Back on the Wagon

Interestingly the days following the chocolate festival were full of sugar cravings. Those are particularly hard to ignore when the baby is fussy and the husband is working 19 hour days. But today I decided no more giving in! I have even been successful. It wasn't a sugarless day, but it was void of candy, ice cream, and hot chocolate so I think that's a good start. Anyway, back to where I left off: New Recipes to post! These are some good ones coming up today! Let's start with desert. (I should preface this with a note that I was halving the recipe...and forgot halfway through, so my proportions were a bit off and the cinnamon and nutmeg were a bit strong, but it was still delicious! it tastes like Christmas)

Wild Apple Crunch
6 apples, peeled and sliced
3/4 Cup chopped walnuts (I vote for an even 1cup since that's how they are sold in the baking aisle...and I like walnuts)
8 dates chopped (or approx. 1/2 cup)
1 cup currants or raisins
3/4 cup water (I vote for an even 1 cup here too)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
juice of 1 orange

Preheat oven to 375
Combine all ingredients except orange juice. Place in baking dish and drizzle orange juice over top
cover and bake at 375 for 1 hr. or until all ingredients are soft, stirring occasionally. (it's fine if you don't stir...at least, mine was!)

*can also be simmered in a covered pot on the stove for 30 min.*

I think it would also be good cooked uncovered with granola sprinkled on top for extra crunch, but I haven't tried it.

Southwestern Chicken
1 cup salsa (low sodium)
1 cup black beans
1 cup corn
2 TBS fresh chopped cilantro
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350
Mix salsa, beans, corn, and cilantro together
put 1/2 mixture over chicken and marinade for at least 1 hr.
bake chicken 30 min or until cooked through
slice chicken breasts and top with remaining salsa mixture

It's very good like this, but we also tried a variation that I think is even better! I guess you could call it more of a southwestern chicken salad.

Variation
2 cups salsa (or 1 small jar)
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 cups corn
1 or 2 avocados, chopped
4 TBS cilantro (optional)
2 chicken breasts, boiled and shredded (optional)
brown rice, cooked
whole grain tostitos chips (optional)

Mix the salsa, beans, corn, avocado, and cilantro & chill
serve over brown rice topped with shredded chicken. Extra delicious if eaten with whole grain scoops. This may be my favorite recipe so far...

Spaghetti Squash Primavera
1 medium Spaghetti Squash
1 1/2 carrots sliced
1/2 cup celery, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cup cabbage, shredded
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 can pinto beans, drained (low sodium)
1 can chopped tomatoes, drained (low sodium)
1/3 cup apple juice
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1 cup pasta sauce
1 head romaine lettuce (optional)

Preheat oven to 350
Slice squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place both halves upside down on baking sheet. Bake for 45 min.

Meanwhile, cook carrots and celery in 2 TBS water (umm....1/4 cup or so is better, or the water cooks off too fast and the veggies burn) in a covered pan over medium heat for 10 min. stirring occasionally.

Add a little more water if needed. Add garlic, cabbage, and zucchini and cook, covered, for another 10 min. Stir in remaining ingredients except for pasta sauce. Cover and simmer 10 more min. or until carrots are tender.

When squash is done, remove from oven and, using a fork, scrape spaghetti-like strands from squash and into bowl (this is amazing). Add pasta sauce and mix well.

Mix veggies, beans, and herbs with squash/pasta sauce mixture and serve on bed of shredded romaine leaves if desired.

Ok, so it doesn't actually look that good, but it is.

*When this was cooking I didn't think I'd like it, I thought it smelled odd, but it was actually very good. Possibly a little oregano and basil could improve it further...and maybe some Parmesan sprinkled lightly on top*

Success in the kitchen!

For the past couple of weeks I have been reading Eat For Health by Dr. Fuhrman (more on that later) and trying some of his recipes. The first couple  were not really what I would call successes - for instance 'Tomato Tornado Soup' looked like it would be really good, but we could barely eat one serving, giving it an overall rating of 2 stars...It has potential and could be really good...I think...but currently I'm not sure how. If I figure it out, I will post a modified recipe. This week, however, has had several successes and I thought I would post some recipes in case you are looking for some good healthy dinner (or desert)  ideas yourself! Sorry, I haven't taken pictures of anything, hopefully I will remember next time! So this post isn't too long, I will start with the vegetarian dishes, then do the meat and desert dishes in the next post.

Baked Potato Fries
2lbs Yukon Gold or Sweet Potatoes (I used Yukon Gold)
4 cloves fresh garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder (I used garlic powder, but next time I'd like to try fresh or minced)   
1 TBS Olive Oil                     
2tsp onion powder
no salt herb seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash table seasoning)

Peel potatoes if not organic and cut into strips (mine weren't organic, but I just washed them)
Mix remaining ingredients and toss with potatoes
bake for 30-45min at 350 until lightly golden and tender (I think I did 45)

***these were quite tasty and sodium-free....at least until I dipped mine in a little bit of ketchup =) I'd like to try it with sweet potatoes and see how different they would taste. When you are making them they smell like they will be really strongly-flavored, but they were actually very mild. 

Black Bean Lettuce Bundles
2cups canned black beans (no salt)
1/2 large avocado, mashed (or 1 small avocado)
1/2 green bell pepper, chopped
3 scallions, chopped (grocery store didn't have scallions, so I just left them out)
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (also missing from the grocery store and my bundles, but I'll bet it would
have added nice flavor)
2 TBS lime juice (could be b/c I was missing a few ingredients, but I thought 2 TBS was a little much)
1tsp cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
1/3cup mild salsa (low sodium)
8 large romaine lettuce leaves

Mash beans and avocado together
mix in all other ingredients except lettuce (I threw everything in a food processor, worked great)
place approx. 1/4 cup of filling in center of lettuce and roll like a tortilla

***I think it would be even better, although more calories, to get a whole wheat tortilla, spread a couple leaves of lettuce over it, cover lettuce with filling and roll the whole thing together. It would make it a little more filling too.

Quinoa Bean Salad
*this is better made the day before so all the flavors have time to blend*
2cups cooked quinoa (I used red, but I don't think it matters)
1 15oz can white beans, drained
1cup carrots
1 cup currants (I used raisins)
1/2cup walnuts, chopped
2 small tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced (I don't like raw onion too much, so I used 1/3-1/2 an onion and chopped it up with everything else. It gave just a hint of onion flavor...and made me need gum afterwards!)
1/2 green pepper, chopped   
1/2 red pepper, chopped         
1/2 orange or yellow pepper, chopped (I used both b/c they came in a package)
3 cloves garlic, minced (I used 2, but in retrospect I don't think 3 would be overpowering)
1TBS chili powder
2tsp low sodium soy sauce or Bragg's Liquid Aminos
1/2 cup goji berries (optional) (What is a goji berry anyway?)

Cook quinoa according to package directions
place other ingredients in large bowl and mix
add quinoa and toss

***.5 - I put all the veggies in a food processor, which worked great, but if you like bigger, chunkier veggies, that may not be your best option. I really liked this recipe - It makes enough for 6 people easily, so be prepared, but the leftovers taste just as good !

California Creamed Kale - I fully expected to not like this recipe, but it was shockingly tasty!

2 bunches Kale, leaves removed from stems and chopped or shredded
1 cup raw cashews (all we could find were salted, so I soaked them for about an hour and rinsed them before use - it seemed to work pretty well) 
1 cup soy milk
4 TBS onion flakes (good, but I might try 3TBS next time)
1TBS Dr. Fuhrman's VegiZest (optional) (I left it out since it's not something you can get at walmart)

Place Kale in large steamer pot - steam 10-20 min until soft (I think I did 30...oops!)
Meanwhile, place remaining ingredients in high powered blender and blend until smooth
(Note: sauce can be used with broccoli, spinach, or other steamed veggies)
Place Kale in colander and press with a clean dish towel to remove excess water
Coarsely chop and mix kale with cream sauce.

***.5 - This was very tasty, although it got cold quickly and it's definitely better warm! I was a little short of 2 bunches of kale and may go buy some more tomorrow to add it to my leftovers since there seems to be a lot of cream sauce. I love the lightly cashew flavor! Also, it looks like you will be steaming a TON of kale, but it actually shrinks a lot...and turns kind of a gross greenish-brown color, but don't worry, it tastes good!

So there you have it - my early forays into the world of healthier eating! (...and in case you were curious, over the past several weeks between working out (sporadically) and increasing my veggie intake I have finally broken through the barrier and lost my first 5lbs!!! YAY!!!!)

Food Sources

We are rapidly approaching the end of an era (several of them actually, but that's another story). The days when I was Lucy's sole source of food are coming to a close and with that comes a whole new set of parental decisions that need to be made. It's a big thing being responsible for the health of your child...making sure they eat right...trying to develop healthy tastes and habits...knowing that although your parents tried to feed you a nutritious diet you still struggle with an addiction to processed food and sugar...and chocolate...hoping your child won't have quite the battle you do....

 In trying to decide how we are going to feed Lucy my first decision was to do some research.

To that end we purchased Disease-Proof Your Child: Feeding Kids Right by Dr. Fuhrman. It is a fascinating book and I recommend it to all parents (especially if you have a child who suffers from chronic illnesses such as ear infections and colds). There is a lot of research and scientific information but it isn't too difficult of a read, and I confess I sort of skimmed over some of the technical-sounding stuff. Still, It made a big difference in how I view children's diets so I'd like to share a few of the high points and surprising statistics with you here:

- In the typical American diet children get about 2% of their calories from fruits and veggies.
- About 25% of American toddlers eat 0 fruits & veggies.
- By 15 months of age, french fries are the most common vegetable consumed in America.
- Kids don't have to be sick all the time (we only think they do because most are). If they are getting enough nutrients their bodies can resist most illnesses.
- Poor nutrition is linked to practically all health problems, from allergies to ADHD to eczema.
- Consumption of saturated fat (found in milk, cheese, & animal products etc) has a shockingly high correlation with heart disease, cancer, and high cholesterol
-antibiotics kill good bacteria along with bad bacteria making it more likely for children to get sick repeatedly once they've been prescribed...especially evident in the treatment and recurrence of ear infections
- Cow's milk is both deficient in iron and it bonds with iron so it is the most common cause of anemia in infants and young children
- One 60 year study of about 5,000 people found that those who consumed more fruit in their childhood (highest quartile) were 38% less likely to develop cancer as adults
- Dietary influence on Breast and Prostate Cancer Risk is vastly higher under age 10 (as in over 500% higher) than it is at age 25 and beyond

I can't come close to doing it justice - there is a lot more information in the book which is often accentuated with charts that show relationships far more effectively than my single-sentence blurbs. Suffice it to say that thanks to this book I am questioning the marketing "information" that says we should feed our young children cow's milk, cheese, fruit snacks, fruit drinks, and other processed foods. Now I just have to figure out a good balance so my child(ren) can eat primarily high-nutrient diets and be healthy without feeling completely left out, weird, or awkward around others.

We have to figure it out for ourselves too because parenthood is all about setting examples! Coming up next: Eat for Health....learning how to modify your diet without going crazy or giving up all your favorite foods =)