Just Loafin Around

Want to have a sandwich? A veggie burger? How about a nice crusty loaf with some bean soup? Bread is an essential part of the American diet, and, despite the stigma surrounding it, it can be a part of a healthy diet too.

There are a couple things when it comes to selecting bread in the grocery store. Most of us are pretty savvy to the fact that we want to choose things that are made from whole grains. Whole grains have fiber, vitamins and minerals, and help keep blood sugar balanced. Bear in mind that bread is often made from a mixture of whole and refined flours, the higher the percentage of whole grains the mix, the better. Also realize that wheat flour is not whole-wheat flour, so when you read this on the ingredient list it really means white flour.

Look to the list of ingredients and avoid items with high fructose corn syrup. Also be mindful that loaves with evaporated cane juice listed as the second ingredient might not be the best choice as that they are high in sugar. Sugar is not a necessary ingredient in bread and I have had many tasty store bought loaves that do not include it at all! One brand that I really like is Food for Life. They make sprouted grain bread that is 100% whole grains and has no added sugar. Also sprouting grains makes them easier to digest, and might be a good option for someone who has a hard time with whole-wheat flour.

Another thing that I like to do in the grocery store is buy the local bakery bread. It is expensive, but if you buy a nice artisan loaf, the ingredients are usually very basic such as whole-wheat flour, water, salt, and yeast. If you are in the Seattle area you have got to try Essential Baking Company’s Pain du George. It is made with 100% whole-wheat flour and is light, fluffy and deliciously crusty! (Plus, George is my dad’s name so I like it!)

As I just mentioned, artisan bread has very few ingredients and is relatively easy to make. I also just recently acquired a sourdough starter and have just begun the experimentation process of learning how to bake with it.

Sourdough starter is actually wild yeast. You use it instead of commercial yeast that comes in the little packets. It gives the bread a delicious sour flavor and also adds some lovely probiotics to your loaf. Honestly since I am not an expert on bread baking (yet!) I can’t say much except give it a try. You house will smell amazing and seriously who doesn’t love freshly baked bread. To inspire you I will leave you with some photos of my first sourdough loaf! (Recognize the beautiful Le Creuset you gave us for our wedding, Emily?)

(My starter, thank you to Karen Jurgenson's grandma Wilma! This one is 90 years old!)

(Proofing process)

(Final product!)

Grocery Gal Gets Canny

I never thought I would “can” anything. I mean, isn’t that something grandmothers do? But, after a magnificent trip to Quillisascut farm school, I learned how to preserve. Suddenly canning was cool.

With the local food movement in full swing, preserving is becoming important to sustainability and eating local. Rather than buy peaches from Australia in the winter that taste like how you feel after a cross continental plane ride, why not capture them in the peak of their freshness and flavor and preserve them for the long winter months to come? That way we can enjoy nutritious and delicious foods that came from our local farms year round! It’s economical, healthy, sustainable, and an important part of our food culture…brilliant!

After a wonderful week at farm school, learning about honeybees, milking goats, making cheese, fabricating ducks, baking bread, and harvesting and preserving fruits and vegetables I was truly inspired! On the way home, I visited a neighboring organic orchard and purchased 20 pounds of peaches and nectarines. I arrived home late that night, stumbled into my apartment, exhausted from the long week of hard work and plopped the box of fruit on my kitchen table and went to bed. The next morning I woke up, opened the box and began to cry. “What was I thinking?!”

Trying to keep my cool, I rounded up jars and lids from the Goodwill (great place for inexpensive canning jars!) and my neighbor and recruited her to help me begin the process. We chopped 12 cups of nectarines and made a delicious jam. I couldn’t be happier, 2 hours of chatting with a friend, some sticky hands, and I have delicious jam that is lightly sweetened, naturally with honey.

Due to the significant dent the jam made in my stone fruit surplus and the amount that I have eaten fresh over the past 3 days, I now have just short of 30 peaches remaining. My mother-in-law and I are baking pies tomorrow and I plan on freezing the rest for smoothies.

I highly recommend giving canning and preserving a try, if you don’t already. It’s easy, fun, and an important skill to learn and pass down for future generations. Ball and Kerr jars are good choices and their rings and caps are interchangeable. Make sure that you follow a recipe and correct procedures for food safety!

What do you like to preserve? What are your favorite recipes and resources?

Latte Land

Living in Seattle we are surrounded by coffee shops, and I’ll admit it, I get it. A warm latte is like an oasis in this grey, dismal, and wet city. That is how many Seattlites operate; let’s face it, Starbucks was founded in 1971, and Microsoft followed soon there after in 1975. But as I was driving home from clinic this afternoon I spotted a billboard on the side of an espresso shop that said: “Good nights sleep? We can fix that!” Something about that sign did not sit well with me.

America is sleep deprived. We are working too hard and sleeping too little. Bedtimes get pushed back further and further in to the night as the television flickers in many homes each evening. As stress goes up and sleep goes down, our stress hormones skyrocket, which can help lead to obesity, another huge problem in America these days. To top off everything, the foods that we eat are not supportive of our health and this makes the situation even worse.

Drinking too much caffeine is like using a credit card. If you buy something that you can’t afford at the time, pretty soon, you will have to pay for it, plus interest. Having 3-4 cups of coffee a day to “keep you going” can drain out your supply of stress hormones causing severe exhaustion. Eventually you will have to build back your supply through proper eating and most importantly, sleep.

Everyone misses out on their 8 hours once in a while, but I believe it is important not to skimp on sleep too frequently. An afternoon latte or two wont hurt every so often, but every day it can be a detriment to achieving optimal health, not to mention each one runs you about 200 calories.

Do you depend on coffee for your afternoon boost? What other ways do you find energy to get you through the day?

You Say Tomato…

It’s official. Summer is finally here! Do you know how I know? I had my first tomato. My very first, you say? Well, I had my very first tomato worth eating of this year. It was a plain old beefsteak from the market and it was delicious. Bright red, bursting with juice and the flavor of pure summer, biting into this pure delight made me wonder why I even bother with the pale, pink, mealy slices that end up on my sandwiches throughout the rest of the year. In truth, the month of August and early September is really the only time that we should be eating tomatoes… that is, if you are trying to find real food! Tomatoes in season are probably the most delicious treats you could imagine. I like mine with just a little sea salt and maybe a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

Of course you CAN eat tomatoes at any other time of the year. That is the American way. You can eat tomatoes from Chile in February that have been picked while they are green so they don’t bruise or become damaged on their long journey to your plate, but why bother? They don’t taste halfway decent, they cost a lot more, and too many fossil fuels have been burnt on their travels.

Eating local and seasonal is the best way to find real food. Jon and I ventured out to the farmers market this past weekend and loaded up on local tomatoes and peaches. As peach juice dripped down my elbow on the walk home, I proclaimed, “That peach was in the top 5 best peaches I ever ate”. Last week I thought I was eating enough blueberries to turn into one, Willy Wonka style. And that, my friends, IS how to find real food. Chant these three words with me…local, seasonal, and organic! Now hurry and go and eat a tomato while you can!

It's really chicken!

For a while there, I wasn’t eating chicken. I grew up eating the stuff practically every night of the week and I got pretty sick of the white, chewy, no flavor protein that sat on my plate all the time. So I said enough is enough and decided that chicken wasn’t for me. Then I came to a realization. I wasn’t eating REAL chicken. See I have a theory. When you buy chicken that comes on a little bed of Styrofoam that has been deboned and skinned and wrapped in plastic it just isn’t the same, free range or range free.

Lately I have eaten some damn good chicken, and guess what? A chicken is actually a bird! It has wings, legs, skin and bones and when you buy a chicken at the grocery store THAT is what it should look like. Besides being WAY tastier, a whole bird is more economical, and in my opinion, more respectful. When you can’t imagine what your food looked like when it was still alive how can you really appreciate the fact that it gave up its life to nourish you?

When you cook a chicken with the bones and skin on it adds flavor to the meat, giving it a richer taste, as supposed to that skinless, boneless, 99% fat free, white rubber.

For free range chicken, you can pay up to 13 dollars for the skinless boneless breasts, while a free range WHOLE chicken costs around the same price! That is a lot more chicken for your dollar, plus you can make a delicious stock out of the carcass for soups, sauces, or to add to grains.

To learn how to carve up a chicken check out this great video on you tube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eiwHpDtZHOE

Here is also an amazing recipe for grilled chicken that we made on the 4^th of July with friends: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Chicken-with-Lemon-Garlic-and-Oregano-106742

Thanks Shawn for the recipe!

Olive Oil and Beyond

Have you ever taken a close look at the oil selection on the supermarket shelves? There are close to three dozen different oils to choose from, so how do we know which one to select? The truth is, there are a number of different types of culinary oil that you should keep on hand in your home kitchen, each having it’s own purpose and health benefits. Knowing how to select and purchase, discovering the beneficial health properties of each type, and correctly using them in your cooking makes all the difference in oil exploration.

Deciding on the correct type of oil in the grocery store is where it all starts. Oils, especially those that are that are liquid at room temperature, are susceptible to oxidation. Once oil is oxidized, if consumed, it creates a cascade of harmful free radicals in your body leading to systemic inflammation. There are three things that cause oxidation of oil: light, heat, and air. Take precaution, and you can easily prevent your oils from spoiling. When purchasing liquid oil, make sure that it is in an opaque glass bottle or metal can so it is protected from light. Store oil at home in a dark cabinet or in the refrigerator, away from the stove, and always keep the lid on the jar securely fastened. Choose oils that are cold pressed, meaning that they haven’t been exposed to high heats in the refinement process. It is also best to purchase oil in smaller containers, that way they are consumed faster, and exposed to less air. If you buy oil in bulk, share it with a friend and store it in smaller jars.

Each oil has it’s own unique health benefits. Olive oil is rich in oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat. Consuming a diet rich in oleic acid can improve HDL levels, the heart healthy type of cholesterol. Olive oil is also loaded with polyphenols, powerful antioxidants that scavenge free radicals and reduce inflammation. Olive oil has a low smoke point so it is best used for low heat sautéing, salad dressings, and dips.

Coconut oil has a high percentage of medium chain triglycerides, which are essential for healthy gut function. It is also rich in lauric acid, giving it anti-viral and immune boosting properties. Coconut oil is a saturated fat, meaning that it is solid at room temperature, making it more stable and less susceptible to oxidation. For this reason it is a perfect substitute for butter, margarine, or shortening in baked goods and excellent for medium heat sautéing or frying. Beyond culinary uses, coconut oil can also be used as a lotion on dry and sensitive skin.

Flax seed oil is rich in alpha-linolenic acid, an omega 3 fatty acid. Omega 3 fatty acids are essential for proper brain function and can be used therapeutically to combat inflammation. The American diet is especially low in these wonderful fats, so by adding some flax seed oil to your diet, you will be doing your body a huge favor! Flax seed oil should not be exposed to heat at all. It is great for adding to smoothies and for drizzling over salads.

Sesame oil is definitely one that you will want to have on hand. It is especially resistant to rancidity and adds wonderful flavor to Asian stir-fries and dressings. The toasted version is especially tasty and its unique flavor is an excellent addition to many dishes. The health benefits of this magnificent oil go far beyond use in the kitchen. Ayurvedic practitioners in India use it to cure many different ailments such as athlete’s foot, dandruff, diaper rash, and the common cold.

Using your oil properly in the kitchen will insure that you gain all of the health benefits that it has to offer. When sautéing, make sure that the pan is heated prior to adding the oil, and then add your vegetables or meat immediately. This will lessen the time that the oil is exposed to high heat and air, decreasing the chances of oxidation. It is also important to note that if an occasion arises when your oil begins to smoke in the pan, dump it out and start over. Smoking oil has certainly been oxidized and has changed flavors. It is unhealthy and tastes unappealing.

Now that you have a wonderful selection of healthy oils in your kitchen, the sky is the limit. Enjoy making nutritious stir fries and salad dressings packed with wholesome essential fats. You will feel great knowing that you are cooking healthfully and your taste buds will thank you too!

Cupcake Confessions

Chocolate, cupcakes, cheese, and steak. Fried chicken that would make anyone immediately begin drooling. That’s right folks, Grocery gal has officially over done it. I went to a marvelous wedding this past weekend for one of my very best friends. The food and alcohol were in excess and I certainly indulged. This got me thinking about what healthy eating exactly is and when is it okay to throw caution to the wind and chow down?

You have all heard me preaching about whole grains, avoiding sugar and preservatives, and eating with consciousness. I think that it is also important to confess that even the nutritionist in training eats a little junk food every so often. The truth is that I enjoy it as well. Cupcakes piled high with pink frosting are delicious, and even though there is very little in them that can provide our bodies with nutrition, they can still fit into our diet in moderation.

The point that I am trying to make is that food needs to be enjoyable. It shouldn’t be a chore and you shouldn’t feel like you are depriving yourself, otherwise you’ll end up binging anyway. Eating with consciousness and truly enjoying different foods on special occasions is important for our emotional health. If I am at a wedding or another social setting where the food isn’t organic, grass fed, and dairy free, I don’t stress. I eat it because that is what is being offered; I enjoy it and appreciate it because I am with people that I care about. If I can’t nourish my body the way that I am used to, I nourish my soul with the company and good times. Eating food is a social experience that we are meant to enjoy and last weekend, enjoy I did! What is your favorite “forbidden” food? How long has it been since you indulged?