Quiche for the Over-Extended Parent

I think that quiche is a quick, easy, nutritious meal that everyone can make.  I also think it takes no more time to make than going to a take-out place and waiting for them to make your food.  (Every time we go to a "quick" Chinese place, or order a pizza, we always have to wait.)  But I also realize that since I cook all the time, what I think is easy, may not be so for some one else.  I also know that many times I will make a recipe that takes me twice as long as what the recipe calls for.

So, I want to introduce you to Carla (her real name).  Carla is my friend.  She is a typical working mother of  today.  She helps run a small business, has two daughters for whom she chauffeurs around to their various activities, and helps take care of her extended family which includes her step-daughter and grandson as well as her husband's mother.   Rarely does she cook and cooking is not one of her many fine skills.  And I can tell you, she has NOTHING in her refrigerator or her pantry.  When she broke her foot I went to her house to make her some lunch.  It was not easy, and I can whip up something out of practically nothing.  (But it is hard to make something out of nothing.)    So if she can do this, anyone can.

Here is the recipe that I provided her.  We then went to the grocery store.  She prefers Whole Foods, just like in Top Chef.  I did not limit her time; however I did time her.  She got the ingredients and did her general food shopping in 30 minutes with no list.  (That gives you an idea of how much food there is in her house.  I spend an hour each week at the Farmer's Market alone.)

It took her an hour to assemble this.  (It took me 15-20 minutes.)  But she thinks that the next time she does it it will take her less time.  We made 4 quiches and fed 2 families for under $30!  My quiches are enough for 2 dinners, or 1 dinner and a few lunches or breakfast.

If you look at the time and think about it as 2 dinners, then even for Carla, it was efficient because it came out to 30 minutes per dinner.  Check out the next blog for pictures and our guest blogger who will be critiquing blindly the 2 vegetarian quiches.


Basic Recipe for QUICHE  (Read the recipe completely before starting.)

1.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees

2.  Assemble all your ingredients.  (see details below)
     a.  Frozen pie crust -  you find frozen, deep dish pie crust in the freezer section of grocery store where the frozen pies are (comes in package of two).  Check to make sure you get ones that are not broken in pieces.
     b.  Filling 
     c.  Any additions you chose to do
 
3.  Pre bake pie crust
Prick frozen pie crust all over with a fork about one inch apart.  Tightly mold the tin foil over pie crust .  Cook in preheated  450 degree  in lower-middle oven for 8 minutes. 

4.  Start making the filling until the timer goes off.

5.  When the timer goes off, take off tin foil.  Prick bottom again, particularly any bubbles..  If anything has sunk, push it up.  (use spatula if too hot for fingers.)  Bake another 3 minutes without the foil until just beginning to change color.  Take out of oven to cool down as you are doing the rest.

6.  FILLING for one pie crust (double to use both pie crusts)
5 large eggs
Add half and half or whole milk to make 2 cups
1/8 tsp of nutmeg and pepper
Beat with a fork or a whisk

ADDITIONS (choose one, or make up your own)
1.  Traditional quiche Lorraine - 6 slices of bacon cooked crisp
2.  Optional - 3 ozs coarsely grated Swiss or Gruyere cheese to your Quiche Lorraine
3.  Cheese - Whatever flavors you like - add about 3/4 - 1 cup
4.  Fish - Add 1/4 c. smoked (very flavorful) or 3/4 cup mild cooked fish with 1 tsp fresh parsley or dill
5.  Vegetarian - take whatever leftover vegetables you have in the refrigerator, saute 3/4 cup in butter (melt some butter in a pan and heat the vegetables in them)
6.  Frozen vegetables quiche - buy  a package of frozen vegetables.  Defrost in microwave.  Saute 1/2 chopped onion then add microwaved 1 cup of  vegetables.  You can also throw in cheese if you want. (1/2 cup)
7.  Ethnic Quiche - Use flavors and spices that are typical for a particular cuisine that you like.
    for example "Chile rellenos" quiche - 1-2 chiles (poblano or anaheim) and 1 cup jack cheese

 HOW TO ASSEMBLE
Take cooled crust.  Put "additions" in bottom of crust.  Add egg/cream mixture.  Put in oven.  Cook in 375 degree oven for 40 minutes until puffed up and brown.  Serve with french bread and packaged salad.

Bon Appetit!

Sugar Primer

It's that time of year when sugar is everywhere and is also getting its share of bad press. (Sugar Hype) What's a parent to do?  To make an informed decision, it is important to understand that sugars, although simple, are actually  complex. I will give you the basics so you can make an informed decision about what to do with that chocolate Easter bunny (or chocolate-covered matzoh) the grandparents gave the kids. 

There are three main kinds of sugars:  polysaccharides, disaccharides, and monosaccharides.
1.  Carbohydrates (polysaccharides and oligosaccharides):
Many people do not think about carbohydrates as being sugar.  But carbohydrates are sugar molecules that attached to form large molecules.  That means rice, beans, potatoes, pasta, (including whole wheat), cereals, and breads are made from sugar molecules attached together.  Depending on how these bonds form, these complex sugar molecules can be used in many ways, including food (starch) or  fiber(cellulose).

2.  The most common disaccharides in food are:
Lactose (milk sugar) which breaks down into galactose and glucose.
Sucrose (sugar cane or beet sugar) which breaks down into glucose and fructose.
 In breast milk, also known as "The Perfect Food", 50% of the calories come from lactose.

3.  The monosaccharides (the smallest sugar molecules):
Are the final breakdown product in our bodies from carbohydrates and  disaccharides.  In nature, most commonly  found in:
  a.  honey -  a combination primarily of fructose and glucose, but also has complex carbohydrates, trace minerals, vitamins, and antioxidants (depending on the flowers used by the bees).
  b.  fructose (fruit sugar).

 4.  Manufactured sugars are the sugars that are manufactured.  They include:
   a.  Syrups - usually the sugar is sucrose, including maple syrup.
   b.  High fructose corn syrup which is usually about 55% fructose and 42% glucose.
   c.  Corn syrup - primarily glucose.

Only monosaccharides are absorbed through our guts.  That means only galactose, fructose and glucose get into the blood stream, assuming you have a normal, functioning gastrointestinal system.

One way to look at sugars is where they are primarily utilized and metabolized.  You don't have to eat any particular sugar.  The body is capable of making and storing the different sugars from food.  It is made and stored primarily in our liver and muscles.  Glucose, galactose and fructose are used and metabolized throughout the body.  We know this because there are people that have different genetic diseases that make it impossible for them to digest a sugar.  They then accumulate that sugar throughout the body, not just in the liver.  But glucose is the human's primary energy source.  Although we use the other two for energy, our bodies mostly use fructose and galactose to make them into other compounds that we need, and then will convert the extra into glucose, which becomes glycogen.  If you have an excess of glycogen, the body makes fat.

If you think about it, that means if you are a vegetarian, your diet is primarily glucose, fructose and galactose.
Yet, who (except for a few carnivores that I know) would declare that an adult who eats a vegetarian diet is eating unhealthily?  What makes a diet of refined sugar, or for that matter, high fructose corn syrup unhealthy?  By the time it gets to your blood stream it is all the same stuff as what the vegetarians are eating.

I don't have a definitive answer for you.  I do have some thoughts. 

Food is more than calories.  There is how those nutrients are delivered.  Diabetics are aware of the glycemic index.  A newer refinement of that is what is called the insulin index which may be a better measurement of the multiple factors that affect how those same sugars are seen by the body and how the conversion from one sugar to another occurs.  There is, of course, the whole issue of soluble and insoluble fibers, which do not come with a diet of refined sugar.  And finally, there is the interaction of micro nutrients.

There are also my whole idea about food and the research on it.  When people do research, they try to hold all the variables the same but one.  Humans are more complex than that.  The more research I read about food, the more convinced I am that it is rare that 1 "truth" will be learned.  We get small pieces of the puzzle and we get hints and on rare occasions, we get truths.  It goes back to my blog on Girl Scout cookies.  And my whole approach to food.  A little won't hurt you.  Moderation in all things.

Principal Misses Principle

A principal in Chicago has banned home lunches (home) because she wants to encourage healthy eating.  There is a better way to motivate kids and teach them long term healthy habits and you would think an educator would know how to do it.  Here is what I would do.

They now have a situation that lends itself to science, government, math and social science at a minimum.  They have a natural leader at that school, Fernando.  Get him to form a committee with his fellow students.  Obviously, with guidance from adults, they need to come up with recommendations on acceptable foods that can be brought from home.  Their first task will be a governmental one - get a task force.  It is not enough to protest;  if you complain that you don't like something, then you need to come up with an answer that works.

The next task is to learn some science and nutrition.  The students will have to come up with a list of what is acceptable.  They will have to justify why they think a food or drink is healthy.  They will solicit foods from their fellow students and then will decide if those foods are healthy and nutritious.

They will have to have an ongoing committee.  Because every year some student will come up with something new.  The students will have to continually research these new foods and then justify to adults  that their decision is a correct one.  If the adult on the committee disagrees then they bring it to a judge.   But that adult should make the decision based on the facts, not her/his own biases.  There should be  an appeals court outside of the school if someone on the committee is not happy with the judge's decision.  The appeals courts is THE final decision. The students will have to police themselves.    And then they can't complain.  And if the principal wanted to go one step further - she could have a science fair based on the science of nutrition.

This could also work in your school.  If you get kids involved in the decision-making it is more effective on many different levels.  They learn, obviously, but it tends to stay with them longer.  Because if you understand the why you are more likely to do something.  And children, like adults, prefer to do something because they decide, not because they are told to do something.


Finally, everyone loves rewards and parties.  So every once in awhile, for no reason at all, or just because, or to say what a great group of kids I got to work with, if I were the principal, I would declare that a particular day would be "Free Food Day" with no restrictions!

We can't always build the future for our youth, but we can build our youth for the future. - FDR

CHOCOLATE!

-

When we were growing up in the 50's and 60's we were taught there were four food groups.  My husband maintains to this day that all the experts were wrong and that there are actually 5 food groups -  dairy, grains, fruits and veggies, proteins and CHOCOLATE!  Some recent studies are backing him up.

As a pediatrician I routinely advise others on how to feed their children.  I also know that my advice is just that:  advice.  Some of it is followed, and some of it is not.  When it comes to raising my own child, however, I feel strongly that my opinion should not be dismissed out of hand and there needs to be some discussion if my food "rules" are not going to be followed.

For many years, the pediatric party line was not to give a baby foods that were likely to cause allergies until after their first birthday; and more recently if you had a highly allergic child you should avoid the most allergic ones until the age of two.  Chocolate was one of those foods to avoid only until one year of age.  Allergies are rampant on both sides of the family.  Because of this, I did not want chocolate given to my daughter before the age of 1.  I do not think of it as a necessary food group.  At my daughter's first birthday I found out that she had been eating chocolate since 6 months of age.  My husband thought that chocolate chips made a "perfect" finger food.  I was not happy.

 In Dec, 2010, the recommendations about allergy foods changed.  Chocolate, as well as all fruits and vegetables, are no longer listed as allergy foods  to avoid.  And there seems to be no benefit to avoiding any allergy foods past 6 months of age.  One of my basic food beliefs has been challenged.  But I've looked at the studies, and they are good.  I am used to reading the literature and learning new things but rarely do I have to change my whole way of looking at a subject.  That is what has happened with my advice on allergy foods.  It is always difficult to change what one has done for years and recommend something different.   Yet, I always try to put it in perspective by thinking about leeches and how doctors of yesteryear would be amazed if they so how I practiced medicine.  So I now have to eat crow and state that there was no harm done that my daughter got chocolate from an early age.  I still, however, do not believe that chocolate is a basic food group and that babies should use it as a finger food!

There are some interesting studies about chocolate as a health food.  First thing to remember is that chocolate is made from the seeds of the fruit of the cacao tree.  Gram for gram, the antioxidant content of cacao bean powder is higher than acai, blueberry or cranberry powder.  Thus, it can be classified as a "super fruit".  It looks like a daily consumption of a small amount (1 oz) of dark chocolate decreases the risk of inflammation which is associated with many diseases, including heart disease.  It also decreases high blood pressure as well as helps insulin resistance in pre-diabetics.   It improves mood (no great surprise there), but also helps mental processing during sustained intellectual effort.  I particularly like that last finding.  To make standardized testing something that my daughter would look forward to (!), we would always give her dark (her preference) chocolate bars to have during the breaks between tests.  We felt that they gave her a "boost" of energy and helped her concentrate.  I loved finding a study that supported our unscientific beliefs.

There can be too much of a good thing.  And this can happen with chocolate.  As Easter approaches, a holiday that places an undue commercial emphasis on chocolate, it is everything else that is added to the dark chocolate that takes away its label as a health food and gets it into the unhealthy column.  There are many things that you can do with chocolate to keep it in the good column.  Eat small amounts.  Make sure it is dark.  Drink it as cocoa without the excess sugar.  And here is a recipe:

                                CHOCOLATE-COVERED
                                     STRAWBERRIES

Ingredients:  strawberries, molding chocolate.
Melt chocolate over double boiler.  Dip strawberries.  Let dry on parchment paper (or waxed paper).  Eat.

One of the most elegant and easy desserts to make.  I use 70% dark chocolate.   If you are going to any functions you can bring these and actually feel virtuous!

Food Dyes and Hyperactivity

I have been hearing about food dyes causing all sorts of problems in children since my training days, chief among them hyperactivity.  I have read myriad of studies on this subject.   The studies that show a relationship suffer from poor study design, small sample size, subjectivity and atypical intervention protocols.  As a result, the vast majority of the medical community does not accept their conclusions.  I also have heard from a number of my parents that swear that diet intervention has made a tremendous difference with their children's behavior. 

Now, this topic has again come to the forefront because a consumer group, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, wants the government to ban artificial dyes.  Manufacturers state the dyes are safe.  A government advisory panel, after reviewing the available studies, stated that at this time the foods do not need any special warning labels.  They also recommended that the  FDA should further study the issue because it appears that there may be some problems in children who already have hyperactivity.  The ball is now in the FDA's court.   To mix my sports metaphors, I find this topic more controversial than getting in the middle of a discussion between two fans on who has a better team: the NY Yankees or the Boston Red Sox.  I do know that until well-designed, double-blinded studies are done, it is hard to make scientific justifications for taking certain positions on the dyes (and that this LA girl will always be a Dodger fan!)

That does not mean I cannot take a reasonable position.  I try to be practical in my approach to life.  I don't feel I have the answer on whether or not artificial dyes cause children to be hyperactive.  But looking at food with the dyes objectively, I know that I don't want to give children many of those foods.  If we look at the blog I posted on Experimental Eating, I doubt anyone would give their children to eat, never mind spend money on, dirt.  It just does not seem like a natural foodstuff to me.  I do understand why a child would put some of the things I have pictured here in their mouths - that is what they do.  But is there a reason you are serving those worms or yellow "sticks" to your kid?

There are alternatives to artificial dyes.  Sure, kids like snacks.  And yes, I did buy my kid snacks.  I didn't always have time to make them.  (although see below for a story about a snack I made and the dye I put in!)  Yesterday, I went to the grocery store and I scoured the shelves.  I found a number of things that fit into the criteria of junk food and no artificial dyes.  In each picture I have one with no artificial dyes and one with artificial dyes.  I recommend that if you are going to buy this stuff, get the one without the dyes.   If we all start doing this, then whether or not the studies are ever funded, perhaps the manufacturers will have a financial incentive to stop using artificial dyes.  It can be done. 

I don't need the FDA to ban dirt to tell me not to feed dirt children.  If I find things that look unnatural, I do not need the FDA to tell me it is not food.  So how did we start believing that these things were edible?  Why have we lost our common sense?  Any ideas out there?


Halloween Frosting
One Halloween I did not buy an artificial, chemical black dye in time to frost the cookies I had made.  All the stores were out.  So I ended up with a natural substitute that worked better.  I have given toddlers activated charcoal for years for all the poisons that they have eaten.  It is tasteless, but it turns everything black.  I put a small amount in my sugar cream frosting (much less than I would give a baby at one sitting).  I frosted 60 cookies.  It worked great and was much safer than what I had done in the past.