For most of the years of my life, my family has eaten string beans as the main vegetable for Christmas dinner. We don't do the traditional green bean casserole, instead choosing to steam them and dress them with butter, toasted almonds, salt and a little roasted garlic. They are so good and my sister, mother and I often fight over the leftovers the next day.
However, this year we're planning on deviated from our tradition in order to have a huge bowl of these Brussels Sprouts instead. Sadly, according to our friends over at Green Daily, Brussels Sprouts are not a particularly green choice for the holiday table. Apparently the seem to have the ability to cause some people to have a bit of gas after they eat them. If you multiply that gas over the millions of people who eat sprouts for Christmas dinner, it can have something of an effect on the green house effect. Luckily, for those of us who don't want to give up our sprouts, we can follow these simple cooking tips in order to reduce their gassy effects.
I saw an ad in a food magazine recently in which a mother was putting down a platter holding a tofurky in front of her son and girlfriend. It implied that it was the first tofurky that this woman had prepared and that she was doing it for this new arrival who was presumably a vegetarian.
I imagine that there are actually quite a few of you out there who may find yourself with a vegetarian or vegan around your holiday table next week. I actually don't recommend preparing tofurky as my experiences with it have been decidedly unpleasant (it's great in concept but sadly just doesn't taste that good). Instead, you might want to check out this post over at the Well Fed Network which lays out a bunch of tips and recipes for how you might want to make your non-meat eating guests feel welcome around your table.
During the years that my sister was a vegetarian, we typically made lots of veggies and always had several non-meat dishes into which we added chopped and toasted nuts for additional protein. For those of you who aren't meat eaters, how to do you handle these big, celebratory meals?
Until I hit high school, my family ate dinner together nearly every night. I'm talking TV off, table set, glasses of milk, hands held for a moment of silence, dinner. I feel really lucky to have grown up with such a foundation of family meals and someday when I have kids, I hope to give them the same experience.
Both studies and common sense tell us that eating communally it good for us, so someone out there went and declared this week (September 16-22) National Eat Dinner Together Week. Sponsored by the National Pork Board (who oddly situated it in the middle of the Jewish High Holidays*) it is a good reminder to clear off the table, make a pot of soup, a roasted chicken or a stop at your local prepared foods market and sit down with your friends and family.
*The Jewish side of my family is highly secular. They don't think twice about eating pork products most of the year, but even they try to avoid them during the High Holidays. Seems like an odd choice on the part of the Pork Board.
Easy meal prep is hot right now. By this, I am referring to the make-and-freeze dinner businesses that are thriving all across the US. With names like Dream Dinners, Super Suppers, My Girlfriend's Kitchen, Supper Thyme USA, What's for Dinner and Dinner by Design, all appeal to the "busy family demographic, where people want to have home cooked meals but don't necessarily feel that they have the time to do it themselves. These businesses offer kitchens with lots of partially assembled meals and ingredients that you can put together in combinations that your family will like. Typically, meals are prepared for a week or two in advance and everything can be frozen. Heating instructions (and any other cooking suggestions, if needed, are included.
The trend is so popular that it is starting to spread out of the US. In London, a chain called Dinners Made is springing up and gaining popularity with those who are looking for food to make in advance and freeze, and also with those who want to entertain and don't have time (or perhaps the ability) to cook everything from scratch without some assistance. Using Dinners Made means that the recipes are included, prep is done and cleanup is taken care of, as they are at every similar easy meal prep shop. Combining the convenience of working in the store with below-restaurant prices, a flexible menu and fresh ingredients, it's not hard to see why the idea is spreading so rapidly.
While we're all busily listing the best restaurants we've eaten at in the last year, Adam Platt, from New York Magazine, already has a list put together of where to eat in New York during the next one. He gives his picks for the best eateries in fifteen different categories: Vegas on the Hudson (Buddakan, Del Posto), The Out-of-Towners (L'Atelier de Joël Robuchon), Neighborhood Chic (The Little Owl), Haute Italian (Café Boulud), Haute Barnyard (Telepan), Real Barnyard (Daisy May's BBQ USA), Gourmet Bar Food (Degustation), Makeover Madness (Tocqueville), Designer Steaks (Craftsteak), Nightclub Chinese (Shun Lee West), The Great Lunch (Adrienne's Pizza Bar), Brooklyn Ramble (The Farm on Adderley), Breakfast Ramble (Zucco: Le French Diner), Cocktail Madness (Employees Only), Dessert (Russian Tea Room, Pinkberry and Chikalicious) . And there are many more listed in each category!
The single biggest factor that prompts people into overeating is portion size, and when more and more meals are eaten outside of the home, it is restaurant portion size that can cause a problem. Not only are the portions often huge, but they set a benchmark that distorts what people perceive as an appropriate amount of food.
An obesity researcher at Penn State University had 300 chefs from fine and casual dining restaurants take a survey that asked what things influence what size they make their portions. 4 out or 5 served more than the recommended portion sizes. 70% said that presentation was the biggest concern, getting a "wow" factor into the dining experience that might cause a customer to return. Value and portion size are often connected in the minds of the consumers, so larger servings come into play more than the actual plating. 65% said that cost influenced how much food they served, and 52% cited "expectations, which was primarily true of chain-restaurants and categories (like steakhouses, for example) that are known for being generous. Only 16% considered calories.
Chefs are not necessarily dieticians and their job is not to tell you what to eat or how much of you plate to clean before taking the rest home. It does make you wonder, however, if our priorities and theirs are in the right place when a 1-pound "serving" of pasta starts to look normal.
Today is National Dessert Day. It doesn't seem like we really need a whole day to celebrate dessert, but any excuse is a good one, right? Even though it is considered to be a traditional part of a dinner, only 14% of families regularly sit down to it, as opposed to 24% only two decades ago. But this number may be a little misleading because studies show that younger people, under the age of 45, eat dessert foods more often, occasionally having them in place of regular meals instead of only in that window of the day traditionally reserved for dessert.
Another reason that people seem to be eating fewer desserts is that "75% of adults said they were trying to cut down or eliminate fat from their diet," so fewer people are going for the huge dessert servings that are offered at some restaurants. This has helped to fuel the trend for smaller desserts, including cupcakes, which may pack in the same calories, but seem much smaller and more manageable than a large piece of cake or creme brulee.
Breakfast might not be that important after all, as some scientists and nutritionists are beginning to question principles that have been the mainstays of diet and health for years and years. The doubts are arising from the fact that there is little to no scientific proof - just anecdotal evidence - that eating breakfast is definitely better for you. As Marion Nestle put it in What to Eat, " What you eat - and how much - matters more to your health than when you eat." Some even notes that there are more than a handful of people who would do well to skip a meal or two once in a while.
There is no proof that skipping breakfast is better for your health either, however, and studies show that many people who skip breakfast are likely to binge later on in the day, with snacks or overly generous lunches. People who eat breakfast are less likely to have certain nutritional shortfalls in their diets, since breakfast foods are often high in fiber, calcium, iron, protein and frequently include fruits, which provide many other nutrients. "There isn't any downside to eating a healthy breakfast," said Joan Salge Blake, a registered dietitian and assistant professor at Boston University specializing in weight management.
One of the best things about leftover chicken is that it is perfect for making sandwiches with. Actually, just about any leftover meat (or vegetable) can be incorporated, somehow, into a sandwich because bread and condiments go a long way in making old food seem as good as new. A good illustration of this is this Chicken Salad Sandwich from Cheap Eats. The sandwich is dead-easy to make, mixing shredded chicken, diced celery and green onions with mayonnaise, salt, pepper and a dash of paprika. Once you have the basics, you can augment the filling with hard boiled eggs, dried cranberries or raisins, lettuce, tomatoes or bell peppers. Ever budget-conscious, Cheap Eats also served the sandwich up with a side of leftover smashed roasted garlic potatoes, but as for all sandwiches, a bag of chips makes a perfect acceptable side dish.
Inside Prevention's Fit and Fast Meals in Minutes: Over 175 Delicious, Healthy Recipes in 30 Minutes or Less, you'll find a wide variety of meals that can all be made part of a balanced, healthy diet and a busy day. It takes no thought on your part to put them together, though, because author Linda Gassenheimer has done all the work for you. Each meal – the book covers breakfast, lunch and dinner and the recipes are usually grouped as a complete meal – comes with a shopping list of ingredients, helpful hints to save time or for substitutions, and a "countdown" timeline for making the meal. The easy-to-follow recipes also have a complete nutritional analysis to accompany them, so you know exactly what you're eating and as if that weren't enough, they are designed to have the optimal balance of proteins, complex carbohydrates and fats you need in your diet.
All the recipes make two servings, with the exception of the foods in the "entertaining" section, which serve six, so it is ideal for a single-eater who wants leftovers or four couples. As in so many other healthy living books, this one offers tips for controlling your portion sizes and making good food choices at home and at restaurants. There are four weeks' worth of recipes and a chart that suggests meals for each day, so the book could serve as a great starting place for someone who wants to begin to pursue a healthier lifestyle, as well as for those who already do.
And, for those of you interested in seeing more of Linda Gassenheimer, you can catch her column or see her at the 2006 Miami Book Fair, Nov. 12-19.
The UCLA School of Public Health recently finished a study that found that men and women who ate a cup of salad each day had higher concentrations of folic acid, vitamins C and E, lycopene and alpha and beta carotene in the bloodstream than men and women who did not. Because many people do not get enough nutrients even when taking nutritional supplements, this is good news to anyone who can make room in their diet for an additional 90grams (1 cup) of salad on a daily basis.
Salad, as it was counted in the study, is considered to be raw vegetables, salad greens (lettuce, etc) and dressing. Scientists say that the results of this study should help to dispell the concerns that they body may have difficulty absorbing nutritents from raw vegetables, though a little bit of low fat dressing couldn't hurt - not to mention that salads are just a little bit more interesting with an added layer of flavor.
The freshman 15 may be a myth, but college students still face a lot of challenges when it comes to eating healthy. Greasy foods, especially pizzas, seem to be everywhere as clubs and other organizations try to lure students into their meetings. It is tempting, and myth or not, a student can still gain more weight than they would like if they don't watch what they eat. Just keep a couple of tips in mind and you should emerge from your freshman year no heavier than when you entered it.
Low fat yogurt is a great food to keep in the mini fridge. Yogurts come in so many flavors that you're unlikely to get bored with them, and they can be mixed with fresh fruits or even some granola for a change of pace. Yogurts also frequently go on sale, so stock up by buying at those times.
Trail mix, GORP or any other combination of nuts and dried fruits is a good snack to have around. The nuts are healthy and filling, while the fruits add a sweetness. A handful or two should put a stop to any candy-bar cravings you might have.
Where once cans of Spaghetti-os, mixed fruit and green beans were prevalent, many food banks now have a very different selection of goods, including Cookie Crisp cereal, Everlasting Gobstopper jawbreakers, Mini Oreos and Wonka Donutz.
Most of the food donated to food banks comes from grocers, manufacturers and growers. Perishables are the first items to be distributed, and take more handling and faster shipment than non-perishable goods, but with the upswing in the amount of junk foods with long shelf-lives - possibly an indication of larger food trends - some food banks are trying to make changes in their programs. They want to increase the work they do with growers of fresh foods and improve their storage systems.
Many experts say that it takes time for a child to accept a new food once it has been offered to them. The number of times you should offer a food varies according to who you ask. The most recent number seems to be 15 times, but once of the reasons to bring up new foods so often is to prevent the kids from getting into a rut with what they eat.
Pediatric nutritionist Jeanne Cox says that variety is important to make sure that kids are getting all of the nutrients that they need, even if the foods that they like are already healthy ones. New foods add flavor variety and change the vitamins and nutrients the children take in. If they are offered, and allowed to eat, the same foods every day, they may be less likely to try new foods in the future.
Cox tells parents that they should offer children, especially picky eaters, very balanced meals that include protein, starch, vegetables and/or fruits. Each element should be varied, serving potatoes, bread (whole grain, of course), pasta or rice for the starch, for example. Even if a child only eats the protein on one night and the starch on another, in the long run, the child will have eaten a relatively balanced diet and probably tried a few new foods, too - new foods that he or she might just want to eat again.
Why does the term 'self-heating' worry me now? Maybe it has something to do with the recent recall of Wolfgang Puck's self-heating coffees. Maybe it's that the warnings for Crosse & Blackwell's Hunger Breaks HeaterMeals that say that if you're going to heat one in a car, you'd better crack a window first. Basically a commercial version of the U.S. military's Meals Ready to Eat (MREs), HeaterMeals include a small heating pad that is activated with a packet of saltwater. Get the pad hot by adding the water and then stick it back in its box with the tray of food. After it's done heating your steak and vegetables or chicken curry, the pad can be used as a body warmer, "you can even sit on it!" the manufacturer says. You could probably warm up your dinner by sitting on it too. These seem just a little different than the Kashi meals.
Until I hit high school, my family ate dinner together nearly every night. I'm talking TV off, table set, glasses of milk, hands held for a moment of silence, dinner. I feel really lucky to have grown up with such a foundation of family meals and someday when I have kids, I hope to give them the same experience. 
Easy meal prep is hot right now. By this, I am referring to the 
The single biggest factor that prompts people into overeating is portion size, and when more and more meals are eaten outside of the home, it is restaurant portion size that can cause a problem. Not only are the portions often huge, but they set a benchmark that distorts what people perceive as an appropriate amount of food. 
Today is 
Breakfast might not be 
Inside 
The UCLA School of Public Health recently finished 
The freshman 15 
Where once cans of Spaghetti-os, mixed fruit and green beans were prevalent, 
Many experts say that it takes time for a child to accept a new food once it has been offered to them. The number of times you should offer a food varies according to who you ask. The most recent number seems to be 15 times, but once of the reasons to bring up new foods so often is to prevent the kids from getting into a rut with what they eat.
Why does the term 'self-heating' worry me now? Maybe it has something to do with the 
DIY Foods: Making homemade sausage
Cakes so amazing they'd be hard to cut into
Fruit juice: An invitation to diabetes?
