I had several ideas for this week’s post, but I decided to put them off in favor of sharing a big tub of butter-flavored popcorn with you. There’s no way we can sit through a WHOLE movie without downing 2,000 or 3,000 calories in the process. We might starve. Add in the coming attractions and those annoying commercials and that comes to 2 or 3 hours. We can’t make it that long without adequate food and drink. Can we?

Popcorn. We’ll have some popcorn because that’s a healthy treat, right?

Wait, let me back up and set the stage. First some statistics and credits.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the past 20 years has seen a dramatic rise in obesity rates in the United States. In 2008, only Colorado (not that 18.5% is all that great) had a less than 20% obesity prevalence. Thirty-two states had a prevalence equal to or greater than 25%, six of which were equal to or greater than 30%. Check the map at the end of this post to see where your state fits into the mix.

Now the credits. The movie food nutrition data used in this post came directly from the December issue of the Nutrition Action Health Letter, which is the voice of the Center for Science in the Public Interest.

Okay, back to the movie and the food that will sustain us while we sit on our bums for a couple of hours. Let’s watch Julie & Julia, at least Julia used real butter, rather than butter-like flavoring.

I’ll use the data on Regal Entertainment Group provided by CSPI. Regal is the largest theater chain in the US. If you’ve gone to any movies lately you know the kid behind the counter always encourages you to buy the large serving. That way if the 20-cup tub of popcorn doesn’t last through the coming attractions, you can go back for more (shudder). Here are the heart-stopping (literally) details.

Regal Theaters Popcorn
1 large tub with 2 tablespoons of “buttery” topping
1,460 calories
64 grams of saturated fat
980 mg of sodium
This is if the person adding the “buttery” topping stops at 2 tablespoons, which I doubt happens. You can also “up” the sodium content if you re-salt it yourself on the way to your seat (I don’t eat movie popcorn, but I will admit to having a heavy hand with the salt shaker).

Regal Theaters Soda Pop (hey, we need something to wash down all that salty, buttery popcorn)
1 large drink
54 fluid ounces
500 calories
33 teaspoons of sugar

Reese’s Pieces, 8 ounces (we must have candy – this is treat night)
1,160 calories
35 grams of saturated fat
31 teaspoons sugar

Okay, lets figure out what we’ve had while sitting on our bums in a dark theater for 2 hours.

Total calories: 3,120 (WHOA, it’s not like we’re riding in the Tour de France)
Total grams of saturated fat: 99 (5 day’s worth)
Total mg of sodium: 980 (those of us who re-salted can add another 400 mg)
Total teaspoons of sugar: 64 (now, what are empty calories again)

Let’s say the average person needs 2,000 calories a day. The daily values appropriate for that caloric intake are:
20 grams of saturated fat
2400 mg of sodium
refined sugar – yikes, we don’t need refined sugar (imagine what a bowl of 64 teaspoons of sugar looks like)

This is a small example of why obesity rates and the associated health problems are on the rise in this country. Skip the movie food and bring a bottle of water and some healthy snacks into the theater. Yeah, I know, the movie police might get you. Better than having a heart attack while watching Men Who Stare at Goats.

I had a plan for today’s blog post – Anne’s butternut squash, leek and ginger soup. But by 5:30 AM this morning, I was already off-task, side-tracked and on to something different.

Yes, I’m a touch ADD-ish, I will admit. Maybe a touch more than a touch if I really think about it. Thank goodness for my omegas or that constant stream of ideas and visual images ricocheting around in my head would resemble a cognitive tilt-a-whirl ride. I’m not complaining though, as I’m rarely ever bored.

I promise, this evening I’ll make the soup and work on my intended post because as luck would have it, after Anne so graciously left the recipe in the comment section of my Dia de los Muertos post, I received almost all the ingredients in last night’s CSA pickup box. And it sounds so good. But for now, I’d like to offer you a pre-dawn cocktail.

Imagine this – it’s 5 AM and I’ve been up for over an hour. I’m wearing plaid flannel jammie bottoms with little skiers on them, a Marmot black fleece turtleneck and Ugg boots. Hair uncombed and pulled back in a ponytail. Brown geeky reading glasses with lime-green trim.

Lovely.

Okay, so what should I have for breakfast? Something light as I’m going to yoga soon, but something substantial enough to get me through yoga and a meeting shortly afterwards. A nutritious, yet mellow smoothie.

Napa cabbage and beet drippings smoothie (hey, don’t pre-judge)
1 ripe banana
1 small apple, cored and chopped into blender chunks
4 big Napa cabbage leaves, washed and chopped
1/2 cup vanilla goat yogurt
1 celery stalk, washed and chopped
10 ounces or so of beet drippings *
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
4-5 walnuts

Place all ingredients in the blender and blitz well. Serve in beautiful wine glasses and enjoy your morning. Serves two, three – or maybe just one.

* I like to roast beets (which I did last night) in the oven in a shallow baking dish with some water. Once the beets are roasted, I let the water cool, pour it in a jar (using a funnel) and store it in the refrigerator to add to smoothies. It works great as some of the beet juice filters into the water and you end up with this delightful and nutritious power liquid. For detailed information about roasting beets (and a wonderful salad recipe), please check here.

Go forth and have a power cocktail for breakfast. Seriously, this was SO good and no one would ever guess it was made with beet juice and cabbage leaves.
Melissa

Last spring I did a post on how to boost your immune system to fight the swine flu. That was before U.S. public health officials stepped in to market the flu under less pork-slandering terminology. Worried that the name swine flu would harm pork sales, trade industry officials and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack switched to the more clinical and euphemistically appropriate term – H1N1.

H1N1 sounds so ambiguous, so detached. I suppose that was the whole idea – the branding plan behind the name switch. Swine flu just plain sounds icky. Hmmm, but on the other hand, the name avian flu doesn’t make you want to quit eating chicken, does it? I wonder if the administration and the pork guys considered calling this strain the artiodactyl flu. I kind of like that. Pigs are in the artiodactyl family, in case you didn’t know.

And no, you can’t get the swine flu from eating pork.

A science friend of mine sent me this video, knowing full well how much I love geeky stuff like virus instruction coding. Please watch this short video. It’s informative, amazing, humorous and easy to understand. Then read my tips for boosting your immune system so you keep the funky swine/H1N1/artiodactyl cells in check (along with all the other cooties we encounter on a daily basis).

Eewww, it’s a dirty world out there. Help your body protect you from it.

Immune boosters

• High-quality, uninterrupted sleep (I know, I know – this is a tough one)
• Exercise, including yoga
• Eat lots of antioxidant-rich foods (vitamin C: citrus fruits, peppers, broccoli, green leafy veggies, berries, tomatoes; vitamin A: sweet potatoes, squash, broccoli, carrots, kale, collard greens, apricots, cantalope, peaches; vitamin E: nuts, seeds, GF whole grains, extra virgin olive oil, green leafy veggies; selenium: pastured eggs, chicken, garlic, 100% grass fed beef or bison, GF whole grains, fish)
• Fresh, whole foods – any brightly colored veggies and fruits as they are full of immune boosting phytochemicals (good plant chemicals)
• Green tea, ginger root tea
• Mushrooms, garlic, pineapple, coconut (other good stuff)

Immune zappers

• Poor quality sleep (restful sleep is SO important for a strong immune system)
• Couch potato lifestyle
• Consuming junk food, fast food, processed food, sugar, caffeine, trans-fats
• Soda pop and sugary drinks (no, no, no)
• Too much alcohol

I’m going to skip the vaccine, wash my hands frequently, eat healthy foods, practice yoga, sleep 8 hours a night, think good thoughts (most of the time, anyway) and knock on wood.

Go forth, boost your immune system and avoid the artiodactyl flu.
Melissa

Keep reading. This is not spooky, it’s a celebration of life.

I have a huge “Day of the Dead” collection, which includes pottery, dishes, carved wooden boxes, ornaments, dancing skeletons and an assortment of other oddities. Add that to my cactus obsession, mountain lodge look, ski memorabilia, antique furniture, massive book collection and you have an interesting, albeit a bit strange, decorating theme.

Dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) is a Mexican spiritual celebration connecting souls of the living and dead. Unlike our Halloween celebration, Dia de los Muertos is observed on November 1st (all saints day) and November 2nd (all souls day) and is a tribute to departed loved ones. Celebrated in Mexico, Central America and certain parts of the U.S. southwest, it’s a ritualistic way in which people honor the dead by decorating gravesites with flowers, candles, toys, food and even tequila. They celebrate, eat, drink, party and converse with their loved ones. Others set up similar festive alters in their homes and play music and cook the favorite foods of the deceased.

Food.

It’s interesting how celebrations of all kinds revolve around food, even celebrations for those who are only here in spirit. I love that!

Rather than attempt making sugar skulls (no thanks), which is a typical Dia de los Muertos treat, I’ll leave you with one of my favorite recipe offerings.

Chicken and green chile soup (“launching pad” recipe, adjust to your liking)
what you need
1 32 ounce box Imagine Chicken Broth
2 cups water
a bunch of roasted, peeled and chopped green chiles (about a dozen)
2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into 1 inch pieces
1 small onion, chopped
1 can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 can corn, rinsed and drained
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 2 tablespoons ground New Mexico chile powder (I use Fernandez, medium hot)
1 teaspoon cumin
olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

* This is a guideline, you might want to add a little fresh lime juice, some chopped cilantro, diced tomatoes, a pinch of brown sugar or a teaspoon of agave. I have also added about a half a can of Eden Organic Pizza/Pasta sauce before and it was wonderful in the mix.

what you do
1. Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized soup pot. Sauté the onion for about 5 minutes and then add the garlic. Continue cooking for another minute or two.
2. Add the broth and water to the pot and reduce heat to low. If using, add the pizza/pasta sauce. Stir well to blend liquids.
3. Add potatoes, green chiles and chile powder.
4. Simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour, until potatoes are tender. Add beans, corn and other seasonings. Heat and serve topped with shredded cheese and diced avocado.

Go forth, celebrate with good food and share it with your loved ones!
Melissa

If I had an addiction, hypothetically speaking of course, it would have something to do with pure, organic maple syrup.

That’s if I had an addiction, which I don’t. The intervention thing that happened last spring was entirely misguided. So was that fretful and unfortunate Dr. Oz interview I did about the pitfalls of excessive sugar consumption.

Okay, maybe I have a mild dependency. But that’s simply because I have a snobbish and discriminating taste for high-quality sweeteners. That’s totally different from an addiction. Contrary to what Dr. Oz said in that contentious exchange we had about drinking maple syrup, I do NOT need to join a 12-step recovery program.

And no, I don’t think it’s weird to have 3 Sugar Maple trees in my front yard with tap buckets attached (see above). And one Silver Maple. And two Red Maples. I gave up on the Box Elder; the sap wasn’t dark, rich or sweet enough.

Kind of like light beer verses dark lager. No comparison. Right, GDave?

Not that I would know.

Which brings me to the point of this post. GDave, my favorite Glaswegian cooking, blogging beer-maker (among other things), recently asked about the variations and grades of maple syrup. Stephanie, of the lovely blog, Gluten Free By Nature, was kind enough to respond briefly to his question. Thank you, Stephanie!

I’ve decided to take it a step further and do a detailed post on maple syrup, my absolute favorite sweetener. Have I mentioned that before?

According to the Cornell University Sugar Maple Research & Extension Program (yes, that’s for real), there are around 300 different flavor compounds in pure maple syrup. The complex flavor chemistry varies depending on the soil, the tree genetics, the weather, when the sap is collected and the processing technique. High-quality, organic, pure maple syrup is like fine wine. There are different varieties, tasting notes, aromas, finishes and aftertastes. That’s what I love about it.

The American Maple Syrup Producers Manual (also for real) states that chemical composition analyses show that all the different grades have similar health benefits. One grade really isn’t any better than another. But, compared to refined cane sugar, pure maple syrup is higher in mineral content, especially calcium, and also contains various antioxidants. Refined cane sugar contains nothing but calories.

Nonetheless, I will admit, it’s still sugar and should be consumed in moderation and as an occasional treat. But, as far as sweeteners go, maple syrup is at the top of my list, especially for baking. Not only does it impart wonderful flavor subtleties, it adds a moist texture to gluten-free baked goods. While I can’t claim to be eating local when it comes to maple syrup, Vermont (the largest producer of pure maple syrup in the US) is a lot closer to Colorado than Brazil, where most of our cane sugar comes from. Yes, I’m willing to compromise on the local thing once in awhile. Avocados, maple syrup, coffee beans, sockeye salmon and kiwis come to mind.

There are four basic classification systems when it comes to pure maple syrup (see above from left to right). US Grade A light amber (fancy), US Grade A medium amber, US Grade A dark amber and US Grade B. In each case, the grading system is primarily one based on transmission of light through a sample of the syrup, as you can see in the photo above. The differences have to do with various factors, but when the sap is collected is the major one. The richness and sugar content of the sap is higher in late winter.

The Vermont Maple Foundation states that the best grade of maple syrup is the one you like the most. I like Grade B – the rich, dark, thick stuff. Plus, it’s often less expensive. Here’s some basic information to help you determine which choice might be best, and why.

Grade A Light Amber (fancy)
• Delicate, mild maple bouquet (wine snob talk). Excellent drizzled on ice cream.

Grade A Medium Amber
• Pronounced characteristic maple bouquet. Good pancake and all-around table syrup.

Grade A Dark Amber
• Heartier and more robust maple bouquet. A bit richer, but another good all-around choice.

Grade B
• Darkest color and strongest maple flavor. This is the best grade to cook and bake with as the rich flavor isn’t overwhelmed by the other ingredients in your recipe. Wonderful on hot cereals.

One final thought (as bossy as it may be) – do not use FAKE maple syrup! Blech, eeww and ick! It’s usually made with sugar and chemical thickeners. Avoid at all costs.

For more about maple syrup, pancakes, cowboys, books and music, check out this post. It’s short, I promise.

Go forth and celebrate maple syrup snobbery!
Melissa
P.S. I found out after publishing this post that I had a maple syrup expert right here within my grasp. Sheila, my friend and wonderful CSA contact at Grant Family Farms, grew up on a farm that has produced award-winning maple syrup since 1796. Wow, that means Sheila has maple syrup in her blood. No wonder she’s such a sweetie (I couldn’t resist). For more information and facts about maple syrup, check Sheila’s family website, Endless Mts. Cabin Maple Syrup.

This post and the herbs above, have been hanging around my computer and my pantry, awaiting blog launch for quite some time now. All I can say is life happens, blog posts happen later. Although I’m no expert when it comes to herbs and spices, I have a lovely cook’s reference manual and a blogger friend, who happens to be a wonderful chef, to help me out. I love fresh herbs and the unique scents, tastes and colors they impart. Fresh is best, but there’s nothing wrong with dried herbs, especially if you have a bountiful harvest and can’t use them all. Plus, it’s fun to dry them yourself. 

Herbs and spices have been used for medicinal purposes throughout history. I often mention specific health-promoting properties when describing an herb or spice in a recipe. Aside from their appetizing flavors and aromas, many are filled with various vitamins and minerals.

And wasn’t it Cleopatra who used herbs to seduce men? Or was it incense she used? Milk baths? Probably all of the above. Or, maybe it was this lounging-around-topless look. Whatever it was, she went down in history as being quite the shrewd temptress. 

I got side-tracked, which is quite common. Back to drying herbs.

drying rosemary, marjoram and dill
what you do 
1. Snip herbs, leaving them with long stems. Tie the herbs together and hang them in a dry, dark and well-ventilated area. Hanging them from cabinets in the kitchen is a nice look, but you do want to keep them dry and clean. I moved these from my pantry to a well-lit area to take the photo. You can also put a paper lunch sack around them (poke a few air holes in the sack). That way they’re in the dark and protected from dust. 

2. Leave for 2 to 4 weeks, checking occasionally to see if they are adequately dry. Some take longer than others. If they crumble and fall apart when you rub them between your fingers, they’re ready to store.

3. Store them in clean glass jars. I like to keep them intact in relatively long pieces until I want to use them, then I take a piece out and remove the dried leaves. Label, date them and store them away from heat and light. They last six months to a year. 

Go forth and dry your herbs. Doing it Cleopatra style is an option. 
Melissa

Eat all your wholesome CSA or Farmer’s Market power food and you’ll be dancin’ in the streets like this guy.

I’d suggest you tell your kids that if they eat their veggies they’ll be able to do stuff like this — but then again, it might happen and you’d be stuck with a kid who does stuff like this. Yikes!

Go forth and eat your power veggies. Stay tuned, I’ll post a “hearty greens” recipe tomorrow. This one’s just for fun.
Melissa

My twenty-something daughter and I both have celiac disease, although it’s much easier for me to manage since I have virtually no social life compared to her. I’m not complaining as the thought of going out partying until all hours of the night borders on horrifying to me, but when you’re young and living in a groovy city like Chicago, maintaining a healthy (and fun) gluten-free lifestyle can be a challenge.

I just spent the past few days in Seattle at the Gluten Intolerance Group’s national conference. Part of the professional track focused on the pathology and treatment of celiac disease and what’s in the future for drug therapies. I’m passionate about increasing awareness and am thankful for the research taking place and the new product development that has made GF living so much easier now than it was a decade ago when I started on this path.

Having said that, the photo above sums it all up for me. Eat real food – wholesome nourishing food – and not only will you heal and thrive, you won’t have to stress yourself out reading cryptic food labels or risking gluten contamination.

Tevis (my daughter) took this photo last week to prove to her nutritionist mother that she’s eating well and taking good care of herself. I was thrilled with her food choices until I heard she was carting all this stuff home from the market on her custom-made bike. Winding around in city traffic. While wearing work clothes. Knowing her, she probably had on a skirt and her Jackie O sunglasses.

When I was younger, I always wanted to raise colorful, creative, adventurous kids. That’s all well and good until you actually have kids like that.

Kids who email you stuff like, “Guess what mom? I’m in Berlin right now. I’m gonna be an “extra” in a scary movie.” Or, “We’ve changed plans, we may backpack through Tasmania before going back to New Zealand.” Or, “The steelhead fishing is amazing up here, but the weather’s bad and so are the grizzlies.” Or, “The surfing here in Costa Rica is amazing, mom. You can’t believe what we’ve been doing.”

Probably not. Thank God I don’t know. And where is up here?

They owe me big time, even though I have a good idea where some of this behavior came from. My mom says I got exactly what I deserved.

But when it comes to the food part, I’m not too worried about what they’re doing. They all have a fairly good idea of what makes up a healthy diet and how to create nourishing meals. As you might have noticed, there are some random bottles of alcohol in Tevis’ photo above. Beer and cider — at least they aren’t bottles of tequila or whiskey. (Don’t even tell me.)

Here’s her picks for the best gluten-free beer and cider options. What are your favorites?

Tevis’ GF beer and cider picks
Green’s Gluten-Free Beer (pictured above)
Bard’s Tale Gluten-Free Beer
St. Peter’s G-Free Beer
Samuel Smith’s Organic Cider (pictured above)
Doc Smitty’s Cider (pictured above)
Original Sin Cider

Tevis’ favorite Chicago bars/restaurants that serve GF beer and cider
Map Room
Blind Robin
Simone’s
Twisted Spoke
The Small Bar
Handlebar

Cheers,
Melissa and Tevis (scroll down the list of DJs to find her)
P.S. Be safe and make smart choices (my “mom” mantra).

If it’s not pharmaceutical drugs being advertised on TV, it’s natural supplements being pushed in health magazines. If you want to feel old and rundown, watch Jeopardy or Wheel of Fortune sometime and take note of the advertising. Everything from cholesterol lowering drugs to denture paste to laxatives to viagra. It’s not much better in the magazine world. Unfortunately, that does say something about our general state of health in this country.

“A rich source of fiber,” grapefruit pectin “may help maintain cholesterol levels already in the normal range.” All that for only $31.98 a bottle. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you can’t keep your “already normal” cholesterol levels “normal” by taking grapefruit pectin. I’m just thinking maybe you don’t need to pay for grapefruit pectin supplements if you eat real grapefruit, especially if your “normal” cholesterol levels are “already normal.” Whatever that means.

I’ll admit it, I’ve fallen for some less-than-good-for-me health food claims in the past (of all things, wheat germ) and I do take a few supplements from time to time, but holy cow, we’re getting bombarded with this stuff lately. What’s true and what isn’t?

The US Food and Drug Administration recently put the smack down on General Mills for claiming that Cheerios have been “clinically proven to lower cholesterol.” Oops, the FDA says those words classify Cheerios as a drug since the intent is to prevent or treat disease and as such, they need to go through the “approved new drug application” process.

If you can’t believe in Cheerios to lower cholesterol, can you believe in grapefruit pectin? Maybe, maybe not. I believe in the healing and medicinal properties of whole foods, but I’m not buying into over-the-top advertising claims applied to food that comes in a box. My gosh, it’s breakfast cereal, not organic beets (you know I have a thing for beets).

I’m not spending money on pectin supplements, but I’m a huge fan of fiber (HUGE) and just in case the pectin can work some magic somewhere in my body, I leave as much of it on my citrus fruit as possible. See above for pectin-saving peel photo. I use a small paring knife and keep as much of the fibrous membrane on as possible.

Grapefruit salad
3 cups mixed greens
1 grapefruit, peeled (minimally), seeded and sectioned
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup pecans *
crumbled goat cheese

All purpose salad dressing (this is my default salad dressing)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Annie’s Naturals organic Dijon Mustard
2 tablespoons agave nectar *
Place all ingredients in a small jar and shake vigorously. Use as needed for any salad.

Assemble salad, sprinkle with pecans and goat cheese, drizzle with dressing and enjoy.

* I don’t use a lot of agave, I prefer other forms of sweetener like honey or maple syrup, but there are a few things agave is perfect for. This is one of them.

* I like toasting my pecans in a dry skillet on medium/low for 3 to 5 minutes to bring out the flavor.

Go forth and eat whole foods, pectin and all.
Melissa

“It is a shame to be caught up in something that does not make you tremble with joy.”

That quote is from legendary culinary queen, Julia Childs, but the thing I love most about it is that applies to so many aspects of my life. It’s a personal mantra of sorts, from farm-fresh food to outdoor adventure to family and friends. Yes, life should be all about trembling with joy!

I don’t advertise on this blog, but I do advocate healthy living and a huge part of that is a focus on nutrient-dense foods. Because I have celiac disease and want to avoid the pit-falls that often accompany autoimmune conditions, I choose high-quality, organic foods and steer clear of the vitality-zapping junk that makes up the Standard American Diet (very SAD indeed).

Those of you who have been following this blog know I support my farmer friends at Grant Family Farms. I thrive on their organic fruits, veggies and pastured eggs and as a nutrition therapist, I know exactly why. It’s my medicine (lucky me). Nothing like fresh garlic scapes sautéed with summer squash, served with wild rice and a few ounces of wild-caught salmon for a dose of healing flavor. Or fresh, omega-rich eggs that look and taste much better then their store-bought counterparts. There’s no comparison.

So, while I don’t advertise on my blog, I won’t hesitate to encourage you to jump on the “eat healthy and eat local” bandwagon. For those of you in Colorado, please check out Grant Farms as they’re now delivering to the mountain communities. Yippee! From Dillon to Winter Park to Steamboat Springs to Leadville, Fairplay and Buena Vista – Grant Farms will bring organic goodies right to a drop-off location near you. For more information and to sign up, check here.

Okay, so I have ulterior motives. It’s about that tremble with joy thing I started with. Every Tuesday during the 26-week harvest season, I’m inspired by what I find in my big red CSA delivery box. Inspired to play with my food, strengthen my body and nourish my spirit. Food can do that, especially when you know it has been grown with love right up the road from you.

Bottom line? I want my local farmers to be successful! I actually need them to be successful. My health depends on it.

Go forth and hug a farmer – then tremble with joy!
Melissa