B00AFU6252 EBOK (8 page)
Authors: Jessica Alba
FOUND IN:
Most commercially raised animals—cattle, hogs, sheep, and poultry
WHAT IS IT?
A drug fed to livestock to prevent or treat diseases, particularly because animals that live in confined spaces tend to be more susceptible
WHY IS IT SKETCHY?
This practice contributes to the growing problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which you definitely want to avoid (it increases the odds of picking up a food-borne illness—or worse, when people really get sick, doctors won’t have drugs that work). Look for the words “no antibiotics added” to be sure your dinner hasn’t been raised on medication.
Fresh, local eggs are great, and most grocery stores nowadays are stocking an organic, cage-free option. Check to see if your grocer carries a local farm’s eggs or opt for a certified organic, certified humane, and/or certified cage-free brand. All of these terms are pretty trustworthy and at least ensure that the chickens were spared that brutal caged life, not to mention the heaping doses of antibiotics that are doing us no favors. “Pasture Raised,” “Free Farmed,” and “Biodynamic” are also good signs.
Whenever people say that healthy eating is just too expensive, I want to take them to the grocery store and show them the possibilities. You can get a 1-pound bag of any kind of bean—red lentils, green lentils, black beans, cannellini beans, you name it!—for about a dollar. Add on a bag of brown rice for maybe another $2, cook them both in some chicken broth, and toss with olive oil, onions, garlic, tomatoes—any combination of flavors you love and happen to have in the house. You’ll have rice and beans, the classic or a remix version. Legumes are a great side dish with almost any meal; as with whole grains, you can make a pot on the weekend and keep it in the fridge to use as the foundation of many meals for the rest of the week.
These days, I’m a big fan of lentils and love to make them with cumin, coriander, and other Indian spices. But I encourage you to try lots of different beans (and forget everything you thought you knew about hating them when you were a kid) to figure out what you love. We’ll make a pot of black beans to use as a side dish for Honor for several days—and I’ll warm them up for myself when I need a snack. They are cheapest to buy dried (from the grocery store or health food store bulk bins) and quicker to cook than you might think. But canned is okay, too, if you’re time pressed. Just be sure to choose a brand like Eden Organic, whose cans are free of BPA, a hormone-disrupting chemical (see
this tip
), and rinse the beans well; about 30 seconds under the tap will help clear away a lot of the excess sodium and other additives that can sneak into canned beans.
For a chart on how to cook beans to the right consistency, see
this page
.
This is totally optional—but I do find it comes in handy every now and then as a quick breakfast or stir-fry dinner option. It can be difficult to find organic beef chuck hot dogs—so we buy veggie Smart Dogs sometimes. Soyrizo (meatless soy chorizo sausage) has changed my life. It’s fantastic in beans—just the right amount of spicy. If possible, make sure that any tofu or soy meat alternative you buy is made with certified organic or non-GMO soybeans. Otherwise, you may be defeating the point of making a healthier choice with soy-based options.
We use dairy pretty sparingly in my house because both Honor and I find it aggravates our allergies. If you have kids, going organic is a must in this category, since many conventional dairy farmers boost milk production by injecting herds with recombinant bovine growth hormones (rBGH), which can interfere with hormone function (they also may use antibiotics to curb disease). But low-fat dairy can be a tasty source of calcium and protein—and here are some that work for us.
- Low-fat Greek yogurt.
It’s higher in protein than regular yogurt. I like to sweeten it with a little fruit or honey. - Parmesan cheese.
It has less lactose than most cheeses, so it’s a better choice if dairy gives you GI trouble—plus a little bit goes a long way toward pumping up flavor. - Goat cheese.
Usually okay for folks with milk allergies or lactose issues, and tastes so decadent and creamy while being pretty low calorie. - Faux dairy.
If you are lactose intolerant, try cashew or almond milk cheese. Honor won’t drink regular milk, but she loves a comforting glass of almond milk.
On the one hand, fish is the greatest: It’s way lower in saturated fat and cholesterol than other animal sources of protein and way higher in omega-3 fatty acids. These are amazing for our health for all sorts of reasons (think great hair, great skin, strong heart—and omega-3s may even help improve brain function).
On the other hand, some fish can be really bad for you. Because our oceans are so polluted, many species are very high in mercury and other toxic chemicals; we’ve also overfished and depleted some populations almost to the point of extinction.
To help you make good choices, use the
Environmental Defense Funds’
Seafood Selector chart
when shopping or ordering fish in restaurants. They also have a Sushi Eco-Ratings List worth checking out at
eat.org/oceans
, which we use a lot now that Honor has started to like sushi.
