Butter VS Margarine

"Pass The Butter ... Please.

This is interesting . .. .

Margarine was originally manufactured to fatten turkeys. When it killed the turkeys, the people who had put all the money into the research wanted a payback so they put their heads together to figure out what to do with this product to get their money back.

It was a white substance with no food appeal so they added the yellow colouring and sold it to people to use in place of butter. How do you like it? They have come out with some clever new flavourings....

DO YOU KNOW.. The difference between margarine and butter?

Read on to the end...gets very interesting!

Both have the same amount of calories. 
Butter is slightly higher in saturated fats at 8 grams; compared to 5 grams for margarine.

Eating margarine can increase heart disease in women by 53% over eating the same amount of butter, according to a recent Harvard Medical Study.

Eating butter increases the absorption of many other nutrients in other foods.
Butter has many nutritional benefits where margarine has a few and only because they are added!

Butter tastes much better than margarine and it can enhance the flavours of other foods.

Butter has been around for centuries where margarine has been around for less than 100 years .

And now, for Margarine..

Very High in Trans fatty acids.

Triples risk of coronary heart disease ...

Increases total cholesterol and LDL (this is the bad cholesterol) and lowers HDL cholesterol, (the good cholesterol)

Increases the risk of cancers up to five times..

Lowers quality of breast milk

Decreases immune response.

Decreases insulin response.

And here's the most disturbing fact... HERE IS THE PART THAT IS VERY INTERESTING!

Margarine is but ONE MOLECULE away from being PLASTIC... and shares 27 ingredients with PAINT.

These facts alone were enough to have me avoiding margarine for life and anything else that is hydrogenated (this means hydrogen is added, changing the molecular structure of the substance).

Open a tub of margarine and leave it open in your garage or shaded area. Within a couple of days you will notice a couple of things:

* no flies, not even those pesky fruit flies will go near it (that should tell you something)

* it does not rot or smell differently because it has no nutritional value ; nothing will grow on it. Even those teeny weeny microorganisms will not a find a home to grow.

Why? Because it is nearly plastic . Would you melt your Tupperware and spread that on your toast?

An Interesting Article: A Year Without Sugar, One Family's Grand Adventure plus my own grand adventure that I will share!

I found this article: A Year Without Sugar, One Family's Grand Adventure. It is about a family of four (a mom, dad and two children) that went an entire year without sugar. I found the article very interesting so I thought I would share it with you all: http://www.everydayhealth.com/columns/my-health-story/year-of-no-sugar-one-family-grand-adventure/

Rich and Creamy Chocolate Pudding

Rich and Creamy Chocolate Pudding with Fresh Whipped Cream and Raspberries

Here is another dessert to add to the collection of healthy desserts with more to come in the future. I got this recipe from the Fred Meyer booklet that comes out monthly and is found in the health food department (FM got the recipe from the Taste for Life test kitchen). I only made some minor adjustments to the recipe.

This pudding is made from scratch rather than a box and has no artificial sweeteners. There is no gluten, refined sugars or preservatives. I recently had a friend and her husband stay with us for a few days, I mentioned making some homemade chocolate pudding with no refined sugars, her husband asked me how can you make pudding without refined sugars? My friend answers him by saying this... you just go to the store and you buy the sugar free stuff in the box. My friend is about 20 years younger than me and was raised by her dad, so needless to say EVERYTHING food wise has come out of a box, can or package (mostly some sort of fast food) her whole entire life (this seems kind of sad to me).

I took the time to explain to them that I do not eat the ingredients, especially the artificial sweeteners (most artificial sweeteners are found to cause cancer in lab rats) that are found in the instant puddings that you buy at the store in a box and that I make everything from scratch. Boy they got an education in food and cooking during their stay, that is for sure!

25 minute prep time
serves 6

Ingredients:

1 (14 ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk for the pudding
1 cup chopped dark unsweetened chocolate (I used Hershey's)
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup honey (I use raw local honey)
1/4 cup 100% pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp of raspberry extract or 1 tsp of vanilla extract
whole raspberries for a garnish
whipped cream for a garnish or for a totally dairy free garnish use coconut milk (take the cream off the top of the can and whip it till it is smooth and creamy)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees

2. Arrange 6 small ceramic or oven-proof ramekins (I don't have ramekins so I use an 8 inch ceramic souffle dish) place the ramekins or the souffle dish in a baking dish or pan with sides at least 2 inches high.

3. Whisk coconut milk until smooth over medium heat. Add chocolate and whisk constantly. until mixture is smooth and combined. Remove from heat and set aside.

4. In a large glass bowl, whisk together egg yolks, honey and maple syrup until smooth. Pour milk mixture into egg mixture slowly, whisking constantly to combine the two. Add raspberry or vanilla extract and stir to combine. Pour into souffle dish or evenly divide mixture into the ramekins.

5. Place baking dish on middle rack in oven. Pour enough water in baking dish so it comes about 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the outside of the ramekins. Bake custards approximately 40 to 45 minutes, until tops are set. (The inside will become more firm once chilled).

6. Remove ramekins from oven. Set aside to cool. When cool, place ramekins in fridge and chill for four hours or overnight. Garnish with raspberries and whipped cream.

Video: How cooking can change your life by Michael Pollan

Michael Pollan the author of the book: Cooked has made a video which I found very interesting and enlightening, here is the link I thought I would share with you all: http://villagegreennetwork.com/watch-video-youll-never-eat-mcdonalds-french-fries/. 

A few of the things that stood out in particular to me in this video is how the potatoes that are used in McDonald's french fries are grown, particularly the pesticides used (I have not had a McDonald's french fry in years) also that corporate cooking is much more different than home cooking (which greatly confirms what I already knew) they use copious amounts of sugar, fat and salt in the foods which produces addictions in people, the corporations like to refer to the addictions to foods created with these items as "cravability" or "snackability" which is at best brainwashing. 

The other interesting thing I learned is studies show that a poor woman that cooks at home has a far healthier diet than a rich woman that eats at a restaurant for every meal. Home cooking has taken a back seat to eating out, processed foods and quick meals, since that has happened obesity rates have sky rocketed. Cooking at home seems to have become a lost art and modern day marketing has us all brainwashed into thinking cooking at home is so time consuming and difficult, all of this is a big reason why I had decided to start this blog in the first place along with sharing my healthy recipes with people.

Cooking at home for me is very enriching experience; I enjoy picking out the whole nutritious foods that go into my cooking along with the cooking itself. Doing so ensures me as to what exactly is in each and everything I cook. To me cooking has gone from a necessity to a hobby and is swiftly becoming a passion of mine. 

Strawberries and Coconut Cream

Strawberries and Coconut Cream

Today's recipe is dedicated to a sweetheart of mine from back in 2011. He grew up on a Strawberry farm up in Washington. He passed away on March 30th 2014, he was only 36. He loved everything strawberry, his Chapstick, lemonade, home made strawberry jam (made by mom) and even his gum! 

About mid day today I was hungry for something a little sweet, something fruity and a little bit dessert like but not to heavy. I had a container of big, juicy red strawberries in the fridge. I took some out and slice them up...

At first I thought this recipe was far to simple for my blog but in reality it is just perfect for it. I had been getting requests for quick, easy and simple ideas, especially for desserts and things to help out people with their cravings for refined sugars. So here we go, strawberries in all of their sweet simple glory with just a couple extra ingredients!




Ingredients:

7 - 8 Strawberries plus one extra with stem and leaves for a garnish
1 Tbsp Coconut palm sugar
A Dollop of coconut milk  
*I always keep cans of coconut milk on hand, it is a staple in my pantry 

Directions: 

Wash strawberries, cut off stems and leaves (set one aside with greenery for a garnish). Slice strawberries and put into a small bowl, add the coconut palm sugar. Take a fork and mash them up with the coconut palm sugar, just a little bit to bring out some of the juices and flavors. Open up a can of coconut milk and scoop all of the cream on top into a separate small bowl and whip until creamy with a whisk. Scoop out about 2 Tbsp of the coconut cream (or more if you would like) and put on top of the berries. Top with your garnish, right on top of your cream. (Take the left over coconut milk and cream, combine together in an airtight container and store in the fridge. The left over milk and cream works great in a smoothie).

*Makes one serving. 

Enjoy!