healthy cooking tips: Blog

BONAPETIT!

Thu, 28 Aug 2008 04:27:32 GMT

Farro Salad with Grilled Eggplant, Tomatoes and Onion

1 1/2 cups farro
3 Japanese (baby) eggplants, halved
1 small red onion, peeled, halved, and thickly sliced
Olive oil, for brushing
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pint grape tomatoes, washed and sliced in 1/2
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill, plus more for garnish
Sherry Vinaigrette, recipe follows

Cook farro in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain well and place in a large bowl.

Heat grill to high. While the farro is cooking, brush the eggplants and onion slices with oil and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until just cooked through. Remove from the grill and cut into 1-inch dice. Add the eggplant and onions to the farro along with the tomatoes and dill. Pour Sherry Vinegar over the farro mixture and stir to combine. Garnish with additional dill. Best served at room temperature.

Sherry Vinaigrette:

1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup olive oil

Whisk together the shallot, vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, and dill in a small bowl. Slowly whisk in the oil until emulsified.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

FOOD SUPPLY

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:18:19 GMT

Foods of Today vs Grannies of Yesterday

No one knows less about food than us. We, the American people, having inherited an extraordinary and unprecedented wealth of native and immigrant culinary traditions and knowledge - a kind of Alexandrian library of edible wisdom - no longer know how to feed ourselves.

We love fast food, whether it’s from a drive-through or a grocery aisle, and it’s really bad for us. It’s bad for our health, our culture, the environment. In short, it’s unsustainable.

But our once-diverse food lore and skills have been scattered to the four winds. Our taste buds have been jammed on salt, sugar and every conceivable molecular permutation of corn. We literally eat petroleum-derived substances, and ask for more.

This is how we got here: Over the past couple of decades, processed food became more affordable, thanks to economies of scale, logistics and transportation developments, cheap oil and government crop subsidies, especially for corn, which quickly became the staple of our new national diet. This, in turn, further centralized farm operations, threatening the markets for small farmers and the preservation of a diverse food supply.

Essentially, the food economy was turned upside down, so that now, a cheeseburger and fries at a fast-food chain can cost less than a pound of sustainably and locally grown tomatoes.

How do we kick our fast-food addiction and re-establish a relationship with what’s good for us and good for the planet?

Most of us are stuck somewhere in the grief cycle. Find your spot:

Denial: “There’s nothing wrong with the food system.”

Anger: “I don’t have time for this.”

Depression: “I can’t do anything about it.”

Bargaining: “What am I supposed to do?”

Acceptance: “We have to fix this.”

More and more, people seem to be grouping at the last stage. That’s good news - but where do we go from here?

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

CERTIFIED OR WHAT

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 20:05:51 GMT

Why Health-Minded Consumers Are Choosing Organic Foods

We come from a society where growing organic and just growing produce and livestock for food was once one and the same. Small, family farms still grow their own food using traditional methods passed down through the generations. As commercial farming became big-business, however, growers and farmers started to investigate methods of increasing crops and building bigger livestock in order to increase their profits. This led to increased use of pesticides and drugs to enhance yield.

In this article, we will look at what is required in order to call a product organic, how choosing organic eating and farming impact the environment and our health, discuss the benefits of eating organic foods, and what research says about the nutritional benefits of organically-grown produce.

Calling it "Organic"

In 1995, the US National Organic Standards Board passed the definition of 'organic', which is a labeling term denoting products produced under the authority of the Organic Foods Production Act. It states, "Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain, and enhance ecological harmony."

The primary goal of organic agriculture is to optimize the health and productivity of interdependent communities of soil life, plants, animals, and people.

The philosophy of organic production of livestock is to provide conditions that meet the health needs and natural behavior of the animal. Organic livestock must be given access to the outdoors, fresh air, water, sunshine, grass and pasture, and are fed 100% organic feed. They must not be given or fed hormones, antibiotics or other animal drugs in their feed. If an animal gets sick and needs antibiotics, they cannot be considered organic. Feeding of animal parts of any kind to ruminants that, by nature, eat a vegetarian diet, is also prohibited. Thus, no animal byproducts of any sort are incorporated in organic feed at any time.

Because farmers must keep extensive records as part of their farming and handling plans in order to be certified organic, one is always able to trace the animal from birth to market of the meat. When meat is labeled as organic, this means that 100% of that product is organic.

Although organic crops must be produced without the use of pesticides, it is estimated that between 10-25% of organic fruits and vegetables contain some residues of synthetic pesticides. This is because of the influence of rain, air and polluted water sources. In order to qualify as 'organic', crops must be grown on soil free of prohibited substances for three years before harvest. Until then, they cannot be called organic.

When pests get out of balance and traditional organic methods don't work for pest control, farmers can request permission to use other products that are considered low risk by the National Organic Standards Board.

The Environment

According to the 15-year study, "Farming Systems Trial", organic soils have higher microbial content, making for healthier soils and plants. This study concluded that organically grown foods are raised in soils that have better physical structure, provide better drainage, may support higher microbial activity, and in years of drought, organic systems may possibly outperform conventional systems. So, organic growing may help feed more people in our future!

What is the cost of conventional farming, today? The above-mentioned 15 -year study showed that conventional farming uses 50% more energy than organic farming. In one report, it was estimated that only 0.1% of applied pesticides actually reach the targets, leaving most of the pesticide, 99.9%, to impact the environment. Multiple investigations have shown that our water supplies, both in rivers and area tap waters, are showing high levels of pesticides and antibiotics used in farming practices. Water samples taken from the Ohio River as well as area tap water contained trace amounts of penicillin, tetracycline and vancomycin.

Toxic chemicals are contaminating groundwater on every inhabited continent, endangering the world's most valuable supplies of freshwater, according to a Worldwatch paper, Deep Trouble: The Hidden Threat of Groundwater Pollution. Calling for a systemic overhaul of manufacturing and industrial agriculture, the paper notes that several water utilities in Germany now pay farmers to switch to organic operations because this costs less than removing farm chemicals from water supplies.

What About our Health?

Eating organic food is not a fad. As people become more informed and aware, they are taking steps to ensure their health. US sales of organic food totaled 5.4 billion dollars in 1998, but was up to 7.8 billion dollars in the year 2000. The 2004 Whole Foods Market Organic Foods Trend Tracker survey found that 27% of Americans are eating more organic foods than they did a year ago.

A study conducted by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation reports that the number of people poisoned by drifting pesticides increased by 20% during 2000.

A rise in interest and concern for the use of pesticides in food resulted in the passage of the 1996 Food Quality Protection Act, directing the US EPA to reassess the usage and impact of pesticides for food use.

Particular attention was paid to the impact on children and infants, whose lower body weights and higher consumption of food per body weight present higher exposure to any risks associated with pesticide residues.

Publishing an update to its 1999 report on food safety, the Consumers Union in May 2000 reiterated that pesticide residues in foods children eat every day often exceed safe levels. The update found high levels of pesticide residues on winter squash, peaches, apples, grapes, pears, green beans, spinach, strawberries, and cantaloupe. The Consumers Union urged consumers to consider buying organically grown varieties, particularly of these fruits and vegetables.

The most common class of pesticide in the US is organophosphates (OP's). These are known as neurotoxins.

An article published in 2002 examined the urine concentration of OP residues in 2-5 year olds. Researchers found, on average, that children eating conventionally grown food showed an 8.5 times higher amount of OP residue in their urine than those eating organic food. Studies have also shown harmful effects on fetal growth, as well.

Pesticides are not the only threat, however. 70% of all antibiotics in the US are used to fatten up livestock, today. Farm animals receive 24.6 million pounds of antibiotics per year!

Public health authorities now link low-level antibiotic use in livestock to greater numbers of people contracting infections that resist treatment with the same drugs. The American Medical Association adopted a resolution in June of 2001, opposing the use of sub-therapeutic levels of antibiotics in agriculture and the World Health Organization, in its 2001 report, urged farmers to stop using antibiotics for growth promotion. Studies are finding the same antibiotic resistant bacteria in the intestines of consumers that develop in commercial meats and poultry.

Is it More Nutritious?

Until recently, there had been little evidence that organically grown produce was higher in nutrients. It's long been held that healthier soils would produce a product higher in nutritional quality, but there was never the science to support this belief. Everyone agrees that organic foods taste better.

In 2001, nutrition specialist Virginia Worthington published her review of 41 published studies comparing the nutritional values of organic and conventionally grown fruits, vegetables and grains. What she found was that organically grown crops provided 17% more vitamin C, 21% more iron, 29% more magnesium, and 13.6% more phosphorus than conventionally grown products. She noted that five servings of organic vegetables provided the recommended daily intake of vitamin C for men and women, while their conventional counterparts did not. Today there are more studies that show the same results that Ms. Worthington concluded.

Considering the health benefits of eating organic foods, along with the knowledge of how conventionally grown and raised food is impacting the planet should be enough to consider paying greater attention to eating organic, today. Since most people buy their food in local supermarkets, it's good news that more and more markets are providing natural and organic foods in their stores. Findings from a survey by Supermarket News showed that 61% of consumers now buy their organic foods in supermarkets. More communities and health agencies also are working to set up more farmer's markets for their communities, also, which brings more organic, locally grown foods to the consumer. The next time you go shopping, consider investigating organic choices to see if it's indeed worth the change!

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

BREAST OR LESS

Thu, 14 Aug 2008 16:24:38 GMT

Organic Similac: Formula for Obesity?

Most mothers know that breast milk is best for baby, but there are some people who, perhaps for health reasons, need to find a safe alternative. In many instances, these moms look for an organic infant formula and are willing to pay top dollar to give their babies the best possible nutrition. Sadly, just because an infant formula is given the "organic" label doesn't necessarily mean that it is healthy.

For example, a recent article in The New York Times revealed that the organic version of Similac infant formula is sweetened with cane sugar (sucrose) and is much sweeter than other infant formulas. While all infant formulas have some added sugars to aid in the digestion of proteins, other organic products use sugars like organic lactose, which is presumably a better match for what's found in breast milk and doesn't have the sweetness of sucrose. Most health-conscious readers are probably shaking their heads and thinking that it is nothing short of insanity to be adding sugar to baby formula when the U.S. is in the middle of an obesity epidemic. Were pediatricians actually consulted about what was put into this formula? Or was the product designed primarily by food chemists like the ones that create fast food strawberry milkshakes?

According to a list of frequently asked questions on the FDA website, the FDA currently does not approve infant formula before it can be marketed. The FDA does require that infant formula contain minimum amounts of certain nutrients, and it does provide upper limits for some nutrients. Certain nutrients that are required to be included in any infant formula are protein, fat, linoleic acid, vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, thiamin (vitamin B1), riboflavin (vitamin B2), vitamin B6, vitamin B12, niacin, folic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin C, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, manganese, copper, iodine, sodium, potassium and chloride. If cow's milk is not used for the formula, then biotin, choline and inositol must be included.

Any substance that is generally recognized as safe may be used in infant formula in the United States. For now, that means that sugar can be used in baby formula in the U.S., and there is absolutely no upper limit to the amount of sugar that can be dumped into it. Europe, on the other hand, in light of the childhood obesity epidemic, has banned all sucrose from baby formula products beginning in 2009.

According to the The New York Times article, Dr. Benjamin Caballero, director of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, doesn't think sucrose belongs in infant formula, either. Dr. Caballero believes that feeding children sweet things encourages them to eat more. He explains that babies and children generally prefer sweeter foods and will eat more of them than foods that aren't as sweet.

While having babies eat more might be of interest to food corporations, parents need to be concerned with the health of their children. Concerns about obesity aren't the only problem with putting sugar in baby formula. If a baby's teeth are constantly exposed to sugar, this could result in tooth decay.

Clearly, finding a safe infant formula is a daunting task. According to The Breastfeeding Task Force of Greater Los Angeles, there are many risks associated with using infant formula instead of breast milk. For example, formula feeding is responsible for up to 26% of insulin dependent diabetes mellitus in children. Middle-ear infections are three to four times more common in children who are fed infant formula, and children who are fed infant formula are also much more likely to be hospitalized due to bacterial infections. In addition to the health risks, some studies have shown that formula-fed babies don't do as well on intelligence tests as breast-fed babies.

Moreover, sugar isn't the only undesirable thing turning up in infant formula. An NPR report indicates that certain formulas enhanced with omega-3 fatty acids may actually pose a health risk. Other reports warn about Bisphenol-A turning up in infant formulations. What is a new mother to do?

Maybe new moms should take a lesson from the animal kingdom. What other mammals feed their babies the milk of other creatures? Do dogs try to feed their puppies cat milk? Of course not. Even small children know that cat milk is for kittens, just like cow's milk is for baby cows. Perhaps the perfect formula for a baby just isn't something that can be found in a can.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTON

Wed, 06 Aug 2008 21:52:26 GMT

Twelve Natural Health Tips for Smart Travel!

Traveling can be hard on your health. Increased stress, changing time zones and difficulty finding healthy food can all negatively impact your health. And if you travel by air, you have the added problems of exposure to airborne pathogens, fragrance chemicals, and other pollutants brought into your air space by unhealthy people. On top of that, there's the additional difficulty of bringing all your health supplements, superfoods and appliances with you (a Vita-Mix is heavy!).

So how can you protect yourself from sickness and environmental stress when traveling while still providing yourself with your most important health supplements and superfoods? Being an experienced traveler myself, I'll share with you my best tips for maximizing your health when traveling on planes, trains or automobiles.

Tip #1: Boost your immune system before you go

Don't dare walk into an airport, train station or other public place without protecting your immune system first. How do you accomplish that? It's simple: For at least three days before your trip, start drinking lots of vegetable juice and taking immune-boosting herbal supplements. It's even better if you're drinking fresh juices every day as a regular habit, but if you're not, at least kick in the healthful juices before you travel.

On the supplements side, I like to take Kyolic garlic supplements (www.Kyolic.com), medicinal mushrooms (www.MushroomScience.com), Echinacea, goldenseal, ginger and other similar immune herbs (www.BaselineNutritionals.com). It's also important to get plenty of zinc in your diet by eating pumpkin seeds or taking high-quality zinc supplements. Taking lots of vitamin C and vitamin D3 is also helpful, but be sure to get them from high-quality supplements (I don't recommend cheap multivitamins like the Centrum brand). The best sources for high-end individual supplements are www.WellnessResources.com and www.LivingFuel.com (check out their Super Essentials fish oils with astaxanthin.

Tip #2: Bring superfood powders for instant meals

Having superfood powders with you at all times is a great travel strategy, even if you're just traveling to a relative's house for a few days (your relatives probably aren't as health conscious as you are, right?). Don't clobber your immune system by eating the junk in their refrigerator; bring your own superfoods and amaze (or annoy) your friends and relatives with your own astonishing commitment to a truly healthful diet!

Which superfood products should you bring? There are a lot of them I recommend, including Living Fuel (www.LivingFuel.com), Boku Superfood (www.BokuSuperfood.com), Healthforce Nutritionals (www.HealthForce.com), HempShake (www.Nutiva.com), Emerald Balance (www.SGNnutrition.com) and Delicious Greens (www.Greens8000.com). There's even a new product I just saw at Whole Foods called Amazing Meal (www.AmazingGrass.com). I haven't tried it yet, but I know their Amazing Grass product is high quality, and I intend on reviewing their Amazing Meal product soon.

The point is to bring a lot of nutritious foods with you in a highly concentrated form. There's no form more concentrated than dried superfood powders. Just add water, shake it up, and you've got a meal!

Tip #3: Bring a Blender Bottle to make instant superfood drinks

Speaking of shaking up your superfoods, you'll need a clever way to accomplish that unless you've managed to bring a Vita-Mix (which I've been known to do, even on airplane trips). Far lighter than a Vita-Mix, the Blender Bottle (www.BlenderBottle.com) uses a stainless steel coil inside a plastic shaker bottle to deliver superfood smoothies that are almost as good as those you'd make in a blender.

The blender bottle is incredibly light, durable and easy to pack. I have one with me right now, and I shake up 3-4 superfood drinks each day with it. While it won't blend up fruits and vegetables, it easily blends superfood powders (including protein powder). Don't leave home without this cool device! (And by the way, I don't mind the fact that it's made out of plastic. I only use it when traveling. A little exposure to plastic from time to time is harmless, especially if you're loading up with superfoods.)

Tip #4: Carefully choose your supplements, and bring them in plastic bottles, not glass

Speaking of glass, while I prefer to store nutritional products in glass bottles at home, when I'm on the road, I carry them in either plastic bottles or plastic bags. Yes, I don't like plastic, either, but for traveling there's simply no replacement. They're light and virtually unbreakable. You don't want to find glass shards in your suitcase after you claim it at baggage check do you?

Tip #5: Bring a gravity-fed countertop water filter (Brita, Pur, etc.)

A gravity-fed countertop water filter will let you "make" clean water just about anywhere. Just fill it up with your hotel's tap water and wait for filtered water to appear in the container. This is the water you'll use to make your superfoods.

Yes, I know: It's not the best water in the world. If you want the best water, build a log cabin near an artesian well somewhere and drink your artesian water out of glass jars. But for those who need to travel, a countertop Brita filter will remove chlorine and other pollutants, giving you safe water to drink without forcing you to buy the hotel's water (which is at least triple the cost of gasoline, by the way).

Brita water filters are incredibly light, too. You can even pack other gear inside them, such as your toothbrush, Dr. Bronner's soap, and other personal care products.

Tip #6: Bring some Organic Food Bars or other healthy, portable foods

As you've no doubt noticed, airplane food is mostly junk food filled with chemicals (unless you sit in first class, in which case it will be gourmet food filled with chemicals). So unless you want to destroy your health before you arrive at your destination, bring your own food and avoid the toxic food items handed out to all the other clueless passengers (who will apparently eat anything handed to them in a pretty wrapper...)

What to bring? Healthy food bars, of course! My favorites are the Organic Food Bar (www.OrganicFoodBar.com) and the Greens+ High Protein Food Bar (www.GreensPlus.com). I've also found some truly awesome raw food snacks from a new company called RawPhoriaLIVE (www.RawPhoriaLive.com). Their RawNola (raw granola) products are absolutely perfect for traveling. And they're outrageously delicious. (Their website isn't ready to take orders yet, but they do list phone numbers if you want to order from them by phone.)

Some other things to bring are raw nuts from www.TransitionNutrition.com and a great new product I've discovered called Barney Butter (www.BarneyButter.com), which is a super delicious almond butter in a convenient travel pack. Just squeeze it onto raw cashews and you'll enjoy a super healthy snack while the passengers next to you lick the salt crumbs out of their pitiful peanut baggies...

Tip #7: Seek out the healthiest food you can find

Once you arrive at your destination, don't leap to the local all-you-can-eat processed food bar; get to a Whole Foods or even just a regular grocery store where you can buy some fresh produce. Even if you can't find organic, just get something fresh. Non-organic produce is still better than any processed food.

Even if you don't have a small refrigerator in your hotel room, you can still load up on oranges, melons and a few fresh items that will last a day or two without refrigeration. For those times when I'm completely out of fresh produce options, I like to buy almond milk and puffed kamut cereal, then I stir some SunWarrior protein into a bowl of kamut to make a high-protein cereal snack. It isn't raw, and it's not fresh, but it's not bad for food on the road. It certainly beats the $15 scrambled eggs offered by your hotel's room service menu (which are probably scrambled on Teflon pans, by the way...)

Tip #8: Bring a jump rope, yoga mat, or swimsuit to stay active

Staying active is key to staying healthy on any trip -- and perhaps not for the reasons you suspect. I think one of the best advantages of exercise while traveling is that your body sweats out toxins as you work your cardio. This will eliminate toxic chemicals through your sweat glands (sweating is one of the best detox strategies of all!)

So the key here is not necessarily to work you heart or muscles, but to sweat as much as possible while replenishing your body with healthy fluids (the superfood drinks you made, above).

Of course, exercise also reduces stress and enhances your mood, and that tends to make your travel a lot more enjoyable in the first place.

Tip #9: Get into nature

Wherever you go, find a park, beach, lake or forest where you can chill out and soak up some nature. Just getting outside and breathing some fresh air can make a huge difference in your stress levels, so make a point to get into nature wherever you go. Even New York has parks!

Also, be sure to open your hotel room window shades before going to sleep so that the morning light comes through and resets your circadian rhythm to be in sync with the local time. This therapeutic use of light is key to getting your body in sync with reality. If your hotel room is pitch dark because you've closed the heavy blinds, your brain will never get the signal that it's time to produce "wake me up hormones!"

Tip #10: Have emergency first-aid herbs on hand

I recommend traveling with a 1 oz. tincture bottle of cayenne pepper, plus some other herbs such as:

• Peppermint (for digestion)
• Ginger (for motion sickness and immune boosting)
• Aloe vera gel (for digestion and anti-viral uses) (www.GoodCauseWellness.com)
• Yun Nan Bai Yao - This is an amazing Traditional Chinese Medicine remedy that stops bleeding! It's a formula that was developed in 1902, and it has an astounding ability to stop bleeding from cuts, scrapes and other wounds.

All emergency rooms should use Yun Nan Bai Yao, but of course western medical people are clueless about any systems of medicine they didn't invent themselves, so they remain ignorant of Yun Nan Bai Yao. You'll have to visit a Chinese medicine store to find this. Ask for it by name. Learn more at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yunnan_Baiyao

Tip #11: Bring your own personal care products

Don't rely on the shampoo and soap in the hotel. Those products are loaded with toxic fragrance chemicals (even in "green" hotels, which aren't really green, by the way). Instead, bring you own personal care products.

Here are some of the ones I bring:

*Dr. Bronner's soap (www.DrBronner.com) - For washing your hands, face and body. I even use it as a shampoo.

*Toothsoap (www.Toothsoap.com) - Better than toothpaste. Simple, natural and portable. I like the "Plain Jane" variety.

*Dental Miracle (www.DentalMiracle.com) - Herbal tooth powder. Great for traveling. Fights gum disease and other oral health problems.

*Peri-Gum (www.Peri-Gum.com) - A cayenne-based herbal mouthwash with multiple medicinal herbs. Fantastic for rinsing your mouth after brushing your teeth.

*Natural Sunscreen - I don't use sunscreen, but if you want to, bring a natural brand. It's virtually impossible to find natural sunscreen products on the road (even from health food stores!). The most natural brand I've seen yet is called Caribbean Blue (www.GoCaribbeanBlue.com)

Tip #12: Bring your own natural laundry detergent

If you're going to do laundry at your destination and you don't want to use the toxic chemically-contaminated detergents offered for sale at retail, you'll need your own laundry detergent. Naturally, I hope you choose my own brand -- Bodhi Soap Nuts, which you'll find at www.BetterLifeGoods.com -- but there are other great brands out there, too, including Seventh Generation, Maggie's Soap Nuts and other eco-conscious laundry soaps.

The important thing here is to avoid toxic, brand-name laundry products. Nearly all conventional laundry products contain cancer-causing chemicals that are not only terrible for your own health; they're also disastrous for the environment when flushed downstream!

What about the "Airborne" supplement? Is the "Airborne" supplement any good? It's the one that claims to be "created by a schoolteacher."

To answer this question, just read the ingredients yourself. You'll find that Airborne contains aspartame. Any "health" product made with aspartame is, in my opinion, a complete joke. Don't waste your time (or money) on Airborne.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

SAFETY ISSUE'S WITH OUR WATER

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 23:50:46 GMT

The Poisoning of America's Water Supplies

Every day in the United States more than 240 million people turn on their faucets in order to drink, bathe, and cook, using water from public water systems. But more people are arriving to the point where they will not let a drop of water touch their lips in their own homes unless that water comes from a bottle shipped from a fresh water source. And even then we still have trouble in the home. Researchers at the University of Texas found that showers and dishwashers liberate trace amounts of chemicals from municipal water supplies into the air.

"The frog does not drink up the pond in which he lives." - American Indian Proverb

Squirting hot water through a nozzle, to produce a fine spray, increases the surface area of water in contact with the air, liberating dissolved substances in a process known as "stripping." So if we want to avoid those chemicals drinking bottled water is not enough. Chemically sensitive individuals would also have to wear a gas mask in the shower, and when unloading the dishwasher if they want to avoid chemical contamination. And even then the skin will absorb directly in the shower chemicals like fluoride so we cannot assume we are safe from the contaminants even if we are drinking pure water. The majority of people still take the purity of their tap water for granted when they shouldn't.

When we look deeper we can see that even in a rich country like the United States, we all have reason to be concerned about not only drinking, but even bathing in water that comes from public treatment systems. Albuquerque, Fresno, and San Francisco are examples of cities that have water that is sufficiently contaminated so as to pose serious potential health risks to pregnant women, infants, children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems, according to Dr. David Ozonoff. What we find in these waters are contaminants that occur with surprising regularity, regardless of location, such as chlorination by-products, lead, and coliform bacteria. Other contaminants, such as Teflon and rocket fuel occur less frequently but pose major health concerns. If we include the fact that fluoride is actually poisonous we have water that is slowly killing some Americans and depressing the health of almost everyone who drinks and showers in it.

And the problems with water just do not end. In August 2005 we learned that common household brass plumbing fixtures may release far more lead into drinking water than previously believed. As a result, even new homes built with brass fixtures like ball valves and water meters could end up with potentially unsafe lead levels. In a report trumpeted by the National Science Foundation, Virgina Tech researchers charged that the standards used to certify the brass plumbing supplies found at most hardware stores may be inadequate to predict lead contamination of water. This contradicts years of assumptions that lead contamination primarily comes from old leaden pipes or public water systems with lead contamination problems. Contrary to popular belief, many plumbing supplies sold today are not lead-free but contain up to 8 percent lead content in brass fixtures. Lead makes brass and other metals more malleable, helping manufacturers create intricate shapes.

The consequence though is extraordinarily high for exposure to lead in drinking water which results in delays in physical and mental development, along with slight deficits in attention span and learning abilities. In adults, it can cause increases in blood pressure. Adults who drink this water over many years could develop kidney problems or high blood pressure according to the American EPA. The Romans had their engineers turn the populace into neurological cripples when they started using lead in their water systems but they did not have to deal with either fluoride or mercury. The three together, mercury, lead and fluoride become a kind of devil's triangle of chemical toxicity that is only made worse by aluminum and a host of other hostile chemicals that are clogging up our bodies.

Water pollution by drugs is an emerging issue that is extremely important. Pharmaceuticals are now attracting attention as a whole new class of water pollutants. At the recent American Chemical Society conference, Chris Metcalfe of Trent University in Ontario reported finding a vast array of drugs leaving Canadian sewage treatment plants. Padma Venkatraman, a postdoctoral fellow at Johns Hopkins concluded that antidepressants, anticonvulsants, anticancer drugs and antimicrobials are among the pharmaceuticals most likely to be found at "toxicologically significant levels" in the environment.

These drugs and many more are finding their way into public water systems because pharmaceutical industries, hospitals and other medical facilities as well as households dispose of unused medicines and even human excreta can contain incompletely metabolized medicines. Millions of doses of prescription drugs that Americans swallow annually to combat cancer, pain, depression and other ailments do not disappear harmlessly into their digestive systems but instead make their way back into the environment where they may contaminate drinking water and pose a threat to life, according to researchers at John Hopkins medical center.

These drugs pass intact through conventional sewage treatment facilities, into waterways, lakes and even aquifers. Discarded pharmaceuticals often end up at dumps and land fills, posing a threat to underlying groundwater. And farm animals also are a huge source of pharmaceuticals entering the environment because of the massive use of hormones, antibiotics and veterinary medicines used in their care. Along with pharmaceuticals, personal care products also are showing up in water. Generally these chemicals are the active ingredients or preservatives in cosmetics, toiletries or fragrances. For example, nitro musks, used as a fragrance in many cosmetics, detergents, toiletries and other personal care products, have attracted concern because of their persistence and possible adverse environmental impacts. Some countries have taken action to ban nitro musks. Also, sun screen agents have been detected in lakes and fish.

It is hard to tell which is worse, the toxic chemicals and drugs that are leeching into the public water systems or the noxious chemicals deliberately put in the water by public health officials. Standard water treatments result in health threats yet health officials are loath to admit any problem that we should beware of. Chlorination of drinking water supplies virtually eliminates most disease or bacterial contamination, but creates traces of several toxic by-products in drinking water -- such as chloroform, trihalomethanes and other chlorinated organic compounds. In recent years municipal water districts across the United States are changing the way they disinfect public water supplies. Many are adding ammonia to chlorinated water to produce chloramines, or chloraminated water. They are doing that in order to meet standards set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). While chloramination has been used as a way to lower the level of carcinogenic disinfection byproducts (DBPs) created by chlorination, it has led to extreme water toxicity. Chloraminated water kills fish and reptiles and there is no reason to believe it is safe for human consumption.

"I almost died," Denise Kula Johnson of Menlo Park said the day after chloramines were added to her water supply. "I was in the shower and suddenly I could not breathe. I passed out on the floor. I was terrified."

"The government is hiding the fact that the drinking water is not usable," says medical scientist Dr. Winn Parker who tells us that the most at-risk groups from chloraminated water are the fetus in the first trimester, children to age three, people over age 60 and those with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Women in the 35-45 age group are at risk of recurring rashes on the inner thighs and chest, he added. Parker is calling for government funding of alternative disinfection methods, such as ultra-violet and reverse osmosis, which would make harmful chemical disinfection methods obsolete. "We need to amend the Constitution," Parker said, "to give the people in each state the right to vote on what goes into their water."[viii] A recently discovered disinfection byproduct iodoacetic acid, found in U.S. drinking water treated with chloramines, is the most toxic ever found.

"Individuals who consume chlorinated drinking water have an elevated risk of cancer of the bladder, stomach, pancreas, kidney and rectum as well as Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma."

When Washington DC changed in 2000 to chloramines, this newly treated water reacted with the lead in the pipes to poison the drinking water. Lead levels were found in Washington's water 3,200 times the EPA's "action level" and 4,800 times the UN's acceptable level for the toxic heavy metal. Americans have been conditioned to believe that the problem with lead has mostly disappeared but nothing could be further from the truth. According to the Washington Post, "In New York City, the nation's largest water provider has for the past three years assured its 9.3 million customers that its water was safe because the lead content fell below federal limits. But the city has withheld from regulators hundreds of test results that would have raised lead levels above the safety standard in two of those years."

The drinking water lead crisis in Washington D.C. poses serious public health risks to thousands of residents of the national capital area, and casts a dark shadow of doubt over the ability, resources, or will of federal and local officials to fulfill their duty to protect our health.

After switching to chloraminated water, children in Washington ingested more than 60 times the EPA's maximum level of lead with one glass of water.

Jim Elder, who headed the EPA's drinking water program from 1991 to 1995, said he fears that utilities are engaging in "widespread fraud and manipulation. It's time to reconsider whether water utilities can be trusted with this crucial responsibility of protecting the public. I fear for the safety of our nation's drinking water. Apparently, it's a real crap shoot as to what's going to come out of the tap and whether it will be healthy or not."

Cities across the country are manipulating the results of tests used to detect lead in water, violating federal law and putting millions of Americans at risk.

Underground aquifers can become contaminated with bacteria and viruses because of insufficient topsoil layers to filter rainwater as it trickles down to recharge the groundwater. Livestock manure, human sewage sludge, fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides seep down into groundwater supplies. The intensification of agricultural practices -- in particular, the heavy use of fertilizers and pesticides -- has had a huge impact on water quality. The main agricultural water pollutants are nitrates, phosphorus, and pesticides. Rising nitrate concentrations threaten the quality of drinking water, while high pesticide use contributes substantially to the direct poisoning of our water supplies.

The Netherlands National Institute of Public Health and Environmental Protection (RIVM, 1992) concluded that "groundwater is threatened by pesticides in all European states." WHO (1993) has established drinking water guidelines for 33 pesticides but an awareness is growing that in all matters water related we are not being protected from serious harm. There really is no limit to the concerns and chemicals that make drinking public water a bad idea.

There really is no end to the serious problems with tap water that are being seriously underestimated. The National Academy of Sciences has concluded that arsenic is so dangerous in drinking water that stringent levels set by the Clinton administration and later suspended by the Bush White House were not strict enough. For decades, the Environmental Protection Agency set an acceptable arsenic level of 50 parts per billion in drinking water. But recent studies suggested that this level was too high and increased the risk of bladder and lung cancer. A report by the National Academy of Sciences in 1999 said the standard should be made stricter "as promptly as possible." President Bill Clinton ordered the limit to be lowered to 10 parts per billion in 2006 and scientists doubt if even this low level of concentration is safe.

References:

Drinking Water Act in 1996 banned plumbing devices with pure lead pipe but still allows low levels of lead. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures and solder. However, new homes are also at risk: even legally "lead-free" plumbing may contain up to 8 percent lead. The most common problem is with brass or chrome-plated brass faucets and fixtures which can leach significant amounts of lead into the water, especially hot water.

Detected contaminants include caffeine, which was the highest-volume pollutant, codeine, cholesterol-lowering agents, anti-depressants, and Premarin, an estrogen replacement drug taken by about 9 million women. Also chemotherapy agents were found downstream from hospitals treating cancer patients. Final results from the study are expected to be released in the fall. For additional information about the U.S.G.S. study check the website: (http://toxics.usgs.gov/regional/emc.html)

Chloramine is a disinfectant put into many municipal water supplies. In recent years it has often replaced chlorine for two main reasons. The first is that it is much longer lasting, so it continues to provide a disinfectant action in supply pipes, where chlorine typically loses its capacity to disinfect. The second is that it does not react with organics nearly as readily as does chlorine. The reaction products of chlorine and organics (chlorinated organics) are very toxic to people, and water supply operators elect to use chloramine to reduce this toxicity.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

HEALTH AT IT'S BEST

Mon, 14 Jul 2008 19:00:31 GMT

Hearts of Palm,Black Beans,Onion and Corn Salad

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons cane vinegar
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 teaspoon freshly chopped chives
1 teaspoon freshly chopped parsley leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped cilantro leaves
1 jalapeno pepper, stem and seeds removed and minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1 (14-ounce) can hearts of palm, drained
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup cooked black beans
1 cup cooked corn
1/2 cup thinly sliced yellow bell pepper
1/4 cup sliced bias cut green onions
Mixed greens, if desired, for serving

In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, lime juice, herbs, jalapeno, salt and pepper. Set aside.

Slice the hearts of palm on an angle, about 1/2-inch thick. Combine the hearts of palm, red onions, black beans, corn, bell pepper, and green onions in a mixing bowl and toss to combine. Arrange on a platter or individual salad plates, over greens, if desired, and drizzle with the dressing.

Yield: 4 servings

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

IF YOU EAT IT YOU BECOME IT!

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 18:00:04 GMT

Food Additives To Avoid

1. Sodium Nitrate (also called Sodium Nitrite)
This is a preservative, coloring, and flavoring commonly added to bacon, ham, hot dogs, luncheon meats, smoked fish, and corned beef. Studies have linked eating it to various types of cancer.

2. BHA and BHT

Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydrozyttoluene are used to preserve common household foods. They are found in cereals, chewing gum, potato chips, and vegetable oils. They are oxidants, which form potentially cancer-causing reactive compounds in your body.

3. Propyl Gallate

Another preservative, often used in conjunction with BHA and BHT. It is sometimes found in meat products, chicken soup base, and chewing gum. Animals studies have suggested that it could be linked to cancer.

4. Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

MSG is an amino acid used as a flavor enhancer in soups, salad dressings, chips, frozen entrees, and restaurant food. It can cause headaches and nausea, and animal studies link it to damaged nerve cells in the brains of infant mice.

5. Trans Fats

Trans fats are proven to cause heart disease. Restaurant food, especially fast food chains, often serve foods laden with trans fats.

6. Aspartame

Aspartame, also known by the brand names Nutrasweet and Equal, is a sweetener found in so-called diet foods such as low-calorie desserts, gelatins, drink mixes, and soft drinks. It may cause cancer or neurological problems, such as dizziness or hallucinations.

7. Acesulfame-K

This is a relatively new artificial sweetener found in baked goods, chewing gum, and gelatin desserts. There is a general concern that testing on this product has been scant, and some studies show the additive may cause cancer in rats.

8. Food Colorings: Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6

Five food colorings still on the market are linked with cancer in animal testing. Blue 1 and 2, found in beverages, candy, baked goods and pet food, have been linked to cancer in mice. Red 3, used to dye cherries, fruit cocktail, candy, and baked goods, has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Green 3, added to candy and beverages, has been linked to bladder cancer. The widely used yellow 6, added to beverages, sausage, gelatin, baked goods, and candy, has been linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.

9. Olestra

Olestra, a synthetic fat found in some potato chip brands, can cause severe diarrhea, abdominal cramps, and gas. Olestra also inhibits healthy vitamin absorption from fat-soluble carotenoids that are found in fruits and vegetables.

10. Potassium Bromate

Potassium bromate is used as an additive to increase volume in some white flour, breads, and rolls. It is known to cause cancer in animals, and even small amounts in bread can create a risk for humans.

11. White Sugar

Watch out for foods with added sugars, such as baked goods, cereals, crackers, sauces and many other processed foods. It is unsafe for your health, and promotes bad nutrition.

12. Sodium Chloride

A dash of sodium chloride, more commonly known as salt, can bring flavor to your meal. But too much salt can be dangerous for your health, leading to high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and kidney failure.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

MY WHAT?

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:54:26 GMT

Your Brain

Your brain is a three pound control center of your mind and body requiring about 20% of the blood pumping out of your heart with each and every beat. For optimal and long-term power, your brain requires a continuous stream of nutrition and oxygen. Research on how the brain endures the damaging effects of everyday life shows that attention to nutrition can increase your chances against deterioration of your brain at any age.

Brain cells communicate with your other cells and keep mental activities in never-ending motion. These very busy cells consume up to five times more energy and need at least five times more blood sugar than any other part of your body. Keeping blood vessels clear of impediments improves brain function. The same kinds of nutrients that can boost cardiovascular health and keep blood flowing properly also aid your brain's nourishment.

Among the nutrients your brain craves are mixes of fatty acids that are incorporated into your brain cells' membranes. These delicate membranes are crucial for communication among neurons, nerve cells in your brain. By the time you mature, your brain contains a complicated web consisting of about 100 billion neurons linked by trillions of connections.

Within this complex system, about one-fourth of your brain's weight is fat, called lipids. Lipids serve many important roles, which include insulating nerve fibers and acting as building blocks of cell membranes surrounding neurons.

The most important fats you need to consume to increase cognitive processes are
omega-3 fatty acids. These are best obtained by eating fish, nuts, seeds, and flax and hemp oils.

Fats that should be avoided are trans fatty acids, found in many refined, processed and fried foods. These actually have detrimental effects on your brain. Hydrogenated oils added to many cakes, cookies, boxed cereals, breads, peanut butter, margarine, microwavable meals, all chips, and about half of all refined foods sold in containers are slow poisons. These possess physical characteristics that, when incorporated in cell membranes, radically alter their performance.

One hour after eating a fatty meal, blood cells begin to stick together. Within six hours the "clumping" is so severe that blood flow actually stops in small blood vessels. In addition, eating fatty foods decreases the bloods oxygen supply by 20%. The electrical communications between cells can be hindered. The flow of the bioelectrical current crucial to proper neuron function can be altered. Membranes can stiffen making them less flexible and potentially slowing your mental abilities as the harmful fats interfere with the normal flow of molecules in and out of brain cells.

Kids that eat too many of the fatty treats sold in supermarkets like candy bars, pastries, etc, may consequently suffer learning difficulties.

Your brain does require a steady, large supply of blood sugar. These are easily supplied by eating whole grain foods like brown rice, whole wheat and oats. B vitamins are also a good bet. In fact, they are called the mental health vitamin. But, metabolizing excess sugar depletes B vitamins in your body and at times there's not enough left over to produce great mental and emotional chemistry. B vitamins are found in lean meats, whole grain foods, dried beans and peas, sunflower seeds and nuts, green leafy vegetables, cheese, yogurt and tofu.

Your brain's large concentration of fat makes it vulnerable to destructive free radicals. To protect brain cells, the body produces an amino acid called glutathione, which helps defuse the destructive force and help salvage oxidized vitamin C so it can continue to act as an antioxidant.

Natural chemicals called polyphenols can aid in the protection of lipids in brain cell membranes. Rich sources of polyphenols include red wine, green tea, and soy.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!™

YOUR BRAIN ON LIFE

Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:40:42 GMT

Mind and Spirit

We are citizens of the "information age" and, in so being, have a tendency toward mental hyperactivity. Excessive thought, worry and ultimately stress become commonplace. This, too, affects our health.

Calming the mind and spirit are important parts of restoring health. And, conversely, restoring health calms the mind and spirit. Avoiding foods and habits that scatter the mind (rich foods, refined sugar, alcohol, coffee, eating too late and too large of meals) and a simple diet with perhaps occasional light fasting goes a long way toward building inner peace.

Denatured, devitalized, deficient foods may very well create denatured, devitalized, deficient lives. Depression, isolation, insecurities, fears, intense anxiety… Life depleting food intake becomes brain chemistry influencing thinking and emotion. Foods can drive emotions and passionate desire, emotional heat, and even social disarray.

Nutritional science now understands that the amino acid tyrosine, which is abundantly supplied in protein-rich diets, produces in the brain the chemical dopamine. Dopamine causes enhanced activity and aggression. Excesses of spices, refined sugar treats, meats, and poor quality fats ultimately lead to nervousness, agitation, and depletion.

Complex carbohydrates and dairy products promote brain chemistry rich in tryptophan, seratonin and melatonin. When these substances are abundant in the body they promote calmness, deep sleep, strong immunity and a relaxed, focused mind. Emotions, body and intellect are harmonized.

A great many people in the so-called "advanced" civilizations of the world suffer from stagnation and degeneration of the mind and body. These problems can manifest themselves in dark obsessions and dull, warped personality traits.

Our emotions can take the shape of desires and cravings. Nervous systems, hearts and minds degenerate as well as the body.

Today exists epidemics of cancer, tumors, heart disease, emotional and mental diseases, sexually transmitted diseases, and moral and spiritual degenerations.

Many of us are blindly addicted to pre-packaged, processed and very rich tasting foods, excessive and poor quality meats, intoxicants of one kind or another, overly sweet, spicy, salty and fatty foods, and actually have no sense of diet other than mindless desires. And, we wonder why so many of us are unable to sleep well or concentrate, why we're angry or resentful, depressed or despondent, sick and tired, and disillusioned with life or without hope.

Increasing numbers of children are diagnosed each year with attention deficit disorder (ADD). Adult attention deficit disorder (AADD) is being diagnosed with progressing rapidity. Melancholy, despair and other aspects of mental depression are now more common than ever. People today have ten times the depression rate of our parents and grandparents.

We will fail to survive if we continue this way.

Not only are deadly diseases and pollution proliferating but sperm counts in industrialized countries have dropped 50% on average and are predicted to be near zero within the next few generations! We could soon be extinct if our health and awareness aren't drastically changed.

If the results of our choices in life are intolerable - disease, pain, and mental disparity - we need only make better choices!

As your health improves you'll have fewer feelings of hopelessness and separation and gain a greater sense of belonging and unity. Stress melts away and you'll feel light, clear, easy, and content.

Foods that help depression are brown rice, cucumbers, apples, cabbage, fresh wheat germ, and apple cider vinegar. Including one in each meal is adequate.

The American medical and research communities have totally overlooked diet and nutrition as an impact on our health, including mental health. Six of the ten principles of death pertain directly to diet. Yet only some medical schools even offer a basic course in nutrition.

Doctors have a tendency to learn about nutrition within the narrow area of the illnesses they treat. Cardiologists can tell you plenty about fat and cholesterol. Rheumatologists know calcium and vitamin D. OB/GYN doctors know folic acid. Cancer specialists know about fiber and fat - not necessarily the fact that broccoli can prevent cancer because it contains sulforophane, which causes the liver to produce an enzyme that blocks carcinogenic activity (also present in cabbage and brussel sprouts). But few know any more about nutrition than the average person.

How often does your doctor ask you what you eat?

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!™

REBUILDING,MIND,BODY AND SOUL

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:17:22 GMT

How to Buy
Nutritional Foods

If you've been following along with the sequence of this site, there's only one more thing we need to discuss: How to successfully apply all this to your life.

The first step is to go grocery shopping keeping these things in mind:

-Never go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. That's rule number one.

-Rule number two is shop the perimeter of your food store. The fruits and vegetables (organic is best), nuts and seeds (in the shells only), dairy (skip the margarine), and meat (buy lean) departments.

-Only go down the aisles for destination items like brown rice, dried beans and peas.

-Don't go down the canned food or cereal aisles. Don't even think about frozen dinners!

-You probably won't be able to get unrefined oils at your local supermarket. You will probably have to get them at your health food store. Even if the canola oil on your grocery shelf says 100% pure, it is refined and rancid. And, by the way, just because a food item is at the health food store, it's not necessarily healthy.

-Read the labels. Look for "unrefined", skip anything that includes the words "hydrogenated", "partially hydrogenated", "enriched" or "fortified". Be careful not to be deceived.

- Learn more about wholesome products and how to identify them.

It's not going to be difficult to make wholesome meals. It's just a matter of getting used to a new way of doing things. Change is sometimes hard to do at first but if you stick with it, it will get easy. Eat simply. Feel the difference! Notice how your mind and body feel clearer, brighter, and stronger!

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!™

MY INSPIRATION

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 16:03:03 GMT

Health and Nutrition

At no time in history has there been as much concern over nutrition as at present. As scientific understanding of nutrition grows, restauranteurs are feeling the pressure. It is unquestionably the responsibility of chefs to provide their clientele with healthful, nutritious food.

Many chefs feel a responsibility not only to provide such foods, but also to help educate their customers about nutrition. They welcome the challenge to develop menus that offer good health as well as good taste. They may, for example, supplement their regular menus with “spa” menus or “healthy” menus offering special dishes low in fat, calories, and sodium.

Or they may include such dishes on their regular menus and highlight these items with asterisks or other symbols. On the other hand, many operators insist, “I’m running a restaurant, not a hospital.” Not a few restauranteurs have had the experience of investing time and money in developing nutritional menus that people claimed they wanted, only to have the menus fail because no one ordered them.

It is important for cooks to find some kind of balance. Restaurants are businesses and can be successful only if they offer people what they want. Preaching to customers about the dangers of eating the wrong foods is not a formula for success.

On the other hand, a responsible operator will work to prepare healthful, nutritious food that people will order because it is flavorful and enjoyable to eat in addition to being good for them.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live! ™

AS IT WAS, SO SHALL IT BE

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 15:30:34 GMT

Top Ten Reasons to Go Vegetarian

Gone are the days when vegetarians were served up a plate of iceberg lettuce and a dull-as-dishwater baked potato. With the growing variety of vegetarian faux-meats like bacon and sausages and an ever-expanding variety of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants, vegetarianism has taken the world by storm.

With World Vegetarian Week here, without further ado, are the Top 10 reasons to give vegetarian eating a try, starting now!

1. Helping Animals Also Helps the Global Poor
While there is ample and justified moral indignation about the diversion of 100 million tons of grain for biofuels, more than seven times as much (760 million tons) is fed to farmed animals so that people can eat meat. Is the diversion of crops to our cars a moral issue? Yes, but it's about one-eighth the issue that meat-eating is. Care about global poverty? Try vegetarianism.

2. Eating Meat Supports Cruelty to Animals
The green pastures and idyllic barnyard scenes of years past are now distant memories. On today's factory farms, animals are crammed by the thousands into filthy windowless sheds, wire cages, gestation crates, and other confinement systems. These animals will never raise families, root in the soil, build nests, or do anything else that is natural and important to them. They won't even get to feel the warmth of the sun on their backs or breathe fresh air until the day they are loaded onto trucks bound for slaughter.

3. Eating Meat Is Bad for the Environment
A recent United Nations report entitled Livestock's Long Shadow concludes that eating meat is "one of the ... most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." In just one example, eating meat causes almost 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, and planes in the world combined. The report concludes that the meat industry "should be a major policy focus when dealing with problems of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortage and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity."

4. Avoid Bird Flu
The World Health Organization says that if the avian flu virus mutates, it could be caught simply by eating undercooked chicken flesh or eggs, eating food prepared on the same cutting board as infected meat or eggs, or even touching eggshells contaminated with the disease. Other problems with factory farming -- from foot-and-mouth to SARS -- can be avoided with a general shift to a vegetarian diet.

5. If You Wouldn't Eat a Dog, You Shouldn't Eat a Chicken
Several recent studies have shown that chickens are bright animals who are able to solve complex problems, demonstrate self-control, and worry about the future. Chickens are smarter than cats and dogs and even do some things that have not yet been seen in mammals other than primates. Dr. Chris Evans, who studies animal behavior and communication at Macquarie University in Australia, says, "As a trick at conferences, I sometimes list these attributes, without mentioning chickens and people think I'm talking about monkeys."

6. Heart Disease: Our Number One Killer
Healthy vegetarian diets support a lifetime of good health and provide protection against numerous diseases, including the United States' three biggest killers: heart disease, cancer, and strokes. Drs. Dean Ornish and Caldwell Esselstyn -- two doctors with 100 percent success in preventing and reversing heart disease -- have used a vegan diet to accomplish it, as chronicled most recently in Dr. Esselstyn's Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease, which documents his 100 percent success rate for unclogging people's arteries and reversing heart disease.

7. Cancer: Our Number Two Killer
Dr. T. Colin Campbell is one of the world's foremost epidemiological scientists and the director of what The New York Times called "the most comprehensive large study ever undertaken of the relationship between diet and the risk of developing disease." Dr. Campbell's best-selling book, The China Study, is a must-read for anyone who is concerned about cancer. To summarize it, Dr. Campbell states, "No chemical carcinogen is nearly so important in causing human cancer as animal protein."

8. Fitting Into That Itty-Bitty Bikini
Vegetarianism is also the ultimate weight-loss diet, since vegetarians are one-third as likely to be obese as meat-eaters are, and vegans are about one-tenth as likely to be obese. Of course, there are overweight vegans, just as there are skinny meat-eaters. But on average, vegans are 10 to 20 percent lighter than meat-eaters. A vegetarian diet is the only diet that has passed peer review and taken weight off and kept it off.

9. Global Peace
Leo Tolstoy claimed that "vegetarianism is the taproot of humanitarianism." His point? For people who wish to sow the seeds of peace, we should be eating as peaceful a diet as possible. Eating meat supports killing animals, for no reason other than humans' acquired taste for animals' flesh. Great humanitarians from Leo Tolstoy and Mahatma Gandhi to Thich Nhat Hanh have argued that a vegetarian diet is the only diet for people who want to make the world a kinder place.

10. The Joy of Veggies
As the growing range of vegetarian cookbooks and restaurants shows, vegetarian foods rock. People report that when they adopt a vegetarian diet, their range of foods explodes from a center-of-the-plate meat item to a range of grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables that they didn't even know existed.

Sir Paul McCartney sums it all up, "If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. That's the single most important thing you could do. It's staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty."

So are you ready to give it a try?

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!™

HEALTHY CHOICES

Wed, 21 May 2008 15:00:33 GMT

Spinach Salad with Strawberries

This Spinach Salad may be prepared before the serving, but the dressing for this Spinach Salad with Strawberries may be prepared few hours before serving.

Take a large salad bowl and sprinkle sesame seeds of spinach in the bowl.Â Add some strawberries to the salad.Â After you have done this, combine the dressing ingredients provided below and shake well in a screw-top jar and chill.

This is a very simple Spinach Salad to prepare with Strawberries.Â After you have parepared the dressing pour chilled dressing over the mixture of spinach salad and strawberry in bowl and toss to distribute well.

The ingredients for Spinach Salad with Strawberries.

Take1/2 teaspoon Toasted sesame seeds
2-3 cus of fresh strawberries, hulled and halved if large
About 6 cups of Fresh Spinach torn leaves
1/4 cup Olive Oil
1.5 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon Onion powder
2 tablespoons of Red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dried dill weed
1/8 teaspoon Garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon Dry mustard

Enjoy this Spinach Salad on your table.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

HOW TO

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:44:58 GMT

Modifying a Recipe to be Healthier

The USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans emphasizes we need to reduce the amount of fat, sodium (salt) and added sugar we consume and increase our consumption of fiber. When buying food we can check the label, but when using a recipe we may need to make some changes by substituting ingredients or changing the cooking technique. Just like you substitute when you are out of a certain ingredient, you can make changes in a recipe so it is healthier.

This fact sheet provides you with ways to decrease the amount of fat, calories, sugar and salt (sodium) in your recipes. Ways to increase the fiber in your recipes is provided to help you make more nutritious food. Remember you can experiment with recipes and change ingredients. You may also be able to find other recipes that are similar to yours that have less fat, sugar, salt, and have more additions of nutritious ingredients. Have fun when you are cooking: Experiment!

Tips to decrease the total fat and lower calories

Instead of this:	Try using this:
Shortening, butter, margarine, or solid fat.	Use ¼ less liquid oil or solid fat called for in the recipe. If recipe calls for 1 cup use ¾ cup. If recipe uses ¼ cup shortening, use 3 Tablespoons oil. Use equal amounts of oil for melted shortening, margarine or butter.
Shortening, butter, or oil in baking	Use applesauce or prune puree for half of the butter, shortening or oil. May need to reduce baking time by 25%.
Instead of whole milk, half and half or evaporated milk	Use skim milk, Skim Plus™, 1% milk, evaporated skim milk, fat-free half and half , or plain soymilk with calcium.
Butter, shortening, margarine, or oil to prevent sticking. Fat to sauté or stir-fry.	When frying foods use cooking spray, water, broth or nonstick pans.
Full-fat cream cheese	Use low-fat or nonfat cream cheese, Neufchatel or low-fat cottage cheese pureed until smooth.
Full-fat sour cream Full-fat cottage cheese Full-fat Ricotta cheese	Use nonfat or reduced fat sour cream or fat-free plain yogurt. (Yogurt is not heat stable.) Use 2% or fat-free cottage cheese. Use part-skim ricotta.
Cream Whipping cream	Use evaporated skim milk Use nonfat whipped topping or cream (This is only nonfat if one serving size is used.)
Eggs	Use egg whites (usually 2 egg whites for every egg) or ¼ cup egg substitute.
Whole fat cheese	Use reduced fat cheese, but add it at the end of the baking time or use part skim mozzarella.
Frying in fat	Use cooking methods such as bake, boil, broil, grill, poach, roast, stir-fry, or microwave.
Regular mayonnaise or salad dressing	Use low fat, reduced or nonfat mayonnaise or salad dressing.
Canned fish	Use water-packed canned products or canned products packed in ‘lite’ syrup.
Fatter cuts of meatt—skin on	Leaner cuts of meat or ground meat, remove skin before cooking.

Tips to reduce sodium:

Instead of this:	Try using this:
Salt	Omit salt or reduce salt by ½ in most recipes (except in products with yeast). Cook foods without adding salt. Don’t put the salt shaker on the table.
Frozen or canned vegetables	Choose frozen vegetables without sauces or use no-salt-added canned goods. Rinsing canned vegetables will help reduce sodium.
Seasoning Salt or spice mixes with salt	Use salt-free seasonings and spice mixes. Use herbs, spices, lemon juice, or vinegar to flavor food instead of salt. Seasonings high in sodium include catsup, chili sauce, chili powder, bouillon cubes, barbecue sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and meat tenderizers.

Tips to reduce the amount of sugar:

Instead of this:	Try using this:
Sugar	Reducing sugar by ¼ to 1/3 in baked goods and desserts. If recipe calls for 1 cup, use 2/3 cup. Cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract can be added to give impression of sweetness. (Do not remove all sugar in yeast breads as sugar provides food for the yeast.)
Sugar	Replacing sugar with amounts of sucralose (Splenda™), works well for most baked products. Add ½ teaspoon baking soda in addition to each cup of Splenda™ used. Baking time is usually shorter and product will have a smaller yield. Try using aspartame (NutraSweet™), saccharin, or acesulfame potassium in other products that are not baked. The sweet taste will vary with product combination or amounts of each sweetener used.
Fruit-flavored yogurt	Plain yogurt with fresh fruit slices or use light versions of yogurt.
Syrup	Pureed fruit, such as no sugar added applesauce, or sugar-free syrup
Sugar in canned or frozen fruits	Decrease or eliminate sugar when canning or freezing fruits or buy unsweetened frozen fruit or fruit canned in its own juice, water, or light syrup.

Ways to increase Fiber:

Instead of:	Try using this:
White rice, enriched grains	Whole grain, brown rice, wild rice, whole cornmeal (not degermed), whole barley, bulgur, kasha, quinoa, or whole wheat couscous.
All purpose flour	Substitute whole wheat flour for up to ½ of the flour. For example, if a recipe calls for 2 cups flour, try 1 cup all purpose flour and 1 cup minus 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour. Use “white whole-wheat flour” or “whole wheat pastry flour” for total amount of all-purpose flour.
Pastas, crackers, cookies, cereals	Whole grain pastas, crackers, cookies, and cereals.
White bread	100% whole wheat bread and 100% whole grain bread.
Iceberg lettuce	Romaine lettuce, endive, and other leafy lettuces, or baby spinach.
Meat	Use more dried beans and peas. Add legumes and lentils to many different dishes: try adding lentils to your spaghetti sauce.
Peeled fruit and vegetables	Add extra fruits and vegetables, such as adding carrots to spaghetti sauce, leaving apple peels in apple crisp, zucchini bread, etc. Add extra fruits and vegetables to recipes and include the peel when appropriate.

* Use of brand name does not mean an endorsement of the product.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

LUNCH or DINNER

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:27:45 GMT

Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Bok Choy

Ingredients

2 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (about 1 pound)
5 fresh cilantro sprigs plus 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 whole green onion plus 2 green onions, chopped
1 8-ounce package sugar snap peas
3 baby bok choy, thinly sliced crosswise
1 English hothouse cucumber, quartered lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise
1 red jalapeño chile, thinly sliced
1/4 cup ponzu*
2 1/2 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger

Preparation

Fill medium skillet with salted water; bring to boil. Add chicken breasts, cilantro sprigs, and whole green onion; reduce heat to medium and poach chicken until just cooked through, about 20 minutes. Using tongs, transfer chicken to plate; cool. Add snap peas to same skillet; increase heat to high and cook until crisp-tender, about 1 minute.

Drain; rinse snap peas under cold water to cool. Discard whole green onion and cilantro sprigs. Coarsely shred chicken. Toss chicken, chopped cilantro, chopped green onions, snap peas, and next 3 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk ponzu, vinegar, oil, and ginger in small bowl. Add dressing to salad; toss to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Courtesy of Healthy Cooking Tips

Chef Tim Johnson

Remember...Grace is upon you so eat to live!

healthy cooking tips: Blog

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Ways to increase Fiber:

LUNCH or DINNER

Asian Chicken Salad with Snap Peas and Bok Choy

Ingredients

Preparation

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Nutritional Foods