Make Friends with Your Veggies

I love all things Cookie+Curly, but my heart is in food. Many of you have asked food questions or advice since I became a Registered Dietitian (RD), years ago, so I thought I'd take an occasional break from inundating you with C+C stuff, to share my world of nutrition with you.

Many people think RDs eat right all the time. Well, they don't. Pre-husband and kids, I was content on PB&H or cereal for dinner. It takes effort to make a nutritious and tasty meal for just one person!

My husband enjoys cooking and always (ALWAYS) eats a protein, a veggie and a starch for dinner. When we got married, I, too, took on this healthy habit. Once I got pregnant, nutrition really sunk home as another being was completely reliant on me for everything essential for healthy growth and development.

Now that I have kids, the mom and the RD in me kicks in and I try very hard to reach nutritious goals every day - for myself, as an example, and the kids.

Vegetables - Who doesn't struggle with getting those in?! Yes, there are a few of you that just LOVE having salad and veggie sticks throughout every day. Good for you. I'm not you. I can get veggies in at dinner without a problem, but throughout the day it's a bit more of a challenge. 

Go-to solutions we've discovered:

- Sauteed veggies in egg whites

- Roasted veggies smeared on toast, topped with cottage cheese, sliced turkey, etc.

- Vegetarian pizza (homemade)

- Sweet, fresh cherry/grape tomatoes - nothing beats fresh-off-the-vine!

- Sauteed spinach or collard/mustard greens - spread on any sandwich/burger/quesadilla/wrap. You can get way more in when you saute it!

- Steamed broccoli dipped in marinara sauce and grated parmesan

- Trusty carrots/zucchini & hummus

- Salads with citrus-based, olive oil/balsamic vinegar, or low-fat dressing

- "Kale Chips" - yes, don't freak out thinking this is gross. It's quite good! And kids LOVE it!

- Kale-Apple Smoothie - I haven't tried this yet but the fact that my kids like the Kale Chips makes me want to try this.

- Seasonal vegetables: We don't make it to Farmer's Market nearly enough, but when we do, I can definitely taste the difference between store-bought and fresh-from-the-farm veggies. Yum!

- Roasted vegetables: chop up basically any veggie; toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic or shallots; roast 25-45 minutes at 375-400F just until turning brown at the edges. Makes any veggie taste good! Leftovers make great additions to any meal/snack the next day.

Tonight we had whole wheat pasta, lean ground turkey, tossed with a new discovery: "Dave's Gourmet Butternut Squash Pasta Sauce". Purchased at VONS, this puppy wasn't cheap ($8/bottle) but it is relatively low in sodium (358mg per 1/2 cup) and provides 58% of the recommended Vitamin A and 24% the recommended Vitamin C for a 2,000 calorie diet. Read: a great source of high-quality vitamins, especially for kiddos! (I'm thinking I could make something like this myself - Stay tuned.)

On the side we had "Sweet P. Fries": Slice sweet potatoes into "fries", toss with olive oil/salt/pepper/garlic, bake 400F, turn as needed. Sweet potatoes are considered "low calorie" (not terribly "calorie dense"), high in fiber, rich in vitamin B6, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, iron, potassium, and one yam ("orange-fleshed sweet potato") provides over 100% of the daily requirement for beta carotene. Don't forget to eat the skin!

It was a very ORANGE dinner, but man did it taste good. It made my Feel-Good Meter run high too, knowing that my kids had taken in some great nutrition today.

Back to birds. I have three custom orders going right now that are all so colorful and fun! The sewing machine awaits!

g'night: m

Pretty in Pink, and... Peanut Butter?!

Pink. Birds. Two loves of little girls. Now, a soon-to-be-born little sweet-pea girl is going to have her own "Pretty in Pink" Cookie+Curly mobile hanging in her room. 

"Pretty in Pink" 4-Bird Mobile (Custom)

I fell in love with this fabric when I first saw it and I'm so happy it fit someone's desires for their custom birds. In fact, I'm making another order right now with the same fabric. Anyone else? :)

That brings up a good point - If you have gone through the mobile pictures on Cookie+Curly's Facebook page and you like the birds but you're not perfectly in love with any one fabric choice, email me and let's get a custom order going for you. It's just $5 more to get the exact mobile you want.

So, completely changing modes... Peanut Butter. The one thing I absolutely have to eat every day or else I just feel like I'm missing something. I definitely prefer the "natural" peanut butter with only peanuts and salt (yes, I haven't been able to go "no salt" with peanut butter). And, crunchy. You?

As a Registered Dietitian, I often have clients tell me they avoid peanut butter because it was "fatty". I then explain that the fat found in peanut butter is "good fat", but that the high caloric-density of peanut butter does make the quantity enjoyed important to keep in check.

So, how do we enjoy peanut butter in our house...

- "Daddy Toast": toast topped with peanut butter, cottage cheese and no-added-sugar jam

- Classic PB&J's or PB&H's.

- Souped-Up French Toast: peanut butter and bananas between two slices of whole grain bread, dipped in egg whites and sauted until golden.

- "Ants on a Log": peanut butter spread on celery, dotted with "ants" (Craisins, raisins, or other chopped, dried fruit)

- "Banana Boats": banana sliced down the middle, peanut butter, light sprinkle of granola

- Peanut Butter and Avocado Sandwiches

- Smoothies: peanut butter, non-fat Greek yogurt, banana, ground flaxseed

- Ginger-Peanut Chicken-Salad Wraps using whole wheat tortillas

- Grilled Lemon Chicken with Satay Dip (Barefoot Contessa)

- Thai Beef Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing

- Double Peanut Butter Chocolate Chewies: haven't tried these yet but can you imagine?!

- Perfected S'mores: peanut butter on graham crackers, slightly roasted marshmallows, Hershey's dark chocolate

- Peanut Energy Bars: for those long hikes or all-day outdoor adventures (Super high in potassium - a great counter to sodium!)

- My best friend and I used to have peanut butter and honey in a bowl as an afternoon snack after school... I'm getting HUNGRY!

Ah, the list goes on and on.

P.S. A young girl from church, Sophie, is a finalist in Jif's "Most Creative Peanut Butter Sandwich" Contest. Hers is the "Golden Peanut Yum Yum Roll" - Feel free to vote for it!

Okay, I'm off to fix a little snack.

Keeping Up with the Blogging

This blogging thing is tough to keep up! Many orders have gone out and I just haven't had the time to update the blog with all the details. Be sure to check out Cookie+Curly's Facebook page to see pictures of all the latest birds. (And remember to "Like" us!)


A fun mobile that just went on it's way to Los Angeles features three birds from Patricia Bravo's Modern Affair collection. In my haste to finish the birds and get them out to the customer the next morning, I was only able to take pictures at night though so these don't do the birds any justice. You can get the feel though. The customer said she'd forward me some pictures once it's up too so stay tuned for that.

A new 3-bird mobile up on Cookie+Curly's site is called Purple Pizzazz featuring some rich, new fabric I got at The Cotton Ball in Morro Bay. (I love that place!) I am so excited about this fabric - It translates beautifully onto birds and butterflies. (The butterflies will be posted in another day or two.)

Purple Pazzazz 3-Bird Mobile (One-of-a-Kind)

Lastly, and most importantly... Welcome, welcome, welcome to Baby Magnolia Jayne. We are sooooo glad you finally joined our world, especially after keeping us waiting 8 days after your due date. You are beautiful, and your mommy, daddy, and big bro are extremely excited to have you in the family. We are all very eager to get to know you!

Have a wonderful day.