Poppy seeds pound cake and drinking coffee saturated fat

Pasta and chickpeas

Food Diary (May 30, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with raisins, sunflower seeds and flax seeds

Lunch: Pasta and chickpeas

Dinner: Polenta with mixed veges and ricotta cheese

Baking/sweets: chocolate (lots!)

Pasta and chickpeas is one of my favourite ways to eat pasta. Cooking the pasta in tomato sauce gives it a nice texture. A variation of the recipe is available here.

Polenta with ricotta was OK, its not something I intend to eat often. The ricotta certainly did not spoil the taste, it added creaminess and a subtle flavor. It was almost like a waste of ricotta. I would prefer to eat it separately to appreciate its full flavor instead of mixing or diluting with polenta.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: caffeiiina

Poppy seeds Pound Cake

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: realage

I didn’t particularly enjoy reading this article since I drink coffee after all meals and the verdict is not good. However it is useful to know but I will not change my eating habits! 

“Eating high-fat, high-calorie fast food can take your blood sugar on a wild and unhealthy ride. And a new study suggests that drinking coffee during or right after may double the blood sugar trouble.”  The study was small and done on a group of young men. More research is required to confirm the findings. I am wondering whether publishing this research was premature.

Other studies have suggested that drinking coffee may have some pretty great health benefits. Some research suggests it may even reduce diabetes risk. So I’ve decided to continue drinking coffee after all meals, whether fatty or not.

Today’s Favourite Recipes

Two excellent and simple recipes that I intend to try, hopefully soon.

Grandmas Coffee Cake. It’s a simple and delicious sounding recipe that requires 5 ingredients only, most of which are regular items. This is very similar to my 4 ingredient coconut cake

Chocolate and tofu cake. Another simple and delicious sounding recipe that requires few ingredients.

Croquembouche (Piece Montée) and a Baking Lesson Courtesy of Bridesmaids

Lentils with rye flaxseed sourdough

Food Diary (May 29, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with raisins, sunflower seeds and flax seeds

Lunch: Lentils with rye flaxseed sourdough

Dinner: Spaghetti with tomato spinach sauce

Baking/sweets: coconut oat cookies

Relatively basic and simple meals today, like it has been for the past many days. Time has been of the essence and there has been some pressing issues occupying my mind. No matter how little time I have I always try to have a balanced meal everyday. Not every meal is balanced but throughout the day I try to cover the main food groups. It is actually not that difficult. The cookies fall under the carb and fat category. These are necessary and I will disagree if I am told otherwise!

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Catalina Bakes

Croquembouche (Piece Montée)

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: epicurious

episurious in the article titled “A Baking Lesson Courtesy of Bridesmaids” raises an issue I never thought of – dry and wet measuring cups. I use one measuring cup and it has been serving me fine but for more precision measuring I think problems can develop. It can be a small challenge to measure a cup of flour using a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Shaking the measuring cup to get a level will cause the flour to settle and as a result you can end up with more than a cup. The extra amount may not be significant. For some recipes a little bit extra or less flour will make negligible difference while for other recipes a little bit more or less can make a huge difference. If you are using a 2 cup measuring cup and you need one cup only, a solution is to double the recipe. You will end up with twice the amount of cookies or cake than you intended. Probably not a bad outcome!

Hoisin chicken, BBQ wings and antibiotic foods

Coconut oat cookies

Food Diary (May 28, 2011)

Breakfast: missed

Lunch: Rolled oats with raisins, toasted coconut, sunflower seeds and flax seeds, salami and ham

Dinner: Hoisin chicken with flatbread

Baking/sweets: coconut oat cookies

The hoisin chicken was excellent, just the way it should be! Unfortunately the picture is not the prettiest but I guess its the taste that counts. Unless of course if you are seeing just the picture, in which case the picture counts, not the taste!

Hoisin chicken with flatbread

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Gourmet Estorie

BBQ Wings

  

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Care2

Interesting article on common foods and herbs with antibiotic properties.  Some of the food items got me by surprise.  The foods mentioned in the blog are onion, garlic, honey, cabbage, fermented foods and a long list of herbs.

I was surprised to see cabbage making an appearance in the list. Cabbage is high in vitamin C. Fruits and vegetables high in vitamin C are considered a natural antibiotic and a one-cup serving of cabbage provides about 75% of an adults daily allowance. For those of us not eating enough cabbage, myself included, this is a nice reminder.

Buah Salak/Snake Fruit and Yum! Brands no more BPA

Rye flax seed sourdough with fish pâté

Food Diary (May 27, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with raisins, toasted coconut, sunflower seeds and flax seeds

Lunch: Rye flax seed sourdough with fish pâté

Dinner: Pita bread with sautéed mushrooms

Baking/sweets: ‘oat sweets’

While writing the favourite blog section today I realized the importance of taking a holistic perspective when assessing whether we are eating healthy or not. Eating healthy and doing something unhealthy such as sleeping immediately after the meal or having 10 beers is probably not much better than eating unhealthy and doing exercise. I know this is common sense but most times the focus is only on food, not what happens, or does not happen, afterwards. In a similar manner buying locally is not necessarily better for the environment. I blogged about this in January. You can read more here.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Camemberu

Buah Salak or Snake Fruit – an exotic fruit, a really exotic fruit.

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Care2

For those of us who are health conscious, watching what we eat is one part of the story, there are other factors that contribute to the overall health effects. Eating at KFC may or may not be healthy, what happens immediately after when the receipt is handled is not healthy. Confused?

Yum! Brands, the owner of Pizza Hut, Taco Bell and KFC, has agreed to eliminate the use of BPA-laden receipt paper. BPA is used in the food and beverage industry for its ability to prevent contamination while extending the shelf life of canned products. It can also reduce the life span of humans that consume the canned products whose shelf life was extended by BPA.

Tests have shown that handling receipts with wet or greasy fingers absorbed about 10 times more BPA. Next time you eat chicken it might be good to wash your hands properly before paying, or get someone else to pay, your enemy preferably. You should wash your hands even if there is no BPA in the receipt, its good hygiene!

Snickerdoodle Blondies, Candwich and Chocolate Eclair Cake

Beans and chips

Food Diary (May 26, 2011)

Breakfast: Rye bread

Lunch: Beans and chips

Dinner: Pita bread with spinach

Baking/sweets: ‘oat sweets’

Beans and chips sounds almost like fish and chips, though it was not intended to be the vegetarian version of fish and chips. Beans and chips is actually no competitor to the real thing though it is delicious in a different way.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Delightful Bitefuls

Snickerdoodle Blondies

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: AoL Weird News

Peanut butter and jelly is now available in can form. Inside the candwich can there is peanut butter and jelly, a roll and utensils for preparing the candwich. The can looks a bit like the pringles can. At $12 for 4 sandwiches it is not cheap. Personally if I really wanted to eat peanut butter and jelly sandwich I would buy a jar and some bread. And if I was out and there was no utensils, I would happily use my fingers. The thought of extra packaging does not excite me. I am surprised at this innovation considering the debate regarding environmental issues as well as school nutrition. I won’t be surprised if kids are attracted to this and would prefer that this be made part of their lunch. For some kids peanut butter and jelly sandwich could be healthier than what they are presently eating, but that’s another issue. 

I wonder if we will see canburger next.

Today's Favourite Recipe – Chocolate Éclair Cake

I come across interesting recipes quite often. I used to keep a record with the expectation of trying the recipe later but it does not work, the list just gets bigger and I eventually delete it. Instead I get pleasure by looking at photos, reading about it and then imagining eating it! I’ve decided to share the most interesting recipes that I come across. In this way I share it with you and also keep a record for me to try later perhaps. 

Today I saw an interesting recipe for Chocolate Eclair Cake at Flour Dusted. Its not difficult to prepare and for me personally it brings back memories from a drunken school farewell party!

Crispy Rice with Smoked Duck and Oceana fish statistics

Eggplant in spicy tomato sauce with spaghetti

Food Diary (May 25, 2011)

Breakfast: Polenta porridge with raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds

Lunch: Eggplant in spicy tomato sauce with spaghetti

Dinner: Vegetable soup with rye bread, polenta porridge with raisins and coconut

Baking/sweets: ginger cookies

I just hit a blank when I started to write this. Unfortunately today I don’t have much to say! But I did summarise an interesting blog below.

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Gourmet Estorie

Crispy Rice with Smoked Duck and Medley Confit

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Care2

Care2 lists the following 5 shocking fish related statistics from the book called Oceana:

1. Since 1988, commercial fishing’s catch has declined by 500,000 tons per year. No it is not a typo, there has been a decline

2. For every pound of shrimp caught, 10 pounds of other marine life are killed and thrown away. Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall started the fish fight campaign. His documentary which was shot on fishing vessels shows fish being discarded because fisherman are not allowed to keep the fish due to the quota system

3. In 2000, the world’s fisheries had burned 13 billion gallons of fuel to catch 80 million tons of fish.

4. The world’s factory-farmed pigs and chickens consume twice the amount of seafood in one year than the Japanese people consume as a nation, and six times the amount Americans eat. Those animals were not meant to eat fish obviously since they can’t go fishing!

5. A lot of fish is “faked.” One cannot be sure that the snapper is really snapper, or the more expensive wild-caught really is wild-caught. Unless of course you have a well developed palate

Deep fried custard rolls and mother sues Virgin Australia

Mushroom and bacon with bulgur

Food Diary (May 24, 2011)

Breakfast: Polenta porridge with raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds

Lunch: Mushroom and bacon with bulgur

Dinner: Lentils and spinach

Baking/sweets: vanilla cookies

The vanilla cookies were excellent, just plain and simple, and butter free, but not sugar free! I’ve been baking quite a lot with oil instead of butter recently. For certain baked goods it works pretty well, especially when the butter flavour is less critical. 

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Sparklette

Deep fried custard rolls

Last weekend I made egg custard tart for the first time. It is interesting to see a twist to the regular tart – in roll form and deep fried

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: Aol Travel

In Australia a mother is suing Virgin Australia for giving her unborn child food poisoning. Renee Cherry ate a chicken roll two months before her son was born and claims to have contracted listeria poisoning. As a result her son was "injured" with a bacterial infection, listeria poisoning, gastro-intestinal injury, developmental delay, and anxiety.

Airline food is usually receiving the flack but giving food poisoning to an unborn child takes airline food to greater heights, no pun intended. If the case is medically sound then its certainly food for thought for pregnant woman. Plus there is the suing opportunity. Renee Cherry is going for the full works, suing for medical expenses, loss of prospective income and earning capacity and damages. 

Flourless Cheesecake Brownies and 9,000-year-old evidence that humans ate dogs

Pasta with pickled herring in tomato mustard sauce

Food Diary (May 23, 2011)

Breakfast: Rolled oats with raisins, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds

Lunch: Pasta with pickled herring in tomato mustard sauce

Dinner: Polenta and lentils, rolled oats with desiccated coconut and raisins

Baking/sweets:

The pasta dish was excellent, simple and delicious. I love pickled herring, the texture, flavor and simplicity of it. And not forgetting nutrition. Herring is a good source of omega-3. It is good brain food, however I am still waiting for the effects! 

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: La Phemme Phoodie

Flourless Cheesecake Brownies

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: The Washington Post

Scientists sometimes amaze me. They find all sorts of facts, some more useless than others. The Washington Post has an article titled “9,000-year-old evidence that humans ate dogs”. The scientists found a dog bone in 9,260-year-old naturally preserved human feces in Texas. Yet we still don’t know who shot John F Kennedy. Amazing.

Sometime ago I saw a documentary on evolution. The conclusion was that humans were vegetarians thousands of years ago and as we evolved we became carnivores. This supposedly explains changes that took place in the human body. For example our teeth were flatter when we were vegetarians and I think our brains were smaller too. It is bigger now but I wonder if we are smarter!

Coconut polenta cupcake, Chocolate Cream Cheese and Coffee is Good, Soy Milk is Bad

Coconut polenta cupcake with vanilla custard sauce

Food Diary (May 22, 2011)

Breakfast: Missed

Lunch: Pasta with mushroom sauce

Dinner: Boiled mixed vegetables, rolled oats

Baking/sweets: Coconut polenta cupcake with vanilla custard sauce, Anzac Cookies

I consumed lots of sweets today, probably more than I should. In the last few blogs I have been consistently discussing health effects of certain foods and today I indulged in sugar. On a positive note I don’t feel really guilty!

Pasta with mushroom sauce

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Angie’s Recipes

Chocolate Cream Cheese Peanut Butter Bars

Today’s Favourite Blog

Source: care2

There are many conflicting studies relating to whether certain foods are healthy or not. And I have been guilty of adding of confusion. In my recent blogs I have quoted documentaries which conclude that ice cream and chips (French fries) are not that had. And now to add more confusion. Care2 has an article titled “Coffee is Good, Soy Milk is Bad: Which Foods Are Really Healthy?”.  I have seen few studies concluding that coffee in moderation is good but soy milk being bad is a first for me. Tests done on animals suggest that eating large amounts of soy estrogen-mimicking compounds might reduce fertility in women, trigger early puberty and disrupt development of fetuses and children.

The care2 article concludes by saying “Perhaps the takeaway lesson is, all things in moderation? (Except maybe anything that's deep-fried.)”

I am not sure if I agree with the bits in brackets. Surely deep fried in moderation is should be fine, especially since few days ago I referred to a documentary which concluded that French fries in moderation is OK. Is it getting too confusing?

We can draw parallels to the finance sector. Analysts analysing company stocks come up with different recommendations, some recommend buy while others recommend sell for the same shares. It is the same situation with nutritional research. For stock analysis there is no right answer, we will only find out in future which was the good recommendation, and in some cases it is too late! In the meantime we rely on our 'trusted' analysts and our own judgment. I suppose the same considerations apply to nutritional research.

Egg Custard Tarts and 6 Foods to Eat If You're Skipping Meat

Egg Custard Tart

Food Diary (May 21, 2011)

Breakfast: Missed

Lunch: Rolled oats with raisins, toasted coconut, sunflower seeds and flaxseeds

Dinner: Lentils with potatoes

Baking/sweets: Egg custard tarts

In my last two blogs I discussed research relating to ice cream and potatoes. The conclusion was that ice cream is not that bad, potatoes are good and chips are not that bad. Unfortunately today I don’t have good news relating to any other treat. I am on the lookout for studies which conclude that eating lots of cakes, cookies and brownies are not that bad. I have yet to find such a study!

Anyway the custard tart I made today is not that bad. It has milk and eggs which are good for you. There is butter and sugar which are not bad in moderation. But the tarts are certainly delicious. Its not the prettiest looking tart but delicious to eat nevertheless. 

Today's Favourite Photo

Source: Sweet Sensations

Wedding Cake

Today’s Favourite Blog 

Source: Huffington Post

The Huffington Post article discussing “6 Foods to Eat If You're Skipping Meat” has the usual suspects such as beans and leafy greens included in the list. Fortified soymilk, wholegrains and walnuts also get mentioned but iodised salt is a surprise for me. I usually read articles suggesting reducing salt intake. Surely salt is necessary but we take enough both directly and indirectly. The article has an interesting perspective. Iodine is essential to thyroid health and this is found in seafood. Vegetarians and vegans need an alternative source and iodised salt is an easy fix. Seaweed is another natural source of iodine however its not a very common food item. Salt is a more accessible option. Perhaps vegetarians can have an extra dose of salt with their french fries.