Vitamins are heavy.
Well, not all of them; Vitamin E is pretty light.
120 tablets of Calcium, on the other hand, weighs 8oz (240gr).
220 tablets of a Multi-Vitamin (with Lycopene) weighs 12oz (350gr).
How do I know this?
Duh! I weighed them!
WHY do I know this?
Because I carry them back with me from the US. With all the new airline weight restrictions, every ounce adds up in a hurry. One requires math to pack.
Why do I carry them back?
Because they’re lots cheaper in the US, and easier to find.
Now: the BIG question…
Why do I take them?
I don’t know.
If they are more expensive, with a much smaller selection and much smaller ‘quantities’ (30-day is the norm) here, in France as well as most of Europe, I assume that means that most Europeans don’t take them.
So, I repeat, why do I?
Still don’t know….
I used to take a multi, calcium, E, C, and a constantly varying set of minerals and supplements according to the newest studies…
That got to be heavy, er, I mean, costly.
Now I take a multi and calcium. (And a ‘baby’ aspirin, having reached ‘a certain age’.)
And I’m still wondering ‘Why?’
I eat a healthy and varied diet, trying to eat different fruits, vegetables, grains and proteins each day of the week.
I eat lots of stuff that’s good for me: yogurt with active cultures, dark chocolate, red wine, (Oh, how I suffer…) fatty fish, olive oil, nuts….
Have I been taking vitamins in pill form for so long that my body depends on it?
Or, is it only my psyche that depends on it?
What do you think?
What do you take?
Do we need them?
Or, do we just think we do?
Someone must support the drug companies after all….
But, frankly, I’d rather be spending my money on food.
Things like Pimientos.
Pimientos, pimentos, cherry peppers… all the same.
They are a large, heart-shaped chili pepper most commonly seen in the US as the red bit in stuffed green olives.
In the US, they are most often found in tiny jars, diced, and used to garnish various dishes…. Sparingly.
In Spain and Andorra they are found in big jars and are used with abandon.
In a perverse, reverse way, I rather like to stuff them with green olives (in a goat cheese-egg mixture).
They are more flavorful, aromatic, pungent, then regular, old, red bell peppers.
(Another question: Are the Roasted Red Peppers one buys in jars in the US red bell peppers?)
Peppers, capsicums, are so full of vitamins: C, A, B6, K, B1, E, and minerals: manganese, potassium, copper, that they could probably make a tasty substitute for my multi-vitamin. Plus the red ones contain Lycopene!
The questions remain…
How to get more of these wonderful vegetables into our diet?
What to do with that little, half empty, 2oz jar of diced pimentos lurking in the refrigerator door?
First: buy more.
Second: make this pretty potato salad for your next picnic.
Think of all the strange looks you’ll get when you offer to bring the potato salad… And it’s pink instead of yellow.
Be prepared for a deluge of compliments.
This is for Weekend Herb Blogging, founded by Kalyn of Kalyn’s Kitchen and hosted this week by Divya, of Dil Se. Visit her blog on Monday for all of the wonderful recipes!
Potato Salad with Pimento Dressing
3 medium potatoes, about 16oz (500gr)
1/2 – 2/3 cup Pimiento Dressing
a bit of diced pimento for garnish ;-))
Slice potatoes for salad. Cook in boiling, salted water, partially covered, until done, 12 – 15 minutes. When done, drain, toss a bit to cool, and put into serving dish. Add dressing and stir gently to coat. Serve.
Pimiento Dressing
4oz (125 gr) pimiento (pimento)
1/2 cup plain or Greek yogurt, 4oz (125ml)
1/2 cup mayonnaise, 4oz, (125ml)
1 tbs fresh chopped oregano
1 tbs fresh snipped chives
1 tbs lemon juice
1 tbs olive oil
Snip/chop herbs. Drain pimento. Put pimento and yogurt into a blender and purée. Pour the yogurt mixture into a small bowl. Add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs, stir to combine.
I used the rest of the Pimiento Dressing on a Roast Salmon and Brown Rice Salad.
I told you I ate healthily….
My mother could make that little 2oz jar of diced pimentos last years….
Garnish with abandon!
What a great post!
I take a slew of multiwhatsits too, or I rather buy in a fit of guilt, take them religiously for a week and then forgetall about them.
By the way, I made your pasta with bacon and leeks and loved it. LOVED! Thanks for a great recipe.
Interesting question about the vitamins. I don’t currently take any supplements but have been thinking about a fish oil pill once a day. I do eat fresh fish but probably not enough.
This dressing would be delicious on many kinds of vegetables — and maybe roast chicken, too!
I stopped taking vitamins sometime after moving to France, using the excuse that I eat way healthier now. I never did give my girls childrens vitamins, which astonished my USA family. But the girls seem pretty healthy to me.
That potato salad looks delicious.
I love pimientos but I never thought of making them with Potato Salad. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I take vitamins, if I remember to do so. If not, I’m not hung up about it. I try to eat healthy though. I think that’s what really counts. 🙂
Wow – I honestly had no idea that pimientos were cherry peppers?! How silly is that?
This salad sounds wonderful. I’ll have to try it out!!
Dee, I have way too big of a stash… my anal little self would hate to turn out!
Glad you liked the pasta ;-))
Zoomie, I keep telling me it’s not necessary… But, apparently I don’t believe me!
Lydia, it was great on salmon!
Poppy Fields, I know, intellectually, you’re absolutly right… – good for you!
Ning, maybe I can let go of them now… or maybe half…
Tammy, it’s hard to recognize them in the olives….
I take vitamins. I’ve been kind of rethinking them though. I do eat healthy, but your body only absorbs so much. So do I really want me body to absorb the lab created ones, or the ones in fresh food?
I can’t answer all your questions, but I do know that the roasted red peppers in jars in the U.S. are red bell peppers. As for the vitamins, when I’m in my normal routine (when I’m working) I take a multi, a B-50 (50 mg. of all the B vitamins) calcium, and fish oil. For me it makes a lot of difference (so I can’t understand why I can’t seem to remember to take them at home!)
I do love those little pimentos in jars! Sounds delicious.
Pam, and I wonder if my body is now dependent on the lab ones…
Kalyn, thanks… I’ve always wondered, when I post recipes using whole pimientos, if you can get them in the US
OK, THAT looks so good! I must try potatoes with pimiento dressing.
Oh, and I use that tiny jar of diced pimientos for . . . “pimento” (as the Southerners spell it) cheese! I love that stuff.
Lisa, Oh, I remember pimento cheese… Except I don’t remember how to make it… I’ll look on your blog ;-))
I gave up vitamins after a doctor told me I was simply making expensive wee.
Great recipe for potato salad. The dressing is just yummy.
I was making the pimento cheese for ages and as it was so tasty, then I was asked politely if I could cut down and do something else for a while. I tend to have an obsessive compulsive personality. LOL
I love pimiento. There’s ready made dressing that I used to buy and this reminds me of it. Sounds delicious.
Wanda, I think I agree – about the expensive wee…. And about the OC personality… me too!
Jude, and it’s so easy!
it will do…uhm, delicious!
Interesting question about the vitamins,but if you looking for a discount supplements you been thinking about a fish oil pill once a day. I do eat fresh fish but probably not enough.Anyway,thanks for the valuable information.
by:kissey