Chicken Pho Fabulous! Hot and SPICY Vietnamese Soup!

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Thai_peppers.jpg
By Daniel Risacher (Own work) [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)
or CC-BY-SA-2.5-2.0-1.0
 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5-2.0-1.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

Beautiful Thai Pepper Bush! 
Wouldn't you agree?!

(And, BTW, after just a few days of R+R, my stomach is feeling better and way ready to resume a spicier diet! Yea! And, FYI, believe it or not, in spite of a lot of disbelief in this, a lot of chili peppers really are kinder to your digestion that you might have guessed.)









Chicken Pho Fabulous! Hot and SPICY Vietnamese Soup!

I am not a big fan of commercially pre-made soup base or soup starter. But I do believe in great chicken or vegetable stock and Pacific is a great brand and food producers are getting savvier. So, when I saw this:

www.pacificfoods.com

 "

Organic Chicken Pho Soup Base

"Inspired by the traditional Vietnamese Pho (pronounced ‘fuh’), our delicious Organic Chicken Pho Base makes it simple to prepare authentic Pho at home.

INGREDIENTS

• Organic Chicken Broth (Water, Organic Chicken, Organic Spices, Organic Garlic Powder, Organic Onion Powder)
• Organic Cane Sugar
• Sea Salt
• Organic Lemon Juice
• Organic Spice Extracts
• Organic Lime Oil
• Organic Rosemary Extract

SUITABLE FOR THESE SPECIAL DIETS

1. Low Fat
2. Gluten Free
3. Dairy Free
4. Corn Free
5. Soy Free
6. Wheat Free
7. Yeast Free                "

in my local grocery store's health food section, I thought, why not give it a whirl. I've rarely had a Vietnamese soup and I'm always up for a healthy culinary adventure!

But, as I cannot help myself, I did go wild with the ingredients. I followed some of the suggested directions and most (Okay, ALL of them except for onions) of the ingredients plus a few of my own and all I can say is:  WOW!!!  WOW!!! WOW!!!!

So here's the Ingredients I used:

1 box (4 cups) of Pacific Chicken Pho soup base.

I bought a 6.75 oz. package of Dynasty Maifun Rice Sticks (thin rice noodles). (Now this is important because some rice noodles taste like cooked cardboard (like the last ones I bought for my husband to use, that had a name I couldn't read in Chinese, and that ruined my husband's triple batch of Thai crab cakes). Others are awesome delicate and beautiful to behold. But I am still getting used to which ingredients work for my recipes and which ones don't, so I like to mention them.)

I cut up a package of three fresh full size boneless, skinless chicken breasts. (I am very fussy about my chicken. It has to be organic, fresh, no hormones or antibiotics, and it has to look good. I split my pieces in three piles: The gristle that I'll cook later with some rice for the dogs that I add, now and then, to their dog food, about 2-21/2 cups of quarter size pieces for the soup, and about 2 cups of medallions that I'll use in another dish later this week. I double bagged the two piles for later and put them away in the fridge.)

6 Tablespoons of hot chili sauce. I use Sriraja Panich Chili Sauce. VERY awesome.
(And note: in my experience,  hot chili sauces can vary widely. A wrong one can overpower or underwhelm or even ruin a good recipe, whereas a great one, like Sriraja Panich, can make your dish beautiful! Sriraja Panich has this lovely way of adding spicy and heat and dimension by blending with smokey undertones and doesn't stand out. I have tested about a dozen different hot chili sauces so far and thrown many of them out. The right ones, like this one, can make a huge difference to the success of so many of my Asian and Thai dishes that I have made a point of knowing where to buy this one locally, how it is shelved -which can be in a different location that other hot chili or "Sriraja" sauces in some stores- or how to get it online.)

3 Tablespoons of  House of Tsang Hoisin Sauce (Note; it has a little wheat in it,  so if that's out for you, I also have in my cupboard a gluten free brand, Sun Luck, but I confess I haven't used it yet and a little bit of wheat doesn't throw me off these days.)

3 to 5 cups of fresh bean sprouts

1-1/2 to 2 organic limes

Fresh Basil

Fresh Cilantro

Black Pepper to Taste (about a teaspoon)

1 Hot Red fresh Thai Chili Pepper with the seeds (cut up into tiny pieces with a scissors, I am getting cleverer, but still wear cooking gloves. Warning: chili peppers are hot!)

1-1/2 - 2 Fresh Red Fresno Peppers (These are about 2 inches long.) Note that on these chili peppers: Don't use the seeds or inside meat. These I cut with a knife into strips and then into pieces. These peppers look like this:

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fresno_pepper_7.jpg
By Nadiatalent (Own work)
[CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)],
via Wikimedia Commons

And here's how I made it:  i.e., The Directions:


1. I boiled about 3 quarts of water while I cut up the chicken. After it came to a full boil, I turned it off and let it sit a few minutes.

2. The rice sticks come in three bundles. I took two or 2/3's of the package and put them in a metal bowl and poured the hot water over them, covered them and let them sit for 10 minutes.

3. I drained the noodles in a colander. Then I cut them up with a scissors and put them back in the metal bowl.

4. I rinsed the beansprouts in the colander and cut those with a scissors and left them there.

5. I scissor cut my Thai chili pepper including the seeds into pieces and knife cut 1-1/2 of my (cleaned of inner skin and seeded) Frenso chili peppers all on the same plate.

6. I poured the whole 4 cup box of Pacific Chicken Pho soup starter into the deep soup pan I boiled my water in. At first I didn't like the smell of the soup so much, but if that happens to you, just wait until the soup is brought to completion.

7.  When the soup starter mix came to a full boil, I threw in the 2-1/2 cups of cut up chicken, covered and turned the heat down to medium low. The chicken was cooked thoroughly in about 2-4 minutes.

7. Then I threw in my rice noodles, about 3 cups of my beansprouts, the chopped peppers and scissor cut a few fresh basil leaves, zested about 1/2 of a lime and squeezed 1-1/2 lime juice into it. I added 3 Tbsp. of Hoisin sauce, 6 Tbsp. of the Chili Sauce and black pepper to taste. Swished it around on simmer for about 1-2 minutes and served with fresh cilantro.

Yummmmm!

Now for the calorie countdown:

If you cook it like I just described above, 1/4th of the whole batch (a pretty big serving amounting to about two cups worth between the broth, the vegetables, the ingredients, and rice noodles) is about 194 calories. (1/8th is abut 97 calories.)

If you add in the extra two cups of beansprouts,  1/4 of the whole batch (a pretty big serving) is about 211 calories. (1/8th is about 106 calories.)

If you cook it using the above recipe, but use only 1/3 the package of rice sticks, then 1/4th of the whole batch is about 136 calories. Again a pretty big serving. (1/8th is about 68 calories.)

If you cook it with the extra two cups of beansprouts and don't use the rice sticks, a 1/4th serving then amounts to 93 calories. (1/8th is about 46 calories.)

If you use the gluten-free hoisin sauce, add 15 calories to 1/4th serving (or 8 calories to 1/8th).

You CAN have your rice and awesome taste and keep your diet too!

I can't wait to test drive this soup on my husband when he comes home tonight!

Bon Appétit!

And Kindest Regards from,

bbffair 

Note: 
This recipe is good for about eight servings, which can be perfect for a guest party first course. However, if you're not going to serve it on the first and second day, I'd recommend going with 1/2 of the above recipe as a better choice, because (due to the delicacy of both the bean sprouts and the rice sticks) it has a shorter refrigerator life than other soups.

Soup To Sooth A Delicate Tummy

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AIll-3-victoria.jpg

For The Delicate Stomach

Ever have some of those unhappy tummy days or nights?

They can be brought on by stress, too much acidic food or drink, and any number of things that might upset the balance we need to live well and happy lives.

Well, I have been having just so much of this the last month that I've looked into what I might do to sooth my tummy ache.


Here is what I've come up with. I am foregoing many of my favorite (and if you've read my posts, you know I love it spicy!) foods. Not forever, but just until I get my digestion and my stomach (and its distress) back in balance.

I am limiting my intake of acidic foods, spicy foods, dairy, gassy foods, heavy foods, gluten, wheat, sugar, and, (sigh), wine, and, (shaking my head), coffee. Just for a while.  I am upping my intake of probiotics to daily, along with my good fish oil, vitamin D, and other good vitamins and supplements that my health provider likes me to take.

And today, I needed a very digestible chicken-type soup and I came up with two very soothing, actually nicely satisfying soup recipes that can be made together. (I did anyway).  Easy to make, easy to digest, nourishing, and low in calories (so a good diet or detox soup too). (Always yea for that!).

Ingredients To Make Both Soups:

1-1/2 boxes of Pacific Organic Chicken Stock or Broth

2 cups of water

2 stalks of lemon grass

2 Tbsps of fresh grated ginger

1 handful of sliced  shiitake mushrooms

1 fresh zucchini

1 fresh yellow squash

pepper


 Soup #1:   Chicken Ginger Lemongrass Shiitake Soup

Preparation:

Peel the two lemon grass stalks by peeling and tossing out the outer layers to reveal the soft inside layer. Cut the buttery inside pieces from the base or root of the stalk upward into little, thin pieces. When you hear the "crunch," stop cutting. Throw the thin soft cut slices into a Magic Bullet and give it a few chops there. Add a half cup of water, shake it all up and set aside.

Cut the crunchy tops of the two peeled lemongrass stalks into thirds and bend.

Cut about two-three inches off a piece of fresh ginger. Peel by scraping the entire piece with the edge of a spoon until all the skin is removed. Then, over a bowl, grate the piece so that the stringy pieces stay on your side of the grater (that you will throw away) and the soft edible juice and pieces go into the bowl. You should have about 2 Tbsps.

Cut the stalks off the shiitake mushrooms and slice thin.

Cut up the zucchini and the yellow squash. Add pepper. Add about a cup of water and a cup of chicken stock and mix together in blender until it's all a thick liquid. Add a bit more chicken broth if it it resists blending.

Cooking Directions:

Bring one box (4 cups) of Organic Pacific Chicken Stock to a boil

Add in the big lemongrass pieces that you bent. (If you have one, use a Chinese strainer underneath.)  Boil for 4 minutes. Then Remove. (These pieces are too crunchy to be edible but add flavor.)

Add in the cut pieces and juice from your Magic Bullet. Boil another 4 minutes. You can add up to a cup of water and another cup of the chicken stock as it boils down.

Add in the grated ginger, medium boil another four minutes.

Add in the shiitake mushromms and simmer about 4 minutes on low.

Cover and keep on low.



(Time to start the second soup.)


Soup #2:   Soothing Squash Soup

You've already prepped so this will be very simple.

Cooking Directions:

Pour the zucchini and squash mixture into its own sauce pan.

Using a strainer and a soup ladle (that is typically a half cup in size), pour 2 cups (or four ladles) of the first soup into the squash soup.   Return the strained pieces and mushrooms to the first soup.

Mix the broth in. Bring to a boil, then immediately return to simmer and cover. Set the timer for 10-15 minutes.

Voila!


Now you have two extremely soothing soups that are both gentle and nourishing as well as tasty.

The mushroom soup has about 60 calories in the whole batch or 15 calories a cup.

The squash soup has 40-60 calories in the whole batch or about 10-15 calories a cup.

You can sip it or have several bowls of this throughout the day and keep your stomach happy, coated, nourished, and thus also more able to repair a tummy distress.

I added a cup of unsweetened almond milk to my afternoon for a little, gentle protein boost (1 gram) and 30 more calories and felt greatly healed.

Enjoy and here's hoping this makes even the most delicate stomach feel loved.

Kindest Regards,

bbffair

King's Omelette

King's Omelette: 
Wild and Garden Herb and Vegetable Omelette


Lately, I've been reading A Dance with Dragons by George R.R. Martin. There is a lot of exotic, detail described, freshly prepared food the characters partake of in this series. Without all that warring and conspiring, how would they ever burn off all the calories? And yet, much of the fare is mouth watering to read, especially their many coursed feasts. However, most of their breakfasts (breaking the fast as they say in ye old world of A Song of Ice and Fire) were very simple, a bit on the dull and repetitive side ( a lot of boiled eggs) , and overall failed to inspire me.

I decided it was time to create one of my own, an inspired kingly breakfast. I aspired to indulge the Ladies and Lords with a different fare: a delectable and hardy, but healthy, herb filled first (or second or third, fourth, fifth? etc) meal for ye royal appetites of olde: a breakfast fit for a King!

Zürich, Grossmünster church : Crypt with Charlemagne statue (original) of the southern tower. By Roland zh (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Grossm%C3%BCnster_-_Innenansicht_-_Krypta_-_Charlemagne_2010-08-30_16-37-00.JPG

And here it is:

A many herb -including fresh dill- mushroom, spinach, tomato, and dandelion leaf omelette with roasted herb potatoes served with a dill sauce, and a side herb salad.

Ingredients:

Coffee (of course!) (I know they would do beer or mead or wine, but me, I like my coffee just fine with my eggs) (If you're really going for a theme, you can always brew dandelion root tea or roast dandelion roots for dandelion coffee. Me, I like dark roast coffee, but the dandelion coffee or tea is very nice too.)

Omega 3 Grade A Organic Eggs 

Organic Milk

Organic Unsalted Butter  (Oh those were the days when you didn't have to ask for organic)

Olive Oil Pam  (Of course, modern inventions save on calories for those of us who do not wander the kingdoms for our daily exercise routines)

Fresh Orange Juice

Fresh Dill

Fresh Rosemary

Fresh Thyme

Fresh Lemon

Fresh Sage

Fresh Dandelion Leaves (You want to harvest these fresh in the spring somewhere where there are no pesticides in the ground, before they flower or else they will be too bitter. When in doubt or out of season Whole Foods -of olde- carries them too.)

Fresh Red Potatoes

Fresh Herb Lettuce or Spring Mix  (All the fresh goodness from ye handy nearby garden or cook's greenery)

Good Dijon Mustard (I like Maille old style  -it's olde style also, so go with it, it's keeping the theme alive-  whole grain Dijon. It's a little up there in calories, but the taste is divine.)

Mayonnaise (I know but sometimes you have to) (I am still searching for taste in alternatives.)

Sea Salt

Black Ground Pepper

Black Grinder Pepper

Ground Paprika

1/2 Shredded Carrot

Fresh Baby Spinach

Fresh Brown Mushrooms

Cherry Tomatoes

Chi-Chi's Chunky Hot Salsa  (some ingredients you have to go back to the future for)

Fresh Parsley

Turmeric Powder

Grape Seed Oil

~~
Potatoes:
Thin slice the potatoes and put in a shallow baking pan sprayed with Pam Olive Oil. Spray potatoes with Pam Olive Oil, pepper generously and sprinkle with a few pinches of fresh parsley.

If you want, you can also squeeze a tablespoon or two of fresh lemon and 1 or 2 T. of grape seed oil in a bowl and brush the potatoes as well.

Put the potatoes in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes, turning at least once, or more as needed, (and if using the lemon and oil, brush on again when turning). Shred (mince) 1/2 carrot, chop up some fresh dandelion, and rough cut about four cherry tomatoes and stir these in about fifteen minutes before potatoes are done.

Prep:
Place a handful of fresh herb lettuce on each serving plate.

Scissor cut about 5 loose Tbsps. of fresh dill, put 3 T in a bowl and set aside.  Set aside another T. of fresh dill on a spice plate. Throw in the remaining dill scraps over the herb lettuce portions.

Cut up about 6-7 large dandelion leaves. Chop up the stems in little pieces and the leaves in bigger pieces. Throw a couple of leaves in with the salad on the plates.

Dill Sauce for Potatoes:
In the bowl with three T. of fresh dill, add 3 T. fresh squeezed lemon juice, salt and pepper, 4 teaspoon of good Dijon, and 1/2 cup loosely packed mayonnaise. If you want to stir this the olde way, you can just take a fork or a whisk (Did they have whisks in ye olden times?) and whisk this to a cream. Or, if like me, you want to dash back to modern appliance times, just throw it in the Magic Bullet for a few seconds. Set aside.

More Prep:
Chop fresh thyme and rosemary and sage pieces and set aside with the T. chopped dill.

Begin Vegetable and Herb Saute:
In a  small fry pan, coated with Pam Olive Oil, add 1-2 T. butter. Add some of the thyme and rosemary and sage and dill pieces, then saute a whole pan of sliced mushrooms. Add pepper and  a touch of paprika.

In a second small fry pan, melt 1 T. butter and then put the butter in a small bowl and mix with 3/4 teaspoon of ground turmeric.

Check the potatoes:
They should be about 30-35 minutes by now with another 10-15 minutes to go.
(If they aren't cooking, raise up the oven to 450 and turn again in 10 minutes before proceeding. )
When the potatoes seem close to ready, proceed.
If you are using the lemon and oil mixture, brush on one more time. Stir in the extra ingredients (shredded carrot, minced cherry tomato, and dandelion accents) into the potatoes. (The last ten - fifteen minutes is a good time for this, so they integrate, but don't get fried over the longer time the potatoes need.) Also, you can add some lemon zest over the potatoes either now or just before serving.

Continuing the Sauteed Vegetables:
When the mushrooms are starting to brown, add in about 6 (sliced in half or thirds) cherry tomatoes. A few minutes later, stir the turmeric butter into the pan as well. Continue sauteing. Towards the end, throw in a handful of the chopped up dandelion stems too.

Begin Omelette:

Stir 2 eggs per person with milk in a bowl.*

*Note: This recipe is for one hungry person, or, if you aren't that hungry, you can split it. But if you are cooking more, keep to a 2 egg + milk omelette in a small pan for each portion; there are a LOT of veggies in this and a bigger one may not flip well.

Melt another 1/2 T. of butter in the second pan. Add egg mix into the heated pan. Add more of the chopped thyme, rosemary, sage, and dill and pepper. Add the chopped dandelion stems and then the leaves. Add spinach leaves. Let wilt a minute in the egg mixture while the omelette sets up. Add all or a lot of the sauteed mushrooms and cherry tomatoes mixture over the top. Sprinkle with more pepper and lemon zest.

Let this set up and omelette brown nicely before turning. When you turn, add in 1/2 T. more butter so that omelette browns nicely on opposite side.


Serve:
Serve with potatoes on plate with drizzle of dill sauce over. Serve omelette with Chi Chi's hot salsa on side or over. Leave salad undressed. Pour orange juice and fresh coffee with milk.

This omelette is so colorful, so exotic, and so healthy!

Yumm!

-bbffair
(Ye Olde King's Cook - (or Queen's)- whoever wins the Game of Thrones)

Yummy Summer Health Drinks! Wheat Grass and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

    

Yummy Summer Health Drinks:  

Wheat Grass  and Strawberry Almond Smoothies

I have a fab health drink that gets me balanced again on those days that I feel somewhat off, like I can't quite figure our what I need: fruit? more greens?  protein? missing vitamins? You know that feeling where there is sort of a hole or a need and you don't know what it is, but you definitely need something!

Well, I have a perfect solution for that, as well as a great low calorie pick-me-up:  It's my simple, handy-dandy (drum roll please):

"Strawberry Milk" by Rawich @  http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php?id=10086166

 

Wheat Grass Smoothie:

It calls for 1 Cup of chilled Unsweetened (gluten free) Almond Milk (40 calories) 

and 

1 scoop of Amazing Grass (gluten free and raw) Wheat Grass Powder (another 35 calories)

  

 (+ sometimes some probiotics for good measure)

 

Give it a shake, throw it in the Magic Bullet and Voilà!

or

(Since it's SummerTime!)

"Pile Of Strawberries" by Ambro courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/agree-terms.php

A Nice Strawberry Almond Smoothie:

 

This is such a pretty, as well as tasty, summer drink! 

 

Just add a half cup of fresh strawberries (23 calories) 

to

 1/2 cup of cold Almond Milk (20 calories)

Toss in the old blender

and  

Voilà again!

Hint: About 3 big strawberries = 1/2 cup, but I like to chop up three more (another 23 calories) to much along with my  smoothie)

 

Total Calories:  Wheat Grass Smoothie: 75 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie: 43 calories

Strawberry Almond Smoothie with 3 extra big strawberries to munch on too:  66 calories

and

!ALL OF IT IS GOOD FOR YOU!

 

Bon Appétit!

-bbffair

 

Note:  You can add the strawberries into the wheat grass smoothie if you want, but the strawberries will get lost in there, so I'd eat them on the side if you want a combo.

Indian Spicy Lemonade

Experimenting With Lemonade


About lemonade: it can get interesting.

It doesn't always have to be the sugary high-calorie version or the oddly vacant diet formula.

Recently, I found this very different recipe for spicy Indian lemonade.*






The Ingredients:

1 tsp. fennel seed

1 star anise

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

2-3 whole lemons, squeezed

1/4 cup of fresh mint leaves loosely packed

2 Tbsp. sugar (you can add two more Tbsp. to taste)

2 cups of water

2 cups of ice


The Recipe:

In a frying pan, stir the fennel and the star anise and toast them dry -without oil- constantly stirring until they are nicely browned.

Then ground them up in a Magic Bullet or coffee grinder

Then get out your blender and toss them in with the ginger, the juice from the squeezed lemons, the fresh mint, sugar, water and blend.

Pour through a strainer to get out the bits.

Put it back in the blender and add in the ice and hit the blender until the ice is crushed.

It makes about 4 servings, each of which is about 31 calories in the 2 Tbsp. sugar version and about 51 calories in the 4 Tbsp. version.

Enjoy!

-bbffair


* For a version of this and other wonderful lemonades and drinks, as well as many awesome dishes, visit:
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/search/delegate?searchString=lemonade 

~~ 

The beautiful picture above is "Lemonade" by Suat Eman courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos 

 http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Other_Drinks_g65-Lemonade_p10832.html

My Tom Yum(m) Soup - Very Spicy

Tom Yum(m) Soup

Where have I been? You guessed it! On an adventure into Thai cooking!

OMG! I LOVE Thai food! And now I have  just a few beautiful recipes to share that I have made my own.

For today, here is my Tom Yum(m) Soup! The picture on this post is of my lunch. Isn't it beautiful!

I make it extra, extra hot and spicy!


Okay, here goes:

My Tom Yum(m) Soup

Ingredients List:

6-8 cups (1-1/2 to 2 boxes ) Chicken Stock (Organic Pacifica brand is very good)

2 stalks of lemon grass

Zest of 1 medium lime
       (Note: Some recipes call for Tafir (lime) leaves. They are hard to find for me right now, but lime zest works great as a substitute.)

5-6 red Thai chili peppers (wear gloves for handling these -they WILL burn you or your eyes!)
      Take off stems and slice lengthwise into 2 or 4 strips and then chop and put aside, keep seeds for cooking too

2-3 tiny fresh red cherry peppers (the size of a cherry tomato) (do not use these seeds - they might make you cough) -or 1/4-1/5 of a fresh red bell pepper - sliced thin

Generous handful of Shitake  mushrooms (can be substituted with brown mushrooms) sliced thin

1 lb. package of frozen large raw peeled and devined shrimp (thawed in cold water while you prep recipe)
      (or fresh raw peeled and devined large shrimp)

Juice of medium lime

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

1-3 T. of high quality fish sauce

Broccoli - one large stalk chop up the stem into thin pieces and also the flowers into little pieces

1-4 short dollops of Chili sauce* (I use Sriraja Paniich or Taste of Thai Garlic Chili Sauce)
(*Note: I like this better than regular garlic which I don't really like to handle and find it integrates very nicely and doesn't "stand out" if you know what I mean.)

1/2 package of ripe fresh cherry tomatoes
 
 ~~

Prep:

Prepare all the ingredients as directed above and in step 2 below before beginning.

~~

Directions:

1.  Pour chicken stock into a pan and bring to boil.

2.  Cut off the bulb and any brown tops of the lemongrass and peel the outer layers. Chop the good (edible) white portion of the lemongrass into tiny pieces. Cut the upper stems in 3-4 places slightly (not all the way through) and then bruise (hammer and bend) and add the pieces and the bruised stems into the now boiling chicken broth for about 2 minutes

3.  Add the garlic sauce dollops to taste (I use 4 good ones). Add the cut up Thai peppers and seeds, the red peppers, lime zest, and mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium-simmer for 2 minutes.

4.  Add shrimp and broccoli and simmer medium for 4 minutes until shrimp is pink and done.

5.  Reduce heat to med-low. Add fish sauce, juice from one whole medium lime, and tomatoes.
Can cover, if desired. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir well -gently simmer.

(Usually this is about perfect for my tastes. But test it for yourself. If too salty, add more lime juice. If too sour, add 1/4 t. sugar. Not spicy enough for your taste, maybe another dollop of chili sauce will take it there!)


*Options:   1/4 t.  sea salt
                  1/4 t.  sugar
                  1/2 can evaporated milk or coconut milk

(Note: I don't add milk to mine or sugar)


6.  Remove lemongrass stalks and discard. (They add flavor to the soup but are not edible like the chopped parts.)

7.  Serve with fresh cilantro and/or Thai chili sauce.

~~

As you can see above, I make mine VERY spicy! I swear by this soup! It will clean you up, clean you out, make your eyes water, wash out your sinuses, possibly helps prevent cancer (yes. really! see this link!), and fill you up, satisfy your hunger and appetite, and for almost no calories.  Let me repeat: almost NO CALORIES!

My recipe comes to about 78 calories a cup or 155 calories for a 2-cup serving.

For a more traditional recipe with coconut milk where I got my inspiration (I don't like coconut and like mine spicier.):  http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/tomyumkung.htm

1-2 cups equals a very nice serving. I save the extra soup right in a sauce pan and reheat it and have lunch for three or four  days.

It is grrreeat for detoxing and dieting as well as hot Thai taste and great nutrition!

Enjoy!

-bbffair

Soy - What??? - A Beginners' Guide To Healthy Oils

 It's Not Nice To Be Fooled With Soy Isolates!

I had a bit of a shocker recently. A learning curve thing. I try to eat right and use healthy, good ingredients. But here's the fine print: Some soy products may be really bad for you. 

I DIDN'T know that!!

And so now I am aghast at how many products -including ingredients in your vitamins-  slip in this potentially evil substance, in particular soy isolate. Even eviler, it can be disguised under a few technical, hard-to-identify, and harder-to-pronounce names as well.

There is a LOT of concern that these can cause cancers to grow, bad estrogens, etc. So just when I thought it was safe and smart to use Smart Balance, etc. ...

(*But on a note of relief: my understanding is that fermented soy (think soy sauce and clean Thai food!) is still healthy!!)

I have gone back and changed my recipes to reflect this new knowledge. (If I missed anything, please let me know. I am ALL about good information here.)

~~

On to Thinking Positive:

 

How I Came to Appreciate Beautiful Oils and Butter

Healthy Living IS An Adventure!

First of all, let me repeat, that, to the best of my knowledge, fermented soy is not a culprit -thank goodness there as I love my soy sauces-  and most -if not all- of the ones I like to use seem to be made with the right ingredients.  It's the soy elements, in products, that have been toyed with that are most suspicious. And we have been led to believe that soy in all its forms is good for us. Maybe not so much.

And, as I begin to explore my options, there are MANY!!

I found this article, a guide to oils, over at Whole Foods.  It talks about good and bad oils. It's worth a read.

Here's a quick bite from it:

For baking: Coconut, palm oil ave the best reputation.
For frying: Because they stand up well to the heat, avocado, palm and sesame oil are ideal for frying.
For sautéing: Many oils are great for sautéing, including avocado, coconut, grapeseed, olive, and sesame oils.
For dipping, dressings and marinades: When it comes to making dressings and marinades, or finding oil that's perfect to serve alongside crusty bread for dipping, you're looking for terrific flavor. For this purpose look to olive, toasted sesame or walnut oil.

To start with oils, I read the above and a few other articles and then I ran off to Whole Foods to purchase a few good-for-me oils. I was happy to find such a good selection.

I purchased two high heat oils:
Grapeseed oil (a very clean, light, all purpose cooking and baking and wok/sautéing oil)
and
Avocado oil (also for frying and sautéing) (and it is not bad as a skin care product either!). 

 Of course there is the mainstay of Extra Virgin Olive Oil as well, but it is best not cooked at high heats.  

My favorite new oil is a French walnut oil (amazing!!) for salads and delicate recipes -it is best unheated. It's very delicate and oh sooo good for you.  

Soon, I plan to experiment with Almond oil and Truffle oils.

I love that many of these gourmet specialty oils can be purchased fairly inexpensively in smaller containers. And extra nice to find out, so far the sunflower, avocado, and walnut oils, that I am keeping in my refrigerator, do NOT solidify in the refrigerator like olive oil does. That's a convenient benefit.

As far as table spreads or more buttery blends to sauté with, I have also changed my ways there too.  I loved the taste of my old Smart Balance and Original Recipe Earth Balance.  Soy, I discovered, was amongst, if not their first ingredient!! They are now all in the past. And also, out went the Omega 3 Smart Balance Oil I had been using!

Earth Balance does have a soy free spread and I am cautiously trying that out. It's very clean tasting and not bad for everyday use. But now I am suspicious of foods with too many "ingredients" and being more careful. And I have returned to pure butter. I like mine unsalted or lightly salted, made from grass fed (not soy fed) cows milk.  With butter, you just need to use less and it does go further. So much for the myth that margarine with its fewer calories and omega 3's can be a healthy choice with benefits.

I also threw out my mayonnaise and I am soon to experiment with true French mayonnaise.

Along the road to healthy eating, one might just discover the wonders of better tasting food too!

Lucky for us, good groceries and good food producers care and thus (like my husband was about to do) we don't have to all go out and buy our own oil presses - although I did read up on that and it sounded kind of fun!


Bon Appétit!


-bbffair

6/10/2017  Notes:
I have updated my oils list. 
Some oils that I found iffy, or without enough information over time, I have deleted from my original list above. 
At this time, Grapeseed oil is my go-to oil for cooking. It is very light and clean and can sustain high heats and is perfect for high heat Thai. 
I continue to enjoy the soy-free Earth Balance spread and or pure unsalted butter.
And my go-to salad (no or low-low heat) oil is still a high quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Here Comes The Sun

Spring Cleaning-Inside and Outside

Making Way For New and Renewed Life

 February, this year, seemed like a long, hard winter month to walk.  I often think of January like that, but not so much February.

Some of this was me and some of this just seemed to be going around. I finished radiation at the end of 2011 in December and I was whipped by it. But January wasn't as darn mean and cold as it usually is, so there was this sense of getting through the winter lightly. That is, until February snagged a bunch of us.


Spring, photo courtesy of: http://commons.wikimedia.or/wiki/File:Spring_2005.jpg

For the past ten months, in spite of cancer, I've been getting consistently lighter and healthier. I've been in my zone and fine tuning things and keeping the lightening going even through cancer. 

But in February???  I tipped up the scales six pounds! I'm still in my zone, but still!  How could that happen??? Time to regroup and rethink and get real.

(And yes I know, in my zone, that's not a big deal -to anyone else but me- but to me, it's a wake-up call before I get into anything more like really bigger trouble!)

I also have a theory. I think that the seasons are important to us, biologically, spiritually, physically, mentally. They affect us and are supposed to. So, for one thing it is natural when it gets cold and snowy and ye old winter winds are beating down your door, that you are supposed to get cozy by the fire with a little bit more you on your bones and take a few more zzzzz's in (even if you didn't have radiation treatments) and sup on root vegetables and hearty stew. But when winter doesn't walk you through it, you will still feel the season, and, even eventually, it may still catch up to you later and demand its due.

Anyway, this year, every single still-exercising, still eating mostly right and healthy, still working-it woman I know told me she tipped it up a few pounds in February and/or the scale just got stuck all month.

Tsk. Tsk.

But I wonder, thinking back on my contemplations of the plateau, if there really is some innate logic to this?  Perhaps it is the last step necessary to moving into the light of spring? Sort of like stepping back to boost your new, next upcoming leap forward.

Anyway, I'm counting on this AND I am recommitting  to my spring this year starting right here and now. I cleaned my house top to bottom, part one, last week, and will finish part two, the dogs, this week. I have cleaned out winter, cobwebs, cancer, worry, and all things that get bottled up and start to grow weird in those bottles. And I am recommitting to a strong five days a week forward in moving in my exercises, not so much more, but with more joie di vivre and light! I want that light in my body too!

And so the next six weeks, I'm channeling my light into my Light Body with new life. I'm going to re-lose that six pounds and aim for four more!

Anybody want to get into the sweet spring dance with me too? Time to Lighten Up!

-bbffair


Here Comes The Sun 

Here comes the sun (doo doo doo doo)
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter
Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly melting
Little darling, it seems like years since it's been clear
Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's all right
It's all right

-The Beatles

The Joy of Going Nuts: Pine Nuts and Other Great Nuts

The Joy of Going Nuts

One of the joys of weekly food shopping over the last year for me has become my visit to the bulk bins at Whole Foods.

In the past, I used to buy a package of nuts -for me, most often, this would be walnuts that I used to use more of and so could justify buying a whole package at a time- but now that I have discovered the bulk bins at Whole Foods, I am free to experiment!

Nuts are healthful, nutritious, great add-ins, and a handy way to go vegetarian for a meal or a day without hunger, weakness, or deprivation.  That's all helpful. But, let's face it: they are also Yumm!

Anyway, at Whole Foods, I can now buy a sample of this or a handful or a week's worth of a bunch of different nuts and dried fruits, etc. so I've grown my nut-palate and become more familiar with what used to be exotic rare excursions into eating and using nuts.

<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net">Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p> 


Here is one of my favs:

The Pine Nut

It's not really a nut. It's a seed in a pine cone! Who would have thought those squirrels and even my dogs -the famous sheepdogs: Darla and Fisher- would be so smart. In the past, I've had them primarily in pesto dishes. But now, they color my salads, soups, vegetable dishes, my eggplant, chicken, and fish, and I even eat them raw all by themselves. They are lovely and delicate and guess what else, they are amazing nutrition-wise.

They are 58 calories in a TBSP but curb your appetite so they help with weight loss, they aid cardiovascular support, are high in iron, anti-oxidants -i.e. anti-aging, contain lutein, an antioxidant that is crucial to the prevention of eye diseases such as macular degeneration and cataracts and vitamin A in the form of beta carotene, another important eye vitamin, and containing protein and magnesium, they aid in energy boosting. That's a LOT of umphhhffff  for something with such a good Yumm factor.



A few of my other favs include:

Brazil Nuts

"A handful of Brazil nuts a day can reduce the risk of eight types of cancer by up to 76 per cent, scientists said yesterday. They are packed with the mineral selenium, which can help prevent cancer of the liver, lung, stomach, prostate, pancreas, brain, kidney and oesophagus by blocking the formation of tumours."    -How Brazil Nuts Can Beat Cancer  by Tim Utton and Robin Yapp

Also:   Brazil Nuts Hold Cancer Hope

Cashews

Okay, Just Yumm.  We know these are good for us. We eat them in Chinese and Thai chicken, for goodness sakes. They are best eaten you know, umm, naturally, and are still full of flavor. But here is a perfectly important point: At Whole Foods, you can buy the Thai salted, roasted cashews and they won't make it home, they are soooo delicious. But you can buy a handful and be gloriously done with it and leave the rest in the bin behind you. Ahh yes, a moment of zen.

Almonds

Edgar Cayce said 2 almonds a day warded off cancer / http://www.healingcancernaturally.com/cayce-almonds-health-readings.html

Dried Michigan Cherries

Here is my plug for the best of the best cherries from my own home state of Michigan. I dare you to compare!


*A word of caution and forewarning though: like all things, take your nuts in moderation. Don't overdo it. Some are fattier than others and for some people, they may be hard to digest in large amounts too, so use your good common sense!

And, with this, I ask you to journey to your own Whole Foods or other natural food bulk food bin aisle and do what you must: taste and experiment and let your senses have at it!

-bbffair

Being In The Zone!

Being In The Zone 
and
Knowing What Your Zone Is

This  wonderful thing happened to me around late July. I felt good about my body shape. I wasn't model perfect. But I was in my zone and I could feel it and see it. I could go out shopping and try on new clothes. I was stepping out more and more and then I got on a scale. (Well, I had to. I was beginning cancer treatment and they make you weigh in a lot.) So I got not just a sense of how it feels, but a sense of what it translates to actually.

Now, for me –I'm 5' 6-1/2"– I have a pretty large zone, about twenty-five pounds in which (so long as I am exercising and keeping up my muscle tone) I look and feel pretty good about myself.

At the top of my zone, I look good in and out of clothes. Above the top of it, I feel unable to get on a scale (i.e. fat).

At the lower end of the scale, I'm model thin or what I weighed when I was fourteen, only I'm more shapely in good ways. Below that, I feel and look anorexic and sickly.

However, for the most part, anywhere in my zone is a good place to be because none of it is *bad.* And even gradually moving towards hanging out in the middle of my zone is even more rewarding. It's healthy, alive, vibrant, and attractive.

Arriving in one's *zone* is a really cool thing if you've ever been out there in outer-zone space. It means you can relax. It's also motivating. You're not "on a diet" so much as you're in a LIFEstyle!

It is also helpful at the entrance of your zone for you to also get on the scale a LOT so you know what's going on within your zone. It's kind of like a doable reality check and check-in to keep you on track. For example, I go up and down by 2-4 pounds depending on what I've eaten. And *in the zone* a girl is more apt to lose any remaining weight slower and that's okay now, 'cause you're in the zone.

So right now, I'm in the middle of my zone, which is exactly where I want to be right now as I am also just starting radiation therapy and I might lose the rest of my lower zone with that, so I need my buffer. But I am also in a very good place too: my muscles like to move and I'm eating healthy, delicious foods.

Folks, I am doing the zone dance.

Here's to all of you getting to and being in your own zones!

-bbffair

 <p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=2365">Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

My First Adventure With The Mysterious Eggplant

Stuffed Eggplant

I believe in letting certain foods call out to me and, while shopping last week, these beautiful baby eggplants drew me close. They were perfect with unblemished, shiny skins and radiated health.

I have often loved eggplant in restaurants, but never knew how to cut or cook it. It seemed a very mysterious plant to me. But these called my name. It was time for me to delve into that mystery and go on an eggplant adventure.

I bought five of these small creatures and spent a few days admiring them in my kitchen. They seemed succulent and full of the promise of delight.

So, it was off to the internet, where I perused numerous sites, recipes, and youtube videos. I gleamed enough information to dare to try a recipe of my own and see where it might take me.

I decided to make stuffed eggplant.

I began by cutting the tops and ends off of two. Then I cut them both in half the long way. There were, to my surprise, no seeds to speak of. So I scooped out a cavity in each half but kept the pieces too.

Next –and this is important to preparing eggplant and something I didn't know but that the internet advised me on– I salted both sides of each piece and each half of the little creatures and left them on a paper towel covered plate for 40 minutes. This is to remove any of the potential bitterness. I have since learned that more seeded and thicker skinned eggplants are more bitter, that some eggplants with thicker skins need to be peeled. that some thinner skinned eggplants have delicious skins, and that there are over a dozen varieties. From what I now understand, they all will benefit from this salting which causes them to weep fluids and remove any bitterness.  At this point, I confess I was just getting introduced to an eggplant that hadn't yet told me it's kind. (When I looked up varieties on the internet, I thought the kind I had were too large to be baby eggplant. Later, I discovered that they can vary and that these were indeed baby eggplant, just a little larger than the internet examples, and grown hydroponically in Canada by Pure Flavor (www.pure-flavor.com). The picture -above- is from their website too.)

After 40 minutes, I rinsed my halves and pieces well in cold water. I am not a salt eater generally, so I wondered about this, but they washed very clean. I patted them dry and placed them in the refrigerator.

Next, I threw out my old olive oil. I smelled it and it seemed off. I think it is always important to smell the foods and ingredients you use. So I used my sunflower oil and about two teaspoons of Earth Balance soy free blend (from the health food cold section in my store). I heated this up hot in a skillet and chopped two big white button mushrooms into bits and threw them in and cooked them until they were very small and very browned. I added black pepper, lemon pepper, parsley flakes, and paprika as I cooked these.

I added one chopped fresh tomato and several tablespoons of DelMonte original stewed tomatoes (both pieces -that I chopped in the pan with my spatula- and juice).  I threw in bits of fresh rosemary, sage, and thyme and shook three shakes of cinnamon into the mix. Then I cooked and stirred this concoction for a while. When it all reduced, I threw in a couple of good splashes of vegetable stock (chicken would have worked too) and stirred all the reduced flavors back up from the bottom of the pan and cooked this until it was thick.

At this point, I removed it from the heat and stirred in a big handful of fresh baby spinach leaves, wilting them. I then added a handful of pine nuts and a handful of grated Romano cheese.

I pulled my baby eggplant halves and pieces out of the fridge, coated a round glass pan with olive oil Pam, took a spoon and amply stuffed the halves (but not packing it down) with the mixture and put the remainder over the pieces in between the halves.

I took an open jar of Paul Newman's Sockarooni spaghetti sauce from the fridge and topped each half and piece with a big spoonful.

Then I put the pan, -without a top- into a preheated 400 degree oven for 50 minutes.

I served these with grated Asiago cheese sprinkled over the tops with a few fresh cilantro leaves.

OMG!!!!!  It was delicious!!!!!!!  It was Dinner!!!!

Yeah Adventures in Foodland that make you feel Awesome!

-bbffair

Ingredients List:

2  (five to six inches long or the equivalent) baby eggplants
salt
Olive Oil and Soy Free Earth Balance
2 big fresh white button mushrooms
black pepper
lemon pepper
parsley flakes
paprika
1 medium fresh tomato
Del Monte original stewed tomatoes
fresh rosemary
fresh sage
fresh thyme
cinnamon
chicken or vegetable stock
fresh baby spinach
pine nuts
grated Romano cheese
Paul Newman's Sockarooni spaghetti sauce
grated Asiago cheese
fresh cilantro

Orange Juice With Squeezed Lemon! - Yumm!

Boost Your Health With Fresh Lemons!

As many of you know, I love to start my day with an 8 ounce glass of fresh orange juice!

Another great way to break your fast is by drinking fresh lemon juice squeezed in water, a drink that is thought to be very good for digestion and weight loss as well as other health benefits.

Lately, I've been squeezing about 1/3 of a fresh lemon (or between 1-2 Tbsps. of fresh lemon juice) along with the pulp into my orange juice.

It is superbly delicious! And healthy! And a simple way to up the healthy benefits of citrus! Try it and let me know what you think!


-bbffair

<p><a href="http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=1499">Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net</a></p>

Respecting Your Health Through Challenges

 

 Changes I have made for Health

 As I have previously posted, I was diagnosed with breast cancer and the last three months have been a challenging time for me. I've had surgery that removed my tumor, and two lymph nodes, both clean, Thank God.

I am still recovering from the surgery, a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, that has left me without much distortion, but with much nerve upset in my nipple, which is hopefully temporary, but upsetting, and much fatigue. As well, I am preparing for a round of radiation to the area, which, I'm told, will increase my fatigue for awhile both during the treatments and in the months following.

I still feel very grateful as I move forward. But this is no cake walk. 

I have also been thinking hard about how much of the traditional medicine in front of me seems to keep pointing, not just at the irradiating of the cancer, but also at poisoning the body enough so that the cancer never ever returns. The cure is hard. The preventative measures very difficult to grasp.

I still don't know if I can take a drug that is basically a chemotherapy pill for five years. That's a decision I don't have to make just yet, but one I am wrestling with.

In the meantime, what I am focusing on, right now, is what changes I can implement in my nutrition and exercise that are not extreme or desperate, but sensible, sustainable, and doable.

I have started buying only hormone-free and antibiotic-free milk –it tastes great!–  and chicken and beef. I am mostly eating a plant based diet with my protein coming mainly from fish first, chicken second, and only very occasionally beef. I am staying far away from fats. No, not entirely, but reasonably. I still like the Earth Balance spread. And, I realize that alcohol, even though I really just like very nice wines, is a very possible culprit in creating bad estrogen. It's out for now except maybe for a rare indulgence.

I am busy exploring how I can beef up my immune and energetic systems, rebuilding my health stronger and better. I plan to meet with a professional nutritionist. I'll be blogging about that more in the future.

And I am humbled by how tired surgery and healing have left me and learning to take littler, but very effective smaller steps. Right now, 3 mile walks exhaust me, 30 minutes of jumping is too much for my sore breast, and I've had to back down. I thought I could get right back and up to speed, but I have definitely been slowed down. However, the good and inspiring news is this:

LITTLE STEPS CAN GO A LONG WAY!

I can walk a half mile to a mile 2-3 times a week and build on that as I get my energy back.

I can do the standing (10 minutes) portion of the Original Callantics one day and the floor portion (10 minutes) the next day.

I can put on a breast binder or sports bra and gently dance-jog in my living room on a spring floor for 12-20 minutes (Remember my 12 minutes post!!  See it here! ) three times a week to start and keep checking in with myself to make sure that it's not too much and only keep it up or add to it respecting my body deeply, that it is telling me how far is far enough and when it is ready for more.

I can eat delicious and healthy food (like I have been and like I talk about on this blog) with the above changes (i.e. less meat, no hormones or antibiotics in food, etc.) but not quite as much as when I was exercising more vigorously. I'm eating closer to 1300 calories a day. It's actually not a hard adjustment as I need less. For example, instead of two eggs, I eat one egg. I plan to also have future blog posts about some of these even lighter meals as they still contain the good nutrition and vitamins and flavor (!!)  that I like and need and that provides healthy, balanced, and balancing (very important!) meals, but they are trimmed down a bit more.

And for really good news, even while going through all this doctor-business,  and even while I am still in the process of needing to regain my strength and stamina, I continue to be on a path of health with healthy results!

-bbffair  

 

 <Green Bulb -above- by Digitalart, courtesy of http://www.freedigitalphotos.net>

 

Why Whole Milk is Good For You!

Whole Milk!

I drink what I think of as whole milk. I find it nutricious, the most delicious (French!) addition to coffee, and good to cook with.

And, I am always investigating nutrition and learning more and more as I travel through life.

Today, I came upon several articles about milk. I thought I would list them here for your information too. I'd love to know what you think!

-bbffair

Below is an article I found at:
 http://www.care2.com/greenliving/why-whole-milk-is-the-healthiest-choice.html

" 
Why Whole Milk is the Healthiest Choice
posted by Megan, selected from Experience Life Aug 31, 2009 3:20 pm
filed under: basics, drinks, food & recipes, health & wellness, good fats, homogenization, whole milk

By Laine Bergeson, Experience Life

I drink whole milk and eat full-fat yogurt, cream cheese, and sour cream. Sure, full-fat dairy products taste better than the skim/fat-free versions, but I don’t eat them for the taste. I eat full-fat dairy because it’s better for my health and my weight.

Yep, you heard me right: I eat dairy products with all the fat god gave ‘em, and I do it because it’s good for me.

Here’s why:

1. Our bodies cannot digest the protein or absorb the calcium from milk without the fat.

2. Vitamins A and D are also fat-soluble. So you can’t absorb them from milk when all the fat has been skimmed off. (This makes fortified skim milk the biggest sham of all — you can pump fat-free milk full of a year’s supply of vitamins A and D, but the body can’t access them).

3. Milk fat contains glycosphingolipids, types of fats linked to immune system health and cell metabolism.

4. Contrary to popular belief, low-fat and fat-free diets do not help prevent heart disease (see my last blog post, and 16,290,610 members doing good!) Science has now revealed that the link between saturated fat (long villainized as a cause of heart disease) and heart disease is tenuous at best.

5. In fact, studies now show that eating saturated fat raises good cholesterol — the kind of cholesterol you want and need in your body.

6. The world’s healthiest foods are whole foods — foods that have not been processed. Why? The nutrients in whole foods have a natural synergy with one another — that is, they work best in and are most beneficial to the body when they are taken together (not when they are isolated in, say, beta-carotene supplements of Vitamin C capsules). So when you pull some or all of the fat out of milk, you throw its nutritional profile out of whack. Basically, you discard all of the health benefits when you discard the fat.

7. And last but definitely not least: healthy dietary fat will NOT make you fat. We’ve been taught for years that dietary fat is the root of all evil (again, see my last post). But we need healthy fat in our diet for proper body composition and long-term weight maintenance. The key factor here is knowing the difference between good fats and bad fats (for more on good and bad fats and the role healthy fat plays in weight maintenance, see Weight Loss Rules to Rethink).

A final note: When it comes to whole milk, you should also drink nonhomogenized when you can. Homogenization is “the technique of crushing milkfat globules into droplets too small to rise to the surface in a cream layer,” writes Anne Mendelson in Milk: The Surprising Story of Milk Through the Ages (Knopf, 2008).

Homogenization offered two big advantages to the dairy industry:

(1) the abolition of the “creamline,” as it’s called, made it possible to package milk in
more convenient [read: disposable] cardboard packaging instead of traditional glass bottles

and

(2) homogenizing made it possible for a commercial dairy to “calculate the amount of fat in incoming milk, completely remove it, and homogenize it back into milk in any desired proportion…In effect, ‘whole milk’ could now be whatever the industry said it was.”

To put it more bluntly: homogenized whole milk isn’t whole. The dairy-processing industry decided that whole milk should be milk with 3.25% fat (raw milk straight from the cow averages between 4 – 5.5% fat). That way, no matter what cow produced the milk, after homogenization all the milk would taste the same.

When you buy homogenized milk, you’re buying a whole food that isn’t whole — it’s had it’s fat removed, evened out, and injected back into it in an amount less than what appears in nature. So choose whole milk, skip homogenization, and enjoy!

[Experience Life magazine is an award-winning health and fitness
publication that aims to empower people to live their best, most authentic lives, and challenges the conventions of hype, gimmicks and superficiality in favor of a discerning, whole-person perspective.

Visit www.experiencelifemag.com to learn more and to sign up for the Experience Life newsletter.] "

~~

And here's a link to another article on milk by a nutritionist who argues that milk has many health benefits, helps build muscle, and may aid in weight loss:

"Does milk really do a body good?

A nutritionist investigates the claims about the beverage

Milk is good for building muscle — and may even lower your risk of both heart attack and stroke.

By Alan Aragon, M.S.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22349307/ns/health-diet_and_nutrition/t/does-milk-really-do-body-good/ "

~~

But, to make things confusing, I have also found that there is much debate over whether "whole milk" (the kind that separates and you have to shake) and Vitamin D milk (all mixed nicely together) are really that much different.

I spoke with a friend who was formerly a dairy farmer today and asked him about it. He thinks the difference is negligible. He also said that many cows only put out about 3% milk fat in their milk and that other cows put out 4% and others 5% so that 3.25% is pretty average. He produced raw milk, but agreed, it has its risks if it isn't handled right. He thinks what we get at Kroger's is fine and healthy.

~~


Whole Foods Market posts this information:  http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/guides/dairy.php
in their "Guide to Dairy:"

" Milk: From Farm to Table

Although some folks drink raw milk, most of the milk we drink these days has been homogenized and pasteurized. Want to know more about what milk goes through before it hits your table?! Keep reading.
After cows are milked, their rich, fatty milk goes through a process called homogenization, which reduces the size of the fat globules present in milk and disperses them evenly instead of having a layer of cream on top. For skim or fat-free milk, part or all of the cream layer is removed before the milk is homogenized.
Pasteurization, named after the famous French scientist, Louis Pasteur, is a process that was widely adopted early in the last century to greatly reduce the amount of potentially harmful bacteria sometimes present in milk. There are two basic methods: HTST (high temperature/short time), the most common method, heats raw milk to 161°F for at least 15 seconds. UHT (ultra-high temperature) heats raw milk to 280°F for at least 2 seconds. Pasteurization affects the flavor of milk slightly.
The purpose of pasteurization is to make milk uniformly safe for human consumption and to improve the keeping quality of milk, thereby extending its shelf life. Some vitamins and nutrients are lost when milk is pasteurized. Among these are the enzymes lipase and lactase that aid in the digestion of fats and milk sugar (lactose), and vitamins C and B6.

The Raw Facts about Raw Milk

Because of its rich flavor, high vitamin content and digestive enzymes, raw milk has a devoted following in some areas where dairy farms supply it to the surrounding community. Take note, though, that raw milk by definition is unpasteurized and can be dangerous to consume if it is contaminated with harmful bacteria, causing serious illness or even death, especially in children or individuals with compromised immune systems.

Choosing Organic Milk

Cows that produce certified organic milk are not given antibiotics or added growth hormones. In addition to having access to the outdoors, cows on certified organic farms are fed 100% organic feed, so consequently they're not exposed to persistent pesticides, herbicides or fungicides, eliminating the possibility that these chemicals may turn up as residues in the milk. (Genetically Modified Organisms, or GMOs, including the use of cloned animals, are also prohibited by the Organic Standards.)"

~~


If anyone has any views or more information, please send it in.


In the meantime, I still love my regular (not fat reduced) milk. I worry about pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. I like the safer route of pasteurization. And, so far anyway, I still like the way it is mixed together nicely.

But, like I said, I am always learning.


-bbffair