You are what you eat

People often say I write way too much about food- after all, this is supposed to be about creating a better, leaner, stronger, beautiful body right? 

Exactly why I talk about food so much.

Food to me is one of the most pleasurable things in life, I love food and I love to eat. I can power down with the best of them, and could probably be a contentor in one of those eating contest reality shows- if I actually wanted to.


In fact, Saturday I ate a pizza.... all but one piece! Screw the plate, I used the dish it came on. I am enjoying it....

Creating a body that is a work of art does not require just the physical training aspect, it requires the spiritual, emotional and functional health as well. When I say "spiritual" I mean whatever you count on as the higher force to get you through the day. It could be just your own determined mind.

I do not believe that "carbs are bad", in fact, I don't really think that any food group should be eliminated from a diet; and sugar, alcohol and packaged or processed foods are not considered "food groups".

You should eat plenty of vegetables, meats, fish, poultry, fruit, starches and water. At times, when working on changing body composition, of course the amounts of these foods will be changed, and some of the changes may be dramatic- but a figure or bodybuilding competition is not a diet for life, nor is it healthy, it is a diet for an specific event, period. 


I do eat bread- once in a while. I do drink wine, on occasion. I love a good dark chocolate bar, especially one with thick, gooey caramel. But this is not the norm for me nor is it something I even do weekly.


I make a point of buying some of the best food I can get. I am concerned with the source, it's one reason why I don't belong to Costco, and I don't buy a lot at Trader Joe's either. I prefer to get most of my vegetables and meats at Whole Foods and the farmers market.


There is a difference.


Tonight I brought home a crock of grass fed organic butter, made with sea salt for David and Cooper. They loved it on their baguette! Yes, it is more expensive, but we are putting it into our bodies right? Aren't we working hard to transform and/or maintain our bodies into the beautiful work of art that the human form is? If so, then why would anyone consider putting crap into their mouth? 


I work on databases a lot at work and we have a saying: "Garbage in, Garbage out". The same goes for your body, put garbage in it and what you end up with will be just that: garbage.


Below is a very interesting video about the difference between a regular sweet potato, and an organic sweet potato, and the dangers of a pesticide called Chlorprobham, which is used on many foods that we eat everyday. 

ACUTE TOXICITY

Chlorpropham is moderately toxic by ingestion . It may cause irritation of the eyes or skin. Symptoms of poisoning in laboratory animals have included listlessness, incoordination, nose bleeds, protruding eyes, bloody tears, difficulty in breathing, prostration, inability to urinate, high fevers, and death. Autopsies of animals have shown inflammation of the stomach and intestinal lining, congestion of the brain, lungs and other organs, and degenerative changes in the kidneys and liver 

CHRONIC TOXICITY

Chronic exposure of laboratory animals has caused retarded growth, increased liver, kidney and spleen weights, congestion of the spleen and death.

REPRODUCTIVE EFFECTS

Long-term exposure to chlorpropham may cause adverse reproductive effects. Chlorpropham may cross the placenta. 

Do you eat sweet potatoes? Take a look at this video (email subscribers will need to navigate directly to the blog).

I'm in love with a Greek

You got it! A non-fat Greek yogurt. I don't eat yogurt as a rule, I rarely eat dairy. A couple reasons, with the first being that dairy is not a good food choice to select when you want to stay lean, so I just don't eat it.

I am lactose intolerant so I cannot have milk or milk products, including ice cream. Lucky me! I don't have to worry about ice cream cravings because I never crave something that whacks my entire body.

But yogurt I can have small amounts without a problem. I use it in place of sour cream, so a dollop in soup, maybe a small amount mixed with tuna instead of mayo. That's it! I don't remember the last time I ate an entire carton of the stuff, kind of sounds gross actually.

I used to buy Vosko's, well no more. Not after I read this and bought some Trader Joe's to try. It is thick, like clotted cream and rich and so creamy, it puts the non-fat sour cream to shame! Even my husband tried it and said "oh my, I can eat that!"

Here is the influential article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

Wouldn't you know? Just as Taster's Choice was lamenting the lack of Hall of Fame products from 2010, our first panel of the new year yielded a new inductee to our holy grail of supermarket shelf items.

The category: nonfat, plain Greek-style yogurt.

The winner: Trader Joe's, by a nearly unanimous vote.

In a tasting that demanded textural perfection, Trader Joe's ($1.99 for 16 ounces) became a Hall of Famer by earning more than 80 points out of a possible 100.

One panelist gave it perfect marks - "rich, creamy, no graininess," she cooed. "Good balanced flavor" with a "nice, fresh tang," others wrote. While the "dense" yogurt is fat free, "the milk flavor comes through." Four tasters would buy this brand, and the other might.

Chobani ($1.49 for 6 ounces at Whole Foods) was second. "Milky with balanced tartness," this "smooth" and "mild" yogurt had "good up-front taste." But some noted an "almost slight sour-milk residual," while another said it "could be tarter for my tastes." Three would buy, one might, and one would not.

Third place went to Voskos ($2.19 for 8 ounces at Safeway). While this "mild" yogurt had a "creamy mouthfeel," tasters mostly found it "a bit bland" - "the faint flavor has no depth." "Looks creamy, but texture is chalky." Two would buy, two might, and one wouldn't.

In fourth place was Oikos, made by Stonyfield Farm ($1.99 for 5.3 ounces at Safeway). This "very tangy" yogurt is for those who seek "a good level of tartness." Those who don't, beware: it was also described as "very sour" and "too tart - almost metallic." Three would buy, while two would not.

Athenos ($2.99 for 16 ounces at Safeway) rounded out the top five. Better known for its hummus, this brand had the "smooth" and "creamy" texture, but the taste? "Sour" and "much too tart" for some; "quite mild" and "bland" for others. One thing our panelists seemed to agree on, though: "not so milky." Two would buy, two might, and one would not.

 

Nonfat Greek-style yogurt

Trader Joe's 82

Chobani 71

Voskos 67

Oikos 61

Athenos 60

Brown Cow 56

Fage 54

Karoun 39

Greek God 32

Panelists were Linda Anusasananan, food writer/consultant, San Mateo; John Carroll, cookbook author, San Francisco; Shelley Handler, consultant, San Francisco; Rosemary Mark, recipe developer, Walnut Creek; Roland Passot, chef-owner of La Folie in San Francisco and three Left Banks. All products are tasted blind; a perfect score would be 100. Prices listed are the lowest found, but products may be available at other stores.