Genetically Modified Organics, Organic Food, and Diets

Boring Title Isn't It? Who wants to read another blog about this stuff? It's all the rage.... listening to snobs and hippies talk about how our food is being controlled by the government and Monsanto seed corporations... blah blah... just give me a cheeseburger while I drive my car.

Well.... I'm not really going to write about that boring stuff... but I am going to tell you a story about my family and how switching to a healthy diet changed us in as little as a month.

It's all very complicated to me- GMO's, and Organic foods. The USDA... all these labels to read, and the articles that constantly contradict themselves. I've decided to take it all with a grain of salt.

I was raised on McDonald's, Steak and Potatoes,  Celeste Frozen Pizza, and Cheese Dogs. Most of the year ,when I'm not hugely pregnant I am around 115-120 lbs and 5'4" tall. I have a consistent blood pressure of 120/60, and I will throw up easily after running an 8 minute mile. I don't work out. I don't sit on my ass either.

Extreme anything to me is what classifies someone as "nuts".... anything that is consistent is "anal" and anything that is done in moderation, or proportionally is "normal". The minute you try to stick to a schedule that is impossible- sets you up for failure. It's ok to slip up on exercise, food or substances- all in moderation right?. I think that is the best way to do things. Guilty pleasures are the best!

With that said....
I took my family from eating the cheapest generic food found in the supermarket and switched our grocery list to all organic generic food. The change increased our shopping bill to about $20 more, and took away most of our unhealthy options. For instance, there is no organic chef b'yourdee. (or however you spell that slop in a can).  My four year old was not happy. Yet, You can find Amy's organic mac and cheese, and let me point out that it tastes way better, but is about $1 more than craft mac and cheese. (The yellow color in the cheese is really bad for you in that stuff. I read an article on it, and talked to a neighbor that had a kid allergic to it. It's like Yellow number 5 in Mountain Dew. Bad stuff. Nasty)

This started because my husband started having stomach issues. I also just watched a quick video about a mom (who was a commercial nutritionist) made a video and petitioned against GMOS companies because  her child had an allergic reaction and almost died from eating Eggo Waffles- (poster child for GMO foods). I started to research Gmo's, which was trumped by Organic foods, because if it's Organic, then it can't have Gmo's in it. The government is also against labeling GMOs Food. So you don't really know what you are consuming. But, at least with organic you have a better idea of what is it, where it came from, and how it was grown or butchered.

Long story short. My husband has broken his femur, had knee surgery, passed kidney stones, and has even been punched in the face- and yet the stomach pain he was in was worse then all of these things. He went to the Emergency Room, and sat for three hours waiting...they never took him. He came home and wallowed in agony on and off for the next three weeks. The doctor blamed it on acid reflux. Which was wrong. This had something to do with his diet, and his stress levels. He had Irritable Bowel Syndrome like symptoms. Most of those are caused from diet, and apparently pesticides and chemicals in food will trigger this response in people with IBS.  I could fix the diet problems. It took about a week of eating all organic foods for him to start feeling better. Gradually his skin went from grey to pink. His energy levels went back to normal, and his stress went down after we moved. I know for a fact he is sensitive to chemicals and round up because if he eats fruit sprayed with weed and bug killer his lips swell up. The fruit has to be washed or peeled to avoid swelling.

Next are the kids. My four year old and two year old were hyper, had no attention span, and would easily crash off of any high fructose corn syrup... or foods that had abnormal amounts of colored die in it. We found that they sat down for longer periods of time when we went out to eat, they were better behaved, and would quietly play with each other for longer periods of time. They also had less stinky poops. You are welcome for that small fact. Gross I know... but you can tell a lot about your health from your poop. Did you know that a healthy poop should sink, not float? And you should poop at least once a day- (although it can be perfectly normal if you don't).

Then there is my health. I am 34 weeks pregnant, and my blood pressure is 120/60 I weigh 140 lbs and I'm all belly with some added love handle and butt. It is very hard to keep my cravings at bay. I want SUGAR and SALT all the time. I want strawberry ice cream, whip cream, and chocolate sauce at least three times a day. But Instead, I will eat an Amy's organic bean burrito. On Friday's we have pizza take out. Pizza is my all time favorite food. It is the only day of the week that we really go nuts on junk. On Saturday mornings we normally go out for breakfast at the diner. I will get French Toast and share it with James, and Watts will get Oatmeal and fruit. My husband will get eggs and sausage. I get the short stack being two pieces of toast. James eats most of it. Luckily I don't have much stomach space, so I can only eat half of a slice of french toast. I drink coffee, even though that is considered a no no. I don't care. A small cup won't kill us. About twice a week I will even indulge in one beer, or a glass of white wine. Again. I don't care, and really it is just hurting my soul since I want to drink the entire bottle, and the entire case of beer but can't... so it's just waving bacon in front of a dog, but it does take a stressful day and make it go away. I also have terrible urges to smoke... I just want a cigarette all the time. I know they will taste bad, and they are terrible... and I will stink from it....but I have nothing to release my stress... I haven't quite figured that out yet. I force my husband to wiggle my toes at night or massage my hands to release some of the hard day of raising two boys under the age of four while being very pregnant. The all organic diet has also helped with some of my terrible cravings, and mood swings. Did you know that pregnant ladies are full of hormones? Hormone rages come easily, but a healthy diet counteracts that.  I also lost weight... mostly bloat. The first week of the organic diet I went from 142lbs to 138. Now I am putting on a good pound a week in a healthier way.

Anyway, organic just means that no chemicals, or hormones were used, and maybe the animals were treated better. It depends. I don't know about you... but who wants to eat something that has been sprayed with round up weed killer? I don't. Who wants to eat a chicken that stood in it's own poop and was kept in a dark cage with a million other sick chickens? I don't. Who wants to eat a cow that was dragged through it's neighbors poop before being slaughtered? I don't. Who wants to eat animals that are pumped full of hormones and drugs? Nope not me.

Anyway, this is a long rant... would you expect anything less of my writings? Like I said I love my junk, and it took a long time to find foods that didn't suck. Kashi Cereal SUCKS. Don't buy it. I rather suck on chalk then eat that stuff. Cascadia Farms cereals are delightful. Here are a few other things I found on my explorations through the organic aisle of mystery food.

WONDERFUL HEALTHY FOODS TO TRY THAT TASTE AMAZING:

The best thing I have discovered in the organic section is COCONUT OIL!
Buy it.
Substitute it with Vegetable Oil whenever you can. It goes better in sweet stuff....
I broke down yesterday and made dark chocolate brownies with walnuts. The recipe called for 1/3 cup vegetable oil, 3 tablespoons water and one egg. I used coconut oil instead, and added more water to get the texture correct. Best brownies ever! The coconut oil leaves a coconut taste to whatever you cook it with.

I tried sauteing my asparagus in it instead of olive oil... and it was weird. Asparagus shouldn't taste like a cookie.

Anyway, I am slowly discovering that healthy food doesn't have to suck.

I substitute sugar with organic honey. I like wild flower the best.
And I hate drinking water, so I drink seltzer. plain or tangerine... I also will add fresh grape fruit juice to plain seltzer or apple juice and it is lovely.

I like purple cabbage instead of shredded green cabbage. Add a teaspoon of Cole slaw dressing and it is delightful with any kind of meat.

I  found out that the darker the inside of a fruit or vegetable means that there is more nutritional content to it. So a pink grapefruit would have more content than an apple. Purple vegetables have more nutritional stuff in it than their paler counterparts. Of course.... I read this in an article, and you can't believe everything you read. I'm sure someone will counteract that topic in a few months.

I love Salmon. It has DHA in it, which makes you smart. I need as much of that as possible, plus it's great for Ava inside my belly. She will be smart too.

Morning Star Veggie Burgers, and fake ground beef are very tasty. A wonderful substitute for hormone meat.
The boys love Morning Star Corn Dogs. I hate corn dogs... so I can't be a good judge.

I also have started buying real loafs of bread that actually will go moldy after a week if not eaten. Mold... good indicator that your food is real. Take it as a compliment... don't be grossed out. If it went moldy, buy some more. That right there was real.

Leave a McDonald's cheeseburger in your car... it will look the same in 5 years.
Not real.

Ok that was my rant for the day. Feel free to tell me more about the stuff you love in organic land. I'm afraid of most of the stuff I see in there.

YUM! Morning Star Burgers and Products are my fast food. Pop it in the microwave and eat. 

Breakfast of Champions! 

My new "wheres waldo" game in the super market. Look for this label, and you are good to go. 

You can even put it on your skin, or eat it by the spoonful. This stuff is awesome! 

Vegetable Lasagna

I love Vegetable Lasagna.... and tried to make it from scratch tonight. It turned out better then I could have ever imagined. Here is my recipe for it.
Serves about 4.
Prep time: about 25 minutes.

You will need:
A large Carrot
A handful of Broccoli florets
Peas
1 yellow onion
Whole leaf fresh spinach
Flour
Milk
Butter, or margarine
salt
Pepper
All in one all purpose seasoning
Garlic Powder or fresh garlic
Low Fat Mozzarella Cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Whole Wheat Pasta of your choosing (rotini, elbow, or lasagna noddles) I used about a cup and a half.

Step one:
1. Boil water for your noodles.
2.Cut up carrots and broccoli into little pieces. Add peas, ripped up spinach and any other vegetable you want. I filled a large cereal bowl with my cuttings.

3. Cut up onion, mince it

Step two:
Turn on the oven to 350 degrees
Start cooking your noodles.

In another pan....
Make your white sauce: I use this for lots of things. Like Chicken pot pie mixture, Creamed Spinach, and now my vegetable lasagna- it's great.
1. Heat up a spoonful of butter, and add in onion. Stir the onion around till it browns a little.
2. Add a handful of flour it will get all globby like thick glue.
3. Add about 1-2 cups of milk and stir around.

You will notice it start to bubble- you want it to be the consistency of salad dressing. Add milk or flour till you get the desired consistency.

Throw in the cereal bowl of veggies.
Put it on low heat and stir till it makes a yogurt like stew.
Add in salt, pepper, garlic and seasoning till it tastes really good.

Step Three:
Drain your noodles
Get a casserole dish or something to bake in.
Add a light layer of noodles
Spread your vegetable white sauce evenly over the noodles.
* Some people would add Rocotta cheese here- but I opted out because I didn't have it)
Sprinkle a little mozzarella cheese
Add a light layer of noodles
Add a light layer of mozzarella and sprinkle with parm cheese and garlic.

Cook for about 15- 20 minutes till cheese is firm and crusty.


I added a Spinach salad as a side dish with Avocado, tomatoes, and a squirt of lime juice... you can add a teaspoon of fat free dressing, or stir the avocado till it makes a nice dressing all over.

I didn't think to take a picture before we ate this.... but at least you can see what the inside looks like. Sorry for the ugly picture. 

Baked Kale Chips the Liz way.

A picture of Kale chips I found on the web.

I hate Kale... it's the new pomegranate though... so I have to eat it.
(Even though I personally feel that it smells and taste like a bad fart).

My friend Story came over the other day and I was showing off my vegetable garden and said "And this is my Kale, which sucks" She mentioned that she makes Kale Chips with olive oil and salt and bakes them. People love it she said.... and I bet they did because they weren't eating my version of it.

So I gave it a try. Story didn't give me any direction as to how or what to do.

I picked some of my fresh Kale poop out of the garden. I ripped it up into potato chip size and then washed it, stuck it in a bowl drenched it in olive oil and then smothered it in salt.

Mistakes 1,2, 3 and 4 were.....

1. When you cut it up, don't include the spines. Yuck.
2.  I didn't dry my Kale after washing it,  and don't drench in olive oil. It doesn't dry out properly
3. Don't smather with salt. Its overkill. you want a very tiny pinch of salt.
4. It tasted like salty popcorn with a side of fart.

Much better then the original version, but I'm going to have to keep working on the recipe. (It also gave me some dog breath afterwards.... like I had licked the urine off my tinkle (just in case you didn't know why dogs breath smells bad). 

I think for the next batch I will spray with Olive Oil, sprinkle with salt,, AND garlic powder and maybe some Crushed Red Pepper for my spice loving hubster.

..... AND then I might even do a tap of Parmesan cheese. And for all the fatty's out there you could dip it in fat free ranch dressing.... (To undo all the health benefits of eating fart chips).

Or maybe I would try to sprinkle it with cinnamon and some honey... to make dessert chips. With a side of Tofu Ice cream...

or for all you fatty's out there you could just dip it in pure chocolate sauce and then use it to scoop some ice cream, even though it is totally not strong enough to hold ice cream.... but I'm sure you will figure it out. I think that's why they invented spoons. Your welcome for the idea.

Sorry, I'm jonesing me some sweet stuff after eating the chips... hold on while I go get a breath mint, my breath is kicking!
Woof.
And this is why I wasn't a good sales person.

I dare you to try it.
(reverse psychology)
Or maybe I'm a genius at selling people on something.


Anyway here is the real recipe:

Directions

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line a non insulated cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. With a knife or kitchen shears carefully remove the leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Wash and thoroughly dry kale with a salad spinner. Drizzle kale with olive oil and sprinkle with seasoning salt.
3. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Thanks Story for the great idea....

This is a picture of my Kale, best not to include the spines. 

Update: I put the salty chips into a bowl and offered some to my two year old. I was expecting him to spit them out. He snatched the entire bowl out of my hands went and sat down in front of the TV and is happily eating them all. He's going to be soooo thirsty. He loves them though. So maybe it's just me.

Baby Food Recipes

James (my 9 month old baby) does not like jarred baby food. I suppose this is because I introduced him to my health food that came with nutrition and taste. Whatever I eat he eats.... sometimes this is hard because it isn't baby friendly. Sometimes it's too spicy, or has honey, or is too sharp or hard for him to gum on. I had to get creative.

Everyday, I make a pitcher of my "green juice" in my blender. I normally put 2 green apples, 2 oranges, 1 handful of spinach, 2 peeled carrots, and a dash of cinnamon, blend for one minute and drink it throughout the day.

James will eat baby rice, but gets bored of it. One day I thought to add some of my green juice to it to give it some taste and nutrition. He loved it. He was lunging for the spoon and couldn't get enough of it. My two year old also loves green juice. I only give him a small amount because it has a lot of natural sugars in it from the apples and oranges and I don't want to blow his system . I water it down for him.

Anyway, this got me thinking... I could just blend anything into a juice and add it to his baby rice or oatmeal and it would be better then the baby food in jars.
It takes seconds for me to blend it and store it, and then I have it all day to mix and match as I please.
I can also pour this into ice cube trays and freeze them so he has something to teeth on. I have a pacifier thing that has a clasp with netting. You can put an ice cube or large piece of fruit in it,and the baby can hold it and suck the juices through the netting. It's great.

RECIPES!

Green Juice
Blend:
2 apples
2 oranges
2 carrots
handful of spinach
1-2 cups of water
dash of cinnamon
-mix with rice to thicken to your liking

Hawaiian Delight
Blend:
2 apples
1 orange
3 frozen banana
1 carrot
1/4 cup of water
-mix with rice to thicken it.

The Big Green
Blend:
hand full of spinach
one celery stalk
a pinch of Kale
frozen peas, carrots, and corn
one carrot
1/4 cup of water
-Add to baby rice.

Rice Crispee with Yogurt and Fruit
Let some Rice Crispees soak in whole milk yogurt of your choice till they get soft. Add some cinnamon, or mash some banana or strawberry in it.


Frozen Banana Swirl
Take an over ripe banana and cut it up into small pieces, place in zip lock bag and freeze.
Take frozen banana and put in blender, add a dash of cows milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk and blend till thick like a milk shake.
Serve.

Pina Collada
Blend
Frozen Pineapple
Silk Coconut Milk
Add rice to thicken

Healthy Sweet Potato Soup

The Watts feeding James my homemade health soup

Just made some excellent sweet potato soup. I was looking at recipes online and they all called for cream, butter, oil, brown sugar, I didn't want to use any of this.

For sweetness I used Almond Milk and cinnamon.

Sweet Potato Recipe:

3 celery stalks
2 peeled and diced carrots
2 sweet potato peeled and cubed
1 regular potato
half green pepper
half tomato
half cup almond milk
dash of cinnamon
two cups water
2 chicken broth cubes
a dash of pepper


cook onion, celery, carrots, pepper, tomato till onion is translucent and a pleasant aroma is brewing
add half cup of almond milk or soy milk



wait till it bubbles add cinnamon and (nutmeg if you care for it).
add potato and sweet potato and coat
add in water with chicken broth

boil it, and then set to simmer.

then stick in it in your blender and blend till smooth
this takes about a half hour to make and once again I don't mean to brag but my two year old and 6 month old loved it.

Add salt and a nice toasted baguette for the ultimate indulgence.

Whoa, this is a lot of soup.

I like this, I'm going to eat it all.

All gone, "I want more" he say's. What a pig.

Enjoy!

Science of Junk Food

Just got done reading this article from the New York Times.

The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Food

Grant Cornett for The New York Times

Blog by: Liz edited by Bev

THE EXTRAORDINARY SCIENCE OF JUNK FOOD

By MICHAEL MOSS
Published: NYTimes, February 20, 2013
www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

This above article describes how American food producers use science to make fast food and snack food so addictive that a lot of us would rather die than give it up. Unlike someone who’s cooking meth, what the food producers do is legal. Result? While so many on our crowded planet are starving,  tons of junk-food -addicted Americans are snacking themselves to death.

I’m an angry and worried wife and mother who’s saying enough already.

When I was growing up, there was always chocolate in our house.  My friends would come over and see the bowl brimming with candies.

 "Can I have some?"

"Sure, it's old take it. I don't like candy"

On my way home from riding on weekends we would go to McDonalds where I would get a double cheeseburger, small fries and a Sprite. Yet when I rode in my friend’s car and asked for McDonalds, her parents would wrinkle their noses and say "no".  This made me want it even more! I would sing the McDonalds song, and wouldn't give up till finally we were in the drive-thru to get that precious order of  small fries.

I can eat whatever I want and not become obese.  So I don’t truly feel the food-addiction thing – the trials and tribulations of size extra large.   Blame it on my mom. She fed me, she raised me... and she eats killer foods. If left to her own devices she would happily douse every meal in ketchup, mayonnaise and white sugar. Spread that load of heart attack on some cheap white bread, slap on a side of tuna...and you have a happy old British Lady.

Some of the meals I now make for her are very healthy but taste bad, even to me. She looks at it and says "but war food-rationing is over!" and starts to pick out the vegetables and fake tofu-meat. Can you blame her?  Mom loves her béarnaise sauce with a little red meat, washed down with a glass of wine.

At our house, Mom fed us English style  It was steak and potatoes almost every night. Sorry, my mom will object to that. So let’s admit it. She did serve other things...like shepherd’s pie, Yorkshire pudding, roast beef, meat loaf, beef Wellington, London broil, bubble and squeak, toad in the hole, bangers and mash, bacon roly-poly, and sometimes for a special treat, a slithery mass of haggis. It took hours to make, and she cooked it well...but  it was truly a labor of nutritional catastrophe.

Since you asked, here’s a haggis recipe: enjoy!

Ingredients

• 1 sheep stomach
• 1 sheep liver
• 1 sheep heart
• 1 sheep tongue
• 1/2 pound suet, minced
• 3 medium onions, minced
• 1/2 pound dry oats, toasted
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon dried ground herbs

What can I say?  I quickly became a picky eater.

By the time I was in high school I was eating a bowl of oatmeal, a Snickers bar downed with two cans of Coke, followed by a Celeste pizza and that was it for THE DAY.    I ate small portions of sugary greasy things that would get me high enough to make it to the next "cheap and fast meal". No more of that super heavy English cooking. No more taking time to cook any food for that matter. Grab a bag of chips and run.

Then I met my husband. Whether it was meat, fish or veggies, he’d put spices on everything, add a little cheese,  some bread crumbs and sauté it... till it was perfect. I started to understand why people crave this stuff.  He taught me how to cook a meal, as in:  a meat, a veggie, and a starch heaped onto a plate. That's how we ate for four years.

Now,  it wasn't that he was eating bad things.  It’s just that his portions were HUGE.  He needed to lighten up. He agreed, and the pounds started to come off.

I was going in the opposite direction. By this time in my mid 20's I ate Adderall mixed with booze, and smoked, and drank a ton of coffee. This was a problem.  But I felt it brought me pleasure. In reality, I was an in-denial wreck with terrible mood swings, depression and often an upset stomach.

It took me only 27 years of bad nutrition to figure out that fiber-rich, regular and moderate eating can be a girl’s best friend!   Hubster’s, too.

So I backed off from my food phobia, and he dialed down his food fascination. As a result, I added a few much-needed pounds to my boney frame, while he dropped a cool 50.  How many years will that add to his life?

We do indulge our greasy food cravings. Just once a week, as in: Yay, it’s Saturday, let’s have a cheese-steak!  Allowing that one  treat  permits us to be disciplined for the rest of the week,  when we faithfully follow the “Forks Over Knives” whole-food, plant-based diet.

www.forksoverknives.com/

But for most of America?  Read those bathroom scales, people!  And weep.  

Back to my mom...

Both during and for some time after World War II in England, people, including my mom, were given Ration Books, that contained cards like this one.

Ration card for groceries.  My mum still has hers.  I’ll post it later.

A card might allow you to buy 2 oz or 3 oz of candy, for example. Also rationed were butter, meat, flour, tea – all the basic necessities. People grew fresh veggies in back gardens. There was no fast food, or pre-baked dinners. No food additives. Those coupons, while they lasted, kept a nation on the dietary straight and narrow.

How far we have strayed in our good old stuff-your-face USA! The article that I mentioned at the top of this blog?  It  shows that despite all the government’s talk about curbing obesity, the fast-food, snack-food industry is pouring billions into advertising and into ever higher crunchiness and calorie levels along with chemically manipulated tastes that will hook people on food products that you wouldn’t feed your dog,  because it would be cruel. So why are we cruel to ourselves and our children?

Next time you go to the supermarket, read the ingredients! And understand what they mean. Here’s a great little book to take with you on your next shopping trip…twelve bucks on Amazon.

Feeding the kids (and mom) is hard. They won't eat salads or whole grains; you have to trick them into it. My son loves chicken nuggets. It would be fast and easy to do a drive through and get him some, or to thaw some out of a frozen bag. Instead I buy free range organic chicken and dunk it in some breadcrumbs with a dash of garlic and a dash of parmesan cheese, and he loves it. I even let him dip it in some honey from my neighborhood apiarist.

I want my kids to love food and not crave McDonalds. I want them to look at food and see a rainbow of healthy choices. I want them to eat a Dorito chip and have it blow their mind because it feels wrong in their mouths... I want them to know that this taste is unnatural and modified to get them addicted to it. I want them to say nay to colorful packages of candy.

 This will never happen of course. I can however, feed them in moderation and feed them well with home cooked healthy options. I'm a stay at home mom in that regard, so my kids are lucky to have my time and energy. If you have any bright ideas to help working moms make better choices, let me know!

Bon appetit.

We certainly did not need this during the war. Just saying. 

Me in high school drinking my coke, I went through sometimes 6 a day. I was depressed.

Me in art school, smoking and drinking, still depressed.

Me in grad school. On Adderall, happy and starving to death.