Thursday, September 29, 2011

Websites

I love the internet. I love being able to research things in a moment. Beats those card catalogs I used to plow through at the library when I was a kid.

So I thought I'd share a few that I like.

Since I am the wife of a poor grad student and only work VERY part-time as a dietitian, we constantly are on the look for ways to get food cheaply. AND healthy food. That's always important to me. Plus, I should also mention I am the child of a former "Home Economics" teacher. At least that's what they used to call them. Now I think it's 'Family Consumer Science' or something like that. So my momma taught me to can and preserve. I promptly forgot most of it when in college but am now reteaching myself.

So the theme of today's websites I'm going to share is "Places-you-can-go-to-find-cheaper-and-healthier-food-and-learn-how-to-store-it."

First on the lineup. A site that helps you find "Pick Your Own" fields. There are lots of farmers that make money by letting people pay a certain fee just to pick their own food.

Check here.

Second is a site to help you find grass fed meat sources.

Check here.

The third is a site to help you find your county extension office. Each one has a person who is a canning and nutrition expert. Often you can find classes. Not every one offers "Master Gardening" classes but you may luck out. You could also get into one of their classes and learn how to grow your own fruits and veggies in your backyard.

Check here.

So, hopefully you'll like these sites as much as I have. I would have posted my Mom's phone number for questions regarding canning but I don't think she'd like that. Besides, she won't likely hear the phone because she'll be out in her garden.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Friday Food: Salmon Cakes with Roasted Red Pepper Relish

 Salmon Cakes with Red Pepper Relish*

3/4 cup Roasted red peppers, drained and finely chopped
2 Tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, divided
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3 teaspoons olive oil, divided
1 clove garlic, minced

3 cans (6oz each) skinless boneless salmon, drained and crumbled
1/4 cup plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 cup finely chopped scallions, including green tops
1 egg white
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

To make Red Pepper Relish, stir together bell peppers, parsley, 1 teaspoon lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 teaspoon olive oil and garlic in small bowl; set aside.

Combine slamon, bread crumbs, scallinons, egg white, pepper, remaining 1 teaspoon lemon zest in medium bowl and stir gently to mix. Divide into 8 equal portions (about 1/3 cup each); shape into cakes, (2 1/2 inches in diameter) pressing to maintain shape.

Heat 1 teaspoon remaining oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add cakes and cook 3-4 minutes on each side or until well browned. Repeat with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and remaining cakes. Serve with Red Pepper Relish.


*NOTE

Before you scoff at the salmon and think it's a little too snooty or expensive for you, this recipe rocks with plain old canned tuna as well. I've made it without the lemon zest and with just the lemon juice and it turned out fine. I've also made it with gluten free breadcrumbs and it was also yummy. I got gluten free breadcrumbs from Kinnikinnick foods and they are fantastic. So basically this recipe is high on the 'tweakable' factor. It stands up to lots of small changes. Next week I'll give you the other recipe I use to use up the rest of my bottle of roasted red peppers. Also very yummy.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Win/Loss

Win=Being well trained in the nutrition and life cycle of a human being.

Loss=When your adorable daughter bats all vegetables from your hand when offered despite a fortune being spent on becoming a registered dietitian.

********************

Win=When your child is 10 months and actually adores steamed up spinach, broccoli, and squash, it give you a nice rosy glow-y feeling to know that the toddler years shouldn't be too bad if she likes these veggies.

Loss=Fast forward to 22 months old and vegetables are nothing but squishy projectiles to your toddler.

********************

Win=Looking adoringly at my husband at one end of the table as he gushes over the delicious veggie-centric meal you have prepared.

Loss=Looking at the other end of the table where your toddler gags and opens her mouth to let the carrots dribble out while she reaches for the piece of chicken instead.

Friday, September 16, 2011

Friday Food: Chicken Teriyaki

Chicken Teriyaki

1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast sliced into "tenders" size
1 6 oz can pineapple juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp minced fresh ginger
1 Tbsp minced garlic
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp molasses
2 cups hot cooked rice.

Combine all ingredients, except rice, in crock pot slow cooker. Cover; cook on low 2 hours or until chicken is tender. Serve chicken and sauce over rice.

NOTE: I've made this several times and loved it. The original version I saw said to put cherry tomatoes on it but as tomatoes on teriyaki is "sick and wrong" I forbid it. But my readers may like that sort of thing so, carry on. If you wanted to tweak this to a healthier version you can use low salt soy sauce and make it on brown rice.

Another thing you should remember is that crockpots are wonderful inventions and usually save your hiney on days that you schedule way too much to do and are supposed to end that day with a night out with your husband. The problem is that you need to turn on the crock pot to have success and not throw a whole big fat kink into your daily plans.

*twitch*

*nervous smile*

Just thought you ought to know.

Friday, September 9, 2011

Friday Food: Tangy Chicken Legs

4 Chicken Legs
Oil
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup applesauce
1/4 cup lower sodium soy sauce

Brown chicken in hot oil in a skillet. Drain fat off the chicken. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic powder, applesauce and soy sauce to the chicken. Cook over medium heat to low heat for 30 minutes or until chicken is done.


Notes: I like this one. It's pretty easy and I have doubled the recipe, too. Go forth and enjoy!!

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

The Little Things

Sorry about the temporary absence from the world of blogging. Here's what I've been dealing with.

People often underestimate little things. The thing is, these 'little things' in life can add up to big life altering things. London started out as a little pink line. Then she was this tiny bean shaped blog on an ultrasound. Now she's this big 30 pound toddler. .

And I can't imagine my life without her.


But now we're fighting another 'little thing' that is causing a monster amount of problems and damage. Diarrhea. Poop. And lots of it. We're on day 18. We can't figure it out. At first we thought it may be a virus that's making the rounds  and lasts about 10 day. Now we think it may be another food sensitivity.

But.

There's always a big 'but'. But we can't figure out what it is. It's driving us all crazy. I'm working hard on keeping her hydrated and eating. That's a tough job in itself when the food I am giving her may be what is making her sick.

I keep thinking about all those parents who deal with life threatening food allergies and I feel a sort of 'kinship'. I thank heaven every day that my child is not in danger of dropping dead after a casual brush with peanuts. And yet, I live in fear of her slow death. Her gorgeous little chubby knuckles disappearing because of a slow drain of nutrients from her body.

Food allergies are evil little things that grow into grossly huge issues.

I hate 'em.

Monday, August 15, 2011

Lessons Learned

We went to the home of my husband's coworker this weekend for Feast Day. The local Native American Pueblo has a feast day twice a year. They literally open their homes to anybody and everybody and feed them. Then most people go to watch the dances performed at the plaza in the center of the pueblo.

Taking pictures is forbidden. And that makes sense. They are sacred ceremonial dances after all. We ate an embarrassing amount of food and made our way to the plaza. The drums, costumes, dances, and singing were breathe taking. It was so beautiful. I actually teared up.

It's a humbling thing to watch a celebration of a people who are so in touch with who they are and where they came from. Everybody participated. They literally had people from 2 years old  folks who could easily be in their eighties.

Part of the dance was about the upcoming harvest according to a little local man who stood next to us. They were carrying corn cobs and other food items that sort of gave that away as well. I couldn't help thinking how sad it was that so many kids are growing up in this country not understanding the process it takes to grow and make your own food. We have overcomplicated our food. The whole processing of our foods has gotten way out of hand. I'm all for pasteurization and stuff like that to make some foods safer but we've taken it to a whole new level.

Yeah, it's true. I was watching a beautiful performance honoring the harvest and I couldn't help but think of how much better off we would all be if we simplified our lives. And I'm not just talking about our foods either. I'm such a food nerd!

Well, here are some lessons learned from that outing.

1. It's always good to learn about other cultures and traditions. They can remind you about what is important to you.

2. When going on an outdoor outing on a hot New Mexico day bring extra water bottles.

3. As a parent of a red headed toddler, it's always good to carry extra sunscreen.

4. My husband is slowly recognizing the genius I am and eventually appreciates all the stuff I make him haul around in the diaper bag. (see previous comments about extra water and sunscreen)

Friday, August 12, 2011

Friday Food

Oh, you guys are going to like this one. I pulled it out of a Diabetic Living Magazine a while back when I had some canned salmon in my pantry and spinach in my fridge that needed to be used. YUMMY!


Salmon and Couscous Casserole


2 cloves garlic, minced
2/3 cup whole wheat couscous
1 14.75-ounce can salmon, drained, flaked, and skin and bones removed
2 cups packaged fresh baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup jarred roasted red sweet peppers, drained and chopped
1/3 cup jarred tomato bruschetta topper
2 tablespoons toasted almonds


In a 2 quart microwave safe casserole, combine 1 cup water and the garlic. Microwave, uncovered, on 100% power (high) for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes or until mixture is boiling. Remove from microwave and stir in couscous; spoon salmon over couscous mixture. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.


Add spinach, roasted peppers, and bruschetta topper to couscous mixture. Toss to combine. Divide mixture among 4 serving plates. Top with almonds to serve.


Serves 4

Notes:

I don't know about you but we are not really bruschetta eaters around our place. The footsie PJ and sippy cup drinking crowd just isn't too interested in that. I have never made this with the bruschetta topper included and it still is yummy. We don't bother with the whole wheat couscous and just use the regular. The whole wheat version is hard to find and we are gluten sensitive around this place. If this is the only gluten we have all day in this dish, then we tend to do alright. I started buying the jarred red peppers because of this recipe. So good! However, it doesn't use up the whole jar. As luck would have it I also have ANOTHER great recipe that uses jarred red peppers and we usually have it soon after this one to use up the red peppers. I'll give ya'll that recipe next week.

Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Moms Are Pack Horses

Why are moms like pack horses, you say? Because children are like hobbits.

It's totally true. You could see that on your SATs and it would be something like:

'A mother is to a pack horse as a child is to a hobbit.'

The reason I say that is that I, as a mother, end up hauling loads of food around for my daughter. All. The. Time. She is in need of breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies, luncheon, afternoon tea, etc. I'd even venture to say that she is fairly Hobbit-sized as well. 


This little girl turns into an inconsolable monster if her blood sugar gets too low. You don't want to see that folks. It's not a pretty picture. Just today for a small trip to the park I took a snack cup full of gluten free pretzels, a snack cup with corn chex, a banana, and a sippy cup with almond milk. (Yeah, we live with food sensitivities at our place. It's not pretty sometimes. And it's not cheap.) After about 20 minutes playing around in the sun it was time to down the sippy and munch away on snacks. That was her 2nd breakfast. We're now home and she's at the table taking care of her elevensies.

And this hasn't even begun to cover the OTHER stuff I end up carrying around. Stuff like diapers, wipes, sunscreen, basic meds pack for toddlers, and the spare outfit for the unforeseen  diaper blow outs. There have been too many times I've had to dip into the diaper bag to use the spare outfit when we've been out and about for me to ever forget it.

Ever.

Do you want me to say it again? Diaper blow out!!

So, yeah. Mom's are pack horses because children are like hobbits.

With poopy bums.



Monday, August 8, 2011

Food Safety And Cleanliness At Home

Sometimes I wonder if I'm the best example of cleanliness in the kitchen. Just ask the person who helps me put up the dishes.

Friday, August 5, 2011

Friday Food

As promised I'm going to share recipes I like.



Easy Cream Cheese Zucchini Soup

4 cups sliced zucchini
5 cups water
1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1 envelope onion soup mix or vegetable soup mix


Cook zucchini in water until tender. Pour into blender. Add cream cheese and soup mix. Blend until smooth. Return to pot and heat through.

Serves 6 
From "LDS Living" Magazine

Note: I made this using some dehydrated zucchini I had on hand as well as the fresh stuff. After rehydrating the zucchini, it worked just fine. I found it nice to have the cream cheese a little soft. I just put it out on the counter at the beginning of cooking and it worked out just fine. We also just used some garlic and herb flavoring instead of the soup mix. It worked out fine, too. I think the next time I make it I may add a cup or two extra of zucchini. I personally thought it was a little heavy on the cream cheese flavor. Some extra squash would balance it out fine.

Now for the healthy tweaks. If you want to make it a little healthier then switch to fat free cream cheese. I have discovered that every recipe out there can have a 'healthy tweak'. There's always a few changes to be made to make it that much better for you.

My husband really liked it and we served it with fresh bread. Mmm. Go forth and enjoy.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Petri Dishes A.K.A Toddlers

My daughter is old enough to go to our church's nursery and most of the time I love it. However, every once in a while she picks up a bug. And by once in a while I mean at least once a month. There must be a kid in there like Typhoid Mary that carries loads of germs just waiting for unsuspecting toddlers.

This last one was only about a days worth of misery, thank goodness. Just picture a festival of poop and nausea.

Your welcome.

And I am usually the lucky one to pick it up after she does. So yesterday we weren't thinking much about food. Just the minimal food to keep our stomachs from doing the Mambo.

At our house when we have the 'creepin' crud', as my Mom calls it, we stick to simple foods. Soups. Lots of yummy soups. Plus, what other dietitians call the B.R.A.T. diet. That stands for bananas, rice, applesauce, and toast. I don't ever keep us on that for very long since it's not a totally balanced diet in the sense that it's missing lots of nutrients. I've read lots of stuff about how using that diet temporarily  gives intestinal mucosa a chance to heal. There are lots of other heath issues out there where it would NOT be a good idea, but it works for us. And the 24 hour creepin' crud.

Besides, nobody likes poop festivals.

Monday, August 1, 2011

A Real Knee-slapper

I was at a church function minding my own business when yet another person found out what I did for a living and studied in college.

*Snort*

"Of course I really don't eat like this all the time, Sam." and he ribbed the next person in line at the potluck saying,"Watch out! Sam's a dietitian! Careful or she'll see what you're eating."He walked away chuckling and dramatically covering his paper plate full of potluck goodies with his hand.

It was then, with a spoonful of ice cream in my mouth, I resolved to start a blog. I needed a place to vent.

Dietitians are people too! Trust me. We get cravings and splurge and occasionally eat things we really know we shouldn't. The difference between us and the average population of America is that we could probably recite the biochemical properties of the food and tell you the latest studies about why it would be bad for us.

Plus, we use fancy words like glycosylated hemoglobin.


So, I thought some folks may find it helpful, er, um, entertaining, or even instructive if I include the great INTERNET in my life. I'll call it part journal experience and part therapeutic gripe session.

I've decided to share a variety of things on this blog. I'll post a weekly recipe that I like and why. Plus, I'll share my escapades as the wife of a 'nearly always broke' grad student, a Mom of a beautiful red headed daughter, and a little about life as a person who lives with a chronic disease.

I'll tell you more later about Hypoparathyroidism and the parathyroid gland: the worlds most under appreciated gland.

Most of all of this will revolve around food. Aaaah, food. I love it. There's so much to learn about it: how it metabolizes in our body, the nutrients it provides, how to get enough good food economically, the world of agribusiness. And the taste! Oh, the taste. There's a reason I became a dietitian. I. Love. Food.


So this blog will be a hodge podge of things as you can see. But most of all, it will be a reminder that dietitians are people, too.


So, good night for now. I've got the munchies and it's time to put my daughter, London, to bed.