Get the Kids Cooking

OMG! I cannot tell you how much my almost-two-year-old LOVES to help cook. I have to admit, at first it was a bit frustrating - dangerous, standing on chair, grabbing stuff, etc... Then I realized that instead of keeping him from touching everything I should give him his own equipment and let him cook too. I often give him a plastic bowl, bamboo spoon, and some water and oats to stir up. Whatever (safe) ingredients I add into my bowl, I give him a little sprinkle as well.

After mommy learned her lesson by watching her beloved son step off the chair and crash and burn on the kitchen floor, I finally decided to purchase a Learning Tower. Not cheap, but you can find them on ebay for ok prices, and kind of worth it if you have a chef boyardee like I do. If you go this route, make sure you get the one with the adjustable platform so they can use it for many years. It can also be used for puppet shows, forts, or just a fun climbing structure.

So, here is a classic recipe from the timeless Moosewood Cookbook. These pancakes are loved by all, good for any meal, and so nutritious!

Cottage Cheese and Apple Pancakes

Measure	Ingredient
4	Eggs; separated, see note
1 cup	Cottage cheese; lowfat
1 cup	(packed) grated tart apple
¾ cup	Whole-wheat flour (or alternative)
1 teaspoon	Lemon juice; or more
1 tablespoon	Honey; optional
½ teaspoon	Cinnamon
½ teaspoon	Salt
2 tablespoons	Finely minced walnuts; or almonds, optional
	Oil or butter; for frying -Optional Toppings---
	Real maple syrup
	Sour cream or yogurt

Beat the egg whites until stiff. Combine all other ingredients (except toppings and frying oil) in a medium-sized bowl and mix well. Fold in the egg whites. Heat oil or melt butter in a skillet. When it is hot enough to sizzle a drop of batter on contact, add spoonfuls of batter. Fry on both sides until firm and lightly browned. Serve right away, topped with syrup, sour cream or yogurt.

Note: YOLKS are optional-use all, some, or none.

Each serving provides: Calories, 348; Protein, 18 g; Carbohydrates, 35 g; Fat, 16 g; Sodium, 564 mg; Cholesterol, 213 mg; Dietary Fiber, 2 g.

I would also like to take this opportunity to plug one of my favorite recipe books that contains accessible, delicious, nutritious foods for the entire family: Feeding the Whole Family by Cynthia Lair. She also has a fun blog worth checking out.

Enjoy your pancakes!

Best Choices at the Airport

I found myself hungry, in the airport on the way back home from a conference in sunny San Diego. I was so hungry, but now that I am studying nutrition I am practicing mindful eating. I collected myself and thoughtfully considered my options. This exercise made me realize how much we operate on auto-pilot when we are hungry, especially when we have waited a little too long to eat. When we are hungry in the airport, and maybe we even have our kids running around, we can't leave our stuff, we've been waiting forever and a day to board our plane, we choose convenience and what would we think would taste good in that moment. This usually results in a slice of crappy pizza, some kind of really gross fast food like McD's, or some other place that serves the same quality food as your basic fast food chain -- but markets themselves as a step up (you know the ones I mean).

The reason I am even posting this at all is so the next time you find yourself in the same situation maybe you will remember a little bit of what you have read here and perhaps make a better choice. Why make a better choice? Because eating more nutrient-dense and efficient foods makes you feel better, gives you lasting energy, and you feel better about yourself for striving to take care of your body.

This is what I found to be my best options:

• Cup of fruit from Starbucks: gives you quick energy + fiber (if you get a fruit cup from another source, please check that there isn't any added sugar)
• Small bag of mixed nuts: protein and fat, long-term energy, filling (make sure there isn't any added oils!)
• Whole wheat bagel - toasted, with nothing on it, or butter if you prefer
• Grab a banana and a hard-boiled egg, or even better, a whole grain bagel and a hard-boiled egg!

A lot of folks think a salad is a good option. Although they aren't particularly bad for you, they tend to be very nutrient vacant. The lettuce is usually crappy and mostly water, the vegetables are packaged and have been around for a very long time (and there are few of them), and who knows what's in that dressing! Probably rancid or poor quality oil, which can actually make you feel ill or cause you to be more hungry because you aren't getting the kinds of fats your body actually wants. Yes, there is often times some chicken on that salad, which is good, but without some good complex carbohydrates you increase the chance of the protein being stored as fat, proteins are hard to digest and the carbs actually help you digest the protein.

Here is an interesting article on the MSNBC website about healthiest restaurant choices if you and the family intend to sit down for a meal, or need to grab something more than a bagel.

Why Nutrition?

In thinking about how to start off this blog, I realized that it might be beneficial to begin with explaining why I think nutrition is important. I can start off by saying something cliche like "you are what you eat", or "an apple a day", blah, blah, blah. My view is that nutrition is just one piece of the whole pie (oh wait, that's sort of cliche). Anyway, when you eat the right diet that is custom built for you, it resinates in everything else in your life. You sleep better, have more energy, fight off disease, heal, look better, think more clearly, and become generally happier - why in the world wouldn't you spend what little free time you have seeking out this state of existence? Oh, because it takes some extra thought and effort? It is so worth it.

I have gone through this transformation, experimenting on myself with what works and what doesn't. How do I know what works? If I feel good, it's working. I have become a more patient wife and mother, better at my job, feel more rested and clear headed allowing me to figure out how to return phone calls and make grocery lists, squeeze in some exercise, find some down-time, and prepare as much nourishing food for myself and my family as possible. It is a busy life, but it is full of good things. I feel alive and happy and want others to feel this way too. I want my son to experience all kinds of foods in life, have the foundation he needs to grow up taking care of his body so he can experience all life has to offer him, help my husband eat in a way that minimizes the effects of his type 1 diabetes, and honor my mother's life who I lost to breast cancer by taking care of myself and hopefully never having to experience that type illness.

Once you have gone through a "nutritional transformation" yourself you feel so good and receive such positive responses that you want others to be able to feel the way you do. Not everyone knows how to eat well, and more importantly, how to eat well for their specific needs. It takes some learning, paradigm shifting, and behavioral changes. Isn't it so strange that we have become so accustomed to the over-processed, nutrition deficient, cheap, fast foods that we have access to today that we actually have to re-learn what is good for us? We have to make food and what we put into or bodies a little more of a priority than last on the list.

If that isn't enough reason to care about nutrition even just a little, take a look at some of the older generation, folks in their 60-90's. I am only 35 and I feel my body changing and growing older all the time. I would like to grow old gracefully, and to minimize potential complications. If eating well means better digestion, more energy, better health, and less problems in 20 years, sign me up!

This is "why nutrition" for me. I would love to hear "why nutrition" for you, and if you think nutrition doesn't matter, I would be interested in understanding why.