The Paleo Diet Is More Than A Fad: “The lifestyle captures a certain discontent with modernity”

www.salon.com - Friday, April 29th 2016

Today, Paleo is one of the most influential dietary trends in the country, with as many as three million followers and a disproportionate cultural influence. And while it’s easy to mock Paleo as the retrograde fantasy of Patagonia-jacketed professionals who buy fifty-dollar grass-fed steaks and imagine themselves loping across a Paleolithic savannah as they strain through a CrossFit workout, the lifestyle does capture a certain discontent with modernity.

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Roasted Sweet Pepper Cheddar Cheese Salad

2 pounds mini sweet peppers

3 cups mixed salad greens

10 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shavings

Salt and black pepper

Preheat oven to 500 F.

Arrange peppers and garlic cloves on a baking sheet and drizzle generously with extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.  Bake for 20 minutes, turning vegetables over halfway during cooking.

Remove from oven and set aside to reach room temperature( about 2 hours). Cover the bottom of a large serving platter with the mixed salad greens. Season with salt and black pepper. Arrange sweet peppers and garlic on top (refer to picture) and drizzle generously with any fruit flavoured balsamic vinaigrette of your choice. 

I used raspberry balsamic vinaigrette.

The Increasing Threat of Factory Farms

www.huffingtonpost.com - Monday September 25th, 2014

Rarely do we as Americans reflect on the fact that 10 billion land animals are slaughtered each year for our food system or that over 90 percent are raised in CAFOs, better known as factory farms. Since profit is the driving force, living, breathing creatures are treated as a commodity with the goal to produce the highest volume of meat and dairy on the smallest amount of feed, taking up the least amount of square footage. These animals are crowded in cages or pens with no vegetation, restricted fresh air and movement, and are fed a disease-inducing diet that betrays what each species has evolved to eat over thousands of years. For example, as we know, cows are herbivores and they're designed to thrive on fresh grass. In the common industrialized system though, they're forced to eat GMO corn, plastic pellets (to compensate for a lack of fiber), and pulverized animal parts, which creates acidification and inflammation in their bodies. Crammed in feedlots, often standing in thick, muddy fecal matter or breathing in "fecal dust" they're subjected to high stress from birth to slaughter. It's no wonder then that the need for antibiotics has increased!

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Coloring Easter Eggs with Natural Dyes

http://www.livescience.com - Thursday April 17th, 2014

Easter is the time of year when many of us do something special with our breakfast food. In this experiment, we are going to use science to color eggs using natural dyes. While using natural dyes is a bit more time consuming than those little tablets you buy at the store, gathering and preparing them can be an interesting alternative.

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What's Your Favorite Way to Eat Fresh Summer Tomatoes?

Heilala Vanilla

Heilala Vanilla began as an aid project to assist a village in one of the most beautiful and remote places on the globe, Vava'u Islands, Kingdom of Tonga. The family fell in love with the people and the environment, and using their horticultural background and research facilities in Tauranga, New Zealand they established a Vanilla Plantation. A partnership of people, united by their passion for the worlds most sensual and exotic flavour and aroma. I received a sample pack from them a few weeks ago and I am hooked. 

The story of a Tongan aid project that blossomed into a business that has executive chef’s and foodies who can’t get enough of Heilala Vanilla.

Meet the Boggiss and Ross family. John Ross, his daughter Jennifer and her husband Garth.  They started Heilala Vanilla in 2002 and still own and operate the business today.

Before 2002, John was a retired dairy farmer, Jennifer was an accountant and Garth worked in IT. They worked a dormant piece of land in Utungake, Tonga gifted to them by the local village. Little did they know at the time that the piece of land was destined for something great. 

John and Garth put to practice their horticultural know how to kick start the plantation by researching countries around the world that grew vanilla in the narrow band 20 degrees on each side of the equator. The plan was to help to provide the locals with employment and hope that the demand for vanilla blossomed.

It then took three years to develop and nurture the vines through the on-going art of careful training, weeding and looping, all while ensuring organic sustainable farming was being practised. 

John who was once a frequent holiday maker to Tonga is now virtually a local spending up to six months a year at the Tongan plantation.

In 2005 the first 40kg harvests of Vanilla pods were ready. Time passed, the plantation went from strength to strength harvesting a healthy two tonne in 2010. All the tender love and care has resulted in the richest grade of Vanilla in the Asia Pacific region with its distinctive aroma, shine and plumpness coveted by chefs all around the world.

An annual crop is brought back from Tonga to the company’s base in Tauranga, New Zealand. Heilala Vanilla is then packaged for each order; the Pure Extract and Vanilla Paste, Syrup and vanilla bean sugar are manufactured, and dispatched to Executive Chefs, gourmet food manufacturers and a selection of specialty retail outlets.

Several years have passed and the plantation has matured, but the research and development of more exciting 100% pure vanilla ideas continue. The practice of true sustainability with the local village also continues and has enabled resources for education and infrastructure, which the community otherwise may not have had. It is recognised by the local Agriculture Ministry as a true example of a Pacific partnership in practice something that is rather special to us.

Tasting vanilla creations are something we never get bored of. We now have a small plantation in Tauranga which is a great opportunity for chefs and media to come and visit and get a feel for the most labour intensive crop on the planet.

Did You Know?

Did you know that Ice cream was once a delectable and nutritious dessert food, made from unpasteurized milk and cream? Now it contains pasteurized milk, agar-agar for thickening, mono- and di-glycerides for emulsifying, calcium carbonate for neutralizing, sodium citrate as a buffer, hydrogen peroxide as a bacteriacide, oat gum as an antioxidant, and various other chemicals for flavoring, such as amylacetate for banana and vanilidene kectone for vanilla.

What Are We Really Eating?

Squirrel Feeding study GMO corn vs Organic corn

This was an actual real life experiment conducted on a farm in the fall of 2012 to see if animals really can tell the difference between GMO corn versus organic (non-GMO) corn. This picture is one of the five experiments that was conducted and every single time the squirrel always preferred the organic corn over the GMO corn. The squirrel always ate the organic corn up first then went to go eat on GMO corn last. They also used different varieties of both organic and GMO corn every time just to rule out the possibility that maybe the squirrel was getting to liking one variety over the other but to their complete disbelief he still always preferred to eat on the organic corn more! The results even surprised me.

Small Farms Fight Back

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 23rd, 2013

Heather Retberg stood on the steps of the Blue Hill, Maine, town hall surrounded by 200 people. "We are farmers," she told the crowd, "who are supported by our friends and our neighbors who know us and trust us, and want to ensure that they maintain access to their chosen food supply."

Blue Hill is one of a handful of small Maine towns that have been taking bold steps to protect their local food system. In 2011, they passed an ordinance exempting their local farmers and food producers from federal and state licensure requirements when these farmers sell directly to customers.

The federal government has stiffened national food-safety regulations in order to address the health risks associated with industrial-scale farming. Recent widespread recalls of contaminated ground turkey, cantaloupe, eggs, and a host of other foods illustrate the serious problems at hand. These outbreaks have been linked to industrial farms with overcrowded animals and unbalanced ecosystems. The significant distance between industrial farms and consumers creates a lack of accountability and difficulty tracing problems when they arise.

Small-scale farming, however, doesn't spark the same safety risks. Small farmers who sell their food locally will tell you that the nature of their business, based on face-to-face relationships with the people who eat their food, creates a built-in safety protection. They don't need inspectors to make sure they are following good practices. Keeping their neighbors, families, and long-time customers in good health is an even better incentive. Customers are also more able to witness the farming practices firsthand.

Still, small farmers are being pushed out of business because they are saddled with the financial and bureaucratic burdens of the same regulations as large industrial farms. Heather and her family's Quill's End Farm raise grass-fed cows, lambs, pastured pigs, chickens for eggs and meat, turkeys, dairy cows, and goats. The diverse mix is better both for the land and the economic viability of the farm.

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Gluten Free Eggplant Parmigiana

1 (one) medium, very firm, shiny eggplant 

26 ounces fresh roasted tomato sauce of your choice 

8 thick slices fresh mozzarella 

3 large room temperature eggs 

2 cups gluten free all purpose flour blend 

2 cups gluten free Panko style Bread Crumbs 

Sea salt and black pepper 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Freshly grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 450 F

Season flour with sea salt and black pepper. Cut eggplant into 8 equal size discs. Toss eggplants in flour to fully coat. In another bowl, whisk eggs. Dip eggplants in the egg mixture making sure to get it fully coated. Roll eggplant discs in bread crumbs (make sure to get a thick coating). Line eggplant discs in a single layer in a lined baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, turning eggplant over halfway through cooking. 

Cover the bottom of a serving platter with hot tomato sauce and add eggplant discs in a single layer. Add a thick slice of fresh mozzarella on top of each disc followed by extra sauce (refer to picture). Scatter freshly grated parmesan cheese over the top. Drizzle extra virgin olive oil generously over the top and grilled until cheese is bubbly.

Serve immediately.

Below is a single slice alternative to the family platter shown above

How Eating at Home Can Save Your Life

www.huffingtonpost.com - April 2nd, 2013

The slow insidious displacement of home cooked and communally shared family meals by the industrial food system has fattened our nation and weakened our family ties. In 1900, 2 percent of meals were eaten outside the home. In 2010, 50 percent were eaten away from home and one in five breakfasts is from McDonald's. Most family meals happen about three times a week, last less than 20 minutes and are spent watching television or texting while each family member eats a different microwaved "food." More meals are eaten in the minivan than the kitchen.

Research shows that children who have regular meals with their parents do better in every way, from better grades, to healthier relationships, to staying out of trouble. They are 42 percent less likely to drink, 50 percent less likely to smoke and 66 percent less like to smoke marijuana. Regular family dinners protect girls from bulimia, anorexia, and diet pills. Family dinners also reduce the incidence of childhood obesity. In a study on household routines and obesity in U.S. preschool-aged children, it was shown that kids as young as four have a lower risk of obesity if they eat regular family dinners, have enough sleep, and don't watch TV on weekdays.

We complain of not having enough time to cook, but Americans spend more time watching cooking on the Food Network than actually preparing their own meals. In his series, "Food Revolution," Jamie Oliver showed us how we have raised a generation of Americans who can't recognize a single vegetable or fruit, and don't know how to cook.

The family dinner has been hijacked by the food industry. The transformations of the American home and meal outlined above did not happen by accident. Broccoli, peaches, almonds, kidney beans and other whole foods don't need a food ingredient label or bar code, but for some reason these foods -- the foods we co-evolved with over millennia -- had to be "improved" by Food Science. As a result, the processed-food industry and industrial agriculture has changed our diet, decade by decade, not by accident but by intention.

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The Truth About Kale

www.webmd.com - March 20th, 2013

Move over Popeye and make room for the "queen of greens," kale. Gaining in popularity, kale is an amazing vegetable being recognized for its exceptional nutrient richness, health benefits, and delicious flavor.

Eating a variety of natural, unprocessed vegetables can do wonders for your health, but choosing super-nutritious kale on a regular basis may provide significant health benefits, including cancer protection and lowered cholesterol.

Kale, also known as borecole, is one of the healthiest vegetables on the planet. A leafy green, kale is available in curly, ornamental, or dinosaur varieties. It belongs to the Brassica family that includes cruciferous vegetables such as cabbage, collards, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

What makes kale so exceptional? Here is why it's a superstar vegetable -- and ways to work it into your diet.

Kale is a Nutritional Powerhouse

One cup of kale contains 36 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 15% of the daily requirement of calcium and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine), 40% of magnesium, 180% of vitamin A, 200% of vitamin C, and 1,020% of vitamin K. It is also a good source of minerals copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus.

Kale’s health benefits are primarily linked to the high concentration and excellent source of antioxidant vitamins A, C, and K -- and sulphur-containing phytonutrients.

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What's really behind the ingredient 'Natural Flavors?'

www.naturalnews.com -- March 5th, 2013

What does the term "natural flavors" really mean? Could it be that the term "natural flavors" includes genetically modified, pesticide-laden food? There are also plenty of "food products" on the shelves that read "all natural" on the label, but they still contain large amounts of synthetic, laboratory-concocted food agents, many of which cause diseases and disorders. So how much more confusing can it get to simply shop for food that doesn't kill you slowly?

Exactly who makes the rules about terms put on labels? You better hope it doesn't all fall in the hands of the FDA, the same organization responsible for allowing genetically modified food to exist and be sold completely undercover ever since its inception. And does natural flavoring include the migraine headache monster monosodium glutamate? Also, can "natural flavoring" include bugs that are ground up to turn your food into some "happy" colors that help you celebrate some birthday or big event? One final question: could "natural flavoring" mean the food contains meat, even though it's a vegetarian or vegan product?Maybe "natural flavoring" means it's not natural at all, instead, some food scientists were paid millions to create un-natural, immune system "crippling" foods, drinks, candies and medicine, just to make some extra money off of your sickness. There's a point where conspiracy theory bleeds over into the real world of unnatural food and medicine, where paranoia of cancer scams and epidemics spill over into actual statistics (United States), the ones which include every other man and every third women in the most "powerful country in the world."

MSG, Aspartame and bugs in your food are all considered "natural flavors" and "natural colors. 

Do you know what autolyzed yeast extract really is? It's MSG. Do you know what hydrolyzed soy protein (also MSG) does to your body? Have you thought about eating some beetles lately, or do you only do that when you have cupcakes, popsicles, birthday cake and cough medicine? Has your doctor discussed with you the fact that your ingestion of artificial sweeteners may be the main cause of your muscle aches, headaches, irritable bowels and even fibromyalgia? Do allopathic doctors, surgeons and oncologists in America have to take even one single class in college on nutrition? No, they don't. What about continuing education to keep up with the latest food toxins? Nope!

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Smoked Paprika Garlic Lamb

Lamb:

1 lb grass fed lamb, cut into large chunks 

2 tablespoons tomato paste 

2 tablespoons smoked paprika 

6 large garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped 

1 large lemon, juice 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Combine the first 6 ingredients. Season to taste with sea salt and black pepper.Add 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil to a large deep sided skillet on high heat. When hot, arrange lamb chunks in a single layer and cook for 2 minutes on the first side. Turn them over and cook a further 2 minutes.

Serve them hot on a bed of sauteed eggplants.

Sauteed Eggplant:

2 large eggplants, cut into large chunks 

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Add olive oil to a large pan. When hot saute eggplants, turning them over occasionally until they are done (about 3 to 4 minutes). Season to your taste with sea salt and black pepper.

Grilled Lamb Kofta

1 lb ground grass fed lamb 

3 small green chillies, remove seeds 

1 large white onion 

1 large egg 

1 tablespoon fresh minced garlic 

1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley 

1/4 fresh chopped mint 

1 tablespoon smoked paprika 

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1 teaspoon ground all spice 

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Finely chop onion and green chillies using a food processor. Pulse in egg, garlic, parsley, mint, paprika, cinnamon, and all spice to make a smooth paste. Season well with sea salt and black pepper. Pulse in lamb to combine.Divide mixture into 8 equal amounts and mold evenly onto the ends of metal skewers (refer to picture). 

Grill under high heat for 10 minutes, turning over frequently or until cooked. Serve immediately with fresh yogurt and cucumber slices.

Farfalle with Shrimp and Salmon

This recipe has been chosen for my upcoming book, "Rustic Modern Cuisine". To pre-order your copy, please click here.

Available for a limited time only!

Honey Oat Bread

This recipe has been chosen for my upcoming book, "Rustic Modern Cuisine". To pre-order your copy, please click here.

Available for a limited time only!

Cooked Food Allowed Evolution Of Primates' Big Brains

www.huffingtonpost.com - December 19th, 2012

That's because humans would have to spend more than 9 hours a day eating to get enough energy from unprocessed raw food alone to support our large brains, according to a new study that calculates the energetic costs of growing a bigger brain or body in primates. But our ancestors managed to get enough energy to grow brains that have three times as many neurons as those in apes such as gorillas, chimpanzees, and orangutans. How did they do it? They got cooking, according to a study published online today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"If you eat only raw food, there are not enough hours in the day to get enough calories to build such a large brain," says Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a neuroscientist at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil who is co-author of the report. "We can afford more neurons, thanks to cooking." 

Humans have more brain neurons than any other primate—about 86 billion, on average, compared with about 33 billion neurons in gorillas and 28 billion in chimpanzees. While these extra neurons endow us with many benefits, they come at a price—our brains consume 20% of our body's energy when resting, compared with 9% in other primates. So a long-standing riddle has been where did our ancestors get that extra energy to expand their minds as they evolved from animals with brains and bodies the size of chimpanzees?

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Beef Investigation Uncovers Fecal Contamination

www.huffingtonpost.com - December 17th, 2012

This is the origin myth of the food safety system in the United States: The beef industry was a mess, led to awful practices by the profit motives of a few major processing companies, until investigative journalist Upton Sinclair exposed many of the atrocities of the packing plants in his 1906 novel "The Jungle," which spurred the establishment of federal meat inspections, improving safety forever. Today, beef and other meat sold in the U.S. is safer than ever.  

This is the true state of affairs, according to a yearlong investigation of the beef industry concluded by the Kansas City Star this week: just four companies process more than 87 percent of the beef packed in the U.S., and take advantage of novel, money-saving techniques that significantly increase the risk of contamination by foodborne pathogens, leading to hundreds of preventable illnesses every year.

The investigation spans dozens of articles, tens of thousands of words and graphic illustrations galore, and is worth browsing around in depth on the Kansas City Star website.

Here are a few of the paper's staggering findings:

The investigators found ample evidence of serious problems with fecal contamination in beef at major plants, despite industry claims that beef was safer than ever. Fecal contamination is obviously the most disgusting kind of contamination on earth -- but it also vastly increases the risk that beef will spread E. coli bacteria, which lives in the intestines of cows.

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