CrossFit Nutrition
Shrimp, Avocado and Tomato Salad
A light, fresh, easy and incredibly healthy summer salad.
Shrimp, Avocado and Tomato Salad
1 pound of cooked and peeled shrimp
2 avocados, peeled, cored and cubed
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, cored and minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Directions
1.Cut the shrimp into 2 or 3 pieces.
2.Toss all the ingredients together.
3.Let the salad marinate for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Zone Blocks: 2oz. Shrimp = 1 block, 1Tbsp. Avocado = 1 block, 2 small Tomato = 1 block
Shrimp, Avocado and Tomato Salad
1 pound of cooked and peeled shrimp
2 avocados, peeled, cored and cubed
3 medium tomatoes, diced
2 jalapeno peppers, cored and minced
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
Juice of 2 limes
Directions
1.Cut the shrimp into 2 or 3 pieces.
2.Toss all the ingredients together.
3.Let the salad marinate for 10-15 minutes before serving.
Zone Blocks: 2oz. Shrimp = 1 block, 1Tbsp. Avocado = 1 block, 2 small Tomato = 1 block
Posting By: Gina Evans
Comments
Are You Eating Sugar Laden "Health" Foods
Six Surprising Foods with More Sugar than a Twinkie
By Dr. Mercola
Of all the foods capable of inflicting damage in your body, sugar is one of the most damaging of all.
Sugar, and the type of sugar known as fructose, in particular, is an extremely potent pro-inflammatory agent that creates advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and speeds up the aging process.
It also promotes the kind of dangerous growth of fat cells around your vital organs which is the hallmark of diabetes and heart disease.
Sugar also increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones, and this is another major factor of premature aging and age-related chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, as well as a leading cause of the climbing rates of overweight and obesity in developed countries.
That sugar is bad for your health is probably old news to you by now, but what may surprise you is just how much sugar is lurking in foods that are often passed off as "healthy."
Many supposedly "good for you" foods have more sugar than a Twinkie!
Are You Eating These Sugar-Laden "Health" Foods?
The Huffington Post recently outed several foods that are so high in sugar, you may as well be eating a candy bar.
All of these also have more sugar than a Twinkie …
•Yogurt: Most commercial yogurt is loaded with sugar – as in, over 30 grams for 6 ounces! This, along with the fact that commercial yogurt is pasteurized (and some also contains artificial colors and flavors), is why you should walk right on by the yogurt section at your supermarket. Watch out, too, for "light" yogurt brands that boast less sugar due to toxic artificial sweeteners.
On the other hand, yogurt that is made from raw organic milk, and which you eat either plain or only minimally sweetened with some berries or liquid stevia, is a true health food. This is something you can easily do at home and use the healthiest raw ingredients, including organic grass-fed raw milk as the starter.
•Tomato Sauce: A cup of tomato sauce can add up to over 20 grams of sugar, and considering that most people eat that tomato sauce on top of pasta, another carb source, this could send you into sugar overload. Watch out, specifically, for brands that contain added sweeteners. Tomato sauce is a far better choice than a candy bar, but, ideally, make your own sauce at home, and serve it over shredded spaghetti squash instead of noodles.
•Granola Bars: Sugar is often one of the top ingredients in granola bars, and, in fact, most are not much different than a candy bar, nutritionally speaking. Even the granola is simply another form of "hidden sugar" that most people eat far too much of. Remember, sugar and dietary carbohydrates (including grains like granola, which break down into sugar) lead to excess body fat, obesity and related health issues. No amount of exercise can compensate for this damage because if you eat a lot of sugar, it could be "reprogramming" your body to become fat.
•Fat-Free Salad Dressing: When manufacturers take the fat out of a food, sugar is often added back in as a replacement. Fat-free French or Thousand Island dressings can contain over 40 grams of sugar as a result, turning a would-be healthy salad into something more resembling a dessert. Don't be fooled by the "fat-free" label -- it's the carbs that are the culprit in weight gain and chronic disease.
•Muffins: The high amount of carbs in most muffins will profoundly interfere with your leptin and insulin levels, and that is true even if it's a "healthy" muffin, like a bran muffin. Of course, in order to make a bran muffin palatable, it probably contains quite a bit of added sugar, on top of the grains it's made with. Many muffins are also jumbo-sized, easily packing over 30 grams of sugar, or more.
•Canned Fruit: Fruit in and of itself can be problematic if eaten in excess, as it's a source of naturally occurring fructose. But many canned fruits are also packed in sugary syrup, loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Just one cup of canned peaches or pears can contain over 30 grams of sugar. You're far better off with a fresh piece of fruit instead, but use moderation. I recommend restricting your consumption of fructose to no more than 25 grams per day, with a maximum of 15 grams a day from fresh fruit. If you're already overweight, or have cancer, heart disease or diabetes (or are at high risk of them), then you're probably better off cutting that down to 10-15 grams per day -- fruit included.
Why a High-Sugar Diet Will Make You Fat
If you are seeking to lose weight and optimize your health, foods that contain added sugar, as well as grains like bread and pasta should be eliminated or else comprise very low percentages of your diet. Most people who bought into the "high-carb, low-fat" dietary recommendations has likely struggled with their weight and health, wondering what they're doing wrong.
The problem is that overeating carbohydrates can prevent a higher percentage of fats from being used for energy, and lead to an increase in fat production and storage. Your body has a limited capacity to store excess carbohydrates. This is one of the reasons why elevated blood sugar follows their overconsumption. If you are not able to immediately use the sugar as a result of intense physical activity then one of the ways your body avoids dangerously elevated blood sugar is through converting those excess carbohydrates into excess body fat primarily in your belly.
The way it works is that any carbohydrates not immediately burned by your body as fuel are stored in the form of glycogen (a long string of glucose molecules linked together). Your body has two storage sites for glycogen: your liver and your muscles. Once the glycogen levels are filled in both your liver and muscles, excess carbohydrates are converted into fat and stored in your adipose, that is, fatty tissue.
So, although carbohydrates are "fat-free," this is misleading because excess carbohydrates end up as excess fat. When you see refined grains on a food label, think of them as "hidden sugar," and when you see sugar, think of it as "hidden fat."
But that's not the worst of it.
Any meal or snack high in "complex" carbohydrates, i.e. starch is actually a complex of glucose molecules, will also generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, your pancreas secretes insulin, which then lowers your levels of blood glucose. The problem is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that's stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of body fat! This was enormously useful in ancient times when calories were frequently scarce, but today this setup is a disaster waiting to happen.
In other words, when you eat too much sugar, bread, pasta, and any other grain products, you're essentially sending a hormonal message, via insulin, to your body that says "store more fat." This is actually a highly beneficial response in certain scenarios such as when calories are very scarce. This provides a major survival advantage -- but for nearly everyone reading this, having insufficient calories is not an issue, so this protective mechanism actually sabotages your health.
If you're having trouble getting your mind around this, a wonderful infographic created by Column Five for Massive Health, based on Why We Get Fat by science writer Gary Taubes, explains exactly why eating fat doesn't make you fat -- but eating carbs like sugar can kill you …
IMAGE COURTESY OF MASSIVE HEALTH. READ ABOUT THIS INFOGRAPHIC
Is It Possible to Cut Out Dietary Sugar and Still Feel Satisfied?
Based on USDA estimates the average American consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day, which equates to about TWO TONS of sugar during a lifetime. Why we eat this much sugar is not difficult to understand -- it tastes good, and it gives us pleasure by triggering an innate process in your brain via dopamine and opioid signals.
What it is doing to us on both a physical and emotional level is another story entirely, and most people stand to reap major improvements in their health by cutting back on, or eliminating, sugar altogether from their diets. Many do not realize this, but frequent hunger may be a major clue that you're not eating correctly. Your body needs fuel regularly and if you don't provide it with the proper amounts of fats and protein and overload on sugars, you will not fill your energy reserves properly. This sets up a vicious cycle of cravings for the sugar that will solve the problem in the short run but serve to radically shorten your life in the long term.
Just remember that your body is very intelligent and only seeking to keep you alive and healthy. The cravings are its short-term solution to keep you alive and functioning. But you need to exert some higher order cognitive skills to understand how to shift out of carb burning and into a fat-burning machine. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on sugar and feel ravenous, thinking you "can't do without the carbs," remember this is a sign that you haven't replaced them with sufficient amounts of fat. So go ahead and add a bit more healthy fats from the list below:
Olives and Olive oil
Coconuts and coconut oil
Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw nuts, such as, almonds or pecans
Organic pastured egg yolks
Avocados
Grass-fed meats
Palm oil
Unheated organic nut oils
According to experts, carbs should ideally make up 20-30 percent of your diet, while 50-70 percent of your diet should be healthy fats. While many can appear to be healthy on vastly different ratios it is best to examine the long-term consequences of veering far from these ratios when deciding if they make sense to follow for you personally.
In order to achieve this and minimize your sugar intake, you need to avoid most processed foods, as even savory foods like salad dressing, soup, and bread often contain added sugar. For optimal health, eat natural whole foods primarily, and limit your fructose consumption to below 25 grams per day. If you still want to use a sweetener occasionally, the sweet herb stevia makes a good sugar substitute. (Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than sugar.)
How to Kick Your Sugar Addiction to the Curb
If you're struggling with sugar addiction and having trouble dealing with cravings, I highly recommend trying an energy psychology technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped many "soda addicts" kick their sweet habit, and it should work for any type of sweet craving you may have. A couple of other tricks to try to kick your sugar cravings:
•Exercise: Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that significant amounts of cardiovascular exercise is one of the best "cures" for food cravings. It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after a good workout. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise.
•Organic, black coffee: Coffee is a potent opioid receptor antagonist, and contains compounds such as cafestrol -- found plentifully in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee -- which can bind to your opioid receptors, occupy them and essentially block your addiction to other opioid-releasing foods.i ii This may profoundly reduce the addictive power of other substances, such as sugar.
References:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2012 Feb 14.
ii Nature. 1983 Jan 20;301(5897):246-8.
By Dr. Mercola
Of all the foods capable of inflicting damage in your body, sugar is one of the most damaging of all.
Sugar, and the type of sugar known as fructose, in particular, is an extremely potent pro-inflammatory agent that creates advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and speeds up the aging process.
It also promotes the kind of dangerous growth of fat cells around your vital organs which is the hallmark of diabetes and heart disease.
Sugar also increases your insulin and leptin levels and decreases receptor sensitivity for both of these vital hormones, and this is another major factor of premature aging and age-related chronic degenerative diseases such as heart disease, as well as a leading cause of the climbing rates of overweight and obesity in developed countries.
That sugar is bad for your health is probably old news to you by now, but what may surprise you is just how much sugar is lurking in foods that are often passed off as "healthy."
Many supposedly "good for you" foods have more sugar than a Twinkie!
Are You Eating These Sugar-Laden "Health" Foods?
The Huffington Post recently outed several foods that are so high in sugar, you may as well be eating a candy bar.
All of these also have more sugar than a Twinkie …
•Yogurt: Most commercial yogurt is loaded with sugar – as in, over 30 grams for 6 ounces! This, along with the fact that commercial yogurt is pasteurized (and some also contains artificial colors and flavors), is why you should walk right on by the yogurt section at your supermarket. Watch out, too, for "light" yogurt brands that boast less sugar due to toxic artificial sweeteners.
On the other hand, yogurt that is made from raw organic milk, and which you eat either plain or only minimally sweetened with some berries or liquid stevia, is a true health food. This is something you can easily do at home and use the healthiest raw ingredients, including organic grass-fed raw milk as the starter.
•Tomato Sauce: A cup of tomato sauce can add up to over 20 grams of sugar, and considering that most people eat that tomato sauce on top of pasta, another carb source, this could send you into sugar overload. Watch out, specifically, for brands that contain added sweeteners. Tomato sauce is a far better choice than a candy bar, but, ideally, make your own sauce at home, and serve it over shredded spaghetti squash instead of noodles.
•Granola Bars: Sugar is often one of the top ingredients in granola bars, and, in fact, most are not much different than a candy bar, nutritionally speaking. Even the granola is simply another form of "hidden sugar" that most people eat far too much of. Remember, sugar and dietary carbohydrates (including grains like granola, which break down into sugar) lead to excess body fat, obesity and related health issues. No amount of exercise can compensate for this damage because if you eat a lot of sugar, it could be "reprogramming" your body to become fat.
•Fat-Free Salad Dressing: When manufacturers take the fat out of a food, sugar is often added back in as a replacement. Fat-free French or Thousand Island dressings can contain over 40 grams of sugar as a result, turning a would-be healthy salad into something more resembling a dessert. Don't be fooled by the "fat-free" label -- it's the carbs that are the culprit in weight gain and chronic disease.
•Muffins: The high amount of carbs in most muffins will profoundly interfere with your leptin and insulin levels, and that is true even if it's a "healthy" muffin, like a bran muffin. Of course, in order to make a bran muffin palatable, it probably contains quite a bit of added sugar, on top of the grains it's made with. Many muffins are also jumbo-sized, easily packing over 30 grams of sugar, or more.
•Canned Fruit: Fruit in and of itself can be problematic if eaten in excess, as it's a source of naturally occurring fructose. But many canned fruits are also packed in sugary syrup, loaded with high fructose corn syrup. Just one cup of canned peaches or pears can contain over 30 grams of sugar. You're far better off with a fresh piece of fruit instead, but use moderation. I recommend restricting your consumption of fructose to no more than 25 grams per day, with a maximum of 15 grams a day from fresh fruit. If you're already overweight, or have cancer, heart disease or diabetes (or are at high risk of them), then you're probably better off cutting that down to 10-15 grams per day -- fruit included.
Why a High-Sugar Diet Will Make You Fat
If you are seeking to lose weight and optimize your health, foods that contain added sugar, as well as grains like bread and pasta should be eliminated or else comprise very low percentages of your diet. Most people who bought into the "high-carb, low-fat" dietary recommendations has likely struggled with their weight and health, wondering what they're doing wrong.
The problem is that overeating carbohydrates can prevent a higher percentage of fats from being used for energy, and lead to an increase in fat production and storage. Your body has a limited capacity to store excess carbohydrates. This is one of the reasons why elevated blood sugar follows their overconsumption. If you are not able to immediately use the sugar as a result of intense physical activity then one of the ways your body avoids dangerously elevated blood sugar is through converting those excess carbohydrates into excess body fat primarily in your belly.
The way it works is that any carbohydrates not immediately burned by your body as fuel are stored in the form of glycogen (a long string of glucose molecules linked together). Your body has two storage sites for glycogen: your liver and your muscles. Once the glycogen levels are filled in both your liver and muscles, excess carbohydrates are converted into fat and stored in your adipose, that is, fatty tissue.
So, although carbohydrates are "fat-free," this is misleading because excess carbohydrates end up as excess fat. When you see refined grains on a food label, think of them as "hidden sugar," and when you see sugar, think of it as "hidden fat."
But that's not the worst of it.
Any meal or snack high in "complex" carbohydrates, i.e. starch is actually a complex of glucose molecules, will also generate a rapid rise in blood glucose. To adjust for this rapid rise, your pancreas secretes insulin, which then lowers your levels of blood glucose. The problem is that insulin is essentially a storage hormone, evolved to put aside excess carbohydrate calories in the form of fat in case of future famine. So the insulin that's stimulated by excess carbohydrates aggressively promotes the accumulation of body fat! This was enormously useful in ancient times when calories were frequently scarce, but today this setup is a disaster waiting to happen.
In other words, when you eat too much sugar, bread, pasta, and any other grain products, you're essentially sending a hormonal message, via insulin, to your body that says "store more fat." This is actually a highly beneficial response in certain scenarios such as when calories are very scarce. This provides a major survival advantage -- but for nearly everyone reading this, having insufficient calories is not an issue, so this protective mechanism actually sabotages your health.
If you're having trouble getting your mind around this, a wonderful infographic created by Column Five for Massive Health, based on Why We Get Fat by science writer Gary Taubes, explains exactly why eating fat doesn't make you fat -- but eating carbs like sugar can kill you …
IMAGE COURTESY OF MASSIVE HEALTH. READ ABOUT THIS INFOGRAPHIC
Is It Possible to Cut Out Dietary Sugar and Still Feel Satisfied?
Based on USDA estimates the average American consumes 12 teaspoons of sugar a day, which equates to about TWO TONS of sugar during a lifetime. Why we eat this much sugar is not difficult to understand -- it tastes good, and it gives us pleasure by triggering an innate process in your brain via dopamine and opioid signals.
What it is doing to us on both a physical and emotional level is another story entirely, and most people stand to reap major improvements in their health by cutting back on, or eliminating, sugar altogether from their diets. Many do not realize this, but frequent hunger may be a major clue that you're not eating correctly. Your body needs fuel regularly and if you don't provide it with the proper amounts of fats and protein and overload on sugars, you will not fill your energy reserves properly. This sets up a vicious cycle of cravings for the sugar that will solve the problem in the short run but serve to radically shorten your life in the long term.
Just remember that your body is very intelligent and only seeking to keep you alive and healthy. The cravings are its short-term solution to keep you alive and functioning. But you need to exert some higher order cognitive skills to understand how to shift out of carb burning and into a fat-burning machine. Fat is far more satiating than carbs, so if you have cut down on sugar and feel ravenous, thinking you "can't do without the carbs," remember this is a sign that you haven't replaced them with sufficient amounts of fat. So go ahead and add a bit more healthy fats from the list below:
Olives and Olive oil
Coconuts and coconut oil
Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk
Raw nuts, such as, almonds or pecans
Organic pastured egg yolks
Avocados
Grass-fed meats
Palm oil
Unheated organic nut oils
According to experts, carbs should ideally make up 20-30 percent of your diet, while 50-70 percent of your diet should be healthy fats. While many can appear to be healthy on vastly different ratios it is best to examine the long-term consequences of veering far from these ratios when deciding if they make sense to follow for you personally.
In order to achieve this and minimize your sugar intake, you need to avoid most processed foods, as even savory foods like salad dressing, soup, and bread often contain added sugar. For optimal health, eat natural whole foods primarily, and limit your fructose consumption to below 25 grams per day. If you still want to use a sweetener occasionally, the sweet herb stevia makes a good sugar substitute. (Avoid ALL artificial sweeteners, which can damage your health even more quickly than sugar.)
How to Kick Your Sugar Addiction to the Curb
If you're struggling with sugar addiction and having trouble dealing with cravings, I highly recommend trying an energy psychology technique called Turbo Tapping, which has helped many "soda addicts" kick their sweet habit, and it should work for any type of sweet craving you may have. A couple of other tricks to try to kick your sugar cravings:
•Exercise: Anyone who exercises intensely on a regular basis will know that significant amounts of cardiovascular exercise is one of the best "cures" for food cravings. It always amazes me how my appetite, especially for sweets, dramatically decreases after a good workout. I believe the mechanism is related to the dramatic reduction in insulin levels that occurs after exercise.
•Organic, black coffee: Coffee is a potent opioid receptor antagonist, and contains compounds such as cafestrol -- found plentifully in both caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee -- which can bind to your opioid receptors, occupy them and essentially block your addiction to other opioid-releasing foods.i ii This may profoundly reduce the addictive power of other substances, such as sugar.
References:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
i Clin Exp Pharmacol Physiol. 2012 Feb 14.
ii Nature. 1983 Jan 20;301(5897):246-8.
Posting By: Gina Evans
Sugar a Toxin?
Robert Lustig is a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, San Francisco and gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which is posted on YouTube, a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.
Lustig states that sugar "is not just an empty calorie but its effect on us is much more serious. "It's not about the calories," he says. "It has nothing to do with the calories. It's a poison by itself."
If Lustig is right, it could mean that sugar is also the likely cause of several chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.
Recently the sugar discussion reached mainstream media when Sanjay Gupta (of 60 Minutes and CBS News) reported on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.
Here is a list of some of the possible code words for “sugar” which may appear on a label.
Agave Nectar Barley Malt Syrup Corn sweetener
Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
Dehydrated Cane Juice
Dextrin
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Rice Syrup
Saccharose
Sorghum or sorghum syrup
Sucrose
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado Sugar
Xylose
Remember, your body doesn't recognize what the label says, it's all just "sugar"
Lustig states that sugar "is not just an empty calorie but its effect on us is much more serious. "It's not about the calories," he says. "It has nothing to do with the calories. It's a poison by itself."
If Lustig is right, it could mean that sugar is also the likely cause of several chronic ailments widely considered to be diseases of Western lifestyles — heart disease, hypertension and many common cancers among them.
Recently the sugar discussion reached mainstream media when Sanjay Gupta (of 60 Minutes and CBS News) reported on new research showing that beyond weight gain, sugar can take a serious toll on your health, worsening conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer.
Here is a list of some of the possible code words for “sugar” which may appear on a label.
Agave Nectar Barley Malt Syrup Corn sweetener
Corn syrup, or corn syrup solids
Dehydrated Cane Juice
Dextrin
Dextrose
Fructose
Fruit juice concentrate
Glucose
High-fructose corn syrup
Honey
Invert sugar
Lactose
Maltodextrin
Malt syrup
Maltose
Maple syrup
Molasses
Raw sugar
Rice Syrup
Saccharose
Sorghum or sorghum syrup
Sucrose
Syrup
Treacle
Turbinado Sugar
Xylose
Remember, your body doesn't recognize what the label says, it's all just "sugar"
Posting By: Gina Evans
Cage Free vs. Pasture Raised
Gain a good understanding of what you are purchasing. Below are a few explanations that will help.
Lexicon of Sustainability: Cage free vs. pasture raised
By Lexicon of Sustainability- Grist.org
Can a new word change an entire industry?
Yes. When consumers first heard the term “cage free” eggs, they voted with their wallets at their local supermarkets and much of industry has been forced to change its practices. Will it happen again when they learn about “free range” and “pasture raised” eggs?
Alexis Koefoed of Soul Food Farm hopes consumers can learn to distinguish between “cage free,” “free range,” and “pasture raised” when they go to their local supermarket.
Cage free: Chickens that are not kept in cages. This means chickens are still confined to a barn with limited or no access to outside. The term “barn-roaming” more accurately describes this principle.
Free range: Outside the United States this term refers to a method of farming where the animals are allowed to roam freely rather than being contained in any manner. In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and indicate solely that the animal has been allowed access to the outside. These regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time the animal must be allowed access to this space.
Pasture raised or “pastured”: Animals, like Alexis Koefoed’s chickens, that have been raised on pasture with access to shelter. This term is being used by farmers who wish to distinguish themselves from the industrialized “free-range” term [but it is not legally binding].
If possible, try to get to know the farm and learn what’s behind the terms they use to describe the eggs you buy.
Lexicon of Sustainability: Cage free vs. pasture raised
By Lexicon of Sustainability- Grist.org
Can a new word change an entire industry?
Yes. When consumers first heard the term “cage free” eggs, they voted with their wallets at their local supermarkets and much of industry has been forced to change its practices. Will it happen again when they learn about “free range” and “pasture raised” eggs?
Alexis Koefoed of Soul Food Farm hopes consumers can learn to distinguish between “cage free,” “free range,” and “pasture raised” when they go to their local supermarket.
Cage free: Chickens that are not kept in cages. This means chickens are still confined to a barn with limited or no access to outside. The term “barn-roaming” more accurately describes this principle.
Free range: Outside the United States this term refers to a method of farming where the animals are allowed to roam freely rather than being contained in any manner. In the United States, USDA regulations apply only to poultry and indicate solely that the animal has been allowed access to the outside. These regulations do not specify the quality or size of the outside range nor the duration of time the animal must be allowed access to this space.
Pasture raised or “pastured”: Animals, like Alexis Koefoed’s chickens, that have been raised on pasture with access to shelter. This term is being used by farmers who wish to distinguish themselves from the industrialized “free-range” term [but it is not legally binding].
If possible, try to get to know the farm and learn what’s behind the terms they use to describe the eggs you buy.
Posting By: Gina Evans
Turkish Chopped Salad
This is a great warm weather recipe from Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan.
Turkish Chopped Salad
The dressing:
•1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup)
•juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
•1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
•1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
•1/4 teaspoon paprika
•1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
•1/4 teaspoon sumac (optional)
•1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• black pepper to taste
The salad:
•2 medium cucumbers, peeled
•2 medium green peppers, seeded
•3 medium tomatoes
•1/2 medium red onion
•1 bunch radishes, tops removed
•10 large black pitted olives
The How-To
Chop the parsley and place in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika,oregano, and sumac. Whisk until blended, then slowly drizzle in the oil, stirring vigorously. Season with pepper, taste, then adjust seasonings.
Dice all the vegetables into roughly the same size—a 1/4-inch dice is nice— and place in a large mixing bowl. Slice the olives and add to the bowl.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss with two wooden spoons until the vegetables are coated. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Turkish Chopped Salad
The dressing:
•1 cup fresh parsley leaves, minced (about 1/4 cup)
•juice of 2 lemons (about 1/4 cup)
•1 clove garlic, minced (about 1 teaspoon)
•1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
•1/4 teaspoon paprika
•1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
•1/4 teaspoon sumac (optional)
•1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• black pepper to taste
The salad:
•2 medium cucumbers, peeled
•2 medium green peppers, seeded
•3 medium tomatoes
•1/2 medium red onion
•1 bunch radishes, tops removed
•10 large black pitted olives
The How-To
Chop the parsley and place in a medium bowl. Add the lemon juice, garlic, cumin, paprika,oregano, and sumac. Whisk until blended, then slowly drizzle in the oil, stirring vigorously. Season with pepper, taste, then adjust seasonings.
Dice all the vegetables into roughly the same size—a 1/4-inch dice is nice— and place in a large mixing bowl. Slice the olives and add to the bowl.
Pour the dressing over the salad and toss with two wooden spoons until the vegetables are coated. Taste and adjust seasonings.
Posting By: Gina Evans
Clues to Gluten Sensitivity
Below is an informative article written by Melinda Beck of the Wall Street Journal regarding “Gluten Sensitivity”
Lisa Rayburn felt dizzy, bloated and exhausted. Wynn Avocette suffered migraines and body aches. Stephanie Meade's 4-year-old daughter had constipation and threw temper tantrums.
Some people claim that eating gluten products can cause health problems like body aches and chronic fatigue -- and even some behavioral problems in children
All three tested negative for celiac disease, a severe intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. But after their doctors ruled out other causes, all three adults did their own research and cut gluten—and saw the symptoms subside.
A new study in the journal BMC Medicine may shed some light on why. It shows gluten can set off a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system, even in people who don't have celiac disease.
"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.
The news will be welcome to people who have suspected a broad range of ailments may be linked to their gluten intake, but have failed to find doctors who agree.
"Patients have been told if it wasn't celiac disease, it wasn't anything. It was all in their heads," says Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the nonprofit Gluten Intolerance Group of North America.
The growing market for gluten-free foods, with sales estimated at $2.6 billion last year, has made it even harder to distinguish a medical insight from a fad.
Although much remains unknown, it is clear that gluten—a staple of human diets for 10,000 years—triggers an immune response like an enemy invader in some modern humans.
The most basic negative response is an allergic reaction to wheat that quickly brings on hives, congestion, nausea or potentially fatal anaphylaxis. Less than 1% of children have the allergy and most outgrow it by age five. A small number of adults have similar symptoms if they exercise shortly after eating wheat.
At the other extreme is celiac disease, which causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the body's own tissue. Antibodies triggered by gluten flatten the villi, the tiny fingers in the intestines needed to soak up nutrients from food. The initial symptoms are cramping, bloating and diarrhea, similar to irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, but celiac disease can lead to malnutrition, osteoporosis and other more serious health problems that can result in early death. It can be diagnosed with a blood test, but an intestinal biopsy is needed to be sure.
The incidence of celiac disease is rising sharply—and not just due to greater awareness. Tests comparing old blood samples to recent ones show the rate has increased four-fold in the last 50 years, to at least 1 in 133 Americans. It's also being diagnosed in people as old as 70 who have eaten gluten safely all their lives.
"People aren't born with this. Something triggers it and with this dramatic rise in all ages, it must be something pervasive in the environment," says Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. One possible culprit: agricultural changes to wheat that have boosted its protein content.
Gluten sensitivity, also known as gluten intolerance, is much more vague.
Some experts think as many as 1 in 20 Americans may have some form of it, but there is no test or defined set of symptoms. The most common are IBS-like stomach problems, headaches, fatigue, numbness and depression, but more than 100 symptoms have been loosely linked to gluten intake, which is why it has been so difficult to study. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center says that research into gluten sensitivity today is roughly where celiac disease was 30 years ago.
In the new study, researchers compared blood samples and intestinal biopsies from 42 subjects with confirmed celiac disease, 26 with suspected gluten sensitivity and 39 healthy controls. Those with gluten sensitivity didn't have the flattened villi, or the "leaky" intestinal walls seen in the subjects with celiac disease.
Their immune reactions were different, too. In the gluten-sensitive group, the response came from innate immunity, a primitive system with which the body sets up barriers to repel invaders. The subjects with celiac disease rallied adaptive immunity, a more sophisticated system that develops specific cells to fight foreign bodies.
The findings still need to be replicated. How a reaction to gluten could cause such a wide range of symptoms also remains unproven. Dr. Fasano and other experts speculate that once immune cells are mistakenly primed to attack gluten, they can migrate and spread inflammation, even to the brain.
Indeed, Marios Hadjivassiliou, a neurologist in Sheffield, England, says he found deposits of antibodies to gluten in autopsies and brain scans of some patients with ataxia, a condition of impaired balance.
Could such findings help explain why some parents of autistic children say their symptoms have improved—sometimes dramatically—when gluten was eliminated from their diets? To date, no scientific studies have emerged to back up such reports.
Dr. Fasano hopes to eventually discover a biomarker specifically for gluten sensitivity. In the meantime, he and other experts recommend that anyone who thinks they have it be tested for celiac disease first.
For now, a gluten-free diet is the only treatment recommended for gluten sensitivity, though some may be able to tolerate small amounts, says Ms. Kupper.
"There's a lot more that needs to be done for people with gluten sensitivity," she says. "But at least we now recognize that it's real and that these people aren't crazy."
Lisa Rayburn felt dizzy, bloated and exhausted. Wynn Avocette suffered migraines and body aches. Stephanie Meade's 4-year-old daughter had constipation and threw temper tantrums.
Some people claim that eating gluten products can cause health problems like body aches and chronic fatigue -- and even some behavioral problems in children
All three tested negative for celiac disease, a severe intolerance to gluten, a protein found in wheat and other grains. But after their doctors ruled out other causes, all three adults did their own research and cut gluten—and saw the symptoms subside.
A new study in the journal BMC Medicine may shed some light on why. It shows gluten can set off a distinct reaction in the intestines and the immune system, even in people who don't have celiac disease.
"For the first time, we have scientific evidence that indeed, gluten sensitivity not only exists, but is very different from celiac disease," says lead author Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland's Center for Celiac Research.
The news will be welcome to people who have suspected a broad range of ailments may be linked to their gluten intake, but have failed to find doctors who agree.
"Patients have been told if it wasn't celiac disease, it wasn't anything. It was all in their heads," says Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the nonprofit Gluten Intolerance Group of North America.
The growing market for gluten-free foods, with sales estimated at $2.6 billion last year, has made it even harder to distinguish a medical insight from a fad.
Although much remains unknown, it is clear that gluten—a staple of human diets for 10,000 years—triggers an immune response like an enemy invader in some modern humans.
The most basic negative response is an allergic reaction to wheat that quickly brings on hives, congestion, nausea or potentially fatal anaphylaxis. Less than 1% of children have the allergy and most outgrow it by age five. A small number of adults have similar symptoms if they exercise shortly after eating wheat.
At the other extreme is celiac disease, which causes the immune system to mistakenly attack the body's own tissue. Antibodies triggered by gluten flatten the villi, the tiny fingers in the intestines needed to soak up nutrients from food. The initial symptoms are cramping, bloating and diarrhea, similar to irritable bowel syndrome, or IBS, but celiac disease can lead to malnutrition, osteoporosis and other more serious health problems that can result in early death. It can be diagnosed with a blood test, but an intestinal biopsy is needed to be sure.
The incidence of celiac disease is rising sharply—and not just due to greater awareness. Tests comparing old blood samples to recent ones show the rate has increased four-fold in the last 50 years, to at least 1 in 133 Americans. It's also being diagnosed in people as old as 70 who have eaten gluten safely all their lives.
"People aren't born with this. Something triggers it and with this dramatic rise in all ages, it must be something pervasive in the environment," says Joseph A. Murray, a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. One possible culprit: agricultural changes to wheat that have boosted its protein content.
Gluten sensitivity, also known as gluten intolerance, is much more vague.
Some experts think as many as 1 in 20 Americans may have some form of it, but there is no test or defined set of symptoms. The most common are IBS-like stomach problems, headaches, fatigue, numbness and depression, but more than 100 symptoms have been loosely linked to gluten intake, which is why it has been so difficult to study. Peter Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center says that research into gluten sensitivity today is roughly where celiac disease was 30 years ago.
In the new study, researchers compared blood samples and intestinal biopsies from 42 subjects with confirmed celiac disease, 26 with suspected gluten sensitivity and 39 healthy controls. Those with gluten sensitivity didn't have the flattened villi, or the "leaky" intestinal walls seen in the subjects with celiac disease.
Their immune reactions were different, too. In the gluten-sensitive group, the response came from innate immunity, a primitive system with which the body sets up barriers to repel invaders. The subjects with celiac disease rallied adaptive immunity, a more sophisticated system that develops specific cells to fight foreign bodies.
The findings still need to be replicated. How a reaction to gluten could cause such a wide range of symptoms also remains unproven. Dr. Fasano and other experts speculate that once immune cells are mistakenly primed to attack gluten, they can migrate and spread inflammation, even to the brain.
Indeed, Marios Hadjivassiliou, a neurologist in Sheffield, England, says he found deposits of antibodies to gluten in autopsies and brain scans of some patients with ataxia, a condition of impaired balance.
Could such findings help explain why some parents of autistic children say their symptoms have improved—sometimes dramatically—when gluten was eliminated from their diets? To date, no scientific studies have emerged to back up such reports.
Dr. Fasano hopes to eventually discover a biomarker specifically for gluten sensitivity. In the meantime, he and other experts recommend that anyone who thinks they have it be tested for celiac disease first.
For now, a gluten-free diet is the only treatment recommended for gluten sensitivity, though some may be able to tolerate small amounts, says Ms. Kupper.
"There's a lot more that needs to be done for people with gluten sensitivity," she says. "But at least we now recognize that it's real and that these people aren't crazy."
Posting By: Gina Evans
Brined Chicken
Another way to make that chicken just a bit more interesting.
Brined Chicken
To Brine:
2 garlic cloves
8 cups water
3 tablespoons sea salt
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
To Spice:
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon curry
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Place 1 gallon zipper storage bag inside a large bowl. Pour the water into the bag, then add garlic, salt, bay leaf and peppercorns. Stir it all up, then add the chicken. Seal the bag, then place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove the chicken, rinse the chicken and place it in a colander to dry, while you prepare the spice rub. Mix all the spices together in a bowl. Then add the olive oil. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl and coat with the spice blend.
Heat up a skillet to medium high and cook your chicken breasts until done. They can also be grilled. The length of time will depend upon the thickness of your chicken.
Brined Chicken
To Brine:
2 garlic cloves
8 cups water
3 tablespoons sea salt
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon whole black pepper corns
2-3 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
To Spice:
1 Tablespoon cumin
1 Tablespoon curry
1 Tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 Tablespoons olive oil
Place 1 gallon zipper storage bag inside a large bowl. Pour the water into the bag, then add garlic, salt, bay leaf and peppercorns. Stir it all up, then add the chicken. Seal the bag, then place the bowl in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
After 2 hours, remove the chicken, rinse the chicken and place it in a colander to dry, while you prepare the spice rub. Mix all the spices together in a bowl. Then add the olive oil. Add the chicken breasts to the bowl and coat with the spice blend.
Heat up a skillet to medium high and cook your chicken breasts until done. They can also be grilled. The length of time will depend upon the thickness of your chicken.
Posting By: Gina Evans
