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Tag: home cooking
What You Need To Know About New Dietary Guidelines

What You Need To Know About New Dietary Guidelines

By Andrea Weigl, The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.) (TNS)

Now that the smoke, debate and confusion has cleared over the latest update to the federal dietary guidelines, here is what you need to know.

Big picture focus: This year’s update stresses “a healthy eating pattern” over the course of your life as opposed to focusing on individual nutrients or foods. “It’s not one food. It’s a whole eating pattern,” said Barry Popkin, a food science researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and author of The World is Fat.

Elisabetta Politi, nutrition director at the Duke Diet & Fitness Center, cheered the change: “I’d like to commend them for that.” The previous focus to limit certain foods or nutrients created confusion for many people trying to watch what they ate. “I see this every day with many clients,” Politi said. “They feel guilty about eating eggs and butter.” (It’s worth noting that the new guidelines do mention limiting three nutrients, which we’ll explain more below, but the overall focus has changed.)

So what does a healthy eating pattern include? The usual suspects: a variety of fruits and vegetables, grains (especially whole grains), fat-free or low-fat dairy, a variety of proteins (seafood, lean meats, eggs, beans and peas, nuts, seeds and soy products) and oils.

How can you do this? The key is to take small steps, not efforts at large-scale change, explained Nancy Fey-Yensan, a registered dietitian and dean of the college of health and human services at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. She suggests keeping track of what you eat for a few days and then looking at what healthier substitutions you can make. “Mindfully identify places where you can swap out for things that you like,” Fey-Yensan said.

A few ideas: Bring home a new-to-you fruit or vegetable every week, whether that’s papaya or kohlrabi. Instead of white rice, make brown rice half the time. Instead of white bread, try some whole grain bread. Instead of whole milk, try 2 percent milk, then graduate later to 1 percent or skim. Expand your protein choices: Try a new fish or seafood, go meatless one night a week, make a big pot of beans or field peas once a month.

What does a healthy eating pattern limit? Sugar, salt and saturated fat. We should consume less than 10 percent of calories per day from added sugar. The same goes for saturated fat. Sodium should be limited to 2,300 milligrams a day.

What’s the math for sugar and saturated fat? Determining what is 10 percent of your daily calories depends upon how many calories you eat in a day. For women, that’s 1,600-2,000 calories. For men, it is 2,400-3,000. Therefore, 10 percent equals 160 to 300 calories. One 20-ounce bottle of Coca-Cola contains 240 calories from sugar. Three Oreo cookies contain about 54 calories from sugar. A McDonald’s Quarter Pounder with Cheese and a large fries contains 148 calories of saturated fat. A Subway 12-inch meatball sub has 126 calories from saturated fat. It’s easy to see how quickly it adds up.

Let’s break down the math for salt: A teaspoon of salt is equal to 2,300 milligrams. This is not only the salt you sprinkle on food; this number also reflects the salt already in the processed foods we eat. In one day, you would reach that limit by lunchtime by eating three slices of bacon, two fried eggs, a 1-ounce snack-size bag of Doritos, two slices of ham and one slice of American cheese on two slices of white bread and a 12-ounce Diet Coke.

What about coffee? The guidelines gave a boost to those who need their daily caffeine fix. The guidelines’ scientific report cited research that shows the amount of caffeine in three to five cups of coffee can reduce the risk of Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in adults and may even protect against Parkinson’s disease.

And eggs? The guidelines also seemed to clear eggs, with their high levels of dietary cholesterol, as a culprit for the artery-clogging plaques that cause heart disease. The guidelines removed the limit of 300 milligrams of dietary cholesterol a day. Experts caution that this is not a green light to eat a lot more of cholesterol-laden foods, including eggs, butter, bacon, sausages, red meat, cheese and pastries.

SOME HEALTHY MEAL RESOURCES

Right now, we’re reaching for three books:

Bon Appetit: The Food Lover’s Cleanse by Sarah Dickerman (William Morrow, 2015). Usually, I despise any cookbook with the word “cleanse” in the title. But this isn’t a cleanse book; it’s a collection of good-tasting, seasonal dishes that happen to be healthy from Seattle-based food writer Sara Dickerman.

The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook by Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Bantam, 2009). This update of Jenkins’ classic 1994 cookbook is worth your time and money.

Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Martha Rose Shulman (Rodale, 2007). Shulman wrote the Recipes for Health column in The New York Times. Her recipes are dependable and delicious.

©2016 The News & Observer (Raleigh, N.C.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Organic vegetables are shown at a Whole Foods Market  in LaJolla , California  May 13, 2008 as the company is set to release second quarter earnings today. REUTERS/Mike Blake  

 

How To Get Hash Browns Perfectly Crispy

How To Get Hash Browns Perfectly Crispy

By James P. DeWan, Chicago Tribune (TNS)

One thing I’ve said exactly 6 gajillion and 11 times is, there are more bad examples of food out there than there are good examples. Today’s topic, hash browns, is no exception. Too often, what should be a crispy, creamy, perfectly seasoned, standalone dish is reduced to little more than a bland and mushy ketchup delivery system. Let’s see what we can do to fix that.

WHY YOU NEED TO LEARN THIS

Do you eat breakfast? Well, then, say no more.

THE STEPS YOU TAKE

Now, before we start, let’s get our terms straight so we know exactly what we’re talking about. When I think of hash browns, I think of golden brown cakes of pan-fried shredded potatoes. Some people also include preparations where the potatoes are cut into small or medium dice, or even thin slices, but now you’re straying into home fries territory. For today, then, we’ll grab our graters and go with shredded.

Also, remember that hash browns are pretty much just potatoes. If you start adding binders, like egg or flour, well, now we’re talking potato pancakes or latkes. Those are terrific, too, mind you, but they’re not hash browns.

Let’s take a quick look at the ingredients:

Of course, there’s the potatoes. What kind of potatoes depends on whom you ask. Personally, I prefer Russets, the best-known variety of which are called Idaho potatoes. James Beard, the legendary food writer, preferred waxy or new potatoes which have less starch. Clearly, they’ll both work with slightly different results. You can decide for yourself.

Regardless of the type of potato, there seem to be two general schools of thought on Planet Hash Brown. One is to start with raw potatoes, the other is to start with previously cooked potatoes, typically boiled or baked. I’m in the raw camp, though I’ve had some great examples from the cooked camp. If you start with cooked potatoes, you can pretty much cut the cooking time in half. For my money, though, I think you get a somewhat more crispy product by starting with raw.

Next, there’s the fat. Remember that fat serves a number of functions, including heat transference, non-stickitude and, perhaps most important, flavor. For the first two functions, any fat or oil will work. For the last function, though, I would recommend lard, bacon fat or clarified butter. (You can use whole butter, but, because it has milk solids, you run a great risk of it burning.)

The last necessary ingredient is salt. Potatoes without salt are like chimps without bananas — just a little bit sad.

Now, you add other stuff as well, like a little minced onion, as long as you take care not to let it burn. For garlic, my inclination would be to crush a couple cloves and saute them slightly in the hot fat BEFORE you add the potatoes. Then, remove the garlic and add the potatoes. That way you get the flavor without the risk of burning.

You can also add herbs or spices. A little rosemary is nice, as is a bit of paprika. But, with all this stuff, I prefer it simple: potatoes, fat and salt — yum.

One last thing: the pan. Diners mostly make their hash browns on a flat top griddle. For the home cook, I think a good, nonstick pan works best. Some people love cast iron, too, but those things are so heavy, it makes it hard to flip the hash browns like you could if you’re using a light nonstick. If you’re going to flip it with a spatula anyway, go ahead with the cast iron. That’s probably what Abe Lincoln would have used.

OK, now let’s get to the actual making. I figure one big potato makes enough for two servings of hash browns. If you’re making a lot, keep potatoes in acidulated water until it’s time to cook. That will keep them from discoloring.

  1. Peel your potatoes and shred them with the largest hole of your grater. If you’re going to cook them right away, put them in a paper towel or clean dish towel and ring out as much water as you can. This will help them crisp up more quickly.
  2. Heat your nonstick skillet over a medium to medium-low flame. While it’s heating, season your potatoes with salt and anything else you might be adding (pepper, for example).
  3. Now, for most sauteed items, I add just enough fat to coat the bottom of the pan. For hash browns, I add a little more to make sure they really don’t stick and to add a little more flavor.
  4. Add enough grated potatoes that you can press them into a circle covering the whole pan. How thick a layer? Excellent question. The thinner the layer, the more crispy the whole thing will be. If you mound your potatoes more thickly, the interior will be soft and white while the exterior is all nice and crispy. I’m not about to tell you which way is better. That’s your choice. Aren’t you glad we’re not living in the Stalin-era Soviet Union? Cook them over medium low heat until the bottom is golden brown and crispy, 5 to 10 minutes. Flip the hash browns and do the same on the other side. Serve immediately, because they’ll lose their crisp if you try to hold them.

©2016 Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

Photo: Browned and crispy outside, soft and yielding inside, your perfect hash browns will make your eggs proud. (Michael Tercha/Chicago Tribune/TNS)