Author: Keri Anne Johnson

Keri has been teaching English and ESL for the past twenty years. She loves learning about new places and perspectives. She is an ex-expat and a mother to a teenager and toddler. She is slowly readjusting to life in the Pacific Northwest after twenty years in Mexico.

3 Healthy Italian Dishes for the Low Carb Club

Italian dishes and tomatoes

Contrary to popular belief eating a low-carb diet doesn’t have to be bland and boring. You don’t need hours of prep time or specialty foods at gourmet prices. Eating a low-carb diet is easy. And to show you how easy I remade a few of my favorite recipes to create low-carb Italian dishes that you will love.

What is a Low Carb Diet?

A low-carb diet is a diet that looks to cut out carbohydrates like bread, tortillas, rice, potatoes, and pasta. People following a low-carb diet often look for ways to remake their favorite foods without heavy carbs. For example, enjoying a tasty burger, but instead of a bun, you wrap that burger in lettuce. Or a yummy spicy chicken burrito, but instead of a tortilla, you make it a burrito bowl. 

With a little creativity and a little know-how in the kitchen, you can make any meal a low-carb meal.

Benefits of a Low-Carb Diet

So why do people choose to eat a low-carb diet? Well, it is usually about losing weight and lowering blood sugar. Carbs are meant to power the body, but they turn to fat if we overeat and don’t burn them. The American diet is carb-heavy, and most of us, even those that go to the gym regularly, aren’t able to burn off all the excess carbs.

There are reasons to eat a low-carb diet besides just losing weight. Here are a few other benefits of a low-carb diet.

  • Fewer carbs and more protein will keep you full longer and reduce appetite.
  • Reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
  • Control blood sugar and insulin levels.
  • Lower triglycerides and lipid profiles.
  • Reduce skin flare-ups like acne and rosacea.
  • Increase your endurance.

These are great reasons to try a low-carb diet. The best way to get started on a low-carb diet is to choose a few recipes that you like and look for ways to make them into healthier low-carb versions.

Remaking Classic Italian Dishes 

Italian food is my favorite food. It’s delicious and is the ultimate comfort food. I have three low-carb Italian dishes that I remade into healthy low-carb versions of their traditional form. The first two are vegetarian, and the last one is a bit meatier. 

1. Low-Carb Italian Dish:  Cauliflower Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a pasta traditionally made from potatoes. It comes from Northern Italy, where potatoes are a staple, especially in the cold winter months. This version replaces heavy starch potatoes for cauliflower. These cauliflower gnocchi are pillowy and delicious. You won’t miss the potatoes, trust me.

cauliflower gnocchi on a board

Gnocchi

5 cups fresh or frozen cauliflower

⅔ c. of flour

1 tsp sea salt

Boil the cauliflower for 5-8 minutes. Drain and mix with the flour and salt in a food processor or blender. Knead into a dough, then separate into four parts. On a floured surface roll it out into long ropes and cut into gnocchi pieces, making them around an inch in size. Heat up a saute pan with olive oil and fry the gnocchi pieces until golden. Add your favorite sauce. You can use a simple red sauce or a pesto. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Or if vegan with nutritional yeast flakes.

a bowl of cauliflower gnocchi and red sauce

This is a simple low-carb dish. If you are pinched for time, you can buy frozen cauliflower gnocchi at the most supermarkets.

2. Low-Carb Italian Dish:  Grilled Eggplant Parmesan with Zoodles

grilled eggplant on a sheet pan
Eggplant is one of those vegetables that not many home chefs use. It’s a little intimidating and can sometimes taste bitter. The trick to taking the bitterness away is to cut the eggplant horizontally into round steaks. Lay them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle sea salt on both sides, and let them sweat for 20 minutes. Then, rinse the eggplant pieces, and they are ready to go.

Traditionally, eggplant parmesan is breaded, but we will skip the breading and just grill the eggplant to make this low-carb Italian dish. 

Eggplant Parmesan

1 large eggplant or two smaller ones

1 egg

12 oz. tub of Ricotta

½ c Parmesan

2 c. mozzarella

⅓ c. parsley

1 jar of your favorite red sauce

After rinsing the salt from the eggplant, pat them dry and place them on a cookie sheet with a bit of olive oil. Bake them in the oven for 10 minutes then flip them for another 10 minutes on 450 F. While they are baking, mix the ricotta, egg, and parsley in a bowl. Then in a 9×12 baking dish. Layer the eggplant pieces, the ricotta, mozzarella, and red sauce. Repeat the layers two more times. Bake covered at 400 F for 35 minutes. Then remove foil and bake for another ten minutes. 

Serve this on a plate of zoodles (zucchini noodles.) If you have a spiralizer, you can make your own or purchase some zoodles from the freezer section of your supermarket.

This deliciously cheesy eggplant parmesan is low on carbs but high on taste.

3. Low-Carb Italian Dish: Spaghetti Bolognese

To make this classic Italian dish, we need to replace the spaghetti with zoodles. The bolognese sauce is a meaty red sauce that often serves double duty in Italy. It works with spaghetti, rigatoni, and even lasagna.

red bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce

1pound ground turkey

3/4 c. of chopped celery

½ a white onion

¾ c. of chopped carrots

1 16 oz. can crushed tomatoes

2 teaspoons dried oregano

2 teaspoons dried basil

Sea salt to taste

To make the sauce, start by browning the onions, carrots, and celery in olive oil. Remove the veggies and brown the turkey in olive oil. Then add back the veggie mix with the addition of a can of crushed tomatoes. Simmer for twenty minutes, stirring occasionally. While it’s simmering, add a teaspoon of oregano and basil with a pinch of salt.

Serve over a bed of zoodles.

zucchini noodles

There you have it, three classic Italian dishes remade for the low-carb dieter. If you are new to the low-carb journey, it is easier than you think. You may need to get a little creative, but there are many ways to make low-carb delicious.

What’s your favorite low-carb dish?

Book Review: State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

This review forState of Wonder by Ann Patchett has a couple of spoilers

cover of book State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

I read the novel by Ann Patchett, State of Wonder, a few years back. I didn’t know anything about the book when I read it, a friend loaned it to me, and since I enjoyed Bel Canto, Patchett’s most well-known work, I decided to give it a read, and I’m glad I did. 

It is a fun read that takes place in South America’s steamy jungles. In a  place where discoveries can still be made. It also touches on a topic at the forefront of my mind at the time, fertility. But I am getting ahead of myself; let’s start from the beginning.

State of Wonder: The Plot

The story centers around a woman named Marina, who is a biochemical researcher for a sizeable pharmaceutical company. She is a rather uninteresting woman who does rather uninteresting work with cholesterol. She is neither a wife nor a mother and has centered her life around her career. In the first pages, she is thrust into an adventure in South America when her lab research partner and work-husband goes missing in the jungle where he has been doing research. She is sent to find out what happened and collect any research that he has left behind. 

Marina embarks on this journey and meets interesting characters along the way. Some could argue she finds herself through it all. It’s a storyboard template that was a pleasant summer read. The description of the jungle is so vivid it becomes its own character. Patchett’s story realistically describes the relentless heat, the supersized bugs, and the steamy breathlessness of the jungle. She is, obviously, a master of her craft.

As the novel progresses, Marina eventually finds her way to the remote location where her research partner went missing. She learns the details of what is being studied, and it is something that could change the world and the role of women in society.

The remote tribe has a secret where fertility can be extended. The female tribe members instinctively and ritualistic expose themselves to a natural component. It’s a thick bark at the base of a jungle tree, that allows them to continue fertility well into old age. 

While the book mostly focuses on Marina’s story and the fun descriptions of the cast of characters she meets and her fish out of water scenario as a city girl in the jungle, this fertility aspect caught my attention more than the bland protagonist. The book concludes with Marina finding a new sense of self and provides a firm conclusion that satisfies the reader.

Theme

But for me, the book raised questions about fertility that had been percolating in my mind. Questions that a 41-year-old woman might be considering as the door to her fertile years start to close. Questions, like, if we can continue having babies into old age, should we? 

I’m sure many women and older moms have focused on this question. The answer is different for everyone. But collectively, we are seeing the age of first-time moms going up, and it’s not as unusual as it once was to see older moms.

In the book, the component that can extend fertility is researched and sought after by scientists with dollars signs in their eyes, imagining bottling and selling this to a woman in the later stages of life. These desperate women thought they had missed their chance, a vulnerable group who would pay top dollar for this miracle drug. 

Patchett’s novel brought up many questions; Would this fertility extender be a great discovery? Would women buy it? What would be the ripple effect on society of a generation of older mothers, not just in their forties but in their fifties and sixties having babies? 

Reflections on My Own Fertility Journey

This wonderfully crafted novel gave me pause. It is harder being an older mother, and maybe that’s why nature doesn’t want us to have babies late in life. Nature knows that the mother instinctively does the child-rearing. Maybe that’s why men can impregnate well into their 70s because they don’t bear the weight literally and figuratively of the pregnancy and upbringing. 

Likewise, these themes that State of Wonder brought up resonated with me because I had my second child at 42 just a month shy of 43. I conceived naturally, but the toll it took on my body was much more than I expected. Being a mother is challenging, and being an older mother adds another layer of exhaustion. Of course, any mother would tell you it’s worth it.

In the end, I found the book a great read and a chance to explore the idea of fertility and parenthood.

Have you read it? What did you think?

Some Great Older Films to Watch in Quarantine

A big part of my job is talking to people. As a language teacher and communication coach, I talk a lot every day for hours at a time. And a common topic is film and TV. My students/clients enjoy sharing their favorite movies and series with me, and it is an excellent way for them to hone their language skills. 

Sometimes they will turn the tables and ask me what kinds of movies I like. I never know how to answer, except to say what I don’t watch, I don’t watch horror or sci-fi. I don’t like being scared. 

At the risk of sounding pretentious, I don’t want to sound pretentious, but I like movies that make me think. I like complex characters that I can somehow relate to, or my shadow self can relate too. A good film will stay with me long after I watched it. So here are a few that I liked, that I still think about. They are all older films but worth the time to find.

popcorn at the movies

Breaking the Waves   1996

This movie tells the story of a young Scottish woman who finds love, and then it all falls apart. The cinematography is stunning. Each chapter/section starts with a long still scene from nature that represents what’s to come. The story tells of the turbulence of love and sacrifice. It’s dark and lovely. It’s heartbreaking and complex. It’s strange. It’s Lars von Trier.

My Own Private Idaho   1991 / Drugstore Cowboy   1989

Oh, how I loved both of these films. I saw them when I was young, and I don’t think I understood the heaviness of the themes. But I did understand the characters and the way they moved through friendship, love, and self-preservation. Both films are by Gus Van Sant, who, do I even need to say it, is fantastic. Solid writing about the complexity of connection and amazing acting. I revisited both films as an adult and still enjoyed them. I finally understood things that I was too young to grasp the first time.

True Romance   1993/  Love and a .45   1994

I can trace my love of the idea of running away to Mexico from both of these films. Something I did when I was 26. They both are adventurous love stories with lots of action and a crazy set of characters. True Romance has a stoner Brad Pitt, and Love and a .45 has a voice box using Peter Fonda married to Ann Wedgeworth (you might remember her as sexy Lana from Three’s Company). At the end of both films, the main characters, Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette, and Renee Zellweger and Gil Bellows, run away to Mexico. And, one can only assume they live happily ever after. This idea so appealed to me, runaway someplace exotic and be, well, be happy.

We never see the reality of living in Mexico. I moved to Mexico in the summer of 2001 and moved back to the states in the summer of 2020. I didn’t get my happily ever after in Mexico, but I think I got something better.

Broken Flowers   2005

This film is about a man that revisits his ex-girlfriends from years past to find out who he was and who he has become. It’s a film that made me ask a lot of questions and analyze the same things in myself. 

Can our past help us understand how we became who we are? Are we making the same relationship mistakes over and over? Are we learning about how to find a balance between selfishness and selflessness in a relationship? Is one better than the other? What would my ex-boyfriends say about me and who I am now? 

I have zero answers, and I don’t think the main character finds the answers either, but it’s an interesting film, and well, Bill Murray. I love it when comedians can do dramatic roles. Like, Adam Sandler in Punch Drunk Love or Jim Carrey in Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, another great film about love and relationships, breakups, and the eternal question; is it better to have loved and lost or never to have loved at all.

The Squid and the Whale   2005

The film is a story about divorce and our complex relationships with our parents. It explores family dynamics. The oldest son, played by Jesse Eisenberg, is at an age when he starts to understand that his parents are also people with dreams, disappointments, jealousy, and resentments. We can all relate to the time when we first understand that our parents are humans, real, imperfect people. The dad, played by Jeff Daniels, is a delicious character, a narcissist in every sense. It’s a great film well written with complex characters. Noah Baumbeck is the writer and director, he has several thoughtful films about relationships.

Darjeeling Limited   2007

The film is set in India, and the amazing Wes Anderson beautifully interprets the colors and countryside. The story follows three brothers, played by Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody, and Jason Shwartzman, on a train trip in India to reconnect after their father’s death. We learn about the brothers along the way. Their dynamic in the family, the familial roles they have always played, and how they have tried to leave them behind. It’s a beautiful film that portrays family dysfunction and how it shapes us. It is one of my favorite Wes Anderson films. The soundtrack is good too.

Geoge Harrison. Living in the Material World   2011

I included a documentary. I love documentaries. I watch a lot of them. Some are better than others. This one is so well put together and so inspiring I wanted to include it. It is long, like four hours long but great for a rainy Saturday afternoon while sipping hot tea. It focuses on the lesser-known Beatle, George Harrison, his life, his passions, and his character. He was an interesting, complex man. The film is directed by Martin Scorsese, which is probably why it is so long. He follows the life of this incredibly creative man who was a musical icon.

I grew up listening to the Beatles; my father is a huge Beatles fan. I know all the songs and have watched interviews and read oh so many articles, but this guy, while I was aware of him, I didn’t know anything about him. The film is a delight to watch. He was a creative and prolific musician, more than just the “quiet one,” as he was often referred to.

So that’s my list. I know its outdated, but all these films are worth the time to find them and watch them. I’d love to hear your thoughts on them. What old films have stuck with you?

 

Chile Rellenos: A New Twist on a Mexican Classic

What are Chile Rellenos?

Chile Rellenos are a classic Mexican dish. They are traditionally made from roasted Poblano peppers and can be filled with meat, vegetables, or cheese. These stuffed peppers are then covered in egg wash and deep-fried to greasy perfection. Poblano peppers are the star of this dish. They look like a large, wrinkly cousin to the jalapeno pepper.  Famous in the state of Puebla, where they come from, nowadays you can find them anywhere. They are not considered a spicy pepper, but you should still remove the seeds before cooking.

The Most Well Known Chile Relleno

chili en nogada

Chiles rellenos are considered a staple in Mexican cooking.  There are many different variations depending on where you are in Mexico, and the size of your pocketbook usually determines the filling.

The most famous version is chiles en nogada: a Poblano pepper filled with minced meat and covered in a white walnut sauce topped with sprinkled parsley and pomegranate seeds. It’s a patriotic dish associated with Mexican culture and Independence Day.

The legend is this dish was created by nuns in Puebla to celebrate a battle in the war for independence from Spain in 1810. The white of the sauce, the green of the parsley, and the deep red of the pomegranate seeds resembled the Mexican flag; thus, it is now seen as a patriotic dish and seen on menus in August and September to coincide with the Mexican Independence holiday, which falls on September 15 at midnight. At midnight on this night, locals gather in the city center to hear la grita, which is the shout of Viva Mexico, followed by Viva and names of various figures from the war.

At other times of the year, you can find a variety of chile rellenos made to your taste. They can be meat-filled, vegetarian, or even vegan.  Vegan and vegetarian chile rellenos are not traditional, but there seems to be a movement of the younger generation and the international community to remake traditional Mexican dishes in a healthier way.

Why I Learned How to Make Them

I learned how to make chiles rellenos a couple of years ago. I always thought it would be too difficult and time-consuming. So I hadn’t bothered learning and would usually get them as take-out food from a restaurant a few blocks from my house.

This little restaurant has many different local Mexican dishes, and they are all on display behind a glass sneeze guard. You choose the dishes you want, and they package them up for you to take home to enjoy. The menu changes daily, but a few staples, like chile rellenos, are always available. The place is always packed with locals and foreigners, and in Mexico, the general rule is only to eat in places filled with people. Maybe that’s a rule everywhere. I don’t know. But in Mexico, if a restaurant doesn’t have many people, they usually reuse food and won’t have the freshest dishes, which can lead to food poisoning, which is a real concern here.

The last day I ate there, I brought some chile rellenos home. I was eight months pregnant and didn’t feel like cooking. As I was sitting at the table, enjoying them with my family, my partner found a fingernail in his chile. And it wasn’t just a little fingernail but a gnarly thick yellow toenail. Needless to say,  we stopped eating there and eating chile rellenos for a while. Then, after the yuck factor passed, which took maybe a year, we had a craving and decided to learn how to make them at home.

My Healthy Version

I wanted to make a healthy version that would taste good and not take all day to make. I experimented with a few ideas and tried different veggies/meat/cheese combination finally found one that I think this is the best version.

This one is filled with tuna, peas, potatoes, carrots, red onion, and manchego cheese. The sauce is a mushroom cream sauce. Although a walnut sauce is delicious, it can sometimes be hard to find walnuts in my small town, so I made a creamy mushroom sauce that I can use on pasta as well, which is a win-win.

Now, the first and most crucial step in making them is to roast the peppers. You can do it on the stovetop flame, and once they are blackened, put them in boiled water with a pinch of sugar. This will cut any heat. Poblano peppers usually aren’t hot, but as my Mexican partner says, son enganosos, meaning they are deceptive, so they may look mild, but sometimes they can be hot.

After they are in the sugar water for about ten minutes, take them out, and the skin will easily fall off. Then, put aside to cool.

Now, it’s time to make the filling. I usually use about two cans of tuna (packaged in water) for three peppers. Mix the canned tuna and peas together. Grate the cheese. Add finely chopped red onion and chop the boiled carrots and potato into cubes. The filling doesn’t have to be exact. This time, I used two carrots, one large potato, and a small handful of peas. And a big man handful of grated cheese. But feel free to experiment. If you don’t like any of these veggies, you can use shredded zucchini or minced mushrooms, which would work, too. If you are a vegetarian, you could use wild rice instead of tuna. The possibilities are endless.

Pepper Assembly

Now you are ready to fill these guys. It helps to have toothpicks to keep them together. At this point, if you want to fry them, you can do a flour dredge and egg wash and fry in about an inch of oil, but I don’t do that. Obviously, they will probably taste better; everything deep-fried is delicious, but they won’t be good for your diet. And, well, the whole point is to make them healthy.

As for the sauce, it’s a reasonably simple mushroom cream sauce. I use Mexican crema, which is sort of like a watery sour cream as a base. First, saute the mushrooms and garlic, add a pinch of salt and black pepper. After it cools, toss in the blender with the cream. Simple.

I’ve also seen some places make a red sauce, almost like an enchilada sauce, but that is usually for minced meat chile rellenos.

So there you have my take on a classic Mexican dish.

100% approved by my 100% Mexican partner.

My next project is to make healthy empanadas, which may just be an oxymoron.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Do You Co-Sleep? I Do And Here’s Why

sleeping baby

There are many different ways to get babies and toddlers to go to sleep. Some parents believe in the cry it out method, and others co-sleep. There are pros and cons to co-sleeping, but I think the pros outweigh the cons of co-sleeping. 

I have co-slept with both of my children. I know it is a controversial topic for some parents. For some people, it is a choice, and for others, it is a necessity. 

What is co-sleeping

Co-sleeping is when parents, sleep in the same bed as their little ones. Some families put the baby/toddler directly in the bed, and others have a sort of half bed that is right next to the bed. If you breastfeed, it is a common way to sleep because it allows you to easily feed your baby without getting up multiple times a night. You just roll over and pop a boob out and voila, dinner is served. 

Pros of Co-Sleeping 

There are many positive aspects of co-sleeping. I breastfed both of my daughters, and the ease of feeding without getting up for the umpteenth time was well worth it. I could sleep a bit more, making my quality of life a bit better in those early days where feeding happens every two hours.

Also, there is something to be said about bonding with your baby, and there is no arguing that skin on skin contact is essential. And, if you are a worrier, like me, and like many moms, it makes it easy to check and see if the baby is breathing. I know that sounds morbid, but babies are fragile, and I found myself checking to see if my babies were breathing many times throughout the night. I was scared of SIDS, and I thought that’s not going to happen on my watch. However, there are conflicting ideas about whether cosleeping contributes to SIDS or helps prevent it. You can read different arguments here and here.

The Cons of Co-Sleeping

Of course, there are negatives too. Co-sleeping can be dangerous due to the proximity of the baby in bed between two full-grown adults. The covers could accidentally cover their face, or if one parent is a heavy sleeper, they could potentially rollover on the infant. 

Likewise, if the parents drink alcohol or are smokers, it can be dangerous for the baby to be in bed. I know a very sad story involving a young mother from my hometown who drank too much and accidentally smothered her infant son of 18 months. This tragic event happened many years before I became a mother, and it was definitely on my mind when I was co-sleeping with my babies. But I believe as long as you are aware of the dangers and take precautions, you can create a safe environment for co-sleeping.

Lastly, there is the idea of the, ahem, marital bed. At some point, you may want to get frisky again with your partner. I will be the first to admit that yes, having a toddler between you can put a damper on the intimacy and sexy time between you and your partner, but you have to be creative. My partner and I are lucky, we both have open schedules so we can find time during the day when our little one is at preschool or when she goes down for a nap or to bed. We can make use of the couch, kitchen counter, patio, bathroom, laundry room, entryway, office, uh…you get the idea.

What the Experts Say

According to some experts, co-sleeping is dangerous and should be avoided at all costs. The American Academy of Pediatrics states that parents should not bed share but that they should room share. The Center for Disease Control and Preventions says that each year 3,500 babies die of sleep-related causes. While I do not claim to know more than these organizations, I believe if a parent is aware of the dangers and takes appropriate precautions, they can reap co-sleeping benefits while avoiding the risks.

My Own Experience

I co-slept with both of my babies. The first was out of necessity. It was just the two of us, and we lived in a small apartment. I remember that time fondly. We would cuddle up at night and when she was old enough to talk, she would tell me about her day, and we would tell each other stories then drift off to sleep. It was an important bond that we had. She slept with me until she was seven years old. She is now 15, and in case you were wondering, she is quite well adjusted. My second child, who is currently two and a half, still sleeps with me, and she probably will for a while.

Mamas You Do You

In the end, it’s up to you whether you co-sleep or not. As a parent, you get to decide what works for you. My suggestion is to research all of the information and speak to your pediatrician so you can make an informed decision. Like all things parenting, make up your own mind. 

 

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