Vegan Crockpot Chili

As a parents we are always busy, running from one obstacle to another.  Whether you are a stay-at-home dad, an executive mom, or a homeschooling parent; we just cannot keep up with all the demands and delights of parenthood, not to mention cook a decent meal.  So in an effort to provide my growing children with a healthy diet and appetizing food, I began to embrace my crockpot.  In effort to live up to my dreams of feeding my family a clean cuisine in the shortest amount of time possible I came up with this vegan recipe.  We couldn’t get enough of it, and I made extra so there was enough left over for lunch for a couple days too.  If you are using dried beans instead of canned remember to soak them 24 hours in advance.  Dried beans are cheaper with less salt, chemicals and preservatives than canned beans.

 

Vegan Crockpot Chili

Preparation time: 15 minutes

Servings: 10-12

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion chopped

4 cloves of garlic minced

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon flaked basil

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

2 cups of dry kidney beans soaked overnight or 2 cans of organic PBA free kidney beans.

2 fifteen ounce cans low sodium tomato sauce

1 cup red or orange sweet peppers chopped (red or orange so the family will not know they are there)

Directions:

1.       Put olive oil in a skillet and sauté onions, garlic, cumin, basil and black pepper until onion start to lightly brown.

2.       In your crockpot, put the beans in first, then the tomato sauce and onion mixture then combine.  Finally put the peppers on top.  Cover the crockpot and turn to low if you want it to be ready in 8 hours or more.  Set to crockpot to high if you want it done in 4 hours.

3.       Once it is done, stir in the peppers and serve with a side of rice or crusted bread.  Most importantly, add a salad or some roasted vegetables as a healthy side.

 

Basil

Greek cuisine is known for being one of the healthiest, especially since hundreds of studies have been published about the benefits of the Mediterranean Diet [1].  One of the unique traits of the Mediterranean Diet is it’s richness in fresh herbs such as basil.  This amazing herb has been shown to be a potent antioxidant and an anti-carcinogen as it detoxifies mutations in the cell [2].  Basil also has antimicrobial, antibacterial, and antiviral properties [3].  That is not all; basil is also an anti-inflammatory and immunostimulating herb [3], which help induce cardiovascular health and rid the body of sickness respectively.  

http://www.precisionnutrition.com/healthy-basil

 

In order to harness all these health promoting properties, it is best to consume the basil leaves as soon as possible.  An easy, cheap way to do this is to grow your own basil plant. It can be grown in a pot in a sunny window or in the back yard.  You can grow it from seed or buy a potted plant at a local famer’s market.  Basil is easy to maintain and grows like a weed.  Just water it every day and make sure it gets adequate sun light.  Then when you need some fresh, fragrant basil just snip some off, chop it up and add it to the dish.

 

1.            Sofi, F., et al., Adherence to Mediterranean diet and health status: meta-analysis. British Medical Journal, 2008. 337(sep11 2): p. a1344.

2.            Tapsell, L., et al., Health benefits of herbs and spices: the past, the present, the future. Medical Journal of Australia, 2006. 185(4): p. S4-S24.

3.            Lee, J. and C.F. Scagel, Chicoric acid found in basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) leaves. Food Chemistry, 2009. 115(2): p. 650-656.

 

Meatless Monday Menu

Wondering what and how to cook a Meatless Monday meal?  But first, what is it? Meatless Monday is a nationwidemovement to help encourage person to eat healthier and preserve the environmentat the same time.  Mass meat productiontakes a big toll on the environment and by avoiding meat even for only one daya week can help reduce the carbon dioxide levels in the environment and loweryour cholesterol levels too.  This fitshand in hand with Earth Day being on Monday, making it the perfect way tocelebrate Earth Day this year.

 Here is an easy,healthy, fast dinner to prepare in celebration of Earth Day: Roasted Asparagus,Cherry Tomato Sauce and Pasta. 

First start with the cherry tomato sauce since is takes thelongest.

Cherry Tomato Sauce:

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

1 pint cherry tomatoes

1 pint baby bell mushrooms

1 tsp dried onion

A pinch of corn starch

Salt to taste

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Put olive oil in apan and turn on heat until warm then add the cherry tomatoes to the skillet andcover.  While the tomatoes warm, wash thebella mushrooms and halve the bigger mushrooms. Once the mushrooms are all washed add them to the skillet.  Also add the dried onions and a dash of salt,put heat on medium and cover skillet. Now cook the pasta of your choice accordingto the package.  Make enough for 4serving.

2.      Next start the Roasted Asparagus.

Roasted Asparagus:

Ingredients:

2 tsp olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1        pound asparagus

3.      Rinse asparagus and chop off bottom fibrous inchof the asparagus stocks.  Put theasparagus on a cookie sheet drizzle on olive oil and sprinkle on salt andpepper. Now mix it all up with your hands and put the cookie sheet in theoven.  It should be ready in about 15minutes.  Now go set the table.

4.      Once the mushrooms and tomatoes are soft add asprinkle of cornstarch and stir the vegetable juices to thicken up the sauce.It should take the vegetables between 30-45 minutes to soften.

5.      Your food is done and your table is set, now godig in.

Banana Oatmeal Cookies

My kids eat around the clock.  Providing them with healthy, tasty optionscan be difficult at times but every once in awhile I have an amazing idea.  Yesterday I was thinking about making bananabread and my son wanted oatmeal cookies so I had this great idea to make bananaoatmeal cookies.  I looked around forrecipes and this is what I came up with. I added a healthier twist and some more fruits.

Preparation time:15 minutes and 12 minutes baking each batch.

Ingredients:

4 Ripe Bananas (about 2 cups)

Juice of 2 tangerines (optional)

1 cup white flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons cinnamon

½ teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups oatmeal

1 cup butter

1 ½ cups brown sugar

2 eggs

1 cup shredded coconut (optional)

Directions:

1.      Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Peel andmash the bananas then add tangerine juice and mix.

2.      In a large mixing bowl mix together white flour,whole wheat flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and baking powder. Once mixed together,add oatmeal and coconut and stir again.  Inanother bowl beat eggs, sugar and soft butter.

3.      Mix contents of all three bowls together.  Spoon dollops of cookie batter on to cookietray and bake for 12 minutes. Makes 48 cookies.

NutritionInformation:

Each cookie provides 140 calories and 2 grams of fiber (whichis pretty good for just one cookie), 18.5 grams of sodium (this is extremelylow), 3.2 grams of protein (considering it is only one cookie also good), 11.8grams of sugar (a little bit on the high side, you can reduce that by onlyusing 1 cup of sugar) and 6 grams of fat 2.3 of which are healthy fats.  These cookies also provide some vitamins andminerals although they are not high they are still there: vitamins A, B-12,B-6, C, D, E, pantothenic acid and minerals calcium, copper, folate, iron,magnesium, manganese, niacin, phosphorus, riboflavin, selenium, thiamin andzinc.

Carbs: the Good, the Bad and the Ugly

One day carbs are bad, the next they are good then bad again. What is it about carbs and what exactly is a "carb"? Carb is short for carbohydrate which is just a smarty-pants way for saying sugar or energy. Where do carbs come from? You can find carbs in almost everything. Unless you are eating pure fat and protein i.e. corn oil and steak, your food contains carbs. Fruits, vegetables, dairy and most sources of protein other than meat have carbs. The foods with the richest amount or carbs are the grains food group.

Are carbs bad? Should you avoid them? No. But why do they have such a bad wrap? Because some carbs are bad for you but the carbs are not to blame the method in which the food was made or other ingredients make it unhealthy. What do twinkies, white bread, and white flour have in common? You guessed it, refined grains. When wheat undergoes a long process of beginning peeled, polished, bleached, and ground white flour or refined grains are produced. This flour becomes so lacking in nutrients due to rigorous production methods manufacturers must add nutrients back. Then they call the product enriched making it sound like they are doing the consumer a favor. These refined grains have negative impacts on your health. People who eat products rich in refines grains are more likely to gain weight, be diagnosed with diabetes and suffer from high triglycerides and elevated cholesterol.

On the other hand, whole grains provide numerous nutritional benefits. Particularly whole grains not ground into whole grain flour for example quinoa, bulgur, freekeh, wild rice and many others. These grains provide fiber, and B complex vitamins, while some supply iron and even calcium. New research shows whole grains are also rich in antioxidants. Due to the high fiber content whole grains result in a more controlled blood sugar compared to refined grains, in others words whole grains generally fall lower on the glycemic index. The fiber content also promotes satiety so you will feel full longer which aids weight loss and weight control.


Want to add more whole grains to your diet? Have oatmeal or granola for breakfast, throw a handful of barley, oatmeal or buckwheat into a soup. Make wild rice, bulgur or quinoa instead of white rice or pasta. Experiment with freekeh as a side dish, soup or stuffing for your chicken. Remember Nation Nutrition Month is about 'Eating Healthy, Your Way, Ever Day,' find out how you like your whole grains, exploring new dishes can be quite fun.

Astonishing Asparagus

Spring is here; and along with it comes the warm weather, beautiful flowers and sunny afternoon walks.  But more importantly, the fresh produce starts coming in soon.  Finally, after a long winter of frozen vegetables people can start buying fresh from the farmers market and enjoy the true flavor of “fresh.”  One of the vegetables native to March is asparagus.  These tasty stalks are from the lily family, which also arrive in April. 

In addition to bursting with flavor and texture, asparagus is packed full of nutrients and stripped clean of calories.  Four asparagus shoots are only 13 calories with 12% of the Daily Value of vitamin A, 38% vitamin K and 22% folate.  This wealth in folate is important because many scientists believe folate deficiency to be one of the most common deficiencies in the USA [1].  Folate deficiency increase ones risk for heart disease and causes megaloblastic anemia which could result in depression, irritability, forgetfulness and disturbed sleep [1].  Additionally, the fetuses of pregnant women who do not consume enough folate are at risk for neural tube defects [1].  Getting enough folate before pregnancy can prevent such mishaps.  Fotunately, asparagus is high in folate and other vitamins while it is low in calories and easy to prepare.

The good stuff does not stop there; asparagus is also called a prebiotic food.  Everyone has heard of probiotics, the beneficial bacteria found in yogurt that promotes digestive health, but what about prebiotics.  Prebiotics nourish the beneficial bacteria in the digestive tract.  Prebiotics not only nourish the good bacteria which reduce pathogenic bacteria like Salmonella and clostridia while beneficial microbiota also decrease carcinogen activity in the gut [2].  So on top of being packed with healthy goodies, asparagus also promotes good digestive health.

With all these benefits, eating asparagus is a no brainer but preparing it properly may be tricky.  Asparagus, like many other vegetables lose a significant amount of vitamins during preparation because they dissolve in the cooking water.  In order to preserve the greatest amount of vitamins steam, bake or grill your veggies.  My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to cut off the woody bottoms, rinse them with water thoroughly, then place them in a baking pan.  Drizzle with a tiny amount of olive oil, sprinkle on some salt and bake for 15 minutes at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Bon Appetite!

References:

1.            Insel, P., E. Turner, and D. Ross, Nutrition. 2 ed. 2004, Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett.

2.            Mahan, K. and S. Escott-Stump, Krause's Food, Nutrition, & Diet Therapy. 11 ed. 2004, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Saubers.

 

Vitamin D and Our Children

Do you think your children get enough vitamin D?  Think again!  According to a study published in 2008, fifty-two percent of infants and toddlers in the USA have vitamin D levels below optimal and 12% of them have vitamin D deficiency [1].  Unfortunately, rickets, bowing of the legs due to vitamin D deficiency, is not only a early childhood problem, new cases in adolescents are being documented [2].  Vitamin D deficiency is more serious than it was once thought to be.  Current studies are reporting that vitamin D levels below optimal increase an individual’s risk for infection, autoimmune diseases, some forms of cancer and type 2 diabetes [2].  This is a growing problem in the USA and many other countries around the world; the good side is it is preventable.

In order to prevent vitamin D deficiency children need to get enough vitamin D, easy enough.  But what are good sources of vitamin D?  The number one source of vitamin D is direct sunlight.  The skin makes vitamin D when exposed to UVB light.  Fifteen to twenty minutes of direct sunlight a day can be enough for the body to produce adequate amounts of vitamin D, but unfortunately children spend about 93% of their day inside [2]. The seven percent they spent outside, they are smothered with sunscreen that inhibits vitamin D synthesis. As for food sources of vitamin D, they are limited.  Fatty fish, fish oils, liver and fat from aquatic animals and eggs from chickens fed vitamin D supplements are the few sources with any amount of naturally occurring vitamin D [2].  Fortunately there are fortified sources of vitamin D like milk and recently some orange juices are being fortified.  Even with fortification infants especially breastfed babies [1], children and adolescents are not getting enough vitamin D.

In hopes of reaching optimal vitamin D level in children, experts recommend that breastfed infants, children and adolescents take a supplement with 400 IU’s of vitamin D daily [2].  Additionally, spring and summer are the vitamin D making seasons; children should get 15 to 20 minutes of unprotected, sunscreen free, exposure of sun daily.  With adequate sun exposure first, consumption of fortified milk and supplementation hopefully we can overcome vitamin D deficiency and all the tags attached.

References:

1.            Gordon, C., et al., Prevalence of vitamin D deficiency among healthy infants and toddlers. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2008. 162(6): p. 505.

2.            Wagner, C. and F. Greer, Prevention of rickets and vitamin D deficiency in infants, children, and adolescents. Pediatrics, 2008. 122(5): p. 1142.