Paleo: were the ancestors right?

A diet that I have been hearing about for quite some time is the Paleo Diet. By definition, paleo means a healthy way of life because it is designed to work with your body’s genetics to help you stay lean, strong, and energetic, as according to robbwolf.com. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it or even if I should do it, but one of my friends said it was one of the best things she has ever done.

My friend, Dedee, is a vegetarian and has been for about a year. She said it was difficult at first because she was worried there would be very few options for her. That is when she started researching the paleo diet.

“I found it to be both helpful and easy to do. There are many different recipes that are easier to find on sites, such as Pinterest, than I thought.”

The basis of a healthy paleo diet is:

lean proteins- turkey, seafood, chicken

fruits and vegetables

healthy fats- avocados, olive oil, fish oil, nuts

The nice thing about this diet is that you don’t necessarily have to be vegetarian to get the proper benefits out of this diet. It is based on gaining a healthy lifestyle by eating a balance of foods.

Some of the benefits of this diet are (as according to robbwolf.com):

1. More effective workouts

2. Clear skin and better teeth

3. Improved sleep patterns

My goal for the next few weeks is to give the paleo life a try since I am going to be having surgery soon and won’t have the option to work out. I will also use the recommendations of the nutritionist from past posts, JoAnn Daehler-Miller, by buying frozen vegetables and frozen lean meats. Olive oil lasts a long time since you only need a little bit as well as nuts. I will let you all know my progress as I go!

Recipes to Impress Your Pals at Friendsgiving

So, it is getting closer and closer to Thanksgiving. Which for most means a week at home with a large meal around a family table. For a couple of my friends, however, it means a long week of late hours at work and tons of homework without being able to go home.

I have been invited to quite a few “friendsgivings” since I won’t be able to go home as well. Different people in my friend groups are both vegetarian and non vegetarian, so it got me to thinking what foods I was going to have at these gatherings.

I looked up on Pinterest some different recipes that are both healthy and low cost to give your friendsgivings some delicious options. The first article that I found useful is called “25 of the Best Paleo Thanksgiving Recipes.”

I have been hearing about the paleo diet quite a bit over the past couple years and according to paleocomfortfoods.com, the definition (to them) means eating real foods that are natural and healthy. These foods consist of lean meats, seafood, vegetables and fruit for carbs, and fats such as avocados. This means basically anything you could catch or grow.

In this article, two recipes stood out to me that look delicious for both my vegetarian/gluten free friends and my non vegetarian friends are Spicy Lime Sweet Potato Mash and Grain Free Dinner Rolls. Both recipes are both easy to make and only require a few ingredients. The ingredients that are common household items are salt, butter, eggs, and olive oil. The ingredients that are recipe specific are:

sweet potatoes (you can get at Walmart for between $.30-$.50 depending on how many you get)

lime or lime zest (less than $1)

tapioca (8oz is $3.12)

cilantro (around $3)

king arthur brand of gluten free flour ($6.14)

   

The biggest issue that comes with people who are vegetarian versus those who are non vegetarian is most obviously, meat. So, for my friends who are both, at my friendsgiving I would have a meat option and a non meat option. For a meat option, I would chose a recipe called Easy Crock-Pot Turkey and for the meatless option I would chose a recipe called Easy Brown Rice Risotto with Fresh Mushrooms and Oregano. Once again a lot of ingredients for these recipes can be household ingredients that you have every day, but the ingredients that are recipe specific are:

turkey ($18 at HyVee for a medium size bird)

yellow onions (chopped at Walmart for around $5)

minced garlic ($2.98)

vegetable broth ($2.88)

brown rice ($3.48)

baby portobello mushrooms (frozen for around $3)

oregano leaves ($2.48)

                                           

The best part of these recipes is that you can split up the cost with your friends! The prices match the quality of the food and the leftovers will be just as good as the meal!

Happy Thanks/Friendsgiving to everyone!

When In Doubt, Cook it Out

Two foods that I enjoy that go bad quickly are spinach and fish. It can become discouraging because they aren’t cheap foods either.

So, if you remember the tips from the Dietitian, JoAnn Daehler-Miller, from the University of Iowa Student Health and Wellness, she said a good way to make those foods last longer is to cook them.

I found two recipes that are not only easy to make, but have a lot of ingredients in them that I already have in my apartment. I didn’t see a point in going out and buying a bunch of ingredients for an extravagant meal for just myself.

Recipe 1: MaMa’s Supper Club Tilapia Parmesan

Servings: 4

Ingredients:
2 lbs tilapia fillets     (orange roughy, cod or red snapper can be substituted)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
3 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt (I like Old Bay seasoning here)
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
black pepper
1 dash hot pepper sauce

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In buttered 13-by-9-inch baking dish or jellyroll pan, lay fillets in single layer.
Do not stack fillets.
Brush top with juice.
In bowl combine cheese, butter, mayonnaise, onions and seasonings.
Mix well with fork.
Bake fish in preheated oven 10 to 20 minutes or until fish just starts to flake.
Spread with cheese mixture and bake until golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Baking time will depend on the thickness of the fish you use.
Watch fish closely so that it does not overcook.
Makes 4 servings.
Note: This fish can also be made in a broiler.
Broil 3 to 4 minutes or until almost done.
Add cheese and broil another 2 to 3 minutes or until browned.

Thank you Mama’s Supper Club in Wisconsin.

 

For this dish, you can take or leave the lemon juice and the hot sauce. I personally like them both so I used them. This recipe was easy to make and I enjoyed it.

This meal only cost me $6 because like I said, almost all the ingredients I already had in my apartment. The fish I bought was from HyVee.

 

Recipe 2: Egg Muffins

Makes 12 muffins (2 eggs each)
Ingredients:
1 carton of egg whites or 24 egg whites.
Options:
Baby spinach
chopped onion
chopped red pepper
chopped jalapeno
chopped ham or canadian bacon
chopped mushrooms
Sriracha sauce
shredded cheese

Directions: 
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Choose ingredients you prefer to use and maybe mix it up, so you have something different every day. chop if necessary.
-Spray pan
-Add chopped ingredients to each cup
-Add 1/3 cup liquid egg whites or 2 egg whites per cup
-Bake for 30 minutes.
-Immediately remove and let cool on a rack. Once cool, place 2 in a ziplock bag with no air to keep them all week in the fridge. In the morning, remove from bag and heat in microwave for 1 minute.

 

My favorite thing about this dish is that you can put in it whatever you like. The only major ingredient that is required are the eggs/egg whites. For mine I just used whole eggs because they are cheaper than the egg whites. For a carton of eggs at HyVee it is $1.69.

So for my egg muffins I chopped up yellow and orange sweet peppers and one tomato (plus the spinach of course). I didn’t have a chance to buy sausage or bacon for it but next time I am definitely going to add it. Again, you can take or leave the hot sauce. I liked it personally because it added a little extra kick of flavor to the muffin.

It is so easy to make and lasts the whole week for breakfast. This meal only cost me $10 and that was because the spinach was a bit pricey.

Quiona: How it Will Help You Save Money in a Delicious Way

As I was browsing my usual social media accounts (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) I came across this article on the account Buzzfeed Food called “21 Meat Alternatives You Should Be Cooking With.” Now, I love my meats as much as the next person, but I was curious so I went ahead and read the article anyway.

I was surprisingly pleased with the ideas this article gave and it brought to my attention some of the foods that I could make that would help me save money in the long run. A good example is one item in particular that has had a lot of  hype: quinoa (I added a link in case you aren’t sure what quinoa is).

I was first exposed to quinoa this semester because all of my roommates (yes all of them) eat it. I was skeptical to try it, since it kind of had a funny look to it. But my roommates assured me that I would like it and that it was not only good for you, but was also very filling. So, I tried it.

here is what the quiona grain looks like before it is cooked (picture via http://www.oaquinoa.com/wp-content/uploads/wp-checkout/images/white-quinoa-bag-1359589659.jpg)

 here is what [red] quinoa looks like once it is cooked (picture via http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Red_quinoa.png)

And I love it. It takes maybe 15 minutes to make it from the package that it comes in and makes a ton as well. What I like to do is make it as is and then put it away into a Tuberware or Ziplock container. When I want it, I can then pull it out and put whatever I want with it. I find quinoa to be a little bland when I first make it, so I put it with things like: hummus, corn, tomato sauce with mozzarella, or basically anything I think it would be good with. I recently counted how many meals I got out of one bag of quinoa and it was 5. 5 meals of all different flavors and types of food, I was very impressed.

Quinoa is sold at the New Pioneer Food Co-op, Bread Garden Market, and Target. There are many forms that quinoa can come in as well.

• At Target you can buy quinoa pasta, seeds to boil, and quiona dry clusters for between $5-$10 depending on what you buy.
• At New Pioneer you can buy quiona pasta and quinoa burgers (which are my personal favorite) for between $6-$14 depending on what you buy.
• At Bread Garden you can buy the items from above as well for between $5-$12 depending on what you buy.

These numbers may seem like a lot and they are a little pricey, but for as many meals and as many forms that you can get quiona in, I would definitely recommend it. It is good for you and and lasts for a while.

Here are some quiona recipes as provided by Buzzfeed Food: http://www.buzzfeed.com/chelseypippin/21-ingenious-alternatives-to-meat (quinoa is #9 on the list).

Recipe: Healthy Chicken Tortilla Soup

This past weekend at the University of Iowa was parent’s weekend. This can be dangerous, especially for me since my mother and grandmother are fantastic cooks and make the best desserts. My roommates and I had a little family party where we all brought food and sat down together and got to know each other.

When my mom got here she brought in her crock pot of her famous chicken tortilla soup. Now, this soup is perfect for college students because it is super easy to make and is only 70 calories per serving. Basically it’s easy to make, it is loaded with vegetables and healthy protein (chicken), and lasts forever so you can save money.

CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP

1 1Ž4 lb. chicken

4 c. water

1 medium chopped onion

2 celery ribs, chopped

4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 T. canola oil

14oz. can Mexi diced tomatoes

8oz can tomato sauce

1 cup. Medium salsa

1 cup of frozen corn

4 oz. can chopped green chiles.

1 t. basil

3 t. cumin

2t. chili powder

Boil chicken in the 4 cups of water. Reserve water. Cube chicken. Saute onion, celery, and garlic in oil. Add to the pot of water with the chicken. Stir in remaining ingredients. Simmer, covered, for 20-25 minutes or until veggies are tender. Garnish with cheese and tortilla chips. (May freeze.)

My mother puts in vegetables that we as a family like, so you can put in any vegetables that you please. You can put on cheese and chips if you like, it does make it a little less healthy but even just the soup itself is so flavorful and delicious.

Colorful Choices Program Eases Information Overloads about Fruits and Vegetables

After talking with JoAnn Daehler-Miller, Dietitian for the University of Iowa, about what foods we should be eating to have a healthy and balanced diet, she said, “Sorry, that was a lot of information all at once.”

While yes, it was a lot of information, for me it was okay to hear it all. It helped me understand the food groups and answered all my questions. However, once she said that it got me to thinking: all of this information must be overwhelming at first for someone who is starting out with trying to be healthy. So, I asked her what was a way to learn all of this over time so that people won’t become overwhelmed.

That is when she introduced me to the Colorful Choices program. This is a 20-day program through the University of Iowa Student Health and Wellness that introduces how to get the proper amount of servings of fruits and vegetables. So, it just takes one aspect of nutrition and focuses solely on that, making it easier to put into practice right away.

While I was too late to register for this session, I found multiple resources that were on the Student Health and Wellness site under the Colorful Choices tab that I can put into practice on my own. One that I found very fascinating and helpful was called “Beyond the Rainbow: Fresh Ways to Prepare Fruits and Vegetables.”

Not only does it give you examples of vegetables and fruits that are healthy, but it gives new ways to spice them up. One of the ideas, kebabs, was one that I wanted to experiment with.

My roommates and I always buy fruit and vegetables at the store (usually HyVee because I find they have the freshest items) and so all we did was add in wooden sticks to put them on. We cut up vegetables like tomatoes, green and yellow peppers, and potatoes and put them on wooden kebab sticks and put them in a skillet with olive oil. It was delicious and we had a fun time doing it.

Everyone should try this. Even though the Colorful Choices program is closed for now, there are still those resources on the site that should be used. The program and the resources are free, which is great since any other information/meeting with a dietitian outside of the University is going to cost a good chunk of money. These resources are a fun way to prepare your fruits and vegetables and also gives other resources to help you find out what vegetables and fruits are in season, which is when they are cheaper to buy.