In this unit a lot about what really goes on with food processing. From the videos I watched in class to the articles I've read, there are a lot of things that hidden from the public. I think that one of the bigger problems with our food system has to do with people of course, because honestly there isn't any other cause then the people. It's not like the things we eat can cause problems itself, it's the people that makes it, the people that is in charge of the food processing. Not only is it the people who are a part of the food making process, its those who eat the food that aren't speaking out about what's wrong with it. If no one cares about what they are intaking than, what they are eating isn't going to be changed. It also goes under laziness, because some people don't feel like actually preparing a healthy meal, so they rather eat fast food because it is convenient. There are a few changes I could make with some of my eating habits, and some of those things could be instead of eating as much candy as I do I could minimize the sizes. I also have a habit of drinking a lot of teas, so if i could maybe add a few more bottles of water to my diet it would make a difference. There wouldn't be that much sugar in my daily intake, I am more then willing to make the changes. However the only problem would be minimizing the amount of teas I drink, so like I said already I would just add water. 

Ingredients 

red potatoes

spinach leaves 

mozzarella cheese

salt

pepper

onion powder

olive oil 

butter

Directions 

1. Boil potatoes until soft enough (20-30min)

2. Take potatoes out let them cool

3. Put olive oil in a  sauce pan (let it heat) 

4. Rinse spinach with water

5. Put the spinach in pan, after about 3min add cheese

6. Add salt, pepper and onion powder (when the cheese is completely melted it is done)

7. Cut a slit in the potatoes big enough to stuff them, and add butter inside so they won't get dry

8. Place potatoes on a baking sheet, and put them in the oven for 5-8min

9. When the potatoes are done, put the spinach in the inside.

10. That's it!

Analysis 

The dish I made is more of a side but it can also be a meal if you were to add other ingredients to it. In my dish there aren't that many processed foods. The foods that were processed were the cheese and butter. This dish has a total of about 360 calories, which isn't that bad. However if I was too eat this everyday I would most likely gain a lot of weight, mostly because of the potatoes. Most of the ingredients in this dish are mostly from the U.S, but not all are grown locally. This dish was mostly commercial, but could have been organic. Depending on where the items are being bought, the total of everything should be no more than about 25 dollars at the most. This meal does cost more than fast food, but it still beats eating fast foods everyday. At the end of the day a dish like this a better selection.  

• 1 egg
• 2 cups of veggie/chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. butter
• 1 cup of Buckwheat/ Kasha
• Cumin
• Jane’s Krazy mixed-up Seasonings (original)

• Step 1: Get a large pot, pour broth and bring to a boil, mix in a tbsp. of butter.
• Step 2: Meanwhile, mix Kasha and egg together.
• Step 3: Put Kasha and egg mixture into the wok/ frying pan on medium heat.
• Step 4: Stir continuously (so that the kasha mixture will not stick to the pan or together), let the grains separate and looks dry but not brown.
• Step 5: When broth comes to a boil, pour into wok/frying pan.
• Step 6: Stir and cover on medium heat for 30 minutes (check every 5-10 minutes to stir), let the Kasha absorb the broth.
• Step 7: When the Kasha has absorbed all of the broth, season to taste with mixed seasoning salt and cumin. 
  
  

Personal Reflection

2 cans (10 3/4 ounces each) Campbell's® Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 cup milk

2 teaspoons soy sauce

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

8 cups cooked cut green beans

2 2/3 cups French's® French Fried Onions

1.     Steam your green beans for 5mins.

2.     Put beans in oven pan stir in soap.

3.     Add French Onions to the top

4.     Bake to onions are golden brown

The dish that I made at home we eat only on holidays or special event. This dish is not  original to my family but has become a family tradition. About five years ago as a family we all noticed that our traditional holiday was not a slight chance of being healthy. So for a change we all had to look up a dish to add to the traditional turkey. The green bean casserole was the dish that everybody had the most doubts, the only dish that stuck around. 

During this unit I learned so much about the life and process of fracking and animals. Going into this unit I had no understanding with what was going on with animals before they reached my dinner plate. This unit showed me what animals go through and how unhealthy that they can be.

In the Food unit we watched “Food Inc,” a documentary about the food industry. We also read several articles by columnist Michel Pollen and discussed the problems and practices about the food we eat.

            I noticed we were rather biased as group against the food industry and no one tried to defend them. I also noted everyone acted with emotion but failed to come up with a reasonable solution. Also folks tend to blame big corporations on all the world evils that are every ones fault and no ones fault.

            We read a little too much of Michel Pollen I would have liked to read some one else. I am sure others have written on the topic and would want some different viewpoints.

            What I liked was the style of presentation how we learned one little thing at a time and head to answer questions that would help us retain that information.

            And of course I liked the feast. It was tasty. 

            I’m rather disappointed that no one listened to my solution, which I thought was brilliant. What we could do is everyone (in America) puts in five to twenty dollars and we collectively sue the big food corporations. That we even the playing ground and make sure they can’t say, “this is what are costumers asked for.”

            I think we would do much better if we didn’t have other things to think about then the food industry because we were all to busy to do any thing about it.

            All in all a good unit but it could have been better.

Food Recipe

Salad

Lettuce

Baby Tomatoes

Cucumber

Carrot

Wash Vegetables break the lettuce pieces in half and put in a large bowl. Though baby tomatoes in bowl and toss well. Skin Cucumber, cut it into little pieces, and dump in bowl. Skin carrot, cut it into little pieces, and dump in bowl. Toss well.

Salad Dressing

One part vinegar

Three parts olive oil

A pinch of parsley

A pinch of basil

Get out a small bowl. Put in vinegar and oil; add a pinch of parsley and a pinch of basil. Shake well before stirring.  

Salad is a traditional healthy choice when overloaded with salad dressing, bread, and meat. My dad always puts salad out with every dinner. Usually comprising of lettuce and some other vegetables. I bought the ingredients to this salad at whole and they cost too much. I would have bought them at the ninth street market it closed at the time and ninth street market food doesn’t last long.

I have learned that the whole food thing is a large business. Things are being made differently than before, but because it is more convenient for the people growing it, if it takes a short period for a crop, to be grown for money, of course these companies will do it. Things are being done for money, and people are not being cared about.  Whether it’s the life of a cow, to the growing of a see. Farming is slowly turning more into a process, than an actual experience. For examples instead of caring for cows in a grass environment, certain places mainly feed them corn, in pens to quickly fatten them. Then they are killed in a factory with other animals, by machinery. These places do not tend to be the cleanest so the chances of disease or sickness are high. The country has becoming blinded by money, to actually see what it is doing to itself.

Since I eat kosher the majority of the food I buy comes from cleaned slaughterhouses that treat their animals correctly. The place is highly religious so the workers there would not do anything that was break the work halal. 

  A big problem with the system is how different people are being feed. How is it that a poor person can’t afford to buy veggies, but has enough to buy a burger? It is just that the system isn't pushing anyone into any better directions. This meaning that, this poor man, or family, isn't really being helped if they are being feed burgers for dinner because it is cheaper. They only thing it is solving is the hunger state for the time being, but aside from that it brings a lot of cons. Along with that, I have learned how big companies make farmers their workers, and enable them to live, or go against them. For example, the company Monsanto makes genetic seeds, that are expensive, and forces the farmer to buy more and more, when they run out, which causes him to be trapped in debt.

I can start eating thinking about my environment; I know that there are many animals, and environments that are being affected by the food that we eat. For example, the Humboldt penguin is going extinct because a lack of fish. This is due to people over fishing, or taking more than what is needed, or for example the refraining from eating things that contain palm oil. The reason why is because this palm oil is from a rainforest in Borneo which is being destroyed and turned into a plantation of more oil. When you think about the food that could change the future, you find it a bit easier to change.

I may not be able to enjoy most of my snacks that I tend to buy. Sadly palm oil is found in a majority of foods. But if I refrain from eating palm oil, I would be helping the forest/ animals of Borneo from extinction.

Yes I currently am, it is a challenge, fighting your desires, but if it for a greater good, then why not? And I see know point of going into zoology, if I am currently destroying a place where 1000 of animals still haven’t been discovered. 

Halal Meat Lasagna:






Recipe:

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 297 g Calories 377 Calories from Fat 126 Total Fat 14g 22% Saturated Fat 7g 33% Trans Fat Cholesterol 45mg 15% Sodium 832mg 35% Total Carbohydrate 38g 13% Dietary Fiber 4g 14% Sugars 6g 14% Protein 25g

Ingredients:

·       1 medium onion, chopped fine

·       2 tablespoons butter

·       1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·       1 medium tomato, chopped fine

·       1 green pepper, chopped fine (optional)

·       4-6 eggs

·       3 tablespoons cream

·       Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1.     Whisk eggs together with cream. Set aside.

2.     Melt butter with oil in a large nonstick skillet. 

3.     Sautéed chopped onions over medium heat until translucent. 

4.     Add tomatoes and peppers and cook over medium heat until soft, 8-10 minutes. 

5.     Pour eggs into skillet and cook gently, stirring them lightly and flipping them as they cook. 

6.     Cook to desired doneness, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm with arepas.

Perico is a Venezuelan dish consisting of eggs, oil, tomatoes, onions, and green peppers.  A single serving would have about 18.5 grams of fat and 222 calories.  It has no sugar (except for a little natural sugar from the vegetables).

            Our dish is nearly 100% whole food.  The only processed ingredient is vegetable oil, of which only a tablespoon is used.  It was also, dollar for calorie, the cheapest ingredient.  A 48-oz bottle cost $2.99.  Eggs were $2.29 a dozen, also relatively cheap.  The pepper was $1.99, the tomato and onion $3.99 each.  One serving of perico costs approximately $3.97, more than a serving of fast food.

            The only ingredients whose origins we were able to find were the eggs and oil.  The eggs came from a small organic farm called Sauder’s Quality Eggs.  The oil was manufactured by Clover Valley, which is owned by Dolgencorp, LLC, a subsidiary of Dollar General.  While we don’t know exactly where the vegetables came from, they probably came at least several hundred miles.  They were from a normal supermarket and therefore are probably from Florida, California, or Mexico.

            The only vegetable oil regulation I could find was a bill that requires animal fats and vegetable oils to be regulated just like non-food oils for manufacturing and transportation.  There are many regulations concerning the production of all eggs, to prevent the spread of salmonella, and more for organic eggs.

            Initially, I was suspicious that Sauder’s was a friendly face hiding a large corporation, but I looked through their website and it’s clear they are a small family farm.  Meanwhile, the CEO of Dollar General, David A. Perdue, makes $1.94 million a year.  It’s amazing what a far-reaching effect the purchase of a single meal’s ingredients can have.

Pasta Salad Recipe: 

1 Can of Diced Tomatoes

¾ Bottle of Fat Free Italian Dressing

A Pinch of Salad Supreme McCormick Seasoning

Hodgson Mill 100% Wheat Noodles

A Teaspoon of Butter

Instructions:

Boil a pot of water and place the teaspoon of butter in the boiling water. This is also the time where you add your salt and pepper (optional).

Break the uncooked noodles in half and place them in the pot.

After 5-8 minutes strain the water out of the pot so the noodles don’t overcook in the bowl.

Open the can of diced tomatoes and empty the can in the bowl.

Pour ¾ of the Italian dressing into the bowl and add the pinch of seasoning.

Enjoy !!!

Analysis:

         For my recipe I mostly used foods that weren’t processed. For the healthier ingredients I used wheat noodles, a natural spread for my butter and McCormick seasoning and the processed foods were the diced tomatoes and the Italian dressing.  My complete recipe was around 550 calories in total. I believe that per serving size this dish was not unhealthy but it isn’t something I would recommend people eat everyday. If this were a daily meal you would probably have high blood pressure from all the sodium.

            Everything was made in America but most of the things weren’t locally grown. I think out of all my foods either the canned diced tomatoes or the salad dressing traveled the farthest. But there isn’t a very effective way to figure out how far everything came from.  This meal costs around $8 dollars because I purchased everything from fresh grocers where things are a little more expensive than at a store like Wal-Mart or Shop Rite. Even with that being said I still think this meal is cheaper than fast food because it can be refrigerated and because of the amount that was made it will also last longer than a $5 burger from a fast food place.

            If I were to grow the tomatoes myself as apposed to purchasing them to me the biggest differences would actually be that they weren’t store bought and also that there would . I don’t think the impact on the community would even be that great because there are local farms that grow tomatoes. Another major difference I’m seeing is that I don’t actually know how to grow tomatoes or keep the bug and insects away form them like an actual farm would so overall I think it’s a healthier decision to farm.

Personal Reflection:

            In this quarter we have talked about food for the last three weeks and I can honestly say I’m shocked. I always knew the food industry and the things we eat aren’t exactly up to par and periodical but after re-watching the movie Food Inc. I don’t really know what to think. In the movie there was a chapter about cleaning beef. This chapter was confusing to me. This piece talks about how beef needs to be cleaned before serving because it’s harmful but at the same time what they use to clean the food is just as harmful.

This unit has taught me that eating healthy is more than just a life style it’s a job. You need to know what you eat, where it comes form and the truth about how it’s made. I always thought people that lived a healthy eating lifestyle took it too serious, but after hearing the little boy Kevin’s story I understand. If you don’t watch out for your food no one else will even when it’s his or her job to. Also I never thought it was worth spending the money but I know now that if you don’t pay for it now you’ll pay later in the medical expenses and everything else. I feel that I’ve learned a lot, and have shaped the view eating healthy.