It’s finally time for another 3-day holiday! Who couldn’t use a break from the normal Monday routine? Though, the holiday is no excuse to completely throw your fitness goals off track. I am re-posting simple tricks/tips I originally published for the Independence Day holiday. Adopt these simple rules and you will not have anything to regret (at least not about your health goals)! Continue reading
Category Archives: Eating Tips
Food Recalls: A Nation of Cheap, Unsafe Eggs
I hope you checked your egg cartons to see that they weren’t one of the 380 million recalled due to a Salmonella contamination and I hope you don’t know any of the thousands sickened by the habitual offender. A single producer is responsible for distributing eggs to at least 17 states under 143 different brands, packed in boxes of six, 12 and 18 eggs. Salmonella is spread most often by the consumption of food contaminated by animal fecal matter, according to health experts. FYI, millions of chickens are locked up and raised in battery cages, with no room to roam or defecate. Therefore, they end up biting and pooping on each other, which significantly increases chances of food-borne illness (amongst other ethical issues.) These unsafe eggs are just the beginning of the problem with how our food is brought to our tables. A nation of unsafe eggs is a nation of unsafe food, controlled by a few large agricultural factory farms. Factory farms raise livestock in complete confinement by “packing” in as many animals as possible per square foot. The result is cheap meat, poultry, eggs, and milk. The results are also human health dangers, animal health dangers, pollution, and destruction of biodiversity. Cheap food comes with a high cost to peoples’ health and the environment.
Images and videos highlighting the bigger issue behind recalled food and food security:
Michael Pollan, author Omnivore’s Dilemma and Food Rules, talks to Dr. Sanjay Gupta about the global issue here.
How Hens Are Confined- NYT visualization
Factory Farm Production Exposed –video, is this the kind of food you want to eat? Does this seem normal to you?
Egg Production Details– short read on how eggs are produced on a factory farm
How to find non-recalled or safe eggs:
-Farmer’s Markets– most farmer’s will even let you come to their farm and pick your own eggs or give you a tour!
-Smaller grocery stores that carry local, sustainable farm eggs
-Buy organic, cage-free (really cage-free), pastured eggs
-Make sure your your eggs come from small, local farms that raise their chickens outside of cages and treat them humanely.
-Avoid insanely cheap eggs, which means they were factory farmed and all of the chickens were raised in tiny cages, biting and pooping on each other and then transported to another factory to be sorted and packaged to sell at grocery stores around the nation.
Eat Safe!
Interesting/funny tweets regarding this massive egg recall:
Conan O’Brien: “The FDA egg recall has hit a total of 380 million eggs. I can’t wait till they find the tired, evil hen that did this”
schmuckraker “PSA for a recall age: This is an egg This is you after eating an egg Any questions? http://bit.ly/bi1ym6″
Battery-caged chickens
Pastured raised hen producing healthy eggs
Meatless Mondays: Going Beautiful
It’s already Monday! I am looking forward to using all of my Farmer’s Market Finds, and making a beautiful salad full of vitamins and antioxidants and then digging into the Saag Paneer I made yesterday. Indian food always tastes better the next day. It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables contain tons of antioxidants that boost your body’s abilities to repair itself. Vainly, lets get to the heart of the topic, fruits and vegetables make you beautiful. All of those fancy creams, lotions and potions that you spend a good portion of your paycheck on, contain vitamins and collagen! Imagine the miracles real, unprocessed, plant-based foods can do for your looks and body. Tighter skin, shinier hair, brighter smile…all by just doing what you need to do to survive-eat (real food)!
Meal Plan:
–Saag Paneer with buckwheat rotis (non-authentic)
Traditional roti is made with whole wheat flour and rolled very thin making them light, fluffy, and soft. I have used buckwheat flour, since it nutritionally has a higher content of protein (7g) and fiber (7g). If you are used to eating traditional rotis, the taste is something you have to get used to, but the health rewards are worth it.
Ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 tbsp olive or canola oil
1/3 cup warm water
All-purpose flour – for rolling and dusting
In a mixing bowl, mix flour and salt well. Add oil and mix until all lumps are gone. Add water a little at a time to form a soft dough ball.
Heat skillet on medium heat. Divide into golf ball size balls. Dip one ball into the all-purpose flour to coat and roll it out into a thin disc. Keep dipping the rotli into the dry flour to prevent it from sticking to the rolling surface.
Rub off excess flour from the rotli and place it onto the hot skillet.Flip to the other side once you see bubbles appear on the surface. Allow it to cook for 10-15 seconds. Meanwhile, turn the next stove on high heat, genlty pick up roti with tongs, and place on open flame. The rotli should balloon up and remove quickly. Place the cooked rotli into an insulated container and smear it with ghee/butter (optional) and repeat the process for the remaining dough. Serve warm.
Scoop up the saag with bread, eat with your hands, and enjoy each bite.
-Fig salad
Slice a few figs, heat on skillet (optional) for 60 seconds, toss in with mixed salad greens, walnuts, salt and (fig) balsamic vinegar.
Why Dine In?
Why bother with buying groceries, cooking, and cleaning? Step out of the house and you find an abundance of fast food chains, diners, deli food, pre-packaged food, take-out places, and the likes of Delarosa.
Cooking for yourself gives you freedom and control. Freedom to choose exactly what you want to eat, the way you want it. When cooking for yourself, you have ultimate control over each ingredient and can maintain portion control. Choosing high quality ingredients will make any dish taste good without the use of excess butter/oil, sweeteners, sodium, condiments, and artificial flavorings. Thus, it is much healthier for you to cook your own meals. With the right ingredients, cooking at home will put you on the track of gaining your health back. In most restaurants, you can never be too sure of health sanitation or the source of the produce, meats, spices, sauces, etc. Even when you think you are eating a healthy burrito or salad at a restaurant, you may just end up consuming more calories, fats, sugars with processed, manufactured ingredients and preservatives. Also, it’s just faster to dine in. Investing some time in the beginning to well stock your kitchen, you can whip a quick, nourishing meal in no time. It would take you longer to get to the restaurant, wait in line, order, wait for your food, pay, and then go back home. Another bonus, you save a lot of money by dining in. You can eat leftovers the next day or use the same ingredients to make something different.
After cooking at home for some time, dining out becomes more pleasurable and special. With all of the money saved by dining in, you can really splurge at a nice restaurant. Eating in restaurants can be an inspiration for you to cook something new at home or a chance to enjoy food that you wouldn’t ever consider making yourself. Also, appreciation for the chefs and staff increases. Considering that dining in is healthier,* you will not feel guilty about eating creme/butter based foods or dessert at restaurants. Therefore, save up your money and indulgence calories by cooking more often and allow yourself to dine out on occasion.
*It’s important to choose high quality ingredients and minimize the use of sweeteners/condiments/fats in order to achieve better health.
Meatless Monday
Giving up meat for one day is not as hard as you have convinced yourself it to be. There are plenty of delicious vegetarian options available; you just have to be open-minded and willing to try new foods. Also, you will not become protein deficient by not consuming meat one day a week. Continue reading
Super Toxic Foods: Strawberries
Beautiful, plump, deep red strawberries attract even the finickiest eater to enjoy their juicy sweetness in their mouth. They are the most popular berry in the world. Strawberries, like other berries, are famous in for their rich source of polyphenols. … Continue reading
Healthier Social Eating: BBQs
With summer and 4th of July upon us, what better excuse (weather permitting) to dust off the barbeque and enjoy some time outside in the fresh air with family and friends. Delicious macaroni salad¸ buttered corn, burgers, and an 8 … Continue reading
Have A Local Affair
“Local” is the new buzz word. However, this is a good, sensible trend. A trend, unlike crocodile skin handbags, that has environmental, health, taste, and economic benefits. When you buy local, you support the economy around you. Farmers markets allow … Continue reading
A Perfect Cup Of Chai II
Follow me on Twitter and Facebook. I would run down the stairs at 5:00 each morning to indulge in chai with my grandfather (Dada) before he went off to work. My grandmother (Mum) would take a couple teaspoons from Dada’s chai, mix … Continue reading
Shopping at the Farmer’s Market
Not only have you have bought fresh local food, but you have also had an enjoyable experience, voted for your local economy, and saved farmland. The FM can be a great date place too! Continue reading
Club Dine In! 