Eating healthiness over 24 hours from Massive Health: http://bit.ly/I505dB

Alright…two Fridays in a row! Vs. posting this over the weekend I mean. Might be a first for me. Going to try to keep this up…

Really great bunch of articles this week. Enjoy!

The Truth? Healthy Living Requires Effort.

Source: Weighty Matters

This is a great post that tells it like it is – living a healthy lifestyle isn’t easy, but it is doable. And since your diet is such a huge part of it, we’re here to make it that much more doable.

Infographic: When The Lights Go Out, The World Eats Junk

Source: Co.Design

This infographic depicts how our food choices get worse and worse as the day progresses, speaking to the fact that our willpower is depleted as we make decisions throughout the course of the day. It’s a challenge for any of us to combat this, but surrounding yourself with healthy foods (and keeping the unhealthy ones out of the picture) is a good way to force yourself to be good. Easier said then done, of course.

Go check out the interactive version at Massive Health.

Junk food is more expensive than healthy food, says Dept. of Agriculture study

Source: New York Daily News

This is big news and runs counter to the perception among many consumers that healthy foods are more expensive. That’s simply not true according to this new study, and the findings are very compelling in our view.

Simple is Always Good, Right?

Source: The Blog of Bruce Bradley

Great message for all of us to keep in mind – “simple” foods from the big food companies are rarely as simple as they make them out to be. Very important to do some digging or just use a great app like Fooducate to learn more about the food you’re eating.

ANDI: The weird nutritional acronym explained

Source: Well+Good NYC

Surprisingly (to us anyway), we hadn’t heard of the ANDI rating system before, but it’s pretty awesome. It stands for Aggregate Nutrient Density Index, and vegetables score really well. We were psyched to see that many of the vegetables we serve here at Dig Inn (mustard greens, spinach, brussel sprouts) are in the top 10, and we’ll be adding some other high-scoring ones in min-June.

Big Poultry ramps up its assault on the Chesapeake

Source: Grist

This is what happens when industrial farming invades a region. Scary stuff.

GM crops in crisis: Roundup-resistant “superweeds”

Source: Food Politics

Pesticides leading to superweeds leading to more pesticides. This isn’t good. The perils of industrial farming.

8 Tips to Reduce Food Cravings

Source: MindBodyGreen

Some great tips to help reign in those food cravings. We all get them.

Eco-packaged Food is Not Necessarily Healthy Food

Source: Fooducate

Very important to keep this in mind when you’re at the grocery store.

So You Think You Can Steam Vegetables?

Source: Foodtrainers Blog

Some great tips for preparing steamed vegetables that you’ll actually enjoy eating – they don’t have to be boring!

Study Hall: Your brain on berries

Source: Well+Good NYC

Eat your berries! They’ll keep you smarter longer.

Sugar might make you stupid

Source: Grist

Yet another good reason to limit your sugar intake, especially added sugar coming from soda and other junk foods. And it’s worth noting that omega-3s can offset some of the damage…

The 10 Things Fitness Magazines Won’t Tell You

Source: LiveStrong

This is long, but it’s a GREAT read – I’ve never seen an article that speaks as much fitness truth all in one place. Our hats are off to Adam Bornstein, Editorial Director of Livestrong.com.

Workouts, Times 2 (or 3)

Source: New York Times

An interesting article about a uniquely-New York trend among women – doubling or tripling up on workouts in a single day.

Deskercise! 33 Ways to Exercise at Work

Source: Greatist

Some of these might be a little intense, but being active while you’re at work is absolutely critical to maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Check these out and see which ones might work for you. At the very least, take a break and go for a walk a couple of times a day.

Just wanted to let everyone know that the Vegetarian Chili is going away for a while now that the weather is (finally) starting to warm up.

We apologize if the chili is one of your favorite items, but it will be coming back. We currently have 3 other soups on the menu, and we need to make room for a couple of cold soups that will be added to the menu fairly soon.

If the chili is one of your go-tos, we would suggest that you check out our Succotash w/ Mustard Greens dish, pictured below. It’s loaded with heart healthy pinto beans, and the mustard greens are great for you as well. Not to mention that it tastes delicious! I literally get it everyday now – it’s become my go-to bean dish because it goes so well with everything else on the menu. It’s also light and refreshing, one of our lowest calorie dishes on the menu (check out the nutritional info here).

So if you’re really missing the chili, I’d give the Succotash a try in its place. Or you can always go with the Lentil Soup if you’re not a Succotash fan.

And not to worry too much – the chili will be back in the fall when the weather cools off again (and football season is back…).  We reserve the right to improve the recipe, but any change will only be for the better.

We hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any thoughts or questions in the comments below.

If you like to talk about food like we do, you may have heard the term “food miles” thrown around from time to time. This term refers to the distance food has traveled from where it was originally grown to your dinner table.

Given how large and globalized the market for food has become these days, food miles can get pretty high. This is what allows us to have strawberries available in the Northeast US in the dead of winter – they’re being trucked in from other parts of the country or even shipped or flown in from other parts of the world.

If you’re living here in New York City, here’s how food miles for a couple of local agricultural regions compare to those of a few of the most popular agricultural regions in the world:

• Long Island: 50-100 miles
• Upstate New York: 150 miles
• California: 2,800 miles
• Argentina: 5,000 miles
• China: 11,000 miles

So there’s a pretty dramatic difference between “local” food miles and “global” food miles. But what does this all matter? Why are food miles important? Below we discuss a few of the primary reasons should you care about how far your food has traveled.

Damage to the environment

One of the main knocks against foods with high food miles is that transporting anything great distances requires heavy consumption of fossil fuels. This depletes our natural resources and does a lot of damage to the environment in the process. Industrial farming (think big tractors and huge processing plants) consumes copious amounts of fossil fuels on its own so the last thing we need is to then truck or ship these industrial “products” great distances.

However, this is the nature of the beast. In order to realize the efficiencies of industrial farming, farms must be concentrated in certain areas (around processing facilities) instead of being spread out across the country. This requires them to be located long distances from the cities where the crops are ultimately sold. And as crops are transported to market, lots of fossil fuels are burned, thereby depleting natural resources and further adding to the CO2 in the atmosphere. Not a good combo.

Food safety

As Marion Nestle pointed out in a recent post (FDA’s Global Engagement), we import 80% of our seafood, ~50% of our fruit, and ~20% of our vegetables. Unfortunately, many of these products are grown in countries where regularly oversight is severely lacking, which makes it more likely that unsafe products get sent to the US.

The US also doesn’t have sufficient resources to properly screen all of the “fresh” food products coming into the country – all it can do is evaluate a very small sample (less than 3%, according to Nestle). So there are serious cracks in this system, and unsafe products are bound to slip through at times.

Therefore, it’s a fair assumption that produce and other raw foods coming from other parts of the world are riskier than foods grown here in the US, where regulatory overnight and screening practices are much stronger.

More processing / less nutrient density

Produce and other raw foods were not designed to travel great distances. On their own, these foods have very short shelf lives – most are intended by mother nature to be consumed soon after they’re harvested. But if you’re trucking food across the country, this food must be kept from spoiling for weeks or even months, which has been made possible by what they call “the cold chain.”

A cold chain is a temperature-controlled supply chain – a series of storage and transportation activities that seek to keep the food cold as it travels, thereby extending shelf lives. There are a few issues with this.

Processing occurs before the foods enter the food chain

Before fruits and vegetables are frozen, they are blanched in hot water or steam to kill bacteria and arrest the action of food-degrading enzymes. This causes certain water soluble vitamins to be lost.

If fruits and vegetables are allowed to ripen on the vine and are then “flash frozen,” many nutrients can be locked in – this is a good thing. However, in order to extend shelf lives, many foods are picked before they ripen naturally. Gases are then used to induce ripening later on in the process. So these fruits and vegetables may appear ripe, but they were given less time to naturally develop a full spectrum of vitamins and minerals. They were therefore less nutrient dense even before they entered the cold chain.

Breaks in the cold the chain are inevitable

Given how many times frozen foods are shifted from one storage or transportation device to another throughout their long journeys, breaks in the chain are inevitable. At various points in time, frozen foods are exposed to light and heat that degrade certain nutrients, especially more delicate vitamins like Vitamin C and some types of Vitamin B.

Frozen foods lose nutrients over time

As times passes, nutrients inevitably degrade, but frozen foods can be preserved for months at a time. The longer produce remains frozen before it gets eaten, the fewer nutrients it will have (relative to what it started with). So regardless of the process involved, nutrient density naturally degrades over time.

So what’s the end result of the cold chain? “Fresh” foods that are more processed and less nutrient dense.

Freshness = flavor

Last but certainly not least, fresh food tastes better – a lot better. Once fruits and vegetables have naturally ripened, their flavors have reached their peaks. It’s all downhill from there.

So the best time to eat something is as soon after it’s harvested as possible. Ideally, we would all grow our own fruits and vegetables and eat them as we harvest them (or soon thereafter). But since this clearly isn’t feasible for most of us, the more locally you can source your produce, the better.

This is why we like buying food from local farms here at Dig Inn – fresh fruits and vegetables with low food miles just taste a lot better on their own. Using truly fresh produce makes our job a lot easier – much less cooking, seasoning, etc. is required to achieve great tasting dishes.

So that’s our big secret – local tastes better. Just don’t tell anybody.

Actually publishing this on a Friday this week! Hopefully it’s helpful to have this list before the weekend starts…gives you plenty of time to read whichever articles pique your interest before the Monday madness begins once again. Enjoy.

Chlorophyll: The great detoxer

Source: Well+Good NYC

Maybe chlorophyll isn’t so boring after all? Seriously, though, it’s got a lot of great health benefits, and it comes naturally with any green veggies – the greener the better.

Omega-3s and Your Brain

Source: Dr. Weil’s Daily Health Tips

Very quick read about how omega-3 fatty acids could slow changes in the brain that lead to dementia. Oh how we love omega-3s. Is there anything they can’t do?

Volumetrics: The “Eat More, Gain Less” Diet

Source: Fooducate

This is why it’s great to load up on the veggies. Takes up space in your stomach, making you feel full, without overloading your body with calories. Sounds pretty compelling to us.

For Healthier Eating, Keep Fruits, Veggies Within Reach

Source: MedlinePlus

Another good one on how fruits and veggies can help us consume fewer calories. Anecdotally, I’ve been trying to keep more fruits and veggies in the fridge and fewer carb-heavy snacks on my shelves, which has naturally steered me toward eating more healthful snacks. Takes some getting used to, but forcing yourself to be disciplined by keeping the healthy stuff in front of you does seem to be effective.

FDA’s Global Engagement

Source: Food Politics

Speaks to the risks associated with a globalized food market. This is one of the big reasons we prefer to eat local.

9 Nasty Truths About The Meals You Eat

Source: Civil Eats

Not a particularly fun read, but some great things to be aware of before your next trip to the supermarket.

‘Bitter Seeds’ documentary reveals tragic toll of GMOs in India

Source: Grist

GMOs (genetically modified organisms) aren’t just an issue here in the US, but it turns out that those who are responsible for the problem are exactly the same – Big Ag / Monsanto. This is a pretty sad story.

42% of American adults will be obese by 2030, study says

Source: LA Times

Unfortunately, this problem is not going away. Makes us want to open more Dig Inns like tomorrow…

Composting Isn’t As Hard As You Think

Source: Prevention.com

Some helpful tips on how to do your own composting.

Mixing Weight Training and Aerobics

Source: New York Times

Turns out there’s no harm in doing cardio and weights on the same day, and it’s actually a more efficient way to work out. Also, while it’s not mentioned in this article, I’ve read elsewhere that lifting before your cardio workout (vs. doing the opposite) maximizes your calorie burn. Just FYI.

MINI-GUIDE: HOW TO GET BETTER SLEEP

Lots of good stuff on sleep this week, from a number of different sources. Below is a quick mini-guide to getting better rest, which is incredibly important for your general health and for sticking with a healthy diet (since sleep deprivation causes you to crave fatty and sugary foods).

“Force Quit” Yourself to Get Your Sleep Schedule Back on Track and Avoid Another Day of Fatigue

Source: LifeHacker 

Some great tips for those of us who perpetually find ourselves staying up to late to finish a few “quick” tasks before calling it a day.

Nutritional Nightcaps

Source: NatureBox Blog 

Suggestions on what to eat before bed to get a better night’s rest.

Will Eating at Night Make Me Gain Weight?

Source: Greatist

The answer may come as a surprise. This one’s definitely worth a quick read if you like to grab a bite before bed.

Hey, Sleepyhead! How to Be a Morning Person

Source: Greatist

Turns out those darn morning people tend to be more productive than those of us who get into our rhythm at night. But if you’re like me, mornings can be pretty painful. Greatist offers a bunch of helpful tips for making them less so. You can definitely get better at it over time.

Welcome back to another installment of our Know Your Farmer series. In this post, we’re going to get to know Koch’s Turkey Farm, a second generation family farm on 60 acres in Lewiston Valley, Pennsylvania.

As some of you may have read, we started working with Koch’s in January of this year. It was the end of a long road for us in trying to find a turkey farm that both satisfied our standards and had a great-tasting product, and we are thankful to have found such a great partner in Koch’s.

A Second Generation Family Farm

Koch’s is a second generation turkey farm, founded in 1953 by Lowell and Elizabeth Koch (above, second from right). The farm is now run by the second generation family members Barb (featured above left), Duane, Beth, and Pam. Barb runs the sales efforts, while the rest of the family focuses on farmer relationships, growing and production.

Our Visit

We took the 2 1/2 hour ride out to Lewiston Valley to see the family and farm operation first hand. It was a great trip and we learned a lot.

The turkey farm is set on 60 acres and has 12 turkey houses. During their busiest season (Thanksgiving), Koch’s can have as many as 40,000 turkeys on their home farm range. In milder weather, the turkey’s are allowed to leave the houses and roam free. During the colder months, the turkeys are kept inside, though the sides of the sheds are open (screened in) and nicely ventilated so fresh air can pass through. When it gets really cold, Koch’s uses butane gas heaters to keep the birds warm. The birds tend to do a nice job of keeping each other warm by staying close to one another.

We also got to see the processing facility in full swing. Though we are quite comfortable with the humane nature of their slaughtering practices, we’ll spare you the details since this probably isn’t something that anyone wants to read about, irrespective of how humane the process is. In addition to seeing it ourselves, the fact that Koch’s is a Certified Humane farm allowed us to get very comfortable with their processing standards.

Their Standards

The big reason we visit our livestock farms is to understand how the animals are raised and processed. Because Koch’s is Certified Humane (which has very explicit guidelines and standards), we already had a good sense as to what type of practices are employed there. That being said, it is always best to see the operation first hand. The birds are naturally raised, antibiotic-free, and served a vegetarian diet comprised primarily of corn and soybeans. Here are a few of their standards worth mentioning – they do a great job.

1. Lighting. Houses are open on the side so lighting is natural, both sunlight and darkness. This is above the certified humane requirement to give the turkeys a minimum of 8 hours of light and 6 hours of darkness per day.
2. Antibiotics. The birds we buy from Koch’s are never, ever administered antibiotics (hence the term “antibiotic-free” or ABF). To the extent they fall ill, antibiotics are permitted for disease treatment only, and these birds are then removed from the all-natural, antibiotic-free population and sold as conventional birds (which we don’t purchase).
3. Air Quality. Again, because the houses are open on the sides, the air quality in Koch’s turkey houses is above the Certified Humane standard, which is based an ammonia levels –  not to exceed 25 ppm and recommended to be less than 10 ppm.
4. Outdoor Access. Once again, Koch’s is above the Certified Humane standard. Though Certified Humane does not require outdoor access, Koch’s turkeys are allowed access whenever temperatures allow. We did not get to see them out of the houses since it was 45 degrees when we visited in January, but we were told that the birds really enjoy getting out and stretching their legs.

So that, in a nutshell, is why we’re thrilled to be working with Koch’s Turkey Farm. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or comments. We like to talk turkey.

Want to learn more about Koch’s Turkey Farm? Lots of good info on their website.

We’re very excited to announce a brand new shake & smoothie line up, rolling out today at all 5 Dig Inn locations. We now have 6 brand new 16 oz shakes, all priced at just $4.59.

Here’s what we like about them:

• They’re made with all fresh fruit – none of that frozen stuff.
• They come with a ton of antioxidants, thanks to all the fresh fruit and other all-natural & organic ingredients.
• They’re a great source of fiber since our blending process retains nearly all of the roughage.
• They’re light on calories but big on flavor & satiety - we’ve got 2 smoothies under 200 calories and the rest are low in calories as well (see below).
• The smaller 16 oz size goes great with a plate and makes for an excellent mid- to late- afternoon snack
• They’re great for a natural energy boost – skip the afternoon coffee and grab a shake instead (nutritionally, it’s a lot better for you than a fancy coffee drink…).

Keep reading for more information about each of these shakes, as well as some big, beautiful photos taken by our own Chef Daniel (you may not realize it, but our very talented chef doubles as a very talented amateur photographer).

Warning: these photos will make you want to have one – like now! So please proceed at your own risk…

Peanut Butter

All natural peanut butter, fresh whole banana, whole dates, agave nectar, and skim milk.

453 calories. Allergens: Dairy, Peanuts.

Chocolate

Organic cacao, fresh whole banana, whole dates, organic soy milk, and agave nectar.

308 calories. Allergens: Soy.

Apple Avocado

Green apple, avocado, agave nectar, organic soy milk and lime juice.

374 calories. Allergens: Soy.

Pineapple Coconut

Coconut water, fresh pineapple, fresh basil leaves, and agave nectar.

157 calories. Allergens: none.

Strawberry Banana

Fresh whole banana, fresh strawberries, fresh squeezed orange juice, and whole dates.

263 calories. Allergens: none.

Pomegranate Pear

Fresh bartlett pear, fresh ginger slices, fresh mint leaves, pomegranate juice, and agave nectar.

155 calories. Allergens: none.

We’re often asked what kind of cooking oil we use in our recipes, and the short answer is primarily extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and canola oil and not that much in general. But there’s more to it than that so let me explain in more detail.

Cooking oil basics

Oils are fat and fats are relatively high in calories vs. proteins and carbohydrates – 1 gram of fat has 9 calories, whereas 1 gram of protein or carbohydrates only has 4 calories. But this doesn’t mean that all fats are bad or that you should avoid them completely, it just means that they’re more calorically dense (1 tablespoon of fat has approximately 120 calories) and should be consumed in moderation.

In fact, fats have been wrongly vilified for years, as more and more scientists are admitting these days. To quote a recent LA Times article called A reversal on carbs, “a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbohydrates — not fat — for America’s ills.” This helpful infographic from Massive Health does a great job of explaining why fats are NOT the problem.

That being said, there are bad fats out there (commonly known as “trans fat” or “partially hydrogenated oils”), and these should be strictly avoided. But because the vegetable cooking oils we use here at Dig Inn are not hydrogenated and contain only unsaturated fat, they fall squarely in the good fats category, which is why we’re not afraid to use them in our recipes. We’ve previously discussed why we like unsaturated fat in the context of our brussel sprouts recipe. The other kind of fat, saturated fat, is typically put in the bad fats category, but this is complicated topic that we’ll leave for a separate post. And since all of the fat in vegetable oil comes from unsaturated fat (plants don’t have saturated fat), we can ignore it for the purpose of this discussion.

Even though the cooking oils we use don’t come with any bad fats, we’re still very careful not to use too much. As with anything, you can overdo it, and if you do, your food will be very high in calories. And if you’re consuming more calories than you’re using on a daily basis, those extra calories will turn into fat in your body. So in order to keep our dishes from being too high in calories, we use cooking oil sparingly. Our aim is to offer a healthful, generous plate of food, which does not skimp on flavor and is very satisfying overall.

Oils makes food palatable. Think of a salad, which can be quite boring, bland, and dry on its own but makes for a very flavorful and satisfying dish when dressed with a light oil & vinegar dressing. This is why we love the idea of adding flavor to our dishes using high quality cooking oils, as well as other good unsaturated fats likes nuts, avocados, olives, and seeds.

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

About 75% of the unsaturated fat in olive oil comes from monounsaturated fats (MUFAs) and the rest comes from polyunsaturated fats (PUFAs). EVOO is particularly awesome because it has high amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, such as oleic acid, which come with numerous health benefits. Olive oil has been shown to help reduce the risk of certain cancers and heart disease, reduce inflammation, and lower your level of bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol).

That being said, not all olive oil is created equal. When we shop for good olive oil, we want it to be from the first pressing (this is what makes it “extra virgin” olive oil), which should be done in cool temperatures. When you’re shopping for yourself in grocery stores, you’ll see that certain bottles are advertised as “cold-pressed” – this is a good thing.

The extra virgin olive oil we use here at Dig Inn is stored in dark tinted glass bottles or aluminum canisters, which protects it from light and allows natural vitamins and antioxidants to be preserved. When poured, it is dense and dark green and has an astringent “grassy” taste. Because we’re a busy restaurant, we use opened olive oil containers up quickly so rancidity is never an issue. If you’re cooking for yourself (and therefore cycling through your cooking oil more slowly), oil that has gone rancid will taste bitter and smell “off.” This means it’s time to head to the grocery store to pick up a new bottle, which is why it’s a good idea to purchase small bottles of olive oil instead of the big ones.

Canola oil

Canola oil is made from rapeseeds. Rapeseeds come from the rape plant, which is a part of the mustard family (along with brussel sprouts, cabbage, turnips, etc.). About 60% of the fat in canola oil comes in the form of monounsaturated fat vs. 50% in soybean oil, 20% in sunflower oil, and 15% in safflower oil. Like olive oil, canola oil also has a beneficial omega-3 fatty acid profile.

We like the neutral flavor of canola, which proves to be a terrific fill-in for our extra virgin olive oil when we’re not looking for a strong olive taste, which can be somewhat overpowering at times depending on the rest of the ingredients in a recipe. Canola oil is also ideal for high heat application since it has a high smoking point (meaning it won’t burn easily). Heating cooking oil to the smoking point can create carcinogens, which is why you never want to do this.

We also make sure that the canola oil we purchase is not hydrogenated. Hydrogenated oils contain partially hydrogenated fats, which are fats whose molecular bondings have been rearranged in an incomplete and very unhealthy way – these partially hydrogenated fats are known as trans fats. Trans fat is known to increase bad cholesterol (LDL cholesterol) and decrease good cholesterol (HDL cholesterol), thereby increasing the risk of coronary heart disease – no bueno!

It’s worth noting that the big processed food companies like hydrogenated oils because they have prolonged shelf lives, which is good for business. Fortunately, consumer awareness of the perils of trans fat has risen substantially in recent years, which has dramatically reduced the amount of trans fat in the nation’s food supply. There is ZERO trans fat on the menu here at Dig Inn.

Any other questions?

We hope this post has addressed your questions about how we use cooking oils here at Dig Inn, but please let us know if we missed anything. The comments section is the best way to reach us. Thanks!

Fight the urge! Processed carbs like this one are what's really making us fat.

Hope you all had a good week. Here’s a list of the best articles we came across in the last 7 days. You can browse the list and see what looks interesting to you, and clicking on an article’s title will take you to the article itself (in a new tab or window).

Scientists now saying carbs, not fat, are to blame for America’s ills

Source: LA Times

To quote the LA Times directly, “a growing number of top nutritional scientists blame excessive carbohydrates — not fat — for America’s ills.” That about sums it up. Like this infographic from Massive Health that we shared a while back, it’s becoming scientific fact that excessive consumption of processed carbs is the problem, not fat.

The Local Foods Wheel – New York

Source: Gabrielle Langholtz of Edible Manhattan

Here’s a beautiful chart that shows you how to eat seasonally and locally here in New York. This thing’s going on our fridge for sure, and you can purchase your own copy here.

Is the ‘obesity lobby’ winning?

Source: Grist

This is pretty discouraging stuff. So much of our food policy is still being determined by whoever has the most lobbying dollars. Very frustrating.

‘Food, Inc.’ chicken farmer has a new, humane farm

Source: Grist

This, on the other hand, is quite encouraging. Sustainable, humane livestock farms can work, even for farmers who are currently raising their livestock via much more industrial methods. Would be great to see more farmers make this switch.

High Fat Food – Straight to Your Bloodstream (video)

Source: Fooducate

Scary stuff about the impact of bad fat (from things like unhealthy fast food) on your bloodstream and general health. You can actually see the before and after difference in the video, which is pretty shocking.

Badvertising: Fruitsations +Veggies are Neither Fruit Nor Vegetable

Source: Weighty Matters

Very hard to trust advertising from the big food brands, and this ad in particular is pretty ridiculous.

7 May Superfoods

Source: Huffington Post

Great list of healthful foods that are just starting to hit their peak growing seasons.

Superfruit, or just a plain old Clark Kent fruit?

Source: LA Times

On the other hand, you should be somewhat leery about the whole “superfood” or “superfruit” thing. While these foods may be great for you, they may not be THAT much better than other less exotic fruits and veggies. But they’re often quite a bit more expensive.

Studies Question the Pairing of Food Deserts and Obesity

Source: New York Times 

Two new studies question whether food desserts are really the problem, based on the fact that residents in many areas that have high rates of obesity also have plenty of access to grocery stores.

Will better access to healthier foods reduce obesity?

Source: Food Politics

Marion Nestle comments on the article above and lists several reasons why access to healthful foods alone cannot reverse obesity. The real issue, she believes, is poverty, and it’s a pretty compelling argument.

Crop yields are only part of the organic vs. conventional farming debate

Source: Grist

A good discussion of the trade-offs that come with organic farming vs. large-scale industrial farming. Organic farming does result in lower yields, but it also has a much lesser negative impact on the environment. So from an efficiency standpont, organic comes out on top.

Don’t Just Sit There

Source: New York Times

More scientific evidence that sitting for long periods of time is terrible for you, even if you exercise regularly.

Can You Exercise Too Much?

Source: Greatist

No doubt about it – it’s definitely possible to overtrain. This helpful post provides some tips on how you can tell if you’re overdoing it and how to avoid getting to that point.

Ten Fun Tequila Facts for Cinco De Mayo

Source: Fooducate

Just a fun one to end on, especially if you’re going to be out enjoying the holiday today. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

Turns out that it may be more than you think, especially if you’re a big Starbucks person.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Starbucks. I drink their brewed coffee (I’m a bold or “dark roast” guy) two times a day just about everyday. I’ve got my Gold Rewards Card loaded up on my iPhone so I can check out with my Starbucks app without ever having to pull out my wallet (yes, I’m that guy). I love the taste of their coffee and especially the high caffeine content. As someone who doesn’t sleep nearly enough (and I know I’m not alone), a Venti to wake me up in the morning and a Tall or Grande after lunch to get me through the afternoon has become part of my daily routine. My day feels off if I deviate.

But the question is, by doing this, how much caffeine am I actually consuming on a daily basis?

I had no idea, at least not until I checked out the nutritional information on the Starbucks website last night. And when I did, I was actually kind of shocked – a Venti “Bold Pick of the Day” has some 415 mg of caffeine. That’s a ton! A Grande has 330 mg and a Tall has 260 mg, both of which are quite high for their sizes.

How do I know? According to a very helpful post from Greatist last week called “How Much Is To Much Caffeine?”, most people should consume no more than 500 mg of caffeine per day. This was the first time I’ve come across an actual suggested daily limit for milligrams of caffeine consumed per day (largely because I haven’t bothered to look it up). Greatist also provides a helpful benchmark to allow you to gauge your own daily caffeine consumption, saying that two cups of strong coffee contains about 200 mg of caffeine. So I thought to myself: “Okay, cool, so that means I can consume about 5 cups of strong coffee a day. There’s no way I’m consuming more than that right now.”

But then I remembered that a cup is technically just 8 oz, and a Venti is much larger than that – it turns out that a Venti cup holds 20 oz (I had thought it was 16). So that means that I’m consuming 2 and a half cups each morning, which would equal about 250 mg of caffeine based on Greatist’s benchmark. Quite a bit, but still not that bad.

However, Starbucks coffee is MUCH stronger than a “strong” cup of coffee (this is pretty obvious to anyone who’s tried it, and it’s actually why a lot of people like it, including yours truly). So instead of consuming 250 mg of caffeine each morning, I was consuming more like 415 mg (according to the nutritional info on their website as cited above), and that was just in the morning! When you tack on a Tall or Grande in the afternoon, that would put me at something like 675 mg or 745 mg for the day. Over 700 mg a day! Well above the 500 mg suggested daily limit.

So okay, this means that I’m consuming more than the recommended max each day. But maybe this isn’t so bad - Greatist very clearly points out that the daily limit can vary wildly from person to person. Some people are more sensitive to caffeine than others, and it also depends a lot on your diet and exercise habits. Also, your body gets used to caffeine over time so if you’ve been drinking a lot for a while, your body could very well be able to handle something like 700 mg per day.

So maybe 700 mg is okay for me personally, but how do I know for sure? What if I am consuming too much caffeine, and I just don’t realize it?

Unfortunately, it’s hard to ever definitively know the answer to these questions. Many of the symptoms of excessive caffeine consumption are subtle, difficult to measure, and hard to attribute to caffeine directly. According to the Mayo Clinic, the negative effects of heavy daily caffeine use (which they peg at 500 to 600 mg per day) are the following:

• Insomnia
• Nervousness
• Anxiety*
• Restlessness
• Irritability
• Stomach upset
• Fast heartbeat
• Muscle tremors

Luckily, I can safely rule out most of these issues, but what about things like insomnia, irritability, and anxiety that are more difficult to measure? I’ve never been a good sleeper, but I attribute this largely to an overactive imagination, not excessive caffeine consumption. But what if too much caffeine is making it even more difficult for me to sleep than it otherwise would be?

Irritability is another one. While I tend to think I’m a fairly easy-going person in general (perhaps my coworkers would disagree), I do feel like I’ve been a bit more irritable as of late, which syncs up pretty well with this two cup a day routine that has become the new norm for me. Have I been more irritable lately? How would I know? And how would I know if it’s because of excessive caffeine consumption?

It’s really hard to say, and the only way to answer questions like these is to try different things out for yourself – I need to try drinking less coffee for a while and see if I sleep better and become less irritable. Since everyone is different, this is really all you can do in cases like these – experiment and see what works for you.

But since there are so many other factors involved in things like insomnia and irritability, I’ll probably never have a definitive answer. And in the absence of knowing for sure, I tend to think that what’s recommended for most people should probably apply to me (no matter how special I may think I am…). So I’m going to change my habits and try to get down to more like 500 mg per day. From now on, I’m going to go with a Grande in the morning and a Tall in the afternoon. Maybe I’ll even try skipping the Tall on some days.

All of this being said, I don’t want to suggest that I think coffee is bad for you. Quite the contrary actually. Based on everything I’ve read, coffee is GREAT for you – it has lots of antioxidants, it can prevent disease and cancer, it can relieve pain (how good is a cup of coffee when you’ve got a little bit of a hangover?), it’s been linked to improved memory recall, it can speed up your metabolism, and it has obvious alertness and endurance benefits. Check out these three posts if you don’t believe me:

• Why Coffee & Tea Are Amazing for You (infographic) - Greatist
• Can Coffee Save Your Life? - The Daily Beast
• How Coffee Can Galvanize Your Workout - NY Times Well Blog

But even if coffee has all of these health benefits, too much caffeine can be problematic for the reasons cited above. So as with everything, moderation is key. I’m going to give that a try for a while and see what happens. I’ll let you know how it goes!

What do you think – is too much caffeine bad for you? Have you had any experience with excessive caffeine consumption? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.

* This is not actually on the Mayo Clinic’s list but is closely related to the other symptoms and is cited as a negative in the Greatist article referenced above and this MSNBC.com article. 

Always on the look out for interesting refreshments to offer our guests, we couldn’t ignore the recent buzz about kombucha (a.k.a. mushroom tea), an effervescent tea-based beverage. Kombucha seems to be all the rage these days and with good reason we think – it’s great for you, it’s low in calories, and it tastes darn good (although some people may think it’s a bit of an acquired taste…).

Kombucha brewing secrets

Kombucha is produced by fermenting green or black tea through the use of yeast, bacteria, and some form of sugar. The yeast eats the sugar and creates a natural fermentation that takes place over the course of approximately two weeks. As a result of the fermentation process, the sweetened tea develops an acidic flavor profile and a refreshing bubbly effervescence.

A watchful eye and lots of tasting experience from the brew master is needed in order to get it just right – too short and it’ll be too sweet or tart, too long and it won’t be tart at all, which makes it very flat. Brew times also change throughout the seasons, further complicating the brewing process. In winter, for instance, kombucha tends to take a bit longer to develop it’s full flavor profile.

So experience on behalf of the brew master is key in creating a great-tasting kombucha.

Why it’s good for you

Kombucha is said to have both energizing and detoxifying effects due to an array of organic acids (malic, actic, gluconic, and succinic) that are believed to play a role in ridding the body of harmful chemicals.

Kombucha is also full of probiotics, such as saccharomyces boulardii and lactobacillus bacteria that are commonly found in yogurt, which have normalizing effects on the digestive system. These good bacteria crowd out bad bacteria, thereby allowing good bacteria to further proliferate.

It’s even said that kombucha is helpful in preventing cancer and improving liver function, but there’s not much scientific evidence to support these claims at the time of this writing.

Nutritionally, it’s low in calories (just 60 per 16oz bottle), which makes it a great, natural alternative to diet soda or even water (if you’re looking for a little flavor / variety). Lately, some of us here in the office have been drinking kombucha in place of our daily coffee.

Why we chose Kombucha Brooklyn

The kombucha beverage that we’ll soon be featuring on our menu, Kombucha Brooklyn’s Straight Up flavor, is brewed with organic evaporated cane sugar, which is much better for you than the regular white sugar or high fructose corn syrup that’s found in other kombuchas (as well as in many other sweetened drinks). Cane sugar is much less processed than these other forms of sugar, which allows it to retain its natural vitamins and minerals.

Also, the sugar in cane sugar comes in the form of sucrose, which has a better balance of glucose and fructose vs. high fructose corn syrup. While glucose can be used by the body’s cells directly for energy production, fructose must first pass through the liver to be converted to fructose-1-phosphate, which is typically stored as fat. This is one of the reasons that high fructose corn syrup is closely linked with the obesity epidemic.

In addition, the fact that the cane sugar used by Kombucha Brooklyn is organic means that it’s totally devoid of pesticides and toxins, and we love the fact that they’re a local brewer.

Why we decided to serve kombucha

In addition to the health benefits noted above, we really like the sweet, somewhat tart flavor, which reminds us of a spritzy wine similar to prosecco. This makes kombucha very refreshing and perfect for the upcoming hot summer season. We also like the effervescence, which is very similar to carbonation, which we miss at times because we don’t drink much soda over here at Dig Inn.

Kombucha also contains a tiny bit of alcohol (not nearly enough to be called an alcoholic beverage), which actually gave us a very light buzz at a recent kombucha tasting (we had drank a bunch of it). So cheers to that!

Have any other questions about kombucha? Please let us know in the comments.

* It’s worth noting that kombucha sometimes gets a bad rap because many people do their own amateur kombucha brewing in “home labs.” This has been known to lead to a toxic cocktail that causes sickness when consumed. You can rest assured that we’re leaving it to the professionals in this case – the guys over at Kombucha Brooklyn really know what they’re doing!