12 Tomatoes Recipe for 7 Can Soup

I am posting this recipe so I remember the recipe and where it came from. I saw it on the 12 Tomatoes website. https://12tomatoes.com/seven-can-soup/#recipe I am always looking for a fairly nutritious meal. I made big meals for so many years but now I don't need all that food and leftovers. This looked like an easy comfort food, and I can freeze it in individual sized portions. 

Apparently it's a weight watcher zero point recipe. I didn't know that when I first saw it. I really don't know what that means, but it sounds important to someone on weight watchers. Of course I am getting other zero point recipes on my Facebook page before I have even published this blog. These 7 cans are fairly inexpensive, and it makes a pretty large pot of soup. 

 Seven Can Soup

1 can turkey chili with beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can mixed vegetables (I used peas and carrots)

1 can sweet corn

1 can sliced potatoes (I would use diced if I make it again)

1 can cut green beans

1 can vegetable soup

 Season with salt and pepper 

Open all the cans and add to a large pot. Bring contents to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. It's very thick so more water can be added to your taste.

Season to taste with salt and pepper. 

As you know from my previous blog, I am at the tail end of wearing a continuous glucose monitor. This recipe caused a spike in my numbers that was equal to my Thanksgiving dinner and I don't know why. I know the chili and vegetable soup are high in sodium and some of the vegetables like potatoes are higher in carbohydrates. I guess this is why diabetes is so complicated. I thought I would add extra protein with browned ground beef for my next meal and it helped. Just a pound of hamburger added to the leftovers cut the spike by 25 mg. and the time to return to normal was much quicker. Even more protein would cut it more. If you don't care about the blood sugar effect, then just enjoy it. Some shredded cheese or croutons on top would also be delicious. If I make it again, I will probably leave out the potatoes and corn. I will use zucchini and any other lower glycemic vegetables. It is a good easy recipe.

Thankful For Not Having Diabetes

I always like to figure out how things work. It's more a curiosity thing than an intellectual thing. Once I learn it, I don't retain it forever. I move on to something else. Since I know a lot of people who are diabetic or diabetic resistant, I wanted to know more about it. I also wanted to know if I was getting close myself. 

This is not by any means a medical blog. I am not a professional and actually know very little about the dynamics of diabetes. I am just a grandma trying to understand some things about blood sugar and health. As it turns out, I am not diabetic. I don't even know if I have insulin resistance. In order to understand all of it better my daughter gave me a continuous glucose monitor for two weeks. She is also in the process of understanding resistance, weight gain and good health. If you are diabetic maybe some of my discoveries are already familiar to you.

The biosensor was put on the back of my arm. There are many brands. I have the Lingo and its app. It cost about $45 for one of them. It was painless and it is waterproof so I didn't have to worry about it falling off in the shower. I had to download the proper app on my phone with Bluetooth activated. It took a couple hours for it to connect and start recording my results. I can now check my blood sugar at anytime.  This chart is from the app. The app also gives suggestions, averages and even recipes.

 

 

My breakfast always consisted of one or two pieces of Italian bread toasted with some butter and jelly. I also have a cup of black coffee. The first day I noticed my number spiked about 50 mg. and it returned to normal in 2 hours and 20 min. The next day I switched to strawberries, honey and plain Greek yogurt. It was much better and it barely registered. It rose about 25 mg. and returned to normal in 1 hour and 15 minutes. If I would use artificial sweetener it would have a zero impact. I think artificial sweeteners are an acquired taste and some are pure chemicals that aren't that good. If you don't have a choice, then that's what you do. I didn't know that just making a simple choice like that could make such a difference. 

 

This was Thanksgiving week so those meals gave me some big spikes but that isn't my normal way to eat. I did make Turkey soup with the carcass. The broth was protein rich as well as having pieces of turkey. I did put in noodles which are high in carbs, so the soup did have a slight impact. It wasn't bad so I was happy with that. Without the noodles it would have been a perfect choice.

I made some interesting conclusions. I learned that if you eat something higher in carbohydrates, you can pair it with a protein or a fat. For example, I ate an apple and my number raised by 25 mg. When I ate an apple with 3 oz of cheese or dipped it in some nut butter, the spike was half.  You can eat meat and it won't cause any spikes. There are no carbs in meat. I also learned how important exercise is. If you overdo what you eat and get a big spike, a ten minute walk or some type of exercise can minimize the effect. Moving around for 10 minutes or more is much better than sitting right down. There are foods you wouldn't think would matter. We always thought orange juice was healthy. It isn't, it's mostly sugar. Even oatmeal isn't as good as we thought. It might be good calorie wise but not for sugar, but you can eat eggs and sausage and have no effect.  I discovered broccoli and shrimp has no effect but if you add a carbohydrate like rice. Oops. I have found a rice that is grown in Louisiana called Parish Rice. It has 53% more protein and a low glycemic index. I have not tried it but I think I will.

Stress pays a huge part in it too. It is kind of a double edged sword. If you worry too much your blood sugar rises and when your blood sugar rises, you worry. I have no cures for that although some say exercise lessens stress.  For me it causes it so there is that.

Tonight I had some homemade Tomato Soup in the freezer. I was hungry so I thought I would thaw it and heat it up. Much to my surprise I had hardly any sugar spike. I even ate it with cheese. Here is the recipe.

 Tomato Soup

28 oz. can whole peeled tomatoes ( San Marzano style are excellent)
14.5 oz can Cannellini beans, undrained
1 diced onion
1 t. minced garlic
2 T. olive oil
1 t. thyme
1 1/2 t. salt
3 cups water

Cook in Crockpot or pressure for 20 minutes in an instant pot or 
heat in a saucepan until the onions are soft. You can add any other spices that are favorites.

Then take an immersion blender or regular blender and blend until smooth. 

I learned if you eat before bed, it can sometimes take 4 hours before you get back to resting numbers. That is when your liver recalibrates and heals. I always had a bedtime snack but I am trying not to eat in the evening. My stomach actually growls I am so used to eating at night. Can I keep this up, the jury is still out on that. I actually found out my blood sugar gets too low and I need a few more carbs than I am getting, however people with diabetes might not have a choice. 

Now I know that diabetes is totally different from what I am doing. It isn't a game and it's very serious and complicated. What spikes one person is fine for another. Even myself saw different results with the same meal depending what I ate before or after. The longer the space between meals the better and snacking doesn't give the body time to adjust. Previously I was like a baby who needed to eat something every two hours. I'm trying to stop that. It's more something to do than hunger anyway.  

I have only been doing this a week. It is very interesting how complicated the human body is and how hard it is to get everything to work perfectly. 

To anyone struggling, I am sure medical science will continue to come up with solutions and I hope it happens soon. I wish them success. I also hope I never get it. It would not be fun.

Now I have to figure out my next life question like how social media knows what I am thinking before I do. By writing this, my Facebook is full of information on Diabetes and continuous glucose monitors. 🤷

BHS Presents Seussical the Musical

I have five grandchildren. Three of my grandchildren have performed in many dramatic plays and musicals. One has worked the sound and lights in performances and my fifth has had his own YouTube channel since he was very young. I guess you could say all of them are involved in the arts in one way or another. I have enjoyed all of them, and I am always amazed at the talent they possess. They sure didn't get that from me or their grandfather. It must be a throw back from WAY back. Singing on stage would be out of the question.

Last weekend my grandson Jack was in his last high school musical. He will most likely be in performances after high school, but this was the last for now. Their spring play is usually a dramatic effort, but this is the last musical. 

The musical this fall was Seussical.

I wasn't sure about this play. Of course I knew about Dr. Seuss, but I had no idea about the musical version. I figured I would be lost but the kids would have fun. I discovered it does have a story woven into a lot of the children's books we are all familiar with. The musical is about friendship and being loyal. It shows how important it is to believe.

My daughter was the Costume and Props Coordinator. Starting last summer she spent hours making props. In spite of having a "real" job, she made so many things. I can't even mention all of them. We made everything from kangaroo ears to monkey tails. I went with her many many times to thrift stores and craft stores looking for outfits, shoes, belts, jewelry and props for each little detail. With countless hours put in by herself, the construction coordinator and crew, the painters, advertising people, the sound and stage crew and other parents and friends, the play was a complete success. There was the excellent choreography and all the music played by the pit orchestra. It truly does take a village. 

Jack played Horton the Elephant.  He has a wonderful voice and did a great job. I can't imagine memorizing all those words. There was no photography allowed for the performance but I was allowed to use some photos taken by Catrina Burgess. Catrina did an awesome job coordinating the construction of the set. I appreciate these photos. 

They had sell out crowds. Jack's had family and friends there for him every night.

 

The kids all did great. Eight of them are seniors so there should be plenty of talent for next year. It was another successful musical performance.

Sowing Milkweed Seeds

Now that summer is over and fall is in full swing here in Wisconsin, it is time to prepare for winter. All my indoor plants that have spent the summer outdoors are back inside. The hoses are disconnected, porch furniture is put away and leaves are prepared to provide safe places for all the little critters and pollinators. I don't rake or remove old foliage until spring. The leaves in the driveway get pushed to the side and the yard stays the way it was meant to. I am fortunate to live in a rustic surrounding, and I don't have a lot of neighbors scrutinizing my property. 

Because of this natural living, I am able to let common milkweed grow wherever it chooses. There are several varieties of milkweed, but the common variety is what I have. I have raised Monarch butterflies for many years. I know the eggs are laid on the milkweed leaves and then the caterpillars need to eat milkweed plants to survive and flourish. In the past I would only raise enough milkweed to feed the caterpillars I found. Mostly I would just let it come up where it wanted, but I didn't plant any. 

As most of us know, the Monarch populations are dwindling and it will take more people to provide milkweed to increase the populations. Since the average Monarch butterfly lays hundreds of eggs and many of them turn into caterpillars, it only makes sense that planting more milkweed will nourish more caterpillars and ultimately we will have more Monarch butterflies. The butterflies then use the milkweed flower for nectar. This nectar keeps them healthy for reproduction and finally migration. These flowers also help other butterfly species as well as bees. Since milkweed plants thrive in conditions that aren't perfect, they are easy to grow. Just make sure they are in a place that doesn't interfere with other plantings because once established they will come back year after year. The plants usually thrive because rabbits and deer avoid these plants. They contain a toxin which these animals don't like. 

That brings me to my next project. Since I wanted to plant more milkweed this fall, I needed seeds. We have all seen the dried milkweed pods burst and then the wind takes them away to land wherever they please. 

Fortunately my daughter, my neighbor and myself had some dried pods. They were just about to split open so I gathered them. I let them sit outside in a screen enclosure until I was ready. Then I opened them and saved the seeds. This wasn't an easy task and there was a learning curve. At first I was chasing the white fluffy silk with a seed attached to each fiber. I found out that white fluff is called floss". They are meant to blow around and disperse, so it is a time consuming and messy project when they are let loose . Then I came upon a way to gather the seeds more efficiently. I took a bread tie and later a rubber band. I tied it very tight just below the fat part of the pod. Then I carefully peeled down the pod and removed the seeds. They come off quite easily.

My lack of patience allowed me to only do about 5 at a time, but I eventually got the job done. As a result I got a little more than one and a half cups of seeds. I calculated how many seeds that was. I filled one teaspoon with seeds and counted them. There are 175 seeds per teaspoon so one tablespoon has 525 seeds. It's hard to believe there were that many. Three tablespoons is 1/16th of a cup times 1.5 cups equals 12,600 seeds. Since I had a little more I figure there are almost 16,000 seeds. That should produce a few plants if only a small percentage of them grow. 

Milkweed seeds need cold stratification. You either have to plant them in the fall and all winter let the cold temps do their thing to prepare the seeds for germination or put them in the refrigerator and plant in the early spring. I decided to sow the seeds this fall and this week I played Johnny Appleseed. I walked to several special sunny places on my property and tossed milkweed seeds. We won't know if this process will work until next spring. I really hope it does and if it does, I will do it again next year. Some of these seeds will go to my daughter. She has a nice patch of milkweed plants already, but she also has a large sunny area for more. I will update all of you in the spring. 

I Finally Found My Organic, Compostable Coffee

I received a Keurig coffee maker many years ago. Throwing away the used K-cups always bothered me for many reasons. First putting all those plastic cups into the landfill seemed so wrong. Then I read many articles confirming my gut was correct. Millions are going into the landfills and will remain there for hundreds of years. I also didn't like my food or drink heated in plastic. We all have microplastics floating through our blood and much of it can't be helped. Even bottled water leaches plastic into our systems. Wherever I can avoid it, I do. I would cut them open and empty the used coffee into the compost, but that was all I could do with the K-cups so I quit using that machine. Instead I bought ground coffee and made a small pot. Often I didn't drink it all, but I like my coffee. Just one 12 ounce cup in the morning is all I need, but I look forward to it everyday. 

Fast forward to a year or two ago. I bought a new Ninja coffee maker. It was awesome. I could make a whole pot of coffee or one cup. I could make 6 ounces or 65 ounces. It worked great, but it also had a K-cup attachment which I didn't use much. I had a few K-cups left over and made a few cups to use them up but I felt like a criminal doing it. I know, I have a warped sense of right and wrong, but I did feel guilty.

Since it was so convenient, I eventually found a brand of K-cup that was compostable. It was organic coffee which was what I wanted. Organic coffee is mostly free from pesticides and chemicals. I read it also supports fair trade practices which gives those producers fair compensation and its grown in the shade which helps the carbon footprint because trees don't need to be cut down. 

Supposedly the pods were made with renewable plant based materials, it was responsibly resourced and crafted in Minnesota whatever that means. I guess they get the beans delivered to Minnesota and roast them or at least package the product there. It was good enough for me to try. There was a bit of a learning curve for taste but the coffee was good enough for me. I saved my ground coffee for those times when I made coffee for more people. All was well except for one thing. Every so often I wanted a cup of decaffeinated coffee. I am of the age where any thing with caffeine after noon affects my sleep. 

I found this Cameron's brand of decaf. It did come in the compostable pods but it was not organic and it was probably processed the usual way with chemical solvents. It is the cheapest way and is the most common way to decaffeinate coffee. I didn't really want that but for a long time it is all I could find. Then I found a company called Simple Truth organic. It covered all my criteria. It was organic, single sourced in Peru, it was made decaf by the Swiss water process which uses no chemicals and only water and the K-cup pods are compostable. It also tastes very good. I found this from a website called Vitacost but it was shipped from Kroger. That is my next problem. I would like to find it without the high shipping costs, so I will continue to look for it in stores. We don't have any Kroger stores but some stores sell Kroger products. If not, at least I found it. *Update: I found this coffee at a Pick N Save grocery store. If you live in Wisconsin, you may be able to find it too and it was On Sale.

I am sure a few of you reading this will just roll your eyes. First of all, why does someone of my age worry about some of these chemicals and pesticides or how decaf is made, but I want to stay as healthy as I can and this is my way. If I am going to have a coffee vice, it might as be as healthy as possible. If any of this information is not correct, feel free to tell me. Contrary to some, the internet doesn't know everything. Do what is right for you, but for now I am very happy with my choice.

My First Experience Raising Black Swallowtail Butterflies

Another season of raising Monarch butterflies has come and gone. This will be my final summer of raising them inside. New studies have shown that it is doing them more harm than good. I don't know if it is true, but future statistics will prove whether it is or not. I was under the assumption that only 10% of the wild raised Monarch butterflies survived. Weather, pesticides and predators would eliminate a huge number of eggs and caterpillars. I thought that if I raised them inside with fresh food and a clean environment, most would survive. My death rate was nearly zero percent compared to 90% in the wild. I guess there is more to it than that. Anyone can look up the many articles about this. Instead, I will plant a lot more milkweed next summer and provide an outside environment for them. I am a very small operation compared to some who raise hundreds. If in the future new studies prove this is wrong, I will happily raise them inside once again. 

I did something new this year. I planted parsley because I read that Black Swallowtail butterflies like dill, parsley and anything from the carrot family. Sure enough, after noticing some Swallowtail butterflies in the area, I kept checking to see if they laid eggs on my parsley plant. I would check them everyday until I noticed them on the plant. I took three swallowtail caterpillars inside to a different habitat from the Monarch's. I fed them parsley everyday. Two of them thrived. The third never grew and eventually died. The two that thrived grew into beautiful large caterpillars. I had read that they pupate into their chrysalis on a stick or that type of thing so I put some sticks into the habitat. 

These caterpillars look very similar to Monarch caterpillars. They are yellow, black and white but in a different configuration. This first picture below is a Monarch caterpillar for comparison purposes.

I found these caterpillars on August 6 and 7. They ate parsley pretty much non-stop until August 15. They would stop for a bit to molt into a larger caterpillar until they molted their final time into its chrysalis. The chrysalis looks green or brown. It is usually brown late in the summer and looks like the stick. You can see the silk string connecting it to the stick but otherwise looks like the stick.

When it is about to emerge or eclose the chrysalis turns very dark. They are almost black at the end. As with the Monarch which also turns black, the chrysalis becomes translucent and when the butterfly is showing through, they emerge.

Black Swallowtails are different from Monarchs. The process is somewhat similar, but Black Swallowtail butterflies don't migrate. There are three broods a year. Each one only lives from two to four weeks. This was the August-September brood. The final brood will form their chrysalis and it will sit over winter and emerge in the spring. 

Although Black Swallowtail butterflies are not rare, it was a thrill to see this whole process. This first one is a female. Males have more yellow dots and females have more blue. 

After I put her outside, she stayed perfectly still for quite sometime. When the day warmed up and she was sufficiently rested, she flew off to enjoy her short life.

A Visit to Ikea and Mama Rosa

Today was an unexpected good day. My daughter finished work at noon. She wanted to go to IKEA in the worst way. She was on again and off again several times. My days are very boring and sometimes lonely so I'm up for most anything these days. As long as I am able, I will leave at a moments notice. The closest IKEA is about 1 3/4 hours away in Oak Creek, Wisconsin. She finally decided she would go and so we were on our way. 

The traffic going into Milwaukee was very busy, and I was very happy not to be driving. I don't like to drive mainly because I can't look around. I like to enjoy the scenery. What I miss a lot about my former life is having a chauffeur. Remember the movie Driving Miss Daisy? I wish I could afford to hire a driver to take me for rides in the countryside and to take me where ever I want to go.

IKEA was fine. I don't need any home furnishings or household devices, but I loved the cafeteria. We had the Swedish meatball dinner which included meatballs, mashed potatoes, peas, lingonberry sauce and of course dessert. We had Lemon Blueberry Mascarpone cake. It was delicious. I am not a Scandinavian for nothing. That's the kind of food I was raised on. 

 

We shopped for quite a while and then headed back home. Following the Scandinavian theme of the day, we stopped at Wauwatosa's Firefly Grove Park to see Mama Rosa. Mama Rosa is one of the newest Thomas Dambo trolls and the only Dambo creation in Wisconsin. Thomas Dambo is a Danish artist from Copenhagen, Denmark who creates large one of a kind trolls throughout the world. This one is a 24 foot troll made from all recycled material. It was made from trees recycled from Wauwatosa's forests and other items from the city. The bouquet of flowers is made from old Wauwatosa streetlight posts. The plaque in front has a poem written by Thomas Dambo.

Something funny with these flowers

Some have special needs and powers

There’s no roots beneath these flowers

Rain don’t ruin upon these flowers

 

Something funny with these flowers

Comes from nothing in an hour

There’s not honeybees, these flowers

Have no honey in these flowers

 

Something funny with these flowers

Stands all summer, won’t go sour

When the sun’s asleep, these flowers glow

I wonder how these flowers grow

       - Thomas Dambo

This certain troll has only been in Wauwatosa since May of 2025 so it is very new. Already bees have taken up residency in his ear. It looks like he has a hearing aid. The hair is also unique, it is made from oak branches. 

 My daughter and her husband had visited one of the Dambo troll sculptures in Breckenridge, Colorado so she knew about them. This one is called Isak Heartstone. They are all unique and maybe someday I can see more.