Archive for the ‘To-Do Tuesday’ Category

17 Jul

To-Do Tuesday: Food Label Claims

Posted by Meghan in To-Do Tuesday. Tagged: .

(Each Tuesday, I write about an actionable item that we can all use in order to live and eat green.)

We’re all familiar with the claims on food labels: “good source of fiber,” “low sodium,” “cholesterol-free.” First of all, I don’t really think that these “health” claims accurately indicate the healthfulness of a product. But we’ll get to that in a minute.

So what do they mean?

  • Nutrient content claims. These describe the particular nutrients that are in a food and are strictly regulated. If something is sugar-free, sodium-free, trans fat-free, etc. then it must have less than 0.5 grams of that particular nutrient. If it’s “reduced,” then it means that there is at least 25% less of that nutrient than in the reference food. (You can see a full list of definitions here.)
  • Health claims. A health claim describes some kind of relationship between the food—or a nutrient in the food—and a disease. They have to include may or might: “A diet low in sodium may reduce the risk of hypertension.” However, the food must provide at least 10% of the Daily Value for fiber, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C calcium, and/or iron. Also, a single serving of the food cannot contain more than 13 g of fat, 4 g of saturated fat, 60 mg of cholesterol, or 480 mg of sodium.

  • Structure-function claims. Last, these claims simply describe how a nutrient affects the body (“iron builds strong blood”) but they don’t many any implications about risk reduction.

But we really shouldn’t put too much thought into these health claims. Contrary to what’s logical, I’d be willing to bet that most of these products with health claims aren’t healthy at all. They tend to get slapped onto processed foods in order to give them the aura of health. Just because Fruit Loops are “made with whole grains” or “a good source of fiber” does not mean that they’re a quality food product. Companies will do whatever it takes to manipulate their food in order to add more flashy “health” marketing to the front of their packages. Many of them do so by reducing the serving size. As stated above, something can be declared “trans fat-free” if it has less than 0.5 grams of trans fat. Companies can easily skirt that rule by shrinking the serving size, which is why you sometimes see ludicrous serving sizes like “1/3 of a muffin.”

So next time you’re checking out the middle aisles of the grocery store—where all the processed food is located—look at how every single product has some kind of health claim on it. And then ignore those foods and head toward the fruits and vegetables, fish, grains in bulk, and legumes—none of which tend to carry health claims. Time to eat fewer nutrients and eat more food.

10 Jul

To-Do Tuesday: How to Structure a Meal

Posted by Meghan in To-Do Tuesday. Tagged: , .

(Each Tuesday, I write about an actionable item that we can all use in order to live and eat green.)

Whenever I talk to someone about eating less meat, they often worry about what to make for dinner. Breakfast and lunch are usually pretty self-explanatory, but I think people tend to struggle with dinner because in this country our meals really are centered around meat. Instead of just subtracting the meat from your normal meals, it’s far easier to learn a new way to structure your meals so that vegetables and grains become the focus. You can definitely buy a few vegetarian cookbooks and really get into some fancier meals, but honestly, many people don’t have time on weekdays to create an elaborate meal. It’s more sustainable to learn a formula, figure out what your options are, and then continue to make new combinations as you learn what you like.

So what’s my formula? Grain + vegetable + legume/protein + fat. It’s not revolutionary in any way, but it works for me.

Grains

Most of these grains can be found in the bulk bins at your grocery store (bonus: bring your own containers for less packaging!), are quite inexpensive, and will keep for a long time in your refrigerator. To figure out how to cook them properly, a quick Google search is your friend. (Here is one of my favorite guides from Eating Well.) I will often decide which couple grains I’d like to eat during the week and make big batches when I have some time on the weekend.

  • Barley
  • Brown rice
  • Bulgur
  • Farro
  • Millet
  • Pasta
  • Quinoa
  • Spelt
  • Teff
  • Wheat berries

Vegetables

Use any vegetable you can think of! Branch out and try some new ones. (I was a little afraid of kale until I tried it, now it’s my favorite vegetable.) I try to stick with in-season veggies because they often taste better and are cheaper. This is a fantastic tool to show you what’s in season each month in your state.

There are lots of ways to cook vegetables: you can boil them, microwave them, steam them, grill them, sauté them, roast them, or eat them raw. My personal favorites are sautéing and roasting—I think those methods make vegetables taste the best. (Here’s another good guide from Eating Well on how to cook vegetables.)

Legumes/Proteins

You can buy canned beans and lentils that are pretty cheap, or you can buy dried ones that are even cheaper and cook them yourself.

  • Black beans
  • Canned salmon/tuna/sardines (if you eat fish)
  • Chickpeas
  • Eggs
  • Lentils
  • Pinto beans
  • Tempeh
  • Tofu
  • Shellfish

Fats

I often like to add a fat source to my meals to increase satiety. Plus, fats are delicious and can be good for you! I often add some chopped nuts/avocado or cook/roast my veggies in a little oil, but you can also use dressings and/or sauces that you like.

  • Almonds
  • Avocado
  • Dressings/sauces
  • Oils
  • Peanuts
  • Walnuts

A lot of people like to plan out their meals in advance before they go to the grocery store, but that doesn’t really work for me. I’m never sure what I’ll be in the mood for five days from now! Instead, I just make sure I have several options from each group on hand, and I know that I’ll be able to create many different meals. Here are a few of my favorites, all of which are easy, fairly quick, healthy, and delicious:

  • Barley with scrambled eggs, avocado, and greens
  • Bulgur with kale, tempeh, and walnuts
  • Fried brown rice with carrots/mushrooms and shrimp
  • Quinoa with sautéed zucchini/summer squash/red pepper/carrots and crumbled tofu
  • Whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce and beans

3 Jul

To-Do Tuesday: Kale with Bulgur & Tempeh

Posted by Meghan in To-Do Tuesday. Tagged: .

(Each Tuesday, I write about an actionable item that we can all use in order to live and eat green.)

Oh, kale. I’ll freely admit that even as a fruit and vegetable lover, I was a little wary to try kale a few years ago—it’s just a little scary-looking. But now I’m in love with kale and even really want one of these awesome shirts.

Kale is not just delicious, it is so good for you. Just a cup of chopped raw kale, which isn’t much at all, has 33 calories, 206% of the daily value of vitamin A, 134% of the daily value vitamin C, and 684% of the daily value of vitamin K. All of those vitamins taste good, I promise.

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For this recipe, I used one head of organic kale, which is only $1.99 at my grocery store. I chose lacinto (dinosaur) kale, but regular kale certainly works, too. I really love this recipe because it tastes good and is so customizable to whatever you have on hand. I’m not going to write it up in a typical “recipe” format since I much prefer ideas and methods to specific recipes, anyway.

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I chopped up this head of kale and added it all to a deep skillet with some cooking spray and a little oil (you can use either or both). My kale had a few bad leaves, so I didn’t have as big of a pile as usual. I let the kale cook, stirring occasionally, over medium-high heat for around 5 minutes or so, until it looks pretty wilted.

Next is the tempeh. Tempeh is another one of those foods that many people are wary of. It’s similar to tofu in that it is high in protein and made from soybeans, but it is much firmer and has a more enjoyable texture. Many people enjoy it raw on sandwiches (including me), or you can cut it into slices and grill it, or you can tear it into crumbles—which I did here.

The tempeh I buy, which is organic and costs about $2.50 at my grocery store, comes in a three-serving package. I used two servings and crumbled it into the kale. I let those two cook together for a few minutes before adding my bulgur.

Bulgur is a grain that has 6.5 grams of fiber per serving. I like it because it cooks so quickly and has a pleasant nutty flavor. Before I start chopping up my kale, I’ll add 1/2 cup of bulgur (two servings) and 3/4 cup of water to a small saucepan and cover it. Bring it to a boil, and then take it down to a simmer for 15-20 minutes, until all the water is absorbed and the bulgur is tender.

After the bulgur is cooked, add it to the kale and tempeh mixture. You can season it any way you wish. I add a little maple syrup and soy sauce (1-2 teaspoons of each, to taste) because I just love that combination.

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The best part of this recipe is that it’s so customizable. You can add other vegetables into the kale mixture—mushrooms would be great—and add chopped walnuts or avocado. You can use whatever grain you’d like (or just serve the tempeh/kale mixture over a salad). I’ve used brown rice before, and you could also use barley, quinoa, farro, or millet. There are so many good grains out there—experiment!

26 Jun

To-Do Tuesday: Eat Less Meat

Posted by Meghan in To-Do Tuesday. Tagged: .

(Each Tuesday, I write about an actionable item that we can all use in order to live and eat green.)

My main goal for this blog is to give people information and help them realize what their decisions mean when it comes to food. A big part of that is learning about the meat industry. Eating less meat is a really great way to help the environment, improve your health, and save a little money.

Research shows that plant-based diets are more sustainable than meat-based ones. Growing livestock uses extraordinary amounts of water, possibly up to 2500 gallons of water per pound of beef (for  comparison’s sake, taking a shower uses 2.5 gallons per minute). Growing a pound of wheat only takes one percent of that amount. When people talk about saving water, the ideas thrown around include “Take shorter showers!” “Don’t water your lawn frequently!” But according to the US Geological Survey, we use over three times the amount of water for livestock than we do for domestic purposes.

According to Mark Bittman from the New York Times, the whole livestock process produces close to 20% of the greenhouse gases in the world, which is more than transportation. Also from his piece: “Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius.” The Environmental Working Group says that eating one less hamburger each week has the equivalent impact of not driving your car for 320 miles. (The EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide is a fantastic resource.) Bottom line: decreasing the amount of meat you eat, by even a small amount, can really have a big environmental impact.

Research shows that eating less meat can lower your risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease. People who eat plant-based diets are also less likely to be overweight. Lastly, eating less meat can be good for your wallet. Grains (which you can buy in bulk), dry beans, and lentils are much less expensive than meat.

So how to do it? Instead of focusing of things that you want to limit, think of all the new foods that you can incorporate into your meals. I build my meals around vegetables (anything that’s in season!), a plant-based protein (tofu, tempeh, lentils, black beans, white beans, kidney beans, etc.), a whole grain (brown rice, bulgur, quinoa, farro, barley, etc.), and a sauce (pesto, hummus, peanut sauce, soy sauce, etc.). You could grill big portobello mushrooms (served on whole-wheat buns with pesto) and have sweet potato fries on the side. You can make homemade veggie pizzas, frittatas, whole-wheat pasta with beans and a veggie-filled tomato sauce, stuffed peppers, or vegetable fajitas. The opportunities are endless! Great resources include the Meatless Monday website, Vegetarian Times, and Eating Well.

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