Fresh Salsa and Chili

What is the 4th of July without a crazy hat?

Another lady decorated this cake while we watched.

Guy's chili with fresh cilantro on top.

Flag cake.  Glad I got a picture of it because it vanished before I even saw it cut.

For our 4th of July potluck, my boyfriend made the most awesome chili (no beans) as well as fresh salsa.  I roasted the peppers for the salsa and peeled half of them.  He did everything else.  People were standing in line waiting for the chili to heat up at the pot luck. Many of them used it to make a chili dog. He got lots of compliments on the salsa as well.  Nothing beats fresh. And I never really think of salsa as a vegetarian food, but it kept the vegetarians happy too.

The flag cake is amazing too. I can't take credit for that one. 

Day 2 Strawberries For The Win

Good news to report on yesterday's smoothy. No acid reflux or any other nasty side effects.  So Yay.

For today I used a red pear, half a cucumber, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, red cabbage, 1/2 cup spring water, and a handful of cilantro. It was okay but it didn't rock my world.  I put some ice cubes in because I find they taste better cold. As I was putting the tray back, I spotted some frozen strawberries long ago forgotten in the freezer.  I defrosted them for 1 minute in the microwave and tossed them in.  Wowsa, what a difference.  This was like a treat I'd pay big bucks for at a street fair.

In the past when I've done fruit smoothies I used apple or orange juice. Then I got acid reflux.  Also, store bought juices are full of other crap like added corn syrup. Now that I'm using water as my liquid, and a balance of veggies and fruits, I'm hoping to avoid the acid reflux issues. I will say between this and my usual breakfast, I wasn't hungry for lunch until about 4 o'clock.

Adding the frozen strawberries gave me an idea.  I toss out tons of fruit that gets too ripe before I can eat it.  So I'm going to start freezing all my left over fruit (particularly bananas), so I always have a bit of frozen stuff to keep my smoothy cold enough. This is going to save me all kinds of money. And since I added the strawberries today I had almost 3/4 of the smoothy left over, so that goes in the freezer too as a base for tomorrow's smoothy. That will save time on chopping up things.

Tomorrow is the 4th of July so today I'll be roasting peppers for the chili my boyfriend is making for our  4th of July potluck. If you are in the U.S.A. then Happy 4th of July baby.

Purple Monster Drink

I haven't had any energy lately. When I saw an TV ad for the Nutrient Bullet it got me thinking about starting my day with a nutritional smoothy.  But when I looked into buying one it was over $150.  So I'm making due with my blender. I've tried drinking fruit smoothies and they give me acid reflux.  So we'll see if I can handle part fruit and part veggies.

I got up this morning and put together a concoction that is as follows:

Purple Monster Smoothy

Half of a peeled cucumber
1 ripe banana
5 pitted fresh cherries
handful of cilantro
handful of red cabbage
tsp. of sesame seeds
1/2 cup of spring water

I call this one a win, because it didn't taste horrid.  Mostly I tasted banana. I was able to drink the glass without gagging. And it's colorful.

Nutrient facts:  Cucumber: High in potassium and ß-carotene and α-carotene, vitamin-C, vitamin-A, zea-xanthin and lutein.

Banana: This food is very low in Saturated Fat, Cholesterol and Sodium. It is also a good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin C, Potassium and Manganese, and a very good source of Vitamin B6

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/1846/2#ixzz1zUnDV3pa

Cherry: Scientific studies have shown that anthocyanins in the cherries are found to act like anti-inflammatory agents by blocking the actions of cycloxygenase-1 and 2 enzymes. Thus consumption of cherries has potential health effects against chronic painful episodes such as gout arthritis, fibromyalgia (painful muscle condition) and sports injuries. (source: http://www.nutrition-and-you.com/cherry-fruit.html).

Cilantro: This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin and Zinc, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin E (Alpha Tocopherol), Vitamin K, Riboflavin, Niacin, Vitamin B6, Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Phosphorus, Potassium, Copper and Manganese

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2414/2#ixzz1zUoK5fUC

Red Cabbage: This food is very low in Saturated Fat and Cholesterol. It is also a good source of Thiamin, Riboflavin, Folate, Calcium, Iron and Magnesium, and a very good source of Dietary Fiber, Vitamin A, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin B6, Potassium and Manganese.

Read More http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2373/2#ixzz1zUod6JgC

Sesame seeds: Not only are sesame seeds a very good source of manganese and copper, but they are also a good source of calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, vitamin B1, zinc and dietary fiber. In addition to these important nutrients, sesame seeds contain two unique substances: sesamin and sesamolin. Both of these substances belong to a group of special beneficial fibers called lignans, and have been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in humans, and to prevent high blood pressure and increase vitamin E supplies in animals. Sesamin has also been found to protect the liver from oxidative damage. Source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=84

So, let's hope this gives me more energy.