Additive free cream soups

Before I start in on soups, I thought I'd revisit my sausage experiment for a moment.  My husband tasted the sausage last night.  He thought the meat was fine, but thought the seasonings could use some tweaking.  I think I might be getting sick, because even opening the bowl makes my stomach turn and dinner last night tasted icky-even though the kids all had seconds.  I'm going to wait and get back to the sausage when I'm over my "bug."

OK, on to soups.  For years upon years, I considered myself a healthy cook, making some things from scratch while taking advantage of the conveniences that the grocery store offered-Pillsbury cresenct rolls and Campbell's condensed soup being my favorites.  I would throw together a casserole of ground beef, pasta, cream of mushroom soup, and Velveeta.  Then I would make green beans (from a can) and crescent rolls for sides.  Really that's a fine meal, but once I began paying attention to what the ingredients were in the meals I was making, I wanted to change.  I got rid of the Velveeta, switched to whole grain noodles and fresh or frozen veggies.  I even started to make my own dinner rolls, but I still hung on to that can of cream soup. 

Last summer though I found a recipe for Cream of Something soup on Pioneer Woman's Tasty Kitchen site.  Essentially the recipe is a roux with a few added ingredients.  A roux (pronounced "roo") is flour combined with a fat-usually butter.  To make a cream soup, I melt butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour and cook it until it starts to turn a nutty-brown.  Then I add a little salt and a liquid (either milk or broth).  Whisk it until thickened.  If I want cream of mushroom, then I would sautee sliced or chopped mushrooms in the butter before adding the flour.  The same goes with celery, onion, etc.  I can turn it into a cheese soup by adding shredded cheese after the soup has thickened.  I could turn it into a gravy by exchanging the milk for chicken or beef broth.  I've done a really great mushroom gravy that used chicken broth and then poured it over thick sliced pork tenderloin in the crock pot.  7-8 hours on low and the pork was fork tender and the gravy was rich.  I usually serve it with mashed potatoes and a green veggie on the side.

A couple days ago we had baked potato bar for dinner.  I fried up a few pieces of bacon and crumbled them,  strained some homemade yogurt to use for sour cream, and made an awesome broccoli cheese sauce to go over the potatoes.

Broccoli Cheese Sauce
2 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. whole white wheat flour
1 cup milk
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar)
1 cup or more chopped, cooked broccoli

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add flour and whisk until combined.  Let cook a few minutes until the mixture turns a golden brown.  Add milk and salt and continue whisking until mixture thickens.  Add broccoli and mix.  Serve when heated through.

I served this over a baked potato, but it would also work well over rice or noodles.  You could change it up by using parmesan or another sharp tasting cheese, or using broth instead of milk.

Saying bye-bye to artificial color

There it is!  Look at it in all its glory!  This package of Jell-o is (from what I can tell) the last item of our consumable food that has artificial color.  The box has been in the back of our cabinet for a LONG time.  I think I originally bought it for a dessert I was making and then changed my mind.  Since I am cleaning up/out the pantry this week, I thought we might as well use it and get it out of here.

I try to read the labels on everything I buy to make sure it meets my food requirements.  Those are no artificial colors/flavors, no high fructose corn syrup, no preservatives, and now, no GMO's.  Occasionally, towing 3 kids around while shopping, I get distracted and something ends up in my pantry that I otherwise would not have there.  To limit these mistakes, I am attempting to make bulk food orders online and when I shop in the grocery store, only buy whole foods (fresh produce, dairy and meat).  There is the whole organic vs. non-organic thing to consider, but I'm not there yet.  Baby steps, remember!  :)

UPDATE:  Last night I filled a bowl for my 3 year old and set it in front of him.  He said, "WHAT IS THIS STUFF?" (Evidently the kid had never had it, who knew?)  I told him it was Jell-o and it was a kind of dessert.  He ate it and loved it (of course), but soon after he finished he said, "What else you got to eat.  Yell-yo tastes good but I still hungry.  You got food?"  He then had a couple orange slices and a small cup of rice milk and was good to go.  At least he realized that Jell-o isn't one of those "fill-you-up" kind of foods!

Week 1: Say NO to soda!

Happy New Years!  I am officially starting my journey tomorrow and will make a new change starting each Monday throughout 2011, starting with soda.  This is a no-brainer for most healthy people, but I've been clinging to my soda addiction for a long time.  I have definitely cut back in the past year.  But, even as recently as 6 months ago, I was still drinking 2-3 cans per day.  Last month I had cut that back to a glass every few days, and thought I had my habit licked.  I found out this weekend, when I spent Christmas at my parents' house, that I drank soda on a regular basis.  I've probably consumed a 2 liter bottle over the past couple of days.  It's obvious to me that my habit is still just that, a habit-one that I need to break.  I don't think I am going to be one of those people that can have one here and there.  I am going to have to quit cold turkey and stick to it!

Most of us know the reasons that drinking soda is not a healthy choice, but while I was researching, I found a couple things I didn't know.  Obviously, soda is full of empty calories.  I once had a friend tell me that if I quit eating Tootsie Rolls and drinking Dr. Pepper that I would lose 25 pounds.  She was probably on to something.  A 12 ounce can of Dr. Pepper (my drink of choice) contains 150 calories, and 40.5 grams of sugar.  That's over 9.5 teaspoons of sugar!  And, in the past, I would regularly drink 4 cans a day.  Hello... 38 teaspoons of sugar.  Just for the record, that's a little more than 3/4 of a cup.  Multiply that by 365 days in a year, and it ends up being just shy of 290 cups of sugar.  Wow!  If that alone isn't enough to make a person quit, I don't know what is!  But wait, here's more.

This is the ingredient list as listed on the Dr. Pepper website.

CARBONATED WATER, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, CARAMEL COLOR, PHOSPHORIC ACID, ARTIFICIAL AND NATURAL FLAVORS, SODIUM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE), CAFFEINE.

High fructose corn syrup (which I will go into later)
Phosphoric acid (it's acid-can that be good for you?)
Artifical flavor (ie. chemicals)
Sodium Benzoate (it even says it is a preservative-do you seriously need to preserve your drink?)
Caffeine (I don't have a problem with caffeine itself, but at my 4 cans a day rate, I don't think that is necessary.)

I've also read other articles regarding decay of tooth enamel and osteoporosis linked to soda.

Soda should not be the go-to drink in a healthy lifestyle.  I am sure that there are many people out there who could have a glass here and there and be just fine, and if I could do it, I would.  It has become obvious to me that I am not one of those people.  From here on out, I'm choosing to say NO to soda.  Someone might want to check on me in a few days to make sure that I haven't gone into severe withdrawl!  :)

Have you given up soda for good?  Was it difficult?