What's For Dinner? Week 2

Of course, the week I have two soups on the menu, the temperatures warm up to mid-60's! :) Ah, well. It was chilly on Sunday when we had our stew, so I guess I won't complain.

So. I am really loving this In Defense of Food book the further I get into it. Michael Pollan is just a phenomenal writer with so much common sense to point out that Americans seem to have forgotten. I especially love his segment on the relationships we have (or, rather, had) with food and how interconnected the food chain is. How our bodies evolve to develop the necessary enzymes and such to break down foods. But our "Western diet" is such that we pack our bodies with food imitations and are no longer able to continue that symbiotic relationship with food because our bodies are struggling to recognize and process all this industrialized garbage that we now call "food". I am not generally a "we-are-all-connected-and-one-with-the-earth" type of person. I mean, I know that we ARE... but I just don't think about it that often. Maybe I should. 'Cause it makes an awful lot of sense and we seem to be doing ourselves a terrible disservice by not keeping that in mind in our actions and choices... with food or otherwise. And, the more I learn and educate myself about the facts, the more I can see how some people can get so wrapped up in choosing all organic and growing/raising the gardens and animals to supply the foods for themselves.

Sorry. I know this is probably boring to read but it is just SUCH a big part of my thoughts lately. I especially wonder how we can continue to make excuses about how, in our busy lifestyles, we simply don't have time to make a better effort to feed ourselves and our children. That it is acceptable to just hand that duty over to the food companies who mass produce processed foods. Foods that, with such a pathetic nutritional content, are what continue to drive us into this disease-filled, obese population. Ahhh! Think about how hypocritical we are as parents when we want our children to do well in school - to thrive with energy and brain function, to get good grades, etc. - and yet we send them off with a Pop Tart for breakfast or offer a snack of Oreos and a Capri Sun to a group of 3-year-old preschoolers. Imagine those hard-working bodies of our children out on the practice field or after a game that are depending on a logical-thinking parent to supply them with some good wholesome food to replenish what their body has burned off... and then instead get to swing through a fast food drive through because no one made the time to plan ahead and have something nutritional at the ready.

Recently, there was a relatively harmless, voluntary recall on some Similac powdered formulas that caused many parents to panic and refuse to offer that brand to their infant ever again. Funny... that a little (potential) indigestion caused more of a stir among parents wanting only the best for their child, when I'd be willing to bet that many of those same parents will be pouring juice into their baby's bottle or offering Cheetos and French fries to their toddler or providing canned spaghetti-o's and frozen pizza rolls as a meal... which may lead to far worse repercussions than stomach indigestion. Type II diabetes perhaps? Or high blood pressure and obesity? It's common sense. And it's really sad that we have been so brain-washed by food companies to think that it is acceptable to let them take over such a basic need of our existence: eating real, actual, whole FOOD.

The other day I had a patient who was talking in the third person to her two-year old about how they were going to "go home and have a crustless peanut butter and jelly for lunch... the frozen kind 'cause mommy doesn't feel like cooking today". Seriously? They make frozen peanut butter and jelly sandwiches? And to prepare one for yourself is too much work? Let alone to be defined as "cooking"? Give me a break.

Sorry. I can get a little carried away, I guess. But, in closing of this rambling, I did like a piece of advice that Michael shared from an interview with a head of some big food industry, who was saying that we are too far down in a pit of stupidity and brainwash to ever recover from this Western diet. Michael was asking the guy if, with all he knows of marketing and convenience foods, there was any hope to turn this boat around. The guy said something like: "Ya. Make your own food. You want a diet plan? Eat anything you like. Just make it yourself." There's some perspective for you.

[Steps off soap box with a blush.]

On a less hostile note, here's what was on our menu this week...
(P.S. I'm going to be opening my mouth and inserting my foot here in just a second.)

First I'll mention my weekend pancake ritual. I always make my batter the night before and pop it in the fridge so that it's ready to go without preparation when we get up in the morning.
I also bring my griddler up from the basement and set it out to just plug in and start cooking.

I like to use a #20 scoop, which is equivalent to approximately 2 oz or 4 tablespoons. This seems to make just the right serving size for little kids, especially mine who prefer to pick it up with their hands and eat plain or dip in a little syrup.

1) So Saturday morning we had Weelicious Carrot Pancakes again.

We like Meijer's 100% pure maple syrup for dipping.

Okay, here's where I put my foot in my mouth. We ordered Veto's for dinner on Saturday night. Yes, I know. You might as well just close this post right here because I'm a big hypocrite too. But the kids didn't eat it - they got leftovers earlier - which I realize sets a terrible example. Ah well. That's about the only "fast food" we do and Craig was pretty insistent upon it after I denied him on Friday night. We did have an excellent lunch and made several healthier choices to compensate that weekend.

2) Sunday was wonderful. It was a chilly and playful and relaxing day. I made Tyler's Ultimate Beef Stew over nap time and it simmered on the stove top for the late afternoon so that our house smelled like heaven and dinner was a comforting breeze to put on the table in the evening.

Here's one convenience item I don't think I will ever part with. Boxed soup stock. For many a soup (or other) recipe, the flavor just cannot be matched with broth, and there are some really great (healthy) varieties available to save us time in the kitchen.

The broth of the stew was simmered with the shaved rind of an orange, so to go along side, we had small plates of fruit and bread. The kids got the cut up orange and some apple slices with bread and butter...

...while Craig and I split a pear with some bread & butter. Notice Craig's bread is always white. He'd have a conniption if I put anything "brown" on his plate.

3) Monday was stew leftovers. Then Monday night I prepped a snack mix for Will's lunch bag on Tuesday. As you know, I'm forever hunting for ways to offer him protein in his lunch. This is something I've made before that I know he likes. It's called Sticks & Stones (recipe from Family Fun) and it has Quaker Oatmeal Squares cereal, whole almonds and pretzels sticks that are baked with a glaze of apple juice concentrate, brown sugar and cinnamon. Then this mixture gets tossed with dried cranberries when cool. It's a little sweeter than I'd like to give him, but the flavor combination is wonderful.

So here is Will's lunch bag. Pretty obvious: the sticks and stones snack mix, sliced pear and a veggie bag. Ready to go for Tuesday morning.

4) Tuesday was also our doctors appointment day and I had prepped a new Chicken Parmesan recipe that I found through a search on Cooking Light website. The "sauce" is actually a combination of sun dried tomatoes, red bell pepper and canned, diced tomatoes. Plus some balsamic vinegar, fresh basil and fresh parsley. The chicken breasts (which you can't even see in any of these pictures) are lightly pan-fried with a flour and Parmesan cheese coating before finishing the whole dish in the oven. So I just prepped up until the point of sticking in the oven and then baked it a little longer than directed because it had completely cooled since preparation. My notes on this are: there is a LOT of tomato topping ("sauce") and perhaps not enough noodles (it only calls for 6oz of uncooked pasta). I might either do less of the tomato mixture or more pasta. So here's the prepped view:

But before I show you the cooked product, let me pause to share another new pancake recipe I tried that was a big hit. We were out of carrot pancakes and needed to feed Will breakfast before school. So for the first time in my married life, I got up and made pancakes for breakfast before work/school. It really wasn't all that much extra time because, once again, I had the batter prepped the night before. Cottage cheese pancakes!

Remember my quest for more protein in breakfast? Well, here is a perfect solution! And I'm so excited that I now have two recipes that my son will eat featuring ingredients that he normally refuses: avocado (in the smoothie) and cottage cheese (in this pancake). I didn't try to deceive him with either recipe. I told him what both of them were... after he tasted them. And it didn't change his mind about either. He liked both very much. These pancakes don't look exactly like regular pancakes in coloring. But if you look at the recipe, there's one cup of cottage cheese, 3 eggs and only 1/2 cup flour. So they're loaded with protein and taste more like a French toast with all that egg in them.

All three of us devoured them for breakfast and, actually, that was the snack I took with us to the doctors appointment. Each kid ate 1.5 pancakes (cold and floppy) on the way home and loved them! And I felt good that they were getting something substantial both for breakfast and as a hold-over snack before dinner.
So, back to dinner... Here was the baked product in a serving dish. Ha! You still can't see the chicken but I promise it's under there. Craig actually complimented this!!! And the heavens opened and angels started singing. It was pretty good.

5) Wednesday (tonight) will be Tyler's Chicken Noodle Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches and grapes.

6&7) Thursday & Friday will probably be leftovers since we have quite a bit of soup and chicken parmesan left.

That's it for me this week! I'll try not to get on my soap box next week. :)

My questions for you this week are:

Do you eat breakfast every morning? If so, what do you eat? Do you find it difficult making time for breakfast? Do you sometimes eat in the car like I often do?