Berry Green Smoothie

After reading The China Study recently I was inspired to make some changes about the foods we eat. Learning how much healthier a plant-based diet is has inspired me to help my family makes some better food choices. I also have been reading several books by Dr. Joel Furhman who shares his experiences with patients in his practice as well as research he has located to support a plant-based diet to help people live longer, healthier, happier lives. Currently I am reading Super-Immunity by Dr. Furhman and learning how some simple foods can help reduce the chance of cancer, heart disease, and obesity.

After learning about the best foods to boost immunity I got to thinking about how to encourage my picky daughters to eat more of the Super Foods Dr. Furhman talks about, namely greens, seeds, and berries. The berries are easy but the other items can be more of a challenge. The idea of a kid-friendly green smoothie came to me.

Audrey has had small sips of my green smoothies in the past and on one or two occasions had an entire serving. Mo is a different story. I needed some way to get them to want to drink an entire serving.

Dr. Furhman includes pomegranate as one of his super foods as well as blueberries so I decided to include those ingredients. Mo loves what she calls black juice, pomegranate juice. They both love all things berries. We keep fresh and frozen in the house at all times.

Here is the recipe I came up with. It was a huge hit.

• 1 cup spinach
• 1 cup frozen blueberries
• 1 banana
• 1 cup coconut milk, unsweetened
• 1 cup pomegranate juice

Place all items in the blender and process very well. The banana makes a creamy froth at the top my girls enjoyed. Makes 3-4 adult servings. My girls each had 2 4oz servings.

The entire family can help with this recipe. I like to get all of the ingredients ready to pour into the blender but older children can help with this.

Bed-head and mommy's t-shirt jammies.

Ready to blend.

That is her second glass!

Give Peas a Chance

So you realize your little one is not eating as well as you would like. Do you:

1. Have a long talk with him about nutrition, disease, and long-term health including a discussion about macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients and the role they play in nutrition?
2. Insist he do it your way or the highway?
3. Give him options and help him make good eating choices?

The last option is the focus of Give Peas a Chance by Kate Samela. She is a registered dietitian with years of experience helping families. The book is full of stories of real-life families with picky eaters. Samela explains the basics of nutrition and talks about the needs of young children. She helps families understand what a typical meal for a young child should look like. She also coaches about how to help the child make the healthy choice and not to make meals a battle. 

Reading this book set me at ease about the frustrations I have had with feeding my girls. We have cooked together since they were both young and they can still be picky eaters. And now with our move toward a more plant-based diet I can use all the help I can get. 

Samela even gives examples of what a typical serving could be so those of us with bird-like eaters will not be upset at the small food consumption. Before you have another battle about food or experience another melt-down at dinner, get this book. 

One lucky reader will win a copy of this book. Simply leave a comment telling me about your picky eater. 

Healthy Changes With Children and Quinoa Pudding

We have been taking slow baby steps toward a more plant-based diet. And still I am getting noise from the girls.

I am reading The China Study and learning the importance of good nutrition not only to maintain healthy bodies but also to help alleviate some current ailments.

As you may know I was recently told my A1C puts me in the pre-diabetic range and that I need to bring that number down. Learning that has inspired me to change my diet a little quicker to make sure I am as healthy as I can be.

The girls are a different story. They are young, active and not interested in switching away from dairy and meats to uninteresting grains and plants.

If I try to mix too much (hardly any) almond milk in with their cow's milk they claim it is icky. I bought unsweetened chocolate almond milk and they did not like it. The only items going over well are the ones with too much added sugar.

Still I move forward. Last night Audrey helped me make a yummy pudding with quinoa and almond milk. I am trying to get the girls used to the texture of whole grains so they will start trying them in more dishes. Currently whole grains get an immediate no without even trying. The pudding was a first step. They tried it.

• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 4 dried apricots
• 4 dried dates
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 tbsp natural peanut butter

Chop the apricots and dates into at least four pieces each. Place quinoa, water, almond milk, and fruit in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 15 minutes or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining ingredients. If you want it a little sweeter add a few drops of stevia. Stir and serve.

This is a nutty pudding which is why I decided to add the peanut butter. Any nut butter will do or you could leave that out entirely. They girls ate about half a cup each and then I consumed the rest later with a little more almond milk. Tastes good warm or cold.

She is cutting all on her own!

Black Bean Brownies, Updated

As my quest to get my girls to eat healthier continues I find the need to make the snacks we enjoy a little better for us. One of the ways we are working toward that is by eating a more plant based diet. We are also trying to reduce the amount of processed foods we eat. This is not easy for us. Processed foods are so easy for people who are too busy to plan meals. If we are to eat more whole foods we will need to plan better. And start cooking together more. To facilitate this we were offered an amazing cookbook for review called The Karma Chow by Melissa Costello. In it you will find vegan as well as gluten-free recipes that look simple and tasty.

First up:

Black Bean Brownies

• 1/2 cup date paste
• coconut oil for greasing pans
• 2 cups black beans
• 1 ripe banana
• 1/3 cup agave nectar
• 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
• 1 tbsp vanilla
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 cup oat or almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup grain-sweetened or vegan chocolate chips

To make date paste: 

Pour 2/3 cup hot water over 1 cup pitted dates and soak for about an hour. Put all of the ingredients into a blender and process until a smooth, thick paste is formed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease mini muffin tins with coconut oil.

In a food processor with the s-blade, combine the black beans, banana, agave nectar, date paste, coconut oil, cacao powder, vanilla, cinnamon, and salt until well combined and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl.

Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and chocolate chips. Fill muffin tins about two-thirds full and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.

We found we needed to cook them for a little longer than 30 minutes. Check yours to see. The girls thought them very yummy! I love feeding them good food!

Mo loves to fill the tins.

How Important is Nutrition?

While you may not have seen a lot going on here for the last few weeks (or months if you really look at it) there have been plenty of changes and happenings. The girls are still helping me shop, plan and cook and I am constantly learning more about feeding them and myself. I have several books to review and share with you, most with recipes but a few without. We have been evolving in our eating habits and I believe we will continue to do so. 

Here are a few things to look for from us over the next weeks:

• New recipes
• Cookbook reviews
• Shopping photos
• How to videos 
• Tips for picky eaters
• Stories about why we do what we do
• Ideas about nutrition
• Movie and book reviews

This may seem like a lot but we have an entire summer ahead of us. We will also be trying out some new ideas for the blog header. Audrey is older now, Maurene needs to be included, and we are eating a more plant-based diet. I will share some ideas as they come.

We look forward to sharing with you how we enjoy our food. 

Spaghetti Soup, #MeatlessMonday

It is all about marketing when you are dealing with picky eaters. Audrey is 5 now and will repeat back to me the words I have used to sell things to her. When I say no to a cookie sample at the grocery store or a donut on the way home from school she quickly replies that they have too much sugar and processed flour. But she still asks.

Maurene is still a little young and could care less about all the sugar or food dyes in the snack she is coveting. She wants it and will beg in hopes that I will give in. That is why I am trying to find new ways to provide healthy food options to my children so they can have their cake and eat it too. 

To start down that road we are eating healthier, unprocessed, plant-based meals more. Like Spaghetti Soup! I got the idea from a yummy cookbook called Clean Eating for Busy Families by Michelle Dudash, R.D. That's us, busy! Her recipe is called Buckwheat Noodle Bowl with Edamame & Ginger. Since I did not have buckwheat noodles, edamame, or ginger I decided to make Spaghetti Soup.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 carrot, shredded
• 5 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 lb spaghetti noodles
• 1 cup frozen peas

optional additional ingredients:

• sun dried tomatoes
• baby bella mushrooms
• sauteed swiss chard

Heat oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and saute 3 minutes. Stir in carrot and cook an additional 3 minutes. Add broth and turn heat up to high. Once boiling add noodles and cook for 8 minutes. Add peas for last minute of cook time. Remove pot from heat and serve. If adding mushrooms saute them in a separate pan and add after broth. sun dried tomatoes or chard can be added with broth as well.

While I was gathering the ingredients for this meal Audrey ran into the kitchen and begged to help. She was so willing to help I was able to get her to load the dishwasher and clear off the table first. Then I had her add the pasta and stir the noodles. Even small amount of helping makes the children feel included. 

Eat your spaghetti soup with chopsticks. And slurp.

I didn't get any photos of the girls helping so I snapped this one of Audrey eating. She used her spoon to consume the liquid first and then started in on the noodles. I like to eat my noodles first and soup next. Kids, sheesh.

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day! Our favorite granola and cereal company is giving away 20 baskets to help celebrate the day. Head over to http://www.cascadianfarm.com/sweepstakes for your chance to win.

They also put together a poster of ways you can help our Earth.