Preaching but not Practicing

I had to wait in a children’s hospital cafeteria yesterday for about an hour. I hadn’t had lunch, so I searched for something suitable to eat. There was the obligatory salad bar with iceberg lettuce, shredded carrots, and a few tomatoes. Didn’t look appealing. A bowl full of apples was next to the salad bar. I had an apple in the car on my way to the hospital.

My other options were creamy sauced pastas, heavily cheesed pizza slices sitting under a hot lamp, some deep fried chicken fingers, packages of chips, cookies and candy bars. There was a refrigerated section with sodas, bottled water and juices, a few yogurts (the kind with lots of sugar and food dyes), and fruit cups that were full of about 1/3 fruit, topped with twice as much whipped cream as fruit, and then topped with marshmallows.

I went up to the cash register. Maybe they had packs of nutsor sunflower seeds. Nope. There were some candy bulk bins, with a very spicy crunchy trail mix – peanuts, almonds, pretzels, sesame sticks. After looking around, it really seemed like my best option. I scooped some trail mix out of the bins and grabbed an orange juice.

I was thinking about how ridiculous it is that these were the only options that the doctors and nurses in this children’s hospital had to choose from for nourishment during their long shifts. The fruit &vegetable options were sad, whole grains completely non-existent, but highly refined carbohydrates, high fatty, and high sugary foods were in abundance. It probably would have been a fleeting thought if I hadn’t encountered a very large sign just passed the cashier. This is what I saw.


I turned back to the cashier. “Excuse me. Where is this food?” I asked pointing to the sign.

He shrugged.

This may have been a sign for vegetarians, but the food on the sign would have given me, a carnivore, better choices than was offered.

I was reminded of when I asked my fourth grader what he was learning in health. He told me they were learning about eating right. I asked him if what they were learning in health class matched up to the food being served in the cafeteria. “No way,” was his response.

Healthy eating is preached all the time, but healthy eating is hard to do unless the food is actually available. Why isn’t the food available in settings like a hospital cafeteria or a school cafeteria? Maybe because people don’t demand it.

I have yet to actually speak up about the food in my boys’ school cafeteria. To speak up about it is to take the lead. Taking the lead means taking the time to actually do something. I’d have to go to board meetings, do research, help find solutions instead of just complaining. I can do all of those things. I’m good at all of those things. But when I think of adding those things into my schedule, I back off.

Incidents like yesterdays bring me one step closer to practicing what I preach, though. But I’m not quite there yet. I’ll just keep packing my boys lunch and leave the speaking up for “someday.” I hope I figure out how to make “someday” “someday soon.”

5 reasons to dig into your pantry

Over the past few weeks the fact that people are digging into their pantries (and freezers and fridges) more often to create their meals has become obvious to me. The Wall Street Journal had a piece about the sale of food being down, and attributed part of it to people using up what they have instead of buying new.

I saw two blogs over the weekend that talked about using up what you have, too. The Green Phone Booth had a post called Eating Out the Cupboards that chronicled one woman using up the stuff in her cupboards for a week and making brownies and pizzas from stuff that might have otherwise gone bad.

On La Vida Locavore blogger Jill Richardson made Pot Luck a.k.a. Let's Clean Out the Fridge.

Maybe it's time we all started digging into our food stores and using what we have. Here's five good reasons why.

1. You'll waste less food. Food waste is a big environmental problem.  Whenever you waste food, you also waste all of the water, resources, and fuel that went into growing, processing and transporting the food. 
   
2. You'll get to flex your creative culinary muscles. Figuring out how to use that can of black beans that you bought for a recipe that you never made (and now don't remember what it was) can help you discover all new recipes.
   
3. There's a good chance you'll eat a little healthier. Let's face it, you've probably got some dried whole grains in your cupboard that you bought with good intentions, but passed over when you chose to make something a little less healthy. Chances are a good deal of the foods you pass over are healthier ones. At least that happens frequently in my family. 
   
4. You'll get your cupboards, fridge, and freezer cleaned out. Once they are a little less full, you can refill them with more healthy foods. For some ideas on healthy, organic foods that won't break your budget, check out this post I did over at MNN on how you can afford some organics.
5. And speaking of budgets, if you use foods you already have, you won't need to spend so much on groceries. At least for a while. It can help you lower your weekly food bill for several weeks, and you can save some much needed cash.

First Thursdays becomes Hobo Mondays

Michelle from the awesome Thursday Night Smackdown blog has done away with her First Thursday challenge for the time being since we're all pretty much broke at the moment. Instead she is instituting Hobo Mondays, or as she likes to call it Cheap Ass Mondays. She's been doing Cheap Ass Mondays for a while now, making a really inexpensive, but usually creative, meal every Monday night.

Tomorrow night will be the first advent of this event. What are the rules?

1. In the interest of those whose blogs are not R-rated, the event will be called “The Recession Special: Hobo Mondays.”
   
2. The meal must either serve 2 for $5 or less (total, not per person) or 4 for $10. If your family is larger than that, add $1.50 per additional family member. However, You cannot take advantage of economies of scale by making enormous meals that serve 200 and come in at $0.10 a person. Sometimes we only have $5 in our pockets and we still need dinner. Currency conversion is allowed.

Click here to see the remaining rules - they aren't that complicated.

Unlike First Thursdays, you don't need to use a cookbook to participate in Hobo Mondays. 

Since it looks like many of us are going to be snowed in tomorrow (ya, I'll believe it when I see it), tomorrow night might be the perfect night for a creative Hobo dinner. We just might need to scrounge through our cupboards and see what we can throw together.

Recipe for Sweet Potato Casserole

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. I thought I'd share my sweet potato casserole recipe today, just in case someone is still searching for one. It would be easy to use mostly organic ingredients in this, however, once you see the ingredients you'll realize that it isn't a low fat or low sugar recipe. That's why I only make this once a year.

Sweet Potato Casserole Recipe

• 3 cups cold mashed sweet potatoes (prepared without milk or butter)
  
• 1 cup sugar
  
• 1/2 cup milk
  
• 1/4 cups butter (softened)
  
• 3 eggs
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

topping:

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  
• 1/4 cup flour
  
• 2 tbsp cold butter
  

Directions:

1. Beat sweet potatoes, milk, butter, eggs, salt and vanilla until smooth
   
2. Transfer to a greased 2 quart baking dish
   
3. Combine brown sugar, pecans and flour; cut in butter until crumbly - sprinkle over potato mixture
   
4. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 40-50 minutes
   

I usually boil and mash the sweet potatoes the day before Thanksgiving. I put the casserole together Thanksgiving morning and put it in the fridge. I take it out and let it come to room temperature about an hour before the turkey is done. As soon as the turkey comes out of the oven, I pop it in to cook. By the time turkey is carved, regular potatoes are mashed and the table is completely ready to go, I pop it out of the oven. YUM!

If you've posted a favorite Thanksgiving recipe on your website, please put a link to it in the comments.

My Thanksgiving Menu

I'm having a much smaller than usual Thanksgiving this year, but that doesn't mean I'm going to cook much less than I normally would. The leftovers never go to waste. Here's what will be on my table this year:

Turkey - a free range one from a local farm. I pick it up on Wednesday

Gravy - I cannot make gravy to save my life. My mom always swoops in right before serving the meal and whips it up

Stuffing - my mom and I have this awesome recipe that I'll never reveal the secret for mostly because it's kind of embarrassing

Mashed potatoes - yum

Sweet potato casserole - it's like starting dessert early

Green beans - just green beans - no fried onions or mushroom soup to drown them out

Cranberry sauce - the jellied kind in the can, and I'm not apologizing for it. My six year old will fill his plate with it

Rolls - dinner rolls and cheese stuffed rolls from a local bakery

Pumpkin pie - because it's the law

brownies and assorted cookies 

I'm also serving a Shiraz and a Sauvignon Blanc. Not what I read I should be serving with turkey, but I'd rather drink what I like, not what I'm supposed to.

I think my favorite part of it all is the perfect trio of a little turkey, a little stuffing and a little cranberry sauce all at once on my fork.

What's your favorite part of the Thanksgiving meal?

Buy Ingredients and Save Money

Green Saves Green 

Day 20

I've come to look at foods in basically two categories - ingredients and processed foods. These are my own categories, so please don't take them as official.

To me ingredients are ones you can eat as is or by simply cooking them. This would be fruits and vegetables, grains, pastas, meats, eggs, cheeses, milk and other dairy products.

Processed foods are the ones where the ingredients have already been put together to form something like a cookie, a loaf of bread or a frozen meal. 

I've noticed something. Bread made from ingredients costs less than processed bread bought at the grocery store. The individual ingredients for my meat loaf (which I'm making tonight) cost less than a family size Stouffers frozen meat loaf dinner or the pre-made, uncooked meat loaf at my grocery store that is ready to cook. Homemade cookies usually cost less than packaged cookies. 

When I buy ingredients instead of processed packaged foods and make my own foods, it costs less and I have much more control over the quality and earth friendliness of the ingredients. Right now, I've got a huge pot of chicken noodle soup on the stove, and at least half of the ingredients are organic. Others are all natural. This whole pot is costing me about $20 to make (I've doubled the recipe).

Making your own food from basic ingredients may cost you time, but buying processed packaged foods for the majority of your meals costs you more in money and quality, and it costs the earth. Take a look at the ingredients in a frozen dinner. They can come from all over the world and by the time that frozen meal hits your table, it's much better traveled than you may ever be. 

Even if you can't get all of your ingredients locally, buying ingredients instead of processed foods will still minimize your food miles. Add that to the fact that your food will be better quality and cost you less, and you can see why it's a better choice.

I know not everyone can cook from scratch every night of the week. I can't. But several nights a week, I make sure I organize my time so I can do it. If you never do it, try it just once this week. 

A little hint - the more you do it, the less it will cost you. Once you get used to cooking from scratch and become familiar with favorite recipes, you'll be able to buy more and use an ingredient in more than one dish. If a dish calls for half a red pepper, diced, you can also plan to have kabobs that week and use the remaining half a pepper on the skewer. You'll be able to waste less, saving even more money. That type of planning takes time to learn, and I don't have it all down yet, but once in a while, I have a week where it all comes together.

In Keeping with the Veggie Curious from Yesterday: The Vegetarian 100

Yesterday at Eat.Drink.Better, one of my fellow writers, Kelli, asked Have You Had the Vegetarian 100? According to Kelli it's a list of 

100 different food items that foodies of that persuasion should have tried, and bloggers identify which items they’ve actually tried, then add up their score. It’s an interesting way to examine just how adventurous your palate is and where you stand in relation to other food enthusiasts.

I've identified the ones I've tried by bolding them. My score is pretty sad. 38%. But I'm going to make it a point to try at least ten more of these items over the fall and winter. There is also an omnivore 100, and a vegan 100. I'll have to hunt them down and post them here with my results, too. I'm sure my omnivore score will be much higher and my vegan score will be really low. 

Take a look at the list and let me know in the comments what your score is.

1. Real macaroni and cheese, made from scratch and baked
2. Tabouleh
3. Freshly baked bread, straight from the oven (preferably with homemade strawberry jam)
4. Fresh figs
5. Fresh pomegranate
6. Indian dal of any sort
7. Imam bayildi
8. Pressed spiced Chinese tofu
9. Freshly made hummus
10. Tahini
11. Kimchi
12. Miso
13. Falafel
14. Potato and pea filled samosas
15. Homemade yogurt
16. Muhammara
17. Brie en croute
18. Spanikopita
19. Fresh, vine-ripened heirloom tomatoes
20. Insalata caprese
21. Stir-fried greens (gai lan, bok choi, pea shoots, kale, chard or collards)
22. Freshly made salsa
23. Freshly made guacamole
24. Creme brulee
25. Fava beans
26. Chinese cold sesame peanut noodles
27. Fattoush
28. New potatoes
29. Coleslaw
30. Ratatouille
31. Baba ganoush
32. Winter squash
33. Roasted beets
34. Baked sweet potatoes
35. Plantains
36. Chocolate truffles
37. Garlic mashed potatoes
38. Fresh water chestnuts
39. Steel cut oats
40. Quinoa
41. Grilled portabello mushrooms
42. Chipotle en adobo
43. Stone ground whole grain cornmeal
44. Freshly made corn or wheat tortillas
45. Frittata
46. Basil pesto
47. Roasted garlic
48. Raita of any type
49. Mango lassi
50. Jasmine rice (white or brown)
51. Thai vegetarian coconut milk curry
52. Pumpkin in any form other than pie
53. Fresh apple pear or plum gallette
54. Quince in any form
55. Escarole, endive or arugula
56. Sprouts other than mung bean
57. Naturally brewed soy sauce
58. Dried shiitake mushrooms
59. Unusually colored vegetables (purple cauliflower, blue potatoes, chocolate bell peppers…)
60. Fresh peach ice cream
61. Chevre
62. Medjool dates
63. Kheer
64. Flourless chocolate cake
65. Grilled corn on the cob
66. Black bean (or any other bean) vegetarian chili
67. Tempeh
68. Seitan or wheat gluten
69. Gorgonzola or any other blue veined cheese
70. Sweet potato fries
71. Homemade au gratin potatoes
72. Cream of asparagus soup
73. Artichoke-Parmesan dip
74. Mushroom risotto
75. Fermented black beans
76. Garlic scapes
77. Fresh new baby peas
78. Kalamata olives
79. Preserved lemons
80. Fried green tomatoes
81. Chinese scallion pancakes
82. Cheese souffle
83. Fried apples
84. Homemade frijoles refritos
85. Pasta fagiole
86. Macadamia nuts in any form
87. Paw paw in any form
88. Grilled cheese sandwich of any kind
89. Paneer cheese
90. Ma Po Tofu (vegetarian style–no pork!)
91. Fresh pasta in any form
92. Grilled leeks, scallions or ramps
93. Green papaya salad
94. Baked grain and vegetable stuffed tomatoes
95. Pickled ginger
96. Methi greens
97. Aloo paratha
98. Kedgeree (the original Indian version without the smoked fish, not the British version with fish)
99. Okra
100. Roasted brussels sprouts