I can CAN CAN

Canning is something that has intrigued me for awhile, but I can honestly say I wasn't planning on making jam or preserves or other canned fruit to make it through the long winter.  Simply for the fact that I have issues with consuming too much sugar. If you didn't know it already canned items are typically PACKED with sugar or corn syrup for preservation means. I know I could use a sugar alternative, but what am I gonna spread it on? Bread? Gluten-free bread isn't all that and I want to make something that I am going to love and be able to use in a pinch. Yes, I know that canning isn't all about jams and jellies or salsa, but it is an easy way out when deciding to make an investment of time and money.

I've made large quantities of applesauce and green soups before, but instead of canning I've frozen these lovely items and stored them in a large freezer. The problem with this method is that the power could go out. So there is a real possibility that you could lose all that food and hard work if that happens, however unlikely. I never grew up canning or even knowing people who canned, until recently. My family is from the east coast so there was no family farm to inspire me. However, in the last few years I have been thinking more about canning.  As a health coach you'd think that this would be right up my alley. Yet, I am a city girl at heart and I want to make things as easy and simple as possible (like making homemade bread in the bread machine). I love good healthy food, but convenience still trumps most things in my life as well as my clients' lives. 

The main obstacles for me were 1. figuring out what to can (soup, meats, veggies) and 2. whose gonna join me? Canning is a social activity and I am always looking for ways to spend more time with my family and friends. 

Last year I was sent a lovely book called "The Fresh Girl's Guide to Easy Canning and Preserving" by Ana Micka. This quick read came with a little DVD and I watched it with interest after about 8 months of procrastination of course. The DVD was somewhat helpful, but I think that watching videos online for specific steps in the process would be just as useful. In fact, I only care about the nuts and bolts of things and so I would say the DVD could have done a better job with just showing the process versus all the little chit chat. However, I did learn from it and I was happy to review it. It is an adorable book and I have found it useful as a total canning novice. Plus, I'd even watched my housemate can this past year and she makes it look simple and easy, but she has been doing this for years.

I gathered a few of my friends together for this first adventure into canning. We had a pre-planning date and reviewed books and purchased jars.

And in the end we decided to keep it simple and just can applesauce. We purchased 36 lbs of apples.

We luckily had access to this Vitorio Strainer which removes the peels for you after you cook up the apples. Great gadget!

 Then we went to town making applesauce and rocking out to 80/90's music while we worked (this is probably my favorite thing about canning though not required).

In the end there was 21 jars of sauce. Which was great because it was an even split between the 3 of us. You can see from the picture its pink. The mixture of 5 different apples gave us this pretty color.

We have another date set on the calendar and we have already decided to can chutney and pickles. So as you can imagine it was fun.  As a bonus our menfolk grilled up dinner and so on the whole it was an awesome day!

Basic Dietary Reminders

Everyday I try to be the best I can. It certainly isn't always easy, but the better I feel the more likely I am able to be a caring and compassionate person.

Here are a few of the things that can help anyone feel better, look better and be better.

1. Avoid hydrogenated oils, preservatives, artificial colors
2. Do not overeat, it overloads the digestive system. Instead eat until about 80 % full (this can be a hard one)
3. Eat organic, grass-fed animal foods in moderations
4. Drink around 6 - 10 glasses of pure water. Most of use overeat simply because we are dehydrated
5. Eat only when you are calm and hungry. The body needs to be able to focus on digesting
6. Eat whole foods as much as possible - meaning avoid eating foods that are prepackaged
7. Eat as many none starchy vegetables as you like
8. Chew chew chew - digestion starts when you look at your food and then start to chew it. Chewing your food well puts less pressure on the stomach to try and break up the food later.

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Where do you get your fuel?

I think all holistic health coaches like myself use an analogy along these lines "You wouldn't fill your gas tank with anything but gas because you know that you will damage the engine - right? And that damage is going to cost you a trip to the mechanic or possibly cause an accident. Then why would you feed your body junk?" Or possibly "don't get your food where your car gets its fuel." 


The foods we choose to eat do make a difference in our overall health. Many of us choose to ignore eating better or if we are somewhat aware of the key role diet plays in our health blame it on our distaste for vegetables, cost, lack of culinary experience, or hectic schedules, etc. Staying in the dark about the impact a healthy diet and lifestyle play in our lives will only keep us sick and tired or worse plagued by disease and death.

Check out "You are what you eat" by Jurriaan Kamp:

Under Americas new health-care reform act, health-care spending will rise slightly faster than it would have otherwise, according to a new government study. By 2019, the average American will spend $13,652 on health care every year, according to the report. Without reform, the average would be slightly lower: $13,387 per person. They now spend an average $8,389, according to The Christian Science Monitor.

          

Apart from the question what one may think about such very precise numbers projected almost a decade into the future, there is one clear overall trend: health care expenses are on the rise. It is probably one of the curses of the modern Western world. The wealthier we become, the more we spend on remaining healthy. It is not difficult to see the order of our priorities. What is difficult is to understand the priorities that we set in our health care policies. We read a lot about government regulation of new medicines and therapies. We hardly read anything about the importance of the very first crucial driver of our health: our food.

My favorite comparison goes like this: it does matter which fuel one pours into which engine. If you put diesel oil into a gas operated internal combustion engine, you won’t travel very far (I have tried, but that’s another story). So it makes sense to me that the food we choose influences our body engines, our health. It seems that my point is easily proven: more and more research confirms the relationship between junk food and obesity (and diabetes).

            

Nevertheless, still one probably gets the worst food in the primary health place – the hospital – as if modern medicine wants to underline that food has no relationship with health. There are, of course, government agencies that advocate the importance of fresh food compared to packaged foods. At the same time the economic system that we have organized drives more and more people away from healthy food and toward higher health care expenses.

            

An example: the cost of fresh fruit and vegetables has increased by nearly 200% since 1983. That increase is 3 times greater than the increase in sugars and even 6 times greater than the increase of the price of sodas over the same period of time. As an inspiring blog suggests: check Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma to find out why junk food can be so much cheaper than healthier alternatives.

            

It can be explained but it doesn’t make sense. It should be our greatest priority to make sure that people eat healthy. One way would be to use taxes. In The Netherlands several political parties are advocating to exclude organic food from sales tax. Taxes provide a great instrument to direct consumer behavior. It is a painful fact that the current tax system in most Western countries stimulates the energy and chemical intensive agriculture that produces the very unhealthy food that we shouldn’t eat.

            

In Harlem, New York, a truck regularly delivers organic food to people who would normally never consider buying – more expensive – healthy food. The Holton Farmsoperation was established to bring farm-fresh produce to people who cannot shop at established organic supermarkets. Besides changing the tax system, it is difficult to imagine a more relevant contribution to the health of the population.

While health care spending may increase with wealth, we are only discovering the relationship between health and food. You are what you eat, may very well be an accurate description.

Gourmet Burger Class

Last weekend I had the pleasure of teaching a healthy cooking class. I focused on the health benefits of incorporating certain foods to create truly magnificent gourmet burgers.

The class turned out to be a ton of fun (of course!).

If you have spent any time reading this blog you will know that I am not a vegetarian, but that I love to eat loads and loads of veggies. There are so many vegetarians out there that do not get the benefit of a tasty, satisfying burger. Instead, the option is a veggie patty that usually comes out of a box and has little to no nutritional benefits (blah!). I wanted my class to have an easy option that would be quick and delicious to show their guests that they really care.

This recipe is great for on or off the grill

Portobello Burger

Ingredients:

• 4 Portobello Mushroom Caps (small enough to fit on a bun if you prefer, reserve stem)
• 1 Tbsp of Dijon Mustard
• 5 Tbsp of Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Juice of 1 Lemon
• A few cranks of Celtic Sea Salt or Himalayan Sea Salt
• A crank of Pepper
• Optional - Dash of Balsamic Vinegar
• Optional Minced Garlic

Directions:

1. Clean the portobello mushrooms in cool water or use a damp cloth as these mushrooms can be delicate
2. Cut the stem off the mushroom and reserve the stem (you can cook them up too - yum)
3. Put all other ingredients in a bowl and mix
4. Then brush the mushrooms with the marinade/paste so that they are covered
5. Let them sit for 15-30 minutes
6. If you are cooking these mushrooms in a saute pan then put a bit of extra oil in a medium heat pan
7. Once the pan is hot - add the mushrooms, turn the heat down to medium/low
8. Watch the sides of the mushrooms and when the bottom looks like it is shrinking then flip it over
9. Cook the mushrooms on low-medium for about 5-10 minutes (depends on your range)
10. If you like you can top the mushrooms with sauteed leeks (again seems so fancy!)
11. Slice up the leeks and saute them in extra virgin olive oil
12. When the leeks are translucent spoon them on top of the mushrooms and enjoy

  Serving - 4 burgers
Now you are ready to enjoy these burgers on a bun or over mixed greens. Personally a meal isn't a meal without the greens so load up!

Love this article: Saving Time and Stress With Cooking Co-ops

Now this is a great idea! First, enlist your favorite foodie friends who eat similarly to you! The similar eating part is important. So get started on that list ASAP! Set-up some ground rules with your lovely peeps so everyone knows what is expected. Then take some time to prepare a fabulous meal in bulk! Next, package up those goodies for all the enlisted members. Last, meet up with these fantastic people to swap your delicious meals. Dinner Co-op = Fabulous idea. Doesn't it?

While you are meeting up share a cup of tea and delight in seeing your friends in the flesh instead of via Facebook or Twitter!

Gosh this whole thing is making me hungry!

Detoxing & renewing the body! Q & A

This posting is for those who listened to my Detoxing the body & renewing the body! teleseminar last night. If you are interested in this F.R.E.E. call then click this link to register.

Mood Food

I just wanted to share an article from Vita.mn Woo Hoo!

Mood foods

February 4, 2010

Winter dragging you down? Here's a complete menu for beating the winter blues.

By Molly Priesmeyer

Photo by Carlos Gonzalez

The Chana Masala at the Himalayan Restaurant in Minneapolis has curry spices and garbanzo beans — both reputed to make you feel better.

Photo by Carlos Gonzalez

W.A. Frost's pumpkin-rutabaga soup (with toasted pumpkin seeds and harissa yogurt) is rich in mood-stabilizing magnesium.

If March comes in like a lion, then February comes in like a Tyrannosaurus rex. The snow squeaks like a rubber suit beneath your boots. One gulp of the biting wind and you're overcome with a nervous certainty that your lungs will splinter. Everyone's hands start to look like they've been soaked in turpentine.

Of course, Minnesotans are a hardy lot. Still, if studies are to be believed, we aren't exactly happy in winter -- more like really good fakers. According to a "happiness" study published in December, Minnesota ranks 26th in reported well-being, just below North Dakota. And if you believe studies about other studies, research shows that springtime weather accounts for a serious rise in happiness and cognition above the average baseline winter mood. In other words, if we're fakers, then we're martyrs, too. Because the winter doldrums? Hey, that's our baseline normal!

We have a ways to go before feeling that sweet mood spike. But the tundra we love so much offers us plenty of nearby mood-boosters that are sure to feel positively springlike. And nearly all of them are available at area restaurants and grocery stores.

'TIS THE SEASON

One way to maintain your health and mood when winter seems to have no end is to eat seasonal, local foods. Admittedly, when the ground is as hard and thick as a granite countertop, that's not easy to do. But local, pesticide-free, fall-emerging carrots and sweet potatoes are rich in nutrients and beta-carotene known to combat the destructive power of free radicals, which in layman's terms are basically unstable, damaged cells responsible for premature aging.

Mary Langfield, a holistic health coach in Minneapolis who helps people suffering from anxiety, depression and serious winter blues to devise meal plans, always advises her clients to eat local and in-season when possible. Such foods "[come from] the soil from around here, they're not getting trucked around the country," Langfield says. "You're getting something that's fresher, has more nutrients and vitamins and minerals."

In addition to local carrots and squash, pumpkin seeds are a great source for better health and mood. "Pumpkin seeds offer a lot of magnesium, which many people are deficient in," Langfield says. Foods rich in magnesium, which is linked to mood stabilization, also include nuts, tofu and dark leafy vegetables. Also on the nut tip: Cashews, while hardly local, are loaded with tryptophan, an amino acid that converts to serotonin and aids in sleep.

• Suggested dishes/drinks:
  Roasted squash ravioli, which comes with toasted pecans, from Restaurant Alma in Minneapolis; Orange Dream smoothie, featuring oranges, carrots and ginger, from Ecopolitan in Minneapolis; pumpkin-pie smoothie from Powderhorn Fusion in Minneapolis; pumpkin-rutabaga soup featuring toasted pumpkin seeds and harissa yogurt from W.A. Frost in St. Paul; and, if you want to cheat on your diet but boost your mood about it, sweet potato fries from Longfellow Grill in Minneapolis.

GO GREEN

After a night or two of serious indulgence (or, say, a long winter of shenanigans), one of the best ways to cleanse your system and feel like you aren't made of crumbling concrete and rust is to eat leafy greens. For one thing, they're blood purifiers, so they'll help flush all that beer, wine and whiskey. The chlorophyll in greens is a purifier, cleanser and digestive aid -- meaning you don't really need an Oprah-approved detoxifier in a capsule to clean up your act. "Collard greens, bok choy, kale and dandelion greens are great for getting over excess sugar or alcohol consumption, which can really weigh you down and make you feel really tired," Langfield says.

So next time you feel hungover and like your arms are excess baggage, go for dark green foods to wipe away the split-pea-soup fog you're in.

• Suggested dishes
  Hu Tieu Chay, a noodle soup featuring broccoli, bok choy, tofu, mushrooms and carrots from Quang; baby bok choy side dish from Café Levain; gai-lan (Chinese broccoli) with oyster sauce from Rainbow Chinese Restaurant; collard greens (and Jo Jo's potatoes because they're so delicious) from Ted Cook's 19th Hole Barbecue, all in Minneapolis.

SPICE IT UP

In both Indian ayurveda (harmonic health) and Chinese medicine, warming foods are often prescribed for all that ails you. Those include foods rich in ingredients like cardamom, turmeric, cumin and cinnamon, which are essential for warming the body and keeping the system healthy and happy, according to ancient beliefs.

A recent study found that Western doctors are jumping on the Eastern medicine bandwagon, often prescribing turmeric and cumin because the spices boast an active ingredient known as curcumin, which has anti-inflammatory and anti-aging qualities.

Cumin and turmeric are common -- and delicious -- ingredients in curry dishes. Add to that some garbanzo beans, which are high in mood-boosting magnesium. Or pour the fresh curry over some lentils, which according to Langfield offer plenty of pholates, a vitamin that many people are deficient in, and which helps to reverse depression. (Lentils are also rich in vitamin B, which helps increase energy.) Suddenly you have a hearty, mouthwatering antidepressant in a steamy bowl loaded with nose-tickling spices.

• Suggested dishes
  Chana Masala, featuring garbanzo beans and curry spices, at the Himalayan Restaurant in Minneapolis; lamb curry (medium spicy), also from the Himalayan; green curry with tofu from True Thai in Minneapolis; Persian Dhansak, cooked in lentil and tomato curry, from Gandhi Mahal in Minneapolis; cheesecake at Corner Table in Minneapolis, because it's delicious and fortified with cardamom (a real benefit, right?).

IF ALL ELSE FAILS...

Eat the head of George Washington. Or Barack Obama. That is, eat your Chia Pet. "Chia seeds are rich in Omega-3s," Langfield says. "Apparently the Aztecs almost lived off of them. You can toss them into a salad -- they don't have a flavor, really. But they are awesome for you." It's doubtful our famous chefs and award-winning restaurants will be serving you chia seeds anytime soon. But you can plant your own chia garden and chomp on the health benefits (which include increased energy and endurance) while you use your Clapper to dim the lights. And who knows -- with chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, greens and squash injecting you with the feel-goods and new energy, you could wind up inventing the next ShamWow.