Cooking for children

Seeing their children grow healthy and happy is parents’ main concern.  Taking care of their nutrition is  of paramount importance and it could not be otherwise since childhood is the time of our biggest physical and intellectual development.

As I was saying in my previous post, what we eat and drink every day creates the condition of our blood and through it of our entire body. In other words, what and how you cook for yourself and your family will translate immediately in each one of you feeling more or less energetic, focused, peaceful, optimistic, etc.  True health starts in the kitchen.

Food does not only nourish the body but also the mind and the spirit.  By cooking good healthy food you will improve your and your family' s  health and quality of life and also increase  your energy, vitality and peace of mind. This is a great responsibility for the cook  and also a great power and we should learn how to use it for our the maximum benefit and that of the people we cook for. 

 

It is essential to get children eat the right food as soon as possible for, if they develop good eating habits when they are young, they are more likely to eat healthily when they are older.  Bear in mind that medical problems linked with a poor diet such as obesity, heart problems, type B diabetes, etc. begin with eating habits acquired during infancy or childhood.  Other problems such as hyperactivity, difficulty to concentrate, that seem to affect a growing number of children are also related to diet and can be prevented or solved in a very simple way.  

 

Cooking great food is   the best way of loving yourself and the people you care for. Get started!

On the 28^th of February at Utopia Collectiva in Nicosia I am  going to give  a practical and theoretical workshop on Macrobiotic Cooking for children.

In the workshop  I will teach: 

• ·         Which are  the best foods and cooking methods for your children during the first years of their lives and after.

• ·         How to cook   balanced and  nutritious dishes kids will enjoy. 

We will look into the different things children need at the different stages of their development, how to cook grains, vegetable origin  proteins and  vegetables, where to find more calcium than in milk, how to sweeten your family’ s  desserts without sugar… 

Taking responsibility for yours and your family’ s health and well being is a very empowering experience and  this workshop will help you  make this adventure exciting and simple.

Workshop details.

Saturday 28^th February

11:00 – 13:30: cooking

13:30 – 14:30: lunch

14:30- 15:30: theory

At Utopia Collectiva (Nicosia)

 

Cost: 40 Euros

Confirm participation by Wednesday 25th (99583947)

Get into the kitchen and become the director of your life!

Get into the kitchen & become the director of your life!

What we eat and drink every day creates the condition of our blood and through it of our entire body. In other words, what and how you cook for yourself will translate immediately in feeling more or less energetic, focused, peaceful, optimistic, etc.  

Food does not only nourish the body but also the mind and the spirit.  By cooking good healthy food you will improve your health and quality of life and also increase your energy, vitality and peace of mind. So, why don’ t you get into the kitchen and start the exciting adventure of creating  the conditions  you desire?

Taking responsibility of our health is a very empowering experience and it is also an unavoidable decision in so far as we wish to move towards plenitude and well being.

 I encourage you to  start cooking and create the daily mental and physical conditions you want for yourself and your family. Become the director of your life!

 

Dean Ornish is a clinical professor at UCSF and founder of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute. He's a leading expert on fighting illness,  particularly heart disease with dietary and lifestyle changes. 

Here you have a link to a 16 minutes talk on simple, low- tech and low- cost ways to be healthier and happier.

Dean Ornish talking about healing through diet.

What shall I cook today?

After very mild Christmas, it seems that  winter has finally arrived to Cyprus. Winter is the  time to nurture our bodies with strengthening energies that boost our inner heat.

 We need more fire, longer cooking time, saltier condiments without forgetting yin  condiments to give polarity and  dynamism to our dishes. Most important, we need to listen to our bodies and not be afraid of experimenting in the  pursuit of our own personal balance.

 Some  suggestions for winter menus:

• Miso soup + stewed chickpeas with millet balls + Onion and carrot kimpira

• Pumpkin soup + buckwheat with artichokes + Salad of boiled green vegetables and grilled tofu

• Onion soup + pressure cooked brown rice with aduki and pumpkin + steamed leeks and carrots

• Vegetable broth + Pasta with shell fish +  Salad of green leaves and pickled cabbage

  Festive desserts with almonds: 

Almond and date "polvorones"

I would like to share with you some  delicious festive desserts with almonds I found in the blog delicooks.com. The blog has all sorts of recipes and among them I found one I particularly like because besides being delicious, it has none of the "wrong"  ingredients that would ban it from a macrobiotic cookbook. Since the blog is in Spanish, I have translated  the recipe in English for non Spanish speakers.

Ingredients:

300 gr. raw almonds 
135 gr. dates

Directions:

1. Soak the almonds for 48 hours.
2. Drain and peel the almonds.
3. Place them in a baking tray and dehydrate until they are completely dry.
4. Place the almonds in a food processor and blend until you get a very thin  texture (not flour though) .
5. Remove the stones from the dates and add them to the almonds and blend.   
6. Shape the "polvorones" with the mixture.
7. If you want to keep them for some time, you can dehydrate them completely. 

"Polvorones" are typical Spanish Christmas sweets.

Autumn is here

Although the days are still quite hot in Cyprus, we have been able to feel the change of the season for some weeks now.  Our routines have also changed:  we are back to work or school.  We need to adapt to these changes and get ready for the autumn months. If we fail to do so and continue with the same rhythm of activity we had in the summer and go on eating daily raw salads and fruits, having cold drinks what will most probably happen is that, as soon as we have the first cold days of the season, we will catch a cold or even the flu.  So it is the time to strengthen our immune system and balance all the Yin excesses of the summer.   

 Some tips to go with the new energy around us:

• Increase salty condiments such as sea salt, miso, soyu, umeboshi.  I know the days are still quite hot in Cyprus, but we can start eating our miso soup in the evenings.

• Reduce  macerated, pressed and raw  preparations and introduce cooking techniques such as steaming, sauteing, stewing, pressure cooking, tempura.

 

• Favour the beans, grains and vegetables that have  autumn colors and a sweeter taste: millet,  chick peas, pumpkins, onions.

Enjoy the autumn!