It's not often I see the diametrically opposed juxtiposition of a fine article, in this case, on the marketing efforts of Fast Food companies, contrasted with the author's own recipes. Just absolutely amazing.
Here's the deal: Kristin writes this excellent article about Fast Food Companies marketing to kids and minorities, here. Makes sense, points out some real problems, has a lot of stats (not referenced, but consistent with what I know from past research). Then, in the "footer" to the article is a link to her blog. I'm thinking, "holistic nutritionist" there must be some good recipes there.
Boy, was I wrong. The most current recipe (here) at that time was a Killer Quiche (emphasis on "killer"). A real "heart attack" waiting to happen. Refined spelt flour, eggs, butter, whole milk, and a paltry 1 cup of chopped spinach to be spread around four servings.
How ridiculous. I did the math. Close to 400 calories and over 40 grams of fat per serving. To put this into perspective, even the grossly conservative American Heart Association weighs in at no more than 80 grams of fat PER DAY. Esselstyn and Ornish, who've prevented heart disease, weigh in at 15 to 25 grams of fat per day TOTAL. One half the fat, per serving, that the AHA recommends per day for an adult. She must be so proud!
So, a slice of that quiche has about as much fat as a Burger King Whopper and the same amount of calories. What a winner! In fact, the Whopper has more vegetables per serving then her quiche!
Refined flour, butter, whole milk, eggs, and a little tiny bit of spinach, and Kristin calls this "healthy and satisfying."
It gets worse. In private e-mail exchange, which I won't quote here as I haven't asked permission, she points out that these are "traditional foods" and asserts that this makes them intrinsically healthy, and she never bothers to worry about the fat in her recipes.
Unbelievable. She is essentially saying she knows more than Esselstyn, Ornish, Barnard, McDougall, Campbell and the American Heart Association. She actually gets paid to counsel people on nutrition and feels that a vegan or vegetarian diet negatively impacts, among other things, your "reproductive capabilities." Babe, come on over and I'll show you otherwise.
What a load of, well, crap. What's traditional? Drinking blood in the Latin American countries during the Mayan period? Eating sheep intestines (haggis) in Ireland? Possum in West Virginia? Consumption of insects which is common in some countries?
It's just stunning to be reminded that there are people out there that actually believe drinking the raw breast milk from another species, that eating congealed pus-filled cheese, and ignoring the amount of fat in a meal is all good and "traditional." These ignorant people are helping kill us in large numbers. Unknowingly, with positive motive, they are promulgating absurd and scientifically unfounded myths about diet that altogether too many people, too lazy to do the research, buy into.
She has the audacity to all herself a "holistic nutritionist." What colossal ego and overall silliness.
Oil is NOT a whole food, neither is raw milk, nor cheese, nor dead animal corpses.
Do your homework and actually help people to live longer, Kristin. Start with science. No wonder so many of your clients have problems with a plant-based diet. A "faith-based diet" is about as sound as a "faith-based foreign policy" and we KNOW where that's gotten us.
Check this out: 15 reasons to avoid vegetable oils, all referenced and cited. Ironic that your article didn't provide a single source. Guess we're suppose to believe everything you wrote 'cause you're a "holistic nutritionist."
You are, imho, a well meaning ill-informed promoter of a diet that helps kill people earlier than necessary. I've got the science, peer-reviewed research, and studies on my side, wadda you got? Show me the studies that demonstrate the incredible health benefits of cheese, milk, or meat, that aren't industry funded.
Until you can show me some serious, non-industry-funded studies, that praise the anti-cancer or heart disease contribution of meat, dairy, and eggs, your advice is totally unfounded in reality. There's no real definition of "traditional" and it's clear that the consumption of so much fat is unhealthy. You prey on the ignorant, without realizing such.
And the bigger reality is that an epidemic number of Americans are dying from disease every year that could be prevented by eating properly.
IMHO, You are not part of the solution; you are part of the problem. Desperate people buying into such warm and comfy phrases as "traditional foods."
How sad and unnecessary. I apologize for my anger in this post, but, imho, people like you easily delude others into believing your non-researched nonsense, and that affects the quality of their lives. And, you called me, in e-mail, "seriously misinformed," I've been called stupid, opinionated, and arrogant. It ticks me off. I'm NOT stupid.
It's about time we get real with this organic, holistic, raw, local, silly traditional or "paleolithic" stuff. The underlying foundational issues are fat, sugar, and salt. THEN the issues of organic, holistic, raw, vs. local come into play. And just because you believe something is true, without a shred of evidence, doesn't make it so.
Lives are at stake, and the stakes are high.
