What will be in your Christmas stocking?

So my folks have been asking me recently, what do I want for Christmas. Honestly, I do not have many ideas yet (that is sure to change), but I did think of something I hope to find in my stocking. In my family typically your stocking is full of your favorite candy. In years past I have found jelly beans, dark chocolate, an assortment of candy canes (especially sour ones), pop rocks, you get the idea.

So what do I want this year? Peppermint candies, not any peppermint candy though. Hammond's Candy. When I visited my cousin in Colorado over the summer, we toured their factory. They still make and twist all their candy canes by hand. But I do not want a candy cane.

I want this:

Old fashioned ribbon candy. They make it on original machinery. The type in particular that I want is the All Natural version, there is no artificial sweeteners or colors. I got some when I was in Colorado but they barely made the plane trip home, soooo delicious.

What is your favorite type of candy?

Eggceptional Eggs

I recently had a friend ask me what the health benefits were from eating organic or free range eggs. I surprised myself that I could not put into words why they were better. So after some research, I have come up with a few reasons:

1. There is a difference in diet. Commercial/generic hens eat a grain meal that can consist of corn, soy, and/or cotton seed. Free range chickens sometimes have access to a similar food, but they also eat grass, seeds, worms, and bugs.
2. Free range grocery store eggs are different from free range farmer's market eggs. The commercial  free range type may be set up similarly to generic eggs (chickens live indoors with a concrete floor) with the exception that there is one small door allowing the chickens to go into a small fenced-in grass area. They typically do not choose to go outside.
3. A study done by Mother Earth News concluded that free range eggs had the following as compared to a commercial/generic egg.
• 1/3 less cholesterol
• 7 times more beta carotene
• 1/4 less saturated fat
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 2/3 more vitamin A
• 2 times more omega 3 fatty acids
4. If you have not noticed, free range eggs are a darker yellow then commercial eggs.

Left: Commercial egg; Right: farmer's market egg.
Photo from The Nourishing Gourmet.

So what do labels mean on the carton?

• Free Range/Free Roaming - hens are not in a cage, they typically do have access to the outdoors, USDA does not regulate this term
• Certified Organic - hens are not in a cage, they have access to outside for an unspecified amount of time, they are fed a vegetarian organic diet
• Omega 3 - Slightly higher omega 3 levels through altering the hen's diet
• Cage free - hens are not in a cage, they typically do not have access to the outdoors
• Natural - no regulation for this term, may not mean anything

So... what kind of eggs do you eat?

Sources:

Mother Earth News

The Nourishing Gourmet

Egg Carton Labels

Chocolate Surprise

Today I managed to oversleep (I am embarrassed to say I got up at 11:50am). This means I missed the last regular farmer's market of the season, and I really needed to get some groceries today.

I decided to go to Marsh to get the few things I needed. I was able to get organic milk and organic butter, 1 peck of apples (they were local!, from Goshen, IN), and most importantly, chocolate.

Unfortunately Marsh does not carry any of the normal brands of chocolate that fit my rules. However, I found a surprise in the candy isle:

Dove chocolate is Rainforest Alliance Certified! That also goes for  most of the Mars company (which own the Dove brand). So even those these chocolates are not organic, the cocoa is made in a more sustainable manner then say Hershey chocolate. I was able to warrant this purchase because of the certification and because I needed chocolate and this is the best that I can get at a standard grocery store. Believe me, you want me to have chocolate :).

Cleaning Time

With all the cooking I have been doing this semester, the kitchen has to be kept clean. Not only to prevent germs, but aesthetically I prefer a clean organized kitchen. I think it is whiter then I have ever seen it.

I forgot to take a before pictures, so here is the after one. Just imagine a lot of clutter and dishes for the before.

Yes, on the stove are 3 towels that my mom hand wove for me. They are much better at absorbing liquids then store bought towels. It makes my kitchen feel more like home.

Not So Secret Hot Chocolate

So I had someone ask about my hot chocolate recipe. I am slight embarrassed to say that it is not entirely made from scratch (but that is on my list of to dos).

I make hot chocolate with 2 cups of 2% milk with 2 tablespoons of this:

I got it at Earth Fare, a natural grocery store. The ingredients are: natural cane sugar, Dutch processed  cocoa (with alkalai), and natural vanilla powder. The serving instructions are 1 tsp per cup of milk, so I triple the amount of powder I use making it extra chocolately. I allow this in my project as it has less the 5 ingredients and all of those ingredients are not really processed.

I hope that answers your question Anonymous! 

Bananito

Musa acuminata, anyone? Otherwise known as a bananito (I am not kidding), this is another variety of banana. (It is also called a manzana, stubby banana, or ladyfinger). In our grocery stores, we have only one type of banana, the Cavendish banana. They originated in Eastern Asia, Southern China, India, Philippines, and Malaysia. See if you can tell the difference between them below:

Now where would I get such a strange, fat little fruit. Well I work in the greenhouses on campus where we happen to have a few banana trees. They were ripe today and my boss said I could take 4 bananas to make banana bread for this project.

This is the recipe that I used for the bread. The bananas were a little harder to mash up, maybe I should have waited a day for them to ripen a bit more. It turned out well, I can't wait to try it!

It looks delicious!


Sources:
Musa acuminata - Colla.
Photo print

Not So Vegan Mac n' Cheese

I got a large head of cauliflower at last Saturday's Farmer's Market. Large is an understatement. I knew that I would not be able to eat it raw before it went bad. Therefore I needed to make a dish with cauliflower as a base. I stumbled upon Cauli "Mac" N' Cheez on The Healthy Voyager blog.

I substituted all of the vegan cheese ingredients for real cheese ingredients, hence making the recipe no longer vegan. It is still vegetarian.

This is one of those recipes where I kept forgetting steps and having to go back and redo them. For instance I did not blot the cauliflower dry when I drained it and I also forgot to grease the pan. Both of these were remedied before it went into the oven. I set it to 350 instead of 370, nearly doubling the cooking time.

Verdict. It is tasty and cheesy. It may have been cheaper with noodles though, cauliflower was the most expensive ingredient at 5 dollars.  The whole dish cost $10.84, with 8 servings.

Circumstances Outside of My Control

I woke up at 6:20 this morning, burrowing under my covers seeking warmth. I thought this was normal until my roommate came knocking on my door a few minutes later stating the power was out, and oh we had just had the first snow of the year. I hop into action, getting dressed with many layers.

Then it hits me, no power means that I cannot cook, and I need breakfast before work. I figured my school would have power, so I drive over and get breakfast in the dinning halls. It cost me $4.90!! I got a small hot chocolate from Starbucks for $2.75. (Note to self, my homemade hot chocolate tastes 10x better). I also got potato rounds for $0.95 and 3 pieces of bacon at $0.40 each.

It is quite nice having breakfast prepared for me, but I can already tell what I have been eating the past few months is not only cheaper but of a better quality. For example my hot choclate cost about $1.90 and my bacon is $0.30 per slice.

Here is to hoping the power is back soon so I can get back to cooking!

A Day of Cooking

Today I prepared a lot of food. First thing I made biscuits, even putting in the effort to roll them out and cut them round. Each one ended up costing $0.08.

Next I made hummus using the recipe in the previous post. I used a bit too much garlic, note to self for next time.

Finally, this evening I made sugar cookie with my friends Elise and Taylor. We used the same recipe that I did a while ago. We added 4 tablespoons of milk which made the cookies much less dry.

I am finding that I do not like sweets as much anymore. Maybe I am losing my sweet tooth. 

I Love Pinterest

As I planned for this project, I used pinterest to pin lots of interesting recipes. It was not until today that I actually used one, as I typically forget that I have it. So what amazingness did I find today?

This:

It comes from here originally. I made the original hummus today, and while I put a bit too much garlic in it, it tasted good. I am excited to try some of the other types of hummus such as the beet one, green herb, pesto, and edamame. 

Which one do you want to try?

Meat and Money

One reason I did not eat much meat in the beginnings of this project is that buying free range/organic is much more expensive. I feared it would not make my diet feasible due to the expense.

Last week I made lemon rosemary chicken and ate it throughout the week. It was in small portions, but still I was having meat about every day. So how did that affect my data?

For the first 8 weeks, I averaged $5.11 per day on food (this includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks). For week 9 I averaged $6.49 per day, an increase of $1.38. This is not as high as I would have expected and it is encouraging me to add more meat to my diet. I still will not be eating tons of meat as I have cheaper sources of protein (such as hummus and eggs).

Does the cost of meat impact how much you eat it?

Breakfast for Dinner

Since it is Fall Break and all, I decided to treat myself to pancakes for dinner. Even as an adult it still feels like I am going against the social rules of what is acceptable to eat for each meals. Come to think of it, I have not been eating traditional meals for most of this project. A few days ago my second dinner (yes like hobbits) consisted of hummus and goat gouda cheese. I am discovering that I like eating several small meals throughout the day instead of three large ones. To me it feels like less work.

I also went to the farmer's market today. I got BACON, finally. I have really missed it. Other highlights are beets, potatoes, and eggs. There is one more market in October and then they switch to once a month. That should be an interesting transition, I will probably need to get more of my food from a conventional grocery store.


I am trying to find more winter recipes. What is your favorite cold weather food?

Something Does Not Look Right

For breakfast today I pulled out the bread I made one week ago. I did not keep it in the fridge because I do not like cold bread.

This is what it looked like.

Little spots of mold on my yummy bread. Apparently bread can have blue, black, or green mold as well as other colors. Mold is not a plant or an animal, but a third type of living being that feeds off of the bread as its source of nutrient. Technically, one of the ingredients, yeast, is also a fungi.

I decided to go ahead and eat my toast, but I cut off the top part of the bread, thinking it was fine. After reading that the spores can reach deeper into the bread, I decided to throw away the remaining part of the loaf and be on the safe side concerning my health. The USDA recommends not cutting off the mold and eating the rest of the bread anyway.

This incident encouraged me to clean through my fridge, even though I have been keeping a much better track of when my food goes bad. This is what else I found.

Can you guess what this is?

Nope, it is not meat, it is strawberry jam. Full of mold. It was opened in June and made with no preservatives. The sugar provides a good nutrient source for the mold. The USDA recommends throwing out any jam that has mold on it instead of eating around it.

Here is the side view:

I also made a vegetable medley and put in the freezer back in the first week of the semester, so 2 months ago. I have not been enticed to eat it as it was not amazing to begin with; it is freezer burned with the potential for mold.

So why am I so concerned with mold? Some people think it is not that harmful and you should just eat around it. I do not plan to make myself sick when there is a sign there that the food is not ok. I am also allergic to penicillin, a type of mold that can grow on some food. Combined with environmental allergies, for me it is just not a good idea to chance it.

Sources for further reading:
USDA - Molds on Food: Are they Dangerous?
Is it safe to eat that moldy bread?
Bread Mold Causes

Finally... Meat!

Today I ate meat! For the first time in over 2 weeks!! Lemon rosemary chicken was on the menu. My friend Bekah came over to help me cook, and by help it was more of supervision. She watched as I did things and gave instructions and helped when I asked many questions.

The First Hiccup: I forgot to take the chicken out of the freezer; it spent over 30 minutes in the microwave defrosting.

I got the recipie from my friend Emily. It is 2 chicken breasts, 1 Tablespoon of olive oil, 1 Tablespoon lemon juice, 2 Teaspoons salt, and 1/2 Tablespoon dried rosemary. The grand total for all that I made was $12.62. I made 8 servings out of it.

Here they are going into the oven:

The final product.

You may have noticed that in the above photo, the chicken look a bit cut up. That is because I forgot to take a picture of the chicken when it came out of the oven. I was so hungry I ate a whole piece before Bekah reminded me that I would need a picture.

The verdict, chicken is good, meat is good. I want to buy bacon at the next farmer's market and add more meat into my diet, even though it will cost more. So I am expecting to spend more money a day on food now, but if that means I will be having a healthier diet, then that is ok by me.

Jamba for Dinner

From jambajuice.com

So today I decided to treat myself for dinner. I got a Strawberry Wild at Jamba juice. This smoothie was made of apple juice, bananas, and strawberries. Yum!

This is the only place on campus that I feel comfortable eating that fits the requirements of this project. The smoothies are made of fresh fruit and sometimes yogurt. The only negative is the cost. My medium sized smoothie cost me $4.85, nearly as much as I spend in a whole day on food.

What food do you like to splurge on for yourself?

Half Way There!

So today marks the half way point. I started this experiment 54 days ago and I have 54 more days left. Every literal day is included, even the trip to DC.

Honestly, I was never sure if I would even make it this far. I have considered quitting several times, because I was hungry. But some people have pushed me to keep going.

So what have I learned so far? Variety is good, something that I need to constantly work on. It is also good to conquer your fears and try something new, such as kale or beets. Use your resources, cookbooks are a good idea and so is asking for advice. Pay attention to your body, when you are hungry, eat, lightheaded, eat more protein etc. Eat the food you bought first, so that stuff does not go bad.

So how have I changed these past 8 weeks. Unintentionally I have lost 8 lbs. I rarely feel bloated after meals. I eat more smaller meals during the day instead of 3 large ones. I have a much greater appreciation for housewives who cook fresh food every day and for convenience. I am much more conscious about what I eat, and it tends to be much healthier. I am also spending less money then I expected, $255 so far for 8 weeks, averaging $5.08  a day.

What do I miss? Well a few days ago I had a craving for those really fake chocolate donuts in a bag that taste like cardboard (weird right?). I also miss sweets like cake and ice cream. After seeing commercials for Halloween candy, that looks really yummy to.

I did get myself a present for making it this far. One gallon of apple cider (with no preservatives). Yum!!

What changes have you noticed in me so far?

Missing Meat

As some of you know, for the duration of this project I have not been eating much meat even though my diet has been lacking in protein. I have made one dish (turkey lasagna) that includes meat. This is not because I dislike meat or am becoming a vegetarian. I like bacon to much. I have even had 4 chicken breasts and a pound of ground beef in my freezer for the past 3 weeks. So why?

To be honest, I am scared to cook meat. I have never cooked it on my own (a friend was over when I made turkey lasagna). I unsure how to season it, even with a recipe. I am afraid of making myself sick with undercooked meat but also afraid of overcooking or worse burning it and setting off the smoke alarm (that thing is LOUD). I also am grossed out by blood, and raw meat kinda goes into that category. It is icky and slimy.

I know all these are excuses and I just need to get over it and cook the meat so that I can have protein. I learn by doing and by following someone's example. Basically what I am saying is does anyone want to come over and keep me company/ help me as I make a meat dish? Help me conquer my fear. Encouragement in the comments is also appreciated.

Do you want to "Go the Distance" with your food?

For one of my classes I have been researching the topic food miles. Food miles is a calculation of the amount of miles a product travels from producer to consumer. It can contain the distance from farm to processing plant and then processing plant to store. More precise calculations include the distance traveled for the feed for animals. for example, the mileage of the corn to the mill to the processing plant to turn into feed, to the farm to feed the animals.

The theory behind food miles is that they can be a calculation to represent the amount of energy and fossil fuels used to transport food. They can also provide a comparison of local versus outsourced food.

For example:
Eggs bought at Walmart under the brand name of Sunny Farms, Hillandale Farms, or Sunny Meadow travel on average 575 miles from plant to store. In contrast eggs that I buy from the farmer's market from a local farmer travel 18.3 miles. That means the Walmart eggs travel 31 times farther then the local eggs. But this is not the case with all products.

Meat is a more complicated issue. For these calculations I included distance from farm to processing plant (slaughter house) and the distance from processing to store. The generic Walmart boneless skinless chicken breasts tracked to a Tyson plant (irony huh? Tyson chicken sold right next to it for a higher price). I had to average the farms that could go to that plant (I chose the 4 closest, based on grain distribution locations. All farms must be within 60 miles of a Tyson grain mill.) The total food miles for Walmart chicken is 763.2 miles.

For the local farmer I added the distance from his farm to the processing plant and back plus the distance to market. This added up to 334.3 food miles. That is only half of what Walmart's was.

I was surprised to, but as a product becomes more processed and the food miles go up. To me there seems to be a larger benefit to buying produce local than meat, since there are fewer steps involved.

Did any of this surprise you?

Food and Mood

Have you ever thought about how you feel when you eat food? Think about your favorite dish. For me that is chocolate or cheese. I feel so happy when I eat them. The same goes with other comfort foods. Did you know that there is scientific proof that some foods can help elevate or lower your mood. It all occurs biochemically in your brain.

Things that make you happy:

Feeling Stressed?

• You will feel better if you eat enough carbs. They can help release serotonin (a happy hormone for the brain) and fuel your body. 
• Get enough omega-3 fatty acids. These are found in fish. They help with memory and mood. Studies show that countries with the highest fish consumption have lower rates of depression.
• Eat breakfast, and preferably a balanced one. This can help improve memory and energy throughout the day. And you will not be feeling hungry come 10am.
• Protein can help you focus, which is happy.
• Folic acid (in spinach and orange juice) is said to counter depression.

Things that make you sad:

• Skipping meals. When your body does not eat, you can feel tired and cranky.
• Consuming too much fat. Besides the gross greasy feeling we sometimes get, too much fat can contribute to depression and dementia. You can also feel sluggish. You can also feel tired since your body is spending more energy digesting the food.
• Caffeine, if you have too much of it. The crash after the high can make the world seem pretty dim. The aftermath can cause mood swings, anxiety, and nervousness.

You may have noticed that I did not mention chocolate in the list. Although I personally believe that chocolate puts me in a better mood, there is not scientific research to back it up. Scientist say it is a very complicated and controversial issue. I will let you decide what you like.

What is your favorite pleasure food?

Sources:

US News Food and Mood: 6 Ways Your Diet Affects How You Feel

WebMD How Food Affects Your Moods

Food, Mood, and Neurotransmitters

Chocolate: food for moods

End with a cute goat!

Popcorn is Decieving

My first visit to the farmer's market (over 2 months ago) I bought popcorn. A 1 lb. bag of kernels. I was anticipating this to become a go to snack early on in my project. I never made any of it until yesterday. You need popcorn when you are going to watch a movie.

I have only made stove top popcorn when I was little on special occasions with my dad. That consisted of me watching while he made it.

Never fear, I discovered that stove top popcorn is very easy to make. I did not even burn my first batch!! Unfortunately, I have no photographs as proof, you will just have to believe in me. I just heated the oil until a few kernels popped, added in enough kernels to cover the bottom, covered it and let them pop.

It was so easy that I made popcorn again tonight. One quarter cup of kernels makes plenty of popcorn for one person.

What is your favorite kind of popcorn?

Benefits of Beets!

For dinner tonight I had a boiled beet. I am acquiring a taste for them but still had to make myself finish my plate before I could get more food. I think they were even my first baby food. So why go through that arduous task?

1. They contain a ton of vitamins and minerals
• iron
• potassium
• folate
• magnesium
• phosphorus
• vitamins A, B, and C
• beta-carotene
• beta-cyanine
2. Good for your liver and can help prevent cancer.
3. Can lower your blood pressure.
4. The betaine in them can help depression.
5. They can be red, white,  or yellow. (I have only had the red and yellow varities.)
6. They have a high sugar content for a vegetable, but this sugar is released slowly unlike chocolate.

I think this vegetable is one that is good to learn to love. I am getting there, right now I eat them boiled and diced. I am unsure how to make them differently, perhaps adding butter or salt. They have plenty of flavor on their own. Do you eat beets?

Source:
http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/theres-no-beating-the-beet
http://www.fullcircle.com/goodfoodlife/2012/05/10/6-health-benefits-of-eating-beets/

1886 Bread

Dough rising.

Last night and today I made some yeast bread. This is the first time I have made bread on the project and the first time I have used yeast. This is primarily because this type of baked good takes longer to make. I got the recipe from The Buckeye Cookery which we used in the 1886 Liberty Corner site at Conner Prairie.

"In summer take three pints of cold or tepid water, four tablespoons of yeast, one tea-spoon of salt; stir in four enough to make a thick sponge (rather thicker than griddle-cakes). Let stand until morning, then add more flour, mix stiff, and knead ten minutes; place in a pan, let rise until light, knead for another ten minutes; mold into four loaves, and set to rise, but do not let it get too light; bake in a moderate oven one hour. If bread is mixed at six o'clock in the morning, the baking ought to be done by ten o'clock."

I did half a recipe, which gave me 2 loaves, each costing $1.60. The bread is soooooo good, with a nice crunchy

crust!

I also tried my purple carrots. They taste like carrots, just a little less sweet. I was also intrigued that the purple did not go all the way through.

The Dietitian

So as some of you know, I have been having some health issues with my diet. I am concerned if I am getting enough vitamins (although I take a multivitamin. I am also wondering if I get enough calories and protein each day. So this morning was my appointment with a dietitian/nutritionist, hoping to find some answers.

Unfortunately, I was not that lucky. At the end of the meeting, the dietitian told me that they had learned a lot for me (that was not reciprocated). I was unable to describe my definition of processed food and how I was avoiding it, which led to some miscommunication. They showed me the myplate.gov site that I discussed in an earlier post (oddly enough it worked this morning even with the government shutdown, it is offline now). I was told I was getting enough fruits and vegetables but no dairy (this assessment was based off of one day, even though I had data for many days). To sum it up, the appointment was no help and my questions are still unanswered. If you have any ideas on how to help let me know.

On a happier note, I made hot chocolate today with milk and it was amazing! I think I found the perfect cold weather drink. I also made more hummus today!!