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Showing posts with label fair trade. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fair trade. Show all posts
4.09.2013
Give it to me Raw: Cacao!
Above is a pic of sundried raw cacao nibs and the cacao fruit! Yes, it looks a little alien-ish, but in a strangely yummy way. Raw cacao is actually the seed of the cacao fruit - roasted and made into a powder, these lovely seeds are used to make cocoa powder and chocolate.
Didjya know...
Cacao has been treasured for ages - used both in a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations! Cha-ching. Today we know that cacao has one of the highest counts of antioxidants (the less processed the better!)
There are around 300 identified compounds in cacao - including magnesium, calcium and sulfur. As some of us know, chocolate affects the brain by causing the release of certain neurotransmitters which can trigger emotions, one of which is euphoria. Hello! That's because it has various "bliss" chemicals that tickle our fancy, but can also be addictive (duh).
As a self-confessed chocolate addict, I choose to go raw or pick a really dark organic chocolate with no added sugar to indulge in. Throw the nibs in your trail mix or raw cacao powder in your almond milk latte to perk you up in all the right ways!
Didjya know...
Cacao has been treasured for ages - used both in a ritual beverage and a major currency system in pre-Columbian Mesoamerican civilizations! Cha-ching. Today we know that cacao has one of the highest counts of antioxidants (the less processed the better!)
There are around 300 identified compounds in cacao - including magnesium, calcium and sulfur. As some of us know, chocolate affects the brain by causing the release of certain neurotransmitters which can trigger emotions, one of which is euphoria. Hello! That's because it has various "bliss" chemicals that tickle our fancy, but can also be addictive (duh).
As a self-confessed chocolate addict, I choose to go raw or pick a really dark organic chocolate with no added sugar to indulge in. Throw the nibs in your trail mix or raw cacao powder in your almond milk latte to perk you up in all the right ways!
3.12.2013
Be cool and tap that app.
That's right. Cheetos, that perfectly constructed lab "food" that took thousands of dollars and hours to get juuuuuust right... got a big fat D and a handful of warnings to go along with it. The picture is from an app I use called Fooducate, and it's one among the MANY new health and eco- conscious apps available to the masses (of smartphone users).
It can be a confusing and daunting food world out there. Wild Wild West. Smoking gun at every turn of the grocery aisle. BAM! Victims of a corrupt food nation and we didn't even see it coming. Just the other day, I skipped out on reading the label of a seemingly innocent goji berry snack I purchased (hey - even health coaches let their guard down at times). Apparently the manufacturers thought it would be awesome if they doused the perfectly wonderful raw goji berries with tons of additives and added sugar - turning the pure and delicious gojis into poison, and making me out to be a fool.
"GOTCHA SUCKA!" - that's what I imagined them saying as I bought the overpriced bag without a second thought.
Overly dramatic of me you say? Hardly. If you look at what this kind of behavior and lack of transparency by food corporations has done to the state of health in America and beyond, then it's hard to disagree. That's why it's KEY to take advantage of awesome new tools available to us now.
It's time to arm yourself like the 21st century smartphone-carrier you are... this means no more excuses. Transparency can be right at our fingertips - if we choose it. Make the right move and download these 9 cool apps that will help empower you when confronted with confusing and sometimes overwhelming food choices:
1. As a kid, I had this weird fascination with the scanner at the grocery store... and apparently it hasn’t entirely gone away because I can’t stop scanning my food with the Fooducate app! This free app lets you scan the barcode of any product (or just shake it for a random item), and proceeds to give you a letter grade, the number of calories per serving, and other health-related information. I likey a lot.
2. Similar to Fooducate, The GoodGuide mobile app makes it fast and easy to find safe, healthy, green, and ethical products, instantly delivering the information you’re looking for when you need it.
3. Say it ain’t Sole... avoid overfished and PCB-ridden seafood with the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch app. It’s easy to navigate and contains the Monterey Bay Aquarium extensive research and expertise regarding mercury, toxins, and sustainability of seafood choices. This app gives you quick lists of fish as the "best choice," a "good alternative" or one to "avoid." Super informative and detailed, this will help you choose in a jiffy at the fish counter.
4. Did you know that there’s a really good chance the seemingly healthy conventional celery stick you ate as a snack was highly contaminated, since conventional celery tested positive for 57 different pesticides. Eek. The Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen app will help you discern the dirties from the Clean Fifteen with their easy to use shopper’s guide to pesticides.
The following are for iPhones only.
{sigh}... to my dismay - Android user :(
5. What’s on my food? If you really want to know, then this app is for you. From the Pesticide Action Network, the most recent data (ranging from 1999 to 2007) is used to give you super specific info that you most definitely want to know, showing possible carcinogens, hormone disruptors, neurotoxins, and more.
6. I love me some Mark Bittman. And now you can have him in your little pocket with his very own How to Cook Everything app, which has 2,000 recipes - there’s also a vegetarian version (2,000 meatless dishes). The best-selling author and NY Times columnist also gives us shopping lists, kitchen timers, and illustrations for cooking techniques such as chopping and peeling, all in his no-nonsense style. And if you don’t read his Op-Ed column in the Times, start now.
7. Say Hell No to GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms) with Non-GMO’s shopping guide app called ShopNoGMO. Those suckers are very sneaky and are in pretty much anything packaged, so make sure you let this little ole app help you avoid GMOs in the foods you buy at your grocery store.
8. Seasons app is all about foods that are in... you guessed it - season! From fruits, veggies, lettuces, herbs, mushrooms, and nuts - it lets you search by “local” and “imported” season. It also includes an international Farmers’ Market finder, you know, for all you lucky jetsetters who are not in Chicago right now (whose local food list items can most likely be counted on one hand during these colder months...).
9. Have an allergy or 2 (or 3...)? Or just want to avoid certain foods? Then check out Cook IT Allergy Free. This app has over 200 recipes that can all be customized to be made allergy free. Tell the app everything you’re allergic to, and it’ll automatically adjust the recipe to include a substitution. You can save your adjusted recipes, keep notes on your “trial & error,” create a shopping list, and more.
Do you have a favorite app that's not listed here? Let me know by writing a comment below! Share the wealth y'all.
2.26.2013
Sweet Eats: Arize Kombucha
Arize Artisan Kombucha from Living Well Brewery is a recent obsession of mine. Nathan Wyse brews this hand-crafted, raw kombucha right here in Chicago at The Plant (a pretty cool net-zero energy vertical farm and food business operation).
For those of you who haven't heard of kombucha (all two of you), it's a fermented tea made from a mother (bacteria and yeast culture) that touts benefits such as aiding digestion and amping up your immune system. Wyse uses only certified organic, fair trade, wild harvested and local ingredients in this probiotic drink. Arize blends yerba maté, tulsi (holy basil) and black tea as the base. It's pretty darn delicious. Reminiscent of bubbly minus the hangover ;) I recommend drinking it in a wine glass. In the tub. Bob Marley optional.
For those of you who haven't heard of kombucha (all two of you), it's a fermented tea made from a mother (bacteria and yeast culture) that touts benefits such as aiding digestion and amping up your immune system. Wyse uses only certified organic, fair trade, wild harvested and local ingredients in this probiotic drink. Arize blends yerba maté, tulsi (holy basil) and black tea as the base. It's pretty darn delicious. Reminiscent of bubbly minus the hangover ;) I recommend drinking it in a wine glass. In the tub. Bob Marley optional.
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