I was at the grocery store last night, browsing the bakery section, looking for a dessert that would satisfy a nagging craving. I picked up a frozen pie, skimmed the nutrition panel and the ingredients, and put it back. The pie was made up of a whole list of things that I didn’t recognize, including one thing I did recognize: palm kernel oil. As I was putting it back I realized there was a woman about my age poised to grab the same box.
“What is it,” she asked. “Something bad?”
“Palm kernel oil,” I said.
“Why, is that bad?” There was concern in her eyes. Or was it disgust?
“Apparently it’s one of the worst oils out there.”
She put it back.
I don’t think I was far off in my dislike of palm kernel oil. Here’s what Dr. Weil writes about it:
… unlike palm oil, palm kernel oil can’t be obtained organically. Instead, the oil must be extracted from the pit with a gasoline-like hydrocarbon solvent. In short, palm kernel oil is a cheap, unhealthy fat, and I recommend avoiding food products containing it.
And so I do. Apparently it is high in saturated fat, which, according to the American Heart Association, is the main dietary cause of high blood cholesterol. The Ontario Heart and Stroke Foundation also recommends reducing saturated fat in our diets.
This past week’s KMDM activity was to:
Pick out a new recipe to try this week together. 20% of families eat frozen dinners and another 20% eat pre-cooked meals.
I would like to know more about that 20% who eats frozen dinners. How often do they eat frozen dinners? And why? Is it because they hate to cook, don’t know how crappy most frozen dinners can be, or don’t have time?
I’m probably going to offend some people here, but I’m not sure if I buy the “don’t have time” argument. I think we, as parents, make choices about how and where we spend our time. And I know fatigue plays a huge part of it (I don’t have the energy to make elaborate meals), but it’s not entirely unfair to say that fatigue – for some of us at least – may be partially caused by overloading on processed carbs.
Many people plan and prep their meals once a week, say Sunday mornings. Personally, I wish I could be better at this. More often than not I’m doing menu planning by the seat of my pants. And I work from home!
Is time really an issue, or is it about priorities and the choices we make? We make time to check email and watch YouTube videos and go shoe shopping, so why can’t we find time to make healthy meals for our families? There are so many recipes that don’t require a lot of time and effort. Slow-cookers, roast chickens, and make-ahead dinners make meal prep a little easier too.
Anyway, back to the challenge.
The first goal was to find a recipe. The girls weren’t keen to flip through my cookbooks, so instead we talked about our favourite dinner-related meals. Emma immediately suggested spaghetti – which was a good one – but the idea here is to try a new meal. So we talked about our favourite ingredients.
What came out of this was:
- ham
- pineapple
- bread
- cheese
Now this was something I could work with!
I had just been looking at Pioneer Woman’s delicious-looking recipe for Grilled Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas. So that’s what we made – but with ham. (Not my preference, but STILL.)
I wish I had photos of our meal to share with you, but frankly, I was too hungry to take the time. Mark grilled the pineapple and the ham on the BBQ. The girls helped grate the cheese and put everything together. Admittedly, this was more about assembling – not so much cooking – but the end result was really good and the girls were very proud that they helped.
Mark and I added jalapeno peppers to ours. Next time we’ll add sour cream and a sprinkle of cilantro just like Pioneer Woman did.
I will say this: they turned out great. Roasted pineapple is divine. The ham was a little dry, but no one noticed. One kid liked them a little bit more than the other, but ate them anyway. Mark and I both agreed that this recipe was a keeper. Don’t you love it when that happens?
Do you have a recipe you like to make with your kids? I’d love to hear about it if you do!
This is next week’s Know More Do More activity:
Have a dance-off in the kitchen after dinner tonight [Woo hoo!] Increased physical fitness and active living opportunities have positive effects on academic performance.
I have no doubt this one is true. I would also add “… and helps them sleep better at night” too!
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This post is part of the Know More Do More initiative which was spearheaded by the Champlain Cardiovascular Disease Prevention Network. KMDM is about empowering parents and inspiring them to take charge of their children’s health by taking easy steps to increase activity levels and improve eating habits. I’m one of two champion families who has been asked to take this challenge. You can join too. Check out the official website for more information. If you’re blogging about your participation, please let me know so we can cheer each other on! You can read all of my past weekly challenges here.
