1. Whole food– in original form with minimal processing and refining.
2. Organic–Has minimal disease-causing pesticides. In a conventional PB & J for example 78 pesticide residues were found, 12 known to cause cancer.
3. Meats raised without the use of growth hormones.
4. Eat in season food to avoid shipping from far away places.
5. No fried food cooked in partially hydrogenated oils.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Monday, September 6, 2010
Bagged Lunches
Bagged Lunches—infinite options
Peanut butter and banana quesadilla--ingredients: peanut butter, banana, tortilla. Optional carrots and red peppers, and favorite dressing for a dip. Also have a cold milk. Directions: Spread favorite nut butter, sliced bananas on a tortilla, fold over, and slice into triangles. Tomato quesadilla with humus and pesto—ingredients: sun-dried tomatoes, lettuce or sprouts, tortilla, shredded chicken pieces, and a little dollop of goat cheese. Directions: Assemble these items in tortilla and fold over for perfection. Pesto, tomato, and mozzarella sandwich on ciabatta bread—ingredients: pesto, tomato, mozzarella cheese, and ciabatta bread. Out-of-the-Ordinary Salad—ingredients: spinach, purple cabbage, tomato, zucchini, red onion, orange bell pepper, avocado, olive oil, Muscat champagne vinegar, salt pepper, dried Italian herbs. Directions: Mix these ingredients into container. Whole Wheat Pasta—ingredients: tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, grilled chicken breast, parmesan cheese, fresh herbs. Directions: Mix tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, grilled chicken breast. Top with a drizzle of olive oil, parmesan cheese, and herbs. Peanut butter & jelly sandwich—ingredients: organic peanut butter, organic honey, bananas, honey wheat bread. Pita Sandwich—ingredients: pita bread, pesto, hummus, tomatoes. Directions: Spread onto pita. Fruit & Yogurt Parfait—ingredients: side of nonfat plain yogurt sweetened with a tablespoon of honey and a tablespoon of ground flax. Baguette with Savoury Sweet Egg Salad—ingredients: organic whole wheat baguette, organic or free range eggs, low fat mayo, Greek yogurt, grey poupon mustard, a few sliced almonds, celery, chives, dried cranberries, sea salt, ground pepper, sliced tomatoes, arugula or romaine lettuce. Directions: Cut open baguette. Make egg salad: Hard boil eggs for 10 minutes. Take yolks out, and mash up. Mix with mayo, Greek yogurt, poupon mustard, sliced almonds, finely cut celery and chives, dried cranberries, sea salt, pepper, tomatoes, and arugula or romaine lettuce. Spinach, hummus, and chicken wrap—ingredients: red pepper or spinach whole grain wrap, hummus, spinach, chicken. Directions: Put a layer of hummus, chicken, and spinach into wrap. Turkey and Cheese Sandwich—ingredients: 3 slices of turkey, 1 slice of Munster cheese, whole wheat bread, mayo, mustard, lettuce and tomato. Directions: Place turkey, cheese, lettuce, and tomato on whole wheat bread. Topple contents with mayo and mustard. Cold fruit sushi—ingredients: one small melon, one small pineapple, and honey. Directions: Chop melon and pineapple into pieces. Pineapple should be cut into rectangles. Place melon inside line of pineapple and roll. Drizzle with honey.
Snacks
Granola or power bar~low fat string cheese~raw almonds~fruits such as grapes or a sliced pear~a small square of dark chocolate complements the meal~sparkling water and a slice of lemon or lime~fresh celery with organic peanut butter~Horizon strawberry milk~and homemade oatmeal cookies.
Friday, August 20, 2010
Emma the Eater
Emma Carron loves food. She recalls her first bite at Harvard University’s Annenberg Cafeteria. Prior to meeting its “all you can eat” buffet, Emma was a slim blonde from New York City who wore a size zero. Just as impressionable as your average newcomer, Emma became one of the victims of the dreaded Freshmen 15; the fifteen pounds that freshmen are expected to gain. She managed it with a surprising method of self esteem and confidence.
Carron still recalls the moment when she eagerly entered Annenberg. She still remembers a smile spreading across her face. “I love food! Food is always on my mind, so if Harvard doesn’t work out for me I’m becoming a chef.” Emma chose a self-made grilled cheese sandwich for her first meal. “Shredded mozzarella stuff on panini. There’s really no words to describe it,” she said. After building her first meal, Emma went on a compulsive pastry-shopping spree with her roommates.
Along with her new habits of overindulging, she adapted other habits during the college transition. “I was used to walking forty-five minutes [from my house in New York] to school everyday. Here it only took me a couple minutes to walk to my classes, so I wasn’t exercising at all.” Nutrition experts such as John Grey from G.N.C. recommend that one should exercise twenty minutes per day; a commitment she soon abandoned. There’s a widespread consensus that exercise controls weight and promotes a psychological well-being.
Carron was among the 20% of incoming freshmen who suffer the Freshmen 15. Attributed to a lifestyle change, the Freshmen 15 is attributable to lack of exercise, drinking habits, and up to 52,500 calories in supplement to their normal diet.
In a society endlessly preoccupied with image, many are driven to hysterias about their weight gain. “I would friggin’ drop out of college if I gained that much weight,” High school junior Suzie Fertzman from N.Y.C. said when referencing the Freshmen 15. As magazine readers are greeted with a parade of ultra thin models, teens are subjected to these images.
According to a survey by Gallup University, 62% of teens concerned about these issues resulted from the media’s influence. 90% of teen girls are not happy with their appearance. Teenage girl Irina from Argentina believes that someone who has confidence would not be affected by the media’s promotion of thin models. Emma Carron possesses this confidence and self-esteem, as the excitement of transitioning towards an independent lifestyle overcame any possible weight concerns. “I was happy freshmen year. It definitely was worth it, enjoying myself,” said Emma.
One of the other activities Emma participated in for enjoyment was drinking. When college freshmen get freedom away from their parents, alcohol plays an increased role in their lives. Beer has a low alcohol content compared to other drinks, so freshmen who want to get wasted have to drink more. “Emma chuckles, “Beer counts calories too.”
As she fulfilled her food and drink aspirations, she did not check up on her weight gain. She knew she was getting a little chubbier, but she didn’t really care at the time. “I always thought, “I’d rather not look at the scale,” she said. Nonetheless, she continues living in a world of food.
“I read 500,000 food blogs. There’s Food Porn Daily, Serious Eats, Delish,” Emma said. However, Emma’s food interests aren’t uncommon among other Americans. America has countless food magazines, as well as three full time networks including The Food Channel, The Cooking Channel, and the Food Network. “They show tempting pictures. Food is constantly on my mind. There’s a kitchen in my mind.” Another student says that it reminds him of the movie Ratatouille; in which food is everywhere.
The world is like Ratatouille’s because readily available food is sold everywhere you go; throughout restaurants, cafes, and delis. College freshmen Jacqueline Lopes reports on the responsibilities of eating in a college setting. “Here there’s no control on how much we eat,” she said. The student might absentmindedly go eat a chocolate bar and forget and later eat something else. “[Compared to] at home, there’s a fridge to see all the food that our parents buy, which makes it easier to not eat everything we see,” says Lopes.
The more food is talked about, or around, the more temptation gives in.
“If it’s readily available, I’ll eat it,” Emma said. “Imagine a medieval Christian, who was lured by the enticements of the flesh—food, drink, sex—even as he was told that such things were sinful,” said Max Larkin, a Harvard student who likes cooking. “This is the situation in which the modern weight conscious food lover finds herself.”
In a society with so much emphasis placed on food, magazines and government organizations respond by advising the same tips to the American nation. The crash dieting advice sold in magazines, which contributes to detrimental results, are tested by one in every four college girls (American Research Group on Anorexia Nervosa). Fortunately, Emma’s love for food did not take her on this path.
Skipping meals—a strategy promoted by magazines such as Cosmo Girl, actually impedes weight loss. John Grey from G.N.C. says, “Crash dieting is harmful because it removes fat and muscle.” Muscle is incorporated in the process of metabolism. When you lose the lean muscle part of your metabolic system, your body’s metabolism slows down.
Another result of skipping meals includes that you are hungrier for the next meal. Consequently, you eat more to satisfy your hunger and overcompensate for what you missed. As your metabolism slows down from fasting, it is easier to regain any weight you lost after starting to eat again. This occurs in 90-95% of crash dieters.
Other recommendations, such as how much food to eat, cannot be generalized. People live all sorts of different lifestyles—from the exercise nut who burns calories, to the social drinker that counts them. While a recommendation for Emma to consume 2,000 calories would work if she exercised, it would not be healthy for her when she lived a sedimentary lifestyle.
That leaves people wondering, “How much food should I consume?” As a purely beneficial rule, Marya Eragon, a worker at a vegetarian restaurant called Café Gratitude recommends, “People should eat small amounts of food throughout the day.” This allows you to improve and maintain a fast metabolism, gives your brain energy to function, and prevents the detrimental effects resulting from crash dieting.
Instead of eating food that is readily available, one should evaluate how your body feels and what your taste buds want. “[Knowing how your body feels] may be difficult to describe, but it’s quite the natural feeling,” said raw foodist Colleen Filler who lives solely off plants.
As research shows skipping meals does not result in desired weight loss, and generalized recommendations do not work for everyone, the torrent of these mainstream recommendations would have only hurt Emma both physically and mentally if she had heeded them. Physically her body’s metabolic system would have been negatively affected, and psychologically her well-being would be suppressed due to her love for food. At least Emma lives as a happy eater.
Avoid the roller coaster of food related woes, as happiness and eating good food relieves stress caused by the rigors of college. According to a survey on 683 colleges and universities led by the University of California at Los Angeles, around thirty percent of students reported to feeling especially overwhelmed and stressed out. As stress is most prevalent among freshmen, they will seek mood-improving behaviors, through foods such as chocolate. “Chocolate makes me happy,” Carron says.
There is a reason for this—even as chocolate adds calories it releases endorphins, stress relieving neurochemicals, to your brain that inhibits worry and triggers happiness. However, when one is concerned about weight, eating produces more stress. Since Emma was not concerned about her weight, she enjoyed the stress-relieving pleasures that chocolate brought.
As freshmen year ended and Emma went home, she went back to her normal life—a balanced life style of eating and exercise. Emma reflects back, “I knew I had gotten a little heavier, but I didn’t realize how much until [out of curiosity] I checked the scale.” How much weight did Emma gain? Emma beat the expected 15 pounds, and gained 30. “I didn’t really freak out, because I knew I would go back to my normal life [walking many blocks in New York City].
Emma lost the weight she gained during the summer, and designed a new lifestyle of food and exercise for when she started school again in the fall. She began going to the gym and joined the Harvard Polo Club. “I learned the value of working out, and continue to enjoy food, just at balanced levels.”
Carron still recalls the moment when she eagerly entered Annenberg. She still remembers a smile spreading across her face. “I love food! Food is always on my mind, so if Harvard doesn’t work out for me I’m becoming a chef.” Emma chose a self-made grilled cheese sandwich for her first meal. “Shredded mozzarella stuff on panini. There’s really no words to describe it,” she said. After building her first meal, Emma went on a compulsive pastry-shopping spree with her roommates.
Along with her new habits of overindulging, she adapted other habits during the college transition. “I was used to walking forty-five minutes [from my house in New York] to school everyday. Here it only took me a couple minutes to walk to my classes, so I wasn’t exercising at all.” Nutrition experts such as John Grey from G.N.C. recommend that one should exercise twenty minutes per day; a commitment she soon abandoned. There’s a widespread consensus that exercise controls weight and promotes a psychological well-being.
Carron was among the 20% of incoming freshmen who suffer the Freshmen 15. Attributed to a lifestyle change, the Freshmen 15 is attributable to lack of exercise, drinking habits, and up to 52,500 calories in supplement to their normal diet.
In a society endlessly preoccupied with image, many are driven to hysterias about their weight gain. “I would friggin’ drop out of college if I gained that much weight,” High school junior Suzie Fertzman from N.Y.C. said when referencing the Freshmen 15. As magazine readers are greeted with a parade of ultra thin models, teens are subjected to these images.
According to a survey by Gallup University, 62% of teens concerned about these issues resulted from the media’s influence. 90% of teen girls are not happy with their appearance. Teenage girl Irina from Argentina believes that someone who has confidence would not be affected by the media’s promotion of thin models. Emma Carron possesses this confidence and self-esteem, as the excitement of transitioning towards an independent lifestyle overcame any possible weight concerns. “I was happy freshmen year. It definitely was worth it, enjoying myself,” said Emma.
One of the other activities Emma participated in for enjoyment was drinking. When college freshmen get freedom away from their parents, alcohol plays an increased role in their lives. Beer has a low alcohol content compared to other drinks, so freshmen who want to get wasted have to drink more. “Emma chuckles, “Beer counts calories too.”
As she fulfilled her food and drink aspirations, she did not check up on her weight gain. She knew she was getting a little chubbier, but she didn’t really care at the time. “I always thought, “I’d rather not look at the scale,” she said. Nonetheless, she continues living in a world of food.
“I read 500,000 food blogs. There’s Food Porn Daily, Serious Eats, Delish,” Emma said. However, Emma’s food interests aren’t uncommon among other Americans. America has countless food magazines, as well as three full time networks including The Food Channel, The Cooking Channel, and the Food Network. “They show tempting pictures. Food is constantly on my mind. There’s a kitchen in my mind.” Another student says that it reminds him of the movie Ratatouille; in which food is everywhere.
The world is like Ratatouille’s because readily available food is sold everywhere you go; throughout restaurants, cafes, and delis. College freshmen Jacqueline Lopes reports on the responsibilities of eating in a college setting. “Here there’s no control on how much we eat,” she said. The student might absentmindedly go eat a chocolate bar and forget and later eat something else. “[Compared to] at home, there’s a fridge to see all the food that our parents buy, which makes it easier to not eat everything we see,” says Lopes.
The more food is talked about, or around, the more temptation gives in.
“If it’s readily available, I’ll eat it,” Emma said. “Imagine a medieval Christian, who was lured by the enticements of the flesh—food, drink, sex—even as he was told that such things were sinful,” said Max Larkin, a Harvard student who likes cooking. “This is the situation in which the modern weight conscious food lover finds herself.”
In a society with so much emphasis placed on food, magazines and government organizations respond by advising the same tips to the American nation. The crash dieting advice sold in magazines, which contributes to detrimental results, are tested by one in every four college girls (American Research Group on Anorexia Nervosa). Fortunately, Emma’s love for food did not take her on this path.
Skipping meals—a strategy promoted by magazines such as Cosmo Girl, actually impedes weight loss. John Grey from G.N.C. says, “Crash dieting is harmful because it removes fat and muscle.” Muscle is incorporated in the process of metabolism. When you lose the lean muscle part of your metabolic system, your body’s metabolism slows down.
Another result of skipping meals includes that you are hungrier for the next meal. Consequently, you eat more to satisfy your hunger and overcompensate for what you missed. As your metabolism slows down from fasting, it is easier to regain any weight you lost after starting to eat again. This occurs in 90-95% of crash dieters.
Other recommendations, such as how much food to eat, cannot be generalized. People live all sorts of different lifestyles—from the exercise nut who burns calories, to the social drinker that counts them. While a recommendation for Emma to consume 2,000 calories would work if she exercised, it would not be healthy for her when she lived a sedimentary lifestyle.
That leaves people wondering, “How much food should I consume?” As a purely beneficial rule, Marya Eragon, a worker at a vegetarian restaurant called Café Gratitude recommends, “People should eat small amounts of food throughout the day.” This allows you to improve and maintain a fast metabolism, gives your brain energy to function, and prevents the detrimental effects resulting from crash dieting.
Instead of eating food that is readily available, one should evaluate how your body feels and what your taste buds want. “[Knowing how your body feels] may be difficult to describe, but it’s quite the natural feeling,” said raw foodist Colleen Filler who lives solely off plants.
As research shows skipping meals does not result in desired weight loss, and generalized recommendations do not work for everyone, the torrent of these mainstream recommendations would have only hurt Emma both physically and mentally if she had heeded them. Physically her body’s metabolic system would have been negatively affected, and psychologically her well-being would be suppressed due to her love for food. At least Emma lives as a happy eater.
Avoid the roller coaster of food related woes, as happiness and eating good food relieves stress caused by the rigors of college. According to a survey on 683 colleges and universities led by the University of California at Los Angeles, around thirty percent of students reported to feeling especially overwhelmed and stressed out. As stress is most prevalent among freshmen, they will seek mood-improving behaviors, through foods such as chocolate. “Chocolate makes me happy,” Carron says.
There is a reason for this—even as chocolate adds calories it releases endorphins, stress relieving neurochemicals, to your brain that inhibits worry and triggers happiness. However, when one is concerned about weight, eating produces more stress. Since Emma was not concerned about her weight, she enjoyed the stress-relieving pleasures that chocolate brought.
As freshmen year ended and Emma went home, she went back to her normal life—a balanced life style of eating and exercise. Emma reflects back, “I knew I had gotten a little heavier, but I didn’t realize how much until [out of curiosity] I checked the scale.” How much weight did Emma gain? Emma beat the expected 15 pounds, and gained 30. “I didn’t really freak out, because I knew I would go back to my normal life [walking many blocks in New York City].
Emma lost the weight she gained during the summer, and designed a new lifestyle of food and exercise for when she started school again in the fall. She began going to the gym and joined the Harvard Polo Club. “I learned the value of working out, and continue to enjoy food, just at balanced levels.”
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
David Craft Brings Foraging Back
Your average urban city dweller would find foraging to be a lost lifestyle. Urban foraging refers to gathering food directly from the weeds, bushes, and trees located in the city. Globalization has led to nation-wide supermarkets including Whole Foods, Walmart, Safeway, and made it less common for foraging to exist. As food comes readily available from supermarkets, people deem it a wasted effort to forage food their-selves.
But it's not actually that complicated. David Craft, a city dweller in the Boston area, eats a 50% foraged diet. It only takes him fifteen minutes before each meal to forage through the urban areas of the city! David first started with foraging 5 years ago when he eagerly devoured a book his friends gave him called The Forager's Harvest He suddenly adapted this newly found inspiration and dug through the dirt in search of a new way of life. David Craft doesn't forage for a means of survival, instead he does it for a rewarding lifestyle and to take his vegetarianism to the next level. "It's kind of fun knowing that no human being has ever touched that plant," he said as foraging a scrumptious flower, part of his lunch from the Charles River.
And the following analogous situation depicts his newly found lifestyle...Walking up a winding forest path, the dust kicks up after every step. Rigid green vines slowly and treacherously wind their way into the root systems of innocent daffodils. These so-called "gardener's monsters" are just misunderstood. Just as philosopher Ralph Emerson said, weeds are just "a plant whose virtues have not been discovered." Continuing up the path of weeds and intertwining trees, rounding a corner one may find a lonely man. The plants in his hands may seem as meaningless weeds at first but when looking past their label, the unknown ambiguity of a dreadful poison awaits. As cool as foraging may seem, foraging has risks. New England is home to the top ten poisonous plants including the stinging nettle, rhubarb, as well as many others which can be observed here. This lack of education on ingesting toxic plants is one reason why foraging is not as widely practiced as it could be. I have yet to come across a school that studies detrimental, as well as beneficial plants alike. Many voices aided in expressing their concern about this so-called"diet." "You don't know where your food is coming from, or how long it's been there," a horrified dining manager exclaimed. Another innocent little brunette cringed at the idea with concern flashing in her eyes. "What it it could kill you?!?" The fearless threshold of death is not enough to stop Craft's diet. Pollution is constantly hovering over cities in clouds of smoke and suffocating the plants within it. As the plants struggle for air, a man named David Craft pulls them out and eats them.
However, one may also argue the dangers in eating store bought food. Conventional fruits contain many more pesticides known to cause carcinogens, neurotoxins, and disrupt hormones and growth. An apple, for example, contains forty-two detrimental pesticides that go widely unnoticed because of the lack of education of living a conventional lifestyle as well. People aren't aware of what they are eating and thats why many of these movies come in handy and other organizations work to educate the public on the dangers of this conventional, non organic food.
So eating a foraged lifestyle includes and exceeds the benefits of eating organic as well as vegetarian. Living a vegetarian lifestyle, you lose weight, your cholesterol level reduces, and your body does not have to work as hard to process food. When I asked a nutritionist John Grey from G.N.C. about his thoughts on foraging, he replied, "Why not it's probably good for you and it's right from the source." Additionally, there is a certain connection a being shares with the food they eat knowing that they plucked it directly from Mother Earth. "I have this beautiful sense of fulfillment in my heart when I stir up a lunch directly from the ground," said a nature dweller who frequently camps in the great outdoors.
After examining the pros and cons of foraging, one rushed New York City businessman over-booked in meetings from 8:00am to 8:00pm responded, "Why would I want to forage my dinner after working a twelve-hour day? That's why we have fast-food restaurants for food on the go." A foraging lifestyle is not found in many people of the world. In our society, working on computers and paperwork is the extent of our businessmen. However, if people just look past the work and enjoy themselves, then maybe Craft's lifestyle isn't so bad after all. Not only is this life style healthy for both the body and soul but it also helps protect the earth by using its resources rather than man-made factories. However, too much of anything is not good at all. Harvard professor of Environmental Management George Buckley said, "there are some areas where the growth and reproductive rates of some of the natural plants may be good for a few people but not many because of the destroyed commons. So we do have to be careful."
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Hidden Cafeteria Options are Healthier than Expected
While it is no shocker that unhealthy food dominates college cafeterias, good news has arrived. From breakfast to dinner, you too can become a healthy eater, through the "Do it Yourself" method.
Breakfast: College cafeterias provide a wide range of cereals, ranging from Kellogs Fruit Loops to Honey Bunches of Oats. DUN DUN DUN DUN—you are forced to make a LIFE CHANGING decision.
Don't even think about eating Kellogs Fruit Loops! They are artificially flavored and contain 20% saturated fat (bleh).
Saturated fat clogs your arteries and hinders the transport of blood from reaching the heart.
So remember that when fate tempts you with artificially flavored saturated fat. New college student Helena Emmanuel, and former Fruit Loops lover says, "Goodbye fruit loops," as she moves towards healthier options. You can do this too!
Breakfast: College cafeterias provide a wide range of cereals, ranging from Kellogs Fruit Loops to Honey Bunches of Oats. DUN DUN DUN DUN—you are forced to make a LIFE CHANGING decision.
Don't even think about eating Kellogs Fruit Loops! They are artificially flavored and contain 20% saturated fat (bleh).Saturated fat clogs your arteries and hinders the transport of blood from reaching the heart.
So remember that when fate tempts you with artificially flavored saturated fat. New college student Helena Emmanuel, and former Fruit Loops lover says, "Goodbye fruit loops," as she moves towards healthier options. You can do this too!
Among one of the healthier options she chooses, she eats Whole Grain Cheerios. Whole grains are beneficial to your health because they reduce the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes. Additionally, they have no trans fat or saturated fat. And as they promote, they are clinically proven to help reduce cholesterol by 4% in six weeks.
Lunch: A few hours pass and you arrive in the lunch line. You have the ability to choose between hot and cold lunches.
Lunch: A few hours pass and you arrive in the lunch line. You have the ability to choose between hot and cold lunches.
Hot Lunches: When you choose to eat the cafeterias "special hot lunch," you never know what's really in the food (unless you put much effort into looking it up). Take fried chicken and macaroni and cheese, for example. The cheese in the macaroni consists of an extra 12 grams of saturated fat (that's a lot considering most meals have 4 grams at most). College student Emma Carron says, "I just can't eat all that. It's not good." She later recommended that students should refrain from eating the hot entrees.
Cold Lunches: Lunches that are not cooked by the cafeteria, known as cold lunches, are healthier meals to eat. [This is because] "When you prepare lunch yourself, you are aware of the chemicals and nutrients that are entering your body," nutrition expert John Grey from G.N.C. said. One example would be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You know it contains peanut butter and jelly, which are ingredients that would not be nutritionally altered by the cafeteria. College student Jacqueline Lo expressed, "I feel empowered knowing this because I can make the decisions I want for my health." It reminds Lo of when she lived at home and had a refrigerator full of possibilities. 
The following consists of a valuable guide to preparing a healthy meal using the ingredients from a college cafeteria. To begin the process of making a healthy peanut butter and jelly sandwich, for example, start by choosing between whole grain bread and white bread. As a reminder, whole grain bread is good and good for you because it reduces heart disease and types of cancers. (Click here for more.) White bread is bad for you because it increases blood sugar levels and raises cholesterol. As for conventional peanut butter, there are 78 pesticides found. 12 are known as possible carcinogens, 37 are suspected hormone disruptors, and 17 are neurotoxins. Too dark and dreary for you? Choose organic peanut butter because you will not be ingesting any of this.
Dinner: There's one more meal of the day; dinner. I know, I know, meat is the best! One vegetarian actress from 10 Things I Hate About You said on the show that she ate a hamburger and it was like an orgasm in her mouth. Then she recanted on her vegetarian beliefs. (Sarcasm) So by all means go eat a hamburger! But if you are determined to resist gaining the Freshmen 15, you're gonna have to work hard for it. And that's when you are faced with the ultimate dilemna of hamburger vs. salad during dinner time.
The salad above features pine nuts, edamamae, kidney beans, and a tomato. Pine nuts are an appetite suppressor to prevent weight gain. They consist of 10-34 percent protein, made up of 160 calories, and are highly rich in potassium that's good for your heart. (Learn more here.) Edamamae is also filled with protein; eating a half cup substitutes 11 grams. They are only 125 calories, and contain 9 amino acids that the human body cannot make. Kidney beans are beneficial to your health because they stabilize your blood sugar and reduce cholesterol. Lastly, tomatoes work to prevent heart disease.
Apparently, there are 16 grams of protein in your average hamburger and approximately 500 calories. Compare 16 grams of protein in both options with 500 calories in the burger and 285 calories in the salad. Eating that healthy salad will prevent you from a pudgey tummy.
As far as I'm concerned, God gave people free will. Anyone may choose the dietary style they want to have, but keep in mind that "You are what you eat." There's also a blog on why you are fat. Everyday when you choose between fruit loops or whole grain cheerios, between a hot lunch or a cold lunch, or between a hamburger versus a salad, you are making life changing decisions. This may seem drastic, but if you resort to cheerios that contain lots of saturated fat, it will contribute to having clogged arteries later in life. This opens the possibility up for a heart attack, which would be life changing.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Meatless Monday Campaign
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A revolutionary study recently revealed why the Chinese regularly live to be over one hundred years old without facing cancer, heart disease, or obesity that many Americans develop. Marin County has a breast cancer rate nearly 40% higher than the National Average. According to this study known as the China Study, a healthy diet and lifestyle can prevent the majority of cancers in the United States. In rural China, their diet consists mostly of whole plant foods and these diseases are relatively unknown to them. As for here in America, we are affluent, and exposed to more meat, dairy, and refined plant products (such as crackers, cookies, and soda).
For example, Marin County’s Hungry Hawk cafeteria at Tamalpais High School offers a chicken burrito with a variety of seemingly healthy ingredients: chicken, beans, rice, and cheese. However, when eating this burrito, you are ingesting 20 grams of fat, and 2350 mg of sodium. Another example is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that contains 837 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 100 grams of carbohydrates. This is just the start of the menu.
The American School Board Journal says that a ‘heavy’ diet causes obesity. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated 17.4% of adolescents ages 12-19 to be obese. Due to this knowledge, Tam made some adjustments. The menu was revised in 2008 to contain 24 new meals.
“We have healthy foods that exceed the requirements set by the National School Lunch Program,” said Margan Holloway, the Director of Student Nutrition Services of the Tamalpais Union High School District. Another change that took place included the discontinued sales of soft drinks on campus.
“Even though the Hungry Hawk promotes itself as a healthy and natural food supplier, the content quality of the food does not show it,” sophomore Brooke Wenig states.
Students were not the only ones concerned about the food sold at the Hungry Hawk. According to an organic lunch program at local Mill Valley Middle School and the Berkeley Unified High School District, Revolution Foods, the type of food you eat affects your ability to concentrate through class. Their mission is to get as much fresh, healthy food to as many students possible.
While public school lunch programs would like to improve the nutritional content of their menu, they face obstacles. The federally run National School Lunch Program only reimburses Tamalpais High School with $2.68 for each free meal they give to low-income students.
“Organic apples from a local farm cost sixty cents, and that’s too much to spend on a piece of fruit,” Holloway said.
Another obstacle the Hungry Hawk faces is a requirement to serve one nutritionally adequate meal per day. According to the National School Lunch Program, a nutritionally adequate meal includes servings of 4 ounces of a meat or meat alternative, two servings of grain bread components, a fruit or vegetable option, and milk or juice that contains 50 percent juice content or more.
“With protein regulations, we have to put 4 ounces of peanut butter into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You can imagine how this tastes,” said Holloway.
Students have varied opinions on other foods. “I think most of it tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t feel very healthy,” sophomore Serena Holway states. “[For example] the chicken has a ton of fat on it.”
As for chicken and other meat products, the poultry is distributed from the United States Department of Agriculture and sent to factories such as Tyson. Here it can be processed and preserved for freshness.
“It is positive that the meat is processed elsewhere, for safety,” Holloway said. She also mentioned that this way the workers at the Hungry Hawk do not run the risk of coming into contact with anything in the uncooked meat because most of it is processed at Tyson, not at Tam. As an example, Tyson’s Asian Style Orange Chicken has been renamed at the Hungry Hawk as Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl. The nutritional content of this meal from Tyson sold directly at the Hungry Hawk is comprised of 82.15 grams of Carbohydrates and 290 milligrams of Sodium.
If students cross the street in search of healthier options, they can choose from pastries and energy drinks at Starbuck or smoothies from Jamba Juice. But a transient energy burst from sugar should not substitute lunch. While drinks from Jamba Juice may seem healthy, the nutritional content includes 500+ calories in a 16 oz. fruit smoothie. Since kids are supposed to ingest 1,500 calories per day, this is a lot for a fraction of a meal.
In the Berkeley Unified School District, students eat baked organic chicken nuggets, whole-wheat noodles with garlic, and more healthy choices from a 28-item produce bar including bell peppers, zucchini, lettuce, pickles, and olives.
"While it would be good to have a salad bar, there's not enough space in the Tam cafeteria to allow for it," Holloway said.
The campaign leader of Teens Turning Green, a campaign that works to eliminate toxic contaminants to our health, tells the possibility of what can lay ahead. “If it’s possible for these schools to incorporate healthy food, it can be possible for Tam as well,” said Judi Shils Executive Director of Teens Turning Green. If we improve the health of food exposed to kids such as in the cafeteria, according to the China Study we can work to eliminate the cancer, heart disease, and obesity Americans have today.
For example, Marin County’s Hungry Hawk cafeteria at Tamalpais High School offers a chicken burrito with a variety of seemingly healthy ingredients: chicken, beans, rice, and cheese. However, when eating this burrito, you are ingesting 20 grams of fat, and 2350 mg of sodium. Another example is the peanut butter and jelly sandwich that contains 837 calories, 31 grams of fat, and 100 grams of carbohydrates. This is just the start of the menu.
The American School Board Journal says that a ‘heavy’ diet causes obesity. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey estimated 17.4% of adolescents ages 12-19 to be obese. Due to this knowledge, Tam made some adjustments. The menu was revised in 2008 to contain 24 new meals.
“We have healthy foods that exceed the requirements set by the National School Lunch Program,” said Margan Holloway, the Director of Student Nutrition Services of the Tamalpais Union High School District. Another change that took place included the discontinued sales of soft drinks on campus.
“Even though the Hungry Hawk promotes itself as a healthy and natural food supplier, the content quality of the food does not show it,” sophomore Brooke Wenig states.
Students were not the only ones concerned about the food sold at the Hungry Hawk. According to an organic lunch program at local Mill Valley Middle School and the Berkeley Unified High School District, Revolution Foods, the type of food you eat affects your ability to concentrate through class. Their mission is to get as much fresh, healthy food to as many students possible.
While public school lunch programs would like to improve the nutritional content of their menu, they face obstacles. The federally run National School Lunch Program only reimburses Tamalpais High School with $2.68 for each free meal they give to low-income students.
“Organic apples from a local farm cost sixty cents, and that’s too much to spend on a piece of fruit,” Holloway said.
Another obstacle the Hungry Hawk faces is a requirement to serve one nutritionally adequate meal per day. According to the National School Lunch Program, a nutritionally adequate meal includes servings of 4 ounces of a meat or meat alternative, two servings of grain bread components, a fruit or vegetable option, and milk or juice that contains 50 percent juice content or more.
“With protein regulations, we have to put 4 ounces of peanut butter into a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. You can imagine how this tastes,” said Holloway.
Students have varied opinions on other foods. “I think most of it tastes pretty good, but it doesn’t feel very healthy,” sophomore Serena Holway states. “[For example] the chicken has a ton of fat on it.”
As for chicken and other meat products, the poultry is distributed from the United States Department of Agriculture and sent to factories such as Tyson. Here it can be processed and preserved for freshness.
“It is positive that the meat is processed elsewhere, for safety,” Holloway said. She also mentioned that this way the workers at the Hungry Hawk do not run the risk of coming into contact with anything in the uncooked meat because most of it is processed at Tyson, not at Tam. As an example, Tyson’s Asian Style Orange Chicken has been renamed at the Hungry Hawk as Mandarin Orange Chicken Bowl. The nutritional content of this meal from Tyson sold directly at the Hungry Hawk is comprised of 82.15 grams of Carbohydrates and 290 milligrams of Sodium.
If students cross the street in search of healthier options, they can choose from pastries and energy drinks at Starbuck or smoothies from Jamba Juice. But a transient energy burst from sugar should not substitute lunch. While drinks from Jamba Juice may seem healthy, the nutritional content includes 500+ calories in a 16 oz. fruit smoothie. Since kids are supposed to ingest 1,500 calories per day, this is a lot for a fraction of a meal.
In the Berkeley Unified School District, students eat baked organic chicken nuggets, whole-wheat noodles with garlic, and more healthy choices from a 28-item produce bar including bell peppers, zucchini, lettuce, pickles, and olives.
"While it would be good to have a salad bar, there's not enough space in the Tam cafeteria to allow for it," Holloway said.
The campaign leader of Teens Turning Green, a campaign that works to eliminate toxic contaminants to our health, tells the possibility of what can lay ahead. “If it’s possible for these schools to incorporate healthy food, it can be possible for Tam as well,” said Judi Shils Executive Director of Teens Turning Green. If we improve the health of food exposed to kids such as in the cafeteria, according to the China Study we can work to eliminate the cancer, heart disease, and obesity Americans have today.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Living in Marin, Eating in Texas
Here I am in filthy rich Marin County, and cafeteria food has never been worse. The soccer moms and rich lawyers have not yet manipulated the school board to put healthier lunch options on their menu. Yet kids and teens are continually lectured about how important it is to eat healthy; with organic this and Whole Foods that. The majority of Mill Valley parents who promote health conscious eating pay property taxes on their one million or more dollar homes to fund a rich high school, but the school itself has not followed through with healthy choices. From overwhelming statistics, the public knows that food affects the way you concentrate. Sure students can go off campus for Starbucks, Jack in the box, 7-11, or Safeway, but sugary pastries and energizing drinks do not substitute lunch. Because after the transient energy burst from the 7-11 slurpy, your energies all gone and the Duncan Donut you had does not consist of protein to make up for this. You think off campus is better? Many of the students with cars drive to In-n-out for more deep fried, fatty foods. Throughout all of this, students should not have to escape to "good-tasting" food because schools need to play a role model in selling healthy lunches that taste good. Here I am, living in Marin but eating in Texas. Got to love diabetes :)
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