The Kathleen Show Blog

Mark Bittman, you are a friend of mine.

A perfect cookbook for us non-cooks
 

A special shout out to New York Times columnist and best-selling author Mark Bittman for a writing a cookbook in a language that even I, a not-so-good-cook, can read and speak.  If recipes with a long list of ingredients and lots of detailed measuring have your head hurting and your fingers dialing for take out, Kitchen Express is the book for you. The book contains 404 recipes divvied up by season and each recipe is only a few sentences long.

For example, on page 126:

Pear, Bacon and Goat Cheese Sandwich

"Fry a few slices of bacon until crisp. Smear slices of good bread with goat cheese and layer with thinly sliced pears and the bacon. Drizzle with a little balsamic vinegar and serve."

I love his “smear a little goat cheese on some good bread” approach. Because that, I can do.

Between Bittman and Chopped (see previous entry), my family is eating more real food.  And my kids are starting to see (or should I say taste?) that McDonald’s, and every processed-serving-knock-off like it, can’t compare. Stupid plastic toy or not.

Who is Mark Bittman? Watch his 2007 TED talk to find out why he is such an important player in the world of prevention. Two of my favorite quotes from this talk: "organic in letter, but certainly not in spirit" and "stop raising them industrially, stop eating them thoughtlessly".

This entry has been posted as part of our weekly Prevention Not Prescriptions Tuesday initiative, as well as Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Related Links:

Prevention Not Prescriptions: Tuesday, November 10

I've been "Chopped"

Kathleen's interview with Michael Pollan

Do you own McDonald's?

55 seconds to better blood sugar levels

Check out this practical, inexpensive and safe way to keep blood sugar/insulin levels in check.

(Control your blood sugar and help avoid a lifelong dance with diabetes, heart disease, cancer and...lovely belly fat.)

A special thanks to Shane Ellison, chemist and author of Over-the-Counter Natural Cures.

Related:

Amusing (and creepy) vintage drug ads

Food, sex and Michael Pollan

Beyond Prozac: Look mom, no side effects. Pill-less options for treating depression.

Wonder why your child is overweight?

Six reasons to choose organic milk

Period got you down? Well there's a pill for that too...

Hilarious Saturday Night Live spoof...

An oldie, but a goodie.

Netflix this: "King Corn"

A food film not to be missed.

Posted by Cari @ The Kathleen Show

This has been the year of films (and books) about our broken food system.  But one not to be missed is “King Corn” by filmmakers Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney.  

If you liked The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan (who is also interviewed in "King Corn"), you'll love this film.  These guys took what Pollan uncovered about corn to the big screen. 

The film follows Curt and Ian (and their corn) on a crazy journey—from farm fields in Iowa through our industrialized food system and onto our kitchen tables.  And what we get is a charming little film about what's wrong with how we farm and what we eat today (you guessed it...CORN!).  

For more on this fantastic documentary and how corn became the backbone of our diets (and expanding waistlines), listen to Kathleen’s interview with Curt Ellis.

This entry has been posted as part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday.

Previous Fight Back Friday entries:

Do you own McDonald’s?

Food fight heats up

Real food rock stars

Crap in, crap out

Pick of the Week: 18 year old Lance Armstrong

In the spirit of going for it and doing what you love, this week’s pick is a vintage video clip of Lance Armstrong winning his first national championship sprint triathlon at age 18.

You’ll laugh to see him as a young buck with tall 80's hair and a high-pitched voice. You'll get goosebumps at the talent fortitude he showed even at this tender age. And you might even get choked up when you consider that this was Lance before the cancer and the hellacious treatment he had to undergo…only to go on and win the Tour de France SEVEN times.

Related:

What lights your fire? Are you doing it? (Listen to my interview with Sir Ken Robinson--the world's leading and most beloved thinker on creativity.)

A High Performance Life (Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong's coach, weighs in on fitness, biking and coaching Lance.)

Shocking video on texting while driving

Next week, I'll be doing a show on texting while driving (with an emphasis on keeping our kids safe.) In the interim, I wanted to share the following PSA from the UK. 

Warning: This is a very graphic, haunting video. But it may be the most effective way to reach our teens (and ourselves?) about the dangers of text driving.





Please share with others and comment below with your thoughts on the video. I'd also love to know if you think this should be shown in schools.

I Am a Business Owner, and I Fully Support a Public Health Option

Here's my latest Huff Post piece. Thank you to everyone who tweeted it, blogged it, emailed it, and commented. 

We have to make our voices heard right now if we want things to be different. Please share this post and ask friends and family to pick up the phone or send their Congressmen an email. 

Read the full article here. 

An incredible weekend...

I have to admit that I'm a little stunned. Who would have thought that La Farge, WI (population 600 and something) would offer one of the coolest events in the country? 

And when's the last time you left a fair feeling healthier than when you came? 

The Kickapoo Country Fair turned out to be one the highlights of the summer. Organic food, great music, kick butt farmers, cooking/gardening/sustainability workshops, renowned authors, happy farm animals, neat stuff for kids. And almost every piece of trash was compostable (yes, even the straws). 

 
 A peek at the fair...

The sunny sunflowers on Organic Valley's grounds.

My future farmers?

Gotta love it.

Yes, that's a juggling bee...on stilts.

"Mommy, can we get a llama?"

My husband. Getting a massage at the country fair. No further comment.

Saluting our young, stud organic farmers. 

The big picture of organic and sustainable farming.

Michael Pollan vs. Whole Foods CEO John Mackey

Entertaining, informative, hopeful.

This debate happened two years ago but is as relevant today as it was then. Watch as food crusader Michael Pollan candidly slugs it out with Whole Foods CEO John Mackey. Pollan, author of the uber successful The Ominivore's Dilemma, had previously raised questions about the image Whole Foods has created with consumers versus the authenticity of its commitment to sustainable, local food and animal welfare.

I thought this was an excellent exchange and an exciting example of holding corporations accountable for their words and actions. I also thought John Mackey stepped up nicely (and graciously).

I still say shop your farmers' markets and local farms first. Then head to your co-ops and Whole Foods to round out the rest of your grocery list.

And if you missed my uncensored interview with Michael Pollan, now's your chance to listen online.

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