Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to worry about lunch. I absolutely adore brunch/breakfast foods and I can spend hours reviewing dinner menus.  But lunch? Eh. I know I’m not the only who feels this way because I talk to a lot of people who either don’t eat lunch or eat very little. But even though I don’t get excited about it, I do my best to eat a quality lunch.

When people speak to me about struggling with their weight, one of the first questions I ask them is how much they eat during the day. The ones who are having the hardest time are usually the ones who eat very little all day. The “diet mentality” from past decades - that it’s better to eat less - is a very one dimensional way to address food and weight loss. Certainly, we should treat food like we treat money - we should not consume (spend) more than we burn off (earn). But we also have to address the timing of meals - breakfast is crucial but lunch also plays a key role in keeping our bodies fit.

Studies indicate that regular, well-timed meals throughout the day help people shed pounds and also prevent heart disease, diabetes, and even aging. The old proverb, “Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper,” now has scientific verification.

When I worked on a kibbutz in Israel from 1995-96, one of the first things I noticed was that they ate their heaviest, hottest meal at lunch time. Many other countries also distribute their meals differently than Americans - studying other cultures can help us re-think how we eat in the middle of the day.

If nothing else, remember to eat some protein at lunch time. While waiting in the salad line at delis in New York City, I’d watch many people ask for only vegetables in their salads. They were eating too lightly! I’m guessing that later in the day, the vending machine will start beckoning…. Eating smart is all about thinking ahead - addressing the body’s hunger throughout the day instead of trying to deny it.

You accomplish several things by eating a “princely” meal in the middle of the day:

1) Eating a good lunch means you’ll be less susceptible to crappy, nutrient-less foods like the stale cookies at work or leftovers from your child’s lunch box.

2) You are more likely to hit the gym in the afternoon or after work. If you go to the gym in the morning, it’s especially important to eat a solid lunch so that you don’t become so hungry that you end up making poor eating choices later in the day.

3) One of the biggest pitfalls of not eating enough during the day is the inevitable binging in the evening. Of course the body is going to want to eat everything in sight when it hasn’t gotten much food all day! It’s not a lack of will power - it’s a matter of physiology. The body needs frequent meals or else it’s going to demand all of it’s daily calories at night - plus some extra just in case you starve it again the next day.

I recently bought the book, Cook This, Not That by David Zinczenko and Matt Goulding.  It’s kind of a goofy marketing strategy but this series of books and their website contains a lot of great information. Cook This, Not That compares the cost of preparing a meal at home versus eating out. It also lists the calories of meals from different restaurant chains. While I’m not big on calorie counting - it’s worth noting that some salads at California Pizza Kitchen have enough calories for a woman’s entire daily needs!

Many of the recipes are easy, they don’t use a lot of ingredients and have good photos. For those of you who prefer heartier lunches, check out the meatier dishes in Cook This, Not That! or Tom Colicchio’s delicious cookbook, ‘wichcraft: Craft a Sandwich into a Meal.

Grilled Chicken Salad with Cranberries, Avocado, and Goat Cheese

12 oz cooked chicken
12 cups arugula (1 bag)
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1 avocado, pitted, peeled, and sliced
1/4 cup crumbled goat cheese
1/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped
1/4 cup Honey Mustard Vinaigrette (see below)
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine the chicken, arugla cranberries, avocado, goat cheese, walnuts, vinaigrette, salt, and pepper in a large bowl (or tupperware to take to work). Use two forks to incorporate the dressing (or bring it in a separate smaller container to add right before you eat).

Dressing: 1/2 tablespoon honey, 1 tablespoon Dijon, 2 tablespoon red or white wine vinegar, 1/4 cup canola oil, and salt pepper.

Recipe from Cook This, Not That!
Calories: 500
Cost per serving: $2.64

California Pizza Kitchen Waldorf Chicken Salad
Calories: 1,644
Cost per serving: $12.99

Food. Healthy. Diets. Eating. Cooking. Sustainable. Local. All big buzz words for 2010. I have dozens of blog posts ruminating in my head that cover all of these topics - attempts to clarify all of this Food Confusion and help people get back on track. But today, I am going to talk about popcorn.

Twice yesterday, I encountered the tell-tale smell of microwave popcorn. And it got me thinking about how people are trying to eat healthier - but struggle with finding the time to prepare food from scratch. I’m particularly passionate about popcorn - love the stuff. When I make it, I prepare it on the stove in a pot with some oil - “old-fashioned” style. It takes me approximately 5-6 minutes. The only ingredients I use are: popcorn kernels, oil, and kosher salt.

Microwave popcorn, on the other hand, takes roughly 3 minutes to “cook.” It contains all kinds of processed ingredients including: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Salt, Natural Flavors, Annatto For Coloring, Soy Lecithin and/or Palm Oil and Freshness Preserved With Tbhq and Citric Acid. (It’s pretty cool that you can read the nutrition labels on packages via Amazon.com). In 2007, they discovered a chemical in microwave popcorn that causes lung problems.

We certainly like things to be instantaneous! Even if it means saving us just a few minutes. It never ceases to make me laugh when I take pictures of my nieces and nephews on my digital camera and they immediately say, “Let me see it!” We are so spoiled by technology now that we often forget that it’s the things that take a little time that we usually savor the most in life.

Last summer, I made popcorn for my Healthcorps students who are in their early 20’s. They were drooling over it. You would have thought I made them a gourmet 5-course meal - because most of them had never had it before! It not only tastes much better but it’s MUCH cheaper and it’s made with “real” ingredients our bodies recognize and know how to digest.

We can keep buying “100-calorie packs” and trying to go that route which, clearly hasn’t worked well for us over the past 20 years. Or, we can face the fact that our bodies want to consume food grown naturally - not engineered in a laboratory. Mother Nature’s food. If we cut out the chemicals, we will notice a lot of positive changes in our health including our energy levels, our skin, our weight, our moods and so on. This is especially important for kids - chemicals in processed foods are linked to all kinds of health, weight, and behavioral problems in children. Michael Pollan just discussed how crucial it is to eat “real” foods with Oprah last week.

I realize that it’s not easy to eat completely chemical-free these days. All we can do is keep making small differences in our diet - take baby steps toward a “cleaner” way of eating. Since processed foods are everywhere, we need to take every chance we can to reach for “real” foods - and save the “instant meals” for road trips and weekday evenings when everyone is exhausted.

Preparing a meal from scratch doesn’t take as long as you’d think. A UCLA study found that those making meals from scratch spent almost the same amount of time preparing dinner than those making a meal from partially-prepared, “convenient” foods. While developing recipes for my cookbook, I discovered that making (gourmet) macaroni and cheese from scratch takes roughly the same amount of time as it does to prepare it from a box.

So, next time you’re looking for a snack - instead of pulling out the chips or packaged foods, pull out a bag of popcorn kernels.

JULIE’S HOMEMADE POPCORN
One of my chef friends drizzles truffle oil over popcorn for a decadent snack. You can add all kinds of ingredients and spices: nutritional yeast, parmesan, cinammon sugar, or chili powder. This recipe yields a pretty big batch because I like to eat it the next day or put it in snack bags to take to work.

1/4 cup vegetable oil (I’m into grapeseed lately)
3/4 - 1 cup popcorn kernels (Organic, if possible)
Kosher salt to taste (Kosher or sea salt always trump table salt)

In a Dutch oven (or 8 quart pan), heat oil on medium to high heat. When it starts to shimmer (after a few minutes), add a popcorn kernel. When the oil starts to sizzle around the kernel, add the rest of the kernels. (I use a full cup in a Dutch oven which overflows a little when it’s fully popped.) Cover with tightly fitted lid.

Jiggle the pan just a little bit while the kernels start to heat up (you might need to use hot pads to hold the pan). When they all start to pop at once, jiggle the pan with more force so that the bottom pieces don’t burn. As soon as the popping sound starts to slow down, lower heat, jiggle for another minute or so and pull it off the heat. Salt and enjoy.

For more information on how chemicals in food can affect health, especially with regards to children, check out Robyn O’Brien’s new book, The Unhealthy Truth.

It’s a new year, a new decade - and there are a lot of folks looking for a new way to eat. Since we rang in the new year, I’ve noticed many articles about making changes and people’s panicked notions about food and weight. There is no question that it’s hard to make changes - especially when it comes to food. So, for a long time, I tried coming up with the best possible “diet” concept to help people achieve better health. I’ve come to realize, however, that there is no one-diet-fits-all - we are all so different! Our bodies, our cravings, our weaknesses, our strengths, our lifestyles, and our metabolisms - how could one diet work for every single American?

Yet people are still searching for the magic bullet. And fortunately, we are getting a little closer. I was glad to see that the top ten 2009 diet books addressed important topics like improving metabolism, starting the day with breakfast, and eating foods that make you happy. And then, there is always Michael Pollan’s food rules and excellent advice to: eat foods, not too much, mostly plants.

There are some great nuggets of information out there but maybe, it’s not a specific diet we are looking for but rather, it’s a matter of finding methods to make change. We need a breakthrough in developing techniques to change our habits and palates. Otherwise, we could stumble across the best diet ever - but if we can’t shift ourselves over to it, then it’s a moot point. It also boils down to customizing a way of eating that works for each individual.

While traveling, I caught up on my magazine reading and came across some interesting articles about REAL people who made huge changes in their lives - using various eating and exercising strategies. People magazine (January 11 issue) featured regular folks shedding half their body weight - no gimmicks, no personal trainers, and no surgery.

While I was reading, I focused less on WHAT they were doing - since different methods worked for each of them - and instead, zeroed in on HOW they were doing it. Here are some of the themes that I noticed:

They each had an A-ha moment. No matter how trivial it was (i.e. wanting smaller jeans), they each had a “trigger” moment that made them realize that continuing as they were sounded infinitely more exhausting than doing something about it.

They found inspiration - for some it’s their kids, for others it’s being able to shop in any store. It’s much easier to motivate when we have a reason -  whether it’s a Breast Cancer fundraising walk or the dream of being able to fit into a kayak.

They started small. This is so important! One woman said, “the first thing I did was just park further away from where I was driving.” Pick one or two realistic goals to start with and keep cheering yourself on.

They asked for support. They had at least one family member, friend, or instructor/trainer who offered them encouragement and advice. If you feel like you need extra support, there are lots of resources online including SparkPeople.com and LiveStrong.com.

They used technology. Some of them downloaded applications to their phones while others recorded their diets in an online journal. Take advantage of what’s already on the internet.

They re-trained their palates. This is key - we have to love our new way of eating or else we won’t continue with it. This is why I teach cooking for a living - it’s behavior modification at it’s best. Find new foods that your taste buds LOVE and that make you feel GOOD. As one Biggest Loser contestant said, “I literally can’t eat ‘bad’ foods. My taste buds have changed and I crave the healthy stuff.”

They started eating whole foods. Instead of following a diet fad, they completely altered their approach to food.  They cut out fast food and products made in laboratories - and replaced them with foods that exist in nature. In Oprah magazine’s article, “Can You Transform Your Whole Life in 60 Days?” Paige Williams noticed that she “was hungrier on the drive-through diet of probably 3,000 calories a day than I am now on half that amount.”

They learned to forgive themselves. When they fell off their new regiment, they understood that the pathway to change is sometimes 5 steps forward and 1 step back. They didn’t let setbacks stop them from achieving their goal.

They created new habits. This is the key to creating change. For every old habit we want to quit, it helps if we replace it with a new one. This helps the brain re-wire itself. For more on implementing new habits, check out Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink.

Most importantly, they didn’t give up! They had a vision and they kept moving towards that goal. This goes for any dream. Keep at it. You can do it.

“Nothing in the world can take the place of Persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan ‘Press On’ has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” -Calvin Coolidge

I have a pet peeve. All right, so I have more than a few pet peeves. But a major food pet peeve is when I try to serve a homemade dessert to someone, either in class, or in a social setting, and they decline. Now, if they have a health concern (diabetes, celiac, etc.) or religious restrictions, of course, I completely understand. But you’d be surprised at how often people say “no” and admit that they don’t have a good reason for turning it down.

It’s rare these days that someone offers a fresh-out-of-the-oven homemade dessert that they lovingly prepared from scratch so it’s my policy to answer in only one way: “YES, ABSOLUTELY. Thank YOU!” I often don’t take a huge piece (I can always go back for more!) and I may not eat the entire thing but my philosophy is that one never, ever turns down homemade goodies. There is something so personal about baking something from scratch - you put a little bit of yourself into each decadent bite - and it feels so good to give some of your own “sugar” to someone else.

We’re heading into holiday season and the articles and magazine covers will be pleading with you to watch what you eat - when in reality, most Americans gain only 1 pound between Thanksgiving and New Years. Of course, as a nutritionist, I encourage people to find ways to stay fit and healthy all year long - but I also think it’s important to remember to enjoy that healthy life. And homemade goods are so much a part of that.

This concept came up in my Whole Foods cooking class at Bastyr last week, when my students were indulging in the Apple and Cranberry Crisp recipe they had just finished preparing. We had an array of optional creamy accessories: organic vanilla bean ice cream, creme fraiche, or soy ice cream. When everyone sat down to eat their dessert, the room was silent - always a good sign. I reminded the class that eating “well” goes beyond nutrients and the components of food. We also have to feed the soul. Eating a homemade dish prepared by someone you know gives the cells in your body a little bit love - which they need as much as they do vitamins and minerals.

So, if you’re looking for a way to share some of your own “sugar love”, try out this stellar autumn recipe developed by a dear friend and colleague, Jennifer Clair. It’s so good, you won’t even notice that there are some nutrients and fiber in it. Seriously, you can never go wrong with a crisp -  cooked fruit with sugar on top? Yum.

Apple and Cranberry Crisp

Take the kids apple picking and have them help with the preparation of the dish: peeling, sprinkling, and squeezing the lemon are favorite tasks for them.

For the filling:
5 medium apples, such as McIntosh, Gala, or Fuji, peeled and cored
½ cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, for dish

For the topping:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
¾ cup chopped toasted walnuts
½ cup rolled oats
½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
½ cup packed light-brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt

Vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche, for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Cut the apples into 1-inch pieces, and transfer to a large bowl. Add cranberries, lemon juice, and sugar, and toss to combine. Butter a 9×13 glass baking dish, and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine all the topping ingredients and stir until combined.

Pour apples into the prepared dish. Spread the topping mixture evenly across the fruit. Bake until the fruit is soft and the topping crisp, about 35 minutes, watching carefully that topping doesn’t brown too much. Let cool 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or crème fraiche.

Preparation time: 1 hour
Serves 6-8
Recipe adapted from Jennifer Clair, Founder of Home Cooking New York which provides private and group cooking classes in New York City and the Hudson Valley. She is also the author of the forthcoming Gourmet Cooking on a Budget (Globe Pequot Press, Spring 2010) with Michalene Busico

I just got back from the annual Community Food Security Coalition (CFSC) conference which took place in Des Moines, Iowa, or as some call it, “the belly of the beast.” Iowa grows the majority this country’s food but, strangely, Iowans import 80% of the food that lands on their dinner table.  Doesn’t make sense, right?

This is the crux of what’s happened to our food system - our farmers are super efficient at growing food but can’t use their crops of corn and soy to feed their own families. I’ve been reading about these issue for years - but let me tell you, reading about it and standing in a farmer’s field next to hogs are two entirely different experiences. My field trip entitled, “Farmers Tell It Like It is,” which took us on a tour of Iowa farms, was extremely enlightening.

A chasm has been growing between writers like Michael Pollan and farmers who work in the field. I have to admit that I didn’t quite understand why the farmers are so angry with Michael Pollan. But as I listened to Jerry Peckumn, a farmer, stand in his fields explaining how difficult it would be to shift from large, conventional farming to small, organic farming, I realized how complicated it really is. And this is the interesting part: Jerry is into eco-friendly farming practices - he raises what are essentially free-range, organic cattle. Yet, he has concluded that it just isn’t economically feasible to switch over to a more sustainable way of farming. He said he’d be more likely to try it if he had more data but he couldn’t find it. Currently, our government gives farmers only one real option: grow conventional soy, corn or wheat - or go broke. Check out this video of one of the farmer’s we visited, George Naylor, describe why big farms keep getting bigger. (This picture is from a conventional farm - you can see how huge the equipment is.)

Farmers are SMART. They can do something that most of us can’t: grow enough food to feed others. Second, they have an incredible grasp of food politics and the complicated legislation that goes along with crop subsidies. And third, they have mastered the intricate, ecological connection between land, animals, and water - I had to ask Jerry several times to explain why simply planting prairie grass improved a host of environmental problems.  And this was just in the first 2 hours of the field trip!

I could wax on about all of the issues that farmers are facing right now - but I will let someone with more expertise do that for me. Jill Richardson, who I had the pleasure of meeting while on the Farmer Field trip, writes the blog, La Vida Locavore and covers all of these topics and more. I bought one of her books, Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It, right there on the bus. (And please note, that I still think that Michael Pollan’s work is brilliant - it’s important that we see both sides of the issue.)

The best part of the whole day, of course, was being fed a home cooked meal by Chris Henning, one of our lovely tour guides, at the Wilbeck farm, aptly named Farmhouse Life. We sat down to a mouthwatering meal made from local foods: Corn Bread, Beef and Vegetables, Black Beans and Corn Salad, Jack’s Favorite Biscuits, Grandma’s Rye Bread and my all-time favorite dish, Squash Casserole - which was divine.

We then visited a dairy farm, Picket Fence Creamery where Jill Burkhart and her husband sell dairy products and other locally produced food items at their country store. I found it amazing that as her customers walked away with their food, she called out to them by name. What a concept that we have lost in this country: knowing the people who grow and prepare our food by name.

The Burkharts served us each a huge piece of homemade apple pie and their homemade ice cream. (YUM.) Ordinarily, I can’t eat ice cream - it causes me tummy problems. But the Picket Fence Creamery ice cream? I was just fine. This is something that I’m going to continue to investigate: the fact that much of our food intolerances and other health problems may not be linked to the actual food but how it was grown, produced and prepared.

The rest of the conference was incredibly informative and I met some extremely dynamic people who are doing everything that they can to make sure that the food you put on your table is of the highest quality possible.

In the mean time, I will leave you with some wonderful insight from a cookbook I bought at the Burkhart’s country store, Grandma’s Recipes - Recipes from the 20’s, 30’s and 40’s. Here is advice from Grandma Horst and Grandma Hoover:

“There is one important point to remember: Do not feed a child too many cakes and cookies, so that plain foods are slighted.”

You tell it like it is, Grandma!

[THANK YOUS to the Greene County folks who coordinated our tour: Chris Henning, Jerry Peckumn, George Naylor, Chris & Kevin Wilbeck]

This past weekend was a major family event – we gathered together to celebrate the birth of my two new nephews. All three of my siblings and three of my cousins (who are like siblings) were in town with their respective families. As usual, every gathering revolves around a meal. This time it was at my Auntie Janet’s house – who, like most of my family members, is a wonderful cook.

After we stampeded the buffet table and piled our plates high with my aunt’s homemade delicacies, I noticed that my 5 year old nephew - who makes most picky eaters look like serious gourmands - gobbled up his borecas (Sephardic potato and cheese pastries - they are in left corner of photo). Even this little guy who could live on just French fries and pizza, already shared the family love of home cooking: at age 5, his palate was already being “trained” to eat the real deal.

Observing my nephew made me think about how we often hear about the importance of introducing new foods to children - but rarely do we talk about refining their palates. Because the truth is, the more refined our palates are, the less likely we will indulge in an unworthy food.

When we regularly consume really scrumptious, superb meals, we are much less likely to reach for a carefully engineered “item,” otherwise, known as processed foods. It can be hard to figure out how to teach kids to be healthful with the rise of childhood obesity – but simply exposing them to quality meals (which happens to be fun for everyone) will minimize their preference for processed foods and set up good eating habits for life.

Turn them into food snobs (without spending a fortune):

1) Many children are naturally picky, which is normal, and will eventually  outgrow it. But if the child continues to be treated as a picky eater and never offered anything new, then their meal repertoire will never expand. I was out to dinner with my 6 year old niece - who is actually a very adventurous eater - but when I offered her soy sauce for her rice, my brother started to say she didn’t like it.  She stopped him and said she tried it at school and liked it. Keep offering new foods - they will often surprise you.

2) When you eat in a restaurant, disregard the kids menu (which is often not as healthful) and instead have them pick something from the main menu. If you don’t see many dishes that are kid-friendly, check out which vegetables and proteins are on the menu – and create your own meal. Many chefs want happy customers and are more than willing to prepare simple dishes like steamed broccoli and cauliflower or plain grilled chicken. Discuss the menu options with the kids and ask them to be creative in coming up with a meal. I’ve spoken to many people whose kids are sophisticated eaters - and a lot of that is because they keep the food conversation going.

3) Find eateries that have naturally healthful cuisines like Asian or Mediterranean restaurants. The Seattle restaurant, Boom Noodle, has wonderful bento boxes for kids that include a protein entrée, edamame, fruit and rice – all “real” food and I watched kids all over the restaurant chow down on them.

4) While cooking at home (or eating out), if your kids still opt for the usual wheat-and-dairy fare, try offering a few side dishes that will provide some extra nutrients like black beans, raw or cooked vegetables, fruit, brown rice, cubed tofu, corn, olives, sliced avocados, or any other healthful ingredients. Offer the most nutritious foods first, while they are hungry, and after they’ve had a few bites, then bring out the rest of the meal.

5) Try to use high-quality ingredients as much as possible and help them learn how to pay attention to how food tastes and smells – to enjoy and savor each bite. Ask them to describe what it tastes like - they are very imaginative. Set up a taste test between a tomato shipped in from far away and a tomato from someone’s garden. And of course, my usual advice: get them cooking!

If we put delicious, “real” food in front of children, they will eat it. And likewise, if we keep putting processed foods in front of them, they will eat that too – so let’s get them hooked on real food that’s full of nutrients as young as possible!

Read this article to find out how it’s never to early to expose children to strong flavors!

Stay tuned for the next post where I will share my family recipe (and photos) on how to prepare borecas.

My brothers, cousins, and the kids eating together.