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If you haven’t noticed already, I highly recommend Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, with Mary Enig. This book is available at my local library, it just might be available at yours.
This book opened my eyes to a lot of things. But I must say that the first time I checked it out, I was overwhelmed and didn’t even read it. It is so thick. Then I learned that it is mostly recipes. The portion on nutrition is only the first little bit, maybe 60 pages. That was doable to me. I have read that portion, now, over and over, each time gleaning new information.
The authors cover everything you need to know on the subject of fats, carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes, and more.
This is a general resource that everyone should check out, whether you’re just starting to eat healthy, or you grind your own wheat and make your own bread. 
You can make this with raw or pasteurized milk, but raw milk will give you more benefits. This makes a nice, mild yogurt, not too sour. My daughter and I eat it plain, my son prefers some all-fruit jelly added to his. You could also sweeten with raw honey. Yogurt provides us with beneficial bacteria and protein. Plus, yogurt is very low in carbs!
This recipe is really easy; I think it takes be about 40 minutes at the most. Just read through the entire recipe before starting (and check out the pictures at the end of the article). Last time I made it, I also folded a load of towels at the same time J. I do this once a week to keep us supplied. It will make almost 2 quarts.
For the starter, I use Dannon Plain whole milk yogurt. Some say you can always save some of your yogurt to start another batch, but I have heard that it will not set up as firm each consecutive time. I buy a container of Dannon yogurt and then freeze it in an ice cube tray for later batches. I use ½ cup fresh yogurt or 4 yogurt cubes as my starter.
I pour 6 cups of milk into a two-quart saucepan and heat over medium heat on the stove until it reaches 180°F. I stir frequently (or rather, I whisk) and use a meat thermometer to accurately test the temperature.
Then I turn the heat off and cool my milk down to 110°F. You will kill your starter if you add it to milk that is heated to 115°F or higher. To cool down quickly I set my pan over a plate of ice and constantly stir or whisk it. When the temp is at 110°F, I then stir in the starter (see above). This will bring the temperature down a bit. If I’m using the yogurt ice cubes I will actually add them at 120°F, since they will bring the temperature down quite a bit. You want the temperature to be 100°F when you are ready to pour into your jars. If it has dropped below this, just put it back on the stove and gently warm it, stirring constantly. If it’s a little about 100°F, don’t worry; it will cool when you put it in the jars. Now you are ready to pour into quart jars and put on the lids.
You need to keep this warm for 6 hours. Some people will put them in the oven with the light on. I don’t think my oven stays warm enough for that. Some people will put them on a heating pad and wrap them in towels. I put mine in a little cooler. Before I start the process I will fill the cooler halfway with hot water to get it warm. Then I dump the water out right when I’m ready to put the jars in. I will put the jars in and pack a few hand towels around and on top of them to insulate even more. Then I set the timer for 6 hours. When it goes off I take the yogurt out and chill it overnight before we eat it.
Homemade yogurt has more of a custard-like texture than store-bought yogurt (I am speaking of plain store-bought, not fruit flavored). This is because the manufacturer has added powdered milk to thicken it up. Store-bought plain yogurt is not a food to avoid, but it is a compromise food; homemade is ideal. Powdered milk is processed milk and you know what I say, “If God created it, it is healthy; if man has processed it, it is unhealthy.” According to Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon, “commercial dehydration methods oxidize cholesterol in powdered milk, rendering it harmful to the arteries. High temperature drying also creates large quantities of cross-linked proteins and nitrate compounds, which are potent carcinogens, as well as free glutamic acid, which is toxic to the nervous system. (pg. 35)” So powdered milk is something you want to stay away from. Powdered milk is added to skim, 1%, and 2% milk to give it body, also to yogurt to thicken it, and many other packaged food items.
I like thick, creamy yogurt, so I strain some whey out of mine. Plus I need the whey anyway; I use it in my oatmeal, pickles, sauerkraut, and more. You can place some cheesecloth in a wire strainer set over a bowl and fill it with yogurt. Cover it and place it in the refrigerator for an hour or more (I usually leave overnight). I buy unbleached coffee filters (basket-style) from Whole Foods and use them instead of cheesecloth. The longer you let the yogurt strain, the easier it will be to turn it out of the cloth or filter. I strain some of the yogurt and then mix it with some that is unstrained. You will have to play with it to get the thickness you are looking for. I usually end up with a little more than half the amount I originally made. But it’s worth it, to me. It’s oh so creamy and delicious! If you want to make dip out of it, just strain more whey out of it. Some use strained yogurt in place of cream cheese, too.
If you are just now joining this blog, you will want to read Part 1 and Part 2 of My Food Journey.
Here I pick up with what I learned from my research into lowcarb dieting. I learned many things. I learned about how our body releases insulin and about the insulin rollercoaster. I learned more about how important protein is. I learned about the glycemic index and how we can lower the glycemic index of the carbs that we eat by including fat and/or fiber. But the thing that was most enlightening was that fat is not evil!!! This thrilled me, to say the least—I do love my butter! I learned that there are good fats and bad fats and I learned what trans fats are.
This information made me feel great that I was raised on the good fats, butter, cream, and red meat, so I wanted to know more. I picked up a book called, Know Your Fats, by Dr. Mary Enig. This is the definitive guide to fat. I learned about Omega-3s, Omega-6s, saturated, polyunsaturated, and monounsaturated oils; and much more. Everything you wanted to know about fatty acids can be found in this book. Dr. Enig was pushing the FDA to include trans fats on food labels YEARS before they actually did. She is a champion of healthy fats. It was all starting to make sense to me. As a child I was told that hydrogenated oils were bad, but now I was learning why.
This started an obsession for me. I kept reading and researching and learning, I couldn’t get enough! This is the point that I started to make changes to my diet. I threw out all the margarine, Smart Select butter, shortening, trans fat peanut butter (Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan), and starting scrutinizing labels. At this point trans fats were not labeled on food labels. I checked out the book, The Trans Fat Solution by Kim Severson and Cindy Burke. This is a really short informative book that tells you why trans fats are bad, but also how to tell if food contains it. With this knowledge, now I know the REAL way to tell if an item has trans fats in it and guess what? It’s not by looking at the gram listings.
Some time after this I found the book, Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. This book is really big, most of it being recipes. The first time I checked it out from my library I just read the nutrition information, it was really eye opening. I kept checking it out from our library and kept reading new things in it. After borrowing it from the library about ten times I decided it was time to buy it. This book opened my eyes to phytates, the substance that is in grains that leaches minerals from our bodies. I then started playing around with whole-wheat sourdough. I learned all about raw dairy in this book and then quit buying pasteurized dairy products and started making my own yogurt. From this book I learned how important animal protein is so I started making my son eat meat at dinnertime. He never liked meat very much and I convinced myself he was healthy if he had peanut butter and eggs. Not so after reading Sally Fallon’s book. (He enjoys most meat now.) J
About a year ago I joined the Yahoo group discussingnt; these are all folks that have read Nourishing Traditions. This really helped me along in my changes. I started making a lot more changes when I joined that group. There is something to be said for support, whether that is a friend, or an Internet discussion board, or even a private journal (this at least helps with accountability). Anyway, I saw that there are so many real foods that we’re missing out on because of mass marketing. According to FDA safety guidelines, food must be sealed in order to be shipped and sold on a mass scale. This is good because it prevents rotten food from being sold, but the bad news is that this process kills the nutrients in those items. (Moral: We should be getting our food locally.) So I started making my own naturally fermented sauerkraut, dill pickles, ginger carrots, and beet kvass. When these items are let to naturally ferment and then stored in the refrigerator instead of heat-sealed through traditional canning methods they are alive and full of nutrients and beneficial bacteria. Also while I was a part of that discussion group I started making Kombucha and still drink it practically every day.
Other changes I have made include less cooking with olive oil, I do use it on salad, on pasta, and to dip bread in. It is a very healthy oil when it is cold, but it will get damaged when heated. I do most of my cooking with butter and some with coconut oil. When I switched to lowcarb eating I learned to like a lot more veggies, since veggies have a lower glycemic index than breads and pastas. Thankfully when my husband went on his diet we cleared the cupboards of the snack cakes and boxed macaroni and cheese. He had quit drinking soda and Kool-Aid many years before. He switched to Baked Lays in his diet days and I have since got him to switch to plain corn chips (Baked Lays are about as processed as you can get). I have since got him off the granola bars; I now make him muffins to take to work for breakfast. I now make our own lunchmeat from boneless, skinless chicken breasts, rather than buying processed lunchmeat. He lost his weight by really watching his portion intake and cutting most fat out. Since I learned all about healthy fat, I now feed him lots of fat in his meals and he hasn’t gained any of the weight back. He still watches his sugar intake. I take coconut oil daily now. I started taking cod liver oil last fall. I occasionally take a probiotic supplement, but I feel I am getting a lot of beneficial bacteria from my homemade yogurt, Kombucha, and naturally fermented veggies. I started making my own sour cream and buttermilk (more beneficial bacteria). I have switched to aluminum-free baking powder (Rumford). About a year ago I stopped using commercial shampoo, conditioner, bar soaps, shower gels, lotions, and facial cleansing products (I’ll give more details in a later post) because of the chemical content. I switched from drinking distilled water to filtered water (spring is best, we’re just not there yet). And I use plastics a lot less now, I’m not completely away from them, but I am taking my babysteps.
Now keep in mind that all these babysteps I took were over a period of years, this really all started about 6 years ago. I’m just hoping that my list will inspire you and encourage you in your changes.
Looking back over my food journey shows me 1) I ate pretty good as a child, but there was a high level of phytates, which I think accounts for my dealings with mineral deficiencies now and 2) it is SO important to teach your kids about healthy eating and why you choose to eat what you eat. I wasn’t taught and had to educate myself as an adult after eating poorly for about 10 years. It may look like I have come full circle and now eat the way I did as a kid, but there are a few differences. I watch my carb intake; I don’t eat a lot of breads and pastas. Even if you’re choosing all whole-grain bread products you can still go overboard, remember, balance is key. We ate a LOT of grains in our family; my blood sugar just can’t handle that now. I feed my kids more carbs than I eat, but I do make sure they are getting animal protein every day.
The journey doesn’t end here—it goes on and on. We all should never stop growing, never stop learning, and never stop changing!
Update: I forgot to mention that I have started soaking some grains, we eat soaked old fashioned oatmeal once a week and soaked multi-grain pancakes on occasion.
Last week I started detailing my background with food and what changes I have made. If you haven’t read it, click here.
Even before I got married my metabolism started slowing down. Growing up, I felt like I could eat as much of anything I wanted and never gain weight. It wasn’t too long after high school graduation, though, that this way of eating started to catch up with me. I’m sure the desk job didn’t help, either.
I let this go on for a few years. In reality, I just didn’t really notice the weight gain; I guess it just happened so slowly. I don’t think I owned scales back then, either. Then I got pregnant with my first child. This is when I learned how important protein was. I started paying attention to food labels to make sure I was getting my daily requirement of this important nutrient.
After I had my son, the pounds started melting off. Nursing really burned the calories for me and I was now more active taking care of a baby rather than sitting at a desk all day. Looking back, I also think that sitting at the desk all day was bad in another way—it was very conducive to snacking. So anyway, it was then that I realized just how much weight I had put on. I looked back at pictures and saw that I didn’t want to be that size again.
I nursed my son for 18 months and my husband told me one day, “You’re not going to be able to eat like that once you quit nursing!” And he was right! (I have always had a big appetite. J) I slowly started putting the weight back on. When my son was two years old my husband decided to lose the extra weight that he had gained in our marriage. He successfully lost 35 pounds and has kept it off for 6 years. At some point after this I decided I needed to get a handle on my weight so I decided to cut way back on my fat intake.
Right here I will backtrack a bit. Like I said in part one of this series, I grew up eating plenty of fat in the form of butter, cream, whole milk, and red meat. It wasn’t until I had moved out on my own that everyone around me told me that was bad. I would eat in the cafeteria at work with my coworkers and they always had comments for me about the evils of fat. I would pile the butter and sour cream on my baked potato higher than anyone—that always solicited comments. I ignored their comments because I was young and all my family was thin and, as I said above, I didn’t notice my weight gain. I think it’s safe to say that most young people don’t care much about their health.
So a few years later, when I wanted to lose a few pounds, all those comments about fat came back to my mind. So I tried dieting for the first time in my life. I would eat a packet of instant oatmeal for breakfast; I think the label said it had 2 grams of fat in it. Then for lunch I would grab a granola bar for 6 grams of fat. I ate normal dinners, but I tried to cut back on the portions. But it wasn’t working! I was STILL slowly gaining weight and I was STARVING all the time!!! I felt awful to say the least, so I gave up.
At some point I decided to give low-carb dieting a try. I had seen others eat low-carb and it certainly didn’t seem healthy, all that bacon and cheese! But it did seem to be working for me, so I thought I would do some research. I checked out numerous books from the library, Living the Low Carb Life by Jonny Bowden, The Zone by Dr. Barry Sears, The South Beach Diet book, and Suzanne Somer’s Somersize book. My thinking was, perhaps I could eat low-carb AND low-fat and be healthier.
I learned a lot from all that research. Want to know what I found out? Tune in next week…
How healthy do you think you are? This isn’t about how trim you are, how much you exercise, or how many fat grams or calories you eat. The food that we eat affects us on a cellular level and we will reap what we sow. Sometimes the reaping doesn’t come for many years. If it’s garbage going in, it will be garbage coming out. This is for every one of us to take a moment and assess where we are at and then form goals to shoot for. This is purely for evaluation purposes; there is no condemnation here.
We can’t take our babysteps unless we know where we are headed. This list will help you see where you are at and help you make both short-term and long-term goals. If you are near the bottom of the ladder, DON’T make a short-term goal of making it to the top of the ladder! Set your sights on a step above. Choose one thing at a time to cut out or substitute or change.
I’m sure that none of us fit neatly into one of these categories, we are all a mixture, but it’s good to identify which area you most fit into. I would suggest printing this out and circling or highlighting the items that you buy/eat to see which category you most fit into. Now this is a little different, but I’m going to ask that you read the next portions upside down. By this I mean, start at the bottom of the ladder and read each section, going up the page. If you print it out, start at the bottom level and read each level, moving up the page. If you read it online, right now you can scroll all the way to the bottom and read each section moving up the page.
Whole Foods Plus – not only do you want only foods that God created and man hasn’t adulterated, but that are also ALIVE and FULL of nutrients! These include local organic fruit and veggies, local grass-fed meat and local free-range poultry, local true free-range eggs, soaked or sprouted whole organic grains and grain products, such as sourdough bread, sprouted grain bread, tortillas, hamburger buns, etc.; raw dairy products from grass-fed cows and goats, fermented dairy products, such as yogurt, kefir and raw cheese; butter, cream, lard, animal fat, extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, palm oil; soaked beans/legumes, nuts and seeds, homemade bone broths, unrefined sea salt, raw vinegar, fish from deep sea waters, lacto-fermented beverages, kombucha, naturally fermented vegetables, like pickles and sauerkraut, you make your own ketchup, mayonnaise, salad dressings, dips and ice cream; and use only whole sweeteners like raw honey, Rapadura, Sucanat, maple syrup, and date sugar. Way to go, you are truly a nourished person!
Whole Foods – at this point you are looking only for foods that are unadulterated. You buy organic fruit and veggies, fresh and frozen; grass-fed meat, free-range chicken, wild fish, all whole grains, you make your own bread, buy organic, hormone-free, pasteurized milk, pasteurized cheeses, commercial yogurt, butter, cream, organic, dried beans; sea salt, and you make your own broths. Excellent, keep reading!
Mildly Processed – if you fit into this category, you care about your health and that of your family and are trying to make the best choices you can. Now you just need a bit more education, way to go! You are making most of you meals and buying these type of foods – Fresh and frozen fruit and veggies from the local grocery; canned tomato products, dried fruit, wheat bran, oat bran, wheat germ, whole grains, like brown rice, wheat, rye, etc.; whole grain products, like pasta, hamburger buns, and sandwich bread; unbleached white flour, organic, hormone-free, pasteurized milk, pasteurized cheeses, commercial yogurt, fats that have been processed by man, but are fairly stable, like peanut oil; butter, commercial meat from local grocery store, additive-free sausage and bacon; regular or cage-free eggs from local grocery, canned legumes/beans, farina, rolled oats, grits, commercial salt, pasteurized vinegar, commercial condiments, like ketchup and mayonnaise; pasteurized pickles and sauerkraut; seasoning packets.
Processed Ingredients – this is a step up, at least you are preparing most of your meals and hopefully eating whole fruit and veggies. You buy commercial meat from the grocery store along with deli meat, bacon, and sausage; highly processed fats, such as vegetable oils, margarine, spreads, shortening, and fat substitutes; pasteurized, homogenized milk and milk products; bleached and fortified white flour products – hamburger buns, tortillas, bread, pasta, etc.; all kinds of refined sugar, including white sugar and brown sugar; canned fruit and veggies, fruit juice, rice milk, chips and crackers (even whole grain), canned broth, prepared sauces, like marinara, alfredo, and pesto; soy milk, tofu, veggie burgers, soy cheese, soy hot dogs, and Miracle Whip.
Prepared foods – ready to eat; requires only opening a package and/or heating it up, sometimes adding an ingredient or two. These items are totally adulterated by man, stripped of nutrition, loaded with toxins, artificial flavors, additives, colors, artificial sweeteners, damaged oils, hydrolyzed protein and protein isolates, etc. Frozen pizzas, fish sticks, tater tots, chicken strips and nuggets; frozen burritos, French fries, pizza rolls, lasagnas, pot pies, frozen pies, cookie dough, canned biscuits, canned rolls, cinnamon rolls, snack cakes, breakfast cereals (even whole grain), breakfast bars, granola bars, frozen meals – Lean Cuisines meals, Healthy Choice meals, etc.; TV dinners, boxed macaroni and cheese, Hamburger Helper, Cheetos, flavored chips, like Doritos, snack mixes, pretzels, flavored yogurts, processed cheese, Cool Whip, ice cream, soda pop, energy drinks, vitamin waters, protein bars, protein powder drink mixes, canned soup, fruit snacks, fruit rollups, instant oatmeal, boxed cake, brownie, muffin, and cookie mixes; canned frosting, canned pie filled, prepared pie crusts, pudding mixes (instant and non), and Jell-O. I’m sure there are more, but you get the idea. Some of these seem healthy, some are bought at the health food store, but if they require little to no preparation then they have been very, VERY processed and offer very little health value.
FAST FOOD – no health value hereL
Making your own chicken stock is not only so much cheaper than buying it at the store, but so much healthier, too. Most people don’t realize it, but when you make broth with bones you have a really good source of minerals, especially calcium, magnesium, and potassium. In addition you get gelatin, which is a great digestive aid. You get none of these things from commercial broth, but you will get unwanted things like MSG.
Making your own stock is so amazingly easy. I have tried perfecting the art of broth for so many years now and have come to the realization that simpler is better. I don’t worry about special herbs and seasonings or veggies, like carrots, celery and onion. Most of the time I just put some chicken in a stock pot and cover with water. How easy is that! You can add any of those things you want, but don’t put yourself out.
Here are a couple of things you will want to know before you do this. One, the longer this cooks the better, so begin early in the day. Second, you will want to chill it overnight before using it to skim off the fat (not because fat’s bad, but because soup with a lot of fat doesn’t have a good mouth feel), so make a day ahead.
You can use any chicken parts you want as long as you have bones and some skin and the more cartilage you have, the more gelatin you will get. Jewish women add chicken feet to their broth for this reason. Now some sources say you can reserve the meat for other uses when done with the stock, but other sources say that the longer you cook the chicken the more flavor is drained. I am frugal and if I make stock I know I will throw the chicken out so I use parts that I wouldn’t use otherwise. My family eats a lot of chicken so I buy whole chickens for $.82/lb and cut the parts off that we want – I cut the breasts off for meals that call for boneless breasts and I cut the legs, thighs and wings off for other meals. Compare that to strictly using boneless chicken breasts for $2.49/lb. I am left with a carcass that has a decent amount of bones, a bit of meat on the back, a generous amount of skin, and the wing tips. So I feel I’m getting my broth for free since it’s just the leftovers that I’m using for broth.
If you roast chicken for dinner you can do the same thing, take off all the meat that you want to eat and reserve the carcass for broth. Roasted chicken makes an especially yummy broth. I mentioned this at Thanksgiving, for some reason turkey stock is even better than chicken stock, maybe because the turkey roasts for so much longer; it’s the brown skin that gives such a good flavor.
Place your chicken parts in a large stock pot/dutch oven, one that holds at least 4 quarts of water with the chicken. I simmer two chicken carcasses at a time and end up with 2 quarts of broth. Cover chicken with filtered water and 2 tablespoons vinegar, an acidic medium is what leaches the minerals out of the bones. This is also true in our bodies, when our acid/alkaline balance is too acidic, we lose minerals out of our bones. What makes us so acidic? Sugar is the big culprit, along with processed grains. There is more to bone health than drinking your milk! Don’t worry, acidic things we eat, like vinegar and citrus, don’t make our bodies acidic, on the contrary, they help to alkalinize us. If you have kids at home, try this neat experiment. Get a chicken bone (we used a leg bone from a roast chicken dinner) and try to bend it gently, notice how stiff it is. Place it in a jar and cover with white vinegar. Let the bone soak for 2-3 days and then replace the vinegar and let soak 2 more days. After the 4th or 5th day of soaking, take the bone out and dry off. Now try bending it, notice how rubbery it is. The vinegar has dissolved the calcium in the bone leaving only the collagen, a rubbery substance. We don’t want this happening to our bones in our body, that’s why it is SO important to eat right.
Anyway, I digress. So we covered the chicken with water and vinegar. Bring to a boil and skim the foam that rises and discard. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 6 to 24 hours. I start mine in the morning and let it go until about 10 o’clock that night. I have heard that some people keep it in the crockpot overnight. I tried this and wasn’t happy with the results. A note on simmering – simmering is not turning the heat all the way down, it is a low heat, but you can still see little bubbles in the broth. You will see the liquid evaporate; this is okay. The more it reduces, the better it tastes. I usually end up with 2 quarts, when I started with 4. You can always reconstitute it with water, if you like.
When you are done simmering you place a wire mesh strainer in a bowl and strain the broth. Throw out the bones and meat. (I put them back in the empty pan until they’re cool, I don’t want to melt my trash bag.) Chill it and then skim the fat off the next day. Your broth should be jelled; this means there is a lot of good gelatin in it. At this point you can store it in the refrigerator or freezer. It will keep for 3 days in the fridge, but you can keep it indefinitely if you reboil it every 3 days. Some people will reduce it down further at this point and pour into an ice cube tray and freeze to save space. Then when they need broth they just grab some cubes and add some water.
Notice we didn’t use any seasonings. You will want to salt this to taste when you use it. Since it reduces down quite a bit it would be too salty if we salted at the beginning. Feel free to add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, peppercorns, bay leaf, parsley, etc. Just know that you don’t have to do this to get a quality stock. I only add those other things if I’m going to make plain chicken noodle soup, for some reason it needs all the flavor it can get. But if I’m making Gumbo or Chicken and Dumplings, for example, I don’t.
The possibilities are endless here, there are so many soups that are easy to make at home, and with your homemade stock they will be better for you, soups like Chicken Noodle, Chicken and Dumplings, White Chili, Tomato Florentine, Gumbo, Cream of Broccoli, Sweet Potato, Minestrone, and Chicken Enchilada are some that come to mind. Broth will add flavor to many dishes. I personally use this stock to make rice pilaf and orzo risotto (a faux risotto) also and I have started drinking it daily just for it’s benefits. It is so delicious and warms you on a cold winter day.
This year, try a Thanksgiving without packaged food; I’m going to. I don’t need the MSG, trans fat, high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, stabilizers, or thickeners. Skip the canned cream of mushroom soup, canned chicken broth, box stuffing mix, pre-made pie crusts, imitation whipped cream, canned French-fried onions, canned green beans, canned cranberry sauce and canned gravy. I’m also going to deny myself eggnog this holiday season. Eggnog is a much-loved treat, but I’m ready to cut it out. Read the label and you’ll see why. (I probably will try making it at home, though, because it is SO yummy!)
Most years I’m not in charge of the whole meal, but this year I am, so I’m going to do it my way. I’m going to roast a turkey with the following sides –
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Sweet Potatoes (without sugar or marshmallows)
Green Beans (probably add a little bacon grease, yum)
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
Stuffing (I’m going to use my Crusty French Bread)
Rolls using half white and half wheat (I like my rolls really soft)
Apple Pie (all butter crust; no shortening which is trans fat!) with raw cream drizzled over it instead of store-bought ice cream; mmm, I’m getting hungry.
And don’t forget, when the turkey is picked clean you can boil up the bones for the best broth ever! Place them in a pan and cover with water. Let it come to a boil and simmer it all day. Drain the broth over a colander to catch the bones and either chill the broth or freeze it. When you’re ready to use it you can skim the fat off the top and discard. Don’t know what to do with the broth? Keep it in your freezer and I’ll let you know soon. This broth will keep in your fridge for 3 days. Bonus – if you add a bit of vinegar (like ¼ cup) to the water before boiling you will get a very mineral-rich broth, a great source of calcium.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Boil or steam your potatoes. Place a generous amount of butter in a bowl and press 1 or 2 garlic cloves in. Place the potatoes in the bowl and mash. Add cream and milk and mash some more until creamy. I usually use half cream and half milk.
Cranberry-Orange Sauce
This is from Cook’s Illustrated (Nov/Dec 1999)
¾ cup water
1 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon grated orange zest
¼ tsp salt
1 12-ounce bag cranberries
2 Tablespoons orange liqueur (such as Triple Sec or Grand Marnier)
Bring water, sugar, salt and orange zest to a boil in medium pan (non-reactive, like stainless steel) over high heat, stirring occasionally to dissolve sugar. Stir in cranberries; return to boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until saucy, slightly thickened, and about two-thirds of berries have popped open, about 5 minutes. Off heat; stir in the orange liqueur. Transfer to non-reactive bowl, cool to room temperature, and serve. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 7 days; let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.)
…And outside the package for that matter. But really I’m talking about trying new things. We will crave what we feed ourselves and we can acquire the taste for practically anything. What I mean is that the more sweets and junk food you eat, the more you will crave it. The more health food you eat, the more you will crave it. I made a batch of naturally fermented pickles and beets (they are full of enzymes, vitamins and probiotics, fabulous living foods). They were so delicious. I got to where I was craving my beet kvass (the beet juice) every day. I have gone through kicks of drinking a raw apple cider vinegar tonic daily (again, full of enzymes) and would look forward to it and crave it. I even noticed that if I were craving a sweet the craving would go away if I had something sour, like vinegar or pickles.
When there is a strong motivation you get creative and you make yourself like things. Typically a big motivator is weight, I know it shouldn’t be, but it is. I tried lowcarb eating to lose some weight a few years ago and so had to get creative with foods. As a result I got hooked on some really healthy foods. I started eating plain yogurt instead of the sweetened varieties, like Yoplait for example. I used to hate the taste of the plain yogurt; I was very accustomed to the sweet kind. But I made myself eat it because it was high in protein and fat, but very low in carbs. The carbs are actually lower than the nutrition facts even tell you. The nutrition facts are figured based on the milk before the yogurt making process. But during the process the lactose (milk sugar) is converted into lactic acid. So I tried it and became very accustomed to it and love it now. I eat it practically every morning with my eggs and have started making my own, so I can have a product that is organic, hormone-free, and antibiotic-free for a fraction of the cost. I started my daughter on it at 9 months old and now at 2 she still loves it. I have discovered that a dollop of plain yogurt is a wonderful addition to my waffle topped with fruit sauce; it is reminiscent of whipped cream. Yogurt is a great source of beneficial bacteria (probiotics).
While on the lowcarb diet I also discovered quite a few vegetables that are so delicious that I didn’t even know I liked. You want to stay away from breads, pasta, and potatoes on lowcarb diets, so I found myself substituting vegetables. I found that I really like sautéed zucchini and yellow summer squash, steamed spinach, asparagus and roasted winter squash, particularly acorn and butternut squash. I think when vegetables are prepared properly most people will like them. All these foods are so good because they are full of fiber, something we don’t get enough of in our standard American diet.
In our effort to cut out packaged foods, we are now making homemade muffins to eat for breakfasts and snacks instead of granola bars. (I just make a big batch on the weekends; I’m not making these every day!) We also make homemade popcorn for snacks instead of chips. When popcorn is cooked in good fat it is a healthy food, it’s a whole grain and so has plenty of fiber. I started cooking boneless, skinless chicken breasts for my husband to use for lunchmeat instead of deli meat. Lunchmeats contain fillers and chemicals like nitrites and nitrates. Plus I’m saving so much money this way.
So think outside the box, substitute something healthy for unhealthy, acquire the taste for new foods. Have some oatmeal for breakfast instead of cold cereal; it’s less processed. Try natural sweeteners (not artificial). I use Stevia in my tea and it tastes great. This can apply to other areas as well; try natural remedies instead of always reaching for medicine, try baking soda and vinegar to clean house with instead of toxic chemicals.
Roasted Winter Squash
With fall here now I am in the mood for squash. Most of the time I like to eat it roasted and mashed as a side dish instead of mashed potatoes. I cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. Then I place it on a pan and roast it at 375° – 400°F for about an hour or until it is fork tender. Then I scoop the squash out of the skin and mash with butter and salt. This works for all winter squash varieties, Acorn, Butternut, etc. I haven’t had success with steaming it, it seems to hold water and you don’t want watery squash on your plate. Here is another yummy way to cook Butternut Squash. If you have never tried Butternut Squash before, this is a great recipe to try, since there are other flavors here as well.
Pasta with Butternut Squash
This is from Bon Appetit, October 1997 issue. I have made a few minor adjustments.
¼ cup plus 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary or ½ teaspoon dried (I didn’t have any on hand the other day so I used 5th Season brand Italian Herb blend instead)
3 ¼ cups 1/3-inch pieces peeled Butternut Squash (I don’t measure, I just cut one squash into cubes)
8 ounces plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped (I always use a 14oz. Can of diced tomatoes)
½ cup water
2 ½ ounces ¼-inch thick prosciutto slices, finely chopped (I’m sure this would be quite delicious, but here in Tulsa I have yet to find prosciutto at the store)
2 Tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (I usually omit this, too. It tastes great without it so why make things difficult.)
12 ounces shell pasta (recipe calls for medium shells, I like small shells, use whatever shape you like as long as it’s similar to shells, for example you wouldn’t want to use angel hair pasta, it just wouldn’t work.)
¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (feel free to use Kraft, I do for this)
Now a Butternut Squash doesn’t peel easily like a potato or carrot. You will want a sharp knife. I slice off the stem at the top and slice a small slice off the bottom so that it will sit flat. I then stand the squash up on its end and take my knife and slice thin strips of the peel off in a downward motion. Then when the squash is peeled I cut it in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds. For this recipe you want small cubes. I cut my squash halves into slices and then cut cubes from the slices. I hope this makes sense, it’s really fairly simple. Next time I make this recipe I will have to take pictures.
Heat ¼ cup Olive Oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery and rosemary and sauté until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the squash cubes, tomatoes and ½ cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook pasta in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite. Drain. Return pasta to same pot.
Add 2 tablespoons oil and squash mixture to the pasta and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Garnish with Parmesan cheese. The original recipe says to toss with the Parmesan in the pan, but every time I do that the cheese ends up sticking to the pan and the spoons. I hate waste so I just garnish at the table and toss in my own bowl.
How does your food treat you? How does your body tell you what to eat? Do you get heartburn, does your heart rate go up, do you feel slugish and tired after eating? Do you have specific cravings, do you have to have your morning caffeine to avoid headache? Start paying attention to these things. I believe our bodies will tell us how to eat if we will pay proper attention. It’s not always straight forward, but you can use signals that your body is giving you to learn more. For instance, I have heard if you crave chocolate you really need more magnesium.
Every body is different. I don’t suggest that everyone eats the same. I will tell you what works for me. You have to find what works for yourself. For example, there are different metabolic types. You can read more about that here and here. Some people can handle more carbs, some need more protein. I am one that needs more protein, but my husband seems to handle more carbs. There is a book called, “Eat Right For Your Type” by Peter D’Adamo. You may have heard of the Blood Type Diet, this is from this book. They outline 4 different diets for the different blood types. I have not read this book as its idea is based on evolution, but perhaps there is something to it. I am type O and have learned that I need more protein and that’s what the book says. While my son and husband are both type A and aren’t into meat and this seems to be in line with the book, as well. I have started asking people their blood type if we get on the subject of food. It seems that As are pickier, while Os are not picky at all. My daughter is not picky at all and loves meat, wouldn’t you know it, she’s an O! So there may be something to that book after all.
There is a book I have heard of that I want to read called “Your Body is Your Best Doctor” by Melvin Page and Leon Abrams. It sounds like it’s right on target with what I’m talking about here.
So start tuning in. I think that listening to your body is the best way to be accountable with your diet. When you are tuned in you reach a point where you won’t stray or cheat because it’s not worth how your body will feel afterward.
I’m not talking about skin cleansers here. I’m talking about taking an active role of participation in matters of health. Proactive is the opposite of reactive. In the simplest terms, the prefix pro means forward and the prefix re means back. We are acting in both cases, but the difference, is if we act before (looking forward) or after (looking back). Unfortunately our culture is trained to be reactive. We wait until an issue arises before we make changes. Instead, look forward, learn to anticipate and make changes now.
Society tells us that if you have a family history of medical conditions you can expect the same issues in your life. Society tells us that at a certain age you can expect to live on numerous medications; that you’ll live with arthritis, and suffer from osteoporosis, the list goes on and on. Society tells us that runny noses, ear infections, and colds are common childhood occurrences. Don’t sit back and accept medical conditions as your fate. The sooner you make healthy changes the better. You can avoid many medical issues if you start making the right food choices.
One way to be proactive is to learn to read the labels on foods you buy. Now hopefully a bigger part of your shopping cart will not have labels because it is whole food! J But on packages, start to get in the habit of checking out the label. First look at the serving size. The food companies want to make those serving sizes as small as they can so that the sugar, fat, cholesterol, and sodium look like less than they really are. If you have a scale you can measure out a serving and see if that is really your serving size. A chip package, for example, indicates that 1 ounce is a serving, but typically people eat more than 1 ounce of chips in a serving. So keep that in mind when reading the label to see what it contains. The breakdown of fat, cholesterol, sodium, carbohydrates and protein is on a per serving basis.
Next let’s take a look at the list of ingredients. It’s not a good sign when you can’t pronounce half of them. J If you don’t know what an ingredient is you might look it up online. Start educating yourself about what is going into your body. Ingredients are listed in descending order of amount. So if the item lists flour as the first ingredient then it has more flour than anything else listed. Two big bad ingredients to be on the lookout for are high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and partially hydrogenated oils or shortening (soybean, cottonseed, etc.), these are trans fats. According to Drs. Michael Roizen and Mehmet Oz in their book, “You On A Diet”, back in 1960 Americans didn’t consume any HFCS, but now we eat more than 63 pounds of it every year (that’s per person)! They say you should say no to foods that have HFCS in the first five ingredients and foods that list trans fats altogether. If you want to read why HFCS is so bad click here. If you want more information on trans fats, click here.
Never assume you are buying a whole food, even things that seem obvious, like milk and cheese, for example. Read those labels and you’ll be surprised by what you find. Let’s take sour cream, for example. It should be just that, cream that has been cultured and so has a sour taste. Daisy brand sour cream does list cream and nothing else, but other brands list numerous additives, such as thickeners. Skim milk is another example, many companies will add extra ingredients to make it taste better. It’s no longer a whole food.
Don’t be fooled by marketing tricks on labels. Many packages tout their contents as “Natural” or have natural names, like “Flat Earth” or “Kashi”, or use words like “enriched” to get our attention. The bottom line is that packaged food has come a long way from the whole food it is trying to seem like. Remember the motto – If God created it, it is good for me, if man has changed it, it is bad for me. (By the way, Flat Earth is just a cover for Frito-Lay and Kashi is really Kellogs.) These companies care more about their profits than your health.
Reading labels is a tremendous way to be proactive. A big part of your success will depend on awareness, once you are aware you can make informed choices.
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