My nutritionist gave me a list of nine personal care product ingredients to avoid, and - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD - no wonder the backs of my hands look one-hundred-and-ten years old!!! One of the ingredients on the avoid list is sodium laurel sulfate, said to be found in 90% of personal care products on the market, "...breaks down the skin's moisture barrier, potentially leading to dry skin with premature aging." Yipes! Over the decades I have applied tons of lotions and creams to my hands. I'm sure they contained the dreaded sodium laurel sulfate. Besides "moisturizing" my hands several times a day, I slathered on an extra layer at bedtime.
Things are looking up, though, because more and more personal care products containing NO harmful ingredients are coming on the market. Burt's Bees products are quite good, and I see my Avalon Organics Clarifying Shampoo contains all good stuff. I purchased some Waleda Skin Food recommended by my nutritionist, and it is lovely and not a threat to my skin.
Last Sunday I made some underarm deodorant, and I have been using it the past five days. I should confirm this with my husband, but I am pleasantly surprised at how effective it is - I like it a lot. The recipe calls for: coconut oil, arrowroot powder, baking soda and essential lavender oil; so it costs very little to make. I put it into a Tom's of Maine empty deodorant container and set it in the refrigerator overnight, and now I keep it in my bathroom cupboard. I plan to purchase a couple of books my nutritionist told me about and learn to make more of my personal care products. I would like to make bath oil, soap, shampoo, lotion and maybe fizzy bubble bath! Doesn't that sound like FUN? - Happy Day!!!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Friday, May 13, 2011
Blanching as a way of life...
Gary's Aunt Rouene sent us an article from her local paper - The Grand Junction Sentinel. It was about Nathan Myhrvold's 6-volume cookbook "Modernist Cuisine." The article mentioned a test Myhrvold had conducted for his book to confirm whether or not blanching extended the shelf life of blueberries or of lettuce. The test results indicated that, yes, the shelf lives were extended! It said that apparently immersing the lettuce into boiling water killed the organisms that would have caused the lettuce to have a shorter shelf life.
I received the Myhrvold article after I had begun blanching food; and it did open my mind to more possibilities. I have heard that toaster ovens are a healthier option than microwave ovens, because some foods have their nutrients depleted by microwaves, and the waves in and around the microwave ovens are not good (I am only repeating what I heard). Even though I have not yet read this in a respected science journal, I am seriously considering insinuating a toaster oven into my life.
But, back to the subject, I decided that instead of loosening the outer skin of a butternut squash by nuking it for 6 minutes, I would blanch it for 8 minutes. I dipped the whole squash into the boiling water; then removed it and immersed it in ice water. Like always, after it cooled, I peeled the squash and cut it into chunks; then boiled it in a little bit of water, watchful it did not boil dry. I mashed the cooked squash in its cooking pan, incorporating the nutritious cooking liquid into the squash. I added small amounts of sugar and butter plus a little salt. A savory way to ingest some vitamin A and other good stuff found in yellow vegetables.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I blanched some beet greens! They had to have been the most pampered (yeah, after you get boiled, you get pampered) beet greens ever as I carefully removed each leaf from the collander and gently placed it on the towel to soak up the excess liquid. I chopped the greens and sort of pushed them around in the heated skillet with butter and olive oil. What began as a respectable-sized bowlful of crispy greens ended up as two scant 1/4-cup servings. Beet greens are off the blanching list. Kale is next. Happy Day!
I received the Myhrvold article after I had begun blanching food; and it did open my mind to more possibilities. I have heard that toaster ovens are a healthier option than microwave ovens, because some foods have their nutrients depleted by microwaves, and the waves in and around the microwave ovens are not good (I am only repeating what I heard). Even though I have not yet read this in a respected science journal, I am seriously considering insinuating a toaster oven into my life.
But, back to the subject, I decided that instead of loosening the outer skin of a butternut squash by nuking it for 6 minutes, I would blanch it for 8 minutes. I dipped the whole squash into the boiling water; then removed it and immersed it in ice water. Like always, after it cooled, I peeled the squash and cut it into chunks; then boiled it in a little bit of water, watchful it did not boil dry. I mashed the cooked squash in its cooking pan, incorporating the nutritious cooking liquid into the squash. I added small amounts of sugar and butter plus a little salt. A savory way to ingest some vitamin A and other good stuff found in yellow vegetables.
Oh! I almost forgot to mention that I blanched some beet greens! They had to have been the most pampered (yeah, after you get boiled, you get pampered) beet greens ever as I carefully removed each leaf from the collander and gently placed it on the towel to soak up the excess liquid. I chopped the greens and sort of pushed them around in the heated skillet with butter and olive oil. What began as a respectable-sized bowlful of crispy greens ended up as two scant 1/4-cup servings. Beet greens are off the blanching list. Kale is next. Happy Day!
Have you tried this with broccoli?
For a long time I have been experimenting with broccoli trying to find a way to prepare it that people will find irresistable, because it is so good for you! I tried chopping it up fresh and mixing it with mayonnaise, thinly sliced red onions, salt and pepper. This wasn't bad when the salad was just freshly made; but not so good as a leftover. When I included broccoli in my stir-fried vegetables, even when I added the broccoli last and tried not to over cook it, the color and texture were disappointing.
A few weeks ago on a DVD of Julia Child's original cooking show "The French Chef", I saw Julia prepare fresh green beans by blanching them prior to stir-frying them in butter and olive oil. I had blanched green beans before packing and storing them in the freezer; but the idea of blanching vegetables just prior to cooking them had never occurred to me. I decided to try this with broccoli.
I soaked about 2 lbs of fresh broccoli in cold water; then drained and trimmed it into flowerettes. I plunged the flowerettes into a large kettle of boiling water for 90 seconds; then drained and plunged it into a bowl of ice water. After draining the cooled flowerettes, I spread them on a clean flour sack towel. The broccoli was a lovely color and texture. Finally, I stir-fried it in butter and olive oil. Broccoli prepared this way has been a big hit at my house! For me it has taken the guess work out of preparing broccoli.
Are you thinking about all the soaking and draining and trimming and boiling and draining and cooling and draining and drying and stir-frying and pots, kettles, bowls, towels, and so on and so forth? (It looks worse in print.) It is not bad after you get into a routine. I prefer to get the broccoli blanched, dried and stored in the refrigerator until I am ready to stir-fry it for a meal. It stays very nice in the fridge. Happy Day!
A few weeks ago on a DVD of Julia Child's original cooking show "The French Chef", I saw Julia prepare fresh green beans by blanching them prior to stir-frying them in butter and olive oil. I had blanched green beans before packing and storing them in the freezer; but the idea of blanching vegetables just prior to cooking them had never occurred to me. I decided to try this with broccoli.
I soaked about 2 lbs of fresh broccoli in cold water; then drained and trimmed it into flowerettes. I plunged the flowerettes into a large kettle of boiling water for 90 seconds; then drained and plunged it into a bowl of ice water. After draining the cooled flowerettes, I spread them on a clean flour sack towel. The broccoli was a lovely color and texture. Finally, I stir-fried it in butter and olive oil. Broccoli prepared this way has been a big hit at my house! For me it has taken the guess work out of preparing broccoli.
Are you thinking about all the soaking and draining and trimming and boiling and draining and cooling and draining and drying and stir-frying and pots, kettles, bowls, towels, and so on and so forth? (It looks worse in print.) It is not bad after you get into a routine. I prefer to get the broccoli blanched, dried and stored in the refrigerator until I am ready to stir-fry it for a meal. It stays very nice in the fridge. Happy Day!
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Day 1
A week ago I received some very encouraging news about cooking oils. I had heard rumors, but it was confirmed for me by a professional nutritionist that coconut oil is now on the "Good Cooking Oils" list! I drove straight to the healthful food store and purchased a 29-oz jar of organic coconut oil (for $18.99).
Distracted by my excitement over the possiblities of cooking with coconut oil, leaving the healthful food store parking lot, I suppose I posed a traffic threat; my mind roaming through recipes; car meandering homeward (I don't even remember the drive home!). Back safely in my kitchen, I tossed out my old "Bad and Evil Cooking Oils" (canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil and Crisco), which left a lavish amount of cupboard space for the new queen of my food inspiration - COCONUT OIL!
Happily, BUTTER is also making a comeback; and is once again being recognized as a nutritious, non-threatening, legitimate food item. Same goes for lard (best for pie crust!) if you can find some good pork lard. So you see why I am encouraged by the re-endorsements of coconut, butter and lard - that you can guilt-freely cook with them and feed them to your friends and loved ones.
Surely some nutrition advisors will continue to caution against using coconut oil and butter; but I choose to believe what my nutritionist tells me - - Happy Day!!
Distracted by my excitement over the possiblities of cooking with coconut oil, leaving the healthful food store parking lot, I suppose I posed a traffic threat; my mind roaming through recipes; car meandering homeward (I don't even remember the drive home!). Back safely in my kitchen, I tossed out my old "Bad and Evil Cooking Oils" (canola oil, corn oil, vegetable oil and Crisco), which left a lavish amount of cupboard space for the new queen of my food inspiration - COCONUT OIL!
Happily, BUTTER is also making a comeback; and is once again being recognized as a nutritious, non-threatening, legitimate food item. Same goes for lard (best for pie crust!) if you can find some good pork lard. So you see why I am encouraged by the re-endorsements of coconut, butter and lard - that you can guilt-freely cook with them and feed them to your friends and loved ones.
Surely some nutrition advisors will continue to caution against using coconut oil and butter; but I choose to believe what my nutritionist tells me - - Happy Day!!
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