Derailed and Flying at the Speed of Light

This week I celebrated my birthday. I can’t believe time flies so fast. Every year moves exponentially faster and before you know it another year is past. This is always a hard time for me to eat healthy because my family and friends know I love chocolate and I receive it as a present frequently. This year was no exception. It started with making homemade Oreo cookies with my niece. The recipe is too easy, the cookies are so delicious and if you make them small enough it is incredibly hard not to keep popping the one bite wonders into your mouth. Then my birthday celebration was filled with chocolate-toffee cake and Godiva chocolates...yum! I find I am very unmotivated to exercise or do any kind of physical activity when I am so full the best I can do it make it to the couch…. Well, one of the important things about a healthy attitude toward life and health is to forgive yourself and keep working at it. I have done just that and feel that even though I have derailed from my goal of a whole foods eating plan and regular physical activity this week, it is temporary and not the norm. Besides, there is nothing more motivating than the poor, pathetic look my dog Blink gives me that guilts me into getting up off the couch, putting on my hiking shoes and hitting the trails. Hurray for Blink!

Homemade Oreo Cookies
Here is my ‘healthier’ version I adapted from a recipe from www.cupcakeproject.com (who got it from Heaven is chocolate, cheese and carbs; who got it from Smitten Kitchen; who got the recipe from the book Retro Desserts by Wayne Brachman … this recipe really gets around!) There are two ways to form the wafers: by hand or rolled out and shaped with a cookie cutter. My niece and I like to roll out the dough and have fun with different shapes of cookie cutters. Use the method that works best for you.

Chocolate Wafers
• 1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg

1. In a medium-sized bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, baking soda and powder, salt, and sugar.
2. Beat in the butter and the egg. Continue mixing until dough comes together in a mass.
3. There are two ways to form the wafers:

• Take rounded teaspoons of batter and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet approximately 2 inches apart. With moistened hands, flatten the dough, or
• Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper and roll out to 1/8 inch thick. Use your favorite cookie cutter to cut out shapes (I find a smaller size give you more of a crunchy cookie).

4. Place wafers on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Bake for 9 minutes at 375 F.
6. Set on a rack to cool for 20-30 minutes.

Filling
• 1/2 cup room-temperature, unsalted butter
• 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or use your favorite flavoring – peppermint extract is also delicious)
• 1-2 teaspoons milk if needed to get the correct ‘Oreo cream’ consistency

1. Place butter in a mixing bowl, and at low speed, gradually beat in the sugar and vanilla.
2. Add milk as needed.
3. Turn the mixer on high and beat for 2-3 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
4. To make a cookie, spoon teaspoon-sized blobs of cream into the center of a wafer.
5. Place another wafer, equal in size to the first, on top of the cream. Lightly press, to work the filling evenly to the outsides of the cookie. Continue this process until all the cookies have been sandwiched with cream.
6. Store in air tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week – if they last that long!
Yield: Makes about 40 cookies depending on how big you make the wafers.
Time: 1 hour

I love spring

I love spring! The sun re-introduces itself to us and the garden. The air holds the balmy promise of fruits and vegetables, flowers and long sultry days of warmth and sunshine. I took a walk with my dog in Hamlin Park and the scent of the new growth mixed with the evergreen trees was heaven. It is possibly my favorite time of year…. ask me in July or August or September and I will most likely change my mind, but you get the point. It is a re-awakening of life and that is intoxicating.
My dog is named Blink. Why? I don’t know. She is what I call a rescue dog. Her previous owner mistreated her and then abandoned her when the neighbors brought her in to my sister’s veterinary clinic for care. Blink was two years old at the time and knew her name. I wasn’t about to turn her world upside down any more by changing it. When my sister brought her home as a ‘foster dog’ for a day I cursed her…literally. Why? I wasn’t looking for a dog, let alone a 70 pound German shepard/rottweiler mix. I was a goner after 15 minutes. Blink and I bonded then and it has been the two of us ever since. We nursed her back to health and she is a beautiful, very well behaved (most of the time) happy dog. She does however think she is a lap dog. I am pinned to what ever piece of furniture I am sitting in when she wants to cuddle. They say dogs have over 100 facial expressions. I tend to agree. My favorite is when we are walking in the park. She has a smile as wide as her face that makes me laugh.

The first week of “putting my money where my mouth is” went fairly well. I ate a generally whole foods diet (with a few left over chocolate Easter eggs and some Soy Delicious frozen dessert). I also did some form of exercise or physical activity four out of seven days. Blink was thrilled when I took the lease out of the closet. Taking a walk is one of her favorite things to do. I wasn’t inactive the other three days; I just didn’t do something specific, although 20 minutes of the wrestle-tickle game I played with my niece should be considered exercise!

I made some granola which is 10 times better than anything you can buy in the store and full of omega-3s, fiber, vitamins and minerals. The great thing about this recipe is you can adjust it to suit your tastes. Change up the nuts; add dried cranberries or cherries and it’s a whole new taste. One year I received a jar of homemade guava jelly from Hawaii that was too sweet for my tastes, but used instead of honey or maple syrup in the granola and it was perfect! Be creative and use what you’ve got in your cupboards.

HOMEMADE GRANOLA
Adapted from a recipe by Kathy Nichols, RD

5 cups rolled oats (or a combination of different whole grains - experiment and see what you like)
5 cups nuts and seeds (again experiment - almonds, walnuts, pumpkin, pecans, sunflower, flax, sesame - what every you like)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
½ cup maple syrup or honey (or your favorite fruit jam or jelly)
2 Tbsp canola oil
Optional:
½ cup dried fruit (If you use dried fruit, add it AFTER the granola comes out of the oven, otherwise they turn into rock hard jaw breakers that will send your dentist’s kids to college).
½ cup unsweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.
Stir the wet ingredients into the dry, mixing well.
Place granola in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake for approximately 1 hours turning granola every 15 minutes until golden brown.

Store in an air tight container in the freezer to protect the oils in the nuts and seeds.

Eat as a cereal, use in a parfait, as a topper for ice cream or as a crumble for a baked fruit dessert. Enjoy!

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Hello! My name is Kelly and I am a 2nd year Master's student in Nutrition at Bastyr University. I am passionate about food and how it affects our health. Part of nutrition is talking about current issues, hot topics and emerging research...and I love to talk (or in this case type). This blogspot is a great place to combine the two.
As a clinician I will give lifestyle and eating advice to my clients: eat a whole food based diet, exercise, reduce stress, get adequate sleep, etc.... As a student, that doesn't happened as often as I would like or need. So, it's time to put my money where my mouth is!
I plan to follow my own advice and see if I actually get the results I believe will happen: mental, physical and emotional health!
Over the next weeks I will tell you about my struggles and (hopefully) successes to lose the 10 pounds I have gained while in school, and improve my strength and flexibility. Mixed in will be different topics about food and health that are specific to my journey and some things I just find interesting. I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

What is a whole food based diet? It’s eating food that has as little processing and refining as possible. When you look at a food, can you imagine it growing? An example would be whole, roasted red potatoes compared to French fries, an apple vs. applesauce, homemade vs. from a box. As it was once explained to me whole food is like a complete sentence. Your body can read it, understand it and do something with it. Processed/refined foods are sentences with missing letters and words. Your body doesn’t know how to read it, understand it or use it very well.

Exercise or physical activity is very important for health and disease prevention. This doesn’t mean you have to go overboard (not all of us are Arnold Schwarzenegger). For me, walking my dog, swimming with my niece or mowing the lawn are great ways to get exercise without spending large amounts of money for a gym membership, special exercise equipment or work out clothes.

Reducing stress means to me relaxing my mind & body: cooking, reading, writing, gardening, hiking and swimming are great stress relievers. Getting enough sleep also reduces stress…speaking of sleep…I’ve rattled on long enough for now. Stay tuned for more….