Goal Updates

The time has come to review my progress on my goals. So here goes:

1. Eat more whole grains. I'm doing very well with this goal. I cook brown rice most of the time (unless I'm in a hurry), make my own whole wheat bread (sometimes I grind my own wheat. I know, I'm a nerd), and use more whole grains in my cooking. I would like to start using whole wheat pasta.

2. Eat more fruits and vegetables. I'm also doing well here. Vegetables and fruits make up a bigger portion of my grocery purchases. I've also been trying to by fruits and veggies when they are in season. I loved eating my own garden grown tomatoes, and while I am a little sad tomato season is over (and that I no longer live in a house with a garden), I would rather eat canned tomatoes and sauces made with in season tomatoes than eat the yucky tomato impostors at the grocery stores now. Two of the best measures of success here come from my daughter. The other day her friend was complaining about how she doesn't like to eat vegetables. My daughter confidently said, "I love vegetables. They help me grow healthy and strong." Also, the other day she snatched broccoli out of my salad and popped it into her mouth with great relish.

3. Eat less meat. I've gone from eating meat (either lunch meat variety or otherwise) about once a day to once every couple of weeks. I usually eat meat when we are eating at someone else's house. I don't purchase meat very often (less than once a month--except I still by deli meat for my husband).

4. Eat less refined sugar. This goal has been the hardest for me by far. I can report some progress, though. I have decided to cut out high fructose corn syrup from my diet, which has eliminated soda products (and thus caffeine) from my diet as well. I try to buy products with molasses, honey, agave, or cane juice instead of sugar. So I am eating refined sugar much less often than before. I still have a ways to go before I am free from my sugar addiction, though. A measure of my success here came before I swore off high fructose corn syrup (it actually aided my decision). I bought a bunch of yogurt from the store because it was on sale. I tried some and couldn't eat it because I could taste the corn syrup. It was way too sweet, and frankly not as tasty as the natural brands I had been purchasing. I decided the extra money for HFCS free yogurt was well spent.

Favorite Cookbooks

I thought it would be fun to share my favorite "healthy" cookbooks/web-sites and get ideas from you about your favorites. Here are my current favorites:



Wholesome Harvest: Cooking With the New Four Food Groups : Grains, Beans, Fruits, and Vegetables (Paperback)by Carol Gelles

This cookbook is filled with yummy recipes without too many weird ingredients. As the title suggests, it contains recipes that use lots of vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Most of the recipes are vegan, but can handle meat, cheese, etc. if you so choose. The recipes are also seasonally appropriate (i.e. zucchini, tomatoes and basil in one recipe; sweet potato, winter squash, carrots in another). The book is full of variety and different ethnicities of flavor as well, which keeps me interested.

Super Baby Food (Paperback)by Ruth Yaron

All about how to make you own baby food and 1,000 other tips for healthy eating for babies and children. Aside from the practical How-to and What-to information, I really enjoy the recipes and the myriad of facts and tips the author throws in about things I never thought I needed to know (but are really quite useful).

http://www.cookinglight.com/ and http://www.allrecipes.com/

My favorite cooking web-sites. I love cooking light magazine, especially the "dinner in just about 20 minutes" section. I've found a lot of great egg/dairy free recipes on allrecipes.com by typing simple searches (like "egg free cookies").

So, what are your favorite cookbooks or web-sites?

Curry Pumpkin Soup

I've been trying new pumpkin recipes to use the pumpkin puree from our Halloween pumpkin. I adapted this recipe from allrecipes.com.

2 tbs. pumpkin seeds (optional--I used a mix of pumpkin and sunflower seeds--for the simple reason that they are stored together in the same mason jar)

2 tbs. butter

3 tbs. all-purpose flour

1/2 tbs. curry (I have a very strong curry powder. If yours is not so strong, or you just like things really spicy, add more)

4 C vegetable broth

1/4 C finely chopped onion

1 tsp. bottled minced garlic

3 1/2 C pumpkin puree (or 1 29 oz. can)

1 can (15 oz) coconut milk

2 tbs. soy sauce

1 tbs. sugar

salt and pepper to taste

the original recipe gives instructions on how to toast the seeds in the oven. I sprayed a skillet with cooking spray, then toasted the seeds for a few minutes that way. If your seeds are fresh from the pumpkin, oven toasting would work better.

Melt butter in a large pot over medium heat. Stir in flour and curry powder until smooth. Cook, stirring, until mixture begins to bubble. Add onion and garlic. Gradually whisk in broth, and cook for about 10 minutes (or until thickened a bit). Stir in pumpkin and coconut milk. Season with soy sauce, sugar, salt and pepper. Bring just to a boil, then remove from heat. Garnish with roasted seeds.

By the way, I resolved the Halloween candy dilemma in the following ways. First of all, we opted to go out for the evening, so we gave out nothing (it's kind of cheating, but it worked). Second, my daughter got sick of trick-or-treating early so she didn't end up with much candy. Third, I bought a toy to trade for her candy. This was a TERRIBLE idea for our family. She hated the idea of anyone (fairy or otherwise) taking her candy. I could see her point of view, so she ended up with the toy AND rationed candy. I won't do that again. Live and learn, right?