Together at the Table: Allergic to the Holidays

by Meredith Blanks Paterson

Holidays are fraught with emotion for everyone, and those emotions can be particularly heightened around the subject of food. Holiday celebrations revolve around food, and the preparation and eating of the food is a ritual sacred to many households. 

When you or a family member has food sensitivities, food allergies, and special dietary needs, the weight of those traditions suddenly becomes more apparent, and you fear doing anything to disturb them. I play the zero-sum game with myself each time. Which is worse, getting sick or calling attention to myself with my special food? Typing that question makes me sad, but I consider it at each social meal.

Gluten-Free Easily is hosting an
extravaganza of allergy-friendly holiday recipes
to help create new traditions.

If you have a child with food allergies, the holidays mean well-meaning relatives offering spoons to lick and handfuls of treats at all hours of the day. You worry that hyper-vigilance won't be enough, and that maybe staying home is always the best option.

Several online resources have helped me handle both the emotional side of social eating-- the fear, the shame, the anxiety-- and the practical how-tos of what to bring when I go out to eat or to a friend or family member's house. These resources have also helped me realize that there are so many things that I can eat instead of focusing only on what I have had to remove from my diet. They make me feel excited about food again.

If you need a place to start, this post from Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom really resonated with me and made me realize that making myself sick was not worth it.



Here are some resources that I have found helpful. Most cover multiple food allergies and sensitivities. Lots of great recipes and advice in each link.

Adventures of a Gluten-Free Mom
Elana's Pantry
M.A.G
The Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen
Gluten-Free Easily

What are your tips for handling the holidays on a special diet? Share with us any resources and recipes you have found.

Together at the Table: What's on Your Plate?

by Meredith Paterson
I wanted to write today about two OHMazing™, tenacious activists who were curious about something and set out to find answers. And they were only 11 years old.

Sadie and Safiyah, © Aubin Pictures

In the documentary What's on Your Plate?, produced and directed by Catherine Gund, Sadie and Safiyah, two friends in New York City, set out to get answers about where their food comes from and how it gets to their tables. They interview people from many different aspects of our food system. They go to grocery stores, fast food restaurants, and school cafeterias as well as to farmers' markets and farms-- all in a quest to determine how our food system works and why it has gotten to the point of our food being "trucked over 1,500 miles before we bite into it. And seeds are engineered to die out after one season in order to ensure corporate control of the food chain." (Catherine Gund)

This is a can't-miss film, an incredible opportunity to talk about food with your family and to look at the system together so that everyone can make educated choices about what they put in their mouths.

"Kids need to know the full benefits of local food: more energy-efficient production,
more prosperous farmers, healthier communities, longer lasting and better tasting
fruits and veggies. Kids need to know that their food doesn’t only come from the
supermarket or the factory, but from nearby farms, trees and the ground. Adults
need to be empowered to share this information with the next generation. . . .

These days, when I tell my kids to eat their veggies, I also have to tell them that I am
willing to fight for their opportunity to do so. This film represents a part of that
work. . . .

The film culminates with a delicious local meal cooked by the girls and
friends they have made along the way. Sadie and Safiyah formulate sophisticated
and compassionate opinions about urban sustainability, and by doing so inspire
hope and active engagement in others." (www.whatsonyourplateproject.org)

Filming at the Union Square Farmers Market
with eco-chef Bryant Terry © Aubin Pictures

The film's website has lots of resources for kids, parents, and educators including blogs, recipes, curriculum guides to go with the film and more.

A reader-submitted recipe to the website for a your What's on Your Plate? movie night.

Super Cauliflower-tastic 

Ingredients:

• 1 head of Cauliflower
• Water
• 2 Cloves of Garlic (more if, less if)
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt & Black or White Pepper to taste
• Crushed Red Pepper Flakes to taste

1. Trim cauliflower stalks and separate florets. In large stockpot, add cold water and 1-2 garlic cloves. Place cauliflower in large steamer basket and place into stockpot. Bring to boil, about 10 minutes.
2. When cooked, remove water and toss boiled garlic in with the cauliflower. Remove the strainer. Return pot to low heat and add olive oil. Mash all with potato masher.
3. If you don’t have a potato masher, use the back of a heavy spoon or fork.
4. Taste and add salt and experiment with the use of white or black pepper seasoning. Use crushed red pepper for garnish for to spice up the dish.
5. Serve warm - tastes great cold too!
*Adding your favorite fresh herbs bring a different taste thrill - try dill or oregano. Try a lemon squeeze over a bite-ful for a tasty zing...

Together at the Table: National Food Day

by Meredith Paterson

Monday, October 24, 2011 marks the first National Food Day! 
How do you plan to celebrate?
Keep reading for links to recipes and resources below.

All across the country, friends and families will cook and eat together; farmers' markets and local food organizations will host parades, parties, gardening demonstrations, cooking classes, and more-- all in the service of raising awareness about access to healthy, affordable, sustainable food. And sustainable food is food that supports the earth, the growers, the harvesters, and the consumers.
Find food day events near you and as well as nationwide events.

The old saying is true. We ARE what we eat. The food we consume becomes the energy our bodies use to think, move, create, and love. So we need to start with clean, healthy fuel for our bodies. In Yogiños: Yoga for Youth® classes, we often discuss the effects of the food choices we make and how important the food we eat is to the health of our bodies, our families, and our earth. Let's work together to make sure that everyone has access to healthy food that sustains the planet.

"Food Day's goal is nothing less than to transform the American diet—to inspire a broad movement involving people from every corner of our land who want healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way. In other words, we want America to eat real. We want to get Americans cooking real food for their families again. We want fewer people at drive-throughs and bigger crowds at farmers markets. We want to celebrate fresh fruits, vegetables, and healthy whole grains—and to support the local farms and farmers that produce them. We want all Americans—regardless of their age or income or geographic location—to be able to select healthy diets and avoid obesity, heart disease, and other diet-related conditions. "

The Food Day website offers curriculum and other resources for teachers to use in their classrooms as well as resources for throwing your own event and talking with your family about the importance of the Food Day goals.

Free Food Day recipes from chefs like Kate Sherwood, Mario Batali, Emeril Lagasse, Dan Barber, and Rick Bayless. Jaime Oliver 's Food Revolution is sponsoring Food Day events and posting recipes on its website.

Like Food Day on Facebook.

How will you celebrate Food Day? Comment below or let us know on Facebook.

Together at the Table: New Research on Eating Together

by Meredith Paterson

These Saturday Together at the Table blog posts are intended to start or sustain a family dialogue about food, cooking, and eating, and we'll be sharing recipes, food-related research, food events, and other fun food-related tidbits.

This week, I came across newly-published research about the benefits of eating together as a family. This research confirms that preparing and eating meals together nourishes us as people and families on so many levels. Mealtimes may be the only times carved out in our busy days where we actually get to focus on each other.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University found the following correlations between infrequent family dinners and alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse among teenagers:

"Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners (five to seven per week), those who have infrequent family dinners (fewer than three per week) are almost four times likelier to use tobacco; more than twice as likely to use alcohol; two-and-a-half times likelier to use marijuana; and almost four times likelier to say they expect to try drugs in the future, according to The Importance of Family Dinners VII, a new report from The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University (CASA Columbia).

The CASA Columbia family dinners report revealed that teens who have infrequent family dinners are likelier to say they have ready access to alcohol, prescription drugs (without a prescription in order to get high) or marijuana. Compared to teens who have frequent family dinners, those who have infrequent family dinners are more likely to be able to get alcohol, prescription drugs or marijuana in an hour or less. In contrast, teens who have frequent family dinners are more likely to report having no access to such drugs.”

And the benefits of eating together go way beyond reduced substance abuse. Eating together can help improve vocabulary, it is a predictor of academic success, and it is a predictor of overall health and well-being.

The Mommy Dietitian has a wonderful list outlining the many many reasons we should take time to eat together along with some great mealtime tips and recipes.

I love this article and photo essay from the New York Times about family dinners and the art in each family's traditions and rituals. It's not about being fancy-- who has the time for fancy?-- it's just about being together.

How do you carve out time for meals together?

Creating Connections: BreatheCure Conference

Today, I want to bring your attention to a exciting opportunity that is happening right here in Texas this month. The BreatheCure (BTC) Conference will be held at Rice University on October 29, 2011.

The BreatheCure Conference will feature presentations and workshops from yoga teachers, medical professionals from many different fields, health and wellness professionals, authors, and more. 

"The BreatheCure Conference curriculum was chosen specifically to serve as prevention and complementary treatment of cancer and other illnesses and to offer alternative wellness techniques to professionals and the general public as integrative medicine emerges into mainstream treatment protocols.

BTC Conference supports the illness-to-wellness community using a platform of educational lectures and classes for professionals and the general public to use as a means of enrichment. Our nonprofit Breathe the Cure is dedicated to teaching that proper breathing is a complementary treatment to disease and a tool to transform mindbody.

We believe that change comes from a healthy mind, body and planet and support deep breathing techniques and mindfulness as a healthy lifestyle and a tool that alleviates many symptoms of disease."

The 2011 BreatheCure Conference is a collaboration between Breathe the Cure® founder, yoga professional and legislative yoga advocate Jennifer Buergermeister from Jennyoga/CuraYoga and the Texas Yoga Conference, who partnered with Amy Garratt and Julie Byrd, co-founders and Yoga Studies Directors of Balance Your Body Yoga as well as BYB Pink Ribbon Recuperative Yoga.

Presentations include

Angela Caughlin: Journaling Through: Unleashing the Power of the Authentic Self
Alejandro Chaoul Ph D – MDACC Integrative Medicine: Current research in cancer
Michael Brant DeMaria PhD, Sounds True: In the Flow: Caring for the Caregiver Through Movement, Laughter, Music and Relaxation
Feather Jones, Herbalist: Tea for Healthy Lives
Anita Kruse: Purple Songs Can Fly Project
Laura Kupperman: Yoga for Survivors™
Marije Miller, Heartmath Solutions: Reduce Stress & Feel Better with HeartMath®
Melissa Smith: Thai and Fly Yoga – Playtime to Wellness
Roger & Albina Rippy, YogaOne: Breathe Into You: Healing the Literal and Symbolic Heart Through Movement and Breath.
Lisa Ware: Creating Wellness through the Art of Energy Healing and Reiki Therapy

and many more






The keynote speaker at the conference will be investigative journalist Barry Estabrook, author of Tomatoland. I have heard several interviews with Estabrook about his new book, and his stories about our food system viewed through the lens of the tomato are eye-opening and bewildering.

Registration for the 2011 BreatheCure Conference is $175.00 for the general public and $150.00 for students, teachers, and seniors. BTC is donating twenty percent of all proceeds from the conference to Pink Ribbons Project, a Houston-based nonprofit that saves lives and improves the quality of life for those touched by breast cancer.

2011 BTC Conference Sponsors include: Breathe the Cure, Texas Yoga Association, Texas Yoga Conference, Balance Your Body Yoga, Jennyoga/CuraYoga, YogaOne Studios, Wisdom & Co., New Living, Luke’s Locker, OneYoga USA, Pink Ribbon Recuperative Yoga Training, 002 Magazine, Kingwood Yoga and Wellness Center, Yoga 4 Kids, Expedition Balance, Origin. Magazine, JCC Houston, Yogiños: Yoga for Youth, Ligmincha Texas Institute, Yoganonymous, Luna Bar, Body Dynamics, The Motherhood Center, Ekam Yoga, Mind Body & Soul, Sedona Tea Blends, Pure Rain, PerfectMind Yoga, Your Body Center and Aerobifit.