Foods (About) Menu

List of Foods (About) Articles

From Cat’s Kitchen Creed: “These articles are about whole or minimally processed foods – foods you could grow in your own garden/farm, or prepare from a whole food in your kitchen. This list does not include processed foods that require an industrial facility to process.”

While some of my articles/recipes reference specific nutrients in the food; however, you get the maximum benefit from these nutrients only in the whole food – not from supplements or processed foods – because of synergy in the whole food.

See also:

Food Labels for Quality

Food quality is one of the most important things for a healthful diet. You want food rich in important nutrients, and free of toxic substances. The best foods are those you grow/raise yourself, but many of us don’t have the land to do that. The next best commercial foods have one or more of the following labels:

DEMETER-Biodynamic Green label (image left, and text below, are from Greener Choices).

“Biodynamic” goes a few steps further than “Organic” for quality foods. Biodynamic “means that the food was grown and processed in accordance with the Demeter Biodynamic standards, which promote ecologically sustainable farming practices and prohibit synthetic pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, antibiotics (except to treat sick animals), genetically engineered seeds, sewage sludge as a fertilizer, artificial
ingredients, and other inputs that can be used in conventional agriculture and food processing.”

USDA Organic label (image left, from Wikimedia); text below is from Wikipedia.

“Organic farming is an agricultural system that uses fertilizers of organic origin such as compost manure, green manure, and bone meal and places emphasis on techniques such as crop rotation and companion planting.”

Non-GMO Project Verified label (image, left, from Amazonaws); text below from saferbrand.com.

“GMOs, which stands for Genetically Modified Organisms, are plants, animals, microorganisms and other ingredients that have been manipulated by scientists to assist in their production, preparation, or use as a food. Scientists achieve these results by manipulating or modifying genes in ways not previously possible in nature or through crossbreeding.”

You want to avoid foods containing GMOs. For example non-Organic oils such as corn, soy and/or canola salad oils.

Foods List (alphabetic order)

Acidifying and Alkalizing Foods (Food Combining)

Bakers’ Yeast

“Baker’s yeast is of the species Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and is the same species (but a different strain) as the kind commonly used in alcoholic fermentation, which is called brewer’s yeast.” (from Wikipedia)

Equivalence of bulk yeast vs packet yeast: 2¼ teaspoons of bulk yeast are the same as one packet Active dry yeast.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder

Black Seed Oil, a..k.a. Black Cumin Seed Oil

see Green Med Info article to learn more about its many benefits: greenmedinfo.com/blog/black-seed-remedy-everything-death

See also Notes on Natural Health/Healing Topics, A-C, under “Black Seed Oil”

Chocolate:

Coconut:

Dairy

RealMilk.com

RealMilk.com

Eggs

  • Eggs (About) need to write. Include: 
    • Whisked/beaten egg-whites for Angelfood Cake (from The Food Guys on MTPR, Mar 2020): whisk whites with fine bakers’ sugar until soft, but NOT until they form peaks. Best to use a hand-whisk.
    • Egg-Size Equivalents – Small to Jumbo [This is from Hen Pecked Farm, from whom I get my farm-fresh eggs]
      • Replace the large eggs called for in your recipe (in the top row) with the number of eggs of different sizes listed in each row.
        Number of Large Eggs: 1 2 3 4 5 6
        Small Eggs 1 3 4 5 7 8
        Medium Eggs 1 2 3 5 6 7
        Large Eggs 1 2 3 4 5 6
        Extra Large Eggs 1 2 3 4 4 5
        Jumbo Eggs 1 2 2 3 4 5

        As you can see, if a recipe calls for a single large egg, you can simply substitute any size of chicken egg. Once it calls for two or more, you may need to make an adjustment if you have only small or medium eggs or if you have only extra-large or jumbo eggs.

  • See also Miscellaneous Menu

Fats & Oils

Articles on Cat’s Kitchen:

Articles on Other sites:

Avocado oil: Most commercial avocado oils have been adulterated, and may not even contain avocado oil (similar problem as for olive oil; see Olive Oil: The Real Deal, or Adulterated/Fake for more info).

In his articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2021/12/19/fake-avocado-oil.aspx, Mercola writes an important note about fake avocado and other oils (with my notes in square brackets). He removes articles from his site after 48 hours, so I’ve saved a pdf copy of his article at: HEALTH-NUTRITION / PODCASTS-ARTICLES / MERCOLA > AvocadoOilFraud-Mercola_121921.pdf; see my About/Contact page if you’d like a copy).

He writes (citing his references to studies 21, 22: Acta Scientific Nutritional Health June 2018; 2(6)):

“Avocado oil is typically said to have a high smoke point [which many home-cooks think make them safe]. …

[However,] importantly, [Australian researchers] found that ‘smoke point does not predict oil performance when heated.’  Avocado oil was one of 10 cooking oils investigated. Paradoxically, they found that oils with higher smoke points, such as avocado oil, actually tended to produce higher levels of harmful compounds during heating — including trans fats.

For this reason, I don’t recommend avocado oil for cooking.”

Dr Mercola has a great article (The Science Is Screaming: Don’t Make This Trendy Mistake), also known as “Everything You Need to Know About Fatty Acids,” that discusses the different kinds of fats/oils and fatty acids – which are good and which are not so good for your health. It was originally published in 2011, but updated it in June 2022. He deletes all articles after 48 hours, so I’ve saved a pdf of the 2022 version: HEALTH-NUTRITION / PODCASTS-ARTICLES / MERCOLA > Fats-Oils_WhichAreBest_Mercola_062022.pdf

Dr Mercola also has a great article:  Why Butter and Coconut Oil are Good for You. However he closes down his articles after 48 hours, so I’ve saved a pdf copy: HEALTH-NUTRITION / PODCASTS-ARTICLES / MERCOLA > Butter-and-CoconutOil_WhyGoodForYou_072522.pdf. See his Story at a Glance, next:

Why Butter & Coconut Oil are Good for You; Mercola’s Story-at-a-Glance

    • “Data show that higher levels of dairy fat biomarkers are associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause mortality. The link appears to be odd-chain saturated fats, like pentadecanoic acid (C15:0)
    • People with higher levels of C15:0 had a lower incidence of heart disease risk in a linear dose-dependent manner. Data compared C15:0 against omega-3 and found broader health benefits
    • Coconut oil is another healthy saturated fat that helps control Crohn’s disease, support thyroid function and promote heart health; in places where coconut oil is routinely consumed, the populations have little vascular disease
    • Conversely, vegetable oils, which are recommended by the American Heart Association, lead to a severe imbalance in omega-3 and omega-6, and increase your risk of several chronic and lethal diseases, including cancer and mitochondrial dysfunction leading to cell death
    • A cyclical ketogenic diet improves your body’s ability to burn fat and produce ketones, which optimizes your metabolic function, improves cellular efficiency and makes you more resilient against respiratory viruses like SARS-CoV-2″

Fiber-Rich Foods

Fish, Shellfish & Seafood

  • Using Crustaceans (Crab, Crayfish, Lobster, Shrimp)
  • Using Live Clams & Mussels (Storage, Steaming)
  • Salmon (About)
  • Hot- or Cold-Smoked Salmon (About)
  • Sardines (About)
  • Fish Stock or Broth
  • Sustainable and Healthful Seafood (About)
  • Important note about shellfish and anchovies: In very rare occurrences they can cause Amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans and birds. This illness is caused by a neurotoxin the fish/shellfish produce in their guts called Domoic Acid, which is poisonous to humans. If you experience severe gastrointestinal issues 24 hours after eating anchovies seek medical attention; especially if any neurological issues like a headache or seizures occur.  The neurological symptoms of this poisoning can take several days to occur. The illness can be fatal if left untreated. The name Amnesic Shellfish poisoning comes from the fact that it’s usually shellfish that transmit the disease and because it causes memory loss in many people. Thankfully this disease is very rare but it’s best to be informed so you know what to do just in case someone gets sick. (from geniuskitchen.com/recipe/caesar-salad-dressing-83436

Flours & Starches

Fruits & Veggies

Fungi & Mushrooms

GMO, Manufactured, & Chemically Altered Foods

NOTE: These are not natural foods but rather foods altered at the genetic or molecular level. Therefore they are not ‘whole’ foods, and I do not recommend including them in your diet/eating plan.

Grains 

Greens (About)

Herbs & Spices

See also: Herbs & Spices (About)

Lectins (About)

NOTE: lectins are carbohydrate-binding proteins found in many plant foods, and can be toxic. They are especially problematic for people with autoimmune disease.

Legumes (Beans, Peas)

See also Miscellaneous & Information Men: Legumes

Meats & Poultry

Mushrooms

  • See Fungi above

Nuts & Seeds

See also Miscellaneous & Information Menu under “Nuts & Seeds”

Oils

See “Fats and Oils” above.

Papaya

See GMI article on Papaya Power: Healing Qualities of This Tropical Fruit: greenmedinfo.com/blog/papaya-power-healing-qualities-tropical-fruit

Poultry

See also Miscellaneous & Information Menu under “Poultry”

Probiotic Foods

Rice (White, Brown, Wild)

  • Moved to ‘Grains’ above

Salt

  • Salt (about)
  • Kosher Salt
  • Unrefined sea salt
  • Salt-to-Potassium Ratio: Why It’s Important; see Mercola Article saved as pdf:  Mercola-Articles/ Minerals > SodiumToPotassiumRatio_Why-Important_MCL_080423.pdf

Seeds

  • see Nuts & Seeds, above

Shellfish & Seafood

Spices

  • See Herbs & Spices above

Sprouts

  • see Fruits & Veggies, above

Starches

Sugar and other sweeteners

Tomatoes

See Fruits & Vegetables, above

Vinegar

Whole Foods (About)

Yeast (Bakers’)

see Bakers’ Yeast, above

Health Articles:

My health articles will eventually be moved to another blog, but in the meantime, they are organized in three main categories and can be viewed on my old site. See links below:

Diet & Health

These articles all moved to Cat’s Kitchen: Diet & Health Menu (old original iWeb versions, go to Menu: Diet & Health)

Internal Cleansing and Systemic Health 

Some of these have been moved, others not yet; for the latter,  go to Menu: Internal Cleansing & Systemic Health

Disease & Symptoms

Until I get these articles moved, go to Menu:  Disease & Symptoms

Body Systems & Metabolism

Until I get these articles moved, go to Menu: Body Systems & Metabolism