Posts from — August 2009

This is from last week’s N.Y. Times, and makes me think of two things. 

One is remembering the Gloria Stevens Figure Salons of yesteryear – anyone remember those?  I used to go there with my mother once in awhile and do Jane Fonda moves on a pink shag carpet.  I think the “studio” was in the Fresh Pond shopping center, if I recall correctly.  Trippy. 

Second, exercise needs to be fun, so that you’ll do it.  If that means a donning a turban and shiny spandex, then go for it, people.  The point is to move it, as often as you can.

How’re you going to move it today?

This is from today’s Times – parents seeking to have ice cream trucks banned . . . I can fully understand rules about how close they can be to schools, etc., but as a health nut, I try to exercise restraint and moderation when it comes to my kid’s eating.  There are some simple joys in life, like a once-in-a-while treat from the ice cream truck, that I think should be honored for her. 

And as for the nagging – isn’t it my job to just say “no” on any given day if ice cream’s not a good idea?  And if she can’t stop badgering, to leave the playground/pool/etc.?  But maybe I’m in the minority?  Are you pro-Softee?

Ooooh, do you sometimes have a craving for something super sweet, yet satisfying?  Something chocolately and peanutbuttery?  This is a treat that you must promise me you’ll enjoy in moderation, ’cause there’s no portion-controlled packaging to save you if you get crazy over it, OK?  It’s that good that you might get out of control . . . I’ve, on occasion, threatened to throw the jar out the window to save myself from myself!

You’re dying to know now, right?  It’s Peanut Butter & Co. Dark Chocolate Dreams peanut butter.  It really is like a peanut butter cup in a jar . . . would be great on a nice piece of toast for breakfast (try sliced bananas on top), or heated a smidge in the microwave and then drizzled over ice cream or froyo.  But people, I believe that it’s best straight up, out of the jar.  Pure heaven.  But again, exercise caution!

For a real diet-buster, here’s a winning recipe from their site which uses the stuff to make . . . peanut butter s’mores bread pudding.  Can you stand it? 

Enjoy! 

Oooh, folks.  This’ll blow your hair back – from my favorite Enviroblog – re the evils of bottled water.

Seriously.  Are you still buying bottled water on a regular basis?  Quit it!  It’ll take you a month to get used to filling up your Sigg/Kleen Kanteen/etc. bottle and heading out the door.  Yes, about that long to create a new habit that will save you money and decrease your chemical exposure/get stuff out of landfills/stop lining the pockets of corporate evil-doers.

Wouldn’t that make you feel good?  

P.S. Some of you have had questions about whether the Sigg bottles contained trace BPA in the liner – here’s the scoop from their site (including a link to pics to ID whether you have old or new liners in your bottles).  If you have pre-’08 bottles, they do have trace BPA, but Sigg’s tests showed no leaching.  Decide for yourselves what you think you should do with those – I have ours segregated and will probably purge . . . .

Good Morning America is about to “break” a story on the processed/cured meat connection to cancer.  This is based on some research by the World Cancer Research Fund, and their recommendation to limit the amount of processed meat your kids eat.  There’s an article from the BBC here.  Not new news for many of us, but it bears repeating and remembering, especially now that back-to-school is upon us . . . .

Update:  yet no mention of nitrites/ates and their connection to cancer, which is well established.  This “report” just focused on the sodium and sat. fat content.  Craziness.

The September/October issue of Clean Eating magazine is out, and there are a bunch of good recipes to try.  Are you familiar with this magazine?  With “clean eating” as a concept?  From the magazine:  “The soul of clean eating is consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible.  It is not a diet; it’s a lifestyle approach to food and its preparation, leading to an improved life – one meal at a time.”  Sage words, folks!

I like their lack of hype and their focus on good nutrition and exercise, but I gotta say, this publication is poorly edited.  I find typos in every issue, and some of the recipes aren’t quite right – for instance, the one I highlight here doesn’t tell you to put any sort of oil/cooking spray in your skillet before you try to cook your chicken breasts . . . that could lead to bad things.  So consider this a little “buyer beware” warning from your friendly neighborhood hausfrau.

Last night, I decided to satisfy my husband’s desire for “a little more meat” with a chicken dish from the issue – it was a solid recipe, despite the lack of a little grease, but you know me – I couldn’t leave it alone.  I tweaked it and this is what I came up with:

Arugula Polenta With Chicken

Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with salt & pepper.  Spray a large skillet with vegetable oil cooking spray, and heat over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook until no longer pink in the middle, about 6 minutes per side.  Transfer chicken to a plate, tent with foil and let rest.

Meanwhile, put broth in a medium saucepan with garlic.  Bring to a boil, then add the polenta slowly, whisking constantly to avoid lumps.  Return to a boil, and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly until polenta is tender and the consistency reaches that of loose mashed potatoes.  Remove from heat and stir in arugula and yogurt.  Cover to keep warm ’til you’re ready to plate the meal.

Cut each chicken breast on a diagonal into approximately 1/2-inch slices.  Divide the polenta among 6 shallow bowls, top with chopped tomatoes and chicken, and serve.

Serves 6.

I steamed up some green beans to serve as a side – despite the polenta, it was a quick fix – 30 minutes from counter to table!

My husband I recently had dinner at Tory Row, in Harvard Square (the old Greenhouse location).  This place is owned by the same folks that run Audubon Circle in Brookline and Miracle of Science in Cambridge, so if you’ve been to those places, you have a sense of the vibe at Tory Row – although I’d say it’s more Audubon-y than MoS-y.  Essentially this place is high-end bar food in a cool atmosphere, and it was jammin’ on a Wednesday night.  But the food wasn’t particularly memorable.  And this is coming from a person that loves Audubon Circle (not so much MoS) – it is one of our go-to places for good, upscale bar-food in a relaxed setting.  So while I came to Tory Row expecting more of the same, it was a bit of a bummer.

There is a very limited menu, as in the other venues, so you may want to check it out on-line before you commit – but also note that the menu I see on line is not quite the same as the one we had last night . . . . so your web-crawling might be of limited value.

I was with my husband, and we opted to share everything so that we could try more stuff and not be stuffed.  We started with Wasik’s curried apricot cheese spread and a small baguette.  First off, this is the one thing they “import” to Tory Row – it’s made by the folks at Wasik’s cheese shop, in Wellesley (a great little place if you’re in the market for good cheese in the MetroWest).  It’s essentially whipped cream cheese blended with some apricot preserves and curry powder – might sound funky, but it was slightly sweet and pretty mild, and a nice complement to the crusty, toasty baguette. 

For an entree, we ordered baked cod with leeks.  It was well-prepared, but unexciting.  The cod was very fresh and not over-cooked, and the thinly-sliced leeks were nice, but it did remind me of a rather, shall we say, “British” preparation – very plainly seasoned with salt and pepper and not much else.  Again, not horrid by any means, yet not memorable in any way.

We also got a side of roasted asparagus with Parmesan.  It was tasty and was drizzled with olive oil and topped with shaved Parm, but again, not a standout, especially when we’ve grilled asparagus all spring/early summer – just as good.  We also got a side of their grilled corn – it’s not on the on-line menu, and I can’t remember exactly what it had on it, but it was a sort of jalapeno mayonnaise-like concoction that was slathered all over the grilled ear of corn, and then it was sprinkled with some queso fresco.  There was a cilantro butter on the side, but that was nearly flavorless.  This could’ve been yummy, but there was waaaay too much of the jalapeno stuff on the corn.  It was overpowering and greasy and made me happy I wasn’t on a date where I was trying to impress someone.  You will end up with it all over your face.

The standout of the meal was the salad we ordered.  It was a big chopped salad, again, not on the on-line menu, with romaine lettuce, grape tomatoes, nice thick-cut smoky bacon, European cukes, chopped cornichon pickles and a great green-goddess dressing.  It was a really nice combination – all the veggies were very fresh, the dressing was very creamy and well-executed (NOT a dietetic salad, folks, there’s a lot of mayo and sour cream involved in that dressing!) and the cornichons gave it a nice, crunchy/salty bite – a great counterpoint to the creamy dressing.  I’d order this again as an entree salad, despite the lack o’ protein – the fat from the dressing would be satisfying enough!

So while nothing but the salad particularly stood out for me, I like Tory Row overall.  Not nearly as much as I like Audubon Circle, so I won’t go back as often, but Tory Row offers decent food in an unhurried atmosphere with the bonus of great people-watching.  Worth trying out yourself.

Several months ago, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) helped break news of a secret meeting where lobbyists from the chemical industry and food companies collaborated on a plan to mislead consumers about the risks of BPA.  You can see the entry on their Enviroblog here, including a damning internal meeting memo.

EWG’s online community was outraged, and at the EWG’s urging, called two of the companies represented by name in the memo to denounce the campaign.  Coca-Cola responded, but as yet, there is no word from Del Monte.

You can help put pressure on Del Monte – find out how here.  And for an encyclopedic treatment of BPA, also from the EWG, click here.