Yeah, the thing with the warm iron and the paper does work, though it takes a little time. I used it the other day to get candle wax out of my carpeting and was scared to death that I would melt the carpeting, but it worked great. Wax has a really low melting point, so you don't need the iron that hot. I used paper towels and the process was slow, but now you can't tell where the wax was.
Hmmmm . . . do you think this would work with kohlrabi? I keep getting these kohlrabis in my CSA box and I'm not sure what to do with them. Raw kohlrabi tastes similar to a turnip, so I wonder if I could make the switch.
I had the same reaction, onalark! Hypothyroidism is actually pretty common, especially in women. Everybody should know the symptoms because they can be subtle: unexplained weight gain, depression, feeling cold, weakness or tiredness, constipation, dry skin, etc. When I got diagnosed, I had most of these symptoms, plus the beginning of a goiter (enlarged thyroid gland in the neck).
Okay, between the two of us, that's plenty of pedantry for one thread. ;)
Interesting post, Robin! I think most people have forgotten why salt is iodized.
Well, if TVP gives you the heebies, you can always just mash up some beans and mix them in with the beef.
Some good tips here, especially about beans. They really are a great deal--super nutritious, cheap, and versatile. Another way to eat them is in the form of TVP (textured vegetable protein), which is made from soybeans and can be found in health-food stores. You can replace 1/2 the ground beef in many recipes with beef-flavored TVP and nobody will notice the difference. Healthier and cheaper than all beef.
I've gotten some good deals on healthy foods at places like Big Lots; for example, my local Big Lots always seems to have canned pumpkin at a great price. I've also started going to the local Oroweat Bakery Outlet (my sister and I grew up calling it "the used bread store"); last weekend I got three loaves of bread, hamburger rolls, sandwich rolls, and bagels (all 100% whole wheat) for $6.
Sorry, don't mean to nitpick, but there ain't a thing "healthy" or "light" about chicken thighs. They have more saturated fat than a lean steak, such as top sirloin. Removing the skin helps, but I don't think it solves the problem.
I agree with you on the coupon thing, stonechiper; most coupons I see are for nutrition-free junk, like the latest trans-fat-laden cookie (each one individually packaged for maximum resource consumption). Or they're for overpriced name brands like Tide. Sorry, but even if you double the coupon and buy the product on sale, it's still more expensive than the cheaper detergents.
Well, none of the grocery stores here double coupons, we don't have CVS here, and the drug stores here don't have programs like that . . . I also think that this kind of shopping has hidden costs that aren't considered when you just look at register receipts. For example, how many newspapers do you have to subscribe to in order to get that many coupons? How much gas do you have to use in order to run from store to store? And how much time do you have to put in to organize all this? I'm not saying that these costs do away with the savings, but the amount you save probably isn't as much as is claimed.
Here's the other one: Tuna and White Bean Spread. This recipe came from Prevention magazine. The combination is unusual (at least in this country--the reason I tried it was because I had read that tuna and beans is a common combination in Italy), but it really works. I don't usually care for tuna, but I like this.
Roughly mash I can solid white tuna (drained) and 1 c. cooked white beans together with a fork. Stir in 1 minced clove of garlic, 1 heaping t. dried basil, 1/4 heaping t. dried oregano, 1 t. olive oil, 4 t. cider vinegar, 1/8 t. salt, and 1 small can sliced black olives, drained. Serve on crackers or in a pita. (The original recipe called for Kalamata olives, but they're a little strong-tasting for me.) Important: this recipe needs to be chilled for at least a couple of hours before you eat it.
My pleasure, fozziebayer!
For the hummus, soak 3/4 c. dried garbanzos overnight, then drain and rinse. Saute 1 chopped onion and 2 chopped garlic cloves in a little olive oil until onion is soft. Transfer onion and garlic to the pot with the beans, cover with water, and simmer until the beans are tender and most of the liquid is gone. Mash beans in food processor with 1 1/2 T. tahini, 2 1/2 T. lemon juice (bottled is okay), and 1 t. garlic powder (yeah, yeah, I know, but it works!) You might need a little salt if the tahini is unsalted. To pack this for lunch, put some in a shallow plastic container and drizzle a little olive oil over it. Put chopped cuke, tomato, and green onion in a little separate container. Add some quartered pitas in a baggie and you're set.
This is the best, most flavorful hummus I've ever had, but some folks might find it a little too garlicky. I've never had any complaints, though--even people who hate beans like this recipe, especially with the vegetables on top.
Dmarina, thank you for the information about Expecta. I did not realize it was made by a formula company! I knew there was something about it that did not seem quite right (not straightforward enough, if that makes any sense) but had not bothered to find an alternative, since this is what my doc recommended (I am bad about trusting authority figures w/o question). Now I plan to look for what you are taking.
Sieseye, thank you for all this information. I had read that seaweed was a good source of iodine, of course, but I had not heard of kelp powder, which sounds like a good solution. I have been interested in eating more seaweed for a few years but have never managed to rotate it into my regular cooking habits.
Kelp powder is a natural way to get iodine and in fact is pretty much how fish get it. Powdered kelp can be bought in bulk in most health stores, co-ops and places like Whole Foods then added to foods such as stews or smoothies. It can also be bought as supplements to be taken as a capsule or tablet. I think that's a better and much more natural way to obtain iodine than have it supplemented to the sodium. Kelp also has a lot of other valuable minerals and vitamins.
Sea salt does have some natural iodine and a bunch of other nutrients that table salt doesn't have (or has stripped out in refining).
Sea Salt vs. Table Salt · "Sea salt contains about 80 mineral elements that the body needs. Some of these elements are needed in trace amounts. Unrefined sea salt is a better choice of salt than other types of salt on the market. · Ordinary table salt that is bought in the super markets has been Stripped of its companion elements and Contains additive elements [sometimes] such as aluminum silicate to keep it powdery and porous."
However, there is such a thing as too much iodine. But, a lot of the thyroid issues these days are environmental particularly perchlorate which is part of rocket fuel (and used as a fertilizer in Chili which is another reason to buy local) and has contaminated a lot of our drinking water and consequently getting into a lot of veggies working its way up the food chain even getting into cow's milk. PCBs are another tough one for thyroids (thank you Monsanto) and fish and shellfish contamination is really bad in that case.
Environmentalism isn't just for hippies anymore. :]
still, if you give this a shot, let me know how it turns out. I'd bet the cooking time would be a bit shorter, but it sounds good - worse case scenario, you have the base for a great puree. Kohlrabi pasta sauce, anyone?
i never have used iodized salt and i'm not going to start now that i'm pregnant. i feel like i get plenty of it from other sources...not "possibly mercury loaded seafood" either. i never even thought about it until you posted it! i'm taking nordic naturals DHA supplements, which i used before i was pregnant, as well. i plan on breastfeeding, and the formula companies (Enfamil's Expecta) can screw themselves if they think they're still going to get my money. besides, who knows where they get their fish oil from? is it even fish oil in their DHA supplements? because i've read studies that the plant-based ones aren't nearly as effective.
Ah, the fun of halogens and you. Let's see, pregnant, wanting to assure that I am getting enough iodine in my diet, and have to make the choice between consuming two servings of possibly mercury loaded seafood a week, or a pinch of iodized salt each day containing 200 mcg of iodine coming primarily from the addition of a tiny amount of potassium iodide? Hmmm...
When I was pregnant I specifically threw OUT my iodized salt. Like you stated in your post, you can get your iodine from other sources.
@lexschmidt, I take the Whole Foods brand prenatal multivitamin that only has to be taken once a day (I think there is also a version that you take three times a day). I also take a DHA supplement called Expecta which you can buy over the counter at CVS. The prescription vitamin was also a vitamin plus separate DHA supplement, but my doctor said Expecta was just as good. I still feel quite skeptical about vitamins in general. Would rather get everything from food but am pretty sure I'm not eating enough seafood to get all the good fish oil and iodine I need.
I have not yet encountered anything in my reading that suggests that unrefined sea salt supplies quantities of iodine similar to what is provided by iodized salt. But the web is wide, and as I've said, I'm no expert...so I will definitely look into it further. I would RATHER use sea salt, but for some reason iodized salt doesn't freak me out the way some fortified foods do. Even if I use the Michael Pollan test--would your grandmother have recognized this as food?--the answer is yes.
Thank you for your extremely civil comments about hypothyroidism! I do know that it still exists, of course, and should have said that systematically iodizing salt vastly reduced cases of iodine-deficiency-induced hypothyroidism, which was a widespread problem in USA in the early years of the last century and still is a problem in some developing countries. As you said, iodine deficiency is not the only cause of hypothyroidism, and I'm sorry I wasn't more specific. I was (selfishly) focused on the fact that iodine deficiency can be a problem for pregnant women (or their fetuses) even if iodine deficiency/hypothyroidism has never troubled them before...having been surprised to stumble across this fact so late in my pregnancy.
@ PommeDG: I'm not sure that iodized salt is "proven." We're not sure what any of the side effects of the chemical process used to force iodine into refined salt might be, and what effect that has been having on our bodies over the past 100 or so years - and since unrefined sea salt already contains iodine and other trace minerals, I'm not sure there's an advantage to using the chemically-altered stuff in this situation, other than its lower price.
In countries where adequate nutrition is unavailable, iodized salt is an important resource. For someone like Robin, who clearly has many food and supplement options, iodized salt is of dubious value, especially as she's expressed her preference for sea salt.
But then again, if using iodized salt cuts down a little on the stress of prenatal nutrition, where there are so many anxiety-causing factors, it is certainly worth doing!
Thanks for the information on eating healthy without paying too much. Thank you for the four tips!
We recently wrote an article on what is healthy to feed children at Brain Blogger. How in the world do we find out what to feed our children? What's the most important factor? Is there a most important factor?
We would like to read your comments on our article. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Kelly
The list completely ignores the realities of shopping and the insane American preference for specific cuts of meat.
You can eat chicken or pork on sale from Food4Less for much cheaper than eggs from WholeFoods (WholePaycheck).
You can get far more meals out of cheap cuts like whole chicken legs than expensive ones like boneless skinless breasts.
Canned tomatoes will take you much farther than fresh, are often higher quality, and can be bought for lower prices at places like Wal*Mart.
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