Chocolate shake, medium food in action

When I was pregnant with my second son last summer and working two jobs, my son, Gavin, was unfortunately introduced to the drive-thru and the chocolate shake. What was I thinking? Well, I was pregnant so I'll use that as my excuse and leave it at that.

My husband and I have always been great with how we feed Gav. Organic baby foods, whole grain breads, etc. But I broke our streak. And as I should have expected, Gavin took a liking to those junky shakes. I knew I had to find a replacement that Gav would accept ASAP.

Occasionally, we stop by Jamba Juice. Those smoothies can really get expensive so that's why I say, occasionally. I also understand the high amount of sugar some of them can pack, another good reason not to visit often. Anyhow, I remembered they have a chocolate smoothie. So the next time my son requested a chocolate shake, that's where we would go.

The request inevitably came and my plan was set into motion. As soon as he realized we weren't heading in the direction of the chocolate shake place, he protested. I confidently told him not to worry, we were indeed on our way to get him a chocolate shake. As we parked, he unhappily said "this is the smoothie place mommy, not where I get my chocolate shake!" Again, confidently and with excitement, I told him that the smoothie place makes chocolate shakes too! I must have been convincing because his concern subsided and after inside, he waited calmly for his "chocolate shake."

I was a bit nervous upon handing him the cup. He looked through the clear lid and after a second of concern on his face, his eyes lit up. The contents within looked like his familiar treat and then after the first sip, a big smile appeared. I smiled back at him and he said "mommy, it is my chocolate shake!" I said "see honey, mommy told you they made chocolate shakes here."

I got lucky. My son made the switch without an issue. Now, going to Jamba Juice is automatically what he expects when we go out for a shake. I'm proud of him and of me for nipping this potential taste for junky fast food in the bud.

And as an FYI, here's the nutritional info comparison:

	Calories	Fat	Carb	Fiber	Sugar	Protein
Jamba Juice Chocolate Moo'd, 16 oz.	430	4	86	2	77	11
Fast Food Chocolate Shake, 16 oz.	580	14	102	1	84	13

Refried beans (my way)

One of the easiest foods to make is refried beans. So why do I always buy a can of them? Good old convenience I suppose. Well in my ongoing efforts to eliminate as many cans and boxes, I discovered a great way to make my own. And unlike other scratch vs. prepared, this one is actually more cost-effective to make from scratch.

Homemade Refried Style Beans

3 cups dry pinto beans (I use organic)
1 medium onion, quartered
4 garlic cloves, minced
3 teaspoons salt
9 cups water

Rinse beans. Put beans, onion, garlic, salt and water in crock pot. Cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Strain beans, reserving the liquid. Mash beans adding liquid as needed for desired consistency.

There are variations on this recipe that add black pepper, diced jalapeno and/or cumin. I've tried it with jalapeno but prefer it without mainly because it's too spicy for my son. I've also tried it with pepper and without, liked it better without. As you can see, there is a lot of room for variation and putting your own spin on this basic recipe. Enjoy!

Organic vs. Conventional

I mentioned in a previous post that we don't always buy organic. It comes down to budget. We can't buy everything organic and all the boutique type real foods out there, just don't have the cash flow. On that note, I thought I'd post the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 of produce from the Environmental Working Group's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides.

Dirty Dozen:
Celery
Peaches
Strawberries
Apples
Blueberries
Nectarines
Bell Peppers
Spinach
Kale
Cherries
Potatoes
Grapes (Imported)

Clean 15:
Onions
Avocado
Sweet Corn
Pineapple
Mangos
Sweet Peas
Asparagus
Kiwi
Cabbage
Eggplant
Cantaloupe
Watermelon
Grapefruit
Sweet Potato
Honeydew
Melon

This is important information to have. It's good for your health and your budget.

Good snack

I like to bake and enjoy finding and trying new recipes. Upon searching for a replacement for my husband's afternoon snack of packaged fig bars, I found the following recipe from a great blog called Enlightened Cooking.

This bread is fantastic! I changed one ingredient, link to the original recipe is at the end of this post.

Camilla’s Whole Grain Banana Bread with Flax

2 cups white whole wheat flour
3 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (flax meal)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
1 and 2/3 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
1/3 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9x5-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl whisk the flour, flax, baking soda, salt, and nutmeg.

In a large bowl beat the butter and sugar with an electric mixer (I hand mixed it) set at medium speed until well blended. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the banana, yogurt, and vanilla until just blended. Stir in the flour mixture by hand until just blended. Spoon batter into prepared pan.

Bake 55-60 minutes (mine is always done at 55 minutes) or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Invert onto wire rack, turn upright, and cool completely. Makes 14 slices/servings. (I slice it into 12 pieces.)

Camilla’s Whole Grain Banana Bread with Flax is a must try recipe. Click here for the original post/recipe.

Priorities

Thought it would be nice to share how we currently prioritize the where, what and how of our food shopping. Doing this will also help me see where I can make changes/improvements.

Meat, poultry: Organic and/or local. We purchase a minimal amount of meat and buy it from the farmers' market or Whole Foods. Holding Ranch is the farm we buy from at our farmers' market and Whole Foods offers meat and poultry from farms in places like Sonora and Sonoma.

"We still do meat and poultry the old-fashioned way, when people cared where their meat came from, how it was raised and how it was processed. This is from the Whole Foods site, I liked it and wanted to share. You can read the entire section here. I know Whole Foods has its faults and has become a little bit of a giant but it's one of the better choices we have.

Dairy, Eggs: We buy Clover Stornetta brand milk, yogurt and eggs from Whole Foods. We don't buy the organic because that's one place we've decided to compromise for budget sake. I trust Clover's farming practices enough to skip the organic. A note about eggs: I would love to buy farm fresh eggs but at $6 a dozen we can't swing it right now.

Cheese: Is that considered dairy too? Yeah but I'm giving it its own section anyhow. We buy cheese from Trader Joe's because of price and they claim no hormones, etc. I'm still researching what companies TJ's uses to produce their food. I stopped buying meat from there a long time ago because one, I got a package of chicken that was horribly bad well before the sell by date and two, they won't disclose where they get their meat and poultry from due to "confidentiality." Not acceptable. Now with that in mind, what about the cheese I'm buying? Could be from lousy producers I know but I still have some faith in their organization and feel comfortable for the time being getting it from them.

Produce: Organic or pesticide free preferably local. Again, we buy from the farmers' market or Whole Foods. The farmers' market is usually a better value unless WF is having a sale.

Bread: This is an item that I flip flop on. I prefer the bread from Great Harvest at the farmers' market but it's $5.50 a loaf. With us not compromising on meat, poultry and produce, we can't afford it on a regular basis. Next in line is Rudi's Organic brand at $4.39, still pricey. Then there's Organic Whole Wheat from TJ's at $2.99, which is the right price and decent but I triple check the date and the loaf itself for mold as I've had freshness issues more than a few times with their bread.

Boxed food, canned goods: Yes, there's still a good amount of this stuff in our pantry. I do my best to pick items with a decent ingredient list and high nutritional value. I buy at WF and TJ's.

I will go into more details on the specific items we buy and prices at a later time. So how do you prioritize your grocery shopping? Feel free to share your method.

Why Medium Food?

I originally called my blog Slow Food Small Budget but as I was creating content, I kept finding myself unable to be as "slow" as I had intended and unable to eliminate all processed foods. I have two young children, a three year old and a nine month old, which makes it particularly challenging.

The other part of my challenge was/is budget. It's just a fact, real food costs more. Over the past few years, my husband and I have learned to prioritize how we purchase our food. And even more so since I've been out of work. As we eliminated packaged foods, convenience meals, started buying only local meat and produce and only eating "treats" we made ourselves, our grocery budget was busted.

The budget restrictions coupled with the feeling of failure to eat perfectly slow was frustrating and a feeling of defeat was creeping in. After some sulking, I became determined to find a happy medium. I would do my best to buy only locally produced, high quality food, reduce processed foods and make the majority of our meals from scratch. And that's when "medium food" was termed.

Here's a couple of definitions for you.

Slow Food (from slowfoodusa.org): Slow Food is an idea, a way of living and a way of eating. It is a global, grassroots movement with thousands of members around the world that links the pleasure of food with a commitment to community and the environment.

Fast Food (from m-w.com): of, relating to, or specializing in food that can be prepared and served quickly; designed for ready availability, use, or consumption and with little consideration given to quality or significance.

"...and with little consideration given to quality or significance." Love that, pretty sobering way to put it. Anyhow, slow food is a movement I respect and do my best to contribute to. Fast food is a thing of the past. I've recovered from the denial that it was decent food and perfectly acceptable in a pinch.

As my journey continues, I will keep updating. This subject has become a passion of mine and my desire to build a healthy foundation for my boys is certainly going to keep me determined to find solutions to the challenges I'll inevitably face.

Welcome to my blog

After several months of trying to eat all things "slow" (on a small budget), I've created a new category: Medium Food. A way of eating somewhere between Slow and Fast.

As I blog about my journey to the "happy medium" I'll be able to better define what I mean by Medium Food. I hope blogging about the subject will not only help me and my family but help other families learn more about the importance of food, where it comes from, and the impact it has on our bodies and the environment. I will focus on clean, local and organic foods with an emphasis on nutrition, practicality and budget.

My goal is to consistently feed myself and my family good, clean and fair food within our budget and among the chaos, while teaching my children the importance of good food. I also hope to inspire others to adopt a slower way of eating by sharing my experiences, challenges, tips and recipes.

I don't claim to be an expert on the subject, just the opposite actually. I'm learning and will share what I learn here. And that is my disclaimer to my readers. I'm not a health professional in any way, just a mom determined to feed her family good food.