I used to be a person that didn't worry too much about what was in my food or in the products I used every day. I didn't educate myself on the toxins in the environment and thought people who only ate organic or lived "naturally" were being overly cautious. I didn't allow things to upset me or make me anxious in this area of my life. Even while I was pregnant with my first child I only limited the essential things the doctors told me to limit, such as deli meats, fish with mercury, or drinking alcohol. However, I had a friend that was much more cautious during her pregnancy and afterwards and I thought she was being silly staying away from nitrates in bacon for example or only buying her baby organic baby food or not buying Johnson and Johnson products because of what she heard was in them. Well, I am here to say that all that "silliness" is a reality and one that I wish we were all more aware of in America.
So, what has changed? Well, I started reading these blogs and learning about what is really in our foods. In the beginning I focused only on food, but recently I have started delving into the world of beauty products and household products. Do you remember the movie, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland where she goes down the rabbit hole? Well, that is what it feels like every day I learn something new. Honestly, buying organic and more natural, real food is so different. These are not the brands I grew up around and that has made shopping more difficult. I feel like it takes me so much longer to know what I need to buy and then read labels to see what is actually in the foods I want for my family. Having lived in California for a few years I had shopped at Whole Foods and Trader Joes. These stores offer some good choices for eating real food, but not everything in the store is "real food". So, you still have to read the labels and know what you are buying. Check out Food Babe's article on 100 Days of Real Food.
My first time back in Whole Foods since beginning this journey I was so overwhelmed. I went there because they had organic whole chickens on sale for a very low price. I told Kim I was going to check it out and when I got there I felt anxious and overwhelmed. I walked around the store looking at everything. They have a wonderful selection of fresh fruits and vegetables. They also have some great meat options and a beautiful deli area with a salad bar. However, I had no idea what to buy and like I said these products and brands were not what I grew up eating or buying. So, I went to look for the chicken. All I could find were very expensive chicken packages that said "Organic" or "All Natural". Then there were these whole chickens (which I had never bought before) and they were so small. I was used to buying chicken breasts that were twice the size of the whole chicken, so I left the store with nothing. Then, one day I was comparing the organic chicken breasts to the regular ones at my local grocery store and I realized the difference in the sizes of the breasts. It finally dawned on me that the reason those whole chickens were so small was because they were not being pumped full of growth hormones. I continued to do my research and read about what happens to our chickens and cows and why they need so many antibiotics due to their living conditions. Well, I have not braved the movies dedicated to revealing these truths yet. I am scared to watch these documentaries, because I'm afraid I will never eat meat again and my husband would be very upset with me. He is already having a hard time with all the changes I am making around the house. Here are some of the documentaries I have on my list to watch; Food, Inc and Fresh. One day when I am brave enough to watch these I will tell you my thoughts and what happens in our household. For now, I will continue reading my books and blogs.
So, now I am committed to buying only organic chicken and grass fed beef. We are planning to buy a portion of a cow in the near future and I will talk more about what I have learned and will continue to learn about that part of my journey soon. We are waiting to get back from vacation to buy a deep freezer to hold all the food. I also need to learn how to freeze things appropriately so I can buy fruits and vegetables in season and use them throughout the year. Just another goal on my journey. However, when it comes to my daughter, which is why I started the journey down the rabbit hole, I am committed to only buying her organic foods or ones that I know of their origin, such as local farms or my own back yard. Now that she is eating all table foods I have to be more diligent about reading labels and researching the brands I buy that are packaged. Honestly, I would love to eat only fresh foods that don't come in a box, but being a working mother it is difficult and tiring to always make sure everything is fresh on the dinner table. We are doing well with our produce box, but it amazes me how quickly things go bad that don't have pesticides on them. It really does take a lot of planning to know what you are getting in your box each week and then make plans to use those ingredients in meals within the time frame before they all become rotten. This is something I have not conquered yet, but I am still learning.
So, for all those mothers out there, please help me with any easy suggestions you have on preparing healthy meals that are quick. I don't know about you, but I would rather spend my evening playing with my daughter then spend it all night in the kitchen preparing a meal. Please share your wisdom with me.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Skinny Lasagna Rolls Recipe
courtesy of Skinny Ms website
This is a great family dinner recipe (thanks Kim for the suggestion). My husband made it for Mother's Day with a nice Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Feta Cheese. It was so good! Now, I know I just talked about cutting out low-fat options, well we replace those with the whole fat ingredients. We also use organic spinach and kale for this recipe and I try to buy as many organic cheese options as I can find. The points for Weight Watchers are more, but it is still a great recipe the whole family loved.
This is a great family dinner recipe (thanks Kim for the suggestion). My husband made it for Mother's Day with a nice Arugula Salad with Strawberries and Feta Cheese. It was so good! Now, I know I just talked about cutting out low-fat options, well we replace those with the whole fat ingredients. We also use organic spinach and kale for this recipe and I try to buy as many organic cheese options as I can find. The points for Weight Watchers are more, but it is still a great recipe the whole family loved.
10 servings | Cals: 240 | Pro: 15 g | Carbohydrates: 25 g | Fat: 8.5 g | Saturated fat: 3.5 g | Cholesterol: 18 mg | Fiber: 5 g | Sugar: 4 g | Sodium: 460 mg | PointsPlus: 6 | PreviousPoints: 5 |
Ingredients
- 10 whole wheat lasagna noodles, cooked to al dente (about 8 minutes), well drained
- 1 (24 ounce) jar marinara sauce (no sugar added, I like Ragu Lite or Amy's Pasta Sauce)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 6 cups baby spinach, loosely packed and chopped well
- 1 cup low-fat ricotta cheese
- 1 1/2 cups part-skim, shredded mozzarella
- 1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese (small curd if possible)
- 1 egg white
- 1 teaspoon dried oregano
- Kosher or sea salt to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Add 1 1/4 cups marinara to a 13" x 9" x 2" casserole dish.
In a large skillet, add oil and heat to medium-low heat. Saute garlic until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add chopped spinach and saute until wilted, about 3 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl, combine garlic, spinach, ricotta, 1 cup mozzarella, cottage cheese, egg white, oregano, salt and pepper.
On a work surface, lined with parchment paper, arrange lasagna noodles flat, add 1/4 cup cheese and spinach mixture to each noodle, spread evenly to cover noodles. Start rolling the noodle at the end closest to you. Place lasagna rolls seam side down, not quite touching, in the prepared casserole dish. Evenly spread 1 cup marinara over rolls, sprinkle with remaining mozzarella and parmesan.
Cover with aluminum foil and bake 20 minutes, or until cheese is hot and bubbly. If desired, serve rolls with additional heated marinara.
Slow Cooker Skinny Applesauce Recipe
Slow Cooker Skinny Applesauce
(courtesy of Skinny Ms website)
I love this recipe for my daughter. It doesn't have any added sugar like other homemade applesauce recipes I have seen. I only use organic apples in the recipe because it is on the top of the dirty dozen list. It is delicious and so easy to make. I usually make a batch on Sunday's for the week.
Ingredients
- 6 Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
- 6 sweet apples, peeled and cored (good choices are gala, honey crisp, pink lady, or red delicious)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of nutmeg
Directions
Add all the above ingredients to the slow cooker, cover and cook on low 6-8 hours. Serve warm or chilled. We used a 5 quart slow cooker for this recipe but 4 or 6 quart will work.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Low-fat, Fat-free, Diet Craziness
Last week I talked about how my journey began. Well, now I want to get into more of the details of what I have been learning these past few months. I said I would talk today about the diet foods I thought were helping me to lose weight. Well, I am here to tell you that this is a fallacy. I know this from my personal experience of many years of trying to lose weight as well as what I have been reading lately.
It's hard for me to know where to start in this story. I guess the best place is to review what I have been taught. So, when I was growing up I ate a lot of sweets, processed and fast foods. Well, as I got older I thought by changing my diet to the low-fat, fat-free or diet options that I would be doing myself a service in keeping the weight off. I know some people say that no matter what, as we age we will continue to put on weight because our metabolism slows. I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist, but I can tell you that no matter what I did the scale continued to rise. The final straw was after I had my baby, I was at a weight I never thought I would know and that is when I knew something would have to change. As I talked about in another blog, I tried Weight Watchers and although that helped it didn't solve the problem. I still craved sweets and I continued to drink my diet soda, I just ate less food. I did lose my baby weight I gained from the pregnancy, but that was all. My goal was to lose another 25 pounds, but I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I quickly learned that not all food is created equal.
So, one day my daughter's nanny, Kim, and I were talking about food and she referred me to this website called 100 Days of Real Food. I read through the website and thought it would be a good idea, but I just wasn't quite ready for that big of a step. What I did like was some smaller steps you could take to learn about processed foods and how to cut them out of your diet. I found this mini food pledge on cutting out low-fat, diet foods and I started there. Although I haven't completed any of the challenges, I decided that cutting back on some of these foods would be a good step in the right direction. In the past few weeks I have thought more seriously about trying the mini pledges in their entirety, but my husband is not on board. Hopefully there will be more to come of that in the near future.
Did you know that the artificial sweeteners used in diet foods actually make you want more? Here is an excerpt from the Food Babe's website. "That’s right – consuming artificial sweeteners actually increases your appetite. Think about it – when someone consumes something that is sweet, but it has little to no calories – their brain receives a signal to want more calories because their body is not actually getting any energy (i.e. enough calories) to get satisfied. So that person keeps looking for gratification elsewhere and ends up craving more." That was me! I never understood why I craved so much sweet food, but it makes sense. The article is actually talking about Coca-Cola specifically, but there is some really good information about what artificial ingredients can do to our brains and therefore to our bodies. So, I finally cut out the soda, diet and all. I used to drink at least one if not two to three diet drinks a day. I do still drink coffee, but that is another step for another day (because it is not organic and there are lots of flavorings in it. Starbucks anyone?).
As I continued to learn about why processed food is not good for us, I decided it was time to clean out my pantry. My volunteer organization, the Junior Woman's Club of Raleigh, was supporting the Interfaith Food Shuttle this year through our donations and fund-raising efforts. I bought extra canned and boxed goods while they were on sale and by using my new coupon skills. Well, one night I decided I had enough of all this artificial, processed food in my house and I gathered three large bags of food to give to a food bank. I know some people will say that I shouldn't give away food that I don't want my family to eat, but honestly we all know that not everyone believes the same things and I will leave it at that. Now, I try to educate myself on what I am buying. I read labels, try to follow some of the 100 days of real food suggestions on 5 ingredients or less. I also have cut out the diet drinks and low-fat options in my foods. I started buying organic foods more often and have found that although it is more expensive, I don't spend as much money on groceries because we eat less now and I don't buy as much processed food. Another important lesson I have learned and am still learning about is the GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in our food. More to come on these topics in the coming weeks.
Please share any other resources you may have that shreds light on this topic. I am still learning and would love some other websites, blogs or news articles about this topic.
It's hard for me to know where to start in this story. I guess the best place is to review what I have been taught. So, when I was growing up I ate a lot of sweets, processed and fast foods. Well, as I got older I thought by changing my diet to the low-fat, fat-free or diet options that I would be doing myself a service in keeping the weight off. I know some people say that no matter what, as we age we will continue to put on weight because our metabolism slows. I am not a doctor nor a nutritionist, but I can tell you that no matter what I did the scale continued to rise. The final straw was after I had my baby, I was at a weight I never thought I would know and that is when I knew something would have to change. As I talked about in another blog, I tried Weight Watchers and although that helped it didn't solve the problem. I still craved sweets and I continued to drink my diet soda, I just ate less food. I did lose my baby weight I gained from the pregnancy, but that was all. My goal was to lose another 25 pounds, but I didn't know what I was doing wrong. I quickly learned that not all food is created equal.
So, one day my daughter's nanny, Kim, and I were talking about food and she referred me to this website called 100 Days of Real Food. I read through the website and thought it would be a good idea, but I just wasn't quite ready for that big of a step. What I did like was some smaller steps you could take to learn about processed foods and how to cut them out of your diet. I found this mini food pledge on cutting out low-fat, diet foods and I started there. Although I haven't completed any of the challenges, I decided that cutting back on some of these foods would be a good step in the right direction. In the past few weeks I have thought more seriously about trying the mini pledges in their entirety, but my husband is not on board. Hopefully there will be more to come of that in the near future.
Did you know that the artificial sweeteners used in diet foods actually make you want more? Here is an excerpt from the Food Babe's website. "That’s right – consuming artificial sweeteners actually increases your appetite. Think about it – when someone consumes something that is sweet, but it has little to no calories – their brain receives a signal to want more calories because their body is not actually getting any energy (i.e. enough calories) to get satisfied. So that person keeps looking for gratification elsewhere and ends up craving more." That was me! I never understood why I craved so much sweet food, but it makes sense. The article is actually talking about Coca-Cola specifically, but there is some really good information about what artificial ingredients can do to our brains and therefore to our bodies. So, I finally cut out the soda, diet and all. I used to drink at least one if not two to three diet drinks a day. I do still drink coffee, but that is another step for another day (because it is not organic and there are lots of flavorings in it. Starbucks anyone?).
As I continued to learn about why processed food is not good for us, I decided it was time to clean out my pantry. My volunteer organization, the Junior Woman's Club of Raleigh, was supporting the Interfaith Food Shuttle this year through our donations and fund-raising efforts. I bought extra canned and boxed goods while they were on sale and by using my new coupon skills. Well, one night I decided I had enough of all this artificial, processed food in my house and I gathered three large bags of food to give to a food bank. I know some people will say that I shouldn't give away food that I don't want my family to eat, but honestly we all know that not everyone believes the same things and I will leave it at that. Now, I try to educate myself on what I am buying. I read labels, try to follow some of the 100 days of real food suggestions on 5 ingredients or less. I also have cut out the diet drinks and low-fat options in my foods. I started buying organic foods more often and have found that although it is more expensive, I don't spend as much money on groceries because we eat less now and I don't buy as much processed food. Another important lesson I have learned and am still learning about is the GMOs (genetically modified organisms) in our food. More to come on these topics in the coming weeks.
Please share any other resources you may have that shreds light on this topic. I am still learning and would love some other websites, blogs or news articles about this topic.
Friday, May 3, 2013
Losing weight, organic food and saving money
Now let's begin with my goals at the beginning of 2013. My husband and I decided we wanted to lose weight and we chose Weight Watchers as our program. I was so excited when he said he would sign up with me. We learned a lot about portion control and how much we were really eating at every meal. I have to admit that this program really helped us to see how much food we were putting into our bodies. However, it did not teach me what other's were putting into that food (more on this in a later blog). So, after one month on the program we each lost our two pounds a week and we were happy. We continued on this program for the next three months and each lost 25 pounds, but that didn't seem like enough for me. I wanted to learn how to eat healthy, not just lose weight.
Next, my journey led me to start looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables on our table. My daughter was just beginning to eat table food and I wanted to make sure I was feeding her fresh foods and not ones filled with pesticides. I'm sure many of you have heard about the dirty dozen, so I started to research what that consisted of and what we may want to buy organic for our family. I found some great websites, one being the Environmental Working Group. I did not know they rated all of the fruits and vegetables and had not only a dirty dozen plus list, but also the clean fifteen. So, I started looking for more organic options in our local grocery stores.
Well, sadly the local grocery stores just don't have a great selection on organic produce. Maybe it was because we were still in the winter season, but I was very disappointed. Plus, the prices were so much higher than that of the non-organic produce. Remember, I had just started couponing back in October with the goal of learning to save our family some money in our food budget and now I was looking to buy $5 strawberries and squash. I was not excited about the prices, but I was now on a mission to find better ways of buying my produce.
So, my next stop was to a wonderful website called Local Harvest. I spent all day checking out this website and learning about the local farms in my area and what they offered. I was so excited to have some local options straight from the farm. I learned there were different options for obtaining your produce, such as going to the farm yourself, picking up your produce at a local farmers market or meeting point from the farmer or joining a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. I personally liked the option of having produce delivered straight to my door and being able to opt out for a week if I didn't need anything. So, I narrowed it down to three CSA's and in the end I chose The Produce Box. I liked the flexibility in their options and they have an organic produce box or you can pick from other boxes and local merchants as well. I will talk more about the Produce Box in the future, since I just started receiving boxes from them in April.
While I waited for The Produce Box to begin their season I continued to do my research and look for more organic options. I switched all my daughter's baby food over to organic and found I could still use coupons for a lot of her foods. I was learning how to cook more at home, versus just warming up a frozen lasagna in the oven. I really did like Weight Watchers meals, but I quickly learned that many of their menus were geared towards low fat options. Well, this was another big lesson I learned through my research. Did you know it is best to eat full fat foods, but in moderation of course? I have grown up in a diet/low-fat/fat-free world for so long that I didn't realize what it was doing to me. Next week I will talk more in detail about what I have learned and am still learning about the diet sodas we drink and the low fat foods and what they are doing to our body.
Question: Do you buy organic or local produce and where do you find the best produce for the money?
Next, my journey led me to start looking at the fresh fruits and vegetables on our table. My daughter was just beginning to eat table food and I wanted to make sure I was feeding her fresh foods and not ones filled with pesticides. I'm sure many of you have heard about the dirty dozen, so I started to research what that consisted of and what we may want to buy organic for our family. I found some great websites, one being the Environmental Working Group. I did not know they rated all of the fruits and vegetables and had not only a dirty dozen plus list, but also the clean fifteen. So, I started looking for more organic options in our local grocery stores.
Well, sadly the local grocery stores just don't have a great selection on organic produce. Maybe it was because we were still in the winter season, but I was very disappointed. Plus, the prices were so much higher than that of the non-organic produce. Remember, I had just started couponing back in October with the goal of learning to save our family some money in our food budget and now I was looking to buy $5 strawberries and squash. I was not excited about the prices, but I was now on a mission to find better ways of buying my produce.
So, my next stop was to a wonderful website called Local Harvest. I spent all day checking out this website and learning about the local farms in my area and what they offered. I was so excited to have some local options straight from the farm. I learned there were different options for obtaining your produce, such as going to the farm yourself, picking up your produce at a local farmers market or meeting point from the farmer or joining a CSA, Community Supported Agriculture. I personally liked the option of having produce delivered straight to my door and being able to opt out for a week if I didn't need anything. So, I narrowed it down to three CSA's and in the end I chose The Produce Box. I liked the flexibility in their options and they have an organic produce box or you can pick from other boxes and local merchants as well. I will talk more about the Produce Box in the future, since I just started receiving boxes from them in April.
While I waited for The Produce Box to begin their season I continued to do my research and look for more organic options. I switched all my daughter's baby food over to organic and found I could still use coupons for a lot of her foods. I was learning how to cook more at home, versus just warming up a frozen lasagna in the oven. I really did like Weight Watchers meals, but I quickly learned that many of their menus were geared towards low fat options. Well, this was another big lesson I learned through my research. Did you know it is best to eat full fat foods, but in moderation of course? I have grown up in a diet/low-fat/fat-free world for so long that I didn't realize what it was doing to me. Next week I will talk more in detail about what I have learned and am still learning about the diet sodas we drink and the low fat foods and what they are doing to our body.
Question: Do you buy organic or local produce and where do you find the best produce for the money?
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