Kale chips!!!

Maple Kale Chips:
Basic and simple... wash and dry kale leaves; Remove all the stems, rip into pieces. For a small bunch, toss with 1 tbsp. oil, 1 tbsp. maple syrup, and a few grinds of salt. Put on a parchment-lined sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes, watching carefully so they don't burn. Devour!
These are a great snack on the go or late at night. Also a great way to get some extra greens in to your diet. You can flavor these any way you like. Cajun, asian, indian, sweet, salty etc.... Get creative, experiment, have fun!

Eat your veggies Timmy part 2 (Eating out)

We talked about compromising with your kids in the “Eat your veggies Timmy” post. Let’s elaborate on that a bit shall we? Here are some tips for dining out.

Try to eat well and order just as well for your kids.

1: Don't allow your kids to fill up on bread before the meal. They typically have small appetites. You want the food they eat to count.

2:Stay away from the soda pop. These are typically brought before the meal. By the time your child's food arrives he has already had a whole bun and a tall glass of Coke. Doesn't leave much room in his tiny belly for the real food.

3:The kids menu is crap! Don’t order from it. It rarely consists of anything healthy. If it’s not healthy enough for you then don’t feed it to them. Most restaurants will put a children’s menu placemat in front of your child. No good. Once they see it, it’s hard to say no. It might help to ask the hostess NOT to bring one at all.

As far as ordering, it’s all about yup, you guessed it, compromise. Work with your child. They order a healthy dish, they can have a small dessert for example. Eventually they may not even want the dessert anymore. To them it’s about control remember? Another way you can allow your child to feel somewhat in control is by offering him multiple choices on what he may order. “You can have the chicken with mashed potatoes or the hamburger with veggies. You choose”. When you show them you’re willing to compromise, they tend to be more cooperative. If you have one child you can let him eat half of a regular meal and take the rest home with you for lunch at work the next day. If you have two children let them share an adult meal if they can agree on something together. Try to order them some chicken, meat or fish instead of a hotdog or pizza. As a side maybe salad, potatoes or veggies instead of fries. Again, Praise praise praise. After the meal, commend your child for making the right choice and taking charge of feeding his body right. Tell him he will feel better, run faster, get stronger because he ate right! And remember, it may take time and several efforts to get your child on board but in time he will and he’ll be happier and healthier for it. Good luck!

Food glorious food!

My family and I thoroughly enjoy tonight's dinner. I made a prime rib roast under the broiler which I rubbed with a tangy marinade consisting of Fresh lime juice, Cumin, Salt & pepper, fresh garlic, smoked Paprika and olive oil. Boy was it ever good!

Next I made a sweet carrot salad: Grated fresh carrots, chopped flat leaf parsley, Grated orange rind, honey, lemon juice, a tad of olive oil, a bit of honey and salt. I allowed it to sit in the fridge for about an hour so the flavors could marry. It had a sweet and tangy flavor. Perfect!

And last Garlic steamed beans: I steamed both green and yellow string beans just until tender (Not too long). Then tossed in olive oil, lots of fresh garlic, seasoned salt and pepper. OMG, heavenly!

We had a few small pieced of 70% dark chocolate with some green tea for dessert. All in all a very filling and satisfying meal. :)

Eat your veggies Timmy

We love our kids more than anything and want them to be healthy. Proper diet is a crucial aspect of that. It’s not always an easy task to get them to eat all the foods we want them to though. I want to help you. So I’ve put together some tips. Things to watch out for, things to be aware of and things to start putting into practice. This is the first installment of many. They have worked for me and may work for you too. Hope it helps.

Often dealing with kids is a power struggle. We’ve all heard “I wanna do it myself!” They want to feel like they have choices. That they can do it! We need to allow them to feel that same control at the dinner table. Give them healthy options and let them make the choices of what and how much. In doing so, they will learn to see food and mealtime as a positive thing, not a punishment. The trick is to make them think they’re the ones in control (when in reality you are). You’re just giving them the right choices and letting them pick one. If there’s consistently nothing crappy to choose from they will choose something healthy. They’re just happy to have the choice. Be consistent. It’s a long process and it’s ongoing. If they know junk is coming .They’ll hold off right? Stick to ONLY healthy choices.

Rule #1, It’s called “tough love”. Don’t cater to “special” meals for your kids. They should be eating what the rest of the family is eating. What you and your spouse are eating. Nurturing a picky child only encourages him/her to be picky. Make sure to serve more than one vegetable choice and encourage him take at least one. Start with the more basic ones, the ones you know he likes and work your way up to the less known/more exotic ones later. Again, this will help him to feel like HE is the one deciding, NOT YOU. Don’t force him to finish it all. Show him you’re happy with whatever amount he chooses to eat. Even one bite to start shows effort on his part. Praise it. He’ll work his way up from there. Show him you’re proud of his efforts. It’s encouraging. If nessecary, I don’t believe there’s anything wrong with a little bribery at first. Eg: If he takes one bite tonight, he gets an extra 5 minutes of video games, and extra book at bedtime etc… It works! In my mind, even one bite is great. It gets the taste in their mouth. They will eventually adapt their palate to that respective flavor and learn to enjoy it. If he chooses not to eat at all that’s okay, he’s trying to make a point. Don’t give in and feed him crap, what message are you sending him if you don’t follow through? Back to square one. He may eat less for a day or two in an effort to call your bluff. When he’s hungry he will eat. I worry more about the long-term effects of a poor diet more than I do a couple of days of decreased calories. He will eventually give in if you don’t. YOU provide the options…HE makes the choices. Compromise! Stay tuned for Rule #2 coming soon……

Minding your Mitochondria

Sit down, grab a pen and pad, and take this in. This is just so rich in information and tips to getting on the right track to better health. You may relate, agree, disagree with parts of this. My advice is always: "Take what you need, leave the rest".

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLjgBLwH3Wc

My Deep Roots!

You may find it strange but this image comforts me! It makes me happy. What you're looking at are the roots of my breakfast today. They were at the base of the Boston lettuce which I used to make my scramble wrap. The roots are moist and tightly woven. There is even fresh earth blended in there. The leaves of my lettuce as you can see are bright green and crisp they way they should be.This sight reminds me that my food is alive and well, just what I like to be. It didn't come from a box, can or freezer (all of which are descent). Who knows how long that stuff sits there. My roots (Family, Heritage)keep me grounded and help me grow. My children need roots. Heck even my lunch needs roots! I guess my lettuce and I are not so different after all! :)

Making Calories Count!

I know I promised a post about me next but in talking to a friend this morning about fruits versus fruit juices something dawned on me. A positive dietary change can be something as small as cutting down on juices to something as big as eliminating an entire food group. All depends on your personal views on better health. I was trying to explain why I'd choose the whole fruit over just fruit juice to him. Ultimately what it comes down to is CALORIES and quality of them. On average, a moderately active 125-pound woman needs 2,000 calories a day; a 175-pound guy with a similar exercise pattern needs 2,800 calories. (According to "The Harvard Medical School Health Guide")

The question is: Do you want to consume those calories by eating cheap, processed, refined, artificial or deficient foods? Foods like commercial crackers, cookies, frozen meals, twinkies, soda pops, sugary cereals. Sure they taste good but we all know that a small portion of any of those things pack on the calories way too fast. The more natural options are lower in calories and provide a lot more health benefits such as vitamins, minerals and fiber plus you can eat a lot more of them! In essence, if you make the right food choices, you can actually eat a lot more! Blah blah blah..I know you've heard it all before but think about it like this......

In a society where people wanna get "The most bang for their buck" so to speak, you wanna spend your money wisely. Why not apply the same logic to your calories...

I sometimes shop at the dollar store hoping to get more toys for my kids for less money. I always regret it because the toys inevitably end up broken within minutes of getting home. Poor quality junk for the most part. In an effort to save money, I end up wasting it!

In comparison, you can waste all your calories on one meal at McDonald's or you can use them to eat tons and tons of beautiful nutritious foods throughout the day. Make the most of your calories. If they don't offer you much benefit, Don't eat them. Spend them wisely...