What I Eat - Day Fifty-Four

Welcome to another 'What I Eat' in which I admit I don't always follow my own advice, take a spur of a moment road trip, and figure out that beets can replace tomatoes...

Breakfast -  Toast and Mango

I picked up a case of fresh mangoes that came from Florida.  I try very hard not to buy fruits and vegetables that have traveled too far, or are out of season. We would all be healthier if we ate with the season and our climate, as nature intended.  We are pretty used to seeing produce from Chile, South Africa, Israel, and other far-flung countries on our grocery-store shelves.  The problem is that it means we can eat out-of-season fruits and vegetables that have lost a lot of their nutrients on a voyage during which they were exposed to toxins (such as fossil fuel emissions). Our bodies just aren't designed to process a lot of raw, cold fruits & vegetables in the dead of winter.  Mangoes, obviously, are not in season or from my climate, but they looked so good I decided I just had to have them.   What can I say?  :)

The gluten-free toast is spread with WowButter, a soy butter that really does taste almost exactly like peanut butter!   It's not the healthiest nut/seed butter out there but, again, sometimes I just go ahead and buy it anyway.   The bottles come with stickers you can put on your kids' lunches so that schools know that the food is nut-free.  

Lunch - Quinoa Dish

On the spur of the moment, we decided that we were going to take a day trip to Sudbury.  I threw together this lunch last minute.   I took the photo while we were eating lunch in the car.  It was really good!

Ingredients:

-quiona (one cup, mixed with two cups of water, brought to a boil, and then left to simmer until water was absorbed)
-small red onion, chopped
-can of northern beans, drained and rinsed
-red, yellow, and orange bell peppers, chopped and sauteed
-green beans (leftover from a previous meal), chopped and warmed
-apple cider vinegar, a 'glug' I would guess was about two tablespoons
-freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Treat - Cherry Turnover

I picked this up at the Chez Jean-Marc Bakery in Sturgeon Falls on the way to Sudbury.   It was absolutely delicious!   I can't wait to stop there again the next time I'm in town and try something else. 

Dinner - Chili

My boyfriend recently discovered that he has a number of food intolerances, including tomatoes.   He has been very sad about not being able to eat pasta sauce and chili.  I did a bit of research, and figured out how to make a fairly decent tomato-free chili.   It turned out extremely well, though I think I'll leave the mushrooms out next time.

I followed this recipe, altered in the following manner:

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp avocado oil
• 1-3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 bell peppers, chopped
• 1 sweet onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped
• fresh mushrooms, chopped
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 3 tbsp chili powder
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne
• 1 can each: black beans and red kidney beans (rinsed) 
• 2 tsp oregano
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 5 small beets, steamed, peeled, and mashed (I did this previously with beets that were one sale for one dollar for five pounds at the end of the season.  I just steamed them, peeled them, and threw them in the freezer). 

Directions: 

In a large pot, add the oil and heat over medium. Add garlic, peppers, onion, mushroom, and carrot and sauté until everything is soft, approximately 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients, cover, and cook for about 30-40 minutes on low to medium heat.