October 2011 – That's Just Me

Sage Spoonfuls By Liza Huber – Book Review

I became interested in the book, Sage Spoonfuls – Simple Recipes, Healthy Meals, Happy Babies when I saw the author, Liza Huber, and her mother Susan Lucci (All My Children’s Erica Kane) on a morning talk show. Liza was promoting her book, and she spoke about how important she thought it was to make your own homemade baby food.

I am not sure why I gravitated to her and this subject matter, seeing that I do not have any any children, nor will I in the future, but I am passionate about healthy food, and I agree that good nutrition has to start as early as possible, especially when we are seeing soaring rates of obesity and Type 2 diabetes in young children. Maybe the subject struck me because my niece recently had a little baby girl, and I am hopeful that maybe she could be raised with wholesome healthy homemade food.

So, long story short, I was fortunate to receive a review copy of Liza’s book, and I’m so glad I did!

Sage Spoonfuls by Liza Huber book review

Now, again, I can’t speak from personal experience, but Liza states that for only 1 hour every two weeks, you can have a freezer full of homemade healthy baby food!

She created Sage Spoonfuls as a complete homemade baby-food system, of which the book is part of. The “system” includes storage jars, blenders, freezer packs, coolers, totes, etc. and the book does promote her products, but her ideas are 100% doable without any additional purchases, unless of course you want to. Well, I should clarify that you will need to buy some sort of small storage containers or baggies if you want to freeze your baby food, which is the whole point of the book, but most of the other necessary tools are items you probably already have in your kitchen: veggie peeler, strainer, cutting board, knife, spoon, cooking pot with steamer/lid, skillet/fry pan, baking sheet, immersion blender or food processor, fork, glass bowl, spatula, & sauce pan.

So let’s start with what I liked about the physical aspects of the book. It’s spiral bound, so it lies flat on your counter; that’s so helpful when you’re trying to read while cooking. The pages are thick & glossy, which I assume could resist staining (again, so helpful in the kitchen!) There’s bold bright colors on every page, with easy to read fonts and graphics. Lot of big detailed photographs throughout.

There is a lot of information to read and if you are new mom, it might be a good idea to read it once then go back and read it at least one more time to really understand the process. I dog-eared many pages and highlighted text that I thought was important!

So, there are 5 chapters in the book: Food for Thought; the Essentials; Let’s Get Started; a Homemade Lifestyle; and Recipes. Each chapter is loaded with tips, hints and details that will give you all the information you need to feed your baby homemade food. There is a 2 page “index” at the back of the book, and it’s easy to find each vegetable or fruit, along with the general subjects she mentions in the book, like Foods to Avoid, Reheating, Infant CPR.

Liza covers every aspect of how to prepare homemade food for your baby, including nutritional facts (vitamins, minerals, fats, etc) and allergies. I love that she encourages adding herbs and spices to your baby’s food. Again, I might be totally experienced in this area, but I always thought baby food should be bland. Not so! In fact, she states that the more flavors your baby is exposed to, the more “adventurous” an eater he will be, and the less “picky” he will be later in life.

Sage Spoonfuls really is a A-Z book on EVERYTHING you need to know. What is the best way to reheat the baby food? How to quickly defrost the food from freezer? What do you look for when shopping for produce or meat? What to expect when going on an overnight trip to a location with a fridge? Liza covers that, along with other scenarios like day trips, and overnights without a fridge.

My favorite chapter is Recipes – it covers each stage in a baby’s life, starting with 4-6 months, then 7-9 months, and 10-12 months. I suppose you could say that these are technically not really “recipes”, but a directory of ingredients appropriate for that specific age group.

There is also a section on Family Favorites, simple recipes that the entire family, including adults, babies, toddlers, and older children, will enjoy.

The first three age-centered recipe sections each start with a FAQ, which answers just about every question you could have concerning feeding your baby at that particular age. Liza encourages you to keep trying if at first your baby doesn’t respond. She makes every “problem” sound completely normal and that you are not alone; there are other moms that went through the same, and it’s okay!

Each single ingredient is highlighted on two pages. The first page includes helpful tips for cooking/preparing along with nutritional data plus the appropriate age at which you should start feeding the particular ingredient. She also lists if the ingredient is suitable for freezer and/or fridge and how to store “on the go”.

sage spoonfuls sample pages

The ingredient’s 2nd page focuses on yummy food combinations, again, appropriate for that particular age group. This is my absolute favorite aspect of the book. I don’t know why, but these food combinations just thrilled me. I just love the knowledge that banana can be easily combined with apples or pears & parsnips – I mean, what commercial baby food manufacturer offers a jar combining potato, pea and pear? I guess that’s what makes homemade food so exciting. The endless possibility of yummy tasty combinations!

Another favorite part of the Sage Spoonfuls book was the realization that you can indeed make homemade baby cereal! Okay, it could be my lack of child rearing experience, but I think it’s so cool that you can easily make your own rice, oatmeal, barley and millet baby cereal and it will be tons better than anything you buy at the store!

My complaints about the book? I wish she shared more about the why’s of some of her tips. For example, why you need to peel vegetables and fruit? Is it because it is more difficult to puree or could it cause choking? And why she didn’t mention using a microwave to warm the food? I’m assuming her belief is that perhaps a microwave kills nutrients, but I would have loved to have read her official opinions on both.

I’m sure most of the book content can be found in various books or other “mommy” web sites, but it’s really handy to have ONE book that explains all aspects of preparing homemade baby food!

I recommend Sage Spoonfuls – Simple Recipes, Healthy Meals, Happy Babies to new moms, or moms without a lot of cooking or nutritional knowledge. I’d even recommend this for grandmas that want to give their grandbabies healthy homemade food when they visit.

This is the way I wish all children could be raised, eating wholesome homemade food! We could eliminate so many chronic illnesses and especially childhood obesity problems! If only parents would take the extra time to cook for their families! It is probably the best gift they could give!

(Disclaimer: Even though I received a free copy of this book, my opinions are truthful, and I tried my best to give an fair evaluation.)

TV Chefs Waste So Much Food!

Begin Rant!

I don’t know if I’m alone in this, but it drives me crazy when chefs/cooks on TV transfer a mixture out of a bowl into a pot, (or vice verse) and they leave behind a whole lotta food in the bowl.

Yes, I realize that due to time constraints, they can’t take the time to scrape the bowl completely, but it bugs me nevertheless. Every time I see it (and it happens a lot), I want to jump into their kitchen, and grab the bowl, take a spatula and scrape out all the contents! Maybe I’m too frugal, but I scrape out just about every last speck of food or liquid.

Rant over!

So Proud Budget!

I am so proud of myself today. I went to Whole Foods, with a $50 bill and I was determined to stick to my budget! And I did it! $46.63! Whoo hoooo!

Thank God I have the Grocery IQ iPhone app that helps me with my shopping list. I can add prices (either by quantity or by weight) so I know what I am spending almost down to the last penny! And since it keeps a “history” of past items, I know what some products are going to cost so I can plan ahead! That’s a huge help!

If I see the $total getting close to my limit, I can adjust my list and not buy some items that aren’t essential. I’m really trying to spend less on groceries, but still retain a high quality of food. I’m getting there, slowly but surely!

I’ve been tracking expenses for well over a decade, but it’s only recently that I’ve sat down and really analyzed our spending. I set up a budget worksheet and I’ll also set up another one with prices so I can keep track of which stores (online too) have the best prices.

Right now, I have set a budget of $600 per month for food, and that includes dining out, entertaining, vitamins/supplements, etc. I have a separate budget for non-food household items.

I’m trying to lower the food budget more, and I am still learning how to do that. I think the key is buy a few more if it’s on sale, but buy only what you need for the week if it’s not, especially in the bulk isle. I also need to concentrate on using the inventory in my freezer!

It’s a slow process, but I’m getting there!

October Unprocessed 2011 – Day #15 & 135.6 lbs

Yay! I’m half way through my October Unprocessed 2011 challenge! There have been a couple of flubs along the way, but I’m not worrying too much. Life is too short to beat yourself up with too much nitpicking.

In general, I think I am doing a great job with the challenge.

And a bonus! I weighed myself this AM, and I was shocked to find that I’m down to 135.6 pounds! I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not; I know I haven’t really been working out, so I hope it’s not just muscle loss. Or could it be from the challenge? I don’t think I was eating THAT poorly before, but maybe these past couple of weeks were “different” enough to cause a change.

What’s Been Happening?

I have been back to baking bread completely with whole grains. No white flour at all, using whole wheat, rye, and corn flours. Bread has been delicious, and it’s renewed my love for wholesome bread again. I admit I was getting sloppy, adding up to half white flour to my bread dough.
I’ve actually stopped eating dark chocolate bars. Not intensionally, it just kind of happened that way. I have a bar of Equal Exchange organic 80% chocolate in my cupboard, waiting for me if I feel the urge to have a bite, but I haven’t really felt the need yet. Equal Exchange is soy free, but does contain “organic raw cane sugar” which might or might not be an acceptable “unprocessed” ingredient according to some participants, but I decided ahead of time that I would make an exception for chocolate if necessary. PS I did make the “powerballs” and they are good, but they aren’t really the same.
I’m still occasionally eating white pasta and white rice. I never considered those to be “evil” unprocessed choices. They aren’t something I eat every day, just maybe once a week or so.
I renewed my love for yummy barley. It’s so inexpensive at the Whole Foods bulk isle and you only have to buy what you’ll need. I bought a small amount of pink lentils, and I’ll be trying millet soon too. The bulk isle is a great way to try out some grains without the commitment of a full bag, and in most cases, the per lb price is LESS than the pre-bagged version anyway!
This challenge has made me soo much more aware of food and ingredients. While at Whole Foods, I usually spend time noshing on samples at the end of the isles, but now, I’m more aware. No more stopping for their “organic” cookies and chips. It actually feels good to pass them and not partake.

Restaurants

We went out to dinner last Saturday night, to the Lobster Tail, a local seafood restaurant. I had purchased a Groupon months ago, and it was set to expire. I ordered a grilled combo dinner of shrimp, scallops and haddock, and was so happy that all the seafood was US-caught! It was absolutely delicious! They also served a side salad (with balsamic dressing), fresh green beans and a wonderful rice, which seemed to be a spanish risotto. There was such flavor, I was thrilled!

And we topped it all off with dessert to go. There was so many devilish choices, but I went with the cheesecake.

It was a deliciously decadent meal and I don’t think I strayed too too far from the unprocessed rules, but if I did, it was worth it! haha!

PS. I did agree ahead of time that I would give myself one day a week to go out to eat, as long the restaurant was fairly unprocessed. Okay, the cheesecake probably strayed a bit too far, but again, I’m not going to nitpick!

Take out dinner last night at the local Asian restaurant: steamed chicken & veggies with Japanese vegetable fried rice. That was probably more in line with “unprocessed” than the cheesecake! LOL

One More Stray

And one last “stray” I want to confess. The other night, we had salads, and I did use Cindy’s dressing (with gums,etc). No, it’s not the worse thing I could have done, but probably not following the unprocessed rules.

The bottle has been open in the fridge before I knew I’d be doing the challenge. I could make the excuse saying that I didn’t want to waste it, but truth is, I just didn’t feel like balsamic vinegar on my salad that night. I wanted a buttermilk creamy dressing. I really need to learn how to make this myself someday!

I can’t promise that I’ll stay away from Cindy’s Dressings again this month. We’ll see.

Sixteen More Days Left

So, 16 more days left! I don’t foresee any problems, and I hope it’ll be as successful as the previous 15 days!

I’ve really REALLY enjoyed reading the daily guest posts over at Eating Rules. I’ve learned lots of wonderful information.

What are gums?
The Scoop on White Flour – this is probably my favorite post so far, written by Cassidy Stockton from Bob’s Red Mill. I had no idea that some whole wheat flours are not ground from a whole grain. Some sneaky flour manufacturers “separate all three parts of the wheat grain and re-combine them to produce whole wheat flour.” That doesn’t sound as healthy as grinding an actual whole grain. I have been meaning to contact King Arthur to find out what their grinding process is.
Zombies & Advertising – a subject very close to my heart. It drives me crazy that Food companies are allowed to vastly stretch the truth in their advertising content and no one is stopping them! Long ago, I stopped purchasing most food products that are heavily advertised in media, and Big Food Corporations are not concerned with our health and well being, but only care about profits!

I can’t wait to read what’s coming in the next 16 days!

Yoplait Pink Ribbon Breast Cancer Scam

yoplait yogurt pink lid breast cancer scam

It drives me crazy every October when I see the Yoplait Yogurt ads for their “Pink Ribbon/Lids Breast Cancer” marketing ploy.

My biggest problem with Yoplait’s Pink Lid promotion, besides the obvious trick to gain more sales, is that highly processed, highly sugary food products like Yoplait Yogurt could possibly be one of the factors that increase a woman’s risk of breast cancer in the first place!

So to reiterate, they want you to buy (and consume) more of their sugary, chemical laden yogurts, just so they can send out (up to) $2 million for a cure for the same cancer that they possibly could be causing! It makes me crazy when I think about it!

Yoplait, why don’t you keep that $2 million and IMPROVE your own products so they are not loaded with sweeteners (including artificial) and unpronounceable chemicals and other highly processed junk!

It’s food products from companies like Yoplait that are making American’s obese and ill! When are we going to open our eyes to these huge marketing scams and just SAY NO!

October Unprocessed 2011 – UPDATE Day #8

Day #8 for the October Unprocessed 2011 challenge over at the Eating Rules blog.

It’s been going very well, maybe a tiny flub or two at the beginning, but for the most part, I’m going strong! I was already a fairly “clean” eater but participating in this challenge has forced me to look even deeper at ALL food products, and I’m finding a lot are not as unprocessed as I’d like.

Today was a big challenge. I went with my DH to his work for a few but I didn’t realize he was going to be there so long. Had I known, I would have brought a snack.

Well needless to say, I was hungry in no time and I didn’t think there was much to eat at the office. I was so tempted to sneak a bite-sized butterfinger candy from the snack bowl. But I stayed strong!

Yes, it would have been so easy to grab a highly processed piece of candy or snack, I mean there was no one looking over my shoulder waiting to arrest me for eating proceeded food. But I thought about it and realized that if I cheated on the challenge now, what would stop me from cheating again and again? And then what would be the point of continuing on with the challenge if I wasn’t taking it seriously?

So we were on the way out and passed the kitchen and DH asked if I wanted some of his peanut butter? Duh. I totally forgot he keeps a few healthy items at work for breakfast or lunch. He had a jar of whole foods 365 organic peanut butter in the fridge and an opened box of Barbara’s brand shredded wheat cereal. I took a big spoonful of pb along with a shredded wheat biscuit. it held me over until we got home.

I stayed strong even when DH ordered a subway sub at walmart while I returned something and bought new batteries for my bathroom scale.

I felt sooooo good about sticking to the challenge even in the face of desperate hunger! Yay!

I am 49 Years Old!

This week I celebrate my 49th birthday! I can’t believe it! This is the LAST year in my 40’s and you’d think I’d be depressed or sad. Nope, I’m looking forward to 50!

I remember being very sad when I hit 40. But back then, I was unhealthy, out of shape, and didn’t eat right.

I’m now eating healthier than I’ve ever ate in my whole life, and my weight is about the same (maybe even lower) than it was in my 20’s! I feel wonderful! Who could ask for a better 49th year than that!?

I’m 49 and life is good!

Jamie At Home cookbook review

I love the Jamie at Home: Cook Your Way to the Good Life cookbook! It’s not just a cookbook, it’s got great tips for growing your own a veggie garden and raising your own chickens! It’s also the companion cookbook to Jamie’s TV series of the same name (“Jamie At Home” on the Food Network and Cooking Channel)

It was so touching to read about his decision to take in flocks of abused chickens from egg factory farms and raise them with his free range chickens.

I also learned more about lamb and exactly what mutton is. Did you know that sheep over a year old are mutton and that the flavor is much more complex than younger lamb? Of course mutton must be cooked low and slow, but that’s how Jamie likes to cook!

He writes that mutton has gone out of style and that it would help farmers if more people requested it because mutton usually comes from breeding sheep. I don’t remember the last time I ate lamb and I don’t know that I like the flavor. But I keep wanting to try it especially when there’s chefs like Jamie Oliver inspiring me!

One complaint about the actual book is some pages are difficult to read due to pages with darker background colors.

And although his recipes are “dead simple” as he likes to say, with rustic homey ingredients, they aren’t always something I’d want to cook. But the recipes are always totally Jamie and you can hear his voice speaking through the words on the page. Very English! Very seasonal! BRILLIANT!

He works with a lot of ingredients that might be intimidating to some home cooks. Items like pork belly, rabbit, squash flowers scare me but it’s nice to know he’s on your side holding your hand inspiring you to try new techniques and ingredients.

No, I don’t know if I’ll ever seek out a partridge bird or cook up venison stew but Jamie was instrumental in bringing me to a deeper understanding and respect for animals and how it’s okay to hunt animals as long as it is done with total respect and without waste. No, I’m never going to kill my own food but I’m not so against others doing it anymore.

Disclaimer:
I love reading cookbooks, like some people love reading novels! I am inspired by recipes, and enjoy learning ideas from cookbooks; I like putting my own spin on a recipe rather than exactly following it. Please keep in mind that my opinions might be completely different from the other home cooks.

(review originally authored on Dec 17, 2010)

Blew it Already!

Well today is day #1 for the October Unprocessed 2011 challenge and I think I already blew it but it was sort of an oversight.

Last night we ate dinner. Homemade whole grain pancakes with a fresh cabbage, radish, celery and greens salad. I topped it with Cindy’s Buttermilk Dressing. I had glanced at the ingredients a couple of days ago and they looked unprocessed enough. But then that was before I read further at the Eating Rules blog and realized that gums and other ingredients weren’t such a great idea.

So that was last night, nothing counted until today, right? Well dummy me, for some reason I didn’t even realize it was October 1st today. Why I don’t know!

So I wasn’t thinking and I used the same dressing at lunch for the leftover salad.

I blew it! On the first day. I didn’t think about it and darn! I suppose it’s better than messing up later in the month. But lesson learned. I’m going to be more thoughtful and careful from now on.

And I did learn my lesson.

I absent-mindedly took out a couple of frozen chicken sausages that I got from the whole foods fresh meat case. I was convinced that I made a big mistake thinking that the sausages probably contained some no-no ingredients, but I checked the package label and the ingredients are very basic with chicken thighs, salt, turbinado sugar, fennel seed, white pepper and pork casing. Yes, turbinado sugar isn’t as bad as white refined sugar but it’s still slightly processed. it’s kind of left up to the individual if we want to include it. I figure it’s probably no worse than King Arthur unbleached flour so I’m not going to run from it.

But lesson learned. I have to really pay attention more! What a great wake up call! I’m not as unprocessed as I thought I was huh?

So I’m planning on baking both sausages tonight, giving one to DH and keeping the 2nd one to make sauce or soup tomorrow. (I’m making salmon for me tonight.) and if the ingredients were not acceptable, then DH would have them both nights and I’d change my meal plans.

I’m still learning. Feels amazing!

Almost Meatless – Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet – Book Review

I found the Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet by Joy Manning & Tara Mataraza Desmond book at the local library.

It is impossible to continue to feed ourselves and the world, unless we reduce our consumption of animal products. That includes local humanely raised animal products, as well as inferior cheaply-raised Big Food animal products.

Eating as a “flexitarian” is so much better for your health and especially good for the environment. AND it’s good for your food budget too!

We eat several meatless meals each week, but when I do cook meat, poultry or seafood, I really try hard to limit our portion to no more than 4 oz (raw) or 3 oz (cooked). It really helps to view animal products (including dairy, poultry, eggs, meat, and seafood) as an enhancement to the dish, not the main attraction. Adding more plant based foods like vegetables, fruits, grains, beans and nuts, to make those the centerpiece of home cooked recipes.

And this is where the “Almost Meatless” book comes in handy for inspiration. From inside the book’s dust cover: A little meat can go a long way…. So true!

Keep in mind, this is not a vegetarian cookbook, all the recipes include animal products, but they are not the main component of the dish. Meats are used sparingly, but wisely, to build layers of flavors in the recipes.

The book is sectioned by each animal product (chicken, turkey, seafood, pork, beef, lamb, eggs, and broths), not by recipe subject. While browsing through the book, like I love to do, reading it cover to cover, it’s wonderful to see all the chicken recipes or all the beef recipes together, but for the home cook, it might be confusing not to be able to find one chapter for all soups, or pastas, or sandwiches, salads, or side dishes, especially when meats can sometimes be used interchangeably with each other. It might be more difficult to find what you’re looking for unless you know how the recipe is categorized in the index in the back of the book.

But that is really a small price to pay for the benefits of the book. It’s packed with loads of inspiration and ideas! I especially loved the tips on making your own stocks and broths on page 130. They tell you WHY you need to use cold water and why you only want to simmer (not boil) and why you should skim the foam. Stuff I never really understood!

At the beginning of each “meat” section, there is a terrific explanation. What to look for when purchasing (ie labels like “free range” which mean nothing in today’s terms), why and how to avoid the factory farmed version and find a local farm that raises their animals with care and respect.

For instance, what do the terms organic or grass fed for beef mean? It’s on page 84!

The “Bring Home the Bacon” blurb on page 37 was an eye-opener for me! I don’t ever buy bacon (turkey or pork) from mainstream Big Food companies anymore, but if I did, I’d certainly not want to buy one that included “mechanically separated turkey” as an ingredient!

There are a lot of beautifully detailed photographs in the cook book, only a few recipes do not have an accompanying photo. On the negative side, some of the photos are useless; for example, page 127 displays a yummy bowl of seeded tomatoes instead of the actual finished Pizza Strata dish. Same problem on page 95, instead of showing the finished Chimichurri Fajitas, there is a lovely eggplant photograph. Lovely yes, but not helpful for those of us cooking the dish. For the most part though, the photos do compliment the recipes, and really show great detail on what to expect for the finished recipe.

One other small complaint, I wish they didn’t use so much white flour and/or white bread as ingredients. I’m NOT dead set against never using white flour or white sugar, but after all, we’re eating less meat for the health of our bodies and the planet, so give us more healthy whole grains.

But I loved that they really encouraged finding local food, especially local animal products! That’s so important!

I recommend the Almost Meatless: Recipes That Are Better for Your Health and the Planet cookbook. It’s a beautiful detailed book and even the more experienced home cook will find something inspiring in the recipes as well as the tips and information. I enjoyed reading through it!

Some favorite recipes that inspired me: