Rachel Ray recipes....

I rarely watch her, I dunno why, not that I was in that much love with Martha, just... I guess it's am not accustomed to Spanish oriented cuisine, and Rachel has strong Spanish roots to me.

However, I was tempted by her last issue of Every Day because of the "The Grill Issue" notice on the front page and the scrumptious looking grilled asparagus picture at the end of the magazine.

Then, before I had a chance to peruse the magazine myself my daughter read it thoroughly and declared- "this is cr@p.
I'm sure this here is all very tasty and all but also unhealthy - too much fat, sugar, and in proportion to veggies - too much meat."

Oh well. I suppose I can substitute the recipes with my own ingredients, in a healthier and leaner way.


But that got me thinking - with doctors alarming of the growing obesity problem in North America, how can Rachel Ray promote and find acceptance of not so healthy way of cooking, then?

Now, Rachel Ray is a household name seen everyday on national TV, probably international, too.
A great guru and a role model to look up to.

But how many of you heard about Meme Roth?
I've never heard of HER until today, and on the Polish forum, of all things:
http://www.actionagainstobesity.com/NationalActionAgainstObesity/NAAO.html
http://websites.integrativenutrition.com/MRoth/index.aspx

Now, I don't know if she is credible or not, legit or not and what not, although (unless it's a lie) she seems to be backed up by quite credible names such as Dr Oz and American Academy of Pediatrics.
This also got me thinking - correct me if I am wrong, but if NA is facing an obesity epidemic,
how come we do not see a 'Meme Roth'
promoting a healthy eating habits and way of life every day on a major daytime TV network on the same scale as Rachel Ray?


Risa

Rachel Ray...LOL.

A lot better things come out of the various chefs from the Food Network (excluding rachel), Cooks Illustrated, and some good chefs like Thomas Keller of The French Laundry, Mario Batalli, and Lidia Bastianich. Everything can be modified.

Even Alton Brown comes up with some decent stuff--a bit whacky, but hey, if it tastes good.

The obesity thing--i think a large chunk (no pun intendid) comes from all the hormones injected into everything. Look at the size of kids from the mid 70's to the late 80's....younger kids are giants compared to previous generations.

Complex carbs too...but, oh well. Each person needs to carve out their diet, from what is realistic to what is insanely difficult and unsustainable.

Long live KFC!


Or the King.

Marc, what you say has a lot of sense, but I think indeed kids' obesity has more to do with the unhealthy diet than food full of hormones.

Hormones, yes, also, but all this junk, fatty, sugary food plays a huge role.

Have you ever seen "Honey, We're Killing Our Kids" ? From this show it was plain to see how disastrous some diets of these kids were. Some of the kids there hardly ever ate fruits or vegetables, ever.


And yeah, I know Food Network, I like it, too.
But my main concern was how come there is "Rachel Ray" on national TV, everyday but not a "Meme Roth" teaching something a lot better and much more needed?

Risa

CluelessKitty wrote:Marc, what you say has a lot of sense, but I think indeed kids' obesity has more to do with the unhealthy diet than food full of hormones.

Hormones, yes, also, but all this junk, fatty, sugary food plays a huge role.



Risa

Toss onto that --- sedentary lazier lives with increased conveniences and computers basketball instead of the real thing = a recipe of chunky monkeys


I agree 100% Risa, especially since healthy food gets a bad rap as tasting bland. This isn't the case anymore, but Rachael Ray has that Hollywood curb appeal and they need to find someone that has that sparkle.

Jamie Oliver comes to mind, but I've never tried his foods. He seems to work hard for healthier eating.

I'll have to check out Meme Roth.


What I find odd, is those weight watchers and like commercials. They talk about all that cake and sundaes and crap you get to eat daily...!!... I never eat that crap daily anyways and I certainly don't want to start now. I guess it is what you are taught. Some people are taught that desert is something you eat every day and in large portions. I was taught desert is on birthdays or special occasions and in small helpings (I came from a big family). So, these icons of healthy cooking have a big challenge in changing the way people think.


Angela

I also think the large quantity of "processed" foods eaten by families is having a detrimental effect. Going back to simple, unprocessed foods is much easier and much healthier.

Once a person cuts out the processed foods (white flour and sugar), it really doesn't take long to become accustomed to real food (lots of veggies, whole grains, some fruit)--you won't miss the processed food.

My roommate and I were laughing yesterday about the "30 minute dinner" plans we see in magazines, etc. Yesterday, I had a moment of feeling good and got dinner on the table in 20 minutes! LOL

Rice with microwaved gravy - a tablespoon of gravy per serving or so.
Chicken breasts, skinless and boneless, cut into strips, dipped in egg-milk, rolled in panko crumbs, and lightly fried
Fried Green Beans ... 1 tablespoon butter in fry pan seasoned with 1/2 tsp dill and 1/4 teaspoon cummin, saute 1/3 cup saute diced onion, 1/2 cup yellow pepper, and 3/4 cup chopped walnuts until onions are clear, add 1 regular can drained green beans ... heat and stir occasionally.

All in 20 minutes or so. Fried chicken? Butter with Beans? But such was ALL the fat we consumed that day ... no fatty snacks and no desserts. And it tasted rather good! We are both getting conscious of portions too ... with my inactivity AND a desire to loose a few pounds I have to be.

It is possible to make good and tasty meals without using processed food. It was the way my grandmother and my mother cooked ... Southern with forays into anything else that looked good. But never just open a can and heat in the microwave ... they always tried to add some flavor. THE exception is canned peas with meatloaf ... you can't improve on perfection! LOL

The other "recycle" thing I do whenever I use an egg-milk dip is to throw the leftover dip in the microwave for a minute ... doggie omelet! Molly loves it.

I think we often get sold a bill of goods by TV - that processed foods save us time. They don't, in my experience - plus I believe nutrition is improved with basic cooking instead of throwing a pizza in the oven. Though on my bad days, we do rely on pizza to sustain life! LOL

I believe that portion awareness, reduced and healthy snacking, and cooking from scratch instead of a box is the way to go. And to save desserts for special occasions - with portion awareness. With these guidelines, I now weigh less than I have in a decade or so.

But try the fried green beans - a great variation of canned beans.

A big problem goes back to the simple fact that alot of people just don't have basic cooking skills/abilities. It's very sad. They don't know how to cook, even the basics.
I have 3 sisters, and I'm the only one who knows how to cook. I can't explain why. One sister knows just enough to get by - she can feed her kids and herself, not creatively, and there's no variety in her cooking, but she can cook enough to get by. The other two can't cook at all. One can make one dish - just one, spanish rice. My mom showed her how to make it. Even so, if she hasn't made it in awhile, she'll have to call my mom to ask how to make it again. She can make macaroni salad too but that hardly counts as cooking. My other sister can boil chicken. Sometimes she even seasons it so it's edible after she boils it.
Both our parents are good cooks. My dad is better than good, he's excellent. I don't get why I'm the only one who can cook. I'm also the only one who really cares about nutrition and healthy eating. My two sisters who can't cook both have obesity issues. Coincidence? Its an interesting thing to contemplate.

Paul Dean and Barefoot Contessa have Rachel beat for unhealthy eating!!

I watch a show on an odd cable channel of a chef from Europe who does his cooking outside--lots of herbs, etc. I like watching him. I think he is maybe in Sweden?

As far as obesity goes, they could quit school busing for one. That was one of the biggest jokes ever.
Kids need to walk walk walk!!! I make my kids walk everywhere unless it is after dark, and that is just for safety reasons. All of them (5) were nice and slim until they got off on their own, but now that they are picking up bad habits a couple are complaining about their weight. It is just a matter of healthy living, nothing more.

I know who she is, but not sure her brand of magic has reached our shores.

I think a lot of childhood obesity has to do not only with what kids are eating and the fact they play x-box instead of tag, etc., but soda... Oh my goodness! Do kids never drink water or milk anymore? I swear all I see is children who drink nothing but soda. Totally empty calories. I cringe when I see mothers put soda into kids baby bottles. To me, that's a crime.

As far as Rachel Ray goes, I don't care for her food. I enjoy watching Paula Deen and the Barefoot Contessa. You have to take them as more entertainment than teacher. As Paula Deen says... I'm your cook, not your doctor.

And I also agree that so many people today don't seem to have the desire to learn to cook from scratch. Thankfully, my mother always did that, so I learned how to early. I remember two events that showed how often people cook real food..... The first is when I was babysitting my niece and nephew. I decided to keep them busy we'd bake chocolate chip cookies together. They had never in their lives seen plain flour and had no idea what it was. They were fascinated. Sad, really.

The other time, we had friends over for dinner. The lady got so excited because I was making mashed potatoes from scratch. Is there anything easier?

yeah, what's with sweet drinks and desserts.
Is it absolutely necessary in our diets?
I also grew up with the generation where to quench your thirst you had water, a compote- homemade juice made of boiled sweetened fruits, and herbal teas, regular tea, coffee, milk.
Desserts were pudding, fruit jelly, fruits with cream or sugar, mostly.
Chocolate, cakes, candies - was something for Sunday and holidays or special treat. You weren't supposed to eat candies everyday because "you could got worms" (LOL) and certainly cavities.

Well, nowadays I gotta admit the advancements in technology which were supposed to make our life easier, actually backfired and made us much much busier, work for all this longer, harder
and ii you add all those extra curricular activities most families with children have, there is indeed very little time to cook
so if you don't know how, this is a recipe for disastrous unhealthy diet, based on ready-to-cook meals, full of preservatives and chemicals, inviting to a lot of snacking, and could cause obesity indeed.

btw I came to the conclusion that indeed the TV is the root of all evil, lololol


Risa

I cook from scratch as that is how my Mom cooked. With having migraines from an early age I was highly motivated to avoid chemicals as that is a major trigger. So I watched my Mother, got some cookbooks and learned how to cook. I taught my kids how to cook and bake. Packages were and are rarely seen in our house. Sodas and sweets were occasional treats. Now when we have sweets in the house they hardly ever get eaten all the way. I end up freezing cakes and cookies for later.

I remember shopping with my daughter once when she was about 13 or so and she was complaining that we had no food in the house. I told we had all kinds of food. "No" she said "we have ingredients. " I cracked up. Now she is proud to be able to cook with "ingredients" instead of packages. Some of her friends think it is strange that don't use cake mixes, cookie mixes, or pancake mix. Those are all things that we make from scratch. No additives or preservatives, just a few real ingredients.

Putting a meal on the table in a few minutes is just as easy cooking from scratch as it is using a package. Maybe one or two extra steps but nothing major. It behooves the food manufacturers to create this idea that packaged food are a "convenience" when they really aren't. Plus they are full of salt, sugar and chemicals. It is kind of sad that so many people in this country don't know how to cook. It makes for an unhealthy lifestyle. There's this impression that it is hard or complicated to cook but some of my favorite meals are very simple.

I do keep some things from Trader Joe's in the freezer for those evenings when I don't trust myself to hold a knife. I like their food as they keep out the preservatives. Another thing I do for migraine nights is freeze extra rice or pasta. Two minutes in the microwave and you've got your side dish. Some baked chicken breasts and steamed veggies and you've got dinner with 5 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking time. That I can do and no knives involved.

alli wrote: Another thing I do for migraine nights is freeze extra rice or pasta. Two minutes in the microwave and you've got your side dish. Some baked chicken breasts and steamed veggies and you've got dinner with 5 minutes prep and 20 minutes cooking time. That I can do and no knives involved.

Another handy side dish for those bad head days.... When you make mashed potatoes, cook extra potatoes. You can either whip them with a mixer or run threm though a ricer. Bag them that way before they have milk, butter, etc. in them and freeze. When you pull them out, just add milk and butter, nuke in the micro awhile, and give them a good mix. So much better than instant and you still know what's going into them.

I cook extra potatoes, too. Mashed, I like them simply re-heated in a fry pan on a bit of sunflower oil,
without any additions, to a bottom crispy and golden brown.

If they were boiled or baked whole, I like to cut them into smaller slices, or chopped, and reheated this way,
also crispy a la hash brown.

And I like them simply with sour cream, fat free or reduced fat, or buttermilk. sometimes with scrambled eggs or easy over.

Risa

Making me hungry right now.

Oh yummmm... I love crispy potatoes.