The Top 10 Most Healthful Foods That You AREN'T Eating

Recently, Men's Health magazine put out an article that featured the top 10 foods available at our markets that you probably haven't incorporated in your diet. I think it is always good to be reminded what foods are the most healthful and why. I thought I would share the link to this article. Here are the first 5 items. The last 5 items to come later...

http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2010/01/14/the-10-best-foods-you-arent-eating-but-should-1-5?utm_source=SGT+Newsletter&utm_campaign=724138e6cf-What_s_Simple_Good_and_Tasty_This_Week_11_10_2009&utm_medium=email

Why do they put sulphur dioxide in dried fruits?

We're getting ready to go on a trip...and whenever I travel abroad, I always make sure that I have plenty of dairy-free snacks in my carry on to get me through the trip. One staple I usually take is a trail mix that includes nuts and dried fruits. Today as I was grocery shopping for my trail mix, I noticed on the shelves that there was the option to get dried fruits that contained sulphur or not. I have always noticed that sulphur was added to dried fruits but was never really sure why.

When I got home, I did my research and I'm glad I did! I will not be buying sulphured dried fruits ever again. According to several sources online, including Organic Guide, sulphur is added to dried fruits to preserve the bright colors. Many sources mentioned that when dried fruit is kept sulphur-free, it often becomes dull in color, though it often retains the flavor of the fruit BETTER than the fruit that has been sulphured... Now why on earth would I choose to injest a preservative just so that my dried fruit can maintain its bright red or orange color?? And if the unsulphured fruit has a better flavor, I think the answer is a no brainer.

Also an important thing to note - sulphur dioxide can be very harmful to individuals (especially children) who have asthma and food sensitivities in general. The organic, natural way of eating is the way to go once again...and that means avoiding foods that have been sulphurized.

To read more on this, check out the Organic Guide at: http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:WDHqZnJc1CEJ:www.organicguide.com/blog/just-food/organic-dried-fruit/+why+sulphur+fruits&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Turkey sausage and mixed greens soup

After I started my research on adding calcium to my diet, I made a trip to Trader Joes where I bought a bag of Southern Greens Blend. It has a mixture of collard, turnip and mustard greens, along with spinach. With 1.5 cups of this stuff, you get 8% of your calcium daily needs. Tonight for dinner, I am making a very healthy, yet deliciously satisfying soup.

Turkey Sausage and Mixed Greens Soup

1 serving

1 Turkey sausage cut up into chunks

1/2 cup diced potato

1/4 cup frozen corn

1.5 cups of Southern Greens Blend

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 cup already baked butternut squash

dash paprika

dash balsamic vinegar

dash cinnamon

pinch of brown sugar

* Mix all of the ingredients together and slow cook for an hour.

January: National Oatmeal Month!

Did you know that January is National Oatmeal Month?!

Hahaha...well apparently its true... Since oatmeal is apparently in the spotlight, I thought that I would post a link to this blog that I came across. It outlines the nutritional differences between steel-cut oats, stone ground oats and rolled oats. I mean, if you're already going to oatmeal for its nutrition, you may as well know which is the best route to take, right?

Also, we all know that oatmeal has a great amount of fiber and truly helps people lower their cholesterol. Add a few raisins or slices of banana, sprinkle some sunflower seeds or walnuts, pour some vanilla soymilk and you've got a meal that is not only extremely nutritious, but will stave off hunger for hours.

Happy reading!

http://blog.nutritiondata.com/ndblog/2010/01/more-on-oats-rolled-vs-steel-cut-vs-stone-ground.html

Are you getting your 1000 mg??

So apparently as a 30 year old woman, I am suppose to be getting 1000 mg of calcium every day. As you may know, I am a pretty healthy eater. I definitely get my 5-9 fruits/vegetebles per day but I most definitely do NOT get 1000 mg of calcium. So you think, okay then, just drink a glass of soy milk. Unfortunately I do and it doesn't do it alone. One cup only gives you 30% of your daily needs...and 3+ cups per day does not sound that appetizing. Unlike regular ice cream which provides 10% in a 1/2 cup, soy ice cream (at least the Soy Creamy I get from Trader Joes) has no calcium added. Oops...I guess not all soy products are fortified! I even make sure to add a cup of spinach to my daily vegetable soup, but you need 3 cups of it to get to 8% of your daily needs.

So, what I have learned is that I must look beyond my cereal bowl and my spinach soup to get the 1000 mg that I am suppose to get on a daily basis. What other products are high in calcium? Here is a brainstorming list for you with the % it meets for your daily needs.

1 cup of Broccoli = 3%

3 oz Mori-Nu Silken Tofu = 3%

1 cup Kidney Beans = 6%

1 oz Almonds = 6%

1 cup of an Orange = 7%

1 cup cabbage = 8%

1 packet instant fortified oatmeal = 10%

Chocolate ZenSoy Pudding =15%

Trader Joes Soy Yogurt = 30%

1 cup Vanilla Soy milk = 30%

Don't forget, spices can include calcium as well!

1 Tbsp Cumin = 6%

1 Tbsp Cloves = 4%

1 Tbsp Oregano = 9%

The Spaghetti Squash Test

Is that spaghetti in my bowl? Well, sort of. I've been on the hunt for something new to try, but still healthy, low fat and full of the vitamins/minerals we need to stay healthy during flu season. I often eye up the spaghetti squash in my supermarket but always end up home with my beloved butternut or buttercup squash. This time though, I took the risk and went to the check out with the yellow melon-shaped squash. I was curious but secretly sure that I was going to be disappointed in it and would just wish that I had real noodles in my bowl.

How wrong I was! Sure, if you literally scoop the spaghetti squash right out of the skin and eat it, you will be disappointed. It is bland...and well, just as you might expect, stringy! BUT if you saute the pulp in oil after baking it in the oven (or microwave if you so choose) and season it with garlic, salt, pepper and italian seasoning and then top it with marinara sauce and vegatables (or meat if you so choose) and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese (there is vegan Parmesan), you will find that spaghetti squash can not only be tasty, but a nice change to pasta.

The Bad Waitress - A GOOD option!

Sundays. There is no better day to enjoy brunch. My husband and I were up for something new today, so we took a walk to The Bad Waitress located at East 26th Street in Minneapolis. This little diner/coffee shop exceeded expectations and offered an experience unlike most restaurants in the Twin Cities.

The Bad Waitress earned its name because you have to do most of the work. The menu is waiting for you at the table when you arrive along with a pad where you write down your order with specifications and proceed to bring it to the counter, where they will hand the order to the chef. You pay at that time, then return to your table where your food will eventually arrive.

As someone with dietary restrictions, it actually comforted me to be the one informing the chef with my scribbles that dairy should be eliminated from my entire order. My husband and I both thought this way of ordering was also nice because you order when you are ready and there is no need to rush because the waitress is waiting. You also can avoid paying for the extras that you don't want...i.e. you can order one pancake rather than be forced to buy 3 or 4. Or maybe you never eat that mound of hash browns that always accompanies your bacon and eggs. You get the idea.

The menu had wonderful vegetarian options, vegans have choices such as tofu scramblers, vegan sausages and soy milk. Health-conscious eaters could order things like egg-white omelettes and organic granola. I couldn't stop raving about my egg-white omelette that was stuffed with turkey, spinach, roasted red peppers and mushrooms with a side of whole-grain toast. My carnivore husband was deeply satisfied with his chorizo eggs benedict with side of asparagus. He was also quite impressed with his Thai Coffee which included coffee, espresso and sweetened condensed milk. I took note of the soy chai latte for my next visit.

http://www.thebadwaitress.com/

Green Zucchini Soup

Have a bunch of zucchini on hand and not sure what to do with it? Try something new - Green Zucchini Soup. It has great flavor and texture and its good for you!

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium onions, roughly chopped
big pinch of salt
2 1/2 cups potatoes (2 medium) cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 1/2 cups zucchini (2 medium), loosely chopped
4 cups chicken stock
a few drops of lemon

In a large, thick-bottomed pot over medium-high heat, add the olive oil. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) add the garlic and onions and saute for a few minutes along with pinch of salt - just until they soften up a bit. Stir in the potatoes and zucchini. Add the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook until potatoes are soft throughout, roughly 10-15 minutes.

Puree with a blender until smooth. Whisk in a squeeze of lemon juice. Now taste, and add more salt if needed. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Serves about 6.

Special Request Airplane Meals

I just arrived home from a 2 week trip to Europe - specifically Lisbon, Portugal and Barcelona, Spain. Before I left, I called the airline (Northwest) and requested a lactose free meal. The closest they had was a "strict vegetarian" meal which was suppose to be void of any animal products whatsoever. I am not sure why they didn't just label this meal vegan?! Anyway....that worked for me. I was so relieved that my long flight would be accompanied with food that I can eat!

Being paranoid when it comes to my food, when my special meal was delivered to me, I still checked the ingredients to make sure that they were lactose free. Thank god that I did!! I was shocked to find several things on my plate that DID include lactose. I was given vegetable curry with salad. My salad was accompanied by a packet of dressing that included dry milk and the packaged bun had whey! They also included a packet of butter on my tray?! So much for dairy free! I was, however, pleasantly surprised to find my meal on my flight home to be dairy free (and vegetarian, gluten free and kosher all in one). They gave me a rice pasta dish that had a delicious sauce and was topped with pumpkin seeds. Dessert was fresh fruit.

I had read online that this had happened to several people when they had requested special meals. One man had requested a gluten free meal. He ate his food and began to feel sick. After the fact, he looked at the ingredients on the packaging and found wheat listed. He had such a reaction that he was sick for the entirety of his vacation. The moral of the story? Never trust - always double check.

Thank god I had packed a few food bars in my carry on. I really enjoyed one in particular called Sesame Bar by Oskri. It was the date syrup and fennel variety. The ingredients are simply: sesame, date syrup, rice syrup and fennel, and they are both lactose and gluten free. Both my husband and I thought they taste like peanut brittle. Very tasty - and good for you!

Ecopolitan: An Allergen's Safe Haven

When you have food allergies, it is hard to find a restaurant which will offer you a variety of entrees to choose from. At Ecopolitan, however, that is hardly the case... A vegan or someone with an allergy to dairy, wheat, corn, soy, eggs or peanuts can choose literally anything from the menu and be safe.

According to their website, they offer "healthy and sustainable dining by creating 100% uncooked, plant-based meals with 100% organically-grown ingredients and no additives, GMOs or toxic-processing. Our menu is completely vegan (no animal products), contains no refined sugars or flours, and is free of most allergens (no wheat, corn, soy, dairy, eggs or peanuts)". Pretty impressive and hard to find anywhere, really!

So, my family and I had breakfast there this past weekend. Most of us got smoothies and my dad ordered the Flaxjack "pancakes". Pictured on the right (yes, half eaten...I forgot to snap the picture until half way through breakfast) is my dad's breakfast plate which was to die for, yet extremely healthy for you. Two apple-walnut-flaxseed "pancakes" with sesame tahini, fresh fruit, date syrup and cinnamon.

I ordered the Coconut Supreme smoothie (pictured to the left) made with a young coconut base, pecans, dates, ginger and cinnamon. We all agreed that it taste like an oatmeal cookie. Really delicious and so good for you! Because of the pecans, it was filling and truly a meal in itself.

Everyone enjoyed what they ordered and therefore we recommend the following:

• Pina Colada Smoothie

• Orange Julia Smoothie

• Coconut Supreme Smoothie

• Hazelnut "Fudge" Smoothie

• Fresh Orange/Pineapple Juice

• Flaxjack "Pancakes"

• Hummus & Flax crackers
  

Ecopolitan is located at
2409 Lyndale Ave S # 4
Minneapolis, MN 55405-3375

You can find them online and read up on their menu, natural home & body goods shop, infrared sauna, oxygen bar and eco-art gallery at www.ecopolitan.com