The Struggle Towards Lowering the "Weight of the Nation"

The past two weeks have been filled with talk of "the obesity epidemic" and the "Weight of the Nation." Last week the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention hosted a "Weight of the Nation" conference in D.C. and this week, HBO premiered its four-part mini-series, Weight of the Nation. Stepping to the same rhythm, the Institute of Medicine released a new report this week, “Accelerat­ing Progress in Obesity Prevention: Solving the Weight of the Nation.”

The continuous stream of Weight of the Nation events and reports focus on one main point: Americans are in the midst of an obesity epidemic. Two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the United States are categorized as either overweight or obese. How in the world did we, as a nation, get to a point where the majority of our population falls into one of these two unhealthy categories? Obesity-related illness treatments cost an estimated $150 billion annually and obesity is the second leading causes of preventable death in the country. It's no small matter. Researchers estimate that costs will rise to over $500 billion by 2030.

HBO's Weight of the Nation mini-series,  available online for free, profiles overweight and obese individuals and their families, talks to farmers, looks at nutrition in schools, and so much more. Following the slogan, "to win, we have to lose," the films discuss what can be done in the long run to quell the epidemic. If you want solutions, this film isn't necessarily the place to go. However, it does a great job at profiling the problem and reminding us of all the forces that have come together to create this epidemic.

In addition to HBO's mini-series, The Institute of Medicine's report provides a detailed look at the epidemic. According to the Institute, the problem is not just an individual one, but also a societal one. Each person plays a role in the epidemic. "We can't sit back and let the schools do it, or let a mayor do it or think somehow the federal government's going to solve it," says report co-author William Purcell III. The IOMs recommendations require a "concerted effort among all." With a focus on cohesive strategies for change, the report offers a multitude of solutions to a grandiose problem.

Here  are a few great articles that summarize the past two weeks happenings and break down the obesity epidemic, all in their own unique manner.

Weight Loss and the Solution to the Epidemic, Huffington Post

This is Why You're Fat: The 2012 Farm Bill and the Real Obesity Lobby, Huffington Post

Obesity Fight Must Shift from Personal Blame, Reuters

The Obesity Epidemic - Two Policy Experts Speak Out, Forbes

A Mathematical Challenge to Obesity, New York Times

No End to Obesity Epidemic, Twenty Year Forecast Shows, ABC News

There is an obesity epidemic. It is clear as we look around each and every day. Fast food is abundant. Sedentary lifestyles are the norm. School lunches consist of processed, sugary foods. Healthcare costs are climbing. Rates of diabetes are staggering. Food policy in this country - i.e. The Farm Bill - places emphasis on all the wrong things. The food and beverage industry is so large, the fight isn't even fair. Figuring out how to move forwards, to work towards a solution, to reverse this epidemic should be the focus for every person, every organization, and most certainly for our government. While you work to make sense of your role in lowering the "Weight of the Nation," take a look at this outstanding infographic put out by the Institute of Medicine. Learn the facts, understand the solutions, and take a step towards playing an active role in the fight against this deadly epidemic.

10 companies produce all the products we consume?

Check out this graphic that depicts 10 companies and the astounding number of products they produce and we consume on a daily basis.

Click to enlarge

Week 1, SFHL Meal Planning

I realize it's been a 3 weeks since I last posted and I apologize. It isn't because I haven't been cooking. It's because I got a job. A job with an awesome, food oriented organization to boot. While it's been an adjustment, and blogging has most certainly fallen by the way side, my cooking has not. I feel like now I bring a bit more credibility to the concept of cooking after a long day of work. My solution the past few weeks has been to plan, and plan like its nobody's business.I sit dwn on grocery shopping day (normally Sunday) and plan out five to six meals. These meals serve as both dinner and lunch for me during the week. We have one leftover night and one salad night. In the past, my meal inspiration has been thought up/self-created. I don't feel like I have the luxury to do that as much right now and so I haven't. I tweak recipes to fit our household likes and dislikes but I use recipes from other sources. I shop for the food and then leave the what-to-cook decisions for each night. That allows for some flexibility in what we want to eat each night while also having a plan. For the next few weeks, I may only be posting once or twice a week but I will be giving you a week full of meals. The majority of the meals are vegetarian, though you can certainly add a side of meat or mix in meat to the majority of them.

Week 1 Meal Plan (Meal Plan, Grocery List and Recipes in Downloadable PDF)

1. Lentils with Carmelized Onions, original recipe from Whole Foods


2. Chickpea and Asparagus Salad, original recipe from Fitness Magazine


3. Leek Naan Pizza, original recipe from Fitness Magazine


4. Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad and Pita, original recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod


5. Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, and Avocado, original recipe from Once Upon a Chef

WEEK 1 GROCERY LIST

Lentils with Carmelized Onions

• 3 medium yellow onions


• 1 cup brown lentils


• 1 tsp cumin


• 1/2 tsp cinnamon


• 1/2 tsp sea salt


• 1/2 tsp black pepper


• 1/4 cup fresh parsley

Chickpea and Asparagus Salad

• 4 eggs


• 1/2 pound asparagus


• 1.25 tsp sea salt


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar


• 3 tbsp grated parmesan


• 2 tbsp parsley


• 1 lemon


• 1/4 tsp black pepper


• 1-15oz can chickpeas


• 1 cup radishes


• 1 small red onion


• 8 Bibb lettuce leaves or 1-2 heads of romaine lettuce

Leek Naan Pizza

• 2 tbsp olive oil


• 3 leeks


• 2 cloves garlic


• 2 ounces prosciutto


• 1/4 tsp salt


• 1/4 tsp black pepper


• 1/3 cup low-sodium vegetable or chicken broth


• 2 tbsp basil


• 4-oz goat cheese


• 4 pieces of roti or naan

Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad

• 1-15 oz can chickpeas


• 2 avocadoes


• 1/4 cup cilantro


• 1 small bunch green onion


• 1 lime


• 1 package of whole-wheat pita

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, and Avocado

• 2-15oz cans black beans


• 3 ears corn


• 2 red peppers


• 2 avocadoes


• 2 cloves garlic


• 2 shallots


• 2 tsp salt


• 1 tsp cayenne pepper


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• 2-3 limes


• 1/2 cup cilantro

WEEK 1 RECIPES

Lentils with Carmelized Onions

1. In a medium pot, bring lentils and 5 cups water to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover partially and simmer until lentils are tender but not falling apart, about 30 minutes. Drain, rinse in cold water and drain again.


2. While lentils cook, bring 1/2 cup water to a simmer in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until beginning to soften, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.


3. Add 1/4 cup water, cumin, cinnamon and salt and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook about 15 minutes or until onions are soft and browned, stirring frequently and adding 1/4 cup water halfway through cooking or if onions begin to stick to skillet.


4. Stir lentils, rice and pepper into skillet with remaining onions. Cook for 5 minutes.


5. Top with chopped parsley.

Chickpea and Asparagus Salad

1. Place eggs in a medium saucepan with enough cold water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Uncover, reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, place eggs in a large bowl of cold water. Gently crack eggs and leave in cold water 1 minute, then peel.


2. Return water to a boil over high heat.


3. Chop asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Add asparagus and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Drain.


4. In a medium bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, Parmesan, parsley, lemon zest, pepper and remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt.


5. Chop eggs and add to dressing. Stir in chickpeas, chopped radishes, diced onion and cooked asparagus. Divide salad among four plates lined with Bibb lettuce.

Leek Naan Pizza

1. Preheat the oven to 375F.


2. Chop leeks, tomatoes and basil.


3. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add leeks and saute until just beginning to brown, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, prosciutto, salt and pepper and saute 30 seconds.


4. Remove skillet from heat and stir in basil.


5. Place naan on a baking sheet. Brush lightly with 1 tbsp olive oil and top each with an equal amount of vegetable mixture and goat cheese.


6. Bake naan pizza for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Smashed Chickpea and Avocado Salad

1. Rinse and drain the chickpeas. Place in a medium bowl.


2. Using a fork or potato masher, smash the chickpeas.


3. Scoop avocado out of skin and add to the chickpeas.


4. Continue mashing the avocado and chickpeas together.


5. Add in cilantro, diced green onion, and lime juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.


6. Lightly toast pita and serve on the side.

Black Bean Salad with Corn, Red Peppers, and Avocado

1. Rinse and drain black beans. Set aside in large bowl.


2. Dice peppers, garlic, shallots and avocadoes. Add to the bowl with the beans.


3. Grill the corn until lightly browned. Cut the kernels off the cob. Add corn tot he bowl.


4. Mix in the remaining ingredients and stir.


5. Serve as a light main dish or alongside a grain or chicken.

Green Vegetable Pasta Sauce

Want a great way to trick people into eating vegetables? Kids, husbands, "I only eat meat" folks. Well this sauce may just be the perfect solution. In case you haven't been following, we purchased a Vitamix about a month ago. Vitamix was having a special for a refurbished model and we took the plunge (you still get the 5 year warranty even with the refurbished deal). Let me digress from the recipe for 2 seconds to explain to you why a Vitamix rocked my world: It is basically a blender on steroids. It has a 2 horsepower motor, which according to my husband could power a small boat, and a container that can hold 8-cups of liquid. I was skeptical at first. Why would anyone want to spend so much money when you can buy a cheap blender and a cheap food processor and be set. Oh boy was I wrong. We have used it every single day since purchasing it. You can literally put whole vegetables and fruits into it and it will pulverize them within minutes. This means that smoothies in the morning can consist of an entire apple (skin and all), banana, kiwi, pineapple, etc. and you end up with a liquid smoothie. You can put kale into it and it comes out so finely chopped you don't have to think about the fact that you are drinking kale. You can put entire tomatoes in for salsa or marinara sauce. Oh and don't let me forget that we made our own peanut butter in it - just put roasted peanuts in and no more than a minute or two later you have freshly made peanut butter in whatever consistency you prefer. So now that you know there is no shortage of reasons why this thing rocks, how about that recipe.

I through in kale, mushrooms, zucchini, sauteed onions and garlic, a bit of olive oil and water, some salt and pepper and again, within minutes had an entirely fresh and healthy pasta sauce. I added the sauce to some hot linguini and tossed it together. I added fresh cherry tomatoes (though had I roasted them, that would have been delicious too) and grated parmesan cheese to the mix and quickly had a dinner that could have had the brightest of them saying, "veggies? what?"

Green Vegetable Pasta Sauce

• 2 cups kale, rinsed and dried


• 1/2 yellow onion


• 4 oz baby bella mushrooms, rinsed and stems removed


• 1 cup zucchini, fresh or frozen


• 2 cloves garlic


• 4 tbsp olive oil


• 1 tsp salt


• 1 tsp pepper


• water

1. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a pan over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and sautee for 5 minutes.


2. Place sauteed onions, garlic, vegetables, salt, pepper, and the remaining olive oil in your Vitamix.


3. Set speed to Variable, #3 and turn on. Increase speed to #10 and using the tamper, push all of the vegetables down into the blade. Do so until the vegetables are thoroughly blended, roughly 30 seconds.


4. Turn the machine off. If sauce is not at your desired consistency, add water, 1 tbsp at a time, and blend on the lowest setting to incorporate water. Remember, when you add the sauce to the pasta, it will thin out a bit too so don't add more than 4-5 tbsp of water.


5. Toss sauce with pasta over low heat. Let cook for 5 minutes, warming the sauce. Add fresh tomatoes and grated cheese and serve hot.

Curried Lentil Squash Soup

If you are anything like me, you love curry. In fact, I have a whole slew of curry recipes for you all. This one is a very simple soup. It can be made in 45 minutes or put in the crockpot to simmer all day on low. You could easily spice it up with additional vegetables or leave it as a basic squash and lentil soup. As always, serve it with fresh bread or over basmati rice and you have yourself a delicious, quick supper.

Curried Lentil Squash Soup

• 1 lb butternut squash, fresh or frozen, cubed


• 1 cup green lentils


• 1 onion, diced


• 4 cloves garlic, minced


• 1 tbsp ginger


• 1 tbsp lemon juice


• 5-6 cups of water


• 1 tbsp curry powder


• 1 tsp salt

1. If using a crockpot, place all ingredients in the crockpot on low (4-6 hours) and sit back and relax.


2. If you are making this over the stove, place 1 tbsp olive oil in the pot you will be using to make your soup. Turn stove to medium heat and add garlic and onions. Sautee for 5 minutes.


3. Add squash and sautee for 10 minutes, stirring and letting the squash brown.


4. Add remaining ingredients, cover and let simmer on medium heat for roughly 40 minutes. Check at the 30 minute mark to make sure you don't need to add more liquid. If necessary, add an additional 1 cup of water.


5. If you prefer, use half water and half vegetable stock. This will make the dish a bit more salty and flavorful.