To Your Health!

Join us on a journey..... a journey of food and health. You control the pepper, you control the garlic.

Okay, hokey, but you get the idea. Life right now is tied up in food. Due to the RAI coming up in a couple of weeks, we are now officially on a low iodine diet (LID). Theory, starve any thyroid cells remaining in the body of iodine and make them crave it by not taking thyroid supplements. Take RAI, and the cells 'drink the koolaid'. Conclusion, irradication of all remaining thyroid cells in the body, thereby taking the cancer with them. Yippeeee!

Not as easy as it sounds. No-no's include iodized salt (read preprocessed foods), egg yolks, all dairy and dairy derived products, soy and soy derived products, seaweed and seaweed derived products, potatoe peels, certain beans, molasses. You get the idea. Grocery shopping sucks, meals must be planned, no fast food, no eating out, no quick lunches. Much whining has ensued, Bear has held up well. He's even joined the trip. We're learning about health, simplicity, and diet. We may keep this up after LID is over. It's actually been a nice change.

What do we eat? Humus, black beans, garbanzo beans, brown rice, and lots of veggies. I spend one day a week cooking to have the basics on hand for meals. Black beans and garbanzo beans are cooked, vacuum sealed and in the freezer, ready to use. Frozen corn and peas, fresh potatoes, carrots, tomatoes and onions on hand. Pasta on hand. Canned tomato sauce, tomato paste, and diced tomatoes in the pantry, all no salt. With these we can make curry, pasta dish, humus, vegtable soup, vegetable stew, and black bean salsa. Not too bad, huh? BTW, Frito-Lays says that their snack chips are made with non-iodized salt. Score!!

Thought I'd share my 30-minute curry recipe with you. It makes enough for 2 for 2 meals (YMMV).

30-minute Curry

ingredients:
rice
4 large red potatoes, peeled and diced
1/2 package green peas, frozen
1 can no salt diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
4 cloves garlic
1 small red or yellow onion
1/2 package baby carrots, chopped
1 tablespoon vegetable stock in a jar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon plain salt
pepper to taste

Start rice in rice maker. In a wok, coat the bottom with olive oil, and over a medium heat sweat the garlic and onion until translucent. Add the vegetable stock and curry powder. Cook for a minute. Add the potatoes, and cook for a minute. Add the tomatoes, juice and all. Add in the other ingredients. Add one can of water. Bring to a boil. Turn down to a fast simmer and let cook until the rice is done. It should thicken on it's own. If it does not, add one teaspoon of arrow root to 1/4 water and add to simmering mixture, stirring constantly until it is the thickness you want. Tweak the flavors as you see fit.

We cook our own garbanzos, to avoid the iodized salt, but you can use canned, just drain and rinse before adding to pot.


Humus

ingredients:
3 cups garbanzo beans
4 cloves garlic
lemon juice
1Tablespoon vegetable stock in a jar
pepper to taste
1Tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon plain salt

In a food processor, combine the garbanzos, oil, spices, salt, stock and lemon juice. Begin to pulverize. It may stick to the sides, begin adding water a little bit at a time until the consistency you like is acheived. Takes a few minutes, but it is well worth the trouble. Again, canned beans may be used in place of fresh cooked.


Knitting is in progress, but it is mostly gift knitting right now, so I can't show you. Soon, soon.



Enjoy!!!