Natural and organic processed meats and "naturally occurring nitrates"

If you're paying premium prices for natural and organic hot dogs, with "no added nitrites,"  read about happens to the "natural nitrates" from the celery juice powder that is typically used - and, alarmingly, how high the levels are.

"Applegate and other natural companies have proposed alternate wording to the U.S.D.A. in the past without success. They say they are confident their products offer enough other benefits — all natural ingredients, meeting the standards for the humane treatment of animals, for example — that it is best to be upfront with consumers about the preservatives. Ms. Boardman said tests showed the amount of nitrite and nitrate in Applegate products was similar to conventional brands."

What's the solution?  Unprocessed foods.  An "organic" or "natural" label doesn't mean that it's good for you, especially if it comes in a box.

Easy fresh ginger

After cooking a recipe that called for using a blender to combine fresh ginger with water, and finding that it had an incredible flavor compared to mincing the ginger before cooking, I decided to prep all of the ginger that I bought this way and freeze it in ice cubes.  1-2 cubes add lots of gingery flavor to the average stir-fry or curry!

First garden harvest of the year

The asparagus did not like the cold, wet spring (it snowed at least 5 times in April), but we had some delicious Red Russian kale last week.   Up next: probably the strawberries or radishes.

New Foods in Week 6 of the Allergy Elimination Diet

Instead of the full list of this week's menus, I'm just going to list new items. 

Breakfasts and lunches were the same as previous weeks, until we introduced eggs on Friday.  We had hard-boiled eggs with our lunches - quite a treat after all these weeks.

The only new dinner was a Mexican-style rice with kidney beans and green beans, which made some extra lunches as well.

Allergy Elimination Diet Week 5 Meals

Breakfasts
Homemade turkey sausage patties
Buckwheat-almond Pancakes with maple syrup (re-introduced this week)
Oatmeal
Fruit and nuts
Half avocado and apple
Random leftovers

Lunches
Chicken, lettuce wrappers
Broccoli salad with cashew-prune dressing
Salads
Red lentil daal

Dinners
Cod and salad
Rice pasta, chicken sausage, steamed vegetables (2 nights)
Lamb pot roast, potatoes, carrots, streamed broccoli (2 nights)
Poached salmon, sugar snap peas, and salad
Lettuce leaf chicken-vegetable tacos

Snacks
Watermelon
Apples, pears, bananas, mango
Granola and rice milk
Coconut macaroons
Almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, pepitas, sunflower seeds
Rice cake with almond butter

Granola, updated

Even Easier Granola

6 c rolled oats, old-fashioned or thick cut
1 T cinnamon
1 c unsweetened applesauce

Mix cinnamon and oats, then add applesauce and mix thoroughly.  Spread on 2 lightly oiled baking sheets and bake at 300F for 20 minutes.  Shake pans lightly and switch locations in oven; bake for another 20 minutes.  Allow to cool on pans and then store in refrigerator.   Add dried fruit, coconut, and/or nuts/seeds when you eat it - this allows for endless variety of flavors and uses.

This recipe uses applesauce in place of the oil and honey in my other recipe.

Summer Reading Programs for Kids

Borders Books
Barnes and Noble
Half Price Books