Tag: Food

“Oh! I like kale!”

Kale
Kale (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

Getting your kids in to the kitchen to help you cook/wash vegetables/create new recipes, is the best way to get them to enjoy trying new foods. Juni, who refuses all things green, knowingly ate kale twice today. All I did differently was to let him add the greens in to the blender for our afternoon smoothie. Then tonight, when it appeared on his plate, he gobbled it all up without blinking an eye. He said, “What is it, Mama?”. I said, “It’s Kale, honey.” He said, “Oh! I like Kale!”. That’s it. No big drama. No wailing about how he doesn’t like green.

When kids touch the ingredients of the foods that they’ll be eating, it opens a door for them. They are part of the process. They have power over how much goes in to the dish or how clean the veggies get. They get to smell the raw produce, feel the texture of the grains between their fingers. See what color the beets will turn their hands, just from touching the surface after it’s peeled. It’s like they’ve stepped in to a science lab and they get to set up the experiments. The stuff we do everyday, it’s all new and cool to them.

There is a great gift to sharing time cooking with our children. A little bit each day is all it takes to raise kids that not only love cooking, but hopefully have a healthy relationship with food. Not to mention that it’s 10 minutes that you get to spend with them that doesn’t involve playing trains/princesses/secret agents/whatever it is they just begged you to play for the 17th time today.

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Haaaaave you met my friend cinnamon?

Yup, cinnamon is one of my best friends, especially in the fall. Of course I love the flavor, but it’s what cinnamon does for me that keeps me coming back for more. Cinnamon regulates blood sugar, reduces LDL cholesterol levels, reduces arthritis pain, it’s an antibacterial, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant. It’s not just a latte topper anymore.

Because of all of it’s lovely healthful qualities, I take it daily as well as give it to my children when cold and flu season comes around. A little sprinkle here, a pinch there and we are good to go. It’s wonderful for avoiding getting sick when everyone else around you is hacking up a lung and sneezing all over you. It is also fantastic if you have managed to catch what’s going around, to shorten the span of the sickness.

Like I said a little goes a long way with cinnamon. No need to over do it. It’s wonderful in plain yogurt, since it adds a natural sweetness. I put it in my coffee and my kid’s oatmeal or grits in the morning. But I wouldn’t have more than a teaspoon a day. There’s really no need.

So, if you like the flavor as much as I do, give it a try. Here’s another tasty way that I’ve been adding cinnamon to my diet:

 

My fall maintenance drink.
My fall maintenance drink.

 

Don't even get me started on how awesome turmeric is.
Don’t even get me started on how awesome turmeric is.

 

So, one day I was getting sick of drinking plain water and was also getting a little scratchiness in the throat. I decided to add some lime juice to get some vitamin C in me. Then I thought, why not add a little cinnamon (2 shakes) to take the sour edge off? Then I was like, well I’m right here in the spice cabinet, why not throw in some turmeric (again, 2 shakes) and shut this cold down before it starts?! It totally worked and tasted great doing so. Now I try to have one of these a day. So far I’m feeling terrific and getting my autumn spice fix!

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The Religion of Food

Being a student again is amazing. I love being in a program that is so well rounded. I will be learning over a hundred different nutritional theories as well as learning how to become an effective certified health coach. It’s only been a little over two weeks and I feel like I’ve already learned so much. Most recently I’ve learned that to be a good health coach, one needs to just get over themselves.

The goal of a health coach is to guide the client in finding their best way of nourishing themselves. Each individual has their own needs nutritionally. They may have a history or family history of heart disease, diabetes, anemia, cancer, hypertension or thyroid issues to name a few. Ethnic background plays an important roll as well. So to guide someone in the direction of your own personal nutritional beliefs is misguided and potentially harmful to your client. The goal is to listen to the person in front of you and encourage them to listen to themselves to reach the best version of themselves. Not another version of you.

I’ve been witnessing several heated debates in the online discussion groups for my fellow classmates. One person will bring up a topic such as: How anyone can advise a client to get their protein from an animal source, when it is so clearly wrong and cruel to do so? Yes, this is a topic that is going to ruffle some feathers. Yes, there are people that have gone from meat eater to vegetarian and back again (myself included). For the most part though, people (especially health nuts like myself) have uber strong opinions on what is the best way to eat. However, forcing these opinions onto others won’t work as a health coach. If the goal is to turn everyone on the planet in to a vegan raw food-ist, you might want to consider a new career. The same goes for any other heart felt nutritional belief. It’s not about you anymore, it’s about that one person in front of you that is absolutely desperate to be healthy. That’s what we are signing on for.

The other day I was discussing this with a couple of friends and the connection was made that nutrition is like a religion to many people. They think they have the one true way of eating and everyone else just hasn’t found the “Truth” yet. Not to get too down on organized religion, but there have been a lot of wars and death in the name of “I’m right, you’re wrong”. The key is to respect the views of others and maybe try to find a common ground if possible. Get down off your veggie crate or stack of porter house steaks and try to look outside yourself and into the eyes of the person in front of you.

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Living Wheat Free

My most recent dietary epiphany has been that I do indeed have a wheat sensitivity. It’s something that I’ve been ignoring and blaming on other factors for years. Whenever I would have a dish of pasta, a sandwich, a cookie, scone or slice of birthday cake, I’d end up feeling bloated and nauseated. That’s pretty much every day when I think about it. Somedays would be worse than others depending on how many wheat products I would consume. I just got use to it after a while I suppose. However, now that I am really zeroing in on which foods make me feel good and which don’t, I can no longer pretend that my body can digest wheat. I’ve considered following the Paleo diet and giving up all grains, but I’m not quite sure that’s the best for me. I know that I’ll figure it out during this next year of furthering my nutritional education.

Since I’ve eliminated wheat from my diet, I’ve had to get creative with my food. Investigating wheat flour alternatives to bake with has been somewhat daunting. There are a lot of alternative flours, but none seem to be able to duplicate the fluffy, light texture that you get from wheat. You have to add tons of other wacky ingredients that don’t even sound like something I’d want to eat (tapioca starch, guar gum, xanthan gum, agar agar powder).There are gluten free mixes and some of them are even organic, though not many. They already have the wacky ingredients mixed in, so at least you don’t have to spend the money to buy each one individually.

There is one flour that seems to be as close to wheat flour as I am able to get when used alone. Quinoa flour is light and so far has given me pretty fair results when baking. It has a light odor that is definitely different from wheat, but it’s not enough to turn me off. It has 4 g of protein (same as whole wheat), but only 18 g of carbohydrates (23 g for whole wheat). So, though it is pricey, it will keep me satisfied when the cravings for baked goods come around.

Tonight, I made these yummy summer squash pancakes with quinoa flour. They cooked up beautifully and was a super way of using up some of the extra squash I had in my farm share this week. The kids devoured them so quickly, I had to make sure to save a few for my husband before they were all gone.

Sweet and Savory Summer Squash Pancakes

Makes about 12 pancakes

2 large eggs

3 tbls melted butter

2 tbls honey

2 tbls milk

2 tbls plain yogurt

a splash of vanilla extract

1 1/2 medium summer squash grated in food processor (pat with paper towels to reduce moisture)

1 cup quinoa flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

 

Simply stated, mix all the wet ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk all the dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add the dry to the wet and blend gently until it looks like this:

IMG_0677

 

Then spoon the batter on to an electric griddle or buttered skillet:

IMG_0680 IMG_0682 IMG_0684

The end result is something like a potato pancake, but sweeter and not quite so heavy.

IMG_0686

 

 

I topped them with maple syrup and butter. Nummies :)

 

Homemade Apple Lemonade

This image shows a whole and a cut lemon.
This image shows a whole and a cut lemon. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is a recipe that I make in the summers when my son starts asking for lemonade. Sometimes I substitute limes for lemons, either way it’s not too sweet and very refreshing. The raw honey and lemon boosts the immune system and helps greatly with seasonal allergies. You can add more or less apple juice to your liking.

 

4-average size organic lemons

1/3-cup raw honey

8 ounces organic apple juice

1-tall pitcher full of filtered water