February 4, 2011

Stuffed Peppers

I've been toying with the idea of getting bell peppers, specifically, the traffic light peppers (they come wrapped at the supermarket. One is red, one is yellow, and one is green) and filling them with protein with spices.
Spices are rare to Lancaster County and central PA in general.
Originally, spices were added to make things taste better.
They were added to make the same old foods easier to eat. How many days can you eat the same food without getting tired of it? If you add spices, that time gets extended.
Spices can also have medicinal benefits.
So, they taste good. They add longevity to the same old meal, and they might improve your health.

Now, everyone should know that pills are made from natural foods, and plants. They are just a more controlled way of giving you a consistent dosage of whatever it is you are supposed to be getting.
If you eat something that is supposed to be high in a particular vitamin, you don't really know how much of that vitamin you are getting. But, if you take that vitamin in pill form, you are pretty much assured you will get the same dose every time.
So, going off the deep end as far as analogy is concerned....if I cut traffic light peppers in half, and clean out the seeds, I can fill them with the same amount (smaller margin of error) of protein every time. I will be able to regulate my caloric intake too. Mother Nature's measuring cup, so to speak.

My Mother used to add an egg to her ground meat. She used to buy the meat herself, and grind it with her own machine. She used both an electric unit, and a manual unit. But, she was able to decide which cut of beef, poultry, liver, etc. she wanted. No additives, except the egg and any spices she wanted to add.

Spice does have some drawbacks. The nutritional content may change when the spice is cooked. It may increase or decrease. It may dissipate and be worthless with cooking. Or, it may get stronger. Cooking tomatoes for example is supposed to increase it's nutritional value in certain areas. The same thing goes for spice.
One good thing about spice is that it adds no meaningful calories, so you can add as much as you can stand. This rule has exceptions:
The nice thing about adding salt is flavor. But the wackos out there have given salt a bad name. With WLS, salt becomes a non-issue. As long as you aren't using more salt than food, you should be OK.

So, over the next few weeks, for as long as I can stand it, I will be adding different concoctions of protein and fiber to my peppers. I will be able to cook them, and then freeze them for later consumption. Add to this my chili/stew mixes, and the list gets longer.

This will help me to stay on target as far as food is concerned. Now to develop an exercise philosophy that I can follow. That's going to be tougher.

2 comments:

Larraine said...

I love stuffed peppers. There are so many variations. I like ground beef and brown rice the best. However, I'm betting black beans, rice and corn would be great. They freeze well too.

Lee said...

Black beans or refried beans would both be nice. Mash them up just like potatoes too for variety. Add fried onions and veggies. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.
Maybe we should open a restaurant?