Now that I’m watching Sesame Street with my little munchkin I’ve been enjoying their attempts to teach healthy eating. Did you know that Elmo’s favourite food is wasabi, which is a “sometimes” food like cookies. In one video, Elmo tries kiwi for the first time after being encouraged to do so by the superfood puppets. I love the concept of the song in the video (see below), which suggests kids try foods that they aren’t familiar with. However, I don’t like the term superfood so I wish Sesame Street had called these puppets by another name. The term superfood suggests that certain healthy foods are superior to others, which is not true. The term has no scientific support. For instance, Goji berries are often considered to be superfoods because of a particularly high nutritive value. However, the nutrition is not much different than other berries or fruits & vegetables for that matter. They certainly do not have any magical powers that will fight aging or illness.
My advice is to;
1) ignore the silly marketing term and,
2) choose fresh and unprocessed meats, poultry, fruits & vegetables and whole grains
I recently moved to a new part of town and discovered a cute little farmer’s market that’s open on Sundays. Today I picked up some locally grown beets along with delicious cheese and meat that is currently on the BBQ. I thought it would be nice to make a raw beet salad for a side and it’s fantastic. I thought I should share it…
Raw Beet Salad (2 servings)
2 large Beets, washed, peeled and shredded finely (I used a fine cheese grater for long thin strands)
Dressing
3 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 Tbsp honey
pinch of salt and pepper
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Mix together and let stand to marinade for 30 minutes or so. I would’ve added some fresh dill or cilantro if I had it.
I have to tell you a secret. It’s realllly easy to make soup! You don’t even have to know how to cook. The even better part is that when you serve it to guests you can pretend that you spent hours over a hot stove and they won’t know the difference because it’s too delicious to doubt.
This past week I made a vegan carrot ginger soup and a dairy free creamy broccoli soup. You can find the carrot and other soup recipes here. The great part about making pureed soups is that you don’t have to chop the veggies finely because they are going to end up in a blender. I diced the onion and garlic into large chunks and threw them into the pot. I used frozen broccoli in this recipe so the pieces were already in small florets. If you use a head of broccoli cut it into 6 pieces and it will break apart during cooking. Use leftovers for the next few days to add a extra serving of veggies to dinner or store in single serve containers and transport your yummy soup to work for lunch. Your coworkers will undoubtedly be impressed.
Broccoli is one of my favourite vegetables not only because it’s healthy but I love the taste. I’ve loved eating the little trees since I was little. In it’s cooked state, broccoli offers more nutritive value. I know it sounds strange but cooking often makes the nutrients in vegetables more bioavailable, which means free for absorption by the body. Here’s a chart comparing raw and cooked broccoli in 1/2 cup or 1 serving from Canada’s Food Guide.
Raw v.s Cooked
Fiber: 1g vs. 2g
Folate: 29ug vs. 89ug
Beta carotene: 168ug vs. 766ug
Vitamin K: 47ug vs. 115ug
Lutein & Zeathancins: 652ug vs. 890ug
Potassium: 47mg vs. 241ug
ug = micrograms. Beta carotene, lutein and zeathancins are antioxidants that help ward off illnesses/diseases by neutralizing free radicals in our bodies that harm our cells.
Green Soup
1 medium onion, chopped into chunks
2 cloves garlic, chopped into 3-4 pieces
2 cup vegetable broth
1 cup water
3 cups broccoli
1 cup arugula
1 large potato, chopped into 4 pieces (optional – add if you prefer a thicker soup)
2 cup soy beverage
1. In a large pot, heat 1 Tbsp oil and sautee onion for a few minutes until softened. Add garlic and cook for 1 min.
2. Add stock and potato and cook covered on medium heat for about 15 minutes until potato is tender.
3. Add broccoli and cook an additional 5-10 minutes until tender. Add arugula and remove the pot from the heat.
4. Transfer soup to a blender. You may have to do 1 or more batches. Puree until smooth.
5. Combine batches of soup in a bowl and add soy beverage. Serve.
Daily sodium targets are likely to drop again at some point in the near future from the current 2300mg to 1500mg/day. If you read labels then you have likely noticed that canned vegetables and beans contain sodium. Companies don’t add salt for taste but instead for a functional purpose. Do you recall the concept of osmosis? Basically it is the movement of water in and out of cells. Sodium prevents the cell walls from breaking down. Without sodium in the brine, a can of beans would turn into a can of bean mush.
The good news is that much of this sodium can be washed away before eating. This is one strategy to reduce your daily sodium intake. The below chart is from Pulse Canada. Following these 3 basic steps reduces sodium in a can of beans by 41%!! Check out their website for more information, including delicious recipes. I’m going to try the Almond Chickpea burger recipe this week! www.pulsecanada.com
Starbucks loves sugar. For fun I scrutinized the sugar content in Starbucks beverages. You’ll never guess what I found. A Grande Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha contains 71g of sugar!!! I almost fell off my chair. How can they sell such a product?? To put this in perspective 71g sugar = 18 packages or teaspoons of sugar. Would you put that many packages into a Grande drip coffee? I hope not!
It’s not surprising that Starbucks’s newest product, VIA flavoured coffees, contain sugar. There isn’t as much sugar as the Peppermint Mocha (thank goodness) but be aware of what you are drinking. There is 60 calories in each pack of flavoured VIA, which comes directly from sugar, a total of 13g or 3 packages/teaspoons of sugar. There are only 2 ingredients in the list and the first one is NOT coffee. No, it’s sugar. This means that the majority of VIA is made not from coffee but from sugar. 60 calories may sound innocent enough but there isn’t any nutrition in those calories. For 50 calories, I’d prefer that you eat a small apple so you get some fibre, vitamins and minerals. That’s just my opinion though…
Homemade smoothies can be part of a quick breakfast or a healthy snack. Don’t get sucked into smoothie stores that promise increased energy etc. All you will get is a cup of sugar. Some of the store-bought smoothies contain over 500 calories – that’s equivalent to a meal!!
Here’s some tips on making your own blended smoothie goodness:
Pick a base: Avoid juice at all costs as it adds sugar with little nutrition. Instead choose skim milk, light soy beverage, unsweetened almond milk, low fat coconut milk, low fat or fat free yogurt plus water or even egg nog (seasonal)
Add protein: Nut butters, skim milk powder, evaporated milk (not the condensed variety with added sugar), silken tofu or high protein yogurts like this one.
Fruity goodness: It’s possible to add fruit without simply adding sugary calories. You can do this by using fresh fruit and avoiding juice. Frozen fruit is my favourite because I don’t have to add ice to the smoothie and I don’t have to worry about the fresh fruit going bad before I use it. It can also be more nutritious than fresh since it’s picked when it’s ripe. Any fruit works well but be wary of berries like raspberries and blackberries. These fruits contain lots of seeds that give an unpleasant grittiness to smoothies, especially at the bottom of your glass.
Boosts: If you want to get a little extra nutrition try out some of these options. Flax or chia seeds (omega 3 fats), wheat germ (fibre), unrefined cocoa powder or spinach or green tea (antioxidants).
Eggs are a quick breakfast option whether during the week or on the weekend. Eggs contain nutrients like protein, iron and are naturally low in calories (70 per egg) and low in those bad fats (saturated). Despite containing cholesterol, you don’t have to avoid them. Research indicates that the cholesterol in eggs doesn’t increase the body’s blood cholesterol. For more information on eggs and cholesterol click here.
I’ve never figured out the logistics of keeping omelettes in one piece and my attempts usually end up as tasty scrambled eggs. Recently, I decided to spread my wings and try to make a frittata. It was so easy, I don’t know why I didn’t try it years ago.
In this recipe, I used a carton of egg whites because it was in my refrigerator. You can use whole eggs or a combination of half whole eggs and half egg whites. Replacing some of the eggs with egg whites will reduce the total fat, although the fat in eggs is mainly good fats!
Savoury Veggie Frittata
10 egg whites
1/2 cup red onion, diced
1 cup baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
1 cup roasted butternut squash, diced (I had this leftover from dinner the night before but any leftover cookies veggies will do)
3 cloves garlic, minced or diced finely
1/4 cup fresh basil, chopped
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese
Directions:
1) Coat a small fry pan with a small amount of oil. Sautee onions with a tsp of oil until tender. Add garlic for approximately 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove from heat.
2) To a mixing bowl, add egg whites and remaining ingredients except cheese. Add onion and garlic. Mix well and add to a greased oven safe pan. The frittata will conform to the shape of whatever pan you use. Sprinkle Parmesan on top. Bake at 350 F for about 35 minutes or until a knife comes out clean from the centre.
I was in a cooking mood this weekend and came up with some recipes to add to my collection. I impressed myself with this curry recipe and it was confirmed by a few girlfriends that came by for dinner (hopefully they weren’t lying!). It’s vegan, gluten free, low fat, rich in fibre, full of antioxidants and Vitamin A. It’s also very responsible in sodium. If you use water instead of stock or a no-sodium stock then it’s a low sodium curry.
I had time on Saturday afternoon so I roasted the butternut squash. It’s not necessary but it does add a great flavour. If you are stuck on time then you can cook the squash while the curry simmers.
4 cups roasted butternut squash, cubed (equivalent to 1 medium sized squash)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 head of garlic, chopped or minced
2 x1 inch ginger root, chopped finely
1 can Stock plus 1 cup water or 2 cups water
Package of frozen spinach, 454g
1 can diced tomatoes, no added salt
1 can white beans, drained and rinsed (any beans will do, this is what was in my cupboard)
1 can low fat coconut milk
2 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala
2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 Tbsp reduced soy sauce or vinegar for a reduced sodium version
1. Rinse the squash. Cut in half and remove seeds. Cut in smaller pieces and roast in oven at 350F for about 25-30minutes until squash is tender.
2. In a large pot, simmer onion with 2 Tbsp olive oil until soft. Add garlic and ginger. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Add all remaining ingredients, including the squash if not roasting.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 45 minutes. Add water if curry gets to thick or remove from heat sooner.
5. For roasted squash, cool after cooking in oven and cut into cubes. Stir gently into curry once it’s done cooking.
The concept of enforcing a fat tax or food equivalent to cigarette tax has appeared in the news again as a strategy to fight obesity. An “expert” panel from the Heart & Stroke Association is urging the government to add a tax to sugary drinks in addition to subsidizing fruit/veg for those less fortunate and providing farmers with incentives to grow more fresh produce.
The concept of a fat tax is not new and the mere suggestion results in a great deal of controversy. It certainly makes me question other aspects relating to food cost and nutrition. For instance, a 2010 food and beverage consumption survey found that Canadians are eating more fruits and veggies than ever before but consuming less dairy. If we follow the logic of a fat tax then the government should reduce the price of dairy products to promote consumption and thus reduce the prevalence of osteoporosis in the future.
A professor from the University of Toronto commented on the fat tax saying that it doesn’t suggest that sugary drinks be banished the food supply. Hmm..interesting. I know for a fact that the new Ontario School Food & Beverage policy, effective Sept 2011, banishes pop from schools. Will kids drink less pop as a result of this policy? It may reduce consumption to some extend but it doesn’t stop kids from leaving school property at lunch or after school and going directly to the closest convenience store. It is also doesn’t impact what parents purchase at home for their children to drink.
In my opinion there are many more effective educational programs and initiatives that the government should execute before enforcing a fat tax..but that’s just my opinion. Here are a couple of ideas:
- Develop a marketing campaign that dispels the myth that healthy food is more expensive than convenience food. In fact, a fast food burger costs multiple times more than if you made the burger at home from scratch.
- Teach Canadians how to cook. Jamie Oliver has undertaken 3 different projects to address obesity and each time he found that the biggest hurdle was the lack of basic cooking skills. How can we expect people to get healthier if they don’t know how to cook?
- Instead of simply promoting exercise, the government could provide tax credits for gym memberships or home exercise equipment. I searched the Canadian Revenue site and only found credits for organizations. I do remember hearing of a credit for children and physical activity programs in the past year. I also know that families in Ontario can apply for children to attend Parks & Recreation activities for free (qualification based on income). It’s wonderful to support physical activity for children but what about adults? (If anyone reading this knows of such a tax credit, please let me know).
I could go on…if the government needs any help, I’m here!
I recently moved to a new part of town and discovered a cute little farmer’s market that’s open on Sundays. Today I picked up some locally grown beets along with delicious cheese and meat that is currently on the BBQ. I thought it would be nice to make a raw beet salad for a side and it’s fantastic. I thought I should share it…
Starbucks loves sugar. For fun I scrutinized the sugar content in Starbucks beverages. You’ll never guess what I found. A Grande Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha contains 71g of sugar!!! I almost fell off my chair. How can they sell such a product?? To put this in perspective 71g sugar = 18 packages or teaspoons of sugar. Would you put that many packages into a Grande drip coffee? I hope not!
The concept of enforcing a fat tax or food equivalent to cigarette tax has appeared in the news again as a strategy to fight obesity. An “expert” panel from the Heart & Stroke Association is urging the government to add a tax to sugary drinks in addition to subsidizing fruit/veg for those less fortunate and providing farmers with incentives to grow more fresh produce.
