Shell eggs under the August 13, 2010 recall are packaged under the brand names: Lucerne, Albertson, Mountain Dairy, Ralph’s, Boomsma’s, Sunshine, Hillandale, Trafficanda, Farm Fresh, Shoreland, Lund, Dutch Farms and Kemps. Shell eggs are packed in 6-egg cartons, 12-egg cartons, 18-egg cartons, and loose eggs with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 225 and plant numbers 1026, 1413 and 1946.

Recalled shell eggs affected by the expanded recall are packaged under the brand names: Albertsons, Farm Fresh, James Farms, Glenview, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, Kemps and Pacific Coast. Eggs are packed in varying sizes of cartons (6-egg, 12-egg, and18-egg cartons, and loose eggs for institutional use and repackaging) with Julian dates ranging from 136 to 229 and plant numbers 1720 and 1942.

Dates and codes can be found stamped on the end of the egg carton or printed on the case label. The plant number begins with the letter P and then the number. The Julian date follows the plant number, for example: P-1720 223.

The recall affects eggs shipped since May 16, 2010 were sent to food wholesalers, distribution centers and foodservice companies in California, Illinois, Missouri, Colorado, Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Arizona, Texas, Georgia, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Utah, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Iowa.

Please share this information with friends and family by forwarding this blog to them.  Thank you!

photo credit: p_x_g

The Food Network annouces its 2010 winner! Aarti Sequeira.  Aarti is from India and she brings that Indian flavor to her recipes.  Her desire is to make Indian food accessible. The judges said that she “is a natural on camera”.  Aarti has a youtube channel of her own.  The focus of her show will be Indian food. So get ready for some new and exciting recipes!  What a great cultural exchange.

Brenda Ponichtera is a registered dietitian and the author of a cookbook but it is so much more than a cookbook. “Quick and Healthy: Volume II More Help for people who say they don’t have time to cook healthy meals”.

Designed for busy people with lots of good intentions and little time to cook. Perfect for anyone wanting to lose weight or anyone with heart disease or diabetes.

This cookbook provides Recipe Notes to discuss briefly six important aspects of what the content of the recipes are and why they are important.

Brenda gives Dinner Menus for those of us who run out of ways to put meals together. The menus are listed by week and include a shopping list. There is a column in the right margin to list breakfast and lunch foods you may want to add to your shopping list.

There is also a list of breakfast and lunch menu ideas. In this section Brenda offers suggestions for what foods can be considered for breakfast and lunch and what might go well with that food.

One of my favorite sections is the “Change Recipes… to Reduce Fat, Sugar, and Calories”. For example, her chart on page 35 gives suggestions for changing from frying and the alternative ways to cook.

There are tips for eating out and even a Salad Bar Guide.

You can use the chart on page 45 to determine your healthy weight and calorie needs. Many people want to live a healthy lifestyle and with so many programs and diets it is easy to get confused about one’s own individual needs. This chart makes it crystal clear as to what you need! There is a food chart that is blank so one can track what they are eating currently.

Brenda has thought of everything!

Now we finally get to the recipes!

Here is the list of the types of recipes included in “Quick and Healthy: Volume II More Help for people who say they don’t have time to cook healthy meals”.

• Appetizers and Sauces
• Breads
• Soups and Stews
• Vegetables
• Salads
• Potatoes, Rice, Beans, and Pasta
• Sandwiches
• Meatless (woohoo!)
• Poultry
• Seafood
• Beef and Pork
• Ground Beef and Sausage
• Desserts

Each recipe has a Nutrient Analysis listed to show what nutrition is in it.

Finally, at the end there is an Index. If you have a particular food in mind you can simply go to the index and look up the food and find a recipe for it.

Having this cookbook is like having your own personal dietician beside you as you plan and cook for the family.

Ponichtera’s books have been recommended in publications such as “O” The Oprah Magazine, Cooking Light, Miami Herald, Shape magazine, and USA Today, as well as by health care professionals, and busy cooks across the country. Ponichtera has sold over 700,000 copies of her Quick & Healthy cookbooks.

If you have not yet tried a coffee meat rub, then this is something that you are going to swear by the next time that you BBQ! You can use it on hamburgers, chicken, pork, steak – you name it, and it will be delicious.

Keep in mind that using different roasts of coffee will reflect in different flavors in the meat.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup fine coffee grounds
• 1/4 cup smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground chipotle pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder

Directions:

Mix all of the ingredients together, and rub well into the meat. Allow this to stand for one hour before grilling. You can store the excess of this mixture in a cool place, like your pantry, but not in the refrigerator. The turbinado sugar is necessary for this recipe because it melts quickly in the heat and creates a nice texture on your grilled entrée. The sugar can also be substituted for brown or plain sugar to your liking, which will change the taste of the final product.

Get creative and experiment with using different coffee roasts to create different flavor profiles in your BBQ!

For a great selection of coffee makers Bunn, check out Bethany Ramos’ website, The Coffee Bump.

This story interests me because I spent a big part of my childhood in San Francisco.  San Francisco is considering following the lead of Santa Clara County by banning fast food restaurants from including toys in their meals if the foods are fatty.

Making our kids eat all their food, even once they are full.

This is a critical mistake because children learn the wrong reasons to eat.  We are to eat because we are hungry and when the feeling of fullness occurs, eating needs to stop. This bad habit (disguised as a good habit) can go with a child into adulthood.  There is even a name for this habit (The Empty Plate Syndrome). Having feelings of guilt about leaving food on the plate has haunted many a person and some have passed this habit on to their family.  Yes there are starving children in Africa, but let’s participate in some other way to help them.  Let’s not stuff our selves on their behalf.  Overeating helps no one.

Allowing others to feed your children off schedule or off the good food course.

Setting boundaries can be tough.  Setting boundaries around the food and the time the food is eaten can be tough too, especially if the violator is a family member.  My mother use to give my kids food anytime of day when I was not around.  I had to take a deep breath and ask her to respect my schedule.  I was young and cared about my mom’s feeling but the eating pattern I had for my children was even more important. These eating patterns have a tendency to continue into adulthood and can cause serious health problems.   Moms make a critical mistake when we allow others to get us and/or our children off the healthy eating path.   I know it’s not easy, because if it was, everybody would be doing it.  Take a stand. Read this: “Stop Forcing my Daughter to Eat.”

Using food for comfort or emotional support for our children.

Most people who use food for comfort as adults can testify that this addiction started in childhood.  Ask yourself why do you use food for comfort and make a conscious effort to teach your children to have a healthier relationship with food. Here is an article:
Diet: Comfort Food that can help you explore this topic.

Thinking what we do doesn’t matter.

Sometimes we can repeat do’s and don’ts and the reasons why so many times that we feel like our efforts aren’t doing any good.  As a mom of three adults I can tell you, you words and actions do make a difference in the lives of our children.  The results do not always manifest themselves until later. Once the child has been out in life on their own, they discover what you really meant and what you really mean to them.

Defining ourselves as a mom to the extent of forgetting about our other roles and relationships.

Being a mom has been the most challenging thing I have ever done and it consumed quite a chunk of my life; but even when my children were younger my husband I made a point to continue to have date nights and I continued to go out with friends and family and eventually I went back to school.  It took me a long time to get comfortable doing non-mommy things but I continued to re-fuel myself and I could see and feel how refreshed the time for the other parts of me gave me more patience with my kids.  Moms, take care of you – I mean all of you.

photo credit: Mr Michael Phams