Going Green ... Deliciously

At the end of January, this year, the secretaries of Agriculture and Health and Human Services unveiled the New Dietary Guidelines. It differed yet again with the pyramids of the past. These New Dietary Guidelines, they say, respond to headline reports from leading scientists describing obesity as the "single greatest threat to public health in this century."

In fact, in their press release, the USDA says it even more succinctly, "Because more than one-third of children and more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese, the 7th edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity."

Okay -- so bottom line - what does it mean to me and my family?

Summary: balance your calorie intake with with physical activity, consume more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fat-free and low-fat dairy products, and seafood -- reduce sodium, saturated and trans fats, added sugars, and refined grains.

So ... how much of each? Click here to download a handy printable poster which shows the now vertically inverted pyramid along with amounts of recommended daily nutritional allowances.

What caught my attention.

In the Executive Summary, under the vegetable category, they advised us to, "Eat a variety of vegetables, especially dark-green and red and orange vegetables and beans and peas."

And it reminded me of my child's toddler days and how consumed I was that he eat as many vegetables as possible. He is now twelve. Does he like them ... even a little better? No ... but he tolerates ... some of them.

Budgetary restrictions?

The US Department of Agriculture has estimated the cost of satisfying recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines. Their estimate is, "An adult on a 2,000-calorie diet could satisfy recommendations for vegetable and fruit ... at an average cost of $2 to $2.50 per day, or approximately 50 cents per edible cup equivalent."

Along that note, I came across an interesting article from WebMD entitled, "Guide to a Healthy Kitchen," about ranking and rating our leafy greens. And when you have a child who is a picky eater or are not overly fond of vegetables yourself, it may serve well to focus on powerhouse greens.

Jill Nussinow, MS, RD, is a culinary educator in Northern California and the author of The Veggie Queen and she says, "Greens are the No. 1 food you can eat regularly to help improve your health."

This is her Top-10 Leafy Green list:
(for more nutritional information on each vegetable along with caloric and preparation recommendations, click here).

1. Kale

2. Collards

3. Turnip greens

4. Swiss chard

5. Spinach

6. Mustard greens

7. Broccoli

8. Red and Green Leaf and Romaine Lettuce

9. Cabbage

10. Iceberg Lettuce

Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins Recipe

We've all heard the myriad ads and news stories admonishing the benefits of a heart-healthy lifestyle and the benefits of whole grains. But in a new study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, their findings go a bit further with a bit more incentive to kick-start a healthier diet.

Their findings show that filling up on fiber, particularly whole grain fiber, may not only give you a higher quality of life but may reduce your risk of dying from heart disease. In fact, in this study, those who had the highest fiber intake were 22% less likely to die from any cause when compared to participants who ate the least amount of fiber. The highest protection in the study came from fiber-rich foods primarily from cereal fiber in grains as opposed to other fiber sources such as fruits and vegetables.

Below is a go to recipe my family loves. It satisfies mom with healthy fibers, whole wheat flour and oatmeal, a leading source for lowering LDL (bad cholesterol), and blueberries, and it satisfies my son with a very active sweet tooth. There is nothing like the pleasure of sending your loved ones out the door in the mornings armored with nutrient-rich protection from both whole grains and blueberries!

We all know that blueberries are a super food. But did you know that Native Americans gathered these delicious fruits to treat coughs? And did you know that North America continues to lead the world in producing blueberries, accounting for more than 90% of the world's supply?

Nutritionists rank blueberries highest of any fruit for antioxidants and that one cup delivers 14% of the recommended daily dose of fiber and nearly a quarter of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

Healthy Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

1 1/3 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oatmeal
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup non fat milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts
1 1/4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin tins with non-stick spray or line with paper baking cups, set aside.

Combine dry ingredients. Make a well in the center of the mixture and set aside.

In another bowl, combine egg, milk and oil. Add this mixture to the well in the dry mixture, along with fresh (or thawed) berries. Stir until just moistened. Batter should be lumpy.

Spoon into prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden. Serve warm.

World's Most Expensive Bowl of Chowder:

It all began with a bowl of clam chowder. Saturdays in the Randall house means two things: I will eat too much at some point and I will probably lead my family to the outdoors on some adventure. Why not combine the two I thought on a Saturday afternoon as I enjoyed the creamy goodness and satisfying chewyness of a great bowl of national brand chowder - the DYI (do it yourself) side of my personality began to emerge. Usually I fight this urge as it leads me to expensive and sometimes incomplete conclusions to projects began but inconveniently unfinished. But instead I allowed myself to indulge this impulse and wonder about how the ingredients are grown, harvested, put together in a pot and enjoyed in a bowl. I began to hatch a plan to build the perfect bowl of clam chowder out of ingredients I harvested and caught. I started with the harvested and caught part instead of actually making a plan based on a recipe. The recipe emerged later thanks to my wife Emily.

My first task was to procure the ingredients in the most adventerous way possible. I had heard about "razor clamming" my grandfather used to talk about visiting the beaches of Clatsop County Oregon to go clamming. He made "clam patties" that were legendary. I had heard stories of the clamming experience but really had no personal experience in the activity so I began to research the activity online and found out that the local clam season runs from late October - May on the beaches near our home in Portland, Or. This was ideal due to the fact that I was right in the middle of the season. So I researched further and found some important factors to consider in order to have a successful razor clam harvesting trip to the coast.

The first factor is the ocean tides. The lower the tide the more abundant and accessible the clam beds are on the beach. Clams usually colonize so there are usually several in the same area. both in the water and on the sand. The best clam beds are only accessible during low tides. For a local report on tides check out http://www.protides.com they have tide tables for the Oregon and Washington beaches. After consulting the tide tables I found a date on the calendar that had the lowest tide of the month and I set our date for clamming.

Prior to our trip I really needed to find out more specifics about the harvesting process including the hows, the whys, and the equipment I'd need. The state allows use of a shovel or a clam gun. I thought, "...hey, anything with 'gun' in the title is for me! I don't want to shovel anything that doesn't sound like an adventure." So I visited a local store and invested $19.99 in a metal clam gun which resembles a pipe with a handle on the top. It's a pretty simple tool and didn't take long for me to figure out how it would be used...I'll explain. The "gun" is really just a cylindrical shovel that is shoved into the sand with the sole purpose of extracting a submerged clam. So really a shovel in your garage could accomplish the same thing and save you $20 on your adventure. The next expense was a required state issued license to harvest the Pacific Razor Clam. So I purchased my annual permit for $7 ( a three day non-oregon resident license is $11.50 for shellfish). The most obvious expense is the gas to get there (which is why I call my recipe "the world's most expensive clam chowder"), but it's worth the investment.

Pysanky; A New and Old Art Form for Easter

The art of Pysansky, better known as Ukrainian Easter Eggs, is ancient and filled with meaning and significance, practiced for hundreds and hundreds of years by Slavic women, and passed down through generations from mother to daughter.

It is an intricate art form feared to be dying. Earlier I blogged in more detail about the story behind these beautifully intricate eggs, including a brief history, meaning of the symbols and colors used, and of course, my own story regarding my connection to the Ukrainian Easter Egg. Visit my blog.

While decorating Easter Eggs in the traditional Ukrainian style requires specialized tools, it is possible to make them using ordinary household materials. Even egg dying kits have included wax crayons that can produce a similar result to these Ukrainian Eggs, incorporating the symbols and colors associated with such. Perfect for children and a great learning tool!

Pysanky eggs are simply made by applying wax to mask areas of the egg before it is dyed. Several layers of wax and colors of dye are used to create intricate, multicolor designs. To apply the wax, you may purchase a special stylus or make your own.

Things you will need:

Blown egg
Vinegar
Egg dye
Beeswax candle
Straight pin
Unsharpened pencil
Spoon
Paper towels


First, rinse the egg in vinegar and allow it to dry. Mix up several colors of egg dye according to the package directions. (Or make your own natural dyes from dried plants, roots, berries ... even onion skins, vegetables, etc). Light your beeswax candle and let it burn until there is a small pool of wax. Make a stylus by sticking a straight pin through the eraser of a pencil. You will use the head of the pin to apply the wax to the egg.

Secondly, dip the head of the pin in the pool of melted wax. Use the stylus to apply dots and lines of beeswax to your eggs, covering the areas you want to remain white. You may draw your design on the egg with a pencil before you start. Dye the egg in the lightest color, usually yellow. Since the egg has been blown, you will have to hold it down in the dye with a spoon. Remove the egg when the color is as dark as you would like. Allow it to dry on a rack or paper towels.

Next, use wax to cover the parts of the egg which you wish to remain yellow. Dye the egg in a second color and allow it to dry.

Then, add more wax to cover the colors you wish to remain the same. You may remove wax from areas you wish to color with another layer of dye by scraping it off gently. For example, if you covered an area you wish to dye blue in the first step, you can remove that wax after the yellow dye is used. Then when you immerse the egg in blue dye, the uncovered yellow area will become green while the uncovered white areas will be blue.

Finally, cover more of the egg with wax and dye the egg in darker dye colors. When the last color has dried, remove the wax with a warm wet cloth.

These instructions can be found at: http://www.ehow.com/how_6679313_make-pysanky-eggs.html.

:: If you make a version of these Ukrainian Eggs this Easter, we would love for you to send us a picture of your creation!

Happy Easter Egg Dying!

New Study Finds A Creative Approach to Early Childhood Education

Have you ever wondered whether reading to your child in the womb actually produces a smarter child? If so, you're not alone. It is a pre-occupation with parents of young children, this desire to help them achieve, and produce, and grow.

We fall prey to the competitive nature among parents, the desire to help our children shine socially and academically above all others. We push them into classes to help them achieve our ... I mean their ... dreams.

But is this Tiger Mom approach to education the one cognitive experts at UC Berkeley and MIT now believe will actually produce the best return on investment? For as we all know, it is truly an investment.

Two independent new studies have produced some fascinating results on just exactly how our children not only learn best but most successfully as they embark on their brave new educational world.

As a contributor to the UC-Berkeley study, Alison Gopnik, has written an excellent article summarizing these findings in, "Why Preschool Shouldn't Be Like School; New research shows that teaching kids more and more, at ever-younger ages, may backfire."

If you are at this parental stage, I recommend you read it.

I also have written a blog about my own experiences as a parent navigating the early educational waters.

I ended with this. "We must encourage and develop and allow their minds [our children] to wander and wonder and explore … and create. For to my mind, our very future depends on it."

You Took a Picture... Now What?

The most common complaint that I hear about digital photography is that the pictures aren’t “real”. They are, but you need to know how to use them and show them.

Back in the olden days when cameras used expensive film that required expensive developing, picture taking was a special event. People brought out the camera only on vacations or big family gatherings. They shot pictures (most of them bad). Eventually they ended up with an envelope full of prints that found their way into a shoebox that now resides somewhere in the attic. Now THOSE are real pictures.

What those really are, are relics. Maybe one day your grandkids will go through those shoeboxes. When they’re not laughing at your glasses or the funny shirt you’re wearing, they’re going to wonder this simple question: why are these pictures here? I mean, if they’re important, why are they in a shoebox in your attic? The answer OF COURSE is that one day you’re going to put those pictures into a scrapbook.

Right.

Digital photos are different from their film counterparts. For one, even your phone now has a camera. We shoot pictures of everything all the time. Digital is different and once you’re used to it, you’ll be amazed at how much better digital pictures are.

You don’t need to print the pictures.

The only pictures I print out are done big enough to hang on the wall. I know that lots of people buy those fancy little photo printers. They pay a small fortune for ink cartridges and special photo paper. What do they get? They get a shoebox full of pictures that end up in the attic awaiting the grandkids laughter. I’m telling you, you don’t have to print them. You’re taking your pretty digital pictures and turning them into relics. Free yourself of that old way of thinking. There are better things to do with your digital pictures.

For one, have you ever noticed that the printed picture never looks as good as it did on your computer screen? That’s because your computer screen can show you 24 million colors. The photo printer can reproduce about 9 million. Your pictures look better on the screen, so how about we leave them there!

Have you ever said to someone, “Why don’t you come over to my house and I’ll show you the pictures from our vacation?”

How’s that working for you?

What’s valuable about pictures is sharing the pictures. Yes, I love to look at my pictures from our trip to Venice, but what I love more is to show those pictures to others. Better for sharing than a photo album, scrapbook or that shoebox is Flickr.

Flickr

http://www.flickr.com/ is a website where you can post your pictures. Your friends can look at them when they want, wherever they are in the world. What’s more cool is that others will look at your pictures too. They’ll look and comment about them. They may even share them with their friends. When I post a picture on Flickr, I know that hundreds of people will look at it (I have one photo that has been looked at by 15,000 people!). In other words, the sharing part of picture taking – the best thing about taking pictures – is now much bigger and better than it ever could be in the shoebox world.

What’s more, I have made so many new friends by sharing my pictures, and looking at my friend’s pictures. Who would have thought that? I’ve now even gone out shooting with these “Flickr Friends” – and I’m a better photographer now because of them. That never would have happened with those pictures in my attic.

Some tips about Flickr:

· Don’t post all of your pictures of the birthday party at Aunt Edith’s. Post just one picture. It will force you to pick the best one. Your friends will thank you.

· Join some groups and post your pictures. Groups help draw people in to look at your photostream.

· Comment on other people’s pictures. The best way to make a friend is to be a friend.

· If you’re going to really use Flickr, you should invest in a Pro account. It’s $24.95 for a whole year, and you can store as many pictures as you’d like.

Feel free to contact me if you have questions. I can be reached through Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/photos/plastictubing/

Three Sisters Gardening

As gas prices soar and the economy continues its unknown and crooked path; home economists are becoming more and more creative in efforts to preserve and expand the family budget. And everything is under the microscope; from trip planning to grocery shopping, new and innovative coupon uses, (thus the rise of Groupon and others), entertaining, bulk storage ... and yes, even gardening.

But truly, this isn't new, it isn't even unique to our generation.

As the late winter rains prepare the soil for spring planting, gardeners and those who want to be, are cropping up as advice from gardening guru's proliferate. The difference between this generation and those of once or twice removed may just be that by and large, most of us are not living with backyards the size of our grandparents or even parents. So ... space is a premium ... and seems problematic if we want to give gardening a try and perhaps even grow some of our own food.

When one considers early American history and the customs and habits of Native Americans especially, lack of space, lack of crop growing areas ... gardening, in our vernacular ... does not usually come to mind. However, we can credit the Native Americans for introducing the "Three Sisters" gardening concept; a plan to increase yield and conserve space.

A Three Sisters garden is simply one in which corn, beans and squash are planted, shoulder to shoulder. The nitrogen-rich climbing beans use the height and structure of the corn stalks while ground-hugging squash reduce soil evaporation and smother weeds. The result? "Three interdependent and eminently edible crops produced from the same ground," says Dean Fosdick of the Associated Press.

By employing these space saving methods, it is conceivable that the process could then be adapted to containers, hillsides, patios, even fire escapes.

For me, while the potential savings are attractive, the most alluring aspect of home gardening is the freshness of the produce, the beauty of the garden, the fulfillment of nurturing a seed to harvest, and the unquestionable nutritional benefits to our families of providing hormone and pesticide free whole foods from our garden to their plate in mere minutes.

Now is the time to begin planning your garden. Here are some fabulous links to help you get started.

I particularly love this article, designed for classroom use, from kidsgardening.com where it gives specific instructions on creating and growing a Three Sisters Garden. Click here the for article.

The second resource is an invaluable one for those who need to employ space saving methods. This article is from Iowa State University and recommends the following:

1. Select a site that receives at least 6 hours of sunlight, turn the soil and fertilize with organic fertilizer.
2. Interplant seeds of differing harvest times.
3. Succession plant cool and warm weather crops.
4. Grow vertical.

For more detailed information on these recommended methods as well as suggested vegetable varieties for small plot gardening, this article is a must read. Click here for the article.

While the rain drips from the eaves of my house today, my mind is full of sunshine and tender growing plants. I hope you consider growing a garden this summer and enjoy the fruits of your labor.