Cooking at Home

We all know that preparing meals at home is the way to go. It’s the only way to know what ingredients are being used. When dining in a restaurant, there is no way to really know how much oil is being used to cook the meal or what kind of oil they are using. What kind of ingredients do they use? How much salt are they adding? Basically, what you eat is in the hands of someone in the kitchen. Kind of a scary thought if you want to eat healthy.

So, yes… meals at home is the way to go, but if you aren’t cooking from scratch or using wholesome whole ingredients, you may be defeating the whole purpose of a “home cooked meal”. We all know that microwaved TV dinners aren’t healthy, but many people don’t realize that things like Hamburger Helper or other meal preparation aids are probably worse than eating out. They assume it’s just a few spices and don’t bother to read the label. Did you know that Hamburger Helper contains trans fats, food colorings, MSG and some other preservatives that I can’t pronounce? The list is really long and pretty surprising.

If you are cooking a meat dish and want to add some flavor, use spices like dried oregano, garlic powder, parsley flakes and dried basil. Adding a homemade tomato sauce is also a great way to give meat more flavor as well.  Don’t rely on the quick meal helpers like Hamburger Helper. Be creative and experiment. Search online for recipes and always take time at the grocery store to read the food label. 

Happy Cooking!

Sodium. How Much Is Too Much?

Salt. I used to add it to almost everything. Then I started to cook at home more and use less salt and sure enough, my taste buds changed. Now when I go to restaurants, I usually can’t order the soup or anything with sauce. It’s almost always way too salty.

The RDA of sodium for adults is 2400mg. This number should be reduced to 1500mg a day for individuals with high blood pressure, African Americans or anyone over the age of 40.  This sounds reasonable, but how much IS 2400mg of sodium?

One teaspoon of table salt has about 2300mg of Sodium! One teaspoon of soy sauce has about 300mg. How much sodium does Denny’s Lumberjack Slam Breakfast contain? Almost 4500mg of sodium! And that is before most customers add even more salt to the eggs or potatoes. Scary. 1 cup of chicken soup usually has between 850-1200mg of sodium, sometimes more. I guess it should come as no surprise that Americans consume on average over 3400mg a day.

What can you do?

Read labels and compare products. It seems logical that if you are buying something, let’s say Ricotta cheese, that most of the brands will have about the same amount of sodium, right? Nope. Safeway’s Ricotta cheese has more than double the amount of sodium as Sargento’s Ricotta cheese! I was surprised, so I started to pay more attention to the sodium content for the same food made by different brands. What I found was that the amount of sodium varied dramatically.

I encourage my clients to stay away from frozen meals because of the long ingredient lists, preservatives and high sodium content. Here is an example of taking in over 2 days of sodium in one meal. Swanson’s Hungry Man Turkey Dinner has over 5400mg of sodium!

The best bet if you want to reduce your sodium intake is to cook meals at home and stay away from packaged foods and restaurant made meals. When grocery shopping, check labels and always compare products.

Sodium in moderate amounts is fine, but what most Americans consider “normal” or “moderate” is usually around 3400mg of sodium a day. Wow! Not only is that well above the RDA, it is almost 3 times what the American Heart Association recommends on their website.

Food Cravings

Photo By: Maria Quiroga

CRAVINGS

Often cravings are our body’s way of telling us that something is missing in our diet. Have you ever wanted salty potato chips and then after you devoured a bag you still weren’t satisfied? Have you craved a cupcake, given in and then found yourself even more hungry an hour later? Sometimes giving into your cravings only makes things worse because you aren’t satisfying the real reason behind your cravings.

Craving salty foods like chips or pretzels? Usually if you crave salty foods you could be deficient in sodium, have inadequate mineral levels or maybe you just aren’t drinking enough water throughout the day.

Do you crave chocolate all of the time? This craving could mean you may have a B vitamin or magnesium deficiency. It is also worth noting that chocolate is addictive because it stimulates dopamine and contains Phenylethalmine, which stimulates endorphins to be produced. No wonder so many people crave chocolate!

What about if you crave sweets and carbohydrates like cake or cookies? This craving is often the result of not enough nutrients and essential fatty acids in your diet. Another reason is the “high” people get from eating sugary treats. Sugar’s sweetness releases endorphins that offer us this “high” and relaxes us. Ask yourself if you are seeking cake for comfort.

Although cravings usually exist because of some sort of deficiency as I have mentioned, sometimes we get cravings because we aren’t getting enough sleep or are trying to fill an emotional void.

So, what can you do to tame your cravings? Try supplementing or adjusting your diet if you aren’t getting enough nutrients with essential minerals and essential fatty acids. Some people swear that including flax seed oil in their daily diet cuts their cravings tremendously after only a few days. Make sure to balance your blood sugar by eating nutritious meals that include protein throughout the day. Avoid eating close to bedtime and get a restful 7-8 hours sleep every night. If you believe your cravings are emotional, try to get to the root of the problem/stress. Sometimes going for a quick walk or exercising will curb the craving as well. Experiment and see what works for you.

Society sometimes labels cravings as a weakness, but I disagree. I see cravings as an opportunity to ask yourself  “why?”. Next time you crave something, ask yourself why and take a look at your diet and state of mind. Try to deconstruct your craving and see what you come up with.

Easy Resolution for 2012. Stop Using the Microwave Oven

Here is an easy resolution. Eat healthier by avoiding the microwave oven. Microwaved food is less healthy than raw or traditionally cooked foods. Microwaving destroys nutrients and can even be carcinogenic

In college most of us only had a microwave oven and a small square refrigerator to call a kitchen. I heated up everything from soup to vegetables to pizza. I didn’t think twice about microwaving my dinners and it wasn’t until I moved into my first apt in NYC that I started heating food without a microwave. Food tasted different. Food tasted better. What was the deal?

I remember as a kid being told not to stand to close to the microwave oven while it was on because it emitted dangerous radio waves, but why was microwaved food OK to eat? What is the deal with microwave ovens? Are they safe? This article does a nice job of explaining.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/05/18/microwave-hazards.aspx

Kale? Yes, please.

Kale is a Superfood from the Brassica family. It is a green leafy vegetable that is becoming increasingly more popular because of it's health benefits such as promoting good eye health, lowering cholesterol and detoxifying the body. Kale is also known for it’s anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties. It is rich in phytonutrients and antioxidants while still being low in calories. Super indeed!

The number of nutrients that kale contains is impressive. Kale contains Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Iron, Calcium, B6, Magnesium, Potassium, Manganese, Phosphorus and Copper. Kale also contains Lutein, Omega 3 fatty acids and fiber.

Kale comes in many varieties and colors. Dinosaur kale, which is sometimes knows as Tuscan kale, tends to be sweet and blue-green in color. Ornamental kale is more mild in flavor and great in salads because of it's tender leaves. Curly kale tends to have a stronger flavor and bumpy texture.

photo: Maria Quiroga

Kale is a great green vegetable to have stocked in the kitchen because it can be cooked in so many ways. You can stir-fry it, steam it, eat it raw, creamed, baked as chips or you can add it to a soup or sauce.

For most of us kale is healthy and nutritious, but if you have gallbladder or kidney problems you may want to avoid kale because of the oxalates. Kale is also heavily sprayed with pesticides so it’s best to buy organic kale when possible to avoid exposure.

I love kale and eat it a couple times a week in stir-fry and soup. How do you like to eat your kale?

Natural? Organic? What should I buy?

Photo by Maria Quiroga

Confused? You aren’t the only one!

The USDA states that “Natural” pertaining to meats and poultry means “containing no artificial ingredients or added color and is only minimally processed.” But this does not guarantee that the meat was raised in a humane manner, in a sustainable environment or was organically fed. It seems that the word “natural” would mean that no hormones or antibiotics were given to the animal, right?  Nope. The only way to be sure you are getting hormone/anti-biotic free meat is to buy Organic meat. What about poultry and pork? Poultry and pork in the U.S. cannot be given any hormones by law, but can still be given antibiotics. Only buying Organic poultry and pork will guarantee that no antibiotics were administered.

So is Organic meat the way to go? I would say YES. By purchasing Organic you can be sure you are buying products that meet strict guidelines stipulated by the USDA. Each farm must get verification by a USDA-approved agency independent of the USDA. By buying organic you know that the animals were fed 100% organic feed, provided access to the outdoors and were not given antibiotics in their lifetime. Organic animals are also not given growth hormones of any kind or fed other animals (yes even sick animals are chopped up and fed to our animals. Only cows, goats and sheep aren’t a part of this process.) Shocking, right?

The manner in which meat and poultry are labeled can be very misleading. Read the labels and remember that the terms “no hormones administered” and “no antibiotics administered” are only defined by the government and not enforced by them. Only buying Organic will provide you with the peace of mind that what you are serving for dinner is indeed hormone and antibiotic-free.

-Maria Quiroga

Craving Sweets?

Did you know that sweet cravings can be significantly reduced by including more sweet veggies in your diet? Sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, beets and squash are a few that works wonders on taming sweet cravings. Sweet potatoes elevate your blood sugar in a slow manner so there is no sugar crash after you eat them. They are more nutritious than regular potatoes are and a great source of Vitamin A. Try this recipe and see what you think!

Recipe of the Month: Sweet Potatoes with Lime and Cilantro

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients:

4 sweet potatoes

1/2 bunch fresh cilantro

2-3 limes

butter or olive oil, salt (optional)

Directions:

1.   Wash the sweet potatoes and bake them whole, in their skins, at 375 degrees until tender, about 40 minutes.

2.   Wash and chop cilantro leaves.

3.   When sweet potatoes are done, slit open the skin and place on serving plate. Season with salt and dots of butter or a sprinkle of oil, if you like, then squeeze fresh lime juice all over, and shower with cilantro leaves.