Food in the News #1

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The last few weeks have been pretty crazy. I will go into it more later, but lets just say that I have not been too motivated to do much blogging. I have, however, been coming across some really interesting articles pertaining to food in the news lately. I think I want to start sharing what I'm reading on a weekly basis. So, here is the very first installment of Food in the News:

1. Philadelphia School Lunches: Goodbye Fries, Hello Fennel

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I'm a sucker for anything concerning kids, and this story is a total heart warmer! Local celebrity chef, Marc Vetri, has developed a school lunch program called "Eatiquette". According to Vetri, this program has been designed to teach students how to eat healthy and, "interact with each other."  The picture shows a student at People for People Charter School (one of 4 schools currently participating the program) serving dessert to his fellow students. This student is acting as the Table Captain, who's duties are to set the round lunch table with a tablecloth and place settings for his peers. Then he sets out their first-course salads and glasses of water before they arrive. The Table Captain serves his peers throughout lunch, bringing the other courses to them and serving them. The meals are healthy, family-style dishes that include fresh, seasonal ingredients. All canned, processed, and frozen items have been removed from the cafeteria kitchen. There are some accompanying articles on the program that question whether or not the Philadelphia school system can afford the program as plans move forward to implement Eatiquette in several other schools in the city. You obviously know what my opinion is - they can't afford NOT to! For many of these children (80% of whom at the school pictured above) are on a free meal program and never get the opportunity to have meals like this. The personal and social skills these children are learning through this program with stay with them for their entire lives.

2. Mediterranean Diet Shown to Ward off Heart Attack and Stroke

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The most comprehensive study on a given diet has published some really great results (and is probably causing a lot of Paleo and Nourishing Foods believers to say "I told you so!"). After completing a 5 year study on 7500 participants between the ages of 55 and 80, researchers have concluded that eating a Mediterranean diet (a diet consisting of good fats and proteins from olives, nuts, avocados, and fish, and low in carbohydrates and sugars derived from bread and sweets) can lower symptoms pointing to heart attack and stroke in high risk people by 30%. There are a few things about this study that excites me. One is that there the other diet studied was a typical low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet with lots of calorie counting and, frankly, little success. Many of the participants could not stick to the low-fat diet (which was a part of the study). The Mediterranean Diet, however, consisted of roughly 200 more calories per day, but had no calorie counting involved whatsoever. They only lost 7% of their Mediterranean Diet participants over 2 years.  The other point that makes me smile is that the Mediterranean diet is naturally low in wheat, sugar, and processes foods. Yay!!!! Now we know FOR A FACT that eating whole foods is ACTUALLY good for you! Thank God for scientists, aka the true captains of the obvious :)

So that's all I have for today! Tune in next week for more Food in the News!

Whole30: My Post-Whole30 Life...so far

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It's been 4 weeks since my Hubby and I completed the Whole30 Program. Hubby has lost 20 pounds so far, and I've lost about 12! We are more energetic, less "puffy", and we both sleep way better! Life has been pretty awesome, I can't even lie :)

We have reintroduced dairy into our regular diet (mostly just cheese and butter). We have also added chocolate and Paleo-Approved sweets. On occasion, we eat non-paleo foods, but we have learned a lot about what our bodies can and cannot handle on those occasions.

For starters, my body does NOT like wheat. Wheat does really awful things to my tummy, and it wrecks my sleep. It also gives be the loathed sugar high and crash. I am, however, tolerant of the occasional rice dish! That makes me happy because I love rice. I won't be eating it all the time because I'm still on a weight loss journey, but I'm glad it won't make me feel sick!  I don't crave sweets the same way I used to. I still like to have a piece of chocolate after a meal, but that usually does the trick!

~ Side Note: I bought Enjoy Life's Soft Baked Double Chocolate Cookies at Whole Foods last night (they are on sale!) and they are DELICIOUS! And be proud of me, I only ate one :) ~

The biggest challenge I have experienced so far is being prepared. I need to make sure I have protein-packed choices ready for lunches and snacks at work, and my dinners when Hubby works nights. Protein is expensive, so I'm learning how to keep good meal and snack solutions around without breaking the bank. My CSA had stewing chickens for sale last week, so I prepared one over the weekend and shred the meat for different meal applications. I also tried my hand at baking last weekend with some Coconut Flour Muffins, which turned out really well! That weekend I also made Apple Butter, which is amazing! (I honestly want to eat it straight of the jar with a spoon...but I won't...) Both of these recipes are inexpensive, simple, and very satisfying for breakfast or a snack.

My other challenge is saying "No". Saying "No" to the lady at the food court Chinese food stand asking if I want rice with my meal.  I didn't, but I said "Yes" anyway.  Saying "No" to people offering me candy, or treats.  I don't want to be rude, but in all honesty I'm not!  I can refuse junk food and still be considered polite. Saying "No" is something I've been working on for a while now, but I can say that I'm better than I used to be.

What surprised me most about the last month is how forgiving the body is. Even with all my cheats and adjusting, I still kept losing weight! Those off-days certainly slowed my weight-loss down, but I was expecting it to stop all together. I guess cutting wheat, legumes, (most) grains and refined sugars have really changed the way my body burns fat, just like the research said it would!

(I should mention, too, that I have only exercised ONCE in the last 2 months. I'm not proud of this, but the fact that I have still lost weight shows how effective cutting grains, legumes, and refined sugars can be to in a weight loss journey.)

So the goal for next month is to BE PREPARED! I want to have meats and veggies on standby at all times for lunches, snacks, and dinners when Hubby is at work.  I want to pack lunches the night before because Lord knows I hate getting out of bed earlier than I absolutely have to.  I want to batch cook on the weekends in preparation for the week. I'm so excited to check in again next month with my goals completed!

One Bad Apple

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     Veganism or vegetarianism has never been a temptation to me. I love....LOVE meat! But there are many people who see these lifestyles as superior to other diets including meat and animal byproducts. My goal for this blog isn't to share my opinion on everything under the sun, but I couldn't pass up an opportunity to share some shocking articles that have been published recently about this subject.

     Steve Jobs was a famous vegan. Some, including Dr. John McDougall, believe that is vegan diet is to credit for Jobs living as long as he did with pancreatic cancer. There are others, like Dr. Kaayla Daniel, who believe that vegan diet (particularly Job's excessive consumption of fruit), may have worsened or even caused the cancer.

     Both of these positions are quite intriguing, but then this story pops up in the news...

Technology

Steve Jobs’ Fruitarian Diet Lands Ashton Kutcher in the Hospital

Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/01/29/steve-jobs-fruitarian-diet-lands-ashton-kutcher-in-the-hospital/#ixzz2JUZSUnV3

     According to Kutcher, his steady diet of apples resulted in him being "...doubled over in pain...", being rushed to the hospital and learning that his "...pancreas levels were completely out of whack...". 

WAIT...WHAT?????

     Yes, you read correctly. Apples were wreaking havoc on Kutcher's pancreas as he worked to become the man who died from pancreatic cancer not two years ago.

     So this is where I must give my opinion:

     Do I believe eating fruit will lead to cancer? No. 

     Do I believe eating meat will lead to cancer? No.

     Do I believe eating wheat will lead to cancer? No.

     What I believe is the human was created to live on a variety of whole foods.  No one food will harm you...unless it's poisonous. The real problem isn't the food, it's the volume and variety of those foods that are, or aren't, being consumed on a regular basis. The unfortunate thing is that Conventional Wisdom does not teach variety very well. It tells us that the majority of our plate should be grains, with some vegetables OR fruits (because they're all the same, right?), and a bit of LEAN meat protein thrown in for satisfaction sake. They don't take into account what state any of those parts of the plate are in (they could be covered in cheese, or a sugary sweet glaze, or plain...that doesn't matter). It doesn't matter where those components come from (they could come from a can, a garden, or pieced together molecule-by-molecule by some food chemist). All that matters is the "pyramid". 

     That's right. The USDA and the FDA are just a big pyramid scheme.

     I wanted to share this because I want people to have research at their disposal, not just my opinion. Yes, I will choose research that usually supports the choices I have made. But if I find a really thought-provoking article that tells of the dangers of cutting out grains and refined sugars from my diet, I will share that as well. But I wouldn't hold your breath :)

What did you think about the Ashton Kutcher story?