1970's: The Godfather

    Over the past few decades we have become more aware of how our diets can influence our health. In America eating has become a social hobby with friends, families and for celebrations subsequently resulting in obesity. Although we know more about food it does not seem to stop Americans from indulging. Obesity, as well as many other health issues seem to be a prevalent problem. 

     I want to look at popular movies from the last four decades observe their dietary choices and how, if any, they have evolved over the years because after all we know how powerful of a tool the media can be. I will be observing movies in the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's.

1970's: The Godfather (1972) 

   The Godfather is a classic mafia movie that took place in New York during the 1970's. The movie showed the struggles of the Corleone family to maintain their position in the mafia world. The movie itself had a big cultural influence from Italy. Many of the traditions, drinks and food are evident throughout the film such as wine, pasta and bread. According to imdb.com "There are approximately 61 scenes in the film that feature people eating/drinking, or just food."

1) Beverages: 

Wine:

Wine seemed to be the main character in this movie. Red wine was almost in every scene, whether it was a family get together, mafia meeting, holiday, wedding, or a simple conversation. Many of the bottles of red wine observed in the movie were in homemade bottles, continuing one of the Italian traditions of making your own wine.

The only scene where we saw white wine was one of the last scenes of the movie in Las Vegas where there are a plethora of women waiting for Michael Corleone each with a glass at hand. To me this suggested that red wine is considered a family drink, whereas white wine is more of a party drink.

*Red wine does have health benefits, it is a known antioxidant associated with some health benefits against cancer and other diseases. This is one of the things that makes the Mediterranean diet such a success.

   - Scotch: The second favored beverage was scotch. The drink stood for a variety of things a peace offering in meetings, a proper greeting for male guests and a way of relaxing. Within the first few private meetings of the movie the Godfather offers these shots of liquor to his guests. Although it was a favored beverage, only the men in the movie drank it, making me think it was a drink of "power" to the director or high class, but not many women were in the movie.

2) Fruit:

I was surprised to see many fruits in this movie, but unfortunately none of which were actually eaten. The fruit seemed to be more of a decoration and a centerpiece than a snack. Some of the fruits seen were: apples, oranges, pears and red grapes.

Oranges were a very important part in the filming of the movies according to imdb.com "The presence of oranges in the Godfather trilogy indicates that a death-related event will soon occur."

The fruits seemed to be more of a tool than a food in the film, the only time it is seen being eaten is nearly two hours in when a man at a meeting is peeling an apple. 

3) Meals:

The traditions for many Italian families are the sit down dinners with everyone. Their meals usually consist of: bread, wine, pastas, meat of sorts, and a salad. To my surprise not many meals were actually eaten in this film. 

- The first meal observed was between Michael Corleone and his girlfriend and his sisters wedding. It is hard to make out exactly what is on both plates until Michael asks her how her lasagna was.

- The second meal observed took place in Los Angeles between two men regarding a favor for the family. There was rice, vegetables (green beans and carrots) and some sort of meat. I don't think the man offering the meal was Italian.

- The third meal oberseved was during the holidays. There was a table of men eating foods and one man cooking. As Al Pacino's character walks in he insists on teaching him how to cook for 20 men, his recipe calls for:

     "Start off with oil, fry some garlic, throw in tomatoes and tomato paste, shove in the sausage and  

      the meatballs, little bit of wine and sugar."

In the kitchen of the man while he is cooking you also see several boxes of spaghetti, cans of tomatoe paste, a bowl of tomatoes and several loaves of bread, all typical of the Italian cuisine.

- The fourth meal  observed was towards the end of a meal with a couple. The table had red wine, butter, bread, salad, and a meat of some sort. By the time we see the meal the dinner is over and appear already half eaten.

- The fifth meal observed was chinese takeout food. It was a meeting of about six men, each of which had a coca cola bottle and several boxes of opened food. There were egg rolls, lo mein and fried rice.

**As good as cantonese food is, their meals tend to be very high in sodium, which is currently being linked to heart and stomach diseases.

- The sixth meal observed was never eaten. The dinner table was set for a husband and instead of eating it him and his wife get into a fight. The table is set with: wine, salad, bread, fruit as a centerpiece and pasta.

** Although dinner is an important part of the Italian tradition this clearly did not focus on that. The argument between the husband and wife further proved that because in nearly every scene where food was present it was either almost finished or not eaten at all.

4) Desserts:

The only desserts observed were the luxurious 4 tier wedding cake that Connie Corleone had at her wedding, that we saw no one eat and a platter of cookies.

Overall the dietary choices throughout the movie were consistant with that of the Mediteranean diet.

-Wine is a core food (eaten at every meal) as well as bread. Although these choices are okay I do suggest that the bread be whole grain instead of white because white bread has the nutrients removed whereas whole grain provides you with fiber, vitamins and minerals.

-The secondary food (eaten at almost every meal) seemed to be meats. While meat does provide an essential part of our diet (protein) you should choose your meats wisely. Try to avoid marbled meat that provide saturated fats like: salami, prosciutto and chicken thighs and skin.

-The peripheral food (eaten on special occasions) seemed to be desserts. We rarely saw any desserts except for at the wedding and baptism in the movie.

- Another important part of the movie was their alcohol consumption that seemed to take place in nearly every scene of the movie. It is important to note that alcohol should be consumed in moderation. According to the USDA:

Men: 2 alcoholic beverages a day (12 fl. oz)

Women: 1 alcoholic beverage a day (12 fl. oz.)

Although the choices were not all that bad, the portion sizes and the beverage choices were not that great. I hope to see the dietary choices evolve over the decades through other movies.

Coming soon... Raging Bull

Nutrition Survey Answers & Results

    This online survey of some basic nutrition questions to see what people do and don't know about nutrition. Surprisingly I found that the average person (assuming they didn't google anything) know more about nutrition than they think.

Sample Size: 41 participants
*Next to each choice is the percent of participants that choice that answer out of 41 people. 

Question 1: How many calories = 1 lb.?
1) 250    =    7.3 %
2) 500    =    17.1 %
3) 1500  =   31.7 %
4) 3000  =     48.8 %

    The correct answer is 3000 calories. The logic behind it is that 3000 calories can = 1 lb. of body weight that is why when trying to gain weight it might be suggested that you add an extra 500 calories to your diet a day or subtract that a day to lose or gain a pound a week. This also varies for every person depending how many calories you expend.

Question 2: What is considered a good fat?
1) Trans Fat=  12.2%
2) Saturated fat=  24.4%
3) Monounsaturated fat=  61% 
4) Both 1 & 2=  4.9%

   The correct answer is monounsaturated fat that can be found in foods like avocados, olive oils, nuts, peanut butters, etc. Whereas both trans and saturated fats are those that are linked with health risks such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, some cancers and high cholesterol. Trans fat could be found in foods like doughnuts, baked goods, margarine and saturated fat in the skin of chicken, butter, cheese, ice cream. Both of these "bad fats" should be kept to a minimum.

Question 3: How many cups of water should a person have per day?
1) 8=   72.5%
2)16=   15%
3)22=   7.5%
4)30=   5%

    The correct answer was 8, and most, or all of the participants got that questions correct. The only thing that people should note is these cups of water are not included in a physically active person. The more active you are the more water you should drink because your body is losing water and it should be replenished. So if you are an athlete or work out please make sure to increase this number.

Question 4: When we increase our fiber we should also increase our...
1) vegetables=   12.2%
2) fruits=   2.4%
3) water=   65.9%
4) physical activity=     22%

    The correct answer is water. If you know something about fiber you know that two of the main contributors are fruit and vegetables. So if you are consuming fiber more than usual it might be from these two sources. Water is very important when increasing fiber because fiber is insoluble in our bodies, meaning it can not be broken down, so it makes you feel fuller quicker and passes through you quicker as well. This can lead to a healthy digestive system if conducted correctly. As we secrete these fluids it needs to be replenished, so if we do not increase our water intake and we are using the bathroom often it becomes easier to dehydrate and can become uncomfortable leading to stomach pains.

**Great fiber sources
Whole grains- pasta, oatmeal, brown rice, whole wheat or multigrain bread, bran flakes
Fruits- raspberries, pears, apples, strawberries, raisins
Vegetables- peas, broccoli, brussel sprouts, potatoes, carrots

Question 5: How many milligrams of sodium (salt) does the USDA suggest we stay under or maintain a day?
1) 1200=  63.4%
2) 2300=  34.1%
3) 3000=   2.4%
4) 3400=  0%

    The correct choice is 2300mg/ day. This seems almost unobtainable considering 2300mg is equivalent to 1 teaspoon of salt a day, but salt can be detrimental to ones health when consumed in excess. The most important part is trying to stay away from pre-packaged foods or canned goods because they are loaded with salt as a means of preservation. Also note that although something might not have many calories it can be loaded with salt. Salt makes the body retain water and can add up those water weight pounds so try to be conscious of salt consumption.

Question 6: Cholesterol comes from what food source?
1) Animal=  65%
2) Plant=  0%
3) Fungi=  2.5%
4) All of the above=  32.5%

   The correct choice is animal source. The only foods you will find with a means of cholesterol would be that from animals such as eggs, bacon, beef, etc. The body does require a certain amount of cholesterol but unfortunately we tend to consume too much of it. Cholesterol has been linked to cardiovascular disease, certain cancers and plenty more. It is important to moderate your cholesterol consumption to maintain a healthy diet.

Question 7: What is the most calorically dense macronutrient?
1) Alcohol=  22%
2) Protein=  14.6%
3) Carbohydrates=  26.8%
4) Fat=   36.6%

    The correct choice is fat and although many of you picked it I'm not too sure you know why. Each macronutrient provides a certain amount of calories per gram. This means that although the package says 6g of carbs you are getting a different number in calories.

Protein provides 4 kcal/gram
Carbohydrates 4 kcal/gram
Fat 9 kcal/gram

EXAMPLE: Nissan Cup of Noodles (Chicken Flavor) 
Serving Size 1 cup
*Provides 13g of fat (13x9 )
= 117 calories for 1 container 


Question 8: Whole grains contain...
1) Fiber=   29.3%
2) Vitamins=  0%
3) Antioxidants= 0%
4) Minerals=   0%
5) All of the above=   75.5%

   The correct answer is all of the above. When you eat a whole grain product you are being provided with nutrients that processed breads or grains do not provide. White bread provides calories but not the nutrients whereas the whole grains will provide you with both. The USDA suggests that half of your grain consumption come from whole grains.
*Remember more fiber= more water!

Question 9: An antioxidant is...
1) Food with beneficial health factors=  80.5%
2) Dark fruit=  7.3%
3) A food that gets your digestive tract flowing=  12.2%
4) A fruit that stains your tongue=  0%

    The correct answer is a food with beneficial health factors. Although many of the antioxidants are provided from dark fruits like pomegranates, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, plums and more their main function is extended health benefits. These foods when consumed can help prevent certain diseases and maintain health.

Question 10: What is the sugar known as "blood sugar"?
1) glucose=  85.4%
2) Lactose=  0%
3) Maltose=  7.3%
4) Sucrose=  7.3%

    The correct answer is glucose. Most of you have heard this from diabetic information or studies. Glucose is the known sugar in the blood. Lactose is known as milk sugar, and when you are missing the enzyme lactase to break that down you are lactose intolerant. Maltose is the sugar found in beers, sucrose is more commonly known as table sugar and another sugar is fructose- the sugar found in fruits.

   Overall I was impressed with how much people actually knew about nutrition whether they guessed or not. The majority of the people picked the right answer for each question.

Always make it your point to know about nutrition, it is very important in our health and lives on a daily basis.

Upcoming posts!

     Im super excited about upcoming posts that I have. I decided to start a blog about dietary choices in the movies. I want to look at movies over the past four decades and see how their food choices have evolved if any. So I will be examining movies from the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's.

** I need your help please vote for which movie you think I should do for the 1980's on my blog now, thanks for your time.

Coming soon: 1970's The Godfather  

1970's: The Godfather

    Over the past few decades we have become more aware of how our diets can influence our health. In America eating has become a social hobby with friends, families and for celebrations subsequently resulting in obesity. Although we know more about food it does not seem to stop Americans from indulging. Obesity, as well as many other health issues seem to be a prevalent problem. 

     I want to look at popular movies from the last four decades observe their dietary choices and how, if any, they have evolved over the years because after all we know how powerful of a tool the media can be. I will be observing movies in the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's.

1970's: The Godfather (1972) 

   The Godfather is a classic mafia movie that took place in New York during the 1970's. The movie showed the struggles of the Corleone family to maintain their position in the mafia world. The movie itself had a big cultural influence from Italy. Many of the traditions, drinks and food are evident throughout the film such as wine, pasta and bread. According to imdb.com "There are approximately 61 scenes in the film that feature people eating/drinking, or just food."

1) Beverages: 

Wine:
Wine seemed to be the main character in this movie. Red wine was almost in every scene, whether it was a family get together, mafia meeting, holiday, wedding, or a simple conversation. Many of the bottles of red wine observed in the movie were in homemade bottles, continuing one of the Italian traditions of making your own wine.
The only scene where we saw white wine was one of the last scenes of the movie in Las Vegas where there are a plethora of women waiting for Michael Corleone each with a glass at hand. To me this suggested that red wine is considered a family drink, whereas white wine is more of a party drink.

*Red wine does have health benefits, it is a known antioxidant associated with some health benefits against cancer and other diseases. This is one of the things that makes the Mediterranean diet such a success.

   - Scotch: The second favored beverage was scotch. The drink stood for a variety of things a peace offering in meetings, a proper greeting for male guests and a way of relaxing. Within the first few private meetings of the movie the Godfather offers these shots of liquor to his guests. Although it was a favored beverage, only the men in the movie drank it, making me think it was a drink of "power" to the director or high class, but not many women were in the movie.

2) Fruit:
I was surprised to see many fruits in this movie, but unfortunately none of which were actually eaten. The fruit seemed to be more of a decoration and a centerpiece than a snack. Some of the fruits seen were: apples, oranges, pears and red grapes.
Oranges were a very important part in the filming of the movies according to imdb.com "The presence of oranges in the Godfather trilogy indicates that a death-related event will soon occur."
The fruits seemed to be more of a tool than a food in the film, the only time it is seen being eaten is nearly two hours in when a man at a meeting is peeling an apple. 

3) Meals:
The traditions for many Italian families are the sit down dinners with everyone. Their meals usually consist of: bread, wine, pastas, meat of sorts, and a salad. To my surprise not many meals were actually eaten in this film. 

- The first meal observed was between Michael Corleone and his girlfriend and his sisters wedding. It is hard to make out exactly what is on both plates until Michael asks her how her lasagna was.

- The second meal observed took place in Los Angeles between two men regarding a favor for the family. There was rice, vegetables (green beans and carrots) and some sort of meat. I don't think the man offering the meal was Italian.

- The third meal oberseved was during the holidays. There was a table of men eating foods and one man cooking. As Al Pacino's character walks in he insists on teaching him how to cook for 20 men, his recipe calls for:

     "Start off with oil, fry some garlic, throw in tomatoes and tomato paste, shove in the sausage and  
      the meatballs, little bit of wine and sugar."

In the kitchen of the man while he is cooking you also see several boxes of spaghetti, cans of tomatoe paste, a bowl of tomatoes and several loaves of bread, all typical of the Italian cuisine.

- The fourth meal  observed was towards the end of a meal with a couple. The table had red wine, butter, bread, salad, and a meat of some sort. By the time we see the meal the dinner is over and appear already half eaten.

- The fifth meal observed was chinese takeout food. It was a meeting of about six men, each of which had a coca cola bottle and several boxes of opened food. There were egg rolls, lo mein and fried rice.

**As good as cantonese food is, their meals tend to be very high in sodium, which is currently being linked to heart and stomach diseases.

- The sixth meal observed was never eaten. The dinner table was set for a husband and instead of eating it him and his wife get into a fight. The table is set with: wine, salad, bread, fruit as a centerpiece and pasta.

** Although dinner is an important part of the Italian tradition this clearly did not focus on that. The argument between the husband and wife further proved that because in nearly every scene where food was present it was either almost finished or not eaten at all.

4) Desserts:
The only desserts observed were the luxurious 4 tier wedding cake that Connie Corleone had at her wedding, that we saw no one eat and a platter of cookies.

Overall the dietary choices throughout the movie were consistant with that of the Mediteranean diet.
-Wine is a core food (eaten at every meal) as well as bread. Although these choices are okay I do suggest that the bread be whole grain instead of white because white bread has the nutrients removed whereas whole grain provides you with fiber, vitamins and minerals.


-The secondary food (eaten at almost every meal) seemed to be meats. While meat does provide an essential part of our diet (protein) you should choose your meats wisely. Try to avoid marbled meat that provide saturated fats like: salami, prosciutto and chicken thighs and skin.


-The peripheral food (eaten on special occasions) seemed to be desserts. We rarely saw any desserts except for at the wedding and baptism in the movie.


- Another important part of the movie was their alcohol consumption that seemed to take place in nearly every scene of the movie. It is important to note that alcohol should be consumed in moderation. According to the USDA:


Men: 2 alcoholic beverages a day (12 fl. oz)
Women: 1 alcoholic beverage a day (12 fl. oz.)

Although the choices were not all that bad, the portion sizes and the beverage choices were not that great. I hope to see the dietary choices evolve over the decades through other movies.

Coming soon... Raging Bull

 

Healthier Chocolate Cake!

       The one thing that most people have a hard time giving up when trying to eat healthy is their sweets. This is because they have this stigma that modified sweets don't taste as good. How can you have your chocolate cupcakes and not feel as guilty?

       My mother always finds interesting recipes where it instructs you on a healthier version of our favorites foods and about a year ago, during a project I needed to do, found a great one. I am not too sure where she found the article but the idea behind it is that you substitute the oil and eggs in a cake/cupcake recipe with a 12 oz. can of seltzer water.

     At first I was hesitant, does it rise? does it bake? does it taste good? all of the questions I'm sure you are asking yourself right now! But it indeed works!!!

How it works...
    The eggs serve as an emulsifier in cakes. Emulsifiers are the foundation of what holds the cake together.  The oil provides that smooth, soft taste that fat contributes. The pre made powder provided by companies like Pillsbury and Betty Crocker have baking powder or soda that contribute to the leavening (rising) of the cake. Although you are removing the eggs, there is still a network created between the soda and the mix that will keep it together. The substitution will merely decrease the calories, but the seltzer, because of its carbon dioxide content, will also encourage leavening. The heat and the CO2 when combined also make the cake rise, and bake.

How it tastes... 
   The flavor of the cake or cupcakes are not altered all that much. I prefer to use the chocolate mix because it has more powerful of a flavor than vanilla. The only real difference I noticed was the little bubbles inside of the cake, because of the carbonation from the seltzer. The only ingredients you will need are the box mix of whatever cake or cupcake mix and the 12 oz. can of seltzer.


How is it nutritionally altered...
The box I used was the Pillsbury Chocolate cake mix and a  12 oz. can of canada dry seltzer.
The nutrition facts panel provided a mix and bake panel with different amounts depending on what you used the results are as follows:

The original recipe (oil and eggs)                   The modified recipe (seltzer)
Serving Size: 1/12 package                             Serving Size: 1/12 package
Servings per container: 12                              Servings per container: 12


Calories: 260                                                 Calories: 160
Calories from fat: 110                                    Calories from fat: 25
Total fat: 12g                                                Total fat: 2.5 g
Saturated Fat: 8g                                           Saturated fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 54mg                                         Cholesterol: 0mg
Sodium: 360mg                                              Sodium: 340mg
Total Carbohydrates: 36g                                Total Carbohydrates: 34g
Dietary Fiber: 1g                                            Dietary Fiber: 1g


**The biggest difference is among the fat, that you get from the oil and eggs, and the cholesterol that you get from the yolk.

** The nutrition facts panel is for only ONE cupcake! Make sure that you always read the serving size because if you consume 2, the values double. 

    If you want to indulge in a sweet I suggest using this to make it that much healthier. Its the little changes that we make that can make a difference. You can also use it in other diet sodas, I prefer seltzer because it has no calories or sugar. ENJOY!!

Survey for my blog!

Take a few minutes out of your day to participate in my online, ANONYMOUS, survey to see what people do and don't know about some basic nutrition!!!

**The survey will be posted until this Friday and answers and results will be posted next week, thanks for your participation!!!

Click the link below:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y75GSSD