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Saturday, January 30, 2010
Homemade Soup & Bread
Yummo- sometimes I think I should just marry myself - I make such a good wifey!
I made some homemade chicken soup and homemade bread last Sunday!
The first round of bread didn't work out :( and silly me, as I was mixing it, I was thinkng to myself "Boy, how lazy we have become as a civilization! Bread is so easy to make...I mean it takes a long time because it has to rise and stuff, but it's not HARD to make..." then, bamn, it didn't rise (I think it was my substitution of whole grain flour for the white flour that screwed it up). So, I made a quick rising bread instead (after a run to the store for MORE FLOUR!) and it was equally as yummy!
Quick rise bread that has risen and is ready for the oven:
The "before" pic of the soup:
The "after" pic of the Vegetable soup with Chicken and lentils:
And the finished whole wheat bread (the loaves are upside down and the pic is sideways!):
I made some homemade chicken soup and homemade bread last Sunday!
The first round of bread didn't work out :( and silly me, as I was mixing it, I was thinkng to myself "Boy, how lazy we have become as a civilization! Bread is so easy to make...I mean it takes a long time because it has to rise and stuff, but it's not HARD to make..." then, bamn, it didn't rise (I think it was my substitution of whole grain flour for the white flour that screwed it up). So, I made a quick rising bread instead (after a run to the store for MORE FLOUR!) and it was equally as yummy!
Quick rise bread that has risen and is ready for the oven:
The "before" pic of the soup:
The "after" pic of the Vegetable soup with Chicken and lentils:
And the finished whole wheat bread (the loaves are upside down and the pic is sideways!):
Clean Eating Magazine...
Hi Peeps!
Ever hear of a magazine called Clean Eating? I've been reading it off and on for a year or two...funny thing is, the mag is CANADIAN (published in Mississauga) and I can never find it in Canada - so I buy it in BERMUDA...it's published every 2nd month of the year (so 6 issues a year) and subscriptions are available (and that's one of the first things I am going to do as soon as I move back home!)
In any case, the main tag line of the mag is: "Improving your life one meal at a time" and they pretty much nail all of that on the head with super fantastic recipe ideas and TONS of information on Clean Eating (which is almost the same as my goals here with Whole Foods!) and tons of info on Clean Living...and the info is delivered in small bite sized chunks (I have laid off my big time research for now because I was scaring the crap out of myself with all the junk that goes into our food and all the POLITICAL CRAP that governs the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe - yes I am looking at everyone from food safety boards to scientists (think about who sponsors them) to corporations!). My focus here is to change the way *I* live, and the focus of this blog is to document it, and take anyone who wants to come along for the ride! I am not about to turn into some kind of lobbyist who is trying to change the world...we can all do some personal changes, which will naturally result in other people changing! You'll see (the power of change is in how we spend our dollars!)
So....this week, I'd like to challenge everyone to "Transform Your Side Dish Into The Main Event" (I borrowed this idea from and article in the January/February Issue with the same name -which has some GORGEOUS recipes BTW)- Basically, stop making a big fat meat dish into the main deal of the meal, and put the focus on the scrumptious side instead! Don't say: Hey we're having roast chicken and potatoes tonight, say: Hey we're having Hot & Sour Swiss Chard with Bulgar Waldorf Salad, and oh yeah, some chicken...BONUS POINTS if you forgo the meaty dish and just eat the side instead (way easier for us single people! I do it alllll the time! Hellloooo roasted cauliflower! Just make sure your overall daily intake is balanced) Needless to say, there are some recipes in here for stuff you may never have even seen in your life, let alone COOKED! (I'm still working on what the heck to do with 'greens') and GULP there's a recipe in there for brussel sprouts, which I tried once (as an adult) and immediately thought "What kind of masochistic parents force their kids to eat this crap when there are way better vegetables in the world instead?" as I spat it out into my napkin (not so gracefully)...and I *MAY* try them again. We will see...they still look gross even if they are in some kind of spicy almond glaze...we will see.
I'm kinda excited to try the Bulgar Waldorf Salad...but instead of the Bulgar, I am going to use Quinoa (I was working up the courage to eat the Quinoa as a breakfast cereal this morning...that didn't happen, maybe tomorrow!) and instead of the green apples, I will use red (not a big fan of green apples) and instead of the red grapes, I will use green (not a big fan of red grapes!) - and most of these substitutions aren't because I'm overly picky, it's mostly because I literally just came back from shopping and that's the stuff I have on hand!
Ever hear of a magazine called Clean Eating? I've been reading it off and on for a year or two...funny thing is, the mag is CANADIAN (published in Mississauga) and I can never find it in Canada - so I buy it in BERMUDA...it's published every 2nd month of the year (so 6 issues a year) and subscriptions are available (and that's one of the first things I am going to do as soon as I move back home!)
In any case, the main tag line of the mag is: "Improving your life one meal at a time" and they pretty much nail all of that on the head with super fantastic recipe ideas and TONS of information on Clean Eating (which is almost the same as my goals here with Whole Foods!) and tons of info on Clean Living...and the info is delivered in small bite sized chunks (I have laid off my big time research for now because I was scaring the crap out of myself with all the junk that goes into our food and all the POLITICAL CRAP that governs the people who are supposed to be keeping us safe - yes I am looking at everyone from food safety boards to scientists (think about who sponsors them) to corporations!). My focus here is to change the way *I* live, and the focus of this blog is to document it, and take anyone who wants to come along for the ride! I am not about to turn into some kind of lobbyist who is trying to change the world...we can all do some personal changes, which will naturally result in other people changing! You'll see (the power of change is in how we spend our dollars!)
So....this week, I'd like to challenge everyone to "Transform Your Side Dish Into The Main Event" (I borrowed this idea from and article in the January/February Issue with the same name -which has some GORGEOUS recipes BTW)- Basically, stop making a big fat meat dish into the main deal of the meal, and put the focus on the scrumptious side instead! Don't say: Hey we're having roast chicken and potatoes tonight, say: Hey we're having Hot & Sour Swiss Chard with Bulgar Waldorf Salad, and oh yeah, some chicken...BONUS POINTS if you forgo the meaty dish and just eat the side instead (way easier for us single people! I do it alllll the time! Hellloooo roasted cauliflower! Just make sure your overall daily intake is balanced) Needless to say, there are some recipes in here for stuff you may never have even seen in your life, let alone COOKED! (I'm still working on what the heck to do with 'greens') and GULP there's a recipe in there for brussel sprouts, which I tried once (as an adult) and immediately thought "What kind of masochistic parents force their kids to eat this crap when there are way better vegetables in the world instead?" as I spat it out into my napkin (not so gracefully)...and I *MAY* try them again. We will see...they still look gross even if they are in some kind of spicy almond glaze...we will see.
I'm kinda excited to try the Bulgar Waldorf Salad...but instead of the Bulgar, I am going to use Quinoa (I was working up the courage to eat the Quinoa as a breakfast cereal this morning...that didn't happen, maybe tomorrow!) and instead of the green apples, I will use red (not a big fan of green apples) and instead of the red grapes, I will use green (not a big fan of red grapes!) - and most of these substitutions aren't because I'm overly picky, it's mostly because I literally just came back from shopping and that's the stuff I have on hand!
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
SUPERFOODS…read THIS article.
I read these articles to get ideas on how to use the raw foods I have been buying lately (Still have tons fo Quinoa and lentils people!). But I liked this article because it gave TONS of ideas on how to use stuff in everyday life (Quinoa as hot cereal? Really? I’m going to have to try that!) I mean, I love big complicated recipes that churn out 5-star restaurant quality food (complete with fancy plating!) but seriously, who the hell has the time or energy to cook like that everyday?
The whole point to moving to whole foods is to make it fit into my lifestyle EASILY. ‘Cause if it ain’t easy, I ain’t doing it.
I read these articles to get ideas on how to use the raw foods I have been buying lately (Still have tons fo Quinoa and lentils people!). But I liked this article because it gave TONS of ideas on how to use stuff in everyday life (Quinoa as hot cereal? Really? I’m going to have to try that!) I mean, I love big complicated recipes that churn out 5-star restaurant quality food (complete with fancy plating!) but seriously, who the hell has the time or energy to cook like that everyday?
The whole point to moving to whole foods is to make it fit into my lifestyle EASILY. ‘Cause if it ain’t easy, I ain’t doing it.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
A bit o' this and a bit o' that
So, this week I was kinda busy with stuff both at work, and at home. I am so excited about my friend's wedding (in SCOTLAND!) this May and was booking flights and accommodation. I was a little worried about staying away from home because what the heck am I going to eat? It would have to be a week of making some "good or better" choices and I would have to settle for that (with no "best" options) BUT - I had a brilliant idea and rented a flat (with a kitchen) for the week instead of a hotel! It turned out to be cheaper too! AMAZING! I'm really happy about that! Now I can grab some groceries and I don't have to fret over where and what I am going to eat...which also means that I am going to save even MORE money by not having to eat out for every meal! :)
Now, because I was busy, I didn't always have time to cook (and wasn't extremely inspired) this week. I made spaghetti with a primavera sauce...that was so easy, so I wish I liked spaghetti more :(
I got a jar (glass jar!) of Amy's low sodium organic marinara sauce - I usually make this sauce staring with canned tomato, but no more cans for me! I chopped up some organic green onions, and the rest of the organic button mushrooms and put them in a saucepan with water to cook...then dumped about half the jar of the sauce. Then I added some chopped up organic grape tomatoes, and ripped up organic spinach (usually I use fresh Basil leaves, but a) I already had spinach and b) the jarred stuff already had tons of flavor) and simmered for a bit! When it was almost done, I added some fresh parsley...mmmmm
If I was making this sauce with the canned tomatoes (you can get stewed tomatoes in a jar, that's the BEST option...even better if they're organic!)I would have also added GARLIC and tons of chunky cut Spanish onions (the stuff I used already had onions and garlic).
Then I put it on some organic whole wheat linguine noodles (not a spaghetti fan at all) and splashed some parmesan on top! On the side I put some of the naked spinach leaves, splashed some balsamic vinegar on them and threw a couple of little tomatoes on my plate for good measure...I ate about half of that :) hahahaha! and saved the rest for lunch!
I also made a pepper steak stir-fry...I love stir-frys because you can put whatever the heck you want in them and they're VERY hard to screw up! I think the stir-fry is our generation's answer to the casserole!
So, I drizzled about 1 TBS of sesame oil in the bottom of a pan and heated it up a bit, then I took that Niman steak I bought the other day and threw some pepper on it (I used a blend called "Montreal Steak Spice") then seared it in the oil (it was a very thin cut steak, so searing literally took 30 seconds on each side and it came out medium rare)...when that was done, I put some water in the skillet to 'deglaze' it an added onion and broccoli (cook that for a minute until that broccoli becomes a rich green colour) then I plopped the steak back in, and added shredded organic cabbage (bet you were waiting for me to use that puppy eh? I used about half that small head) tossed it around, then added in sliced zucchini (or courgette for you Brits and almost Brits). When it was done, it looked way to "green" so, to accentuate the pepper flavour in the stir-fry I used that purple stuff that I always want to call radicchio, but I think it's something else, and arranged that to line the plate (in place of rice or noodles) and plopped the stir-fry on that. MMMMMMM GOOD! And enough for a dinner AND a lunch. Excellent!
Today is Sunday and I always treat myself to a fantastic breakfast on Sundays! Today was a beautiful sweet-treat of french toast (made with that home-made bread from 2 weeks ago (defrosted from the freezer!) and sliced really thick and 1 organic free range local egg from Wadsons (eek I have great news!) whisked with milk)...cooked that in BUTTER and topped it with sliced local bananas and organic strawberries. I wish I could tell you that I also put organic maple syrup on top, but, all I had was that fake table syrup crap (first ingredient: high fructose corn syrup!!!!) so I used that and promised myself to replace that when it's done with the better (and super stupid expensive here) maple syrup.
My happy story for today actually happened yesterday! The weather here was SO BAD that I couldn't get to the Farmer's Market to get my eggs! I was also going to trek out to Devonshire Lindos to get some more veg and fruit... Well, the weather never let up and I value my life (high winds that are strong enough to knock branches off of trees + my little wee scooter = DISASTER) so, I resigned to going to the Warwick Lindos across the street and get the non-food stuff I needed, and see what kinds of eggs they have there...WELL...they had a little surprise for me when I got there! I don't know if Lindos people are reading my blog, but my wish came true! The store across the street from my house now had that Organic milk! It also has (ooooo soooooo excited!) WADSON'S FARMS EGGS! Yipppppeee! And they also had the roaster chicken for Wadsons! I was so excited! :) THANK YOU WARWICK LINDOS! Now if I just need to run out quick for milk or eggs (or chicken?!), I can just go across the street and not halfway across the island! :)
Today I am making more bread, chicken soup, pumpkin spice cake, and I really want to play with the Quinoa and lentils today! I also bought cornmeal (which I have NEVER bought before) and might try my hand at making fresh baked Foccacia (oooh I just made myself drool!)
Now, because I was busy, I didn't always have time to cook (and wasn't extremely inspired) this week. I made spaghetti with a primavera sauce...that was so easy, so I wish I liked spaghetti more :(
I got a jar (glass jar!) of Amy's low sodium organic marinara sauce - I usually make this sauce staring with canned tomato, but no more cans for me! I chopped up some organic green onions, and the rest of the organic button mushrooms and put them in a saucepan with water to cook...then dumped about half the jar of the sauce. Then I added some chopped up organic grape tomatoes, and ripped up organic spinach (usually I use fresh Basil leaves, but a) I already had spinach and b) the jarred stuff already had tons of flavor) and simmered for a bit! When it was almost done, I added some fresh parsley...mmmmm
If I was making this sauce with the canned tomatoes (you can get stewed tomatoes in a jar, that's the BEST option...even better if they're organic!)I would have also added GARLIC and tons of chunky cut Spanish onions (the stuff I used already had onions and garlic).
Then I put it on some organic whole wheat linguine noodles (not a spaghetti fan at all) and splashed some parmesan on top! On the side I put some of the naked spinach leaves, splashed some balsamic vinegar on them and threw a couple of little tomatoes on my plate for good measure...I ate about half of that :) hahahaha! and saved the rest for lunch!
I also made a pepper steak stir-fry...I love stir-frys because you can put whatever the heck you want in them and they're VERY hard to screw up! I think the stir-fry is our generation's answer to the casserole!
So, I drizzled about 1 TBS of sesame oil in the bottom of a pan and heated it up a bit, then I took that Niman steak I bought the other day and threw some pepper on it (I used a blend called "Montreal Steak Spice") then seared it in the oil (it was a very thin cut steak, so searing literally took 30 seconds on each side and it came out medium rare)...when that was done, I put some water in the skillet to 'deglaze' it an added onion and broccoli (cook that for a minute until that broccoli becomes a rich green colour) then I plopped the steak back in, and added shredded organic cabbage (bet you were waiting for me to use that puppy eh? I used about half that small head) tossed it around, then added in sliced zucchini (or courgette for you Brits and almost Brits). When it was done, it looked way to "green" so, to accentuate the pepper flavour in the stir-fry I used that purple stuff that I always want to call radicchio, but I think it's something else, and arranged that to line the plate (in place of rice or noodles) and plopped the stir-fry on that. MMMMMMM GOOD! And enough for a dinner AND a lunch. Excellent!
Today is Sunday and I always treat myself to a fantastic breakfast on Sundays! Today was a beautiful sweet-treat of french toast (made with that home-made bread from 2 weeks ago (defrosted from the freezer!) and sliced really thick and 1 organic free range local egg from Wadsons (eek I have great news!) whisked with milk)...cooked that in BUTTER and topped it with sliced local bananas and organic strawberries. I wish I could tell you that I also put organic maple syrup on top, but, all I had was that fake table syrup crap (first ingredient: high fructose corn syrup!!!!) so I used that and promised myself to replace that when it's done with the better (and super stupid expensive here) maple syrup.
My happy story for today actually happened yesterday! The weather here was SO BAD that I couldn't get to the Farmer's Market to get my eggs! I was also going to trek out to Devonshire Lindos to get some more veg and fruit... Well, the weather never let up and I value my life (high winds that are strong enough to knock branches off of trees + my little wee scooter = DISASTER) so, I resigned to going to the Warwick Lindos across the street and get the non-food stuff I needed, and see what kinds of eggs they have there...WELL...they had a little surprise for me when I got there! I don't know if Lindos people are reading my blog, but my wish came true! The store across the street from my house now had that Organic milk! It also has (ooooo soooooo excited!) WADSON'S FARMS EGGS! Yipppppeee! And they also had the roaster chicken for Wadsons! I was so excited! :) THANK YOU WARWICK LINDOS! Now if I just need to run out quick for milk or eggs (or chicken?!), I can just go across the street and not halfway across the island! :)
Today I am making more bread, chicken soup, pumpkin spice cake, and I really want to play with the Quinoa and lentils today! I also bought cornmeal (which I have NEVER bought before) and might try my hand at making fresh baked Foccacia (oooh I just made myself drool!)
Thursday, January 21, 2010
From a reader!
Woot woot...who knew I am so special as to get blog related mail already! EXCITING!
This comes to you from my friend Susie, who gave me permission to post this (so don't think I will post your stuff without permission! I also edited the bottom part because y'all don't need to know everything about me!)
Hey Jeannette!
I was poking around online to find local farms and stuff in the Waterloo Region. I came across an amazing website foodlink.ca that lists ALL the farms/stores in Waterloo Region that sell local, organic food. There are a TON of them. I mean, seriously, for a 20 minute drive to one of these farms, I can have access to organic and local beef, eggs, milk, cheese, breads (all home-grown grains, etc), chicken, turkey, lamb, pheasant, pork, venison, wild boar, trout, CHOCOLATE, seasonal produce - I'm not even joking.
There are two places in particular that are AMAZING. You can even sign up to their 'co-op' and each week they deliver a basket of food to your home for a certain price and it contains all seasonal, local and organic food for the week. You never know exactly what you'll get - I love that! Each farm has their family story up and how they came to do this, and they explicitly explain how the animals are fed, housed, raised. AND, they invite you to visit the farm for tours so you can SEE the facility with your own eyes. I'm totally doing this - and I'm taking my son. Start early, right?
Now, the one things is (understandbly so) is that it is SO much more expensive. I understand why, and if I am going to spend money on anything, I should be supporting our local farmers. I'm going to sit down with George tonight and create a budget, looking at the price lists online. We do take out a lot because of how busy we are. If we cut that out, we can EASILY afford to eat like this. Also, I have to plan meals better and then voila, I think it's feasible. Well dear - once again, you've enlightened and inspired me. Thank you. I'm so disgusted by that documentary. I'm so thrilled to find a local farm that produces venison in a humane, organic way. The deer live in a HUGE free-range forest-type setting (just like 'home') and they're fed a really natural diet. I LOVE THIS. I know you're not in KW, but you should check out the website for fun - it's so user-friendly and informative. Why didn't I know about this shit earlier? Oh ya, the big food companies don't WANT ME TO KNOW! Ahem - I said it before and I'll say it again: ASSHOLES!!!!!! No wonder we're so sick as a people. I'd like to say I'd go vegetarian, but I know I love meat. My compromise is to eat meat that I know were treated in a humane, respectful way while they were living. They give me life - they should enjoy theirs while they're on this planet. So, I'm thinking we'll eat vegetarian 3 nights of the week and meat the other four. As a start. Now I have to sit down and explore my vast expanse of recipes to start getting ideas to reformulate our way of looking at food. I look at it as my job as a mom and wife to do this for my family.Chao twin!
Susie
So, if *I* am going whole food and as-much-organic-as-possible-food, and Susie is aiming for the same, and Bert is getting more fresh veg (ROASTED CAULIFLOWER FOREVER!), and Cath is always little miss healthy eater, and Jenn, well, Jenn, I dunno, I haven't talked to you in forever, but you're probably interested in this/doing this already, otherwise you would not have signed up....THEN ALL OF YOU GUYS OUT THERE CAN DO THIS TOO! Start small, you don't have to go all wiggy on us and clean out your cupboards and replace everything with whole food ingredients and fresh fruit and veg (I didn't even do that)...just start with 1 thing. Pick a better cereal next time, cruise down the organic section at your supermarket, buy organic eggs (if they have 'extra' stuff in them - like fortified OMEGA-3's- that's not what we're looking for here...I found out that if chickens eat what they're supposed to eat and live how they're supposed to live, the OMEGA-3's in their eggs increase NATURALLY....)
Susie also sent me info on another really good link for this CSA in K-W (which is Kitchener - Waterloo Ontario if you didn't know, and probably where I'll be moving to next!). A CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture group (I learned about this in my book From Earth to Table) basically, you buy a SHARE of a farm's crops, then you get to reap the benefits of what's grown. I love that concept....but again, for a single gal...that's alot of veg for one person...but, maybe you can split a share? I dunno, find a CSA near you and ask if you're single....
In the e-mail above, Susie said she found the organic stuff to be more expensive through FoodLink...although in an earlier e-mail she told me that she has been buying her family's whole meats privately through a local farm and that it was cheaper...
Don't let the cost scare you away...in Bermuda, I am finding the cost to be not much more than what I normally would have paid for groceries (you'd totally faint if I told you what I normally paid for groceries so I really won't scare you!), and in the last few weeks, I am noticing that I am eating less and less...which means spending less and less...and like Susie said above, she'll probably stop getting take-away so often, which is probably the BIGGEST adjustment for me! But, I have saved SO MUCH MONEY by brown bagging it everyday for breakfast, lunch, and snacks....OMG you have no idea how much - that I can afford to spend more on the groceries that I am buying to make these meals! :) YUMMY!
Start today! :)
This comes to you from my friend Susie, who gave me permission to post this (so don't think I will post your stuff without permission! I also edited the bottom part because y'all don't need to know everything about me!)
Hey Jeannette!
I was poking around online to find local farms and stuff in the Waterloo Region. I came across an amazing website foodlink.ca that lists ALL the farms/stores in Waterloo Region that sell local, organic food. There are a TON of them. I mean, seriously, for a 20 minute drive to one of these farms, I can have access to organic and local beef, eggs, milk, cheese, breads (all home-grown grains, etc), chicken, turkey, lamb, pheasant, pork, venison, wild boar, trout, CHOCOLATE, seasonal produce - I'm not even joking.
There are two places in particular that are AMAZING. You can even sign up to their 'co-op' and each week they deliver a basket of food to your home for a certain price and it contains all seasonal, local and organic food for the week. You never know exactly what you'll get - I love that! Each farm has their family story up and how they came to do this, and they explicitly explain how the animals are fed, housed, raised. AND, they invite you to visit the farm for tours so you can SEE the facility with your own eyes. I'm totally doing this - and I'm taking my son. Start early, right?
Now, the one things is (understandbly so) is that it is SO much more expensive. I understand why, and if I am going to spend money on anything, I should be supporting our local farmers. I'm going to sit down with George tonight and create a budget, looking at the price lists online. We do take out a lot because of how busy we are. If we cut that out, we can EASILY afford to eat like this. Also, I have to plan meals better and then voila, I think it's feasible. Well dear - once again, you've enlightened and inspired me. Thank you. I'm so disgusted by that documentary. I'm so thrilled to find a local farm that produces venison in a humane, organic way. The deer live in a HUGE free-range forest-type setting (just like 'home') and they're fed a really natural diet. I LOVE THIS. I know you're not in KW, but you should check out the website for fun - it's so user-friendly and informative. Why didn't I know about this shit earlier? Oh ya, the big food companies don't WANT ME TO KNOW! Ahem - I said it before and I'll say it again: ASSHOLES!!!!!! No wonder we're so sick as a people. I'd like to say I'd go vegetarian, but I know I love meat. My compromise is to eat meat that I know were treated in a humane, respectful way while they were living. They give me life - they should enjoy theirs while they're on this planet. So, I'm thinking we'll eat vegetarian 3 nights of the week and meat the other four. As a start. Now I have to sit down and explore my vast expanse of recipes to start getting ideas to reformulate our way of looking at food. I look at it as my job as a mom and wife to do this for my family.Chao twin!
Susie
So, if *I* am going whole food and as-much-organic-as-possible-food, and Susie is aiming for the same, and Bert is getting more fresh veg (ROASTED CAULIFLOWER FOREVER!), and Cath is always little miss healthy eater, and Jenn, well, Jenn, I dunno, I haven't talked to you in forever, but you're probably interested in this/doing this already, otherwise you would not have signed up....THEN ALL OF YOU GUYS OUT THERE CAN DO THIS TOO! Start small, you don't have to go all wiggy on us and clean out your cupboards and replace everything with whole food ingredients and fresh fruit and veg (I didn't even do that)...just start with 1 thing. Pick a better cereal next time, cruise down the organic section at your supermarket, buy organic eggs (if they have 'extra' stuff in them - like fortified OMEGA-3's- that's not what we're looking for here...I found out that if chickens eat what they're supposed to eat and live how they're supposed to live, the OMEGA-3's in their eggs increase NATURALLY....)
Susie also sent me info on another really good link for this CSA in K-W (which is Kitchener - Waterloo Ontario if you didn't know, and probably where I'll be moving to next!). A CSA is a Community Supported Agriculture group (I learned about this in my book From Earth to Table) basically, you buy a SHARE of a farm's crops, then you get to reap the benefits of what's grown. I love that concept....but again, for a single gal...that's alot of veg for one person...but, maybe you can split a share? I dunno, find a CSA near you and ask if you're single....
In the e-mail above, Susie said she found the organic stuff to be more expensive through FoodLink...although in an earlier e-mail she told me that she has been buying her family's whole meats privately through a local farm and that it was cheaper...
Don't let the cost scare you away...in Bermuda, I am finding the cost to be not much more than what I normally would have paid for groceries (you'd totally faint if I told you what I normally paid for groceries so I really won't scare you!), and in the last few weeks, I am noticing that I am eating less and less...which means spending less and less...and like Susie said above, she'll probably stop getting take-away so often, which is probably the BIGGEST adjustment for me! But, I have saved SO MUCH MONEY by brown bagging it everyday for breakfast, lunch, and snacks....OMG you have no idea how much - that I can afford to spend more on the groceries that I am buying to make these meals! :) YUMMY!
Start today! :)
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Where's the BEEF
I love chicken, and lately I'm liking fish...but I also, every so often, want a great piece of beef! I also have an unnatural obsession with cold cuts, BUT, all of these are highly processed and off the list. I considered getting the sausages that Wadsons Farms produces....but, I dunno...I am REALLY picky when it comes to sausages...I ran to the store (Lindos Warwick) to get catfood today (after I ALREADY went across the island to get milk at the Devonshire Lindos - d'oh!!!!!!!!) and I found meats from Niman Ranch...not chicken - but BEEF and PORK. I think Wadsons has pork too, but I don't know about the cuts they have available...and I can't make a big ol' pork roast all to myself right now. I also have been pretty light on protein yesterday and today, and boy have I noticed! I WAS STARVING...a gnawing hunger...bad bad bad. So, I got Bratwurst and a slab of steak (mmmmmm helloooo stirfry tomorrow I love you!) This stuff isn't organic - BUT - it doesn't have ANY antibiotics or hormones, and their livestock is fed vegetarian feed...and from their website, I learned that their cows are still grain fed...at least it's not some synthetic...by-product...junk...oh wait a damned minute - if it says it's vegetarian, that doesn't necessarily mean that it's actually plant food...it just means there's no animal product or by-product in it - CRAP....I'll have to research that a little bit further or e-mail them.
Anyhow...I've been judging things on a crap, good, better, best, kind of scale, and this stuff will fall in to the 'better' category.
In other news...the deoderant thing maybe isn't working out so well...sorry people if I stink like a goat (especially after a work out!) My sinuses JUST cleared up so I can smell again! I'm just going to have to research this more!
Also - since I have fully undertaken this adventure, I have been feeling GREAT! My mood is good, my ow-ies aren't all hurty all the time (MAJOR back problems), I am sleeping better, and I noticed the weirdest thing....it's been well over 2 months since I last had a pedicure - meh, it's winter - and usually by now, I am DESPERATE because my heels get all dry and cracked (not as bad as some girls, but enough to make it uncomfortable!) welllllll - although my heels are rough....they aren't a big calloused and cracked up mess....AMAZING! I am happy it's winter because I want to see how long this will last! :) Sorry if that was TMI!
Anyhow...I've been judging things on a crap, good, better, best, kind of scale, and this stuff will fall in to the 'better' category.
In other news...the deoderant thing maybe isn't working out so well...sorry people if I stink like a goat (especially after a work out!) My sinuses JUST cleared up so I can smell again! I'm just going to have to research this more!
Also - since I have fully undertaken this adventure, I have been feeling GREAT! My mood is good, my ow-ies aren't all hurty all the time (MAJOR back problems), I am sleeping better, and I noticed the weirdest thing....it's been well over 2 months since I last had a pedicure - meh, it's winter - and usually by now, I am DESPERATE because my heels get all dry and cracked (not as bad as some girls, but enough to make it uncomfortable!) welllllll - although my heels are rough....they aren't a big calloused and cracked up mess....AMAZING! I am happy it's winter because I want to see how long this will last! :) Sorry if that was TMI!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Miam miam (that's French for YUM YUM)
Hellooooo people over there under the title of "followers"! Thanks for signing up! And a big thanks to everyone else who reads my blog...it means alot to me! Please feel free to pass this along! I think the more people trying to switch to a more natural, healthier diet (I hate that word, so if anyone has a suitable replacement, let me know) the better....maybe then we'll get some RESTAURANTS that will start serving some quality and affordable whole foods....and then maybe the food giants will start to take notice....and then we will set the whole world on it's ear...
In any case, as promised I made soup...but I didn't make either of the soups I thought I was going to make...I made MUSHROOM SOUP - yummy! I've had this kind of soup at my old favorite restaurant (which was "French-ish")! I tried to figure out what was in it...and I succeeded! MMMM!
Again, I am not a recipe kid when it comes to cooking. I like doing a 'little bit o' this' and a 'little bit of that'...and I like to use what I have available.
Yesterday I had (Organic) MUSHROOMS available...so I used them!
I also cook this way because there is only 1 of me...so it's kinda silly to make more than 1 or two servings, and recipes are usually made for 4 or more. Soup is also the most awesome thing to make because you really cannot screw it up. There's no secret balance...throw a buncha stuff in a pot and get on with your life. That being said, you sometimes need a broth...start saving stuff like the yummy run off from the organic chicken and vegetables I cooked in my slow cooker (and froze for when I make chicken soup) For the Mushroom soup, I used store bought (in a tetra-pack, not a can with BPA lining) organic vegetable broth. I know I have a recipe for vegetable broth in one of my new books, BUT, I think you have to cook the snot out of the vegetables...I am not sure...I could be wrong (and I am too lazy to go check right now)- but I hate it when vegetables are cooked so much they loose their crunch. Well, unless you're mashing them...like turnips (NEEPS)...funny I have never been a fan of potatoes, mashed or otherwise...but what do you care? On with the soup!
OK - MUSHROOM SOUP (needless to say, if you don't like mushrooms, don't make this soup! Ahem, Bert)
In a medium sized pot throw half a large spanish onion chopped or diced or whatever you want (however you want to slice it or dice it- HA!)...everything is going into a blender at the end anyway...so be as messy as you want! Put in hacked up mushrooms (to give you an idea, I used 2 large portobello caps (not organic), AND 4 or 5 large button mushrooms (organic) - you can use different kinds of mushrooms like cremini or oyster - experiment!)3 or 4 cloves of garlic (I used 5 hahaha - I just heard that Garlic is the super-est food of the world, BUT you have to eat 6 raw cloves A WEEK in order to reap the benefits...this keeps them close enough to 'raw' in my books), I put about a cup of broth (you will get more liquid once the mushrooms cook) pepper, and set it to boil. Boil for a few minutes until the mushrooms are soft (well, softer than they were to begin with - you're in trouble if your mushrooms were crunchy to start - throw those away!) snip up some parsley (or this would probably be GREAT with a little (little!!!) bit of cilantro...or dillweed - again experiment!) and by snip, I mean, use actual kitchen shears - I learned this in Korea - cook with scissors...cut stuff up quickly, be happy!
Stir it up little darlin'...let it cool a bit....plop in a blender or food processor and 'puree'...it'll still be hot, so be careful (I don't have any money, so please don't sue me if you get hurt!)
I then added about a cup and a half of milk (fat free lactaid stuff). This part you need to experiment with - remember in cooking, you can always add more, but you cannot take it away! You may prefer your soup more runny so add more milk or water or broth. I like a nice thick mushroom soup! (leftovers thicken in the fridge...keep this in mind!)
Add some (maybe 3 tbs - less than 1/4 cup) of parmesan (mine was sadly not organic, but REAL CHEESE, not that fake crap - note: Cheese should be kept in the fridge, if you buy cheese that doesn't need to be refrigerated, then it is IMITATION FOOD)...that is probably the only cheese you can add to this (it's only for flavour)...if you don't have it, then skip this and maybe throw in a dash or two of salt...taste the soup now, see if it works...it should be VERY YUMMY! I didn't take a pic of it because it looks like gray mush and I didn't want to scare anyone....but I PROMISE, if you like mushrooms, you will DIE for this soup (better even than cream of mushroom soup!)
I had this for dinner yesterday and for lunch today, and probably tomorrow...that is how much I love that soup! MMMM with a good chunk of bread and butter....
There's a good 4 small servings (1 Cup) in there, more if you make it more liquid!
In any case, as promised I made soup...but I didn't make either of the soups I thought I was going to make...I made MUSHROOM SOUP - yummy! I've had this kind of soup at my old favorite restaurant (which was "French-ish")! I tried to figure out what was in it...and I succeeded! MMMM!
Again, I am not a recipe kid when it comes to cooking. I like doing a 'little bit o' this' and a 'little bit of that'...and I like to use what I have available.
Yesterday I had (Organic) MUSHROOMS available...so I used them!
I also cook this way because there is only 1 of me...so it's kinda silly to make more than 1 or two servings, and recipes are usually made for 4 or more. Soup is also the most awesome thing to make because you really cannot screw it up. There's no secret balance...throw a buncha stuff in a pot and get on with your life. That being said, you sometimes need a broth...start saving stuff like the yummy run off from the organic chicken and vegetables I cooked in my slow cooker (and froze for when I make chicken soup) For the Mushroom soup, I used store bought (in a tetra-pack, not a can with BPA lining) organic vegetable broth. I know I have a recipe for vegetable broth in one of my new books, BUT, I think you have to cook the snot out of the vegetables...I am not sure...I could be wrong (and I am too lazy to go check right now)- but I hate it when vegetables are cooked so much they loose their crunch. Well, unless you're mashing them...like turnips (NEEPS)...funny I have never been a fan of potatoes, mashed or otherwise...but what do you care? On with the soup!
OK - MUSHROOM SOUP (needless to say, if you don't like mushrooms, don't make this soup! Ahem, Bert)
In a medium sized pot throw half a large spanish onion chopped or diced or whatever you want (however you want to slice it or dice it- HA!)...everything is going into a blender at the end anyway...so be as messy as you want! Put in hacked up mushrooms (to give you an idea, I used 2 large portobello caps (not organic), AND 4 or 5 large button mushrooms (organic) - you can use different kinds of mushrooms like cremini or oyster - experiment!)3 or 4 cloves of garlic (I used 5 hahaha - I just heard that Garlic is the super-est food of the world, BUT you have to eat 6 raw cloves A WEEK in order to reap the benefits...this keeps them close enough to 'raw' in my books), I put about a cup of broth (you will get more liquid once the mushrooms cook) pepper, and set it to boil. Boil for a few minutes until the mushrooms are soft (well, softer than they were to begin with - you're in trouble if your mushrooms were crunchy to start - throw those away!) snip up some parsley (or this would probably be GREAT with a little (little!!!) bit of cilantro...or dillweed - again experiment!) and by snip, I mean, use actual kitchen shears - I learned this in Korea - cook with scissors...cut stuff up quickly, be happy!
Stir it up little darlin'...let it cool a bit....plop in a blender or food processor and 'puree'...it'll still be hot, so be careful (I don't have any money, so please don't sue me if you get hurt!)
I then added about a cup and a half of milk (fat free lactaid stuff). This part you need to experiment with - remember in cooking, you can always add more, but you cannot take it away! You may prefer your soup more runny so add more milk or water or broth. I like a nice thick mushroom soup! (leftovers thicken in the fridge...keep this in mind!)
Add some (maybe 3 tbs - less than 1/4 cup) of parmesan (mine was sadly not organic, but REAL CHEESE, not that fake crap - note: Cheese should be kept in the fridge, if you buy cheese that doesn't need to be refrigerated, then it is IMITATION FOOD)...that is probably the only cheese you can add to this (it's only for flavour)...if you don't have it, then skip this and maybe throw in a dash or two of salt...taste the soup now, see if it works...it should be VERY YUMMY! I didn't take a pic of it because it looks like gray mush and I didn't want to scare anyone....but I PROMISE, if you like mushrooms, you will DIE for this soup (better even than cream of mushroom soup!)
I had this for dinner yesterday and for lunch today, and probably tomorrow...that is how much I love that soup! MMMM with a good chunk of bread and butter....
There's a good 4 small servings (1 Cup) in there, more if you make it more liquid!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Chai Tea Latte - lite
Mmmmmmmm
I am a coffee and fancy-schmancy drink LOVER! Of course most of those drinks are not good for you - tons of sugar (all refined!), fat, calories, you name it - plus the flavourings aren't always natural (if it;s not natural, it is probably chemically enhanced)....
So, I try to make my coffee treats at home...I am also supposed to lay off the java (and all other caffeine - here's a pretty good article on caffeine's effects on the body by www.nutrionallyfit.ca - just found this site, so I am still exploring it!) so I am also looking for alternatives to decaf coffee (thankfully I also like tea! For the best little tea shop ever go to All Things Tea in Belmont Village Kitchener-Waterloo!) I also LOVE CHAI TEA...however, it's a spiced black tea, so it has caffeine...although there are TONS of herbal varieties available. Get a really yummy herbal chai tea and brew it very strongly....then use the best invention ever: the milk frother! My pal gave me this one and it is the BEST THING EVER! (Thanks again Mani!)
Just plop some fresh milk in it(non-pasteurized milk if you can get it, unlike me, who can't even get organic milk until next WEDNESDAY! HRMPH!) warm for 30-45 secs in the microwave and pump the heck out of it...you get this BEAUTIFUL THICK FOAMY FROTH (which is also yummy as a dessert topping replacement on berries - just sprinkle a little sugar on it!! Mmmmm) Get a big mug (ideally you'll already have the tea brewed in it....) and add the milk (it'll be half tea 1/4 milk and 1/4 frothy milk!)you can sprinkle cinnamon on it too (for an added kick - did you know that cinamon also helps to balance out blood sugar levels?) or if you've got a craving for something sweet, sprinkle some of that demera sugar on top (I am loving that unrefined demera I got!) heaven in a cup....
I am a coffee and fancy-schmancy drink LOVER! Of course most of those drinks are not good for you - tons of sugar (all refined!), fat, calories, you name it - plus the flavourings aren't always natural (if it;s not natural, it is probably chemically enhanced)....
So, I try to make my coffee treats at home...I am also supposed to lay off the java (and all other caffeine - here's a pretty good article on caffeine's effects on the body by www.nutrionallyfit.ca - just found this site, so I am still exploring it!) so I am also looking for alternatives to decaf coffee (thankfully I also like tea! For the best little tea shop ever go to All Things Tea in Belmont Village Kitchener-Waterloo!) I also LOVE CHAI TEA...however, it's a spiced black tea, so it has caffeine...although there are TONS of herbal varieties available. Get a really yummy herbal chai tea and brew it very strongly....then use the best invention ever: the milk frother! My pal gave me this one and it is the BEST THING EVER! (Thanks again Mani!)
Just plop some fresh milk in it(non-pasteurized milk if you can get it, unlike me, who can't even get organic milk until next WEDNESDAY! HRMPH!) warm for 30-45 secs in the microwave and pump the heck out of it...you get this BEAUTIFUL THICK FOAMY FROTH (which is also yummy as a dessert topping replacement on berries - just sprinkle a little sugar on it!! Mmmmm) Get a big mug (ideally you'll already have the tea brewed in it....) and add the milk (it'll be half tea 1/4 milk and 1/4 frothy milk!)you can sprinkle cinnamon on it too (for an added kick - did you know that cinamon also helps to balance out blood sugar levels?) or if you've got a craving for something sweet, sprinkle some of that demera sugar on top (I am loving that unrefined demera I got!) heaven in a cup....
Let's play Catch Up
So, I may have been "off-line" but I haven't fallen off the wagon - entirely anyway!! I have a small confession to get off my chest before I go any further!
I may have consumed some food last week that wasn't exactly "whole", and I definitely consumed something that is on my "Never to have again" list (but it can be a 'whole food' for you, I am just NOT supposed to have it - stupid White Wine, why are you so good, yet so bad for me? I love you but we cannot be together!)Now, I am only confessing that I have not been 100% whole food last week, because a) WOW did I notice a difference in how I felt/am feeling (I'll spare you the details!), and it wasn't good, and b) stuff happens, and in some situations, you can't always get what you want...so you have to deal! I feel a little guilty about it, mainly because I did have options, but I sometimes chose the wrong ones...but I am not beating myself up over it.....the goal here is to change how I am eating MOST of the time...and change the way I am thinking about food and it's contents.
Okay, let's catch up on last week!
I had some house-guests (HI STARR!) last week and they brought me this BEAUTIFUL BOOK! I was pretty excited! I was lamenting having to alter my cake recipes and experiment with stuff, but now I have a GREAT GUIDE - I am so excited!
Not all the recipes are whole (they are all Organic tho'!) so they still use some of the chemical stuff to make the fancy-schmancy icings and stuff, BUT it also has some GREAT recipes that are WHOLE (or can easily be converted to whole)! Fantastic! (Why can't I find whole chocolate chips with unrefined sugar?)
I am looking very forward to trying out a few of the recipes this week! Rest assured, you will be kept up to speed on this!
I was starving one evening last last week (after a super workout!), and I really wanted something quick, easy, and YUMMY for dinner! So I made cheesy bruschetta! With fresh organic Roma and heirloom tomatoes and fresh milk Swiss cheese! Basically, I took 2 tbs of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, 1 or 1.5 tbs of balsamic vinegar (I never measure stuff, I just put stuff in, until it looks like enough)some Italian herbs (dried), whisked that together...chopped up some tomatoes, onion, and fresh parsley, drizzled the evoo mixture, tossed it to coat the tomatoes...then I sliced some of my yummy bread, brushed some oil on it, put the tomatoes on, grated some of the cheese (you can totally use mozzarella, I just had swiss, you can also use a mix with Parmesan)
Then I broiled it in the oven until the cheese melted and the bread was toasty on the outside...YUM!
I had tons of the tomato mixture left so I tossed it with some fresh baby spinach leaves and ate that with a couple of boiled organic eggs (from Wadsons) for LUNCH the next day! YAY! Sooooo good!
I am also now officially addicted to roasted cauliflower...have I told you about that yet??? No, no I haven't, I told a pal about it (HI BERT!!!), but didn't write it here!
Take cauliflower, cut it up into little florets and plop them in a bowl. drizzle with a little bit of evoo, add some crushed garlic, some salt (optional, and you really don't need it for this!) and some pepper....toss to coat the cauliflower then spred out on a cookie sheet (I line mine with foil) and roast at 400 dgrees for approximately 30-40 minutes until done (there will be parts that looked kind of charred, but those are the TASTIEST bits!) when done, plop in a bowl and throw some grated parmesan (or other sharp cheese) on top (you totally do not need a lot!) and ENJOY! I am sure this is meant to be a side dish somewhere but I eat it as the entree! And it is so good you CRAVE it! YUMMY! (and because you're using parmesan, you don't really need any salt!) I'll snap a pic of it next time I make it (if it lasts long enough).
Stuff I believe I will be making this week:
SOUP! Mmmmmm - haven't decided on chicken quinoa or vegetable yet. I really want to try making quinoa!
More BREAD (I am so tempted to make the same bread again, BUT, I probably should try a different kind)
COOKIES - not telling!
OR
I want to try out my FAVORITE pumpkin cake recipe converted to whole food (whole wheat flour? we'll see!)
I may have consumed some food last week that wasn't exactly "whole", and I definitely consumed something that is on my "Never to have again" list (but it can be a 'whole food' for you, I am just NOT supposed to have it - stupid White Wine, why are you so good, yet so bad for me? I love you but we cannot be together!)Now, I am only confessing that I have not been 100% whole food last week, because a) WOW did I notice a difference in how I felt/am feeling (I'll spare you the details!), and it wasn't good, and b) stuff happens, and in some situations, you can't always get what you want...so you have to deal! I feel a little guilty about it, mainly because I did have options, but I sometimes chose the wrong ones...but I am not beating myself up over it.....the goal here is to change how I am eating MOST of the time...and change the way I am thinking about food and it's contents.
Okay, let's catch up on last week!
I had some house-guests (HI STARR!) last week and they brought me this BEAUTIFUL BOOK! I was pretty excited! I was lamenting having to alter my cake recipes and experiment with stuff, but now I have a GREAT GUIDE - I am so excited!
Not all the recipes are whole (they are all Organic tho'!) so they still use some of the chemical stuff to make the fancy-schmancy icings and stuff, BUT it also has some GREAT recipes that are WHOLE (or can easily be converted to whole)! Fantastic! (Why can't I find whole chocolate chips with unrefined sugar?)
I am looking very forward to trying out a few of the recipes this week! Rest assured, you will be kept up to speed on this!
I was starving one evening last last week (after a super workout!), and I really wanted something quick, easy, and YUMMY for dinner! So I made cheesy bruschetta! With fresh organic Roma and heirloom tomatoes and fresh milk Swiss cheese! Basically, I took 2 tbs of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, 1 or 1.5 tbs of balsamic vinegar (I never measure stuff, I just put stuff in, until it looks like enough)some Italian herbs (dried), whisked that together...chopped up some tomatoes, onion, and fresh parsley, drizzled the evoo mixture, tossed it to coat the tomatoes...then I sliced some of my yummy bread, brushed some oil on it, put the tomatoes on, grated some of the cheese (you can totally use mozzarella, I just had swiss, you can also use a mix with Parmesan)
Then I broiled it in the oven until the cheese melted and the bread was toasty on the outside...YUM!
I had tons of the tomato mixture left so I tossed it with some fresh baby spinach leaves and ate that with a couple of boiled organic eggs (from Wadsons) for LUNCH the next day! YAY! Sooooo good!
I am also now officially addicted to roasted cauliflower...have I told you about that yet??? No, no I haven't, I told a pal about it (HI BERT!!!), but didn't write it here!
Take cauliflower, cut it up into little florets and plop them in a bowl. drizzle with a little bit of evoo, add some crushed garlic, some salt (optional, and you really don't need it for this!) and some pepper....toss to coat the cauliflower then spred out on a cookie sheet (I line mine with foil) and roast at 400 dgrees for approximately 30-40 minutes until done (there will be parts that looked kind of charred, but those are the TASTIEST bits!) when done, plop in a bowl and throw some grated parmesan (or other sharp cheese) on top (you totally do not need a lot!) and ENJOY! I am sure this is meant to be a side dish somewhere but I eat it as the entree! And it is so good you CRAVE it! YUMMY! (and because you're using parmesan, you don't really need any salt!) I'll snap a pic of it next time I make it (if it lasts long enough).
Stuff I believe I will be making this week:
SOUP! Mmmmmm - haven't decided on chicken quinoa or vegetable yet. I really want to try making quinoa!
More BREAD (I am so tempted to make the same bread again, BUT, I probably should try a different kind)
COOKIES - not telling!
OR
I want to try out my FAVORITE pumpkin cake recipe converted to whole food (whole wheat flour? we'll see!)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
I haven't forgotten about this blog!!!
I've just had guests this week! I do have some pretty fun updates coming! I promise!!!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Adventures in Bread
I made bread! I made bread! I made bread!!
That's all the stuff to make bread with
That's the lump of dough, it had to rise for 1.5 hours, so I went to have a nap!
They weren't kidding when they said it'd get to 2x it's size.
these are my little loaves of bread!
In the oven!
World's smallest banana (this has nothing to do with the bread, but while the bread was baking I took the rest of the bananas off the stalk because I am going to make banana bread tomorrow.
It's DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And so yummy!
That's all the stuff to make bread with
That's the lump of dough, it had to rise for 1.5 hours, so I went to have a nap!
They weren't kidding when they said it'd get to 2x it's size.
these are my little loaves of bread!
In the oven!
World's smallest banana (this has nothing to do with the bread, but while the bread was baking I took the rest of the bananas off the stalk because I am going to make banana bread tomorrow.
It's DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And so yummy!
Saturday!
I am hoping to put myself back into a routine...it's very hard here in Bermuda because there's tons going on! :)
I went to the Farmer's Market today to get me some CHICKEN! I have to take a moment here to plug Wadson's Farms --- they are AWESOME! Everyone I ever come into contact from there is always so friendly and knowledgeable! I found out that they are definitely opening a store at the farm, and they hope to have it done by Easter!
I got a whole bunch of food today, and you know what - it didn't cost much more than what an old weekly shopping trip would have cost...I just got different stuff!
I also went to Lindo's in Devonshire (I can usually be found at the Warwick location!) and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! They have EVERYTHING there that I could possible ever dream up needing! I am so much more inspired now (they even have Wadsons' chicken there too!)
My haul includes white beets (the red ones were yummy, but I ate enough to make trips to the washroom very, um, colourful!) - and you can eat the greens too, so I made sure to pick a really nice bunch as I am trying to eat more greens...I never really had cooked greens as a kid (not even spinach) soooo I have to be inventive as an adult, and think it's good timing so I don;t have to subject my future kid(s) to experimenting with this!
Pink lady apple there in the foreground - never had one before!
The best part of all this organic food is that it's all "single-person" sized too! See how little that head of cabbage is! :)If i bought a 'regular' cabbage, I'd be eating it alllll month or it'd go bad before I got the chance to get to it :(
I also got two other kinds of sugar to test out. One is organic "less" refined, and one says it is unrefined demera. I found the unrefined demera in the regular sugar aisle. I am planning on making some banana bread this weekend (and maybe some cookies!) so I'll let people know what worked and what didn't!
So far, here are my white, refined, sugar replacement choices:
I guess it all depends on what your aim is in changing sugar. Mine, for the time being, is to find a non-refined kind of sugar...then I may try to move towards a 'healthier' solution for sugar.
AND - guesssss whhhhaaatttt! The oranges seemed done enough, so I scooped them off the tree!
I also made MAYONNAISE this morning! It was soooo easy! Sheesh!
Slowly but surely getting there!
(Lookit the organic FRESH milk there! That makes me the most excited of all!)
I went to the Farmer's Market today to get me some CHICKEN! I have to take a moment here to plug Wadson's Farms --- they are AWESOME! Everyone I ever come into contact from there is always so friendly and knowledgeable! I found out that they are definitely opening a store at the farm, and they hope to have it done by Easter!
I got a whole bunch of food today, and you know what - it didn't cost much more than what an old weekly shopping trip would have cost...I just got different stuff!
I also went to Lindo's in Devonshire (I can usually be found at the Warwick location!) and WHAT A DIFFERENCE! They have EVERYTHING there that I could possible ever dream up needing! I am so much more inspired now (they even have Wadsons' chicken there too!)
My haul includes white beets (the red ones were yummy, but I ate enough to make trips to the washroom very, um, colourful!) - and you can eat the greens too, so I made sure to pick a really nice bunch as I am trying to eat more greens...I never really had cooked greens as a kid (not even spinach) soooo I have to be inventive as an adult, and think it's good timing so I don;t have to subject my future kid(s) to experimenting with this!
Pink lady apple there in the foreground - never had one before!
The best part of all this organic food is that it's all "single-person" sized too! See how little that head of cabbage is! :)If i bought a 'regular' cabbage, I'd be eating it alllll month or it'd go bad before I got the chance to get to it :(
I also got two other kinds of sugar to test out. One is organic "less" refined, and one says it is unrefined demera. I found the unrefined demera in the regular sugar aisle. I am planning on making some banana bread this weekend (and maybe some cookies!) so I'll let people know what worked and what didn't!
So far, here are my white, refined, sugar replacement choices:
I guess it all depends on what your aim is in changing sugar. Mine, for the time being, is to find a non-refined kind of sugar...then I may try to move towards a 'healthier' solution for sugar.
AND - guesssss whhhhaaatttt! The oranges seemed done enough, so I scooped them off the tree!
I also made MAYONNAISE this morning! It was soooo easy! Sheesh!
Slowly but surely getting there!
(Lookit the organic FRESH milk there! That makes me the most excited of all!)
Friday, January 8, 2010
A real and honest response!
I considered paraphrasing Amy's response, but, I couldn't do it justice. Although I was sad to hear that their canned goods do contain low levels of BPA, I was really happy with the honest response that I got. I really like this company!!!
RE: Amy's Contact: Canned goods...
From: Amy (amy@amyskitchen.net)
Sent: January 8, 2010 11:35:24 PM
To: XXX@XXX.com
Dear JXXX,
Thanks for your email. Amy's is a family-owned company. Everything we offer is made from start to finish by our own people. We do everything possible to make our products as natural, safe and high in quality as possible. We are concerned when we hear questions about epoxy coatings in our cans that may contain extremely low levels of BPA. Traditionally, the coatings have been used to prevent the food from contacting the metal container, thus preventing off flavors, container corrosion, and product contamination with metals. The presence of epoxy/BPA is limited to our canned products only. Alternatives for plastic baby bottles already existed, and those products were switched quickly. Unfortunately, no new alternatives were available for can coatings. Some time ago, Amy's decided to change our can coatings, and communicated this to our can suppliers. They and Amy's are investing considerable time and resources towards our common goal. Currently, we are now in our second accelerated test round to evaluate new experimental coatings that could replace the epoxy. The whole canning industry is working on this as the highest priority and Amy's is participating strongly in it. Although we would have hoped to do this sooner, we have to work within the limitations of commercial availability of new coatings. And we can't take the chance that improperly tested coatings might cause a whole range of problems with regard to product safety and stability. The epoxy coatings have been used for decades and it is taking a while to develop, test and approve the alternatives. The complexity of the testing is high for Amy's because of our broad range of canned products. Please be assured that we are going to change coatings when the new ones become available next year.
Best regards,
Denise Bugbee
Consumer Relations
-----Original Message-----
From: JXXX[mailto:XXX@XXX.com]
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 8:16 AM
To: Amy
Subject: Amy's Contact: Canned goods...
Sent: January 8th, 2010
From: JXXX
Email: XXX@XXX.com
-------------------------------------
Dear Amy,
Hi: Love your stuff (especially the mushroom & olive pizza!). I was just wondering if the lining in your cans (for the soups specifically) are BPA free? Thanks!
JXXX
RE: Amy's Contact: Canned goods...
From: Amy (amy@amyskitchen.net)
Sent: January 8, 2010 11:35:24 PM
To: XXX@XXX.com
Dear JXXX,
Thanks for your email. Amy's is a family-owned company. Everything we offer is made from start to finish by our own people. We do everything possible to make our products as natural, safe and high in quality as possible. We are concerned when we hear questions about epoxy coatings in our cans that may contain extremely low levels of BPA. Traditionally, the coatings have been used to prevent the food from contacting the metal container, thus preventing off flavors, container corrosion, and product contamination with metals. The presence of epoxy/BPA is limited to our canned products only. Alternatives for plastic baby bottles already existed, and those products were switched quickly. Unfortunately, no new alternatives were available for can coatings. Some time ago, Amy's decided to change our can coatings, and communicated this to our can suppliers. They and Amy's are investing considerable time and resources towards our common goal. Currently, we are now in our second accelerated test round to evaluate new experimental coatings that could replace the epoxy. The whole canning industry is working on this as the highest priority and Amy's is participating strongly in it. Although we would have hoped to do this sooner, we have to work within the limitations of commercial availability of new coatings. And we can't take the chance that improperly tested coatings might cause a whole range of problems with regard to product safety and stability. The epoxy coatings have been used for decades and it is taking a while to develop, test and approve the alternatives. The complexity of the testing is high for Amy's because of our broad range of canned products. Please be assured that we are going to change coatings when the new ones become available next year.
Best regards,
Denise Bugbee
Consumer Relations
-----Original Message-----
From: JXXX[mailto:XXX@XXX.com]
Sent: Friday, January 08, 2010 8:16 AM
To: Amy
Subject: Amy's Contact: Canned goods...
Sent: January 8th, 2010
From: JXXX
Email: XXX@XXX.com
-------------------------------------
Dear Amy,
Hi: Love your stuff (especially the mushroom & olive pizza!). I was just wondering if the lining in your cans (for the soups specifically) are BPA free? Thanks!
JXXX
Buh-Bye BPA
So, I have been hearing stuff about how BPA is bad for you. I am part of a group that we’ll call ‘The Masses’. A bunch of spoiled people who believe that corporations won’t try to hurt their consumer with their products – and even if these corporations don’t care and do peddle poisonous products, our beloved government will step in with agencies and save the day and tell the big bad corporations that they cannot do that. HAHAHAHAHAHA- boy was I wrong!
Here’s an article to get you started.
According to this article (and the others I have read), BPA is…
"… a molecule that mimics estrogen and can leach from receptacles: injection of the agent into lab rodents has been shown to cause hormonal dysfunction and tumours, and scientists believe long-term exposure in humans could lead in some cases to infertility, early puberty, and even breast and prostate cancers."
I would like to remain cancer free, I would like to have a baby soon, and there have already been questions surrounding my hormones (I’m moody sometimes!;)), so BUH-BYE BPA.
I have looked at all my water bottles (how does one person collect so many?), and other containers and have ditched all the ones that have the 7 in the recycle sign…although I have 1 water bottle that has it, but it says “BPA FREE” right next to it. That can stay in my collection – for now… I am going to look at the containers my food comes in next as I do have canned foods that I am trying to use up (Dear Amy’s soups, please be BPA free – I just looked at a can of Lentil soup and it says nothing about BPA, so I am going to write to them and ask- I’ll let you know what they say!)
I also invested in a stainless steel bottle (big toss-up between aluminum and stainless, and it was a big choice. I chose stainless, some people prefer aluminum because it is recyclable.) Can I plop in here now that Aluminum is something I am supposed to stay away from, so I switched deodorants, and I can give you a 5 day review- so far so good with this natural deodorant! It even survives my evening workouts! The toothpaste gets a little foamy, but it tastes ok…it is specifically fluoride free – which made me wonder what was so bad about fluoride in the first place? A dentist friend of mine thinks we’re over-fluoridated and that too much fluoride is a bad thing for our teeth – but other than that, what’s so bad about it?
Um, a lot is bad with having too much fluoride! Dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis (which can mimic arthritis). Yet, they put fluoride in our water and in our toothpaste. Dental Associations actually suggest this. I am beginning to think that if so-called accredited associations suggest something, from now on, I will do the opposite…yikes!
As I am researching stuff, I am sadly finding out exactly how wrong I really was in thinking that some agency out there it silently protecting us, The Masses, from being poisoned to death!
In Defense Of Food talks a lot about how the food industry has changed in the last 50 years – and not for the better. And it’s true! My Great Aunt and Uncle had a dairy farm in Quebec. And I remember as a little kid, going there and seeing allllll the cows roaming around. Now I don’t remember details, but I remember thinking how cool it was to milk a cow by hand, even though there were machines that did the milking for the dairies. My Mom just recently told me that on her first trip up to that very same farm in the early 70’s, my uncle was very upset because he was being forced to switch over his farm to use machines to milk his cows instead of doing it ‘the old fashioned way’.
Ok, so I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan over my lunch break the other day (easy read! Less than 1 hour) and some highlights that I found important are:
Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself. Makes sense…I mean it takes a long time to make potato chips, and cakes, and cookies. And fried chicken, and french fries, and hamburgers…much easier to just eat a banana.
Better to pay the grocer than the doctor. This wasn’t a rule, but an age old saying (that I have never heard before) in regards to how little we pay for food. (The rule is Pay more, eat less). On Average, a Westerner spends 10% or less of our earnings on food. That’s pretty pathetic!
Is my hunger gone? (Not am I full?) – Again this wasn’t a rule (The rule is Stop eating before you’re full- which I absolutely need to do! Especially at night!) I need to change my mind set to reflect the example he gave in the book: In French, when you are hungry you say: J’ai faim. When you are done eating you say “Je n’ai plus faim” (I am no longer hungry) not “I am full”.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Love it, and am hoping to do this! It means flip the way you eat – eat a big breakfast, a large lunch and a modest dinner.
Oh yeah, and COOK. That’s a rule in there. A big rule I think a lot of us miss. Actually, I think that’s the most important rule in there!
And one of the rules he has is Break the rules once in a while.
Here’s an article to get you started.
According to this article (and the others I have read), BPA is…
"… a molecule that mimics estrogen and can leach from receptacles: injection of the agent into lab rodents has been shown to cause hormonal dysfunction and tumours, and scientists believe long-term exposure in humans could lead in some cases to infertility, early puberty, and even breast and prostate cancers."
I would like to remain cancer free, I would like to have a baby soon, and there have already been questions surrounding my hormones (I’m moody sometimes!;)), so BUH-BYE BPA.
I have looked at all my water bottles (how does one person collect so many?), and other containers and have ditched all the ones that have the 7 in the recycle sign…although I have 1 water bottle that has it, but it says “BPA FREE” right next to it. That can stay in my collection – for now… I am going to look at the containers my food comes in next as I do have canned foods that I am trying to use up (Dear Amy’s soups, please be BPA free – I just looked at a can of Lentil soup and it says nothing about BPA, so I am going to write to them and ask- I’ll let you know what they say!)
I also invested in a stainless steel bottle (big toss-up between aluminum and stainless, and it was a big choice. I chose stainless, some people prefer aluminum because it is recyclable.) Can I plop in here now that Aluminum is something I am supposed to stay away from, so I switched deodorants, and I can give you a 5 day review- so far so good with this natural deodorant! It even survives my evening workouts! The toothpaste gets a little foamy, but it tastes ok…it is specifically fluoride free – which made me wonder what was so bad about fluoride in the first place? A dentist friend of mine thinks we’re over-fluoridated and that too much fluoride is a bad thing for our teeth – but other than that, what’s so bad about it?
Um, a lot is bad with having too much fluoride! Dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis (which can mimic arthritis). Yet, they put fluoride in our water and in our toothpaste. Dental Associations actually suggest this. I am beginning to think that if so-called accredited associations suggest something, from now on, I will do the opposite…yikes!
As I am researching stuff, I am sadly finding out exactly how wrong I really was in thinking that some agency out there it silently protecting us, The Masses, from being poisoned to death!
In Defense Of Food talks a lot about how the food industry has changed in the last 50 years – and not for the better. And it’s true! My Great Aunt and Uncle had a dairy farm in Quebec. And I remember as a little kid, going there and seeing allllll the cows roaming around. Now I don’t remember details, but I remember thinking how cool it was to milk a cow by hand, even though there were machines that did the milking for the dairies. My Mom just recently told me that on her first trip up to that very same farm in the early 70’s, my uncle was very upset because he was being forced to switch over his farm to use machines to milk his cows instead of doing it ‘the old fashioned way’.
Ok, so I read Food Rules by Michael Pollan over my lunch break the other day (easy read! Less than 1 hour) and some highlights that I found important are:
Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself. Makes sense…I mean it takes a long time to make potato chips, and cakes, and cookies. And fried chicken, and french fries, and hamburgers…much easier to just eat a banana.
Better to pay the grocer than the doctor. This wasn’t a rule, but an age old saying (that I have never heard before) in regards to how little we pay for food. (The rule is Pay more, eat less). On Average, a Westerner spends 10% or less of our earnings on food. That’s pretty pathetic!
Is my hunger gone? (Not am I full?) – Again this wasn’t a rule (The rule is Stop eating before you’re full- which I absolutely need to do! Especially at night!) I need to change my mind set to reflect the example he gave in the book: In French, when you are hungry you say: J’ai faim. When you are done eating you say “Je n’ai plus faim” (I am no longer hungry) not “I am full”.
Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper. Love it, and am hoping to do this! It means flip the way you eat – eat a big breakfast, a large lunch and a modest dinner.
Oh yeah, and COOK. That’s a rule in there. A big rule I think a lot of us miss. Actually, I think that’s the most important rule in there!
And one of the rules he has is Break the rules once in a while.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
sigh
Virgo
August 23 - September 22
A goal that you may have been working toward for a long time might still seem very distant right now, Virgo. Therefore, today you could actually find yourself giving up on it. This doesn't imply that what you want will never happen. In fact, sometimes letting go of a dream can actually cause it to manifest. Remember this when you start to brood on your lack of success so far. All is not hopeless!
The above has nothing to do with my adventure (this one anyways). I have been working out 5 x a week (afterwork, for an hour mostly) and haven't reaped any benefits from that yet.
On the flip side- today is my 2 week anniversary of quitting smoking and I haven't even been temtped once - yahooo! Plus, once you make it past 2 weeks, it's a breeze! :D
I try to find something positive about everyday. That's part of 'whole living'. What's a positive thing for you today?
Oh - yesterday, I made 'brownies' with the agave and they turned out the same as they always do...so, I'm happy about that! This recipe for brownies is so easy!
And full of protein and fiber - you'll never guess what's in them!
CHICKPEAS!!!
So, I substituted Agave 1:1 for the sugar. You'd never know the difference. I also used (very expensive in Bermuda) organic chocolate chips, which, I am sure, had refined sugar in them, but that's ok.
I haven't made anything else, as I have been eating the roasted veggies I made the other night, and toatsed tomato sandwhiches and eggs (haven't braved the tofu yet!)
I am so excited about this weekend though - going to the farmer's market (to get me some CHICKEN!) - I love farmer's markets! Like TOTALLY! I visit them as much as possible...which is funny because I hate grocery shopping, but I;ll spend an entire Saturday at a Farmer's market!
I even go visit them while I'm on vacation!
The best market I have EVER been to is Pike Place in Seattle.
The one in Vancouver was amazing as well! Here is the view from the main building.
And then there are always the great markets in Asia...this is from the fish market in Tokyo.
And just some random vendors in Korea.
When I lived in Waterloo, I was spolied silly - there was an EXCELLENT market on Staurdays in town then there was also an EXCELLENT market on Saturdays in nearby St. Jacobs! I can't wait to go back! :) The stuff there was always so beautifully fresh! Mainly because just outside of the city there are TONS of Mennonite farms with fresh EVERYTHING. AHHHH...counting the days!
August 23 - September 22
A goal that you may have been working toward for a long time might still seem very distant right now, Virgo. Therefore, today you could actually find yourself giving up on it. This doesn't imply that what you want will never happen. In fact, sometimes letting go of a dream can actually cause it to manifest. Remember this when you start to brood on your lack of success so far. All is not hopeless!
The above has nothing to do with my adventure (this one anyways). I have been working out 5 x a week (afterwork, for an hour mostly) and haven't reaped any benefits from that yet.
On the flip side- today is my 2 week anniversary of quitting smoking and I haven't even been temtped once - yahooo! Plus, once you make it past 2 weeks, it's a breeze! :D
I try to find something positive about everyday. That's part of 'whole living'. What's a positive thing for you today?
Oh - yesterday, I made 'brownies' with the agave and they turned out the same as they always do...so, I'm happy about that! This recipe for brownies is so easy!
And full of protein and fiber - you'll never guess what's in them!
CHICKPEAS!!!
So, I substituted Agave 1:1 for the sugar. You'd never know the difference. I also used (very expensive in Bermuda) organic chocolate chips, which, I am sure, had refined sugar in them, but that's ok.
I haven't made anything else, as I have been eating the roasted veggies I made the other night, and toatsed tomato sandwhiches and eggs (haven't braved the tofu yet!)
I am so excited about this weekend though - going to the farmer's market (to get me some CHICKEN!) - I love farmer's markets! Like TOTALLY! I visit them as much as possible...which is funny because I hate grocery shopping, but I;ll spend an entire Saturday at a Farmer's market!
I even go visit them while I'm on vacation!
The best market I have EVER been to is Pike Place in Seattle.
The one in Vancouver was amazing as well! Here is the view from the main building.
And then there are always the great markets in Asia...this is from the fish market in Tokyo.
And just some random vendors in Korea.
When I lived in Waterloo, I was spolied silly - there was an EXCELLENT market on Staurdays in town then there was also an EXCELLENT market on Saturdays in nearby St. Jacobs! I can't wait to go back! :) The stuff there was always so beautifully fresh! Mainly because just outside of the city there are TONS of Mennonite farms with fresh EVERYTHING. AHHHH...counting the days!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
We interrupt your regularly scheduled program...
I was going to write about BPA as I had been reading about this dangerous toxin last night and didn’t realize how bad it is! But instead, I will tell you all about my adventures today!
I am so very lucky to have a Nutritional Therapist at my disposal at work (Hi Catherine!)soooo I tapped her as a resource in my quest to find alternatives to white sugar and regular milk. And WOW I got some awesome information back about everything I could imagine and for which I am ever so grateful! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
If you know me, you know I like to bake. Ok, understatement, I LOVE TO BAKE. Unfortunately, all my culinary confections are of the refined and processed variety. All my beloved recipes will have to be relegated to extremely important festivities from now on…which only means that now I get to experiment with NEW recipes, and maybe even come up with a few of my own! BUT - what about sugar? I don’t use sugar everyday…hardly at all really. I keep it around for company and baking. Refined sugar is a very highly processed simple carbohydrate that is really not very good for you at all. I don’t think I need to expand on this topic as we are all pretty well versed on the perils of eating refined sugar. What I did not know, however, is that sugar in the raw isn’t much better – read the label of it – it says something like refined sugar with stuff added back in. That goes against the very grain of whole food principle…taking stuff away, then adding other stuff back in. That’s not a whole food. But-what am I supposed to use? (I hear a bunch of you saying “HONEY” and yes, that’s an ok substitute – however, I am extremely sensitive to bees…and try not to use honey all that much – it leaves a really metallic taste in my mouth and I have to be cognizant right now of ‘toxins’ so I am staying away from that for a bit!)
I had heard of this Agave nectar stuff, it comes from a plant, in Mexico (a succulent that looks like aloe, and I understand is also the same plant that they get Tequila from!) and it is sweet. Ok, I will try it. Thanks to the background info in Catherine’s article in the local paper about Agave Syrup, I am savvy in Agave So I got some!
At Catherine's suggestion, I also got some Bragg Liquid Amino All Purpose Seasoning from Soy Protein to try with my Tofu this evening! It looks pretty interesting – it says it’s a delicious alternative to Tamari & Soy Sauce (with like WAY less salt!!! HOLY CRAP!) I’m looking at it right now – and I am opening the bottleright now… and it looks like soy sauce...and it smells like Soy Sauce…and it actually tastes a little like soy sauce…ok, so I am not going to die. That’s good!
And since I am at it, maybe I need to look at the Agave stuff…and ok, that’s not bad either. I do miss my stevia plant though…I cannot wait to go home and grow strawberries and stevia on my balcony again…ahhh…
So, while I was at the health food store (Down to Earth on Reid), I got some natural cheese – because, hey why not? It doesn’t have any rennet in it. And thanks to my Rodale Whole Foods cookbook (where there is a whole chapter on how to make your own cheese) I know that rennet is a normal ingredient in cheese, but I do not know what it is. And after looking it up on Wikipedia, I do not want to know what it is anymore…ok, I read the whole article now, and am not sooo grossed out by it.
I also got Quinoa, which I have had before, but have never cooked, and I know there are recipes in my cookbooks for it and if it replaces my couscous, then I suppose that is alright.
And I got Peelu (it’s a tree) chewing gum, which has some crap in it that I shouldn’t be consuming (sorbitol) but it’s for a treat (I love gum!)
I have not been very successful on the milk front though. And the more I think about the milk that is regularily available to me on this island, the more grossed out I become. Sorry, I hope that doesn’t offend anyone, but really – isn’t it just powdered skim milk with water and vegetable oil added to it? And it tastes awful! They didn’t have any organic milk at the health food store, but I am hoping to hit up a grocery store that does. This ‘switching over’ process is harder than I thought! I also considered milk alternatives, but after all the stuff I have learned about the production of Soy milk – that’s a no-go and most of the other alternatives are highly processed (although, try rice milk if you ever get the chance – it's very refreshing! Rice Dream has a really yummy dairy free frozen dessert!) I wonder if coconut milk is a good alternative? Hmmmmm….maybe it’s just be easier to buy a cow…
I am so very lucky to have a Nutritional Therapist at my disposal at work (Hi Catherine!)soooo I tapped her as a resource in my quest to find alternatives to white sugar and regular milk. And WOW I got some awesome information back about everything I could imagine and for which I am ever so grateful! THANK YOU SO MUCH!
If you know me, you know I like to bake. Ok, understatement, I LOVE TO BAKE. Unfortunately, all my culinary confections are of the refined and processed variety. All my beloved recipes will have to be relegated to extremely important festivities from now on…which only means that now I get to experiment with NEW recipes, and maybe even come up with a few of my own! BUT - what about sugar? I don’t use sugar everyday…hardly at all really. I keep it around for company and baking. Refined sugar is a very highly processed simple carbohydrate that is really not very good for you at all. I don’t think I need to expand on this topic as we are all pretty well versed on the perils of eating refined sugar. What I did not know, however, is that sugar in the raw isn’t much better – read the label of it – it says something like refined sugar with stuff added back in. That goes against the very grain of whole food principle…taking stuff away, then adding other stuff back in. That’s not a whole food. But-what am I supposed to use? (I hear a bunch of you saying “HONEY” and yes, that’s an ok substitute – however, I am extremely sensitive to bees…and try not to use honey all that much – it leaves a really metallic taste in my mouth and I have to be cognizant right now of ‘toxins’ so I am staying away from that for a bit!)
I had heard of this Agave nectar stuff, it comes from a plant, in Mexico (a succulent that looks like aloe, and I understand is also the same plant that they get Tequila from!) and it is sweet. Ok, I will try it. Thanks to the background info in Catherine’s article in the local paper about Agave Syrup, I am savvy in Agave So I got some!
At Catherine's suggestion, I also got some Bragg Liquid Amino All Purpose Seasoning from Soy Protein to try with my Tofu this evening! It looks pretty interesting – it says it’s a delicious alternative to Tamari & Soy Sauce (with like WAY less salt!!! HOLY CRAP!) I’m looking at it right now – and I am opening the bottleright now… and it looks like soy sauce...and it smells like Soy Sauce…and it actually tastes a little like soy sauce…ok, so I am not going to die. That’s good!
And since I am at it, maybe I need to look at the Agave stuff…and ok, that’s not bad either. I do miss my stevia plant though…I cannot wait to go home and grow strawberries and stevia on my balcony again…ahhh…
So, while I was at the health food store (Down to Earth on Reid), I got some natural cheese – because, hey why not? It doesn’t have any rennet in it. And thanks to my Rodale Whole Foods cookbook (where there is a whole chapter on how to make your own cheese) I know that rennet is a normal ingredient in cheese, but I do not know what it is. And after looking it up on Wikipedia, I do not want to know what it is anymore…ok, I read the whole article now, and am not sooo grossed out by it.
I also got Quinoa, which I have had before, but have never cooked, and I know there are recipes in my cookbooks for it and if it replaces my couscous, then I suppose that is alright.
And I got Peelu (it’s a tree) chewing gum, which has some crap in it that I shouldn’t be consuming (sorbitol) but it’s for a treat (I love gum!)
I have not been very successful on the milk front though. And the more I think about the milk that is regularily available to me on this island, the more grossed out I become. Sorry, I hope that doesn’t offend anyone, but really – isn’t it just powdered skim milk with water and vegetable oil added to it? And it tastes awful! They didn’t have any organic milk at the health food store, but I am hoping to hit up a grocery store that does. This ‘switching over’ process is harder than I thought! I also considered milk alternatives, but after all the stuff I have learned about the production of Soy milk – that’s a no-go and most of the other alternatives are highly processed (although, try rice milk if you ever get the chance – it's very refreshing! Rice Dream has a really yummy dairy free frozen dessert!) I wonder if coconut milk is a good alternative? Hmmmmm….maybe it’s just be easier to buy a cow…
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Beets me!
Since I'm all about convenience, I made some stuff tonight that I can just nuke for lunch or dinner tomorrow and the next day. I really like cooking, but not every day! :)
I also have to be inspired... and today I was inspired by a little-used root vegetable known as a beet.
Quick- can you tell me what an uncooked beet looks like? No...it's not cyllindrical, nor is it metallic!
This is what beets look like when they come out of the ground!
AWESOME....
So what the heck do you do with it??? (I have never ever ever cooked a beet in my life...which is strange considering my eastern European background!)
According to my new cookbooks...there are many ways to cook a beet...I chose to bake it like a potato! And boy was that easy! And tasty!
Once it was done, the skin pretty much just fell off it, and I sliced it chunky style and drizzled a bit of white wine vinegar on it and YUMMY!
The full array of fast-slow-food for the next couple of days includes roasted turnip, potato (which I am supposed to skip on, but I have some, so I should use them up- I am not a big potato fan in the first place, so giving them up shouldn't be the end of the world!)onions, asparagus, lightly sauteed local bok choy (who knew Bermuda was so diverse?)and brown rice. That sould keep me going for the next couple of days, then all I have to add to the meals is protein. Today I had beans at lunch and fish for dinner (OMG! I totally eat fish now - see what island life has done to me?)
Tomorrow, maybe tofu! We'll see!
Definitely Defined
I guess I should probably take a moment and define what I mean by “Whole Food” so we’re all on the same page here.
When I think of “Whole Food” I think of food that grew out of the ground that is as free of chemicals and additives as possible. And by chemicals and additives, I mean all the hidden crap that isn’t even mentioned in the labels like pesticides, genetic modifications and growth hormones – because I believe that those things are truly killing us (slowly and very painfully I might add!). In my definition of Whole Foods I include meat that came from animals that were fed foods they were meant to eat – grass fed cows, grain fed chickens, and fish that swam in an ocean etc. - and not pumped full of hormones that decreased their rate of maturity by 50%. In that vein, I am also trying very hard to only eat eggs that came from grain fed, non-hormone induced, free range chickens. I have to do some more research on this in Bermuda, because I thought I was already buying these kinds of eggs, but was told that may not be the case (i.e. the labeling may be misleading) so I have to find out if this is the case.
I have extra challenges that I am working with, the biggest being the availability of products on a small island. While I was home in Canada, I scoured a few places for stuff I could test out, and was pretty successful in finding things (PUCKER UP 100% Cranberry Juice!). And I’ll be incorporating some extra things into my adventure that are especially necessary for me – like abandoning all the caffeine in my life (I love you coffee & chocolate! Why are you so hard on the digestive system?) – zero tolerance on alcohol (ask me how hard that was during the holidays!!!!) – and I am proud to say that I gave up smoking 12 days ago and haven’t looked back since (it’s a whole other ball-game when you HAVE TO do something, even though I was already planning on quitting).
Wikipedia defines Whole Foods as follows:
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.[1] Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry, and fish; and non-homogenized milk.
It also goes on to explain that the term Whole Food is often confused with organic food, but the two are not the same. I would like to try to take my definition a little bit further and incorporate as much organic food as possible in the hopes of eliminating as many chemicals and crap as possible from my diet. The most important and most challenging part of this game is eliminating all the processed foods I can out of my diet. As a single gal with a full time job, I don’t exactly have all the time in the world to cook stuff from scratch. I also LOVE eating out, and food gets wasted when cooking entire meals for just myself because it’ll go bad or I get tired of it (although I love taking a Sunday and cooking all kinds of stuff and freezing it in portions for lunch!). Hence the whole ‘eat more Asian’ idea. I’ve been bringing my lunch to work every day for weeks and weeks, and it’s usually rice, with a bit of protein (chicken up until I saw Food Inc!) and vegetables. Sometimes some soup and more fruit than you can shake a stick at! And that keeps me going!
In addition to the above, you may see me write about some other changes I am doing to move towards more of a “Whole Life” in an effort to remove a lot of toxins from my life. While I was home, I bought some natural toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, and soap (olive oil!) So you can be sure there may be some raves or rants about those products to come…I’m wearing the deodorant today, and so far so good!
And I’ve been considering greener products for cleaning etc.
If anyone has any suggestions or anything, plop in a comment! I am hoping that this blog will be more of an exchange of ideas and information than just me chronicling my adventures…
When I think of “Whole Food” I think of food that grew out of the ground that is as free of chemicals and additives as possible. And by chemicals and additives, I mean all the hidden crap that isn’t even mentioned in the labels like pesticides, genetic modifications and growth hormones – because I believe that those things are truly killing us (slowly and very painfully I might add!). In my definition of Whole Foods I include meat that came from animals that were fed foods they were meant to eat – grass fed cows, grain fed chickens, and fish that swam in an ocean etc. - and not pumped full of hormones that decreased their rate of maturity by 50%. In that vein, I am also trying very hard to only eat eggs that came from grain fed, non-hormone induced, free range chickens. I have to do some more research on this in Bermuda, because I thought I was already buying these kinds of eggs, but was told that may not be the case (i.e. the labeling may be misleading) so I have to find out if this is the case.
I have extra challenges that I am working with, the biggest being the availability of products on a small island. While I was home in Canada, I scoured a few places for stuff I could test out, and was pretty successful in finding things (PUCKER UP 100% Cranberry Juice!). And I’ll be incorporating some extra things into my adventure that are especially necessary for me – like abandoning all the caffeine in my life (I love you coffee & chocolate! Why are you so hard on the digestive system?) – zero tolerance on alcohol (ask me how hard that was during the holidays!!!!) – and I am proud to say that I gave up smoking 12 days ago and haven’t looked back since (it’s a whole other ball-game when you HAVE TO do something, even though I was already planning on quitting).
Wikipedia defines Whole Foods as follows:
Whole foods are foods that are unprocessed and unrefined, or processed and refined as little as possible before being consumed. Whole foods typically do not contain added ingredients, such as sugar, salt, or fat.[1] Examples of whole foods include unpolished grains; fruits and vegetables; unprocessed meat, poultry, and fish; and non-homogenized milk.
It also goes on to explain that the term Whole Food is often confused with organic food, but the two are not the same. I would like to try to take my definition a little bit further and incorporate as much organic food as possible in the hopes of eliminating as many chemicals and crap as possible from my diet. The most important and most challenging part of this game is eliminating all the processed foods I can out of my diet. As a single gal with a full time job, I don’t exactly have all the time in the world to cook stuff from scratch. I also LOVE eating out, and food gets wasted when cooking entire meals for just myself because it’ll go bad or I get tired of it (although I love taking a Sunday and cooking all kinds of stuff and freezing it in portions for lunch!). Hence the whole ‘eat more Asian’ idea. I’ve been bringing my lunch to work every day for weeks and weeks, and it’s usually rice, with a bit of protein (chicken up until I saw Food Inc!) and vegetables. Sometimes some soup and more fruit than you can shake a stick at! And that keeps me going!
In addition to the above, you may see me write about some other changes I am doing to move towards more of a “Whole Life” in an effort to remove a lot of toxins from my life. While I was home, I bought some natural toiletries such as toothpaste, deodorant, and soap (olive oil!) So you can be sure there may be some raves or rants about those products to come…I’m wearing the deodorant today, and so far so good!
And I’ve been considering greener products for cleaning etc.
If anyone has any suggestions or anything, plop in a comment! I am hoping that this blog will be more of an exchange of ideas and information than just me chronicling my adventures…
Monday, January 4, 2010
and so we begin
Okay, I'm back again. Bread takes too long and I am too tired and I should probably do laundry instead (but I won't!). As the queen of procrastination, I present to you photographic evidence of my Whole Foods shopping trip this afternoon!
This is part 1...
Note the "Cranberry 100% Juice" that I bought and NOT "100% Cranberry Juice"! :)
Oh, and that Land O' Lakes is whole spreadable butter - ingredients: sweet cream and olive oil and salt.
And I am not exactly sure why I bought Tofu...When I got back from Japan, I vowed to eat 'more Asian' (oh yeah, prepared to be assaulted with that too!) and there was a lot of Tofu in Japan...and there are some Tofu recipes in my new cookbooks. And Tofu is a plant sourced protein...we shall see! I want to be clear that I am not going vegetarian here - I cannot give up chicken - like at all! I am ever so excited because after seeing Food Inc and deciding to never eat mass, factory farmed chicken ever again (without an idea of where to get real-farmed chicken) I met the guy from Wadson's Farms - which is an Organic Farm in Bermuda - an Organic Farm in Bermuda that is getting into Organic Meats thank you very much! I have to wait til Saturday to get my CHICKEN and I have to have protein until then (one can only eat so many beans, nuts, and eggs (which are free-range local eggs btw)) so, I had to try the Tofu thing.
Ok...so the cereal has some stuff in the ingredients that I cannot pronounce...
And yay- I bought yeast...I am going to try my hand at baking bread! I have never made real bread before - I am too excited!
More Whole Food madness...oh, I guess I should highlight the grew-out-of-the-ground foods otherwise known as vegetables...on the far right see the can of soup - Amy's brand has some really great foods (especially the frozen foods, like organic PIZZA). AND the family that started Amy's still owns and operates Amy's - and I can pronounce everything on the ingredient lists!The goal here is to make most of my food for myself. But, I had to get something to eat in the meantime :)
Bananas that grew in the tree in my backyard (can't get any better than that! Wish I could grow ALL my food!)
Whole Food - Whole Hog
I am obsessed with food. Not necessarily in a bad way - I just LOVE IT. It's beautiful to me....
I have been toying with the idea of challenging myself to go back to basics and start eating whole foods again - some people call this type of eating "Slow Food" as opposed to "Fast Food", which makes some sense, but I prefer the term Whole Foods because alot of the crap we put in our mouths has alot of vital stuff taken out of it, and replaced with a bunch of other crap we don't really need! I didn't realize how much until I started researching, but WOWZA! (More on that in a bit!).
For the last few months, I was trying to find out more about living a whole food kind of life. I mean, would it be hard? Is it expensive? Do I have to give up a bunch of stuff? What about pizza? Is that a whole food? If not, can it be? Does chocolate come in "Healthy" without being remotely carob (I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth!)? And most importantly - where do I start? Admittedly, I am generally an obsessive kind of gal...once I set my mind to something, I hit the road running (then usually fizzle out and die mid-stride because whatever change I am attempting to undertake seems so overwhelming (and hard) that I loose momentum and give up (abeit, I don't always give up easily!). Often, it is easy to accomplish something if you share it with someone else...so the idea of this blog was born so that you can share the trials and tribulations as I attempt to go Whole Foods...and healthy! (What fun for you!)
As mentioned above, I have been dabbling in whole foods since the end of October because in the back of my head, I remember reading an article on food additives and finding out that there are BUGS in your food...yup, I am NOT even lying to you...if you ate something red today, chances are you ate a BUG (several infact!) - if you don't believe me, look it up ---> BUGS IN YOUR FOOD!
Yup...there are bugs in everyday foods. That you didn't even know were there! And if you didn't even know that BUGS were in your food - then WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR FOOD THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT???!!!
So, I watched Food Inc (and you should too!) where I learned all about factory food (and woke up as a vegetarian the next morning). Ignorance may be bliss for some things...but when it comes to your FOOD, lemme tell ya, the more you know, the BETTER you are! If you eat food, then you should watch this flick!
After that I started to really think about homegrown, 'organic', whole foods...and the timing couldn't even be better - all of a sudden (and 1 doctor's-appointment-with-scary-diagnosis later) and BOOM- I kinda HAVE TO do the whole foods thing...and omit as many chemicals and crap from my diet (and environment) as possible without immediately moving in with a Mennonite Family out in the Bible Belt of Southwestern Ontario - not that that's a bad thing - in my little dream world I do live on a totally self sufficient little farm where we make everything from scratch - but I cannot give up my affinity for electricity and the internet ;) plus, I think they may not welcome me so much because I am a little 'out-there'....oh well...
In any case...I have been spending the last few weeks researching and reading and trying stuff out - for instance; do NOT buy organic 100% cranberry juice without knowing that cranberries are the most sour and un-sweet fruit on the planet and that the Cranberry 100% juice that you have been buying all along was a juice blend with grape and apple juice to sweeten it up and not make you suck in your cheeks like a fish!
Right now I am recommending that you read the following books - only because I just bought all of them:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (recommended reading on the Food Inc website) - so far so good, and VERY informative - "Eat Food- Not Too Much - Mostly Plants" - I can do that! I will also never eat anything that says "low-fat" or "diet" or "light/lite" on it ever again!
Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan - I haven't even cracked the cover, but if it's like In Defense..., then I am sure it's good!
And my next read: Food Rules by Michael Pollan - because once you freak out at alllllll the crap that is in your food, you wonder what the heck you are supposed to eat...this book tells you...like: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry" - that's keeping with my new food rule that if the ingredients listed on the product don't read out like a recipe to me (i.e. I have easy access to that stuff at the store) then it is not going in my mouth...
and before you get to thinking Mr. Pollan has cornered the market on this subject, I also considered a whole host of other books, but these really seemed no nonsense to me - like the film Food Inc - there doesn't seem to be any 'scare tactics' or sensationalism in these tomes...it's pretty straight forward information, i.e. this is your food, and this is what is in it. Point blank.
I also got some great cookbooks...which I carefully considered, because once you get on the whole food bandwagon, you can convert any recipe you have to a 'whole food' recipe really...you just have to be aware of the ingredients that you're using and sometimes, you may have to be creative and modify a recipe - I'll try to post some of those here as time goes on!
Finding Earth to Table by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann really made me happy for several reasons! 1) What a freaking beautiful cookbook with gorgeous photos (I love food!) 2) This book teaches you about Seasonal Eating (which is part of eating whole foods responsibly) and sourcing LOCALLY from, like, an actual farmer at a farm. 3) IT'S CANADIAN! 4) Michael Pollan said "This book is beautiful in every way" (no, I am not becoming obsessed with Michael Pollan...I would have bought it had he endorsed it or not! It's just coincidence that he has put his stamp of approval on it.) 5) The authors talk about their experiences running a restaurant based on locally sourced organic foods 6) They encourage foraging (which I LOVE! Especially since I live in Bermuda and really cool things grow here!) 7) There are some really cool recipes in there to boot!
I picked up The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook - Which has information on everything from choosing your ingredients to cooking with them to preserving them. It's an instruction manual on cooking in general too...I love this book - it's huge! It has EVERYTHING!
And I bought Dietitians of Canada Cook Great Food which has some healthy recipes and all the nutritional information that one could want! Cooking whole foods doesn't always mean cooking healthy foods...so you still have to consider all of that stuff.
Soooo I will leave you to digest this first entry while I see if I have enough time this evening to make some bread!
(p.s. I have to figure out why my pic is posting SIDEWAYS!)
UPDATE: I fixed the pic! :)
I have been toying with the idea of challenging myself to go back to basics and start eating whole foods again - some people call this type of eating "Slow Food" as opposed to "Fast Food", which makes some sense, but I prefer the term Whole Foods because alot of the crap we put in our mouths has alot of vital stuff taken out of it, and replaced with a bunch of other crap we don't really need! I didn't realize how much until I started researching, but WOWZA! (More on that in a bit!).
For the last few months, I was trying to find out more about living a whole food kind of life. I mean, would it be hard? Is it expensive? Do I have to give up a bunch of stuff? What about pizza? Is that a whole food? If not, can it be? Does chocolate come in "Healthy" without being remotely carob (I think I just threw up a little bit in my mouth!)? And most importantly - where do I start? Admittedly, I am generally an obsessive kind of gal...once I set my mind to something, I hit the road running (then usually fizzle out and die mid-stride because whatever change I am attempting to undertake seems so overwhelming (and hard) that I loose momentum and give up (abeit, I don't always give up easily!). Often, it is easy to accomplish something if you share it with someone else...so the idea of this blog was born so that you can share the trials and tribulations as I attempt to go Whole Foods...and healthy! (What fun for you!)
As mentioned above, I have been dabbling in whole foods since the end of October because in the back of my head, I remember reading an article on food additives and finding out that there are BUGS in your food...yup, I am NOT even lying to you...if you ate something red today, chances are you ate a BUG (several infact!) - if you don't believe me, look it up ---> BUGS IN YOUR FOOD!
Yup...there are bugs in everyday foods. That you didn't even know were there! And if you didn't even know that BUGS were in your food - then WHAT ELSE IS IN YOUR FOOD THAT YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT???!!!
So, I watched Food Inc (and you should too!) where I learned all about factory food (and woke up as a vegetarian the next morning). Ignorance may be bliss for some things...but when it comes to your FOOD, lemme tell ya, the more you know, the BETTER you are! If you eat food, then you should watch this flick!
After that I started to really think about homegrown, 'organic', whole foods...and the timing couldn't even be better - all of a sudden (and 1 doctor's-appointment-with-scary-diagnosis later) and BOOM- I kinda HAVE TO do the whole foods thing...and omit as many chemicals and crap from my diet (and environment) as possible without immediately moving in with a Mennonite Family out in the Bible Belt of Southwestern Ontario - not that that's a bad thing - in my little dream world I do live on a totally self sufficient little farm where we make everything from scratch - but I cannot give up my affinity for electricity and the internet ;) plus, I think they may not welcome me so much because I am a little 'out-there'....oh well...
In any case...I have been spending the last few weeks researching and reading and trying stuff out - for instance; do NOT buy organic 100% cranberry juice without knowing that cranberries are the most sour and un-sweet fruit on the planet and that the Cranberry 100% juice that you have been buying all along was a juice blend with grape and apple juice to sweeten it up and not make you suck in your cheeks like a fish!
Right now I am recommending that you read the following books - only because I just bought all of them:
In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan (recommended reading on the Food Inc website) - so far so good, and VERY informative - "Eat Food- Not Too Much - Mostly Plants" - I can do that! I will also never eat anything that says "low-fat" or "diet" or "light/lite" on it ever again!
Omnivore's Dilemna by Michael Pollan - I haven't even cracked the cover, but if it's like In Defense..., then I am sure it's good!
And my next read: Food Rules by Michael Pollan - because once you freak out at alllllll the crap that is in your food, you wonder what the heck you are supposed to eat...this book tells you...like: "Avoid food products containing ingredients that no ordinary human would keep in the pantry" - that's keeping with my new food rule that if the ingredients listed on the product don't read out like a recipe to me (i.e. I have easy access to that stuff at the store) then it is not going in my mouth...
and before you get to thinking Mr. Pollan has cornered the market on this subject, I also considered a whole host of other books, but these really seemed no nonsense to me - like the film Food Inc - there doesn't seem to be any 'scare tactics' or sensationalism in these tomes...it's pretty straight forward information, i.e. this is your food, and this is what is in it. Point blank.
I also got some great cookbooks...which I carefully considered, because once you get on the whole food bandwagon, you can convert any recipe you have to a 'whole food' recipe really...you just have to be aware of the ingredients that you're using and sometimes, you may have to be creative and modify a recipe - I'll try to post some of those here as time goes on!
Finding Earth to Table by Jeff Crump and Bettina Schormann really made me happy for several reasons! 1) What a freaking beautiful cookbook with gorgeous photos (I love food!) 2) This book teaches you about Seasonal Eating (which is part of eating whole foods responsibly) and sourcing LOCALLY from, like, an actual farmer at a farm. 3) IT'S CANADIAN! 4) Michael Pollan said "This book is beautiful in every way" (no, I am not becoming obsessed with Michael Pollan...I would have bought it had he endorsed it or not! It's just coincidence that he has put his stamp of approval on it.) 5) The authors talk about their experiences running a restaurant based on locally sourced organic foods 6) They encourage foraging (which I LOVE! Especially since I live in Bermuda and really cool things grow here!) 7) There are some really cool recipes in there to boot!
I picked up The Rodale Whole Foods Cookbook - Which has information on everything from choosing your ingredients to cooking with them to preserving them. It's an instruction manual on cooking in general too...I love this book - it's huge! It has EVERYTHING!
And I bought Dietitians of Canada Cook Great Food which has some healthy recipes and all the nutritional information that one could want! Cooking whole foods doesn't always mean cooking healthy foods...so you still have to consider all of that stuff.
Soooo I will leave you to digest this first entry while I see if I have enough time this evening to make some bread!
(p.s. I have to figure out why my pic is posting SIDEWAYS!)
UPDATE: I fixed the pic! :)
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