Not Every Egg is Laid Equal

Related to my previous post on eating pasture-fed chickens, I have also eaten those chicken’s eggs.  Wowsers.  These eggs are awesome.  I mean really, we are all missing out if we don’t have a source.

What does a super fresh, pasture-fed chicken egg look like?  For sure, they are different from grocery found eggs.  Ever notice, that a hard-boiled grocery egg has a pale yellow color yolk?  The eggs that I ate have orange color yolks.  The color is orange yellow, very vibrant compared to the pale yellow.  The egg shells of pasture-fed are also thicker.  Grocery eggs typically have very thin shells.

What the chicken eats will determine the kind of eggs she lays.  Better taste and perhaps better nutrients come from diets that that include other things besides corn. 

Freshness is also a factor.  I have been guilty of eating overdue, old eggs.  They don’t seem to go bad, but now I have noticed, that after you hard-boil old eggs, there is a big divot on one of the ends.  Really fresh eggs don’t have this air pocket that forms when boiled. 

I looked around online, and there is a buoyancy test for the freshness of your eggs.  This is the same concept as the air pocket discovery, except the test lets you know before you cook.  Basically, if your raw egg sinks to the bottom in a bowl of water, it is fresh (no air pocket has formed in the egg).  If the raw egg lies on its side in the water or kind of bobs, the egg is not as fresh.  If the egg floats on the surface of the water, then it should be discarded.

For more information:

http://recipehut.homestead.com/FreshEggTest.html

http://southernfood.about.com/library/howto/hteggsfresh.htm

Really Good Chicken

I have had the incredible opportunity over the last few months to eat really fresh, pasture fed chicken.  Wow.  The difference between a pasture fed chicken and a corn-raised chicken (read: grocery bought) is so evident.  The pasture fed chicken meat is tighter and the flavor, especially when the carcass is slow cooked for a soup or broth, is just so aromatic.  Not bland, droopy meat with tons of fat (you would see this if you bought the whole bird), and almost tasteless broth.  If you haven’t tried it ever, you need to find yourself a farmer friend.

Now, this is not really comparing organic vs. conventional chicken.  Most organic chickens are still grain fed.  Chickens weren’t meant to eat only grains (i.e., corn), but most of the ones you find in the grocery do since it is the fastest way to fatten up chicken for market.  Pasture-fed chicken means it eats bugs, worms, other little critters in addition to corn, and usually these chickens run around outside, like really live the life of a chicken.  I have seen this in action.  And, I would guess that small farmers who raise chickens just for their family and friends rather than for industry let their chickens grow this way.

Here’s a crazy idea.  What does it take to raise chickens?  I want to raise chickens.

I was curious, so I went to the library.  I couldn’t find any chicken books in the system, so when I asked the librarian, the conversation went something like this… 

“Can we help you?”

“Yes, I am looking for some books on how to raise chickens.  Silence.  Like farming, um not really like children's books.  Yeah, I know, it’s kind of weird.”

Librarian heads both nod while trying not to smirk.  I couldn’t help laughing myself, what is an urban girl doing asking for books on how to raise chickens?  (sidenote: my mom wanted to know more about the chickens than I did.)

More to come on what I find out. 

Ode to Mr. Strong and Eggs.

 

Remember Mr. Strong?  I loved the Mr. Men series by Roger Hargreaves as a kid.  I think growing up, I would try to borrow every book in the series at the library.  My most formidable memory from these books was just how Mr. Strong loved eggs and ate them all the time!  He was so strong from eating eggs.  And, my mom and grandma always said, you can eat one egg a day, it’s good for you, especially while you are young.

Awesome, gets me closer to living like Mr. Strong.

But then as I got older, there was a long period of time (and I guess it still exists) when people were saying how eggs were bad for cholesterol and not to be consumed often.  And gradually, my egg consumption declined…to virtually only times I went out for brunch, which didn’t amount to that often.

Well, times (and knowledge) are a changin’, and my understanding today is that eggs are good for one’s health.  According to multiple sources (see a few below), eggs are a highly nutritious food, probably the most nutritious that money can buy.  Each egg only contains 75 calories, and yet eggs provide all the essential amino acids and minerals required by the human body, and supply vitamins A, B, and D.  Bargain eating is what I look for – low calories for a lot of nutrients, and eggs totally qualify.  There is a belief that egg yolks lead to high cholesterol levels.  I keep reading/finding that egg yolks may actually lower total body levels of low-density lipoprotein (undesirable cholesterol), while raising levels of high-density lipoprotein (or good cholesterol).  We’ll leave it to the nutritionists to battle that out.

I often eat boiled eggs as part of my meals – it actually goes well with Asian food.  Or, put some salt and pepper and just that alone makes for a great snack. 

Source: Keeping Chickens, by Jeremy Hobson and Celia Lewis

Another source: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92

Who Doesn’t Want a Flatter Stomach?

As much as this blog is about food and healthy eating, a byproduct of eating healthy is our waist size.  If a person learns how to eat to satisfy his/her body needs, the “food cravings” are significantly reduced.  Sure, sometimes we do desire a dessert or something fattening, but those cravings will come less often and with less viciousness.

 

One friend inquired about how to have a flatter stomach.  His last name rhymes with “erdle.”  A few tips to a flatter belly:

1. Cut refined flours.  If you read this blog, you already know where I stand on this.  If you are reading this blog for the first time, check out my previous posts, and it will become apparent.
2. Going poop three times a day.  Kind of crazy, but if you eat a diet high in nutrients, vegetables with the right mix of grains, fiber, seeds/nuts, you will probably go poop after every meal.  Throw in a smoothie with real fruit and vegetables, and it’s pretty sure to come.  Keeping your “pipes” clean will decrease toxicity buildup, take up less space, and it is indication that your bodily digestive and related systems are working together and well.  I use this as an indicator for the kind of diet I am eating and how healthy it is. 
3. Drink enough water.  Water is essential to life.  Every body requires different amounts of water, but 2 liters a day is pretty average. 
4. Limit dairy intake.  Cheese and milk cause bloating.  I used to eat TONS of cereal and milk.  It was easy, fast and had long shelf life.  I have learned that cereal is not that healthy – think about it, it is processed with added sugar.  Cereal manufacturers fortify it, but these are not natural nutrients.  Perhaps OK as a supplement, but not OK as a mainstay.  Cheese adds to the waistline – I suggest eating cheese sparingly. 
5. Limit sodium.  High sodium diets cause water retention.  Water retention in your legs, arms, body is not healthy (it usually feels tight and stiff). 
6. Don’t skip meals.  For the meal you skip, sure, your stomach seems to be smaller.  But, right after you eat (and make up for the hunger), your stomach will probably seem and be bigger.  Eating every meal will keep your body on a consistent clock, avoiding your body to be famished or stuffed.  I believe it will help control how much you eat.  Breakfast in the morning gives you your base energy for the day – so don’t skip it! 
7. Exercises.  No doubt, for a sculpted abdomen, one needs to exercise.  Here is one exercise that is simple and has some amazing results.  Lay down on your back.  Bring up your legs to table top position, so you create a 90 degree angle.  Put your hands on your stomach for stabilization.  Hold this position for 15 minutes.  Try doing it multiple times a week. 

That’s it.  It’s that simple.  Definitely doable in a hotel room.  I can only hold for about four minutes right now…so if you can do it for 15, you are pretty amazing.

More info: http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/10-flat-belly-tips

No Impact Man

More than halfway through January - and only one post!  I guess I took a little break there.  But now I am back! 

Over the holidays, my family and I watched a really great documentary: No Impact Man: The Documentary.  The movie came out in September 2009, but still worth writing about.  The movie is about a guy in New York City who with his family (wife and young daughter) abandon their "high consumption 5th Avenue lifestyle" for a year, learning to live a life with no net environmental impact.  It was a gradual yet sacrificial process of forgoing take out, package waste, refrigerator and later electricity (now that is hardcore!).  Farmer markets along with flights and flights of stairs instead of the elevator became common in their everyday life. 

No doubt, these changes came with their frustrations and arguments in their married relationship, but the goal was to see what this new life was about, and ultimately a chance to help their family's (especially wife's) health and well being.  The wife, although not overweight, was facing a pre-diabetic condition.  The doctor said her diet (what she was eating and not eating) was a problem.  In her own words "averaging 20 shots of potent, iced espresso deliciousness every beautiful day...pastry mania and shame hangovers...usual afternoon Dunkin' Donuts high."  I think we are all familiar with what her diet was.  And, the thing is, most of us don't even realize it.  This very situation is what drives me to learn and share more about healthy eating. 

Another bit of learning is: what we see on the outside, may not be what is going on in the inside.  Quite frankly, this has application beyond food.  Don't let yourself or your loved ones waste away on the inside.

It was a movie that challenged me to think about the waste that I produce, the food that I eat, and what inspiration and passion can achieve.  The start of things that can change the world are usually small, but once the seed takes root, it can be explosive.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1280011/
http://noimpactman.typepad.com/blog/2009/09/michelles-lessons-from-no-impact.html

"No Impact Man" - Official Trailer [HQ HD]

Contentment in Love

New year resolutions and goals are in effect!  I am looking forward to and excited about the unknown for 2011!  So much can develop, so many new things can be learned.  Love and better relationships.  Who wouldn't want more of that in 2011?

One thing I am musing about is better relationships stem from more individual contentment.  Many of us are happy for others when they have good news - a new relationship, getting married, having a baby, moving to a new house, getting a new job, etc.  But, don't we sometimes feel happy for them, sad for us?  We didn't find our loved one this year, we didn't find a new job yet, we are still trying to have a baby.  How could the glad tidings of someone else (our friend) cause us to feel pity for ourselves?

So for the start of this year, one of my goals is to spend LESS time on my news feed in Facebook.  Too often, I sift through to see what my friends are up to, and lo and behold, what do I find?  One friend is in love, another had their baby, another got married, another on vacation, another finished a marathon, another, another another...  Where do I find myself?  Inundated with people moving on, doing great things.  And, I am sitting at home on Facebook reading the newsreel, in pity.

For one, just by statistics alone, this is bound to happen.  Think about it, if you have about 300 friends (and most of us have more than that many friends on Facebook), don't you think the chances of people in the 300+ friend circle is bound to have more going on in their collective lives than any one of us in our own life?  Statistically speaking, we are all bound to feel some pity. 

But, I think a greater issue is at hand -- happiness is not in just limiting my exposure to what others are doing.  It starts with how content I am.  If all the world but me got rich and lived the opulent life, but I were content to start with, I would logically be content even watching them live it up (until the "it" starts to come down; as we say in finance, what goes up must come down).  And, this very contentment will become the foundational block in all my relationships - whether marriage, friend, family, whatever.  This contentment will give me freedom and joy in whatever state I am in.  Because it doesn't matter where others are, it only matters where I am and who I am.

Two very insightful verses from the Bible.  God had it all along:

"For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise."
2 Corinthians 10:12

"And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth."
Luke 12:15

btw, friends, please still put up your Facebook posts - I love to see what is going on. :)