Why do grocery stores put so-called healthy foods in a little corner, ostracized from the rest of the store?

I am curious why many grocery stores have a little section, often ostracized from the rest of the store - usually by the pharmacy - that is labeled "Health Food?" Even advertisers will sometimes say to look for their product in the "Health Food" section of their grocery store. If this is the "healthy food area," then what is the rest of the store labeled? Junk food?

In many ways, much of the rest of typical grocery stores could be labeled junk food. If we could get them to change this and put the healthy foods in the largest and most prominent part of the store and foods that can be harmful to our health in the smaller part of the store, maybe we wouldn't have such a health care crisis in America!

There is good news though. Several years ago, grocery stores didn't have a "Health Food" section. Now they do! These "Health Food" sections are growing in number and size. Grocery stores don't do this out of the goodness of their heart. They do it because consumers are demanding it. As consumers demand it, food corporations are beginning to eliminate some of the more harmful ingredients and are also offering foods free of chemicals, as well as organic foods.

Many people feel that the way to improve the healthcare in America is to deal with the insurance crisis and try to bring healthcare costs down. I believe that as consumers become better educated and spend their dollars on foods that make them feel healthy, i.e., foods that have been minimally processed and don't contain chemicals, corporations will respond by providing them and grocery stores will provide larger and larger selections of "Health Food!" Eventually, the junk food will be confined to smaller and smaller sections of the stores!

So think while you are spending your money. Your dollar is your vote. What are you voting for?

I have so many great recipes to share I always have trouble choosing the recipe to post! If you haven't figured out by now, I love food. Until I started studying food I had no idea the vast amount of foods I hadn't ever tasted and how amazing real food tastes. Many people conjure up the feeling that healthy food doesn't taste as good as junk food. I used to think this but now I have to disagree.

I often make a pot of steamed fresh vegetables for my clients and they are amazed at how good they taste. Most of them can't believe how simple this is. They argue that I must have done something else to them. Sometimes I will go to their house and fix a pot with them - then they know they are tasting real food and I haven't doctored anything up. So, I am going to share how to fix a pot of fresh steamed vegetables. Before you say "yuck!," I challenge you to try this out and see what you think.

I use whatever FRESH vegetables I have on hand. Frozen vegetables just don't taste as good as fresh and if they don't taste good, I'm not eating them no matter how healthy they may be. Usually this includes the following:

1 sweet potato (peeled or unpeeled - your choice - then diced)

1 white potato (whatever variety - my favorite is Yukon Gold - peeled or unpeeled and diced)

1 onion diced

1 carrot peeled and sliced

From there you can get creative and add whatever other FRESH vegetables you like:

Chopped asparagus

Chopped broccoli

Chopped cauliflower

Chopped brussels sprouts

Chopped root vegetables such as turnip, rutabaga, celeriac (celery root), parsnip, etc.

Chopped leafy greens such as kale, chard, spinach, collard greens, etc.

Sliced celery

Diced green or red pepper

Diced winter squash such as butternut, acorn, etc.

Keep it simple. You can add as many vegetables as you like or as few.

Bring about 1 to 1-1/2 inches of water to boil in a large pot. Place the steamer in the pot. You can get an inexpensive steamer at WalMart or Target.

Put the potatoes and slower cooking veggies such as the root veggies and carrots on the bottom of the steamer. Add all the other veggies on top saving the chopped green leafy veggies for last. Put a lid on the pot and steam the veggies for about 10 minutes. Make sure the water stays at a good boil - not too fast, not too slow. Test the root veggies with a fork to see if they are tender. I always start checking at about 10 minutes but may need to cook the veggies for another 3 to 5 minutes.

When veggies are tender, carefully remove them from the steamer into a bowl. Toss the veggies in a little olive oil or butter or a mixture of olive oil and butter. The fat soluble vitamins require some fat or oil in order to be utilized by the body so while the butter or olive oil enhance the flavor of the veggies, it is also great for the body!

When you serve the veggies, you can allow everyone to season their serving the way they like to. Depending on our mood, we may use some sea salt or seaweed gomasio, fresh cracked pepper, soy sauce (tamari is our favorite), bragg's liquid aminos (this is great for vegetarians especially as it adds protein building blocks), vinegar, Ume plum vinegar (a wonderful asian vinegar that is a little sweet, saucy and sour), and cayenne pepper or almost any favorite herb or spice.

I know I added a lot of info on the healthiness of these, but the proof is in how they taste. I also listed some foods you may not be familiar with. Most of these foods are at standard grocery stores and always have been - we just weren't trained to look for them. So take the challenge, go on a scavenger hunt at your grocery store or ask the manager where they are. Have fun with it! For those of you with kids, get your kids to help you prepare this - they will be much more likely to eat them. Let them choose how they want the vegetables seasoned. Kids (and adults too!) may want a little more butter - go ahead and let them. They may surprise you and eat a large serving and think of the amazing magic their body will feel with all those wonderful fresh cooked vegetables!

Blueberry muffins - are they really good for you??

What are whole grains anyway? And don't they taste like cardboard? Yuck! The answer might surprise you!

We had fresh hot blueberry muffins for breakfast today. Mmm! They were good. I used whole grain flours and believe it or not, they were so fragile, it was a little easier to eat them with a fork! They were loaded with a variety of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, protein and complex carbohydrates, yet they certainly didn't taste like "health food!"

The recipe comes from my 8th grade home economics class (Dundee Middle School in West Dundee, Illinois). I don't know where the teacher got the recipe, but I have a suspicion it came from Betty Crocker! I never make the muffins the same way twice, so after you read the recipe, read my notes to find out how to change the recipe to fit your preferences.

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup oil

1/2 cup sugar

1-1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Either grease or line muffin pan with paper muffin cups. Recipe makes 12 muffins. Mix the egg, milk and oil in a bowl. Mix the sugar, flour, baking powder and salt in a separate large bowl. Add the wet ingredients and stir until just blended. If you want to add blueberries, fold in blueberries at this time. Do not over mix. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Now for the magic! This morning, I used macadamia nut oil - you can use any type of oil you like - sunflower, safflower, walnut, almond, grapeseed, hemp - depending on the flavor you like. I used soy milk because that is what I had - you can use regular milk, goat milk, almond milk, rice milk, etc.

I used Whole Unrefined Cane Sugar - also known as Rapadura. This is the least refined sugar you can find and can be substituted 1 for 1 in recipes. There are vitamins and minerals in this sugar. It has a richer taste than sugar and gives a slightly brown color to the batter. You could also use Agave Nectar, Honey, Maple Syrup or Brown Rice Syrup. These will add a little moisture to the batter so you may need to play with the dry ingredients. All of these sweeteners have some nutrition to them and are much gentler on the body than regular sugar. In addition, sometimes I slip a little molasses into the batter and reduce the sugar a little bit. This adds calcium and magnesium and iron to the muffins but doesn't affect the taste!

I used 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour, 1/2 cup oat flour and 1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour for the 1-1/2 cups of flour. I always vary my flours - if you are celiac or have a wheat allergy you can use gluten free flour and add 3/4 tsp xanthan gum to the dry mixture. Gluten gives the muffins the stick-to-itiveness to hold the muffins together. Gluten free flours don't have this property so you need to add the xanthan gum. Besides the gluten free flour, I will use any combinations of brown rice flour, oat flour, quinoa flour, amaranth flour, teff flour, etc. The garbanzo bean flour adds some protein and fiber to the muffins. These all add a little different flavor and texture.

I also vary the blueberries - you can use fresh or frozen blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, bananas, dates, walnuts, almonds, pecans, strawberries, apples, pears, etc.

When you start to play with your recipes you can change a recipe from being high in refined carbohydrates and low in nutrients to one that is high in complex carbohydrates (whole grain flours), natural minimally refined sugars, protein, fiber and nutrients. You will be amazed at how good they taste and how the texture isn't like a lead brick and doesn't taste and feel like cardboard! Besides that - you can use up the ingredients you have on hand and not worry about whether you have the exact right ingredients!

You can make these muffins on weekends or in the evening. They freeze well and reheat easily and quickly in a toaster oven or regular oven. You can grab them and take them to work with you for a guilt-free delicious breakfast on the go. Add a hard-boiled egg and you will have a very satisfying breakfast!

By the way, you can find many of the products I listed at some Targets, Walmarts, and many grocery stores in the "Health Food" section. Next time I am going to ask how come these areas are called "Health Food" sections and what does that make the rest of the store - "Junk Food" sections?

If you would like more information on the flours or healthy sweeteners, I have a handout I can send you. Please contact me!