No-Refined-Sugar-Added Raspberry Jam

The other day, I went on a mad search for strawberries; I didn't realize that the season was ending so quickly!  My usual local farm stand was out, but they had beautiful raspberries. 
I did find strawberries at another fruit stand and commenced an evening of jam making. I made 3 batches: a full-sugar strawberry rhubarb (I was nervous about a low or no sugar version since rhubarb is so sour), strawberry jam sweetened with apple juice concentrate and honey, and raspberry jam sweetened with just apple juice concentrate.  I got recipes for the second 2 jams off the label of the no-sugar-needed Ball pectin jar that I purchased this year.  Here is the process for the no-sugar added raspberry jam:

Start by washing the berries (I added 5 drops of lemon essential oil to the wash water as an extra antimicrobial wash) then mashing them in a single layer with a potato masher.  You will need 2 cups of mashed berries for each pint of jam.


Add 1/3 cup of thawed apple juice concentrate to the berries in a deep, non-aluminum pan. (I made 3 pints worth so used 1 cup of concentrate).


Sprinkle the pectin (this recipe calls for 1 1/2 tablespoons per 2 cups of fruit; and make sure you use pectin designed for low- or no-sugar canning) over the fruit and juice mixture and stir well to combine.


Over high heat, bring to a rolling boil that cannot be stirred down and boil for 1 minute. (Be careful, it is really hot and has a tendency to spit at you!)


Use a spoon to skim the foam off the surface of the jam.  If desired, you can add 1/4 teaspoon of butter with the pectin before boiling to cut down on some of the foaming.


Ladle the hot jam into clean, sterilized jars (a canning funnel is indispensable), wipe the rim with a hot wash cloth, and cap with a clean, sterilized lid and ring tightened down gently.

Process in a boiling water bath (submerge the jars at least a couple inches below the surface of the water and put the lid on) 10 minutes if you live below 500 feet elevation (you will need to add additional time if you live at higher elevations, usually an extra 5 minutes for each 1000 feet).



The fruits of my labor:  a fruit-heavy, tart rasperry jam!  It even made an extra 12 ounce jar!

Springtime Strawberries

Maybe it's a bit premature, but today is the first day of spring and that puts me in the mood for strawberries.



So when I saw these beauties in the produce section for $2/lb I decided to take a chance. Strawberries are truly a superfood : high in fiber, antioxidants, vitamin C, and manganese. One cup of strawberries is just 43 calories and provides 136% of the RDA of vitamin C and 13% of the RDA of fiber. The red pigments are antioxidant, the phenols are anti inflammatory and that combination is protective against cancer and age-related deterioration of the eye. Strawberries are also a good dietary source of manganese, an anti inflammatory and antioxidant mineral that contributes to bone strength and cardiovascular health. Along with other berries, strawberries are a low glycemic food; combine this with all the properties mentioned above and they are a smart choice for a sweet treat for diabetics.

I was pleasantly surprised by how good these strawberries from California turned out to be (they were the perfect accompaniment to our breakfast for dinner tonight)!



But I'm really looking forward to when the strawberries in my garden will ripen so I can have them my favorite way: plucked fresh and warm from the sun!
What a yummy way to welcome spring!

Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping Tips

"What's for dinner?" This used to be a question that caused a lot of angst in my life. Often asked in my own head—but also by my husband or one of my children—in the late afternoon or early evening, it would put me into a state of agitation: searching through the fridge, freezer, and pantry to see what we had on hand and what I could possibly create. Dinner was usually a thrown-together affair (though even in these frazzled times, it was still most often made from scratch) served late in the evening. Grocery shopping, while less angst-ridden, was often inefficient, off-budget, and very frequently included the purchase of perishable items that went bad before they were used or unneeded items that got lost in the pantry.

After literally years of dreading the question "what's for dinner?" I finally wised up and developed a plan of attack to save my sanity (and my grocery budget). This plan involved 3 key components:

1. Organizing the pantry (and the fridge) and keeping it stocked with bulk items that we eat frequently.
   
2. Creating a weekly meal plan.
   
3. Creating my shopping list(s) using a simple equation: All ingredients needed to make the dinners for the week – pantry items already on hand = weekly shopping list(s).
   

The Pantry

I dream about a walk-in pantry like the one we had growing up, but my "pantry" actually consists of a large cupboard in the garage, another in the house, a drawer in my buffet for potatoes, onions, winter squash, etc, and my spice cabinet. There used to be no real rhyme or reason to the organizational system—mainly it relied on my semi-photographic memory of where I had stashed something (which failed terribly when the boys or my husband would rummage around for snacks). Now, I've created an organization system that works much better for my space—the key being that items are much more easily visible, bulk containers are labeled with their contents, and shelves are organized by category (eg—baking supplies, canned savory foods, canned fruit, dried pasta, rice, beans, and snack foods are separated into specific locations). See my nicely organized pantry:

You should organize your fridge and freezer in the same way. I haven't taken the final step to complete organization by making an inventory, but can definitely see the value in that (it would save the perusal through the cupboards, fridge, and freezer that I do as I complete my shopping list each week). It would also help keep food from expiring before you get around to using it.

The Weekly Meal Plan

At my house, this means planning home-made dinners (with occasional eating out) for the full week. I usually make big enough meals that there are leftovers—either for another dinner to eat the next night, to freeze for later, or to be lunch for my husband and I the next day. Breakfast and lunch are pretty much fend-for-yourself meals at our house but I make sure we have ingredients on hand for both. I'm fortunate to be able to be home early enough most evenings to cook unhurried dinners from scratch and my meal planning works around the nights I work later and don't have as much time to cook. Even if you work full time, you could still plan home-made meals for the week and do most of your prep work and cooking on a day off so all you have to do is throw a pre-made dish in the oven when you get home or toss together pre-prepped items (such as a quick stirfry). Here's my meal plan for this week (I painted my cupboard doors with chalkboard paint just so I could do this):

As I plan my dinners, I try to include a variety of proteins, veggies, grains, etc. so we aren't eating the same thing over and over—it's a very loose rotation diet (which helps reduce the development of food allergies—I'll plan to write a post about this in the near future). I plan more elaborate dinners for the nights I have more time to cook and easy dinners (soup & sandwiches, tacos, doctored pizzas, and frozen leftovers are typical for us). Over the past year, I've also made an effort to have one meal a week where one my boys is in charge (for Christmas 2010 I make them aprons, chef hats, and oven mitts and gave them kid-friendly cookbooks—look for future posts about cooking with your kids). Having your kids help with cooking goes a long way with picky eaters!

The Shopping List(s)

Working from one day of my meal plan at a time, I determine the necessary ingredients, check if I already have them on hand, and whatever I don't have goes on the list. Focusing on one meal at a time helps me make sure I don't forget anything and thus eliminates extra trips to the store. After I've got everything for dinner, I'll add extras for breakfasts and lunches such as milk, sliced bread, cereal, fruit for snacks, etc. If I've stayed with my plan, this usually means that I only have to grocery shop once a week and I make a trip to Costco about once a month. How you make your list is up to you but I paid for an app for my iPhone that memorizes items as I add them, let's me indicate quantity, categorizes items by where I find them in the store, creates separate lists for separate stores—an even lets me email the list to my hubby on days when he's kind enough to do the shopping on his way home! Otherwise, I would recommend creating master lists on your computer where you can highlight the items you need and add to it as necessary.

So, that's how I rid myself of "what's for dinner" angst! And just for fun, here's a pic of last night's dinner from my meal plan:

How do you approach meal planning and grocery shopping? Does it stress you out? Are these tips helpful? Please share!

Packing a Lunch for School

This post came about after reading about the “Pink Slime” in the Huffington Post this morning. Getting good and nutritious food for our school kids is such an important issue as it can affect so many aspects of their lives: learning ability, emotions, and physical activity. Having a well fed kid can make the difference in their attitude and how they interact with those around them. The most immediate thing I can think of to help combat the food problem in schools today is to pack your kids lunches yourself.  Next would be advocating for better lunches to be served in schools, but who knows how long this process might take? I would love to give Jamie Oliver a high five and join him in his crusade to improve school lunches. What we can all do right now is to sign his petition for better school lunches.

Here is what I am doing:

This year my little dude started preschool, and with preschool came my first foray into lunch packing for the kiddo. The school had some requirements: no packaged foods that have sugar as a main ingredient, no cookies or candy, and it must be packed in something that can be opened and closed by the kids themselves.

The first thing I tackled was the packaging. I took O to The Container Store and wandered down the lunch box aisle and had him practice opening and closing a variety of lunch boxes. We finally settled on this one. It holds a sandwich and fruits, veggies or crackers, and fits perfectly in the insulated lunch bag I found on the next aisle over (I was going to make one but I couldn’t beat the price). The downside of this box is that it does not hold soupy things (yogurt or applesauce) or juicy things (kiwis or sweet potatoes) and it is the only thing that fits in the bag so there is not room for a second container for the soupy and juicy lunch items. But it has served us well since September.

The items I pack are usually a PB and jam or honey sandwich on Dave’s Killer Bread, apples, carrots, and almonds or crackers. Sometimes I will try to slip in some celery sticks or cauliflower to see what happens, but they usually come home uneaten. My philosophy on food with my family is whole grains as much as I can and always offering a range of vegetables and fruit. I don’t get too hung up if he doesn’t eat everything I offer. I believe just having it around and being exposed to it will serve him well as he grows up and develops his own eating habits.

So if you can: brown bag it!

What do you pack for lunch for your kiddos? Share with us below in the comments or on our Facebook page.

The Doctored Pizza

I'm sure you've been there... shopping at a warehouse store, feeling uninspired and unmotivated to cook dinner from scratch for one reason or another (mine today being I've finally succumbed to the plague that has infected my family). And then you see it: the take-and-bake pepperoni pizza, on sale for $5.99, and you think, "Now that I can work with."

I have have a hard time pointing out any health benefits of pepperoni pizza, but I do know how to make it healthier. I have always argued that pizza can be a perfectly complete meal: it certainly covers all the food groups when you do it right. So, when life gives you pepperoni pizza, make combination! At our house tonight, that means add spinach, artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, and feta (to everyone but Big C's quarter--he likes apples sliced on to his when it comes out of the oven).





So, the lesson is: none of us can do it perfect all of the time, but we can always make it better!

Easy Egg Breakfast

The hardest part about changing my eating habits is getting a good healthy breakfast. A friend passed on this quick, easy and mobile way to get a healthy portion of protein.

You will need:
One corn tortilla
One egg
A slice of cheddar cheese (optional)
A nonstick frying pan or a small amount of olive oil
Salt

Place tortilla in pan and start heating.
Once the tortilla is hot slowly crack the egg on top of the tortilla.
Break the yolk and the white, a little will run off the side but most of it will stay on the tortilla.
Sprinkle a little salt on and let cook for a few minutes.

Once the egg starts to set up flip the whole thing over.
Let cook for about half a minute till egg is cooked through.
Flip back over and slide onto a plate.
If you want cheese place a slice on one half and let melt.
Fold it like a taco and walk out the door with breakfast in hand.

Alternatively you could add tomatoes to the taco style fold.

Enjoy!!

Breaking Radio Silence

Chef Brett is back,after months of ignoring my blogging responsibilities I'm ready to share my culinary inspirations again. The holidays have come and gone, I weathered my first holiday break from preschool, and our first major health issue - tubes in my 3.5 year old's ears. I'm ready to cook again.
What should I cook? Well what I would like to cook is spaghetti ala carbonara (freshly cooked noodles tossed with hot bacon, eggs and parmesaen - the heat of the noodles and bacon grease cooks the eggs making a salty creamy noodle dish.) But I am not going to cook or eat at that because I want to build better eating habits. So last week I started a new system as follows:

• Brainstorm meals for the week as a family on Sunday mornings

• Plan four fresh meals a week

• One day will be leftover day

• Two days will be frozen food days (frozen food days can also be eating out days)

• When making soups or casseroles will make enough to freeze to provide for the future frozen food meals

With this plan I am hoping to eat better and save money. I also am hoping to loose some weight by creating better eating habits.The healthy habits I am trying to implement are:

• eating a salad type thing and/or steamed veg at every meal

• only eating meat 3 times a week

• making sure to snack more frequently so that while I am making dinner I don't eat two string cheeses and 3/4 cup roasted almonds (in smaller portions a healthy snack but when too hungry appetite ruining).
• only eating when hungry, not just because the clock says its time to eat

Come back in a day or two and I will share this week's menu and some recipes! (Really, I will be here, I am recommitting to this blog and Doctor Crystal).