All work and sick kids, and No play, makes this a boring blog

Sorry for the absence from the blog world. I work all day on Sundays and that leaves me pretty wiped out, with the sad side effect that my house normally gets trashed the days that I am gone and all the kids are left at home with their daddy. So Monday morning I wake up tired to a very messy house. :(   Then My 6 year old got sick, not sure what, but some fever spikes and throwing up and the whole house goes crazy.  
But I wanted to share with you some of the few pictures I took at the Balloon Festival that we went to on Saturday. :)

 

 Remax had a booth where they took these pictures for us. It was fun.  
So take a look and I hope everyone has a great Wednesday!  
I am just hoping my kid feels better soon and I can get my house cleaned up and feel back to normal. :)

COCO-Nutty goodness.

I ran across something new yesterday!!  
(I love it when I do that.)

At Lifetime Fitness' Life Cafe in North Dallas they have a sweetener sitting on the counter that I had never seen before. So, since I used to work there and have some connections, I took some pictures of the bottle and got a little souffle cup of some and took it home.  This morning, I tried it on my waffles. (That is what the bottle showed to do with it, so why the heck not, right?)

The Bottle had some great information on it, Mainly that the coconut nectar is derived from the flower blossoms on the coconut tree and not from coconuts themselves, which explains why it doesn't taste like coconut. 
It also states that it has "17 amino acids, Vitamin C, broad spectrum B vitamins, and a nearly neutral pH"
 
Although the first line almost pissed me off enough to not want to try it at all, I did anyway. 
But, come on, really? "When both our parents suddenly became diabetic"???  Seriously?  No one becomes "suddenly diabetic" unless of course you take the route my father in law did and electrocute your pancreas.  It makes me wonder how BOTH parents "Suddenly" became diabetic, because that is just bad luck if its genetic, and would have presented itself much sooner then after they had kids....so it make me wonder if they both had bad diets and were obese.......then of course it makes me wonder if I really want to trust a product that came about in such a way, or by people that will use their parents diabetes as a selling point......ok, I digress,......Back to research.

The great thing about this product is the Ingredients. Do you see that??  ONE. Its lovely when I find products that have 5 ingredients or less, but just ONE? Awesome. 


It is not a low calorie sweetener, but that is a good thing.  Whenever a product says low calorie or no calories, and it is not water, then I worry.
EVERYTHING has calories. (except water) But the FDA has ruled that if there is .5 or less PER SERVING then you can count it as 0. So companies with change the serving until it hits .5 then make it say 0. So you have 2 servings, and BAM, you have 1 calorie. So when you are consuming 10 servings because you think that you can since it has "no calories" then you are actually consuming what is called "hidden calories" so just quit letting all the marketing lie to you and understand that NOTHING but water has 0 calories. (it is the same with everything on labels, so if it says it has Zero Trans fats per serving, then look at the ingredients, most times it still has some in it, and they are just using a loop hole to reel people in)  ok, I digress again.......back to coconut sap.

This was breakfast, I wanted to try it on waffles (since, like I said, that is what the picture showed) and that way I could taste its true flavor. Honestly, I have heard from more then one source, that by itself it is not good, but I liked it. It had a smooth nutty sort of flavor. It reminded me of a syrup similar to Molasses or Sorghum yet a little milder. It is definitely something I would just eat on waffles or pancakes.


I did not get enough to try in cookies or anything, but I have read good things about its uses in baking.

HAPPY HUMP DAY AND GOOD EATING!

May all your food be good and good for you, 

and all your calories be worth it! ;)

A BIG list of vitamins and mineral food sources.

I have spent an accumulation of about 12 hours over the last week compiling this list. This is a list of the vitamins and minerals you need on a daily basis to maintain optimum health. I have included the amount needed per day and then the foods with the best source of each. Listed from highest to lowest. I do not know anyone that WANTS to take pills every day, so this is a good way to evaluate your diet and see what you are getting plenty of and where your deficiencies are.  I will be using this chart for all of my consultations with future clients to help them figure out what they are lacking and how to get it in the food and not in a pill. I hope that all of you take a look at it and see what is in what you eat. There are some surprising things on the lists as well, so enjoy!  If you have any questions, please feel free to ask in the comments and I will do my best to answer all of them. (even if I have to look up the answers)  :)

 

Happy Reading, and Happy Eating!!

A BIG thanks to:

 http://www.nutrition.gov/whats-food/vitamins-minerals/individual-vitamins

 http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-and-supplements/lifestyle-guide-11/vitamins-minerals-how-much-should-you-take

For all of the information that I dug through to get this list made!  It would not have been as easy without some of the great lists you had already made!  :)

If any of you want to check out the lists of vitamins and minerals, it has the top 500 consumed foods on it, so it includes fast foods and snacks, etc. I did not include anything that was enriched or junk food on my list, but if you want to check out what you are eating from the drive thru, then you can. :)

 

Just BEET it....

One of my kids favorite things that I make for them is roasted beets and carrots. 
Odd, I know, my kids are ages 4 to 9 years old and they LIKE beets, go figure right?  They didnt always like them or even wanted to try them, but one day I made this dish, and now they love them.  So I wanted to share with all of you so that you can make this at home and share with your kids,. (even my husband eats it and he is a PICKY eater)  







 



So, here is what you do:  
I normally have 3 beets and about 6 carrots. 
Peel the beets and then cut them into quarters. then lay the beet down and slice them into thick slices, this is called a "country chop" due to its rustic appearance.  
Do the same with the carrots. I do not bother to peel the carrots since my kids eat them raw and whole all the time (as you can see from the picture of Arcee, she sat there munching on a whole carrot while I cooked), there isn't much need to and is a waste of time. 






Toss all the chopped pieces onto a baking sheet and sprinkle some olive oil on the tops of them and then some pepper and some sea salt. Then put them in the oven at 350 until they are soft. You may have to take them out and toss them a few times for them to cook evenly.

 Afterwards they look about like this: I ran out of time and had to pull them a little sooner then I usually do because the kids had school today and we needed to eat dinner.

I made some green beans, chicken, and some homemade chicken gravy to go with them for dinner. I like to keep to one side dish that grows above the grown and one that grows under the ground. It is a good way to keep a balanced mix of vegetables so that you do not eat too much of one kind. 

Dinner looked like this.  It was very yummy and the hubby and kids ate it right up!  :)

So,  Now that we have discussed HOW to eat beets, let talk about WHY!  :)

 One serving size of beets is 1/2 cup slices.  As you can see beets are naturally fat free, (and depending on how much olive oil you add to it, there isn't much in the whole dish.) They are not a good source of protein, but have good fiber. But beyond that, lets look at their vitamin and mineral levels.

A good source of:
Fiber
Folic Acid/Folate
Omega 6
Omega 3
Manganese
Magnesium
Potassium
Iron
Vitamin C

So just BEET it!  

And Have a Great Monday!!

Let me know in the comments if you tried this and how you liked it. 

Also, if you have a different way that you like to eat beets I would love to hear about it!  :)

a Big thanks to:
http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2349/2
Who provided the nutritional graphs and information for my beets!  I couldn't have had such a great blog post without it!  :)

Need more Culture in your life??

Everyone tells you that there is live cultures in yogurt, but what the heck does that mean?  That there are live little things crawling around in your yogurt?  well, lets discuss. :)  


"The words "live and active cultures" refer to the living organisms, Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, which convert pasteurized milk to yogurt during fermentation. Note that the milk is pasteurized before culturing to remove any harmful bacteria. The process is very similar to that used when making beer, wine or cheese, in that beneficial organisms ferment and transform the basic food. This fermentation process is what creates yogurt, with its unique taste, texture and healthful attributes." -aboutyogurt.com

"Yogurt is made by adding two types of cultures - Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus - to warm milk. The bacteria convert the milk's sugar to lactic acid, which gives yogurt its unique flavor. Due to the presence of the acid, the proteins change their structure, forming a delicate gel. Other type of cultures, such as L. acidophilus and Bifidus cultures, can be found in some yogurts.

 Studies have shown that to get the benefits of the cultures, they have to be live when consumed. 

Overview of Yogurt's Health Attributes

Physicians have long recognized yogurt as a healthy, wholesome food for the whole family. A growing body of medical and scientific research examines yogurt's healthful properties:

Osteoporosis
One out of two women and one out of eight men will develop osteoporosis. Studies show that a diet high in calcium can help slow bone loss, thereby preserving bone mass and reducing the risk of developing this debilitating disease. Calcium-rich yogurt may also lessen the effects of osteoporosis among the elderly, as well as slow bone loss in post-menopausal women.

Hypertension
As many as 50 million Americans suffer from hypertension, or high blood pressure, which increases the risk of heart disease, stroke, and kidney disease. When your family eats lowfat yogurt, they're getting calcium, potassium, and magnesium - three nutrients that have been shown to reduce hypertension. Studies also show that a calcium-rich diet helps regulate blood pressure in women during and after pregnancy.

Lactose Intolerance
The inability to digest lactose, the natural sugar in milk, results from a deficiency of the enzyme lactase in the body. Studies have shown that the live and active cultures present in yogurt allow it to be eaten by many of the more than one quarter of American adults who ordinarily experience lactose intolerance with other dairy products.

(**Notice that it says ADULTS, they found that the possible side effects to youth with lactose intolerance was not worth the study, so they did not do it.  I agree that it was very socially conscience of them to not test this out on children. But that means that there is no real research to determine whether children with lactose intolerance can eat yogurt or not. If you wish to try this out with your kids, please talk to your allergist first and do the test however they suggest.)

Colon Cancer
New studies indicate that calcium may reduce the risk of colon cancer. Furthermore, other studies have found that populations that eat large amounts of yogurt, or other fermented milk products, seem to have a lower risk of developing certain types of cancer, especially colon cancer. Ongoing studies are being conducted to confirm this relationship.

Yeast Infections
Vaginal yeast infections affect nearly 12 million women each year. Research suggests that when eaten regularly, yogurt-containing L. acidophilus, a culture found in some yogurts, may decrease yeast growth and infection in certain individuals.

Immune System
Studies suggest that live and active culture yogurt may enhance the immune systems of certain individuals by boosting certain markers associated with a healthy immune system."

(This means that based on your genetics, yogurt can boost the natural genetic markers in your system and thereby boosting your immune system, but it will not work as well on others, but the benefits aside from that if you just relied on the Calcium and the Live and active cultures to fight off infections, then you still receive a good amount of benefits.)

  
("Some yogurt products are heat-treated after fermentation, which kills most of the beneficial active cultures found in the yogurt. To help you identify those yogurt products that contain live and active cultures, the National Yogurt Association (NYA) has established a special Live & Active Cultures seal. The NYA is a national non-profit trade organization whose purpose is to sponsor health and medical research for yogurt with live and active cultures and serve as an information source to the trade and the general public. The Live & Active Culture seal, which appears on refrigerated and frozen yogurt containers, helps you recognize those products containing significant amounts of live and active cultures. The seal is a voluntary identification available to all manufacturers of refrigerated yogurt whose products contain at least 100 million cultures per gram at the time of manufacture, and whose frozen yogurt contains at least 10 million cultures per gram at the time of manufacture. Since the seal program is voluntary, some yogurt products may have some live cultures but not carry the seal. It is, however, the industry validation of the presence and activity of significant levels of live cultures." -yogurt.com)  Who would have thought that that there was a yogurt association.  :)

 Coming from someone that is not very fond of Yogurt, I have found many ways that I can eat it. With fresh fruit and granola, it offsets the texture issue I have with it. Or I mix up smoothies with it instead of milk. :)  Only Heat kills the live cultures, so as long as you do not cook it, then you will retain the live cultures and the benefits. :)

So start getting all those benefits today! 

A big thank you to the AboutYogurt.com for all their amazing articles that I got all this information from!  

Its a great read if you want to check out all the other parts of their site, which has a recipe tab. :)

Healthy Lunch

 I am sitting here on a beautiful Monday working on a project that I think you will all appreciate when I am done. (or that is the hope since I am spending quite a few hours putting this thing together. :)

I took a break to make lunch for me and Arcee, and for some reason, tuna sounded good.  So I took a pouch of tuna and mixed in some diced tomatoes, some mushrooms, and some chopped up spinach.  Mixed in a little reduced fat olive oil mayo and some sea salt and pepper and voila!  Lunch!  And it was yummy too. :)


I paired it with some Nancy's whole grain sea salt and pepper crisps and some ice water. Very refreshing. :)

I wanted to toss in some peppers, and cranberries, but I am all out. :(  I will have to go to the store soon since the kids ate the rest of the peanut butter yesterday while I was at work too. 

What are some of your favorite healthy lunch ideas?? 

Happy Monday everyone! 

Don't forget to drink your water. :")

Breakfast Pop Overs

One of my kids favorite things for breakfast are things things we have dubbed breakfast popovers. Its biscuits, eggs, cream cheese, shredded cheese, and some sausage or bacon.  

Take a biscuit and press it out to about twice the normal size and then press it down into the bottom of a sprayed muffin tin, making sure to push it up the sides as well to form a cup. Mix the eggs, chesses, and meat in a mixer to blend thoroughly. Fill the cups about 2/3rds full then bake until done. Let cool to eat or refrigerate and reheat another morning. :)

I made these for breakfast tomorrow morning, they are great to bake and then reheat later. :)

What are your favorite breakfast foods??  

Have a good night everyone!

 I will check back in Monday. 

  (I work Sundays, unfortunately)  

Gluten....Is it the enemy? Or the Victim?

As a culinary nutritionist, one of the foremost and most common thing I deal with is a gluten allergy or intolerance. I have very mixed views on this topic, so I will try and tell you all the facts and figures associated with gluten intolerance and allergy. 

" It is a chronic, inherited disease, and if untreated can ultimately lead to malnutrition. Gluten intolerance is the result of an immune-mediated response to the ingestion of gluten (from wheat, rye, and barley) that damages the small intestine. Nutrients are then quickly passed through the small intestine, rather than being absorbed. To develop celiac disease (CD) three (3) things must be present: 1) you must inherit the gene, 2) consume gluten, and 3) have the gene triggered. Common triggers may include stress, trauma (surgeries, pregnancy, etc.), and viral infections. Approximately 1 in 20 first-degree relatives could have CD triggered in their lifetime. The disease is permanent and damage to the small intestine will occur every time you consume gluten, regardless if symptoms are present."  --gluten.net

"Celiac disease was once thought of a disease with only GI symptoms. It is now recognized that the disease is a multi-symptom, multi-system (organ) disease. Celiac disease also does not routinely present with the 'textbook' symptoms that physicians learn. More often it presents with symptoms that can mimic other problems.

Most physicians recognize the classic symptoms of celiac disease : diarrhea, bloating, weight loss, anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, bone pain, and muscle cramps. Physicians may not be aware that celiac disease frequently presents with other symptoms, some that do not involve the small intestine. More often, symptoms can include constipation, constipation alternating with diarrhea, or premature osteoporosis. Overweight persons may also have undiagnosed celiac disease. Children may exhibit behavioral, learning or concentration problems, irritability, diarrhea, bloated abdomen, growth failure, dental enamel defects, or projectile vomiting. Others will have symptoms such as rheumatoid conditions, chronic anemia, chronic fatigue, weakness, migraine headaches, nerve problems such as tingling of hands or difficulty walking, or other conditions that are unexplained and/or do not respond to usual treatment. People may have one or more of the above symptoms. Patients are frequently misdiagnosed as having 'irritable bowel syndrome', 'spastic colon/bowel', or Crohn's disease'."  --gluten.net

"A new study in the journal BMC Medicine may shed some light on why. It shows gluten can set off a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system, even in people who don't have celiac disease.

"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research."  ---wsj.com

Now that I have hit you with a bunch of facts and research, let me see if I can make some sense of it for you.  Celiacs disease, REAL celiacs disease is actually very rare, and very deadly.  Then there is a gluten intolerance, this can present itself in many different ways. But for the most part it causes swelling in the intestines and stomach lining that can create all sorts of uncomfortable things to occur, from IBS to vomiting. 

The "simple" way to test if you are gluten intolerant is to cut gluten from your diet for one week.  If you lose more then 2 pounds, then you are intolerant, and if you lose 3 or more pounds then more then likely it was making you very sick. 

Now the flip side to all of this:

There are so many other reasons why your body will lose weight during your trial. If you just stop eating all gluten but you dont eat anything else you can cut enough calories to lose weight, and most people can lose that much weight with any drastic change in their diets.  It being something that is considered a "fad" diet, people are claiming to be gluten intolerant when they are not and they are becoming unhealthy. For Nutritionists and Dieticians this is a red flag for an eating disorder. When otherwise healthy people start claiming gluten intolerance and then not eating because of it they are building the psychological foundation for an eating disorder. One that normally turns into Anorexia because it starts with gluten, then dairy will make them sick, then eggs will, then meat, and so on and so forth. 

Its because when you stop eating your body will stop producing the necessary enzymes to break down your food. (for example, someone that is vegan and has been for a long time will have a hard time reintroducing dairy, eggs, and meat into their bodies) 

So as a culinary nutritionist I take it very seriously to help people find out if they really have an intolerance to gluten or if they are just having other issues and they just don't know what to call it. But in the end the only one that can give you a clear idea of what is truly the matter is a doctor. 

The good news is:

there are some very simple, yummy, and great ways to eat gluten free. If you do not have any other allergies or intolerance's then you can eat nut flours and quinoa, which are both very high in nutrients and protein. 

If you have any favorite gluten free recipe, then please share them with us!  I have started a collection of gluten free recipes. :)

Hope some of this has helped clear up some of the confusion surrounding all this talk on gluten. 

if you have any questions, or related information, then just let me know. :).

Pinball Madness!

Ok, so this has taken me longer then I figured it would to get to it. The DFW Pinball and Arcade Club Pinball tournament was Monday and the event went great!  People seemed to really like the food and just the whole idea that these things can come with food. I had a fun time doing it as well. It took over my entire house for a week, but that is why I don't do this often. :)

The Menu consisted of: 

Meatball Rolls

Pigs in a blanket

Sandwich wraps

-Red Pepper Chicken

-Turkey Club

-Grilled Vegetable with Brie

Vegetable Platter

Veggie Tartlets

Chips and dip

Cookies, Brownies, and Cupcakes for dessert.

Meat ball rolls we really easy. They were a last minute addition when the number of guests went from 50 to 70. :)  I used Italian style meatballs and home style biscuits. roll the biscuit around the meatball, sprinkle Parmesan cheese and some herbs on top then refrigerate til day before, then bake.  These are always a big hit. They are filling and really easy, and can feed a crowd. 

I had to build the wraps the night before to keep them from going soggy before people got to eat them.  I built them all then wanted to toast them so that they would have a good texture and would stay closed. I do not have a sandwich grill or panini press or anything like that, so I used my waffle iron.  (yes, I said my waffle iron, trust me, it worked great!)

I sealed it good, let me a nice clear halfway mark to use to cut them, and left cute little squares on the wraps. I felt Like a genius! 

This is the first contained of wraps. Around 60 of them in there. That contains the Turkey club ones and most of the Red Pepper Chicken wraps.  The rest got put on another tray. I lined the bottom with lettuce to give them some cushion and make them a little taller so that they were even with the top of the container.  it made the wraps look larger and the container look fuller.

This is the brilliant idea i had to warm the pigs in a blanket and the meatball rolls the morning of the event. I trays with the meat ball rolls were too big to fit side by side and I didnt want to have to reheat them all in stages because then one of them would be cold by the time the even was set up, so i moved my racks down and just sat one on top of the other. Again, I felt like a genius. ;)

This is the event table all set up.  With my friend Jennifer taking pictures of the other side too. (everyone say: Hi, Jennifer)   I had table clothes down and everything uncovered for service and labeled, but so that you can see it all better I took closer pictures.

 Meatball rolls, pigs in a blankets, and the veggie wraps.

The wraps and the pigs in a blankets again.

Veggies and sides.

 These ar ethe veggie tartlets.  They were a huge hit as well!  Its cresent roll dough on the bottom with a vegetable and dill cream cheese whipped and spread on it then topped with diced raw vegetables. People that do not like vegetables, seem to like these.

And due to popular request, we had some chips and dip.

 Desserts!  Chocolate chip cookies in the back, chocolate sugar cookies (the chefs signature recipe) Caramel Brownies, (my girl turtles) and then some jello poke cupcakes.  (something fruity and fun for the kids.)

There was a little boy there that had many allergies, so I made sure to mark the foods he could eat with a chuck e cheese character (because he loves chuck e cheese and so would want to eat the foods that chuckie was "thumbs up"ing) I made sure he had one entree and one vegetable/side, and one dessert. Since none of the desserts I baked would fit into his diet, I provided some Oreos for him. (because they do surprisingly) 

 EVERYTHING had a label so that people knew what they were eating and what the allergy warnings were for all of them. That seemed to go over very nicely and I may keep that as a solid practice for future events as well.

I competed in the tournaments as well, got 4th place in both the womens tournament and the C division (or what they called the Small Kahuna Division).  But for the C division I was given a Stern Pinball shirt, that Arcee ran around in for a day. :)

All in all it was a great event and a fun day!!  yay for Holidays.  Now I am taking donations to get a nice long pedicure for my sore feet and trying to find the motivation to do laundry. :)

Hope it was worth the wait, and that you all had a great Labor Day Weekend!! 
And a Big Thanks to the DFW Pinball and Arcade Club for having me Cater their Labor Day Tournament. :)