More Dangers of MSG - Weight Gain

I've been leery of MSG since The Mind and Metabolism, a psychology class at Santa Monica College, where I first learned how it acts in the nervous system. People often say that once they eat whole foods for a time, edible products make them feel sick, even the ones they used to eat every day. Now that I actively avoid it, I can detect the jitters if I ingest some.

Thanks again to our government for protecting us. Food labeling hides MSG, but you can find some other names for it here.

Now there is new information about MSG that links it to weight gain.

Do You Go Organic?

Many bloggers and chat rooms are talking about the nutritional differences between conventional and organic produce. I'm not the only one to think that study is extremely limited when it comes to choosing how to spend your food dollar.

I am concerned about pesticide load on the food I eat, so I try to follow these guidelines. For the dirty dozen list, they suggest you buy organic. I am also willing to buy from farmers' markets if the farmer doesn't spray. Some small farmers can't afford to get certified organic.

The dirty dozen:

Peaches
Apples
Sweet bell peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Lettuce
Grapes (imported)
Pears
Spinach
Potatoes

Mmmm. Lists. The next one is stuff that you don't need to worry about so much. Thick skins on some of these. Natural compounds in broccoli cabbage and onions fight pests.

Eggplant
Broccoli
Cabbage
Bananas
Asparagus
Sweet peas (frozen)
Mango
Pineapples
Sweet corn (frozen)
Avocado
Onions

I got this from www.foodnews.org and they have a handy wallet guide and Ipod app.

Asparagus is Still Good

I love asparagus, but only if fresh and skinny. When the stalks get thick, it tastes like green sticks to me. Asparagus is great because it is so fast and easy in the pan, steamed or roasted. I like it with eggs anytime. This one was cooked in Organic Valley pasture butter, black pepper and altogether it is a very fresh spring-like taste.

Eat your asparagus soon after you buy it. The tips go bad if I forget they're in the drawer.

Why No Protein Powder or Energy Bars?

Most protein powders, almost anything "isolated," are processed with the toxic chemical hexane.
Some of the hemp protein products do not use hexane, but I still prefer real whole food as much as possible.

Food Wednesday July 29

Breakfast - two eggs, Genoa onion, asparagus, 1 small filet Copper River Salmon all in extra virgin olive oil
snack - 1 cup whole milk Voskos, cinnamon, 6 walnut halves
lunch - Lindner bison ribeye with garlic, cucumber, celery, broccoli, daikon
snack - 2 HB eggs, cucumber
dinner - mustard chicken thigh baked in butter, broccoli

Organic Chicken at Whole Foods - Rosie vs. Mary

Normally I buy Mary's Air Chilled Organic jumbo packs of chicken pieces. This time, I grabbed Rosie's Organic chicken leg packs, and unfortunately I was disappointed. The texture of the Rosie's was rubbery, even though I baked it using the same oil, the same tempurature. The taste was also slightly less "chicken-y" than Mary's.

Food Tuesday July 28

breakfast: torpedo onion, squash, broccoli and eggs in olive oil and coconut oil, salad, coffee
snack: whole milk Voskos yogurt, cinnamon, 6 walnut halves
lunch: mustard chicken thigh baked in butter, salad and broccoli
snack: red cabbage slaw, cucumbers, tomatillo egg salad
dinner: mustard chicken leg baked in butter, mad veggies

Super Clean Cheesecake

This recipe started with one in New Rules of Lifting for Women (Schuler et al., 2007). I don't use protein powder or sweeteners, so I substituted organic unsweetened coconut flakes. I used organic whole milk dairy products, and I buttered the 9 inch porcelain pan. You can use a pie pan too.

Preheat oven to 375
2 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 medium eggs
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut flakes
1 glug organic vanilla extract
juice and zest of lemon or lime

Put all ingredients in blender jar and blend very well. Bake for 20-30 minutes with a large flat pan of water on the second rack. Mine took 30 minutes. Let cool all the way on the countertop and then in the refrigerator before serving.

Organic frozen cherries or other fruit to make sauce, cooking them down with some cinnamon if you like. I'm going to do this with persimmons in the fall.

There was something in this recipe that made me go nuts and eat the whole thing! Yeah - it is the cheesecake's fault I ate it all. I did some research and the Organic Valley sour cream has corn starch. If I'm brave enough to make it again, I'll use Daisy brand sour cream, and I'll make sure I have someone else to feed the leftovers.

Weekly Meal Prep Sunday July 26

I decided to use mustard seed on my chicken pieces this week, so I had to find something else for the egg salad. Tomatillos looked nice, so I roasted them in chili powders and olive oil and made a sauce in the blender. I set some aside to go on my eggs. After it cooled, I mixed the rest with sour cream to make egg salad, which made a nice variation on my favorite food. I warn you: it isn't beautiful.
As for the chicken pieces, I marinated them overnight in lemons garlic and torpedo onion, elongated purple outside white inside usually sold with sprouts on. I used mustard, turmeric, cayenne and Garlic Herb Sensation from Spice World.
As usual, I stocked myself with eggs salad greens cucumbers broccoli celery onions garlic horseradish yogurt cheese, etc. washed and/or prepped it for the week. Nandor got a very neat variety of cucumber.

Breakfast Out - Swingers Santa Monica

I met Lucas and his son Stanley for breakfast at Swingers in Santa Monica (Lincoln and Broadway). I tend to think of it as an OK place for clean eaters, but I haven't been in a while. Their menu hasn't changed much. I looked it over and there are plenty of options for clean eaters. I used to love their turkey sausage, but I didn't try it this time.
I had an omelette with spinach, mushroom and Swiss cheese, large tasty tomatoes on the side. It came out looking plain, but tasted pretty good, not too salty. I'm glad to report it wasn't dripping in mystery fats. I had Tazo green tea. Lucas had a breakfast burrito and Stan had fruit and cottage cheese, and they were happy.
The bill was reasonable and the service was very, very good.

Almost a Free Lunch

Free stuff: fresh wild yellowtail from off the coast of San Diego - thanks Eddie! Fresh squash from Poppa's garden, fried with poultry spices from Spice World. This was a large squash with a thicker skin that tasted pretty good. The lemon I squeezed over everything was from the tree outside my door. Sauteed the yellowtail with Mexican seasoning from Spice World, black pepper and my continual obsession, ancho powder from Spicely.
I paid for the spices, onions, garlic, oil, and the gas bill.

Poppa's Backyard Garden

Poppa worked his tail off and then Nandor made some fish with fresh, crisp romaine on the side.

Agave Nectar - the truth?

When my clients ask what sweeteners they can use, I've been recommending agave nectar. My two reasons: it is low on the glycemic index, or hits your bloodstream fairly slowly so that it does not raise insulin levels much, and I was under the impression that it was a sustainable crop.

Well, I've been discovering lately that agave nectar may not be what I thought it was. I don't know why I trusted the food industry's marketing without checking it out for myself. And as usual, our government (in this case the FDA) makes no attempt to protect us from false labeling. As it happens, agave is full of fructose, a substance that can increase triglyceride and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. I first read about this on Natural News. I read more at the Weston Price site.

For now, I'm not going to get all excited and tell you guys not to use agave at all. I'm simply going to remind you that it is a SWEETENER, so you should be watching your intake closely anyways. What do we really know about stevia?

Using Summer Produce - Tomatoes and Peppers

Roasted tomatoes, peppers, sauteed Lindner bison in onions garlic cayenne and ancho powders. I know it isn't chili season!

Grilled Rack of Lamb this Morning

I teach fitness class on Wednesday nights, so I often take the time to cook in the morning. The rack was marinated in lemon juice, rosemary and red pepper flakes. I will have some with my eggs to get that meat power going for class tonight.

Reading: Foods that Fight Pain

by Neal Barnard, M.D. It looks like Dr. Barnard is a Dr. Dean Ornish disciple because he mentions him over and over again, has an endorsement from him above the title, and advocates an extremely low fat vegetarian diet for pain. I find it crazy that he speaks against fish and olive oil. He's extremely angry at the dairy industry, which is probably justified, but he focuses on the supposed evils of animal protein and fat instead of animal abuse and antibiotics.
I can get behind Dr. Barnard when he recommends proper sleep and exercise.

OVERALL VERDICT: skip it.

Link to Mark Bittman's salads - wow

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/dining/22mlist.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

I really love this guy's fun easy recipes. I made number 18 and it was fabulous.

Eating Monday July 20

Breakfast: eggs, onions, yellow crookneck squash, broccoli, dollop of Daisy sour cream. Two coffees.
Snack: 1 cup whole milk Voskos Greek-style yogurt, cinnamon, 6 Brazil nuts
Lunch: 1 small baked chicken thigh with skin, broccoli
Snack: cut cucumber, Pinconning cheddar
Dinner: Dover sole, kale, onions, garlic

Meal Planning this Week

I made a large batch of organic chicken thighs for lunches, dinners, with black pepper, sea salt, garlic, lemon, cumin, bit of apple cider vinegar. It almost gives it a Filipino adobo taste, but without the soy sauce.
Next was cucumber sour cream dip with parsley and dill for my veggie snacks. I agonized over the choice between organic sour cream with weird binders and additives and Daisy sour cream. The ingredients list for the Daisy is just sour cream. I went with that for the taste.
I made egg salad with celery, minced onion, horseradish, more parsley, Spice World Mexican seasoning, turmeric, salt and pepper, bit of Greek yogurt.
I bought wild caught Dover sole for Monday dinner. It was cheap.
Large batch of red cabbage slaw with sesame seeds and lime juice, pepper. I like this as a side and it keeps for several days.
I washed and sliced a bunch of veggies for quick breakfasts and snacks. Stocked up on farm eggs at the West LA farmers market and got a batch of sauerkraut going, as shown.

Sunday lunch

I like a nice meaty lunch for energy. Lindner ground bison with onions and garlic, EVOO, Spicely cayenne, ground black pepper, turmeric. Lacinato kale and zucchini from Santa Monica Farmers Market with Spice World Mexican seasoning, crushed garlic.

healthy happy fast meals introduction

I've been having a lot of luck at the farmers markets lately. Fresh summer food is so nice. For breakfast this morning I had broccoli onions and eggs from the West LA Farmers Market along with mild cheddar cheese from Pinconning Cheese House in Pinconning, MI. I used Spice World Garlic and Herb Sensation and some ground black pepper, all cooked in extra virgin olive oil.