Peppers, Onions and Eggs for Dinner

Veggies atop the chicken at the restaurant.

Over this past weekend, my friend Tom and I went to a local Mexican restaurant we hadn't been to in a while. I decided to try something I'd never tried before and went with the Pollo Salvadoreno - Grilled Chicken El Salvador style. I had imagined that the veggies would be cooked down more than they were, but they were still mostly crispy. If you've ever had fajitas, you know what they looked like, but they were cooked LESS than that. I was disappointed, but still ate the chicken, which was delicious. The veggies smelled fantastic, so I brought them home along with the leftover rice, beans, chips and salsa. 

I decided on Thursday that I was going to use those peppers and onions. Perfectly good food that deserved being eaten, even if it was in a different way than originally served. But, I didn't want to thaw out any meat. I wanted something fast and easy. 

Peppers and eggs are very popular in our area, especially where there are a lot of Italians. I'm sorry to say that I refused to ever try them until after my mother passed away five years ago. She would have been thrilled to see me eat them. I discovered I liked them quite a bit. Yes, these peppers came with onions, too, but they were sweet onions, which I'll eat cooked. I don't like onions that have a sharp bite to them and I'll never ever eat an onion raw. So, I tossed the

Shortly after pouring the eggs in the pan.

Salvadoreno vegetables in the pan with some olive oil and began to pan grill them to where I like eating them. While that was happening, I got out seven eggs and put them in a bowl with some milk and scrambled them. 

Once the veggies were cooked (some might call these burnt - I prefer "blackened"), I poured the scrambled eggs over them and began cooking everything together. I took two pictures of the eggs - one while they were setting up and one after I'd stirred them and they were done. There is also a photo from the restaurant showing the veggies as they were before I decided to cook them again. 

After stirring with a wooden spoon until they were just set.

Add two slices of some fantastic artisan whole grain bread from Trader Joe's, toasted and buttered, and I can't deny that I had a pleasurable meal. 

Have you ever brought leftovers home and turned them into something else?

Originally published to my Bubblews account.

The Benefits of Whole Grains

By now, we should all be aware of the fact that whole grains are good for us. Because they are not refined to the same degree as other flours, they retain all the nutrition and fiber found in the hulls of each grain. However, not everything that says “whole grain” is necessarily wholly whole.

Various grains by Rainer Zenz over Thuresson on Wikimedia Commons

According to Dr. Oz, manufacturers often use phrases that sound suspiciously like what you’re looking for, but may not even be close.

• Made with whole grains
  It may have a pinch of whole grains, but unless it's 100 percent, you won't reap most of the potential benefits.
• Multigrain
  This tells you nothing about whether the grains are whole or refined. Even if you're getting 38 different grains, that isn't much good if they are all refined.
• Whole grain
  If the label doesn't say "100 percent whole grain," it may have many grain blends. Bad words to see paired with "flour" are: "enriched," "bleached," "unbleached," "semolina," "durum" and "rice." (http://www.oprah.com/health/Health-Benefits-of-Whole-Wheat-Bread)

So, if it doesn’t say 100% on the label, don’t buy it if it’s whole grains that you’re going for.  My opinion deviates slightly from this in that when a family is used to nothing but refined grain breads and other flour products, it might be best to wean them into the whole grains. Going straight from nice, soft, spongy white bread to nutty and heavier whole grain bread can be a shock. Maybe start with the new whole grain white and go from there which according to the Mayo Clinic provide identical benefits to regular brown whole grain breads. Once they realize they’re already eating whole grains, they may branch out to try other forms. I personally like some of the whole grain breads. In fact, I like whole grain breads better than whole wheat bread.

Another thing is that whole grains are better for diabetics. The way the body processes the whole grain carbs is much different than the refined carbs. Eating white bread is like eating a spoonful of sugar for me. I do buy it when the budget’s tight, but I can tell the difference. It speeds through my system like a jet plane and the next thing I know, I’m sleepy and wanting a nap. But, if I’m eating a whole grain product, the processing in my system takes longer and the body processes the carbs more efficiently, so I don’t get that sudden drop in energy (not to mention the rapid elevation of sugar). If you are diabetic and are eating a refined carb item, make sure you also eat an equal amount of protein. The protein will help reduce the rate at which your body processes those carbs. That doesn’t mean that it’s OK all the time, but try to balance it when you have no other choice.

Did you know that tortilla chips are whole grain? Boy, I like them with salsa! But, my sugar doesn’t spike and I don’t get that “can’t hold my eyes open” reaction to eating them. Of course, I use that fact to justify my addiction to that snack, but it really isn’t that horrific of a thing. The salsa is low carb and the chips are complex carbs. I had my sugar read at the ER about an hour and a half after making a meal of chips and salsa and it was actually normal! Of course, just eating chips and salsa isn’t very balanced, but I haven’t had a normal sugar mid-day in a long time. So, I can attest to the benefit of whole grains with regard to diabetes.

Are you dieting? Do you like rye bread? Then maybe you should eat more rye bread than wheat bread. Studies have shown that people who ate rye bread at breakfast were less hungry at lunch than those who ate wheat. Whether it’s because of rye’s high fiber content or rye’s interaction with the body’s insulin triggers, people who eat rye bread feel fuller longer. Rye-brand breads have an even better effect on hunger. (ibid.)

So, everyone should start trying to incorporate whole grain products into their daily diets. It doesn’t take much to start making the switch. Some of the choices out there are really delicious!