Welcome to February, National Heart Health Month! We hope you’ll celebrate with us at Pathfinder Produce. Come on down to the regular Thursday market, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Pathfinder Village Commons to get the freshest and tastiest fruits and veggies around.
Our online ordering makes it easy to shop: Just go to our website, make your order and pay over our secure server. Our friendly staff will pull together your custom order and have it ready to go for pick-up at our Edmeston or Morris pick-up sites. This is a service that is becoming more and more popular around the country I’ve noticed, and is even being featured in commercials by much-larger stores.
Also, I wanted to give a big shout out to our colleagues just down the road at NYCM Insurance, Edmeston, who are doing their part to Go Red in support of the American Heart Association. Well done! You can learn about American Heart Month at this link.
Finally, Pathfinder Village has been nominated for the Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce’s Business Hall of Fame for 2019. If you’d like to vote for Pathfinder, please go to the Chamber’s voting website by Friday to cast your vote. Thank you!
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After my son’s last indoor track meet at Ithaca College the other week, the hour had grown late and we were all hungry. We stopped at a fast food restaurant and much to my surprise, there were veggie burgers on the Bill of Fare. More to my surprise, both my son and husband ordered them.
We try to avoid eating fast foods and highly processed foods, as we know that too much of these can adversely affect your health. When we do need to “grab and go,” we try to order the healthiest things on the menu -- we’ll drink water or unsweetened iced tea, go for the salads (watching how much dressing it’s drenched in), and get the non-red meat options.
My son, who has worked to stay fit and has clocked in some impressive races this indoor track season, said that the veggie burger was good, although a little salty. He said he’d try it again if these stay on the restaurant’s menu. I’ll probably give it a try too.
In examining the differences between the veggie burger and a regular burger of similar size and garnishment at this restaurant chain, the veggie burger is better for those seeking to make healthier selections, although the sodium and sugar levels are high. Most restaurant chains offer their foods’ nutritional information online and on their menu boards, which helps in making choices.
Calories (Kcal)
|
Fat (g)
|
Saturated Fats (g)
|
Trans
Fat (g) |
Cholesterol (mg)
|
Sodium
(mg) |
Carbs (g)
|
Fiber (g)
|
Sugar (g)
|
Protein (g)
|
|
Veggie
Burger |
390
|
17
|
2.5
|
0
|
Less than 5
|
980
|
41
|
5
|
9
|
21
|
Burger
(134g)
|
310
|
18
|
5
|
0.5
|
40
|
390
|
27
|
1
|
7
|
13
|
The move to eat less red meat and processed foods is in-line with recent recommendations by health researchers. One somewhat controversial study, the new EAT-Lancet Commission report, recommends eating less than one ounce of red meat per day (or about a large hamburger per week), both to improve one’s personal health and the planet’s health. Beef ranching has a huge impact on our collective carbon footprint, requiring 20 times more land and emitting 20 times the greenhouse gasses per gram of protein produced when compared to growing beans, according to the World Resources Institute. (Beans are often a main ingredient used in creating veggie burgers, hence the comparison).
In an interview on NPR’s “The Salt” blog, the lead researcher for the EAT-Lancet study, Dr. Walter Willet of the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health said, "(Vastly reducing meat consumption) may seem a little extreme to many Americans, but this is actually in line with the traditional Mediterranean diet …” The EAT-Lancet study also points out that if people eat less meat, they should eat more nuts, fruits, veggies and legumes to replace the meat, instead of highly processed grains.
"It's all about the replacement," Willet said. "If we replace red meat with a lot of white starch, [such as] white rice, white bread, potatoes and sugar – then that's not going to be a win."
Other health experts recommend cutting back on red meat to thwart heart disease, diabetes and cancers: The American Heart Association recommends eating no more than 6 ounces of cooked lean meat, skinless chicken and seafood per day, for a total of 4-5 servings per week (a serving is roughly the size of a deck of cards). The American Institute for Cancer recommends limiting consumption of red meat to 18 ounces per week (3-6 ounce servings). Both organizations encourage people to eat processed meats very sparingly, due to their high fat, salt and preservation methods.
In closing, I’ll offer a link from AHA and the BBC on how to lead a healthier lifestyle with less meat consumption, as well as a recipe to try for your own homemade black bean burgers, which I’ll try as well (Note: These contain eggs, and thus cannot be viewed as vegan).
Until next time, eat well and be well,
Lori
