How to eat spinach like Popeye without really trying

A long time ago, I posted about my unfortunate waste of a package of organic baby spinach. Since then, I've put in a concerted effort not to repeat my mistake. The result has been kind of surprising: I find it's pretty easy to get through a pack of spinach in a matter of days. And here's the kicker - I don't even like spinach that much!

When I started this blog, one of my goals was to learn to eat veggies and other healthy foods in ways that were truly enjoyable...no nose-holding or grimacing; no bribing myself (or my kids) with treats as a reward for choking down some stinky vegetable in the name of a well-balanced diet. In this vein, I have sought out ways to genuinely like eating spinach, and I can proudly say that my relationship with this nutrient-dense little leaf has reached new heights. I no longer buy a package of spinach because I feel obligated, but because I've found so many yummy and easy ways to incorporate it into my diet. Here they are:

1) Pile it (I mean REALLY pile it) on a sandwich.

I got this idea when I ordered a turkey avocado sandwich from my gym's cafe. It was served on ciabatta bread, and simply heaped with spinach. At first I thought it was too much. But then I took a bite...and I hardly even noticed it was there. In fact, it really added to the sandwich - gave it a little crunchy texture and some moisture, since spinach is so water-dense. From now on when I make a turkey sandwich, I don't just slap a sad little lettuce leaf on there; I go crazy with the spinach. It's like having a sandwich and salad all in one.

Another little tip: If you are like me and looooove a good crusty bread, but are trying to avoid white bread and the carb overload that comes along with it, ciabatta rolls are a good choice. They're light and airy, not super heavy. And what I usually do is slice it in half, then pull out chunks from the inside of each half so it's mostly just the outer crust that's left. Then I broil it in the oven for a few minutes to give it some added crunch. It's all the pleasure of crusty bread without all the calories.

2) Throw it in a smoothie.

Spinach has become a regular ingredient in my smoothies, both for myself and for my girls. If you make a dark smoothie and can't actually see the spinach, you'll never guess it's in there. I promise. I know a lot of people will be skeptical about this, but it's true. Here's one of my favorite concoctions: blueberries, strawberries, pomegranate juice, spinach, banana, yogurt, and enough ice to make it cold (if you're not using frozen fruit). It's a perfect way to get your veggies, fruits and protein all in one.

3) Saute with garlic and serve with ravioli or tortellini.

I've never really been into sautéed spinach as a side dish. Just picking up a forkful of spinach and eating it doesn't appeal to me (although I'm hoping some day it will). However, picking up a forkful that contains spinach and some yummy pasta is super appealing. Ever since I've discovered this, I no longer feel like I need to eat a salad alongside my pasta. Instead I do this: heat some olive oil and chopped garlic in a pan on medium-low. Add a lot of spinach (you'll be amazed how small it gets when it wilts) and slowly stir until it starts to wilt. Add a few dashes of lemon juice and some white wine (if you prefer). Season with salt. Serve underneath a few raviolis or some tortellini. Now you can turn your bag of Costco ravioli (we all have one, right?) into a well-rounded, semi-homemade dinner.

4) Chop up and add to soups, sauces, and eggs.

As I mentioned above, what seems like lot of spinach turns into a teeny tiny bit of spinach when it's cooked. And I find the taste of it to be fairly innocuous when paired with something else. I love stirring some into scrambled eggs, especially when you add some smoked salmon. I also throw it into jarred pasta sauce when I'm heating it on the stove. Pre-made soups are another great chance to add some spinach in your life.

Here's to no more spinach in the garbage!

Refreshing, and pretty too!

Creating little bits of restaurant-style luxury at home can be really simple to do. It requires nothing more than a carefully drizzled sauce, a piece of bread stuck under the broiler until it's crispy and warm, or some fresh herbs stirred into a canned soup or mayonnaise.

Recently I have been finding ways to spruce up the most basic thing in the world: water. I feel like I am constantly trying to drink more water, and constantly falling short. I know why I should be drinking it: it's one of the simplest and cheapest things we can do to provide a ton of benefits, including weight loss, increased energy, elimination of toxins, nice skin, etc. But knowing what to do and actually doing it are vastly different things.

Part of my problem is that I get bored with plain old H2O, and another issue is that I simply forget. It sounds dumb, but unless I'm dying of thirst or there's a glass in front of my face, it doesn't always occur to me to drink. In that vein...I am super excited about my new little discovery: infused water.

During a recent vacation to California, my husband and I stayed at a lovely Marriott in Marina del Rey. Every time we entered the lobby, we were met with a big glass water dispenser filled with infused water--a different flavor every day. It was ice cold, just a teeny bit sweet, and super refreshing. I kept finding myself going back to that water thingy again and again, suddenly excited about hydrating myself. It was partly because it was yummy and fancy, and partly because it was just there. You couldn't walk by it without pouring yourself some, and that--for me--seemed to be the key to the whole thing.

So as soon as we returned to AZ, I went out and purchased myself one of those lovely glass water dispensers (mine was $19.99 at Home Goods, but they can be found just about anywhere that sells kitchen supplies). I filled it up with some filtered water, lemon slices and cucumber slices, and I was suddenly transported back to the Marriott...except that instead of boats gliding through the water, my view was of a living room filled with Barbies and puzzle pieces.

Because the water dispenser sits on my kitchen counter, I am reminded all day long to keep drinking. And I have been having fun experimenting with different flavor combinations. Here are some I've tried out so far:

Cantaloupe & fresh mint
Watermelon & fresh mint
Lemon & fresh rosemary

And some I intend to try...

Strawberry & fresh basil
Lemon & orange

The possibilities are endless! And you don't need much to give it flavor--just a handful of fruit and/or a few sprigs of herbs. There's nothing wrong with just lemon either; it'll still look pretty on your counter and remind you to drink up. Cheers!

A great gift to give or receive

If you're stumped about what to give for Christmas, or what to put on your own wish list, I have an idea for you: a quality chef's knife.

I got one for my birthday last year, and it really changed the way I approached cooking. Suddenly chopping vegetables was fun instead of tedious. Gone were the days of sawing and hacking my way through meal preparations; now my knife was gliding through onions, peppers, and potatoes with a satisfying whoosh and a crunch. I still could use some help with my technique (and I hear there are great classes available to help with that), but I'm no longer shying away from recipes that require a lot of chopping.

One of the reasons it took me so long to get a great knife was that I felt I would need to invest in a whole chopping block of cutlery. But most great cooks and chefs will tell you that you don't need a whole arsenal of knives - only one great chef's knife, and perhaps a few specialty knives such as a paring knife or serrated bread knife.

A great chef's knife will cost around $100, maybe a little less or a little more. The one I have is a Global 8" chef's knife, and I love it. Any food store like Williams-Sonoma or Sur la Table will have a good selection. It makes a great gift because it's something anyone who likes to cook will appreciate, but most will hesitate to spend money on it for themselves. And it's a worthwhile investment because it should last forever if properly cared for.

Happy chopping everyone!

Better late than never

For years I've been reading article after article, blog post after blog post, tip after tip about meal planning. It's the best way to save money! It will eliminate stress from your life! You won't yell at your kids as much during dinner time! It will make you thinner, richer, and more beautiful! (well, maybe not that last one, although it makes a skewed kind of sense if you think about it).

Anyway, the point is that meal planning is heavily touted. And for good reason - if you plan out a week's worth of meals, go shopping for all the ingredients you need, and prepare as much as you can ahead of time, you won't have to drive yourself crazy figuring out what to make for dinner, or make last-minute grocery runs at 5:00 when everyone else in their mother is at the store.

Despite completely agreeing with the logic behind meal planning, however, I can never bring myself to do it. What scares me away is that big chunk of time I need to dedicate to planning the meals, writing out the super-long grocery list, and making one big grocery trip. I do have an excuse in that I rarely get the chance to go to the store alone, and buying more than 15 things with the girls in tow causes me endless stress, which would negate the positive effects of meal planning.

So what I've decided to do is meal planning lite. Instead of planning 5 nights worth of dinners, I will plan two fairly nice, elaborate dinners each week (ideally things that can be reheated and eaten as leftovers), and then fly by the seat of my pants for the rest of the nights.

This week I am planning ahead to make Pasta e Fagioli (courtesy of The Foodinista), and Salmon with Lentils.  To prepare, I've pre-chopped all of the ingredients and put them into bowls. Then when it comes time to cook, I can simply dump the ingredients into the saute pan or pot instead of frantically chopping my onion while the garlic burns in the pan.

I feel less stressed already...and I bet by the end of the week my crow's feet will have diminished substantially.

PS - I'll post the results of my two experimental dishes to let you know how they turned out.

Football food

Despite my husband's best attempts to get me interested in football, I really could not care less about the sport. What I do like, however, is football food. I can't pinpoint exactly what makes a food a football food, but I'm sure you know what I'm talking about...something with a lot of flavor, a healthy amount of fat, that pairs well with beer, and begs to be eaten either outside at a tailgate party or in the company of loud men pumping their fists at the TV screen.

If you're a football fan, or simply love the atmosphere of football, then I have some recipes for you. Unfortunately they're not mine, but they are two of the greatest recipes I've made over the last few years. These are recipes that you print out and laminate for safekeeping. And keep extra copies in your purse because everyone who tastes these dishes will want to know how to make them.

#1: Buffalo Chicken Dip (click for recipe)

This recipe was passed along to me by my good friend Ange. She brought it to a potluck BBQ and everyone stood over the dish like vultures until it was gone. I then took it to a New Year's Eve party, where everyone stood over the dish like vultures until it was gone. This is seriously one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. And one of the most fattening. So I highly recommend making it for a group function - to be left alone with an entire 9x13 pan of this stuff will surely spell disaster.

The recipe in the link is almost identical to the one Ange sent me except hers called for a full cup of Frank's hot sauce and two cups of cheddar. I also recommend using freshly cooked chicken breast or rotisserie chicken vs. the canned stuff.

And finally, it should definitely be served with Tostitos scoops instead of crackers.

#2: Sloppy Bombay Joes (click for recipe)

If you watched The Next Food Network Star this past season, then you know who Aarti Sequeira is and what her food is about. For those who didn't watch, Aarti is an Indian gal who puts an Indian spin on classic American dishes. I've only made one of her recipes so far, but it is by far the best thing I've made in a while. I knew it had to be after I saw it received a 5 star rating with 571 reviews on the food network site. Originally I wasn't even going to post about it since everyone and their brother already has; but since it was so delicious, I had to jump on the bandwagon and give it its well-deserved 572nd thumbs up. (note: I followed this recipe exactly, but left out the half and half to make it dairy-free. I can't imagine it would be any better with the half and half.)

And I almost forgot - I recently made a beverage that would perfectly complement both of these dishes on a crisp fall evening: The pumpkin bomb (recipe courtesy of Southwest Airlines in-flight magazine). To make this delicious fall-inspired drink, you dip the rim of a pint glass into some honey, and then into a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Pour 1 ounce of Goldschlager into the glass, then pour in 15 ounces of Shipyard Pumpkinhead Ale (or any pumpkin beer you happen to find).

Now if only we had some fall weather around these parts...

Food blogs r fun

A few years ago I had what I thought was a brilliant and original idea: What if there was a website where people could post and talk about recipes they had actually made themselves, and give their own take on what worked and what didn't? I dreamt of a website where cooks could learn from and laugh at each other's culinary successes and disasters.

Little did I know that I'm completely unoriginal, as this was already being done by tons of food bloggers. (I blame the kids for making me totally out of date when it comes to technology and modern life). Obviously I'm a little late to the table in terms of the food blogging world, but I'm quickly learning how great it is. Aside from the fun I've had writing my own blog, I've discovered lots of other food blogs that are informative, fun, and give me a new perspective on food and what other people like to cook and eat.

As much as I love the Food Network and other food-focused television shows, magazines, etc, it's hard to identify with a lot of those cooks. Even the so-called "relatable" ones scare me a little. I mean, how is it possible for Melissa D'Arabian to have four pre-schoolers at home and cook meals like she does all.the.time? How is it possible that everything Rachel Ray makes tastes so good that she has to moan orgasmically after every bite?

I love learning and talking about food with non-perfect people who simply love to cook and eat - people who are cooking with kids clinging to their legs and whining, who burn the chicken, scrape off the burnt parts and eat it anyway, and who can find equal amounts of joy in an amazing 5-star restaurant meal, some processed crappy food that tastes really good, childhood favorite comfort foods, and an organic salad made with seasonal, local veggies.

In my effort to keep up with the times, I've created a blogroll on the righthand side with links to some of my favorite newly discovered food blogs. I look forward to updating it as I find more and more.

Christmas in June...ie: the "Top Chef" premiere

I am scaring myself a little bit with how excited I am that the new season of Top Chef is premiering tonight. I told my husband it that it is my equivalent of the Super Bowl, or the start of a new sports season. Then he was scared too.

I love Top Chef for many reasons, but primarily because it doesn't dumb down the food. When I first started watching it, I had no clue what they were talking about 50% of the time. Sabayon? Buerre Blanc? Sous Vide?

Now I feel much more confident in my foodie-ism; in fact when we went out to dinner at a fancy shmancy restaurant the other night, I impressed myself and my husband by 1: knowing what ramps were (they're kind of like a green onion), and 2: knowing how to pronounce turbot (it's tur-boh, not tur-bot). I had only Top Chef to thank.

Food snobbery aside, the show has taught me some really valuable lessons about cooking. Here are just a few of them:

1) using the right amount of salt is really, really important and can make or break virtually any dish

2) if you use high quality, fresh ingredients, you can keep your cooking super-simple and it will still taste great

3) a simple piece of meat or fish cooked perfectly (not overdone, not too raw), will beat out an elaborately seasoned/marinated dish every time

In honor of Top Chef and their love of "deconstructing" popular dishes, I will soon be posting my Top Chef-inspired recipe: Deconstructed fish tacos. It's so amazing I'm a little leery of posting it, but it's too good not to share.

FYI: Top Chef premieres on Bravo tonight at 9/8 central! If you haven't watched it before, you must give it a try.

Pepper-seared Asian salmon over napa cabbage

Years ago I found a recipe for "marinated salmon seared in a pepper crust" on the Food Network website. It was amazing the first time I made it, and it continues to be amazing every time I make it. It tastes complicated, but it's really easy. The only catch is that the searing process almost always makes the fire alarm go off. For this reason, whenever I make it I have my husband standing by with a dish towel, ready to start fanning the alarm as soon as the smoke starts billowing out of the pan.

Here is the original recipe...more accurately, it's my interpretation of the original recipe. Actually, I feel quite confident calling this recipe my own because I've made so many alterations to it over the years.

RECIPE:

Grind a whole bunch of black pepper onto a plate. If you start to get carpal tunnel, then you can add in some plain old pre-ground black pepper.

In a large sealable plastic bag (or a bowl), combine the following ingredients:

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed to a paste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp sugar
a pinch of grated fresh ginger

(This is about enough marinade for two salmon filets...if you're going to make more, just double it. My best advice is to make more than you think you'll need because it serves as a sauce at the end.)

Place salmon fillets into the bag with the marinade, seal, and marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Remove the salmon from the bag, pat dry, and press the pepper onto both sides of each salmon filet until its thoroughly coated. *Keep the marinade!*

In a heavy skillet, heat the oil until it is hot but not smoking. Saute the salmon for a few minutes on each side, or until it flakes with a fork. Put on a plate and drizzle with the leftover marinade.

Now, for the addendum...

In my newest bountiful basket, I opted for the "Asian Pack," which was a bag of ingredients typically used in Asian cooking. I got some snap peas, mushrooms, bok choy, ginger, cilantro, garlic, and a mystery green. After hunting around at the grocery store, I was later able to identify the mystery green as napa cabbage.

Napa cabbage isn't all that strange an ingredient, but I can honestly say I've never cooked with it or purchased it before. But since I had one in my fridge, I thought I would chop it and saute it to serve with my favorite salmon.

So after the salmon was done cooking and removed onto a separate plate, I put some chopped napa cabbage in the saute pan, and tossed it with some of the leftover marinade. I only sauteed it for a minute or so...just until it had a chance to absorb the marinade, but hadn't yet become limp. Then I made a bed of the cabbage on the plate, put the salmon on top, and poured the rest of the marinade over the whole concoction.

It was so good, I am pretty sure I will never make this salmon without the napa cabbage again. To me, it's the perfect sauteed green because it doesn't really wilt - it's more like a warm crispy salad. And it doesn't have that really green, health-foody taste like kale, chard, and spinach have. Trust me - I usually hate sauteed greens, and this was truly delicious!

My mindfully eaten dinner

The term "mindful eating" has been on my radar lately - it's cropped up here and there in articles I've read, and there are some new books out on the topic. Basically, eating mindfully means you are paying attention to what you eat. Instead of shoving food in your mouth while you stand at the counter sorting through mail, you sit down at a table and savor each bite, paying attention to the flavors you're experiencing and your level of hunger/fullness.

I'm very guilty of being a non-mindful eater. I am usually shoveling bites of food into my mouth while I focus on catering to the girls. Even when I take the time to make myself a good healthy meal, I rarely sit down and actually savor it. Instead I try to wolf it down in between requests for more water, crackers, meatballs, grapes, picking up a dropped fork, wiping off a slimy hand, etc.

In fact, I think part of the reason I love chocolate so much is that it is some of the only mindful eating I do. When the girls are taking naps and I have peace, I will brew some coffee and break off some chunks of a decadent Golden Almond bar, and I am in heaven. Sure, a Golden Almond would taste good under any circumstances, but it tastes extra good when I am lying on the couch in silence and savoring each bite.

Tonight, I was about to mindlessly eat my dinner. My husband had cooked a Trader Joe's flatbread in the oven and it was sitting half-cooled on the counter when I came down from putting Brynn to bed. I picked up a piece and took a bite...it was really good, but not as good as it would have been were it not lukewarm. Part of me wanted to just chow it down because I was hungry and wanted to get on with my night, but then a little voice in me said STOP!

I realized that I was about to eat something really tasty, and I wanted to truly enjoy it. So instead of standing over the kitchen island eating lukewarm flatbread, I decided to take an extra 5 minutes to re-crisp the flatbread. And then I made a salad and put it on a nice plate. I sat down at the table, poured a glass of wine, and savored my food. And it was damn good.

By the way, the flatbread I had was Trader Joe's French Style Flat Bread with Ham, Caramalized Onions & Gruyere Cheese. If you have the fortune of living near a Trader Joe's, you should buy it for sure. If not, I'm sure it's pretty easy to make. Aside from the crust, the only ingredients on the flatbread are creme fraiche, ham, caramelized onions, and gruyere cheese.

My new year's resolution

Wow, I can't believe the holidays are over! As usual, it was a blur, but a happy blur. I hope everyone else's blur was happy as well.

And now that the decorations are packed away, the boxes of chocolates are empty, and those perfectly wrapped new toys are happily strewn across the floor, I'm ready to make a few resolutions. Actually just one.

I've always strived to be an educated consumer. I like to read reviews, talk to people about things they like/dislike, and comparison shop to ensure I'm getting the best products for the best price. Quality has always mattered to me, too. I'm willing to pay more for an item if I truly love it, it works better than its competitors, or I believe it's going to last.

Up until recently I hadn't applied this way of thinking to food. I wouldn't necessarily buy junk, but I definitely didn't always put quality first. And when I did, it was usually the stuff I was buying for the kids. I had no problem feeding them organic cheese while I ate the block of supermarket cheddar I bought for $1.50 on sale.

Another thing that has tripped me up was trusting that "name brand" foods would be of decent quality. After spending a lot of time reading and researching about food, I've come to find out that name brand foods are often the least quality items one can buy, not only in terms of the junk factor, but in terms of how food is prepared, crops are grown, animals are raised & butchered, our environment is affected, etc. Not all chicken breasts, soybeans, and frozen pizzas are created equal.

A few weeks ago I watched Food, Inc. - a movie about the food industry which has recently come out on DVD. If you're interested in learning more about where your food comes from, particularly within the meat & poultry industry, I highly recommend it. Sometimes ignorance is bliss when it comes to food, but I think it's important to know what we're actually eating. This film didn't tell me a ton I hadn't already discovered through my own reading, but it did further my resolve to really invest in quality foods...not just sometimes, but all of the time.

Because when I buy crappy foods, I'm not only cheating myself out of a healthier choice, I'm also feeding the corporate beasts that are profiting from our ignorance while I could be bolstering those companies that are doing the right thing. (OK, I'm not a bonafide conspiracy theorist yet, but I'm slowly becoming one).

As the movie Food, Inc. points out at the end, unlike other political or societal issues where we feel like we have no say, when it comes to food we essentially get to "vote" our opinions every time we walk through the checkout lane or sit down to eat. So this new year, I am resolving to eat better and buy better. I would like to add that I won't be eating any more fast food, but I know that's probably impossible. Instead, I'll resolve to skip the meat products and stick to what I love most about fast food: the french fries! They might be high in fat, but at least I won't be subjecting myself to any (spoiler alert!) meat filler cleansed with ammonia.

Happy 2010!!

Chipotle: My new favorite restaurant

Over the last few years I've developed a real disdain for kids' menus. Aside from the fact that they rarely offer any healthy options, pretty much every meal has dairy as a main component -- mac & cheese, pizza, and grilled cheese are the obvious ones, but even chicken nuggets often have milk in the breading, and many pasta sauces contain parmesan cheese.

Since my girls aren't big hamburger fans, eating out with them usually means one thing: hot dogs & french fries. It's one of the only restaurant meals Sydney can eat, and one of the only restaurant foods Brynn will eat. (Actually, Brynn loves mac & cheese and pizza but I feel bad ordering it for her when Sydney can't have any).

I know the occasional hot dog & fries combo isn't going to kill anyone, but I've always thought it would be nice to leave a restaurant feeling like I've nourished my kids instead of just filling them up with grease, salt & unnamed animal parts.

Enter Chipotle! We stopped in there the other day after a particularly horrendous trip to the pediatric dentist. I'd been meaning to check it out after reading about their "Food With Integrity" philosophy. A blurb from their site says: "The hallmarks of Food With Integrity include things like unprocessed, seasonal, family-farmed, sustainable, nutritious, naturally raised, added hormone free, organic, and artisanal."

That's pretty darn impressive for a fast food restaurant, and I hope it's a trend that continues!

Anyway, while I was expecting to just order from the regular menu, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they've added a kids menu, at least at the location we went to. For $3, I got Brynn a cheese quesadilla with a side of rice, beans, and tortilla chips, and a little carton of organic milk. The quesadilla was made by just putting some shredded cheese on a tortilla and pressing it in a big panini-style machine - it wasn't the least bit greasy.

For $4 I got Sydney a "build your own" taco kit with two flour tortillas, guacamole, corn salsa, and pinto beans (you can choose either a meat or guacamole as the "main" ingredient), as well as an apple juice. Both of the meals came with a small baggie of tortilla chips too.

It's nice to know we now have a restaurant to go to where a) the food comes quickly, b) both girls can eat foods they enjoy, and c) I don't have to feel the least bit guilty about what they're eating. I give a big thumbs up to Chipotle!!

Spaghetti squash ain't foolin' my kids

If you ask either of my girls what their favorite food is, they will say without hesitation: NOODLES!

Macaroni, rotini, spaghetti, penne, egg noodles...you name it, if it's a noodle, they will devour it. So I was really excited to try out spaghetti squash, which--as its name suggests--is basically a squash version of a noodle. I thought this would be a fantastic way to introduce a new veggie while capitalizing on the girls' favorite food.

"Mom, what's that?" Sydney asked as she watched me spend 5 minutes trying to sever the spaghetti squash with the biggest, sharpest knife we own (those suckers are hard to cut).

"It's a spaghetti squash. It has noodles inside."

"Mom, I don't like squash."

"You've never had this kind of squash before. This kind has noodles in it!! It's super yummy!!!!" I said in the fake-est cheeriest voice ever.

After cooking the squash as directed by the little sticker that was affixed to it when I bought it, I mixed it with some pasta sauce. I put it on my girls' plates, slid it over to them, and then watched their faces turn into a grimace within five seconds of the first bite. Almost in unison, they both shoved their plates toward me and exclaimed "Yuck!"

I tried some myself. While I wouldn't label it as "yuck," it definitely wasn't interchangeable with a noodle. It's crunchier and, well, squash-ier. I'm sure some parmesan cheese would have improved it a little, but I left it off so that Sydney could eat it. If anyone has tips on better ways to enjoy spaghetti squash, I'd love to hear them! I almost think it would have been a better idea not to compare it to a noodle and instead, just call a squash a squash.

My spaghetti & marinara makeover

During the 6 years my husband and I lived child-free in Los Angeles, we ate out A LOT. I mean A LOT. And chances were, if we weren't eating out, we were ordering in.

I viewed home cooking as a necessary evil in between restaurant visits or deliveries, and consequently my home-cooked meals were pretty uninspired...spaghetti and marinara, a baked potato, salad and pre-packaged marinated chicken breast, or Rice-a-Roni and a chunk of grilled meat. (Now, there were times I actually cooked delicious meals from scratch, but those times were few and far between.)

When life changed (ie: kids entered the picture), and home cooking became a plain old necessity instead of a necessary evil, it was a tough period of adjustment. All those years we spent navigating LA's dynamic restaurant scene had made me into kind of a food snob. I was no longer satisfied by a chunk of grilled chicken and some microwaved peas. If I was going to have to give up my yellowtail-jalapeno sushi rolls and grilled calamari with lemon zest and butter, I would learn to make food at home that satisfied those same cravings. I wanted my meals to have pizzazz.

One way I've been able to add a little gourmet restaurant flair into my life is by making over some of the basic "out of the pantry" meals I've been eating my entire life. One dish that recently received a makeover was our standby spaghetti and marinara.

For us, "pasta night" used to mean nuking Ragu or Classico sauce and pouring it over some cappellini or penne. It was tasty enough, but vaguely depressing. I really, really wanted to be able to make a fresh homemade sauce, but the idea of it terrified me. I thought making your own pasta sauce was a task only to be undertaken by Italians with a secret family recipe that had been handed down four generations.

So I was pleasantly surprised when I caught a segment on a Food Network show featuring Wolfgang Puck's signature pasta sauce. The ingredients weren't scary, and the whole process took about 10 minutes. I didn't get a chance to take down his recipe exactly, but I remembered the basic ideas behind it, so one day I gave it a shot. We haven't gone back to Ragu or Classico since.

I've grouped the ingredients into two categories: "definite" and "maybe." The "definite" ingredients are ones you should definitely use, and the "maybe" ingredients are optional...depending on your taste.


Definite ingredients:

Fresh tomatoes, diced
Good extra virgin olive oil
Some minced garlic
Some decent dry white wine
Salt
Grated parmesan cheese

Maybe ingredients:

Oregano
Fresh chopped basil
Pesto

Basically you chop up a few tomatoes and cook them in EVOO on medium-low heat until they start to wilt. Add some garlic and cook a little more. Add a little white wine and some salt. Then taste it and add a little more of whatever you think it needs more of. Also add any of the "maybe ingredients" that appeal to you...or all of them. Then when it tastes pretty good, pour it over the cooked pasta of your choice and mix in a few handfuls of parmesan cheese.

This sauce is a little more delicate than your typical jarred sauce, but it's still really flavorful...especially if you're liberal with the salt and parmesan cheese. I didn't include any measurements because I just kind of add things in small amounts until it tastes right. Plus, standing over the sauce, adding a splash of this and a dash of that, makes me feel a little more like a fourth generation Italian with a secret family recipe.

5 things I wish I would have done with my baby spinach, instead of what I actually did with it

It drives me crazy when I buy food and never get around to using it before it goes bad. I've gotten much better about this than I used to be, but once in a while due to poor meal planning, an overstuffed fridge, or plain old forgetfulness, I end up having to throw away something I never even opened. Tonight, I just emptied a brand new container of pre-washed, organic baby spinach into my garbage disposal because it was turning brown and smelled like socks.

So in order to avoid having my spinach purchase be a total waste , I am listing five things I could have done with it during the 9 days it sat unopened in my fridge. And maybe by doing so, I will help prevent this same thing from happening to another innocent batch of spinach out there:


1) make a delicious baby spinach salad with any number of add-ins...hard-boiled eggs & bacon come to mind, as do pomegranate seeds and gorgonzola cheese

2) blend it with some lemon juice, olive oil, pine nuts, parmesan cheese and a few other ingredients to make a homemade pesto

3) wilt it down and throw it into an omelet

4) chop it up and stir it into pasta sauce

5) layer it with tomatoes and meats and other goodies in a panini sandwich.

Pretty good ideas, huh? If only I had used them...

What "healthy" means to me

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.

Just a spoonful of chocolate helps the healthy stuff go down

I hate 3:00 pm. Even if I slept great the night before, ate well, exercised, and showered, I always feel sluggish and crappy at 3:00 pm. What makes it worse is that this is usually the time the girls get up from their naps and are pretty cranky themselves.

This used to be the time of day when I would head for the chocolate. Thanks to our relatives and friends in our hometown of Hershey, PA (many of whom work for the Hershey Company), we were always in constant supply of chocolate. And consequently my coffee table was in constant supply of Hershey Kiss wrappers, carefully rolled into a tight ball to conceal how many had actually been consumed.

Although I've managed to kick the Kiss habit, 3:00 pm is still my worst time of day in terms of cravings. I just can't seem to bring myself to bite into an apple or carrot with the same enthusiasm I might have at 10:00 am or 1:00 pm. So I've decided that instead of conquering the chocolate monster, I will simply try to tame him.

The best solution I came up with is trail mix. My current favorite is a blend of peanuts, almonds, raisins, dried cranberries, and M&Ms. It satisfies my need for sweets, and it also succeeds in keeping me full until dinner time. As an added bonus, nuts contain healthy Omega 3 fats, so it's technically brain food. Sometimes I buy the trail mix ready-made, and sometimes I make my own. I actually prefer making my own since I can experiment with the ingredients. I've found that just about any trail mix tastes delicious with some M&Ms thrown in, so I plan to keep experimenting to see how healthy I can get it while still keeping it crave-able.

I also recently made a chocolatey pancake concoction that was a big hit with the girls. I started with the Hungry Jack Whole Wheat Blends pancake mix, then added some milled flax seed, smashed banana, chopped walnuts, wheat germ, and some mini chocolate chips. (I've discovered that Sydney can tolerate semi-sweet chocolate chips since they only contain milk fat and not the milk protein).

Sydney was so excited that she was able to eat something with chocolate in it, she thought she had died and gone to heaven. I actually ate these pancakes too, and thought they were delicious. Brynn yelled "yuck" and threw it on the floor. But it wasn't because of the healthy stuff - the crazy child doesn't like chocolate!

The nice thing about chocolate is that a little goes a long way. I find my chocolate fix is just as easily satisfied by something that contains a little chocolate than by an entire bar of chocolate. Well, almost. Nothing will ever beat a Snickers bar...but hey, it has peanuts, so at least it's a source of protein.

Halloween candy is the devil!

I just dumped all of my daughter's Halloween candy into the garbage. She doesn't care in the least since she can't eat any of it anyway (due to her dairy allergy). I, on the other hand, keep opening the trash can lid and questioning my sanity. Some of my favorites are in there...Peanut M&Ms, Reese's peanut butter cups, Snickers, Raisinets...mmmmmmmmmmmm

I simply lack the willpower to have that candy in the house and not eat some every single day. And I know it wouldn't kill me to eat a mini packet of M&Ms each afternoon, but the problem is that it easily turns into two, and then I toss in a bite-size snickers because, well, it's only a bite, right?

So in keeping with the lessons I learned from my detox program, I am eliminating the tempting junk foods from my kitchen. Now I'm about to go throw a dirty diaper on top of the candy in the trash so that I don't try to dig it out in a few hours. :)

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.

Lessons learned from my detox experiment

On Tuesday at approximately 2:00 pm, I threw in the towel on the whole juice fasting thing. I was getting nauseous from the bitter juice, and weak from hunger. And I needed energy, as I was looking at another 5+ hours of taking care of the girls on my own. I felt pretty guilty about it, but then I remembered why I started this whole blog in the first place. The way to make healthy changes in my eating habits is to find healthy dishes and whole foods that are truly pleasurable. So choking down "gross juice" (which is what Sydney started calling it after she saw me grimacing with each sip) in the name of health goes against pretty much everything I believe in.

I expected that when I was finally done with this program, I would immediately jump on the couch and surround myself with loaves of crusty bread, bars of chocolate, and gallons of wine, eager to make up for lost carbohydrates, sugars, and alcohol. But instead, I found myself craving a carrot. That bright orange, crunchy fresh carrot in the fridge was calling my name louder than the bags of pretzels and crackers that had been shoved to the back of the pantry. I don't know whether it was the effects of drinking gross juice all day or what, but that carrot was the tastiest thing I've eaten in a long time. After I ate the carrot, I ate some avocado, with just a little salt sprinkled on top. I found myself savoring each creamy bite and noticing how delicious that plain old avocado tasted all by itself.

So this got me thinking. Although my liver wasn't fully detoxified, I did manage to dump a few bad habits and pick up a few good ones during my 8 days of eating under the program rules. Here's what I learned:

1) Most bad eating habits are actually bad shopping habits.

When my pantry is stocked with a ton of yummy processed snack foods, it makes sense that I'm going to gravitate toward those when I'm running on zero energy and/or time. When those foods aren't there, and instead I have a refrigerator full of fresh fruit, guess what I'm going to eat? I admit, on Day1 when I had to choose an apple over Wheat Thins for my mid-morning snack, I wasn't happy about it. But after a few days, I started to look forward to that apple. By the end of only eight days, the salty snacks I was used to had lost a lot of their appeal. In fact, even though I'm not doing the detox anymore, I am still eating a ton more fruits and veggies than I was before.

If you want to stop eating something, just stop buying it. Likewise, if you want to start eating better, make sure you are always stocked with fresh fruits, veggies & other healthy treats so that you're not resorting to eating junk just because you're out of the good stuff.

2) It's worth it to invest in high quality, in-season fruits and vegetables.

I think part of the reason I took such pleasure in the carrot & avocado I ate the other day was that they were both perfectly ripe and fresh. The carrot was bright orange, moist and crunchy; the avocado was a perfect color and texture - not too mushy, not too firm.

Many times I've opened my fridge with good intentions, but become turned off by the bag of shriveled, white-ish baby carrots I find at the bottom of the veggie drawer. Or the browning bagged lettuce. Or the apple that's too soft or tart or both.

Now I plan to take my time in the produce section to ensure that I'm buying the best of what's available. It might not always be the cheapest choice, but it's better to invest in something I'm actually going to eat than in something I'm going to throw away a week later.

3) Sugar is in a LOT of things, even foods that aren't sweet.

When the plan told me to cut out sugar and artificial sweeteners, I didn't think it would be too hard. I don't have a huge sweet tooth to begin with, so I figured aside from my nightly chocolate and occasional snack bars, I would be OK. Well it turns out that sugar is in almost any processed food you can find, like cereal, crackers, soups, salad dressing, pasta sauce and even mayonnaise.

Sometimes sugar is essential to the flavor of a certain food, but other times it's really not. For instance, when I dipped my banana into unsweetened peanut butter, I didn't notice a difference because of the natural sweetness of the banana. I also found a cereal that was sweetened with pear juice instead of sugar, and it has now become one of my favorite cereals.

I certainly don't think a little sugar here and there will hurt anyone, but I do think that avoiding sugar in my diet is going to help me to lose weight and be healthier overall. I also think it will help me to have more energy, since I won't suffer any sugar crashes like I used to after my afternoon Coke break.

4) Drinking more water is as easy as having a glass nearby at all times.

One of the rules of the program was that I was supposed to drink 1/2 my body weight in ounces of water each day. I already drink a pretty decent amount of water, but this past week I was actually conscious of how much I was drinking. And that little voice in my head saying "remember to drink water" was all it took for me to up my intake. The other thing that helped was making sure it was always available...this meant always having a full bottle in my diaper bag and glasses stashed throughout the house at my most frequented "stations," like the computer desk, the kitchen island, my bedside table, and the side table beside the couch. Whenever I noticed one of these glasses, I drank a few sips. It was as simple as that.

I actually used to hate the taste of water. Throughout my college years and many years beyond, the only beverages that ever passed my lips were coffee, Coke, iced tea, hot tea, and alcohol. The only time I drank water was while exercising, and even then I'd usually only finish 1/3 of the bottle.

Somewhere along the line that changed, although I don't entirely remember why or how. I do remember that for a long time I could only stomach bottled water. Then I made the shift to plain old filtered fridge water. My point in sharing this is that water-haters can be reformed. And it really is worth it to try...when I am drinking a lot of water, I feel more energetic, my skin isn't as dry, and I'm not waking up in the middle of the night feeling parched.

So as a whole, I'm really glad I tried the detox program. It didn't drastically alter my life, but it has kickstarted what I hope is going to be a healthier way of eating that will last indefinitely.

It's fasting day, and it's really rough.

So today is the 1-day juice fast portion of my liver detox program. I was actually kind of looking forward to this day for the sole reason that I wouldn't have to think about food for 24 hours. It's been tough trying to make sure I am eating all the right things, so drinking juice & water should seem like a welcome relief. Except for two problems...1) I'm hungry, and 2) the juice is disgusting.

The juice is made of 100% unsweetened cranberry juice diluted with water, with some freshly squeezed orange juice, lemon juice, and spices added. I also sweetened it with Stevia, which tastes like minty Robitussin. It didn't smell bad while I was cooking it up - it kind of reminded me of the mulled wine I made one time over the holidays. But this morning when I took my first sip, I almost gagged. If the juice wasn't bad enough on its own, I was instructed to stir 3 tbsp of milled flax seeds into my first cup. So basically it was like drinking a cup of sour mix with some dirt thrown in. The photo is of the actual juice - notice the chunks? Blech.

The flax/juice combo was so disgusting, I had to pour it down the drain after about 5 sips. But I still resolved to complete my 24-hour juice fast. After chugging a glass of water to get the taste out of my mouth, I filled a cup with ice and tried the cranberry concoction plain. It was still disgusting. I reasoned that maybe it would taste better when I was truly, truly hungry and willing to eat or drink anything just to get some calories. Well it's noon, I am officially starving, and the juice still tastes horrible. I think I've only had about 8 oz and I'm supposed to have 72 by day's end.

So this is the conversation I've been having with my liver over the last 5 hours:

Me: Why am I doing this to myself? I am a reasonably healthy person. It's not like I NEED to detox my liver...I'm just trying to be healthier. Surely, there are better ways.

Liver: Really? You can't last ONE freaking day? You're pathetic. You're a quitter.

Me: But I'm not a quitter. I lasted 7 days without bread, rice, crackers, chocolate, coffee or wine (OK, I cheated on the wine 2 or 3 times, but I only had 1/2 a glass!) I've roasted beets, and steamed artichokes, and eaten large carrots like a bunny. You can't call me a quitter.

Liver: First of all, it was at least 3/4 glass and I'm sure it was 3 or 4 times, not 2 or 3. Secondly, that was just the warm-up to the detox. This is game time! Yes, I've enjoyed the benefits of your healthier eating choices, but this is my time to really shine. I'm about to start flushing impurities out of your system. Do you really want to halt that?

Me: (Sigh) No, I don't. But this cranberry juice is so freaking gross!

Liver: Try watering it down a little more. Hang in there, please! I will thank you later.

Me: Fine, I'll try watering it down. I'll give it two more hours. If I'm still this grossed out, I am opening a bag of chips.