A good meal starts with the freshest ingredients!

Sometimes what makes a meal really taste good is that you've used the best, freshest ingredients you can find. I've gone to the store and seen people just pick up any tomato, zucchini, peach, basket of strawberries or bunch of green beans without even looking at them – they just grab and go, like it's a can of corn on a shelf. Well, I can tell you that whatever they are cooking – it could taste better, if only they spent a few seconds actually picking out the best of what's there.

Now of course I'm going to tell you that you'll also probably get a better flavor if what you're buying is farm fresh, organic and/or an heirloom variety. As you know a lot of produce is picked before it actually ripens, it's boxed up, trucked across country and then either treated with chemicals to “ripen” them or just set out to “ripen” in the store. In this case whatever you're buying is not really ripe, but you still want to spend some time to make sure that it's as close a “simulation” of ripe as you can get and you certainly don't want to buy something that is over-ripe, or on it's way to rotting.

If you grow your own produce, you probably already have an idea of what perfectly ripe is – usually it's when you go to pick something like a tomato or a peach and it comes off of the plant when you just barely tug on it. If you're buying from a farmer or farmer's market – I would hope that they've picked their products at the height of ripeness too.

When looking for the “best”, basically you're looking for the same thing regardless of what ever it is you're looking for. You want the brightest color, the most firm, tight skin, the least blemishes - not dents/scratches, but discolorations, soft spots, etc. - and depending on the product, the best smell.

Below are some things to look for in specific fruits and vegetables:

Apples: Depending on the variety, most apples should be shiny. Look for fruit with a bright color, tight skin, it should be firm/hard when squeezed lightly – also depending on the variety it should have a slightly sweet “apple-y” smell as well. Avoid apples with dark/soft spots, wrinkly skin or that are slightly soft when squeezed.

Artichokes: Artichokes should be completely green, avoid if they have a purple tint to them or if they have buds/flowers. They should feel heavy for their size and have few bruises, squeeze them slightly and you should hear a “squeaking” sound – if you don't hear the squeak, it's not fresh.

Bananas: Unless you've grown them yourself, I think all bananas in the US are either chemically or store ripened. Now what some people consider ripe in a banana is under/over ripe to others – I myself prefer them a little on the green side, but I can still enjoy them when they've got brown spots on them. Depending on how many bananas you're buying it's best to buy them when the stems are still a little green, that way the bunch will last longer. Avoid bananas that already have brown spots or are soft to the touch.

Bing Cherries: Cherries should be shiny, deep purple/red in color, have tight skin and be firm to the touch. Avoid soft cherries and cherries with blemishes.

Blueberries: Blueberries are almost always already boxed in a clear plastic container so you don't get to do a whole lot of choosing. Look for containers with berries that are as blue/purple as possible – avoid berries that have green or brown spots.

Broccoli: Look for broccoli that has a good green color and tight, curled up “flowers” on the florets. Broccoli stalks should be hard when squeezed. Avoid broccoli where the “flowers” have started to open, and are either yellow or brown in color.

Brussels Sprouts: Brussels sprouts should also be firm, tightly closed and bright green in color. I think the ones that have the best flavor are also between 1 ½” to 2” in diameter. Avoid Brussels Sprouts where the leaves have started to pull away, that are soft, and are either yellow or brown.

Cabbage: Choose a good solid head, light green in color with firm skin on the outside.

Cantaloupe: When choosing a cantaloupe or really any melon, “thunk” it with you middle finger, it should sound hollow. Also, if you smell the vine end of the cantaloupe it should smell like a cantaloupe and slightly sweet – if there's no scent, it's not ripe. If it's soft – it's over-ripe.

Cauliflower: Look for cauliflower that has a over-all cream color and that is solid when squeezed. Avoid cauliflower where the florets are green or brown tinted – they are either under or over ripe.

Celery: Celery stalks should be firm and a medium green color. Avoid celery that is a watery green or dark green color. Obviously if it's “limp” it's starting to rot.

Corn: When picking out corn on the cob, you want the husks to be fairly tightly attached to the cob, a medium green color and firm when squeezed. You'll need to pull the top part of the husk down a little bit (about 1 1/2” - 2”) and look at the corn kernels – they should be evenly & tightly spaced, evenly colored and “plump” looking. Avoid corn where the kernels are wrinkly or where there are wide spaces & gaps between kernels.

Cucumbers: Cucumbers should be evenly colored, medium to medium-dark green and firm to the touch. Avoid cucumbers with soft/white spots.

Green Beans: Green or string beans should be a light green color and the skin should be tight. Avoid beans that are “limp”, have wrinkly skin and that have yellow or brown blemishes/spots.

Honeydew: As with cantaloupe, honeydews should be “thunked” with your middle finger and sound hollow. The vine end should smell sweet. They should be a uniform cream color – avoid if they have too much green color in them.

Kale: Kale should be medium green in color – avoid bunches that are limp or have brown/yellow spots.

Lettuces: Pretty much the same as kale – the color will depend on the type of lettuce, just make sure that the head is a consistent color and the leaves are not limp. If it's a solid head like iceberg – the head should be solid and firm when squeezed.

Mushrooms: Avoid mushroom with brown or soft spots.

Onions: Should be consistent color, solid/firm when squeezed. Avoid soft onions.

Oranges: Should have a slightly wrinkly skin, the skin should give a little when squeezed, the overall color should be consistent and it should feel a little heavy for the size. Avoid oranges that still have a stem or leaves on them – they are not ripe.

Peaches: Should be slightly soft when squeezed – I mean they should just barely give, but they shouldn't be too soft nor should they be as hard as a rock. The stem end of the peach should smell like a peach and slightly sweet.

Pears: Similar to picking out apples – tight skin and firm when squeezed, avoid pears with dark spots, wrinkly skin and that are slightly soft when squeezed.

Peppers: Avoid peppers with soft/brown spots – skin should be tight and shiny – color and shape should be consistent.

Pineapples: When picking out a pineapple, you want to very gently pull/tug on an inner leaf at the top of the pineapple. It should come out easily, the pineapple should be firm but not hard, nor should it be soft. Avoid pineapples that are too yellow or too green at the bottom.

Pomegranate: Pomegranates should feel heavy for the size and be a deep or bright red color. The skin should be tight and without cracks or bruises.

Potatoes: Potatoes should have tight, smooth skin, very few dimples and should be firm when squeezed – avoid potatoes that have eyes, deep “dimples”, have a green tint or white spots.

Plums: Should have tight skin, be evenly colored and should give just a little bit when squeezed – avoid hard or soft plums.

Strawberries: Strawberries should be a bright red color – the tops/shoulders can be a little yellow/green but avoid strawberries where the green color goes beyond the very top. The skin should be tight and the fruit should be firm. Avoid strawberries that are soft or have white spots.

Sweet Potatoes/Yams: Overall coloration should be consistent, the skin should be smooth, there should be no eyes, and only a few shallow dimples. They should be firm when squeezed. Avoid yams that have white spots.

Tomatoes: Tomatoes should have a bright red coloring, tight/smooth skin and should give slightly when squeezed. Avoid tomatoes with green near the stem, or that are too hard or too soft.

Watermelon: Watermelons should feel heavy for their size – they should sound hollow when “thunked” with your middle finger.

Yellow Squash: Should have a consistent yellow color, with few blemishes. They should feel firm when squeezed.

Zucchini: Should have a consistent deep green color, and no soft spots.

Good luck picking out the “best” fruits and vegetables you can find. I'm sure that you'll find spending just a little time picking out your produce that you'll make a tastier meal.

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Summertime, summertime, sum, sum, summertime...

I meant for this article to come out over the Memorial Day weekend since it's the traditional start of picnic and barbeque season, but I've been very busy and got delayed. However, summer is just getting started and there is still plenty of time to enjoy outdoor dining.

This past Memorial Day weekend I went to a friend's farm to enjoy an outdoor barbeque. It was pretty simple fare and a somewhat small gathering, but the food was delicious nonetheless. One of the things I like best about eating these kinds of foods is that they are quick and easy to make and don't heat up the kitchen when you're preparing them. As I said it was a small and simple affair, we had hot dogs cooked over an open fire, a garden salad, pickled beets (Sept 2, 2011), coleslaw, home made pickles and pickled cucumbers (Oct 18, 2011). There was cheese, chili (Mar 13, 2012), chopped onions and sauerkraut for toppings and watermelon for dessert. Mmmm, Mmm, good.

I remember last July when my friends from Japan came to visit, it was so hot and I wanted to have some friends and family over for a small get together. So I made a complete meal of cold salads – it didn't heat up the house and they were delicious as well as filling. We had a large garden salad, tabbouleh (Mar 6, 2012), rotini salad (Sept 20, 2011), cucumbers in sour cream (Sept 2, 2011) and fruit salad for dessert. It might have been hot inside the house as well as outside, but eating this dinner was refreshing and much better than eating a heavy, hot meal. Another night while they were visiting we had Fondue (Oct 8, 2011) for dinner with cut vegetables and cheese on the side, this also made a light meal that didn't heat up the house.

Besides your traditional hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken and steaks, you can also make shish kabobs (Mar 20, 2012) on the grill. Everyone can make their own so it's fun and healthy too. You can also make kabobs with fruit to serve as dessert.

It's good to keep in mind when it's hot that foods made with mayonnaise and sour cream can spoil easily so why not look at alternatives that aren't prepared with them. Use salsa (Sept 12, 2011), hummus or baba ghanoush (Feb 23, 2012) as dips and you can make coleslaw and potato salad without mayonnaise too – recipes follow. The last thing you want to do is have people over for a party and they end up in the emergency room with food poisoning.

Here are some more salad recipes:

Traditional Coleslaw
4 c cabbage, shredded (you can also add some red cabbage for color)
½ carrot, julienned (cut into thin slices)
3 Tbl mayonnaise
1 Tbl apple cider vinegar*
½ tsp sugar*

Put cabbage and carrot in a bowl. Mix mayonnaise, vinegar and sugar together, add to cabbage mixture and mix well. Serve cold.

*Substitute rice vinegar for apple cider vinegar and cut out the sugar.

Coleslaw without Mayonnaise

4 c cabbage, shredded
½ carrot, julienned (cut into thin slices)
2 green onions, thinly sliced
3-4 Tbl rice vinegar

Put cabbage, carrots and green onions in a bowl, add vinegar and mix well. Serve cold.

Traditional Potato Salad

6-8 red potatoes
1 small onion, chopped
4 hard boiled eggs, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
½ c mayonnaise
½ c sour cream
2 Tbl mustard
2 Tbl vinegar
½ tsp salt

Boil potatoes until “fork tender”. Cut into 3/4” cubes, cool to room temperature (do not add hot potatoes to the mayonnaise). In a small bowl mix mayonnaise, sour cream, mustard, vinegar and salt. In a large bowl, put potatoes, onion, eggs and celery, add mayonnaise mixture and mix well. Serve cold.

German Potato Salad (No mayo)

3 c red potatoes
4 slices of bacon
1 small onion
¼ c white vinegar
¼ c water
1 Tbl sugar
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 Tbl fresh parsley, chopped

Boil potatoes until “fork tender”. Cut into 3/4” cubes, set aside. Cook bacon in a skillet until brown and crisp, set aside. Cook onion in bacon grease, until browned, then add vinegar, water, sugar, salt & pepper. Bring to a boil, then add potatoes and parsley. Crumple and add half of the bacon, cook until heated through, transfer to a serving dish, top with the remaining bacon (crumpled) and serve warm.

Traditional Three Bean Salad

1 can green beans, drained
1 can yellow beans, drained
1 can kidney beans, drained
¼ c green pepper, chopped
1 c red onion, sliced thin
½ c cider vinegar
1/3 c olive oil
½ c sugar

Combine beans, green pepper and onion. Whisk together remaining ingredients, pour over bean mixture, mix well. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Serve cold.

Making salads might be a little more time consuming than buying them already prepared at the super market – but as always, they're cheaper and healthier if you make them yourself. Check out the canned three bean salad – I bet it's got high fructose corn syrup and a lot more salt too. I'd say that you could make traditional coleslaw for about 50-75 cents – the same amount from the deli will set you back at least 3 dollars!

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More reasons to cut out processed foods....

If you've been reading since the beginning, or have gone back and read through my blog – you might have read the September 2, 2011 article on why you should cut processed foods out of your diet. Well there are more than those 10 reasons. Most of those examples had to do with making yourself more healthy by eating home made foods. Cutting salt and sugar from your diet – eating only those ingredients that you can pronounce, food produced naturally not in a laboratory.

There were also articles on High Fructose Corn Syrup (September 6, 2011) and Hidden Sugars (April 11, 2012) – these sugars are added to processed foods to either hide the taste of low quality ingredients, to add flavor when the fat has been reduced or to make things taste sweeter than they should. Since the human body gets addicted to sweet flavors we want more of them and if they are artificially produced sweeteners we eat and eat or drink and drink to try to satisfy that craving – not because we really need to eat or drink more. Again this is not good for the body and even sugar-free sweeteners can lead to weight gain and obesity.

Then there was the article on food recalls (October 2, 2011)... It seems that this is a never ending problem. Salmonella, e-coli, wires, mouse droppings, bug parts and listeria – things that just don't belong in food. Factory farming caused the listeria outbreak in melons – sewage overflow from animal farms was sucked up by the melons and infected what should have been a natural and healthy fruit. Other fruits, vegetables and meats get infected or additional unwanted ingredients “fall in” while being processed – things that wouldn't get added to your meal in your own home.

Of course there are also those common food additives that I discussed on March 17, 2012 – most of which can be called “natural” flavorings and may or may not be on the label. Do you really want to have food made from bacteria, wood, feathers, hair, bugs, sand, fertilizer and household cleaners? I know I don't. Read the article on food labeling (February 5, 2012) for more information on how the government allows processed foods to be “mislabeled” to make them appear to be more healthy.

Are you buying canned foods? You might be consuming BPA from the lining of the can. Tests have shown BPA in the urine of people who have eaten canned soups, sauces, fruits and vegetables. Some companies have stopped using BPA – but what will they come up with next? We got rid of pink slime and Starbucks is going to stop using beetles as food coloring – but if you buy whole, natural foods and cook them yourselves then you can be pretty sure that none of these things will be in your food. Grow your own vegetables, maybe get some chickens to get your own eggs, go to the farmer's market, you don't have to buy organic – just pay attention to what you're buying and cook it yourself.

A little off track, but don't forget the October 18, 2011 article, “You are what you eat and what you eat, eats too”. Factory farming has destroyed the nutrients in the soil and only replaces three basic nutrients so that the apple you eat today has far less nutrients than one grown in the 1940's. Because chickens and cows are fed grains that aren't normal for their diet – their meat also has less nutrients than in the past. To help them digest these grains and/or because they are raised too close together they are given antibiotics which you wind up consuming. And, they are given growth hormones to mature faster or give more milk – again you wind up consuming these too.

If you read the articles that compare homemade foods to name brand processed foods you'll find that most homemade foods cost less to make. In fact, most of the time they take about the same amount of time to make. Or, if they take longer to make you have left-overs that when re-heated will compensate for the extra time spent upfront. And if you don't believe me, a recent study done by the USDA's Economic Research Service found that serving for serving eating fresh healthy foods costs less than eating processed or junk foods. Remember that half of your plate should be fruit/vegetables, your meat/protein should be no bigger than a deck of cards, the remainder of the plate should be your carbs (made up of whole grains if possible). Eggs, beans and rice are inexpensive protein options and if you're a vegetarian or vegan you can help fulfill your protein requirements inexpensively by eating peas, green beans, spinach, peanut butter, quinoa, tofu or lentils.

Finally, by cooking your own meals, eating more fruits/vegetables, eating less meat, growing your own food or buying from a local farmer/farmer's market you will reduce your carbon footprint.

May 19^th is “Food Revolution Day” - join the conversation and help change the way people eat by educating children about food, giving families the skills and knowledge to cook again, and motivate people to stand up for their rights to better food.

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Mishmishiya – Huh??? Apricot & Lamb Stew – Eww???

Sometimes things sound more appetizing in their original language. Mishmishiya (mish – mish – eye- ah) derives it's name from the Arabic word for Apricots – Mishmish. This recipe's origins seem to come from a 13^th century cookbook produced in Persia (Iran). Although I've also read that it originated in either Egypt or Morocco. Of course over time, nearly 800 years, there have been many changes made to the recipe. If you find the original recipe you'll discover that they used closer to 1 tsp of nearly all of the spices and 2 tsp of cinnamon, they also cooked the dried apricots in a separate pot of water, strained them through a sieve and added both the cooking water and the apricots to the stew. Several modern recipes use whole dried apricots, and sometimes raisins and chickpeas.

The recipe below came from my good friend Gareth. It's really a pretty easy dish to make and has a nice spicy (not hot) taste to it. Since lamb is both expensive and hard to find he often substitutes beef. As I always say – when you cook from scratch you have the ability to experiment and change the recipe to suit your taste. I prefer to cut the cinnamon in this recipe down to ¼ tsp as I don't like too much cinnamon in my food. Traditionally this dish was probably served with or over rice or couscous. However you can add chickpeas to it like a lot of people do today, or add lentils, or potatoes to it, or serve it over quinoa, bulgur wheat or even pasta.

Mishmishiya

2 lb lamb or beef sliced thin
2 onions, finely chopped
2 Tbl olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp coriander
½ tsp cumin
¼ tsp ginger or ½ inch sliced ginger root
¼ tsp saffron or turmeric
¼ tsp mastic (optional – used as a thickener)
½ lb dried apricots, diced
1/3 c almonds, chopped fine or ground
1 tsp rose water (optional – adds a rose flavor/scent to the dish)
black pepper to taste
salt to taste

Heat oil in large skillet. Brown meat with onion, salt & spices. Add apricots and almonds, cover with water, cook slow for about 2 hour, sprinkle with rose water. Add water depending on how thick you like your stew. Serve hot over rice or couscous.

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Potato Pancakes, Draniki, Kartoffelpuffer or Latkes

So, potato pancakes – what are they and where did they come from? They are a fried pancake made from either mashed or grated potatoes with flour and egg, they are usually seasoned with onions, garlic and/or other spices. They are another one of those dishes that can be found around the world including India and Korea, although they are mostly found in Northern/Central Europe. They are probably most famously known as Latkes and eaten by Jews during Hanukkah.

Potato pancakes are another dish that you can get creative with. As I mentioned in a previous article they are a good way to use up leftover mashed potatoes. You can try making them from sweet potatoes, or you can add a variety of vegetables to them, try adding scallions, cabbage, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms or cauliflower. You can add fruit to them like blueberries or apples or you can even add cheese to them! You can top them with sour cream, caviar, salmon, applesauce, cheese, guacamole, salsa or powdered sugar. Just decide if you want sweet or savory and go for it!

Traditional Latkes

6 medium potatoes*
1 onion, chopped fine
3 Tbl flour or matzo meal
1 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp parsley
2 Tbl olive oil

Grate potatoes either with a food grater or in a food processor. Put grated potatoes in a large collander or sieve, rinse with cold water, drain and squeeze as much liquid out as you can. Beat the eggs, salt and parsley together, mix with potatoes, onions and flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Make each pancake from about a ¼ c of mixture dropped into the skillet, flatten slightly, lower heat and fry until one side is browned, turn over and fry until the other side is brown. Serve hot.

* You can also use left over mashed potatoes – adjust other ingredients accordingly. I usually use whatever potatoes I have left, ¼ – ½ chopped onion, 1 egg, a little parsley and enough flour to hold them together.

Latkes can be made in advance and frozen. Heat in a 300 degree oven on a cookie sheet until heated throughout. If you decide to try adding any of the ingredients mentioned above, make sure that you chop or grate them as well or the pancakes will fall apart.

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Homemade Pizza vs DiGiorno Cheese Pizza

My family is from the New York/New Jersey area, so I was raised eating New York style pizza. To me there is nothing like it and I've strived to make my dough as close to that standard as possible. New York style pizza came into being in New York City in the early 1900's, with the first pizzeria, Lombardi's, opening in 1905.

What sets it apart from other pizza? It's all about the dough... It's a hand-tossed thin crusted pizza made from high-gluten bread flour that has a crunch to it, but also soft enough to fold and eat. They say that the mineral content of the New York area has something to do with how the dough comes out – it probably does because as close as I can get it, it's not quite the same.

Real New York Pizza also is pretty basic – dough, tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese – NO CHEDDAR!!!! They're also much larger than your typical pizzas – a pizza is usually 18-19 inches. Of course you can add other toppings like pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, etc. I believe another New York secret is to drizzle the dough lightly with olive oil before putting the sauce on and directly after putting the sauce on, lightly sprinkle a little oregano before adding the cheese and toppings. Most New York pizzerias also have oregano, granulated garlic, red peppers and grated parmessan cheese on the counter or table to add to your pizza.

Homemade Pizza

Pizza Dough
1 pkg active dry yeast
1 c warm water
2 ½ – 3 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbl extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp sugar

In a large bowl, mix yeast, water, olive oil, salt and sugar, stir well to proof. After about 5 minutes, add half of the flour and mix well. Add all of the remaining flour, except ½ c and mix well with your hands. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 qt bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hr.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees, place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven (if you don't have one you can use a round pizza/cookie sheet).

Divide dough into 2 portions and form into balls. On a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Transfer to a pizza peel (wooden board with a little bit of corn meal on it), top with toppings, transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 12-18 minutes (depending on toppings). Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and serve immediately.

Sour Dough Pizza Dough
1 c sour dough starter
1 c warm water
2 ½ – 3 c bread flour
1 tsp salt
1 ½ Tbl olive oil

In a large bowl, mix starter, water, olive oil and salt. Add half of the flour and mix well. Add all of the remaining flour, except ½ c and mix well with your hands. Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead dough for about 5 minutes, adding additional flour as needed. Transfer dough to a lightly oiled 2 qt bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hr.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees, place pizza stone on bottom rack of oven (if you don't have one you can use a round pizza/cookie sheet).

Divide dough into 2 portions and form into balls. On a lightly floured surface, shape as desired and roll out to a thickness of about ¼ inch. Transfer to a pizza peel (wooden board with a little bit of corn meal on it), top with toppings, transfer to the preheated pizza stone and bake until crispy and golden brown, about 12-18 minutes (depending on toppings). Remove from the oven with the pizza peel and serve immediately.

Pizza Sauce (see Sept 4, 2011 article, or try this...)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 Tbl oregano
1 ½ tsp garlic powder

In a medium size bowl combine all ingredients and mix well.

Now you've got your dough and your sauce – the rest is up to you. Again, the nice thing about making food yourself is that you can add whatever ingredients you like – extra sauce, extra cheese, anchovies, whatever you want. If you're from Pennsylvania, you'll probably want to add some cheddar cheese to your pizza. I've got friends from Japan that have put toppings together that I never would have thought of – but the combinations were delicious. Remember that the more toppings you add (or the wetter the toppings are) the longer your pizza will need to bake. So have fun and experiment...

Topping Ideas
Mozzarella Cheese
Cheddar Cheese
Feta Cheese
Soy Cheese
Tofu
Spinach
Garlic
Onions – Red, White, Yellow or Brown
Mushrooms
Pineapple
Black, Green or Kalamata Olives
Red/Green/Yellow/Orange Bell Peppers
Banana Peppers
Jalapeno Peppers
Artichoke Hearts
Capers
Zucchini
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Pesto
Ham
Pepperoni
Sausage
Ground Beef
Canadian Bacon
Bacon
Chicken
Anchovies
Veggie Burger
Veggie Bacon

Comparison

Price of Homemade Cheese Pizza - $1.75 (made with yeast – sour dough would cost less)

Price of DiGiorno Cheese Pizza - $6.99

Preparation Time for Homemade Pizza – About 30 minutes (not including rising time)

Preparation Time for DiGiorno Pizza – About 20-25 minutes, depending on how you like your crust

Ingredients in Homemade Pizza – Flour, water, yeast, salt, sugar, olive oil, mozzarella cheese, tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, garlic, corn meal

Ingredients in DiGiorno Pizza – Flour, water, mozzarella cheese, tomato paste, sugar, vegetable oil, white corn meal, grated cheese blend, salt, sodium bicarbonate, yeast, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium aluminum phosphate, datem, spice, garlic, ascorbic acid, yellow corn meal

DiGiorno claims that one pizza is 6 servings, so that's what I used as a comparison...

Nutritional Data for Homemade Pizza
Calories 290
Total Fat 8g
     Saturated Fat 4g
     Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 24mg
Sodium 430mg
Total Carbohydrates 38g
     Dietary Fiber 2g
     Sugars 2g
Protein 14g
Vitamin A 6%
Vitamin C 3%
Calcium 31%
Iron 15%

Nutritional Data for DiGiorno Pizza
Calories 320
Total Fat 11g
     Saturated Fat 5g
     Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 25mg
Sodium 840 mg
Total Carbohydrates 39g
     Dietary Fiber 3g
     Sugars 8g
Protein 16g
Vitamin A 8%
Vitamin C 0%
Calcium 20%
Iron 8%

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Hidden Sugar in our food... How to identify it and make a healthier food choice...

CBS recently aired a study showing that sugar may be much worse for us than we've previously been told. They also explained that the way our body reacts to sugar is much the same as the way we react to drugs like cocaine.  The more sweets/sugars you eat the higher tolerance your body has to them and the more it takes for your body to get that “high” that it's looking for, so the more you eat. Do you see why this can be really bad for you? And they don't just mean table sugar or high fructose corn syrup – they mean ALL sweeteners – artificial and natural, including honey and maple syrup.

One of the main problems today is that we consume a tremendous amount of sugars – about 130 pounds per person per year! And you don't know that you're doing it because the majority of it is hidden in the processed foods that we eat. The scientist (Kimber Stanhope from the University of California, Davis) that performed this study recommends that we don't eat more than 100 calories of added sugar per day (this does not include the sugar that is naturally in whole foods that you eat). That's less than a can of soda. Eating too much sugar can contribute not only to obesity, insulin resistance and diabetes but heart disease, high blood pressure, high triglycerides, high cholesterol and even cancer.

Back to why you're eating more sugar than you think you are. It's because the food industry hides it, as you know ingredient labels have to show ingredients in descending order from the largest quantity to the least in the food that you're buying. So for example in that fruit drink you're having – fruit juice is listed first and should mean that your getting mostly juice, probably water will be next, followed by sugar. Not looking bad so far, right. Then you have natural and/or artificial flavors, then maybe fructose or sucrose, then natural and/or artificial coloring, and lastly perhaps high fructose corn syrup. Well if you add all of those sugars up – then sugar would really be the first ingredient, but instead they take small portions of each and distribute them throughout the ingredient list to make it look like you're consuming less sugar than you actually are.

Why do they put so much sugar into processed foods? Well there could be several reasons – beside the fact that we “humans” like sweets. One is that if they've taken fat out of something then they need to add extra sugar(s) to make it taste better. Another is that often processed foods use low quality ingredients, so in order to bump up the taste they add sugar (for example, spaghetti sauce). Below is a list of processed food items that are very high in sugar.

1. Asian sauces
2. Salad Dressing
3. Jelly/Jam
4. Spaghetti Sauce
5. Flavored oatmeal
6. Wheat bread
7. Flavored yogurt
8. Frozen dinners
9. Bottled teas
10. Juice Drinks
11. Flavored waters/Sports Drinks
12. Soda

When you're reading that ingredient label watch for how many different kinds of sugar are on the list, then choose the product with the least number of listed sugars and the lowest amount of sugar in grams, or choose plain yogurt/oatmeal and add your own fruit, or make it from scratch. When picking out jelly/jam, go for the whole fruit types. Also, watch for added food starches – this is another way that they add sugar to what you're eating, after all starch turns to sugar. Other recent studies show that consuming artificial sweeteners actually contribute to weight gain – probably because our body reacts to it like a sugar and we become addicted and want more and more sweet. So it's probably best to cut out artificial sweeteners too.

Natural sweeteners to look for:
Sugar
White sugar
Brown sugar
Confectioner's sugar
Corn Syrup
HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup)
Malt
Honey
Invert sugar
Sorbitol
Manitol
Xylitol
Maple Syrup
Brown Rice Syrup
Raw Sugar
Beet Sugar
Cane Sugar
Corn Sweeteners
Evaporated Cane Juice
Fruit juice concentrate
Nectars
Molasses
Sorghum
Turbinado sugar
Glucose
Sucrose
Fructose
Galactose
Lactose
Dextrin
Dextrose
Maltodextrin
Maltodextrose
Maltitol
Polydextrose
Cornstarch
Potato starch
Tapioca starch

Sugar substitutes to look for:
Stevia (probably the most natural and safest)
Splenda
Aspartame
Neotame
Nutrasweet
Equal
Nutrinova
Twinsweet
Cyclamate
Saccharine
Sweet N Low
Truvia
Purevia
Sucralose
Inulin
Dulcin
Glucin

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