JOURNAL: Thoughts on Halloween

Halloween is another opportunity for me to find balance in my life and how I rear my children.


freedigitalphotos.net



Some facts about our family on All Hallows Eve:

1. We have fun as a family carving pumpkins.  It is a chance for us to be creative and artistic together. We don't decorate for Halloween with tombstones in our yard or skeletons on the porch.  I decorate for autumn instead.  This way I can keep the decorations up for three months instead of just one!

2. Our son gets wear a costume to hand out candy, instead of going "trick-or-treating."  My grandparents didn't allow their children to go door-to-door "begging for food." I like staying home instead of wandering the neighborhood with our kids.  My husband and I have decided that our kids will get to be in costume and hand out candy.  We are trying to teach them the joy of giving.  They get to eat the candy as they are passing it out.

3. This is the one day of the year they get to binge on candy.  We are more concerned about the boys developing healthy eating habits than we are how much candy they eat on Halloween.  They need to self-regulate how much they eat.  For example, my 4 year-old ate an entire Hershey's bar and decided he didn't want to eat that much chocolate again.

I'm not saying I'm right or that other people are wrong.  I'm just sharing our thoughts on these things.


Here are some more thoughts about Halloween:

The How to Control Your Kids Candy Consumption Con

BUSTED: 7 Halloween Nutrition Myths


Halloween: Not My Family Tradition

Scary Economy Hits Halloween...Half Stealing Candy From Kids

Have a safe evening!

RECIPE: Simple Cinnamon Rolls

As I mentioned in a previous post, I am half-Swede.  My father was born to the children of Swedish immigrants on all sides of his family.  Over the past few months, I have been exploring my Swedish heritage, reading about all things Swedish. 



Simple Cinnamon Roll



Cinnamon rolls (or kanelbullar, as the Swedes call them) are so popular in Sweden that they have a National Cinnamon Bun Day.  Swedes celebrate on October 4 by buying or baking cinnamon rolls.  Though the holiday was only established in 1999, Swedish households have been baking kanelbullar for four or five generations. (thelocal.se)

Here in the midwest, we have been eating cinnamon rolls with chili for about 50 years.

SIMPLE CINNAMON ROLLS

Ingredients:

*1 1/4 c. warm almond milk or other milk

*1 Tb. yeast

*1 egg

*2 Tb. and 3 Tb. softened butter or margarine, divided

*1 tsp. salt

*1 tsp. nutmeg

*1/4 c. and 3 Tb. sugar, divided 

*1/4 c. wheat gluten flour

*3 1/4. c. white whole wheat flour

*3 Tb. cinnamon

Directions:

1.  Add yeast to warm milk in measuring cup.  Stir.  Add to bread machine.
2.  Add egg, 2 Tb. butter, salt, nutmeg, 1/4 c. sugar, and flours to bread machine.  Run dough cycle.
3.  Combine 3 Tb. sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.  Grease 9" x 13" pan.  Preheat oven to 350 F.
4.  When dough cycle is complete, roll dough out in a large rectangle.  Spread with remaining butter and sprinkle sugar/cinnamon mixture over butter. 
5.  Roll dough, creating a long, spiraled loaf.  Slice dough into 12 equal pieces.  Place each slice into baking pan. 
6.  Cover dough with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm room or place in a microwave proofer for 30 min. 
7.  After dough has risen, bake for 30 min.  Drizzle with icing, if desired.

Check back tomorrow for a post about how to use your microwave as a proofer for bread!


How did yours turn out?

RECIPE: Easy Crock Pot Chili (Vegan)

In some school cafeteria in the midwest about 50 years ago, a "lunchlady," as they were called, decided to pair two cold weather foods together on a lunch menu: chili and cinnamon rolls.  The meal spread across Iowa, Kansas, and Nebraska until nearly every school served them.

Today, many families here in Mid-America eat these two foods together.  Restaurants advertise chili and cinnamon rolls on their outdoor signs.  As many Mexican cooks know, the slightly spicy flavor of the cinnamon brings out the sweet flavor of chilies.  Add hot just-out-of-the-oven cinnamon rolls to a steaming bowl of savory chili and you have a delicious meal for cool autumn and frigid winter nights.

Building on this Midwest tradition, my mother's family eats chili with cottage cheese in it, something the high schoolers added to their chili when they were students at boarding school.

Chili with cottage cheese and crackers

EASY CROCK POT CHILI

Ingredients:

*15 oz. can of chili beans

*15 oz. can of kidney beans, drained

*2 10 oz. cans of tomatoes with chilies

*8 oz. can of tomato sauce

Directions:

1.  Add all ingredients to large crock pot.  Cook for 8 hours on low setting. 

2.  Serve with crackers and cheese, if desired.

Makes 4 servings.

Double or triple the recipe to make sure you have plenty of leftovers.

Come back tomorrow for a cinnamon rolls recipe!

FOLLOW FRIDAY! October 29, 2011

I've stumbled over some great blogs this past week.  Here are the top three diet and nutrition blogs that I found.

fit2fat2fit.com I love this.  Here is a guy who took to heart people who said he didn't know what it was like to be obese and out of shape.  He has gained more than 70 lbs. and is going to lose it. 

It's Not About Nutrition  Dr. Dina Rose is a food sociologist who writes about what parents teach their children about food.  Here is a great place to learn about creating healthy eating habits to children, not just teaching them to eat healthy foods.

fooducate Fooducate is a great place to get started to make healthier choices.  Food labels are often misleading, so here is a wonderful place to help you understand what you are eating.

RECIPE: Raspberry-Pear Frozen Smoothie

Several years ago, one of our friends gave us three large laundry baskets full of pears from her prolific pear trees.  In addition to canning pear sauce for my then two year-old son, I also made jam.  Using store-bought raspberries, I made raspberry-pear jam.

Raspberry-Pear Frozen Smoothie

It was so amazing that my husband actually hid some jars for himself in the basement.

Yesterday, I was thinking of the raspberry-pear jam.  It inspired me to try it out in a frozen smoothie.  It was tart, but not enough for me to add any sweetener.  The pears made the smoothie creamy.

RASPBERRY-PEAR FROZEN SMOOTHIE

Ingredients:

*10.5 oz. can pears in juice
*12 oz. bag frozen raspberries

Directions:

1.  Blend thoroughly in blender!

Did you have to add sweetener to yours?

RECIPE: Vegan Swedish Meatballs

I could tell you that I am posting this recipe because I'm half Swedish.  We have recipes that have been passed down through my family for generations, so I thought I would adapt one of them into a vegan recipe.

But that is only half true.

I was going to post a different recipe today.  I wrote the recipe, formatted the post, prepared the recipe, and forgot to take pictures!

So I made this one up yesterday. 

I was really pleased to see how it turned out since I made it up with stuff I have in my pantry.

VEGAN SWEDISH MEATBALLS

Ingredients:

*1 can kidney beans, drained
*1 c. cooked brown rice
*1 c. quick oats
*1/4 c. ground flaxseed
*1/4 c. flour
*1 small onion, chopped
*1 Tb. oil

*1 tsp. soy sauce

*1 George Washington Brown Broth packet or 1 tsp. beef style bullion

*1/2 tsp. salt

*1/4 tsp. black pepper

*1/4 tsp. allspice

*1/4 tsp. nutmeg

*1 can vegan condensed cream of mushroom soup or make your own using almond or soy milk

*1 1/4 c. original flavor almond milk



Vegan Swedish Meatballs with Broccoli Florets



Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F and grease 9" x 9" baking dish with non-stick spray.

2.  Mash kidney beans or process in a food processor.  Add beans, rice, oats, flaxseed, flour, onion, oil, soy sauce, broth packet, and spices to large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer.  Mix thoroughly.

3.  Using an ice cream scoop, drop balls of mixture onto baking dish. 

4.  Blend condensed soup with milk.  Pour over meatballs.

5.  Cover and bake for 1 hour.  Serve covered in mushroom soup gravy.

Serves 4

How did they turn out for you?

JOURNAL: Why Can't I Stop Eating Candy?

I never buy Halloween candy early.  I always wait until a day or so before the 31st to stock up on treats we will pass out to the neighborhood kids.  If I buy any candy before then, we eat it.  My husband eats it, so I hide it from him.  I know where it is, so I eat it.  I try to hide it from my four year-old son, too, but if he sees me eating it, he wants some. 

Then I have to buy more, which we will eat.

This time I wasn't the one who bought it early.  A well-meaning friend of ours surprised me on Friday with a bag of Snickers Peanut Butter Squares.  It was my birthday last week.

They were all gone by Saturday afternoon. 

I had a moment where I thought to myself, "Why can't I stop eating candy?"

Then, I remembered.

The food industry is very good at creating foods that are addictive.  There are specific flavor combinations that trigger the same parts of the brain as illegal drugs:

1.  Sugar-fat
2.  Salt-fat
3.  Sugar-fat-salt.

Think for a moment about those unhealthy foods that you may find addictive. 

Potato chips: salt-fat
Ice cream: sugar-fat
Cookies: sugar-fat
French fries: salt-fat
Cheese: salt-fat
Chocolate: sugar-fat


Investigate further since starches actually break down into sugars, especially if they are refined starches.

Potato chips: fat and salt on sugar (potatoes convert to sugar easily)
Cookies: sugar and fat and sugar (refined flour converts to sugar easily)
French fries: salt on fat on sugar (potatoes convert to sugar easily)

Some candy companies are very good at creating these combinations.  They also add textures that are enjoyable, like caramel that coats the tongue or the crunch of a cookie.  The companies intentionally create food that is addictive.

Back to those Snickers Peanut Butter Squares:

No wonder I couldn't stop eating the Snickers Peanut Butter Squares!

So what to do?

1.  Don't start. Once I start, I have a difficult time stopping.  Remember, this is the same part of the brain affected when drug addicts use drugs! 
2.  Figure out what part of the candy you are craving.  If you want something creamy and sweet, have a glass of almond milk.  If you want something crunchy and salty, have some celery sticks.  Be creative and find an alternative that isn't addictive!
3.  If you do start and can't stop, get rid of the candy.  Give it away or throw it away.  You can't eat it if it isn't there!
4.  Fill up on your favorite fruit or veggies.  The fiber and water content of them will help you feel full and satisfied.
5.  Warm beverages also can help a person feel full.  I drink a lot of decaf coffee, but herbal teas are also helpful.
6. Remember that you can always have the candy later.  This piece (or bag!) isn't the last piece in the world.  You don't need to eat it now.  Today, you are going to make your body feel good instead of feeling guilty or getting in the sugar-fat-salt addiction cycle.

For more information on the sugar-fat-salt in foods and how to stop compulsive eating, read my review of The End of Overeating by Dr. David Kessler.  You can order the book here or at The Way Store.

What food do you find addictive?  What combination of sugar-fat-salt is it?

RECIPE: Penne Florentine

There aren't many restaurant choices in our town of about 6,000 residents.  We have fast food chains, authentic Mexican and Chinese food, and a lounge that serves excellent steaks. 

About a year ago, a trattoria opened here in town. After eating their chicken florentine and LOVING it, I decided to try to make my own vegetarian version.

It is especially good accompanied by a romaine salad and fresh bread.

PENNE FLORENTINE

Ingredients:

*13.5 oz. box of whole wheat penne pasta

*1 pt. grape tomatoes, halved

*14 oz. can of quartered artichokes, drained

*8 oz. sliced baby portabella mushrooms

*7 c. of loosely packed fresh spinach

*3 cloves minced garlic

*2 Tb. olive oil

*1 c. alfredo sauce

*1/2 c. pesto sauce

Penne Florentine

Directions:

1.  In a medium stock pot, prepare penne pasta as directed. 

2.  Heat a large skillet at medium heat.  Add oil, tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, spinach, and garlic.  Stir often and cook until spinach leaves are wilted and mushrooms are soft.

3.  Drain pasta thoroughly.  Add alfredo and pesto sauce.  Stir well.

4.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6

Did you like it? 

RECIPE: Tortilla Soup (Vegetarian/vegan)

[Print this Recipe]

The weather has changed here in Central Nebraska and the evenings are crisp.  Saturday evenings are for watching football with our family and best enjoyed with soup that has been simmering all day.

This is an easy recipe and it can be incredibly easy, depending on how you make it.  First, I wrote the stove top instructions, then I wrote how to prepare this recipe with a  Vita Mix Vita Prep 3 and a Crock Pot. 

[Print this Recipe]

TORTILLA SOUP

Tortilla Soup

Ingredients:

*1 chopped small yellow onion
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*1 Tb. olive oil
*2 tsp. McKays chicken style seasoning
*2 c. water

*2 cans tomatoes and green chilies

*1 can corn, drained

*1 can black beans

*1/4 c. and 1 Tb chopped fresh cilantro, divided

*crushed tortilla chips

*shredded colby jack cheese or shredded soy cheese

Directions:

1.  Using a medium stock pot, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium heat until soft.

2.  Add water, McKays seasoning, tomatoes and chilies, corn, beans, and 1/4 c. of chopped cilantro.

3.  Simmer for 20 minutes. 

4.  After ladling into bowls, top with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese.  Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

OR

1.  Add water, McKays seasoning, whole garlic cloves, cilantro, and quartered onion to Vita Mix Vita Prep 3 and mix at medium speed until vegetables are finely chopped.  Add to Crock Pot with tomatoes and chilies, corn, and black beans.  Simmer on low for 8 hours.

2.  After ladling into bowls, top with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Garnish with fresh cilantro, if desired.

Substitution:

You may use vegetable broth in exchange for the McKays seasoning and water.

How was it??

FOLLOW FRIDAY: October 21, 2011

Follow Friday is a weekly collection of blogs and websites I follow and would like to share with you. 

• Unclutterer  This is a great site with lots of helpful information about getting organized and staying organized.  In addition to tips and ideas for the office and home, Unclutterer helps organize your life.

• Stealthy Mom  I just learned this great blog is written by a friend of mine.  Talk about "Stealthy"! ; ) Here is a great starting place to make healthier meals for your family.  She offers homestyle recipes that have been modifed for health-conscious families.

• Animal Friendly Eating  Here Kelli combines lovely pictures with yummy recipes.  She also has posts for the spirit and inspires me with the stunning pictures of her garden.

RECIPE: Chocolate Protein Shake (Vegan)

I was never a chocolate freak like some people I know.  I would get a craving about once a month for chocolate, but never on a regular basis.  I couldn't understand so called, "chocoholics" or how women supposedly had insatiable chocolate cravings.

Like the rest of my life, that changed when I became pregnant with my first child.

I don't know if it was all of the hormones my body was flooded with, but suddenly, I needed chocolate!  After the boys were born the cravings started to subside, but I still get that urge.

This shake is full of calcium, protein, vitamins, and minerals.  And of course, chocolate!

Chocolate Protein Shake

CHOCOLATE PROTEIN SHAKE

Ingredients:

*2 c. almond milk
*1 scoop soy protein isolate
*1 Tb. cocoa

Directions:

1. Blend all ingredients thoroughly in a Vita-Mix Vita Prep 3 or other high speed blender.

2. Serve immediately or refrigerate for up to 24 hours.
Serves 1-3.


How was it?

New Features!

This has been a busy week for me here at The Way!

In addition to adding recipes and journal entries, I have created a mobile version of this site to be viewed in mobile reader applications or smartphone internet applications.

I also added The Way Store, my Amazon.com store, where you can purchase ingredients used in my recipes, appliances and cooking tools I use, and books and videos I recommend for healthy living.  It is a great way you can help support this site at no extra cost to you.

I hope you enjoy these features!

RECIPE: Cottage Cheese Loaf (Vegetarian)

When I was growing up, we had a vegetarian potluck each week after church.  The hosts of the meals were elderly ladies who had been vegetarian all of their lives.  They made easy-to-prepare dishes with foods readily available at the grocery stores here in Nebraska.  All of them lived into their nineties and most of them were able to remain independent up until the end.  I have no doubt their diets were a major contributor to their longevity.

Each of the women had a cottage cheese loaf recipe she would bring from time to time.  This is one I have adapted as my own.

Cottage cheese loaf with steamed vegetables

Cottage Cheese Loaf

Ingredients:

*24 oz. container of lowfat cottage cheese

*small onion, diced

*1/4 c. vegetable or canola oil

*4 eggs

*1 Tb. McKays Instant Broth and Seasoning

*8 cups puffed rice (Rice Krispies)

*Non-stick cooking spray with flour

Directions:

1.  Spray 9"x13" baking pan with cooking spray or grease and flour pan.  Preheat oven to 350 F.

2.  Add cottage cheese, onion, oil, eggs, and seasoning to high speed mixer or to large mixing bowl and mix well.

3.  Add puffed rice and mix thoroughly.

4.  Spread mixture into baking pan and bake uncovered for 1 hour. 

Serves: 6-8

Did you like it?

JOURNAL: Blood tests back today!




(ambro freedigitalphotos.net)

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, I gave birth to our second child this summer.  During the pregnancy, I succumbed to my cravings and ate fast food nearly every day.  Since we already met our insurance deductible this year, my doctor thought it would be a good idea to do a blood draw to check my cholesterol and triglyceride levels.  Both of my parents are also his patients, so he knows the risks I carry of developing hypertension, heart disease, high cholesterol, and stroke. 

I wasn't expecting the results to be very good.  I still eat a small amount of meat several times a week, usually in the form of a high priced freezer meal.  I also have 30 lbs. of pregnancy weight to take off.

This is what the letter I received in the mail stated.

"Your thyroid function is perfect...normal blood sugar, normal liver and kidney functions."

I expected those to be fine.  My blood sugar has always been normal (not even gestational diabetes), so no surprises there.  The cholesterol levels were what made me really happy:

"Your [total] cholesterol is wonderful at 131."
Triglycerides are 46.
HDL (good) cholesterol is 59.
LDL (bad) cholesterol is 59.

So what should these levels be?  This is what I learned from the Mayo Clinic website.

Total cholesterol of 200 and below is desirable.
Triglycerides below 150 is desirable (American Heart Association lists below 100 as optimal).
HDL cholesterol of 60 and above is best.
LDL cholesterol of 70 and below is ideal for people at very high risk of heart disease.

WOW!  I'm so excited about these results!

There are easy things that I do every day to keep these levels in the healthy range.  I'm not a doctor or a health professional.  I know there is debate in the news about whether supplements are harmful, but I prefer to use my own experience with my own body as a guide.

Some of the things that seem to help with my blood counts are

1.  Flaxseed Oil.  I take a flaxseed oil capsule every night.  The Omega 3s in flaxseed oil may improve overall cholesterol and trigylceride levels. (medicinenet.com)

2.  Avoiding saturated fat and transfats.  Most of the meals we eat are vegetarian.  When we do eat meat, it is usually fish or chicken for supper, only eating red meat once every two weeks.  Sometimes I cook with olive oil, but we do use butter and never margarine.

3.  Staying away from fast food.  I've only eaten fast food about three times since my baby was born.

4.  Eating plenty of fiber every day.  In addition to eating mostly fruits and vegetables every day, once a day I take either psyllium powder (Metamucil) or Fiber Choice tablets.  Fiber apparently works like a sponge that soaks up cholesterol in the bloodstream.  (webmd.com) 

5.  Soy protein shakes most days.  Most afternoons, I drink a soy protein shake made with almond milk and soy protein isolate.  According to a study cited at latimes.com, a diet high in foods like soy protein may lower LDL cholesterol better than drugs or a lowfat diet.  (Try my coconut protein shake).

I know I'm not in perfect health, but it is great to see that what I'm doing is working. I still need to get back to the gym and start exercising, plus the doctor mentioned I still have weight to lose for a healthy BMI.  It seems like I am predisposed to so many health problems, that I know I have to take care of my body every day instead of waiting for the warning signs of a major condition.

What do you do to take care of your health?

FOLLOW FRIDAY! October 14, 2011

A new feature that I'm starting here at The Way is "Follow Friday," a brief summary of some great blogs and websites that I follow and would like to share with you.

• A Daily Dose of Natural by Katie.  Katie has a little bit of all the good stuff here, natural health and wellness, food politics, reviews, exercise, and recipes.  Read this blog if you want to learn more about living well.

• Food Politics by Marion Nestle, Ph.D.  If her name sounds familiar, it is because she is an expert in nutrition, food matters, and public health.  This is a great blog if you want to learn about the government's role in dietary matters and the food industry.

• A Growing Tradition by Thomas. On this blog, Thomas has listed lots of websites, books, and videos about how to garden.  The photos of the vegetables and fruit he harvests are absolutely stunning.

JOURNAL: Healthy Eating in a Hurry

I have a four year-old son and a 10 week-old son.  Although I am able to stay home with them both, I still find I have very little time!  My eldest needs more attention and nurturing as he adjusts to not being an only child.  My newborn needs breastfed, diapers changed, put to sleep, cuddled and played with, etc.  I do my best to keep the laundry and dishes done, the house relatively clean, and my family well-fed.  There seems to be little time to do anything else.

When my husband is home in the evenings, I make my family a fairly healthy supper. However, I don't prepare meals for myself during the day.  First of all, it would likely take me hours to make a dish from scratch with all the interruptions from my sons. Also, my routine is based around their routines, so I don't eat at a set time in the morning or afternoon.

Although I ate fast food most days when I was pregnant this year (Did I mention that I put on 65 lbs.?), healthy eating is important to me.   

Eating the same things for breakfast and lunch keeps me from having to think about what to eat and from having to plan ahead.  Shopping is much easier also, since I always stock up on the same things: fresh or frozen fruits, almond milk, and Green Giant Healthy Colors Steamers. 

My favorite variety of Healthy Colors, Valley Blend.

I start my day with a glass of almond milk.  I usually don't eat breakfast, so this gives me some easy-to-digest calories for producing breastmilk. 

In the mid-afternoon, I eat two servings of fruit.  For the past two months, I have relished the nectarines that are in season at the grocery store, but I also sometimes have a banana or a pound of fresh strawberries.  Today, I ate frozen blackberries that I thawed in my fridge for most of the morning.  

Next, I eat a bag of Green Giant Healthy Colors Steamers.  There are four varieties, but my favorite is Valley Blend with carrots, cauliflower, and broccoli (yes, it's fancy California blend!).  Each variety is lightly sauced.  I know it would be better if I cleaned raw vegetables and steamed them, but time is the issue here.  I can carry my baby in one arm and take a bag of Green Giant Steamers out of the freezer and throw it in the microwave with the other hand.

In the late afternoon, I have an almond milk soy protein shake, full of calcium.  You can find one of my recipes here.

When my husband gets home, I make a quick dinner for my husband, my son, and myself.   Most nights I have a frozen fruit bar and a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich.

I'm still trying to lose weight, however, I know I need to eat well for my baby, too.  I lost 30 lbs. with the birth of the baby and have taken 15 lbs. off eating this way since we came home from the hospital.  I'm glad I have found a way to eat convenient food that is good for me, too!

How do you eat well when you don't have time to prepare food?

Yes, I'm alive

When I look at blogs which haven't been updated in many months or years, I wonder to myself, Is this person still alive or did they just stop writing for some reason? 

If someone I cared about died, I doubt I would worry about his or her subscribers.

Yes, I'm alive.

In fact, more life is in our home now: our second son, Benjamin, was born on July 31.

I'm adjusting to life as the mother of a newborn.  My husband and four year-old are learning to live with the baby, too. 



My husband, Matthew, and Benjamin



Mothering this baby is much different: I know better and can do better.  I remember struggling for hours with Matthew.  He had thrush which led to painful nursing which led to low-weight gain.  We ended up having to supplement with formula for the 18 months I breastfed him.  I also remember being exhausted, frustrated, and crying with him.

B is a much healthier and happier baby.  I still spend 23 or so hours with him a day, but I treasure that time.  M has grown so much and so fast; it makes me want to hang on to this precious time with B.  If B wants held, I hold him.  It will only be for a short time in our lives.  The dishes will always need washed, the laundry will always need folded, but B is only a baby for a little while.

Benjamin, born July 31, 2011

B and I sleep together at night, giving me the rest that I need to parent the two children alone while my husband is working.  B is gaining weight like a champ and has only had 1 oz. of formula his entire life.  M is in love with his little brother and is finally starting to leave him alone. My husband is a wonderful daddy, once again.

We are very much alive.

Thanks for reading!