Jerk Food Enablers Anonymous

My husband's favorite brand

To buy or not to buy?  This is a question that runs through my head all the time.  Beef Sticks and Beef Jerky are snacks my husband loves.  When I am heading out the door to the grocery store he'll occasionally ask me to pick him up his favorite brand from Marc's grocery store.  I often feel guilty buying them because like most processed meat they contain sodium nitrite as a preservative.  The American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR) research recommends that processed meat be avoided all together due to a potential cancer risk.  According to the AICR studies show that compared to eating no processed meat, consuming 3.5 oz of processed meat every day (24.5 oz/wk) increases the risk of colorectal cancer by 36%.  So this got me investigating.  Are there any beef sticks or jerky without sodium nitrite?  I didn't see any in three of the stores I checked out - Marc's, Heinen's or Giant Eagle - however I did a search on line and found a website devoted to beef jerky.  Check out this link for a review of many nitrite free beef jerky available to consumers.   http://www.bestbeefjerky.org/2008/06/sodium-nitrite-free-beef-jerky.html

I will be ordering some be jerky shortly - if my husband likes any - I can relieve some of my guilt! 

For more information on cancer and food check out www.aicr.org

You Just Can't Tell the Truth in this Situation

Last time I served this dish, I mean made this dish, it never got eaten! My husband refused to even try it when I told him the meat sauce was made out of tofu instead of ground beef.  I made it again today.  He said it was really good (without me even asking)!  Same food item. Just did not tell him it was not made with meat.

Beef-Less Ground Beef Label

A few weeks ago I was shopping at Trader Joe's and I came across a food demonstration promoting the store brand of beef-less ground beef.  I am not usually a fan of processed food but I looked at the nutrition facts label and saw that this product was low in calories, saturated fat and sodium - so I decided to give it a try.  The 12 oz package was $2.99. Of course, the whole wheat pasta you see in the photo was what I ate.  My husband refuses to eat whole grain pasta - so I made a concession here.  I used my favorite jar sauce "Cleveland's Own Little Italy."   It's the only jar sauce I have found without high fructose corn syrup and the taste is amazing!  You pay a little more for it - but it is so worth it - especially if when trying to disguise ground tofu as ground beef.  You can get this at Marc's or Costco for about $3.50 a jar.  (32 oz - most sauces are in 25 oz jars - so you get a little more)  If you try this idea, please let me know what you and your picky eaters think!

Better than McDonald's

My husband had his last day of teaching high school on Friday.  So I am going to have to be creative with ways to get some healthy food in him over the summer.  Breakfast is a meal where I can sometimes have a positive influence. I make an imitation "McDonald's McMuffin-type Sandwich".  I use the "Arnold's Bread Sandwich Thins," an organic egg and a slice of cheese.  My husband loves the Kraft singles type cheese.  I have tried to use "Alpine Lace" low-fat deli slices but he does not like the texture.  So I make a little compromise here.  At least I can get some fiber into his meal with the bread.  It's the one time that he will eat something other then "Classic White Wonder Bread".

I went to the McDonald's website and compared items below.  While calories and fat are somewhat similar, the higher fiber content of Kevin's sandwich will leave him with a greater sense of fullness -- which means with my version he is less likely to eat 2 sandwiches!  In addition, the average American should have no more than 2300mg of sodium per day.  Sugar, salt and fat can also be addictive and lead to overeating - so less is always better.

1 Kirkland Sandwich Thin 
1 Organic Egg
1 Land O' Lakes Cheese Slice

	Kevin’s McMuffin	McDonald’s McMuffin (without Bacon)
Calories	240	270
Total Fat	11g	10g
Saturated Fat	4.5g	4.5g
Trans Fat	0g	0g
Cholesterol	245mg	250mg
Sodium	430mg	570mg
Total Carbohydrate	23g	29g
Dietary Fiber	6g	2g
Sugars	3g	2g
Protein	15g	14g
Calcium	230mg	290mg

Want to, but cantaloupe

This is actually a plastic cantaloupe! Real ones are too $$$ right now!!!

My husband has one more week of school left.  Now that the summer is coming I realized that I will have less control over what he eats - because he will not be forced to eat what I pack him for lunch.  So this got me thinking.  I try to focus on the healthy things he does love to eat -  one being cantaloupe.  I know that if I buy a cantaloupe and don't cut it up - it will never get eaten.  My thought for the summer is to buy his favorite fruit, cut it up and put it in a Pyrex air tight container - so he can just take what he wants out of the refrigerator. 

Pyrex BPA free container

Air tight seal - keeps food fresh for a very long time

Over the weekend I went with good intentions to Marc's Grocery store to buy a cantaloupe.  I was surprised by the price - $2.99.  I have bought them in the past for as low as .99 cents.  I asked the produce manager why they were so high in price this time of year and he said the American growers try to make the most money early in the season.  Cantaloupes come into season beginning in June and going through August.  To stay within a budget I try to buy the cheapest produce that is in season. So I did not buy a cantaloupe.  Instead I bought another of my husband's favorite - bananas.  I also bought some oranges. He doesn't traditionally eat oranges - however if I peel one and put it in his lunch he will eat it. I have one more week to pack his lunches for school so that is what I did. He may not like it as much as cantaloupe - but that is what he will be a eating today!

Check out this link to a great page about Cantaloupes.

http://www.producepete.com/shows/cantaloupes.html 

It's Okay to Eat your Chia Pet

There has been a lot in the news lately about "Chia Seeds".  They are actually the same seeds used in the "Chia Pets" figurines that first became popular in the 1980's.  Little did we ponder back then that the seeds were more than just part of a fun novelty item - they are actually very healthy to consume!

Chia seeds are a product of southern Mexico. They come from a desert plant called salvia hispanica.  The edible seeds contain a very high source of Omega-3 and also fiber, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, manganese, copper, iron, molybdenum, niacin, and zinc.  Unlike flax seeds, they do not need to be ground up in order to be utilized by the human body.  You can add them to almost anything such as yogurt, oatmeal, baked goods, or smoothies to name a few.  They have a slight nutty taste but are still very easy to disguise in any recipe.  I added them to my smoothie recipe and it tasted delicious!  I served it to my husband this morning and he had no idea!

Recent research has focused on the connection between consuming chia seeds and blood sugar levels.  Because the seeds contain so much fiber it is believed that the gelling action of the seeds slows down the digestion of carbohydrates in the stomach, therefore keeping blood sugar levels more consistent. 

In regards to Omega-3, the seeds contain a type called α-linolenic acid (ALA) which is different from the types of Omega-3 found in salmon or other cold water fish.  ALA needs to be converted in the body to the kind of Omega-3 found in fish.  Omega-3 from fish has been connected with heart health.  Plant sources are still a healthy choice.  So have a Chia smoothie to wash down your grilled salmon.

Saved by Imitation Miracle Whip

After work last Friday my husband said he felt shaky.  I asked if he ate lunch.  He said no. He forgot it somewhere.  He quickly found it on the kitchen counter-top where it had been sitting from 7AM until about 3PM.  I made him 2 turkey and American cheese sandwiches on bagel thins with Miracle Whip spread on one side of the bagel and Hellman's low-fat mayo on the other.  It was my attempt to slowly wean him off of Miracle Whip without him knowing.

As he was headed to an evening track meet he told me he would take the lunch and eat it at the meet.  I told him to throw it out.  We argued over potential food poisoning. I pointed out that bacteria can double every 20 minutes after food is left out for an extended time. He countered with "Our house was cold during the day since we left the heat off and his food would be fine".  He later called me from the meet and said he did not eat his lunch because it tasted weird.  I am not sure if it was an overgrowth of bacteria, it's common for food that has gone bad to not taste any different, or the Hellman's mayonnaise I snuck in. (I hate to say it but I was hoping he would eat the lunch because if he got food poisoning my thinking was that he would not eat food that was unrefrigerated again; of course I would not want him to get any life threatening illness - just a little stomach flu) Good news is that he agreed there was something wrong with the sandwiches and he threw them out after one bite. I think he will listen to me in the future.  Maybe (I'm delusional)

The "Temperature Danger Zone", 40°F to 140°F, is a range of temperatures where bacteria can multiple to unsafe levels. On Friday our house temperature was 65°F.  So bacteria was growing rapidly on my husbands lunch.  For more information on how to avoid food poisoning or to win an argument with your husband about it, check out this link. http://www.foodsafety.gov/keep/basics/index.html

This chart is from About.com.  I thought it was a nice explanation of the Temperature Danger Zone.
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/safetysanitation/a/dangerzone_tab.htm

165°F and higher:	Most bacteria die within several seconds
141°F to 164°F:	Holding hot foods and sauces. Bacteria aren't killed, but they don't multiply, either.
40°F to 140°F: Food Temperature Danger Zone	Bacteria thrive and multiply. Limit exposure of perishable foods to one hour or less.
33°F to 39°F:	Refrigerated food storage. Bacteria aren't killed. They multiply, but relatively slowly. Food is safe here for a limited time.
32°F and lower:	Frozen food storage: Bacteria aren't killed, but they don't multiply,

Avoid the Flak and Just Sneak in some Flax

I have regularly used smoothies as a way to get some fruit into my husbands diet.  He drinks them on the way to work.  I tried also sneaking in some leafy vegetables - but he did not want to drink something that was green.  I learned next time I will have to keep some kiwis and green grapes around and tell him the spinach I added was actually green fruit.

I have recently started sneaking in something more inconspicuous into his smoothies  - Ground Organic Golden Flax Seeds.  I bought this huge bag from Costco a while back and recently started using it.  I'm taking a guess here but I believe it was about $8.00 for a 3 lb bag.  The bag says it has 97 - 2 Tbsp servings.  So that is good for about 97 smoothies.  Since the seeds are already ground, this is an easy way to add some healthy fat, fiber and antioxidants to a smoothie without anyone knowing.  This product contains 2800 mg of Omega-3 fatty acids per 2 Tbsp. Flax seeds are a plant source of omega-3 which may aid in lowering total cholesterol and bad (LDL) cholesterol.  Flax seeds also contain lignans which are plant estrogens (antioxidants) that may help ward off some cancers.  Check out this article on Health Castle for more information. http://www.healthcastle.com/flax.shtml

Here is my Smoothie Recipe for 2 people
1 banana
6-7 large frozen strawberries
10 oz. canned unsweetened pineapple chunks (1/2 of 20 oz can)
1/4 cup fat free Greek yogurt
1 Tbsp agave nectar
2 Tbsp organic ground golden flax seeds
add water as needed and blend