When we think of holidays, we usually think of some food associated with each particular holiday, like turkey at Thanksgiving, hamburgers and hot dogs for the 4th of July, colored eggs at Easter, and so on. 

The type of traditional foods varies from family to family, but most people have them. However, there are also food specific holidays.  Some are for only a day, some are for a week, and some last a whole month.

June Food Holidays

For instance, June is:

• National Dairy Month
• National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month
• National Iced Tea Month
• National Papaya Month
• National Seafood Month
• National Papaya Month
• National Candy Month

Wow!  That’s a whole lot of celebrating food!

National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month

In honor of National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month, I think it’s worth mentioning it’s also time for those wonderful Farmer’s Markets!  They’re a great place to get some fresh fruit and vegetables!

CSA’s (Community Supported Agriculture) are also starting to produce.  It’s probably too late to join a local CSA, but some may still have openings.

If you’re interested in finding a CSA or Farmer’s Market, check out Local Harvest website.  It has a wealth of information, and will help you find the closest Farmer’s Market’s, CSA’s, family farms and organic food.

June 1st Is National Hazelnut Cake Day

Today’s specific holiday is National Hazelnut Cake Day.  There’s a recipe for Norwegian Hazelnut Cake over at All Recipes that’s got a lot of rave reviews.  Cake may not be what most people think of health food, but it sure makes a nice treat once in a while.

There’s also a recipe for a Hazelnut-Espresso Coffeecake in the King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking: Delicious Recipes Using Nutritious Whole Grains cookbook.  If you’re interested in baking with whole grains, it’s a HUGE cookbook (over 600 pages!) with all kinds of goodies in there made with whole grain goodness.

Every day’s a good day to celebrate with whole grain foods!

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Food Holidays In June – National Hazelnut Cake Day

I’ll have to admit, the first time I saw “White Wheat” on the label, I thought it was just another marketing ploy. Turns out I was wrong about that. (It happens.) Nutritionally, the different wheats are identical, with all types having some variations due to growing conditions.

The darker color of traditional “red” wheat is caused by up to three bran color genes. White wheat has no major genes for bran color, so it’s sort of like an albino wheat. It also doesn’t have the strongly-flavored phenolic compounds that are in red wheat, giving it a milder taste. Because of this lighter taste, products made with white wheat require less added sweetener to attain the same level of perceived sweetness.

The lighter flavor and color of white wheat make it a great way to start switching over to whole grain flours. King Arthur Flour’s website says, “We find that in cookies, muffins, pancakes and quick breads, using white whole wheat flour in place of the entire amount of all-purpose flour yields a baked treat that’s just as tasty as the original, with the benefit of increased fiber, vitamins and minerals.”

Just be sure when you’re buying products to remember that white flour and refined flour are NOT the same as white WHEAT flour. As always, check out the label to see how much whole grain is in there.

White wheat. It’s the real deal.

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

White Wheat – Whole Grain or Scam?

I call this a “Fast Fix” because it’s a super quick way to painlessly switch to a “health food”.

Ingredient: Baking Powder
Uses: A leavening agent, making quick breads and cookies rise.

Switching brands of baking powder is one really fast way to improve your diet.  What difference does it make which baking powder you use?  Two words: aluminum and sodium. 

The Technical Stuff: All baking powder is made of baking soda, an acid, and a starch.  The baking soda releases carbon dioxide gas which causes the dough or batter to rise.

The acid is usually cream of tartar, calcium acid phosphate, or sodium aluminum sulphate.  When the powder is combined with a liquid, the acid used reacts with the baking soda causing it to release the gas.

Starch, such as cornstarch or flour, is added to prevent the powder from absorbing moisture, so that it stays dry until you need to use it.

It’s best to avoid baking powder that contains sodium aluminum sulphate because some doctors believe there is a link between aluminum and Alzheimer’s disease and other problems.  Since it’s so easy to avoid, why take the chance?

What to Buy: All you need to do is switch to a baking powder using a different acid, such as Rumford Baking Powder which uses monocalcium phosphate. 

Where to Buy It: Rumford Baking Powder is available in many grocery stores, but if you have trouble finding it, there are also many online sources.  For instance, you can buy Rumford Company – Baking Powder – 10 oz at Amazon by clicking on the link.

Note: Baking powder is high in sodium, with 440mg per teaspoon for Rumford’s, and 590mg per teaspoon for Bob’s Red Mill’s product. Of course, this is spread throughout whatever you’re baking, so you only get a fraction of that amount.

However, if you need to watch your salt intake even more than usual, there are brands of baking powder made without any sodium at all. Featherweight Baking Powder and Ener-G Baking Powder have ZERO sodium. A lot of health food stores carry such brands, plus online vendors such as Healthy Heart Market.

FAST FIX: Switching your brand of baking powder is such an easy change to make it’s a no-brainer way to healthier eating.

Post from: Health Food Made Easy

Fast Fix – Change Your Baking Powder