My family grew up on the Pacific coast of Peru, so we have a pretty serious love for fresh seafood. Unfortunately, these days, with apocalyptic reports that overfishing will bring us a fish-free ecosystem in the near future, it can be a challenge to navigate responsible consumption of our acquatic friends.

There are some great guides out there; mostly, they say, avoid most really big fish and stick to traditional methods of capture. The specifics, however, can be daunting: a certain fish species caught using certain methods might be A-OK in one part of the world, and entirely NOT OK in another. So though it’s wise to do your best to avoid the fish on the “avoid” list, it’s sometimes hard to get all the information necessary to make the right decision.*

As a result, if you want to feel relatively good about eating good fish and not go bankrupt, you should do it rarely, and you’ll probably have to fork over a pretty penny for the privilege regardless. In my family eating seafood has become a bit of a celebratory indulgence. Luckily, holidays call for just such an indulgence! At least, that’s the rationale I put forth to my mother in an attempt to convince her that we serve  a whole fish baked in a salt crust this Thanksgiving.

The rationale here was multifaceted: Before I apall you with my unorthodoxy, or impress you with my innovative zeal, I must clarify that this was to be the second of two celebratory meals. The former was a traditional (if Peruvian-flavored) spread of turkey, sweet potatoes, green beans, cranberry sauce, and the like. The second was more or less up to me.

In anticipation of some overconsumption of the traditional fowl and sides at this American occasion, I saw an incredible opportunity to both lighten up the meal and harness the celebratory occasion towards cooking a prized acquatic beast. So we pardoned the turkey and instead featured an unorthodox–but equally show-stopping, I must say–whole Red Snapper baked in salt at our evening meal.

A special secret about this dish: it’s quite spectacular, yet requires very little attention. You clean the fish, stuff it with some herbs, cover it in the salt mixture and pop it in the oven until it’s done –that’s it! When it’s ready, the salt crust will harden, requiring you to ceremoniously crack it open–an experience my brother referred to as very “carving the Turkey-esque.”   The flesh turns into an amazing texture: perfectly moist and flaky, no painstaking basting and constant second-guessing required. An all-around win, I’d say. Or in the words of my brother, who doesn’t gush out compliments often, “the perfect planning for the second meal.”

In sum: Fish are a unique species who merit our appreciation and consideration. Combining a little seafood indulgence with a solid understanding of what’s happening in our ocean is a good way to do justice to the species–and hopefully keep them around a little longer.

Ceremonies like Thanksgiving are the perfect occasion to indulge ourselves, but also step back and think about the wider implications of our decisions.  It may be difficult to convince yourself or your loved ones to sub this meal for the turkey, but I’d at least make the suggestion that this dish grace your table during one of the events this holiday season. I guarantee you a show-stopping conversation piece on many levels.

Recipe: Whole Fish Baked in Salt

Ingredients:

One whole white fish, approx 3 lbs (I used Red Snapper), gutted and cleaned
1 lemon, sliced
Several sprigs of chervil or other herbs (parsley, dill)
6 bay leaves
3 lbs of salt
3 egg whites
1/2 cup water

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Rinse the fish well with cool water and pat dry. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites until foamy. Combine the egg whites with the water and the salt and mix well.

Line a large sheet pan with aluminum foil, leaving a generous overhang. Spread about half the salt mixture on the foil, creating a bed for the fish. Place three of the bay leaves on the salt and lay the fish over them. Place the remaining three bay leaves over the fish and cover with the remainder of the salt. Press down well to form a tight crust over the fish.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, according to the size of the fish (if you’re not sure, opt for less time, as it’s better to undercook it slightly than to overcook the fish and dry it out). Allow to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

To serve, use a heavy metal spoon to crack the salt crust. Remove all of the salt from the top of the fish and place into a separate dish to discard. Peel the skin back and discard. The flesh of the fish should be perfectly cooked, moist, and not very salty at all. Serve with cut lemon wedges and make sure your guests know to be careful of the bones.

It’s important to value your ingredients. 

*To elaborate on the above confusion,  I must confess that I’m not sure whether this particular fish was a responsible buy. The sign said “wild, line-caught” red snapper, which I assumed meant it was safe for consumption without consulting where exactly it had been line-caught. Consulting this guide later left things considerably less clear.

Here are some good resources to learn more about our fish situation, and a call to think about our food more generally:

Infographic: Biomass of Popularly Eaten Fish [The Guardian]

A Clear View of Troubled Oceans [NY Times]

Seafood Watch Seafood Recommendations [Monterey Bay Acquarium]

Dan Barber: How I Fell in Love with a Fish [TED]

Thanksgiving Thrift: The Holiday as a Model for Sustainable Cooking [NY Times]

HEY YOU, Thanksgiving chef. Yes, you–you know who you are. You’ve been cooking up a storm since Tuesday evening, haven’t you? You’ve been battling with yourself and your loved ones for days: stuffing cooked in the bird, or apart?

Soon enough you’ll be painstakingly roasting that prize turkey, taking its temperature and basting it every 27.5 minutes. Your carefully dotted marshmallows will ooze over the sweet potatoes you roasted, mashed, and whipped. Your green beans will have been steamed and blanched to a remarkable viridian hue. The unbelievable flakiness of your new pie crust (2011′s major innovation?) will win you accolades for years to come.

And yet–after all this effort–minutes before the meal you will reach for that can opener and you’ll plop out the perfunctory cylinder of crimson red gel that is unfacetiously referred to as cranberry sauce.

What is up with that?

So many good excuses, I know. You’re tired. You’ve worked so hard! You’re not perfect (nobody is). Besides, nobody eats the stuff, anyway. There’s too much other food.

Don’t be silly. There is an amazing opportunity here! Approximately 5 minutes of your attention will yield something that is dramatically more delicious, dramatically healthier, and (perhaps most importantly, on this occasion) far more impressive–enlightening, even–to your guests and relatives.

So go, now–send that canberry gel packing back into shelf stability. Make this cranberry sauce instead. I promise you will be happy with this decision.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Recipe: Cranberry Sauce

Ingredients:

1 (12 oz) package cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 (10 oz) package raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup red wine
1/3 cup brown sugar
4-5 whole cloves (optional)
zest of 1 orange
pinch of salt

Directions

Add all of the ingredients to a medium-sized pot. Bring to a boil, then allow to simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally, until the berries are popped (10-15 minutes). Taste to check for sweetness and add more sugar or acid if needed. The sauce will thicken as it cools. May serve hot or cold.

Note: This recipe will make a loose, compote-like sauce. If you like it thicker (more gel-like, if you will) dissolve 1 tbsp cornstarch in a little of the red wine before the first step.

A Post-Thanksgiving Bonus:

Cranberry sauce is an indispensable accoutrement to the Thanksgiving table–which is why you’re making it today, yes?–but I think it should be given wider consideration. The sauce is not only a delicious accompaniment to almost any meat dish and a great spread for sandwiches, it is also wonderful as a topping for yogurt or ice cream.

See? Cranberry sauce: Perfect for breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert! Seriously, I’ve been putting some in my yogurt for the last several mornings, and my AM happiness has increased dramatically. Cranberry sauce is my jam. (OK, I’ll stop now.)

As you may recall, I have had my struggles with breakfast.  It’s such an important meal, yet one that is hugely challenging to do well in our hectic lives.

As someone who values breakfast, but is decidedly not a morning person, I need something that’s as quick and portable as it is healthy and satisfying.  It’s a tall order–and despite my best efforts, I continue to come up short.

Enter the Portable Parfait.

Why not chop fruit in the evening and mix it with yogurt and oatmeal, then take it with you the next day? A tragically simple concept, a beautifully satisfying solution.  I packed it into an empty peanut butter jar made of lightweight plastic so it wouldn’t weigh this bag lady down.

The beauty of this dish is that it’s open to endless iterations. My first parfait combined one of the season’s last nectarines with layers of banana and greek yogurt, topped with raw oatmeal and cinnamon.   Think of all the possibilities: adding dried fruit, chopped nuts, a little bit of honey or jam, a dollop of peanut butter… I think tomorrow I’ll do apples and raisins with tiny bits of candied ginger.

If you make one of these, please take a picture and share with me!

Recipe: Portable Fruit and Yogurt Parfait

1 ripe nectarine
1 ripe banana
3 tbs greek yogurt
1/4 cup raw oatmeal
sprinkle of cinnamon

Cut the nectarine into small cubes and thinly slice the banana.  In a clean peanut butter jar, layer half the nectarine with half the bananas and 2 tbsp of the oatmeal.  Add the rest of the nectarines, the bananas, and the yogurt.  Finish with the rest of the oatmeal and sprinkle with cinnamon.

Screw the lid on tight and you’re ready to go!

FoodCorps Service Members plant tomatoes during training week. Photo: Whitney Kidder.

When I first started this blog, I had just finished spending two crazy, exciting years working for a celebrity chef, and was looking to find a way to establish a career in food policy and Public Health. My dream was to find a path where I could use my passion for food to create long-term, large-scale change in the way this country–and the world–thinks about food.  Epicuriosa became a forum and an opportunity for me to explore initiatives in this field and begin to solidify my own food ethos.  It has been an amazing outlet for creativity, critical reflection, and connection with food systems thinkers.  I love this blog. So I wouldn’t have abandoned it for such a long time unless it was for a really, really good reason.

FoodCorps is that really good reason.

I learned about FoodCorps in the winter of last year.  Finally, an initiative that would rally our generation’s desire to make change in a sustainable, scalable, national-level way.  People had been calling for a program like this for a very long time, but nobody had pushed it into existence yet.  At that time I was in the middle of my MPH, trying to navigate a career change from the world of restaurants and celebrity chefs to nutrition and food policy.

I was so excited about FoodCorps, and so eager to get involved, that I immediately e-mailed Curt Ellis (the Executive Director and co-creator of “King Corn”) and asked him if he would meet with me and chat about the organization.  He was very busy putting together this program and was being barraged with e-mails just like mine, so what I heard back was something to the effect of, “Sure! We’d love your help!–we’ll let you know when we’re ready for it.”

But I wanted to get involved now! And I was very pushy.  I made it my mission to convince the team that I could be an asset to their organization.  Maybe it was the right time, right place, or maybe just the fact that I wouldn’t take no for an answer, but the team agreed to take me on as their Summer Associate, and the rest is program-launching, world-changing history.  Mission accomplished.

So what, exactly, is FoodCorps, and why is it so great?

FoodCorps is a new national nonprofit organization that addresses the childhood obesity epidemic through public service.  The centerpiece of our work is an AmeriCorps public service program that places highly motivated young leaders in limited-resource communities of need where they conduct hands-on nutrition education, build and tend school gardens, and bring high-quality local food into public school cafeterias.

FoodCorps Service Members teach nutrition education, build school gardens, and source food from local farms. Photo: Cecily Upton.

FoodCorps harnesses the energy and passion of young people who want to dedicate their lives to improving the way children eat.  They want to teach kids and their communities what healthy food is, how to grow and cook it, and put it on their plates in the lunch room.  We realized that there weren’t yet many career opportunities in this field where young people can do this type of work.  So we’re giving them career experience by placing them directly in the communities that need them the most.

In this fashion, we’re building capacity for grassroots organizations that are doing great work on the ground. Rather than developing a whole new infrastructure in each community where we work, we’re identifying these existing organizations and arming them with the resources to deepen and broaden the impact of the great work they are already doing.   We also hope to be the connecting bridge that will allow these organizations to share their successes and challenges, so that we can more quickly and easily replicate programs that work.

In this year, our first, 50 FoodCorps Service Members are working in diverse communities across 10 states (Arizona, Arkansas, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Michigan, North Carolina, New Mexico, and Oregon).  By 2020, we hope to have 1,000 Service Members in all 50 states (and DC!).  It’s an ambitious growth plan, but we think we can get there: in our first year, we received 1,229 applications for 50 Service Member positions!

Of course, any expansion will depend on whether we can get enough funding.  Currently, about one-third of our funding comes from an AmeriCorps grant (that’s federal money); the rest comes from foundations and individual donors.  As we grow, FoodCorps will rely more and more on individual contributions from people who want to see the food system change.

You’d love to help, you say?

Great! If I’ve inspired you to contribute to FoodCorps, you can donate to us online here.  If you want to stay informed about what we’re doing, you should sign up for our mailing list.  You can also help us bring school gardens to schools around the country by donating to our Garden Grants project at the checkout of your local Whole Foods.

The FoodCorps national team leaps for joy after meeting the first class of Service Members at the inaugural training in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Whitney Kidder.

As you can probably tell, I’m thrilled to have dedicated to my summer to this organization, and am wholly committed to its cause.  Apart from that, it’s been an absolute honor working with the FoodCorps team.  Literally, I’m sitting side by side with my heroes every day.  Their passion and commitment is what’s making this dream of creating enduring change an accessible reality.  And I can’t say I mind spending every day working next to people who also really, really love food.

I was also very excited to meet the FoodCorps Service Members. Photo: Whitney Kidder

It’s been an incredible summer.  Luckily, the adventure’s not over yet–I’ll be sticking with the team this fall as their Communications and Development Coordinator.

So while Epicuriosa may not rear her head here very often, she’ll be putting her skills to use in other venues.

If you’d like to keep up, you should follow FoodCorps on Twitter and like us us on Facebook, where we’ll be sharing stories and new developments.

You heard it from me: FoodCorps is gonna be BIG.  Stay tuned!

Learn More:

FoodCorps

The Garden Grants Project [FoodCorps and Whole Kids Foundation]

“Food’s New Foot Soldiers” [Mark Bittman, New York Times]

“Can FoodCorps Get America to Eat Healthfully?” [TIME]

If you’ve read through much of my blog you’ll be well aware of my undying love for Michael Pollan.  And you may know that I give mad props to Marion Nestle and Joan Gussow.  But one food-movement commenter I haven’t made much mention of is Mark Bittman.  Guess he just never made my heart sing before.  Until now.

If you haven’t read Bittman’s latest NYTimes piece on the economic argument for investing in obesity prevention, please do.  It’s the clearest, most well-put argument for food systems change I’ve seen to date.   Essentially, Bittman says, the current budget battle in Congress over 38 billion dollars is ludicrously small potatoes when compared to the enormity of healthcare costs we face due to preventable lifestyle-caused disease.  What’s a few billion dollars when “a sane diet alone would save us hundreds of billions of dollars and maybe more.”

I love the economic argument because it changes the dialogue about food from the (very politicizeable) yearning for a more idyllic lifestyle to the reality of the epidemic we face and what it’s going to cost us as a society.  A meager investment in changing the way we eat will reap dividends in terms of cold, hard cash.

I can’t put it better than Bittman:

Corny as it is to say so, if we can put a man on the moon we can create an environment in which an apple is a better and more accessible choice than a Pop-Tart. Some other billions of dollars must go to public health. Again: we built sewage systems; we built water supplies; we showed that we could get people to eat anything we marketed. Now all we have to do is build a food distribution system that favors real food, and market that.

How to Save a Trillion Dollars [Mark Bittman]

Hey, YOU. Yes, you. You know you’re supposed to be eating more whole grains, don’t you?  This may be shocking, but that recommendation isn’t really supposed to be an excuse to nosh on “whole-grain” fortified Sugaree-O’s or Pop-Tarts.  It may sound crazy, but eating “whole grains” should actually involve eating the whole grain. Whole.

Forgive me for being preachy, but this is kind of an exhausting subject.  As someone who’s own mother has politely shot down umpteen well-intended brown rice cooking suggestions, I know it’s hard.  I know!  But really, whole grains are delicious, and totally not scary.  Just try!

Bulgur, one of my favorite whole grains, is a form of wheat that has been par-boiled, dried and ground.  This means it retains almost all of its nutritious elements but also cooks fast (much faster than brown rice, for example).  I love it for its nutty flavor and texture.  Usually, I cook it just like rice, and eat it plain or toss it into salads.  This time, though, I’ve prepared it like risotto in order to create a creamier consistency, which, together with the fresh and dried mushrooms, forms an umami bonanza that may shock you to happy tears.  Bonus: this dish is totally vegan*, if you’re trying to eat like Bill Clinton for some reason.

*OK – Not vegan if you add a touch of butter to finish the risotto, as I strongly recommend that you do.

Recipe: Bulgur Mushroom “Risotto”

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion (or 4 shallots), finely diced
6 garlic cloves, sliced
1 cup bulgur wheat
1 cup fresh wild mushrooms (porcini, oyster, hen-of-the-woods, whatever you like)
1/2 cup dried wild mushrooms
1 cup warm water
1 1/2 cup vegetable or chicken stock
10-12 sprigs fresh thyme
1 tablespoon butter (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a small bowl, soak the dried mushrooms in one cup of warm water and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a medium-sized pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and saute until translucent, 3-5 minutes.   Add the fresh mushrooms and half the thyme sprigs and continue cooking until slightly browned, another 3-5 minutes.  When the mushrooms are ready, add the bulgur wheat and allow to toast lightly, about 1-2 minutes.

Next, add the dried mushrooms and their soaking liquid and bring to a boil.  Cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed.   When the grains appear dry, add 1/2 cup of the stock and continue stirring occasionally.  Repeat until all the stock has been absorbed and the grains are tender.  Remove from heat, then add the remaining thyme leaves and butter if desired.  Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with more fresh thyme.

“

Carlye Burd explains the importance of fiber in tempering the glycemic load of foods, an important consideration for diabetic patients. //Photo: Amber Hsiao

Whew. I’ve just stepped off a red-eye flight from San Diego, where I spent the last two days attending the Clinton Global Initiative (CGIU) conference.  I’m sipping a coffee, trying to fight off the exhaustion and gather my thoughts on what was an incredibly energizing, inspiring, and challenging event.  The CGIU conference is meant to foster social entrepreneurship among passionate young people who make commitments to address some kind of problem — large or small — in their community or around the world.  Students then gather together to share experiences and resources dedicated to replicating or expanding their projects.

I attended the conference with my friend and co-conspirator Carlye Burd, who is also the co-founder and vice president of my student group at Columbia, Students for Food Policy and Obesity Prevention (FPOP).  For our commitment, we wanted to work with the Columbia community to address a huge unmet need in the healthcare world: despite the fact that food-related disease is rapidly becoming the biggest public health issue in our country, doctors are still being taught next to nothing about food and nutrition.

Another dirty secret: many of the medical students and doctors who are treating the results of poor dietary habits aren’t the best eaters themselves.  I can attest to that — I once dated a surgery resident who proudly told me he was subsisting on protein shakes.

In order to address this deficit, we decided to go to young future doctors and give them some basic information and cooking tips, so that they could walk the talk and feel comfortable discussing food with their patients.  In order for the doctors to preach, we wanted to show them that they really could create delicious, healthy dishes that were very affordable.  We held the first workshop last Thursday and I’m proud to say it was a resounding success.  The doctors were incredibly engaged in the material and were truly interested in learning about the benefits of foods.

Importantly, we insisted on focusing not just on nutrients (beta-carotene, for example), but on foods (carrots!).   We also created dishes based on culturally-appropriate foods their patients already use.  In this case, working with doctors who practice family medicine in Washington Heights, we chose ingredients and flavors that would be familiar to the Dominican population: corn, beans, yucca, sweet potatoes, lime, cilantro.

The direct aim of this program is to get doctors to feel comfortable talking to their patients about food — even using cooking practices as a “vital sign,” for example, since it’s very difficult to eat healthily on a low-income budget if you don’t cook.

The larger, indirect aim is to cultivate a sense of responsibility in the medical community for helping shape the food environment.  Doctors have a notoriously large voice in shaping public opinion and public policy.  If they become advocates for changes in our food system, we are much more likely to achieve the large-scale environmental change we need to ensure that the default choice is not the unhealthiest choice.

“

Department of Family Medicine residents receive an overview of the spread of obesity in the United States during the last 25 years. // Photo: Amber Hsiao

“

A medical resident receives a tutorial on how to chop an onion from Carlye Burd. //Photo: Amber Hsiao

“

Medical residents enjoy one of the dishes from the demonstration: a corn and bean salad, using canned vegetables to show how to cook with convenient, low-cost foods. //Photo: Amber Hsiao

Special thanks to FPOP executive board members Carlye Burd, Elena Blebea, and Amber Hsiao for pulling together the workshop, and to Ben Maring for his inspiration and advice.

NEW YORK, NY — In response to the obesity epidemic in New York City, several student groups at Columbia University Medical Center will host a panel of experts on March 24, 2011 to discuss the state of the obesity in the city’s minority communities.

Across the United States, obesity poses one of the most serious threats to the population and health care system—and New York is no exception.

“Manhattan residents are some of the healthiest in the country, so it may come as a surprise…that according to the Department of Health, over 22 percent of adult New Yorkers are obese,” said Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President and keynote speaker for the forum. “Scarcity of fresh foods and produce is most prevalent in low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, contributing to the disproportionate disease burden carried by the city’s minority populations.”

According to the New York City Department of Health Community Health Survey, among New York City black and Hispanic populations, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is approximately two times the prevalence in white populations—a health disparity traceable in large degree to fundamental social and environmental problems.

A diverse group of expert panelists will provide insights on the issue to critically examine the socioeconomic and political structures that cause these health disparities. Topics up for discussion include the role of food deserts, community mobilization, nutrition education and food prices. The conference will serve as a springboard for further discussion of the development of strategies to combat the obesity epidemic in New York City.

“I commend all of the sponsors for hosting this meaningful forum on an issue that is afflicting far too many New Yorkers,” Stringer said.

The conference, which is open to everyone, will take place at Columbia University Medical Center’s Alumni Auditorium.  A reception will follow. State-issued ID will be required to enter the building. Please RSVP to cu.fpop@gmail.com.  Further details may be found below.

###

Conference Details:

Minority Health Forum: A Citywide Assessment of Obesity in Minority Populations
March 24, 2011
7:00 – 8:30 pm
Columbia University Medical Center
Alumni Auditorium
650 W. 168th Street, New York, NY 10032

Keynote Speaker:
Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President

Panelists:

Cathy Nonas, Director of Physical Activity and Nutrition for the DOH
Michael Hernandez, Community Outreach Manager, Healthy Mondays Campaign and the Harlem Health Promotion Center
Dr. Olajide Williams, MD, Founder, Harlem Hip Hop Public Health Education Center

Moderator: April Velasco, Acting Regional Health Administrator, Health and Human Services

Sponsored by:

Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health
Students for Food Policy and Obesity Prevention (FPOP)
Future Healthcare Leaders (FHL)
Black and Latino Student Caucus (BLSC)

Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons
Physicians for Human Rights (PHR)
Black and Latino Student Organization (BALSO)

McDonald's Turns Oatmeal Into the Next Breakfast Dessert. Photo: McDonalds

As a devout lover of oatmeal (see here and here), I could not help but feel ambivalent about seeing it as a new trend in to-go breakfasts.  When Starbucks started selling the porridge a few years ago — perfectly branded as “Perfect Oatmeal” — I though it was a genius move on their part:  Finally, a truly healthy, real food breakfast at America’s most ubiquitously overpriced purveyor of the morning jolt.

Nevertheless, I’m kind of embarrassed to say, I never tried the Starbucks oatmeal.  And it wasn’t just because I realized that in addition to the real food I would be happy to consume (whole-grain rolled oats and dried fruit), they also added all kind of perplexing stuff (oat flour, calcium carbonate, salt, guar gum, caramel color, reduced iron, vitamin a palmitate, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid).   It was because I just couldn’t stomach the $3 ticket price for a food that I could make myself, very quickly, which would be both tastier and healthier, at a minute fraction of the cost.

So back to Mickey D’s.  Echoing its attempt to give us healthier options — or is it to capture a larger share of the market? — McDonald’s has also recently rolled out an oatmeal offering.  And as with their smoothie program, I am open to considering the merits of such an offering.  Because if there is an effective way to deliver food cheaply to communities that need it, it’s through McDonalds.  But, while not surprising, it turns out that just as with their “Real Fruit” Smoothie, the McDonald’s oatmeal is a dish full of promise that fails to deliver — hard.

The principal issue, unsurprisingly, is sugar.  The oatmeal that McDonald’s delivers is a glycemic bomb.  The standard version,  which features brown-sugar, apples, cranberries, raisins, and a “touch of cream”* contains 32 grams of sugar.  If you happen to be health conscious and order yours brown sugar-free, your oatmeal still packs 18 grams of sugar.

As Mark Bittman points out in today’s New York Times: the McDonald’s product contains more sugar than a Snickers bar and only 10 fewer calories than a McDonald’s cheeseburger or Egg McMuffin. Even when you order it without the brown sugar it has more calories than a McDonald’s hamburger.

As I’ve pointed out before, one of our culture’s biggest dietary failings is in conflating breakfast with dessert.  A dessert is a dessert is a dessert, and is meant to be enjoyed as one.  Don’t get me wrong — you can eat oatmeal for dessert too, and that’s something I do sometimes.  But a breakfast should never involve this much sugar.

McDonald’s, you disappointed me with your falsely fruity claims on the smoothie front.  But converting one of my favorite whole foods into a sugar-delivery system? This is personal.

*Complete McDonald’s Oatmeal Ingredients list: Whole grain rolled oats, brown sugar, food starch-modified, salt, natural flavor (plant source), barley malt extract, caramel color. Apples, calcium ascorbate (a blend of calcium and vitamin C to maintain freshness and color). Dried sweetened cranberries (sugar, cranberries), California raisins, golden raisins, sunflower oil, sulfur dioxide (preservative). Milk, cream, sodium phosphate, datem, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium citrate, carrageenan.

How to Make Oatmeal . . . Wrong [NYTimes]

Earlier:

The New Paragon of Smooth? Defrosting McDonald’s “Real Fruit Smoothies”

Recipe: Cinnamon Oatmeal with Blueberries and Candied Ginger

I spent all day yesterday at TedXManhattan‘s first “Changing the Way We Eat” conference.  Speakers from environmental activist Laurie David (yep, Larry David’s ex) to SlowFood‘s Josh Viertel gave presentations on many aspects of the food movement.  The ambitious crowd of speakers and spectators were there for one reason: to fix the way we feed ourselves, for the benefit of our health and our environment.

The conference was buzzing with energy… not only because of the speakers but because the audience was “hand-selected” to include individuals passionate about different aspects of food justice.   Speaking with my fellow attendees was just as exciting and enriching as hearing from the speakers themselves.

Going to a conference like this — with somewhat like-minded individuals who read the same information you do, and move in the same circles you do — forces you, in a way, to define your niche, your “mission.”  It was really exciting to see how kept finding myself moving closer to an idea of what that is.

Basically: I want to make cooking cool.  Because if cooking is cool, then the time spent in the kitchen, gathering ingredients, researching recipes, and yes — even the money spent buying ingredients — will seem worth it.  I believe that — with exceptions, of course — it’s not that people don’t have time to cook.  It’s that they don’t value time spent cooking.  We are spending four hours a day watching television, or up to seven hours a day “surfing” the internet. So I believe that the trick to getting people to eat healthier is to get them to care so much about cooking that they choose to spend the time making food rather than sitting on the couch watching reality TV.

So how do we make cooking cool?  How do we get little boys and little girls to ask their parents to spend time in the kitchen?  How do we make individuals WANT to take on that knowledge and those skills?

I think the answer lies in pop culture.  People are already watching endless hours of cooking on TV.  But they’re still not cooking themselves.  Why not?

These are the questions I’m hoping to answer…