September 2008

Goiaba

September 30, 2008

I thought I’d revisit my promise to introduce more of the Brazilian produce I’ve come to enjoy. Today I thought I’d talk about goiaba (pronounce goy-aba), known in English as guava.

Guava is a popular ingredient in Brazil. Almost every menu will have a dessert option that involves guava. In this case it is usually the goiabada which is like a thick jam. Of course, it is full of sugar, but very tasty.

I have had the opportunity to buy fresh guava and I do so every few weeks. Guava is a fruit that is pink on the inside and is covered by a thin green skin which is edible. The texture is probably closest to a kiwi, or somewhere between a peach and an apple. The little seeds inside, also edible, are like Grapenuts cereal.

While the fruit has a distinct musty smell it is hard to describe the flavor except for unique. It isn’t overly sweet or sour. Many people slice guava into quarters and eat each section as a fresh fruit.

To be honest, I don’t really like guava fresh like this. There is something about the flavor of the skin and those crunchy nuts that I can’t get used to eating.

I have found one way I like it though – juiced so I can drink it. Putting the guava through the juicer produces a really thick pulp. I add a little water to it and maybe a ¼ teaspoon of sugar.

Earlier this year when I was looking around the USDA web-site I found some interesting information. Yes, the nutrition dork that I am and considering the fact that I worked for a USDA grant funded program for a while, I do search around there for the latest research.

What I found out was that when it comes to antioxidants – Blueberries #1 and Guava #2.

US and Thai researches determined that guava packs an amazing amount of antioxidants. What is even more exciting is that farmers in south Florida are experimenting with the crop. We’ll still have the pesky transport issue to deal with, but this might mean more availability of guava in the U.S. You can read more about the research here.

One thing I found to be funny in the article is this line, “…to meet rising consumer demand for unusual fruits.”

I think “unusual fruit” is a bit of a relative term. Not sure why it caught my attention. Probably the whole living abroad thing has made me more sensitive to these little things.

If you asked someone who has it readily available to them, I doubt they would call it unusual. Maybe exotic, delicious or healthy would be a better term. Looks to me like they were being a little non-PC with their produce talk!

P.S. Being south of the Equator it took me a little longer, but I got my foodbuzz packet last night. This stuff is great!!

Fall Flavors and Risotto

September 29, 2008

The first time I made risotto I was definitely intimidated. I was committed to putting in the time, but I thought it was going to take me forever to slowly stir in the warm chicken stock to create that creamy consistency the dish is known for.

To my surprise it wasn’t any more time consuming than most of my other cooking. I return to making risotto time and time again. I love how it gives you the satisfaction of a heavy, cream bases sauce when really it can be made to be very low in saturated fat.

I’ve mentioned how much I love butternut squash this time of year. Last week I pulled out one of my favorite risotto recipes. It turned out great once again so I thought I would share it.

I originally found this recipe for Butternut Squash, Olive and Parmesan Risotto submitted by Lindsay Olives. I made some adjustments to it, first removing the olives. I like olives, but I tried the recipe as is once and I didn’t like the flavor they added to the dish.

This is a good weekend meal. I often roast the squash earlier in the day so that it is completely cooled and easy to handle by the time I start the risotto. You can also roast it in the microwave to speed things up. I have done this before and it really doesn’t take away too much flavor.

Butternut Squash and Parmesan Risotto

1 small butternut squash, split in half and seeded
2 T butter or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup of Arborio rice
1 quart of chicken stock, warmed
½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

Pierce the flesh of the squash with a knife and place cut side up on a baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees F until very tender, about 1 hour. To microwave, place cut side up in a microwave safe dish. Cover with a damp paper towel and cook until tender.

Let the squash cool. Scoop the flesh out and break into smaller pieces. Set aside.

In a large sauce pan or soup pot, heat butter or olive oil. Add the onion and garlic cooking for 3 minutes. Add the rice and stir to coat with the oil or butter. Begin adding the chicken stock about a ½ cup at a time. Stir constantly and add the next addition of stock after the previous has been complete absorbed.

Continue this process until all the stock is used which takes about 25 to 30 minutes. At this point the rice should be cooked and tender. Stir in the squash breaking the pieces up as you incorporate it into the rice. Stir in the cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 4 servings.

Both Ends of the Spectrum

September 26, 2008

It seems that at any given time what one part of the population is fighting for, another part is fighting against.

Take food labels and nutritional information for example. For a long time those of us who are concerned about the health of our nation and our families have supported the fact that this information be made public so we can all make informed decisions. This is especially true for those not-so-healthy places that like to hide their nutrition info a bit.

Well this article originally posted in the Harvard Crimson tells the other side of the story.

By the way, how cool would it to be to write for a college newspaper and have CNN pick it up. Well, then again, she goes to Harvard so maybe it isn’t such a big deal. She’s probably already used to a lot of success and exposure!

The article talks about how parents have requested that nutrition information for dining hall foods be taken down from the hallways and dining rooms.

The reason? It contributes to the struggle of those with eating disorders.

I like to know what is in my food, but I have thought about this issue a lot. First, I think it is great that the school made the effort to supply the info. However, now I can definitely see how this is a concern for people who struggle with eating disorders especially in an atmosphere where the rates of such conditions are so high.

Those disorders aside, sometimes I think they can even have an influence on those of us who try to be healthy in general. It is so easy to become obsessed with food whether it is in a manner where you eat a lot of unhealthy stuff or if you are to the point where you are overly concerned with the nutritional benefit.

I consider thinking about food all the time to be a bit unhealthy. Enjoy food, yes, but constantly thinking about its benefit, burning the calories off, what will hurt and won’t hurt me can be considered a somewhat unhealthy relationship.

Well, and let’s be honest. Sometimes you just want to indulge a bit. In those cases, when it comes to nutrition information, I don’t wanna know!

So how do you feel about posting nutrition information and its influence on our relationships with food?

So How Do You See It?

September 25, 2008

I am recognizing that it takes a long time to change my desire for some specific fake foods. Some of these convenience foods have been so far ingrained in my head as healthy or a worthy splurge that I find it hard to break free of those thoughts.

So far I think I am pretty happy with the changes I have made in reducing my fake food intake. I am much less reliant on packaged foods. Overall, I am getting less additives and less sodium from these sources.

I think I am weakest on the weekends. Even though my weeks are busy I still enjoy doing all my cooking then. This was the case when I worked outside the home too. I am the type of person that likes to do absolutely nothing on the weekends. (No I don’t have kids yet.) Sometimes I will bake, but this hasn’t happened too often lately.

These are the times when it is easy to run to the market and pick up some chips or crackers, a frozen pizza or some packaged cookies.

While I am a long time advocate of everything in moderation, I am still trying to break that feeling of occasionally needing these things to fulfill a craving.

For me, it is the need to train my brain to want real food, even if that is something like a big brownie or cheesy lasagna.

I still buy some packaged foods, but I am always questioning the fact of whether I should really have it. I mean, it is not food. It may have started as a food, but has been manufactured in such a way that nutritionally it barely resembles the initial product.

Don’t get me wrong, I still believe in everything in moderation, but I think it should all be actual food. I decided to think about and list those fake foods I still struggle with the most.

I’d also like to know how you see it.

What are some of the foods you want to reduce, but are still very much attracted too?
Do you have any healthier varieties of the foods I’ve mentioned and why are they healthier? Maybe you’ll give me some ideas.

Crackers
Doritos – especially while watching sports!
Cereal – I choose the healthiest possible, but I still wonder about its real food qualities
Packaged Granola and Granola bars – mostly real ingredients, but often lots of sugar and some preservatives

Photo by jeltovski, www.morguefile.com

A Life Less Sweet Guest Post

September 25, 2008

Good morning!
I did a guest post for Cathy at A Life Less Sweet on HFCS from an ex-pat perspective. If you’d like to check it out, head over there today and take a look. Feel free to leave any comments and I will answer you there.

Baby Cranberries

September 22, 2008

Well, okay, they aren’t actually baby cranberries, but are part of the cranberry family.

I love cranberries and when I was introduced to the lingonberry I fell in love with it too. It is grown in areas such as Denmark, Sweden and Finland which does explain why I first discovered the fruit at IKEA.

In my research I did find that they are grown in some parts of Alaska and in the US are often referred to as the cowberry. They really do look like mini cranberries.

Lingonberries are often made into preserves or sweet sauces. To be honest, this is the only way I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy them. Lingonberry preserves have that tart flavor that you associate with a cranberry yet there is a unique taste that is difficult to explain. I often use it as a sandwich spread or on top of breakfast foods like French toast.

I don’t see it around much so when I make it to an IKEA I always get a jar of their preserves. Aside from the sugar there aren’t an excessive amount of additives in each jar.

What sparked my interest in writing about lingonberries today is that while doing some research for a paper on omega-3 fatty acids I saw them listed as a source.

It turns out that the seeds of these little gems contain the omega-3s. It is often listed right up there with flaxseed.

I find this very exciting! I’m always looking for additional sources besides my salmon. Now wait! There’s a good idea. Grilled salmon with lingonberry sauce. Yum!

Top photo courtesy of WikimediaCommons

Links to a Healthy Weekend

September 20, 2008

Most weeks tend to go fast for me, but this one went incredibly fast for some reason. I’m still trying focus on Friday and it is already Saturday. Here is a little of what I enjoyed reading this week.

There is all kinds of talk about fall food around web – apples, pumpkins, sweet taters. Given my recent interest in the latter, these Turkish Sweet Potato & Apricot Rolls from Eating Out Loud look incredible. A new way to enjoy what is often just a holiday favorite.

I found this post about coconut oil on the Nourishing Gourmet and I was amazed, to say the least. I’ve always been leery of the amount of saturated fat in coconut products, even though I love them. There is some really thought provoking information provided regarding its health benefits and I’m planning to follow up with some research of my own this weekend.

Back in Skinny Jeans provided some info on what worked for her when it came to breaking free of the diet soda death grip.

Photo of Parque Barigui, Curitiba-PR, Brasil

Butter for Baked Goods

September 19, 2008

In the past I used margarine for all my baking. It was supposed to be better for you and it was cheaper. What could be better?

Of course, there was the healthy peer-pressure (or guilt). Butter? You are using butter? Oh no!

Then down the pipe came the trans fat awareness efforts. Saving a few extra bucks wasn’t worth all this newly recognized deadly fat.

There’s a lot of debate about the butter vs. margarine thing especially since a Harvard School of Public Health study linked hydrogenated-fatty acid (margarine) use to heart attacks in women a few years ago. Most likely due to the trans fats which have been found to raise LDL cholesterol and lower HDL. A very bad senerio.

I found this from a Harvard HEALTHBEAT pub in 05:

The truth is, there never was any good evidence that using margarine instead of
butter cut the chances of having a heart attack or developing heart disease.
Making the switch was a well-intentioned guess, given that margarine had
less saturated fat than butter, but it overlooked the dangers of trans fats.

Wow, I wonder how many other things that are marketed as good for us are guesses. Sugar replacers, HFCS maybe.

In recent years, I’ve gotten back to butter when it comes to baking. One reason is because many original recipes I have from the past call for butter. I think it yields a better product, more like it is supposed to be. It tastes better to me and if you are going to splurge you should truly enjoy your food.

Margarine is really a fake food because of all the processing it has gone through. Sometimes it is tempting to pick it up to save a buck. Yes, I am very budget conscious, but I always change my mind.

Now when it comes to fat, there is no question that olive oil and other veggie oils are superior for health. When it comes to baking though, over the past few years I’ve gone back to butter.

Like anything else with saturated fat, overdoing it is not a good thing. But if you are making your own baked goods and know exactly what goes into them, to me, it is fine in moderation if you are a healthy person and eat animal products.

Photo by ronnieb, www.morguefile.com

A Passion for Fruit

September 17, 2008

When I was starting out with my food blog I had a mission to try and keep it separate from my Brazil blog.

As most of you know, I am living abroad and while I spend some time in the US, more of my time at the current moment is spent here in Brazil.

I started thinking about it though and I have exposure to some pretty cool ingredients here, especially fruits. I thought maybe others might like to see a little bit of what I have around.

Plus, I don’t know where all my readers are from so maybe you have access to some of these things too.

So, every now and then I might mention an ingredient or two that I have come to love here in Brazil. I’ll let you know what I do with it too.

What better place to start than with my favorite fruit, Passion Fruit, or Maracujà.
I love anything and everything made with this tart exotic treat that is known for its calming properties. You can find it fresh, juiced and as a dessert such as cake or mousse.

Around here it is guarana for energy and maracujà for sleep.

I haven’t personally noticed it making me sleepy, but I’m a pretty caffeinated person on a regular basis so maybe I am overriding its affects.

I’ve mostly found the yellow variety here. There is a purple variety, but it is more common in Australia. I’ve seen the purple on occasion, but have never tried it.

Its little black seeds are edible, pack some fiber and they add a great crunch to yogurt. I like to mix the fruit pulp and seeds in with vanilla yogurt.

A few months ago I went to a yoga with a friend. The instructor gave us tea made with passion fruit after class.

She explained the recipe to my friend, however, being true to her yoga, she was a bit of free spirit and we couldn’t get exact instructions. One thing we did discover is that there is no actual tea in it. You just drink it warm like a tea.

I’ve managed to recreate it and I have it almost every week. If you have access to passion fruit give it a try with this tea or mixed in your yogurt. It might become your favorite fruit too.

About 5 cups of water
¼ c sugar
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, cut into small pieces
1 passion fruit

Use some of the water and the sugar to make a simple syrup. To a large pot add the remaining water, simple syrup, ginger and pulp from the passion fruit. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes. Your house will smell awesome by the way!

Pour the liquid through a strainer or colander to separate the pulp and seeds from the liquid. Enjoy it warm in your favorite mug.

Could It Be?

September 16, 2008

I will admit I am a huge Starbucks fan. Unlike some others I know, for me this does not translate to frequent visits. It is much too difficult for me to part with $5.

I kind of like it this way though because it has remained a real treat for me. Back home I went about 3 times a month. It would be my meeting place with friends to catch up or something to cheer me up when I was having a really bad day.

By the way, have you ever been to a Starbucks in Seattle. I’ve never heard such complex orders in my life. I actually felt a little stupid when I just ordered a non-fat latte. I felt like I should be more creative or something.

Okay, back to the point.

Well, surely you’ve noticed how desperately hard they are trying to appeal to the health conscious. Considering the fact that they have always had a skinny latte, yet now they feel the need to market it.

I’ve never really had a hard time choosing a healthy beverage there. Their pastries are a different story.

I rarely get one, but when I do it has to be a scone. Unbelievable! Luckily I have as much of a conscious about consuming 500 calories in 3 bites as I do parting with $5.

When I saw all their ads for healthy foods I thought – Here we go. Lets load ‘em up with sugar and fat replacers and call ‘em healthy.

But I got a friendly marketing email from them last night.

Could it be that they’ve actually created a truly health option? Part of the email stated,

“Together they are made from a range of great ingredients, including whole grains, fruit, nuts and seeds. None contain artificial sweeteners or high fructose corn syrup.”

Now, I haven’t seen the whole ingredient list, but this is enough to make me look into it. Here are the products if you haven’t seen them yet.

Now, I can’t say this will make me start buying breakfast there. It is really just a specialty coffee place for me. I still need to see the calorie content, but I am glad to see the bit about the sweeteners.

They may provide a better option for those frequent visitors. Well, that is as long as they don’t pair it up with a venti, whole milk, white chocolate mocha every day.

Photo by blitzkrieg, www.morguefile.com