Wednesday, June 26, 2024

Super Stew - Packed with Flavor and Nutrition - Satisfying And Delicious

 

Charlie Sue loves her sausage slices.

I began working at the Melo-Cream Donut Shop very young. The owner, my father, stressed nothing but the best ingredients in his products. He boasted that he saw about 200 bakeries go out of business, all guaranteed to make a ton of money, but lacking in quality and hard work.

We live in a Bizarro world (see Superman comics) where everything is upside down. People complain about food prices, but they buy processed foods at hideous prices and have them delivered. Those foods are the worst possible for health, but they are addicting - fats, lots of sugar, and plenty of salt. 

Super Stew for You

Many variations are possible. This is one I developed over time by making it for lunch every day, sharing with Charlie Sue, the Patterdale-Chihuahua. The ingredients are based on Doctors Joel Fuhrman and Michael Greger, seeing food as effective and inexpensive medicine.

I am going to list the way I make it. Feel free to plagiarize or improve.

Two-quart pan for the stove, starting with a bit of filtered water.

Blueberries go in first, as a super-food, plenty of antioxidants, low in sugar, anti cancer.

Sausage slices - a small amount is the base for some meat, either beef or pork or chicken. Charlie gets some during cooking and her portion later. Meat is not high in nutrition but some meat provides balance.

Walnuts - a small handful daily will remove bad cholesterol from the body. The blood chemistry convinced me when sugar and fat were way up with ice cream, but cholesterol was way down. I stopped ice cream completely. Those allergic to walnuts can try almonds.

Ground seeds and spices

  1. Ground flax seed is very cheap, good against cholesterol and for the intestines. 
  2. Ground mustard is added to help the blanched (frozen kale). 
  3. Ground black pepper helps the turmeric, the ginger spice having oxidants and spice. (Go very easy with mustard and turmeric.) 
  4. Allspice - would probably make a good bakery product - sob. Cumin is bean soup flavoring. 
  5. Ground cardamom - aromatic and a memory of Mom, who never used any of these spices, but kept them for decades. 
  6. Curry powder reminds me of cooking in India. Fennel and anise are seeds that add flavor.
I vary this group often and look up nutrition values with the Michael Greger website. Charlie has given me the evil eye about some of my concoctions so I go easy with the experiments.

Frozen greens have the advantage of being superstars in nutrition, filling, almost absent calories, and champions of fiber, which we need yet ignore.
  • Kale is the daily champion. I resisted it but came to enjoy it, Greger said, "Nothing tops kale," so consider that. I use a lot each lunch.
  • Spinach is the daily supplement. Variety is good in all the ingredients, because every plant has some variety, perhaps more than we know.
  • Turnip greens are much like spinach.
  • Collards are associated with bulking up future athletes who have little money.
At this point I add a variety of favorites.

Mushrooms daily - they are supposed to be anti-cancer. I have used them canned but would rather use frozen. Check them out with Fuhrman and Greger.

Lima beans or other legumes - they all have protein and fiber plus other nutritional values. Beans are satisfying without becoming stuffed. 

Onions and green peppers. They are nutrition and very low calorie. I get the mixed frozen package and use some every day.

Chick peas/Cicero beans. Cicero is one of Rome's most famous orators. His name is the Roman name for chick pea. This legume is neutral in flavor, inexpensive, and packed with nutrition and protein and fiber. I use one can every day. 

Chick peas also provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as a decent amount of fiber and protein. A 1-cup (164-gram) serving of cooked chickpeas offers (1Trusted Source):

  • Calories: 269
  • Protein: 14.5 grams
  • Fat: 4 grams
  • Carbs: 45 grams
  • Fiber: 12.5 grams
  • Manganese: 74% of the Daily Value (DV)
  • Folate (vitamin B9): 71% of the DV
  • Copper: 64% of the DV
  • Iron: 26% of the DV
  • Zinc: 23% of the DV
  • Phosphorus: 22% of the DV
  • Magnesium: 19% of the DV
  • Thiamine: 16% of the DV
  • Vitamin B6: 13% of the DV
  • Selenium: 11% of the DV
  • Potassium: 10% of the DV