From Buckwheat to Bulk Chocolate
By Robin Enberg
Elberon IA USA
From: NEW BEGINNINGS, Vol. 18 No. 1, January-February 2001, pp. 28
The La Leche League concept
about nutrition was first demonstrated to me by the snacks served at
the first Series Meeting I attended: juice, fruit, and some strange
muffins. They looked yummy, but tasted kind of-bitter. "Mmmm-buckwheat!"
someone commented. "Yuckwheat!" I thought.
From the moment I walked
into the living room at that first meeting, I felt welcome and right
at home. I nodded in agreement about the advantages of breastfeeding,
scribbled down notes about birth plans, and even won a loaf of zucchini
bread in the bingo game we played. I became a member right away and
was eager to be a part of La Leche League. I worried sometimes that
I might have to go to health food stores and change my way of life to
live up to LLL's nutritional "standards," but was relieved when my Leaders
assured me this was not the case.
Reading and owning WHOLE
FOODS FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY (Available from LLLI, No. 151-12, $16.95)
helped me make the switch to a more nutritious diet through a "gradually,
with love" approach. The cookbook encouraged me to gradually integrate
whole grains and other nutritious ingredients into my normal cooking
practices. My family barely noticed this slow change. However, the ingredients
weren't easy to find at our supermarket, and I was afraid to venture
into the "food co-op" which I regarded as a leftover from the 1960s.
At one planning meeting,
I got a real revelation. We ate chocolate chip cookie bars! And they
weren't even made with carob or whole wheat. What a relief!
One day, one of the Leaders
invited me to join a food-buying club that bought in bulk from a whole
foods warehouse. For some reason, this sounded less intimidating than
visiting the "health food co-op." I visited the buying club and made
many new friends. During the ordering meetings, I didn't feel like a
newcomer. Everyone asked and answered questions about different products
and shared recipes. Because the club bought full cases of items, sometimes
I'd buy just one jar or box from the case to try it out, so every delivery
was a surprise.
Cooking became more interesting,
and my kitchen slowly acquired more and more ingredients that I had
once considered unusual but now were a part of my daily life. My family
and I gradually adjusted to favor the quality foods that we were using.
When my sister visited and pointed out that some of the pastas and condiments
were only available through her "gourmet" catalog, my humble "health
foods" became even more appreciated. After all, gourmets" use top-quality
ingredients.
Between LLL's philosophy
about nutrition, the three Whole Foods cookbooks, and the helpful members
of my buying club, my family and I have grown to appreciate and rely
on the wholesome foods that are best for us. Now I even make pancakes
with buckwheat in them. I have one confession to make, though-our buying
club orders chocolate chips in 25-pound bags.
Healthier Chocolate
Chip Cookies
(to use up that bulk bag of chips)
1/3 C. canola oil or
other vegetable oil
2/3 C. maple crystals, sucanat, date powder or other natural sweetener
1/8 C. blackstrap molasses
1 beaten egg
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1/2 t. salt
1 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. wheat germ
3/4 C. pecans
1/2 C. oats
1/2 C. chocolate or carob chips
Add a little water if too dry
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together oil, sweetener and molasses. Add beaten egg, vanilla,
and salt. Add all the dry ingredients. Roll into balls and flatten
them out on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Makes
24 cookies.
These cookies freeze
well. They actually taste wonderful frozen.
Page last edited Sun Oct 14 09:30:42 UTC 2007.
