Eat your Vegetables

Eat your vegetables........... you hear that a lot.

Just the other night, our sweet daughter in law, mentioned
again, how she dislikes the commercials that "teach" the public
that a glass of processed juice is a fruit,
oh and a serving of vegetable thrown in for good measure.
She gets flustered and is not a happy camper. That my friend, makes
me a (secret) happy girl. That means that Zoe will be eating her
veggies and fruits when the time comes.

I love to bake and cook. I bake and give away quite a bit of food.
It really feels more like a craft sometimes. Pretty and decorated,
and packaged and full of sugar and white flour. Fun, and silly to
make and bake.

Sometimes, it is not hip & glamorous to tell everyone what you are having
for dinner. We usually have a cup of soup and we juice almost daily,
before we even start our dinner. I try and have an appetizer ready to
go, that way when the time comes, we can calmly head to the dinner
table. Yes, I said that right. The dinner table is set and has a center
piece and we use cloth napkins and in the fall and winter we
almost always have candles lit.

It is pure pleasure to make nutritious, delicious and lovely meals
for my family. Usually now days, that is Mr. Right and me.

Our cup of soup will be a homemade, tomato orange soup. Our fresh juice
will be made up of 2 apples, 2 pears, 1 orange, 1/2 a lime, 1/2 pineapple,
2 ribs of celery, 2 carrots, 1 clove of garlic, big handful of spinach,
3/4 cup cranberries, one huge, cucumber, and a fat sprig of parsley. That
will make enough for two gorgeous glasses of juice for our dinner and
enough left over for two small glasses of juice for our breakfast tomorrow.

Tonights' main meal will be Lentil and Brown Rice Casserole served over a bed
of spinach. With plenty left over for a few lunches to come this week or a
side dish for another meal. I love soup so by adding more liquid to a bowl of
this casserole it turns into a heavenly soup for lunch.

Here is the recipe:

Bragg Lentil & Brown Rice Casserole

14 oz. pkg. lentils, uncooked
4 carrots, chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
2 onions, chopped
3 quarts distilled water
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 cup brown rice, uncooked
1 teaspoon Liquid Aminos Braggs
4 teaspoons (fresh picked today) oregano, basil, parsley, etc
2 teaspoons cold-pressed olive oil

Wash and drain lentils and rice. Place grains in a large stainless steel pot. Add
water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes. Add vegetables and seasonings and cook on low heat until done. Just before serving, you may add fresh or canned tomatoes. For a delicious garnish add parsley and nutritional yeast large flakes.
Add more water in cooking the grains for a delicious soup or stew. Serves 4-6.

I want a couple of spears of grilled pineapple to go with our casserole.
I think some fresh broccoli grilled will be a great side dish.
I am sure a cup of green tea will find it's way into my hands sometime this evening.
Just as I am pretty sure, there will be a bowl of freshly popped pop corn for a
snack tonight.

Making really good meals full of fruits and vegetables makes me a happy girl.
I feel like I have spent my time well.

"It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities."
~A. Dumbledore