Okay, I'm not here to rant or hate on stop and shop. I shop there habitually and personally really like the place as a business, aside from running into half of the people I graduated with every time I enter one around here. BUT... I do have a problem with something they did. Or, published, rather. My mother gets those mini-magazines they make sent to our house. As a food person, I decided to look it over as I ate breakfast one morning this past summer. In it, there was a section on making baby food at home. As part of my Lifespan Nutrition course I took in college, I had to do a project about introducing foods to babies: when to introduce certain foods, how to tell if a baby is hungry, how to tell if a baby is having an allergic reaction to food, when to spoon feed, etc, etc. So, I was interested and dove in to the article. It was written by an R.D. [Registered Dietician], and I have to say... as a nutrition major... I was a little unimpressed. She mentioned all the wonderful things about what to feed a baby and how to make baby food at home, but she missed the vital part about the dangers of certain vegetables.
Some vegetables contain high levels of nitrates. Nitrates are naturally occuring compounds that are found in the soil, and also in virtually every vegetable known to man. Adults have acids in their stomachs that fight nitrates converting into the harmful substance nitrites. The conversion is what leads to nitrate poisoning. Food sources that have higher levels of nitrates are carrots, broccoli, spinach, cabbage, and other root or leafy vegetables. Granted, nitrate poisoning is pretty rare, it is still something that most mothers (and fathers) make themselves aware of, and with good reason. Freak accidents happen more frequently than people like to admit. Although the poisoning is rare, it is not unheard of- and I thought it odd that a registered dietician would not make mention of it when they had spoke of other dangers when making baby food at home.
Maybe I am just being a tad too tenacious... but when it comes to babies and their parents, I feel it is never too much to be too informed.
You might be slightly confused about the heading... but shortly my semantic antics will be making sense.
Over Christmas break,I received a NOOK Tablet as one of my presents; pre-downloaded on it was a sample of the latest National Geographic Magazine about elephants on a reservation in Kenya entitled "Orphans No More" by Charles Siebert. I adore elephants; they are one of the largest, most intelligent and docile creatures on the planet [unless provoked, of course]. So I started to read it, knowing there would probably some content that would make me cry. [Poaching is a prevalent crime in Africa]. The David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Nairobi, Kenya, is the world's most successful orphan-elephant rescue and rehabilitation center. Most of the orphaned elephants at the center have seen their mothers slaughtered by poachers and some have reservations about humans. The amazing staff at the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust save the baby elephants (as well as older injured elephants) and bring them to the center to nurse them back to health, gain their trust and adapt the elephants back into the wild. The author mentioned that the staff working at the center struggled with keeping some of the orphaned elephants alive in the center's infancy, due to the lack of nourishment they should have been receiving from their mother's milk. He spoke of how the people had tried to create formulas to compensate for the lack of elephant breast milk, including using human breast milk. Immediately I thought "Why aren't they using coconut milk?"
I let my thoughts get ahead of me; a few sentences later, the author mentioned how the staff then tried using coconut milk. Unsurprisingly to me, he then stated that the elephants began to thrive off of the formula using coconut milk! The benefits of coconuts are almost other-worldly. Coconut oil got a bad rap in America in the 1960's and '70s, but without reasonable reason.People feared fat in those days- due to the ignorance that we actually NEED fat to live and to maintain brain function. They also weren't aware that there are GOOD fats in addition to bad fats. What the elephants needed in that formula was a high-fat nourishing diet; i.e. : coconut milk.
Coconuts contain the healthy class of fatty acids called medium-chain triglycerides, aka "M.C.T.s". Coconut oil only becomes a harmful fat when it is hydrogenated. [Hydrogenated oils are a man-made product.] Coconut milk is very similar to human breast milk in its pH, fat content and nutrient content. Furthermore, coconut milk and oil contain what is called lauric acid. Lauric acid is only found elsewhere on the planet in human breast milk, and is considered to be antibacterial, antiviral and antiprotozoal. I had learned this information my sophomore year in college at JWU. I did a project on the benefits of coconut oil for a nutrition class and developed a bit of a fascination for coconuts. Even though they contained some saturated fat, they didn't raise cholesterol and were insanely good for you. It was based on this background knowledge, [in addition to knowing that infants need high-fat diets] that led me to almost scream at my NOOK "COCONUT MILK! GIVE THEM COCONUT MILK!"
The correctness of my unheard suggestion got it into my head that I should go into pachyderm nutrition... but...that's unrealisitc and besides the point.
Fact of the matter is, coconuts are a super food to be reckoned with. Coconuts and coconut oil are included in the book by Johnny Bowden, Ph.D, C.N.S. "The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth" ( A GREAT book, by the way. I highly recommend it for anyone interested in nutrition or the bounties of the earth). Dr. Bowen praises the coconut for its antioxidant, M.C.T., capric acid, antibacterial, antimicrobial and antiprotozoaic powers. Dr. Bowen shares that Pacific Islanders and Asians consume diets extremely rich in coconut oil, yet are surprisingly free from cardiovascular disease, cancer and other degenerative diseases. He further shares a study that examined the recognizably coconut-eating islanders of Pukapuka and Tokelau showed that although eating a high-fat diet, [of mostly coconut derived fat intake], were virtually free of atherosclerosis, heart disease and colon cancer.
Now THAT'S some food for thought; for humans, and elephants.
So, it's now ten days into the new year, and I'm finally acheiving one of my new years resolutions past the three-day mark. No, I was not so ambitious as to pledge I'm going to lose weight, compete in a triathlon, or actually save my money. I made a reasonable resolution : stay hydrated. I grew up as a tom-boy. I love playing sports, and had played competitively from the time I was five until I was eighteen. Playing sports and staying hyrdated went hand in hand. Now that I work about 50 hours a week, in addition to going to grad-school full time, I've become a bit...sedentary. [Although I do spend roughly 9 hours a day running around a kitchen]. My hydration status these days is horrendous. I function on about 5 cups or more of coffee a day. Coffee is the antitheses of hydration. I'm always so worried about what is going on at work that I never take the time to run to the water station; I drink from my mammoth thermos of cold coffee and keep trucking through. Day to day, you really don't think about how much water is good for your health. In my generation, it's all about drinking protein shakes, diet drinks, over-priced lattes, and diabetes-inducing cocktails.
The 'Most Interesting Man in the World' has nothing to worry about; we're all staying thirsty.
Water is falling by the wayside. 75% of our muscle tissue is water, not to mention the majority of what makesup our blood. The 2-Hydrogen to 1-Oxygen ratio is what makes us live. Water regulates our body temperature, aids the digestive system, transports nutrients, cushions and protects our vital organs, and is necessary for organ functions. That's not where the benefits end, but you see where I'm going here? Drinking water and staying hydrated makes you feel satiated; often we confuse dehydration for hunger. So, next time you get a" hunger" pain even when you just ate an hour ago, try drinking some water first. On average, we lose about 2 QUARTS of water a day: that's 8 cups. The average woman should consume about 2.1 Liters (90 ounces) a day, while the average man should consume about 3.7 Liters (125 ounces) of water a day.
I know I definitely do not drink 2 liters of water a day; 2 liters =
So, how do you know if you're dehydrated? Signs of dehydration inclue:
dry mouth
fatigue
yellow urine
muscle cramps
dizziness
with more severe symptoms including
fever
nausea
shortness of breath &
incoherence
The best way to fight dehydration is to drink throughout the day; and you don't ONLY have to drink water. You can drink low-sugar juices, sports drinks,V8 juices, or even by eating fruit. Surprisingly enough, rehydration occurs faster in the presence of sodium. I kid you not. Sodium encourages thirst, causing the person to consume more liquids. [Hence why your local bar offers free pretzels or salted peanuts. Sorry, I know you were hoping they were just being nice and trying to create a place "where everyone knows your name"]
Bottom line is, water is good for your over all health, skin health, weight management and detoxification. My New Years Resolution to stay hydrated doesn't sound so bland anymore does it? So while you start to see your gym's new members drop out like flies, I'll be sticking to my resolution. Bottom's up!
As a kid, I was a notoriously picky eater. I had to have kraft macaroni and cheese at every meal, and would refuse to try many things my parents put before me. Ironic I ended up as a culinary major, right? Oddly enough, while I wouldn't try the food on my plate, I WOULD try the food in my backyard. I literally would try to eat almost any form of leaf, flower, berry, acorn or grass. (Much to my parents' dismay). I must have had some intuitive foraging skills at a young age, because I never wound up sick or hospitalized. I did, however, in my freshmen year of college, attempt to eat a daffodil. DON'T DO IT. At the time, I thought it could have flavor potential, as the stalk tasted a bit like bitter celery- but a quick google-search later on informed me that daffodils are definitely not on the edible flower list.This explorative form of eating has followed me throughout my collegiate years. [But now I do my research a little better]. When I was a sophomore working at a kitchen in a nursing home, I learned that dandelions are really healthy for you. So, what did I do? I went outside on break and plucked one right there off of the undoubtedly freshly fertilized and overly-chemically treated lawn. (I did actually have some reservations and washed the dandelion and steamed it whole due to where I actually found it.) It was actually really good. Most people stick to eating the dandelion greens (which are REALLY good for you), but me being me, I ate the whole dang thing. (Not that I am recommending it to y'all). There's actually a multitude of edible flowers you can eat, and the flavor profiles range quite a bit. I'm including a small video of some edible flowers. Word to the wise: be VERY careful when you go foraging. Don't go picking any ol' flower you think looks like an edible plant. Some parts of plants are actually poisonous, while other parts are completely edible. Additionally, some parts need to be cooked in order to be edible- so do your research.
I've provided some links below to edible-flower friendly sites. There are some recipes out there that are truly phenomenal. So, do a little digging around on the web, and then do a little digging in your garden :) (or local forest). Wake up, and eat the roses!
Don't worry: I am not here to recruit you into a fist-pumping, binge drinking, toga-wearing lifestyle. I'm referring to the Mediterranean Food Pyramid.
You may [or may not] have noticed the recent changes in the American Food Pyramid: like the fact that its no longer a pyramid, perhaps? Our American government decided to give our dietary guidelines a make-over. We in America now have the "Choose My Plate" format, where vegetables and grains are the dominant portions on the plate, fruits and proteins look almost identical, and dairy is segregated into a corner. While this format looks trendy and [let's face it], like a dumbed-down version to help the everyday Joe and Jill Schmoe get the picture, it leaves something to be desired. So, my nutrition and food lovers, I urge you to Go Greek; [or to be more politically correct when it comes to the pyramid], MEDITERRANEAN.
As you can see, the Mediterranean Food Pyramid [let's call it the MFP], stresses daily physical activity as the foundation of a healthy diet. However, these days I myself am lucky if I have time to get to the gym. Aside from that, notice how it's separated into daily, weekly and monthly increments? BRILLIANT! It's easy to use and comprehend [like the Choose My Plate], but unlike C.M.P., it actually shows you a breakdown of foods instead of a colored-in shape on a plate.
The MFP sheds light onto what creates a healthy diet: Mostly grains, a fair amount of fruits and vegetables, plant proteins, healthy fats, water, and a glass of red wine a few times a week. [It's good for heart health and has some antioxidants] Notice how meat should only be eaten monthly, and not daily? It seems blasphemous for most Americans, but, I hate to break it to you: while red meats have great components such as protein and iron, they also contain carcinogens [cancer causing agents], fat, cholesterol and more often than not, hormones and antibiotics. [Unless you eat organic]. You'll see how fish is the primary carnivorous source of protein, and for good reason. Fish is low fat, high in protein and contains Omega-3 fatty acids [the component that keeps our hearts and brains healthy. Fish is also a great source of minerals and the elusive Vitamin D.
I was first introduced to the MFP my sophomore year at Johnson & Wales during my lifespan nutrition course. Maybe it was the guilt of my freshman 15 talking in my brain, but the M.P. just made sense. When you follow the MFP, you feel good about what you're eating; but you have to do it right. French-fries do not count as potatoes! You don't need to "Go Greek" religiously, but I recommend you try it. If you need some test-trial reassurance, find your nearest [authentic] Mediterranean restaurant, and order a vegetarian entree, or a seafood entree. The Mediterranean cuisine is full of fresh flavors and food that you'll actually feel good about after eating it. But remember: following the MFP doesn't mean you have to make Mediterranean foods. You can follow the MFP for practically any cuisine you crave.
Hungry for more information? Check out the links below.
