I'm currently in New Jersey with my dad, who is a world traveler and a health nut. My second swaray into frog legs came because both of those things. My dad doesn't eat so I'm foodless, which means I'm not cooking, hence the lack of posts. Last night, after finally getting some food into the house, my dad brough to my attention the fact that he had frog legs and I took it as a challenge. I found a recipe for frog legs and here we go.
1pound of frog legs(I used one set of legs)
1/2 cup of soy sauce (amino acids)
1/2 cup of honey (agave nectar)
1 pinch of ground ginger (1 teaspoon of fresh ginger, chopped in a food processor)
1 clove garlic (1 tablespoon garlic oil)
salt and pepper to taste
flour
green onion (I used toasted sesame)
Mix the soy sauce and honey in a bowl for marinade, chop the ginger or add the ground ginger, and garlic. Add the frog legs and allow to soak for an hour (I could only hold out for a half hour)
Once the hour is up, fry the frog legs on each side for about 5 minutes, or until golden brown. In another pot, warm the marinade and allow to simmer. Once the legs are done cooking, add to the marinade and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from marinade and place on platter. Pour sauce over frog legs and garnish with sesame seeds or onions.
My thoughts:
Although cooking the frog legs was a challenge of sorts, I still had a problem with cooking and eating it. The thought the I was touching and eating frog legs was in the back of my mind but they taste like chicken. Literally. Sometimes they have a different taste to them, but they tasted like chicken. Be careful with the marinade. When I made the marinade, the soy-nectar ratio was balanced but after I let it simmer, it tasted a bit salty.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Thursday, March 3, 2011
My Stance on Vaccinations
It's been years since I've gotten a vaccination. I've been asked by my doctor to get the HPV vaccine and by my nurse Aunt to get the Flu and Swine Flu Vaccine and I've politely declined. They both told me the risks of not being vaccinated and I still declined. It's not that I don't believe in their life saving qualities, it's just that I don't trust them enough to get them.
My personal stance on vaccines are, they are not effective enough for me to trust my life or my future children's life with them. Although vaccinations have saved us from countless diseases, they have also been linked to various neurological disorders including Autism. The flu, HPV, and other viruses are so abundant that you cannot properly vaccinate against them. I also believe that if you're healthy enough, your body will do it's job and fight these viruses. The human body is designed to regenerate itself. It's been doing it for thouMy sister is vaccinated against chicken pox for 20 years and my mom agreed that it was the dumbest thing ever. I think kids are supposed to get it, I got it and my other sisters got it but now my sister will be in her 20's when she gets it what makes it ten times worse. Note: in Maryland you have the right to refuse vaccinations for your children but it's very hard. I don't think terrorists get grilled that hard.
Enough of my opinon let's look at some facts. A vaccine is a killed virus that gives your body protection over the virus. It's called artificial induction of immunity. Vaccines contain mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, aspartame (nutra sweet), MSG, antifreeze and a host of other proven neuro-toxins and poisons, and that these vaccines have definitely been linked to autism, Gillian Barre syndrome (mild to severe paralysis), brain damage and even death, and the vaccines are untested and unproven, the government in many states have threatened parents with jail if they do not vaccinate their kids. There is no safe vaccination.
My personal stance on vaccines are, they are not effective enough for me to trust my life or my future children's life with them. Although vaccinations have saved us from countless diseases, they have also been linked to various neurological disorders including Autism. The flu, HPV, and other viruses are so abundant that you cannot properly vaccinate against them. I also believe that if you're healthy enough, your body will do it's job and fight these viruses. The human body is designed to regenerate itself. It's been doing it for thouMy sister is vaccinated against chicken pox for 20 years and my mom agreed that it was the dumbest thing ever. I think kids are supposed to get it, I got it and my other sisters got it but now my sister will be in her 20's when she gets it what makes it ten times worse. Note: in Maryland you have the right to refuse vaccinations for your children but it's very hard. I don't think terrorists get grilled that hard.
Enough of my opinon let's look at some facts. A vaccine is a killed virus that gives your body protection over the virus. It's called artificial induction of immunity. Vaccines contain mercury, aluminum, formaldehyde, aspartame (nutra sweet), MSG, antifreeze and a host of other proven neuro-toxins and poisons, and that these vaccines have definitely been linked to autism, Gillian Barre syndrome (mild to severe paralysis), brain damage and even death, and the vaccines are untested and unproven, the government in many states have threatened parents with jail if they do not vaccinate their kids. There is no safe vaccination.
Your Food Label May Be A Lie and It's Perfectly Legal
I first stumbled upon this a few months ago but let it slide, now curiosity has gotten the best of me. Food labels are very vague. Natural flavors. Artificial flavors. Artificial colors. Even with a lot of research, I still can’t crack the code of what these colors and flavors are exactly. I’m sure manufacturers love it this way. A food manufacturer is allowed to stretch the facts on a label up to 20%. When the lies stretch 20% then the FDA begins to investigate. Who is really checking all these labels? It takes a lot of work to break down a label and I know it’s not “economically practical” for the FDA to check every food manufacturer to make sure their label is factual. That's why the FDA only has to check to see if there is a label, not if it's accurate.
Things your label may lie about:
Calories:
That low calorie treat you’re enjoying may be lying about its calories. 100 calories may be 120 and 400 calories may be up to 500. And it’s legal.
Sugar:
People are watching their sugar and food manufacturers know this, so they find sneaky ways to label sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup, white grape juice concentrate, dextrose, corn sugar, cane sugar, maltodextrin and the list goes on. http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and Nutrition/List_of_Sugar_Names_and_Sugar_Facts.shtml
Omega 3:
My health rule is: if it makes a health claim, it’s lying. I have a strong belief that anything made in a factory cannot be healthy. Omega 3 fats are a big trend and the FDA allows food that have a source of the healthy fat to advertise their heart health although this may be a lie.
Serving Size:
This is not really a lie but more of a stretch of a truth. My mother used to buy these frozen pizzas that were about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide and my sisters and I used to eat one pizza each, until we found out that the serving size was 1/3 of the pizza. Food manufacturers label their serving sizes correctly but package them incorrectly. Who is really going to count 10 chips as they’re eating them or drink 1/3 of a soda? No one is going to do that. Very few people follow the serving size on junk food.
Made with real (insert ingredient)
Which ingredient? How much? Manufacturers love this label because it allows them to toot their horn but still make a horrible product. The makers of Canada Dry Ginger Ale have been proudly advertising that they’re al natural and they use real ginger. Maybe I’m blind because I don’t see ginger on the label.
Fat and Salt content:
When I’m reading a label, I find it weird when the food manufacturer states that an ingredient adds a trivial amount of fat or salt. Who decided it was trivial? Your scientists? When a manufacturer does this, they’re usually masking something else, like how bad it really is for you.
The food manufacturers do not care whether or not you know the truth because more than half of the people who know it, still buy the food that is bad for them. The only way to control what you eat, is to avoid processed and prepackaged foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, and cook at home.
Whole grain contents:
Do I have to state my golden rule again? If it has a health label, it’s probably lying. In many ingredients Unbleached wheat flour is the main ingredient but whole-wheat flour is further down on the list, indicating that the product contains relatively little. When reading labels, I find that the healthy item they’re claiming is farther down the ingredient list than I like, which means there is very little of it. Interesting fact: potassium bromate, a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours, is a major, but hidden cause of thyroid dysfunction. This ingredient may be used even in whole grain breads. Mmm hmm.
Fiber:
Americans are calling for healthy food and they want more fiber, so what do they get? More fiber. Except that these fibers are manufactured and do very little for you. The fibers advertised in many foods are mainly "purified powders" called inulin, polydextrose and maltodextrin.
Free Range chicken:
The new battle cry is: how dare you keep those poor chickens chained up all day, so the food manufacturers said, we’ll let them out and tell you about it. What does “free range eggs or chicken” mean anyway? This means chickens must be granted the luxury of exactly five minutes of "access" to the outdoors every day. Notice that doesn’t mean they actually get to roam free, this may as well mean they open the door and if the chicken wants to roam free, it’s free to roam.
Tastes Like Medicine (but may kill you while it's healing you)
Notice a trend here. The FDA allows food manufacturers to make certain pre-approved "qualified health claims" about the health benefits of nutrients in food and manufacturers take it and run touchdown. For instance, food makers can't say that their product "helps reduce the risk of heart disease" without FDA approval, so they say that it "helps maintain a healthy heart." I’m sure the FDA would approve anyway but who wants to go through all that.
Things your label may lie about:
Calories:
That low calorie treat you’re enjoying may be lying about its calories. 100 calories may be 120 and 400 calories may be up to 500. And it’s legal.
Sugar:
People are watching their sugar and food manufacturers know this, so they find sneaky ways to label sugar. High Fructose Corn Syrup, white grape juice concentrate, dextrose, corn sugar, cane sugar, maltodextrin and the list goes on. http://commonsensehealth.com/Diet-and Nutrition/List_of_Sugar_Names_and_Sugar_Facts.shtml
Omega 3:
My health rule is: if it makes a health claim, it’s lying. I have a strong belief that anything made in a factory cannot be healthy. Omega 3 fats are a big trend and the FDA allows food that have a source of the healthy fat to advertise their heart health although this may be a lie.
Serving Size:
This is not really a lie but more of a stretch of a truth. My mother used to buy these frozen pizzas that were about 6 inches long and 3 inches wide and my sisters and I used to eat one pizza each, until we found out that the serving size was 1/3 of the pizza. Food manufacturers label their serving sizes correctly but package them incorrectly. Who is really going to count 10 chips as they’re eating them or drink 1/3 of a soda? No one is going to do that. Very few people follow the serving size on junk food.
Made with real (insert ingredient)
Which ingredient? How much? Manufacturers love this label because it allows them to toot their horn but still make a horrible product. The makers of Canada Dry Ginger Ale have been proudly advertising that they’re al natural and they use real ginger. Maybe I’m blind because I don’t see ginger on the label.
Fat and Salt content:
When I’m reading a label, I find it weird when the food manufacturer states that an ingredient adds a trivial amount of fat or salt. Who decided it was trivial? Your scientists? When a manufacturer does this, they’re usually masking something else, like how bad it really is for you.
The food manufacturers do not care whether or not you know the truth because more than half of the people who know it, still buy the food that is bad for them. The only way to control what you eat, is to avoid processed and prepackaged foods, eat more fruits and vegetables, and cook at home.
Whole grain contents:
Do I have to state my golden rule again? If it has a health label, it’s probably lying. In many ingredients Unbleached wheat flour is the main ingredient but whole-wheat flour is further down on the list, indicating that the product contains relatively little. When reading labels, I find that the healthy item they’re claiming is farther down the ingredient list than I like, which means there is very little of it. Interesting fact: potassium bromate, a dough conditioner found in commercial bakery products and some flours, is a major, but hidden cause of thyroid dysfunction. This ingredient may be used even in whole grain breads. Mmm hmm.
Fiber:
Americans are calling for healthy food and they want more fiber, so what do they get? More fiber. Except that these fibers are manufactured and do very little for you. The fibers advertised in many foods are mainly "purified powders" called inulin, polydextrose and maltodextrin.
Free Range chicken:
The new battle cry is: how dare you keep those poor chickens chained up all day, so the food manufacturers said, we’ll let them out and tell you about it. What does “free range eggs or chicken” mean anyway? This means chickens must be granted the luxury of exactly five minutes of "access" to the outdoors every day. Notice that doesn’t mean they actually get to roam free, this may as well mean they open the door and if the chicken wants to roam free, it’s free to roam.
Tastes Like Medicine (but may kill you while it's healing you)
Notice a trend here. The FDA allows food manufacturers to make certain pre-approved "qualified health claims" about the health benefits of nutrients in food and manufacturers take it and run touchdown. For instance, food makers can't say that their product "helps reduce the risk of heart disease" without FDA approval, so they say that it "helps maintain a healthy heart." I’m sure the FDA would approve anyway but who wants to go through all that.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Things They Make Me Go Hmmm
I am twitching as I write this post because it is nasty. This is a reason why I don't eat processed food. The things the FDA legally allows in your food seems more to protect the manufacturer than us.
Someone tell me what is unavoidable about maggots and rat hair in my food? I need someone to breakdown the economically impractical part. Are you too cheap? Does it cost too much? What does that mean.
The list:
20 or more maggots in canned mushrooms (is someone opening these cans and inspecting the amount of maggots in them?)
12% or more of mold in fruit
1 rodent hair in peanut butter (once again, is someone counting the hairs in the peanut butter)
foreign matter including cigarette butt(it is economically impractical to tell your workers not to put stuff in my food. I understand)
animal feces (heaven forbid you call an exterminator)
15 fruit fly eggs
25mg of sand in peanut butter
40 thrips on asparagus and in beer
60 parasite for 100 fish(more than 50% of my fish is allowed to have parasites on it)
325 mg of insect feces can end up in your spices
sticks and stones
Am I wrong that I'm listening to Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us?" because that's how I feel. Who made these rules? Don't answer that. I'm really convinced that FDA is all about getting their palms greased and could care less about the consumer. Who allows maggots in food? Let's cook at home.
"Food and Drug Administration says that a certain amount of contamination is
unavoidable in commercial food processing, so it allows for a small amount of
"filth" before taking action. "it is economically impractical to grow,
harvest, or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous,
naturally occurring, unavoidable defects." http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504763_162-20013038-10391704.html
Someone tell me what is unavoidable about maggots and rat hair in my food? I need someone to breakdown the economically impractical part. Are you too cheap? Does it cost too much? What does that mean.
The list:
20 or more maggots in canned mushrooms (is someone opening these cans and inspecting the amount of maggots in them?)
12% or more of mold in fruit
1 rodent hair in peanut butter (once again, is someone counting the hairs in the peanut butter)
foreign matter including cigarette butt(it is economically impractical to tell your workers not to put stuff in my food. I understand)
animal feces (heaven forbid you call an exterminator)
15 fruit fly eggs
25mg of sand in peanut butter
40 thrips on asparagus and in beer
60 parasite for 100 fish(more than 50% of my fish is allowed to have parasites on it)
325 mg of insect feces can end up in your spices
sticks and stones
Am I wrong that I'm listening to Michael Jackson's "They Don't Care About Us?" because that's how I feel. Who made these rules? Don't answer that. I'm really convinced that FDA is all about getting their palms greased and could care less about the consumer. Who allows maggots in food? Let's cook at home.
Sorry Taco Bell, I still don't believe you!
I stopped eating fast food in August and it was hard. I used to love BK's double cheeseburgers, McDonald's Frappe's, and Chick-fil-a milkshakes. I could down a cookies and cream, strawberry, or peach smoothie. I loved fast food. Who doesn't? It's quick and convenient. That's until I began to question the quality of the food and realized I needed to take control of my health. Bye Bye, drive through, hello kitchen. Let's be real, I've always questioned the quality of the food but never seriously enough to put down that chicken nugget. When Arby's began advertising they were now using 100% real chicken, they lost the customer that never was. The purpose of this post is to talk about Taco Bell and their "beef." Yes, I put that in commas.
In late January, a law firm filed a law suit asking that Taco Bell be honest about their food and it's sources. Particularly their beef. The law suit states the beef is only 35%, which according to the USDA for something to be labeled beef it only has to contain 35% beef, so Taco Bell is on the money. In addition, the USDA standards only apply to the manufacturer of the beef not the vendor of the beef, so once Taco Bell gets it what they do with it is their business.
According to http://www.tacobell.com/BeefIngredientFAQs, their beef is 88% beef and 12% spices. Things that make you go hmmm. I know Taco Bell is lying and you should know Taco Bell is lying. That may be a strong word, they're exaggerating the truth to the extent it will go without lying. Taco Bell is a billion dollar company and in order to stay a billion dollar company, they need to do spin control to keep their customers. It's called marketing people and all food manufacturers do it. They give you the facts they want you to know and hope that you don't research the rest. To the food industry, your ignorance is bliss.
After going on Taco Bell's website and looking at their facts, I still don't know anything more about their food than before and I'm certainly not eating anymore. The website dispels the statements in the lawsuit but does little in the way of being transparent. The meat still contains anti-dusting agent(silicone dioxide), sodium phosphate, silicon dioxide, citric acid, autolyzed yeast extract (a cheaper form of MSG), soy lecithin, and maltodextrin. I still don't believe you Taco Bell.
In late January, a law firm filed a law suit asking that Taco Bell be honest about their food and it's sources. Particularly their beef. The law suit states the beef is only 35%, which according to the USDA for something to be labeled beef it only has to contain 35% beef, so Taco Bell is on the money. In addition, the USDA standards only apply to the manufacturer of the beef not the vendor of the beef, so once Taco Bell gets it what they do with it is their business.
According to http://www.tacobell.com/BeefIngredientFAQs, their beef is 88% beef and 12% spices. Things that make you go hmmm. I know Taco Bell is lying and you should know Taco Bell is lying. That may be a strong word, they're exaggerating the truth to the extent it will go without lying. Taco Bell is a billion dollar company and in order to stay a billion dollar company, they need to do spin control to keep their customers. It's called marketing people and all food manufacturers do it. They give you the facts they want you to know and hope that you don't research the rest. To the food industry, your ignorance is bliss.
After going on Taco Bell's website and looking at their facts, I still don't know anything more about their food than before and I'm certainly not eating anymore. The website dispels the statements in the lawsuit but does little in the way of being transparent. The meat still contains anti-dusting agent(silicone dioxide), sodium phosphate, silicon dioxide, citric acid, autolyzed yeast extract (a cheaper form of MSG), soy lecithin, and maltodextrin. I still don't believe you Taco Bell.
The Science of Oranges
I'm on a budget that's getting tighter everyday, so I look for the best food bargains I can find and I found some Dandrea oranges for $1 for a pack of four or five. I bought two because Martin's didn't have anything better. Some of them were bad but I found two decent packages. It was only yesterday that I discovered my Orangs contained more than oranges.
Ingredients (which were printed very small on the label): food grade vegetable beeswax and/or lac-resin based wax or resin, thiabendozole, imazortho-phenyl, imazilli. What's up with the and/ors?
food grade vegetable beeswax- (it was hell finding a definition for this so I just looked up beeswax) this is known as E901 which is a glazing agent to provide a shiny coating and protect food. Not much is known about it as a preservative.
Resin- is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants . It is valued for its chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnished, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis; and as constituents of incense and perfume.
Thiabendazole- is a fungicide and parasiticide that goes under the names mintezol, tresaderm, and arbotect. It is used primarily to control mold, blight, and other fungally caused diseases in fruits and vegetables.
imazortho-phenyl- all I know is it is a fungicide but after 3 google searches I couldn't find anything except a few consumer complaints about the use of fungicides.
imazlil-(finding it will be easier if it was spelled right on the label it's spelled imazalil) (synonyms imazalil, chloramizole) is a fungicide widely used in agriculture, particularly in the growing of citrus fruits.Trade names include Freshgard, Fungaflor, and Nuzone.
Ingredients (which were printed very small on the label): food grade vegetable beeswax and/or lac-resin based wax or resin, thiabendozole, imazortho-phenyl, imazilli. What's up with the and/ors?
food grade vegetable beeswax- (it was hell finding a definition for this so I just looked up beeswax) this is known as E901 which is a glazing agent to provide a shiny coating and protect food. Not much is known about it as a preservative.
Resin- is a hydrocarbon secretion of many plants . It is valued for its chemical properties and associated uses, such as the production of varnished, adhesives, and food glazing agents; as an important source of raw materials for organic synthesis; and as constituents of incense and perfume.
Thiabendazole- is a fungicide and parasiticide that goes under the names mintezol, tresaderm, and arbotect. It is used primarily to control mold, blight, and other fungally caused diseases in fruits and vegetables.
imazortho-phenyl- all I know is it is a fungicide but after 3 google searches I couldn't find anything except a few consumer complaints about the use of fungicides.
imazlil-(finding it will be easier if it was spelled right on the label it's spelled imazalil) (synonyms imazalil, chloramizole) is a fungicide widely used in agriculture, particularly in the growing of citrus fruits.Trade names include Freshgard, Fungaflor, and Nuzone.
Easy Lunch
Cucumber, Avocado, and Tomato Salad
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup cucumber
2 grape tomatoes or 1/2 cup(cut into fourths and cubed)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 taplespoon cup greek yogurt
cut your avocado in half, drizzle lemon juice on the other half for preservation, cube and smash well. Deskin your cucumber and cube it. Cube your tomatoes. Add greek yogurt and lemon juice and mix well. Set aside
Pan Pita Bread
(Hopefully someone else will have better luck with these)
1/2 package yeast
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon garlic (divide equally for 3 pitas)
1/2 cup olive oil or butter
Dissolve your yeast in your water, stir in salt and flour to form a soft dough. Knead well on a floured surface. Divide into three small balls and knead those for a minute. Using a rolling pin (which I desperately need) roll your balls into 5 inch circles. Cover and let them rise for 45 minutes. Using olive oil and a bit of garlic, cook as you would a pancake.
I used my pita bread, if you wanna call it that, to dip into my salad. As funny as they looked, they tasted decent. You can also bake them but I'm trying to cut down on the baking.
1/2 avocado
1/2 cup cucumber
2 grape tomatoes or 1/2 cup(cut into fourths and cubed)
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1 taplespoon cup greek yogurt
cut your avocado in half, drizzle lemon juice on the other half for preservation, cube and smash well. Deskin your cucumber and cube it. Cube your tomatoes. Add greek yogurt and lemon juice and mix well. Set aside
Pan Pita Bread
(Hopefully someone else will have better luck with these)
1/2 package yeast
3/4 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon garlic (divide equally for 3 pitas)
1/2 cup olive oil or butter
Dissolve your yeast in your water, stir in salt and flour to form a soft dough. Knead well on a floured surface. Divide into three small balls and knead those for a minute. Using a rolling pin (which I desperately need) roll your balls into 5 inch circles. Cover and let them rise for 45 minutes. Using olive oil and a bit of garlic, cook as you would a pancake.
I used my pita bread, if you wanna call it that, to dip into my salad. As funny as they looked, they tasted decent. You can also bake them but I'm trying to cut down on the baking.
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