EAT YOURSELF WELL

Inspiration | Information | Recipes

Hooray Puree – what a FABULOUS idea!

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67932_10151715737643452_1158072760_nI heard about this new product a few days ago, and I am SO excited!  100% natural vegetable purees that you can quickly and easily slide into favorite foods.  Not that it’s THAT hard to cook up carrots, spinach, or sweet potatoes … but this makes them portable, quick and excuse-proof!

Check out their recipe section for some great ideas, and definitely don’t miss the Butternut Squash and Walnut Dip!

Hooray Purée is now sold at Whole Foods, and they’re celebrating by giving away a $500 gift card.  Click on the graphic above, or here: $500 Whole Foods Gift Card to enter.

NOTE:  I was not paid or in any way compensated for this post.  My comments reflect my genuine opinion.

The Dirty Art of “Leanwashing”

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Sugar Smacks ad from 1977 (Leanwashing has been around for a while!)

Sugar Smacks ad from 1977 (Leanwashing has been around for a while!)

Have you seen the Leanwashing site?  This website, from Enviromedia Social Marketing, founded by Valerie Davis and Kevin Tuerff, lets consumers report brands that use vague of misleading claims about health benefits that make a food seem like a smart choice when it is not.  Examples are 100-calorie snack packs of highly-processed gunk, or sugar-drenched cereals that scream “WHOLE GRAIN!” on the package.   I’m a huge fan of this site!

From one of their Advisory Panel members, former Big Food exec and healthy eating advocate Bruce Bradley, “Over the past decade or so, Big Food increasingly acts more and more like a snake oil salesman, shilling sugary, salt-laden, fatty processed foods and calling them ‘healthy.'”  Exactly – and the result is a generation of mothers – and their kids – who have come to believe that fruit actually comes “by the foot.”

Enviromedia’s guidelines for identifying Leanwashed products:

  • Does the product mislead with words?  (common Leanwashing words include “natural”, “whole-grain”, and “wholesome”)
  • Does the product mislead with visuals, sponsorship or imagery? (athletes on candy packages, for example)
  • Does the product make vague health claims?
  • Does the product exaggerate how healthy it is?
  • Does the product appear to mask information, making a product seem healthier than it really is?

Check out the site and share it with others … and be on the lookout for Leanwashing in the grocery stores and restaurants you visit.  When you see it for what it is, it loses its hold on you!

Great Family Food Resolutions, from Stacy Whitman

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Noodle Bowl
Yes, your kids WILL eat it … if they help make it!jazzijava / Food Photos / CC BY-NC-ND

Looking for ways to make 2013 healthier for your family?  Granted, the world doesn’t make it easy, with endless messages about convenient, cheap foods full of sugar, rancid fats, and salt … but when you look around you and see where that has gotten the “average American,” you want something better for your family, right?

Check out this great article on Family Food Goals, by Stacy Whitman from the blog School Bites: One Mom’s Crusade for Better Nourished Kids at School (and at Home!).  Start with one change, and aim to make them all within the next few months.

 

 

The surprising health benefits of green tomatoes!

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Green-tomatoesWith early warmth this year, a friend mentioned that she had already been able to get tomatoes started in Florida!  Her concern was that a frost may force her to pick them before they’re ready (typically a problem in fall, but here we are) and she wondered whether the nutrient value would suffer.

On the contrary – green tomatoes are remarkably healthy, and even beat red tomatoes on a few measures!  One large green tomato (about 1 cup), provides:

  • 42 calories
  • 2 grams of protein and 2 grams of fiber
  • 29 mg of vitamin C, half the daily requirement for men and nearly 60 percent for women (vs. 23 for red tomatoes)
  • 16 mg calcium (vs. 6 in red)
  • 623 mcg of beta-carotene (helps your body produce vitamin A)
  • 58 mcg of vitamin A, giving you close to one-tenth of your recommended daily intake
  • 10% of your daily requirement for the B vitamins thiamin, vitamin B-6 and pantothenic acid, and just under 10% of the riboflavin and niacin you need
  • One-fifth of your recommended daily intake for vitamin K
  • 5 to 10% of your recommended daily intake for iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and manganese
  • An important alkaloid called tomatine, which may fight breast, colon, stomach and liver cancer cells, according to research published in the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry” in 2009

Check out my Summer Recipes list on myList for some ideas on what to do with green tomatoes (there are much better ways than the traditional “fried” version). And for added benefit, pair green tomatoes with iron-rich foods like fish, spinach, or supplements, since the vitamin C helps your body absorb the iron more efficiently.

Palate and the Plate

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Eat Yourself Well - Dinner When most people think of a healthy lifestyle, they think of what they are giving up … but if you put a little thought into it, you can easily remind yourself of what you are gaining:  beautiful, vibrant health!

The plate on the left contains yellow french beans, avocado, spinach, tomatoes, spices, olive oil, vinegar and a little grated mozzarella cheese, but the net effect is arguably more appetizing than any burger and fries could ever be!  In fact, most healthy foods are absolutely gorgeous, and don’t require much imagination to be composed into a mouthwatering presentation.

Also, pay attention to your choices of platter and plate colors and shapes.  Check out this article about an Oxford/Polytechnic University of Valencia study about the link between presentation and perception.

I would love to see pics of your best presentation!  Send them to jennifer at <the name of this blog> and I’ll post some of the best!

CNN: Study Finds That World Wastes Half its Food

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This is one of the saddest articles I’ve read in a long time: The World Wastes Half its Food.  And much of it due to blemishes or imperfections that the healthiest, heritage, organically-grown food will be more prone to … while the snack cakes live on.

As consumers, we are either part of the solution, or part of the problem.  What we can do:

  • Teach the market not to throw away viable food : insist on organically grown fruits and vegetables, and accept the imperfections that come with that. The worm in the tip of the corn, the dark spot on a banana, or the overripe leaves on the outside of a cabbage are normal and easy to strip away.  Accepting this small investment of time will help teach producers and grocers not to throw away these items (and drive prices up to cover the waste).
  • Be deliberate in your own shopping choices: think of the effort and work that went behind the vegetables you are buying, and the lives invested in the meat items.  Refuse to squander this – buy only what you can eat or store, and if you wind up with a surplus, invite a friend to share dinner, or pass the ingredients to a local food bank before they spoil.
  • Does your CSA or garden sometimes overwhelm even your hungry family? Invest in freezer space and dehydrating tools and challenge yourself to live with as little waste as possible.  Fruits can be made into fruit leathers, veggies into great soups for office lunches, and more.

Have other ideas?  Please comment below and share them … let’s work together to reduce this terrible waste!

Eating Out … Healthfully!

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First off: eating out does not have to mean blowing your diet!  Even experimental foodies can enjoy all types of restaurants while keeping their commitment to a healthy lifestyle. Seek out high-quality restaurants that use fresh, organic ingredients, and keep the below  guidelines in mind when you order.

Dinner
USDA_dinner.jpg / Foter / Public domain

Traditional “American”

  • Hold the:  fried foods, cheese, bacon, potatoes, huge meat portions, bread, gravy, and sweet desserts
  • Have the:  grilled chicken, salmon, salad, and fresh fruits

Mexican Restaurants

  • Hold the:  chips,fried foods, sour cream, and cheese or cream sauces (they often contain a lot of sugar, too!)
  • Have the:  guacamole,  broth-based soups, salsa, pico de gallo, salads, and grilled veggie or chicken fajitas

Italian Restaurants

  • Hold the:  fried cheese (or ravioli, or pretty much anything fried), pasta, bread and oily foods
  • Have the:  minestrone soups, tomato-based sauces, and salads

Chinese Restaurants

  • Hold the: fried rice, sweet sauces (like Mongolian beef) deep-fried meats and veggies
  • Have the: steamed veggies, steamed meats and fish, sauce on the side, and brown rice

Thai Restaurants

  • Hold the: coconut milk-based curries, fried noodles, and sweetened sticky rice
  • Have the: steamed or grilled fish, steamed veggies, and green papaya salad

Mediterranean Restaurants

  • Hold the: spanakopita, fried calamari, fried cheese, sausages, moussaka, falafel, and baklava
  • Have the:  hummus (with veggies), souvlaki, fish, nuts, beans, vegetables, and yogurt

The 100 Foods Dr. Oz Wants in Your Shopping Cart

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I don’t agree with everything on this list (Frozen waffles?!), but do agree with most of it.  What I’d really like is a grocery store that stocks only these and similar items – I really hate seeing what is in most peoples’ carts in traditional grocery stores!   Check out the full story at: The 100 Foods Dr. Oz Wants in Your Shopping Cart | The Dr. Oz Show.

DrOZGrocery-List

 

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