Adding Healthy Choices

I’m better at addition than subtraction.  Subtraction is just harder.  I suppose that is why elementary teachers start with addition when teaching math concepts.  I find the same thing is true when it comes to nutrition. Subtraction is harder.  I often think, when it comes to our diet, we are thinking from a point of subtraction, or restriction.  During National Nutrition Month, I challenge you to think of nutrition in easier terms.  Put a little addition in your nutrition equation.

This month could you add one more fruit or vegetable to your daily routine?  Maybe you’ll add sliced apples as a mid-morning snack.  Maybe you could do a strawberry smoothie after work.  Maybe you like addition so much that you want to find out a way to add a new fruit or vegetable, one that you’ve never tasted befo

re, to a meal each week this month. 

I always like the phrase, “eat the rainbow,” because it helps me thinking about adding colorful produce to my daily meal plan.  The different colors are famous for providing different nutrients and phytochemicals, so adding a little color seems not only a good way to make a plate more appealing, but also equals a great way to boost nutrition. 

There are plenty of ways to add something a bit healthier to your routine.  Have you been getting enough whole grains in your diet?  If not, what about making a low-fat granola?  There are some great breakfasts featuring oats, steel cut oats or even wheat berries. 

If you are providing food for others, there is always sneaky nutrition.  You can add chopped spinach to other salad greens or to sauces like spaghetti, or even to salsas to give a boost of nutrition.  You can add a sprinkle of wheat germ or bran to breads and muffins.  You can also blend cauliflower in with mashed potatoes if you are looking for a way to hide it from you family. 

So often with nutrition, the focus is subtraction.  Reduce your sodium intake.  Cut back on fats.  Remove the refined sugars.  Subtraction is often much harder to do, because you feel limits being imposed.  However, I suspect if we all concentrated on addition, we would find that by adding another fruit, we would eliminate a different snack – maybe even one packed with solid fats, added sugars and salts.  We might not even notice.  It seems that adding something nutritious takes a fraction of the effort that eliminated something unhealthy takes. 

No matter the nutrition variable you choose to change, I hope it adds years of vitality to your healthy future. 

Steel Cut Oats Baked in Oven

1 c. steel cut oats

3 c. hot water

Place both ingredients in a baking pan.  I use a bread loaf pan, for no reason other than it is a good size.  Put in an oven that is 350 degrees.  Bake for about 45 minutes. 

Steel Cut Oats in Slow Cooker

8 ½ c. of water

2 c. steel cut oats

1 ¾ c. milk

¼ c. packed brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla or almond extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

Grease the inside of a slow cooker with butter or spray.  Add all ingredients but the extract.  Cover and cook on low until the oats are creamy – about 7 hours.  Add extract and serve.

Steel Cut Oats Toppers

Consider adding any combination of the following to the steel cut oats:

Yogurt, flavored or plain

Greek yogurt

Dried fruit – raisins, cranberries, etc.

Fresh cut fruit – apples, strawberries, peaches

Nuts – chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans

Flax seed

Chia seeds

Honey

Nutmeg

Let me know if you have your own favorite combination!

Mashed Potatoes with Cauliflower Surprise

Potatoes

Cauliflower

Butter

Milk

Boil about an equal amount of cut cauliflower and potatoes together in the same pot.  When vegetables are tender, drain off the water.  Add enough milk to assist in whipping the vegetables to mashed potato consistency.  Butter can be added to taste, but go lightly.  Just a tablespoon or two will probably work, depending on how many vegetables you boiled. 

You can add spices and seasonings to taste – cayenne, cumin, chives, oregano, basil, pepper and garlic come to mind. 

Experiment and make it your own!