final project post

Isralie Cous Cous 

Olive Oil-2 tbps

Parmasan cheese - sprinkle

Grape tomatos

pepper 

hot pepper flakes


Preparation 

First you heat the olive oil on a low heat

Add the cous cous to the dish along with the mixture



Cook until it gets hot, make sure to stir constantly

turn heat down when it looks ready 

put in bowl

Either refrigerate or eat :)

When this dish is made the serving size 3/4 cups has about 200 calories and 15 grams of protein


During this unit, i've learned a lot about various topics that relate to food. I learned about foods that can destroy my body and foods that can help my body. My role in the larger food system is to eat as healthy as possible. I mainly live on a green diet and eat a lof organic tofu, no meat. The biggest problem with our food system is that its too expensive to eat healthy food so a lot of people cant afford to live a healthy lifestyle. I don't want to change my diet maybe. Im not making any changes to my diet. 

Personal Reflection 
Eating healthy has been important to me since the start of 11th grade. This unit was interesting, I feel as though it helped people engage themselves and learn about foods that they would have never thought to eat before. Everyone always says that veganism is hard and disgusting. But it's delicious and one of the healthiest diets in the world. Most food places are becoming more vegan friendly, now vegan doesn't always mean healthy. For example Oreos are vegan but they're full of calories and fat. But many vegan foods are good, like what I made. It's full of protein and low in calories. I hope that this unit did as much for others as it did for me. 


iChat Image(1837478379)
iChat Image(1837478379)

Tucker Bartholomew's Lemony Pasta with Wilted Arugula

Lemony pasta with wilted arugula

Ingredients: (4 servings)

• coarse salt and ground pepper

• 3/4 pound short tubular pasta

• 3 ounces wild or baby arugula (3 cups)

• 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 3/4 cup grated pecorino cheese, plus more for serving

Steps: 

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta according to package instructions. In a large bowl, compbine arugula with lemon zest and juice; season with salt and pepper. Drain pasta and immediately add to arugula along with oil and cheese. Toss and season with salt and pepper. Serve topped with more cheese (if desired).

Analysis:

While the specificity behind its name would insinuate a unique history and background, "Lemony pasta with wilted arugula" is simply an alternative to both salad, and pasta. The ingredients are simple, and incorporate whole foods and processed foods. The pasta is a toss-up. Normally, pasta is considered a "whole food", yet many genetically modified strains of pasta are sold in supermarkets and local delis. The arugula is typically bought local, so it is almost definitely a "whole food." The lemons used for juice and zest are also whole foods. The only other potentially GMO besides the pasta is the olive oil (the cheese is also bought 'organically').

Overall, the meal is fairly healthy, albeit one or two exceptions. In one serving, you consume 443 calories, approximately 13 grams of fat (4 of which are saturated), 18 grams of protein, 65 grams in carbohydrates, and 3.1 grams of fiber. The meal would be great after a long run, or extended break in a day's meal. While 443 calories for one serving is a lot, the standard calorie count for a main dish at a meal is 510 cal. 

The environmental impact is very low. While the liquids may have been processed, the other foods are purchased locally at delis or farmers markets that sell food from local farms. I can proudly say that the meal is entirely American, and the majority of the meal only traveled approximately 100 miles (excuse the liquids). 

Depending on the quality of pasta, cheese, lemons, and other ingredients, the meals price varies. This dish costs approximately $22, however broken down over four people it only comes to around $5.50 per person (assuming only four people are eating. When you double the amount of people, you double the ingredients). 

The social ramifications are not steep. The farm that the arugula comes from is in Lancaster County, PA, and was purchased at a local farmers' market at Clark Park in West Philadelphia. The majority of the food that my family buys is from local farmers' markets, so Supreme Shop n' Bag would not be gaining profit. 



Personal Reflection:

Over the course of this unit, I’ve learned a great deal about the production and consumption of food. Furthermore, we have studied the cause and effect behind everyday foods - going into depth about the effects of sugars, carbohydrates, and fats. Placing myself into the larger food system, I realize that my footprint in the food market directly aligns with the footprint of other consumers - whether I like it or not. This is one of the biggest problems in our food market: while we can choose what to buy at the store, we do not choose where it comes from. The simplest solution to these problems would be to buy things locally, and support non-industrialized farming. For me, this would mean supporting the local farmers market, and purchasing food grown in Lancaster Country or other rural parts of Pennsylvania. Preferably non-genetically modified foods as well. While the impact would be small, I would hope these trends transcend my own food-footprint and into other communities. 

Unfortunately, it’s not easy to make these changes. Local food is often more expensive than industrial food because its price is based on quality, and the time it took to make. However, I am willing to try to make these changes. 




Screen Shot 2013-01-27 at 8.01.26 PM
Screen Shot 2013-01-27 at 8.01.26 PM

Food!!!!!! A Benchmark Targeting Health and Society

​Heya! Sasha Sapp here presenting my Food Unit Benchmark. This unit covered from individual health, to comunal health, to the food industry and its political role in the nation. My Benchmark has 3 parts: a "Food Rules" slide, a personal reflection of the unit and a recipe an analysis of my home family dish. Enjoy!

Part 1: Food Slide

SCISOC Slide.001
 

Part 2: Personal Reflection 

I can definitely say that this has been a very relevant and engaging unit in more ways than one. While the point of this class is to merge the relevance of science within everyday society, I feel like this unit really touches more on the role of the individual, and makes everyone accountable- in a way. Firstly, I've always been aware of the disparities in our world among food, access, resources, and other things. Yet, this unit has made me see these disparities a bit differently- I now see everything as more interconnected. For example,  I learned the roles that physicians and health care play in and the national debt from Doctor Brenner. It presented the idea of a very minute group controlling the system of out healthcare; furthermore, the idea of a very small group controlling an entire system, in general. That is the way that the world works. This also ties into the very few, powerful companies controlling our entire food systems. The degradation of food quality, and even how we obtain out food has been corrupted. Yet the furthest corner of my mind, I can see no other way. 

Firstly, there are over 7 billion people on this planet; of course, we don’t have the adequate resources to feed, clothe, and house them all. It’s just impossible. That being said, how exactly is it supposed to be that everyone is “entitled” or “should” have access to the better quality food. Regardless, there’s someone out there that doesn’t have access to food in general. While our system isn’t just in some aspects, it is adequate to feed people, in the moment. It can still be improved in the long run- maybe. I say “maybe” because we have no idea how we’ll be in the next 50 years, let alone 20, so what sort of substantial promises to better access and quality to basic resources can we make, when we cannot sufficiently supply all right now? I believe it is that problem that must be tackled, in the most practical of senses. What are to do with an ever growing population, and continuously decreasing supply of land and resources- the Earth is not ever-expendable. 

In all, it’ll take years to re-work system so firmly established- when there’s money being made, it’s hard to fight against it. Food/health is just another thing that has been turned into a product of capital gain, and for that reason, the system- while wrong and corrupt- will remain. Considering the socio-economic factors that dictate health and lifestyles only solidify that. I suppose my point overall is that in a grander scheme of things, its impractical to put the importance of “good food” over food at all- though I realize that we only have this argument in the first place because we are in a country that has the luxury to do so (please don’t mind, my thoughts are sort of rambling). It's not that I don’t care about having good quality foods, I just think that looking outside- and even still within, this country- having food in general is the more important problem to be tackled. America and other nations that are developed can afford to say, “people need better food!”. Though, a ridiculous amount of other countries do not have that luxury. I think we need to look beyond ourselves as a nation, just for a bit, and see that on a grander scheme of things, having food at all will be the questions for the next generations.



Part 3: Recipe and Analysis

Chicken Fried Rice

Serve 8:

Calories Per Serving: approximately 400


Preparation time: Around 10 minutes

Cooking Time: 1 hour


Boneless Chicken Breast (family pack)- (140 calories per slab)

White Rice (5 cups)- (242 calories per cup)

Onion (1) (44 calories)-

Green Pepper (1)(33 calories)-

Habanero Pepper (1)-

Pepper (1)-

Season Salt (1)-

Onion Salt (1)- 

Chicken broth (1 can) 94.55 calories-

 

Recipe:

  1. On a cutting board, slice the chicken slabs into assorted chunk sizes. Also, slice the onions and peppers.
  2. Setting the stove to high, bring a skillet to a low simmer with butter. 
  3. Once the butter is thoroughly melted, toss the chicken into the skillet and turn the burner low. Add the sliced peppers and onions as well as a few dashes of each seasoning. 
  4. Turn the pilot very low and sauté the chicken for 60 minutes (the low simmer allows for a well-marinated taste). At the same time, as the chicken broth for extra flavor.
  5. 40 minutes through the sautéing the chicken, fill a crocpot with water and add the 5 cups of rice to the water. Let the rice cook for 20 minutes 
  6. When the 60 minutes are through, combine the chicken and the rice. Eat and enjoy!


Analysis:

My meal as a whole is mostly healthy, and ecenomically sound, but it is mostly socially impactful. 

Processed vs. Whole: The majority of the foods in this meals are whole foods, other than the white rice and the chicken broth. The white rice would be is bleached to the make it look white- it would've been healthier to use brown rice. As the for the chicken broth, it is only a compilation of chicken extract and other flavors, therefore it is not a whole food. The peppers and onions, however, are whole foods.

Health/Nutrition: As stated above, the most unhealthy part of my meal would be the white rice and the chicken broth. While I wouldn't recommend eating white rice everyday, it is one of the most- if not the most- consumed product in the world. Most people in Asia eat rice with everything, and they are very healthy. The onions provide some Vitamin C and Fiber, and peppers are very high in Vitamin C. The peppers are very high in various vitamins and minerals but contribute no cholesterol. As for the seasoning salt they are low in calories, but high in sodium. This part of the recipe, you'd like to consume in moderation. But overall, the recipe has a lot more nutritional benefits than setbacks. 

Environmental: Just about all of the ingredients are harvested on US soils, so any effects that we see occur here. The production off the peppers can be taken into question, as the peppers that I bought were grown commercially. The peppers are sprayed with Ethephon, which is used to promote early ripening. However, the toxicity of the Ethephon is quite low, so the environmental impact isn't as bad as it could be.

Political/Economic: This meal cost a little over 8 dollars, which really isn't so bad at all especially compared to fast food. For this price, you could get around two small meals at a fats food place, but my meal was enough to bring into class, and still have enough at home. It's a great and tasty meal for families on a budget. On another note, the main company that gets my money in this case would be Perdue. Perdue is one of the largest producers of poultry in the nation and as we've learned in this unit, big companies control the food system.

Social: I can the most impactful purchase of all of my ingredients would be the chicken. The impact of the "The Chicken Market" is heavily controversial because of the treatment and conditions of the chickens. This is a reason that some people turn into vegetarians, because they've been informed of the conditions of the animals. Also, all of these purchases came from a supermarket.






 







Food, Food and more Food =)

Meat Sauce and Spaghetti Recipe: 


1.5 lbs of ground beef

2 packets of onion soup mix (one box usually contains two packets)

2 cloves of garlic

2 twenty-six oz bottles of traditional tomato sauce

1/4 cup of sugar

6 Italian sausages (approx. 12 oz)

1 tsp of worcestershire or A1

bay leafs

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp fresh ground peppercorn

1/4 cup of sugar

1 medium-sized bell pepper (green or red)

1 medium-sized yellow onion

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tbsp basil


1.  Begin to brown the ground beef in a skillet on medium high heat

2. While browning the meat, add one packet of onion soup mix and 1 tsp of Worcestershire or A1 sauce.

3. Add two bottles of 26 oz traditional tomato sauce to a slow cooker (crockpot), set on low heat. 

4. Mince two cloves (or as much as desired) of fresh garlic

5. Once the beef is browned, drain the meat, then add it to the crockpot with the sauce, stir well

6. Remove the casing on the Italian sausage. 

7. Separate the sausage meat the best you can and put the sausage into the skillet on medium-high heat and brown the sausage while chopping it with the spatula.

8. Add a few bay leaves, the salt, pepper and sugar to the sauce and stir well. 

9. Cut 1/2 of a medium-sized pepper into fine cubes and add it to the crockpot

10. Cut 1/2 of a medium-sized onion and add this to the crockpot also, stir well

11. Add the second packet of onion soup mix to the sauce, stir

12. Add garlic powder and basil to the sauce

13. Let the sauce simmer on low heat for about an hour while stirring occasionally. 

Spaghetti 

2 boxes (any kind desired) 

Pot

Water 

Strainer

Spoon 

1. Fill a big pot mostly with water and let it boil

2. Once the water comes to a rolling boil, gradually add the spaghetti noodles

3. Stir occasionally to make sure that the noodles do not stick to the bottom or the sides of the pot

4. Remove the pot from the heat once the noodles are soft and drain the water

5. Top with warm sauce


Because some people in the class do not it pork, we make two bowls of the sauce. One bowl we poured right in from the crock pot and the other bowl we put the rest of the sauce into another bowl and we added the sausage to eat for those of whom that can eat pork and want some. Then we put the rest of the onion soup mix into the bowl with the sauce and sausage. So when making this dish you might want to fix it based on who will be eating it. 

Analysis: 

The reason why I wanted to make this meal is because first of course I love, love love Spaghetti. But, it is a family thing, we eat it all the time. When my granddad was younger he use to eat it all the time with his family and he still eats it with his family now. So Sabrina and I wanted to combined. We used all fresh things to make this to try and help keep a good diet. 


Personal Reflection: 

During this unit I have learned a lot about what I “thought” I knew about food. Before it seems as if as students were not taught the “truth” about things because we were younger. But now the truth comes out it seems a bit not normal. I say that because of the food unit we just had. I use to think that some of the foods that we ate we some what healthy, but it turns out that nothing we eat is really “healthy”. If man made it then it is not good for the human body and man makes EVERYTHING. I feel like I do not really have a “role” in a larger food system because in a sense there is nothing that just one individual can do to change the way we eat as a whole. The biggest problem is our food system that nothing is purely organic and basically everything is GMO. Some changes I can make to make food choices is to not eat as much or drink as much soda as I would like to all the time. Most of the time I like to drink water but once I have a taste of soda I always want to drink more of it. I can just tell myself that I don’t need it and that it is not healthy for me to drink it as much. My family has changed the way we eat as a whole and I just have to make sure I stick to that way of eating. These changes would really have an “impact” per say It’s just a healthier way of living. Well, I guess you can say a healthier way of living would be the “impact”. Yes, I am willing to make these changes after seeing the video of how our meat/food is made. It just makes me want to change some of the things that I put into my body. 



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Screen Shot 2013-01-10 at 7.50.35 PM

Kimberly Parker, Food Project. Tag Food11E

Ingredients and Recipe for Baked Eggplant

 2 large eggplants(Organic) 

2 cups of Extra Virgin Olive Oil(Organic) 

1 cup Balsamic Vinegar 

Salt(Raw)/Pepper(Organic) to taste 

Fresh grated Locatelli Cheese 

Directions on how to cook ‘Baked Eggplant’

  Heat oven to 350 degrees. Remove the top and bottom of the eggplant using a knife. Slice eggplant from top to bottom (about 1/4 inch slices).

   In a large bowl, pour olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper over the eggplant and coat the liquid mixture evenly using your hands or a basting brush. Once evenly coated, place eggplant slices on a raised baking pan and bake uncovered until edges are crisp and center is tender about 35-45 minutes depending on thickness of each slice.  

Grate fresh Locatelli Cheese over the top and ENJOY. 

Recipe Analysis

  Approximately what percent of this meal is processed vs. whole food? -0% of this meal is processed. These are all whole foods. The eggplants are whole foods because they were grown on a farm and not tampered with any chemicals or growth hormones. The olive oil is a whole food because it is organic and not processed with any chemicals or additives in which I cannot pronounce. The balsamic vinegar is not processed because vinegar is naturally oxidized from fermented organic grapes. I used raw salt and organic pepper so neither one of those ingredients are processed foods.The fresh Locatelli cheese is also not processed because the cheese comes from cultured bacteria and goat’s milk only. (There is a process to make and produce these products but I personally do not consider them to be “processed foods”)

 •Health/Nutrition There is 33 calories, 1 gram of fat, 13 grams of sugar, 6 grams of protein, and 11 grams of sodium per eggplant. There is 1909 calories, 216 grams of fat, and 4 mg of sodium per cup of olive oil. There is 224 calories, 38 grams of sugar, and 1 gram of protein per cup of balsamic vinegar. There is 6,976 mg of sodium per tbsp of salt. For pepper, there is 16 calories, 3 mg of sodium and 2 grams of dietary fiber per tbsp. For Locatelli cheese, per ounce, there is 110 calories, 8 grams of fat, 30 grams of cholesterol, 55 mg of sodium and 7 grams of protein. If a person was to eat this meal everyday, depending on how much salt they used, it could create high blood pressure. There is a lot of olive oil in this dish and if someone were to consume that much oil everyday, they would gain weight and possibly clog arteries. 

•Environmental The eggplants I bought came from California and the rest of them I believe came from Pennsylvania because I purchased them at a local organic shop that only carries local ingredients in order to support local businesses. The eggplant traveled the furthest. The eggplant was organically grown and all of my ingredients are also organic. •Political/Economics This meal altogether costed me $17.00. This compares to fast food because fast food is much cheaper. It’s cheaper because I don’t have to buy all the ingredients when I eat fast food to make it, I just buy that one single item and it comes out to be much cheaper rather than preparing a whole meal. The items in my meal are regulated by making sure they are all actually organic and not processed. The small businesses involved are local organic food markets and the farm in California where the eggplant was grown. 

•Social There are no social ramifications of my meal choice. The eggplant I bought from the local organic market directly purchased the vegetable from the farmer in California. The olive oil I bought from the market probably directly bought the olive oil from another local market that got it from an organic distributer that bought it from an organic olive farm where the olive oil is made. It would have been cheaper for me to buy eggplant seeds and grow it myself, but it was more convenient for me to go to the market and purchase it.

Personal Reflection: 

During this unit of science and society we focused mainly on stem cell research, America’s food system, obesity/diabetes rates, and how the food system is linked to obesity and diabetes. In the beginning of this unit, Mr. Best introduced the idea of stem cell research, I had no idea about what this concept was. While studying stem cell research, I learned the pros and cons to using stem cells in research and cures. In the assignment, “Intro to Stem Cells” I got to discover what kind of stem cells can be used on different parts of the body. For example, I learned where scientists can find somatic cells in brain tissue, teeth, skin, liver, gut, blood, and muscle tissues. It was interesting because Mr. Best also showed us two sides of stem cells research, why people think it’s a good thing and why it might be considered a bad thing to do. We did come to a conclusion as a class that stem cell research doesn’t mean killing babies. 

The second half of the unit is where the class focused in on food systems. We started off with a warm up and we were asked to write down a few things that was can do personally to live longer. The next assignment let me discover how much overweight America really is. I learned that in about 20 years, America went from between >10% and 15% to >or equal, all the way to 30% overweight. That means about 30% of Americans are overweight. After learning about America’s obesity rates, I learned about the disease that goes hand in hand with obesity, diabetes. The diabetes rate is rapidly increasing along with the obesity rate. I discovered that the a lot of the areas that are impoverished are also overweight, this is because no one in the area can afford healthy food. Healthy food has become more expensive than fatty, high processed foods like McDonald’s. This is because the food system has become skewed. The “whole foods” are so much more expensive because they are real foods rather than fake, this is the biggest problem in our food system. I learned that I could make a lot of changes to my food choices. I need to stay away from processed foods altogether because people consume so many chemicals everyday and it’s unnatural and very bad for us to be eating on a daily. If everyone stopped eating processed and fatty foods, the obesity and diabetes rate would drop down. Personally, I am willing to make these changes if it means living a healthier life. Food Rule Slide:
screenshotfoodrule
screenshotfoodrule

Food Benchmark

Potato Salad Recipe

Step 1:

Clean 6 potatoes 

Step 2:

Peal the 6 potatoes 

Step 3: 

Boil the 6 potatoes 

Step 4:

After boiling the potatoes, cut the potatoes anyway you like 

Step 5:

Get a big size bowl, perfect size for your servings.

Step 6:

Jar of light mayo (of your choice) 

Step7:

Boil 5 eggs

Step 8:

Peal shell off of eggs

Step 9: 

Cut eggs (or put into grinder) 

Step 10:

Pour the cut potatoes and cut boiled eggs in to bowl

Step 11:

Scoop hole jar of mayo, or half jar of mayo into the bowl then stir

Step 12:

After have two onions cut and pour into bowl

Step 13: 

Stir ingredients together

Step 14: 

Your choice of seasoning but if not add salt and pepper 

Step 15:

Put in refrigerators for and 1 hour then ready to serve


Reflection


I believe that there are a lot of problems with our country's food system. Our country consists of so much unhealthy variety of foods. Also how people can get their foods that people have. A lot of our cities are obese because there aren't a lot of markets available for people to get real food from. Instead we have a lot of corner stores that have unhealthy snacks for people to eat. If those stores consist of a lot of market food in there, then people would have a reason to buy healthy snacks. I see the biggest problem with our food system is, how food is advertised. If places advertise healthier food, and create more markets, instead of prisons, and disciplinary schools. Having more markets benefit better living. In my neighborhood, I have a market 3 blocks from my house. Within those 3 blocks, there are about 10 corner stores that I encounter. I think that eliminating the problem will result in a better solution. This unit has made me think about what I eat and where my foods came from. Since out unit I have changed my eating habits. I have been eating better then before for 3 weeks. I feel a lot better and I think that it impacts my life because it has made me feel better and helped me.

 


Analysis

Our potato salad is very simple; 6 potatoes, 12 boiled eggs, a jar of mayonnaise, an onion, some salt and pepper. The potatoes were most likely grown in Idaho or Washington which are two of the biggest potatoes growing states. They are then put on a truck and driven to Pennsylvania and put on the supermarket shelves. Potatoes are a wonderful food because they are almost fat free, cholesterol free, and sodium free. They are also an excellent source of nutrients, high in potassium, fiber, Vitamin C, Vitamin B6, and protein. In addition, they are low calorie. As for the eggs, they were most likely grown on a farm somewhere in Pennsylvania then shipped to the supermarket. Most likely, the farm was a chicken farm which specialized in the mass production of eggs. Different growth hormones were probably given to the chickens to make the eggs produce quicker. Eggs are a good source of Riboflavin, Vitamin B12 and Phosphorus, and a very good source of Protein and Selenium. However, they are high in saturated Fat, and very high in cholesterol. The mayonnaise originates from Spain but now it’s created all over the world with a simple mix of oil, egg yolk, and vinegar or lemon juice depending on your taste. For this recipe we used Hellmann's light mayo which has half the calories, only 35, and uses cage-free eggs. Onions are mainly grown in Idaho and Washington but some are grown in Pennsylvania. Little growth hormones are used in growing onions because they grown very easily. They are low in calorie and fat yet high in fiber. The salt comes from a salt mine or is made from sea water and the pepper is made from a tropical plant grown native to India. Salt and pepper is low in calorie but obviously high in sodium. The total calorie count of a serving of potato salad is about 350 calories per cup. They only part of the meal that is processed is the mayonnaise because we chose to use Hellman’s mayo instead of homemade. The meal was very cheap, the most expensive part was the mayonnaise which was about $6. This could be because the mayo traveled the farthest or it takes the most to produce. Unfortunately, we could not find a listing for where Hellman’s mayo is produced so we do not know how far it traveled to get to the supermarket. As for the other ingredients, they could all be home grown expect for the salt and pepper. This would be safer because there would be no growth hormones or pesticides but the process would take so long that it would just be easier to buy the products from the store. Most of the products were probably grown in Pennsylvania or a nearby state anyway, so it doesn’t take much to ship them to the supermarket.





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Screen shot 2013-01-27 at 3.18.53 PM

Bethany's food benchmark

Recipe
Chocolate Breakfast Pudding
Makes 2 servings

1/2 avocado
1/2 frozen banana
1/2 cup of milk
1/4 cup of ice
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of honey
pinch of cinnamon

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend on high until it is thick, creamy, and smooth.

Analysis
Of the ingredients 90% if them are whole foods and only the cocoa powder and the cinnamon is nonorganic. The raw milk came from Chambersburg, PA. The avocados came from San Juan Bautista, CA. The Bananas came from Ecuador meaning it traveled the farthest at about 2630 miles. There is about 20 grams of sugar in one serving and about 125 calories. Over all nether of those numbers are a lot and one can add less honey. If you ate nothing but this meal you would die of malnourishment because there isn’t enough fat and other stuff in it. It wouldn’t have any negative affects as long as you didn’t eat to much of it and ate other food as well. The raw milk cost $4 for a half of a gallon, though this is a lot the milk is fresh and is a small business. The cows are raised organically and are grass fed. The milk is also raw and is subject to more tests then is required by PA state law. They then make biweekly drop offs to different locations where people can go and pick up what they ordered. The avocados and bananas cost around $1.50, not sure exactly because they come as part of a box with different produce. The produce comes from different organic farms, is then put into select boxes and delivered to one's door.    

Personal Reflection 
One of the biggest problems with are food system is what food is made available to people. This deals with not only the location of good supermarkets but income levels as well. Sometimes it seems that people do not have a choice when it comes to what they eat because low quality food can be found almost everywhere and is cheep while it is harder to find high quality food and when one does it is usually expensive. My role in the food system is that stores sell what people will buy so by myself buying healthy alternatives, though it won’t seem like much, will slowly show stores that people want high quality food and so it will hopefully become more available to society as a whole. The problem isn’t just that people are not eating healthy but that the system sometimes prevents them from doing so. Some of the changes I should make to my diet is variety, specifically with different fruits and vegetables. Also I need to eat less of some things and more of others to balance things out more. Over all I don’t think this unit will affect how I eat because I already knew most of the information we talked about in class.        

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Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 12.31.16 PM

Media Fluency

The inspiration behind my slide was myself. I designed it based on the things who make me who I am and what I like. Christianity and peace make me who I am. I chose to put my name in blue because my favorite color is blue. I chose the other colors because they describe my attitude about the words. I tried not to make it so complex, but making it “Media at a Glance”. Because of that, I also wanted to leave empty space and use the color black as my background in order for the colors to pop out.
Slide
Old Slide
Screen Shot 2013-01-26 at 8.45.13 PM
Screen Shot 2013-01-26 at 8.45.13 PM
New Slide 

Upon going through the process of critiquing others work, I've decided to change my slide altogether. The inspiration behind my new slide was 1 Corinthians 13:4 and 6-7, the definition of love. I chose this as my inspiration because it describes what I try to posses. I tried to use the empty space concept from the presentation Zen article. I learned not to clutter my slide with a lot of ideas, but to keep it simple and presentable.  

Water Stream Teen Magazine Publication


Water Stream Teen Magazine Publication

please leave comments for us because we look forward to your reactions!

When I started teaching this amazing group of students at SLA, I knew that we'd do some great work together. I wanted to make sure that my students had authentic experiences as readers and writers.  So this quarter, we have worked together to create this teen magazine.  Our hope is that this project will inspire other classes to create similar work.  If you like our work, please share it widely and leave us comments because we are eager to hear from you. Thank you for checking out our work.   

My student, Rose did a great job documenting this process, an portion of which you will find below:

At the beginning of our first quarter Ms. Rami explained to us how she wanted us to do “real” learning instead of “fake” learning. A common theme in high school english is that the teachers will assign their students a book to read and a large portion of the students will only read a little of the book but pretend that they did. If there is no real reading than classroom discussions become fake and mundane. We as a class wanted to be real readers. The kind of readers that challenge ourselves and motivate others to do the same. Another aspect of “real learning” is writing. This quarter we have focussed on making our writing real and relevant which is where this magazine comes into play. At first the magazine was just an idea but then it turned into this amazing project.


During one of our first classes of the 2nd Quarter Ms. Rami introduced the project to us. She had us brainstorm different ideas that we would want to write our articles on. The following week we sat around in a circle and had a class discussion on ideas. Some of the braver more confident people jumped at the chance to share their ideas. Meanwhile the more hesitant listened from the side. When someone shared their idea either Ms. Rami or other students would recomend other things that they could add to their idea making it something more specific or letting it go a little deeper. Eventually the shy bystanders started to share their ideas and there began to be a sense of what this magazine would end up looking like. It was great to see the ideas float around and begin to form into their full glory. Our assignment at the end of the class was to decide the final topic that we wanted to work on and if their were other people we could work with.

Once each of us had come up with our solid ideas and figured out if it was going to be a partner article or not we started to learn how to write articles in an appealing way. We read “Saying No to College” at our tables in class and took out parts that stood out to us. Then as a group we talked about those parts and how we can implicate them in our articles. We also talked about what parts we didn’t like which is an important part of a discussion. A really interesting thing that we did was we got the opportunity to skype in with Kristen Graham, a Pulitzer Prize winner, about her experience as a journalist. We all got the opportunity to ask her questions about how she gets the stories, what it is like to have a career as a journalist. From her we were able to get the advice we needed to really get started.

A big part of any magazine is making it turn into a well written, visually appealing piece of work. In order to make that possible a couple of people needed to volunteer to do some extra work. There were a couple different roles that needed to be filled. We needed someone to make a name for the magazine, copy editors, photo and art editors, visual layout designer, and someone to get the word out to everyone. Lastly we needed a couple people to oversee all of those roles. It was surprisingly easy to get all of those rolls filled. The simplicity of that showed how interested and excited everyone is about this project.

In the last stages we have a deadline for the rough draft to be due. The classes leading up to the deadline have been fully work periods in which the different people can work together to get the article ready for edits.

As a part of the editing process we were given a sheet to fill out.  The sheet needed to be filled out by the lit lab that we have during lunch periods. The Lit Lab is a place where a couple of stellar students can help out other students by proof reading their writing work.

Earth Stream Teen Magazine




Earth Stream Teen Magazine Publication Link

please leave comments for us because we look forward to your reactions!

When I started teaching this amazing group of students at SLA, I knew that we'd do some great work together. I wanted to make sure that my students had authentic experiences as readers and writers.  So this quarter, we have worked together to create this teen magazine.  Our hope is that this project will inspire other classes to create similar work.  If you like our work, please share it widely and leave us comments because we are eager to hear from you. Thank you for checking out our work.   

My student, Rose did a great job documenting this process, an portion of which you will find below:

At the beginning of our first quarter Ms. Rami explained to us how she wanted us to do “real” learning instead of “fake” learning. A common theme in high school english is that the teachers will assign their students a book to read and a large portion of the students will only read a little of the book but pretend that they did. If there is no real reading than classroom discussions become fake and mundane. We as a class wanted to be real readers. The kind of readers that challenge ourselves and motivate others to do the same. Another aspect of “real learning” is writing. This quarter we have focussed on making our writing real and relevant which is where this magazine comes into play. At first the magazine was just an idea but then it turned into this amazing project.


During one of our first classes of the 2nd Quarter Ms. Rami introduced the project to us. She had us brainstorm different ideas that we would want to write our articles on. The following week we sat around in a circle and had a class discussion on ideas. Some of the braver more confident people jumped at the chance to share their ideas. Meanwhile the more hesitant listened from the side. When someone shared their idea either Ms. Rami or other students would recomend other things that they could add to their idea making it something more specific or letting it go a little deeper. Eventually the shy bystanders started to share their ideas and there began to be a sense of what this magazine would end up looking like. It was great to see the ideas float around and begin to form into their full glory. Our assignment at the end of the class was to decide the final topic that we wanted to work on and if their were other people we could work with.

Once each of us had come up with our solid ideas and figured out if it was going to be a partner article or not we started to learn how to write articles in an appealing way. We read “Saying No to College” at our tables in class and took out parts that stood out to us. Then as a group we talked about those parts and how we can implicate them in our articles. We also talked about what parts we didn’t like which is an important part of a discussion. A really interesting thing that we did was we got the opportunity to skype in with Kristen Graham, a Pulitzer Prize winner, about her experience as a journalist. We all got the opportunity to ask her questions about how she gets the stories, what it is like to have a career as a journalist. From her we were able to get the advice we needed to really get started.

A big part of any magazine is making it turn into a well written, visually appealing piece of work. In order to make that possible a couple of people needed to volunteer to do some extra work. There were a couple different roles that needed to be filled. We needed someone to make a name for the magazine, copy editors, photo and art editors, visual layout designer, and someone to get the word out to everyone. Lastly we needed a couple people to oversee all of those roles. It was surprisingly easy to get all of those rolls filled. The simplicity of that showed how interested and excited everyone is about this project.

In the last stages we have a deadline for the rough draft to be due. The classes leading up to the deadline have been fully work periods in which the different people can work together to get the article ready for edits.

As a part of the editing process we were given a sheet to fill out.  The sheet needed to be filled out by the lit lab that we have during lunch periods. The Lit Lab is a place where a couple of stellar students can help out other students by proof reading their writing work.

Symone's Food Benchmark :)

Taco Recipe: (8-10 people)

Ingredients:

2 packets of ground turkey

2 packs taco seasoning packet 

1 pack of Whole grain taco shells

1 pack of Shredded Cheese

1 head of lettuce or pack of shredded lettuce

Salsa:

3 tablespoons of onion (chopped)

2 small cloves of garlic (minced)

3 tomatoes (peeled,chopped,seeds removed)

2 hot chile peppers (finely chopped)

2 1/2 table spoons of cilantro (minced)

1 1/2 tablespoons of lime juice

Salt and pepper

Guacamole:

3 avocados

1 tablespoon of lime juice

1/2 cups of red onion (chopped)

1 tablespoon of cilantro (chopped)

1 jalapeño pepper (seeded,chopped)

1 glove of garlic (minced)

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/8 teaspoon of black pepper

1 tomato (seeded,diced,)


Steps for Guacamole:

Cut avocados in half and remove seeds.

Scoop the avocado into a bowl and mash together with all the other ingredients.

Stir and cover.

Steps for Salsa:

Boil two cups of water.

Put chopped onion and garlic in a strainer.

Pour bowling water over onion and garlic.

Combine onions and garlic with other ingredients.

Chill for 2-4 hrs.

Steps for Meat:

Turn on pilot to highest degree and place a large sauce pan on it. Allow to heat up.

Once hot, place ground turkey into the pan. Brown on both sides.

Use a fork to break meat apart.

Let sit until golden brown.

Drain off liquid.

Add a little water,less than 1/2 cups.

Add both packs of taco seasoning and stir.

Let simmer.


Sources:

http://southernfood.about.com/od/salsarecipes/r/bl40212k.htm

http://southernfood.about.com/od/diprecipes/r/guacamole-recipe.htm

Analysis:

The only processed part of this meal is the ground turkey,tacos seasoning packets and the soft whole grain shells. So maybe 50% of this meal is processed. Everything in the guacamole and salsa was fresh/whole food.To give a round estimate, this dish is less than 300 calories. I think all the sugars in this dish are natural because i didn't add any sugar. Fruit and veggies are good for the body. Ground turkey is light but somewhat filling so you won't be left hungry. I do think this meal may contain too much salt to eat everyday.I know for a fact that ground turkey is produced here in the US. I think the tomatoes and avocados I used were commercially grown, I didn't get them out of the organic section.At the market the groceries rang up to less than $40. You could problem get a least 4 meals from a fast food restaurant for that price. ShopRite made money off of this meal because that were I brought all my ingredients from. The brand of ground turkey I brought was Butterball so they made some money off this meal. From researching I found that Shoprite gets some of their tomatoes from NJ, which isn't too far away. When you grow tomatoes yourself they tend to be more red and have more flavor. I did know that the tomatoes I brought were a lighter red and not a deeper red.

Reflection:

I think simply put I'm a consumer in our food system. I buy what I like and whats easy not necessarily what is best for my health, as many do. There is where the problem lays.It is easier to grab a hamburger from McDonald's than it is to go to the supermarket and then make a salad at home. It takes extended effort and time to buy or cook food that is better for ones health. Easier more convenient food is always cheaper than food that is healthy. As we learned in class there are some areas where supermarkets are more than a mile away. People today don't have as much time or money anymore.Thus the good stuff is inaccessible. When the obvious healthy food is unavailable people turn to the things that seem to be healthy. Stuff with labels that say “all natural” and “light/lite”. We may think these things are benefiting us when in actuality they aren’t as healthy as we may think.

As for me personally I try to be conscience about the food I eat but not overly conscience to the point where I become obsessed. More recently I have been eating less fast food and making more food at home. Changes in diet almost always bring results either for the better or for the worst. Eating less fast food will most likely result is less risk of things such as obesity or high blood pressure. One change I’m working on is drinking more water and less juice. This could definitely lower my risk of having diabetes. It may be a struggle but it’s worth the effort in the end.

Screen Shot 2013-01-26 at 10.31.32 AM
Screen Shot 2013-01-26 at 10.31.32 AM

Food Benchmark

Screen Shot 2013-01-10 at 10.02.01 PM
Screen Shot 2013-01-10 at 10.02.01 PM
Self Reflection : 

 In the spot we are now as a society we are pressured into thinking that eating greens and being healthy is the only way to if you want to live longer. However that is countered by the daily reminder of how “amazing” fast food is. So how are we supposed to react to this? So are we suppose to fall prey to those daily advertisements of that perfect juicy burger, with a side of crispy French fries, and a fresh cool soda on the side? How is it that we are so pressured into finding healthy ways to eat and live when we aren’t able to get away from those type of advertisements. Are we really the ones who are supposed to just learn to say no? Or are we going to always put up that healthy diet for next week?

 Even though people like to blame those advertisements I think that what you put in your mouth, chew, and swallow is all up to you. Nobody is forcing you to eat fat, greasy foods. You are the one choosing to ignore all the side effects that all those meals will give you over time. In the end you are only really hurting yourself right? So why blame others for what you choose to do or eat? Now, I’m not saying that eating fast food is the worst thing in the world or that you shouldn’t eat it at all. All Im saying is that if you’re going to eat it constantly you shouldn’t blame advertisements. You should be able to realize that if you want to live a healthy lifestyle it is up to you to make those healthy choices.

 With this I feel like I myself need to change my choices on the different types of foods I eat. Even though my mom cooks home cooked meals every night I still choose to sometimes order out. So this goes to show that it will always be up to you to make your own choices and that even though those not so healthy choices will be up in your way you should be strong enough to say no and take the healthy route. I think that once I’m able to do that for a majority of the time then I will be able to live the healthy life. 

Link To Recipe : ) 

Rugeiatu cook book

Time : 1 hour

Materials :


Pot 


Bowls 


Solve


Knife


Cooking spoon


Ingredients

1-2 8oz pack of frozen cassava leaf. ( Get this from an local Africa market) 

1 smoked chopped Turkey 

Raw cropped chicken 

Bonely (dry fish ) 

1/2 regular drinking cup of palm oil 

1 tea spoon black peppers

2 tea spoon salt

1 onion chopped 

1 sweet pepper

2-4 maggi 

6 quarts of water in cups 

4-6 HOT peppers 



1) Add 6 quarts of water in cups in a big cook pot than add the chicken. Boil the chickens  for about 30 minutes. ( since the chicken is raw it would be best if it bowls by itself than add the rest of the meat later. This way the rest of the mat wouldn't be too over cooked. 

2) After 30 minutes, add 1/2 tea spoon of salt and black peppers with 2 maggi. 

3) Add the turkey, dry fish 

4) Now wait for about 5-10 minutes , before adding the 1-2 8 oz pack of frozen cassava leaf ( It’s does not matter wether or not the cassava leafs are frozen. ). Cover the pot. 

5) Since in this case the cassava are frozen, wait for 10-15 before opening the pot to see wether or not the cassava leaf melt. 

6) If the cassava is melt and the cooking spoon is able to stir the soup without it being stuck through the cassava leafs, you can now add the sweet peppers, onion.

 4-6 HOT peppers. ( blend the peppers, onions and sweet peppers together before adding) 

7) Close the pot for about 15 minutes so the cassava can cook with the rest of the other things that in there and the spice that were added to it, This way the cassava leaf would have the taste of the spice. 

8) After 15 minutes is over, stir the soup and taste it, if there’s not enough spice or season add 2 more maggi to the soup, or if it needs a bit more season ass 1 more. However, if the spice and seasoning are over, add 1 cup of water, this way it would make the soup less seasoning. But if the season and spice are not too salty or less salt you are good. 

9) Now, after completing step 8, cover the soup for another 5-10minutes, in this process lower the solve a bit .

10) Open the pot and stir the soup, this will proven the soup from burning. Taste the soup again, to check if the seasoning is not too much. 

11) After tasting, add 1/2 cup of palm red to the soup, ( make sure you are careful while adding, if you are making a smaller dish than this add a smaller amount than this and it you a person that like a lot of oil in your cooking add more oil. Stir for about 20 seconds. 

12) Close the pot and leave the solve on for another 5-10 minuets so the palm oil could reach everywhere in the soup and also get the spice. 

13) After 10 minutes, open the pot and taste the soup, if you like how it taste, turn the solve off and you are now done. But if you do not like the taste of the soup, you can add more spice o add more water to take the spice out. 

14) In this case, we love the way it taste, therefore we are done cooking. 

Analysis  

Cassava leaf is a common soup that is originally from an West African country, Liberia. Many people love the taste of it and there’s so many ways you can make it. Sometimes, some people like their cassava leaf bitter, so they add a leaf to it and this leaf is call (feva leaf). It makes the cassava leaf make like a stronger taste than it usually have. Also the leaf is healthy for you, so some people like to eat it with the cassava. Cassava leaf is leafs from the Cassava that is planted, and before the cassava comes out of the ground or in a stage to ready, there’s leaf that is on the stems. 

Other things that can be added to the cassava could be processed, depending where you are living. Whenever my mother used to make this dish back in Liberia, everything in the soup were whole, because people planted them and have farms where their crops and animals would grow until it's ready to be eating. Since we are not in Africa, the chicken and turkey could be a processed animals and this can be the only “unhealthy” nutritions that is in the soup. The rest of the ingredient are offers planted unit fulling growth. We brought our ingredient from our local African market, which makes this dish expensive, even in a restaurant. The reason is, like I said before in West Africa, Liberia there isn’t a lot of chemicals or resources that able to make our crops grow faster than usually or the animals don't grow as big than it's time period so people have to wait until their products are fully ready to eat or sell.
 The African markets buy goods from business women and men who export goods to America from Africa to sell in america because most Africans don't like the way american process their products. Therefore the african food would be more expensive however it's worth it because there’s isn’t “fat” in the products its all nurture and “healthy”.  For example cassava could be cause to cure some virus in west Africa, such as chicken pots. And the cassava leafs that is growing here probably wouldn’t because they're would be chemicals added to it and in Africa there wouldn’t be.
 I Personally experience this when I had chicken pots , the raw cassava in the village when I went to go and visited my grand mother. Since we were in the village there wasn’t a doctor there so they couldn't easily give me shot or something to cure it quickly as the once in the city. The way I was cure , my grand ma would grind the raw cassava leaf  and rub it on my body and after some days it went away. If I try that with a cassava that is growing in america, it wouldn’t work because there’s other chemical being added to it therefore it change the entire health of the leaf and when people eat it it give you fat because it’s not naturally grown . 

Reflection

This unit I learned a lot about process food and whole food. Which allows me to understands the importances of healthy food and “unhealthily” food. Depending on where you live and how you are used to eating, effects your diet. Since I am used to eating mostly African food and whole food, my body doesn’t over load or gain a lot of weight over the year. However, since I started to eat junk and processed food my body started to change overtime and I felt heavy than before. Most food companies in america makes their foods with chemicals, this way they would make more money and save more time. Eating African food,  that are whole food doesn’t not helps my body to gain weight, also I would rather eat african food than most food in America. Due to my lifestyle as an american now, I sometimes go out to eat with my friends, my family and most other Africans families does not go out to eat, no matter what occasion it is. There’s always a home cooked meal and the indigents are mostly whole food depending what they are cooking. The food in america creates more obese and over weighted people , the people themselves knows that the food isn’t good for the body, however, since it is cheap and America is a hard country to live in taking care of families is hard to eat “healthy”. This make people to just keeps buying the “unhealthy” food that is surrounding them, not only that is is cheap, they grew up eating these food therefore they can not help but to eat these food on a day by day . 

Screen Shot 2013-01-15 at 9.00.11 AM
Screen Shot 2013-01-15 at 9.00.11 AM

Terrance Food BM

Food Slide
Recipe

 

Ingredients:

·         ½ Ayco Mini Me watermelon

·         1 Ayco cantaloupe

·         1 Peruvian Mango

·         1 cup of rivoira frutta blueberries

·         1 cup of rivoira frutta raspberries

·         1 freshquest honeydew

·         1 pack of “USA Florida’s Best Berries” Gulf Sweet strawberries

·         3 organic Trader Joe’s kiwis

·         1 container of Marzetti cream cheese fruit dip

 

1.       Skin mangoes, remove pits and dice into manageable portions

2.       Remove the husks from the strawberries pits and dice into manageable portions

3.       Skin the honeydew pits and dice into manageable portions

4.       Skin cantaloupe pits and dice into manageable portions

5.       Skin kiwis and slice horizontally into multiple pieces

6.       Distribute blueberries throughout serving container

7.       Mash raspberries (blend for serving sauce)

8.       Cut watermelon in half and remove melon from the hard outer layer then dice into manageable portions

9.       Pour all fruits into a serving container and toss until thoroughly mixed

10.   VOILA!

 



 Analysis

As soon as this project was introduced, I knew a lot of people would bring in pasta or chicken- typical things. So, I brought something that I, and my family, eat a lot- fruit salad. Fruit is a natural sugar that your body can convert into energy easily. I eat these fruits practically every day, but if it were the only thing I ate, I’d probably weigh around 100 pounds. We didn’t use any artificial sweeteners or products, just fruit. Prior to introducing the concept of utilizing organic foods compared to regular, imported foods, I stocked up on lots of fruit in order to make my fruit salad. Then, we learned how environmentally friendly, more natural and healthier organic foods were. After the activity, I took a look at where my fruit came from. My cantaloupe and honeydew came from Guatemala. My mangoes came from Peru. My berries came from Italy. I thought about the environmental impact all that transportation must have by importing fruit halfway across the globe. So, I sought to buy more friendly fruits, which are usually organic. The strawberries and kiwis that I bought were organic, and cost a lot more than the traditional strawberries and kiwis would have cost. I didn’t mind much though, mainly because I wasn’t the one buying the fruit but also because I know the benefit of buying fruit from local business rather than from larger fruit distributors. My strawberries come from Florida and are grown by the workers of “Gulf Sweet Inc.” They acknowledge that growing fruit isn’t just a way to make money; it’s a way to provide people with a food that is essential to how they eat healthily. Their motto, and a great one to live by, is “Friends and partners, not buyers and sellers.”





Reflection


     The one thing I’ve realized, more than learned, is that I am a mere dust particle in the galaxy of the food system. I hate to say it but my role in the entire food system is so insignificant, I could buy all organic food for the rest of my life and not a single perspective of the economy or environment would change. That doesn’t mean I choose to buy McDonalds everyday, but my role as it relates to others and those who produce what I buy isn’t really noticeable. This sole reason led me to realize that the biggest problem with our food system is that not enough people care. There are too many people that feel exactly like I do. My mindset is that I’m just one person, and if 1 million people say I’m just one person, not a single thing changes for our food system for the better. Those corporations who believe it’s ok to maintain unhealthy food conditions will continue to do so, and those who flood artificial growth hormones will also continue to do so. The problem is us, not just one of us, all of us. One thing I could change though is care more about where my food comes from. Again, this won’t make that large of a change, but it has to start somewhere. For example, I love beef jerky, and one kind of jerky that I like is coming from Asia. I could probably choose to eat a different brand and/or flavor of jerky because I realize there’s quite a bit of pollution and money spent to get that much beef jerky from Asia to America. Being that jerky isn’t that large of a part of my diet; I can probably make the change to stop buying foods being imported from so far away.


Matt Rinaldi and Taahir Henry - Food Project

Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 10.46.24 AM
Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 10.46.24 AM
Recipe
- ​Lettuce
Carrot
Walnuts
Cucumber
Eggplant
- Sweet soy sauce
- Pineapple 
- Tomatoes

Analysis
We decided to make a salad, and it will be use mostly whole food. The only food with a direct label on it will be the soy sauce. We decided to use the rule “eat your colors” when coming up with this meal.  It will cost approximately 9 dollars to make.  Compared to fast foods, it will contain a lot less processed ingredients.   This meal could  be survived on,  it has ingredients from several of the major food groups that we depend on to stay alive.  The salad will contain vital proteins, vitamins, minerals, salt, and sugar.  There will be approximately 150-200 calories per serving. The meal will be enough to feed 5-6 people.    The lettuce came from florida.  We believe that the majority of the ingredients came from american farms, and we know that they were commercially grown.  In the long run, using mostly commercial ingredients for dishes like these may negatively affect the government. The fuel required to transport goods cross country / globally, usually involves emissions that are bad for air quality and the atmosphere.

Commercially grown carrots and Walnuts follow the same pros and cons of other commercially grown food; nuts specifically. 

Lettuce: 

Since lettuce is a vegetable, it is obviously first grown at a farm. Farmers produce crops to sell to big companies for packaging and distributing. There are a lot of steps to take for farmers to get their yield to the supermarket. From tending the soil to sowing the seeds and finally harvesting their crops, there are many steps to take to yield a successful harvest. As they stock up on vegetables, big companies either hire or make deals with them to produce their harvest at supermarkets for the general public. The vegetables go through a cleansing process to preserve its condition. Then, they are packaged up by machines or workers to sell.

Walnuts:

Similar to Lettuce, walnuts must first be grown (from trees) to harvest later on in August. By using complex tree shaking machines, they are able to harvest walnuts by the thousands in a matter of a few hours. Most walnuts go through a quick and easy processing phase. The husk is removed since it is not edible and the nuts are dehydrated to optimum 8% moisture level. This is also to protect and preserve the quality of the nuts. Finally, they are packaged and sent to whatever food retailer.

Sweet Soy Sauce:
Like many other condiments, sweet soy sauce is made ina  similar fashion. It has the same base as regular (salty) soy sauce, meaning that it has the same base ingredient: soy and wheat. Unlike soy sauce, it is not fermented and has various ingredients that I don't know since it's hard to find on the internet. This is because Indonesia is one of the only main countries that use this condiment. But, they are packaged in bottles and shipped out to various grocery stores.


Of course, our plans changed at the last minute as we did not want to involuntarily kill any of our classmates by serving a poisonous dish. So instead, here is the recipe that we used to make "Matt and Taahir's Energy Drank":

Matt and Taahir's Energy Drank:
- Romaine Lettuce (1 whole leaf)
- Carrots (2 whole)
- Pineapples (juice and fruit; about 1 cup)
- Orange Juice (2 cups)
- Pecans (1 cup)
- Whey Protein (2 tbsp)
- Sparkling Pear Beverage (1/2 cup)

Personal Reflection

It's really hard to actually pinpoint my exact role in the grand scheme of the food system, but I do know for certain that I am a contributor in the process of creating food. Of course by this, I don't mean that I actually grow my own food. Like everyone else, my contribution stems from my purchases. It's a cycle in which my purchases creates demand. When there is a demand (a market) for something, in this case food, companies will flock to increase their production output of food (I'm speaking generally here). They then buy from farmers and release more food into the world. Thus, making me and everyone else a small, yet significant part of the grand food system. 

Speaking of demand, it is a concept that is both good and bad. Let's start with the bad. As the demand for something increases, production increases. But the question is: at what cost? There is a large demand for Apple products right now. But if this means that workers are treated unfairly and are being worked to death to produce more Apple products, then does the value of money outweigh that of humans? In the case of food, it could be inhumane treatment of animals, disregard of fair work ethics, and etc. Money talks and the food system really brings that to light. As corporations get bigger, the workers (farmers) are sufferring in their wake. Farmers have become nothing more than prisoners of big companies. I strongly believe in the idea that biog companies should be stripped of their rights to carry out certain actions, whether it be legal or physical.

Now for the good: you get eat your Whoppers, play your iPads, and etc. But of course, not without the expense of others' rights. 

Msanders Sci-Benchmark

Serving size: 7-8

12.00 dollars



Ingredient

1/2 cup of magrine

1/2 cup of Sugar

4 eggs

1 bag of wheat bread crumbs


20 onces of crush pineapples.

 1 cup of skim milk.

2 tablespoons of salt.

5 tablespoons of pumpkin spice.

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees

2. Mix the bowls with the ingredients.

3. Bake the 350 degree oven for an hour before serving.

Serving size 2 people.



Some of the food is process and some is whole. The pineapples and eggs are not process and they are whole foods. But the extra ingredients like sugar margarine is process. Its pretty healthy as it only has 166 calories. I say it’s like 55% process and 45% not process. It is very high in natural sugar and process sugar. It also has eggs for protein and bread for bread use. This food dish lacks vitamin A, B and D. Also it does not have a lot of cholesterol. Some of the food that is processed all of the food will go straight to your systems that will be processed and then go to your stomach. Margarine comes from vegetable oil and skim milk. That is healthier then butter.


Margarine comes from vegetable oil and skim milk. So they came from a farmers.  So does the eggs that were made. My specific margarine and eggs comes from Kentucky. I am not aware wear my eggs came from but its company was Foodhold USA which is in Maryland. The rolls came from Florida and my Pineapples also came from Florida. That is a total of 1324 miles traveled just to get in my home. The Margarine, bread, pineapples, and sugar were all processed. Only the eggs were not processed. But the chicken who laid it was.


This meal cost around 12 dollars. This meal is suppose to serve 8 people. This is a lot more expensive then a 4 dollar menu burgers from McDonalds. This is an outrage that a dish served for 8 cost so much more. The stuff that cost the most is pineapples which were 2.00 dollars. Obviously the Martians, Doles and other foods won the deal by stealing my money. 


My bread cubes cubes some soybeans and Monocalcuim in it. I have no idea how they managed to add those items in bread  but the did.  I’m pretty sure if I made the bread those items would not be included in my bread. My eggs have no significant source of Dietary fiber or sugar. But I have no idea how to make eggs the right way. Plus I have no chickens.

I learned different effects that food can have on someone. I knew that eating unhealthy can cause an unhealthy life in the future. I knew that liver problems and other serious diseases are caused by eating habits. What I learned the most was from the videos, even though we didn’t finish the movie I learned a lot about the food culture. I learned that the food producers are a bunch of a-holes. Sorry for the rude language but it’s beyond me that a food company can just about contaminate almost all of the natural foods to make them more fattening just for money. It’s terrible to kill the cows, chickens and pigs the way they do. Not only make them fat but you basically make them kill them in the most gruesome way. And once someone talks about it, they get sued by the food companies. The workers can’t stop because they need the money to survive. So no one wins. This is a messed up society we have. Another reason why this world is messed up is because people in low income can not afford healthy foods because 1 low income and 2 there are no grocery store. This a terrible world we live in.

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Sophia Henninger, Food Project

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Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 10.48.09 AM



Recipe: General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients

Vegetable oil spray
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites
5 cups (5 ounces) Kellogg's Corn Flakes cereal, finely crushed
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of all visible fat, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 2/3 cups water
1/3 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup apricot jam
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons canola oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes


Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 475 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, top with wire rack, and spray rack with oil spray. Spread flour into shallow dish. Whisk egg whites until foamy in second shallow dish. Spread Corn Flakes crumbs into third shallow dish. Pat chicken dry with paper towels. Working in batches, dredge chicken in flour, dip in egg whites, then coat with Corn Flakes, pressing gently to adhere; lay on prepared wire rack.

2. Spray chicken with oil spray. Bake until chicken registers 160 degrees and coating is brown and crisp, 12 to 15 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, whisk water, soy sauce, apricot jam, hoisin, cornstarch, and vinegar together in bowl. Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Whisk in soy sauce mixture, bring to simmer, and cook until thickened, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, cover, and keep warm.

4. When chicken is cooked, return sauce to simmer over medium-low heat. Add cooked chicken and toss to coat. Serve.



Recipe Analysis

•Approximately what percent of the meal is processed vs. whole food?

all-purpose flour - processed

vegetable oil spray - processed

egg whites - whole

cornflakes - processed

chicken - whole

water - whole

soy sauce - processed

apricot jam - processed

cornstarch - processed

balsamic vinegar - processed

canola oil - processed

garlic - whole

ginger - whole

red pepper flakes - processed

broccoli - whole


Processed - 9/15 ingredients 

Whole - 6/15 ingredients 


About 60% of this meal is processed.


Health/nutrition:

Approximate calories per serving: 490

" carbohydrates per serving: 62g

" fat per serving: 8g

" saturated fat per serving: 1.5g

" protein per serving: 44g

This meal is high in protein in comparison to it's commercially produced counterpart. This protein in the body will be broken down into amino acids and used in necessary chemical reactions within the body. 

The majority of the fat in this meal is good fat, which will be processed by the body and turned into acids. These acids will travel through the blood stream and be collected by cells that need to replenish their energy. 

This meal, compared to the meal available for $11.99 at your local chances food store, has fewer carbs than this homemade alternative. These carbs will be used for energy but if they're not used immediately they will be converted into glucose. That, in turn, will be stored in fat cells. 

If one were to eat this everyday, I would imagine they would have some vitamin deficiencies because every vitamin and mineral needed in day to day life is not present in this meal. 


Environmental:

I believe many of the ingredients were manufactured in the US, but there is still a considerable amount of traveling to food had to do to get from it's manufacturer to my local supermarket. Collectively, I'd estimate the total miles all the food had traveled would be about 5000 miles. With the cost of fuel today, the total money used to get it here is probably quite considerable. Not to mention the toll the fuel emissions most have had on the environment. Some of the cheapest ways to ship any cargo are also the most detrimental to the earth. 


Political/economic:

Purchasing all the ingredients for this meal coasted about $35, but to get the price per serving, it has to be divided by by 12. Which means that the cost per plate of food was approximately $3. This is significantly cheaper than going to a chinese restaurant where General Tso's chicken would cost about $12. 

There were profits made at every step of the preparation of this meal. Money was made by the people selling ingredients, shipping ingredients, making the products, shipping the products, and then down to the consumer, who buys the final product. The people made the most money out of this process were the people who own portions of the monopolizing corporations. In my meal this would be companies like Perdue, General Mills, and Nabisco. 


Social:

The chicken in my meal came from the Perdue Corporation. This means that it started at their farms, went to their processing plant, was shipped to my local super market, Super Fresh, and then I bought it. Since it's illegal to have chickens within city limits, I would never be able to personally raise a chicken to cook. 

Broccoli was another major part of my meal. Most broccoli production happens in China. Assuming that is where mine originated, that means that my broccoli was produced on a farm in china, it is then harvested, and shipped to the US. Where is was once and again shipped to my local market. To grow, broccoli needs a cool weather climate, which would make it possible to grow during certain seasons in Philadelphia. It takes about 100 days to grow and 200 seeds costs about $4. This packet would produce more than one head of broccoli and considering the price of broccoli at the market, I would save a lot of money in the long run. 



Personal Reflection

This unit has taught me a lot about food and how we, both as individuals and as a species, interact with it. I've learned that obesity and type 2 diabetes have only become epidemics in the past few decades. This is because of the widespread availability of processed food as opposed to whole food products. This is the probably the biggest issue with food in western society. Food that has been highly processed and contains many refines carbohydrates are the ones that are heavily advertised and are the cheapest and most available. 

Personally, before this unit I believed I ate mostly healthy and even after learning from this unit, I've retained this stance. One thing I could definitely improve upon is the attention I pay to the actual ingredients in my food. It was mentioned that foods with more than 5 ingredient are to be avoided and I've definitely disregarded this rule on a daily basis. In the future, I hope to be more aware of it and improve my health. Making these changes would hopefully resolve some little issues I tend to have like lethargy and the urge to constantly shovel doritos into my mouth. If I take care to learn about what I'm eating before I actually do it, it will most likely impact my health in a positive way. 

Brianna's Spanish Flan

​Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons water
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, (Neufchâtel), softened
8 large eggs
1 14-ounce can nonfat or low-fat sweetened condensed milk
1 12-ounce can nonfat or low-fat evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
  2. Cook sugar and water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat, gently  swirling the pan (do not stir), until the mixture turns golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Immediately, pour the caramel carefully into a 9-inch round metal cake pan. If it stiffens before it completely covers the bottom of the pan, warm the pan in the oven, then swirl to cover the bottom.
  3. Beat cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer at medium-high speed until soft. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined, scraping down the sides. Add condensed milk, evaporated milk and vanilla; mix until combined. Carefully pour into the prepared pan. (You may hear some cracking; the pan will be very full.)
  4. Place the cake pan in a larger pan and pour enough hot water around it to come 1 inch up the sides. Bake until golden and set at the edges but still wobbly at the center, about 1 hour. A knife inserted in the center should come out clean. Transfer the cake pan to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature, about 1 hour. Then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight. To serve, run a knife around the edge of the pan and invert the flan onto a plate.
Nutrition
Per serving: 247 calories; 8 g fat ( 4 g sat , 3 g mono ); 160 mg cholesterol; 33 g carbohydrates; 10 g protein; 0 g fiber; 192 mg sodium; 478 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: Calcium (18% daily value).
Carbohydrate Servings: 2
Exchanges: 2 other carbohydrates, 2 fat

The dish that I decided to create is flan. Crème caramel, flan, or caramel custard is a custard dessert with a layer of soft caramel on top, as opposed to creme brûlée, which is custard with a hard caramel top. The dish is eaten throughout the world. Flan is found in recipes as far back as ancient Rome. It was during Roman times that domesticated chickens were first kept for laying eggs. The Romans, with eggs in surplus, and consulting the Greek's knowledge of the art of cooking, developed new recipes, one of which turned out to be a custardy concoction known as flan. It was originally a savory dish (not sweet, but aromatic and pleasing to the palate). The Roman Empire was destined to fall and on its ruins arose Medieval society. Yet the transition between ancient times and Medieval - though often violent - was somewhat contiguous. Flan survived barbarian invasions (and perhaps pacified a barbarian or two). It surfaced as a generally sweet dish but still based on the old idea of mixing creme and eggs to form a custard. Our word for flan actually is derived from the Latin, "flado" (meaning flat cake), which became "flaon" in Old French. Each country makes their flan based on their traditions or foods that are important to their culture. For Puerto Ricans, it is mixing coconut and condensed milk to the mixture, for Vietnam they would add black coffee to the top for taste and for Cuba they have ice cream and cinnamon sticks to the final product. To create this dish it does not require much skill except to the be cautious and watchful. This skill is important for when melting the sugar into caramel, because if you don't turn the oven off at the right time than you can put the sugar and have to start over again. The products for this type of dish you are able to obtain in any supermarket. The average cost of this meal is about $10-$15 depending on brand on ingredients and it makes a serving size for 20-30 depending on the size you wish to cut it due to the sweetness. The people that makes money off of the groceries that are needed for this recipe are the brand named items - the money goes back into their company. One of the large businesses that are involved are Neufchâtel for their cream cheese. The only difference between this cream cheese and regular cream cheese is that Neufchâtel has lower fat content.  If you compare 1 oz of cream cheese with the same amount of Neufchatel cheese then you’ll discover that the latter has about 6.6 g of fat compared to the former’s 9.9 g. Neufchatel cheese also has more protein (2.8 g) as compared to cream cheese’s 2.1 g. Both cheeses have the same carbohydrate value. Each ingredient has different points that are good or bad for our bodies one way or another. When you eat food, each ingredient is processed differently depending on the way the body breaks the food down. Your body will break the Flan down in a few days because it is not heavily packed with a lot of ingredients or other foods that will make it stay in your system longer. The percent of the meal that is processed vs. whole food is about 35% vs. 65%. According to the nutritional info on the label, how our body will deal with this food is well. Due to the sweet taste of the caramel, our tongues will taste the sweetness but it will not harm us.  All of the ingredients for this recipe has all been made/received/collected locally. How far away each ingredient was distributed depending on the brand but from research the maximum number of miles that the food is collected from is 50 miles. The only ingredient organically grown are the eggs which come straight from the chickens, the rest of the ingredients had to be processed from multiple items to create this one ingredient. The processing affects the environment because it's all machine spun, machine packed and machine created. Having done so much processing and packaging affects the environment since so much gas and pollution comes from factories that has no need for the extra items. When the company gets what the food or item they need out of a bigger item then they throw away all extra material they have no need for with pollutes the water and covers waste lands.
This unit I have learned many things like from what is "healthy" food , what is "unhealthy" food and how to tell the truth between the two instead of what is on the label.  During this unit it was really useful and informing to be able to understand the truth behind how food is made and distributed. When we first started watching Food Ink I was skeptical because of my first encounter with it but this episode was different. Yes there were some gruesome parts but the overall point behind was that their was a mother that just wanted justice for what haven't to her son and why it happened. Food recall or contamination in food is important because a week that it's been out of a factory you're already introducing it into the supermarkets and peoples homes. Once they start eating it than it becomes a greater issue when sickness or death happens and the company doesn't want to take the blame for it. What I see to be as the biggest problems with our food system is how we distribute and advertise our food. Since the population is growing rapidly, there is a higher demand in food. Also there is a greater serving size. A serving size for a piece of cheese was a cube and now it's almost half a block. Fast food restaurants tend to give food out past the serving size. For example, french fries, a serving size is a small handful whereas they give you more a big handful to two handfuls and the amount of salt in the small serving is. People think that what they are given to them as children or depending on the size of their plate is how much food that they should eat, when in reality it's not always healthy. For holiday gatherings such as Thanksgiving or Christmas people tend to fill their plates and are expected to eat all of it even if they fill themselves not being hungry anymore. Some changes that you can make to your food choices is being able to try diversity. It's okay to have junk food or greasy food but you have to proportion it with healthy food too. For example white bread isn't healthy for you so you can make wheat pasta or eat wheat bread. It's just the little changes that will help you live a healthier life style in the end as long as you're willing to give it a change. I am willing to make this change since my mom is on a diet and my dad wants to lower his blood cholesterol. We already switched to wheat bread, started to eat smaller portions and eat vegetables at every dinner. I am also on a no soda diet (drinking only water, tea and orange juice). I only drink ginger ale when I am sick.
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Screen Shot 2013-01-25 at 7.00.42 PM

Justin Pullins, Science and Society's Q2 Food Benchmark

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Screen Shot 2013-01-22 at 8.20.48 PM
​For this project, I made French Baguettes.



Recipe and Analysis-
(This is the recipe for one, 2-foot baguette.)


*1 cup water

*2 1/2 cups bread flour

*1 tablespoon white sugar

*1 teaspoon salt

*1 1/2 teaspoons bread machine yeast

*1 egg yolk

*1 tablespoon water


  1. Place 1 cup water, bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast into bread machine pan. This is recommened for the best possible baguette at the end. 
  2. When the cycle has completed, place dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for about 30 minutes, or until doubled in bulk. Dough is ready if indentation remains when touched.
  3. Punch down dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll into a 16x12 inch rectangle. Cut dough in half, creating two 8x12 inch rectangles. Roll up each half of dough tightly, beginning at 12 inch side, pounding out any air bubbles as you go. Roll gently back and forth to taper end. Place 3 inches apart on a greased cookie sheet. Make deep diagonal slashes across loaves every 2 inches, or make one lengthwise slash on each loaf. Cover, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.
  4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Mix egg yolk with 1 tablespoon water; brush over tops of loaves.
  5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.


    This is a traditional meal for the French and Francophiles alike. This is meant to be a treat, as well as a supplement to a diet, or a meal, and they are a staple in French society. Though my family is not French, we do eat baguettes frequently, and it is a big part of our diet, and we eat baguettes nearly everyday.

    Most of the ingredients within the baguette are whole foods, and because of this, the baguette is relatively healthy. Baguettes are a great source of grain and carbohydrates, and are a hearty addition to any meal. Roughly, each whole baguette, which is about 3-feet long, is roughly 200 calories.

    Baguettes require a great deal of harvested products, such as yeast and flour. These things are not findings in nature, and would require additional processes in order to make it accesible to the consumer. After tracking down the manfucaturing company who made my flour and yeast, I discovered that they were both made in Minnestona, over 1,000 miles away. This plant of flour manfuracting is one of the largest in the country, because of this, the enviromental impacts are great.

    Whole baguettes can usually retail for about $2.50 each. The greatest profiteers on baguettes are the large manufacturers who create the ingredients. Also, a great reason why the cost of baguettes are relatively cheap is because all of its ingredients are staple foods; necessiaties in every person's pantry.


    Personal Reflection-

    Throughout this food unit, the lessons I have learned were vast and varied.

    Firstly, I have learned the various corruptions of the system of the food industry. It was shocking to see how these things have been allowed to happen.

    In addition, we’ve gone over foods that are healthy for us and the foods that aren’t, as well as what our food is truly made of. This, to me, was one of the most shocking revelations; the dependecy of various staples, such as corn or soy, which come across in nearly all the foods we eat. It shows, once again that the food problem within the USA will require great work to rectify.

    One of the greatest lessons I've learned throughout the course of Food Inc. was the fact that modern day food production isn't so much natural as it is an artifical science expermiment. Various chemicals and formulas come together to create the foods that we feed ourselves and our children, and the indregient lists for our foods are littered with unpronouncable words and phrases which don't often warrented a second thought in our minds.

    Ultimately, the sheer size of this problem makes it difficult for myself, and I think, in large, the country, to try to fix it. At every turn, the people who we believe have our best interests at heart have allowed their greed and love of profit and power to overcome their duty to keep us safe as harm. The corrupt system of food in America is nothing short of our country's most difficult problem, and the only solution will require much work and perspective into the thing that our society should truly value as importmant: American lives.

Food Q2 Benchmark

Spanakopita Triangles


Yields 30 triangles


Preparation/cook time: 1 hour and 30 minutes to 2 hours


Ingredients:


- 1/4 cup olive oil


- 1/2 pound spinach


- 1 bunch scallions


-1/8 cup chopped parsley


- pinch of salt and ground black pepper


  • 1/4 cup feta cheese


- 1/4 cup Ricotta cheese


- 1 egg, beaten


-1/2 cup butter


- 1/2 pound filo dough


Directions:


Heat half of oil and half of the spinach in a saute pan and saute until the spinach becomes soft. Do this for about 2 minutes. When done, take the spinach, drain it, and squeeze out excess liquid, then chop it (does not need to be fine). Repeat this again with the remaining oil and spinach, then add scallions and saute till soft (which should take 2-4 minutes). Add parsley, salt, and pepper, cook this for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and put everything you've made so far into a bowl and refrigerate till room temperature. 


Preheat the oven to 350. Put some butter or olive oil on a baking sheet. Beat eggs and stir feta together in a small bowl, then add to the cooled spinach mixture, and mix it all together. 


Unroll the filo dough, but make sure the dough doesn’t dry. At this point you can decide whether to make a pie or triangles, cut the dough in the shape you want. Dabble some melted butter over the filo dough, make sure it’s as even as possible though. If you’re making triangles, cut the filo dough into squares, and put a table spoon of the spinach in the middle of each square, then fold the dough to make a triangle. 


Place all the triangles on a baking sheet and bake for 20 to 30 minutes, until the dough on top is golden. 


Analysis:

All of the food that I got was from Whole Foods or a specialty store. My parents an I, for the most part, only shop at Whole Foods or specialty stores, because we feel like food from there is just over all better for you and more trustworthy. Making my own guess, a serving size is five of those triangles. In each serving there’s about 230 calories and 14.3 total grams of fat. Because of the spinach, there’s 15% Vitamin A. I’d consider this to be a pretty healthy food, since there’s a lot of spinach and scallions. But to others, I can see how this could be fattening, since there’s so much cheese and butter. 

The filo dough is definitely made in the US, since the lady that works at the Greek store makes all the baked goods. I’m pretty sure the ingredients in the filo dough are probably also from the Greek market, which would mean it’s either from Italy or Greece. Everything else came from Cali or New Jersey. 

The supplies for this meal costed about $25. The most expensive ingredient was the filo dough, since it takes a lot of time to make and prepare. It’s  basically bread that’s extremely thinly sliced and then frozen, so it doesn’t break. 



Reflection:

Throughout this food unit, our class has learned about the food that we eat, health statistics, and how the human body processes certain foods. Before this unit started, I had some knowledge on the food that I ate and an overall general understanding of what we talked about. For my personal role in the food system, I'm a pretty big believer in organic and fresh foods. For the most part, I eat very healthy, except when I eat candy. My parents and I both shop at either Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, mainly because we know that the food they have don't have excessive amounts of preservatives and every fresh food is restocked every day. Although, I realize that organic food isn't always better, it always makes me feel better knowing it's fresh. To go along with organic, the animals they use for meat are not given steroids or chemicals and are not tortured before being killed.

I see fast food as being out biggest problem in the food system. I say this for multiple reasons. Fast food isn't just McDonalds or Burger King, it can also be frozen foods you find at the grocery store, such as Smart One's or LeanCuisine. Fast food is not only made with a lot of chemicals, but people are very uneducated about the amount of calories they take it. Also, not to mention that because fast foods are usually the cheapest, people tend to forget the importance of cooking their own food and then later on have no idea how to cook, and since so many people are lazy, they will continue to buy fast foods.

I personally like the food that I eat now and wouldn't change it. Sometimes I miss eating red meat, but since I've been eating only white meat for so long, it doesn't seem like that big of a thing. I get a fair share of vegetables, fruits, and protein. Although I believe I should eat less candy, it's probably not the best for my teeth. I'm definitely willing to make that change, and I think that I could be on an even healthier regiment if I did so. But life is short, why not eat candy?




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Screen Shot 2013-01-11 at 10.45.34 AM

Spaghetti and chicken- Danny Wirt

Whole grain spaghetti with garlic sauce

 Ingredients:

Whole grain spaghetti

Olive oil

Tomato sauce

Chicken breast

 

Steps:

  1. Ready and boil water with olive oil in pot
  2. Cut chicken breast and put in pan
  3. Apply seasonings to chicken and turn on low- medium heat
  4. Ready sauce
  5. Mix ingredients
  6. ENJOY!

 

Analysis:

 

            Having spaghetti has become a really common meal in the United States and you can mix it with tons of things. A common mix at my house is the use of spaghetti and chicken. While some people look at spaghetti as an unhealthy meal, it depends on the kind and how much you eat. You see, there is whole grain spaghetti and plain white spaghetti. The white spaghetti is a processed form where the outer layers of the grain are removed so that you are left with white grains. The outer layers contain a lot of nutritional benefits, they contain fiber, which will help to prevent an insulin spike and keep you fuller longer. It also has a lot of vitamins.

            Carbohydrates are a really important macronutrient for the body because it is the bodies preferred energy source. There should be a large percentage of your daily calories that should come from carbs. The problem is, people tend to eat too much of the processed stuff. In whole grain spaghetti not only do you gain the benefits of having the fiber and vitamins, but you also have less ingredients. There are several ingredients in processed spaghetti but very little in whole grain.

            Protein is another really important calorie source and the recommended intake in grams of protein, is one gram per body pound. For instance if you weigh 150 pounds, the rule of thumb should be that you consume 150 grams of protein in that day. Protein is another energy source but it’s main objective is repairing destroyed muscle tissue.

            Fats are the last really important macronutrient left. Fats are sometimes thought to make you fat when you eat them but this is false. Perhaps from eating trans fats you’ll run into some problems, or eating nuts all day. The problem with fats is that they have 9 calories per gram so foods with fat have a lot of calories and when they are over consumed, people gain weight. Fats are actually really essential to the bodies functional. You should consume about 50 grams of healthy fats a day depending on your needs.

            This meal above has it all; it has the complex carbohydrates with vitamins and fiber from the spaghetti. It has the lean meats that give essential amino acids and provide proteins. Then you have the olive oil that has healthy fats and is rich in antioxidants which helps to rid the body of harmful free radicals (cause cancers).

Reflection: 

Over the course of this course we’ve gone over foods that are healthy for us and the foods that aren’t so healthy for us. We’ve talked about reasons why people with lower income tend to be more obese then people with higher income and also when the accessibility to better food is scarce there are more obese people. There is currently more access to sugar, which was not as prominent in the past. Now that there is more access to sugar our bodies aren’t meant to process as much sugar as we’re consuming which is why diabetes is so prominent today.

Ways to better your eating is just watching how many calories you are eating every day. Make sure you’re not drinking your calories. One of the biggest reasons diabetes is so common today, is because of soft drinks. Soft drinks have three times the amount of sugar that you’re supposed to consume in a day. With fruits they have fiber and so the sugar does not spike your insulin.

I think the lesson to learn here is to make sure you’re not eating foods that are really processed. Shoot for foods with less than five ingredients and eat more whole grains. Eat things that come from the ground and shoot for more organically made foods. They do not hold many more nutritional properties but at least you’ll know your food was not processed. 

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Screen Shot 2013-01-25 at 2.17.55 PM