Vegan?

I have done lots and lots of reading on healthy eating, alternative diets, etc. and I have to say that I have found overwhelming evidence that veganism, done right, is the healthiest way to go. There are alot of animal lovers who will decide to become vegan for moral reasons, but if they don’t take the time to do the research they end up malnourished. I think that if you know what you’re doing, staying away from animal fat totally can be very beneficial. Has anyone else done any research on this?

Ham and Cheese Pizza Stacks

Mmm! So tasty and quite healthy too!

Use flour tortillas for the base for this pesto-ham-and mozzarella stack.

Ingredients

1/4 cup purchased pesto
12 7- to 8-inch flour tortillas
1/2 pound finely chopped cooked ham (1-1/2 cups)
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (8 ounces)
1 8-ounce can pizza sauce or 1/2 cup Alfredo pasta sauce

Preparation Bake:12 min.Prep:15 min.
1 Spread the pesto on one side of four tortillas. Top each with a second tortilla to make four separate stacks. Stir together the ham and half of the cheese. Sprinkle ham mixture over second layer of each tortilla stack. Top with the remaining tortillas. Spread top layer with pizza sauce or Alfredo sauce; sprinkle with remaining cheese.
2 Place the tortilla stacks on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in a 425 degrees F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese is melted. To serve, cut each stack into wedges. Makes 4 stacks (8 servings).
3 Dietary Exchanges: 2 starch, 1 vegetable, 1-1/2 lean meat, 2 fat.
4 Test Kitchen Tip: Personalize these stacks as you please — substitute pepperoni for the ham and add chopped mushrooms or other chopped veggies.

Nutritional Analysis
Per Serving
calories 354
total fat 15g
saturated fat 4g
cholesterol 32mg
sodium 946mg
carbohydrate 34g
fiber 0g
protein 19g

In the pink

It seems that no matter who you are, if you throw a stone, it will hit someone whose been affected by breast cancer. In the last two months, two of my friends have been diagnosed. Joan, who now wears an adorable auburn wig, had a massive mastectomy. Her doctor’s thought the cancer had already spread underneath her arms to her lymphatic system. Fortunately, it didn’t. She’s undergoing chemo, and though she’s actually gained weight, she’s never looked better. She’s concentrating on her health, her self and her new attitude. Life in the now is a blessing; all other worries past or future fall away. I’ve never seen her so committed, so strong.
Sam, a triathlon athlete in her late 50s, starts radiation next week. She is tickled they’ll be no surgery, no chemo. She plans to be back on the tennis court as soon as her five weeks are up. Neither of these women have time for the pain, or the depression. No wonder they own pink yoga mats.
In her book Yoga for Depression, Amy Weintraub tells how practicing yoga daily can deepen your sense of who you are and strengthen the connection to your spiritual source. Christiane Northrup, M.D., calls this book “a godsend: beautifully written, medically accurate, and very practical.�
Yoga not only helps beat the blues, research has shown it improves the health of patients with heart disease, diabetes, asthma, chronic pain, migraines and anxiety. But what about breast cancer in particular?
According to Yoga Journal, yoga practice can help in three major ways: regulating the endocrine system and thus the balance of hormones to which you’re exposed; strengthening the immune system, especially by stimulating the flow of lymph; and providing both a philosophy and practice for creating a healthy relationship with our bodies and with the world around us.

Why I love Food TV

I love the Food Network with a love that is true and will never die. I first saw the channel devoted to all things food when I spent a summer living in Oklahoma City in 1999, and I’ve been devoted ever since. It’s food porn. I can watch people make things I would never ever consider making and it’s fun to see them pull it off and to see the beautiful dishes they create.

Of course a lot of the things created on this network (and the recipes you can find on its web site) aren’t exactly healthy (though it is getting better with the addition of shows such as Calorie Commando, Cooking Thin and Low-Carb and Loving It (as well as the adorable Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals, which strives for healthy food fast) it’s still great fun to watch. And, I’ve found, oddly stress-reducing.

I don’t know why I find watching other people cook calming, but I really do. I used to always go home from work and switch on Food Network (or, when I worked nights, it was on most of the day) and just veg watching lovely people make lovelier food. I will never be able to cook like that, but then I don’t have a staff of chefs behind the scenes helpign me, either.

The channel and the site are great sources of information and inspiration. I’ll watch Good Eats even when it’s about a food I’d never eat because it’s just so interesting. I love Emeril, Sara and Tyler. I love the recipe search, tips and techniques that can tell you how to make almost anything. And I love that all this great information is available to me free from my cable company and my Internet.

It’s so great that we live in an era where we can find out all we want to know about anything almost at the push of a button. So if you’re at all interested in food, cooking, science, healthy eating or learning to cook, check out Food Network and Foodtv.com. You’ll be rewarded many times over.

Three Ways to Beat the Blahs

Where are you on the “blah� scale? If number one is bedridden and number 10 is on top of the world, do you operate at a constant five? Characterized as not bad, but not good either, five is the number that many of us spend years of our lives living.

The problem with five (or three, or four, or six) is that you can stay there for a long, long time and not even realize that it’s a bad thing. At five, you go through the motions of each day, wondering why life isn’t very joyful and why you’re so tired. Wondering why you feel so blah.

The good news about blah is this: by making a few simple changes in your life, you can quickly and easily climb the scale to six, seven, eight, or more. A simple, mind-body-spirit approach is the key to being happier in your life and to unlocking the energy within.

Here are three tips for beating the blahs:

1. Change your internal dialog. Every time your internal dialog gets negative, stop the thought immediately and reframe it into a positive. For example, let’s say you look in the mirror and your thoughts tell you, “I’m fat (or ugly, or have bad hair, or a bad complexion).� Check yourself immediately and change that dialog to, “I love my body (or I’m beautiful or I’m perfect just the way I am).�

2. Move your body. If you’re feeling blah, the temptation is to sit and wallow in that feeling. Instead, get up and move. If you have a desk job, take frequent breaks to move around. Take a five-minute walk or do some toe-touches and stretches in a private conference room or the ladies room if you have to. If you’re at home, go outside and putter in the yard, walk to the mailbox or wash the car. Whatever you do physically, moving your body is an antidote to feeling blah.

3. Eat consciously. It’s common to choose the wrong foods when you’re feeling blah. In an attempt to gain more energy (falsely of course), people tend to reach for high sugar snacks or caffeine for a pick-me-up. Instead, use high-energy foods to give your body a life. Choose raw, organic fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and lots of pure water.

Life is too short to live it blah-fully. You deserve to beat the blahs. Begin today to live your life joyfully.

The Mediterranean Diet

If you are looking for a non-diet diet, in an attempt to get your body healthier, you should consider the Mediterranean diet. Those living in countries surrounding the Mediterranean are thought to have one of the best diets of any region. Why? Well, they eat more of certain foods and less of others.

For instance, their daily diet consists of foods in the following categories: breads, other grains, couscous, and potatoes; fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts; olive oil; and cheese and yogurt.

Sweets, eggs, and meats like poultry, fish, and red meat are eaten much less frequently than, say, in the typical American diet.

The olive oil might actually be one of the key ingredients to the healthy Mediterranean diet. They save butter and cream only for very special occasions, so their main source of fat comes from olive oil. But, olive oil is very low in the bad fats, such as saturated and polyunsaturated fat. In addition, olive oil is thought to increase good cholesterol while having little or no affect on bad cholesterol.

Those living in the Mediterranean also drink wine on a regular basis, usually between one and two glasses a day. And, we’ve all heard those lovely reports on how alcohol (in moderation) may help reduce the risks of various medical conditions including heart disease.

So, if you are looking to change your menu and take better care of your body, consider switching to a Mediterranean diet.

Recipe: Sautéed Cauliflower With Apples and Sherry

Time: 25 minutes

1 medium head cauliflower
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons shallots, minced
2/3 cup Braeburn or other apple in ¼-inch dice
1 tablespoon amontillado sherry
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Grated nutmeg.

1. Pull off leaves from cauliflower, and trim tough stem end away. With sharp paring knife separate cauliflower into florets, leaving 1-inch stem at base of each floret. Cut pieces in two lengthwise and lay flat side down. Cut each piece lengthwise in two, and repeat until you have 2-inch-long carved floret and stem pieces of approximately equal thickness (about ½-inch) top to bottom. There should be 16 ounces, about 7 cups of cauliflower. Set aside.

2. Melt butter over medium-low heat in large skillet until brown, about 4 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and set aside.

3. Toss cauliflower, salt and 5 tablespoons water in empty skillet, cover, and set over high heat. Cook until cauliflower is tender, shaking pan and stirring once, 5 minutes. Uncover skillet (water should be gone), and toss. Drizzle with reserved butter. Stir in shallots and apples, and cook, stirring until tender, about 2 minutes. Add sherry and pepper, and toss to combine. Transfer to warm serving platter and sprinkle nutmeg over top.

Yield: 4 to 6 side dish servings.

Recipe: Sautéed Broccoli With Toasted Garlic, Orange and Sesame

Time: 25 minutes

1 medium head broccoli
2 teaspoons sesame seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
2½ tablespoons thinly sliced garlic cloves
¼ to ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
½ teaspoon finely grated orange peel.

1. Rinse broccoli. Cut off thick stem where it meets slender stalks, and reserve. With sharp paring knife separate stalks into florets, leaving stems about 1½ inches long on each. Cut pieces in two lengthwise and lay flat-side down. Cut each piece lengthwise in two and repeat until you have 3-inch-long carved floret and stem pieces of approximately equal thickness (about ½-inch) top to bottom. Peel tough skin from stems, and cut crosswise into ¼-inch medallions. There should be 12 ounces of broccoli, about 7 cups. Set aside.

2. Toast sesame seeds in large nonstick skillet over low heat until golden, about 5 minutes. Transfer to small bowl, and set aside.

3. Place olive oil and garlic in skillet over low heat. Toast garlic, stirring frequently, until garlic is deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add pepper flakes to hot oil, and stir. Transfer to small bowl, and set aside. Toss broccoli, salt and ¼ cup water in same skillet, cover and set over high heat. Cook until broccoli is tender, shaking pan and stirring once, 4 minutes. Uncover skillet (water should be gone), and toss. Stir in garlic and oil, oyster sauce and orange peel. Transfer to warm serving platter, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Yield: 4 to 6 side dish servings.

Recipe: Green Beans and Portobello Mushroom Saute

Recipe Summary
Difficulty: Easy
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 4 servings

1 1/4 pounds green beans, trimmed and cut in half
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
1 tablespoon butter
1 onion, chopped
2 portobello mushroom caps, halved and thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry sherry

Simmer green beans in salted boiling water 5 minutes. Drain green beans and return skillet to moderate heat. Add oil and butter to the pan. Add onions and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Saute mushrooms 3 to 5 minutes with onions, add green beans back to the pan. Heat green beans through and add sherry. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer green beans and mushrooms to a serving plate.

Organic Overseas

There’s a really interesting article in today’s Christian Science Monitor about the organic food movement in India. In the late 1960s the country embraced genetically modified plants that more doubled the amount of food the land could produce, but now many farmers are seeking to go back to the organic way of farming.

The big reason for this push is the lucrative overseas market, particularly in the United States. About half of all organically grown produce from India is exported, and only about one percent of India’s population eats organic food, according to the article. The main reason people in India don’t eat organic is the price: organics are 20 to 25 percent more expensive, and in the case of rice buying organic costs about five times more than buying conventionally produced rice. In a poor, overpopulated nation, economics make a huge difference in access to food.

Organic farmers say organic costs more because it is more labor intensive: plants actually have to be cared for instead of just sprayed with pesticide and left to grow. Conventional farmers say organic farming should be cheaper because those farmers don’t have to buy equipment and chemicals used in mainstream farming. Ultimately, though, some see a need for more balance in the Indian farming system, such as not growing rice in areas that are drought-prone and instead growing plants adaptable to each region of the nation.

When it comes to food production, we could all use a little balance. No one knows what genetically modified foods do long-term to a person, especially the new ones that Monsanto is designing to be resistant to Roundup and other herbicides. If we continue to allow genetic modification to be the norm, we may end up with a food supply with very little natural left. While that means great profits for those in farm technology, it could speak disaster for consumers, particularly if these modified plants were weaker in some other way that caused them to die out.

Organic food is expensive, and not everyone can afford to buy organic all the time. But it really is worth it in terms of taste, nutrition, environmental sustainability and health. Buy organic when you can and know that you’re supporting biodiversity as well as getting good eats.

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