Organic Strawberries
June 19, 2008
It’s strawberry season! We all love strawberries in my house which is why we recently set out to a local farm to pick our own. They were good — much better than the “woody” store bought ones. Then we ran out. The grocery store had organic strawberries on sale, so I grabbed them. (Strawberries are one of
the dirty dozen, you know.) Oh my! The flavor was better than the hand picked ones from our local farm. Wow! They were gone in a day. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… Buying organic isn’t just to avoid pesticides and save the environment. Organic produce often tastes better. Well-balanced organic soil grows stronger, healthier plants that taste better and contain more nutrients. At any rate, this isn’t the first time organic has tasted better than conventional produce, but I was quite frankly shocked that the organic ones were better than our local farm’s strawberries, which were eaten right from the plant, rather than a few days later. So, if organic strawberries are on sale at your local supermarket, give ‘em a try. Or maybe you shouldn’t — you’ll be hooked for life!
Breakfast of Champions — Feeding My Toddler
June 6, 2008
I love to cook and come up with new recipes, especially in order to make them healthier while still maintaining taste. Cooking for my son is no exception! Because experts recommend that babies eat iron fortified cereal starting around 6 months (source) and because only 4 T. of it gives them 45% of their daily iron intake, I have felt pretty good about spending the money on those expensive little boxes of Earth’s Best Oatmeal for my son. Now that’s he’s 18 months old and he doesn’t need the consistency of the baby cereal, not to mention that he’s now eating almost everything, I make him a homemade oatmeal concoction that even Grammy loves. I still use ingredients with iron in them, but not the same amount, of course. (He likes peas and spinach and other sources of iron, so I’m not concerned about his iron intake.). And I must say, my oatmeal goodness is much cheaper than those little yellow boxes! Here it is if you’d like to try it out.
Oatmeal Goodness
1/4 c. cooked oats groats (I get it at our local co-op; contain small amt. of iron)
1/2 mashed banana
1/4 c. plain, whole milk yogurt (I use Stoneyfield Farms)
1 T. flaxseed meal
2 T. wheat germ (= 0.5 mg of iron)
1 T. cinnamon
organic whole milk to desired consistency (I use Horizon Organic Ultra-Pasteurized)
Combine and heat for 30 seconds. Serve warm.
Notes:
* I cook my oats groats once a week. I use 1 c. dry oats groats to 4 c. water. Simmer on the stove for 45 minutes or until water is soaked up (just like you cook rice).
* If our bananas go bad before I can use them, I peel and halve them and freeze. They defrost easily in the microwave. That way I always have bananas nearby to use in our Oatmeal Goodness.
* I store the flaxseed meal in the freezer and the wheat germ in the fridge.
* Buy the Ultra-Pasteurized whole milk because it lasts much longer. Well, that is, unless you like drinking whole milk, too. Ew!
The Best Breast Milk
March 24, 2008
I came across an interesting article in a current women’s magazine. According to a study in the British Journal of Nutrition, moms who ate more organic meat and dairy had higher levels of a fatty acid called CLA. CLA has been shown to boost immune systems in newborns and decrease the risk for eczema. You can read more about it here.
Fish consumption during Pregnancy
March 18, 2008
I LOVE fish! I actually love to go fishing as much as I love to eat it. When I was 4 months pregnant, my husband, my father, and I went on an overnight fishing trip out of San Diego. Just last week we all went deep sea fishing in Mexico and in a few weeks Piney Run will hold it’s annual spring fishing tournament. Ahh, fishing! But wait, what is a woman to do of childbearing age? I did a lot of research with my first pregnancy and found that large predatory fish such swordfish and shark contain the highest levels of mercury and are therefore unsafe for consumption. These larger fish have lived longer so they have the highest levels of mercury because they’ve had more time to accumulate it (source). Too much mercury may damage your baby’s developing nervous system (source). According to the EPA, by adhering to the following advice, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and can be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.
- Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
- Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
- Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
- Another commonly eaten fish, albacore (”white”) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
- Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week.
The Mayo Clinic also suggests the following:
To avoid ingesting harmful bacteria or viruses, avoid raw fish and shellfish — especially oysters and clams — and anything caught in polluted water. Refrigerated smoked seafood is also off-limits, unless it’s an ingredient in a casserole or other cooked dish. Most fish should be cooked to an internal temperature of 145 F. The fish is done when it separates into flakes and appears opaque throughout. Cook shrimp, lobster and scallops until they’re milky white. Cook clams, mussels and oysters until their shells open. Discard any that don’t open.
Since Seafood can be a great source of protein and iron, and the omega-3 fatty acids in many fish can help promote your baby’s brain development, I try to eat the allotted amount and type of fish, but I also take fish oil supplements. Check out Swanson vitamins for the best selection and prices on supplements. Because the Swanson site can be overwhelming, they have product guides on their site. The Essential Fatty Acid Guide is what you would want to review, in this case, and DHA is the specific EFA that I have discussed as far as promoting brain development. If you’re a member of Costco, they also have great prices, but with only one or two choices.
Best wishes for yummy eating and lucky fishing (if you’re into that kind of thing)!
Odwalla & Naked Juice
March 9, 2008
I love a good summer drink year round, don’t you? As kids, my sister and I used to beg our dad to make us smoothies. It seemed like a Friday night thing. He’d pop popcorn in his air popper and then make smoothies and we would all sit down and watch a movie. Ahhh!
Well, I have had plenty of time on my own to experiment with my own smoothie blends. I must say though, that sometimes I just don’t feel like making the mess, so I splurge and pick up a pre-made one – either Odwalla or Naked. (And that’s Naked Juice, not naked me picking up a drink.) When I first discovered them, I wasn’t sure which was better, both in taste and ingredients, so I grabbed whichever one was on sale as long as it didn’t have added sugar. Now that I’ve had a few, done my nutritional research, and contacted both companies, here’s my take on the two companies…
Odwalla 
Odwalla does not use any artificial sweeteners or processed sugars. They do however use organic evaporated cane juice and honey in some of their drinks. According to Verna from Odwalla, their organic evaporated cane juice is a natural sugar and is treated like a food from the time it is harvested until the time is goes into their bottles. The cane juice is pressed from sun-ripened sugarcane, washed, filtered and crystallized-all right on the farm. Verna told me that “yes, it is still cane, but we want to make sure that our consumers know it is not ordinary, as we feel it is very different from highly processed sugar.”
Odwalla Juices that do not have cane juice or honey are: Apple; Blueberry B; Berries Go Mega; Blackberry Fruit Shake; Carrot; Grapefruit; Mango Tango; Orange; Pomegranate Juice; Pomegranate Berry; Pomegranate Mango; Strawberry Banana; Super protein Original; Superfood Micronutrient; and Tangerine.
Naked Juice
I asked Dan, of Naked Juice, the same question I asked Verna – “Do you add any sweeteners to your drinks?” Dan’s response follows: “We don’t do that. Ever. There are absolutely no exceptions, and really, we don’t understand why someone would add sweeteners to juice. Juice is made from fruits. Fruits are sweet because they already have sugars in them. It’s our opinion that the amount of sugar Mother Nature put in the fruits is the exact right amount of sugar to be in Naked Juice.
Some specific comparisons:
Mango drinks
I enjoy fresh mangoes when they are in season, so finding a good mango drink is a treat. Odwalla makes “Mango Tango.” Naked makes “Mighty Mango.” Neither of these drinks have added sweeteners so I have had both. Naked’s drink has more of a typical smoothie taste with an apple juice base. There are in fact, more apples in the drink than mangoes. Odwalla’s Mango Tango, on the other hand, tastes like they have just squeezed the Mango right into the bottle. Mango Tango is thick and refreshing and I prefer it. Okay, I love it!
Vitamin C drinks @ 1000% daily value Vit. C
Odwalla makes Citrus C Monster fruit smoothie and Strawberry C Monster. Naked makes the following three: Power C, Strawberry-Banana C, and Tropical C. Both Odwalla drinks have cane juice, which I was afraid would result in a better taste than the Naked Juices, but I actually prefer the Naked Juices. Both companies drinks leave you wondering if they crushed up a million vitamin C chewables, but the Power C blend is much more pleasant. So, my favorite Vitamin C drink is the Naked Power C drink containing a blend of peach, guava, and mango.
I have tried a few other drinks from both companies, but I love the Mango Tango so much, that it’s hard to branch out and try other ones. Plus, I try to only grab one when it’s a treat. What a nice, healthy alternative to a visit to the Starbucks kiosk in Safeway. Cheaper too!
