Perceptions of "Healthy"

In my lazy Sunday morning mode, I was craving something that would be easy and fast for breakfast. So I hopped in my car and drove to Dunkin' Donuts. I know, I know. There are so many things wrong with this, from my consumption of sugary and processed foods to my financial support of an industry that doesn't do a lot of good for our society. But, this morning, all I really cared about was waking myself up with some sugar water that was labeled as coffee and a microwave-heated, prepackaged egg white sandwich. YUUUMMM.

I had already condemned myself to eating something that I was well aware would not be good for my health based on the amount of processing this food had gone through. While I should probably give more thought to my own personal choice here, what I have been thinking about since I purchased this meal was the comment the woman working at Dunkin' made to me:

After I had ordered my medium coffee with copious amounts of sugar and whole milk and flavoring syrup as well as my heavily processed egg white meal that would be insta-heated in a microwave, I went even further and began to look at all the "pastries" and donuts on display. When she saw me eye-balling all the sweets, she remarked, "OH you've got to go for a pastry now. After ordering all of this healthy stuff, you've got to balance it out with something not-so-healthy." I smiled and agreed with her, but inside, I was baffled at what she was considering to be "healthy." I mean, the amount of artificial preservatives and ingredients that I had just ordered for myself was astounding in my own opinion but, to her, because they were "egg whites" and "whole milk" rather than cream, they were considered good for me.

Since that exchange today, I can't help think how different people's views on what foods are "healthy" for you are. I think this moment really drove home a lot of thing we have been talking about in class, namely how drastically uninformed people can be about their food choices. In my opinion, it really speaks to one of the main origins of the climbing amounts of obesity in this country stems from a lack of nutritional education. Obviously, there are also factors such as financial means and genetic predisposition. However, it's clear that education about something as important and elementary in people's lives as their food consumption and resulting health needs to be addressed more in this country.

My go at being a vegetarian (at least for now)

So I decided that after doing some research, watching some documentaries and talking to people that already are vegetarians, to give vegetarianism a try. It has been a solid month now and I have not had meat yet, nor have I even wanted it (I was honestly expecting to cave). I'm really surprised by that fact considering that I used to eat meat at least once a day. But I have been eating enough protein I think, though I have found that it is a lot more difficult to do than I thought.

Though I honestly do enjoy basically all foods, there are a lot of foods that contain plant-protein that I do not normally eat on a daily basis (like peanut butter, beans etc.). So now I've had to become more creative in my choices and it's really the first time that I have really had to think about what I was eating, and make decisions to provide myself with enough nutrients. I think this will be an easier process when I have a steady income and can purchase foods to make proper meals because right now I am not eating with a lot of variation which can get tiring at times. It is just difficult because meals in the U.S. are usually centered around a meat, and so it can be hard to basically just eat "sides". But I will not give up yet, and will hopefully continue with this lifestyle!

FDA and Trans Fat

http://www.cagle.com/members/news/transfatban/page/2

Today the FDA proposed measures to reduce and eliminate trans fats that are added to food. This proposal, that is open for public comment for 60 days, declares that partially hydrogenated oils, which are the source of trans fats, are no longer recognized as safe. This would mean that companies would have to prove that partially hydrogenated oils are safe to eat, which would be difficult considering the amount of scientific literature that proves they are unsafe. Studies have shown that trans fats can lower the levels of good cholesterol while increasing the levels of bad cholesterol in the body. Under these guidelines, Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, the agency's commissioner, said that 20,000 heart attacks and 7,000 deaths from heart disease each year could be prevented.

http://transfreeamerica.org/

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/08/health/fda-trans-fats.html?hpw&rref=health&_r=0

Liquid Candy!

Drinking Diabetes

Today in class, we watched King Corn, a 2007 documentary about, well, corn.  After discovering a substantial amount of carbon in their hair, they were told that it's origin was corn.  They moved to Iowa to find out what this was all about.  Ian Cheney and Curtis Ellis decided to grow an acre of corn and attempted to track it's journey from the field to.. who knows where!? 

It turned out to be impossible to track the corn, but they were able to find out where the majority of it goes.  Over 50% goes into animal feed and ~30% is exported for the production of ethanol.  But what about the rest of it? 

I think we can all take a stab at where a majority of the remainder of corn grown in the United States goes. This ingredient is in practically every packaged food we can get our hands on! You've guessed it: High Fructose Corn Syrup! A significant portion of which goes into the sugary-sweet beverages that many Americans consume every day--soda! …or as I like to call it: "liquid candy."

 

So this got me thinking… 

Are we addicted to drinking sugary-syrupy bubbly sweet beverages? I'd say so considering the average American consumes 45 gallons of soda per year! 

According to the article posted below, average soda consumption has been steadily increasing over the past 30 years.  According to the documentary, this certainly seems to have a correlation to the stark increase in corn production, as well as increases in rates of obesity AND diabetes. Coincidence? I think not.. 

http://www.cnn.com/2011/08/31/health/soda-drinking-habits/

Cooking with Friends!

Oatmeal Bread and Butternut Squash Butter! 

…butternut squash BUTTER?

It's a spread! You've heard of apple butter right? Well this is my take on butternut squash butter, and an altered Quick Oatmeal Bread Recipe made with my friend Mary Rose.

Since both of us have rather busy schedules, we don't get to spend as much time together as we'd like, but it's always a great idea to take a bread and butter study break (and do work while it's in the oven)!

Mary Rose makes oatmeal bread quite often, especially considering the limited free time we have as super busy college seniors.  It's usually a day long process to allow the dough to rise (twice, I believe), but this quick bread was super simple and didn't require any advanced preparation.  

For me, last couple times I've featured butternut squash on the blog, it's been in savory dishes, but this time I wanted something sweet.  As I've said before--it's a very versatile vegetable.  

So naturally the best idea was to make these things together. Who wants butter-less bread? …And I can't have nothing to spread my butternut squash spread on! Plus, it's always more fun to cook with a friend. 

The Good Stuff!
Below is the recipe for oatmeal quick-bread:

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/oatmeal-whole-wheat-quick-bread/

We had to do some substitutions, but it turned out delicious.  We didn't have whole-wheat flower or milk, so instead, we used all-purpose flower and coconut milk.  Everything else stayed the same.



Butternut Squash Butter:


3 lbs butternut squash (cubed)
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg
1 lemon (juiced)
1 tbsp vanilla
Olive Oil






Drizzle with olive oil and bake squash at 400 degrees F for 25-30 minutes until tender.

While baking, combine sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a mixing bowl.  Add vanilla and mix well.


When the squash is done, begin adding it to the mixing bowl, mashing with a wooden spatula with each addition.

Add lemon juice and continue to mix.  Transfer to blender and blend until smooth.

Finally transfer blended mixture to a large saucepan.  Let simmer until slightly thickened.


Store in glass jar or tupperware and enjoy within 2 weeks!  Be sure to share with a friend!

Preparing for the Winter Share at Common Thread

Over the weekend, I went to Common Thread to help Wendy out with a project. Originally, I assumed I would be performing the usual tasks of harvesting crops. However, when I arrived I found Wendy’s pickup truck loaded with tools, metal rods, plastic tarp, and countless mini black trash bags filled with dirt. I quickly learned that we would be doing some manual labor in order to prep for Common Thread’s winter share. The fall CSA coincidentally ended the day that we began this project, and Wendy informed me that we needed to build protection over crops that would not survive the coming winter weather. The morning I was there, Wendy was most concerned with covering a row of spinach stretching almost 100 feet. Without proper protection, Common Thread would potentially lose their entire row of spinach.

            We began the project by taking ten-foot long metal rods that were bent to form an arch-like shape. Wendy and I stood on either side of the spinach row, and with a mallet and rod we made sixteen holes stretching 100 feet; the holes were six-inches deep and six feet apart. After the holes were made, we took the arched metal rods and inserted them into the holes we made on either side of the spinach row. After this step was complete, we took a thin layer of fabric (meant to create warmth) and stretched it over the metal arches spanning 100 feet. From there, we took thick plastic tarp and covered the row of spinach. The tarp is essential because it is expected to hold up to two feet of snow. Lastly, we took the dirt filled garbage bags and secured them over the layer of fabric and tarp to keep the material in place.

            Shockingly, building the entire structure took only two hours. I was surprised that the two of us could complete the task in such a short amount of time. Through my time harvesting on the farm, I already had respect for the hard work that goes into running and maintaining a farm. However, my time there this weekend gave me a greater respect for such labor. I had never done manual labor like this before and it was hard; I was exhausted after only two hours. To be honest, I felt a little pathetic after I left; Asher and Wendy do manual labor like this on a day-to-day basis, for much longer than two hours! I truly am amazed by the work ethic of farmers, and I was proud to have contributed… even if for a short time.  

Below is an image of our completed project:

Halloween Candy

Halloween was my favorite holiday growing up because of all of the candy I would get trick-or-treating. With Halloween being this past Thursday, I thought I would share some Halloween candy facts found in this article.

Americans purchase nearly 600 million pounds of candy a year for Halloween. 

90 million pounds of chocolate candy is sold on the week of Halloween, making it the biggest week for the sale of chocolate. Additionally October 28th is the day with the most candy sales during the year. These days leading up to Halloween account for over 10% of annual candy sales or nearly $2 billion dollars in sales.

Coming in second for the biggest week of chocolate sales is Easter with almost 65 million pounds and coming in third is Valentine's Day with 48 million pounds of chocolate candy sold.                                         

                                                   

The top selling candy for Halloween is candy corn, with Americans purchasing over 20 million pounds of it. The next leading candy sellers in order are: Snickers, Reese's, Kit Kat, and M&M'S.

article: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/28/halloween-candy-facts-statistics_n_1062687.html#s438416&title=Halloween_Splurgin

photos:
http://www.whole9life.com/2010/10/halloween-candy-is-not-special/
http://jolynnsmountainmama.wordpress.com/2013/05/15/kids-getting-to-much-easter-candy-how-to-use-it-up/
http://blogs.plos.org/speakeasyscience/2012/02/14/the-curious-toxic-chemistry-of-chocolate/
http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/cityofate/2011/10/candy_corn_worst_halloween_can.php