FoodCrazed

My Mothers Secret Chicken Soup With Rice

2012-02-04T18:54:00.000-08:00

Chicken Soup With Rice (or Pasta)

So this recipe is from making soup with my mom when I was a kid. It's still my favorite soup. The only change I made to this recipe is I don't use bullion anymore because it has partially hydrogenated oil in it and I use orzo instead of rice. I found out recently that I have an intolerance, but I used to eat this with rice all the time and orzo is a pretty good substitute. Because this recipe does not use chicken broth or chicken bullion, you will need to have the skin on and add more salt than normal. At the bottom of this recipe is a list of soup fixes cause with soup, sometimes the broth can be a little fickle, and with those fixes you can make the broth taste exactly how you want it to.

INGREDIENTS

Chicken 1 Whole or 2 quarters

Carrots 4-6 large

Celery 1 stock

Onion 2 Big

Garlic 6-10 cloves to taste

Sea Salt 2-3 tbs or to taste

Ground Pepper 1 tsp

Turmeric 1 dash

Basil 3 dashes

Bay Leaf 2

Mustard Powder 3 dashes

DIRECTIONS

Have rice or pasta cooked separately.In my opinion, you shouldn't keep your starch with the soup as it is cooked because it then makes the soup starchy.
In one giant pot, put all spices, chopped veggies, and chicken in.
Add water till all ingredients are just covered.
Let boil for 30-40 min.
Take out chicken and de-skin it and pull meat off the bone in strips or bits. (the meat should be falling off the bone and done)
Put strips of chicken back in the soup. Add 4-6 cups more water. Keep at a boil till veggies are soft.
Serve over a half cup of rice or pasta in a bowl and enjoy.
You can refrigerate it for a few days and if preferred you can skim the fat off the top after it's been cooled down to make it less fatty. (although they say chicken fat is quite healthy for you)

Soup fixes:

If the broth is too sweet, add more garlic and salt.

If the broth has too much garlic, add more water and salt.

If the broth is too salty, add more water and possibly garlic.

If the broth doesn't have as much flavor as expected, add more salt.

Hope you like this soup as much as I do. Many friends have tried it and I have always gotten rave reviews.

Major Fast Food Chains Getting Rid of Pink Slime

2012-01-17T23:58:00.000-08:00

McDonalds, Burger King, and Taco Bell are removing 'Pink Slime' from their menu!

What is Pink Slime you might ask? Well It's meat parts that are the "left overs" of the animal that no one uses and puts it through a process of pulverizing, grinding, and drenching the tissue with ammonia. Oh and it's in about 70% of all American ground beef. Yuck!

This is kind of a big deal! These fast food companies have decided to eliminate it after many years of it being used. We are moving in the right direction! Even though we still must battle the many other things wrong with these giant food companies like soy stuffing and using mass produced meat, we are still moving in a better direction.
This is showing me that people are becoming more aware and companies are needing to move with the awareness!
Another fun thing I've been seeing in the press lately is mechanically separated poultry pictures.
Same concept as pink slime but with poultry and pork. Yeah, that pic isn't froyo, check it out!

Man that's gross! Makes anyone want to think twice before eating something without knowing what is actually in it, right?

5 Quick Tips for Eating Healthy to Help Lose Weight

2012-01-16T11:02:00.000-08:00

5 Quick Tips For Eating Right

These tips are not only for losing weight but for a lifetime of food health. I'm giving you 5 tips on how to eat, but to lose weight, you also have to increase your exercise a bit more. Maybe that's walking a bit more than normal or going to the gym more frequently, but in some way you have to use the calories you are consuming for something!

So here are my 5 quick tips on eating:

1. Fat and Carbs should stay away from each other as much as possible! If you're planning to eat a lot of carbs in a meal, limit the fatty foods and stick to lean protein. If you're having fatty protein, limit the carbs. Carbs are any root vegetable like carrots and potatoes, fruits or breads of all sorts. Fats could be anything from butter to oil to animal skin. For example, I love making small deli trays for a meal and I will have salami, avocado, and cheese with an apple or a small amount of whole wheat baquette. Lots of fat and protein, not many carbs. Or You could have toast with jam and some non fat greek yogurt with fruit. Lots of carbs and lean protein, but not fat.

2. Eat more protein! If your like me you probably need to double the amount of protein in your diet. That means lots of good animal protein like grass fed beef, Greek yogurt, lamb, organic chicken, buffalo, and plant protein like nuts, beans, peas, spinach, and broccoli.

3. Start making more meals at home! When you make your own food you know exactly what you're eating. Restaurants are nice but often don't have an ingredients list of what is actually in what you are eating.

4. Eat cleanly! Try to stick to local and organic foods. Stay away from unfermented soy, partially hydrogenated oils, genetically modified corn, cured meat, added preservatives like nitrites, massed produced milk and mass produced animal protein. If it comes in a box or a bag be wary and look at the ingredients. If the item in the store you want to buy has an ingredients list that makes you tired to read it, put it down and walk away! It probably has been so over processed that a lab rat wouldn't eat it.

5. Eat when you're hungry and stop when you're full! Simple, but at times of social gatherings like thanksgiving, holiday meals, or restaurant dates, it's hard to realize when to stop. Sometimes I walk away being so full, I feel like a whale. Try to avoid this.

So there it is! This is what any good trainer would tell you and it's all free from me. Enjoy and good luck with all those new years resolutions for 2012!

Life Without a Microwave

2011-12-10T23:44:00.001-08:00

Life Without a Microwave

So when my husband and I moved in together we made the conscious decision to not have a microwave. We didn't want a microwave because it took up a bunch of counter space, it demolished any nutrients of food once you nuke it and it usually made the texture of food very odd. But...

Little did I know that it would make eating healthier so much easier!

When I had a microwave, I would use it a lot to make junk food and I barely cooked from scratch. For my dinner, I would either have a non cooked meal like a sandwich, or just get those horrible pizza rolls and microwave them.

Eliminating the possibility of using a microwave forced me to avoid microwavable food, make dinner from scratch, and inevitably know all the ingredients of what I'm eating. I find that I'm more involved with my food than I used to be and I have to make cooking meals part of my daily routine because I got rid of that crutch.

So here is a challenge if it applies, put your microwave somewhere you can't see for two weeks to see how it changes your daily routine and/or possibly your health. If it's changed for the better, keep it out of your sight or donate it!

Just another way to have a healthier lifestyle.

The Myth on Saturated Fat

2011-11-06T23:30:00.000-08:00

Are Saturated Fats Good For You?

Many would believe that eating saturated fat will cause weight gain, high cholesterol and heart disease.

But what if I were to tell you that omnivores are meant to eat animal fat. A lot of it even. Why do you think breast milk is over 50% saturated fat? Countries that have a higher saturated fat consumption have less heart disease than countries that have developed a low fat diet.It's shown that humans who eat more animal fat and less carbohydrates are more fit and heart healthy.

Why do studies show that it's bad then?

Have you ever considered those test studies have been done on Herbivores? Herbivores who aren't meant to eat meat anyway. Tests done on omnivores and carnivores are fine.

Lets also remember that cholesterol medication is a 25 billion dollar industry. So it's in the country's best interest that we tell lies about health to U.S citizens...

There are good vs not so good saturated fats though...

Eggs, milk, and meat that are pastured and grass fed have higher nutrient rich fatty acids than animals that have been confined. So buying at a farmers market or going organic will give you the better option.

Let's not confuse Saturated fat with trans fat!

Trans fat is something made from vegetable oil to make it solid at room temp and is super un-natural and not meant for human consumption. (Crisco, margarine, partially or fully hydrogenated oil)

So stay away from trans fats and enjoy those saturated fats!

Use real butter and don't worry about eating the whole egg with the yolk. Just start shopping at your local farmers market to make sure you are getting the best nutrient rich saturated fats you can and if a farmers market isn't an option Organic is a good second choice.

If you need to be more convinced, here is an article written by a cardiac surgeon and professor of surgery at the U.W. Medical Center.

The Best "On the Go" Bar

2011-10-08T20:04:00.000-07:00

Lara Bars!

So Lara bars are one of the only energy/ snack bar on the market that isn't loaded with crap!

Every other bar, like Quaker oats, cliff, kashi, special k, generic cereal or granola bars, are typically packed with corn syrup, sugar, and soy!

Lara bars are just fruit and nuts and they come in a wide variety of flavors like apple pie, pecan pie, and other ones with chocolate (that don't contain soy lecithin!!!!). It's gmo free and usually contains 5 or less wholesome ingredients.

You can get these bars at almost any grocery store, even costco sells a variety pack.

Way to go Lara Bars!

Get Fresh Local Organic Produce Delivered to You!

2011-10-02T18:22:00.000-07:00

Here's a great way to support the Pacific Northwest and Washington farmers!

So I've been telling people about this and it's seems to me like many are unaware of this great service here in the northwest.

You can have fresh local organic food delivered to you for a reasonable price either weekly or bi monthly.

There are two sites that I know of that do this.

One is Full Circle Farms, which is a local farm here in Washington that teams up with other organic farmers in the region to bring you the best crops around. This company has a vast delivery area around and out of Seattle, plus this company allows you to select certain foods you don't like to leave out of your box and put more of something else you do like. There boxes come in standard or family sized with a variety of fruit, vegetables and herbs. This site also has an online grocery store, so you can have organic artisan crafted cheese and bread, as well as organic goods like meat, eggs, pantry food, pasta, and grains delivered to you as well. Price range for the fruit and vegetable boxes are regular 37$- family size 58$ for delivery and 34$-54$ for pick up. They have pick up sites all over the pacific northwest.

The other site is Pacific Coast Harvest. This company uses organic farms around the region as well to give you organic produce. They have three sizes of boxes (single, regular, family) and three different styles of boxes ( all vegetable, the Washington box i.e. all fruit, or half and half). The delivery range is mostly just in Seattle and immediately around Seattle. The price range for boxes is single 22$ regular 32$ and family 42$.

So There you go people! Another great way to stock your place with local organic produce and support our local economy!

As always,

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE EATING

and read your labels.

Milk of Choice: Almond milk!

2011-09-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

Almond Milk

So, I'm not knocking cows milk, but for someone who wants an alternative, almond milk is the way to go. There are a whole bunch of different types of milk on the market now including cow, goat, soy, hemp, rice, hazelnut, coconut ect...

But Almond milk, in my opinion, is the best alternative to cow's milk.

Why?

Almond milk is creamy without the fat, low in calories if you get the unsweetened kinds, has mild flavor that can be added to anything, has natural protein, and most almond milk comes without lots of additives and preservatives.

Soy milk is typically unfermented in the USA and therefore toxic.

Rice milk is a little to watery and doesn't have to not many health benefits.

Goat milk is fatty.

Hemp milk has a funny flavor to me.

Hazelnut milk is not produced widely enough so it's hard to find and expensive.

Coconut milk has a strong coconut flavor, which can be great in some cases and not so great in others.

So Almond Milk is my Natural choice for any milk substitutes even in cooking and baking.

You can buy Almond milk at almost any grocery store. I recommend getting the half gallon carton in the refrigerated section and not in the isle because the non-refrigerated kind sometimes has added soy lecithin but most almond milk is coming out with a much better alternative, cotton seed lecithin, which actually has many health benefits.

Just remember to read your ingredients label and be aware of what you are eating!

Is Your Beef Safe and Good For You?

2011-09-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

Did you know that most ground meat in stores or restaurants are cleaned with ammonia?

Yup, that chemical that makes cat pee smell funny is in a lot (80-90% in america) of your ground beef.

YUCK!

And the really bad part is that the FDA states that companies don't have to label if it's been treated with ammonia or not because it's considered part of the process and not part of the food.

The only way to eliminate this problem is getting the meat and having a butcher grind it in front of you or get a meat grinder.

More info on ammonia in your beef.

I also know of a few places in Seattle where they state they grind their meat in house like The Palace Kitchen, Rock bottom Grill, and Blue Moon Burgers. In Fact Blue Moon Burgers has grass fed beef as well.

Why go grass fed with your beef?

If you eat grass fed beef, you are actually getting leaner and more nutrient rich meat. Plus you aren't getting the antibiotic and hormone pumped up beef that you normally would.

More info on grass fed beef here.

So avoid the chemicals and get grass fed and ammonia free beef!

Easy Homemade Mayo Recipe

2011-09-09T19:01:00.000-07:00

Easy Home Made Mayo

You might be wondering why make your own mayo? It's simple, homemade mayo tastes so much better and you can make it without soy oil!

Practically every mayo on the market uses soy oil, even the ones that say olive oil on it.

So Here's my recipe and I use this with a magic bullet but you can use a food processor or any whipping device.

INGREDIENTS

1 EGG
1 1/2 TBSP WHITE VINEGAR OR LEMON JUICE
1 TSP SALT
1/2 TSP MUSTARD POWDER OPTIONAL
1/2 TSP PAPRIKA OPTIONAL
3/4 CUP LIGHT OLIVE OIL

DIRECTIONS

Put the egg, vinegar, salt, mustard, and paprika in the magic bullet and mix with the whipping blade till fully mixed.
Add 1/4 cup oil and mix thoroughly. repeat. Then on the last 1/4 cup you should see the thickness start and whip in the last bit of oil till it's a nice mayo consistency.
Store in a closed container in the fridge.

You can keep this mayo in the fridge for about two weeks or until it starts to smell funny. Remember you are using raw egg so be cautious with how long you keep it in the fridge. Or You can use powdered egg for the same amount as one large egg and not worry about it spoiling.

Enjoy

Are You Eating Real Sea Salt?

2011-09-08T12:57:00.000-07:00

Real Sea Salt

Are you eating it?

Why Does It Matter?

Did you know that most "sea salt" you get in the store isn't really real sea salt? Most salt comes from the sea at one point or another but If it's all white, it's been stripped of it's natural minerals and may or may not have had iodine added back in.

Real Sea Salt naturally has dozens of trace minerals including iodine already.

Your salt should contain at least 50 trace minerals in it and look speckled brown, pink, and white. I have found such salts at local market stores, pcc (co'ops), and whole foods. The brand I found was Redmond RealSalt.

Pink Himalayan Sea Salt

This salt is considered to have a full spectrum of 84 trace minerals in it and best for your health and salt intake. The only reason why I looked into this salt was because one of my favorite chocolate bars (Theo's salted almond milk chocolate) contained it. When I researched, I found this site. You can buy Pink Himalayan Sea Salt at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, and (Pcc) co'ops as well.

Why should you start using Real Sea Salt?

Why only eat the one added mineral when you could have 50 or more minerals and better taste?

Most real salt contains calcium, potassium, sulphur, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, iodine, manganese, copper, zinc and more!

All of those minerals are pretty crucial for good health, so start getting some of them easily with real sea salt!

Restaurants In Seattle to Trust

2011-09-06T21:27:00.000-07:00

So we all have those times where you just want to go out. In my world, I worry if the food I'm getting is coming from a frozen box that's been sitting in the freezer for months, or if it's local, fresh, and organic.

Yes I'm gonna have to pay a little extra to know what's in my food at a restaurant,

but it's worth it.

Eating at a restaurant should be a splurge anyway!

Here are just a few restaurants in Seattle that pride themselves with being as local, fresh, organic, and made from scratch as possible. The price ranges from $(less than 10), $$(10-30), and $$$(30-40) a plate.

New American Cuisine

Ravish

2956 Eastlake Ave, Seattle, WA

eastlake

american

Blue Moon Burgers - Fremont

703 North 34th Street, Seattle, WA

fremont

burgers

Stumbling Goat

6722 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle, WA

greenwood

american

Eva Restaurant & Wine Bar

2227 North 56th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford

New american

$$$

The Palace Kitchen

2030 5th Ave
Seattle, WA 98121
downtown

american

Art of the Table

1054 N. 39th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford

american

$$$

Portage Bay Cafe & Catering

4130 Roosevelt Way Northeast, Seattle, WA

university

american

Local 360

2234 1st Avenue, Seattle, WA

downtown

american

Stepping Stone

5903 24th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA

ballard

american

Tilth

1411 North 45th Street, Seattle, WASeattle, WA 98103

wallingford

new american

$$$

Dahlia Lounge

2001 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA

Downtown

New american

$$$

Julia's on Broadway

300 Broadway East, Seattle, WA

Capitol Hill

American

Sea Food

Flying Fish

300 Westlake Ave N, Seattle, WA

downtown

New american seafood

$$$

Six Seven

2211 Alaskan Way, Bell Street Pier, Seattle, WA

downtown

seafood

$$$

Etta's Seafood

2020 Western Avenue, Seattle, WA

Downtown

Seafood

$$$

Vegetarian Cuisine

Cafe Flora

2901 East Madison Street, Seattle, WA

downtown

vegitarian

$$$

Chaco Canyon Organic Cafe

4757 12th Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA

universty

vegetarian

Carmelita

7314 Greenwood Avenue North, Seattle, Washington

greenwood

vegitarian

Sutra

1605 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford

vegitarian

$$$

Poppy

622 Broadway East, Seattle, WA

Capitol Hill

Vegetarian

$$$

Thrive | Eat. Drink. Live.

1026 NE 65th Street, #A-102, Seattle, WA

Revenna

Vegitarian

French Cuisine

Chez Shea

94 Pike St # 34, Seattle, WA

downtown

french

$$$

Rover's Restaurant

2808 East Madison Street, Seattle, WA

Madison Park

French

$$$

Italian Cuisine

Cafe Juanita

9702 Northeast 120th Place, Kirkland, WA

kirkland

italian

$$$

Cafe Piccolo

9400 Roosevelt Way Northeast, Seattle, WA

Maple leaf

Italian

Bizzarro Italian Cafe

1307 N 46th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford

italian

Barolo Ristorante

1940 Westlake Avenue, Seattle, WA

downtown

Italian

$$$

Indian Cuisine

Chutneys Bistro

1815 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford

indian

Asian Cuisine

Wild Ginger Asian Restaurant

1401 3rd Avenue, Seattle, WA

downtown

$$$

Spanish and Mexican Cuisine

Mona's

6421 Latona Avenue Northeast, Seattle, WA

greenlake

spanish

Agua Verde Cafe & Paddle Club

1303 Northeast Boat Street, Seattle, WA

university

mexican

Pizza and Sandwiches

Serious Pie

316 Virginia Street, Seattle, WA

Downtown

Pizza

Alibi Room

85 Pike St # 410, Seattle, WA

downtown

pizza

organic to go

1221 Madison Street, Seattle, WA

downtown

sandwiches and pizza

HOMEGROWN sustainable sandwichshop

1531 Melrose Avenue, Seattle, WA

FREMONT

sandwiches

Zaw Artisan Bake at Home Pizza

5458 Leary Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA

ballard, queen anne, wallingford, capitol hill

pizza

Bakeries and Sweets

The Essential Baking Company

1600 E Madison St, Seattle, Washington

fremont

bakery

Boulangerie Nantaise

2507 4th Avenue, Seattle, WA

downtown

bakery

Tall Grass Bakery

5907 24th Avenue Northwest, Seattle, WA

ballard

bakery

Mighty O Donuts

2110 N 55th St, Seattle, WA

wallingford

vegan organic doughnuts

Cupcake Royale

1111 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA

capitol hill, ballard

sweets

Trophy Cupcakes and Party

2612 NE Village Lane, Seattle, WA

university, wallingford, bellevue

sweets

Le Panier

1902 Pike Place, Seattle, WA

downtown

bakery

Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream

1622 North 45th Street, Seattle, WA

wallingford, capitol hill

icecream

If you know of a restaurant in or around Seattle that uses local, fresh, organic and made from scratch food and you don't see it on this list, LEAVE A COMMENT ABOUT THAT RESTAURANT PLEASE! I would love to compile as many restaurants to trust as possible.

Easy Mac N Cheese

2011-09-04T18:32:00.000-07:00

Your own homemade Mac N Cheese that takes about 15 min. Definitely a favorite recipe of mine!

INGREDIENTS (SERVING SIZE FOR 2)

1 1/2 cup Pasta (I usually go whole grain or organic macaroni, rotini, penne, or ziti)
1 cup Cheese (any mix to your liking)
1/4 cup Milk (I use unsweetened original almond milk)
A dash of salt
A dash of olive oil

DIRECTIONS

Heat water to a boil on high in a sauce pan and add salt and oil.
Once the water is boiling stir in pasta.
When the pasta is tender strain the pasta.
Bring the pasta back to the pot and add the milk and cheese.
Put the pot back on the burner to med heat and stir your pasta till creamy.

This is the super simple version, but you can add seasoned bread crumbs with butter on top and put it under a broiler, you can add fresh shredded spinach, you can add cooked sausage ( I broil applegate farms hot dogs, cut them up, and add it to mine :P) and do countless other things to this recipe! I make this for my self all the time for a quick meal and I half the ingredients. ( 3/4 cup pasta, 1/2 cup cheese, 2 tbsp milk)

Enjoy!

Why Go Organic?

2011-09-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

So Why Go Organic?

Some people might scoff at the idea of spending more money on Organic food but I'm gonna tell you why Organic just might be the only way to go.

In the early 90's America allowed natural farm raised food to be bio chemically changed.

Not only that, but U.S.A. government also doesn't have to label on any product if it used or is a genetically engineered food! i.e. anything that has been produced in the U.S.A that isn't labeled Organic could possibly be an engineered food like any produce, cereal, wheat, soy, cottonseed oil, canola, corn, ext.

Why is bio genetically altered food so bad?

Well, the only reason why they altered the food in the first place was so that the plant would work well with a specific pesticide. The company that owned the pesticide now owns the seed (to a ton of different crops) and also works for our FDA.

You don't want to be a lab rat right?

The FDA didn't want any testing to be done to see if there were any bad side effects to eating these biologically changed foods. So it's untested, and in my mind, unsafe. The are no known health benefits to these Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) and many possible health risks.

Organic, by law, has to guarantee that it does not have Genetically Modified Organisms.

So yes Organic might be more expensive but that's a price I'm willing to pay to know I'm not being a lab rat for the government.

To get a wide variety of Organic food visit your local Farmers Market, Co'op, Trader Joe's, or Market store.

And for more info on this subject watch THE FUTURE OF FOOD, this really opened my eyes!

My Favorite Oat Meal Cookie Recipe!

2011-08-30T14:02:00.000-07:00

Oat Meal Cookies

These are a low fat and sugar cookie that tastes great and uses complex carbs to rev up your metabolism. When I make these I eat them as my breakfast bar.

Cookies can be enjoyed if you watch the amount and type of cookies you eat. These cookies are made with whole oats and whole wheat flour so they have some better qualities than mass produced cookies you can buy – those tend to be high in fat and sugar, and who knows what else goes into them!

INGREDIENTS
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for greasing the pan
¾ cup dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¾ cup whole wheat flour (Trader Joes and King Arthur brand has 100% whole wheat white flower that looks and tastes great for cookies)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1½ cups “old-fashioned” oats ½ cup raisins

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease one or two baking sheets.

Cream the butter and the sugar together in a mixing bowl (by hand with a wooden spoon or using a handheld electric mixer) until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Stir in the vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a separate mixing bowl. Beat them into the butter mixture. Stir in the oats and raisins.

Drop the batter by slightly mounded tablespoons onto the prepared baking sheet(s). Bake until lightly browned on the bottom, 10 to 12 minutes.
For round, flat cookies, just press the cookies with the palm of your hand after dropping them onto the baking sheet.

For variations you can :

Add a 1/2 cup nuts or choc chips
Change raisins to craisins
For diabetics you can change the brown sugar to 1/2 cup of agave nectar instead

Artificial Food Preservatives:Nitrites/Nitrates and Sulfites

2011-08-28T19:37:00.000-07:00

My #5 and #6 Ingredients to Avoid

ARTIFICIAL FOOD PRESERVATIVES:

NITRITES/NITRATES & SULFITES

There are so many natural food preservatives in the world why did we need a lab to make more?

Well, most of these lab created preservatives last longer on the shelf. Increasing the shelf life means less spoilage and less money lost. Some preservatives we see are just so a product looks better for the consumer to buy. Apparently us Americans can't handle a dried apricot that looks brown?!

Here's a list of artificial food preservatives: calcium propionate, sodium nitrate, sodium nitrite, sulfites (sulfur dioxide, sodium bisulfite, potassium hydrogen sulfite, etc.) and disodium EDTA.

You see these ingredients in deli meat, cured meat, hot dogs, bacon, condiments, sauces, fruits, wines and dried fruits and vegetables.

Like most lab created food items, there comes health risks. Some modern synthetic preservatives have become controversial because they have been shown to cause respiratory or other health problems. Some studies point to synthetic preservatives and artificial coloring agents aggravating ADD & ADHD symptoms in those affected.

Click here for more info on why artificial preservatives are risky for your health.

How do we avoid Artificial Preservatives?

For fruits and veggies go organic. Go to your local Farmers market, there they sell local organic produce cheaper than in your grocery store.

For deli meats there is Applegate Farms, Open Nature, and Hormel Natural selections. You can find applegate at trader joe's, whole foods, and co'ops. Open Nature is a safeway brand where you can find the deli meat in the meat dept. not the deli dept. Hormel you can find at most grocery stores.

For dried fruit go to Trader joe's, whole foods, farmers markets, and co'ops.

So there you go! To recap my top 6 ingredients to avoid are:

#1 Unfermented Soy

#2 Hydrogonated Oils

#3 High Fructose Corn Syrup

#4 Arificial Sweeteners

#5 Nitrites/Nitrates

#6 Sulfites/ Artificial Preservatives

If you can avoid these things you will defiantly notice your better health and you might even find it easier to lose or maintain weight.

Ever since I started to avoid it all, my immune system has become immensely better and I have noticed I can eat anything I want (food without ingredients from my top 6) like french bread, pasta, cheese, hot dogs, bacon ect.. without gaining weight (granted I stop when I'm full) . In fact my tone has increased and I have dropped fat% easily without much exercise.

So remember, always read your labels and know what you are putting into your body.

Soon I will be blogging more about some other health tips and recipes. If you have a type of food that you just can't find without my top 6, comment me and I'll try to find an all natural kind that can be found in a store near you:)

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS: How do we move past them?

2011-08-27T19:00:00.000-07:00

My #4 Ingredient To Avoid

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

In my blog you might notice I am anti lab created food. Well artificial sweeteners fit the bill for highly lab created, so I'm writing about it and why you should avoid it as much as possible with some other sweetener options.

First of all, there seems to be new studies out almost every week about the dangers of certain artificial sweeteners, and unless you want to be the test lab rat, best to avoid.

Second of all, we all know that lab created food is highly risky because the FDA approves things after minimal testing and never seems to look into the long term affects.

Thirdly you don't need to get rid of your sugar intake if you are already following my other foods to avoid. Why have the weird tasting stuff if you can do the real thing.

Artificial Sweeteners include:

Food Additive Code (E Number)	Name of Sweetener
E420	Sorbitol
E421	Mannitol
E422	Glycerol
E950	Acesulfame potassium (k)
E951	Aspartame
E952	Cyclamate
E953	Isomalt
E954	Saccharin
E955	Sucralose
E956	Alitame
E957	Thaumatin
E959	Neohesperidine dihydrochalcone
E962	Aspartame-acesulfame salt
E965	Maltitol
E966	Lactitol
E967	Xylitol
E968	Erythritol

Main companies that use these are sweet n low, equal, and splenda. Watch out when a food says sugar free or low in sugar.

Diabetics, You don't need to eat the artificial sweeteners!

For baked goods use fruit puree, agave nectar, stevia or mix them. With your tea use agave, with coffee use stevia, or make your own pop with seltzer water and squeezed fruit.

Stevia

This is an actual plant that is 300 times the sweetness of sugar and no calories. You can actually grow this plant in WA state for those of you that live here in the pacific northwest, and you can grow this plant all over the world as well. You can buy pure stevia in most health food stores. I would stick to stevia in it's pure form and stay away from the brands out there that mix stevia with other artificial sweeteners like stevia in the raw, and truvia.

Agave Nectar

Agave is another replacement for cane sugar if you are diabetic. This syrup does have calories but it is very low on the glycemic index. You can use this substitute with the same conversion as honey. You can find Agave at almost any grocery store now a days even at costco.

For those diabetics, or highly allergic people out there that are looking for a chocolate fix

this site might be something to look into http://www.gnosischocolate.com. This company makes chocolate with agave nectar and there chocolate bars are soy, dairy, gluten and refined sugar free!

As always read your labels! Know what's going into your body because it's the only one you've got so take care of it if you can.

Tomorrow I'll be covering the #5 &#6 ingredients to avoid!

High Fructose Corn Syrup

2011-08-26T11:37:00.000-07:00

We all Know this stuff is bad right?

Well some people might buy into the touted message that it's the same as table sugar, but there is a resounding difference. High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been majorly processed by science and not by nature. HFCS comprises any group of corn syrups that have undergone enzymatic processing to convert some of its glucose into fructose to produce a desired sweetness.

This product is designed to make you fat and addicted to the super sweet

AND

It's in everything!

So like soy, HFCS is being put into almost all foods that have been through a factory. Tomato soup, icecream, soda, fruit juice, energy drinks, all kinds of bread, Oreo cookies, cookies, yogurt, soups of all kinds, chocolate, fruit snacks, candy, power bars, cereal, deli meat, bacon, meats of all kinds and more!

So on a daily basis, if your not checking on the labels of what you eat, you are being pumped with more scientifically created super sugar than you realize.

Some brands to look for that mostly get rid of HFCS are:

Safeway's Open nature brand has a large line of products from meat to cereal and icecream.

Newman's

Annie's

Chobani Yogurt

Fage Yogurt

AppleGate farms meat (you can find this at Trader joes, and local health food stores like whole foods, co'ops, market stores)

Hormel Natural

Kashi (watch out for the soy in their products though)

rudi's breads (you can find this at local health food stores like whole foods, co'ops, market stores)

Also a local farmers market is a great place to pick up your breads, fruit, vegetables, meat and a large variety of foods. Farmers markets are usually local, homemade and organic. It's a great way to support your local economy!

As Always though, watch your labels. Even these brands I recommend, I would suggest to look at the label because some products in the line have ingredients you should avoid.

What are hydrogenated oils?

2011-08-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

This week I'm focusing on the top 6 things to avoid in your diet.

Yesterday was soy, today I'm gonna talk about

Hydrogenated Oils.

What is this hydro what wah? Well you might commonly know this as shortening, margarine or Crisco. It's when scientists figured out that if you add hydrogen molecules to vegetable oil it becomes a solid mass like butter and the shelf life is much longer therefore less money lost.

Why not just use butter? Well, the self life is longer, companies save more money and a while ago in the 50's dietitians thought that saturated fats were evil so they thought by getting rid of butter (high in saturated fat) and replaced it with hydrogenated vegetable oil (low in saturated fat) it would make Americans less fat....We all know that Americans have become less fat since the 50's right? NOT!

In fact fully or partially hydrogenated oil has been seen recently by scientist as an inedible substance. Your body doesn't process this "food" at all. So this means it can just sit there in your system for a long time and cause lots of problems like diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease.

DON'T BE FOOLED BY NUTRITION/ TRANS FAT LABELS

Companies now have to label if there food has trans fat (partially hydrogenated oil) or not. This is good but if the food has less than one percent the product can say that it has zero percent trans fat >:/ So look at the ingredient label, there, it has to be listed as shortening, partially/fully hydrogenated oil, or margarine.

As for you pie/ pastry lovers, switch over to butter, palm kernel oil, or coconut oil in your crust and other pastries. It tastes better, is a semi solid at room temp and despite popular belief it is healthier for you. To be sure of what your eating, start baking up a storm, take ownership of your food!

More on hydrogenated oils you can go here http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/healthy-living/deadly-fats-why-are-we-still-eating-them-843400.html

America's Devil: Un-fermented Soy

2011-08-22T21:59:00.000-07:00

I want to tackle one of the most used and unknown harmful foods on the market in America today.

You might be asking: Why is soy so bad?

What does un-fermented mean?

Well, most people don't know, but soy is actually a toxic plant like many other plants on this planet. Soy is not meant for human consumption unless (this is where the un-fermented comes in) it has been fermented. The fermentation process turnes soy into soy sauce, miso, tempeh, natto and tamari sauce. Asian countries developed the fermentation process many years ago to strip the toxins from soy. Only recently has the plant in it's unfermented state, like edemame, tofu, vegetable oil, soy flour, soy lecithin, and toasted soy beans, been used for human consumption. More info on soy can be read about here http://www.greenlivingonline.com/article/dangers-soy.

The worst part about un-fermented soy is that it's in everything!

You will see it on your ingredient labels as soya oil, vegetable oil, soy/soya lecithin, soy flour. You might see these things in almost all processed foods that you will get at your local grocery store. Try to get your favorite candy bar, I bet you it's got soy lecithin in it. What about gum, yeah that too. Sliced bread, shucks. Most bread product in general have soy in it. Possibly the most toxic product of soy, is lecithin. Lecithin is a brown goo from all the junk/ byproduct of when companies make soy oil/ vegetable oil.

Brands that avoid Soy for chocolate are Theo's , equal exchange, some trader joe chocolates, and whole foods.

Another company that avoids soy is Annie's Homegrown. They have a whole line of foods that I would approve of from cereal to cheese crackers to mac n cheese and even graham crackers.

For bread stick to your local bakeries. Ask the people that make the bread what they used. Your bread should only have four ingredients: Wheat, yeast, salt and water.

All around these companies or pretty good to trust but remember ALWAYS READ YOUR INGREDIENTS LABEL! If you don't know what it is DON'T EAT IT.