{"id":1747,"date":"2016-03-27T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2016-03-27T13:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=1747"},"modified":"2016-03-25T21:31:25","modified_gmt":"2016-03-26T01:31:25","slug":"spring-into-health-table-talk-2-healthy-choice-swaps-for-everyday-cooking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/?p=1747","title":{"rendered":"Spring into Health: Table Talk 2. Healthy Choice Swaps for Everyday Cooking"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"oil<\/a>Hi Everyone,<\/span><\/p>\n

I don’t know about you, but the spring that has sprung is certainly a feisty one.\u00a0 Snowed two times now.\u00a0 Maybe she is doing a dance with winter.\u00a0 Either way, the sun is a welcome and I am enjoying the bits of green emerging in and around the dark wood and gray bits of weeds.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had our Table Talk 2 this week at the Ramsdell Library.\u00a0 We began with a nice relaxing and centering opening to our gathering\u00a0which\u00a0led into our\u00a0discussion:\u00a0 Healthy Choice Swaps for Everyday Cooking.<\/span><\/p>\n

I presented some plant-based alternatives to your everyday cooking to support digestive wellness.\u00a0 I focused on oils, grains and sources of protein.\u00a0 Suggestions on preparation\u00a0methods,\u00a0cooking tips\u00a0and good digestive aids were also shared.\u00a0 We then looked at some sample recipes and\u00a0practiced some swapping while we talked about their own everyday cooking choices and what they may want to try out.<\/span><\/p>\n

We had a chef in the group which was an added bonus, who shared on some of his favorite recipes and got some good ideas for incorporating these into his menus.<\/span><\/p>\n

Here are some basics on what we covered.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Oils<\/strong>– I focused on some basics like extra virgin olive oil (EVO)\u00a0and sesame oil.\u00a0 Each carries a different set of properties that when added to a cooking makes for a different flavoring.\u00a0 EVO is a good source for lowering cholesterol an sesame is high I vitamin E.\u00a0 When choosing which to use\u00a0you may want to consider how well they stand up to heat and the type of\u00a0dish you are making.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"millet\"<\/a>G<\/strong>rains<\/strong>– Generally the use of whole grains\u00a0as part of your everyday cooking.\u00a0\u00a0Whole grains are\u00a0a good way to\u00a0get health benefits\u00a0with every bite.\u00a0\u00a0Whole\u00a0grains like brown rice\u00a0with phosphorus expels toxins from the body.\u00a0 Millet an alkaline grain can help bring the acid levels into balance and\u00a0has\u00a0the nice added property of helping bad breath.\u00a0 Preparation- soaking grains prior to use is always a good idea.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"tempeh\"<\/a>Proteins<\/strong>-We looked at alternative plant-based sources for proteins\u00a0using soy that are easily\u00a0digestible.\u00a0Tofu is one that often gets either a thumbs up or thumbs down from people when they try it.\u00a0 What I have found is it depends in large part on the method of preparation, flavoring and other foods that accompany the meal.\u00a0 Cooking tofu is simple and versatile.<\/span><\/p>\n

It is wonderful in that it adopts the flavor you add to it and can be used in\u00a0its\u00a0packaging of \u00a0firm or soft\/ silk form which is great for dressings.\u00a0 Tempeh (picture), a fermented cooked soybean you may remember me mentioning in Table Talk 1: Gut Health- where we discussed some food-based healthy forms of good bacteria.\u00a0 The nutty flavoring of tempeh along with its meaty texture makes it a nice alternative to a pan-fried\u00a0cast iron dish.\u00a0Preparation: Steaming tempeh for 15 min prior to use\u00a0makes it more digestive friendly.<\/span><\/p>\n

A cooking tip on EVO<\/strong>: When choosing an olive oil- consider this-Sicilian based EVO is the lightest form of olive oil.<\/span><\/p>\n

A digestive aid:<\/strong> Tamari vs. Soy sauce- this seems to always end up being a question of – What is Tamari and what is a\u00a0difference between them?\u00a0 Tamari\u00a0is made from\u00a0fermented soybeans and has very little wheat.\u00a0 Soy sauce on the other hand is made partly from wheat.\u00a0 So when you have the choice, go for Tamari.\u00a0\u00a0 As I always encourage- check labels for any added ingredients when buying pre-packaged goods of all kinds.<\/span><\/p>\n

Well that’s it for this week.\u00a0 Hope you got a nice sampling of Table Talk#2. I do hope you will attend a workshop in the future for a more comprehensive listing and to join in\u00a0the\u00a0gathering\u00a0together.\u00a0 Sharing in a larger group allows for the diversity of culture and cooking modalities to be explored in a nice way.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hope to see you for Table Talk #3 @ Ramsdell Library on April 2nd<\/strong>.\u00a0 Discussion topic is Kitchen Prep Tips & Healthy Food Shopping on a Budget.\u00a0 Make a brown bag lunch and bring a friend. <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In heath,<\/span><\/p>\n

Safara<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi Everyone, I don’t know about you, but the spring that has sprung is certainly a feisty one.\u00a0 Snowed two […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1747"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1765,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1747\/revisions\/1765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/safaraf.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}