On hold

I had so much fun writing this blog for a few months, but unfortunately schedules have not permitted  consistent posts.  I sometimes have a moment when I think of something I want to write about, but there is never time.  My biggest concern is that I have lots of recipe tips and tricks that aren't really RD "worthy" - not always the healthiest dishes.  I advocate whole foods and plenty of good fats and I am a fan of butter, which is not a "good fat" but at least is all natural.  My family is also on an extreme budget, so sometimes our meals are about the fast and cheap rather than the most healthful.  Tough decisions!
But one thing I have been wanting to say is about feeding kids.  My 18 month old son is so much more picky than my girls were.  It blows my mind how picky he is.  I realized recently that how I present the food to him makes a difference.  This kid can sense the slightest twinge of hesitation on my part.  If my face at all reads hopeful "please try this!" he shuts it down immediately without a second whiff.  If I plunk the food down with too much enthusiasm, he also smells a rat and won't try it.  So I shoot for a happy medium.  I put it down without fan fare- no big deal, here is dinner and you need to eat it.  I try not to study him carefully to see if he tries it, I just observe in my peripheral vision while I enthusiastically enjoy my meal- trying to set a good example.  It seems to help a little.  The most important thing is that I not think of him as picky or that he only likes certain kinds of food.  Kids have to be exposed to foods many, many times before they might even try them.  So we keep trying!
~Here's to Healthy Eating, signing off for now.
Tara

Skinless Fried Chicken

We are going to eliminate the "Tip#" and "foodscience Sunday" and what-not and just title posts with the subject at hand.
Last night I had thawed chicken thighs and legs and had 3 recipe options for them.  I decided on Chicken and Rice and pulled the skin off all the pieces.  Then I looked at the recipe, (I almost ALWAYS do this with Chicken and Rice) realized I didn't have the 2 1/2 hours of baking time it required and went with option 2.  Fried Chicken.  But wait- I had just pulled off all the skin!  I quickly did a google search for help and came up with a COMMENT on a food blog about how she (the commentator) makes her fried chicken skinless all the time.  So, the following recipe is a total adaptation from the Smitten Kitchen food blog http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/01/fried-chicken/ and a video I watched yesterday from America's Test Kitchen.  I love those people.  So here it is- my version of all these people's versions of fried chicken.  Without skin.  Which will save you (according to reputable sources) at least 4 grams of fat per 4 oz serving.  One might say "you're eating fried chicken, why worry about a little fat?"  Well, that skin is some of the worst kind, plus it's just yucky.  Even Stephen loved it, and he would put chicken skin on every food if he could.

Skinless Fried Chicken

Adapted from several sources, but mostly Cook’s Illustrated

Start by heating about 2 to 2 ½ cups peanut or corn oil in a cast-iron skillet or heavy, stainless steel pan with straight sides or other dutch oven.  Heat it on medium to medium low- until it reaches 375 degrees.  Too hot and it will burn.  Too cool and it will soak up too much oil.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. (you're going to finish the chicken in the oven)

Ingredients:

1 (3 1/2 to 4-pound) chicken, cut into 8-10 pieces (breasts cut in half) (if you want to make a mess for a crowd, just increase portions).  Pull the skin off the pieces- using a paper towel for aide in gripping can be useful.

Brine
1 ½ cups buttermilk
1Tb + 2 tsp kosher salt
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

dash or 2 of Tabasco sauce

Mix brine ingredients in a large bowl- whisk to dissolve salt. Place the chicken pieces in brining solution and refrigerate for two to three hours. Remove and place on rack to air-dry.

Batter
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ cups buttermilk

Coating
3-4 cups flour

3 tsp black pepper

1 tsp table salt (not kosher)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp paprika

dash cayenne pepper (to taste)

Mix batter ingredients and place in a large bowl. Place coating in large pan to coat chicken.

Coat chicken with flour, then place in batter. Drain excess batter off chicken and place in flour again and cover. Use tongs for transfers.

(Here is where the tip from the reader who does hers skinless comes in.  After dunking in flour, batter, flour- let chicken rest on wax paper for 30 minutes before frying).  Handle all chicken with care so you don't scrape any coating off!

Place five to six pieces of chicken in the skillet and cook 3-5 minutes on each side to brown.  Allow the oil to return to 375 degrees F before frying the next batch.

Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan, place in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes until breasts register 160 degrees and thighs and legs register 175 degrees.

Let rest for 5 minutes- ENJOY!!

Tip #31 Greek Yogurt Protein

More about protein.  Wah wah wah wah wah wah wah (ok, trying to sound like Charlie Brown's mom here, but that's a lot of "wahs").  And so I drone on.  Recently while traveling (again) I came across some Greek yogurt on sale (it was Chobani).  Of course this is not my first intro to Greek yogurt!  It's just that most of the greek yogurt I have consumed has been full of fat, honey and yumminess and I never really gave the fat free or lowfat versions a pause.  Well, hello!  Good lowfat Greek yogurt has had the liquid part of whey strained out and the protein part left in.  Greek yogurt can often have very high amounts of protein in such a smooth, creamy and lovely tasting yogurt!  You can get 14 grams of protein in a 6 oz serving that's only 160 calories.  That's awesome.  I have often had a hard time eating much yogurt because it has no bite or crunch or body to it.  Greek yogurt has that body, the thickness I like and lots of protein and natural bacteria my body needs.  Although it is definitely more expensive, I am excited to give more lowfat Greek style yogurts a try.  Just watch out for some store brands.  I came across some the other day sweetened with Stevia (I am not a fan of the taste) and some thickeners that made the yogurt taste chalky. A good Greek yogurt may be my sweet dairy treat substitute from now on!  On a side note, I did buy 2 pints of ice cream on the trip as well- the Chobani got eaten, the ice cream got left in the hotel freezer.  Hooray.

Tip #30 Constipation (in kids)

Hey, we're talking about poo here- so be warned and don't read right after dinner.  Constipation in kids vs adults can be pretty different things.  You usually can't make a kid eat or drink what you want them to, so even when you know the solution to their problem, it can be horribly frustrating because you can't fix it easily.  Let's start with the basics:

• Fiber- there are 2 types.  Insoluble and soluble (I know, they sound so much a like!  it gets confusing).  Think of insoluble as a scrub brush, going through the insides of your intestines, scrubbing (and pushing) everything out.  These are fibers your body can't break down in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes (think celery fibers, raspberry seeds, wheat germ).  Soluble fiber absorbs water and makes a gel, so while it adds bulk to your stool, it softens it as well.  Most fiber supplements have a lot of soluble fiber in them.  Foods high in soluble fiber are oatmeal, applesauce, blueberries (if you know about pectin in fruit- pectin is a soluble fiber).  There are all kinds of fiber supplements out there you might be able to add to your children's food or persuade them to eat. I know there is a clear, tasteless one that would work in most any food.

So, which type of fiber helps with constipation?  Both.  And most fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes have a combination of both fibers.  The scrub brushes scrub out the intestines and the gelling soluble fiber softens everything up.  When someone has diarrhea, they are told to eat applesauce, white rice, bananas, tea and toast.  The foods are high in soluble fiber so that water will be absorbed and slow the transit of the nutrients through the intestines so your body can get the nutrients from the food instead of it rushing right through.  If your child is having problems with constipation, try and find fruits and veggies and whole grain foods they like and encourage lots of intake, even buying the same kinds in mass quantities if that helps their intake.  The exception to this is fruits like apples, bananas and pears- they shouldn't be eaten exclusively because they are extremely high in soluble fiber and if you take the skin off, they have little insoluble fiber to help scrub those intestines out.  HERE is a good chart that lays out how much fiber there are in some common foods.  Dietary fiber is the total of insoluble and soluble added together.  THIS chart is my favorite, but only lists total fiber together, not soluble and insoluble separately. 

• Fluid.  Maybe I should have put this bullet first.  Whatever you can do to increase your children's fluid intake, try it.  Fruit juices watered down are also great to help with constipation.  Recommended by WebMD are prune, pear, apple and grape juices. Your kid won't drink much?  Try popsicles, watermelon or soups as ways to increase fluid intake.
• Here is another tip that helped me with Franklin- probiotics seemed to help loosen things up for him.  There are several probiotic supplements out there that you can add to your children's food.  These should be refrigerated when you buy them, I am not an expert on these, but most probiotics I know of need to be kept refrigerated.
• The foods to avoid are salty, processed foods and dairy- especially cheese and ice cream.  Other foods that constipate are foods high in fat and low in fiber.  Think hamburger and french fries, chicken nuggets, white pasta and white sauce (ahem- macaroni and cheese).  If your kid will only eat these types of things, you can increase the fiber in these things in the following ways- whole wheat buns, skin on fries, whole grain coating on chicken nuggets, romaine lettuce and tomato on the hamburger, no cheese, whole grain pasta and red sauce with chunks of veggies with the skin on (you are starting to get the picture, right?)  The hard part is that if you want these healthy changes in kid friendly food, you will probably have to make them yourself or pay a higher price.
• Some children are very sensitive to lactose or gluten.  You might want to experiment and try 2 weeks without dairy or 2 weeks without gluten and see if their constipation issues resolve during one of these periods of time.  Important during any time period where you take a major food group out of a child's diet- make sure they are getting plenty of fat from other sources and taking a multivitamin to make up for loss of minerals/vitamins.  
• If you try all these things and you still are having problems, it might be a condition you need to get medical help with.  I don't encourage the use of laxatives, even in their most organic and low dose forms, but of course there is a time and place for them.  I would only take them when needed most or for small time periods.  When I worked in the hospital, there was a woman who had had bowel obstruction because she had taken laxatives and bowel relaxers for so long, her bowels had stopped knowing how to go poop by themselves.  While of course that won't happen to everyone, I just think of it as a cautionary tale to not force your body to do something it should be trying to do on it's own.  If you need more information, go to THIS website by WebMD on toddler constipation.

~Here's to Healthy Eating (and eliminating)

Tip #29 Road Trip Food

Just got back from a long road trip and thought I would share my thoughts on snacks and road trip food.  Since I live and grew up in the northwest, I have taken a lot of long road trips.  This is what works best for me and my family:

Not my idea, or picture- but isn't it so smart??

• Keep your snacks pretty healthy.  There is nothing worse for a digestive system than eating crap and sitting for many hours.  I like to bring grapes and baby carrots because they are easy to eat.  We also pack a lot of oranges and apples although they are messier.  Bananas are less messy, but bruise so easily. 
• Drink lots of water.  You might not like this tip- it makes you stop and pee more.  But constipation is a real problem while traveling and keeping hydrated will help with that.  During this last trip, we traveled to much drier climates and that can also add to your constipation problems.
• Try and get fiber.  Here it is again folks.  If you want crackers, try and get whole wheat ones.  I even opted to buy some freshly popped popcorn at one gas stop- I needed a salty snack and at least popcorn has more fiber in it than most other salty snacks.
• Do you find that you need to keep your mouth busy on a drive?  Try getting a no-calorie drink like naturally flavored seltzer water, chewing gum or my husband's favorite- sunflower seeds.  These keep his mouth busy and his mind alert while driving.  A trick from his school bus driving days in college.  
• Although nuts are a good snack, I do not bring many on a trip.  For one thing, they are high in calories and I would snack on too many.  Also, trail mixes can be packed with candies and dried fruit that is fine to have in small amounts, but sticks to the teeth a lot (see next point).
• Go easy on the sweet stuff- ok, this is just personal preference, but there is nothing worse than lots of fuzzy teeth when traveling.  I try and avoid getting a lot of candy or snacks that will stick to our teeth since I know we won't be brushing for a while.  I hate the fuzzy teeth feel, so if I do have a sweet, I follow with some carrots, apple or gum or even a cheese stick.  These things can help neutralize some of the bacteria and make my teeth feel cleaner, even if they are not much better.
• If you get drinks at the gas station, try and stick to real juice or chocolate milk.  Just better nutrition in these.  We also pack juice boxes and sometimes get the Fruitables which are a fruit/vegetable blend.
• Plan your food stops carefully.   If my one yr old falls asleep, I don't want to stop the car and wake him up.  But we might get really hungry waiting for him.  So I pack more substantial items like peanut butter sandwiches.  This saves us money too of course.  We don't like trying to keep meat or mayo based sandwiches cold, so we almost always just do peanut butter.  But I usually can only go so long without a hot meal, so we factor that in too.  If I plan ahead and have something I can heat easily at home, that's great.  If not, we might make a planned stop somewhere where we know we can get something hot and fairly nutritious.  I am always a big fan of Wendy's for their baked potatoes and small hamburgers.  Fries make me feel crappy on a drive, so does too many beans, so watch the re-fried beans or chili!  Ha ha.

There's nothing too scientific here, just my preferences and recommendations.  If you have tips and things you have worked out while on road trips, feel free to leave it in the comments below!

Tip #28 Complete Proteins

Here is another topic I was asked to blog on- complete proteins and combining incomplete proteins to get a complete protein.  Why learn about these?  Well, meat and dairy are your complete proteins and we all know saturated fat and cholesterol often come along with those proteins.  An added bonus is that grains, vegetables and legumes are often cheaper sources of protein.  I am using some clips from a few websites on this post, so I will reference them here in full.  I use websites I feel are reputable and when I recognize the material as sound.  Here is a blip from the CDC website that defines things nicely: http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

What are the types of protein?

Proteins are made up of amino acids. Think of amino acids as the building blocks. There are 20 different amino acids that join together to make all types of protein. Some of these amino acids can't be made by our bodies, so these are known as essential amino acids. It's essential that our diet provide these.

In the diet, protein sources are labeled according to how many of the essential amino acids they provide:

•  A complete protein source is one that provides all of the essential amino acids. You may also hear these sources called high quality proteins. Animal-based foods; for example, meat, poultry, fish, milk, eggs, and cheese are considered complete protein sources.

• An incomplete protein source is one that is low in one or more of the essential amino acids.Complementary proteins are two or more incomplete protein sources that together provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids.

For example, rice contains low amounts of certain essential amino acids; however, these same essential amino acids are found in greater amounts in dry beans. Similarly, dry beans contain lower amounts of other essential amino acids that can be found in larger amounts in rice. Together, these two foods can provide adequate amounts of all the essential amino acids the body needs.

Quick Q& A
Is it true that complementary proteins must be eaten together to count as a complete protein source?
In the past, it was thought that these complementary proteins needed to be eaten at the same meal for your body to use them together. Now studies show that your body can combine complementary proteins that are eaten within the same day.1

The clincher is when you combine two incomplete proteins to get a complete one, the grain needs to be a WHOLE grain.  All these years, I thought rice and beans would be good enough- no, it needs to be brown rice.  I admit I found that out only a few years ago.  Same goes for bread, spaghetti, tortillas.  They need to be whole grain.  Here is a combining chart I found on this website:  http://www.webnd.com/plant-protein-combinations.php

GROUP #1 "Breads, Cereals, Grains" Whole Grain Breads such as rye, wheat, oat, rice, spelt, quinoa, Long Grain Brown Rice, Whole wheat products & Whole grain cereals these include: breakfast cereal, pasta, spaghetti, noodles, wheat products, flour products, etc.

Any item from group # 1 above to be combined with any item from one of the three groups below.

Group # 2 "Legumes" Peas, Beans & Lentils: including all dried beans & peas - black, kidney, pinto, black eyed peas, runner,chick peas, sweet green peas, processed peas, baked beans, beansprouts

Group # 3 "Vegetables" Leafy Green and Cruciferous Vegetables including frozen vegetables

Group # 4 Nuts & Seed Almonds, Pumpkin Seeds, Walnuts, Cashews Peanuts, etc Sunflower, Sesame & other seeds

As far as I understand it, combining group 2, 3 or 4 together gets your a MORE complete protein than by itself, but not as complete as combining one of those groups with group 1.  Make sense?  Basically, you should try and always get whole grains in your day.  

Now, there is a whole grain that is complete in and of itself.  It's gotten a lot of attention lately.  It is quinoa (keen-wa).  I have enjoyed getting to know this little grain.  It cooks up in about 30 minutes.  HERE is a website that will give you some good instructions on cooking quinoa, and below I have added a chart on some of the non-meat source of protein so you can do some comparisons.

Protein Content of Select Vegetative Foods

Protein Content of Selected Vegetative Foods FOOD AMOUNT PROTEIN(gm) Tempeh 1 cup 41 Seitan 3 ounces 31 Soybeans, cooked 1 cup 29 Lentils, cooked 1 cup 18 Black beans, cooked 1 cup 15 Kidney beans, cooked 1 cup 13 Veggie burger 1 patty 13 Chickpeas, cooked 1 cup 12 Veggie baked beans 1 cup 12 Pinto beans, cooked 1 cup 12 Black-eyed peas,cooked 1 cup 11 Tofu, firm 4 ounces 11 Lima beans, cooked 1 cup 10 Quinoa, cooked 1 cup 9 Tofu, regular 4 ounces 9 Bagel 1 med. (3 oz) 9 Peas, cooked 1 cup 9 Textured VegetableProtein (TVP), cooked 1/2 cup 8 Peanut butter 2 Tbsp 8 Veggie dog 1 link 8 Spaghetti, cooked 1 cup 8 Almonds 1/4 cup 8 Soy milk,commercial, plain 1 cup 7 Soy yogurt, plain 6 ounces 6 Bulgur, cooked 1 cup 6 Sunflower seeds 1/4 cup 6 Whole wheat bread 2 slices 5 Cashews 1/4 cup 5 Almond butter 2 Tbsp 5 Brown rice, cooked 1 cup 5 Spinach, cooked 1 cup 5 Broccoli, cooked 1 cup 4 Potato 1 med. (6 oz) 4 Sources: USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release18, 2005 and manufacturers' information.

Us Americans get plenty of protein- mostly because we get PLENTY of meat and dairy.  Why not try and cut some meat out of your diet and try some of these combinations!  Good luck and . . . 
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #27 Snacks

I was asked to write about snacks eons ago.  I haven't meant to neglect posting to this blog.  The problem is that most of my free time is at night when my kids are asleep and now one of my kids sleeps in the office.  Hence, no computer time in the evening.  Right now he is sleeping in my bed.  Lucky.
Anyway, snacks.  I have some pretty simple rules about snacks in my house.  They either need to have protein or are a fruit or vegetable.  That's pretty much it.  Often my snacks are just one part of what I would give my kid for a lunch.  For example:  Cheesy bread might be a snack by itself or lunch when combined with a fruit or vegetable.  Cheesy bread is just a slice of cheese melted on a piece of whole wheat bread.  My kids eat mostly the following for a snack- cheese (slice cheddar or string cheese) and whole wheat crackers (usually Triscuits, sometimes some Wheat Thins as well) OR fruit, fruit and more fruit.  I have to buy fruit at least once or twice a week, but it's a priority for me and my budget, so it's ok.  We sometimes have yogurt for snack.  We either put some homemade freezer jam in plain yogurt or mix 1/2 Tillamook with 1/2 plain to cut the sweet.  My kids like apple slices with peanut butter and my youngest has even asked for a bowl of cereal which I let her have because that's healthy enough.  We have a tradition: on Fridays we make air popped popcorn after school.  If granola bars appeal to you, revisit my blog post about homemade granola bars so you can make them healthier and save money- click HERE.  Sometimes we have goldfish in the house, but those are usually for snacks on the go in the car or something.  I have stopped taking many snacks on outings- usually if we are going somewhere for long we take a peanut butter sandwich.

I also almost always have Trident gum with me.  Ever since my kids were old enough to know not to swallow the gum, I have let them have 1 piece while running errands or during the long hours at church.  My dentist says they can have up to 5 pieces a day, but I put the limit on one due to cost.  This, combined with a water bottle seems to do the trick for keeping their mouths happy.  I think kids think they need snacks because they get used to getting them.  When my 4 yr old is home all day with me, she will usually get a snack between breakfast and lunch and one between lunch and dinner.  Lately, she has been skipping the earlier snack.  I do not use things like animal crackers, graham crackers or fruit snacks for snacks because they have no nutritional value and if we have them, they are used as desserts. Diabetics are always worrying about snacks, so HERE is a good list of snacks that might give you a fresh idea on snacks for kids.  Not all the snacks listed have protein or a fruit or vegetable, but if you aren't ready for that rule, at least you have some new ideas.

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Food Science Sunday: Doubling recipes

Have you ever tried to double or triple a recipe and had it go horribly wrong?  Something is off about the texture, it doesn't cook right or rise enough or too much.  Maybe the spices in the soup are too powerful or there is too much liquid and your sauce doesn't thicken.  The reason is because to be truly accurate, you should first convert all your ingredients from measures into weights.  You need tables to help you with this.  One teaspoon of sugar weighs more than 1 tsp of baking soda.  Sugar is just heavier.  This online website could be helpful.  Click HERE.  You pick an ingredient (if they don't have the exact one, something similar will probably be fine) and put into the table whatever measure you have.  Then press convert and it will tell you all the conversions.  Take your weight and multiply it by the increase in recipe you desire (double or triple or even 1.5 or 2.5 are more accurate this way).  Then put your new weight in and convert it back to measurements.  I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it really can be helpful.  Especially when you are hosting a dinner or taking a large dish of something to an event.  I know for myself, I will definitely be using this tool more often!

~Here's to Healthy Eating