Books

I added a book list to the blog to showcase a few of the books that started me on this "real" food path. I began with Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food and while it is highly informative and interesting it will make your head spin just a little. There are food rules but no set recipes or a real guide on how to get started.

For this I would suggest that Mark Bittman. His writing is very easy to read and he offers plenty of tips on how to ease in to the changes in diet. He also provides recipes and food guides that are awesome and I still can't put the book down.

Super Natural Cooking rounds out the list and is mainly a cookbook. However, Heidi Swanson provides great tools on how to build a natural pantry and how to substitute the healthy for unhealthy. She also runs a website called 101 Cookbooks which is full of amazing recipes.

Preamble

Here we are at the very first entry in the vegetable/ healthy eating blog. First let me give a little history about myself and how this whole thing came about. I have been obsessed with logging my food for over a year now. I have weighed, measured and counted just about everything I have eaten ( at least that’s true Monday thru Friday). I do allow myself a little bit of a break on the weekends. Basically taking this approach I have been obsessed with the amount of fat, calories and nutrients in everything I eat. I thought I was eating very healthy, and I guess I was by most standards until recently when I picked up a book called In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan. Well this book has completely turned everything upside down for me. His basic philosophy is that its not the nutrients you should be worried about but the food you are eating. This may seem obvious but I am dense sometimes. Essentially by focusing only on nutrients any processed food could appear to be healthier than “real” food. This is obviously wrong. For an example take a look at carrots. They are known for beta carotene which is a healthy component of the carrot. But it is just one component. So by just adding beta carotene to a pill or some processed food does not reward you with the same health benefits that eating a carrot would. It’s the system, not the nutrient. Another example would be the low fat trend. So many foods have been altered to be low fat (usually by adding something even worse in its place) but where has that gotten us? We have been eating low fat food for 30 years and it has obviously not helped in the fight against obesity and heart disease. We are all more unhealthy than ever before. The basic message is to get back to the basics. Forget about all the labels and health claims and just eat real food.

My first thought on how to begin this process for myself was to choose a fruit or vegetable that is in season and incorporate it into my menu for the week. The fruit or vegetable I pick will generally be one that I have never eaten or have eaten very little of. After sharing this idea with my husband he suggested I start this blog. Its an easy way to keep up with everything and to really make me accountable. I thought it was a great idea so here we are. On top of this goal I am also going to try and completely do away with or drastically reduce my intake of trans fat (done), refined carbs (going to be almost impossible) and added sugar (pretty possible). In addition to the new vegetable recipes I will be sharing general healthy recipes and ones in which I have removed the above bad ingredients and replaced them with something a little healthier. Such as whole wheat pasta for white pasta or whole wheat flour for white flour, the easiest substitutions of all. Sometimes I will just ramble about food. That can’t be helped.

And just to be clear I do not and can not eat this strict all the time. I love a good cheeseburger and fries as much as the next person, along with pizza and fried chicken. I know I can make these things at home a lot healthier than what I can get eating out. And I do. But sometimes I want Burger King or Pizza Hut or Church’s. So sue me! I am trying. Most of my recipes will be pretty simple and probably plain to most people. I do not like spicy food or really fancy complicated food, but I will include the full recipes so that if you choose to ever make something in the list you can season it and alter anyway you wish.

And now that all the paperwork is out of the way I will finally get to the first recipe. In the next blog entry… Ha!

Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup

Here it is, the star of the week. The leek!




Spinach and Leek White Bean Soup

First of all I do not think the leek was highlighted enough in this dish. I might have to try a different dish pretty soon to make up for it. The recipe is courtesy of All Recipes. I used no fat, low sodium chicken broth and frozen spinach instead of fresh. The ingredients are:

* 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
* 1 leeks, bulb only, chopped
* 1/2 clove garlic, chopped
* 1/2 (16 ounce) can fat-free chicken broth
* 1/2 (16 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 bay leaves
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
* 2 tablespoons whole wheat couscous
* 1/2 cup packed fresh spinach
* salt and pepper to taste


Makes two servings. To scale up the easy way visit:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spinach-and-Leek-White-Bean-Soup/Detail.aspx


Heat olive oil in a large saucepan or soup pot over medium heat. Add the leeks and garlic; saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the chicken broth, cannellini beans, bay leaves and cumin. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, and stir in the couscous. Cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in spinach and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.


In the version I made I did not use the bay leaf, cumin or couscous. And I did not serve it immediately. I stuck it in the fridge and ate it for lunch. It was just as good warmed up as it would have been if served immediately.

Here are the pics and comments from the experience. I will say that this is one ugly and smelly dish when its done but its pretty good.

Here is what I started with.

The leek before & after chopping:


My rinsed beans:

I do not have any action shots. I was cooking all alone. This is the finished product. Ugly. But if you like cannellini and spinach then you'll like it.