I love to listen to NPR (my kids, on the other hand, are less fond of this practice). 

Nonetheless, during a recent listen I learned of another fantastic book by Michael Pollan, “Food Rules“.  The food/eating/health advice that pummels all of us every day is enough to make most heads spin.  This book, however, breaks down the labyrinth into a manageable guide, one often so basic that I laugh to think I needed direction.  In case you don’t come across the book on your own, I’ll go ahead and share some of Pollan’s notions here.

Rule #1 – “Eat Food”.  Duh.  Not so easy though.  He makes a distinction between the plants, animals and fungi folks have been eating for centuries and the edible products dreamt up by food scientists, those WAY processed items with so many ingredients none of us would ever find in our own pantries (Ethoxylated diglycerides? Calcium propionate?).  He encourages us to note the difference between real food and “industrial novelties”. 

Basically, if a third grader can’t pronounce an ingredient, put the thing back on the shelf (although perhaps you have a very precocious third grader).

There is good news for families living in Massachusetts.

The Massachusetts legislature is nearing passage of a bill to ban high calorie sodas and salty and sugary snacks from elementary and high schools.  The House recently approved the bill, which also encourages schools to serve low fat dairy products and whole grain bread and pastas.  Governor Deval Patrick wants to take it one step further and start to tax candy and soda and funnel the extra revenue into health programs.

Great start!

So have you been hearing about quinoa (keenwah) lately?  It seems to be getting a ton of recent media coverage as a terrific seed/grain even though it’s been around for thousands of years.

Quinoa is a gluten-free grain related to spinach and beets.  It boasts all 9 essential amino acids (a fabulous choice for vegetarians seeking a complete protein!).  It’s great for heart health and is packed with vitamins and minerals, namely magnesium which is especially critical if you suffer from high blood pressure or migraine headaches.

Check out this video on how2heroes.com and learn a terrific recipe for quinoa!

Canned beans can be an excellent addition to your pantry.  They’re full of fiber, rich in nutrients, and you can eliminate most of the sodium in the canned versions by draining and rinsing the beans before using them. 

Enjoy this recipe for Bean Puree.  Serve it with chicken or fish, on toasted whole wheat bread, as a topping on a baked potato, or as a condiment on a sandwich.

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1/4 cup celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tsp dried herbs (sage, thyme or rosemary)

Two 15-oz cans beans (pinto, great northern, garbanzo, cannellini, black…), drained and rinsed

1 cup low-salt vegetable broth

Heat oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-high heat; add onion, celery, garlic, and dried herbs.  Reduce heat to low and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.  Increase heat to high and add beans and broth; bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low; cook until almost all liquid is absorbed, stirring often, about 20 minutes.  Puree mixture in processor.

Enjoy!

The phrase “all natural” is appearing on the packaging for more and more food products every day.  Such claims can be very compelling, but the astute shopper still needs to check out the nutrition label.  Products labeled “natural” or “organic” can still be full of sugar, fat and preservatives.

Here are a few points to consider as you roam up and down those aisles:

1. Bonnie Taub-Dix, MA, RD, CDN, national spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association, explains that when selecting free roaming or free range animal products, consumers are being told that the animal had access to open space not that the animal necessarily spent time outdoors.

2. Be sure to read the label on all those Low-Fat and Fat-Free products.  When fat is removed, food manufacturers often add high amounts of salt and/or sugar in order to make up for the changes in flavor and texture.  Sometimes that lower fat version may have more calories and junk than the original!

3. The pricey drinks we see now containing green tea, acai, pomegranate, etc. are often full of sugars and artificial sweeteners.  Instead, go to the source.  In season, a real pomegranate has greater nutritional benefits and is far cheaper than the beverage.  In general, when choosing between a juice that most likely contains added sugar and little fiber and an actual piece of fruit, go for the fruit itself.  You’ll get fiber, a greater feeling of fullness and fewer calories.

4. Granola – I do love the stuff, but check the label.  Most brands are marketed as all natural but are loaded with sugar, fat and calories – especially when you make note of the suggested serving size (often a mere quarter-cup!).  Instead go to the source once again.  Pick up some oatmeal and prepare it at home with fresh fruit or nuts.

5. Two more tricky ones – David Katz, MD, MPH, FACPM, FACP, cofounder and director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center, explains that some pasta sauces “have higher concentrations of added sugar than ice cream toppings” and that some breakfast cereals “have a higher concentration of salt than potato chips”.

So, read the labels to confirm or deny the “all natural” marketing language you find on food packaging.  You might surprise yourself.

I’m the first to admit I’m a bit of a techno-dolt.  I do, however, have enough common sense to surround myself with technologically gifted individuals (namely my own children) to help me in a bind.  New advancements are thrilling, no doubt, but there can certainly be down sides, especially if our health (physical and emotional) is at stake.

Take a look at this piece on Healthday.com.  Amanda Gardner hones in on how tools that can bless us with needed information also have the potential to fuel self-harming behaviors in some, specifically eating disorders.

A new year and a fresh look at the budget.

We all love the bulk buy and, if you’re like me, it just about KILLS you if some of that abundant purchase spoils before you have a chance to use it.  So, here are some tips for freezing some of that extra bounty so you can stretch your food budget – and eat well too!

1. Blanch your fresh veggies and THEN store in plastic bags in the freezer.  The blanching process helps the produce maintain its color, taste and mouth feel.

2. Nuts can go bad after a while in the pantry but can stay fresh and yummy for up to 6 months when frozen in freezer bags – great protein and unsaturated fats for another day.

3. If you’ve got fruit that’s about to go bad (think brown bananas in the bowl on the counter) puree it and freeze it in ice cube trays.  As you’ve heard me say time and time again they make great additions to smoothies, hot breakfast cereal AND baked goods (think Indigo Rabbit!)

4.  Tofu is even great frozen.  You can either drain, slice, wrap in plastic and freeze or simply toss the whole container in the freezer.  The resulting tofu will be great in stir-fries!

5. Eggs work great after being frozen as well.  Just store whites and yolks separately.

Oh, and remember to label everything.  You wouldn’t want to add thawed egg yolk to your morning yogurt thinking it’s a beautiful mango puree!

Okay I have a confession to make.

Vendors are often sending us samples of their products for us to evaluate for our business needs (http://indigorabbit.com).  Recently a company sent some fabulous dried vegetables in powder form.  While we enjoy working with them in the test kitchen, I made sure to set aside some of my favorites for personal use here at home.

Last night is when I achieved my first sneaky success.  It was pasta night at our house and my kids are huge parmesan cheese eaters.  I grabbed a hold of the powdered sweet potatoes I’d stowed in the pantry as they were the same color as our parmesan and had a mild enough taste for my plan to work.  I simply poured the powdered veggies into the 1/2 full cheese shaker, mixed it all up, and onto the table it went.

Wouln’t you know it?  I had everyone fooled!  Even my husband!!!

Kudos to me.  A sneaky success!

If you’re a parent you can certainly appreciate how challenging it can be to consistently promote healthy-er eating for your children. 

There are days when we stand on the top of that mountain, red cape whipping in the wind behind us, when less than a boat-load of sugar and/or additives have made their way past our kids’ lips.

Of course there are less heroic times when we let down our guard and just praise the fact that we’ve managed to “arrange for” something edible to be within kid-range a few times throughout the day – wholesome or not.

Bottom line – we live in a world where less-than-optimal choices for nourishment abound and we need all the help we can get when it comes to solidifying our efforts to raise healthy kids.  It seems that food marketing so often works against us. 

According to a recent piece in the Arizona Daily Star, while many food manufacturers have made strides toward marketing healthier food options to children, more than 70% of the food advertising aimed at youths is for the least nutrious foods.

I need a bigger cape.

It would be terrific if only the healthiest of healthy foods passed the lips of our children.  Let’s be honest, it would be terrific if we could claim that for ourselves.

In the real world we teach our kids about nutrition and, if we’re lucky, pass on an appreciation for the way the media tries to influence what we think about things.  It can be fun to challenge kids to figure out what ploys the advertisement writers are using to make kids feel they need to own, do, or eat the product-of-the-moment.

Take a look at this article about how Nickelodeon is getting bashed for providing air time to food manufacturers promoting less-than-optimal foods to our kids (please recognize my exceedingly diplomatic language).