Sargento cheese products sold in 15 states are being recalled as a consequence of a major listeria outbreak traced back to a dairy in California, according to the Food and drug Administration (FDA).
Sargento Cotija, Parmesan, Swiss Asiago, Monterey Jack, white cheddar, bistro blends, Italian, taco, and queso products all are involved, says the FDA. Specific lot numbers can be found in the FDA announcement.
The Sargento recall is only the latest involving cheese products contaminated with listeria. To read our coverage of earlier recalls, simply click this link.
Already, 26 illnesses, 23 hospitalizations and two deaths across 11 states have been linked to the outbreak, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The cheeses were sold in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, North Carolina, New Jersey, Nevada, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, Washington and Wisconsin.
Heart patients like me get pretty straightforward advice about eating — less meat, more vegetables.
Ok, but are all veggies created equal when it come to heart health? Not exactly, says Certified Nutritionist Amy Fox, founder of Food and Mood Lab.
Amy’s top heart-healthy vegetables and her comments about them:
Broccoli anyone? It makes the heart-healthy list.
1. Leafy Greens such as spinach, kale, and collard greens are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, as well as antioxidants that help lower inflammation and blood pressure and may improve heart health. Add a handful of greens to your breakfast smoothie or incorporate them into your lunchtime salad.
2. Cruciferous Vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts contain a compound called sulforaphane that has been shown to reduce inflammation and improve blood pressure. Roast them in olive oil and seasonings for a tasty side dish or add them to stir-fries.
3. Beets get their vibrant color from powerful compounds called betalains, which may help improve heart health by reducing inflammation and protecting against oxidative stress. Roasting beets in the oven with other veggies or slicing them thinly and adding them to sandwiches are great ways to incorporate them into your diet.
4. Tomatoes are a great source of lycopene, an antioxidant that may help protect the heart by reducing inflammation and lowering LDL (“bad”) cholesterol levels. Roast them in the oven, add them to your soups and stews, or create a tasty homemade salsa.
5. Sweet Potatoes contain high levels of beta-carotene, which acts as an antioxidant and can reduce inflammation in the body. Bake this delicious and versatile vegetable in the oven and sprinkle with cinnamon and a drizzle of honey for a sweet treat.
6. Bell Peppers are packed with vitamins, minerals, and fiber to support heart health. They also contain capsaicin, which offers anti-inflammatory benefits to the body. Slice them up and add them to your veggie wraps or salads for added crunch and flavor.
7. Garlic contains allicin, a compound that can help lower blood pressure and reduce inflammation. Roasting garlic to spread on bread or adding minced garlic to your favorite marinades is a great way to incorporate this heart-healthy ingredient into your diet.
8. Okra is an excellent source of fiber, magnesium, and folate — all crucial nutrients for regulating blood pressure and preventing blood clots — and helps lower cholesterol levels, further protecting your heart. Roast okra pods with spices for a crispy snack, or add them to stews, curries, and stir-fries for a unique, heart-healthy twist.
9. Swiss Chard is loaded with potassium and magnesium, minerals that naturally regulate blood pressure and reduce the risk of stroke. Its vibrant green leaves are brimming with beta-carotene, which converts to vitamin A, essential for maintaining healthy heart tissue. Try sautéing Swiss chard with garlic and olive oil for a flavorful side dish, or add it to soups, stews, and even sneak into baked goods like brownies.
How many of those do you eat regularly? I eat six of the nine regularly, let me know if you can beat that.
The bowls have it, at least when it comes to how people are buying food items at restaurants, according to a piece by The Food Institute, a food service industry news site.
One chain, Juice It Up!, saw sales climb 38% over the past five years because of its bowl offerings, for example.
It’s not just cereal people want in a. bowl anymore. Restaurants are seeing sales rise for bowls offering a variety of menu items, all aimed at satisfying consumer desire for better-for-them products.
“Bowls are a fun choose-your-own-adventure with endless combinations,” Troy Guard, the owner and executive chef with TAG Restaurant Group, told FI. “They’re easy, convenient, travel well, can often be reheated or saved for later, and contain fresh and healthy ingredients.”
“No matter where consumers look, restaurant-goers seeking salads, acai, Mexican, Poke, protein, fruits, or grains can often find them in bowl form,” the article states.
A chain I’ve been frequenting lately, Cafe Zupas, has been pushing its bowls in email marketing but I’m sticking to the make-my-own salad because I can control the salt, fat and sugar by doing that.
2 tablespoons wine vinegar or a combination of vinegar and lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and/or salad oil, such as grapeseed oil
1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallot or scallions and/or ¼ teaspoon dried herbs, such as tarragon or basil
Big pinch of freshly ground pepper
I’d omit the salt and stick with olive oil. But even if you use the salt, it’s still a relatively small amount given the amount of dressing you’re creating.
The concept is a good one, leave behind high-fat, high-salt munchies for others that are less damaging to your health.
Try filling mini-puff pastry for Super Bowl snakes.
But the items included largely left me shrugging my shoulders. Things like Jalapeño Cream Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Poppers never made my Super Bowl table.
The list has a Southwest tilt to it, again not what I usually eat for game watching. The turkey sliders are probably the only item of the seven listed that I would try.
So I’d say this list doesn’t cross the goal line for a touchdown. Much better are some of my past pieces:
A listeria-related recall that started with cheese products has spread to salad kits including those cheeses, various media report.
“Salad products sold at Walmart, Costco and Winco were recalled Thursday amid a nationwide outbreak of listeria that has sickened at least 26 people and left two people dead,” reports Patch.com
“Ready Pac Foods voluntarily recalled a limited number of casesof four salad kits as a result of an expanded recall by Rizo-López Foods, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said. The kits contain cheese that could be contaminated with Listeria monocytogenes, which can cause serious — and sometimes deadly — infections in young children, frail or elderly people, and people with weak immune systems. Additionally, a listeria infection can cause women to miscarry or lead to stillbirths,” the report says.
Some of the recalled products are sold at Costco, Walmart and Cinco. Products sold at Trader Joe’s also ahve been impacted.
To read more details in the Food and drug Administration recall announcement, simply click here.
Fortunately for many of us in the United States, we aren’t worried about eating enough to survive. We are in a unique position, historically, in that were have access to many, many more calories than we need to survive — hence the obesity epidemic.
So at the start of every year, we’ve developed a new food ritual — people searching out new diets to drop some pounds after their massive end-of-year holiday eating binges.
Why do we, as a relatively affluent society, have such a love-hate relationship with food? I’ve recently heard from three experts delving into this question in their own ways.
“What’s the right amount of food that satisfies our nutrition and fuel needs but satisfies us psychologically, too?” Robertson asks in a recent interview. “When we’re eating, we’re feeding our soul; we’re feeding our emotions; but it’s really all about balance and finding that right balance for us.”
Robertson’s public relations person has sent me a review copy of her book, so expect to read more about it here shortly.
Schauster writes from her nearly 30 years of experience treating clients with disordered eating, her own experience as a recovered person, and as a parent of two young adults.
“In a culture that has such narrow parameters for what makes a ‘good’ or ‘attractive’ body, it is important that we don’t put too much importance on what the body looks like,” says Shauster. “Accepting and feeling neutral about the inevitable body changes of aging is something that we can teach our kids at a young age and through our example.”
One area that often escapes notice when we’re watching calorie intake is what we drink, especially if we’re at a party drinking something alcoholic. Depending on the drink, you could be taking in quite a few calories, not to mentioned sugar.
Calorie-tracking app LoseIt recently took a look at calorie content for various alcohols, wines and beers.
On the alcoholic beverage front, vodka and tequila are the lowest in calories, 96 for an ounce and a half, followed closely by rum at 97. Gin at 110 is there highest on the list.
Spirits are “not only a popular pick for those looking to lose weight, but also for those following a carb-conscious diet like keto. And the perks of choosing spirits go beyond being low-calorie — they are also virtually carb- and sugar-free,” writes dietitian Anna Smith, MS, RDN, LDN.
One of the fun things about doing this food blog for more than 10 years is that now people send me food story ideas all the time. Most don’t apply to eating less salt, fat and sugar, but some do and I try to share as many as possible of those with you. The website Total Shape recently sent me a 7-day Mediterranean Diet plan, for example.
“Research found that the Mediterranean diet supports prevention of cardiovascular diseases, increases lifespan, and healthy aging. Also, when used in conjunction with caloric restriction, the diet may also support healthy weight loss,” a Total Shape nutritionist says.
The beginning of every year is normally when people talk about dieting and losing weight. Yet few stay true to that goal by year’s end. Still, we keep trying and now the calorie-tracking app LoseIt is offering some help with this list of most sustainable diets.
Good luck with your healthy eating in 2024!
The familiar Mediterranean Diet is number one but then come some surprises, like Hara Hachi Bu from Okinawa. Those words translate into 80% full, roughly, and that’s what the diet advocates, only eat until you are 80% full.
Coincidently I just saw this discussed on a Netflix series about places around the world where people live into their 90s and 100s,
I’ve long been fascinated by Okinawa. My dad built airfields for the U.S. Army Air Corps there during World War II. He wished he could have seen it without the destruction of war all around, saying it seemed a naturally beautiful place.
