Healthy Choices Archives | Page 3 of 4

Coconut Maple Granola

February 4, 2015 By Karen

I bought mint chocolate chip ice cream last week. It’s something I rarely do, because I have no control over myself when it’s in the house. But I did. I bought it. The super premium, extra rich and delicious kind, that’s actually white, with tons of chocolate slivers. On Thursday night I had to go out for an hour, and when I walked back in the door at 8:30, I headed straight to the freezer. The kids were tucked in already, Brian was on Skype with a friend, and I just wanted to decompress. So I filled a small ramekin with my ice cream (proud of myself for attempting portion control,) and curled up on the couch. Intending to pull up Downton Abbey on the DVR, I turned on the TV and what’s on live but The Biggest Loser season finale. It’s not like I even watch this show, but it’s impossible not to get sucked in. There’s one incredible transformation after another, with stories to boot about the importance of making healthy choices so you can live a happier, longer life. So I watched… and ate my ice cream. And then there was a commercial, and because it wasn’t recorded, I actually had to wait for the show to resume. So while the participants changed into their “weigh-in” clothes, I went back to the freezer for what was now a heaping second helping of ice cream. And as I saw before and after images of 100 pound weight losses, I continued to spoon my ice cream in, fully noting the irony.

But that’s normal, right? Knowing logically what the smart thing is, the healthy thing, yet consciously doing the opposite? And when I say normal, I don’t mean that it’s something to be proud of, it’s just something that is. It’s reality. So that night I indulged myself with the ice cream, and then I did in fact watch Downton Abbey, and then I realized that the final episode Parenthood was on. And since I was already emotional, I knew that I would be guaranteed to have a good cry if I stayed up to watch it too, and so I did. (I stayed up, AND I cried. Did you see it? So good.) And none of those decisions were smart or healthy. I was still recovering from the plague that hit our house, and I had a full day on Friday, but I was up until almost midnight. There goes healthy choices…..

But I redeemed myself. While Thursday night was a wash, I knew I could start the next day with a clean slate. A smart breakfast with some plain yogurt, fruit and granola. …

The Simplest Roasted Broccoli

January 19, 2015 By Karen

A million years ago, (by which I mean August,) I posted a recipe for Spice-Crusted Roasted Salmon, and in the comments my friend Amanda asked about the broccoli that I served to go alongside it. In my response I told her that it was just the simplest of dishes: broccoli roasted at a high temperature with extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt and black pepper. I also promised I would do a post about it soon, even though it is so easy you don’t even need a recipe. But summer turned to fall, and fall to winter, and here we are. Better late than never, right?

And since it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post, I came to the computer tonight determined to get something to you, and quick and easy (in the cooking and the writing both) are my watch words. You see, my house has been under quarantine the last week and a half: like everyone else, we got hit by the flu, by bronchitis, by random fevers and by unending cacophonous coughs that make you want to cry. Sure we all had our flu shots, but as the media has reported, this year was a misfire on that front. So all four of us were home this week, looking and feeling as pathetic as can be, and cooking and blogging were the last things on my mind. But the fog has lifted, and we’re all heading back to school and work tomorrow. And healthy, bright and green seems a smart way to go. Oh, and did I mention quick and easy? Because that’s key….

Red Lentil Barley Soup

December 30, 2014 By Karen

Holiday cards. The last few weeks brought a slew of them to our mailbox, which I always look forward to. I love hearing from friends near and far, seeing the photos, amazed at how the years have passed. I especially love the notes on them, and make the effort to write something personal on each one that we send out. I spend a ridiculous amount of time designing ours, writing a family update on the back, with the intention of giving the people in our lives an idea of what the past year looked like. It’s the version that I want people to see. “Hey everyone! Look at all we did! Go us!” And yes, I am honestly so proud of our accomplishments and want to share that, but I can’t say it’s the full picture of the year. First or all, I’m wearing makeup and I actually used a hair dryer and put on earrings (at least on the front of the card.) Those who see me daily know that rarely happens, even though I feel better about myself when I do such things. But mostly, it’s the end results that we share, and none of the process. And often, the process isn’t pretty.

It’s the piles of laundry that overflow from hampers, that when washed remain in the laundry basket for days and even weeks before getting folded, let alone returned to drawers. It’s the fight with the front door, that is warped and should be replaced, but instead is patched and painted, and then warps all over again with the weather and is impossible to close. It’s the fact that I am the messy one, and I drive Brian crazy with the clutter that I leave everywhere, despite my endless promises to try harder. It’s the battle over lies that come from a seven year old mouth, that might seem harmless but need to be nipped in the bud. It’s the refrain “I’m bored….” which is uttered in the 90 seconds between waking up and walking into my bedroom, that really means, “Mom, can I play Minecraft?” It’s the tears of frustration and exhaustion at the end of a 15 hour day in a foreign country, when I feel like a fraud and a failure as an interpreter because 30 deaf people in a room with as many different language needs talking about terrorism is just not something I can handle well at 10 o’clock at night. It’s months of health issues that had me sleeping in my car during lunch every day so that I could make it through the afternoon, and it’s lying on the couch binge-watching trash television (yes, I’ve seen four episodes of Scandal in the last two days) until way into the night, despite the need to wake at the crack of dawn. It’s burning the candle at every end, so that the wick has withered away, and my body gives out and I have to cancel work, which makes me feel even worse.

It’s the conversation that happens as I try to get out the door….

Honey Miso Chicken

November 14, 2014 By Karen

I haven’t cooked in six days. I haven’t made oatmeal, baked chocolate chip cookies, browned butter, or roasted a squash. I haven’t been able to go to my “happy place” because it’s been closed off. Literally, closed off and sealed up with plastic and painters tape. And it’s driving me crazy.

When we moved into our house eight years ago, we took one look at the kitchen and said, “Well, it has potential. We’ll simply knock down this wall, open it up to the dining room, move this here and that there and it will be perfect.” Ah, the naive new home owners…. I’m sure it’s taken you no time at all to figure out that those plans cost a fortune, and so we’ve still been living with our dated 1970’s dark faux wood cabinets, the ones with the chips in the laminate and the little accent buttons missing from half their holes. We did get rid of the pink and green rose wallpaper when we moved in, and have changed the paint color a couple of times, but the dark brown that covered most of the kitchen made it gloomy and a bit oppressive….

Roasted Honeynut Squash with Za’atar and Pomegranate Molasses

November 6, 2014 By Karen

During my lunch break this week I finished watching the fifth season of Parenthood on my phone. I am one of those lucky people that is doomed to never upgrade on Verizon because I refuse to give up my unlimited data plan. It’s UNLIMITED for heaven’s sake. Which means that I get to indulge in Netflix binge-watching to my heart’s content and not think twice about it. It may be completely frivolous, but it makes me happy.

Don’t get me wrong, I tear through books constantly: the good old-fashioned kind, e-books, and especially audiobooks. (All three links are what I’m currently reading right now.) As a kid, I’d get in trouble for staying up too late with a flashlight under the covers, reading way past my bedtime. (I know, such a rule breaker….) It’s been my escape for as long as I can remember. I read when I have down time at work, I read with my kids, I read on my own before bed, and I listen to “my stories” any time in between. With a long commute every day, I have plenty of time to become absorbed in other people’s lives, real or fiction, and keep it playing while cooking, doing the dishes and even grocery shopping. I can’t imagine my life without books, or the library for that matter.

…

Sweet and Spicy Chili Shrimp

September 29, 2014 By Karen

Hangin’ in there.

Busy, but good. Trying to figure out the whole balance thing.

Those are the two standard answers I’ve been giving people lately when they ask, “How’re you doing?” And by lately, I mean the last eight years or so. (Yay! Parenthood!) Yeah, sometimes I want to say, “Do you really want to know?” But come on, that’s reserved for the close friends and family who already know I’m crazy. “Hangin’ in there” typically means I’m trying to remember that things aren’t that difficult and that I need to get some perspective on life, because really, I may feel exhausted or overwhelmed (mostly from my own doing, but that’s another story,) but I know I’ve got to get over myself. The second line is my more “upbeat response,” but even that gives away the fact that I don’t have it all under control. (Surprise!) So I’m working towards being at a place in my life where I spontaneously answer, “I’m great! How are you?” I’m getting there…I’m definitely closer than I have been in a long time, but it’s taking a conscious effort. It’s recognizing and being grateful for the little things, as well as the big ones. (The big ones are too many to list here right now, but being healthy is one at the top.) Little ones are more manageable: chocolate babka with a candle in it delivered bedside on my birthday. A rainy day that let me spend hours reading with my 7 year old. Hearing him cry, “It’s not fair!!!! Why does the library have to be closed on Sunday?!?!” Kids that finally sleep through the night. (Which is not such a little thing.) Watching my niece clap her hands and realize she can make a whole room laugh with her. Having a dance party before bedtime. Getting a card from a friend that says “Shitake Happens.” Being able to run two miles without stopping. (Again, not feeling little. Maybe even feeling a bit huge.) Getting a haircut. And color…because the grays…oh, the grays.
And this weekend I went on an adventure with my guys, even when the list of things to do at home was endless. We’ve lived in New Jersey for 8 years, but had never been to Grounds for Sculpture down in Trenton. An outdoor sculpture park, they’ve got an incredible exhibit going on that is a retrospective of the founder Seward Johnson’s work. It felt like a summer day, and we spent three hours traipsing around, amazed by what we saw, especially his life-like sculptures. If you live locally, choose a date and go. It’s really worth your time.

We pulled back into our neighborhood though at 4:30pm. Worn out and hungry, I knew that the fridge was pretty bare. Needing dinner and fixings for lunches, I braved a quick trip to Trader Joe’s. (Let me tell you, as much as I love grocery shopping, Sunday evenings are not fun there.) So even though it wasn’t a work day, I still had the mindset that I needed a fast and easy dinner, because nobody was going to wait patiently while I fussed in the kitchen. It’d been a while since I’d made this sweet and spicy chili shrimp dish, but I knew it took little effort and has a huge payoff in flavor. I grabbed a bag of frozen, pre-cooked shrimp that were already peeled and deveined, an extra knob of fresh ginger, and some limes. Twenty minutes after unpacking the groceries, we were sitting down to eat, that’s how simple this meal is. It’s a recipe that is only slightly adapted from one Mark Bittman wrote for the New York Times about street food in Singapore exactly nine years ago. I’ve been making it ever since, but I have adjusted the measurements for the sauce so that there is plenty of extra to spoon on top of the brown rice and broccoli I typically serve it with….

Turkey and Yellow Squash Burgers

September 17, 2014 By Karen

My boys are now 7 and 3, and they’re pretty good eaters. Actually, they’re kind of awesome, but it wasn’t always that way. The big one ate everything until he was 18 months, then boycotted vegetables for almost two years. I freaked out about it, worried that he was going to be deprived of all essential vitamins, and experimented with sneaking vegetables into his diet. (Zucchini muffins were the only place I had any success.) But sure enough, by the time he was four he just started eating the vegetables that we had been putting on his plate night after night, year after year. I was of the mindset that I would rather offer the food and toss it (yes, wasteful in some eyes,) than give in to the notion that this toddler had control over what I served. He ate what we ate. Period. Or at least he was served what we ate, because he certainly didn’t always eat it. But you know something? I now have a second grader who is a very expensive dinner date. When we go to restaurants he gets insulted when he’s offered the kids’ menu, because he’d rather have the mussels with fries than chicken fingers, or seared ahi tuna with wasabi wonton chips instead of mac and cheese. Truthfully, he can be a bit of a snob about it, and we have to remind him that the the kids’ menu is not just dumbed down food but portions that are sized appropriately for his appetite. But he’s proud of himself for being adventurous, and that’s pretty cool.

And then there’s my little guy, who was a big pain in the rear end for the first year and a half of his life. He was a preemie, so it wasn’t really his fault, but let me tell you that doesn’t make it any easier when you’re the parent. The short story is that he was six weeks early and hadn’t had a chance to cook long enough, and so he had a whole bunch of delays. He was exhausted all the time, because he couldn’t self-soothe. Which meant that until he was 14 months old he only slept in stretches that were 45-90 minutes, and then he would wake and need help going back to sleep. He was constantly cranky, and so was I. He also had sensory issues, and one way they manifested was in a difficulty with textures, specifically foods. So while he nursed and had his formula, he had zero interest in solids. He barely ate anything for a very long time, and took teeny to a whole new level. And when he finally did start eating, he was picky. And for a while I indulged it in ways I hadn’t with his brother. He also pulled the whole “no vegetable” thing for a couple of years. (Maybe I could get spinach and carrots into him if they were in fruit smoothies encased in refillable solid plastic squeeze pouches so he wouldn’t see the dreaded green color, but that was about it.) But after a while with early intervention, and simply more time left on his own to develop, he started sleeping regularly, and everything started to get better. We all began to feel human again, because sleep deprivation is an unbearable form of torture (as any new parent can tell you.) Then sure enough, one day he said, “Mom, can I have that carrot?” A real, crunchy, orange carrot. And he ate it. Because he saw us eating them, and because that’s what’s normal for our family. And now he’s 3 and a half, and he doesn’t get any special treatment when it comes to food. I think I’ve finally even convinced his grandparents that they can stop prepping pasta as a backup every time they bring over chicken curry, because he may scrunch up his face and say it’s spicy, but he just reaches for his water, takes a sip, and keeps on eating.

Now I don’t write this to brag, because I’ve had more than my share of food headaches and fails when it comes to my kids. And I don’t have any magic advice, except to just keep putting the food you want them to eat onto their plates. We don’t force them to eat everything, but we are very insistent that they take at least one bite. Because maybe they didn’t like peppers last week, but this week their tastes may have changed. And yes, we resort to bribing. I’m not proud, but it’s true. And if there’s parents out there who don’t, I want to meet you because I don’t know how you do it. We absolutely pull the “there won’t be dessert” card, or the “you’re done with dinner then” line, and there can be crying and fussing, then I worry that I’m causing horrible food issues down the road. But really, I think it’s worked. And I think a big part of that is because the food is mostly home cooked, so they recognize the work that’s gone into preparing it. And for that I have to give credit to Brian, because he always reminds them, “You need to thank Mommy for making this for us.” Oh, and when we’re at a restaurant the line of choice is, “If you’re not going to try that, do you want me to go tell the chef you don’t like it?” That seems to work too somehow.

Which all goes to say, I’m not really one for tricking kids into thinking there’s no vegetables in a dish. But I am all for including them in unexpected ways that may make them more appealing, or just no big deal. So when I was paging through the cookbook “Jerusalem,” by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamini, and I saw a turkey burger recipe with shredded zucchini stuffed into it I knew I had to make it. Turkey burgers are our go-to weeknight dinner, but even though they make everyone happy time and again, they can get boring. And since everything these guys write about makes my mouth water, these hit the top of my to-make list….

Applesauce with Vanilla and Cinnamon

September 11, 2014 By Karen

When I think “apple picking,” I picture cool fall days, sweaters, hot cider, and crunching leaves on the ground. I do not imagine 95 degree weather, storm clouds blowing in violently, and getting caught in a torrential downpour.

But remember a few weeks ago when I wrote about NOT taking the kids peach picking? Well, my mom was in town visiting last week, and when she’s here we have to up our game a bit. She’s not one to just laze around, so on one of the hottest, grossest days of the summer we decided to pack the kids in the car and drive an hour away to go…peach picking. Yeah, that didn’t turn out so well. If you hadn’t noticed, it’s September now and peaches should have been picked around a month ago. So to satisfy the 3 year old in our midst, we managed to pull around a dozen unripe green peaches from the fruitless trees, and my vision of homemade peach ice cream for dessert that night was promptly shattered.

But luckily there was a silver lining to this ridiculous outing. Honeycrisp apples are in season now in New Jersey! We hadn’t intended to apple pick this early, (in fact, I didn’t even know it was possible,) but it was the saving grace to our day, and we hauled out 13 pounds of gorgeous crispy tart apples. We’re an apple family, and Pink Ladies and the ones we got are our favorites. Because we go picking every October, we’ve always been way too late for Honeycrisps, which happen to be one of the earliest varieties available. So this really did feel like a bonus, and made our entire crew happy. (And let me tell you, we needed a dose of happy because there was a whole lot of crank going on.)

I want to tell you that my first thought was “Apple Pie!” But here’s my confession: I’ve never made one before. I know, you’re probably thinking, “how can I possibly be reading this woman’s food blog if she’s never made an apple pie? Isn’t that one of the most basic things people in this country make?” Well, yeah, it might be. And around a dozen years ago I marked a recipe for this amazing sounding Apple Pie with a Cheddar Cheese Crust, and went so far as to make the dough and stick it in the freezer, but I never actually got around to baking it. (It’s a bit embarrassing.) So no, you’re not getting an apple pie post here. I’m sorry.

My first thought was actually, “Applesauce!” Because applesauce is one of my ultimate comfort foods, and it takes such little effort to make it homemade. It’s something my mom loves, and so I’d frequently find it on her stove when I was a kid. Especially at Hanukkah, when it was mandatory to have sweet fresh applesauce to serve with the salty crisp potato latkes she would fry up. When my kids were first eating solid foods, I would make it all the time, but I admit that I buy the little pre-packaged cups at the market way too often these days to stuff in lunchboxes. There’s nothing particularly wrong with them. There’s no added sugar, or funky ingredients, but it’s a waste of money and plastic and I never feel really good about it.

Because I know homemade applesauce, with just a touch of vanilla and cinnamon, tastes ten times better than anything you can buy in the store….