest Secret Weapon Ingredients to include in your cooking. Add to omelets, top salads, or toss into spaghetti sauce. Want more? Make your own homemade salsa, mixing chopped tomatoes, onions and chili peppers.

A 3-fer day

She clearly said she was overwhelmed. Though not the extraordinary things Sister O has to deal with every day, that is an issue for me of being overwhelmed at times.

My liability though now it is more self inflicted then because of circumstances has been getting really lazy about exercising.


I was one who used to love working out. I taught aerobics, weight trained & dance professionally at one time.

So what I am doing is changing my mindset, not of exercise but doing the same thing I think many do, dwell on what we USED to do whether where we are today.

I am s proud that I have readjusted not only what I eat but also when I went grocery shopping yesterday I bypass something I called my treats.

One is soda. If its in the house I will drink it all in a day or two so this time it did not make my cart. I bought unfiltered apple juice instead.

And happily everything that was on my list was on sale and with the savings I treated myself to a beautiful lamp I had been drooling over. The good part was the lamp had been marked down 50% then there was an additional 40% off the clearance price!!

So all in all I had a physically healthy day not only in the food I purchased, but I walked around the store for almost 2 hours AND came home with a non-edible treat! And a few extra dollars to boot!

How cool is that!

Moon

10 Ways Why

10 Reasons to MOVE by Delia Cabe

Prevention Magazine Feb 2009 P. 87 "

1. Improve Language Skills A single treadmill session can make you brainier. Exercisers who ran just two-a-minute sprints, with a 2-minute break in between, learned new words 20% faster than those who rested, in a University of Muenster in Germany study. Getting your heart pumping increases blood flow, delivering more oxygen to your noggin. It also spurs new growth in the areas of the brain that control multitasking, planning and memory. DO THIS~ Add a bout of exercise, like running up and down the stairs, before trying to memorize anything - say, Spanish phrases for your trip to Mexico."

"2.Get All-Natural Pain Relief

It may seem counterintuitive, but rest isn't necessarily best for reducing pain and stiffness in the knees, shoulders, back or neck. Healthy adults who did aerobic activity consistently had 25% less musculoskeletal pain than their couch-bound peers, says Stanford senior research scientist Bonnie Bruce. DrPH, MPH,RD. Exercise releases endorphins, the body's natural pain reliever, and may make you less vulnerable to tiny tears in muscles and tendons. Staying active can also provide relief for chronic conditions such as arthritis: In a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill study, arthritis sufferers experienced 25% less pain and 16% less stiffness after 6 months of low-impact exercise like balance and strengthening moves. Most people start to feel improvement within a few weeks, says study author Leigh Callahan, PhD, an associate professor of medicine at UNC. DO THIS~ Practice yoga or tai chi twice a week, both increase flexibiilty and range of motion and reduce pain."

Roasted Red Pepper Dip

Ingredients

2 medium red sweet peppers
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon fresh thyme (or 1/4 teaspoon crushed and dried thyme)
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash of red pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, chopped

Directions

1. Roast the peppers:Cut peppers into quarters and remove stem, seeds, and membranes. Line a baking sheet with foil. Place peppers down on foil, skin side up and press each segment to lie flat on sheet.

Bake in an oven at 425 F for 20 minutes or until skin is blackened and blistered.
Remove peppers from oven and place in a paper bag.
Close bag and let cool for 10 minutes. Peel and discard skins.

2. Place peppers in a food processor, cover and blend until finely chopped.

3. Add tomato paste, sugar, thyme, salt, red pepper flakes and garlic. Cover and blend until smooth. Options: For a different colored dip, try orange or yellow sweet peppers.

Makes 3/4 cups and serves 12.

Nutritional Info

Amount Per Serving

Calories: 16.4
Total Fat: 0.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 68.2 mg
Total Carbs: 3.9 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.7 g
Protein: 0.5 g

Garlic Pita Chips

Serves: 4

Serving Size: 8 chips
Take pita bread to a crunchy new level.

INGREDIENTS:
2 pita breads4 teaspoons olive oil1 garlic clove, crushed

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 350º F.

2. Using a small knife or kitchen scissors, cut along circumference of each pita bread to remove folded edge.

3. Combine oil and garlic in a bowl.

4. Brush each pita round with the oil and garlic mixture.

5. Stack the rounds and then cut into 8 wedges.

6. Arrange wedges in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes until chips are golden brown.

NUTRITION INFO

Calories: 126
Fat: 5.3 g
Carbohydrates:17.8 g
Protein: 3.2 g
www.sparkspeople.com

Saucy Black-Eyed Peas with Coconut Milk

I am probably one of the few people that actually liked black eye peas as a child. Though I prefer them fresh not dried with okra. But it is difficult for me to have found them fresh.

I do not eat black eye peas on New Years Day as I have no affinity to "luck". But the dish is delicious

Serves 4 to 6

Adapted from "The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa," by Marcus Samuelsson (Wiley, 2006)

1 cup black-eyed peas, picked over, soaked in cold water for 8 hours and drained

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 medium red onion, sliced

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 habanero chile, seeds and ribs removed, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 cup chicken or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon salt

2 cilantro sprigs, chopped

1 scallion, trimmed and sliced

Instructions:

Combine the peas with 4 cups of water in a large saucepan and simmer, uncovered for 45 minutes, or until tender. Add water as needed. Drain and set aside.Melt butter in a deep pot over medium heat. Add onion, tomatoes and chile, and saute until the onion is translucent, about 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chili powder and coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Stir in the turmeric and stock and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered until sauce thickens, about 15 minutes.Add the peas and salt and simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.Stir in the cilantro and scallion, and serve.

Per serving: 120 calories

2 g protein

11 g carbohydrate

8 g fat (5 g saturated)

21 mg cholesterol

372 mg sodium

3 g fiber.

The Historical Background on Black Eye Peas.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?

Wanda J. Ravernell, Special to The Chronicle

When I was young, dinnertime on New Year's Day was a showdown, a staring contest between me and the black-eyed peas looking back at me from my plate.

"Eat them for luck," my mother would say.

Why couldn't it be that the ham was luck? Or the greens?

The Southern custom of serving black-eyed peas, collard greens, and ham or some part of the hog on New Year's Eve or New Year's Day reaches back to West African traditions. During slavery, it became an African American tradition and the custom continued after emancipation - when New Year's Day was also called Emancipation Day.

My mother says she was a Johnny-come-lately to the ritual. A seamstress in a factory in downtown Philadelphia, she picked it up from overhearing her co-workers discuss their recipes and methods. What she paid most attention to, she said, was the meaning of the meal.

"They said they cooked and ate black-eyed peas for luck for the year," she says. "And I needed all the luck I could get."

Perhaps I came to it late myself because I have such a visceral memory of being 11 years old sitting at the table, letting my luck grow cold. There was nothing appetizing about them. As their name implied, they looked like a pile of cooked eyes. I pretended to eat some, but they really went on the floor under my seat.

Within a few years I was off to college and into a life of my own, not getting within sight of a black-eyed pea for decades.

I had no idea that my New Year's Day dinnertime trauma might have been worse. Some people cook black-eyed peas and rice together, a dish called hoppin' John. Had I been born a generation earlier or even just south of the Mason-Dixon Line, I would have been eating meat much lower on the hog: pig's feet and ham hocks, neck bones and hog maws - or something that combined them into a loaf called souse or hog's head cheese.

"You ate (that) or you didn't eat at all" on New Year's Day, says semi-retired vocalist Autris Paige, who was born and raised in Oakland to Southern parents.

The hog's head cheese was prepared in an almost reverential way. "The people from the church came over. And they gathered around it and prayed," he says.

The ritual symbolism of the meal for African Americans is linked to the New Year's Eve church service called Watch Night, a tradition originated by Methodists, where people gathered to pray for the coming year. For African Americans, free and slave alike, New Year's Day was when laws that had been passed in the previous year that might especially impact them went into effect.

They worried when the Fugitive Slave Act went into effect on Jan. 1, 1850, rejoiced on Jan. 1, 1863, when slavery ended. Until emancipation, they would vicariously celebrate the end of slavery with Haiti's independence in 1804 and Jamaica in 1839.

Thus, Jan. 1 came to be seen not just as New Year's Day, but Emancipation Day, with attendant parades and festivities, "a black people's Fourth of July," according to slave-turned-abolitionist Frederick Douglass.

Tradition lives on

Many of those celebrations began to die out in the first 20 years of the 20th century, especially in the northern and western United States, but the custom of the meal survived.
"Historically, we celebrate because we were freed on that day," says Lawrence VanHook, adjunct professor of ethnic studies at Laney College in Oakland. "And we celebrate with our traditional eating habits," he says of the black-eyed peas, greens and pork meal. "We eat that as a symbol of where God has brought us from."

Unfortunately, VanHook says, "We have kept the celebration, but not the message."

The association with freedom notwithstanding, black-eyed peas and hog meat have been associated with luck, health and prosperity among various cultures for hundreds of years.
The Yoruba people of West Africa make ground black-eyed peas into fritters fit for the traditional goddess of the wind, Oya. Called acara, it is a filling snack sold by street vendors in Nigeria.

In the anthology "African Roots/American Cultures" (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001), editor Sheila S. Walker notes that ritual meals of beans, rice and "non-noble" pork served on New Year's Day were common throughout the African diaspora. Black-eyed peas, also known as cowpeas, were also favorites of the West African Wolof and Senegambian groups, the likely ancestors of captives who came to the United States as slaves.

Essential meal
However this humble meal came to be, adherents feel strongly about it.

"It's what you do. You don't even think about it," says Bay Area TV personality Belva Davis, who serves gumbo with the standard fare. It is so ingrained that when she was vacationing in the Bahamas with her husband, William Moore, on New Year's Day about 10 years ago with no prospects for the de rigueur black-eyed peas and greens, they were perturbed.

But Moore got a whiff of a familiar scent and wandered to the resort's next floor to find its source. "There were two young women from Chicago and they had greens and black-eyed peas and were cooking them on a hot plate," Moore recalls. The four wound up spending the day together and even made hot water cornbread in a skillet.

Carolyn Patton, a homegrown San Franciscan whose family is from Louisiana, says she's noted a variation on the custom in Northern California.

"You go places and people give you little bundles of (dry) black-eyed peas instead of eating them," she says, adding that some people are so attached it became "a scary thing" not to have them on New Year's Day.

Ajuan Mence, a Mills College English professor from Long Island, N.Y., says that when she was in college there were two groups of people - those whose parents still ate those lucky foods and those, like her parents, who had begun to distance themselves from them.

Her Southern parents didn't really understand the significance of what they gave up, she says.
"They grew up with it," she says of the lucky food custom. "It's not as important to them. My generation is trying to recover it. You have to stop seeing it as just what you do every day, but as what constitutes culture."

This year, I'll have something else to celebrate. I don't know what President-elect Barack Obama and his family will be eating on New Year's Day, or on Jan. 20, when he is sworn in. But, I'll be eating black-eyed peas for my ancestors, with gratitude, and this time, also with joy.

Pear Walnut Salad

Photograph of Red Pears: Mary Ann Eden


6 servings of assorted greens


2 med red pears, thinly sliced


3t honey


2t lemon juice


1/2c chopped walnuts


crumbled blue cheese(optional)

In a 2 qt bowltoss together assorted greens & pear slices.

For dressing combine honey & lemon juice.

Sprinkle with walnuts & blue cheese.

Serve immediately.

Makes 6 servings
Courtesyof Market of Choice~ Eugene,Oregon

"In"Vision~Slow and Steady the Course

Goal: To tolerate fools more gladly, provided this does not encourage them to take up more of my time.” James Agate

Envision (verb): To conceive or see something within one's mind.. To imagine

Vision (noun) : The sense or ability of sight. Something imaginary one thinks one see. A person or thing of extraordinary beauty.

This is a followup thought to my other post on imagination. I had a wonderful comment from another wise sage about how we can if we dare look inside ourselves to conceive and then bring into reality our wants and our needs will undoubtedly will mean work

Look at invision (envision) . It's a verb meaning a action is or about to take place.

To have a vision is an ability, or a sense, but it is a noun... stationary. Both are to do with imagination, but one connotes an action to bring about what one has imagined.

So when we see in our mind's eye our need for health and well being is it a passing fancy, a desire that we may not really want to bring into action? Its possible but that too can be ok. It may not be something that we will walk across fiery coals for or jump in a pool (like I would not do). For the record I have jumped into a pool twice in my life though I cannot swim and that was to pull 2 unsupervised children out. But that's the point. If you do not have passion something or ecognize truly in our heart a significant danger, that we cannot imagine not doing.

Then we need to let it along and not beat ourselves up any longer for it.

But if it is then we have to create a vision plan, a course no matter how modest it may seem to bring it about.

But if we cannot invision ourselves at that smaller size, or ,re active or gaining real physical strength, starting a new career, a new life we will be as much have died without having died. The Bible says "without vision the people will perish".

Truly we need to look inside and be honest really honest with ourselves as to what we want to do. And the invision does not have to be grandiose. We do no have to lose 100 pounds in 3 months . It could be 10 pounds in a year. We could walk a 1/2 mile a week if we wanna.

Of course you know this is the time of the year where people join gyms, trainers jogging etc in record numbers then by the end of the month it has dwindle radically. Our the desperate cry I cannot do this any longer rings out.

People will still look for an external vision or someone to push them along rather then having that invision. Some will not allow themselves to imagine or to envision themselves other then what is already there. If you perceive yourself as a lost cause, you will be a lost cause, because that is your invision & behave accordingly. But if you see yourself healthier, happier & joyous you will seek out to surround yourself with the things, the people the activity that will bring that course of action.

The beauty is you can always change your perception.

The 1st step is to invision.

The rest you will care for in time.

Your health and well being may just sneak up on you before you know it!
How very cool is that?
Moon

Sweet Potatoe Custard

www.sparkspeople.com
Ingredients

1 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 2 small)
1 cup evaporated skim milk
2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 beaten egg yolks (or 1/3 cup egg substitute)
1/2 teaspoon salt
as needed nonstick cooking spray
1/4 cup raisins
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon



Directions

In a medium bowl, stir together sweet potato and banana. 2. Add milk, blending well. 3. Add brown sugar, egg yolks, and salt, mixing thoroughly. 4. Spray a 1-quart casserole with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer sweet potato mixture to casserole dish. 5. Combine raisins, sugar, and cinnamon; sprinkle over top of sweet potato mixture. 6. Bake in a preheated 325� F oven for 40-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

Yield: 6 servings

Serving Size: 1/2 cup

Nutritional Info
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 150.2
Total Fat: 5.3 g
Cholesterol: 50.3 mg
Sodium: 138.1 mg
Total Carbs: 21.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.1 g
Protein: 4.4 g