Sometimes peer pressure can be a good thing. Like I mentioned in the last post, Liv secured a green food aversion from an early age, and it wasn't until the last year or so that she has entertained the thought that green veggies might actually taste good.
Dancing on her competitive team has her spending time with girls years older than she is. Girls, who as they enter adolescence, tend to work on healthier diets as the teenage years tend bring hordes of "teenager" issues including acne and extra weight. As such, many of these girls have been found snacking on broccoli and hummus, lunching on spinach salads topped with chicken, and filling breakfast omelets with zucchini.
Ever the picky eater, Liv made the comment, "Eeeww! You really like spinach?", only once or twice before she discovered that, yes, many of her friends do eat green. It was about that time that I snuck a handful of spinach into her smoothie without her noticing and then told her about it. On our next car pool day I had her usual smoothie, and she made a point of asking in front of the other girls, "Mom, you did put the spinach in the smoothie... right?".
To which the other girls said, "Eeeww! You put spinach in a smoothie?"
And her quick response sounding so grown up included, "Oh, yes... it so good for you and you can't even taste it!"
Since then she has become an olive oil and age white balsamic connoisseur (favoring the 35 year aged balsamic... I hope she gets a good job when she grows up!), a Ceasar Salad lover (with chicken preferably), and a veggie omelet requester.
Working hard last weekend on a Broadcasting Competition Project (some 20 hours in 3 days!), she found herself pretty darn exhausted and we concurred that today would be a nice day for her to be "sick" from school. With our day filled with plans of cookie baking and caramel apple dipping, getting a healthy meal in first seemed to be a good idea.
Ever trying to get her to expand her food repertoire, today's surprise addition was quinoa - once again something she has not cared to try. As we had more time on our day together, we decided a fritatta might be more fun than the usual veggie scramble, and she set to helping me chop onions, broccoli and her now favorite spinach. Slipping about 1/2 a cup of cooked quinoa into the eggs, she didn't even notice.
She loved the triangle cut pieces in place of the usual scramble, and had at least 3 bites before she asked what those "little things" were in the fritatta. "Quinoa, I told her. It adds tons of protein and vitamins. Believe it or not, it used to be called The Gold of the Incas, and has been around for 9,000 years, and it's actually a seed, though many people refer to it as a grain."
She nodded as she took another bite, then proceeded to clean her plate. My girl is growing up.
In just shy of 3 months I'll be boarding a jet plane and winging my way across the country to the Caribbean. A quick visit to the Bahamas with friends has been planned for over half a year, but unfortunately my waistline is not quite bikini ready. Power walks with my husband and trips to the gym have risen in priority as has a diet with reduced carbs and increased veggies and proteins. Quinoa fits that bill.
The inside cover of my most recent cookbook find, Quinoa 365: The Everyday Superfood
, lists a few of quinoa's amazing qualities as:
- A great source of protein
- Containing all eight essential amino acids
- Helps build muscle, promote weight loss and stabilize blood sugar
Throw in the fact that this ancient grain is high on my "I love it" list and we have a winner. Once considered more valuable than gold, this seed with cultivation dating back thousands of years is classified as a complete protein. High in vitamin and mineral content (including vitamins E, B2 and B6, folic acid, calcium, potassium, iron and magnesium), quinoa makes an excellent dietary choice. Versatility is key with quinoa working well in salads, main dishes and even baked goods.
