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Archives for Nov 2007

Unhealthy Health Foods

Just because something’s labeled "healthy" doesn’t mean you should take their word for it. Consumers are more often than not being swayed by words like "fat-free" and "light" on food packaging, and ignoring all the other stuff that's packed into it. An article in Men's Health picks apart 12 popular "health" foods and why they’re actually not so great for you (and offer a better alternative).

I loved the example the gave to help you get into the right mode of thinking: ake a moment and consider this logic: 1. Fat-free foods are healthy. 2. Skittles are fat-free. 3. Therefore, Skittles are healthy. Make sense? Of course not. But it's exactly the type of reasoning that food manufacturers want you to use.

On this same topic, check out this study on Science Sensei. It reports that eating at healthy joints also impairs our judgement in making decisions about how much we’re eating. We’re more likely to watch what we eat at McDonald’s where we know the stuff’s bad for us than at a place with a “health halo.” In fact, we misjudge the calorie count in ‘health foods’ by an average of 35% and tend to load up on sugary drinks, heavy side dishes, and desserts because we feel we’re eating healthy already.

Here are some of the tips from the article....check out the rest here !

Yogurt with Fruit at the Bottom
The upside: Yogurt and fruit are two of the healthiest foods known to man.
The downside: Corn syrup is not. But that's exactly what's used to make these products supersweet. For example, a cup of Colombo blueberry yogurt contains 36 grams (g) of sugar, only about half of which is found naturally in the yogurt and fruit. The rest comes in the form of "added" sugar -- or what we prefer to call "unnecessary."
The healthy alternative: Opt for Dannon Light 'n Fit Carb & Sugar Control Yogurt, which has 90 percent less sugar than regular yogurt does.

California Roll
The upside: The seaweed it's wrapped in contains essential nutrients, such as iodine, selenium, calcium, and omega-3 fats.
The downside: It's basically a Japanese sugar cube. That's because its two other major components are white rice and imitation crab, both of which are packed with fast-digesting carbohydrates and almost no protein.
The healthy alternative: Real sushi made with tuna or salmon. These varieties have fewer bad carbohydrates, while providing a hefty helping of high-quality protein. Better yet, skip the rice, too, by ordering sashimi.

Granola Bars
The upside: Granola is made with whole oats, a nutritious food that's high in fiber.
The downside: The oats are basically glued together with ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup, honey, and barley malt -- all of which quickly raise blood sugar.
The healthy alternative: Grab a low-sugar meal replacement bar that contains no more than 5 g net carbs -- those are the ones that affect blood sugar -- and at least 15 g protein. We like Myoplex Carb Sense.

Fat-Free Salad Dressing
The upside: Cutting out the fat reduces the calories that a dressing contains.
The downside: Sugar is added to provide flavor. But perhaps more important is that the removal of fat reduces your body's ability to absorb many of the vitamins found in a salad's vegetables. Ohio State University researchers discovered that people who ate a salad dressing that contained fat absorbed 15 times more beta-carotene and five times more lutein -- both powerful antioxidants -- than when they downed a salad topped with fat-free dressing.
The healthy alternative: Choose a full-fat dressing that's made with either olive oil or canola oil and has less than 2 g carbs per serving.

Posted Nov 28, 2007 by themagster | 3 Comments | Share It

Filed under: health

Bird to the Last Drop

One of the best parts of Thanksgiving is finding creative ways to use the leftovers. Turkey sandwiches, pot pie, soups, stews, enchiladas...there are so many ways over the years that I use my leftover turkey.

How do you use yours?

This year I went out to eat dinner for Thanksgiving *gasp* but I still purchased a turkey and carved it as my post holiday hommage to one of my favorite holiday meal traditions.

This year I used the recipe Bird to the Last Drop which I got from the Food Network's Alton Brown awhile back, saved in my recipe box, and finally got to use. This is a pretty typical soup. I added some kick to mine courtesy of some hot peppers but even without it, the combination of the flavors (due largely to the inclusion of the carcass) is a perfect meal during this cold winter weather.

I look forward to reading your best usage of leftovers! 

Bird to the Last Drop

by: Alton Brown 

• 2 quarts vegetable stock
  
• 1 turkey carcass
  
• 1 (10 ounce) box frozen mixed vegetables
  
• 1/2 cup rice
  
• 2 cups cooked turkey, cubed
  
• 1 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
  
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme
  
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine the vegetable stock and the turkey carcass in a large pot over low heat and bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer for 1 hour.

Add the remaining ingredients to the stock. Cover and simmer for an additional 20 minutes.

Remove the bones before serving.

Posted Nov 27, 2007 by sarahisafoodie | Add a comment | Share It

Filed under: holidays turkey

Worth the $$?

CNN Money Magazine has come up with a Top 5 List of the Most Expensive Junk Food. Now, I’m not sure if you can still call these things junk food because I think junk food is partly junk, partly cheap….and in all fairness, have these things got on the list because they got stuffed with truffles or decorated in solid gold. But ah, the life of luxury is always fascinating!

The DB "Royale" double truffle burger ($120) Celeb chef Daniel Bouloud makes his famous burger by stuffing it with truffles, spare ribs (off the bone), and topping it with more grilled truffles.

Macaroni and cheese with white truffles ($95) Chef Josiah Citrin makes this classic dish with grated white truffles on top and a brown butter truffle sauce.

Golden Opulence sundae ($1000) The Serendipity 3 sundae may be confused with a jewelry purchase, as it’s covered in edible gold leaf, served in a crystal goblet, and has the world’s most expensive chocolate pieces hidden inside.

Philly cheesesteak ($100) The cheesteak at Barclay Prime is not your typical affair, made with Kobe beef, lobster, and shaved black truffles. Oh, and it comes with a bottle of champagne, too.

Nino's pizza with caviar ($1000) This Italian classic comes with four different kinds of Russian caviar at Nino’s New York Restaurant, along with lobster, crème fraiche, and chives.

Posted Nov 26, 2007 by themagster | 5 Comments | Share It

Filed under: celebrity chefs junk food

Turkey Traditions

What are your Thanksgiving plans? Heading to see family? Eating at home? I am going to be dining out [gasp! I know, welcome to New York] for Thanksgiving, but my friends from across the country have been weighing in on an email chain sharing ideas and recipes with each other about what they are going to be chowing down on for Turkey day.

Even though I won't be cooking at home, I have been testing some of the recipes and I must say, this Riesling Gravy that my friend Lauren stole from Martha Stewart, is simply amazing.

Not surprisingly Martha has a whole list of delicious ideas on her Ultimate Thanksgiving Menu. The exciting thing about her menu this year is that it is classic with some great flavors and a relatively simple execution. Some other great suggestions that I saw floating around the Internet and blogosphere came from Food and Wine's plethora of Thanksgiving ideas.

What will you have on your Thanksgiving table? Looking forward to hearing your recipes, plans, and favorite Turkey Traditions! 

Posted Nov 16, 2007 by sarahisafoodie | 3 Comments | Share It

Filed under: thanksgiving turkey

The Haute + Hot Fry: America's Best Fries

French fries have become an-adopted and established favorite American food, served up fresh and greasy across the country in establishments that arrange from Michelin winners to fast food drive thrus.

Recently, the fry has taken on a haute perspective when served up vertically, cone-style, at some of America's most well known eateries. 

Even Tori Spelling has jumped on the bandwagon as she's been chronicling her adventure to open a gourmet fry shop with 50 dipping sauces and chic turquoise/red cones on her Oxygen Reality TV show "Tori & Dean: Inn Love."

I'm a huge fan, so I set out to investigate the Best Fries in various major American cities. Everyone has best of lists, many of which I have linked to here. Citysearch has a whole category dedicated to fries. However, I believe that many of the best places get left off of these common lists, so I'd love to hear about your best fry experiences and test out some of your recommendations.

Here's the list I've started from some research, please add to it as a comment below!:

• SEATTLE: Cafe Champagne: Country-french nestled in Pike Place Market
• AUSTIN, TEXAS: Casino El Camino: dirty burger joint with greasy fries tied with Hyde Park Bar & Grill, the local town favorite, exactly what you'd expect in "The Live Music Capital of The World" 
• SAN FRANCISCO: Burger Joint: retro-hip chic fry heaven
• DENVER: Via : sugary and spicy with a side of horseradish-cream sauce
• NASHVILLE: Bobbie's Dairy Dip: fast food style with homemade mom n' pop ice cream, southern style. Yumm!
• HOUSTON: Houston's: Fresh potatoes and a unique cut make these a favorite, even at the non-original (aka chain) outposts
• NEW YORK: Pommes Frites: This fry-only shop (and part of Tori's inspiration) is a staple, head over here for other great places of note including Balthazar and Cafe de Bruxelles, both amazing
• LOS ANGELES: The Oinkster: 1950's remodled Dairy Queen serving up deliciously fresh fries
• LAS VEGAS: In-N-Out: Although In-N-Out is probably tops on tons of lists, wherever they are served, to me they just taste better in Vegas...
• ORANGE COUNTY: Fatburger: People just rave about Fatburger. I've never tried ithem, but it seems to belong on this list nonetheless

Can't wait to hear your recommendations!

Posted Nov 12, 2007 by sarahisafoodie | 5 Comments | Share It

Filed under: french fries

Serving Limes Tong Style?

A new story in The New York Times investigates the cleanliness of bartenders serving limes directly into patrons' drinks and Coronas, after a couple of heath citations were reported that stipulated that bartenders should be wearing rubber gloves or using tongs to place the limes in the drink--anything to prevent hand/fruit contact.

Hmmm.

Even though I am all for cleanliness--especially in a dining or drinking establishment, it is hard to imagine a bartender scooping up little silver tongs to place a lime on my vodka/soda. Have any of you all seen this happen in any of your neighborhood watering holes? Have you ever considered the cleanliness [or lack thereof] when it comes to fruit behind the bar?

I am at a loss on this one. Thoughts?

Posted Nov 6, 2007 by sarahisafoodie | 7 Comments | Share It

Hot Stuff

Chili peppers seem to be making headlines lately, and not just because they’re great to cook with. A new experimental drug treatment is actually having people pour chili pepper extract…into open wounds! It’s not as bad as you think. Doctors are studying the quality that these peppers have of numbing your tongue after the initial burning sensation wears off, and using this phenomenon to ease post-surgey pain for patients. They use a highly purified dose of capsaicin (extract from the chilis) in extremely painful surgerys, like knee replacement, while the patients are under anesthesia and can’t feel the burn. The doctors believe the numbing will make the weeks after the surgeries less painful and patients can rely on fewer narcotic painkillers.

Across the pond, a London Thai restaurant recently had police break down the wall of their restaurant in gas masks due to what they thought was a chemical weapon outbreak, after passer-bys were gagging on the (painful) smell. Instead, they found some bewildered cooks frying some birds-eye chilis (which the police seized) for their famous extra-extra-extra spicy chili dip. No charges were pressed, as "as far as I'm aware it's not a criminal offense to cook very strong chili," said the police spokesman.

Posted Nov 5, 2007 by themagster | 2 Comments | Share It

Filed under: health Peppers science

Eat Your Broccoli!

Once again, your mom was right (isn’t she always?). A new study shows that eating broccoli can help protect you against skin cancer by boosting skin cells’ ability to ward of harmful UV rays. Extract (sulforaphane, to be exact) that’s taken from new broccoli seeds has already shown an ability to reduce skin redness and damage by up to one third, though genetics play a part in how well it will protect you (some people had a 78% improvement rate).

The extract actually goes a step further than sunscreen, which simply acts as a barrier between UV rays and your skin to absorb them, and actually builds up your skin’s resistance to the harmful rays. However, while it does help protect you, it still won’t protect the radiation from penetrating your skin. So, listen to mom, and finish up your broccoli and remember your sunscreen!

Posted Nov 2, 2007 by themagster | 4 Comments | Share It

Filed under: health vegetables