Healthy Chocolate Cake?

What started as an incredulous curiosity, is turning into a full blown week of experimental baking in my house!  My friend recently posted this recipe: Healthy Chocolate Cake With a Secret and said that this cake - made without flour and sugar - actually tasted good!  Not only that, but what was so freaky about this recipe used BEANS instead of flour!

Now, I've thought that I would never be one of "those people" who makes weird, healthy-tasting foods and pretends that they are as good as fattening, sugary treats, but I have been on the lookout for some sort of healthy breakfast alternative - like a breakfast bar, but something that is higher in protein and lower in sugar and wheat.  So I thought to myself that if I could modify this recipe, I might be able to make a carrot cake, apple cake, banana-loaf... the possibilities are endless.

But first... my modification of the "Healthy Chocolate Cake".  What makes mine different is that I used kidney beans and only added honey (no stevia) as a sweeter (not because I have any problems with stevia, but it can be a bit expensive and I don't have it in my cupboard).

Good to the last bite!

Yummy 'n Healthy Chocolate Cake

(makes a 9" cake)

Ingredients:
1 - 19oz can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
6 eggs
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup honey (heaping, generous cup, depending how sweet you like)
1 tsp vanilla
6 Tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp baking  powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

(variation: add 1/2 tsp almond extract and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to make a brownie-like cake?)

Pre-heat oven to 325*F

Use a 1/2 tsp of butter to grease the inside of  your cake pan - you can also dust it with sifted cocoa powder or use parchment paper.

Begin by blending the kidney beans and 4 of the eggs together in a medium bowl until there are no lumps and you make the bean skins as small as possible.  I have been using my Braun hand-blender and it works out, but perhaps a food-processor would be better.   Set aside.

In a large bowl, whip the butter and honey together until well blended.  Add the remaining 2 eggs, blending after each addition.  Next, add the vanilla, cocoa, salt, soda and baking powder and blend.

Then fold the bean mixture into the large bowl and mix until well blended.  Pour into your cake pan and tap the pan onto the counter to remove any bubbles.

Bake for 45 min until top of cake is rounded and firm. Cool for 10 minutes and turn out of the pan onto a rack if you would like to frost it.

It is recommended that you allow the cake to sit overnight as this might affect the bean taste, but we tried it as soon as it was cooled and thought it was great!

Meal Planning for Lunchtime

Summer's lull of hot, lazy days is coming to an end and I know that soon I will be fighting against busy schedules, endless "to do" lists, and an overwhelming sense of responsibilities that require boundless energy, attention and commitment.  Yes, real life is coming back in full force, and I am doing my best to prepare.


You would think that as a homeschooling family, lunches would be no big deal, and to be honest, and I wish it were so.  However, I think the fact that my kids are used to home-cooked, nutritious food at EVERY meal, means that lunches on busy days are a challenge to plan and prepare.  I mentioned to my husband the other day that our kids are "spoiled" because they don't like simple, normal foods such as sandwiches and soup and Kraft dinner.  Instead, they would prefer Enchiladas, Butter Chicken or Kim Chee Che Gay (Korean soup), with a side of hummus and seasonal vegetables for lunch.  We joked that we should have a "normal" week at home, where we only prepare the standards... tuna casserole, spaghetti, sandwiches for lunch, etc.  We might end up with a full-blown revolt and hunger strike from our children though!


It is also a challenge when simply opening a can of soup in our house equals the expense of opening 3 cans to serve all 8 of us - and besides that, homemade is so much healthier and tastier.  So herein lies my challenge - I would like simple, satisfying, mostly home-made lunches, but I also want to pay attention to nutrition.  In the end, I decided on a fairly simple menu plan (we'll save the exotic foods for dinner), and I have arranged them in a 2 week rotation, to make lunches easy to prepare and plan for.  In the event that my main feature of lunch is lacking nutritionally (usually in the absence of veggies), I am adding either a salad, fresh veggies (carrots, broccoli, snap peas) or a green smoothie to the meal.  All of the meals are easy enough that I could have my 10 or 12 year old prepare them.


Anyway, I thought I would share this idea of a set, 2-week lunch menu plan... and I welcome any suggestions for simple, homemade lunches that I can add to my rotation.  (I've also included the breakfast "menu" that I created, to ward off my kids' daily question "What's for breakfast, Mommy?".)

	B-fst	Cereal	Muffins	Oatmeal	Cereal	Toast/Bagels
1	Lunch	Grilled Cheese &Smoothie	Perogies &Veggies or Salad	Sandwiches &Smoothie	Tuna Macaroni &Smoothie	Breadmaker Bread/Easy Minestrone Soup + Fruit
2	Lunch	Eggs/Toast & Fruit Salad	Pizza (made on bread or pitas, or just a frozen pizza) &Veggies or Salad	Re-fried beans with chips or Tortillas, cheese, sour cream, fresh salsa & Fruit	Tuna Melts or Sandwiches &Smoothy	Calico Beans or Chili &Salad/Veg

Dreaming of Pizza

Food Network is not a good channel to watch if you are on a veggie-juice fast.

On the evening of our third day of fasting, we were hanging out as we usually do, after the kids went to bed and we thought we'd watch some Food Network shows on the computer.  We had already downed our third veggie drink for the day and although I didn't feel hungry since my stomach was full of green juice, I was pretty tired.

We decided to watch a show called "The History of Pizza" and that was a big mistake.  Images of pizza, with gooey cheese and shiny, meaty toppings continually flashed before our eyes, brainwashing us to believe that nothing could taste better in that moment than eating a slice of loaded, greasy goodness.

To cope with our cravings, we began to compose a list of all the foods that we wanted to eat when we were done our cleanse.  It includes: Fried Chicken, Thai Food, French Onion Soup, Pizza (of course), home-made cheeseburgers and maybe even cinnamon buns.

That night, as I tried to fall asleep, I was plagued with images of pizza slices and other fattening foods.  My stomach growled and I just wanted to pass out and sleep so I could begin to countdown another day.

Day 4 was uneventful, but there was a serious lag to my energy.  Gone was the excitement associated with "trying something new" and putting together combinations of green healthy vegetables to create a healthy veggie juice.  Instead, they all were tasting pretty much the same, the only difference being the degree of yucky-ness.  (Some were much more bitter and gag-reflex worthy!)

One of the things we were looking for in this fast was a sudden onslaught of "cleansing".  We had heard tales of people having some intensely gross bathroom moments during a cleanse, and wondered if we also would be participants.  Nothing abnormal resulted - other than a very green colored poop that reminded me of when my kids ate lots of blue icing at a birthday party - only we'd been eating green veggies, not artificially colored icing!
        
I didn't have any more headaches, and I didn't notice anything other than feeling weak.  However, we were counting the days and wondering whether it was profitable for us to continue to... well... starve ourselves.

Reaching Day 5 was certainly a milestone, but that day we began to review our reasons for doing a 7 day veggie-juice cleanse:

1. To blast our bodies with nutritious greens
2. To re-program our brains to desire healthy foods
3. To give our digestive systems a break

Aside from the physical benefits, the bonus is that there is always an enhanced spiritual aspect to fasting because you are denying your body and you are not stuffed with things which are "carnally" satisfying.  It often makes meditation, prayer and hearing from God much easier and was commonly practiced in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible.

As we looked at all of our reasons for doing this cleanse/fast, we concluded that the results had been accomplished.  Obviously our systems were cleared out.... we had both lost about 6-7 pounds and we no longer had symptoms of detoxing or cleansing as many sources suggested.  Therefore, we deemed it unlikely that we would benefit from the continued low energy - especially with 6 kids to take care of and my husband working full-time!  So towards the end of Day 5 we decided that instead of our usual "bedtime snack" juice of cucumbers, kale, celery, rapini, lemons and green apples, we would have a salad.  We basically were eating the same thing that we've been eating all along except we included a ripe avocado and a tomato.  I also made a simple balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

At first, chewing seemed a little bit foreign, but the flavors were incredible!  The natural fats in the avocado were overwhelming, and tasted so heavenly!  I was amazed how after just two small bowls of salad, my stomach felt full.  And I felt quite satisfied!

To transition out of the juice fast, we decided to spend the last 2 days eating a vegan diet (with no dairy, meat or grains) instead of juicing.  For one thing, it will help us get back into eating real food, and it will also keep us moving slow and steady with introducing things like dairy, grains and meat.

If anything, doing this cleanse awakened my taste buds to all the incredible flavors that are wholesome and natural - no need for processed, junky food!  It will be interesting to see how this will affect our diet longer term, but that's a topic for another blog posting!

Broccoli, Celery and Spinach, Oh My!

I've survived Day 3 of this green veggie juice fast.

 

I haven't chewed any food since early Saturday morning - and that was cucumber, celery and a green apple.  I'm getting used to the system of washing and assembling an enormous pile of vegetable matter, grinding it to a pulp, and then watching it swirl into a stainless steel bowl, looking all green and frothy like a small pond overpopulated with algae.

Then, it's "gulp, gulp, gag, gulp" and all the healthiness flows down into my empty tummy, filling me with nutrients and micro-nutrients and super-vitamins and all that good stuff...

So, just to let you know, both myself and my husband have had little in the way of side-effects as are commonly described while doing a detox.  Some people have horrible headaches, nausea and stomach issues.  However, at most, both of us feel rather tired and more weak... and I had a slight headache on the evening of the first day, and more-so on the second day.  I have experienced no explosive bowel movements (so far), although I'm told that my body could take it's time on that one, as my system "cleans out" and detoxifies.

We have both lost a bit of weight - around 5-6 pounds each.  Whether that is actual body mass, or water weight, or shall we say "built up, undesirable sludge" - I'm not exactly sure.  But to be clear, neither of us went into this fast with "weight loss" on our list of priorities.  It's far more about a resting time for our digestive systems, a re-boot of our cravings and desires, and a re-tuning of our taste-buds to desire healthier foods.

I don't really feel hungry.  I might think of food, and feel a craving - and worse than that, if I'm making some food for my kids (like pizza), I end up salivating a lot and dreaming of when this journey will be complete.  But, for the most part, setting aside food for a few days has not been difficult.  I actually feel quite full when I've drank my 16 ounces of broccoli, celery, spinach, lemon, and cucumber juice.

The worst of it is the tiredness which has me heading to bed extra early, and wanting to nap in the afternoon.  When my head hits the pillow, visions of sugarplums (or maybe chocolate truffles, pizza and fried chicken - heck, even just a slice of bread) dance in my head.

Only 4 more days...

Shock The System

Day 1 of the Veggie-Juice Cleanse

Last night I said farewell to some of my friends: meat, chocolate, sugar.... it may only be for a week (possibly more) but I knew that the next day, my brain and emotions would be crying for these so I had to indulge a little!

We spent the night out of town, so we didn't begin to juice first thing in the morning.  Instead, we munched on half a cucumber, 2 stalks of celery and a green apple.  Those are all ingredients that would be common in our Green Detox juices, so we figured eating them whole would be a good transition to our juice fast.

What is crazy, is the amount of time it takes to chew raw food!  It took me from the edge of Calgary to Nanton to just eat my cucumber and celery! (That's a good 85km drive!)  I'm glad we're going to be juicing our ingredients because we will be eating a much larger amount of veggies for each meal!

When we got home, I made the kids some cheese toast with ketchup and found myself salivating as I cut the cheddar cheese.  It's amazing how your body basically tells you "EAT THAT! Put it in your mouth now because you'll starve if you don't eat it!!!"  Obviously, I'm not about to starve.  In fact, I'm sure I'll eat some cheese in the not too distant future. However, the way humans had to forage and work so hard to cultivate food for many millennium has been radically altered in the past 100 years with industrialization.  We have so much food available, for so cheap, that anyone can become obese.  Fat is no longer a luxury.  Fat is commonplace.  But I think our bodies might still have those instincts of eating what is readily available because of how life used to be.  It really isn't normal for us to have so many calories within our reach.

Anyway, back to the juice cleanse.  We went shopping for a couple day's worth of veggies and fruits and filled the cart with green stuff.  I think we bought an amount of veggies and fruit that would normally take our family 2-3 weeks to eat (not a few days!).  Sorry, the color is off in this photo, but that is what our shopping cart looked like!

At home we washed and assembled all of the ingredients.  We are using what are supposedly the official recipes used by Joe Cross from the documentary "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead".  Within moments, we had the juicer whizzing and buzzing and super green juice was pouring into a stainless steel bowl. 

Mean Green Juice #1

6 Kale Leaves
1 Cucumber
4 Celery Stalks
2 Green Apples
1/2 Lemon
1 piece of ginger

We dove right in, gulping down the unfamiliar mixture.  It tasted fresh, peppery, grassy, with a very slight apple flavor.  I have to admit that it was pretty hard to drink.  We doubled the recipe and it gave us each 24 ounces of juice.  I think next time we'll do the recipe just one and a half times the ingredients to give us about 16 ounces each.


Within moments, and I don't know if it was psychological, but my stomach began to feel really gassy and bloated.  For one thing, I was drinking a lot of liquid, but the other thing that probably was shocking my system was the intense amount of fresh nutrients and vitamins.  I almost felt like I might throw up, but I finished it off so we could lay down and have a nap during the kids' afternoon quiet-time.

We still need to drink a couple more juices today... mmm... dinner and bedtime snack!  I've noticed today that I feel okay, maybe a little tired and headachey, but still mostly normal.  We also weighed ourselves to get a starting point and see how this juice cleanse affects us.  Oh... and instead of coffee, I permitted myself a green tea this afternoon.  Going off caffeine cold-turkey is just too much!  At least this way, I am getting far less caffeine and, of course I'm not adding any cream to my green tea.

Veggie-Porn

My husband and I have been watching a lot of veggie-porn lately.
You know... the kind of stuff where rich, dark soil is cradling a bright orange carrot as it grows happily in the sunlight...  where cauliflower comes in not just white, but shades of green and purple.  And there is always a happy looking farmer, often with his wife and kids, in the rows of vegetables, plucking weeds and lovingly tending their produce.  Then the camera will pan to a chubby toddler with bare toes wiggling in the dirt, and he will be eating a gorgeous, vividly red, ripe tomato - juices and seeds dripping down his chin.

Veggie-porn is the bane of "northern" hobby-gardeners.  For three months of the year, we toil, and attempt to eek a meager, limited harvest from our dry, clay-filled soil; in a climate that is limited in the number of days that a human - let alone a tender young plant - can exist outdoors.  So my hubby and I look to the documentaries on Netflix, typically about sustainable-organic, small-time farmers, and we sigh with envy at the lush greenery in more Eden-istic climates.

One particular documentary was both enlightening and challenging.  "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead" wasn't specifically about farming, but about the value of vegetables and fruit and eating a more "raw" diet.  I featured a 40 year old Australian businessman, who was inactive, overweight and battling some rather debilitating health issues involving his immune system.  To make a long story short, he embarked on a 60 day juice fast, to investigate whether feeding his body the micro-nutrients (from raw veggies) that it needed would bring restoration within his body system, allowing his body to heal itself.

As you may very well guess, he lost a lot of weight, improved his energy levels, and was able to completely stop taking medication.  I have to admit, that he looked really amazing, too.  Within days you could tell that his skin was clearer, his eyes brighter, and he literally glowed - looking so alive and healthy.

So... last night my husband looked over at me, and said "What do you think about maybe trying a..."

and before the words could come out of his mouth, I completed the sentence: "Juice fast?!?!"

I was somewhat surprised at his willingness, but then again, we've always been quite adventurous and conscientious of our health - doing our best to take responsibility for how we feel and not jumping on the bandwagon of doing what everyone else does... just because.  We cook from scratch - nearly all the time, and don't eat out very often.  We have a garden, and several times we have grown herbs, wheatgrass and even attempted tomatoes with our own little grow-op in the basement during the winter.

A juice fast or cleanse, however, is something that I've thought about doing for a long time, but it has never been convenient to do.  I've always had my excuses, and they have been valid - 12 years of non-stop pregnancy and breastfeeding can really put a demand on your body.  All the more reason to "re-boot" my body with a super-dose of life-giving greens!

So, we are going to do this crazy juice fast together - all veggies, limited amounts of fruit and no bread, no meat, no sweets... and no coffee!!! (The latter part really scares me!)

What do I hope to gain? For one thing, both my husband and I would like to experience an increase in both energy and mental alertness.  Secondly, from what I learned on the documentary "Food Matters", people who improve their intake of certain vitamins can improve their overall mood and even combat depression.  I'm not saying that I am an unhappy, depressed person, however I would love to feel happier! (This goes hand in hand with the energy levels, I'm sure.)

Last of all, is what I hope to lose, not gain, and that is weight, toxins, and built up "sludge" that might be trapped in my body and slowing me down!  On "Food Matters", there was a religiously dedicated raw-food enthusiast who told of a relative who embarked on a raw-food cleanse. This overweight individual apparently had a lot of "junk" to clear out of his system.  Apparently, eating only green and fresh veggies can have a cleansing effect, causing a massive increase in bowel movements.  Several days into the cleanse, this person apparently had a total of 12 bowel movements and lost 15 pounds in a single day!  Egad!  Talk about extreme cleansing....

The plan is to start our cleanse tomorrow afternoon/evening.  We'll shop for our veggies earlier in the day and have a delicious, nutritious supper of kale, broccoli, ginger, green apple, celery....etc., etc.

Here's hoping I can battle my mind and body and become a happy, healthy herbivore - if only for a week or two!

For further information, check out the following websites:

http://myjuicecleanse.com/

http://www.jointhereboot.com/

Happy Half-Marathon!

Saturday was my big day - my first race of the year, and my second half-marathon.  I've now been running for about 2 years and while I might be considered a "seasoned runner", I still feel very much like a novice when it comes to lining up with more experienced runners.  Maybe it's the way their spandex clings to taught muscles, or the way they wear their headbands and bounce up and down, warming up at the start line - but thankfully, this was a local, smaller race and included some regular folks like me!

Last fall, I experienced quite a let-down after my seemingly successful half-marathon.  It was sort of a post-partum depression... where my motivation to run and remain active hit all-time lows and I even gained 10 (or maybe a few more) pounds.  To be honest, I believe a lot of those feelings were the result of my regrets and assessments of the race.  Sure, I'd run a distance that most folks gasp at - WHAAAT? 21 kilometers (13 miles!) Running... without stopping??? However, what was most disappointing at the end of that race was how HORRIBLE I felt.  My insides were churning and I thought I was gonna be sick.  There was no glory; no relishing in the success.  Due to my inexperience with racing, I had run full bore at the beginning and could barely cross the finish line.  Not only that, but I drank too much water and spend 3/4s of the race wondering if I should jump into the bushes to relieve myself or just carry on and hope the horrible pain of a full bladder bouncing up and down would go away if I just kept on running.  Then, when it was all over and I could now say that I had completed a half-marathon, I was left with the feelings of "What's next?"  In the end, a busy fall, including a family vacation in September for 2 1/2 weeks, and a 10 day trip to India in November left me little time to think about training and keeping up with running.

Early this year, I had enough.  I decided that the best motivation would be to put some money down on a race and then begin training.  I found a local, smaller and lesser-know event called the Better-Half-Marathon that was raising funds for a great cause - the YWCA Harbor House, and an outreach in Kenya called the Esther Home for young, unwed, pregnant woman.  Once I began training, I had a decision to make.  Was I going to train for a PR (personal record) or was I simply training to get back in shape and be able to physically handle running this distance?  In the end, the choice was fairly easy.  I felt quite out of shape... and I still could recall the misery of last year's race.  I wanted to run this race HAPPILY and comfortably.  So the plan was to go easy on the training - not to over-do it, and certainly not to let it take over my life with a ridiculous number of training sessions per week.

At first it wasn't easy, and I wasn't even comfortable running what had used to be an easy 5k.  Yet, as the weeks moved on, I became more comfortable and began to feel once again what I loved about running - getting into a comfortable stride, enjoying the fresh air and just having a chance to think and be alone.

Back to the present - it was the big day.  My hubby and kids came out to support me, and my oldest daughter was even participating in the kids race! I thought it was pretty awesome that she was following in my footsteps - she even got 2nd place!

I was ready to go and moved to the starting line with the other runners.  All I had to do was open up the Runkeeper ap on my phone so I could keep track of the miles and pace to help me in the race.  Only... the GPS refused to work!  I tried several times, even shutting down my phone and checking the settings.  With only a couple minutes before race-time, I handed the phone over to my husband and asked him to try to fix it! All in vain... for some reason unbeknownst to me, my phone was not connecting to the satellites and I would not be able to track my run.

They counted us down and sent us off, along the chalk-marked trails in the river-bottom.  Forgetting about my phone for the moment, I concentrated on starting out slow and steady.  The worst thing about that, was finding myself near the back of the pack, with many people who looked as though they should be less fit than me...(you know what I'm saying...) running ahead of me!  I squinted at the generously padded bottom running in front of me and reasoned with myself.  I knew I would work up to a faster pace... I just had to warm up and then I could overtake these "less-fit" people  ...like the older, pudgy, balding guy in florescent yellow.

For the first mile or so, I kept trying and re-trying to activate the GPS on my running ap and it just wouldn't work.  Eventually I accepted it as fate - and further reason to run this race cheerfully, and for fun.  As competitive as I can be, I decided to let go and just enjoy myself.  I'm just out for a nice Saturday morning run, I told myself.

I found myself affixing a grin on my face and even when the speedy runners were turning around on their first loop, and then running past me, I smiled at them and would give them a thumbs up.  As the race went on, and the first hour was long past, and racers were getting tired, I continued to smile at those I passed (or who passed me) and I'd cheerfully say "Way to go!" or "Good job!".  Now that I think about it, I probably looked pretty goofy - but who cares... I was having fun!

Because what really mattered about this half-marathon... what really mattered about this particular race, was that I would both enjoy it and feel good at the end.  I didn't want to be stuck on a number or be that runner who was staring at the ground ahead of me, grimacing and appearing to be either intensely concentrating, or in pain, or both.

When I completed the second loop, with only one more to go, my husband ran alongside me and told me that each loop was only taking me about 42 minutes.  At that rate, my time should be about 2:06.  I was actually quite surprised!  Yes, that would be a few minutes longer than my race last year, but I felt as though I should be at least 10-15 minutes longer, considering how I was feeling.

In my last lap, I would intermittently pop an energy gummy into my mouth (My favorite kind are the Honey Stinger fruit smoothie energy chews).  I would give myself a goal - like, when I reached the bridge I could have another gummy, or when I crossed a certain road I'd eat another one.  That seemed to help pass the time, and give me extra motivation to hurry through that tiring last loop.

Finally I could see the finish line... and I still had the energy to pick up the pace and happily cross the finish line!  Sure, my muscles were quivering and I was tired and sore and felt a blister on the inside of my foot - but I was done, with a time of 2:05:45 - just 3 minutes longer than last years race, but feeling way more successful!

I have plans to run another half-marathon in the fall, with a friend of mine.  This time, I may do some speed training and try to shave some minutes off my time and go for a new PR.  However, when it comes down to it, I'm realizing that the point of running (for me, anyway) is about how I feel - not how I look or measure up on a competitor's scale. 

So ends this humble tale of my Happy-Half-Marathon....

My Top 10 Healthy Snacks For Kids (and adults!)

In the past, I have been completely frustrated when it comes to providing snacks for my healthy, growing brood of children.  It would seem that the "system" of factories and fast-food are out to get me and my money, when it comes to convenient snacks.  Unfortunately, most of the snacks on the shelves in the store tend to be highly processed, low-nutrition, carb-and-sugar laden foods.  Everything from goldfish crackers to handi-snacks to those "fruit gummies" that are supposedly "now made with REAL fruit!" just don't made the grade in my house.  Sure, on occasion I don't have a problem with these as a treat, but on a regular basis, I would like to fuel my kids with something a little more... natural.

Having six kids also raises the problem of cost.  I can't just run out to the health food store and pick up their organic fruit and veggie smoothies or 16 grain, gluten-free cupcakes or super-vitamin-brain-stimulating magical cookies, because our food budget would probably double (if not triple)!

So, just for simplicity's sake, here are the snacks that we typically eat in my house:

1. Organic apples (whole... never peeled!). This is one product I typically buy organically because apples are one of the worst culprits for heavy pesticide/herbicide use. (We also eat a lot of other whole fresh, whole fruits: bananas, oranges, kiwis, mangoes, grapes, etc.)

My 4 year old "preparing" apples for a snack...

2. Homemade "snack mix".  This usually consists of dried fruit - banana chips, raisins, apricots, etc - along with nuts (pecans, almonds or walnuts), seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, etc.), and then I will use a "filler cereal" such as Cheerios or, better yet, organic shredded wheat squares (President's Choice brand from Superstore).  I will mix up a huge container-full and if it is running low, just add in some more goodies and keep it going...

3. Frozen mixed veggies.  Back when my 12 year old was a baby, I came up with the idea to give her frozen (or very slightly thawed) mixed veggies.  They were a hit!  Now I can set out a bowl of them and the kids will eat it like popcorn.

4. "Bilk" Which is my special name for Frozen Blueberries mixed with Milk.  It's as simple as that.  Fill a cup or mug 3/4 full of frozen blueberries and top with your choice of milk... skim, 2%, goats-milk...   After a couple of minutes, the blueberries thaw a little and turn the milk an amazing purple color!  It's just as good (but nutritionally much better) than a real milkshake!

5. Smoothies.  Do yourself a favor and buy a good blender.  I have found that it is much more economical to buy tasty, ripe fruit from the frozen food section than it is to buy over-priced, out-of-season fruits throughout the year.  Yes, do buy local fruit when it is in season - but if you live in a colder climate, like me, then you know the fresh-local-fruit season is quite limited.  Nowadays, I will throw random frozen fruit into a blender, along with seasonal fresh fruit including apples with the skin or mangoes, or kiwis and top with either milk or yogurt or occasionally some real fruit juice (not fruit punch) and blend it with ice until my kids have what they think is as good as a slurpee or milkshake.  ($$$ Saving hint: Throw your over-ripe bananas, pears, peaches or plums into the freezer to use in a smoothie later.  Another thing I do is take the half-eaten apples, cut out the core and "eaten" part, chop it up and throw it into the freezer for a smoothie later.)

6. Yogurt mixed with fruit and nuts. A while back, I weaned myself off of sugar for a few weeks and made up a snack that consisted of plain Greek yogurt, mixed with either walnuts, banana slices, cinnamon and nutmeg - or mixed with apples, pecans and cinnamon. Recently, I even mixed my yogurt with frozen blueberries and freshly ground flax - although I'm not sure the kids would like that one as much! The trick is to buy good Greek or Balkin style yogurt.  To me, it tastes less acidic and it is nice and thick and creamy.

7. Nuts and Seeds.  I mentioned these before in the context of a snack mix, but nuts are such an excellent snack and good for you in so many ways.  You won't have a sugar-high to deal with and they are full of protein, so you will get a longer-lasting energy from eating them!

8. Seaweed or Nori.  If you want something salty and flavorful, try some dried seaweed! Look for one that doesn't use any artificial seasoning...(no MSG!).  My kids absolutely love to munch on it, and my 2 year old will even preform a "happy dance" to earn his piece of seaweed!

9. Raw Veggies - plain or dipped in homemade Hummus.  Carrot sticks, cucumber, peppers, broccoli, sugar-snap peas, turnip slices, and whatever else looks fresh - just cut it into appealing, bite-able sticks and dip away!  (Time-saving hint: On shopping day or the day after, wash and cut up your veggies and store them in an air tight container in the fridge.  Then when you (or your little snack-ers) are hungry the veggies are ready to eat!)

and now, for number 10.....

10. Homemade baking.  Okay, I bet you were waiting for something that sounded super-healthy.  Yet I have no trouble admitting that we like our homemade cookies/pretzels/muffins/'fill in the blank' around here.  At least when you make it at home, it isn't full of strange un-pronounceable ingredients and preservatives.  Also, when you make it at home, you can sneak in the healthy stuff - shredded zucchini in your muffins or flax seeds in the cookies... just use your imagination and try not to eat the whole batch at once!

There you have it... my Top 10, off the top of my head snacks that we eat in our busy household.  Did I miss something good?  I invite your comments on the healthy snacks that you (and your family) enjoy eating!

Protein Bar Review - #2 Good n natural

Well, we are onto the next Protein bar up for review.  This time, I was up for an early morning long run (12 miles) with a very busy weekend ahead of me including a wedding and a 3 hour road trip.  I got up before 8 while the rest of the house slept in, laced up my runners, tore the wrapper off of the bar and headed out the door.  My plan was to eat it while I warmed up, and then hopefully have enough energy to get through the run!

So, how does this energy bar stack up when it comes to the nutritional value? Here are the facts:

Good n natural - Chocolate  $1.37
56g, 230 calories
9g Fat
5g Fibre
9g Sugar
10g Protein

Appearance: Just another compacted brown bar of seeds and fruit and nuts. This one was a little more shiny than the last one - not sure what that means!

Taste: With the first bite, I noticed this bar was noticeably less sweet than the Clif Bar.  Notably, it has half the sugar of a Clif bar.  Also, the chocolate flavor was closer to the bitterness of dark chocolate, and as I was chewing, I tasted an almost fermented or baking soda sort of flavor.  To me, that was a bit of a deterrent.  I wondered if maybe there was extra sodium in this bar to help balance electrolytes while exercising. (I later compared the two bars, and actually the Clif Bar has more sodium than this one!) There was also a slight peanut flavor (and peanut butter is listed in the ingredients list).

Texture: This bar is quite chewy and held together with what almost reminds me of thickened molasses.  There is a lot of bits of seeds and nuts and oats.  It holds true to the claim that it is a "fruit, nut & seed bar".

Energy: I had little to no trouble getting through my two hours of running on just an energy bar for breakfast.  I did experience a bit of indigestion mid-run - but that can happen with normal food as well.  I do approve of the fact that this bar has a much lower amount of sugar, but I don't know if I'm willing to sacrifice flavor just for that reason.

Rating: I would give this bar just a 6/10.  The Clif bar was definitely tastier - and there were some odd nuances with bitterness/baking soda in this energy bar.

Read my previous blog if you are curious what I thought about the Chocolate Almond Fudge Clif bar.

Protein Bar Review - #1 Clif Bar

Sometimes you feel like you don't have the time or creativity (or desire) to prepare a healthy meal or snack.  Or perhaps you are so busy, you can't put together a sandwich or salad or whatever it is that you think you should be eating.

If you are expending a lot of calories (and time), working out or training for a race, then it may be useful to occasionally eat a meal-replacement or protein or energy bar.  Now I personally wouldn't recommend making it an every-day habit to eat these because whole foods - raw, fresh foods - are best for our bodies, and if you're reaching for an energy bar, then you are ingesting something that has been processed. (More on that in another blog!)

It has been quite some time since I felt my lifestyle and level of physical activity merited the use of energy bars, but now that I'm deep into training for a half-marathon, and putting in 25+ miles/week, I know how important it is to fuel my body properly so I can stay healthy and full of energy!

So here I am, trying out a few energy bars that I picked up at Walmart.  I'll start with 3 that I found, including the popular "Clif" bar, and I will give my honest opinion on taste, texture, and whether I felt the bar was adequate to maintain my energy level and keep me from "starving"!

Clif Bar - Chocolate Almond Fudge $1.57
68g, 250 calories
5g Fat
5g Fibre
20g Sugar
10g Protein

Appearance:  First of all, I dig the packaging.  I like how there is this adventurous guy hanging off of a cliff... but of course, it's what's inside that really counts!  When I opened it up, it looked kind of like one of those haystack no-bake cookies with oats and cocoa that I occasionally help my kids to make, except in a more flattened, rectangular shape.

Taste:  I took a bite, and instantly recognized that despite the promising "chocolate" in the name, it was not going to taste like your typical chocolate bar.  It wasn't nearly as sweet and didn't give me that satisfying sugar-buzz that I normally get from my treats.  That being said, it still has a considerable amount of sugar for a "healthy" bar, but most chocolate bars are 25-40 grams of sugar per bar, so this is healthier on that level.  At any rate, the flavor was still pleasant, and had an enjoyable nuttiness amidst the slight chocolate taste (thus the "almond-fudge").

Texture:  I enjoyed how this was a chewy bar; full of texture.  You could tell it was made with real ingredients - and, to it's credit, the Clif Bar is made with 70% organic ingredients.  When I was a teenager, I would occasionally eat Power-bars and some of them had the texture of foam or sawdust with a light chocolate cover.  This was more like eating a slightly chewy oatmeal and almond cookie.

Energy:  A bar with this much protein should be satisfying enough to get through a few hours, and I did feel fine as I shopped with my little boys and went about my afternoon activities.  My only regret is that I didn't have a bottle of water with me because the bar is quite oat-y and the added moisture would have improved my experience!

Rating:  Since I haven't tasted any other bars yet, I don't know exactly how it rates among protein bars.  However, based on my experience with Powerbars (some 15 years ago) and the occasional Slimfast bar (8 years ago?) I would give this bar a 7.5/10.  It doesn't taste like candy, but the flavor is pleasant enough and you do feel like you're eating something reasonably healthy.

Until the next bar...

Happy & Healthy

Welcome to my "Happy & Healthy" blog!  I've been blogging for a few years now, and recently I lost some steam when it comes to writing about my emotions, my everyday battles and my spiritual walk.  Not only that, but when it comes to writing about the serious side of life, I am considering writing an actual book (time will tell!) so I'd rather put my "emotional and serious" writing energy into that endeavor, for the most part.

Enjoying some yummy El Salvadorian food!

That being said, here I am starting ANOTHER blog... this one about health and happiness.  You see, I believe your health is intrinsically tied into your emotional well-being (and vise versa) and I have always been interested in maintaining a healthy lifestyle that isn't obsessive - but maintainable, manageable and do-able, long-term!

So I will be using this blog to chronicle some of the things I'm trying in my personal life as a busy mom of 6 who likes to run AND who likes to eat good food.  I will also include little tidbits that I've learned over the years - natural remedies for self-treatment and for kids, along with some of my personal experiences with everything from running my first half-marathon to having a planned, unassisted homebirth.  Additionally, this will be a place to experiment, to try new methods, new work-outs and new products.

What this blog will NOT be is about becoming as skinny as a model, or going on very restrictive diets or obsessing about the numbers on the scale.  Yes, I do care about how much I weigh... sort of... but, far more important is how I feel physically and emotionally.

So that, in a nutshell is my idea for this blog.  I welcome your questions and ideas and any comments about your own personal health journey!

Welcome, and thanks for joining me!