Semiserious Chefs

General Recap

One year ago I was privileged with the ability to ‘come back home’ and again be a full time homemaker, mother, and caregiver. I had a huge list of goals that I desired to accomplish and put to ticking them off one at a time. Some things were mandatory to create order, some things were mandatory for our son’s health and well being, while others fell to the next level as occupational or character building. When it came specifically to nutrition Nathan and I pretty quickly got into a healthy routine of eating regularly and eating generally well enough. That is when the next tier of work began, and where I left this story off a little more than 6 month ago.

My official (summarized) list of goals for Nathan contained about a half-dozen bullet points, but could pretty easily be summed up as things to be controlled a little better, (fats and sugars basically,) and things I desired to add nutritionally, (foods he already liked and power packed foods I think he could learn to like [or at least tolerate] through exposure.) …And of-course to get him out and a little more active. I am so happy to announce that at this point we have made great strides in both areas, with the third coming around closely behind.

“Controlling” Some Things

With a more proper eating schedule under wing I began limiting the candy intake. It was still sort of an ‘if-than’ type of situation, but without expecting large meals to be eaten in order for treats to be enjoyed. Soon it was having smaller bits at a time and, “You’ve had a little already today, let’s wait until later for some more.”

I also switched from crackers for snacks to fresh baked flat bread. I started purchasing pre-made pizza dough, dividing it into 4 portions for freezing. It is so easy to stash a portion or two in the fridge for a quick grab, and I discovered that pan frying the ~6-8 inch diameter rounds on both sides is not only fast, clean, and efficient, it also makes for great texture. I don’t have to kneed it or wait for a period of rising, and I love that I can add herbs into or on top of the dough, or offer a healthy spread as an accompaniment. The dough is also particularly good baked with some fresh mozzarella slices on it.

This is all in-step with the goal of dropping out some unnecessary fats. Crackers are loaded with fat while bread is not, and mozzarella cheese is relatively low in fat as far as cheeses go. I am also using snacks like this as a way to control natural blood sugar levels and the hyperactivity, distinctiveness, and extreme hunger or desire for sugary treats that can come to Nathan when too much time lapses between meals.

The change to lower fat starch options was coupled with portioned fatty or lean protein parings for both meals and snacks. Basically I put together a list of starches, proteins, fruits, and vegetables that Nathan particularly likes and pair a couple of them together. I have a generic ‘lunches’ list and an itemized ‘snacks’ list that I reference as needed to either change things up for him or to quickly come up with something when I haven’t yet thought about it for the day. I also use it for the weekly shopping.

• Here are a few snack combinations Nathan commonly eats:
  • furikake on white rice with mukamame or imitation crab
  • apples with peanut butter
  • sprouted mung beans and jicama
  • dried (unsweetened) mango slices and sesame cracker sticks
  • hummus and carrots
  • cilantro lime avocado spread on flat bread
  • seaweed crackers and roasted peanuts.
  • unbuttered fresh popped corn with savory seasoning and brewer’s yeast

Lunches are mostly leftovers ‘re-imagined.’ This might be made with something from the fridge or perhaps pre-made and frozen, like 2 cups of shredded pork-roast or a small baggie of last week’s sloppy joes. I also section off the meat we buy into one or two serving portions before freezing, so I might pull out two chicken thighs or two pork chops packaged together and make something simple with them.

I liken my stove-top, table top, refrigerator, and freezer to a marry-go-round. A little from here, a little from there, and never enough space in any of those areas, causing food to exist in a state of continuous rotation. You could compare our daytime eating to a Chinese lazy susan of dim sum, a table set with Korean banchan, or even one of those conveyor belt sushi buffets… and then top it all of with a very serious need to be budget minded.

Adding Nutrition

This goal was not nearly as challenging, as I was simply trying to add more of the things he already liked, verses the above which involved taking away (minimizing) something he loved – sweets. I quite simply reduced the initial serving size of the main course, with the option to eat plenty more of it as desired, and added a good size helping of a favorite vegetable on the side. Go figure, if it’s one he likes he will eat “a good size portion.” In reality, as a parent it isn’t him that I am training, but rather me training myself to make meals that are more rounded. With every goal I’ve set Nathan has quite literally stepped to the plate.

Not having to worry about salting foods has been an added bonus to this process. I can season his snacks and meals as much as I like and I know that a bit of flavor can really bring vegetarian dishes to a whole new level. I stopped adding butter to his vegetables a while back instead just salting them with a dash of pepper. Speaking of, I am also peppering his foods a bit, and a bit more each time, to bring some heat tolerance to his pallet, as I would really like him to enjoy a diet of varied cuisines. (He has also been trying mildly spicy foods himself, so this isn’t a completely forced idea.) One last change has been to add either mung dal or vegetable rice (the pea and lentil type that is packaged dry) in with white rice for meals. This adds nutrition as well as protein, and enough to not even require a meat accompaniment. A little bullion in the simmering water or a favorite sauce brings everything together nicely.


Now, have I gotten him to like sweet potatoes? He tolerates them so I don’t push it too much, but I have managed to sneak purple potatoes into his repertoire. He’ll do tofu if it’s teriyaki, AKA sweet, so that’s not so bad, but does he want to eat pumpkin? Not really. He does NOT like the texture of garbanzo beans, but he loves hummus, and other mashed bean pastes have been pulled off before. I also tried some zucchini/squash options, and even with a cheese sauce he was not really biting.

In conclusion, one part of the ‘add more’ goal has been very successfully integrated, but we’re still working on the induction of some of those new ingredients. To refresh, and in the case that I make a blog post later with updates, below are the ingredients I had, and still want, to see him learn to like a bit more. Mostly I just need to keep trying them on him.

• green and yellow zucchini
• eggplant
• sweet potato
• pumpkin/squash
• cabbages and bok choy
• wild rice
• bulgar
• quinoa
• barley
• beans
• tofu
• split peas
• lentils
• oatmeal (but not expected to be as a porridge)
  
  

My FAVORITE Change

A couple months ago we moved. With this move it was decided that we, as a family, were going to work on healthier habits. I was DELIGHTED (did I wrote that big enough?) when soda was finally dropped from the Dad’s Spoils list. I can absolutely say that we are not bringing soda into the house at this point. Nathan has been given free reign of some candy each week, but only his specific ‘stash,’ a moderate amount, and when he eats it up it is gone until the next week. This was a MAJOR improvement and what I would consider the most important change.

This is not to say that he isn’t allowed other junk, like a couple small cookies daily, or the right to buy a slushy with his saved holiday money when we get gas. But we all live and work at home, so how often is that really? Along with this change I promised Nathan that I would let sweet dishes, like homemade teriyaki, actually have a reasonable amount of sugar since he is cutting back on the unnecessarily sugary treats during the rest of the day. (I lean toward savory and don’t use a lot, and sometime not enough, sugar in my cooking.)

In Conclusion

My son, my eleven year old son, is not on a diet. He is not being asked to loose weight. I have told him straight out that it is my job to prepare him for life as an adult and, “I just don’t want you to grow up thinking that soda for breakfast is okay.”

There have also been so many other occupational growths for him, such as self-driven hygiene care, chores, education, and off screen occupying, but those are a topic for another blog, which I am sure you will be thrilled to read when I get around to sharing, but for now I will let this update rest with the self assurance that I really am making ground and feel confident that if my son does indeed end up living in my basement tied to a computer, he will at least not be drinking Mountain Dew for breakfast and playing World of Warcraft all day.