10 Guidelines for Eating Clean in 2016

We’re only five days into 2016 and already the phrase “New Year, New Me” is overdone. And while your eyes might roll into the back of your head after the 45th Facebook status you’ve read that contains those words, the sentiment behind them shouldn’t be brushed off so quickly.

While it’s easy to be a skeptic, we all have plenty of things we could do to improve our day-to-day lives and overall health. So why not start making those improvements now? And if you’ve been looking for a sign, here it is: we challenge you to eat clean in 2016!

Now, we’re not saying this will be easy; in fact, we’ve got a whole blog series lined up this month to help teach you about and get you in the habit of clean eating. Because if we’re going to make this resolution stick, it needs to not feel like a chore.

So What is Clean Eating?
It’s easiest to think of clean eating less as a diet and more as a lifestyle. The guidelines are pretty simple, but your meal plan could change drastically if you decide to make the switch. The main thing to remember about eating clean is that it’s about consuming food in its most natural state, or as close to it as possible. Clean eating is an approach to food and food preparation that leads to an improved life one meal at a time.

The Guidelines
“Clean Eating” magazine came up with this list of guidelines to help you on your clean eating journey. While they may seem like a lot at first, they’re really teaching you how to make better decisions regarding healthy eating:

• -Eat 5-6 times a day.
• -Three meals and 2-3 small snacks, including lean protein, fresh fruits and veggies, and a complex carbohydrate with each meal
• -A steady intake of clean food energizes the body and burns calories efficiently all day.
• -Choose organic, clean foods whenever you can.
• -If you’re on a limited budget or have picky eaters, make meat, eggs, dairy, these 12 fruits and vegetables your main grocery priority.
• -Drink at least 2 liters (that's about 8 glasses) of water a day.
• -Read the labels.
• -Clean foods typically contain just one or two ingredients, so put back the products with long lists of human-made ingredients.
• -Avoid processed and refined foods.
• -This includes white flour, sugar, bread, and pasta. Try whole grain foods instead.
• -Know the enemies of clean eating.
• -Steer clear of anything high in trans fats, anything fried, or anything high in sugar.
• -Also avoid preservatives, color additives, stabilizers, emulsifiers, and fat replacers.
• -For a more comprehensive list, Hungry for Change has come up with this list of the top 10 food additives to avoid.
• -Aim to have essential fatty acids incorporated into your clean diet every day.
• -Learn about portion sizes, and work towards eating within them.
• -Reduce your carbon footprint.
• -Opt for produce that is seasonal and local. It’s less taxing on your wallet and our environment.
• -P.S. communEATi can really help with this one!
• -Take it with you.
• -Pack your lunch for work or on outings so you always have clean food on the go.

We hope you had a great New Years celebration, and we hope to help you on your clean eating journey! Make sure to keep up with us on here, Facebook, and Twitter for more clean eating tips, gardening how-tos, and communEATi app updates. We’re excited for all that 2016 has to offer and glad to have you growing with us!

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Happy New Year from communEATi!

Happy 2016 everyone! Welcome to a new year, bright with promise. 2015 was tumultuous to say the least, and with 2016 being an election year, things probably won’t be slowing down anytime soon. So why not arm yourself -- and fuel yourself -- with some luck for the year?

We told you about the food considered lucky to eat on New Year’s earlier this week, and now we’ve found some lucky meals for your first day of 2016!

Breakfast
For your first meal of 2016, we recommend a fruitful brunch of pomegranates and grapes paired with this delicious Baby Spinach Omelet. If you need to take breakfast on the go, try this toasted bagel with spinach and eggs. Foods in the shape of a ring are thought to bring good luck because they symbolize coming full circle.

Lunch
For lunch, we’re going way down south with a New Year’s Day classic from Charleston, South Carolina: Hoppin’ John. Loaded with coin-shaped black-eyed peas, this dish is thought to be loaded with luck. Many modern recipes replace the ham hock in the traditional recipe with chicken stock, but we recommend using ham if you can. (Remember? Eating pork is considered lucky, chicken isn’t.)

Dinner
If you didn’t get to use pork for lunch, don’t worry: we’ll get you that luck with dinner. Mix things up for your final meal of the day with this veggie filled Pork and Noodle Stir-Fry. Vegetarian? Substitute tofu for the pork (or nix it altogether) and vegetable broth for the chicken broth and you can soak up all the luck of the noodles in this dish too!

We wish you all the luck and happiness possible in this new year! And make sure you follow communEATi on Facebook and Twitter so we can keep you up to date on all the big things happening for us this year.

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7 Lucky Foods to Eat on New Years

Later this week, we get to celebrate a new start with the coming of 2016! And what better way to celebrate than with food? For centuries, all around the world, people have been eating these foods for luck, prosperity, health, and longevity in a new year. And if the whole world’s doing it, there must be some truth to it, right?

Grapes
This New Year’s midnight tradition comes from Spain: before you take your first sip of champagne of 2016, grab 12 grapes to pop one by one as the clock strikes 12. Small and round, grapes resemble coins and are meant to bring fortune in the new year. Each grape represents each month of the year: if the grapes are sweet, it’s smooth sailing, but if one happens to be sour, watch out for that month.

Cooked Greens
Load up on green, leafy veggies on the first day of the year for good fortune. Because their leaves look like folded money, greens are symbolic of economic fortune, and it’s believed the more you eat, the more fortunate you’ll be (which is true, health-wise). So whether you go with the Danish recipe of stewed kale sprinkled with sugar and cinnamon, German sauerkraut (cabbage), or collards (the southern US green of choice), eat up and be prosperous!

Fish
Fish are lucky in three ways: their scales resemble coins, they travel in schools (representing prosperity), and they swim forward (symbolizing progress). Most cultures eat some type of fish for an abundant year: Danes and Italians tend to dine on cod New Year’s Day, while herring is eaten at midnight in Poland and Germany. In Japan, herring roe is eaten for fertility, shrimp for long life, and dried sardines for a good harvest. And in China, they prepare fish with the head and tail still intact to ensure a good year, start to finish.

Pomegranates
Pomegranate seeds are considered lucky because they represent prosperity in the new year. In Turkey, they take it two steps further: the red color represents life and fertility; and the medicinal properties represent health. Don’t like pomegranates but want all of those things in 2016? Go Greek: when the new year turns, it’s a customary there to smash a pomegranate on the floor in front of your door to break it open and reveal the seeds; the more seeds, the more luck.

Noodles
The longer, the better! In China, Japan, and other Asian countries, it’s customary to eat noodles, signifying longevity, on New Year’s Day. Typically, the idea is to cook and eat them without breaking or chewing them, so we recommend serving up a little Stir-Fry-day special for this New Year’s Day.

Pork
The custom of eating pork on New Year’s is based on the idea in countries like Cuba, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, and Austria that pigs symbolize progress because they root forward with their snouts, seeming to never move backwards. Their rotundness also signifies wealth and prosperity in places like Italy and the US. Veg(etari)an? Try an Austrian tradition and make some mini-marzipan pigs to get in on this lucky food.

Legumes
Beans, peas, and lentils are symbolic of money, and because they swell when cooked, they have been eaten with financial rewards in mind since Roman times. Today, many countries have recipes that include lentils to knock out two birds with one stone: in Italy, they have cotechino con lenticchie; in Germany, lentil or split pea soup with sausage; and in the southern US, a dish called hoppin’ john is served with black-eyed peas, pork, greens, and rice.

While you’re stocking up on groceries for your New Year’s Luck Feast, be sure to avoid these foods that are considered unlucky:

• -Lobsters move backwards, which is said to lead to setbacks in the new year.
• -Chickens scratch backwards, which is said to cause regret or dwelling on the past.
• -Some warn against eating ANY winged fowl because good luck could “fly away.”

Are there any foods that are a part of your New Year’s tradition missing from this list? Tell us about them in the comments! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter so you can stay up to date on all that communEATi has to bring you in the new year!

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Happy Holidays from communEATi!

Merry Christmas from communEATi!

We hope this seasons’ greeting finds you in the company of friends and family, sharing a delicious meal with love and laughter. We know you want to get back to them, so we won’t keep you too long, but we didn’t want to let the day go by without sending you and yours some holiday cheer! And what better way to wish you all the joys of the season than with some of our favorite holiday movie quotes?

“It came without ribbons! It came without tags! It came without packages, boxes, or bags! Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn’t before. ‘Maybe Christmas,’ he thought, ‘doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.” -How the Grinch Stole Christmas!

“Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.” -The Polar Express

“Sometimes, things look good on paper, but lose their luster when you see how it affects real folks. I guess a healthy bottom line doesn’t mean much if to get it, you have to hurt the ones you depend on. It’s people that make the difference.” -Christmas Vacation
“Strange, isn’t it? Each man’s life touches so many other lives. When he isn’t around, he leaves an awful hole, doesn’t he?” -It’s a Wonderful Life

“It’s Christmas Eve. It’s the one night of the year when we all act a little nicer, we smile a little easier, we cheer a little more. For a couple of hours out of the whole year we are the people that we always hoped we would be.” -Scrooged

“That’s what Christmas memories are made from. They’re not planned, they’re not scheduled, nobody puts them in their Blackberry, they just happen.” -Deck the Halls

“Christmas isn’t just a day, it’s a frame of mind.” -Miracle on 34th Street

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear!” -Elf

“Another crisis solved, Yeah, there sure are a lot here. Well, all families start to come together. We always get together at Christmas. Yeah, life would just pass in a blur if it wasn’t for times like this.” -A Muppet Family Christmas

We’ll be back next week with some more of our regularly scheduled gardening and cooking blogs. In the meantime, enjoy this weekend with all the love and warmth of the holiday season!

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3 Reasons to Avoid OVERcooking Your Food

It rarely takes more than one time eating undercooked food to learn that there’s a good reason to not eat anything that hasn’t been cooked all the way through. And while undercooked food is certainly something to be on the lookout for, did you know that overcooking your food can also be risky for your health?

When we say “overcooking,” it isn’t as simple as just plain burning your food. For example, over-frying your eggs changes the protein structure and makes them less beneficial; and broccoli and other veggies that have been overheated can lose a lot of their vital nutrients. Cooking food over a certain temperature has been linked to many health risks, some incredibly serious.

Overcooked Foods are Harder to Metabolize
Raw foods are easier on your metabolism which, in turn, makes things easier for your digestive organs. But what happens when you heat them up? Once it’s been cooked past a certain temperature, food becomes more difficult to metabolize, which can result in it staying in your gut for longer than it should. And if it stays too long, it can become toxic. Cooking techniques like steaming and boiling can help your food remain below that dangerous temperature while still cooking it all the way through.

Overcooked Foods Lose Nutrients
Many vitamins (particularly vitamin C) are sensitive to heat, which means the longer you cook your source of vitamins, the more you deplete them. Your veggies are especially at risk for this, and studies show we should be eating more of them raw. That being said, cooked vegetables still have their own health benefits to offer. Try serving a raw veggie and a cooked one (steamed or blanched) with every meal to be sure you’re getting all the vitamins and minerals you need.

Overcooked Foods Can Contain Carcinogens
When cooked until charred on the outside, certain foods can contain dangerous carcinogenic substances. Foods with carcinogens have been known to act as triggers that can convert normal cells in the body into cancerous ones. This is particularly true of meats, which produce harmful chemicals like heterocyclic amines or benzopyrenes, which can cause an increased risk for pancreas, distal colon, and breast cancer. You’ll especially need to watch out for this when grilling: if fat or juice drips onto the coals, hydrocarbons can rise off of them in the form of vapor and permeate the meat. To counteract this, try cooking your grilled foods en papillotte instead (that’s fancy chef speak for “in paper or a wrapping”).

Overcook No More
We’ve already provided a few pointers for preparing your food so it’s balanced between undercooked and overcooked, but here are a few more ways to help cook your food at the optimum temperature:

• -With all cooking methods, cook with less intense heat at lower temperatures.
• -Keep your grill clean, making sure to scrape off all the charred residue after each use.
• -Avoid well-done meats and blackened or charred areas of any food.
• -Cook with liquid: boil, steam, poach, or stew your meals.
• -Marinate your food; some research shows marinating foods can reduce the production of carcinogens.
• -A lot of yummy marinades use ingredients like olive oil, soy sauce, vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, orange juice, garlic, salt, pepper, cooking wine, or herbs and spices. Get creative with your marinades for healthier, tastier meals!

Want more cooking info like this? Keep up with communEATi here on our blog -- and on Facebook and Twitter -- for even more informative how-tos and pointers for your food preparation, from garden to kitchen to plate!

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Composting with communEATi Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of communEATi’s all-about-composting blog series! In our last post, we prepped you with some information about the home and environmental benefits of composting, as well as what can and can’t be composted. Now, it’s time to dig right in and start breaking things down!

How to Compost

1. -Start your compost pile on bare earth, allowing worms and other beneficial organisms to aerate the compost. Pro-tip: the soil beneath a compost bin becomes enriched as nutrients filter down. Place your bin on a plot you plan to sow in the future (and move it each year) for double the compost benefits!
2. -Add a few inches of lay twigs or straw first to aid drainage.
3. -Add compost materials in layers, alternating moist ingredients (food scraps, tea bags, etc.) and dry ones (straw, leaves, sawdust pellets, etc.).
4. -Keep compost moist. If it doesn’t rain much where you are, water it occasionally.
5. -Cover your compost to help it retain moisture and heat, and to prevent over-watering by the rain. Remember: your compost should be moist, not soaked and sodden.
6. -Every few weeks, give the pile a turn with a pitchfork or shovel to continue aerating. Mixing (or turning) the compost pile is key to completing the compost process.
1. -If you buy a composter rather than build your own, you might want to consider buying a rotating one, which makes it easy to mix the compost regularly.
2. -Pro-tip: Thoroughly mix in enough coarse material (like straw) when building your pile and your compost will develop as fast as if it were turned regularly.
7. -If you have new materials, add them in by mixing them instead of layering.

Compost Bins
For small-scale outdoor composting or indoor composting, enclosed bins are the way to go:

• -The least expensive enclosed compost bin is the one you create yourself.
• -In a heavy-duty garbage can, drill 1.5-cm aeration holes in rows at roughly 15-cm intervals around the can. Fill the can with a mixture of high-carbon and high-nitrogen materials, stirring the contents occasionally.
• -You can also buy a compost bin, which is typically enclosed on the sides and top and open at the bottom so it can sit directly on the ground. This is a good option for homes in residential areas where you don’t have as much space and really want to discourage pests.
• -For indoor composting and collecting kitchen scraps for your compost pile, consider setting up shop in your kitchen. HGTV recommends a sleek, 3.5-quart ceramic crock (glazed inside and out) or a 3-gallon stainless steel step-can, depending on how many scraps your kitchen generates.
• -You can now even buy 100% biodegradable liner bags for your indoor compost bin. When it needs to be emptied, just remove the liner, and toss the whole thing in with your compost.

Your Carbon/Nitrogen Ratio
All compostable materials are either carbon or nitrogen-based. The secret to a healthy compost pile is to maintain a working balance between these two elements, which means more carbon than nitrogen. The nitrogen-rich matter provides raw materials for making enzymes, while the carbon rich matter gives compost a light, fluffy body. An easy rule of thumb to remember is to use 1/3 green and 2/3 brown materials. And, if in doubt, add more carbon.

A Few More Pro-Tips:

• -Add activators to your compost to help kick-start the process and speed up composting. Comfrey leaves, grass clippings, and well-rotted chicken manure are all good activators.
• -Keep a small pile of dry grass clippings next to your compost pile. Whenever you add new materials to the pile (especially fruit or vegetable matter) cover them with the clippings. This will keep smells - and flies - from getting out of hand.
• -Adding lime or calcium will also neutralize odors and discourage flies. If your compost smells like ammonia, add carbon-rich elements.
• -If your compost is steaming: good! That means you have a large community of microscopic critters at work. If your pile doesn’t get hot enough (the center of the pile should reach temperatures between 130-150℉) you risk any weed seeds present surviving and getting spread throughout your garden when you use your compost.

Keep in mind that compost should be used as a soil additive, not exclusively as the growing medium. While it’s a great source of nutrients for growing plants, it’s only one component of a healthy garden bed. Be sure to stay tuned with communEATi on our blog, Twitter, and Facebook for more components of healthy gardening!

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Composting with communEATi, Part 1

Anyone who says that gardening is glamorous has probably never tried composting -- or gardening, for that matter. Being elbows-deep in soil with an ache in your back while your neck turns an unflattering shade of red hardly exemplifies elegance. But before you know it, your garden is lush and overflowing with flowers, fruits, and veggies, and you can see that it was worth all the effort (and tan lines).

But back to the task at hand: composting. You’ve probably heard of composting, and may have even taken a stab at it already. Whether you have acres of farmland or you share a rooftop garden with the other residents in your apartment building, you (and the environment) can benefit from composting!

Benefits of Composting

• -Compost is free, easy to make, and good for the environment because it offers a natural alternative to chemical fertilizers.
• -Essentially a soil conditioner, compost adds nutrients to your plants and helps soil retain moisture.
• -It’s a great way to recycle: as much as 30% of your household waste can be composted.
• -Composting introduces beneficial microscopic organisms into your soil, which can help aerate it and break down organic material for your plants. They can also help ward off plant disease.
• -When you compost, you’re helping to reduce landfill waste. Currently, it’s estimated that one-third of landfill waste is made up of materials that could have been composted. 

What to Compost

Material	Carbon/Nitrogen*	Info
table scraps	Nitrogen	add with dry carbon items
fruit/veggie scraps	Nitrogen	add with dry carbon items
eggshells	neutral	best when crushed
leaves	Carbon	leaves break down faster when shredded
grass clippings	Nitrogen	add in thin layers so they don’t mat into clumps
garden plants	-	use disease-free plants only
lawn/garden weeds	Nitrogen	only use weeds which have not gone to seed
shrub prunings	Carbon	woody prunings are slow to break down
straw/hay	Carbon	straw is best; hay (w/ seeds) is less ideal
green comfrey leaves	Nitrogen	excellent compost ‘activator’
pine needles	Carbon	acidic; use in moderate amounts
flowers/cuttings	Nitrogen	chop up any long, woody stems
seaweed/kelp	Nitrogen	apply in thin layers; good source for trace minerals
wood ash	Carbon	only use ash from clean materials; sprinkle lightly
chicken manure	Nitrogen	excellent compost ‘activator’
coffee grounds	Nitrogen	unbleached filters may also be included
tea leaves	Nitrogen	loose or in bags
newspaper	Carbon	avoid using glossy paper and colored inks
shredded paper	Carbon	avoid using glossy paper and colored inks
cardboard	Carbon	shred material to avoid matting
corn cobs/stalks	Carbon	slow to decompose; best if chopped up
dryer lint	Carbon	best if from natural fibers
clean sawdust pellets	Carbon	high carbon levels; add in thin layers to avoid clumping
wood chips/pellets	Carbon	high carbon levels; use sparingly

*Stay tuned for “Composting with communEATi Part 2” for why this is important.

You can also add a layer of garden soil to your compost to help mask any odors and allow microorganisms in the soil to accelerate the composting process.

What Not to Compost

• -Meat, bones, or fish scraps, which will attract pests 
• -Perennial weeds or diseased plants 
• -Pet manures in compost that will be used on food crops 
• -Banana peels, peach peels, and orange rinds, which may contain pesticide residue 
• -Black walnut leaves 
• -Sawdust with machine or chain oil residue from cutting equipment 

So now that you know a little more about how composting can benefit your lawn, garden, and the world, why not give it a try? On Friday, we’ll have another blog featuring directions on how to get your own compost pile going, indoors or out. In the meantime, don’t forget to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more gardening know-how and how-tos!

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