Rollin' On

I got my new Nutrition textbook in the mail and I'm seriously geeking out over it.

Anywho, here's what we've got for today:

9/29/09

Breakfast:

• 1 C Blueberry Cereal (1 serving grains) w/ 1 C nonfat milk (1 serv dairy)
• Glass of 4 0z. cranberry-blueberry 100% fruit juice (1 serv fruit)

Lunch:

• Sandwich of 1 slice Turkey (1 serv meat), 1 slice Muenster (1 serv dairy) and Red Onion on Whole Wheat (2 serv grains, whole) with 1 Tbsp Pesto Mayo (1 serv oils, fats)
• Green Bell Peppers and Sugar Snap Peas in Sesame Oil and Soy Sauce dressing (1/2 serv veggies)
• Pear (1 serv fruit)

Dinner:

• 1.5 C Leftover spaghetti in 1 C tomato sauce with ground turkey (1.5 serv grains, whole grains, 1 serv meat, 1 serv veggies)
• 1.5 C Steamed asparagus with 1 Tbsp basil pesto (3 serv veggies, 1 serv oils)

I will post my basil recipe next!

Day 1

9/28/09
Here's what we ate today:

Breakfast:

• Blueberry cereal with nonfat milk (this cereal has a few dried blueberries and almond slivers in with the flakes, but I don't count the berries as a fruit serving because I have no idea how much I actually ate)

This Meal Provides Approximately:
Grains: 1.5-2 cups= 1.5-2 servings
Fruit: 0
Vegetables: 0
Milk : 1 C = 1 serving
Meat & Beans: 0
Oils : 0
Discretionary Calories : 0

Lunch: (Kendall got 2 sandwiches, Laura got 1)

• Turkey sandwich: 2 slices whole wheat bread, mayo, 1 slice all-natural turkey deli meat, 1 slice muenster cheese, field greens
• Left-over Asian slaw
• Apple

This Meal Provides Approximately:
Grains: 2 slices for L, 4 slices for K =2-4 servings respectively (whole grains!)
Fruit: 1 medium apple= 1 serving
Vegetables: 1 C slaw, 1 handful greens= 2.5 servings (2 of cabbage, carrots and green onions in slaw, .5 servings for the greens on the sandwich)
Milk: 1 slice cheese= 1 serving
Meat & Beans: 1 oz. slice turkey=1 serving
Oils: 1 Tbsp mayo made with olive oil = 1 serving
Discretionary Calories = 0


Dinner:

• Spaghetti: whole-wheat spaghetti with ground turkey with tomato sauce, with a bit of Parmesan
• Salad: Field greens with green bell peppers and red onions with vinaigrette

This Meal Provides Approximately:
Grains: 1 C pasta= 2 servings (whole grains!)
Fruit: 0
Vegetables: 1 C sauce, 1 C salad= 3 servings
Milk: 0
Meat & Beans: About 4 oz turkey= 4 servings
Oils: 1 Tbsp olive oil and dressing = 1 serving
Discretionary Calories = 1 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese

Snacks:
1/2 light beer split with Kendall, 1 scone, half pear, glass of fruit juice
This Meal Provides Approximately:
Grains: 1 scone= .5 servings
Fruit: 1/2 pear + 1/2 C juice= 1 serving
Vegetables: 0
Milk: 0
Meat & Beans: 0
Oils: 0
Discretionary Calories: 27 for beer, sugar and butter in scone, probably about 100 calories

New Direction?

After a little internal debate, I'm going to try a little project with my blog. The goal: To blog more regularly, eat healthily, and save some money. Inspired by two blogs recently, Eat Like Me and 30 Bucks a Week, I've decided to attempt a fusion of sorts. I'll attempt to post my healthy, nutritionally-balanced meals, with nutrition serving information, all by spending $40/week for my husband and myself. We discussed spending $30, but figured $40 would be an easy way to break into it, and would represent a rather significant savings from our current average grocery bill. A few notes about the blogs I referenced above... I love both of them.



I started reading Eat Like Me a few years ago. Cristin Dillon-Jones is a registred dietician in Boston and blogs for Self Magazine. It's great to see what a nutritionist eats on a day-to-day basis. She is also a big coffee fan, so she has won my adoration forever. She recently had a beautiful baby boy, so she appeals to the everywoman-on-the-go-with-a-family-to-feed.


I just found 30 Bucks a Week, thanks to Bitten, Mark Bittman's blog for the NY Times. Tina and Phil live in Brooklyn and blog about what they're able to snag and cook for $30/week. This doesn't include alcohol or meals out, but they have hosted friends on this budget, so it's extra-inspiring for a hostess like me! Their meals are very healthy and vegetarian, which I find very useful as Kendall and I are trying to eat definitely less chicken and a little less fish and more vegetarian meals (we don't eat mammals). Also, these two seem like fans of unprocessed food, so I know we'll be fast friends. Tina referenced anxiously awaiting colder temps so she can get back to baking her own bread. Tina, I hear you! I feel the exact same way!





We've already shopped for this week, so I would feel bad trying to start with the $40 bucks criteria, but I can start posting meals and nutrition information for this week. I'm also considering opening a new blog for this venture...?

Veggie Soup Tip + My Weekend of Eating

My husband has been out of town for work recently, and while I missed him horribly, I usually take advantage of his absense by eating some of the foods I love and he doesn't. Recently, this meant sweet potatoes, sauerkraut, goat cheese, and vegetable soup. When he left on a Sunday afternoon, I quickly cut up some cabbage, potatoes, onions, and carrot. I threw it in a big pot, covered in about 10 cups of water with a few bouillon cubes thrown in, and added a bayleaf. I brought it to boil, lowered to a simmer, and about an hour later, I had a huge stash of veggie soup.

This soup proved helpful throughout the week in making dinner and lunch simple- add some protein (yogurt, cheese, beans, chicken) and a little bread (remembering the potatoes as another starch), a piece of fruit for dessert, and I was in business. The benefits of broth-based vegetable soups are lauded far and wide. They provide water in your diet, those much-needed vegetables, and they fill you up before you tuck into anything you might later regret. I think I dropped a pound or two without much trying. They're easy to make, can help you clean out your vegetable drawer or help you take advantage of good sale, and are tasty. Add a drizzle of olive oil or maybe some Parmesan for even more satisfaction.

After being so virtuous all week, Kendall's homecoming allowed for some splurging. He earned his PMP certification, so we were ready to celebrate! He came home to some guacamole, chips, cheese and crackers, as well as some red wine and champagne. Saturday morning, we stopped for donuts, then had lunch at Eastside Cafe. I don't feel totally guilty for it as the food was excellent quality and really delicious. We both ordered the poblano chicken sandwich (grilled chicken, melted cheese, sauteed poblano peppers on a wheat bun) and we subbed the fries for a cup of their chicken, artichoke and mushroom soup, which was creamy and divine. We went for a stroll around their garden and noted the happy chickens in their yard.

Later we stopped for bubble tea and I ordered this delicious blueberry smoothie. We had Kendall's sister and brother-in-law over for dinner. We started with guacamole and chips, then had chicken satay kebabs with peanut dipping sauce, coconut rice, an Asian-inpsired slaw, and strawberries. They brought more champagne, and we also served low-calorie beer.

Sunday we started off with homemade crepes and I tried out a new recipe for cranberry scones. Both were successful. Kendall always makes great crepes, and this Sunday he ended up with a little less batter somehow. It was no big deal, as we had plenty of food! For lunch, we had a trio of salads: leftover Asian slaw, field greens with avocado, green onions and mango in a balsamic vinagrette, and chipotle ranch pasta salad with chicken and veggies. For dinner, we attempted tempura again. It was a big soggy this time around. We snacked on some pomegranate seeds and later split a Bosc pear and had some other little nibbles.

On a related note, I've started my nutrition course, which I'm very excited about!

Showing Signs of Better Regulation for School Cafeterias

Thanks to the blog School Food Policy, England schools are seeing better regulations on the food they serve their students. For fun, I thought I'd see how my hometown's school district stacks up...



In England...

- Schools must provide at least one portion of vegetables and at least one portion of fruit every day
- Fruits and vegetables must be provided at any school food outlet (cafeteria, student store, etc)
- Oily fish, such as salmon, must be offered at least once every three weeks
- Processed meat products are heavily restricted. The regulations establish four groups of meat products (hamburger meat, sausage/lunch meat, meat pies and shaped or coated meat products) and allows schools to serve no more than one item from each group every month.
- Sweets such as chocolate bars, chocolate-coated biscuits and cereal bars are banned in school lunches and in the rest of schools as well. Cakes and biscuits are allowed only as part of a lunchtime meal (and may not replace any other component of the meal). Chocolate in any form is banned, except for cocoa powder in dessert served following a lunchtime meal.
- In meals, sodium is limited to 500 mg in elementary schools and 714 mg in secondary schools.
- The only drinks allowed during the school day are water (which must be provided at meals), non-fat or low-fat milk, fruit juice, vegetable juice, plain soy, rice, oat or yogurt drinks, tea, coffee and low-calorie hot chocolate. No preservatives, flavorings, colorings or artificial sweeteners are allowed.



In Boerne...

-Veggies and Fruits: Most of the time, Boerne offers a fruit and vegetable serving every day. What is concerning is that some days, fruit is in the form of 100% juice, or things like steak fingers or pizza count as several food groups (meat, veggie, starch). The good news is that about 4 days a week, students are served an actual vegetable and an actual fruit (not juice or ketchup).

-Oily Fish: On the BISD menu for Aug 24- Sep 18, there is not one fish present (oily or otherwise). For shame.

-Processed meats: The first week on the calendar boasts 6 instances of a processed meat. Chickenburgers, steak fingers, turkey lunch meat, spaghetti meat sauce (counting as hamburger), and pepperoni grace the kids' plates. The following week is a bit better with 4 instances, one of them being a turkey corndog. The week after has 5 servings.

- Sweets: Luckily, dessert is not part of BISDs daily menu. Ice cream is served every Thursday, and there was another day that included a cookie. However, they do allow for cookies to be purchased on Mondays for $.50 and ice cream on Fridays for $.75.


All in all, Boerne isn't too awful. But keep in mind that Boerne is also a wealthier school district, and boasts a high parent-involvement with all things school-related. But there's still room for improvement. If all schools and the governing entities that regulate school lunches tried to implement three healthy new ideas, maybe our schools here will start to resemble those across the pond.

Cafeteria Trends for New School Year

It's time again to wrap those textbooks in brightly-patterned spandex book covers, sharpen some pencils and pop some fresh batteries in that calculator. Before we send kids out the door with some lunch money, take a look at some of the new trends in school cafeterias across America. This is from an article from one of my favorite blogs on school food policy.

• Syrup-infused pancakes, waffles, etc. in plastic packages that you can "safely" put in the oven.


• Mini burgers, hot dogs, cereals and the like.


• Cheese-covered bread in various forms (think pizza, quesadillas, pizza quesadillas, cheesy bread-sticks, and chili cheese wraps).


• Salty snacks such as buffalo wing, chipotle cheddar, honey mustard pretzels, stuffed churros, super pretzels and soft pretzels.


• Sugary milks in new flavors such as extreme chocolate, rootbeer, mocha, hot fudge, and mint chocoloate.

Maybe they'd be better off packing a turkey sandwich with veggie sticks...

Every summer, the School Nutrition Association’s hosts a food expo, showcasing all sorts of new products to use those commodity dollars on. Here are some particularly disgusting new "foods":

• Clodhoppers, cocoa-covered graham wafer clusters, which does count as one USDA serving of a bread or grain. It’s “great for breakfast, lunch or after school!”


• Giorgio Foods' new Cheese Stikcs, which asks you to “pledge allegiance to breaded American cheese." I'm not even joking. And guess what? They are breaded American cheese. Again, I'm not even joking. Not a little bit.


• The Crazy Apple! A company has developed apples that taste like bubble gum, cotton candy and tropical blast. I wasn't aware that apples tasted that bad... especially if you're picking GOOD apples.


• If you like the idea of sweetened, colored fruit, the United Commodity Group will process those apples and turn them into flavored applesauce. The neon-green “Super Sour Apple” is made of apples, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor, FD&C Yellow #5 and Blue #1, and Vitamin C. And sadly, that counts as one serving of fruit for school lunches.


• Polish Water Ice (see image above) claims that its product has no fat, no dairy, no cholesterol, no peanut oil and fewer than 140 calories. It does contain: water, apple juice concentrate, cane sugar, corn syrup, natural and artificial flavor, guar gum, carbohydrate gum, locust bean gum, citric acid and FD&C Red #40. Yep, you guessed it- that counts as half of the required fruit and vegetables for meals. Do you see that thing?


• And last but not least, why bother making pancakes and eggs as separate breakfast dishes? No need! Schools can now buy heat-and-serve “Maple PanEggCakes,” which is an egg patty that is nestled inside a maple-flavored, whole-grain pancake. Seriously? Whole grain? Who are you kidding?

Ate my Way through Chicago

I'm back from the Windy City and had an absolute blast. Kendall and I had such a good visit with Mary, Jonathan, Chris, Sarah, Al and all the new faces along the way! Chicago's weather was beautiful so we spent as much time outside as possible. And we also took advantage of the many tastes of the city.

Our flight landed on Saturday and after dropping our bags, we were on our way to meet my cousin, Jonathan and his husband, Chris, downtown. Once there, we decided to try Hot Woks Cool Sushi, almost right across from the Art Institute of Chicago. Now, Chicago's pride in Barack Obama is unquestioned and only in this city could you find a sushi roll dedicated to our current president! Chris and Mary showed their support and ordered the 10-piece plate. A mound of red spangled sushi topped with the sweetest little American flag arrived. I tried one of Mary's rolls, which was a lovely combonation of flavors and textures- smooth, creamy, salty, crispy. I ordered the Panang Noodles which were smothered in a sweet, savory and velvety sauce, with just the right amount of spice.

After filling our bellies, we headed into the Art Institute to check out their new Modern Art wing. Every year, we make a pilgrimage to the institute and I am always floored by the variety and quality of the art they bring in. The new wing is beautiful, makes a great use of natural light. The space feels very open so your mind can wander amongst the abstract techniques and ideas. As always, I was impressed by the number and variety of great works they were able to bring in.

That night, we stumbled upon Twist Tapas. We shared sangria, calamari, cheese, bread, asparagus, scallops, mushrooms, shrimp, ahi tuna and more. We also shared memories, stories and a lot of laughs. It was time for Chris and Jonathan to go home, so after a sad goodbye, we hit up the store for a few bottles of good French wine to be enjoyed at home. We went with a 2005 Bordeaux (always a good bet) and a Boujelais (2006 I think?).

Sunday, we headed out for the Garfield Park Conservatory. As we switched trains, we caught a quick bite at Wow Bao. Mary and Kendall had the hot buns, which I tasted, and I had dumplings and rice, and we all left happy. The buns are soft and filled with a moist filling of your choice, from edamame to chicken to pork.

The conservatory was beautiful. It's hard to believe that it's FREE. It is filled with so many varieties of flowers, trees, and fauna. We had a great time taking photos, enjoying some kids wandering around, and walking amongst the greenery. I witnessed a careless patron groping and then plucking a banana off a tree... after the Conservatory had made such an effort to hang cute and witty little cards all over the place!

On the way home, we stopped by the grocery store and picked up some cheese for homemade pizza, some salad fixings, and some berries and yogurt for dessert. Yum! We made guacamole and margaritas while the dough rose and enjoyed wine and pizza later. The pizza was from the recipe I posted previously and the guacamole was a collaborative effort. Many cooks tasted and re-tasted to tweak the lime and salt. Mary seriously impressed with her fine herb chopping skills-- the cilantro evenly flecked the whole bowl of dip.

On Monday, we walked around Mary's new neighborhood. It is filled with lots of cute shops, handy banks and dry cleaners, and many little restaurants and bistros. We ducked into Paper Boy to check out their hip cards, stationery and gifts. Imagine my delight when they were having a "Stuff This Bag for $10" sale! I bought lots and lots of holiday cards, which I am frighteningly excited about. I have issues about holiday cards... I want something cute and non-religous, but cannot justify paying a lot for something that will become part of a tangled mass and thrown out (or RECYCLED) within weeks. Now I have the best of both worlds! Start checking your mailboxes in early Decemeber, y'all!

After that, it was time for our much-anticipated trip to Tre Kronor, a little Swedish kitchen. Mary introduced us in January and we fell in love with their French Onion soup. It is by far the best I've ever tasted. The soupcrock is sealed with creamy cheese, revealing a rich broth, finely chopped onions and a mix of wheat and rye bread croutons. I truly believe I could eat a bowl with every meal and never get tired of it. We also enjoyed the spinach salad and chicken salad sandwich. I'm hoping to check out the dinner menu on our next visit. It's going to be featured on the Food Network in September, so tune in to see lots of shots of their yummy food.

After lunch, we took a stroll along the shores of Lake Michigan. We sat on a bench by the marina and watched boats and ducks bob in the water. The park started to enjoy heavier use as we headed back to our bus stop. It was great to see so many people out and actively enjoying the weather and park! Runners, dogwalkers, bikers and rollerbladers all shared the trail. We tried to keep out of their way as we made our way to happy hour.

We stopped by another neighborhood stop, Joey's Brickhouse. We ordered some deep-fried appetizers while enjoying half-price beers. The patio was lovely and allowed for people watching. The fries had a sweet and savory seasoning and the calamari had what I'm guessing is a flour-and-spice coating, as opposed to a batter coating.

After that, we headed home to enjoy some more margaritas, guac, leftover pizza, wine and cards. Don't mean to brag, but it turns out I am a card-shark. Just sayin'.

I always have so much fun in Chicago and with Mary. The city boasts some seriously great food and I look forward to returning and trying some more great grub.

Chicago!

It's only a few days until Kendall and I fly out for our annual trip to Chicago. We go to visit one my dearest friends, Mary, and try to squeeze in some time with my cousin Jonathan and his husband Chris. We are so excited to see all of them!

We're also stoked to get out of this triple digit heat and into weather with a forecasted high in the mid-70s... Heaven! We haven't been to the Windy City in the summer, and I am looking forward to strolling around in the sun, taking in some sites, but mostly, visiting with some of my favorite people. We always have a blast with Mary and her always-cool-forever-hipper-than-us friends. I've never met a single one I haven't liked!

Chicago is also home to some great chow. Deep-dish pizza, of course, is a Chicago classic, and is so deeply hearty and satisfying. But Mary's also taken us to some great little spots, including an unbelievable Lebanese restaurant and a better-than-Grandma's Swedish kitchen with some of the best French Onion soup I've ever had.

After a wretched dinner this past winter, there's now an unfortunate legend of my off-the-cuff homemade broccoli cheese disaster. It was 17 degrees below zero, and after freezing our way to the Shedd Aquarium, we decided some hearty soup was in order. I decided that making broccoli cheese soup would be simple enough. I figured you'd make a white sauce, add some cheese, thin it with a bit of milk, add the broccoli and presto. But my plan went awry...

After successfully making a white sauce, I slowly started to add some shredded Cheddar. It didn't melt slowly into the sauce, but rather curdled. Panicked, I added milk and turned the heat down. No luck. Turned the heat up. No luck. I added the broccoli. Nada. After 20 minutes of trying to tame this thing down, and no other options, I threw it in the blender. It was... not good. It was pretty much tasteless, had a horrid texture, and felt spongy between your teeth. But my loving friends still ate it. My husband gave me grief.

This time, I feel compelled to take along a few recipes in my suitcase to try to wow them again... Any suggestions?

Kick It Up A Notch!

In the past decade, food shows have risen in popularity, warranting their own TV station. With all of these chefs having fun and dishing out some amazing-looking grub, one would assume we'd all be heading for the kitchen, ready to add some "gahlic" to whatever Emeril dish we're concocting, adding some "bam! bam!s" of spices, and making it "happy, happy, happy" with some butter or bacon.

But strangely, sadly, we're not. Instead of being inspired to cook, we're glued to our couches, strapped in to be entertained some more by something out of a diner in Arizona as some punk with bleach-blonde hair visit every greasy spoon in America.

In Pollan's article, "Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch," he reveals the scary reality that we are not cooking any more than we were ten years ago, that we are relying more and more on pre-packaged convenience foods, and that we are watching more and more people cook food that we aren't eating.

My first hint at this was seeing the "Joy of Cooking" brand of frozen TV dinners at my local grocery store. "But isn't this..." my husband peered. I nodded. "A total contradiction." The fact that these dinner exist proves that we have entered an era of wanting to experience the same great flavors that we see on our favorite primetime food show (braised beef tips with noodles, roasted herb chicken with potatoes and vegetables) but without the hassle of actually cooking it.

When we aren't eating out, we are staying in, throwing a frozen tray into the microwage, and nestling in to watch two top chefs go head-to-head as they cook up several courses from the mystery ingredient... fiddlehead ferns! Salads, risottos, gelees, fern-squid soup, panna cotta with ferns and berries, all fly from the kitchens to judges who deconstruct every nuance of every bite... then, Ding! Microwave brownies are done and we are ready for watching people make towering cakes that look like the Grand Canyon for someone 50th birthday!

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&hp

Pizza Fridays Forever

It's become a tradition in our house to have pizza on Friday nights. For me, it signals that the weekend is finally here, and that it's time to relax and find solace with some casual and comfort fare. We used to buy a frozen pie and throw it in the oven for 20 minutes when we got home, but once I ventured out and made my own dough from scratch, we haven't looked back.

Homemade pizza yields something so delicious, you could never find it in a box. The dough is hearty, using whole-wheat flour, the sauce tangy and a bit spicy, the veggies a bit undercooked to maintain their crispness and the cheese plentiful and gooey. It pairs beautifully with both red wine and beer. Many of my favorite memories with Kendall focus around watching David Brooks and Mark Shields row over the past week in politics, nodding or wincing, sipping heartily and eating pizza.

I found the dough recipe in the Betty Crocker cookbook, and the sauce, I tweek every time, depending on what I have on hand. But here's a rough idea...

Laura's Pizza Sauce
1 8-oz. can tomato sauce
1 clove minced garlic
1/4-1/2 C fresh basil, oregano, sage if you have it, or dried herbs (I use Herbes de Provence frequently)(1-2 tsp or Tbsp depending on your taste)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste