And the Winner is…….

Multiple Sclerosis and the 50 Shades of Green/Doing It Veggie Style Contest

 Something strange is going on around here. I just looked in my icebox and I must have been transported to a parallel universe. In my freezer there is a half consumed bag of frozen spinach, a half consumed bag of frozen mangos, a HUGE and unopened bag of frozen broccoli, and vanilla frozen yogurt.

In the fridge itself, there are light green ping pong ball looking things. What the heck are they and where did they come from? The bag they are in says they are called brussel sprouts but they can’t be mine. I have never been to Brussels.

The pantry has a bag of lightly salted crunchy green beans, cinnamon apple snack sticks and a package of brown rice. Where are my cookie dough ice cream and my Cheetos? How about my macaroni and cheese? Where are my chocolate chip cookies?

It is quite the brain fog day so the confusion of where I am and how I got here is overwhelming me. Oh wait, here is something normal- a chocolate bar from Trader Joes. Chocolate is chocolate and so that seems familiar. And, if it is from Trader Joes, it must be healthy. They only sell healthy stuff right?

After resting a bit, the brain fog settles and I remember the steps I have taken to eat better as part of my ‘get fit’ plan. These steps lead me to Trader Joes (where I was looking for a grain called Farro which they did not have. I was directed to Job Lot, the place where I buy my socks and t-shirts cheap and they had it! Go figure. This is all just too weird.) And many of the above ingredients are things I needed to make the top three entries in the 50 Shades of Green/Doing It Veggie Style Contest.

And so follows a healthier diet. I received so many wonderful recipes and I thank everyone who contributed. I am very grateful and am getting there in my ‘get fit’ plan as evidenced by the rather abnormal items in my kitchen. Even if your recipe didn’t make it into the top three, don’t worry, I will still be making it as I need all the help I can get.

FYI- the frozen yogurt and mangos are not part of a green recipe- they are from Montel Williams Tropical Smoothie that I made to bid farewell to summer.

The contest recipes I chose to make were a Spinach Feta dip from Caroline, a broccoli casserole from Shannon where she swears the extra stuff hides the taste of the broccoli and Aunt Jan’s Roasted Veggie Concoction. There is no favoritism involved here. Aunt Jan is not my Aunt Jan. It is just what the recipe is called. I don’t actually have an Aunt Jan.

The spinach dip was delicious and I took it to a small social gathering, an occasion where I normally would have brought brownies. Who would have thought you could hang with your friends while you get your veggies in. Excuse me friend, do I have any spinach stuck in my teeth?

Since I am always looking for ways to eat veggies without tasting veggies, I decided to take Shannon’s ‘can’t taste the broccoli’ challenge and try her broccoli casserole. I was prepared to tell you that she lied. But to my surprise, she didn’t! I really couldn’t taste the broccoli. I wouldn’t call it super duper delicious but it was pretty good.

Finally, I chose Aunt Jan’s Veggie Concoction because I think the word concoction is fun. And I felt I owed her. When her recipe first came in I thought she didn’t follow the contest rules as she sent me a recipe without any green veggies in it. Turns out, brussel sprouts are green and you don’t have to go to Brussels to get them. Who knew?

Plus, the recipe said to roast the veggies until the onions caramelized which made me think of a candy bar. Well, my onions didn’t caramelize at all which was a bummer. But I have to say, the recipe was really good. It had an autumn taste to it which gave it an edge with fall being my favorite time of year. Plus, in addition to the brussel sprouts, it also had sweet potatoes and onions and so I was doubling up on veggies on this one.

So, all things considered, the winner of the 50 Shades of Green/Doing It Veggie Style Contest is Aunt Jan’s Veggie Concoction!

Thank you to all!!!!!!

If you would like to try any of the above, please arrow back to the 50 Shades of Green Blog post and you will find all three recipes listed there, plus some other great recipe ideas. The other entries came in through the contact section of the website and as I make them in the future, I may share them. That way friends, you can ‘get fit’ too!

 

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