The Whole Story: What’s Down in Da Hood

Happy Sunday everyone!

I don’t usually post breakfast because I always have the same meal: oatmeal with banana and PB … the usual.  This morning I was craving my hot weather breakfast, so I decided to go with it.

In the mix:

* 1 container Yoplait Greek yogurt
* 1/2 cup Barbara’s Bakery Shredded Oats (best cereal ever)
* 1/2 cup frozen blueberries
* 1 tbsp Saratoga Peanut Butter Company PB

Has anyone tried this Yoplait Greek yogurt? I’d never seen it before. It was pretty good, but not as thick and creamy as Fage.

Most of the morning was spent in working on school assignments and yes, taking ANOTHER nap. This pattern may become a problem, as during the week, “naptime” falls when I’m in class. I don’t think the professor would like me to KO my desk.

I was also able to start up my AeroGarden again. Instead of just lettuce and spinach this time, I decided to grow some flowers, too. I may miss my organic greens in a few weeks, but the study room will smell amazing.

Just imagine a jungle of rippling leaves and fragrant blossoms.

In other news, Peter has been on a mission to cook sous-vide. Since devices that can cook sous-vide run in the thousand of dollars, Peter decided to rig one up himself (what a resourceful husband).

He wired up this system so that the temperature of the hotplate will adjust continuously, keeping the water in the pot at a constant temperature.

After constructing the system, Peter declared that he was going to make me “the perfect egg”. All he needed was 45 minutes and a lot of patience. Hey, who said perfection was fast?

Think of the creamiest custard you’ve ever had, then make it richer. I guess I’ll have to start getting up 45 minutes earlier every morning to make myself an eggo perfecto.

Dinner was pumpkin veggie lasagna – yum! One of the aspects of this recipe I like the most is that it’s so customizable — I throw in whatever veggies I have on hand. This lasagna is a good way to fit a LOT of vegetables into your meal.

In the vegel mix this time:

* carrot
* zucchini
* onion
* garlic
* cauliflower
* collard greens

The pumpkin, milk, flour, butter, and spice mixture:

Have you ever seen this whisk before?

It’s fantastic for roux because those little balls get EVERYWHERE. Besides, it looks awesome in the kitchen 😉

Ready to go in the oven:

and emerging from the oven, with rivers of cheese:

Now, I’d like to talk about something that is near and dear to my heart, so to speak. I am speaking, of course, about whole grains. At this point, everyone know that whole grains are good for you, so I don’t need to harp on how whole grains have more fiber, are digested more slowly, keep you fuller longer, yada yada yada. What I wanted to talk about was how to find whole grains. It’s not as easy as you think. If you are looking for 100% whole grain, read on. If not, well … read on anyway. I promise I won’t be too dull.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come across a loaf of bread, or a box of cereal, with the words “WHOLE GRAIN” printed neatly across the front. Sure, the food industry has hooked into the health food movement, but they also know that people tend to prefer their grains soft, white, and everlasting. Thus, companies put a trace amount of whole wheat into bread, add molasses, and pretend it’s full of the good stuff (and I don’t mean enrichment). What a lot of people don’t know is that companies can put the word “whole” on the front of their packages, even if the actual whole grain content of the foodstuff is minimal.

I don’t want these companies to trick you. Here’s the low-down on how to pick out whole grain products:

*** Look at the ingredient label. If the grains listed do not have the word “WHOLE” in front of them, the product is not 100% whole grain. ***

So, this is what’s down in da hood:

LOOK AT THE INGREDIENT LABEL. NO “WHOLE”, NO GO.

Maddie agrees.