More on Menus
The quick answer: In your menu planning, homemade soups and casseroles provide both nutrition and value.
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Paula Deen and Southern Cooking
To spend time in the Deep South, especially the small towns, is to appreciate the colorful uniqueness of the people. They’re good folks—hospitable, hard working, and mostly happy. Their diet is unique: grits, sweet potato pie, and something fried. If they serve you a steak, it’s supposed to overlap both sides of your plate. They like BBQ from shacks in the woods that have never seen a health inspector. My favorite treat was pecan pie.
Life can be hard in the South. You’ve heard the phrase attributed to Nietzsche: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger”? In one way it’s true, for the South has more than its share of strong people. You’ve likely heard the phrase, “steel magnolias.” There’s plenty of steel in celebrity chef Paula Deen, who overcome a difficult childhood to make millions as the unapologetic advocate of politically incorrect food.
This week Deen revealed she’s been diabetic for three years, the likely result of a lifestyle that included little exercise and lots of sugary and deep-fried foods. When the news of her secret came out there were immediate cries of “hypocrite”. Deen can ignore her detractors, most, after all, are Yankees, and her sons aim to get rich with “light” versions of her recipes.
The controversy will die down but this question remains: What if Paula Deen had spent 2011 living the 52 Healthy Changes? Poor girl, she really missed out. A slim and healthy Paula Deen would have been a hit when Dancing With The Stars came calling.
The Soup Aisle
A reader, Zane, commenting on menu writing, said soup was a staple in their family dietary. Here’s a brief history of soup in America.
Homemade soups are enjoyed around the world; they’re economical, healthy, filling, and low in calories. Americans got out of the soup habit and I blame it on the success of the Campbell Soup Company. In the 20th century battle over the supermarket soup aisle, Campbell’s canned soups were the clear winner. No contest.
But there was a big problem: Though a labor-saver for the housewife, the usual attributes of soup—value, taste, and nutrition—were lost. Soup consumption declined—canned soup just didn’t taste that good, even with all the added salt. There was a revival when casserole recipes using canned soups became popular in the ‘50s but they didn’t taste all that good so this only turned a generation off on casseroles. Casseroles, properly done, have the all virtues of homemade soup.
So one of the goals of this blog is to restore homemade soups to the American dietary. They’re tasty, economical, low in calories, and can be used for several meals. And if cooking, as others have said, is how you add love to ingredients, then these slow-cooking dishes are the stuff of sweet dreams.
Menus and Constancy of Purpose
In my work life, no person influenced me more than W. Edward Deming. Deming, now deceased, was the statistical guru who taught the Japanese after WWII that they could be more successful making quality products than by just offering the cheapest goods. He offered a system for efficiently improving quality based on what he called profound knowledge. The Japanese, humbled by defeat, listened and as Japan Inc. prospered he became a revered figure.
Our approach to this blog, Word of Wisdom Living, is influenced by Deming’s teachings. We shun the ever-changing “exciting news of the day” broadcast by the media, which makes nutrition confusing for many. Our policy is to focus on basics, apply them to the life of regular people, and steer a steady course. We find the wisdom of traditional foods and olden ways more compelling that the latest study.
A primary Deming teaching was “constancy of purpose.” Using an effective tool for a few weeks doesn’t make a big difference. But there’s real power if it becomes a habit. Nutrition is a perfect application for constancy of purpose. Chronic disease develops slowly, over decades. So good health requires doing the right thing over the long term.
New Years resolutions are good, but the big benefit lies in what you do all year long. And this brings us back go this week’s Healthy Change of writing weekly menus. Did you notice this was HC#13 last year? We’ve moved it up to #3 position for good reason—a menu provides constancy of purpose! When you write a menu, you focus on healthful and economic ingredients such as lentils, legumes, and vegetables in season. Plus, with planning, soups, stews, and casseroles become practical.
Please comment: Share recipe tips, or your favorite soup or casserole recipe.
Friday, January 20, 2012 at 11:30AM | by Skip Hellewell | 4 Comments | 1 Reference | Share Article | Email Article
Reader Comments (4)
A perfectly easy and nutritious soup we eat often is an italian tortellini soup.
1/2 C onion, chopped
2 Tbs. garlic
sauteed in 1 Tbsp. oil
Add 4 C chicken broth and bring to a boil.
Boil 8-10 oz. cheese tortellini until desired doneness
Add 1 undrained 14 oz. can of italian stewed diced tomatoes
10 oz. frozen, chopped spinach (cooked and drained)
Heat through and enjoy! We love it with some fresh home baked french or whole wheat bread.
We tried this minestrone. It was fun to watch kids eat kale and celery root. We had to try 3 stores to find the celery root, I'm glad we did.
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 celery root, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups vegetable broth (recipe follows), chicken broth, or turkey broth
1 quart crushed tomatoes or tomato purée, or 1 (28-ounce) can
3 cups thinly sliced green or savoy cabbage, or kale (remove and discard tough stems from kale)
1-1/2 cups cooked white beans (cannellini, navy, pea), or 1 (15-ounce) can, rinsed and drained
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 cup small pasta (rings, ditalini, alphabets, bowties)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery root, carrot, and garlic, and sauté until the vegetables are slightly tender, about 3 minutes. Add the broth, tomatoes, cabbage, beans, rosemary, and thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.
2. Return the soup to a boil. Add the pasta and boil gently until the pasta is tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve hot.
We've been enjoying soups this winter and we have a new favorite in our house. It is Cream of Mushroom soup made with lots of fresh mushrooms and some cream made by blending some soaked cashews. It is out of this world good. I never knew I loved mushroom soup until this recipe came along. The recipe is from Joy the Baker, here's the link:
http://www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/02/vegan-cream-of-mushroom-soup-with-not-so-vegan-herb-bread/
hi skip - i feel really sorry for paula deen. also one of our local bakers has diabetes and is in a wheelchair in his shop. it can be an occupational hazard, just like i am exposed to lots of germs as a teacher.
after lots of experimenting, we have found exactly what you said - routines help us. double working, always hungry, little time. so having a healthy plan works.
joy to you!