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.

Parsnips and Rutabaga

I served a soup last night to the kids that was not a success. I thought you guys should know that this journey of Whole Foods Plant-Based (WFPB) eating for my family is not always smooth sailing. Here’s the story:

I made a wonderful soup several weeks ago, Super Energy Kale Soup (see recipe below) and everyone loved it. Now, I’m the type of cook that substitutes liberally in recipes, so, when grocery shopping last week, I thought, Let’s try some new veggies. I picked up some parsnips and rutabaga. I had already tried rutabaga; after a desperate plea to my Facebook friends inquiring how one should cook these strange looking things, I baked them, smothered them in Earth Balance, salt and pepper, and we all loved them. Wouldn't it be great then to put them in soup?

This was definitely a case of too much, too soon. The girls did not love the rutabaga in the soup, and the flavor was strong. Almost sour. I called these potatoes, which is my usual strategy for introducing a new food. I relate the new food to something they already know. I do this with all kinds of grains: they are first called rice. My girls love rice, well, white rice. So, I did the same with the parsnips: white carrots! What fun!

In hindsight, it was probably overkill: two new foods in one shot. What was I thinking? They did like the parsnips, but refused to eat the rutabaga. I compromised. Two bites of rutabaga. All the white carrots.

Another element I messed with was adding white beans. Well, they were all I had on hand! We can't forget the kale, either. My girls don’t like anything slimy and green in their cooked food, but they didn’t balk at the kale. They are used to it now. I call it a Superfood, which it is. At least I’m honest! However, Nelia questioned my claim, which gave me a wonderful opportunity to extol the virtues of leafy greens. They ate some.

The problem that even I noticed while assembling the dish was that everything was white. Looking at the sheer, blinding whiteness of the food, my taste buds could already sense the lack of excitement. These highly trained little guys could sense a bland dish a mile away. I will definitely remember this the next time I substitute. Color is important, not only so it looks appealing, but you also get more nutrients with a more colorful array of veggies – AND it tastes better.

This morning, the garbage stinks with the smell of the soup bowls’ remains: rutabaga will not see action in this house on a regular basis. Sorry little powerhouses! As part of the cruciferous family, they are packed with antioxidants and cancer-fighting properties, as well as vitamin A and C. The lesson: beware of root and tuber vegetables. Proceed cautiously. We might have to wait a bit longer for our taste buds to catch up to rutabaga's wonderful flavors.

WFPB for Kids Blog: 21 Day Vegan Kickstart

Check out the 21-Day Vegan Kickstart website today. It is a great resource for Whole Foods, Plant-Based (WFPB) eaters, whether you are just starting your journey or already headlong into it.

The website is a wealth of information and they have an iPhone app. There’s a 21-day meal plan, great recipes, and several helpful videos (if you don’t like to read). They also offer celebrity tips and recipes, as well as a host of resources.

*Although the term vegan does not necessarily mean it is whole food, plant-based, this site does a good job of holding to the nutritional beliefs of the WFPB lifestyle: eating whole grains and a low oil intake, for example.

If you look at vegan baking cookbooks, they will often list white flour indiscriminately in the ingredients, as well as oil. With practice, you can learn what to substitute. I highly recommend “The Joy of Vegan Baking” by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. She lists many substitutes for eggs, for example, and the best occasion to use each (for breads, cakes, etc.).

Monitoring Nutrients

Before I share some other basic steps that got my family started, we have to talk about what makes a healthy diet. This is always a concern when one hears the words “vegetarian” or “vegan” or “Whole Foods Plant-Based” (WFPB); Will you die? What do you eat? How do you get your energy? These are things you’ve said to yourself maybe or sincere, but uninformed, well-wishers say to you.  

Would my new way of eating meet all of my nutritional needs?  I needed to know what the appropriate amounts of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats were in a day’s diet. There are various opinions on this, but Rip Esselstyn (in “The Engine 2 Diet”) claims the following percentages for a WFPB Diet:

70% carbohydrates

6% protein

15% fats

(You probably notice right away that these numbers don’t add up to 100. Rip offers these as rough estimates, with carbs taking precedence. Remember, these are whole foods, complex carbs, protein from plant sources, and fats mostly from nuts. It’s a whole different ball game.)

Now, I needed a way to see an overall picture of just what I was consuming; I could use this as a barometer for my children and husband as well. I found a (free) App for ITouch that counted calories called “Lose It.” The purpose of the App is to help you lose weight. I used it, however, to see what was in each item I was eating. I did this for about a month as I made more radical changes to my own diet. I completely stopped eating meat. I began eating only whole grains. The only fats I consumed were olive oil, olives, nuts, and avocado. I ate a lot of fruit and vegetables. (*Olive oil is not generally recommended according to certain whole foods experts, but I was transitioning – and I still have not decided if I will complete remove this from my diet.)

I was pretty vigilant about my intake. Breakfast was Greek yogourt, Bear Naked Granola, and fruit on top. Then, I made sure that each lunch consisted of some type of grain (I started with brown rice, quinoa, or Wasa crackers), beans and veggies. Dinner was similar. One of my favorite meals starting out was a baked sweet potato, beans, and sesame seeds sprinkled on top, with a side vegetable. I did, however, allow things like ketchup, low-fat dressings, and so forth to add flavor to my food. I faithfully punched these foods into “Lose It” to monitor my intake. One thing that stood out to me was how much protein I was consuming. I wasn't too hard on myself, though, as I was just beginning, but it did give me something to work toward.

I began to get a sense of how much beans, grains, veggies and fruits I needed to eat. I also got a clear picture of how the fats added up. I felt great. I wasn’t going to die eating this way! The “Lose It” App was invaluable. I soon felt confident I could continue to make meals that were healthy. It’s been about six months now that I stopped using “Lose it,” and I’m thinking about doing it again for a 2-week period to check my intake.

A great side-benefit is that the “LoseIt” App also checks for fiber, sugars, saturated fat, cholesterol, and sodium. I highly recommend using something like this, either online or through something like “Lose It.” One thing that really surprised me was how much protein whole grains contain. Regardless, I now knew that I could continue this journey and have my percentages line up with what is considered “healthy.”

Confetti Pancakes

So, you’ve read the first two posts (hopefully) and you’re either already head-long into whole foods eating or you desire to be. Here’s a little incentive to get started.

Our meal last night was “Confetti Pancakes.” Fun name, not so fun ingredients. I was fairly pleased with the reaction of my most astute taste testers. Well, okay. Here’s the real story.

I wanted to make these pancakes for dinner. As I read through the recipe, I could just visualize the healthy ingredients coursing through our veins, giving the young ones what the need to grow and lessening the evidence of aging in the older ones. Yes!

We usually hear cries of excitement when breakfast becomes dinner. “Alright!” My youngest whines that she doesn’t get to help make dinner as much as her older sister, so I enlisted her help.

“Okay, Mom!” She was in. Well, when she saw the carrots I was chopping, she started to protest. The “confetti’ part of the pancakes was not sprinkles. “Boo.”

“Mom. You can’t put carrots in pancakes. Yuck!” Nothing I could do would stop her outburst. Rat-fink. Traitor! Now everyone knew there were carrots in the pancakes (well, now her sister knew). Some confetti! Did I really believe no one would notice their bright orange color? An argument ensued.

“Nelia, you can’t be my helper if you spoil the chef’s secret.” I desperately tried to engage her again in this very special endeavor.

“Nelia, this is a secret ingredient. No one can know,” I whispered.

You get the picture. She left the kitchen for a minute and then came back, engaged in the mission.

She watched as I measured the zucchini. “Mom, is this sprinkles?” she said loudly, in the direction of the dining room table where Lourdes was doing her homework. Wink. Wink. My partner in crime was back.

Nelia loves to cook pancakes and is quite good at it for an 8-year-old. We whipped up our mad genius creation. Full disclosure: if you haven’t looked at the recipe yet, there is carrot, zucchini, AND kale (or collard greens) in the recipe. Yowzer! I have no shame in confessing that I allowed Nelia to put one or two chocolate chips on top of the pancakes. This is a small concession, in my opinion, to get them to try new things.

If you look oh-so-closely, you can see specks of green and orange on the sides.

So, what happened when we served them? Well, my husband and I were delighted. They were delicious. We ate… That’s not really what you want to know, is it? Nelia ate two pancakes and Lourdes painstakingly ate one. I prefer to believe that they tasted good to my daughters; the orange and green colors were just too foreign; it threw them off. Next time, I might try making them with just zucchini, because you can obliterate it in the food processor and not really notice it. I couldn’t see any zucchini in the pancakes, just kale and carrot.

I think it helped that Nelia got to help make them and be in on the secret. You have to get creative and I’m not above sinking to low levels to get kids to eat healthy. By now, our kids are used to having to try new things, but next time even I might put zucchini in one half of the pancake mix for the girls and all the good stuff in the other for me and my husband. I do take pity on them once in awhile. Or, maybe I can figure out how to chop the kale and carrot oh-so-tiny as to not notice it. I can always try!

Let me know if you try the recipe and how your kids react. I’d love to know!

Confetti Pancakes
Makes enough pancakes for a family of 4

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweetener (agave nectar, sugar, etc.)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup shredded zucchini
1/4 cup finely diced collard greens
1/4 cup shredded carrot
Optional: add 3 dark chocolate chips to each pancake
(“Chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, anyone?!”) 

Mix all ingredients together, and add more almond milk as needed for thinner pancakes. Cook in a large skillet with a touch of oil. Add fruit sauce, maple syrup, agave, or nothing at all. YUM.

 (I added a little over 2 cups of almond milk, and next time I will add more. They came out pretty thick, more like corn cakes. I bet, the deception could have gone further if the pancakes had been thinner.)

Recipe taken from 21-Day Vegan kickstart

Baby Steps

So, how did I start this WFPB journey? Admittedly, I wanted my entire family to jump right on board and share my enthusiasm. I started, however, with myself. As a parent, I knew from prior experiences, that I couldn’t get my children to do something that I wasn’t willing to do. I had to model to teach.

I grabbed hold of a few principles to begin change. We’ll talk about the first one today. Without my family ever noticing, when shopping, I began to look for items that had 4 ingredients or less and for foods without Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (PHSO). This applied to chips, crackers, ice cream, popsicles, and bread. Those were the items I focused on first.

Now, I have to tell you something. When I began to change the way we ate, I had to obviously change the way I shopped. During this time, my husband’s work was inconsistent. Due to the recession, he had been let go of in the summer of 2009. Our grocery budget went from $180 every two weeks for our family of four to $80 every two weeks. In a sense, changing the way we ate was perfect timing. Because we emphasized less meat and more beans, I was able to get our grocery dollar to go farther. Some people hesitate to eat this way because it is thought that veggies and fruit will cost more; however, as Campbell states in “The China Study,” it actually ends up costing less. Eating beans is one element that contributes to this phenomenon.

For my budget and for my area, I chose to shop at Wal-Mart. We have other local grocers, but they can be fairly expensive, and, because summer was upon us, I would also be able to shop local Farmer’s Markets. I really think spring/summer is the best time to transition to a WFPB lifestyle; with access to fresh fruits, like peaches, apples, and berries, as well as vegetables, who wouldn’t love a straight-from-the-ground, succulent tomato? I can testify that it really helps the transition.

On my first grocery visit, I spent a couple of hours at Wal-Mart, checking the labels of items like breads, crackers, chips, and pretzels for the number of ingredients. Avoiding PHSO proved difficult. This lethal ingredient is found in almost all baked goods, crackers, breads, and even jelly and peanut butter. What kid doesn’t live on PBJ? I knew it was important to find healthy options, so I attacked this ingredient with all my motherly might.

I found a bag of pretzels that listed “whole wheat, salt, and water” as ingredients. Success! It was really hard to find a bread that didn’t list about 15 ingredients. I would come to the decision to make my own bread (more on that later). I eventually decided on "Brownberry" brand of bread that didn’t have PHSO and did list whole wheat flour as the first ingredient. A compromise, I know, but I use this bread as my backup when homemade runs out.

I have to admit my choices in this grocery store were limited. However, I did find at least one jelly that didn’t have the oil, and Smucker’s Peanut Butter was also a great choice. If you’ve ever bought a natural peanut butter, then you already know it can be hard and possibly dry, and the stirring alone can drive a busy mother to the brink. In my opinion, Smucker’s is probably the most difficult peanut butter to stir and it is rather dry. I ended up finding a great peanut butter at Trader Joe’s that everyone loves. However, I can’t stress the importance of enthusiasm when introducing a new products such as this. I spent a lot of time talking to my girls about what PHSO’s do to the body and then showed them how regular peanut butter is so oily and the natural is not. There is a visible difference. They would eventually catch on, but, to be honest, I was the only one eating natural peanut butter in the beginning. Model. Model. Model!

Crackers were also a challenge. One cracker, Triscuits, didn’t contain the oil and only had three ingredients. I loved Triscuits, but would the final critics feel the same way? I wasn’t about to spend over $4.00 on a box of Kashi crackers. That would have to be an occasional treat.

I didn’t let the lack of choice bother me, though. I was thinking gradual transition. So, this is where I started.

1.    Buy only prepared items that did not contain partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

2.    Look for healthier options that contained less than 4 ingredients.

Next time: How do I know we were getting the right stuff our bodies needed?