My Adventure with Smoothies

Late in my mom's illness, there came a time when she wasn't very hungry so I started making smoothies for her. At the time there wasn't as much information out there on making them so I was making them by-guess-and-by-golly.

Most of the recipes I found online at the time wanted you to use a juicer and mom didn't have one, all we had was a blender. The strangest recipe I read was for Carnation Instant Breakfast (strawberry) and beer (ew!). I was having to make do with what we had so most of the smoothies I was making had to use vanilla flavoured Ensure or the occasional Carnation Instant Breakfast as a base. This tended to make the smoothies too sweet for mom and she got bored with them. I was running out of ideas on what to put in them so they wouldn't be as sweet. Mind you, I had come up with a smoothie that mom did like that she claimed tasted like a creamsicle. The strange thing was that there was no orange in it! I had made it with mangos and vanilla Ensure but I was unable to reproduce it because I wasn't writing down what was in it.

I had remembered that one of mom's nurses had mentioned making what she called "steak shakes" by basically blending what was for dinner with broth but here it was again, mom's taste buds were off, and she didn't like the smell or taste of meat also she didn't want to eat "baby food". That made this idea a no go.

Nowadays, there are more options out there and I would be making smoothies differently. First off, I would not be stuck with having to use just Ensure or Instant Breakfast as a liquid base. I'd go and get some unflavoured protein powder, hemp hearts or chia seeds for the protein part of the smoothie (I was already adding yoghurt and silken tofu to them). I'd also be adding greens to the smoothie. Admittedly this would involve some extra prep (who wants celery strings in their drink?) but at least the smoothie wouldn't be too sweet. I'd also try freezing broth (like the mineral broth recipe) into ice cubes so that the smoothie could be more savory. (I have no idea how this would taste but I just might try it as an experiment on myself). 

Some of the other things I'd be doing differently is writing down what I was putting in the smoothies, freezing any leftover smoothies in freezer bags and labeling them as to what was in them. The reason for this is that I think that the smoothies would be easier to get out of the bags rather than from tupperware which was a problem I discovered for myself. Also with the bags being labeled you would know how to make it again if the concoction you come up with proves to be a favorite. 

This infographic is a good beginning on how to make smoothies. Have fun and experiment.

Enjoy!

From: simplysmoothierecipes.com

More on Low Sodium Products and Special Diets

I have been updating my post on low sodium supermarket options and mentioned in my post about the hubby's diet that I was looking for a no-sodium baking soda substitute. Well, I found the substitute right here in Toronto at the Specialty Food Shop  in the Hospital for Sick Children.  I found out about them by calling Eat Right Ontario and speaking to a registered dietitian who happened to remember about them.

The Specialty Food Shop is for children and adults with special dietary needs such as Celiac, Cystic Fibrosis, dysphagia, food allergies, energy boosting and more. They have a website (see link above) where you can shop online and they deliver right across Canada (out-of-Provence rates apply). You can even email a registered dietitian about any nutrition questions you may have and the proceeds of sales go to support the Hospital for Sick Children. 

The other thing that the Eat Right dietitian mentioned to me was to ask my local supermarket to carry the products that I'm interested in and it was like "duh, why didn't I remember that?".  So, I'm going to be asking the manager of my local store to see about carrying the Mrs.Dash marinades for me (I'm thinking of asking for the Spicy Teriyaki first) and perhaps the baking soda substitute, mostly because I'm lazy and don't want to go downtown to get what I want (I don't drive so going downtown is a pain in the butt). My next chore is going to be tracking down a low sodium cheddar and other hard cheeses that are available here in Canada (I know Helluva Good makes one but they don't seem to ship it out of the U.S.) I'll let you know here how it goes.

A Diet Dilemma: Proper Nutrition for My Picky Husband

Even with having some nutritional training, having a husband with complex medical conditions can certainly make life interesting especially when it comes to diet. Currently he should be eating a higher calorie, low sodium, low glycemic, high fibre, lower protein diet. Normally this wouldn't be too much of a problem but he has these phases where he just doesn't want to eat certain foods, doesn't have much appetite and he's always been a bit of a picky eater anyway.  So here I am trying to figure out how to keep sodium and glycemic levels down, keep good protein levels, hide veggies and increase fibre in his food so that he'll have a balanced diet and that he'll also enjoy eating. I was even considering getting a juicer but I know he won't drink home made juices even though he'll drink ready made juice and vegetable blends from the store.

Well, one of the things I'm going to be doing is making a bunch of vegetable purees and put them in just about everything. What I'm hoping is that the sweetness of the vegetables is going to help offset any bitterness that the husband seems to perceive in the taste of food. This is going to be the most I've used my blender in a long time. I'm just hoping he's not going to ask me what I'm up to because I can just hear him in my mind saying "don't you dare". If I have to, I'll go and buy baby food to use. The trick will be to find ones that don't have added salt or sugar.

For fibre I'm thinking  going to go and buy some inulin fibre as it is tasteless and colourless or perhaps some psyllium or ground flax seed. I'll be checking with the husband's specialist first  as we don't want to affect his treatment but if it's allowed I'll be putting it in just about everything as well. If I choose the ground flax, it also has an added benefit of being high in omega 3 fatty acids which he needs. Hiding this in his food is not going to be as much of a problem as I have gotten him used to me putting things like All-Bran or rolled oats in his meatloaf.

I am hopeful that doing these two things is going to be useful, but with the husband's list of foods he doesn't like or thinks are icky it is still a challenge. It's very limiting when you can't use certain foods. His current list of dislikes are things like rice (he was never gassed about it anyway) meat, peas (my mom didn't like them either so I'm used to this one but I love them), beans, smoothies, wheat products except for stuff that's crunchy or too sweet like doughnuts, cooked spinach, celery, cucumbers, raw vegetables except for salads, anything in the cabbage family (important for their cancer fighting properties), nuts, seeds, tofu, yogurt, anything in a sauce, anything too soft like stews, leftovers, beet roots (good for the liver but he will eat the tops), and anything spicy so no curries and the turmeric in it with it's anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. I'd love the husband to eat a more Mediterranean diet but then again there are foods in it that he won't eat. If man could survive on desserts alone, hubby would be a happy camper.

So, it's going to be desserts that I'm going to be starting with. These are going to be great places to hide things like extra fibre, squash and beets. Adapting the recipes is going to be a lot of trial and error but it should be fun. I think the first dessert I'll make is a red velvet cake as there are recipes online for ones made with beets, it's replacing the sugar with stevia and finding low sodium baking powder and soda (they do exist) that will be the experiment. I'll let you know how it goes.

Do you have any tricks and tips on getting picky eaters to eat things they think they don't like? Let's share.

Some Low Sodium Supermarket Options Updated

Nutrition and sodium levels in food are a concern for anyone but particularly when you are ill or caring for someone with special dietary needs.  With chemotherapy, my Mom's tastes changed - she wanted nothing that was too salty or sweet and currently my husband is on a low sodium-diabetic diet.

 This makes life interesting when going shopping at the supermarket. 

According to Health Canada, you're to look for foods with  less than 360 mg of sodium in a serving or 15% of the Daily Value and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency states that foods containing 140 mg or less may be labeled as low sodium. Some of the words to look for are "No Salt Added", "Sodium Reduced", "Low in Sodium" and "Salt Free"

Make sure to read the nutrition labels because sometimes when they cut the salt they add sugar.

I have found these products in NoFrills, FreshCo, Loblaws, Grocery Gateway, and Metro but unfortunately not all in the same place.

I'll be updating this list periodically when I find new things that are low sodium so check back every so often.

Breads
There was a press release in February of 2012 by the CDC on hidden sources of salt in foods and bread was near the top of the list. I had figured this out a couple of years previous while trying to find a type of bread that was low in salt for Mom. 

Some good brands are Rudolph's Bakery, some of Dimpflmeier Bakery's and apparently there is a new line of breads by Dempster's called Healthy Way that has 110 mg of sodium per slice. Dempster's also has a sodium counter on their site.( I've not seen the Dempster's in my stores yet but hopefully soon.) I had also found a bread that had about 95 mg of salt per slice but I've forgotten the brand . I'll let you know what it was when I find it again.

Update: The bread that has 95 mg of sodium per slice is the Rigsky Bread from All Stars Bakery and their Baltic Rye Bread has 80 mg of sodium per slice.

I'll just say this, Rye breads, for whatever reason, seem to be one of the lower sodium options out there that are available in the supermarket. 

Salt Substitutes
Mrs. Dash original and garlic and herb blends are a staple in my kitchen but I wish I could find her marinades in the store (They're available online from http://healthyheartmarket.com/ and they ship internationally). I also use Club House No Salt Steak Spice ( I like it on my eggs) and a product called NoSalt which is potassium chloride (no good if you're on a potassium restricted diet).
Loblaws Blue Menu no salt added Sun-dried Tomato and Herb (my new favorite)
A.Vogel Herbamare Sodium Free Again potassium chloride but infused with 14 herbs and vegetables

Butter/Margarine
Unsalted butter and Becel's unsalted margarine

Bacon
Lou's Quick and Easy Traditional Slice (140 mg sodium per 100 g serving - way less than even sodium reduced bacon)  It's kind of like peameal bacon without the cornmeal and cooks in 2 minutes.

Canned Goods
Clover Leaf low sodium Tuna and Salmon, Eden Organic no salt added beans, refried beans, vegetables and tomatoes,
Campbell's no salt added broths, 

Condiments
Kozlick's Canadian Mustards a little pricey (and delicious) but only 35 mg sodium per 5 ml or 1% of the Daily Value for the XXX variety (they have over 30 types and they can be bought online), Heinz Easy Squeeze low sodium ketchup, Loblaws Blue Menu Low Sodium Ketchup Style Sauce , Kikkoman Sodium reduced soy sauce, Hellman's Mayonnaise  (95 mg per tablespoon) and Kraft no sugar, no salt peanut butter (tastes like regular Kraft peanut butter and no stirring). Liquid Smoke This stuff is great-it adds a barbecue flavor to anything you put it in. 

Cheeses
Unfortunately there is not a lot of choices out there. Cracker Barrel used to make a low sodium cheddar but they stopped, probably due to costs and no one knowing about it (I only saw it once at a Metro years ago) But there are some options such as Swiss cheese, Bocconcini and fresh Mozzarella in water. Some brands are better than others just make sure to read the labels. 

Cereals
Puffed rice, Quaker Harvest Crunch, Alpine Muesli, and Cheerio's Multi Grain, Multigrain Spooners Frosted (only 1 mg of sodium and 9 mg of sugars)

Snacks
Lay's Chips lightly salted, Hunt's Snack Pack Lemon Meringue Pie, and Dole Fruit Bowl in Gel, Triscuit Low Sodium Roasted Garlic and Herb (50 mg Sodium), Dare Breaktime Ginger Cookies (65 mg of Sodium)

Beverages
Ovaltine Chocolate Has 25 mg of sodium and 13 g of carbohydrates of which only 8 g are Sugars
Carnation Hot Chocolate Marshmallow High in Sugars (19 g)  but has 40 mg of sodium per 3 Tbsp

Miscellaneous
Manischewitz Matzo Farfel Basically unleavened crushed crackers that can be used for breading or stuffing and has 0 mg of sodium per 1/4 cup
Paxo Stuffing this is the lowest sodium box of stuffing that I have found so far, even lower than the reduced sodium Stove Top stuffing.

This list is by no means comprehensive but it goes to show that there are low sodium options available at the local supermarket. Happy Hunting!