Monthly Archive for: ‘July, 2013’

It’s not food if it arrived
through the window of your car!

Source: Michael Pollen, Food Rules

My current “to read” list seems to be getting longer and longer, with 2 books (half read) currently residing on my shelf: Cooked & VB6  http://merig.com/new-additions-to-my-must-read-pile/. Though I don’t have any extra hours in the day, I plan to add yet another book to my food related shelf.  Foodist by Darya Rose. A foodist is a relatively new to me term but I love her philosophy about food which she sums up quite eloquently. “A foodist knows that food is the answer to, not the cause of our health and weight issues. Eating is essential to our survival and our innate drive to do it is too strong to override for long. The solution lies in constructing habits that work with us, not against us, balancing our needs for both health and happiness through food.”  Her latest blog post “The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Foodists” are a must read for everyone.  In brief, here is a summary of the list:

Never diet

Regular grocery shopping

Cook at home

10,000 steps

Chew throughly

Value-based decisions

Monitor your progress

Check out the complete post….I have this one imprinted in my brain already.

http://summertomato.com/the-7-habits-of-highly-effective-foodists/

If it came from a plant, eat it;
if it was made in a plant, don’t!

Source: Michael Pollen, Food Rules

Have you been to the Farmer’s Market lately? If not, I encourage you to wake up early Saturday morning and get downtown (or wherever your bounty market is housed). Right now the Farmer’s Market is bursting with fresh, local produce which equals fresh, flavorful meals (and healthy to boot). My kitchen is overflowing with summer squash, cucumbers & fresh tomatoes. My mantra this summer is simplicity and most nights we cut up the squash, roast it on the grill and flavor with salt & pepper (or even a little olive oil); it doesn’t take much. My husband whips up a quick tomato sauce by simply roasting the fresh tomatoes on the grill, adding some fresh herbs and pureeing with our immersion blender. Love fruit? No preparation needed other than rinsing off those fresh berries that are at the height of their flavor.

It’s time to get out of that cold, air-conditioned grocery store and head to the market! Remember, summer won’t last long! Here is one of our favorite recipes for summer squash.

Summer Squash Soup

(Original recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison, modified)

1 tbsp olive oil

1 1/4 pounds zucchini, crookneck, or pattypan squash-roasted or grilled

1/2 cup chopped parsley (I often use thyme or mix the herbs)

6 cups vegetable stock OR water

salt & freshly milled pepper

lemon juice (for flavor garnish)

Heat the oil in a soup pot and add the parsley and/or thyme (must be fresh). Stir to
coat with the oil, then add 1/2 cup stock, stir to heat.
Add the vegetables, stir to mix. Cool vegetables slightly and then add to a blender (I use the Vita-mix), half the stock and puree. Keep adding stock till the soup is the preferred consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.  

*Alternatively, I often skip the first step and simply throw the grilled vegetables, fresh herbs and stock right into the Vita-mix. Since this blender is so powerful, this does the trick.

Serves 6

1/2c - olive oil
1/4c - fresh lemon juice
2T - fresh chopped basil leaves
2t - fresh garlic
1t - black pepper

8 - 4oz boneless chicken breasts
1pt - baby heirloom tomatoes, halved
1T - fresh chopped basil leaves
        sea salt

1. Make marinade-process first 5
   ingredients in blender, divide in half
2. Marinate chicken in 1/2 of
   marinade for 2-4 hours
3. Mix second half marinade with
   tomatoes, 1T basil & 1t sea salt
4. Salt chicken, grill to 170 degrees, thinly slice
5. Top sliced chicken with salsa 

•  Can you picture Twinkie or Pringles ingredients in their raw state or growing?
•  …or ingredients such as beef fat, cellulose gum, dextrose, wheat starch, MSG? Likely not.
•  This rule will keep all sorts of chemicals & “food like substances” out of your diet

Source: Michael Pollen, Food Rules