Antioxidants

I mentioned this word in my last post about the bean soup, and I thought I would expand on it today. Have you seen "antioxidants" plastered on food labels of all kinds? Fruit juices, chocolate, soft drinks?

Antioxidants, a term that sounds like it might be healthy for you but actually you know nothing about, are turning up on all kinds of labels. They seem to be a new trend in our country's ever-changing outlook on nutrition and "the perfect diet", as well as a technique for making products look more appealing by advertising how "healthy" they are. Since I am infatuated with both nutrition and the science behind it (I know I'm a freak), I'd like to provide some insight behind the antioxidant rave to better educate the public for the next time you're walking down the Antioxidant Aisle of the supermarket and don't know what to do.

Let's start with this: Oxidation is a reaction in your body that occurs all. the. time. All day, every day. It is a natural reaction caused by the oxygen that gets used by all of your cells. A "free radical" is a by-product of this reaction. It floats around in your body and causes damage to your cells. While your body is programmed to repair some of the damages caused by free radicals, antioxidants help your body out by acting as scavengers to the free radicals and, essentially, canceling them out. This reduces the damage done to your cells and can prevent illness, heart disease, and many forms of cancer.

So, antioxidants are great- but this does not mean that you should get your daily antioxidants by guzzling chocolate bars and 7up. These are high in sugar, as are many other foods with antioxidant labeling, so don't be fooled by the package. Stick to foods that are naturally high in antioxidants and lower in sugar. Here are some great superfoods: berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries), broccoli, tomatoes, red grapes, garlic, spinach, carrots, soy, and whole grains. Green and black tea also have tons of cancer-fighting antioxidants. My favorite antioxidant-rich food, POMEGRANATES, are conveniently in-season, so they're probably pretty cheap at the store right now. AND THEY'RE SO FUN TO EAT!!!

In lieu of one big meal-y recipe today, here are a few easy snack-y ideas to get some antioxidants flowing through your system.

Berry smoothie: Blend together 1/2 cup of plain or vanilla yogurt, a splash of milk and as many fresh or frozen berries as you can handle.

Spinach saute: Throw a little olive oil and broccoli in a skillet on medium heat. Saute for a few minutes, then add some spinach and minced garlic. Saute for another minute or so, or until both vegetables are bright green! Add any spices!

Breakfast (or anytime) bagel: Toast a whole-grain bagel, then spread with cream cheese and top with a thick slice of tomato. Maggie had this in the office this morning, and we were all jealous of her. At least I was. Can you bring me a breakfast bagel next week Mags???

Have a safe and warm New Years! Cheers!

Easy Bean Soup!

Hey followers!! I hope the holiday season is finding everyone well. I've had a little too much on my plate (literally and figuratively) this past week and consequently have not been able to post! Here's a fun fact of the season: I heard somewhere that the average person gains 8 pounds during the holidays. I wonder if its true? I've certainly been riding the "excessive eating/drinking/snacking" train for a few days. Eating is a profoundly social urge, and so much time spent with family and loved ones calls for lots of cooking, sweets, and over-indulging. All-in-all, though, weight fluctuation is a natural thing. No one should be freaking out about adding holiday pounds, because unless you continue to shovel food into your mouth at the holiday pace, extra weight should come right off as you ease back into your normal lifestyle. Sorry I just got carried away with that.

ANYWAYS, I'd like to share a soup with you that I tried out this weekend. Its just about the easiest soup you could ask for, and it can be easily tailored to your liking, or based on what you have in the kitchen.

Easy Bean Soup

Combine 1 can of tomatoes (diced, or whole and then cut up with a knife, undrained), 1 can of corn (drained), 2-3 cups of cooked white beans (canned or dried), and 3 oz of diced ham (optional if you aren't a meat-eater) in a large saucepan. Cook until all ingredients are hot, and season with chili powder and cumin. You can add as much or as little as you want. This yields about 4 servings, but you can easily double the recipe and freeze for later.

I left out the ham, but had some extra potatoes and kale laying around, so I added those.

Some nutrition tidbits about this dish:
Dried beans are better than canned beans. While they provide the same protein, fiber, and iron, canned beans are often in a salt solution which can really crank up the sodium content of the meal. Dried beans do not contain any added salt, and are easily prepped. All you have to do is dump them in a pot with water and soak them for a day or so. If you're in a hurry, you can bring them to a boil and then simmer them for 3-4 hours.

Iron and vitamin C are partners in crime. Vitamin C helps iron to be absorbed into the blood stream. If  you take an iron supplement, for example, taking it with a glass of orange juice significantly improves the iron absorption in your body. There is a lot of iron in this soup from the beans (and the meat if you're adding any), so adding ingredients with vitamin C will also help you to get all that iron. Tomatoes are a great source of vitamin C, and so are green peppers, kale, spinach, and broccoli.

While I'm on an iron rant, I'd like to emphasize the importance of having adequate iron intake (especially in women!). Iron is responsible for cell growth and differentiation, regulation of immune activity, proper functioning of the liver, antioxidant activity, and it is perhaps most known for its function in the blood. Iron is essential for the formation of hemoglobin and transporting oxygen to all cells of the body. An iron deficiency can result in anemia which causes fatigue, breathlessness, decreased work and school performance, and headaches. Iron is better absorbed from sources of meat, so if you are a vegetarian it might be a good idea to consider an iron supplement. Women also lose a fair amount of blood each month and are more likely to have an iron deficiency if iron intake is not carefully monitored.

I am, generally speaking, not a supplement user, as I believe that vitamins and minerals can be easily consumed via real food, and if you're eating a balanced diet then you have no need for a supplemental pill or powder. However, I'm an advocate of the iron supplement. I am both a woman and a (mostly) vegetarian, and I don't drink a glass of orange juice with everything I eat. In the past I have had poor circulation and am often tired and cold (especially in the winter!), and have not been able to donate blood in the past because of my low iron count. Now I take a few iron pills per week and have experienced a huge difference in my quality of life. If you experience any of these symptoms, iron might solve your problems!

OK, I'm done ranting for today. More rants to come.......

Punkin' Corn Chowda

This is my absolute favorite soup to make during the cold months. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and its chock full of vitamins and minerals like calcium, magnesium, selenium, iron, folate, vitamins A, B, C, and E!

Pumpkin Corn Chowder:

1/4 c olive oil
2 medium leeks, finely diced (you can also use onions)
2 large carrots or 3 medium carrots, chopped
Saute in large soup pot for 15 minutes.

Add 8-10 cups of vegetable broth (depending on how thick you want the soup) and bring to a boil.
Add 2 medium potatoes, diced
1 1/2 tsp salt
lots of ground pepper
dash of cayenne pepper (or more if you're a spice junky like me)
1/4 tsp ground clove
Simmer for 30 minutes.

Add 29 oz can of pumpkin (thin with soup first, otherwise pumpkin gets clumpy)
2 cups frozen or canned corn
Cook additional 5 minutes

Voila!! A hearty and healthy way to warm up when its freezing outside. I personally love the ground clove/cayenne pepper combination and use it in other soups too.

Sidenote: Here is my philosophy on soups: Don't go out and buy ingredients for soups. You can make this, and any, soup using stuff you already have. Use chicken broth instead of veggie, use celery instead of corn, throw in some spinach, use cumin instead of cayenne, whatever!!

Sidenote 2: For an easy and sustainable way to make your own veggie broth, just collect the not-so-edible parts of your vegetables in a bag and keep them in the freezer. When you have a lot of them, simply boil them for a couple of hours, and then discard the veggies in the compost. Be careful of what you save in the freezer - while onion peels, broccoli stems, and leek greens keep nicely, bell pepper caps and leafy matter will get slimy.

Sweet Potato Chips

So, I found one lonely sweet potato in my kitchen last night and wondered what the heck I could do with it. Then I scrounged up an easy and fast recipe for Sweet Potato Chips!

Ingredients:
1 sweet potato, very thinly sliced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
ANY other spices you might want: pepper, paprika, oregano, cayenne pepper, garlic powder to name a few.

Directions:
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put potato slices in a bowl and thoroughly coat with olive oil and salt/spices.
When coated, lay the slices in a single layer on a cookie sheet.
Bake chips in the oven for 7-10 minutes, flipping them over 2 or 3 times to brown evenly.

Easy as pie! Actually, pie isn't that easy to make.

BUT, my oven is temporarily out of commission, so I cooked the sweet potato chips in a skillet on the stove on high heat. It took a little longer, about 12 minutes, and the chips turned out more crunchy and soft than they would in the oven. Heavenly. They're great by themselves, or with a little salsa on top!

Sweet potatoes are a yummy way to get your daily values of Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and beta-carotene. These important nutrients help you with healthy skin and hair, teeth and gums, seeing in dim light, and resistance to infection. Sweet potatoes also have a much lower glycemic rating than white potatoes, making them a great-tasting alternative for diabetics. For more information on sweet potatoes, here are a couple of links:

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=64

http://www.foodreference.com/html/sweet-pot-nutrition.html

The First Post!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hello to all, and welcome to my blog of food, nutrition and cooking (my three favorite things!). I want to share my love of these things to anyone willing to read. To come will be easy recipes for all sorts of yummies, as well as some interesting nutrition information and pictures of scrumptuous foods that will surely make your belly rumble. Stay tuned!!