Noshtopia

Breakfast With The Family Before Planes And Halloween

It's Halloween morning and I'm enjoying breakfast with a bevy of family post my cousin Jr's Big Fat Filipino wedding yesterday in sunny LA.

After the splurge of food and bubbly I partook last night, and before the sugar rush that will commence Trick-or-Treating tonight, I thought a warm bowl of oatmeal with brown sugar, walnuts, and chunks of fresh banana was a strong way to start the day. It kinda tastes like banana nut bread in a bowl.

Bananas always remind me of my mom. I'm so happy that I got a chance to spend time with my folks, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Family time is so important!

Lunch Today: Hawaiian BBQ Combo Plate of Meat, Meat, oh and Meat

Today I flew to Fullerton, CA for one of my Cousin's wedding. It's a quick in and out trip.

Speaking of quick in and out, for lunch the only places near the hotel are fast food places. Luckily, there was a hole in the wall Hawaiian BBQ place. Yay! Because I haven't found any Hawaiian food in Phoenix...yet.

I did a quick 5K run before getting on the plane and was craving protein like a Flintstone. So, I got this BBQ combo plate of beef, chicken, and short rib. Yeah, it was so yum!

Besides devouring my meat cornucopia, I'm really excited to see my folks and hug them :)

Is Coca-Cola Determined To Contribute To Our Unwellness?

In Ad Age, I was reading this post, "How Coke Plans To Hit Bold Growth Targets." This line caught my eye:

At the Association of National Advertisers' annual confab earlier this month, Coca-Cola Co. Chief Marketing and Commercial Officer Joe Tripodi talked of doubling its sales -- now at $31 billion -- within 10 years.

Doing simple math, that means in the year 2020, Coca-Cola is aiming to hit $62 billion in sales. 60% of growth is expected to come more from international markets like China and India. Mr. Tripodi also said he wants Coca-Cola to achieve 3 billion servings a day by 2020.

Ironically, which I didn't know until now is that Coca-Cola's motto is "Live Positively." My inner voice asks, "How can high fructose corn syrup flavored water help us live positively?"

For a moment, let's take a look at some soda and health stats:

• Coca-Cola and PepsiCo combined control a whopping 73.9% of soft drink sales in the U.S. which includes teas, lemonades, sports drinks and waters....basically anything that is sugared water. Here's an interesting soft drink infographic created by Philip H. Howard an Assitant Professor of Michigan State University depicting the Soft Drink Industry Structure.

• According to a diabetes study by the Population Health Metrics, diabetes in U.S. adults could rise from 14% in 2010 to 33% in 2050...which means 1 in 3 adults. It''s no secret that soft drinks are a contributor to diabetes. In this Harvard School of Public Health study on a correlation between sugary drinks and diabetes, "drinking one or two sugar-sweetened beverages a day increases diabetes risk by 26%."

• According to the August 2010 issue of Mayo Clinic Women's HealthSource on soda and obesity and Type 2 Diabetes, "Drinking too much soda could have health consequences ranging from weight gain to osteoporosis to kidney problems." Diet sodas are no better either.

Now these are just a few stats on the relationship between soda and health. Being a business person and having been a shareholder in companies before myself, I'm all for businesses growing because that means more jobs and a stimulating economy. Coca-Cola is a huge conglomeration and does own some of the most well known health drink brands like Odwalla and SmartWater (although VitaminWater was recently slapped with a lawsuit for being mis-marketed as "healthy.")

I get that Coca-Cola has to grow as a company.

However, if Coca-Cola is to hit their $62 billion in sales in 2020, that means more of us are going to have to drink more soda more often...and not just in the U.S. but all over the globe!

So, if we are drinking more sodas more often, that means we are not going to get any better health-wise, just a few health studies lead to that fact. Coca-Cola becomes profitable by contributing to our unwellness.

But being open-minded and an idealist I ask, will Coca-Cola change their formulas and use less High Fructose Corn Syrup and use more natural sweeteners? Will Coca-Cola be open to using natural low calorie sweeteners like Stevia in their diet sodas? Will Coca-Cola create and promote more organic or all-natural drinks?

My Magic 8-Ball says, "It is doubtful." Why? Because right now, Coca-Cola has a winning formula sales wise, so why change it...unless the government forces them to or we as consumers just stop buying the stuff. However, if Coca-Cola decides to create more natural drinks, than hey, I'll be one of the first to applaud the effort.

On a personal level, I wonder what it will take for people to drink less soda and for companies like Coca-Cola to create more genuinely healthful drinks because I do not consider drinks loaded with HFCS, artificial sweeteners and/or dyes healthy drinks. Drinking a flourescent purple sports drink with high fructose corn syrup in it just because it has electrolytes in it seems counter-productive to me.

Tasty Links Around The Noshosphere

Let's take a peek at what people are eating, cooking, making, and selling around the noshosphere:

• 6 Tips on How to Save $2,997 a Year on Food Without Even Noticing [Huffington Post]

• Have Food Blogs Come of Age? [Wall Street Journal]

• A story of eating wellness from Fibromyalgia and launch of a new blog to help others. [Food Philosophy]

• Food art: Beautiful photo of green and red foods. [Things Neatly Organized]

• Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls has hired a private chef to help him eat healthier and stay away from junk food and Pixy Sticks. [ESPN]

• Photo: Someone found a frozen frog in their bag of frozen veggies. [Slashfood]

• Fascinating: Bluegrass Soy Sauce - Artisanal, microbrewed soy sauce made in barrels like bourbon. [Courier Journal]

 

 

Dish In A Pinch: 100 Calorie Flat Iron Grill Steak Saute With Kale And Quinoa

I do like pre-packaged foods for two reasons:

• Portion control
• Ease because I am on the lazy side

I thought these Chef's Requested Flat Iron Grill Steaks were pretty cool because:

• Each steak is cut for a 100 calorie portion size with 3.5g Fat and 17g of Protein.
• The steaks are "Heart Check Mark" certified by the American Heart Association for low in saturated fat and cholesterol.
• The steaks are gluten-free but do contain soy (Soy Lecithin)
• Each steak is seasoned and shrink wrapped in individual cuts. Even though the meats are packaged in one whole plastic piece, you can cut the plastic between the steaks. I put the steaks in the freezer and just take one out whenever I feel a hankering for beef.

To make a quick easy nutritious dish like I did in the picture:

• Cut the steak into slices like you'd do for teriyaki beef.
• Saute the meat with some onions in olive oil until well done.
• Toss in a cup of kale and cook until slightly wilty.

I added just a little bit of seasoning salt for a flavor boost.

On the side, from the Whole Foods deli, I paired my steak and kale with some Quinoa and Black Bean Salad. When I don't feel like cooking, I really appreciate the ability to scoop and eat!

For coupons and a store locator for these Chef's Requested 100 Calorie steaks, go here.

5 Noshy Ways To Make Banana Nut Bread

I LOVE Banana nut bread!

Love, Love, Love

If you ever want me to do something for you, bring me a loaf of banana nut bread and my senses are weakened like that of Superman to kryptonite...except I turn into a crumbly state of blissfulness.

I also love variety, so from other tasty foodies around the noshosphere, here are 5 variations of banana nut bread including mouth-watering photos:

• Peanut butter banana bread with peanut butter morsels [How Sweet It Is]

• Banana coconut bread using Stevia instead of regular sugar [Southern Grace Gourmet]

• Gluten-free banana bread with chocolate and crystallized ginger [Gluten-Free Girl]

• Almond butter banana nut bread [Peanut Butter & Julie]

• Vegan banana nut muffins using my secret ingredient for moistness [Noshtopia]

Do you have a great banana nut recipe? What variation is your favorite?

Sage, Flax & Simplicity At The Farmer's Market

One of my favorite weekend morning things to do is go to a farmer's market. Saturday morning, I went to the @nsfarmersmarket, which is a small FM but it's near my house and I wanted to check it out. Not only do I love seeing all the fresh fruits, vegetables, and foods, I love to support local and independent businesses as much as I can.

One of those local favorites is @TheSimpleFarm who had the most beautiful presentation of fresh herbs and vegetables I've seen at a farmer's market. I love what Lylah and Michael are doing with promoting more farm to table eating. If you wanna go feed some chickens or milk a goat like I did, do go. It's awesome and it's right in the middle of the neighborhood in Scottsdale off Shea.

The best deal was a bag of fresh sage for 50 cents. Heck yeah! I want to make this Roasted Pear, Sage, and Prosciutto recipe I saw on @Food2 the other day, so I was thrilled to find sage for so cheap.

I also got a small bag of raw banana and raisin Flax crackers from Raging Raw Organics. I was surprised how crunchy these crackers were because raw crackers are typically on the gummy side. These crackers will make for an awesome post workout snack.

Lastly, since I've been on a bit of a cherry tomato bender, it was really cool to see heirloom cherry toamtoes. I never knew they existed. I want to put them on pizza!

It was a lovely morning strolling around the farmer's market. Now, I'm off to do some writing on my book, and see a friend visiting from California. As I drove away from the market, this car captured how I feel at the moment :)

 

Shouldn't They? Cleaners Don't Have To List Ingredients Like Food

I'm fllowing the #gno (Girl's Night Out) Twitter party and Seventh Generation is the sponsor tonight. I love them and use them for my laundry. See, here's detergent and softener in my laundry cabinet.

Something I learned tonight is that cleaners are not required to list ingredients.

 

What up with that?! That seems odd to me because if we wash our clothes, furniture, kitchen appliances etc. in it, shouldn't we know what's in the stuff? Makes sense to me. Regulations confuse me. Now, I'm wondering what is in some of those cleaners that don't list ingredients.

Dr. Weil Whips Up Some Truely Healthy Good Food

One of the things I love about living in Phoenix is that Dr. Andrew Weil has a restaurant here called True Food Kitchen. A second True Food is opening in Scottsdale near my house, and indeed I will become a regular like Norm on Cheers because OMG! the food here is a perfect example of how healthy foods can be fun and flavorful in an atmosphere I refer to as hip granola.

Here's a review of my very first visit to True Food.

Girlfriend Naomi came to visit me from the Bay Area for a spa getaway. After getting a massage and pedicure, I figured the best place to eat lunch was True Food. When your body is feeling all tingly and vibrant, a good thing to do is eat noshy nutritious stuff. So here's what we ate from the Brunch menu...

 
Smoked Salmon pizza topped with Tzatziki, red onion, and organic egg. The pizza crust is thin and made with organic flour, spelt, and flax seed. They use very little cheese so you don't feel so heavy afterward. There's enough cheese to enjoy a pizza experience.

One of their signature salads which you cannot see anywhere else is their Tuscan Kale salad which is simply kale, lemon and parmesan and bread crumb topping. I'm a kale fiend, and even eat it for breakfast. Kale has the one of the highest ANDI scores of foods.

Here is the Panang Curry with chicken, brown rice, potato, broccoli, carrot, ginger, lemongrass, and coconut broth. I love that I can eat something that is creamy yet dairy and egg free.

And to drink, Naomi got the Bloody Mary, and I had this most refreshing Cucumber Refresher made with fresh cucumbers and honey lemonade. So full of yum!

 

Food Humor: Literally Found A Can of Whoop Ass

This weekend, I was at one of those tourist gift places and saw this can of Whoop Ass ....chili mix that is made by Southwest Specialty Foods. They even have a can of Whoop Ass peanuts.

I'm thinking fun stocking stuffer! ...cause yeah, we are at that time of year already.