Break An Egg!

Omelets look easy (and they are once you learn some tricks.) The most important thing to remember about making an omelet; if you mess up, don’t worry about it…just call it a scramble! Before you start, make sure you have all your fillings prepared and ready to go. If you are using veggies, be sure to lightly steam them ahead of time. First, wisk the eggs in a bowl, adding the salt and pepper.  Over medium-high heat, it takes only about a minute to cook an omelet. Stay focused…do NOT walk away from the pan! Constantly shake the pan to redistribute the eggs, roll the unset eggs around the edges (you want the base to be fairly done before you add the fillings.) Put the filling on one side, use a spatula to fold, and then slide the omelet onto the plate.

This is one of my favorite recipes, but you can use any fillings that your heart desires!

3 eggs
2-3 Tbsp Milk
Salt and pepper (adjust amount to your own taste)
Broccoli, steamed and cut into small pieces
Cheddar cheese, grated
Garnish with fresh parsley

Fast Food Worth Eating!

When conversation turns to restaurants that buy seasonal ingredients from area farms, fast food restaurants usually do not come to mind. Unless you’re talking about Chipotle Mexican Grill! When Steve Ellis opened his first Chipotle Mexican Grill in Denver in 1993, he knew that his success depended on the fresh, flavorful ingredients in the restaurant’s hand-prepared salsas and guacamole and on the marinade and dry rubs used on the never-frozen chicken, pork, and beef grilled on-site. For Chipotle and its suppliers, naturally raised animals are those served vegetarian feed and given neither antibiotics nor added-growth hormones. This goes far above and beyond the USDA’s requirements for “natural” meat. The company’s success has come because customers are willing to pay a little more for great-tasting, fresh food! To learn more, visit their website at http://www.chipotle.com/ and read their manifesto. Bon Appétit!

Healthy Tips For The Day

Eating well doesn’t have to be complicated. You can start today (yes, today!) Here are a few simple tips to get started.
1) Eat Food. Not too much. Mostly plants....Michael Pollan wrote it, live it!  2) Eliminate Processed Food: whether you are concerned about losing weight, feeling better, or helping the environment, eliminating processed foods is the answer.  3) Eat Local and Eat In Season: eat food that's in season whenever possible to ensure freshness and reduce food miles.

Brasco Broth

This delicious soup is filled with gelatin-rich, collagen-building substances and is a satisfying meal in itself. Protein and fat (yes, fat is good for you!), carbohydrates and fiber (supplied by the vegetables), and antimicrobial substances (supplied by the garlic). This soup is one of the many delicious digestive restoring recipes from “Restoring Your Digestive Health”; Jordan S. Rubin, N.M.D., and Joseph Brasco, M.D.

The use of organic produce and organic free-range chicken is ideal. However, if you are on a tight budget, it is okay to substitute conventional products. Just remember, the more wholesome and fresh the ingredients, the better the broth!

BRASCO BROTH

3 quarts filtered water
½ oz structured water additive (available at most health food stores)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
4-6 tablespoons coconut oil (4 is usually enough)
1 medium organic, free-range or kosher whole chicken, cleaned and cut into pieces (if you wish, you can substitute beef or another type of poultry for the chicken)
2-4 chicken feet (if you can find them, good luck!)
8 organic carrots, sliced
6 stalks of organic celery, sliced
3 medium-size organic white or yellow onions, peeled and diced
4 inches ginger, grated
5 cloves garlic, peeled and diced (omit if you have upper GI problems or severe heartburn))
2-4 tablespoons moist high-mineral Celtic sea salt
1 large bunch parsley

Place the filtered water in a large stainless steel pot, add the structured water additive and apple cider vinegar, and let stand for 10 minutes. Add the oil, chicken, chicken feet, vegetables, ginger, garlic, and sea salt; and bring to a boil over high heat. Let boil for 60 seconds, then lower the heat to the lowest setting possible and simmer for 12-24 hours. About 30 minutes before removing soup from the heat, add the parsley. Remove the soup from the heat. Remove and discard the chicken fee. Remove the chicken meat from the bones; and then place the meat back into the soup and discard the bones. This soup will keep up to five days in the fridge; it also freezes well.

Cream vs. Non-Dairy Creamer

I must confess that I love coffee…the stronger the better…with whole milk (real milk, not non-dairy creamer.) Let’s see how these non-dairy alternatives measure up to the real deal.

So what is cream? Simple…it’s the butterfat layer that comes with real milk. That’s it…just butterfat. It’s about 64% saturated fat and has about 6g of fat per tablespoon, an amount I’d assume is sufficient for a mug of coffee.

Now what about the leader of the pack when it comes to flavoring coffee? Let’s look at the ingredient list for Coffee Mate Original, a variety of non-dairy creamer found in more than a couple household kitchens. “Corn syrup solids, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (coconut, palm kernel or hydrogenated soybean), sodium caseinate (a milk derivative but not a source of lactose), Dipotassium phosphate, mono- and digycerides, artificial flavor and annatto color.”

Okay, so we start off with corn syrup solids, which is corn syrup liquid dehydrated of most of its water. Next up is our good buddy, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (aka trans fats.) Here’s what I find mind boggling; coconut and palm kernel oils are both highly saturated, making them already stable at room temperature. Why is there a need to hydrogenate these oils? Then we have sodium casienate, which is marked as a milk derivative. Wow! How in the world is a product derived from milk considered “non-dairy”....hmmm? Regardless, it’s added to give a thicker creamier texture to the aforementioned sugar and trans fats. The dipotassium phosphate (or phosporic acid) and mono- and diglycerides basically serve to improve mouth feel, keeping ingredients together that normally don’t go together. Essentially, when you choose Coffee Mate in your coffee, you are basically pouring in sweetened trans fats.

Your best option: Ditch the Coffee Mate and go with full-fat cream or milk if you can’t stomach black coffee.