The healthful pantry

Over at the Diabetes Self-Management site, Amy Campbell has embarked on a multi-part series that discusses what should be stocked in "the healthful pantry."  Diabetic or not, that's something that puzzles us all, so I think it's worth spending the time to read through her entire discussion.  Here's what she's recommending--so far:

•  Condiments
• Olive oil
• Canola oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Mustard
• Spices, Herbs, and Canned Foods
• Garlic
• Herbs and spices (basil, oregano, rosemary, cumin, chili powder, black pepper, tarragon, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger)
• Chicken, beef, or vegetable broth
• Nuts and seeds
• (More) Canned Foods
• Canned beans
• Canned tomatoes
• Canned tuna (and salmon and sardines)
• Peanut butter
• Grains
• Brown rice
• Basmati rice
• Arborio rice
• (More) Grains
• Barley
• Quinoa
• Bulgar

Dunno whether Campbell has finished her series, but, if not, I am looking forward to the next installment.  In the meantime, I comfort myself that I have all of these items in the pantry now, except for quinoa, bulgar, arborio rice, and tarragon. 

If I were quibbling, I'd add canned chicken to the list.  Her canned fish is listed partly because of nutritional value (despite the risk of mercury contamination) but also because of convenience.  Canned chicken is not, of course, as tasty as chicken that you've cooked at home, but there are times when it's mighty handy to be able to add a bit to salads and soups and Mystery Casserole.

Campbell's thesis--that you have no excuse for not making a healthful meal if you keep your pantry stocked with healthful items--does not eliminate the necessity to shop for the fresh foods that will accompany these basics (shall I call them "staples"?).  I do agree that we can thin our pantries by putting them on a more healthful "diet" that concentrates on these kinds of foods that support our own healthful diet rather than the less healthful/unhealthy sugars and starches and salts that we love to eat.  Indeed, I am working in that direction (again) myself.

Drag out the slow cooker

Or did we ever put them away? Ours once sat in the unhandy, hard to get to corner of the kitchen counter. Lately it's been moved a tad closer to front and center, and now I can get to it a lot more easily. That's all to the good since dietitian Amy Campbell says that slow cookers are a must-have for health eating. Why? Because when

foods are cooked slowly at a lower temperature, the vitamin and mineral content of foods are preserved. And since you control the ingredients, you can make soups and stews using lower-fat, lower-sodium broths and lean cuts of meat and skinless poultry; include more whole grains, such as brown rice or quinoa in your meals; and even make desserts a little healthier by cutting back on some of the sugar and fat.

Her tips for slow cooking:

• Always thaw frozen food before cooking in a slow cooker.
• Only fill up the slow cooker one-half to two-thirds full. Any more than that and the food may not cook thoroughly; any less and the food may cook too quickly.
• Cook ground beef in a skillet before adding to the slow cooker.
• Add tender vegetables, such as tomatoes and zucchini, only during the last 45 minutes or so of cooking to avoid mushiness.
• Add spices and seasonings during the last hour of cooking for better flavor.
• Don't lift the lid too often — every time you take off the lid, you extend the cooking time by 20-30 minutes.

I use my slow cooker year round for roasts, stews, and the occasional pot of beans. Any favorite recipes out there?

New year, new food

We have been venturing out of the traditional foodways of my family for a while now. Once upon a time, this was just an attempt to discover new tastes and sample the delights of the world. Some of those dishes and foods were adopted as things we wanted to continue eating, so My Prince and I already dine on a diet of foods that would be alien to most of my family.

Lately I've been actively seeking healthier foods to add better nutrition to our diet. I've particularly been looking for lower carbohydrate foods that are higher in fiber. Over the past year, three new foods have made an impression: quinoa (see "Return to Central Market"), edamame (see both posts on edamame here), and jicama (see my jicama posts here). Only the latter two have really stuck in our diet. Quinoa is harder to find here in Austin and impossible in our regular shopping haunts in Houston. (Yes, I could drive 20 miles out of the way to get it, but I tend not to do that for anything except raspberry tea.) Edemame and jicama, however, are on our plates at least once a week, sometimes more.

I have three more new foods ready for review right now. One is really an herb: rosemary. I know I've tasted rosemary before, but I have never cooked with it. Now I have the promised rosemary bush and am making my first efforts to incorporate it into my cooking. Fennel can be used as both a vegetable and an herb. Haven't tried it yet, but look forward to trying. Pumpkin is not exactly new. I've had pumpkin pie all my life. I've even made a couple. I've never tried fresh pumpkin, though. I'm going to try my hands at cooking the seeds and making a couple of dishes from the fresh pumpkin that have nothing to do with pies.

Return to Central Market

A friend talked me into meeting her at the central Central Market in Austin (38th & Lamar) for lunch on Friday. I was game to try to it, since I hadn't been to a Central Market in many years. Indeed, the only time I ever went to one was when HEB opened one a couple of miles from my home, and I wanted to see what it was like. I didn't like it. The fake-feeling meandering aisles were apparently intended to make you feel like you were in an old-time market place, so that you could get high-priced prepared and exotic foods while "experiencing" the "authentic" shopping experience of the olden days--or something like that. I just felt trapped by the maze and wanted OUT.

Times have changed and so has Central Market. I found a handicapped parking space near the entry to the produce section and entered what felt like the North Pole. HEB keeps that section very cool to help keep the produce fresher. It made sense, but I couldn't wait to get out of there. I skipped the opportunity to check out the fruit and other treats and made my way as fast as the restricted paths allowed over to the warmer part of the store. I did, however, take the time to look at some of the veggies and was more than impressed by the array. "So that's what a fingerling potato looks like." "Does purple cauliflower taste the same as white cauliflower?" "Did they really import that from France?"

Still thinking about the experience several days later, I have to say that the produce section was clearly not a case of buying locally, cooking seasonally. As interesting--and even tasty--as all those options looked, I can't help but think of the cost in oil for all of these goodies. I don't have answers, of course, but I am one of many, I believe, who are starting to think about this. Sadly, these thoughts come just as I am finding new foods. *ack*

On to the tour. I meandered a bit through the bulk foods area. "Many" and "exotic" again apply. I didn't have time for a really close look at price and variety, but the sheer number of bins was (seemed) greater than anything I'd seen at Whole Foods. I did note that there were more "normal" aisles in the store, so that I didn't feel quite so oppressed by artificial ambience, but there were still some forced paths and cul-de-sacs.

One cul-de-sac (the salad bar) was where I met my friend. We had our choice of getting hot food from a snack bar (although the menu choices were no way snacky) or serving ourselves from a nice selection of sandwiches (which all seemed to be priced at $4.99) and/or the extensive salad and soup bars (sold by weight). The line was too long for the hot foods, so we decided to serve ourselves. My friend chose pasta, which she could heat in a microwave near the snack bar. I took a couple of small salad portions for sampling and then built a nice green salad and chose a tarragon chicken salad sandwich.

I noticed that my friend did not eat all of her pasta. She did, however, approve of one of the sampling salads: quinoa with fruit and nuts. I thought it had a nice enough sweetness, but didn't fall in love with it. I came closer to loving the second sample, which my friend actively disliked: couscous with sliced black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and green onions. My own green salad was pretty standard for me, although I did add some edemame for a new taste. Nice crunch, okay flavor. The chicken salad was also tasty, although I loved the bread more than the salad.

My lunch, including the sampling salads and a bottle of water, set me back $13.01, more than I would normally want to pay for lunch. I was, I think, making up for the "pain and suffering" of that clear liquid diet, so I was making sure that I had plenty to eat. As it turns out, I was not overfull after cleaning my plate. What drove the price up was the sampling salads, which turned out to be surprisingly heavy for the amounts that I took for sampling (half a cup or so).

Time was our enemy for this adventure, so my friend and I agreed that we should come back to do more looking around and shopping. I only had time to grab a dozen roses ($6.99 for the bunch) and did no further dawdling. I think there is still quite a bit to see at the Central Market before I know whether it needs to become a place for me to shop.