Cook's Exchange | Healthy eating is about choices

The five foods you should never eat, the fruit that causes belly fat, vegan is the way and no red meat are some of email headlines that hit my inbox in the last couple of weeks.

Those emails are a pet peeve. Healthy eating is a lifestyle, not simply rules and regulations. It is all about choices, not omission.

Yes, processed foods with synthetic dyes are not a good choice. Eating meat from animals that have been given growth hormones or other drugs is another poor choice.

"It's moderation and choices," a dietitian friend told me. "Giving up favorite foods can lead to failure. Just prepare those favorites differently."

Bananas are a fruit that gets a bad rap from the "causes belly fat" group. Red meat is slammed in favor of plant proteins, but in reality both meat and plant proteins can co-exist nicely in the diet.

"My sons were watching a Disney program in which vegetarians were made fun of," said Fahamivu Sullivan, a mother of four sons, of Gulfport, Miss. "Can't we stop all this prejudice and say it is OK to be vegetarians or it's OK for me to eat pork or beef?"

Even the most avowed meat eaters know that going meatless at least one or two days a week can be healthy. Healthy is eating smart.

Author Jane Ibbetson, author of "Smart Eating Made Simple," says: "If your diet is not healthy, you will not be healthy."

A sure sign of unhealthiness is fatigue.

A healthy lifestyle, Ibbetson says, consists of three things: minimal toxic exposure, sufficient physical activity and proper nutritional intake daily.

"By tinkering with our diets, it is often possible to reduce aches and pains, regain energy and vitality and lower the risk for inflammation-related diseases such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, osteoporosis, obesity, heart disease, strokes and so on," Ibbetson says. "May foods can play a role in maintaining low inflammation."

Here's her lists of beneficial foods and potentially harmful foods:

Beneficial:

Eat more whole, intact grains (not whole-wheat flour products)

Extra-virgin olive oil or an oil blend of sesame, coconut and olive oil

Walnuts, almonds and cashews and flaxseed meat, pumpkin and sunflower seeds

Vegetable protein from beans and fermented soy products

Deep-colored fruits and vegetables, especially red, blue, orange, green, yellow and white

Fish at least twice a week

Drink 8-11 glasses of water per day (Yes, I know, water recently has come under fire, too.)

Take natural supplements as needed

Identify and avoid problem foods

Select organic food whenever possible

Potentially harmful foods:

"White foods" such as white flour, white rice, white pasta and white sugar

Processed foods with synthetic colorings, flavoring, preservatives and sweeteners

Animal products from animals given growth hormones, antibiotics, other drugs

Animal products from the offspring of cloned animals

- Animal products not from animals allowed free range (grass-fed)

Irradiated foods

Pasteurized and homogenized milk products

GMO foods

Making or eating Grandma's special pie is life enhancing, but not all the time.

"Turn your shopping and eating habits on," Ibbetson says.

She suggests making vegetables the main dish and supplementing with the other groups. Also eating real food, not junk.

In a mixed diet, animal and plant proteins supplement one another, she says.

Here are few recipes that Ibbetson offers in her book. Remember, she uses the plant proteins as the main dish and the meat as a side dish.

BACON-LACED SWEET AND SOUR GREENS

1/2 pound collard greens, turnip greens or kale

1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice

3 slices uncured pastured bacon

1- 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

4 teaspoons flour

3/4 cup hot water

3/4 tablespoon organic whole cane sugar

1 tablespoon raw cider vinegar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Dash black pepper

Thoroughly wash greens several times. Cut stems from leaves of greens. Save or freeze stems to use in making vegetable broth. Stack leaves, cut crosswise into small strips and sprinkle with lemon juice. Place greens with just the water and lemon juice that clings to the leaves plus1/4 cup water and a pinch of seas salt in a heavy saucepan. Cover and cook on lowest setting for 20 minutes. Drain.

Cook bacon until crisp while greens are cooking. Drain. Crumble bacon and set aside. Blend flour into hot olive oil. Add hot water; cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in sugar, cider vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir in drained cooked greens and crumbled bacon; heat through. Serve immediately. Makes 2-4 servings.

-- From "Smart Eating Made Simple"

SLIM PICKENS CHICKEN FINGERS

1 pound boneless, skinless, organic (cage-free, grass-fed) chicken tenders

1 to 2 cups panko breadcrumbs or whole grain bread crumbs

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1- 1/2 teaspoons multi-seasoning (recipe follows)

1/8 teaspoon garlic powder

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine bread crumbs and seasonings, set aside. Beat oil into egg whites, and roll chicken pieces into egg mixture, then in crumbs. Spread out on a greased baking sheet and bake from 15 minutes or until tender. Makes 4-5 servings.

Note: For an eggless version, roll chicken in rice milk, then in crumbs.

Multi-seasoning: equal parts paprika, celery seed, parsley flakes, oregano or dill and sesame seed.

-- From "Smart Eating Made Simple"

EASY AVOCADO-TUNA SALAD

2 ripe avocados, mashed

1 can water-packed white tuna, drained

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

6 black olives, finely chopped

1/3 cup carrots, finely chopped

1/4 cup apple, finely chopped

1 tablespoon organic pickle relish (made with no sugar, vinegar or preservatives)

Juice of 1/2 lime

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Peel and mash the avocado with a fork. Add all other ingredients and mix well. Makes 4-5 servings.

-- From "Smart Eating Made Simple"

This soup is rich in minerals and B-vitamins and is nutrient dense.

FASOLIA SOUPA

(White Bean Soup)

1- 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 medium red onion, diced

1 large carrot, sliced

1 rib of celery including leaves, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, minced

4 cups vegetable broth

2 tablespoons flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

2 cups cooked organic white beans, rinsed if canned

2 cups baby spinach, packed

1 teaspoon sea salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat (not too hot) the olive oil in a Dutch oven and sauté the onion, carrots and celery for 5 minutes. Add the garlic, broth and parsley, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the beans, spinach, salt and pepper and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Serve with crusty bread and black olives. Makes 4 servings.

-- From "Smart Eating Made Simple"

PRALINES EXPLAINED

Polly Council of Gulfport, Miss., shared her praline recipe last month, but a friend in Tennessee told her that she did not give enough instructions.

"These are very easy to make," Council said. "Sorry I didn't make clearer instructions. Call it a senior moment. I am 89 years old and this recipe was on the old box of brown sugar. It now comes in a 2-pound plastic bag."

PRALINES

1 pound brown sugar

3/4 stick oleo

1/3 cup evaporated milk

1 cup broken pecan pieces

Bring all ingredients, except nuts, to a boil. Lower to medium. Cook 6 minutes, no stirring. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla and nuts. Stir until thick (you can tell by cooking) drop by teaspoonfuls or wax paper over a tea towel. Makes 10-15 pralines.

SAUSAGE RECIPE, PLEASE

Norma Shiero of Parrish needs a recipe for breakfast sausage that uses poultry seasoning. She wants to make her own like she used to make in the school cafeteria for students.

Readers, if you have a recipe, please send it to me.

Andrea Yeager, can be reached at ayeager51@cableone.net and at Cook's Exchange, P.O. Box 4567, Biloxi, MS 39535-4567.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Cook's Exchange | Healthy eating is about choices ."