The Food Transtion: From Junk to Heatlh

Last night I enjoyed another evening of wonderful healthy natural foods. A bed of alfalfa sprouts top with balsamic vinaigrette, served up with steamed Basmati rice and a baked fillet of salmon. Meals this healthy were not always my mainstay, now they are. For me it was fairly easy to make the transition to a healthy living lifestyle because I live in an area where the general population is predominantly health conscious. Thusly, health stores and co-ops are on every side of town. Because being health conscious is such a big part of the market trends in the area, consumers can find organic foods and other healthy options in most of the major grocery stores as well. This may not be the case in you town. So how can you make the switch to a more healthy lifestyle?

Food is the first step in the transition into a more natural lifestyle. Starting with food is a good because it dose not require you to go to far out of your way of your daily routine to do it. So you say that you don’t have any health food stores, co-opts or farmers markets in your area. How are you supposed to eat all natural foods? Start by looking at the ingredients of the item. Make sure that are no harsh preservatives in it such as sodium benzoate and Benzoic Acid. Both of these chemicals acidify the food which in turn acidifies the pH of your body. Another thing to watch out for is flavor enhancers such as monosoduim gultimate (MSG). Federal Food Administration (FDA) announced in 1995 that MSG leads to short term and long term health issues such as heart palpitations and Alzheimer’s disease. Also, watch out for food colorings such as Red No. 2, 4 and 32 as well as many others. Studies suggest synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring may be aggravating ADD & ADHD symptoms. By making sure these chemical additives are not in your foods, you have stated down the path of healthier lifestyle. Finally another to look for when buying conventional foods from your local major chain grocer is to make sure you know what the ingredients are, the simpler the better. For example, carrots, water and salt in a can of carrots would a safe bet. I like to say that if you can read it and understand it it’s probably not full of chemical.

A finally tip on making the transition from junk foods to health food is find healthy menus with organic recipes good recipes that include different essentials for daily nutrition. There are recipes all over the net you can find. Here is one I found just the other day:

Turkey Pot Pie
Ingredients:

4 tablespoons Organic Valley Cultured Butter
6 tablespoons flour
3 cups turkey or chicken broth
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley or 1-2 teaspoons dried parsley flakes
1-2 teaspoons dried basil
1/2 cup Organic Valley Heavy Cream
Salt and pepper
3 medium carrots
1 medium onion
1 celery rib
2 cups cooked, cubed Organic Prairie Turkey (or more as desired)
2/3 cup peas
1 recipe baking powder dough, such as Rosemary Buttermilk Biscuits

Instructions:

1. To make sauce: Melt butter in a large, heavy saucepan over medium-low flame. Stir in flour until smooth; cook over low flame, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Whisk in the warm broth, parsley and basil. Let it simmer slowly, stirring often, about 10 minutes. The mixture will thicken into a sauce. Stir in cream and season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep sauce warm.

2. To make vegetable-turkey mixture: Add water to a depth of 2 to 3 inches to a medium saucepan; bring to boil. Meanwhile, dice the carrots, onion and celery. Add them to the boiling water; cook at a strong simmer until vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain and stir cooked vegetables, turkey and peas into sauce. Simmer 2-3 minutes, then lower heat to lowest flame and keep mixture hot.

3. To make biscuits: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-13-inch dish, one that is at least 3 inches deep. Prepare biscuit dough according to recipe directions. Cut biscuits into 10 or 12 three-inch rounds with a sharp knife and a cup, or with a round cookie cutter.

4. To bake: Spread hot turkey-vegetable in the baking dish; top with biscuits and bake until sauce is bubbly and biscuits are high and golden, about 20 minutes. Serve hot from the oven.

Going Natural

Growing up I had no thoughts about health and diet and how they were related. For that matter, there were no thoughts of healthy natural living at all. I was a kid, for all I knew I was going to live forever. Now as the years have passed by and I have realized that age is real and that it is really happening to me, I come to see the wisdom of a healthy lifestyle.

As an adolescent I did sports and stayed pretty active all the time. If I wasn’t training for a match I was playing a game of football at a park with a bunch of friends. Exercise was about the extent of my healthy living. Because, when it came to foods I ate anything that I desired. I ate cookies, candy, processed foods, fast foods and drank soda. There wasn’t a thought in my mind that said what about vitamins, minerals, and digestion.

Well the years have passed by and here I am today much older but still healthy and in decent fitness. Of course, I have changed my diet and I continue to be active. There aren’t as many football games in the park with my friends any more. Now, exercise comes in the way of doing yoga, tai chi and brisk evening walks.

And as for my diet, healthy menus with organic foods have become the mainstay of my eating habits. I sometimes have a memory of enjoying fast food but then I remember the indigestion, heart burn and overall dissatisfaction of the quality of the food. Now, when I sit down to eat I want dark greens, with brown rice and some organic chicken breast. It amazes my how at one time I knew nothing about natural foods but now its everywhere. There are health food stores all over the place along with food co-ops and more and more you can find organic selections in just about any major chain grocer. Perhaps it’s the change in awareness concerning being healthy as to why I notice how easy natural living is these days. Or, maybe it is because it’s becoming more of a national trend. Whatever the case, I’m glad it has shifted. I feel healthy and fit and I believe eating better has really helped.

On that note here is a recipe I found the other day, Enjoy!:

Pepperoni and Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients:

10 ounces penne or ziti pasta
3-4 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3/4 pound wild or cultivated mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion (like Vidalia or Walla-Walla)
1 can (15-16 ounces) pizza sauce
Dried oregano
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
3 ounces (about 30 slices) Organic Prairie Uncured Pepperoni
1 container (4 ounces) Organic Valley Shredded Parmesan
1 package (6 ounces) Organic Valley Shredded Italian Blend Cheese

Instructions:

1. Cook pasta in lots of boiling, salted water until barely tender. Drain, rinse with cool water, then drain again.
2. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Oil a baking dish just large enough to fit all the ingredients.
3. Heat half the olive oil in a large skillet over a fairly high flame. Add half the mushrooms and sauté them, stirring occasionally, until tender. Transfer cooked mushrooms to a large bowl. Cook the remaining mushrooms in the remaining oil, then add them to the other mushrooms.
4. To the mushrooms add the cooked pasta, chopped onions, pizza sauce, and 1/4 cup water; stir well.
5. Spread half the pasta mixture in prepared baking dish. Sprinkle lightly with oregano and even more lightly with red pepper flakes (if desired). Arrange pepperoni slices over pasta. Sprinkle on the Parmesan. Now add the rest of the pasta, a little more oregano, and a tiny more red pepper flakes, if desired. Sprinkle on the Italian Blend.
6. Bake until cheese is melted and pasta is heated through, 20-30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Natural Recipes and Organic Food

Last night I had the most wonderful meal. I dined on all natural, locally grown organic Vadalia onions, caramelized and set atop organic black eyed peas with fresh garlic. To accompany, there was some organic brown rice lightly seasoned with black peppercorn and a serving of organic swiss chard, gently misted with liquid aminos.

I enjoy eating healthy local organic foods but eating this way hasn’t always been easy. A time not to long ago pretty much everything I ate was conventional grown, full of pesticides and full who knows what else chemicals. Every time I sat down to eat I would wonder, “what am I really eating here?” Particularly with the genetic modifications that have been happening over the past few decades. When I eat a tomato, I want to eat a tomato not half of an Alaskan salmon, one one forth watermelon with a dash of actual tomato. All this so vegetables can grow bigger in colder areas.

It wasn’t to long ago that eating a simple meal like this was actually hard to find. Now that said, its true I could have found all of those ingredients at my local grocer. However, getting organic foods and local crops where pretty much out of the picture. That is, unless you grew them yourself. And I’ll tell you what, if you are a busy person like me who has the time for gardening and a general sense of natural living.

Well, as of the past few years, I have seen a huge change in the trends of major grocery stores that has made healthy living a lot easier. During this change, I have seen Organic items pop up all over place. The shelves of my local grocer now has a place on almost every isle for organic “health foods.” This is a great thing to see because it make my life a lot easier. Now living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to take away from my schedule.

I can find easy healthy organic choses every where now. All natural recipes can be found at local stores and at the touch of a button on the internet. Check out this great one I found just the other day:

Chick Pea, Ham and Orzo Soup

Ingredients:

8 ounces dried chick peas (also called garbanzo beans)
2 tablespoons olive oil or Organic Valley Butter
1 cup chopped onion
3/4 cup chopped carrot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
10 cups homemade or unsalted chicken stock (or use a combination of stock and water)
1 meaty Organic Prairie ham bone*
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
Salt and pepper
2/3 cup uncooked orzo
Organic Prairie Shredded Parmesan (optional)

Instructions:

1. Cover chick peas with water by three inches and soak them at room temperature 8-16 hours. Drain and rinse.

2. Heat olive oil or butter in a large, heavy pot over medium flame. Add onions, carrots and garlic and sauté them, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables have begun to soften, 8-10 minutes. Add stock, ham bone and bring to simmer, occasionally skimming off the froth that forms at the top. Partially cover the pot and adjust heat so that the soup simmers very slowly. Cook it about 1 hour, or until the meat is very tender.

3. Remove ham bone, cool it slightly, cut off the meat, chop and reserve it. Return bone to soup pot along with cumin and oregano and continue to simmer until beans are fully tender, another hour or so.

4. Stir in reserved ham and salt and pepper to taste. Add orzo; simmer until tender, about 10 minutes. Serve hot, with Parmesan sprinkled over each bowl, if desired.

Note: Use the meaty bone leftover from an Organic Prairie Hardwood Smoked Bone-In Spiral Sliced Half Ham.