Kids In the Kitchen: Perfect Pie

Pie is a wonderful thing. It can be savory, like a quiche. Or it can be sweet like pumpkin pie. Unfortunately we tend to save pumpkin pie for fall and winter but it is almost the perfect food for young eaters. It is creamy, full of vitamin A and protein. Pumpkin pie is forgiving, add a little of this and a little of that and it is still good. This is a basic recipe, play around with it until you make it your own.
Add more flour to make it a bit sturdier for finger feeding, use a crust or not. Sweeten with regular sugar or use agave syrup. Blend up those peaches hanging from the tree or open a can of pumpkin. Make one low calorie and make one high calorie and keep the whole family healthy and happy.
Perfect for Me Pie
1/2 cup granulated sugar (see "customize" for sweetener ideas)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 large eggs
1 (15 oz.) can of Pumpkin or Butternut Squash or Sweet Potato OR 2 cups pureed peaches
Dairy or alternative (see below for amounts)
2 Tablespoons wheat or tapioca flour

Bake in preheated 425° F. oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350° F.; bake for 20 to 30 minutes or until pies test done. This will make two shallow pies or one deep dish. You can also make in custard cups for individual pies.

CUSTOMIZE YOUR PIE
Full of Dairy
High calorie: use 12 ounces of evaporated whole milk or 2 8 ounce blocks of cream cheese.
Low Calorie: use 12 ounces of evaporated NONFAT milk or 2 8 ounces of neufchatel cheese

No Dairy (Casein/milk free)
Use ¾ cup coconut milk instead of milk. Let the can of coconut milk settle a bit and just scoop out that nice thick milk. Don't add the water at the bottom of the can.

Sweeten it up
If you want to use honey, maple syrup or agave syrup, you will need to add a bit more of flour or tapioca flour to thicken your pie. Remember that agave is sweeter then sugar and you will need a bit less. Start with 1/4 to 1/3 cup and work your way up to 1/2 cup if needed.

Crust or Crustless
Crusts add crunch and some whole grain. You can use a graham cracker crust. Make one from graham crackers or a combination of graham crackers and breakfast cereal. If you are looking to go gluten free with the crust, you can use ground gluten free cookies or cereal for the crust. Add some ground almonds, pecans or walnuts to the crust to bump up the vitamins, minerals and protein.

Most importantly, sit down with your child, eat and enjoy.

GMO's- What's The Deal?

We have all heard the term GMO, but what is it and where exactly do we find these mysterious chemicals?

Scientists are now able to genetically modify the seeds of some fruits and vegetables to enhance traits such as being resistant to various herbicides/pesticides and producing larger crops. The FDA has approved over 50 genetically modified foods, including potatoes, corn (think high fructose corn syrup), soybeans (think soy lecithin), papaya, squash, tomatoes (one of the first to be genetically modified) and others.

Manufacturers do not have to disclose if they use genetically modified foods in their products although many products that are free of GMO’s are clearly stating that on their labels. Produce that is labeled “organic” cannot be genetically modified or have genetically modified components as part of the product. For more information go to www.ewg.org (The Environmental Working Group) and www.healthychild.org (Healthy Child Healthy World).

Soy: Friend or Foe, part two

The same reasons that we love soy may also be the reasons that a diet rich in soy may be of concern. Soy contains "phytoestrogens", plant compounds that mimic the female hormone, estrogen. This is great when you are post-menopausal woman and needing a little extra estrogen to combat those hot flashes and other side effects of menopause. But some researchers feel that soy has the same influence on young boys and girls.
High soy intake in babies and young children may contribute to earlier menarche in girls and later fertility issues in boys. These theories have been explored in animals but not confirmed in people. There is enough evidence though for some countries such as Israel, England and New Zealand to limit the routine use of soy formula. How much soy is too much and do we want our kids to be taking in large amounts of "phyto-estrogens"?

What to do? Well, until all of the evidence is in, it may be better to think before you drink.
Small amounts of soy milk are fine, but consider the other dairy alternatives such as nut milks or hemp milk. If your baby shows an allergy to dairy based formula, soy might not be your best choice, talk to your doctor about an elemental formula.

Soy: Friend or Foe, part one: friend

Depending on where you look, soy is either a villain or a hero. Leading to health or heartbreak!
For the next two blog posts, let's consider soy, today : soy the hero, the preventer of cancer. A study published in the March 24, 2009 issue of Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention looked at women of Chinese, Japanese and Filipino heritage living in San Francisco or Oakland California or living in Oahu, Hawaii. The women who ate the most soy during childhood had a 60% reduced risk of breast cancer as compared to women who ate the least amount of soy.

Fat Free Talk

I HAD to share this video... Now, more than ever, we need to focus on our health and not our looks. Fears about obesity are feeding so much "fat phobia" that experts worry of an increase in healthy kids obsessing about weight and more parents projecting irrational fears about fat on their children.

Please watch this youtube video and share it with anyone that you think might benefit. True beauty is on the inside!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKPaxD61lwo

Autism and Bellyaches

In the March 2009 issue of the medical journal Pediatrics it was reported that researchers at Vanderbilt University have linked a specific gene related to brain development AND gastrointestinal tract repair to autism. The MET gene comes in a variety of "forms". Children who inherit two MET "C" alleles (a portion of DNA) have twice the risk of developing autism as children who inherit the MET "G" allele. The genetic variation MET C allele, turns down production of MET (a protein), and therefore may influence gut repair, brain development as well as some other body functions.

While this study does not suggest that changing diet will "cure" autism, it does support the often reported observation that kids with autism have GI issues such as pain, constipation or diarrhea. Helping kids address tummyaches leads to better attention, improved mood, greater participation in therapies and generally better eating and nutrition.

Recipe for Excess

We all are well aware of the increasing size of our population, not in terms of number but in terms of actual SIZE. Studies show that about 20-40% of children are overweight (varies depending on what groups of kids they are looking at), and there are many different theories why. Could be activity. One study correlated the increased and prolonged use of strollers to increasing weight of 2-3 year olds. Could be the increase in fast foods. Another study found that french fries were the most popular vegetable eaten by two year olds! Or the increased use of soft drinks made with the ever present "high fructose corn syrup". In one study, overweight school age children stopped drinking soft drinks with no other changes and ALL lost a significant amount of weight. But no studies have linked it to home cooking....until now!

Cornell University's Food and Brand Lab looked at recipes in the Joy of Cooking comparing recipes from the 1936 version all the way to the 2006 version. Overall, they found that the calories per serving in 17 of the recipes increased 63%! More fat, more meat, more butter, more sugar and larger portions (what once served 8 now was serving 4) contributed to the increase. There were also incidences where the calories came with greater nutrition, for example when raisins or nuts were added but overall the increase generally came from extra fat and sugar or the larger portions. They found similar calorie increases in other cookbooks such as the "Better Homes and Garden Cookbook".

While the calories may have gone up for many of the classic recipes, there are ways we can turn back the clock on calories. The one consistent theme is portion size. Remember when a cup was actually 8 ounces and not a Big Gulp and a hamburger was a hamburger not a Whopper?
Practice assessing portion sizes by going to "Portion Distortion" at
http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/portion/. Not only will it show you how our perceptions of portions have changed but what you need to do to use up those extra calories.