When Two World's Collide

It’s true; I haven’t always been the fountain of good health. As a matter of fact, for as long as I can remember, I’ve loved to bake. As a pre-teen, one of my first successes in the dessert arena was butterscotch pie, a wonderful concoction of butterscotch pudding and classic pie dough. Cakes and cookies and pies fed my sugar addiction. Thankfully, I’ve recently been able to “healthify” some of my all time favorite baked goods. Though possible, it seems somewhat sacrilege to do so with the following signature formula.  

My eldest daughter was fourteen or fifteen when I discovered a most wonderful cookie recipe. Found on the back of a package of Imperial Margarine, “Regal Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies” quickly became a family favorite. The year was approximately 2003. Erin was a freshman in high school; her friends were a bevy of boy craziness. I write this confidently remembering the batches of cookies that were made to soothe the boyfriend break-ups. After a time of offering such solace, the need arose to put certain limits on my generosity: Only one batch per boy and only one batch every other month. It seemed as though perhaps these young women were discarding relationships in order to receive the goodies!

While I’m not sure how it happened, this also became the cookie of choice to honor the birthday of the teenager's friends. To this day, if one notes his or her birthday on my kitchen calendar, I will make a batch of what are now known as “Momma Bear Cookies”.

This particular cookie has also become "famous" amongst the choristers at TC West High School. My last choir member is a senior this year, and as I move into what will be the last season as a volunteer for the school musical, I feel it very important to pass along the recipe to those up and coming- parents and choir members alike.

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter

1 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 ½ cups flour

1 tsp. baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

3 cups uncooked oatmeal (I prefer old fashioned, but quick oats work just fine)

12 oz. chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat butter until light. Add sugars; beat until fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beat well. Add flour, baking soda and salt; mix well. Stir in oatmeal and chocolate chips until thoroughly combined. Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls onto a cookie sheet (I like to line mine with parchment paper for easy clean up). Bake 10-12 minutes or until cookies are just set. Do not overbake. Makes about 5 dozen.

Marvelous Minestrone

One of the wonderful perks of being involved with “The Biggest Winner” program in the Fall of 2010 was that we participants received weekly recipes via email. These were fabulous clean-eating recipes that, for the most part, required just rudimentary knowledge of the kitchen. Lifted from Clean Eating magazine, this recipe continues to be one of my favorites. Incredibly versatile, I’ve used this soup pot as the perfect landing place for those less than savory veggies left in the produce drawer of the fridge. It’s also through this formula that I learned about that wonderful, protein-packed pseudo-grain, quinoa. I put this soup together just about every other week. Made on either the stove top, or in the slow cooker, it sits well in the fridge and is the perfect after yoga meal.

For the first few months, I used canned tomatoes and cannelloni beans when making this soup. Recently, however, I’ve learned to take the time to start with fresh veggies and dry beans- the result, both taste and health wise, is well worth the effort.

[See a report on recent research at:  http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/22/bpa-lurks-in-canned-soups-and-drinks]

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 medium carrots, diced (approx 1 cup)

1 cup fennel

6 cups low sodium chicken broth (or vegetable broth if making a vegetarian option)

1 cup red onion diced

2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 bay leaves

2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

¼ tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1 ½ cups cooked cannelloni beans (white kidney beans), rinsed and drained

2 cups fresh plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced

1/3 cup uncooked quinoa

kosher salt and ground black pepper to taste

1 cup fresh spinach, cut chiffonade

tbsp basil, thinly sliced

2 oz. Parmigianino Reggiano, finely grated (about ½ cup), optional

Directions

§         In a large heavy bottomed pot, heat oil over medium heat.

§         Add carrots, fennel, onion, garlic, bay leaves, thyme and fennel seeds, and cook, stirring often, until vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.

(If using a slow cooker, a large skillet can be used for these first two steps. Vegetables should be transferred to the cooker when tender.)

§         Add 6 cups low sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth, beans, tomatoes and quinoa.

§         Heat to boiling then reduce heat to low and simmer until quinoa is tender, about 20 minutes.

§         Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper.

Oh Green Soup, how I love thee!

I was first introduced to the concept of green soup by my nutritional counselor. Now, I know how that sounds- kind of “hoity, toity”- but honestly, nutritional counseling has been one of the best investments in me that I’ve ever made. I tend toward “know-it-all-ness” and generally need a good kick in the pants to come back to reality. Dr. Julie has a rather gentle, yet direct foot.

About 80 days into a 60 day yoga challenge, I walked into Dr. Julie’s office with complaints of feeling lethargic and having a tough time getting through yoga class. (You may note that I didn’t say work day; you need to know that yoga takes priority over almost everything else. It’s true. I’m an addict) I was completely baffled by the way my body was acting; Dr. Julie however would have rolled her eyes at me if she had allowed herself. “What are you eating, Becky?” -she started with the questions. “And you’ve done one Bikram yoga class per day for approximately 2 ½ months?”; “What makes you think that you’re fueling your body well?” (Ouch, that one hurt). “I want you to go to the grocery store and pick up every green vegetable you find. Then go home and throw them all into a soup pot together. You are severely low in minerals and need to get your body back up to speed pronto.” (No, these weren’t her actual words, but this is the way I heard them).

I’m no dummy, so I did as I was told. Not only did I create the most fantastic tasting soup, I felt the effects immediately. What a panacea!

Fast forward about six months. I was reading through the October 2011 issue of Eating Well magazine. There on page 78 is an article entitled, “The Soup for Life” by Anna Thomas. The article contains five wonderful green soup recipes; the one you’ll find below is for Basic Green Soup.

The concept of green soup is very simple- use any and as many green vegetables as you like. Puree it if you want a creamy soup (I always do). I like to use rice or potatoes to thicken.

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

2 large yellow onions chopped

1 tsp salt divided

2 tbs plus 3 cups water

1 yam (smallish)

1 bunch kale

approx 14 cups spinach

4 cups vegetable broth

big pinch cayenne pepper

lemon juice to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add onions and 1/4 tsp salt; cook, stirring frequently until onions start turning brown (about 5 min). Reduce heat and add 2 tbs water. Cook, stirring occasionally (cover between stirs) until onions are reduced and have a deep caramel color- 25-30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, combine 3 cups water and ¾ tsp salt in a soup pot; add the diced yam. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Trim the white ribs out of the kale; coarsely chop kale and spinach.
3. When yam is soft, add the kale. Cook for 10 minutes. When the onions are caramelized, stir them into the soup pot with spinach, broth and cayenne. Return to simmer, cover and cook until spinach is tender but still bright green- about 5 minutes more.
4. Puree the soup in the pot with an immersion blender until smooth or in a regular blender in batches (return to pot). Stir in 1 tbs lemon. Taste and add more if desired.

Why Clean Eating?

In September 2010, my daughter Bridget came to me and asked if I’d join her in an 8 week program our chiropractor’s had designed- “The Biggest Winner”. Now, I’m no dummy and I know that anytime my 16 year old asks me to do something with her, I say yes (as long as the request is within reason, of course). There was a financial commitment, and Brig was willing to pay her way, so we signed up for what was billed to be a “jump-start” to healthier living.

Now, me being me, I signed up to “support” Bridget; I knew I had a handle on this healthy lifestyle. After all, I had my 5-6 day per week Bikram yoga practice, I had the food pyramid memorized, was careful to eat 5-7 servings of fruit and vegetables per day and only ate sweets every once in a while, well, unless I was baking cookies or there was a “need” to drive to Moomers. In my mind, I had this thing licked. I chose to ignore the fact that I had been on a plateau with my weight for over a year. Logic dictates that eating healthfully on a regular basis along with regular exercise would equal weight loss, right? Apparently I wasn’t doing as great a job as I thought. Reality can be painful sometimes.  

Clean eating can be described as eating food as close to it’s original form as possible: if it’s from a plant, eat it; if it’s made in a plant, don’t. I began to rid my diet of almost all refined products- especially prepackaged and canned, and started to read labels rejecting anything with more than 3-6 ingredients. By limiting the chemicals we ingest with our food, we naturally fuel our bodies at a higher level. Personally, I’ve found that I have more energy, my skin is clearer and food actually tastes different- BETTER. And I drink lots of water. And then a lot more. My body has thanked me by maintaining a higher level of functioning.

As we started the Biggest Winner program, I quickly saw that I was going to have to change my life a bit. I wasn’t sure how I was going to be able to fit everything in on a daily basis- work, working out, cooking, sleeping- there just weren’t enough hours in the day. Though one of joys of the Biggest Winner was that we were given seven healthy dinner recipes every week complete with a shopping list, it was that precious time resource that I saw lacking.

Within a couple of weeks of starting the Biggest Winner, I found that to be successful I would have to take the time to cook where I had it- on the weekend. Over the past year, I’ve gotten into a groove of planning what I will cook on Friday afternoon, and adjust my shopping list to suit. Early Saturday morning, I’m up and shopping. By noon, I’ve got my plan of attack and have prepped my first dish. Not so oddly, I’ve found that I ADORE time in my kitchen making healthy meals. [It’s important to note here that the food pyramid has been redesigned in my mind to include vegetables at the bottom, then protein, fruit next & whole grains near the top.]

I’ve run through the Biggest Winner recipes and return to them often. I’ve also begun to “healthify” other recipes that I find online. As my taste buds changed I found that I didn’t like the bread that I could buy, so I started baking my own; same with granola. I’m so excited to cook that I share my joy via social networking- Facebook. Not long ago a few friends asked if they could cook with me. What a gift that request has been! While I’m no expert, I do know how I’ve been able to make this change in my life and am blessed to be able to share the experience with others.

Having become a bit of a food tyrant, I continue to educate myself. To start, I highly recommend any book by Michael Pollan, the movies “Food Inc.” and “Forks Over Knives”. Personal responsibility dictates that the more I know, the more responsible I become for my own health. My greatest hope is that more people will begin to make the necessary changes in favor of health. Our country has some staggering statistics in regard to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and several other crises that could be averted through lifestyle changes. It’s really very simple, however not easy. Change very rarely is. Bottom line- We’re only given one body; our job is to be good stewards of this gift.

Why Bikram Yoga?

This past Saturday night, I watched the bi-annual Bikram Yoga Teacher Training Graduation. It was live-streamed, so I was able to watch Bikram as he spoke, sending the freshly educated on their way. Though The Man is thoroughly engaging, one sentence continues to stick out: “The yoga will make you love yourself.” In a nutshell, this is why I practice.

For close to 49 years I’ve been told by therapists, best friends, more than one lover, and probably a kid or two that I need to learn to love myself. Easier said than done; the funny thing about me is that I’m just not able to turn that love on. To me, love is an action word, a verb, not a noun. That being said, in order to love myself, I must act the part. This is where Bikram yoga comes in. After practicing for over five years, I’m still amazed at the affect the yoga has on me- physical, emotionally, mentally- it clears me on all levels. It’s this yoga “magic” that keeps me coming back. Bikram has changed my life.

It certainly helps that I’ve got an addictive personality; I’ve come to adore and rely on the almost daily infusion of endorphins into my system. But that’s just a part of the physical/chemical reaction. In the 5+ years as a devotee, I’ve dropped approximately 40 pounds (of that total, ten were gained back, lost again, gained back…). My body has changed dramatically, from a size 18/20 to a 12. I’ve given up anti-depressants and that old knee injury? Well, it’s still stiff from time to time, but the pain is gone and range of motion has drastically improved. But this is just the physical- the measureable stuff. More important to me is how my internal landscape has changed.

I went to my first Bikram class in July of 2006. I know what you’re thinking- “You, Becky, made a conscious decision to walk into a room where the temperature is 105 degrees and the humidity is set to 50% in the middle of the summer?” Yes, yes I did. My sister had begun practicing earlier that spring and had been singing the praises of her hot room experience for months. But that wasn’t enough for me. Barb had practiced yoga for years and to this hard-core athlete, yoga had a “whimpy” status in my brain. Seriously, I thought, who does yoga when trying to get a good workout? You know my type- the runner, weight lifter, “varsity letter in three sports”- little did I know that I’m just the type of person who needs yoga.  

A co-worker finally helped focus my attention on Bikram; she offered me a free pass! That’s my price. I checked out the class schedule and found a 6:30am class that would fit into my day; this wasn’t a huge stretch as I was normally up, out the door and hitting the pavement on my morning run by 5:30am. As instructed, I showed up a bit early for class, filled out some paperwork, got a brief overview- “the goal of your first class is to stay in the room”- then walked into the hot room. It had been suggested that I find a place in the back row, but since I was the first student in the room, I wasn’t sure which was front. I took my chances, rolled out my mat, placed my towel on top of it then sat down to wait.  Other students slowly began to trickle in- male, female, all shapes and sizes. Me being me, I began to compare myself to them physically; a bit of fear set it. There in the room with huge mirrors in front of me I was faced with- ME; all of me. I didn’t like what I saw. Then the lights came up, the instructor walked in and she welcomed us to class. And that is just about all I remember from my first Bikram yoga class. Oh, except for the part where we got to lie down and rest between the standing postures and floor series. I seriously thought we were done at that point and was quite disappointed when the instructor announced that we were now done with the warm-up. WTH?

What was it that compelled me to go back to a second class? Seriously, I think it was divine intervention. Never in my life had I done anything so physically challenging; it was even tougher than giving birth- to the twins! I maintained a 3 day-per-week routine through August and September. In October of 2006 I was relieved of my employment (I had never been fired before). Shortly thereafter I slipped and fell during an early morning run. I remember lying on the ground, holding my knee with tears streaming down my face and feeling as though I was loosing a grip on my life. The constants were slipping through my fingers. With no health insurance, I chose to go to Bikram instead of the doctor. The Bikram dialogue told me that the yoga could fix anything; I still believe that today. There are so many similarities between my yoga practice and my drug & alcohol recovery; first and foremost, like AA, with Bikram I just kept going back. It was the one thing I could rely on, the one thing that wouldn’t change.

In January of 2007, after just six months of regular practice, I dedicated myself to a 60-day challenge. 60 classes in 60 days. Still unemployed, this wasn’t a huge time commitment for me; but it was an emotional challenge. After being unemployed for three months, I was beginning to lose faith in myself. Money was tight, my faith was weak and the bills were piling up. But I got to a yoga class everyday. That discipline helped me to tap my inner resources of perseverance, persistence, determination and mostly, hope.

I’ve completed two more 60-day challenges since then, one the summer of 2008, and the third in January of 2011. Each time I learn more about myself, what I’m made of and what I’m capable of. I trust myself more. In March 2011 I set the goal to attend Bikram Teacher Training in the fall of 2012. This is pivotal timing for me; my youngest children will graduate from high school in June, my 50^th birthday is in August. What better gift to myself than to kick my yoga practice up a notch? Clearly there are not enough older, shapely female yoga teachers out there. More importantly, none are me- yet.

I’m motivated now to take even better care of myself physically, paying more attention to what goes into my body as fuel. My enthusiasm for clean eating has spilled onto my Facebook page to the extent that my friends have asked to come and cook with me. And this, THIS is what it’s all about; this is why we’re put in community together- to share our gifts and strengths to support one another. Because my friends, we’re all only as strong as our weakest link. This is love in action.

It's time to give this blogging thing a shot! (11/2011)

Admittedly I've entered into newer technological experiences rather hesitantly. I literally went kicking and screaming into the world of Facebook and texting. I will add, however, that I'm very glad to be in the midst of both. Not only am I able to "stalk" my young adult and teenage children on FB, I'm also able to keep up with old and new friends from around the country. And texting, well, is there a better way to send the same message to four offspring with a modicum of effort? It's not that I don't have time to communicate with my children, it's just so gosh darn convenient! But I digress...

For the past year or so I've been stepping into the "clean eating" realm; sometimes lightly, and sometimes with great force, yet always with thoughts of creating a healthier lifestyle. Lately, it's really stuck. Cooking with whole foods and almost always from scratch has it's challenges however. As a full-time worker and single mom, time is limited; and there's always my Bikram yoga addiction to consider (5-7 days per week...) All that being said, clean eating demands time planning, organizing and cooking. In a nutshell, to change my eating habits I've had to change my life by prioritizing how I spend my free time, ie. weekends. And happily, I've found that I greet my Friday afternoon planning time with glee.

New recipes and blogs are my good friends. I've taken to posting on my FB status what I'm cooking almost every Saturday. Often friends will request the recipes; and not too long ago the baby of the family said, "Mom, you need to start a blog." So here I am, hoping that this adventure will help me to organize and share the recipes; and thus help create a healthier world.