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THE SIZE OF A THING!Diabetic Exchange List Groups and Serving Sizes
Exchanges are a method of meal planning for diabetes, and a diabetic exchange list can be a handy tool when learning to eat well with your condition. Foods are clustered into groups or categories of similar foods which all have approximately the same amount of carbohydrates per serving size. Serving sizes are established that keep all foods within a group at approximately the same amount of calories and fat, as well as grams of carbohydrates.
Exchange lists can simplify meal planning and ensure a consistent, nutritionally balanced diet. If you are on insulin, following an exchange diet makes it easier to figure out your ratio of carbs to insulin doses. Exchanges also add variety to your diet. You can swap one food in a group for another in the same group when you are making your food choices. According to the American Dietetic Association, there are now 8 exchange lists and all foods within a list have approximately the same carbs, protein, fat and calorie value per specified serving. What are the lists and their values? Check out this handy chart.
Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon so eat to live! WEIGHT BY DESIGN!Don’t Believe the Hype - Fructose Truly is Much Worse Than Glucose Research shows that there are big differences in how the sugars fructose and glucose are metabolized by your body. Overweight study participants showed more evidence of insulin resistance and other risk factors for heart disease and diabetes when 25 percent of their calories came from fructose-sweetened beverages instead of glucose-sweetened beverages.
A study looked at 32 overweight or obese men and women. Over a 10-week period, they drank either glucose or fructose sweetened beverages totaling 25 percent of their daily calorie intake. Both the groups gained weight during the trial, but imaging studies revealed that the fructose-consuming group gained more of the dangerous belly fat that has been linked to a higher risk for heart attack and stroke. The fructose group also had higher total cholesterol and LDL ("bad") cholesterol, and greater insulin resistance. This is not the first study showing that fructose harms your body in ways glucose does not. Two years ago, another study concluded that drinking high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) -- the main ingredient in most soft drinks throughout the world -- increases your triglyceride levels and your LDL (bad) cholesterol. And, just like this latest study, these harmful effects only occurred in the participants who drank fructose -- not glucose. How Much Fructose are You Consuming? Today, 55 percent of sweeteners used in food and beverage manufacturing are made from corn, and the number one source of calories in America is soda, in the form of high fructose corn syrup. Food and beverage manufacturers began switching their sweeteners from sucrose (table sugar) to corn syrup in the 1970s when they discovered that HFCS was not only far cheaper to make, it's also about 20 times sweeter than table sugar. This switch drastically altered the average American diet. Corn syrup is now found in every type of processed, pre-packaged food you can think of. In fact, the use of HFCS in the U.S. diet increased a staggering 10,673 percent between 1970 and 2005, according to a recent report by the USDA. By USDA estimates, about one-quarter of the calories consumed by the average American is in the form of added sugars - the majority of which comes from high fructose corn syrup. As I've mentioned on numerous occasions, processed foods account for more than 90 percent of the money Americans spend on their meals, so it's no wonder the yearly sugar consumption of the average American weighs in around 142 pounds a year. This is a staggering amount, but if you eat mainly processed foods, you're likely in this category whether you're consciously aware of consuming that much sugar or not. Ironically, the very products that most people rely on to lose weight -- low-fat diet foods -- are often those that contain the most fructose! I recommend that you limit your intake of added sugar to about 2 pounds per year in order to optimize your overall health, and one of the easiest ways to accomplish this is to focus on fresh, whole foods that have not been altered and processed. Fructose is Metabolized Differently by Your Body Despite the fact that this and other studies show clear differences in how fructose is metabolized by your body, researchers claim that the findings do not prove that HFCS is worse for your health than other sugars. That simply makes no sense. They keep claiming that HFCS is chemically similar to other widely used sweeteners, including table sugar (sucrose), honey, and even sweeteners made from concentrated fruit juices. But this is clearly not true. HFCS is a highly processed product that contains similar amounts of unbound fructose and glucose. Sucrose, on the other hand, is a larger sugar molecule that is metabolized into glucose and fructose in your intestine. And whereas the glucose in other sugars are converted to blood glucose, fructose is a relatively unregulated source of fuel that your liver converts to fat and cholesterol. There is over 35 years of hard empirical evidence, in addition to this latest study, showing refined man-made fructose like HFCS metabolizes to triglycerides and adipose tissue, not blood glucose. The danger of that is that fructose does not stimulate your insulin secretion, nor enhance leptin production, which is involved in appetite regulation. Because insulin and leptin act as key signals in regulating how much food you eat, as well as your body weight, dietary fructose can also contribute to increased food intake and weight gain. So, if you need to lose weight, fructose is one type of sugar you'll definitely want to avoid, particularly in the form of HFCS. Beware of New Super-Charged Fructose Sweetener! Despite the evidence against fructose, industry has created a new high-octane version of HFCS that's 99 percent fructose, called "crystalline fructose." Clearly, all the health problems associated with HFCS could become even more pronounced with this product. Adding insult to injury, crystalline fructose may also contain arsenic, lead, chloride and heavy metals -- a virtual laundry list of toxic agents you clearly want to avoid at all cost. Especially if you have children, as all of these contaminants can impact your child's development and long-term health. Fructose Raises Your Risk of Heart Disease Aside from the weight gain and increased risk of diabetes, fructose has been shown to increase your triglyceride levels. In one previous study, eating fructose raised triglyceride levels by 32 percent in men. Triglycerides, the chemical form of fat found in foods and in your body, are not something you want in excess amounts. Forty years worth of research has confirmed that elevated blood levels of triglycerides, known as hypertriglyceridemia, puts you at an increased risk of heart disease. How to Have Your Cake and Eat it Too Ideally I recommend that you avoid sugar, in all forms. This is especially important for people who are overweight or have diabetes, high cholesterol or high blood pressure. But if you're looking for the occasional sweet treat, I recommend: 1. The herb stevia (this is the best and safest sweetener, although illegal to use as a food additive, according to the FDA) 2. Organic cane sugar 3. Raw, organic honey I recommend avoiding all other types of sugar, including fructose, HFCS, and any type of artificial sweeteners. As I mentioned earlier, the absolute easiest way to do this is to stop drinking soda and avoid processed foods. Small amounts of whole fruit, which do contain fructose, are typically not a problem. As long as you're healthy, feel free to enjoy fruit and berries in moderation according to your nutritional type. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon so eat to live! LETS GET RID OF IT!Detox Information
Choice of DirectionsThere are countless suggested means of ridding the body of poisons. I am sure that they differ in approach and scope, depending upon the type of poisoning encountered. I shall attempt to accumulate a number of regimens for eliminating the body of the leftovers from aspartame consumption: methanol, formaldehyde, and formic acid. I doubt there is any residual methanol because the liver either converts it to formaldehyde, or formic acid. The body cannot effectively eliminate formaldehyde, and has a difficult time eliminating it. So some of it is combined with water and stored in the fat (i.e. weight gain) or further converted by the liver into formic acid. Poisoning from methanol, formaldehyde and formic acid causes cumulative damage (it adds up) and at some point the victim gets some bad news. The damage varies in type and amount from victim to victim… from immediate seizures or migraines to being on the verge of death from unknown factors fifteen years later. Two of the three poisons, formaldehyde and formic acid, are said to be carcinogens. I doubt that anything can be done about any effects of the tumor agent called DKP (diketopiperazine). What follows are as many different non-drug (i.e. natural) regimens for purging the body of these chemicals, and helping to repair the damage as I can find. I am not a medical doctor, I am a herbalist and food specialist who happens to be a chef, so I suggest that you print out this WEB page, take it to a medical practitioner you trust, and formulate your own cleansing/renewal course of action. Common sense and help from those whom you trust in the medical community should prevail. Should anyone know of additional suggested means of recovery from this type of poisoning, please let me know
Detoxification Method A great number of health problems can be attributed to exposure to toxins. Toxicity from foreign chemicals (excitoxins) can cause damage to almost all organs of the body. Symptoms include: fatigue, headaches, neurological disorders, chemical sensitivities, immune dysfunction, and liver disorders. Food is often the main source of toxins. There are approximately 3,000 chemicals used by the food industry during processing. There are approximately 12,000 chemicals used in food packaging materials. Pesticides found in 90% of foods. In addition to these external sources of toxins, the body also produces toxins called, endotoxins resulting from digestion, immune system functions, stress, etc. Endotoxins may also be produces as the result of food allergies and sensitivities. Increased intestinal permeability (leaky gut syndrome) can result in an increased absorption of exotoxins, endotoxins, antigens, and microorganisms. Candidiasis and intestinal microflora imbalances (dysbiosis), and parasitic infections increase the amount of toxins entering the circulation. Congestive bowel toxicity can greatly increase the amount of endotoxins produced.Detoxification PathwaysFat-soluble toxins are easily absorbed but poorly excreted. They may accumulate in the body and cause damage to tissues and organs. Fat-soluble (lipophilic) chemicals are converted to water-soluble chemicals by enzyme conversion in the liver in a two step process so they can be excreted. In the first phase the lipophilic chemicals are oxidized, reduced, or hydrolyzed by the enzymes cytochrome P-450 or monooxygenase. Monooxygenase is primarily used. During this phase, free radicals and toxic compounds are produced which can cause damage to organs and tissues. Adequate antioxidants must be present to detoxify these intermediate (bioactivated) compounds produced in the initial detoxification phase. In the next phase the intermediate compounds undergo enzymic conjugation by reacting with methyl donors, sulfhydryl donors, and other conjugating agents. The major conjugation reactions are glucuronidation, glutathione conjugation, amino acid conjugation, sulfation, acetylation, and methylation. These conjugated compounds are less toxic, water-soluble, and easily excreted in the urine and bile. Nutritional SupportThe first step is to eliminate foods from the diet that create allergies or sensitivities. The second step is avoid foods that contain preservates, pesticides, saturated fats, red meats and other meats containing additives, saturated fats, sugar, refined carbohydrates, excessive salt, alcohol, and caffeine. Also avoid foods that are over processed. The third step is to take digestive enzymes with cooked foods. Raw foods are best. The fourth step is to properly combine foods. Fruits should be eaten alone. Do not combine animal proteins with starches (rice, pasta, bread, potato). The fifth step is to avoid over-eating which can lead to digestive problems and congestive bowel toxicity. The sixth step is to drink uncontaminated water. Tap water should be filtered to remove lead, chlorine, other heavy metals, and bacteria. The seventh step is variety of diet. Food allergies and sensitivities can develop from specific foods eaten continuously. Specific foods should not be consumed continuously for more than four days. The eighth step is to reduce oxidative damage. Depletion of antioxidants can occur from tissue damage from disease, injury, exposure to environmental pollution, radiation exposure, chronic drug and alcohol use, antibiotic and non steroidal inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) overuse, excessive iron supplementation, intestinal dysbiosis, and intestinal pathogens. The ninth step is to re-establish proper intestinal flora. Supplementation with probiotics such as lactobacillus acidophilus and lactobacillus bifidus is important. Fructooligosaccharides (FOS) can help to re-establish a healthy bowel flora. The tenth step is to eliminate intestinal pathogens. Candidiasis is the most common pathogen, which results in the overgrowth of candida albicans.The eleventh step is to prevent and/or eliminate congestive bowel toxicity. Dietary fiber contains soluble and insoluble compounds. Soluble fiber is fermented by the microflora of the colon and produce short chain fatty acids such as butyric acid. Butyric acid is used by the mucosa of the colon as its main source of fuel. Butyric acid is metaboliszed to glutamine which is an essenial fuel for the small intestines. A high fiber diet should be followed on a regular basis. The high fiber diet should be supplemented with “fresh” fruit or vegetables and fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Fresh juice is made fresh from fruits or fresh vegetables using a “juicer” machine and served within one hour of production. Psyllium, oat products, guar gum and fruits and vegetables are a good source of soluble fiber. Most plant foods are a good source of insoluble fiber. Dietary fiber also binds with endotoxins and help eliminate them though the bowels. Bentonite can be used to bind with endotoxins to prevent their absorption. The Twelfth step is a two week bowel cleansing. During the first week take: Aloe Vera resin, Olive Leaf extract, Cascara Sagrada, Cayenne, and Valarian root. Cascara Sagrada (rhamnus purshiana) promotes peristaltic action in the intestines. Cayenne (capsicum frutenscens) stimulates nerves of the stomach, promotes digestive secretions, and assists peristaltic motion. Valerian root (valeriana officinalis) is a strong nervine having a sedative effect, used as a tranquilizer but leaving one feeling refreshed rather than sluggish. In this formula, the valerian root is used to relax the muscles of the intestines. During the second week, add psyllium husks and activated charcoal. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! SWEET LOVE! Apple Pecan Cobbler
Serving Size : 8 Preparation Time :0:35 Categories : Desserts Fruits Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 1/2 Cup Brown sugar 1/2 Teaspoon Cinnamon 3/4 Cup Coarsely Chopped Pecans -- divided 4 Cups Tart Apples -- thin sliced 1 Cup Un-bleached Flour -- sifted 1 Cup Cane sugar 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder 1/4 Teaspoon Seasalt 1 Egg -- well beaten 1/2 Cup Evaporated Milk 1/3 Cup Butter--melted Mix sugar, cinnamon and 1/2 cup pecans. Place apples in bottom of a greased 8 1/4 x 1 3/4-inch round baking dish. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture. Sift together the dry ingredients. Combine egg, milk, and butter; add dry ingredients, all at once, and mix until smooth. Pour over apples; sprinkle with remaining pecans. Bake at 325° about 55 minutes or until done. Spoon warm cobbler onto dessert plates; top with cinnamon-flavored whipped cream or ice cream. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! HAWAII FIVE-OCoconut Crumbed Mahi-Mahi
SAUCE
Process Sauce ingredients till smooth -Set aside. Now i would put some sauce around the fish and run a circle of Coconut milk/cream around the outside and do that swish Knife thing to make it look pretty .But then again i would also soak my dessicated Coconut in the Coconut milk/or cream for an hour to give more flavour .,and also whip a bit of candied Ginger into the sauce ,not much ,just a hint . But then again you probably would do much the same....... Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! NATIVE LOVE! Yamassee Ginger Snap Crusted Chilean Sea Bass
2 - 7 oz portions Sea Bass or any firm white fish
MY SWEET TOOTH!YAMASSEE
Honey Peach and Blackberry Cobbler
Yield12 servings (serving size: 1/2 cup cobbler and 1 biscuit) Ingredients
PreparationPreheat oven to 400°. Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 1/4 cup flour, peaches, honey, juice, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; toss gently. Let stand 15 minutes. Fold in blackberries. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Combine 2 cups flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, granulated sugar, rind, and baking powder in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal. Add buttermilk, and stir just until moist. Drop dough onto peach mixture to form 12 mounds. Sprinkle mounds with turbinado sugar. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until bubbly and golden. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! PATHOGENS ANYONE!The Food LotteryAre you an average adult American? If so, then you consume 70 pounds of beef, 60 pounds of pork, and 550 pounds of dairy (love that ice cream). Americans feel safe eating because they know the foods they eat have been monitored by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
But, how safe is our food industry really? Do the USDA and FDA really monitor our food for quality and safety? Is there anything to fear? In 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated there are more than 200 foodborne illnesses, from allergies to "stomach flu" to vomiting; the CDC have identified 30 pathogens associated with these foodborne illnesses, classified as bacteria, virus, chemical, parasitic, prions, antibiotic residues, genetic modifications, or unknown. In fact, the CDC estimated the average adult American consumes 10 pounds of additives each year, pathogens included! And any one of these pathogens could cause or lead to illness, disability or death. Consumers play a lottery every day they eat. But it isn't just E. coli and Salmonella that cause illnesses to occur. Sure, they cause the classical signs of stomach and digestive distress, but what about those illnesses that occur down the road from eating foods? What about antibiotic resistance or allergies? These too are now being considered foodborne illnesses. The CDC stated that foodborne illnesses cause 9,000 American deaths annually, 81 million are sickened, and 325,000 require hospitalization. The long-term effects of some food-borne contaminants are still being studied by the CDC; these effects are cancer, paralysis, and disability. As many illnesses are now being considered "food-borne" because they began with food, this article looks at the "traditional" foodborne illnesses (i.e. parasites, bacteria, viruses), genetically modified foods, hormones and irradiation. Each needs to be examined for its impact on health, as the building blocks to health begin with what we put in our mouths. Food Poisoning (previously considered as "Foodborne Illnesses") Foodborne illnesses used to be considered as illnesses caused by eating food contaminated with a bacteria, virus or parasite. The majority of the time the symptoms are digestive: diarrhea and vomiting are the two main symptoms. Each year, hundreds of millions become sickened worldwide. The two most common pathogens (illness-causing substances) are E. coli and Salmonella, with Salmonella being the leader in causing deaths from foodborne illness. E. coli in itself is considered harmless because it exists in human and animal digestive tracts; however, when too much E. coli enters the body through ingesting it, illnesses can occur. Most cases of E. coli do not harm a person long-term; however there is one E. coli that can lead to disability and death: E. coli O157:H7. Approximately 3% of the deaths from foodborne illnesses occur from having this deadly form of E. coli. Most cases of foodborne illnesses are mild, so people attribute the symptoms to being the "stomach flu." Plus, people rarely make the connection between their symptoms and food from two days prior. Most cases of foodborne illness do not occur shortly after eating.
The USDA states that foodborne illnesses are primarily caused by improper food handling, storage, and preparation. * Food supply is changing in ways that promote foodborne illnesses: ex: large numbers of animals herded together; broad distribution, so contaminated food can reach more people in more locations.
* Demographics: certain people are more at risk for foodborne illnesses: those with suppressed immune systems, children in group daycare, and the elderly. * Three of the four most common pathogens the CDC consider most important were unrecognized as causes of foodborne illnesses 20 years ago: Camphylobacter, Listeria, and E. coli O157:H7. * Bacteria already recognized as sources of foodborne illnesses have found new modes of transmission: ex: E. coli O157:H7 previously found only in uncooked hamburger is now being found in other foods such as salami, raw milk, apple cider, and lettuce. * Some pathogens are far more resistant than expected with long-standing food-processing and storage techniques: ex: Yersinia and Listeria can continue to grow in food under refrigeration. * According to the CDC, virulent strains of well-known bacteria have continued to emerge: for example E. coli O104:H21 is another new potentially deadly strain of E. coli. The two government agencies that monitor food quality in the United States are the USDA (monitors meat, poultry and eggs) and the FDA (monitors everything else). Because of the vastness of the food processing industry, only 2% of the annually estimated 5 million shipments of food are inspected; but still, all commercialized food bears a label as being inspected by either the USDA or FDA. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, 2/3 of all outbreaks of foodborne illnesses are from FDA- or USDA-regulated foods.
The commercialized beef and poultry industries blame the organic farmers for the increased incidences of foodborne illnesses and the enhanced virulence of the pathogens, stating that organic farmers use cow manure as fertilization instead of chemical fertilizers, and they do not use antibiotics on their cows and chickens.
In the larger commercialized farms, cows, for example, are cared for through automation. The milking is done by machine, the feeding is automated, and distribution of antibiotics is automated. When the cow reaches the factory for slaughter, it too is automated, and severely dirty with cow manure that finds its way into the meat that is processed. The meat from one "bad" or contaminated cow can be mixed into many pounds of meat, and distributed across the United States.
Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! MY TREAT OF THE WEEKPeasant Pasta
This idea for peasant pasta is a vegetarian recipe based on ingredients that we nearly always have in the kitchen.
It's nice to cook with all fresh ingredients, vegetables in season and so on but now and again the need arises to cook something tasty with whatever we have available. All the ingredients are available in forms that can be stored, I only used dried mushrooms in this version. To make 2 servings:
Put the dried mushrooms in a heat proof container and pour on 300ml (1/2 pint) of boiling water. Stir and leave to soak for 5 minutes or so. Fry the onion, garlic and parsley very gently in the oil until the onion is soft and translucent. Drain the mushrooms and add them and the chopped tomato to the onion. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar, cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water for 5 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and return to the pan. Add the cooked sauce and mix together. Serve with a topping of grated cheese. There you have it, a vegetarian pasta recipe made from ingredients you probably have already. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! YOU JUST CAN'T EAT ONE! Hydrogenated oils are Trans Fats and guilty as charged!
They're in Ritz Crackers, Hostess ho Hos, Oreos, Kellogg's Pop Tarts, and hundreds of other processed foods. They're the principal ingredient in margarines and shortenings. They're hydrogenated fats. Many journalists, and a few researchers view hydrogenated fats with great suspicion. And more than a few consumers won't touch margarine. Some aren't sure why they distrust the stuff. Others know exactly why. Margarine contains "trans" fats. Manufacturers hydrogenate (add hydrogen to) liquid oils to make them semi-solid. In the process, some hydrogens in the fats get rearranged. Scientists refer to fats with the ordinary arrangement as "cis." The new ones are called "trans". Despite the rumors, there is little good evidence that trans fats cause any more harm than other fats. Though new questions can always be raised, some of the standard accusations can be laid to rest. Does Trans Equla Trouble? In the Goldbecks' Guide to Good Food, Nikki and David Goldbeck state that trans fats "are suspected of interfering with fath metabolism, disrupting normal heart functions, enhancing fatty deposits in the arteries, inhibitng the production and utilization of substances in the body which influence the immune system, and reducing the body's ability to rid itself of carcinogens, drugs, and other toxins." Other authors have raised similar concerns. Much of the anxiety over trans fats stems from their reputation as "unnatural." Yet ruminants, such as cows and sheep, hydrogenate oils in one of their several stomachs. So although most of the trans fat people consume today is man-made, about 5 to 20 percent comes from beef, lamb, and dairy products. In rat studies, trans fats appear safe. Animals absorb them just as well as they absorb other fats and oils. And rats fed high levels of trans fats for 46 generations lived as long as other rats, reproduced as well, and appeared normal. Hydrogenated Hearts. But these studies have not stilled all fears. Some claim, for example, that trans fats raise blood cholesterol levels. That's a serious charge against trans-fat-containing margarines, which are marketed as heart-healthy. In some animals, trans fats do raise blood cholesterol; in others, they don't. But it makes sense to look most closely at the evidence from human studies. Although some human studies suggest that trans fats do raise blood cholesterol, most of these had serious flaws. Several, for example, used an unusual fat with two trans groups. This fat is not present to a significant extent in commercial margarines or oils. Only a few studies were well designed, and these showed that hydrogenated (trans-containing) and non-hydrogenated fats produced similar cholesterol levels. Cancer Worries. In 1978, Mary Enig and others at the University of Maryland examined the rise in our vegetable fat intake since 1910. This rise, they asserted, was linked to increase in the number of people who developed or died of cancer, especially breast and colon cancer, during that period. The trans fats in vegetable fats, suggested the scientists, could best account for the "significant positive correlation" with cancer rates. At most, associations of this type can only provide clues about the cause of a disease. In no way do they prove cause and effect. But this particular analysis had serious flaws. For example, experts pointe out that most cancer rates, including deaths from colon cancer, had remained essentially stable during much of the period in question. In most animal studies, trans fats don't increase the incidence of tumors. But non-hydrogenated corn, safflower, and sunflower oils, which contain high levels of polyunsaturated fats, are relatively strong tumor promoters, at least in animals. Unfortunately, few people are familiar with these studies. Instead, many have heard of the cancer "correlation," but not of its flaws. So the rumor that trans fats cause cancer persists. Cell Membranes. Animal studies show that trans fats, like other fats, may beome incorporated into the membranes that surround all cells in the body. Some fear that the incorporated trans fats might alter the normal passage of substances into and out of cells, perhaps permitting carcinogens to enter cells with greater ease. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! TRY THIS!Veggie Deluxe Sandwich
This sandwich is filled with nutrients and is also quite filling. The hummus provides protein. The avocado is a healthy fat. Plus it’s versatile so you can mix it up by using different condiments, veggies, or flavors of hummus.
Avocados are high in the good monounsaturated fat, which has been shown to actually help lower
cholesterol levels. Ingredients: 2 slices whole wheat bread 2 Tbsp. hummus ¼ avocado, sliced 2 oz. low-fat cheese 1 large leaf of lettuce, torn into large pieces 1 small tomato, sliced Other veggies of your choice (shredded carrots, sliced cucumbers, onion slices, etc.) Dash of vinegar & olive oil (optional) Directions: 1. Spread the hummus on one side of each slice of bread 2. Add all other ingredients in layers 3. Add the vinegar & oil over the veggies Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!
THERE IS A BETTER WAY!Some basic tips for making your favorite recipes healthier include:
Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! STOP KILLING ME PLEASE!MSG: Is This Silent Killer Lurking in Your Kitchen Cabinets?A widespread and silent killer that's worse for your health than alcohol, nicotine and many drugs is likely lurking in your kitchen cabinets right now. "It" is monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavor enhancer that's known widely as an addition to Chinese food, but that's actually added to thousands of the foods you and your family regularly eat, especially if you are like most Americans and eat the majority of your food as processed foods or in restaurants.
MSG is one of the worst food additives on the market and is used in canned soups, crackers, meats, salad dressings, frozen dinners and much more. It's found in your local supermarket and restaurants, in your child's school cafeteria and, amazingly, even in baby food and infant formula. MSG is more than just a seasoning like salt and pepper, it actually enhances the flavor of foods, making processed meats and frozen dinners taste fresher and smell better, salad dressings more tasty, and canned foods less tinny. While MSG's benefits to the food industry are quite clear, this food additive could be slowly and silently doing major damage to your health. What Exactly is MSG You may remember when the MSG powder called "Accent" first hit the U.S. market. Well, it was many decades prior to this, in 1908, that monosodium glutamate was invented. The inventor was Kikunae Ikeda, a Japanese man who identified the natural flavor enhancing substance of seaweed. Taking a hint from this substance, they were able to create the man-made additive MSG, and he and a partner went on to form Ajinomoto, which is now the world's largest producer of MSG (and interestingly also a drug manufacturer). Chemically speaking, MSG is approximately 78 percent free glutamic acid, 21 percent sodium, and up to 1 percent contaminants. It's a misconception that MSG is a flavor or "meat tenderizer." In reality, MSG has very little taste at all, yet when you eat MSG, you think the food you're eating has more protein and tastes better. It does this by tricking your tongue, using a little-known fifth basic taste: umami. Umami is the taste of glutamate, which is a savory flavor found in many Japanese foods, bacon and also in the toxic food additive MSG. It is because of umami that foods with MSG taste heartier, more robust and generally better to a lot of people than foods without it. The ingredient didn't become widespread in the United States until after World War II, when the U.S. military realized Japanese rations were much tastier than the U.S. versions because of MSG. In 1959, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeled MSG as "Generally Recognized as Safe" (GRAS), and it has remained that way ever since. Yet, it was a telling sign when just 10 years later a condition known as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" entered the medical literature, describing the numerous side effects, from numbness to heart palpitations, that people experienced after eating MSG. Today that syndrome is more appropriately called "MSG Symptom Complex," which the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) identifies as "short-term reactions" to MSG. More on those "reactions" to come. Why MSG is so Dangerous One of the best overviews of the very real dangers of MSG comes from Dr. Russell Blaylock, a board-certified neurosurgeon and author of "Excitotoxins: The Taste that Kills." In it he explains that MSG is an excitotoxin, which means it overexcites your cells to the point of damage or death, causing brain damage to varying degrees -- and potentially even triggering or worsening learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, Lou Gehrig's disease and more. Part of the problem also is that free glutamic acid is the same neurotransmitter that your brain, nervous system, eyes, pancreas and other organs use to initiate certain processes in your body. Even the FDA states: "Studies have shown that the body uses glutamate, an amino acid, as a nerve impulse transmitter in the brain and that there are glutamate-responsive tissues in other parts of the body, as well. Abnormal function of glutamate receptors has been linked with certain neurological diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease and Huntington's chorea. Injections of glutamate in laboratory animals have resulted in damage to nerve cells in the brain. Although the FDA continues to claim that consuming MSG in food does not cause these ill effects, many other experts say otherwise. "When an excess of food-borne excitotoxins, such as MSG, hydrolyzed protein soy protein isolate and concentrate, natural flavoring, sodium caseinate and aspartate from aspartame, are consumed, these glutamate receptors are over-stimulated, producing cardiac arrhythmias. When magnesium stores are low, as we see in athletes, the glutamate receptors are so sensitive that even low levels of these excitotoxins can result in cardiac arrhythmias and death." Many other adverse effects have also been linked to regular consumption of MSG, including: * Obesity * Eye damage * Headaches * Fatigue and disorientation * Depression Further, even the FDA admits that "short-term reactions" known as MSG Symptom Complex can occur in certain groups of people, namely those who have eaten "large doses" of MSG or those who have asthma. According to the FDA, MSG Symptom Complex can involve symptoms such as: * Numbness * Burning sensation * Tingling * Facial pressure or tightness * Chest pain or difficulty breathing * Headache * Nausea * Rapid heartbeat * Drowsiness * Weakness No one knows for sure just how many people may be "sensitive" to MSG, but studies from the 1970s suggested that 25 percent to 30 percent of the U.S. population was intolerant of MSG -- at levels then found in food. Since the use of MSG has expanded dramatically since that time, it's been estimated that up to 40 percent of the population may be impacted. How to Determine if MSG is in Your Food Food manufacturers are not stupid, and they've caught on to the fact that people like you want to avoid eating this nasty food additive. As a result, do you think they responded by removing MSG from their products? Well, a few may have, but most of them just tried to "clean" their labels. In other words, they tried to hide the fact that MSG is an ingredient. How do they do this? By using names that you would never associate with MSG. You see, it's required by the FDA that food manufacturers list the ingredient "monosodium glutamate" on food labels, but they do not have to label ingredients that contain free glutamic acid, even though it's the main component of MSG. There are over 40 labeled ingredients that contain glutamic acid,[9] but you'd never know it just from their names alone. Further, in some foods glutamic acid is formed during processing and, again, food labels give you no way of knowing for sure. Tips for Keeping MSG Out of Your Diet In general, if a food is processed you can assume it contains MSG (or one of its pseudo-ingredients). So if you stick to a whole, fresh foods diet, you can pretty much guarantee that you'll avoid this toxin. The other place where you'll need to watch out for MSG is in restaurants. You can ask your server which menu items are MSG-free, and request that no MSG be added to your meal, but of course the only place where you can be entirely sure of what's added to your food is in your own kitchen. To be on the safe side, you should also know what ingredients to watch out for on packaged foods. Here is a list of ingredients that ALWAYS contain MSG: Autolyzed Yeast Calcium Caseinate Gelatin Glutamate Glutamic Acid Hydrolyzed Protein Monopotassium Glutamate Monosodium Glutamate Sodium Caseinate Textured Protein Yeast Extract Yeast Food Yeast Nutrient These ingredients OFTEN contain MSG or create MSG during processing Flavors and Flavorings Seasonings Natural Flavors and Flavorings Natural Pork Flavoring Natural Beef Flavoring Natural Chicken Flavoring Soy Sauce Soy Protein Isolate Soy Protein Bouillon Stock Broth Malt Extract Malt Flavoring Barley Malt Whey Protein Carrageenan Maltodextrin Pectin Enzymes Protease Corn Starch Citric Acid Powdered Milk Anything Protein Fortified Anything Enzyme Modified Anything Ultra-Pasteurized So if you do eat processed foods, please remember to be on the lookout for these many hidden names for MSG. Choosing to be MSG-Free Making a decision to avoid MSG in your diet as much as possible is a wise choice for nearly everyone. Admittedly, it does take a bit more planning and time in the kitchen to prepare food at home, using fresh, locally grown ingredients. But knowing that your food is pure and free of toxic additives like MSG will make it well worth it. Plus, choosing whole foods will ultimately give you better flavor and more health value than any MSG-laden processed food you could buy at your supermarket. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! HOW SWEET IT IS!High-Fructose Corn Syrup Corn was once a simple food, chewed off the cob. Now, with corn reinvented and transformed, it takes a chemist to recognize all its offspring. Among these is high-fructose corn syrup (a gooey sweetener used in soft drinks, meats, cheeses, and dozens more foods) that appeases confectionary cravings. But recent studies have raised concerns about the syrup by drawing links to obesity and other health effects. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS), also called isoglucose, is mainly a blend of two sugars, fructose and glucose. Soda and ice cream often blend 55 percent fructose and 45 percent glucose, while the HFCS used in canned fruits and condiments is generally a 42/48 percent mix (with other ingredients). White sugar is a 50/50 split. In the United States, heavy corn subsidies and sugar-import barriers have made HFCS some 20 percent cheaper than sugar. The United States accounted for nearly 80 percent of global production in 2004 and U.S. consumers swallowed 58 pounds of the syrup per person last year in various products, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Other producers include Japan, Argentina, the European Union, and China. Production U.S. refineries discovered in the 1860s that mixing liquefied cornstarch with either acids or enzymes rearranges sugar molecules into a dextrose solution (a form of glucose). Chemists mixed dextrose with additional enzymes in the 1940s for the first batches of HFCS. The syrup was not quite as sweet as sugar itself until 1971, when a Japanese chemist's further tweaking perfected HFCS, according to the Corn Refiners Association. The food industry began to replace cane and beet sugar with HFCS after sugar prices quadrupled in the 1970s, and a few years later soft-drink companies followed suit. The syrup's affordability in the United States has helped soda companies sell larger bottles and greatly expand consumption of the calorie-rich drinks. As HFCS spreads to parts of the developing world, dietary concerns are convincing many U.S. consumers to avoid it. In response, a growing number of sweetened products are being reformulated with cane sugar. Impact Some claim that HFCS's global expansion and the parallel increase in obesity are linked. The concerned dietitians argue that, unlike glucose, which triggers appetite-suppressing signals in the body, fructose does not tell its eaters to stop. The theory remains unproven, but a growing body of literature has suggested the syrup may indeed counteract the satiation-hormone leptin. Conflicting research, supported by the American Beverage Institute, insists HFCS is no different than other sweeteners and is "safe in moderation." The latest health concern stems from a recent Environmental Health study that found mercury in samples from two HFCS manufacturers. Chemicals mixed during production to stabilize pH may have contributed the toxic metal, the study said. The industry accuses the research of using "scant data of questionable quality." The environmental impact of HFCS depends on how the corn is grown. Conventional farming practices use significant water resources, pesticides, and fertilizers, leading to widespread water pollution and nutrient-depleted soil. Corn production has also become a major contributor to climate change. In The Omnivore's Dilemma, author Michael Pollan estimates that between one-quarter and one-third gallons (about 1.0 to 1.25 liters) of oil are needed per bushel of corn to create the pesticides, fertilizers, and tractor gasoline, and to harvest, dry, and transport the corn. The U.S. high-fructose corn syrup industry used about 490 million bushels of corn last year, according to USDA. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! MENTAL, OR METAL HEALTH!How Metals in Food Affect Your Child's Behavior
According to a lead researcher in the field, the contamination of food with certain metals needs to be urgently addressed in light of growing evidence linking trace metals to behavioral problems.
Lead has been linked to antisocial behavior, partly because it contributes to nutrient depletion. Aluminum has also been linked to antisocial behavior, as it competes for the binding sites of biochemical receptors of other metal ions, such as iron and zinc.
Heavy metals are a scourge of modern living and very difficult to avoid as these toxic contaminants have become an integral part of our industrialized culture. Metals like aluminum, cadmium, lead and mercury are commonly found in thousands of different food products, household products, personal products and untold numbers of industrial products and chemicals.
The really bad news is that soon after you're exposed to them, the heavy metals are rapidly removed from blood circulation and stored in vital tissues where they disrupt your biological systems and can wreak absolute havoc on your health. The presence of toxic metals in your body is highly significant for they are capable of causing serious health problems by interfering with your body's normal biological functioning. The health effects range from minor physical ailments to chronic diseases, and as discussed in the article above, your mood and behavior. How Heavy Metals Affect Behaviour You're exposed to heavy metals in varying amounts from a staggering number of sources as you move about in your day to day life. This earlier article contains an impressive list of sources of various heavy metal contaminations, and their associated health effects.It has long been known that being exposed to excessive amounts of any metal can be dangerous, but now there is also strong evidence that even small traces of certain contaminants can lead to aggressive and anti-social behaviour. According to Neil Ward, professor of chemistry at the UK's University of Surrey, many of the mechanisms are still unknown, but it's clear that eliminating heavy metals produces positive improvements in people with mood disorders who have high levels of contaminations in their system. Now, some metals act as nutrients in small amounts, and are essential for good health, such as:
Other metals, however, including arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury, do not belong in your body. Not only can they be highly toxic on their own, but they can also hinder absorption of other essential nutrients in your body, which is particularly problematic in children since it can seriously affect their development. Lead, for example, acts as an anti-nutrient and has been linked to delinquency and lowered IQ in children, partly because it depletes other vital nutrients such as magnesium, zinc and vitamin B1. Several studies show a clear link between lead and an increased risk of mental disturbances and altered behaviour. For example, one 1996 study that looked at lead levels and delinquency found that lead exposure is associated with an increased risk of antisocial and delinquent behaviour, and that the effect increases with age. This was corroborated again in another study that found adjudicated delinquents were four times more likely to have elevated lead concentrations in their bones. Another 1990 meta-analysis found that even low level lead exposure impairs children's IQ, which could affect their behavior. According to the 2005 updated guidelines from the CDC, children's blood lead levels should be no higher than 6 µg/dl to avoid subtle neurological symptoms. Symptoms usually become evident above 10 µg/dl, and blood lead levels of 380 ug/dL can cause convulsions, coma, and even death. Unfortunately, studies have shown that fluoridated water supplies can increase children's absorption of lead, and, when lead is introduced into your body in sufficient quantities it displaces zinc, which also disrupts brain cell growth. Therefore, installing a high quality water filter in your home is always a prudent idea, especially if you have children. Low vitamin D and C intake can also adversely affect lead levels, causing more lead to accumulate. Aluminum is another highly toxic metal that has been linked not only to behavioral problems, but also to brain disorders from learning disabilities, to dementia and Alzheimer's as aluminum tends to travel to your brain and accumulate there. How Can You Protect Yourself Against Heavy Metal Overload? If your job or living circumstances expose you to heavy metals, you'll naturally want to minimize or eliminate your exposure as much as possible. Be aware that there are many ways these toxins can be absorbed into your body--through foods and beverages, skin exposure, and via the air you breathe. So, whenever possible, wear gloves, use protective breathing apparatuses, and be sure to obtain fresh air ventilation. However, due to the sheer number of possible sources of contamination, most preventive measures to avoid exposing yourself to them are ultimately futile. The inescapable reality is that it is nearly impossible in this day and age not to be exposed to heavy metals. It is only a matter of how much and how often. So is there anything you can do to prevent accumulating heavy metals in your body, and rid yourself of them if your toxic load is already high? Yes, there is. Eating Right for Heavy Metal Elimination Eating a diet based on your nutritional type that is focused on whole organic foods can not only protect you from heavy metal accumulation, but can also empower your body to cleanse and detoxify itself.
How? Accumulation of toxins in your body is not normal. In fact, your body is designed to be healthy and function at peak performance. Every cell in your body knows exactly what to do and how to do it perfectly, whether a liver cell, a brain cell, a bone cell, etc. And along with this, detoxifying is part of the nature of every cell as well. If it wasn't, cells would die from autointoxication from their own waste--produced from their own chemical activities. The critical factor determining whether or not heavy metals are retained in your body is the biochemical balance at the time of exposure (and during the period after accumulation). Your body is designed to detoxify, but the kicker is that cells need "the proper biochemical balance" in order to be able to detoxify naturally. When your biochemistry is properly balanced, your cells can produce the energy needed to mobilize the heavy metals and flush them out of your body. Without proper nutrition, however, your cells cannot function optimally and your body starts accumulating whatever you're exposed to. When you begin to properly balance your body chemistry by addressing the needs of your individual nutritional type, the negative and health damaging process of heavy metal accumulation can be reversed in a normal, natural way. When you feed your body exactly what it needs, every cell's natural capacity to detoxify is activated, unleashed, and restored. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!
TOUCHES YOUR INNERSELF!LOBSTER AND CORN BISQUE As is traditional, you’re doing everthing you can to extract flavor into this soup, including leaving the shells in and when you puree it, strain it last. The result is a very silky, elegant high end soup. Serves 6
2 lobster (about 2 pounds) 1 large carrot, diced 1/3 cup cognac, plus 3 tablespoon 1 cup chopped plum tom If you have female lobsters with roe 2 sprigs of tarragon 2 large onions, diced a handful of parsley 2 celery ribs, diced 1 cup dry white wine 2 shallots, diced 1 tsp white peppercorns 2 large garlic cloves, minced 11/2 cup corn 6 sprigs of thyme 1 cup of heavy cream 1 bay leaf 5 tblspoon olive oil Coarse salt and ground white pepper 1 pinch of cayenne 4 cups of fish or seafood stock 5 scallions, cut very thin
Dispatch the lobsters by cutting through the heads with a heavy knife. Pull off the tails and claws. Crack the claws with the back of your knife and put them aside. Split the bodies and discard the insides. If you have females, spoon the roe (eggs), out into a small bowl; add the three tblsp cognac, cover and refrigerate for later. Cut the bodies into small pieces. Put half the onions, half the celery, half the shallots, half the garlic, thyme, bay leaf in a wide pot ( large enough to hold the lobster tails and claws in a single layer ). Drizzle on 2 tblsp olive oil, cover the pot and turn to medium heat. Sweat the vegetables until the onions start to soften, about 5mins. Add the tails and claws, season with salt and white pepper, and cover the pot again. Cook for 2mins, pour in the stock and turn the heat to high. Bring to a boil and boil for 5mins, turn off the heat and let sit for 10mins. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! DEATH BY POISONThirteen Foods To Avoid
I have made it my mission to educate as many people about the philosophical pitfalls of believing "If it's on the shelf, it must be safe." In the US, we suffer from something called the "shortest healthy lifespan". That means we spend more years battling chronic disease than our peers from the 12 industrialized nations. There are many factors leading to this problem, but one of the obvious is how loaded our diets are with artificial chemicals.
1. Soda. Ahh, the good old American beverage. Soda is everywhere. It is marketed hard, and found at birthday parties to church functions. Nothing could be worse for the body than a splash of insulin overloading sugar soup. Almost every person I counsel on weight issues has a soda or diet soda addiction. 2. Avoid Soy, this article is designed to help uncover some of the things many people are not aware of. Here is some of the research on soy. A 2001 literature review suggested that women with current or past breast cancer should be aware of the risks of potential tumor growth when taking soy products, based on the effect of phytoestrogens to promote breast cancer cell growth in animals. A study found high consumption of omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are found in most types of vegetable oil including soybean oil, may increase the likelihood that postmenopausal women will develop breast cancer. The most serious problem with soy may be its use in infant formulas. The amount of phytoestrogens that are in a day's worth of soy infant formula equals 5 birth control pills. 3. Monosodium Glutamate. The word you need to know is excitotoxicity which means too much activity, it is the pathological process by which nerve cells are damaged and killed by glutamate and similar substances i.e. (MSG). This occurs when receptors for the neurotransmitter are bombarded and can cause excitotoxicity by allowing high levels of calcium ions to enter the cell. Calcium influx into cells activates a number of enzymes. These enzymes go on to damage cell structures such as components of the cytoskeleton, membrane, and DNA. Excitotoxicity may be involved in spinal cord injury, stroke, traumatic brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases of the central nervous system (CNS) such as Multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer's disease, Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson's disease, Alcoholism and Huntington's disease. It's no wonder why the US leads the world in neurodegenerative diseases. Millions of people consume this product and don't even know the side affects. 4. Aspartame. It's a non-nutritive sweetener about 180 times sweeter than sugar. When I speak, people invariably want to argue this point. They want their artificial sweetener. I often get comments like, "It's FDA approved." WARNING! WARNING! If the government has to "approve" something for consumption THERE IS A PROBLEM! It is simply approved until enough people die, than it will be unapproved. Your health is your responsibility. Guard it well. 5. Avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup. If you have seen any of the advertising material for HFCS high-fructose corn syrup, the marketers are trying to convince us this is a natural product. HFCS or crystalline fructose or hydrolyzed fructose, it convert to triglycerides and adipose (fat) tissue within one hour of consumption. The cheapest ingredient in the processed food industry is HFCS. The fact that mercury is found in 50% of products with HFCS should be more of a concern to every parent. 6. Hydrogenated Oil or Partially Hydrogenated Oil. Never buy foods with these ingredients since they are trans fats. Trans fats are deadly, causes heart disease, cause weight gain, and once more, other medical problems. 7. Avoid Sugar. In fact, the sweetener seems to prompt the same chemical changes in the brain seen in people who abuse drugs such as cocaine and heroin. Sugar that is processed turns out as refined white powder. 8. Don't Be Fooled By "Natural" and "Artificial Flavor". These words, most of the time, mean that the food is loaded with chemicals and grown with pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and herbicides. The bottom line-eating organic food is best. 9. Avoid Artificial Color. If anything has dye in it, stay away. A dye is a chemical poison. 10. Avoid Palm Oil. This is a very unhealthy oil that is cheap to manufacture. It also has the wrong essential fatty acid ratio, which means it increase the inflammation circulating in your blood. Inflammation is being tied to almost all disease processes. 11. Dextrose, Sucrose, and Fructose. There are chemically made sweeteners. There are not good for the body at all. So, it's best to avoid them. 12. Avoid Sucrulose and Splenda. This is a man-made sweetener that most people have heard of. In spite of the hype, it is unnatural, artificial, and man-made. The problems it can cause are increases in appetite, depression, allergies, etc., all depending on the person's genetic makeup. It is best to avoid these products. 13. No Enriched Bleached White Flour. This flour has no fiber. It has no nutritional value, and is highly refined. Eat organic wheat flour or other organic flours such as rye, millet, etc. Shoot for 20 grams of fiber a day. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips
Chef Tim Johnson
Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! TRY IT YOU'LL LIKE IT!ORANGE-SOY VINAIGRETTE Citrusy, creamy, and a bit earthy too, from the soy, this all purpose sauce works well with many different fish. Makes about 1cup 2 Oranges 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil ¼ cup Fumet (fish stock) or chicken stock 1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh ginger 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice ¼ cup thinly sliced shallots 1 pinch of course salt 1 tablespoon thinly sliced garlic 1 teaspoon soy sauce
Juice the oranges. Tear or cut the rinds of 1 ½ oranges into pieces (discard the rest). Heat a saucepan over medium-high heat. When the pan’s hot, add 1 tablespoon vegetable oil and the ginger. Saute, stirring, for 30 seconds. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté, stirring, until fragrant, another 30 to 45 seconds. Add the orange juice and rinds, soy, and vinegar. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so you have an active simmer and cook, pressing down on the solids once in a while, until thick, syrupy and reduced by two thirds (there will be liquid hiding in the solids). Add the Fumet or stock and bring back to an active simmer. Then strain, pushing down on the solids to get out all the liquid. You should end up with a ½ cup. If you have more than that, boil to reduce it. Pour the liquid into a blender. With the blender running, pour the remaining ½ cup vegetable oil in a slow, steady stream. Keep the blender running for 30 seconds, then add the lemon juice and the pinch of salt. The vinaigrette will keep for a couple of days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a double boiler, whisking. Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! WHAT ARE YOU BUYING!Fresh Fish
Fish are delicate creatures, and begin to deteriorate as soon as they are lifted from the water. Obtaining the freshest fish possible can make all the difference between a family who adores fish in all its varied forms, and one that detests the mere mention of it.
The Retailer
Spend a little extra time talking to the fishmonger. Find out who the wholesaler is, and where the fish was caught. While modern transportation has made it possible to savor Dover sole in the heartland, local is still your best bet. Ask if the fish has been previously frozen. Flash-freezing techniques have improved to such an extent that texture is hardly if at all affected by freezing, but previously frozen and thawed fish cannot be refrozen: it must be used on the day of purchase. Ask for recommendations on choosing the fish, and how it is best prepared. A good fishmonger will know these things and more. Whole Fish
Steaks and Fillets There are many good reasons to buy steaks and fillets. The cleaning is done for you, it is possible to buy just the right amount for your needs, and mealtime preparation is shortened. To choose fish steaks:
Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! IT'S GREAT!Cocoa Filet Mignon with Creamy Cauliflower Recipe This Cocoa Filet Mignon dinner recipe combines two romantic delicacies: chocolate and lean filet. It’s juicy, exotic and very easy to make at home for a special occasion. This recipe is Diabetes Friendly and Heart Healthy Yield: 2 servings of Cocoa Filet Mignon and 4 servings of Creamy Cauliflower
Cocoa Crust
Creamy Cauliflower
Cocoa Filet Mignon Creamy Cauliflower Transfer cauliflower to a blender, adding salt and white pepper and reserved liquid. Purée until fluffy. Add Butter to taste. Nutrition facts (per serving): Cocoa Filet Mignon: Calories 304; Fat 14 g; Saturated Fat 4 g; Cholesterol 84 mg; Sodium 376 mg; Carbohydrates 3 g; Fiber 2 g; Protein 37 g Nutrition Facts (per serving): Creamy Cauliflower: Calories 65; Fat 4 g; Saturated Fat 1 g; Cholesterol 3 mg; Sodium 157 mg; Carbohydrates 6 g; Fiber 1 g; Protein 3 g Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips Chef Tim Johnson Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! |
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