EAT, COOK, LOVE

In my foods class, we have just finished watching a CBC Doc Zone called Eat, Cook, Love. It is all about how we can recreate a relationship with food. People are starting to eat only because they have to, not because they want to. Food is beginning to be viewed as something negative for many reasons, such as it can cause obesity. This documentary mentions some places around the world that are trying to control what the people intake. For example, in New York, they wanted to reduce the salt levels because 8 out of 10 people intake more salt than their daily recommendation. So they tried to ban salt in restaurants. In Japan, there is now an obesity tax and Foiegras, which is duck, is now illegal to serve in the United States. These are a few examples of how people are trying to control what the people in our world eat and try to limit our personal choice. In Eat, Cook, Love, they convey their message which is that it is important to have personal choice, which comes along with personal responsibility. This means that it is important to have choices such as what you want to eat. There shouldn't be any restrictions on what you can and can't have. It is your responsibility to make the right choices for yourself on what you want to eat and how much you want to eat the government should not be in control of that. Furthermore, this documentary encourages us to recreate a relationship with food. They provide a great example, which is the Mediterranean diet. This diet is part of the peoples heritage and the recipes are passed down through generations. If these traditions are not passed down then they will be lost. Therefore, it creates a relationship between people and food. Secondly, in Las Vegas, there is a restaurant called the Heart Attack Grill. The chef there strives to corrupt the American diet by delivering nutritional corruption. These two examples demonstrate how we should all eat because we want to eat, develop a positive relationship with food and make our own choices about what we want to eat. This documentary has inspired me to do just that!

The French Culture

One of my good friend's just recently did an exchange with a girl from France. Her name was Charmaine Laurent. During the time she was in Thunder Bay I took the opportunity to interview her about her culture. Here are some of the questions and answers from our interview.

1. What is a famous food from France? A French food that really stands out in my mind are crepes. They are so delicious and you can eat them with almost anything.
2. What is your favorite food to eat? My favorite food would have to be Strawberry Napoleon's. They are my favorite French dessert. It is made with Puff Pastry, strawberries and some type of whipped cream.
3. What kinds of French foods do you enjoy making? Well, my favorite thing to make are crepes probably because they are so easy and delicious. But, some of the other foods I enjoy making are Ratatouille, chicken cordon bleu,  and onion soup. I don't really like blue cheese at all so I don't like to eat the chicken cordon bleu. I make it because my parents love it so I'll cook a meal with the chicken once in a while.
4. What is a common ingredient used that is different than what is commonly used in Canada? Well, in France there are so many different kinds of desserts that are made with Choux pastry. It is a light pastry dough used to make eclairs, beignets, French crullers and many others. 
5. What are three odd foods you can find in France? To start, Pigeon can be found on many of the fine restaurant menus. Secondly, at a restaurant in Paris called Au Pied du Cochon where you can try just about any part of pig you want to try. Lastly, a really disgusting in my opinion French food is Boudin Noir. This is blood pudding or blood sausage. It is often served with diced potatoes, onions and sometimes little bits of apple.

I found that interviewing another person from a different culture really opened my eyes to the diversity of cuisine throughout the world. There are many foods that I would love to try out to experience different cultures through their cuisine! I definitely need to try out these Strawberry Napoleon's.

Shirley Temples

My young sister, who is in grade nine, came home today and began to tell me all about her multicultural project in geography class. Each of the students had to bring some type of food or beverage from a different culture to class. So of course my sister decides to do the United States. I was thinking wow you couldn't have been a little more creative, but whatever. So her group decided to make Shirley Temples. Now I have had them before and I wasn't a big fan, but I decided to try one of her's anyway. To my great surprise it was actually delicious! It has a very unique flavour, but i can describe it best by saying it tastes like orange juice with a fizziness in it. She also taught me how to make one (I had to make my own actually because she doesn't like to make anything for me). So to make it you put about 1/4 of the glass filled with orange juice and then fill the rest up with ginger ale. Then you put one drop of grenadine in it and there you have your Shirley Temple :) This is definately a drink that I will be making again!

Chewing Gum

Nowadays, gum widely varies in its shape and flavor from spearmint to cheesecake flavored. The spearmint and peppermint flavors are the most popular in today's market. Did you know that the average person chews over 300 pieces of gum per year? Wow, I honestly don't think I have ever chewed that much gum in one year. Although chewing gum is some peoples favorite pastimes, it does have some serious drawbacks to it.

To start, chewing gum can lead to tooth decay, gum disease and cavitites because of the sugar that coats our teeth when we chew it. It slowly damages our tooth enamel, which leads to these issues. Secondly, the artifical sweeteners used to provide and special kind of taste or a longer lasting flavor runs the risk of causing allergies. These artificial sweeteners can also cause irritation or headaches. Next, chewing gum causes jaw stress and in many cases social distraction. Chewing gum in social environments is now accepted in most places, but it can be very distracting and irritating. I can definitely relate to this. For example, one of my teachers in the past chewed a lot of gum all the time and I found it very distracting and difficult to focus on the lesson.

On the other hand, chewing gum also has its benefits. Chewing gum helps to improve your memory and enhance your cognitive powers. It has been found that people who chew gum throughout tests have had better results than those who did not. Next, it reduces symptoms of stress, for it increases alertness and concentration within yourself and it help to reduce tension and release nervous energy when you are chewing. Lastly, chewing gum helps to improve digestion. The constant chewing increases saliva flow and promotes frequent swallowing. This helps to prevent reflux of acid from the stomach back into the throat.

All in all, chewing gum has many benefits and drawbacks, but I think I will still continue to chew gum. But I will try to stay below 300 pieces per year!

Tennis!

Recently, I have began going out to the tennis courts and practicing. I have had so much fun each time in the sun and I began to wonder: what else am I getting out of this besides a lot of vitamin D? Well, I have decided to make this blog to answer my question. To start, playing tennis gets you moving and is good for both your body and mind. It is a sport that you can play at nearly any age and any skill level. Whether you play competitively or just for fun there are health benefits for each!

1. Tennis helps to decrease your risk of heart disease. In a study at the College Alumni Health Study it shows that people who burn 2000 calories per week through exercise have lower death rates from heart disease. An average-sized man burns around 600 calories playing and an average woman burns 420 calories. So just by playing a few hours of weekly tennis you can reduce your risk of heart disease significantly.
2. Tennis enhances your flexibility, coordination and balance. The sport requires the whole body; your feet maneuver you around, your arms and hands position the racket to hit the ball and your torso and legs provide the power to hit the ball over the net. Each of these actions help you build up your flexibility, coordination and balance.
3. Tennis boosts your brain power. Tennis is not only a physical game, but a mental one where you must use your brain to be creative, use tactical thinking and maintain your agility and coordination of your body. The more your play tennis, the stronger the neural connections related to these activities become.
4. Tennis improves your bone health. While playing tennis it allows you to increase your peak bone mass and slow the rate of bone mass loss over time. the National Institutes of Health has named tennis as one of the weight-bearing activities that is well-suited for building strong bones.
5. Tennis helps you to lose weight. Everything about tennis can be a real workout when you are up against the right opponent. It is a full body sport, as it requires running, swinging, reaching and pivoting. You can burn a lot of calories when you are constantly on the move like you are when playing tennis. Playing tennis three to four times a week will help you to lose around half a pound a week. 

So after reading all of these benefits of tennis I hope it has inspired you to go and try it out! I know I will continue to play as I now know it has so many great benefits to it!

For more information on tennis you can visit the website below :)

http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/aging/retirement/5-health-benefits-of-playing-tennis.htm#page=5 

Salad Rolls!

Today I decided to make a video of how to make salad rolls. They are a delicious appetizer or side to have especially during the summer months. They are so fresh tasting and very healthy for you. They are also one of my favorite things to make because they are so easy and they are always so delicious. The dipping sauce also goes very well with the salad rolls, but it does have a spicy taste to it. I also like making salad rolls because you can choose what you want in all the different rolls and how much you want of each type of filling in your salad roll. I hope you enjoy my video below and try them out yourselves so you can see how amazing they are! You can also find the recipe below.

Ingredients:

Rolls

• 8 round rice paper wrappers (22 cm in diameter)
• 1 head Boston bib lettuce, leaves separated
• 1 pint of alfalfa sprouts
• 1 small red pepper, julienned
• 2 carrots, julienned
• 2 green onions, julienned or sliced on the diagonal
• 1 pound of fresh king crab meat, shredded
• 1/2 cup roasted peanuts, chopped

Dipping Sauce

• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp lime juice
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 fresh Thai Chile, minced or to taste
• 3-4 tbsp honey

Directions:

Rolls

1. In a large bowl of warm water, soak the rice paper wrappers one at a time until softened; about 10 seconds.
2. Lay them on a tea towel to absorb some of the liquid and then transfer to a work surface.
3. Place a lettuce leaf in the center of the rice paper wrapper and then add some sprouts, red peppers, carrots, green onion and crab meat.
4. Sprinkle with some of the peanuts.
5. Begin to roll up the wrapper, tucking the ends in as you go.
6. Repeat with remaining wrappers.
7. Cut each salad roll in half and serve with the dipping sauce.

Dipping Sauce

1. Put dipping sauce ingredients in a bowl and mix to combine. Serve with the salad rolls.

Lunches!

Today at lunch I surveyed ten students lunches anonymously. I noticed that most people have very similar lunches. Most people brought some type of juice box or bottled water along with some type of granola bar. I noticed that the most popular granola bar was the Chewy bars. Some people also brought some type of fruit or vegetable such as snap peas or strawberries. It was the main part of the lunch that varied the most amongst the students. Some people brought sandwiches while others bought pizza at the caf or brought leftovers from their dinner. Lastly, the majority of the students brought cookies for the dessert part of their lunches. Overall, I think that the fruits and vegetables food group was the most lacking amongst the students lunches. Also the dairy and alternatives food group is also lacking. To improve their lunches the students should bring a salad or some cut up fruits and vegetables. They can also bring some yogurt to fulfill the dairy food group. I think that the average student lunch would cost about $5 if you are buying a lunch, but if you bring your lunch from home it could be between $5-10 depending on what you bring. Personally, I think my lunches are lacking these two food groups as well and from now on I will work harder to make sure I include all the different food groups in my lunch.