Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Showing posts with label food. Show all posts
Friday, July 12, 2013
G2F
Definition time! G2F is my way of saying gluten & grain free. I've decided to experiment with this lifestyle and see how it goes. It has certainly been a fun and interesting challenge culinarily. Definitely makes you think outside of the box and question everything that goes into your body. Though I am not going to be as strict as the Wheat Belly or Paleo diets, would have you go. I am eliminating/severely limiting wheat/gluten, rice and corn products from my diet. Bean and starch consumption will be limited as well. Honestly, it all boils down to a low carb diet, so it's not super complicated. My focus is mostly have tons of veggies and plenty of proteins. Since it's a bit difficult to find premade foods that meet my requirements, I cannot rely on traditional GF foods. They also tend to be full of junk. I must make everything from scratch. Most baked goods end up tasting like cornbread, which isn't completely bad, but certainly a change from what I am used to. I did end up making some pretty good Chocolate Chip cookies, though. Usually, when someone mentions going on a very restrictive diet, the first question is, "Well what DO you eat?". I will be sharing a few recipes and pics of the meals I've had. Here goes nothing...
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Allergic to living
Has anyone noticed how allergies are now quite fashionable? It's the new, hip thing to be allergic to almost everything so that people can ask you "well what on earth do you eat?", and you can go on and on about this special flour that you have to order from some hut in Africa. Seems we're ordering more and more foods from other countries, because we're suddenly allergic to everything we make here in America.
Back in the day, decades, even centries ago, the only food you could get was local food. There was no ordering something from some third world country, from the bowels of the rainforest. You either ate what you or someone in your community grew, or you didn't eat at all. That was it. Period. There was none of this Gluten, grain, lactose, peanut, tree nut, soy-free craziness. Let's look at soy, for example. About 10 to 15 years or so ago, soy products became fashionable. Soy milk was the new "it" thing. Everyone felt so special ordering soy lattes and bragging in the dairy aisle about how they ONLY get soy. They would say this so smuggly even if they'd only started buying soy milk two weeks ago. Now, in the past year or so, everyone has become allergic to soy. The new "it" thing is now coconut or almond milk. Hemp milk is moving up in the ranks as well. Now the various milk cartons boast labels such as "soy free" "Lactose free" "gluten free", and "all natural". The almond has now replaced the soy bean, and coconut is now king. You can easily get almond and coconut flour in addition to the milks. Almond butter is taking a serious swing at peanut butter. Coconut butter/spread is giving traditional cows-milk based butter a run for it's money.
The yogurt aisle is getting ridiculous as well. Companies are now trying to cater to every audience possible. While there are some tasty products that have come from this, it is getting to be a bit much. We have Greek, Turkish, Scandinavian, Hungarian, French and several other styles of yogurt. Honestly, most of them taste the same. We've also got the various "milk" mediums to go with all of these styles. I'd imagine serious shoppers can get Hungarian Hemp-milk yogurt flavored with rose water if they really wanted it.
All of these alternatives came from the idea that people are suddenly allergic to everything around them. That magically nearly everything is bad for you. Seems the only food everyone agrees on is kale. I think our society is finally coming to a point where we've realized, our constant demand for quick-cooking, attractive, perfectly sized foods has led scientists to frantically create foods that make us ill. Gone, are the days of testing foods to make sure they are safe. Instead, consumer demand now drives corporations to get things onto the shelves and into our greedy gullets ASAP. It started with some light genetic modification, and has spread to total reconstruction. Our food today, looks absolutely nothing like it did years ago. We are no longer eating food, we're eating science experiments. Our planet has become one, big science fair.
I am so thankful for the movement to go back to a naural diet. To stop the purchase of hormone riddled, genetically modified foolishness. Let's take the time to choose our foods wisely. What we put into our bodies is what we get out. It's not "cool" to have a yard-long list of allergies, and have special dietary needs. Our greetings to each other should not include new foods we're cutting out of our diet. Let's do away with this endless allergy search. Doctors get on TV, and list off very generic symptoms such as tiredness, drowsiness, muscle ache, bloating, gas, and the list goes on and on; then they toss out a random food or food group like...grains, and say that your consumption of grains is making you feel this way. We are to immediately purge this horrid toxin from our diet, and after the "withdrawal" we will feel a million times better. I believe for many people, the reason why they feel better is a.) they believe they're supposed to or b.) cutting out one food group forced them to consumer another...usually veggies, so they're getting more fiber, and thus, they poop more...so they feel better. So much of this witch hunt is just smoke and mirrors. Let's undergo a paradigm shift and go back to the basics. Let's get real food, and stop anticipating being sick afterwards (or suddenly feeling so much "better"). America, let's eat!
Back in the day, decades, even centries ago, the only food you could get was local food. There was no ordering something from some third world country, from the bowels of the rainforest. You either ate what you or someone in your community grew, or you didn't eat at all. That was it. Period. There was none of this Gluten, grain, lactose, peanut, tree nut, soy-free craziness. Let's look at soy, for example. About 10 to 15 years or so ago, soy products became fashionable. Soy milk was the new "it" thing. Everyone felt so special ordering soy lattes and bragging in the dairy aisle about how they ONLY get soy. They would say this so smuggly even if they'd only started buying soy milk two weeks ago. Now, in the past year or so, everyone has become allergic to soy. The new "it" thing is now coconut or almond milk. Hemp milk is moving up in the ranks as well. Now the various milk cartons boast labels such as "soy free" "Lactose free" "gluten free", and "all natural". The almond has now replaced the soy bean, and coconut is now king. You can easily get almond and coconut flour in addition to the milks. Almond butter is taking a serious swing at peanut butter. Coconut butter/spread is giving traditional cows-milk based butter a run for it's money.
The yogurt aisle is getting ridiculous as well. Companies are now trying to cater to every audience possible. While there are some tasty products that have come from this, it is getting to be a bit much. We have Greek, Turkish, Scandinavian, Hungarian, French and several other styles of yogurt. Honestly, most of them taste the same. We've also got the various "milk" mediums to go with all of these styles. I'd imagine serious shoppers can get Hungarian Hemp-milk yogurt flavored with rose water if they really wanted it.
All of these alternatives came from the idea that people are suddenly allergic to everything around them. That magically nearly everything is bad for you. Seems the only food everyone agrees on is kale. I think our society is finally coming to a point where we've realized, our constant demand for quick-cooking, attractive, perfectly sized foods has led scientists to frantically create foods that make us ill. Gone, are the days of testing foods to make sure they are safe. Instead, consumer demand now drives corporations to get things onto the shelves and into our greedy gullets ASAP. It started with some light genetic modification, and has spread to total reconstruction. Our food today, looks absolutely nothing like it did years ago. We are no longer eating food, we're eating science experiments. Our planet has become one, big science fair.
I am so thankful for the movement to go back to a naural diet. To stop the purchase of hormone riddled, genetically modified foolishness. Let's take the time to choose our foods wisely. What we put into our bodies is what we get out. It's not "cool" to have a yard-long list of allergies, and have special dietary needs. Our greetings to each other should not include new foods we're cutting out of our diet. Let's do away with this endless allergy search. Doctors get on TV, and list off very generic symptoms such as tiredness, drowsiness, muscle ache, bloating, gas, and the list goes on and on; then they toss out a random food or food group like...grains, and say that your consumption of grains is making you feel this way. We are to immediately purge this horrid toxin from our diet, and after the "withdrawal" we will feel a million times better. I believe for many people, the reason why they feel better is a.) they believe they're supposed to or b.) cutting out one food group forced them to consumer another...usually veggies, so they're getting more fiber, and thus, they poop more...so they feel better. So much of this witch hunt is just smoke and mirrors. Let's undergo a paradigm shift and go back to the basics. Let's get real food, and stop anticipating being sick afterwards (or suddenly feeling so much "better"). America, let's eat!
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
For the love of...
I recently made a promise to food. I promised I would be kind to it...give it a chance, and try not to judge it too much by it's appearance. When trying new foods, I've found diving in and taking a huge bite proves to be much more satisfying than taking a tentative nibble. It also helps avoid a premature proclamation of disdain. You really can't get the full, honest impression of something if your tongue approaches it with fear and trembling. I've trained my tongue to approach completely ready to fall in love. No hesitations or hiccups at the gateway of my taste buds. Thus far, this theory has provided me with countless treks to Yum-town. On a few occasions my tongue has found itself a bit incompatible with a few items, but that's to be expected. You can't really be a foodie if you have no discretion in your tastes. I've also found it's best not to ask what something is until after you've swallowed a good mouthful of it...possibly two. This tends to keep you honest. Think about it...how often have you tried something and liked it...until you found out what was in it? So what if that new dish you tasted is actually cow eyeballs boiled in rat dung puree? If you liked it when you tried it, then own up to it! Don't suddenly leave it hanging because you found out it doesn't run w/the cool crowd of ingredients. Alright, folks, enough of muh preachin', get out there and try something new!
Thursday, May 14, 2009
Food is not the enemy
Why is it that food always seems to be one of the causalities of life? Whether it be a meal that's punctuated by tension and pent up rage; supper preparations that get side tracked by sudden pain; or a total lack of appetite because one's heart is hurting so intensely it drowns out the cries of the belly.
It's interesting how, much to my constant shock and occasional dismay, my body does at least attempt to continue to function even during the hard times. When pain, sorrow, and misery are all that I can focus on, my tummy still demands sustenance. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), my mind is kind enough to put a stop to the actual psychological desire for food, thus my tummy eventually learns to shut up. Still surprising, considering as how stomach growling means there's air going through your stomach and intestines, so unless something begins to fill them...the growling should continue. After a while, though, bile starts getting rid of some of the air. Nothing more annoying that sobbing hysterically, and having your stomach trying to compete with you, emitting it's own keeling wails of dismay.
From a rational, analytical standpoint, eating/food is supposed to be an objective sort of experience. In the strictest sense, food is only meant to keep us alive...nothing else. We humans, however, have gone and made a ripe mess of things by tying all sorts of social, economic, spiritual, and emotional meanings to food. Think about a wedding, for example, how would you feel if you attended a wedding that offered no refreshments at all...not even punch. Contrast that to how you'd feel if you attended a wedding with a sit-down meal. Would you be more or less pleased? Keep in mind the outcome of the wedding is the exact same. The man and the woman are married. Technically, isn't the reason for going to a wedding, to see two people get married? So why, then, do we somehow feel less happy about the event if we're left to fend for ourselves when it comes to having our hunger satiated?
I am, of course, not saying it's totally wrong to have certain psychological connections to food. Various smells, tastes, and the sight of some foods leads to pleasant strolls down memory lane, which is actually a good thing.
On the other hand, stress, depression and other issues, makes some people eat too much. Gaining 20 lbs because your boyfriend broke up with you, doesn't exactly make you love food. Suddenly, those 12 ding-dongs you ate, are the enemy, and end up being punished for your jacked-up emotions. Sort of like when someone says, "Do these pants make me look fat?" No; your fat makes you look fat.
I say then, we rescue food from it's impossible position in our life. Avoid eating when you're emotional and/or not hungry. At the same time, no matter how upset you are, don't go days without eating...sending your body into starvation mode. Try to eat something at least once a day. Your body still needs nutrients and energy to keep on making that broken heart of yours keep beating (no matter how much you would rather it stop). Don't reward or punish children with food. By punish, I mean, do the whole "you're not getting up from this table until you eat every bite of your food" thing. A child will eat when they are hungry (they're awesomely selfish that way. They will not let themselves starve), and likewise, they won't eat when they aren't hungry. Forcing a child to eat, because you want to prove your point is teaching them to override their body's signals of satiation. This could then lead to your precious little one being famous...as the largest human being alive. When your emotions go into a spin, do some sort of physical activity like walking, jogging, dancing or whatever.
Food is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy.
It's interesting how, much to my constant shock and occasional dismay, my body does at least attempt to continue to function even during the hard times. When pain, sorrow, and misery are all that I can focus on, my tummy still demands sustenance. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on how you look at it), my mind is kind enough to put a stop to the actual psychological desire for food, thus my tummy eventually learns to shut up. Still surprising, considering as how stomach growling means there's air going through your stomach and intestines, so unless something begins to fill them...the growling should continue. After a while, though, bile starts getting rid of some of the air. Nothing more annoying that sobbing hysterically, and having your stomach trying to compete with you, emitting it's own keeling wails of dismay.
From a rational, analytical standpoint, eating/food is supposed to be an objective sort of experience. In the strictest sense, food is only meant to keep us alive...nothing else. We humans, however, have gone and made a ripe mess of things by tying all sorts of social, economic, spiritual, and emotional meanings to food. Think about a wedding, for example, how would you feel if you attended a wedding that offered no refreshments at all...not even punch. Contrast that to how you'd feel if you attended a wedding with a sit-down meal. Would you be more or less pleased? Keep in mind the outcome of the wedding is the exact same. The man and the woman are married. Technically, isn't the reason for going to a wedding, to see two people get married? So why, then, do we somehow feel less happy about the event if we're left to fend for ourselves when it comes to having our hunger satiated?
I am, of course, not saying it's totally wrong to have certain psychological connections to food. Various smells, tastes, and the sight of some foods leads to pleasant strolls down memory lane, which is actually a good thing.
On the other hand, stress, depression and other issues, makes some people eat too much. Gaining 20 lbs because your boyfriend broke up with you, doesn't exactly make you love food. Suddenly, those 12 ding-dongs you ate, are the enemy, and end up being punished for your jacked-up emotions. Sort of like when someone says, "Do these pants make me look fat?" No; your fat makes you look fat.
I say then, we rescue food from it's impossible position in our life. Avoid eating when you're emotional and/or not hungry. At the same time, no matter how upset you are, don't go days without eating...sending your body into starvation mode. Try to eat something at least once a day. Your body still needs nutrients and energy to keep on making that broken heart of yours keep beating (no matter how much you would rather it stop). Don't reward or punish children with food. By punish, I mean, do the whole "you're not getting up from this table until you eat every bite of your food" thing. A child will eat when they are hungry (they're awesomely selfish that way. They will not let themselves starve), and likewise, they won't eat when they aren't hungry. Forcing a child to eat, because you want to prove your point is teaching them to override their body's signals of satiation. This could then lead to your precious little one being famous...as the largest human being alive. When your emotions go into a spin, do some sort of physical activity like walking, jogging, dancing or whatever.
Food is not the enemy. The enemy is the enemy.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Camping 1
So I'm pretty excited. This weekend, I'm going camping with some dear friends. What really excites me is the culinary challenge, as I have never cooked on a camping trip. I'm not exactly sure how it will turn out, but I know I'll enjoy the experience. Another frontier to be conquered! (not that I've conquered any frontiers) I'll let you know how it goes, of course. If you happen to have any menu suggestions, please post them in the comment section!!
Happy eating!
Happy eating!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Stir fry heaven
Tonight I made a very yummy stir fry. I went all out (labor-wise...not really cost-wise). I got some good terryaki sauce and chicken breast was on sale $1/lb! I shaved the chicken, so it would cook faster and soak up more of the sauce during cooking. I added zucchini (also on sale, 99 cents a pound), button mushrooms, julienned red peppers, sweet snap peas, water chestnuts (FREE with the terryaki sauce), and green onions. I paired the stir fry with brown rice/Bulgar wheat. SO TASTY!
I do have one word of caution to you, dear readers, PAY ATTENTION AT CHECKOUT! I had this AMAZING coupon for Kashi cereal bars, $2 off just ONE box! They happen to be on sale at the store for $2.99/box...so with my lovely coupon, they're less than a dollar! Well, as the cashier was scanning all my coupons (I'm proud to say I had a nice little stack of them), I noticed my $2 coupon wasn't showing up on the screen...but a little 20 cent off thing had popped up. I quickly pointed this out to the cashier and asked to look over all the coupons I just gave her to make sure I was getting the proper amounts off.
Okay, maybe another word of caution, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR RECEIPT! I was just looking at mine, to bask in the savings when I noticed I'd been over-charged for my zucchini by 53 cents. It's very easy to be mischarged for produce since it seems many cashiers know nothing about that particular department. Some of them seem to be unable to tell the different between spinach and a bag of carrots. My zucchini were rung up as cucumbers, not really a terribly hard mistake to make, but I'd even been nice enough to weigh them and print out a little price sticker. All the checker had to do was scan it like she'd done with all of the other produce. Eh well, I think I'll let this one go...for now. I'll just say this, don't be afraid to fight for the price you want (though do try to be reasonable about it). About a month ago, I got 4 apples for 40 cents before because they were accidentally marked as 33 cents/lb instead of 33 cents/each. That felt good.
Anyway, remember the prices of things, so that when you get to the checkout stand, you can make sure you're charged what you originally intended to pay. All too often things that are on sale don't ring up that way, and you can be grossly overcharged, sometimes by more than a dollar an item. Some cashiers may try to make it seem like you're really putting them out if you insist on getting the correct price for something, just ignore them. They shouldn't make you feel awkward about getting a good deal.
Happy eating
I do have one word of caution to you, dear readers, PAY ATTENTION AT CHECKOUT! I had this AMAZING coupon for Kashi cereal bars, $2 off just ONE box! They happen to be on sale at the store for $2.99/box...so with my lovely coupon, they're less than a dollar! Well, as the cashier was scanning all my coupons (I'm proud to say I had a nice little stack of them), I noticed my $2 coupon wasn't showing up on the screen...but a little 20 cent off thing had popped up. I quickly pointed this out to the cashier and asked to look over all the coupons I just gave her to make sure I was getting the proper amounts off.
Okay, maybe another word of caution, PAY ATTENTION TO YOUR RECEIPT! I was just looking at mine, to bask in the savings when I noticed I'd been over-charged for my zucchini by 53 cents. It's very easy to be mischarged for produce since it seems many cashiers know nothing about that particular department. Some of them seem to be unable to tell the different between spinach and a bag of carrots. My zucchini were rung up as cucumbers, not really a terribly hard mistake to make, but I'd even been nice enough to weigh them and print out a little price sticker. All the checker had to do was scan it like she'd done with all of the other produce. Eh well, I think I'll let this one go...for now. I'll just say this, don't be afraid to fight for the price you want (though do try to be reasonable about it). About a month ago, I got 4 apples for 40 cents before because they were accidentally marked as 33 cents/lb instead of 33 cents/each. That felt good.
Anyway, remember the prices of things, so that when you get to the checkout stand, you can make sure you're charged what you originally intended to pay. All too often things that are on sale don't ring up that way, and you can be grossly overcharged, sometimes by more than a dollar an item. Some cashiers may try to make it seem like you're really putting them out if you insist on getting the correct price for something, just ignore them. They shouldn't make you feel awkward about getting a good deal.
Happy eating
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Sweet child of mine
I'm experimenting with different ways to sweeten things. I've grown weary of the unhealthy, mundane habit of adding white, processed sugar to everything. Thanks to a trip to Homestead Heritage back in December, I've been introduced to sucanat. This unrefined cane sugar. Its brown, grainy and has a completely different taste than it's processed white cousin. It's not quite as sweet, and has a noticeable molasses flavor. It brings a nice depth to whatever dish you're trying to sweeten without being overpowering. BE WARNED: sucanat will add color as well as flavor, so if you're trying to make a white cake or anything of the sort...use a white sweetener.
That brings me to the other sweetener that has been gracing my spice cabinet as of late...fructose. This is the sugar found in honey and fruits..."fruit sugar" as it is sometimes called. Medicinally, it is also used as an intravenous nutrient. It is far sweeter than cane sugar, so if you're going to use this in a recipe it's 2/3 cup of fructose for every 1 cup of white, granulated sugar. It has worked beautifully in all of the baked goods I've made.
Dry sweetening has it's advantages, but I've discovered the joys of using simple syrup. You make simple syrup by boiling 1 cup water with 1 1/2 cup sugar (less for fructose, obviously) until it gets slightly thick. You use this mainly to add to drinks or dry things that need moisture as well as sweetening. Certain cake recipes call for adding simple syrup to each layer for extra flavoring. Adding spices or zests can make a nice flavored syrup for sweet tea. I made vanilla flavored simple syrup using sucanat and fructose for some hot chocolate and it was to die for!
Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to go beyond the norm, and look into healthier, more natural ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Happy eating
That brings me to the other sweetener that has been gracing my spice cabinet as of late...fructose. This is the sugar found in honey and fruits..."fruit sugar" as it is sometimes called. Medicinally, it is also used as an intravenous nutrient. It is far sweeter than cane sugar, so if you're going to use this in a recipe it's 2/3 cup of fructose for every 1 cup of white, granulated sugar. It has worked beautifully in all of the baked goods I've made.
Dry sweetening has it's advantages, but I've discovered the joys of using simple syrup. You make simple syrup by boiling 1 cup water with 1 1/2 cup sugar (less for fructose, obviously) until it gets slightly thick. You use this mainly to add to drinks or dry things that need moisture as well as sweetening. Certain cake recipes call for adding simple syrup to each layer for extra flavoring. Adding spices or zests can make a nice flavored syrup for sweet tea. I made vanilla flavored simple syrup using sucanat and fructose for some hot chocolate and it was to die for!
Anyway, I hope I've inspired you to go beyond the norm, and look into healthier, more natural ways to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Happy eating
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Why we're here
Well, I decided to just go ahead and make a whole new blog, because it seems most of my posts are about that which apparently occupies much of my mind...food. I make no apologies, I love food. I love eating it, cooking it, and even just looking at it. Food has this incredible ability to bring people together. It's seductive, tempting you to do things you swore up and down you wouldn't do...like have that second piece of chocolate cake (yes, I saw you). Food has the ability to keep kids out of trouble (or get them in trouble...depends on which way you wanna go with that). Studies show that families who sit down and eat a meal together have children who are less likely to go out and engage in unlawful or unsavory activity. Having kids in the kitchen helping prepare a meal is also a fun way to get a flour war started. Imagine flour as far as the eye can see and in places you didn't think it would go. Honestly, I think if we got all the government officials and big decision makers of the world to sit down to a nice meal, we'd quickly have world peace. Give them all enough turkey, and they'd be too sleepy to wage war on anyone. Give them mac & cheese, and I'm sure they'd be hugging before long. Heck...give them bacon and they'd be BFFs within minutes. That's the power of food.
This is why I now have a whole blog dedicated to my unending love affair with all things culinary. Here, I'll document my food science experiments and all other foodie adventures. Now don't worry, my other blog, isn't going anywhere. It's just getting set free from the constant kitchen chatter. On that site, I'll post my thoughts about the deeper issues in life like...should bacon be put on ice cream...wait...no...SEE!...there I go again. (Now are you getting why I have this site?) On my original blog, I'll have all my non food thoughts, few and far between as they may be. You'll also find my earlier posts about food that I didn't feel like importing onto this site. Eat well and savor the flavor!
This is why I now have a whole blog dedicated to my unending love affair with all things culinary. Here, I'll document my food science experiments and all other foodie adventures. Now don't worry, my other blog, isn't going anywhere. It's just getting set free from the constant kitchen chatter. On that site, I'll post my thoughts about the deeper issues in life like...should bacon be put on ice cream...wait...no...SEE!...there I go again. (Now are you getting why I have this site?) On my original blog, I'll have all my non food thoughts, few and far between as they may be. You'll also find my earlier posts about food that I didn't feel like importing onto this site. Eat well and savor the flavor!
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