Hungry for change?

Hungry for change - that's one of the tag lines for a new movie out called Food, Inc. I was intrigued when I saw the trailer for this movie (watch it below) a few weeks ago and am even more intrigued by it after a recent comment from Arianne Ayers, the Publicity and Marketing Director of Magnolia Pictures. Read on:

... This documentary focuses on the industrial food system in America. One of the characters It features is Barbara Kowalcyk, a mother who lost her son to E. coli after all eating together at a fast food restaurant during a family vacation. Her story, along with the testimony of experts like Michael Pollan (The Omnivore’s Dilemma) and Eric Schlosser (Fast Food Nation) brings to light the importance of not only know what our children are eating, but where it came from, how safe it is, and how our current industrial food system has hidden the real costs of our food chain from us.

I would urge every concerned parent to see this film. It’s not about fat or thin, it’s about an entire generation of children, born after the year 2000, in which one out of every three will have early onset diabetes. It’s about feeling secure in what your children are eating, and about educating them to make good choices themselves.

The more educated we are as parents/grandparents/aunts and uncles/educators, the better off we are to give our children the knowledge and the ammunition to make better choices and lead healthier lives. ...

I love the statement in bold above (highlighted by me): "It’s about feeling secure in what your children are eating, and about educating them to make good choices themselves." Yes! As much as I want to eat better for myself, it's my kids that drive me to action. This very sentiment is what drives me to learn more about what we're eating (and write this blog) and to make changes in our diet.

Still not intrigued? Watch the trailer (if you're viewing this from Google reader or a subscription service, you may have to click on over to my blog to see the trailer):



Food, Inc. is playing in selected theaters around the country . If you're interested in seeing this movie, you can find out when and if it will be in your area here. And if you're like me and live in an area where it won't be playing in theaters, Food, Inc. will be released to DVD Nov. 11th.

Another movie to watch out for - What's Organic about Organic? I'm interested in this movie as well. I don't expect that this documentary will make it to many big screens, so watch for (and request!) this movie on your local PBS station.

Read more...

Meatless Monday - Lettuce wraps

Sometimes I have a favorite meal that is so mindlessly easy and simple that I wonder if I should even bother posting it. But I find that sometimes I don't think of these simple recipes or meals on my own, so I'm passing them along to you in case anyone else out there needs an a-ha moment.

Today's meal is one of those crazy simple meals - lettuce wraps. The variations are infinite, so have fun modifying to suit your own particular tastes. I find that these make a fabulous light lunch - kind of a hand-held salad. Here is my current favorite lettuce wrap concoction:

• Place a nice, clean lettuce leaf on a plate. Most any leaf lettuce will do (my picture shows red leaf lettuce), but romaine hearts are especially good.
• Smear a bit of goat cheese (or yogurt or hummus or salsa or whatever suits your mood) lengthwise down the leaf
• Top with roasted vegetables - onion and yellow bell pepper in my case
• Pick up and enjoy!

The yumminess doesn't translate so well in this picture, so just trust me - it's good!

If you've not roasted vegetables before, it couldn't be easier. For my onion and bell pepper, I spread thinly sliced onion and bell pepper in a single layer on a baking sheet. Coat with a little olive oil (you don't need much - just enough to coat), and cook in a preheated oven at 400-425 F for about 20 min. Voila! Roasted vegetables! When I'm on a lettuce wrap kick, I'll roast a ton and keep in the fridge to use throughout the week.

Special thanks to my friend Amy in Fort Collins - the vegetable roasting queen - who first introduced me to lettuce wraps!

Read more...

Surprising HFCS food of the week

This week's surprising HFCS food of the week is...dried fruit! The other day I was making a homemade trail mix, and I wanted to add some dried fruit to it for a little sweetness. Dried fruit seems like it should be a no-brainer, doesn't it? But not only are most dried fruits jam packed with added sugar, but many contain HFCS as a prime ingredient.

I'm going to pick on a single brand here, but HFCS as an ingredient is not limited to this brand of dried fruit. Mariani is the lucky brand. I am happy to say that most of Mariani's dried fruit does not contain HFCS - plenty of sugar, but not HFCS. Most but not all. Their berry products, unfortunately, are rife with HFCS.

Let's look at their Premium Wild Blueberries as an example. Take a look at the ingredient list: Dried Wild Blueberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Water, Sucrose, Citric Acid, Glycerol, Natural Flavor, Potassium Sorbate Added As A Preservative. Holy sugar, batman! Who knew that a little berry needed sugar in the form of HFCS, corn syrup, AND sucrose!

The good news is that there are a lot of HFCS-free dried fruit options. Unless you go specifically for a fruit that has been dried without sugar though, the fruit is still likely to be more sugar than fruit (that's an exagerration, but not by much). I must admit that I do not care for most of the added-sugar free dried fruits (at least the ones that typically have added sugar) - with one exception...

Bare Fruit Snacks is a brand that sells bake-dried fruit with no added sugar and no preservatives. Because there is no added sugar, these bake-dried fruit bits are tough and chewy, but they're packed with flavor to make up for the lack of sugar. I've tried a few of their products, and my two favorites by far are their dried mango and cinnamon apple chips. The mango flavor in the dried mango bits is intense as are the cinnamon and apple flavors.


Because they are a bit tough, these are not the kind of fruit that I like to add to trail mix - I'm going with raisins or sugar-dried pineapple for that. I like to snack on Bare Fruit Snacks all on their own.

Just as a note...there are several common dried fruits out there that rarely have sugar added during the drying process - raisins and prunes instantly come to mind. And even sugar-dried fruits have some benefits - like lots of fiber - though they're really more fiber-filled desserts than anything. Take this post as a reminder to be realistic about whether a product really is good for you or should be treated more as a treat...and read those ingredients!

Read more...

Meatless Monday - A different kind of nacho

A Life Less Sweet is proud to be a part of the Meatless Monday movement! If you haven't already, check out the official Meatless Monday site - and look for a mention of this blog in the Who's Going Meatless? section! The recently renovated site is a wealth of meatless recipes, reviews and information. You can also join the Meatless Monday movement in a more official way.

Who doesn't love nachos? Nachos are a fun finger food for adults and kids alike. A couple of weeks ago I made an unusual one that is sure to become a favorite around here. What's so unusual about it? Sweet potatoes! These nachos are topped with a bean sauce and roasted sweet potatoes.

I think that we have established that I am not a bean fan. I am slowly but surely working bean dishes into our repertoire, though. I find that if a dish is heavily seasoned and the right kind of bean is used, I don't mind beans so much. The flavor of red kidney beans blend in nicely in a well seasoned dish. I use these beans in my turkey chili and in this dish. The bean sauce is really kind of like beans and salsa and is fine even for me.

And the sweet potatoes - divine! My husband said that every time he took a bite with sweet potato in it his mouth got a burst of delicious sweetness. The sweet potatoes are coated with wonderful, aromatic spices - cumin and coriander - that really compliment the sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the bean sauce. Plus, sweet potatoes, you'll remember, are really good for you.

At long last, it's recipe time! I adapted this recipe from Linda McCartney's World of Vegetarian Cooking, a cookbook that has provided many delicious recipes to our household. It's a different take on nachos, but one that is definitely worth your time!


Beans and Sweet Potato Nachos

1 1/2 lbs sweet potato, peeled and diced
3 TBSP olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp paprika
14-oz can diced tomatoes
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 14 oz can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups Cheddar cheese
corn tortilla chips

In a large baking dish, mix the sweet potato, 2 TBSP of the oil, and the cumin and coriander. Bake, uncovered, at 350 F for 50-60 min or until tender.

Heat the remaining oil in a pan and add the onion, bell pepper, garlic, and paprika. Cover and cook until the onion is soft, about 10 min, stirring occasionally. Add the tomatoes with their juices and simmer uncovered for 5 min. Stir in the beans.

Place some corn chips on an oven or microwave-proof plate, and top corn chips with the bean mixture, then the sweet potato, and finish with some cheese. Bake for 10 min until nachos are well heated (or microwave for 30 seconds or so to melt the cheese).

Serve with garnish of choice - cilantro, avocado, sour cream, or jalepenos for example.

Read more...

R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence review

Have you missed me? I've been away at a delightful family reunion in Colorado (we're actually originally from Mississippi, but who wants to meet in Mississippi in the middle of summer? Not me!) and didn't have my act together enough to have posts ready for you.

To get back in the swing of things, let me tell you about this new drink from R.W. Knudsen. I was fortunate enough to win a four pack of every flavor of the new R.W. Knudsen Sparkling Essence drink thanks to This Mama Cooks! on a Diet. The drink comes in four flavors - lemon, blueberry, mint, and cucumber.


What are these drinks? As their name suggests, they're simply carbonated spring water ("sparkling" water) with various essences for flavor and a little citric acid (as a preservative, I suspect). NO added sugar! NO fruit juice! It's a true flavored water. Take a look at the ingredients for the cucumber Sparkling Essence:

Carbonated spring water, organic brewed lemon extract, organic natural cucumber extract, organic lemon juice concentrate, citric acid

Ok, ok, so there is actually a little juice in there. Still, it's minimal. This is not a sickly-sweet, fruit-juice flavored water. I'm impressed with the ingredients in each of the drinks. Very simple and flavorful.

But how does it taste? The flavors are true. The blueberry and lemon flavors are not overpowering. The cucumber flavor, on the other hand, is really intense - but not in an unpleasant way. The mint has a pleasant spearmint flavor.

My son is hooked on these already. He is not a huge fan of "bubbly" drinks, but he really enjoys these. He's a big fan of the blueberry and cucumber flavors. I'm tickled pink that he likes these. Now I've got a sugar-free carbonated drink option for him that I don't feel the least bit bad about him drinking. Woo hoo!

Me? I'm on the fence. When I first tried one last night, I didn't care for it at all. I'm not a fan of sparkling water in general, though. I've given each flavor a try since then, and while it's not a drink that I would necessarily turn to (because it's sparkling), the flavors are actually quite good. The cucumber and mint are my favorites, which really surprises me. If they sold this drink in a non-sparkling variety, I think that I would be all over it.

That said, I will buy this when I see it in our store. Not necessarily for me, but for my kids and their company. If you like sparkling water, I would definitely recommend that you give this a try!

Read more...

Meatless Monday - breakfast

I have to admit something...I don't like breakfast. I never have. I'm not a morning person, and I just don't like preparing food in the morning unless it's super easy. I also don't like cereal, which takes away a lot of easy breakfast options. I used to skip breakfast quite often, but I now try to eat at least a little breakfast in the morning.

Going meatless in the morning isn't hard for me. I do enjoy having a little sausage or ham in the morning on occasion - if someone else makes it - but I also find that I prefer a lighter breakfast these days. So, here are a couple of my current favorite breakfasts - fast, easy, light, and delicious!

First, yogurt with fruit and granola. So easy! Chop up whatever fresh fruit you happen to have on hand and top with yogurt. I like to use either vanilla yogurt or 2% Greek yogurt with a little honey. Top with some granola - homemade or store bought - and mix. Delicious!

My breakfast this morning. Not much to look at, but SO good!

Next, a breakfast that is even easier and just as tasty. Quarter a banana and top with a smear of peanut butter, a tablespoon or so of raisins, and a dusting of cinnamon. Voila! Fast and tasty!


A great thing about these breakfasts (outside of them being easy, fast, and tongue-tempting) is that they have a nice combo of sweetness, fiber, and protein. The sweetness makes my tongue happy, and the fiber and protein keep me going all morning.

If you shun breakfast as I do, give these a try. It might make you change your mind about the most important meal of the day!

Read more...

Surprising HFCS food of the week (or don't judge a food by its cover)

I've gotten pretty good at picking brands that don't have HFCS in their products. With conventional brands (Nabisco, Kraft, etc.) it takes a lot of label reading. Some products are HFCS and trans-fat free, and some aren't. There is a whole subset of brands now that seem to go out of their way to make themselves look more shi-shi. It seems kind of an unwritten rule that these brands don't contain HFCS and usually don't contain hydrogenated oils. (They also generally cost more too, but that's not what this post is about.) Their products might not be healthy, but they're generally free of some of the more villified processed ingredients (like HFCS).

Sometimes, though, a brand surprises me. A brand that just has that look - that HFCS-free look - is Culinary Circle. Have you seen it in your store yet? It's all over our Albertsons here. The packaging and the upscale looking branding just screams no HFCS to me.
Guess what? I was so wrong! Culinary Circle looks upscale, but the ingredient lists tell a different story. Not all of their products contain HFCS, but some do. (Their garlic naan does not contain HFCS and is actually pretty good for a store bought naan.) And many (I'd say most, but I didn't look at very many of their products) have impressively long ingredient lists - though not impressive in a good way.

Culinary Circle is another Supervalu store brand that is marketing itself as "chef inspired cuisine." (Supervalu owns Albertsons as well as several other grocery store chains.) The Culinary Circle brand manager says that, "Culinary Circle brings families back to their own dining rooms with the quality and unique variety of food found on casual dining restaurant menus." Hmmm...their ingredient lists do not scream quality to me. (Don't bother looking for ingredient lists on their website. Nary an ingredient is listed.)

It's a nice idea, but in the end you're getting cheap meals made with cheap ingredients. I'm a little amazed that Supervalu could do such a good job with its Wild Harvest Organics - a reasonable priced organic line with good ingredients - and such a poor job with its "premium" Culinary Circle line of products.

So, let this be a warning. You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't judge a food by its packaging. If you're serious about eating better foods, better flip your product over and at least give the ingredients a scan!

Read more...