All posts by The Victor Crew

FoodPrint

Healthy Eating

The Victor crew came across a site called foodprint.org. So what is a FoodPrint? What we found is that they are calling a foodprint the result of all the processes it takes to get your food from it’s original state to your plate. They are concerned with sustainability.

Sustainability has to do with how easily the food you are eating can be replaced. With the world’s wild caught fish being over-fished, this could be a problem. However, the struggle is being told to stay away from farmed fish. If you do eat farmed fish, look for fish raised in a “recirculating” closed farm.

Grow a garden. Use your local farmer’s market. Bring reusable shopping bags when you go.

You can take a quiz to see how your foodprint is doing: Take the quiz

Homemade Dressing

Healthy Eating, ,

Have you ever read the rather long list of ingredients in most of the dressing you buy in a store? Between the colorings and the unnecessary flavorings and the ingredients used for preserving, most of them just don’t need to be in them. It’s fairly simple to make a vinaigrette right at home.

Here is a simple Orange Poppyseed Dressing that we have made and love!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 Tb honey (optional to taste)
2 Tb white wine vinegar
1 tsp poppy seeds

Mix first four ingredients with a whisk. Whisk in poppyseeds.
Store in refrigerator for up to a week.

You can experiment with other citrus such as lemon, lime, grapefruit, tangerine. You can adjust the sweetness with honey.

Remember that olive oil in the refrigerator will solidify so you will need to take out the dressing a little earlier to bring it back to room temperature.

Source

The French Paradox

Healthy Eating, , ,

The Victor crew found an article on Eat This, Not That! that talks about how the French eat and stay slim even though their food is rich. Some say it’s their wine, some say it’s their long, slow meals, others their lack of snacking.

French tend to have just their coffee for breakfast. Lunch is usually a large, long meal eaten mid-day. It’s not uncommon to spend one to two hours for lunch, enjoyed in restaurants with friends or colleagues. Dinner is usually smaller. Their meals generally consist of an appetizer (like a salad), an entree, cheese, and dessert. Dessert is usually yogurt (not their many French pastries).

Between meal snacking is not usually done. They do give children a snack around 4:00 to hold them over until their typically 8:00p dinner. Snacks may need to be used by some to keep their blood sugar stable. The intermittent fasting through dinner helps consume fewer calories each day. If you do snack, try to have fruits, vegetables, or some kind of protein like yogurt or hummus.

Something Healthy

Healthy Eating, ,

We recently attended a picnic with my husband’s choir group. The basses were told to bring “something healthy”. There were so many possibilities. As someone who usually likes to make desserts, I opted for something more savory. We had already done the week’s grocery shopping so I wanted to rely on something I already had in my pantry.

I ended up making a three bean salad I found online. I had all the ingredients on hand except the fresh herbs – but I had them in dried form. Wanting to add a little something of my own to it, I also added about a cup of frozen corn, thawed and cooked up one half cup of rainbow quinoa and added that. It turned out pretty good.

Lighten up Your Holiday Fare

Healthy Eating, , ,

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend. It doesn’t mean you have to forget the healthy eating. A few substitutions may help. Here are some ideas to help keep your holiday lower in calories.

Consider making it a 2-meal day. This way you don’t feel as guilty eating a little more than you normally do.

Try substituting turkey burgers for beef.

Make cole slaw with yogurt instead of mayo or heavy calorie laden dressings. Mix it up and use broccoli slaw instead. Yogurt Cole Slaw Recipe

Eat more vegetables. Consider grilling them too. You can also grill sweet potatoes in wedges.

Add a green salad.

Have fruit for dessert – consider grilling peaches or bananas.

Drink water or unsweetened tea.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Holiday.