A Few Problems with Caloric Values

Today's Diet Tip:  Seven Diet Myths Debunked  Note #3 that all diets perform poorly over time.  If you want to lose the weight and keep it off, remember it is all about calories in verses calories burned.  It really is that simple!

We rely on various indicators (eg. scales, nutritional values, fitness equipment calories burned, pedometers, fitness apps) to help in our weight loss goal.  Herein lies part of the problem.   I wear my pedometer and have my fitness app on when walking about the house.  Despite calibrating both to my current weight and average step length, they will show different number of steps taken and calories burned.  This would be a problem if I were relying solely on those devices to tell me the number of calories I burned in order to eat a bit more.  The second problem especially with scales is the calibration can become faulty due to age or impact.  In other words, you may not weigh exactly what your scales say you weigh.  Another problem is a lot of fitness equipment gives you a display that includes calories burned but unless it has been calibrated with your weight, chances are very good the display will not be what you actually burned.  That means, you may not be burning as many calories as you think you are which can be problematic for desired weight loss.  For example, if using My Fitness Pal with a calculated 1,200 calorie intake combined with 300 calories burned, your intake should be 1,500.  If in reality you only burned 250 calories instead of the 300 you though you burned and ate the 1,500 you would be over by 50 calories.  If this were done on a consistent basis, it would sabotage your weight loss.

Next problem, the nutritional values.  We rely heavily on them and not just for weight loss so the key question is, are they accurate?  Many restaurants are now including a caloric value on all or a portion of their menu items.  Here's an interesting video addressing discrepancies between restaurant posted caloric value and actual caloric value:

Therein lies one of the problems with trying to lose weight.  Even if you exercise and/or increase your physical activity AND you count the calories you consume, the numbers can still be off causing you to not lose as much weight as you thought you would. 

My work-around is to focus on eating and being physically active for my own optimal health.  I use the nutritional values and calories burned values as guidelines knowing they may be off a little especially those nutritional values for meals eaten away from home.  I also increase my physical activity on days I know I will be eating out.

Zucchini Melody

Today's Diet Tip:  Water dilutes digestive enzymes.  Do not drink water within a half hour of eating, while eating or for an hour after eating.

Yesterday, I mentioned I use My Fitness Pal.  This online site is very user friendly and a excellent tool to use towards a healthier lifestyle.  It calculates your daily energy requirement then sets a daily calorie goal that will create a calorie deficit based on the information you provide.  My basic daily energy requirement is 1,560 calories.  My daily calorie goal of 1,200 calories gives me a calorie deficit of 360 calories so as long as I maintain my normal activity (eg. no exercise) and consume only 1,200 calories a day, I will lose a projected 0.7 lb per week.  If I do any extra activity (eg. shopping, housework) or exercise (eg. elliptical trainer, walking), the calories burned are added to my daily calorie goal.  For example, if I burn 100 calories walking then my calorie goal for that day increases to 1,300 calories.  Under this program, calories burned are meant to be eaten back because there is already a calorie deficit built in.  Essentially, the more I want to eat the more physical activity I do to increase that day's calorie goal.  The only criteria are to not go under the 1,200 calories in a day on a regular basis because it can put your body into starvation mode making it difficult to lose weight and to make sure eat the required macronutrients.    It's actually a very easy, nonrestrictive method of losing weight and getting fit.

Anyone on a diet quickly realizes the importance of eating vegetables.  Vegetables play a large role in our normal daily diet to begin with so there was no adjustment for me there.  Vegetables are low in calories and high in nutrition and fiber.  However, how you cook them or what you add to vegetables (eg. dips, sauces, dressings, cheese) can really increase the calories!

One of our favourite vegetable sides is zucchini melody.  This is a sautéed mixture of zucchini, onions and mushrooms.  It is simple yet tasty, filling but not heavy.  Zucchini melody pairs nicely with any meat, fish or poultry so we have it fairly often.   I paired the zucchini melody with salmon filets and a garden salad for a delicious, low calorie meal. 

One feature I really like about the My Fitness Pal website is the recipe section.  I can easily calculate the nutritional value of homemade dishes.  This is a real benefit for me given that we rely heavily on home cooking from scratch.  It helps pinpoint what changes to make for healthier versions of some dishes as well.

I calculated the nutritional value of the zucchini melody (zucchini stir fry).  A serving size as pictured (about 1½ c) is 59 calories yet still low fat even though I used butter.  The butter is for flavour, often combined with olive oil for these types of dishes.  In this case I could reduce the butter to by half to cut calories, fat and sodium per serving without affecting the flavour much.  As it the zucchini melody has fairly good numbers per serving.

Frugal Kitchens 101 - Eat A Rainbow

One key factor in a frugal kitchen is getting the best nutritional value for your food dollars.  When it comes to fruits and vegetables quite often a lower nutritional value option is chosen for the convenience factor or simply because it is mistakenly thought that the product is a healthy choice.  When it comes to produce the frugal choice with respect to nutrition is locally grown, in season produce.  A few days ago I came across a rather interesting nutritional concept, eat a rainbow.  The colours of the rainbow are red, orange, green, blue, yellow, and purple.  Missing are white, brown, and black.   So let's ponder first in terms of foods why white, brown and black foods are nutritionally not as good of a food value as those vibrantly coloured foods.

White foods can be both good and bad nutritionally.  On the good side there is milks, yogurts, potatoes, mushrooms, parsnips, some fish, seafood and white onions but even these some of these have a bit of negative like high fat or high carbohydrate content associated with them.  On the bad side for white foods is most are heavily processed (eg. flours, sugars, rice) to the point there really is little nutritional value left.  In addition to that because of the processing there can be carcinogenic residues left behind in the foods.  Good brown foods include lentils, dried beans, brown rice, honey, nuts and grains.  Nutritionally poor brown foods to avoid are dried cereals, some baked goods and deep fried foods.  In general black foods are restricted to charred foods that have carcinogenic residues from the cooking process.  In contrast to these foods, there is very little negative to say about the vibrant, rainbow coloured foods.  All are high in vitamins, minerals and fibre.  In particular:

• red - These include tomatoes, berries, apples beets, pomegrantes, cherries, grapes, cranberries, red onions, some dried beans and watermelon.  Tomatoes are rich in lycopene, a beneficial antioxidant.  Strawderries and raspberries are rich in anthocyanins that are cancer fighting antioxidants that also help protect against heart disease.  Cranberries contain compounds that prevent bacteria from sticking to the lining of the urinary tract, preventing infections.  Red peppers contain lutein and zeaxanthin both of which lower the risk of macular degeneration, one of the leading causes of blindness in older adults.  Kidney, small red and turtle beans are rich in fibre.
• orange - These include carrots, sweet potatoes, apricots, peaches, cantalope, squash, oranges and pumpkin.  Orange fruits are rich in Vitamin C while orange vegetables are rich in carotenoids.  Both provide protection against a number of diseases. 
• green - These include leafy greens like lettuces, brussel sprouts, cabbage, broccoli, spinach, avacados, asparagus, green beans, mung beans, seaweeds and peas as well as many fresh herbs.  Dark leafy greans are rich in antioxidants and Vitamin C.  Spinach is rich in Vitamin K which plays a critical role in normal blog clotting.  It is also rich in lutein and zeaxanthin.  Seaweeds are rich in iodine.  Mung beans can be sprouted for a rich source of Vitamin C.  Many herbs have medicinal qualities in addition to their culinary qualities.
• blue - Blueberries are about the only blue food occuring in nature.  They are rich in antioxidants and anthocyanins, lowering the risk of heat attack as well as fighting cancer.
• yellow - These include lemons, some squashes, yellow potatoes, yellow onions, some edible flowers, yellow beans, and some berries.  They are rich in Vitamin C and carotenoids.
• purple - For the most part this includes concord grapes, red cabbage, berries, nori (a type of seaweed), and eggplant.  Purple foods are rich in antioxidants.   Concord grapes are rich in anthocyanins that help lower the risk of heart attack. 

Bon Appétit!

Garden Gnome
©2006-2011

Important Canning Note & Last Night's Dinner - Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Ribs

Things are a little slow in the kitchen right now so a bit of housekeeping and chit chat.


An Important Note on Canning Recipes: Altitude Adjustments
It has been brought to my attention that I haven't mentioned the need to adjust processing times if using a boiling water bath (BWB) canner or pressure canner at altitudes higher than 1,000 ft (305 M) above sea level. This is an oversight on my part based on the assumption that anyone using my recipes would know to adjust the processing if they live at a higher altitude. We live below 1,000 ft (305 M) above sea level so like many canning recipes found online, mine are written to be processed at that level. At higher altitudes, the length of processing needs to be increased BWB canning and the pressure needs to be increased for pressure canning.

I created the altitude adjustment chart image in Photoshop CS2 using USDA recommendations and information from the charts found here. I liked the incorporation of both Imperial and Metric measurements for a universally useful resource. I will be going through the archives to note the canning recipes with a link back to my chart but this will take some time. I will also be adding a link in the sidebar to the altitude adjustment chart.

Tossed Salad

A good portion of the meals entries on this blog don't include pictures of sides like salads and the other foods that go into making our meals. Salads are one of those sides that are usually served at most dinners and quite often are served by themselves for dinner. This time of year really makes me yearn for fresh picked salad greens. Being in a cold winter climate that isn't always possible unless you grow a few pots of salad greens on a windowsill. Unfortunately I don't have salad greens grown but have herbs planted in containers. I started one larger pot of mescalin mix so hopefully will be clipping that in another couple of weeks. So we are relying on store bought greens for salads.

This tossed salad was made with iceberg lettuce as a base. Iceberg lettuce while popular for the crunch has very little nutritional value. It's not something that I grow or use very often. When I do, I like pairing it with darker raw green vegetables like sweet peppers and broccoli. Cucumbers, tomatoes, sliced mushrooms and just a little cheddar cheese completed the toppings. A sun dried tomato and oregano dressing was the finishing touch.

Sweet & Sour Pork Loin Ribs

On my quest to use one food item from the pantry and another from the freezer, I decided on pork loin ribs. These are large meaty ribs with no bones so ends up being a rather frugal choice for meat. It reheats well and can easily be froze.

This was a rather large package of pork loin ribs at just under 11 kg (5 lb). I decided to use a sweet and sour sauce on the ribs much the same I do with chicken wings. This is a slow cook process. The sweet and sour sauce is ideal for chicken or pork and works just as well in a slow cooker as a roaster although it does not caramelize to the same degree in a slow cooker.

Method: The meat goes in a covered roaster with just about a 250 ml (1 c) water at 135ºC (275ºF) for about 3 hours. It is important to leave the meat alone without lifting the lid. At the end of 3 hours, remove the roaster and drain most of the liquid. Reserve the liquid for cooking rice. Mix the sauce (recipe follows) then pour over the meat. For this amount of meat I used 2.5 times the recipe amounts. Increase temperature to 150º (300ºF) for about one hour. Increase temperature to 177ºC (350ºF), remove lid and continue cooking for about 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan to a serving platter. Drizzle sauce over top.

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 c ketchup
¼ c vinegar
¼ c brown sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
½ finely chopped onion
1 tsp prepared mustard

Mix together. Pour over meat and bake or roast.
*Recipe easily doubles.

Liver & Onions Revisited

It's that time of the year when I'm doing some type of preserving daily with a large emphasis on canning. That means I want simple to prepare meals that take advantage of the extra produce I have on hand. It's always nice when the meal happens to be both frugal and comfort food. Such is the case with liver and onions. In an earlier blog entry, Three Simple Budget Stretching Dishes, I gave the method my husband uses for cooking liver and onions.

Many people turn up their noses at eating liver quite often because of unpleasant childhood memories. Liver should never be dry or tough. It should be melt in your mouth, full of flavour and nicely textured. If you refuse to eat liver because of previous experiences, consider cooking it using our method. It might just change your mind. Liver is generally quite inexpensive making it a very frugal meat choice. It is rich and filling so less goes further. Leftovers heat nicely in the microwave but I don't know if they would freeze. It's high in protein and iron but also high in cholesterol so those watching their dietary intake of cholesterol should limit their intake.

The original instructions I posted follows this discussion.

The total price for 3 packages of fresh liver was $6.58 giving enough for dinner for three adults, lunch for one adult, and dinner for two adults. Paired with new crop Spanish onions (50 lb - $8.99) and new crop potatoes (50 lb $7.99) it makes for a nice frugal meal. Choose firm, fresh liver (1) preferably calf liver with the intent of cooking it the day you buy it. The liver should have good colouration with glistening appearance. Do not buy if there is excess blood leaking around the liver. Open the package to allow the liver to breath about 5 minutes before coating.

The coating should be kept simple with a little seasoning to accent the liver but not so as to overpower it. We used about 2 cups of unbleached flour (2) with a couple of dashes of garlic pepper and garlic salt but you can add whatever seasonings you like as long as they don't overpower the liver. Old Bay seasoning works nicely too as does simple salt and pepper. The best way to coat the liver is to dredge using your hands. Once coated the liver is placed into a medium sauteé pan to brown only (3). You will need two fry pans, one for the liver and one for the onions. Sauteé sliced onions until translucent in butter then add the browned liver (3). Butter is the best for flavour but it can be cut in half with extra virgin olive oil to reduce the saturated and trans fats or you can use half ghee and half extra virgin olive oil for the flavour. Continue cooking the liver and onions on medium heat stirring often until the onions are caramelized (4). Remove from heat and let rest about 5 minutes.

Method: You will need a sautee pan and fry pan for this method. Timing is important so be sure to use mis en place. Cut two large spanish onions in half then into slices against the layers. Melt about 2 tbsp butter in the sautee pan then add onions. Stir occasionally and if need be add a little extra butter. While the onions are sauteeing, dredge the liver in flour seasoned with a little salt and pepper or garlic salt if you prefer. Lightly brown on both sides in heated fry pan on medium heat. Remove from heat. When the onions begin carmelizing, transfer the liver to the sautee pan. Continue cooking until the onions are carmelized, stirring often.

Presentation

Liver and onions are comfort food so choose comforting sides like potatoes and/or carrots cooked simply without added fats. I served the liver with steamed new potatoes with a just little butter and sea salt. A side garden salad with lemon juice instead of dressing rounded out the meal. Lemon juice brings out the flavour of a salad without adding fat or calories. It was an ideal side for this dinner. We had plain yogurt with a bit of fresh fruit for desert.

So all in all, liver is a very frugal, comforting and healthy meal. Do give it a try.

Banana Bread & Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

Comfort food is always appreciated but more so when you aren't feeling well. That usually means a nice homemade bread and homemade soup here.


Banana Bread
This is the banana bread recipe I have been using almost from the time we were wed. It is a nice breakfast, desert or snack bread just perfect for using up a couple of well ripened bananas. While the original recipe calls for white flour, I've made a few modifications. Whole wheat flour gives good results so be sure to read the notes section for this recipe.
Banana Bread
source: unknown but TNT using modifications in notes section after the recipe

1 3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/3 c shortening
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 c mashed bananas

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. Cream shortening and sugar. Add eggs, beating after each one. And bananas and blend. Add flour mixture a bit at a time blending after each addition. Pour into a well greased loaf pan and bake at 350ºF (325ºF, convection) for 50 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre is clean.

My notes: I use whole wheat flour, Member's Mark® Organic Sugar and add 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract.

There is nothing like homemade chicken noodle soup when you are feeling under the weather or suffering from a cold. It is packed full of nutrition and it's soothing warmth will have you feeling fit as a fiddle in no time. My homemade chicken noodle soup is made from scratch and like most of my soups there is no set recipe. The list of ingredients for the most part remains the same as does the method as it it meant to pack in a lot of nutrition. This soup does freeze nicely even with the noodles added. If you want to can this soup do not add the noodles. Essentially this soup is made in two steps. Note, I use a 15 or 20 quart stock pot depending on how much soup I want to make. Once the noodles are cooked, that will leave about two or three inches headspace in the pot.


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

While this method looks complicated it really isn't. What you end up with is a wonderful homemade chicken noodle soup that will sooth both the spirit and body. Make enough to last you until you are feeling a better as it will keep a few days in the fridge. For little ones, instead of using broad egg noodles try alphabet noodles. It will be a big hit and make them feel very pampered!


Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
recipe by Garden Gnome

Stage 1:
2 - 4 chicken legs with backs attached
1 medium unpeeled onion, washed with both ends cut off
2 stalks celery, washed with ends lightly trimmed, cut into 2 inch pieces
1/2 celery heart, washed with end removed (about 4 small stalks with leaves)
2 large carrots, washed, unpeeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
1 parsnip, washed, unpeeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
two pinches coarse sea salt
water to cover

Bring these ingredients to a boil, reduce to simmer and allow to simmer and hour or more. Cool then defatted. Remove the vegetables and meat and place on burner for stock to reheat. Remove the skin from the chicken and cut the meat from the bone. Cut meat into bite size pieces and return to stock. Place the bones and vegetables (optional) into a smaller sauce pan with just enough water to cover and bring to a rolling boil. Strain. Add this liquid to your stock. Repeat if desired or add one quart of homemade stock from your freezer or canning shelf to the chicken stock and meat.

Stage 2:
2 green onions, washed and sliced thinnly (or one medium onion, chopped fine)
fresh ground pepper to taste
a pinch of coarse sea salt to taste
3 - 4 splashes of Maggi (see note!)
1 package broad egg noodles
fresh or frozen chives, chopped

Add all the ingredients tasting stock except the noodles and chives as you go. Adjust any seasoning then bring the stock and meat to a boil and stir in the noodles. I just estimate so some batches will take the full package of noodles while others won't. When noodles are cooked, ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with a dash of Maggi, a bit of fresh grated pepper and a sprinkling of chopped chives.

My Notes: Maggi contains both peanut and corn protein so do not use this if you or anyone in your family is allergic to these products. Instead substitute your favourite soy sauce. I like Kikkoman but other soy sauces will work fine. It might sound like there is a lot of onions in this soup but really their is not. The first onion adds a nice flavour, nutrients and natural colour to the stock. The second addition adds flavour and colour.