Maybe you already know this about me: I am CRAZY about Southern food. If I could eat Paula Deen's recipes all day long, every day, without exploding like a blimp, I surely would. That woman is also hilarious! If you haven't watched her cooking shows, I highly recommend them. Don't cook her recipes, though. They are all heart-attacks just waiting to happen.
We have very recently signed up for FIOS. Those of you who have been receiving cable for all of your adult lives must bear with me. I am nearing 50 years old and have NEVER had cable until now! So I am only just discovering the abundance of terrific shows. Just the Food Network alone has me hooked. (Not to mention Animal Planet. Love the Pitbulls and Parolees!)
Just this past week, I watched Trisha Yearwood's cooking show about her mother's recipes. Her mother died of breast cancer and before she died, she tried to change her diet in order to help her condition. But the changes she made were unfortunately terribly misguided.
Here is one example:
Apparently her mother normally made a Chicken Pot Pie. Now I would agree wholeheartedly that this is not a very healthy meal. Why not? Because most of the calories in this dish come from refined carbohydrates (white flour) and bad fats (trans-fat.) If I were to look at this dish and decide what to remove in order to make it healthier, the crust would be the first thing to go. Yes, pastry is tasty, but it is empty calories and tons of them. The second thing I would remove is the gloppy gravy which is also a blend of refined flour and fat. What would be left? Chicken (a healthy high protein food) and veggies. Instead of a pot pie, one could use these ingredients to make a very healthy soup or stew. Or just roast all of the above for a fantastic, yummy, and healthy dinner.
But the "healthy" version that Trisha Yearwood suggests is quite the opposite! She actually removed the CHICKEN from the chicken pot pie! (I was shocked!) Then she suggested using a STORE BOUGHT pastry crust made with VEGETABLE SHORTENING! (According to Yearwood, this is the "healthy" option!) Typical store bought crusts are made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil which has been shown to cause health problems. Because you see the word "vegetable" on a label DOES NOT make it a healthy product. In fact, trans-fats have been shown to be much more damaging to our health than the saturated fats they were designed to replace. If you must use a store bought crust, Trader Joe's makes a very good version using only butter.
Unfortunately there are still so many myths floating around out there about what is healthy and what is not. I was very disappointed and frustrated to see this misinformation being disseminated by a celebrity whom people might actually trust and believe. From now on, I'm sticking with Paula Deen. At least she isn't trying to convince me that her recipes are healthy!
We have very recently signed up for FIOS. Those of you who have been receiving cable for all of your adult lives must bear with me. I am nearing 50 years old and have NEVER had cable until now! So I am only just discovering the abundance of terrific shows. Just the Food Network alone has me hooked. (Not to mention Animal Planet. Love the Pitbulls and Parolees!)
Just this past week, I watched Trisha Yearwood's cooking show about her mother's recipes. Her mother died of breast cancer and before she died, she tried to change her diet in order to help her condition. But the changes she made were unfortunately terribly misguided.
Here is one example:
Apparently her mother normally made a Chicken Pot Pie. Now I would agree wholeheartedly that this is not a very healthy meal. Why not? Because most of the calories in this dish come from refined carbohydrates (white flour) and bad fats (trans-fat.) If I were to look at this dish and decide what to remove in order to make it healthier, the crust would be the first thing to go. Yes, pastry is tasty, but it is empty calories and tons of them. The second thing I would remove is the gloppy gravy which is also a blend of refined flour and fat. What would be left? Chicken (a healthy high protein food) and veggies. Instead of a pot pie, one could use these ingredients to make a very healthy soup or stew. Or just roast all of the above for a fantastic, yummy, and healthy dinner.
But the "healthy" version that Trisha Yearwood suggests is quite the opposite! She actually removed the CHICKEN from the chicken pot pie! (I was shocked!) Then she suggested using a STORE BOUGHT pastry crust made with VEGETABLE SHORTENING! (According to Yearwood, this is the "healthy" option!) Typical store bought crusts are made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil which has been shown to cause health problems. Because you see the word "vegetable" on a label DOES NOT make it a healthy product. In fact, trans-fats have been shown to be much more damaging to our health than the saturated fats they were designed to replace. If you must use a store bought crust, Trader Joe's makes a very good version using only butter.
Unfortunately there are still so many myths floating around out there about what is healthy and what is not. I was very disappointed and frustrated to see this misinformation being disseminated by a celebrity whom people might actually trust and believe. From now on, I'm sticking with Paula Deen. At least she isn't trying to convince me that her recipes are healthy!
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