Magazine in Review: Busting the Myth Busters, We Need Better Journalism When it Comes to Nutrition

(A look at Eating Well’s October Issue, Article Titled: “13 Biggest Myths Busted”)

Added sweeteners are bad for your health. Really bad. They increase risk of “fatty liver disease, insulin resistance, heart disease and type 2 diabetes,” writes Joyce Hendley, contributor to Eating Well’s October 2010 edition. Score one for Joyce Hendley. Too bad Hendley couched this statement in a feature on corn syrup that was based on, well, a premise that any gifted Googler with five minutes and a set of keys could debunk.

Hendley’s article, “The 13 Biggest Myths Busted” says that the notion high fructose corn syrup is any worse for you than other sugar additives (meaning table sugar, raw sugar, honey, agave, and maple syrup as opposed to sugars eaten as part of foods in which they naturally occur—like apples, oranges, corn, etc.) is an urban legend. Her basis for this? A statement pulled directly from the website of the Washington, DC based nutrition group, Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI).

It took me approximately thirty seconds on the CSPI website to locate the source of Hendley’s assertion. It sounds like a long time, but typing corn syrup into the site’s search function, hitting enter, selecting the first item that came up and then scrolling down to the link for more information (which takes you to an article on chemical foods additives), was pretty hard work. In my editing days, I might have had to skip such a long arduous process in favor of another cup of coffee and one of those rum balls they used to leave in the break room. Thankfully I have given up coffee and rum balls, so I suffered no distractions. There, right on my browser, was this statement:

HFCS [high fructose corn syrup] has been blamed by a few people for the obesity epidemic, because rates of obesity have climbed right along with HFCS consumption. But that's an urban myth. HFCS and sugar are equally harmful. We're consuming way too much of both. (See http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#hfcs)

“OK,” I thought, “That sounds pretty promising. I agree, from what I know about American eating habits, we are consuming way too much of both. Maybe Hendley has the sugar scoop on something so many health conscious people are getting wrong. Maybe I’m wrong. So where are people getting the idea that this stuff is any worse for you than other sugar?”

I returned to Google, contemplative. How do you find a reliable source on the issue of corn syrup? I looked at Hendley’s article again. She quotes Kimber Stanhope, PhD and RD at UC Davis. If you read carefully, you’ll notice that Stanhope's statement does not say that the evidence supports corn syrup as being equally as bad for you as other sugars. What she does say is that we shouldn’t be fixated on corn syrup, because all sugars are bad for us. Fair enough. But who is Stanhope? A quick typity-tap into Google and I got my results. My first thought? “How does the scientist whose study was the first to find corn syrup has negative effects on humans above and beyond that of other sugar additives get quoted in Handley's article in support of the claim that corn syrup isn't any worse than other sugar additives? And then, I wondered, how does she also appear in the July 23, 2010 edition of the Charlotte Observer (speaking about her May 2009 article in the Journal of Clinical Investigation) as saying:

"This is the first evidence we have that fructose increases diabetes and heart disease independently from causing simple weight gain," said Kimber Stanhope, a molecular biologist who led the UC Davis study, adding, "We didn't see any of these changes in the people eating glucose." (see article, reposted on the UC Davis website, here: http://news.ucdavis.edu/in_the_news/full_text/view_clip.lasso?id=32290)

Anyone can take a quote out of context, so I dug a little further. A few tap tap taps later and Google took my “Stanhope Journal of Clinical Investigation May 2009” entry and gave me the entire article, for free. (Don’t you just love the World Wide Web!!!) (See http://www.jci.org/articles/view/37385). The abstract, which summarizes the study’s findings, is pretty scientific reading, so I can almost forgive Hendley and editor for skipping it. Almost. Here’s my summary: In a 10 week study, one group of human subjects got 25% of their caloric needs from fructose sweetened beverages and one group got the same percentage from glucose sweetened beverages. Both groups exhibited weight gain, but when compared to the glucose group, the fructose group had significantly higher increases in belly fat (the researchers use the term visceral adiposity—very scientific) and had disrupted lipid metabolism (read problems with their cholesterol) plus significant increases in triglycerides. What’s more, the fructose (but not glucose) subjects had elevated sensitivity to insulin. The sucrose folks? Decreased sensitivity to insulin!

But, that sounds like a myth to me. I read the rest of the study just to make sure. It sounds like somebody, either Hendley and Eating Well, or the Journal of Clinical Investigation took Stanhope out of context.

Not one to rely on a single study alone, I did my own search, and found a report on a Princeton Neuroscience Institute study that showed rats fed high fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than rats fed table sugar. (See http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S26/91/22K07/). I love the quote from the research scientist and am reprinting it here:

“Some people have claimed that high-fructose corn syrup is no different than other sweeteners when it comes to weight gain and obesity, but our results make it clear that this just isn't true, at least under the conditions of our tests," said psychology professor Bart Hoebel, who specializes in the neuroscience of appetite, weight and sugar addiction. "When rats are drinking high-fructose corn syrup at levels well below those in soda pop, they're becoming obese -- every single one, across the board. Even when rats are fed a high-fat diet, you don't see this; they don't all gain extra weight." (This is a quote from the Princeton website. See above link for original source of this quote.)

A quick review of the actual Princeton study, published online by the Journal of Pharmacology, Biochemistry and Behavior (abstract available from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health) shows that when researchers fed one group of rats high fructose corn syrup and one group table sugar (each group got the same number of calories), the rats that got the HFCS gained more weight. And this study does not stand alone in a sea of contradictory evidence. The site links to several other studies with similar findings. Stanhope and colleagues’’ article lists at least four animal studies as precursors to her own. Clearly, scientific studies, done by researchers at well-respected universities, published in respectable journals, are urban legend.

And, looking back at Hendley’s work, even the CSPI information seems taken out of context. While the CSPI is incorrect that it is urban myth that corn syrup is any worse for you than plain old fashioned sugar, the CSPI does say that corn syrup as a chemical food should be limited or avoided. They also heavily criticise the recent ad campaigns saying corn syrup has the same components as regular sugar.

Maybe I’m just splitting hairs here, but it seems to me that people are going to use added sweeteners, at least some of the time. And yes, as Hendley’s article says, it’s a good idea to cut them down to a minimal level. They aren’t good for us. Not even the so called natural kind—except arguably when it’s still part of a fruit or vegetable. But, if we accept that people are going to use sugar additives at least some of the time, isn’t it just responsible journalism to get our facts straight? There is at least some evidence that it is better to choose less refined sugar over corn syrup, although the idea that one would simply substitute a natural sugar beverage for syrupy sodas is abhorrent in the eyes of good nutritionists (and nutri-nuts like me) everywhere. That evidence was available at the time Eating Well went to print—even well before, and seems pretty well established. The sidebar feature on corn syrup almost makes the manufactured sweetener derived from corn startch seem, well, as friendly as my grandmother’s old syrup-using candy recipes. And that was not well done on the part of Eating Well.

Am I cancelling my subscription? Not yet. I get too much good information out of it to quit reading at this point. And at the very least, I get some good blog inspiration. Is the image of the magazine tarnished in my eyes? You bet. I really thought this magazine was different in its standards of reporting on nutrition and I was sorely disappointed to see them use the corn syrup debate to develop a sensational, inaccurate, attention grabbing article.

On the subject of added sugars in the diet, it’s pretty much common knowledge that sugar is addictive and linked to an array of health problems. If the article had stuck to that point, they probably wouldn't have strayed too far from the facts. While we're on the subject, I think it’s time for journalists to start trusting Americans with articles that contain more complex nutrition advice. We’re all big boys and girls and I think we could handle an article that both advises us to stay away from sugar as much as possible and also helps us weigh the pros and cons of using different sources of sweetness in our diet. (And though I didn't look it up, I'm sure Eating Well, a generally good magazine, has done this in the past.) I think we should stop trying to give everyone quick, incomplete nutritional sound bites that ultimately contradict each other and do nothing to further progress towards a healthier average diet.

Sarah

(Note: I’m not a nutritionist. I’m not a journalist—anymore. I’m just a stay-at-home-mom, a hard core cook, and a blogger with a passion for nutrition. If you are looking for advice on diet and nutrition, please see a qualified medical professional.)

Recipe Post: Yummy Yummy In My Tummy Frittata

Frittata, a little brown, but hey, I got distracted while it broiled.

I’ve said it before. I love breakfast! It’s my favorite meal of the day. Give me a cup of broth for dinner, or a bowl of soup for lunch, but I’ll never voluntarily have just a cup of tea or coffee for my jump start on the day. Frittata is an easy, go-to breakfast. Throw things in it when you need to use them up. Cook it for company when you want to appear gourmet without the hassle. Make it large for a crowd or small for two or three. Cook it in the morning and when you’re running out of ideas, eat it cold for lunch with a side of salad and a refreshing beverage. It’s an all around good choice for traditional, filling, give you energy until late lunch, morning eats.

Eggs. Yum!

I make a variety of frittatas, and usually no two are the same. I start with a base of potatoes (unless I have none), onions, garlic, veggies, and an herb, sautéed. Then I add several eggs (anywhere from 3 to 8, depending on the size of the pan), top with cheese, cook for awhile on the stove (until the eggs stat to set up on the bottom) and then put under the broiler to cook the top.

When I made my most recent frittata, I took inspiration from my uncles Paul and Dean. No one is sure which of them originally came up with their recipes for ramps (a rare, wild spring leek that grows in early spring) and cornbread, cooked with eggs and sometimes other veggies or spices, but it is incredibly delicious. My uncle Paul made it for me (calling it quiche) a few springs ago when we visited his mountain cabin in North Carolina during ramp season.

Potatoes in the oil, with heat.

But, now is not the time of year for ramps, and they don’t grow in my little suburb. I can, however, make cornbread (which is always in season if you have even an ounce of Southern blood) and had some leftover from our chili dinner the night before. (Cornbread also makes a good base if you have no potatoes). So, I threw it into the mix, along with a bunch of basil I needed to use, before the next bunch arrived in our CSA. (In fact, I used a lot of the week’s spare CSA items in this one to make room for the new batch!) Here is what I came up with:

Yum! Smell the basil!

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes, cubed
1 onion diced
1 medium tomato, seeded and diced
1 yellow pepper, diced small
1 bunch of basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of smoked turkey, chopped (optional, and you can use other breakfast meat like sausage or bacon)
1 chunk of leftover cornbread
6 eggs plus 1 tablespoon water, beaten
approximately ½ cup shredded cheddar
cooking oil (of your choice)



Directions: Heat pan, (make sure it is one that has an oven safe handle) on stove top, to medium heat. Add potatoes and onions, and fry until brown. (It is helpful to cover the pan for a few minutes to soften the potatoes). Add remaining veggies and basil, salt and pepper and then sauté for about 5 minutes, until veggies are soft. (You might want to test your seasoning with a quick taste of potato!) If you are using meat, add it now. Crumble cornbread into pan and stir well. Pour eggs over mixture, and sprinkle with shredded cheese. Allow to cook on the stove top until eggs have set on bottom and begin to set on top. (About five minutes.) Place under broiler to finish frittata. Cook until slightly brown and completely set up. (About five more minutes, but you’ll need to watch it!)

Serve with sour cream, or homemade garlic and herb cream cheese. (I’ve also made a pepper sauce using seeded, roasted and pureed pepper, salt and black pepper, and cream cheese processed in a food processor. That adds a lot more work, but is delicious.)

Piping hot! Delicious! (And maybe not too brown after all!)

 

Here are a few things that come in handy when making Frittata:

Eating In, (and) Not Out of the Box

Hello? Food police?
Mama is feeding me fat and food from packages again!
Or is she?

When I was in college, we used to lament the absence of chain restaurants in the surrounding areas. Our college dining service was run by the University and although we did use national food suppliers, there was still a lot of home cooking going on, albeit not at the hard core level, but still remarkably from scratch. (I will always remember Shirley, the Southern cook who made her homemade macaroni and cheese every Friday in the Pit, and later the fresh pasta station where the cooks made pasta from scratch and students picked their sauce and vegetable or meat toppings.)

But, at the time, there was no place to eat, or so we felt. Nevermind that there were many small, locally owned eateries steeped in the city’s food traditions—mostly centered on pub eats enjoyed with dark beers over the long, cold Upstate New York Winter. What we college students wanted was the grown up equivalent of the happy meal. Bright neon lights on a long strip, with familiar names and value menus, from upscale chain to drive through, all serving food supplied by large national commissaries in packaging designed to give the same meal to people ordering it anywhere from Alaska to Florida. These days, that student longed for strip of restaurants extends a few miles near the closest mall to campus, and shuttle busses run frequently to take hungry students to the destination they crave. Similar branding is used on campus to keep students dining happily. By my senior year, there were already at least two dining locations on campus serving food that came shipped in plastic bags that were opened and reheated before serving. The food was from national chain restaurant commissaries and included stuff like grilled taco meat and sauces, or sub sandwiches with ingredients that weren’t prepped on site. Prior to that, sub ingredients were prepped fresh at the deli and tacos only happened if the kitchens browned the meat and made the ingredients on site. The food in a package was gross and we students knew it. But, what we failed to comprehend was that whether it’s McDonalds or TGIF, nearly all chain restaurants (sometimes known as upscale fast food) get their food in plastic packaging and heat it up in the commercial equivalent of a home microwave.

When I drove down the plastic food strip, I was repulsed. Why hadn’t we known better? I wondered. And then, why do we (as a culture or as college students) go for this stuff? What is it about these places that makes them so appealing? I don’t have answers, though I’m sure there are marketing companies out there who have studies that could tell me exactly what the draw is, and they are very successful at selling their services.

What I do know is that it is a strange feeling to have removed myself from buying and consuming mass produced restaurant food. I found myself staring with disgust at the restaurants, all lit up like Christmas, with people lining up like it was the crack of dawn on black Friday and they were just drooling to go in and buy a ten percent off, cheap (but high priced) imitation of a Louis Vuitton suitcase. Until recently, I was one of them, even though I had known for years where they got the stuff they called food. This isn’t what eating is supposed to be about.

The next day, I met up with an old college friend and her family, and we started talking about how the area had changed (more restaurants, etc.) and that eventually turned into a conversation about food. I told them that we are not eating at restaurants and are avoiding packaged food. As we got deeper into the conversation, I began to realize that it’s actually not so simple to explain our dietary change. Not eating at restaurants is easy. But, what do I mean by not eating out of packages? Do I mean we eat organic? Plenty of food in packages is labeled organic or natural. Do I mean that we aren’t eating processed food, unless it’s organic, or low fat, or vegetarian? What about spices? Olives? Pickles? Dried beans? When I say we buy local, do I mean we only go to local grocery chains? So, I set out to more clearly define where I’m coming from on this whole out of the box thing.

It may come as a surprise that the hard core traditional cook does not have a hard and fast rule, but more of an ever evolving idea.

1. I avoid commercially processed foods like pastas, crackers, cookies, breads, ketchup, mustard, mayo, anything with a chemical preservative or other chemical or Latin name additive, and just about anything that has more than two ingredients.

2. I do buy some things that come in packages, but are either not processed or are minimally processed, like organic herbs (labeled as non-irradiated), dried beans, currants and raisins (which do sometimes have an oil on them), and shelled raw nuts. When it applies, I prefer whey fermentation over canned pickling or preserving. I avoid all soy additives.
3. Some things I use are compromise items, meaning that I compromise a little on my ideal in the interest of cooking and enjoying food. Some of those things are: pre-milled rye flour because I haven’t yet found my source for whole rye; canned tomatoes (when I’m out of my own frozen or fresh) but I look for the kind with nothing else in them; herbs and spices (I look for organic, non-irradiated varieties, but I have some herbs I’m still using up); and, several items from my local farm co-op because they are family made, exactly how I would make them at home, and I either haven’t yet tried to make them or I it’s just more practical to buy them (these items include yogurt, cheese, and prepared meats).

4. If I have a local source for it, I buy it local, rather than in a commercial package.

5. I buy organic whole, fresh and frozen veggies and fruit, when I can, but when I can’t find an organic version, I do sometimes consume the non-organic equivalent. I find the Environmental Work Group’s list helpful in determining when to insist on organic: http://www.foodnews.org/. Also, our CSA is from a farm that was once certified organic, and continues the same farming practices, but no longer pays to keep up the organic certification.

6. My meat, eggs, and raw dairy are exclusively local, organic, free range, and hormone free.

7. I try not to take shortcuts in preparing my foods and strive to prepare them in a traditional way, without the use of microwave, pressure cooker, or other fast cook methods.

8. I’m open to innovative ways of cooking as long as it “feels right” in the context of my traditional cooking and ingredients.

9. I do not purposefully cook or eat low fat, but I do eat plenty of whole grains, veggies, and fruit while avoiding processed and refined sugars, fats, salts (including sea salt, but not less refined salts like Celtic sea salt, and red clay salts) and carbohydrates. Although I use fats in cooking (including butter and lard), my overall fat intake (on average) is actually lower than when I was attempting a low fat diet!

10. I’m not vegetarian, but I do appreciate a good vegetarian recipe.

So, now that I’ve laid that out there, I’ll say what I said to my friend and her husband when we were having this discussion. It’s not that I think everyone has to eat the way I do, or even that there is one right way to shop or eat. This is just what I do. Everyone draws a line around what they will buy, cook, eat and feed to their families. For me, it’s not a bright line, but more of something I have been feeling my way through for a number of years. What I eat boils down to a group of traditional foods that does not include manufactured foods that are largely inventions of the 1950s. I have come to a pretty extreme position and it’s one that has lead me to enjoy cooking and eating real food that makes me feel good! I'm comfortable with that.

Hard Core Cooking Hits the Road: Dinner Party in a Hotel Room

Whipping it up in the kitchenette!

Our recent vacation was an opportunity for us to develop a new skill, entertaining in a hotel room. We hosted dinner parties twice over our three night stay. The first night, it was a rush performance. We checked in at about thirty minutes after eight, with a miserable toddler in tow. Our guests (the bride and groom—Jess and Ryan—and the bride’s good friend Wei) arrived shortly after nine o’clock, tired, hungry and ready for their post-wedding feast. Luckily, I had thought ahead (suspecting that despite our best intentions we would not arrive at our destination early in the day) and planned a dinner that could be produced in minutes.

Now, I will say that we were somewhat disappointed when we stepped into our hotel suite. Mainly because it was, well, not a suite. We had booked a separate living room and bedroom unit, but the hotel had run out of suites with king-sized beds and so had automatically changed us to a studio. A quick call to our hotel membership program and they were willing to book us into a penthouse; however, the penthouses were taken. Darn! So, we were stuck with the studio apartment version, rather than the suite. We did take the liberty of rearranging the furniture to better suit a gathering of people. (We put it all back before the next morning—except for that lamp we left unplugged because it had a faulty cord!)

A bowl of yum! Crostata with cream!

Smoked turkey was the main course, made at home the day before, carved for easy carrying, and packed in our cooler. I warmed it up in the oven in my cast iron skillet, with just a touch of water in the bottom to help keep from drying. (The cast iron skillet, it turns out is a wonderful multi-purpose tool for hotel cooking, as our fully equipped kitchen included neither bake ware nor nonstick cookware: Good old fashioned seasoned cast iron works either way!)

As a side, I made a garden vegetable salad buffet. Storing the raw veggies separately kept them in good shape on the drive and kept me from dealing with onion infused carrots and cucumbers. The presentation was easy,because our hotel included a set of pyrex glass dishes and four white ceramic cereal bowls. I used hotel cookware to sauté zucchini and onions in butter, with a little home-milled flour to crisp it up; however, I was disappointed with the results. The hotel cookware simply didn’t brown the zucchini the way my cast iron does and unfortunately, the cast iron was occupied with turkey. (I tried again two nights later in the cast iron and it went perfectly… but more on that later.) By the time the bride and groom got to Sarah’s Traditional Hard Core Café, I had set the table, complete with homemade sourdough bread, salad, lemon-grapeseed salad dressing, zucchini, smoked turkey, cheese and crackers, and yogurt cookies. Dessert—peach and blueberry crostata with dough made at home the day before and pressed (not rolled, because I had not packed a rolling pin) into a pie dish—was in the oven.

Making peach and blueberry crumble!

The crostata was my adaptation of an Ina Garten recipe. The crust was made with fresh-milled whole wheat flour, raw sugar, and butter. The raw sugar was a compromise on my “no refined sugars” policy, but given the special occasion, I was all right with that. The filling was simply fresh sliced peaches and ripe blueberries mixed together with a splash of maple syrup. I baked it for about half an hour (until crust was brown and fruit was nice and soft) at 350 degrees.

I had planned on making homemade frozen custard to top it off, but I ran out of time and energy to make the custard in advance—not to mention the royal pain it would have been to haul my ice cream maker all the way to our destination—so instead I made a simple cream topping by melting our dairy fresh raw cream (which is so thick it holds its shape in the container when you hold it upside down) and flavored it with vanilla bean. The cream was probably better than ice cream would have been and the bonus was that (in the refrigerator overnight) it set up almost like custard on top of the leftovers. The dinner was a complete success. We had a wonderful time catching up with our friends while Mia (and the dog) ran around and let off pent up energy. (Imagine how a restaurant would have been that late at night after a nine hour drive!). I had a wonderful sense of accomplishment.

Crumble, ready to hit the oven!

We had plenty of leftovers from our feast, and it turned out to be a good thing that I had brought more food than we needed, because unexpectedly, we managed to locate an old friend and invite him to dinner on the last night of the trip. A quick tally of the contents of our refrigerator told me that we were good to go on a near repeat of the Friday night feast. We found a local farm stand and picked up a few things (zucchini, peaches, blueberries, and cucumber) to make sure we had enough. We were out of a few of the crackers and I was saving the yogurt dough cookies for our return trip; however, it was a smaller gathering and we didn’t need them.

For this second dinner party, I made zucchini in the cast iron skillet, rather than the hotel cookware. I coated the pan in olive oil and heated it on medium until it was hot (not too hot, olive oil, like the rest of us, should never smoke!) and then added rough chopped zucchini, diced onion, and two cloves of garlic, chopped. I seasoned with salt and pepper and allowed to cook (stirring often) until the zucchini was brown with bubbling skin. A little flour tossed in at the end soaked up the remaining oil and created a slightly crispy, crushed crouton-like effect.

With good friends, some things never change. (Except that's good food, not bar food!)

Because I did not have a second crust made for crostata, I reinvented the dish as a crumble, combining the remainder of my home-milled wheat flour with butter, cinnamon and maple syrup. It’s hard to say which of the two desserts was better. Brian had a hard time deciding and said simply, “The second night seemed easier to make!” I topped it with vanilla cream (thank goodness I packed the extra vanilla bean) made just as I had the first night.

For three people who love gourmet beer, a growler of local beer (an amazing vanilla porter that actually tasted fabulous with dessert as well as dinner) from one of our favorite old hangouts was the perfect accompaniment. (Brewing traditional beers is on the long list of things Brian and I would like to do as part of our new approach to food.) We sat and talked about the good old days and what we’d been up to over the last ten years or so. It wasn’t enough time to say everything that could be said or tell every tale that could be told, but I was thankful we did not have the distraction of menus, wait staff, and a room full of people.

Oh yeah! Crumble topped with vanilla cream!

I’m absolutely certain that our hotel room had never smelled as good as it did the nights we entertained! And, I know I’ve never eaten so well in a hotel room on vacation—and that includes all the meals I’ve had from Ritz Carlton room service, and the world’s-greatest grilled cheese (though perhaps it wouldn’t stand up now that I cook traditional) that I had at the Marriott Marquis in Atlanta. Because I had prepared so much ahead of time, it really wasn’t all that much work to pull it all together and entertain. In fact, I was probably more relaxed than I would have been trying to get ready, pack up Mia, a diaper bag, a portable baby potty, and toys and snacks to go out. The best part, as always seems to be the case when dining in rather than out, was the opportunity to be relaxed and enjoy ourselves without distraction. I’m already trying to figure out how to eat traditional, sans restaurants, when we fly to Dallas next Spring!

Looking for cast iron cookware to season and love for life?

Hard Core Hits the Road: Ryan and Jess's Wedding Celebration

Jess had these T-shirts made as a wedding gift to Ryan!

The person who introduced me to my husband got married Friday. Ryan married Jess in a private ceremony with only close family in attendance, so my merry band of non-restaurant goers was not invited. However, we were invited to the reception the next day, and the bride and groom joined us on the evening of their wedding for a feast prepared in our hotel room’s kitchenette.

I didn’t remember to take any pictures until after dinner Friday, all I have to show you is this picture of our trip food, minus the snacks we’ve already eaten and the feast we just served for five adults and one child.

Of course, as you may have noticed from my posts last week, I packed all our food in from home—in the trusty little mule we call Toyota Sienna. I wish I could have pulled my wits together to take a picture at midnight on Thursday (the night before we left), when we had completed two days of straight cooking (not to mention all that pre-cooking preparation) and all the containers were stacked on my counter like the Great Wall of local veggies, and the free-range, local, hormone free turkey was sitting upright, fresh off the smoking rack. I’m pretty used to the idea of making everything from scratch at this point, but even I was in awe of the volume of evidence that we had completed such a huge task. Armed with all that homemade food, there was no need to sample truck stop or fast food fare.

Stack of homemade snacks.

This was our first road trip since deciding to be restaurant dropouts. As we drove along the highways and back-roads of Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New York, our eyes were assaulted every few miles by ads directing us to fast food places like McDonalds, Taco Bell, Burger King, and Kentucky Fried Chicken. Rather than being tempted, I found it was like finding someone else’s to-do list on the pavement. “Call Ronald, take the Chihuahua to the vet, list the crown on e-bay, don’t forget the fry oil,” it read. I noticed it, dismissed it. Like the note, those signs weren’t for me. (Though, I do hope they take that Chihuahua to the vet, his bark just isn’t right.) Leaving the packaged food behind and resisting restaurant signs turned out to be no trouble at all.

Room service, straight from my kitchenette.

We must have been sharing most of our route with a sweetener company, because we were passed every so often by tanker trucks boasting to be carrying sweeteners and to have been supplying the nation with liquid and powdered sweeteners for over twenty five years. They were huge trucks. Dwarfed by one at a stop light, I looked at Brian and said, “Do you realize that humans are going to consume the entire contents of that tank.” “Yep,” was his simple reply. “How much of that stuff do you think I have consumed over my lifetime?” I asked, still staring at the enormous jug of yuck on wheels. “Probably at least a tanker full,” he said, giving me no reassurance. (My guess is that he is probably right, and then some.) We had just been reading about the use of saccharin and aspartame in beers in the European Union, where artificial sweeteners are perfectly acceptable even in gourmet cooking, and lord knows I’ve had my share of rare, imported, high-brow stout and porter.

Cheers! Kombucha and blueberry limeade!

In place of the fake food pushed by corporate giants, my family and I snacked on yogurt dough cookies, homemade crackers, popcorn, fruit, and veggies, until it was time to pull off at a national park and have a walk. Instead of looking for a restaurant with a playground, we ran down the paths at Gettysburg, and on our way, took frequent breaks to touch, smell, and experience the abundant wildflowers. A roadside picnic area held just as much fun for Mia as any enclosed play area—possibly more. We took a walk up a state service road and picked a bouquet of wildflowers. She held them clutched in her tiny hand all the way back down the trail, even after falling asleep on Mama’s shoulder!

The reason I love him, over toast.

Saturday was the wedding reception. We spent the entire morning recovering from our long drive by lounging around the hotel. In our hotel room kitchen, we cooked the best vacation breakfast I have ever had. Sourdough toast, yogurt with homemade blueberry sauce, fruit, hard boiled eggs (the trick is to reheat pre-boiled eggs in a little boiling water), and spiced rooibos tea (brewed in the hotel’s coffee pot). With all the good food, both on the road and after our arrival, I marveled at how I felt. (No bloating, no swollen fingers, and no general discomfort, something that I thought was just the norm for a long drive.) While Brian gave Mia a bath and then played trucks with her on the floor, I did Pilates and Classical Stretch. By the time I was done, I was so full of energy I could have mistaken our kitchenette for a room at a five-star health spa. After a mid-morning snack, we were refreshed and ready for wedding festivities.

The celebration was informal. We gathered with the bride and groom’s friends and family in a covered picnic area at the local park for a BBQ reception. Before changing into his and hers T-shirts (Jess’s read, “I found my husband on Craigslist” and Ryan’s, “I found my wife on Craigslist”), the bride and groom donned their wedding attire (a second time) so we could all take pictures. The setting was perfect—grassy fields and a stream for the kids to play in, a pavilion to cover the picnickers if the grey sky turned to rain (but it didn’t), and lots of snacks and food. Ryan and Jess even thought to make sure there were fun kid activities, like coloring books, bubble blowers, and flat-ended dart games.

Even Mia likes a little sip at breakfast!

What I admire most about the way Ryan and Jess celebrated their big I-do is that everything from baking the cake, making the bouquets, and cooking the food was done by a friend or relative. I’m sure they saved money that way, but in my view, that’s not the point. By giving everyone a job, they made their guests an integral part of the event. It reminded me of my family’s traditional wedding celebrations in their hometown in Texas, where the community routinely throws large celebrations and everyone pitches in. Taking a hands-on approach and asking guests to do the same makes an event very special and is something I truly appreciate.

Homemade wedding cake, beautiful even after a little heat! Awesome job ladies!

I’ve been to several six-figure weddings and social events, and (though I know the hosts fretted over their choices for months) I can’t tell you what color tablecloths and napkins were on the table, what flowers they used, or even what main course I had, but I will always remember making dinner for Ryan and Jess the night they got married (and I’ll know it was smoked turkey). Ryan’s nieces (and their mothers and grandmothers) will never forget baking and decorating the cake, worrying about the color of the icing, and buzzing around it like worried bees when the heat made it melt just a little. Edward will always know he made the baked beans, and had to do them twice when something went wrong with the first batch. Graham will never forget rolling in with loads of charcoal in his big red pickup truck (bumper sticker reads, “Dick Chaney shoots his friends”) and getting the burgers on the grill. Jess’s friend in the blue dress will always remember sewing the beads on her wedding gown. Wei will remember going to the open market in the morning, buying veggies, and making the tomato and cucumber salad. And, Kelly will always remember getting there early to set up and successfully pulling it all together when everyone came straggling in with their dishes at the last minute. And, the list goes on.

Picking wildflowers in Pennsylvania. Who needs a McDonald's playground?

The joining of friends and family is a service that not even a world class hotel like the Four Seasons or the Waldorf can offer. Jess and Ryan will remember each piece of their celebration along with it the friend or relative who had a part in it. And, I think they are brilliant to have planned it all out the way they did!

For those who are curious, my family did avoid processed foods at the reception. We had planned on eating BBQ, and simply skipping anything processed, but by the time food was served, Mia was tired and it had been a long day, so we went back to our hotel to let her nap and eat a sandwich. I packed whole grain yogurt dough cookies in my purse for a snack for Mia, which helped us resist the urge to give her candy from the dishes that decorated the tables. We got back in time to see the bride and groom cut the cake, and for the sake of propriety, and to honor all the work that went into it, Brian and I did share a small piece of the wedding cake. It was delicious and sugary, but a few bites were all we needed to wish the bride and groom on their way to a happy and long future together!

Lunch in our hotel room.

Instead of just leaving the reception for someone else to clean up, the guests helped clear away gifts, leftovers, and garbage. Brian and I volunteered to haul a load of wedding items back to Ryan and Jess’s house in our van. It was the least we could do. As we said goodbye in their front drive, I thought, “With family and friends to support them, Ryan and Jess are off to a great start!”

Some fun items to consider:

Recipe Post: Whole Grain Goodness (In Cracker and Cookie Form)

That's Mia's roller. And she actually used it to help make these!

So, in my quest to make a better yogurt dough snack, I have come up with two. An improvement on the cookies Mia and I made last time, and a cheesy cracker with a twist (presented below in reverse order). Today I baked both for our trip. Here are the recipes!

Whole Grain Crackers with a Cheesy Twist

Ingredients:

4 (possibly a little more or less) cups fresh milled whole grain flour (I used red, winter wheat)
1 cup whole yogurt
2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 cup butter, soft at room temp
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Italian herbs

Cream yogurt and butter, mix in salt. Add in flour a bit at a time until you get a dough that is soft enough that it “feels” like cookie dough, but not too sticky to roll. It’s harder to soften a stiff dough, so try err on the sticky side. Once it is mixed, put it in a closed non-reactive container (glass is best, but plastic will work), and let sit on the counter (at room temp) overnight or up to 24 hours. The next day, roll out your dough on a floured surface. Cut into strips. Twist strips starting at the middle and then working out towards the ends, then stretch onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with cheese and herbs and bake at 350 degrees until brown. (These also work cut into any shape and not twisted.)


Whole Wheat Yogurt Raisin “Cookies”

(These are a version of the ones Mia and I made the other day. I made them without banana or sweetener and they are great for snacks. We have taken these on the road and they are now kid tested. Kids seem to love ‘em!)

4 (possibly a little more or less) cups fresh milled whole grain flour (I used red, winter wheat)
1 cup whole yogurt
2 tsp Celtic sea salt
1 cup butter, soft at room temp
1 or 2 handfuls of currants
3 tablespoons cinnamon

Cream yogurt and butter, mix in salt. Add in flour a bit at a time until you get a dough that is soft enough that it “feels” like cookie dough, but not too sticky to roll. It’s harder to soften stiff dough, so try err on the sticky side. Once it is mixed, put it in a closed non-reactive container (glass is best, but plastic will work), and let sit on the counter (at room temp) overnight or up to 24 hours. The next day, mix in currants and cinnamon. Roll onto floured surface and cut with cookie cutters. Bake at 350 degrees until just browned.

Serve as they are, or with homemade cream cheese sweetened with maple syrup and cinnamon to taste.

Recipe: Gooey, Whole Wheat Sourdough Maple Cinnamon Rolls

Just out of the oven!

So, these are a little invention of mine since we are no longer eating yeast breads and refined sugar. They are still pretty high in sugar, so don’t fool yourself into thinking they are diet or diabetic food, but they do serve the purpose of: 1) not making me buy refined sugar (which would probably develop a voice and call to me from my pantry, “Sarah, I’m lonely, bake me into cookies or at the very least, mix me with lemons and tequila!” and 2) keeping my taste buds tuned to natural sugars, rather than refined sugar; and 3) allowing me to indulge in a sweet while controlling the amount of sugar that goes in—just enough maple syrup to sweeten, no powdered stuff dissolved into liquid to help me get more sweet than I bargained for in each bite. So, here’s a recipe. Like many of my recipes, it doesn’t have measurements and just calls for you to wing it. Experiment. Be willing to fail. Enjoy cooking and tasting!

Ingredients:

Whole wheat sourdough bread dough—not yet allowed to rise

Butter (at room temp)

Cinnamon

Maple syrup

Currants (about a cup, maybe a cup and a half but I use my hands as a cup, so I can't say)
Walnuts

Roll bread dough into a flat, wide sheet. (How much dough just depends on how much you have and how many you are making. I tend to make bread and reserve some of the dough for a batch.) Spread butter over the sheet. Smooth on a thin layer of maple syrup. Sprinkle with a generous covering of cinnamon. Sprinkle with currants and walnuts. (Leave walnuts and/or currants out if you like… or if you are serving a picky eater). Roll from widest side until you have one long rope. Cut in the center to have two ropes. Cut each piece in center again, and again, until you have pieces that are about one and a half to two inches. Place in a buttered baking dish, about an inch apart. Allow to rise for about 4 to 12 hours, or until puffed up and touching. Sprinkle on a few more walnuts to fill in the spaces and to help keep any sugar on the pan from burning. Drizzle maple syrup over top until it pools slightly in the bottom of pan. Bake at 350 until brown. (You can usually tell when bread is done by its smell, but that takes practice. Pay attention the first several times you do this and you will find that you start to recognize the aroma that means it’s time to remove from oven.) My best estimate on time is that it will take 30 to 40 minutes, but again, it depends on so many factors that it’s best to check in with it while it bakes, and especially towards the thirty minute mark.

These taste particularly good with my homemade cream cheese, sweetened with a touch of maple syrup and cinnamon.