Prevent disease, promote health, and protect the planet by eating mindfully
It’s no secret that label decoding is tricky business, and unless you’ve got a degree in nutrition nailed to your office wall it’s likely that many manufactured ingredients will get lost in translation. They might however show up at your next check up, transformed into a pesky little diet related disorder – like ADHD, or worse, cancer. It’s probably overkill to carry around an O-chem pocket book in your purse, but for the label layman, there are a few key chemical ingredients to watch out for.
Planning on pumpkin carving this Hallows’ Eve? Don’t jettison Jack’s fleshy insides, use them for a traditional pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin is packed full of beta-carotene and the antioxidant lutein, as well as proteins, minerals, healthy fats and a small amount of omega-3s – all treat, no tricks. Just be sure to follow a figure-friendly recipe so as not to scare off your diet plans – pumpkin is fat-free, low in cholesterol, and only 50 calories, which will serve as a nice respite from your candy corn coma.
Click here to get a figure-friendly pumpkin pie recipe from the Food Network.
It’s becoming a little easier to munch on locally grown organic produce, and with a few label-decoding tricks the savvy consumer can sus out the sustenance value of most packaged foods and where they came from. However, in our consumer-crazed society it’s not just what we eat that’s turning up the heat on our planet. How do I know if my toddler’s “Tickle-me-Elmo” was made a million miles away from Seasame Street, or if the chemicals in my household cleaners are wrecking havok on the health of my family and the planet?
There’s a good chance dehydration could be derailing your dieting efforts – it can slow metabolism rates by 3% – and it’s also the number one trigger of daytime fatigue, making the couch seem far more appealing than cardio. However, before you reach for a coke or some other sugar-laden carbonated beverage, there are a few facts to help you put down the can, and turn on the tap. Replenishing your body with water can provide a slew of significant health benefits.
Why is it that the streets of Paris are lined with svelte and stylish fashionistas, yet their cafes are filled with cream, cheese, and croissants – whereas every second ad in America is for a new weight-loss product, but we have the pudgiest population in the world? Portion control is the simple answer (fast food and giant food manufacturers is the bigger one, but I’ll save that for another post). A Parisian entree is less than half the size of a typical appetizer at Applebees. But with extreme eating and gonzo gastronomy gone wild, our idea of portion control is as out of wack as our expanding waistlines. It’s no secret that the amount of food on your plate is directly linked to your weight – and even if you’re eating healthfully, you can have too much of a good thing, but how much is too much?
These days you could spray a cardboard box with Vitamin C and claim that it boosts immunity, curbs cardiovascular disease and aids digestion. Isn’t it enough that food manufacturers manipulate our palate with excess sugar, salt, and fat – but now they have the audacity to claim it’s good for our health. There’s no doubt the prominent use of immunity claims to advertise sugar-laden cereals misleads the parents of young kids. However, I was over the moon when I heard Kellogg has agreed (under duress no doubt) to remove the “Immunity” claims that are plastered all over their sugar-suffused cereals. It’s time to start culling the rest of the culinary crap that goes on in our grocery aisles.
Click here to read the full article published in USA Today.
There’s a great article in Scientific American about a burgeoning form of responsible leisure travel called culinary eco-travel, “a new breed of gastronomic vacation, different from the languid style of those château-and-bistro foodie tours. The goal is to experience food not just as a diner, but as a gatherer, gardener and member of the kitchen staff.
There’s an oinking great article in the Indypendent about fast food fanaticism, our addiction to the highly manipulated tastes of manufactured foods, and the appalling environmental effects of factory farming – “While bacon’s harmful effects were once limited to individual consumers, its production in vast porcine cities has become an environmental disaster. The system of industrialized hog (and beef and poultry) farming that has developed over the last 40 years turns out to be ideal for breeding novel strains of deadly pathogens, such as the current pandemic of swine flu. If a new killer virus appears, like the Spanish flu that killed tens of millions after World War I, factory farms will have played a central role in its genesis.”
Click here to read the full article in the Indypendent.
Over the last few years potatoes have developed a bad rep. When I was a wee spud they were somewhat of a meal-time tramp – eaten every night in every which way – mashed, roasted, boiled and buttered. Then the no-carb era arose and potatoes were deemed the devil spud, and no-one would touch them (a fate that is often bestowed upon the town tramp too). But after a little growing up, we’re realizing that at the root of it potatoes are surprisingly wholesome.
Get crack-a-lackin this week and prepare a fridge-full of home-cooked cuisine. Chuck your CSA veggies into a crock-pot, add that stash of seasonal produce hiding out in the back of your lettuce-crisping draw, and whip an “everything but the kitchen sink” soup or pasta sauce. With budgets tighter than your 80s studded belt, limit take-out to once or twice this week, and save on calories and US currency. If you are dining out, make sure to play detective with the dinner menu, and look for dishes that skimp on salt, sugar, and fat.
Click here to read more about the Healthy Monday initiative.
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