Fat

[Geonz]

:the other day my friend went by Strawberry Fields natural food store... and a customer had just dashed in to pick something up, so she left her Escalade running ... my friend said she couldn't resist mentioning that somebody had obviosuly never heard of global warming. I guess the lady was afraid she might get better than 12 mph.

Redefining "need" is a real challenge.

[emily_in_nc]

I run, not a lot, but as much as I am able (usually 3x a week, 3-5 miles each time), and I do eat fat -- olive oil, real (organic) butter, salmon, nuts and nut butters, and cheese. I actively avoid trans fats, though I'm not above having a cookie now and then! I've long felt that Americans' obsession with low-fat everything is not the answer, and this article is just another supporting data point. I really believe in balance and moderation in all things. I eat almost no fried food, fast food, etc. Oh, and even with "all" this fat, I weigh under 105 lbs. I am not genetically gifted either; both parents were overweight for much of their adult lives. I'm just much more active than they ever were!

Long live fat!

Emily

[Di bear]

I thought this was going to give me an excuse to eat Dove dark chocolate!
Di Bear, nothing better than fresh raspberries and rhubarb. You'd better start those other plants soon, you have a pretty short growing season up there. Still lots of snow up there?

Actually, our growing season doesn't seem to be that short. We've been having long, moderate weather seasons the last couple of years - 8 months of riding. I give credit to Lake Superior - we're surrounded by it here in the Keweenaw. The vegetation is so incredibly different up here compared to the rest of the UP. Lots of birch and maple trees up here . . . LOTS! I think our biggest problem is the soil - it's lacking.

I'll be moving some of my plants indoors - I have a sun room. :-)

alpinerabbit - actually, I was talking about all the added crap you find in American foods, but not in other countries, for example, high fructose corn syrup (I believe I read that this is banned in Europe), which is believed to cause us to eat more and more and more. It's in a lot of our foods, including soft drinks, which is why I quite drinking Coke. I've been told that if I buy Coke imported from Mexico, it will be made with real sugar. I'm looking for some.

Sometimes I cheat, but I generally buy organic cheese and shred it myself. Cheddar cheese is white. The stuff you buy in the supermarket, the yellow stuff, is dyed. I personally think that freshly shredded cheese has more flavor as well.

I was really happy to find that Heinz makes organic ketchup. It doesn't turn to a hard rubbery substance overnight like the regular stuff does. It tastes better as well. Makes ya think.

[lph]

:the other day my friend went by Strawberry Fields natural food store... and a customer had just dashed in to pick something up, so she left her Escalade running ...

Heh - last time I was at our local hair salon I overheard one of the stylists telling how she'd seen a dude drive his car right around and into the pedestrians-only square outside, get out and disappear into a store with the engine running and keys still in. She'd resolutely gone out and removed the keys.

When he came back a few minutes later and started looking wild-eyed she just leaned out the door and said "Hey - here are your keys. You forgot to stop your car".

[Grog]

Sometimes I cheat, but I generally buy organic cheese and shred it myself. Cheddar cheese is white. The stuff you buy in the supermarket, the yellow stuff, is dyed. I personally think that freshly shredded cheese has more flavor as well.

I am not 100% sure, but I think the process of dyeing (sp??) cheddar yellow started as a trade war against Britain, at least it was the case in Canada. The Canadian cheddar was yellow, thus indicating to clients that it's the one they should be buying to "buy Canadian." It might very well have been the same in the States...

[KnottedYet]

alpinerabbit - actually, I was talking about all the added crap you find in American foods, but not in other countries, for example, high fructose corn syrup (I believe I read that this is banned in Europe), which is believed to cause us to eat more and more and more. It's in a lot of our foods, including soft drinks, which is why I quite drinking Coke. I've been told that if I buy Coke imported from Mexico, it will be made with real sugar. I'm looking for some.

HFC makes me hungry, too. Makes me really hyper, too much sugar high and too fast.

I love Blue Sky Cola. http://drinkbluesky.com/ It's made with real sugar (as is Jones soda http://www.jonessoda.com/ ) and tastes great! Blue Sky soda is available just about everywhere around here (Seattle), though in some stores it's in the health food section rather than the regular drinks section. I think I usually pay something like $3.50 a six-pack. Mmmm, good stuff for those times when you really just want a "coke".

[tulip]

DiBear--if more people made small changes like you are doing, the world would be a much better place. One thing about the rhubarb--you know not to eat the leaves, right? Just thought I'd reiterate that point.

I picked my last harvest of winter collards today. I'm going to saute them in olive oil and garlic tonight. Tasty!

[Di bear]

Hm . . . never thought about eating the leaves. I'm learning how to use rhubarb from a friend who makes a killer strawberry-rhubarb crisp. I didn't eat last year's rhubarb cuz I didn't know what to do with it. I'll stick with leaf lettuce for leaves.

I picked my last harvest of winter collards today. I'm going to saute them in olive oil and garlic tonight.

I think this is typically southern fare. I've never seen it served way up here . . . I've never seen it served, except on an episode of "Good Eats."

[tulip]

Hm . . . never thought about eating the leaves. I'm learning how to use rhubarb from a friend who makes a killer strawberry-rhubarb crisp. I didn't eat last year's rhubarb cuz I didn't know what to do with it. I'll stick with leaf lettuce for leaves.

Rhubarb leaves are toxic. Don't eat them. Use only the stalks. Strawberry-rhubarb crisp (and pie) is delicious, but requires a lot of sugar, since rhubarb is tart, to say the least.

[Di bear]

I thought this was going to give me an excuse to eat Dove dark chocolate!

Sandy -

Have you tried Dagoba chocolate bars? They're YUMMY. Lately, I'm eating about 1/2 a bar a day - which is good since that is a serving size, but sometimes it takes me a month to get through a whole bar. I just leave 'em laying around the house. They're dark chocolate, so it doesn't take a bottomless pit of chocolate to satisfy me.

[RoadRaven]

Interesting article, Grog

I would be interested to know more about this aspect... I'm going to see if I can find out more...

"The study found that eating less than 30 per cent dietary fat left female runners 2½ times more likely to suffer from a related injury."

Does less fat intake have such a huge effect on muscle strength... on tendon stretch/strength...??? What meatbolic or physiological effect is taking place here.

Really really interesting - thank you

[Bad JuJu]

You grow your own or buy from a local sustainable farmer whenever you can. Every new customer puts a little fillip into the economy of scale. You be very careful about reading the labels on stuff that you don't get directly from the person who grew it. You recommend The Omnivore's Dilemma and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle to everyone you know (and probably In Defense of Food, also, though I haven't read that one yet). You support your local bike co-op with money, time, advocacy, or cast-off parts. You do whatever advocacy you have the energy for. You set a good example for the people around you.

You all simply must read Michael Pollan's latest: In Defense of Food. He talks about these very issues and offers some practical advice that sounds very much like what Oakleaf said. His basic premise is this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

That first point--"Eat food"--sounds obvious until you start to think about how much of the crap sold at most grocery stores isn't really food, but some chemically enhanced food-like substance (or as they call it in Skinny B**ch, a "sh*tstorm of chemicals"). Pollan also talks about trying to buy locally produced food, about how we got where we are now, and ideas for moving toward a better place--foodwise, environmentally, culturally.

Plus, Pollan is such a wonderful writer.

[Eden]

I think it is a myth that healthy food is more expensive than junk food too..... I will grant you that some neighborhoods have grocery stores that are woefully unstocked with healthy items (especially fresh produce), but tofu, beans and fresh vegetables are much less expensive per serving than prepackaged meals and meats. Even in the poorest of grocery stores I'm betting you can still find 90 cent cans of cooked beans and dried ones for even less. When you get vegetables you don't have to get fancy ones - things like cabbage, carrots and squash - cheap, cheap, cheap - or go frozen. I think that some things don't taste that great after being frozen, but its better than nothing, and usually quite inexpensive as well. Around here a lot of places have a neighborhood produce stand still too. When I worked up on Beacon Hill I used to be able to go in there and buy a weeks worth of produce for less than $10...

I think that education/taste in food is a much bigger barrier. Lots of people never learn to cook and lots of people never learn to enjoy foods that are not mainstream junk foods... they would probably refuse to even taste a really nice lentil curry, they would think it takes way to long to cook, etc.

[RoadRaven]

I think that education/taste in food is a much bigger barrier. Lots of people never learn to cook and lots of people never learn to enjoy foods that are not mainstream junk foods... they would probably refuse to even taste a really nice lentil curry, they would think it takes way to long to cook, etc.

I sooooooo agree with you Eden. We have made a deliberate effort to not only model cooking to our children, but to also show them how to use up left overs, to grow some of our food, and to shop wisely, and to "make" them prepare meals for a family as well as for themselves.
Hopefully, as sustainability issues become more important to individuals, wise food selection and preparation will become more of an everyday consideration.

[Jolt]

You all simply must read Michael Pollan's latest: In Defense of Food. He talks about these very issues and offers some practical advice that sounds very much like what Oakleaf said. His basic premise is this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."

That is definitely on my list of books I'd like to read this summer! I looked for it in the library the other day but somebody else had it checked out.