Thursday, April 26, 2012

Good Food, Dude.

Word.

Oh, HAAAY! Its spring break, and other than running I like to spend my time catching up on reading, video games, bloggin' and homework. ANNnnnd My Drunk Kitchen and Jenna Marbles videos. HAHA. Too funny! I was watching some good old Lifetime and then I thought about Jenna Marbles and how I should be watching that instead. So I came across her blog as well in the midst of me lolin' by butt off and found a cool, and hilarious, recipe for artichokes and dip. I am going to try it at some point soon or something--LOOK!:


Check it out! Let's all try it together, its super healthy and super good sounding, even with all of her sexual references. :P

I am always looking for new foods in order to keep like delicious, fresh, healthy, and influential. For example, I found something called Kiwi Berries. WELL, I HAD to buy them. I mean come on. HA. I had one and was like, "AWWWW man!" They are basically mini kiwis without the hairiness--and who doesn't love that?! Yum, yum!

Now, onward march! (Hey...it actually IS March.)
Anyway, I went to two different healthy seminars/orientations/info meetings and I learned a lot about food and healthy eating. First off, eating healthy (it seems) goes beyond just eating fruits and veggies and moderation and what not. Turns out, the WAY these foods are grown and produced can affect our diets as well. There was this rumor going around about the preservatives and pesticides that were used in our foods can make us fat or be hazardous to our overall health. I never really cared much to really look into that but then I found out about this list called the Dirty Dozen (get your mind outta the gutter!):
1.) Strawberries
2.) Apples
3.) Spinach/Lettuce
4. Grapes
5.) Sweet Bell Peppers
6) Celery
7.) Peaches
8.) Nectarines
9.) Grapes
10.) Potatoes
11.) Blueberries
12.) Kale

Now, this list apparently changes on a give harvest. I am guessing because it depends on the types of pesticides a farmer decides to switch to or can no longer afford or use. But that's sick, and sad because A LOT of my diet now consists of these things. Though I have yet to try Kale. Hmm, Trader Joe's run anyone? (I think I'll stop by there tomorrow. YES! :D )
So your question probably is: "Why are these things so dirty?" ::smirk:: Well, in all "seriousness", its because of all of the chemicals and pesticides that are used during the growing and farming of these foods. Farmers use all of these harmful chemicals in order to get the best out of their harvest and to increase the value and quantity in which they can sell. The downside? The left over residue that we may consume even after its been plucked and 'cleaned'. These foods are the foods that are more susceptible to soaking up the chemicals than other foods such as bananas or pineapples. This is because these foods have a harder or thick skin that does not absorb as much or very little chemicals.  Yeah, so even though organic items can be very expensive or even go bad faster, in someways it can be worth it. What you decide to buy from the organic departments is up to you. I am going to experiment with the organic world myself. For example, I know that Pick 'N Save sells something called Skinny Girl Lettuce or Skinny Lettuce or something like that. Its an organic selection of lettuce/ spinach/ field greens. Just a tip! ;)
On a siiiide noooteeee:
I feel bad too. I had a lot of carbs and I had some custard... but hey, its spring break yo! LOL, are you supposed to splurge a little? ::grabs glass of wine next to me:: Yeah? YEAH! Its cool, I got a date with a ton of field greens and fresh veggies for the next week to vamp it up while I am home. But I refuse to be a hypocrite--moderation is still key I believe. Yes, there are days when you can have your cake AND eat it too. As long as you stay active and remain eating healthy for the majority of your diet. :) Yaaay rationalizing! (I'm human--and female--danggit!)

Back to the point!!! For more information on this Dirty Dozen business, check this out! :D


This is where you can find out more specifics on this very topic. There's always something to learn about the foods we eat!

Speaking of which, I know that many of us may have heard of have seen Super Size Me; a documentary about a man who decided to super size all of his meals at Mc Donald's for every meal every time they asked him. Needless to say, he got fat and he got sick. No brainer.  In one part of the documentary, they talk about what is actually in the chicken nuggets there; basically whatever un-useable part of the chicken (i.e.: everything but actual meat from the chicken) is pooled together, ground up, and turned into this sick pink paste in which they spray with ammonia to rid of the germs and disease that linger on these parts of the bird. So no only are you eating beaks, feets, and nasty what-nots, you're now chowin' down on a side of harmful chemicals. The reason why the "meat" in the chicken nugget is white is not because of it being cooked or, God forbid there being actual chicken in there, it is because the chemicals change it from the nasty ground pink color into the white color. So odd. So freakin' nasty.

ON TOP OF ALL THIS!
The way they treat our livestock in this country--don't even get me started. ICK! There is so much malnutrition, mistreatment, hormone pumping, integration, and animal cannibalism going on its super sick. I don't know how far I should even get into that one. What I learned was so disturbing, to was not even funny. If you want to know more, you may have to check that one our at your own risk.
What has been learned cannot be un-learned. O_O

~Shi <3