Tater Skins

Day before yesterday I spent a big portion of my day turning 10 pounds of Russet potatoes into these twice baked potatoes that can be frozen.  I love having these in the freezer.  About once a week they end up being paired with a salad for a no-brainer supper around our house.

twice baked potatoes wrapped and ready for the freezer

Evidently, I put too much filling in the first potatoes because I ran out with 10 shells left to fill.  I didn't know what to do with the empty potato shells, but didn't want to be wasteful and throw them away, either.  Then it hit me - TATER SKINS!  Back in my college days I used to love getting tater skins from Max & Erma's restaurant.  So, I stuck my empty potato shells in a zip lock bag and put them in the fridge  to  await transformation.

These were super simple to make and used only 4 additional ingredients; shredded cheese, real bacon bits, sour cream and chives.  You could easily use crumbled bacon and green onions, but this is what I had on hand.

I laid the empty shells out on a cookie sheet,

filled them with a little shredded cheese and bacon bits (no measurements needed),

and popped them into a pre-heated 400 degree oven.  Twenty minutes later they were ready to be finished off.

I put a dollop of sour cream on each potato and topped with some chopped chives from my herb bed to finish them off.

Yummo! I think that the next time I make twice baked potatoes I may fill them a little too full on purpose so I'll have another excuse to make these super easy tater skins. :0)


I'm linking this post to These Chicks Cooked.

Fires-yikes!

(photo from abcnews.go.com)
I am watching with interest the story on ABC news about the Los Alamos fire. (Hopefully that link works, my player on my laptop wouldn't show the video, but maybe yours will)

Fires make me really nervous, Son #2 came close to "cashing in his chips" after a forest fire in our valley several years ago. It was 4th of July weekend about 10 years ago, and there was a forest fire that caused the smoke to blanket the valley. Fires are scarey because they can change direction quickly and the smoke can change direction as well.

Son #2 was outside playing with friends while the smoke slowly crept into the valley, and before we knew it, he was in trouble. Breathing treatments didn't work, and we quickly ended up in the Emergency Room, where things went from bad to worse. He continued to decline, and we found out later that they had the "crash cart"outside his room in case he quite breathing. And he came VERY close to that.

If you have asthma, stay indoors if there's a fire! Luckily, we have central air, so we can keep the windows closed up and stay safe (and keep breathing) inside. I know that fires draw people to the hillside, they are mesmerized by the flames and the excitement of all the people.
If you can stay away, do it! Fires can be unpredictible, even fire fighters have lost their lives when the wind or fire suddenly shifted.

And I noticed in the story on ABC news, that people at the emergency shelter where complaining about not being able to breath. How many of them have asthma? It's a scarey thought.
If you need to evacute, do it quickly! After Son #2's experience with the forest fire, I was a bit shell shocked. So when another fire occured a couple of years later, as soon as I smelled smoke, I packed up our duffle bags and headed out of town. We drove 5 hours away to visit grandma, and be able to breathe.

Don't take any chances, fires are deadly, and as all of you with asthma know, everything is magnified with asthma. What may be make a normal person "uncomfortable" can cause us to quit breathing.

And to all of the firefighters, THANK YOU! for putting your life on the line so we can keep breathing. Please be careful.

Lacto-Fermentation Giveaway!

Have you been hearing the buzz about the benefits of lacto-fermented food?  It seems as the Real Food Movement is gaining a foothold that I'm hearing about the benefits more and more.  I am baby stepping my way through learning skills in the kitchen that will improve my family's health and lacto-fermentation is one of the next steps I'm anxious to tackle.

Well, oh happy day, Amy at Homestead Revival is hosting a give away for a lacto-fermentation e-course.  This is a 6 month e-course done by Wardeh at GNOWFGLINS, who is the instructor extraordinaire on traditional food preparation.  If you click on Wardeh's link above you'll be able to watch a demo video to get a sampling of what this course will entail.  

If you'd like a chance to win this 6 month e-course on lacto-fermentation simply head on over to Homestead Revival to enter.

Cilantro Sauce

Yesterday, I told you that I would share how I made my cilantro sauce.  First of all, we planted cilantro a few years ago in the garden because it the key ingredient in my homemade salsa.  We've never had to plant it again because it comes back every year - everywhere.

Cilantro growing along my garden fence.

If we didn't love it so much it would be annoying.  But, we consider it a blessing.  The problem is that it will go to seed quickly if it's not continually harvested.  Last year I attempted to harvest it and then simply chop it in the food processor and freeze it.  The problem with that approach was that the cilantro seemed to lose it's flavor that way.

Then, I found this post and was inspired.  It reminds of the chimi churri I make with parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper.  I don't have exact measurements because it's all to taste.  Plus, I don't measure my cilantro.  I just harvest what is available and add the other ingredients until it tastes right to me.  This is roughly how it's made.

 Rinse cilantro and dry.

To a full processor I would roughly add 3 cloves of garlic.  You can add more or less depending on how well you like garlic.

Add cilantro to food processor.

Then add olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.  Once again, adjust the lime juice to your own preference.  I personally think that lime juice is an excellent compliment to cilantro, so I am pretty liberal with it.

Chop it all up and adjust flavorings to taste.

The next thing I did was to pour my sauce into ice cube trays and stuck them in the freezer until they were nice and frozen.  Then I popped them out and stored them in a gallon size freezer bag.

Preserving my cilantro this way not only keeps it from losing flavor, but it makes it super easy to use when needed.  And, let me just add here - THIS STUFF IS FANTASTIC!  I truly hope I am able to harvest enough cilantro this year to be able to put up enough to get me through the winter.  I find that I've used a bunch of it already.

I used it to make cilantro rice for my black bean freezer burritos. This rice would also be great paired with any type of Mexican dish.  I have also used two cubes with a pint of tomatoes and a bit of cornstarch used as a thickener to make pizza sauce.  I think it would be wonderful made into a variety of sauces for fish, chicken, potatoes or just about anything you can think of.

If you find yourself with a bunch of cilantro that you don't know what to do with, consider making this sauce with it.

Happy Tuesday!

Black Bean, Cilantro and Lime Freezer Burritos

Yay!  I have a camera again so I can take pictures and blog.  For some reason, without a photograph, I am at a loss for blog posts.  Hopefully I'll be able to become more regular in my blogging once again.  But, enough of that.  Let's talk food!

I recently came across some homemade freezer burritos from Tammy's Recipes.  My hubby likes to keep the frozen ones on hand (when I remember to buy them) that you can pick up in packages of six at about any grocery store.  They make a quick meal when life gets uber-busy.  These burritos tend to give me heart burn.  Plus, the last package I bought had a huge list of ingredients that I couldn't pronounce and am pretty certain that I couldn't walk into a store and buy.  In the interest of cutting as much processing out of our diet as possible I was pretty happy to come across Tammy's simple and inexpensive version.

Basically, it's just equal amounts of beans, brown rice and cheese, with a little (or a lot of) hot sauce for flavor.  The beauty of these burritos is that you can totally customize the flavors or ingredients (like beef or chicken) to accommodate your family's preferences.  You can also use gluten-free tortillas and make them G-free. You can click here to see Tammy's step-by-step tutorial.

When I made them the first time I made them with pinto beans just as in the original recipe.  However, added some spices like cumin, salt, paprika and chili powder for extra flavor.  These were really good and a big hit with my son who requested them several days a week for lunch.  I much prefer him eating these than the frozen dinners he usually prefers.  They were fairly easy to prepare - just pull the foil wrapped burritos from the freezer and stick in a 400 degree oven for about 35 - 40 minutes.  No need to thaw first.

I got to thinking about some different flavor combinations, though.  I had recently stocked up on some dry beans when they went on sale and thought that black beans would go famously with the cilantro that grows like crazy in our garden.  So, this weekend I set out to make another batch using black beans, cilantro and lime.

The first thing I did was soak a 1 pound bag of black beans over night and then cooked them.  Once they were done I drained them.  In the meantime I cooked some brown rice with a cilantro sauce I made and had frozen.  I'll share the recipe for that tomorrow.  This is how it came together.

Put the drained beans in a large bowl.  I found that 1 pound of black beans gave me 5 cups.

Add 5 cups of cilantro rice.

Next, I added hot sauce and lime juice to taste.  Next time I will add cumin as well.

Finally, add cheese.  Once again this is personal.  I used colby jack, but you can use whatever suits your fancy.  I used two bags because I like how the cheese gets all melty and holds everything together, but you could certainly cut that amount in half.

Stir it all together.

Now they're ready to be filled.  I used two packs of burrito sized flour tortillas, giving me 21 finished burritos.

Fold them up burrito style and wrap.  For this batch I opted to wrap the burritos in wax paper instead of aluminum foil in hopes that I could heat them in the microwave.  It worked like a charm - just nuke frozen burritos for about 2 minutes.  After wrapping individual burritos simply place into gallon sized freezer bags and stick into the freezer.  I can get about 6 in a bag.

The nice thing about these is that you can cook the beans and rice one day and then assemble them the next.  This makes a lot of burritos for a little bit of work.  Plus, they taste much better than the artificial ingredient laden, heart burn causing, store bought freezer burritos.

So, if you're like me and looking for some quick and healthier options to whip up in no time on a busy day or evening - give home made freezer burritos a try.

Update:  I sent these to work with my hubby for lunch yesterday and he liked them even better than the original version, which he liked very much. Score!

Happy Monday!

Portable Benadryl for allergies

(Google Images)
I've found some great things over the years for allergies and allergic reactions. When the kids were little, I would use the Benadryl Perfect Measure if they were having problems while we were traveling. This was especially helpful when Kitty was taking horseback riding lessons, and would have asthma attacks afterwards. We tried to get home as fast as we could to get her in the shower, but would usually end up using one of the pre-measured doses for her. They're better than carrying around a bottle and medication dispenser and dripping sticky medicine all over.

Son #2 carries the Benadryl Strips along with his Epi Pen, since he is allergic to tree nuts. In fact, we add that to his Self Medication Administration form at the beginning of every school year. I sign the form, along with his doctor, which makes it legal for him to carry it with him in school. The strips look like a little piece of turquoise tape, you just place it on your tongue and let it dissolve. It works fast and isn't messy.

I love the way technology and medicine evolve, it makes my life so much easier. If you or your kids have food allergies, you may want to consider carrying the strips or the perfect measure doses. It's one of those things that you may not need that often (if ever) but you will be glad you have it with you.

Allergies vs intolerance to foods

(Google Images)

I just read an article in the newspaper about food allergies, which many people with asthma have. About 1 in 13 people have food allergies. The problem is that many people confuse food allergies with food intolerance.

A true food allergy will involve a skin rash, wheezing, difficulty breathing, and tightness in the chest. People with a food intolerance, say to milk, will experience digestive problems and bloating.

Bloating and digestive problems won't cause anaphylactic shock, but a true food allergy will. If you have ever witnessed one (as I have with Son #1) it is extremely shocking. Not to mention the fact that it can kill you in a matter of minutes!

If you are confused about if a food you are eating is merely causing some annoying symptoms because you are intolerant, or that you are truly allergic, please contact an allergy doctor near you as soon as possible. Since true food allergies require you to avoid the food and carry an epi-pen with you at all times, it is good to know what you are allergic to.

It's also a good idea to tell everyone around you, so they will avoid making those foods if you are coming to dinner, or will at least serve you first before there is any cross-contamination with serving utensils.

Since Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts, and I am allergic to seafood, we are always inspecting food before we eat. In fact, we just went out for ice cream cones, and amazing number of ice cream flavors contain nuts! So I asked the employee if she would get a new, clean scoop and use it to scoop Son #2's choice of ice cream first before she helped the rest of us. She was a little wide-eyed and scared, but I knew Son #2 would be okay. She just had to serve him first, then she could scoop out other flavors without having to worry about any cross-contamination.

Knowledge is power-you can still eat out for dinner and at family parties, but know how to avoid your problem foods. Don't be afraid to ask questions about what is in a particular food dish, and let people know that you have a food allergy. You may need to be served first if the food you are allergic to is present. You can do all of this quietly and discreetly and still enjoy many family parties and nights out at dinner.

Now I'm craving an ice cream cone, I think I'll stop by on the way home from work. One chocolate peanut butter scoop in a sugar cone please!

Gone for a week

(Google Images)
Hello all you loyal readers! I will be taking a week off from blogging to relax and spend some time with my kids before I start a new job.

The search box on the blog is a great way to look up posts, I have over 100 on here so far talking about everything from hospitalizations of my kids, allergy shots, traveling with asthma, and on and on.

So, if you're looking for something specific, spend a little time looking through the older posts until I get back to the computer next week!

Laughing can cause an asthma attack!

www.waveatthebus.blogspot.com

Who is this guy on my blog? It's who I look at for a good laugh. But did you know that laughing (or any strong emotion) can cause an asthma attack.? Son #2 does a great belly laugh, but instantly will start coughing. Mind you, it's not the kind of asthma attack that needs an inhaler. But still, it can be a little scary.

There is a blog that I have been following called "Wave at the bus" , it's a really funny blog that shows the 170 different costumes that a dad would wear every day to wave at his high school aged son. On the first day of high school, his mom and dad ran out to wave at the bus, which of course embarassed their son. He told them to never do that again. Game on! Dad decided to wave at the bus EVERY day and to wear a different costume every day.

If you want a laugh, click on the blog, but if laughing is one of your triggers, watch the asthma!

Have fun!

Asthma books

It's always fun to find some kids books about asthma. There are several on the Environmental Protection Agency- EPA website

Dusty the Asthma Goldfish is great for kids, and is also available in Spanish. I also have Helping Your Child Gain Control Over Asthma (which is also available in Spanish.)

It's always hard trying to explain to kids why they have to be a little more careful around pets, the outdoors, foods, etc.

These are worth checking out if you have time. And if you know of any other good books for kids with asthma, let me know!

Special dogs protect kids from allergies

I just read an article in the newspaper from North Haven, Connecticut entitled "Special dogs protect kids from allergens." It was interesting, because some families are getting dogs that can sniff out allergens (such as peanuts) to try to protect their kids. The baseball player in this picture has to wait for his dog to inspect the field before he can play. One family has a daughter who has to carry wipes, Benadryl, an inhaler and an EpiPen for anaphylactic shock. She has had to go to the hospital several times because of reactions to peanuts.

Another woman was in a big box store and couldn't figure out why her dog wouldn't let her go down a non-food aisle. She thought something was wrong with the dog, but then saw a mouse trap with peanut butter on it.

These families want to have the dogs accepted everywhere, just like service dogs for people who are blind or who have seizures.

I have mixed emotions about this, because what about people who are allergic to the dogs? My kids are allergic to all animals (except Kitty can have a rat, but I am not buying one for her!) There was a student in Kitty's school who went into anaphylactic shock after someone brought their dog for show and tell.

So- what does everyone else think? Do we allow dogs everywhere to sniff out peanut allergies to prevent their owner from going into anaphylactic shock? But what if the dogs cause someone to have an asthma attack or anaphylactic shock?

Don't get me wrong-I inspect everything we eat at family parties and restaurants, because I am allergic to seafood and Son #2 is allergic to tree nuts. But I don't think I would get a allergy sniffing dog that could put other people with asthma at risk.

What a hard choice!

Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks; Not for Kids.

A few weeks ago I wrote a short series of blogs about sports drinks and energy drinks and their inappropriate and contraindicated use by children and adolescents.  Last week the American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Nutrition and Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness published their “Clinical Report – Sports Drinks and Energy Drinks for Children and Adolescents: Are They Appropriate?”  In today’s blog I am going to merely quote summary statements from that report.  The full text is available free on line and I encourage you to use the reference at the end to access, print and read the full text.  The details and references are stunning.

“Sports drinks and energy drinks are significantly different products, and the terms should not be used interchangeably.”

“Rigorous review and analysis of the literature reveal that caffeine and other stimulant substances contained in energy drinks have no place in the diet of children and adolescents. Furthermore, frequent or excessive intake of caloric sports drinks can substantially increase the risk for overweight or obesity in children and adolescents.”

“With children and adolescents, careful consideration is necessary when selecting a beverage to hydrate before, during, or after exercise and outside of physical activity to prevent excessive sugar and caloric intake that may encourage dental erosion, overweight, and obesity.”

“Children and adolescents should be taught to drink water routinely as an initial beverage of choice as long as daily dietary caloric and other nutrient (e.g., calcium, vitamins) needs are being met. Water is also generally the appropriate first choice for hydration before, during, and after most exercise regimens. Children should have free access to water, particularly during school hours.”

“Sports and energy drinks are not indicated for use during meals or snacks as a replacement for low-fat milk or water.”

“The actual caffeine content for many energy drinks is not easily identified on product packaging or via the Internet. The total amount of caffeine contained in some cans or bottles of energy drinks can exceed 500 mg (equivalent to 14 cans of common caffeinated soft drinks) and is clearly high enough to result in caffeine toxicity. …

Additional concerns regarding the use of caffeine in children include its effects on the developing neurologic and cardiovascular systems and the risk of physical dependence and addiction.  Because of the potentially harmful adverse effects and developmental effects of caffeine, dietary intake should be discouraged for all children.”

“For most children and adolescents, daily electrolyte requirements are met sufficiently by a healthy balanced diet; therefore, sports drinks offer little to no advantage over plain water. During or after participation in short training or competition sessions, athletes generally do not need supplemental electrolyte replacement.”

“Low-fat milk is a good option for use as a post-exercise protein-recovery drink.”

“In general, the use of amino acids in energy drinks in place of traditional dietary sources is not supported by the scientific literature and, therefore, is discouraged for children and adolescents.”

“Given the current epidemic of childhood overweight and obesity, we recommend the elimination of calorie containing beverages from a well-balanced diet, with the exception of low-fat or fat-free milk, because it contains calcium and vitamin D, which are particularly important for young people.”

I encourage you to read the full text of this informative report which is free and downloadable from:

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2011/05/25/peds.2011-0965

Have a great day and enjoy your next glass of clean, clear, cold water!

Types of peak flow meters

Peak flow meters are an easy way to check on your asthma. Click on the colored "peak flow meters" at the beginning of this sentence, and it will take you to the Amazon website.

It gives you a lot of different pictures of what peak flow meters look like. A peak flow meter is a simple hand held device that helps you see how air moves in and out of your lungs. There are different zones on a peak flow meter (red, yellow and green.)

Green means go! Your asthma is under control and you can do whatever you want. Yellow means you are having problems, you may be having an asthma attack or getting sick. You should do whatever your doctor has prescribed, which often means using your rescue or emergency inhaler. You can sometimes increase your maintenance medication if you are getting sick.

The red zone means get to the hospital-quick! Or you may need to call 911. Your doctor or nurse can set up your peak flow meter since the numbers are different for each person.

They also have electronic peak flow meters which work really well. It depends on what your insurance will cover, either an electronic version or simple hand held version.

They're great little devices, we have them in every back pack and purse because it's one of those things that can really help you know if you're in trouble or not. So, check them out and see which one is right for you.

Happy shopping!

"Just" an asthma attack

I helped out with the Fight For Air walk on Saturday with our state American Lung Association chapter. I had the chance to talk to a lot of people about their experiences with asthma.

One woman told me about being in the hospital with a loved one, and seeing someone else come in who "just" had an asthma attack. Except that she was on a ventilator (it's the machine that breathes for you and keeps you alive)

Does everyone know that "just" having an asthma attack can kill you? In the U.S. every day, there are about 11 people that die from "just" having an asthma attack. That's right, with all the medication and doctors and hospitals, people are still dying of asthma attacks.

Why is that? I'm not sure. There are about 40,000 people every day that have an asthma attack, about 5,000 people will need to go to the emergency room, about 1,000 people will be admitted to the hospital. And of course there are the 11 people every day that die.

PLEASE know the signs of an asthma attack
Don't wait until you are gasping for air or coughing so hard you can't use your inhaler. Many people wait too long to use their inhaler. If you are having any of the problems breathing listed in the link, use your inhaler! It can prevent a trip to the emergency room, and hopefully keep you alive.

Asthma is serious, treat it that way! It's completely changed my life, my goal is to help other people understand asthma, how to treat it, and avoid the pitfalls.

I tell people that my goal in life is to keep myself and my kids alive. They always laugh, but it's true. My kids have been in the hospital 12 times, and 2 of those were close calls. The nurses were just waiting for my son to "crash" or quit breathing. Asthma can kill. We have managed to avoid that so far, but if you Google "asthma deaths," you can find story after story of people who were found dead on the floor because they couldn't get their inhaler in time.

Please be careful and take asthma seriously!

Different types of spacers

(University of Southern Arizona Health Sciences Center)

There are a lot of different types of spacers. I listened to a pharmacist recently who gave a presentation on the Utah Department of Health's Telehealth Series. It was very interesting because he talked about why it is important to use an inhaler. If you don't, the medicine goes to the back of your throat because it comes out of the inhaler at 50 miles per hour.

Many people don't use spacers because they take up room in a briefcase, purse or backpack. Or they may not know how to use one and many doctors don't tell their patients they need one. Of course it's easier to just slip the inhaler in your pocket, but what's the point of using an inhaler if you aren't getting the medicine down into your lungs?

Another thing the pharmacist said was to make sure you wait several minutes between puffs on your inhaler. There is a reservoir in the bottom of the inhaler, and it needs to refill before it can discharge the medicine. So, once again you may be using your inhaler but you are not getting any medicine into your lungs. He said DO NOT do two quick puffs in a row. Because you will be getting half of the medicine you think you are getting.

I watched it a couple of times because it was so interesting, if you want to watch it, here's the link
http://www.utahtelehealth.net/education/asthma.html

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on May 3rd "In the World of Asthma Device Matters: by David Young, Pharm D

Types of "maintenance" or "controller" medication

I know this is something that is confusing to a lot of people, because there are so many different kinds of "maintenance" or "controller" medications. And this photo doesn't list all of the options (the Advair diskus shown in purple also comes in a inhaler version for example) and there are other medications that are used.

Just remember that controller or maintenance medication is something that you need to take every day, whether you feel like you need it or not. You can't feel inflammation (or swelling) in your lungs, but it can be there. So follow the doctor's orders and take it every day.
Some people just need maintenance medication in the fall and winter, some people need it year-round. So, ask your doctor what's right for you.

Here's a link to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology that lists inhaled corticosteroids. They have a list on their website with the generic name, photo, brand name, use, usual dosage and tips for each medication.
http://www.aaaai.org/patients/resources/medicationguide/inhaled_corticosteroids.stm

It helps to see what's out there, some times your doctor might want to try different medications to see what is best for you. Son #2 has been on 4 or 5 different medications, we finally found one that works.

Since each person with asthma is different, what works for one person may not work for another. I am fine on the Advair diskus, but Son #2 needs the Advair inhaler. There's a lot of experimenting to get the medications right. Just remember to follow your doctor's instructions.