Lori Longest

Lori Longest of Bruce is a meal-planner. Her mother always did meal planning, and Lori grew up eating balanced, healthy meals. She started meal-planning herself when she and Bruce married and has been cooking healthy for years.

She plans their evening meal for every night of the week that they will be home and likes to do “prep-ahead” meals. “You can make cooking harder than it is,” she says.  With family company coming later this spring, she says she will plan all of their meals ahead of time to have more time to visit.
Her favorite food to eat and to prepare is vegetables of any kind. She learned to cook from her mother and grandmother who were healthy eaters, and they had gardens, so there was plenty of fresh stuff, she said.

Always taught to eat good vegetables, she also puts up butterbeans, peas, green beans, okra and corn, and tries to avoid frying much. She recently took whole mushrooms sprinkled with Worcestershire sauce, let them cook about 12 minutes in a 375° oven and said they were really good. She also did the same thing with a mixture of mushrooms, squash, and peppers, and served them with pork chops.

She loves brussel sprouts, cabbage and asparagus, and says Bruce favors asparagus and cabbage over brussel sprouts. Her favorite way to prepare asparagus is on a baking sheet, covered with olive oil and sprinkled with parmesan cheese and kosher sea salt.
She is a regular juicer and her recipe is a good balance of fruits and vegetables. She has been juicing most of her life, and says other delicious juicing and detoxing recipes are available on-line.

About her Green Pea Salad recipe, she says although it has multiple ingredients, it can be made the day ahead. “It has lots lof healthy stuff in it with a vinaigrette dressing,” she said.
The chicken loaf is an old recipe, one she altered from Pampered Chef, that is “tried and true, and different.”  She serves it a lot when she has company and says it is a quick recipe.

She has family recipes she uses some, one of which is the Apple Dapple Cake that has been in her family for many years. She describes it as “fabulous and delicious” and says they always have it when they celebrate July 4th.
“Your eating lifestyle will stay with you,” she said, recommending organic food, healthy eating and balanced meals. She is a big fan of dark chocolate, so she keeps organic chocolate bars on hand. She also eats macadamia nuts, almonds and walnuts for snacks, and likes to add lime to her water.

Green Pea Salad
1 cup red onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 cans small Early peas
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 can water chestnuts, sliced
1 jar pimento, chopped
1/2 cup Crisco oil
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 cup sugar
1 Tbsp. black pepper
1 Tbsp. salt
Drain liquid from all vegetables. Mix oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar together. Stir until dissolved, then pour over vegetables and stir. Place in refrigerator, stir daily. It is better after it sits a couple of days. You may use one can of French cut green beans and leave off one can of peas and have a green bean salad.

Apple Dapple Cake
3 eggs well-beaten
1 1/2 cups oil
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups sugar
2 3/4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup flour (mix with apples, nuts and coconut)
3 cups chopped apples
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup coconut
Topping: 1/3 cup butter, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup milk, 1 tsp. vanilla

Heat oven to 350°. Beat eggs well. Add oil, vanilla and sugar. Sift and mix together 2 3/4 cups flour, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Add to egg mixture. Mix additional 1/4 cup flour to apples, nuts and coconut. Fold into cake batter. Pour into angel food cake pan and bake 65-70 minutes. Mix topping ingredients in small saucepan and boil 2-3 minutes. Pour hot topping over cake about five minutes after removing from oven.

Every Day Juicing
Handful spinach or kale
2 carrots with peeling
1 stick celery
1 or 2 stems broccoli
5 strawberries–fresh or frozen
1/4 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
1 or 2 Fuji apples–with skins and seeds (quarter up for juicer)
10 walnuts, natural
2 Tbsp. flax seed, optional
3 Tbsp. yogurt, optional

Drink immediately for full benefits. Ice may be added if desired.

Chicken Broccoli Loaf
2 large chicken breasts, boiled and shredded
1 cup broccoli, chopped
1 cup finely shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup red bell pepper
1 pkg. slivered almonds
1/2 can water chestnuts, drained and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 tsp. all-purpose dill weed
1/4 tsp. salt
1 pkg. crescent rolls, original
1 egg white
Preheat oven to 375°. Mix chicken, broccoli, cheddar cheese, red bell pepper, almonds and water chestnuts together. In a separate bowl, mix garlic, mayonnaise, dillweed and salt. Add to chicken mixture and mix well. Open crescent rolls and pinch together perforated edges. Roll out with dough roller. The flat dough should measure approximately 9”W x 14”L. Place chicken mixture in center in the shape of a roll approximately 4”W x 10”L. Wrap dough around mixture by cutting remaining dough on each side into 2” strips. Pull strips up on top of mixture and twist ends together one time. Pinch dough on ends of loaf together. Place in rectangular baking dish. Brush top with egg white and bake 30 minutes or until golden brown. Slice and serve. This is best when cooked on flat baking stone or in rectangular stone baking dish.

Sugarless Meat Loaf

2 lbs. ground chuck

1 cup ketchup

1 tube Ritz crackers, crushed

1 medium chopped onion

2 eggs

Mix all ingredients together. Form into loaf. Place in broiling pan. Top with 1/2 cup ketchup brushed on top and sides. Bake at 350° for 1-1 1/2 hours or until meat loaf is no longer pink inside.