Monthly Archives: October 2012

Gmo: What You Need To Know

As election day draws nearer there is an enormous amount of attention being paid to what the voters will do at the polls. California is in the forefront of the move to label GMOs in food. Other states have considered it but as of yet none have actually passed such a bill. The general thinking is that if one state passes this legislation manufacturers will be forced to change all of their labeling nationwide in order to not have to create two forms of packaging.

The battle has been heated and intense with both sides contributing money to try to reach out to California voters and garner their support. The chain of food ownership has become startlingly clear as the Cornucopia Institute put together this infographic showing who contributed what to the campaign. Consumers were truly able to see that although companies like Cascadian Farms Organic, Larabar, and Kashi have a reputation as being consumer friendly and producing clean products, they are in fact owned by major corporation such as Kellogg and General Mills. These giant food producers have a vested interest in maintaining our state of ignorance and have contributed hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to convince consumers to vote against GMO labeling.

This is not just an issue that we face here in the US. All over the world governments and consumers are rethinking the use of GMO. Just last month Russia suspended the use of GMO corn after a controversial French study showed ill effects in lab animals. This study has since been brought into question however many of the issues it raised are valid and warrant further study.

This is not, however, the first time that there have been issues with GMO corn. Back in 2005 there was a German study which showed severe health effects and damage to the liver and kidneys causing the German government to call a halt to the use of the corn. A 2009 study done in Austria showed that there was a link between GMO crops and a decline in human fertility.

In August of this year two Australia farmers began to travel around New Zealand educating farmers against GMO crops. As is the case here in the US, those that do not want GMO crops have no recourse if their fields are “accidentally” contaminated. However there is no way for them to protect against wind, flood, and animals carrying seed. All of these are potential methods of contaminating crops. Monsanto has a known reputation for suing farmers for theft if their fields become contaminated, even if this contamination is against the wishes of the farmer. The only way to protect against GM is to keep it out of the country.

In this video (1.5 hours but worth watching) Jeffrey Smith, the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology talks about GMO crops and their effects.

You can also watch the movie The World According to Monsanto to learn more.

If you want to read further about GMOs consider the following books:

At this point it may be difficult to stop the spread of GMO crops. I believe it should be stopped and I believe it should be eradicated to the best of our ability. But even more importantly I believe that we should have the right to know what's really in our food. I will be watching the election to see what happens in California. I will be hoping that Californians lead the way in supporting our right to know what's in our food.

photo: faul

Five Fabulous Fall Foods

by Mirafruit, seasons, vegetables

Summer, that season of fresh salads, greens, berries, and melons all bursting with healthful vitamins and nutrients, has passed. Autumn, however, also please our palates, providing us with different gifts of nature. There are many seasonal fruits and vegetables, which are just as tasty as summer while delivering different health benefits. Here are some fabulous fall foods (depending on your location) and their health benefits.

Tomatoes – This berry provides high lycopene content, that rare plant pigment which imparts their red color to tomatoes and other fruits . According to several studies lycopene can prevent cancer, lower cholesterol, and appears to protect us from harmful ultraviolet radiation. In addition to lycopene, tomatoes are high in potassium, fiber and vitamin C, helps to strengthen the immune system before the influenza season.

Cabbage – High in fiber, which supports digestion, can lower cholesterol, and provides cardio-protective benefits, cabbage is also rich in antioxidants which can protect the body against many types of cancer (including breast, prostate and ovarian cancers). Another benefit of this versatile benefit is that cabbage juice has long been known for it's healing effects on stomach ulcers.

Persimmon – Another berry, persimmons are high in fiber, and antioxidants. They also provide vitamins A, C, D, iron, potassium, calcium, copper, magnesium, manganese, and iodine. Persimmons can provide a fair number of health benefits from lowering blood pressure to being cardioprotective to it's anti-tumor benefits. However, persimmons are also high in glucose and sucrose making them a poor choice for those suffering from diabetes.

Turnips – A root vegetable containing potassium, magnesium, sulfur, iron, sodium, iodine and manganese, turnips are anti-cancerous while their high fiber content make them a great choice to lower cholesterol and support a healthy digestive system. One of the great things about turnips are that you can eat the greens as well as the roots, making them a versatile food to add to your diet. And those greens are just as loaded with nutrients as the roots, containing vitamins A, C, K, and folate. Turnip greens are even high in calcium making them a good choice to support bone health.

Beetroot – Another root vegetable which has edible greens, beets are highly anti-inflammatory and support detoxification in the body. Beetroot is high in folate, manganese, fiber, potassium, and vitamin C while the greens are a great source of lutein and zeaxanthin, two phytonutrients which are especially supportive of eye health. While almost all products can be found in stores throughout the year, for freshness and higher nutritional content it is important to eat seasonally.

Adding these autumnal foods to your diet is not only tasty and easy, it's also good for you.

Korah Morrison has been working as a freelance writer for over 2 years. She writes essays on various topics at Essay-Point.com and loves her work.

photo: Jean-Pol Grandmont

Un-Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

by Mirarecipes, vegetablescabbage, casserole, recipe

This post, and delicious recipe, are from my friend Robin Horn over at Seasonal Eating. A foodie from a very young age, Robin lives in Santa Cruz, California, and is a proponent of seasonal eating and CSAs.

Cabbage is coming into season and there are so many delicious ways to serve it. While I love stuffed cabbage I confess that the time it takes to make all those little rolls (especially compared to how quickly they get scarfed down) is somewhat of a deterrent. This seems like a tasty solution, and since it makes 12 servings it would be great for a big family gathering (or for delicious leftovers).

Someday I will make stuffed cabbage leaves, the delicious galumkis that my mother and grandmother used to make…sort of. The family recipe was never written down, so this is a project for when time, patience, and creativity are simultaneously expanded.
In the meantime, working on my cooking goal of exploring my Polish cooking roots, I found a Weight Watchers stuffed cabbage casserole, and set out to make a no-beef, more easily prepared version.
Because the original recipe had a number of cabbage leaves wrapped around one mound of filling, it was tricky to cut and serve—and to fill in the first place. So, I simply chopped all of the cabbage and put half in the filling and half beneath the filling, where all the juices from the filling drip down deliciously.
I topped the filling with a thin tomato sauce. Originally I tried a layer of cabbage on the top, but the tomato sauce dried out instead of flavoring the cabbage. So I replaced this layer with a few thin cabbage strips. The meat and rice filling right below the tomato sauce draw the tomato flavor down into the casserole because the uncooked rice is “thirsty.”
While not as time-consuming as stuffed cabbage leaves, there are many steps in this recipe and it must cook for 1½ hours. Just like stuffed cabbage, the leaves must be precooked. Save time by having two people chop veggies, measure and mix meat filling ingredients, make the sauce, and assemble the layers.
You can use lean ground beef in this recipe if you prefer. I added paprika from my family recipe. You could choose various herbs, garlic powder, and/or a hint of cayenne. If you’re braver than I am, you can blend the meat mixture with your hands, like my Mom did. It’s faster, and if I’d had some latex gloves, I would have tried it.

Note from Mira: I find it's simple to mix meat mixtures like this in my blender. And since I'm often working with cold ingredients I don't get that chilled effect on my hands which I find unpleasant.

Un-Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

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Servings 12

Ingredients

2 ½ lbs. cabbage
1 lb. ground turkey
2/3 cup shredded carrot
½ cup minced onion
½ cup brown rice
½ tsp. salt
1½ tbsp. paprika
1 large egg
1¼ cup chicken or veggie broth
24 oz jar tomato sauce
2 tbsp. wine vinegar
2 tsp. sugar
olive oil for greasing pan

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Remove 3 outer leaves from cabbage to make the strips of cabbage for the topping.
Cut remaining cabbage into quarters without removing core.
Boil each quarter cabbage in water until tender, about 5 minutes.
Drain well and cool.
Chop cabbage quarters into ½ inch dice, discarding cores.
Boil the 3 cabbage leaves in water 3 - 4 minutes, until tender.
Remove with slotted spoon, drain and cool.
Cut out rib and make ½ inch strips of soft parts.
Dice ribs with quarter cabbages.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Put ground turkey into bowl and break up into pieces with wooden spatula.
Mix in carrot, onion, rice, salt, and paprika.
Beat egg together with ¼ cup broth till smooth.
Add this mixture and ½ cup tomato sauce to meat mixture and beat till evenly blended.
Mix in half of the cooked chopped cabbage evenly. To make the sauce, combine the remaining tomato sauce with wine vinegar and sugar.
Lightly oil a 9” x 14” baking pan.
Spread the remaining half of the cabbage in the bottom of the pan.
Pour the remaining (1) cup of broth around the edges of the pan.
Spoon on the meat mixture.
Smooth out with a rubber spatula to make an even layer.
Place the cabbage strips across the top, leaving space between them.
Pour tomato sauce over top of meat mixture and cabbage strips and spread into even layer.
Bake for 1½ hours.
Let stand at least 20 minutes before serving so liquid is absorbed.

Swiss Chard Two Ways

by Mirarecipes, vegetables, vegetarian

The other night I picked the last of my Swiss chard from our garden for dinner. It's one of my favorite dark leafy green vegetables. Antioxidant-rich, loaded with vitamins K, A, and C, Swiss chard also provides a healthy dose of magnesium.

Often when we eat it I make simple sauteed greens. This time, however, I wanted to do something different and came up with these two recipes, using the entire leaf.

Although most people throw out the stems, they are delicious and can be cooked in a variety of ways. These are the two recipes I created using all of the Swiss chard. I can't wait to plant more and enjoy this again.

Braised Carrots and Swiss Chard Stems

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Ingredients

½ onion, diced
8 carrots, sliced into ½ inch pieces
Stems from Swiss chard, cut into ½ inch pieces
2 tablespoons butter
¼ cup water
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

In a large pan melt butter
Saute onions until starting to turn golden color
Add carrots and Swiss chard stems
Stir to coat with butter
Add water and bring to a boil
Reduce heat and cover
Cook until carrots are tender (about 15 minutes)
Add salt and pepper to taste

Creamed Swiss Chard

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Ingredients

Large bunch of Swiss chard
½ cup boiling water
½ onion, diced
1 clove garlic, pressed
2 tablespoons butter
½ cup organic sour cream
½ cup organic whole milk
sea salt and fresh ground nutmeg to taste

Instructions

Trim stems from Swiss chard
Cut leaves into 1” pieces
Wilt in boiling water until limp
In a large saucepan melt butter
Saute onions and garlic until onions start to turn golden color
Whisk sour cream and milk together
Pour over onions and heat until just starting to bubble
Add wilted Swiss chard leaves
Bring to a boil, stirring frequently
Reduce heat to just under boiling
Cook 5-7 minutes until sauce thickens slightly
Add sea salt and fresh ground nutmeg to taste

Updating Pbj

by Mirachange, habits, ingredients

When I was a kid one of my favorite sandwiches was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. My preferred version was the ones I got at my friend Donna's house where her mom used a creamy peanut butter. I don't remember the brand but I remember preferring it to the all natural, fresh ground peanut butter we had at home. She also used squishy white bread (probably Wonderbread) which I never got at home and adored. Donna and I would make our sandwiches with enormous amounts of peanut butter and a large heaping of jelly (usually grape) oozing out of the edges of the sandwich. We would lick the edges to “clean it up” and then bite into a sandwich so thick and sticky that our mouths were somewhat gummed shut.

Over time my tastes have changed and that pbj has gone through several modifications over the years. At one point I was making ezekiel bread; grinding the grains and legumes myself to make the flour before I baked the bread. This deliciously robust-flavored bread happens to make a fabulous, filling choice. I also, over time, lowered the amount of sugar, salt, and added fat in my peanut butter by making different choices. Then, eventually, I switched altogether and began to use fresh ground almond butter from the machine at my grocery store. I find it amusing that although I thought the fresh ground peanut butter of my youth was not that good, I've come full circle and now love the crunchiness and true flavor of fresh ground nut butter. And while I love jam it's usually either handmade or a purchase that is whole fruit, no added sugar or other chemical ingredients. But even that has now changed and I often find myself mashing up fresh berries with a tiny drizzle of honey as the “jelly” in my sandwich.

These days, due to digestive challenges, I find I do better avoiding gluten and so, unable to, as yet, make a good gluten free ezekiel-style bread I am using a brown rice bread which is very satisfying. But I've changed the sandwich again and now often have it open face using one slice of bread, some almond butter (just almonds, nothing else), a few mashed berries, that drizzle of honey and it's just as satisfying and comforting as the pbj of my youth.

I suspect that because the changes were gradual and because they were choices that I made, this seems perfectly reasonable to me. I'm equally certain that if I had abruptly changed from that fluffy air bread, sugar-laden, oily peanut butter, and over-processed grape jelly to today's version I would not have been a happy camper. While I know it's not the sandwich of my youth, it's what I reach for when I want that kind of food.

Our food is what we think of it and how we see those emotional connections and associations. What have you changed and yet it's still the same?

photo: Renee Comet