Recipe & Analysis

Baked Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Yield: 6 servings

Cook time: about 1.5 hours

Prep time: 30 minutes

9 medium organic russet potatoes (about 3 pounds)

1/2 stick of salted butter

1 cup of milk

1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil

5 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Sea salt & freshly ground black Pepper, as much desired

Crushed red pepper flakes, as much desired

1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

1) Take the potatoes and rinse them under cold water; peel them until completely bare. Place the potatoes in a large pot with cold water over medium heat, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, preheat oven to 375 degrees. Strain the potatoes, then put them back into the pot.

2) Take the potato masher to your root vegetable, that way, when you add in your first couple of ingredients, they become absorbed by the potatoes, creating a tastier dish. Add your milk and butter, but portion the milk as you stir it in. Do the same for the olive oil.

3) Add your salt, pepper, garlic slices, and red pepper flakes.

4) Add in all of the cheese, or leave some on the side to sprinkle on top before baking. Stir the potatoes until creamy.

5) Pour the mashed potatoes into a baking dish, place on top shelf of oven, uncovered. Leave in for 30-45 minutes, or until golden brown.

6) Serve hot.

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Processed vs.Whole Food

3 out of 8 items are processed, about 38% (37.5% to be exact)

Salted butter

Milk

Parmesan cheese

Health/nutrition

Since only 3 items have nutritional info available on their container, I can only write about them.

Salted butter

Calories: 100

Fat: 11g

Cholesterol: 30mg

Sodium: 90mg

Vitamin A: 8%

Butter can be good and it can be bad. Even though it contains 8% vitamin A, which is needed for the health of the thyroid, and also contains a number of anti-oxidants that protect against things that weaken the arteries, it can also be really harmful to other parts of your body. If the butter is conventional anyway (contains GMOs), and you’re continually consuming it, it’s most likely giving youorgan damage, gastrointestinal and immune system disorders, is accelerating your aging, digestion problems, and many more. Butter is fattening; it turns into actual fat in your body.

Milk

Calories: 150

Fat: 8g

Cholesterol: 35mg

Sodium: 130mg

Protein: 8g

Vitamin A: 6%

Vitamin C: 4%

Calcium: 30%

Vitamin D: 25%

Milk is amazing for getting potassium (which can avoid Charley Horse’s), and stronger bones. A downside to consuming milk, is that if you are a person who consumes a lot of sodium, and then you consume a lot of milk you have a higher chance of acquiring high blood pressure.

EVOO

Calories: 120

Fat: 14g

Cholesterol: 0g

Sodium: 0g

Omega-6: 9.7%

Omega-3: 0.76%

Vitamin E: 72% of the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance)

Vitamin K: 75% of the RDA

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the best oils and fats for you and your body. Not only is it good for your skin and hair, but it’s also good as an anti-inflammatory and provider of nutrients. If the oil is pressed naturally, the EVOO would be high in phenolic antioxidants, the main reason why olive oil is so beneficial (phenolic antioxidants offer resistance to illnesses ranging from cancer to arthritis). EVOO is easily digestible and tasty start to any dressing.

Environmental

My potatoes and cheese are organic and came from a farmers market near my house; the farmers are located here in PA. Everything else was purchased at Shoprite. Shoprite uses food from Wakefern Food Corporation located in Keasbey, New Jersey. So the food I purchased from Shoprite traveled the furthest.

Political/economic

Butter: $2.19

Milk: $4.99

Cheese: $10.99

EVOO: $12.00

Salt: $2.29

Pepper: $3.49

Red Pepper Flakes: $3.00

Garlic: $2.69

Potatoes: $6.00

= $46.14 (about $50)

The price I spent on making this meal is equivalent to about 5 regular meals not from the dollar menu at McDonalds. Shoprite and its corporations (Wakefern Food Corp., specifically), and the farmers made money off of my meal.

Social

People have the option of gaining weight because of the ingredients within the meal.The parmesan cheese at Shoprite, already grated, was $3.99, but the whole cheese from the Farmer’s Market, same amount of ounces as the Shoprite brand, cost $7 more. Similar to my potatoes, the organic potatoes from the Farmer’s Market, cost $2.00 more than potatoes at Shoprite. The potatoes were grown in PA, on an organic farm, and the cheese came from grass fed cows, so it’s all healthy.

http://www.responsibletechnology.org/10-Reasons-to-Avoid-GMOs

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/dairy-truths?page=2

http://authoritynutrition.com/extra-virgin-olive-oil/

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-phenolic-antioxidants.htm

first you cook the rice for 30min:

- when the pot of white rice is ready

-let it sit for few hours so the rice get cold and than

-put cold water once the rice is cold

Fried your fish:

• get any kind of fish
• session it with salt and paper
• and fried them on a pot with oil until it get really crispy

I chose this dish because it is really close to me and also my culture because I’m from Bangladesh and as everybody know Bangladesh is not a wealthy country and it got it freedom in 1971 from Pakistan and during the war that only thing that people could affort to eat was white wet rice with fried fish. And I think This is the most healthy food I can think of and its really helpful over the summer season because it get really hot and the wet rice will keep you cold inside.

-salmon

-salt and pepper

-different types of seasoning

-olive oil

-green and red peppers

-lemon juice

-Parsley

-garlic clove

-broccoli 

-butter

 Process:

1. Rinse the fish off with the lemon juice

2. Season it in separate plate

3. pour oil in the aluminum foil pan and place the fish on it

4. Then out the fish in the oven at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes

5. lightly broccoli in a pot for about 5-10 minutes

7. When cooked sprinkle some salt and pepper with a touch of butter on top

Food Analysis:

I'm not sure where salmon originally comes from, but I know that salmon comes from the latin word salmonand lives in freshwater. The cost of salmon usually ranges from 4-8 dollars a pound depending on where it is bought. Broccoli was introduced from the Italian more than 200 years ago and from then on has been of large production because of it's essential nutrients of fiber, vitamins, carbs, protein and fat. Fresh broccoli usually cost around $1.80- to $2 per pound. Those of which are the essential part of the dish. All the other things such as the seasons, lemon juice and olive oil are pretty cheap as well in any local grocery store, especially walmart.

Regardless of the ingredients baking foods are but more healthier than frying because in frying foods  in all forms frying lead to no water-soluble vitamin loss, and very few heat-sensitive vitamins are lost. It can also lead to a high absorption of added fat and the formation of acrylamide. While baking requires little added fat.  Salmon is an excellent source of high-quality protein, vitamins and minerals. By using healthy oils like olive oil can boost your intake of healthy fats and vitamin E. The estimated time for this dish is about 25 minutes so it's not long of a wait. Broccoli is a good source of carbs and fiber, with 13 grams of carbs and 6 grams of fiber per serving. It helps you feel full faster, which might help you manage your weight. It also helps with prevention of heart disease, diabetes, and diverticular disease. Cooked broccoli is a good source of a number of essential vitamins and minerals that help keep you healthy, including vitamin C, folate and potassium.

Two ingredients that I would compare in my dish would be the salmon and the broccoli. Farming process vs planting or gaining these ingredients re my own would be very hard considering the type of environment that i live in. I live in an urban area so there isn't much of an healthy environment to plant broccoli or an access to a healthy freshwater ocean or lake to fish for salmon. Therefore, the only way to have these things would be to buy them at a local general store.

Personal Reflection:

I rarely had any issues with his unit because this unit was more so as a refresher for me. I learned a lot about the food industries in the 8th grade. Most of the things I already was aware of, but the biggest problem I've seen and that seemed to be new to me was when we watch the video on to talk of the man who was dedicated his life to educating people about the truth behind these things (TED Talk) he said that the labeling in this industry is massively incorrect. He used an example of how companies say that its milk is low in fat when is filled with tons of sugar. Which is something that is very true, but I never really paid attention, something I felt intrigued by. Another thing that caught my attention in this unit was that the maps that we looked over and how the rate in the US of people gain pounds increased over time. I always had a sense that was happening, but I wasn't really aware of how fast and rapid it was going along with how much is spread among the states. An interesting fact brought up in the TED talk video was that the school foods were just about similarly unhealthy like fast food. There aren’t fresh because of the budget cuts which makes them desperate in using the food that they can get, which are the unhealthy foods. I want to and will encourage my little sister and help her to stop eating those foods by packing her lunch before going to school or at night. Inform my mom on this information so that when she buys groceries she can be more mindful of these things. We are huge role in the food industry because we are not only victims of unhealthy foods, but also the consumers and the more we buy the stronger this cycle will become.

Ingredients: 

- Chicken

- Roman 

- Lettuce 

- Grated cheese 

• Croutons 
• Creamy caesar salad dressing 
• Lemon juice
• Black pepper 

Instructions: 

- Season the chicken and grill it 

- Rinse off the lettuce & put it into a bowl

- When chicken is fully cooked, add it to the bowl with salad

- Add grated cheese onto the chicken and lettuce 

- Add the dressing 

- Add croutons on top 

- Lightly stir everything together

- Serve 

Analysis: 

Caesar salad is know internationally. People often eat in on the side of their main  course meals and sometimes even on the side of their meals. People can make caesar salad any way they want to. This salad does not really have one specific way it has to be made in order to have that title. Chicken caesar salad is both tasty and healthy. It really only takes a few simple ingredients to create the salad. 

First, the chicken has to be cooked on a stove top and seasoned. After cooked, the chicken has to be sliced or chopped up in order to be proportioned right with everything else that goes into the salad. After the chicken is finished, the lettuce has to be rinsed off and chopped as well. Add the chicken into the salad bowl after the lettuce is chopped. Then add the grated cheese into the bowl along with the fresh squeezed lemon juice. After, stir lightly then start to pour the salad dressing into the bowl while still stirring. Then after that, add the croutons in the bowl and continue to stir lightly. 

2 cups grain rice (rinsed)

4 to 5 cups of hot water,

3 tablespoons of sofrito

16 ounce can of gandules

1 packet of Sazon with achiote

3 tablespoons of oil

Salt and adobo

Process

1. Add the oil into a big pot and let it heat up.

2. Add the sofrito into the pot and stir it until it starts to bubble up.

3. Add the gandules (beans) into the mixture and add the sazon.

4.Add the salt to give it more taste

5. Add a little bit of adobo to give it more taste.

6. Add water and let it boil

7. Then add the rice and lower the heat to low.

8. DO NOT STIR right away. Wait 10 minutes and stir rice.

9.Sir rice every 10 minutes for 30-40 minutes until the rice is tender.

Analysis: (this part you will be explaining how this meal is healthy, sofrito, guandules sazon and the ingredients basically)

Arroz con gandules is a combination of rice, pigeon peas and pork, cooked in the same pot with Puerto Rican-style sofrito. This is the signature dish of Puerto Rican culture and also has become very popular throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Arroz con gandules is part of Puerto Rico's national dish.

Arroz con gandules is a pretty healthy meal if you look at the ingredients. One of the major components that displays its healthiness is the fact that you have to make it from scratch. Since you are making it entirely from scratch, the excess chemicals that are contained in processed foods isn’t a problem.

Sofrito offers a lot of healthy nutrition for the body because it is a mixture of all natural vegetables blended. These vegetables such as peppers, greens, onions, garlic, etc. contain nutrients that the body need on the daily basis such as Vitamin D, E, and C.

Ingredients 

2 cups of whole grain pasta

1 cup of mayo

1/2 cup of mustard

4 sticks of celery

1 onion

1 teaspoon of season salt 

1 teaspoon of black pepper 

1 can of tuna in water 

Instructions 

1. Boil pasta 

2. chop up celery and onion 

3. open and drain can of tuna 

4. mix all ingredients together

Mayo has a very high fat content so you are supposed to use it in moderation. 1 cup of mayo have 916 calories, 78.49 grams of fat, 56.16 grams of carbs and 2.12 grams of protein. I used a higher ratio of pasta to mayo so that it only lightly coated the pasta. Dijon mustard has 198 calories per cup and I only used a half of a cup of dijon mustard so its 99 calories. In a teaspoon of dijon mustard there is 4 calories, 0.19 grams of fat, 0.47 grams of carbs and 0.24 grams of protein. There is 0.17 grams of sugar in dijon mustard and as opposed to yellow mustard it is less in sugar. I used one whole onion and that had 67 calories, 0.13 grams of fat, 16.18 grams of carbs, 1.47 grams of protein. For one stalk of celery it is 6 calories I used 4 so that is 42 calories, 0.28 grams of fat, 4.76 grams of carbs, and 1.12 grams of protein. I used whole grain penne pasta and there was 1600 calories which is a huge amount, pasta is a starch so it has to be eaten in moderation. There were 12 grams of fat, 328 grams of carbs and 56 grams of protein. Pasta has a lot of carbs to it so when you start adding a bunch of other ingredients it lessens the nutritional value. The seasons that I used do not have any calories. The tuna that I used was 220 calories, 5.11 grams of fat, 0 grams of carbs and 40.63 grams of protein. I decided to use tuna because I knew that it was high in protein. 

I decided to make this dish because I knew that because I wanted to make pasta an that I shouldn't use to many other ingredients. Also the ingredients that I used I did not use much of so that there was less amount of calories. Altogether my dish has 3,043 calories and there was at least 6-8 servings so that is  about 380 calories per serving which is not bad at all. My dish also had a low cost it was around $8 the most expensive item was the whole grain pasta. 

Reflection

Overall I enjoyed this unit, a lot of the material that we covered I was some what familiar with. My mom is pre-diabetic and it runs in the family. So two years ago she changed the whole houses eating habitats. All of our breads  are whole grain, so is the pasta, we only eat brown rice and there is often not many baked good in the house unless they are homemade. There are so many items that are healthier but you find that they tend to cost more. During this unit when talking about nutrition I think we also needed to talk more about the price of the food. Many times people shop for quantity not quality, many people in america can not afford quality though. We need to form a better food system then we will see a decrease in obesity, heart conditions and diabetes.