Baby Food Cubes.

Since I now have a child, I think I am turning into the “food police” (not that I wasn’t already).  Because I am “in the know” of what is in our food and water supply, I am very vigilant on taking steps to reduce my child’s exposure to toxins. One of those steps is feeding her organic food and using filtered water.

Organic baby food costs approximately 89¢ – 99¢ and up, for a 4 oz. jar. Not a big deal, I thought. When items are priced under a buck, we are more apt to let go of our dollars. However, it adds up quickly. Especially as the quantity goes up as she increases her intake. Babies grow quickly! And when you look at what you get in one jar of baby food for the money, it’s not much. So I started making my own.

It’s Healthier

When making baby food, you don’t have to cook the fruit and overcook the veggies. That means more of the the vitamins, minerals and enzymes stay intact. And if you are using organic food, you know there are no chemicals, pesticides or GM (genetically modified) ingredients. You’ll notice homemade baby food is brightly colored whereas the jarred food looks dull in comparison. It’s dull in color because it is pasteurized and overcooked.

How To Make Your Own Baby Food

There are plenty of “make your own baby food” kits and products, but really, all you need is a blender, ice trays, and maybe some small containers (or baby food jars) for refrigerated leftovers. Keep it simple. First, I start with vegetables, either frozen or fresh, and steamed them with a little bit of water. From there, puree them with some, if not all, of the water in a blender (I found that the food processor leaves it too course). Then pour the mixture into ice cube trays, freeze them, and then store them in labeled freezer containers or bags. I also purée fresh and frozen fruit and cooked lentils. As your baby gets a little older to eat more complex foods, you can purée healthy meals that you are eating.

You’ll be amazed at how much money you will save by making your own baby food. For example, let’s compare a jar of organic lentil dinner to homemade. Again, it costs 89¢ – 99¢ for one 4 oz. jar. I went and purchased organic dried lentils in bulk for $3.99 per pound and there are about three cups of dried lentils in one pound. One cup of dry lentils yields 24 oz. when cooked. That’s equal to SIX jars of baby food! So in a nutshell, you can pay $3.99 and BUY 4 jars of baby food (16 oz), OR for the same price you could buy one pound of dried lentils which makes 18 jars of baby food (72 oz.). So, correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t that over 300% more for your money? Granted, lentils are an extreme example since they are sold dried and expand when cooked. But even with fruit and vegetables, you will still get much more for your money when compared to jarred food.

Here are some foods that I have made myself:

• broccoli
  

  Lentils, Broccoli, Green Beans and Baby Food Cubes

• cauliflower
• green beans
• peas
• spinach
• sweat potatoes
• lentils
• peaches
• berries
• mango (a little more time consuming)
• bananas
• avocado

It Tastes Better

I made it a rule not to feed my baby anything that I wouldn’t eat. What I mean by that is, if it doesn’t taste good, I’m not feeding it to her. I’m speaking of healthy food, of course. My baby eats everything I feed her, because I feed her good tasting veggies, fruit and meals. It’s important to start feeding children a variety of fruit and vegetables when they are babies so they develop a taste for them that will carry into their older years.

Now Go Do It

As always, start simple. Go buy some frozen cut up fruit or vegetables. Steam the veggies as I explained above, and/or thaw the fruit. Blend them, freeze them and you’re done. You can venture into preparing fresh fruit and veggies and more complex food once you feel comfortable. Good luck and good job! Here’s to you for putting your baby first!

Cheese Addiction:  Sounds Funny. But I’m Serious. It’s Real.
When talking to people about cleaning up their diet, the number one food that is brought up is cheese. “I can’t live without my cheese.” Or, “Cheese is my main downfall.”

Or simply the statement of surrender, “I can’t give up cheese.” It is never surprising to me, yet it seems surprising to them. There is a very good reason they love and “can’t” give up cheese and it is not in their “head.” Cheese addiction is scientific. It’s real—just like drug and alcohol addiction. Of course, you don’t find people losing their jobs, family, or homes over it (thankfully)! Could you imagine homeless people begging for cheese (“hey, man, got any cheddar? I really need it.”)?

What Makes Cheese Addicting?
Opiates are found in the casein, a protein present all dairy, but concentrated in cheese. It’s the same opiate found in morphine. When I found this out in my studies, it made sense to me on a personal level. I’m very sensitive to opiates and usually choose not to take them if they are prescribed to me for post-op or injury, simply because they knock me out. Cheese does the same thing to me on a smaller scale, of course. I usually avoid consuming cheese on a regular basis. But if I do, it is in small amounts. Otherwise, I find myself napping soon after I eat it and sometimes feeling headachy… not very productive. I also suffered from serious bouts of constipation as a child as I used to eat a lot of dairy. Although dairy is very binding and mucus-forming on its own, opiates also cause constipation since they slow peristalsis in the colon.

How Does the U.S. Government Fuel Cheese Addiction?
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) gives money to the dairy industry in the form of its Checkoff program. (I wish they would do that with the organic fruit and vegetable industry!). Have you noticed how restaurants, especially fast food establishments, showcase cheese or extra cheese? More cheese slices on sandwiches. More cheese sauces. More cheese crammed onto a pizza or stuffed into it’s crust. More cheese melted over any type of food. It’s on EVERYTHING and there is a lot of it (Pizza Hut’s “Ultimate Cheese Pizza” has a pound of cheese on it and the USDA helped promote it!) As stated by the Physician Committee for Responsible Medicine,

Fast food restaurants are trying to cram more cheese onto everything with the help of the USDA's Checkoff program.

The dairy checkoff is a marketing program in effect since 1984 to increase the consumption of dairy products and reduce surpluses by, inter alia, touting the purported benefits of dairy products. It is funded by a mandatory assessment (i.e., tax) on dairy producers. It is administered by USDA and managed by the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board (“Dairy Board”), which is comprised of dairy farmers who are appointed by the Secretary of Agriculture. The government has even acknowledged that cheese has addictive qualities. Rather than educate consumers to reduce or eliminate this unhealthy item from their diets, USDA instead embarked on efforts “aimed at triggering cheese lovers’ craving for cheese.” So in short, the USDA gives money to promote the sale and consumption of cheese — knowingly feeding cheese addiction.

Breaking the Addiction
It’s quite easy. Don’t eat it. No profound advice here. You won’t have withdrawals (maybe some cravings, but no real withdrawal symptoms). Don’t buy it. Start making or ordering foods without it. With the addition of sauces and condiments, you may not even miss it. For example: Use extra salsa in Mexican dishes or extra marinara sauce in Italian dishes. Eliminate cheese from sandwiches. You’ll be surprised how good food will still taste. After about two weeks, you won’t miss it at all.

My Take On Cheese Consumption
In general, I recommend minimizing all dairy intake. But cheese in particular is very calorie-dense, very high in saturated fat and a common culprit for causing constipation. Pasteurization makes it difficult to absorb the calcium contained in dairy (plant sources are much better). If consumed, it should be free of artificial hormones (rbgh) and antibiotics. Melted or cooked cheese is much harder to digest than uncooked cheese (think about it, it’s the consistency of tar!). Furthermore, cheese made with raw milk is easier to digest and more nutritious, but it should be avoided by pregnant women or those with compromised immunity. Eating it with vegetables or beans helps digest it as well (high fiber). I strongly suggest eliminating it completely from your diet if you suffer from allergies or something serious such as cancer (there is a hormone in dairy that fuels the growth of cancer cells. I’ll do a post on that later.).  As with any food recommendation, you should pay attention to how you feel after you eat it and make your own decision and personal modifications based on your physical responses and condition. For instance, if you get headaches, fatigue, or digestion problems after eating it, you should probably eliminate from your diet.

Personally – Do I Eat Cheese?
Sparingly. I really enjoy artisan cheeses once in awhile (the high price helps me avoid it too). I don’t eat cheese when I know I have to be productive since it makes me tired. Some cheese affects me more adversely than others. I’m usually OK after some mozzarella, still a bit sleepy, but no sinus headaches (maybe because of my Italian genes?) but cheddar ruins me. I love a good quesadilla, but I rarely partake since I’m on the couch napping soon after… feeling grouchy and headachy. Most of the time, it’s not worth the consequences.

Are Eggs Good or Bad? The answer is “Yes.”

Ah, the good ol’ egg. To eat or not to eat? There is a lot of contradicting information about eggs. And that is a HUGE understatement. Even cardiologists are giving out misinformation. “What?! Can’t Be!” You may exclaim. Of all people, shouldn’t they know the answer? Well, not necessarily. Most don’t study nutrition on an in depth level. Even prestigious websites such as the Mayo Clinic has false information given by one of its cardiologists that has a column (I emailed them about it).

Eggs can be either good or bad depending on several factors. Specifics such as, what the chickens are fed, how they are raised, and how the eggs are cooked can determine if eggs are healthy or unhealthy for a person. And, of course, if an individual has adverse reactions to them such as an allergy. But let’s focus on cholesterol.

Do Eggs Raise Cholesterol?

There is no evidence that fresh eggs (not powdered) raise cholesterol (If I’m wrong, please prove this to me. Show me the studies!). In fact in a recent British study where people were put on calorie restrictive diets, but one group ate 2 eggs a day, both groups lowered their cholesterol, showing that the eggs had no detrimental effect. Eggs are high in cholesterol, so people falsely think that means it raises their blood (serum) cholesterol. Cholesterol in food, otherwise known as dietary cholesterol, and serum cholesterol are two different things. Cholesterol found in food does not affect blood cholesterol, but rather, saturated fat and transfat raise bad cholesterol in the blood (low density lipids – LDLs). But not all eggs have the same amount of saturated fat and it’s usually low. Some have a good amount of omega-3 fatty acids which actually lower bad cholesterol.

Are Some Eggs Better Than Others? Yes. (Hint: The Deeper Gold the Yolk, The Better.)

The darker gold the yolk, the more nutritious the egg.

I try to buy 100% cage-free chicken eggs. That means the the chickens were never confined and able to eat what chickens normally eat when outdoors (i.e. insects, worms, grains). That, sometimes combined with a high quality chicken feed which is usually organic (so it’s pesticide free), creates eggs with a better nutritional content, lower in saturated fat (bad), higher in omega-3 fatty acids (good). The yolks should be a deeper yellow or orange than commercially raised eggs. The shells are usually thicker as well due to higher calcium intake. Commercial eggs are from chickens that are cramped in a cage all day and usually fed corn. Even nationally commercial organic eggs (usually fed organic corn) are not as good as local cage-free eggs. Compare the yolks for yourself. Think about it — healthier, happier chickens produce healthier eggs!

Why Did Eggs Get An Overall “Bad” Reputation?

In short, it was the cereal industry (go figure). Back in the 1950’s, the cereal industry wanted people to eat more cereal. So they conducted a study on eggs and why people should not eat them. Their study, however, was not done on fresh eggs, but rather on powdered egg yolk. Why should that make a difference? Well, if a yolk is exposed to oxygen and high heat, it becomes oxidized which makes it toxic to our blood and raises blood serum cholesterol in a bad way. Powdered egg yolk is exactly that — oxidized. That’s when eggs are “bad.” BUT, a fresh egg that is cooked so the yolk is not exposed to high heat and oxygen does not have a detrimental effect on the blood and arteries, and therefore does not raise cholesterol like that of an oxidized egg yolk.

The foods typically eaten with eggs at breakfast are the culprits for raising bad cholesterol — not the eggs.

Eggs are typically eaten with unhealthy items that are high in saturated fat (bacon, sausage, butter, etc.) or are refined carbs (biscuits, pancakes, white bread, etc.), which raise bad cholesterol levels. The association of eggs with these items may contribute to their bad reputation (they’re “hanging out with the wrong crowd”). The company that eggs keep are the culprits of high serum cholesterol, not the eggs themselves.

The Healthiest Ways to Eat or Cook Eggs (when yolks are not exposed to oxygen at high heat)

• Poached
• Boiled (hard or soft)
• Fried, yolk intact (use a good fat such as expeller pressed canola oil which is monounsaturated. a.k.a. good cholesterol)

The Unhealthiest Ways to Eat or Cook Eggs (when yolks are oxidized by exposure to oxygen at high heat)

• Scrambled (this is why using just egg whites in omelets is beneficial)
• Powdered
• In processed foods

The Basic Nutrition of Eggs – What’s Good About Eggs?

Eggs are a germinative food. That means it has everything needed to create life, just like nuts and seeds (makes sense). They are a very good source of quality protein that is easily digestible and absorbed (albumen) which makes them great if you want to build muscle. They are nutrient dense with vitamins A, B’s (especially b12), D, E, and K; minerals such as calcium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, iodine, and trace minerals; as well as essential fatty acids. The white is mostly protein and most of the nutrients are found in the yolk. Again, the amount of nutrients and fat depends on what the chicken was fed and how it was raised. The calories found in an egg varies on its size, of course. One large egg is approximately 80 calories, give or take.

Personally – Do I Eat Eggs?

Yes! I eat eggs (1 or 2) a few times a week. I don’t try to limit my intake, that’s just how often I want them. I love a good runny yolk over wheat toast! I also love to eat them with a side of sautéed veggies (either á la Mexican style with fajita seasoning, or French style with tomatoes, basil and spinach.) I always feel good and satiated after I eat eggs and my energy remains steady, if not elevated. For me, cheese is the “bad guy” and that’s what I usually avoid. More on the detriments of cheese coming soon.

I was excited when I first saw the trailer to the new network television series about healthy school lunch programs, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution. “Yes!” I thought, as I’m an advocate for healthy school lunches. “Now Americans can see how much of a positive difference can be made by changing school lunches!” But after watching the first episode, I was kind of disappointed.

The Reality Is, It’s Reality TV.

Here we have a witty Brit going into a town in West Virginia in the middle of the school year to try to change things over night. It’s hard enough for anyone to go to small-town American and instigate change, let alone be a foreigner and do it over night. Next, trying to change anything while in mid-stream is much more challenging than starting from the beginning. It’s common sense. I’m thinking that the network wanted some drama and figured there would be some nice dramatic resistance to film (and there is). And finally, giving grade-school children a choice between the junk food they know and like and healthy food is a set-up for failure. No matter how delicious and nutritious the healthy food choice, kids will pick pizza over it. Be real.

Junk Food Shouldn’t Be An Option

The USDA considers french fries as a vegetable choice in school lunch programs. It's wrong.

The bottom line is this: children should not even have junk food as a choice. We are the adults. We are responsible for what they eat and should be making that decision. The “powers that be,” whether the school or the government, should make a healthy school lunch program available for our children. If you provide them with only fresh nutritious food, they will eat it. Give them green beans that are bright green, not grey. Give them fresh ripe fruit; not some syrupy, overcooked, cubed, mystery fruit  that comes in a cup. Give them brightly colored lightly cooked or fresh vegetables. Give them real unprocessed food — and they will eat it — eventually. If they don’t like it at first, they will grow to like it within a few weeks. I guarantee it.

Good Intentions, But Wrong Execution

Don’t get me wrong. I think Jamie Oliver has good intentions and really wants to make a difference.  And because of all the publicity, I think he will (hey, I’m talking about him, right?). But I think the network got in the way of something that could have been really great. The good thing is, even if this experiment doesn’t go as well as it could (I know it doesn’t because I know of the outcome.), at least the masses can get a good look at the crud that is being served in the majority of the schools and maybe start being proactive in making a change themselves, either at their local school or even at their own dinner table. French fries should not count as a vegetable.

Make A Difference: The Child Nutrition Bill

The Child Nutrition Bill is up for a vote with the Senate in mid-to-late April. Many organizations are petitioning. For more information see the Time for Lunch campaign at www.slowfoodusa.org, Chef Ann Cooper’s Lunch Box “One More Dollar A Day For Healthy School Food” campaign to our elected officials, or sign Jamie Oliver’s petition to save cooking skills and improve school food.

BTW, The Revolution Began Over A Decade Ago

There have already been successful changes to school lunch programs in certain areas of the country. One such place is in Wisconsin at the Appleton School District, which started back in 1997. Chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. The Renegade Lunch Lady, has made some great strides in improving school lunches in several schools as well. Two Angry Moms is another group that is making a change. I guess the food revolution is just “new” to the masses. And bringing it to the masses is where Jamie Oliver succeeds.

We happen to be living in a hotel for a couple of days while our home is being tented for termites. So basically, we are eating out for every meal, with the exception of snacks brought from home or purchased. And with all this eating out, we are discovering our tastes have changed quite a bit since we have been making our own food.

Once Tasty Food, Now Not-So Great.

It seems that restaurants that I once liked, are now disappointing to me — even unappetizing. These are mostly national chain family restaurants (think Chili’s, The Cheesecake Factory, P.F. Changs etc.) The food tastes over salted and sugared. Today we went to lunch at a local family restaurant chain. I guess it is along the same lines as The Olive Garden. Pizza, salad, and pasta dishes were their fare. The garlic bread tasted sweet. The caesar salad tasted like dressing on tasteless wet crunchy lettuce (thankfully, the dressing was OK and the lettuce was at least crunchy). The broccoli tasted salty, although it was cooked properly to a nice al dente texture with a bright green color. The mac n cheese tasted like macaroni in a bland cream sauce. Although it was orange, there was no taste of cheese. The angel hair pasta had a cream pesto sauce, which was decent, but it could have used half the sauce and no cream. The grilled chicken salad had decent veggies, decent clean white chicken, but again, the lettuce had no flavor. The chicken nuggets were nice pieces of breast, but the coating was thick and salty.

So this meal could have been really good if they used less “stuff” and better ingredients. Broccoli is actually sweet when naturally cooked. Lettuce has a nice flavor if nice green quality lettuce is used. Garlic bread should not have sugar added to it. Mac n cheese should taste like… mac n CHEESE. Pesto is good in it’s simple state of basil, garlic, parmesan and olive oil. The chicken nuggets could have had a lighter coating with less salt. Now I’m not one for mac n cheese or chicken nuggets (my disclaimer) in general (they were not what I ordered) but my husband ordered them.

Change Your Food, and Your Taste Buds Will Follow

I was really pleased to hear my husband complain to me about the meal. It was good to know that his tastes had changed for the better since he used to eat a lot of junk food. Granted, to most people, this meal would have tasted just fine. But since we eat at home and prepare most of our meals with mostly fresh quality ingredients, our taste buds have become sensitive. Unless it is a restaurant that uses high quality fresh ingredients and doesn’t drown the food in cream sauce, cheese, sugar, salt, or deep fry it, we don’t really care for typical restaurant food anymore.

Generally, it only takes two weeks of eating healthier food for a person’s tastes to change. People note they feel and taste a difference in food a couple of weeks after they switch their eating habits. They really notice a difference after eating junk following a change to a healthier diet. Junk food no longer tastes as good (or good at all), and they physically feel poor (fatigue, bloating, headaches, congestion, etc.).

Just Add or Change ONE Thing In Your Diet

I recommend to everyone who wants to change their eating habits to do it slowly: just add one healthy food to your daily intake to start, whether it is fresh fruit in the morning, or a side salad with lunch, or some veggies as a snack. Once that is habit, add something else, and so on. This is a great, no stress way of changing your diet gradually and it will most likely be a permanent change.

“Free” Breakfast Doesn’t Mean “Good” Breakfast.

We happen to be living in a hotel for a couple of days while our home is being tented for termites. The hotel provided breakfast. Granted, I’m not staying anyplace remotely fancy, so I didn’t expect much. But I at least thought I would have a decent selection of healthy choices, like maybe some fruit, cereal and wheat bread, along side the pastries and such. The front desk was trying to sell me on this place because they also offered “hot selections.” They didn’t say what those “selections” were (and that’s not what sold me).

Anyway, what I did find was a bunch of heated up frozen waffles, white bread and English muffins for toast, a bunch of frosted grocery store pastries, some strange looking egg “patties,” sausage patties, sugar covered muffins, Fruit Loops, Kellogg’s Raisin Bran, some hard boiled eggs and a bowl of apples. Raisin Bran should be healthy, but it has some undesirable additives such as high fructose corn syrup and preservatives. There were only two items that were unadulterated: the hard boiled eggs and the apples. Granted, they weren’t organic (nor did I expect it), but there they were. The apples were not washed. They still had their commercial PLU stickers on them. When I asked the staff if they were washed, they said, “No. But they should be fine. They are just regular apples. But you can wash it in the guest bathroom.” I was stunned. I’m not sure what was worse; her ignorance to the pesticides lurking on the fruit, or her suggestion to go wash the apples in the bathroom. Nice.

We then made our exit down to the burrito/taco stand on the corner, recommended by Julio, one of the staff (being in San Diego, we have authentic Mexican food at every corner). No, I did not get to have my healthier choices, but at least my occasional burrito had real ingredients like real eggs, homemade tortilla and salsa, beans and cheese. Side note: did you know that tortillas should only have three to four ingredients? Next time you’re at the grocery store, take a look at the ingredients and see how long the list is. It’s scary!

Why Is the Burrito Healthier?

Sugary Donut

I guess it depends on the quality and ingredients of the burrito. Not all burritos are created equal. My burrito had eggs, beans, salsa fresca (fresh tomatoes, onions and cilantro), and a little cheese. The ingredients were minimally processed (i.e. the eggs were beaten, the tomatoes, onions, ciliantro were chopped, the tortilla was housemade with flour, water, salt and oil.). The beans are fiber-rich, the eggs are protein-rich, the salsa is raw so it has vitamins, antioxidants and enzymes. Granted, there is not much nutritional value in cheddar cheese and the tortilla, but they were minimally processed and real (not “cheese food”). The downside is the size of the burrito… it’s HUGE (easily two meals for me)!

The hotel breakfast, on the other hand, was not only nutritionally deficient, but loaded with sugar, preservatives, trans fat and was highly refined, with exception to the hard boiled eggs and commercially grown apple. (BTW, I did wash and eat an apples before heading to the burrito place. I crave fresh fruit in the morning.) The selections they offered were assault weapons on my body and mind. If I had eaten the majority of what was offered, I would have felt like a slug ready for a nap (my body would have needed all the energy it could muster in order to digest the stuff!). Note: the hard boiled egg is healthier than scrambled egg because the yolk is not subjected to oxygen when being cooked which causes oxidation. But I’m not really one to eat cold hard-boiled eggs for breakfast.

Now, don’t get me wrong. A burrito is not health food. But some of the ingredients have some real nutritional merit to them and it is a healthier CHOICE than the highly sugared and refined hotel choices.

Eat Simple Foods Over Heavily Processed Foods

One way to help yourself eat healthier, is to choose foods that are not heavily processed. Try to eat foods that don’t come in a box or packaging that has a long list of ingredients. Eat foods that are in their natural state. If you do eat packaged foods, don’t eat those that list ingredients you wouldn’t add yourself if making it in your own kitchen.

Quit Calling Carbs “Bad!”

I wish the media would quit misusing the word “carbs” (short for carbohydrates). I keep seeing the word “carbs” being used in a negative fashion: “Don’t Eat Carbs,” “Low Carb Diet,” “Carbs are Bad,” “Avoid Carbs.” Carbs this — carbs that. And in most all cases, what they are really talking about are processed starches, not the ever-encompassing food category of carbohydrates. C’mon… fruits and vegetables are carbs!

Nutrition 101

There are three categories of food: proteins, carbohydrates and fat. Food can be one or a combination of those three. Usually we will just throw a food into one category by what it is mostly composed of. For example, meat is categorized as a protein, even though it is both protein and fat. Milk is categorized as protein, even though it contains protein, sugar (carbs) and fat. For the sake of simplicity, here are common foods and their categories:

Proteins: meat (all animal flesh), milk, eggs, beans, nuts, seeds

Carbs: grains, fruit, vegetables

Fat: oil, butter

Refined Processed Starches – a.k.a. “Bad” Carbs – the Foods that Make You Tired and Fat

BAD Carbs: Refined white starches - french bread, white rice, bagel

Now you may be asking, “but where’s the bread, pasta, rice (white), sugar and potatoes?” Hmmm… notice those are the foods that usually come to mind when the word “carbs” is used? Well, I pretty much just listed whole foods in the categories, not processed foods. And THAT’S one of the key differences between “good” carbs and “bad” carbs. Think “white” when thinking about bad carbs. Bad carbs are usually white processed and/or starchy foods: white breads or baked goods, white pasta, white rice, white sugar, potatoes (Although, a potato is a whole vegetable, the glycemic load is high, which is what makes a “bad” carb bad, but I’ll get to that later.). These processed and/or starchy carbs (starch converts into sugar when consumed) are usually stripped of nutrients, fiber, and healthy fats and have a high glycemic load. Meaning, it causes blood sugar to quickly spike, causing an overflow of insulin (which also causes fat storage), which then results in low blood sugar, which leads to fatigue and false hunger, which leads to over consumption of food, which leads to gaining unwanted fat.

Fruit, Vegetables and Whole Grains – a.k.a. “Good” Carbs – the Foods that Give You Energy and Are Good For You

Good carbs are usually whole unprocessed foods, such as fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains. These are GOOD for you and will give you energy and help maintain or lose weight. In whole foods, such things as fiber, fat and protein help to keep the glycemic load down so those crazy spikes of highs, lows, and over-eating don’t occur, and you get a slow continuous calorie burn and release of energy.

Summary

A healthy diet is usually high in good carbs and low in bad carbs (as well as animal protein and saturated fat). In other words, high in fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains; low in processed white products (such as bread, baked goods, pasta, sugar, white rice), potatoes, meat, cheese, milk.

NOTE FOR POTATO LOVERS: eat smaller potatoes, such as red potatoes, with the skin and don’t over do it. Potatoes have a lot of good nutrients. But because they are so starchy with a high glycemic load, you need to eat them in moderation, and preferably with some protein and fiber such as vegetables so your blood sugar doesn’t spike.

GOOD Carbs: Whole grains - flourless sprouted whole grain bread, brown rice, quinoa

Some Substitutions

White rice – brown rice or quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) quinoa is a whole grain that is also a complete protein

White bread – whole grain bread (make sure it doesn’t have high fructose corn syrup) the less processed the better, such as sprouted grain bread

Pasta – whole wheat pasta

Instant Oatmeal – whole oat groats or slow cooked old fashioned style. add fruit for more fiber, nutrients and sweetness. nuts, cinnamon and vanilla are also nice additions. nuts add good fat and protein. cinnamon helps to balance blood sugar.

Refined Sugar – whole sugar such as sucanat, honey, real maple syrup, molasses. Whole sugars have many minerals and nutrients and a lower glycemic load than refined sugar.

OK. I’ll try to make this quick. This morning, something dawned on me while I was thinking about Monsanto’s genetically modified “Terminator” seeds. If you don’t know, “Terminator” seeds are GM seeds that only produce once. Meaning, the seeds from the crops cannot be taken and planted to produce more crops. Instead, more seeds have to be purchased and planted. They are patented by the Monsanto Corporation (On a side note, Monsanto is the producer of Agent Orange, Round-Up and aspartame, to name a few damaging chemicals.).

Here is a list of what bothers me, or more so, SCARES me about Monsanto and/or GMO’s:

• the health risk factors of GM food (infertility, low birth weights, under developed brain, liver and kidneys)
• the unintentional cross pollination of GM with non-GM crops
• the spreading of, and contamination by, GM pollen (GM pollen has even been found in Antarctica!)
• the allowing of a patent to be granted for a living organism
• the lawsuits against farmers who are unintentionally “infringing” on these patents because of GM pollen blowing over into their crops
• the contamination of organic crops from GM pollen
• the possibility of “killing” off our food supply because terminator seeds will not produce crops that will reproduce
• the eventual end of the human race and other life because of food shortage due to infertile seeds (maybe that’s why GM food has been linked to infertility?) This makes me think of Easter Island and how its people met their demise from starvation due to their negligent ways of living…

And in case you didn’t know, the new Senior Advisor to our FDA is a former Monsanto VP! How safe do you feel about your food NOW?

If you want to get really in-depth information that you can sink your teeth into, I recommend visiting the following sites and signing up for their newsletters:

• The Institute for Responsible Technology (They are the leader in taking action against GMO companies and policies.) and/or to sign up for IRT’s newsletter
• mercola.com (I recommend doing a search on Monsanto and GMO’s. There is a lot of info.) and/or to sign up for mercola.com’s newsletter.

Here is a tasty way to prepare zucchini. Personally, I find the vegetable kind of bland, so I wanted to make it more flavorful AND use up some produce that was sitting around (i.e. tomato and leftover red onion in the fridge). The only time consuming part is chopping. After that, you throw the ingredients into a dish, stick it in the oven, and your done. The combination of tomato, basil, garlic and onions really give it a nice zesty, savory and slightly sweet flavor when roasted. And, of course, it’s healthy.

Ingredients I used are in approximate measurements. However, you can alter the amount or change the ingredients to suit what you like. Since it isn’t chemistry, like baking a cake, you won’t ruin it by tailoring it to your liking. If you want more garlic, and less basil, go for it.

• Zucchini (4 small) – cut into quarter moons. if you like larger pieces, do half moons
• Garlic (2 cloves) – coursely chopped. if you want garlic throughout, use a press. If you really LOVE garlic, add several whole cloves. If you don’t have fresh garlic, sprinkle garlic powder.
• Tomato (1) – diced
• Onion or Red Onion (1/2 to 1) – sliced  or chopped
• Dried Basil (1 Tbsp or to taste)
• Olive Oil

Set the oven for 450º Toss the ingredients in a glass dish or something comparable. Roast for 20-30 minutes. Stir halfway through cooking. Enjoy!

I was flipping through a “health” magazine today just to check it out. I put health in quotes because even though it appeared to be about health, I found much of its contents misleading, wrong, and not so healthy.

The Picture Shows One Thing, The Words Say Another.

I will use just one article as an example of misleading information. The photo showed bowls of whole grains. I thought, “Great! People need to know more about whole grains, what they are, why they are good, and how to prepare them.” But once I started reading the article, it fell flat of my expectations, and that’s putting it lightly. It gave a few benefits of eating whole grains, and then went into giving supposedly “healthy” “whole grain” recipes. The article didn’t even name any whole grains — not even labeling the bowls of whole grains in their photo. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if the author didn’t even know what they were! The article didn’t give examples of whole grains, where to buy them nor how to prepare them. What it did give were some weird recipes using processed products, such as stale bread and toaster waffles which were supposed to be the “whole grains” in the recipes. To be blunt, in my opinion that’s pretty lame. The crazy thing is, some of the ingredients in their recipes actually contribute to the ailments that they insinuated whole grains prevented. Plus, the ingredients that they combined actually hinders digestion, which causes fatigue, contributes to other health issues, and slows metabolism.

It’s About Making Money, Not Health.

As far as the magazine went, it seemed it was all about weight loss, vanity, fear (reducing it or building confidence) and pain reduction, plus unrelated stuff such as entertainment and celebrities. “Ingenious!” I thought. “What a great way to make money!” If you look at the number of people that want to lose weight, look good, get over fear, rid themselves of pain, and lose themselves in someone else’s life, it’s enormous! So basically, they are just tapping into a huge market. The problem is, the info they are giving isn’t always on the mark. And in some cases, it’s just downright wrong. It makes me wonder… Do they really even care about health?

How to Check the Integrity of a Health Magazine.

• Look at the advertisers and how many ads are in the magazine. Are the ads for healthy products? Are the products even health related? In this magazine, 54 of the 150 pages were for advertising. That doesn’t count the articles on products that the magazine was promoting. You can add a few more pages for those. That’s a lot of ads! Of those 54 pages, only 14 of the ads were health related. What’s worse is some of the ads promoted blatantly unhealthy products, such as processed food, alcohol, and junk food. The funny thing I noticed is that some of the ads that were for non-health related products, disguised their ads with healthy imagery — such as someone doing yoga — in a car ad.
• How healthy are the articles? Are they about health or vanity (for example, weight loss)? Are they even health related? Are they about eating processed foods full of artificial sweeteners and/or preservatives just for the sake of cutting calories? Who is writing the article? What’s his/her background or qualifications? If the magazine contains articles about flat abs, good sex, losing weight and celebrity diets, be skeptical of its integrity.
• What is the magazine’s price? You may not have thought about it, but like most things, you get what you pay for. If the cost is pretty low, most likely content is influenced by the advertisers.

I Leave You with This:

Weight loss doesn’t always equal good health (Obviously, you can look at cancer patients, drug addicts, the malnutritioned, and those with eating disorders to know this). Looking good doesn’t always equal good health (Why do seemingly healthy top athletes get diseases such as cancer?). Not having pain does not always equal good health (you can take a pain medication and be free of pain) — and so on. BUT, it does work the other way around — if you are healthy, those things I just listed, and then some, usually fall into place. Start thinking about getting healthy so you live a good, long, energetic life. Think about what you are eating and where it comes from, rather than how many calories it contains. Everybody is different, but we all need nutritious whole food, clean water and exercise to be healthy.