What we can learn from baby food

During the week I am not as diligent about reading the newspaper as I used to be. Part of it is the busy monster we all talk about (too much) but it’s more that I love the “real” paper we only receive on the weekends. This past weekend, other than the horrible story of the girl killed in her school hallway the day of junior prom, what first caught my attention was a series letters to the editor about salt.

In response to an article that I must’ve missed during most letters called the FDA out. One, from a pediatrician, asked “for how much longer will our country allow the producers of highly processed foods to cause heart attacks and strokes by force feeding us so much salt?” A couple other letters contained more of the same blame. And then finally one brief comment expressed what I had been thinking, it said “there is a solution to this problem that is often overlooked: home cooking. It is healthier, cheaper and additive free.” I wanted to hug this Allison Eisner who wrote the article.

Trust me, I am horrified by the FDA’s actions. Every week I read about an ingredient or pesticide banned by the European commission but permitted here. Innocent until proven guilty when it comes to our food is not something I support. But rather than bitch and moan (which I’m pretty good at) an article in the Business section supported Allison’s suggestion.

The article focused on baby food. Since 2005, mothers in droves have been making their own baby food. In turn, sales of commercial food have been falling. Now you’ll find Beechnut, hardly a  cutting edge brand, with quinoa and pomegranate and fewer preservatives. And there are an abundance of new companies in this sector that had stellar ingredients from the get go.

I know from my practice that there are no more motivated clients than pregnant women and new moms. Women who had never opened their registry pots and pans will make baby food when the time comes or forego sweeteners while pregnant for the sake of their babies. However, if and when we make these changes on behalf of ourselves, when we stop buying sodium bombs and convenience foods- the companies will have to follow suit.

If you don’t think it’s worth speaking up, I’ll give you a recent example why you should. It came to our attention that a supplement we endorse contained caramel coloring. We let the company know (ok we tweeted to them) we were concerned. Fairly quickly they let us (and the rest of the Twittersphere) know they were reformulating.

I’m happy to play bash the FDA but I think we’re better off showing the companies that go the extra mile our love by purchasing their goods and like my girl Allison suggested above taking control of our food by cooking more at home.

What do you think, should the FDA take a stance on sodium and additives or do we have to take matters into our own hands?

FYI  I received this interesting sodium visual which is relevant to the subject matter above.

Meet Harissa

I love condiments, particularly spicy condiments, so I’m wondering why it took so long for harissa and I to meet. Harissa is from North Africa and I’m from North America but since when, in 2013, does geography throw a wrench in our eating plans? While I’m all for local bounty, I also love coconut water, matcha and Himalayan salt. So it was probably just bad luck that harissa and I hadn’t crossed paths.

My first harissa spotting was at Le Pain Quotidien. I enjoyed what I tasted but their harissa is very thick, almost a paste. I was intrigued and ordered harissa from one of my favorite sites mouth.com.This was the Mina brand harrissa and I have to say I fell in love. I've since learned this harissa is widely available even sold at West Elm (a desk and some condiments anyone? weird).

I dipped veggies in harissa, added it to scrambled eggs, folded some into my sardine/avocado combo and used it on grilled chicken breasts. For every ingredient I tested harissa on, it passed with flying colors. I want to try this recipe for salmon, kale and harissa next.

As much as I love to cook, I’m not someone who feels you have to DIY for everything if someone else can make it better. I’d cop to laziness but it’s really, without getting too deep, about insecurity. Can mine be as good? With Harissa, I didn’t think so but because of this blog post I decided to try. I used this recipe.

On a 100-degree day I cranked up my oven to 500

Roasted my peppers

Diced my chilies (not the Thai chilies the recipe called for but long green hot peppers). Remember the chili pepper/metabolism connection?  I also used ground coriander versus seeds (it’s all I had).

blurry, spicy chilies and garlic

 Combined everything in the Vitamix (recipe says to do in 2 stages but needed the volume for Vitamix to work).  I spooned the blended harissa into a weck jar,  refrigerated it as directed and you know what? Just as good as Mina’s.

Have you already met harissa? Do you make it yourself? What do you use it for? What's your current favorite condiment?

Make Your Own Almond Milk To Avoid This Ingredient

A real blogger would have their own photos, this from Vitamix

I am not one of those people who feels I have to make everything myself. Part of me would like to be that person. Realistically, I’m of the belief if someone else can do it better I will defer to them. I buy Rao’s tomato sauce, Purely Elizabeth granola and Siggi’s yogurt. I could technically make of each of these things but not like Raos, Elizabeth or Siggi. There are other foods I make at home either because it tastes better or has better ingredients.  I like my smoothies better than any shop or juice bar; I also make my own almond milk.

Homemade almond milk is delicious and incredibly easy (if you own a good blender). You can use it in smoothies or oatmeal, for chia pudding or steamed with matcha. Almond milk is a good source of magnesium. Warm it up, add some cinnamon or lightly sweeten and it’s amazing after dinner.

I didn’t always make my own almond milk but started when I read the ingredients on my unsweetened almond milk and saw carrageenan. Carrageenan is a thickener derived from seaweed; it’s related to Irish Moss and very difficult to digest. Research has confirmed it’s inflammatory and can affect insulin function. Dr Tobacman is one of the primary carrageenan researchers; it’s hard to believe carrageenan is so widely used once you start reading her work. When you make almond milk at home, simply shaking the jar avoids the need for any additive of this type, what would you prefer?

So, to make your own almond milk you’ll need

1 cup raw almonds

3 to 4 cups filtered water

pinch of Himalayan salt

optional: stevia or maple syrup

optional: cinnamon, vanilla bean, cardamom, nutmeg, cacao powder

What you’ll do:

1. Place almonds in a bowl or jar and cover with water. Soak almonds overnight (some at the Foodtrainers’ office rush this soaking but I like an overnight soak). The almonds plump up nicely.
2. Rinse the almonds and put in the blender (Vitamix plug, works beautifully for this) cover with 3-4 cups of water.
3. Add sweetener or spices if you’d like. I was burned by a potent vanilla bean one time so I often make the milk plain and spice/flavor when I add it to a recipe..
4. Blend 1-2 minutes or until smooth.
5. You can stop here but I suggest straining through a fine sieve. There also are such things as nut milk bags for this process but I’ve never gone there. I have been known to strain twice.I know people do amazing things with the almond meal (baking and such). Mine goes bye bye.

Store in a large Mason jar for 3-5 days.

Yield is approximately 3 cups and in the vicinity of 100 calories per cup.

If you’re not interested in DIY-ing; OMilk in NYC and 365/Whole Foods make nut milks without carrageenan.

http://foodtrainers.blogspot.com/2012/05/foodtrainers-favorite-milk.html

Where do you stand on the DIY spectrum? What do you make yourself? Which foods to you purchase premade? Are you aware of carrageenan? Any nut milk variations to suggest?

While I have no almond milk photos I do have some recent celebration pictures. A thank you to Fat Witch bakery for these football-themed brownies and blondies (see I didn’t make my own) and a shout out to Hint, kids loved it.

Ditch the (Bottled) Salad Dressing

Lovely photo, thank you Lisa

I have a longtime client who has maintained a 20-pound weight loss for almost ten years. She’s savvy when it comes to food ingredients,  she orders wild salmon from Vital Choice and knows to BYOC (bring your own chicken) so she doesn’t have to eat the antibioticy option at the salad bar at work. She was in my office for a check-in recently and we reviewed her daily routine. “Speaking of that salad, how are you dressing it?” I asked.  “I use Newman’s,” she answered. I raised my eyebrows and told her “you can do better than that.” “I know most dressing is bad but even Paul Newman’s”?

I mean no disrespect to the deceased and truly admire the charitable work Newman’s Own has done. Yet their dressings have up to two teaspoons of sugar (1 teaspoon= 4 grams) per two tablespoon serving. This isn't meant to single out any one brand, this holds for all salad dressings. I’m sure some of you will say that one to two teaspoons of sugar isn’t that big of a deal. The issue is that sugar doesn’t have to be there. Furthermore, this is really an example of a food that could be two to three real ingredients and instead has 20 scary ones (to be clear, Newman's steers clear of the scary ingredients). Sugar, HFCS or artificial sweeteners aren’t the only issues; salad dressings are preservative playgrounds.  

Here are some of the ingredients you'll find in salad dressing. I can always tell a troublesome ingredient because spell check doesn't recognize it.

• Natamycin: acts as a preservative or antifungal
• Calcium Disodium EDTA: preservative; prevents air from spoiling food products, known to cause skin reactions and GI upset. It us currently under investigation by the FDA for mutagenic or reproductive effects.
• Carmel color: food coloring known to be a carcinogen and immunosuppressive
• Autolyzed yeast extract: texture, taste
• Sulfur dioxide: preservative
• Sodium Benzoate: preservative, one of the ones research links to hyperactivity and behavior problems in children
• Soybean Oil- much of the soybean oil used in dressings is genetically modified
• MSG
• Xantham gum: used to add volume and viscosity; it’s not necessarily harmful carbohydrate used in a lot of gluten-free products, but do we need to be adding carbohydrate to our salad dressings?

I’m just not sure why anyone would want to ruin a perfectly healthy meal pouring junk on top.

How much dressing do people typically use? 

The serving size listed on bottles is two tablespoons. Most people report using one to two tablespoons but are these people really measuring? A pour could end up being double that amount especially with the gargantuan salads many places serve. Also, some people think they are doing themselves a favor by ordering the dressing on the side then using the “dipping” technique. While this does allow you to control how much dressing you use on your salad, be careful not to dip the entire amount they give you on the side as it often exceeds what they would have otherwise put on the salad to begin with!

Tasty Alternative

When I embark on a mission to get clients to DIY with food, I know I’m going to have to engage in the time debate. When it comes to dressing, I’m going to win with debate. Go into your kitchen or work cafeteria, pour some olive oil and squeeze a lemon wedge or two. If you say that took more than a minute you’re lying or live in a much larger house than I do.

Easy Lemon Vinaigrette

1 small jar (I use leftover Zoe tuna jars)

1 lemon (lemons produce three to four Tbs. juice)

Olive Oil (double the amount of lemon juice)
Salt (optional) and Pepper 

Squeeze lemon juice in jar, add oil and shake. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. That’s it.

You can add lemon zest, Dijon mustard, parsley or basil or a minced clove of garlic. I also love experimenting with vinegars (fig, apple cider, balsamic). The point is that’s it’s easy, tastes better and saves you from ingesting sugar and preservatives.

At restaurants you can ask for olive oil and lemon on the side or olive oil and vinegar. To quote Kelly Clarkson, whose salad dressing habits I know nothing about, “oh sweetheart put the bottle down.”

Do you own bottled salad dressing? Would you consider ditching it? How is your salad dressed?