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.

Tastes from Africa

On Monday, our campus had the pleasure of being able to try some wonderful tastes from Africa.

Each of the samplings of the foods were presented with a recipe card.  I’m will try my hand at each these dishes as I found each of them to be delicious.  While I enjoyed each of the samplings, my favorite was the Doro Wat (a chicken stew) from Ethiopia.

These recipes were presented with each of the samplings:  (click on the recipes for a larger version)

In the comment section below, please feel free to tell about your favorite African dish, comments or other suggestions.



Cilantro Shrimp on Rice

Whenever I am away from home, I look for restaurants that serve something different.  International type places rock, and I’m sure to find something I’ve never had before.  Such was the case when I stopped at Zaytina in Washington D.C.  They serve innovated Turkish, Greek and Lebanese foods. One of the things I ordered was Garides Me Anitho that is a dish comprised of sautéed shrimp, dill, shallots, mustard, and lemon juice.

This was so good that I had to figure out how to make it myself.  So over time I have experimented and worked out a dish that is my own. Though based on the above dish, it is different and just as tasty.

Cilantro Shrimp and Rice

1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 or 2 cloves of garlic minced

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1 tablespoon of butter

1/4 cup  lime juice

1/8 cup Nathan’s™ Coney Island Spicy brown mustard

1/8 cup Goya™ Recaito (a cilantro base)

Optional: Crushed red pepper

• Heat olive oil and butter together then sauté the garlic for about one minut before adding the shrimp (if you like it spicy add the crushed red pepper and sauté for one minute more.
• Sauté shrimp until done
• Add the lime juice, mustard and cilantro
• Simmer for about five minutes
• Serve on a bed of rice

Note:  I like Nathan’s brown mustard, however, any type of brown mustard would work just as well.  I do know from experience (an accident actually) that honey mustard is not the way to go.  Also, fresh cilantro is preferable to some but expensive, and I recommend using the base only because of the cost.  The base is very good and is also low in sodium.

In the comment section below, please feel free to pot your recipe, preferences or other comments about cilantro shrimp.

The Joys of a Cookbook

My first real cooking experience was when I was six and was given an Easy-Bake Oven® for Christmas. But in order to bake that cake I had to follow the “recipe.”  That is I had to pour the mix into a bowl and measure the correct amount of water, stir it up, pour it into the pan and bake it for the correct amount of time.

As I got older, my parents and both of my grand-mothers taught me how to cook different things.  My dad taught me to make milk gravy, something my mother could never quite get the hang of doing. 

As I grew into an adult and had a family of my own, I learned to cook different things by searching cookbooks for different recipes.  Over time, I developed my own style of doing things.  I found not all recipes are the same, as I’ve illustrated in some of my previous posts.  I have also learned that not every cook cooks the same way.  This is one of the reason why I have a shelf full of cookbooks, a file box full of recipes, and a notebook that contains printed recipes from the web.  I also search many websites for different recipes.

Cookbooks are wonderful things.  They not only contain these wonderful recipes, but many also give advice on how to make something, contain photographs of what the end result should look like, lists tables of conversions, and have information about ingredients. When getting a new cookbook, I do look at the recipes, but I also read about the techniques used.

My favorite cookbook is the “Joy of Cooking."  This book is a kitchen bible of sorts. Yes, it does contain many recipes, but it also gives great technique as well.  I’ve learned a lot from reading this book and in my opinion every kitchen should have one.

In the comment section below, please feel free to list your favorite cookbook, comments or other suggestions.

"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.

Chili

When it’s cold outside and what I really want is something hot to make me feel warm inside.

Chili does the trick for me.  Truth is I like chili most any time of the year.

There are various ways to make chili with a lot of variations in meat, peppers and spices.

My own recipe:

1lb. lean ground beef

1 medium Spanish onion diced

1 can of red beans (I use organic)

2 large tomatoes skinned and diced (or a can of diced unsalted tomatoes)

1 can of unsalted tomato sauce

1 or 2 green chilies seeded and diced

1 tbsp.  crushed red pepper

1 tbsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tbsp. cumin

¼ cup of brown sugar.

Brown the ground beef.  Add the peppers and onions when and sauté for one or two minutes.  Add the spices and let cook for another minute before adding the tomatoes.  Let simmer 15 to 20 minutes then add the brown sugar.

Other recipes you might want to try:

·         Vegetarian Chili with Spicy Tortilla Strips

·         Spicy Beanless Chili

·         Kathy’s Easy Not so Spicy Chili

·         Spicy Buffalo Chili

·         White Chili

In the comment section, please feel free to post your recipes, preferences or other comments on chili.