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Whats in a number?

29 Sep

So I have been tracking all of my food on www.thedailyplate.com. Let me just plug in here that its an AMAZING website with SO much information that is easy to find etc etc. GREAT GREAT GREAT.

Anyways, I consider myself a fairly healthy person. I make sure that all of the foods in our house are HFCS (high fructose corn syrup) free, no partially hydrogenated oils, fresh fruits and veggies grown in our backyard (well some of them anyways), hormone free milk and so on. Well…after tracking my food for 2 weeks I found out a few things that I never would have guessed:

a. I dont eat anough carbs. EXCUSE ME?? I feel like that is all I eat!

b. I eat too much sugar. Now I know I have a torrid affair with ice cream but I didn’t think it was THAT bad!

c. I eat too much fat. Not by a lot. But still too much. Where would this be coming from??

d. My protein intake was too high. We do not even eat a ton of meat around here!!… but apparently the other foods I am consuming are adding into that number as well.

E. I eat WAY too much salt. This was the one that blew me away. I never salt anything! When a recipe calls for salt, I always do half. When I season my foods, I use other seasonings besides salt. I have always tried to be really conscious about it. But apparently all of the other items that are in my pantry that I do not make from scratch are VERY high in salt content. I never knew. And I never would have known if I hadn’t tracked my food for 2 weeks. I would have gone along thinking, “I’m healthy cause I don’t put salt on my eggs”.

After taking some time to review what my intakes were and what was in my pantry I came to these conclusions:

- I need to eat more carbs, but the RIGHT carbs. Not cookies and granola bars and sugary items. This will also help cut down my sugar intake!

- I need to read labels for fat counts on all prepackaged and processed items. And I need to make sure they are mostly GOOD fats (mono and polyunsaturated, and SOME saturated fats) and not BAD fats (trans fats – aka partially hydrogenated oils)!

- I need to save my protein counts for fresh items like meats and legumes. The over abundance is coming from processed items!

- I need to READ the labels for salt content on any processed items I buy. Our bodies need salt. BUT mine does not need as much as I have been getting!

So…what are your counts like? What are you getting too much of? not enough of? Take some time to figure these things out! It will be worth it in the long run. Do a “spring cleaning” of your cupboards and get yourself on the right track!

Easy Pizza Dough!

12 Aug

One of my best friend’s growing up ALWAYS had homemade pizza at her birthday parties.  And let me tell you nobody makes pizza like her mom. It was my favorite food!! Some years later  -  ok a lot of years later – I got married and moved to Oklahoma (which is actually fairly recent history). When we arrived back from our honeymoon there was a box on our doorstep. It was from my friend’s parents. Her mom had purchased us an awesome baking stone, a pizza peel, and a pizza cutter as our wedding gift. Inside was a note that said “So you can carry on the tradition”. Not only did I cry but I was super excited! Well yesterday, after 6 months of non-usage. I decided it was time. And much to my surprise it went off without a hitch! Successful pizza made from scratch and in practically no time at all! Not only was it easy it is SO much healthier to make it from scratch – this way YOU can control what is in YOUR dough and what toppings YOU put on. No mystery ingredients. And it was CHEAP – about $1.25 per serving – yet another perk. Try this one out (this recipe makes 2 pizzas and approx. 4 large servings):

1 1/4 cups unbleached all purpose Flour (you can always substitute wheat flour as well – this will be my next experiment!)

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 package active dry yeast

1 cup warm water (115 -120 degrees F)

Mix on low speed for 30 seconds

Scrape sides of Bowl and Mix on medium speed for 3 minutes

Place dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead in another 1 1/4 cups flour

Knead for approximately 8 mins or until you have a moderately stiff dough

Split it into 2 pieces and let it sit, covered, for 10 minutes

Roll each half into a 13 inch round and build up the edges to form a crust

Place onto a pizza peel that has been covered with corn meal

If you do not have a pizza peel and baking stone you can put them onto a baking sheet – you will still want to put corn meal down 1st

Bake at 400 Degrees F for 10 minutes

Remove from the oven and add your desired toppings, then return to the oven for another 10 minutes.

VOILA! Homemade pizza – so so so YUMMY

Trans Fats

4 Jun

What is Trans Fat? When hydrogen is added to vegetable oil via hydrogenation.

Why do food manufacturers use them? Trans fats are more solid than oil causing them to spoil less quickly = increased shelf life.

Where can you find Trans Fats? Many of your favorite everyday foods. Like Oreo’s, Bisquick, Ramen Noodles, KFC chicken, Froot Loops, Quaker Chewy Granola Bars, Girl Scout Cookies, Animal crackers, Fig Newtons, and Ritz crackers just to name a few.

What words should you look for in ingredients? Partially Hydrogenated Oils, Hydrogenated Oils, Shortening, margarine.

Fact: If a product has less than 0.5 grams of Trans Fat the manufacturer can label it as Zero Trans Fats – even though they are still in there.

Fact: Trans Fats increase bad cholesterol

Fact: Trans fats increase triglycerides (fat found in your blood) which can cause hardening of the arteries and thickening of the artery walls which means increased risk of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, and heart attacks.

Fact: Trans Fats increase the body’s inflammation response which can effect the way your body responds to injury

To put it simply: Trans fats = BAD for your health. If you know what’s good for you, AVOID at all costs.

To learn more click HERE or HERE

The Iron Cactus – Dallas, TX

17 May

If anyone happens to be heading to Dallas, Texas anytime soon (or Austin – there are 5 total) you MUST and I repeat MUST go the Iron Cactus (Tex Mex restaurant and bar – but as our hotel bar tender told us it’s “LEGIT Tex Mex”). I am a food snob. Plain and simple. Sometimes to the point that I drive my husband crazy. So when the bar tender told us to go there I was a little skeptical – I have had some recommendations gone wrong in recent history – but we decided to go anyways once we walked by and saw the place. The staff was super friendly, the manager came by the table twice to check on us which I loved, and the margaritas were delish. But more than that the food was AWESOME! Best fish tacos I have had to date hands down. Check out their website here to see the menu and get directions etc

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