Local Blogs
By Laura Stec
E-mail Laura Stec
About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and en...
(More)
About this blog: I've been attracted to food for good and bad reasons for many years. From eating disorder to east coast culinary school, food has been my passion, profession & nemesis. I've been a sugar addict, a 17-year vegetarian, a food and environment pioneer, macrobiotic, Master Cleanser, ayurvedic, and officially-designated health-nut or party-girl (depending on the year). Professionally, I've worn many industry hats including: line cook, corporate chef, Food Coach, caterer, product developer, restaurant reviewer, culinary school teacher, corporate wellness educator, food co-op clerk, author, and even Cirque-du-Soleil lead popcorn concessioner! For years I managed an outdoor kitchen, deep in the bear-infested woods of Tahoe, and also for hospitals (the most unhealthy kitchen I ever worked in?), Singapore high-rises, mule-pack trips, Canadian catholic rectories, and more events than I could ever recall. Yet I still keep discovering. Actually, I adapt everyday by new lessons learned from teachers, customers and students. However there is one food truth I now hold sacrosanct: Eaters are motivated by pleasure. So no matter what we discuss here - recipes or restaurants, food politics or pairings, local events, food as art, or even as God, I will always come from a high-vibe, party perspective. Oh I do still long to change the world with great tasting food, but know in my heart, "If it ain't fun, it don't get done!" So - wanna come to the Food Party? By the way - it's a potluck.
(Hide)
View all posts from Laura Stec
Sugar Detective
Uploaded: Sep 22, 2019
I was just watching the movie
Fed Up (Amazon Prime) about the effects of sugar on our bodies. Here’s the CliffsNotes: When you eat too much sugar and your liver can’t process it all, the pancreas comes in to save the day by excreting insulin that turns the excess sugar molecules into fat cells for storage. Yikes!
After the movie, play
naturopathic doctor Samia McCully's Sugar Detective game: check any nutritional label in your pantry for the added sugars, divide by 4, and get the teaspoons of added sugar in the serving size. For instance, on this label the added sugar is nearly 10 teaspoons for a can of soda!
photo from web
Fight back! Another recipe we did at
Sugar Blues, part of my 8 X 8 cooking series, is
Peanut Butter Date Balls. These are similar to the ones sold at Trader Joe’s, but better! I think they were the favorite of all the recipes we did in class. No added sugar or flour, and if you have an issue with peanuts try another nut or seed butter. Easy to make, great to have around as snack. Remember that peanut butter has nearly the same amount of protein as ground beef, and like we discussed in
Lentil Brownies, sweet combined with protein has that satisfying, staying power we need from our snacks.
by LSIC
Peanut Butter Date Balls
Makes 25 cookies
1 T flax seeds, ground
3 T water
½ t baking soda
1 t lemon juice, brown rice or apple cider vinegar
1 cup medjool dates
1 cup crunchy peanut butter
Flake sea salt (optional)
Preheat oven to 350F. Line baking sheet with silicon baking sheet or parchment.
Combine flax seed – baking soda in a small bowl. Remove pits from dates and whirl in a food processor until a ball begins to form. Add peanut butter and flax seed mixture. Process until combined well, but don't over mix. Form into small balls with your hands and place on baking sheet, 1-inch a part. Sprinkle lightly with flake salt (optional, but it adds a terrific texture.)
Bake 15 minutes or until preferred texture. Store leftovers in fridge for best results.
Community.
What is it worth to you?
Comments
Post a comment
Sorry, but further commenting on this topic has been closed.