Trader Joe's Spotlight: 17 Bean & Barley Soup Mix

With Fall upon us, now is the time for warming soups and stews to take center stage. I've long been a fan of bean soup mixes ( just don't use that hideous seasoning packet they sometimes throw in there! ), and they are great for a crockpot.

Trader Joe's sells a nice bean mix that makes a delicious soup. The barley is a nice addition.
If you don't have a TJ's near you, any bean mix will do.


17 Bean & Barley Soup

* 1 (1 lb) Trader Joe’s 17 Bean and Barley soup mix (or 2 cups of your favorite mix of dried beans, barley and lentils; soaked overnight)
* 2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1/2 large white onion, chopped
* 2 carrots, chopped
* 2 stalks celery, chopped
* 1 red bell pepper, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 2 Tbs Herbs De Provence
* 1 Tbs dried basil
* 4 cups organic low sodium vegetable broth
* 1 (14.5 oz) can organic low sodium diced tomatoes, in their juices
* 1 tomato bouillon cube
* coarse salt and pepper


Toss the soaked bean/barley mix into a large pot. Add the broth and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil.
In the meantime, heat the oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and red bell pepper. Sprinkle with Herbs De Provence, dried basil, a good pinch of salt and pepper.
Saute until veggies start to soften, 5 minutes.
Add the veggies to the soup pot. Add the bouillon cube, partially cover and simmer on medium for an hour.
If you need to add water at any point, toss a cup in.
Taste and season accordingly. If the beans need a little longer, simmer another 20 minutes.

Dr. Oz Clean Eating Grocery List

I found this nice list over at Dr. Oz's website ( Click HERE  to see a larger picture / printable list ) Sorry I can't post it larger.

There are some great tips here for beginning Clean Eaters - but here are a few items I'd like to comment upon for those of you who might be unfamiliar.

#19 - Chicken. Make sure you are buying chicken that isn't injected with a sodium solution.
See this post: Eve Was Partially Right : Beware Enhanced Chicken

#20, 21 - Seafood - Make sure your seafood is sourced from a country that has good standards for aquaculture. Avoid fish grown, raised, and packed in Asiatic countries like China, Thailand, and Vietnam.
See this post: Eve Was Partially Right : The Seafood Dity Dozen

#25 - Canned beans - make sure you rinse all canned vegetables and beans to remove as much sodium as possible.

#29 - Canned Mushrooms - DON'T. These are a huge no-no, and I'm shocked Dr Oz would put these on his list. I double dog dare you to go into a grocery store, pick up any can- ANY CAN - of canned mushrooms and try to find one NOT GROWN AND PACKED IN CHINA. You won't find one. The quality is low, and the amount of fecal matter ( the growth medium for mushrooms! ) is often high.

DON'T BUY CANNED MUSHROOMS. THIS MEANS YOU.

#32 - Jams - These are ok, but try to find ones with no added sugar. Hard to do, but it can be done. I avoid sugary fruit spreads.

#34 - Canned beets - the artificial purple color in those beets and added sugar make these a CE no-no. Avoid them.

#62 & 63 - Soy hot dogs and burgers - Not for you, Clean Eater. Keep your soy intake limited to edamame and the occasional tofu. Soy hot dogs and burgers are processed, and unnecessarily will boost soy consumption which has been linked to breast cancer.

#90 - Protein bars - Be really - REALLY careful here. Most are very Unclean. The only Clean examples I've come across are things like Larabars. Clean bars are few and far between.

#93 - Slow churned ice cream - Um, really Dr. Oz? *rolls eyes* Not Clean. Do Not Eat.



Use common sense with this list. Buy organic where you can ( especially important for fruits with skins you eat, like apples, pears, tomatoes. Not as important for things you peel - like bananas or oranges. Free range beef and chicken is wonderful, but in some areas - crazy expensive.

This list wasn't published as a Clean Eating grocery list - but it can be used as a good starting point.

At some point, I'm going to publish a list of 20+ brand name food items I buy and consume on a regular basis. Items that are Clean and you didn't even realize it.

Clean Eating Chocolate - It CAN Be Done

Every once in a while...the human body requires chocolate for good mental health. I'm not talking a king size Hershey bar...but just something that satisfies that place in the brain where chocoholism dwells. Most chocolate products you can buy in the store are loaded with sugars, fats, and really unnecessary ingredients - making satisfying the itch for chocolate hard to scratch.

Until now.

This fabulous, wonderful person on Tumblr has posted a lot of great recipes ( many using protein or casein powders ) and I'm utterly grateful.

The picture at the top? A Clean Eating chocolate & pear pudding. 3 ingredients.

And what is this?? A Clean Eating simulant for Nutella with 5 ingredients. Crazy!

And in case you didn't get the "Hey, go here and bookmark this page for future reference"...

6 ingredient truffles:

Please note - I'm not advocating these items as a daily treat - far from it. But what better than to have a few Clean recipes like these to add to your recipe arsenal? Make the truffles to bring to a holiday gathering - and know you can have a few without fear or guilt. When those moments come where chocolate is more important to your brain than breathing and keeping your heart beating...you'll be prepared.


Tumblr: Fitness Treats - CE Chocolate Recipes

Positive Thoughts For A Friday

Clean Eating Baked Egg Breakfast Casserole with Mushrooms, Spinach & Salsa

Ingredients

• 2 tsp olive oil, divided
• 12 oz. crimini (baby bella) mushrooms, sliced
• 4 cups (packed) fresh spinach, roughly chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup salsa
• 5 eggs
• 5 egg whites
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Coat a 7- by 11-inch ceramic or glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender.
3. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil and the spinach. Cook until the spinach is cooked down and bright green, 1 to 2 minutes. Season with the salt and pepper. Pour off any extra liquid from the mushrooms.
4. Spread the mushroom and spinach mixture evenly on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon the salsa over top.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites and water. Pour the eggs over the mushroom mixture. Sprinkle the green onions over top.
6. Bake until the eggs are set and starting to turn light golden brown, about 25 minutes. Test the eggs by poking a small sharp knife into the middle of the eggs. It should come out clean (just a little wet).
7. Let the casserole sit for about 5 minutes, then cut into pieces and serve.

Found over at Cookin' Canuck.com - Thank you!

Make Your Own Almond Milk

I found this graphic on Tumblr and it seems really straight forward!

 

Thanks to 10000 Steps on Tumblr. - Not sure if the graphic is original to this site, but that is where I found it!

$1 off 2 Larabar Uber Bars

Head over to Facebook to print a $1 off 2 Larabar Uber bars.

$1 off 2 Larabar Uber Bars

You don't have to have a Facebook accout or "like" them to get the coupon. Always a nice thing, and makes me like Larabar even more!

Know Your Avocado Varieties and When Each Is In Season!

Avocados flummox me. I just sort of freeze when confronted with a bin full of avocados, and grab the first one that looks decent. But what is decent? How do I chose? And this one - it says Hass. But these huge ones over here say Choquette. Is bigger better? Which is best for slicing? Which is best mashed into guacamole? Which isn't for me?

Check out this awesome post over at FoodRepublic.com: Know Your Avocado Varieties and When They're In Season!

I love learning more about fruits and vegetables I wasn't brought up with - I never knew there were so many varieties! My parents weren't avocado people, so I didn't taste one until I was in college.The avocado is healthy and nutritious - don't worry about the fat hype. It's an excellent once or twice a week addition to your diet.

Bell Pepper Slaw

 A friend was telling me about a simple coleslaw her mother used to make that had sliced cabbage and various bell peppers in it - sounded delicious! My husband's 95 year old grandmother grew up on a farm in Kansas with no electricity, and taught me to make a cole slaw that's dressing is oil, vinegar and sugar - no mayonnaise, because that would spoil! Combine the two great recipes and what do you get?

Bell Pepper Slaw.

Yeah, yeah. This recipe has a minute amount of sugar in it. It is actually important, just to take the edge off the tartness of the vinegar/oil mixture. It's a small amount of sugar. If it bothers you, try switching it out for liquid stevia, or agave nectar.


 Bell Pepper Slaw

• 1  (10-ounce) bag  cabbage slaw mix
• 1  large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1  large green bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1  large orange bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1  large yellow bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1  large purple bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
• 1  cup grape tomatoes, sliced
• 1/3  cup olive oil
• 1/3  cup white-wine vinegar
• 1  tablespoon sugar
• 1  teaspoon kosher salt
• 1  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2  teaspoons dried basil
• 2  teaspoons dried oregano

Directions

1.Place slaw mix, peppers, and tomatoes in a large glass jar with lid. Shake to combine; set aside. 

2.In a small bowl, combine olive oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, pepper, basil, and oregano, whisking well. Pour mixture over peppers. Close lid and shake well to coat. Allow slaw to marinate and meld at least 2-3 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

3. Store covered in the refrigerator. Slaw is best when made a day before serving.

http://www.recipe.com/bell-pepper-slaw/?sssdmh=dm17.619115&esrc=nwdr091812

Clean Eating Principles - A Handy Reminder

Clean Eating At The Office

I found this nice little graphic online a few days ago - and it is courtesy of another great CE blog out there, HeandSheEatClean.com. 
I don't pretend I'm the only CE blogger out there, and will happily point out other great websites to look at in your quest for CE information. Check out my sidebar; I've got links to several CE blogs and sites online.

So - a nice reminder of CE at your office - courtesy of HeandSheEatClean.com.  

[Rant] Clean Eating / Oxygen Magazines [/Rant] - Seriously?

I follow Tosca Reno on Pinterest. She usually pins recipes from CE bloggers, pics from her photo shoots, weightlifting info, etc. So when the picture above hit my Pinterest feed...I said "WHAT???" loudly ( in my head, of course. )

This was the last straw. I've been slightly irked at CE Magazine for a few months now - slowly but surely, Unclean content has been filtering into the pages. Recipes for desserts, unclean ingredients. Inappropriate ads.

You might not have noticed - I specifically didn't do a "Newsstand Alert" post for the October 2012 issue of Clean Eating Magazine. Why? I was really unhappy with the content - and I didn't renew my subscription to the magazine when it lapsed.

Poor content:

Page 9 - Advertisement for King Arthur Flour. WHY on Earth are they advertising white flour in a magazine where it is much more appropriate to advertise whole wheat flour? A core tenant of CE is removing white flour from your diet. DUH to whoever checks their advertisements.

Page 17 - "Cheers to A Fat Fighter: Red Wine" - Seriously? Alcohol is a CE no-no - regardless if studies show a small amount is good for you. You can get the same heart healthy type benefits from other foods ( raw grapes, for example ) without drinking wine. Wine and alcohol are detrimental to your body's machinery. It's a don't, any way you slice it. Sorry CE Magazine. You muffed up.

Page 33 - Advertisement for Kashi Peanutty Dark Chocolate bars. Another in the "Who the heck is in charge of advertising over there?" questions - The bars shown in the advertisement have over 30 ingredients - MANY of which are forms of sugar.

You and I both know people will buy this product thinking it is Clean when it is FAR from Clean.

And the KICKER as far as I am concerened...

Page 42: "Loaded Baked Potato Pizza" recipe - which includes ham as an ingredient. This recipe was developed by Chef Jo, CE Magazine's resident chef. The recipe calls for Deli sliced, all natural ham, chopped - and advises "Try Applegate Farms Natural Slow Cooked Ham."

a ) Processed meats are NOT Clean, regardless of the "all natural" attribute to the label.
.
b) Applegate Farms brand claims the ham isn't cured - but you'll find celery powder in the ingredient list. Why is this important? Meats cured in celery powder are just as loaded with nitrates as meats cured with chemical additives. It's the nitrites that are the bad news, folks - doesn't matter if the source is natural or man made. ( For the record, celery naturally has nitrates. You'd have to eat THOUSANDS of stalks to get the nitrate load you get in one "naturally cured" ham slice. So eat celery without worry. It isn't heated. )

c) Why are nitrates bad for me?  The problem with nitrates in ham, bacon, or hot dogs isn't the nitrate itself, but the carcinogenic nitrosamines that are created when nitrate and amino acids are heated together, i.e., when the ham ( or bacon ) is cooked. These have been clearly and directly linked with cancers, heart disease, and COPD. During the meat processing, the food is heated to a high temperature to kill bacteria and make it safe to ship. So even if you eat the ham cold or the hot dog straight from the fridge - you are still eating those nitrosamines that resulted from high heat application.

Using ANY processed meat is not Clean, not healthy - and this recipe is NOT Clean. CE Magazine's quality control has gone way WAAAAY down if this made it past the editorial board review.


Page - 74 - Photo for "Fall Weeknight Dinners"shows a family at the dinner table - and Mom and Dad don't have a glass of water in front of them - they both have a glass of red wine. Tsk, Tsk Showing alcohol consumption as an everyday occurrence. Again - alcohol ISN'T Clean. Period. .

And to wrap it up?

Page 98 - Recipe for "Gooey Peanut Butter Brownies" - CE Magazine has somehow lost their path, and more and more dessert recipes are popping up in the magazine. ANYONE who eats Clean on a regular basis will tell you: The more you eat sweets, the more you crave them. And the more you crave them, the harder it will be to avoid processed desserts like candy bars and packaged baked goods. I really don't care the recipe has mainly organic and natural ingredients. It's best for the CE Lifestyle to not eat desserts or sweets. There are so many temptations out there - your brain can't discern a "healthy" brownie from the high test version. It just knows "WANT!" and will scream at you until you buy that candy bar at 7-11 or eat a dessert when you know you shouldn't.



So when I saw the graphic at the top of this post, I got redheaded, boiling irritated at CE Magazine/ Oxygen magazine. Bacon is Clean? Just because it is cured in a jillion pounds of celery powder?

Sorry, Tosca. Color me one very disappointed follower.

Friday Funny

Sweet Potato & Goat Cheese Tater Tots

Surprise! I'm back. :-) I just stumbled across the really delicious sounding recipe for sweet potato and goat cheese tater tots - they sound delicious. I'm posting the recipe as it appears on Heathersdish.com. My Clean Eating tweaks are below the original recipe.

SWEET POTATO GOAT CHEESE TATER TOTS

These tater tots take almost no active time to make and come out with a big finish. Sweet potatoes and goat cheese make the perfect sweet-creamy-salty bite!

3 small sweet potatoes, washed and peeled
1 small Russet potato, washed and peeled
1/4 cup flour
4 oz goat cheese
4 cups vegetable oil
sea salt

Using the fine side of a box grater grate the potatoes. Drain them as best you can; I wrapped mine in a towel and squeezed out all the liquid I could. Toss them in a bowl with the flour and goat cheese and mix until well combined. Wrap the mixture in plastic wrap until it makes two long tubes of potato mixture about 1 foot long and 1 inch in diameter. Stick in the freezer for about 30 minutes until slightly firm. Using a sharp knife slice the cylinder into nuggets about 1/2 inch thick; leave on the plastic wrap to make it easier to pull off when putting in the oil.

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottom saucepan over low heat until bubbles start to form when you stick a wooden spoon in. Drop 10-12 tater tots into the oil and fry for about 3-5 minutes until golden brown and crisp. Remove to a paper towel-covered plate to drain and season immediately with salt. Work in batches until all of the tater tots are done.


Clean Eating Tweaks:
 *Substitute whole grain flour for regular white flour
*Make sure the goat cheese is organic, and if possible, has a low sodium content
*spray the tots with oil and bake until golden brown instead of deep fat frying


Thank you, heathersdish.com! Great recipe!