Pizza for the Freezer

Pizza's ready!

This is the way I freeze homemade pizza that is ready to go in the oven and makes efficient space in your freezer (especially if you have one of those side to side units that is too narrow to fit a regular pizza size). Two of these pizzas will fit on a half sheet pan (about 13x18 inches) for baking. You can tweak this for cookie pans too.

What you need*:
9x13 inch rectangular baking pan (additional pans are good)
Nonstick foil or parchment paper
Freezer Paper (or parchment again, but I haven't tried)
Jumbo 2.5 gallon storage bags
Pizza dough and toppings

Directions:
Turn the 9x13 pan upside down and line with foil. Shape your dough along the bottom of a 9x13 pan. This helps keep the crusts at a uniform size.
Remove crust with foil from pan and add toppings (this works well as an assembly line). Place a sheet of freezer paper over the pizza, fold up the foil over the top and set pizza packet aside
Repeat the process and stack the assembled pizza packets in a 9x13 pan (the pan is right way up). Depending on the thickness of your crust, you can fit about 4 pizzas per pan. Place pan in the storage bag and freeze. Stacking in the pan keeps the pizzas sturdy and tidy before they freeze, unless you like wavy pizzas :-) Remove the pan from the storage bag after the pizzas have frozen.

To Bake:

You can bake the pizza straight from the freezer. Remove freezer paper (keep foil or parchment on) and bake as you normally would bake your pizza. You might have to add a few minutes to baking time. Just check to see if the pizza is done and make note of the added time. Serve immediately.

I should add that parchment paper doesn't hold up to the high temperature that I bake my pizzas in, so check your recipe first. Removing the parchment works too. Just make sure your pan is greased so it won't stick. The nonstick foil is my favorite kitchen assistant as it reduces clean up time, wipes clean easily and can be reused.

Frozen pizzas ready for the oven

 *links to products are for your convenience. Use whatever works for you

It's Registered Dietitian Day

I haven't had much time to blog lately, but I wanted to tell you about the Nutrition Blog Network. It's an aggregate of blogs written by dietitians. Their website states it well: "We wanted to create the Nutrition Blog Network to help cut through the clutter and elevate the voice of registered dietitians (RDs) online. "

Four and a half years ago, I was disappointed with the scarcity of blogs written by dietitians. Now there are hundreds of RDs blogging and even a central place to read their posts.  This is a dream come true. I hope you will check them out.


P.S. I'm not a part of this network. Just sharing the love :-)

A great article about food sensitivities

What happens when you like a food, but that food doesn't like you?

Check out this article about food sensitivities from Austin Fit Magazine.

CSA Challenge?

I will be back into posting soon, and on the top of my list is what to do with the mystery items that come in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share.

In the meantime, I came across a great recipe site from Tufts. They have several recipes on ethnic crops, including Bok Choy and Anise Hyssop, which have shown up in my shares over the last couple of weeks. Nothing on Kohlrabi, though :-(

But at least Kohlrabi is in The Visual Food Encyclopedia, which I bought about 12 years ago. It only provides one recipe for each food, but gives enough information about the food so that you can try to figure out how to use it. I am so glad I came across it when I did. I found it at Costco and probably didn't spend more than $15. Just looking it up now has it as high as $59 new!

25 Ingredients, 15 meals

Judy at Food and Health Communications has done it again! She has come up with a list of 25 ingredients and listed 15 meals that can be made with them.

One thing on her list I really need to try is lentils. I remember eating them as a kid and they are really packed with nutrients -- AND they're cheap. I recall the flavor being strong and not being a huge fan of it, but I think I'd like it now.

Learning a Second Language

I have spent more time speaking English in my lifetime than my native language, Portuguese. Although I speak Portuguese fluently, I don't get to use it much, and I really have trouble expressing myself with more in depth conversations (especially written). When I was growing up in Australia, we had a lot of Brazilian friends, so I was familiar with the language, but didn't speak it. At one point, my father decided we would speak to him only in Portuguese, but we would quickly get stuck on a word and he'd let us say it in English. It was quite entertaining hearing us talk to my mum because we (the kids) would speak English, while she would answer in Portuguese. We all understood one another. That consistent exposure was sufficient to help me learn for good once we moved back to Brazil (I was 13 by then).

Some of my friends in Brazil just told me about this website: LiveMocha.com. I haven't joined yet because I already feel I'm spending too much time online, but it may be a good way for me to brush up on my Brazilian Portuguese. (So this isn't an endorsement, it's just an FYI.) If you have ever learned a language with a speaking partner, this website seems to expand that concept. You can even help others learn your language. Several languages are available.

On a related note, I also have two books checked out from the library about bilingualism. I would love for my kids to speak Portuguese, or at least have the same exposure as I did. I initially spoke only Portuguese with my son while I was alone with him, but that idea fell by the wayside by the time he was 2 months old. There are plenty of resources available for Spanish, but hardly anything for Portuguese. So there's no Dora/Diego stuff in this house, but it occurred to me that there is a Portuguese version of Dora in Brazil, where she speaks primarily Portuguese and then says some words in English. So I may get around to looking into that.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)

I don't know much about PCOS, but dietitian Monika Woolsey and her network do. It was after a comment on my blog that I thought it would be a good idea to post about Monika's blog: InCyst on the Best. In addition to PCOS-related posts, there is a weekly commentary of The Biggest Loser episodes, and a lot of insightful posts relevant to anyone.

Also, Julia Schindlmayr, a graduate student at New York University is surveying women with PCOS about their dietary habits. If you have PCOS, I encourage you to fill out the survey. It will help us dietitians (and other health professionals) learn more so we can better serve women with PCOS. And pass the word on to anyone you know who has PCOS. The survey can be found at: http://www.afterthediet.com/polycystic.htm.

A range of "budget" meals

It seems like eating well on a budget is a hot topic now in the media. Here is a sample of some of the things I have come across:

A few months ago, Whole Foods Market launched a campaign to attract budget-minded consumers, called the Whole Deal. Since then the food chain has offered budget tours, published newsletters with healthy recipes with cost estimates.

This month's dinner for four suggestion is Sour Cream and Chicken Pasta. Although some find it high in fat, it can easily be cut back. The total cost to feed a family of four is $12.68 (3.17 per serving). That's if you don't add the green salad and bread as sides.

Apparently, in response to a KFC $10 meal special, USA Today also is featuring $10 healthy meals to feed 4. The article is not that user-friendly, but there are quite a few suggestions.

I just came across a blog called $5 Dinners. Check it out.

Save-A-Lot, a no-frills grocery store that has a similar working model as Aldi's (mainly generic, food not "shelved", but put out in cartons, etc.), also came out with a feed 4 for $4! The campaign started as fuel you family for less than a gallon of fuel. Thankfully, gas prices have gone down quite a bit around here.



Oh and by the way, my spam blog status still hasn't been cleared. Just so you know what I'm talking about, here is the word verification I need to publish or save this post (of course I'll need to enter another one because of the time lapse):
It's actually not that bad this time, but now look what it's like when posting a comment on another blog:
Big difference! Anyway, I'm going to appeal this again.

Depression-Era Cooking

In this series of videos, 91 year old Clara gives a wonderful demonstration of depression-era cooking.

Pasta with Peas


Egg Drop Soup


Poorman's meal


HT: Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD.

Food-related resources for tough economic times

I got this in my email and I thought I'd share it here. Let me know what you think.

The descriptions are by Alice Henneman, MS, RD. Alice is an Extension Educator for University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension in Lancaster County. Also check out their website at: http://lancaster.unl.edu/food

1) Basic Bean Cookery
http://lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/Singing_Praises_of_Beans2.pdf
(All jokes aside about "the musical fruit," beans are a great food to sing the praises of in ALL economic times. Cheap, tasty, convenient and good-for-you too. Tips and recipes)

2) Basic Foods for Fridge, Freezer and Cupboard
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/recipe.shtml#basic
(Ideas and recipes for basic foods that will combine and re-combine into a variety of meals. It's like a buying an all-purpose wardrobe for your kitchen.)

3) Easy Ground Beef Recipes from Your Freezer
http://lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/ciq-beef-crumbles.shtml
(Think beyond ground beef patties with these ideas -- plus make them when you have time and eat them later.)

4) Supermarket Savings
http://lancaster.unl.edu/FOOD/ftm-j08.shtml
(16 tips that DON'T have you making every food from scratch. They could save you a couple of thousand dollars a year!)

5) Freezing Sandwiches
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciq-freezing-sandwiches.shtml
(Great for making up a batch of sandwiches at one time for thrifty sack lunches!)

6) Ingredient Substitutions
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqsubs.shtml
(Avoid buying foods you'll seldom use or wasting gas for a trip to the store for a missing ingredient)

7) Making a Meal with What's on Hand
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/ciqp.shtml
(Some ideas of alternates for such staples as bread for sandwiches.)

8) Food Safety Checklist for "Planned-Over Foods"
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/checklistplannedover.pdf
(Making extra food for later meals can save time and money as long as you don't let it make you sick. Think of the George Carlin quote: “Leftovers make you feel good twice. First, when you put it away, you feel thrifty and intelligent: ‘I’m saving food!’ Then a month later when blue hair is growing out of the ham, and you throw it away, you feel really intelligent: ‘I’m saving my life!’”)

9) Cleaning the Kitchen Cupboard: Toss or Save?
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/CleaningCupboard.pdf
(Learn how to save and manage your investment in kitchen staples such as flour, sugar, oil, etc.)

10) Reducing the Size of Recipes
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/reducingrecipesize.pdf
(Avoid making more than you need by making less -- here are some tips for doing it.)

11) Food Storage Fact Sheet
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/storeitchart.pdf
(A food may still be safe, but no longer taste like something you want to eat if it's stored too long -- learn more about optimal storage times.)

Six food mistakes parents make (NYT)

I read this article in The New York Times last week describing 6 mistakes parents make with regard to getting their children to eat well.

So here' the list of what the bad parents do (you know I'm kidding about the bad parent part, right?):

1. Sending kids out of the kitchen. Certainly, when kids watch or participate in the meal preparation process, they will learn to try different foods and will learn to cook too. However, it's usually much more practical to keep them out of the kitchen. Usually by that time, I just want to be able to get dinner on the table with no interruptions or kids coming up to me right when I'm using a knife, or when I'm about to open a 500 degree oven. So, do you let your kids in the kitchen? What kinds of things do you let them do? Does anyone know of a resource with a list of age-appropriate activities for kids in the kitchen?
   
2. Pressuring them to take a bite. I'm still on the fence about this. My 4 year old is very reluctant to try new things, and often says he doesn't like a food that I'm serving. If I encourage him to at least take a bite, then he may actually see he likes it. Nonetheless, I've heard stories of people gagging and making a terrible mess at the table because of this rule. So I think some discretion is advised. I guess there is a difference between pressuring and firmly encouraging? I definitely don't like the bribing approach, but that doesn't mean I haven't ever done it.
   
3. Keeping ‘good stuff’ out of reach. I suppose when they say "good stuff" it's actually what's not very good for you. We like to have cookies and other snacks that we don't eat whenever we feel like it and keeping it out of reach is an effective way to keep us from eating something all at once. I don' t think it makes it more desireable because we put it out of reach. I think most people are drawn to those foods regardless. For the most part, I try not to even bring it home, or to get a smaller portion so that it will be all gone at once.
   
4. Dieting in front of your children. Not being a dieter, this statement really was an eye opener: "Parents who are trying to lose weight should be aware of how their dieting habits can influence a child’s perceptions about food and healthful eating. In one study of 5-year-old girls, one child noted that dieting involved drinking chocolate milkshakes — her mother was using Slim-Fast drinks. Another child said dieting meant 'you fix food but you don’t eat it.'” Wow. Next time you think of "going on a diet," Think again. These so called diets don't really contribute to good health. A long term dietary habit contributes to good health. My hope is that my children will enjoy what they eat, but also learn to respond appropriately to their appetite cues. I also teach them that some foods are better for the body than others.
   
5. Serving boring vegetables. It is really easy to prepare most vegetables, but it is also very easy to ruin them. I really like the Cook's Illustrated book, Perfect Vegetables (They recently released another one called The Best Vegetable Recipes, but they are the same). Another way to find good recipes is to go to a website that has reviews and go with those with the highest ratings. The ones I commonly go to are allrecipes.com, epicurious.com, and cookinglight.com.
   
6. Giving up too soon. I think that happens with many aspects of child-rearing. It can be hard to be consistent with many things we are trying to teach our kids. Yet, we should not give up. We want to teach them what is good and right. I think consistency is more of a determinant to success than the actual approach you take.
   

One important thing that was pointed out in the article's comments is that some children have sensory feeding problems and the above strategies are not for them. They need a totally different approach altogether.

So how bad are you?

Hey now, hey now, don't dream, it's over...

In keeping with the 80s music theme for my last post's title, I just had to remind myself that this is not a dream. The heatwave is over. It's comfortable here again and I can use my stove if I wish
:-)

I discovered that I wasn't the only one suffering, but Jaime at Cheap Healthy Good is a much better trooper about it than I. She offered some advice here that I will try next time (probably not the cottage cheese, though).

Last day to vote on the food costs survey!

Mark Winne on US Food Policy

I have been reading through Mark Winne's book, Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the Table in the Land of Plenty. I have learned so much from it so far, and it has already become one of the most influential books regarding community development that I have read. Parke Wilde at US Food Policy recently conducted an interview with Mark. I thought I'd share it here with you too.

This week in review

I am starting a weekly post where I'll share interesting blog posts, news stories, and whatever else is going on in my life.

Blog posts and news of note:

• FDA Actually Taking a Stand on “Natural” Labeling?
• What does natural really mean?
• Are you being decieved by chicken labeling lies?
• Water fights
• Marketing junkfood to kids: new research
• 28 million Americans need food stamps
• USDA's new report on food availability
• An abundance of scarcity...
• 5 amazing things you can learn from a toddler
• Top 12 foods to buy organic
• Does breakfast really matter?
• Cell phones and brain tumors
• A coffee with your donut could protect against Alzheimer's disease.
  POP QUIZ: (you can put your answers in the comments if you wish)
  Does the above article say:
  a) coffee and donuts could protect against Alzheimer's
  b) coffee could protect against Alzheimer's
  c) donuts are good for you after all

Around here:

I've been reading Closing the Food Gap: Resetting the table in the land of plenty by Mark Winne. It has been a very captivating read so far, although I had to slow down this week. I am currently on the chapter where he addresses social policy and personal responsibility. It is has given me a lot more to think about regarding social policy and it is done in a way that doesn't pitch it against personal responsibility.

A sleep update... Unfortunately my youngest still wakes up at least twice at night, but it appears that if I get up earlier, I'm not as tired. I have finally started carrying my cell phone in my PJs so that I can stay track of time and use that as an alarm (instead of my kids). So far I have been less tired and have gotten a lot more accomplished. But there is still a lot to sabotage my plan (subject for another post), but this time I'm not giving up.

Oh, and my three year old has been diaper-free for a week. Even at bedtime! I thought it would never happen. So for you moms out there who think their kids will never go to the bathroom on their own, they will.

It is finally looking like spring here. For starters, we have been to the playground 3 days this week. I came across this post about how you survive Cleveland winters if you get through February. I did and even though we had a blizzard in March it was much more enjoyable because it wasn't as windy and it was not as cold. Oh, and I'm the only blogger who loves the early daylight savings time. I probably wouldn't like it if I had to be somewhere in the morning, but the brighter evenings do so much for me.

I have to figure out to what extent I'm going to garden. Although I have tried growing stuff on the porch to my former apartment, this is my first try at a real garden. I took another close look at my garden bed and what I hoped was strawberry vines may actually be something else :-(
I'm really hoping it's not poison ivy or its cousins.

More Thanksgiving fun

If you are looking for more Thanksgiving fun (and beyond), go to the Tip Junkie. Laurie found my turkey rolls and gave me a "great tip award". I am truly honored, but I am more excited about finding out about her blog and sharing it with you all.

My friend Alan also received an award for his Thanksgiving Carols. I had forgotten about those and thought you might want to check them out.

My first thanksgiving turkey

Believe it or not, last year was the first time I ever cooked a turkey. To make sure it would come out good, I checked a couple of sources, but my one stop place for ideas came from the Food Network. They have recipes and videos that make it easier to understand. I pretty much followed the Good Eats Roast Turkey recipe (except for the brining because I bought one of those frozen turkeys on sale a few weeks before). And I made a celery and carrot "rack" inspired by Michael Chiarello.



Here it is ready to go in the oven:






Here's the neck bone and some veggies for the gravy broth (I guess I took this picture so I'd remember what I did). I was so proud of myself that I had remembered to take the neck out of the cavity:





And here's the final product:

Now, if you look carefully at the bottom right part of the turkey breast, you will see something like a round stamp. It turned out it was the gizzards bag I had left in!

The turkey still came out fine.

What to Eat blog

Marion Nestle is well respected for her work explaining the relationship between the food industry and politics. She has also written a book, What to Eat, which apparently tries to decode all the mixed nutritional messages out there. Her books are on my "to read" list, but I was pleased to hear she has a blog called What to Eat. I can't really handle any heavy reading now, but her blog is a great resource for me. Personally, I like how she addresses her topics in a non-threatening way as well as encourages participation from her readers.

How to save on groceries

I'll write about this topic in a personal way later, but I thought maybe someone would want to know about a special for an ebook called Supermarket Savings 101. I just got my copy last night and have only skimmed through it to see what it's like. It looks promising (although I have not looked at it from a nutritional quality perspective, I'm sure the principles can apply to any eating habit). The author piloted (i.e. tried it out on others first) it so I think it gives it more credibility. Anyway, why not save money on groceries? Maybe then the filet mignon will fit in your budget (if you love it that much). The price today is $11.97, tomorrow it will be $3 more until it reaches full retail of $17.97 on Friday. There are other ebooks thrown in the bundle too.

By the way, I did not sign up to be an affiliate, so I don't get any money for sharing this with you. But if you want to do that, there are instructions on her site. I am using the Frugal Homemaker Plus blog's referral site, since I found out about it there.

The power of one...

Today is the last day of World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). I have made several posts about WBW on my infant feeding history blog, but I wanted to post something here too. If you've read this blog long enough, then you know that I am always coming back to the topic of breastfeeding. The more time passes by, the more it becomes dear to me. This post will be more of a rambling nature, but I do want this to be posted today :-)

My idea for La Leche USA's theme, "The Power of One... _____." is:

The power of one phone call.

How many mothers with breastfeeding problems pick up the phone to call a friend, a lactation consultant, La Leche Leader, even their doctor to talk about it? I haven't checked to see if someone has tried tracking that data, but that's beside the point. My point is that some mothers hesitate to call, or just don't -- whatever the reason. Well, I am glad that La Leche League now has a 24hr hotline (1-877-4-LA LECHE). What a wonderful privilege it is to make a phone call that won't inconvenience anyone -- regardless of what time it is -- for free!

I once read somewhere about someone giving a lactation consultant service gift certificate as a baby gift. I thought that is a wonderful idea so that a mom can have that kind of peace of mind if she needs to call on someone. With my first two children, I didn't need to call anyone. As a matter of fact, I have never even been to a La Leche meeting. But I'm glad I called someone regarding my daughter's breastfeeding, as it helped me manage the situation I was in, which was already quite stressful. As much as I have told friends to call me if they need anything, I know that I don't have many of the answers as I am not trained in that area, but I know I could connect them to who does as well as encourage them. I once asked a mother if they had a friend who was a lactation consultant, would they call them for advice. Her answer as a definite yes. So one day I hope to be a friend like that. Nonetheless, I have considered donating to the LLL hotline as part of a baby gift. Not only will this spread the word about the hotline, but it will be my own small way of making sure it remains.

So, if any of you are inspired to comment, what is one thing that made (or could have made) the difference in your breastfeeding experience?

Cupcakes

We love doing cupcakes, especially for first birthdays. It's cute, simple, and just the right size for the birthday child. There is no need for a knife, and plates are optional. Cupcakes also work well for class parties, as some schools and daycares apparently require cupcakes. Best of all, there are so many possibilities with cupcakes. Here are some of the ones we have done:

Baloon Cupcakes (from Family Fun)

Froggy Cupcakes (also from Family Fun, with modifications)


Ladybug cupcakes (my own idea), using mini oreos, chocolate chips, red icing and licorice twizzlers.


If you'd like, you can dress up the ladybugs like this. I didn't feel like piping black icing, so I kept it simple.

I don't have a picture of this idea, but I found some mini cars for a dollar and put them on cupcakes, along with some checkered flags made of toothpicks. Very easy.

If you still want the look of a real cake, try the pull-apart cakes. These are cupcakes lined up together and "joined" with a thick layer of icing, which in turn is decorated. An example is this pull-apart turtle cake from the Betty Crocker website. I've also seen pull apart cakes at my local grocery store.

Want more ideas? An internet search will pull up plenty of cupcake ideas. Here is a list of some of the links I like:

• Betty Crocker
• Family Fun
• Hop Skip Jump
• Coolest Birthday Cakes (do a search for cupcakes)

On a side note, the computer cupcake image up top came from Family Fun's website, but I wasn't able to find any directions on their site.

As time permits, I will post the other cakes that I have done: Noah's Ark, racetrack, race car, and train.