Smoothie Heaven

Yummo. Jamba Juice. Orange Julius. Healthy Homemade. Which one of these is not like the other! Do you remember the Sesame Street lyrics? 

One of these things is not like the others,
One of these things just doesn't belong,
Can you tell which thing is not like the others
By the time I finish my song?

Did you guess which thing was not like the others?
Did you guess which thing just doesn't belong?
If you guessed this one is not like the others,
Then you're absolutely...right!

(See the video on YouTube!)

I'm taking you waaaaay back now, aren't I?

Smoothies are a great way to get your fill of nutrients and super foods; however, most commercial smoothies are high in sugar and sometimes fat. A real-fruit smoothie can get really pricey, too.

I’ve taken to having a smoothie each morning to get a couple of servings of fruit and veggies in, along with some other goodies. I’m trying desperately to get our girls on board, but they are just not biting…or are they?

This is generally what’s in my smoothie:

Almond milk

Mixed frozen berries

Banana

Ground flax seed

Almond Butter

2 handfuls of spinach (sometimes kale)

I’m a good mother, so of course I want the girls to experience the same awesomeness of flavors and health, right?

The girls have other ideas, however. Lourdes wants just a banana and almond milk. Nelia wants to use her favorite raspberry yogourt and frozen raspberries. Well, what’s wrong with me? Let 'em have at it! I’ve forgotten the baby steps motto. My protégées are voicing their desires and willing to try it, but I’m already miles ahead wanting them to seriously consider putting raw spinach into a drink. Hello! Let me take a moment to get back up on that proverbial horse.

I didn't know this blog would give me the opportunity to scold myself, er, rather realize the potential that can come from this. I'm always learning and failing and trying again, too. We’ll probably have smoothie snacks when they get home from school - THEIR WAY.

If you’re a parent trying to change your child’s diet, let him start with what he likes If you’re an adult and you’re trying to change your own eating as well, don’t despise small beginnings. When you get brave, add some spinach, or compromise and add one leaf at a time. You won’t even know it’s there; I promise.

Another thing for parents to consider is age appropriateness. I find that Lourdes is much more rational, probably because she’s almost 11 and is on the cusp of the cognitive thinking stage. I can usually talk to her about the facts and she’s able to make a good decision. Nelia, who’s 8, on the other hand, is still a card carrying member of the “I don’t have to if I don’t want to” club. ‘Nuff said! Introducing new things and being content with what she will eat, for now, is progress. Consider your child’s stage of development and their personality, and go easy on yourself. Consider your own development, too! Baby steps. We'll all get “there” soon enough.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just give tofu a chance

For some reason, people who have never tried tofu are a bit squeamish about it. There’s probably merit to this feeling: it looks funny; it’s wet; it’s mushy; and it’s white, which is unappealing to the pallet. However, these qualities actually make tofu a great Whole Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) option to work with.

Tofu originates with the soybean. Non-processed soy foods are a great addition to one's diet.  A product of soy beans, tofu is made by curdling soymilk. Not so appealing, but the health benefits are amazing. 

Tofu is like a chameleon. It is basically tasteless.  Its consistency allows it to take on the flavor of the foods with which it is paired, so it’s easy to hide. Perfect. You can add a layer to lasagna and it acts kind of like cheese. Chopped into squares, it can be used in soups. Its uses are endless. 

Years ago, I remember making a tofu parmesan. I sliced it into thin layers at the bottom of a baking dish and added marinara sauce and melted cheese. We called it pizza. Okay, the girls were younger then and much easier to persuade.

When tofu made an encore performance in our house months ago, I chose to cut it into blocks and put three tiny, tiny chunks of tofu on each girl’s plate. 

My strategy:

1.     Respect. I engaged their minds first and talked about the merits and health value of eating tofu. We don’t talk a great deal about cancer, but the girls’ great-grandmother has lung and bone cancer, so they are familiar with it. There is some evidence that eating tofu from a young age can actually prevent breast cancer in women (Honestly, I can’t remember where I read this, as I have devoured many books on WFPB eating. I think it is from The Anticancer Diet.). I can’t expect my children to blindly agree to follow the food changes we are making without respecting them as people who can make a good decision for themselves. I need to know why I am making changes; so do they.

 2.     Require just one taste. This is the baby steps method.

 3.     Keep it consistent with the way they like to eat. Neither daughter likes their food items to touch other food, so I served the tofu with rice, one of their favorites, and veggies. The tofu was a football fields’ length away from the other foods.

 The results:

When I told the girls they used to eat tofu when they were little that seemed to be enough for Lourdes to re-engage. She almost relished each bit, probably reminiscing about her early childhood and her mom loving her so much…. I don’t know. She just liked it. Score one. Fast-forward: Lourdes’ favorite dish is now red quinoa, with tofu squares and diced cucumber…mixed together.  Cucumber is one of her favorite veggies and she loves quinoa. She has taken this to school for lunch a couple of times.

Nelia wasn’t too happy about the tofu. She balked. She complained. She was left at the table alone after everyone else finished. All she had to do was eat one bite. You can see what I am up against. As my husband was doing dishes, he noticed her feeding a tofu square to the dog. That is not WFPB success. Where do we go from here? 

I kept offering it over the next few weeks; I made lasagna with it, chili, soup, and a stir fry. Nelia still doesn’t relish tofu like Lourdes does, and her countenance does not light up at the sight of tofu on her plate at dinner, but the dog’s diet is no longer supplemented with anti-cancer foods. I can call that a WFPB success, can’t I?

Creative Genuises

One thing I want to do with this blog is encourage readers to just start, even with baby steps. Here's my story of one baby step. I tried a new food on the girls the other night: bok choy. This is another great food that belongs to the cruciferous family and is loaded with antioxidants and cancer-fighting nutrients. It’s good for adults too! Before we were WFPB eaters, I cooked with bok choy; one favorite dish was strips of beef, bok choy, carrots, pasta and broth (very similar to the recipe this week). But I would place only the foods that the girls liked, by itself on a plate so nothing touched, and assembled the soup for Paul and myself.

This week, I made a soup with the bok choy, carrots, and mushrooms, and rice noodles (recipe below from The Engine 2 Diet). Lesson learned: I included foods that the girls like (carrots and rice noodles) to persuade and entice.

They loved the clear noodles, and so did Paul and I. The sauce that I made to go with the veggies included vinegar, which we love but they do not. It was a bit too sour for them.

Here, Nelia is getting creative. She didn't really like the bok choy, so she put strips of it on bread with Earth Balance. She said, "Mom. I can't even taste it!" Success in my book.

Lourdes adding low-sodium soy sauce to enhance (okay, mask) the taste of the sauce. Genius!

Lourdes is thoroughly enjoying the rice noodles. Highlight of her meal. 

The proof’s in the pics! So try something new this week, engage your creative genius, and definitely include fave foods. Then, share your stories with me. 

Check out the recipe from The Engine 2 Diet.

Gingered Mushrooms, Bok Choy, and Carrots with Soba Noodles

¼ cup mirin (I used Japanese vinegar)

2 tsp tamari

1 tbsp brown rice vinegar

2 tbsp cornstarch

16 oz mushrooms, sliced

2 carrots, sliced

2 tbsp fresh ginger, minced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

1 large bunch bok choy (I thought this would be too much, but it wasn’t once it began to steam)

1 ½ cups vegetable broth

16 oz cooked soba noodles (I substituted rice noodles)

2 tbsp black sesame seeds (toasted white will work also)

 
Combine the mirin, tamari, brown rice vinegar, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir well and set aside. Stir-fry the mushrooms on medium heat in nonstick skillet or wok for 3-4 minutes. Add the carrots, ginger, garlic and bok choy, and stir-fry for 1 minute. Add the vegetable broth and mirin-cornstarch mixture, and continue cooking until the bok choy softens and mixture thickens. Serve over noodles and garnish with sesame seeds.