Question of the Week: Are You Eating True Foods This Summer?

It is almost six months to the day since I vowed to eat real food, or what I call true food (a play on my middle name, True). I haven't gorged on mountains of chocolate, as I described in an article in the Seattle Times on April 11, 2008 (my epiphany had occurred on Feb. 18). To tell the truth, I thought that 'going public' through the article, and immersing myself in the real food movement, would be the answer I've sought for decades - the answer to being overweight. It is, and it isn't. First, the changes I have made. I cook more and entertain more, thanks to having a new home with space, so I enjoy having a place to cook. I try and watch my sugar intake - my downfall and 'drug of choice,' as they say. All the organic food in Seattle won't make up for too much Ben & Jerry's or a key lime pie or an entire pizza. I love summer fruits and vegetables and now try and enjoy food rather than trying to fill my stomach and a void in my life with pizza and hamburgers. Now, the changes that come harder: not turning to food when I'm lonely, bored, sad, happy, excited, relieved, anxious, celebrating, mourning. My portions are still too big, and I look forward waaaay too much to eating. But there is a better balance setting in. I wish I could be rigid, or 'good' about only eating real food - sometimes rigid works for me, sometimes it doesn't. I rebel a lot. Maybe my mistake, if I've made one, is to look at this experiement as the solution, instead of what it is: a way of getting healthier, a better way to live a life. How are you doing?

Question of the Week: Are You Part Of Slow Food Nation?

The New York Times reports (July 23) that the organization Slow Food USA plans to throw a little party in San Francisco Labor Day weekend. The lawn in front of City Hall is gone and in its place is a garden. The festival, which is being called Slow Food Nation, is expected to draw 50,000 people. Will it be food's version of Woodstock? The Times writes that planners hope that "a broad band of people will see that delicious, sustainably produced food can be a prism for social, ecological and political change." Organizers are trying to strike a balance between those who live the slow food life, and those who think people in the movement are snobs. The group is even embracing corporate partners for the first time, including Whole Foods, Anolon cookware and the Food Network. What do you think? Any chance you can make the SF party? Where is the slow food philosophy leading us?

Question of the Week: How Do We Celebrate Summer And Still Eat Healthy?

Now, where were we? Oh, yes, we're talking and writing about eating real food. I had a not-fun hiatus moving these last two weeks. But the payoff is I have a kitchen I can cook in, a deck to entertain on (no grill yet, tho), and have already had a few friends to dinner. I grilled kabobs under the broiler (chicken, pork, peppers, pineapple chunks, cherry tomatoes, onion), made rice pilaf similar to how Mom used to make it, and friends brought a green salad. Two flavors of sorbet with fresh raspberries for dessert. (And, I must confess, chips and salsa on the deck before dinner. A guest brought those, and we inhaled them. I probably should have prepared raw vegetables.) There will be lots of parties, cookouts, and get-togethers with friends this summer. How can we eat healthy when the menu veers to potato salad and ice cream? And speaking of my favorite food, did you read the Newsweek article about the most-fattening ice cream flavors? I guess it is obvious, but the calorie and fat count increases in flavors that contain more than just ice cream, the ones that also contain nuts, brownie batter, pieces of candy bars, and more. Newsweek offers some alternatives (including the brands Turkey Hill and Edy's) and compare calorie and fat count for half-cup servings. (Who ever ate a half-cup of ice cream? )
Question of the week: How do you enjoy summer foods and still stick to healthy eating?

Question of the Week: Will You Drink More Red Wine If It Is Shown To Extend Life?

We've read before that red wine has lots of good things for us. Now, researchers say red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan. The most recent news about red wine grew out of the search for longevity drugs. The study is based on dosing mice with resveratrol, an ingredient of some red wines. Studies tested the equivalent of 100 bottles of red wine a day on mice. It extended the lives of the rodents; no word if they had more fun, too.
Would you drink more wine - or take resveratrol in pill form - with hopes it would extend your life? (An aside: my brother and I discuss the desire many people have to live long lives. Who, we wonder, is going to support us? Will we have to work into our 80s or 90s or even longer?)

Question of the Week: Will You Cut Out Organic Food, To Cut Back On Expenses?

A recent series of stories on NPR covered how Americans are cutting back, because of the cost of gas, food, and as the effect of the mortgage loan crisis spreads. Those hit hardest, of course, are people with low or fixed incomes.

But a woman many of us would envy - owner of two houses, both paid for - told the reporter that her 'ah ha!' moment came when shopping at Whole Foods. It was a place she shopped frequently, but a quick trip to buy just a few things had cost more than $130, and reality set in when she realized she hadn't come away with even three meals. She told a reporter that she decided to make some sacrifices, starting with one of the things she loved most: organic food. "I won't buy it right now; it's too expensive," she says.

Will you cut back on buying organic food, as a way to save money? What other changes are you making? (I have cut back on getting coffee at Tullys or Starbucks, and on bottled water. I'm also watching how many restaurant meals I have each week, and I'm keeping a journal to see exactly what I spend in all areas of my life.)

Question of the Week: Is Some Food More Important To Eat Organic Than Others?

A friend told me about a website that gives information about organic vs. conventionally grown food. She said it discusses which foods are most important to buy organic. I don't know if this is the site, but I found a posting on http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-top-10-foods-to-eat-organically.html that discusses the top food to eat organically. It says it is excerpted from the book Your Organic Kitchen, by Jesse Ziff Cool.

Some of you (especially you gardeners) will know more about this than I do. The posting attributes this list to the Environmental Working Group, a non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C.

High-pesticide food: Strawberries
Healthy alternatives: Blueberries, raspberries, oranges, grapefruit, kiwifruit, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Bell peppers
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, romaine, lettuce

High-pesticide food: Spinach
Healthy alternatives: Broccoli, Brussels sprouts, asparagus

High-pesticide food: Cherries
Healthy alternatives: Oranges, blueberries, raspberries, kiwifruit, blackberries, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Peaches
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, tangerines, oranges, grapefruit

High-pesticide food: Mexican cantaloupe
Healthy alternatives: U.S. cantaloupe grown from May to December, watermelon

High-pesticide food: Celery
Healthy alternatives: Carrots, broccoli, radishes, romaine lettuce

High-pesticide food: Apples
Healthy alternatives: Watermelon, nectarines, bananas, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Apricots
Healthy alternatives: Nectarines, watermelon, oranges, tangerines

High-pesticide food: Green beans
Healthy alternatives: Green peas, broccoli, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, potatoes, asparagus

Are there other foods that are more likely to be grown with and/or retain pesticides? What alternatives have you found?

Question of the Week: What's A Customer To Think?

We're speaking of the misleading nutritional claims that popular restaurant chains, including Chili's, Taco Bell, Cheesecake Factory and Applebee's, list on their menus. As reporter Isaac Wolf of the Scripps Howard News Service wrote (his story was published in many papers, including the Seattle P-I on May 22), the food at many restaurants contains more calories and more grams of fat than the menus state. Scripps had food tested in eight cities; many dishes were found to have several times as many calories and fat as the restaurants claimed. Here's another interesting point: many of the restaurants did a mea culpa, blaming oversized portions. Can't they coordinate the nutritional information to the portion size? New York, San Francisco and Seattle have policies requiring a menu item be counted as one serving. Do you rely on nutritional information provided by restaurants?