Laurel on Health Food

Do you have a special 4th of July barbecue to go to? Cooking at home with family or friends? Today, I scoured my favorite websites for some tasty and healthy food that will help you celebrate your independence guilt-free. Enjoy!

Grilled Corn with Creamy Chipotle Sauce (Cooking Light)

The Best Summer Burger (Men’s Health)

Chicken Salad with Apple and Basil (Real Simple)

Guacamole Salad (Barefoot Contessa)

Ginger Sesame Asian Coleslaw (ChefMD)

Spicy Sweet Potato Sticks (Women’s Health)

Deep Dish Apple Blackberry Pie (Eating Well)

Women’s Health Magazine says grass-fed beef is where it’s at. Did you know that the majority of U.S. bovines feed on a mix of grains (mostly corn) instead of grass? Forcing cattle to eat a diet full of grains allows ranchers to fatten them up quicker and get the meat to our stores faster and cheaper. But, the quality of life for the bovines suffers as does the quality of our meat. Compared with a serving of grain-fed beef, healthier grass-fed beef has 1/3 less fat, almost twice the amount of omega-3s, twice the amount of conjugated linoleic acid (CLAs), and fewer cases of E. coli.

Women’s Health says to look for black and white labels on your meat that say “GRASS-FED AND USDA PROCESS VERIFIED.” Also reach for labels that say “organic,” “antibiotic-free,” and “hormone-free.” The healthiest cuts of beef are: top sirloin, 95% lean ground beef, top round roast, sirloin tip steak side, bottom round roast, and eye round roast.

Grass-fed beef is also significantly better for the environment. Growing corn for feed produces a ton of greenhouse gases and also adds more chemical fertilizers to the soil. Every year, the U.S. grows 1.5 billion bushels of corn strictly for cow feed. Yikes! It takes 50% less fossil fuel energy to produce grass-fed beef as it does grain-fed.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed, grass-fed beef is considerably more expensive. But, consider that the American Institute for Cancer Research recommends that you eat less than 18 ounces per week. Save that steak dinner for special occasions or when you’re really having a craving. When you do, go ahead and splurge on the top-quality grass-fed kind. It tastes better too!

Article reference: Women’s Health Magazine, July/August, p. 86-93

These days I read more and more evidence that proves veggies fight cancer. No complaints from me! Today I found yet another reason for you to eat your greens and convince your family and friends to jump on the veggie bandwagon too.

The journal Nutrition published some new research from Spain. Researchers found that eating two cups of leafy greens every day may reduce your risk of lung cancer by 50%! The vitamin A content in the greens may be the reason why.

Lead author of the study, Olga Dosil-Diaz, said that “vitamin A possesses the greatest protective effect against lung cancer by reducing the risk posed by different mechanisms, particularly with regard to its antioxidant potential and role in cellular differentiation.” The researchers also mentioned that the high vitamin C and flavonoid content in vegetables may “individually or collectively” help protect the body against oxidative stress and cancer.

A recent study from the American Journal of Epidemiology found that increasing your intake of vitamin K1 may reduce harmful inflammation in your body. As I’ve mentioned on this blog before, chronic inflammation is linked to a slew of diseases including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s.

Researchers concluded that higher dietary intake and higher blood levels of vitamin K1 (phylloquinone) are associated with lower levels of inflammation. The correlation between levels of K1 and inflammation even held up once the data was adjusted to consider age, BMI, gender, drug use, and time of year.

I think vitamin K1 is “slept on” and I rarely hear people talk about it in regards to nutrition. But, now that you know it’s a powerful disease and inflammation fighter, you can help avoid some major health problems by increasing your intake of green vegetables. Good choices are Swiss chard, spinach, Brussels sprouts, broccoli, kale, green beans, and asparagus.

As usual, I found a few tasty recipes to make things a bit more exciting:

Whole-Wheat Spaghetti with Swiss Chard and Pecorino Cheese

Pan Cooked Asparagus and Mixed Fish

Swiss Chard Saute

You can also check out my previous blogs on Vitamin K:

Need More Vitamin K?
Study on Vitamin K for Diabetes

If you really think about it, how many servings of fruits and vegetables do you actually eat every day? Most recent recommendations say we should aim for about eight to nine servings each day. However, a recent study from Harvard University found that just five daily servings will help men and women reduce their risk of stroke by 31%. A nutrition professor at the University of New Haven, Rosa Mo, RD, says that five servings a day gives you “significant antioxidants and fiber to reduce heart disease and cancer risk and keep your weight in check.”

That’s great news! However, I’d rather us think we need those eight to nine servings so we shoot for the stars. Most people probably have one piece of fruit and one (maybe two) servings of vegetables a day. There are even those who swear off fruits and vegetables all together. Sigh.

So, what’s in a single serving? Here are a few examples: 1/2 cup raw, frozen, cooked, or canned fruit or vegetables, 3/4 cup 100% fruit juice, 1 cup raw leafy greens, 1/4 cup dried fruit, one medium sized fruit.

For me, I think I do a pretty good job getting my fruits and veggies in, but like any normal person, I have my good days and bad days. So today I decided to begin a fruit and veggie diary. Instead of a diary listing ALL the foods I eat (which I find really hard to keep up with in the long term), I am going to keep track of every fruit and vegetable I eat (100% fruit juices count).

To help me out, I made a small spreadsheet and I’m keeping it in my Google docs. I split it up into different color groups so I make sure to get a variety of nutrients. You can view it here (I filled in Monday as a sample):

Daily Fruits and Veggies Spreadsheet

You can also check out this page from the Sanitarium Health Food Company to get an idea of the different color groups, examples, and what nutrition they provide.