My New Breakfast Syrup Solution!!

So, back in the day, I used to buy Aunt Jemima type syrup. Yuck, I know. Then, my mother in law taught me to make "homemade" syrup like this:

1 cup boiling water
2 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp Mapleine (or other maple extract)
a splash of vanilla (optional)

It tastes better and isn't as thick as store bought fake syrup, and it is WAY cheaper. BUT it isn't exactly healthy either. I decided that I was okay with that since I was putting it on top of wholesome whole wheat pancakes. But I always had a tinge of hypocrisy when I served this. It isn't, after all, what I really believe in, right??

So, I switched to REAL maple syrup. Obviously, this is the most wholesome choice, and it is the most delicious as well. Maple syrup is SOO expensive though, and getting more so all the time.

So....I recently was able to score a 50 lb bag of sucanat for a good price. I found some that was NOT organic, so much cheaper, then I got a discount for buying in bulk. I won't tell you how much it cost (even with my "good find" it is way more expensive than white sugar...but I don't buy white sugar). Having all that sucanat makes me not even consider buying white sugar anymore. I don't have to think about how much it cost, since I own it.

Long story short, I stopped buying real maple syrup. I just use my mother in law's recipe for "fake" syrup, but I use sucanat in place of the white sugar. It has more flavor than the original, because sucanat still contains the natural molasses, and we love it.

1 cup boiling water
2 cups sucanat
1/2 tsp maple flavor
splash of vanilla (optional)

I bring this all back to a boil to dissolve the coarser-than-sugar sucanat.

'Tis the Season For Strawberry Rhubarb Cobbler

This is actually adapted from a pie recipe I've made dozens of times. I was craving this pie but couldn't bring myself to buy white sugar or white flour and have them sitting in my cupboard. I haven't had either for months now. You could certainly make the crust for a one crust pie (see "pastries" within this blog) and put a crust under this. I was just too lazy tonight for that.

4 cups chopped rhubarb
4 cups sliced strawberries (1 lb package)
1/3 cup sucanat
1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup water

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sucanat
1 cup whole wheat flour

Mix rhubarb, sucanat, honey, and flour. Stir until flour is distributed throughout. Add water. Bring to a boil, stirring often. Remove from heat when liquid is thick and bubbly. Stir strawberries into the hot mixture. Pour into deep dish pie plate or 2 qt casserole dish.

In a food processor, pulse together butter, sucanat, and flour until crumbly. Pour over fruit mixture and spread around. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

Tomato Cream Shrimp Linguine, a fast gourmet dinner

7 oz whole grain linguine
2 T butter
½ cup chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
¼ cup whole wheat flour
2 cups milk
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 lb raw, peeled, deveined shrimp

Boil pasta in salted water. Saute onion and garlic in butter. Add flour and stir. Add milk and tomatoes. Stir until thick. Do not boil. Add salt and pepper. Add shrimp and cover. Steam shrimp until they are pink throughout.

Peanut Butter Bars: and how I adapted the recipe

(click on image to enlarge)

The original recipe (notice the naughty brown sugar, white sugar, and white flour)

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups flour
2 cups oats

With my modifications. Sugars are replaced, flour is replaced. I also opted to use all-natural chunky peanut butter in mine. These are LOVED by all my family and no one is missing the processed ingredients at all:

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sucanat
1/2 cup honey
1 cup peanut butter
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 tsp soda
½ tsp salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups oats

Preheat oven to 325. Beat the first 6 ingredients together. Stir remaining ingredients together and add to the rest. Drop blogs of dough all over a greased lipped cookie sheet and press out using greased hands or rubber spatula. Bake for 15 minutes.

The original recipe also suggested frosting these with chocolate frosting. Instead, I made up the chocolate sauce below. I found this concoction here:
http://thefrugallyrichlife.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/homemade-reeses-peanut-butter-cups-refined-sugar-free/

1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla

I put the ingredients in a squeeze bottle, microwaved them, and shook the bottle. It was a perfect topping and so easy to drizzle on the top.

A shameless plug for Meg Dickey's recipes

Meg Dickey, I gotta say I love you. Love the soaked buttermilk biscuits and make them all the time. Now, I am in love again. This soaked applesauce cake is perfect for breakfast. Start the soak the night before and measure the rest of the ingredients. When you wake up the next morning, you just take one minute to stir it all up and put it in the oven. By the time you take a shower and get dressed, you have hot cake, ready to serve.

http://megdickey.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/soaked-applesauce-cake/#comment-348

Here's a great site all about grains and what to do with them!

Thanks, Andrea, for the tip. This site is full of great information!

http://www.versagrain.com/

Simple Cinnamon Drop Cookies

click on image to enlarge

This is just an adaptation from the red/white checkered "Better Homes" cookbook

1 cup room temperature butter
1 1/2 cups sucanat
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour (freshly ground hard or soft white wheat preferred)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon

Blend together butter and sucanat. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat one minute. Add flour and baking powder and mix thoroughly. Drop onto a silpat or parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8 or 9 minutes.

Whole Grain Banana Cake

click on image to enlarge

This cake is divine. Definitely company worthy and easy to make. I substituted melted butter for the peanut oil and opted not to sprinkle it with the coconut. My daughter hates coconut. I also used freshly ground hard white wheat for the pastry flour. This comes from the same site where I found the yummy oatmeal cookies I posted a couple of months ago. The picture on the site is prettier than mine; check it out.

http://www.wholegraingourmet.com/recipes/41-cake/81-whole-grain-banana-cake.html

Cake Ingredients:
•1 1/2 cups whole grain pastry flour
•1 tsp baking powder
•1/2 tsp baking soda
•1 tsp ground cinnamon
•1/4 tsp salt
•3/4 cup sucanat (Evaporated Cane Juice)
•3 large eggs
•1/2 cup peanut oil
•2 large ripe bananas
•1/2 cup milk (any kind)
•2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:
•4-oz cream cheese, room temperature
•1/4 cup butter, room temperature
•3 tbsp wild honey
•2-3 tbsp milk
Topping
•Unsweetened coconut flakes
•Toasted pecans


Cake Preparation:
1.Preheat oven to 350F.
2.Grease a 9-inch round cake pan, bottom and sides.
3.In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon and salt.
4.In a small pan over low heat melt sucanat in oil- just till its partially liquidfied, may still be a bit crumbly.
5.In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, bananas, milk and vanilla extract.
6.Add sucanat liquid to dry mix and stir till covered in mixture.
7.Add egg mix and stir until no streaks of flour remain visible.
8.Pour into prepared pan.
9.Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly pressed.
10.Turn cake out of the pan onto a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Frosting Preparation:
1.Beat cream cheese and butter together
2.Slowly add honey and milk until creamy smooth.
3.Top cool cake with frosting, pecans and unsweetened coconut flakes.

Tisha's Lentil Enchiladas

click on photo to enlarge


click on photo to enlarge

Ingredients
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp unrefined oil or butter
1 cup dried lentils
1 heaping tablespoon of my taco seasoning (see post with crock pot pinto beans)
2 cups broth, any kind
1 cup thick salsa
8 whole wheat tortillas (see previous post)
1 1/2 cups shredded cheese
1 can enchilada sauce (we like Stokes pork flavored sauce; clean ingredient list and yummy)
lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream, etc.. for toppings

Directions
Saute onion and garlic until tender. Add lentils and spices. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Add broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Uncover. Cook 10 minutes more, allowing liquid to reduce. Add salsa. Heat through. You may need to put this in a colander to remove some of the cooking liquid. Spoon 1/4 cup lentils into tortillas. Roll and place in a 13x9 pan. Cover with enchilada sauce and cheese. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Top with desired toppings

The BEST Whole Wheat Tortillas Ever

I've made lots of whole wheat tortillas and have often found the results to be too "wheaty", too thick, and just not right. I'm a tortilla connoisseur. When we lived in Nampa, Idaho (a town with a high Mexican population), I found a little bakery called "Rita's." If you are ever in Nampa, please go eat the lingua tacos (yup, this is tongue; just trust me) from their walk-up window. Then go inside their little shop. Buy their flour tortillas . Also buy their little cinnamon sugar coated cookies. Both are made with white flour but its a treat that you won't find anywheare else, so I think you should splurge. Anyway, I digress...... tortillas......Because of Rita's, I must have my tortillas thin and cooked just right. THIS recipe is the one:

Ingredients
4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1.5 cups boiling water

Directions
Put flour, salt, and baking powder into a good mixer and mix, using the paddle blade. Pour boiling water over this and mix thorougly. Switch to dough hook and knead for 2 minutes. This helps the gluten in the flour develop and absorb the water. Shape into 24 balls right on your counter and lay plastic wrap over the top. You can freeze them at this point if you want. Let them rest on the counter for at least 20 minutes or up to 24 hours (this would be considered "soaking" as I've described in an earlier post about getting more from your whole grains, but without an acid solution).

Heat a cast-iron griddle or non-stick pan to medium high heat. Roll out on an unfloured, ungreased countertop (if you need flour, just use a tiny bit). I'm not super picky about shape. Mine are often square-ish. Roll as thinly as you can and stretch the dough when you pick it up to place it on your hot griddle.

Cook on both sides.

Slip the hot tortilla into a zip-lock bag and zip it up. Keep doing this. The trapped steam keeps the tortillas soft.

If you want to freeze these, let the bag cool and then place it in the freezer.

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 24
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 67.7
Total Fat: 0.4 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 102.3 mg
Total Carbs: 14.7 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.4 g
Protein: 2.7 g

Simple Lo Mein Dinner

1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken or pork (totally optional)
1 lb bag frozen stir fry veggies
1/2 a 13.5 oz box of whole wheat linguine or spaghetti
1 cup reduced sodium broth
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 tbsp minced garlic from a jar

Get your pasta water going in one pan. Heat a skillet or wok and drizzle with evoo. Saute your chicken until cooked through and then add 1/4 cup water. Add your frozen veggies and cover. Steam for 5 minutes on high. Meanwhile, put your pasta in to cook. Whisk together the broth, juice, soy sauce, flour, and garlic. Pour this over the chicken and veggies and leave uncovered, stirring often until the sauce thickens. Drain your pasta and dump it right into the pan with the chicken, veggies, and sauce.

This serves 2 adults, 3 kids under 10, plus another adult for lunch the next day.

Homemade Mayonnaise and Miracle Whip

Here's another food that I had to stop buying when I read the label. What the heck IS all of that stuff? I found a recipe online and then tweaked it. When I made sandwiches with it, they were declared "the best sandwiches ever" by my 10 year old.

THE MAYONNAISE RECIPE ALONE
2 egg yolks
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups cold pressed, unrefined canola oil (this is tricky to find)

THE PART YOU ADD TO THE MAYO TO MAKE IT LIKE MIRACLE WHIP
2 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup water
2 tbsp vinegar

1. Pulse the eggs, salt, honey, and lemon juice in your blender
2. Turn blender on and pour the oil in kinda slowly. It magically becomes mayo. You can stop here if you want. I like the flavor of the rest of the ingredients.
3. Whisk the flour, mustard, paprika, and garlic powder together in an unheated sauce pan. Add the water and vinegar. Whisk until it is all smooth. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
4. Stir the mayo with the hot mixture and refrigerate.

I honestly don't know the shelf life of this stuff.

Crock pot Great Northern Beans

I wanted to cook a pound of Great Northern Beans because I love the idea of replacing half of the meat in a recipe with beans, and Great Northerns are so mild and versatile that I love to use them for this purpose. However, I usually forget to cook them ahead of time and end up using all the meat the recipe called for anyway. This is what I put in my crockpot at 9:00 last night:

1 lb dry Great Northern Beans
10 cups hot tap water
1/4 cup organic no-salt seasoning blend (Costco)

I turned the crockpot on low and left it until 6:00 this morning, so 9 hours. The beans are perfectly cooked and still had some broth as well. I love the flavor of the no-salt seasoning but you know what is missing? Salt. lol. When I make them again, I'll add a tablespoon of salt. I suspected this might be the result but because of my detox, I'm avoiding salt. I ended up with 6 lbs of beans. Here they are:



CLICK ON IMAGE FOR A CLOSE UP

Crock Pot Pinto beans and stuff you can make with them!

Just look at the sodium content in a can of beans one time and you'll choke. They are pretty high in sodium. I hate when I go to buy a "healthy" food and find that it has been modified this way. Grr... So, I make my own version. I put them in jars for the sake of this blog because stuff looks pretty in jars. Usually, though, I put these in 2 cup portions in ziplock baggies. 2 cups of beans (with yummy juice included) weighs about 14 oz, which is the same size as a can of beans.



8 cups water
3 cups dry pinto beans
1/4 cup homemade taco seasoning (see below)
1 can tomato paste
1 Tbsp Chicken base (I use organic, low sodium, "Better than Boillon"

put in crockpot on low for 8 hours. I don't recommend trying this with other beans. I hear the cooking time can be WAY different so I can only say this works with pintos.

HOMEMADE TACO SEASONING

Storebought taco seasoning is full of junk you don't want. If you want the flavor with NO unknown ingredients and NO sodium, mix 1/2 cup each cumin, chili powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and oregano in a quart jar and use it to flavor just about anything. This is also WAY cheaper than those little packets

MEXICAN HAYSTACKS

2 cups cooked rice
2 cups crockpot pinto beans
cheese
sour cream
lettuce
tomato
black olives
salsa

CHILI SOUP

2 cups crockpot pinto beans
2 cans chili seasoned tomatoes
1 can low sodium beef broth (or homemade broth or broth from beef base)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained)
2 tbsp chili powder
1 lb cooked ground beef, turkey, or elk (optional)
1 cup cooked barley (optional)

simmer for a while and serve with grated cheese, sour cream, cilantro, etc.. if desired.

BEAN AND CHEESE ENCHILADAS

2 cups crockpot pinto beans
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 cups grated cheese
1 small can enchilada sauce (check label for a short, clean ingredient list)

warm your tortillas so they are soft. Fill with beans and 1/2 the cheese and place in a baking dish. Cover with enchilada sauce and remaining cheese. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes (you want your cheese good and bubbly). You can top with lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream, etc. if you want but I really like them best with just sour cream, I'm ashamed to admit. I like my veggies on the side for this one.

Easy Chicken Parmesan with Chunky Tomato Sauce

1 slice of whole wheat bread, toasted and crushed into crumbs
4 b/s chicken breasts, sliced into 8 pieces, halved horizontally

3 tbsp olive oil
1 diced onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic
2 28 oz cans diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning

6 oz mozzarella cheese

8 oz whole wheat(or whole wheat blend), or other whole grain pasta

Mix bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, set aside. Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes and Italian Seasoning and simmer. Spread 2 cups of the sauce on the bottom of a 13x9 pan and keep 2 cups warm for serving over your pasta. Put the remaining 2 cups away and use it for pizza sauce or for a spaghetti lunch. Lay chicken pieces over the sauce. Sprinkle bread and cheese over the chicken. Top with mozzarella.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, covered. Uncover for the last 10 minutes. Boil pasta during that last 10 minutes of baking.

Calories: 380.9
Total Fat: 13.1 g
Cholesterol: 85.7 mg
Sodium: 427.9 mg
Total Carbs: 28.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 4.4 g
Protein: 39.3 g

(this nutrition information is skewed because it includes the whole recipe for the sauce but you'll really only 2/3 of that)

4 Recipes with "soaked" whole grain flour

Don't make the mistake I did and say "that's weird." Make all 4 of these and then start thinking about your own recipes and how easy it would be to just start them the night before. For the first two, I followed recipes that already included the grain soaking thing. The next two were me experimenting with recipes I already had and loved, and they WORKED!! The first two came from this blog:

http://megdickey.wordpress.com/

RECIPE #1 SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT BREAD


the night before:
Combine 3 cups whole wheat flour with 1 cup warm water + 2 tablespoons lemon juice or apple cider vinegar. Knead til smooth. Place in bowl, cover tightly.
(The original recipe said: "I set my bread machine on the dough cycle and let it run til the rising session, then unplug and leave overnight")

the next morning/day:
add 2 tablespoons melted butter (or olive oil, or melted coconut oil)
1-2 tablespoons sweetener honey or sucanat
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons yeast
(the original recipe did not say to add more liquid but I added 3 Tbsp warm water with the yeast)

Mix thoroughly, and knead til smooth. Let rise in an oiled bowl til doubled (about an hour in a warm oven..preheat to 170, then TURN OFF). Punch down, shape into a loaf, place in pan and let rise til doubled (about 45 minutes ). Bake at 350º for about 40 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer registers 200 degrees. (The original recipe said, "I use the whole wheat setting on my bread machine, and just pull it out after the first rising and bake in the oven.")

It also makes fantastic rolls!

RECIPE #2 SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

the night before:
2 1/2 c. of whole wheat pastry flour
8 tablespoons butter
+/- 1 c. buttermilk (although they are EXTRA good if you use cream, although you will need to add 1 T whey or lemon juice as well)

Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, or a knife and fork, until the mixture resembles small crumbs (or do this in your food processor). Add the buttermilk – I’ve found I need to add less depending on the humidity in my home, but it’s always right around 1 cup. Combine until no dry flour is left. Cover tightly and leave on countertop overnight.

see how it doesn't look like "soaking?" It is just a resting dough.

The next morning/day, preheat oven to 375˚
Add:
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
(the original recipe did not call for extra liquid but I added 2 Tbsp milk)

The mixture should be slightly sticky, but not wet. You should be able to form the dough with your hands into 2 in. balls. Place on parchment covered cookie sheets 2 inches apart, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Makes 8-10 biscuits.

here they are before baking. I just rolled and flattened them a bit.

and we ate them with honey-sweetened strawberries and real cream whipped with honey and vanilla

RECIPE #3 SOAKED WHOLE WHEAT GARLIC PIZZA CRUST

the night before:
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup hot water
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp vinegar

knead this together and cover. Leave on counter overnight.

when you are about 90 minutes away from wanting pizza, add:
1 tbsp yeast
2 tbsp warm water
1 tbsp honey
1/2 tsp salt
2 cloves garlic, minced

knead this and place in an oven that has been preheated to 170 and TURNED OFF. Allow to rise for about an hour then divide into two balls and press or roll onto two 12 inch round pizza pans or stones. Top with sauce, cheese, or whatever and bake at 425 for 20 minutes. Stay tuned for my chicken parmesan with chunky tomato sauce; that sauce is yummy for pizza.

RECIPE #4 BUTTERMILK CORNMEAL PANCAKES

This recipe came from Epicurious.com but I changed it up.

the night before:
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
4 tbsp melted butter
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

stir these ingredients and cover. Leave on counter overnight.

in the morning:
3 eggs
2 1/2 tbsp honey or sucanat
1/2 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

add these ingredients to the soaked grains. Add water or milk to thin as needed. Cook as usual for pancakes. Serve with real maple syrup and/or fruit.

How to get more nutrition out of your whole grains

6 years ago, when I started this whole natural food thing, I read about soaking whole grains to make them easier to digest. I think I tried one recipe. It seemed "too weird" so I stopped doing that. I've revisited it and you know what? It isn't really weird at all. Take any recipe that contains whole grain flour and liquid (so any pancake, muffin, biscuit, bread, cake, etc) and allow the flour to sit in that liquid for 7-24 hours before you finish the recipe. Seriously, that easy. Why did I think that was weird?

Why do this, you ask?? Because whole grains contain phytic acid, which actually blocks the absorbtion of nutrients. If we soak it, ferment it, or sprout it, the phytic acid gets neutralized and the nutrients are more available. In addition, this helps break down the grain a bit and makes it easier to digest (particularly the gluten, which some people have trouble with). This also makes for a lighter, fluffier product than other whole-grain recipes usually produce.

Soaking is easy, as I stated above (and you don't soak and drain it like soaking a stained shirt, you just let it sit and then continue baking). Fermenting is easy too. You can just add a little lemon juice, vinegar, buttermilk, or yogurt to the liquid and fermentation occurs. Sprouting is still "too weird" to me. I'll get back to you on that when I get gutsy enough to learn how.

Something else I learned 6 years ago, but forgot, is that freshly ground flour loses 40% of its nutrients within 24 hours of grinding (unless sealed or refrigerated) and 80% is lost in 3 days. So using freshly ground grains, or refrigerating store-bought ones preverves the nutrients.

Information about natural sweeteners from another blogger

I've been finding that there are lots of "us" out there in the blog-o-sphere. Many have done their research and are helping me on my journey quite a bit. Here is a link to some great information about natural sweeteners, including how to substitute them in recipes:

http://www.passionatehomemaking.com/2008/09/my-favorite-natural-sweeteners.html

I learned that some of my stand-by's aren't maybe as healthy as I thought. For instance, I hadn't thought about the damage that heat does to liquid sweeteners. Heating a liquid sweetener above 118 degrees damages it and can even change the molecular structure. Well, maple syrup and agave nectar start out looking like water and must be boiled down until they are syrup consistency. They get way over 118 degrees and become something different and not quite as healthy as they were before. Pasteurized honey gets over 118 as well, and with that one, beneficial bacteria are killed off in the process. We have to worry about botulism in honey because pasteurization kills off the natural honey killer that God put in there!! I'm thinking they are still way better than refined white sugar, but it is something to think about.

I learned, also, that Stevia is best bought in its ground leaf form, and not in the white powdered form, because that white powder is super-processed. Good to know.

I'm thinking, based on what I learned, that Succanat and RAW honey are our best choices for sweeteners, as long as we don't cook the honey. So succanat should go in things that will be baked or cooked on the stove, honey can be stirred into or drizzled onto already-cooked or fresh items. I don't think this will make me give up my Maple Syrup on pancakes, and I'm not going to go back and change all my recipes because this is all about growth. I have no doubt that yogurt sweetened with cooked honey and blueberries is heathier than commercially sweetened yogurt. It's just good info to use in the future.

A good explanation of why some oils are good and some oils are bad

I was recently asked to defend my position on what fats I've deemed good and bad. I had to admit that I had done the research and that I used to know, but that I couldn't remember the specifics. Now I remember:

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/4/t043800.asp

"Oils are liquid fats. Most commercial oils come from plant sources, such as nuts and seeds. Oils are an important part of a balanced diet because, besides being a rich source of energy, they provide essential fatty acids which are the building blocks for cell membranes, especially cells in growing brains. Oils help the body absorb certain vitamins, such as A, D, E, and K, and contribute to healthier skin. And oils carry and intensify flavors in food and give it a pleasurable feel in the mouth.

Most oils come from the seeds of plants, which are crushed and pressed to remove the oil. Heat can damage oils and alter the fatty acids, creating harmful substances, so the best oils are produced with minimal heat. This is called cold pressing. However, when you see the term "cold-pressed" on a label, don't assume that the oil in the bottle was not heated during manufacturing. "Cold-pressed" is a little fib that appeals to consumers who are savvy enough to equate heating with damage to oils. The problem is that the term has no chemical, legal, or technological definition, and it means something different to a manufacturer than it does to the consumer. To a manufacturer, cold-pressed simply means that no external heat was applied during the pressing of the oil, yet the press itself, which comes in contact with the oil, may become quite hot anyway and damage the oil. A more informative label would state the temperature at which the oil was processed, which ideally should be below 110 degrees. The words "omegaflow process" on a label means that the oil has been protected from reaching high temperatures during processing.

Most of the oils you'll find in the supermarket have not only been extracted with heat or solvents, but have also been refined with potentially toxic substances. These processes improve shelf life and make oil cheap to produce, but they take the product further away from its natural state and leave chemical residues behind. If the label does not boast that the oil is "unrefined," you can assume that it has been through some kind of chemical process that makes it worse for your health."

My strolls through Barnes and Noble... and the natural foods store

I have been asked to give a healthy eating presentation at church next week. I decided that I wanted to actually OWN the handful of books that have led me to think the way I now do, and to set them out for people to look at and leaf through. I also wanted to see what else was out there on the topic of clean eating, whole foods, "real" eating, etc... I found Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. I've checked it out from the library a dozen times and decided that frugality is silly when it comes to this book. I MUST own it. I also found Master Your Metabolism by Jillian Michaels. I didn't find any other books that I'd recommend or set out as an example of my beliefs.

I looked for new books, too. I found NOTHING. There is a book called The Eat Clean Diet by Tosca Reno. She won't use butter and she does use white flour, white sugar, and white pasta. How is this clean? Other books, whose exact titles I forget now, claimed to be "whole foods" cookbooks but contained dessert recipes using white sugar and white flour. They also contained white pasta, arborio rice, meats full of nitrates and sodium, vegetable oils, margarine, and other foods I don't consider "whole." Apparently, if you only use a little, these foods become "whole" all-of-a-sudden.

I found vegetarian cookbooks loaded with ingredients I won't use. Sure, there's no meat on the plate, but there's margarine and refined oil and processed cheese and a whole bunch of other crap I found "sugar free" cookbooks full of Nutrasweet and Splenda. People don't get that replacing one refined product with another even more refined product isn't smart. I did find a couple of books that I might have considered except they used at least two ingredients in every recipe that I'd never heard of or that I KNEW were expensive or difficult to find. There really is very little out there, in the mainstream bookstore, for people who want to eat "close to the earth," but who also have restricted time and resources, like me.

Prior to this visit, I found myself walking through our huge, beautiful, food co-op. I went there for rapadura. It is the only place I can buy it, locally. I was frustrated as I wandered aisle upon aisle of processed, packaged foods that say "all natural" and "organic." Are people really fooled by this? If Paul Newman makes your oreo cookie from white sugar and white flour and calls it organic is it suddenly a health food? Gluten free organic cheese puffs are still cheese puffs. Organic mac and cheese made with white pasta and some cheese-product is still not real food. Makes me crazy, I tell ya. And what I kept asking myself was, "who buys this stuff?" Are there people willing to spend $3 a box for organic mac and cheese with zero nutritional value instead of .79 cents a box for the non-organic version? Don't they see that fake food without pesticides isn't much better than fake food with pesticides???

Gaaaah.....

thanks for listening.