Archive for February, 2010
Product Review: Trader Joe’s Mango, Red Quinoa and Chicken Salad
Here’s something new for the blog: product reviews!
While I was at Trader Joe’s today I decided to pick up something for lunch. After perusing the case of ready-made foods I decided on the Mango, Red Quinoa and Chicken Salad. Quinoa is one of those foods that I always intend to eat more of, but never quite get around to doing so. According to Wikipedia, quinoa is a grain-like food that originated in South America that you cook similarly to rice. What is different about quinoa is that unlike rice, it is very high in protein.
Here’s what you get: a plastic bowl with a good amount of baby spinach leaves in it, pieces of yellow curry chicken breast, chopped red onion sprinkled with a good bit of quinoa. You also get a separate container of chopped fresh mango and another container of coconut chili dressing. I tossed in the mango and the dressing and got eating. Everything was very fresh. It had a Thai flavor to it and the dressing was quite spicy, which I liked. It reminded me of Thai coconut curry. The quinoa was really good on the salad, adding some crunch without any particular taste, which was a good thing since the mango and dressing had a lot of flavor. Definitely a winner.
Nutritionally, this salad is also a winner. 240 calories, 19g protein, 10g fat and lots of Vitamins A & C, calcium and iron. When paired with a navel orange and a handful of whole-grain crackers, it kept me feeling full all afternoon. This salad is a great choice if you are looking for a quick, tasty and healthy lunch.
Add comment February 24, 2010
Childhood Obesity Linked to Early Death
A recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine leaves little room for doubt that childhood obesity leads to premature death and reduced quality of life. Just in case the social stigma and negative body image that accompany obesity in childhood weren’t bad enough, we now learn that childhood obesity carries with it a very good chance of leading a shortened life. Premature death is defined as dying before age 55. Not only is the chance of an early death more likely, but the diseases that cause this early death are generally long, drawn out and debilitating. Diabetes, which is extremely prevalent in obese people, leads to loss of limbs, loss of eyesight, osteoarthritis which can impair mobility and kidney disease which can lead to a need for hemodialysis.
With many people now waiting until later in life to have children, dying before age 55 could leave entire generations without one or both parents very early in life. And this is not an abstract threat – with so many children currently overweight or obese, just imagine how this could affect future generations.
What can a parent do? First, if your child is not overweight or obese it is important to prevent this from happening. However, as parents know, it can be a fine line between encouraging healthy eating and exercising habits and causing disordered eating. The key is to help your children have a healthy relationship with food from the start and to listen to his/her body. If your child is already obese, it is important to help them get back on a healthy growth curve. If you feel like you don’t know where to start, try this book from Ellyn Satter. If you feel like you need individual help or things have gotten out of control, get help from a nutrition professional, a Registered Dietitian who specializes in child and family nutrition.
The good news is that so much attention is being drawn to this issue which is causing lots of positive change. For example, Michelle Obama has launched an initiative to fight childhood obesity. Fast food restaurants now consistently offer healthier options for kids meals, including apples and low fat milk. Schools that once cut out recess and physical education in the interest of increasing test scores are reintroducing these subjects back into their curriculum. If the momentum continues I think we can look forward to even more changes to make it easier for parents and children to reach a healthy weight.
Add comment February 22, 2010
Walmart food
I read a fascinating article today about how Walmart may be the best place to buy locally grown fresh produce. Yes, Walmart. According to an article in the Atlantic, “The Great Grocery Smackdown” by Corby Kummer, Walmart has a new initiative to purchase food from farms within a day’s drive from one of their warehouses. What this means is that many smaller farms that are not owned by a gigantic agribusiness have a fighting chance of staying in business because they will have a large, steady market for their food. And in a taste-test between produce purchased at Walmart and the same items purchased from Whole Foods, the Walmart food was in many instances preferred to the more expensive items from Whole Foods.
Until very recently, I refused to set foot in Walmart because of their reputation for driving small family retailers out of business and paying their employees poorly. However, the Walmart across from my gym that opens at 7 a.m. has come in handy on more than one occasion when I have forgotten something before going to work. And I grocery shopped at a Walmart on the advice of a friend and I have to admit that I was impressed with the selection of organic and “gourmet” foods.This article has caused me to give more thought to the positive role that Walmart may play in the future of small local farmers, which is an issue that I feel is important culturally, economically, gastronomically and nutritionally.
What do you think? Do you think Walmart has a role in the future of the small farmer? Do you shop at Walmart? Will this article cause you to start purchasing food there (if you don’t already)?
3 comments February 17, 2010
Snowed In!
Here in Baltimore, we are in the midst of the second blizzard in a week. My family was conveniently out of town for the first one, but now we are back and we can’t even see out the window today! Luckily we made it to the store in time to stock up (or at least stock up with what we could carry home). So what to eat during a blizzard? So far, I made 2 giant pots of split pea soup for dinner last night. Plenty for my family, neighbors and lots of left overs. I also made 3 pans of corn muffins – these go very well with the soup and freeze easily for later. The split pea soup was easy and healthy – lots of fiber from the beans and nice flavor from the addition of lean ham. You can always leave out the ham for a vegetarian soup.
Breakfast this morning was a different story. Faced with the prospect of another day snowbound together and lots of shoveling to come, I made a decadent breakfast of chocolate pancakes (thanks, Epicurious!) and bacon. The pancakes were super-delicious. They were like little chocolate cakes- what’s not to love?! I decided to forgo the chocolate sauce in the recipe and just topped them with powdered sugar. Yum!
Stay safe in the snow, keep warm and enjoy the recipe for split pea soup!
Add comment February 10, 2010
End of Dieting?
How many times have you gone on a diet only to regain the weight? Unfortunately, while they may get the weight off in the short term, diets very rarely lead to long-term maintenance of weight loss. Here’s a great article about why dieting is not the best bet for reaching and staying at a healthy weight.
Add comment February 2, 2010
