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.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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."
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."
Saturday, March 20, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Cuban Black Beans with Pork and Brown Rice
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup diced bell pepper
1/2 cup diced onion
1 tsp garlic
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
pinch of cayenne or 1/8 tsp black pepper
1 bay leaf
2 cups cooked black beans
8 oz diced leftover pork roast
1 1/3 cups cooked brown rice
Directions
Cook rice ahead of time and keep hot. Saute pepper, onion, and garlic in olive oil. Add tomatoes and spices. Simmer 5 minutes. Add pork and beans. Simmer until heated through. Remove bay leaf. Serve 1/3 cup of rice with 1 cup bean/meat/tomato mixture.
Number of Servings: 4
Calories: 356.5
Total Fat: 9.8 g
Cholesterol: 44.8 mg
Sodium: 101.3 mg
Total Carbs: 41.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 10.3 g
Protein: 25.8 g
Kid's Favorite Peanut Butter Spread
Kid's Favorite Peanut Butter Spread
This is lower in calories and fat than peanut butter alone and is sweeter and creamier. Great on toast, pancakes, sliced apples, ice cream, whatever.
Ingredients
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Real Maple Syrup
1/3 cup milk
Directions
Put all ingredients in a 1 pint glass canning jar. Microwave for 30 seconds. Stir. Microwave for 30 more seconds. Stir. Refrigerate and use within one week. Makes 16 one tablespoon servings.
Number of Servings: 16
Calories: 69.5
Total Fat: 4.1 g
Cholesterol: 0.4 mg
Sodium: 2.4 mg
Total Carbs: 5.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.5 g
Protein: 1.9 g
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Vegetarian taco soup
Snuck this one past my bean hater. Everyone loved this, even company. Score one for the team!!I forgot to take a picture, sorry picture lovers.
Vegetarian taco soup
Ingredients
1 cup raw barley
1 onion
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp taco seasoning (equal parts onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, and chili powder)
15 oz can chili-ready canned tomatoes (or regular and add some chili powder)
15 oz canned corn, drained
2 cups cooked kidney beans
6 cups beef broth (I make mine with "better than bouillon"). If you are a real vegetarian, you can obviously choose vegetable broth instead.
9 oz Baked Tostito's Scoops
2 1/4 cups grated colby jack cheese
9 tablespoons light sour cream
Directions
Saute onion in a the olive oil. Add taco seasoning, barley, and the beef broth. Cook until barley is soft (if you use "quick" barley it'll only take 10 minutes). Add tomato, beans and corn. Cook until heated through. Each one-cup serving should be topped with 1/4 cup grated cheese and 1 Tbsp of the light sour cream. Serve with one ounce (about 15 chips) of baked tortilla chips.
Number of Servings: 9
Calories: 308.0
Total Fat: 10.5 g
Cholesterol: 27.7 mg
Sodium: 850.3 mg
Total Carbs: 42.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.0 g
Protein: 14.2 g
Vegetarian taco soup
Ingredients
1 cup raw barley
1 onion
2 tsp olive oil
2 tbsp taco seasoning (equal parts onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin, and chili powder)
15 oz can chili-ready canned tomatoes (or regular and add some chili powder)
15 oz canned corn, drained
2 cups cooked kidney beans
6 cups beef broth (I make mine with "better than bouillon"). If you are a real vegetarian, you can obviously choose vegetable broth instead.
9 oz Baked Tostito's Scoops
2 1/4 cups grated colby jack cheese
9 tablespoons light sour cream
Directions
Saute onion in a the olive oil. Add taco seasoning, barley, and the beef broth. Cook until barley is soft (if you use "quick" barley it'll only take 10 minutes). Add tomato, beans and corn. Cook until heated through. Each one-cup serving should be topped with 1/4 cup grated cheese and 1 Tbsp of the light sour cream. Serve with one ounce (about 15 chips) of baked tortilla chips.
Number of Servings: 9
Calories: 308.0
Total Fat: 10.5 g
Cholesterol: 27.7 mg
Sodium: 850.3 mg
Total Carbs: 42.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.0 g
Protein: 14.2 g
When you gotta have some Chocolate!!
Microwave Mini Cakes
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Cocoa powder
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 tbsp 2% milk
1 egg
splash of vanilla
3 Tbsp Honey
Directions
Mix flour and cocoa powder. Mix wet ingredients together. Stir all together and pour into 4 sprayed 1/2 cup ramekins or microwaveable tea cups. Microwave 2 minutes. Run a knife around the edge and turn onto a plate.
Number of Servings: 4
Calories: 209.8
Total Fat: 13.5 g
Cholesterol: 84.3 mg
Sodium: 101.9 mg
Total Carbs: 21.8 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.1 g
Protein: 3.8 g
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