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9th May, 2010 |
Parents are busy, busy people. Down-time is a thing of yesteryear and it’s all about the kids. Whether you’re a parent or not, real life is filled with choices that affect us and kids. The time to sift through these choices isn’t always plentiful. I haven’t even been able to post here in about a month. Where does the time go? ….Looking for a protein-packed snack on the go? Check out this UBER EASY, delicious recipe. It’s a favorite of mine and my family’s. ….. Black Bean Hummus Dip …
Parenting, preparing for presentations in my sleep, logging hours at work, working from home, going to class, doing homework, commuting, and juggling. Lots of juggling. That’s definitely where the time went. A very Happy Mother’s Day to each of you dear Mommies, some of the most adventurous jugglers of all time.
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10th April, 2010 |
One of our lowest maintenance meals is this super simple, tasty salmon ensemble. You need salmon and an oven. Throw a few optional accoutrements in the mix, sure, but essentially it’s just the salmon and a baking place for it. The thing about salmon is it’s uber healthy and I try to eat a lot of it. As of late. I can only eat so much straight up salmon, though. I like accoutrements with my salmon. It’s a great marinade candidate, a good buddy to pecans and mustard, and simply delicious with barbecue sauce. Now, I’m not talking corn syrup disguised as BBQ sauce, I’m talking real. bbq. sauce. Store bought, that is. Challenge? Maybe. I like Annie’s brand BBQ Sauce. BBQ sauce is one of the things to shop for at either your local co-op or at Whole Foods. It’s hard to find the real thing at any type of big box store.
Wild-caught, Alaskan Salmon is pumped with omega-3’s and good protein. It’s also one of the best choices you can make in sustainable seafood. It’s good for you and for the planet. If you’re deciding between farm-raised and sustainable wild-caught, I have an opinion. A strong one.
Go wild-caught Alaskan Salmon, because: more
5th April, 2010 |
This year, I have a kiddo who knows what eggs, bunnies, colors, paints and fun are. Mission: have fun making colored eggs, naturally. Emphasis on the have fun reference. There was no lack of fun in this egg coloring adventure.
First step: locate canvas: eggs.
Oh yeah. We eat the eggs that have the BROWN shells. Maybe slight road bump, or maybe the challenge just becomes that much more exciting. We’ll soon find out, won’t we? read more
3rd April, 2010 |
Spring’s officially sprung here in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. I really couldn’t be more amped, the birds are having a sing-n-dance revolution, kids’ bikes are zooming down the sidewalks, the neighborhood park resembles a summer popsicle blanketed with busy bees (kiddos in this case), and air conditioners are humming… really? It is maybe a balmy 65 degrees F outside, snow mounds are still visibly lurking, and window air conditioners are already buzzing? Good ole Twin Cities fair weather fans, ahhhh spring is really in the air.
Delightful as the robins flocking the yard are, my top spring sighting so far has been my kiddo and the rest of the state playing outside, jacket-free, green grass underfoot and underway. A close second, though, are the hearty chives popping up to say Hi, Remember me? in our barely unfrozen and otherwise empty garden.
While finding the magic in the mess of spring cleaning, there are a few alternatives to keep in mind.
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21st March, 2010 |
When in Rome… Kraft Macaroni and Cheese Dinner lacks something. It lacks artificial food dyes (yellow 5 and yellow 6), or tartrazine. Kraft products shipped to Europe and Australia are altered. European Kraft macaroni and cheese doesn’t contain artificial colors or chemicals, like the U.S. version contains. Is it that European children prefer Earth tones over hyper colors? Maybe, but doubtful. Europe is just, well, in the know when it comes to ingesting chemicals. You could say they frown upon it.
A 1994 study in Australia found behavioral changes in irritability, restlessness, and sleep disturbance are associated with the ingestion of tartrazine in some children (1). Perhaps this is why Kraft can’t sell their Macaroni and Cheese dinner with yellow food dye in Australia either.
3rd March, 2010 |
Dearest FDA, Couldn’t our ingredient labels simply include: FOOD or NOT FOOD, following a list of partially-hydrogenated this or mono-diglycerides that?
Mother Nature and margarine just can’t relate to one another. Margarine is closer to plastic than it is to food or Mother Nature, since it’s ARTIFICIAL MATTER. No matter what the label says, margarine is definitely TRANS FAT. As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, trans fat isn’t something anyone should be eating. Ever. more
17th February, 2010 |
I promised a microwave full circle a loooong time ago, and round we go.
First, does anything that’s been microwaved ever even taste good? (Ok, microwave popcorn is nostalgiac for me too. If you haven’t gotten behind the crazy stir popper yet, where have you been?) Microwaves are a convenience, and bad robots, for my fellow conflicted LOST audience . They were banned in Russia in 1976. I remember while pregnant, visiting one of many disappointing doc’s for “prenatal checkups”, being reminded not to stand in front of a microwave while it ran. Hmm, is it a good idea to ever stand in front of one, pregnant or not? There are reasons not to microwave breast milk, well beyond “hot spots” in a wee one’s milk. So many reasons that I’ve had to filter PAGES from this post. more
16th January, 2010 |
For many, many reasons it’s so mmm mmm good. For the Campbell’s corporation. Let’s talk about soup, baby. Let’s talk about you and me. I, for one, grew up on creations which often included Campbell’s, specifically Cream of Mushroom soup. Some of those creations? Chicken noodle *hot dish* (midwest casserole) made a weekly appearance at our dinner table of four. For those unfamiliar with this entrée, there are three ingredients that can bridge you to the land of The Know: egg noodles, canned chicken (yes, this unfortunately exists), and Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup. No more, no less. It was a comfort food that, uh, my parents found comfort in.
Allow me to do you a favor by encouraging you to live a Campbell’s-free life, starting today without looking back. The American *comfort food* in the red and white labeled can isn’t so much made of food, as it is… more
13th August, 2009 |
It’s the latest rage: Aluminum is bad for baking. It’s bad for your brain and your underarms. It’s not only a foil, a soda can, a pan material and an anti-perspirant, it’s also an ingredient in baking powder. Some baking powders, that is. If you shop at a large, chain supermarket, your one or two baking powder options probably contain aluminum. So don’t buy their baking powder. This is something to buy from either Whole Foods or a local co-op. They’ll have aluminum-free baking powder, and your brain’s best interest in mind. more
20th July, 2009 |
Kale? Does anyone actually eat that?
You just might, if you desire super powers, and especially if you try kale chips (keep reading).
What makes kale well worth eating?
Kale is one of the healthiest foods available to us on the planet. It contains more nutritional value than many other green vegetables. It continues to gain a very good reputation for its cancer-fighting properties and extreme vitamin content. Getting technical for a sec, kale’s a primitive cabbage family member from the Brassica genus. It’s loaded with indoles (plant chemicals) which fight cancer, including ovarian and breast cancer. It’s very rich in calcium, protein, Omega 3’s, vitamin K, A, C and manganese, to name a few. It activates detoxifying enzymes in the liver (thus helps keep the liver in peak condition). Kale boosts these enzymes throughout the body to eliminate carcinogens quickly.
Is kale a superfood?
Not anymore. The term superfood has been banned. I’m not entirely clear on whether we’re permitted to call it a *super food* though. Super or not, kale is something we should all be eating… more
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Bottles have BPA, gum has aspartame, snacks and drinks have artificial color, and everything else contains MSG and trans fat, it seems. Where do you start? Cheers, my name is Niki Ahrens and I just want the best for my family, and for the rest of us too.
It's our choice, as parents, whether OUR kids eat real food and whether we use First-Do-No-Harm products on and around them. The decision is always ours. Here you’ll find favorite safe recipes, links to research and data, and alternatives that give us super powers instead of harm us.
How the Food Industry is Deceiving You
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