The DIY Diet

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and earlier this season already I’ve been the grateful recipient of pumpkin, squash, onions, tomatoes, peppers, and the like from the bounty of my brother and sister-in-law’s large garden.  They grew some lovely, large pumpkins this year, the ornamental variety, that we used for Halloween decorations.  For Thanksgiving pies, I think we’ll bake a Mrs. Smith’s Frozen Pumpkin Pie.  We like the flavor and the ease of preparation. The acorn squash has been delicious and from the tomatoes, onions, and peppers I’ve made and frozen spaghetti sauce, chili, and tomato pulp for later use. 

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"Sometime during the fall season I’d like to make a trip ‘up north’," my elderly mother said when we were out running errands one day.  I said, "We can do that.  Would you like to go tomorrow?" I think I surprised her with my response.  "Yes," she said without giving it a second thought,  and we made plans to leave the following morning for our former Northeastern Minnesota home.  I made hotel reservations, we packed our bags, told my brother of our plans, and off we went.

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This year I not only made spaghetti sauce from extra tomatoes, I also made chili to freeze for the winter.

In September, my mother and I were out in the country west of the Twin Cities taking care of lovable labrador mutts, Pumba and Beauty, while my brother and sister-in-law went out of state.  Their garden had produced a bumper crop of tomatoes again this year and though the dogs were running me ragged, I couldn’t stand to see those gorgeous tomatoes sit unused in the garden.  My sister-in-law had already filled up her freezer and had given away as many as she could.

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I go through stages on the things I eat for breakfast. For a time, all I will want is fruit and cereal. Then I may crave scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon. Sometimes, nothing will do but cottage cheese and fruit for breakfast. I listen to my what my body is telling me. When I start craving one thing or another, I feel it is my body signaling a need for something. I try to accommodate. Cottage cheese is one breakfast option that is fast and filling with plenty of protein, and keeps hunger at bay for a long time.

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Pasty has a long history in our family, and in the iron mining history of upper-midwestern states like Minnesota and Michigan.

Iron ore was discovered in Upper Peninsula, Michigan in 1844. It was literally sticking up through the ground. Later, it was discovered in northern Minnesota and the first shipment of iron ore left the Minnesota’s Soudan Mine in 1884.

Experienced underground miners from Cornwall, England came to these areas to work the mines. They brought with them a convenient meal in a pastry shell called Pasty.

The diverse ethnic population living in northern Michigan and northern Minnesota quickly adopted the Pasty and made it their own. My family was among them.

The original Cornish Pasty is made as an individual serving. They were made in the early morning, wrapped in towels warm, and eaten for lunch in the cool underground environment. It was nourishing, delicious, and convenient.

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I had never made chicken pot pie before I ran across the Kraft Foods recipe for Gram’s Chicken Pot Pie Updated.

As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, I don’t buy commercially prepared meals that contain chicken in any kind of sauce, so when I eat chicken in a sauce, I make it myself. I also didn’t think Chicken Pot Pie would be low enough in calories for me to include in my diet. I was wrong.

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Chicken salad is one of my favorite low calorie lunches and ever since I ran across the 7-oz. vacuum-packed, foil packages of 100% natural white meat chicken by Valley Fresh in my local grocery store, I keep it on hand for quick, last-minute meals when I don’t feel like roasting my own chicken or picking apart a super market roasted chicken.

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I know that you’ve all heard of the Cabbage Soup Diet. One of the articles I have saved in my diet and nutrition file (OK, no file, just a pile of stuff about diets) is from Woman’s World magazine. The article dates back to 1996 or thereabouts, so it has been around a long, long time. I can’t read the date on my copy of the diet article, but I think it says 1996.

The article gives the recipe for Cabbage Soup and the foods to eat on a daily basis, in combination with the cabbage soup, in order to lose 14 pounds in a week. I’ve tried the diet twice and I was never able to follow it beyond the first three days. I can’t tell you why, I just didn’t or couldn’t follow it when I tried.

But, I like the soup. I think it’s delicious. It’s basically a thick, meatless vegetable soup. My only problem was that the recipe made far too much soup for any one person, and I was living alone. The recipe makes about a gallon or so.

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Finnish people make a meal out of pea soup, so the soup isn’t just peas and a few vegetables for flavoring.

It is a hearty, somewhat chunky soup that contains not only the peas but ham, carrots, celery, onions, and potatoes. Pair it with a slice of homemade rye bread spread with real butter and you have a wonderfully satisfying and filling meal for the cold weather months.

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Is there any better winter food to warm and comfort the body and the soul than a good beef stew?

And this is a good one. The recipe was given to me by my friend, Gaye, whom I believe got it from one of the Red Wing area church cookbooks. The recipe originally called for hamburger; I use beef stew meat. And it is designed for simmering in a slow cooker. It can also be simmered on top the stove but will require stirring occasionally.

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