2 packs of whole-wheat pasta

3 cups of grape tomatoes

1 cucumber

1 ½ bottles of Balsamic Vinegar

2 cups of Olive Oil

How-To

1. Boil Pasta
2. Chop cucumbers into dime size triangles
3. Cut tomatoes into halves
4. After Pasta is boiled, Drain
5. Add all Ingredients into a large bowl
6. Add 1 ½ bottles of Balsamic Vinegar and 2 cups of Olive Oil into mixture
7. Mix
8. Refrigerate overnight and Serve!

Analysis

            Pasta salad is one of the healthiest meals that is entirely organic and a part of the Whole Food category. Pasta salad can be served as a side or a meal. According to the nutritional facts of all the ingredients, two-three cups of pasta salad totals to a minor four hundred calories. Not only is it nutritional, but fulfilling. The carbs, or pasta, in the pasta salad serves as two of our six daily grains/per day needed for our body to function healthily. Carbohydrates provide energy throughout the day and help your metabolism speed up. The vegetables used in the pasta salad are used to fulfill some of your daily servings of vegetables and fruits. Vegetables are needed in a daily diet because it provides cardiovascular health, gastrointestinal health, strong vision, and other life long advantages. However, some health issues that could arise if you ate nothing but pasta salad everyday are hair/skin effects, lack of growth of muscles and blood and hormonal disorders, that are caused by lack of enough proteins in diet.

            My ingredients come from the United States and Italy. The tomatoes and cucumber comes from Florida, while the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pasta come from Italy. The olive oil, balsamic vinegar and pasta (all organically grown) have traveled the farthest at steep four-thousand-four-hundred-and-thirteen miles.

The cost of all the ingredients was ten dollars, for a serving of twenty. Compared to fast food, the average double cheese burger and French fries cost two dollars and fifty cents.; resulting to a total of fifty dollars for twenty people. Overall, you come out cheaper preparing pasta salad. The Food and Drug Administration regulate the food items used in pasta salad.

There are some social ramifications of preparing pasta salad. The price of a regular bag of pasta can cost about one dollar. However, the price of a whole-wheat organic pasta bag cost about one dollar and thirty-nine cents. While some may not see a big difference, a lot of people are always focusing on the bottom dollar, where that extra thirty-nine cents can go towards other needs. Tracing where the vegetables came from was not hard. The tomatoes and cucumber were harvest on a farm where they grew these crops. The whole-wheat pasta derived from the form of unleavened wheat dough of buckwheat flour. The balsamic dressing and oil came from a reduction of cooked white Trebbiano grape juice and olives. All of my ingredients are organic; therefore, there wasn’t a lot of processing. The ingredients were purchased from my local Supermarket, Brown’s ShopRite. Needless to say, Pasta salad can be categorized as one of the healthiest, tasteful and fulfilling meal.

In this unit, I have learned a massive amount of information about the food industry, food itself and how I am a prime factor in it. What I found most intriguing while learning about the unit, was that I can contribute to the wrong doings of the industry by buying its products. Essentially, I learned that by supporting the non-organic food industry, I am supporting the mistreatment of animals, people's health and my health.

The biggest problem in our food system is the lack of organic food resources in urban areas for cheap prices. I believe the majority of the people who are malnutrition from non-organic food suffer because the lack of organic food resources in urban communities. In order to change the statistics and change the health of suffering citizens, we have to change our unhealthy diet to a healthy diet. In order to change the statistics, we have to change the resources.

A change I can make to my food choices is  taking out the fattening, greasy and sugary foods and replacing them with vegetables, healthy proteins, grains and fruits. The impact of these changes will be a longer, healthier life. I am willing to make these changes if the food industry agrees to cheapen the cost of organic food and increase organic food resources in my area particularly. 

- Mantia's Italiano Spaghettii Noodles (2 boxes, 16oz each)

- Robusto! Ragú Sauce (2 bottles, 8oz each)

- Ground Chuck Beef 80/20 (32oz)

- (extra) Coburn Farms Italian Style 6 Cheese Blend (12oz)

- Sea Salt

- Ground Pepper

- Garlic Salt

Instructions:

- Cook ground beef until it turns brown.

- Drain ground beef juice.

- Take a big pot and put 3 quarts of water in it. Wait for water to boil.

- Take both packs on noodles, break noodles up, and put them into the boiled water. Leave in pot for 10-12 mins.

- Drain noodles.

- Put noodles back in pot, put ground beef in pot. Stir around so ground beef can get everywhere. Put two bottles of sauce in pot. Stir around so sauce can get everywhere. Put more salt, pepper, and garlic on spaghetti.

- Heat spaghetti, put cover on top of pot for about 2 mins.

- If you want, put cheese on top and let simmer, then there you go: spaghetti with ground beef and cheese.

Well, to my knowledge pasta came from traditional Italian cuisine. I really don't believe my dish was organically grown. I believe everything was processed. When I say that, I mean the brands that I used. By estimate, my ingredients didn't cost more than $20. Actually, the salt, pepper, and garlic salt I already head. The cheese is not mandatory, but I love pasta with cheese. Coburn Farms products are always dairy.  The ground beef is processed, and approved by the USDA. Ragú sauce has been used in italian meals since 1937. Honestly, there isn't much research on my products, probably because they are all processed foods.

Well, my family makes pasta a lot. So, it is something like our traditional meal. If I could compare the meal being cooked at home, and spaghetti out in restaurants, its about the same price. Honestly, if I were to make a different meal, I would pick a mean BUT I would research my ingredients first before cooking. I probably would have more information to provide for this project.

Personal Reflection

This whole food unit changed the point of view of food from what I’ve had once before. I can say that it’s a shame for me to change Senior year, but it’s never bad. Maybe it’s because before this unit, I was never so worried about details. But now, not only am I aware, but I’ve made my family aware too. Well, my mother has always been aware, but besides class she has talked me into changing my habits. I’ve learned how to grow healthier food, and I’ve learned more about diabetes than I’ve been told before. I was honestly happy to know the information because diabetes runs in my family. I will try my best to not forget what I have learned in this unit once this semester is over. I have a feeling that I might get back into the habit of eating so much junk.

Anyways, I need to learn how to try different things. By taste, I’ll decide of it’s nasty or not. The sad honest truth is, the only fruit I’ll eat is sour grapes, and the only greens I eat is string beans, the French kind. I use to eat corn, carrots, and some others. But as I got older, my eating habits have changed. So, one of my main goals is to get back to that habit of eating healthy.

·       1 medium onion, chopped fine

·       1 tablespoon vegetable oil

·       1 medium tomato, chopped fine

·       1 green pepper, chopped fine (optional)

·       4-6 eggs

Preparation:

1.     Whisk eggs. Set aside.

2.     Melt oil in a large nonstick skillet. 

3.     Sautée 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. 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.

            Sauder’s eggs come from hens that eat organic feed with no antibiotics and roam outdoors.  Conventionally produced eggs come from hens given antibiotics and growth hormones.  Since Sauder’s is in Pennsylvania, the eggs also travel less than eggs from a non-local company might.  The tomato wasn’t organic.  While an organic tomato would have been grown without pesticides, the tomato we used was likely sprayed with pesticides to control weeds, pests and disease.

            This unit in science and society, I’ve learned about the ways in which science is a part of seemingly unscientific issues, like what we eat.  So much of the truth behind what we eat is hidden from us by huge food corporations.  It’s up to consumers to uncover the ugly truths behind modern agriculture.

            Our food system is terribly flawed.  We rely not on traditional farms, but on factories, where workers are mistreated and food is produced in unhealthy, dangerous and environmentally unsound ways.  Because food corporations are so huge and so powerful, they are able to eschew using responsible manufacturing practices in favor of doing whatever they can to make money.  They are even able to silence anyone who speaks out against them.  The biggest problem is that they act irresponsibly because they have no reason not to.  They aren’t punished for the problems they create.  As Michael Pollan described, Monsanto is working to create GMOs that are largely still not understood.  Worse, these products not only have the potential to cause problems in the short run, but once a gene is introduced to nature, it’s there for good.  This is called “genetic pollution,” and there’s no way to fix it.

1. Get 2 cups of water to boil.

2. Pour rice into pot and stir it with the Seasoning and Sofrioto.

3. Add the boiling water, and let it sit for 20-25 minutes.

Spanish rice is something eaten quite often within spanish families, it's dinner or lunch almost every day. Its usually not the main dish but a supporter to other dishes such as fish, beef, steak, and anything else. To families that don't have their own recipe they usually use goya products to make the spanish rice or season it.

When I was thinking of what I wanted to make thats all natural I asked my dad. We looked around the house and found rice and the Goya seasoning. The rice we used was from japan because it was bought at the asian market. So the rice traveled quite far and the goya seasoning is usually made in america so the seasoning didn't cost much.

The meal in total cost is cheap depending on the amount of rice, seasoning, and sofrito you use.

In this unit the main thing I learned was that the organic food cost more than processed food is a myth because of a homework assignment. Most of the prices where similar and the only time processed was cheaper was when it was fast food such as mcdonalds. 

Rice (8-10 serving):

You Will Need:

3 cups of rice

3 tablespoons of olive oil

6 cups of water

2 teaspoons of salt

What To Do:

1. Place water in a kettle and put the fire on high until it boils

2. Start with 3 cups of rice

3. Wash the rice then put in pot (no water yet)

4. Take 3 tablespoons of olive oil and place it into the rice

5. Mix that up on low 

6. When water is at a boil, pour 6 cups of water into the rice

7. Add salt and stir

8. Place lid on it and put fire on high

9. When it comes to a boil turn it down low

10. Keep it on low with cover

11. In about 20 minutes check on rice and stir again

12. It should be ready to serve

13. If not let it sit for a couple more minutes and check it again until it is ready

Beans (8-10 serving): 

*90 calories in each Bean can

*20 calories in each tomato sauce can

You Will Need:

3 16oz cans of red Goya Beans

1 can of tomato sauce

adobo seasoning

From personal Garden

Half cup of diced green bell peppers

Half teaspoon of diced Habenero pepper

One tablespoon of ripe diced jalepeno's

Oregano leaves

Basil leaves

What to do:

1. Lightly Cover Pan with Olive oil (thin layer)

2. Heat oil on low until heated

3. Crush 1/2 clove of Garlic, and chop up 1/2 Onion,

4. Place all peppers, garlic, and onion into the olive oil. And stir

5. Sauté vegetables in oil (DO NOT BURN)

6. Add teaspoon of salt to the pan

7. Add 8 oz of the tomato sauce

8. After stirring for a bit add another 8 oz of tomato sauce

9. Add the 3 cans of red beans

10. Stir thoroughly 

11. Then add a quarter cup of water

12. Add a pinch of adobo seasoning

13. Stir again then place lid on beans

14. Put fire on low

15. When beans are tender it is done

Plantains (8-10 serving):

*40 calories in a bottle of olive oil (will be less because you will not use a whole bottle of olive oil)

You Will Need:

4 cups of water

2 cloves of garlic (peeled and crushed)

2 tablespoons of salt

some vegetable oil

a pan

a bowl big enough to soak plantains in

What To Do (Step By Step):

1. Take three green plantains and peel them (if you prefer sweet plantains then you have to get 3 yellow plantains)

2. After you peel them place them in a bowl full of 4 cups of water

3. Add the salt and garlic to the water

4. Let plantains soak for 15 minutes

5. When done drain them well

6. Take the oil and cover the bottom of the pan at least an half of inch thick

7. Place plantains in pan and fry, flipping over when needed

8. Place paper towel on plate 

9. Take the plantains that are done and put them on the plate

10. Take a paper towel and place over plantains 

11. Hit the paper toweled covered plantains with palm to flatten them

dip them in the salt water and take out IMMEDIATELY

11. place on plate and enjoy

_______________________________________________________

Analysis 

During this project, Anna and I had to make a dish that was not only healthy, but we had to make a dish with natural foods. Our goal was to prove that food can be healthy and taste good. Anna and I made Plantains, Rice, and Beans with freshly grown peppers. Our dish was more natural than organic, because we had freshly grown peppers, and unprocessed beans. The only thing we used that was organic was the tomato paste hat we mixed in with the beans and peppers. Rice, beans, and plantains are kinds of food that depending on how you make them is how much fat and or calories will be in it. We tried to make them with little processed ingredients as we could. But depending on how someone makes these that is how healthy it will be for you. If they add a lot of fatty ingredients to each then eating it every day would not be good. But if you use a lot of natural ingredients and stuff that you have grown from the garden and such then eating this everyday wouldn't be to much of a problem. Especially if you are spanish, rice and beans and sometimes plantains are eaten everyday so they find a lot of ways to make them better so it doesn't make them sick or too fat. So it all depends on what you add. We read the labels and packaging to see where our foods came from, and we learned the rice was grown in Japan, the beans we're grown in texas, and the plantains were originated in Southern Asia. The food that traveled the furthest was the beans from Southern Asia in the Bangladesh area, which was 8260 Miles away. The second longest was Japan at 6762 miles for the imported rice. The processing of these foods are fresh grown, picked, and sent out. None of them are organic, or have any added chemicals except for the tomato paste which was made from organically grown tomatoes. In a regular restaurant setting, the meal we made would cost roughly between $4.99 - $7.99. Compared to fast food, our dish is actually healthy, because it has no added transfat, it wasn't made in grease or a fryer, and it didn't have any unnatural ingredients. The companies that make money from our dish are the Goya Co. (Making the Plantains, and the beans), and Canilla rice, (which gets their rice from 4 different countries, but most commonly, latin america). When growing rice, they usually plow it to collect it and fertilize it and ship it out to factories so they can bag and distribute to the large grocers who produce and send it out. Next, Beans are grown from seeds, and are harvested, picked out of their pods, and packaged to be sent to the grocers who sell them. Plantains are grown exactly like yellow bananas. They are grown on large tree's or tree-like plants, and picked off to be sent to factories in their cells, grown in groups of 5-6 bananas, which are labeled and sent to supermarkets and grocery stores. Chefs and domestic cooks make or use original recipes that involve some of these products which helps make a lot of mixtures and blends form these basic foods. When it comes to a lot of the ingredients it is better to grow them yourself then buy them because you don't have to worry about any of the pesticides and such. But when you are growing stuff yourself you have to know how like you have to make a lot of the crop depending on what you want since weather, and animals effect how many of the crops actually last until you pick them. So for tomatoes and peppers, which were two ingredients we used, I believe these are better and easy to just grow yourself. Now when it comes to plantains I think they have to be in a certain environment so unless you have some top notch garden shizzle going on than that would most likely be better just to buy.

FRUITS: WE WANT YOU TOO

2lbs.- free range chicken thighs

3 -small organic red potatoes 

1/2-organic red onion 

1-cup of chicken broth

1-sweet Red bell pepper

1-clove of garlic

organic black pepper corns w/ grinder (Black pepper)

bottle of organic extra virgin olive oil

Reynolds Baking Bags

Prepare the chicken by sprinkling it with grinded black peppercorns

Sauteé 1/4 of the onion chopped, half the red pepper(with seeds), & chopped garlic in olive oil.

(while you are waitng you can slice your potatoes thinly.)

Once that in finshed and browned, prepare the skillet with more olive oil to fry the chicken. 

You plan on just browning the skin , not frying completely.

Once the skin is browned, you need to prepare your baking bag,put the baking bag inside of the roasting pan,  cover the bottom of the bag with potatoes then the slices of the other half of the onion and peppers. Add a layer of chicken to cover the bottom layer. each thigh should be touching a potato. 

sprinkle the sauteéd peppers and onions on top of the chicken. 

Put chicken broth on top of all the food in the bag using a turkey baster.

tie the bag and cut slits for air holes.

Put in a 375 degree oven for about 40 minutes. check periodically.

A few words to describe me meal:

• tasty-of course!
• economical & cheap-this only costed me about $15 (every ingredient was purchased from Whole Foods market)
• filling- not only do you get a main course of chicken, but you have sides with potatoes, onions, and peppers
• complete-as I said before, the meal is complete all you need is something to drink.

The body does not take long to digest chicken. Chicken is not a heavy meat. Peppers onions and garlic and tasty flavors which are rather healthy. If you ate nothing but this meal everyday you might lack calcium in your diet.

All the ingredients were local and organically grown. The chicken was also free range.

For this project Maxime Damis and I worked together to bake Biscotti. HERE is the link to our recipe, recipe analysis, and photos of our creation.