Mmm, Mmm... Turkey Sandwich!

So you made a big turkey dinner but the mashed potatoes are gone and you don't feel like heating up turkey and gravy.  Solution to your hunger: make a sandwich.  It's easy, it's quick, it's delicious.

This sandwich was so delicious that I almost forgot to take a picture

Adair's Turkey Sandwich

• 2 slices whole wheat bread
• mayonnaise (adds moisture to the drier, white meat)
• turkey breast, cut and flattened into bit-sized pieces
• spring mix lettuce
• tomato, thinly sliced

Five turkey meals for $10

The holidays are a great time to buy whole turkeys because grocery stores tend to put them on sale for less than a dollar per pound.  If you know how to prepare it, you can feed a large number of people in one setting (i.e. dinner with extended family) or create 4 meals for a smaller group -- both of which are great ways to eat well and save money!

We just bought a 12.31 pound turkey at $0.79 / lb for $9.72. That is cheap protein right there!  Below are the four nutrient-rich meals that we plan to enjoy from one bird.  Click on the links (coming soon!) for recipes.

Here is our first meal: roasted turkey!

1) Roasted turkey + mashed potatoes + turkey gravy + steamed broccoli

2) Turkey enchiladas

3) Turkey vegetable soup

4) Turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread w/ spring mix lettuce, sliced tomato, avocado, mayo, and mustard

5) Bone broth = good for your bones

Is organic better?

A friend recently asked me what I thought about organic food vs conventional food.  This was my response.

Is organic better? Yes, especially if you're *pregnant, but not if you can't afford it.  In other words, eating 2 cups of conventionally grown vegetables (ex: 2 lb at $1.50/lb = $3.00 total) is better for your overall health than only eating 1 cup of organic produce (ex: 1 lb at $3.00/lb = $3.00 total).

Explanation: By USDA National Organic Program definition, organic products are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering.  There is no doubt that there are fewer pesticide residues on organic produce than conventionally grown produce.  (fewer, not none, because sometimes organically grown foods are contaminated by pesticides from neighboring fields or during the transport and manufacturing processes).  This make them better for you insomuch as that they do not add to the toxic burden on the body -- which is already very high from our pill-popping, car driving, SAD and stressful American lifestyle.

Avoiding pesticide residues is especially important for *pregnant women.  The children of mothers exposed to high levels of organophosphates (the main chemical in many insecticides, herbicides, and nerve gasses), were found to have lower IQs than other children according to studies by  Columbia University, the University of California, Berkeley, and Mount Sinai Hospital.  In addition to the developing fetus, children are also more susceptible to the negative effects of pesticides.

The jury is still out as to whether organic produce is more nutritious than conventionally grown produce.  A recent study by Stanford University (PubMed, full text) claimed that there is no statistically significant difference in nutrient content (except for phenols, which protect against cancer!), but I still believe that organic foods are inherently more nutritious as a result of being grown in nutrient-rich soils in ecological balance.

When I say "more nutritious," I'm talking about the phytonutrients like phenolic acids, flavonoids, tannins, stilbenes, curcuminoids, coumarins, lignans, and quinones more so than the standard vitamins and minerals touted by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.  Yes, calcium, vitamin D and potassium are important for normal function of the body, but I advocate for optimizing function and disease prevention - the kind of prevention that can only result from eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables.

That being said, diet rich in conventionally-grown fruits and vegetables probably contains more nutrients than a diet which includes only organic vegetables and fruits sparingly.  Here's an example for those people who like math.

• Question: Let's say that an organic apple costs $1.00 and contains 8 mg of flavonols and a conventional apple costs $0.50 but only contains 6 mg of flavonols.  If you have $2.00 to buy apples, how can you get the most flavonols for your money? 
• Answer: You buy four conventional apples (6 + 6 + 6 + 6 = 24 mg).

So, back to my main point.  Organic is better, but only if you can afford it.  If you are one of the many living paycheck to paycheck, or perhaps just watching your food budget, it's better to spend your money on many, many vegetables and fruits and eating them on a daily basis than it is to spend your money on just a couple of organic vegetables that you only eat once a week.

How to roast winter squash

Today we are going to learn how to roast winter squash.  The first step is to procure some squash.

Meet the characters I use to introduce preschoolers to winter squash.  From left to right: Bobby Butternut, Peter Pumpkin, Alvin Acorn, Sammy Spaghetti, and Doris Delicata!

Your local grocery store usually stocks the common varieties like acorn, butternut, and spaghetti.  These types are good and predictable.  I love the velvety texture of butternut.  For more exotic varieties like delicata and kabocha, you need to venture to a farmer's market or road-side stand like the one pictured below.

Once you've selected a colorful gourd, take it home and wash it.  Scrubbing the outside skin will help remove the dirt and germs.  While the skin of winter squash is usually too tough to eat (an exception is the delicate skin of delicata), cleaning the outside prevents germs from contaminating the flesh inside when the squash is cut in half - which is the next step.

You can tell how long ago a squash was picked by how dried out the seed membranes are
- this squash is a few months old.

Remove the seeds using a spoon.  These can be saved and used later.

Dry the seeds and plant them in the spring OR clean and roast them with salt and pepper - delicious!

Place the squash halves face-down on a baking sheet.  Sometimes I add a 1/4 inch of water to the pan to prevent the sweet juices from burning as they leak out of the squash as it cooks.  Then, place in an oven, preheated to 400 degrees F, for 30 to 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

You know the squash is done when you can easily pierce the skin with a fork and the fork slides easily in and out of the flesh.  The cooked flesh can be eaten plain, seasoned with butter and spices, or made into a pureed soup.

Most winter squash, being orange in color, is a good source of beta-carotene and other carotenoids - the precursor to vitamin A - which is an antioxidant, good for eyes, skin, and boosting the immune system.  Yay squash!

Compost Negelct

I've been neglecting my compost.  Just as I've (largely) been neglecting this blog.  With this entry, I am recommitting to both.

Today I went out the back door and nervously took off the lid to the compost that I haven't looked at since September.  I thought for sure that the worms would be dead and the remains would be a juicy mess. Here is what I found:

Observation 1: Without my knowledge, my housemate has continued to feed the worms his food scraps.  Look at all those fresh veggies!
 

 

Observation 2: The worms are alive and well!  When I moved the top layer of fresh produce away, the worms were there, just beneath the surface - quickly wriggling out of sight and out of the sunlight.  It's difficult to see them in the picture below, but trust me, they are there.

Observation 3: Someone put whole potatoes in the compost.  And when whole potatoes are put in a moist, nutrient-dense environment, believe it or not, they begin to grow.  As always, I am amazed by nature's ability to recycle waste and recreate life.

This potato won't give up - look at all those roots!

Conclusion: Despite neglect by me, all is well in worm land.  It is hard for me to believe that, sometimes, no action is required.  Sometimes getting out of the way is the best thing to do.  Which reminds me of one of my favorite quotes:

"The art of medicine is to entertain the patient while nature cures the disease." ~ Voltaire

Eating with Integrity: open for business

I officially have a business!  It is called Eating with Integrity.  I have a Certificate of Trade Name filed with the County of Fairfax and the County of Arlington/City of Falls Church.  Tomorrow I will apply for an Employer Identification Number (EIN) at IRS.gov.  With trade name certificates and EIN in hand, I will open a small business checking account later this week.  A business website is coming soon!

My office is currently located at Pinecrest Wellness Center in Annadale, VA.  I am especially interested in digestive disorders, food allergies/food intolerance, Celiac disease, weight control, eating disorders, vegetarian nutrition, sports nutrition, and childhood overweight/obesity.

I can help you get back on (or continue down) the path to health and longevity!

Pumpkin grows fast, despite mildew

September 16

September 26

My one and only pumpkin continues to grow, despite being attached to a vine that is slowly dying from powdery mildew.  A quick Google search tells me that I could have halted, or at least slowed, the spread of the mold by spraying the leaves with an alkaline solution.  Too bad it took me so long to research.  As you can see below, the mildew has reached the leaves nearest to the pumpkin.  I wonder if it's too late to save them!

October 5

Quick Compost Update

 After struggling to keep my "keep it outside" composting worm bin healthy and cool during the intense heat wave at the end of June and for much of July, I am pleased to say that the worms are alive and thriving!  Even in spite of the scary white-grey larva that transformed into scary black winged insects that continue to emerge on a daily basis.

one of the scary black insects living in my worm bin (sorry it's blurry!)

My housemate and I think they are some sort of wasp.  Apparently, my compost has become a little biosphere of organisms: worms, fungus, insects, and the occasional germinating seed.

new growth out of food waste!

My first video

I planted three vegetables in April: spinach, zucchini and pumpkin.  The spinach was the first to begin producing edibles, but lasted only two weeks before it bolted and became flowery and inedible.  The zucchini seed I planted straight into the ground did the best, producing a bushel of healthy zucchinis.  The zucchini seeds I coddled in pots before transplanting into the ground did not do as well. By the end of August, however, all the zucchini plants died from a strange fungal infection.  Which, I believe, has spread to the pumpkin.

The pumpkin seed I started in a pot and transplanted is the only remaining survivor.  Although infected in places, it has not given up!  The pumpkin is a vine plant.  Amazingly, the single seed turned into a sixty foot vine.  This one plant stretches from the back yard, around the corner of the house, into the side yard and is continuing to expand exponentially on top of a bush.

The pumpkin vine keeps trying to produce pumpkins, but when the fruit reach the size of a golf ball, a strange fungus begins to grow inside and the would-be pumpkins turn yellow and fall off.  But there is hope!  On top of the bush, away from the damp ground, there is one pumpkin to be that is currently the size of my fist!  If it survives, I will need to find a square of plywood to place underneath it, as the bush will surely not be able to support the weight of a full-grown pumpkin.  Check it out in the video above.

How to start a compost bin

1. Get a Container.

Start with an opaque (not see-through) plastic container + 2 lids.  I purchased a 20-gal tote at the Home Depot for $6.47.  The extra lid will go under the container.  You'll see why in step 2.

Drill air holes in an opaque container

2. Drill Air Holes.

Borrow your boyfriend's drill (thank you D) and drill four rows of small holes (1/8" drill bit) around the top of the bin to let air in.  I started just below the lid and drilled holes 3 to 4 inches apart.  Below each of the holes in this row, I drilled 3 more holes below it, spacing them about 1 inch apart.  For clarity: make 4 rows that are 1-inch apart and columns that are 3-4 inches apart.  It should look something like this:

Then, drill slightly larger holes (1/4" drill bit) on the bottom of the container.  I made a 4 inch x 4 inch matrix.  This allows extra liquid (called "compost tea") to escape out the bottom.  This can be used a liquid fertilizer, to be poured in the soil at the base of plants  that are already in the ground.

3. Prepare a Bed. 

Prepare a bed for your worms. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Vermicomposting website says that you can use shredded newspaper, cardboard, etc for bedding, but  I purchased a huge bag (3 cu. feet) of peat moss at the Home Depot for $9.97.

Why peat moss?

1. Uncle Jim's recommended peat moss over other bedding types.  And they have a great video showing you, step by step, how to prepare the soil here.
2. With natural peat moss, you don't have to worry about colored inks and other toxins in paper that will contaminate your worms and eventually your soil.   If chose to use newspaper, use only black and white pages, never colored!
3. In addition to worm bedding, I also used the peat moss to amend my soil.  (I will explain soil amendments in my next blog post).

Add enough peat moss to your container to fill the bottom 3 inches.  Red wiggler worms only live in the top 3 inches of soil.  This is why we keep them in a long, wide container instead of a tall, deep container.

The worm bed is ready for worms!

Then, add enough water to make the peat moss moist, but not wet.  When you squeeze the peat moss with your hands, a couple small drops of water should come out, but not streams of water.

4. Purchase Your Worms.

Purchase 1000 red wiggler worms.  I used Uncle Jim's Worm Farm because I found a coupon code (ujw20) to get 10% off my purchase (which is helpful, since shipping is a flat rate of $10.95).  My total came to $28.

Why red wigglers?  Red wigglers (Eisenia Foetida) are nature's composters.  Unlike other types of worms, they turn virtually any organic matter into a nutrient rich high grade fertilizer.

Why 1000? According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Vermicomposting website, "One pound of mature worms (approximately 800-1,000) can eat up to half a pound of organic material per day."  At the time of my purchase, I was producing about a pound of food waste a day and figured that, if fed well, the worms would quickly multiply to match the food supply.

5. Add Your Worms to the Bin.

When your worms arrive, they will be small and lethargic.  Which makes sense because they just spent the last 3 to 7 days without food or water!  Immediately give them some water.  I poured about ½ cup into the bag.  Then, dump the worms out of the bag and into the prepared container.

 If this is done in daylight, the worms will quickly bury themselves to avoid the sun.  My worms arrived at night, so I manually teased apart the worm ball to expedite the process.  However, I do not recommend manhandling the worms, as they are more easily damaged in their fragile post-shipment state.

Once the worms bury themselves, feed them.  Uncle Jim's recommends sprinkling some corn meal on top as food.  I didn't have any corn meal, so I ground up some oatmeal and sprinkled that on instead.  But I’m not sure this was a good idea.

I sprinkled ground oatmeal on top as the initial "worm food"

 It takes 24-48 hours for your worms to “come back to life” after shipping.  During the time of worm rejuvenation, the oatmeal I “fed” the worms was eaten by fungus.  In other words, it got moldy.

6. Start Composting!

Once your worms bury themselves, you can start adding foods to the bin such as fruit and vegetable food scraps, tea bags, coffee grounds and ground egg shells.  Avoid adding meats and dairy products as they attract rodents and tend to make the compost smell bad.  I also avoid adding stinky foods like onions and garlic.  While my compost is not odor free, so far the smell is not that bad!

How to compost, garden, and not be a hypocrite

Back in March 2012 I wrote an article encouraging everyone and their brother to start a compost bin because it helps reduce the amount food waste that ends up in landfills but also results in beautiful, nutritious soil to use for your garden.  I also explained how easy it is to start a compost....

And then I realize that I had neither compost bin nor garden.  And I felt like a hypocrite.

So the last three months I have been busy.  I made a compost bin, ordered 1000 red wiggler worms, purchased 10 pounds of sphagnum peat moss, and started composting my food scraps.  I now have beautiful, decomposed nitrogen-rich compost to use as a soil amendment.

I also purchased organic zucchini, pumpkin, and spinach seeds at my local Target, drew a shade map, planned my garden, amended the soil (after doing a soil test), and planted.  The spinach bolted once it got hot (and is inedible), but I now have a fresh zucchini every 3 - 4 days.

The next several blog entries will explain, step by step, how to start a compost bin, how to start a garden, and how to avoid some of the mistakes I made.

A Dietitian's Prayer

This is the prayer I pray before eating:

"Dear God.
Thank you for this food that is placed before me.
Bless it to my body to make me healthy and strong.
May all my cells accept the nutrients and be nourished.
Amen."

Market trans fat like cigarettes

This past weekend I spend time with a group of kiteboarders at the Outer Banks of North Carolina.  We stayed in a big beach house and shared meals.  I did not shop for the food.  But I wish I had.

Almost everything they purchased, almost everything we ate, had trans fat – the Bisquick® pancake mix, the enriched wheat flour bread, the Duncan Hines® brownies…  I just about had a heart attack at every meal.

Why does this concern me?

Two reasons.  Because trans fats are very detrimental to health.  And because the group was composed of intelligent, physically active, health-conscious individuals (teachers and doctors) who should have known better.

To give them the benefit of the doubt, it is possible that the food purchased was not indicative of their typical diet.  They may have simply been trying to feed a big group as inexpensively as possible.  Or perhaps the cuisine was “vacation food” (i.e. junk food you don’t usually allow yourself to eat, but splurge on during vacation).

But what if they really ate that much trans fat?

According to the  2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the “estimated average daily intake of trans fats in the United States was about 2.6 percent of total energy intake” between 1994 and 1996.  Based on a 2,000 calorie diet, that is about 5.5 grams (52 calories) of trans fat every day!  And I’m sure that number has gone up in the last 16 years.

As a registered dietitian-nutritionist, I wince when I see people eating trans fat because I know how bad trans fats are for the body.

Consuming trans fats increases your risk of developing cardiovascular disease (2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans). Trans fats are worse than saturated fats (which was, until only recently, public enemy number one).  This is due, in part, by the ability of trans fats to raise bad (LDL) cholesterol while also lowering good (HDL) cholesterol.

Trans fats also increase inflammation, which is the underlying cause for most chronic diseases, including diabetes, obesity, and cancer.

Furthermore, there is no reason to eat trans fat because trans fats “are not essential in the diet” (DGA 2010, p 25).  In other words, trans fats are not a healthful food additive. 

So why are trans fats ubiquitous (found everywhere) in the food supply? 

Because they improve taste, provide a consistent and desirable texture, and extend the shelf-life of processed foods.  This is why Twinkies taste and feel the same no matter how long after the “best by” date you eat them!

Trans fats were invented in response to consumer demanded for foods low in saturated fat (which was spurred by the first Dietary Guidelines for Americans in 1980 – but that is a topic for anther blog entry).  To make trans fats, liquid vegetable oils are bombarded with hydrogen atoms until the bent molecules become straight.  This “hydrogenation” process turns the liquid oil into a solid fat.

Once the government realized that trans fat may be harmful, they passed a law requiring “trans fatty acids be declared in the nutrition label of conventional foods and dietary supplements on a separate line immediately under the line for the declaration of saturated fatty acids” (The law passed in 2003, effective January 2006, read the Federal Register here).

However, a manufacturer can report “0 g trans fat” if the amount is less than 0.5 g per serving.  The “per serving” stipulation is important because most people consumer more than one serving at a time, thus consuming more than 0.5 g of trans fat in one sitting.  In other words, manufactures can manipulate product recipes and serving sizes to avoid having to claim trans fat on the Nutrition Facts label.  This is deceptive to consumers who do not know any better.

The best way to determine whether or not a product has trans fats is to read the ingredients list.  If there is mention of any “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils, the food product contains trans fats.

Better yet, I wish there was a law requiring graphic pictures be included on the package of every food containing trans fat, similar to the nine selected graphics the FDA wants to include on every pack of cigarettes sold in the United States to inform and educate consumers.  Of course, the cigarette manufacturers argue the graphic images do more than educate.  They believe the images are meant to advocate a change in behavior.  They brought the case to court, which is still unresolved.  (Read the New York Times article here).

What will happen from here?  I do not know.  But I hope the FDA wins.

If the FDA is able to advocate behavior change against smoking with graphic images, then there is no reason they wouldn’t be able to require graphics of people with heart disease be included on the packaging of products that contain trans fats.

A picture speaks a thousand words.  If we had a better way to educate consumers about the dangers of trans fats, I believe people would finally start to pay attention to how much trans fats they are consuming.

Choose food over nutrients

The CDC recently release their Second National Report on Biochemical Indicators of Diet and Nutrition.  Distilled from 495 pages of detailed data and explanations, the current message being broadcasted in the media is that the "U.S. population has good levels of vitamins A and D and folate."

My first reaction?  Of course Americans have good levels of vitamins A and D and folate!  We drink gallons of milk (which is fortified with vitamins A and D), and eat copious quantities of refined grain products (which are fortified with folic acid).

Fact: The FDA mandated that, starting in January 1998, all enriched flour be fortified with folic acid.  This mandatory fortification, which includes foods like enriched bread, flour, cornmeal, rice, pasta, cookies, cakes, crackers and snack foods, was implemented to reduce the number of brain and neural tube defects (like anencephaly and spina bifida) in newborn babies.  These defects are more likely to occur when mothers consume less than 400 micrograms of folic acid a day.

And fortification has worked: the rate of birth defects due to folate deficiency has declined since 1998.  Hooray for governments that treat the entire population instead of just targeting the group at risk!  Right?

Um.  Maybe not.

While I am glad that our government health organizations (CDC, FDA, USDA) have helped decreased the rate of certain deficiency diseases, it seems that this approach has not been ideal for the prevention of chronic diseases, not to mention the promotion of optimum health.

For example, the recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of vitamin C -- 90 mg/day for adult men and 75 mg/day for adult women -- is based on the prevention of survey, a disease that occurred most frequently in the early part of the second millennium (1400's to 1700's) among sailors on seafaring ships who did not have access to fresh fruits or vegetables for months at a time.  Symptoms of scurvy include general weakness, anemia, gum disease, and skin hemorrhages.

Human beings are one of the few animals who cannot synthesize vitamin C from glucose and, therefore, must eat foods to obtain it.  Good sources of vitamin C include a medium orange (51 mg), a small grapefruit (39 mg), a raw sweet red pepper (94 mg), and a small papaya (95 mg).

Today, survey is most frequently seen in elderly people and alcoholics.  In other words, people who exist on a diet devoid of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Hardly a diet to promote optimum health.

I wonder, when the CDC measures the levels of our biochemical indicators, are they basing the results on the RDAs?  Are the reports really proclaiming "Hooray, most people have enough serum vitamin C to avoid scurvy!?"

I hope not.

I worry that, in an age of nutritionism (thank you to Gyorgis Scrinis, via Michael Pollan, for the new term!) we are so focused on getting enough of each particular nutrient, that we forget to eat real food.  A processed food that has been enriched with the latest "wonder nutrient" is much more attractive to the average American consumer than an apple sitting quietly in the produce section with no Nutrition Facts label to boast how much fiber it contains and no packaging to brag about the various phytonutrients inside.  When, in fact, most processed food has been stripped of its original wholesomeness and filled and coated with FDA-approved adulterants: sugar, salt, fats and chemical additives.

What am I getting at?  Maybe if Americans started eating real food again, the government would not have to mandate the fortification of processed food and then congratulate themselves when they find a measureable increase in serum levels.  Yes, levels of vitamins A and D and folate are up, but so is the incidence of diabetes and obesity.  This is a big disconnect for me.  I wonder, how can we be so happy that serum levels of specific nutrients relevant are good when the health of the overall body is so lacking?

I predict that if Americans made therapeutic lifestyle changes (i.e. exercised more) and started eating a whole foods diet, the rates of chronic diseases would plummet (as Dean Ornish and Mark Hyman have both shown)...and the need for fortification would be nil.

Leftover guilt

I was shocked to learn in today's Wall Street Journal that Americans throw away tens of tons of food every year (almost 34 tons in 2010, according to the Environmental Protection Agency).  The article, which focuses on consumer guilt and ways to transform leftovers into something desirable, explains that food waste ends up in our landfills and incinerators.

While I agree that Americans need to become more conscientious food shoppers, I realize that avoiding food waste is not always possible.  For that reason, I would like to introduce and discuss another way that we can prevent the 33 tons of food from entering our landfills: composting!

Composting is the easiest way to turn food waste (and yard waste) into a rich, dark soil.  And it can be done by almost everyone!  If you live in a rural area, you can section off a part of your property to use as a compost pile.  If you live in an urban area, you can use a composting bin.  The Environmental Protection Agency has a great website, which provides basic information about how to start composting, including lists of what can, and can't be composted, and the laws and regulations depending on where you live.

You can also check your local government.  Many cities (like Falls Church, VA) compost leaves in the fall and provide it to citizens in the spring (one to three years later) to use as yard mulch.  Some, more progressive municipalities may already have food composing as well!

free compost mulch nourishing my tomato plants

In addition to reducing your waste footprint, one of the greatest benefits of composting is that, once your compost is mature, you can use it to fertilize your garden and grow vegetables for you and your family!