5 steps to a lifetime of clean eating

We’re constantly inundated with marketing, convenience foods, and food trends, that it’s hard to know what foods are healthy and make you feel good. As the saying goes “You are what you eat.” but do we really know what we’re eating and how it affects us? Or, we always know what we “shouldn’t” be eating, but do it anyway for lack of choice, inspiration or knowledge. It may seem like a daunting to take charge of your food choices and to eat healthy, but it can all be achieved with five easy steps.

Time for a Spring Clean!

Have you been hibernating this winter, "comforting" yourself with food? Need to kick that sugar habit? Get rid of that brain fog? Ready to shed those winter coats... and maybe a few extra pounds?

It's time to start a spring clean with the Yommme™10-day detox program!

Successful completed session April 13-22, 2015

Feel Good About Your Food Program

Where's the beef?

I made this "Rainbow" Chili for my family the other night, and it was
eaten up with great enjoyment. They didn't even realize until at the end
of the meal that there wasn't any meat in it! ;)

Veggie Pan-fried Dumplings

Have a picky eater? Dumplings are a great way to get those veggies in!

I've tried a few times to move away from the traditional pork and vegetable dumplings that I've been making for years, to a vegetarian option, but haven't had much success, as those dumplings always tended to fall to pieces when boiling them. My good friend, Karen, who has been vegetarian for over 20 years gave me the tip to cook all the vegetables first in order to remove all the excess water before stuffing the wrappers. I like preparing a big batch of dumplings to have in the freezer, as my "go to", especially now that the weather is starting to cool down. While I've never had the time to make my own wrappers, I'm sure I will get there one day, making a batch of gluten-free ones. ;) The dumpling filling is definitely tastier when pan-fried or steamed, especially for these farm-fresh veggie-licious ones. 

Healthy Packed Lunch

It's that time of year again: Back To School! Are YOU ready to get back into the swing of things? Getting your little one(s) up, fed, and out the door with food?

To ensure that your kids are getting necessary nutrients throughout the day, consider what the foods that you pack them for lunch. Research shows that processed food (with added flavor, coloring and preservatives) affects a child's well-being as well as learning and behavioral issues. 

Food-on-the-Go

THIS is BREAKFAST?
I'm guessing you eat the mint
intsead of brushing your teeth...

Food-On-the-Go doesn't have to be unhealthy, tasteless and stressful. Even when we do mini day-trips, it's guaranteed that my kids need water or a snack, so we never leave the house without water bottles and something "just in case". So every time we head out for a road trip or plane ride, along with the water bottles, I make sure to prepare foods that are substantial and convenient to eat in transit, and pack a bag of healthy snacks like fruits and nuts. 

Using any leftovers you have will also make a good meal. Basically anything you would pack for lunch works, like a sandwich, because you know that it's a disappointing choice, unless you're traveling first class. ;) In preparation for a trip, merely cook a little more of a few meals and use up all foods in the fridge so that you're not scrambling last minute to have foods AND finish everything up AND pack!!! 

Empty the fridge and bring your leftovers for a great in-flight meal

Frozen Treats – that are Yummy AND Healthy!

Yes! Summer is here and we're always in need of a cold, refreshing treat. Here are a few incredibly simple recipes for healthy ice-cream alternatives! What's not to love about homemade, no added sugar, dairy-free, frozen treats? 

COLORFUL COCO-CUBES
Fresh fruit or herbs, the more colorful, the better
Coconut water 

• Cut the fruit into small pieces, and place into individual ice cube tray compartments. 
• Fill with coconut water.
• Freeze for 3-4 hours, until solid.
• Eat them for a mini-treat, or put them in your water for added nutrition and flavor to your water. :)

Where are the vegetables?

Over time, all perception of food portions has gone completely out of whack! Fast food chains have super-sized everything; restaurant chains sell sub-quality foods in copious amounts to offer "value" to the customer; and even that crazy show "Man vs Food" shows off gluttony to the extreme. It's no wonder there is an ever-growing problem with obesity. Ever had a just big bowl of mac 'n cheese for dinner? Feeding your kids the Standard American Diet (SAD)? WHERE are the vegetables? (and no, French fries and ketchup don't count...) We've been influenced to think that even the lettuce and pickle on a burger is good enough for your vegetable intake. Guess what? It isn't even close to being enough. C'mon, you know it's true.

When you look at the calories one consumes from the Traditional "meat and potatoes" diet, it is easy to surpass the 2000* calorie with just one meal. But wait, it's not about counting calories each day. It's really about making the shift and adding more vegetables, full of natural fiber, vitamins and minerals, to each and every meal. It's common sense to know that vegetables are much lower in calories than meat and dairy. A big bowl of vegetables takes longer for your body to digest without spiking your blood-sugar levels and gives you so many natural benefits, much more than that bowl of cheesy pasta (which, by the way, is essentially is made from all processed ingredients, even if you do make it "from scratch.") Do you think that you are denying yourself nutrients by eating less animal protein and by-products? Take a look at why "Kale is the New Beef". ;)

In the past few months, I've made the shift in my meal preparation. From the traditional vegetables as a side-dish, they now take prominence in each meal (most of the time.) It took awhile to get to this point, but it has really made a difference. Not only do we save money by buying less meat, there are improvements in my family's overall health as a result of this simple change. Joining the CSA (community-supported agriculture) has also inspired me to try new vegetables and recipes. 

For the most part, it's about being conscious of what you buy and what you eat. A good place to start is by "Eating the Rainbow" each day, getting vegetables of all colors into your belly. Have a picky eater? Make a juice or a smoothie. Puree some vegetables to add to a pasta sauce. Have dips on-hand for fun, flavorful eating. Veggies don't have to be boring! 

*This is an average amount for an adult. Specific daily calorie intake is based on your gender, age, and physical activity

Maple Quinoa Crunchy Granola

Who doesn't love "dessert" 

first thing in the morning?

When we stayed at our friend's house for the weekend a few weeks ago, I thought it would be nice to make a different kind of breakfast (think gluten-free) for everyone, so we picked up some stuff to make parfaits. They had KIND Maple Quinoa Clusters on-hand which both my kids and I fell in love with. I'm used to making my own granola, so it was nice to try another product, especially having heard good things about this particular brand.

Of course, I needed to try to make this as one bag wouldn't even last a day in our household. ;-) My first attempt at a copycat KIND recipe came from gluten free on a shoestring tasted great, but didn't "cluster" and the taste of millet was quite strong, so I adapted the recipe a bit the second time around by grinding up some of the whole grains and adding water to help everything stick together. 

All these gluten-free whole grains are packed with protein, fiber and nutrients, making this granola a superfood super breakfast, snack or even dessert! ;-)

Veggie Burgers (glutenfree, soyfree, vegan)

Like with any food you prepare from home, it will always be thousands of times better than any factory-made version. Not only can you ensure the good quality of ingredients, you can have the flexibility of making your own flavor combinations and customized them to your dietary needs. I've never been a fan of store-bought veggie burgers (or maybe was just too scared to try!) They may be marketed as healthy, but in reality, are filled with GMO ingredients, artificial flavorings, highly-processed soy and fillers. 

These recipes are very simple to make, using real, whole food ingredients. You can soak and prepare dried beans in advance, or use ready-to-eat beans for convenience. Leftover roasted/steamed sweet potatoes or pre-cooked rice, millet, or quinoa makes it incredibly easy to just mash together with a few spices. Store extra patties in your freezer for when you need the convenience of something ready-made. Bake, grill or lightly pan-fry them to heat through. 

Stuffed into mushroom caps (cremini)
and baked at 350°F (180°C) for 15 minutes.
It's a great little appetizer!

BEANS/LEGUMES are loaded with fiber, protein, iron, and B vitamins. They're the perfect way to add more plant-based protein into your diet. 

• To prepare dried beans (1 cup), pick out broken or discolored pieces. Rinse, then soak in ample water for 6 hours or overnight. 
• Drain and rinse. In a heavy-based pot add the beans and 3-4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, skimming off and discarding the foam. 
• Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes until soft. Add 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of sea salt in the last 10 minutes of cooking time. Drain.

Potato Pancakes Plus

It seems that the demise of the Standard American Diet (SAD, as coined by author Mark Bittman) is heavily reliant on French fries as the "vegetable" portion of the meal. Did you know the average American consumes 29 pounds of french fries a year!? Processed and fast food fries are not only high in cholesterol, calories and salt, they could also be the cause cancer, diabetes. If you "need" fries, simply cut up a potato, toss in olive oil and bake it in the oven. It's that easy. Alternatively you can give your family their potato "fix" with healthy potato pancakes/fritters/latkes loaded with vegetables. French fry-loving kids won't have to miss the potato taste, and they're getting the benefits of a variety of vegetables they might not otherwise eat. If you make these a staple part of your family meals, you can gradually reduce the starchy potato in favor of more vegetables. 

Cauliflower rice sushi

"Cauliflower Rice" with greenmarket farm-fresh purple cauliflower! I'm so in love with the vibrant color!!!

A video posted by christine (@conscious_cooking) on Oct 10, 2014 at 7:52pm PDT

We eat a lot of rice. While it is brown rice is a whole grain, I have always been conscious of not having it as the predominant part of the meal. When you go to a Chinese diner, the fried rice is always 90% rice, 10% meat and vegetables. At home, the fried rice is a 50%/50% ratio. Again, like with the zucchini "pasta" when I first saw Instagram posts for cauliflower rice and cauliflower rice sushi, I knew I had to try them both. (continued below...)

Banana-Berry Muffins

Eating bread, cereal or a pastry every morning? You wouldn't even notice that these muffins are eggless, gluten-free and dairy-free. They're a great start to the day, a perfect snack. Making them yourself guarantees plenty of fruit, not just one or two when you buy a store bought version. These muffins I used blueberries, strawberries and raspberries. You can also use cranberries with some grated orange zest. I love that these are full of goodness. I used to bake my vegan treats by substituting the egg with applesauce, but found that it made it too heavy and dense. Flaxseed meal is just ground up flax seeds, which you could make yourself in a food processor. Very handy!

Back-to-School!

Various bits of meal prep for the week ahead

Back to school means back to a schedule of preparing breakfasts and lunches and getting the kids out the door in time. On Instagram, I see a lot of (single) people who do a meal prep for the week. I can't even fathom doing that just yet, but as a step to save time and not rush around in the morning, I sat down and wrote a rough list of foods that the kids like for breakfast and lunch. The supermarket is right next to the school, so it's too easy to go there every day to pick something up. But I would much rather try to keep that to a minimum and get most of the week's food in one go. Just having the food on-hand, like fruits and vegetables is already a great option. Washing and preparing some vegetables in advance saves that extra few minutes in the morning. I still try to focus on whole ingredients (real food), rather than stocking up on the "convenient" packaged/overly processed foods and snacks that are on the supermarket shelves. Anything homemade, using whole ingredients has got to be better than anything made in a factory!

Check out my guest blog on Box Play for Kids for yummy lunch ideas for younger kids!

BLISS BALLS (aka AMAZEBALLS, Energy Bites, Power Bites, Vegan Truffles, etc)

I always see variations of these posted on Instagram (a.k.a. Protein Balls, Bliss Balls, Energy Bites, Power Bites, etc), and have always wanted to try to make them. 

Originally the batch was made without the crunchy bits (I rolled a few with the coconut as I'm the only one who likes coconut). We couldn't wait to try them before they firmed up, and they were reminiscent of raw cookie dough (without the worry of salmonella). We agreed they needed some "crunch" so I re-rolled a portion with chocolate chips that I had on-hand, and another portion with extra nut pieces. Trying them much later, they are great with the variation in texture, and similar to a dense cake morsel. 

Full of flexibility, and options to integrate personal favorite flavors, these make a great raw, gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan snack, full of goodness! Check out my CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER combo at millenial-kitchen.com 

Better burgers & balls

Veggie burgers never looked so good!

It's the July 4th, and who doesn't love a good burger? Instead of buying ready-made or frozen make your own patties! Here's a few options for all – herbivores, chickentarians, and carnivores. You can make these on the grill or in a hot pan. Don't forget all the trimmings!  Cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion (raw or caramelized)...

If you want to skip the bread, then roll them into smaller balls for yummy veggie balls or meatballs. (Great for packing in a school lunch, in a sandwich or with sauce to dip them in.) Sauté the balls gently on a well-oiled pan for 10-12 minutes, turning them often to brown all sides. Cover and let simmer on low heat for another 5 minutes

Power Foods

Gluten-free? Dairy-free? Sugar-free? Meatless? I've been a little confused lately in making the right choices of what to eat. We, as a society, have become so accustomed to so many foods, that it's hard to break these habits. Thankfully, little by little, the world is getting more health conscious... and its amazing to be a part of it! I feel like I've a head start with all the cooking I've done, but have some catching up to do in recognizing and fully understanding some of the latest health food trends: From juice fasting/cleansing to raw foods or paleo, or even just going gluten-free (see 11 hidden sources of gluten), it's a definite commitment to break old habits and make these work. A special diet is easiest to adhere to if you make all your own food. Ultimately, I also believe that, unless you have health-related, religious or ethical dietary restrictions, as long as you vary your foods from day to day, and eat lots of vegetables and whole foods (not processed), it's clean, healthy eating. Here's a list of "power"or "super" foods from a book of the same name, as well as from some other sources. So whether you are a meat-eater, milk-drinker, carbo-loader, or have a sweet (or salty) tooth, integrating any of these foods into your meals can only be good for you. 

Quinoa!!!

For a salad, combine with 2 cups of vegetables,
raw and/or cooked, finely chopped and dress lightly
with a simple vinaigrette

QUINOA (pronounced KEEN-wah) is THE superfood. Gluten-free and easy to digest, this seed is a complete protein (equivalent to milk). High in B vitamins, iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, calcium and vitamin E, it's the ideal food for endurance and strengthening your body. 

Use quinoa as a substitute for any grain, like for a couscous, a fried rice, a salad, or with granola. 

Red quinoa – Quinoa cooked
together with 1/4 of a beetroot,
peeled and finely chopped

My Juice Fast

I never thought I could do this, as I love food so much! The other night, my friend Robert suggested we do a 3-day juice cleanse together. I thought about my recent food choices, I've been eating less and less meat and dairy, trying to cut out (or not depend so much on wheat), so it made sense to do this now and give my 40+ year old body a break! I looked up all the things that might improve going on a liquid veggie diet: aside from weight loss, immunity boost, healthy skin, better sleep, loss of joint aches and pains, clearer eyesight... the list goes on and on. That all sounds perfect, so why not give it a try? I have my trusty juicer from my Hong Kong days, let's do it!