Sunday 24 June 2012

Food Myths: High Cholesterol Foods Raise Serum Cholesterol


In a previous post, I recommended that people who want to lose weight should eat eggs for breakfast rather than toast or cereal.  Given the scare stories that were all over the media a while back, I can imagine the reaction in some reader's heads. 

Aren't eggs high in cholesterol? 
Won't they raise my cholesterol levels? 
Won't they increase my risk of heart disease?  

Well, the answers are yes, no, and no, respectively. 

In 1968 the American Heart Association recommended that people with high cholesterol limit their intake of dietary cholesterol.  The recommendation was later expanded to the general population.  This advice seems to have been based on an unproven assumption that cholesterol in the food we eat goes straight into our blood.   The best analogy I can think of is  Meat is muscle tissue so it will go straight to your muscles. Eating a lot of meat will make you look like a body builder - no exercise or weight lifting necessary. Our internal food processing systems just aren't that simple.

Cholesterol gets a bad rap, but it is actually fundamental to our existence.  Every cell in the human body requires cholesterol to form its protective waterproof membrane.  Cholesterol is also needed for the production of vitamin D and the sex hormones oestrogen and testosterone.  The brain has a higher concentration of cholesterol than any other organ.  Studies have found links between low cholesterol levels and the incidence of strokes, brain haemorrhages, dementia and depression.

The vast majority of  cholesterol in our bodies is manufactured internally.  Cells can produce their own cholesterol or import it from the bloodstream. About 75% of cholesterol in the body is made by the liver.  In normal, healthy people, the liver balances its cholesterol production.  It can manufacture around 1000 mg a day.  If it takes in extra cholesterol from food sources, it simply makes less. 

Research into human eating habits has been unable to demonstrate a relationship between high cholesterol foods such as eggs and dairy products and a harmful increase in serum cholesterol levels.  One US study examined the diets of 957 men  and 1,082 women in the town of Tecumseh, Michigan.  Their food intake over 24 hours was categorized into a wide range of nutritional components including specific types of fats, carbohydrates and protein as well as cholesterol.   The participants were divided into three groups according to their serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels. 

Analysis showed that the men and women with the highest serum cholesterol did not eat significantly more fat or cholesterol in their diets than the participants with the lowest serum cholesterol.  In fact, the study did not reveal any dietary factors that could account for the difference. 




Another study specifically set out to assess the nutritional significance of eggs in the American diet and to determine the degree of association between egg consumption and serum cholesterol.  The researchers analyzed data from 27,378 participants in a national health and nutritional survey.  They found that

Contrary to what might be expected, total serum cholesterol concentration was negatively related to frequency of egg consumption. Subjects who reported eating four or more eggs per week had a significantly lower mean serum cholesterol concentration than those who reported eating one or fewer eggs per week.
The researchers also compared the nutritional intake of people who reported eating an egg within the last 24 hours with those who didn't.  The egg eaters consumed  a significantly greater level of every nutrient except fiber and vitamin B6.  They conclude

Results of our study indicate that eggs make important nutritional contributions to the American diet, and frequent egg consumption does not associate adversely with serum cholesterol concentrations. Our work repudiates the hypothesis that increased egg consumption leads to increased serum cholesterol concentrations and also adds to the growing body of literature which supports the nutritional benefits of eggs.

Back in 1991, a news story was widely circulated about an 88-year-old man living in a retirement home who had consumed an average of 25 soft boiled eggs a day for over 15 years. He maintained normal levels of blood cholesterol.  When asked to comment on the case, a clinical dietician  said that the man's healthy cholesterol level was not surprising. "All of the studies we have done showed no effect of high egg consumption in a normal diet."



So go ahead and enjoy the nutritional benefits of an egg breakfast as often as you like.  Serve omlettes, frittatas, soufflés and quiches for lunch and dinner too.  Eggs really are good food cheap.

Thursday 21 June 2012

Foods that Make you Fat: Bread or Cereal for Breakfast


According to a recent survey, the most popular breakfast items eaten at home in UK are toast and cold cereal.  No wonder 60% of us are overweight.  Bread products and breakfast cereals are cheap to buy and easy to prepare.  Advertising campaigns promote them as being full of 'healthy whole grains'.  Some are even marketed as weight loss products.  So what could be wrong with them? 

It's important to understand that these foods don't cause weight gain due to the calories they contain, but due to their effects on our metabolism. Let's take Special K cereal as an example, since it's advertised as sliming.  It contains 76 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams, made up of 17 grams of sugars and 59 grams of starch. 

What happens when you load up on lots of starch and/or sugar?   First of all, your body converts these carbohydrates into glucose, also known as blood sugar.  As you chew and swallow your cereal, your blood glucose quickly rises.  Too much sugar in your blood is deadly, so your pancreas releases the hormone insulin to lower it.  Insulin converts some of the glucose into glycogen to be stored in the muscles.  It converts the rest into triglycerides to be stored in the fat cells. 

The more carbohydrates you eat in a meal, the more insulin is needed to lower blood glucose and the longer it persists in your bloodstream.  An important fact about insulin is that it activates fat storage and prevents the body from using fat as energy.  The purpose of insulin is to remove glucose from the blood. The fat cells are essentially locked shut so that glucose gets burned in preference to fat. 

Insulin not only stops you from releasing stored fat, it also makes you hungry.   If you eat a typical breakfast of cereal or bread you may start to get food cravings about two hours later.  In addition, you may feel tired, have difficulty concentrating and lose patience with people or tasks.  This is because  insulin has done its job and your blood glucose has dropped.  Your fat-burning metabolism is still shut down, and there's no longer a readily available energy source for your body.  Time to grab a snack quick! 

But that's not the whole story.  Another hormone is involved.  Ghrelin is manufactured by cells in the stomach and signals the brain to increase your appetite.  When your body produces ghrelin, you feel an urge to eat.  High protein meals suppress ghrelin for hours afterwards.  High carbohydrate meals suppress ghrelin at first, so you feel full after eating.  However, a couple of hours later, ghrelin increases dramatically.  If you eat a breakfast of starches and sugars you may be hungrier mid-morning than you were when you woke up.

Eggs Instead



High carbohydrate breakfasts lead to gain weight in two ways.   They stop you from burning your body fat and they make you crave snacks before lunchtime.  If you're trying to lose weight, what should you eat instead?  Any kind of protein food is a good idea, but I suggest eggs.  It only takes a couple of minutes to prepare them, they're relatively cheap and they've only got around 75 calories each.

In a study published in the journal Nutrition Research, scientists compared the body's response to eating a bagel breakfast or an egg breakfast  containing the same number of calories.  Three hours after breakfast, subjects were presented with a buffet lunch and told to eat until they were satisfied.  They also filled in a hunger questionnaire and a survey about food intake on the day before and after the test breakfast.  Researchers took blood samples from the subjects before they consumed their eggs or bagels and at various intervals afterwards.  

The researchers tested the blood samples for indicators linked to hunger.  The bagel breakfast produced a rise and fall in blood sugar and insulin, whereas blood sugar and insulin levels were more stable following the egg breakfast.  In addition, ghrelin rose significantly more following the bagel breakfast than the egg breakfast. 

The subjects' eating behaviour reflected their blood test results.  Those who ate a bagel breakfast reported more hunger three hours later than those who had eggs.   They also consumed significantly more calories at the all-you-can-eat buffet lunch than the egg eaters.  In addition, the food surveys showed that bagel eaters consumed more calories in total over the 24 hours following breakfast.

Links to research articles


Variations in postprandial ghrelin status following ingestion of high-carbohydrate, high-fat and high-protein meals in males

Consuming eggs for breakfast influences plasma glucose and ghrelin, while reducing energy intake during the next 24 hours in adult men


Personal aside


Back when I was fat,  I used to eat carbohydrate breakfasts like cereal, toast, crumpets, muffins or bagels,  I had the typical mid-morning low blood sugar response.  If I didn't get a snack I would feel tired, weak, confused and irritable.  Now I eat two eggs every morning and I'm good till lunchtime. 

On the other hand, my partner eats a big bowl of cereal every weekday morning and never feels hungry.  Is it due to his metabolism or the fact that he smokes and nicotine is an appetite suppressant?

Monday 18 June 2012

Smoked Salmon and Broccoli Souffléd Quiche



Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 1 hour
Serves 2-4
Total price £2

This is what it cost me, based on purchasing ingredients at the lowest price I could find.  This includes supermarket offers on produce and branded items as well as supermarket value-priced brands.
 
Here's a innovative way to use cheap salmon trimmings and get more omega 3 into your diet.   It isn't really a soufflé, because it's pie-shaped like a quiche.  It's not really a quiche because it doesn't have a pastry crust.   If you cut it into four pieces, one makes a light breakfast and two make a filling lunch (for me anyway).  In addition to containing about 2.2 grams of omega 3, this savoury dish is packed full of protein, vitamins and minerals. 
 


Ingredients
 
  • 120 grams smoked salmon trimmings
  • 100 grams (1/2 pack) cream cheese
  • 4 medium broccoli florets, cooked and chopped
  • 4 medium or 3 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 190 C.  Butter an 18cm diameter, 4 cm deep cake tin or pie dish. (There's no need to grease  flexible silicon bakeware.)  Separate the eggs into two large mixing bowls.
 
Beat the egg whites until stiff.  Whisk together the egg yolks and cream cheese.  (An electric hand mixer works best for both these tasks.)  Stir the broccoli and salmon into the egg yolks. 



Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture to create a light, fluffy batter.  Transfer to baking dish.



Bake for around 45 minutes or until the top is browned and a knife stuck into the center comes out clean.  Allow to rest for 15 minutes before cutting to serve.



Notes
  • This is also good made with spinich instead of broccoli
  •  
  • If you use fresh salmon trimmings instead of smoked, you may want to add seasoning for flavor.

Tuesday 12 June 2012

Reduce your Food Costs with Savy Shopping



Here are a few of my thrifty tips for making your food budget stretch further.

View supermarket offers online before you shop

The major UK supermarkets all advertise weekly offers on their websites. Check out which fresh and frozen meats and vegetables are heavily discounted and plan your meals around them.  Use your imagination or search the web for recipes. 

If you live in an area with more than one local supermarket, compare the offers on their websites to decide where to do your weekly shop.  If you want to take advantage of different offers at different stores, make sure the  potential savings outweigh any transportation costs involved.

Buy things that aren't on your shopping list

The endlessly repeated 'stick to your list' advice is only useful for junk food junkie impulse buyers.  Actually, those types of people are unlikely to head anyone's advice when they come face-to-face with a special on chocolate bar multi-packs!

To get nutritious food at the best possible price, you need a flexible attitude towards shopping and meal planning.  You never know what you are going to find in the 'reduced for quick sale' bins.  You may get a chance to stock up your freezer with half price premium sausages or salmon fillets.  If you are trying to stay within a weekly budget, this may mean changing your menu ideas on the spot.  It helps to have a wide repertoire of recipes.

Don't assume the advertised offer is the best value

A supermarket may have a big sign indicating that a certain package of tomatoes is a great deal at £1.  If you take the time to compare the price per kilogram with other varieties of tomatoes, you may find a better price.  The non-advertised pack selling for £1.20 could contain 50% more tomatoes by weight. 

Be sure to compare like with like

The recent years of inflation, many food manufacturers have tried to keep their prices stable by reducing the amount of product in the package.  Packs of bacon that used to contain 8 rashers now contain 6.  Packs of ground coffee that used to contain 227 grams now contain 200 grams.  If one brand stands out as cheaper than the others, make sure it contains the same amount of product.  It could turn out to be more expensive.

Stock up on store cupboard staples

With strategic planning, you should never have to pay full price for items with a long shelf life.  If you see a half-price or better offer on things you use that come in jars or tins, it's time to stock your pantry.  The same is true for dry, packaged foods like pasta or pulses.  Do check the use-by date.  If it's a couple of years in the future, and you cook with the item on a regular basis, fill your cupboard to the degree that your budget will allow.

Sunday 10 June 2012

The Cheapest Ways to Get Your Omega-3


In the previous post, I discussed the importance of omega-3.  In this one I want to tell you how to get it on a budget.  One of the reasons so many people in industrialized nations are deficient in omega-3 is because omega-6 grains are inexpensive to produce. The production of grains is often subsidised and a large percentage of agricultural land is devoted to them. 

We can all eat cheap if we load up on plenty of bread, pasta, breakfast cereal and other grain-based staples.  Unfortunately for many low income people, this way of eating often results in obesity and chronic, or even terminal, illness.

If money wasn't an issue, delicious meats like venison, bison or free-range, grass-fed beef could supply us all with omega-3.   Luckily, there are still plenty of fish in the sea that can provide this essential fatty acid at an affordable price.  They tend to be small and available in tins. 

  • Mackerel
  • Herring (Kippers)
  • Sardines
  • Anchovies
  • Pilchards
  • Eel
  • Whitebait
You may associate these omega-3 fish with your grandparents' eating habits. They knew about getting good food cheap. 

I recently tried canned pilchards for the first time in my life when I noticed that the price of kippers had gone up and the pilchards were significantly cheaper.  I found them quite tasty and have continued to buy them regularly.  One small tin makes a healthy, convenient lunch.



Salmon is a great source of omega-3, but salmon fillets and smoked salmon can be pricey.  A cheap alternative is smoked or fresh salmon trimmings.  These are the boneless pieces cut off when the salmon is trimmed into thin slices or perfect fillets.  They cost around £2 a kilo as opposed to £12 a kilo.  Chop up smoked trimmings to eat in salads or mix them with cream cheese to spread on crackers or bagels. Smoked or fresh trimmings can also be used in omelettes, quiches and pasta dishes.


Why You Should Balance your Omega 3/6 Ratio


Omega-3 and omega-6 are essential fatty acids.  Both types of fats are necessary for good health. They cannot be manufactured by the human body and must be obtained from foods. 

Omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, while many omega-6 fatty acids promote inflammation.  Inflammation is necessary for the healing of injuries and infections.  However, chronic inflammation can lead to a wide range of diseases including  allergies, asthma, eczema, rheumatoid arthritis, hypertension, atherosclerosis, Alzheimer’s, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.   To stay healthy, the body must have the necessary nutrients to keep inflammation levels under control.

Nuts, seeds and grains tend to be good sources of Omega-6, whereas wild game, grass-fed meat and oily fish are good sources of omega-3.  Our hunter-gatherer ancestors probably acquired equal amounts of essential fatty acids from animal and vegetable sources.  Researches estimate that humans evolved to eat an omega 3/6 ratio of approximately 1:1. 

Industrial methods of food production have led to a dramatic imbalance in most people's intake of essential fatty acids.  In modern Western diets, the typical ratio of  omega-6 to omega-3 is about 16:1.  This is partly due to the fact that a large portion of our diet is based on omega-6 rich cereal grains like wheat, rice, oats and corn.  But the real story is far more complex.

The process for chemically extracting oils from nuts, seeds and grains was developed in the early 20th century.  Since then, high omega-6 corn oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil, peanut oil and soybean oil have made their way into a wide variety of processed foods.  They are also commonly used for home baking and frying. 

Beef was once high in omega-3, but is now contains far more omega-6.  This is because cattle used to freely roam fields eating nothing but grass.  These days, they are fattened for market on feeds produced from high omega-6 grains.  Chickens are also primarily fed on grains instead of their natural diet of grasses and insects. As a result, their meat and eggs are high in omega-6.

Most people in the UK and other industrialized nations now eat what could be characterized as an inflammatory diet.  Diseases that are virtually unknown in tribes that still hunt and gather their food or practice ancient forms of agriculture are rising to epidemic levels in the most wealthy nations on earth.

So how can you rebalance your omega 3/6 levels?

  • Use lard or butter rather than vegetable oil or margarine
  • Avoid processed foods, especially those which are baked or fried
  • Eat fewer cereal and grain products and more green leafy vegetables
  • Make oily fish a major part of your diet

A basic guide to the omega-3 and omega-6 content of fats and oils:  
Omega-3 and Omega-6 Food Sources

A couple of references for people who want to review the scientific evidence:





Saturday 9 June 2012

Save Money and Eliminate Waste by Using your Freezer


According to a statistic widely reported by the BBC, the average British family wastes £680 of food a year.  I estimate that we've wasted about £5 over the last year, and I still feel guilty about it.   There are very few fresh foods that can't be preserved by freezing.  Here are some suggestions to help keep the food you buy from ending up in the bin.


Vegetables




If a vegetable can be cooked, it can be frozen.  There's no need for any veg to go to waste, with the possible exception of lettuce and cucumber.  If things in the fridge are starting to go a bit limp or if you bought more than you can use, cook and freeze them.  The technique I use with big bags of onions is applicable to pretty much any veg.  Prepare it as you normally would, either for eating as a side dish or for using as an ingredient.  Freeze in plastic take-away containers or any containers with snap-on lids. Defrost overnight in the fridge or heat from frozen in the microwave.

Fruit


Fruit loses its texture and leaks juice when frozen and defrosted, but frozen fruit still has plenty of uses.  Bananas can be frozen right in their skins.  Allow them to defrost just enough to stick a spoon in and serve for dessert with hot fudge or caramel sauce.  Berries can be frozen raw (slice large strawberries first) in single serving containers and defrosted for stirring into yogurt or porridge.  Apples, pears, peaches and plums can be sliced, cooked and frozen for use in pies, tarts or crumbles. 

Bread




Bread can be easily repackaged for freezing in old bread bags sealed with twist ties. It only takes about an hour to defrost at room temperature. Buy reduced price bread on its sell-by date. Divide a loaf into bags containing 4-6 slices and keep them in the freezer to defrost as needed. Take advantage of multi-buy discounts on packs of baps or rolls and freeze the extras.

Cheese


Cheese can start to go mouldy within a week of opening the package.  Freezing is a great way to extend it's life.  Grate hard cheeses like cheddar, edam or emmental and package in take-away containers.  Use straight from frozen in baked or grilled dishes or in cheese sauce.  Defrost for about an hour to use on cold sandwiches.  Buy big hunks of cheddar with 50% extra free and immediately freeze half the pack.


Meat




 Most people routinely use their freezers to store packages of meat, poultry and fish, but here are a few tips. 
 
  • Meat can be safely frozen at any time up to its 'use-by' date.  You don't need to freeze it on the day of purchase.
  • You can buy meat or fish reduced for quick sale on its 'sell-by' date and freeze.  Defrost in the microwave on the same day you use it. 
  • If large family packs of chops, steaks or chicken pieces are on sale, but you only need to feed one or two people, wrap the pieces individually in cling film and freeze for use as needed.   Divide large packages of mince into smaller portions and freeze in take-away containers.

Thursday 24 May 2012

Quick, Cheap and Tasty Stir Fry


This is another way to use cheap roast pork or chicken.  I'm not going to dictate a recipe, because the whole point is to use whatever ingredients you happen to have available.  I just want to share an easy cooking method for an inexpensive, healthy Chinese stir-fry meal you can make in minutes without using a wok.  The measurements given are for one serving.  Multiply as required.

See previous posts for how to prepare pork shoulder or leg or chicken legs and thighs.  In either case, you'll end up with chunks of meat and gelatinized stock.

Check your refrigerator for any vegetables that are nearing their use-by date that would work in a stir-fry.  Slice them into pieces around 1 centimetre thick.

Check your freezer for things like sliced mixed peppers, mixed stir-fry vegetables, julienned carrots or sliced mushrooms.  If you have frozen veggies like broccoli that come in big chunks, you'll need to defrost and slice them before using. 
You should have crushed garlic and ginger, soy sauce and five spice powder on hand.  It helps if you've also got a bottle of some sort of Chinese flavouring such as hoi sin sauce, oyster sauce, plum sauce, sweet chilli sauce or black bean sauce.  For a bit of a kick, you'll need some dried or crushed chillis.  Check your pantry for value-priced peanuts or cashews.
  
Put about a tablespoon of the stock, including the fat that's congealed on top,  into a frying pan over medium heat.  When it's melted and bubbling,  add a half teaspoon each of crushed garlic and ginger.  If desired, add chilli.  Stir for about a minute. 



Add any sliced, uncooked vegetables and stir until tender.  Throw in frozen, pre-sliced vegetables and stir till defrosted.  Add enough chunks of cooked meat for one portion and, if desired, a handful of nuts. 



Pour over about a tablespoon of soy sauce and sprinkle on about a teaspoon of five spice powder.  Add about a tablespoon of any thick Chinese sauce.  Stir everything for a couple of minutes until the meat has absorbed the flavourings  You're done!

You can serve this over rice or noodles, but, if you're trying to watch your weight, why not skip the empty calories from refined carbohydrates?  The vegetables and nuts will provide a variety of textures and flavours.

Monday 21 May 2012

Who Benefits from the 5 A Day Campaign?



Information about the origins of the 5 A Day Program can be found on the  U.S. National Institutes of Health National Cancer Institute website. The 5 A Day Program was started 1991 as a  partnership between the vegetable and fruit industry and the U.S. Government.  A group called the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) was set up to oversee industry participation in the program with $415,000 worth of contributions from about 60 companies and commodity groups.

It's clear that from the very beginning, the 5 A Day message was going to be about marketing products containing fruits and vegetables as much as preventing cancer.  As I discussed in a previous post, there is scant evidence that simply eating more fruits and vegetables lowers cancer risk.

The choice of five servings, rather than some other number, was fairly arbitrary.  The program report admits that 'epidemiologic studies rarely specified how many servings were optimal'.  Five servings was double the estimated US average of 2.5 servings per day.  It was thought to benefit consumers by 'improving the overall diet for problem nutrients' and 'seemed likely to include choices associated with reduced cancer risk'.  Other reasons given for the choice were that '5 servings was not so high as to be seen as impossible' and 'the number 5 was memorable'.


The NHS choices website explains that


5 A DAY is based on advice from the World Health Organization, which recommends eating a minimum of 400g of fruit and vegetables a day to lower the risk of serious health problems, such as heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and obesity.

However, even the NHS are cautious about this advice. In a brochure entitled 'Just Eat More' they state that
Eating more fruit and vegetables may help reduce the risk of the two main killer diseases in this country – heart disease and some cancers.

Note the phrase 'may help' which seems to imply that the jury's still out.

Interestingly, this same brochure goes on to mention the NHS partnership with the food industry.


The Government and the NHS have been working with nutritionists, farmers, the food industry, including manufacturers and retailers, to develop the 5 A DAY logo. Use of the the logo and portion indicator will have to comply with strict nutrition criteria which takes into account portion size, as well as fat, sugar and salt levels. You might see the 5 A DAY logo on promotional materials such as leaflets, website information, point of sale materials and carrier bags. You might also see it on food packets. When you see the logo on the packet you can be confident that it gives you at least one portion of fruit and vegetables.

What are some of these healthy fruits and vegetables being sold to us with government approval?  How about Heinz spaghetti hoops?  They're ' 1 of your 5 a day when eaten as part of a balanced diet'.  (I wonder why they don't count as a vegetable if your diet is imbalanced?)  Heinz Baked Beanz also count toward your 5 a Day, although it's unclear whether this is down to the tomatoes in the sauce.  Perhaps beans are now officially considered a fruit (as in the old rhyme...the more you eat the more you toot).

Thanks to the 5 A Day campaign, low income parents no longer have to feel guilty about opening tins and feeding their kids spaghetti hoops and beans on toast.  We should be eating more of them on a daily basis.  Not only are these foods officially sanctioned by the NHS, they may help prevent cancer and heart disease! 





Saturday 19 May 2012

Chicken Curry with Tarragon Rice




Preparation time 30 minutes
Makes four servings
80p per serving

This is what it cost me, based on purchasing ingredients at the lowest price I could find.  This includes supermarket offers on produce and branded items as well as supermarket value-priced brands.

Ingredients


Curry

  • 1 500g carton tomato passata or 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
  • 2 medium onions
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 heaped teaspoon chicken stock granules
  • 2 heaped teaspoons sugar or granulated sucrolose
  • 2 heaped teaspoons crushed garlic
  • 2 heaped teaspoons crushed ginger
  • 2 heaped tablespoons curry powder
  • 1 heaped tablespoon garam masala
  • About 4 ounces water
  • Hot chilli powder to taste
Rice
  • 200 grams (a mugful) uncooked long grain rice
  • 2 tablespoons oil
  • 1 heaped teaspoon turmeric
Puree one onion in a food processor and chop the other.  (Or chop both for a chunkier curry.)
On a back burner, boil a large saucepan of water for the rice. 

On a front burner, put 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and garam masala.  Stir for 2-3 minutes to combine the spices into a paste.  Stir in the water and add the stock granules and sugar. 



Add the rice to the boiling water.  Reduce the heat and simmer for around ten minutes until you can break a grain with your fingernail. 
Add the pureed and chopped onions to your spices and simmer for about ten minutes until soft and translucent. 


Put the cooked rice into a sieve in the sink to drain.

Stir the tomato passata and chicken chunks into the curry.  Now taste!  If you want a hotter curry, add chilli powder by the teaspoon until you reach your preferred level of mouth-burn.  If you want a more fragrant curry with a richer blend of spices, add more garam masala.  Simmer on low heat until the tumeric rice is ready.

Pour oil into the empty rice pan, toss in the cooked rice and stir to coat.  Sprinkle on the turmeric and mix until the rice is evenly coloured.


Suggestions

  • For a creamier curry, stir in two heaped teaspoons of yoghurt before serving.
  • For more colour, flavour and texture, add sliced mixed peppers, cauliflower or any other veg you like in curry sauce.



Thursday 17 May 2012

Cheap Chicken


A few minutes work boning cooked chicken pieces can save you a lot of money.  I recently paid £1.93 per kilo for whole chicken legs and thighs.  A kilo of value priced boneless, skinless chicken breasts costs £7.40.  Even when you allow for the weight of the bones, that's a huge increase in cost.

I think the popularity of boneless breasts has something to do with the fact that many adults now hesitate to eat or cook with anything that reminds them of an animal.  Since the 1970s, a growing number of people have grown up on a diet of processed food and fast food that has no bones about it.

I would quite happily make a stew or curry with cheap whole chicken wings, legs or thighs and pick out the bones as I eat it.  Traditional cooks know that meat cooked on the bone has more flavour.  However, I'm well aware that some people find the idea of eating with their hands or chewing around bones barbaric. 

To make boneless chicken dishes a lot cheaper, simply process your own chicken legs and thighs before using the meat.  Here's how.

Preheat the oven to 170 C.   Put a pat of butter in a roasting pan and place it in the oven until softened.  Roll your cheap chicken parts in the butter and sprinkle with salt. 



Roast for approximately one hour and fifteen minutes or until the skin turns golden brown.  Allow them to cool for half an hour.  Peel off the crispy skin and have a tasty snack. 


Pour the pan juices into a lidded container to use as chicken stock.  It will gelatinize in the refrigerator.  The fat that rises to the surface is great for frying meat and vegetables.

Separate the meat from the bones.   It will fall away easily.  Feel the pieces with your fingers to ensure that you've removed all the cartilage around the joints.  Place the meat in recycled lidded take-away containers and store in the refrigerator for up to five days. 



Use in curry or any recipe that calls for chicken breast pieces.  Since the meat's pre-cooked, add it during the last few minutes of cooking time.   I don't think my squeamish partner noticed that the stir-fry below was made with chicken legs, not boneless breast.




Monday 14 May 2012

Why You Don't Need Five a Day



I eat certain vegetables and fruits for their nutritional qualities and because I like the taste and texture.  However, I never weigh or measure out servings unless I'm writing a recipe and I don't ever worry if I only eat a couple of servings in a given day.  In another blog post, I'll have a rant about the government and food advertisers teaming up to back the  '5 A DAY ' campaign.  In this one, I just want to demonstrate that there is no evidence to back up the claim that we should be eating  five portions of fruit and vegetables every day.

Human Diets in Cold Climates




If we look at history, it's obvious that human beings do not require five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.  Homo Sapiens has been around for 200,000 years.  Agriculture developed around 10,000 years ago and spread to the British Isles between 4000 and 2000 BC.  In  pre-agricultural Northern Europe, fruits and vegetables would have only been available at certain times of the year.  Even after the development of farming, lack of modern methods of preservation would mean that the supply of vegetables, and especially fruits, would be scarce during winter and spring.  Nevertheless, people managed to survive and thrive.

Up until the 20th century, the Inuit tribes living near the arctic circle had very limited access to fruits or vegetables.  On land, they hunted reindeer, moose, ptarmigan and waterfowl.  They also ate seal, whale and plenty of oily fish.  During the height of summer, they gathered berries, roots and greens.  For most of the year they were carnivores.  These tribes were incredibly healthy until many began to adopt a modern Western diet, at which point the incidence of heart disease and diabetes skyrocketed.

 Human beings can get all the vitamins and minerals they need from animal sources - as long as they aren't picky about which bits they eat.  Fish oil and eggs are both  good source of vitamins A and D.  Organ meats like liver and brains contain vitamin C. 

 

Scientific Studies




The largest studies ever conducted to look into the effects of fruit and vegetable consumption on disease prevention have not found any conclusive evidence to support the 5 A DAY recommendations.

The Women’s Health Initiative Dietary Modification Trial (WHIDMT) followed 48,835 postmenopausal women over eight years from 1993 - 1998.  Approximately 20,000 of them were assigned to a dietary modification intervention group.  The intervention goal was to reduce total fat intake and to increase consumption of vegetables, fruits and grains.  Comparing the two groups, researchers found that the dietary intervention did not significantly reduce the incidence of breast cancer, colorectal cancer, ovarian cancer, endometrial cancer, heart disease or stroke.  The dietary intervention also had no effect on the women's weight.

An article published in the April 2010 Journal of the National Cancer Institute reviewed data from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer study,  This study looked into the diets of 142,605 men and 335,873 women from ten European countries between 1992 - 2000.  The authors concluded that 'the observed association of cancer risk overall with vegetable and fruit intake was very weak.'  And 'given the small magnitude of the observed associations, caution should be applied in interpretation of the results.'  They note that 'a higher intake of fruits and vegetables was also associated with other lifestyle variables, such as lower intake of alcohol, never-smoking, short duration of tobacco smoking, and higher level of physical activity, which may have contributed to a lower cancer risk.'

Fruit and vegetables can be a healthy substitute for junk food and processed foods, but the benefits depend on making informed choices.  Simply getting five portions every day without considering the rest of your diet is unlikely to lower your risk of disease or help you to lose weight.

Wednesday 9 May 2012

A Tomato a Day Keeps the Doctor Away


Though tomatoes may be a bit pricier than, say, root veg, they are cheap compared to most other fruits.  You can almost always find some kind of fresh tomatoes on sale and the tinned ones are perpetually on multi-buy offers.  They add intense flavour to all sorts of traditional dishes.

 A medium tomato (123g) has only 22 calories.  It contains 20% of the GDA of vitamin C,  26% of the GDA of vitamin A, 12% of the GDA of vitamin K and 8% of the GDA of potassium.

Tomatoes contain a higher concentration of lycopene than any other food.  Lycopene is a powerful antioxidant which helps to prevent cell damage.  Several studies have found that a diet high in lycopene lowers the risk of certain cancers including prostate, lung, breast and stomach.  Lycopene has also been found to protect the bones from oxidative stress, lowering the risk of osteoporosis. 


More of the lycopene in tomatoes is absorbed by the intestines when they are cooked than when they are eaten raw, and still more is absorbed when they are eaten with fat.  A tomato salad with an olive oil dressing is healthy.  Homemade tomato sauce with olive oil is even better.  Tinned tomatoes retain all their lycopene.

Basic Italian Tomato Sauce



I always make my own tomato sauce so I can add ingredients that I like in the proportions that I like.  Here's a recipe that you can tweak to come up with one that's perfect for you.  Price comparison is discussed below.

Preparation time 30 minutes
Makes one litre (four servings)
Cost £1.70 per kilo (without optional extras)

This is what it cost me, based on purchasing ingredients at the lowest price I could find.  This includes supermarket offers on produce and branded items as well as supermarket value-priced brands.


Ingredients

 
  • 1 400g  tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1 142g tin tomato puree
  • 1 large carrot.
  • 1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
  • 1 stock cube
  • 4 cloves (2 heaping teaspoons) crushed garlic
  • 2 teaspoons oregano
  • 1 teaspoon basil
  • 1 teaspoon thyme
  • 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Slice the carrot and cook until soft.  Peel the onions and roughly chop them.  Put the (cooked) carrot and half of the (raw) onion into a food processor and puree. 

(If you don't have a food processor, you can grate or dice the carrot and chop the onions as large or small as you please.  You'll just end up with a chunkier sauce.)

Put the olive oil in a large saucepan and turn the burner to medium-low (3).   Add the vegetable puree, chopped onion and crushed garlic.  Stir for about 5 minutes until the onion begins to soften.  Pour over enough water to cover the vegetables and add the stock cube, vinegar and sugar.  Stir until the cube dissolves.

Stir in the tomato puree and add the herbs.  Simmer for  about five minutes.  Stir in the chopped tomatoes. 



At this point you can add any optional extras and continue stirring until they are heated through.

 Optional extras


  • Sautéed mushrooms
  • Sautéed sliced peppers
  • Chopped chilli peppers
  • Black olives
  • Spinach (fresh or frozen)
  • Cooked mince (beef, pork, turkey - whatever's cheap)
  • Sliced cooked sausage
  • Cooked brazing or stewing steak
  • Chopped bacon
  • Meatballs
  • Anchovies




Tweaks


There are many variations you can make on this sauce.  I add carrot because I think it mellows out the tartness of the tomato, but you can leave it out if you want.  Traditional Italian recipes include celery.  If you've got some hanging around, chop it or puree it and put it in along with the other veg.  For a smooth sauce, puree all the veg and add tomato passata instead of chopped tomatoes.  Taste as you cook and add more herbs if you want or use fresh rather than dried.

 About the cost


You can buy cheap brands of tomato sauce in a jar for around £1.50 a kilo.  They aren't made with olive oil and they're thickened with corn flour.  However, they are marginally cheaper than homemade.

The 'authentic Italian' brands with ingredients similar to the ones I use go for £3.50 or more per kilo.  If you want a full-bodied, full-flavoured sauce, you can make your own for less than half that price.