Very productive day for me! I woke up about 10 minutes before Andrew left for work, unfortunately, so I haven't had anytime with him besides texting today. But I stayed up, instead of going back to bed like I really wanted to. I got online and started my research on protein. This is what I discovered -
- The soybean contains all essential amino acids and surpasses all other plant foods in the amount of protein. [tempe, soy dogs, and soy burgers, soy ice cream, and of course soy milk]
- Other rich sources of non-animal protein include - nuts, seeds, yeast
Legumes - especially Garbanzo beans, kidney beans, lentils [my personal favorite], navy beans, lima beans, and split peas.
Vegetables - especially artichokes, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, cucumbers, eggplant, green peas, green peppers, kale, lettuce, mushrooms, mustard greens, onion, potato, spinach, tomato, turnip greens, water cress, yams, and zucchini.
Fruits - especially apples, bananas, cantelope, grapes, grapefruit, honeydew, oranges, papaya, peaches, pears, pineapple, strawberries, tangerine and watermelon.
3. Vegetable protein is easier to digest then animal protein.
4. Most nutritionists, dietitians, and official sources agree that we need only 2.5%-10% of our calories from protein and ALL vegetables offer us more than that.
So I decided to make the bag of black beans I had in my pantry so I could freeze some for quicker use and actually start using them in meals. I separated them from the rocks and nasty ones, rinsed them out, and put them on low in the 4 quart crock-pot my mom bought me. I covered them with water and have had to add two more cups while they are going. I can make black bean and cheese burritos, have them mashed or whole with some eggs in the morning, or put them in a soup, stew, or as a side for anything else.
They are still cooking but should be ready to put in bags and freeze by 9 - 9:30. It's only 7:45
Now, I also have been given the knowledge from reliable human sources that it would be smart to freeze dinners and other meals. So today I also decided to try out a new recipe. This recipe is my late grandmothers, on my moms side. It's called Chicken Spaghetti. I have told my husband about it and he thinks it sounds good, but I haven't actually come around to making it. Until today! Here is the recipe the way I did it - [I hope my mom doesn't get mad about me sharing it]
1 16-oz box of spaghetti noodles
4 large chicken breasts
1 14.5-oz can diced or crushed tomato
1 10.5-oz can cream of mushroom soup
about 2 cups shredded cheese
Boil the chicken in enough water to cover it well [about 20-30 min] Take chicken out of the water and place on a cutting board to cool off. You want to shred the chicken as soon as you can handle it. Cook the noodles in the chicken broth [the water you just boiled chicken in] After they are done, drain, leaving some of the water. Add the shredded chicken, cream of mushroom soup, tomatoes, and cheese to the noodles and stir until the noodles are evenly coated with the soup and tomato color. After this, I let it sit for about 30 minutes and then separated it into two quart size freezer bags, filled 4/5 of the way full and put them in the freezer flat and label side up. The rest is for dinner tonight. This amount will serve 8-10 people proper portions. However, my husband usually has seconds and really does not like proper portions so it will feed two people 3 time... 6 servings. Once we eat it I will edit in a photo here. I forgot to take one of it in the pot. Variations- I love to use linguine rather than spaghetti. I used a salt free can of tomato, of course you can put fresh into a blender or under a knife, just make sure its juicy. My mom has always used shredded mexican cheese, but I wasn't able to get any so I used a shredded mild cheddar block. [1/4 of the block actually]
I was also going to make whole wheat waffles but I will probably do that tomorrow. I got tired. I'm going to use a recipe my mom gave me for pancakes. She said she got it from a lady on ivillage.com back when it was a chat or forum. [I don't actually remember what she said] Then I will try a recipe I got off food.com and see which I like better. I'll post both of them tomorrow.
I also had some fun editing photos on lunapic.com
This is a photo from yesterdays post. Cropped and turned to black and white.
This is my sister and I this past December. We were at my cousins baptism. I turned it to sepiatone.
After I finished cooking I did the dishes. Then I discovered my cat like this -
She dumped our shoes off not only the shelf she wanted to curl onto, but the one on top of that as well. Apparently she was also playing with the bag I have underneath for goodwill items because thats not how it usually looks, ha ha ha! I do love her so and I 'm 100% sure Andrew will get a kick out of seeing this picture. I'm going to go pick up whatever mess my cat made in our room, clean some of the bathroom and living room, then curl up on my love seat and read my new Parents magazine. I love when I get this magazine. I have never had a paid subscription before and this is no excuse! Yay, free magazines! Another post tomorrow.
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