It's been spring break here and a fun week of just hanging out with the kids and enjoying a variety of cheap-yet-fun activities around town. Today (Friday) we went to see the movie, “Hop”, it was very cute. (I took our own popcorn since this place has NO real butter! I wouldn't have done that normally, but today it wasn’t cheating them because the neighbor girls who went with us had bought the buckets that get you unlimited free popcorn. Although even without those I could tell them the truth, that we’re allergic to their cheap heart-killer vegetable oils, and that everyone is actually…) Earlier in the week we got to go up North for an over-nighter with Sonia and the boys to her parent's beautiful and relaxing cottage. We even got some SUN on our face while the kids happily drove the golf cart around for hours – does it get any better? 🙂 Tonight I’m taking the kids out to eat (Kent's at the Red Wings game with friends) to a local pizza place that uses fresh ingredients, and I have a $20 off coupon from Living Social.
For even more that may bore you to death (unless you’re Jo-Lynne), check out the cute shoes I found at the Hush Puppy store on clearance for $11! 
They look extra fun to me since I've been looking at my feet in these all winter (see below). And no, they're not Uggs, I’m too cheap for those, but you probably knew that from looking if you’re even a smidge more shoe savvy than I am. I got these for $5 at the Goodwill store last year and they're
SO comfortable, so I don't even care too much that they're UG-LY! I'd like to find a cute pair (at a similar price!) for next winter. Any suggestions for where to look?
If anyone is still here after all that rambling, here’s what I found for you today…
- Well I went to that Mexican market that I learned about in last week’s Facebook conversation, and got a new tortilla press for only $12! I’ll let you know as soon as I try it out.
- Speaking of Jo-Lynne (mentioned above), my thanks go to her for finding this great Fox video – believe it or not, what this woman is saying is TRUE! (Read more about healthy REAL fats.)
- Melissa, from the Cellulite Analyst blog, linked this interesting post up last week called, “The Ultimate Anti-Cellulite Soup”. She shared this as a recap: “I've discovered an organ meat that has potent cellulite-healing properties. In Europe, they inject hyaluronidase (an enzyme that breaks up glucosaminoglycans in connective tissue) directly into cellulite in a common treatment known as mesotherapy. I did some digging to find out where hyaluronidase occurs in the traditional diet and the answer is quite funny: bovine testicles! Now it makes sense why everyone tried to feed me bull testicles in Africa. This happened on multiple occasions (although one time it was goat). Thought you might be interested in that Nourishing Traditions-esque tidbit. :)” Thanks Melissa!
Did you see this? Hospital Errors May Occur in a Third of Admissions. But I stand by the sad truth that everyone is in danger of the crappy food patients are served in hospitals. Check out these related posts that got a surprising number of comments on them… This first one was written when I was at the hospital with my Mom: Corn Pops for Diabetics? The following post was written when I was in a huff about a flyer sitting on the tables in the hospital cafeteria: Hospital ‘Smart’ Recipe Substitutions.- I have a new giveaway coming up very soon, so be sure to subscribe to the blog using the badge-shaped buttons over in the sidebar so you don’t miss anything!
- Remember I’m still taking questions (about anything at all) that I’ll answer only on my Kitchen Kop newsletter soon! 🙂 Email me: [email protected].
- Check out the interesting conversation on the Nourishing Our Children Facebook page about eating pork and why some cultures or religions forbid it. If you’ve ever wondered about this, Sandrine provides a lot of information.
- Have a great week!
Jennifer says
Loved the video! Both actually, I Googled Hop and it was really cute! I enjoyed that the woman from England was on FOX talking about ‘real’ things 😀
Something that I will be studying in school hopefully next year when I go on to a BA from my AA, is nutrition. For legal accreditation, I will be getting a RD (registered dietitian). I still have concerns that I will be swimming against the stream in class and the work force, but I have more hope seeing more information coming out publicly, like on FOX. There is, of course, the option to work in a hospital too; I am not sure yet, but I think I need to bust my butt to be very competitive and land something where I can make the decisions for hospital foods or at least be an influence somehow. That or I will just stay with clinics? Either way, pray for me as I hope to make a difference in our health (even though I know it will be hard work and I will not be the savior of it, lol, as is the hope when young students go out into their fields thinking they can change the world and be like superman) and I am still so grateful for your leadership!! 😀 Thanks
Ann says
This has nothing to do with today’s post, but I thought about some of your past posts when I read this. It makes me quite angry.
https://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110411/us_yblog_thelookout/chicago-school-bans-homemade-lunches-the-latest-in-national-food-fight
KitchenKop says
Someone just sent me a link to this in a Facebook message, it is appalling!
Cara says
We eat lots more veggies now- gotta have something to put that fat on 😀
Freebies says
I would love to hear some conversation about a phase I hear often (that was in the video)- “People are obese because of eating a low fat diet”.
First I want to preface this by letting you know that I am totally on board with eating more “traditional”, nutrient dense foods- and I do not eat low fat. My body does very poorly on a high starch carb/sugar diet. I spent many years very ill with terrible digestion and we have narrowed the source of that illness don’t to several factors- but probably heavy starch carb/sugars is the worst culprit. I still deal with this issue daily, but as my diet has improved my body improves.
But here is my problem (and maybe I am hearing it wrong, but if I am hearing it wrong, others are, too).
I does not seem to make sense that low fat eating is making people obese- what is making them obese is way too much food with no nutritional value- low fat or not. And yes, that does go along with many, many low fat foods, especially processed ones.
My husband has recently wanted to lose about 15 lbs and is tracking his eating online. Although I prepare nutritious dinners- he takes care of a lot of his other food. And because he does not love meat (he eats it, its just not his favorite) very much he tends to get too little protein. Now on the other hand he loves carbs.
We have make several switches in his eating so he can actually get enough protein and keep his carbs down (like almond/coconut flour biscuits made into egg sandwiches for breakfast, etc..). Here’s what we find when he doesn’t “cheat”: 1. He is stuffed at the end of the day 2. He has a hard time getting enough calories. (this is after eating a hearty, non low fat breakfast and dinner, a regular sized lunch and at least two snacks of thinks like nuts).
Here what we find when he “cheats” a bit (bagel here, 1/2 a doughnut there): 1.He is hungry at the end of the day 2: He is over on calories.
I would like to hear less of “lowfat” makes you fat and more of “non-nutritive” food starves your body.. I feel like phrases like this don’t help people, because they don’t know how to eat. So basically hearing that lowfat makes you fat is just a ticket to eat garbage this is now high in (bad) fats. What do you think.
Thanks
jen
KitchenKop says
Yes, I suppose it is confusing, but again, I just get so sick of all those who still think low-fat is where it’s at, and they don’t KNOW that it’s full of fake ingredients and is so bad for them.
I definitely agree that we need to hear more about how many foods are calorie-rich but nutrient-free!
Kelly
Amy says
Low-fat diets don’t make you fat. Plenty of people around the world eat them. I eat a diet high in carbs (moderate in fat) and eat a lot. Agree, the emphasis should be on just eating real, nutritious food. If we begin listening to our bodies, we find the right way of eating.
If your husband loves carbs, why cut down on them? Just have him eat healthy carbs like potatoes, fruit, etc.
Freebies says
because the carbs he loves are the 3 c’s- cakes candy and cookies- LOL
jen
Amy says
haha those are the yummiest carbs!
Magda says
I’m thinking people will read into this what they want. Some will probably dismiss this lady just because she’s British! I doubt many will listen and even fewer actually change. It’s so hard to choose how you support these days: many people have the right ideas. I used to think the WAPF/NT style diet was the end-all of all diets – now after finding GAPS (and learning I can’t eat many of NT-style foods) I feel like that is probably the one diet I would consider end-all. But even GAPS has to be adjusted to fit an individual. I think people just want something simple and convenient – that’s why they follow fads. Nobody is willing to spend the time to figure out what truly works for them.
I did think the lady had some very valid points…. I think I’ll keep eating my veggies (with tons of butter of course!)
Robin says
Hi Kelly-You might try Sketcher’s for boots. They’ll be more than $5 but are WAY cheaper than Uggs (and I think they are cuter than Uggs in general). Also, as much as I despise “skinny jeans” I broke down and bought a cheap pair from Aeropostale just to wear with my boots, as taller boots like that really do look better with a more streamlined look with your pants (i.e. not stuffing baggy pants legs down into them).
I have had shorter Sketchers boots in the past that worked okay with boot cut pants (where I’d maybe roll them up a bit over the boots), but then I got taller boots this year (similar to yours) and either wear the skinny jeans OR I have found that I can wear with my boot-cut pants if I am careful to tuck the legs really well.
KitchenKop says
You’re just full of good info for me today, thank you!! 🙂
jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal says
I mentioned this last week in the blog post that I wrote in response to Sally Fallon’s PR RE: USDA guidelines where she questions fruits and veggies as “nutrient dense” I will summarize again here, because I’d like you and your readers to think about an aspect neither Sally nor the british woman mention in their videos.
there are four necessary macronutrients (macro = needed in large quantities) fat, protein, carbs and water. micronutrients = needed in small quanitites) those are the minerals, antioxidants found in plant based foods, and animal products from animals who eat plants (fish is rich in omega 3 because they eat algae and other sea plants, or other fish who have eaten sea veggies, grass-fed beef has omega 3 because cows eat grass) etc.
fruits and veggies do contain a tiny amount of protein, and some contain fat (avocados and those with edible seeds) but for the most part they are carbs. plus they are loaded with micronutrients. it is true that they are not a good source of protein or fat as animal products are, but there is no reason for NT or real fat folks to be bashing fruits and veggies. 100% fruit juice (which is 100% fiberless fructose and metabolized much like alcohol) is a different story. i’m talking about WHOLE fruits here.
point A) fruits and veggies are some of the least toxic and nourishing foods people on the SAD diet eat. to tell people, wait, wait F&V aren’t really that necessary is a bad move. If SAD diet eaters follow USDA advice and eat LESS grains, fake fats, factory animals and processed foods and eat MORE fruits and veggies, they will be healthier. Not nearly as healthy as they would be if the ditched fake fats and went to real fats only or switched from factory meat to pastured animal proteins, but let’s face it, most people on the SAD are a long long way away from going from SAD to traditional eating. Most people already accept that fruits and veggies are good for you, so being told to eat more of them is more easily accepted. Most people do not already accept that fat and protein is good for you AND most people don’t have access to quality pastured fed animals and for many pastured animal products are cost prohibitive. so even if they became convinced that animal fat was good for them, what would happen if they ate more factory animals and skipped pretzels and chips? Would they indeed become healthier? The fat from factory animals may have more toxins than nutrients, I’m not sure I haven’t researched that enough to say one way or another.
point 2 ) every human living in a modern world is experiencing a lot of toxic load from the environment. even those of us who eat real food, real fat are exposed to toxins in water, air, and in the products that make up our homes, food storage, clothing, vehicles, etc. that toxic load needs to be reduced by antioxidants like those found in plant based foods. animal proteins will help with this assuming the animal is eating a plant based diet. but eating PLANTS is also a great strategy to reduce toxic load and free radicals at a cellular level.
point 3) anyone who has spent any amount of time eating SAD is probably dealing with inflammatory process in their body somewhere. real fats are anti-inflammatory but so are plant based foods like dark leafy greens, herbs etc.
telling people not to eat veggies or illustrating that “veggies aren’t as good as fats and proteins” without acknowledging the benefits of toxic load reduction (antioxidants) and benefits to inflammatory response doesn’t paint the whole picture.
not to mention that eating an 80% animal fat, protein diet of pastured meat is cost prohibitive for a large % of american families. what should those families eat to avoid hunger when their budget has purchased as much real animal products as is possible and there are still hungry mouths? should they eat grains? should they eat processed foods? wouldn’t salads and veggies be a better way to fill up a plate than grains or processed foods?
yes animal fats and proteins contain more macronutrients than fruits and vegetables. BUT disparaging fruits and veggies will not help america’s health.
I get the fine point that Sally was making and NT folks and real foodies get the fine point. The general population who is entrenched in SAD and USDA pyramid, won’t hear the fine point, it’s too far over their head. what they will hear is “oh, here’s a nutrition expert that says fruits and veggies aren’t that good for me, and they’re kinda hard to get my family to eat anyway, we prefer snacky processed food, so I’ll stop trying to get those veggies on the plate. Since they don’t help health, why work hard to get them down the hatch?”
KitchenKop says
Hi Jenna,
Those are all very good points and I don’t disagree with them, but I think the reason I like to get this message out there (that animal fats are more important than veggies) is because I get SO sick of the mainstream voices ramming the ‘eat more veggies” line down our throats and then telling us that animal fats are bad. We eat vegetables around here, sure, although not as many in the winter, but people all over still just don’t KNOW that their bodies NEED more animal fats. (And yes, most preferably from pastured animals.)
Kelly
jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal says
I hear what your saying Kelly. I just don’t think that the average american eating the standard american diet with the average level of nutrition education will hear from that video “oh, real animal fats are more important than veggies” they hear ” wow, veggies aren’t that healthy for me so i don’t really need to eat them, and I don’t really need to bother to move my body, i just need to avoid trans fat (because that’s what everyone thinks of as “bad fat”) and i’m good to go”
WE get the finer point, because our mindset is different. The “as-is” mindset of most viewers of those news clips will not allow them to hear the “animal fat is more nutritious than vegetables” message you hope they hear.
you may be sick of hearing mainstream media bash saturated animal fat and push veggies on a pedestal, but IMO, this is not the way to get them to understanding. it only confuses them further, and may even get them to stop trying to eat the least toxic thing they are eating and feeding to their kids.
not sure what would be better, don’t have a solution….
Amy says
Jenna, I completely agree with you. In fact, I think overall the emphasis across the board should just be on REAL, unprocessed foods – this will resonate with the mainstream. I think fruits and veggies (and even fruit juice) are very healthy. Fresh-squeezed OJ is a million times more healthy than soda. Fruits and veggies are a great place to start in the path to real food. Thanks for sharing your views.
Heather@Food Ponderings says
Yes, thank you, Jenna. I truly feel that we do need those micronutrients from fruits and veggies, but people on the SAD are going to miss the boat completely if they see something like this video.
Rebecca in Michigan says
Cute shoes.
I was wondering if you know of any organic places that sell strawberries or blueberries this summer?
KitchenKop says
We pick organic strawberries from Carmody Farms and I get organic blueberries at the farm market. 🙂
Rebecca in Michigan says
Is this a CSA?
KitchenKop says
No, Carmody is a local farm out toward Marne.
Heather M says
Great video. So many people are going to be ruffled by that:)
Jeanne says
Those shoes are too cute!! I put away my ugly boots this weekend.
Musings of a Housewife says
Love the new shoes!!!! 🙂