The Pringle Plan: March 2021

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Irish Recipes

Each winter I like to weave in some traditional recipes. It's a way to warm up the kitchen, shake up my routine, and relate to my cultural heritage. This year I focused on my Irish ancestry, delaying my food experiments to coincide with St. Patrick's Day and the following week. Traditional Irish recipes consist of a lot of meat, potatoes, eggs, and bread. As a nutritarian, I generally focus on plant-based foods. Although I don't eat much meat, I do recognize that some nutrients can only be obtained from animal foods. So, these past few weeks have been the perfect opportunity to get some vitamin B12, creatine, carnosine, and heme iron.

My favorite was the first one we tried. A Goat's Cheese and Caramelized Onion Frittata I served for lunch. Paired with a salad, my husband and I enjoyed this meal of both plant and animal nutrients.

Goat's Cheese & Caramelized Onion Frittata - from BBC Good Food

Here it is again with a beets and greens salad - A wonderful lunch!

For dinner, I pulled out the crock pot and made this stew - with a few adaptions. I switched out the lamb for beef stew meat because I had some in my freezer just waiting to be used up. I also left out the bacon and the butter because it was just too much fat for me, especially since there are a few other recipes calling for bacon that I planned to use.

Slow-Cooked Irish Stew - from BBC Good Food

Ok, here it is - the St. Patrick's Day Menu: Irish Soda Bread, and my Dad's Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe. His secret to extra flavor is to simmer the corned beef in chicken broth for 1 hour per pound, remove the meat and simmer the cabbage in the same liquid for another 15-25 minutes - delicious! I threw in some carrots as well and served it with the Irish Soda Bread to soak up the juice.

Authentic Irish Soda Bread-Yeast Free - From Food.com

My Dad's Corned Beef and Cabbage Recipe - Yummy!

My husband says I have a knack for planning soup days with rainy weather and this week was no different. Be sure to follow with a nap!

No-Yeast Irish Brown Bread - from Food.com
Irish Potato and Leek Soup - from Food.com

I thought my favorite dish was going to be this breakfast, but the potato pancakes were a little bland. I spiced up the leftovers with some Huarache seasoning and the result, while not exactly Irish, was much more to my liking.

Potato & Spring Onion Breakfast Pancakes - From BBC Good Food

For dessert one night, I made these Irish Fruit Scones. It was the perfect opportunity to use up a bag of frozen cranberries I had leftover from Thanksgiving. I made some substitutions to be more in line with The Pringle Plan. I used Whole Wheat Flour, Coconut Palm Sugar, Olive Oil instead of butter, and Unsweetened Soy Milk instead of buttermilk.

Irish Fruit Scones - From Food.com

There is still one Irish recipe I haven't tried, Colcannon (Irish Mashed Potatoes) which I plan to try at a later date, but for now it is time to move on to my Easter menu and then begin my Spring Menu Plan!

Happy Eating Everyone!

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Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Gratitude 2021

The good ol' days - JoEllen, Donna, Linda, and me

What a year this has been: Covid-19, vaccination scheduling, online meetings, constant out of stock items in my grocery deliveries and at the grocery store, election drama, an insurrection, a stimulus package, library closings and lots of time at home napping in front of the tv. Still, I have so much to be grateful for.

Gary was hit with Covid-19 first. I'm so grateful I was able to catch him and prevent his head from hitting the tile floor when he fell. I'm so grateful to the caring team of ambulance drivers who treated us both with kindness and professionalism. I'm so grateful for the emergency room personnel who did not seem to be the least bit afraid, when I expressed concern my husband might have covid. They ran tests, diagnosed covid, stabilized him with intravenous fluids, and called for an ambulance to bring him back home. I'm so grateful for the infectious disease doctor who got Gary into an emergency usage trial of "Bam infusions for covid." I believe this treatment kept him from getting worse, and helped him recover sooner.

A week later, it was my turn. I feel so fortunate to be retired and have plenty of time to nap and watch tv as my energy level plummeted. I'm so grateful the long lingering effects of loss of taste and smell, and low energy have finally subsided.

Vaccination scheduling is a nightmare. However, with the help of a friend, I was able to get through. I'm so grateful to Donna, Yale New Haven Healthcare, and the Mohegan Sun for my upcoming vaccine appointment. I'm still working on an appointment for Gary, but in the mean time, I am grateful for a few months of natural immunity.

Speaking of appointments, I thought doctor visits would become a thing of the past, but it turns out zoom was an easy way to do that. I feel so grateful for this technology as well as other online meetings that have kept me up-to-date and in touch.

Constant out of stock items in my grocery deliveries and at the grocery store have me feeling grateful I have multiple places to shop from - both locally and online. I also continue to feel gratitude for my Aerogardens which continue to produce salad greens right in my own kitchen. So many people are not as fortunate, and for this reason I continue to be grateful to the Connecticut Food Bank for supplying others with groceries. Please consider donating today.

November's election drama was more stressful than necessary, and the January 6th insurrection at the capital had me in tears. I'm so grateful it is in the past and democracy was victorious. Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the police and National Guardsmen who fought off the domestic terrorists, restored order, and made it possible for our political leaders to count the electoral votes and officially affirm the presidential election results.

I'm so grateful for passage of a stimulus package that will make it possible for me to pay medical bills, will help those in danger of losing their homes and in need of money for food and utilities, as well as helping others to save or stimulate the economy by spending in restaurants and local stores.

Library closings interfered with progress on my latest book, but gratefully my deadlines are self-imposed; and it happened at a time when all I wanted to do was nap anyway.

Finally, I am grateful for a comfortable home, a husband I enjoy spending time with, and lots of time at home napping in front of the tv. Sleep is truly a wonderful healer. With the arrival of spring, I can look forward to a future of daytrips with my friends, getting outdoors, and being active once again.

See more posts on Gratitude:
Gratitude 2020

Gratitude 2019

Gratitude 2018

Gratitude 2017