Fall Favorites

 First of all, I would like to show you all the crazy phenomenon that is my yard right now. We have had some nasty, rainy, gloomy weather for about a week straight and my yard is now a field of mushrooms. I've never seen anything like it. At first I thought our house was sitting on something really weird and gross but then I heard on the radio that the mushrooms are everywhere. I took the time to look around and they are - in fact - everywhere; so now I don't feel so bad. 

I've never seen mushrooms grow like this before! But they spring up within a day or two and so I'm out pulling them by hand (yuck!) three times a week so the dogs don't eat them. Luckily the dogs only seem to like things they can actually play with like sticks or squirrels , so the mushrooms don't seem to interest them but I'm not going to take chances. 

This is the neighbor's yard and they have just as many so I don't feel like I'm the only one with a rotting yard. I did find out that my mushrooms are growing off the roots of a dead tree stump so until we get that removed, the yard dries up or it freezes, we have a mushroom farm. 

Now to the fun fall things. First up: Butternut squash. It comes around every fall and you either love it, hate it, or don't know what to do with it. 

It's pretty easy, inexpensive and makes a unique side dish. If you're unfamiliar with it, butternut squash is firm until cooked (think: potato) and has a slightly sweet but mild taste.

All you have to do is cut in in half, and bake at 400 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes. Once it's cool enough to touch, peel it and gut it out (the round part has seeds like a pumpkin). 

You can serve it in slices, or mashed up. It's really good with a little butter and cinnamon and a few roasted nuts if you're feeling adventurous. Pureed it makes a great thick soup for a chilly day. 

I have a second food culprit for today. It is the signature of fall for many people: the pumpkin spice latte, "pumpkin pie in a cup".  A Starbucks 12 oz Pumpkin Spice Latte has 300 calories, and 38 grams of sugar. Not to mention the artificial flavorings and modified food products used for the pumpkin sauce, it all just seemed a little less appetizing (ingredients listed here; pumpkin, ironically, is not an ingredient). Not to mention the $4+ it costs for a single drink when you can make it at home for about $.90 or about $.60 if you don't use organic. (Yes, I did the math!)

There are a ton of recipes for similar drinks out there and it really comes down to taste. Some people like it sweeter, some people like it spicier, some people like it more pumpkin-y. Here's one I've used for the past few days so modify it to your heart's content!

What You Need:

• Canned pure pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• Milk product of choice 
• Sweetener of choice (sugar, agave nectar, stevia, honey)
• Cinnamon, Pumpkin Pie Spice, Nutmeg, Allspice (or any combination of similar spices)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 oz espresso or 4 oz strong regular coffee

What To Do:

1. In a saucepan heat 6 oz of water if you're using espresso or 4 oz water if you're using coffee. Bring to a boil.
2. Add 1/4 cup pumpkin puree and stir until dissolved. 
3. Add 1-2 tbsp of sweetener to taste (obviously less if you're using stevia, use your judgement).
4. Add vanilla and your spices to taste. I don't measure anything but it's probably 1/4 tsp each of cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and nutmeg and just a sprinkle of allspice. Clove would probably be good here too, I'd just keep adding them and tasting it until it's where you want it. 
5. Once the spices are dissolved, add 1 cup of your favorite milk product. I like unsweetened organic soy. 
6. Reduce the heat and add your coffee/espresso. 
7. Here is where I finish but it does not yield a frothy latte. You can toss the whole thing in a blender to froth it up, or give it a few stirs with a handheld milk frother. Top with whipped cream and spices if you like and enjoy!

Put the extra pumpkin in a container and store it in the fridge to use the rest of the week. Or use it for yummy pumpkin muffins or pumpkin bread!

The Skinny on Fat

Along with many other things in the American diet, I think we need to reevaluate the role fat plays in our lives. It came to my attention yesterday when I heard a girl comment on how disgusting her friend’s protein shake was because he added peanut butter to it. I could understand if you didn’t like peanut butter, but she said it had too much fat. 

She commented on how high in calories it was because of the peanut butter. He responded with the fact that he wasn’t worried about the calories because they were healthy calories and he had run 8.5 miles that morning. I silently agreed with the man, and laughed to myself as the girl went on about how high in fat and oil the peanut butter was. I finally said: but it’s good fat. She replied: it’s still fat. So today I would like to present to you the skinny on fat.

I read somewhere that, "eating fat does not turn into fat in your body the same way that eating brains will not make you smarter." It sounds pretty simple since most people wouldn't eat brains, but why does fat get that bad rap?

All fats are not created equal. Just like carbs, there are beneficial fats and detrimental fats. In general, “bad” fats are the ones you find in processed foods: french fries, candy bars, ice cream, etc. “Good” fats are the ones you’ll find in pure, natural foods: nuts, pure nut and plant oils, fish, and vegetables like avocados and olives. Pretty simple, right?

Healthy fats benefit you. Unsaturated (monounsaturated and polyunsaturated) fats and Omega-3 fats provide great benefits to your body. They help regulate your blood sugar, improve your mood and cognitive function, protect your joints and nourish your skin. It has been proven that two servings of fatty nuts can alleviate mild depression. Most of these are best eaten raw, though. Even oils commonly used for cooking such as olive and canola are no longer beneficial once exposed to heat. These work best at low heat or when used as a salad dressing. 

Eliminate trans fats and saturated fats. Things that are processed, pre packaged or deep fried usually contain one or both of these types of fat. If you're worried about the fat from adding some avocado to your burrito, you might want to worry more about the lard in the tortilla. High fat meat and dairy also fall into these categories.

Read labels: anything “hydrogenated” is not going to benefit you. This process takes fats and infuses them with hydrogen to make them more shelf stable. This process makes the products difficult to digest triggering an array of problems from heart disease to cancer. The maximum daily amount of trans fats anyone should consume is 2 grams, but the FDA only requires labeling if the product contains more than .5 grams per serving. Considering this, a person could consume 4 servings of things claiming to have “0 grams trans fat per serving” and reach or exceed the healthy limit without knowing it. This is why it is so important to read the ingredients on packaged foods. If it has no package (i.e. fresh produce, nuts, beans, etc.) it’s probably free of bad fats.

Pair fats with carbs. WHAT!?!? No, we’re not talking donuts, here. We’re talking fruits, vegetables and whole grains - duh! Simple sugars are absorbed into the bloodstream very quickly, but pairing a simple sugar (like fruit) with a healthy fat (like nuts) lowers the glycemic index of the food helping your body absorb it more slowly and providing you with a steady stream of energy for longer.  So add some peanut butter to your protein shake, all fats are not created equal.

More information on good vs. bad fats. 

30 Days

Vegetarian for 30 Days. This is the new experiment going on at our house. I thought it would be interesting to see if we noticed any changes after avoiding meat for one month straight, and we could experiment with different recipes, too.When I proposed this to my husband, I told him that I would like to try it, I didn't expect him to. He said he was all for it. Cool.

I have been reading about how minimizing meat consumption can increase energy, and of course save money, so what do we have to lose?!

Dinner for Day 1was Moroccan Stew.

Ingredients:

• Potatoes
• Butternut Squash
• Bell Pepper
• Onion
• Carrots
• Tomatoes 
• 2 Cups Vegetable Broth

You will also need:

• Saffron
• Fennel
• Cloves
• Parsley
• Allspice
• Garlic
• Paprika
• Cinnamon
• Peppercorn
• Coriander
• Ginger
• Cumin

In a large stock pot or dutch oven, heat a little olive oil and simmer the onions with a 1/4 tsp each of garlic, paprika, cinnamon, and saffron.

Mix together equal parts (about 1/4 tsp) cumin, fennel, peppercorn, allspice, clove, coriander and ginger; mix into vegetable broth. Coat vegetables evenly with broth and spice mixture. Cover and simmer until vegetables are tender, 20- 25 minutes. Garnish with Parsley.

"So... What Do You Eat?"

Oddly enough, I get that question often. My friends, family and co-workers understand that I am health conscious and make an effort to bring whole nutrition to every meal. I limit my processed food intake which is easier than most people think - it's just different. To answer some questions, I am going to attempt to explain what I eat to show people that eating healthy isn't a burden.


1. "It's not a diet, but a lifestyle." I didn't make this change overnight. I hate when people see you eating healthy or buying fresh produce and they say "You're being so good" or " I should really go on a diet." Everything you eat is part of your diet. It's your choice if it's a nutritious one or not. A weight-loss diet usually means cutting out things like fat, carbs, sugar, etc. to stimulate the metabolism. The problem is that it's not permanent or maintainable. Once you reach your fitness goal and return to your "pre-diet" diet, you fall back to square one.

It's important to make changes that are maintainable. You cannot live the rest of your life without any carbohydrates or drinking nothing but fruit juice and weight loss shakes. Your body is your most powerful tool, don't you want to fuel it properly?

2. Life is about balance. If you can balance your energy equally between, work, your personal life, and your spiritual life, health will come. If you can find balance emotionally, you will be able to balance your nutrition, too.

Balance of nutrition comes in meal planning. Macaroni and cheese is not a meal. Every meal should be a mixture of fat, protein, and complex carbohydrates. There are many books and websites to help you find this information: educate yourself.

Good fat comes from nuts, oils, seafood and seeds.

Protein comes from meat, beans, dairy, tofu and whole grains.

Complex carbohydrates are whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Brown rice, quinoa, oats, sweet potatoes and all vegetables are great complex carbohydrates. They break down slowly, stabilizing blood sugar.

Avoid chemicals. Preservatives, synthetic coloring, pesticides and stabilizers offer no nutritional value. They also are not easily broken down in our bodies, if at all. When these are ingested our bodies waste precious time and energy trying to make use out of them instead of extracting nutrients to fuel our organs, regulate our blood sugar and fight diseases. Give your body a break, it works hard. This is easily done by buying foods without packaging (i.e. fresh) and reading the labels on your packaged food. The one with the least "fake" ingredients is going to be the best; even if it's not the lowest in fat, sugar, calories or carbohydrates.

3. Be prepared. It sounds dumb but if you have a plan, ordering pizza and pulling in a drive thru won't happen. Keep a healthy snack handy. Fruits like apples, oranges, and bananas keep well at room temperature. A few nuts will give your brain a boost with protein and healthy fats. Some packaged nutrition bars like Cliff of Kind bars are good in a pinch. Beware of foods like yogurt and granola bars that seem healthy but are loaded with processed sugar. Keeping water on hand will keep you away from the soda machine.

Every week, we started making a "menu." We pick out five recipes for dinner for the week and use those to make our grocery list. We found that five allows for structure, but also some freedom if we decide to go out one night or have left overs. We have all the ingredients and a written plan so there's no excuse to eat junk.

Breakfast items we always keep on hand include fresh fruit, bread for sandwiches or toast, eggs, and steel cut oats.

We save money by buying our fresh produce at the local farmer's market, and what we can't buy fresh we buy frozen. I don't like cans because there is some sketchy findings in the BPA lining used in tin cans. When we do buy things like applesauce or pasta sauce we use glass containers which are also recyclable in our area.

Here is a copy of one of our weekly menus to get an idea of what meals in our house look like. I don't eat much meat so often times we cook the meat separate and he will have the meat and I will have beans or tofu. All our pasta and rice is whole grain and we use organic milk and yogurt.

Meal	Ingredients	Prepare
Spring Chicken Salad	onion red potatoes plain greek yogurt lettuce cucumber radishes bell pepper chicken or beans	Boil potatoes until tender, drain and cool Grill the chicken Chop the onion, and mix with yogurt, vinegar, salt and pepper for a dressing Toss together the lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and bell pepper and top with dressing, and chicken or beans
Vegetable Enchiladas	tortillas onion bell peppers mushrooms zucchini black beans cheese enchilada sauce	Preheat oven to 400 Combine onion, chopped pepper, mushrooms, zucchini, beans, cheese and half the enchilada sauce Fill tortillas and roll up, topping with remaining sauce and a little cheese bake 15 minutes
Pasta with Broccoli Pesto	Pasta broccoli pistachios parmesan cheese cottage cheese	Puree broccoli and pistachios with parmesan in the food processor until smooth Add the cottage cheese and pulse until combined Cook pasta Top pasta with pesto and garnish with salt, pepper, parmesan and olive oil
Steak and mashed potatoes	steak tofu potatoes chicken  green beans milk	marinate and grill steak and tofu peel and boil potatoes until tender, add milk and butter and mash to desired consistency steam green beans until tender season and serve
Roasted veggies and Potatoes	Red potatoes carrots brussels sprouts radishes	Preheat oven to 400 Toss veggies, potatoes and olive oil, coating evenly Sprinkle with oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, salt and pepper roast for 35 - 40 minutes

Low Fat Chocolate Brownies

This entry isn’t as all-natural whole food-y as I like to be but it’s a quick and easy favorite. We love our chocolate and nothing beats a warm, gooey, fudge brownie when the craving hits. You can probably make these from scratch but sometimes it’s nice to be lazy. What we do is bake brownie mix without the oil. Good oil in small amounts is very healthy but a typical 120 calorie serving is only a tablespoon. When your brownie mix calls for a half cup of oil, you’re looking at almost 1,000 calories of pure fat. What we do is skip the oil and substitute it. We’ve used many substitutes but the one we used today is natural unsweetened applesauce. It works to bind the ingredients together while keeping the brownies moist. 

We started with a basic box of brownie mix that called for 1/2 cup oil, 1/4 cup water, and 2 eggs. We mixed the brownie mix with the 1/4 cup of water but instead of adding 1/2 cup of oil we added 1/2 cup of applesauce. Don’t worry, it doesn’t make the brownies taste like apples! 

You could use the eggs or egg whites but we used egg protein powder instead for an additional nutrition boost. We just mixed one scoop protein powder with an extra 1/4 cup of water.

We mixed it all together and poured into a greased brownie pan and baked according to the directions. It took about 45 minutes to cook and we let it cool 10 minutes before serving. You’ll know they're done when you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean. 

The brownies turned out great! They baked up a lot - almost like a cake. They were chocolatey and moist so we didn’t miss the oil or eggs at all. 

A few other concoctions to try is mixing the brownie mix with a can of diet soda. We’ve done this with ginger ale and they turned out well but personally we’re more likely to have the applesauce on hand than soda. We’ve also used brownie mix and a can of low sodium black beans. These are personally my favorite! They have more calories than using applesauce and water but they are packed with fiber, fairly high in protein and are super fudge-y. 

	Prepared as directed	Prepared with substitutions
Calories	283	196
Fat	14.5 g	4 g
Carbs	38 g	39 g
Sugar	26 g	27 g
Protein	1	3.6
Fiber	0	1

These stats are comparing the package to our substitutes. The applesauce does add a little sugar and therefore a little more carbs. If you're diabetic you'll want to look elsewhere because the bulk of the sugar is in the mix already. The mix also considered a serving 1/20th of the pan. In our 8 x 8 inch pan 1/20th would be a mouse bite! These calculations are for a more generous 1/12th pan serving. You could also experiment with nuts, fruit, oatmeal, peanut butter, different batters the possibilities are numerous. Bring these to your next get together and no one will believe they’re low fat!

Pass the Water, Please

Today I sit writing to you, drinking a cup of one of my favorite organic chamomile teas. I enjoy tea and sometimes drink 4 or 5 cups a day. Tea has many health benefits and since most herbal teas contain no caffeine, I contribute them to my daily water consumption. I’ve always preferred plain water over any other beverage but our local water has an annoying sulfuric smell and taste. When I moved here I stopped drinking water because it tasted so bad. I bought bottled water because I felt it was the only way I could deal with it but I hate the waste of bottled water. I’d go through a minimum of 3 bottles a day! We rent an apartment so we’re not investing in any fancy water system so I attached a faucet filter and during the day I flavor some of my water with an array of herbal tea. 

What sparked my thoughts on water was a conversation we had at dinner tonight with some friends. My husband and I each ordered a glass of water to have with dinner, while a friend of ours ordered beer. The friend asked why my husband ordered a water and he said it was because he was thirsty. The friend replied jokingly that the beer would quench his thirst just as well. My husband said, “I drink a lot of water, it’s good for you.” His friend replied that he doesn’t ever drink water. He drinks beer, and soda. I kept my mouth closed because it’s rude to lecture - er, educate - your friends at dinner, but NO water!? I love my water! So this post (and probably several to follow) is dedicated to: our good friend, H2O.

Basics

It is pretty common knowledge that your body is almost 70% water. My bathroom scale even measures my hydration level. Water is the base of nutrition for all living things. To function, your body needs water to regulate everything from temperature to nourishing your organs, removing waste and protecting your joints (about.com/hydrationwater). 

Your body loses water naturally so throughout the day you must consume water to replenish it. Some substances such as caffeine and alcohol dehydrate you further so you need to drink more water to make up for it. 

The average person should drink roughly half their body weight (pounds) in water (ounces). This contradicts the old saying of eight (8 oz) glasses per day. According to the weight rule, this would only be enough if you were around 130 lbs. Some of the water we use comes from food we eat - primarily fruits and vegetables. No, you can’t count your fast food apple turnover as a serving of fruit. Other elements such as sodium  are hydrophilic and retain water. This causes instant bloating and weight gain from the extra water. How do you get rid of water weight? Drink more water!

Illnesses and Cures

Dehydration comes in many forms. Mild dehydration can cause cramps, bloating, headache, joint or muscle pain and fatigue. Severe dehydration can accompany many other illnesses or cause other symptoms. Consuming enough water will help your body function at its best and prevent common ailments such as arthritis, back pain, heartburn,  migraines, colitis, asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol (WaterCure). Millions of people are on prescription medication for these conditions - many of these are side effects of prescription medications! If you knew you could prevent them or reverse them, wouldn’t you? It seems like many of the conditions that plague us today are affects of the highly processed, sugar and sodium laden, nutritionally void foods that are sold to us. It’s an easy fix, we just need to 1. Care, and 2. Educate ourselves to improve our health for future generations, it’s simple. We can start by drinking water. 

So this is my challenge to all the water haters out there to incorporate more H2O into your diet. You could start small, maybe replacing some of the soda you drink with water, or just add an extra glass or two in when you wake up or before bed. You’ll be doing yourself a favor with immediate results and lasting benefits. Maybe you’ll learn to like it!