Whole-ly S***

First off, I would like to thank all of my new readers for your enthusiastic feedback! I know there are more of you than it appears, because you read through my Facebook posts. I promise I will figure out how to notify you of posts when you sign up as a member of my site. And congratulations once again to Lori A. who won a phone consultation in my raffle! Another chance is coming in March, so keep reading and keep referring (and sign up, please so you can enter the raffle!)

In my last post, The F Word, we discussed the War against Fat, and how it has been about as successful as the War in Vietnam. Hopefully that has identified a whole gamut of food to not eat – but what to eat? Readers asked me to share what my kids eat for lunch. Menu ideas are going to be an ongoing part of this blog, but first we need to get on the same page. The fact is, whole food eating can be some of the simplest “cooking” that you do. So let’s talk about what a whole food is and isn’t.

Whole foods, as I define them, are as close to their natural state as possible. Vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, olives - things you can eat in their raw state, are the upper echelon of whole foods. Out of the ground or off a tree and into your mouth – it doesn’t get any better than that. In most cases, the less you cook a food, the more nutrient value it has (you see? dumping a bowl of raw vegetables on the dinner table is healthy, not lazy…). However, some foods need to be cooked, and that brings us to the second level: minimally processed.

Hummus and Baba Ganoush would be pretty close to whole, because legumes and eggplant need to be cooked to be eaten, but the remainder of the ingredients are whole or minimally processed (tahini is just smooshed sesame seeds). Meat, legumes, and vegetables that shouldn’t be eaten raw should be cooked, each according to their level of safety, in order to maximize flavor, retain the most nutrients, and minimize toxicity (foreshadowing: we’re going to discuss certain raw vegetables and legumes in upcoming posts) As a general rule, vegetables should be steamed or sautéed, not boiled, because boiling leaches out nutrients, and because it really improves the flavor. I usually sauté vegetables in some form of fat (butter or olive oil), garlic, and spice. I am a pseudo-flexitarian (A flexitarian is a person who eats mainly vegetarian with occasional meat.) I could never be accused of being a vegetarian, but I try to keep my animal fat in the proportion of a small side dish, balanced with lots of produce. I also would caution you to limit your meat portion to 4 ounces or less, and try to not eat meat every day. Luckily, naturally-raised
meat is self-limiting due to the expense, so buy good meat, but less of it or less often. (Meat eating is a health and environmental issue that warrants future discussion.)

Lastly, there are some healthy foods to be eaten in moderate amounts that by definition are not whole foods. Bread, cereals, crackers, cheese, yogurt and anything created with a “process” that involves altering the ingredients and or cooking it. Plain whole milk yogurt (preferably unpasteurized milk, but it makes for soupy yogurt) is somewhat close to whole, but is still a processed food. It should be eaten in moderation. And now, let me make my feelings on the matter perfectly clear: yogurt with fruit in it that you buy in little bottles, tubes or cups is NOT health food and should be treated as suspect! These products are loaded with sugar, and are at best a dessert. Low fat yogurt, or worse, low sugar (they use aspartame, a known carcinogen) are to be avoided. The American Dairy Council has done a very effective job of convincing you that you need to eat yogurt to get enough calcium and now even probiotics. There are better sources of both of these things. If you love the occasional yogurt, stick to Greek or whole plain and skip any low fat variety (remember: LOW FAT means MORE PROCESSED). Plain yogurt is a probiotic food, but it needs to be plain, because the sugar kills the good bacteria in your gut and feeds yeast. If that is not your concern, add fresh fruit to make fruity yogurt.

So, how do you expand your palate of whole foods? If you want introduce your family to a new food, learn the ideal way to prepare it. This is key to your success. I know some accidental flexitarians who rarely eat meat in part because they are lousy cooks! (You know who you are…) They cook meat to death and wonder why it doesn’t taste good. I don’t know anything harder to eat than dried out white chicken meat. Let your meat frequency be a choice and not a result of bad cooking! We are all aware of the risks of undercooking, but overcooking is not inherently better or safer. Overcooking vegetables kills the nutrients, and sometimes the flavor. If you overcook brussel sprouts, they become bitter. If you don’t, they are very sweet. When meat is excessively charred, it creates carbon blackening, and that carbon has been shown in studies to be a carcinogen (a substance that increases your risk of cancer).

How do I learn to prepare new foods? I mainly use the Internet: epicurious.com is one of my favorites, though it is for foodies and the recipes tend to be more complicated. Occasionally I will use allrecipes.com, but there are way too many recipes that say “add 1 can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup…” for my taste. (Next!) One of the best resources is America’s Test Kitchen, whose show, books and websites teach you the best way to cook anything. Cooking shows are fabulous, family-friendly entertainment. My kids love to watch them with my husband on weekends – it exposes them to beautiful, whole foods, and the passion and work that goes in to preparing them. Having a loving relationship with your food is essential in living healthy – if you “hate healthy food” and battle your cravings for junk, then it will always feel like a War that you are losing.

OK, here is a list of some of my favorite whole foods that I use to create quick and easy meals, according to my memory which is faulty at best. Keep in mind, I always choose organic and I try to eat seasonally, but it is harder during the winter. In order of nutrient value and therefore quantity:

Raw Nuts & Organic Produce: all fruits, vegetables like cucumbers, peppers, carrots, celery, avocados, sugar snap peas, tomatoes, lettuce, raw walnuts, almonds, cashews, seeds (there is always a bowl of raw nuts on my kitchen table for unlimited snacking). And olives. Olives stuffed with garlic are like bon bons to me.

Minimally processed: Steamed or Sauteed Vegetables like spinach, kale, broccoli, mushrooms & onions, mung beans, artichokes, asparagus, frozen vegetables, artichoke hearts, roasted peppers, green beans, brussel sprouts, cabbage, sour kraut, roasted winter squash, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted nuts and seeds, nut butters. I will do edemame occasionally, which is a soybean in its true form. Otherwise, I avoid soy until I can learn more about how much of it is being genetically modified (we suspect it’s a LOT.)

Protein: Meat that is grassfed or has a high animal welfare rating (a whole foods rating system) with no antibiotics or hormones added, and no nitrates. Wild caught fish (not farm raised) with green sustainability rating (it’s tough! We don’t eat a lot of fish…) Wild smoked Salmon is a wonderful, quick food. When I ignore the environmental impact, I also stir fry shrimp and scallops. Our favorite special treat is sushi: the kids call it manna from Heaven…Hard-boiled eggs are a great fast food. I love chicken broth, and I have been known to drink it out of a coffee mug as I walk around. I make my own chicken broth by simmering chicken parts for a long time, and I do not skim off the fat or the gelatin. Beans are good, but I am moving away from canned beans (more on that later) and learning to soak. It’s been a rough start. And, full disclosure here, my kids and I are thoroughly addicted to Arbonne’s Vegan protein shakes (soy, dairy & gluten free). They are magic, and we consume them every day.

Grains: Whole wheat as much as possible (I sometimes bake my own bread, and usually do 2 parts wheat to 1 part white flour), Ezekiel sprouted grain sandwich bread (my kids’ favorite), polenta, millet, brown & wild rice, but even I do white rice sometimes because my husband prefers it. We eat minimal amounts of pasta (maybe once a month), and I prefer spinach, quinoa or whole wheat pasta. Stuffed grape leaves (with rice) are great fast food, but this is a canned and high sodium product, so it’s a rare treat.

Dairy: Plain Greek yogurt, raw cheese, goat cheese, butter (of course!), Almond milk, coconut milk, as for cow…well, we’ll address that later…in the meantime, remember that the lower the fat content, the more processed the milk, and it is not better for you. Drink less of the higher fat milk, avoid homogenized milk, and try to substitute almond or coconut milk as much as possible. (Yes, milk 101 coming soon…)

Fats: Butter, Nut oils (almond and walnut), olive, palm, sesame, coconut oils. I avoid “vegetable oil” (it’s 100% soy), corn, and canola. Oil lesson is on the list too...

Rare: Baked goods, sweets, food out of a box, or any pre prepared foods (but even I am a sucker for Trader Joes when I need a break from myself…)

So, what to feed your kids? Well, start by taking a hard look at what they are eating. Does it mainly come out of a box? How many of the things on my list do they eat? If you can, write out a list of what they typically eat with whole foods in one column and processed foods in the other. For extra credit, create a third column called Sugar and start to take stock of how many “treats” they get (for extra, extra credit, do it for yourself too). For example, “Nutrigrain bar” is a processed sugar food, and would go in the third column (yes!) Effective immediately, give them as much of the whole foods that they like, even if it is the same two or three things, start minimizing the processed foods, and make a plan to start introducing new whole foods to the family routine. If you need to use processed foods, at least make sure they are organic, or made with food--ingredients you can pronounce: NO food dyes, preservatives, or chemical sugars (high fructose corn syrup, maltodextrin, aspartame, splenda, etc.) Acceptable sweeteners to be taken in moderation are cane sugar, honey, agave nectar, stevia, xylitol. But cut waaaay back. In my house, dessert is given for excellent behavior and good eating no more than twice a week, and if they got a cupcake at school, that counts. Fresh fruit is always an option for a meal well eaten, and when kids aren’t hopped up on chemical sugars, this is a real treat. My kids eat berries like they are Skittles. How sugar is truly impacting your family is a big topic that is forthcoming. For now, treat it like Heroin, and put yourself and your kids on a rehab-like wean ASAP.

Parenting tip: In my house, we have a “no thank you bite” rule. You can only refuse to eat something when you take one bite of it. Every time. No exceptions. After 6 or 7 no thank you bites, it’s amazing what your kids will start to eat. But you need to set a good example! Picky parents will breed picky kids. So be transparent with them: let them know you are trying something new, learn how to prepare it, and don’t bite off more than you can chew...(ha, ha)
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LUNCH:
My kids are responsible for making their own lunch every evening. I got sick of hearing “I didn’t want that!” It works great, and I only need to interfere from time to time: “No, you can’t make a jelly sandwich...”

Today my daughter took leftover mashed sweet potato and an artichoke & olive chicken sausage in a thermos, a red apple, and a thermos of water. She had a bag of multigrain crackers for a snack.

My son made a raw honey and peanut butter "quesadilla" on a whole wheat tortilla, raw sugar snap peas, a Clementine orange and a sugar free coconut milk.

Currently Reading: Eat to Live by Joel Furhman. I'm seeing it through, but I have issues with it.