the sweet truth
a really cool article I found that lays it out about sugar:
Click HERE to read on.
I have to say, the more I’m learning about fructose metabolism, the more I’m really questioning my consumption of honey and agave as substitutions for table sugar. The fructose is really the culprit, which is HIGH is honey and agave. More research is needed, I think, as there are isomers of fructose (isomer = same basic structure with different specific configurations), and that may impact digestion.
Naturally as I know more, you’ll know more gang.
Good note: if you use unrefined sweeteners, such as honey and agave, you need LESS overall and LESS calories from sugar is a good thing in general!
1 comment December 1, 2009
Update on the Co-op gig
Thanks so much for all the support, you guys! I love working at the Co-op. So far my food demos have resulted in increased sales on all the items, which is one of the purposes. Apparently I’m quite persuasive when it comes to good food!
I love the Co-op because it is neither pretentious like Whole Foods sometimes feels nor is it too “Birkenstocks and granola”, like some Co-ops. We have pretty strict food regulations and it looks like a regular grocery store (well, it is). It’s much like New Seasons in Portland, which by the way was recently on NPR – awesome.
You can take a virtual visit at: www.davisfood.coop
I bought my T-day turkey there, and it was cool to learn about the different types of sustainable turkeys. They sell certain breeds that were popular in the 1940-1950 era, but lost popularity to the giant breasted birds of today. When I cook my bird I’ll tell you how it is. Ironically, it’s from Heidi’s farm in Oregon. Cool, huh!!
Hopefully that TV show concept will come to fruition. I’ll settle for an internet TV show…or how bout I get my butt in gear and at least make some more videos? Baby steps, right!
1 comment November 24, 2009
Finally, I found the culprit
Today in Biochem I got a gem of wisdom that has made taking this 8am class (5 days/week, mind you) worth it.
We are studying sugar metabolism. Today I learned why HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP makes you fat.
It’s call the TCA cycle. In a very small nutshell – it’s how we oxidize sugar to produce water, carbon dioxide and heat (ie, the calories from sugar to use as energy).
Fructose, unlike glucose, doesn’t quite work in a fashion that makes for ideal digestion. It bypasses certain steps and you end up getting the TCA cycle going in full swing.
Problem? Yes. When we get too much ’substrate’ (ie stuff to metabolize in the TCA) our bodies are so clever that we have a back up plan.
Look closely at the diagram of the TCA cycle. See that molecule called “CITRATE’? This is a regulating step in sugar metabolism. When we get too much citrate (from lots of sugar being broken down), a second pathway is activated.
That pathway is the lipogenesis pathway. Fancy name for making fat (lipo = fat, genesis = making/creating). Clever, huh?
Having too much general sugar can do this as well but fructose is different because even smaller amounts will activate the fat pathway. That is why HFCS goes right to your a**, or wherever in your body that you store fat.
Solution: Avoid HFCS. Unfortunately, there are other sweeteners that are high in fructose, such as agave and honey. I’m investigating the word on the science street about those sweeteners. My mentor professor is against agave, and she’s the gal at Davis doing all the fructose studies. They’ve shown in studies that consuming fructose (not HFCS, just fructose) elevates fasting triglycerides, and seems to promote weight gain more than glucose does. Hmm…….
Off White might have to change it’s M.O. and be about not just cutting out white sugar, but just cutting out sugar. Granted, that is ultimately the point, but I may be learning some things about unrefined sweeteners that aren’t so sweet. I’ll keep you posted!
Add comment November 24, 2009
Asian Invasion
Last week I felt like I was on iron chef. Our friend Henry decided to have a dinner party at our house (we thought we were just having him over, but it was really him and 4 guests!). He came 1 hr late, and we all had to cook this Asian feast in about 50 minutes…….all in all, it was a ton of fun! See, this is one thing I like about being back in College – Dinner parties on a Wednesday evening; what could be better 
The menu:
Pork marinated in Dr. Pepper and star anise
Steamed fish with some kind of sauce
Curried vegetables
some kind of weird mushroom soup ( He swears there were no chicken feet, but something looked fishy to me!)
rice, of course!
All in all, a tasty meal, though the curry paste he brought over had 1.6g Sodium PER 2 tbsp…that is like a lifetime supply in one jar. I was seriously guzzling water the next day. The pork was actually pretty good, and really you couldn’t taste the Dr. Pepper…it was just to tenderize the meat (hmmm…..if it can break down meat so well, what is it doing when we drink it….).
I’m not a huge lover of Chinese food, so it was good to have somebody introduce me to some new flavors. Henry enlightened us to the way of the rice cooker this year, so now we have quinoa/rice/spelt ready for us regularly. I must admit, my grain consumption has increased at Davis, but its just so easy to grab pre-made rice pilaf than to whip something up at every meal….. I digress…….
here are some pics of what we made. Sorry, I don’t have recipes and judging by the fury that Henry put it all together, I’m pretty sure these were family recipes that haven’t been written down. Love it!
Henry and Patty in action
Curried veggie complete with lifetime supply of sodium…but tasty!
Add comment November 17, 2009
even better than the real thing
Sometimes Matt and I really strike gold in the kitchen. We’ve been toying with some new ideas for holiday treats, and have wanted to experiment with a new pumpkin pie recipe. Not that last year’s recipe with coconut milk was a problem, but I’ve made it so many times I’m kind of over it…. plus, I don’t think it had enough density for Matt.
Last Saturday night we really hit the jackpot. I must give credit where credit is due…it was pretty much Matt’s concoction, which impressed me because he normally doesn’t like sweet potatoes, so his eagerness to use them instead of pumpkin puree was pretty cool. ……ahh, it’s the little things in a relationship, isn’t it?!
Here is the recipe:
Sweet Potato Almond butter pie
Low Sugar, high fiber, wheat free, milk optional:
Crust (adopted from Bob’s Redmill baking book):
1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
3 tbsp fine sugar (we used an evaporated cane juice)
1/4 tsp: salt, baking soda
4 tbsp butter, chilled and chopped into pieces
1 egg
1/4 cup almond or rice milk
Place all dry ingredients in food processor and pulse to blend. Sprinkle butter over mixture. Pulse until just mix. Stir and pulse until it looks like crumbs. Pour into a bowl and add almond milk and mix until it just begins to clump together. Roll the dough into a ball, flatten the ball, and cover with plastic. Refrigerate for 30 min or so.
Meanwhile, the filling:
1 large sweet potato, baked and peeled
1 cup almond/rice/cow milk
1 egg + 2 yolks
1/2 cup almond butter
1/4 cup unrefined sugar or molasses
1 tsp each: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, ginger
1/8 tsp salt
Blend the pumpkin and milk in a blender or food processor. Whisk eggs and add to pumpkin/milk combo. Add almond butter and whisk. Add sugar and spices and salt. Whisk until smooth (it’s a lot of whisking, really). Set aside
Once chilled, pull out dough and roll so that it makes a square or circle (we used a square dish) large enough to be a pie crust. It ends up being kind of thick and dense once cooked, just so you know. Grease a pie tin, and add the rolled dough.
Pour filling and pinch edges of dough.
Bake uncovered for 40-50 min at 350. SOOO good!
1 comment November 17, 2009
good news
Just got hired at the Davis Food Coop for a temp job as the holiday food demo gal…. humble beginnings here in Davis, but I’m stoked! ya know, Rachael Ray got her start doing food demos in a grocery store………..
6 comments November 14, 2009
curry coconut soup
Simple soup I whipped up today to commensurate the first day of November. I hadn’t really cooked in a while, so doing this simply felt good!
Enjoy!
Add comment November 1, 2009
She ain’t much to look at, but she’ll do just fine
So I decided to make a garden. As part of my own personal journey of taking my committment to off whilte living one step further, it seems logical (and fun) to make gardening a serious endeavor. I tried a garden in Oregon and FAILED miserably. I’m pretty sure every plant I put in the ground died or molded. Turns out plants need sunlight on a daily basis, not just downpours of rain from my roof awning…DUH! Note to self, don’t be so hasty next time.
This time I decided to do it right. I took my $40 to the experimental College on campus (AKA the place where you take all the holistic classes and such) and purchase a 400 sq ft plot. She’s mine all mine.
Oh, but what am I supposed to do with this now? Thank GOD my garden tour started with sometips on digging up old plants, airrating the soil (is that even close to the spelling) and where to get the manure, rice hulls, mulch, etc.
I learned that if I’m going to plant potatoes, the manure must be laid on at least 120 days ahead of harvest so I’m not eating crap (literally) when I dig up my taters for dinner. Good to know, these things.
So what does gardening have to do with off white living? First, I need an outlet that is not exercise, school or cerebral in any way. If I’m going to quell my scholastic anxiety with something other than sugar, gardening seems like a pretty good choice.
Second, I need and want healthy food. I will make a green smoothie with Kale in it every day if I’m not paying $1.89/head of kale. Do the math, those greens get expensive. Today chard was $2.99 at the Co-0p for 1 bunch. Yikes. Same story with other veggies. Yes, we have yolo fruit stand, but how fun will it be to make mashed turnips with rosemary when I have grown the turnips and rosemary. I’m hoping that if I keep my attention directed on the way of eating that I WANT (ie, move toward the positive), there won’t be room in my day, my head or my fridge for things I don’t want.
Third: It’s a way to make friends. Already two helpers have participated in the gardening endeavors of moving branches and weeding the soil.
Tomorrow it’s seed and start buying day and planting seeds indoors as needed b/f they go into the ground. Good times
I’ll keep ya posted.
Add comment October 9, 2009
Coaching for a cause: purchase my services AND help out a farm in need
Hey hey bloggies,
I recently heard about a local (Nor Cal) farm that was devastated by a recent fire and really in need of support….so I decided to donate a coaching package to their online fundraising auction.
Thanks to the farm’s friend and community liaison, Bonnie, I’m now part of an online auction where folks like you can bid on really cool stuff and experiences to help this sustainable farm get back on its feet.
I’m grateful for the opportunity to help out and I feel that it is the beginning of what I hope is more collaborations between the food side of nutrition and the education side (me!). Besides me, there are other fabulous items to choose from, some of which you can even experience if you live outside of the Interstate-80 corridor in Nor Cal.
Check out the link below and pass it along to anybody you think might want to know:
Add comment October 3, 2009
Grad school the off white way
When I first attended UC Davis oh, about 15 years ago (YIKES!), I was NOT an off white eater at all. My diet consisted of Captain Crunch w/non-fat milk in the morning, bagels/yogurt/carrots for breakfast and a sort of sensible dinner (salad and meat usually), WITH dessert if at all possible. A snack would be taking my loose change and buying all the $.05 Laffy Taffy and York Peppermint Patties that my quarters and nickels would allow. Sugar and white carbs are cheap and plentiful on college campuses, even a health conscious campus like Davis. I was in sugar heaven!
Ironically, I was about 10 pounds lighter, but that is a story for another day
Now I’m back in the same environment with a different mentality. Because I am A) Poor and B) more conscious about my diet, it means I’m schlepping my meals to campus every day instead of relying on the homemade and not-so-homemade offerings here on campus. Though I will say, that several times I’ve scored a bran muffin for $.40 that had sugar listed as the 4th ingredient AND that was not the size of my head…so there are pseudo off-white bargins to be found.
What’s hard is that keeping up with my energy needs is a lot more work now that I carry my life on my back and ride a bike around all day. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, but I’m hungry A LOT. Hungry and Picky is not always a good combo. Here’s what I’ve learned about myself so far:
1. Because I workout in the AM, and then ride my bike for 15 minutes to/from gym to class I am downright ravenous @ 8am. So my 8-9am class is also breakfast. Hardly mindful, but it’s a reality. I MUST have protein and fat or else I’m starving again at 9am. What seems to work is a hard boiled egg + oatmeal or homemade energy bar.
2. If I don’t plan for lunch @ noon I’m pretty much wanting to eat my arm off. So it’s either add one more container to the backpack or plan to go home for lunch. Honestly, I’ve had to scarf down my lunch several times because I just don’t have time to be leisurely. Hopefully I’ll figure out a better system. Seems like a big fat salad and some lean meat works well, and if I just do ‘grain’ based meals (like tabouleh, salad and hummus/veg), I’m again starving by 3pm.
3. I’ve never had a problem forgetting to eat, but I can’t tell you how fast the hours go by between meals and I’ll realize ‘oh, it’s 7pm and I need to eat dinner”. What????!!! That has NEVER happened to me before. I simply have too many other things to think about or places to be (like yoga, for instance @ 5:30-7pm). To avoid the binge effect of being super hungry I have to plan ahead and have something ready. Again hard boiled eggs or veg/hummus have served as my appetizer on several occasions. In some ways its a lot more work for us becasue we don’t just keep crackers, bread or microwave food around. It’s a good problem to have, but I forsee LOTS of batch cooking in my future to ensure proper fueling.
4. Waste not, want not. I used to have a real bad habit of letting food go bad. Not so much now. Food costs money. Food in the house also means less time spent trying to find food. We eat EVERYTHING we buy. Peach slightly bruised…no problem, just cut off the bruised part and stick the rest in that smoothie. I have a whole new appreciation for my wonderful food! Its amazing what I can conjuor up, such as: oatmeal with coconut flakes, flaxmeal, cinnamon, and applesauce…..or a mid-day egg scramble with left over cooked collards/onions, red onions and zucchini that was going to turn if I didn’t use it that day.
5. I have a strategy for getting healthy food for cheap: I’m now a “super worker” at the local Food Co-op. For 4 hrs/week I’ll be bagging groceries and being the food demo girl in exchange for an approx 21% discount on all groceries…plus it gets me ‘in’ for teaching cooking classes @ the co-op teaching kitchen in the winter. Thank god for this little oasis because it allows me to NOT have to be so cerebral all the time. School is great but it’s 100% “hard” science. Staying connected to the whole food movmement is HUGE for me, and the Co-op is the pinnacle of connected in Davis. They support the Saturday Market, feed the homeless, do fund raisers for the Slow Food movement, and do health education! I was practically jumping out of my chair at orientation. Yes, Yes, YES, was all I could think as I learned more about this organization (which by the way started in the 1970’s as a cheese cooperative out of somebody’s garage. Now its an $18 million/yr food co-op and one of the fastest grown co-ops in the country).
6. I take advantage of the free hot chocolate at the Friday’ Grad Student lounge free food event. Apparently its widely known that Grad Students are strung out by Friday and maybe broke and hungry….so they feed us. While it’s mostly crap food, they do at least offer whole grain bagels w/PB and cream cheese, and a wide variety of beverages….including good ol’ Swiss Miss hot chocolate. I love my Friday Swiss Miss…… with only 12g/sugar per serving I’m okay with it and it doesn’t seem to send me into sugar craze……..in fact I’ve not been craving sugar nearly as much as I just want food…nourishing, healthy, sustaining food….my brain is on overdrive and it knows that too much sweet stuff is just going to short circuit the system.
Well, better run to class…and then it’s my weekly reward: eating out for 1 lunch per week. Today’s its Raja’s indian cuisine with a friend…..not only do they serve the BEST Paneer ever, but they buy all their produce fresh daily from local growers, and the owner is the sweetest man in the world . I’m greeted with a warm half-hug (cultural thing, I think) and a “hello, dear, it is so nice to see you…..yes you are so very nice….glad you are here…….”. What a great way to end a whirlwind week!
4 comments October 2, 2009
