You are "Always on my mind"....

As Willie Nelson said it best you are "always on my mind". I have spent the last 2 weeks in a brain fog over what to add to my blog next. I have been thinking of all that plagues my lady friends in their kitchens and what I could say to inspire . The topics that have been taking up space in my brain are the MSG debate, how to make nutrition packed suppers in less than 30 minutes (that your kids won't turn up their noses at), and how to inspire my friends to get rid of their microwaves (for you Erin).
I know why I feel the way I do about these topics, but I need to put my thoughts together to explain this to those of you who've asked.

MSG: The sneaky spice that shows up everywhere
You see signs at Chinese restaurants and grocery stores that promote their MSG Free specialties. A friend of mine recently sent me the link to this government website that basically says that MSG is fine, poses no threat to your well being and is a substance that is naturally occurring in our bodies. Now, I could see if this add was on the Campbell's soup website because many of their soups contain this flavor enhancing ingredient...but the Canadian government? What could the government possibly stand to gain?? Now, I'm on the hunt for more information...because I love Campbell's soup and Chinese food for that matter. The main complaint people have about MSG is migraine headaches and explosive diarrhea (usually following a 4 item combo at their local mall). After doing some online research the jury is still out on MSG. For my family I will still try to avoid MSG because they said if a 2nd grader can't pronounce it or your great grandmother wouldn't recognize it, you probably shouldn't eat it and I'm not fond of anything that gives me a headache or the trots. The moral of the story is: read the labels and follow your gut. You are always better to find something from the earth to flavor your food anyway, like garlic!!

How to cut down cooking times...(for Lori)
In a world of convenience foods it is so much easier to go through a drive through (although I feel the drive through has its place), it is important for the health of your family to take the time to eat well.  My dad Kenny always says "Not having a plan is like planning to fail". There are many things you can do to make your life easier in the kitchen. Planning ahead (prepping the evening before or the morning of) helps you to avoid taking the easy way out come supper time. You're less likely to eat out if you have thawed chicken in your fridge that needs to be eaten.

 -Some people find it handy to bring home large packages of meat from Costco, and freeze the meat in family size portions with marinade on them so that you can thaw and throw in the oven or better yet, on the grill!!

- If tomorrow nights dinner is fajitas, take 10 minutes the night before to chop your peppers, onions and chicken. When you come home for supper you can literally throw it all together, grate cheese, rip lettuce and call it dinner!

- I always keep some sort of pre-made burgers on hand for a pinch when I don't want to make dinner or we are in a hurry. You could freeze homemade beef burgers ahead of time (I try to avoid store bought beef burgers because they usually have 30grams of fat per burger), or chicken burgers, or fish burgers. I love veggie burgers too. Pick up some big portabello mushrooms, grill them and treat them like buns for your burger. You do have to cut the burger because the "buns" are usually too hot.

-Always keep fresh washed spinach on hand and mixed greens. If they are sitting in your fridge washed you are way more likely make a salad or add spinach to your smoothie.

-EGGS!!! They are a power food and they've been given a bad rap for some time but one egg has 70 calories and 5 grams of fat. Everything in moderation anyway right?! You can do so many things with eggs. Add peppers, onions, mushrooms, pressed garlic, cheese, seasoning salt and pepper and you have an omelette. Mix cream or milk with eggs, chop spinach and broccoli and mushrooms ...add lots of cheese and you have a wonderful quiche. Truth be told I always have a pre-made crust from Tenderflake in my freezer for times when I want to throw on a quick quiche. Eggs are also cheap!!

- Fish cooks super fast!  Tonight I coated cod and I fried it in 2 tsp of olive oil . Recipe below:
Coat fish with egg whites, coat with flour mixture, coat with egg whites again, and coat with flour one more time. Fry until it is done, about 4 minutes per side.
Flour coating:
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp seasoning salt
2 dashes of paprika
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1/2 tsp roasted garlic spice
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

We had our fish with Quinoa (an amazing whole grain) that is cooked in 15 minutes, and steamed broccoli (which takes 7 minutes). I have to grate cheese for the broccoli because this helps Jonathan enjoy it.

So I guess the moral of the story is that you still need to prep to eat healthy, there is really no way around it. The more you prep ahead of time, the easier it will be when you get home from work. Let's be serious, we all need to give in to fast food once in a while...because  I'm (still) lovin' it!!

To nuke or not to nuke....that is the question! 
If I'm honest (and I'm usually too honest) we got rid of our microwave 3 years ago when it imploded, and my husband still misses it. I refuse to replace it, because I know if I do it will be all too easy to go back to using, even if I know it isn't good for me. I don't really believe in using the easy button in life. I'd rather get the flu, then get a flu shot (great way to lose 5 lbs), cook my food slowly and be annoyed at how long it takes, and make a cake from scratch because it only takes 5 minutes to put the ingredients together anyway. I am, in no way coming down on anyone who lives life different than I do. When my friend Heidi told me to get rid of my microwave 5 years ago I thought the notion was far too radical. After the implosion, I decided to say goodbye. The reasons that I gave up the microwave were two fold.

 1) I heard that microwaving breast milk actually changes the composition of the milk itself. This evidence made me wonder what it was doing to all the other foods we nuke. A really good article can be found at http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx
It talks about all the other ways that food is changed/impacted by being microwaved. I find it really weird that when a woman is pregnant she is told to avoid processed meat (because of nitrate levels), fish (with high levels or mercury), etc.. We care about our fetus/children enough to make changes, but we don't seem to care enough for ourselves?! I also spend good money on food (organic whenever possible)and it seems silly to "nuke" it, and kill it.

2) Obviously microwaves let off low levels of radiation, which are not all that harmful (unless your microwave is old) but I can imagine I'm taking in a lot of radiation from my cell phone (which I am not wiling to give up). I just figure with all the chemicals in the atmosphere and in our food, if I can avoid radiation from my microwave it can only benefit me.

For Erin...this is how I do life without a microwave.
-take meat out of the freezer a couple days ahead of time and let it thaw in the fridge, or if I forget I set the meat in a bowl of cold water to thaw it (this is actually really fast...like maybe 20 minutes)
-melt butter on the stove
-reheat leftovers in the oven at 400 or 425(most things taste better this way and are less soggy)
-I leave cream cheese out for half hour before I use it
-I keep a container of butter in the cupboard so that I always have some soft spreadable stuff on hand
-If I am reheating pasta and sauce I just throw it all together in a saucepan, I just add a bit of water to the pan
-For my little Brooks I bought a bottle warmer that also heats food (with hot water) and I will use this for Brooks' baby food

I hope this gives you some ideas. I'm not going to lie, it is annoying at first but you get over it pretty fast . Once again I live this way because deep down I hope that it will help me to thrive and enjoy life longer.

*For those of you who are concerned; my son was not neglected during the writing of this blog (I typed it over a 3 day period).