Hickory snow + Glühwein (mulled wine) = great combination
Here’s how it looked in Hickory, NC, yesterday and today.
Hickory, NC
My heart raced the whole day, especially when I was outside, just as it did in my younger childhood days decades ago. I then made this with dinner: Glühwein (pronounced “glue-vine”), which is German for mulled wine – and very easy to make.
Glüwein (mulled wine)
All you need is a robustly flavored red wine, some sugar, lemon rind, cinnamon stick(s) and whole cloves, like what I used last night.
Last night’s Glühwein ingredients
Click this link or any picture on this page for complete picture book directions.
This mix of flaxseeds,chia seeds and nutritional yeast is an excellent fiber and vitamin B boost to any meal
Last post talked about fiber and why we need it in our diet. This post shows how to make a practical mix of high fiber flaxseeds and chia seeds with the added optional benefit of nutritional yeast.
As I mention in the “Tips” section of the picture book directions you can get here, the mix of ground flax and chia seeds with nutritional yeast you see here is no “magic bullet”, but it sure helped improve both my gut health and vitamin B12 levels. My gut was in bad shape years ago due to poor stress management and a long history of prescribed antibiotic use, mostly for frequent middle ear infections. My vitamin B12 level was low due to not eating much animal protein.
I’ve since learned – and continue to learn – a lot about what goes on in our gut, how to manage stress much better and have changed my eating habits. More about both gut health and stress management soon. Regarding food, once I got “clued in” to the very new science of gut health 10-15 years ago, I’ve been eating a varied, well-balanced high-fiber whole food diet that is mostly plant based but is also strong in fish, poultry and meat. And I still use the mix of seeds and nutritional yeast you see here everyday as a fiber and vitamin B complex boost. Here’s how I had it this morning for breakfast with fresh fruit and yogurt.
Here’s how I’ve used it recently with both sweeter or more savory meals – all fully flavorful.
Sweet and savory meals topped with a mix of flaxseeds, chia seeds and nutritional yeast
Click this link or any picture on this page for picture book directions that show how to make this flaxseed, chia seed and nutritional yeast boost.
January 10th, 2022 BlogComments Off on What is Fiber and Why Do We Need It in Our Diet?
First, flavor rules here! Healthy, “good for you” food is only good for you if you actually enjoy eating it. Real full flavor food and how to make it as easily as possible is what this site is all about.
Now, what is fiber? Fibers (aka: roughage, bulk) are naturally occurring plant-based carbohydrates (complex sugar molecules) our bodies cannot digest.
Odd as that sounds, considering that fiber cannot be digested or absorbed to power our bodies, fiber needs to be part of our daily diet to regulate body functions way beyond digestion and elimination of waste, especially considering that our bodies are still physically the same and require the same maintenance as the hunter gatherer bodies (see last post at this link) we developed from only 10,000 years ago.
Here’s a slide from a terrifically comprehensive video I’ll recommend below from the University of California San Francisco showing the Institute of Medicine’s daily fiber intake recommendations for men and women by age.
Below is a brief outline of the two different types of fiber, soluble and insoluble fiber that are available in varied quantities in all natural plant foods, and what they do. See the bottom of this blog for links to some excellent resources for more detailed information that I greatly enjoyed reading before writing this.
Soluble fiber is fiber that is able to dissolve in water. Insoluble fiber is fiber that cannot dissolve in water.
Soluble fibers:
come from material inside and around the outside of plant cells
soak up water from your body and add bulk to the contents in your intestines, which improves gut health and strengthens your intestinal muscles
help prevent constipation, control blood sugar and reduce cholesterol
are found in beans, oats, fruits, vegetables
Insoluble fibers:
are the materials that make up “woody” superstructure of plant cells, like plant cell walls
help the contents of your intestines move easily through your intestinal tract, which also helps maintain gut health
are found in fruit skins (apple, peach, pear, etc.), nut membranes (not shells) and whole grain bran (the tough outer covering of grain kernels)
Here are some high fiber foods I use regularly and pulled together from my kitchen cabinets and fridge just now.
High fiber foods in my kitchen
The health benefits of a high fiber diet, meaning that you take in at least the daily amount of fiber shown above, include:
weight loss/healthy weight maintenance because the combination of soluble and insoluble fiber promotes satiety (the feeling of being comfortably satisfied and not hungry) for a long period of time
reduced risks of:
heart disease and stroke because fiber works to absorb and help eliminate artery clogging cholesterol
diabetes because fiber absorbs and helps eliminate sugar
colon cancer because fiber keeps food moving efficiently through your intestinal tract
Here are just a few samples of recipes you can find on this site to make eating a whole, high fiber foods fully flavorful.
Examples of fully flavorful, easy to make recipes packed with fiber
Here are 2 video and 3 written article references for more detailed information about fiber and its health benefits directly related to you.
What you see here sure works great as is but is really intended to inspire your fully flavorful imagination.
When I put together the last few posts that showed how to make quickly cooked fresh fruit toppings, I’ve said that they go great on pancakes, waffles, French toast, over warm or cold cereal – and much more. This post is about providing a concrete example that works with warm pineapple coconut topping on a leftover pancake.
Now, though the recipe you can get here works great as is – I’m sure a big fan – the real purpose here is to inspire your imagination to use this or any fruit topping in a way that satisfies your own personal taste.
For more details, click this link or either picture on this page for a complete pineapple coconut topping on pancake picture book recipe. Then use what you see in that recipe to fire your imagination!
This warm pineapple coconut topping is just an example of how you can easily improvise on the warm fruit topping theme.
Last two posts showed how to make warm fruit toppings that go great over hot or cold cereal, with yogurt, on pancakes, waffles or French toast. Your imagination is your only limit.
This post is about a variation on the fruit topping theme I’d never tried before but put together on-the-fly for breakfast with my good Hickory, NC, buds a little before Thanksgiving. The key to this warm pineapple coconut topping recipe is using a fully ripened pineapple, and the picture book recipe you can get here shows exactly how to check a pineapple for ripeness and ripen a pineapple that will most likely be under-ripe when you buy it at the store.
Here’s what you need to to make a warm pineapple coconut topping.
Click this link or any picture on this page for this warm pineapple coconut topping picture book recipe.
Next post will show an example of how I use this topping and toppings like it to power me through a morning that almost always includes a good rip on the bike.
3 easy-to-make variations on the warm apple cranberry fruit topping recipe theme
Last post showed how to make a warm apple cranberry fruit topping that goes great on warm or cold cereal, pancakes, French toast, waffles and much more. I mentioned in that post that the recipe is a base or building block recipe that can be easily varied by using different ingredients to meet your personal taste. This post shows three specific examples that work great as is and can also be used to fire your imagination.
The first two recipes are direct riffs on warm apple cranberry fruit topping. The third is berry based.
Apple, Kiwi, Cranberry Topping: This recipe just adds kiwi to the topping, which you can substitute with any other fruit: pear, grapes, berries and more. Click this link or the picture to get the recipe.
Here are 3 easy-to-make variations on the warm apple cranberry fruit topping recipe theme
2. Apple and Papaya Topping: Quickly cooking papaya is my favorite, most flavorful way of eating this tropical fruit. The recipe for this topping that you can get by clicking this link again is just an example of exchanging one ingredient for another either for the fun of it (I mean that) or to suit your personal taste.
3. Warm Berry and Kiwi Fruit Topping: This is an example of a more dramatic variation on the apple, cranberry topping theme. Again, you can substitute the berries or any fruit in this recipe to suit your specific taste. Click this link or the picture below for a picture book recipe.
Next post: Pineapple Coconut Topping. Made it recently. Friends asked for the recipe. I’ll get that out later this week.
This easy to make fruit topping tastes great and can be made with different fruit combinations to your taste.
Winter’s coming – or maybe for you, it’s already here.
Like I’ve mentioned before, there’s nothing much more comforting on a dark, cold morning than the smell of apples and cinnamon cooking fragrantly on the stove.
The easy-to-make fully flavorful warm apple cranberry fruit topping recipe you see here that goes great over pancakes, French toast, waffles, hot or cold cereal, with yogurt and jam, and much more is what I call a base or building block recipe. As a base recipe, you can use the prep and cooking techniques shown here and then use your choice of ingredients to make the topping just the way you want to suit your taste. Next couple posts will show examples that do exactly that.
Here’s what you need to make this recipe:
Here’s how I used it this morning to power a 25+ mile bike ride with good Hickory, NC, buds. I scooped a big spoon of the topping in a bowl and topped it off with yogurt, fig jam, some ground seeds (flaxseed and chia seeds), kefir and dried fruit – along with a pancake topped with nut butter, jam, yogurt and more dried fruit. That and a coffee/hot chocolate mix. Killer!
Click this link or any picture on this page for a complete warm apple cranberry fruit topping picture book recipe.
Next post: a couple easy variations on this apple cranberry fruit topping theme. All easy, all flavorful!
First, I wish you, your family and your friends a fun, relaxing (ha!) and fully flavorful Thanksgiving!
A very close second: there’s not a lot that feels and smells better than being in a kitchen while a turkey roasts in the over and all the side dishes cook on the stove. Terrific stuff!
The last few posts showed how to prepare Thanksgiving side dishes and desserts. This post shows how to make the traditional Thanksgiving centerpiece, roast turkey, which I found best to roast at high heat – and upside down – to start and then finish off a more moderate heat, as shown below.
I also strongly suggest not cooking the turkey stuffed but instead cooking the turkey and stuffing separately. The reason: roasting a stuffed turkey only adds mores cooking time and causes the meat to dry out.
Click this link or the picture below for step-by-step picture book directions that show both how to roast a turkey and remove the meat from the bird.
You can also click this link or picture below for complete Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook Thanksgiving help.
Fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing are most flavorfully enjoyed when made just before serving dinner.
Last post showed how to make fresh cranberry sauce: killer flavor and as easy to make as boiled water.
This post shows how to make 2 traditional Thanksgiving side dishes: fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing, which you can learn how to make on the fly with the picture book and or video directions shown below.
First, here’s what you need to make fresh mashed potatoes, which are best made just before you serve dinner.
Fresh mashed potatoes and bread stuffing are most flavorfully enjoyed when made just before serving dinner.
Click this link or the picture above or below for picture book directions or…
…this link/picture below for quick video directions.
Here’s what you need to make quick & easy bread stuffing, which is also most fully flavorful and best made just before serving dinner.
Click this link or the picture above or below for picture book directions or…
…this link/picture below for quick video directions.
Of course, please click this link for complete Gotta’ Eat, Can’t Cook picture book Thanksgiving help.
Fresh homemade cranberry sauce blows the canned version out of the water and is as easy to make as boiled water
Only three days til Thanksgiving but no need to make yourself – or anyone else – crazy.
One of the best ways to make Thanksgiving Day as fun as possible is to get some easy dishes made in advance, like fresh cranberry sauce. Fresh, homemade cranberry sauce, with its rich sweet and sour flavor and mouth pleasing snap-pop, blows canned cranberry sauce out of the water, is no-kidding just as easy to make as boiled water and keeps fresh for weeks in the refrigerator.
Here’s all you need for ingredients. You’ll see a carton of orange juice in the picture below. Most cranberry sauce recipes call for cooking the berries in water. Instead of water, I like cooking fresh cranberries with fruit juice – orange juice as shown or apple or any other juice – for added flavor.
Click this link or any picture above or directly below for an easy to follow picture book recipe and/or…
You can also click this link or the picture below for the Gotta’ Eat Thanksgiving Help page that I’ve been updating with additional recipes to give you more freedom of choice.
January 17th, 2022 
