I recently read/listened to on cd Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. In it Pollan's overarching advice is "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He has plenty of other interesting things to say as well.
Taking issue with processed food, he recommends not eating food your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Ask your grandmother what's in bread and she'll say flour, water, yeast, and salt. Pick up a bag of bread from an industrial bakery and you could find a list of 22 ingredients. All that extra stuff is for mainly for preservation, emulsification, and taste. Meanwhile an apple only has one ingredient - they don't even have to have an ingredients label. And it's good for you.
So he suggests staying away from food products with more than 5 ingredients when possible as well as anything with ingredients you can't pronounce or which included high fructose corn syrup.
It's definitely something to think about.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Her Potato Skins vs My Potato Skins
I have a sibling who keeps purchasing frozen TGI Friday's Cheddar and Bacon Potato Skins from the grocery store. This caught my attention because said sibling has medical dietary restrictions and I wouldn't have thought these frozen potato skins fit within those. Apparently they're ok, but this lead to a discussion of ingredients and then I issued myself a challenge to make potato skins that would be healthier with a lot less ingredients.
While it's true that frozen potato skins are more convenient when you're in a hurry, mine took about 45 minutes to make and provided some stress-relief. Plus potatoes are high in fiber, protein, iron, and vitamin C.
Let's look at the comparison of ingredients:
Ingredients in TGI Friday's Cheddar and Bacon Potato Skins:
Potato Skins (Potatoes, Soybean Oil, Coating [Modified Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Corn Flour, Dextrin, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Dextrose, Xanthan Gum]), Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Bacon (Cured with Water, Salt, Sugar, Sodium Phosphates, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite), Cheddar Cheese Sauce (Water, Aged Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto (Color)], Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Whey [Milk], Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Mono & Diglycerides, Lactic Acid, Spice, Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Annatto [Color], Butter Oil, Nonfat Dry Milk), Salt.
Ingredients in my homemade potato skins:
Golden Potatoes, Olive Oil, Salt, Dried Spinach
Essentially theirs has 42 ingredients.
Mine has 4.
Mine is also free of any colorings, nitrites, and added sugars - not to mention I didn't use any mysterious "cheddar cheese sauce".
Their box includes 6 potato skins while I made 24 so I had plenty to refrigerate for later yum.
Their 6 potato skins tend to retail for around $3.19. The estimate of my cost is $2 at most. That means each of her potato skins cost her about 53 cents each, while each of mine cost 8 cents.
In my book, that's a point for me.
If you're interested in making them on your own see my potato skins here.
While it's true that frozen potato skins are more convenient when you're in a hurry, mine took about 45 minutes to make and provided some stress-relief. Plus potatoes are high in fiber, protein, iron, and vitamin C.
Let's look at the comparison of ingredients:
Ingredients in TGI Friday's Cheddar and Bacon Potato Skins:
Potato Skins (Potatoes, Soybean Oil, Coating [Modified Potato Starch, Rice Flour, Salt, Corn Flour, Dextrin, Leavening (Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Sodium Bicarbonate), Dextrose, Xanthan Gum]), Cheddar Cheese (Milk, Cheese Cultures, Salt, Enzymes), Bacon (Cured with Water, Salt, Sugar, Sodium Phosphates, Sodium Erythorbate, Sodium Nitrite), Cheddar Cheese Sauce (Water, Aged Cheddar Cheese [Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes, Annatto (Color)], Soybean Oil, Modified Corn Starch, Whey [Milk], Sodium Phosphate, Salt, Cellulose Gum, Mono & Diglycerides, Lactic Acid, Spice, Yeast Extract, Guar Gum, Annatto [Color], Butter Oil, Nonfat Dry Milk), Salt.
Ingredients in my homemade potato skins:
Golden Potatoes, Olive Oil, Salt, Dried Spinach
Essentially theirs has 42 ingredients.
Mine has 4.
Mine is also free of any colorings, nitrites, and added sugars - not to mention I didn't use any mysterious "cheddar cheese sauce".
Their box includes 6 potato skins while I made 24 so I had plenty to refrigerate for later yum.
Their 6 potato skins tend to retail for around $3.19. The estimate of my cost is $2 at most. That means each of her potato skins cost her about 53 cents each, while each of mine cost 8 cents.
In my book, that's a point for me.
If you're interested in making them on your own see my potato skins here.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
BabyCakes, Bananas, and Coconut Oil
Thursday night I made the banana bread recipe out of BabyCakes: Vegan, (Mostly) Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery.
I've had fairly good success with this cookbook so far. While its ingredients aren't always the easiest to track down, I do enjoy baking with them - no giant hunks of butter, no worries about contaminating anything with raw eggs, and no heaping scoops of sugar. Many of the recipes have the same base ingredients, which is semi-comforting - unless we're talking about coconut oil.
Every time I've made something out of this book that calls for coconut oil, the coconut taste overpowers the more subtle ingredients (cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, etc.). First I thought maybe that was because I'm not really a fan of coconut - so perhaps I was more sensitive to it. But I had others taste test and they mentioned the coconut as well. The good news is you don't have to use coconut oil. Avocado, grapeseed, pumpkin seed, or canola oil are all viable alternatives.
On Thursday, the banana bread called for coconut oil. I debated replacing it with canola but I still have coconut oil left in my jar... and it does have those good-for-you Omega 3s...
You fill your loaf pan halfway with the batter but then there's extra. (Why the recipe isn't cut down to the right amount for the specific-size loaf pan, I don't know.) The book suggests spreading the extra on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Of course, being thinner this one was done first and voila... coconut taste! I was bummed. I wanted to taste the banana. I even had chocolate chips in there. But I just tasted soft, cakey coconut bread.
Then the loaf was done. I wrapped it up, too bummed over the thin cake. But on Friday night, I gave the loaf a chance... and it was definitely better! I think the density of the loaf gave more room for the flavors. Coconut oil is like a thick paste at room temperature. You have to heat it up to measure it and blend it into your batter. The coconut still lingered but I could really taste the other ingredients.
The veredict? I'll probably finish off this jar of coconut oil, but after that I'll try to find a healthy oil that's not as overwhelming.
I've had fairly good success with this cookbook so far. While its ingredients aren't always the easiest to track down, I do enjoy baking with them - no giant hunks of butter, no worries about contaminating anything with raw eggs, and no heaping scoops of sugar. Many of the recipes have the same base ingredients, which is semi-comforting - unless we're talking about coconut oil.
Every time I've made something out of this book that calls for coconut oil, the coconut taste overpowers the more subtle ingredients (cinnamon, vanilla extract, nutmeg, etc.). First I thought maybe that was because I'm not really a fan of coconut - so perhaps I was more sensitive to it. But I had others taste test and they mentioned the coconut as well. The good news is you don't have to use coconut oil. Avocado, grapeseed, pumpkin seed, or canola oil are all viable alternatives.
On Thursday, the banana bread called for coconut oil. I debated replacing it with canola but I still have coconut oil left in my jar... and it does have those good-for-you Omega 3s...
You fill your loaf pan halfway with the batter but then there's extra. (Why the recipe isn't cut down to the right amount for the specific-size loaf pan, I don't know.) The book suggests spreading the extra on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Of course, being thinner this one was done first and voila... coconut taste! I was bummed. I wanted to taste the banana. I even had chocolate chips in there. But I just tasted soft, cakey coconut bread.
Then the loaf was done. I wrapped it up, too bummed over the thin cake. But on Friday night, I gave the loaf a chance... and it was definitely better! I think the density of the loaf gave more room for the flavors. Coconut oil is like a thick paste at room temperature. You have to heat it up to measure it and blend it into your batter. The coconut still lingered but I could really taste the other ingredients.
The veredict? I'll probably finish off this jar of coconut oil, but after that I'll try to find a healthy oil that's not as overwhelming.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Book Recommendations II
Two more books to add to your list:
1. Spent: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again by Dr. Frank Lipman
2. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Spent addresses the tired/worn out feeling we sometimes (or often) have. It teaches you about things you can do to recharge as well as why certain foods or activities can help you feel better or worse. It includes a six-week plan to sort of reset you body. The plan is by no means incredibly easy to stick to, but the author acknowledges that and encourages you to do what is feasible. Even if you decide not to try out the 42 days of activities and food choices, I'd still recommend reading through each of the days; you may still find suggestions to incorporate into you life. A lot of them helped me feel better.
Meanwhile In Defense of Food provides a historical overview of the American diet, the rise of processed foods, and why it's a good idea to eat some plants.
1. Spent: End Exhaustion and Feel Great Again by Dr. Frank Lipman
2. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan
Spent addresses the tired/worn out feeling we sometimes (or often) have. It teaches you about things you can do to recharge as well as why certain foods or activities can help you feel better or worse. It includes a six-week plan to sort of reset you body. The plan is by no means incredibly easy to stick to, but the author acknowledges that and encourages you to do what is feasible. Even if you decide not to try out the 42 days of activities and food choices, I'd still recommend reading through each of the days; you may still find suggestions to incorporate into you life. A lot of them helped me feel better.
Meanwhile In Defense of Food provides a historical overview of the American diet, the rise of processed foods, and why it's a good idea to eat some plants.
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Book Recommendations
Here are a couple of books that have inspired (and re-inspired) me throughout the years. I hope they may provide additional motivation to some:
1. Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley, Henry S. Lodge
2. Healthy at 100 by John Robbins
3. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
4. Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
5. Skinny Bitch by Rory Freedman, Kim Barnouin
Monday, February 1, 2010
Sustainable Seafood: A List
WebMD has a list of the seafood that's best for the environment and you. Seemed suitable considering yesterday's post.
Catfish (U.S.)
Arctic char
Halibut (Pacific)
Wild Alaskan salmon
Soft-shell clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp, and bay scallops (farmed)
Tilapia (U.S.)
Albacore (U.S. or Canadian) and yellowfin tuna (U.S. Atlantic troll/pole caught)
Striped bass (farmed)
Rainbow trout (farmed)
Mackerel (Atlantic)
Mahimahi (U.S. troll/pole caught)
Dungeness or stone crab
Arctic char
Halibut (Pacific)
Wild Alaskan salmon
Soft-shell clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp, and bay scallops (farmed)
Tilapia (U.S.)
Albacore (U.S. or Canadian) and yellowfin tuna (U.S. Atlantic troll/pole caught)
Striped bass (farmed)
Rainbow trout (farmed)
Mackerel (Atlantic)
Mahimahi (U.S. troll/pole caught)
Dungeness or stone crab
I'm sort of surprised by the farmed suggestions. Guess this list doesn't account for yum-factor. It was posted in 2008 but they say farmed fish can have lower mercury levels and their farmed suggestion seems to depend on the fish. Fish like salmon though are already known for having lower mercury levels. And you'd have to eat a whole heck of a lot of it for the mercury to build up in your system enough to be a problem. Predatory fish like sharks and swordfish are known to have higher mercury levels so they should only be eaten every once in awhile. If you do go the farmed route, Whole Foods just introduced a Responsibly Farmed logo for their farmed seafood products indicating it stands up to their rigorous standards as well as being 3rd party verified.
A name on the list above you may not be too familiar with is arctic char. I met arctic char for the first time two months ago and it was good. It has a similar taste to salmon - probably because they're related. The taste is actually more mild, almost starting down the road of "tastes like chicken". So if you thought salmon had too strong a taste, arctic char may be a better fish for you.
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