Cheap and healthy foods

I stumbled upon this list today:

The 10 Cheapest, Healthiest Foods Money Can Buy

… and was happy to see some of my favorites:

• Bananas
• Beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Carrots
• Frozen spinach
• Lentils
• Oatmeal
• Peanut butter (peanut butter on apple slices is a favorite of mine)
• Peas
• Sweet potatoes (I roast these and add them to salads)

What would I add?

• Eggs
• Potatoes (jacket potatoes)
• Quinoa
• Nuts
• Hummus
• Onions – I like to roast veggies and use them in omelets
• Apples

What are your favorite cheap and healthy foods?

(I also like that many of these foods have little or no packaging)

Bee a locavore

What was once made up, is now for real. Locavore was the 2007 Oxford American Dictionary word of the year. 

What’s a locavore?

Locavore: Someone who eats locally produced food.

I’ve been a flexitarian for some time, but Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, No Impact Man, and Sleeping Naked is Green – all sparked my interest in sustainability and supporting local farms.

I found a great “How-To” to Eating Locally Guide on the Simple-Green-Frugal blog. This guide tells you how to find (and eat) locally produced food.

Did you know that most food travels 1500 miles from farm to plate? When you buy local food, transportation costs are minimal, your money stays in your community, less pesticides are used compared to large corporate farms, and the products taste great.  

Support local farms. It’s good to have food grown close to home.

Slow Food USA: Supporting Good, Clean and Fair Food

Local Harvest.org: Find farmers’ markets, family farms and CSAs in your area

Large packages, large Americans

While reading Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think by Brian Wansink, I came across an interesting idea.

Large packages can save you money and delay a store trip, but have you ever thought that large packages contribute to overeating? In Mindless Eating, Food psychologist Brian Wansink shows us how what’s around us influences how much we eat.

For example, two groups were asked to make a spaghetti dinner. The cooks in one group were given a medium box of spaghetti, a medium jar of sauce and 1 pound of ground beef. Another group of cooks were given a large box of spaghetti, a large jar of sauce, and 2 pounds of ground beef.

The results?

The cooks with larger packages prepared 23% more food.

Did they eat it all?

Yes.

Typically people eat 92% of the food that’s served. The larger packages resulted in more calories being consumed.

When a package is large we naturally pour more. The bigger the package the more we eat. We may only eat 20% more, but over time this extra consumption can increase the size of a muffin-top by say… 20% (muffin-top: The flab that spills over the top of the waistband of low rise jeans).

For snack foods, overeating is more dramatic.

In another study, a group of movie-goers were given a 1/2 pound or a 1 pound bag of M&M’s. The group that was given a 1/2 pound bag ate 71 M&M’s on average. Those with the 1 pound bag ate an average of 137 M&M’s. Almost twice as many M&M’s - 264 more calories.

Ouch! I knew there was a good reason to avoid 1 pound bags of M&M’s.

I enjoyed reading Mindless Eating - it’s fascinating and fun, rather like Malcolm Gladwell’s books. Wansink describes the many influences behind overeating: package size, labels, lighting, family and distractions like TV.

Why do you think we overeat?

Food Waste: Greens revival

It’s Food Waste Friday once again. Time to document the food I wasted this week, so that I can work to reduce my food waste.

Why do such a silly thing? Because I like silliness. And because what you focus on improves, and I’m interested in reducing my food waste. 

Food wasted this week: 

This week I wasted some leftover Indian takeout, some broccoli and some wilted chard. I’m currently trying to perk up some chard using a revival technique I found on Farm Fresh to You.

Submerge the wilted greens in cold water by placing them in a dish, filling it with water, and putting it in the refrigerator overnight. The next day the greens will be revived.

Greens revival? Sounds good to me.

To avoid broccoli waste in the future, I can blanch the broccoli and freeze the results for stir-fries. Blanching is great for vegetables like asparagus, green beans, spinach, cauliflower and broccoli. All too often I forget about using my friend Mr. Freezer when I have too much produce.

What are your strategies for reducing food waste?

What the world eats

While reading Barbara Kingsolver’s excellent book entitled Animal,Vegetable, Miracle, I learned a new term: nutrition transition. Nutrition transition refers to the concept that as wealth climbs nutrition falls. What? Is it just me, or does this seem backwards?

You can see nutrition transition in a series of images on MSN last week. The images show families from around the globe with a week’s worth of their food purchases. 

What the World Eats

© Peter Menzel www.menzelphoto.com from the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats

Which week’s worth of food would you like to eat?

As a country’s wealth climbs, foods that are naturally rich in vitamins, minerals, and micronutrients are often replaced with foods heavy in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. But why?

Being wealthy doesn’t have to mean eating foods high in sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. Wealth doesn’t have to mean switching to products found in boxes and plastic, or foods shipped from thousands of miles away. We can choose to eat local, whole foods regardless of our income level or level of busyness. 

The easiest way to do this is to shop at your local farmer’s market. See LocalHarvest.org to find local markets, farms, and Community Support Agriculture (CSA) opportunities.

OK, I’m getting off my soap box and on to my bike. It’s time to see what’s new at the farmer’s market. It’s a gorgeous sunny fall day in Seattle; time to get some vitamin D.

Sidenote: Food and family images, typical family recipes, weekly family food-intake lists, and essays are included in the book Hungry Planet: What the World Eats; photographed by Peter Menzel and written by Faith D’Alusio. I just put a copy on hold at my library, along with Peter’s earlier book: Material World: A Global Family Portrait.

NPR story on ‘Hungry Planet: What the World Eats’

Food Waste: Game on!

Kristen from The Frugal Girl is back from vacation and Food Waste Friday is back on again. Game on! (Wayne’s World voices) It’s time for me to see what I wasted this week.

Extreme Close-up

I wasted a bounty of broccoli and a red pepper that looks alright, but tasted mold-like (bleech - you know ‘that grossed out feeling, like you have slugs in your mouth’).

Why account for food waste? Americans typically waste 25% to 35% of the food they purchase, and I’m trying to be atypical (I’m a classic middle child). Documenting my weekly food waste, helps with my tendency to overbuy and forget about food at the back of my fridge.

While writing about slimy cucumbers this week I pondered the temperature of my fridge. My fridge was set to 38 degrees, which most web sites say is safe and appropriate. However, most sites suggest you can go as high as 40 or 41.

Setting your refrigerator between 37°F and 40°F will keep your food stored at a safe temperature without wasting energy. The optimal temperature for your freezer is 0-5°F.

So I changed my fridge temperature to 41. My freezer which was set to -4°, is now set to 2°F.

These small changes may not deter food waste, but should have an impact on my energy consumption.

Have a food waste reduction (FWR) tip? Leave your wisdom in a comment.

Slimy cucumbers

I recently saved a slimy cucumber from a trip to the compost pile. I bravely peeled away the slime, ate the parts that weren’t soft and lived to tell the tale.

Since this fateful day I’ve discovered that slimy cucumbers are topical. My blogging software tells me what people search on to find my site. Here are a few slimy cucumbers searches:

ok to eat slimy cucumbers
is a slimy cucumber still good?
slimy cucumbers ok to eat?
cucumbers that are slimy good
can i use cucumbers if they are slimy

So let me set the record straight. Motivated by my efforts to not waste food, I found slimy cucumbers are OK to eat. Just peel away the slime and eat away.

How to store cucumbers

Most sites I stumbled upon suggested storing cucumbers unwashed in a plastic bag. Cukes don’t enjoy intense cold, so most sites suggested tucking them into a fridge drawer. Moisture causes cukes to get slimy, so one site suggested pricking the plastic bag 5 or 6 times and lining the drawer with a towel. Most fresh veggies are high maintenance – they need a little air, but also need to be covered.

One idea I want to try – ditch the plastic produce bag and store cucumbers in a cotten produce bag. This may stop the slime once and for all. Or maybe this style of reusable produce bags would be better (posted on Sorta Crunchy):

Love for Earth bags on Etsy.com

StillTasty.com sayz cucumbers should keep for a week in the fridge. The slimy cucumber I ate probably sat for two weeks in my fridge. Oops.

How about you? Do you eat food on the edge or play it safe? How do you store your cukes?

Cooking; I like to watch tv

The average American spends 27 minutes a day on food preparation and another 4 minutes cleaning up. How anyone can clean up in four minutes is a complete mystery to me. The twenty seven minutes of cooking is the focus of NYT article ‘Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch‘ by Michael Pollan. (sorry you have to register to see the NYT article, but it’s free to register)

Americans today spend less than half the time we spent cooking back in 1963, when Julia Child’s cooking show began. Less than half. And while cooking was become less popular, cooking shows are curiously more popular than ever. Many Americans spend an hour watching “Iron Chef,” a show where restaurant chefs compete and cook amazing meals, but then spend just 27 minutes cooking for themselves.

Like Chance the Gardener in the movie Being There, Americans seem to be saying “I like to watch TV.” Cooking has become a spectator sport. But why?

Could time be the culprit? Today we spend longer hours at work.

Since 1967, we’ve added 167 hours — the equivalent of a month’s full-time labor — to the total amount of time we spend at work each year, and in households where both parents work, the figure is more like 400 hours.

Could money be the issue? As income levels rise, the amount of money spent on take out and restaurant food climbs. 

And finally, processed and packaged foods have become ubiquitous. Food scientists have gotten really good at simulating real food and marketing folks are masterful at selling products. Why cook when you can buy something ready to eat?

However, no matter how many hours we work, how much money we make, or what new processed foods come to market, we can still make the choice to cook for ourselves.

I don’t love to cook, but I cook because home cooked food…

• Tastes better
• Costs less
• Is healthier
• Has less environmental impact (less packaging)

Do you like to cook, like to watch, or both?

The popularity of Julie & Julia has catapulted Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking, Volume One onto the New York Times bestsellers list. Maybe cooking, or at least the idea of cooking is making a comeback?

Food waste: Another week, another pile

It’s Food Waste Friday once again. Started by The Frugal Girl (Kristen) in March of 2008, Food Waste Friday takes aim at reducing food waste.

Why do such a silly thing? Motivations may vary, but my primary motivation is creating less trash. And, I’ve also saved money. Ka-ching! I’m buying less food, eating leftovers, and digging into my pantry foods before they expire. Imagine that.

Here’s what I have this week: 

Homemade tomato sauce- Too much: This last bit went to waste. 
Chicken bits- Always too much: Not enough carnivores in the house.  
Yellow pepper- Too risky: Touched the old chicken bits.
Beets-  Forgotten: I baked beets in advance for salads and then forgot about them. 

Not bad. No fruit waste this week. Yay!

Want to reduce your food waste? Just follow this simple rule: If you buy it, eat it.

That is, if the it is food. Otherwise, as Gilda Radner’s character would say… never mind.

Have a fantastic Labor Day.

Video clip of Emily Litella (Gilda Radner) – Violins on TV

Food waste: Not my best

It’s Friday. Time for me to reflect on my food waste this week.

This week is definitely not one of my better weeks. It’s unusual for me to waste dairy or even fake dairy.

Soy milk- Oops: Forgot about this 1/4 carton.
Yogurt- Too much: Abandoned in the fridge past its expiration date.
Oranges- Not so good: I got these a while back on sale and they weren’t very good. Should have fed them to my juicer.
Carrots- Too much: My kids like baby carrots, but not the big ones.
Cantaloupe– Low demand: CSA box item. I’m the only cantaloupe eater in the house and I’m not a huge fan. If I cut up a cantaloupe and store it ready to eat, then I’m less likely to waste it.

Why so much concern about food waste? Food biodegrades right? Yes, but there’s an environmental impact to wasting food.

When food rots it releases methane, which is 20 times more damaging to the environment than carbon dioxide (CO2). Our landfills account for 34% of methane emissions in the US. The other equally large methane source is enteric fermentation (mammal gas).

There are many eye-opening statistics on the cost of wasting food. This one is from LoveFoodHateWaste.com:

If we all stop wasting food that could have been eaten, the CO2 impact would be the equivalent of taking 1 in 5 cars off the road.

Wow.

My food waste created a fair amount of methane gas this week, but there’s the possiblity of doing better next week.

How do you reduce your food waste? Share your wisdom/experience in a Comment.