Kate Gosselin's Love Is in the Mix (21 page)
Read Kate Gosselin's Love Is in the Mix Online
Authors: Kate Gosselin
Many years ago, when Mady and Cara were two years old, I began to pay attention to the talk about “organic” versus “conventional” eating. I had always eaten a healthy diet and fed them nutritiously and responsibly. So, wanting to do the best that I could, I began slowly switching over, buying organic foods when possible.
I found that it’s best to start with meats and dairy—the two areas that, if conventionally raised/produced, are most heavily affected by hormones and antibiotics, which can be most harmful to us.
Slowly, as I could find them (this was over ten years ago!), I began buying organically grown fruits and vegetables. Conventional fruits and vegetables are sprayed with harmful chemicals and pesticides, which I wanted to avoid!
Eventually, as they became available in my area, I began to buy many other foods that were produced organically. I have always balanced my health-conscious desire with my ability to afford these typically higher priced items. From a budget perspective, it is not always possible to buy the organic version of every product, but any amount helps!
I am constantly researching local places to find the best prices on organic meats, dairy products, and fruits and vegetables, but to me it is worth it. A few things that I have learned along the way:
- Ask questions at your local produce stand or butcher shop. They may not advertise as certified organic because they can’t. The cost of certification is very expensive, often too expensive for a small family-owned grower. But, even if they are not certified organic, if they are not using nonorganic pesticides on their produce (or can give you the name of what they are using so that you can research it yourself), chances are they are noncertified organic, which, if you trust them, works just as well! I have been buying my produce for years from Farmer Henry—who is not certified organic but grows organically by definition.
- Cook organic recipes. Substitute your regular recipes but use organic ingredients. Some organic foods such as confectioners’ sugar, raw sugar, and some peanut butters are difficult to work with, but, other than a few anomalies, you can make any recipe into an organic recipe, just by using organic ingredients.
I’ve made a commitment to my family’s health—to feed them as organically as I can afford to and as availability allows.
Traveling is tough, especially when nutrition and healthy eating is a priority, like it is for us. Here are a few things that we do when we travel to help us stick to our healthy eating routine:
- If we are traveling by car, airplane, bus, or boat, I pack an easy to carry cooler filled with easy to grab individual snacks such as cheese sticks, apple slices, and yogurt cups (I omit these if we are flying). These items will usually stay cold for the time it takes for us to get to our destination. If we are traveling by plane, I pack the cooler with resealable plastic bags of ice from home. I pour them out prior to security and then, once we board the plane, I ask the flight attendant to refill them with ice. I typically tuck a few extra empty resealable plastic bags into a pocket of the cooler, just in case.
- In addition to cold foods, I pack healthy crunchy foods such as granola bars, pretzels, nuts, and always gum. My kids are always happy when they are chewing gum—and so is their mom!
- When we arrive at our final destination and are planning on staying for a while, I always have the address of the closest Whole Foods or other healthy grocery store handy and make a trip there to stock up on snacks and foods that we can grab quickly.
- If we are going to the beach, via car, I always take frozen organic meats from home and premarinate them and pack them in a very icy cooler. And I always package and bring our eggs from home as well. It saves a lot of money to pack some of the more expensive food items.
There are many benefits of packing and taking healthy foods. It is convenient because we always have snacks handy; it saves money and time; and it also saves on traveling sickness because we are eating what our bodies are accustomed to eating.
As a runner, I try to stick to a healthy eating routine, especially when I am training for an upcoming big race.
Here are some examples of what I typically eat on an average day:
1 cup of fiber cereal with skim milk; 1 small banana; lots of coffee with fat-free Coffee-mate (it’s a hopeless and delicious addiction)
*If I am putting in a long run that morning, I’ll add half a bagel toasted with light cream cheese (yum!) or I will eat 1 cup of Cream of Wheat with brown sugar instead of my usual fiber cereal.
Handful of almonds or ½ cup hummus and raw vegetable slices
1
Kate’s Famous K8 Salad
(I make this ahead of time and package in disposable restaurant salad containers to grab fast) or 1
Kate’s Healthy and Delicious Mediterranean Veggie Wrap
Small portion of dinner—whatever I’ve made for my family
I also try to drink lots of water—50 to 60 ounces per day
Overall, I also limit my sugar and carb intake and eat a very high fiber diet.
A clean, organized kitchen is important for health, efficient use of time, minimizing waste, and to ensure that you enjoy your time spent in the kitchen. And if you’re anything like me, you find yourself in your kitchen a lot—partly because you have to be there, but also because you love to be there! Here are a few things that I do to keep the kitchen running smoothly:
- Label and Date Every Item That Is Opened.
We are all super busy, and it is normal to open something and just toss it in the fridge without a second thought. But remembering how long ago that cream cheese was opened or especially the condiments on the door proves to be very difficult. In an effort to avoid food poisoning, we tend to throw out items if we don’t remember how long they’ve been in the fridge. Labeling EVERYTHING you open in the fridge—and in your cabinets—allows you to make an informed decision to avoid sickness AND waste. I’ve taught my kids over the years to get into the habit of labeling, too. We use a small piece of masking tape and a marker (make a tape tab label for easy removal before washing container lids), and write the date and contents on it. - Thoroughly Clean All Kitchen Surfaces and Appliances Daily.
For health reasons, I clean my kitchen surfaces thoroughly each evening after dinner. But besides health concerns, I have found that if I am greeted by a sparkling clean kitchen the next morning, I find myself enjoying the task of being the resident chef a lot more. When I work in a clean kitchen, my creative approach to cooking multiplies, and, speaking of multiples, you know who benefits from that! Oh, and, don’t forget to call out “KITCHEN CLOSED” at the end of each evening cleanup session. I actually do this sometimes as I turn off the lights and leave the kitchen. It’s my way of saying:
Once again, I have fed good, home-cooked, healthy, and delicious meals today, but my job is done here … until tomorrow. - Keep the Kitchen Well Stocked.
Use lists and visual reminders to ensure that you have what you need at your fingertips. More days than not, I have very limited time to make dinner, pack lunches, feed my kids dinner, clean up dinner, and then oversee homework for all eight of them. I have found that it helps immensely to keep my drawers and cabinets well stocked with commonly used items such as sandwich bags, plastic wrap, foil, and paper products. Because my mind and memory are always going a bazillion places at once, it would be easy to run out of these things, costing me precious time that I don’t have, not to mention, leaving me in a lurch: eight lunches to pack and NO sandwich bags?! BIG PROBLEM! To avoid this, I keep a stash of each item on hand, and, when that supply is low, I add it to my running list of items needed that I keep on my phone. In fact, when I’m in my busy, fast-paced kitchen, to make sure these items find their way
onto
that list, I often place the empty paper towel roll or the empty sandwich bag box on the counter to trigger my memory.
Taking it one step further, I have taught my kids to count how many of a given item is left on our supply shelves in the basement, and, when they return with the item that I have sent them to retrieve, they communicate that to me. My Collin is especially helpful and routinely announces, “Here, Mommy. Not counting this one, there are three left downstairs.” These very small habits we have developed have helped me keep my kitchen well stocked and running as smoothly as possible. - Keep Kitchen Clutter to a Bare Minimum.
It’s really easy to allow kitchen clutter to pile up, and, if you’re anything like me, you are deterred by mess and lack of counter space. If my area is cluttered, my brain feels cluttered. If my brain feels cluttered, it’s not free to create masterpieces because it can’t get past the clutter! For this reason, I try to keep small appliances that aren’t used on an almost daily basis out of sight and put away. I also limit paper clutter (aka school papers, calendars, etc.) to one small area at the very end of the counter. I sort through the pile daily as part of my evening kitchen cleanup routine. And finally, I stick to my “get it out, use it, then put it away where it belongs” policy to avoid clutter buildup. No matter what size kitchen you have, I promise you will be happiest and more apt to spend time there, if it is organized, clean, and clutter-free. - Avoid Waste.
Avoid wasting food and accumulating fridge “science projects” by making weekly leftover night a standard routine. Over the years, I have become increasingly aware of the amount of food that is wasted once it enters the fridge following dinner on any given night. It takes awareness and creativity to avoid wasting odds and ends that land in the fridge. By getting into a routine of cooking large meals each night during the early to middle part of each week, and then having leftover night on each Wednesday or Thursday night, I have been able to use nearly 100 percent of the food that I prepare. To make this work, I will purposely cook a slightly larger meal each evening so that there is a good assortment of leftovers later in the week. The added bonus? Not only am I being cost-effective by minimizing waste, but I get one “cook-free night” each week! And beyond that, my kids are often thrilled to see a variety of their favorite dishes on their plates once again. It’s truly a win-win for all of us. - Buy Fresh Foods Wisely.
Only buy fresh foods (produce, meats, etc.) when you have a clear plan on when and how to use them. Many times when I am in the grocery store, my cooking excitement soars as I meander through the produce and meat department. Suddenly, I have many amazing lunch and dinner ideas, and, inspired by the fresh colorful varieties in front of me, I scoop up more than I can use in any given week. I have learned that unless I come prepared with a spelled-out dinner plan for the week, and stick to it, much of that extra produce is at risk of not getting used in time and thus wasted. I have learned the lesson over the years to buy only what we need. And on the rare occasions that my produce department excitement still gets the best of me, I’ve also managed to sharpen my “create a new dish using these four random ingredients before they spoil” skills, which is kinda fun, too. - Keep Kitchen Cabinets and Drawers Clean.
Include cabinet fronts and drawers in your weekly cleaning routine. These are commonly forgotten, but important, areas in the kitchen-cleaning department. Kitchen cabinets get splattered and spilled on more often than we realize when we are zooming around our kitchen in an attempt to quiet the “but I’m huuunngry” crowd. To address these forgotten areas, I routinely grab a sponge and wipe down cabinet fronts or wipe out the silverware drawer during kitchen downtime—like while I’m waiting for water on the stove top to boil or for the casserole in the oven to brown. - Keep a Running List of Frozen Goods.
Keep a running list handy of all frozen items that you have in-house, to avoid overbuying and waste. If you have an additional freezer (which I highly recommend because when frozen items are on sale, stocking up saves money!), it’s easy to lose track of what exactly is in there. It’s happened to me, so I keep a running list in my kitchen of what is in which freezer. This not only helps me stay organized, but it saves money and time.
