More Books for People Who Love Food

Photo courtesy SeriousEats HERE.

I am super stressed. I've got lots of great posts in mind, but I have no time between working, sleeping, and doing homework right now. That's what you get when you put off papers. But we'll get to the good stuff, and hopefully I'll be debuting a sweet new layout soon. Until then let us not forget how truly amazing reading and papers and words are. I posted not too long ago about a bunch of cookbooks that have recently hit the shelves, and in the past few days I've stumbled across a couple more books that revolve around food in some way, shape, or form. Not your traditional cookbooks, just books that cooks would like.

Second place for my new favorite book? Star Wars Cookbooks HERE. I mean there's really no need for me to expand upon how fun and awesome this is.

For some more fun, head on over to SeriousEats and try your hand at winning The Wine Snob's Dictionary HERE. My would be entry, wine legs, was taken early on and I have failed to put any more thought into the competition. However, this doesn't stop me from still wanting the book.

You may also be interested in Baked: New Frontiers in Baking by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, HERE, which I've seen getting a lot of attention lately. I first happened upon it at Serious Eats, HERE, but it also made T. Susan Chang on NPR's 10 Best Cookbooks of 2008 list HERE.

Or, google Rachel Ray. Shes says her new cookbook keeps vegetarians in mind, HERE, and I'm interested to know how it is.

Okay, and there was kind of a spoiler at the beginning of the post, but my new favorite book for people who love food is...50 Ways to Kill a Twinkie by Paul Simon. Check out the SeriousEats article HERE. Too good, too good.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Osteoporosis Fear and Eating Disorders

There are many things you may or may not know about me. I got to thinking about this while I was working on a paper on soluble fiber and cardiovascular disease tonight. Because I love fiber. Did you know that? You should love it to0 by the way. And become friends. Close friends.

But what I wanted to talk about now is not fiber but the fact that I am terrified of osteoporosis.

Why am I afraid of osteoporosis you might you ask? Good question.

While I don't fit absolutely every criteria like I once thought I did, I do fit several. I'm a woman, I'm white, I've had an eating disorder...and relapsed, I'm a small frame, I love soda and I've had periods of too much smoking, drinking, SSRIs and depression. To name a few. Check out the risks HERE. And then the fear part...why don't I want it? You know what they say, once you go hip fracture you never go back. Just kidding. That's somewhat rude. But it's true. There is a slippery slope between that first fall and going from healthy to...not so healthy. And I don't want that. I don't want to be in pain. I don't want to be incapacitated. I look at Granny and G-Ma, I wish I could say I just made that up, but no, that's what we call them...I look at Granny and G-Ma and they are doing great for their age. I want to be like that.

Have I mentioned I've shaped up quite a bit? Off track again....

But despite all my risks, all the valid reasons to fear osteoporosis, it all boils down to the stupid eating disorder and how I am afraid I let something I hate mess me up. I worry about all the potential harm I have done to myself. For example, I'm also afraid of not being able to have babies someday. And while I'm very open to adopting, I was looking forward to having lil children with the boy's (this is code for boyfriend I have decided) curls.

I digress.

But yes, my fear of osteoporosis stems from the eating disorder. Not from real physical risks so much or the fact I can check off so many risk factors...I fear it because it was something I couldn't control and so it is something I'm still kind of peeved about. It's weird. I'm mad at it a lot of the time. But that's the truth. And so to get back at it and take control of my life again I get lots of calcium, I do weight bearing exercises, although I need to pick them up a notch...basically I do everything I can to prevent osteoporosis and correct the damage I've done. But I am still afraid of it.

HERE is the article on MSNBC that made me realize I should share my fears with you.

And this is where I get to the point of all this rambling. This is where I say I think I am going to start an eating disorders segment. Like Tear Down Tuesday, but eating disorder style. The FD suggested that the first of the month be dedicated to such a post, and I think that sounds like a good idea.

So let's get ready to learn about touchy topics, but become better for it.

And ladies, get that calcium, drop them cigarettes, and curl a couple 15s for me would ya?

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Post-Thanksgiving Recovery

I hope everyone had something as amazing as a cupcake turkey on their table this year. Quite animal friendly. Photo courtesy Ama via Robyn Lee on seriouseats HERE.

Ah! I do not have time to be blogging...but I love it, so here goes.

I am afraid today's post may be another medley of links. Which I think are great. I love clicking through things like that. But I have some posts of a bit more substance I keep meaning to write and well...I keep running out of time.

I guess first of all, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Interested in knowing how a vegetarian with no desire to cook due to a slight depression brought on by missing her family and boyfriend spends Thanksgiving? Okay, I'll tell you. She smells of garlic because one of her few flaws is failure to metabolize said ingredient which happened to appear in Vermonter's soup, she introduces wonderful beer to wonderful friends, she buys hummus, learns how to say it correctly, and then dips mounds of veggies into it. She chews said veggies on one side of her mouth while enjoying raisin carrot bread and mashed potatoes on the other, and finally, she eats a piece of pumpkin pie happily thinking of all the good its doing her eyes (remember how we mentioned carotenoids and beta carotene). Oh, and then she watches Sex in the City. Which is new to her. But which is also surprisingly amusing.

I lead a life to envy. Momma P is proud almost daily.

Okay, so onto these links. Lots of people are offering up help on ways to cope with post Thanksgiving food and weight. And a lot of people are getting into the Holidays spirits. Literally. As in alcohol. All I really feel like saying about the weight is this...get over it. You enjoyed every minute of it, so go for a walk today, and tomorrow, and start eating properly again. You only live once.

Onto the food and drink!

Yumsugar has an article HERE on 10 Unexpected Thanksgiving Leftovers. I love slide shows.

Seriouseats not only gave us ideas by Erin Zimmer HERE, but took it a step further and directed us towards brunch mode, complete with ideas HERE.

HERE is an amazing diagram I found trying to explain to you how wines tastes and different relationships. Obviously I clicked right on riesling. Go look at this thing, it's great. After doing that, check out the post by Deb Harkness on seriouseats, HERE, about tracking people's wine habits. You can see if you were in line with the rest of America yesterday, at least as far as your drinking goes. And if you're ready to get on with you holiday festivities, I suggest working on your inner bartender and expanding that drink repertoire. Yumsugar gave a recipe for citrus spritzers HERE, and Well Fed Network introduced us to the Debonaire Cocktail HERE. Man I love good drink names.

Oh, and if you are not American, and did not really celebrate Thanksgiving, I hope you had a lovely day anyways, stole someone's pumpkin pie, and now we can go back to tailoring to everyone.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Thanksgiving

It would be fitting that my 100th blogger post is Thanksgiving. I love stuff like that.

Anyways, the tricky thing about posting what I am thankful for this Thanksgiving is similar to waht happens when people win Academy Awards. You're bound to forget something/someone. But here's my attempt.

I am thankful for

-My family unit
-The boy ♥
-Friends
-Certain coworkers (especially Dee Dee and Carissa)
-Not being hungry or homeless
-Being able to go to school and anyone who has ever taught me anything
-My readers and other bloggers
-and Patricia Mayo (photos to come)

Happy Thanksgiving!

Homemade Soup From Vermont

Recently, my favorite Vermonter sent me her family recipe for Potato Vegetable Soup. I decided to try it. With the vegetable broth not the chicken. It is delicious.

What follows, is my first attempt at documented cooking also known as pictures of me making the Potato Vegetable Soup. I will analyze the nutrition for you at the end.

Here we go. My comments are in BOLD:

From Vermonter:

"This is a family favorite soup that warms you from the inside out and is hearty and healthy! Also i included my favorite biscuit recipe which goes along very, very well." (PLEASE NOTE I DID NOT MAKE THE BISCUITS, I ATE MY SOUP WITH CHIPS AS I TEND TO DO, BUT THE BISCUIT SOUNDS DELICIOUS AND I ENCOURAGE THE MAKING OF IT)

POTATO VEGETABLE SOUP
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon butter or margarine (I USED BUTTER)
5 cups chicken or vegetable broth(VEGETABLE IS DELICIOUS!)
5 medium russet potatoes, cubed (and peeled if desired) (PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD LEAVE THE SKIN ON. YOU CAN'T TELL, AND BY GETTING RID OF IT YOU ARE RIDDING THE POTATOES OF THEIR NUTRITIONAL CONTRIBUTION)
2 medium carrots, sliced
2 medium celery stalks, sliced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 tablespoon fresh dill, minced (VERMONTER WOULD LIKE ME TO REMIND YOU THAT WITH DRIED HERBS USE HALF)
3 sprigs fresh parsley, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1. Saute the garlic and onion in a saucepan in the butter or margarine until the onion is translucent
2. Add broth and veggies and bring to a boil
3. Simmer 15-20 minutes, until potatoes are tender
4. Add dill, parsley, salt and pepper
5. (optional but highly recommended) throw it all in the food processor and blend until creamy (I DID THIS, AND I TOO RECOMMEND IT...)

Of course, you don't have to use fresh herbs, but the parsley especially makes this soup incredible. (I ALSO AGREE WITH THIS POINT)

Here are most of my ingredients ready to go. I was not overly concerned with my knife skills or presentation because I fully intended to food process this soup from the get go. I love creamy soups. However, if you have other plans, maybe take a little more consideration. On the other hand, there's something beautiful about things that are not perfect so...but at least cut the carrots a little smaller than I did.

Here we are getting ready to boil. You can see where this is going to be good.

Here is the final product. It is sooo good. I've been eating it with tortilla chips.

Okay, so for the nutritional breakdown...please note this is a general breakdown. Depending on the size of potatoes this could vary. Also, I had an extra cup of vegetable broth bumping my volume up a little bit. The final result? A batch with a volume of 12-13 cups worth a total of 1120 calories. That is between 85-93 calories per cup. Not bad, not bad at all.

How did I come to this? I gave 30 calories to the garlic because I used a whole one, 50 calories to my giant onion, 100 calories to my butter, 60 calories to my broth, 800 calories to my potatoes, 50 calories to my carrots, 10 caloreis to my celery, and 20 caloreis to my zucchini. I used calorieking.com to check on any calorie I was unsure of.

No matter what you do, if you basically follow the recipe your nutrition profile should come somewhere near mine. This soup has tons of vegetables which means tons of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and fiber. It's great tasting and great for you. I hope you make it and enjoy.

Here is the biscuit recipe if you aren't interested in tortilla chips:

STRATFORD HALL BISCUITS

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup chilled margarine

3/4 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 425

2. Toss dry ingredients together

3. Cut in margarine with a pastry cutter or fork until the mixture has the consistency of coarse crumbs

4. Pour in milk and mix until the dough just holds together. Don't over mix!

5. Gently knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until ingredients are well distributed

6. Cut out biscuits with a cookie cutter. I choose a heart- or star-shaped cookie cutter, but if you use something different they'll probably still taste the same

7. Place biscuits on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes, until they are golden brown on top

8. Enjoy with Potato Vegetable soup

Enjoy!

NAOmni

McDonald's Trys to Patent the Sandwich Making Process

Today has been long and mentally exhausting and I was angry and annoyed and paralyzed by several people and things, but now I am just going to continue to dive into posting.

I am working on a new idea, an eating disorders spotlight of sorts, but until I have that ready to go I am going to have to continue sharing things I find.

So to continue with the sandwich post earlier in the week, check out this brief article on slashdot, HERE, about McDonalds trying to patent the sandwich making process.

I kid you not.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Regina Schrambling on Slate and Why I Have Thanksgiving Blahs

On My Thanksgiving blahs:

1. I agree with this article. So please read it. To expand, I can get excited about other holidays because new things emerge, but I am having quite a time with Thanksgiving. I just don't perceive it as new, super interesting, or something that needs to become new and super interesting.

2. I love blogging, but I hate feeling OBLIGATED to write about Thanksgiving. I hate a lot of obligations purely out of them being obligations.

3. I have started on my quest to become the "perfect vegetarian" but this was not always the case. Not only was this not the case, at least one year I was not eating at Thanksgiving-thanks anorexia nervosa. And as such, Thanksgiving has never excited me in the eating extravaganza sense that it seems to excite everyone else. I've lived with boys. I know how excited people get for this meal. But for me, any excitement I have about the day is totally wrapped up in seeing people I love, having a break from school to spend time with them, watching movies with them, drinking beer in the hot tub with them (NOT RECOMMENDING THIS), playing board games with them, and fighting with them. And being thankful for the chance to do all of the above.

And I'm not seeing my family this year. So I'm not excited.

Maybe I do get Thanksgiving better than I thought I did.

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Thanksgiving? No Thanks!Why food writers secretly hate the November feast.
By Regina Schrambling

Do we really need to reinvent the perfectly good wheel that is Thanksgiving dinner?As a food writer, I should never admit this, but I really hate Thanksgiving. Not the day, not the food, not the cooking or the shopping, not even the sappy reason Americans ostensibly gather to gorge in late November. What makes me totally crazy is the persistent pressure to reinvent a wheel that has been going around quite nicely for more than 200 years. Every fall, writers and editors have to knock themselves out to come up with a gimmick—fast turkey, slow turkey, brined turkey, unbrined turkey—when the meal essentially has to stay the same. It's like redrawing the Kama Sutra when readers really only care about the missionary position.

The first recipe story I ever sold, 25 years ago, was pegged to Thanksgiving—a piece on ways to use cranberries besides the inevitable sauce, as if anyone would want them anywhere near steak or salad or anything but turkey. And it's been downhill ever since. I've done a healthful Thanksgiving, budget Thanksgiving, lavish Thanksgiving, ethnic Thanksgiving (Chinese sausage in rice dressing, anyone?), even the "real" first Thanksgiving (a re-creation of a Spanish event out in El Paso, Texas). Just in the last six years, I wrote on turkey at 33 rpm (ways to keep people at the table longer), turkey in a hurry (the whole meal, supermarket to dishwasher, whipped up at the last minute), turkey in a covered roaster (a revolution in Speckleware), appetizers that won't spoil your appetite, and a menu for an "after-party" using the turkey leftovers. I should have known the well was dry when I was persuaded to write an overwrought ode to the color of cranberries for the L.A. Times' wannabe literary turkey section last Thanksgiving.

During my short time as deputy editor of the New York Times' "Dining" section, the pain was different. Rather than writing the damn stories, I had to help generate ideas for the poor reporters to wrestle with. The general groaning started in early October as we all contemplated the worst deadline of the year. Christmas (and every other holiday) was a piece of fruitcake by comparison. Even at Easter, cooks have a choice between ham and lamb, and anything goes in the basket.

We whip ourselves into a lather trying to make Thanksgiving trendy, but no one really wants to mess with the hoariest menu. In a country that worships sickening candied yams under marshmallows, I know that almost no one will try something like sweet potatoes Anna—a gratin of thin slices layered with thyme, Aleppo pepper, and lots of butter. I can angst over a new recipe for shredded Brussels sprouts with fancy-pants pistachio oil and know for certain that most tables will be disgraced by green bean casserole with onions from a can. I can't begin to count the number of alternatives to cranberry sauce I have developed—salsa, chutney, whatever—yet most cooks will blithely follow the recipe on the Ocean Spray bag (which is actually pretty hard to beat). The more we make ourselves insane in mucking with the classics, the nuttier we make our audience. Every story purporting to take the stress out of the day actually reinforces the notion that the easiest feast of the year is the most harrowing. When you think about it, Thanksgiving is not so different from a roast chicken dinner with sides. You can't screw it up; there are too many saving graces for even an under- or overcooked turkey. But that's not the message anyone absorbs from all the magazines and newspapers with their absurdly perfect birds garnished with overkill.

I guess I'm a total hypocrite, though, because I do the work I'm assigned each year and then get up on Thanksgiving morning and ignore everything I wrote. I make my stuffing as usual, roast my turkey as always, whisk up the same pan gravy, peel and mash potatoes, don't get fancy with the cranberry sauce, and cook whatever green vegetable looks best at the farmers' market. If I have time this year I'll make pumpkin-thyme dinner rolls and the sweet potato-pecan pie I have baked 20 times before. It's amazing how efficient you can be without new recipes. And if I'm thankful, it's because it will be months before it's time to tweak the turkey yet again.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Food Book Round-Up

Photo courtesy geeksugar HERE.

The above picture has to do with LED lights and books. Well, LED lights are a good green alternative, HERE, and there's been a lot of food book news out lately so I thought I would use this as a way to share this gorgeous picture with you and tell you about some new reading material for the upcoming months. Or cooking material. Whichever way you want to look at it.

Not to long ago, The Conscious Consumer via Yahoo Green featured an article by Umbra Fisk that was a fantastic right up of selections and recommendations for your shelves, HERE.

In celebrity/activism/food news, Alicia Silverstone has a book about veganism called The Kind Diet in the works. It is supposed to contain 75 vegan and macrobiotic recipes. Information has popped up on several blogs, but HERE is the link to Living Without Meat which has a link to ecorazzi embedded in it.

And finally, Jeff Nield on TreeHugger posted 9 Must Read Books on Eating Well HERE. Many have made it onto my own personal to read list, and the FD vouches for the quality of In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Tear Down Tuesday: Cranberries

Nutrition information courtesy of WHFoods

Picture courtesy edibleportland HERE

The Fat Dietitian recommended I spotlight a "Thanksgiving" food for this week's Tear Down Tuesday. So we are doing cranberries!

Honestly, cranberries are not my favorite. I like dried cranberries, but cranberries in general...haven't always been something I have opted for. However, in my quest to become the "perfect vegetarian" HERE I need to become a little more open minded about them. This shouldn't be hard. I like feeling like I'm doing something good for my body and cranberries are antioxidant powerhouses, great sources of vitamin C, and low in calories.

I happened across The Cranberry Institute in my information search, HERE. According to them, cranberries help prevent UTIs and oral bacteria build up among other things. WHFoods has a very complete run down of cranberries including health benefits HERE.

For cranberry recipes, check out:

ediblePORTLAND HERE for cranberry chutney

cookthink HERE

myrecipes HERE

American Dietetic Information HERE

and the FD post HERE

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Twelve Tips for a Perfect Thanksgiving Guest

I found an article I thought would suit FD readers well so I did a gb. Check it out HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Sandwich News

Picture courtesy of HealthCastle

I've come across a lot of things dealing with sandwiches lately. I thought I'd share them with you as well as throw in my own two sense where appropriate.

First of all, to touch on our environmental side which we have not done in awhile, TreeHugger had an article on assembling a sustainable lunchbox kid for $40. Check it out HERE. Great article. She also mentions bento boxes. The FD loves these things and I can't say that I don't. Unfortunately, not the most environmentally friendly options, but you should still check out the world of bento art. HERE'S a link to send you on your way.

Next in the way of sandwich accessories is this soup and sandwich ceramic tray duo featured on iliketotallyloveit HERE. I think it's very classy. Additionally, there are few things I like more than tomato soup and cheese products. Grilled cheese. Cheez-its or goldfish in the tomato soup. For a more sophisticated approach try your grilled cheese with some thinly sliced granny smith apples and cinnamon in the middle. Momma P found it in a vegetarian children's cookbook when I was growing up. I liked it then. I like it now.

On to some more food ideas. A little while ago I found an article on Well Fed Network about Beating the Brown Bag Blues, HERE. I finally got around to reading it and absolutely loved some of the ideas.

From HealthCastle, HERE, we learn how to kick our sandwiches up a notch on the ol' nutrition scorecard, HERE.

Yumsugar has a quiz on identifying classic sandwiches HERE. I got 7/8 with my guessing skills, you should see how well you can do. You'll learn a lot I promise. Eating meat will benefit you. What helped me a little bit is the fact I am a former Subway sandwich artist. Well, for those of you who like Subway and swimming, I am happy to inform you that Michael Phelps is the new Subway spokesperson, HERE. Jared came by the store once, I wonder if Phelps will...I knew I quit to soon. Stupid college education and all that.

To stick with our celebrity news, if you want to dine like our future President, head to Manny's Deli, HERE.

And finally, FoodieViewBlog offers several ideas on what to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers. Several of these ideas have to do with sandwiches, HERE.

Mmm...so much deliciousness.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Vegetable Instruments

Radish and carrots flutes courtesy of oddstrument HERE, who got them from the Vienna Vegetable Orchestra.

Okay, this is a bit odd. I admit. But it's interesting. Very interesting. And food related. So check it out, people playing instruments made of produce...

Good introduction to the idea HERE.

Great carrot clarinet HERE.

Link to Vienna Vegetable Orchestra HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Saturated Fat Linked to Small Intestine Cancer

Sticking with our goal of being on top of the latest research and findings, the new conclusion is that saturated fat is linked to tumor growth and development. Check out the article HERE.

Enjoy?

NAOmni

Perfect Vegetarian

Personal entry again. Boring! I know, I know. But it's short, and I feel relevant.

I'm always torn. Do I actually try to promote vegetarianism alone? Do I promote vegetarianism while understanding not everyone will convert and therefore tailoring to them also? I usually choose the second, because I love food. And I love how it makes people happy. And I love learning about it, even if it is meat. But sometimes I feel a little guilty for being a vegetarian, and believing in it, yet being so accepting of meat eating.

Ah!

And then I'm torn because I love just the pure gadgets and fun of food, but am I posting enough actual information? Tear Down Tuesday is a good start, but am I doing enough to live up to my hopefully future R.D. status? And then it's a little weird, because I'm not a fan of eating healthy 100% of the time. I love healthy cakes and cupcakes, and I wish that is what we all did, but man I love when Unwrapped on foodnetwork goes into the candy factories. And I love the history and happiness that brings people. So I try to say, everything in moderation, even if that's not clear.

And my latest conundrum has been am I bringing enough first hand discussion? Am I personally going to enough places and telling you about what I have eaten there? This is important not only for the first hand information aspect, but also because I feel since I used to have an eating disorder and stereotypically have gotten on the path to being a dietitian, I need to prove I'm not going to ever switch over to being some kind of vegetarian weight loss guide or something. Unfortunately, I've been to some fabulous places while being NAOmni, and you have yet to know of them. I'm sorry. Soon. I promise.

But anyways, this first hand knowledge is the point of today's post. I read The Man Who Ate Everything by Jefferey Steingarten a couple years ago, AMAZING article HERE-please read it, and am currently working my way through It Must've Been Somthing I Ate by the same author. He talks of becoming the "perfect" omnivore, so he can really be the best he can be at his foodie lifestyle. In line, I have recently taken it upon myself to be the perfect vegetarian. Which is a bold title since every now and then I think of becoming vegan, but I'm going to take the title since right now vegetarian is what I am. So yes, I am working on becoming super open minded as far as being a vegetarian goes, and I hope it benefits us.

I was actually out with some friends last night, one of whom happens to be a pesco-vegetarian, fish eating and check out more on classifications HERE, and she was talking about how she may need to start eating red meat again to really excel in her field as a culinologist-culinary and food science combined, google it or a brief Wikipedia article HERE. I empathize. But I just can't do it. And I thought it was quite ironic she brought it up since being the perfect vegetarian is weighing heavily on my mind right now. Life's funny. I love that girl. I digress.

So I will never be your perfect omnivore, but here's cheers to me being on the path to serve as your perfect lacto-ovo-vegetarian. I love food and everything about it. Therefore, I want to tailor to everyone who eats it, even if I don't always agree with your choices. I want us all to be healthy, but I think there is something pure in still embracing sugar.

Whew! Man, sometimes getting all your beliefs in a row is harder than it would seem.

Hopefully Mark and FD can help fill in some gaps along the way!

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Thanksgiving Continues to Approach

I am so busy this week. Between school and work and maintaining any semblance of a social life, I am stretched a bit thin. Luckily, I love blogging. And right now, I am going to devote my time to posting a few more Thanksgiving links that I just stumbled upon. Because they are cool. And hopefully you can apply them to your post Thanksgiving life as well.

Up first is a pretty cool article from Slate on Zinfandel's and Thanksgiving, HERE. I don't have much to say on the topic of Zinfandel's, but I have a good feeling about this since I remember hearing Momma P talk about them quite frequently during my upbringing. Check out my Blue Ridge Dinnerware post, HERE, where I give Momma P her nickname. Blue Ridge would also look good with a piece of pumpkin pie on top. Just a thought.

And HERE is a link to an article by Deb Harkness on seriouseats about serving your wine. Important! Right up the same alley, Jamie Forrest is there to correct us in case we serve the cheese wrong, HERE. Whew!

Not a Zinfandel fan? That's fine. Perhaps you should try a nice cocktail? Paul Clarke on seriouseats, HERE, introduces us to Falling Leaves, the name alone is enough for me to try it, as well as links us to additional cocktail help.

I plan on making jalapeno cornbread tomorrow. Purely because I love it. And if you yourself are a cornbread fan and toying with the idea of adding it to your Thanksgiving menu, then read Lucy Baker's review on seriouseats of various boxed cornbreads HERE.

In case you missed out on the fried pumpkin pie I wrote about yesterday, don't worry, I'll post the link HERE again. As well as more information and recipes about pumpkins from The Veggie Blog HERE, and a link to bite size pumpkin pies with a baklava twist, HERE, courtesy of yumsugar.

With all the holidays lately, I really feel like I've dropped the ball a little on being green. Picking up said ball and getting back in the game, HERE is an article I found on tips for a sustainable Thanksgiving.

And with that, I think I am done with Thanksgiving for today. We still have 5 days, and I still have more holiday links and tips to share. Whew. I feel smarter, hopefully you do too.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Thanksgiving Links

Photo courtesy Alicia Mazzara and dcist.com

I have kind of dropped the ball on Thanksgiving posts. I mean in all honesty, I feel obligated to post about Thanksgiving. It's my first year with a blog and I feel like I need to stick with what everyone is doing...which is flooding the pages with Thanksgiving. But I HATE feeling obligated to do things, and I'm having issues really getting into Thanksgiving this year. I'm not going home, I have to work, and I am just kind of ignoring it.

But I know not everyone is. So I thought I would post some things I have found lately and see if they don't help you out a bit.

Don't want to cook? Check out Kerry Saretsky's seriouseats article HERE. Tons of great links, especially OpenTable, HERE. Sounds wonderful to me at this point in the Thanksgiving frenzy.

Deb Harkness on seriouseats posted about Thanksgiving wine HERE. I really love this article! It's simple, casual, and user friendly. I guess here I will throw out that I am obsessed with Rieslings. Appropriate or not, if I went to Thanksgiving and someone served me a glass of Riesling, I would think it was the Thanksgiving ever!

HERE is a yumsugar article on fast Thanksgiving drinks. And HERE is a short post on yumsugar about stocking up early on supplies. We are under the week mark, so you may want to glance at the article. And HERE is a yumsugar how to for pecan pie. Calorie bomb? Yes. But delicious treat? Also yes. Just do it. Or, try deep fried pumpkin pie HERE. Wow. I honest to goodness feel like I NEED that. At least allow yourself regular pumpkin pie if nothing else. Less calories, some great carotenoids, Wikipedia page HERE, and delicious.

Also, check out the Fat Dietitian, HERE. She's been a lot better about posting recipes and such than I have. Way to go FD.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Food and Facebook

Photo courtesy of pennlive.com

What did gmail do while I was away? I'm gone less than 10 hours, but anyone with gmail has probably noticed the color changes. That's fine. I'm sure I can learn to love it. But right now I just feel dumb because it looks likes everything is accidentally highlighted and I spent a good 20 seconds wondering why.

Speaking of technology, check out an article on the colliding of the foodie and the facebook HERE. I'm mean I'm friends with the fun loving people who will randomly devote their page to being a biscuit, but it seems now I can befriend real food establishments as well. I had already read about the free Papa John's a couple of days ago, HERE, but the rest of this was new to me.

Go get that pizza, and Enjoy!

NAOmni

Turkish Delights

Photo courtesy seriouseats.com

So I'm a reader. I read website, books, magazines, nutrition labels...if it has words, I read it. This became especially apparent to me a couple weeks back when I crashed my car. Some brain contusions ensued and anytime I read something a terrible wave of nausea would overpower me. It made me realize that I spend most of my day reading. Needless to say, I became bedridden.

I digress...

So I read. I especially love children's books even though I've long left the childhood club. One of my all time favorites is the Narnia series, HERE. Typical answer, but true. However, for whatever reason, foodie that I am, I never paid much attention to the Turkish Delights that Edmund can't seem to keep his hands off of...that is until a couple days ago when I ran across a post on seriouseats about them HERE.

They seem to contain gelatin, which is a bit of a downer for us vegetarian folk, but I'm still intrigued.

For more information on Turkish Delights, check out the Wikipedia page HERE and the google search links HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

More Vermont Goodness...

Thanks to my Vermont BFF, someone let me know if BFF is "out", I own this wonderful product. It is actually sitting on my desk because I used it on popcorn while writing the Tear Down Tuesday: Popcorn post. Someone slap me. But then go buy it HERE. You'll be so glad you did, you'll probably forget we almost had a fight.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Gingko Fails to Prevent Alzheimer's and Dementia

I just got done learning about dietary supplements, and then a new study on ginkgo came out HERE.

Basically, the study, which is the largest and longest test of the extract in older Americans to date, found that ginkgo didn't help prevent dementia and Alzheimer's.

Bummer.

But at least they found ginkgo to be safe, and there are other avenues of research that may turn up a bit more fruitful.

Side note, please remember to do your homework before diving into the world of dietary supplements. Natural does not mean safe.

Stay aware, and enjoy!

NAOmni

Tear Down Tuesday: Popcorn

Picture courtesy of seattlepi.com. It's actually from an article talking about negatives in the popcorn industry, but that's for another today.

Today, Tear Down Tuesday resumes! I want to keep it simple with popcorn. I'm not talking about butter laden, or chocolate covered, or caramel drenched when I discuss the nutritional benefits. So please keep that in mind. I'm talking about just plain popcorn. HOWEVER, I will be talking about those kinds when I tell you the most delicious ways to eat popcorn.

About three cups of popcorn should give you a serving of whole grains-grains containing the entire kernel, and thus all the health benefits...read more HERE. So, you are getting some fiber, protein, and B vitamins all for around 30-40 calories a cup. Lightly buttered you say? No worries, that will only set you back about 100 kcals more. As you can see, if you have a munching habit, as many of us do, the calories are low for the high quantities you can eat. This is good. I don't want this to sound like a weight loss tip, but it's just something to point out. If you are one of those people who HAS to have snacks with your AT HOME movies, movie theater popcorn is a whole other story, then you would be much better with some plain pop corn, even lightly buttered, in your hand than a bag of potato chips. Watching mindless munching is just something to do to make sure you can enjoy fantastic meals and treats and maintain your health.

I've been studying cardiovascular disease the past couple days. It's stressing me a bit. Not so much for my health, as uppity as this sounds, but more for a lot of the people I love the most. You know who you are pop-tart, hot dog, and pizza person. So yes, mindless muching? Not enjoyable, and neither are the effects later on. We should do what we can to tame it.

Oh my...

So how to make popcorn tasty? Well, to keep with the low calorie mindless munching try a LITTLE Parmesan cheese, some spray butter, or any other seasoning you can come up with. To add some more nutrients, what about adding pumpkin seeds, walnuts, soy nuts, or a little dried fruit? Just watch all of these, as the calories will creep up fast.

Now, in the mood for delicious? Here's one idea: my sister and her boyfriend the other night made popcorn and placed in the bottom of a dish. Then they cut jumbo marshmallows in half and laid on top of pop corn and then put chocolate chips and butterscotch on top and put in the oven at about 250 until the chocolate melted and the marshmallows browned. Oh. My. Gosh.

Want some other ideas for popcorn recipes or more information about this fun little food in general? Check out the Popcorn Board website HERE. So cute, so informative, and great recipes to boot.

Did you know the USDA has a nutrition database? Well they do. Check it out HERE. And HERE are the calorieking results for popcorn.

Finally, HERE are the foodnetwork search results for popcorn. Disregard some of the miscellaneous things that show up, popcorn shrimp?, because the recipes that have to do with our little kernel are amazing.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

iliketotallyloveit

So, ever since TIME's list of 50 best websites of 2008 came out, I have been spending too much time on the computer. One of my favorite new websites is http://www.iliketotallyloveit.com/, that says "i like totally love it" by the way, I don't want anyone spending too much time straining their eyes.

So anyways, I LOVE the food section, and decided to post some of the cool food items I have found during my time browsing:

Champagne Glasses Set of Two: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Basketball Ceramic Fruit Bowl: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Mambo Fruit Tray: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

McDonald's McFlurry Maker: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Custom M&M's: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Zombie Brain Gelatin Mold: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

"little heart" win glass: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Cocktail Chemistry Set: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Darth Vader Toaster: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Swiss Chocolate Knife:iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Map Plates: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Dunk Mug: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Anti-Theft Lunch Bag: iliketotallyloveit HERE, direct link HERE

Yes, it's still much to soon to have December holiday decorations out and collecting dust, how's that political correctness?, but hey, thinking about presents now is just plain smart!

Enjoy!

NAOmni

The FD's Best Ever Stuffing

Hello NAOmni readers... this is my first guest post and I am super excited to share my recipe for the yummiest stuffing EVER!

I know that Thanksgiving is all about the turkey, but personally I look forward to the stuffing (and as vegetarians I would imagine many of you do too)! A good stuffing is crucial for the enjoyment of the meal, and today I will share with you my recipe for the best ever stuffing. The credit for the creation of the recipe actually belongs to my Grandfather, but I have altered it (but not the taste) to be simple and vegetarian friendly.

You will need 1 box of cornbread stuffing mix and 1 box of herb seasoned stuffing mix (I use Mrs. Cubbison's). If you are feeding more people, have a stuffing loving family, or simply want guaranteed leftovers double up on the boxes. My Grandfather actually stuffs the turkey and uses the giblets to season the stuffing, I have issues with food near the turkey orifice and I have yet to make a whole turkey so this recipe is modified but tastes the same (based on family testing). I essentially follow the directions on the box with a few simple alterations. Use vegetable broth in place of water, and replace the margarine with half butter and half olive oil.

But here is what makes the stuffing delicious... Everyone in my family except for me (and the husband thank goodness!) hates the consistency of onions, which is unfortunate because of the wonderful flavor they can bring to food. My Grandpa, the clever man that he is, found the perfect solution... Blend 1 onion (or more) with a small amount of water until it is a smoothie like consistency and add it to the stuffing. That is what makes the stuffing so incredible! There are not any chunks of crunchy veggies to interfere with the soft texture of the stuffing.

Once you have combined all of the ingredients (stuffing mix, broth, butter, olive oil, and onion smoothie), place the mixture into a casserole dish and bake covered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees and uncovered for 10 minutes more. Voila, the perfect stuffing...

Enjoy!

Free Betty Crocker 2009 Calender

Free Betty Crocker 2009 Calender HERE!

Thanks gb Mark!

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Food Editor from MyRecipes

I went to a speaker today. She is an editor for myrecipes.com, check it out HERE. The site's pretty awesome. They are the portal for TIME Inc., so if you look up a recipe on a number of websites/magazines such as Southern Living, Cottage Living, or Cooking Light, you will automatically be sent to myrecipes.com.

If I could share with you one thing I learned today, what would it be? Cook with confidence, eat with joy. I like it.

She also mentioned the high prevalence of eating disorders among registered dietitians. This is something I am aware of, and I think I will need to address it soon since I myself am a "recovered" anorexic.

I love food though. No worries. My blog won't ever turn into a weight loss guide.

I really enjoyed the speaker. It got me thinking about my career, and how it's all over the board. She talked to us about what we need to do if we have interest in food editing. I don't know if I have interest in that exactly, but I love writing about food, so I'll keep on, keep on.

Can't do without it, might as well love it. Mmmm food.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

More Thanksgiving

Photo courtesy of yumsugar.

Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and I've only done one post. However, all across the web it seems many more writers are much more on top of it than me when it comes to Turkey Day, and I'm going to look to them for guidance.

I really loved a post by Kelly Rossiter on TreeHugger recently. Luckily, my family is super supportive, except for a few elder relative whom I love anyways, of my vegetarian lifestyle. But I know some people aren't as lucky. Check out some ideas on how to handle the day with your carnivorous family HERE.

If you want a little help seeing how someone else tackles the Thanksgiving organization conundrum, or just want to check out some tasty recipes, head on over to FoodieView Blog HERE. The recipes aren't all vegetarian, I'm well aware not everyone chooses to eat how I do, and they all look great. I'd also like to direct you to the link for the pumpkin and feta tart, HERE, courtesy of What's For Lunch, Honey?, HERE. I am itching to make and try this.

And for those of us who get excited about food products, not just the actual food (cute grocery totes anyone?), check out these adorable pie pans on yumsugar, HERE.

It's almost all too much!

Enjoy!

NAOmni

NAOmni Personal Entry

I'm a relatively new blogger, and as such, don't always have it all together. I wish I had an official website up and running, the kind with tabs at the top of the page, my blog being one of them. Maybe links on another tab. Recipes. So on and so forth.

But hey, I'm new to this and hopefully it will eventually evolve. Until then, I will settle on religiously posting as much as I can when I come across it, and hopefully I hit some high notes.

Today I have several things I want to talk about. Thanksgiving. A guest speaker I went to. Cool things I have found on the web. And hopefully, by the end of the day, there are indeed posts addressing each of those topics.

Thanks for listening as I sort out my brain and my blog.

NAOmni

New Food Websites

Also, real quick for today, TIME just announced its top 50 websites of 2008. I breezed through them real quick. Here are a list of links to some that may be of interest to those who read this blog:

1. http://www.opensourcefood.com/
2. http://www.zeer.com/
3. http://www.yumsugar.com/
4. http://www.seriouseats.com/

For the TIME article, go HERE. I suggest you check it out. The websites span everything from economics, to music, to...FOOD! I'm going to go be a gb on The Fat Dietitian's blog, HERE. You know, let her readers in. Check it out. She's fun.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Make Your Own Gummy Candies

Pictures courtesy of SFHandyman at http://www.instructables.com/.

Jello is not vegetarian friendly. Therefore, many gummy candies and such aren't on the menu for people like me. However, as much as I love being a vegetarian, I cannot help but get excited about candy! A lot of it is very sentimental. Think about Unwrapped on Food Network, HERE, we all love it because we can relate to it. Childhood memories and all that.

I've mentioned before that part of my love for food stems not from directly eating it, but from how it looks, the emotions evoked. And so when guest blogger Mark, lets call guest bloggers gb from now, when gb Mark sent me a link on how to make your own gummy candies, I couldn't help but get excited. I have to share this with everyone. It's just too fun and awesome looking.

Make gummy candies HERE.

For some more information on jello not being vegetarian/vegan friendly, check out the yahoo answer page HERE.

Enjoy

NAOmni

Vitamin C and E Pills Don't Protect Against Heart Disease

Lately, I've been immersed in all things nutrition. Duh, right? I mean I'm working towards becoming a dietitian. But seriously, I'm drowning in nutrition at this point.

I kind of like it.

As noted, earlier this week I became pro-organic, a significant event in and of itself. But beyond that, I have also begun work on a fiber project, I love fiber, and I've become obsessed with fruits and vegetables because they contain vitamins, minerals, fiber, and thousands of interesting photochemicals. Little powerhouses I tell you. I want to write a lot in the future on phytochemicals and specific vitamins and minerals. I think it will be good for me and for you as the reader to have updates and information and all of that good stuff.

That said, I want to start by bringing your attention to a new study that shows that Vitmains C and E do not prevent heart disease. No, this wasn't something really weighing on my mind. Finding out calcium doesn't protect your bones would be huge, this...it wasn't on my radar. But, maybe that tells me I need to expand my radar. Who knows.

Briefly, Vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin while Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin (fat soluble vitamins are D, E, K, and A or as I call them DEKA). Vitamin C is found in citrus fruit and tomatoes to name a couple sources, and is important in collagen health. Vitamin E is found in many nuts and is an important antioxidant.

I would rather spend time in the future doing updates and info blurbs about Vitamin C and E. Here, I just want to bring you attention to them and new studies and conclusions involving them and get us on the path of being up to date on nutrition.

So here it is. Check out the info at MSNBC HERE, Journal of the American Medical Association HERE, or Tufts Health Update HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Umami

Quick, think of the last thing you ate today. What words would you use to describe its taste? If you are like most people you would probably come up with some combination of the four basic tastes - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter – but what about umami?

Never heard of it? Neither had I until this morning when I stumbled across it on Merriam-Webster’s Word of the Day. This fifth basic taste, originally translated as “deliciousness,” is now used to describe the savory or meaty elements in aged cheeses, cooked meat, broths, and stocks.

Although umami was first isolated as a distinct taste by a Japanese chemist in 1908, the term found solid footing in the academic world less than a decade ago. And if you’re in the mood for some “deliciousness” tonight, adding monosodium glutamate (better known as MSG) to a dish delivers the amino acid that is the source of umami.

No wonder even the cheapest Chinese food tastes so good.

Mark

Thanksgiving Begins

We are fast approaching Thanksgiving and I want to compile all the green and vegetarian articles I am reading here on my blog. Today we start.

HERE is a TreeHugger guide to Thanksgiving. We can start here with our learning about free range turkeys, vegetarian turkey, local and organic side dishes, just plain good recipes, the works. Make sure to click on the links on TreeHugger's vegetarian guide. That's where a lot of the information is. If I read an especially good link, I'll throw it in a post.

That said, check out the How to Go Green: Thanksgiving Day article from planet green HERE. Fantastic. It's basically a step-by-step guide to Thanksgiving environmental style. Everything from ideas on organic wine, to how to clean, to how to invite people...plus one of the last pages has several links to TreeHugger and planet green archives with more information.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Guest Bloggers

I've started adding some guest bloggers! I'm excited so be on the lookout for their posts!

Enjoy!

NAOmni

HappyCow Guide and NAOmni Goes Organic

I have been researching fruits and vegetables all night as I work on a group project, and I have come to the conclusion that I will support organic. From now on I'll work on posting articles that have helped me come to this decision, help me stay at this decision, or help me move away from it.

Earth shattering, I know.

But in the meantime, check out this cool website, HERE, that I stumbled across during my research. Something tells me I should have known about HappyCow before, seeing as it is a "vegetarian guide to restaurants and health food stores," but hey, now I know.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

More Quinoa

I've mentioned Quinoa before, and for those of you interested in additional information, Accidental Epicure did an informative article HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

World's First 100% USDA Certified Organic Bar

TreeHugger ran an article on GustOrganic in NYC HERE. The world's first 100% USDA certified organic bar. I'm still feeling my way through the organic world and deciding if I want to be all for it or just for it in some cases. I'm going to try to do the little bit more research I need and come to some sort of conclusion soon. But until then, GustOrganic seems to be doing everything right by a nature lover and foodie's heart, and I'd love to check this place out for bragging rights and comparison purposes if nothing else.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Kallari Chocolate

I like to post about things I've had the good fortune to try. Unfortunately, this isn't one of them. However, after reading about Kallari chocolate, my "to sample" list has one more item. Aiming to "make a chocolate with social, environmental, and economic benefits" for their producers, Kallari sounds quite alright to me.

Check out TreeHugger, HERE, for more information on Kallari chocolate, or check out Kallari's website HERE. Also, please note that the point of the linked to TreeHugger article is that Kallari is now sold at Whole Foods, one of the 10 Healthiest Supermarkets as mentioned in a previous post, but you can jump around a lot from there as well.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

The Banana Diet

Besides staying consistent in my chocolate chip cookie sleuthing, I am trying especially hard to post on topics already covered in Tear Down Tuesday. Check out the Banana Diet, HERE, brought to us by TreeHugger.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

More Chocolate Chip Cookies...

I was in a bit of a tizzy yesterday, but I'll post a bunch today and hopefully we get enough to compensate for no Tear Down Tuesday. Next week I promise.

So to the real post...for those of you haven't been reading long, or often, I have a thing for chocolate chip cookies. Luckily, Post Punk Kitchen does too. Check it out HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Impressive Waiter

Want to be impressed? Watch the 20 beer...40 lbs worth....carry HERE. The above picture is from polishham.blogspot.com, but I originally saw the carry on G4, which is the video you're watching.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

10 Healthiest Supermarkets

Of course these types of things are always a little...well, eh...but they're still interesting to look at. So browse the list of the 10 Healthiest Supermarkets HERE.

And I do enjoy Publix vegetable sushi made with brown rice.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Bio Beer

Rice University students have decided to create a new beer...a new beer that can extend your life. Read about it HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Cute Coca Cola Advertising

Went to the movies yesterday. Twice. And both times I thoroughly enjoyed watching Charlie Brown get the Coke HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni

Vegan Hating Bacteria

New bacteria targets only meat eaters....

"The bacterium – a strain of Escherichia coli – makes a toxin that does its worst by latching onto a sugar molecule that humans don't have naturally. We can, only acquire it by eating red meat or dairy products.

'This toxin originally evolved to attack cattle or some other animals,' says Ajit Varki, an expert in molecular medicine at the University of California, San Diego, who was involved in the study. By eating the toxin's intended target we made ourselves vulnerable too, he says.

When unlucky meat-eaters ingest this particular E. coli strain, its toxin kills the cells that line the gut, eventually causing bloody diarrhoea, Varki says. It also heads for blood vessels and the kidneys." -New Scientist

Check it out HERE.

Enjoy!

NAOmni