Tip #26 Holiday Eating

I've already shared my most valuable holiday eating tip, but let me go into more detail on that point:  only eat what is worth it.  I am not on Weight Watchers, but if you want to lose weight, that's the safest and best program I can recommend.  They use a calorie system that in effect makes you "budget" your calorie choices.  You can do some of the same on your own without knowing how many "points" or calories items are.  You know you are faced with lots of food choices during the holidays and many of them are high in calories.  Ask yourself before you take a bite.  "How much am I going to enjoy this?"  "Can I have this any time of the year or do I only indulge in it around the holidays?"  (I would never waste my calories on a donut around the holidays unless that was the only time of year I allowed myself to have one, but eggnog and artichoke dip, I only buy or make once a year).  I also don't try and take my favorite recipes and make them healthy- they don't taste the same, they don't satisfy the craving and leave me wanting more.  If I am going to commit to something that I feel is worth it, than it better be good and I can be happier with less.
So, that's the simple rule- don't wast calories on something that's not worth it.  If you are gifted a plate of goodies and they aren't simply divine, are they worth the calories they are costing you?  If you feel bad about throwing away someone's hard work, just tuck it away out of sight for a week, then chuck it when feelings aren't so fresh.  That is part of the plan- get those goodies OUT OF SIGHT.  Better WASTED than on your WAISTLINE.  And remember, ask yourself if it's worth it- if it is, enjoy!

Follow up: eggs/day

So, in the last post, I referenced the Mayo Clinic article on eggs and cholesterol.  It said that in the study they ate 7 eggs/day without it affecting their cholesterol.  A couple of you caught that because it seemed like a ton of eggs!  The recommendation used to be 3 eggs a WEEK.  After hunting around, all I can pretty much find is that  the recommended intake of cholesterol shouldn't exceed 300 milligrams/day (we don't actually need any, so you can have as little as you like . . . ) and that eggs contain about 213 mg/egg yolk.  So one egg a day is going to pretty much use 2/3 or more of the recommended amount.  So even if the study found there weren't harmful affects from eating 7 a day, I think the basic recommendation would be 1 per day (although I never did find it in no uncertain terms and didn't access the original article about the study).

Tip #25 Eggs

I had a few good suggestions for blog entry ideas.  One of those was eggs.  Many of you probably know I have 7 laying hens.  We eat a lot of eggs.  I am definitely in favor of eggs.  Let me tell you why.  Back in school I remember my professor calling eggs the golden standard for protein.  They are a complete protein, meaning they contain ALL the essential amino acids we humans need.  A lot of foods have great protein and a variety of amino acids (needed for the successful functioning of our bodies) and so when you eat a wide variety of foods, you cover your bases and get all the amino acids you need (more on protein combining later).  But few foods hand you them all at one time- and eggs are that food.  Think of it like this- you need to complete a jigsaw puzzle by the end of every day and most foods give you a few pieces of that puzzle at a time and by the end of the day- you have your puzzle.  Or you can eat an egg and get all the pieces at once.  I know it's not that simple and one egg is probably not enough, but you get the gist, right?  HERE is a fun website about eggs.
So, cholesterol- right?  I never told people to stop eating eggs.  I might have told them to cut back, but never avoid them completely.  Here is why.  Blood cholesterol levels are usually more affected by your intake of saturated fat, exercise and your HDL (or good cholesterol) levels than it is by dietary cholesterol.  It's true- your body will make all the cholesterol it needs for cell functioning, so you don't need to eat ANY.  But it's also true that only a small % of the population is drastically affected by their dietary intake of cholesterol, it's usually saturated fat and exercise that play a bigger role.  Here is a part of a WebMD article that I just read about dietary cholesterol- it repeats some of what I just wrote, but oh well.  By the way, I trust WebMD with my health and nutrition questions.  HERE is the link to the whole article if you want to read it.

Cholesterol and the Great Egg Debate

"One source of confusion has long been eggs. A typical egg contains about 200 milligrams of cholesterol, but only 1.5 grams of saturated fat. When researchers first linked high blood cholesterol levels to heart disease, eggs got a bad rap.

But there's never been good evidence that eggs are a major factor in high blood cholesterol levels or a contributing cause of heart disease.

In fact, when researchers at Harvard Medical School analyzed data from almost 120,000 men and women, they found that eating the equivalent of an egg a day did not increase the risk of heart disease or stroke. A more recent Harvard Medical School study, published in 2008, also found that otherwise healthy men could eat up to seven eggs a day with little risk. The only danger showed up in men with diabetes, which is known to increase heart disease risk.

Indeed, studies suggest that only about 30% of people are particularly susceptible to the effects of dietary cholesterol on blood cholesterol levels.

And overall, the effects of dietary cholesterol are relatively small compared with saturated fat and trans fats.

In a review of studies in which volunteers were fed eggs, researchers found that lowering the amount of dietary cholesterol by 100 milligrams a day resulted in only a 1% reduction in blood cholesterol levels. Replacing saturated fat with unsaturated fat had a much more beneficial effect on cholesterol."

Having said all that- I still cut out the occasional egg yolk.  I like it better that way anyway- we have scrambled eggs a lot and I think they are lighter and a better texture when I take out one yolk for every 4 or 5 eggs I use.  Not too many- too many good nutrients in those yolks!

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #24 Making breakfast ahead of time

Cold mornings and the high price of cereal make me want a hot breakfast most mornings.  A teething 6 month old makes me want to not get up early to make a hot breakfast most mornings.  Enter:  the pre-made hot breakfast.  Saturday mornings are all about pancakes around here.  I have started making a double recipe and putting the leftover pancakes in a large ziploc bag to be re-heated later in the week.  This works like a charm.  The girls love a heated up pancake.  Same with french toast.  I usually re-heat them one at time on a small plate for them.  In order to get some fiber and protein for satiety, I try and make whole wheat pancakes.  My favorite recipe is the following:
Whole Wheat Blender Pancakes
1 cup milk
1 cup uncooked whole wheat
Blend in blender for 4 minutes
Add:
1/2 cup milk
Blend for another 4 minutes
Add:
2 eggs 
1/2 cup oil (try using less)
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 tablespoons honey or sugar
½ teaspoon salt

Blend remaining ingredients and cook on hot griddle- batter will be thin.


I also made the baked oatmeal on a weekend night and we enjoyed heating bowls of that up through the week.  I made the recipe with whole oats as I planned and it turned out fine (I made 1 and 1/2 times the recipe for a full 9 x 13).  I don't think instant oats are needed there.  I have also gotten bags of whole wheat English Muffins at the bakery outlets and made lots of egg/cheese (sometimes ham) sandwiches on weekends and wrapped them and froze them to be reheated individually.  This can be tricky - when you reheat them sometimes the English Muffin can get tough.  So I think letting it thaw first is probably the wisest decision.  My mother in law made breakfast burritos for a reunion that we reheated in the oven- they were wrapped in foil.  This works really well compared to the microwave.  My sister makes a huge pot of steel cut oats with a lot of goodies in it- apples, nuts, etc and she and hubby re-warm it by the bowlful throughout the week.  All of these options are great ideas!  Just eat breakfast, whatever you prefer to do.


~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #23 Take your time

Now that our family has a rigid schedule for the first time ever (kindergarten) I find myself trying to get the kids to "hurry up and eat breakfast so we can get to school" and "hurry up and eat dinner" so we can get into bed and not be tired for school and "hurry up and eat snack" so they can do homework and a myriad of other activities.  Don't get me started about Sundays and making it to church.  Often we have resorted to races:  "whoever can finish before mom wins!"
But I have noticed that all this hurrying leads to hiccups, upset tummies and I hardly chew my food.  This is bad- very bad.  One of the best things you can do for yourself health-wise is take your time eating and enjoy your meal.  Chew thoroughly and make sure you are "present" while eating.  Don't try and do other activities, your mind just doesn't process the meal the same way and you come away less satisfied.  I heard a story on the radio about people who follow a raw food diet.  They don't eat anything that's been cooked.  Think about that one.  Grains?  They soak them and chew, chew, chew.  One raw food dieter said that is one of the best things about the diet- you have to chew the heck out of your food.  You really have to appreciate it's flavors, textures and take your time to eat.  You have all heard of other cultures and how they take their time to eat:  Japan and all those small dishes of different items plus using chopsticks usually = taking smaller bites.  European culture (especially French) who take a long time to enjoy many courses of foods.  This is far healthier than our uber fast lunches at the desk we are notorious for.  So, take a little more time.  As with anything that comes down to scheduling, it's all about priorities.  You gotta feel it's important enough to start a little earlier and enjoy your meal.

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Split Pea Soup and Food Science Sunday

Yesterday I made split pea soup.  It was such a grey, miserable day in Seattle we also had soup for lunch.  It was soup day.
My mom gave me this recipe, and it is delicious.  Here it is:

Split Pea Soup

8 cups water

3 14 oz. cans reduced sodium chicken broth

1 lb. cooked boneless ham chopped or ham bone with meat

4 ½ cups dry split peas, rinsed and drained

3 bay leaves

¼ tsp. Dried marjoram, crushed

¼ tsp. ground black pepper

1 ½ cups chopped carrots (3 medium)

1 ½ cups chopped celery (3 medium)

1 ½ cups chopped onion (2 medium)

salt and pepper to taste

In a 7 – 8 quart Dutch oven combine water, broth, ham, split peas, bay leaves, marjoram and peppr. Bring mixture to boiling, reduce heat. Simmer covered 1 hour. Stirring occasionally. Uncover, stir in carrots, celery and onions. Bring to boiling. Reducee heat. Simmer, covered  for 20 – 25 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove bay leaves, discard. Stir to combine. Serve immediately or cool 30 minutes.

To freeze divide cooled soup among three 2 quart freezer containers. Cover, label and freeze up to 3 months.

To reheat frozen soup, dip the bottom of the container in hot water for 5 minutes. Transfer frozen soup to a large saucepan. Cook, covered, over medium low heat about 30 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally. Makes 12 servings.


Here is what I changed:  I didn't have celery (I am not in love with celery anyway), so I added some celery salt, some celery leaves and diced up 2 potatoes to make up some of the bulk (plus I love potatoes).  I boiled the split peas with the ham bone too long and my split peas were nearing oblivion, and I like a little texture to my split pea soup, so I turned off the heat and removed the pan from the unit.  I cooked my diced veggies in a different pan by themselves.  I used a large stainless steel shallow pot with lid, I sauted the onions first, added the carrots and potatoes, a little water and put the lid on to let them soften up.  This will cook up your veggies nice a fast- the wider the pan, the better. Watch for sticking and scorching.  Within 10 minutes or so I had nice and soft veggies to add to my soup.  The soup didn't have to cook anymore and my split peas still had a little lumpiness left, the way I like them.   Here is another part of this tip- I have realized that my heavy bottomed stainless steel pots and pan keep my food really hot for a really long time.  Although this is nice for some recipes, other foods it can ruin.  I have learned the hard way I have to remove pastas and light sauces immediately from the pans or they will continue to cook, making them overdone and evaporating all the moisture.  So watch that on your pans.

Stay tuned for more about breakfasts, reader suggestions and more tips to come.  Now that every last apple is canned, I feel like a woman with a burden lifted off my shoulders!
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #22 Overcoming an overcrowded oven

How did you fare over Halloween?  Thanksgiving is right around the corner and parties are being planned as we speak.  Here is a good tip for cooking for a crowd.  Recently someone called with a question:  she wanted to know if she had too much stuff in her oven and how it would affect her food.  Everyone's oven is different, but generally speaking an overcrowded oven means 2 things.  1) It will take longer for your food to cook and 2) It will cook unevenly- you may have overdone spots and underdone spots.  Most ovens rely on air to evenly distribute the heat.  You should try and have at least 1-2 inches of space between pans and nothing should touch the oven walls.  I have this problem when I roast vegetables.  I usually want to roast more than one sheet of  veggies at a time, i.e. the asparagus I want to roast won't all fit on one sheet.  I use 2 racks and put one sheet on the far left and one on the far right and rotate them halfway through.  It's a bit risky- sometimes the asparagus on the lower rack comes out more steamed than roasted, but I have had moderate success. If you are crowding more things into your oven than you think is probably wise, try lowering your heat 5-10 degrees, rotating and moving pans from high to low, back to front and left and right once or twice during cooking and give yourself more time to get everything done.  Make sure the edge of the pan that was facing the middle now faces the outside when you move it.  The outside cooks fastest.  That brings me to another point:  put your thickest cut meats at the edges of your pans, and thinner or smaller cuts in the middle.

Good luck!
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #21 Choosing your calories wisely

This post may be a little preemptive.  It's about Halloween candy but applies to all holiday eating.  We're just about a week away from Halloween, then Thanksgiving and Christmas loom ahead.  Soon, there will be parties and treats at work and plates of goodies from friends galore.  I advocate a pretty liberal approach to the holidays.  This time and foods come around once a year, it's ok to indulge in your favorites.  What I caution against is just eating something because it's 1) a tradition 2) a gift 3) just there 4) because you are socializing and feel like you should.  Eat your favorites in moderation and AVOID THE REST.  It's ok to taste a few things on a plate and throw things away that don't appeal to you.  It's ok to just take a couple of your favorite hors d'oeuvre at a party and not take the others.  You have to have a plan at work- those plates of goodies are always there just when you are hungry or bored.  Bring something else healthy to snack on so you can just take one off the plate and leave the rest.
In respect to Halloween candy, there are a couple of candies that I feel like make it "Halloween".  Twizzlers, tootsie rolls, smarties and a bubble yum bubble gum.  However, I am more than happy with just one of these candies and not a whole bag full.  I would rather "spend" my calories on a Snickers or Reeses Peanut Butter Cup.  So plan ahead:  think of your favorites for the holidays and commit to avoiding the rest.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Q and A: Granola

I feel bad for neglecting this blog.  Unfortunately, more illness, a remodel of our computer room and about 3 bushels of apples have kept me from doing much above survival mode.
Meanwhile, I had a couple nutrition questions about granola from my sister in law that I thought I would post the answers to.

Q:  I love making granola.  My recipe calls for butter instead of oil though (1/2 c. butter to 6 c. oats).  What are the health trade offs butter for oil? Just saturated verses unsaturated fats?


A:  Yes, the trade-offs are mainly the saturated fat.  There are 56 grms of saturated fat in 1/2 cup of butter and 8 grms of saturated fat in 1/2 cup canola oil (these are according to the labels of the items I have on hand.)  You know the problems with saturated fat- raised bad (LDL) cholesterol equals higher risk of heart disease.  The only fat worse for you is trans fat- found in hydrogenated fats like shortening, margarine and many processed foods.  Butter tastes pretty good though, but in something like granola where you might not taste a difference and if you are eating it every day, I would recommend switching to oil.

Q:  I like to stretch my granola too so I add plain corn flakes and/or bran flakes to my finished granola.  I can get this cereal for under a dollar a box so I think I am saving money but am I compromising health?


A:  I stretch my granola by mixing it with cereal too!  Nothing wrong with that, especially if your cereal has the added vitamins and minerals that most cereals have.  What you are giving up is probably some fiber if you use corn flakes, but bran flakes will help with that- good fiber there.  


I have found some discount cereals I bought did not have as much vitamin and mineral percentages as other name brand cereals, so just watch that and if it's important to you, consider that.  With my young kids eating that cereal and needing those added vitamins, it's important to me- but for those of you who probably makes better health decisions throughout your day, it's probably not an issue.


In my research of this topic, I found an interesting article online.  The guy who answers the question is a little extreme, but has some good points.  Take this with a grain of salt.  Click HERE


ps- I always welcome questions and would love that to be a part of this blog!


~Here's to Healthy Eating

Food Science Sunday

Friday night I found something I fell in love with- a show called Top Secret Recipe on CMT (of all places) where this hilarious guy tries to crack the secret recipes of famous foods like Cinnabon cinnamon rolls and KFC fried chicken.  He has a food truck (lab) and 3 days and he will pretty much do anything like stealing some cinnamon while on tour of a factory to try and re-create the signature recipes.  So much food science and so much fun.  You can check his show out HERE.  That's my dream job.  I love food science.  Who knew that the original Cinna"mom" lives on Bainbridge Island which is a 30 minute ferry ride from here?  Not me.

On to my week- it was full of experiments.  Times like this when the budget is tight, I don't do a lot of menu planning from recipes like my favorite magazine,  Everyday Food.  Instead I buy meat and veggies on sale and play with what I have.  This week I had some leftover green salsa that needed to be used and some corn tortillas that were getting stale in the fridge.

 So I decided to improvise some green enchiladas.  I knew the fresh tomatillo salsa would not make a good sauce as it was, so I pureed it in the blender to get out the chunks and added it to a shallow pot with a cup of chicken broth.  I brought that to a simmer and added 1 TB of cornstarch mixed with a little cold water.  Now I had a cooked sauce with a little body to it that would not just soak into my tortillas. If my salsa hadn't been so flavorful, I might have needed to add some cumin or even coriander to the sauce.    For the filling I cooked about 1 chicken breast and diced it and then added 1 can of white beans.  Pinto would have been better, but I didn't have any.  I mixed in 1/2 cup of my sauce to the chicken/bean mixture.  I made sure it was nice and hot.  I heated my tortillas (cooking one at a time in a dry skillet and then keeping warm in a tortilla warmer is optimal).  I filled each tortilla with chicken/bean mix, placed it in a pan and after having several lined up, I drizzled the sauce across the middle and sprinkled some cheese across the top.  I broiled them with the rack in the middle- heats and crisps the cheese on the top a little slower.  I have found that enchiladas work best this way for me.  I have all parts of the enchilada hot- the sauce, the filling, the tortillas and then I quickly build them and broil in the oven instead of baking for any length of time.  This keeps my tortillas from getting soggy.
I had some Cojita cheese which is like Parmesan for Mexican food.  We put this on top and drizzled with my version of Mexican creme.  I mixed some light sour cream with a little cream, a spoonful of low fat plain yogurt and a little milk to make just the right consistency.  The enchiladas turned out decent and the best part was the kids ate them up and had seconds.  Sometimes when we have things that are a little different, that isn't the story.  This would be a good gluten free meal as long as your salsa were free of any gluten.

Once you follow a recipe (or look at several versions) and get a feel for what ingredients are needed for a desired result, you can make any changes you need to make.  I wanted to make a creamed corn casserole Friday night for a dinner party, but didn't have the corn bread mix it called for or the bread crumbs.  I know corn bread mix has cornmeal, flour and things like salt and maybe baking powder in it.  I was able to add those things and the consistency turned out right.  The bread crumbs were for both the casserole body and a crunchy topping on top.  I melted a little butter in my cast iron skillet and added panko when it got hot.  I browned the panko so it would have flavor and color and used that in place of the bread crumbs.  We all enjoyed it and my guests didn't know that I didn't follow a recipe.
~Here's to Healthy Eating (and improvising)

Tip #20 Lunches

Sorry I have been out of commission for a week- been pretty sick.  I have been trying to make lunches at home a little more exciting for my 4 yr old who is missing her older sister who is at all day kindergarten.  A local store had some frozen items on sale, so I compared a couple for lunch options.  The corn dogs had 180 calories, 9 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein.  That was little too high on the fat for me, so I looked at the cheese bagel bites.  190 calories, 5 grams of fat and 7 grams of protein.  The protein was important to me because it's important to keep my kids satisfied.  The bagel bites had 2 grams of fiber as well.  So I opted for the bagel bites.

The next evening, I realized I had some ingredients that needed to be used and would make mini pizzas of our own.  I toasted whole wheat English muffins on both sides using the broiler.  Then I spread on pizza sauce, microwaved pepperoni (click HERE), slices of green pepper and mozzarella cheese on top.  I broiled them until bubbly and the result is the picture above- a delicious addition to our leftover pasta.
If you use frozen foods for lunches, check nutrition labels and ingredient lists.  I can't say how much fat is too much fat or what kinds of foods you should always feed your kids or yourself, but I do try and get more wholesome or natural ingredient items when I can afford them.  And even better- making your own.   I recently had a discussion about frozen meals and the consensus among many was that Healthy Choice was a tasty option for adults.
~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #19 Meatballs

I didn't grow up eating meatballs too often, but I have discovered how much I enjoy them.  I have also found how much I enjoy using frozen meatballs for a quick dinner.  When Franklin was born I got a Costco sized bag of Italian meatballs.  He's 5 months old and we are still using it.  One reason being that it contains about 140 meatballs. 5 meatballs is a serving, but I think 3 is plenty.  I cut them in half or even quarters to eat, they are so big.  Eating only 3 instead of 5 will also save you 8 grams of fat and 108 calories.  I know there are turkey meatballs out there with less fat and probably every bit as good, I just haven't tried any.  Today I discovered another trick to lower the fat of the ones I have.  Here's the backstory (there's always a backstory with me).  The last time I made meatballs with spaghetti sauce, I heated the meatballs in the sauce and thought the flavor of the meat totally overpowered the sauce.  So today I microwaved the meatballs on a plate by themselves and once I saw the pool of grease, I knew why heating them in the sauce is a bad idea.  I put the meatballs on a layer of paper towels and blotted the tops of them (further decreasing the fat) and served them as they should be:  Noodles on plate, meatballs in the middle and sauce on top (or as my 4 yr old would say:  boulders with lava flowing over the tops).

~Here's to Healthy Eating

Tip #18 Oatmeal

The mornings are getting colder here in Seattle, and I find myself making more hot breakfasts.  This morning we had oatmeal.  It was way too hot to serve to the kids, so I went to the fridge for some milk.  Here is one thing I don't like about oatmeal- when it's runny with milk.  So I saw the plain lowfat yogurt and pulled that out instead.  Perfect.  One dallop made our bowls of oatmeal the right temp without adding a lot of moisture.  We had enough flavorings in there that the yogurt taste didn't show through at all, plus it was creamier (oohhh- imagine Greek yogurt- yum!).  I prefer brown sugar, walnuts, cinnamon and sometimes some raisins in my oatmeal.  It's not good for you- but I put 1 tsp of butter in the girl's oatmeal- yum!
Oatmeal is so good for you, but I have a hard time with it.  If I have the time, I would rather make steel cut oats.  Growing up, I liked the cracked wheat my mom would make.  Not to be confused with cream of wheat.
Here is the BEST way to eat oatmeal.  My friend makes her kids a hot breakfast EVERY morning because her kids eat breakfast foods really well and they love this recipe- I got it from her.

Baked Oatmeal
3 cups quick cooking oats
1/2 cup brown sugar (ok, it calls for 1 cup, but you can totally use way less!!)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted (you could use canola oil)
3/4 cup chopped, peeled apple
1/3 cup fresh or frozen peaches
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

(the fruit part is all up to you- put in whatever fresh, frozen and dried fruit you have on hand or want to try.  I saw another version of this that had 2 tsp vanilla extract and dried cranberries instead of the fruit listed here.  I would highly recommend the vanilla, it doesn't add calories and makes pretty much everything taste better!)

Combine oats, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.  Combine eggs, milk and butter (or oil)- add to dry ingredients.  Stir in fruit selections.  Bake in a 8 x 8 baking dish coated with cooking spray and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.
I know my friend doubles this recipe and I am sure it re-heats very well.

PS- I am going to try making this recipe with rolled oats instead of quick cooking and I will let you know how it turns out.  My guess is just a little chewier- hopefully nuttier- yummm, just the way I like it.  Nuttier! (this is me having an epiphany)  You could add walnuts to this recipe- awesome.

PSS- If you make sure your oats are from a gluten free source, this would be a great gluten free breakfast.

~Here's to Healthy Eating

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

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