Colder weather and a low fat recipe

Good Morning Augusta

This morning we have cloudy skies that will become partly cloudy this afternoon. High near 35 ºF with winds NW at 10 to 15 mph.

Tonight we’ll have mainly clear skies with a low of 17 ºF, and winds N at 5 to 10 mph.

The readings from my weather instruments in the North field are:

Humidity is 61%, the dew point is 21ºF, outside it’s 2.5ºC and 36.7ºF.

The wind direction is West Southwest between 6.9 MPH and  11.3 MPH, generating a wind chill of 28.6ºF.

The Barometric pressure is 29.97 / HPA 1014.9 and rising with a weather graphic indicating sun.

The UV rating is 0.0 out of 16, Sunrise is at 7:14 a.m. Sunset is 4:06 P.M. Moon rise is at 5:26 a.m., Moon set is 3:16 p.m. and the moon phase is waning crescent.  

The RAW METAR reading from the airport in Augusta, Maine is:

 

Visibility is 4.0 miles / 6.4 Kilometers with 

We received no rain or snow yesterday, but the warm temps melted just over half an inch of snow.

SPACE WEATHER

Today’s Solar flux is 75, the solar wind speed is 441 Kilometers per second and the chance of a solar storm is 1%.

Okay folks, time to slow down on the really good, fattening recipes.  Time to prepare yourselves for diets aimed at getting rid of the weight you packed on with all of those holiday goodies you didn’t have the will poser to refuse.

AS for myself, I can resist everything except temptation.

So, let’s start with this one:

VEGETABLE-BEAN SOUP

Serves:  6 (1 1/3 cups)

4 cups (two 16-oz cans) tomatoes, undrained

2 cups water

½ cup finely chopped celery

½ cup chopped onion

2 cups purchased coleslaw mix

1 tbsp. chili seasoning mix

1/8 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. dried parsley flakes

10 oz. (one 16-oz. can) pinto beans, rinsed and drained

10 oz. (one 16-oz. can) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

• Place undrained tomatoes in a blender and process on HIGH 10 to 15 seconds.  Pour blended tomatoes into large saucepan.
• Stir in 2 cups water, ½ cup celery, ½ cup onion, 2 cups purchased coleslaw mix, chili seasoning mix, 1/8 tsp. black pepper, and 1 tsp. parsley flakes.  Add pinto beans and red kidney beans.  Mix well to combine.
• Bring mixture to a boil.  Lower heat.  Cover and simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

HINT:   1½ cups shredded cabbage and ½ cup shredded carrots may be used in place of purchased coleslaw mix.

Compare the following exchanges with most of the recipes I posted before Xmas.

Exchanges:  2½ vegetable, 1 meat, 1 starch

Calories:  185; fat:  1 g; protein:  10 g; carbohydrate:  34 g; sodium:  864 mg; fiber:  3 g

Medical/Doctor’s office tips until January 20:  Do not, under any circumstances, agree to annual physicals or ANY blood work between November 23 and December 31.  Since most people don’t eat “like this” most of the year, agreeing to blood work that indicates your weight and collesteral levels “once a year” smack in the middle of the best foods and goodies generates a false record of your medical condition.  Give things at least 3 weeks to wrestle things back down to normal.

Also, Oatmeal is a great way to reduce cholesterol intake and incrase your fiber.  OF course, the part they don’t tell you is that it also turns you into a natural gas reserve.  IF you work in an office, you may notice your coworkers moving farther away from your desk,  and an increased risk of methane gas burns in your nether regions.  Yeah, we can put robot rovers on Mars, but can they do something more realistic about fiber and cholesterol?