Eat More Whole Grains

What Are Whole Grains?

Adding whole grains to your part-time vegetarian diet will benefit you in many ways.  I'm sure you've heard that you should eat more whole grains, but what are they?, how much should you eat?, and where can you easily get them?  Eating at least three or more one-ounce equivalents of whole grains daily can reduce the risk of many diseases and help you achieve a healthy diet.  Whole grains are hearty, healthy, and tasty.  If you are an earnest part-time vegetarian seeking optimal health, whole grains provide a one-stop source for nutrients, antioxidants and phytochemicals vital to your well-being. 

Whole grains are the entire seed (or kernel) of the plant. A single seed of grain contains three distinct parts: the bran, the endosperm and germ.  If all three parts of the grain are included, the food is considered a whole grain.

• Bran. The outer seed layer: full of fiber, B vitamins, 50 percent to 80 percent of the grain's minerals, plus other health-promoting plant substances called phytochemicals.
• Germ. The inner embryo: full of B vitamins, vitamin E, trace minerals and small amounts of healthful unsaturated fats, phytochemicals and antioxidants.
• Endosperm. The starchy middle: contains carbohydrates, some protein and smaller amounts of B vitamins.

 These whole grains are ground, cracked, or flaked kernel, which includes the bran, the germ, and the inner most part of the kernel (the endosperm).  Some examples of whole grains include whole wheat, oatmeal, Corn (including whole cornmeal and popcorn), Brown Rice, Wild Rice, whole-grain Barley, whole Rye, Amaranth, Millet, Quinoa, and Buckwheat.

Health Benefits of Whole Grains

Medical evidence has clearly proven that eating whole grains on a regular basis reduces the risks of heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes.  Regularly eating whole grains reduces your risk of obesity, as measured by body mass index and waist-to-hip ratios, and will  also lower your cholesterol levels.  Few foods can offer such diverse health benefits. Whole grains also contain valuable phytochemicals and antioxidants. Eating only  three daily servings of whole grains have been shown to reduce their risk of heart disease by 25-36%, stroke by 37%, Type II diabetes by 21-27%, digestive system cancers by 21-43%, and hormone-related cancers by 10-40%. 

Eating the right types and amounts of whole grains can:

• Lower triglycerides
• Lower blood pressure
• Improve insulin control
• Ease constipation and other digestive disorders
• Help with weight management
• Slow the buildup of plaque in your arteries

How do I identify Whole Grains?

The ingredient list on a food label shows ingredients in the order of the most abundant by weight.  When selecting products that contain whole grains, look for those that show whole grains listed first on the ingredient list.  For products such as bread or pasta to be labeled whole grain, the grain can be ground, cracked, or flaked, but it must retain the same proportions of bran, germ, and endosperm.  Any label that says 100% whole grain is the best product you can buy.  It is really easy and fun to get three servings of whole grains a day and they are a great filler for meats.

Examples of one whole grain serving include:

• 1/2 cup cooked brown rice or other cooked grain
• 1/2 cup cooked 100% whole-grain pasta
• 1/2 cup cooked hot cereal, such as oatmeal
• 1 ounce uncooked whole grain pasta, brown rice or other grain
• 1 slice 100% whole grain bread
• 1 very small (1 oz.) 100% whole grain muffin
• 1 cup 100% whole grain ready-to-eat cereal

Here are more easy ways to incorporate whole grains into your daily diet:

• Substitute half the white flour with whole wheat flour in your regular recipes for cookies, muffins, quick breads and pancakes or add up to 20% of another whole grain flour such as quinoa or amaranth.
  
• Replace one third of the flour in a recipe with quick oats or old-fashioned oats.
  
• Add half a cup of cooked bulgur, wild rice, or barley to stuffings.
  
• Add half a cup of cooked wheat or rye berries, wild rice, brown rice, bulgur or barley to your favorite canned or home-made soup.
  
• Use whole corn meal for corn cakes, corn breads and corn muffins.
  
• Add three-quarters of a cup of uncooked oats for each pound of ground beef or turkey when you make meatballs, burgers or meatloaf.
  
• Stir a handful of oats in your yogurt, for quick crunch with no cooking necessary.

Start adding whole grains to your diet on a daily basis and reap the health benefits of whole grains.   

Don't Have a Cow!

As part-time-vegetarians, we are concerned with eating the most healthy diet available.  How many servings of fruit did you eat today?  How many vegetable servings?  What about whole grains, legumes and nuts?  The evidence that a diet loaded with fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains reduces the risks of all major causes of illness and death is so overwhelming that it is no longer debatable.  While I do not advocate a purely Vegetarian or Vegan diet, I do advocate eating less red meat.  Here are many reasons why you should avoid eating red meat.

• Red meat is high in saturated fat and cholesterol
• Cows take longer to grow so they have more time to absorb toxins from the pesticide ridden grains they are fed.  They are treated with growth hormones so they grow faster and fed large doses of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick.  If you eat fast food burgers, a lot of them are treated further with all kinds of preservatives, additives, and chemicals.  Treat yourself to a homemade burger of organic beef from the supermarket.  
• An increased risk of bowel cancer was found for people who ate more than two servings of red meat per week. "Men who eat red meat as a main dish five or more times a week have four times the risk of colon cancer of men who eat red meat less than once a month," says Edward Giovannucci of Harvard Medical School. 
• Heavy-red-meat eaters are also twice as likely to get prostate cancer.
• Excessive amounts of red meat can lead to a higher risk of osteoporosis due to an acid byproduct from digesting very large amounts of protein.
• Eating red meat every day can double the risk of Arthritis
• A recent study found that rating more than one serving of red meat per day can double the risk of breast cancer, especially in young women. 
• Energy use. It takes almost ten times more energy to produce and transport livestock than vegetables.
• Soil erosion.  For each pound of meat, poultry, eggs, and milk we produce, farm fields lose about five pounds of topsoil.
• Overgrazing. About ten percent of the arid West has been turned into a desert by livestock.

The message I want to get across is that red meat should be eaten at most a couple times a week. Other foods, such as poultry, fish and beans are great red meat substitutes that provide lots of protein and should be eaten more frequently. When you do eat red meat, choose smaller portions, lean cuts and organic if you can afford it.  When preparing red meat, it should be roasted, broiled, or braised rather than frying or grilling it.

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World Food Day 2009

In case you missed it, as I did until a day late, Friday October 16th was United Nations World Food Day.  In fact, it was the 29th observance of World Food Day (W.F.D.), which was started in 1981 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (F.A.O.).

The worldwide event is observed in over 150 countries and is designed to increase understanding and awareness of worldwide hunger and be a call to action to alleviate that hunger.  It is sponsored in the United States by 450 national, private organizations, mostly at a grass-roots community level.

The theme of this years W.F.D. is "Achieving Food Security in Times of Crisis".  This theme was picked to help focus attention on the U.N.F.A.O. World Food Summit in Rome November 16-18th.  The F.A.O. World Food Summit will focus on the goal of Food Security which refers to the availability of food and one's access to it.  The F.A.O. defines Food Security as "When all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy Life". 

Last year 923 million people around the world suffered from hunger on a regular basis.  Since then, an additional 105 million have been added to the hunger rolls, bringing the total to 1.2 Billion people suffering from chronic hunger!  Some of the contributing factors to this massive increase are environmental along with access to markets, increase in food prices, global population growth, displacement because of war, climate change, and increased farming for use in biofuels.

 

At least 70% of the world's poor, the majority of them women, live and work on small-scale farms, are often unable to produce enough to feed themselves, and many cannot afford to purchase food for their families.  They usually don't own the land they are farming and, since they can not survive there, when they can manage it, are moving to urban areas to find work.  According to Raymond C. Offenheimer, the president of Oxfam America, "Small-scale farmers hold the key to increasing global food production in a sustainable way but our policies have left them to fend for themselves on the front-lines of hunger, poverty and climate change."

 This growing world food crisis has led to a collaborative global effort to combat hunger centered around country-led processes to improve Food Security.  The United States believes that Food Security is the foundation for building social and economic development.  The idea is to support small farmers in rural areas to become sustainable and provide themselves with a livelihood that gives them the opportunity to  stay in their communities.  In his inaugural address President Obama said: " To the poor nations, we pledge to work along side you to make your farms flourish and let clean water flow; to nourish starved bodies and feed hungry minds."  At the 2009 G-8 Summit President Obama pledged the U.S. would invest 3.5 billion in agriculture-led economic growth.  This commitment led to 16 billion dollars from other donors to support this new approach to advance agricultural development and reduce hunger for the poorest segment of the population which is rural farmers.  Here in the United States, efforts currently under way in congress and in an initiative recently announced by President Obama that would provide critical resources for investing in agriculture and rural livelihoods.  You can support that bill Here.

Around the world in the past year there have been many riots because of lack of food for starving people.    Although there is enough food produced in the world to feed everyone, there are many factors which contribute to global hunger and the answers to the problem are complex.  According to the World Resources Institute, global per-capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past several decades.  In 2006, MSNBC reported that globally, the number of people who are overweight has surpassed the number who are undernourished. At that time, there are more than a billion overweight people in the world and 800 million who were undernourished.

As a Part Time Vegetarian, you have taken a small step to helping alleviate hunger, reduce global warming, and provide your body with a healthier diet, but you can do more!

• Spread the word about "Part Time Vegetarians" share this blog with a friend.
• Help spread the word about hunger by researching hunger facts online, informing yourself, and helping inform others on hunger.
• Participate in the regional and national debate about the causes and remedies for hunger both here and abroad.  I have a friend who is a local organic farmer and he makes a very strong case for sustainable farming as the key to both physical and economic health for the local community.
• Volunteer at a local food bank.  They usually need extra help during the colder months and during the holidays.
• Start a food drive at your place of work to raise hunger awareness and support a local food bank or homeless shelter. (Be sure you get permission and have the support of management first.)
• Contribute to regional and international food relief on an ongoing basis.  Most large charity organizations will take donations directly from your credit card or bank account on a monthly basis allowing you to spread out your donations over the year and put it on auto-pilot which saves you time and effort.  My two favorites are Oxfam USA for international hunger aid and Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest) for US aid.

These are just a couple of ideas to get you started helping the most needy among us.  As a chef, it is natural for me to want to provide food and be involved in hunger relief efforts.  Giving back in gratitude for all the blessings I have in my Life, and especially for food, is one of the most satisfying and rewarding things I do.  There are so many opportunities to give and provide food, one of the most basic needs of our fellow human beings. I believe everyone who has enough should be doing their part to alleviate this most basic suffering.  I hope you will take the opportunity provided by W.F.D. to share your blessings with those in your community, your region, and our world.

My personal favorite food charities are Oxfam USA and Feeding America which I listed and provided links to above.

Here are other great food relief charities to check out:

• Catholic Relief Services - Hunger Relief
  
• Action against Hunger - USA
• Bread for the World Institute
• Food for the Hungry
• Freedom from Hunger
• Global Hunger Project

These are the very top-rated hunger charities by the American Institute of Philanthropy. 

I hope this blog post has helped inform you on hunger and the world hunger crisis and inspired you to be involved in some small way.  Please pass this post on to everyone you know that you think will benefit from this information.  God bless your food, your body, and your Spirit.

Robert

 "A hungry man is not a free man"  ~ Adlai E. Stevenson

" This should not be about theoretical elegance, efficiency of markets or linkages between democratization and economic development. It should be about being human and about leaving space for others and allowing them to be human. It should be about compassion and a genuine search for creating feasible, workable and accessible opportunities for the millions out in the cold. It should be about a different vision of the world."

~ Eunice Kazembe, Malawi's Ambassador to Taiwan from a hunger workshop given by Oxfam.

"In essence, hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. Hunger manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine… poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility to illness."  

~ Bread for the World

National Vegetarian Month

October 1st was World Vegetarian Day and  kicked off National Vegetarian Month, which is dedicated to raising awareness about alternatives to eating meat and the benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle.  While there is probably no way I will  ever give up eating meat, as a Part Time Vegetarian, I none-the-less look forward to celebrating National Vegetarian Month.

As a Part Time Vegetarian, I celebrate my vegetarian choices practically every day and October is one of my favorite months to celebrate vegetables.  In October, as the days grow shorter and it gets cooler, I revel in the last of summer's harvest and the emergence of autumn and winter vegetables.  Great corn-on-the cob and tomatoes will soon be gone, so I scour the markets for the last tasty remnants of summer's bounty, and look forward to all the super-foods of winter.  Squashes, sweet potatoes, the crucifers, beets, and winter greens all hold the promise of flavor, healthy eating, and comfort during the chilly months ahead.

It is said that "variety is the spice of Life" and nowhere is that more true than in my daily diet.  I may get hung up on fresh seasonal fruits and vegetables, enjoying them at their peak of flavor and eating them every day when they are at their best, but it is variety that keeps me excited and enthused about my healthy diet.  Our bodies need a wide variety of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for optimum health and strength.   Eating a wide variety of fresh non-processed fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, dairy and some meat will ensure we are getting these vital body-building elements.  With the seemingly infinite choice of foods available to us, most Americans assume they have a varied diet. But, if you look at the average American diet, it consists mainly of processed sugar, fat and starch.

How many different types of winter squashes have you ever tried?  I seem to find a new variety I've never seen before every season.  Some of my favorite squash varieties are Butternut, Kabocha, Turban and Spaghetti but there are probably a dozen more available during the winter season.  Winter squashes are high in vitamin A, vitamin C, potassium, manganese and dietary fiber.  Although there is not much research into the phytochemical benefits of winter squashes yet, some early research points to their ability to prevent cell mutations which can lead to cancer. See how many new varieties you can try this month and develop some favorite recipes in the months ahead. 

Cruciferous vegetables like Broccoli, Cabbage, Kale, Collards, Swiss Chard and Turnips are all good winter vegetable choices for their cancer fighting properties.  They are also high in vitamin A, vitamin C, folates and help boost memory.  Cruciferous vegetables are high in fiber which is very important to your overall health.  They say that health starts in the colon and it is the amount of dietary fiber you consume that keeps your colon clear of toxic buildup.  Fiber can provide other health benefits as well, such as lowering your risk of diabetes and heart disease.  Because of their high fiber many of these vegetables can be tough.  To remedy this, cut them into thin shreds before adding raw to salads, braising or adding to soups. I especially like soups in the winter months and some of my favorites include winter greens.  So, on your next trip to the market, be sure to add several cruciferous vegetables to your cart and start enjoying their many benefits.

The Key to Healthy Food Choices: The more natural, the better

Being a part time vegetarian and making healthy food choices go hand in hand and eating healthy is really quite simple. There are only a few guidelines to follow and “the more natural the better” is the most important one.

Choose foods that are in their most fresh and natural state with little or no processing. For instance, choose fresh fish over frozen fish and choose frozen fish over frozen “fish sticks”. Always choose fresh over frozen and frozen over canned when it comes to fruits and vegetables. And, by all means, avoid frozen "meals" which are loaded with all kinds of chemicals and additives.

The more processed the food is, the less nutrients in it, and the more possible harmful chemicals you will be ingesting. “Fast food” in most any form should be avoided whether it is something from the supermarket that you microwave, or something from a fast food restaurant. However, there are some good choices in the “fast casual” restaurant category that serve non-processed or very minimally processed foods.

Food in its most natural state is always the healthiest for you and you can’t get any more natural than eating Organic.

• Organic foods, many times, have more flavor than their non-organic counterparts. Organic carrots are a great example of better flavor, once I tried them, I could not go back to non-organic.
  
• They can be more nutritious, richer in vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids than non-organic.

• Organic farming practices enrich the soil rather than deplete it and farm animals are treated more humanely.
• Organic and natural meats are becoming more common in the grocery stores. A good strategy for better health is to eat less meat and, when you do, make it organic. More organic products of all kinds are showing up in grocery stores every day. Try a few every week and soon you will be enjoying the healthy tasteful difference.

Eat less "bad" fat and cholesterol by cutting down on the amount of meat and fried foods you consume. Stay away from margarine and baked goods which contain trans-fats. If you eat meat at every meal and it is the centerpiece of your diet you should begin cutting down on your meat consumption immediately.

• Eat red meat only occasionally or not at all. Red meat is not only the highest meat in saturated fat and cholesterol but, it can be a toxic stew of pesticides, hormones, and antibiotics. Cows take longer to grow so they have more time to absorb toxins from the pesticide ridden grains they are fed. They are also treated with growth hormones so they grow faster and fed large doses of antibiotics to keep them from getting sick. If you eat fast food burgers, a lot of them are treated further with all kinds of preservatives, additives, and chemicals. Treat yourself to a homemade burger of organic beef from the supermarket.

• Cut down on the amount of meat you eat per meal. Six ounces of meat is plenty and less is recommended. Replace the extra meat with more vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and nuts. You will find the added variety very enjoyable and you will get a wider variety of nutrients and phytochemicals.

• Eat Fish for its beneficial healthy fish oils. Fish do contain some hazardous toxins and some varieties should be avoided. Most all fish have PCB’s and mercury and the ones with higher concentrations and should be avoided by pregnant women and children. Eat about twelve ounces of fish a week (two meals) for optimal benefit without too much toxin. Shark, swordfish, and king mackerel should be avoided because they have high murcury levels. Some of the most popular fish that are low in mercury are salmon, shrimp, catfish, pollock and trout. Tuna is not the greatest and should be consumed sparingly. Albacore tuna is your best choice. Fish from local waters can be especially hazardous unless you know the waters are safe.

• Make one day a week a “meatless day”. You may think this is hard but with a little forethought and planning it can become an enjoyable challenge. An easy start is bean or vegetable burritos, grilled cheese sandwich, pasta with garden vegetable sauce, a portabella mushroom burger, bean soup or a vegetable wrap.

• Avoid saturated fat and trans-fat. These fats are solids at room temperature and include animal fats, butter, cheese and whole milk. Also avoid the trans-fat in margarine and most baked goods.

There are many other healthy food choices you can make once you integrate some of these broad eating habits into your day to day routine. One of the healthiest diets in the world is the Mediterranean Diet. It uses meats mostly as flavoring and filler for a wide variety of other ingredients. Mediterranean cuisine comes from many countries including Turkey, Italy, Lebanon, Syria and Morocco so it contains many interesting flavors and flavor combination's. Most of the food cooking methods and recipes are simple making it a good place to start learning healthy recipes. It is very popular and there are many good Mediterranean Cookbooks on the market.

I Love Tomatoes!

It is with much anticipation that I look forward to late summer when tomatoes are plentiful and at their peak of flavor. When they start to arrive en masse I celebrate them almost every day for weeks on end!

I remember not too many years ago when it was hard to get good tasting tomatoes except at roadside stands or by growing your own, but now, with on-the-vine tomatoes and heirloom varieties, it is much easier to enjoy a great diversity of the wonderfully tasty fruit and sometimes even find good tomatoes off season.

The recent proliferation of heirloom tomatoes has added many more colors, sizes and tastes to the tomato market. I like to mix different colors/tastes of heirlooms together for their visual appeal as well as added depth of flavor. The small grape and pear tomatoes make delicious juicy bite sized snacks to pop in your mouth. The flavors of heirloom tomatoes vary with their color. The lighter colors of white, yellow or orange tomatoes have a higher sugar content and thus are sweeter while the so called black or purple varieties have a deep and tangy tomato flavor.

When I purchase tomatoes at the store I always go by smell for the best tasting tomatoes. This is especially helpful with the heirloom varieties as they may not always look so great but if they smell good you can bet they will taste good. To select the best tomatoes, look for good coloring, smooth plump skin and heaviness for their size. They should be free of bruises, blemishes, deep cracks, or leathery dark patches. If tomatoes are soft and yielding to the touch, they are fully ripe, so only buy them if you are going to use them right away.

Tomatoes should never be refrigerated unless they have been cooked, cut for a salad or raw dish, or are fully ripe and will soon spoil. Refrigerating tomatoes will degrade their flavor and texture. Ripe tomatoes you've refrigerated to keep from spoiling will taste better if you bring them to room temperature before eating.

One of the beneficial phytochemicals that is very prominent in tomatoes, and has gotten a lot of press and research lately, is lycopene. Many studies indicate that lycopene is most likely the substance responsible for protection against heart disease and cancer. Lycopene is fat soluble and dietary fat is needed for it to be absorbed. Also, it is absorbed into the body much better from cooked tomatoes which accounts for why tomato sauce with olive oil is great for your health. In addition, tomatoes ripened on the vine have more lycopene than those that ripen after they are picked.

If you enjoy the flavor and bounty of one of summer's most wonderful fruits and are looking for simple recipes to enjoy them here are Six Simple Vegetarian Tomato Recipes.

Consider becoming a "Part Time Vegetarian"

I recently discovered the label "Part Time Vegetarian" and find it useful and empowering as a sort of half step to a healthier diet. Eating healthier is a process that is easy to start and with just a little effort can be very rewarding.

When most people think of "Vegetarian" they automatically think either/or. You either are or you are not a vegetarian. When I heard the phrase "part time vegetarian" I immediately thought "Yes! this is me!" I have been in the process of refining my diet (moving away from mainly meat to more vegetables, whole grains and legumes) for at least 5 years. I now eat 3-4 dinner meals a week that are vegetarian. It has taken me 5 years of steady progress to get to this point and I am a chef!

Millions and perhaps billions have been made on the "diet craze" because people buy into the assumption that change happens with little or no work! Good Health and Dis-ease are both Habits! Getting from point A to point K then to point X has many steps along the way. Each of those steps takes work and commitment.

In a time when "change" is a huge buzzword and pretty much anything we want is practically at our fingertips, I would like to point out two observations that most people seem to overlook: 1) Change is a Process! and 2) Lasting change only happens when you change the cause behind the effects. The cause we need to change is our eating Habits.

Change is a Process.
At the core of change are habits; habits of thinking and doing and being.
To change we must replace old habits with new habits.
We can do this by slowly making adjustments to what we eat.
If you have extra weight, you did not put it on in a short period of time and you will not keep it off for the long term unless you change your eating habits.

I will probably never stop eating Meat. I Love a nice juicy Hamburger! I Love all kinds of Fish! I Love slow roasted BBQ pork, a perfectly cooked T-Bone steak, a tender roast chicken cooked over root vegetables, garlic and apples! And the list goes on......
But, now, fruits and vegetables, grains, legumes and nuts are the mainstay of my diet and I Love eating this way!
I feel better, I have more energy, and my diet is lowering the impact I have on my planet.

It is Easy to start the Process!
1) Eat more vegetables or fruit today
2) Eat less meat (have a 6 oz. burger instead of an 8 oz. one)
3) Try something new one day a week (a new fruit, vegetable, or whole grain)
Start the Process!
Take the first step today!
Before you know it You too may be a "Part Time Vegetarian"!

Remember: You are what you eat!

For more in depth information go here.