How to love cooking

I love to cook, because I love to eat. I love searching through cookbooks for new recipes I can change and make my own. But, that’s just me. There are a whole lotta people who hate it.

Preparing dinner is just one more chore at the end of a long day, right? Maybe you’re stressing on the way home, thinking about what the heck you’re going to make– chicken again? There are a few recipes you’ve wanted to try, but you don’t have 2 key ingredients. You arrive home hungry; you just need to eat something, anything. You whip up a frozen pizza (the second this week) and serve it with a side of guilt. You deserve better, your family deserves better. At least clean up is easy tonight.

Sound familiar? Cooking is a dying practice and I desperately want to change that.

The kitchen is a place of power, not a ball and chain.  Monks revere their cook because his meals affect the well being of the entire monastery.  As head chef of the household, you hold that important role. It’s time to enjoy it!

If you hate cooking (or just aren’t comfy in the kitch), here are 4 things you can do to make the mojo flow mo’:

1. It’s happy hour– so, make it happy. Whether you’re cooking for 30 minutes or 3 hours, make it fun. Put on your favorite music, set up a favorite movie on your laptop, listen to an audiobook. Pour a cup of tea or glass of wine or beer. Breathe deeply. Try to smile. If you have kids, either get them involved or get them out of your hair.

2. Plan it up. So, this is the kicker. Meal planning of some type is essential. Most people cannot come home night after night and whip up a delicious meal based on the contents of the fridge and pantry. If meal planning isn’t your thing, start small and plan just 2 or 3 meals a week. Or, consider subscribing to a meal planning service. If you work from home and dread the dinner-making hour, do your dinner prep (or even cooking) in the morning or at lunchtime.

3. Get your playbook. Get some go-to’s that can be made with pantry essentials. Grab a small binder and put about 10 of those recipes in the front. Teach the occasional cooks in your house how to make a few of those. Bam! A healthy dinner is always within reach.

4. Reframe the clean-up. There’s just no getting around this one– cleaning is part of cooking. Monks clean just to clean, because cleaning, like cooking, is transformative.  Dirtying and then cleaning the kitchen keeps it alive, well oiled and loved. It won’t take as long as you think. Here’s a trick: set a timer for 15 minutes and start working. You’ll find that much of your work is finished by the time it dings.

If all else fails, repeat after me: I love to cook. Cooking is an act of self care. Meals can heal. I love to cook. 

What about you? What are some ways that you make cooking more fun, more do-able? Let me know, in the comments below.

Easy Banana Popsicles (Clean + Healthy)

I am soooo excited that the weather has warmed up! I am a true summer person… long days, vacation, the best seasonal fruit and veggies, warmth, bare skin. Sunshine.

When I was little, my mom would make homemade popsicles from grape juice and lemonade. I remember thinking how cool it was that we made them (I was easily impressed) and I’ve always wanted to create my own frozen treats. This is the year my friends!

I had some leftover bananas from a kids’ cooking class, so I froze them and started thinking… banana, chocolate, almond, coconut. Holy Yum.

Or, you can make them like a banana bonbon

What are some of your favorite popsicles– homemade or ice-cream-man bought?

Rainbows to Rubies: My new favorite salad

This is the best salad I’ve ever tasted!

High praise from an eight year old who doesn’t like beets or coleslaw.

This cutie was in a Nutrition Detectives class I taught and had been lukewarm on all of the foods we made together…mac + cheese, smoothies, kale chips. But, she LOVED this salad.

In an earlier Nutrition Detectives session, we talked about eating the rainbow and how it was important to do that everyday. So for this class, we made a salad that had nearly all of the colors of the rainbow in it. Beets, carrot, red + green cabbage and apple brought together with a tangy yogurt dressing. The hubs and I love it, but I thought it might be a stretch with kiddos.

She looked skeptical as we shredded vegetables and mixed the dressing. However, we tasted it and to my amazement (and her mom’s), it got two thumbs up. It just goes to show that kids will try (and, even like) new foods or foods that were previously on the no way list. Try and see if your little ones like it.

Oh- the name comes from the color. It’s a rainbow when you look at the ingredients, but when combined the beets turn everything a rich ruby color.

The Vitamin D Cure

Book review time! I saw this at the library and couldn’t pass it up. Surveys estimate that up to 75% of the population are deficient in this crazy-important vitamin. That makes this book a good read for… everyone!

Most of us know vitamin D as the sunshine vitamin, but did you know that wearing sunblock prevents vitamin D absorption?

You also cannot get your daily dose by sitting near a closed window or sitting outside covered in clothing.

Depending on your location, the time of year, skin type and age you need anywhere from 60 minutes to 10 minutes in the sun with arms and legs exposed 3x a week to get adequate vitamin D without a supplement. The book has a chart to help you figure it out. Handy, no?

I bet you’re asking about skin cancer from too much sun exposure, right? The book covers that, too.

The Vitamin D Cure is an easy read, with first-hand accounts of how author James Dowd M.D’s plan has helped his patients relieve joint pain, improve mood and energy and even lose weight.  According to Dr. Dowd, adequate vitamin D levels can help those with some of these symptoms and diseases:

• Seasonal Affective Disorder/depression during the winter months
• Low energy
• Chronic pain, aches or swelling in legs
• Restless sleep
• High blood pressure
• Autoimmune disorders
• Fibromyalgia
• Cancer

What did I love about the book?

Dr. Dowd brings nutrition into the mix.

He cites our overly-acidic diets as having a role in the deterioration of our bones, muscles and joints. The average american diet is filled with meat, grains and dairy which are all very acidic. And, we don’t eat enough alkaline-rich foods (fruits + veggies) to buffer that acid. Maintaining adequate potassium and magnesium levels are two additional contributing factors.

I think his recommendation of a mostly meat + vegetable diet may be beneficial for some people, but others may do better with an alkaline vegetarian diet. Either way, we have to get more vegetables into the mix!

In all, it’s an interesting read. Our vitamin D levels should not be ignored.  I wonder how many of us (women, especially) could start feeling more energy and less pain just by spending more time in the sun, upping a supplement and eating just a little healthier?

Let me know in the comments below… what would be the biggest challenge for you in switching from an acidic diet (meat, cheese and grains) to a more alkaline one?

Lots of love + late night reading,

Katie

Eating Clean: the basics

What is “clean eating?”

I get this question a lot and there isn’t a straightforward answer. There are many variations of a “clean” diet. Paleo enthusiasts eat clean by avoiding grains, starchy vegetables and sugar. Vegetarians avoid meat; a clean vegan eschews all types of animal products. Clean eating for a raw foodist is a vegan diet focused on raw fruit and vegetables and dehydrated or minimally cooked foods.

In my opinion, eating clean requires you to tune into your body and eat in a way that fully nourishes and honors your unique dietary needs. While there isn’t one definition of clean eating, there are some basic tenants:

1. Eat whole, minimally processed foods. No Velveeta, here. Real food, simply prepared, tastes amazing. You decide whether meat and dairy help you feel well. No matter what type of protein you eat, keep it whole (tofu or tempeh, for example, instead of processed veggie burgers). Standard white or brown sugar is avoided in favor of less processed options like honey, maple syrup, and coconut/date sugar.

2. Focus on meals that add value. Clean meals have added nutrients– whether it’s pureed squash in macaroni and cheese or greens in a smoothie, it’s all about elevating nutritional value.

3. Use healthy, monounsaturated fats + coconut oil. Think nuts, seeds, avocado, and olive oils. Coconut oil is shown to resist candida albicans (yeast) and is thought to be heart healthy, though more investigation is necessary.

4. Go low or no gluten. Many people have gluten sensitivities. Even if you don’t, incorporating gluten free grains into your diet adds nutrient variety (millet, quinoa and amaranth need some love, too!)

5. Buy local & organic, when possible. Food has the most nutrients when it’s fresh. You’ll find the freshest (and usually the cheapest) fruits and vegetables at your farm stand or farmer’s market. Buying organic protects water quality, protects the health of the farmer and field workers, and promotes biodiversity.

Stick with these 5 guidelines and experiment to uncover what works best for you. Don’t get caught up in trying to adhere to the “perfect” diet. Your diet is a powerful tool to help you live an energized life, but it’s only one piece of the puzzle.

What do you think? Is clean eating do-able (at least 80% of the time)? Let me know in the comments below.