healthy

This week, two beautiful purplish hued heads of broccoli romanesco were peeking out of my CSA box.  Having no idea what to do with them I did a quick search online and found out that the vegetable works well as a cauliflower substitute. Fortunately, I'd been having a hankering for creamy cauliflower soup.

Homemade mini organic whole wheat braid; organic peanut butter & honey spread; cream cheese spread (organic cream cheese, diced, soaked sundried peaches and a touch of homemade organic applesauce); organic whole wheat lemon square; halved pear.  The sundried peaches came from my weekly Full Belly CSA, the lemon square was made with lemons from our tree; and the apples had been picked at an orchard about an hour from here and canned this past fall as applesauce. I packed a spoon for the spreads as I've learned it is easier for small hands to manage (and less dangerous) than a knife.

I have long recommended against soda because it is empty calories and has no nutritional value.

Soda sweetened with sugar has as much as 10 teaspoons of sugar in a single can. A good way to get yourself on the road to diabetes and obesity.

Diet soda, generally sweetened with aspartame or splenda is a toxic cocktail that does not help avoid the obesity issue. In fact, diet sodas seem to be associated with an increase in obesity.

Sodas with phosphoric acid have been known to pull calcium out of the bones, thereby starting you on the road to osteoporosis. Every time I see a child with a broken bone, I wonder how much soda that child drinks and also how healthy their diet is. Osteoporosis has been known to start in childhood.

Now studies seem to be showing that sodas containing phosphoric acid increase the risk of kidney damage, including kidney stones and kidney failure.

Whether soda contains phosphoric acid or not, soda is not a healthy beverage.

For help in finding healthy drinks and foods, visit Healthy Eating Advisor or get a copy of Healthy Eating: For Extremely Busy People...

This is one of Aidan's lunch creations.  Once again, he was decisive and it took him about 5 minutes to pull this together (not including the 20 mins it took to heat the meatless nuggets). The vegan goldfish crackers have reappeared, however, the mixed reviews on these should not be ignored. Aidan and my youngest daughter LOVED them, but Abby, after one quick bite, immediately exclaimed that they "taste like dogfood."  This was not a random comment, without literal meaning , like, "hey, this tastes like dogfood, at least what I think dogfood might taste like." No, Abby has had EXPERIENCE. The only problem is that I'm not entirely sure whether the comment expressed whether the crackers taste good or bad. 

Slightly cooked organic broccoli, chopped fine, and mixed with shredded organic valley cheddar cheese in a whole wheat wrap; organic carrots; homemade vegan whole wheat and soy flour goldfish and duck crackers godiva chocolate covered pretzels with dried bananas.

Tostada, blue corn tortilla, ground free range organic buffalo meat seasoned with chili spice, onions, green garlic and diced tomatoes, and organic valley monterrey jack cheese; orange slice with watermelon radish star; tortilla chips and mild salsa.

It isn't even March, yet I'm craving strawberries and fresh peas and am beginning to become bored with the crucifers that fill my fridge.  My CSA box came with a little bag of sun dried peaches yesterday, a teaser on what will come in the next couple of seasons.

This one looks much more complicated than it was to prepare.  The pastry is leftover from dinner (it was originally served warm with a salad on the side), and I'd been waiting to use the last scoop of the tofu maple cream.  

Slaw sandwich (coleslaw made with shredded cabbage & carrots from Full Belly Farm CSA box, julienned apples, raisins, cashews, cilantro, and a dressing of yogurt, dill, and seasoned rice vinegar) on homemade whole wheat, wheatberry bread; rotelle and veggie shell pasta with olive & flax oils and sea salt; homemade vegan chocolate cake.

This may be named Celeriac Potato Mash, but we all can see the true star of the show - that loaf of bread!  No, I did not send Aidan off to school with the entire thing (of course, I did send him with a pumpkin once, so anything is possible), just a couple of slices wrapped in the napkin. Sorry, I digress. . .

Lunchbox Valentines made with organic whole wheat crust and filled with either ricotta cheese, cinnamon, and thinly sliced organic apples or organic butternut squash custard; mixed organic greens; Organic Valley raw cheddar slices; and 4 candy hearts (the mixed greens and butternut squash are from Full Belly Farm).

Tofu Maple Dipping Cream (silken tofu with maple syrup, vanilla and cinnamon); organic fuji apple wedges (for dunking); almonds and raisins; vegan chocolate cake (for smearing with tofu cream).

So I'm sitting here filled with potentially funny, yet horrid story tidbits from my family's week with the flu. They might be entertaining in the right setting, but they have no place in a blog devoted to eating. . . . so I will stop my banter and get on with it (and save them for the off chance I ever get to have a conversation with Anne Lamott).

The flu is here and I'm afraid that all I have to post this week is saltines and gingerale . . . .mmmm . . .wonder if there is a way to make it look delicious?

Grilled chicken has typically been promoted as a heart-healthy choice.

However, recently The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine hired an independent laboratory to test grilled chicken from these California restaurants: Outback Steakhouse, TGI Friday's, Applebee's, Chili's, Chick-fil-A, McDonald's and Burger King.

Heterocyclic amines, a group of compounds known to cause cancer, were found in the chicken from every one of these restaurants.

The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has filed suit against these restaurants for serving food containing cancer-causing chemicals without warning the consumer.

The grilling process causes the formation of heterocyclic amines. So, grilled meats are NOT a healthy choice. When eaten regularly, they increase your risk of cancer.

In addition, most grilled chicken, as well as other meats, has been marinated in sauces that contains MSG. MSG is an excitotoxin and it excites your brain cells to death.

Recently, when I was developing the course, Healthy Eating in a Fast Food World, I intended to search out healthy fast food choices since fast food restaurants are so popular. What I found instead is that most of the food, not only in fast food restaurants, but in restaurants in general, contains MSG, along with a wide variety of harmful food additives. MSG is found in food in restaurants that claim No MSG as well, because MSG goes by a large variety of names. And while the restaurant may not add the ingredient MSG, they may use other ingredients that are hidden sources of MSG, like hydrolyzed protein, yeast extract, autolyzed yeast, gelatin, flavorings and seasonings to name a few. They may not even know that these ingredients they are adding are hidden sources of MSG.

So, how do you cook your chicken so that it is healthy? Here are a couple recommendations:

1. Put it in a skillet with a little bit of water - so it's cooking in the water and not frying - and cook till tender. Season it with your favorite herbs and a little bit of good salt, like Celtic salt. You can also add some onions, peppers and other vegetables to the skillet while you're cooking your chicken.

2. Bake it in the oven in a covered casserole dish at 350 degrees F. Bake it by itself or add vegetables of your choice. Put it on a rack so that it doesn't cook in its grease. Always cook meats at temperatures below 400 degress F; 350 degrees is preferred.

Click here for more information on healthy eating. Get the low down on additives in your food here.

Pineapple and organic valley raw sharp cheddar quesadilla; carrot and celery sticks (in the napkin, carrots from my Full Belly Farm CSA); banana; soymilk (in the SIGG bottle). The bananas and pineapple defeat my whole local produce ideal . . .but we all have our weaknesses.

Strips of Rocky Jr. free range chicken marinated in ginger, tamari and sesame oil and stir fried, served over brown rice and wild rice; raw organic carrots with strawberry daikon stars and a mandarin (all from Full Belly Farm); organic whole wheat Orange Gingersnap cookies.

waste generated: none :)

It is probably pretty apparent by now, but at least once a week Aidan's lunch consists of some version of a peanut butter sandwich. On one hand, although it pains me to admit it, this is his favorite lunch entree. On the the other hand, however, he believes that no two lunches should ever look the same. It isn't exactly an expectation, more of just the way it is, like why water comes out of the faucet, why the sky is blue, and why trees have roots. I know this because it happened once, I packed the same exact lunch in the span of two weeks (there's only so many thing one can do with winter produce), and the look of query and astonishment on his face was priceless Anyway, these two things (Aidan's love for peanut butter and his expectation that all lunches are unique) are not entirely compatible.

Peanut Butter and homemade berry jam sandwich on whole wheat bread; 4 homemade vegan flower cookies with raisins on top; CA organic Fuji Apple; freshly squeezed organic orange juice (from our orange tree).

waste generated: none :)