How Do I Eat?

Here is a lovely article by one of my favorites... Mark Bittman. He answers the seemingly impossible question, How Should I Eat?

Image courtesy of the NY Times 

When Diet Meets Delicious

(Original Source)

The “How do I eat?” thing has become increasingly combative and confusing. Do you give up carbs, or fat, or both? Do you go vegan or paleo? 

No. You eat like a Greek, or like a Greek used to eat: a piece of fish with a lentil salad, some greens and a glass of wine. It’s not onerous. In fact, it’s delicious. 

The value of this kind of diet (“diet” in the original, Latin sense of the word “diaeta,” a way of living) has once again been confirmed in a study from Spain involving thousands of participants and published in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. So compelling were the results that the research was halted early because it was believed that the control group was being unfairly deprived of its benefits. 

Let’s cut to the chase: The diet that seems so valuable is our old friend the “Mediterranean” diet (not that many Mediterraneans actually eat this way). It’s as straightforward as it is un-American: low in red meat, low in sugar and hyperprocessed carbs, low in junk. High in just about everything else — healthful fat (especially olive oil), vegetables, fruits, legumes and what the people who designed the diet determined to be beneficial, or at least less-harmful, animal products; in this case fish, eggs and low-fat dairy. 

This is real food, delicious food, mostly easy-to-make food. You can eat this way without guilt and be happy and healthy. Unless you’re committed to a diet big on junk and red meat, or you don’t like to cook, there is little downside. 

On Monday I spoke by phone with Dr. Walter Willett, chairman of the nutrition department at the Harvard School of Public Health, who has been studying the Mediterranean diet for as long as I’ve been writing about food. His take was simple: “We have so many types of evidence that this kind of eating works, but the weight of evidence is important, and this adds a big stone to that weight.” 

As encouraging as the study is, it’s far from perfect, and it would be hyperbolic — ridiculous — to say that it represents The Answer. 

For one thing, the control group was supposedly on a low-fat diet, but didn’t necessarily stick to it; in fact, it wasn’t a low-fat diet at all. And the study did not show reversal of heart disease, as was widely reported; as far as I can tell, it basically showed a decrease in the rate of some cardiovascular diseases in people at risk as compared with people at risk who ate the typically lousy contemporary diet. 

In short, as Dr. Dean Ornish said to me, “It’s clearly better than a horrible diet, which is what most people eat.” Dr. Ornish, who has devised a low-fat diet that has been demonstrated to reverse heart disease, said that “the most responsible conclusion from this study would be, ‘We found a significant reduction in stroke in those consuming a Mediterranean diet high in omega-3 fatty acids, when compared to those who were not making significant changes in their diet.’ ” 

Exactly. And that’s good news, because it might encourage some of the majority of people who are not making significant changes in their diet. Most Americans eat so badly that even a modest change in the direction of this diet is likely to be of benefit. That was the revelation of the Mediterranean style of eating when it came to public notice a generation ago. (Next year is the 20th anniversary of the publication of Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s “Mediterranean Diet Cookbook.”) 

Since we’re being all Med, I could say nihil novi sub sole — there’s nothing new under the sun — but it’s not exactly true. What’s new is all the junk that has been injected into our foods and our diet since the end of World War II. What’s not new is that eating real food is good for you. 

You could say that the Mediterranean diet prohibits nothing that was recognized as food by your great-grandmother. Whole, minimally processed foods of almost any type can be included in a sound diet. Period.

(Original Source) 

Sounds good to me!! 

Getting Back to Cooking

My nights in the kitchen have been seriously sporadic as of late. I'm finding it really hard to get everything done and still have the desire to shop and cook. But I snuck a quick meal in the other night and it was soooo good!

sorry for the not so creative picture...the camera on my phone is
so much more convenient 

Scallops are tricky sometimes because you can overcook them very easily. It is the type of thing that you actually have to pay attention to. But overall this was a quick and tasty dish that I highly recommend you try. Let me preface this by saying I usually do not opt for rice (I'm a pasta girl) but I wanted to try jasmine rice for the first time.... and I'm hooked. I don't know why I've never had it before.

• scallops (6 per person)
• scallop seasoning: paprika, Jamaican curry, cayenne pepper, garlic powder
• jasmine rice (1 c. per 2 people) 
• snow peas
• cilantro
• scallions
• garlic
• ginger
• shredded coconut
• olive oil

1. Soak the rice for 20 minutes in room temp water
2. Coat both sides of each scallop in it's seasonings
3. Saute the garlic, ginger, & scallions in olive oil, put aside to mix with rice
4. In same pan, saute snow peas for a few minutes
5. Drain rice and add new water (1 1/2 c. per c. of rice), bring to boil, stir, cover, let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Cook scallops in same pan used for snow peas. Add more olive oil if necessary (should lightly cover entire pan). Cook 4 minutes per side.
7. Mix garlic, ginger, scallions, and coconut into rice. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.
8. Done & done!

This whole meal should take about 30 minutes, and it was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! The sweet rice goes really well with the spicy scallops.

Enjoy!

Corn & Crab Chowder

not a very appetizing picture, but I assure you it was FANTASTIC!

This might be my favorite new recipe that I've ever made... ever! The recipe I found online was super complicated, which I can't stand. So I seriously simplified it for you guys. I made this for the Superbowl, and it was a pretty big hit. But this is one of those things that you can make for just about anything, and I plan on making it way more than once and a while.

• 3 cans organic sweet corn
• 1 lg sweet onion, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 small red potatoes, chopped into small cubes
• 1 box organic chicken stock
• 1/3 box organic vegetable stock
• 2 containers crab claw meat
• 1/4 stick butter
• olive oil, a few splashes
• salt, pepper, ground cloves, seafood seasoning to taste
• 2 c. half & half

1. Heat olive oil and butter in pot on med/low heat. Chop onions & saute in butter/oil mixture. Add in garlic after onions are soft. 
2. Add in 1 can of corn and chopped potatoes. 
3. Take other 2 cans of corn (including water) and blend in blender/vitamix until it is a creamy consistency.
4. Add in corn and chicken stock. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Stir every few minutes.
5. Turn heat to low.
6. Add in seasonings a little at a time, stir, and taste, adding until desired taste. (Go easy on the cloves at first...they are a very strong flavor.)
7. Add in crab meat and half and half to desired creaminess!

If you are making it for a party, you might want to set some aside for yourself as leftovers (we did). It goes fast with seafood lovers! 

Enjoy!

Summer Shrimp

Thought you guys might like this shrimp recipe by Mark Bittman. It's quick, healthy, and requires simple ingredients that you probably have in your house already. Try it this week!

GOAL: Live to 110 years of age

Cutest centenarian ever!
(Source) 

I just finished a book called The Blue Zone that talks about the four areas around the globe where there are the highest percentage of centenarians (people who live to 100 years of age). The four areas are Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; the Nicoya Pininsula, Costa Rica; and the Seventh Day Adventists in Loma Linda, Southern California. This book interviewed many centenarians and their families over the course of several years to figure out what were the characteristics that set them up for a long, healthy life.

I am interested in this because of a couple of reasons. Just recently I realized that I want to live to be a centenarian. I wondered how does one do that? Also, even if I don't end up living that long, I want to have the best possible quality of life for as long as I can.

This book touches on both of those topics.

In a nutshell, here are the principles that people in these Blue Zones lived by:

• Surround yourself with family and friends. Almost all of the centenarians interviewed lived with their children and grandchildren and also had a consistent social obligations from playing cards with friends, to morning group exercises, to going to church. Each area had different customs, but all of the four areas were consistent in that they all put a great deal of emphasis on being with other people everyday. 
• Don't let stress get the better of you. Maybe it comes with age, maybe these people were born with a stress-free attitude, or maybe it is part of their cultures. One thing is for sure, the centenarians had a very care-free way about them. They also had downtime, either everyday or every week. It was built into their lives. Costa Ricans would rest everyday in the late afternoon. The Seventh Day Adventists would have a day of rest every weekend. No work, no homework, just family and fun activities.
• Be active every day. The stories of the centenarians in this book tells of them chopping wood into their late 90's, riding bicycles, walking for miles everyday, gardening into their 100's, sitting on the floor cross legged and getting up and down with ease and grace. (How many elderly people do you know that can do that?) 
• Eat unprocessed foods. All of the four cultures ate completely differently. But they ate real food, food that was culturally theirs. They didn't eat fast food. They made just about everything. The centenarians in Costa Rica ate eggs, coffee, tropical fruits, corn and beans. In Okinawa they ate fish, rice, seaweeds, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. In Sardinia, the people ate a diet of whole grain breads, beans, garden vegetables, fruits, and goat's milk. The individual foods were different, but the principles were the same- whole foods cooked at home.
• Spend time in the sun. When the sun touches our skin it starts a chain reaction in our body that ends up producing Vitamin D. Vitamin D is not actually a vitamin but a hormone that controls the absorption of all other vitamins and minerals as well as the function of our immune system. These centenarians all lived in temperate to tropical climates that allowed them to get outdoors and get Vitamin D for a large majority of the year. Since they were accustomed to working outdoors (farming, shepherding, relaxing) their entire lives, they were inadvertently making plenty of Vitamin D. 

This book really struck a cord with me. It's so SIMPLE!!!  How did we stray so far from what seems to create a happy and healthy life? I feel like I have been getting back to basics as of late. I feel the need more so now than ever to be happy and healthy. I have been thinking recently that health is about much more than the food you eat. It's the whole picture. 

"People talk about curing cancer and heart disease, and of course it is an important and worthy goal that can happen soon enough. But there are simple things everyone could be doing right now that would save so much money and suffering- like drinking enough water everyday, exercise, and eating healthy food. But hey, " Wareham said, suddenly catching himself in is fervor, "everybody has his own idea about these things- it's their lives, after all. You can tell somebody what to do, but it's up to them whether they do it. But you can tell them how good you feel."

~quote from The Blue Zone 

OMG I want to eat LIVER!

Well, I've gone and done it again. Just when I think I know enough to make informed decisions about what I am eating I learn something new that totally blows my mind and makes me rethink what I have been doing.

New year's night I ate dinner at my Aunt's house and liver and onions came up in conversation. We aren't weirdos...my grandmother used to eat it all the time. As soon as I heard that my face scrunched up and I got that feeling like "I could never eat organs!" Hahaha like it's any different than eating muscle (which is what meat is).

Anywho, I was just listening to a lecture by Sally Fallon of the Weston A Price Foundation on "what a healthy diet is". In a nutshell, Weston Price (who was a dentist) saw his patients coming in with awful teeth. He knew that diet had something to do with it so he set out to study a bunch of isolated "primitive" cultures around the world. They are referred to as primitive because they have no interaction with the "civilized world". His goal was to examine their teeth, their overall health, and the foods that they ate.

He went to each culture and did just that. He examined everyone from the elders down to the infants and found, to his astonishment, that the majority (99%) had perfect teeth and were generally of good health. Their babies were healthy, the old people were healthy. Then he recorded their diets. He set out thinking that their diets would be vegetarian. On the contrary they ate everything from raw milk to organ meats to fish heads (yum!).

What these "primitive" cultures ate depended on what they had available. There was a group of people in Switzerland that ate mainly raw milk products and a dense sour dough bread.

You ask...how is that possible? I thought carbs and dairy were bad?

Well the bread and cheese those people ate were completely different than the bread and cheese that we eat today. They did not pasteurize their milk which kills everything beneficial that raw milk has to offer, and the bread that they made was made in such a way that is easily digestible.

 There were a lot of similarities between how these "primitive" people ate but here are the few that intrigued me the most:

• they ate what was available to them (whether it was dairy, or bugs, or fish, or grains) 
• they ate entire animals/fish
• they ate the fattiest parts of the animals

How does this relate to liver and onions? Well until just recently it was common to use most parts of an animal. Two generations ago, people ate liver. And this is in New Jersey, not some isolated valley in Switzerland.

liver & onions courtesy of The Food Network

Since then, the no-fat/low-fat health claims have twisted us into thinking that we are healthier without all the fat. But these isolated "primitive" cultures around the world have proven otherwise. These cultures have been eating traditionally for hundreds if not thousands of years (depending) because it has allowed them to thrive and survive in their particular surroundings. They do not need doctors and scientists to tell them what nutrients are in what. They ate liver not knowing it is very high in Vitamin A & D. They did not explicitly know that Vitamins A & D are fat soluable (which means they need fat present to be absorbed). The liver is a fatty organ. They did not explicitly know that Vitamins A & D are important in that they allow all of the rest of the vitamins and minerals to be absorbed and utilized properly, as well as play a huge role in the proper functioning of hormones. Their animals were raised on a pasture, which in turn produces meat that is high in Vitamin D.

They weren't screwed up about what they should eat. 


Why do we (Americans) think we know it all? Why in a relatively short period of time have we screwed it all up? Who do we think we are?

After listening to this lecture, I got the uncontrollable urge to try liver. I heard horror stories from my mom and aunt about liver and onions, but I have a feeling that if I use enough butter and make a pate it will be delicious. I mean if the French can eat it (and a lot of it) why can't I?

Coming Soon...liver pate... are you yay or nay?

*By the way... if you were like me and against liver (or other meat) you can take a cod liver oil supplement, but not without butter!!! Butter makes everything better.

Christmas Dinner: Part Duex

On to the main course...fish or duck? That is the question. I initially thought duck would go best with this meal, however went against my gut and made fish because it would be lighter... it wasn't a huge mistake, but I really just think that duck or something like roast pork would tie all of the flavors together.

Stuffed Wild Cod

• 1 filet per person, the thinner the better
• 1 pkg spinach per person
• olive oil
• minced garlic

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In large pan, medium heat, warm olive oil.
3. Add in garlic, and saute for a minute.
4. Add in spinach. Cover and let cook down, stirring once or twice.
5. Remove spinach from heat and drain.
6. Lay fillets on a baking sheet covered w/ tin foil
7. Spread spinach over entire fillet
8. Roll up and place in casserole dish (they will produce quite a bit of liquid)
9. Bake for 30 minutes.

Roast Duck (serves 2-4)

While I have done this before, it has been a while...so here is a gal who has pretty detailed instructions (with lots of pictures!) ...please find directions at The Hungry Mouse. She has some other tricks for saving the fat too, but if you just want to roast a duck the instructions are there. (I would personally do it without the glaze she uses, but that's just me.)

Artichoke Salad (serves 4)

• 2 cans artichoke hearts
• 1 bunch arugula
• 1 container crumbled goat cheese
• 1/4 red onion
• 1 head endive (optional)

1. Chop artichoke, arugula, and onion.
2. Mix in bowl with goat cheese.
3. Serve w/ endive or by itself.

salad in the endive..finger food

the salad plated

or...the salad served buffet style
(I'm glad I got such great pics in this bowl b/c I broke it
loading it into the dishwasher :(

Cranberry Sauce (serves 4)

• 1 bag cranberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 1/2 red apple (gala or honey crisp)
• 1 tsp. cinamon
• 3 pinches cardamom (optional)
• 1/4 c. sugar

1. Put all in food processor or blender and blend. That's it! No cooking necessary.

This is cardamom.

Cardamom is used quite a bit in Indian & Ayurvedic cooking. I bought it a while back b/c I thought it was interesting, but never knew what to do with it. Until now! Both cardamom and cranberries have an astringent flavor so I thought it went well. WATCH OUT! Cardamom is very strong so you only need a couple pinches to get the full effect of the flavor. 

After finding out that my favorite jellied cranberry sauce was LOADED with high fructose corn syrup I decided that I better figure out how to make a substitute. This was stupid simple- PERFECT!

Tomorrow night... dessert :) Enjoy!

Collards

Collard greens to me were always a vegetable that southern black people and Paula Dean simmered down with lard and served with cornbread and pulled pork. Low and behold they can be very healthy for you. Who-da-thunk-it? They are actually part of the dark green 4-some that I rotate into my smoothies (the other 3 are spinach, kale, and Swiss chard). 


So I bought a bunch the other day to make wraps with (learned it from Lisa). The first try was a messy failure so I put part of the bunch back in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer for my smoothies. This morning when I woke up, still reliving memories of the White Castle episode the other night, I decided to try the wraps again. 

I tried to make my hand look graceful, but it just wasn't happening
from this angle. 

Much better. I made a salmon salad and wrapped it in cucumbers and the collard leaves. In the salmon salad was:

• Bumble Bee canned salmon (skinless boneless- you could pretend it is tuna and no one would know the difference)
• Spectrum canola mayonnaise 
• spicy brown mustard
• 1/2 green apple
• 1 yellow onion
• 1 stalk celery
• turmeric
• black pepper

Let me explain a little about the ingredients in this salmon salad. First of all, I use canned salmon instead of canned tuna because they put soy in the tuna. I am not sure if it is in the watery broth or if they use it as a filler so they don't need to put as much fish in each can. My guess would be the latter. (P.S. you know the frozen hamburger patties you buy? They have soy as a filler too...it's common practice these days.) That would also explain why a can of tuna is so much cheaper than salmon.  

Secondly, you might be asking why I put turmeric and onions and black pepper in this salad. It is because this trio has been shown to magnify the healing effects of the others. Turmeric is a powerful spice that has been used for centuries. It has anti-inflammatory effects on the body, as well as: 

• natural antibiotic
• anti-oxidant
• helps aid in digestion
• maintains & improves intestinal flora
• purifies the blood
• reduces gas and bloating

This is just a snippit of the long list of turmeric's healing properties. It is well known that  humans however, cannot fully absorb turmeric unless it is in the presence of black pepper. I also just recently found out that if turmeric (and pepper) are paired with raw yellow onions, its healing effects are multiplied. So next time you make chili, add some turmeric and pepper and top with raw yellow onions. 

In the meantime, try out collards as wraps. In this meal alone I ate 1 fruit and 4 different vegetables. That was after my morning smoothie. I'm already up to 10 fruits and vegetables and it isn't even dinner yet. If you are looking for another way to substitute refined carbs with vegetables try RAW: Zucchini. 

Sushi Gone WILD!

Last Friday was the start of a girls weekend at my house with little Lauren and Michelle (my two favorite pseudo- New Yorkers). It was also the night I decided to make sushi for the first time. I have been working up the courage to do this for some time now. I bought seaweed wraps a few weeks ago. I looked up how to make sticky rice last week. I went to Wegman's in search of sushi grade salmon and tuna...SCORE! And they make sticky brown rice too! I also bought some of my favorite veggies- cucumbers, avocado, asparagus, and carrots.

I suggest you start your first sushi making experience off with one of these.
It will help to build your confidence and relax you at the same time.

key ingredient for the beginner sushi maker- they come raw too!

The ends were not as tight as the middle so I ate them before everyone showed up.

When everything is in there, roll it up. If you leave 1" at one end
and moisten it with water it will stick to itself and create a nice seal. 

VOILA!

If you are not lucky enough to live by a Wegman's or other grocery store that has a sushi counter you can make it yourself. I tried it, and it was sticky, but not nearly as sticky as the pre-cooked rice I bought. Cook the brown rice. Bring water, rice vinegar and sugar to a boil until the sugar dissolves. Fold liquid into rice and blend. I think it didn't work because I used the wrong kind of rice, but oh well. It was still really really good! Unless you are planning on becoming a master sushi chef I wouldn't worry about getting the rice perfect.

VERDICT: The sushi was amazing! However, if I was just making it for myself it would be faster and a little cheaper to buy it from a sushi restaurant. If you have some time and aren't worried about pinching pennies this is a really great meal to make for yourself. If you can buy the sticky rice pre-made, and the sushi-grade fish pre-cut, then all you have to do is cut up the veggies and roll them up into the seaweed wraps. It really isn't that scary after all.

Why make it yourself? Well, for one thing you control the ingredients. When I looked at the pre-made sushi rolls at Wegman's there were like 100 ingredients in them. I was expecting rice, seaweed, fish, and assorted vegetables. I'm not kidding. I couldn't pronounce some of the ingredients. WTF? So the moral of the story is READ LABELS! Because even something as straightforward as sushi has garbage ingredients put in (somehow).

Also, you can try making them so you can say that you have made sushi before...could be a great conversation starter.

I should have been born French

I recently watched the movie Julie & Julia (I know it is a few years old) and was instantly enthralled by Julia Child. Honestly I could have done without the Julie character and her story (although that was a great accomplishment to have her blog turned into a major motion picture). They should have just done the movie about Julia Child. Anywho. Julia Child had spend years and in France "mastering the art of French cooking" which coincidentally is the name of her two volume masterpiece. I have not read it yet, but I am going to buy it and start working through it. She also has another book Julia's Kitchen Wisdom: Essential Techniques and Recipes from a Lifetime of Cooking which I think might be right up my alley. 


The real reason I am writing about this is because it occurred to me that she lived to be 92, and, from what I saw and know of her recipes, ate a high fat diet full of pastries and duck, beef and butter (among other things). This was back in the 1950's until the time she died in 2004. I do know that she used real, fresh, quality ingredients, and lots of love. She LOVED to cook and figure out the best ways to prepare any dish. A woman after my own heart. 

This raises the question... do the ingredient matter as much as the quality?


Let's take butter for instance. It is quite possibly my favorite fat and I will put it on anything that I can. According to SELF Magazine's Nutrition Data Website it is 99% fat and 1% protein. It is very inflammatory probably because it is a saturated fat from an animal source (I assume that they are rating this as bad as they are because it is high saturated fat and everyone is under the impression that saturated fats are bad- WRONG - unnatural fats are bad). It has upwards of 20% RDA of Vitamins A, D, E, & K as well as being a complete protein (a complete protein is a source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of all nine of the essential amino acids necessary for the dietary needs of humans or other animals).

So in butter's case, it is the saturated fat and cholesterol vs. all 9 essential amino "fatty" acids and 4 vitamins. Now obviously you can find these vitamins elsewhere in a wide variety of vegetables. The essential fatty acids are another story.


Two things:

• The complete proteins are called "essential" fatty or amino acids because our body cannot make them. We need to get them from other sources, and our bodies will not function properly if we are deficient.   
• The word "fatty" means they come from FAT. Therefore, you will be deficient if you eat a low fat diet. That means, if you only eat egg whites, boneless skinless chicken breast, no butter, and no meat you are running the risk of becoming deficient in one or several of the 9.

Yes you can find some of the 9 amino acids from other sources (legumes, grains, and vegetables) but they tend to be limited in the number of amino acids. Some are notably low, such as corn protein. Hmmmm, didn't I just find out that corn in the United States is genetically modified and shows up in a lot of the processed foods Americans buy? 

These are the foods naturally containing all 9 amino acids:  amaranth, buckwheat, hempseed, meat, poultry, soybeans, quinoa, seafood, and spirulina.


How many of those can you say you eat on a regular basis? Personally, I can say 1 regularly (seafood) and 5 occasionally. The three that I have never used in my cooking so far are amaranth, buckwheat, and hempseed. 


It is easy to get all of the essential amino acids if you eat a wide variety of unprocessed foods, but how many of you can say that?


So with all that technical stuff aside, let's get back to quality. After everything that I have read on the science of fats, dairy, the dairy industry, sugar, the sugar industry, soy, the soy industry, etc, it is my humble conclusion that the quality of the fats, sugars, and proteins are more important than the amount of saturated fat in something or the amount of carbs in something else. 

Instead of counting calories and grams of fat, try focusing on these few things that will make a tremendous improvement in your life:

1. Buy organic egg and dairy products. If you are lucky enough to live in a state or country that allows the sale of raw dairy take advantage. The packaging must say "without antibiotics and growth hormones" and would be a HUGE plus if it says "comes from grass fed/pasture raised animals". Cage Free is does not mean that the chickens live on a farm. They are given slightly better living conditions than normal (which isn't saying much). If you want to know how "conventional" animals are raised look up some videos on YouTube...a lot of it is worse than your wildest imaginations.
2. Buy meat from "humanely raised" animals. Grass fed is good too, but the regulations for raising grass fed animals go against what is natural for those animal. Animals eat other things than grass in nature. Organic means nothing unless it also says humanely raised or grass fed.
3. Don't buy processed soy UNLESS it is soy sauce, tofu, tempeh, or miso. Check all ingredients though because manufacturers sneak in bad ingredients to cut costs. 
4. Cut out as much refined sugar as you possibly can. Fruit sugar is different. We are meant to eat fruit. It has fiber in it which slows down the absorption into our blood stream. Fruit is also bursting with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, and cancer-fighting nutrients. 
5. NO TRANS-FATS. Partially hydrogenated and hydrogenated oils make up this category. They wreak havoc on your bodies in many different ways. 

Long story short...EAT LIKE JULIA DID...REAL, HIGH QUALITY FOODS COOKED WITH LOVE.

She was funny too!

Pyramid or Plate...it all sucks if it comes from the US Government

Why people look to the government for advice on nutrition is beyond me- like they are the end-all and be-all of the "right" information. Since I started the health coaching classes a few weeks ago, I have been immersed in holistic experts' knowledge and opinions on the state of our health as a nation. As you can imagine, it does not look good. People are eating cheap highly processed foods that have been subsidized and pushed on us as "healthy" by our government.

"In America, and therefore in the world, we have domination of nutrition by the USDA. They are the people who create the food pyramid, and the USDA has two main responsibilities. #1 is to ensure the success of the food producers of America. Fruit, vegetables, milk, meat, corn, packaged goods. Their job is to ensure their success, business profit, get subsidies for them, corporate grants, and promote the farm bill. The #2 responsibility is to protect the American consumer, make sure they are eating well, that they have a healthy diet. Which of those priorities is more getting done?" 

"In 1991, Dr. Neil Barnard, head of Physicians Committee for responsible medicine, successfully sued the USDA showing that 6 of 11 board members had financial ties to the meat, dairy, and egg industries, and that the recommendations were influenced by their affiliations. It’s not often that an individual can successfully sue the American Government and win. He showed that through secret meetings and secret documentation the priority of those pyramids was to continue to promote food products that were not necessarily in the interest of the American public. Since that time, in a way it has gotten worse. Political appointees with backgrounds in the Agra-food industry continue to use their positions at the USDA and the FDA to advance their industry interests. In case of the USDA it is often at the expense of the small farmers, consumers, and the environment. So in our opinion, the food pyramid has less to do with sound nutritional advice and more to do with appeasing food producers. For example, you will find that they add foods in rather than take them away. Like they will say eat more lean meat. But you will never hear them say avoid red meat. It would just never pass in congress. The senator from Texas who was like “over my dead body”. It’s a political document, but the world sees this as scientific document, and because it is a scientific document in America, you can go all over the world and see this. But government has a hard enough time doing government. I don’t think government should be involved in science. But because it is we have a problem." from Joshua Rosenthal's lecture on the USDA Food Pyramid and My Plate.

1991 USDA Pyramid

 The first food pyramid (above) was issued right in the middle of the fat free craze that was propagated by bad science and politicians. I actually remember looking at this when I was younger (I was 9 when it was issued) and thinking, how the hell am I going to eat 11 servings of bread in one day? I am sure that many people did try to eat off of this guide, and as a result we have a nation of obese and severely sick people. The truth is when you cut fat out of your diet you add in more carbs by default.

There are many problems with this food pyramid. There is no distinction between bad carbs, good carbs, bad fats, and good fats. Everything is lumped together. If I know there are good and bad oils, and you know there are good and bad oils, what are the chances that the USDA knows there are good and bad oils?


So in the USDA's eyes, eating a loaf of white bread and a bowl of brown rice are the same thing. Metabolically, they are quite different. Also, eating red meat and fish are the same thing. We know now that eating fish is far superior to eating red meat in terms of the type of fats found in either. Another thing that is troublesome is nuts and beans are in the protein group which are given the same value as red meat and cheese. Nuts, beans, and legumes are very healthy sources of good fats, protein, vitamins, and minerals. To lump them in with red meat is just plain wrong.

2005 Food Pyramid

This newer edition of the pyramid is even more confusing and misleading than the first. Lets look at it left to right-

• The ambiguous man is conveying the necessity to be more active. I would say that is a positive addition. 
• SO it looks like grains and dairy are the same size now (I guess we know who has the most lobbying power). By the way Triscuits are not a necessity, nor are they a healthy option.
• It looks like fruits and vegetables combined make up the largest portion of the pyramid- that's an improvement. 
• Fats, the thin yellow line, are even smaller than before, which the test of time has, in my humble opinion, proved everyone wrong. High carbohydrate (by default highly refined), low fat diets do not work. Go to any public place and compare the thin-normal people to the overweight-obese people. This is why- sugar (more specifically high fructose corn syrup) has replaced fat.
• Meat and beans are still lumped together, and fish is not even mentioned.
• I find the layout of this even more confusing than the original one. 

Now we have My Plate which is the most vague of all- probably for the better. There is no reference to any of the different types of foods, just a recommended portion size. 

My advice...DON'T GET YOUR NUTRITION ADVICE FROM THE GOVERNMENT. Do a little bit of research on your own, use your noggin, and start eating more fruits, veggies, whole grains, nuts, beans, fish, eggs (basically whole foods that are not highly processed and/or stuffed with sugar and preservatives). 

MOST IMPORTANTLY start listening to your body. The government's general suggestions as to how many servings of bread we should eat are a great way to spend our tax dollars, but they do not take into account that each one of us is different. Some people can eat whatever they want and still have a beautiful body. Some people look at a piece of pizza and gain weight. Only after I started paying attention to what I was eating and how it made me feel did I see how important food is. It can make or break you. 

The only way you are going to figure out how great you can feel is to start cutting out the junk and replacing it with real, nutritionally dense foods. 

Tomorrow....my last weigh in of my smoothie challenge!

The Minimalist...a simple inspiration

I was introduced to Mark Bittman by my great friend "little" Lauren one cold day while she was visiting. Lauren has the best way of finding things that are creative and out-of-the-box. I was instantly in love with mark Bittman's style of cooking.

Now not all of his recipes are "cancer prevention friendly", however you could easily alter them to be so. All of his recipes are super simple and very tasty (my personal favorite is the bread-less crab cakes in the first video below).

Bread-free Crab Cakes

The next video is a great way to get a bunch of vegetables in one serving. Just top with whole grain bread crumbles, organic cheese (if you must), drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and VOILA! Totally healthy! You could even pair it with the bread-free crab cakes and you have a great dinner!

Vegetable Torte

His videos can be found on his youtube.com channel and on NY Times website.

Remember! Many recipes you see can be altered to be completely healthy. Just substitute white flour/ bread for whole wheat or whole grain flour/bread and use extra virgin olive oil or expeller pressed canola oil.

Enjoy! (as little Lauren would say)