A soft right turn
A soft right turn for this week’s menu. Last week, I contemplated making a dish with tofu. However, on February 28, I had Invisilign® braces put on. I have to change the plates every 11 days. When I made the first change, I had trouble eating but muddled through. However, I made the second change this past Tuesday, and the PAIN was intense. It was so awful. So I decided I needed soups in the freezer, as I have 21 more plate changes to come.
I decided to make split pea soup and Bob’s Red Mill 13 Bean Chili for the upcoming weeks. I haven’t had split pea soup in many years, so I’m particularly looking forward to that one. This will be my second time preparing the chili recipe. My trainer, Julie, recommended this recipe and I loved it. I’m cutting the ground beef in half and substituting it with a new-to-me legume called beluga lentils. They pack a protein punch—almost 26 grams of protein in 100 grams of beluga lentils.
My plan for this week
My first soft right turn was to split pea soup. I don’t think I’ve ever made split pea soup, at least as far as I remember. We ate it pretty frequently when I was a child. My mother always made it with a ham bone. I loved it. So, I am also using a ham bone for this first attempt. Eventually, I want to move to a vegetarian version, but I need to gain confidence in that flavor profile first. I am using this split pea soup recipe. The recipe surprised me as it call for potato. I’ll have to check with my mom about her recipe. If my mother’s recipe called for potato, it must have been mashed or something.
I’m hopeful the potato will make the soup nice and thick. That’s how I like my soup; if a soup is not dense, I add soda crackers. However, soda crackers are 25% food (Full Plate Living program). I won’t add too much ham from the ham hock because of PAIN. Ham is also a 25% food anyway.
My second soft right turn is I’ll be making this 13-Bean Chili recipe from Bob’s Red Mill with the modification I mentioned above. The recipe on the website instructs you to prepare it on the stove, but I will use my Instant Pot® instead. I will try to eat the soup without mashing the beans and see if that will be tolerable for my sore teeth and jaw. I might mash or use the immersion blender on the soup, though, so I have food that won’t aggravate my pain.
The groceries were ordered and picked up, so tomorrow is cooking day. I’m starting early in the day, as I have plans to eat a late lunch with my parents. I will post photos and more discussion of the cooking experience next time.
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