Pesticide Contamination in Produce

The Environmental Working Group has released it's latest report (8th edition) on the pesticide contamination in produce which relates to 45 common produce items in the forms: raw, canned, frozen and as baby food.

Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce

Learn and Enjoy!

SHOP SMART!

Fun Facts from the Paper

I saw these couple of interesting facts in the paper today, thought I would pass them along for amusement/thought provoking coffee conversation.

*According to the USDA, Americans are consuming more then 3x the amount of cheese now then they did in 1970. In 1970, the average cheese consumption was 11.4 pounds per person per year, in 2010 that number had increased to 33.3 pounds per person per year.

*A Gallup poll of 335,050 adults in the USA, asked people to self report the number of days per week they engaged in 30 minutes or more of exercise.
    -52% said they exercised 3 or more days in the week
   - 19% said they exercised 1-2 days in the week
   - 30% of people said they did not exercise at all

This is an interesting stat if you consider that 1 in 7 people in the world is obese and by 2013 that number will increase to 1 in 6. We also know that very few states in the USA have 50% or less of their people in the obese category - in fact if Obesity was a state it would be the 5th largest in the country with 15 million residents (though if you really think about how many of those residents would be relocating from some of the states bigger then it like Texas, California and Florida and therefore Obesity would actually probably be higher on that list).

Grilled Salmon with Mango-Lime Salsa

I like a real old fashioned Webster's Charcoal grill with real charcoal for the fire (not lighter fluid soaked briquettes) but any kind of grill will work just fine!! If you can eat outside, it makes the grilling experience even finer!

serves 4:

1 pound salmon fillet (ask the fish monger to cut it from the thickest part of the fillet which would have come from the area up by the head not by the tail, as you see in the photo above - there is no tapering to the shape of the fillet which means it does not contain part of the tail meat)
salt and pepper
olive oil
Pam spray
1 ripe mango, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/4 of a red onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lime (reserve the peel)
1 small jalapeno, seeded and finely sliced (optional or if you want more heat you can use a habanero)
1 tablespoon zest from peel of juiced lime, chopped
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon hazelnuts, toasted and chopped

1. Cut the salmon fillet into 4-4oz pieces (you could even ask the fish monger to do this for you) so that you get small 'strips' of fish as shown below. This will probably be to much fish for a bariatric cooker but will leave with enough meat for lunch for the following day.
2. Season the salmon with some salt and a few grinds of black pepper, brush with oil (this is going to help keep it from sticking to the grill)
3. In a bowl combine: mango, onion, EVOO, lime juice, jalapeno if using, zest, cilantro and hazelnuts. Stir well to mix and let sit.
4. Heat grill to medium-high heat temperature.
5. (this step can be skipped) Before placing fish on the grill rack, I spray the rack with Pam liberally because I am paranoid that the fish will stick - CAUTION!!!!! Pam will make the fire burst upwards - DO NOT BURN YOURSELF!!
6. When fire goes back down, place fish on grill grill 2-3 minutes, then turn to side and grill 2-3 minutes - repeat until all sides have grill marks.
7. Remove fish from grill and serve with salsa and extra lime wedges if desired!

ENJOY!!

Hot Cocoa Protein Drink

A patient shared this idea with me last week and I thought I would pass it along to everyone else!

1/2 tablespoon unsweet powdered cocoa
1/2 scoop chocolate protein powder
1/2 scoop unflavored protein powder
1 cup 1% milk

Mix it all together well and warm on the stove.

28 grams protein in 1 cup!

Enjoy!

Scallop, bacon and blue cheese pizza

This is a great easy dinner item that can be made in a flash with store bought dough. Cook it in the oven or on the grill for a hot summer night meal with a cool glass of Sancere or Chenin Blanc!

1 store bought pizza dough ball

1 pound sea scallops, raw (or bay scallops if you like the smaller ones)

1/4 cup 100% maple syrup

5 strips bacon, cooked until crispy, drained on paper towel

1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles

3/4 cup (approx.) tomato sauce  (I used Newman's Own)
1 large tomato, sliced
1/2 cup shredded fresh mozzarella
flour for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1. Marinate scallops in maple syrup - let sit while you prepare the dough
2. Roll out dough until it is about 1/2" thick - it should fill up most of a cookie sheet
3. Cover a cooking/baking sheet with tin foil. Dust tin foil with flour. Place dough down on floured cookie sheet. Cook in oven about 10 min (or if grilling then spray grill with PAM and grill one side directly on grill for 5-7 minutes).
4. Remove from oven, flip dough over (bottom side should be starting to get slightly tanned)
5. Start adding ingredients to dough. Spread sauce out evenly. Top with mozzarella, then tomato slices. Arrange scallops (discard extra maple syrup) then sprinkle blue cheese around the scallops and crumble bacon over the whole thing.
6. Bake for another 20 minutes.
7. Remove, cut, serve

ENJOY!!

An alarming stat

This is an alarming stat I learned today: 27% of people who try to sign up/enlist in the armed forces are turned away because they are too heavy.

If you think about this, it tells you a lot about the condition of our country; physically, emotionally; economically and defensively.

Historically, most people who enlisted in the armed services were from more depressed or less educated areas of the country. These are the same people who have been hit the heaviest by the obesity epidemic (ah no pun intended). The cost of health care for all the obese people is a topic that can be bantered for the next decade on a daily basis, but the fact remains that the heavier a person is the higher the risk of comorbidities and the higher the cost to society per individual. The cost to our nation's defense will also be harmed as we will have fewer people to pull from when our armed services need more bodies, which means fewer people fighting to keep us safe.

I could go on for a long time about all of this but a few words for thought on the Memorial Day Holiday.

Cheers!

Kale Chips

12 kale leaves, rinsed, dried off, stem and rib removed
1 tablespoon olive oil
salt and pepper

1. Heat oven to 250 degrees
2. Toss leaves with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
3. Arrange leaves in single layer on baking sheet (may need to use two)
4. Bake for approximately 30 minutes, until leaves are dry and crunchy. Transfer to rack to cool.

ENJOY!