Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

COMFORT FOOD!!  Here's an amazing recipe that is a delicious, savory, meatless meal that will stick to your ribs.  The "Boca" crumbles in the dish would fool even the most devoted carnivore!  Perfect for the fall/winter weather headed our way!!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

• 8 large potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1 package meat substitute crumbles (like Boca)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons milk
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 (19 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon white sugar
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cook potatoes, covered, in a small amount of boiling water until tender. Drain and mash.
3. While potatoes are cooking, steam or boil carrots and mixed vegetables until near tender. Drain and set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, cook garlic powder, basil and parsley in butter or margarine for about 20 seconds (or microwave for 10 seconds). Stir into mashed potatoes along with salt and pepper. Gradually beat in enough milk to make potatoes light and fluffy, add a little more milk if necessary. Set aside
5. In a medium saucepan, cook onion in oil until tender but not brown. Stir in boca crumbles, kidney beans, tomatoes, tomato sauce, soy sauce, sugar and vegetable/carrot mixture. Heat through until bubbly.
6. Transfer vegetable mixture to a 8x8x2 inch baking dish. Drop mashed potatoes in mounds over the top. Sprinkle with cheese and paprika. Bake, uncovered at 375 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes. 

NUTRITION INFO:  Amount Per Serving  (serves 6) Calories: 386 | Total Fat: 8.4g | Fiber: 21.4g | Cholesterol: 36mg

What your body does within 1 hour of drinking soda......

In my current quest to become a Certified Nutritionist I've become even  more aware of our world of food and drink.  I want to know what happens IN our bodies once we consume something as well as how the item being consumed is made.  So in my constant search for a healthier lifestyle for my family and I, I started looking into the expansive world of soda.  While my kids don't drink it (in fact, the one time my daughter tried it, she thought it was disgusting and spicy.......) My partner and I do on occasion. Now, everyone knows what soda is, right??  A soft drink (also referred to as soda, pop, soda pop or fizzy drink) is a non-alcoholic beverage typically containing water and a flavoring agent. Many are carbonated and sweetened, and may contain additional ingredients such as fruit juice. Small amounts of alcohol may be present, but the level would generally remain under 0.5% of the total volume for the drink to be considered non-alcoholic. Soft drinks are most often consumed chilled, and sometimes at room temperature.


I've always wondered why soda is called a "soft drink."   Wikepedia explains that "The adjective "soft" is employed in opposition to "hard", the latter being used in reference to drinks with a high alcohol content. Further, soft drinks are not thought of as containing milk or other dairy products."  Many carbonated soft drinks sweetened with sugar or high fructose corn syrup and are available in diet versions sweetened instead with non-caloric sweeteners.

Now don't get me wrong, I do enjoy pop.  But I also feel like if it's regular, NON-diet soda it's like fat-building-crack-in-a-can and if it's DIET, it's cancer-in-a-can.  So as good as it may be in all of its deliciousness, I think it's time to give it the boot.    

According to the Nutrition Research Center, this is what happens to your body within 1 hour of drinking a can of soda:
 -10 minutes: 10 teaspoons of sugar hit your system, which is 100 percent of your recommended daily intake. You’d normally vomit from such an intake, but the phosphoric acid cuts the flavor.
-20 minutes: Your blood sugar skyrockets. Your liver attempts to maximize insulin production in order to turn high levels of sugar into fat.
-40 minutes: As your body finishes absorbing the caffeine, your pupils dilate, your blood pressure rises, and your liver pumps more sugar into the bloodstream. Adenosine receptors in your brain are blocked preventing you from feeling how tired you may actually be.
 -45 minutes: Your body increases dopamine production, causing you to feel pleasure and adding to the addictiveness of the beverage. This physical neuro response works the same way as it would if we were consuming heroin.
>60 minutes: The phosphoric acid binds calcium, magnesium and zinc in your lower intestine, which boosts your metabolism a bit further. High doses of sugar and artificial sweeteners compound this effect, increasing the urinary excretion of calcium. The caffeine’s diuretic properties come into play. (You have to GO!) Your body will eliminate the bonded calcium, magnesium and zinc that was otherwise heading to your bones. And you will also flush out the sodium, electrolytes and water. Your body has eliminated the water that was in the soda. And in the process it was infused with nutrients and minerals your body would have otherwise used to hydrate your system or build body cells, bones, teeth.
-60 minutes: The sugar crash begins. You may become irritable and/or sluggish. You start feeling like crap.

Time to grab another?