Healthy Cooking by design

Having sweets and rich foods around the house at the holidays can make it difficult to not overeat - or just constantly eat.  It helps me to remember that a goal is a mark to aim for and it is normal to regularly evaluate progress and adjust behavior to better meet it.  So, if you are evaluating and want to make an adjustment to get back on track, here are a few suggestions.

• When shopping after Christmas, park far away and briskly walk to and from the store.
• Start each day asking God to give you wisdom and help with all your choices.
• Daily look at your goals (make them specific and written) and plan strategies to meet them.
• Choose to not graze.  Get a plate and sit down at the table each time you eat.
• Only make 1/2 or 1/4 of a recipe treat you love leaving less in the house to be tempting.
• Lyn at Escape From Obesity had a strategy to not just count calories for the day, but to have a calorie budget for the day, week, and month.  That way, if she went over budget one day, she could adjust the next couple of days and still stay on track for the month.  Brilliant accountability!

One of my favorite encouragements is “take a step”.  You don’t have to climb the whole mountain today, you just have to take one step.  Your step could be to make some specific goals, or to write them down and keep them in front of you.  A good step is evaluating your progress toward a goal; another is adjusting your behavior to better accomplish it tomorrow.  Each step you take is just one little good choice but very much worth bragging about.  Because lots of little steps eventually add up to climbing the mountain.

Nuts are probably my favorite snack to take along in the car.  Partially because they are not messy, don’t spoil, or melt.  But mainly for the energy and feeling of fullness they give me for eating such a small amount.  Anytime I research them, I’m even more convinced they are a healthy asset when properly used in our diets.

Some of the health benefits of nuts were concisely explained in an article at Ask Men, which tells how nuts help lower blood cholesterol, prevent heart disease, relax blood vessels, lower blood pressure, and have lots of fiber and vitamins.

In addition to keeping your heart healthy, nuts are linked with fighting cancer and even helping control weight.  A 28-month study quoted at World’s Healthiest Foods showed that people who ate nuts at least two times per week were 31% less likely to gain weight than people who never or almost never ate nuts. The Body Ecology Guide also has an informative guide about common nuts and their benefits.  Six Wise’s article “If You are Nuts About Health, Try the Top 6 Healthiest Nuts” even taught me some new things about nuts.

So here’s my personal list of favorite nuts in the order I reach for them.  Walnuts, almonds, pecans, pine nuts, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, macadamias, sesame seeds, pistachios, cashews, peanuts.

The trick to properly using them in your diet is to have a small, regular servings.  Think of nuts as a replacement to another fat you might eat.  Instead of butter on your toast, use peanut butter (natural, for best nutrition) or almond butter.  Instead of a snickers bar in the afternoon, eat a handful of walnuts and dried apricots or macadamia nuts and raisins.  Sprinkle a few to top off your morning fruit and yogurt.  Think of it as doing your body lots of little favors.

The other day, I was shopping with one of my daughters.  We saw a bottle of beautiful pale green colored Grapeseed Oil and I mused aloud, “I wonder what it smells like.”  The words had barely left my lips when I heard the seal breaking on the cap as my daughter excitedly exclaimed “Let’s see!”  Her excitement quickly faded as she realized we now needed to purchase that bottle because we had opened it.  So I thought it was a perfect opportunity to research as well as taste a new oil.

Here are some things I found online about grapeseed oil.  In Posh Gourmet’s article “Choosing Gourmet Oils” they say there are three oils no pantry should be without - olive, grapeseed, and canola.  The Gourmet Retailer says grapeseed oil has a higher smoke point (better for high temp cooking or frying), holds together well in sauces or mayonnaise, and has an unobtrusive taste.  The article at Suite 101.com, “Alternatives to Olive Oil” won big points with me by saying the three most commonly used fats in Italy are olive oil, butter, and grapeseed oil.  (I personally still think butter has a place in our diets.)  Grapeseed oil has antibacterial properties and fights free radicals.  A Yale-New Haven dietitian recommends that grapeseed oil be used in addition to olive oil as part heart healthy diet, but not to replace it.

Those things reinforce my belief that there is NO ONE MAGIC ANSWER.  Just because we discover some great properties in soybeans doesn’t mean that eating soy everything is beneficial.  Or because olive oil has proven health benefits that we should use it to the exclusion of all other oils.  Or when we see benefits to eating vegetables or raw foods, that we should only eat those foods.  I don’t believe that our bodies were designed to eat only from a few categories or use only a few cooking methods.  I think important keys to healthy eating are variety, moderation, and a basic understanding of the nutrition in foods.

As to the taste, I found it light and easy to combine with any flavor.  I fried quite a few chickpea and rosemary patties in a couple of tablespoons of it and never had any smoke or burning.  I will definitely use it for high temperature cooking or for recipes that don’t need an olive oil flavor. Yea!  One more healthy food in my pantry.  Try it, you might like it too - although you don’t have to open your bottle in the store.  Just some food (or oil) for thought…

I had a sad experience today when I discovered that an undetected leak had ruined everything on the top three shelves in a bathroom closet.  The very sad part was many of the ruined items were set aside in that closet “because they were special”.  Among the fatalities was a bag of little shaped soaps, a monogrammed bar of soap, grandmother’s dainty hand towels trimmed in lace, and a beautiful metal box now rusted shut.  Everything was covered in mildew.

How does this relate to healthy cooking?  Well, it caused me to re-examine the things I “save because they are special”.  Not only things like Grandma’s china, beautiful serving bowls, and fine silver; but jars of pine nuts, capers, asparagus, exotic broths, tabouli, and the list from my pantry and freezer could go on and on.

So, I’m making a December resolution.  If I’ve got it, I’m going to use it.  That beautiful jar of artichoke hearts I’ve been saving is going on the menu next week.  The fig balsamic vinegar with the wax sealed lid is getting opened and tried on a salad.  That special mix of coffee beans is getting ground and enjoyed even if I just make one cup.

Maybe I’ll look each day for what special ingredient I could use and which special dish I can put it in.  Maybe I’ll think of a fun memory I can tell the kids while using a dish from one of their grandmothers or great-grandmothers.  I don’t want to carry the idea too far, but I think their grandmothers would be pleased if we decide that today is special enough to enjoy some good food on some old dishes while making some new memories.