Corn on a Cob: A Whole Grain

Lunch doesn't need to be complicated all the time.  It can be something as simple as corn on the cob, and still make it healthy for the whole family.

Remember that corn is a whole grain, which plays an important role to prevent chronic illnesses such as hypertension and diabetes.  So if it's in the line of your family history, it's best that we switch diets into more whole grains, and corn is one of them which is the easiest and most economical way to serve a fulfilling meal.

We love corn because of its endless possibilities.  You can serve it steamed, grilled, stewed.  May be buttered,  salted, sprinkled with cheese, or simply eaten as it is.  We love corn not only because of its nutritional value, but also because of it's natural sweetness.

 I can't find a corn skewer to put them on each end, so my little girl could hold onto it, and eat them better mess-free.  For a bento-maker, I say it's a must-have.  So I'm off on a hunt for one or more.  If anyone knows where I could get it locally or online, please jot me a comment.  I would greatly appreciate it.

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All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

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Rotini for your Heart

On my quest to feed my kids healthy and nutritious meals, I have found a way to sneak in whole grains pasta into their diet.  The kids found whole grains pasta tasted like paper.  So I thought of mixing in equal portions of regular and whole wheat Rotini with a pesto sauce.  

We all know that whole grains help fight chronic illnesses; such as, diabetes and hypertension.  So it's better that we start early on healthy eating habits.  Both chronic illnesses are in our family history line.  So preventive is the key to stay away from it.

The family is all having Rotini on our EasyLunchboxes with home-made vegetable marinara sauce for lunch today. No meat.  Both Mr G and Missy A brought them to school, while hub packed it for lunch.

FACTS: Do you know that you shouldn't supposed to be sending in pasta with tomato-based or cream-based sauce mixed in already?  For unknown reason, there is a chemical reaction between pasta & tomato sauce that causes food poisoning when not consumed within a period of time, say an hour or 2. So keep them separate when sending them to school.  Be sure to send the noodles straight from the fridge, and the sauce heated well before packing in thermal containers to keep them hot. Invest on good thermal containers that can keep foods hot for at least 5 hours. Another way to prevent food poisoning is to boil your noodles well, and store any leftover in the fridge.  Always reheat sauce before serving.

I have linked this post to Bento For Kidlet's Meatless Monday.  

Not a Monday lunch but a good and simple menu for vegans.

Visit the party and get more great ideas for your menu this week.

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
Thank you for your support!

DIY: Seafood Vegetable Fried Rice & Eggrolls

I have been fond of cooking lately at home.  I believe that this is the only way to healthy eating coz you eat anything you like, and you control what gets into your system.  This is so true since you have the freedom to choose the right ingredients for your family.

We love Asian cuisines.  All of them.  And we love to eat as well.  We hop from one resto to another to try out new dishes.  Anything we love, we try to make them home-made next time.  Google is a huge place to find the perfect recipe for any food.  Then customize  ingredients according to what works best for you.

As you already know, I'm training my kids to eat meals we already eat at home to school.  That way, planning for school lunches would be a breeze and economical in a way. Imagine sending leftover dinners to school the next day. Let's re-phrase that. What about a re-purpose leftover dinner?  That might sound a little better, right?

Eggroll Recipe: Combine ground meat, minced shrimp, minced onion and garlic, carrots,
salt and pepper together. Roll them up with the use of a shumai or gyoza wrappers for a mini roll, perfect for school lunches.

Say, you had eggrolls for dinner. Do you think your picky eaters would eat them again the next day? Would it be better if it goes with another new dish? Or a repurpose dish?

I repurposed rice for that matter. I made a Seafood-Vegetable Fried Rice which has almost everything on it.  I made use of medium grain brown rice, instead of just white, to take care of fibers and grains. You can never go wrong with corn kernels.  They always add a sweet taste to any cuisine. It's not anything like sugar.  It's whole grain and it's a healthy additive to any cuisine. Add some greens with the use of sweet peas or edamame, carrots, if you wish, and some shredded crabsticks.  Season with Asian seasoning (1 part soysauce, 1 part sesame oil). YUM!!

I would absolutely say, the kids had a hearty meal.  They love it!  I hope you consider to re-purpose your dinner leftover sometime.  It makes our mornings simpler.

All bento accessories are available through Bento USA,

the cheapest and most complete online bento products in the USA.

Other bento gears are also available thru My Amazon Affiliate Link.
EasyLunchboxes can also be purchased here.
Thank you for your support!

K-Bento: Waffles and Bacons

My Kindergartner, Missy A is a number 1 breakfast eater at home. She eats anything served for breakfast anytime during the day.  That brought the wonderful idea of packing it for school lunches as well.  I always get a high success rate of a clean lunchbox and a happy tummy after school.

Due to my daily crazy schedules, I have lost track of the exact dates I sent in a particular meal. Everyday, I took pictures, upload them in a batch to my image web host, copy the link to blogger, and save just whenever I find time.  I didn't like the idea of a daily stress of coming up with a post anymore. Just because of the high demands of my kids.  I assist with homeworks after school, and re-teach what was learned in school.  Just to make sure they retain it well for chapter tests in the future.

So one school day, Missy A brought breakfast for school lunch.

Quick and Easy: Freshly-Made Bento School Lunches

I have featured lunches that are quick and easy to prepare in the morning. I wake up 30 minutes before the kids to prepare for breakfast and lunch.   Each meals featured below are tried and tested to be packed under 20 minutes.

Healthy Oatmeal Choco-Raisin Cookies

A Quest for My Little Chef and Me

My daughter has shown interest on baking at the very early age of 5. Well, at least, earlier than I did. She puts into practice what she learns from school. So far, she has brought me good recipes for Sugar Cookie, Fruit Jellos, and Fruit Salad.

We have been baking for a year now and has produced quite a number of brownies, cakes and muffins from scratch. Not all made it to the blog because it needs a little bit more of a perfection.

Bento Weekly Round 25

Eating More Whole Grains

This entire week would be eating more whole grains

as per Healthy Eats' Healthy Every week Challenge.

I will be featuring different grains each day as I pack school lunches.

Whatever my son brings is basically what I pack for my hubby to work as well, 

and what my daughter and I eat at home before I send her to preschool.

Whole Wheat Monday: 

Whole wheat Spaghetti Noodles with Tomato, Basil, Rosemary & Garlic Sauce, 

Hotdogs on it, Strawberries, Carrots and Parmesan Cheese on the spice shaker.

Brown Rice, Brown Rice, What Do You See?

Happy faces and satisfied tummies! 

Our very first meal with the brown rice.  I have to make it special so the introduction of a new grain won't be a pain. The kids loved it and so did we.  Now my worries are eased off.  I must say this is a good start of a healthy life for all of us.

The taste isn't bad at all. It's contrary to what I was told. I actually love it! It's fulfilling and satisfying, and it's light on the tummy.  I say, you must try it first before you even say no to a promising grain.

On this day, I have officially switched all our non-grains to whole wheat. And that is that!

Next Project: Quinoa and Amaranth

Perfecting Brown Rice

We officially started whole grain brown rice last night amidst my quest for the correct way to prepare and cook this whole new grain for us. I started with a 1:2 ratio after soaking for at least 4 hours on warm water. Cooking time is between 45-55 minutes for 2-3 cups of brown rice. I did not use any special pot for this though. I just used my regular AROMA Rice Cooker.  I was actually considering on purchasing a rice cooker that has multi-functional buttons for all other types of rice, if my precious cooker won't  produce me a good brown rice.  But it didn't disappoint me. I was very happy with the result except that I reduced the water ratio into 1:1-1/4, which worked perfectly well.  Finish product is pictured above and we're enjoying our brown rice so far.

The Benefits of Brown Rice

I have been meaning to tell my family that we are switching to brown rice. And I finally did last night. My husband was astonished about the sudden transition. The kids were more like confused. They don't exactly know the difference but their colors. We had a little discussion on which ones a healthier and heartier option. And no matter how much I tell him that it prevents chronic illnesses, helps with diabetes and hypertensions (which none of us  have any symptoms yet), he was more worried about the added monthly grocery bill.

Let's face it. Both of us were brought up eating white jasmine rice.  As in every meal, there was never a time brown rice was even considered.  Back in Asia around circa 80's, brown rice tastes like crap. They were used as feeds for chickens. And they were associated with poverty. Who would believe that they cost half the price of white rice back then? Yes, you heard that right. And now they almost cost more than the best long grain white rice. Unbelievable!!  No one ever thought that they're actually more nutritious than the beautiful white rice.  Little did we know that as we mill the rice, we are stripping off its natural nutrients.

From what I've gathered, there is not much of a difference as to the number of calories and carbohydrates between brown and white rice.  The main difference lies in processing and nutritional content.  And that is the reason why I wanted the switch to prepare for our old age.

I have a strong family history for diabetes, and my husband has a strong family history for colorectal cancer and other intestinal diseases. I know to be able to beat these chronic diseases, we have to change our diet drastically. "Break it to me gently" doesn't work. So it has to be "do or die" to be successful.  Just like quitting cigarettes or coffee, right?

Processing Rice
When only the outermost layer (husk) is removed, brown rice is produced.  When the next layers (bran & germ) are removed, leaving mostly the starchy endosperm, the white rice is born.


Nutritional Content
Essential vitamins and dietary minerals are lost upon the removal and polishing process of white rice. Vitamins B1, B3, and iron were discarded.  Thus, enriched with vitamin B and iron fortified rice was produced since it was required by FDA. So we're still getting these with white rice, but the question is it enough?

The only mineral not added back is the amount of magnesium naturally occurring in brown rice. Imagine this: one cup (195 g) of cooked long grain brown rice contains 84 mg of magnesium, while one cup of white rice contains only 19 mg. Also, when the bran layer is removed, the oil in the bran is also removed. It's the bran oil that helps lower LDL Cholesterol. So why risk your health with white rice, when you can eat healthier?

Strictly Whole Grains

Week 2 Challenge is about eating more whole grain.  Honestly, I was quite dumbfounded when whole grain foods were talked about.  I didn't even realized that we were actually consuming it for the most part of our meals.  Not because we're not a big fan of brown rice and whole wheat or multi-grain breads, doesn't automatically mean we're not whole grains consumers.  Mostly we weren't just aware of what we were actually eating are products of whole grains.  But with Healthy Eats' January Challenge that we were up to, I researched a bit to be knowledgeable enough on the benefits of whole grains to our body.