Planning and Appreciation~

There are several daily habits that I am in the process of getting rid of.  Caffeine, which I rely on heavily, has to go.  Chronic dehydration is something I suffer from, an easily remedied problem that I commit to reversing by simply drinking more water.  Television is a time suck that I look forward to largely eliminating by practicing my guitar and writing down my thoughts.  I have also been feeling mentally lethargic lately, and thankfully school starts today which will help invigorate my mind.  As many of you do, I use Monday as a day to make plans and start fresh.  As I look at my own progress over the last year I see many prolonged stays at the "Going To" resort.  But if I look among the weeds and within the cracks, I see progress and success and am proud of my own accomplishments.

That is all.  My hope for you is that you find the time to eat and enjoy real, naturally occurring food.  That you find enough water to nourish your body with and you drink it.  That you give your vitamins their vitamins and feel well and healthy because of it.  And, because I may run into you in an unexpected place and reach out to welcomely embrace you, please remember to wash your hands.  May your Monday be full of planning, and appreciation for where you are starting from.

Anna~

This is Technically Only Five Paragraphs

This morning my daughter wandered into the kitchen with sleepy eyes, opened the fridge, squinted from the brightness inside, looked at me and said, "Mom, I don't think I have ever seen our fridge so empty." I agreed. We spent a long relaxing weekend in Maine, so last Friday morning the trash collector was gifted the leftovers from the fridge and the garbage disposal devoured the ends of salsa jars and lunch containers. (We unfortunately are not able to compost where we are.) Aside from a stray yogurt and a half an onion, the shelves are bare. But, before I go shopping, a menu must be concocted! Let's start with this:

ALE-BRAISED BRATWURST WITH GERMAN POTATO SALAD

Grab a couple bottles of beer and boil enough brats to feed your brats, and this recipe for German potato salad:

1 1/2 pound small red potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch-thick rounds
4 slices thick-cut bacon, about 1/3 pound
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup finely chopped chives

How?

Place sliced potatoes in cold salted water in a large pot and bring to a boil. Cook until fork tender, yet not so soft they fall apart, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
In a sauté pan, fry bacon until crisp. Crumble and set aside. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat. Over medium heat, whisk flour into the bacon fat and cook until thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in sugar and mustard, followed by water and vinegar. Cook, stirring frequently, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in potatoes and bacon and toss gently to coat.  Serve with Brats.

Nutritional Info:
PER SERVING: 500 calories (140 from fat), 16g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 90mg cholesterol, 310mg sodium, 46g carbohydrate (dietary fiber, sugar), 31g protein.

(Recipe from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/ale-braised-bratwurst-german-potato-salad)

Okay, so you all know how much I love sausage, and since it's fall, potato salad seems the perfect pairing.  But, you can also tell there are calories and fat and carbs in this meal, not to mention salt, and that combination may be a little too aggressive for some to digest.  I understand if you are confused by this meal choice.  For me, my growing family and athletic lifestyle, this meal serves many needs: fuel, fat, nutrition, flavor, and simplicity.  For some of you, cholesterol rich foods and fat calories may be a bit over the top.  This may be a better fit:

BETTER THAN CHICKEN SOUP

1 small yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, sliced
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
8 fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced
4 cups low-sodium mushroom, vegetable or chicken broth
1 1/2 cup julienned fresh kale
1 cup cubed butternut squash
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
6 slices astragalus root (optional)
1 fresh lemon, Juice of
1 teaspoon miso

Method: 

In a sauce pot over medium-high heat, saute onion and garlic in oil 3 minutes. Add turmeric and mushrooms. Saute 2 minutes. Add broth, kale, squash, ginger, cayenne and astragalus. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool slightly, add lemon juice and miso (adding miso when still very hot will diminish its probiotic benefits). Cover and let sit 5 minutes before serving.

Nutritional Info:
PER SERVING: 90 calories (5 from fat), 0.5g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 160mg sodium, 19g carbohydrate (6g dietary fiber, 5g sugar), 2g protein
(Recipe from http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipe/better-chicken-soup)

It is important to remember that each person, each family, has different nutritional needs. Where we need more fat, more fuel, more electrolytes, and more calories because we are very active and have growing chickens (if you can call them kids, I can call them chickens), some need less fat and calories and more nutrients to support weight loss or cholesterol reduction. May I suggest we all eat real, naturally occurring foods, drink plenty of water, give our vitamins their vitamins, and remember to wash our hands. Our diets may not be the same, but the foundation should be made of food~  What is the definition of food again?

Anna~

For Weekend Digestion

I only have five paragraphs, so instead of writing my thoughts today, I am going to rely on some images to illustrate more on oils.  These images were found from other sources (my apologies and appreciation for it at once) and break oils apart nutritionally.  Bar graphs show healthy benefits of oils and the not so healthy accompaniments.  Here is what you need to remember:  Saturated fat is bad for your body; monounsaturated fat is good; high omega-3 fatty acids is good (the body cannot make them); high omega-6 fatty acids is bad (your body makes these all by itself, omega fatty acids need to be balanced).

Remember to eat real food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins and, as always, remember to wash your hands.

Anna~

Oil.

Oils.  We know them.  Rachael talks about EVOO, cakes ask for vegetable oil, dressing requires an oil, as does mayonnaise, and we grease our pans and irons with oil.  My counter is dressed with four different cooking oils at all times, they are never moved from beside the stove, for use multiple times a day.  "Why oil?"  And, maybe more importantly, "What oil?"

Oil is a fat.  Because we have talked about fat we know that it contains 9 calories per gram and should represent less than 35% of our diet.  We also know there are liquid fats, solid fats, animal fats, plant fats which fall into categories such as saturated, unsaturated, hydrogenated, trans, etc., fat.  Oil, mainly a plant  or vegetable fat, is liquid at room temperature, provides omega-3 and other essential fatty acids, and delivers monounsaturated (good) fats to the body.  Olive oil contains flavanoids, macadamia oil contains antioxidants, coconut oil is low in omega 6 but high in lauric acid. Using a variety of oils means you get a variety of benefits, benefits not present in animal fats and oils.

So, "What oil?"
*Not all oils are created equal.  When choosing an oil, find the words 'expeller pressed' or 'fist cold pressed'; this means the oils were extracted with pressure instead of a chemical exchange.
*Oils, no matter the variety, should also be organic.  Non-organic plants are blanketed with herbicides and pesticides.  When the berry or fruit is pressed to release the oil the internal herbicides and residual pesticides flow with it.  When you consume the oil you then consume the chemicals.  Choose organic.
*You also need to make sure the oil on the label is the oil in the bottle.  Some oils are mixed with filler oils (cheaper) and you may be duped into thinking you are eating something you are not.  Looking at the ingredient list may not suffice here, for some filler oils are not listed (and don't need to be), but there might be a quality seal present.
*A Non-GMO (genetically modified organism) label or claim is important as well.

I cannot possibly capture and explain all of the oils in two or three paragraphs but I found a great chart online that does. Thanks to eatingRULES.com, I now have a greater understanding of how some oils compare to others.  It's called the Cooking Oils Comparison Chart.  Click the link, print it out and place it on your fridge.  Great learning tool, great cooking guide, great advice and comparison chart!

Eat real, delicious, naturally occurring food, drink plenty of water, give your vitamins their vitamins, and, as always, remember to wash your hands.  I will soon further our education on oil.  Hydrogenated?  Saturated?  Refined?  It's worth a second look.  The investigation continues...

Anna~

Even I Can't Find a Replacement for Sausage

This morning we woke late so instead of rushing the kids to pack their own lunch I scampered through the kitchen to assemble their meals myself.  Grapes, peanuts, yogurt, roast chicken and cheese sandwiches on bakery bread, a tall water bottle and love.  I consider our selections pretty healthy, but if I look I can see salt, if I scrutinize I can see sugar, if I wonder I can see white flour and processed meat. I was recently approached to answer the question, "What should I pack my kids for lunch?" and I offered an extensive list, but I do realize adding foods together to make lunch can be tricky.

The go-to for lunch is a sandwich.  Peanut butter and jelly, ham and cheese, and BLT's; a few different food groups represented between two pieces of bread.  To make sure your sandwich isn't a processed mess, read your labels.  The big brand peanut butter adds hydrogenated oils to avoid separation; sugar and salt are also added to the paste.  Instead of getting a relatively good source of protein, you get a good dose of sugar, a nice dent in your sodium requirement and a dose of hydrogenated oil (I will dissect oils tomorrow if you are wondering why this is concerning).

Peanuts are a very nutritious food, so please do not beleive that I am suggesting peanuts or beloved butter is bad for you.  One quarter cup of peanuts have 35% of your daily value of manganese which your body needs in order to: utilize biotin, thiamin, ascorbic acid, and choline; enhance bone strength; synthesize fatty acids and cholesterol; maintain normal blood sugar levels; promote optimal function of your thyroid gland; maintain nerve health; protect your cells from free-radical damage.  Peanuts also provide tryptophan, folate, copper, protein and vitamin B3.  Peanut butter is a good food choice, but make sure your label reads more like this:

And what about lunch meat?  Is eating salt cured ham a good choice?  What about a football sized chicken breast pumped full with brine to add flavor?  How about salami and other loaf meats and sausages?  I am a sucker for sausage, as are most Wisconsinites, but are they good for me?  Some research says that adding deli meat to your diet keeps portion size low and adds protein to any sandwich, but the reality is, "No."  A natural chicken breast is about 5 ounces, a natural turkey breast is about 9 ounces. If you wish for a roast turkey sandwich, buy a free range bird, roast it with your favorite veggies and herbs, slice it thin and put it on a great piece of bread.  (Honestly though, even I can't find a replacement for sausage;-)  Detour around the deli and head to the butcher in stead.  If you are going to eat meat try for all you're worth to eat the real thing.

It is a simple concept, I know, to eat real food, to drink plenty of water and to give your vitamins their vitamins. But it is difficult to live and practice this simple concept with all of the sugared, salted, brined, enriched, processed foods that are marketed as 'natural', 'healthy' and 'good'.  The best way to know you are getting natural, healthy, good food is to choose the foods without the labels.  After you shop, before you eat, remember to wash your hands.  See you tomorrow~