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)
Monday, August 15, 2011
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
*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.
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