For the Love of Food
by Darya Rose | Jan 10, 2014

For The Love of Food
Welcome to Friday’s For The Love of Food, Summer Tomato’s weekly link roundup.
This week kale is worse than soda, fasting goes mainstream, and you’re still not walking enough.
Want to see all my favorite links? (There’s lots more). Be sure to follow me on on Delicious. I also share links on Twitter @summertomato, Google+ and the Summer Tomato Facebook page. I’m very active on all these sites and would love to connect with you. (And yes, I took that pepper heart pic myself).
Links of the week
- We Don’t Exercise as Much as We Say <<Yet another reminder that we often delude ourselves about how healthy our behaviors really are. And yes, we all do this. The solution to this unfortunate human habit is to collect accurate data by wearing a pedometer, weighing yourself regularly, and keeping honest food journals. (Wall Street Journal)
- 17 Reasons to Walk More This Year <<So what exercises should we be doing more of? Walking is pretty high on my list. (Mark’s Daily Apple)
- Intermittent fasting, or IF, gains ground as a dieting tool <<Though it’s hard for me to imagine a less pleasurable way to better health and weight loss, people often ask me about intermittent fasting. This article sums up the science and implementation issues pretty well. (LA Times)
- Dentist: Chocolate and cola are better than kale juice <<Not really. Unless you’re drinking way too much of it. Which you might be. (Grist)
- 15 Healthy Work Lunches That Don’t Need to Be Reheated <<Anything that makes healthy eating easier is good. And removing steps and barriers like reheating is a great strategy to get a new habit started. (The Kitchn)
- Slow Eating Might Help Curb Calories <<The research on this continues to be inconsistent, but there’s enough evidence for me that slowing down your eating speed is a good idea (and I’ve never seen anything suggesting it’s a bad idea). If nothing else, it helps you enjoy your food more. (Medline)
- How Being Heavy or Lean Shapes Our View of Exercise <<It’s important to keep in mind that sometimes your opinion of something has more to do with you than the activity itself. The good news is that simply knowing this can help you overcome negative feelings about healthy behaviors, and as you change, so can your feelings. (NY Times)
- Does the Vitamin and Mineral Content of Food Influence Our Food Intake and Body Fatness? <<This is pretty science heavy, but worth a read. The take home is that it nutrient density likely isn’t the reason that healthier food helps us eat less, but it helps regardless. (Whole Health Source)
- Is Frozen Produce Less Nutritious than Fresh? <<People are often confused by frozen veggies and this article does a great job of explaining why eating them more often can be a good idea, as well as how to optimize taste when things get a little soggy. (Lifehacker)
- parmesan broth with kale and white beans <<I’ve never tried making parmesan broth, but have been meaning to try. I think I just found the recipe to push me over the edge. (smitten kitchen)
What inspired you this week?
As a working mom and food lover, I vouch for frozen veggies to supplement my CSA or lack of produce in winter. I frequently buy Trader Joes organic green beans (as thin as haricots verts) and brussels sprouts. Stay away from the frozen bricks and go with the IQF (individually Quick frozen). Then I let them defrost in the fridge or counter and braise in butter or olive oil. I often brown them them well and even the kids will eat it.
I had a Parmesan rind in my freezer so I threw it in my crockpot of veggie soup this week (along with those black-eyed peas I neglected to cook on New Year’s Day). It was delicious!
I always knew chocolate was better than kale!
I love your round-ups. I only wish I had lots more time to read them all. Walking is going to be part of my new year. As an avid exerciser my whole entire life, I’ve never had to have it as a new year’s resolution, but I do need to change it from time to time. I did a year of boot camp in 2012, which gave me muscles and injuries. I do other things too, but the freedom and joy of just getting outside and walking is good for everything. I live where there are lots of hills, so walking it is.
“Though it’s hard for me to imagine a less pleasurable way to better health and weight loss,”
Well, have you tried it?
It happens to be the easiest way to lose weight I’ve ever found. I found it by figuring out the very same neuro-truths you espouse so well. It usually takes the form of me not eating past 3-4 pm… a very small meal, until the am .. or perhaps even lunch … 18-24 hours..however long it takes to get hungry again.