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.
Ahhh... eggs. I think I could live on nearly eggs alone, however my heart would most likely not approve. As such, I serve the organic, protein-rich food to my family in moderation and enjoy the additional health benefits including vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and lutein along with a serving of whole grains and fruits and/or vegetables. In the past eggs have been avoided due to cholesterol issues, however recent studies are now claiming that not only will the egg (in moderation) not increase most cholesterol levels, but it may actually help improve one's blood lipids profile. With that info, I say, sign me up!
According
to a study published in the Journal of Nutrition, lutein is "best
absorbed from the egg yolk - not lutein supplements or even spinach". With a history of Macular Degeneration and cataracts in our family, I welcome the lutein-laden egg yolks and often try to pair them with additional lutein filled foods such as spinach with hopes of providing additional nutritional support to our precious eyes (and skin). With such health benefits in these two foods, the pairing in Epicurious' Spinach and Sun-Dried Tomato Frittata, by Golden Door executive chef Dean Rucker, was a match made in heaven.
With the kids at school and my husband on a day off from work I set to preparing a nice lunch for the two of us. It was the photo of the frittatas on Epicurious, each in individual ramekins, that drew my lutein supported eye and shortly had me chopping onions, sun-dried tomatoes, mushrooms and spinach for our meal. Easily put together with whole eggs as well as egg whites and then baked in the oven, these little individual (my husband called them cute) frittatas were a real step up for the plain PB&J. Served with melons from the farmer's market and a slice of whole grain bread our bodies were fueled and ready for the after school chauffeur duties to begin.
