June 17th...

Whole Foods:

So I have been very aware of my nutrition and Luna's nutrition since I have been home. I really want to make sure that we are both getting the recommended daily amounts of fruits, vegetables, dairy, meats and grain. And since Luna will be getting mainly table foods soon, I would really like to just take whatever Bas and I are eating and put it in the blender for her. So, I have been looking carefully at nutrition and the rules on when babies can eat what, etc. I also want to make sure that Bas and I are eating fish at least 3 times a week. Luna won't be able to do that for a while, especially since my favorite fish are shellfish, but we'll find an easy alternate for her on those nights.

I think the biggest impact you can have on your diet is to eat "whole foods" and that means the least processing possible. Reduce preservatives and chemicals by just buying the original ingredient yourself. That means, actually quite simple and easy to prepare meals in most cases. Instead of canned this, and jarred foods that- combined with boxed concoctions - we buy steak or fish and eat it with a steamed vegetable. For lunch I have sliced fruit, and eggs and some nuts. As far as I am concerned the grill is the best invention ever. Now don't get me wrong, every now and then I make lasagna or a frozen pizza - but now that I'm home I'm finding it easier than ever to eat really well, and I'm really happy about it!

So anyway - this brings me to my point!! I found a GREAT website, which not only provides detailed nutritional value on foods, but it also has a list of the most nutritional foods (129 of them). And in it's description of each food, it also even lists the best compliments for that food item. It also has the best ways to prepare each food: boiling, broiling, baking, frying, steaming, etc. SO I was eating a filet tonight for dinner - and with all of the flack that beef gets lately I wanted to see what it had to say. Turns out that filets are part of the tenderloin, which is fairly lean, and so actually very good for you. But it even recommends what vegetables to serve with beef to get the maximum impact of it's nutrients! Check it out...

here's the article on beef:
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=141

and here's the list of the top 129 foods:
http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Dutch Team:

for anybody who didn't know the Dutch team is doing very well in the European play-offs this year, so to help support their spirit (and at Bas's request) I am adding a widget of Luna showing her support:


And on a lighter note:
I caught an inch worm out on the back porch last night when I was grilling my dinner. Pretty cool little animal.