Over the weekend rumors were flying that Paula Deen was going to announce that she has developed Type 2 Diabetes. This is such a hot issue because in recent years she has been called out in the media, and by fellow Food Network chefs, for her food being so unhealthy. Today she did in fact confirm that she developed diabetes three years ago. The delay in the announcement seems clearly, to me at least, an attempt to buy time and figure out how to spin this and profit from it. In addition to becoming a pharmaceutical company spokesperson she is also starting a new diabetes management program called ‘Diabetes in a New Light’ which appears closely linked to the aforementioned pharma company.

I have limited knowledge of Paula Deen myself. I did not watch her show (though I may have seen bits of an episode or two) and I don’t want to bash her or bash her food. That is not the intent of this post. What irritates me about this whole thing is that the first thing people say when they hear about this is… “Well, just look at all the fat in her recipes!” They talk about her fried foods and her love of butter. They talk about all the bacon she used in her recipes. They talk about how she needs to go vegan and get rid of all that fat. Huh????

Color me confused but what in the heck does fat have to do with this issue. Nothing. Why does everyone bring up the fat content of her meals? It was not the fat that made her diabetic. It was all the sugar and other foods that turn into sugar and cause insulin spikes and blood sugar imbalance, the carbs. It was not the butter, it was the bread, pasta, grains, baked goods, and sugar. It wasn’t the egg, or the patty, or the bacon in her Lady’s Brunch Burger… it was the glazed doughnut that sandwiched these things.

Perhaps Ms. Deen DID go overboard with fats in her recipes. I don’t dispute that. I highly doubt she much considered the quality of her fats either. But I do not think that fats make you fat and lots of current research supports this. Watch the movie Fat Head for a crash course. The book Wheat Belly also addresses this at length. It is too many calories and all the carbs… grains, pancakes, pasta, doughnuts, bread, oatmeal, etc that causes obesity. The insulin causes our body to store fat and send messages to our brain to keep eating carbs, even though technically we have eaten enough calories. Fat satiates us and makes us feel full. Carbs make us hungry again an hour after we eat a big meal. The insulin spikes from the constant carb load eventually cause insulin resistance. Our body is worn out from years of abuse and we develop type 2 diabetes and it wasn’t from eating fat. If you put two sticks of butter in your mac and cheese that didn’t help matters. Yet it was the pasta next to all that cheese and butter that caused your body to store that fat instead of burn it and make you ready for seconds before the first plate even digested.

It bothers me to see bloggers and other media folks harping on the fat while they give a free pass to the real culprits… the grains and carbs. Obesity is blamed when obesity is simply the symptom. Sadly when Paula Deen’s recipes are revamped for “healthier” eating they will likely become low fat whilst remaining high carb. A diet like that almost ensures that a diabetic will need to take insulin for management and intertwine their future with a pharma company who is motivated by profit and has no desire to help you achieve actual health.

Sadly I see the wrong foods being blamed here and the “cure” isn’t going to do anything but ensure you become and remain, a pharma customer. Why isn’t anyone talking about that?

Lady Brunch Burger Photo Source  | Added to Real Food Wednesday

One of the really fun things I got to do on my trip to Detroit for the auto show (NAIAS ) was go to the Henry Ford Museum. I got to see an exhibit that has not opened to the public yet AND had a catered dinner right there among all the amazing cars. I felt kinda bad being there without my Dad though… he would have loved it! I did however, get to have dinner with some amazing green mom friends.

As a big history buff I just love museums so this was right up my alley even if cars really aren’t.

The highlights for me had to be the car Kennedy was in when he was assassinated…

The chair Abraham Lincoln was sitting in when he was assassinated…

And Rosa Park’s Bus.

We even got to sit inside the bus. Amazing.

My daughter thought Kennedy’s car and Lincoln’s chair were morbid when I showed her the photos. It was a very solemn experience seeing them and one I won’t soon forget. That is what I love about history, how it can reach out and grab you, and make you teary eyed even many years after the fact. It makes us think, and remember, and think some more. It makes us wonder what we would do if we were put in certain historical situations. Would we be that brave? Would we be that honorable? Would we stand for that injustice?

#FordNAIAS

** Ford Motor Company paid for my travel and accommodations at the 2-day Innovation and Design Fantasy Camp event, I was not compensated in any other manner for my time. Opinions posted here are my own.**

I decided to request this book from the library last week after I saw it pop up a few times on Facebook. I was intrigued by the cover and I think I wanted to challenge myself and my ideas about hunting with another’s women’s perspective. The fact that this particular woman looked like a Manhattan socialite, and indeed she once was, also piqued my curiosity. But I think my motive was mostly to try and come to grips with my own fear and hatred of hunting. I resumed eating meat again late last year and the diet principle I am following (primal/paleo) prizes grass fed, pastured meat sources but also wild game if at all possible. The idea is that “you are what your food eats”. Obviously the healthiest meat you will find comes from animals still living the wild lives and eating the wild foods they were intended to eat.

This is problematic for an omnivore who has always viewed hunting as cruel an unnecessary. I realized even before I read this book that this makes me a big hypocrite. It is ironic that we had guns in our home in Arizona that we could grab quickly if we spotted any javelina or rattlesnakes on our property but that was DEFENSE. Going out to intentionally kill something that wasn’t bothering us… barbaric! That is why I wanted to read Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time and I am glad I did.

It really did put it all out there how un-cruel hunting can be, especially when compared with the cruel lives inflicted on the animals that end up in our supermarkets. I know that factory farming is the epitome of cruel but I never quite understood that skilled hunting was and is the much more humane option of the two. It is one of those books that kind of reaches out and slaps you in the face with a big fat dose of reality. Of course if you have eschewed meat altogether then the logic will not mean much to you but for omnivores I think it is an important read.

The books follows Georgia Pellegrini to various places across the US and even in England, where she hunted various game. I appreciated the fact that most of the hunters she same in contact with were avid environmentalists and good stewards of the land they hunted. They also knew more about the animals they hunted and respected them more than most people in my opinion. There were only two hunters that left me with a bad taste in my mouth, the poacher that she calls out in one of her chapters, and also a boar hunter who I felt did not value his hunting dogs beyond their service to him.

Also in the book was information about hunting, the really strict laws that protect each species and the land, and also insight into the lives of all the species she hunted. The author was also refreshingly honest, even telling us about a bad shot that ended up causing an animal to suffer. Much of what I read was also stuff I have heard my husband say over and over, since he has tried to get me to hunt off and on for years. There is just something about reading it from a woman’s more delicate perspective that helped the message come through this time.

The best part of the book was hands down the recipes provided at the end of each chapter. Ms. Pellegrini’s background as a French chef translates into the description of each meal and your mouth is watering with the start of each new chapter. It made me want to try some things I never imagined I would want to try, like squirrel, which she calls the best tasting meat in the woods.

I cannot say that I am strapping on my rifle (I don’t even have one) and heading out into the woods tomorrow but this book was an important, eye opening read and I am glad I read it. My husband and I have been discussing it at length and dissecting our own preconceived ideas about hunting and living off the land. I would also love to meet the Girl Hunter someday!

How do YOU feel about hunting and the “messy bits” that some omnivores don’t like to be confronted with?

Six years ago today on Friday the 13th I got the most wonderful gift… my last child, Mr. Parker. For years we called him Parkoo because that is what my then one year old daughter called him. Despite the fact that I was nursing him in tandem with his sister he was still the fattest little breastfed baby ever. Scrumptious! Of all my kids he has been the easiest and he does things in his own time and way. He hated co-sleeping and wanted to sleep in a crib until he hit the ripe old age of three, when HE decided he was ready for the family bed. He sleeps with me still and requires that my hand be touching him in some way before he can fall asleep.

He didn’t talk until four years old, save for a few words and he has this rather odd habit of pacing constantly. He dresses in costume almost every day… Ninja, pirate, superhero, etc. He refuses to have his hair cut but you’d better NOT call him a girl, even if he is wearing a black velvet blouse that he picked out himself from the women’s section of the thrift store. He doesn’t like to kiss on the lips but he is happy to kiss your cheek or arm or give you lots of hugs. He is a total mama’s boy and this mama is CRAZY about him.

Happy Birthday baby!

I simply love this recipe for Hot and Sour Soup. It takes the classic soup that we love from our favorite Asian restaurants and mixes it up a bit. This recipe can also me made a variety of different ways because I used to gobble it down when I was a vegetarian as well (minus the fish and Worcestershire). You can use chicken, shrimp, tofu, or just use extra mushrooms and make it meatless. No matter which way I make it, I LOVE it.

The Marinade:

1/2 cup sake or rice wine vinegar (I typically use sake)
2 tablespoons minced ginger
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon salt

Soup Ingredients:

6 cups chicken or vegetable broth/stock
1 1/2 pounds firm fleshed fish (haddock, red snapper, trout)
1 1/2 cups green onions, chopped
1/2 cup dried wood ears (soaked for 20 minutes, and cut into strips)
1/4 cup dried Shitake mushrooms or large handful fresh oyster mushrooms
3/4 pound snow peas (snap the ends and remove strings)
5 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
4 tablespoons soy sauce (I use gluten free)
3 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
2 tablespoons dried seaweed flakes
salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Cut the fish into bite size chunks and add to the Marinade for 1 to 2 hours. Pour the broth into a dutch oven or stock pot and add the fish, onions, and soaked wood ears and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium to simmer for 5 minutes. Skim any impurities that foam at the top and add snow peas.

Add the black vinegar, soy sauce, ginger, salt and pepper, and sesame oil. Stir well and remove from heat. Take your beaten eggs and slowly add them to the soup, stirring in a thin stream around the edge of the pot. Serve and enjoy!

This soup is excellent for winter wellness and nourishing the body during cold and flu season. The ginger heats up your body to fight any germs that may be taking hold of you and the wood ears are also very good for you. Wood ears are a black herbal fungus that have been used in tonics by the Chinese for thousands of years. They are great for digestive troubles and energy levels. You can order them online if you don’t have a good Asian market in your area. If you don’t have any you can use oyster mushrooms instead.

This recipe is adapted from one found in one of my fave all time cookbooks: A Spoonful of Ginger: Irresistible, Health-Giving Recipes from Asian Kitchens.