The food that I am choosing to analyze is one of my favorite dishes made in my household. It does not have a name, I tend to call it “That Pasta Jawn”. It is made with Turkey Kielbasa, whole grain penne pasta, cayenne pepper, oregano, pepper, as well as fresh garlic, basil, onions, and red, green, and yellow peppers. I believe that about 60 percent of this meal is processed. The pasta and meat have the biggest proportions in the meal which leads me to think that the other 40% consists of vegetables. There is a lot of garlic, onions, and peppers involved which sort of equates the meat and pasta which are processed.

In total, this meal would cost about $19.59, but it would feed approximately 6 people. Compared to the fast food restaurants you’d initially think that the it’s cheaper than the meal that I described, but that isn’t the case. My meal would be able to feed about 6 people meanwhile a meal at a fastfood chain could vary from $5-$12 per person. Fast food lives up to the idea of being fast, quick, and easy, but often times home cooked meals can be cheaper and healthier.

Baked Mac and Cheese

Recipe:

• Boil four cups of noodles until just softened (they’ll cook more in the oven)

• Prepare three cups of grated cheese. I prefer mozzarella and some kind of cheddar, but maybe you prefer something with more heat or a different texture. The choice of cheese is up to you.

• Whisk together two tablespoons of butter and two tablespoons of flour in a large saucepan over heat. Continue whisking for at least three minutes.

• Whisk in two cups of milk (any kind will do but whole milk is prefered), a bay leaf, and a couple sprinkles of paprika. Bring this mixture to a simmer and continue whisking and simmering for fifteen minutes until it’s reduced, and remove it from heat. For a less saucy and more reduced mixture, simmer for eighteen minutes. Then season with salt and pepper to taste.

• Whisk in about two thirds of your cheese and continue whisking until the mixture is as chunky/smooth as you would like. Remember that this will continue to cook as it sits and as it cooks in the oven.

• Pour your noodles into the saucepan and mix until thoroughly combined. The noodles should be coated in the cheesey saucey mixture. Move half of these noodles to a pan or bowl (one that is oven-proof).

• Pour the rest of your grated cheese into the pan or bowl, over the noodles, to serve as a cheesey center for your mac and cheese dish. Then pour the rest of your noodles on top. All of your grated cheese and noodle/cheese mixture should be in the pan or bowl now.

• Extra tip: if you feel like you didn’t get enough cheese in there, you can grate more cheese into the mixture at any time. This recipe is very forgiving and the amount of cheese won’t damage the final product; the amount of cheese is really to taste.

• Finish by combining a cup of breadcrumbs with two tablespoons of butter in a pan or skillet, and combine and toast until the breadcrumbs are warm and buttery. Spread this mixture on top of your mac and cheese.

• Put your entire pan or bowl of mac and cheese into the oven at 350 degrees (you could preheat the oven if you liked, but again the recipe is forgiving). The meal is done after half an hour or until the top is as golden brown as you would like.

• Extra tip: you can remove the mac and cheese from the oven and serve it immediately, but you can also mix it together, or add more grated cheese. If at any point in the process you don’t like it, just adjust the amounts of cheese/breadcrumbs/milk/butter/whatever to taste.

• Extra tip: This mac and cheese isn’t as strong as I like it, but I prefer to season it once it’s on my plate and not in the bowl with everyone else’s. Some hot sauce, coarse kosher salt, and ground pepper can really improve the strength of the recipe and also bring out the other flavors. In addition to seasoning, you can also add grated cheese to your own plate to give a little bit of chunk to your saucey mac.

• The final step is to enjoy!

This dish is a home cooked, hearty, comfort food. I use this dish to serve in large portions, because small portions of mac and cheese just make me sad that I don’t have more, so I will be analyzing this from the perspective of two to four people served per bowl (when this could easily create twenty small appetizer dishes).

In the context of other comfort foods, this dish holds its own. It has a lot of variation, but if you use the right ingredients this dish can be all whole food. Using whole milk is, obviously, the first step, but also make sure you’re using organic AND all natural cheese (placing far more emphasis on the organic on the label than the all natural). The other key is to use the proper seasoning; fresh salt, pepper, bay leaves, and paprika (and hot sauce if you’re interested in that feature of the recipe) are much less likely to be processed. These small pieces of the recipe are what create the taste, whereas the noodles and cheese create the bulk of the meal, so investing in organic, fresh, and unprocessed seasonings is critical. The real issue with processed foods arises with the bulk of the meal. The noodles are the biggest problem, because they’re grains and not digestible by our bodies, so they have to be processed. You could use veggie noodles, or even actual vegetables cut into the shapes of noodles (zucchini is a popular choice), or whole grain noodles as a whole food alternative to the most processed brands of noodle. You can even find out about these noodle choices on the Whole Foods website, ironically enough. Cheeses are also a difficult option. Spend some time choosing the right cheese (both in taste and in ingredients) and make sure it isn’t just the cheese at the closest corner store. Farmer’s markets are a great way to find little to no process cheese, and you can even make your own at home with a fraction of the “processing” that even the most local of farmers uses. In the end, if you want a little to no process mac and cheese recipe, you can get it, but you can’t use the Kraft box that’s sitting in your cabinet.

I began to touch upon this in your choice of ingredients, but having a healthy whole food option isn’t the only benefit of purchasing from local and organically grown farms. Cheese, especially the homemade or farmmade and whole food kind, is very difficult to make. The process is arduous and time consuming, but in the end rewards the consumer with an amazing and deep flavor. Investing in farmer’s market cheese is good for the consumer, but more importantly is good for the farmer. Supporting local farmers is what keeps unprocessed food on people’s plates, so this mac and cheese recipe is a great opportunity to support farmers.

In my preparation of this food I admittedly didn’t use farmer’s market ingredients. I used relatively fresh seasoning bought from Trader Joe’s and my mozzarella cheddar blend was created using their cheese as well. Trader Joe’s in particular is a happy medium between corporations like Kraft which crank out low quality mac and cheese at a low price and a farmer’s market with high quality ingredients but equally high costs. Trader Joe’s also uses the profits from their foods for good causes and are reliably healthy and organic. My preparation of this meal was free, but the combined prices of the ingredients were $15, I would estimate. This amount of fast food mac and cheese, however, say from Wawa or Panera, would cost me even more (two family sized mac and cheese sides from Wawa cost the same $15 but wouldn’t fill the bowl that I filled). The fast food option of this meal would also be much less healthy, even if you opted for store bought cheese and processed pasta.

Recipe

Ingredients:

• Two eggs

• Two slices of bread

• Two pieces of cheese

• Unsalted margarine

• ¼ cup milk

• Cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Crack two eggs into a bowl and scramble until all of the egg is one color.

2. Mix milk into the eggs.

3. Heat a flat pan and melt a piece of margarine in the pan to coat the bottom.

4. Place a piece of bread into the bowl so one side is completely covered in egg. Then flip, and sprinkle cinnamon on top.

5. Lift bread out of bowl. Take bread out before it can get very soggy and start falling apart.

6. Put the slice of bread into the pan cinnamon side down. Then, sprinkle cinnamon over the other side.

7. Flip the bread once the side that is faced down no longer looks like raw egg.

8. Once other side is cooked, place the slice onto a plate.

9. Put one piece of cheese in the corner of the slice of bread. Then, rip the other slice of cheese in areas of the top of the bread the first piece of cheese did not cover.

10. Coat the second slice of bread in the remaining egg and cook like the first one.

11. Place the second slice on top of the cheese.

12. Let the sandwich cool for a moment, and then cut it in half if you desire.

Analysis

50% of the ingredients in this recipe are processed food while the rest is whole food. Eggs are a whole food since they come directly from chickens with little done to them except cleaning and packaging. Cinnamon,  type of tree bark that is just grated, is another whole food. Milk is almost a whole food, except it is pasteurized and sometimes has added vitamins.  Meanwhile, bread, margarine, and cheese are highly processed. It is possible to get cheese that is more of a whole food, but I tend to use cheese from Kraft.

This meal is unhealthy to eat everyday. Margarine almost only has fat, which is not healthy. Eating eggs too often causes high cholesterol, but it is a good source of protein, which the body does need. Cheese has calcium, but Kraft has added dyes and other unnatural ingredients. Arnold Whole Grain Oat Nut bread, which I use, gives protein, fiber, and whole grains, but also has added vitamins. Added vitamins are not as good as eating naturally occurring vitamins.

This meal is inexpensive. A dozen eggs, gallon of milk, jar of cinnamon, package of cheese, and box of margarine cost a few dollars each, and of each ingredient, only cents’ worth is being used. This meal only costs $1-2 approximately. This is about the same price as a burger on a fast food value menu, but with more whole grains than the rolls used in fast food. Both still are cooked with fat though.

Vegetarian Antipasto (Serves 6 entree salads)

Ingredients for Salad:

1 bag romaine lettuce

1 bag spring mix

2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1½ cups cucumber, peeled and chopped

1 cup red onions, chopped

1 red pepper, seeded and chopped

12 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

½ cup artichoke hearts, packed in water, drained, rinsed and quartered

Dressing:

½ cup Light Balsamic Vinaigrette (optional)

Topping:

6 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese -1 tbsp. per salad (optional)

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, add the lettuces.  Next, add all the remaining salad ingredients. Cover and store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

2. When ready to serve, add the dressing and toss well.  Divide salad on each plate.  Top each salad with 1 tablespoon cheese.

This vegetarian antipasto is the healthiest meal that you can find in an Italian and Irish family that likes their meats, cheeses, and breads. Normally, my mom will make this as a side salad for a meal but she told me that it can be served as an entree for dinner. For its nutritional content, the meal totals to about 236 calories per serving (including the cheese and dressing) and each serving consists of about to cups of the salad which is very filling. There is about 10 grams of fat which is not a lot of fat from a dinner meal since you are supposed to have 44 to 78 grams of fat per day in your diet. However if you eat too many salads, you will most likely become constipated since leafy green vegetables like lettuce are high in insoluble fiber.

Most of the ingredients in this recipe are not processed or could be found in a not processed form. For example, the recipe calls for bagged romaine lettuce and spring mix which means that there was a small amount of processing that the food went through. The person making this dish could always use normal lettuce instead of bagged lettuce. Other than these items that could be found non-processed the only processed ingredients are the cheese, vinaigrette, and the canned garbanzo beans. Most of the ingredients for this recipe are not processed foods.

Depending on whether you buy these items organic or nonorganic is a factor for the price of this meal. Also this dish includes many ingredients, especially vegetables when bought out of season can be expensive. Depending on the time of year and the preference of the customer, this meal could be more expensive than some dinners. Changes can be made to this recipe to make it more affordable for all incomes and it is still less expensive than buying fast food for dinner.

Recipe for Potato Salad

Ingredients:

• ½ a bag of Idaho potatoes

• 9 eggs

• 1 cup of mayonnaise

• A tablespoon of salt

• 6 cups of water

1. Start by adding water to a medium sized pot. Then add in potatoes and salt.

2. Let the potatoes boil for 15 minutes. The potatoes should be softened but still solid. If the potatoes are falling apart you have overcooked them.

3. In a separate pot boil the the eggs for approximately 10-15 minutes. Then, pour out hot water. Run cold water over the eggs and begin to peel.

4. In a separate boil add in the potatoes, mayonnaise, and cut up eggs. Mix it all together leaving some chunks of potato still intact.

5. Finally, enjoy !

Environmental:  

The potato brand i’ve seen my mother use is Idahoan Fresh. Wada Farms Potatoes is the company that sells this brand and is based in Idaho Falls, ID and is organically grown. A driver would have to travel approximately 2,215 miles to reach Philadelphia. Morton Salt is the brand that is also usually used in my home. The company has about 20 production cities and the closest one to Philadelphia is a site in Fairless Hills, PA about 26 miles away in a car.

Political/economic:  

The salt is $0.89. The mayonnaise is $3.99. The potatoes are $10.99. The water is free. This comes out to a total of $15.87. Although the meal is more expensive than fast food it can serve more people a last a little bit longer. Hellmann's Mayo is another company that is involved with this dish

Health/nutrition:  

An 11.5 oz bottle of mayo contains 100 calories, 95 mg of sodium, 1.5 g of saturated fat, and 0g of sugar. Per one large egg there are 70 calories, 5 g of total fat, 70mg of sodium, and 6 g of protein. Table salt has 0g of fat and sugar, 0 calories, and 6,976 g of sodium. As you can see this meal contains a large amount of sodium. Sodium is used to regulate blood flow and pressure but an excess amount of sodium could lead to high blood pressure and hypertension.

Recipe- Cauliflower & Cheese

Ingredients-

• ½ Cauliflower

• Block of Cheddar Cheese

• ½ cup of Milk

• Teaspoon of Salt

• Dash of Pepper(optional)

• 3 cups of water

Directions-

1. Pour 3 cups of water into pot and add a dash of salt.

2. Cut up cauliflower and boil it in pot for 5 min.

3. After done boiling place cauliflower in water strainer.

4. Pour ½ cup of milk into glass or microwavable bowl.

5. Cut up block of cheddar cheese and place it into bowl. Then add salt and pepper.

6. Add cauliflower in glass bowl and then place it in the microwave for 2 min.

7. Take it out and stir. Then put it back it for 1 ½ min more or until you think it’s done.

8. Ready to eat!

   Analysis-
   

   This recipe in my family is supposed to be a healthy substitute for Macaroni & cheese (cauliflower replaces macaroni). The main ingredients includes Cauliflower, Cheddar Cheese, and Milk which are all whole foods depending on the brand. Vegetables and non-homogenized dairy products all count as whole foods according to the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center. Since most of the foods in this dish are whole foods it’s considered a healthier recipe. 1 cup of Cauliflower is about 25 calories, has 2 grams of sugar, and no fat. 1 ounce of Cheddar Cheese which is less healthy has about 115 calories, 0.1 grams of sugar, and 9.6 grams of fat. ½ a cup of milk is about 52 calories, has 13 grams of sugar, and 2.4 grams of fat. Although this meal may be healthier than regular Mac & cheese eating it all the time would not be healthy because of all the cheese and milk.

   The Cauliflower we buy at whole foods is about $3.99 per head, while the cheddar cheese is $3.60 per block, and 2% milk is $2.50. The salt and pepper is about $1.99 each, so the total cost of the meal is about $14.07 in total. This obviously costs a lot more than regular mac & cheese you could get at a fast food restaurant like KFC or popeyes which is about $1.99. Compared to fast food though our recipe is lot healthier, tastes better because it’s homemade, and isn’t too expensive if you ration or save it. We usually get our food at whole foods which is a big corporation. The cauliflower we buy comes from braga farms which is a small family owned farmed which grows organic vegetables. The cheese comes from the cooperation sargento and the milk is a whole foods brand called 365 everyday value. These businesses big or small were involved in producing these foods, and although I don’t really trust big corporations, but  they do say they are FDA approved and organic.