Archive for 411

Do Better

January 19, 2012 · Filed under 411, Baked Goods, kids, Organics, Recipes · Tagged , , , , , ,

A friend and I say this all the time. Usually laughing at some idiotic, dumb, or senseless thing someone has done…we will look at each other and just say “Come on, DO BETTER!” That is really my motto with the way we eat now, I am just trying to “Do Better”! I am not trying to take the fun out of eating…I am simply trying to just make what we eat real food…instead of everything being packaged, processed…over refined.

We are on our third snow day here in the Seattle area and that means lots of sledding and cozying up by the fire! It also means fun things like baking cookies and making hot cocoa! Yes, we still bake cookies and drink hot cocoa…I promise, I am fun!

Though I realized it would be a bit of experiment when I went to get the ingredients to make the cookies. The recipe would be the same…right off the bag of chips, but the quality of ingredients had changed. Would the end product be the same? Would the kids be able to tell? What the heck…we are snowed in and this is all I got!

Guess what…I think they were better! Could it be? Healthier, better ingredients=a better cookie??? YEP! And my four little helpers showed nothing but complete and utter satisfaction as they gobbled them up! I had to laugh when they asked for milk…apparently you can dip a cookie in Almond Milk and be just as happy!!!

Almond Milk and Power Flour Protein Cookies…nothing but empty glasses, happy kids, and lots of crumbs…Good Food=Good Memories=Good Stuff!

Ghirardelli Chocolate Chip Cookies

  • 2 1/4 cups unsifted flour (so the only flour I had was a batch of protein power flour I keep ready for baking (usually muffins). Based on my results I would say any type of flour…other than white and refined, would be “Doing Better” and work just fine. Try a combo of whole wheat, almond flour…whatever! Bob’s Red Mill makes tons and they are sold pretty much everywhere now!”
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup butter, softened (we use earthbalance when we need butter, worked great. 100% natural, no GMO’s, no transfats, no hydrogenated oils, or artificial ingredients of any kind)
  • 3/4 cup sugar (Whole Foods Brand, Vegan Cane Sugar…thicker granules, but didn’t seem to be an issue)
  • 3/4 cup brown sugar, packed (Private Selection, Organic is what I had in the pantry…a Safeway or Kroger Brand I believe)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract (we just buy the kind w/o alcohol in it)
  • 2 eggs (always get them with omega 3′s added)
  • 2 cups Ghirardelli 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Chips
  • 1 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions are on the Ghirardelli Bag! Yummy!

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Take The Pledge

January 5, 2012 · Filed under 411 · Tagged , , , ,

This is a super easy New Year’s Resolution…one you can definitely hit out of the park…and the whole family wins!!!

http://timeatthetable.org/pledge/

You all know how strongly I feel about not only preparing healthy, real, whole foods for your family…but eating with them!  I LOVE this challenge and can’t think of an easier goal the family can set, and achieve…TOGETHER!  When I stopped dieting, and started living a healthy lifestyle my goals were all completely self-involved.  I was all about me.  The family, well…they were just along for the ride.  I had no idea how much throwing out the processed foods, making healthy choices, giving up fast food and take-out would benefit my entire family.  It has been amazing, and such a source of pride to watch my kids make awesome food choices, and get excited about picking out fruit, veggies and even growing some of our own foods.  When you dump the junk, it makes room for so much more fun, energy, health and happiness in your home.  Food is fuel, fuel is energy, and when you load up on good energy…good things happen!  I promise!

That said, I hope if nothing else, I have helped people see that you can eat healthy, make great meals and do it in not a lot of time.  I think I have been pretty honest about loving my new lifestyle, but not always loving time in the kitchen.  That hasn’t changed…when you battle a food addiction your whole life…it is hard to want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen…cooking.  The two just don’t go together.  So this year I promise to keep the easy, healthy..QUICK ideas and recipes coming…all you have to do is promise to get everyone to the table! 

Good Stuff=Good Life!

BON APPETIT !

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New Year, Know Your Numbers

January 5, 2012 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts · Tagged , , ,

Assessing your health is easy.  If you want to really know where you stand know your numbers.  This would be the best gift you could give yourself in the New Year.  Know them, and if they need work, then you can set goals for 2012 and work on improving them.

1)  BMI

Calculate here:

Body Mass Index, is much more important to know than your weight.  Yet most women know their weight but have no idea what their BMI is.  Why?  Because weight does not take into consideration factors like your height or where the weight is distributed.  Here is the BMI Scale we should all be focusing on:

Healthy BMI Range: 18.5 – 24.9 My goal for 2012 is to get my BMI into the healthy range!

Overweight BMI Range: 25 – 29.9  My BMI is 25.1, I am overweight (Gotta own it people!!!)

Obese BMI Range: 30+  My BMI when I started this journey was 31.3, I was obese

2)  Blood Pressure

Read more about what constitutes a Healthy BP here!

I have rocked a pretty healthy blood pressure my whole life, I am proud of my 117/68.  BUT I watch it.  Your BP can change, especially as you age, and be an important indicator of a bigger problem.  Walgreens and Safeway have free BP checkers back by the pharmacy….use them!  It’s free and takes less than 5 minutes!

I think even more worrisome than the weight is a high BP means you are aging at an accelerated rate!  Ick, who wants to speed that up?  No Bueno!

4. Cholesterol

High cholesterol is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. (I can’t find my print out from last year, but when I get my new ones I will share them, I do know I was in the normal range, but the higher end on my triglycerides, so I expect that to be way down)

  • To test your cholesterol levels, you need to see a doctor or someone in the health care field who can administer a simple blood test.
  • Don’t worry about memorizing your total cholesterol number, which can be misleading. Instead, memorize the 2 forms it’s carried in: HDL and LDL. Your HDL, the healthy cholesterol, needs to be 50 or better; your LDL, the unhealthy cholesterol, should be under 100. If your numbers do not fall in this range, discuss strategies for lowering your LDL and increasing your HDL with a health care professional. Click here for more on cholesterol.

5. Fasting Blood Sugar

Testing your fasting blood sugar (FBS) measures your risk for diabetes, a chronic disease that can lead to blindness, cardiac disease, kidney failure, nerve problems and an impaired immune system. Diabetes is particularly high in the African American community.

  • Your fasting blood sugar number must be measured after an 8-hour fast. Fasting is key since ingesting food—say, a banana an hour beforehand—would raise blood sugar levels and could create a false pre-diabetic or diabetic reading. Your FBS can be determined with a simple blood test or a finger stick test.
  • A fasting blood sugar number above 100 is considered pre-diabetic; treatment measures should be discussed with a physician.

6. Vitamin D If you live in the Northern part of the hemisphere I think knowing your Vitamin D is ESSENTIAL!  So much new information is coming about about Vitamin D, and all of it seems to point to low levels being a culprit in everything from insomnia and weight-gain, to cancer and debilitating diseases like MS.  They want to see your Vit D levels between a 32 and 100.  I went in and tested a little over a year ago and was a 24.  After a year of taking Vit D supplements and many sunny vacations I re-tested…are you ready for this…at a 27!  UGH!  That is how hard it can be to maintain a healthy Vit D level in a place where the sun rarely shines.  I have just completed 12 weeks on a MASSIVE Vit D dosing of 50K IU once a week…topped off by two weeks in Maui.  I will let you know my results when I get them!  Fingers crossed!

So seems like a pretty easy New Year’s Resolution to me!  Learn your numbers, and if you don’t like them…or they scare you…then fix them!  I think our health, being around for our kids, and setting a good example for them can AND SHOULD be a much bigger motivating force than what size jeans you dream of one day zipping up!

OK, back to the fun stuff, more to come!

Happy New Year!

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Good food. Good life. Good stuff.

August 28, 2011 · Filed under 411 · Tagged , ,

So many wonderful things have come with cleaning up my eating, not the least of which is feeling better, looking better, and having more energy.  However I think the best benefit has been family time.  When you put thought into what you are feeding the people you love, and you prepare that food for them…you want to be part of the meal.

This journey I have been on with food, redefining what REAL food is, has brought my family back to the table which means more time together.  When I was serving chicken nuggets, and macaroni and cheese, the goal was easy and quick.  Eat and be done… so we can all move on with our day.  Now the goal is to sit, be aware of what, and how much we are consuming, and most of all to take a simple 30 minutes and catch-up, connect, power-down.

This past weekend I had planned salmon, and that before mentioned “The Most AMAZING Salad“.  When Michael suggested we take the boat for dinner at a nearby beach my first inclination was to say no because I had put some thought into dinner.  He suggested the camp stove, I threw the salad into a zip-lock, wrapped the salmon in some tinfoil- we added some humus and a cucumber, a bottle of wine, and we were off and running. 

It doesn’t have to be about the production or preparation…it is simply about the meal…and time together.

A picture says it all.  Good food.  Good life.  Good stuff.

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Snack 101

May 11, 2011 · Filed under 411, Brands I Love, Costco, Kid Tip, kids, Snacks, Trader Joe's, Whole Foods · Tagged , , ,

A friend of mine was in desperate search of new snack ideas for her kid’s lunches!  She put the call out to her friends on Facebook and I loved seeing all the replies.  We can always learn new tricks and new ideas…not to mention it gets you thinking!

Some of these are mine, so you have seen them before, but lots of new ones and all in one place!

Thanks Tracy!  Keeping us healthy and accountable, I LOVE it!  Plus such a great way to end the year…keeping it FRESH!!!

  

Snack 101

Hummus & Pita

Hummus & Veggies

(Costco sells hummus snack packs)

Ants on a log

(celery & cream cheese or peanut butter topped with raisins)

What about ladybugs on a log?  Cream cheese & celery topped with craisins or dried cherries

 

Rice cakes or mini rice cakes topped with cream cheese, almond butter or peanut butter

popcorn

cucumber slices with lemon pepper

trail mix (suck up a few M&M’s and get lots of healthy protein in them)

granola

Late July brand crackers/snacks

Stretch Island Fruit Leather counts as 1/2 serving of fruit

Trader Joe’s Organic  fruit wrap

grapes & cashews

grapes & pumpkin seeds

Justin’s peanut butter squeeze packs

 (kids get to knead & squeeze, still a processed food, but lots of fun and a great source of protein)

Trader Joe’s “Just A Handful of Almonds”

small oranges peeled, and separated for them

Cliff Kid Organic Twist Fruit (1 serving of fruit)

Asian Pear Crisps

(Costco, dried fruit with no added sugar/preservatives)

Food Should Taste Good brand Cheddar chips 

(healthy version of a Doritos, 9 chips has 3g fiber & 3g protein)

SomerSaults Chocolate Flavor

(Whole Foods, PCC, Met Market)

Strawberries, blackberries,  blueberries or raspberries

(Use Pottery Barn snack containers and nothing gets mushy or crushed plus designed to fit in your lunchbox)

FAGE Greek Yogurt

(flavor comes on the side for kids to add and has 1/4 to 1/2 the sugar most flavored yogurts have)

Lettuce wraps

(anything you would put on bread wrapped in Trader Joe’s “Just Leaves”)

Dried Fruits from Whole Foods (again watch for added sugar)

Cold Pasta Salad add diced turkey and a bit of Italian dressing

Protein on a stick: cubed turkey/ham/cheese/grapes/cherry tomatoes

Fruit on a stick with some yogurt for dipping

Organic Z Bar by Cliff Kid

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First Five.

January 19, 2011 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts, Kid Tip · Tagged , ,

Keep these ingredients out of your food, or at least be sure they are not in the first FIVE ingredients listed!

Forms of Sugar

  1. HFCS High Fructose Corn Syrup
  2. Evaporated Cane Juice (just a healthy sounding/fancy way to say sugar)
  3. Molasses
  4. Sucrose (is sugar)
  5. Corn Sugar ( another way to say HFCS, since ppl have caught on)

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The Lunch Box ABC’s

December 7, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts, Kid Tip, kids · Tagged

A lot of people ask me what I put in my kid’s lunches.  My kids eat a lot of foods most kids don’t eat, or more accurately their Mom’s probably assume they would never eat!  I do think the earlier kids start eating healthy, whole, REAL foods the easier it is.  My Daughter is 4 and I have been doing this for two years so she only knows clean eating.  My Son was 4 when I started clean eating and weaning him off Dino nuggets, gogurts, boxes of chocolate milk, and the idea that a Happy Meal could be dinner (often more than once a week), or we will just order pizza (again) has NOT BEEN EASY, it has taken work.  The bottom line is I am not super flexible.  I have the “No Thank You Bite Rule” which certainly has helped the expansion of my kids food palate’s.  But honestly, I often also just tell them, “Tough.”  If they are thirsty and don’t want water, then they are not thirsty.  If they are hungry and don’t want a piece of fruit, then they are not really hungry, are they?  I am not in the school of parents who want to be “friends” with their kids…they have friends and so do I.  What I do care about is making sure they have the nutrients and fuel to get through the day, that is my job as a Mom!

Not a bad lunch!

All of that said, I thought before we talk about what CAN go in a lunchbox, we should be clear on what SHOULD go in a lunchbox…what is a serving size, and what makes a perfect lunch.

 (check out Amanda Grant, her book “Healthy lunchboxes for kids” is GREAT)

        The Perfect Lunchbox

  • 1 Serving of protein

  • 1 serving of carbohydrate or starchy food
  •  1 serving of calcium-rich food
  •  1 serving of fruit
  • 1 serving of vegetables
  • 1 drink

So what is a serving?  Well Amanda breaks that down for us too, by age, which is important.

Protein, 2 – 3 servings a day

Protein ages 5 – 8

Protein ages 9 – 11
1 1/2 oz. sliced lean cooked meat or poultry 2 – 3 oz. sliced lean meat or poultry
1 – 2 tablespoons peanut butter 2 – 3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 1/2 oz. fish 2 – 3 oz. fish
1 egg 1 – 2 eggs
1/2 cup cooked beans 1/2 – 1 cup beans

Carbs, 6 servings a day

Carbs ages 5 – 8 Carbs ages 9 – 11
1 small slice of bread 1 slice of bread
1/2 small roll 1/2 – 1 small roll
1/2 – 3/4 cup pasta or rice 1/2 – 3/4 cup pasta or rice
1/2 – 3/4 cup dry cereal 3/4 – 1 cup dry breakfast cereal

Vegetables, 3 servings a day

Veggies ages 5 – 8 Veggies ages 9 – 11
1 small carrot 1 carrot
1/3 cup vegetable 1/2 cup vegetable
3 or 4 cherry tomatoes 5 – 6 cherry tomatoes

Fruit, 2 – 3 servings a day

Fruit ages 5 – 8 Fruit ages 9 – 11
1 small fruit plum, kiwi, clementine 1-2 small fruit plum, kiwi, clementine
6 Strawberries 10 Strawberries
a big handful of dried fruit a big handful of dried fruit
1/2 cup canned fruit 3/4 cup canned fruit
1/2 cup fruit juice 3/4 cup fruit juice

Calcium, 3 servings a day

Calcium ages 5 – 8 Calcium ages 9 – 11
3/4 cup milk 1 cup milk
3/4 cup yogurt 1 cup yogurt
A big handful of dried fruit A big handful of dried fruit
A handful of cheese A handful of cheese
1/2 cup fruit juice 3/4 cup fruit juice

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Watch Dr. Oz today!

December 7, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts · Tagged

His show today (Tuesday) is all about GMO’s, a topic I am VERY passionate about! DVR it.

http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/tuesday-dr-oz-show

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Food for thought

December 2, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts · Tagged

It seems every year they get closer to proving a link between what is in our food and food addiction in certain people.
Food for thought.
http://healthland.time.com/2010/12/01/overeating-is-it-an-addiction/

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Red Flag: Red 40 If you have kids, Educate yourselves!

October 9, 2010 · Filed under 411, Advice from the Experts, kids · Tagged , , ,

 

Maria (Maria’s Farm Country Kitchen) has a guest blogger who READ my mind!  When we were in Europe this summer I was in AWE of the LACK of CRAP they allow in their food…AND AND AND…the labeling they put on the food when the CRAP is allowed in!!!  If these companies can make the SAME product without all the junk for those super-smart, sophisticated Europeans…why are they not doing it for us????  Why…because we don’t demand it! 

Sad.

http://www.mariasfarmcountrykitchen.com/whats-all-this-food-coloring-good-for/

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