Complete versus Incomplete Proteins

Here is a good article explaining complete versus incomplete proteins. I don't think I every fully understood this, although it's less important if you're not vegetarian. Complete proteins are meat, poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, cheese, milk. Incomplete proteins are grains, nuts, legumes, seeds. If you combine grains and legumes, grains and nuts, or legumes and nuts, you can get a complete protein. Examples of this are peanut butter with whole wheat bread, rice and beans, hummus (chick peas and sesame paste).

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Sunday Sketches - Miyajima, Japan

Today's Sunday Sketch was inspired by Kay at Musings' blog header photo. I hope she still has it up, it's entitled 'Miyajima, Japan'. I had quickly done a sketch of it and then the devastating earthquake struck. So maybe this can be my tribute to Japan.

Please stop by the other participants to see what they did today.




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Re-usable Bins

Sending prayers for the people of Japan, it was such sad news yesterday.




I got L these re-usable bins from the grocery store to help her move off-campus this year. They are better than using cardboard boxes I think and can serve other storage purposes. A lot of people just use them to transport their groceries.

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Spinach and Leek Soup

This is my very own recipe, I don't think you'll find it anywhere else! After I made a leek and potato soup, I was left with the top (dark green) half of 3 leeks and didn't want to waste it. I also had half of a 16 ounce pack of baby spinach leaves. Then I was watching the FoodTV channel and a chef was making vegetable soup. I was inspired and used the same principle with different vegetables and herbs. The measurements may not be exact, but you'll get the idea.


1 stalk of celery, chopped
1 onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
top (dark green half) of 3 leeks (or you could use one whole leek) cleaned and chopped
8 oz package of spinach leaves (I used baby spinach leaves)
450 ml low sodium chicken broth
1 cup of water
1 sprig of fresh thyme
2 tbs canola oil (or whatever oil you have on hand)
1/2 tsp black pepper

Saute onions, carrots, celery, leeks in oil for a few minutes until they start to sweat. Add spinach, thyme, pepper, broth and water. Cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. Blend the soup in the blender (you may need to do this in 3 batches). Add salt to taste. I didn't feel it needed any extra salt. I hope you'll like it as much as I did!

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Nasty Weather

So I made the Classic Potato Leek Soup recipe I found recently. I was not disappointed, it was delicious and felt healthy. I did add a bit of salt to my bowl, but that is totally optional.

We are having some nasty weather this week, with quite a bit of wet snow. I shovelled yesterday evening and it was no fun, being wet, heavy and slushy. It was a real cardio workout, and a sweaty one.

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The Tuna Burger

This post is appropriate for Ash Wednesday when I think about it. Catholics are supposed to abstain from eating meat today.

L made this tuna burger for supper the other night. She was intending to make a tuna sandwich but was out of mayonnaise. So she found a recipe for tuna burgers on google. She mixed together one egg, 7 soda crackers, salt, pepper and a can of tuna and was very happy with her efforts.



My brother and his family are crazy, they signed up for flying trapeze classes of all things. They seem to be having great fun.

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Did You Know

I received a health newsletter from Living Well (sponsored by Johnson and Johnson Inc.) and thought I'd share these interesting tidbits with you:

'When you look at % daily values on a food label, less than 5% is considered 'a little' and more than 15% is considered 'a lot.' So yogurt with 4% daily value of fat and 18% DV of calcium could be a good choice for you. Use daily values numbers to compare similar products.'

'Chili is a super choice for people with diabetes. Kidney beans are carbohydrates, but they are very high in fibre, which slows the rise in blood sugar. Plus, they have 57% of our daily need for folate, which lowers homocysteine levels, and 20% of required magnesium, a natural blood pressure medicine. Chili powder also helps fight inflammation, reduce insulin needs and lower
blood sugars.'

Okay, it sounds as if Chili Con Carne is the new health food!

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