Picking the Best Summer Fruit

I don't know about you, but I hate it when I buy a beautiful piece of fruit from the market, only to bite into it and want to spit it right back out. When a fruit is too ripe or not ripe enough, it's a major bummer.

On their Healthy Bites blog, Self magazine staffers offer a guide to choosing the best summer fruits:

Apricots: Plump, pretty firm, velvety skin, even in color with a deep yellow, pinkish hue. Store in fridge.

Peaches: Fragrant, pretty firm, no brown spots. You can ripen underipe peaches in a paper bag for a few days.

Plums: Firm (with a slight given whe you press it), plump, heavy, no brown spots, which means it's been sunburned. You can refrigerate a few days to keep.

Mangoes: Yield slightly to gentle pressure, fragrant, yellow skin blushed with red.

Watermelon: Hard rind that's dull (not shiny), symmetrical (no flat sides). Slap the side of the melon--if you hear a hollow thump, it's a sign it's probably ripe.

Cantaloupe: Sweet scent (but not too strong), deep, thick thump when slapped, heavy.

Tomatoes: Firm (with a slight give when you press it), free from blemishes, and heavy. Don't refrigerate--cold temps kill the flavor.

Helping the FDA Muscle Up

The New York Times ran an interesting editorial today about the proposed Food Safety Enhancement Act.

While the FDA is in charge of protecting our country's supply, it is currently only allowed to try to convince a food manufacturing facility to voluntarily recall products after people have become ill.

The proposed legislation would help give the FDA more power and responsibility to prevent outbreaks like the Salmonella typhimurium outbreak in peanut butter and peanut-containing products in 2009.

Update: It passed! Read more here and here.

Coconut m&ms

Last night, Chris and I spotted an empty wrapper on the subway and got excited. I'm not normally a big candy enthusiast, but I can't wait to try these:

Apparently coconut is not listed as an ingredient, but I'll try it. I'm sure Dunkin Donuts' Coconut Iced Coffee doesn't have real coconut in it either, and that's still a nice treat once in a while.

Orthorexia: An Unhealthy Obsession with Healthy Eating

A healthy diet is one of the key elements of a healthy life. Some people, however, may take it to an extreme, causing their mind and body more harm than good.

This piece from the current issue of Today's Dietician examines the topic of orthorexia, an unhealthy of obsession with eating healthfully. While not a recognized eating disorder (yet), somebody suffering from orthorexia may suffer from malnutrition and psychological torment just as someone with anorexia might, though a lot of the "diet" food considered safe by anorexics is off-limits to someone with orthorexia, as the obsessive part of orthorexia is less about thinness than about being "healthy."

I can see, especially in the field I am going into, how easy it can be for someone to slip into this kind of behavior. When you're inundated with information about food and food safety all day, it can be a challenge to try to fit that knowledge into your daily life without going overboard.

We really can't expect ourselves to eat a perfectly pure diet all the time. It's about finding a healthy balance we can live with. That's part of why I named my blog "Keeping it Real"—we're real people living real lives and we need real food.

One of the things I want to do as a dietician is work with people to help them understand how easy it is to take care of themselves once they manage to cut through the fog and tune out the noise of all the mixed messages out there.

News from the Calorie-Posting Front

Here's an interesting article-cum-progress report from the Wall Street Journal that looks at how restaurants and consumers are doing with the calorie-posting in chain establishments. Read it if only for the last part:

Bob Goldin, [food research company] Technomic's executive vice president, advised taking the results with a grain of salt. Surveys about healthy eating are a lot like those about sex, Mr. Goldin says: "People report doing it a lot more than they really do."

Another interesting bit about Flexitarianism

I know I said I should give up women's magazines, but I think Self magazine would be my exception. They have great blogs!

Today's Healthy Bites blog featured a post about flexitarianism. As someone who only eats meat once or twice a week, I'm always interested to read about others who do the same. While I don't identify myself as a flexitarian, I guess the shoe fits.

In this post, blogger Merritt Watts interviews her flexitarian friend Archana about her lifestyle and eating habits.

Also, the American Dietetic Association just put out a position paper on the vegetarian diet—worth reading, for sure.

While browsing the Times Science section this morning, I came across this article about how doctors, especially overweight doctors, struggle with telling patients they are overweight and what to do about it.

This article focuses in particular on pediatricians and how they deal with preaching the "eat less, exercise more" doctrine when they clearly don't take their own advice.

As someone with an interest in how and where children receive their information and how they develop attitudes and habits concerning diet and exercise, I found this to be a particularly good read.

It's such a delicate time in someone's life, and it's so easy to say the wrong thing that will set off a series of responses and set up a child for a lifetime of this, that, or the other thing. Still, it's so important to talk about it rather than ignore an issue out of fear.

Someone needs to write a handbook that doesn't suck about how to talk to your children (or pediatric patients) about these things.

I'm just thinking back to my pediatrician, who had no neck. I don't remember him being particularly overweight; he just had no neck, which made it impossible to take him seriously.

Engagement Chicken Be Damned!

I should really stop browsing women's magazine websites when my brain needs downtime. Either that or Glamour needs to put an end to the Engagement Chicken hoopla. One blogger has been documenting her Engagement Chicken quest, and I don't know whether to be amused or disgusted.

I do kind of wonder whether I'm jealous, in a sense. I feel like every magazine I pick up "for entertainment" tells me to give my man his space when his team loses the big game and to routinely (but not so routinely as to take away the air of spontaneity) treat him to wings and beer. And then, when I'm ready to put the ol' settle down spell on him, I'm supposed to cook him a big freaking chicken stuffed with lemons and herbs and things.

Come on...

What about all the girls girls out there dating vegetarians who don't drink and aren't sports fans, huh?

And besides, what a way to stereotype men, suggesting that they can be won over by meat and fermented beverages. And does a woman really have to resort to cooking a big chicken with citrus shoved up its ass to coax her boyfriend into making her an honest woman? What does it say about the whole tradition of the man proposing marriage? I neither agree nor disagree—I just think it sends a message I'm not comfortable with.

I know it's just a roast chicken, but the whole thing kind of irks me.

Then again, my mom says my dad fell in love with her mashed potatoes and then her. So maybe I should be careful what I say. If it weren't for home-cooked comfort food, I might not be here...

Granola Fest

Today was a pretty mellow day. We did a lot of cooking: roasted orange peppers, pesto, coconut-almond granola, and peanut butter energy bars.

Chris is a big granola fan, and since we already had a bunch of rolled oats lying around, homemade energy bars seemed like a logical next step.

It was a fun way to spend the afternoon, and also a good way to make a little space in the cabinets...

I tried to take some pictures during the process, but only a few came out all right. At least I've graduated from my iPhone camera to a real one!

The McGriddle kind of weirds me out

Has anyone tried the McGriddle sandwich from McDonald's? It is, essentially, a sandwich composed of egg, sausage, and American cheese encased in two pancakes with syrup already on the inside.

Chris has a friend who's shooting a commercial for the McGriddle tomorrow, and it got me to thinking...

I mean, true, it makes a plate at your local pancake house (where they'll give you a short stack alongside your omelet) or diner look like a deconstruction of this thing, but...what would you call the McGriddle then? A construction?

A friend suggested to me once that there are no new kinds of art, to which I replied, "I don't know. Maybe it's not so much about finding new kinds of art anymore as new combinations or new ways to use art." I cited fleece vests made of recycled bottles as an example. It made sense at the time, but then, a lot of things made sense in 2006 that don't make sense to me now. Like Yellowtail wine in a juice glass, like coffee in the middle of the night in a kitchen with a broken clock.

The McGriddle is kind of like that fleece vest, a recombination, familiar components put into a new context.

I'm just sayin'—the McGriddle weirds me out a little. It does cover all the sugar-fat-salt bases (one blogger said the only downside was that it made their fingers shiny. Well all right then) so I can see the base appeal (sneaky flavor design to lure consumers?), and I'm sure it tastes all right going down. It just seems like stoner food, not breakfast.

The thing that really weirds me out, though, is the M branded on the top. Very Zorro.

Interesting Article

From a July 13th article on msnbc.com:

Nutrition experts are worried about the effect the economy may have on American's waistlines (no, really?). We all know that unhealthy food costs less, and that when people have less money, cheaper food is more attractive.

We're hardwired to seek the most nutritional bang for our buck. While it may seem that fast food is the only affordable option for some people, researchers at the University of Washington are putting together a helpful list of healthy foods that give the most nutrition for the price per portion:

— Lower-fat milk; low-fat yogurt; cheddar, American or mozzarella cheese

— Lean ground beef; chicken (not deep-fried); canned fish

— Whole eggs

— Beans, dry or canned

— Peanut butter; sunflower seeds; almonds

— Bread, enriched or made with whole wheat; tortillas, corn or wheat; rice

— Bananas; apples; frozen orange juice concentrate; 100 percent fruit juice or fruit-vegetable blends

— Potatoes, with or without skins; iceberg lettuce; canned, not creamed, corn; canned tomatoes

Less-Egg-More-Vegetable Frittata

I've been meaning to post this recipe for a few days since I found it while scrolling through the New York Times blog Bitten.

I don't love eggs—I usually order egg whites if I'm having anything besides sunny-side up, but egg yolks are a great source of protein and other nutrients. Sometimes my quasi-vegetarian side gets a little squeamish about the baby chick thing, but honestly, I really do love omelets and frittatas. I'm big into curious combinations of ingredients—throw a bunch of good-tasting stuff with some eggs in a pan, cook—awesome.

For this recipe, author Mark Bittman recommends using two or three eggs with three or four cups of vegetables instead of the usual proportion of six eggs and a cup or two of vegetables.

Sounds good to me.

Photo by Evan Sung for the New York Times

This article is disgusting

Another repost of a repost:

While scrolling through Glamour's Health & Fitness section this morning, I stumbled across a repost and link to this article in AskMen.com entitled "Top 10: Subtle Ways To Tell Her She's Getting Fat."

A few gems?

• Take her to places where she has to wear a swimsuit
• Leave "now" and "then" photos lying around and talk about how hot she looks in the "then" shots
• Sabotage her chair—so it breaks.
• Buy her clothes that are too small.

The pictures are terrible too.

While it doesn't relate to food exactly, it definitely relates to body image and the way we communicate with each other about our bodies and the changes they go through.

Pieces like this make me so angry. I try to keep a clear head and think about ways in which women might tell their significant other that they've put on weight, but nothing like this. God...I feel like women are much more tolerant of changes in men's bodies, yet we're expected to adhere to the impossible standards set upon us by the male-dominated gaze of the media/society/etc.

I'll get off my soapbox now because this isn't supposed to be a blog where I vent about this stuff. But goddamn. Way to be part of the problem, guys...

repost of a reposted reposted recipe

I'm not a huge fan of the whole raw food thing, but I saw this recipe posted on a friend's blog and decided that I have to try it!

Basically, what you do is freeze cut-up bananas (2-3) and then put them in a food processor until they've turned into a frozen treat that resembles soft-serve ice cream.

Um, sign me up. That sounds amazing. I do have to give these raw food folks credit for their creativity—I never would have thought to try this.

5 for a Dollar

I feel a bit funny about always taking the extra banana from the fruit vendor on 9th, but I do it anyway.

My sister tells me this is how people like me get into trouble. What she may or may not realize is that I wrote the book on trouble—it's just that nobody bought it.

I've actually written several books on various sorts of trouble. I've only showed one or two manuscripts to people, only actually shopped one around. One agent wrote back to me, "When you have a story that is not your own, get back in touch with me."

No thank you. I had a weird moment of clarity a few months after that in which I realized that instead of using my writing to share painful stories, I could use it to spread positive ideas that could help people more directly.

Sometimes I feel a bit guilty for neglecting my fiction and essay-writing since I spend so much time and energy doing other work for my jobs and school. I do get to do a ton of writing and blogging, at least, it's just about different subject matters.

It's been an interesting path so far, and kind of funny to see how after a while, writing about sex is so much less interesting than writing about, oh, I don't know—Chinese medicine, vegetarian protein sources, or weird findings and goings-on around the city.

The closest I come to writing about sex lately is when I have to write fertility-related blog posts (check here for the latest one), but somehow, I think that's okay. I feel like in a few years (or many), I'll look back and see that the stars were, in fact, in alignment.

"Sandwich Steak"

Question: Has anyone ever heard of "sandwich steaks" before? I'm assuming they're a similar thing to minute steaks since they cook so damn fast...

Any male readers squeamish about girly period stuff, stop reading...

Okay, so I have the good fortune to be strangely in sync with the full moon (clearly, the menstruation goddess or whomever has a sense of humor), and given that Tuesday was a full moon (and an eclipse, no less), let's just say this week has been something of a mini roller-coaster.

I had a physical today and had to get some blood taken (for an anemia test—ironic, no?), and after getting sucked dry, I was feeling kind of shaky and weepy and pissed off over phone troubles.

A lot of blood for a tiny girl to lose in a matter of hours. By the time I got home, I needed chocolate and caffeine and advil...and steak?

Now, a lot of you guys who know me know that I kind of hate red meat and only eat it a few times a year. That's why when I get a craving for it, I know it's for a reason—I need it, damnit. I reminds me of that Friends episode where pregnant (and bewildered) vegetarian Phoebe wolfs down hamburgers ("for the babies").

Only, I'm kind of the opposite of pregnant, but you get the idea.

I've probably mentioned the sketchy meat market down the street and how I go there for cheap non-meat things like oatmeal (also high in iron but just not the same). Well, this afternoon, I decided to purchase actual meat there.

This place has a refrigerated room for the all the meat (see photo). I spent a long time looking for something cheap that came in a small quantity and that I could use in a variety of preparations.

I ended up walking home with a $2.82 package (about 12 oz) of these sandwich steaks, which are very cute and tiny. I put a little pepper and rosemary on them (not sure why, I just figured I should put something on them) and grilled them. They were very tasty topped with truffle salt (another weird addition, I admit) and served with sauteed spinach (to which I added more truffle salt and garlic powder for some reason...)and a baked sweet potato.

I'm a little afraid of what I'll concoct with the leftovers tomorrow...

It's probably a good thing Chris wasn't around for this meal (aside from the whole non-meat-eater thing). Clearly, I am not at my culinary best this time of the month. Still, the over-seasoning was oddly satisfying. Or maybe that was just all the direct animal protein.

Of course, I had chocolate gelato for dessert—perfect. Covered all the bases. The only thing that would have been more perfect would have been if I'd happened to have dark chocolate peanut butter m&ms lying around the house.

Do they even make dark chocolate peanut butter m&ms? They should if they don't.

I could read up for my microbiology class tomorrow, but I'm kind of leaning towards Hemingway instead...

Strange Leftover Stories

And you thought your relatives who eat the honey-baked ham for a week straight were weird...

While sitting at my desk eating leftover whole wheat pasta (now pasta salad) from last night's dinner and scrolling through the New York Times homepage, I saw an amusing piece about some people's strange anecdotes about leftovers.

Having a home-cooked (and free) meal instead of ordering in a ginormous container of overpriced crap is good for the body and the wallet. However, some people get a little obsessive and weird when it comes to their leftovers. Read on for the horror...

The 100-Mile Diet

Cheesy name, interesting concept: Do you think you could eat only food grown within a 100 mile radius?

People in favor of the "locavore" lifestyle support the idea that locally-grown produce is fresher, more nutritious, and tastier. Purchasing only local foods can also help support your community and its farmers. Not only that, but it's thought that eating within that 100-mile radius can cut down on transport time, saving precious fuel and money and reduces the carbon footprint of one's food.

I don't know, sounds kind of trendy to me, but interesting.

So how much of this is actually true? Is it a good idea to be a locavore? UC Berkley's July Wellness Letter, examines this topic and offers some tips on how to take a more real-life approach.

Busted Punks

As I mentioned in my last post, I spent the holiday weekend "down the shore" (as we say in Jersey) with my family. On Saturday, my mom and I stopped at the liquor store to get supplies for kir royals.

As we were paying, I noticed a big collage on the wall behind the counter—a collage of fake IDs that had been confiscated over the years. The title?

BUSTED PUNKS

It was just too awesome. I wish I had a picture.

Return of the Saucy Cock Box

I'm celebrating the Fourth of July with my family at the Jersey Shore. Last night, Chris and I joined my mom, sister, and a few of my sister's friends at a local restaurant that has great chicken (and vegetarian chicken) wings. Usually we split a big order and get side salads of something.

We got a whole bunch but ended up taking most of them home in an aptly-labeled take-out box...

The Best of Times, The Worst of Times

On Nutrition Action's website, they have a list posted of the ten best and worst foods.

Some of the worst include a frozen pot pie, Dove ice cream, and a dessert from the Cheesecake Factory.

Best include sweet potatoes, salmon, grape tomatoes, and dark, leafy greens.

No real surprises on there, though some of the captions are interesting and entertaining. For example, if you eat one five-inch-high slice of "Chris' Outrageous Chocolate Cake," you take in 1,380 calories, 33 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of trans fat—that's like having two McDonald's Quarter-Pounders and a large fries. For dessert. Fun stuff.

That's an interesting comparison, and while I want to say that no one could ever finish a piece of cake that big, there are lots of people who just plow through that stuff. Still, it sounds like damn good cake—chocolate cake, brownie, chewy pecan filling, chocolate-chip cheesecake...

If you share with a friend (or three), you can still enjoy a little.

I wish restaurants would offer mini-desserts. People's perception of portion sizes is so out of whack, it could help to have someone make it easy. There are plenty of ways to still make that profitable...

The Right Stuff

My mom just gave me a set of ramekins. I'm a little embarrassed to admit how excited I am to use them. Before I was a waitress at a fancy country club a few years ago, I didn't even know what a ramekin was, but now I'm looking forward to using them to make stuff like souffles, custards, and individual little desserts and egg things. They'd also be great to just use for ice cream.

So we'll see. Something to experiment with. Having the right gear makes a big difference when it comes to cooking. No wonder all I kept in the fridge during most of college was vodka, strawberries, and diet coke—I had one sharp knife, a couple pots, and some cups, basically. Not to mention, studio kitchens are tiny. I never used the oven once for anything besides storage.