Hot debate on flax
In “Seed Your Health” (February 2005), the author gives examples of how one can bake and cook with ground flaxseeds. However, when I buy flaxseed oil from the refrigeration unit at the store I have always had to keep it carefully refrigerated. This is supposedly because of the loss of nutrients if the oil heats and deteriorates. So how can one cook flaxseeds and still have the nutrients remain viable?
—Judy Parker, via e-mail
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Although the essential fatty acids in flaxseeds and flaxseed oil are quite delicate and oxidize quickly at temperatures above 250 degrees or so, the EFAs in ground flaxseeds remain stable during cooking and baking as long as the presence of water protects them from overheating. “The temperature in bread dough stays below 212 degrees during baking, the same as for other foods that contain enough water,” says Gero Leson, PhD, a scientist who has studied hemp and flax. Still, he adds, “as cooking temperatures and times increase, so does the likelihood of rancidity [from oxidation], so overcooking should be avoided; it messes up the taste, if nothing else.” So go ahead and add ground (not whole) flaxseed to batters, bread dough, casseroles, and burgers, but don’t overcook. For more information, see www.flaxcouncil.ca.
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The secret to good health
Delicious Living helps me choose good and reliable products. And the magazine has changed my life: I have become more active, I eat healthy foods every day, and I move confidently in my life. People ask me, “What’s your secret?” I tell them it’s Delicious Living. I recommend the magazine to everyone. I want it to help others the way it has helped me.
—Bhavna Badhwar, Cincinnati
How to cut calories
You list Spicy Kale-Almond Pesto and White-Bean Pasta (“Most Delicious!” May 2005) as 956 calories per serving. Is that number correct?
—Camille Dunn, via e-mail
Thanks for your inquiry. You’re right. Those numbers are incorrect (you’re not the only sharp-eyed reader who caught our error!). The correct nutritional analysis is:
Spicy Kale-Almond Pesto and White-Bean Pasta
PER SERVING: 465 cal, 39% fat cal, 21g fat, 3g sat fat, 19mg chol, 19g protein, 56g carb, 10g fiber, 640mg sodium
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Every occasion meals
I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your useful magazine. I have realized that many of your recipes along with the health suggestions have been improving my diet dramatically. I feel like a healthy teen and so am eager to share the information with my family. The importance of buying organic produce is shown clearly through your nutritional and healthy facts that are on almost every page of the magazine. The recipes you provide are good guides on how to follow a nutritional lifestyle that can enhance energy levels. Thus, you help people be productive on a daily basis. The recipes in “Most Delicious!” (May 2005), such as the Spicy Kale-Almond Pesto and White-Bean Pasta, were so delicious and mouthwatering. Whether I want a simple but scrumptious meal or a more impressive dinner-party menu, you have the recipes and tips I need for all occasions. Thank you.
—Eva Mirolyan, San Diego
The first Annual Delicious Living Spirit Awards
Do you know an inspirational woman who embodies the spirit of Delicious Living? A Delicious Living Spirit winner is someone who enjoys cooking and eating organically; someone who incorporates wellness strategies and alternative therapies into her overall health plan; someone who makes eco-friendly consumer and lifestyle decisions … or simply a person who manages to inspire those around her to live deliciously every day. If you know such a woman, please nominate her to be featured in our first annual Delicious Living Spirit Awards. Winners will be included in an upcoming issue and will win a $200 gift certificate to their favorite natural products store that carries Delicious Living.
To enter your nominee, write a 500-word essay that describes how she embodies the Delicious Living spirit and send it to Delicious Living Spirit Awards, 1401 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302, or click here. Entries must be received by August 31, 2005.
What’s on your mind?
Send comments and suggestions to Letters, Delicious Living, 1401 Pearl St., Boulder, CO 80302, or e-mail us at deliciousliving@newhope.com. Please include your full name, address, and daytime phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.
