Choices

For various reasons, some serious, some not, both my parents spend a lot of time in hospitals and at doctors' offices. Maybe it's like that for the majority of older people, but it's become glaringly obvious to me that choices earlier in life have a huge impact on our later years. And yes, I *know* nothing's guaranteed in life. You could do everything right and still face devastating health issues. I grapple with that every day when I look at my daughter.

But I do know that, given two paths, why wouldn't you choose the one that's more likely to tip the odds in your favor down the road? Nothing appeals to me as much as having good health. I hate illness and hospitals. DD18's illness took its toll on me, and motivated me to make drastic changes in my lifestyle, as well as our family's. Sure, we all indulgence in things not-so-good for us, but I think at this point we come back rapidly to what is good. I think it's taken root in the kids. The challenge now is to make sure good habits stay ingrained, so that when they leave the house they will recognize they have choices, and hopefully choose the better ones most of the time.

We will all spend some time in the hospital at some point. But wouldn't it be great if that time were for things like knee replacements from overuse (exercise) rather than the results of a lifetime of bad choices.

Finishing the Challenge

My self-imposed challenge went well, I think. Thursday night I made chili, and added two bunches of fresh kale as in this recipe. I had ground beef (90% lean) in the freezer, as well as canned pinto beans in the cupboard, and served it over brown rice. The kids prefer cornbread with chili, but I was out of cornmeal.

Last night I made Baked Shells Casserole, which is pretty good. (I made a much simpler tomato sauce, but followed the recipe in spirit.) I'm not a huge fan of Rachael Ray...her cooking always seems "mutt-like" to me, as opposed to being purely ethnic, but then again we are a nation of mutts, so to speak.

I consider my challenge finished, although I still have to get through the weekend. Not sure yet how the meals will go, as we are very busy and will likely be out of the house for long stretches. So I may indeed have to run to the store at some point, or we'll settle for some sort of egg dish. I liked my challenge...it was good to clean out some items, and stick to guidelines. We have so many supermarkets within a short drive that it's easy to get distracted and buy more than I need or change a week's worth of menus on a whim. And I was successful in that I used all whole food products, nothing overly processed....the week felt sparse in a Lent-like way, but we were not deprived at all.

DS16 is in a state meet this weekend, and all our plans center around his activity. It's a drive to get to the big indoor venues that can hold so many kids, so I anticipate we'll be busy and tired by Sunday night, and vacation's end. I'm glad we had a low-key week at home, and the kids got lots of rest before returning back to school and the fresh batch of germs from vacationing classmates! In my experience, the end of winter usually results in several colds and other upper respiratory infections, due to our tired immune systems.

We've been watching the Olympics, and DD17 noted all the McDonald's and Coca-Cola commercials, and said she doubted the athletes really consumed those products. Well, I don't know about that...I personally can't believe all the junk high school athletes eat. Eventually it will catch up to them, but then a lifetime of bad habits may be ingrained. I really think youth sports should have a nutrition component, and I'm not talking about sports drinks or energy bars. Given the budget cuts all public schools have experienced in the past few years, I am not holding my breath.

Day 3 Food Challenge

We broke fast last night (Ash Wednesday) with a white bean soup, roasted potatoes and beets, and boiled beet greens. All soup ingredients were on hand, while the beets were purchased yesterday, along with other vegetables and fruits.

The soup was easy and very good, even without the pancetta the recipe called for. The recipe used canned white beans, but I had dried beans so used those instead. It wasn't really much additional work...a "quick boil" softened them up nicely for use in the soup. I had received a Williams-Sonoma catalog before the holidays, and it contained a few recipes, including this one, which is a pretty standard bean soup. In a stockpot, saute chopped onion, garlic, carrot, and celery in a little olive oil until softened. Add the beans and about 5 cups of chicken broth* as well as fresh thyme. Cook until beans are soft and then puree the soup with a hand blender (a great invention). Add grated Parmesan cheese and lots of black pepper. Yummy!

*Apparently chicken broth is "allowed" during meat-free days of Lent. Who knew? I Googled it on a whim, thinking I'd have to use vegetable broth instead, and was very surprised to note that animal "products" like broth or even bacon fat are OK'd by the church powers. You learn something new every day. And, I hasten to add, I don't really think Lent is all about the "rules." It's bigger than that, obviously.

I saved the beet greens and boiled them as suggested by The World's Healthiest Foods, my encyclopedic food bible. And you know, the kids actually like beet greens. You never know until you try it!

Pasta Con Tonno

Last night's challenge was easy: Pasta con Tonno, or Pasta with Tuna. This is a classic southern Italian pasta dish, originally using fresh tuna. It's very simple, like most Italian dishes...just pasta, tuna, garlic, olive oil, white wine, and fresh parsley. Other variations add some chopped tomato or even a bit of anchovy. Amounts vary according to taste and what you have on hand...I never measure and generally have to triple everything to create the heaping mounds of food that will satisfy three hungry kids. It's important to add a generous amount of the pasta cooking water, so the dish is not too dry, as well as plenty of salt and black pepper.

Tonight's meal will consist of the several packages of dried beans I found in my freezer, supplemented by some just-purchased beets and beet greens. I will probably roast the beets along with some potatoes I already had on hand.

Food Challenge

I'm challenging myself this week to shop from my cupboards, fridge, and freezer. However, I'm quantifying this as "challenge lite" because I've given myself permission to shop for fresh fruits and vegetables and dairy. So this is mostly about coming up with a daily main course (dinner) from foods I already have in the house.

Why this challenge? Several reasons:

I *hate* food shopping. My normal schedule is to get out of the house early in the day and shop before it gets too crowded. With the kids home this week, I can't get out as soon as I'd like.

I have a well-stocked pantry. I'll shop and buy non-perishable staples like brown rice, beans, pasta, canned tomatoes, and then forget I have them as I get side-tracked by tempting sale items. It's good to rotate the foods in the cupboard.

This time of year is uninspiring, food-wise. Sadly, I hit the creative (kitchen) wall right about now. Produce is definitely not local. We're getting a bit tired of the heavier meals but it's way too cold to think about lighter, fresher dishes.

Lent starts this week. Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting (or mostly fasting, for those not familiar with Catholic rules). Meat is not allowed, nor is it allowed on Fridays during Lent, so that's two days where non-perishables come in handy. And luckily, I have fish in the freezer so that's an option, too. The notion of "giving up" something fits in with this challenge, too.

Yesterday, I made salmon burgers and spinach brown rice casserole, all from ingredients I had on hand. I added corn as a side, also, from my freezer.

Tonight I will make a pasta dish with canned tuna, DD17's favorite meatless pasta dish. Most of this week may end up being meatless, now that I think of it. Oh well, that would be healthier for all of us, I'm sure.

Vacation Week

Another vacation week...the school year starts to fly after the holidays. This week DS16 is starting Driver Ed, which begins with a week of in-class instruction. Since it is so time-consuming (9-3:30 every day), there's really no other choice than to sacrifice a vacation week. I can't believe I'll soon have a second teenage driver in the house. However, the process is so long and involved now that the laws have changed in our state that hopefully it will be quite a while before he gets his license (phew).

DD17 has, as usual, a lot of homework to plow through, but we will hopefully get some clothes shopping in as well as other fun stuff. I think she feels like she can breathe now that all the college applications are submitted (now we just wait). Senior year is very stressful, and I think more so than when I was that age.

I call DS13 the "drag-along child" since he ends up doing whatever the older two do, so he may end up shopping with the girls this week since his brother will be occupied. We'll probably make a few library trips, since he's my reader (or the one with the most time to read for pleasure). Other than that, I feel a week of just hanging out is good for him, since kids are so overscheduled. It's OK to be bored. (That's when I was most creative as a child.) Just got to keep the electronics at bay...

A PBS Show about a Cancer Drug

Last night I was bored and turned on the t.v., not really expecting to find anything interesting to watch (we don't have cable), and I stumbled upon a PBS program about a new cancer drug, IT-101. The show chronicled the story of a chemical engineer who was moved to help his wife battle breast cancer. His scientific journey and discoveries resulted in a nanoparticle drug just now finishing Phase I clinical trials.

I am not a scientist but I was fascinated by this story and awed by the drug's success. The Q & A with the drug's creator is very interesting, and the episode itself is engrossing, especially if cancer has ever touched your life.

Snow Day

School's cancelled here, even before it starts to snow. Guess they expect almost a foot of snow, and don't want to chance trying to get the kids home later today. This is our first snow day this school year; the other snowstorms all fell on the weekends. DD17 is excited because seniors don't have to make up snow days in June.

Last night I made a turkey for dinner. I'd been feeling overwhelmed with what feels like the huge mountains of food I need to cook to satisfy three hungry teenagers. Given that I mostly avoid processed foods and we almost never eat out*, it's a lot of work. And given that winter meals are generally heartier (this, I believe, is natural and what our bodies need), it often feels like nonstop cooking. So while food shopping, I saw the turkeys in the meat department and a light bulb went on over my head: hmm, big meal...but then, lots of leftovers! Can't say they're all thrilled with this, but hey, mothers look at leftovers with appreciation.

So, thankfully, turkey sandwiches and maybe even turkey pot pie today...I love when I can cross the meal preparation chore off my list, or at least lessen it somewhat.

*Michelle Obama announced her anti-obesity campaign yesterday, and in one of her interviews said she encourages families to eat home-cooked meals once or twice a week. ??? I dunno, even when I was a working mother, I did my best to cook most nights of the week. (Well, I did make it home by a reasonable hour....) Who can afford eating out that often? And losing that much control over what we put in our bodies? (And I don't care who cooks--Dad can, too, if that's his skill set, or even the older kids.) Maybe I shouldn't judge, but I feel something's out of whack if the family has time to eat at home only very infrequently.

Online Math Tutoring: A Good Use of Screen Time

It seems like every month or so another study comes out describing the incredible amount of time kids spend online. Well, other than doing the obvious parental-type controls (no computers in bedroom, limiting texting, nanny-controls on the computer, etc.), I think we have to accept and even embrace our digital world. It's not going anywhere, and lots of it is good.

Here's an example. DD17 is taking A.P. Calculus. It's a fast-moving class with really bright kids, and she struggles with math. She's worked really, really hard to earn a spot in the class, and is doing well. However, she does need extra help understanding the difficult material, and the teacher is the impatient sort with only once-a-week extra help days.

So DD17 took it upon herself to search out options online, and found a favorite: justmathtutoring.com. When asked why she prefers this site after trying several others, she says she likes the videos (she's needs to see to understand) as well as the tutor's voice (she decided she could listen to him much longer than she could listen to some others).

Well, I think it's great. I was an introverted, math-phobic child, and a private online tutor would've been a dream come true. So when the scary studies about screen time make headlines, I think it's worth noting that the pros definitely outweigh the cons, at least in my book.

Stonyfield Giveaway

Stonyfield Yogurt had a neat giveaway advertised on their lid labels: free copies of the new edition of Anticancer, A New Way of Life. Apparently, the promotion lasted only minutes before the book was gone.

But what a great idea to promote a great book. I recently saw the author on a morning talk show, and he was really moving and positive, yet honest. I wonder if the new edition has anything interesting or groundbreaking in it. I'm debating ordering it and donating my version to the local library.

This book empowers us to take control of our lives and our diets to harness the potential cancer-fighting abilities in our own bodies. I highly, highly recommend it. And kudos to Stonyfield for helping spread the word.

Ryvita Crispbread--My New Favorite Snack Food

When the kids have a craving for something crunchy, they reach for the packages of Ryvita Crispbread I keep in the cupboard. I discovered them recently, and fell in nutritional love. I cannot believe how few ingredients they contain: rye, salt, and sometimes sesame seeds or oats--wow. No chemicals, no preservatives. Ryvita, where have you been all my life?

Research suggests that whole rye products provide numerous health benefits, like lowering the risk of Type II diabetes, preventing gallstones, keeping cholesterol levels in check, and protecting against breast and colon cancer.

Trying to find whole rye products can be difficult, and rye bread (like other supermarket breads) often contain too many scary preservatives. Ryvita Crispbread is a great way to get this grain in our diet. We like it plain, topped with melted cheese or nut/seed butters, or even with some smoked salmon. The other day I had some for lunch, topped with veggie refried beans and a dollop of salsa. I'm so excited to have discovered a wholesome, simple food right on the supermarket shelf, in the midst of so much junk. And I'm even more excited that the kids seem to have developed an appreciation for real, simple food, without all the added artificial flavors.