Split Pea and Ham Soup with Pork

Picture below, however, don't judge by the picture.
Split pea soup looks gross, but it is indeed very yummy!

This recipe makes a large pot of soup which is about 9 servings. You can cut in half or a third if you like. Also, feel free to experiment and add more or less of an ingredient to your own liking. This is soup, not an exact science!

• 2 Strips of Bacon with extra fat cut off
• 1 cup chopped onion
• olive oil
• 3 pound dried split peas
• 3 ham hocks or an equivalent amount of ham bone.
• 2 pounds of butterfly pork chops. Trim the fat and cut the pork into bite size cubes.
• salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot over medium high heat, cook bacon. Add onions to cook in bacon grease. If there isn't enough bacon grease add a little bit of olive oil. Remove from heat and add split peas, ham hocks or ham bone and pork. Add enough water to cover ingredients, and season with salt and pepper.
2. Cover and bring the water to a boil. Once boiled reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until the peas break down and you have a green liquid, 2 hours. While it is cooking stir occasionally and check to see if more water is needed. You may need to add more water as the soup continues to cook.
3. Once the soup is a green liquid remove from heat, and let stand so it will thicken. Once thickened you may need to heat through to serve. 

Please note that when you heat up your left overs will most likely need to add extra water.

Tis the Season for Cranberry Sauce!

I really enjoy cranberry sauce, however, I do not add processed refined sugar to my food. I instead added honey to my cranberries instead of sugar.


1 bag of fresh or frozen cranberries (about 3 cups)
1 cup of water
1/2 cup of honey
Crushed walnuts, optional for added protein


Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and add the cranberries. Bring water back to a boil and boil about 5 minutes. Stir occasionally. All skins should pop. Take off the burner and stir a bit more to bring down temperature of the cranberries. Stir in the honey. Cool and then place in the fridge. Sever cold and sprinkle with crushed walnuts.


*I use raw unprocessed honey. I like to add the honey at the end, instead of with the boiling water in the beginning. This way I am not boiling out the benefits of the raw honey.


*Adjust honey amount to your own liking. I found that just 1/4 cup of honey tasted good to me as well.


*Try using the juice from an orange with the honey. I will try this next time and update with my comments.

Article Review: "Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds" by CNN Health, November 8, 2010 8:40 a.m. EST

I don't believe there is any new information revealed in this story. I don't believe it was worth anyone's time to write an article about the professor on the Twinkie diet.

First, the title and the beginning of the article leads you to believe that this guy ONLY ate Twinkies and junk food and nothing else. Later in the story it is revealed that he ate fruits and vegetables and took supplements. The way this information is presented is deceptive, because it is common knowledge that most people do not read the whole article. In fact most people only read the headline and maybe the first paragraph. 

It is basic knowledge, that no matter what you eat, if you put less calories in your body then you burn each day you will lose weight. This is called "calories in vs calories out." This is not a new principle. 

What about his fat loss vs his muscle loss? Did he actually lose more muscle than fat? They tell you his BMI dropped. BMI doesn't really mean much. It only takes in account your height and weight. It does not account for the fact that muscle weights more than fat. The story does go on to say that his body fat dropped from 33.4 to 24.9 percent. Which, I have to admit, is quite impressive. However, I question what technique he used to measure his body fat. There are many different methods, many which are not very accurate. This information could be validated more by revealing the method he used to measure his body fat percentage. 

It is great that his cholesterol improved, but I don't believe eating Twinkies and junk food is the key here. After looking at this Face Book page, his LDL cholesterol levels are still a little above optimal. The story states "Before his Twinkie diet, he tried to eat a healthy diet that included whole grains, dietary fiber, berries and bananas, vegetables and occasional treats like pizza." I would like to see a food journal here. Many people think they are eating healthy until things are written down and it turns out they are snacking more than they thought. Also, the list of food in this quote doesn't list any food that is high in protein, in fact it is all sugar/carbs. He may have been getting too much sugar/carbs and not enough protein. Also, many food items are considered "healthy" by the general public, but in reality they are not. For instance, Cheerios is not a healthy breakfast for many reasons. However, I will only point out here that there isn't enough protein in a breakfast of only Cheerios. So why did his cholesterol improve? He seems to associate it with eating meat. I don't believe this to be the whole truth. The quote of food mentioned above doesn't list meat, was he not eating meat before? I eat 4 eggs a day and meat with just about every meal and my cholesterol is just fine. I am not sure what kind of meat he did eat, if he ate any. Was it processed meat like cold cuts in sandwiches? When he added meat into his diet could he have been adding something else like cheese that would cause a cholesterol rise? Maybe the vegetables, fruits and supplements helped is cholesterol. I am trying to point out that his diet before isn't accurately noted, and he and/or the article is making assumptions off of unclear information that doesn't seem to be very scientific. 

Later on in the story it is quoted "There seems to be a disconnect between eating healthy and being healthy." I believe this is because people have the wrong idea of what healthy food is. Vegetable chips are not healthy! It is my believe that grain and milk products aren't heather either, because they raise your blood sugar and don't provide any nutritional value this isn't obtainable from fruits and vegetables.


It is my believe that so many people fail at keeping themselves fit because they are too concerned with loosing weight and their physical appearance. You should be concerned with giving your body the proper nutrition to keep your body strong, able to do all the things it is meant to do and capable of healing itself. This is the key to being fit.


Link to article: Twinkie diet helps nutrition professor lose 27 pounds