beth's vegetarian enchiladas

We take no credit for this recipe; a good cook passed it along as her adaptation of a Martha Stewart Everyday Food recipe.  We liked it and added it to our recipe box.  The recipe makes enough for leftovers another night, unless your family is large.  When I cook I add half a can of pitted black olives around the enchiladas.  If you are short of ingredients, simply add finely diced bell pepper, zucchini, or whatever vegetable you have on hand, it all works.  Rolling the tortillas is neater if a helper can measure out the filling while you roll.  You can also use this as a “make ahead” recipe, by freezing the sauce and enchiladas separately.  With a simple spinach salad, this makes a dinner that is tasty, healthy, and economical.  If we had guests coming and there was time, I would make flan for dessert.

Ingredients:

Sauce: 

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 tsp cumin, ground

¼ cup flour

¼ cup tomato paste

14.5 oz. vegetable broth

Salt and pepper        

Enchiladas:

3 cups (12 oz.) pepper-jack cheese, grated

12 oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 carton (10 oz.) frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed

11 oz. can corn kernels, drained

6 green onions, thinly sliced

1 tsp cumin, ground

16 corn tortillas (6” size)

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil and add cumin, flour, and tomato paste.  Cook 1 minute, whisking. 

2. Whisk in broth and ¾ cup water.  Bring to boil and then simmer until slightly thickened (5-8 min.).  Salt and pepper, then set aside.

3. For filling, combine in a large bowl 2 cups cheese (saving 1 cup for topping), beans, thawed spinach, corn, half of green onions, cumin, plus salt and pepper.

4. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

5. Lightly oil a 9x13 baking dish.

6. Stack tortillas in a damp paper towel and warm 1 min. in microwave.

7. One-by-one, fill tortillas with about 1/3 cup filling, roll tightly, and arrange in baking dish, seam down.

8. Cover enchiladas with the sauce and top with remaining cheese.

9. Bake 15-20 minutes, until sauce is bubbly. 

10. Remove and let cool five minutes.  Top with remaining green onions and serve.

Enjoy.

Hate vegetables?

The nutritionist David Ludwig commented on our aversion to vegetables: “In my experience, hating vegetables is essentially an American trait.  I never saw anything close to it during my travels through Asia, Europe, and South America.”  It’s true, unless you count the American love for the unhealthiest vegetable concoction: French fries.  Hating what’s good, loving what’s bad—what gives?

In the vegetable wars we’ve each made our separate peace.  We listen to the food nannies carry on about five daily servings of vegetables and nod our heads in agreement.  Then we eat French fries.  (We eat less than two daily servings of vegetables, excluding French fries and ketchup.)  Is our vegetable avoidance due to lack of information?  Check this scientist’s summary:

One of the most remarkable surprises in nutrition studies in the last few years was the discovery of the remarkable dietary qualities possessed by the edible leaves of plants.  Among vegetable foods, only the leaf is rich in calcium, and is also rich in vitamins A, B and C, as well as fiber.

Recent news?  No, this is from a 1925 book, Food, Nutrition and Health!  So three generations have passed and little has changed—except more discoveries about the merits of vegetables, like their rich supply of the antioxidants that slow down aging.  Vegetables are the opposite of today’s highly processed foods—veggies are rich in nutrients, sparse in calories, and healthy. 

Vegetables come in colors and three colors are of special value.  They also come in botanical families; two are extra healthy—cruciferous and allium:

• Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, broccoli, etc.) contain vitamins A, C, K, and folate.  Greens also contain minerals like magnesium, potassium, calcium, and iron, as well as lutein and fiber. 

• Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and kale) are potent cancer fighters, some studies suggest.

• Orange vegetables (sweet potato, carrots, banana squash, pumpkin, etc.) are rich in carotenoids. 

• Red vegetables (beets, red cabbage, red pepper, and tomato—borrowed from the fruit family) contain beneficial lycopenes, and anthrocyanins.

• Allium (garlic, onions, leeks, chives and shallots) family by tradition is prized for healthiness.  Alliums are high in flavonoids, polyphenolic compounds that stimulate the production of potent antioxidants.  Alliums help produce the “natural killer” cells that fight infection and cancer too.

Want to look better?  There’s an additional benefit to eating yellow, orange and red vegetables.  Scientists in Great Britain found a salutary improvement on skin color among people who ate the orange and red vegetables.  They had better skin color, looked healthier, and were judged even more attractive than those whose skin color came from suntan induced melanin.  Drop those French fries and grab a sweet potato, or some carrots, to get that healthy glow.

You Do the Math
If vegetables aren’t in the house, you can’t eat them.  So the key is to get them on your weekly menu and shopping list.  How much to buy?  Five daily servings for the average adult add up to about five pounds of vegetables a week.  Allow for waste and round off to six pounds.  Adjust this for children in the family on the basis of their weight and appetite and write down your weekly target.  When writing your menu, divide the pounds between the groups mentioned above.  Be sure to include the veggies your kids like.  As I child I didn’t like cooked carrots, but I did like my Mom’s carrot-raisin salad.  And I didn’t mind the cooked carrots in her tasty stews. 

Start where you are, but each week move one step closer to consuming five daily servings.  Be creative and make it fun.  (Later this week we’ll post a great recipe for vegetarian enchiladas.)  We’ll keep returning to vegetables in our Healthy Changes (four more).  By the end of the year your family will be cruising through their five daily servings and not even know it... and friends will be wondering about your skin’s healthy glow.

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

To Your Health!

We passed the 10% milestone last week, by introducing the fifth of the fifty-two Healthy Changes for 2011.   If you’ve done all five, you should be feeling the benefits.  Each change addressed a serious lifestyle problem for Americans:

1. Sugar reduction: To beat the AHA ceiling for added sugars (25 grams or 6 tsp. daily for women, 37 grams or 9 tsp. for men), reduce sugary drinks to one (12 oz.) per week.  A future post will tell why this rule should also apply to diet drinks.

2. Trans fat elimination: To remove trans fats from the diet, stop buying all deep fat fried foods.

3. Whole grains:  To gain the health benefits of whole grains, only eat cereals a) made from whole grains and b) with more natural fiber than added sugar.

4. Vitamin D:  Reach optimum blood levels of vitamin D by including a little midday sunshine most days, weather permitting.  (People in the northern latitudes, intolerant of sunlight, or just worried about vitamin D should consult a doctor.)

5. Exercise:  For full health and fitness, get at least 30 minutes of exercise most days.  More is better, especially if you sweat.  Do it midday to top off your vitamin D.

Drinks are important—what you drink, because of the daily volume, can greatly affect your health.  Healthy Change #1 took away nearly all your sugary drinks (and it was suggested to apply the 1/week limit to diet sodas also).  So what can you drink? 

The short answer is “water”.  The experts say about eight cups a day, depending on size and activity.  I doubted I was drinking that much so I measured water into a pitcher and used it for 24 hours.  I was drinking less than I thought—I keep a glass of water handy now.  I drink it cold as tests show this improves metabolism and weight loss.  Drink two glasses before meals and you’ll improve weight loss by another 30%, according to one study.

Are you often tired?  Do you regularly need an energy boost?  One theory of why we’re all consuming so many sugary drinks and other addicting stimulants is that poor lifestyle habits leave us perpetually tired.  We eat foods high in sugar and that puts us on the sugar roller coaster—needing a sugar fix every couple hours.  Maybe we don’t get enough sleep so start the day tired.  Or perhaps we’re living with an overload of stress and never really relax.  There are other causes of tiredness, including chronic dehydration from insufficient water.  Fatigue is a common problem judging by the popularity of unhealthy energy drinks, or the more recent use of power shots.  If you frequently need a drink to pick you up, talk it over with your doctor.

Do you sometimes tire of water and just crave variety?  I do, about once a day. Here are some ideas that will help meet your fruit and vegetable goal:

• Homemade smoothies are great because you can put the whole fruit in along with the healthy ingredients you enjoy.  (I’ll share my recipe in a later post.)  You can even slip in some vegetables.  The green drinks are great for getting your veggies.

• Herbal teas are my wife’s preferred evening drink, especially when it’s cold out.

• Homemade fruit juices are best though easier if you have a juice extractor.  The store-bought juices are invariably processed from concentrates and often shipped 1000s of miles, so vitamin content suffers.

• Orange juice is refreshing, especially if you squeeze the oranges yourself.  Using oranges from Costco I can make a 6 oz. drink for $.58 (two oranges).  Store-bought O.J. costs about 50% more.  Grapefruit juice is good too; I dilute it with lots of ice.

• Lacking both an apple tree and a press, I buy my apple juice.  Everyone likes apple juice; it’s the cheapest fruit juice though the high level of natural sugars can be a problem for the diabetic.

• If you purchase drinks, look for the 100% berry juices rich in antioxidants, like blueberry, pomegranate, or cranberry.  A disadvantage is these drinks must be pasteurized for safety.  

• The 100% fruit juices can be extended by following the European custom of mixing them 50/50 with sparkling water, or use tap water with ice.

Oh, I forgot milk.  I like milk, though I don’t care for the way it’s produced or processed.  We’ll come back to milk in a future post.

Please comment with your own favorite drinks and we’ll share them in a follow-up post.

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

Three Things

First, I promised to sum up this week’s exercise comments.  Two things impressed:  how you are all so different, and second, how you are so the same.  The differences are expressed in the creative ways you work exercise into busy lives; what is the same is the earnest determination to take care of yourself despite all obstacles.  You really are good people.

Some people like goals, like the daily 10,000 steps, or preparing for a 5K; others like music, using an iPod when walking or running; some have company, others grab the spare moment alone.  Some have the luxury of a gym and babysitter, others workout at home with a DVD or NetFlix while the kids nap.  There’s also Zumba, exercise with a Latin beat; the Couch to 5K plan; or the challenging P90X.  A buddy helps, whether girlfriend(s), spouse, or the dog.  Exercise is where you find it; you can park in the distant corner of parking lots (not at night, please), or you can do an upper body workout using the steering wheel of your car at stoplights.  Whatever or wherever, you feel better when you exercise. 

Second, did you see Oprah this week?  Two guests with different takes on diet appeared on her show: one a “veganist” promoting her lifestyle (and a book), the other a serious student of nutrition and a journalist, Mike Pollan.  I like Pollan, rather than vegetarian he is a flexitarian, someone who eats whole foods with just a little meat—as in “sparing”.  Pollan’s book, In Defense of Food, was the first nutrition book this blog endorsed.  One good advice came out of the program:  Be sensible with lifestyle improvements, make change step-by-step, "lean in" was the phrase used. 

Third, you likely noticed the USDA’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010 finally came out.  These are reissued every five years.  I was slow to see this, but the guidelines are actually government, scientists, and food lobbyists working as a committee to write their own Word of Wisdom.  Remember the joke, that the giraffe is the horse designed by a committee?  Same way with the Guidelines—the topics with strong lobbies, like fat and oils, are a mess.  Topics without strong lobbies make sense—for example, the guidelines ask Americans to:

• Eat at least half of their grains “whole”,

• Double their intake of fruits, vegetables, and seafood,

• Get more vitamin D and fiber.

• Drink more water; avoid sugary drinks.

At the end of the 52 Healthy Changes, you all will have surpassed the USDA’s guidelines.     

Not Quite Jack LaLanne

Got a healthy exercise program that makes you sweat?  Great!  You can skip down to the comment section and tell what you do.  Don’t have a program?  You have two choices: start one now, or plan on a shorter life, maybe seven years shorter.  Another fact:  exercise will do as much to prevent breast cancer as good diet. 

Jack LaLanne, founder of the physical fitness movement, famously stated, “I can’t die, it would ruin my image”.  It was a good line but he died the other day, at the ripe old age of 96.  Both his life and his death model the benefits of exercise: he had a long vigorous life, followed by a brief illness (pneumonia).  Jack made a good exit.  The benefits of exercise are too numerous to mention, but in sum if you exercise you not only look better, you feel better, live longer, avoid a long list of diseases, ward off dementia and depression, and have better . . . well, better everything.

More than we realize, we are the shark that dies if it stops moving.  Yet the form of our society frees us from the need to move.  The more we prosper, the more moving is an option.  Several years ago I became busy and stopped regular exercise.  There were health consequences: I gained weight and my blood pressure went up.  Concerned, I got a physical and made a plan to restore my health by natural means. 

To avoid injuries I started slowly—walking.  We live near a beach so I would walk down to the beach, then hike to the top of a nearby hill.  In the beginning it was hard.  Months passed.  One day a neighbor jogged past as I walked.  Later, when no one could see, I tried jogging up the hill.  In less than 100 yards I was out of breath, my legs turning to rubber.  Over the course of a year I jogged a little farther each time, with the goal to reach the hilltop.  A gazelle I’m not, but I’m getting better.  Later, I saw someone doing push-ups on a flat rock.  When the coast was clear I did as many as I could, just ten.  So I added push-ups to my routine, inspired by a friend who daily did his age in push-ups. 

As time passed, I expanded my workout, covering the triad of aerobic, strength, and stretching exercises.  Later I added bicycle riding on alternate days.  I lost weight.  My blood pressure came down.  There were other improvements.  After reading about the importance of sunshine as a natural source of vitamin D, I moved my workout from the morning to midday.  Some days it’s hard to get out, but it always feels good when I’m done.  And when I exercise, I want to eat better.

My wife walks with her friends for an hour each morning.  They’re very faithful in their exercise, even walking with umbrellas in inclement weather.  Her goal is 10,000 steps each day.  She wants us to add yoga next.  A son prefers to get his exercise at a gym, with a little help from a trainer.  A daughter goes to a rigorous early morning workout called “boot camp”.  Our son-in-law rides his bike 30 minutes to the train station, as part of his work commute.  Another friend prefers to do laps at the community swimming pool.  Wouldn’t ballroom dancing lessons be fun?  Jack LaLanne celebrated his 70^th birthday by swimming a mile and a half—with his hands handcuffed and towing 70 boats carrying 70 people.  Yeah.  There are a lot of ways to exercise; each should find their own kind of fun. 

Please comment and share your experience with exercise.  What works for you? 

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

(photo from The NY Times, you can read more about Jack LaLanne here)

Nutrition Book #2

In the post “Let The Sunshine In” we looked at the recent dustup over vitamin D.  Vitamin D, more hormone than vitamin, is more crucial to health than previously appreciated. As promised, in this post we review the book, The Vitamin D Solution by scientist Michael F. Holick, PhD, MD. (Another good book is The Vitamin D Cure, by James E. Dowd, MD.) 

Two key questions remain unsettled by science and Dr. Holick gives his input:

•   What is the optimum blood level of vitamin D?  Dr. Holick recommends staying above 30 ng/mL; the Institute of Medicine (IOM), more cautious, used 20 ng/mL in their report.  This is a big deal: the IOM, using “20”, didn’t see a big vitamin D deficiency in America.  If you use Holick’s “30”, there is a widespread deficiency. Others use higher targets, up to 50 ng/mL. Take your pick.    

•   What is the best way to get vitamin D (pills or sunshine)?  Dr. Holick and Dr. Dowd put more emphasis on sunshine, but suggest complementing with pills as needed, especially in northern latitudes.  Food contributes vitamin D also. The vitamin D from sunshine lasts twice as long in your blood according to Holick, and there are 5-10 other molecules also produced by the skin which science is just beginning to study. 

The importance of vitamin D is shown by the diseases it can prevent or help cure, according to Dr. Holick. The cause of these diseases is not fully understood, thus not all agree with Dr. Holick. Because the broad role of vitamin D is a more recent discovery, the passage of time should fill in some of the blanks. Right now, vitamin D looks like a wonder drug; it just might be but we should be careful not to go overboard.  In the meantime we all must decide how to protect our families and ourselves. Below is a partial list of diseases helped by vitamin D:

•   Cancer: breast, prostate, colorectal, ovarian, and pancreatic cancer risk can be reduced up to 30-50% by maintaining your vitamin D, which helps regulate cell growth. Dr. William B. Grant, a vitamin D researcher, has projected 155,000 less internal cancers each year if people get adequate (vitamin D-producing) sunshine.

•   Heart disease: you can reduce your risk of high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke by up to 50%.

•   Fertility: adequate vitamin D improves fertility, reduces risk of C-section, shortens labor, and makes for a healthier baby. 

•   Osteoporosis: the essential role of vitamin D is well known.

•   Autoimmune disease: vitamin D reduces your risk of rheumatoid arthritis, or multiple sclerosis, by up to 40%. Holick also proposes that the epidemic of fibromyalgia in some cases may actually be vitamin D deficiency.

•   Depression: the active form of vitamin D stimulates production of serotonin, essential to good mood.  (Is that why I enjoy the beach so much?)

•   Insomnia: yes, sufficient vitamin D helps you sleep better also.

•   Overweight: vitamin D is necessary for proper production of leptin, which regulates appetite so you don’t eat too much. 

Finally, remember that most dermatologists caution against too much sunshine without noting that some is needed. I like the sunshine but try to avoid getting burned, or even “pink”. Holick must have a sense of humor for he told of a survey for vitamin D levels among dermatologists in Australia: 82% were vitamin D deficient! That will teach them. I saw my own dermatologist the other day and asked why I didn’t see her down at the beach last summer.  She didn’t blink, said her baby was young and tries to eat the sand.  She’s a great doctor.

Let the sunshine in

The quick answer:  Aside from a healthy diet and exercise, the next best thing you can do is to get enough sunshine to maintain a healthy serum vitamin D level.  It’s good for your mood and can help prevent a long list of diseases.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

About Vitamin D

It’s essential to eat vitamin-rich food because the body can’t produce them, with one exception:  With a little sunshine, the body can make it’s own vitamin D.  Unfortunately, the weathermen and dermatologists have scared us out of getting enough sunshine.  Ever had your vitamin D level tested?

Sufficient D is essential to good health; vitamin D receptors are found in cells all through your body.  The growing list of conditions where vitamin D deficiency is a risk factor includes seasonal affective disorder (SAD), osteoporosis, muscle and joint pain including back pain, certain cancers (breast, ovarian, colorectal, and prostate), obesity and diabetes, stroke or heart attack, G.I. diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or Crohn’s disease, and immunological diseases such as MS and Parkinson’s disease.  It’s a long list. 

Vitamin D deficiency increases as you move away from the equator.  In the Sunbelt you can get adequate D year around, though it takes longer in winter.  But if you live above the 40^th latitude parallel, roughly a line through Portland, OR, Salt Lake City, and New York City, you can ski all winter in your bathing suit and not get enough D.

There’s an annual cycle to your vitamin D level.  For most, our D level peaks in the last sunny days of summer, then hits rock bottom as winter turns to spring.  This is the point when you feel the blues, lack energy, or suffer muscle aches.  Because spring just started, your D is likely at its annual low-point (unless you’ve just back sunbathing on a beach in Costa Rica). 

IOM Report

Americans love to take pills.  Maybe it’s because we’re in a rush and taking a pill is a quick fix, but we eat a lot of pills, including vitamin pills.  We get into vitamin fads—remember the vitamin C and E eras?   Usually these end badly; the hoped-for benefit proves elusive, or side effects present.  Because of the growing interest in vitamin D, the Institute of Medicine, perhaps the world’s most prestigious scientific body, was asked to study the vitamin D issue lest we run off on another pill fad.

The IOM report, issued in late 2010, disappointed many because of its cautiousness.  Basically, if you set the minimum level for serum vitamin D at 20 nanograms/mL, most people are OK.  But if you set the level at 30, as some labs do, then up to 80% are deficient.  Some doctors argue that 40-50 is a good range but the IOM couldn’t find sufficient evidence to support a target higher than 20-30.  (The IOM report also looked at calcium supplements and found little support, with the exception of girls in their teens.)

The N. Y. Times ran an article on the IOM report, repeating the message that vitamin D and calcium pills may not be indicated for most.  The article unleashed a torrent of reader comments, many from thoughtful people in the Northeast, the region with the least sunshine for vitamin D.  Readers expressed real anger that there wasn’t better guidance on the optimum vitamin D level, or on the best methods to maintain vitamin D in the winter.  This is a common problem in nutrition—after the billions spent on research, we have these basic questions without a clear answer.

The Vitamin D Solution

The best book I’ve seen on vitamin D is The Vitamin D Solution, written by Dr. Michael Holick, PhD, MD.  Holick suggests a 3-step solution of 1) testing, to know where you are, 2) sensible sunshine, and 3) safe supplementation when sunshine isn’t available. 

The book makes two remarkable statements about vitamin D and cancer:

First, on the benefit of getting sensible sunshine: “vitamin D could be the single most effective medicine in preventing cancer, perhaps even outpacing the benefits of . . . a healthy diet”.  We hear all the time that we should avoid avoid sunshine to prevent skin cancer, which brings us to the second point.

Second, the book quotes Dr. Edward Giovannucci on the benefits of sunshine for vitamin D versus the risk of skin cancer:  sufficient “vitamin D might help prevent 30 deaths for each one caused by skin cancer”.    I like those odds: 30 better outcomes at the risk of one bad outcome.

I recently saw my dermatologist.  She’s a charming woman who cares about her patients.  We talked about the trade-off between getting enough vitamin D the natural way—by sunshine—versus the risk of skin cancer.  The good doctor pointed out that in southern California, you could get sufficient vitamin D with 15 minutes of sunshine on most days.  Of course you have to show a little skin, so I do my workouts outdoors around noontime, wearing shorts and shirts without sleeves (except when it’s cold).  When no one’s around I take off my shirt, but I try to avoid the “pinkness” that’s the first stage of a sunburn. 

I’ve got a physical check-up scheduled that includes a test for vitamin D.  I’ll let you know how it comes out.  I’ll be happy if I have a serum level of 30 ng/mL, the upper range recommended by the IOM.  A number of people have told me their vitamin D levels—I’m forward about asking—and I’ve yet to meet anyone with a value of at least 30.  Per the IOM, this is a big problem, which brings us to this week's Healthy Change:

Please note the term "a little" sunshine, sun that burns or turns the skin pink may be harmful and should be avoided.  (If you live in the northern latitudes, don’t tolerate the sun, or are concerned about your vitamin D, consult your doctor.)

Please comment:  Want to share your experience with vitamin D, or how you tested?  Do you live in the northern latitudes?  If so, what do you do in winter to maintain vitamin D. 

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

Trouble in the Cereal Aisle

In “The Whole Darn Grain” I promised to visit the local grocery store and list the package cereals that met our Healthy Change #3: 

This rule is a simple device for selecting healthy breakfast cereals.  It works for processed foods as well.  Some, for example, have noticed that their “whole wheat” bread has more added sugar than fiber.  (Stay tuned; in a later post we’ll look at healthy breads.)

If you're wondering where to find the sugar and fiber amounts on your cereal at home, see the nutrition facts on the side of the cereal box. Under "Total Carbohydrates" it lists the fiber and the sugar (see the area circled in green below).

The logic behind this Healthy Change follows the daily dictums of three whole-grain servings and limited sugar consumption (6 tsp. max for women, 9 tsp. max for men, per the AHA).  Plus you get all the other benefits of whole grains, including fiber.  When little sugar is pre-added, the cereal can be sweetened and upgraded by adding fresh fruit in the home.

Here are the 8 cereals that met our rule and 5 that were close, out of the 128 package cereals inspected in a local store (Ralph’s, the cereal section was 60 feet long!).  The first number is the grams of fiber, the second is the grams of sugar:

     Nature’s Path Flax plus Multibran,  5/4

     Weetabix Whole Grain Biscuit, 4/2

     Kashi Go Lean Original, 10/6  (Soy is 1^st ingredient listed.)

     Kashi Heart to Heart, 5/5

     Post Grape Nuts, 7/5

     General Mills Kix, 3/3

     Post Shredded Wheat (spoon size), 6/0

     Ralph’s Shredded Wheat (spoon size), 7/<1

     Kellogg’s All Bran, 10/6

     Ralph’s Bran Flakes, 5/5

     General Mills Cheerios, 3/1

     Ralph’s Toasted Oats, 3/1

     General Mills Wheat Chex, 5/5

For the typical family concerned about health and value, hot cereals cooked at home from bulk whole grains are the best choice.  You can buy grains for a dollar or less per pound versus paying three to five dollars a pound for the less-healthy packaged cereals.  Keep a package or two of the store-bought cereals for occasional variety or when you’re unusually rushed. 

If you have a favorite healthy package cereal not on this list, please comment. It may not have been in the store we checked.

The Whole Darn Grain

The previous posts addressed what we eat too much of: sugar and trans fats.  This post is about what we eat too little of: whole grains.  Let’s look at wheat.  We eat more wheat than any other grain, about 140 pounds annually per the USDA.  In the 1880s a new method—the roller mill—was introduced for processing wheat.  What the roller mill did more efficiently than the old stone mills was to remove the most nutritious part: the germ and bran.  Germ and bran are rich in fiber, vitamins, minerals, lignans, antioxidants, and other live-giving phytonutrients.  Modern bleached flour, lacking these natural nutrients, is a nutritional tragedy—it keeps a long time on the shelf, but it won’t sustain health. 

For over a century nutritionists have decried the removal of natural nutrients from the nation’s flour and warned of dire consequences.  At the start of WWII eight vitamins and minerals were suddenly added because of the poor health of inducted soldiers.  There was no scientific evidence that a few synthetic supplements would replace the many nutrients removed; it was simply a wartime decision.  My Dad was a true believer in whole grains; he made our breakfast, baked great bread, and taught us this couplet:

            The whiter the bread,
            The sooner you’re dead.

Scientists have found truth in this saying.  Today there is a movement to salvage what was lost: the Department of Health in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans counseled returning to a diet of whole grains, asking for 3 servings daily.  We can do better.  Studies show that 80% of Americans consume less than one daily serving.  Whole grains are protective of many chronic diseases, as shown in the following studies:

•   Chronic diseases (Burkitt 1975)

•   Cancer (Jacobs 1998; Slavin 2000; Fung 2005)

•   Atherosclerosis (Malik 2007)

•   Coronary heart disease and stroke (Liu, 1999; Truswell 2002; Jacobs 2004; Flight 2006; Mellen 2008)

•   Weight gain and diabetes (Liu 2003; Venn 2004)

•   All-cause mortality (Jacobs 2000; Steffen 2003)

Here is a rule that will help in selecting healthy foods made from whole grains.  At first I used it to select a healthy breakfast cereal, but it can be applied to any cereal product, including chips, crackers and bakery items:

A warning about the reality of our food world: much of the stuff in the center of our grocery stores isn't healthy per this rule.  Among breakfast cereals Old Fashioned Quaker Oats complies.  Post Shredded Wheat biscuits are good too (but not the modern bite size ones coated with sugar).  Later this week I'll check the breakfast cereal section of my grocery store and post a list of qualifying "healthy" cereals.  It'll be short.

A caution about gluten intolerance, including Celiac disease:  Celiac disease is a serious life-threatening illness that requires careful avoidance of grains with gluten, including wheat.   Less than 1% of Americans have this condition but incidence has increased dramatically in the last decade.  The cause of the disease and the reason for the sudden growth is unknown, but the modern diet is a likely factor.  If you suspect you have this disease (it’s difficult to diagnose), consult your doctor.

Need a reminder? Download our Healthy Change reminder card. Print and fold, then place in your kitchen or on your bathroom mirror to help you remember the Healthy Change of the week.

Healthy Recipe #2: Oven-Roasted Fries

In the post Fat City we promised a recipe for oven-roasted potatoes you can use to replace French fries.  (Restaurant fries are laden with unhealthy oils, including trans fats.  You can fry potatoes at home using healthy oils, but roasting potatoes is easier and better for you.)  Experiment with other starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes.  Feeds three to four people.

Ingredients:

1/8 cup extra virgin olive oil

1  teaspoon minced garlic

1/2  teaspoon dried basil

1/2  teaspoon dried dill weed

1/2  teaspoon dried thyme

1/2  teaspoon dried oregano

1/2  teaspoon dried parsley 

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, or potato of your choice

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

In a large bowl, combine oil and spices (except salt and pepper). Wash the potatoes and cut into wedges, leaving the skins on.  (Thinner wedges are crispier and cook faster.)  Add wedges to the bowl and coat evenly. Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet, add salt and pepper to taste. 

Roast for 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees, flipping the potatoes after 20 minutes to brown on both sides. 

Health note:  Potatoes are avoided by some due to their high glycemic index, which can raise blood sugar.  Combining them with olive oil slows down metabolism and smoothes the sugar spike.  The spices are both flavorful and rich in antioxidants.