More good eats

Ned would like to enlarge his post of yesterday on good healthy foods to eat. In no particular order they are:
10. Bananas: everyone knows about bananas but everyone may not know that industrially-grown bananas are very bad for the environment. Thus, Ned recommends that his friends buy only organic bananas whenever possible. Bananas have lots of potassium and some vitamin C and fiber. But they also have a very high glycemic index; therefore Ned recommends his followers eat bananas not as a snack (Ned hates that word, by the way) but only with other foods, especially whole-grains to slow their absorbtion rate.
9. Cinnamon: this spice has all sorts of good stuff in it and so Ned recommends getting all you can. Try it in coffee and dusted on whole-grain breads. Also make sure to put it in any recipes for cobblers or other desserts.
8. Cumin: Another great spice--full of antioxidants. Great mixed with game meat for meatballs or in rice or dusted on anything you like. Cook with butter or olive oil with onions and garlic. Experiment!
7. Turmeric: Ditto for cumin. Try it in coffee, too.
6. Cardamom: ditto: try it in coffee--great!
5: Salmon: Everyone knows that salmon is good for you because of omega-3s and protein, but you need to eat only wild-caught because the farm-raised is prey to parasites, and generally bad for the local marine environment. Also, since salmon is a carnivore, they feed the farmed animals wild-caught fish, so the impact is doubly bad.
4. Kale: A great green, full of minerals and vitamins, especially if one eats organic, locally-grown kale. Cook briefly with olive oil and garlic, and try some of the good seasonings listed above to see if they fit.
3. Figs: Ned loves figs: many people don't like the texture, so try them dried, but in moderation. They are loaded with minerals and fiber. Organic, of course, if possible.
2. Whole-grain bread: Try making your own with a bread machine you bought at a used stuff store, and mix lots of oats into it. There are plenty of recipes on line, but go easy on the salt.
1. Pinto beans: Ned likes the canned ones, organic of possible. Great for you with minerals, protein and fiber. Mix with whole-grain rice, tomatoes (or salsa), onions, cilantro, and cheese if you like, and you have an extremely wholesome meal. Avoid the enriched-wheat tortillas: use corn if you need a tortilla.

Ned's Ten Fine Foods

In these troubled times, Ned is moved to reiterate, with increased vigor, his ten best food recommendations to his many friends and followers. Bon appetit! (List not in any particular order.)
10. Goat milk kefir: loaded with goodness, packed with happy, friendly bugs, this stuff is nectar. Free your mind from concerns about its cost. A little goes a long way.
9. Vegetable juice (low salt): remember that low sodium is not always low salt since some brands simply substitute potassium chloride for sodium chloride, and Ned is concerned about upsetting one's potassium balance. Vegetable juice is a low-calorie, high nutrient marvel, packed with stuff you might find hard to get in other common foods. And even has lots of fiber. A can't miss food. Ned likes the stuff sold by Trader Joe's even though some might not like the slightly lemony taste.
8. Apples: These are a wonder fruit, especially if you can get organic ones, non-red or golden delicious varieties. Loads of fiber and bioflavenoids. The old folks didn't say 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' for nothing.
7. Cruciferous veggies: the broccoli, cauliflower guys with cabbage. Great nutrition, low calories, and easy to eat. Marinate broccoli and cauliflower, and eat cabbage as coleslaw mixed with a little carrot. Cauliflower can also be broiled with some cumin and butter or olive oil. Again, get organic if possible. Try this tip: buy a container of coleslaw from your favorite deli, then mix an equal part raw coleslaw from those friendly plastic packages. Cuts down on calories and just as good.
6. Blueberries: you just can't beat 'em for taste and nutrition. Buy them or pick them in the summer and dry them. Freeze a few packages for the winter, too.
5. Spinach: makes great salad, easy to cook. Great sauteed with garlic, or just mix with a little salad dressing. Be sure to get organic if possible, since the industrial stuff is doused with all sorts of bad stuff.
4. Game meat: buffalo, venison, elk: For those who eat meat, the best way to get it. Usually raised in small operations and much of it is local, so win-win. And buffalo don't mess up the soil like cattle. Besides, they are smarter than cows. Remember to eat only a little because we don't want any more cruelty than necessary and you need a diet that is mainly veggies and whole grains anyway.
3. Oats: Ned's secret weapon and the source of much Celtic inspiration over the centuries. High in protein, and soluble fiber. Mix it with game meat for a tasty meatball, and use in cobblers and cookies with only enough sweetener to qualify as dessert.
2. Coffee and tea: Great drinks, and good for you. organic, shade grown coffee varieties help local peoples and the planet. Tea has lots of bioflavenoids and antioxidants, and coffee is good for you, like so many other things, in moderation. Do not overdo it.
1. Tomatoes: Fresh is great, especially if you can pilfer some from a friend's garden. But cooked ma be even better since it concentrates the antioxidants. Goes with most anything.

We will have other foods to add later, but for now, eat these and get healthy!

Vitamins

Ned is fresh from his 2-hour stint at his local food co-op, where he serves as sanitizer and recycler--sort of an all around Igor. On his way out after his exhaustive but productive stint, Ned noticed ruefully all the boxed "organic" foods which are toxic to health: Indian-style concoctions loaded with fat and salt, for example, and "organic mac and cheese," not to mention dry cereals full of salt and sugar. Ned cautions his friends to remember to avoid "food" in boxes whether organic or not.
He also noticed a row of multivitamins, and shook his head remorsefully at the idea that millions of people are taking such pills instead of eating a good diet rich in fruits and vegetables, whole grains, fermented dairy products such as goat's milk kefir, and a modest amount of protein from meat (if that is to one's taste), legumes, and seafood, carefully chosen so as to be as environmentally benign as possible. If Ned's friends were to eat a decent diet, they would have no need of "multivitamins", only remembering to take Vitamin D in winter.
Good health, and remember to eat what likes you, not necessarily what you like.

Ned's Lunch

Ned would like to share his lunch (figuratively speaking, of course) with his many friends, because it illustrates something he has long championed: taking a long time to eat. In this, Ned was aided because his lunch consisted of coarsely-chopped, blanched vegetables--carrots, broccoli, red and green peppers, red onions--, coleslaw, a small ripe tomato pilfered from a friend's garden, a little ceviche made of bits of bay shrimp and pollock, and so reasonably sustainable, and a small apple. This was accompanied by a modest glass of Trader Joe's vegetable juice. Now, the virtue of this meal was that, in addition to being extremely nutritious, it took Ned a long time to physically chew the food, unlike an average "fast-food" meal consisting of fries and a burger, or a slice of pizza.
Ned once again urges his many friends to remember his adage, "eat what likes you, not necessarily what you like."

Healthy Eating, American Style

Readers will perhaps consult Ned's "sister" post, Ned Pepper's Outrages, for a discussion of the habits of Very Obese People in Taos, that Ned observed with wonder and chagrin on his recent trip. Today, however, Ned has been made aware of a new report by the CDC in Atlanta, concluding that the American diet is even worse than we believed. If one is to accept the report, about a quarter of Americans get two servings of "fruit or fruit juice" per day, a woefully inadequate amount. But this report is in fact FAR WORSE than it seems.
Ned's readers will recall that he has repeatedly warned them against consuming large quantities of fruit juice due to its high sugar content. For example, one 8-ounce serving of orange juice has about 150 calories and many grams of fructose, which can cause insulin levels to spike if not taken with other foods. Better to eat an orange instead, and as much of the white interior pulp as possible, since this stuff has lots of antioxidants in it.
Ned encourages his readers to drink vegetable juice, and seek out low salt (NOT low sodium, since this stuff simply replaces sodium chloride with potassium chloride: READ THE LABEL). If Ned's readers have access to Trader Joe's, the Trader has a very good low salt vegetable juice with lads of minerals and vitamins for a very reasonable cost.
The report goes on the lament the fact that, not content with getting little fruit, Americans generally eat very few vegetables. Ned recommends at least 10 servings of vegetables (including vegetable juice of course) per day, and more if possible. And remember, CORN IS NOT A VEGETABLE!

Profuse apologies

Ned offers profuse apologies to his many healthy followers and assures them that, on his forthcoming trip to Taos, NM, he will amass a veritable army of health and fitness arcana for their astonishment, amusement and edification. In the meantime, be content with the knowledge that Ned has not been idle: no, he has picked 19 pounds of blueberries and devoured about a quarter of them, freezing several pounds and drying the remainder. He is also working his way through a box of apples from his suppliers in the Yakima Valley.
Ned recommends his followers regale themselves with salmon patties and a nice white wine. Make the patties with a 7 1/2 ounce can of wild caught salmon, 1/4 cup of oats and an egg. Add finely chopped onion if desired and enjoy on a sprouted grain bun with mustard, avocado and tomato.
Bon appetit!