ORGANIC JUNK FOOD?

Yes, Ned assures his readers that there is such a thing as organic junk food, and it is only infinitesimally better for one than conventional junk food.
At my local co-op, where I am privileged to work one day a week, the shelves are stocked with food in cardboard boxes. Ned cautions his readers to be extremely wary of such "food", processed as it is, and generally bereft of redeeming social virtues.
Let's take crackers for example. Most are made of processed grains, even though they may shout "whole grain!" on the box. Ned's rule of thumb is a simple one: if the crackers contain any "unbleached" or "enriched" flour, avoid it. Furthermore, any package of "food" that has more than 4 lines of ingredients, should be approached as warily as a rabid dog. Next time you are at the store, pick out some packages of crackers and count the number of ingredients. You might well be amazed and will almost certainly be chagrined.
Ned is also wary of "veggie" burgers, those generally frozen wolves in sheep's clothing. Ned's problem with them is, first, their generally high salt content. Second, unless they are organic, they probably contain GMO soy. Third, they probably contain very little protein, and, if one is going to substitute such fare for meat, one had better be aware of the protein content, especially if one is working out to improve one's sadly neglected physique.
The same caution should be applied to most packaged breads, unless you can find some from a local baker. But even then, the primary ingredient is likely to be "unbleached" flour, whether organic or not. Contrast that with the ingredients in Ned's Irish Soda Bread from an earlier post: whole wheat flour, oat flour, currants, oats, baking powder, buttermilk, yeast and brown sugar (which serves as food for the yeast). Basically seven ingredients, all of which are known to the average person.
Ned also cautions his readers against serving sizes and salt content, especially in such seemingly benign foods as salsa and granola. In granola, serving size tends to be 1/4 to 1/2 cup. Who eats such a miniscule amount? Certainly not Ned. Salsa must be approached carefully because of the high salt content, among other things, since the serving size is generally 2 Tablespoons.
Back to Ned's original point: there is such a thing as organic junk food; in fact, the shelves are groaning with it.
Be wary. Let Ned know of any particularly egregious examples you discover.

MAKING YOUR OWN BREAD

My friends (and you ARE my friends) Ned wishes to change your life by encouraging you to make your own bread. Do not be misled by those who tell you that bread is an unhealthful "fattening" food. This a libelous and preposterous claim. Now, if one were to slather jelly, cream cheese, peanut butter, etc onto industrially-produced bread, that, like french fried potatoes, would be an unhealthful food.
But we digress.
First, get yourself a bread maker, one of the great inventions of the post-war (pick any one) years. And the good part is, most everybody you know has either gotten one as a gift, or bought one, and was too lazy to use it. They will give it to you, or you can buy one for a few dollars a a thrift store.
Now if you can plug in a cord, you can make great bread. Here's how.

Ned's Irish Soda Bread

Place 2 1/2 cups ww flour into a bread machine. Add 1/2 c oat flour.
Add 1/2 tsp baking powder, and, if you must, 1/4 tsp sea salt
Add 1/2 c currants and 1/2 c quick oats
Then add 1 c buttermilk (BGH free or organic)

Set your bread machine on "Mix" and let this stuff mix for a couple of minutes then turn off.

In a plastic or glass cup place 1/2 to 2/3 c water and warm slightly in a microwave--maybe 10 seconds. Make sure it isn't too hot. Just slightly warm is perfect. Add 2 TB brown sugar and dissolve. Add 1 package dry yeast, or one tablespoon. Mix and let set until the mix starts to bubble, about 5 minutes.
Add yeast mixture into bread maker with original ingredients, turn on, set on "quick bread" setting if you have such a setting, and go away.
Come back in about 3 hours and you have a perfect loaf of healthy bread.
You can vary the recipe if you wish by deleting oat flour or substituting something like spelt flour.
Enjoy! and
Let Ned know how it turns out.

MAKING YOUR OWN PIZZA

Ned counsels his friends to make their own pizza, and it's not as hard as one might think. The "trick" is to buy premade organic pizza dough, roll it "out" and put whatever one wants to eat, on the crust. Ned is very fond of organic whole wheat crust, but will gladly buy all-spelt crust from his local whole foods eatery. Here's what you do.
Preheat your oven to 450. Heat is essential.
On a baking sheet, rub a little olive oil. Then roll out the pizza dough, making sure it is not too thick. Turn up the edges a bit. On the dough, sprinkle a bit of extra virgin olive oil and some finely chopped basil oregano and rosemary, fresh of course if you can get it. Add your ingredients. Ned is partial to marinated mushrooms, roasted red pepper, artichoke hearts, black olives, and marinated garlic. But readers may want to add seafood or meat. Ned avoids most meat that is suitable for pizzas, especially "pepperoni," which he considers similar to cyanide in its effect on the human body.. He then adds dollops of soft goat cheese. Avoid the faux parmesan and mozzarella. Then he adds slices of fresh tomato, and presses the tomato into the existing ingredients. Note that he uses no "pizza sauce." Purists may want to drizzle a bit more olive oil, then bake at 450 for 15-20 minutes.
"You'll never go back,baby."

KEFIR

Ned has become a devotee of kefir, that luscious yoghurt-like drink loaded with probiotics, protein, and nutrition. He favors goat's milk kefir, plain of course. Ned admonishes his readers to avoid the sugary, flavored kefirs with the same disdain he hopes they apply to flavored yoghurts. Added sugars, with no added value. If one prefers a little sweetness in one's kefir, why not add a bit of blackstrap molasses, or pomegranite juice. Remember, we seek those foods which like us, and should be less concerned about foods that we like since flavor preferences are created and maintained by industrial food producers. And be sure to get organic if possible, but certainly kefir made with no BGH.
Now, Ned admits these drinks seem pricey. In fact, Ned today paid $5.99 for a 1 quart container of plain goat's milk kefir. However, Ned knows many friends who think nothing of paying $6-7 and more for a glass of wine in a bar, and then wouldn't think of leaving less than a dollar or even two as a "tip" to the person who labored to pour the wine from the bottle into their glass and bring it to them.
So let's try to keep things in proportion, shall we?

READ THE LABEL, PART 2

Ned would like to emphasize in this post the importance of reading food labels and avoiding packaged foods loaded with salt, refined grains and sugar, or high-fructose corn syrup. But reading labels may not always be as easy as it seems. As the late, beloved Rosann Rosannadanna once said, "It's always something!" And it is with labels, too.
Take salsa. Ned's many followers may think that reading salsa labels is cut-and-dried. Not so. This is even more lamentable since potentially salsa is one of the more nutritious processed foods one can eat. Here's the rub.
You need to carefully understand the portion size.
Most salsas list nutritional content for a ridiculously small serving size. This has two effects: it masks the salt and sugar content and it makes the real nutrition, like Vitamin C, seem miniscule. Take for example a salsa Ned had tonight. Lowish salt at 70 mg per serving, but the serving size was 33 grams, or only a couple of tablespoons.
Who eats two tablespoons of salsa? The same person who eats one chip Ned supposes.
But consider that the salsa Ned ate contained 3 grams of sugar per serving. Since the serving size was 33 grams, the stuff is 9% sugar by weight. Too much.
On the other hand, the serving size of many vegetable juices is either 4 or 8 ounces, and the calories per serving is around 25. Fantastic ratio, especially given the high nutritional value of vegetable juices.
So remember everyone to read the labels but BE CAREFUL OF THE PORTION SIZE.
Bon appetit.

MAKING YOUR OWN GROUND MEAT

Ned doesn't really trust ground meat from industrial sources, nor does he eat beef or pork from any source, whether grass-fed, organic or not. Pigs are too smart to eat, and cows are too bad for the environment. Besides, eating too much meat can cause urea build-up in susceptible people.
However, Ned is not a vegetarian. He just doesn't eat much meat. He also often makes his own ground meat, using lamb or buffalo.
Here's how:
If you have a food processor it's easy. If not, go to your local Goodwill or thrift store and buy one for Christ's sake.
Buy some lamb or buffalo stew meat. Out here in Oregon we can get locally grown lamb and buffalo. Venison, elk and caribou is also good if you can get it. Some of Ned's friends like emu, which we can get locally as well. (Ned hasn't really developed a taste for emu, but let that pass.) Inspect the meat and cut off any large bits of fat and gristle. Take them to your back yard if you have one and leave it for the crows. Then, and this is the "trick", put the stew meat in the freezer, after separating the pieces. Leave it in the freezer until the meat has just begun to freeze. You want it firm but not rock solid. Remove the meat, put in the food processor and pulse until you have a ground consistency you like. Remove and mix lamb with some oats or oat bran and finely-chopped onion. You can also add garlic and cumin or whatever the hell you like.
For buffalo, Ned would add garlic, onion and perhaps some chipotle, (although Mrs Ned doesn't like chipotle very much).
Cook but don't burn, and serve (with avocado, tomato, etc) on sprouted grain buns. Ned likes the Ezekiel ones we get in the frozen food section.
Goes well with any red wine. Lamb is really good with pinot noir of course.
Serve with some sauteed vegetables--whatever you can get in season: Ned likes asparagus (lots of rutin--recall a former post), broccoli rabe or any other kind of rabe, or sauteed kale, collards, bok choy, etc. Then finish with one or two of Ned's oatmeal cookies.
Bon appetit.

VEGETABLE JUICE

Ned would like to remind his many followers to drink vegetable juice. There are many kinds but he has found the tastiest and most nutritious to be tomato-based juices, preferably organic, but in this case, the benefits of drinking vegetable juice so far outweighs any negative impacts from pesticide residues that organic is not essential. Besides, organic veg juice tends to be very expensive.
A tip: If you live near a natural foods store or co-op, see if they will give you a deal on a case. Same for a big grocery store.
IMPORTANT: AVOID VEGETABLE JUICES SATURATED WITH SALT. READ THE LABEL. IF THERE IS MORE THAN 200 MG PER SERVING (AT LEAST 4 OUNCES) AVOID IT.
Ned is also a bit leery of drinking pure carrot juice. He wonders if its possible to get too much Vitamin A.
Finally, even if the drink seems to you to be expensive, remember that a good vegetable juice is better for you than a multivitamin, so if you are taking multivitamins, consider ditching them and spending the money on vegetable juice.
Another tip: If you can get the juice in glass, it's probably better for you than drinking it from plastic containers or those metal ones lined with plastic that may be toxic. This is especially important for acidic vegetable, or even fruit, juices, as the acid can leach toxins from the plastic. What kinds? Well, many of the compounds that can leach from plastic are estrogen-mimic chemicals. Not good.

VITAMIN D

Ned would like to say a few words about sunshine and Vitamin D. Skeptical as he is of any epidemiological-based health claim for some compound, Ned feels that the evidence for the value of Vitamin D is so overwhelming that we have to take it seriously. This means we need to get more sun.
But there's a problem: Most people when they get into the sun first slather themselves with sunscreen, thinking that if they don't they will get skin cancer and drop dead. If you do, you virtually eliminate your skin's ability to absorb D. Well, skin cancer is a concern but of far greater concern is lack of Vitamin D.
Here's one way to get your D and still protect yourself from cancer: WEAR A HAT.
Then, expose your arms and legs to the sun and you will absorb loads of D if you do not use sunscreen. BE CAREFUL NOT TO BURN. About 20 minutes exposure is good on a sunny day.
But remember: at the latitude most of us live (33 or above) we don't get enough sunshine between October and April to make much D, so we ought to take supplements.
Now, what is the first rule of supplements? TAKE THEM WITH FOOD.
We should be on Vitamin D, maybe 1000 IU's, between October and April, and thereafter try to get plenty of sun, taking care to keep our head covered, because that's where the danger from skin cancer is the greatest.
If you have health coverage, get your blood tested for Vitamin D deficiency. You'd be surprised how many people have it and don't know it.

Rutin and Quercetin

Ned generally doesn't believe in the value of supplements if taken in the absence of a good diet. nor does he believe in the value of multi-vitamins for most Americans since they are just substitutes for a good diet. OTOH, some supplements like flavenoids can be of use. Here are two: rutin and quercetin.
People who say 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away' may be right. Apples are one of Ned's wonder foods, but be sure to eat organic ones if possible to avoid pesticide residues. One compound in apples is very intriguing: quercetin. This is a flavenoid which has been shown in at least one test Ned is familiar with to reduce blood pressure. It is also found in tea, onions, the rinds of citrus fruits, and a plant called lovage. It may have many other benefits as well.
Another compound which may be of use is rutin, which could be good for your circulation. It is found in citrus fruit, some berries, and other fruit rinds.
These supplements can be purchased as pills, but Ned believes if you take them you should take them along with foods that naturally contain the substance in question. In other words, take quercetin with apples.
The point is to eat enough organic fruit to ensure that your body has enough of these life-sustaining compounds.
One last thing: ned likes pulpy orange rind, the slightly sweet white stuff inside the skin--the kind you get with navel oranges. The pulp is good in itself and contains a wealth of beneficial compounds.
Remember:EAT LOTS OF FRUIT, BUT DON'T DRINK EXCESSIVE FRUIT JUICE DUE TO THE SUGAR CONTENT AND CALORIES.

Some goooood foods

I have lost nearly 15 pounds over the past 6 months by going to the gym to work off my growing outrage at the disappointments in the Obama administration and the bad weather in Oregon. I have found the elliptical machine to have been the most effective for me. I am now working on weights, and I figure in another 6 months I will no longer be ashamed to venture out uncovered. But exercise is one thing: eating another, and they are both essential to good health. I am taking no prescription medication and hope to keep it that way.

Ned's first rule of eating is to free one's mind from likes and dislikes, because these are mainly created by industrial food manufacturers. Eat what likes you, and don't worry so much about what you like.

Cut down on salt. The average American consumes two to three times the optimum sodium intake, mainly from processed foods.

Cut down on meat, especially industrially grown meat. This stuff contains additives that are not good for you, are bad for the environment and bad for the animals. I avoid all beef and pork, whether industrial or organic.

Max "out" on vegetables, and try to get organic when possible. Stop worrying about price, since you spend very little on fresh food anyway.

Cut back on fruit juices. They may contain nutrients, but they have so much concentrated sugar that they can mess you up. f you must drink fruit juice, make it organic and cut it 1:1 with water.

Drink vegetable juice. It's the elixir of life, but go for the low-sodium kind.

Eat lots of fruit, but be careful of eating industrially-grown fruit like apples, strawberries, and peaches, as they are dosed with pesticides. Avoid industrial bananas since they too are dosed with pesticides. Get organic ones and don't worry about the extra ten cents. If most people saw a nickel on the street they wouldn't bend over and pick it up.

Avoid processed grains! Make your own bread. It's easy if you get a bread machine from your local Goodwill or equivalent.

If you must eat pizza, buy pre-made crust from a local whole foods store or co-op, the kind you roll out and bake at home, and make it yourself. Read labels and avoid processed flour and salt.

READ LABELS. This is a key recommendation.

Here are some of my recommended foods in no particular order. I will post recipes if demand warrants it later.

Blueberries

Strawberries (organic only)

Apples (organic if possible)

Bananas (organic only)

Arugula

Broccoli

Coleslaw--buy if with dressing from a local deli and cut it with equal parts packaged coleslaw like Dole's.

If you eat meat: buffalo, venison (eat the damn things up and get rid of them!), lamb, a little chicken is OK now and then.

Sheep's milk and goat's milk cheeses. Watch the salt!

Kefir and plain yoghurt, organic if at all possible!

Butter, organic or at least no BGH!

Olive oil.

Eggs if from happy hens --eggs are wonderful food

Fish--I like wild-caught salmon and don't be afraid to buy it canned from Alaska (look for the cans with no added salt), and mackerel. Calamari is good too but almost impossible to cook so I get it when I go out. Very sustainable. Squid breed and die.

I eat a little shrimp but it isn't very sustainable so go very light.

Asparagus in season

Kale and chard are great and great for you.

Tomatoes are a wonder food but get organic if you can.

Figs

Nuts and seeds are great for you but only in moderation because of the calories. I like brazil nuts, almonds, pumpkin seeds ( a wonder food) and sunflower seeds. Walnuts too.

More later.

OATS AND OATMEAL COOKIES

Ned believes strongly that oats are a wonder food. Oats are loaded with fiber, much of it soluble. They contain lots of protein as well. Quick oats are easy and can be used in lots of recipes. Bur Ned cautions everyone to avoid processed foods making health claims because they may have some oats in them. Cereals, for example, with their added vitamins, sugar and salt should be avoided. In fact, Ned counsels everyone to avoid any cereals in boxes. Eat oats in stews--they make a great thickening agent in lamb stews, for example. They are also marvelous in salmon patties. Use 1 can wild caught salmon, add 1/4 cup oats, some finely chopped onion and one egg. Mix well, and cook as an omelet. Great and great for you.
Ned also recommends oatmeal cookies, but not the crap that you buy in packages. Make your own: it's almost ridiculously easy, and if you use cocoanut butter it's healthy and easy to prepare. Use butter if you wish: it's just harder to mix.
Here's an easy recipe: 2 cups quick oats, 1/2 cup cocoanut butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar or blackstrap molasses, 1/2 cup ww or spelt flour, 1/2 cup currants, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp cinnamon. Add 1/2 tsp baking powder. Mix well. Then add 1 egg. All this should be organic of course if you can get it. Use a large tablespoon to drop lumps of dough onto a baking dish. You should be able to get about a dozen cookies. Bake at 360 for 10 minutes, then turn the oven off and leave in for another ten minutes. Remove immediately. If they are too crunchy for you, reduce cooking time a bit.
You will love them.

WELCOME TO NED'S HEALTH AND FITNESS

NED'S health and fitness is a complimentary blog to Ned Pepper's Outrages. If you are mad as hell like Ned, you will need to stay healthy.
In this blog, Ned will pass along tips on eating right, and on foods to avoid. He will discuss getting in shape and staying in shape for genders of all ages.
Here's Ned's first tip: GET IN SHAPE, NOT BY TRYING TO DIET, BUT BY A COMBINATION OF DIET AND ACTIVITY.
TIP: YOU CANNOT WALK YOUR WAY TO HEALTH. Contrary to what you may have been told, in Ned's estimation you cannot lose weight and get in shape by walking. It just doesn't do enough for you. You must exercise vigorously several times a week. Ned goes to a gym about 6 times a week.
TIP: SUPPLEMENTS DO NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR NUTRITIOUS FOOD. BUT IF YOU INSIST ON TAKING VITAMIN AND/OR MINERAL SUPPLEMENTS, TAKE THEM WITH MEALS.
TIP: DON'T BE WATER CRAZY. You don't need to be sipping water 24/7. Ned's brother once went on a "kick" of drinking 7 liters of water a day. Naturally he wanted to use filtered water. But the expense and trouble proved too much. And it did him no apparent good at all.
TIP: TRY TO STAY ON YOUR FEET AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. SITTING IS NOT GOOD. Ned admits this is hard to do, so just be aware of it.
More later.