Spicy Pea Stew, Stuffed Tomatoes, and A Smoothie

I got a TON of pink-eyed peas from the farmer's market this week and last week, so I decided to go ahead and finally cook them!  Boiled them for about 1 hour.  Drain and done.

This week's market: pink-eyed peas, lima beans, baby shiitakes, peaches, nectarines, plums, fresh oregano, cucumbers, butternut squash, little eggplants, tomatoes, and bell peppers.

And that leads me to today's lunch!

Tanya's Spicy Pea Stew

1 1/2 cups cooked pink-eyed peas (or black-eyed)
1 cup strained tomatoes
1 cup corn kernels 
1 large bell pepper (any color), chopped
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 medium/large tomato, chopped
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp Creole seasoning (or a mix of cayenne & other peppers)
1 tsp salt
garlic powder & crushed red pepper flakes


Saute the onion in 1/4 cup water.  Add water as needed, so it doesn't stick.  When soft, add the celery and peppers.  Cook on medium for 2-3 minutes.  Add the corn and a little more water and cover.  Let steam for 2-3 minutes.  Add the peas and all spices, except the salt.  Stir and add the strained tomatoes.  Add in the chopped tomato and cook for another few minutes.  Just before serving, add the salt and stir.  Serve over couscous or brown rice.

I served mine over Near East couscous, as they were kind enough to send me a few boxes. I haven't had couscous in a while and it was very tasty :)

Speaking of couscous, they also sent me their Toasted Pine Nut flavored couscous, which went really well in the Sicilian Stuffed Tomatoes I made from Robin Robertson's 1,000 Vegan Recipes.

Some with a little Daiya on top, and some without:

One of the blog's I read is Mama Pea's Peas and Thank You blog.  You should check it out, especially if you have kids (her girls are so cute!).  And I've probably bookmarked a billion of her recipes by now.....so I decided I should finally make one. I made her Simple Black Beans and Corn and Millet Pudding. The only problem I had was that the millet would NOT grind up.  I still put it in, but I added in a few spoons of cornmeal to help.  Not sure why the millet wouldn't grind up in my food processor.  Maybe it would have, in the Vita-Mix?? Anyway, it was all delicious!  Now I have a ton of beans....I froze most of them :)

On to another smoothie recipe:

The "what do I call it?":

1/2 banana
1 peach, pitted
2 carrots
1/2 cup blueberries
1/2 cup water


Blend. I think ginger might go nicely in there, but I haven't tried it yet.

Stevia:
Have any of you tried Stevia? I tried it (and spent a lot of money for the little container) and can't stand it.  I do love licorice flavor, but that was just toooooo much. Bleh.  I bought the powdered stevia extract.  But I also tried my mom's regular stevia powder (not extract) and still didn't like it.....I tried both in my oatmeal.  Maybe it's better in a smoothie?? Any other suggestions?

Other stuff I've eaten:

Nori rolls with Ani Phyo's "Sushi" Rice made from jicama:

My friend's eggplant dip:

Ok, that's all for today.  Glad we didn't get a tropical storm this week after all :)

Giveaway:

LeslieLovesVeggies is giving away 2 copies of "The 30-Minute Vegan's Taste of the East" cookbook!

Look for a post Monday or Tuesday about my giveaway!!

Eat smart,
T.

Sweeteners and Vitamin D

Today, I decided I needed to create a post about nutritional matters that I've been thinking a lot about.

Which sweeteners are considered "healthy"? 

You read so many different things from so many different articles and then you hear so many other things from other people.  I don't know who I'm supposed to believe.  I do know, however, that plain white sugar is BAD.  Ok, good, we've gotten that far.  I've heard from different sources that agave nectar, "raw" sugar (turbinado), brown rice syrup, maple syrup, and stevia are the healthier sweetener choices to make.

Recently, however, I've read that agave nectar is not so good, due to its high fructose content.  But that's good for diabetics, right?  I'm not diabetic, but I've read that it has a very low glycemic index.  So what's better: low glycemic and high fructose? Or low/no fructose?  Is fructose bad, just because HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup) is bad?

And how can I tell what and how a sweetener has been processed?  It doesn't tell me on the package.  I've read that some makers of agave nectar have actually replaced the content with HFCS!! And that some agave is actually raw....or is it??

I did switch over to agave nectar and now I'm not sure that's such a great idea.  I do also have some turbinado sugar in my kitchen, which I don't use very often, as well as some maple syrup, which is used only occasionally.  I do try to use dates when I make desserts in my food processor.  Are dates the healthiest choice because they're in their most natural state??

I'm so confused! And stevia is so new....is it really the best and healthiest option? I don't think it has any calories either, which makes it an even better looking choice for a lot of us.  So what if it's from an herb....all the other sugars are from plants as well....agave plant, sugar cane, beets, dates.....all plants.  So I guess it's all about HOW it's processed before it gets to my kitchen, right?  I don't think I can grow sugar cane on my patio (although they do grow a ton of sugar cane down here) and there are no maple trees to tap.  Should I just grow my own stevia plants?  Then do I crumble up the leaves?  Can I buy unprocessed stevia sweetener?  Or are ALL sweeteners processed in some way or another?

I'd really love to hear your comments and suggestions because I'm kind of at a  loss right now.  I don't consume a ton of sweetener, but I'd really like to know what the healthiest options are.  Or is there no correct answer? Please share this post with your friends, because I want to hear from as many people as possible.

I'm also putting a poll about sweeteners on the righthand side of this page....please fill it out if you have the time (it's very quick).

Vitamin D: How do you get yours?


We've recently been tested for Vitamin D and my husband was very low.  I haven't gotten my results yet, but I'm assuming mine will be as well.  Of course, our doctor recommended a Vitamin D supplement via prescription.  It's 50,000 Units per week for a month, then 50,000 units per month.  That sounds awfully high to me.  What are your thoughts on amounts?  I think there will be a new RDA coming this year, so I'll be interested to see what that is.

We walk several times a day.....we thought we were getting enough sun that way (especially living in the south).  That doesn't seem to be the case.  I've also read that most people (not taking supplements) are deficient in Vitamin D, although vegans and vegetarians are even more deficient than non-vegetarians.  I guess that's why doctors are now screening for it.

There aren't really any food sources of Vitamin D for vegans, are there?  I recently found a company online: Monterey Mushrooms.  They've grown mushrooms with extra light, to add Vitamin D!  That's pretty clever, no?  However, I've never seen those mushrooms and I don't know if they're available anywhere around here. I'd rather not take supplements if I don't have to.

So where do YOU get your Vitamin D?  Again, I'd love to read your comments about this and there will be a quick poll for you to answer on the right side of this page.

UPDATE: Here's another interesting article on Vitamin D2 vs D3.

Thanks for listening! And pass this along to your friends!

Eat smart,
T.