Tag: Philosophy

Sweet 16, it’s the Magic Number

As two former New Yorkers who are also strong advocates of cutting sugar consumption across the board, Jessica and I could not remain silent on Mayor Bloomberg’s proposed ban on serving sugary drinks bigger than 16oz. We see both sides of the argument, and applaud the Mayor for bringing to the forefront the idea that as a nation we consume too much, and in particular too many sweet foods and drinks. While it seems over-the-top to have your drinking rights regulated in – by some measures – the greatest city in the free world, it is a proven fact that the larger the portion size the more we consume.  And, as the size of sugary drinks has risen from a standard of 6.5 ounces in 1960 to 20 ounces today, Mayor Bloomberg may just have a point.  Because if it’s water or vegetables we are talking about, certainly more is better, but when the item in discussion is sugary soda the result is less than ideal and bordering on dangerous. So, in honor of the Mayor’s bravery and willingness to talk about this issue, we dedicate this week’s post to portion sizes, big and small.  Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Sweet 16, it’s the Magic Number”

Why We Do It!

A week and a half ago my mother, Anita, arrived in Tiburon for her annual visit. I look forward to these trips not only because she is my mother, but also because she is the best cook I know, she thinks riding a bike to your destination is always better than driving, and at 71 she can still out climb me (as she did this past weekend in Yosemite).  What’s more, she is the quintessential native Italian woman, as she does not suffer fools when it comes to food.  While sitting in a local diner in the Yosemite area she turned to me and said, “With the way food is made here in the US, no wonder you put so much emphasis on cooking your own meals.” Luckily she didn’t say it in English, but if I were to be completely honest I’d say she’s right. While we have multiple different convenient ways to feed ourselves, we can very rarely find well-prepared, wholesome, healthy store-bought or restaurant food. So, read on to hear our top reasons why you should make home cooking a priority (besides that you’ll make Anita happy). Come and cook with us! Continue reading “Why We Do It!”

On Buying Local

There’s been a lot of press lately about the environmental impact of purchasing locally grown foods.   Logically, buying locally grown fruits and vegetables would seem more environmentally conscious than purchasing a basket of strawberries from halfway across the world.  According to journalist Stephen Dubner of Freakonomics Radio, and a handful of economists including Tyler Cowan, author of the new book, “An Economist Get’s Lunch”, however, it’s not. If this is, indeed, the case (you can listen to Dubner’s arguments here), what incentive do you have to continue to eat locally?  Kathrin and I wrote a list of the top reasons why we eat locally to share with you here. Come and cook with us! Continue reading “On Buying Local”

Eat Early and Often!

In a recent article in the New York Times entitled “Calories Are Everywhere, Yet Hard to Track” Jane Brody addresses the question of calories we consume every day. Brody’s main point is that in the US we consume too many calories. In conversation about this, however, Jessica and I struggle with what to advise readers to do. Limit your calories? Portion control? Is that really the issue? The irony of it is, here in the United States, we may be consuming too many calories in cookies, cakes and sodas but we are not consuming enough food. So rather than limit your calories, we recommend you eat as many calories as you need through whole healthy food. In this week’s post, we champions the idea of eating early and often. Make it your goal to consume three to five whole healthy filling meals a day because chances are if you’re not eating well, your hungry body will take the calories from wherever it can.  Continue reading “Eat Early and Often!”