Someone Actually Eats That!?!

A friend of mine posted an interesting photo on Facebook.   And, my first thought was:  EWW!

The photo was a can of pork brains in milk gravy. (This link is not to my friend's photo but a blog about the item.) Just the name of it is enough for me not to try it.  But even if I were so bold, and I’m not, the stuff has 3190mg of cholesterol…. It’s just heart stopping!

This photo made me realize there are a lot of foods that many of us haven’t tried or won't try. 

Here is a list of foods that may or may not be good. I’ll never know because I’m too cowardly to try them.

•  Birds Nest Soup :  Authentic bird’s nest soup is made from a cave swallow’s nest.  This swallow secretes an adhesive-like substance that holds the next together.  Yes, bird spit is the secret to bird’s nest soup.

• Chicken Feet:  The first time I saw chicken feet in the meat section of the grocery store, I was curious as to why they were there.  Then I found out that people actually ate them.  I’m not sure why.

• Rattlesnake:  I’ve been told that it tastes like chicken.  Trust me!  I’ll never find out.

• Poutine:  I first heard of poutine in a comic strip, so I had to look it up to see if it was real.  It is real and it’s not as strange as some other foods listed, but the combination doesn’t appeal to me.
•  Headcheese:  It’s not cheese.   It is head.  

•  Haggis:  I know it is popular in Scotland.

• Rocky Mountain Oysters:  Also called prairie oysters.  I first heard of these when I was a teenager.  After 35 years, I still haven’t and won’t try them.

In the comment section below, give me your thoughts, comments or lists of other strange foods you may or may not eat.

Restaurant Food

When you are as health conscious as I am about what you put into your body, restaurants come up short in most cases.

Fast foods from restaurants like McDonalds™, Burger King™, and Taco Bell™ are full of sodium, fat and other preservatives that are usually unpronounceable.

Some of these fast food places offer healthy alternatives.  However, the healthy part is that most of these alternatives don’t have as much fat but are still loaded down with sodium and preservatives.

Chain restaurants such as Chili’s™, Applebee’s™, and Texas Roadhouse™, are as bad as the fast food places when it comes to fat and sodium levels.

Diatfacts.com gives a list of many restaurants, the foods they offer and their nutritional values.

Look at McDonald’s Asian Salad™ without the chicken and dressing –low calories and low sodium.  However, many people don’t eat it plain without the dressing or the chicken.  Big difference with the chicken but no dressing the calories aren’t so bad but the sodium levels are huge.  If you add the dressing the sodium levels go even higher. 

Now look at a Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad from Chili’s Bar & Grill™.  It’s worse than the one you can get from McDonald's™.

It is hard for the health conscious to eat out.  That’s why when we went to Florida we visited a friend of mine and his restaurant in Delray Beach, The Green Gourmet.  I will be writing a feature story on Chef Joey Giannuzzi and his wonderful restaurant soon.

What makes the Green Gourmet special?  Organic foods, alternatives to salt, and a chef who cares about his patrons on a personal level.  I’ve even walked away with one of his recipes that I will be sharing soon.

While not many areas have a restaurant like the Green Gourmet, there are ways of getting “healthier” alternatives at the chains.

When ordering:

• Ask that no extra salt be used when preparing your dish.
• When ordering a salad, ask for the dressing on the side and don’t use as much of it.
• Ask for just a simple vinaigrette for a dressing  instead of the heavier dressings.

In the comment section below, please feel free to tell me about your favorite restaurant or healthy alternatives you have found for eating out.

               

Is This Really Good For Me?

One of the most important things that a lot of people don’t do when they shop for groceries is read the labels.

If you are person who has certain food allergies, needs to watch cholesterol or sodium intake, counting calories, or just want to know what you are eating, it is important to learn how to read the food labels.



Food Label Image from MSWord clip art



Start with the serving size.  How much is a serving?  Then look at the calories per serving.  Most breads list the serving size as one slice.  So, if a slice of bread has 160 calories, two slices would be 320 calories. Remember to look at the calories from fat.  If a food item has 150 calories and 140 of those calories are from fat, you might want to rethink eating it.

The next thing you want to pay attention to are thing you really want to limit in your diet.  That is fats, cholesterol, and sodium.  You want to limit your fat intake to no more than 58-78 grams of fat per day.  Keep the saturated fat down to 16 grams or less and your cholesterol to less than 300 mg per day.  (This is for a 2000 calorie per day diet.)

Many people get too much sodium in their diets.  The recommended sodium intake for sodium is 2300 mg per day.  The human body only requires 1500 mg per day that is less than a teaspoon of salt. Look at your food labels and calculate how much sodium you are taking in per day.  Are you surprised?

Now look at the good stuff, the vitamins and minerals that the food provides. 

Compare the percent (%) of daily values.  A value of 5% or less is low so you want things like sodium, sugars and fats to be less than 5% and vitamins and minerals to be higher.


This video from the American Diabetess Association shows how to read the "Nutrition Facts"

For more information about reading food labels, go to the American Heart Association’s website article Reading Food Nutrition Labels or the Mayo Clinic’s website article Nutrition and Healthy Eating.

In the comment section below, please feel free to discuss your opinions on nutrition labels and if you read them.

"Don't Eat That!"

Recently ABC News released “5 Foods the Experts Won’t Eat”.  One of the problems I have with this article is that it really doesn’t give a lot of detail as to why these experts won’t eat these foods.  Yes, reasons are listed but not the details.  Personally, I’d like to know more.  By the way, can someone please explain to me why a certain processed yellow cake-like snack food isn’t on the list?

There are, of course, many “expert” opinions about what you should or shouldn’t eat.  However, unless you retain the services of a licensed dietician, you’re pretty much on your own.

When I go shopping, I load up on a lot of fresh vegetable that will keep for a while.   While many people, including my friend Chef Joey, tout the benefits of organic, some people cannot afford the “good” stuff including me.   I will purchase local produce before something that is shipped across the country, because I feel it’s best for the environment and the economy.

While I don’t know what a particular animal was fed before it went to the butcher, I do pay attention as to whether or not it has been injected broth.  This adds a lot of sodium to the meat that isn’t necessary.  I will also spend extra for leaner cuts of meat. 

What I really pay attention to are the labels on boxed, canned and bottled foods.  Everyone should learn to read labels.  Not only is it good for people who have health issues or allergies, but it will also benefit those who are in good health as well.

Our country has a serious problem with food.   Moreover, the best way to get a handle on some of the health issues facing Americans today is for people to stop being so lazy about cooking.  Preparing a meal from scratch may take a little longer to make, but isn’t all that hard to do, and in the long run is much healthier.

In the comment section below, please feel free to express your opinions on eating healthier or tell about some food that you won’t eat and why.  

What's on Your Pancake?

I made pancakes for breakfast this morning.  I don’t make them often, only a couple of times a month. However, as I sat there slathering peanut butter onto my pancake, I wondered what other people might enjoy on their pancakes.

My husband likes to put syrup on his, preferably maple or maple flavored. Because pancakes act like a sponge and soak up the syrup, he makes a little puddle on the side of his plate and then dips his pancakes.   This way his pancakes aren’t weighed down with a bunch of sugar and it cuts the calories.

I did mention that I put peanut butter on mine.  Peanut butter on pancakes has been a tradition in my family for as far back as I can remember.  My dad got me started, and his dad got him started.  I’m not sure where it really began, but it is good. 

Foodies Unite lists 102 Pancake Toppings for National Pancake Day, February 28.

In the comment section below, please feel free to post your favorite toppings, comments or suggestions for pancakes.

Lasagna

Since both my husband and I are from Italian decent, it shouldn't be surprising that we both love lasagna.

I make two kinds of lasagna:  one with meat and marinara sauce, and one with spinach and Alfredo sauce.

When I have time to do so, I make my own marinara sauce from scratch.  Sometimes I don't have time scratch sauce and use one from a jar which can be just as tasty. 

When I make meat lasagna, I use a combination of pork sausage and ground beef. 

For the cheeses, I usually use a combination of cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and Parmesan cheese.  Other combination of cheese can be used.

I found this video for baking lasagna without first boiling the pasta. I will have to try this some time. I’m not sure I would try this with an Alfredo sauce though.

Other recipes I have found:

·         Gluten Free Lasagna Recipe

·         Vegan Lasagna

·         Easy Spinach Lasagna with White Sauce

In the comment section, please feel free to post your recipe, preference or other comments on lasagna.