The Salad Shocker

The following was written by Sarah Nassauer in the Wall Street Journal 7/27/11 and I am still in shock: "Despite decades of nagging to eat more leafy greens and colorful vegetables, the average American eats a salad at mealtime only about 36 times a YEAR. That's 20% less often than in 1985, when the average frequency was 45, according to market research firm NPD Group. Fewer than half of Americans--49%--ate at least one "leaf salad" at home in two weeks, compared with 75% who ate a potato dish and 81% who ate beef." The VP of NPD, who analyses people's eating habits says: "The single biggest problem with salad is making it. Cleaning, cutting, making sure you have fresh produce- tends to keep people away." Say what? In my cooking co-ops for the past 20 years, salads have been a staple in our menus- usually 50% of the time, a delicious salad was delivered- many times a bag of salad was accompanied by a baggie of cut up carrots, celery, cukes and grape tomatoes. In fact, my teen-age daughter's favorite meal was chicken caesar salad with a fruit salad and she literally said, "I wish all our meals were like this." If companies like Fresh Express and Earthbound Farm want to sell more bags of lettuce, then encourage and promote "team" cooking. If we are too busy that we can't cook one good meal a week for ourselves and our families, then we are too unfocused on what's important in life. The budget deficit is nothing compared to what America faces in health care costs from obesity, diabetes etc. which can stem from our poor choices in what we eat. What happened to "You are what you eat?" And I thought everybody wanted to go green. Go Green- and eat a salad a day!

Firemen Do It

I spoke with two firemen this week. One shared with me how his unit practices "team cooking."

There is the person who enjoys cooking and decides the recipes. This team is eating more chicken and low fat recipes and have been successful in many losing weight. Then the cook usually does the grocery shopping. But in return, those who don't cook, clean up. They enjoy sitting around the table together and sharing thoughts and life. Another retired fireman told me this week, he regularly ate meals together at his fire house. A very close friend and co- fireman for years, still get together once a week to go out to dinner. His friend lost his wife and enjoys this weekly time to get together. And at church yesterday, we all brought something to share after church. UMMMM- good! We had 3 different types of salads, fresh fruit, and home-made sour cream pound cake. Team cooking works in so many situations- get on a team, cook once a week, then no need to "fire-up" your kitchen the other nights.

Take, Eat and Live

Those words jumped out at me as we sang a communion hymn yesterday. The hymn was written by John Morison, one of the best poets of the Church of Scotland, in 1781- the same year we defeated the British at Yorktown. One of the definitions of take is "to carry something." So start team cooking and TAKE meals to others, EAT regularly together with friends and family and LIVE your life to the fullest. This can be your mantra for TEAM COOKING! Also it came out Friday - "Dinner Table Inflation Up Almost 5 Percent in One Year." Grocers are passing on the higher costs of food. Most salaries are not going up 5% so if you don't have a plan, try team cooking. And one more thought on LIVE. It's not living a good life to carry around extra weight and this issue of obesity is severe. My son went to a very good basketball camp last week and here was the menu for lunch each day: Pizza, Chicken fingers and biscuit, Pizza, Chicken Fingers and biscuit, and finally on Friday- Pizza. Humm....kids were excercising but not learning a thing on good food choices. What if they paid the same $$$ to a great cook to TAKE lunch to the courts- not a processed food distributor, and gave them an opportunity to provide healthier alternatives and a little more variety. I repeat TAKE, EAT and LIVE!

Improve Your Health with Team Cooking

Weight loss tips are in the headlines. One effective way to regain control of your eating patterns is to band with 3 other families who also want to eat more fruits, vegetables, fish and more healthy cuts of beef. All weight loss systems have a plan and if you know what's for supper, you can plan your breakfast and lunch accordingly. When working together as a team in planning, shopping, preparing and cleaning up, you can plan more time for a walk, run or tennis clinic or just taking the kids to a playground instead of stressing over what to conjure up for dinner. So maybe you are an empty nester. Team cooking can still improve your life. Studies on Altzheimer's show that aerobic exercise and strength training, even when done just once a week, can sharpen the brain and improve our mental faculties. Research now shows that even moderate exercise can cause the brain to increase in size and develope new brain cells. So, to find time for aerobic exercise, strength training, stretching and balance- you need team cooking. The summer is a perfect time to ease into it with neighbors or new-found friends. Sharpen your cooking skills so you can exercise more for real brain gains!