Category: healthy cooking

July 20, 2012

Living in Food Heaven

Lately, I’ve been trying lots of new foods. I go in spurts of being apathetic about what I eat and being very intentional. Right now, I’m feeling intentional and excited about my food choices. Especially since pondering/writing about making food more fun.

My husband was away for a week for work recently, and to get myself excited about him being gone, I planned a week’s worth of healthy meals for my son and me. Everything had tomatoes in it because Hubster’s allergic (this was my only chance!) and everything was super-healthy (something Hubster resists). Suddenly, a week without him sounded fun. Sure, I missed him, but planning something I couldn’t do with him around made the week fun.

For the majority of the week, I used recipes from Self’s Drop10 plan. It cut out all the work of making my own menus. They used a lot of the same ingredients in the easy-to-make meals, making preparation easy. Plus, they built the menus around superfoods that have loads of health benefits, something that really motivated me.

Penne Margherita: onion, garlic, olive oil, grape tomatoes, edamame and penne

Sausage and Potato Skillet: red potato, onion, yellow pepper, pre-cooked sausage.

I printed the meals that I wanted to use, cut them out, and pieced them together on a clipboard that I hung in the kitchen.

While motivation was high, I decided to try out a few more health foods purported to make my body a lean, mean, disease-fighting machine. Here’s what I ended up trying:

1. Edamame: I had never really tried these pea-pod like legumes. But I’ll be keeping a regular supply of them in my freezer from now on. Yum! They’re easy to add to just about anything. They were in the Drop10 quesedillas even.

2. Sushi: I should’ve known I wouldn’t care for this. I am not a fish eater. Maybe my taste buds are really different than anyone else’s, but I just don’t have a taste for fish. I know all the health benefits of fish, so I have given them a shot again and again. But I even tried a non-meat version of sushi and wasn’t enthused. Oh well. I am still proud that I gave it my best shot. And I had a great time spending time with some girlfriends in a neat little local hotspot.

3. Seaweed: However, the sushi joint served a really good seaweed salad! It wasn’t all for naught! I remember tasting seaweed in grade school and thinking it was terrible. I turned another one of my perceptions around, and I love that!

4. Protein Powder: Every fitness website I frequent mentions protein powder. To me, protein powder seems like something a beefy guy who hangs out at GNC would use. However, I’ve been reading a lot about the health benefits of whey protein powder, so I thought, why not? Target even offers their own version. Hey, guess what? It’s pretty darn good. Especially mixed in oatmeal, pancake batter or prepared as a breakfast cookie.

5. Beets: I may have tried these before, but I never intentionally buy them. However, Peanut and I have made a Saturday morning farmer’s market ritual. For $1, how could I not give them a shot? First batch of beet chips? Eww. Second batch? Not so bad. A friend clued me in that they taste better peeled. Duh! I also tried the canned version recently and I could take them or leave them. However, they’re super-healthy, so I wouldn’t be completely adverse to mixing them in with other things.

6. Avocado: This was another take-it-or-leave-it experience. I think I need to learn more about preparing avocado. I’m willing to give it another shot for all this healthfulness. I sliced it up and made some little finger sandwiches with crackers, sliced tomato and feta. I could barely taste it. Only the texture was noticeable.

7. Chia seeds: I finally purchased a batch when I noticed a local store sold them in bulk. Yippee! They’re ok, it just takes a little getting used to the gel-like consistency they take on. Given their benefits, I have gladly mixed these into pancake batter, oatmeal, yogurt, etc. Definitely keeping these on-hand. Especially with not eating fish, I need to find new ways of getting Omega 3s.

I hope this has inspired you to experiment with some new-to-you foods. What have you tried that you didn’t like? What have you tried and thought “how have I lived without this all this time”?

April 27, 2012

Fitness On My Reading List

I picked up two health books on a recent trip to the library. Have I ever told you how much I love the library? Whenever I hear about a new book by Tracy Anderson or someone else of interest, I will often go reserve it online. It may take weeeeks, but hey, it’s free. And I’m ok with being a tad bit behind on the world’s reading pace.

This trip, I grabbed Naturally Thin by Bethenny Frankel and Fitness & Health by Brian Sharkey.

I have this fascination with becoming a certified personal trainer just so I know the science behind my workouts, not because I have a strong desire to start a new side business. When I found the Sharkey book, I knew that I had found what I was looking for. It looks like a textbook for an exercise physiology major. Yes, some of it is majorly boring, but I’m keying in on the stuff I really want to know about, like VO2 max and such. You’re never too old to learn stuff!

I also just made it through Frankel’s book (yes she has a prickly personality, but there’s just something about her inner drive and business savvy that’s admirable, am I right?), and here are my favorite quotes that stood out from her book:

“The simple fact is that you don’t function normally if you constantly have to measure, count, restrict, and obsess over food” (p.7). I love this! It really puts things into perspective, doesn’t it? ‘Nuff said.

“No food is fattening, in a small quantity” (p. 45). Nothing is off-limits. Yipee. Just don’t eat the whole cake in one sitting. I can do that!

“Talking about and thinking about food constantly can result in eating more than you really need or want, just because food is on the brain” (p.61). So true! That’s why it’s so important to not make food such an obsession. Distract and reward yourself with non-food activities to start training your brain away from that connection. Food shouldn’t be such a worrisome thing.

“Make food special…Taking a little extra time to make your meal special will help you to feel so much more satisfied and content with your food” (p. 59). This relates to my previous post about making memories around healthy food. Food should be meaningful, not just something we shove in our mouths in between typing emails at work (oops, guilty!). Growing your own ingredients, refining your own recipes, and “designing” your own meals makes food more friendly.

Let me narrow this all down: Make friends with food, but don’t follow it around like a stalker.

Ah, such sage advice from a former Desperate Housewife.

April 17, 2012

My Garden is My Diet

Some exciting delicious things are starting to pop up in the garden already. Namely, asparagus. Oh, and the chives and orange mint are completely ready for snipping. The asparagus stalks only shoot up a few at a time–just enough for mama to enjoy a delish egg scramble. And it took three long years of waiting to be able to snip any at all. The wait was long, so the gratification is so sweet.

I have vowed this year to put together some yummy recipes for all the vegetables we plan to grow. I hate to say it, but we end up wasting a lot of our fresh fare because, well, what do you do with all of that zucchini? We shredded a bunch of it and put it in the freezer. Left some in people’s cars, for real. But we could really do a better job eating from our yard. So, I’ve slowly been gathering tomato, zucchini and cucumber recipes so my toolbox is all ready come harvest time. No excuses!

Right now, I’m just enjoying the simple bounty of a few asparagus stalks here and there, mixed with Egg Beaters, snipped chives and whatever else is in the crisper. This time, it was mushrooms and yellow peppers. Then, I served myself with a side of turkey bacon and whole wheat toast. Oh yum!

March 18, 2012

My Healthy Plate Lately

Here’s a look at a few healthy dinners I had this week, courtesy of Hubster. He made this wonderful, easy crockpot pork roast (seriously, just a pork roast and reduced fat cream of mushroom soup) that just fell apart at the touch of a fork. I roasted up some Brussels sprouts in olive oil and soy sauce, because I’ve had a huuuuge craving for them lately. Sprinkle a light dusting of Parmesan and sea salt over the top–Hea-ven! And fresh plain radishes, because I just like them.

Try not to worry too much about my whole grain intake (because I know you are…ha!) because I had plennn-ty much for breakfast and lunch.

The next night, Hubster made pancakes, from scratch, and blueberry syrup, from scratch. From scratch! He tried, he really did, to make the healthiest syrup he could find. He did some Internet scouring to try and find something especially diet-friendly for me. He ended up using real sugar instead of Splenda, because I refused the $8 price tag. But still, the recipe is pretty dang healthy anyhow. Look at all those antioxidants dripping over those perfectly-round, fluffy pancakes. He’s really the king of pancakes, didn’t you know?

Now, how come no one told me about the healthy-ness of sweet potato fries? Oh wait… I think someone probably did. But the fact that Hubster does the grocery shopping means that I don’t remember to remember them. We’re definitely skipping the crap-in-a-bag regular fries for these orange beauties. They were a nice accompaniment to our roast beef, Swiss, and piled-high spinach sandwiches, that’s for sure.

Just check out the stats on these puppies:

Funny story, I got up to photograph this last handful of crisp orange fries and Hubster actually tried to race me into the kitchen for them. Like I was threatening his food supply or something. Haha! I didn’t want any more, I just wanted to blog about them. Woah, my bad! But you realize what this means, don’t you? Hubster really really liked them! And what he really really likes, he will buy again. Victory!!!

He’s a keeper, isn’t he?

August 24, 2011

My Champion Breakfasts

When it comes to breakfast, cereal just doesn’t cut it for me. At all. I will be ravishingly hungry by about 9:30 with cereal, even if I go waaaaay over the standard 3/4 to 1 cup serving. A good bowl of Kashi might cut it on a relatively sedentary day. But, I’ve found a handful of healthy breakfasts I thought I’d share that do keep me very satisfied until lunchtime. And by that I mean around 12:30, not at almost-11:00. Not only are they diet-friendly, but they’re also super-fast and simple to prepare and very inexpensive. My kind of meal!

1. Waffles: Two whole grain toaster waffles, 1/4 c sugar-free syrup, 1/4 c cottage cheese on the side and sometimes a sprinkling of blueberries over the top. A sweet applesauce/syrup mixture is also a great way to sneak in fruit.

2. Oatmeal: 1/2 c quick oats, 1/2 c milk, 1/4 c sugar-free syrup and 1 mini box of raisins all heated in the microwave for about 1.5 minutes. I use milk instead of water for my oatmeal to make it richer. Then, I have another cup to drink.

3. PB&Honey Toast: Two slices whole wheat toast spread with 1 T peanut butter each and a drizzle of honey over the top. Side of canned pears.

4. Eggs: Scrambled Egg Beaters with two slices of buttered toast. Side of fruit. I like to mix whatever I have on-hand into the scrambled eggs if possible: mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, deli meat, green pepper, shredded cheese, etc.

February 1, 2011

That’s a Total Crock-Pot

The crockpot has got to be the single most important diet invention ever. Especially for the working gal who only has a passing interest in “cooking.” You can make anything in there. Oh yes, you can. Lasagna, enchiladas, meatballs, barbecue chicken…every.thing.

Type in “crockpot” on the SparkRecipes website and you get 200 recipes, many of them saying they’re “the easiest recipe ever!” Now that’s what I like to hear. Since the site is affiliated with SparkPeople, most of the recipes are going to be rather healthy.

People, this is easier than cruising to the drive-through. Dinner arrives just in time, while pizza can be expected to arrive 30-45 minutes after you’re already starving. You place your chosen meat, packet of seasoning and can of cream-of-something soup in there and it cooks for you while you’re busy at work.

And I don’t know about you, but sometimes I miss the smells that came from my mother’s kitchen. But when I walk into my house after a day of work, a simmering crockpot emits a smell that could rival a restaurant. That onion soup-drenched roast smells almost as good as mom’s.

January 21, 2011

Michael Polan Rules

If I were to recommend one book in this entire world for healthy eating, it would be Michael Polan’s Food Rules. This is the best non-diet diet book I’ve ever come across. When you establish a healthy eating plan, you should pick something you can stick with for…well, for your entire life. Diets that are only temporary are usually inefficient and sometimes unhealthy. Changing your diet for the better should be something you can establish for a lifetime. That sounds daunting, but it’s really not. Consider the three easiest diet rules you’ve ever seen:

Rule Number One: What should I eat? Eat food.
Rule Number Two: What kind of food should I eat? Mostly plants.
Rule Number Three: How much should I eat? Not too much.

1. For the most part, try to eat real food, not processed food. The more “pure” a food is, the better. It’s not adulterated, altered, tainted with additives or ground into an unidentified substance. It still provides optimal levels of vitamins and antioxidants.

2. According to the pyramid, the things you should be eating the most servings of are fruits and vegetables. Whole grains are also high on the list. Sprinkle produce all throughout your day and you can hardly go wrong.

3. Pare down your serving sizes. Everything should be eaten in moderation. Pay attention to serving sizes. Don’t eat the whole pie, but certainly don’t forget to savor your sliver!

I would add Rule Number Four: Never lose an entire food group! Sure, eat food and eat mostly plants, but never do this to the exclusion of carbs, fats or any other portion of the pyramid. You’ll miss out on essential nutrients, among so many other things.

November 17, 2010

It’s All on the Menu

The best smart-eating tip I can offer: you gotta plan out the menu people!

And these are my best strategies for menu planning:

1. Make a list of all the common meals you make for yourself or your family. You can do this with snacks and drinks too. I want to add my very own list to this blog very soon so I have my own record. Because sometimes when it’s time to go to the grocery store, you just plumb can’t think of anything to make. Continue adding to this list as you add new recipes to your repertoire.

2. Do a search at Cooking Light or SparkRecipes for more healthful versions of your favorites or try to do a few heart-healthy swaps (light sour cream versus the full-fat version). I bought a Taste of Home Comfort Food Diet cookbook that improves upon a good share of our family favorites in one book. Printing real recipes with actual nutrition labels also helps keep you honest about each serving.

3. Now go back through that meal list and place notes next to each meal listing the ingredients you’ll need for each recipe.

4. Each week, plot out every breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack. This is not as hard as it sounds. It’s perfectly OK to have nutritious waffles with blueberries all week so you need only buy those two things. For snacks, all you need is a carton of eggs for a hard-boiled snack or a bag of apples and bottle of peanut butter. Add the ingredients for these meals to your weekly shopping list.

5. I always find it helpful to jot down the meals and snacks I’ve planned on a white board or scrap of paper so I don’t forget by Thursday what I actually had in mind. I scratch the meals off as I go.

This one simple meal-planning strategy sounds way too easy, but it really works. And as a bonus, it keeps our grocery bills much lower than ever!

October 26, 2010

The Stuffed Upper Crust

I’ve noticed more and more that people are being drawn to health foods when it comes to sharing snacks or meals with others. We’re all getting a little scared of going to parties where there is way too much to eat. They write about it in magazines all the time–how to not sabotage your diet in one fell swoop of the buffet table.

Snacks at work in a health-conscious department and even work-provided lunches are taking on a health spin. Make a calorie-light cupcake and watch them disappear. Bring in a calorie-dense cake and frown as you take most of it back home again. At church, at birthday celebrations, more and more people are leaning toward healthful fare. And everyone mumbles about donuts–so enticing no one can resist yet oh-so-naughty for the waist. And I almost feel guilty serving that sort of thing myself. As if I’m a devil’s advocate of sorts. Here, engorge yourself, until you’re uncomfortably stuffed and guilt-ridden. How hospitable is that?

We recently invited some friends over for dinner. Something people generally jump at the chance to enjoy, right? Well, they weren’t sure if they could make it because they’re trying to lose weight. Well, it’s a good thing I have a few healthy recipes under my belt and am sort of a health buff myself. Sort of. So, I can make them feel at home in my home and in their own skin. I know, it’s a gift.

As a side, would it be weird to host Thanksgiving this year and make it a health food affair with pre-portioned plates? I’m also fantasizing about that energized feeling after finishing a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning, starting my day off on the right (and left) foot. But what’s with the parting gift–a fresh pumpkin pie? Shouldn’t we slim that down to a sugar-free, low-fat pie of some kind? We all know we’ll ruin our efforts later in the day, but why help us take an unhealthful turn right away?

September 29, 2010

Cuz I Eats Me Spinach

Is it rough for you to squeeze enough roughage into your diet? I’ve compiled a list some of the helpful tips that I’ve accumulated from various magazines, news outlets and other sources. These pointers make obtaining your five-a-day quota of fruits and vegetables as simple as possible:

1. Start at the Beginning: Begin each meal with a fruit or vegetable. When you fill up on salad or fruit cocktail, you’ll be less likely to eat as much of the heavier fare that follows.

2. Snack Attack: If you need a snack, start with a piece of fruit or a serving of vegetables. If you need more, move on to something else. But always start here. Training yourself to grab ripe produce when the hunger pangs strike is a much better habit to form than reaching for any chip bag that’s within reach.

3. Supper Solution: Consider vegetables to be the main course of dinner with a side of meat. In fact, conventional wisdom dictates that your plate should be divided into 1 part whole grain, 1 part low-fat meat/protein and 2 parts vegetables.

4. Seeing Clearly: Research shows that storing food in see-through containers in the fridge will make you more likely to eat it. Chop up some of your favorites into bite-size pieces on Sunday and graze on them throughout the week. Place less healthful options in opaque containers.

5. Jump in Fruit First: Store those fresh picks in the front of the fridge, freezer or pantry and bury junk food in the back to make yourself more likely to nosh on better nourishment.

6. Color Wheel: Challenge yourself to put a new fruit or vegetable on your shopping list. Incorporating a larger variety of colors and tastes into your diet gives you a more well-rounded dose of vitamins and antioxidants.

7. An Apple a Day: A study I recently read about from Penn State said that people ate about 200 calories less at lunch when they ate an apple 15 minutes prior than when they didn’t snack on anything.

8. Drink to Your Health: Some low-sodium veggie drinks provide you with an extra serving of vegetables without even trying! Protect your ticker. Duh, you could have a V8!

9. When making frozen dinners, whether personal-sized or family-sized, bulk them up with extra servings of complementary frozen vegetables. Simple and cheap! You can do this with canned soups, homemade soups or other dinners as well. Train your mind to pick out places where vegetables can be snuck in. Ever tried cauliflower in your mashed potatoes or applesauce in your muffins? Shhhhhh. They’ll never know!