Yesterday Fox 5 Reporter Lauren Murphy aired a story on the "Fat Tax". She interviewed Dr Youmans and I about our opinion of taxing unhealthy foods, such as soda which I've mentioned before, along with snack foods and burgers, etc. Dr Youmans feels that the public should be educated before punished. I agree, however, I do like the message of the tax, which is, junk food is now being thought of causing similar negative affects on the body as liquor and tobacco.
So how do you feel about being taxed on fast food and junk food snacks? Lauren stated that the tax is unfair to poor people and "Organic Restaurants don't exactly have a dollar menu". Wealthy or Poor, people should still have the right to be healthy. Your quality of health shouldn't be a reflection of your status in society. Perhaps the Government should look at a Tax break instead for healthy foods?? Maybe then you won't have to spend more on unhealthy food, but you could save more by eating healthy?? Maybe then we could afford a dollar menu. I would support an organic dollar menu in an instant.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Attack of the Killer Cilantro!!!
OK, some of it has the potential to attack, but it hasn't caused any actual illnesses yet. The FDA has issued a recall on Cilantro from Macallan, TX on crops distributed between July 13th & 16th. Traces of Salmonella were found in this batch and apparently it takes a while to get the test results back, hence the reason its on recall instead of just being disposed of.
One may wonder how an entire field of vegetables can be contaminated like that. What's the reason for it? Usually the cause comes from the water source or a contaminated irrigation system. Salmonella is usually spread through human/animal waste so sometimes wild animals break into the fields to eat the crops and drop a load on the way out or they get in to drink the water at its source and have a pee party. Manure is also used as a fertilizer, could that be the cause??
We often associate salmonella with Chicken or Fish, not so much with vegetables, however, broccoli, green onions and sprouts seem to make the warning list more frequently these days. Alfalfa Sprouts has its own parking spot on the list. The cause of the problem in Chickens is usually because of the cages and how they are stacked on top of each other. Imagine what your health would be like if your neighbor upstairs relieved himself on head all the time (and think, we put that stuff in our mouths....)
One may wonder how an entire field of vegetables can be contaminated like that. What's the reason for it? Usually the cause comes from the water source or a contaminated irrigation system. Salmonella is usually spread through human/animal waste so sometimes wild animals break into the fields to eat the crops and drop a load on the way out or they get in to drink the water at its source and have a pee party. Manure is also used as a fertilizer, could that be the cause??
We often associate salmonella with Chicken or Fish, not so much with vegetables, however, broccoli, green onions and sprouts seem to make the warning list more frequently these days. Alfalfa Sprouts has its own parking spot on the list. The cause of the problem in Chickens is usually because of the cages and how they are stacked on top of each other. Imagine what your health would be like if your neighbor upstairs relieved himself on head all the time (and think, we put that stuff in our mouths....)
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
This Ship has Sailed
Two things that don't go together are permits and patience. Luckily, that's mostly behind us and we've moved on from plumbing and lighting to herbs and seasonings. Right where we should be.
My wife is a tough cookie, that's for sure, but we are looking for our hard work to pay off soon. The sooner the better however...
We are excited to be open and we invite you all to join us in your new restaurant! We thank you all for your ongoing support
My wife is a tough cookie, that's for sure, but we are looking for our hard work to pay off soon. The sooner the better however...
We are excited to be open and we invite you all to join us in your new restaurant! We thank you all for your ongoing support
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Boomer Babes are Booming
July 7th I had the honor and pleasure to speak to the Boomer Babes and it turned into a great discussion. As always, Dr Youmans house was the perfect place to host a party. Not knowing the group all that well, I wasn't sure how they would perceive my talk about eating healthy. Of course I want to promote my restaurant but more importantly, I want people to understand why I developed the concept. Eating healthy is on the verge of exploding, but its just not there yet nor has it become convenient. Our president wants to tax soda to make money of course but also discourage consumption. KFC is serving baked and grilled chicken and the produce section in the grocery stores have an organic section that is slowly growing larger and larger.
One of the points that I tried to get across is that our "Comfort Foods" maybe the start of our demise. Another is that just because you think you are eating well, you may have to think again. With over 700 approved food additives who knows exactly what we are consuming in our body??? Eating organic eliminates the surprise of what's inside, but if we don't create a healthy diet for ourselves, then we aren't maximize our health benefits. Portion sizes, ingredients and cooking techniques are all very critical to losing weight and feeling great. Along with that, our immune system starts working sooo much better that its fighting off problems we didn't even know we had.
Lastly, we had a couple questions that I wanted to clarify the answers on. First off, why does organic milk have a longer shelf life than conventional milk while organic produce has a shorter shelf life than conventional?
A: Unless one milk and not the other is "UHT" Ultra Heat Tempered, which would affect the integrity of the milk, but extend the shelf life, the expiration date on BOTH is 11 days after production (milking). So they both have the same shelf life.
Next, when shopping at the grocery store for fish and seafood, how do you know which one is the "cleanest" or "best" choice. Black Cod and Salmon are the only two species of fish that you could ever potentially see an "Organic" label on. That doesn't make it all organic, but those are the only two that have gone through the certification process.
So here's my advice:
One of the points that I tried to get across is that our "Comfort Foods" maybe the start of our demise. Another is that just because you think you are eating well, you may have to think again. With over 700 approved food additives who knows exactly what we are consuming in our body??? Eating organic eliminates the surprise of what's inside, but if we don't create a healthy diet for ourselves, then we aren't maximize our health benefits. Portion sizes, ingredients and cooking techniques are all very critical to losing weight and feeling great. Along with that, our immune system starts working sooo much better that its fighting off problems we didn't even know we had.
Lastly, we had a couple questions that I wanted to clarify the answers on. First off, why does organic milk have a longer shelf life than conventional milk while organic produce has a shorter shelf life than conventional?
A: Unless one milk and not the other is "UHT" Ultra Heat Tempered, which would affect the integrity of the milk, but extend the shelf life, the expiration date on BOTH is 11 days after production (milking). So they both have the same shelf life.
Next, when shopping at the grocery store for fish and seafood, how do you know which one is the "cleanest" or "best" choice. Black Cod and Salmon are the only two species of fish that you could ever potentially see an "Organic" label on. That doesn't make it all organic, but those are the only two that have gone through the certification process.
So here's my advice:
- Always look for wild caught fish from cold waters
- Avoid Farm Raised because of the high amounts of antibiotics and unnatural feed
- During the summer months, stay away from stream fish like trout, the water is warmer and there is usually less water in the rivers so they become more stagnant, harboring more bacteria
- Its true that some fish are higher in Omega Fats than others, but what ever you choose, is still better than eating a cheese burger, so don't think too hard over it
- If you want to add more Omega's to ANY meal, add 1 teaspoon of UDO's 3 6 9 Oil for every 50 lbs of your body weight. This product is found in a cooler by itself at Whole Foods market
Contact me any time for Recipes, Cooking Demo's and Catering email me at chefghione@ghionedining.com
Ghione's Organic "Go Fresh Kitchen" will be open at the latest July 21. I hope to see everyone there! keep up to date at www.ghiones.com
Eat Well - Live Better!!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
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Its getting closer
The date of July 21st might not mean much to you, but it means something to the world of organic consumers. Ghione's is scheduled to open the latest on the 21st of this month. ChefLive has been airing the episodes that I filmed a month back. Locally in Las Vegas, you can catch the new shows on Channel 19 at 2:30pm. They will be up on Hulu.com soon, so I'll let you know when that happens.
Enjoy your 4th of July weekend. Remember you can always email me for recipes regarding a healthy outdoor BBQ. There are plenty of delicious options out there besides the smokey sugar based bbq sauce and red meat.
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