Tag: cooking

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From the Bible; it’s Jewish..

It’s the end of their stint with me for the school holidays. Having pulled my back yesterday (on my birthday!), we had what was primarily a down day.

Late afternoon I felt sorry for my caged cubs. We jumped in the car and went to our favourite park.

Parenting trick; take them out near their supper time. They’ll then naturally leave the park in search of their next meal.

I had a plan for supper but was pressed for time. At the stove, they glossed over the fact that my usual ‘come and get it’ was replaced with ‘well, that’ll have to do’.

She finishes eating first, and leans into my personal space to tell me something.

“Daddy; there’s this story in the bible, about a stranger who knocks on a man’s door…”

Quite familiar with the bible, I’m at a loss for this particular story.

She chimes on.

“A man opens the door and the stranger asked ‘do you have a space for me to sleep?’ but the man said no”

Definitely not familiar with this story.

“The stranger then says ‘but I can help you! I can cook you a wonderful meal!'”

I’m wondering if this a Samaritans remix or some stranger danger thing that has become clouded in her brain.

She continues and I continue to fork food into my face.

“So the man let’s the stranger in and he starts cooking a soup. But the stranger hadn’t brought any ingredients so instead, he popped in a magic toenail…”

At this precise moment, something in my mouth went crunch.

“and then he popped to the neighbours to get some broccoli…”

I’m not listening any more.

The final element of confusion flooded in and brought me back to reality when she tailed off with,

“I think it might be Jewish”

“no; Christian…”

She angles her head in thought.

I fear my appetite may never return.

person standing in front of food tray
Photo by rawpixel.com on Pexels.com

BSD

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We are what we eat?

Modern diets

Can leave a lot to be desired. As a dad, it always amazed when doing a food shop that the price of processed food was much cheaper than whole foods, therefore making process foods more accessible or at least more tempting to those on a tight budget.

I’m not a fan of fast food but that doesn’t mean I won’t eat it. I tend to use it as emergency food, mostly when I’m pressed for time. For example, I exited the school-run so late that we were in what I call the ‘bedtime window’ (too much Call-of-Duty!) while we were still on the road. The bedtime window is the hour between 6 and 7, where I want the cubs to have eaten and be winding down to their bedtime routine. As we were still driving, I pulled a pit-stop at the golden arches.

Global problem

Obesity is on the up; rates of Cancer are terrifying! in my 44 years the likelihood has gone from 1 in 4 to 1 in 2! How the heck did that happen? I’ve no doubt that our reliance on fossil fuels has something to do with it but we cant ignore the diet element. This made me think about what I put in my body, and definitely what I put in on my cub’s plates.

food for thought

Superfoods

A while back I think I might have been banging on about what I put on my porridge in the morning. I always have porridge for breakfast. Mostly. When I do, I load it. Here’s what goes in:

  • 1 Banana
  • Blueberries
  • Smooth peanut butter
  • Powdered Ginger
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • Turmeric.

It’s quite a lot I know but I always do this. I may occasionally put mixed nuts in but I’m not very good at buying nuts for some reason. The bottom 4 products are out of the spice rack.

So why these?

Well the list has grown over time; It started with bananas and nuts. If memory serves, the list grew dependant on how hard I was training. The idea was that I would do my morning workout, then eat a breakfast that left me satiated until lunch. I don’t mind snacking, as long as I snack healthily.

I became more interested into foods as fuels so I bought ‘The Illustrated Food Remedies Sourcebook’ by C. Norman Shealy MD. PHD

Closer look

It’s described as an A-Z of foods that can be used as natural remedies. I love it. Click on the pic if you want to buy and make me a penny! 

Eating the right foods will benefit you. I sounds so blindingly obvious that you’d wonder why we ever strayed from this thinking.

I now structure my weekly shop around foodstuffs that will benefit the cub’s physical development.

My spices

Ginger (root,raw)

Glycemic load = 0

Helps with:

  • Nausea and upset stomach
  • Nausea from chemotherapy, travel sickness, pregnancy and menstruation
  • Immune health
  • Circulation
  • Reduces inflammation and osteoarthritic pain.

Nutmeg

There’s no entry for nutmeg….??

Cinnamon

Glycemic load = 1

Helps with:

  • Diabetes
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Heart disease
  • IBS.

Turmeric

Glycemic load = 0

Helps with:

  • IBS
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Coronary artery disease
  • Atherosclerosis.

turmeric

Disclaimer

Folks; do your own due diligence. There are some pretty big claims against some of these foods and I can’t qualify them.

I do know that I feel better for eating well and less so if I let my diet slip.

I’m off to look up what Glycemic load is.

BSD

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One week in…

And I have a head cold.

The cubs are having a great time. As I’ve mentioned before I am blessed with two, one of each, and they’re of an age where they play with each other nicely, most of the time.

You may have noticed that I haven’t blogged as much this week and that’s because I’ve discovered something new.

Single parenting can be exhausting!

It’s amazing the difference that another adult can make when it comes to chipping in, solving disputes and land grabs, prepping meals and convincing small people that whilst crisps do indeed come from vegetables, surviving on them alone is challenging.

food-tomato

This is probably something that I might have taken for granted previously but I’m amazingly determined. I’m also conscious not to let my frustrations and fatigue play out into a lack of tolerance with them and their behaviour. There’s a fine line between responsible parenting and being an ogre.

What happened to the groceries? 

I always like to shop with them as there are endless opportunities for learning here. Some of the most important life skills necessary for adult autonomy can be learnt in the supermarket.

We take turns pushing the trolley, but after my daughter failed to successfully navigate an elderly couple a retook control.

My son has just about outgrown the kid seat in the trolley itself so he is also a free spirit on the peripheries of my control. His contribution to the visit consists mostly of placing random items into the trolley (unopened tube of Vagisil free to a good home) slam dunking fresh fruit and veg and slowly spinning, arms outstretched at the checkout.

Getting home with a good selection of food feels like a major victory but the cupboards are full. The cubs go and do their respective thing.

I cook; they eat; they play; they snack.

Dinner usually goes something like this;

  • Have you finished?
  • Yes;
  • Can you just try a bit more veg please?
  • Ok, but I only have a little stomach and that’s quite full now;
  • Ok, but do eat what you can (don’t want to manifest eating disorders)
  • That’s it daddy; i’m full.
  • Ok. You can get down from the table.
  • Thanks dad; can we have some crisps please?

bird-blackbird-nest-hatching

Within 36 hours, full cupboards are a fond memory..

I try to mix activities to keep them challenged

Whilst my son and I were heavily involved in painting animal shapes, I let my daughter loose with one of my cameras. Her challenge was to come up with the most interesting shot she could find.

She was pretty happy with her results.

DSC_0004

She even zoomed in to show me it’s eyes…

The only downside

My son sneezed in my face 48 hours ago. Whatever bug he had was already tuned in to my genetic code and I’m a dribbling, snotty mess.

This is only week one.

BSD

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Still last weekend..

Sunday

It looks like my lazy day has turned into a lazy weekend. I’ve sat in bed; I’ve watched a couple of movies but I just had to get up.

The contents of the fridge are still there so I’ve decided to make something out what’s left. One pack of sausages, one bag of frozen veg, and some potatoes both sweet and normal. It looks like it’s going to be sausage and chips for Sunday lunch.

Time to cook these blues away.

Sunday afternoon

It looks like the cooking has come back with a vengeance, and what I thought was just going to be a boring meal turned into to something absolutely average.

For Sunday dinner it was a pretty lazy/easy cook with everything lobbed into a pan and left 45 minutes.

For some reason my phone has rotated this

I put some broccoli in for extra health, trying to wipe out the poor diet I have had over the last couple of days. Result was nice but then again I’ve always liked roasted sweet potato.

I shall call this ‘Hot Mess’. You should try it

You can tell I wasn’t convinced about this one as I took the pic after starting it. Mayonnaise is optional..

The shopping needs to get here soon though before I get scurvy.


Future goals:

  1. Copy a fellow blogger’s recipies
  2. Don’t ever upload from a mobile. Twice as long   

BSD

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This weekend…

Well, technically last weekend.  

Saturday 
I’ve decided to give myself a lazy day today. I’m laying in bed watching movies. 
We’ll see how long it lasts. I already feel uncomfortable and I’m finding things to do mentally. Never was very good at relaxing.

 

Still saturday, but a bit later
This is what being lazy looks like to me; Kitchen cleaned, downstairs loo cleaned, all rooms dusted, upstairs bathroom cleaned, ensuite cleaned, wash load done, dishwasher on. I’ve got a feeling that my cooking may suffer.

It did….

BSD

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Cooking, drinking and thinking…

Thankfully the sun is still shining when I get back to my car and in fact all day, it has been seasonal bliss. 
Ingredients time! I intended to do a shop on the train home but I actually fell asleep! I have a habit of keeping late nights and early mornings and my body is starting to rebel. 

On the way home I visualised salmon, salad onions and vegetable rice smothered in sesame seeds. 

I read somewhere about the benefits of turmeric (I can’t remember exactly what it did) so I got some of that too. Add some paprika and pesto (thinking ahead) and we’re in business. 

I must say I really do have the cooking bug now and it’s a lot of fun, and so much easier to eat healthily. 
Salmon something

Wash a cupful of rice in [filtered] water. Place in a small pan and add more [filtered] water. I’ll stop with the parenthesis soon. Add a dash of sesame oil and a sprinkle of paprika. Place on a low heat. 



Pre-heat the grill to a medium high heat and foil line a grill pan. Wash the salad onions and chop finely. Grab some garlic and chop that too. Drizzle some oil on the foil and add paprika and turmeric. Drop the chopped stuff on it and mix with your hands. 

Wash and dry your hands and then realise that your ingredients will stain anything you touch. 

Take the salmon and rub it in the chopped stuff; place it all under the grill.


This one is a pretty quick cooker, depending on how you like your salmon. 


From coming in through the door to serving up in under an hour; not bad going. 

Shame it didn’t taste so good. I think i’ll ditch one of the big spices next time. 

Following dinner I spent a considerable part of the evening sitting in the lounge and being with my own thoughts. As the evening drew in I lay there, feet up and sipping wine, thinking. 

Where I am right now is where I need to be right now, but it’s not where I will stay. 

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Cooking again

Intermittent fasting relies heavily on eating well and exercising.

I planned to fill the time when the kids aren’t here with the things I used to enjoy doing; running, gym, martial arts and cooking. My self-discipline needs a little work but it’s not far from where it should be.

Tonight, a pasta dish but this is for the carbs. 200 ml of whole milk to help ketosis, 3 rashers of streaky bacon, red, yellow and green peppers and salt and pepper to taste. It’s a bit of a celebration of the finding that we are healthier eating the right kind of fats, but i’m pretty sure if I don’t get exercising properly soon my Doc might disagree.

Pour the milk in the pan and add the pasta. The pasta that I failed to list in the ingredients above. Add some pepper. Bring the milk to the boil and then turn the heat down low.

Take a pair of scissors to the bacon and fry on a medium heat. Add some butter to the pan before hand. Add some butter to the list above too whilst you’re at it.

Finely slice the peppers and add them to the pan. Cook them until everything is…cooked.

Keep stirring the pasta. It will stick to the pan if you don’t.

  At some point, I will either eat or dispose of that gingerbread thing.

Pretty happy with the finished article; it tasted amazing.


I guess you could sprinkle it with something green and nutritious. Or cheese. It’s a bit anemic.

BSD


            

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Wednesday’s thoughts

Following an [extremely convincing] internet scare story I now have a water filter complete with a year’s worth of cartridges. The idea is to reduce the intake of heavy metals for me and my kids. I’m not embarrassed. 

Listening to the shocking statistic that 1 in 2 of us will now develop cancer in our lifetime i’m taking no chances; after all, it did for my mother. 

There has to be something in our modern lifestyle behind it, as I can well remember when that stat was 1 in 3. Surely if we keep going at this rate, cancer will be an inevitability?
I skipped class tonight. It took a lot of willpower not to skip supper too. Intermittent fasting relies heavily on eating well and exercising. I planned to fill the time when the kids aren’t here with the things i used to enjoy doing; running, gym, martial arts and cooking. 

My self-discipline needs a little work but it’s not far from where it should be.

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Sunday evening


Not very, it would seem (bicarb, remember?)


Varying degrees of success across the team.

Recipe one: Savoury egg bites – success for her; not so much for him. I loved them; win.

Recipe two: Quick roast roots (sweet and standard (?) potato) with honey – fail. Note to self – the kids hated the honey on the spuds and over-seasoning nearly did us all in. To be fair, my hand did slip but I thought it would be ok..

Recipe three: Gingerbread men. Gingerbread cookies. Gingerbread…shapes – success across the board! he liked, she liked and I liked.

IMG_0382.JPG

I can’t wait until I know what I’m doing.


Things I need:


Oven gloves
Ginger dust – ground ginger
Scales
Greaseproof paper
Baking tins


That’s quite a lot of stuff.

Follow the recipes under Food, if you dare….

BSD

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Sunday cont.

Now concurrently I’m ruining another recipe for savory cupcakes, and new potatoes in their skins. Add sausages and whilst this isn’t my usual roast, It’s a healthy and interesting meal. Everything done (she’s still not coming down (Sunday) and in the oven. How important can bicarbonate of soda be?