Food..Be Educated

The All Things Food blog has strived to provide insight to issues with the product none of us can live without. Although we have on scratched the surface of recalls, super foods and my personal food strugggles, it is important that we do not lose sight of what is most important. There are several websites that give insights to important food education and information. We all must continue to educate ourselves. We have one body, let's take care of it.

Middle East, American Food

During a recent trip to Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, I was both surprised and disappointed with the food choices. Being in an overseas country led me to believe that my food choices would be that of authentic middle eastern culture. After taking time to ask the locals what were the best places to eat, I was told places such as Subway, KFC, Vapiano's, Nando's and even Cheesecake Factory. While it was great to have foods that I was familiar with, I felt cheated on my food experience.

There were two days where we were able to eat authentic Pakistani food, courtesy of our driver's favorite restaurant, but overall, the experience was extremely American. The saving grace was the fact that Pakistan is still a middle eastern country and they cook with some of the same ingredients such as savory and curry. While the cities are both beautiful and architecturally ahead of its time, they could use more traditional eating places.

Lent is...OVER!

We have come to the end of the Lenten season. As we all know, my goal was to go vegan. Over the past few years, I have been successful. This was no doubt going to be a piece of (vegan) cake. Well, I'm here to type...I FAILED! May I also add, miserably. I can make the excuse that I was weak because I wasn't eating enough, not educated enough about what I could eat, or you can freely insert your excuse for me (here). The fact is, I just wasn't dedicated. It was exceptionally hard preparing meals for my family while only eating fruits and vegetables. The smells of dinner that I could not eat had me weak. Thats when it hit me, I am a southern girl and I need southern food in my life. Ironically, I do not feel bad about not succeeding. I will continue eating healthy, I will continue taking random months off from eating meats and I will continue to proclaim I will start work out on Monday. Make that next Monday.

Fixed Price Feast

Restaurant week has taken over the National Harbor. From March 4-17, 2013, take advantage of dining at some of the best restaurants at the National Harbor. For a fixed price of $20.13 for lunch and $35.13 for dinner, which includes a three-course meal, you can feast on several menu items. The participating restaurants are:

• Bond 45
• Fiorella Pizzeria & Italian Kitchen
• Grace's Mandarin
• Harrington's Pub & Kitchen
• Ketchup
• McCormick's & Schmidt's
• McLoone's Pier House
• Public House
• Rosa Mexicano
• Sauciety
• Thai Pavilion
• The Tasing Room

Use this as a chance to try something new while enjoying the breathtaking views of the National Harbor.



http://nhrestaurantweek.com/

Food Blogs, My New Love

Last week, it was brought to my attention by my ungrateful son, that we eat the same things repeatedly. I am a great cook but I had to admit, he was right. In my quest to find new, easy and practical meals, I turned to food websites and blogs. After perusing the websites, I came to realize they asked for lots of seasonings that I did not have in my arsenal. Tumeric, dry mustard, savory, etc. I never heard of some of these seasonings.

While on Facebook, I came across a page called Chef N.D. After looking through the page, I noticed there were easy food and nutritional drink recipes posted along with step by step pictures. Some of the recipes include Coffee Crusted Ribeye, Homemade 30 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup, and O'Charley's Cajun Chicken Pasta. The recipe I tried was Cash Out Pasta. It turned out awesome, family was happy, and the food was gone!

So, if you are in the market for new recipes or twists to old ones, please "like" his page on Facebook. www.facebook.com/ChefND I will definitley try more of his recipe posts.

Cash Out Pasta
8 oz linguine pasta
1 red onion
4 oz baby bella mushrooms
fresh parsley (1/4 bunch)
1 lb shrimp 16-20 ct
8 oz imitation crab meat
1 box rice o roni brocoli cheese flavor
garlic
crushed red pepper
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
your choice of ready made alfredo sauce
4 oz pepper jack cheese
4 oz velveeta

1. Cook pasta
2. Peel shrimp, mix with imitation crab meat, 2 tsp garlic, and parsley.
3. Saute shrimp mixture until shrimp pink. Set aside
4. Saute onions and mushrooms in olive oil.
5. Heat alfredo sauce, velveeta, and cheese on low heat. Add seasoning pack out of rice o roni...throw rice away. Keep stirring frequently.
6. Add crushed red pepper to cheese mixture (use according to heat level you want)
7. Drain tomatoes, add to cheese mixture. Heat for 1 min.
8. Add pasta, onions and mushroom to cheese mixture
9. Add shrimp mixture to pasta

Eat your vegetables

As a child, my mother always stressed the importance of eating vegetables. She made comments such as "carrots are good for the eyes" and "spinach makes you stronger". I was extremely greedy as a child so it didn't take much for me to eat anything. As an adult, I became more interested in what I consumed. I read an article on www.sheknows.com titled Top 10 Healthiest Vegetables. Below is a list of some of the vegetables and their benefits.

• Tomatoes- Renowned for their cancer-fighting capabilities
• Carrots- These orange-wonders are loaded with eye, skin and hair-enriching nutrients. Rich in vitamin C, carrots protect your cardiovascular system from damage.
• Squash- Can help treat dozens of conditions including asthma, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis
• Bell Peppers- Recent research suggests digging into a pepper every day may lower your risk of developing lung, colon, bladder and pancreatic cancers.
• Spinach- Scientists believe a diet heavy in spinach may be able to prevent everything from heart disease to colon cancer, and arthritis to osteoporosis.
   

For the complete list, click http://www.sheknows.com/health-and-wellness/articles/808162/top-healthiest-vegetables.

Remember to eat your vegetables!

Food Recall

Earlier this week, Special K issued a recall on some boxes of the Red Berries brand of cereal. Special K believes the cereal contains fragments of glass. This recall includes 3 different sized boxes with specific UPC codes and dates.

• 11.2-ounce retail package, identified by UPC Code 38000 59923 with the following Better if Used by information on the package:
  - DEC 02 2013 KNC 105 00:13 through DEC 02 2013 KNC 105 02:30
• 37-ounce club store package, identified by UPC Code 38000 20940 with the following Better if Used by information on the package:
  - NOV 30 2013 KNB 107 17:31 to NOV 30 2013 KNB 107 20:05
• 22.4-ounce twin pack, identified by UPC Code 38000 78356 with the following Better if Used by information on the package:
  - NOV 30 2013 KNA 105 07:00 to NOV 30 2013 KNA 105 08:51
  - NOV 30 2013 KNB 105 15:00 to NOV 30 2013 KNB 105 17:05