Indigenous Peoples

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a calorie total of less than 600. On another day this week, eat the meals from a different post, another day of eating 600 calories or less. Eat sensibly the other days of the week. That’s it. Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Welcome to Colorful Sisters who are now Following.

‘Indigenous’ is from the latin word ‘indigenus,’ meaning ‘native.’ In North America, there are 562 recognized groups of Indigenous Peoples. Many more are in Central and South America, not to mention other areas around the world. The colonizers were amazed by native foods, taking them back to introduce to Europe. Corn [Zea mays], beans [Phaseolus vulgaris], and tomatoes [Solanum lycopersicum] subsequently entered into the cuisine of Spain, and then other countries. Corn, beans, and squashes were the foundations of indigenous agriculture and food culture — and where would we be today without them? Whether you call the original people ‘indigenous’ or ‘First Nations,’ October 10 is a day to celebrate their culture and foods.

The basic salad of three ‘American’ ingredients is a fine dish by itself. It can be added to other ingredients for a breakfast or a dinner. Very versatile! [I use the word ‘American’ to mean North, Central, and South America which took their name from Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian-Spanish merchant-explorer who visited the ‘New World’ much more extensively in the 1490s than did Columbus.]

Tomato-Corn-Black Bean Salad:  1 Serving = ¾ cup = 115 calories 4 g fat 5 g fiber 5 g protein 17 g carbs 30 mg Calcium  PB GF  For a real late Summer treat, you can’t beat fresh corn and tomatoes!  100Daysofrealfood provided the recipe and then I altered it a little. HINT: This makes 3 cups of salad. One generous serving = ¾ cup. As good as it is colorful.

1½ ears of corn  
1 c canned black beans, drained and rinsed
Blanch the corn for 1 minute in boiling water. Cool + cut the kernels off the cob and put in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the rinsed beans to the bowl. 
4 oz tomato: cherry toms cut in half OR whole tomato cut in ½” dice
¼ cup red onion, diced
Gently mix beans + corn with tomatoes + onion. Heat vegetables in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to make slightly warm.
¼ cup basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
In a small bowl combine the basil, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over the warmed vegetables and stir to combine. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Summer Vegetable Bake 129 calories 6 g fat 2.4 g fiber 8 g protein 11 g carbs 33 mg Calcium  NB: The food values given above are for the egg and hash only, not the optional hot beveragePB GF  Corn, beans, and tomatoes are native American foods and they all ripen in late Summer. They find themselves to be right at home in this breakfast.

1 two-oz egg ¼ cup corn-black bean-tomato salad [see above recipe] pinch of chili pepper 2 oz melon   Optional: blackish coffee [53 calories] or blackish tea or mocha cafe au lait [65 calories] Optional: 5-6 oz fruit smoothie or berry-yogurt smoothie  [88 calories]

Whisk the egg with the chili pepper. Heat the toaster oven to 350 F. Spritz an oven-proof dish with cooking oil or spray and put the corn salad into it. Pour the egg on top and bake for 12-15 minutes. Plate with the melon for a taste of Meso-America.

Tomato-Corn-Black Bean Salad Dinner: 274 calories 9 g fat 16.5 g protein 34.7 g carbs [34 g Complex] 63.4 mg Calcium  PB GF  For a real late Summer treat, you can’t beat fresh corn and tomatoes! The recipe is from 100Daysofrealfood and then I altered it a little. HINT: This makes 4 cups of salad. One generous serving = ¾ cup. As good as it is colorful.

1½ ears of corn 
1 c canned black beans, drained and rinsed
Blanch the corn for 1 minute in boiling water. Cool + cut the kernels off the cob and put in a microwave-safe bowl. Add the rinsed beans to the bowl. 
4 oz tomato: cherry tomatoes cut in half OR whole tomato cut in 1” dice
¼ cup red onion, diced
Gently mix beans + corn with tomatoes + onion. Heat vegetables in the microwave for 45-60 seconds to make slightly warm.
1 oz cooked beef, from steak or roast OR 1 oz roast pork Slice the meat very thinly and warm it briefly if it is cold.
¼ cup basil leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
salt and pepper
In a small bowl combine the basil, oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Pour over the warmed vegetables and stir to combine. If you are not serving 5 people, cool and store the leftovers in the refrigerator. 
Plate ¾ cup of corn salad per serving and arrange the meat on top

Rosa of Lima

How this Fast Diet Lifestyle works: Eat these meals tomorrow, for a total of 600 calories. On Monday, eat the meals that will be posted on Sunday, another day of 600 calories.  Eat sensibly the other days of the week.  That’s it.  Simple way to lose weight and be healthier. Join me in the Fasting Lifestyle.

 Isabel Flores de Olivia was born on August 20, 1586, to a family of Spanish colonists in Peru.  To her parents’ dismay, she died with the name Rosa of Lima. Little did they suspect that she would become the first Catholic saint born in the ‘New World.’  The beautiful girl was slated for marriage, but defied her parents by wishing to become a nun.  They grudgingly agreed, permitting her to live a secluded life in a hut in their garden. There Rosa fasted, lived an ascetic life, and helped the sick and poor. Her elevation to sainthood was a boost to the faith of the inhabitants of Peru and all of South America.

Many foods we commonly eat today are from Peru, and in honor of Rosa, we will sample several. The breakfast contains tomatoes and anchovies, both typical ingredients which Rosa would have known.  The dinner contains Lima beans, of course, in a traditional meal of Western Hemisphere First Peoples.

Peruvian ScrOmelette:  289 calories…  8.3 g fat…   3 g fiber…  17.4 g protein…   37 g carbs… 231.6 mg Calcium…   PB GF  Traditional foods of Peru from land and sea combine with the new taste of coffee, now grown in the mountains.

Peruvian ScrOmelette

++ 1 ½ two-oz eggs HINT: If you are serving one person, crack three 2-oz eggs into a small bowl or glass measuring cup. Whip up those eggs and pour half of their volume, crack three 2-oz eggs into a jar with a lid and put it in the ‘fridge for next week++++ 2 oz diced tomato, drained++++ ¼ oz [2 tsp] anchovies canned in olive oil, drained but not rinsed ++++2 oz melon OR mango ++++ optional: blackish coffee or blackish tea++++ optional: 5-6 oz green smoothie, fruit smoothie or pure apple cider++

Night before:After you dice the tomato, put it in a strainer over a bowl to reduce the moisture. In the morning: Chop the anchovies and add to the eggs. Spritz a non-stick pan with non-stick spray and add the tomatoes. This will cook them a bit and warm them. Whisk the egg/anchovy and pour into the warm pan. Scramble or cook as an omelette. Plate with the fruit, pour the beverages, and dream of the Andes.

Original Succotash w: Corn Mush

‘Original’ Succotash:  270 calories…  2.6 g fat…   9.3 g fiber…  18 g protein…  50 g carbs… 71 mg Calcium…  PB GF  The Mystic Seaport Cookbook  contains many quaint and curious old recipes. What follows is my combination of two of them. It is ‘original’ because it gets us back to what succotash once was [a maindish, not a side] and because it is my own version. HINT: This recipe makes 3 cups of succotash, which could be 3 servings.

++ ½ cup lima beans [Green Giant frozen Fordhook] ++++ ½ cup green/snap beans ++++ ½ cup corn kernels++++   ++++ ¼ cup canned navy beans ++++ 2 oz corned beef [New England style is grey because it contains no nitrates]   ++++ 1 slice cornmeal mush aka: polenta++++ sage + pepper + salt to taste [mind that the corned beef might be salty] ++

Cook the vegetables until they are tender. Drain the cooking water and reserve ½ cup. Mash the navy beans and whisk into ¼ cup vegetable water. Put all vegetables and the meat into a pan along with the mashed beans. Add sage and pepper to taste and more vegetable broth if you wish, and heat.  If it needs more salt, add it too. In a non-stick pan, saute the corn mush on each side until it is warm. Start with one cup of succotash, as it is very filling.

Ingredients for next week: breakfast, single portion

1.5 two-oz eggs1.5 two-oz eggs
tunacanned white beans [navy]
frozen spinachgreen onion   +   tomato
clementineshrimp
Mediterranean Vegetablesnectarine or peach
optional smoothieoptional hot beverage
optional hot beverageoptional smoothie

Dinner, single portion:

tuna steakschicken breast
red bell pepperssherry wine    +  angel hair pasta
zucchinicarrot  +  broccoli
cherry tomatoessherry wine [not cooking sherry]
olive oilBechamel sauce without cheese 
 Parmesan cheese
Sparkling waterSparkling water