Lisa Williams asked what a healthy shopping list might look like, in light of my recent Public Service post on eating healthier.  Good question.  My shopping lists are so fractured of late one might not get the gist of the healthy eating under way.

The last list looked like this:

Wax paper
Milk
Eggs

And that was about it.

We have a burgeoning pantry here; that’s why the list is thin.  Since we are preparing to move next month and I don’t want to move any more than I have to, we’re eating our way through our reserves.  But there’s a lot in the cupboard that’s healthy eating, and a lot in the freezer as well.  Here are some of this week’s meals:

Baked ham, baked potatoes in jackets, steamed broccoli

Jumbalaya and steamed green beans

Whole-grain Calzones and tossed romaine salad

There’s a theme here.  Did you catch it?  Well, actually, there’s two themes.  The first is Meals-on-a-Dime, because my spouse is a thrifty-skinflinty shopper.  The second is ham, ham, ham, ham.

Ham was on sale for a ridiculously low price (under a buck a pound), so low that hubby bought it in spite of its omission from my shopping list.  Frozen veggies were on sale as well, so he loaded up on green beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower.  (Anything green or cruciferous is the rule here.)

But are these healthy foods?  You bet, provided you check the labels.  The ham is quite low in fat and cholesterol per serving, compared to many other meats; we often use it in smaller amounts as a flavoring (in vegetable or legume-based soups, for instance).  The only caveat with ham is watching the amount of nitrates consumed over the course of a month; we certainly would not use ham for more than a handful of meals for this reason. 

Frozen vegetables are a blessing, both in nutrient content and in ease of use.  Many people balk at adding more green and fibrous vegetables to their diets because of the hassle of cleaning and preparation.  Using frozen vegetables removes that fear factor and greatly speeds preparation time.  Unlike canned vegetables, frozen ones retain their colors, nutrients, flavors, contain no additional sodium or sugar and may often be less expensive than canned.  For these reasons, we NEVER use canned vegetables with the exceptions of tomatoes, tomato sauce and paste, and legumes.

Perhaps a few specific notes are due for each of the meals on this week’s menu.

Baked ham, baked potatoes in jackets, steamed broccoli:
No additional glaze used on the ham, baked simply at 350F for 20 minutes per pound.  If the exterior of the ham seems to be a bit too done or dry at the mid-point of baking, simply add a small amount of low-fat, low-sodium chicken broth to the bottom of the roasting pan and baste a bit over the ham.  Scrub potatoes thoroughly – and eat the entire potato, skin and all.  The skin is fiber-rich and contains more vitamins than the interior and is an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium.  Serve with trans-fat-free margarine and fat-free sour cream or non-fat yogurt, or with deglazed, reduced pan juices.  Steamed broccoli can be sprinkled with fresh lemon juice, a sprinkling of garlic (granulated works fine, although minced fresh is great, too) and a splash of olive oil.  Toss and top with freshly ground black pepper.  Serve with a light-bodied red wine.

Jumbalaya and steamed green beans:
Use cubed leftover ham in the jumbalaya, as well as brown rice.  Brown rice offers a lot more fiber than white rice as well as more nutrients.  My recipe calls for diced tomatoes (very important for men to get at least a couple servings of tomatoes every week to reduce their chances of prostate cancer).  After all the chopping and prep work that go into the jumbalaya, steamed green beans are a snap, needing only a little olive oil or trans-fat-free margarine as a dressing.  Serve with a fuller-bodied fruity red wine.

Whole-grain Calzones and tossed romaine-spinach salad:
Chop leftover ham finely to use in the calzones.  Prepare your own whole-grain calzone dough using a good pizza dough recipe; swap out half or more of the white flour with whole-wheat flour, swap another quarter of the white flour with oat flour, and add two tablespoons of flax meal.  You’ll have a much more nutritious, high-fiber calzone with these simple modifications.  Use low-fat mozzarella and ricotta in the filling, boosted with a tablespoon or two of parmesan for flavor, along with a low-salt, low-sugar spaghetti sauce (another serving of tomatoes, guys!), add a pinch of oregano and basil and voila!  Tasty!  We always serve at least one green veggie; we make a nice dark green romaine and spinach salad with red cabbage, cherry tomatoes and shredded carrots for increased nutrient value.  Make your own vinaigrette with olive oil and vinegar of your choice; olive oil will help improve the “good cholesterol” numbers on your lipid panel.  Go for a nice Chianti or a retro Lambrusco with this dinner.

The most expensive meal of these, excluding the wine, is the calzones.  It’s also the most time consuming.  If you have a food processor or a bread-maker, the calzones will be considerably easier to put together.  But they’re a great meal for a family to work on together; I don’t know of any kid who doesn’t love to knead or pat out dough. 

Kids can help, too, with washing the vegetables for the salad or peeling and chopping the onions-garlic-celery-green-pepper for the jumbalaya.  Over the long run, this might be one of the healthiest things about these meals: teaching kids not to be afraid of good and real food, teaching them to appreciate the same.  Even the littlest ones can get involved; my daughter started helping at age two, standing at the sink to wash lettuce.  I’d put her on a stool and stand behind her, letting her dunk the lettuce into a sink full of cold water.  She progressed to spinning the lettuce dry, then ripping the lettuce into bite-sized pieces.  At age seven she could prepare a salad all by herself and now at age ten does so frequently to pack for lunch at school.

If I had to start from scratch for these three meals, what would the grocery list look like?

Ham – at least 95% lean meat
Celery
Green Pepper
Romaine lettuce -- more vitamin content than head or other lettuces
Baby spinach – mature spinach is fine, but spring for the triple washed stuff; more vitamins than lettuce
Red cabbage -- adds more fiber and antioxidants
Cherry tomatoes
Carrots
Lemon
Mozzarella – low-fat
Ricotta – low-fat

Pantry or refrigerator items (generally kept on hand at all times):

Potatoes – preferably Russets for baking, one medium potato per adult (if you’re watching carbs, nix this and have some steamed and mashed cauliflower instead, dressed with garlic and olive oil)
Brown rice – I like Lunderg’s and Nishiki for flavor, texture and eco-positives
Onion
Garlic -- good for its blood-thinning qualities
Parmesan cheese – grated is fine if you’d rather not mess with buying a chunk
Low-fat sour cream
Low or non-fat yogurt -- a source of calcium and protein
Diced tomatoes, canned – low-salt if possible
Spaghetti or marinara sauce, canned – low-salt, low-sugar if possible
Whole-wheat flour -- use whole-wheat over white flour whenever possible, to add fiber and reduce insulin spikes
Unbleached flour
Oat flour -- I sneak oats into the diet whenever I can to improve cholesterol
Flaxseed meal -- keep this in an air-tight container in the refrigerator to prevent rancidity of the natural oils; chockful of fiber and omega-3 fatty acids
Salt
Yeast -- buy in bulk, keep in an air-tight container in the refrigerator
Extra-virgin olive oil -- have a lighter one for cooking, a darker and fruitier one for dressings, great for lipid panel numbers as well as flavor
Vinegar – I generally have balsamic, rice wine, cider and a couple other vinegar on hand for variety
Oregano (for use in calzones and vinaigrette)
Basil (in calzones)
Chili powder (in jumbalaya)
Thyme (in jumbalaya)
Red wine – I keep a small cellar, stocked 2-to-1 with red and white wines (reds are better for cholesterol management and antioxidants)

And what about the rest of the week?  Usually we eat leftovers or a salad for lunch; it gets too expensive in terms of time as well as money to even think about getting take out more than once a week for lunch.  (Why does it take so doggone long at some places to get a simple soup and salad, and for the same amount of money it costs to put together a couple meals for four people?)  If we have the time in the evening or on the weekend, I’ll poach or roast extra chicken or fish to eat for lunch, either as chicken salad or on a bed of lettuce wrapped in a tortilla.  For breakfast it’s whole grain cereal or oatmeal with fruit and juice.  I make a French bread with flaxseed and oat flour that’s great toasted.  If we’re going to be pushing it hard that day, I might have the French bread toast with a healthy dollop of peanut butter to add more protein.  When my son also asks for sausages, I’ll cook him turkey links; he’s pretty happy with them and often asks for seconds, especially when he’s having a growth spurt.  (We just have to watch this guy for nitrate consumption; he’d live on sausages, ham and pepperoni if we let him.)

Sometimes the kids are on the run after school and need to squeeze in some food but not an entire meal before their intramural activities.  I keep firm tofu on the shelf for these occasions and will fix them a quick smoothie in the blender with milk, tofu, ice, a splash of vanilla and a couple tablespoons of chocolate syrup.  They think they’ve gotten a milkshake and I know they’ve gotten calcium, vitamin D and protein to tide them over until dinner.  If we don’t have time mix a smoothie, the kids are happy with a yogurt and juice on the run.  I keep a basket in the car stocked with graham crackers, granola bars, juice boxes and bottled water when we are very, very tight on time between activities.  And those baby carrots are a godsend; if the kids are too ravenous to wait for me to finish cooking dinner, they’re happily fended off with a couple tablespoons of low-fat ranch dressing as a dip for a handful of those little carrots.  We’ve agreed they don’t have to eat as many veggies at the table if they’ve already had carrots; works like a charm.

Does this sound really scary to do, all this healthy food stuff?  I don’t think so, but then I’ve been doing it for nearly fifteen years.  Maybe it’s harder than I think for some people; perhaps others will think I haven’t gone far enough.  I know my in-laws still struggle with the idea that some foods are bad for you, even though they are both watching their cholesterol.  One of them should be watching their diet because of an irregular heartbeat and the other has diabetes – yet they still don’t know how to eat healthy in spite of being treated for these conditions for more than 10 years.  I cringe every time my mother-in-law prepares scrambled eggs laced with cheese and a pile of bacon for breakfast when we visit...she can't understand why we don't eat more of this feast. [sigh]
 
On the other hand, I’ve got two kids to feed; one of them is incredibly picky and the other is prone to the occasional pre-teen ‘tude.  They don’t always want uncool foods or foods that my diabetic spouse must eat.  Finding a balance can be tough at times.  Having a variety of options allows us to navigate this challenge; my son might opt for a simple slice of sautéed leftover ham and carrots instead of jumbalaya that’s too complicated for his young taste buds.  So be it; he’s still gotten low-fat protein and vegetables.   I’ll simply top my serving with Tabasco if the jumbalaya is mild enough for my daughter but too mild for me.  No big deal.

What could we improve on in this household?  Organic ham would be nice, but I’ve yet to see one and I’ll bet the price is out of this world.  Organic vegetables are great, but we can’t always count on finding everything we want here in the heartland of America; I might have to settle for organic lettuce or spinach only and wash the heck out of every other vegetable.  Or buy fresh vegetables locally – but our season is pretty short here.  We do what we can, when we can; the kids are healthy and definitely far from obese, my spouse's cholesterol and blood sugar has been manageable.  It's a start.

What about you?  What changes to your diet have you made for healthier eating?  Are there any healthy food tricks you care to share?

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