Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution

While I have always liked the Tracy Chapman song Talkin' 'Bout a Revolution...it's not the reason for this particular post. Instead, I'm inspired by what superstar chef Jamie Oliver (of Naked Chef fame) is up to with his new show "Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution." Airing on ABC on Friday nights at 9PM EDT, I caught up on the first episode via DVR last night. And I have to say that I was simultaneously impressed with his incredible chutzpah and appalled by the reception he got from the very people he was trying to help. His philosophy is so sane and so balanced that it's hard to imagine anyone ARGUING with him...but argue they did. It reminded me that food is personal and when someone threatens established habits of an entire city as he does in his show (set in Huntington, WV - deemed the unhealthiest city in America by the Center for Disease Control) it can get a little ugly!

In the show, Jamie focuses on improving school food and on teaching people to cook from fresh, whole ingredients. He doesn't completely eschew sweets or treats, but views them as occasional indulgences, not as everyday fare. There's an incredible scene where he dumps out all the food one family eats in a week on the kitchen table and everything...I mean everything...is "golden brown". Not a color to be seen. This is how America eats??

Here is the philosophy Jamie outlines on his website...see what you think.

"My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you'll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they're in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you'll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you'll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you'll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you'll want something warming and hearty. If you've got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we'll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a 'healthy' approach to food, and eating better I'm talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then."

I suppose it's easy for me to view his philosophy as balanced when it lines up so well with my own! I'd love to hear other points of view on his philosophy, the Food Revolution he is trying to start, or the show in general....check out his site...or the show...and tell me what you think by commenting here.

Caffeine - pleasure or poison?

One topic that almost always comes up in my early talks with a new client is caffeine. It isn't usually the first thing on their mind as it relates to their health but eventually they wonder aloud if they are consuming too much...and if so, what effects it might be having on their body and their life.

I'll leave the full discourse on caffeine's bodily effects to medical doctors, but I do have a point of view on how it can jeopardize our ability to achieve a healthy lifestyle with balanced energy throughout the day.

The biggest challenge caffeine presents is that it creates what I call "Fake Energy". It essentially tricks the body into THINKING it has energy when in fact, just the opposite is true!

Consider a fictitious person who stays up late at night working or watching TV or suffering from insomnia and consequently wakes up in the morning feeling a little sleepy. She'll say that while she is not hungry in the morning, she simply can't leave the house without that first cup of coffee or tea (or two). She can then "go for hours without eating" simply refilling her cup of caffeine periodically throughout the morning. She may grab lunch and then find she hit a mid-afternoon lull which she gets through with....an afternoon Starbucks run! Then she wonders aloud why she is always the so wide awake in the evening, even to the point of having difficulty falling asleep at night.

If I deconstruct this pattern, it becomes clear that while the person above is tricking her body into thinking it has energy, in reality the things that TRULY provide energy are being withheld -- namely, nourishing food and adequate rest.

A healthier pattern might look like:
1- Getting 7-8 hours of sleep
2- Starting the day with a balanced breakfast
(protein, high fiber carbohydrate, fruit or vegetable)
3- Getting some exercise
4- Eating every 3-4 hours throughout the day
(to maintain stable blood sugar and energy levels)
5- Sufficiently hydrating throughout the day with caffeine-free beverages

But caffeine so thoroughly masks the natural desire for this pattern that a person can completely disconnect from it and instead survive (but importantly not thrive!) on mug after mug of good ol' "Fake Energy".

So let's say you recognize yourself in the scenario above...what exactly should you do? Start by reducing the post-lunch caffeine you consume until you can get to sleep at an hour that gives you 7 or 8 solid hours of sleep. Then, eat something within an hour of waking up...whether or not you feel hungry. You may need to retrain your body to accept food in the morning but over time you will reclaim a healthy, natural rhythm for hunger that is not masked by caffeine. Then pick up the recommended pattern above to derive energy from REAL sources. If I can support you in this journey, please reach out to me! Together we can kick the Fake Energy habit and get you on a path to a life full of the energy you deserve.

I have to end by saying that for many of us (myself included!) morning coffee provides a delightful ritual of warmth and comfort. There's nothing quite like holding a favorite mug steaming with aromatic goodness to start your day...and there is no reason to give this up! You can gradually convert to decaffeinated coffee, preserving all the joy and pleasure of the ritual, or even keep that one cup a day of caffeinated coffee with little ill effect. The key is simply to ensure that you are not using caffeine as a substitute for real nourishment that provides energy to fuel your life!

What do good knives have to do with good health?

It may seem that knives have absolutely nothing to do with health, yet good kitchen knives are the first kitchen tool in which I encourage clients to invest if they haven't done so already. For less than $300, a home cook can get the essential knives needed for daily meal preparation and over time, can probably save more than that in headache remedies for the pain and suffering caused by dull knives! (If you're wondering what the second purchase I recommend is, it's a good cutting board, of course!)

My premise is that most healthful meals involve SOME sort of trimming, chopping, dicing, and slicing and if you are attempting this with dull or cheap knives, there are numerous challenges. Upgrading to a decent set of knives has a host of benefits, but here are my Top 3.

1) Speed
Good, sharp knives are faster. Plain and simple. Slicing a tomato with a dull, low quality knife is an exercise in Zen-like patience as you saw back and forth hoping to eventually break through the tomato skin (Seriously? HOPE to break through? We're talking about a TOMATO SKIN here and I've had this experience more than once when cutting a tomato with a sub-par knife! Sheesh.) If you've never used quality knives, you will be AMAZED by how much more quickly you are able to complete the preparation for any recipe.


2) Results
Quality knives just do a better job at cutting! They cause less (aesthetic) damage to the food when it's being prepared, leaving you with more beautiful slices or dices on the plate. And when you're dealing with healthy food, presentation matters even more. Since they don't mangle the tomato or bread or whatever it is you are trying to cut, there is also less waste.

3) Safety
Paradoxically, you are actually LESS likely to cut yourself with a SHARP knife than with a DULL one! And since good knives are often sold in knife blocks, you'll keep your fingers (and any little fingers that roam your kitchen drawers) from being accidentally cut when digging for a knife.

So you're ready to buy? There are really three basic knives that should be in your collection.

Once you get comfortable with what these three can do, you can go crazy adding many more specialized tools to your knife block, but these three could easily last most home cooks a lifetime. Here's a bit about when to pull out each one.

A 7-10" Chef's Knife - this is your basic kitchen workhorse. It makes me crazy when I see someone using a teensy paring knife to chop a potato or carrot or celery into her hand! A cutting board and a chef's knife make quick work of most chopping and dicing. This knife will also slice meat (ham, turkey, beef, etc) beautifully.

A 3-4" Paring Knife - This is your "precision" knife - great for peeling vegetables or fruits but also for deboning meats.

A Serrated bread knife - You need to use a sawing motion when using a serrated knife vs just pushing the knife straight through the food to be cut. The serrated edge thereby slices bread without mangling it, but it's also super for tomatoes which can tend to crush under the weight of a less-than-perfectly-sharp chef's knife.

Which brings me to one important disclaimer:
A good knife only stays good if it stays sharp! Once you've invested in knives, you must commit the time to keeping them sharp. Even the very best quality knife will dull over time with use. Did you know professional chefs sharpen their knives every DAY? You can do this at home by using a honing steel to prevent or delay dulling by honing before each use, but a steel will not make a dull knife sharp again! As a result, you should also buy a good quality knife sharpener OR have your knives professionally sharpened periodically (once or twice a year). Trust me, you will notice and appreciate the difference when you do!

There are countless brands of quality knives out there. I swear by Wusthof because I grew up with them and have owned them personally for the last 15 years. J.A. Henckels is an other excellent brand and I often hear good things about Japanese brands like Shun and Global as well. The most important thing is to go to a store and actually HOLD the knife before buying. You'll want one that feels right in your hand. Not too big or too small, too heavy or too light. You'll know it when you find it. And then you're off and chopping!

Onions and Shallots and Leeks...oh my!

Alliums. I'm not sure I even knew what that word meant until I learned one of my clients had an allergy to everything in the allium family. Since I'd have to get creative to develop recipes without alliums, I figured I'd better learn exactly what they were!

It turns out that alliums are the botanical name for the members of the onion family which includes onions, leeks, shallots, garlic, chives, scallions and apparently about 700 other species. After I finished lamenting the flavor we'd be sacrificing by NOT including these in the meals my client and I would concoct, I started to think about exactly why I was so attached to all-things-onion. So here goes...an ode to alliums.


Top 5 things I love about alliums:
1 - They are the best aromatic in the gastronomic world.
2 - They add substance and flavor without adding fat or (significant) calories.
3 - They add depth to dishes and can be used choicefully to evoke flavor nuances.
4 - They can be used raw OR cooked and taste completely different each way.
5 - They have a long shelf life and are easy to keep on hand.

Here's a closer look at the merits of each of these popular members of the allium family...

Onions
As both a vegetable AND a flavoring agent, this is the staple allium in most kitchens. Fresh, these are delicate enough to be sliced onto a sandwich or burger. Storage onions (the kind with papery skins you see in grocery stores in bulk or net bags) have a somewhat stronger flavor but a really long shelf life when properly stored. They form the basis for many savory dishes like soups, stews, casseroles, and stir frys. Onions have a heavier, earthier flavor profile than their counterparts which follow, less of a bitey fresh taste, so they don't lend themselves AS well to fresh dishes. Of the storage varieties, yellow onions are the most pungent, followed by white, spanish, bermuda, red, pearl and vidalia. When I think about how I'd use these

Yellow - basic all purpose onion
White - often used in Mexican cooking
Spanish or Bermuda - great in creamy soups and sauces because of texture
Red - beautiful color and mild flavor so good raw in salads or sliced on burgers or sandwiches
Pearl - good for pickling (due to size) or added whole to stews (cooks quickly)
Vidalia - very juicy and much sweeter than others - good both raw and cooked (*this is MY go-to variety)

Scallions (aka Green Onions)
Generally eaten raw in salads, these can also be cooked and often are used in Asian stir frys or Mexican dishes as a garnish. They have a mild, delicate flavor in both raw and cooked dishes and can be used when onion would be overpowering.

Garlic
This is by far the most pungent member of the onion family but the flavor mellows considerably when cooked vs. eaten raw. A slow-cooked dish with garlic (or even a whole head of garlic roasted unpeeled and then squeezed out and spread on bread) can be much sweeter and less "garlicky" than anything made with raw garlic. The fresher the garlic is (i.e. harvested in the spring when in season), the subtler the flavor is. Garlic is an essential flavoring in nearly all ethnic cuisines.

Shallots
Shallots are intense in flavor but without being overly pungent. I describe the flavor as "bitey" or "bracing" and love to use diced fresh shallots in salads or homemade salad dressings or in compound butter. When sauteed, shallot flavor mellows considerably. I like to saute them with mushrooms in a little olive oil and butter and toss with steamed green beans or other green vegetables. I love the complexity they add to sauces when sauteed. I also use them in the base for many of my pasta sauces and risottos as they pair beautifully with white wine.

Leeks
Leeks are far more delicate in taste than onions and make a more gentle flavoring for soups. They are famously paired with potato in potato-leek soup but are also quite delicious as a vegetable on their own...simmered in butter especially!

Chives
While technically an allium, chives are most often used as an herb. They have a fine, delicate flavor that pairs well with eggs (in an omelet especially) or potatoes (on top of baked potato or mixed into mashed potatoes or in potato salad!). They make a beautiful fresh garnish for pureed soups or cooked vegetables.

So there you have it...an ode to alliums! As for the client with the allergy? We're working on ways to amp up flavor WITHOUT these precious gems...I'll keep you posted on our experiments!

Buying Organic on a Budget

I'm often asked questions by clients about how affordable it really is to eat healthfully, or more specifically to eat organically. Oprah recently had Michael Pollan (author of Food Rules , In Defense of Food, and The Omnivore's Dilemma and contributor to the movie Food Inc.) on her show. And today, her website posted this article by an Oprah.com writer who attempted to follow the movie's guidance AND stick to her budget.

I thought I'd share it with you, as it makes the case that while there are financial tradeoffs involved, they are not insurmountable, and can be readily overcome through cost savings in other budget areas. Beyond that, they are WORTH it, and we need to start thinking about finding the best quality as our objective when buying food as opposed to finding the lowest cost.

From a personal perspective, when my family converted to organic milk, I was a little worried about DOUBLING the cost of milk with two preschool-age milk-drinkers in the house. In truth the extra six or seven dollars a week for the two gallons they drink was easily recouped by cutting back on other things (like brewing my own coffee vs buying it from a coffee shop or taking a lunch vs. buying it at work one day a week). Once I'd convinced myself of the value of organic milk, these were pretty easy ideas to generate!

Organic meats took us a bit longer to try and I'm not 100% converted yet but I do now buy organic MOST of the time. Organic meat is definitely more expensive, so it's helped us to view meat as something we need less of overall...and to really savor what we do buy.

That's the whole game as far as I'm concerned...quality over quantity....excellence over frequency. It's a process to change the way we've been taught to think about food (which I would paraphrase as "get as much of it as you can, as cheaply as possible") but it's nice to see other writers helping to explain that the effort is one worth undertaking.

A meal to welcome spring

Spring has sprung here...or so it seems. We've had a gorgeous preview of spring this week with temperatures in the 60s and streets filled with children in short sleeves playing with abandon in the sunshine. That first breath of spring air always changes my palate in an instant. I am passionate about cooking seasonally, and days like we've had this week make me start to crave lighter, greener foods. I want to fire up the grill (without having to brush the snow off of it first!) and smell the char of a steak or the smoky edge of shrimp. I want to steam asparagus and toss salads of mixed greens with lemony vinaigrettes. Gone is my desire to spend the day near the stove stirring warm, comforting foods...the soups and stews that have satisfied and nourished our family through the cold and snowy days of winter here in the Midwest. Changing the foods on the table is like throwing off the comforter and quilts of winter to reveal crisp white sheets and light coverlets of spring. Aaaaah.

Tonight we're having Mediterranean Grilled Vegetables on whole wheat flatbread. I'll grill red, yellow and green peppers, a sweet Vidalia onion, some baby zucchini, and a handful of cherry tomatoes tossed in olive oil till the edges are charred and the pieces are crisp tender. I'll grill the flatbread just until it's warm and spread it with hummus and top it with the grilled vegetables, a sprinkle of goat cheese, and a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic reduction. And we'll have that green salad with shallot-lemon vinaigrette I've been craving all day. If I weren't pregnant I'd open a bottle of bright, crisp Sauvignon Blanc and toast to the joy of our spring preview...as it is, I'll make do with a bottle of Pellegrino and a twist of lime. ;-)

I'm afraid we'll be back to soups and stews for a few more weeks before spring is here for REAL but with a dinner like this to whet our appetite, I'll spend those weeks poring through cookbooks for ideas to take advantage of the first spring harvests.

Healthy Disney

I've just returned from a week-long vacation to Disney World in Orlando, FL (which explains my brief absence from blogging). With a 5 year old and 2 1/2 year old, it just doesn't get much better than a week at Disney! The kids had a ball and so did we. Seeing Disney through the eyes of a child is amazing...princesses and castles become real...the sun always shines...and brief encounters with classic characters are preserved for a lifetime in photos.

As you might imagine, since I'm a food coach and health counselor, I was especially intrigued by the dining options we'd find in the parks during our stay. Would we be relegated to a week of chicken nuggets and french fries? Or would there be healthier options for us and our kids that would help us return home feeling as good as when we left? In truth, I was pleasantly surprised with what we found.

While there are certainly countless venues that sell chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, pizza, or burgers.....nearly all of these outlets ALSO have salad options (with the dressing conveniently offered on the side), deli sandwiches, or veggie burgers. Kids meals come standard with fruit or veggies (grapes or applesauce or carrot sticks) and milk, water, or juice - and menus state that fries and soda are available upon request.

Sit-down restaurants offer even healthier fare - tons of grilled fish and chicken, fresh vegetables and salads. Even mobile kiosks in the parks sell prepackaged bags or cartons of grapes, celery and carrots, and of course, bottled water.

Our favorite lunch experience was at Sunshine Seasons in the Land Pavilion at Epcot where I had a delicious Roasted Beet and Goat Cheese salad and a cup of vegetarian vegetable soup. What a delightful respite in our very busy day! We had several wonderful dinners of mahi mahi, grouper, and corbina (a fish caught locally off the coast of Florida).

We also took advantage of our in-room refrigerator in the hotel and made a stop at a local grocery store to stock up on breakfast basics and some healthy snacks. This let us have our normal high fiber, low sugar cereal with fresh fruit and organic milk to start the day (and saved us from paying high prices for hotel or park breakfasts to boot). We bought hummus and veggies and pita chips, some cheese and crackers and more fruit to have on hand for afternoon snacks. I'm so glad we did this because we always had good choices nearby that helped to keep our bodies feeling normal during our week away from home.

All that said, it wouldn't be vacation without a few extra indulgences, so we all dug into our favorites over the course of the week. Mine was definitely Dole Whip from the Aloha Plantation in Magic Kingdom's Adventureland. Whoever invented this frozen pineapple concoction should be canonized - it's amazing! Seriously, there are fan sites all over the internet dedicated to this hard-to-find dessert. YUM.

My daughter loved her Mickey shaped ice cream bar at the park and cherished her chance to order chicken nuggets and, yes, french fries, for lunch! Our son chomped through the messiest red lollipop EVER and had an in room ice cream party with is sister and grandparents one night when my husband and I went out to dinner. My husband ordered a hot dog and fries while watching the parade that he described as "amazing"!

So all told, a great week that left me feeling like Disney understands how to offer a good mix of healthy fare AND vacation-worthy indulgences throughout the park system. Would we really expect anything less from Disney?