Category Archives: nutrition

health, nutrition, politics

Studies show water may not have health benefits

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In an attempt to standardize language to describe food and food processing and to protect the consumer from potentially false claims, some bureaucracies don’t know when to call in their logic team. Here’s the latest example:

EU bans claim that water can prevent dehydration.

Yes, you read that right. Since it has not been proven that water actually prevents dehydration, it would be misleading to label the bottle with that claim so such language is now banned in the EU. Really.

Yes, it took them three years of study to negate a previously undisputed fact. That implies that it wasn’t a fact. Am I anti-science if I still believe water is good for me?

As noted, history will not be kind to these folks.

challenge, locavore, nutrition, recipes

Bone broth Stracciatella

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Bone broth is making a come-back. It used to be quite ordinary but with inexpensive and convenient broths and stocks available in cans and boxes, few take the time to make this delicious, nutritious food. And that’s a shame because you could be getting chondroitin, glucosamine, and collagen for free! The boxed and canned broths aren’t made from bones, so they don’t have the same nutrient profile. It turns out that bone broth also helps you lose cellulite!

I first started hearing about bone broth this past winter and went for it with a passion.  As soon as my bone collection (in the freezer) reaches critical mass, I’m making bone broth.

To raise awareness and encourage people to consume this helthful yet forgotten food, CheeseSlave is hosting a Bone Broth Challenge for the month of July. Earn points, get healthy, win prizes! (How lucky am I that I just made a big pot of it this week!)

So, I hereby kick off Bone Broth Month with this dish: Stracciatella, an Italian egg drop soup.

There are a number of recipes out there; I used Giada‘s, mostly (without the basil).

Sources:

Great idea, CheeseSlave!

Stracciatella

CSA, farms, locavore, nutrition

Sport Hill Farm 2011 CSA – Week 4

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We’re already in week four of the CSA and summer’s only just begun. This week’s bounty from my Sport Hill Farm CSA.

  • 1 bag of beet greens
  • 1 head of lettuce
  • 1 bunch of garlic scapes
  • 1 bunch of Swiss chard
  • 1 summer squash (it’s really summer now!)
  • 1 bag of broccoli florets

Patti’s most excited about the summer squash. It’s a new color!

I’m excited about the beet greens, which are best when they’re young, as these are. A light steaming or sauté should do it. Besides being delicious, the greens are high in vitamins A, C, and K, and beta carotene. (No health claims implied.)

I’m also happy about the scapes. I’ve been using them in place of garlic in a lot of recipes while waiting for the harvest. I’m hoping to make some of them into a nice pesto to put by for the dark days when the garlic gives out.

I wonder what I’ll make this week. Suggestions and requests welcome.

nutrition, politics

USDA on a GMO deregulation spree

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In rapid succession, the USDA deregulated GMO alfalfa, then a “partial” deregulation of GMO sugar beets, and now it has deregulated a GMO corn, this one specifically engineered to make ethanol. God help us if this corn finds its way into the food supply.

In other news, the USDA is cracking down on faux organic food from China. Doesn’t the USDA get that with all this GMO deregulation, there won’t be organic USA food anymore?

Clearly, the disconnect that exists between the USDA and the FDA is now enjoyed within the USDA itself.