RealFoodMatters

Berries are getting the bright lights for "B". I think they are positively wonderful. They are delicious and they are beautiful to behold. 

Nutrient note highlights - my top berry picks:

blueberries - phytonutrients, antioxidants (especially the wild ones)

cranberries - juice helps acidify urine to inhibit bacterial growth (recommended for bladder infections)

strawberries - high in vitamin C 

raspberries - folic acid, vitamin C, lutein

source of fibre

depending on the berry - varying amounts of magnesium, potassium, calcium, manganese

Berries on the Bushes

Some berries are still available free-for-the-picking - if you’re game to look for the wild ones. I have heard that in our area you can find patches of wild blueberries, cranberries and blackberries but their whereabouts are family secrets and well-protected. To date I've been privy to visit one good-sized wild blackberry patch.  A small bucket of berries was my reward in exchange for some nasty scratches and a blood donation to hungry mosquitoes. These details were forgotten by mid-January, however, when multi-berry smoothies satisfied cravings for summer.

tasty - or else the kids will trade that lunch you worked so hard to make

nutritious - to help young bodies and brain cells to concentrate and understand

has to survive the journey - traveling in a backpack and being thrown in a locker

has to be food-safe - so everyone stays healthy

Enter: the convenience of Frozen Berries

Your freezer might be stocked with berries you have picked this summer. If not, good-sized bags are available in most supermarkets, and they’ll cost less than buying fresh.

On a school (or work) morning, put a cup or less of good-sized frozen strawberries or blueberries in a small plastic container with a tight-fitting lid.  Remember to pack the spoon to go with it. By lunch time the berries will be thawed out with some very nice syrupy-juice that somehow tastes sweetn without adding sugar. (My grandkids think the juice is the best part.)The berries will be soft but should keep their shape; a very nice change from the standard lunch fruits - apples, oranges and bananas.

If your children like plain yogurt, put some frozen berries in with it - they'll act as mini ice paks, keeping the yogurt cool until lunchtime.

To add whole grain energy and some healthy fats, include a small baggie of homemade granola (or purchased equivalent) to either of the above suggestions.

Bake a Real Tasty Treat with Real Food Ingredients:  

Blueberry Apple Bread

2 cups peeled, chopped apples

1/2 cup honey

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 egg

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 Tbsp. ground flax

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

2/3 cups chopped walnuts (toasting them first adds to the flavour)

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine chopped apples, honey, applesauce and oil in a medium sized mixing bowl.  Add the egg and mix well. Combine 1 cup of the flour with the other dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to the apple mixture. Mix the remaining 1/2 cup flour with the berries (this helps stop frozen berries from 'bleeding' and to be more evenly suspended in the batter). Add to the batter, along with the walnuts.

Spread batter evenly into a lightly oiled and floured loaf pan. Put into oven - check after baking for 1 hour and 10 minutes. May need to bake about another 5-10 minutes, depending on your oven.  A tooth pick or sharp cake tester inserted into the centre of the bread should come out clean. 

Let cool before cutting.  Slices up nicely for packing in lunches if you can keep the family away from eating it all fresh out of the oven!

Bring out the berries - hope to meet you in the patch!

(Photo credits: Fimby) 

Have you ever thought about what - and how much - you eat and drink in a day, in a week? For too many of the world's population, the answer to this question is a painful and unjust reality of our global food distribution. For those who live in the affluent Western world, however, this revealing exercise could prompt us to change our tune if (when)  we say "I eat very little refined sugar"  - and to adjust our gratitude meter when the local market has run out of our favorite lemon basil but yet has five or more varieties of greens.

In the general sense, record-keeping has merit.  We (should) track things like what we earn and spend - and many of us keep diaries or journals of events and activities. Their purpose can be intended for pleasure or need-to-know information: useful tools for review and direction. Most of us know at least one shutterbug who thinks, "...if I don't photograph "it", "it" didn't happen..." Well, things do happen regardless of whether or not we snap that picture. To sustain life we all consume food and drinks - most of us do so several times a day. Recorded or not, "it" happens.

This daily fueling routine is anything but a ho-hum occurrence. What we consume (and what our body absorbs - but that's a whole other post and more) isn't just to stop the gnawing sensation in our belly. Indicators we get - fluctuating energy levels, see-sawing moods, cravings declaring control, not to mention how our clothes fit and the number on our bathroom scale - are affected by all those items recorded (or not) on a food log.

It takes courage and commitment.

A (truthful) food log is a useful tool in my job as a holistic health coach, helping to assess nutritional imbalances, sports nutrition requirements, food sensitivities, allergies, etc.

I recently filled out one of these for myself because I was upping my running mileage and was curious how many calories/day I was consuming. I kept the log on the fridge so I wouldn't forget - if you're sensitive about curious onlookers you might want to find a different handy spot. To tell the truth, after the week was up I got busy doing work and living life (like running and taking grandkids to the beach) so the calorie calculations haven't yet been done. But the log has still been helpful: something I changed after that was to eat more daily servings of veggies than fruits, rather than the reverse. I still cringe when I see this entry: 15 (!) chocolate-covered almonds. I don't even like them and the sad part is that they had awful chocolate! Overall, my breakfasts were pretty 'strong' but I decided I have to be more intentional about enough nutrition for lunches that I pack along. Just a handful of fruit doesn't cut it.

Expect some temptations during your "Dear Food Diary" week

- to avoid or cut back on certain foods or drink.

- to change your mind about consuming something ("for this time") because of the hassle of having to remember to write it down ( the list is at home...

- to "fudge it" on serving sizes, or "forget"  to include certain foods you consumed - even if you're the only one privy to the list.

Look for some clues from your Diary

- food choices and eating patterns you weren't aware of  - e.g. an automatic default of diet pop accompanying any meal that has the same ingredients as pizza

- which foods - or combination of foods - leave you feeling yucky after you eat

- what kinds of foods/meals do or don't give you enough umph to do your next fitness workout 

Seeing it all there in "black and white" can be surprising and frightening - but also enlightening.

If you're up to the challenge, print out the PDF file provided to get you started.

I dare you. Do the diary.

Welcome to the first post about the heart of the matter - the real food. This summer, three of my grandchildren (and their parents) have been living with us. My kitchen has been a production center for (mostly) all things healthy, including high energy treats which often use almonds. My opening act is going to showcase this personal favorite nut, which happens to start with the letter A, and is “a very good place to start.”

First, some FAQs - Almonds contain laetrile, giving this nut the claim to be considered cancer-preventing. Most of the fats in almonds are polyunsaturated and high in linoleic acid - the body's main EFA (essential fatty acid). They're high in calcium and vitamin E and contain some of the B vitamins. They contain good amounts of copper, iron, phosphorus, potassium - also zinc, magnesium, manganese and selenium are present in almonds.

So it's for good reason that raw almonds are one of my pantry staples - for adding to home-made granola, sprinkling on salads and cereal, tossing in a trail mix, and traveling companions for a quick pick-me-up. They’re readily available to buy, are tasty raw or toasted, and when it comes to the price of nuts they’re a good bang for your buck. Soaking almonds for a few hours makes them easier to digest.

Almond Milk Recipe

This is my recipe for making almond milk, which is quick, easy, and costs between 1/2 to 2/3 of the store-bought price. The real bonus? The list of ingredients is healthy and short: water, almonds.

Step #1 - Soak one cup of raw almonds in water overnight, ensuring they're well-covered.

Step #2 - In the morning, rinse well, draining the water. Put almonds into a blender along with 4 cups of fresh water. I have a Vitamix blender (one of my hardest-working kitchen tools and a brand I highly recommend), but a sturdy blender will do the trick. 

Step #3 - Blend water and almonds until totally blended. For my Vitamix, that's on high for 2-3 minutes straight; if using another brand I suggest stopping your machine every 30 seconds or so, continuing to start and stop for a few minutes until the water and almonds are thoroughly blended.

Step #4 - Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth, a fine strainer, or my first choice is a mesh bag like these Care Bags  (I get mine from ellora) -  they eliminate most of the mess that can be a deterrent to making almond milk. Gently squeeze and twist the bag, releasing the almond milk. Pour into a jar and refrigerate. Shake well before using, as some of the ground almond mixture will settle at the bottom.

This rich, creamy milk poured over cooked whole grain cereal, or with fresh fruit with raisins, or blended in a smoothie tastes like dessert! The almond meal that's left in the bag can be added to bread dough or muffin batter, composted, or offered as yummy morsels if you have happy chickens in your back yard.

Another go-to favorite in our house is almond butter. If you're hooked on it too you know it can be pricey, used sparingly as a treat.  Based on the best quality (non-organic) almond butter available where I shop, I've calculated that making my own almond butter cuts the price in half and it is fresh, fresh, fresh! It's not difficult, also is quick, but you must use a top quality food processor, like Cuisinart or Bosch, to be the work horse on this one.

Almond Butter Recipe

Step #1- Spread 3 cups raw almonds on a large cookie sheet and put into oven that's been preheated to 325 degrees F. Roast for 10 minutes and give the pan a shake. Put back in oven for another 10 minutes. Give pan another shake. Continue to roast for 3-4 minutes and check to make sure the almonds aren't getting too dark. Depending on your oven they shouldn't need much more than another 5 minutes. If they start to crack, they are darker than what I like. Remove from oven.

Step #2 - Move the almonds into the food processor bowl with the S blade in postition. There's no need to cool the almonds, in fact they release the oils better if they are still warm.

Step #3 - Process in short spurts, frequently scraping around the bowl. There'll be lots of starting, stopping and scraping but in about 10-12 minutes the almonds will be processed into a smooth enough consistency for yummy butter.

Step #4 - Be prepared to stand your ground in licking out the bowl.

A no-guilt snack - delicious dip for apple wedges, a spread for your favorite whole grain toast, scooping by the spoonful out of the jar. Refrigerate what's left. 

This is just the beginning of ideas for real food options. I look forward to you joining me on an interesting and inspiring journey, exploring our way through the joys of juices, the scoop on squash, and beyond to a 'zillion' ways of enjoying zucchini. 

(Photo credits FIMBY)