Getting back into good habits

As you can tell from the infrequent posts, I have had a hard time keeping up with not only posting healthy ideas but having healthy actions. I've had an extra part time job that takes up my evening and weekends and leaves very little room for keeping good eating and lifestyle habits. My body is now clearly sending me signals that it's time to get back to doing well.

So last night John and I had an excellent tasting, fast, healthy meal that we made at home. Using our handy rice cooker we made some brown rice and mixed in some sauteed carrots, onions, and chick peas. By seasoning with simple pepper and tamari sauce it showcased the natural flavors of the foods.

So when you are rushing for something to eat remember how easy it can be to mix together some brown rice and a few vegetables. If you have pre-cooked brown rice kept in your fridge, it goes even faster!

What are some of your favorite mix-ins for rice to make a quick and delicious meal?

Childhood Obesity

This post is from a great resource for health advice, the Institute For Integrative Nutrition (http://www.integrativenutrition.com).

 One of the major health problems facing future generations is the epidemic of obesity, especially in children.  Unfortunately, today’s experts on obesity are turning toward an unsustainable and potentially dangerous solution to this problem.  According to a recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle, quoting the June issue of the medical journal Obesity, doctors are recommending a “minimally invasive weight loss surgery” to decrease the number of overweight children in our country today.

This is disappointing news; not only because the number of overweight children in the United States has tripled in the last 30 years.

Since childhood obesity has hit alarming rates, physicians are scrambling for a quick fix, when the solution is simple: create a diet for your child that is full of whole foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals.  Make sure they get physical activity at least a few times per week. Diversify your meal choices; instead of white rice or other refined grains choose quinoa, bulgur, or buckwheat.  Processed foods that contain additives, like high fructose corn syrup, will only perpetuate the obesity problem in our country.

Remember that quick fix solutions do not generally result in long-term success. If you fix the problem at its source, you are more likely to create a lasting change. In this case, the diets of children in the US must be changed or an entire generation will remain at risk of diabetes, heart disease, and countless other problems. 

What are your thoughts on weight loss surgery for young children?

25 Health And Lifestyle Tips

Food is vital to having a healthy life, but no amount of healthy food can overcome an unhealthy lifestyle. Today let's take a look at twenty-five ideas you can use to feel great! Print this off and hang it on your fridge. Every morning look at it and choose one tip to really focus on for the day. Within a month you will feel like a new person!

1. Focus on 30 minutes of daily activity. Be active, even if it is just going for a daily walk.

2. Majority of your food needs to come from fresh vegetables and some fruits.

3. Eat smaller amounts of food at meals and chew, chew, chew. This makes it easier to digest and gives you more time to feel full.

4. Your water intake should be an ounce of water for every two pounds of your body weight. For example, a 120 pound person needs 60oz of water. The more active you are, the more water you need!

5. Re-evaluate your intake of protein. Most people think we needs lots of protein in our diets, but you may actually feel better with less. For an experiment, try reducing animal proteins and look for more vegetable sources. Many of us don't realize just how much protein can be found in plants. For ideas check out http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/protein.htm 

6. If you do not cook, you need to learn. Eating at restaurants means you lose control over what goes into your body!

7. Consider supplementing your meals with vitamins and other supplements. Or even better, strive to get your nutrients naturally by eating a large variety of vegetables every day from each color group.

8. Focus on being healthy, not losing weight. A healthy body will naturally find its ideal weight.

9. Plan and prepare you meals before you step out the door. Even better - take some time on the weekend to plan and prepare the basics for meals during the week. You will eat healthier if it is easier when meal prep time comes!

10. Alcohol is generally a bad idea. Reduce or avoid it.

11. A dynamic warm-up should be implemented  before exercises to improve movement, flexibility and mobility.

12. Find creative ways to exercise. Yoga is full of core enhancing movements that strengthen and stabilize your body. Dancing is also a fun way to exercise without making it a chore.

13. When you work out, stay balanced. Find activities that work the upper and lower body, as well as opposing muscles (for example, if you are pushing, include some pulling too).

14. Stay away from processed foods. Anything with more than five ingredients is science, not food, and your body will have a hard time processing it. Also remember that processed food has chemicals that confuse your body and cause it to store these chemicals in fat tissue. Reducing the intake of these foods will lead to your body burning off the old stored chemicalized fats.

15. Consistency is the key to accomplishing your fitness goals. Just "clock in and do work." You will see the long-term benefits.

16. Hire a fitness coach. A coach can motivate and guide you to your results.

17. You need six to eight hours of sleep every night. Be consistent in the duration, as well as bed time and wake time.

18. Keep pushing yourself. Learn to challenge yourself with your workouts and food choices. You will get better this way.

19. Get regular bodywork or use a foam roll to massage your muscles. This will improve the tissue of the muscle and increase flexibility.

20. Train for something. Try a 5k or a triathlon. It will give you motivation to stay on track.

21. Do not put yourself down. When someone gives you a compliment, say thank you. You have put in the work and deserve it.

22. Write down your goals and make them SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound. Also include a variety of short and long term goals. This will keep you accountable while keeping you motivated as you accomplish your goals.

23. Get a partner. Studies show results increase with a reliable buddy. This applies to workouts and improving food choices. 

24. Get outside. When the weather permits, enjoy your workout at a park or a high school track.

25. Have fun with activities and food! The work may be hard, but the benefits are fun. Enjoy every day.

I am obviously not little miss muffet

For those of you that have been following you already know that I'm on a fermented foods kick. The last batch of Ginger Carrots called for using whey to make pickling fool-proof and I didn't have any. So this week John and I sat out to make whey! It seemed simple. You take dairy of some sort and let it separate into the curds and whey. Use the curds to make cheese and the whey helps preserve foods the old fashioned way.

We went to the store and got two option: whole milk and yogurt. The recipe in Nourishing Traditions called for letting the milk set out until it separates and then straining. We have let the milk set out for about 5 days now and still no separation. When the book says not to use ultra-pasteurized she means it! It scares me that we have this milk thats been open for 5 days that looks and smells just like we bought it. This is even the organic expensive stuff. We need a raw milk connection here. If anyone can refer me to a place where I can get real milk let me know.

Luckily we had the yogurt (from goat milk, another first!) as a backup. We got that straining the other day and were amazed at how much whey dripped out. Not nearly as much as the recipe says but since we had to try yogurt it was already less moist than milk. I put the now-cream-cheese and the whey in the fridge and plan to use the whey to make pickled beets in the next few days. I love beets and so this is something I'm really looking forward to.

In case you are playing along at home, here is the recipe from Nourishing Traditions page 87. I don't know how much longer I will be writing out these recipes (it takes forever with the long ones!) but I have all the books they come from available through my website at http://bit.ly/bV8yf8.

Whey and Cream Cheese

makes 5 cups whey and 2 cups cream cheese

2 quarts piima milk, whole-milk buttermilk, yoghurt, or raw milk.

If you are using piima or buttermilk, let it stand at room temperature for 1-2 days until the milk visibly separates into white curds and yellowish whey. If you are using yoghurt, no advance preparation is needed. For raw milk, place in a clean glass container and allow it to stand at room temp for 1-4 days until it separates.

Line a large strainer over a bowl with a clean dish towel. Pour in the yoghurt or separated milk, cover and let stand at room temperature for several hours (longer for yoghurt). The whey will drip into the bowl and the milk solids will stay in the strainer. Tie up the towel with the milk solids inside, being careful not to squeeze. Tie this little sack to a wooden spoon places across the top of a container so that more whey can drip out. When the bag stops dripping, the cheese is ready. Store whey in a mason jar and cream cheese in a covered glass container. Refrigerated, the cream cheese keeps for about 1 month and the whey for about 6 months.

On a side note - I would like some more people to try this stuff with me and leave comments on their experiences. If you want to start following my blog (at http://cheapandeasyfood.blogspot.com/) and try these things with John and me it would be so awesome!

Ginger Carrots Pic

Carrots & Ginger

This will be my first blog that should also post to facebook, so lets see how it goes.

Today I started an experiment with making pickled carrots and ginger. It is supposed to be the best recipe to start out with because the carrots are so sweet they offset any taste from the pickling process. I'm looking forward to the health benefits of including more fermented food in my diet.

It was super easy to make, and even relieved some stress when I got to mash the shredded carrots! Here is the recipe. As soon as blogger mobile is back up and running I'm going to post a pic.

Ginger Carrots (Nourishing Traditions / Sally Fallon)
Makes 1 quart

4 cups grated carrots, tightly packed
1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
1 tbsp sea salt
4 tbsp whey (or 1 extra tbsp of sea salt)

Mix all ingredients in a bowl and pound with a meat tenderizer mallet to release juices. Place in a quart sized, wide-mouth mason jar and press down firmly until juices cover the carrots. The top of carrots should be at least 1 inch below the top of the jar. cover tightly and leave at room temperature about 3 days before transferring to cold storage.



I shredded the carrots (about an entire pound) by hand and nicked my hands up a little. I suggest using a food processor's shredding disc if you have one. Plus I didn't have the whey yet so I just used the extra sea salt. Next batch I will try and have some whey made to add in. Whey is supposed to really help the veggies ferment well and supposedly makes it nearly fool-proof. We will see! lol

Thank you Black & Decker!

This week John and I bought a new rice cooker and steamer to make cooking easier, and I wish we would have done this years ago!

The automatic rice cooker is like magic. I recommend anyone that is wanting to eat rice on a regular basis invest in a good one. We found a huge one at Macy's that was on sale. So far absolutely no complaints. We also bought a steamer that has made cooking veggies and reheating some leftovers very fast and simple.

These two appliances have quickly worked their way into our hearts. If you have tried any rice cookers or steamers let me know what your experiences have been.

Also, are there any other miracle appliances I should know about? lol.

If you want to buy one for yourself, it is available here http://bit.ly/bV8yf8