Food for Heart Health

Celebrating American Heart Month with Food for Heart Health

(posted by: Holly Marban)

Happy February! In celebration of American Heart Month, let’s honor our hearts.

Arguably the single most important organ in the body, the heart works around the clock to pump oxygen-rich blood through delicate blood vessels throughout the body, working together as the cardiovascular system. Despite our complete reliance on a functional heart for survival, the heart’s health can easily be taken for granted, as it beats without us having to tell it to!

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States, claiming over 610,000 American lives each year, which is about 1 out of every 4 deaths.¹ Many components can play into one’s development of the disease, but food and lifestyle are some of the strongest contributing factors. Luckily, we each have control over own lifestyle and food choices, so there is hope for us yet! Physical activity, smoking cessation, decreased alcohol consumption, and stress reduction can have profoundly beneficial effects on overall heart health, emphasizing the importance of approaching heart health from several angles.

Another immensely powerful lifestyle factor that impacts heart health is the food we eat. While certain foods like processed meats, fried foods, processed oils, caffeine, and refined sugars and starches can be harmful to the heart, many other delicious foods can be incredibly supportive of heart health. Let’s explore some of the heart’s biggest cheerleaders:

1.     Healthy Fats: Healthy fats, such as extra virgin olive oil, can be very beneficial to the cardiovascular system. ² In particular, they support the integrity of blood vessels, allowing veins, arteries, and capillaries to be flexible, rather than rigid. This increases the ease in which blood can flow through them, which asks less of the heart, while simultaneously decreasing the risk of rupturing a blood vessel. Monounsaturated fats, such as avocados, can help to lower total cholesterol levels and unhealthy LDL cholesterol while increasing healthy LDL cholesterol to support heart health. ³

In addition to olive oil and avocados, there are many other healthy fats that are supportive to the cardiovascular system. These essential fatty acids are found in foods like walnuts, salmon, mackerel, herring, halibut, flax oil, flax seeds, and chia seeds, all of which are great additions to one’s diet.

2.     Fiber: Whole grains, such as brown rice, steel cut oats, buckwheat, and whole grain varieties of wheat, contain a significant amount of fiber, which helps to regulate cholesterol in the body. Fiber supports healthy HDL cholesterol while decreasing and eliminating LDL, or “bad,” cholesterol from the body. ³ Decreasing LDL cholesterol can, in turn, prevent plaque formation and clogged blood vessels.³

Other foods rich in fiber include vegetables, fruit, nuts, and seeds. Try adding ground flax seeds to a muffin recipe, or stir some chia seeds and raspberries into yogurt or a smoothie. Snack on dates, figs, or banana slices with a few almonds, and leave the skin on carrots, parsnips, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables. Enjoy a chopped kale, cabbage, or broccoli salad.

3.     Antioxidants: Naturally colorful fruits and vegetables are rich in antioxidants that can protect the cardiovascular system. Antioxidants neutralize free radicals in the body, helping to decrease the body’s inflammatory response, often in overdrive in many people these days.

A particular type of antioxidant called polyphenols act to promote healthy blood pressure. ⁴ These antioxidants reduce the generation of LDL cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol, as we mentioned), protect blood vessels from damage, and can prevent blog clots. ² Lastly, polyphenols can be supportive to weight loss, which helps to decrease one’s risk for heart disease. Antioxidants are pretty powerful little guys, wouldn’t you say?!

Heart-healthy antioxidants can be found in a wide array of produce, including black plums, blueberries, artichokes, blackberries, raspberries, apples, pecans, cranberries, pomegranates, red grapes, and cherries. Green tea, red wine, and raw cacao are also rich in this micronutrient. Consuming a variety of produce is the best way to ensure a balanced intake of antioxidants.

A note on supplements: While it is often best to obtain nutrients directly from whole foods, nutritional supplements can sometimes be appropriate and helpful for heart health, such as calcium, magnesium, potassium, fiber, essential fatty acids (omega-3 fats, like fish oil), aloe, and/or CoQ10.

This month, get into the habit of giving your heart a little extra love by nourishing it with healthy foods rich in healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants. Your heart will thank you!

References:

1.     "Heart Disease Fact Sheet|Data & Statistics|DHDSP|CDC". Cdc.gov. N.p., 2017. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.

2.     "Essential Fatty Acids". Linus Pauling Institute. N.p., 2017. Web. 8 Feb. 2017.

3.     Murray, Michael T, Joseph E Pizzorno, and Lara Pizzorno. The Encyclopedia Of Healing Foods. 1st ed. New York: Atria Books, 2005. Print.

4.     Ginter, E. and V. Simko. "Plant Polyphenols In Prevention Of Heart Disease". Bratislava Medical Journal 113.08 (2012): 476-480. Web.

Eggs

The Price (and Cost) of Eggs
by Pat Hanson 

Last weekend I ran low on eggs and saw the house brand of eggs at Seamart was on sale 3 dozen for $6.00. Why then was I spending $7.00 a dozen for Organic Valley eggs for Hanson Baked Goods? It was my husband asking this rational question. His eye is often on the price as he does the accounting for my small business.

His logical question led to my doing some research into the price of eggs. But I was also concerned about the cost of those eggs in terms of the conditions for the hens that lay them. My starting point was The Cornucopia Institute at cornucopia.com which publishes ratings for egg producers based upon organic certification. Their ratings factor in such things as: type of henhouse, access to outdoor space, space per hen, natural light, type of pasture, laying hen lifespan, beak trimming, diet, manure handling, and ownership structure of farm.

Cornucopia scores each egg producer with a possible maximum score of 2200 points. I had just placed an order through the Sitka FoodCo-op for several dozen eggs from Chino Valley. I wondered how Chino Valley rated on Cornucopia and was unpleasantly surprised that they scored a grand total of zero points as they refused to share any information regarding organic certification, ownership structure, or any other relevant information. According to Cornucopia, “Chino Valley markets organic eggs from multiple sources ranging from vertically-integrated (corporate-owned) industrial-scaled henhouses in Texas to small and medium-scale family farmers in the Midwest. The company has been active in opposing strict requirements for outdoor access for organic laying hens.”  I then read an interesting article “Is Your Favorite Organic Egg Brand a Factory Farm in Disguise?” from motherjones.com. The article describes a discrepancy between the Chino Valley’s website which describes their hens as living “the way nature intended” and the reality of “an industrial henhouse jam-packed with 36,000 birds” which is what “investigators from the organic food advocacy group Cornucopia Institute found when they visited a Wisconsin henhouse that supplies Chino Valley Ranchers with organic eggs.” (www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/09/eggs-salmonella-cage-free).

Since it was the last day to place an order with Food Club (UNFI) and I needed eggs, I began to search for an egg supplier with a better reputation. In my research I discovered there are nine different whole egg suppliers available through Sitka Food Co-op, all with far better records than Chino Valley. Following is a summary of each supplier and a price comparison for a dozen large brown organic eggs. Price comparisons do not include shipping and handling.  

Price Comparison of Organic Large Brown Eggs available through Sitka Food Co-op

Azure Standard	Producer	Rating/5 Is high, 0 is low	Total Score/2200	Minimum order	Price 1 doz. Lg Brn Org.	Product Number
	Mission Mountain	5 eggs Exemplary	2120	2 dozen	$4.55	DP145
	Stiebrs Farms	4 eggs Excellent	1835	2 dozen 15 dozen	$3.58 $3.26	DPO27 DPO44
Food club (unifi)	Vital Farms	5 eggs Exemplary	2095	2 dozen	$7.30	12138
	Pasture Verde**	Not rated	Not rated	15 dozen	$7.30	14867
	Wilcox Family Farms	3 eggs Very Good	1765	15 dozen	$4.16	11669
	Organic Valley	3 eggs Very good	1620	15 dozen	$4.88	10270
	Chino Valley	1 egg Ethically deficient	0	6 dozen	$4.00	13012
	Davidson’s Safest	Not rated	Not rated	15 dozen	$3.45	12314
	Rock Island (Fertile eggs)	Not rated	Not rated	15 dozen	$3.07	6015

            **Pasture Verde is a product name from Vital Farms whose website says Pasture Verde uses the same standards and same hens as Vital Farms.

So as a short term solution I ordered 7 dozen eggs from Organic Valley and will order from Mission Mountain next month when I place my Azure Standards order.

The quality issue that I next explored got quite confusing. There are multiple adjectives attached to eggs and hens. I was helped in my search by an article titled “How virtuous are your eggs?” posted by biteclub. The url is http://biteclubeast.com/how-virtuous-are-your-eggs/. Here is a very brief  summary of the article:

1.     Organic means laying hens must be fed an all-organic diet, have outdoor access and be cage-free. Outdoor access can be misleading as it can include one tiny opening to a tiny weed infested yard for hundreds of hens.

2.     Cage-Free means hens are allowed to move freely and are not confined to cages; however this also means that thousands of hens can be jammed into spaces with no access to the outdoors.

3.     Free-range, pasture-raised means hens are allowed to roam freely outdoors during the day.

4.     No-kill refers to a policy by producers letting non-producing hens to live out their natural lives.

5.     Egg color indicates different breeds but may have no bearing on nutritional value.

6.     Vegetarian diet means hens are not fed animal by-products but hens do not eat a vegetarian diet naturally in the wild. Pasture raised hens do not eat a vegetarian diet.

7.     Antibiotic-free does not mean much as most producers do not use antibiotics. Lack of the need for antibiotics can indicate a well-cared for,  healthy flock.

8.     Fertile indicates roosters are kept with the hens and their eggs are thus considered fertile. Often means cage-free birds.

9.     Humane, Animal Welfare, United Egg Producer Certified (UEPC) are terms used to indicate audited living conditions of hens. They are largely meaningless as those producers certified by Animal Welfare do not sell to supermarkets and American Humane Certified allows for cage confinement. UEPC allows battery cages and beak-trimming.

10.  Omega-3 Enriched means hens are fed flax seed, algae or fish oil in their feed which does not affect their treatment or organic-status.

The following graphic highlights even more issues about the cost of eggs for hens including 81/2” by 11” cages, lack of access to the outdoors and thus the ability to engage in “normal behaviors,” starving hens periodically to force molting and thus increase egg production. So I will continue to be aware of the ratings of egg producers. And I will have an answer for my husband to explain why I do spend so much on eggs. This will be easier to justify when I order a sufficient quantity from Azure Standard and thus don’t have to get second rate eggs for first rate prices.  

Click here to see an expandable version.

Links and references:

-www.cornucopia.org

-www.biteclubeats.com/how-virtuous-are-your-eggs/

-http://visualism.org/2012/08/25/do-your-eggs-come-from-happy-hens/

-www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/09/eggs-salmonella-cage-free

Yogurt

Yogurt

When I discovered that I could make yogurt for a LOT less money than what I pay at our local grocery stores, I’ve never looked back.  And it is so easy to make, too!  Here is the recipe I use, but there are other variations that produce different results.  I encourage you to try other recipes and find the one that you like best.  Suffice to say that making yogurt is hard to mess up.  

A note about milk: There is much research and literature out there about the pros and cons of pasteurization and homogenization (worthy of a separate blog article) as well as pasture-raised or grain-fed cows.  I strongly encourage you to do your own research (see the resources at the end to get you started).  From what I’ve learned, the long and short of it is that the less we mess with the milk and the cows, the better the milk is for you.  If you are lucky enough to have your own cow or goat (I did run into a couple goats down in Port Armstrong, so it is theoretically possible), then raw milk is the way to go.  It contains all of the beneficial nutrients and enzymes that we destroy through pasteurization.   We cannot get raw milk in Sitka.  The next best thing is non-homogenized, vat pasteurized milk (NOT High Temperature/HTST or Ultra High Temperature UP/UHT pasteurized).  Milk processors have moved towards higher temperature pasteurization because it can be transported farther and has a longer shelf life; which the grocery stores prefer (especially in harder to reach places like southeast Alaska).  However, this results in more damage to the good stuff in the milk.  The next time you’re at the store, read the label on the milk you typically buy and see what kind of pasteurization they use. 

I use Pure Eire non-homogenized, vat pasteurized, whole milk (purchased through Blue Valley Meats, $9.99/gallon plus about $3 to 3.50 shipping).  The milk comes frozen from Blue Valley.  I usually order 2-3 gallons at a time and just put it in the freezer until I’m running low on yogurt.  Thaw a gallon in the fridge for a few days and you’re ready to go.  

No matter what type of milk you use, you will be creating a more nutritious food by making it into yogurt! 

Recipe – adapted from Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz

(makes 4 ½ quarts of yogurt = $2.88 to $3 per quart, compared to $6+ per quart of my preferred Nancy’s Organic Whole Milk Plain)

Time: about 1 ½ hours preparation, 8 to 24 hours fermentation

Ingredients/Equipment:

1 gallon of milk

5 tablespoons of plain live cultured yogurt

4 quart jars and 1 pint jar with lids

Thermometer

You can easily reduce or expand the recipe using a ratio of about 1 quart milk to 1 tablespoon of yogurt.

Instructions:

1.     Heat milk to 180 degrees F.  Heat the milk slowly in a pot on the stove over low heat.  This can take up to 45 minutes (or longer if you’re me).  I usually put it on low heat with a lid on and do something else for about a half hour or so, giving it the occasional stir.  I’ll then increase the heat slightly and pay more attention to it, stirring more frequently and checking the temperature.  

 

2.     While the milk is heating, fill your jars with hot water and set aside.  This warms the jars to a nice temperature for adding your warmed milk.

3.     Once the milk reaches 180, remove from heat and let cool to about 110 degrees F.  I put the pot in the sink and fill the sink with cold water (slowly so that it doesn’t splash water from your potentially bacteria laden sink into your now sterilized milk).   Usually takes only about 15 minutes to cool.

4.     While the milk is cooling, dump the water out of the jars and put a tablespoon of yogurt in each jar. 

5.     Stir the milk until cooled to just about 110.  Work quickly to ladle the milk into the jars, give the milk a stir to mix in the yogurt.  Set your lids on top (do not screw on tight, gases from lactic acid formation will need to escape), and put jars in a warm place.  I put mine in the oven with just the pilot light to keep them warm.  You can also set them in a cooler wrapped in a towel, close the lid to keep the warmth inside.

6.     Forget about them for at least 8 hours (or longer if you like a more tangy, sour flavor).  We’ve made our best yogurt when we’ve literally forgotten about them, left overnight in the oven and remembered the next morning – about 16 hours of fermenting.  Delicious!

7.     After your desired fermenting time, screw the lids on and put in the fridge.  Let sit for a day before tasting. 

Yogurt can last for weeks in the fridge; getting slightly more sour the longer it sits as more of the milk’s lactose converts to lactic acid.  Enjoy plain or add your favorite sweetener.   Don’t forget to save a little plain yogurt for your next batch!  Once you have your own, you can keep making yogurt indefinitely.

Milk and Yogurt Resources:

-       Weston A. Price Foundation: http://www.westonaprice.org/

-       Cornucopia Institute’s dairy report and scorecard: http://www.cornucopia.org/2008/01/dairy-report-and-scorecard/

-       Book: Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon, read the “Milk and Milk Products” and “Cultured Dairy Products” sections.

-       Book: Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz, read the section on Yogurt

-       Google your milk manufacturer to find out how they process their milk and where the milk comes from. 

 Submitted by Jen Mac Donald

 

Tomatoes

Tomatoes

Fresh, delicious, ripe tomatoes…some successful Sitka gardeners have been skilled enough to grow their own.  I, as yet, have not.  So I was excited to test the quality of Azure Standard’s tomatoes after their travels on the barge.  Azure clearly states the following on their website:

We do our best to ship quality produce to Alaska and Hawaii, but due to unknown conditions at the barge lines, we cannot guarantee the quality on arrival.

I ordered a case of their “Tomatoes, Canning #2, Organic” (QP193) with the intent to make pizza sauce to can for the winter.  Azure provides the following produce description:

Rated #2 because of variable size and there may be small blemishes, but mostly excellent quality.  I found that statement to be pretty accurate.  Even after spending an extra day in the shipping container due to late barge arrival, the tomatoes were surprisingly in good shape!  There were probably a handful that had more bruises and spots than I’d like, but overall I was very pleased with the quality…perfect for canning! 

Here is a great pizza sauce recipe that I found.  I follow the proportions pretty closely due to the need to maintain proper acidity for canning, but I modify the spices to my tastes and what I have on hand.  I have found the homemade sauce is worlds above any of the commercially produced sauces and results in a fabulous pizza!

Roasted Tomato and Garlic Pizza Sauce, from Simple Bites food blog

http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-pizza-sauce-three-recipes/

This sauce is musky, gentle, and robust.

12 pounds paste tomatoes

2 teaspoons salt, maybe more

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 head garlic

3/4 cup green pepper, rough dice

1 cup onion, rough dice

1 jalapeno, rough mince

1 tablespoon each dried oregano and dried basil

2 tablespoons sugar (see variations below, the carrot substitution is great!)

citric acid, bottled lemon juice, or vinegar

·      Cut the top off a head of garlic making sure the tip of each clove of garlic has been decapitated. Set the head of garlic on a piece of foil, drizzle the top with a smidge of olive oil, and wrap it up tightly.

·      Wash, core, and halve the tomatoes. Toss them with ½ cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and the black pepper. Divide the tomatoes between two large, sided baking sheets. Nestle the foil-wrapped head of garlic on one of the trays.

·      Roast the tomatoes at 400 degrees for about an hour, rotating the trays as necessary. Some of the tomatoes will blister a bit—this is good.

·      While the tomatoes are roasting, sauté the green pepper, onion, and jalapeno in 2 tablespoons olive oil until tender and translucent.

·      Dump the roasted tomatoes into a large stockpot.

·      Unwrap the garlic and squeeze out all the yummy mush. Add the garlic and sautéed veggies to the roasted tomatoes. Purée the mixture.

·      Add the spices and sugar. Simmer the sauce to thicken, if necessary. Taste to correct seasonings.

·      Ladle the sauce into pint jars, add acid, and process the jars in a hot water bath for 20 minutes at a gentle rolling boil.

Yield: approximately 5 ½ pints

Variations

·      Sauté a peeled diced carrot (or two) with the onions and peppers and when very tender, proceed as normal. The carrot thickens the sauce even more, adds extra nutrients and natural sweetness (you can completely omit the refined sugars), and turns the sauce a bright orange-red.

·      Add a couple cups of zucchini when sautéing the onions.

·      Other fun seasonings: marjoram, fennel, smoked salt, thyme, etc.

Notes on Acidity & Quantities

While tomatoes are quite acidic, certain additions such as olive oil, fresh herbs, and other vegetables will neutralize the sauce. So don’t get too carried away. Think proportionally: about 8 parts acidic tomatoes to 3 parts non-acidic additions, plus a shot of extra acid to keep it safe.

For extra acid, simply add 2 tablespoons vinegar or bottled lemon juice, or ½ teaspoon citric acid (found in the canning section of most grocery stores), to each quart. To pints, reduce those amounts by half.

Submitted by Jen Mac Donald

The Mother of All Grains -- Quinoa

Did you know that the 66^th session of the UN General Assembly deemed 2013 as The International Year of Quinoa?  Quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) is known by the indigenous people of Bolivia and Peru, where 90% of the world’s quinoa is produced, as “the mother of all grains” – chisiya mama.  This whole grain is one of few plant foods that provide all 9 essential amino acids in just the right balance and therefore is considered a complete protein.  It also is gluten-free and is a terrific source of potassium, a mineral that helps stabilize blood pressure.  Most quinoa is also Fair Trade and organic.

Quinoa cooks up quickly in just15-20 minutes and works well in a host of different dishes.  You know quinoa is “done” when the white tail, the germ of the kernel, is visible. Consider giving it a try in one of the recipes gleaned from the April 2013 issue of Eating Well magazine.  I especially adore the Strawberry Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding and the Sopa de Mani (Quinoa Peanut Soup) is on my list to try, as my husband loves most dishes where peanut butter debuts as an ingredient. To learn more about quinoa and dive into more scrumptious recipes visit the Whole Grains Council website at http://wholegrainscouncil.org/whole-grains-101/quinoa-march-grain-of-the-month. 

Quinoa Peanut Soup (Sopa de Mani) from Eating Well, April 2013

2 teaspoons canola oil

¾ cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup sliced carrots

1 cup diced potatoes

½ cup quinoa

4 cups vegetable broth or reduced-sodium chicken broth

2 cups water

½ cup chopped red bell pepper

¼ cup peanut butter

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon hot sauce, like Tabasco

Freshly ground pepper to taste

1.   Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in onion and cook, stirring, until softened, 4-5 minutes.  Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Stir in carrots, potatoes and quinoa, then add broth and water.   Bring to a boil over high heat.

2.   Reduce heat to maintain a simmer, cover and cook until the quinoa is cooked and the vegetables are tender, about 18 minutes.  Stir in red pepper and cook, stirring, for about 3 minutes more.  Stir in peanut butter until it is combined into the broth.  Remove from heat.  Stir in parsley, hot sauce and pepper.

3.   Serve with cornbread for a delicious meal chalked full of Vitamin C & A.

Strawberry-Rhubarb Quinoa Pudding from Eating Well, April 2013

2-¼ cups water, divided

1-½ cups chopped rhubarb, fresh or frozen

1 cup chopped strawberries, fresh or frozen, plus more for garnish

1/3 cup quinoa

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pinch of salt

½ cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon, divided

½ teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 cup nonfat Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1.    Combine 2 cups water in a medium saucepan with rhubarb, strawberries, quinoa, cinnamon and salt.  Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer.  Cover and cook until the quinoa is tender, about 25 minutes.  Sir in ½ cup sugar and lemon zest.  Whisk cornstarch with the remaining ¼ cup water in a small bowl.  Stir into quinoa mixture, return to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute.

2.    Remove from heat.  Divide the pudding among 6 bowls.  Refrigerate until cool, about 1 hour.

3.    Just before serving, combine yogurt, vanilla and the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl.  Top each serving with a generous dollop of the vanilla yogurt and fresh strawberries, if desired.

Submitted by Lisa Sadleir-Hart, MPH, RD, CHES

Food & Nutrition Educator