They're Here!

Company. I promised an account of what to make when company comes over. We recently had some friends over who are not vegetarian, vegan or Whole Foods, Plant-Based (WFPB). What could I serve that would please everyone? 

I went with pizza. To make our guests feel comfortable, I bought mozzarella cheese and pepperoni. I also had ingredients to make a Greek pizza, which included kalamata olives, pesto, artichoke hearts, and peppers (recipe from "The Engine 2 Diet" book). This gave people the choice of a traditional pizza (with cheese and meat), a vegetable version (without cheese), or to get creative and mix it up. I was satisfied with the options I was giving, but admittedly nervous at how this would all be received. Maybe people wouldn't want to eat at our house anymore, knowing we're WFPB, and you might have already thought that after reading the "Rutabaga and Parsnips" posting.

To please me and my family, I made a whole grain pizza dough and fresh sauce from a recent harvest of garden tomatoes. Ah, the smell was incredible!

 

Upon arrival of the guests, I introduced the pizza-making process (everyone would make their own) and the ingredients. Later, my friend, Kathy, remarked that she had thought the pizza wasn't going to be enough. This is something that we “super-size” Americans have to adjust to in our minds and bodies when eating WFPB. We don’t need to eat nearly the serving sizes we are used to consuming. Period. This is especially true with whole grains. They are so filling. I made the whole grain pizza dough into squares about 5 in. by 5 in. Everyone had one pizza, and the men had two. I also provided whole wheat tortillas, which a couple of us chose instead of the pizza dough. To the American eye, the pizza dough squares didn’t look like a lot, and this thought crossed even my mind as I was preparing them, but, with toppings piled on it, you really do experience satiety.

I truly hope our guests did not leave our house hungry. I mean, everyone (two women, two men, three kids and a teenager) finished their pizza and the men had seconds, but maybe they were just being polite. I also served a special dessert called “Banana N-ice cream” (from the Whole Foods website. They have GREAT recipes). It’s a dessert made with frozen bananas, soymilk and natural peanut butter or vanilla. It’s pretty yummy, healthy, and nonfat, and the consistency is more like custard.

I think evidence that our guests were impacted was my friend’s later comment; the next day she made an entire meal from scratch: bread and soup. We are paying it forward and, hopefully, friends, family and some of you are making healthy changes. I think it’s safe to say that most everyone desires to eat healthier. For each person that may mean something different. Any change is good, don’t you think?

Maybe my friend Kathy (hint, hint) will comment on the experience or she'll write a future guest post about her family's experience. 

What have you changed, and have any of your friends or family been impacted -- in a WFPB way?

The Power Plate

I’ve been reading lots about Whole Foods, Plant-Based (WFPB) eating and came across a great resource to share with you.

If you’re still wondering why Americans need to change their eating habits, this information should prove helpful to you. The USDA has recently changed their dietary recommendations to include more daily servings of whole grains and fruits and vegetables. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) website includes a graphic of the RDA (Recommended Daily Allowances). Eleven servings of grains. Nine servings of fruits and vegetables. That’s a lot of servings. I’m not even sure I accomplish this in a day.

It also shows how much government subsidies are allotted for meat/dairy farmers and fruit/vegetable farmers. The government recommends more grains, fruits and vegetables, but these farmers “receive less than 1 percent of government subsidies.” Wow. It doesn’t make sense that they do not put their money where their recommendations are.

Enough politics. I normally don’t like to go there. As a parent, it is up to me to gather the information and decide what’s best for my family. Hopefully, this website will help you. The PCRM website also has great recipes and a new guideline to help us out called the “Power Plate.” Check it out. Consider choosing one food group to work on this month. Why not try a new grain or two, instead of traditional white rice or pasta? I look forward to hearing about your new adventures in eating WFPB foods.

Kids and Lunch

A favorite lunch item around here is peanut butter and jelly, the mainstay of many children’s lunches across the country. My daughter, Nelia, would eat this every day; Lourdes prefers more variety. Mom desires more for their lunches as well, and this meal had to be attacked with the same Momma Bear ferocity as other meals. Could I even trust them to eat what I packed, or would it end up in the garbage?

Nuts are a great lunch idea. However, Nelia only likes sunflower seeds and pistachios; Lourdes will eat almonds, peanuts, sunflower and pumpkin seeds (with salt). I’m okay with making concessions like adding a bit of salt to introduce new foods.

Other great lunch ideas to include are whole grains. I’ve sent Lourdes to school with a thermos full of heated barley, upon her request. Barley is very sweet, and the smaller grain can be quite juicy. Whole grain crackers are great too, as well as whole grain bread.

I learned a painful lesson through the experience posted earlier (Parsnips and Rutabaga), so I now know not to introduce too much too soon. I personally love Wasa crackers. So does my husband. I wondered if the girls would approach Wasa with the same zest they gave barley. So, one day, I offered it to them, and they loved it! Now, they would prefer a Cheez-It any day over a Wasa, and I’m good with that. I still pop them in a lunch occasionally.

Here's a lunch I recently made the girls to give you some ideas:

Organic yogurt, Wasa crackers, a pear, nuts and water. This is a great lunch, and it hits all the necessary food groups. 

You probably spotted another concession here. I haven’t been able to get the girls to like soy yogurt. My choices around here are limited. I've only been able to find peach and strawberry soy yogurt. I know they would love vanilla flavor. I've made my own yogurt before, but I'm not willing to go down that road yet. I'll keep looking. In the meantime, sometimes I give them a treat and buy their favorite, Yoplait yogurt: Cotton Candy and Kiwi flavor. Alright. I said it! Now you know the real truth about me. 

In all seriousness, I think concessions like this have to be made so that a revolt does not begin to brew on the horizon. I continually remind myself that this is a journey, not a destination. Any progress in healthy foods leads to a healthier body, and a strong, healthy future for my kids when they are adults. Sometimes I spend extra and buy the organic; they don't really care for this either. I still try to sneak in the soy yogurt occasionally as well. I'm pleased even if they eat a few bites.

Try out some new ideas tomorrow when you’re making lunch. Think outside the traditional, peanut butter and jelly box and see what happens. Hopefully, none of our lunch choices for our kids will end up in the trash. I'd love to hear your ideas, so share some of your successes and failures.