Tip #11 Sugar substitutes away!

Today was C-C-CRAZY. So at 2pm when we ended up at Fred Meyer and we still had 2 errands to run, I decided (yet again) that a chocolate milk was in order for a quick snack (this 3rd kid is really messing with my schedule!). I snagged a 4 pack of Nestle's Nesquik bottles- the girls manage bottles better than cartons in their car seats and the 4 pack was cheaper than individual bottles. The label touted "only 100 calories" and I thought "hmmm, must be small bottles" because 100 calories does not seem like much chocolate milk but I did not look closely at them (baby in stroller was threatening to cry). Back in the car: one swig and I suspected something else entirely- fake sweetness. Sure enough, while trying not to veer in to oncoming traffic I read "aspartame" in the ingredients list. Ugggg! The sweetener I hate the MOST because I can taste it the most. I don't like artificial sweeteners. I realize that studies have been done showing you pretty much have to drink the equivalent of 500 diet cokes a day to make them harmful to you, but I still don't trust them. My friend just asked my opinion of an article she had read on artificial sweeteners. I fully agree with the opinions in the article and it was written by an RD- HERE is the link to it. I also realize that Nestle's probably has plenty of chocolate milk without aspartame in it, just watch for "low calorie" or "no added sugar" on products that are sweet- they should have sugar and sugar has calories!
While I was at Fred Meyer I also picked up some soda- Hansen's brand that uses cane sugar as its sweetener. If we drink soda, we try and not drink high fructose corn syrup either. It's structurally a little different than sugar (55% fructose 45% glucose instead of 50/50 that natural sweeteners are), therefore- I don't trust it either. This tip winds down to - if it's not natural, don't trust it. I love that commercial for MiO- they show a perfectly good glass of water and then someone squirting in a plume of bright purple, red or orange- the whole product screams "ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING, COLORING AND SWEETENERS!!" and that's all it is. Yuck.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #10 Food Science Sunday

One way I like to "pay" my friends back for favors, etc is by making cinnamon rolls. Here is one of those items you need to have a reason to make and a lot of people to feed them to. Because no one should have a whole recipe of rolls sitting around their kitchen (all right, that "no one" is me). There are 2 things- ok, 3 things I can hardly resist if they're in my vicinity: 1) chocolate chip cookies 2) brownies with walnuts 3) cinnamon rolls. By the way, all treats in moderation and satisfying your cravings will be other tips for another day.
The best recipe I have ever had for cinnamon rolls can be found HERE. It calls for scalding your milk/sugar/oil mixture. Scalding is bringing milk almost to a boil, then letting it cool. I knew there was a food science moment hidden here, and even though I could not remember the exact reason for scalding from my 4-H years and food science classes, I decided to look into it. Apparently old recipes often call for scalding milk because milk wasn't pasteurized and there was a bacteria that would interfere with thickening in some recipes (and I suspect maybe mess with your yeast as well?). But now that all our milk is pasteurized, apparently it's not necessary. You heat the milk to help with the yeast growth, but you have to let it cool first - too hot and it will kill the yeast of course. Some people seem to argue that scalding milk helps break down some of the milk proteins or enzymes which would inhibit the gluten and therefore they get a better product from using scalded milk. I will say a couple of things: my favorite roll recipes all use scalded milk; scalding would evaporate some of the water off your milk, creating more of an evaporated milk type product which produces smoother, creamier results. Whether it's just the "old fashioned" way of doing things or not, I'll probably keep up the tradition!

~Here's to Healthy (and delicious) Eating

Tip #9 Reheat and repeat

This is an odd tip. But I do think knowing the best way to reheat your leftovers can vastly improve your consumption of them! Meaning: things taste better when cooked or reheated correctly. We got pizza last night- it's been "one of those weeks" and the pizza place was running "one of those deals". Pizza CAN be a healthy meal. If the crust isn't oozing oil and the toppings aren't all fat-filled. Hawaiian and Veggie pizzas are 2 of the healthiest kinds. But I always found reheating pizza could often ruin it. Maybe that's why people started eating it cold? Who knows. Veggie pizzas invariably have soggy crusts next day due to water-filled veggies. Pineapple can do that too. Some cheese is soft and the texture is off when it's reheated. So I found that a quick turn in a non-stick pan (crisps the crust) and a minute or 2 under the broiler (gets the cheese sizzling) can vastly improve reheated pizza. In fact, it tastes almost as good as the night it was freshly made (ok, I said ALMOST).

Reheating leftovers applies to lunches the next day, which really does have healthy applications. People who pack leftovers for lunch spend less money (of course) and are much more likely to be eating healthier than those who eat out. I know stay at home wives whose husbands refuse to take leftovers (or pack a sandwich) for lunch at work. But my dad who just retired calculated he saved an estimated $12,500 over his career by packing his lunch. I also discovered that many people don't know how to reheat foods in the microwave properly, my husband being one of them! We have worked on skills over the years such as using a power level instead of just microwaving on high and now I think he enjoys his leftovers for lunch much more. Here are some tips to reheating your leftovers: cut larger pieces of meat into smaller chunks. Make a "doughnut" out of your leftovers, leaving a hole in the middle- your food will reheat more evenly. Always use a lower power to reheat- I only use high to boil water. Power level 60% for 2-3 minutes is usually a good place to start. If you can separate any "carbs" from the rest of your leftovers, heat them last and separate. Tortillas, breads, pasta and even rice can get tough if heated too fast and too long. Good luck eating up those leftovers!

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #8 All day long

We are going to talk a lot about veggies - getting them into your diet by working them in at different times other than just dinner. I try and make sure my kids have a veggie at lunch- it's tough, I know it. A lot of times it's just baby carrots and even that recently my 5 yr old started telling me she didn't like. What?? Who doesn't like baby carrots? Today I bought some hummus and when I actually ASKED who wanted carrots with hummus at lunch (I usually don't ask my kids what they want at meal times, they get told what is on the menu when it comes to non-optional things like veggies) they both said "me!". Hummus is great- made from garbanzo beans, olive oil, sesame paste. I just saw that Trader Joes is making a edamame hummus which sounds amazing! Edamame is even more nutritious than garbanzo beans. Since I have all the stuff to make it at home, I think I will try it out. I'll let you know how it comes out.
If it takes a little coaxing like hummus or ranch or butter or cheese sauce to get veggies into your diet or your kid's diets, I say go for it. The fiber, vitamins and minerals are still there under the tasty stuff.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #7 Satiety part deux

There will be many tips about satiety. I think it's one of the most important aspects of nutrition. If we are satisfied, we won't reach for more food as soon and being more satisfied helps us make more nutritious choices. It's when we are ravenous that we make poor food choices. That's why we shouldn't let ourselves get ravenous OR skip breakfast. Your stomach may feel like it doesn't want food early in the morning, but your blood sugar is just getting lower and lower and studies have shown you will probably more than make up for missing breakfast by making poor food choices later in the day. But that is another tip- why do all these tips seem to overlap one another? I guess because nutrition isn't made up of small bits and pieces of your day- nutrition is woven into every choice we make all day.
Snacks: I alluded to this in the last post. Those with kids will attest that snacks are an integral part of one's life. We all should have snacks, not just kids. But with kids sometimes the snacks have to be tailored a little. The other day we had a lot of errands to run and I knew we would be out for a number of hours. I didn't have time to make PB&J (my preferred method of avoiding the food court at the mall), but I did think ahead a little. Because of the length of our errands, I sometimes promise my kids frozen yogurt at our favorite spot in the mall- they make all natural frozen yogurt. I had some goldfish crackers, and although my kids love them- they are basically just empty carbs even though they make them with whole grains now. So I grabbed some dried fruit to go with them. Crackers, fruit and frozen yogurt plus plenty of water. Not exactly super healthy, but definitely better than it could be (read: crackers, fruit snacks and ice cream). Think protein, fiber and fat. Triscuits vs wheat thins, string cheese vs cheddar cheese, chocolate milk vs a Snapple. The former all have either better or more fiber, fat and protein. Triscuits are slightly lower in fat that Wheat Thins, but higher in protein and fiber. String cheese has less fat, thus a better protein/fat ratio than cheddar cheese, and 1% lowfat chocolate milk is an amazing snack (as my mom always taught me). It has at least 8 grams of protein and just 2.5 grams of fat. I love the snack of chocolate milk- especially when I am craving something more unhealthy like soda or ice cream. It's great for when you're grocery shopping and need a pick-me-up so you don't spend a bunch of money on junk food (never shop hungry) and it's also great for stops at the gas station on road trips.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #6 Satiety

The art of staying satisfied. There are a lot of factors in being satisfied after eating something. There are cravings and temperature and even texture, but for this tip I will deal with the basic make-up of food items and 3 things I think are most important in being satisfied: fiber, fat and protein. Usually, your body needs one of these things to be satisfied. Take breakfast for example- we have all had the experience of eating some cereal and an hour later being hungry again! And then you have the opposite: my mom telling me to eat my cracked wheat growing up because it would "stick to my ribs". Well, the reason it "stuck to my ribs" is because it was full of fiber and higher in protein than most cereal I would have eaten. Well, I am not overly fond of hot cereal for breakfast and I can't always scramble eggs. Plus, there are just too many mornings my kids want cold cereal, so I try and seek out cereals with more fiber, protein and even some fat is ok (especially for kids). My favorite cereal is Great Grains with dates and pecans. It's higher in protein, fat and fiber due to some of the nuts and dried fruits. This is especially good mixed with Raisin Bran which is high in fiber. My kids love Frosted Mini Wheats which is just as high in sugar as many sugar cereals, but is higher in fiber and protein due the whole wheat. And often because cold cereal is such a challenge, I add a piece of whole wheat toast to the meal which my kids love. More fiber, more protein and more fat (we use butter at our house). Viola! We just made breakfast a little more satisfying.
Try and do the same for snacks: think of protein, fat and fiber and see if you can pick a snack with more of them!
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #5 Stretching it out

Last night I made one of our favorite meals to share with visitors- Pork Burritos (Cafe Rio style). Although it's not a particularly healthy recipe, and should probably not be featured on this blog, if you email me through my profile or leave a comment, I will send it to you. If enough people are interested, I will post the original recipe and "remodeled" version.
Part of the burrito is Zatarains black beans and rice and I have always added an extra can of black beans to the saucepan after the mix is made. Because Zatarains is high in sodium (I know they also sell a less sodium version of many of their products) and has plenty of flavor, adding a can of rinsed black beans stretches my dollar, increases the fiber and my intake of the healthy minerals found in beans. Always rinse your canned beans as they are canned with a fair amount of salt. I recently read in Ellie Krieger's cookbooks that rinsing decreases the sodium in beans by 40%. Mixes and cans have their place in our fast paced lives. But you can probably always add something to them to make them healthier. Add some fresh, finely chopped veggies to mixes like Suddenly Salad, or a frozen pasta saute dish before making it. Add chopped bell pepper and shredded carrot to hamburger helper. Throw some frozen vegetables into a can of soup you are heating up or mac n cheese just before the noodles are finished cooking. All these things can help increase your veggie and fiber intake and lower the sodium per serving in processed foods.
Last night I also added diced red bell pepper to my frozen corn before heating it in a saute pan and the result is more color and more nutrition. Always try and get more colors on your plate.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #4 Food Science Sunday

Another part of this blog is sharing the ingredient substitutions I make in recipes and why they might work/don't work. Tonight's dinner plans were changed last minute. Our friend Hermes brought over a salmon he caught this morning. Can't pass that up! To think this nice pink salmon was swimming in Puget Sound this morning and tonight was on my plate is very exciting to me! I love to broil salmon with a simple teriyaki glaze. Usually I use a recipe with brown sugar from Everyday Food, but when I looked for it online, I saw this one from Mad Hungry- a spin off of Everyday Food.
Click here for the recipe. I did not have the fresh ginger, but decided to go with it anyway. Fresh ginger is one of those ingredients that when you need it, you really need it- but it's hard to keep on hand. My tip (which I need to follow) is to buy a bigger piece of ginger than you need, peel and grate the extra and freeze it. I have only had marginal success keeping ginger more fresh in my crisper inside a paper bag- but it does last longer than usual that way. Most vegetables mold fastest inside plastic bags. I did use the ground ginger powder in the teriyaki recipe and the result was just fine, but the fresh ginger would have made the dish really pop. The salmon was so delicious, no one really missed it. I like teriyaki because it seems to flavor the salmon without overpowering it. I blanched sugar snap peas from our garden and tossed them with the Asian dressing from the salad recipe here.
The real crazy food science moment of the day came when I made a fruit smoothie out of frozen strawberries and blueberries, plain lowfat yogurt, milk, some vanilla and a dash of sugar. The result was creamy and smooth, but 2 hrs later the leftovers in the bottom of the blender were quite altered. It still tasted fine, but the texture was a mess! The body of the smoothie had congealed almost to the point of a soft gelatin or tofu and left a watery mess underneath. My immediate suspicion was that the high level of pectin in the blueberries was the culprit. Sure enough, I looked around online and saw that others had had the same experience. Click here
Pectin is found a lot in fruits, is great for thickening things and is part of soluble fiber, so it can help lower blood cholesterol- but be careful you don't make a smoothie too early before your guests arrive!

Tip #3 Pepperoni prep

Friday nights are great nights for a fun dinner- my friend makes homemade pizza every Friday night. Tonight we had a pasta bake, making use of some pepperoni, a little precooked hamburger I had thawed and pre-shredded Italian cheese. To make it more healthy, I wish I had had some bell peppers and frozen spinach to add (this picture is obviously not of my dish). I like to think of meats like pepperoni, ham, bacon and sausage as condiments- add just enough for flavor. Although it's healthier, I don't use turkey pepperoni because it tastes sweet to me. Pepperoni is best when slightly crunchy, not soppy and soggy in it's own oil. To crisp up any pepperoni you are using, put a paper towel down on a plate, spread the pepperoni one layer thin on top and top with another paper towel. Microwave for 30-60 seconds in the microwave. Blot well. This also reduces the fat going in to your dish since it will all be on the paper towels!
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Recipe #1 Asian salad with chicken and rice crackers

I had a narrow miss today: I almost went through a McDonalds drive thru. I know, I know. Thing is- I wasn't craving a burger or even their fries. I wanted to try their mango-pineapple fruit smoothie. Dang those billboard ads. But thankfully, I was at Trader Joes for some veggies and got onto another track for lunch. The girls were at Princess Day Camp (I KNOW, right??) and I was going to treat myself to SOMETHING for lunch, one way or another. Trader Joes has killer cartons of chocolate milk for 69 cents (more on chocolate milk another day). So I grabbed a salad from their deli section and a milk along with my veggies and headed for the checkout. At checkout they had bags of Oriental Rice Crackers. Perfect to add crunch to my salad! My girlfriend has lost a lot of weight with the aide of eating a great big salad every day for lunch. She usually crumbles some multi-grain crackers or chips on top for CRUNCH. I think adding crunch to food ups it's appeal and satisfaction factor by about 100%. She agrees. So I snagged some Oriental Rice Crackers and started thinking of the possibilities while trying to ignore the fact that I had selected THE slowest check out line. How about an Asian salad with chicken and these rice crackers on top? You could make a version with romaine or just a straight cabbage slaw marinated in Asian dressing, topped with chicken strips and these crackers. Either way, much better than those brown noodle things or dry Ramen noodles. These crackers have a spicy kick to them as well. I even had high hopes for this being a gluten-free dish, but alas, the rice crackers have soy sauce on them - thus wheat. You could probably find a rice cracker without any gluten though they may not have the same Asian kick as these little babies.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Asian salad with Chicken and Rice Crackers (serves 2-3)
1/2 to 1 head of romaine lettuce, chopped (depending on size of head)
1/4 head of red cabbage, shredded
1 red pepper, diced
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 chicken breast cooked and cut into strips
Asian dressing of choice (or recipe see below)
Optional additional toppings:
Bok choy
Water Chestnuts
Cucumber
Snow peas
Mandarin oranges
Sliced almonds
Cilantro

Dressing:
1 Tb brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
3 Tb olive oil
3 Tb rice vinegar

Suggest tossing all salad ingredients with dressing 10 minutes before serving and topping with lightly crushed Oriental flavored rice crackers just before serving.

Tip #2 Fruit Salad to the rescue

I LOVE living in the Northwest. Growing up in Idaho, I took for granted all the fruit and vegetables that easily grew in our climate. Then we moved to Chicago. I had no idea how hard it would be to get a decent fresh peach. I shudder when I remember those years. Moving to Seattle rescued me from my fresh fruit funk. We have fruit salad a lot for dinner- it's the perfect incentive for my kids to eat some of the main dish and their vegetables. I always make a HUGE bowl of salad so that even if we take all we want for dinner, there will be some leftover. Then, at 10pm when I am on the prowl for something sweet, I grab the leftover fruit salad because we all know cut fruit won't be decent in the morning! I think in the evening we crave sweets for a variety of reasons: 1) We're actually thirsty from dinner and interpret it as hunger 2) We're tired and want a carb boost 3) We're celebrating having survived a day with kids and getting some alone time with our spouse or 4) a combination of the previous three. If you find yourself reaching for ice cream or other sweets late at night and you want to cut back on that habit- try drinking a big glass of water and eating a piece of fruit or my fruit salad trick. You'll be getting more servings of fruits to add to your daily quota.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #1 Try separating things out . . .

This blog has miles to go before it's what I want it to be, but just to get the ball rolling . . .
Tonight I presented to a group of about 30 women on getting more servings of fruits and vegetables into our diets. One point we talked about (of course) was getting children to eat more fruits and veggies. This little antecdote relates to that topic:
We just got back from staying 2 weeks at my mother's house where we ate gobs of fruits and vegetables due to her menu planning and abundant garden. She sent us home with garden ripened tomatoes, zucchini and cucumbers. Monday morning I made scrambled eggs for breakfast for myself and my 5 and 4 yr old girls. I wanted to add some diced tomato to them. I know my kids love eggs and like tomatoes, but hadn't eaten the scrambled eggs well at my parent's house when they were combined. So I sliced one tomato and diced another. To my girls, I served scrambled eggs with slice tomato on the side and for myself, I added the diced tomato to the rest of the eggs and warmed them together. Perfect! The girls didn't blink at being served a veggie for breakfast and ate both eggs and tomato (especially when told that these tomatoes came from grandma's garden).
This is one occasion when I am happy to accommodate little appetites. Children's palates are different than ours and while I don't recommend being a short order cook and making only meals that are "kid friendly", I think we can do things once in a while in consideration of their tastes. Kids often prefer things separated, and if a little extra thought and effort will improve their vegetable intake for the day- GO FOR IT.
~Here's to Healthy Eating