I realize I've used the word "healthy" a lot in my blog posts, yet I haven't really described what I mean when I use it. "Healthy" can mean different things to different people, especially as it pertains to food.
My own interpretation of the word has changed a lot over the years. In my teenage years and early 20's, "healthy" meant fat-free; I considered healthy foods to be plain bagels with jelly, pretzels, Saltine crackers, pasta with marinara, salad with fat-free dressing, and Twizzlers.
When I went to college, I was determined to avoid gaining the "Freshmen 15," and as a preventive measure I stuck to the high carb/low fat diet that was all the rage at the time. I ate virtually no fruits and vegetables, and considered Coca-Cola a health food since it didn't have any fat. And guess what - I gained at least 15 pounds during this period of so-called "healthy" eating.
After I caught on to the scam of the high-carb/low-fat diet craze, I redefined "healthy" to be synonymous with deprivation. Eating healthy meant constant vigilance regarding your diet: banning sauces and salad dressings to "the side;" starving yourself for a day because you overindulged the day before; always turning down dessert. Since healthy eating in those terms didn't really appeal to me, I chose to eat what I wanted and exercise to make up for my bad eating habits. I figured that my margaritas, burritos, and pizza wouldn't catch up to me as long as I was hiking and yoga-ing with regularity. It worked...but those things do tend to work when you're 25 years old.
Now I define healthy foods as whole foods (ie: foods in their natural form, that haven't been processed, dyed, bleached, etc.). I don't worry much about fats unless they're trans fats, and I don't count calories. Basically, if I eat a meal that contains components of at least three food groups, and it doesn't contain preservatives, artificial flavorings, artificial colorings, or chemicals, I feel good about it.
But I also have a life that doesn't always allow for the meals I wish I could eat. In a perfect world, I would have a personal chef who would steam artichokes and broccoli for me, and cook me delicious meals of seasonal, local foods. Since I don't live in a perfect world, I start many days off with good intentions (I think I'll make grilled Tilapia and sauteed asparagus for dinner tonight) and end them with yet another frozen pizza.
Taking care of two little ones and trying to constantly cook fresh, nutritious meals around the clock just doesn't really go hand in hand. Even before I had kids, I found it nearly impossible to find the time and energy to grocery shop and cook the way I wanted to.
Therefore, I've come to view "healthy" as an attitude as much as a diet regimen. To me, healthy means trying your best to eat well, but not beating yourself up if you can't. It means eating a burger and fries from In-N-Out for lunch without feeling guilty, but then eating fruits and veggies later to compensate. It means cooking "from scratch" pancakes for breakfast one morning, and throwing a handful of dry Cheerios in a bowl the next. And it means only eating foods that you enjoy, but trying hard to find ways to enjoy foods you know are really good for you.
Showing posts with label about. Show all posts
Showing posts with label about. Show all posts
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Monday, October 26, 2009
No milk, no problem
One of my goals for this blog is to reach out to other people who are dealing with dairy allergies or intolerances. I don’t want to focus exclusively on it because there are too many foods I love that contain dairy (especially cheese…yum!), but I do hope to eventually become a resource for those who are forced into, or choose, a dairy-free life. I plan to give tips on great dairy-free products, ordering at restaurants, modifying recipes to make favorite foods dairy-free, and talking to kids about why they can’t have cake and ice cream at their friends’ birthday parties.
When my daughter Sydney was six months old, I gave her milk-based formula for the first time. Within minutes, hives started sprouting up around her lips and chin. I thought maybe it was related to the nipple on the sippy cup, possibly a latex allergy. But within 15 minutes, her entire body was covered in hives. She threw up about an hour later, and threw up at least two more times after that. When she was tested by an allergist, it was confirmed that she had an allergy to cow’s milk.
I was instructed to remove all traces of dairy from her diet. This meant that I would not only have to avoid the obvious, like milk, cheese and yogurt, but I would also have to start decoding labels, looking for words like “whey” and “casein” and “curds.” I have to say, all of my label-reading has taught me a LOT. Even after 2.5 years, I am still continually surprised by which foods do or do not contain dairy. Here are just some of the foods that have confounded me.
Oreo cookies are dairy-free.
Many pre-made cake frostings are dairy-free.
Many taco seasonings contain dairy.
Almost everything on the menu at Chik-Fila except the fruit cup & waffle fries contains dairy.
The roasted turkey at Boston Market contains dairy.
Some pre-packaged cinnamon buns are dairy-free.
Some canned chicken noodle soup contains dairy.
I could go on and on…
Unfortunately there is no cure for a milk allergy, except hopefully time. There are varying statistics about when and how many children outgrow their allergies. Here is a recent statistic I found, based on a study of 800 children with milk allergies:
• 19% outgrew it by age 4
• 42% outgrew it by age 8
• 64% outgrew it by age 12
• 79% outgrew it by age 16
When Sydney’s allergy was first diagnosed, I was hoping she’d be part of the group that outgrew her allergy early. Sydney just turned three, and her allergy is still going strong. Just the other day, she accidentally grabbed her sister’s milk-filled sippy cup and took a swig. She immediately spit it out, and then spent the next 10 minutes scratching her tongue. She was even licking the couch at one point to try to get the itchy tongue feeling to stop.
While I still hope she outgrows it relatively soon, it’s become part of life for us. I call her allergy a blessing and a curse: a curse because it’s inconvenient; a blessing because it has forced me to look closer at the foods my kids eat, and also forced me to be creative in the kitchen.
One thing I’ve discovered is that almost any dish that is not primarily reliant upon cheese as its main ingredient can be made into a dairy-free version. So life without dairy is definitely not void of pleasure. If you need reassurance of this, check out the cake I just made for Sydney’s birthday (shameless self-congratulating, I know….but I slaved over that thing for 4 hours, so I need to pat myself on the back a little).
So if you know anyone who has kids with dairy allergies, or is allergic to dairy themselves, please send them my way. I'd love to trade ideas & tips, and would also be happy to guide anyone who is new to this and overwhelmed.
When my daughter Sydney was six months old, I gave her milk-based formula for the first time. Within minutes, hives started sprouting up around her lips and chin. I thought maybe it was related to the nipple on the sippy cup, possibly a latex allergy. But within 15 minutes, her entire body was covered in hives. She threw up about an hour later, and threw up at least two more times after that. When she was tested by an allergist, it was confirmed that she had an allergy to cow’s milk.
I was instructed to remove all traces of dairy from her diet. This meant that I would not only have to avoid the obvious, like milk, cheese and yogurt, but I would also have to start decoding labels, looking for words like “whey” and “casein” and “curds.” I have to say, all of my label-reading has taught me a LOT. Even after 2.5 years, I am still continually surprised by which foods do or do not contain dairy. Here are just some of the foods that have confounded me.
Oreo cookies are dairy-free.
Many pre-made cake frostings are dairy-free.
Many taco seasonings contain dairy.
Almost everything on the menu at Chik-Fila except the fruit cup & waffle fries contains dairy.
The roasted turkey at Boston Market contains dairy.
Some pre-packaged cinnamon buns are dairy-free.
Some canned chicken noodle soup contains dairy.
I could go on and on…
Unfortunately there is no cure for a milk allergy, except hopefully time. There are varying statistics about when and how many children outgrow their allergies. Here is a recent statistic I found, based on a study of 800 children with milk allergies:
• 19% outgrew it by age 4
• 42% outgrew it by age 8
• 64% outgrew it by age 12
• 79% outgrew it by age 16
When Sydney’s allergy was first diagnosed, I was hoping she’d be part of the group that outgrew her allergy early. Sydney just turned three, and her allergy is still going strong. Just the other day, she accidentally grabbed her sister’s milk-filled sippy cup and took a swig. She immediately spit it out, and then spent the next 10 minutes scratching her tongue. She was even licking the couch at one point to try to get the itchy tongue feeling to stop.
While I still hope she outgrows it relatively soon, it’s become part of life for us. I call her allergy a blessing and a curse: a curse because it’s inconvenient; a blessing because it has forced me to look closer at the foods my kids eat, and also forced me to be creative in the kitchen.
One thing I’ve discovered is that almost any dish that is not primarily reliant upon cheese as its main ingredient can be made into a dairy-free version. So life without dairy is definitely not void of pleasure. If you need reassurance of this, check out the cake I just made for Sydney’s birthday (shameless self-congratulating, I know….but I slaved over that thing for 4 hours, so I need to pat myself on the back a little).
So if you know anyone who has kids with dairy allergies, or is allergic to dairy themselves, please send them my way. I'd love to trade ideas & tips, and would also be happy to guide anyone who is new to this and overwhelmed.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
The dish that inspired the blog
For quite a while now, I've been reading about the wonder grain quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It is a fantastic source of protein, calcium, vitamins, amino acids, etc. - it's just really damn good for you. It's also inexpensive and easy to make. So it seems like a no brainer - we should all be eating quinoa all the time! The catch is, like many healthy foods, it's not something that most of us will want to gulp down by the spoonful. It tastes kind of bland and the texture takes some getting used to.
Most recipes I found for quinoa involved mixing it with some veggies, herbs and olive oil. I'm sure it could be tasty that way, but tasty enough that my girls will eat it? Delicious enough that my husband and I will take more than two dutiful bites? Doubtful. Quinoa is also sometimes baked into breads & muffins, which sounds good, except it's rare that I have time to actually bake breads and muffins.
So I set out to find a way to serve quinoa that would be fairly easy and truly taste good. Taking inspiration from my daughter's favorite frozen burrito (Amy's Organic Non-Dairy Burritos), I mixed cooked quinoa with some mild salsa and some refried beans. Then I put a spoonful onto a Tostito (the "Scoops" work best) and topped it with a slice of avocado to add a little flair (not to mention some good fats). With baited breath, I put my creation onto a Dora plate and watched my daughter take a bite. She loved it!
As I doled out another serving, I realized this dish encompasses my main philosophy about food. It's important to eat real food - food that hasn't been smashed, pulverized, centrifuged, salted, preserved, and colored into something virtually unrecognizable from its original form. But (for me, at least) it's equally important that food be delicious...especially if you want your kids to eat it. My husband and I can gulp down bland veggies once in a while in the name of good nutrition and/or weight loss, but I simply cannot force my toddlers to chow down on healthy foods that don't taste good - no matter how much bribery is involved.
So, my approach is to combine something healthy with something that tastes really, really good. Maybe someday I will have adapted my palate to the point where a spoonful of plain quinoa served over a bed of spinach leaves tastes delectable. But until then...I'll take little grease & salt with my quinoa, please.
Most recipes I found for quinoa involved mixing it with some veggies, herbs and olive oil. I'm sure it could be tasty that way, but tasty enough that my girls will eat it? Delicious enough that my husband and I will take more than two dutiful bites? Doubtful. Quinoa is also sometimes baked into breads & muffins, which sounds good, except it's rare that I have time to actually bake breads and muffins.
So I set out to find a way to serve quinoa that would be fairly easy and truly taste good. Taking inspiration from my daughter's favorite frozen burrito (Amy's Organic Non-Dairy Burritos), I mixed cooked quinoa with some mild salsa and some refried beans. Then I put a spoonful onto a Tostito (the "Scoops" work best) and topped it with a slice of avocado to add a little flair (not to mention some good fats). With baited breath, I put my creation onto a Dora plate and watched my daughter take a bite. She loved it!
As I doled out another serving, I realized this dish encompasses my main philosophy about food. It's important to eat real food - food that hasn't been smashed, pulverized, centrifuged, salted, preserved, and colored into something virtually unrecognizable from its original form. But (for me, at least) it's equally important that food be delicious...especially if you want your kids to eat it. My husband and I can gulp down bland veggies once in a while in the name of good nutrition and/or weight loss, but I simply cannot force my toddlers to chow down on healthy foods that don't taste good - no matter how much bribery is involved.
So, my approach is to combine something healthy with something that tastes really, really good. Maybe someday I will have adapted my palate to the point where a spoonful of plain quinoa served over a bed of spinach leaves tastes delectable. But until then...I'll take little grease & salt with my quinoa, please.
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