Food Project: Brian

Ingredients:

- Olive Oil (2 Tbsp)

- Garlic (2 cloves)

- Chicken breast (boneless/skinless/4 count)

- Fresh Spinach Leaves (2 cups)

- 1/2 White/Yellow onion (chopped)

- 1/2 cup of white wine

- Pepper/Sprinkle of Salt

- 1/4 cup cream

- Basil

- Parmesan cheese

How to cook:

1. Boil pot of water, preferably large pot. Boil pasta.

2. While preparing the pasta, cook the chicken. Sprinkle some salt and pepper on the raw chicken. Heat some olive oil in pan and brown both sides of the chicken breast. Remove chicken when browned.

3. Add chopped onions and sauté for about 2-3 minutes. While the onions are cooking, slice the chicken in strips. Put aside any pieces already cooked by the browning and the others that aren't cooked to be finished.

4. When the onions begin to brown, add the garlic and sauté for another minute, roughly. Add white wine and and boil until it is half reduced.

5. Add the spinach and undercooked chicken to the pan. Using tongs, turn them over to coat them with the juices in the pan. Continue to cook, turning and stirring often, until the spinach is wilted and the chicken cooked through, about 2 minutes.

 6. Turn off the heat and add some black pepper, the pile of cooked chicken pieces and the pesto (basil, olive oil, parmesan cheese sauce). Stir to combine. Drain the pasta put it in a large bowl. Add the cream to the sauté pan and stir well to combine. Add the contents of the pan to the bowl with the pasta and mix well.

In our recipe, we have integrated multiple nutritional necessities. We have a healthy balance of protein, vitamins, sugars, carbs, fiber, sodium, etc. With the chicken, this can come from “organically” grown chickens that have the ability to free roam and are fed and raised properly. Depending on where you buy the chicken and which brand you choose. Perdue wouldn’t be the best choice if you want chickens that were raised how nature intended. That’s the main source of protein in the meal.

 Basil, a delicious herb that is more than meets the eye. Researchers say that basil, not only good for pesto, but is also good at fighting bacteria, viruses, and chronic diseases. As well as the healthy benefits of basil, olive oil, another key ingredient in pesto is known to help reduce the chances of heart disease. Lastly, in the delicious pesto sauce is everyone’s favorite; garlic. Garlic has been around for centuries and has been used from food to theories of keeping you safe from vampires. Not a bad health benefit, if it were real, but garlic does however reduce blood pressure, fight bacteria, improve cholesterol levels, lots of antioxidants, and detoxifies metals in the body.

 Although pasta is known for it’s starches and carbohydrates, it actually has beneficial nutrients. Pasta does have a low GI (Glycemic Index) meaning it doesn’t raise glucose levels quickly. It also has folic acid, a key factor for pregnant women. Last, the carbohydrates that pasta withholds is helpful for athletic people. Most athletes will go on a massive carb intake before a game because the glucose from the carbs is a fuel for the body. The pasta releases the glucose energy slowly allowing the body to maintain energy much longer than something with artificial sugar.

 In all, the benefits of eating our meal would be a collected portion of every important dietary intake. Our meal is guaranteed to help you gain and maintain energy while cleansing your body and making you feel healthy.

I learned a lot this unit and I’ve enjoyed every second of it. One of my favorite topics to learn about is nutrition and how it affects the body, mainly because it’s something that is relevant to me everyday. I’ve recently been in the mood to watch “Food Inc.” all over again. Looks like I’ll be watching it later on Netflix.

I think, in relevance to Food Inc, the biggest problem about food in America is that we will do anything we can to produce cheap and unnatural foods to not fill our stomachs but fill our pockets. This goes for just about everything we consume in today’s society. I know that for companies like Perdue, they produce chickens that are genetically modified to grow bigger than the average chicken in nearly half the amount of days. If I remember, it takes about 72 days for a chicken to grow to about it’s fullest potential. The GMO (chickens in this sense) are modified to grow in about 42 days, thus producing more which makes the companies more money. This goes for many other foods as well. Some tomatoes are modified with fish DNA so they will stay fresh longer when refrigerated, that’s disgusting and unnatural. Other crops are modified to grow faster, be immune from pesticides, etc. Another problem with our government is that they make the foods that are nearly 100% natural to be much more expensive then the stuff that harms your body. When you can go through a McDonald’s “drive thru” and get a burger, fries, and a drink for about three bucks, compared to two apples at the same price, most people will pick the “drive thru” meal. Unfortunately, this results in health issues like high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity, etc. 

In all, I’ve enjoyed learning about diabetes, obesity, and everything else involved with food and the human body. It’s important to know these things because we will carry them the rest of our lives while we teach the next generation the importance.