Trick or Treat? Sounds like I lose either way.

After an extended hiatus I am back to the blogging.

Summer was a whirlwind of activity and the first month of school was a blur. All of the sudden, I realized I was getting bombarded with Halloween costumes and Thanksgiving invites. Welcome to fall.

With my daughter in kindergarten this year I have taken on the role of room parent for her class and now find myself staring down the barrel of a halloween party. Cupcakes and cookies smeared high with icing, cups of brightly colored drinks, and piles of candy: this is not going to work for me.

But, I'd hate to start of the first party of the year as "mommy killjoy" as my friends (with no kids) have nicknamed me. Thus begins the inspiration.....

How do you appease the frothing mouthes of the five year olds while avoiding the brightly colored faux food of the past?

1. Witches Broomsticks: Insert a pretzel rod into a piece of cheddar cheese. You can use precut cubes or cut thick slices off a large block. Simple and clean, courtesy of my mom.

2. Gingersnap cookies and Pumpkin Dip: Okay there is sugar in here but no artificial colors and pumpkin has nutritional value.

Pumpkin Dip

(Vitamin A, Fiber, Vitamin C, Iron and minimal sugar)

1 package of cream cheese, softened

1 can of pumpkin

Fall spices to taste (nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, etc)

Maple syrup to taste

Mix together until creamy.

If you aren't going to bake your own cookies I really like Trader Joe's Triple Ginger Snap.

3. Greek yogurt and Apple Slices: As is, delicious. Or you could get fancy and stir a little bit or honey and cinnamon into the yogurt to bring in the fall flavors.

4. Blood Red Hibiscus Tea: Kids love bright colors? No problem. Steep dried hibiscus flowers into a fabulous berry flavored brew. Delicious hot or cold. Amazing with fresh oranges floating on top. Add honey if it seems too tart.

So there you have it. A small reprieve from the horrors of the Halloween Sugarfest.

Hemp Pro 50 wins over my heart and stomach

I have bought a lot of protein powders. Rice, soy, oat, whey, vanilla, chocolate, chai, berry. Some have been manageable, others went right in the trash. I keep buying more in the hopes of finding one that I look forward to drinking because I love the concept. Quick, healthy, easy on the gut. This is how I want to start the day. So when my local health food store had free samples of a new powder I was all about it.
Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce to you: Manitoba Harvest Hemp Pro.

Now I bought the Hemp Pro 50 for two reasons.

1. It was less expensive.

2. More omega 3s

As you can see from the pic the 70 has more protein, less omegas.

This protein powder is so smooth I can drink it with no fruit blended in.

Yesterday's breakfast:
One cup of sunflower milk
Two tbsp of hemp pro 50
Heaping tbsp of Trader Joes almond butter with roasted flaxseed
Blended until smooth.

Tasty.Would it be more delicious with a banana in there? Yup. But I am on a very restricted diet and fructose is not on it. But for you and your family, go for it.
The hemp powder is not gritty, has no aftertaste, and gives the drink a slightly nutty flavor.

In summation:
Great source of protein
Tons of omega 3s
A little added fiber
Great taste and texture
Website has great recipes
Was on sale with coupon when I bought it making it $14 for the 16oz jar.

The lunch box: A study in efficacy and healthiness

Packing lunches.

It's my greatest challenge.

Mornings in our house are full of late rising, argumentative dressing, slow eating, and generalized whining. That leaves me about five minutes to pack a lunch before running chaotically to the bus stop.

This summer while I continue to pack lunches for camp, I am committed to perfecting the art of healthy and quick.

I have found a couple of products that I am loving right now.

1. Cool Gear EZ-Freeze Stay Fit Snack containers.

I used to hesitate to put dairy in the lunch box. Especially in the summer. This product seriously unshackles dairy and makes it a safe and healthy lunch box choice. Yogurt or single serve cottage cheese fit perfectly inside. They are relatively cheap, and they really stay cold. And for what to put inside....

2. Stonyfield Yogurt: YoBaby Meals

I love this yogurt. Six active probiotic strands where most yogurts have two. Easy to read ingredients and a serving of veggies snuck in for an extra bonus. Zoe assures me they are delicious. Visit the website for coupons. It is a little pricier than other brands.

3. Seaweed

Since I went carb free for myself, I long for a chip/pretzel/etc. I started snacking on seaweed to fill my salty, crunchy needs and Zoe soon followed. Turns out kids love seaweed. I have watched her friends come over and devour a box in no time at all. Chock full of micronutrients, I gladly replaced a bag of goldfish for seaweed in the lunch box. We have purchased Annie Chun's Sesame Seaweed, Trader Joe Brand Seaweed and now Costco has start carrying huge mulitpacks which are fantastic and the perfect size for packing.

4. The dreaded Beverage choice

For beverages I waver. I like her to drink water but I hate paying for Waterloos boxed water (even with that adorable penguin). I could pack her a thermos full of water but she complains that all the other kids have juice boxes and I remember the pain of being different. I know that's ridiculous but I pick my battles. So I have found that I can make my peace with occasionally purchasing some juice boxes for her. Apple and Eve Fruitables are a little high in sugar for my liking but at least they attempt to tamper it down with some veggie juice. I also will buy Hansen's Junior Water- less sugar and no artificial colors, as long as you buy the water and not the juice. I m open to suggestions on beverages or I will wait until thermoses are cool.

5. Frozen Fruit

Since my freezer is always packed with frozen fruit for smoothies, it was a no brainer to throw some in the lunch box as well. It stays cold until lunch, helps keep the juice box cold, and doesn't go bad before I have a chance to use it. In the summer, when fresh berries and fruits are plentiful it is even better to freeze your own. Caution: frozen blueberries and raspberries can get quite messy post thaw. I'd stick to mango, papaya, strawberries and peaches.

So right now my goal is to have in the box:

1. As little sugar as possible

2. No artificial colors or flavorings

3. Protein, good fats, and a vegetable serving

A typical lunch is:

1. Fruitable juice box

2. single serve cup of 2%cottage cheese or YoBaby Meal yogurt

3. Sliced cucumber or grape tomatoes

4. frozen fruit

5. almond butter on a sandwich thin from Trader Joe's

I am clearly a work in progress. Like I said, packing lunches has been a challenge for me. I am open to creative ideas and products other people are using. Send in your suggestions.

Mommy McMuffin

My daughter has eaten at McDonald's. Multiple times. Enough to know the names of the sandwiches. I don't like it, but sometimes life shows up different then one would expect and a happy meal turns into a tolerable option.

But the fat, the sodium, the preservatives, high fructose corn syrup.... it's a nutritional nightmare.

Egg McMuffin, meet your nemesis.

Your healthier and tastier doppelganger: the Mommy McMuffin.

Two slices of ham (recommend Applegate Organic)

Cut into squares and lightly saute until hot, not burnt

Dump ham onto separate plate.

Lightly toast bun with cheese.

(I am loving Trader Joe's Multigrain Slims with Yogurt Cheese)

Scramble egg in ham pan to your liking.

Assemble ham pieces and egg onto cheesy bun.

Listen to child say the three words you've longed to hear:

"Better then McDonalds"

It's hard to do a nutritional comparison but I will do a close estimate.

Egg McMuffin v. Mommy

Serving Size: 7.1oz/ 6 oz

Calories: 300 / 240

Fat: 12g/ 11g

Saturated Fat: 5g/ 3g

Cholesterol: 235mg/ 215mg

Sodium: 840mg/ 490mg

Fiber: 2g/ 5g

MInimal prep time, minimal cook time. Easy ingredients to keep in the house. So tasty.

No hormones, antibiotics, artificial colors or flavors.

The incredible, edible plum

Hangovers....stomach flu....morning sickness....migraines.....overeating.....car sickness....eczema

Who in your family can't benefit from the healing power of the umeboshi plum?

My first experience with ume plum vinegar came through my good friend Lauren who gave me a delicious recipe for pressed salad many years ago. The salty, briny vinegar is a stand out flavor that I soon wanted to add to every salad I ate. Not just tasty, ume plums have been used as medicinal remedies in Japan and China for centuries.

Here is a great article on the health benefit highlights of ume plums.

You can see how I use it on a summer salad that I recently prepared for Mother's Day.

And if you really want to experience something amazing (or you are really hungover/ill) take yourself to Teaism and order the plum ochazuke. It is the the most soothing meal I have ever consumed in all of Washington DC. They float whole ume plums in the soup from which you will suck the briny flesh. There are no words for that kind of flavor experience. Just look at its glory.

Oh Honey, you shouldn't have. (tasted like feet)

Raw Honey

or how I overcame my fear of botulism

Initially I had some reservations about raw honey, mostly due to the fact that prior to learning about natural foods, I liked all my food one way: sterile. I mean, if you can pasteurize something or make it shelf stable or preserve it, why not? Safety first, right?

Well as it turns out whole foods equal healthier foods and sterilizing food kills precious enzymes, nutrients, etc. So after extensive research, I bought my first jar of raw honey.

This honey was too strong for my husband. Actually, to quote him, he said it tasted like eating dirty feet. As usual, my kid thought it was delicious (seriously, no taste buds on my kid) and I found it tolerable. I liked seeing all the little bits of hive and what not, swirling around in there. Made me feel like I was really getting all the power of the bee. But it was hard to overlook the foot smell, so after that jar I tried one a bit less "chunky". Next honey.

Okay, so this one rated better than the first, still chunky but less footy. Sadly, this honey was not local to Virginia and when it came time to use the raw honey for springtime allergies the rule is: Buy Close to Home. Next honey.

Now this is a tasty honey. Golden Angels Apiary, we chose the Wild Rose variety, bottled in Singers Glen, Virginia. No bits of hive in this guy, to the delight of my hive hating husband. Rated excellent by the whole family.

What am I doing with all this honey?

• Honey is naturally anti-viral,anti-bacterial and anti-fungal
• It can be used in place of cough syrup or to soothe a sore throat
• It can be on wounds to speed healing and fight infection
• A spoonful of local honey a day helps ward of environmental allergies
• Naturally occurring enzymes and probiotics aid in digestion

There is a ton of info about honey all over the internet. I think this website remains factual and concise: World's Healthiest Foods.

A quick recipe for when you feel sickness creeping up on you. And it works. My patients swear by it. Drink it when you feel sick or when you are taking care of your sickly family. And don't be scared. It is actually pretty tasty.

Garlic Lemonade

2 quarts water
8-10 garlic cloves, whole and peeled
the juice of one lemon (or two if you like lemons)
raw honey, however much you'd like

a pinch of cayenne pepper
optional: a chunk of peeled ginger

Combine the water and the garlic (and ginger, if using) in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and simmer for one hour. Remove from heat. Add the lemon, cayenne and the honey. I like to leave all the chunks just chilling at the bottom of my jar. Strain it if you'd like.

You already know why the honey is there. A quick rundown of the rest. Lemons: vitamin C, plus acidity to fight infection. Cayenne: brings your body temperature up to sweat out those nasty germs. Garlic: oh the healing power of garlic (and ginger) is endless. Anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, anti-viral, the list goes on and on. I could write a whole post just about garlic. Hmmmm.......

****You probably have heard this a million times but just to be sure NO HONEY FOR BABIES UNDER ONE YEAR OLD. Okay. I feel better now****

To Market, To Market

Tis the season for the return of the farmer's market here in Crystal City. Zoe and I took a walk down to see what they had to offer this Tuesday. I laid out a challenge for her: Find me a vegetable you have never eaten and we will eat it tonight. She accepted the challenge and we were off.

Here is our favorite pic from the market:

I digress. Back to the challenge. Zoe actually found two ingredients that she wanted to try and who am I to cut short the passions of a budding foodie?

We came home with swiss chard and ramps.

Here is what we made.

Finely chopped ramps (bulbs and leaves)

Chopped Chard (leaves and stalks)

Saute until soft in a cast iron skillet with little bit of butter

Salt/Pepper

Paired with some leftover smoked brisket from Mother's Day and brown rice, Zoe proclaimed our meal delicious. Challenge complete.

And now the boring facts....

• Swiss chard is high in vitamins A, K and C, with a 1175g serving containing 214%, 716%, and 53%, respectively, of the recommended daily value.
• It is also rich in minerals, dietary fiber and protein.
• Swiss chard is an excellent source of bone-building vitamin K, manganese, and magnesium; antioxidant vitamin A, vitamin C, and vitamin E; heart-healthy potassium and dietary fiber; and energy-producing iron.
• It is a very good source of bone-healthy copper and calcium; energy-producing vitamin B2 and vitamin B6; and muscle-building protein.
• Swiss chard is a good source of energy-producing phosphorus, vitamin B1, vitamin B5, biotin, and niacin; immune supportive zinc; and heart-healthy folate.

Nutritional Value of Ramps

• Ramps are a fat free and low calorie food.
• One half cup of ramps, boiled and chopped, contains only 16 calories.
• As part of the Allium family, ramps, like leeks, onions and garlic have been shown to reduce total cholesterol and LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
• As little as two or more servings per week of Allium vegetables has also been shown to lower the risk or prostate and colon cancer. Like onions, ramps also offer some fiber.
• One half cup of ramps offers five percent or less of the daily value of manganese, iron, folate, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.