Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Take A Taste of the Impossible and Beyond Meat Burgers

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Sampling a slider-size of the Impossible Burger at Jardiniere before its public launch.

Sampling a slider-size of the Impossible Burger at Jardiniere before its public launch.

 

What is a burger without meat?

Diehard carnivores might answer, “A travesty.”

But even they might change their minds after a bite of the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Meat Burger. Both are entirely plant-based patties that closely mimic beef burgers. And both are now available in the Bay Area for vegetarians and the curious to enjoy.

Impossible Burger is the creation of Redwood City’s Impossible Foods. It is fashioned from wheat, coconut oil, potatoes, and heme, a compound in plants and meat, which gives meat its characteristic aroma and taste.

Compared to raising cows for burgers, the Impossible Burger uses 95 percent less land, 74 percent less water, and creates 87 percent less greenhouse gas emissions. It’s also free of hormones, antibiotics and artificial ingredients. And you don’t have to worry about slaughterhouse cross-contamination.

El Segundo’s Beyond Meat Burger is similarly environmentally-friendly, and is fashioned from pea protein, yeast extract, coconut oil, beet extract and annatto extract.

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Real Good Fish Is…Real Good

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Fresh Tomales Bay oysters that I got at my local library, of all places, thanks to Real Good Fish.

Fresh Tomales Bay oysters that I got at my local library, of all places, thanks to Real Good Fish.

Just-caught fish, delivered conveniently to pick-up locations in your Bay Area neighborhood each week, with reasonable prices and no long-list of middlemen to tack on more costs.

That’s what Moss Landing’s Real Good Fish is all about.

Established in 2012 by founder Alan Lovewell, who studied international environmental policy, it was one of the first community supported fisheries in Northern California. It operates in much the same way as a CSA. But instead of buying a “share” in a farm that provides you with a box of produce each week, you buy a “share” in the group of local fishermen that Real Good Fish partners with.

Not only are you getting impeccably fresh, local, sustainable, seasonal fish, but helping to support fishermen and their families in your community.

I shucked some to enjoy on the half shell with mignonette sauce.

I shucked some to enjoy on the half shell with mignonette sauce.

I was invited to try some sample deliveries, receiving a weekly full share (1 to 2 pounds of seafood), which is normally $22 per week.

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Maio That’s Not Mayo

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Plain broccoli becomes practically gourmet with dollops of Maio.

Plain broccoli becomes practically gourmet with dollops of Maio.

 

Now, you can have your mayo — and eat it, too.

If like me, you’ve shied away from mayonnaise in the past because it’s such a calorie bomb, now you can indulge with a whole lot less guilt, thanks to Maio.

It’s not bona fide mayonnaise made by whipping egg yolks and plenty of oil. Instead, it’s made of yogurt, given a substantial mouthfeel from the additions of cornstarch and gelatin.

While store-bought mayonnaise weighs in at 100 calories for 1 tablespoon (with 100 of those calories being fat), Maio has all of 20 calories for 1 tablespoon (with half of those calories fat).

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Thomas Keller Debuts A Chocolate Bar

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Four-star chocolate from a four-star chef.

Four-star chocolate from a four-star chef.

 

When Thomas Keller of the French Laundry makes a chocolate bar, you just know it’s not going to be your run-of-the-mill candy.

Not by a long-shot.

What makes this chocolate bar so different and special is that it contains extra virgin olive oil. And naturally, it’s olive oil by one of Italy’s most exclusive producers, Armando Manni. The Tuscan producer makes some of the most cherished and expensive olive oils around, beloved by illustrious chefs such as Keller and New York’s Jean-Georges Vongerichten.

Their collaboration is K+M Extravirgin Chocolate. The premium cocoa beans are processed in a way that maintains their antioxidants that are normally destroyed in the chocolate-making process. A small amount of Manni extra-virgin olive oil is added to boost the level of antioxidants even more.

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Start Your Day Like A Sherpa

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Cherry Almond Cranberry Tsampa mixed with water makes a quick, good-for-you breakfast.

Cherry Almond Cranberry Tsampa mixed with water makes a quick, good-for-you breakfast.

 

You may never ascend Mount Everest, but you can eat like Sherpa climbers.

Those extreme climbers who lug gear and scout conditions at dizzying altitudes fuel themselves with Tibetan tsampa, a coarsely whole grain cereal made from sprouted, roasted barley.

The Dalai Lama apparently eats it regularly, too.

Now, Washington manufacturer Peak Sherpa, founded by Tibetans who were born in India, is making the cereal more widely available.

Sherpa Tsampa boasts more dietary fiber than oatmeal, is low in gluten, and boasts prebiotics to improve gut health. It is also low fat, organic and non-GMO.

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