Pizza

A friend of mine asked me to post these recipes. This is a great weekend recipe. I like to have my girls help me make pizza.  We use Canadian bacon, pepperoni, feta cheese, artichokes, and sun dried tomatoes as toppings. I usually make a double recipe. This pizza reheats well. I hope you enjoy!

 

Pizza Sauce (makes 1 quart)

1 teaspoon crumbled dried basil

1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon crumbled dried marjoram

1/4 cup white wine (the cook can drink the rest)

• Add herbs to wine and marinate for 15 minutes.  

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I buy a jar of already chopped.)

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

• While herbs and wine marinate, sauté garlic in olive oil until soft but not brown. 

1 1/2 cups chopped crushed plum tomatoes (I use canned)

2 tablespoons tomato paste (I use the entire can)

salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

• Add tomatoes, paste, herb/wine mixture, and salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for about 20 minutes. Remove from stove, puree in a blender until smooth. Return sauce to skillet and summer uncovered until it thickens slightly.

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough (makes an 8 slice, 15 in crust)
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast.
1 1/2 teaspoon low calorie baking sweetener (I use 1t Splenda and 1/2t sugar)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 cups whole wheat flour
extra flour for kneading and rolling

• Mix yeast, sweetener, salt, oil and water in a bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes; the mixture will become cloudy and thick.  When this happens, put the flour in another bowl and make a well in the center. Add the yeast mixture and fold into the flour. Add more lukewarm water if needed. Knead dough until it becomes smooth, and place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Place the dough in a warm area for about 45 minutes or until it doubles in size. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 15 inch round, place on pizza pan, top with sauce and toppings and bake at 500 degrees until crust is crispy.

*I use 1 3/4 cup of whole wheat four plus 1/8 cup wheat germ and 1/8 cup ground flax seed instead of the 2 cups of flour.

Both of these recipes are from The Miami Mediterranean Diet by Michael Ozner, MD.

 

Self Love

I recently listened to a podcast that has challenged me to change my thinking. The woman being interviewed was Karly Randolph Pitman who is the founder of First Ourselves. Karly talked about "7 Ways to Accept Your Body as it Ages." The entire podcast is worth listening to, but I was particularly struck by her comment about being sure we approach change out of self love.

According to Karly, when we see a need to make a change in our life, there are 2 ways we can think about that change. One way is the negative approach that is almost a form of self-abuse. Even something like exercise can be turned into a form of punishment - Look at me, I need to exercise to get rid of this disgusting weight. Karly says that vanity is a terrible short term motivator. Wanting to look good will not keep you exercising, eating right, and taking care of yourself because vanity is never satisfied. There will always be a better version of you to strive for. If you decide that there is something you want to change, do it out of self love (the 2nd and better approach) - I love my body and I want to care for it the best way I can.

While this sounds like common sense, it is not the way I approach change and I doubt many women approach weight loss out of self love. I believe that I am not too "down on myself" but I have to admit that my motivation for change rarely comes from a place of self love. This is especially true when it comes to my weight. I want to lose weight because I want to be thinner. I know that my self-esteem is significantly impacted by my weight and as a result, I try to keep it under control. Of course, when I lose weight, I feel good for a short time and then I begin to feel like I need to lose more weight.

I am challenged and encouraged by what I heard on this podcast, and I plan to explore Karly's website and resources. I also want to share these resources with you. I realize that learning to accept my body as it ages, be kind to my body and treat myself with love will take time and practice, but I am excited to get started on this journey.

The podcast I heard is from Vicky and Jen. They produce a podcast called "What Really Matters." I love their show and I hope you will check it out.
Vicky and Jen's website - http://vickyandjen.com
The podcast on Self Love - http://vickyandjen.com/podcast_169.html
Vicky and Jen in iTunes - http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/what-really-matters/id201098170

Karly's website, First Ourselves - http://www.firstourselves.org

The information below is from Karly Randolph Pitman and is quoted from the Vicky and Jen website.
(http://vickyandjen.com/podcast_169.html)

7 Ways to Accept Your Body as it Ages
By Karly Randolph Pitman
 1. Mourning / Celebrating Losses. Honor and celebrate what you had. Necessary losses. Grieve what you’ve lost. It hurts to watch our bodies age and lose their beauty.
2. Integrity / Honesty. We feel more beautiful when we are taking care of ourselves. Beauty has a high connecotion to integrity – to living out our values. (We say we love ourselves, but then we do otherwise – i.e., skimp on sleep, exercise, healthy food or overexercise, diet, etc.) Honor your commitments to your body.
3. Compassion / Non-violence. Drop comparisons. Comparisons are cruel. This includes comparing yourself to yourself, to a younger, prettier, thinner, better version of yourself.
4. Acceptance. Accept what you can’t change. Change what you can. Have the wisdom to know the difference. Use love as motivation to change rather than vanity.
5. Know your true nature. Attach your self-worth to something other than your body. It’s a recipe for hurt and pain.
6. Gratitude. Appreciate what your body can do to take the focus on how it looks. Try something new. Expand your idea of what is possible.

7. Authenticity. Adopt your own beauty standards. As we age, we are more comfortable being ourselves - and being ourselves in our bodies. Use jealousy as a way of uncovering how you are inauthentic.


4 Ways to Be Kind to Our Bodies
Body hatred manifests in our lives as harsh expectations, stringent guidelines and general meanness: asking too much from our bodies, and then criticizing them when they fall short. Who wants that? The antidote to body hatred is gentleness: relaxing our expectations so that we can meet our need for a beautiful, healthy body without living with an internal slavedriver.
How can we be more gentle towards our bodies? Here are 4 suggestions:
1. Wear clothes that fit. One of the easiest ways you can feel fat, like you need to lose weight, and generally ruin your day is by squeezing into clothes that are too small. Would you ever do this to a child? Of course not. So why do this to yourself? Because wearing a smaller size makes us feel thinner. Likewise, we think that wearing a smaller size will make us look thinner. But the reverse is true. Well dressed women agree that wearing clothes that skim, rather than cling to the body, creates the most flattering silhouette: good for your body as well as your self esteem.
2. Give yourself time for changes to manifest. Whether you’re a new mother trying to lose her baby weight, or you’re trying to lose your winter hibernation pounds, be kind to your body, and give yourself enough time to reach your goal. Expecting changes overnight, or in a week, or even in a month, result in drastic measures and frustration. Either you’ll kill yourself to meet your goal, or you’ll give up and berate yourself for your lack of progress. Habits take 3 weeks to take; mindsets, over a year. So give it time.
3. Accept a range for an ideal weight, rather than one number. Health is dynamic, an ever changing, living, breathing thing. You can’t expect your body to be constant. Weight fluctuates, especially in women’s bodies. Health fluctuates, as your external circumstances change. The appearance of your skin and hair fluctuates with the seasons and your health. Instead of accepting one weight as your ideal, give yourself a range of at least 6 pounds to accommodate the normal flux of living. Instead of having one definition of a good hair or skin day, increase your options to include a day when you have a small pimple or when your hair doesn’t cooperate perfectly.
4. Accept fat days without shame and criticism. Yes, in an ideal world, every woman would love her body all of the time. But what if you don’t love your body everyday? Let it go, and give yourself a break. Maybe you’re tired. Maybe you’ve got PMS. Maybe you’re tired of winter and sweaters and are longing for spring. Accept that while, yes, your goal is to love your body, there may be times when you don’t. And that’s okay.

Healthy Recipes

Most people would like to improve their eating habits, but don't have time to devote to a total menu make-over. This will certainly take some planning. Check out my post on meal planning for more on the topic of planning your meals. After you get into the habit of making a plan for healthy meals, recipes become the next hurdle.

There are three basic ways to get healthy foods onto your menu: using recipes, making your own creations, or modifying recipes will all help you incorporate healthy foods into your diet.

Recipes:
Although I still have a few, recipe books are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Every recipe you could ever hope to find is on the Internet. I rely on the Internet quite a bit when I am cooking. In fact, all of my Thanksgiving and Christmas cooking was done from recipes I found on the Internet. Recipe books are useful for specialized foods. I rely heavily on a book called The Miami Mediterranean Diet. This book is about incorporating Mediterranean cooking into your diet and is filled with great recipes.

Making your own creations:
Some people are really good at this, but I am not. Put me in a kitchen with a pile of ingredients, and I need Google to help me make use of them in a creative and edible recipe. My lack of talent in this area is exactly why I bought the book on Mediterranean cooking mentioned above. I knew that I should be incorporating certain foods into my diet, but I did not know how. If you are one of the talented or adventurous individuals who can create meals from a list of ingredients, I envy you. Making your own creations also takes time and practice. There are tons of food blogs on the Internet that tell the stories of people who create their own recipes, and I choose to rely on them instead of my own creations (at least for now).

Modifying Recipes:
This is one of my favorite methods of incorporating healthy food into my family's menu. Most mom's learn to modify recipes out of desperation. How else can we get our children to eat vegetables? I also modify recipes because I want my family eating whole grains, ground flax, and less sugar.

How do I make all of this work in my kitchen?
One weekend, I found myself craving pumpkin muffins. I remembered that I had once made some really good/healthy pumpkin muffins several years ago but had no idea where I would find that recipe (it might have been on the back of the label on the can). I typed "whole wheat pumpkin muffins" into the search box and the fourth entry listed in the results was for whole wheat pumpkin muffins with cranberries and walnuts. This recipe is on a terrific blog called Pinch My Salt. I reviewed the recipe and decided it was perfect for me. I had all of the necessary ingredients or knew I could make adequate substitutions and the ingredient list met with my nutritional goals. I did make some modifications to the recipe, but the basic foundation belongs to the talented chef/blogger at Pinch My Salt. When people ask me for the recipe for my muffins, I give out the link to the blog. I thought I would take the time to walk people through how I modified the recipe. I am putting the exact recipe below. The original can be found at the blog Pinch My Salt.  I will note my changes in parentheses.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Muffins with Cranberries and Walnuts
2 1/2 C. whole wheat flour (I use 2C Wheat Flour, 1/4C Ground Flax, 1/4C Wheat Germ)
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. pumpkin pie spice (I don't have pumpkin pie spice so I use 1 1/2t ground cinnamon, 1/2t ground nutmeg, 1/4t ground cloves, 1/2t ground ginger)
1 C. pumpkin puree (I use canned)
2 T. oil
3/4 C. honey (I use 1 1/4C Splenda + 1/4C water)
2 eggs
2/3 C. buttermilk (I use the powdered substitute that is available in any grocery store)
1 t. vanilla
1/2 C. sweetened dried cranberries (like Craisins)
1/2 C. chopped walnuts
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a standard size 12 cup muffin tin (I use cooking spray).
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, oil, honey, eggs, buttermilk and vanilla.
4. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and stir together until just combined. Fold in the cranberries and walnuts.
5. Divide batter evenly between 12 standard sized muffin cups. Bake 20-23 minutes in a preheated 375 degree oven. Muffins are done when they spring back lightly to the touch or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Give it a try, add some healthy ingredients to your favorite recipes or find a new recipe. Please share what you do to add healthy food to your diet in the comments.

How About those Routines?

In my last post, I wrote about returning to routines after having them disrupted. In my case, we were just ending winter break. I am 2 weeks into my "regular routine" and some things are going well while some things are not going so well.

What's going well?

• We are eating healthy meals and the meal planning routine seems to be back to normal.
• I have added a new exercise routine and that has been going well.
• I am trying to change my evening routines and that seems to be going well for me and my family. (I hope to write about this soon.)
• Laundry is getting done. Having a plan in place has made that easy.
• I have been working with my daughter to study for some big tests. I had not planned on this, but we are working on making a study plan as we go.
• I am making time to read everyday.
• My children have embraced the idea of turning off the TV, and that has become a new part of our weekends and evenings.

What's not going so well?

• There are still some Christmas decorations out (they are going in the box today).
• We are having trouble getting back to our evening routines that involve picking up around the house.
• I have not had time to write or research for my blog. It seems this routine has disappeared all together.

All in all, I feel fairly successful with our return to "normal" and I feel as if I am able to deal with the areas that are not going well. I can live with the fact that the house is not as clean as I would like because I know we can get back to keeping it clean. I am also aware of the fact that we have added some new routines to our life that will need some time to get settled into.

Preparing to Return to "Normal"

This is it. Today is the last day of my winter break. I return to work and my children return to school tomorrow. Yesterday (Jan 1) was a lazy day. I worked on my scrapbooks, did one load of laundry (see Managing Laundry) planned the meals (see meal planning) for this coming week, and read. How am I going to get my family ready for the coming week and still enjoy my last day of break? A little planning and a little letting go (see Keeping Routines During Non-Routine Times) are my strategies.

Planning:

• As I have planned, the holiday leftovers are gone from the house and we are returning to more healthy eating starting today. All of our bodies will be thankful for that. I have even planned what I will eat for my 3 meals and snacks today.
• I have a plan for the 3 meals I plan to cook today that we will eat next week (see Meal Planning). It is just past 8:00 a.m. and I have already cooked the first meal for next week (chili made with veggies and turkey). I used the food processor (new gift) and had it on the stove while the coffee was brewing. 
• I have written down what each person in my family needs to accomplish today. For me, it includes exercising , scrapbooking and reading along with the chores that need to get done (see Planning your Free Time). 
• We are all going to take time today to make a plan for next week. This will help us return to our routines and not be stressed out.

Letting Go:

• The Christmas tree is still up and the living room is still decorated. That is just going to have to be OK. We have agreed to take it down next weekend when we will have more time.
• I do not plan to do any house cleaning today. The house was just cleaned the other day for an event we hosted, and is in good enough shape to get us into the week. 
• I had hoped to spend time cleaning out my bedroom this break, but I did not get to finish that project. I will work it into my future plans instead of spending today getting my room finished.
• I will only do one load of laundry today. My laundry system only requires that I wash one load per day. It is tempting to wash an extra load, but that would keep me from getting to the other things on my list.  

Wish me luck! I am finished with my morning coffee now (a routine I can never let go) and I am going to exercise. I know what I plan to accomplish today and I hope I get to everything on my list. Are you using planning to get things accomplished? Tell us about your ideas, successes and/or challenges in the comment area below.