Healthy Alternatives

I always try to make every meal as healthy as possible. As a result I have learned a lot of healthy tricks that can really clean up your diet a lot and the best part is that it's really easy. My first trick is no real butter. If I am making eggs in the morning instead of putting a slab of butter on the pan, ill put a little bit of olive oil on there so the eggs don't stick. Add a little bit of salt and pepper and you will never know that there is no butter. Tastes pretty much the same. My next trick is the most important one in my opinion. It is a great way to cut out some carbs in your diet and ultimately lose a few pounds, which everyone wants to do. The way to do this is to try your best not to eat bread. Bread is one of the most unhealthy things because it is so filled with carbs, which in excess isn't the best for you. It is very hard to do this, and obviously is almost impossible to cut completely out of your diet, so this is what I do. I try to avoid it as much as possible but when I eat it, the bread has to be wheat bread. Wheat bread is much better for you and it tastes great. After awhile I started to like it even more than I do white bread which is something that I never thought that I would be able to like in general. My third and final trick is to replace rice with a different type of grain called quinoa. Quinoa is a protein packed grain that is great for putting on muscle. It also has less carbs than plain rice does. In the beginning quinoa tastes a little weird because most people are not used to it, but this fades quickly. Within a week of eating quinoa I started to really enjoy is. There are a lot of cool recipes that you can find online with quinoa that taste great. Check out this website: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/recipes/quick-recipes/dinner/healthy-quinoa-recipes/ 
If you follow all these tricks for a few months I can almost guarantee that you will lose some weight and be healthier all around. I know it worked for me!!

Chipotle: The Best Of The Worst

As you know I am pretty health conscious when it comes to eating, so I would like to make this weeks blog post about how to eat healthy when you don't have too much time. For me the solution to this problem is Chipotle. Chipotle captures the essence of a fast food restaurant, but without the fat. Chipotle uses all organic products in their food, which means no GMOs. After doing research on GMOs i'm not sure that I want to eat any sort of genetically modified foods anymore. I know too many negative side effects to GMOs, which I think is a good think to know. Chipotle is also decently healthy. You get to have you protein, your vegetables, your beans, and your carbs all wrapped inside of a burrito. It is everything that I look for in a meal. Usually when I go to Chipotle my burritos are insanely expensive for a fast food restaurant. My bill usually rounds up to a hefty 16$, but it's 100% worth it. It is so expensive because I usually opt to get triple meat and guacamole. For me the triple meat is always a necessity, being a protein freak and all. The only think that is decently unhealthy is the tortilla wrap. It adds a tremendous amount of unnecessary carbs to your meal. For people that don't want the extra carbs I would recommend checking out the burrito bowls. The burrito bowls are everything that is normally inside of a burrito but in a bowl instead. The first time I had it I thought it was going to be like a salad and also not be filling. I was wrong about both things. It was nothing like a salad. I liked it just as much as the burrito and I also could barely finish it. Around the last 10 or so bites I was struggling to swallow. So if your ever in a time crunch, very hungry, and want something healthy, Chipotle is the place for you.
     

GMO Contamination: Sounds Edible To Me

GMO contamination poses a huge unrecognized threat to our agricultural system. Genetically modified plants can cross pollinate and their seeds and travel, just like a normal plant. It is also virtually impossible to contain. This is a very big problem for organic farmers because it is common for their crops to become contaminated with genetically modified crops, ruining the integrity of the organic farmers crops, making it impossible to save a large portion of their yield. Within theses scholarly sources contains examples of this happening and what has been done as a result.

The first article is called GMOs Threat To Organic Farming: Feldstein and it talks about how Prince Edward Island has been forever ruined for organic farming. This is because on this island there are a lot of genetically modified crops being grown on the island. This brings the article into its main point with is whether or not it should be allowed to grow GM crops where ever the farmer wants to. According to Feldstein "allowing GMOs to be planted anywhere is a high-risk option on a low-value path that we may never be able to get off of." This shows this side very well, which is that he does not think that farmers should have the freedom to plant GMOs where ever they want.

The second article is called EU Allows Danish Levy on GMO Farming. It is about a state in the EU that offered compensation to farmers who suffer from GMO contamination for the first time. They also made the owners of GMO farmers pay a certain amount per acre that they have a GMO plantation. This helps my research topic in a few different ways. The first is that it brings up the topic of GMO contamination, which is a big problem for farmers. The second is that they bring up some GMO regulations. Even though they contaminated other people's crops they still only passed very small regulations. Not even about the GMO's themselves, only a tax of the farm where they are grown.

GMO's Risks: Facts or Fiction?

There is an ongoing debate to whether or not genetically modified foods are actually bad for your health. With the help of a few online popular sources I was able to find some really interesting information on the topic. On the NON GMO Project's website, which aims to inform the general public with the truth on GMO's they wrote "Most developed nations do not consider GMOs safe. In more than 60 countries around the world, including Australia, Japan, and all of the countries in the European Union, there are significant restrictions or outright bans on the production and sale of GMOs." So in almost every nation GMOs have either been banned or heavily regulated, while in the United States, GMOs are legal, used in a large portion of our food, and barely regulated. It would seem that were a little behind the times on this one. This article stated that there were tests conducted on GMOs to determine if they are safe to consume and the test determined that yes they are safe for consumption. The only problem that there is with this is that the tests were actually conducted by the companies that produce genetically modified products themselves. If they want a trustworthy test, it should be done by someone who has no ties to the GMO companies to ensure that there is no bias with the outcome. 

The next source that I looked at, put out by IRT (Institute for Responsible Technology), looked into the reasons why people should avoid genetically modified foods. Some of these reasons include, the health effects, contamination, herbicide use in genetically modified products, side effects, the lax government regulations, how GMOs hurt the environment, and some common misconceptions that are misleading the general public. With each point they have they provide very thought provoking research and statistics, that really made me think about why GMOs are so prominent in the United States.  

NON GMO Project: http://www.nongmoproject.org/learn-more/
IRT: http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs

I Would Like To Propose GMO's

For the final research paper I am thinking of writing about the controversial topic of GMO's. More specifically how GMO's negatively impact society and why they need to have stricter regulations regarding the growth, sale, and labeling of genetically modified food products. To me this is a very important topic that needs to be talked about. Since I try to eat as healthy as possible I usually lean toward eating organic foods. This is because I think that they are much less processed and I know that there are going to be no negative side effects when I eat a organic product. Other than getting fat from eating way too much organic foods, I can't really see any bad part to them. From my past experiences I've learned that even if you are eating healthy things, if you overeat you are still going to pack on the pounds. Whenever I eat genetically modified foods, I always feel like i'm putting something bad into my body. With this type of food you can never gauge how processed the food actually is and because of this I like to steer away from them. Another big thing that concerns me is the labeling of genetically modified products. As far as I know most of the companies that produce genetically modified foods do not make it very known that the product is not organic. I have never went shopping and looked at the packaging and read, "This is a genetically modified product". With almost every organic product it is clearly written right on the packing, usually in big print, that it is organic. One of the biggest selling points to organic foods is the fact that it is organic and people buy them because of that. Since I have so much prior concerns with GMO's I feel like this is a great topic for me and hopefully I will enjoy writing this essay.

Stop Animal McCruely

The fast food industry is one of the biggest industries in the world, bringing in billions upon billions of dollars a year. What makes them so great is their ability to make good tasting food very quickly for very little money. To do this though they did have to some sacrifices like food quality and more importantly animal rights. In McDonald's for example they have been known to not give any regard to how they treat their animals. For example what they do to their chickens are absolutely horrible. When they raise their chickens they put thousands and thousands of them into blacked out coops. The chickens have no space to move at all and because of that they are never able to walk correctly. The conditions in the coops are also very poor. The chickens are walking on their own feces and other dead chickens. The odor in these coops is so strong that the farmers have to wear special masks so that they can breathe. The chickens are breathing in that vile aroma all of their lives, which is horrible for their health. The farmers are also required to put growth hormone into their food so that the chickens have abnormally large breasts. Their breasts often grow so big that their legs can't support their weight, so they take a few steps and then drop to the ground. McDonald's treats their animals like they are nothing and I'm very opposed to it. There are much more humane ways that they could get their food, but they always choose the cheap, most profitable way. I feel that it should be illegal to treat animals this way. They also have emotions and can feel pain just like we do. It's horrible that this is not the only animal that they treat this way. McDonald's treats every animal from cows to pigs as if they were garbage. Other fast food restaurants have been known to do the same thing and it needs to stop as soon as possible.   

Mom Cooks, We Eat, Then We Thank

In the Schwartz household every night is a family dinner. Around seven o'clock, after everyone gets home from school and work, we gather around the table to enjoy whatever big meal that my my mom prepares for us. Something that I've noticed is that my mom is always the one that does a majority of the cooking. When my dad cooks he's either barbequing some sort of meat or he's helping my mom prepare a big feast for a full Schwartz family gathering. For my dad, cooking is a hobby and he's really good at it. Whenever he makes a meal, I'm never complaining I know that it is going to be awesome meat filled dinner. For my mom, cooking seems to be a requirement. If my mom decides that shes not going to cook for us during the week, that when we either microwave up some leftovers, or eat cereal and cookies until were full. Even though it's required of her to cook, I still think that she enjoys it because she's pretty good at it. All of her food usually comes out very good, and we never fail to thank her and tell her how good her food is. If we didn't do that I think that she would probably stop cooking because she would find it degrading. I think that the Mom needs to cook for the family stereotype isn't as prominent today as it used to be. The major difference between now and seventy years ago is that women have a choice whether or not they want to cook. It isn't an actual requirement for women to cook dinners anymore. I think that my mom does it because she genuinely wants to and I'm very thankful for that. We should all appreciate our mothers because it's very easy to look past all the little thinks that mothers do that we wouldn't be able to get done without her. 

The Cake Boss

The only food show that I enjoy watching is Cake Boss. Cake boss is a show about the extravagant cakes that, Buddy the current owner of Carlo's bakery, prepares in his shop. Everyday different people come into the bakery and ask him to make big cakes for different big events across New Jersey. Buddy gets a lot of orders, so his job gets pretty stressful. He also works alongside most of his family and if your family is anything like mine you would know that this would lead to a lot of drama. This show has a very unique way a representing it's food. It really emphasizes the family aspect of food. Since the origin of cake is Italian and Buddy has a very traditional italian family, they really capture the feel that the show should have. I think that this really makes the message very clear and it is probably the most important part of the show. This is one of the reasons that I really like to watch this show. I am very close with my family and I enjoy spending a lot of time with them. Watching this show for me is a family activity. Almost every night around eight or so we all gather on the couch and watch television until ten. Every once in a while this is the show that we watch and it is always very entertaining. They also put a lot of stress on the cakes themselves in this show. The cakes are always so intricate and fun to look at. When every he makes a cake it usually has moving pieces and no dull spaces. Everything is filled up to the max to try and convey what ever message he is trying to get across.

Steak. Plain and Simple

As I look back on all the great meals that i've eaten in my life, I realize that it's a harder task to figure our your favorite food recipe. I've eaten so many amazing things like watermelon and tuna salad, snow  crab, swordfish, incredible meats, and amazing assortments of pasta, that makes it very difficult to choose. One thing that I've never been disappointed with, throughout my entire life is steak. Steak is the perfect meat. It's tender, juicy, and it tastes amazing. Thats why I think that it is my favorite food. My dad made amazing steaks on the barbecue starting from when I was about five years old. He would go to the butcher and pick up the best ribeye steaks that he could find. Next he would coat them in a dry rub with perfect mixture of salt, pepper, and garlic salt. After you just pop them on the barbecue and take them off when its medium to rare-medium and you have yourself a mouthwatering meal. Steak has been around for a very long time, just about as long as cows have been around. In different cultures it is used for different types of meals. In the United States it is very common to see a full steak on a plate. In other countries you would be more likely to see a steak cut up into strips and served in a meal. In mexico they use steak for burritos and fajitas. In China they put it into their stir fries. In Spain they use steak for churrasco. Lastly in Italy they put steak into different pasta dishes, like bolognese and al vodka. Steak is such a great meat that i'm sure that no matter what you do with it it will taste amazing, so i'm going to set out to try all of these dishes. I've only had steak in Mexican cuisine, so it's probably going to take a while. Wish me luck!     

Eating My Way To A Better Me

In the past 6 months my food habits changed drastically. This is because one of my workout partners and close friend helped show me ways that you could eat to maximize muscle growth without gaining fat. I the beginning of this diet plan, I struggled. Before I would eat whatever I wanted and never gave much thought to what I was putting into my body. Eventually these habits got me to a point where I wasn't happy with my weight and I felt really out of shape. This is how food betrayed me. I always knew that eating healthy was important if you wanted to be in shape but I never though that it could make me personally gain weight because of my young age and naturally skinny figure. When I hopped on a scale and it read 180 pounds, which is 40 pounds more than what I weighed graduating high school, I decided that it was time for me to make a change in my life. I started to work out hard five to six days a week and I stopped eating unhealthy foods. I completely cut out white bread, any type of sauces, and I stopped eating snacks. Also I ate a large amount of protein with every meal. So basically I cut out most of the fats in my diet and replaced it with as much protein as possible. After 6 months of following this diet and working out hard, I completely changed myself. I may still weigh 180 pounds but now it's all muscle and a very little bit of fat. To this day I still follow this and I have never felt or looked better. I'm happy to say that food changed my life and I hope that this inspires someone out there to get back into shape.