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