Are we eating better?

So I was reading through some articles that I have on one of my apps, and came across this article, Are Americans Eating Better? Income equality still has a seat at the dinner table. I found this article interesting, due to agreeing with the idea that we are becoming more divided on how healthy we eat.

Think for a moment, we are becoming more divided on how we eat because of how much we earn. The more money you have the more likely we are to have access to healthier foods, and make a choice to buy those foods more willingly. Whereas, those who struggle to make ends meet, may not necessarily, or always, have access to healthier foods. For example, farmers markets or grocery stores  that carry healthy options. Rather lower income areas, may only have the option of a convenience stores or something along those lines. Lower income individuals or families may have the desire to eat healthier but may not have the access to it, or the ability to purchase those healthier foods.

So what would it take to close this disparity in how healthy individuals eat who come from different income levels? What would it take to get farmers markets to poorer areas? Or what about closing the gap in cost of food and amount of income?

Cook from Scratch Delivery Services

If you have a television and watch just a little throughout the week, maybe you've seen commercials for +HelloFresh US and +Blue Apron. Both companies offer a service where they will send you recipes and the ingredients to cook those recipes directly to your door. They are both relatively close in price, $65-$70 for a family of two for approximately three meals a week.

I think this is a neat idea, and maybe I'm a bit of a skeptic when it comes to ordering my food online and letting it sit on my front porch all day while at work. So, I was wondering if there is anyone who has tried either of these companies and let me know what you think.

• Is one company better over the other?
• How easy are the recipes to make?
• Looking back at your decision to choose the company, would you do it again?

Jamie's Ministry of Food - parmesan chicken breasts with crispy posh ham

I love watching these clips. So informative, and the food looks wonderful.

                                          

Favorite and Least Favorite Foods

So I was thinking about some of my favorite foods and least favorite foods growing up and as an adult. A few of these I think are influenced by what is marketed toward children and as adults. Then again I could be wrong. What's better is that a few of these items can be homemade, which make them even better and for some families or individuals a comfort food. So here goes, my version of favorite and not so favorite foods.

Lets start off with the favorite foods:

1. Macaroni and Cheese
2. Fried Chicken
3. Baked Chicken
4. Chili
5. Steak
6. BBQ anything
7. Turkey (Thanksgiving Style)
8. Spaghetti
9. Pork Chops
10. Biscuits and Gravy
11. Pancakes
12. Waffles
13. Waffles and Chicken
14. Gyros
15. Fajitas

Now for the least favorite foods:

1. Oysters
2. Liver
3. Tofu
4. Sushi
5. Anchovies
6. Licorice
7. Brussel Sprouts
8. Beets
9. Squash
10. Turnips
11. Eggplant
12. Asperagus
13. Muscles
14. Caviar
15. Radishes

Groceries and cost of living

So, I was having a conversation with some family and friends on the cost of various things we use on a daily basis and the pay doesn't seem to be keeping up. One of the items we talked about was how much food costs. It seems that pay rate doesn't seem to be keeping up with the cost of living, which in turn makes it hard to decide where certain cuts need to be made in our personal budgets. A couple of videos caught my attention while on +YouTube.

One of them is from the +CBS Evening News and discusses "Despite the government's consumer price index showing little to no inflation, food prices have been going up, putting a squeeze on the budgets of many families across the U.S. Michelle Miller reports." The video can be found here at: CBS Evening News. The other video I found was from the +The Associated Press. This discusses, "The ongoing drought in California and other western states is starting to bump prices up at the grocery store. As AP's Haven Daley reports, beef may be the first food item to see an increase." This video can be found here at: Associated Press.

I don't think anyone should be surprised by the increase in food, as we have seen the hike in gas prices. Who knows how far the increase in food, or any other necessity for that matter, will go. I think what it comes down to is whether we can get some changes made in policy, new faces in the government who are willing to make the necessary changes based on what we the people are saying need to be changed. Even if we don't see these changes in our lifetime, the lease we can do is get a movement going to make the changes for our children and future generations to come. We as a country need to get back to having morals, values, and ways of life that we at one time grew up with. Unless we take back our rights to make a difference within our homes, teaching our children with morals, values, and discipline, schools, workplace, and any other item I've left out, we might as well kiss it all good-bye.

I would like some feedback on what you think.

Quick Tuna and Garbanzo Salad

So, I was looking for some new recipes to try out this past week, and thought I'd look at some recipes on +ZoneDiet. One of the recipes I found was this Quick Tuna and Garbanzo Salad. I love tune salad, and thought this was a twist on something I already eat. The only drawback I initially had about the recipe was using extra virgin olive oil instead of the mayo, but thought I'd give it a try. After making this recipe, I'm not sure I will go back to making regular tuna salad. I say this in part, because with this recipe I noticed that I was full for several hours after eating, which is a good thing when you pair the right foods together. I tried the lemon juice with this recipe and thought it was pretty good, don't know about the balsamic vinegar. So, if you happen to try this recipe with the vinegar, let me know what you think. 

Ingredients:

• 6 oz chunk light tuna in water - rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup garbanzo beans canned - rinsed and drained
• 1/2 cup celery - finely chopped
• 1/2 cup onion - finely chopped
• 3 tbsps sweet pickle relish
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 3 1/2 tsps extra virgin olive oil
• 3 tbsps fresh squeezed lemon juice - or balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 6 leaves lettuce
• 4 tomatoes - diced or sliced

Instructions:

In a bowl, stir to combine all ingredients except lettuce and tomato. Plate the lettuce leaves and tomatoes.

Something to Chew On

Over the last several months I have posted some food recipes on my blog, some healthy and some not so healthy. Those that are unhealthy, I've tried to make them healthier, an example of this would be the two cheesecake recipes I have posted. One is a chilled cheesecake the other is a chocolate-berry cheesecake, you can click on the links to see the full recipe for these.

In today's age, I am like many Americans, I am a busy single parent who goes to school, works, and takes care of my children. There are times when eating out would be so much easier than cooking a meal at home. However, when you figure in the time it takes to load up the kids in the car, drive to the restaurant, order, pay, either eat there, or drive home and eat, you have spent about as much time as it would to take to make a home cooked meal. The big difference between eating out and dining in is the cost and you know what goes into the food. The added bonus to eating at home, in my opinion, is that you can actually get your children involved in the cooking process. I do this with my peanut by giving her age appropriate tasks that she can do. Also, with this same thought is if you actually take your child to the grocery store with you and have them pick out the fresh foods they want to eat, they will be more inclined to prepare and eat those foods.

As a bit of a back story for this post, I was working on some homework for one of my classes, and responded to a discussion post one of my classmates wrote about on her children's school lunch program. This got me to thinking about my peanut's school lunch program and how I myself am not really all that impressed with it, as they have started a new program this year. Which in turn sparked a memory about watching a television show several years ago called Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution that focused the attention on those living in Huntington, West Virginia and their diet. I did find something on Ted.com that was published in February 2010, in which Jamie Oliver talks about 'stories from his anti-obesity project in Huntington, W. VA, and makes the case for an all-out assault on our ignorance of food.' This was a very interesting 22 minutes of listening to Jamie Oliver talk about the dilemma with our diet. If you would like to check it out you can go here. If you want more information on the food revolution you can go here, also Jamie Oliver has an official website that you can go to and check out here.

The CDC has some interesting information over chronic diseases that are in the U.S. What's interesting about these diseases, is that they are very preventable. I think we just need to sit down and really look at what we can do to improve our lifestyle. I think that cutting out all the bad habits like smoking, or eating all the unhealthy foods all the time would be a good start. If we chose to buy the healthier foods and cook at home more often, exercise, and maybe do a few other things we could reduce how many individuals die each year from cardiovascular disease or obesity.