Food, Field to Fork: How to Grow Sustainably, Shop Wisely, Cook Nutritiously, and Eat Deliciously
© Copyright 2012, Anita M. Kobuszewski
AnitaBeHealthy Publishing
P.O. Box 211
San Leandro, CA 94577
Published by AnitaBeHealthy Publishing at Smashwords
“All too often when I hear dieticians talk my eyes glaze over and I think what they’re saying is so far from practical—that’s not the case with Anita. She knows what we as parents are dealing with in the real world and her suggestions and ideas in Food, Field to Fork are things we can really put into practice—I know I plan to.”
—Dan Elliott, Reporter/Anchor ABC News10, Sacramento, CA
“Anita shares her personal life experiences as a nutrition expert and lover of gardening, cooking, nutrition and enjoying food. Food, Field to Fork is easy to read and full of practical tips for making sensible, healthy food choices that are also eco-friendly. A must-buy for the recipes and resource sections alone!”
—Rita Mitchell, RD, Past president of the California Dietetic Association and the California Nutrition Council
“If I had to choose one book on nutrition this is it. Anita is an honest and trusted voice. Based on sound scientific research and a lifetime of nutritional expertise, Food, Field to Fork is your road map to health, happiness and vitality!”
—Joanie Greggains, Fitness Expert/KGO Radio 810 AM/GreggainsHealthMatrix.com
“Anita Kobuszewski is one of the funniest people I know and now she has shared both her humor and wisdom with the American public in Food, Field to Fork. Part memoir, part how-to guide, and part pure inspiration, Anita covers nutrition, aging, gardening and cooking basics with refreshing simplicity. I’m getting copies for all my friends and family!”
—Connie Evers, MS, RD,
Author, How to Teach Nutrition to Kids
“Anita Kobuszewski has written Food, Field to Fork with the same intellect, good humor and common sense that she uses in her work in educating people on nutrition. Anita’s career as a dietician includes launching of the Wellness Program for the U.S. Navy medical department. I was the beneficiary of the implementation of that program. Food, Field to Fork is useful and the documentation with scientific sources contributes to its credibility.”
—Marilyn W. Schwartz,
MLS, medical librarian,
retired director of libraries at Naval
Medical Center, San Diego; recipient of the Life Time Achievement
Award from the Medical Library Group of Southern California &
Arizona, 2004
It was by no mistake that the right people showed up in my life to teach me what I needed to learn at exactly the right times. I thank God for granting me the grace, good health and ability to complete this project. Next, I thank my teachers Mrs. Shull; David Lickteig; and Janice Dana, PhD, RD for always being kind and patient when I had a hard time grasping the subject matter. I am eternally grateful for the prayers and guidance of Sr. Julia Stegman, CSJ. She is definitely in Heaven smiling down on me now.
Special thanks go to my best friend, Marilyn Schwartz, MLS for her expert editing, research and writing skills that contributed to each draft of this manuscript. I am grateful for my cheerful intern, Christina De La Rosa, DTR for helping wherever needed. A very special thank you goes to my mentor and friend, Rita Mitchell, RD who contributed all the right feedback and technical guidance on the manuscript just in the nick of time. Rita, you are a genius. I personally thank my friend and neighbor, Jennifer Moran for serving as the bakery consultant for the recipe section of the book and Pat Booth, MS, RD for peer reviewing the initial manuscript. A thank you also goes to the great cooks whose recipes I have included in this book and the kind folks at the Dairy Council of California for providing the culinary related materials presented in Appendices F and G in the back of the book.
I am sincerely grateful to my editor, Sarah Harding Laidlaw, MS, RD, CDE for willingly taking on this project and for her expert advice, writing ability and patience. Finally, I thank Connie Evers, MS, RD who skillfully mentored me throughout this project and Joanie Greggains, Cindy Renshaw, and Dan Elliott for having faith in me no matter what.
Additionally, I thank the author, James Herriot, DVM for writing the most wonderful books about nature and science in the most uncomplicated manner from which I have tried my best to emulate his writing style in my book. To Garrison Keillor, America’s modern day Mark Twain, for cutting to the chase the night he frankly told me that writing was a discipline and that I needed to just get busy writing.
Thanks goes to Iqvinder Singh, my faithful friend and gifted artist for designing the art for the cover of this book and to Nancy Crowe and David Lickteig for serving as my photographers. Additionally, I thank Lisa Pelto and Concierge Marketing, Inc. for being the best at all they do. I couldn’t have completed this project without their expert guidance and follow through.
To my friends, neighbors, and family who willingly taste tested my recipes and supported me all along the way. You know who you are. I personally thank my friends Patty and Olga for serving as the appointed sounding boards for this project. I dedicate the long awaited release of the Opal Salad recipe to Michael Denten who has the most creative mind on the planet.
A heartfelt thank you to my Sea Dad, Lee Roach for helping me navigate life over the past 24 years. And finally, I acknowledge my deepest gratitude for the two loves of my life Toni Lee and Juliette Carmelina. Thanks for taking me on walks and making me focus on the important things in life like eating regularly, drinking plenty of water, getting good rest and never holding a grudge.
Charles Karber and his draft horse, Bob.
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my grandfather, Charles Karber. The blessing that got me through my childhood was the love I felt from and for my favorite human being, Grandpa Charlie. From Midwestern stock who originally settled in Wisconsin, he was born at the turn of the twentieth century on a farm in Kansas and raised a family of four during the Great Depression. A kind and gentle person, I recall him now with turquoise blue eyes and a full mop of silver and gray hair. His standard year round farmer uniform was overalls, with the white sleeves of long johns sticking out from under a work shirt. He’d wear the standard farming boots that lace up the front half calf high. Prince Albert pipe tobacco was his only vice.
Contents
Introduction: Amber Waves of Grain
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
Another Day, Another Dollar
Morning Muster
Lunch In the Field
A Kitchen Baptism
Chapter 1: It’s Not Complicated—It’s Food
Simplifying Food
What Is Important
Slooooooooow Dooooooooown
A Crossroads—To Change or Not to Change
Simply Healthy
Chapter 2: Nutrition and Balance
Strive for Progress—Not Perfection
Were the Hippies Right?
Eat What You Like—Like What You Eat
Nutrition 101
Chapter 3: Grand Grains and Friendly Fiber
Salute the Kernel
Grains and Cereals
Refined Grains
Looks Can Be Deceiving
Fortified and Enriched Foods
Friendly Fiber
Pushy Fiber
Meet Your Fiber Goal
Rate Your Fiber Source
Easy Does It
Whole Grain and Fiberize Your Kitchen
Chapter 4: Keep it Lean—Protein
Pumping Proteins
Proteins and Amino Acids
Complementary Proteins
Proteins—Abundant Goodness
Sources of Protein
How Much Is Enough?
Serving Size Sense
Vegetarian Vibe
Peanut Butter, Baby
Not Naughty—FAT
Fats
Fat Functions
Types and Sources of Dietary Fat
Not Just Another Fish Story
Saturated Fats
Trans Fats—Mostly Man-Made
Cholesterol
So What’s the Big Fat Deal?
Are You at Risk?
Fat Math
Healthy Fats in Seafood
Rank Your Catch of the Day
Mercury and Seafood
Health Benefits
Vital Vegetables
Mighty Fruit
Daily Needs—Serving Sizes
Eat More Produce Tips
Phytonutrients
Sorting Benefits by Color
Nutrition in a Nutshell
Tea—Drink and Thrive
Tea is a Species of the Evergreen Shrub, You Say?
Herbal Tisanes
The Drink for Good Health
Tea and Caffeine
Tea Made Right
Time Travel—The Fabulous 50s and Beyond
Guides to Eat By
DASH for Good Health
The Balancing Act
Serving Right-Sizing
Read the Label
Fiber Focus
Should You Shake the Salt?
Fluid Focus
Food Frustration
Move It—Move It—Move It…OR LOSE IT
Are You Lonely Tonight?
Boost Immunity
Join the Immunity Booster Club
Keeping Food Safe
Thrifty Healthy Eating Options
Chapter 8: Right Size Your Food, Figure and Fitness
Size Matters
Right Size Your Portion
Mabel, Mabel Read the Label
Defining Nutrient Claims
Right Size Your Body
Butt and Gut Dropping Ideas
Celebration Eating Strategies
Right Size Your Activity Level
Into Action
Sports Drinks or Not
Energy Sources For Activities
Long Haul Foods
A Word or Two About Stress
You Are What You Eat
Recipe to Be Right Sized
Grow Your Own
The Garden Groove
Pesty Concerns
Critter Control
Shoebox Gardening
Progress—Not Perfection
Seed—Seedling Selection
The Garden Pilot Project
Gardening Health and Safety Tips
Be a Petal Pusher—Edible Flowers
More Advice
Chapter 10: My Kitchen—My Kingdom
The Cooking
The Recipe
The Tools
The Basics
The Planning
The List
The Shopping Strategies
Shopping Aisle by Aisle
The Freezer
Trim—Skim—Chill
The Safety
Chapter 11: EZ Recipes: A to Z
Getting Started
The Potato Experiment
A A+ Honor Rolls
B Best Banana Bread
C Beer Butt Chicken
D Delicious Summer Salad
E Deviled Eggs
F Fresh Sicilian Fennel Salad
G Baked Garlic Spread
H Holiday Hot House Cider
I Drew’s Incredible Almond Biscotti
J Jumpin’ Jack Banana Pancakes
K Kiwi & Strawberry Salad
L Liver & Onions
M Perfect Mashed Potatoes
N Navy Beans & Ham
O Opal Salad
P Polish Gulumki
Q Quick Baked Wild Salmon
R Kansas State Game Day Pot Roast
S Sicilian Pasta Sauce
T Fresh Tomato and Basil Salad
U Pineapple Coconut Upside Down Cake
V Steamed Vegetables – Broccoli
W Walk the Trail Mix
X X-tra EZ Energy Bars
Y Baked Yams
Z Reduced Fat Zucchini Bread
Appendix A Label Reading Guide
Appendix B Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010
Appendix C Body Mass Index Table
Appendix D My Shopping List
Appendix E Cooking Terms
Appendix F Ingredient Substitutions
Appendix G Measurement Conversions / Equivalents
Appendix H The Bread Baking Ceremony
Amber Waves of Grain
Grandpa raised sorghum, wheat, milo and corn. My lineage is flooded with farmers and cattlemen from my mother’s side. My ancestors plowed the fields with horses and sowed the earth with seeds. These Saxons planted and grew crops, grains, and produce for eating, selling, and bartering at market for cash and supplies. They raised chickens and cattle that in turn produced eggs, milk, cream, and meat. So, it was only natural that my mother would plant sprawling gardens every year producing mounds of luscious vegetables and fruits for her family. Some were eaten right away with the balance home canned and stored in the cellar to feed the family during the winter.
I grew up in the state known as the breadbasket of America, Kansas. Growing up in Kansas it would again naturally follow that I fell in love with the wholesome nuggets of grain and homegrown produce abundantly visible as far as the eye could see. From grains and cereals to produce it was all sweet, tasty, and nutritious to me. My grandpa’s farmstead was surrounded by milo, wheat, and corn fields which he farmed and harvested with a team of horses. Even in the 1950s Grandpa tilled the fields of his farm with a plow drawn by his team of horses, Prince and Bob. Walking behind the plow rig he’d stride up and down the rows across the fields working the soil until the job was done.
Grandpa planted and harvested grains for his livestock, and when we were lucky, our family. In the summer months he’d pass along bushels of freshly harvested field corn and produce to our family of eight. (Yes, field corn is edible.) He was generous too, with the meat from the steers sent to slaughter, the eggs he gathered from the chickens he raised, and glorious tins of ice cream he bought from the local dairy delivery wagon, Grandpa was the most self-sufficient and sustainable farmer in my memory. His farmstead had an abundance of these foods as well as succulent walnuts and juicy mulberries. We all loved eating the wealth from nature Grandpa worked hard to provide.
* * *
Oh the walnuts, yum! Like most children I was oblivious to the fact that black walnuts were good for me. At the time, I just knew that walnuts tasted great and we could afford them because they were free. These walnuts were not like the store bought kind—they had a strong distinctive flavor unlike their more mild cousins, the English or Persian walnut. A walnut is ready to crack only after its husk turns from green and hard to a pitch blackish brown and softened husk. Once the husk was removed the shell needed to dry and eventually was ready to be cracked. Walnut cracking required the unsophisticated use of a hammer or rock to get to the tender, hearty nuts inside. The flavorful walnut meat inside each shell was worth the work. Served up on a cookie sheet the freshly cracked walnuts were picked out of the shell with a nail and would be eaten straight away. It was heavenly.
Nutrition Facts: Walnuts (Persian or English) contain omega-3 fatty acids credited with prevention of heart disease and stroke. Walnuts are flavorful, energy filled nuts containing cholesterol-free protein. The black walnut kernel is also high in protein and the unsaturated fatty acids that the body needs, but is unable to produce linoleic and linolenic acids.
* * *
My grandfather set the gold standard for the virtues of kindness, generosity, gentleness, and sound advice. He’d give solicited advice and support to kindred farmers in the area. Once when times were lean he graciously had our family of eight move in with him. The stay lasted nearly a year and left me with many wonderful memories and life’s lessons.
These true stories tell how I fell in love with the foods nature so unselfishly provided. Planting and harvesting a garden can seem daunting but not nearly the challenge as hitching your horses to a plow to turn the earth to plant and harvest food for a family for another season.
Follow the Yellow Brick Road
A weekly ‘allowance’ was nonexistent in my family. This was considered a type of socialism and not allowed. Without even knowing it existed, my father followed the United States Marine Corps credo of “Earned. Never given.” Father ruled with an iron fist and this became an unspoken rule of our family.
Though I can’t remember specific meals I ate while visiting my Grandpa, I remember his instilling the work ethic in me at an early age. My first job for pay was as the self-appointed dishwasher at Grandpa’s kitchen sink. At about four or five years old, I would scoot one of the wooden chairs from the kitchen dinette set to the sink, hop up, and get busy. Grandpa always seemed to have a sink full of dirty dishes waiting for me to tackle. Each time I’d finish washing and drying the lot he would sneak me some coins as a reward. This was my first validation in life that work would provide me with feelings of accomplishment, love, and even some cash.
I’d save whatever money I would earn washing dishes, gathering pop bottles to sell at three cents each, detasseling corn, and babysitting to spend at the annual county fair and my hometown’s “Days of ’49.” Oh, the glorious cotton candy, caramel apples, hamburgers, and Sloppy Joe’s, I can still smell their drifting aroma beckoning me to this day! The county fairs each summer then and the farmer’s markets or street fairs now remind me of Mom’s words of constant practicality and self-restraint. Her last words to me before I’d leave for whatever adventure I was headed for were “Anita, don’t waste your money. Make sure you at least get yourself something good to eat.”
* * *
DETASSELING CORN: A corn plant is detasseled to remove the tassel from the top of the corn stalk to stop it from pollinating nearby female plants. If a mature tassel was allowed to shoot up out the center of the corn stalk and spread its pollen—a creamy colored fertile dust eagerly bursting into the air—the nearby female corn plants would produce many ears of the same variety of corn on its stalk. Removing the pollen-producing top part of the plant so the plant cannot pollinate itself makes it rely on pollen from another variety of corn planted in the same field. This enables the plant to produce hybrid corn seed. To detassel, one would insert their thumb into the tight stalk’s top, grip its immature tassel, and pull it straight up and out the stalk. Think of it as a church-approved form of natural family planning for corn. This stops “corn sex” and the pollination process. The seed company that hired us wanted us to prevent multiple eared stalks of corn as the ears would be smaller and less suitable for producing next year’s crops.
* * *
Another Day, Another Dollar
I still have a soft spot in my heart for grain because of my summer job detasseling corn in the fields about 30 miles from my hometown. At age 12, I was tall and muscular with auburn hair, tanned skin, and a face sprinkled with just the right amount of freckles. I believed that this job that paid $1.50 per hour would begin my trip to lifetime financial independence.
Corn grows well across America — from California to Florida especially in the Midwest where the summers are hot and sunny with ample rain and irrigation. The golden kernels of corn, when combined with beans, have the same protein value as beef. While grapes aren’t blamed for alcoholism, neither should the corn be blamed for foods and beverages that when consumed in excess amounts contribute to obesity.
Eaten in its natural state, corn is a healthy food choice. Each plant, called a corn stalk, bears several ears of corn. Other names for corn are roasting ears, corn-on-the-cob, and simply corn. The freckled face girl that ate the corn has gone on to have a wonderful life.
Morning Muster
As the rest of the family slept, I was up at half-past three o’clock in the morning on hot, humid, and muggy July mornings. I had to meet the bus for the fields at Julie’s Café by 4 a.m. Julie’s Café, five minutes from home, was our town’s only diner, open early every morning for the local coffee drinkers, farmers who had completed their early morning chores, and anyone needing a country breakfast to fuel their remaining day.
* * *
THE COUNTRY BREAKFAST: To rural settlers in the 1800s and early 1900s, the ‘country breakfast’ was very hearty: potatoes and onions or pancakes, eggs, bacon or sausage, milk and coffee. Early hours and working in the outside elements burned off the calories of this high energy, cholesterol packed meal. Most Americans today cannot eat like this without plenty of regular exercise to stave off weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels that go hand in hand with it. Exercise was not called exercise then; it was called chores, work, and farming. Although the agriculture scene has changed, for the few remaining farmers providing food for millions, the country breakfast still remains.
* * *
Just before 4 a.m., an ungodly hour for any elementary school child to be awake and functioning, with lunch sack in hand, I met up with other girls and boys awaiting the big, yellow bus. Down the steep hill of Main Street it would wheel, carrying a stout, mouthy foreman—a woman—and the bus driver. Miss Phyllis was a burly dame sent by the seed company to supervise our work. Miss Phyllis mustered us by last name. My name, “Kobuszewski” was always preceded with a pause or sigh because it was hard to pronounce. I learned at an early age that I had to lower the bar on folks being able or willing to pronounce my last name correctly. “Just call me, Anita,” I spoke up to save from hearing my name butchered into yet another variation of “Kobuszewski.” Correctly pronounced “co—bus—chef—ski,” variations included anything from “co-boo-zoo-ski,” “kru-boo-chef-ski” to “ko-bo-zal-niski.”
Once accounted for we all piled into the bus. Again, Miss Phyllis hollered out another round of accounting. This time we numbered off. “1,” “2,” “3,” and so on until the last child had shouted “!.” She focused her critical eye onto her clipboard, double checking her attendance math. With the count complete we were off to the fields. There was no waiting for latecomers.
We made ourselves comfortable on the elegant school bus, deep green plastic seats, some chattering or dozing. The thirty mile trip took about forty-five minutes down Highway 36 in the heart of corn country.
The standard uniform for the day included sturdy shoes, a long sleeved shirt, trousers, and a hat. Sunscreen wasn’t a concern then; in fact, we hadn’t even heard of sunscreen. As we stepped off the bus, Miss Phyllis gave each detasseler a large garbage bag with instructions to turn the bag bottom up and poke holes in appropriate locations for our head and arms. Voila, a raincoat was born to keep the heavy morning dew off our bodies. A silly get-up but effective and cheap. Our long sleeves kept the slender, scratchy corn leaves from irritating our arms.
Next, we lined up, one child to a corn row, and the detasseling process began. We made the tedious job as fun as we could under Miss Phyllis’s eagle eye. Reach. Grip. Pull. Fling. Our goal was to get to the end of the row as soon as possible removing the single tassel from each plant. Miss Phyllis repeatedly hollered, “One tassel left behind will pollinate a whole field.” We feared her wrath but secretly, I wanted to experiment to see if it was possible for one hot, steamy tassel to change the whole fertility cycle of an entire field of corn.
We flung the tassels up into the air as we picked. From afar it probably looked like someone was hunting for a lost set of keys or missing sock—or a needle in a haystack. The fling-fest continued until each row was finished. A brief pause and we were off again—either starting on a fresh row or maybe sent in to bail out a fellow detasseler who was not keeping up.
Lunch In the Field
I’m a natural-born eater. My favorite time of day has always been mealtime. Along with short water breaks, we would get ample time to eat lunch and rest. Each of us would bring a sack lunch filled with whatever would withstand the heat despite being kept in a large iced cooler. My sack lunch consisted of at least a couple sandwiches made with some sort of cheap lunch meat [ends meat] between slices of bread accompanied by loads of radishes and tomatoes from Mom’s garden with an apple and banana for dessert.
* * *
ENDS MEAT: Throughout my youth our family was financially strapped and I learned to love morsels of anything that came my way. My father, who eventually died of a massive heart attack, would buy the ends of unuseable loaves of luncheon meat such as salami or tube of liverwurst that the butcher could not sell to customers. He’d bring home this mystery package weekly and call it ends meat. I was probably thirty before I realized it wasn’t “ends meet,” meaning it helped meet our family food budget, it was “ends meat” named for the odds and ends of luncheon meat.
* * *
Summertime is hot in the Midwest with temperatures in the high 90s to low 100s in the early afternoon. We’d stop work around 11:00 a.m. to get back to town on the bus by 1:00 p.m. My introduction to the all-American eight-hour workday began that summer. By the end of detasseling season I’d managed to not get fired for horsing around or for being late, and made enough money to live large during the fair and carnival season.
* * *
Nutrition Note: Amongst the highest in fat, salt, and sodium-based preservatives is what is called luncheon meat such as bologna, olive loaf, and liverwurst. Very tasty and a source of protein this man-made sandwich stuffer is not a heart healthy choice of protein. With about 100 calories, 200-300 milligrams (mg) of sodium and about 7 grams of fat per ounce, this inexpensive protein can become quite expensive if it leads to heart disease, obesity, or other ills. Unlike in the 1960s, it’s much easier to get a healthy sandwich today with the large variety of lean choices in the deli section and ample choices of whole grain breads at your local market.
* * *
A Kitchen Baptism
About this same time, at age 12, I began taking an interest in helping my mother care for my grandmother. Grandma had a bad case of type 2 diabetes, often referred to as sugar diabetes back then. I got “baptized” into cooking, food, and the importance of good hygiene and cleanliness, as I learned to prepare food to meet Grandma’s special needs. It felt good to keep her healthy with the proper foods and a healthy diet. I never forgot those feelings of satisfaction which probably first sparked my interest in nutrition and health.
Blessed and with a little luck, I eventually worked my way through high school and college. By the time I graduated from college I had met and married the “wrong guy.” Nine years later I’d worked my way through graduate school and earned a degree in dietetics and foodservice management and shortly thereafter earned the registered dietitian (RD) credential. Yearning for unfulfilled adventure and challenge at 30 years of age I joined the United States Navy and set out to see the world—and see the world I have!
Somewhere along the way I grew to love mornings, have a respect for God and the abundance He provided our family, and appreciate the strong work ethic regularly modeled to me throughout my childhood. All these provided a perfect match for me to enjoy working in foodservice and dietetics as a dietitian. Now, over 30 years later I recognize the professions I chose were in Divine order and have provided me with a better life than I could have ever imagined.
It’s Not Complicated—It’s Food
Strive for balance in all things.
Food is fantastic. Eat healthy food often and shamelessly. I love to plant, harvest, cook, and eat. These are the reasons why I wrote this book and I am so glad I did. I am convinced that I ate my way through my youth and became a top notch athlete as a result of needing enough exercise to burn off the food I ate. This book is the written culmination of decades of working and living with food, nutrition, gardening, and cooking.
Whatever your reasons for reading this book, I hope you recognize that my approach is a practical approach to all things related to food and living. Take what you like and gently leave the rest.
Simplifying Food
I am not a saint. I do not live on celery sticks, rice cakes, and tofu, nor do I abstain from eating French fries, thick strawberry shakes or red meat. I’ve tried a variety of diets and potions to help me look and perform like an Olympic athlete gone super model. None have worked for the long term. Moderation isn’t sexy. It does not sell diets or trick gadgets but it has been my salvation.
What you eat, how much you exercise, and how you handled what life tosses your way each day will determine your overall health for the long term. Simplify. Simplify. Simplify. Where nutrition is concerned, the key to healthy eating is to simplify all things related to food. Food selection, preparation, and eating don’t need to be complicated. Good nutrition is a one day at a time deal. On a daily basis eat a variety of foods and fluids that are nutritious, taste good, and are beneficial to your health. Strive to:
drink plenty of fluids, mostly water.
eat more vegetables, fruits, whole grains, nuts and seeds, cooked and dried beans and peas.
increase intake of seafood and fat-free and low-fat milk products.
steer clear of foods with refined grains and added fats and sugars.
eat fewer foods containing sodium and salt.
be moderate in the consumption of alcohol or omit it completely.
The payoff is looking and feeling your best, both inside and out. Regardless of whom this country of immigrants votes into office as its president, you are the president of your body and mind. You have the freedom and the right, and most importantly, the responsibility to choose your nutritional destiny. Your nutritional destiny will eventually determine whether you are able to maximize your genetic destiny. The question is, does your country fall apart easily? Is your country up to fighting a war against infection, virus, aging or stress? If the answer is no then you can change your nutritional destiny now one bite at a time.
What Is Important
No beer, burger or beverage will transform you into a cool, sexy, smart and/or the envy of anybody, body. If you find one or several that can call me at 800-iam-nuts! You can actually think your way into feeling all these without shelling out an extra dime, lire, peso, yen or euro.
If you wonder what a civilization believes about food and health, observe residents in its rural areas. Without uttering a word you’ll learn what is valued and eaten. These two observations will lead you to what chronic disease(s), a disease that persists for a long time, usually longer than three months, is likely to be prevalent. Imagine a culture that overindulges in food and drink, rarely engages in regular exercise and uses tobacco. Decades of medical research has proven that a population such as the one I describe would, without surprise, have a higher incidence of heart disease, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cancer. By no coincidence Americans suffer from all five of these chronic diseases. Nearly all are preventable or the onset can be delayed if healthy habits are established and adhered to daily.
Nutrition is much simpler than media and manufacturers would want you to believe. However, there is plenty of media-created hype, usually backed by advertising dollars, to confuse the average consumer. Don’t get hooked into the hype from Internet, television, radio and print. These tactics are designed to get your attention, make you feel guilty, and this often only serves to scare and confuse the general public into purchasing something they think they need. Eating from a variety of foods in moderation isn’t sexy, expensive, nor does it generate big advertising bucks and campaigns, but works like a charm.
When the chips are down people quickly get back to the basics. The reality of sound nutrition is most evident when a natural disaster strikes. After establishing or ensuring shelter and safe water, providing nutritious foods is the next critical element. If support donations include food you’d be mistaken to think barges or cargo planes stuffed with manufactured reduced fat, sugar-free, or light foods would be sent. The benefactors would send nutrient dense foods loaded with complex carbohydrates, plant-based proteins, and fat in the form of oils. Examples include protein fortified biscuits, rice, beans, powdered milk, oils and such.
Unfortunately the economic chips have been down in the U.S. lately and you may find yourself working three jobs with less free time. Be careful to not be seduced away from healthy eating for the sake of convenience especially when you’re hungry, time pressed and have many mouths to feed. Now is the time to be disciplined and take care of yourself for life’s long haul.
Slooooooooow Dooooooooown
I admire the Slow Food movement for raising the healthy food awareness of many Americans. Joining the California ‘why not’ culture in my early thirties I first became exposed to the terms sustainable agriculture and Slow Food. Slow Food and sustainable agriculture are not interchangeable, but they are closely related. Slow Food is a global grassroots movement way of living and eating. Members link the pleasure of food with the commitment to community and the environment through good, clean food that is pleasurable and sustainable. I was impressed that the urbanites had once more renamed an old concept giving it a new spin and renewed sex appeal. In San Francisco I have experienced people devoting a whole weekend to Slow Food. A large group of folks gathered together to taste food prepared with Mother Nature, not convenience, in mind. Culinary artists showed off their talents and it afforded another opportunity for free speech to inspire others to change their habits related to food from the field to their forks and join the cause. Minus the large belt-buckled farmers and ranchers this event was similar to a Midwestern county fair food-judging competition. I say more power to them. There are numerous Slow Food communities through the US and internationally.
A Crossroads—To Change or Not to Change
Are there food or nutrition related behaviors you want to change? Now is the time to start. Positive behavior change requires courage, commitment, action, and a willingness to not give up if you have a setback. In early 1983, behavioral researchers, James Prochaska and Carolo DiClemente developed a behavioral change model that assessed cigarette smokers willingness to make changes and tracked those changes across a scale of five stages of readiness. While their model focused on cigarette smokers, this same model is used today in many areas of health promotion and education.1 It applies nicely to readiness to change related to improving eating habits. Where are you now on the ready-to-change scale? Are you in:
Precontemplation: My food intake is just dandy. I don’t have a desire to make any changes because I eat what I like and like what I eat and it hasn’t hurt me.
Contemplation: The idea of eating more produce really does sound pretty good. Maybe eating better will help me have more energy.
Preparation: I’ve put together a grocery list and have a plan to include more produce in my daily diet.
Action: Look at me, I’ve started including produce in my diet every day. From berries and broccoli to bananas and butternut squash, I’m sticking with it.
Maintenance: I’ve made eating five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily a permanent behavior change in my life. It’s a lifestyle change I believe has helped me feel and look my best.1
Awareness is everything. Let’s begin by changing how you think about food. If you’re hungry for a certain food and you know it isn’t in the who’s who of healthy foods, ask yourself, “How will I feel 20 minutes after I eat this food? Will I feel good about it, guilty or indifferent?” If you think you will feel guilty, consider steering clear of that food for the moment until you can figure out what’s going on in your head. Or, eat few morsels of the food and move on to a non-food activity and do not feel guilty about giving in to temptation. I’ve never had a client this technique didn’t work for, including me.
Strive to eat foods that are as natural as possible and can be prepared with a minimum of effort or nutrient loss, or can be eaten raw. Produce is a great place to start. Try steaming vegetables or fruits, and then save the leftover liquid in the bottom of the pot for use later in a soup or sauce. This leftover liquid is chock-full of water-soluble vitamins and minerals which may help in disease prevention. Simplify. Focus on eating whole grains, vegetables and fruits. Plan to gather enough produce for three or four days worth of meals at a time. Choose simple ways to prepare them for your body and soul’s nutritional benefit.
Are you terrified of learning to cook or just don’t like to cook? You are not being asked to be a chef, but to consider making some small changes for the benefit of your health. Learn how to cook foods you like and prepare and eat these regularly. What you cook is good enough if it is what you like and even better if it is healthy. That is all that matters. While it is true you can destroy some nutrients during the cooking process, overcooking a food rarely completely destroys the goodness of your efforts. Give yourself some credit and grace for trying and remember that practice makes perfect. Sustain yourself as much and often as possible with locally grown basic foods or foods that you can grow comfortably in your own backyard.
Simply Healthy
Strive for balance in all things. Get back to the basics of simple and healthy eating. If you don’t already, try cooking from scratch. Grow your own food if at all possible. Strive to build a firm but flexible foundation for good health and happiness through self discipline, determination, and making the most out of what you have. These qualities may not always be second nature but each one can be learned if you are a willing learner. Learning how to draw a balance in the quantity and quality of nutrients you consume daily is the key. Strive for balance physically, emotionally and spiritually. Remember to:
be quiet, often.
get good rest.
consult your healthcare provider prior to beginning an exercise regimen.
get at least 30 minutes of aerobic activity each day.
The pages in this book are my story about balancing food, gardening, cooking, and eating healthy. I encourage you to get your move on and enjoy your life just as I have—one bite, one step, one breath at a time.
TWO
“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) that the total diet or overall pattern of food eaten is the most important focus of a healthful eating style. All foods can fit within this pattern, if consumed in moderation with appropriate portion size and combined with regular physical activity. The American Dietetic Association strives to communicate healthful eating messages to the public that emphasize a balance of foods, rather any one food or meal.”1
ADA—July 2007
Strive for Progress—Not Perfection
I, too, believe all foods can fit into a healthy diet if consumed in moderation and coupled with regular exercise. From the Latin word diaeta, diet means a “way of living.” It doesn’t have as its root word “die” so get over the idea you’ll have to die trying to eat healthy. You could eat a million marshmallows a day and that would be considered your diet. A diet is merely the food you eat in a 24-hour period. Your weight is what you weigh naked when you step on the scale, minus your cowboy boots and feed cap.
Nutrition doesn’t start until food passes the lips. Accomplish this and eating healthy will fall into place. Eating a balanced diet means eating a variety of foods rich in nutrients including water, produce, grains, dairy, and lean proteins. If your favorite foods are fatty, salty or sugary, begin to scale back on how much of these you eat. Regular exercise and good rest help with the balancing act of striving for a healthy lifestyle.
Were the Hippies Right?
In the mid 1960s the term vegetarian seemed to be linked to tofu, grains and greens-only eating folks who were anti-establishment, long haired, tie dyed, sandal wearing hippie-types. About five decades later a poll done by the ADA, the largest group of food and nutrition experts in the world, indicated about 4.9 million Americans claimed to be vegetarian.2
Mainstream Americans seem to be getting a whiff of the health benefits offered in a vegetarian or plant-based diet. The term vegetarian has a variety of meanings depending on who you ask. Here are the latest definitions from the ADA:
Vegan or strict vegetarian: plant-based foods only; no animal based foods including fish, chicken, meat, eggs, milk, cheese or other dairy products. Foods containing or made from animal derived products such as gelatin, are not allowed.
Lacto-vegetarian: plant-based foods plus dairy products only excluding meat, fish, poultry and eggs.
Ovo-lacto-vegetarian: plant-based foods plus egg and dairy products. Excludes meat, fish and poultry.
Flexitarian: the newest category of plant-based diet similar to ovo-lacto-vegetarian with infrequent consumption of meat, fish and poultry.
Research has shown repeatedly that plant-based diet consumers, vegetarians, have lower rates of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, type 2 diabetes and obesity than folks who eat mostly animal-based foods.2 Armed with this knowledge, let’s begin to explore food and its benefits.
Eat What You Like—Like What You Eat
All foods, plus water, fit into at least one of the basic categories listed below. We, as a culture, are constantly trying to place a new spin on an old concept. The latest arrangement of the food groups released by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) replaces MyPyramid. The MyPlate Food Pattern, which uses a dinner plate plus a smaller container to define food groups and proportions, includes:
Grains (breads, cereals, rice and pasta)
Vegetables (fresh, frozen or low sodium canned)
Fruits (fresh, frozen, canned in juice, or fruit juice)
Dairy (milk, yogurt, cheese, and fortified soy beverages)
Protein Foods (meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts)
Oils and empty calories (hard fats and added sugars) are absent from the breakdown of food categories this time around but oils are included in USDA Food Patterns. MyPlate emphasizes that the amount of food from each group on your plate should be 50% vegetables and fruits; the other half should be grains (at least half of these whole grains), and lean animal and plant proteins. Dairy is included in a smaller amount alongside each meal. Keeping this advice in mind, strive daily to eat the amounts of foods listed below that equal the proportions recommended by MyPlate. Make sure to include the foods you like from each food group.
Working our way from general guidance about what to eat, let’s begin to examine more specifically what each food group has to offer as far as basic nutrients for your body every day.
Bread, cereals, pasta and other grains (5-8 servings): Provide B vitamins, iron, and other minerals. They are good sources of complex carbohydrates, whole grains, and fiber that fuel the body to optimal levels on a daily basis.
Vegetables (3-5 servings, about 2-3 cups): Provide beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin C, fiber and complex carbohydrates that help with digestion and assist in the healing of cuts and wounds.
Fruits (2-4 servings, about 1½—2 cups): Provide beta-carotene (vitamin A) and vitamin C, fiber and complex carbohydrates that help with digestion, and provide potassium, and other minerals for healthy tissue metabolism and wound-healing, healthy gums, eyes and skin.
Milk, cheese, yogurt and fortified soy beverages (3 servings): Provide protein, calcium, and vitamin D for strong muscles, bones, and teeth.
Meat, poultry, fish, eggs, beans, nuts and seeds (2-3 servings or total of 5-6½ ounce equivalents): These supply protein, iron, B vitamins and other minerals for strong muscles and healthy blood.