Iron Chef Reflection

I very much enjoyed the Iron Chef activity we did in class. I though it was a fun way to let the class get creative but still have some boundaries. I think Iron Chef is a good activity to do in foods because it creates a little bit of friendly competition and pushes everyone to want to do their best. My group made relitivly last minute decisions which I’m not particularly proud of but one of our decisions was to make the strawberry syrup that ended up turning out really good. I wish that we had thought to do things like that earlier so we weren’t as stressed but it ended up being okay. We chose this specific recipe because we knew that most groups would do more lunch/dinner recipies and we wanted to stand out and go for something that no one would expect to be made with yams. Personally I don’t like yam’s so I don’t have much opinion on the recipie we did. I think we chose this specific recipe mainly because we wanted something that wasn’t going to take a super long time to make just in case we did something wrong so we would have time to fix our mistake. We also chose it because we didn’t want to have to pick a recipe and not have the ingredients for it. I think we definitely could have done a better job on this recipe because the final product didn’t end up looking great and the yam taste was kind of masked by the rest of the flavours. I think we definitely could have chosen a better recipe that we could have easily made in the time limit and kept with the ingredient restrictions. If I were to do this activity again, specifically this recipe I wold have made sure we boiled the yam we used before we mashed it to make sure it was more like a pancake batter consistency rather than a dough like consistency. If I could do this again completely I would definitely make sure I had a recipe that was more complex and was able to really show off the flavours of the yam. All in all I’m quite happy with how the recipe we chose went although I do think that we could have done a better job in choosing a recipe.

Foods 12 – Oct/Nov/Dec Lab Reflection

I chose to reflect on the Gaufre de Leige/Bruxelles because they suprised me in how good they were. I enjoyed the waffles quite a bit but I was suprised that I did because generally I’m not a huge fan of Belgian waffles but these homemade ones were really good. I think the waffles turned out a lot better than i was expecting considering the fact that I thought I wasnt going to like them. Our group worked really efficiently while making the waffles, we all had different tasks to do that sped up our work and made it easier to do. If I were to make these waffles again, I think I would try putting fruit into the waffles and see how they turn out.

I also chose to reflect on the DIY cheese because it was probably one of my favourite labs I’ve done in all of my years in foods. I very much enjoy cheese and it was cool to see the process in how it is made. I loved being able to customize my cheese to whatever I wanted, I think it made the lab more fun and interesting. My partner and I worked well together while making the cheese as we were able to spit the tasks evenly so we could work efficiently. I would definitely make this lab again if I had the time, I dont think I would change anything about the lab except maybe experiment with some different spices just to see what I like.

Cooking Showcase

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Foods 12 – A Place at the Table Response

The examples shown in the movie were Barbie and her two kids, and Rosie and her family. These two families lived in very different environments but both suffered from the same problem of food insecurity. Both families coped by buying very cheap but unhealthy foods and drinks that negatively affected their health. The families used food stamps, food banks, charities, and help from others to get food to feed their families. No I do not think that they were successful because even though they were getting assistance to afford their food the families weren’t getting their nutritional needs met which resulted in health problems.

The demographic that is most at risk for experiencing food insecurity are the rural families and low income/single income families. The reason the low income families are more at risk is because they don’t earn enough money to be able to afford enough nutritional food to feed their families. The rural families are at risk because the lack of jobs are super markets near them and sometimes not enough funds to pay to drive to the closest supermarket.

My personal reaction to this movie was definitely concern. I knew a bit about food insecurity before watching this movie. I knew that welfare and food stamps aren’t able to help people properly and nutriously feed their families but I didn’t know how bad it actually is. I was suprised at the number of people in America who are labeled as ‘food insecure’ and the amount of money that people actually recieve with food stamps was so low. So people who recieve food stamps are only able to afford unhealthy food which inevitably ends with many health problems.

If i was in a position to directly influence food insecurity, I would increase the amount of money given to families for food stamps by $5 by taking money out of the budget for defense and weapons. I think policies that could aid people would be by increasing the national budget for the farms that produce fruits and veggies while also lowering the price of fruits and veggies, making them more affordable for lower income families so that they’re not always buying unhealthy snacks.

Does Caffeine Stunt Our Growth?

All our lives we have been told that coffee stunts our growth, but does it actually? According to an article from Harvard Medical School, there is no scientifically valid evidence to suggest that coffee can stunt a persons growth. Some people believe that coffee can cause osteoporosis which can be associated with a loss of height but coffee does not cause osteoporosis. There are studies that suggests a link between people who drink coded and a lack of calcium and vitamin D. The lack 0f calcium and vitamin D can in fact lead to osteoporosis but this is not because of coffee. The article mentions that most people tend to start drinking caffeine after most of their growing is done and one or two sips as a kid isn’t going to stop that growing process. A recent study tracked 81 teenagers for 6 years and found no difference in bone density between the teens who consumed a lot of coffee and those who barely had any. Although there are some more minor health issues in regards to coffee consumption there are really no major issues. In fact nutritionists are more worried about the other ingredients added in to coffee. To conclude, the old wives tale that coffee stunts is completely false. Coffee can lead to other health problems such as making us hyper and increasing our heart rate but it does not stop us from growing. If you want to blame your lack of height on something, blame it on your parents because being short is due to your genes, not because of your coffee consumption.

https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/can-coffee-really-stunt-your-growth

https://science.howstuffworks.com/innovation/edible-innovations/coffee-stunt-growth1.htm

Foods 12 – September Lab Reflection

I chose to reflect on the Moms Apple Pie Jam because I found it the most interesting lab we did this month. I enjoyed this lab a lot more than I thought I was going to. I personally don’t like apple jam very much and I also don’t like super sweet thing very much. Seeing how much sugar went into the jam I was immediately worried about if I would like the jam much if at all. I was pleasantly suprised by the jam and I think it went really well on top of the crossiants we made. The end product wasn’t overly sweet and I think it looked as if it was professionally done. I think my group worked pretty well together. We were able to get the apples cut to the correct size extremely fast and were able to start making our jam way before the other groups. I think my group was really good at time management and splitting up the jobs to help us work together better. The only problem we really had was when were were trying to put the jam into the jars we ended up spilling quite a bit on the jam on to the sides of the jar and I was worried that we didnt clean it enough for the sealing to work. If I were to do this lab again I think I would be intrested in trying to make the jam with less sugar to see if it would still taste as good. I would also try making the jam with a different fruit. I’m not completely sure what fruit I would choose to make the jam with but I think it would be an interesting task.

Foods Waste

Personally I try my best to not create any food waste or waste in general. When I am cooking I use as much of the food product as I can. I always save my food for leftovers and my family never has too much food in our fridge. Usually when I go out to eat I order food not knowing how big the portion is and when I receive it I am unpleasantly suprised when I see how much food I received. I find that because I’m so picky I tend to pick out the foods that I dont like in a dish and throw them out even though someone else would happily eat them. I also tend to give myself more food than I can finish which usually ends in everything I don’t end up eating being thrown in the compost bin. A way to cut down waste in my house is to give myself smaller portions of food when I am getting myself food and just grab more if I’m still hungry. I can also share dishes with friends or family if I go out to eat and order more than I am able to finish all by myself.