Egg Flower Soup with Napa Cabbage and Mushrooms

Need a quick soup for a cold night? Try my version of Egg Drop Soup using local eggs and napa cabbage form my winter CSA share.  Mushrooms, ginger, and egg yolks are all great immunity foods, so this recipe is perfect for this time of year.

Makes 4 servings

 

2 large eggs

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

1 teaspoon soy sauce

½ teaspoon sesame oil

1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger

¼ teaspoon white pepper

2 cups napa cabbage, thinly sliced (about ½ small head)

½ cup cold water

2 tablespoons cornstarch

8 fresh mushrooms, sliced thinly

2 scallions, finely chopped

Scramble eggs in a small bowl, set aside.

Make slurry by combining cornstarch and water in another small bowl, also set aside.

Bring stock to a boil, and then simmer with soy sauce, sesame oil, grated ginger, and pepper.  Add napa cabbage and cook 2-3 minutes until stock is lightly bubbling.

Add eggs to hot stock in a stream, creating ribbons by circling the pot with the egg stream without stirring the stock.   Once the eggs have set you can stir gently.

Add cornstarch water slurry to the soup and bring back to a simmer, heat until stock thickens.

Divide the sliced mushrooms and scallions between serving bowls, add hot soup to the bowls and serve immediately.

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TVP – textured vegetable protein

Several months ago we “detoxed” in my office.  For 1 week we drank fresh juices, avoided foods that are known to cause food sensitivities, and were generally vegan for the week.  This was a great weight loss kick-off plan for my Dad who has since lost 48 pounds!

During this diet I picked up a bag of Bob’s Red Mill TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) to use as a meat substitute once I reincorporated soy products.  I never touched it.  I guess it didn’t really look that appealing. 

I was wrong.

What a great product.  Even for those of us who eat meat, TVP is a good way to supplement protein without ANY fat.  I made the taco salad that is shown below with my first TVP experience, but I can easily see this product being incorporated with lean ground meat for Sloppy Joes, Chili, Meat sauce, Lettuce wraps, etc.  I think that your kids won’t even know it’s mixed in.  AND TVP is affordable.

Bob’s website sells a 10oz bag for $2.79.  TVP doubles in size when you rehydrate it, so I approximate that one bag is equivalent to almost 3 pounds of ground meat (that's less than $1 for a pound of meat equivalent).  Plus: each serving has 12g of protein and 4g of Dietary fiber….. and, again, NO fat.

Generally I would use 1 cup of TVP to equal 1 pound of ground beef, chicken, or turkey that is called for in a recipe.

Give it a try!  I’m glad I did.

TVP Taco Salad

TVP and Bean Taco Mix

Makes 4 servings

1 cup dry TVP

Spray olive oil

1 medium Yellow onion, chopped

1 Red bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, chopped

½ teaspoon Smoked paprika

1 teaspoon Chili powder

1 teaspoon Cumin

½ teaspoon Oregano

¼ teaspoon Cayenne pepper

1 can (15.5 oz) Low sodium small white or black beans, drained

¼ cup water

1 tablespoon Tomato paste

2 tablespoons Fresh cilantro, chopped

4 scallions, green and white parts, chopped

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Lime wedges for garnish

Rehydrate TVP using 7/8 cup boiling water –OR- according to package directions and set aside.

Spray a large non-stick skillet with olive oil.  Over medium heat sauté onion, pepper, and garlic until transparent.

Add chili powder, cumin, oregano, and cayenne pepper.  Mix with the vegetables to toast the spices slightly.  Add the TVP, beans, water, and tomato paste.  Simmer 3-4 minutes, turn off heat and add cilantro, scallions, then add salt and pepper.

Serve over a salad or whole-wheat tortillas with reduced fat cheese with some avocado for healthy fat.

Nutritional value for TVP Taco Mix per serving (cheese, tortillas, etc. not included):

Calories: 190, Total Fat: 0.2 g, Sat. Fat: 0, Carbs: 31.8 g, Fiber: 10.5 g, Sugars: 6.2 g, Protein: 17 g, Sodium: 129 mg*, Cholesterol: 0 mg *sodium count is before adding table salt.

Note: smoked paprika is a great addition to your pantry if you are experimenting with meatless cooking, it adds a natural smoky meat-like flavor.

Find me on Facebook: Lara McNeil on Nutrition and Food

And Twitter@LaraMcNeil

Detox and Chew

I have made it through 3 days of Juice!  OK, confession, I have had a few celery and carrot sticks along the way.  Today I didn’t drink nearly as much juice as the 1^st and 2^nd days.  I really am not very hungry.  I have had lots of water and herbal tea.

I made this juice this morning:

Fruit Salad Juice

Fruit Salad Juice

¼ pineapple

1 orange, peeled

1 kiwi, peeled

1 apple

1 pear

10 mint leaves

1oz Aloe Vera juice

So what’s next?  I have to chew – and I am going to add some Carbs, Protein and Healthy Fat.  Tonight I am making a few salads to have for the week. I am basically going to eat veggie this week: veggies, salads, vegetable soups, whole grains, seeds, beans, eggs, and tofu with a smaller amount of fruit.  Maybe I will have some tuna?

I will have no refined flours, sugars, processed foods, red meat, or dairy.  I am also going to stay away from the caffeine and alcohol for a while: continuing to eat clean. 

These are the salads I am making tonight:

Kamut Salad

Quinoa Tabbouleh

Lemon-Dill White Bean Salad (I am using small red beans ~ cuz thats what I have).

It is my plan to top a large green salad with ½ cup of one of these grain-bean salads for lunch and dinner.

Breakfast will be a Fruit Juice and a Hard-boiled egg

I will also incorporate small quantities of nuts as snacks (10-15 nuts), along with more fresh vegetables and an afternoon Vegetable Juice. 

Stay tuned for menu plans and recipes. 

Find me on Facebook: Lara McNeil on Nutrition and Food

And Twitter@LaraMcNeil

Juice detox day 1 onto 2

I made it through the 1^st day of my 3-day detox.

Here’s a few notes for those who may want to try this:

1. Some of the recipes make quite a bit of juice, maybe even enough for 2.  However, I am reluctant to change the recipes because I believe that my new masticating juicer is much better at extracting juice then the centrifugal one (read the juicer post for more info).  I suggest following the recipes the first day and see how you do with your juicer.  You can always jar leftover juice for day-2.

2. I did add/alter a couple of the Recipes:

Morning "Orange"

         Morning “Orange” – I reduced the ginger a bit, the piece of ginger that I purchased was quite fresh and gave a very spicy flavor.  For day-2 I am going to include the Aloe Vera shot into this juice.  It wasn’t offensive in the water but I like to sip plain water.

Mean Green

         Mean Green – this juice is HARDCORE.  I have leftover from day-1 for today; I will most likely reduce the kale to 3 stalks tomorrow.  I added the spriulina to this today.

Purple Power

         Purple Power – I added fresh dill to this juice which I think really freshened it.  I tend to like beets and beet juice, so this was a good one.  I skipped adding the pear: the beet and carrot adds plenty of sweetness.  I had some radishes in the fridge so I added 4 of those.

         Almond Date Banana – I added 1 tablespoon of chia seeds to this drink, reduced the almond milk to 1 cup, and added 1 cup of coconut water.  This was pretty delicious.  While I was a little skeptical about the chia seeds they developed a tapioca-like texture that was not at all unappealing.  I later found a recipe for chia-seed pudding, I will try this next week and post.  I think this juice is paced at a perfect time of the day when you are looking for something sweet.

         Tomato Gazpacho – I loved this juice!  I even put it in a bowl and ate it like a cold soup.  I will be using this one frequently in the following weeks.

         Pineapple-Kiwi – Another delicious juice.  I ended up adding an apple at the end to clear the auger.  The harder products help to clear out the juicer from the pulpy/soft fruits.

*** Please see the original Juicer Recipes post for more about ingredients. ***

3. But what about all the pulp?  Well, I save mine and make stock with it.  If a juice recipe contains both fruits and vegetables, then juice your vegetables 1^st so you can start a freezer bag with the pulp from the vegetables.  In a future post I will give you some ideas for the stock.

4. At the end of day one I felt the need to chew so I did have some celery and carrot sticks.

So far I didn’t felt deprived at all, and haven’t had any major withdrawal symptoms…. but I am not a huge coffee drinker (only a cup ~ maybe 2 per day).  If you are going to try a detox you may want to wean down on your caffeine for a few days so you do not experience this withdrawal.

Find me on Facebook: Lara McNeil on Nutrition and Food

And Twitter@LaraMcNeil