Does The World Really Need Squeezable Bacon?

I can officially one-up Jon Stewart. Just when I thought I found the ultimate stomach-churning food product invention with Baconnaise my husband sends me a "post suggestion" for a product called Squeez Bacon. Yes, you read it right. Squeez Bacon is a fully-cooked 100% bacon paste that is placed in a convenient to carry tube. As you can see from the picture below, the manufacturer feels it just about goes well on everything! Eek. Frankly, I'm finding myself a bit speechless right now! Is there any hope for humanity?

There Is No Such Thing As Too Many "Kids" In The Kitchen

My kids have had half-days of school all week, which might help to explain my lack of blogging. With more free time this week we’ve been able to explore a cookbook my daughter recently took out of the library, Pretend Soup. When my daughter first handed me this cookbook I was immediately excited to give it a try since it was created my one of my personal favorite cookbook authors, Mollie Kazan. I’m sure many of you are also familiar with Mollie Kazan, not only is she the creator of the Moosewood Cookbook series, which has been in publication since the late 70’s, but she was also one of the first chefs to take vegetarian cooking to the masses with delicious and easy to prepare recipes. Many of her recipes have become my family mainstays, especially her egg- and butter-free Spanakopita – a dish that is frequently requested for birthday dinners.

Pretend Soup is an extremely kid-friendly cookbook with its simple to follow (healthy) recipes and playful step-by-step illustrated instructions that even a preschooler could follow.

Again, taking advantage of my kids’ half-days, they decided to design an entire menu around this cookbook and I can honestly say that with the exception of some cutting that required a sharp knife and a lot of cleanup, they did everything themselves and had a lot of fun doing it too.

Ben and Rachel’s Dinner Menu

Broccoli & Chicken Sausage Stromboli*

D-I-Y Salad Bar

Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda Pop

Bright Pink Fruit Dip Served With A Fresh Fruit Assortment

*The Broccoli & Chicken Sausage Stromboli was the only item on the menu that was not in this cookbook. It was actually a recipe I adapted from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food. The only difference between her recipe and mine was I omitted the salami and replaced it with precooked chicken sausage, which I happened to have leftover from a lasagna I had made earlier in the week.

My kids had so much fun playing with their food that my son asked if I would allow him to cook dinner for the family once a week. Other than a little extra cleanup I figure this is a win-win situation for the entire family. Not only does it give me one less day of torturous meal planning, it also gives my kids a greater feeling of control, allows us an opportunity to reconnect as a family, gets them to eat more since they made it and teaches my kids important lessons about good nutrition without having to endure one of my "yawn" lectures!

While researching Mollie Katzen for this post I discovered that she has another cookbook for children called Salad People and also one due to be released in November called Honest Pretzels.

On that same library visit I also stumbled across Mollie Katzen's new adult cookbook, The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without -- let me just say to any member of my family who might be reading this right now -- My birthday is coming soon -- wink, wink.

A Super Healthy Cookie That Even The Cookie Monster Could Not Resist

We're quickly approaching the weekend and I just discovered that our cookie jar is empty with the exception of a few cast-off crumbs. There has been an oatmeal cookie recipe patiently perched on top of my cookbooks just waiting to be tried. When I first saw this recipe I thought it was too good to be true -- a cookie that was chock-full of not just one, but more than four super-foods including oats, flax seed, walnuts, dark chocolate and dried cherries. Given all of this heart-healthy goodness in one cookie you're probably feeling a bit suspicious about the taste right about now, as was I. Do yourself a favor and give these cookies one chance to win you over. I promise you that while these cookies might be really good for you and your family you'll make them again not because they are really healthy, but because they are also really that delicious -- just ask my husband! Here's a quick low-down on why these cookies are not just great tasting, but also incredibly good for you too.

Deconstruction of perhaps the healthiest (and greatest-tasting) cookie I've personally ever encountered:

Oats

Protects against heart disease

Lowers "bad" cholesterol and raises "good" HDL levels

Rich in fiber, which helps to regulate blood sugar and keeps the digestive tract running smoothly. Fiber-rich foods are also good for weight management

Flax seed

Protects against certain cancers

Helps to prevent heart disease

Lowers "bad" cholesterol

Good source of omega-3's

Fiber-rich

Walnuts

Good source of omega-3's, which helps care for the heart and brain

Reduces "bad" cholesterol

Improves mood

Fights cancer

Wheat Germ

Great source of vitamins, including vitamin E, which is a potent antioxidant that may help to combat cancer and heart problems

Lowers "bad" cholesterol

Excellent source of fiber

Dried Cherries

Brain food that helps to improved concentration and memory

Dark Chocolate

Reduces blood pressure

Lowers "bad" cholesterol and increases "good" HDL levels

Improves mood

Now that you know why you should eat it, here is how to make it:

"Heart"y Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 2 dozen cookies

1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup of light brown sugar, packed
1/3 cup of white sugar
1 t ground cinnamon
1/2 t baking soda
1/8 t salt
1 egg
1 t vanilla
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup of whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup of flax seed meal
1/4 cup of wheat germ
2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped finely*
1/4 cup of dried cherries
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl beat butter until smooth, about 45 seconds to one minute. Add both sugars, cinnamon, baking soda and salt to butter and beat until well combined.

2. Scrape down sides of bowl and then add egg and vanilla until combined. Beat in flours and then stir in oats, flax seed, wheat germ, dark chocolate, cherries and walnuts just until dough comes together.

3. Drop dough by the teaspoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 9-12 minutes, rotating the cookie sheets half-way through baking. The cookies should be lightly golden. Let cookies cool completely.

*For recipes that call for chopped dark chocolate I like to use Trader Joe's 72% Cacao Dark Chocolate. These bars are well-priced and come in a package of three 1.65 oz bars -- one bar is perfect for this recipe. These chocolate bars are also delicious on their own.

Swimming Through The Confusion About The Safest Fish To Eat

While I am well aware that fish, especially fish rich in omega-3’s are extremely good for our hearts and brains I must confess that I find myself steering clear from it these days because of the countless reports of unclean waters, antibiotic feed fish and dangerously high levels of mercury. Don’t get me wrong, while I myself still enjoy an occasional spicy tuna roll (yep, raw fish and mercury - I really know how to live on life’s edge) I have become so bewildered and confused by the endless rules and regulations that now govern buying healthy fish I rarely buy it to serve to my family. In fact, I’ve grown so alarmed by the mercury levels found in a simple can of tuna that while my kids think they’re eating tuna fish sandwiches they’re in fact eating chicken salad instead – I can’t resist – “chicken of the sea?”

To the rescue is an article in the March 2009 issue of Cooking Light called “How To Buy The Best Fish.” It is a great article to read if you, like me, have abandoned the fish counter altogether because it is just too overwhelming to select wisely. I found this article extremely helpful in not only explaining the different types of fish available and finding affordable omega-3 rich fish alternatives, but with the help of very simply and straightforward language this article helped me to better understand the differences between harvesting methods (i.e. wild vs. farm-raised) and the environmental and health implications of each method on the fish we buy.

Perhaps the most useful piece of information in this article was a list of the “eight safest and most sustainable fish on the market,” which was developed with the aid of several legitimate institutions including the Blue Ocean Institute, The Monterey Bay Aquarium, The Environmental Defense Fund, The Smithsonian Institute and The Chef’s Collaborative. This list cuts through all of the confusion and gives us an easy to follow list of the safest fish to feed our families. In fact, I found this section so useful I now carry it in my wallet along with the list of the “dirty dozen” (the twelve fruits and vegetables with the highest levels of pesticides contamination). What can I say, at almost 43 years old you’ve got to get a bit creative to keep the memory fresh, not to mention eat a lot more omega-rich fish too!

Here is the list of the eight healthiest and safest fish to buy according to Cooking Light Magazine:

1. Albacore tuna (pole or troll caught)*
2. Catfish (farmed)
3. Cod (Pacific)
4. Halibut (Pacific)
5. Pollack
6. Salmon (wild Alaskan)
7. Striped Bass (farmed)
8. Tilapia (farmed)

You’ve probably heard this before, but this article also points out that our children and anyone pregnant or trying to get pregnant should not eat:

Shark
Swordfish
King Mackerel
Tilefish

These fish are very high in mercury due to the fact they are carnivorous. According to numerous studies eating fish high in mercury may adversely affect brain development in young children and fetuses.

Since it is widely popular in our grocery stores I thought it was worth mentioning that it is also recommended we stay away from farm-raised salmon because it tends to me higher in contaminants like PCBs because it too is carnivorous and might eat fishmeal in these potentially contaminated waters.

I hope this article helps clear up some of the confusion for you too. Maybe now I can start buying fish for my family again with a bit more confidence.

For more information call the FDA at 1-888-SAFEFOOD. For a complete list of fish and shellfish with lower levels of mercury click on this link which will take you to the FDA website.

List of Fish and Shellfish With Lower Levels of Mercury


*The FDA & EPA states that if you choose to eat albacore white tuna instead of canned light tuna, eat only up to 6 ounces per week.

While strolling with my daughter through the produce aisle of my local grocery store late last week, my daughter stopped to admire a display of foiled packages featuring several Disney characters. I quickly realized that what she was actually looking at were single serve packages of 100% naturally freeze-dried fruits called Brothers-All-Natural Fruit Crisps. It appears from the package that Brothers-All-Natural has licensed the Disney name to create this line of all-natural fruit crisps specifically to appeal to kids.

Given the fact that these fruit crisps got my daughter's attention I could not resist scanning the price (.99) and the nutritional label to ensure that they were not too expensive or candy in disguise, which I am happy to report they were neither. In fact, each single serve package is equal to a serving of fruit and there are no added ingredients -- just 100% freeze-dried fruit. The variety of fruit crisps include apples, pears, peaches and sliced strawberries & bananas.

Once they passed my test, I asked my daughter if she would like to give them a go in her lunch box the next day, which she happily replied by grabbing two bags of Goofy's Strawberries & Bananas. I'm pleased to report that both of my kids really enjoyed the flavor of this product as well as the presentation. While I would not suggest replacing all of their fresh fruit with a product like this, I think Brothers-All-Natural is a great way to bring some fun and excitement to the lunch box as well as makes for an extremely healthy and portable snack for those days we are on-the-go.

For this blog I decided to visit the Brothers-All-Natural website. Here I discovered they have a full line of all natural fruit crisps in addition to a line of potato crisps. Their site claims that their goal is "to provide snacks parents feel good about serving their families because they're wholesome and free of confusing, artificial ingredients. Nothing artificial, 100% Natural, 100% Fat Free. No added sweeteners, colors or flavors. The HEALTHY SNACK, the one Mother Nature would eat!" -- sounds like a good goal to me!