On the menu

So…I’m so excited about the foods and combinations of foods I’m discovering that I could probably blog daily.

I won’t subject you to that.

I did want to post an update on Operation Creamer Concoction.  Last night I reheated the cream/milk/syrup/vanilla mixture and added in about 1/4 c. raw sugar.  I thought a little sweetness might improve matters.  And, it did…but I didn’t get that “ah-ha” moment I want.  The search continues…

I had some really good Kashi blueberry waffles this morning, with some maple syrup.  Having occasionally eaten waffles or pancakes with good old Log Cabin “syrup,” I am absolutely delighted with the purer taste and the thinner texture of real maple syrup.  You don’t need nearly as much, the flavor is intense, and it soaks in nicely, flavoring every bite.  The hilarious thing about Log Cabin is this - take a look at the label and see what jumps out at you:

See how proudly it proclaims “NOW! NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP”?

Well, good on ya’, Log Cabin!  Way to provide a healthy syrupy substance!
Except…

INGREDIENTS: Corn Syrup, Sugar Liquid (Sugar Natural, Water), Water, Salt, Flavor(s) Natural & Artificial (Lactic Acid), Cellulose Gum, Preservative (Sorbic Acid, Sodium Benzoate), Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Caramel Color, Phosphoric Acid

That’s right.  None of that nasty high fructose corn syrup.  Just…low fructose corn syrup?  And, I’m sorry, but… “hexametaphosphate”?  How is that not a drain cleaner or windshield de-icer?  Regardless of what it is, it sounds frightening.

I looked it up.  Blech.  Google it if you want to know…

I got hungry mid-morning and had some sesame crackers, a little cube of Alouette soft cheese, and half an apple.  A good combination, I think.  It tasted really good, regardless.  And I keep saying to myself…why did I think trying to eat better food would be so hard, that I would feel so DEPRIVED?

Tonight we’re having a vegetable cheese chowder and some garlic biscuits…both from scratch.  I’ll post a review of both recipes soon.

Happy eating!

What worked/what didn’t

So, last night’s bean burritos?  Fantastic.  The beans were full of flavor from the garlic that had slow-cooked along with the beans all day, and the chipotle chili powder.  This is a bit smokier in taste than “regular” chili powder and I’m glad I used it in these beans.  We also had some basmati rice cooked in vegetable broth (I got a four-pack of 1-cup cartons of Pacific Foods Organic at Whole Foods for about 3 bucks), some cumin and a chopped jalapeno.  Note: I washed my hands SIX times after chopping the jalapeno.  Six.  This morning if I touched my finger to my tongue, it still burned.  Anyway, I also roasted and chopped a medium sized poblano pepper that went really nicely in the burritos.  Lastly, some regular (not light) sour cream and some white cheddar cheese – very sharp and it only took a sprinkling to add to the creaminess.  The guys added some ground beef (grassfed – one pound at Publix – $7.99…more on this in a minute) that I browned, drained, and added back to the pan with some of the homemade taco seasoning I mixed up over the weekend because I had the spices on hand.  Delicious and no MSG!  I was able to make enough seasoning for at least three total meals.  Recipe here: Homemade taco seasoning.  I tripled that recipe and stored the mix in a small airtight container.

So the beans were absolutely a success, and we’ll have this meal again in the near future.

Now, on to an item that I use daily and really feel I can’t be without.  Coffee creamer.  I love good, strong coffee liberally laced with French Vanilla creamer, like this International Delight stuff. Not so bad, right?  The problem comes when you study the label.

Non-Dairy Product Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Palm Oil, Corn Syrup, Contains 2% Or Less Of The Following: Sodium Caseinate* (A Milk Derivative), Dipotassium Phosphate, Natural And Artificial Flavors, Mono And Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Carrageenan, Salt. *Sodium Caseinate Is Not A Source Of Lactose.

Yum!  Have you had YOUR sodium steroyl lactylate today?  And don’t you wonder what “natural and artificial flavors” really are?  I can think of a lot of “natural” substances that I don’t want in my food.

So I decided I’d study and concoct my own creamer.  Last night I simmered a cup of cream, a cup of whole milk (both organic), 4 tablespoons of pure maple syrup, and a tablespoon of pure vanilla extract (note: next time I plan to use vanilla beans).  It smelled so great bubbling away on the stove.  This morning I eagerly poured a healthy dollop into my waiting cup…but no.  It was not to be.  It wasn’t BAD, but it wasn’t what I wanted, either.  I’m going to keep researching and tweaking the recipe.  Or, my tastes will change and I’ll be happy with just real cream.  Either way, I’m done buying this junk from the store.

Today David and I ate lunch at Organic Harvest, which is a great little store.  Link here: Organic Harvest Market and Café.  We both had sandwiches – he had a chicken pesto on whole wheat, I had a roast chicken with tomatoes and feta and a spicy sauce.  Very very good.  Then we did a bit of shopping and found some good deals.

We got a gallon of organic milk from Alabama cows that eat grass.  And at $6.89/gal. it’s cheaper than the milk we buy at Publix (which works out to over $8/gal).

We also found another one pound package of grassfed beef, on sale for $7.99.

Okay, about this meat: yes, it’s expensive.  But I feel strongly about buying this for a couple of reasons.  I need to know, to the farthest extent possible, that the animals providing food for me lived a decent life, eating what they were intended to eat.  Also, my plan is to cut way down on red meat consumption (especially ground meat), to certainly no more often than once per week – and then less frequently as I add other recipes to my collection.  So I can afford to buy the better quality meat since I won’t be serving it very often.

We bought two boxes of cereal, both Cascadian Farms brand. Neither was over $3.00/box, and one had a coupon on it for a dollar off two boxes.  Publix would have a hard time beating that price.  And finally, we picked up a couple of pears, a couple of apples, some lemons…and a little over a pound of demerara sugar, a natural brown sugar, for my iced tea experiments.  I want to cut out refined, processed white sugar, and I use the overwhelming majority of that in sweet tea, which I do not want to give up.  I drink one glass per night, shot through with the juice from a big lemon wedge.  So, I’ll try to improve upon it.

More and more, this whole concept clicks with me.  Instead of spending my precious money on a bunch of junk that sits in my stomach like a rock, I’ll spend it on higher quality real food that is full of flavor – so full of flavor that I want to enjoy every bite.  And I’m taking fewer bites now – significantly fewer.  The pants I put on today buttoned easily, with room to spare.  A month ago I had to work to make those fasteners meet.

That’s it for now.  I’ll keep updating here as I make new discoveries.

In the beginning

So, I thought I’d start by just going over a few of the initial changes I’ve made in my kitchen.

Once I finally wrapped my head around the whole “good fats in moderation are good for you” concept, the first thing I did was buy whole milk instead of 2%.  I can hear some of you gasping.  I felt completely BAD buying those first couple of containers, like a food cop was going to jump out of the dairy case and cuff me for trying to clog my family’s arteries.  Obviously, some folks don’t do milk or dairy, and that’s great, but in my family we do like milk, so…why whole milk?  Well, it tastes really good.  The idea behind this whole food concept is to up the quality of your food, enjoy it slowly and thoroughly, and you eat less.  It’s true.

So change #1: whole milk.
I’ve been buying organic milk for several years now, either this brand or Horizon.  But I always bought 2%, occasionally forcing myself to buy skim for my own consumption.  Blech.

Last night before bed my stomach was a bit empty.  I poured maybe 4 ounces of milk into my Bama jelly glass and sipped it over the next 15 minutes.  It tasted amazingly good, and it filled my stomach just enough to let me go to sleep feeling comfortable.

I suppose the next change is really more of a series of smaller changes.  I took a few of the recipes I found in the books I’ve mentioned (French Woman Don’t Get Fat, The Fat Fallacy) and tried them.  We had some pasta with leeks and parmesan cheese, drizzled with plenty of olive oil.  Delicious!  And along with that I prepared some pork loin chops.  I still have some work to do if we want to have those again because to say they were a bit tough is being generous.  But, we also had another pasta dish another day, this one with lots of zucchini and diced tomatoes, again with a good amount of olive oil and some basil.  We had some whole wheat bakery bread toasted with a slathering of the new butter I’m buying: Kerrygold Pure Irish Butter.  Ingredient list? “Pasteurized Cream, Salt.”  Yes, it has to be left out for a few minutes to be truly spreadable.  This is not hard to accomplish.  You set it out, you do some of the other stuff that needs doing, and when you check it again, it’s ready.  It is a beautiful creamy yellow and tastes so good.  It even says “milk from grassfed cows” on the package.  Yes!  That’s exactly the kind of REAL FOOD I’m looking for…

So change #2: try new recipes that are heavy on the vegetables, and don’t skimp on the good fats to increase their palatability.  (Just learned that new word from yet ANOTHER new book: Low-Fat Lies, High-Fat Fraud).  Tonight we’re having bean burritos.  In the past, when we wanted burritos, I’d buy a couple of cans of store beans, plop ‘em in a saucepan, and voila!  But today, I put a bag of rinsed and sorted pintos in the crockpot with a good amount of salted water (and I used coarse sea salt), two whole garlic cloves, a tablespoon or so of chipotle chili powder, about a teaspoon of cumin, and some bay leaves.  When I get home I expect them to be tender and ready to eat along with some monterey jack cheese that I’ll grate right before we eat.  We’ll have some of the fresh salsa that Publix sells in the deli (all natural, lots of veggies, no weird ingredients). I’ll let you know how they turn out.

The last change that I’ll list for today is more of a behavior than a food choice, per se.  I am slowly learning to savor the food I eat.  It took me by surprise when I started consciously putting down my fork between bites – because I realized that I usually shove food in like I’m being timed.  Also, I’m simply chewing my food.  Tasting it.  Enjoying it.  I’m not saying I’m trying to chew a certain number of times, but I’m actually using my teeth, consciously noticing the flavors and textures.  Another surprise: when I took note not to put more food in my mouth while there was still the bite I had just taken in there.  Seems crazy, I know, but when I began to pay attention, I came to see that I was eating too fast and not even coming close to appreciating what I’m putting into my body.

Change #3: slow down and savor it.

As far as finding some substitutes for the store bought things we’ve been buying for years, I have two things to share today.  Stephen loves Chunky Chips Ahoy cookies.  Kerry does too.  I’ve been known to indulge, as has David.  So, I figured I’d find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe I could and make it with the best ingredients I could afford.  So, I made these: Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies from the wonderful blog 100 Days of Real Food.  I recommend the recipe heartily.  Next time I’ll be doubling it so that we have a treat that isn’t packed with chemicals.I used organic whole wheat pastry flour, good unsalted butter, and pure vanilla extract.  I used Nestle semi-sweet morsels because I had them on hand already.  And these turned out beautifully!  David and Kerry thought they were great.  The only drawback was that when Stephen asked for “Chis Ahoy” and I smiled brightly and brought over one of these beauties, he picked one up, sniffed it delicately, and said, “No.  Chis Ahoy peas.”  Ah well.

The other new recipe I worked on this week was a homemade granola.  Since I’ve been eating more yogurt (whole milk with cream top) I remembered how good granola goes with yogurt.  So I studied some recipes and kind of cobbled together my own.  To make about 4 1/2 cups total, I used 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats, 1 cup of sliced almonds, 1 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut, a 1/2 cup of walnuts, about 1/4 cup each of flax seed and sunflower seeds, a scant 1/8 cup of brown sugar, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, a drizzle of honey, and about 1/8 cup of coconut oil, warmed slightly to liquefy.  I mixed all that together, spread it on a foil-lined cookie sheet, and baked it for 1 hour, 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes so it browned evenly.  The house began to smell SO GOOD after about 30 minutes.  The end product was golden, crispy, and smelled delicious.

I tried about 1/2 a cup of this for breakfast, with a generous amount of whole milk.  And let me tell you…it beat any cereal I’ve tried.  It was so very good!

Well, this has grown very long.  I guess I’m still pretty excited.  I’ve always loved to cook and this feels like such an adventure.  Thanks for coming along!  More to come!

The weight of the world…

It’s on my shoulders.

And by “weight” I mean literal pounds.  While at times I’ve certainly felt the figurative weight of the world (stress, worries, more stress) from time to time, for the last few weeks I’ve become very interested in the way people eat.  Most specifically the way my family eats.

This interest began years ago when I ran across a book called French Women Don’t Get Fat by Mireille Guillano.  It’s a native Frenchwoman’s take on the so-called “French Paradox.”  The media has predictably taken this idea and spouted such nonsense as “The French Paradox is a myth,” or “So these people eat ALL THE BUTTER and croissants and red wine as they want and don’t get fat?  Sure they do.”  Well, that’s not the paradox at all.  Traditional French eating is about celebration, about savoring the BEST food you can afford – slowly, and not stuffing one’s face with a bunch of chemical compounds masquerading as food.

And these mysterious food-like products are what many Americans typically ingest.  Go to the grocery store and take note of all the “healthy” foods you see: low-fat, fat-free, high protein, sugar-free.  Then look at the list of ingredients.  Chances are it’s a paragraph that’s chock full of words requiring a consultation with chemistry textbooks.

I’m about to finish another book called The Fat Fallacy that examines the “healthy” food-like substances that Americans have consumed in ever-increasing quantities in the last 30 years, all the while the obesity rates in the U. S. climb steadily upward.  The author, Dr. Will Clower, is a neurophysiologist (and a native Alabamian) who spent two years living and working in France – and who came home healthier and lighter (as did his family) than when they left America…all from eating real food: whole milk instead of watery skim, cream instead of low-fat Cool Whip, fresh vegetables instead of canned everything…

So, my personal goal is to reduce and eventually eliminate non-foods, while increasing our consumption of real, honest, and hopefully local foods.  To quote Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma): “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”  It just makes sense.  Is it going to be easy?  I can readily admit that it is not.  I spent nearly double my normal amount of time (but not double the money, which is interesting) at Publix recently, reading package labels and searching for the best products I could find.  It took me a full 10 minutes to find a box of crackers to go with my organic hummus (same price as the regular) that had fewer than 25 ingredients.  I hope to be able to find better food not only at my normal store, but discover other sources along the way.  The little Organic Harvest store in Hoover, even Whole Foods (if I’m selective).  The point is – there IS better food out there, and I’m going to find it without going bankrupt.

I plan to take this blog in a decidedly different direction, focusing on my “real food” goals and discoveries.  While I have grown tired of repeating myself about the problems that autism presents, you will still find mentions of autism here – because how could I not talk about the elephant in the room?  And the greatest challenge by FAR is going to be trying (and perhaps failing) to find healthier alternatives for Stephen’s extremely limited selection of menu items.

I’ve already tried a few new recipes and ideas, and soon I’ll share those, with some reviews and pictures of the finished products.  My goal is to eat BETTER foods – not to be a vegetarian, not to give up sugar or sweets completely, but to eat whole foods along with occasional treats that also happen to be real foods…to savor my food, to eat wonderful things that are good for me, and to stop when I’m full.

Today, we started watching the HBO documentary “The Weight of the Nation.”  Very eye-opening.  I wish every Alabamian could watch it.  Or, would watch it.  It has reinforced my resolve to just do BETTER.

I’m excited about this.  It feels good to do something so positive.

Truisms: A Reluctant Homage

In general, I do my best to avoid the overused, banal phrases that, to me, signal mental laziness and a poor vocabulary.  However it pains me to admit it, though, some clichés are just spot-on.

“Sometimes we don’t appreciate something fully until we think there’s a chance we might lose it.”

Ugh.  So trite, so hum-drum, so…absolutely true.

A routine test turns up what is 99.9% likely to be nothing, but until you know it’s nothing, you worry.    Suddenly life is so heartrendingly precious you can hardly stand the intensity of your feelings.  All of the annoyances, the petty problems, the minor things are so very unimportant that you can’t believe you ever gave them a second thought.  Even having a severely disabled child and a host of other problems to deal with on a daily basis seems like a walk in the park.  The mere mention of a problem that might affect the quality of that life – or at the very worst, take that life away – and you swear you will never, ever NOT appreciate what you have.

If forced to look life and its gloriousness and variety and wonder and problems and uncertainties – and its finite nature – squarely head on, one would be foolish indeed not to take that opportunity to realize that, yes, each day is a gift, that we should never waste a day in pointless anger, that nothing is as important as loving and being loved.  Having one’s eyes opened to the beauty of every day is never a bad thing.

For this life, I am grateful.  For the people who love me, who accept my love, who bring me laughter and joy and things to think about and do, I am grateful.  For the sons of my heart, who grew within me and who carry a piece of me with them, I am forever grateful.

Today life is crystalline, bright, perfect and full.  That is enough.

February 15, 2012

Dream, my little love.

Dream of trains that talk

of bears that eat honey and sing songs

of blue puppies, of paw prints

of every precious thing a childhood can hold.

Laugh, my little love.

Toss aside the standards of the world

for they matter so little – your world is your own…

Your happiness is the purest expression of joy that I have ever known.

Rest, my little love.

You are safe here.

You are my baby, born into a world that would not understand,

entrusted to me

for always.

We love you with depth unimaginable.

We protect you with every fiber of our being.

We celebrate you today, the day you arrived

and changed our lives for good,

for not-always-so-good,

forever.

Pride of purpose

Stephen will be 12 soon – in 13 days to be exact – and that will mean that we’ve known he has autism for almost a decade.  Most years I’ve done a post to commemorate his birthday, and maybe I’ll still do that, but I felt inspired to get some thoughts out today.

Autism is still a horrible, frightening, frustrating disease, disorder, whatever.  There are times when it breaks my heart and makes me feel hopeless…but not nearly as frequently as in the past.  And, honestly, part of the reason is that I’m finally on a good medication that keeps me from having total freakouts on a daily basis…but there is another element.  Stephen tries harder every day to learn useful words.  I’ve also found him on more than one occasion lately doing his own Google searches – holding a video in one sweet, soft, babyish hand while he diligently types the name of the video with the other one.  He used to always come and get one of us to do it for him.

So even with a child this affected, time brings improvements…glacially slowly, perhaps, but the overall trend is positive.

Something else has been creeping into my consciousness recently.  A perspective change of sorts…having a child so very dependent upon you for every need can (and does) often feel like an overwhelming burden.  It’s a hard life, nearly devoid of spontaneity and spur of the moment events…but what I’ve realized is that there is a graceful dignity that can imbue nearly every aspect of this life.  We are Stephen’s caretakers.  We take care of a soul who, without a caring network of family and teachers and friends, would be utterly lost.  There is a sense of pride in keeping him neat and clean and as well-fed as possible.  There is a peaceful feeling that comes with knowing that his hair smells of shampoo, that his clothes are clean, soft, and comfortable, that his socks are straight on his feet so the seams won’t press against his toes…  He can’t tell us when small things are uncomfortable or irritating…and I’ve found honor and purpose in caring for my son…in making him smile, in hearing his laughter when his daddy blows bubbles while Stephen’s in the tub, in seeing his big brother engage him and tickle him till he laughs that precious laugh, in seeing his obvious delight when one of us understands what he’s saying.

We could do our “duty” and make sure he is appropriately fed, clothed, and sheltered.  But there IS joy to be found in trying to understand him – to decipher the problems, to try to find solutions, and yes, to honor this little human person, to give as much scope as possible to a life limited by a cruel disorder.  I have always known that his soul shines, his innocence untarnished…to find deeper truths in this life of ours is a blessing that I embrace thankfully.