So the people who can save us from obesity are...???

The following article puts a "fun spin" on the battle between "Health officials vs. Processed Foods/ Fast Food Officials" (Why Activists Alone Can't Stop Obesity). Here's what we know:

• Healthcare officials (doctors, nutritionists, medical researchers, etc.) are saying we need to reduce intake of processed foods and foods scientifically proven to be unhealthy
• Fast food industry officials are trying to market their previously labeled "good for you" foods as "we've made changes to the foods and now they're good for you" foods
• Processed foods industry officials are fighting regulators for the amount of salt they put in foods because they won't taste good, even though the amount of salt they have put in a small snack bag is roughly half the amount recommended by the FDA

But what we don't know and is still unclear to us - "who do we listen to and how do we get healthy???"

The end of the article states:

...So is there anyone left who can make a serious dent in obesity? Can consumers be the ones who step up? Tune in next time...

The writer asks "who can save ourselves"....say this statement again...."WHO - CAN - SAVE - OURSELVES???"...Ourselves!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take the best from both sides and make it your own information to make your "informed" decisions. Learn about the ingredients in your foods / cook your own foods so you know what is in the foods you're eating / read the labels of the processed foods (the ingredient at the top of the list is the one that is most abundant in that package) / understand what the nutrition information on the labels do for your body (carbohydrates, sugar, fats, fiber, protein, etc.). What's my point?

We as a society is looking to one group or entity to tell us what to do to be healthy. This mentality is what got us in trouble, because we "only listened" to the fast food / processed food industry feed us information that you need more convenience to have a great life. And this mentality has produced an obesity epidemic and the highest rates of diabetes and heart disease in our nations history. But if we listen to the healthcare group completely, we get a lot of data and graphs and information that we don't understand and get turned off before we get to the part that tells us, "eat this vs. not that" or we get caught up in trying to challenge a billion dollar industry to make changes to their fast food conveniences.

The REAL ANSWER is to depend on information from both to make informed choices and depend on OURSELVES to make our lives healthier. If we wait for someone to tell us what to do, we will be unhealthy, in the hospital, and living a miserable life. But if we take the initiative to take back our own health and do what we have to do to listen to healthcare officials and while having the taste we get from convenience foods we can strike a balance for what we need to do for a great life.

Here are some great links to check out more information to make informed decisions for taking responsibility for your own health:

1. First lady to chefs: "It's got to be a collaboration"
2. New Data Prompt Renewed Calls for Public-Health Initiative to Cut Salt in US Diet
3. Type 2 diabetes called 'public health humiliation'
4. 40 Desserts That Can Kill You
5. Japan, Seeking Trim Waists, Measures Millions

We need to make changes and it starts with Intention...

Alright, I've just come back (actually last week), from a trip to the White House (yeah THE White House), where I am supporting an effort to fight childhood obesity and promote a healthy eating lifestyle...lets take a strong look at the words "healthy" & "lifestyle"...what does that mean?...it means creating a "life" of healthy eating; where our daily habits are centered around healthy living; where we are happy and content with the peace of mind that our bodies are strong and vibrant; where both the mind, the body, and the soul are "balanced"...Unfortunately, as a nation, are eating habits are not balanced and we are at a tipping point as a society to make changes or face serious consequences in our immediate future.

So "why" is America's eating habits so imbalanced???...(click on quote to read entire article/ at least the first 2 pages!):

According to the U.S. Department of Health, nearly two out of three American adults are overweight or obese. It’s also estimated that millions of Americans suffer from anorexia or bulimia. One could call this an epidemic of “eating disorders,” but I prefer to think of the problem as an increasingly unbalanced relationship to food. One of the primary causes of this imbalance is a lack of an essential human nutrient: mindfulness. Mindfulness is the act of paying full, nonjudgmental attention to our moment-to-moment experience. We can use mindfulness to free ourselves from unhealthy eating habits and improve our overall quality of life.

So the next logical question is "how did we get "imbalanced???"...as a country, Americans do NOT pay attention to what we're eating...how do I know???...just read what people from around the country from nationally syndicated news agencies and studies are saying (click on the headings to go to the actual article):

1. The Institute of Medicine—part of the federal National Academy of Sciences—issued a report in April that called on the Food & Drug Administration to require food packagers to gradually reduce the sodium content in food. "The patchwork of voluntary approaches that have been implemented over the years have not worked," the report concluded, noting that the average American consumes 50 percent more sodium each day than is recommended. (Businessweek)
   
2. Health experts say there is no shortage of reasons why poverty is a predictor for obesity. Overall, it comes down to food options: Poverty not only limits choices, but it also can discourage healthy decisions, they say. (Detroit Free Press)
3. UC Davis public health researchers have found that children, who are already saturated with television messages about unhealthy food choices, are the targets of a new medium used to sell high-fat, high-sugar foods: advergames. (ScienceDaily.com)
4. It makes one realize that despite everyone's best intentions, getting kids to eat right is more complicated than it seems. Nonetheless, after seeing how enthusiastic these children were, how open to new foods and tastes (they produced a cookbook and took the microphone, many of them fearlessly, to pronounce their favorite dishes) and how proud to receive their diplomas, it's hard to imagine that some of what they've learned here won't remain. (Wall Street Journal)
   
5. While cigarettes can be addictive, people don't need to smoke to live, and advertising and clean-air restrictions curb tobacco's presence. People must eat, however, and sugary drinks and fatty snacks are everywhere, Kelder and others said. (Associated Press)
6. If you let TV ads determine what you eat, you'll end up with huge amounts of fat and sugar but precious few vegetables and fruits in your diet. (US News)
7. Since processed foods account for most of the salt in the American diet, national health officials, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York and Michelle Obama are urging food companies to greatly reduce their use of salt. Last month, the Institute of Medicine went further, urging the government to force companies to do so.(New York Times)
8. These days, the average American consumes a whopping 22 teaspoons of sugar each day, totaling about 350 calories. Thus, in the context of a national obesity problem, it's no surprise that food manufacturers have begun introducing sugar-free versions of otherwise-guilty pleasures, including cookies, cakes, pudding, sodas, gum, sorbet, chocolates, candies, pie crust and syrup. (Los Angeles Times)

So we have tons of reasons "why" we are so imbalanced and why we need to eat healthier...and remember, this is the United States; considered the country with the most resources and ability to do what we need to do "if" we make an effort to make the change...and that is the SECRET to "how" we can make the lifestyle changes we need to become balanced and healthier as a society...it's INTENTION...it's DESIRE...it's EFFORT...it's WILL-POWER...

And as Michelle Obama says, "It's a collaboration...[it's not going to be easy]"...

No one said it was going to be easy...but anything that is worthwhile in life, is never easy...most of the time, the road is long and challenging, but when we get to the destination, we always say, "it was worth it!"...so learn about food (ingredients, fruits, vegetables, meats, fats, starch, grains); learn about nutrition (antioxidants, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals); learn how to cook (make pasta, saute, roast, baking, how to peel/cut/slice everything); learn about flavorful cuisines (Mediterranean, Latin American, Southwestern, French Country-Cooking, Italian Country-Cooking, Indian, Korean, etc.)

Everything I have previously mentioned starts with INTENTION to change our lives to become healthier and allow ourselves to have a chance for a GREAT life...and INTENTION starts a trickle down affect for all of the things we have to do to make the changes...THINK about how a healthy-life will be; BELIEVE a healthy life can be ours; ACT to make a healthy life our reality; and EXPECT the rewards that a healthy-life will give all of us...

And I'll finish with this...(youtube video from Michelle Obama's speech at the Launch of LetsMove campaign)

Michelle Obama hits the nail on the head as to how food affects our lives and how food can improve our lives, and why we must improve our eating habits to improve our lives...

As a chef, I have the knowledge and skills to prepare foods for others to eat...but what is more remarkable, is that I have the "power", as Michelle Obama put it, to make other people's lives more fulfilling around the dinner table, and sustainable by providing nourishment for both the body and the soul...and as a chef, I have the responsibility to turn back the statistics that paint a grim picture of our current situation and share what I know with my community to help children, parents, and anyone else who wants to make their life better...and I'm going to do it, One Meal at a Time!


Be GREAT!
Jameson

Add some spice and flavor to your life with Coconut Oil and Florida Flavors

Alright, so here's another way to incorporate healthy coconut oil into a dish...oh, and by the way, incorporate a "great flavor", namely, Floridian flavors with pasta! This dish will help you lose weight, improve your immune system, healthier skin, and fight against heart disease (to name a few), great tasting (tropical flavors, spice, and bright flavors), and looks great....Sounds good?, Lets get to it!...

So you take your basic pasta recipe - pasta sauce, pasta, and maybe a protein or veggie to go with it...so for the people who don't like their veggies, I'm doing you a favor by making it into a sauce...and if you want something that makes you say, "hmmm?", we're taking what Floridian flavors of citrus, garlic, cumin, tropical fruit, and jalapenos (scotch bonnit peppers, actually, but I can't handle that kind of heat!)(it doesn't make me a bad person, hahaha!)...ok, focus!....

So take your pasta sauce recipe that you like, add the Floridian flavors, and you have something really good...BUT...to make it GREAT, lets add coconut oil and make this actually healthy for you without sacrificing flavor...treat the coconut oil like you would butter, and enjoy!

Floridian Inspired Sun-Dried Tomato Sauce with Rigatoni and Shrimp

Serves 4

Sauce:
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
8 cloves of garlic
4 oz light olive oil
2 tbsp tomato paste

Salsa:
3 tbsp light olive oil + 1 crushed garlic clove
2 shallots - finely diced
1 to 2 jalapenos (1 = light spicy / 2 more spicy)
*authentically, you need a scotch bonnit pepper or even a habanero
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup pineapple, finely diced
2 oz lemon juice (use lime juice if you have it)
1/8 tsp cumin
1/4 coriander
salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp coconut oil, unrefined/virgin

16 oz rigatoni pasta, reserve some pasta liquid, if needed

12 ea medium sized shrimp, peeled and devined (frozen or fresh)

2 tbsp, finely chopped Italian parsley

Make the sun-dried tomato sauce, in your food processor, add the garlic, olive oil, tomato paste and sun-dried tomatoes, puree until smooth. Set aside.

Cook your pasta to al dente in salty boiling water - time your pasta accordingly - you want your pasta done when your salsa is done.

Make your salsa, add your olive oil and infuse the oil with the crushed garlic on medium heat, 5 minutes. Remove the crushed garlic and mince into the rest of the garlic. Add the shallot and saute on medium heat until translucent, 2 minutes. Add jalapeno, garlic and saute, 2 minutes. Add pineapples, lemon juice, cumin, coriander, and 1/2 tsp salt and 1/2 tsp pepper (watch your salt!) cook for 2 more minutes. Add coconut oil and stir until oil is melted into salsa, 2 minutes.

Combine your dish. Add sun-dried tomato to salsa and stir to combine, cook for 2 more minutes, you want to have a slight cumin flavor, so add more if you need it. Adjust seasoning again as needed (again, watch the salt). Add pasta and reserve some pasta liquid if you need it. Toss pasta and aerate the sauce with the pasta. Turn off heat, and add shrimp and continue to toss until shrimp just turns pink. Add parsley to garnish and enjoy!

If you have crusty bread, use it to pick up the sauce at the end of the dish!

Be GREAT, One Meal at a Time!!!
Jameson

Coconut Oil...not your average saturated fat!

Alright, I haven't done a post for a LONG time, so lets get cracking...

Just back from a trip to Florida and boy, did I eat GREAT!...but more importantly, the flavors of the "Floribbean Diet" are outstanding, in particular, Coconut...and lets concentrate on Coconut Oil..

So lets talk about the flavor first...ahhhhh, "it tastes like coconut????"...No...actually, coconut oil doesn't really give you a "taste",per se, but what it does do is give you the "aroma" of coconut and is very subtle...as long as you use it with other mild flavors, the coconut aroma will be present...as long as you keep your mouth closed (similar to wine tasting), as you breathe, you will experience the coconut aroma to the foods you're eating or cooking in this case...so it's really a treat to all of a sudden have a "pina colada moment" while you're enjoying your sauteed fish or chicken...NOTE: please use the "unrefined or Virgin" oils...and it's a "medium heat cooking oil" so no deep frying...treat it exactly you would with butter...

Now to the health benefits:

Check out this website Organicfacts.net, for more detailed information:

• maintaining cholesterol levels
• weight loss
  
• increased immunity / antioxidants
• proper digestion and metabolism
• relief from: kidney problems, heart diseases, high blood pressure, diabetes, HIV and cancer, dental care, and bone strength.
  

So what's my point???...Without getting in trouble with trademarks, but, Coconut Oil "tastes great, less filling"!!!!...Lots of Flavor with even more Health Benefits!...need to work on that slogan!...

So look for Coconut oil in your stores, and treat it like butter in your cooking, baking, etc. And you'll also be doing your body a favor by making it healthier, stronger, and happier!!!!...

Here's a dish I made that was inspired by my trip:

Sauteed Mahi Mahi in Coconut Oil with a Lemon, Cumin, Cayenne and Shallots, with Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli


Be GREAT, One Meal at a Time!
Jameson