Nutrition and Cooking Tips

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pops6927

Gone but not forgotten. RIP
Original poster
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Jul 23, 2008
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Bits, Pieces, tips, tricks, suggestions, to-do's, things to help eating healthier OBAAT (One Bite At A Time)!  Please Add Your Own!
 
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Consider poaching as a healthy alternative to frying. Cooking food in liquids such as broth, vinegar or juice making sure that the food retains its shape while cooking.  -Mayo Clinic
 
http://www.myrecipes.com/healthy-di...ealthy+Diet)&utm_content=Google+International

Healthy Diet  > Superfoods  > Superfood: Barley
[h1]Superfood: Barley[/h1][h2] [/h2]
Improve your health by eating more barley. You can use this hearty whole grain in a variety of recipes from salads and soups to dessert.

Barley and Black Bean Salad:

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/barley-black-bean-salad-10000001732697/

Tried this recipe and it was good!  Black beans have a naturally sweet flavor, surprisingly!
 
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Cook meat in advance. Make soups, stews and other dishes in which you boil the meat in liquid a day or two in advance and then refrigerate it. As the dish chills, the fat hardens on the top and you can easily remove the fat.
Mayo Clinic
 
Most legumes also contain protease inhibitors, compounds thought to suppress cancer cells and slow tumor growth. 
Food Network
ir
 
Many fruits and vegetables are high in water, which provides volume but not calories. Grapefruit, for example, is about 90 percent water and has just 39 calories in a half-fruit serving. Carrots are about 88 percent water and have only 52 calories in 1 cup.
Mayo Clinic
ir
 
Protein is an important part of every diet and is found in many different foods. Lean protein, the best kind, can be found in fish, skinless chicken and turkey, pork tenderloin and certain cuts of beef, like the top round. 
Food Network
ir
 
Nuts are loaded with magnesium, a mineral shown to slash the risk of diabetes and perhaps even boost the sensitivity of cells to insulin.
Reader's Digest
ir
 
Increase the ratio of fruits and vegetables in your meals. For example, add blueberries to your cereal in the morning. Or top your pasta with sauteed vegetables and tomato sauce. Decrease the meat portion on your plate and increase the serving size of vegetables.
Mayo Clinic
ir


 (Don't decrease it toooo much, lol!)
 

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(Reuters) - Nine out of 10 American adults consume too much salt and the leading culprit is not potato chips or popcorn but slices of bread and dinner rolls, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday.

Forty-four percent of salt consumed can be linked to 10 types of foods, CDC said. Bread and rolls lead the list followed by cold cuts and cured meat, pizza, poultry, soups, sandwiches, cheese, pasta dishes, meat dishes and snacks such as pretzels and potato chips.

Bread may not have much salt in a single serving, but when eaten several times a day can raise daily salt intake. A single slice of white bread could contain as many as 230 milligrams of salt, according to the CDC.

High salt intake can raise blood pressure, which can lead to heart disease and stroke, the CDC said.

The average American consumes 3,266 milligrams of salt daily, not counting salt added at the table, which is far above the recommended 2,300 milligrams, the CDC said.

For six out of 10 Americans, including those who are over age 51 or have high blood pressure or diabetes, 1,500 milligrams is the recommended daily salt limit.

Even foods that seem healthy such as cottage cheese may be high in salt, the agency reported. Even raw chicken and pork is often injected with salt.

The CDC recommended eating more fruits and vegetables and carefully reading the labels on food products to find those with the lowest salt content.

"Heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in the United States and are largely dependent on the high rate of high blood pressure," CDC Director Dr. Thomas R. Frieden told reporters in a telephone news conference Tuesday.

One in three American adults has high blood pressure, he added.

"One of the things that is driving blood pressure up is that most adults in this country eat or drink about twice the amount of sodium as is recommended," Frieden said. "Most of that extra sodium comes from common grocery store and restaurant items and a very small proportion from the salt shaker at the table."

Nearly two-thirds of the salt consumed by Americans is found in store products, 24.8 percent from restaurants and the remainder from other sources such as vending machines and the home salt shaker, the study found.

Salt per calorie of food consumed was much higher at restaurants than from store-bought food, the CDC said.

Frieden recommended that food producers and restaurants voluntarily reduce the amount of salt in their food. A 25-percent drop in the salt content of the top 10 sodium sources would save 28,000 lives a year, he added. It would also give consumers more choice, he said.

"People can choose how much food to add at the table," he said. "They can't take it out once it's there."

The Grocery Manufacturer's Association said that the food industry has been trying to reduce the salt content of thousands of products while keeping it tasty for consumers.

"While progress is being made, reducing sodium in products without affecting the taste or consumer acceptance of products is no easy task," the industry group said in a statement emailed to Reuters.

The group said that challenges of reducing salt include finding substitutes for it that maintain the taste, and making sure that food safety standards are met because salt is a major preservative in many foods.

(Editing by Greg McCune)
 
Protein is crucial for tissue repair, building and preserving muscle, and making important enzymes and hormones. 
Food Network
ir


And, meat is protein!
 
Nuts help keep blood sugar steady because they're rich in monounsaturated fat. Fat slows the digestion process, so glucose enters the bloodstream more gradually. 
Reader's Digest
ir
 
The folate found in spinach, endive, and romaine can help your brain age gracefully; diets high in the B vitamin protected 50- to 85-year-old subjects against cognitive declines, in a study at Tufts University.
AARP 'Miracle Diet'
ir
 
Almonds and pistachios have impressive cholesterol-lowering powers: in separate studies at the University of Toronto and Penn State University, eating two handfuls a day dropped subjects evil LDL by 9.4 and 11.6 percent, respectively.
AARP 'Miracle Diet'
ir
 
Wow Pops, you've been busy.

I just noted your barley post above,  also don't forget spelt and farro (whole grain not flour).
 
If you've succumbed to a craving and bought a box of cookies or some other trigger food and start to feel bad while eating it, destroy it. "Don't just throw it away; run water over it, ruin it. You'll feel a sense of accomplishment that you've licked your binge," says Caroline Apovian
Reader's Digest
ir
 
Wow Pops, you've been busy.

I just noted your barley post above,  also don't forget spelt and farro (whole grain not flour).


Spelt:
[h2]Nutrition[/h2]
220px-2009-06-20_Silvolde_02_dinkel.jpg


Spelt, without and with husks

Spelt contains about 57.9 percent carbohydrates  (excluding 9.2 percent fibre), 17.0 percent protein  and 3.0 percent fat, as well asdietary minerals  and vitamins.[sup][7][/sup]  As it contains a moderate amount of gluten, it is suitable for some baking. Because spelt contains gluten, it is not suitable for people with coeliac disease.[sup][8][/sup]  Nonetheless, many other people with allergies  or intolerances to common wheat  can tolerate spelt.[sup][9][/sup][sup][10][/sup][sup][11][/sup]
Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)
Energy1,415 kJ (338 kcal)
Carbohydrates70.19 g
Starch53.92 g
Dietary fibre10.7 g
Fat2.43 g
polyunsaturated1.258 g
Protein14.57 g
Water11.02 g
Thiamine (vit. B[sub]1[/sub])0.364 mg (32%)
Riboflavin (vit. B[sub]2[/sub])0.113 mg (9%)
Niacin (vit. B[sub]3[/sub])6.843 mg (46%)
Vitamin B[sub]6[/sub]0.230 mg (18%)
Folate  (vit. B[sub]9[/sub])45 μg (11%)
Vitamin E0.79 mg (5%)
Iron4.44 mg (34%)
Magnesium136 mg (38%)
Phosphorus401 mg (57%)
Zinc3.28 mg (35%)
Percentages are relative to US recommendations  for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database
Spelt, uncooked
[h2][edit]Products[/h2]
Spelt flour is becoming more easily available, being sold in British  supermarkets since 2007.[sup][12][/sup]  Spelt is also sold in the form of a coarse pale bread, similar in colour and in texture to light rye breads but with a slightly sweet and nutty flavour. Biscuits and crackers are also produced, but are more likely to be found in a specialty bakery or health food store than in a regular grocer's shop.

Spelt pasta  is also available in health food stores and specialty shops.

Dutch jenever  makers distill a special kind of gin made with spelt as a curiosity gin marketed for connoisseurs.[sup][citation needed][/sup]Beer  brewed from spelt is sometimes seen in Bavaria[sup][13][/sup]  and spelt is distilled to make vodka in Poland[sup][14][/sup]  and elsewhere.[sup][15][/sup][sup][16][/sup]

Spelt matzo  is baked in Israel  for Passover  and is available in some American  grocery stores.

Flour from sprouted spelt grains is increasingly available throughout North America in grocery and health food stores.

In Germany, the unripe spelt grains are dried  and eaten as Grünkern  ('green grain').

Spelt is also sold as rolled flakes. Available in the bulk section of Supermarkets or Health Food Stores Stores (USA), it can be substituted for or combined with other grain flakes in oatmeal, granola, cookies, etc.
[h2][edit][/h2]
Farro:
[h1]Farro[/h1]
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Triticum dicoccum
250px-Usdaemmer1.jpg
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Plantae
Division:Magnoliophyta
Class:Liliopsida
Order:Poales
Family:Poaceae
Subfamily:Pooideae
Tribe:Triticeae
Genus:Triticum
Species:T. dicoccum
Binomial name
Triticum dicoccum
L.

Farro  is a food product consisting of the grains  of certain wheat  species in whole form. The exact definition is debated. It is sold dried and is prepared by cooking in water until soft, but still crunchy (many recommend first soaking over night). It may be eaten plain, though it is often used as an ingredient in dishes such as salads  and soups. It is sometimes ground into flour  and used to make pasta  or bread.
[h2][edit]Definition[/h2]
There is much confusion or disagreement about exactly what farro is. Emmerspelt, and einkorn  are called farro  in Italy, sometimes (but not always) distinguished as farro medio,  farro grande,  and farro piccolo,  respectively.[sup][1][/sup]  Regional differences in what is grown locally and eaten as farro, as well as similarities between the three grains, may explain the confusion. Barley  and farro may be used interchangeably because of their similar characteristics. Spelt is much more commonly grown in Germany  andSwitzerland  and, though called dinkel there, is eaten and used in much the same way, and might therefore be considered farro.Common wheat  may also be prepared and eaten much like farro, in which form it is often referred to as wheatberries.
[h2][edit]Sizes[/h2]
Sometimes the three are distinguished by the terms farro piccolofarro medio,  and farro grande,  which according to some sources are specifically einkorn (Triticum monococcum), emmer (Triticum dicoccum), and spelt (Triticum spelta), respectively.[sup][1][/sup]While these names reflect the general size difference between these three grains, there are landraces  of each that are smaller or larger than the typical size and cross into the size range of the others. Emmer is by far the most common variety grown in Italy, in certain mountain regions of Tuscany  and Abruzzo.
[h2][edit]References[/h2]
  1. [sup]a[/sup]  [sup]b[/sup]  Farro in Italy  PDF

Thank you!  Great to know!!!
 
Legumes lower artery-clogging LDL (bad) cholesterol, and they dont spur the blood sugar spikes that can take a toll on your heart over time and lead to diabetes.
AARP 'Miracle Diet'
ir
 
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