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Spinach, Mushrooms and Onion

OOPS

The past week has been one of those terrible horrible no-good weeks that hit the checking account hard. I won’t list all of the things that stopped working but one thing hurt the most.

The side by side refrigerator/freezer died. I think this appliance was over 30 years old. it functioned as our second unit, a place to keep drinks cold and to stock up on frozen foods to prepare for the future food shortages and higher costs. Buying mass quantities of frozen vegetables as a hedging strategy against higher prices works well until your freezer dies.

I managed to STUFF a large number of frozen bags into our primary freezer. But I have to cook and eat a large number of these frozen bags of goodness to make room. So I started with a bag of spinach.

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 large sweet onions sliced thin
  • 8 oz white button mushrooms sliced thick
  • 2-3 garlic cloves minced
  • 12 oz frozen cut leaf spinach
  • salt and black pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  1. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick frying pan over medium high heat.
  2. Add mushrooms and saute for five minutes. When browned…
  3. Add onions. Reduce heat to medium. Saute for five minutes. When browned…
  4. Add garlic. Saute for one minute.
  5. Add frozen spinach (no need to defrost). Saute for 15-20 minutes. You want the spinach to be drier but not too dry.
  6. Add butter, salt and pepper to taste.
  7. You are done. Now decide what you’re going to do with this stuff.

What to do?

  • Quesadillas
  • Omelette
  • side dish
  • mix with ricotta and Parmesan cheeses for stuffed shells
  • or lasagna
  • melt some cheddar for a quick sandwich/tortilla filling
  • toss with pasta for a quick meal
  • open a can of white beans, drain/rinse and mix with broth for a quick soup

Welcome to my world.

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Higher protein intake leads to healthier eating (maybe)

Eating a larger proportion of protein while dieting leads to better food choices and helps avoid the loss of lean body mass, according to a new study.

Rutgers University. “Higher protein intake while dieting leads to healthier eating.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627141426.htm (accessed June 28, 2022).

Small study (n=200) and diet was self-selected. The relationship between higher protein intake and overall diet quality may be a spurious finding.
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Reasons For Weight Regain

The primary reason for weight regain is biology. The brain defends against weight loss because of an old biological play book. If our ancestors lost weight, it was not to look good for a wedding or because of bathing suit season. Back then, weight loss was either because of illness or an interrupted food supply. Simply put, defending against weight loss was defending against death.

Guest Post: Reasons For Weight Regain – https://www.drsharma.ca/guest-post-reasons-for-weight-regain

This blog post is filed under “Things I Wish I Knew 50 Years Ago”.

If you struggle with weight loss followed by weight gain this article could save you from years of riding the roller coaster.

I just got back from a trip to Colorado, Craft Beer Capital of the World.

Here’s what happened. Nothing!

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KISS (keep it simple stupid)

The best advice is the simplest: ignore diets and supplements and, instead, just aim to cut out junk like processed and fried foods.

We’ve Reached Peak Wellness. Most of It Is Nonsense. – https://www.outsideonline.com/health/wellness/wellness-industry-lies-what-really-works/

Common sense advice. I recommend reading the entire article.

Key Points

  • Move your body, don’t eat crap
  • Don’t diet
  • Relationships matter (in person, not online social media crap)
  • Passion takes time to develop
  • Cultivate purpose
  • Find your environment

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Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Honey-Lime Cabbage Slaw

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away I used to make Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw – Bon Appétit. Tonight was a good night to have black bean tacos so I pulled up my original post from nearly eight years ago Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw – (NOT) Bon Appétit

No surprises this time.  I make these tacos differently now. Time for another revision.

The Beans

  • 1 15-ounce can organic low sodium black beans, drained, rinsed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin (maybe more)
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium sweet onion, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 medium size lime juiced
  • 1 large clove garlic minced
  • pinch oregano, dash celery salt (trust me on this one)

The Slaw

  • 1 14 ounce bag cabbage slaw mix
  • 1 tsp dried cilantro
  • onion and garlic powders, a dash apiece
  • salt and pepper
  • juice of 1.5 limes
  • 2-3 T extra virgin olive oil
  • 2-3 T honey

Taco Things

  • 4 white or yellow corn tortilla shells, crispy
  • 1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese (cheddar is OK too)
  • Your favorite hot sauce or salsa
  1.  Drain and rinse the black beans, set aside.
  2. In a small saucepan, saute the onion on medium flame until soft and slightly browned. Add oregano, cumin, and garlic. Saute until the spices are fragrant, about a minute or two.
  3. Add the well drained black beans.  Add juice of half a lime. Heat until warmed through.  Mash the beans with a spoon but leave some beans whole and chunky. Season with celery salt. Set aside.

The Slaw

  1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the olive oil and juice of 1.5 limes.  Mix in honey. Add olive oil to create a smooth dressing. Season to taste with onion/garlic powders, salt and pepper.  
  2. Add the cabbage slaw mix.  Mix well, adjust for seasoning, and set aside.

This recipe will make enough for 4-6 tacos.  If you need more servings, double the bean recipe and buy more taco shells. You will not need to double the cabbage slaw portion.  You’ll have plenty.

Construct your tacos.  

TIPS –

We recently discovered La Tiara authentic Mexican taco shells from Gladstone Missouri.  Yeah, I was thinking the same thing as you until I tried these shells.   Use bagged sliced slaw for pure convenience.  Fresh cabbage? Only if you have the time and eschew convenience. Fresh avocado would be nice. Beer is also a perfect side dish for these tacos.

Veganistas – use vegan cheese.

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Does Your Peanut Butter Have Salmonella? Updated 05.25.22

I was snacking on peanut butter when I read this:

Recalled Food -Jif brand peanut butter

Sold at stores nationwide. Many types and sizes were recalled, including creamy, crunchy, natural, and reduced fat.

Lot code numbers 1274425 through 2140425. Four of five (80%) sick people reported eating different types of Jif brand peanut butter before getting sick.

Salmonella Outbreak Linked to Peanut Butter — https://www.cdc.gov/salmonella/senftenberg-05-22/index.html

So I checked my jar and it looks like this:

My lot numbers were OK though. Plus half the jar has been eaten already and I feel fine.

For now.

Update 05.25.22

It appears Jif is everywhere.

Peanut Butter Product Recall Expanded Beyond Jif Due To 12-State Salmonella Outbreak — https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucelee/2022/05/25/peanut-butter-product-recall-expanded-beyond-jif-due-to-12-state-salmonella-outbreak/?sh=419271f0382b

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Is There a Website Devoted to Beans?

Yes there is. https://usdrybeans.com/

This is another post in my world famous Beans for Breakfast series.

I post links like this to remind readers no one can possibly teach you everything. There is a ton of information on the internet to research and read to improve your food and nutrition knowledge. But you have to take the time and be motivated to find solid, good information. Avoiding fad diets would be a good thing too.

And for the conspiracy theorists out there feel free to use this information to fight back against the World Economic Forum telling us to eat bugs. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/07/good-grub-why-we-might-be-eating-insects-soon/

Eat beans instead of bugs.

Postscript –

I posted then got this:

WOO HOO!

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Alcohol: Good or Bad for You? – Health Secrets of a SuperAger

It’s hard to know what to think about the recommendations for alcohol consumption when the narrative around it changes like the wind. Numerous studies have come out in support of moderate alcohol consumption because of its potential health benefits only to be countered by similar studies arguing that it’s actually more harmful than beneficial, according […]

Alcohol: Good or Bad for You? – Rush — Health Secrets of a SuperAger

I found a blogger who is older than me.

I finally have a research assistant.

Thanks Tony.

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Time Restricted Eating Diets Don’t Work

The study, published online in JAMA Internal Medicine by Dylan A. Lowe, PhD, also of UCSF, involved 116 participants who were randomized to a 12-week regimen of either three structured meals per day or time-restricted eating, with instructions to eat only between 12:00 pm and 8:00 pm and to completely abstain from eating at other times.

Time-Restricted Eating Shows No Weight Loss Benefit in RCT – Medscape – Oct 01, 2020 — https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/938433#vp_2

Despite the lack of evidence I intend to continue my time restricted eating strategy. I do not eat anything between the hours of 10:00 PM and 7:00 AM.

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Grilled Zucchini

“How did you make this?”

The last time I wrote about zucchini was back in 2019 when the same question was asked (probably by the same friend) which motivated me to write down how I make Zucchini, Corn & Red Pepper.

This super simple recipe is the perfect side vegetable when you have your grill fired up and ready for your perfectly seasoned chicken using the world famous Iki Marinade. Three squash will be enough for six side servings.

  • three large zucchini
  • salt and black pepper
  • onion powder
  • garlic powder
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch dried basil
  • grated Parmesan/Romano cheese blend
  1. Heat up your grill.
  2. Scrub and rinse the zucchini. Dry thoroughly.
  3. Cut the ends off then slice each squash lengthwise and each half in half. You want four nice sized chunks each about 3-4 inches long.
  4. Arrange the squash in a baking dish and coat liberally with extra virgin olive oil. Flip the pieces so that they are cut side up.
  5. Lightly sprinkle with salt, onion and garlic powders.
  6. When your grill is nice and hot place the squash pieces onto the grill skin side down. Angle them if you want to make grill marks.
  7. Close the lid and grill for 1-2 minutes. Reposition the squash (for those grill marks) close the lid and grill for another 1-2 minutes.
  8. Flip the squash to cut side down. Repeat #7.
  9. The squash should be firm and cooked through after 8-9 minutes. Remove and place back into the baking dish cut side up.
  10. Lightly sprinkle black pepper, dried basil, and grated cheese.
  11. The zucchini can be served at room temperature or kept in a warmed oven prior to serving. If you use the oven to keep the zucchini warm remember they will continue to cook and might get mushy.
Photo by Ellie Burgin on Pexels.com

Tips and Otherwise Random Thoughts

You’ll note that the black pepper, basil, and cheese are added after grilling. I do this so that these ingredients don’t get burned/grilled off in the cooking process. For the Veganistas out there, leave off the cheese. I happen have a preference for Spanish extra virgin olive oil. The private label brand I buy sneakily substituted EVO from Portugal instead of Spain. Now I like Portuguese olive oil too. I specifically used a baking dish to hold the squash before grilling because I did put the veggies in the oven to keep warm.

The next time I grill zucchini I plan on grilling twice the number of squash. I’ll use the leftover squash in a pasta dish.

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