patrickdaley.com » Food

Here come the tomatoes!

prdaley — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 15:06:26 +0000

Tomatoes are about to pop!

Food of the Day: Almonds

prdaley — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 19:32:02 +0000

Put down: Junky Snacks / Cow’s Milk / Grain Based Flour

Pick up: Almonds

In the seed world almonds deliver a great bang for the buck when it comes to nutrition. You can eat them as a snack, make them into milk, or grind them up into flour. They’re a little high in fat, but it’s mostly monounsaturated (good) fat. They’re packed full of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and flavonoids. Just make sure to buy them raw so you avoid the extra sodium and oil.

(In California almonds have to be pasteurized but can still be labeled as “raw”. They’re either steam-pasteurized or chemically treated with propylene oxide. Amazing that our government with one hand (USDA) would allow the use of propylene oxide to pasteurize a food while with the other hand (EPA) label it as a possible human carcinogen).

Sugar: The Bitter Truth

prdaley — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 20:34:57 +0000

If you have ninety minutes a great talk from Dr. Robert Lustig (UCSF) on sugar. (If you work in the biosciences realm you’ll love the science behind it all). Oh, but how will all of us get through the day without a bucket of soda?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBnniua6-oM

- One soda (12oz) per day equals 16 extra pounds of body fat per year.

- The average American now consumes 63 pounds of high fructose corn syrup per year.

- Fructose is a poison: forget about the calories.

- Americans are consuming about 141 pounds of sugar per year.

- We’re down to about 12 grams of fiber per day compared to hundreds of grams 50,000 years ago.

- Fructose suppresses our natural hunger hormone and actually makes us eat more.

So we’re all doomed, right? Wrong. The solution is obviously simple; revert to fueling our bodies with the fuel they were designed to consume. Enter the paleo diet.

Indoor garden seedling insanity.

prdaley — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 16:16:03 +0000

I’m going to need a bigger garden this year….

Mmm…pink slime (aka ground beef)!

prdaley — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 01:17:13 +0000

I wonder if the executives at the fast food companies feed their kids this stuff?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/31/us/31meat.html

You are what you eat…..

prdaley — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:03:28 +0000

An interesting Venn-style diagram breaking down what the average American consumes. (Slide from left to right to see how things have changed since 1970). Would you like some more sugar with your sugar?

http://civileats.com/2011/04/05/where-do-americans-get-their-calories-infographic/

Who wants some good food?

prdaley — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 16:11:48 +0000

Garden season is here and as such I’m getting all amped up on the prospects of some great summer recipes out on the grill. I may have bitten off more than I can chew with all that I’ve seeded indoors already; I’m not sure if I have enough space for it all, but I’m sure I’ll find a way even if it means my backyard will more closely resemble a farm than a city lot. (Sorry, honey). If you’re lacking motivation to get your garden started or just want to learn about good food check out some of the links below.

1) Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything: Hundreds of great and simple recipes.

2) Ann Cooper Talks School Lunches (TED): We’re killing our kids with what we feed them at school and it’s not ok.

3) Perennial Plate: The Perennial Plate is an online weekly documentary series dedicated to socially responsible and adventurous eating. (The first year was set in Minnesota, woo!, and for the next phase of the show they’re taking a road trip across the country).

4) Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution: He’s British, he’s feisty, and he’s here to turn American school lunch programs upside down. New season starts April 12 on ABC.

5) Michael Pollan’s Food, Inc.: Probably what I would describe as the Holy Grail of what’s wrong with food in America; if you haven’t seen it what are you watiting for?

6) D. Landreth Seed Company: The oldest seed house in America.

Beer is food?

prdaley — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 04:58:36 +0000

If you live in the greater Minneapolis area and enjoy beer then you have to make a pilgrimage to Blue Max in Burnsville. It’s just about the best place to get beer around the metro. From Great Divide in Colorado to lambics and trappists from Belgium there’s just no end to the diversity of their inventory. You can even build your own six pack to boot. The exterior is so nondescript that Blue Max blends seamlessly into the suburban sprawl that it calls home, but don’t let that fool you. I would plan to give yourself thirty minutes at minimum to check out everything they have.

Minnesota Vegetable Garden

prdaley — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:29:52 +0000

Some really great information from the University of Minnesota on vegetable gardening in the north star state.

http://www.extension.umn.edu/distribution/horticulture/dg1422.html

In Search of the Perfect Ham (Plus Other Food Ramblings)

prdaley — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:29:41 +0000

If we can buy something at Target, we do. (Since we have a discount it would be foolish not to). Over time Target’s organic offerings have grown to the point where I can satisfy most of my culinary needs save for a few things that I go to Whole Foods for. (Meat is usually one them). I tried to find a ham at Target, there was plenty of selection, but every single offering had sodium nitrite added and usually some other preservatives. Sodium nitrites are a carcinogen and linked to various forms of cancer. It’s not good. Your body doesn’t want or need it. To make things worse, meats that commonly have nitrites/nitrates added to them probably came from animals raised on feed lots, not free range animals. But Pat, organic and free range food is too expensive and I’m not convinced it’s that much better. I find that line of thinking interesting. I can’t think of any investment that’s more important than your own body. Without your health you’ve got nothing. The nice car, career, clothes, house, boat, and ability to travel all go out the window if you’re sick or dead. Yes, I know, I sound radical. But sometimes radical thinking is what’s needed in a crisis, and boy is this country in a food crisis. The notion of what is “normal” food is so completely out of alignment with what your body actually needs and wants. So, my challenge to all of you out there is to keep track of the ingredients in your food over the course of a week. How many dyes, preservatives, and additives are you actually taking in? If what you come up with looks like notes from a chemistry class then maybe it’s time to rethink the way you’re fueling your body. To better food.