My Review of The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook

With Fall baking season approaching, I thought this would be a good time to include another one of my book reviews!  Below is my review of Cybele Pascal's The Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook as it appeared in summer edition of The Vegetarian Nutrition Update.  Enjoy!

The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook
by Cybele Pascal. Celestial Arts, 2009; 189 pages; $25.00; ISBN 978-1-58761-348-7

Cybele Pascal is a food writer and has also authored The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook and The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook.  She, her husband, and two sons all have various food allergies and missed many of their favorite treats; her answer was to develop The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook.  The book contains 100 vegan recipes for baked goods made without gluten, wheat, dairy, eggs, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, or sesame.  

The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook starts with a chapter on stocking your pantry which describes types of flours, oils, chocolates, and other ingredients, and provides suggestions for brand names and stores.  Pascal also includes information on recommended kitchen tools and provides details on how to replace potential allergens.   The remaining chapters include recipes for muffins, cookies, cakes, pies, yeasted baked goods, and savories.  A resource section provides information on food and equipment sources and organizations providing support for people with food allergies. With the rise in diagnosed food allergies, sensitivities, and intolerances, more consumers are in need of a resource like The Allergen-Free Baker’s Handbook for occasions when they want to indulge in a treat.  

The two recipes I tried (Snickerdoodles and Basic Scones) turned out good, not great; I could definitely tell they were gluten-free.  I’ll have to try them again with the superfine brown rice flour that she recommends (I wasn't able to locate the specific brand for my test batches) and see if they turn out better.  The only thing missing from this book is nutritional information for the recipes.  Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to be able to bake a variety of foods and who must avoid gluten and other common allergens. 

Reviewed by Christine E. Marquette, RD, LD, CLT, ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist

© 2010, Vegetarian Nutrition Update Newsletter; Vegetarian DPG, a dietetic practice group of the American Dietetic Association.  Used with permission.

Coyote Creek Farm’s World’s Best Eggs!

I’m afraid I’m a little late getting this blog up!  But as promised, here’s the scoop on this farm I toured back in May just up the road from Austin, Texas in a small town called Elgin. 

This farm tour was actually organized by Slow Food Austin as a fundraiser for the Texas Organic Farmers & Gardeners Association.  We were there specifically to tour Coyote Creek’s Organic Feed Mill and Egg Farm.  Prior to actually viewing the mill, Jeremiah Cunningham, the proprietor of Coyote Creek Farm, gave us some background information on how he came to be an organic farmer and feed mill operator. 

Like most people, Jeremiah had a “corporate” business job for many years.   He started to have significant health problems related to his high stress levels, lack of exercise, and poor eating habits, so he decided he had to make a change.  He gave up corporate America, bought some land in Elgin and decided to start an organic farm to improve his health.

He was able to tour Joel Salatin’s Polyface Farm in Virginia to start the learning process of how to farm sustainably.  (You may remember Joel Salatin as one of the farmer’s in the movie Food, Inc.).  Jeremiah also read many books and talked with many other people who practice “permaculture.”  (Permaculture is defined as an ecological system that is sustainable in all aspects.)  After doing all his research and starting to raise chickens and cattle, Jeremiah realized that he could not find a quality organic feed that was sourced in Texas, so he decided to start his own mill. 

Eventually, other local farmers began to ask him if he would be willing to provide them with organic feed for their poultry as well.  That’s how his mill was born!  He also began to get demand for his eggs and beef.  This eventually caused Jeremiah to expand his farm and start producing for customers.  Luckily there were more acres of farmland right next to the land Jeremiah owned, so expansion was fairly easy. 

See the mill in the background.

One of their 3 farm dogs at work!

At this point, Jeremiah’s farm is so big he sells his eggs through 22 Whole Foods Markets in Texas (he has around 2,000 chickens!).  Once his chickens “retire” from egg-laying (which is when they are a little over two years of age), they are given to an animal rescue group who then re-homes the chickens. 

It was really hot, so most of the chickens stayed in the shade!

It’s great to see that a farmer can be big enough to sell through a store like Whole Foods and still be able to treat their animals humanely, be organic, and be sustainable.  In addition, Jeremiah Cunningham was able to improve his health so much that he is now a cancer survivor!  Jeremiah is truly an inspiration, and I am happy to have made his acquaintance.  Please support farmers like him, and check out his video below! 

Afraid to Eat Eggs?

First, my sincere apologies for not having blogged in two months!  I cannot believe how quickly the summer went by.  On the plus side, my business is really picking up so I've been doing a lot of work with individual clients.  On the down side, I have discovered my time management skills need some work!  Having said that, starting in September I am making a concerted effort to get back on track with writing regular blogs. 

Now then, even though it has been several weeks since the news first broke about tainted eggs, it continues to be talked about in the media.  Just yesterday evening I was watching ABC World News with Diane Sawyer and again they were talking about filthy conditions discovered by inspectors at one of the Wright plants.  I have blogged before about knowing where your food comes from, and I think now is a good time to remind everyone why this is so important. 

The story on the news last night really turned my stomach, for a number of reasons.  First of all, the fact that numerous rodents were freely running around in the hen house should have been red flag number one that conditions were not sanitary and just “washing” the eggs is not going to adequately ensure they are safe for human consumption.  Rampant flies in the area should have been red flag number two.  What comes to your mind when you think of a lot of flies congregating in a relatively small area?  Not a pleasant picture, at least not in my mind! 

I think you all know by now that I am an animal lover, so seeing the conditions that those poor chickens are working in is what really turned my stomach (as if the items I’ve mentioned above were not enough!).  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  We reap what we sow.  We cannot expect to pay pennies on the dollar for high quality food.  Something has to give, and in our current conventional factory farm system, the first to suffer are the animals.  However, suffering is not just limited to the animals; ask anyone who got salmonella poisoning how they feel.  This is a direct consequence of "doing things on the cheap." 

This is a prime example of why I am more than willing to pay more for good quality food, particularly from local farmers that I can meet, talk to, and even visit their farms!  There is no better way to protect yourself from this type of outbreak than to know the source of your food. 
 
You can always go to your local farmer's market and find sources of good quality eggs there.  However, I know that getting to the farmer's market can sometimes be a challenge.  If you want a good source of eggs and you live in Texas, Coyote Creek Farm in Elgin sells eggs under the name “World’s Best Eggs” through Whole Foods Market.  I have personally toured their farm and met the proprietor, Jeremiah Cunningham and can vouch for the safety and sanitation of their operation!  In fact, I will dedicate my next blog to my tour of their property this past summer, so stay tuned!   

Cycling and Leg Cramps (It’s not just about Hydration!)

You may recall, I did some traveling in May for vacation.  I don’t know about you, but whenever I go on vacation it always seems like I have to work extra hard both before (to get ready for it), and after (to catch up from being away).  For that reason, I did not get on my bike as much as I usually do.  I think I may have had one 20ish mile ride a couple of weeks before and a couple of weeks after vacation, which put me into early June with only a couple of bike rides.  Don’t worry, did not completely fall off the exercise wagon!  I was still getting in runs, swims, and some core workouts.  For me I can get a good workout in only one hour in those 3 areas, but with cycling it needs to be at least a couple of hours, which is not going to happen unless I have time to ride at least 30+ miles. 

Well, a couple of weekends ago a group of “recreational cyclists” that I occasionally tag along with posted a 40ish mile route that I had not done before.  It sounded like fun, so I decided to go for it, even though I had only been on my bike twice in the previous month, and only for short rides.  The first half was great!  We started at about 7:45 a.m. and the wind was at our back for 20 miles.  We stopped at a small general store in a little town called Andice.  There we had potty breaks and refueled. 

The way back was not pretty!  All those long rolling hills that we sped down we now had to ride UP, into a very strong headwind!  Our group quickly split in two, but I managed to hang on to the back of wheel of the first group until we hit about mile 30.  That’s when I found myself in no man’s land.  My left leg had been spasming for some time already, but I had managed to keep it from completely cramping by pulling harder with my right leg.  That turned out to not be such a good strategy because once I got on the biggest hill, my right leg started cramping up severely.  I can honestly say I have never in my life had leg cramps that bad!  It got so bad I could not pedal and had to jump off my bike for a few minutes and just stand on the side of the road.  Eventually I was able to move my legs a little, so I walked a bit before hoping back on my bike and slowly making my way back to a couple of members of the group that had waited for me at the top of the next hill. 

Let me tell you, I was definitely not dehydrated, and I was not low on electrolytes.  I know, we are in the middle of summer in Texas, but I had already consumed at least 20 ounces of fluid that contained over 600 mg of potassium and sodium (plus other minerals), and another 400 mg in a nutrition bar at the rest stop, plus at least 20 ounces of additional water.  I was able to confirm my hydration status once I got home and weighed (no change), and checked my urine (pale yellow, so had not overhydrated with water).  So what caused my leg cramps?

I am guessing a couple of things.  One, lack of fitness on the bike.  I probably could have ridden an easy 40 miles with no problem even though I had only a couple of short rides the previous month, but since this ride had a lot of hills and a strong headwind (and later I realized my brake was rubbing) my legs just were not ready.  The second thing was probably bad technique.  Once my left leg started giving me grief, I did not maintain equal pressure all the way around my stroke with both legs.  By pulling unevenly, I stressed my right leg so much that it started cramping as well. 

So if you are suffering from leg cramps, it is probably just not one thing.  Evaluate your hydration status, your electrolyte intake, AND your technique! 

Happy cycling! 

My Review of Brazier's Thrive Fitness

You probably don't know this, but I am the current book reviewer for Vegetarian Nutrition Update, which is a newsletter published by the Vegetarian Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group - a part of the American Dietetic Association.  I mention it because this week I would like to post my recently published review of Brendan Brazier's most recent book Thrive Fitness.  He is touring the US, and this Sunday through Tuesday (June 12th through June 15th) he is going to be in Austin, TX making appearances at several natural foods type stores.  So without further adieu, below is my review. 

Thrive Fitness
by Brendan Brazier. Da Capo Press, 2009; 245 pages; $15.95; ISBN 978-0-7382-1362-0

Brendan Brazier is a professional ironman triathlete and vegan.  Thrive Fitness is a follow up to his first book, Thrive.  Thrive was primarily a diet-focused book, while Thrive Fitness takes a more holistic approach in instructing the reader how to gain strength, prevent disease and become more fit and  healthier.  Thrive Fitness is divided into four main sections, with a total of eight chapters.  In the first section “What Happened to Our Health?” Brazier describes the current obesity epidemic and factors that contribute to this epidemic.  He supports his statements with information from reputable sources including the Centers for Disease Control, the American Heart Association, and medical journals.  In the second section, “What is Thrive Fitness?” he explains concepts such as “high-return exercise,” “high net-gain nutrition,” the importance of quality sleep, and stress reduction.  I found this to be a very useful section in explaining how to best select what type of physical activity to choose in order to get the most out of it and prevent over-training syndrome.  I also liked the way Brazier explained high net-gain nutrition and how this can lower physical stress on our bodies by avoiding foods that would provide little nutrition yet require our bodies to work harder to process them.   “Training, Living, and Improving” is the third section and gives tips on the mental aspects of training as well as disease prevention.  My only concern in this section is when he talks about “bad” LDL cholesterol and states, “only animal products contain this type of cholesterol.” This may lead the reader to think that plant foods contain the “good” type of cholesterol, whereas plants do not contain any type of cholesterol.  The last section “Achieving and Maintaining Thrive Fitness” details starting his 6-week training plan and includes nutrients to focus on, recipes, shopping lists, a sample menu, training logs, and a Q & A section.  As an ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist, my main concern with this section was a description of how to do bench dips that may actually cause shoulder injury; having your upper body so far away from the bench (as described and shown in the photo) has been shown to put a significant amount of strain on the shoulder. One limitation of the book is that recipes do not include any nutritional information. Despite a few concerns, I highly recommend this book to those who want to improve their health and fitness level while at the same time following a vegan diet.

Reviewed by Christine E. Marquette, RD, LD, ACSM Certified Health Fitness Specialist

© 2010, Vegetarian Nutrition Update Newsletter; Vegetarian DPG, a dietetic practice group of the American Dietetic Association.  Used with permission. 

The Omnivore’s Dilemma - a Review

As you may recall in my previous blog, I recently read The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan.  If you have not read it, I highly recommend it.  The book is broken into 3 sections:  Industrial/Corn, Pastoral/Grass, and Personal/Forest.  Each section is further broken down into several chapters.  It includes some tough chapters on animal slaughter and factory farms, but that is only part of the book. 

Section one starts out giving a history lesson on corn and the many products in this country that have corn as some sort of ingredient.  It also details how this tremendous crop has become the bane of many farmers’ existence.  I actually learned a few things that I didn’t already know regarding the vicious cycle of corn farming in America. 

In section two, Pollan spends a week working on Polyface farm in Virginia.  For those of you who saw Food, Inc., this is Joel Salatin’s farm where all the animals are allowed to practice their natural behaviors, spend most of their time “free on the range,” and are fed their natural diet.  I have a lot of respect for Pollan actually experiencing the hard work that farmers like Joel Salatin go through. 

Pollan wraps up the book with section three, in which he debates the ethics of eating animals, experiences hunting wild pig and foraging for wild mushrooms, and prepares an entire meal from scratch using items he obtained in his section three “adventures.” 

I really appreciated the effort he put into “tracking” a particular food item from its start to where it may ultimately end up, whether it was corn from a large industrial farm, a steer in a factory farm, or a pig on a family farm.  He does a good job of including virtually all aspects of our food supply system.  As the title implies, he also contrasts four meals:  a fast food meal in section one, an “organic industrial meal” purchased from Whole Foods in section two, a home cooked meal made from non-factory farmed “grass-fed” foods - which were fresh ingredients from Polyface Farm - also in section two, and another home cooked meal made from a combination of foods he foraged for, hunted, or grew in his own garden in section three.

At the end of the book, he includes all the sources he used in writing this piece and includes his website address.  His website has many useful links, such as resources for sustainable eating, resources for gardeners/farmers/ranchers, and many more.  

If you care about your health and the health of your family, I highly encourage you to read this book and learn more about where your food comes from.  

The Vegetarian’s Dilemma

I just got back from a week of vacation with my husband down on the Texas coast; Port Aransas to be specific.  It was great!  The water was surprisingly clean, temperatures not too hot, and sunny all but one day.

Anytime we travel, I usually try to research food options ahead of time, particularly since we are vegetarian.  I did for this trip as well, but had limited success because many of the restaurants in Port Aransas do not have websites.  Of the few restaurants who had websites, not many had vegetarian options, hence the name of this blog!  Even so, it really was not a big deal since we stayed in a condo and prepared most of our own meals.

However, there were a few restaurant options we tried.  Shell’s Pasta and Seafood had 4 different vegetarian pasta dishes available on their dinner menu, as well as a couple of different appetizers and desserts. We ate dinner there one evening in which we split an appetizer, had our own (different) entrées, and split dessert.  It was very good; all together, including a couple of glasses of wine, was only $40. Our waitress said they had a different lunch menu, but we did not have a chance to go back and check it out.  I would definitely go back to this restaurant. 

The Venetian Hot Plate only had one vegetarian entrée (pasta), a couple of appetizers and a couple of salads.  We ate dinner there one night; it was o.k., but because of the very limited variety and high cost, I would not go back. 

Port A Pizzeria had lots of options (sandwiches, pizza, a salad bar and buffet) but we did not actually eat there.  We did eat a vegetarian pizza at the Port A Brewery, which if I recall correctly was the only vegetarian “meal” option available there at lunch/dinner. However, they did also have vegetarian desserts.  It was good, average in cost, and we did go back on our last day to get some cinnamon rolls to go! 

Overall, if you plan to stay in Port A for a whole week and are vegetarian or vegan, I recommend staying some place where you can prepare some of your own meals so you do not get bored eating the same things daily! 

Besides researching places to eat, whenever I take a “beach” vacation, I always pack a few books to read.  This trip’s selection included one book purely for enjoyment, one for learning more about our food supply, and one about fitness.  Usually I can finish 3 books in a week, but this time I lacked about 50 pages to finish my last one (the book about fitness).  Oh well, guess I spent more time than usual napping and playing in the water!  I started with the “pure enjoyment” book, which was about dogs, and finished it in the first two days of the trip. 

My second book, The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, was a bit heavier and took me three days to finish.  I was so impressed by this book that my next blog is going to be entirely about that book, so stay tuned!