Just Sara » vegetables

Bento experiment #4

Sara — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 11:13:16 +0000

Omelette day!

This one looks lighter, and it also feels lighter, but the calories are about the same, bummer…

From left to right:

- 1 cup of rice, carrot sticks

- sorta-omelette made with 1 egg and 1/3 milk, 1 teaspoon flour, a pinch of salt and some grounded mixed pepper, rolled with about 1/2 cup steamed kale and cut into 4 pieces

- 1 tomato, 1/2 carrot, about 1/3 cup of cucumber, mixed salad spices, no oil

Total calories: approx. 460

Bento experiment #3

Sara — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:40:18 +0000

Yummy!

This one is definitely less graphic

From left to right:

- 1 cup of pasta with 1 teaspoon of extra virgin olive oil and some grounded chilli

- 1 cup of kale, cooked in a little water in a frying pan. Then place 1/2 cup at the bottom add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and some grounded chilli. Mix the other 1/2 cup with 1/2 cup of steamed potatoes. Halves the mix, add black pepper to 1 half and some curry powder to the other half. Make 2 small patties with each half. Cook in a frying pan, about 2 minutes per side. Garnish with carrot slices.

- 1 tomato and some cucumber, diced. Dressing: French fresh cheese with chopped basil.

Total calories: approx. 440

Refurbished leftovers

Sara — Sat, 01 May 2010 12:28:38 +0000

Yesterday I cooked some polenta. I had one of those sachets with polenta and dried mushrooms, you can easily cook in 15 minutes or so. Just boil 2 lt or water, add the polenta mix and stir for 10-12 minutes.
Of course, the portions were too many, so I had put the leftover (about 4 portions!) in the refrigerator.

Now… Cold polenta isn’t creamy anymore, so you can either slice it and fry it: not too healthy but very very good! or you can slice it and re-heat it with some vegetables. I had sweet peas, so that’s the result:

Polenta with porcini and sweet peas

First ever rooftop farm on affordable housing project

Sara — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 21:50:28 +0000

Excerpt: ”Solar is not the only green feature appearing on affordable housing projects these days. In fact, a project in the South Bronx is hoping to combat food miles and food deserts at the same time, growing fresh, nutritious vegetables in a 10,000 sq ft rooftop greenhouse on top of a six story affordable housing project. But does the project make sense?”

via TreeHugger.com

Healthy snacks

Sara — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 09:44:27 +0000

My favourite healthy snack

Living on campus has some advantages indeed, like cutting on transportation. But eating at the canteen can easily become a boring routine, especially if the food served is varied, but still, it’s not the same as cooking for yourself. Canteen food also tends to be less “veggie-friendly”, a lot of sauces, trans-fat and sweets.
Then, I decided to turn to some healthier snacking and bought some carrots at the local market. Carrots are high on fiber, contain a lot of Vitamin A (good for eye sight and skin) and crunching cuts on food cravings in general. I feel better already!

How do we choose food?

Sara — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 13:45:39 +0000

“What is the fairest way to eat food?” Click here to read The Atlantic Food Channel article.
Even small changes in our eating habits can lead to big changes in economy. Besides, how many of these habits are really ours and how many are just the result of years and years of media and business influencing people’s choices? Think about it. After all, do we really need to eat pineapples at Christmas and oranges in August? And how many kids nowadays know seasonal fruits and vegetables? Maybe we should teach that in school, eventually, or people will believe tomatoes are perennials and bananas grow spontaneously in Alaska.

Spaghetti con Zucchine e Gamberetti

Sara — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 14:01:38 +0000

SPAGHETTI ZUCCHINE E GAMBERETTI “Spaghetti with zucchini and prawns”
(approx. 6 servings)

In a bowl:
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 white onion (diced)
- 3 medium sized zucchini (diced)
- 1 teaspoon of ground salt

Cook at medium heat until soft, then smash everything (like smashed potatoes) until a little creamy.

At medium heat, add:
- some cream (you can add as much as you want, or even don’t add it…)
- 2 or 3 medium sized zucchini (diced)
- 2 cups of cooked prawns
- a bunch of fresh parsley, chopped a little bit, not too much
- pepper

Cook at medium heat for approx. 10 minutes, till the zucchini are cooked.
In the meantime, cook the spaghetti in boiling, salted water.
Then add the sauce and freshly grounded pepper.

Say kinda veg

Sara — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 09:03:07 +0000

After writing my previous blog entry, I’ve been thinking of the food I’m supposed to avoid for at least 2 weeks. And I soon came to the conclusion that being vegetarian in Italy is very complicated. Not to mention being vegan, ha!
I had lunch with family and noticed that most of the best recipes in Italy have either meat or fish. Shucks! I guess diets do change along the years. Isn’t the Mediterranean diet mostly based on cereal and vegetables, few sugars, few processed foods, low fat and as for animal protein fish preferred to meat. Then maybe, I can try stick to an alcohol-free, mostly vegetarian Mediterranean diet??

To veg or not to veg. That is the question.

Sara — Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:29:05 +0000

I’ve been rethinking my diet this year. I’m not on diet, I just pay more attention to what I eat. I avoid too processed foods, fat and sugars. I definitely eat less pasta, which have been sort of a guilty pleasure ever since my teenage years, especially for the portions.
The thing is, a couple of times in the past 3 years I’ve been thinking of eating less meat, but the times I would try to I would always end up feeling tired, occasionally having sore muscles. I suppose the substitute proteins intake wasn’t balanced enough. Then maybe if I pay more attention to the food I eat, I might really manage to lose some weight without starving myself.
A friend of mine 10 years ago or so, went on a vegetarian diet. She stopped eating meat for maybe 3 or 4 years. Then she started eating meat again, but rarely, and keeps going on her sorta-vegetarian diet. It seems to work and she definitely doesn’t starve herself. Also, she can’t really live without sugars and sweets, but she still keeps her weight under control. Of course, it’s a matter of metabolism, as we all have our own balance and should adjust to our body physiological needs. My friend’s exact same ‘diet’ might not work for me. But I recently tried to have meat no more than 2 times a week. All in all, I feel good. And I love fish, so I’d go for some healthy cooked fish (no wacky sauces or extra oils). Now, the real vegetarian has a whole vision behind the ‘diet’ and I’m not sure I completely agree on every point of it. But still, I’d like to try a vegetarian diet for good. Let’s say, for a couple of weeks, to see how it goes. Maybe a month.

Now vegan, mmm, this is a bit too much for a start. Maybe I can go vegetarian and then if all goes well, also try vegan? We’ll see. One of the nice things I noticed is that if I stay completely away from the booze for even just a week, I can lose up to 3 pounds. This is insane. And also, I do like a little glass of wine now and then. So, it take quite a lot of self-control.
And don’t even think of cutting me off the coffee. I really love coffee. I would hate to have to avoid it completely. Please, no, leave at least one little coffee in the morning, please… Oh, and don’t take those BigRed gums away from me! But hey, don’t they say that the mind is strong than the body? One day I might really wake up and make up my mind I’m going to stay away from coffee for a month. If it ever happens, I will let you know how it goes…

Seriously, I used to be fit. I wasn’t fit at all for a while. When I’m stressed I eat more and if I don’t eat more, I absorb more, or my metabolism hibernates so I gain weight even drinking still water. Then now I’m feeling better. I’ve noticed some changes. I dropped a few pounds and I’m not gaining back the weight. It’s a positive thing, I believe, even if I’m still a bit far from my ideal weight. But the place I’m moving to has some Pilates classes nearby. How about starting Pilates too?
Seems like it’s going to be a busy Fall, this 2009…