roasted corn salad

roasted corn salad

I love summer and summer food.  For me there is nothing better on a hot day than a quick simple barbecue with lots of tasty side salads.  My sister-in-law is a genius at the side salad thing, probably because she grew up in Texas where all my friends seem to be good at that.   Me?  Well, it's a learned thing, mostly started by her generous gift of two cookbooks loaded with salad recipes.

This is my latest creation.  It was late by the time we ate and I was too hungry to stop and get out the camera.  When I remembered to take this picture there was, I kid you not, only three spoonfuls of salad left.  That's how good it is.  The general family consensus is that it's a keeper.  Hope you think it is too.

Roasted Corn Salad - 5-6 servings

3 ears of corn
1 red bell pepper diced
3 spring onions, cleaned and diced
1/2 cup celery diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 small bunch of cilantro minced
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 small lime juiced
sea salt and pepper to taste

Shuck the corn and cook in a pot of water until just starting to boil
Remove from the water, pat dry and place on a medium high grill
Turn corn occasionally to prevent burning
     (although my guinea pigs family says the darker bits are tasty too)
When corn is slightly browned all over remove from grill
Using a sharp knife remove kernels from cob and place into a bowl
Add bell pepper, spring onions, celery, garlic, and cilantro
Mix well
In a separate container whisk together olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper
Pour dressing over corn salad and toss well to coat evenly

on my mind monday 5.28.12

news | photo: mconnors

It's never the same two weeks in a row.  A collection of what I find interesting regarding food, nutrition, and holistic.  Read what's on my mind.

Flame Retardants Could Affect Our Bodies For Generations - The more we pollute our environment, sadly, the more we pollute our bodies.  And the effect is cumulative (and in some cases exponential) from one generation to the next.  In her book Origins: How the Nine Months Before Birth Shape The Rest Of Our Lives author Annie Murphy Paul talks about how the placental barrier is not as impermeable and protective as we had previously thought.  And with the growing number of chemicals in our environment our bodies are taxed even more.  As the article highlights, there are a growing number of studies that show the results affect DNA and last for generations.  This is a very scary issue and one that needs to garner more attention both from the public and from industry.

The Garden Summer - a new twist in reality t.v., the main person invited four other people to join her in living on a farm.  None of them had any experience.  The documentary highlights their journey.  I would be interested in seeing the movie although I'm not sure how wide the distribution will be.  I envision this as a modern day version of Frontier House, a PBS series where several families were given a little training and then put into a setting reminiscent of the late 1800's.  It's a sobering thought, however, that so many of us no longer know how to raise our own food and how to live a more environmentally connected life.

Sunflowers to clean radioactive soil in Japan - The fallout from Fukushima is serious and likely to last for generations.  I was glad to hear that phytoremediation (the use of plants to clean up the soil) was an option being encouraged in this disaster.  Apparently this method was used after the Chernobyl accident back in the late 1980's.  In addition to sunflowers other plants such as mustard, alfalfa, fennel, and barley are effective choices.  One important issue is the fact that plants used this way cannot be consumed due to the high level of heavy metals they extract from the soil.  I am a little puzzled that Japan is asking local citizens to grow sunflowers and then plans to harvest the seeds and plant them at Fukushima.  To my mind it would make more sense to ask for donations of sunflower seeds from around the world and the phytoremediation could be started one growing year earlier.  Research on the internet, however, failed to turn up an address where sunflowers seeds could be sent.

Tainted Spinach Detected By A Program Budget Cuts Will Axe - Given the increasing number of food recalls and contamination issues I am very surprised to see that this program will be going away.  The governmental agencies already do a poor job at monitoring the food supply, I have to believe this will only make the situation worse.  The best solution in this case is to consider shopping more locally and get to know your farmer.  Know where your food comes from and how it gets to you.



Composting is wonderful; it's almost magical how you can take leftover coffee grounds, egg shells, potato peels, lawn clippings and other green matter and turn it into a high quality dirt so your garden will grow better.  We've finally discovered (after three prior attempts) how to keep the dogs out of the compost bin (really they're pigs in disguise).  An off-the-ground tumble style container.  Locked behind a gate.  We're finally starting to generate enough decent compost to be able to use it in the garden and that's a great thing.


What I'm reading:

Savor by Thich Nhat Han This is a book incorporating information about nutrition with the practice of mindfulness as applied to weight, health, and our relationship with food.  An interesting blend of science and spiritual practice I am enjoying it so far.\

disclaimer: cmp.ly/5

what's in your vitamins?

gummi bears | photo: Pumbaa80

Not that long ago I was working with a client, we were having a Pantry Party.  For those who may not know, a Pantry Party is where I come to your house and we play in the pantry.  Working with you, based on your health goals, we go through the contents of your pantry and I help you understand what may be in there that really isn't food.  We talk about ways to get rid of those non-food choices, suitable substitutions, and overall nutrition education.  I love Pantry Parties, they're a lot of fun, and my clients love them too.

This particular client happened to keep their vitamins in the pantry.  At one point, as we were talking about a number of the negative ingredients in various food items,  I happened to grab one of the vitamin bottles.  That vitamin bottle brings us to today's blog entry.

It's important for you to understand that nutrition applies not only to food; it applies to whatever you put in your mouth.  If you eat it or ingest it in any way, you need to be aware of the ingredients that are in it; because if it goes into your mouth it gets into your system.   This includes Food, medicine, vitamins, mouthwash, and toothpaste.

I am going to focus on one particular vitamin here but this information and thought process would apply to any supplement.  First, I will start by saying I do not get the gummy-bears-as-vitamin concept.  Sure it sounds good in theory, make vitamins fun and perhaps more people will take them.  But vitamins are not candy and we should not be thinking of them as equivalents.

I am, admittedly, a huge proponent of food as medicine; however I do recognize the potential need for supplementation.  My theory is supplement, replete, and stop (having corrected the diet along the way).  Gummy vitamins/supplements fall very low on my list because all of that sticky, candy residue stays on your teeth and creates a perfect environment for bacterial growth.

I know, I know, some of you are going to complain that gummy candies are fun and I shouldn't be such a spoilsport.  I get that they're tasty and the chewiness is fun.  But every day?  Not a good habit to get into in my book.

This particular vitamin is meant for adults.  It's a calcium supplement with vitamin D3.

citracal

On the plus side:

• Taking calcium with D3 is a good choice, the D helps the body to properly utilize the calcium and D3 is the better choice over D2.  
• This supplement uses maqui berry (also known as Chilean winterberry) juice concentrate for color.  A good choice because it's a fruit, however why go all the way to Chile?  Why not use something like cherries or blackberries?  
• The tricalcium phosphate is meant to provide the calcium supplementation.  There is some debate about which forms of calcium are best, but leaving that out of the discussion this is not an unreasonable form.

And that brings us to the negatives with this product:

• The very first ingredient is corn syrup which is essentially a sugar.  
• The second ingredient  is sucrose, also known as table sugar.  
• If we look at the nutrition label we see that this product provides 7 grams of sugar for two gummies.  That's as much sugar as a 3.5 ounce cheese danish (not that I recommend you eat the danish either).
• The artificial flavoring, Yellow #6 and Red #40 are definite negative ingredients. 

As many readers know, I am strongly opposed to artificial flavors and colors.  The colors are made from petrochemicals.  There is landmark study which shows a significant response among children who consumed artificial colors.  I feel, quite strongly, that artificial colors are not good for anyone, child or adult, and need to be removed from our food.  There are plenty of natural food color alternatives.  But that's a blog post for another day.  If you don't want them in your food (and believe me, you don't) then you certainly don't want them in your vitamins.


Inert or neutral ingredients would be the water, sodium citrate, citric acid and pectin.  These are used to make the form, or body, of the candy.  The citric acid is for flavor, the pectin is what makes it gummy.

Overall that makes this not a great choice if you are looking to supplement your calcium.  Considering the food as medicine concept, it is important to remember that if you eat right you can, in fact, support your health with food.  One study from 2007 concluded that, "Calcium from dietary sources is associated with a shift in estrogen metabolism toward the active 16α-hydroxyl metabolic pathway and with greater BMD and thus may produce more favorable effects in bone health in postmenopausal women than will calcium from supplements."

Am I telling you not to take supplements?  Absolutely not, that's a decision that you need to make for yourself, in combination with all of your health professionals.  But I am strongly suggesting that instead of trying to supplement your calcium with candy you may want to consider adding foods that are high in calcium to your diet.  Obviously this includes dairy, but for non dairy sources consider the following foods:

     salmon, sardines, collard greens, spinach, turnip greens, okra, white beans, broccoli,
     Brussels sprouts, and sesame seeds

Update:  I just found this article stating calcium supplements may not be good for your heart, possibly even leading to cardiac arrest.  Especially if you are a woman.  The article points out that the body handles calcium very differently (and very well) when it comes from food sources.  The rush of calcium to the system from supplements however may not be so beneficial.  One of the study researchers, Dr. Ian Reid was quoted as saying,"A reassessment of the role of calcium supplements in osteoporosis management is warranted."

Want to connect with me for a Pantry Party?  Send me an email.