If I walk into any restaurant, deli, coffee shop in the United State  there will be a sugar packet caddy.  My choices are  pink, sunny yellow, pale blue, (saccharin, sucralose and aspartame).  Sometimes one has to ask to get the classic white packet.   New to the caddy is happy green.   I was startled to find out the Americans consume 16 pounds per person of zero-calorie sweeteners .  The choice to use them is an attempt to quench the insatiable American sweet tooth without the calories.  Unfortunately there is no evidence that people who consume non-calorie sweeteners lose weight.  In some instances, they gain it.

The new kid in the caddy  comes with an interesting history and another load of false promises.  Truvia or Purevia are trade names for the new zero calorie sweetener.  Once again we are being led to believe that THIS ONE is somehow different, more natural.

Stevia  is an herb native to Paraguay.  The annual plant grows 1-2 feet tall with pale green leaves.  The leaves can be gathered and dried then ground to a fine powder or steeped in water to make a liquid. The chemical substance in the stevia plant responsible for the sweetness is rebiana.  It is said to be 300X sweeter than sugar - one teaspoon of stevia equals the sweetness of one cup sugar.  Plus stevia is low in calories - 1/10 of a calorie per leaf.  Our own Center for Science in the Public Interest seemed nonplussed about the sweetener.  They cited the Scientific Committee on Food for the European Commission which concluded that “there are no satisfactory data to support the safe use of these products [stevia plants and leaves].”   CSPI’s round-up on stevia also cited pro-stevia articles to be fair.  That’s good because other experts felt stevia’s use was perfectly safe,  a suitable sweetener for diabetics.

Because the FDA would not give stevia the rubber stamp as a food, it stayed out of mainstream food products and was only sold as a “supplement”.  The plant came to the forefront  in 2008 when  Cargill and the Coca Cola company teamed up to patent a new no-calorie sweetener using rebiana.  The problem is that this new “natural” sweetener is it not a made by a simple grind or steep of stevia leaves.  Though trade secrets are highly guarded, we do know that  Truvia combines  rebiana with erythritol, a sugar alcohol.  Though there may be a lack of long-term studies supporting human consumption of rebiana, there are plenty condemning ingestion of erythritol.  In studies (true, done with rats) there is an increased elimination of protein in the urine and in some cases kidney calcification.  Read more here from the Quality Systems, GMP, Regulatory site.

The caddies full of pastel packets seem so friendly, so normal, so reliable. Just some innocent granules to sweeten the coffee or tea.  Every few years a new color is added as evidence mounts up against the pink, blue or yellow.  I say stick with the sweeteners where we have lots of history and research about the detrimental affects.  I shake and tear the classic white, light brown or add dab of honey.  Calories be damned.  What do you stir into your ice tea?

Just My Opinion by Steve
On my almost-daily walk in the forest with my dog there’s a path that’s less used because it’s muddy all the time. Skunk cabbage is coming up around there now. A few months ago I noticed my own boot print in front of me on the path, so I put my foot in that same print and put weight on it. I do that every day now. It’s almost always wet and receptive. You could call it a timid form of graffiti; or the desperate, sad act of a man determined to leave a mark, any mark, on the world he inhabits.
I think of it as performance art. My hope is that some day someone will notice that this print never goes away. It could even be the seed of a ghost story. Or it could really bother someone that I’m doing it. That would be OK too.
I’m bothered by the man-made rock-on-top-of-rock balance sculptures that people leave behind to enhance the nature experience of others. It doesn’t do that for me. I’m inspired by the carnage of fallen trees created by forceful winds. Perhaps the people who create these sculptures will fall into my footprint and vanish. That could be a great ghost story.

We know that eating meals together increases the enjoyment of the meal, solidifies family bonds and encourages communication about the day’s activities among family members.  If we are willing to make the extra effort required to share a common meals, then our lives are richer as we break bread together; family solidarity is built.  Here’s why.

1. Family dinner conversation helps expand a child’s vocabulary skills and increases success in learning to read.
2. Mealtime is where children learn many of their social skills including table manners and the art of conversation.
3. Much of family history relating to culture and race is passed on to children by parents at the dinner table.
4. Food rituals may illuminate a family’s ethnic heritage when traditional meals are served.
5. Studies show that children who participate in regular family meals and other rituals have more emotional resilience to help them handle stress and chaos in other areas of life.
6. The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a study showing that teens who regularly dine with their families have a smaller chance of smoking, drinking alcohol, and using drugs.
7. Children who dine without parents or siblings eat fewer servings from the necessary food groups.
8. Eating together also gives parents the opportunity to model good eating habits such as choosing healthy foods, chewing food well, and stopping when full.

That’s right.  I only listed 8.  Why?  Well so you can add your two cents.  Give me two more reasons you awesome cookus viewers!

Watch this fascinating you tube video about how humans perceive time and how that has been changing dramatically because of technology.  I appreciate (of course) the mention of sitting together and sharing meals.  Not long ago 60% of Americans kept this ritual.  We’re down to 20% these days.  in the next post we’ll mention some good reasons why this oughta change.  Stand by.

Just My Opinion by Steve

I think that boys who take dance classes and do dance recitals should be allowed to choose their own costumes.  This week I was at a dance recital with about 60 girls and 2 boys. In one dance,  a boy, doing a lumberjack dance, was on stage with 7 girls and he was dressed in a bow tie with a Pinocchio-like pointed hat with a feather in it, and shiny pants.  He was supposed to be a lumberjack!

It was wrong.  The kid was a fine, earnest dancer, doing his best, but, man, that’s a lot to overcome.  It seems that a lot of time is spent on making the girls look great, and then they see what’s left in the prop room for the boy.

I say let the boys wear what they want, even if they choose hip hop apparel for a polka. Let the boys dance! Just my opinion.

Lisa Byrne, who writes a caring blog helping busy  moms called The Well-Grounded Life,  wrote a very positive and kind review of our site.

Watch!

What if all the nutri-brains were right about what YOU SHOULD BE EATING (and not eating)?  What would end up in your pantry?

In the past year we have had several distinguished food and nutrition experts come to Bastyr and speak.  One was T. Colin Campbell who wrote The China Study.  The findings? “People who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease … People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to avoid chronic disease. These results could not be ignored,” said Dr. Campbell.  Advocates of a vegan or vegetarian diet such as the Physician’s Committee for Responsible Medicine or Skinny Bitches gained more back-up for their already strong arguments.

Others preach lowering animal food consumption but are concerned from an agricultural, political or ecological point of view.  Mark Bittman is one and spelled out why in his Ted Talk.  Michael Pollan (who also made an appearance at Bastyr)  succinctly speaks of eating real food, not too much, mostly plants.  Softer and gentler than Mr. Campbell but the leaning is clear.

But whoosh there is a whole other wave of nutri-folks talking about our need for high-quality fat and protein.  Don’t shy away from a big steak and blue cheese, just make sure the steer is locally raised and grass-fed.  Both Nina Planck and Sally Fallon have enlightened readers of the misunderstanding around fat and cholesterol.  Sally spoke last weekend at Bastyr, Nina came in 2008.  I know many of our readers are devotees of Ms. Fallon and her traditional food philosophies which are derived from Nutrition and Physical Degeneration by Dr. Weston Price.  Organ meats, raw milk, fermented foods and plenty of coconut oil and butter are thumbs up in this world and they have the research to back up what they preach.  The newer (older?) Paleo Diet is somewhat related, warning against grain-eating and advocating consumption of ample animal food.  The Paleo experts boast oodles of research to support its recommendations.

Uh oh.  Now what?  What do we eat if both camps are right.  I mentioned this eaters dilemma to one of my students and said that I guessed that lettuce was the only safe choice.  She had attended Sally’s lecture and reported that Ms. Fallon’s closing comment was that salads would be the genocide of America because of all that awful salad dressing.  Touche.

What’s left? What can we conscientiously eat for dinner?  And that’s where Cookus Interruptus walks in with a smile.  We like everybody.  We’ve parked our ship in the “no preach” zone.  We’ve pulled the best threads of common sense from all of the philosophies and woven them into a loose pattern.  We welcome you if you are vegan - we offer plenty of vegan, even more vegetarian recipes.  Grains and beans rock.  Gluten-free? - come on in.  About 75% of our recipes are wheat-free.  Traditional-diet lovers - we love you too.  Though we tend to keep our animal protein in small portions (family budget you know),  we embrace grass-fed, pastured, humanely-raised and forgo participating in CAFO food.  Fermentation nation?  Bring it.  Sauerkraut and yogurt are awesome.  All tribes, all camps, all philosophies - we’ve got food for you.  Real food that tastes good.  We’re world cup.  The best of each nation ready for your knife, fork, spoon, chopstick or paw.

We drew a number out of the orange bowl (included the PI entries too) and out came the scrap of paper with #15 on it!  Suzanne sent us “Fast food: Buy Your Own Heart Attack” and she will get a copy of Ms. Pennington’s fabulous book.  Lots of great entries.  Just a few favorites:

• Time Flies Like an Arrow. Fruit Flies Like a Banana
• Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet him!
• Against gay marriage? Don’t get one.
• Of all the things I’ve lost I miss my mind the most
• Eat what’s in season (but be sure to season what you eat!)
• Midwives help people out.
• Compost: Because a rind is a terrible thing to waste.

And good advice for the day:

• Wag more bark less

Thank you to everybody.  Good book, good entries, much fun.  Congrats to Suzanne!

Just My Opinion by Steve

I read somewhere (John Gottman) that the couples most likely to stay together aren’t necessarily the ones who communicate constantly and sensitively, as one might expect. They are the couples who let each-other be who they are.  For the man, it’s the “Yes, dear” attitude and for the woman it’s “He doesn’t come with us. He watches the game“.  And it’s just the way it is. That theory fits my observations.  The couples we know who are still together seem to have come to some such agreement.

But there’s a fine line between resignation and acceptance. You can see it in their bodies when they’re together. Those who “accept” their partner for what they are, and find alternative sources for the particular support that they just ain’t gonna get from this person seem to be more open and happy. Those who are “resigned” to living this way?…Not so much.

Just my opinion. Sometimes I get stuck between the two. You?

Sounds complicated but it’s not!  We have a fantastic hot-off-the-press author –signed book just waiting here for a lucky winner.

Amy Pennington is a gal that defines cool in Seattle.  She runs a garden-to-table blog and business called gogogreengarden and just came out with a beautiful book called The Urban Pantry – Tips & Recipes for a Thrifty, Sustainable and Seasonal Kitchen.  Not unlike our Cookus Cupboard videos, Amy gives you the down-low on how to stock your shelves so you can eat like a king without spending a fortune.  You’ll learn how to make hand-whipped aioli, anise-farro biscotti, rich tomato gravy, carrot quick pickles, homemade vanilla ice cream, brandy-spiked cherries and apricot mustard.  There are gorgeous color photos, artsy black and whites and tips galore.  I’m telling you, it’s going to be very hard for me to put this book in a mailer and send it to the drawing winner.

How do you win it?  Well, Ms. Pennington is such an imaginative soul I had to ask y’all to muster your creative juices in her honor.  Send me your best bumper sticker.  You know, a slogan slapped on the back of the car.  It doesn’t have to be about food (i.e. visualize whirled peas) but you get extra meaningless points if it is.  Doesn’t have to be a REAL bumper sticker either.  Made-up ones count. Puns are good. We’ll draw a winner out of the orange bamboo bowl full of numbers on June 15th.

I was inspired by one I saw recently.  A real one.  SMOKING CURES HAM.  What’s yours?  I’m telling you – you want this book….