Thistle Dew Nutrition

Ramblings from a "Simpler" and perpertual student of natural health, with a strong focus on how to eat well to prevent chronic diseases.

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Location: Saugatuck, Michigan, United States

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Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Mid April Ramblings

More and more people are asking me how they can eat better, and my stock answer is "learn how to cook!" They don't generally like that answer, or else they give me one of those "deer in the headlights" looks.

OK, then cook better. For instance, if you're having hamburgers and baked beans, sauté an entire onion in the bottom of the pot that you're going to cook the beans in, drain most of the sauce out of the can of beans, put the beans in the pot right on top of the sautéed onions, and add a few tablespoons of Molasses to that. Yummy and delicious! I make this recipe every year for my in-laws (average party is 40 people) and they always ask what my secret is. You can also add a can of black beans, or some other type of beans that you like, just to mix it up a little bit.

When you're making tacos add a nice fresh onion, a clove of fresh garlic, black beans, salsa, diced tomatoes or avocado, and black olives. Any of these things make your tacos better for you, and when it's right in with the meat it's not as messy to eat.

Instead of store bought soup try this: Start with 2 cups of chicken broth made with "Better Than Broth" brand chicken broth. This stuff really is great, and if you compare the label with any other brand you'll be amazed! Yes, it's about twice the price, about $5 instead of about $2.50, as I explained to a lady in the grocery store who was wearing a $5000 wedding ring and wouldn't spend that much on her family's health (Vary frustrating!). But it is so much better for you.

To this simmering broth add one cut up onion, two pealed and cut up potatoes, 1/3 of a small head of cabbage, cut into strips, and 1/4 cup of red wine vinegar, with sea salt to taste. Serve with fresh sourdough bread.You don't need to be fancy.

A perfectly healthy dinner is a couple of lean steaks on the grill (not charred) with steamed broccoli or asparagus. Simple! Don't get all wrapped up in the "square meal". It's been found too hard for your stomach to digest all those different kinds of food at one sitting. So just eat two kinds of food at each meal. Once you get the hang of it you'll see that it's easier to this way, and by the end of the day you'll usually have all the right food groups covered.

Get cooking!