Nourishing Bytes: Real Food for Survival

It has been a while since I wrote a "Nourishing Bytes" post.  So, what better time to write one than after enjoying a delicious nutritious meal as a family.  I mentioned in the past that when I was stricken with cancer, one of the first questions I asked myself is "what, if anything, could I have done to prevent this?"  Honestly, I am not sure the answer to this question.  But, I do not that I can only control some things in my life.  And, what goes into my mouth, and the mouths of my family is within my control.  I believe not only is it something that is within my control, but that I should even glorify God with my body.  For me, this means making sure I fuel it with healthy substances, rather than consume foods and beverages that could harm it.  (1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 (ESV) states, "Or do you not know that you body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?  You are not your own, for you were bought with a price.  So glorify God in your body.")

With that said, I understand that in the country in which we live, it is probably the most difficult to consume "real food".  Convenience, packaged foods are readily available and often seem cheaper than real, whole foods.  But, since undergoing our 10-day real food pledge challenge, we have really figured out how to live on real, whole, mostly organic and local foods. and do so very inexpensively.  We pretty much eat from scratch and consume VERY little packaged foods.  The packaged foods that we do eat do not contain ingredients that are hard to pronounce or don't occur in nature.  If you were to tell me a year ago that that is how we would be eating, I would be surprised.  It sounds like it takes a LOT of work and expensive.  However, now that we went through the challenge and I have had a lot of practice since, it is actually easier and significantly cheaper than eating packaged foods or going out.  Plus, I know every single ingredient that is going into our bodies.  It makes me feel good in so many ways!

Michael Pollan, in his newest book, "Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation," writes in the introduction that at a certain point in the late middle of his life, he made a discovery that the answer to several of the questions that most occupied him was in fact one and the same:  cook.  The questions, some of which were personal included, "what was the single most important thing we could do as a family to improve our health and general well-being?" Also, "what would be a good way to better connect to my teenage son?"  Then, there were the more political questions, "What is the most important thing an ordinary person can do to help reform the American food system, to make it healthier and more sustainable?"  Even though "cooking from scratch" is an answer to each of these questions, survey research confirms we're cooking less and buying more prepared meals every year.  In fact, time spent preparing meals in American households has fallen by half since the mid-sixties, to a measly 27 minutes a day.   However, we're talking about cooking more.  Cooking magazines and television shows continue to gain in popularity.  We like to read about it and watch it being done on television, but spend more time being spectatators, as a culture, than actually participating.

After spending some quality time cooking a simple, easy, nutritious and delicious meal with my family the other night, I decided it was time to write a post about this.  If I ever begin to deviate from this way of living, I want to re-read this and remember just how easy and awesome it is to live this way.  The kids LOVE participating in the meals.  We never make separate meals for different members of the family.  We all eat the same foods as a family at meal time each evening.  It is a wonderful time of bonding and enjoying the food that GOD (not man--as in man-made chemicals, preservatives) has given us.   Also, as a result, our kids have some pretty diverse palates and are willing to try pretty much anything.  In my opinion, teaching them to enjoy food is a critical part of their development as little human beings.  I want them to learn that we should glorify God in all things--even in the foods we consume.

We have saved a significant amount of money by consuming more veggies (even though organic) than meats.   If we have a meat protein with our meal, it is never the highlight, but rather acts like more of a "side."  If you look at all of the longest living cultures, this is how they live.  And, contrary to what you might think, we never have a problem with not feeling full.  We feel happy, healthy and satisfied!

Here is an example of a super-cheap, nutrient-packed meal, which we consumed a couple of nights ago.

Egg and veggie frittata, with an arugula, berry and watermelon salad, and garlic cheese whole wheat drop biscuits!

In my opinion, the "any veggie" frittata is one of the most nutritious, simplest and cheapest meals you can prepare and eat.     Oh---and it is pretty delicious too!   It is a great way to use up veggies that may be nearing the end of their prime.  I adapted the recipe using Michael Pollan's "guidelines" (rather than recipe) from his website.   Here are the instructions or guidelines:

Ingredients:

• One onion or leek
• Olive oil or butter
• Eight eggs
• A splash of milk
• Any or all vegetables you have around or like, including: spinach, kale or chard, asparagus, summer squash, peppers, peas, green beans, potatoes, mushrooms. Frozen vegetables are also fine. In spring, summer, and fall the elements in a frittata can reflect whatever is going on in your garden.
• Cheese—optional
• Fresh herbs (or dried)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400
Dice the onion or slice the leek.
In a cast iron pan, saute in butter or oil (or a combination) for 5-10 minutes, until soft—about ten minutes.
While the onions or leek are sautéing, slice or tear vegetables into small, bite-size pieces. Add to pan with onions or leeks. Saute for a few minutes, until tender. Season. (Potatoes should be parboiled or otherwise cooked in advance.)

Mix the eggs in a bowl with a splash of milk. Pour mixture over vegetables. Grate and add some cheese; sprinkle some fresh herbs. Let cook for a two or three minutes to let a crust form, then put in the oven for ten minutes, or until set.

You can flip the pan over to release the whole frittata onto a serving plate, or cut slices from the pan like a pie and serve slices. Good served with a salad and crusty bread.

We used mushrooms, garlic, onion, bell peppers, as well as tomatoes, basil and rosemary from our little patio garden.  We topped it with a mix of freshly shredded cheese.  It was delicious!   We have been eating watermelon all day, every day lately.  So, of course we had to add it, along with some raspberries, to a spinach and arugula salad.  Yum!  But, the most surprising (and surprisingly easy) addition to the meal was the recipe for whole-wheat garlic cheddar drop biscuits from the "100 days of real food" blog.  Oh. My. Goodness.  These reminded me of the Red Lobster biscuits, yet I actually felt good about eating them.  (I am a little afraid to know what is in the red lobster cheese biscuits.)  They took NO time to make either.   I imagine you could substitute another flour for the whole -wheat flour if you have a wheat allergy or intolerance.  

The way these appear does not do their taste justice.  Seriously--you have to try these things!

Does this little girl look happy to be eating this meal or what?

I know THIS one was!  I may have had seconds!

If I ever begin going back to making foods from boxes or packages, I want Drew to remind me of this post and the way we are living right now.  This has become our way of living, and I am loving it.  Thank you, Lord, for providing for us, and reminding us of all of your wonderful creations of yours that are out there for us to enjoy (and even glorify you with)--even FOOD (real food, that is)!

Our First Taste of Our "Crop"

We decided a couple of months ago to try our first "garden."  I have been wanting to build a container garden for quite some time, but Drew was not as much on board with the idea. The "realist" that he is saw a lot of work involved, whereas the practical optimist in me saw fresh vegetables and herbs and less trips to the grocery store for those items (as well as some money saved--can you tell that I can really be a "salesperson" sometimes?)  So, we compromised (after several sales pitches by yours truly) and used mostly pots that we had around the house, as well as a couple of "topsy turvy" planter kits that I bought on clearance at Ross ($2.99).  I love the topsy turvy containers.  The plants in those are extremely easy to take care of, bugs never seem to reach them, and you cannot over-water them.  They have grown rapidly with very easy care.

I will admit that I feel a little bit like a kid with the amount of excitement that I get "checking" the plants every day.  It is fun to watch the fruit or vegetable plants begin as a little sprout or seedling, grow flower blossoms and then morph each day a little bit into something that we enjoy eating.  Even though watering the plants daily is actually a task that has to be done, it is something I really enjoy.  Therefore, it never seems like a "chore."  And, it only takes a few minutes--a few minutes that I get to check the progress of our little plants!  It's so exciting.

Well, the day finally came yesterday--the day we got to taste our first tomatoes.  We have been enjoying our herbs very regularly.  There is nothing like the taste of fresh basil!  I have been putting it on a LOT of dishes. But, yesterday was our first taste of vegetables (or, I guess tomatoes or fruits.)  Besides a variety of tomatoes and several herbs, we are also growing red bell peppers and yellow squash.

Some of our cherry tomatoes from our topsy turvy planter.

Luke was excited to help make dinner...which even involved picking our own tomatoes.

Some of our "crop"

Rolling out the whole wheat pizza crust.   Click here for the very simple recipe.  The dough literally takes 5 minutes to prepare.

Teamwork!

Brushing on the sauce.  We like our pizzas thin, so the dough recipe makes two pizzas.  We made one with tomato sauce base and the other with a lemon olive oil base.  They are both delicious~

Time for our toppings, including freshly picked lemon basil and cherry tomatoes from our garden.

Into the oven it goes for a few minutes.

And Voila!  Here is one of our pizzas which would soon be devoured.  Luke said it was his favorite pizza ever!  I think it had something to do with him being the chef!  :-)

Day 5 of our "real food" pledge

I cannot believe I am already writing about day 5.  These 5 days flew by.  Drew and I have eliminated refined sugar for nearly a week! (Let me qualify that though. We did have a tiny splurge on Tuesday night to celebrate my last radiation treatment--a sweet friend and sister in Christ (as well as fellow breast cancer survivor) sent me some delicious, warm brownies to the doctor's office for my final treatment as a congratulations.  How could we pass up a warm, delicious chocolate brownie on such a big day? We enjoyed one each and then put the rest in our freezer to enjoy later).

Drew and I have both found that we stay full all day by eating these healthful, real foods.  Our theory is that the processed, sugary foods we consumed in the past encouraged us to consume even more.  They left us feeling unsatisfied--still hungry.  Processed food and sugar was like an addictive drug--one that we do not miss at all!

But because we had given up our daily dark chocolate intake, I had been on a mission to find some healthful way we could eat our special treat.  I was able to find an awesome chocolate brownie recipe to satisfy our chocolate craving.  The recipe had absolutely no sugar.  Instead, I used honey (with a splash of real maple syrup).

These dark chocolate whole-wheat brownies were delicious.  But, then again, Drew and I love dark chocolate and didn't mind the cake-like texture.  Here is the recipe in case you are interested (note, I used 1 egg.  Although it tasted great, next time I will experiment with 2 eggs:

Dark Chocolate Whole-Wheat Brownies

SERVES: MAKES 14-16 SMALL BROWNIE SQUARES

NOTE: THESE BROWNIES ARE “CAKE-LIKE” AND A VERY “DARK” CHOCOLATE FLAVOR I.E. NOT AS SWEET AS TYPICAL STORE-BOUGHT MILK CHOCOLATE PRODUCTS.

INGREDIENTS

• ¾ cup whole-wheat flour (I tested this recipe with King Arthur’s organic white whole-wheat flour, which is 100% whole-grain)
• ½ cup unsweetened cocoa, you will have much better results if you use “dark” cocoa (Hershey’s makes some)
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup maple syrup (or honey – my family is divided because I loved the maple version and they loved the honey version)
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 to 2 eggs
• ¼ cup chopped nuts (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9X9 inch square glass baking dish with oil or butter.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients in a bowl including the flour, cocoa and baking powder and set aside.
3. In a small pot on the stove melt the coconut oil together with the maple syrup and vanilla extract.
4. Once the coconut oil is melted whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the egg and keep whisking until it’s mixed together thoroughly. If using nuts fold them into the batter with a spatula.
5. Pour the batter into the glass baking dish and bake for 16 – 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
   Eat or store in an air-tight container at room temperature – enjoy!

On Friday night, I wanted an easy meal.  So, I opted for another kid-friendly, easy meal:  whole-wheat macaroni and cheese. I added some peas to ours, because we usually add a veggie with macaroni and cheese to make it a little more healthful.  I used mozzarella and parmesan cheeses in the dish.  

Honestly, I wasn't the biggest fan of this meal.  I think the mozzarella was just a bit too bland.  Next time, I would opt for a sharp cheddar or fontina in addition to the parmesan.  It tasted a lot like Annie's organic macaroni and cheese, which I feel tastes a bit bland.  Regardless though, the meal definitely was kid-friendly, as our kids loved it!

One other note:  I am finding this way of eating would be a great method for someone to lose weight.  You can eat what you want (within the guidelines), feel full all day long, not feel deprived and actually lose weight! Drew and I did not want to lose any weight entering into this challenge.  Actually, neither of us can afford to lose a pound.  Randomly, because Luke and Abbey were playing on our scale in the bathroom, I weighed myself on Saturday morning.  I could not believe I had lost weight!  I actually went from 100 lbs at the beginning of the week to 97 lbs by Saturday morning, which scared me a bit.  Drew also lost 3 lbs.  We verified the accuracy of the scale by weighing Luke and Abbey.  So, my mission for the weekend would be to try to eat as much as possible to see if I could gain the weight back!  But, in the back of my mind, I know that when I was at my healthiest, eating well and working out every day (about 12 years ago, when I had a lot more muscle mass than I do now), I weighed 97 lbs.  So, part of me wonders if my body is just at its ideal weight.  I plan on going back to the gym soon to put some of the muscle mass that I lost over the past 9 months.    Anyway, I know that losing weight rapidly without trying is usually not a good symptom.  So, I am praying that it is all due to the way we are eating, and nothing else.  

Day 4 of our "Real Food Pledge"

I decided to do some swapping around of the days' planned meals in my original menu.  So, Friday's pizza meal became Thursday's dinner.   I was feeling pretty tired on Thursday due to my continued radiation recovery.  Pizza just sounded pretty easy.  And, it was.

Day 4, Thursday:

Breakfast:  Granola and fruit
Lunch: Sandwiches (using one of Lisa's sandwich ideas, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, or Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Paninis) (or leftovers from previous evening's dinner) and fruit (along with salad)
Dinner: Whole Wheat Pizza

During Abbey's morning nap, I made the pizza dough.  I could not believe how easy it was--it probably took me about 5 minutes with our Kitchenaid stand mixer.

The recipe says to put the dough into a ziplock bag and into the fridge to rise after mixing it.  But, I read on some of the comments from the "100 days of real food" site that some folks had difficulty with the dough rising.  Every time I make dough, I let it rise in a warm place.  So, I trusted my gut here and let it rise on the counter in a ziplock bag for about 45 minutes before I put it in the fridge.  It had no problem rising.

It was fun to review some of the pages in my favorite pizza book while the dough was rising.

For lunch, I ended up making a salad using the leftover chicken nuggets from Wednesday night.  I also added apples and strawberries to my salad.  We didn't have any leftovers of the sweet potatoes and apples dish.  So sad!  The kids ate sandwiches, fruit and veggies for lunch.


When it was time for dinner, I rolled the dough out pretty thin.  It ended up being pretty large in size, and I didn't even roll it out as thin as I would have liked.  Then, I brushed on some olive oil around the outer edges and then brushed on a basil pesto (with no pine nuts, since Drew and I are allergic) as a base. We bought a LOT of mushrooms at the farmer's market, so I used some of those as a topping for our pizza.   We also bought too many tomatoes, so I sliced one very thinly and used it as a topping as well.   I shredded some parmesan and mozzarella on top and put it in the oven onto our pizza stone.  It only took about 9 minutes to bake.   Easy peasy dinner!

I paired the pizza with some delicious, freshly cut watermelon.

We even had enough for leftovers the next day!

Day 3 of our "Real Food" Pledge

This was our plan for Wednesday:

Day 3, Wednesday
Breakfast:  Granola and fruit
Lunch: Sandwiches (using one of Lisa's sandwich ideas, Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, or Peanut Butter, Banana and Honey Paninis) (or leftovers from previous evening's dinner) and fruit (along with salad)
Dinner: Homemade Chicken Nuggets with a side of sweet potatoes and apples

I was ecstatic that there were just enough leftover's from Tuesday night's meal for lunch on Wednesday.  I was really looking forward to lunch.  Wednesday night's meal was pretty easy to fix, and didn't take a lot of prep at all.  So, if you are looking for an easy meal that is also kid-friendly, this recipe is definitely one to keep around.

Luke said it was his favorite.  And actually, it is a very kid-friendly meal. What meal could be more kid-friendly than chicken nuggets and sweet potatoes and apples? 

Throw a side salad on the plate and voila--a perfect meal.  Drew liked this meal, but I was a bit disappointed with the chicken.  After the previous dinner, it tasted a bit bland to me.  Then again, I think I was still thinking about those fajitas.  They were SO good!  I think next time I would add a little minced garlic to the egg mixture and add a little more shredded parmesan to the "breading" mixture.  But, I absolutely loved the sweet potatoes and apples mixture.  I added a little bit of cinnamon to the recipe, which made them just a bit sweeter.  Although the recipe said to leave the peels on the apples, I think I would trim the peel the next time.  I used red delicious apples, since those were the organic apples on sale last week.  The apples were very sweet, but the peel on red delicious apples tends to be a little bitter.  After cooking, the peel wasn't necessarily bitter--it just got in the way of the soft texture of the rest of the apple and sweet potato mixture. Yet still, the side dish was very tasty and sweet.

3 days down, 2 to go for this week, then it is grocery shopping and meal planning for days 6-10!

Day 1 of our "10-Days of Real Food" Pledge

Day 1, which was Monday, of our "Real Food" pledge really wasn't that difficult.  Well, let me qualify that statement.....it wasn't that difficult aside from one thing:  at the end of the day, Drew and I had a major dark chocolate craving.  We had to eliminate that from our pledge challenge due to the many grams of sugar that is added to our favorite snack.  Drew picked up a 100% dark chocolate baking unsweetened baking chocolate from the store, thinking we could sweeten it up a bit naturally.  We both took a tiny bite of that stuff by itself.  Oh. My. Goodness.  It was awful.....so bitter.

So, part of my mission for next week is to figure out how to make some yummy, healthful, dark chocolate.  I will let you know how that goes.

Aside from the major chocolate craving at the end of the day, day one of the challenge was pretty easy.  We had prepared well, which was key.  We had our homemade granola for breakfast and plenty of fruit for snacktime.

Because I realized how nice it was to be so prepared on Monday morning, I used Abbey's morning nap to prepare for day 2 of the pledge.  Luke and I made some whole wheat tortillas for Tuesday night's fajitas.

My little helper...making homemade whole wheat tortillas.

Then, for lunch we all had sandwiches made from the honey whole wheat bread that we purchased from Great Harvest Bread.  Here's the scoop on the bread.  It costs $5.50 per loaf (which seems pricey, I know), but it weighs (literally) 2 lbs!  Also, I didn't know this until after we purchased the bread, but they always have a buy one loaf get one free coupon on the local website of the Great Harvest Bread company. This makes each loaf only $2.75, which is pretty equivalent to the bread we always purchased at the grocery store.  Of course, I definitely want to try to make my own whole grain bread as well.   But I knew I would already be making a lot of essentials in the kitchen this week (like pizza dough, tortillas, etc.), so I wanted one of my "packaged" items to be bread this first week.  The trip to the bakery was a fun adventure in and of itself.  The employee there let us sample any of the fresh baked breads we desired (and they had some delicious sweet ones as well.) The samples she gave us were whole slices (that felt like they weighed a quarter of a pound.)  We found out that they actually grind their grains into flour for the breads every morning---talk about fresh!  Needless to say, we are really loving the bread...and the sandwiches.  I had to pick up some new peanut butter (our previous peanut butter had sugar listed just after peanuts in the ingredients list.)  We are all LOVING the new peanut butter as well!

For snacks, we devoured a LOT of fresh fruit.  But, that is nothing out of the ordinary around our house.

After Drew arrived home from work, he played with the kids while I started dinner.  I made sure to cook the long grain brown rice during Abbey's afternoon nap (since the rice took 50 minutes to cook).  This gave me one less thing to do during dinner preparation time.  I finished our first "real-food" dinner:  farmer's market stir fry.  It. was. delicious!  I modified the recipe slightly though.   I added some garlic to the sauce,which I feel provided a great balance for the ginger.  Click here for the stir-fry recipe.

Farmer's market stir-fry with a side of long grain brown rice and freshly cut pineapple.

 The best part is that there were leftovers, which had the privilege to consume for lunch the following day.  Day 1-success!

Nourishing Bytes: Enjoying our Cruciferous Veggies

I mentioned in a recent post that my family has been enjoying cruciferous veggies lately.  They are packed with nutrients, help prevent cancer and are actually pretty tasty.  They are pretty much wonder-veggies! How can you get your kiddos to enjoy these nutritious veggies?  First, have them help you cook them!  It seems Luke is always super-excited to try something that he helped to cook. 

Here, Luke enjoys preparing the brussels sprouts, pear and shallot medley.  He drizzles some olive oil.

Sprinkling some spices on top before roasting them in the oven.

Operating the pepper mill.

The delicious and nutritious result

We also combined some broccoli and butternut squash with some other veggies into a delicious frittata.

Luke shows off his belly.  He cleaned his plate!

I will include a few of the recipes we have enjoyed lately below.  I have taken photos of the recipes with my phone from the recipe books and included them below.  Do you have a delicious recipe that includes cruciferous veggies?  I would love to receive a copy!

from my "Power Foods" cookbook

another delicious recipe from my "Power Foods" cookbook

This delicious recipe is from Heidi Swanson's Cookbook, "Super Natural Every Day: Well-loved Recipes from My Natural Foods Kitchen."  We have loved every recipe we have tried in this cookbook.  Abbey's favorite is the wild-rice casserole, which she devoured!

Just in case you are interested in either of these cookbooks, here are the links to purchase them on Amazon:

Nourishing Bytes: Cruciferous Veggies

I have mentioned in previous posts that I was not much of a veggie-eater prior to my cancer diagnosis.   I knew I was supposed to be eating them.   I also attempted to eat veggies daily, but I know I did not consume nearly the recommended amount.  My favorites were always sweet potatoes, spinach, arugula, and corn.  Those are the ones I consumed fairly regularly.  I would typically only eat broccoli if it were included in my chinese food meal.  Otherwise, I didn't go out of my way to include broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage or brussels sprouts in my diet.  Confession:  the first time I ate a brussels sprout was when a friend, Sarah S., brought us a delicious meal that included roasted brussels sprouts.  They were delicious!  I had no idea that they could be so tasty!  I really wished I knew what I know now though about the various veggies and how each one has a different, specific health benefit.  I mean, if you were to tell me cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, brussels sprouts and cabbage were good for me, I wouldn't argue with you.  I knew they were very healthful.   But I didn't know just how amazing these veggies are for one's health.  Can you believe that scientists at Ohio State University's Comprehensive Cancer Center discovered that a substance in broccoli and brussels sprouts specifically blocks the growth of breast cancer cells?  I wish I would have known that before--I would have made sure to make these a very regular part of my diet.  All of the cruciferous veggies though are thought to lower your risk of getting cancer.

I am going to share below an article from WebMD.com titled, The Super-Veggies: Cruciferous Vegetables.   I figure, why write it myself, when an expert already wrote the information so eloquently?  Later though, I will share in a separate post a few delicious ways (recipes) for you to include them in your diet.  You know the recipes must be good when you manage to get both your 3-year old and 1-year old to consume brussels sprouts and broccoli in the same meal.  And, might I add, I got them both to eat ALL of their veggies.

So, here is the article describing the benefits:

The Super-Veggies: Cruciferous Vegetables

Cruciferous vegetables have it all: vitamins, fiber, and disease-fighting phytochemicals. Here's how to get more of them.

What do broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, kale, cabbage, and bok choy have in common?

They're all members of the cruciferous, or cabbage, family of vegetables. And they all contain phytochemicals, vitamins and minerals, and fiber that are important to your health (although some have more than others.)

In fact, health agencies recommend that we eat several servings per week of cruciferous vegetables -- and for good reason.

Lower Cancer Risk?

One of the big reasons to eat plenty of cruciferous vegetables is that they may help to lower your risk of getting cancer.

A review of research published in the October 1996 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association showed that 70% or more of the studies found a link between cruciferous vegetables and protection against cancer.

Various components in cruciferous vegetables have been linked to lower cancer risks. Some have shown the ability to stop the growth of cancer cells for tumors in the breast, uterine lining (endometrium), lung, colon, liver, and cervix, according to the American Institute for Cancer Research. And studies that track the diets of people over time have found that diets high in cruciferous vegetables are linked to lower rates of prostate cancer.

Lab studies show that one of the phytochemicals found in cruciferous vegetables - sulforaphane - can stimulate enzymes in the body that detoxify carcinogens before they damage cells, says Matthew Wallig, DVM, PhD. Through different mechanisms, two other compounds found in cruciferous vegetables -- indole 3-carbinol and crambene -- are also suspected of activating detoxification enzymes.

Further, research suggests there is some important synergy between the various compounds in cruciferous vegetables. Wallig, professor of comparative pathology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, discovered that crambene is more active when combined with indole 3-carbinol.

Oxidative Stress

Another way cruciferous vegetables may help to protect against cancer is by reducing oxidative stress. Oxidative stress is the overload of harmful molecules called oxygen-free radicals, which are generated by the body. Reducing these free radicals may reduce the risk of colon, lung, prostate, breast, and other cancers.

In a study funded by the National Cancer Institute, 20 participants were encouraged to eat 1 to 2 cups of cruciferous vegetables a day. After three weeks, the amount of oxidative stress in their body was measured. Then, after a three-week wash-out period, the study participants were told to take a multivitamin with fiber. Again, the oxidative stress was measured three weeks later.

And the results? Oxidative stress in the subjects' bodies dropped 22% during the period when they were eating lots of cruciferous vegetables. But the change during the multivitamin segment was negligible (0.2%), says lead researcher Jay H. Fowke, PhD, an assistant professor and cancer epidemiologist for the Department of Medicine at Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn.

More study is needed, but Fowke feels the evidence is pretty strong that eating cruciferous vegetables is a particularly healthful choice.

"There's no harm to it and consistently, across the line, it's associated with improved health and a reduced risk of various chronic diseases," he says in an email interview.

It's best, he says, to eat these veggies raw or only lightly steamed to retain the phytochemicals that make cruciferous vegetables special in terms of health.

Cardiovascular Disease

Diets rich in fish and vegetables (including cruciferous and dark-yellow veggies) may also help to protect against cardiovascular disease. A recent study found that such a diet was linked to lower levels of markers of inflammation in the body. These markers may signal an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

In another recent study, diets low in cruciferous and yellow vegetables, wine, and coffee but high in sugar-sweetened soft drinks, refined grains, and processed meat were identified as possibly increasing chronic inflammation and raising the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Comparison of Cruciferous Vegetables

Which cruciferous vegetables have the most vitamin A, vitamin C, and folic acid? The answers are:

1. Kale (vitamin A)
2. Broccoli (vitamin C)
3. Brussels sprouts and broccoli (tied for folic acid)

Brussels sprouts have the most vitamin E (about 9% of the Daily Value) and vitamin B-1 (15% Daily Value). And it’s broccoli and Brussels sprouts again that have the most healthy plant omega-3s: A cup of broccoli contributes about 200 milligrams, and a cup of Brussels sprouts about 260 milligrams.

Here's a comparison table of cruciferous vegetables, including the nutrients for which they contribute at least 10% of the Daily Value. Keep in mind that about half of the fiber in cruciferous vegetables is super-healthy soluble fiber.

Per 1 cup:	Broccoli	Cauliflower	Cabbage	B. Sprouts	Bok Choy	Kale
	(steamed)	(frozen, cooked)	(raw)	(cooked)	(cooked)	(cooked)
Calories	44	34	22	60	20	36
Fiber	5g	5	2	4	3	3
Vitamin A	33% DV	1%	2%	16%	62%	137%
Vitamin B-2	16%	9%	3%	11%	10%	8%
Vitamin B-6	17%	12%	7%	21%	22%	14%
Vitamin C	165%	75%	38%	129%	59%	71%
Folic Acid	23%	18%	10%	23%	17%	4%
Magnesium	12%	5%	4%	10%	6%	7%
Potassium	14%	7%	6%	14%	18%	8%
Omega-3s	200 mg	140 mg	60 mg	260 mg	100 mg	100 mg

Tips for Enjoying Cruciferous Vegetables

To maximize taste and nutrition, here are some tips for buying and cooking cruciferous vegetables:

• Don’t overcook cruciferous vegetables. They can produce a strong sulfur odor and become unappealing.
• You can buy several types of cruciferous vegetables ready-to-go in the frozen or fresh packaged sections of your supermarket, including broccoli, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts.
• No raw veggie platter is complete without dark green broccoli or snowy white cauliflower florets.
• Add raw broccoli or cauliflower florets to your green salad to give the nutrients a big boost.
• Add chopped cruciferous veggies to soups, stews, and casseroles.
• When buying fresh broccoli, look for firm florets with a purple, dark green, or bluish hue on the top. They're likely to contain more beta-carotene and vitamin C than florets with lighter green tops. If it has yellow in it or is limp and bendable, the broccoli is old -- don’t buy it.

Cruciferous Vegetable Recipes

Here are two simple side dish recipes featuring cruciferous vegetables. (I have not tried these yet--these are from the WebMD site).

Brussels Sprouts Sautéed with Pecans and Shallots

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members: Journal as 1 cup "vegetables with 1 tsp fat"

I kept it light by using just a little canola oil, plus crisp turkey bacon to make the little crumbles that top off this dish. I love that this dish is easy to throw together, but looks elegant on a holiday or celebration table.

8 cups Brussels sprout halves (trim off end of each sprout and cut in half)

4 strips Louis Rich turkey bacon (or similar)

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 cup sliced shallots

1 teaspoon minced garlic

3/4 cup pecan pieces, lightly toasted in a nonstick frying pan

2 teaspoons brown sugar

• Micro-steam the Brussels sprouts with a couple tablespoons of water until just barely tender (about 6 minutes, depending on your microwave). Watch carefully so they don’t overcook. Drain any excess water.
• Meanwhile, cook the turkey bacon strips over medium-high heat in a large nonstick frying pan coated with canola cooking spray, flipping them often, until crisp. Let cool on a paper towel, and then break them into small pieces.
• Add the canola oil to the same pan and heat over a medium-high flame. Add the shallots and saute, stirring frequently, for a couple of minutes. Add the minced garlic and saute another minute or two or until the shallots are golden. Stir in the Brussels sprout halves and saute a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally, to char part of the sprouts.
• Sprinkle pecans and brown sugar over the top and stir to blend. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue to cook and stir for another minute. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Spoon the mixture into a serving bowl and sprinkle turkey bacon bits over the top.

Yield: 8 servings

Per serving: 165 calories, 6 g protein, 20 g carbohydrate, 9 g fat (0.9 g saturated fat, 5.2 g monounsaturated fat, 3 g polyunsaturated fat), 6 mg cholesterol, 5 g fiber, 110 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 49%.

Broccoli With 3-Minute Lemon Sauce

WebMD Weight Loss Clinic members: Journal as 1 cup of vegetables without added fat

This lemon sauce has a lot of flavor, so you only need a little drizzle to dress up your broccoli florets.

6 cups raw broccoli florets, rinsed well

2 tablespoons lemon curd (available in jars)

2 tablespoons fat-free half-and-half

Freshly ground pepper to taste

• Add the broccoli and 1/4 cup water to a microwave vegetable steamer container and cook on HIGH until broccoli is just tender and still bright green (about 3 minutes, depending on the microwave).
• Meanwhile, add lemon curd and fat-free half-and-half to a small, nonstick saucepan and cook over low heat, stirring often, until blended and hot. Add pepper to taste, if desired.
• Drizzle sauce over broccoli and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Per serving: 57 calories, 3 g protein, 9 g carbohydrate, 1 g fat, 0.4 g saturated fat, 7 mg cholesterol, 3 g fiber, 34 mg sodium. Calories from fat: 17%.

Day 3: Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens

One word can be used to describe day 3's meal by Drew:   Onions.

When we first started dating, I learned one thing about Drew pretty quickly--he hated onions.  In fact, the first day that I met his parents, we went to lunch at North by Northwest (a local restaurant).  Drew and his parents all ordered dishes that came with onions and made sure the waiter knew they wanted the chef to hold the onions.  In fact, I remember them saying it again after he repeated our order back to us before delivering it to the kitchen, and right before they ordered onion rings.  I found this so ironically funny--hold the onions on our entrees, but we'd like some onion rings please.  :-)  However, over time, I think Drew has realized that onions really do have a place in a meal.  I learned that he actually enjoys them when they are cooked in a dish.  Cooking them makes them deliciously sweet.  Onions are to Drew as mushrooms are to Heather.

Well, this dish called for 1/2 onion, finely chopped (and cooked), but 6 scallions, thinly sliced (and uncooked).  I have to admit, I was leery of putting 6 scallions in the dish-it seemed like a lot.  But, I made the recipe as it was listed, except we added some heated, crumbled, dry coppa in it (I know it's strange, but we had that in the fridge).

In preparing today's meal, I discovered something else wonderful about these weekly meal planners.  Rachael provides tips along the way to cut back on preparation time.  For example, the tip for today was to save 10 minutes on another dish later in the week by cooking the orzo pasta for today's dish and that day's dish all at once.  Just put the other day's cooked orzo pasta in a container and you're ready to go.  We did this---10 minutes saved on our next meal!

And, now for the verdict:

Heather:  I would rate this dish a 6 as it was prepared.  I am willing to try it again, except this time I would eliminate 4 or 5 of the scallions.  Luke and I actually cleaned our very full bowls of this dish.

Drew:  Onions.  They were a bit overwhelming, taking over my taste buds; therefore, I rate this a 4.  I think this dish could be a 7 without all of the scallions.  I'm definitely willing to try it again. 

(A little note about our rating scales (1-10):  Drew says a "5" is an average dish.  A dish is rated a 7 if it is really good in Drew's rating scale.  9's are extremely exclusive--Drew rates his favorite dish (cheesy chicken roll-ups) a 9.   I'm not really sure what would warrant a 10.  At times, I have said Drew is somewhat pessimistic---he always responds, "No, I'm a realist."  He calls me an optimist.  Perhaps that tells you something about how we rate things.)

We actually ended up eating leftovers on the evening of Day 4, because we had quite a bit left from Day 3 and we both already had lunch plans on Day 4 (we don't like to be wasteful).  I spent a lot of time trying to pull some of the green onions out of the dish for Drew.  There were WAY too many though.  He did, however, get a dish on this day 4 with fewer green onions, and he cleaned his bowl. 

Here is the onion, I mean, "Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens" recipe if you are interested:  Orzo Risotto with Spring Greens Recipe - Every Day with Rachael Ray