Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals (Series #1)

This week, I am excited to introduce something a bit different. In contrast to the style of articles you may be used to from yours truly, “Food Fun, Funds, and Fundamentals” will be an ongoing series of vignettes; short, loosely connected, easy to understand nuggets of wisdom I’ve acquired over many years studying nutrition—as it pertains to cooking and food preparation. Aligned with this will be advice on how to boost the healthfulness of your meals while saving money, busting food myths, improving kitchen safety, along with a peppering of funny and insightful blurbs from experts in the field…both past and present. Feel free to digest each vignette in any order you wish. Enjoy.

WHITE , BROWN OR PARBOILED ?

If you like the tender texture and taste of white rice but want something more healthful, check out an item you can find in most grocery stores called parboiled rice. It's inexpensive and prepared pre-cooked within its husk, which causes the starch inside the grain to expand then draw in important vitamins such as thiamin (also known as Vitamin B1). So not only does it take much less time to cook at home than brown rice, you will still recover around 80% of the vitamins you would have normally not gotten from the white stuff 1. It’s the best of both worlds!

HOW TO PROPERLY COOK AN OMELET 

Cooking a proper omelet can be an arduous and frustrating task for many. The final flip often will leave the dish looking mangled. If this is the case for you, look down at your turner. Likely, it will be square-shaped, whereas, your frying pan and omelet are circular. See the conundrum? Squaring a circle is a mathematical and physical nightmare! But luckily, if you make a lot of omelets, I highly recommend you invest in a tool from the company OXO called the “Flip and Fold Omelet Turner.” It’s flexible and hugs the side of pretty much any pan, so it’s amazing (and no, I don’t work for OXO…not yet anyway). And it’s not just for omelets; I use it all the time for pancakes, stir fries, pizzas, brownies, you name it.

In the same vein, I much prefer omelets to have a fluffy texture. Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites into two bowls, then with an electric mixer (with one beater, not two) beat the egg whites. At first, they will become foamy but eventually you will see the egg form soft, droopy “peaks” on the end of your beater. Make sure not to over-beat past this stage. Then with a fork, beat the egg yolks, pour them over your whites and gently fold them into each other. Cook as usual (don’t forget the cheese!).

WHITE, BROWN OR BLUE EGGS?

A misconception that some people have about eggs is that eggs with a brown shell are better for you than white eggs—perhaps thinking bleach is somehow involved in their processing, or that maybe the same brown stuff that’s in whole wheat bread is lacking in white eggs. Unfortunately, this is not the case, with the colour of chicken eggs determined primarily by the breed and individual genetics of the hen (you can even get blue eggs, but they don’t appear to be as common or as popular). If you want a more nutritious egg, one option is to look for eggs lain by flaxseed-fed chickens. These are higher in anti-inflammatory and brain-supporting fats than standard eggs2 (the package will tout “Omega 3”, usually emblazoned on the carton).

Tell me what you eat, and I will tell you what you are.

The discovery of a new dish confers more happiness on humanity, than the discovery of A new star.

A dessert without cheese is like a beautiful woman with only one eye.

- Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin3

- Tyler Feeney-

M.Sci (c) in Dietetics

References

1.     Kyritsi, A., Tzia, C., & Karathanos, V. T. (2011). Vitamin fortified rice grain using spraying and soaking methods. LWT-Food Science and Technology, 44(1), 312-320.

2.     Hayat, Z., Cherian, G., Pasha, T. N., Khattak, F. M., & Jabbar, M. A. (2009). Effect of feeding flax and two types of antioxidants on egg production, egg quality, and lipid composition of eggs. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 18(3), 541-551.

3.     Brillat-Savarin, J.A, & Drayton, A. (1994). The Physiology of Taste. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books.