For the Love of Chicken Nuggets: Tastebud Rejuvenation for Kids and Kids at Heart

A 5 Week Blog Series for Full House MOMs and Dads

By: Megan Roosevelt, RD, LD

Founder and CEO of Healthy Grocery Girl

http://healthygrocerygirl.com

Mac and Cheese, one of the ultimate comfort foods and childhood classics. Commonly
eaten for its delicious cheesy taste and as a “good source” of protein and calcium, it can
be a staple meal for many. However mac and cheese, while comforting, hasnʼt always
been considered a health food. The dish you may remember from your childhood has
had quite a makeover recently, both in taste, nutritional quality and sneaky healthy
flavors added in.

A Standard Dish: Kraft Mac and Cheese
A serving size of Kraft Mac and Cheese (1/3 a box = 1 cup prepared by directions with
2% RF milk and margarine) contains; 400 calories, 4.5 grams of saturated fat, 4 grams
of trans fat (hydrogenated oils), 6 grams of sugar, 7 grams of protein and 2 grams of
fiber. While this meal does contain a small amount of protein (from the cheese and
milk), it really is lacking overall in healthy ingredients.

A Healthy Dish: Amyʼs Mac and Cheese
You can nutritionally enhance any box of mac and cheese by adding vegetables. Afraid
your kids will pick them out? Try blending vegetables in the blender or food processor
with your boxed-cheese-sauce ingredients and use as a “creamy veggie cheese sauce”
or chop up spinach and broccoli in teeny-tiny pieces, then stir in with mac and cheese
prior to serving. Amyʼs Organic Mac and Cheese provides quality ingredients you can
pronounce and feel good about serving yourself and the family. For a healthy milk swap,
switch up your regular milk for coconut or almond milk!

A Healthy Homemade Dish
Great for the dairy-free and gluten-free family!

Butternut Squash and Hidden Veggie Mac and Cheese
Adapted from OhSheGlows
Mac & Cheese
Ingredients:
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled and chopped (yields: 3.5 cups raw)
• 3/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup non-dairy milk (Unsweetened plain coconut or almond milk)
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
• 6 tbsp Nutritional yeast (creates a cheesy consistency)
• 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Tumeric powder, optional (creates a orange cheese-like color)
• 4.5 Cups of Dry Penne or Elbow Noodle Pasta. I like Brown Rice Pasta.
• Optional* Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Optional* 1/4-1/2 tsp Paprika + more to season

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a baking sheet with coconut butter. In a
bowl, add chopped squash with 1 tsp coconut butter or oil and a few pinches of kosher
salt and stir. Then add squash to baking sheet and roast in the oven for 40 minutes,
flipping once half way through baking.

3. Now itʼs time to make the “Cheese Sauce”. Add just your cashews to a food
processor and process. Add in the remaining cheese sauce ingredients, (non-dairy milk,
garlic, lemon, salt, nutritional yeast, pepper, mustard, seasonings) and process until
smooth. Add chopped vegetables such as spinach and broccoli to food processor and
pulse to blend if your desire. Leave sauce in the food processor, you will be adding the
butternut squash soon.

4. Cook your pasta according to package directions. When squash is finished roasting
in the oven, add squash to food processor and blend with cheese sauce until you reach
a smooth and creamy consistency. Add more coconut or almond milk to thin our sauce,
if desired.

5. When pasta is ready, drain and rinse with cold water. Add the pasta back into the
same pot and add desired amount of “cheese sauce” on top, and stir. You can add more
vegetables to your dish here such as peas, corn and shredded carrot.

For nutrition and health related questions please contact:
Megan Roosevelt, RD, LD
at info@healthygrocerygirl.com
or visit http://www.healthygrocerygirl.com

Resources:
http://www.kraftfoodscompany.com
www.ohsheglows.com
http://amyskitchen.com

An American classic, and definitely a kid favorite, it’s the Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich.  Perhaps our love for PB and J comes from it’s ease to whip up in a hungry hurry, it’s delicious salty and sweet flavor combination, or that it can be a good source of all three macronutrients; carbohydrate, protein and fat.

So how could something so wonderful, ever go so wrong? The magic is in the ingredients. Let’s examine a traditional homemade peanut butter and jelly sandwich classic to show you what I mean.

Standard Recipe: 
Standard White Bread (2 Slices), Jif Creamy Peanut Butter (2 tbsp), Smucker’s Strawberry Jam (1 tbsp).

Nutrition Summary: This sandwich contains; 380 calories, 18 grams of sugar, 2 grams of fiber, and 11 grams of protein.

*This photo is almost identical in nutritional value and sugar to the standard american recipe above.

The Good from this Recipe: Other than providing some protein (and by opinion potentially tasting good), not much.

The Not-So-Good from this Recipe: White bread or enriched wheat bread lacks real nutritional value. Even bread that appears healthy, because it is fortified with vitamins and minerals, is misleading. The reason bread needs to be fortified is because it has been processed and stripped of it’s original nutritional value, therefore companies will add the nutrients back in to the bread.  Why not just leave the grains alone in their perfect original design? Generic brand peanut butter, although providing the bulk of protein in this meal, commonly contains added sugars as well as hydrogenated oils (Trans Fats) which are horrible for your overall health. Fruit jam can contain added sugars as well and commonly in the form of High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS). HFCS is not easily metabolized by the liver and negatively affects the body’s overall ability to function. Overall this meal contains 18 grams of sugar which is equal to 5 cubes or packets of sugar!

A Healthier Recipe:
Dave’s Killer Bread (2 slices), Justin’s Natural Peanut Butter l Almond Butter (2 tbsp), Thinly sliced Organic apple, pear, banana or strawberries (whole fruit in place of jam).

Nutritional Summary: This sandwich contains; 430 calories, 16 grams of fiber, 12 grams of sugar, and 17 gram so of protein.

The Good from this Recipe: So much! It tastes fantastic, is high in protein, fiber and overall vitamins and minerals.

The Bad from this Recipe: Although this recipe has more calories than it’s classic competitor, calories aren’t everything. Nutrition and ingredients are more important than calories, especially for kids and young adults who are still growing and developing. The protein, carbohydrates, fat and sugar from this healthier sandwich are all natural ingredients and sources. Which means your body and your hungry belly will thank you!

Not so sure this healthy sandwich will be a hit? Here are some common questions and concerns I hear.

“I am not sure if my kids will eat whole grain bread.” Whole grain bread may be quite sophisticated for children (and always be careful about added nuts and seeds). However, children when hungry will eat, and if they are continually offered a whole grain bread and especially if they see mom and dad enjoying whole grain bread, will in-turn grow to love and accept the hearty loaf.

“Natural Peanut Butter has a strange oil that rises to the top, that is a lot of work to stir.” Here is a quick tip. Let the jar sit upside down in the pantry for a few hours before stirring. The oil (which naturally rises to the top) will make its way to the bottom of the jar and when you flip over, the oil will be more easily dispersed throughout the jar, ready for a quick stir before spreading.

“My spouse and kids think natural nut butter tastes horrible!” Sadly, most American eaters are so used to food being pumped up with extra ingredients such as sugar, to enhance the sweetness, that we no longer appreciate or enjoy food in it’s natural form. Don’t give up! It takes 3 weeks to develop a new habit. Continue to offer natural nut butter to your family and yourself, and you will soon grow to enjoy it, and the generic sugar and fake-fat-laden brand you use to cherish, will no longer taste appealing. I’ve seen this scenario play out dozen’s and dozen’s of times with my nutrition coaching clients, and they all eventually come around and fall in love with the real deal.

1.2.3. Make it fun!

1. Grill it! Grilled PB & J is delicious! Spread 1 tsp of coconut butter on the outside of each peanut butter and jelly sandwich, then cook on stove top pan on low-medium heat, until crisp and melted. It’s like grilled cheese sandwich, but better!
2. Fun Shapes! Use cookie cutters to cut fun shapes into your sandwich such as stars, hearts and circles. Check out these cute critter cutters from perpeutalkid.co
3. Mini Chef! Have your little one(s) help make their own sandwich! It may get messy but they will feel more ownership over their own meal and more likely to eat it. Encourage them to experiment with different fruits (thinly sliced by an adult) to add to their sandwich in place of jam. The farmer’s market is a great place to bring kids and let them pick out any fruit they want to take home for their own sandwich creation. Or bring a blanket to the farmers market and have a PB and J picnic!

For nutrition and health related questions please contact:

Megan Roosevelt, RD, LD at info@healthygrocerygirl.com or visit http://www.healthygrocerygirl.com

Resources / For More Information:
http://www.sugarstackers.com
http://www.food.com
http://www.perpetualkid.com/critter-cutters-sandwich-cutter.aspx
http://www.jif.com
http://www.wonderbread.com
http://www.smuckers.com
http://justinsnutbutter.com/

For the Love of Chicken Nuggets: Taste bud Rejuvenation for Kids and Kids at Heart

A 5-Week Blog Series for Full House MOMs and Dads

By: Megan Roosevelt, RD, LD, Founder and CEO of Healthy Grocery Girl

http://healthygrocerygirl.com

Chicken Nuggets. Whether they are dipped in sweet and sour syrup or tangy barbeque sauce, topped with ketchup or drizzled with ranch, chicken nuggets are a popular favorite for many American children and children at heart. Why do chicken nuggets stack up as one of the most popular lunch and dinner eats for American families? Some common reasons are; they are a good source of protein, they are fast to prepare when the tribe is hungry, when purchased frozen and at bulk quantity it can be a money saving eat, when breaded in whole-wheat flour they can be a good source of whole grains, and most commonly- my kids just won’t eat anything else.

Have you ever wondered though; “Are chicken nuggets really that good for me and my kids to eat, and eat so often?” Let’s roll up our sleeves and compare some common nugget selections.

The Happy Meal, it’s bound to make any kid smile, but do the nutrition facts make mom smile?

A 6 piece McDonald’s chicken nugget meal contains; 280 calories, 3 grams of saturated fat and 13 grams of protein.

Well, that doesn’t sound too bad, so let’s examine the ingredients.

McDonald’s chicken nugget ingredient list includes; White boneless chicken, water, food starch-modified, salt, seasoning [autolyzed yeast extract, salt, wheat starch, natural flavoring (botanical source), safflower oil, dextrose, citric acid], sodium phosphates, natural flavor (botanical source). Battered and breaded with: water, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), yellow corn flour, bleached wheat flour, food starch-modified, salt, leavening (baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium aluminum phosphate, monocalcium phosphate, calcium lactate), spices, wheat starch, dextrose, corn starch. CONTAINS: WHEAT. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

There are many things in these nuggets I would love to highlight, however I’ll just pick three; Hydrogenated Oils, Dimethylpolysiloxane and TBHQ. Hydrogenated oils are trans fats, a man-made chemically created fat that clogs your arteries and slows down the health of your heart and brain. TBHQ, a petroleum derivative, is used as a stabilizer in perfumes, resins, varnishes and oil field chemicals. Laboratory studies have linked it to stomach tumors. Dimethylpolysiloxane, a type of silicone, is used in caulks and sealants, as filler for breast implants, and as key ingredient in Silly Putty.

Ok so maybe you’re not surprised that McDonald’s chicken nuggets are not all that healthy for you. Maybe you buy chicken nuggets from the grocery store and microwave or bake them at home to save on cost and improve your health. I have often seen the beloved Tyson dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets in my client’s freezers; they seem so sweet and playful, so let’s look at their nutrition facts.

A servings of five Tyson Dinosaur chicken nuggets contains; 260 calories, 4 grams of saturated fat and 14 grams of protein. Although a little high in saturated fat, overall, these dino’s nutrition facts don’t seem all that scary. However, let’s examine the ingredient list.

The ingredient list contains; Chicken breast with rib meat, water, dried whole eggs, seasoning (salt, onion powder, modified corn starch, natural flavor), and sodium phosphates. BREADED WITH: Enriched unbleached wheat flour (enriched with niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, dextrose, iodized salt, yellow corn flour, modified corn starch, dried whey, soy flour, sugar, spices, caramel color, garlic powder, methylcellulose, oleoresin paprika, spice extractive. Breading set in vegetable oil.

Again, there are many things I could pick to highlight in these nuggets but I’ll just pick two; Caramel coloring and the chicken meat itself. According to CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest), the artificial brown caramel coloring is made by reacting sugars with ammonia and sulfites under high pressure and temperatures and those reactions “result in the formation of 2-methylimidazole and 4 methylimidazole, which in government-conducted studies caused lung, liver, or thyroid cancer or leukemia in laboratory mice or rats.” The chicken in these nuggets is most likely factory-farmed chicken, not free-range chicken. This means that the chicken is typically treated with vaccines and hormones while being fed conventional feed products that are medicated with pharmaceuticals and grown with pesticides.

After all this nutritional let down, I am sure you are hungry for some cheering up! Healthy Grocery Girl to the rescue. Don’t worry; I would never dish up such a huge helping of shocking nugget sadness without providing healthier alternatives, both for product to purchase and recipe to try.

Try these healthier chicken nuggets next time you are at the grocery store; Coleman Organic Chicken Breast Nuggets or Ian’s Organic Chicken Nuggets.

Baked Zucchini Chicken Nuggets

(Adapted from The Family Kitchen)

The Zucchini in these nuggets are an excellent way to sneak in more vegetables, and add a light moistness without altering the overall chicken flavor. Serve with guacamole, salsa or honey mustard for healthy dipping. This is a quick, easy meal that is sure to please everyone at your family dinner table. 


Ingredients:

1 1/2 c. organic zucchini, grated


1 lb. ground free-range organic chicken
breast

1 egg
(free-range organic)

1 tsp. onion salt


2 c. crushed organic corn flakes or breadcrumbs (Don’t have breadcrumbs or corn flakes? Take a piece of bread and pulse in blender and now you have bread crumbs).

Directions: Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. In a medium to large bowl, mix together the zucchini, chicken, egg, and onion salt until well combined.  Form 1-2 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into small balls, then press flat to create until about 1/2 inch thick nuggets, and coat in bread crumbs.  Transfer to a lightly greased cookie sheet (Use coconut oil or butter!). Cook in oven at 400 degrees for 13-15 minutes, or just until nuggets have cooked thoroughly.  Don’t forget to dip! Serve with guacamole, salsa, or honey mustard.

Key point to take away; Always read ingredient lists; store bought or from a restaurant. What may appear at first glance as a healthy choice, upon further reading may turn out to be a disaster. If in doubt, don’t eat it.

For nutrition and health related questions please contact:

Megan Roosevelt, RD, LD at info@healthygrocerygirl.com or visit healthygrocerygirl.com

Resources / For More Information Check Out:

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf
http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/ingredientslist.pdf
http://www.naturalnews.com/032820_Chicken_McNuggets_ingredients.html
http://www.tysonfoodservice.com/Products/2721-928.aspx

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/02/cspi-urges-fda-to-ban-popular-ingredient-caramel-coloring/

http://www.colemannatural.com/component/option,com_resource/Itemid,9/article,891/category_id,2/controller,article/
http://www.iansnaturalfoods.com/our-food/product/organic-chicken-nuggets
http://www.momswhothink.com/healthy-recipes/healthy-chicken-nuggets-recipe.html

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitchen/2010/09/13/makeover-a-fast-food-favorite-sneaky-zucchini-chicken-nuggets/

FHM members have a natural connection to March of Dimes. Many of us have received direct support from the organization. The Oregon Chapter currently receives $1.3 million in national research dollars to prevent premature birth and brain damage in newborns, improve diagnosis and treatment of fetal and infant growth failure, and more. The chapter has experienced legislative advocates, provides NICU family support, prenatal smoking cessation programs, and fetal alcohol syndrome public education programs, among many other services.

There are many ways you can support March of Dimes and help moms have healthy, full-term pregnancies:

 
Walk With Us

Join the FHM team in the 3K March for Babies Walk on Saturday, April 28, 2012 and help raise awareness around March of Dimes. While no fee is required to participate, this is a fundraising opportunity for team members. Bring your family members, coworkers, neighbors and friends to walk with us, or ask them to sponsor you for $5, $25, $250 or more. This is a stroller-friendly route.

9:15 am Start Time (The 10K start time is 9:00 am)

3K Family Walk (1.86 miles)

Rose Quarter, downtown Portland

Sign up to walk with us at http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/FHM2011

Make a Personal Donation

If you are busy on April 28^th and can’t walk with us, you can also make a tax deductible donation.

Visit http://www.marchforbabies.org/team/FHM2011

Questions

Email Chrissa at chrissa49@hotmail.com.

Here’s a link to last year’s post on the March of Dimes for a little more information:  http://www.fullhousemoms.com/2011/03/march-for-babies/

Come shop for fantastic deals at the Spring 2012 Resale!

DoubleTree Lloyd Center (1000 NE Multnomah)

Public Shopping Hours (you don’t have to be a parent of multiples to shop):
Friday, April 20 – 10 am – 7 pm
Saturday, April 21 – 11 am – 2 pm (many items 50% off)

Looked like everyone had a great time at Out of this World Pizza and Play for our annual Spring Party!  A huge thanks to Robin & Robyn for putting on a great party yet again.  Here’s a glimpse into what went down at OOTW this morning in this 2 minute 40 second video.

FHM Spring Party 2012

Video won’t work on your computer?  You can also find pictures from the party on our Facebook page:  http://www.facebook.com/FullHouseMOMs

He was like a puckered old man; the redness of his face advertising discontent, the bulge of his eyes begging answers, his cry shrill and harsh under the fluorescent lights of the operating room. They placed him in the crook of my right arm and I glanced at him quickly before turning back to the round little cherub with the whittled dimples and shock of dark hair who lay in the crook of my left arm. I turned back and forth from one to the other, feeling more anxious with every turn of my head. I finally began to cry, not the tears of happiness you would expect, though I was indeed happy, but tears of frustration and confusion. I had just spent fifteen minutes bonding with the cherub while pushing out the little old man, who came feet first as if he were already running, and now here I was holding both of my little men and I didn’t know who to look at first. The little old man just kept crying and I wanted to reach out to him, to smooth his wrinkled forehead, to give him a finger, or better yet a breast, to soothe him, but my arms were so full.

On the other side the cherub wriggled, trying to catch my attention again so that I would do some more of that long staring and smooth stroking that had graced the first fifteen minutes of his already blissful life, that is until the screaming old man had come along. I realized for just a moment that he was already learning how things would be, he was already coping with sibling rivalry, but I pushed the thought aside because it was too much to handle in that moment.  Instead of gazing in his eyes, I began to cry and my chest heaved and my arms began to ache and the staff of nurses and doctors just danced their post delivery dance around me.  At some point I felt the doctor deliver one, then two placentas, and still my arms ached and my heart  felt full to bursting.

The old man quieted down and the cherub was taken by his Daddy to find a new window into bliss. I looked into the bulging, questioning eyes of this little old man and I knew him then: he was the trickster that did yoga poses in my womb, the acrobat who moved my sternum up and out more and more each day he lived inside of me, the boy who tickled my ribs with his bobbing head and kicked his brother with his happy feet. There was a fullness of being in him even then, even in utero when so much was yet unknown. He seemed pleased to have displaced the little cherub from my arms and he almost smiled at me then; a smile that said then, as it does still, I know I am loved no matter what I do.  I held him tightly and felt the fear slip away, the fear of that moment when I held two and felt that I only knew one. The moment had finally come, the moment that I had worried and agonized over for months while lying inert on my left side watching eight tiny limbs dance circles around my humongous belly. What fear can be greater than the fear that I will not be enough…not enough mother, not enough love, not enough strength, not enough guts…the fear that two will weigh so much more than one.

Finally, they are both together again, bathed and nursed, silent and still, lying on a pillow that circles my still round and mountainous belly. Their heads nestle close to one another, their tiny hands twitch and I think of the movements that are now before me, but were once within me, and again I cry…I cry this time because my arms are strong, my heart is full, and we are, each one of us, enough.

Read more from Taira on her personal blog and see pictures of her little old man and cherub: http://mythreelittleboys.blogspot.com/2012/04/normal-0-false-false-false-en-us-x-none.html

Looking for something fun to do this weekend?  (Aside from finally getting a chance to take your kiddos to the park?!  Yay, Sun!)  Of course, the Portland Area is full of exciting things to experience and try, but here’s a little something going on this weekend only that might be fun for your entire family (and one is FREE!).

I'm going so I can find out more about Eco living, not to see Daryl Hannah.

The Expo Center has all kinds of goodness going on today and tomorrow for families, bike riders, and crafters.  The biggest event is The Better Living Show going on right now until 8 or 9 PM.  (Not 100% on that time.)  It’s open tomorrow from 11-5 PM, which may or may not be the better day to go since I hear the rain will be back.  Boo.  I’m super excited to attend this event and hope to catch a glimpse of Daryl Hannah!!  Okay, so I’m a fan, so I find this extra exciting.  She’s set to speak on the main stage at 7 PM tonight.  Please visit their website or facebook page to find out more and keep up to the minute on what’s going on at the show.  Oh, and the entrance is free to this event!

Going on simultaneously is the Portland Bike Show now until 6 PM tonight, and again tomorrow from 10 AM - 5 PM in Hall E.  Adults are $10 and kids are free with paid adult.  This is where my husband will be checking out the latest and greatest in bike gear while I’ll be in Hall C checking out Heirloom’s Rubber Stamp and Paper Arts Festival.  It’s open until 5 PM today and 10 AM – 4 PM tomorrow.  Cost is $8 today (gets you in tomorrow, too) or $6 for Sunday only.  We’ll need to divide and conquer with the kiddos, but that works fine for me (especially since they’ll all want to go with my husband into the bike show).  Hehehe.

Be prepared that parking will probably be around $8.   Of course, you could take the MAX or bike there, too.

Hope to see some familiar faces at the Expo Center, but if I don’t see you, I’ll know you’re outside enjoying this glorious sun! 

If you know of fun events going on that you’d like to share with the FHM greater community, please email a brief description or review to:  blogger@fullhousemoms.com

Kim S., 2012 FHM Community Manager