Tip #17 Get more water

Yesterday I did a little Senior nutrition presentation at a retirement home in Ballard.  We talked a bit about water- it's so important and for seniors, their thirst signal diminishes as they age.  I always like to point out one way I know hydration is so important- in the hospital it seems that they routinely give everyone fluids as soon as they are admitted.  Yes, it's the easy way to give medications, but I think it also speaks to how often sick people are dehydrated as well. Your body works best when well hydrated- it's such a huge part of your immune system.  Your very first defense against germs is your mouth, lungs, intestinal system, etc.  If you are dried out, that defense system doesn't work as well.  Recently I heard that they no longer push for you to get 8 glasses of water a day.  Apparently our thirst keeps us pretty well hydrated.  I still think we need to remind ourselves to drink more- place a cup at your desk, keep water bottles in your bag or purse, have a glass in the bathroom.  Remember- if  you drink coffee or caffeinated soda, you need even more water because caffeine acts as a diuretic- taking more water off our bodies.

Food Science Sunday

Today is more of a recipe than about Food Science.  When I make a substitution in a recipe, I have to use some food science tricks to make sure that item will work.  This is about preserving that great watermelon.  There is a group of women who go to my church that get together once a month and make a recipe from the Sunset magazine- Sunset is based on the Northwest, so they are usually featuring foods that grow in our area.  When I went a couple months ago, I brought a bender drink to sip on as we waited to eat. HERE is the original recipe (turns out it was from Cooking Light!) and you can look HERE for all kinds of amazing recipes with watermelon.
First of all, cube your watermelon and freeze on a large cookie sheet for at least 4 hours- remove and put in a large container to be used when you want to whip up this cooler.  You need at least 5 cups of cubed watermelon.

Watermelon Cooler
5 cups frozen watermelon cubes
1/2 can frozen limeade concentrate
3/4 cup pineapple juice
1 tsp rum flavoring
1/2 cup chopped mint leaves
Sparkling water, club soda or ginger ale

Blend all ingredients except soda water in blender (may need to do batches).
The original recipe called for rum and too much limeade.  I wanted to try the flavor of the rum with mint, but I don't drink alcohol.  I knew the juice that lent itself to the rum taste the best was probably pineapple, so I swapped that in with rum flavoring.  I think blending the club soda or sparkling water takes the fizz out, so I would pour your watermelon slush into a pitcher and then add the soda water to taste, stir gently.  Ginger ale would make it more sweet, you play with what you like.  We all really enjoyed this cooler, the mint and rum flavor and lime and watermelon all go together really well.

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #16 Stir Fry Basics

After my last post, I started thinking about stir fries.  You can make almost any meat/vegetable into a stir fry if you understand the basics.  A stir fry can be a very healthy meal and a great way to get more veggies into your meal.  When I was working and doing nutrition counseling, many people would complain that they didn't know how to cook and that's why they couldn't follow many of our instructions about improving their diet.  So a few of my tips might include easy cooking basics.
To make a stir fry, you just need at least 2 main ingredients- a meat and veggie or 2 different veggies.  I have found that just 2 items can make a great stir fry.  Start a pot of rice (preferably brown- see previous post).  Slice your meat as thin as possible.  Meat is easiest to slice when still partly frozen, then let it thaw completely.  I like to sprinkle a little garlic powder on it and maybe a little salt, depending on the ingredients in your sauce. It can be anything- a steak, boneless pork chop, boneless chicken breast or thighs- one large chicken breast fed our whole family 2 nights ago because I added enough veggies.  (Hint- think of meat as a topping or condiment to flavor your meals.)  Next, slice your vegetables.  I will refer to an article HERE on stir frying vegetables.  Essentially, the harder, more dense your vegetables, the more care you need to take in stir frying them.  I will give an example shortly.  Next, whisk up your sauce.  Basically, a good sauce has a few things in it:  the same amount of chicken broth and low sodium soy sauce (like 1/2 cup each), 1 tsp sesame oil, 1 Tbs sugar, 1 Tbs cornstarch, minced garlic or fresh ginger (or both if you like).  Like I mentioned in my last post, Cook's Illustrated has a light cooking book with some other recipes like spicy orange, lemon, coconut curry and others.  I highly recommend finding several you like and experimenting.  Put that sauce you make aside in a bowl, all ready to go.
Start with a stainless steel or cast iron skillet or a wok, heat on high with about 1-2 Tbs oil.  A non-stick pan will do, but it will cook your stir fry differently.  The meat is more likely to steam than fry.  When the oil is hot, stir fry your meat- in batches if necessary.  If you over crowd your skillet, you get steamed meat, not stir fried.
Once all your meat is done, remove last batch and place in a bowl.  Here's where your choice of veggies comes in to play.  If I have some carrots or other "dense" vegetable, I would start them in the pan (add 1 tsp of oil if needed) and stir fry for about 2 minutes.  Then I add 1/4 - 1/2 cup water and cover pan quickly with a lid.  This will steam the veggies - cook for a couple more minutes.  Then take off the lid and cook until water evaporates.  Put in remaining veggies and finish cooking.  Add the meat back in, give the sauce a quick whisk and pour that in.  Toss and heat all together- the sauce should thicken very quickly.
That's it- the basics being:  stir fry the meat first, remove it, stir fry veggies (taking care to cook them appropriate to their density) and put in your sauce last.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #15 Getting in Whole Grains

I have not been posting too many tips lately due to the season- I have been up to my elbows trying to preserve some of the fruit and veggies that are cheap and available this time of year.  I have a great tip for saving some of that watermelon.  This seems to be a bumper year for watermelon.  But I digress and I will get to the watermelon recipe another time.  Tonight for dinner I threw together a stir fry using one of my favorite light stir fry recipes from the Cook's Illustrated The Best Light Recipe cookbook (highly recommend the book).  I didn't have time to bake brown rice the way I like it, so I was quickly making white rice.  However, I ran out and had to throw some brown rice into the pot.  I used to think that mixing brown and white rice in one pot wasn't feasible due to their different cooking times, but I have since discovered this works.  The texture of our rice tonight was great and our whole grain intake increased. Last night I did it with pasta.  I put in half whole wheat pasta 2 minutes before some regular pasta.  You see, in our household we have some biases.  Stephen spent 2 years in Italy eating regular pasta and  I spent 18 months in the Philippines eating white rice.  So sometimes we get a little crabby about whole wheat pasta and brown rice.  But mixing is a great compromise and better for us.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Food Science Sunday

This could also be titled Food Safety Sunday.  As I fixed my girls lunch today, I was tempted to take a bite out of their saucepan of soup and put the spoon back in.  This is not a good idea for 2 reasons:  of course the germs from my mouth can multiply and spread to others who will eat the soup- especially when the soup is in the "danger zone"- between 41 and 140 degrees F.  The longer your food is between these temps, the higher the risk of bacteria multiplication.  But another reason that some people might not realize is that our saliva actually contains the enzyme amylase that helps in breaking down food.  Digestion starts in your mouth!  This is most important in simple carbohydrate foods like yogurt- if you eat half of a carton of yogurt and put the other in the fridge, the next day you will notice that it's all watery and broken down.  That's your amylase at work.  (As a side note to moms- this is why a dentist will tell you not to use the same spoon as your little one when testing their baby food or showing them how yummy their dinner is.  Your amylase can actually damage their baby teeth as well.  Fascinating stuff!)
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #14 Get more sleep

Today's tip comes from a tired mom of a teething 4 month old.  Yesterday I got SO TIRED and I had to stay awake to get several things done (not the least of these being taking care of 3 kids).  I found myself reaching for some sweets to perk me up.  I would have been much better off looking for a lower calorie solution to my problem.  Although dark chocolate with almonds has it's merits, the calorie toll I paid outweighed the advantages.  I should have made some herbal tea with a spoonful of honey.  I could have washed and cut up some fruit.  I could have chewed some sugar free gum, got a big glass of ice water or even done a few minutes of exercise (preferably in my yard) to perk me up.  Studies have shown that people that get enough rest lose weight more easily.  That makes sense for a lot of reasons, part of which (if I remember correctly) is because our metabolism works better and more effectively when we get enough rest.  I find that if I've had enough rest I don't reach for high carb and calorie pick me ups as often.  Get some rest and eat well.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Food Science Sunday

Today's food science tip is pretty simple.  Water evaporates.  Any time you are making something in which you measure water, wait until it boils and then take your next cooking step, it's important you don't let the water boil long.  Here are two examples that come up all the time in my kitchen:  When I make rice I measure the water, let it boil and then add the rice.  If I step away from the kitchen and come back to a pot with steam pouring out of it, I know I have lost too much water and usually start over.  I measured the water one time just to see how much water I had lost and I was over 1/2 cup short for my rice.  Another time this is important is when I make bread.  I use a recipe that calls for adding boiling water at one step.  If I have let the water boil too long, I know my bread will be lacking some of the needed moisture.  Always keep a lid on a pot of water if it's measured for a recipe (less water will evaporate), stay close to the kitchen and if you know you will need some time before the water boils, start it on medium instead of high.  If you like to steam vegetables over a pan of boiling water and are like me and often forget to check things, try putting a ring that goes on a canning bottle or lightweight lid with a lip in the bottom pan of water.  When the water boils out, the ring will start to rattle, letting you know to add water ASAP.  I scorched a pan under a steamer full of carrots (for a dinner party, no less) and the result was steamed carrots that tasted like they had been smoked over a campfire.  Not completely inedible, my guest was gracious.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #13 Finding healthy Fair food??

I am the first to admit that fair food is far from healthy.  That's a hilarious alliteration by the way.  But I love the fair and it only comes around once a year.  Therefore, there are some foods I am willing to indulge in once a year.  Stephen loves a corn dog.  There is nothing remotely healthy about a corn dog, so I cannot try and point out it's better qualities.  I love elephant ears and there is nothing remotely healthy about them.  So we each get what we love and share it around and feel happy for another year.  Now that our kids are bigger, the bites they take are bigger and we get less each year!  You can't deny yourself of all treats or "junk food" all the time.  However, last night at the Western Washington Fair I did notice a few "healthier" options. We got a BBQed half chicken and once I pulled the skin off my breast, I was very happy with it.  I also got coleslaw that was not swimming in mayo.  Veggies at the fair!  How refreshing.  There was roasted corn on the cob, an excellent fair food.  At the Dairy bar they were selling plain and chocolate milk, you know how I feel about them- especially when you drink them in place of getting an ice cream cone.  There are things that are empty calories, like cotton candy and snow cones but at least they are not deep fat fried, therefore a somewhat better alternative.  This year they featured the new trendy item at state fairs across the country:  a deep fried stick of butter.  I will not even waste space on such a thing.  At least a deep fried snickers bar has an ounce of merit- but only an ounce.  There are almost always a few stations with actual "real food" like pulled pork, a gyro or lamb kabob, cheese pizza, baked potato,  taco or a turkey leg.  But there are plenty of ways they make even healthier options loaded with fat.  So here's what you do:  you eat a decent meal sometime before going to the fair, you buy the things you are dying to try that come around once a year and you share with someone else.  Remember, if you aren't used to a lot of fat, greasy foods can do a number on your digestive system the next day.  Just keep that in mind.  :  ).  PS- next week I am going to try making a healthier version of an orange slushy with vanilla ice cream we sampled last night.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Recipe #4 Creamy Peach Smoothie

I got some awesome peaches last night- a whole box of ripe ones.  They needed to be eaten or processed right away, but I was craving something smooth and cool.  So I threw the following together:
1 cup ice
3 peaches
3/4 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tbs honey

I blended all and we enjoyed a delicious peach drink.  This time of year is my favorite.  I have eaten home grown tomatoes at every meal.  Tomatoes with eggs, tomatoes in mac n cheese, sliced tomatoes on grilled cheese and salads, salads, salads.  I have been lucky enough to get blackberries, peaches and raspberries made into jams, syrups and cobbler.  My tip to go along with this recipe?  Take advantage of whatever is in season and just gorge yourself.  It's so good and good for you too.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Recipe #3 Granola

Did you know cold cereal can be one of the most expensive parts of your grocery budget?  I have friends who calculated the cost of cold cereal consumed by their family and promptly changed course.  Pancakes are cheap, oatmeal is cheap, eggs are "cheap" at my house because we have 7 laying hens, but it's all relative since we pay for feed.  I crave granola, but think the low fat versions are too sweet and in general it's pretty expensive.  I buy oats wholesale from my Church's dry pack canning program (the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) you don't have to be a member of our church to buy in bulk. HERE is a list of the Home Storage Centers where you can buy in bulk, you just have to call and ask about coming if you are not a member. HERE is the list of items you can buy.  I had a 25# bag of oats open and thought "I need to make granola".  This is the recipe I grew up eating.  If you can buy all your ingredients in bulk (WinCo is great) than this cereal can be cheaper than regular cold cereal.  It's definitely less sweet than commercial granola and best part is- you can make it whatever flavors you want.  If you make sure your oats come from a certified gluten free source- you can make this gluten free (leave out wheat germ).
Granola
8 cups oatmeal
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup honey
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
2 tsp vanilla
(any raw nuts you want like sliced or slivered almonds, etc)
Mix together and bake on large cookie sheets or jelly roll pans at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes.  Add coconut, raisins, dried fruit, etc.  Store in airtight container.

Ok, here is what I learned:  the wheat germ (probably because of it's high fat content) burns more quickly than the oats toast.  I think you could add it halfway through the cooking time which is what I am going to try next time.  I made one and one half times the recipe (12 cups oats) and divided it between 2 sheets, rotating sheets and stirring every 10 minutes. I added a tsp of almond extract with the vanilla and sliced almonds to my batch.  I added dried cherries and some other mixed dried berries that were on sale.  It is not sweet, which I like.  Next time I would like to try other seeds like flax or sesame even.

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Food Science Sunday

Food science Sunday will be it's own category from now on instead of a tip.  Tonight I made a recipe I saw in an Everyday Food magazine.  I just happened to have most of the ingredients.  HERE is the recipe.  Arugula, Chicken and Rice salad.  Well, I don't usually have arugula lying around, so for that I subbed in romaine lettuce.  Arugula has the texture of spinach (to me) and is described as tasting "peppery".  I think it's good on a pizza, for the base of a main dish salad that I am feeding to kids- I opt for romaine.  For the rice I had some leftover cooked quinoa, but it had turned out a bit mushy.  I knew this recipe needed a grain that was fluffy and separated nicely so that the dressing could coat each grain (and that is probably the reason they called for long grain.  Long grain rice cooks up and separates much more than short grain rice which sticks together).  Put dressing on a ball of sticky rice and you can imagine the results.  So I cooked up a cup of rice, carefully measuring the water.  When I want stickier rice for an Asian dish, I am more liberal with my water and cooking times (also rinsing your rice before cooking makes it much stickier).  When it was cooked, I fluffed the rice with a fork, covered the pot with a dishtowel and let it cool.  The towel absorbs excess moisture and I knew that pouring the dressing on hot rice would also make the texture and flavor less appealing.  Hot rice would soak up the dressing too much and heat would alter the fresh herbs that made up the dressing.  I mixed some of my quinoa, some rice and the chicken for that part of the salad, it was delicious.  I added orange bell pepper and cucumber along with the tomatoes for more nutrition and color.  Coming up:  my favorite granola recipe per request.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Recipe #2 Granola Bars

These are way cheaper and you can make them much healthier than their store-bought counter parts.  Having said that, they have their fair share of oil and honey in them, so they are NOT low calorie.  But I don't advocate low calorie stuff too much, especially if you want to feed these to your kids (they are so good, your kids will be lucky if they get one).
HERE is the link to Allrecipes where I first saw the recipe.  I give you the link for many reasons 1) to give the original contributor credit
2) you can print off the recipe nicely from their website and
3) you can read the top review by Ella who makes many of the changes I make to this bar.
I use whole wheat flour, I cut the brown sugar to 1/3 cup (down from 3/4!), I add flax seeds whole or meal and I add peanut butter to this bar. I also add whatever nuts and dried fruits and/or chocolate chips or other fun items I have.  I love peanut butter and chocolate chip combo, who doesn't?  But the cinnamon is the kicker in these little guys- even when I make PB and C version, I keep the cinnamon.  You won't want to cut the honey because it would affect the consistency of the bar too much, but cutting the brown sugar is easily done without losing the texture.  I often double the recipe and bake in a jelly roll pan, but the consistency is best if baked in a 9 x 13 or two 9 x 13 pans.  Follow instructions, don't over bake and make sure the cut the bars 5 minutes after taking from oven.  Enjoy!
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #12 Lunch expectations

Yesterday I was at my friend's house and her 4 1/2 yr old twins were asking about lunch.  I overheard one ask "what am I going to have for my protein?"  Later my friend explained that her lunch rules are that they pick 1 grain, 1 fruit and 1 protein.  The best part about this is that her kids know these expectations and have learned what counts as a grain, protein and fruit in her home.  I love this idea, especially for lunches on the go or pickier eaters.  I know from her kitchen that her grains are probably always whole grains.  I try and give my kids 2 options for lunch and sometimes I feel like a short order cook, but it certainly helps with getting a decent meal down them.  We all know there are some days when it seems all our kids ate were refined carbs. Here are some ideas: examples of grains might include a homemade granola bar, whole wheat (ww) bread or other bun, ww pasta, ww tortilla, whole grain crackers, leftover ww pancakes or french toast or even a bowl of whole grain cereal.  Who says you can't have breakfast for lunch?  My 4 1/2 yr old would eat breakfast for every meal and snacks.  Proteins might include string cheese, sliced cheese and lunchmeat on a sandwich (I would put these together since a slice of ham has little protein), peanut butter or any nut butter or nuts, yogurt, cooked beans like black or pinto (I add these to cheese on a tortilla for a quick quesadilla) egg cooked any way (my kids love hard boiled eggs with a little salt and pepper to dip them in) or maybe tuna. My friend makes "bugs in the mud"- much like ants on a log, but the "mud" or nut butter is on a whole grain cracker instead.  Brilliant.  Homemade granola bar recipe to follow tomorrow.
~Here's to Healthy Eating