What is the deal with Christmas Ham?

This year my work gave everybody a ham for Christmas and it got me thinking…what the heck is the deal with serving ham at Christmas?

I couldn’t let it go, and I started pondering the origins of the “Holiday ham”. I decided to do a little research… here’s what I found out.

History

Apparently, serving ham for Christmas has roots in ancient pagan ritual. Things get a little fuzzy as to the exact origin because there are several historical references, but here is the gist of it. In the pre-Christian AD times, a wild boar was supposedly the sacrifice of choice to the Norse god Freya, who was associated with harvest and phallic fertility. When pagans were converted to Christianity, the porcine meal became linked to St. Stephen, whose feast day is December 26th, and is often depicted as serving a boar’s head as an offering. Germanic Pagans also celebrated this festival called "Yule" in honor of their god Odin, the god of the wild hunt. Yule boar was a centerpiece of their festivities.(3)

So, I guess in a nutshell that is how the Christmas Ham was born.

An interesting side note I learned is that the "Christmas Ham" reportedly had a more sinister use later in history. Possibly stemming from the anti-semitic attitudes the Catholic Church inherited from the Pagan Romans. This was during the time of Constantine, when they took over Christianity. It was said that during this time, the Christmas ham was popularized by the Catholic Church to test truthful conversion from Judaism to Christianity. Those who continued to observe Judaism in secret would decline to eat the Christmas ham, while authentic converts would enjoy the pig meat without question. Seems crazy right? Well if you are interested in learning more about that, the info is easily found in almost any encyclopedia or history book. (1, 2)

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-life-and-religion/87719/forbidden-food

In the 2,000 years since, the Christmas ham became a sweet-salty staple of the holiday meal.  It became even more popular in the 1950s, served with whole cloves, canned pineapple slices and bright red maraschino cherries, and glazed in brown sugar. Most every grandmother has her own stash of secret holiday recipes, and admittedly, my own adaptation of my grandmother’s recipe may not make use of pineapple slices or maraschino cherries…but the cloves are still there.

What is Ham?

Ok, lets take a step back and demystify the ham for a moment.  Ham is more than just a piece of pork and it deserves a little exploration.

First of all, ham generally comes from the rear haunch of a pig or boar. It is one huge piece of meat and can be sold with or without the bone. Ham is a part of food traditions in many countries (think Italian prosciutto), but nowhere are the laws about ham more strict than in Spain. You’ll know why, if you ever get to taste Spanish ham, or jamon(spoiler alert, it’s amazing).

In the U.S. fresh ham—uncooked and uncured—is sold everywhere, but this won’t taste like “ham.” It will just taste like pork. If you are like me, you probably want “ham-flavored” ham for Christmas, and for that you have two options.

Country ham or a baked ham?

Country ham is dry-cured ham that has been cured with salt and then dried. It can be smoked or unsmoked. Your other choice for ham for the holidays is a baked ham. A baked ham has been wet cured (soaked in brine or injected with brine), and smoked. The brine contains salt, sugar or honey, nitrates or nitrites and other flavorings/spices. Baked hams can come either fully or partially cooked, make sure to check the labeling on your ham.

http://www.foodrepublic.com/2011/12/22/in-defense-of-christmas-ham/

In my neck of the woods, most of the traditional Christmas ham I have enjoyed have been baked and served with some sort of glaze. The salty-sweet coating on the ham imparts extra sweetness to the outside of the ham to complement the salty cured insides perfectly. Glaze recipes vary greatly and can come from family traditions, cookbooks and magazines, or can be found on nearly every cooking site on the Internet this time of year. Experiment with the flavors you enjoy most and create your own glaze if you dare.

I was curious, so I took informal poll of and although most of my friends revealed they planned on serving ham this Christmas, but several people also shared some very different family holiday traditions. The most fun I heard included some Christmas raviolis, tamales, and even the popular Chinese food for dinner instead of ham.

Personally for my Christmas dinner this year I have decided to go with the “traditional” clove studded, glazed and crosshatched style ham that will hopefully give the Norman Rockwell painting a run for its money. Of course if you do make a ham like me, remember that whatever recipe you choose, leftovers make great sandwiches and can make a killer addition to split pea soup!

1. Roberto F. Chinese food is the spirit of Jewish Christmas. Washington Post, The [serial online]. 12:Available from: Points of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 23, 2015.

2. This week in religion history - April 1-7. Canadian Press, The [serial online]. n.d.;Available from: Points of View Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 23, 2015.

3. Wilson A. Christmas and Easter. Jamaica: The Culture [serial online]. January 2004;:12-13. Available from: History Reference Center, Ipswich, MA. Accessed December 24, 2015.

Does An Avocado Count as a Vegetable?

Does An Avocado Count as a Vegetable?

I have to credit my friend Eric with the inspiration for this post because he was stuck on the ambulance with me for the last 24-hours while we engaged in a heated debate about a piece of produce. The culprit that sparked this feverish discussion was just a measly avocado.  What started out as a lighthearted discussion about portion control ended up morphing into a monstrous quest to unravel the true genealogy of the avocado. So is it a fruit or a vegetable? The funny thing is that if you are a diabetic, it’s neither. Yes, you heard that right. If you are using the diabetic exchange system for consistent carbohydrate intake; the avocado is actually listed as a fat exchange! Clearly, that tid-bit did not go over so well when I tried to convince my partner that an avocado is a fat.

californiaavocado.com

Ok, for those of you who aren’t using the diabetic exchange system, technically avocados are considered a fruit because they fit all of the botanical criteria for a berry. Also, in case you are as curious as I was, I will also tell you that an avocado is about 50 calories a serving. Keep in mind however, that a serving size is 1 ounce or 2 tablespoons, or 28.3grams (however you’d like to measure it).  Which incidentally, is only about 1/5 of a medium avocado.

www.avacadocentral.com

Going back to avocados as a fat, as my friend Eric correctly pointed out, avocados have the “good fat.” I’d like to point out that being labeled, as a “good fat” doesn’t give you the liberty to have as much as you want. Fats are still fats and should be used sparingly. It’s all about portion control, especially when you consider that if you put an entire medium sized avocado on your salad, you are adding an additional 250 calories and 23g of fat. I’m not knocking the avocado, in fact I think they are amazing and delicious. They contain mono and polyunsaturated fats, which do make them a good substitution for foods rich in saturated fat. Plus with 20 vitamins and minerals, avocados are a good nutrient choice.  Even “good for you” things like nuts; seeds, fruits and avocados should be consumed in moderation.

For more nutrition information on avocados you can go to avacadocentral.com.

By Loriann Leonard North, DTR, DSS, NC

Nutrition Evolution

“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball...” ~Patches O'Houllihan, Dodgeball

Get Physical

“If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball...”

~Patches O'Houllihan, Dodgeball

Recently, I decided I wanted to mix things up a bit and find a new activity to add to my exercise routine. Actually, my inspiration came from a rather obscure place and a perhaps some mistaken confidence in my ability to still do everything I could do in my 20’s. It all started when I bought a copy of the movie “Dodgeball” from the local Walmart $5 bin. Of course I admittedly watched it with a glass or two of wine, and that may have skewed my perspective a tad lol. For some reason the camaraderie, the underdog story, and my desire to return to the lazy, carefree days of youth (they always seem lazy and carefree in hindsight, don't they?) made me think that somehow adding a sport like Dodgeball to my fitness program would be a brilliant idea.  I have always been an athlete and participated competitively throughout college. I know how many calories you can burn playing a team sport and it can almost match a steady run on the treadmill. In order to be successful in any fitness and wellness program you have to stay motivated and have some fun. Enter Dodgeball...

So that night I had a dream that I joined a local dodgeball team.  It was co-ed due to probably the lack of grown adult people that don't mind having balls hurled unceremoniously at their head.  In my dream there was no enigmatic and brutal coach to help us along like in the movie “Dodgeball,” nor were any of the other teams particularly evil, which, I have to admit was a real downer for me.  I so wanted to play dodgeball against a team of evil miscreants. You would think that I would be able to conjure at least that part up in my dream right?  Well anyway, there were a lot of adults who were actually good at the sport (unlike myself) and who sucked royally and couldn’t hit the side of a building dodgeball apparently. It was probably the third hit to my head with the heat of major league baseball player that made me question the logic of choosing a recreational sport off of a Ben Stiller film I found in the $5 bin.  Thankfully, it was just a dream and I woke up no worse for wear with a much less feverish desire to sign up for dodgeball in real life.

The point is to get physical and get out of the house.  The more we sit, the worse we feel.  The more we're on the Internet the less we get the sunlight, exercise, and laughter we really need to thrive as people.  Maybe I'll never be a member of a team that makes “Obscure Sports Quarterly” and maybe I'll never go to Vegas for the World Championship Dodgeball Tournament, but in my dream I did have fun, I did burn calories, and for a tiny moment I felt like a kid again. In reality everybody enjoys different activities and I feel good with that three-mile run I put in today. Whatever your bliss, follow it…or dodge it whatever gets you moving.

Nutrition Evolution

Flowers Make Pollen & Nectar, But Bees Make Honey. So is Honey a Plant Product or an Animal Product?

So I have spent the majority of the day pondering one of the food universes great mysteries. Is honey considered a plant based food product, or an animal product? Honey spends much of its time masquerading around as the product of a plant. I say this because clearly it is not bee “meat,” and no bees were killed in order for us to consume the nectar of the flowers. We all know that honey is in fact made from the pollen of flowers.  However, it is made from pollen that has been collected by honeybees, processed and excreted in its golden and sweet syrup like form that we know as honey. I think that description alone pretty much classifies honey as a bee “by-product”. O.K. I can understand that, but aren’t bees are insects?  Do insects really count as animals?

Technically speaking, all living organisms besides plants belong the Kingdom Animalia, Since insects, such as honeybees are multicellular organisms that rely on other organisms for food, then they are “living” and therefore officially classified as animals. Well now that the bee mystery has been settled, lets delve into the next.  Can vegetarians eat honey? What about vegans?

This is kind of of a confusing question to answer without first explaining that there are inherent differences between being a vegan and following a plant based diet.  A summary of a plant-based diet is one that promotes planning meals around whole plant foods, like vegetables, fruits, nuts, whole grains, seeds, and legumes. Processed foods and animal products are not encouraged when following this lifestyle. There are many forms of vegetarians, and ultimately, they limit their animal consumption based on what they are comfortable with. Lacto-vegetarians who consume dairy products, or lacto-ova-vegetarians who deem it acceptable to eat both dairy products and eggs, and even pesco- vegetarians that indulges in fish. Like I said there are quite a variety of vegetarian “styles” and many allow consumption animal by-products such as honey.

 A vegan diet, on the other hand is one that that eliminates the consumption of any animal flesh or animal by-product and is often practiced because of an ethical component.  So, strictly adhering vegans do not permit use of honey since it is a by-product of an animal as defined above.

I am going to derail for a moment here and say that even though a vegan may not eat animal products, this does not mean they are consuming a healthy diet, or even plant foods. Many unhealthy and over processed food options are available to vegans such as French fries, Oreos, and sodas. Sadly, the food industry has filled the void in the vegan diet with easily accessible and increasingly better favored “vegan junk food”. These animal-free foods are still loaded with sugar, oil ,and salt . Whatever form you get you get your sugar in, be it that honey or other sweeteners, they should still be used sparingly as they are high in calories and low in nutrients.

What have we learned from all of this? Honey comes from bees, which are officially classified as animals. That means if you're a vegetarian, you can still enjoy honey, because it's not part of the animal itself. If you're vegan you shouldn't eat it, because it does come from an animal by-product. I know that a vegetarian diet is not for everyone, but I would go out on a limb to promote a whole food, plant-based diet that includes very small amounts of animal meat and animal products, over a vegan diet consisting of highly processed foods.

I found writing this blog to be personally enlightening.  I learned much about the vegan culture and although I do not practice veganism, I found it interesting to educate myself on many of the standard practices of a vegan. I am going to leave you with a list of things that I didn’t know before researching this article that strict vegans wont eat or use because they are animal by-products.

•   Honey of course

•   Silk

•   Other animal non-food products, such as leather and wool

•   Fish oil (non-vegan omega 3 supplements)

•   Other hidden animal products, such as gelatin

•   Other foods processed with animal products, such as non-vegan sugar, processed using a bone char filter

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031106_honey_vegan.html#ixzz3lBhqChlR

http://www.unconventionalwellness.org/blog/can-i-use-honey-on-the-esselstyn-plant-based-diet

 Nutrition Evolution

Pesky Acne, How Nutrition Can Help.

I used to have lovely clear skin; the kind people would complement me on and secretly hate me for. It was one of my best features and I took it for granted. Then I had my son and with his arrival, came the unpleasant arrival of another not so honored guest…adult onset acne. Now some people may be snickering and thinking that this was sweet justice for my indifference and neglect of my previously fabulous epidermis, however I assure you that I have learned my lesson.

I have tried everything to get rid of my pesky chin acne, but the little buggers are determined to hang around as painful reminders that Mother Nature gets the last laugh. My dermatologist told me that this is a common event for post pregnancy women, brought on by hormonal changes in our bodies. Sweet, nice to know I’m not alone in my suffering. Ok so admittedly that sounded a tad dramatic, but on her recommendation I have tried fancy soaps, exfoliating with baking soda, Retin A, and even antibiotics. Guess what, my wretched skin is still reluctant to play nicely and clear up.

So what is a girl to do? Well in the US, people spend more that $100 million dollars annually on over the counter acne fighting remedies. The interesting thing is that many countries have no acne problems in their populations at all. How can this be? First of all acne is a complicated creature and many things can contribute to its livelihood. Stress, sleep, exercise, hormones, genetics, and diet all play a role in the likelihood of you waking up blemish free each morning. The good news is that more than one-third of people with acne have seen a connection between what they eat and their blemishes.

It makes sense that what you put inside your body can cause outward reactions in your skin. After all your skin is your largest organ and it absorb and filter toxins. Your body uses the nutrients from the food you eat to repair and rebuild your skin from the inside out. Having a healthy balanced diet is essential in the war against those blasted zits.

If you suffer from not so perfect skin like me, try eating a low fat, whole foods diet. You might even be surprised at the difference you see in your skin if you avoid hormone laden dairy products, processed foods, and junk food overall. Oh and water, drink lots and lots of water. It helps to flush the toxins out of your body and hydrates your skin, keeping it looking fresh and youthful. Dry skin can flake off and get caught in your pores, clogging them and causing further breakouts.

Specify foods appear to have extra blemish fighting benefits.  Monounsaturated fats can be anti-microbial, so walnuts and other healthier fats could help diminish outbreaks. Certain spices like cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, along with herbs like basil, oregano, and garlic anti microbial, anti inflammatory, and can boost your immune system leading to clearer skin. Green tea is amazing because it has been shown to suppress the enzymes and androgens that are involved in actual acne formation. Dark leafy greens and purple vegetables and fruits contain invaluable antioxidants that inhibit acne and extinguish inflammation. Zinc & selenium found in fish, nuts, and seeds are two more potent antioxidants that can help you in your plight to destroy acne.Vitamin B5 can be quite effective as an alternative to commercial prescription medications to fight acne, but you should always check with your doctor for contraindications and dosing recommendations.

Some myths I have heard over the years about diet and acne include that having sensitivity to eggs can cause major zits and that eating chocolate makes you break out something fierce. I'm on the fence about eggs, but I am happy to report that the studies I read didn’t seem to conclude an actual concrete association between chocolate and acne. There is even some evidence that dark chocolate can improve insulin sensitivity, and improve blood flow to the skin. When I was in Jamaica with my family years ago, the spa in the resort we were staying even offered a “chocolate facial” touting the benefits of chocolate in skin clarification and hydration!

GI health strongly affects acne too, so make sure you are getting enough fiber and consider cutting out dairy and sugar for a couple weeks to see if it makes a difference. The fiber can help to flush out toxins, and even bind to excess hormones that contribute to acne. If a large percentage of your diet comes from processed foods, chances are you skin is suffering. This is because highly processed foods tend to cause a spike in your insulin levels. Dairy foods also produce high insulin response and can increase hormone and inflammation levels in your body. Too much insulin in your body can lead to the growth of pore-clogging cells and increase oil production, of course leading to more blasted blemishes.

I hope you have found this week’s confessional blog post amusing and maybe even a little helpful. To recap,  your best bet in winning the battle against acne, is to  to get enough sleep, exercise to reduce stress, drink plenty of water, and eat clean. Conduct your own experiment to see if cutting dairy, processed food, or sugar out of your diet makes a difference in your skin clarity. Take care of your gut. Perhaps sample some fermented foods for their probiotic benefits, consume plenty of fiber to keep things moving ... if you know what I mean, and maybe even shoot your doctor an email asking his/her thoughts on vitamin B5.

Nutrition Evolution 

References

1. Ferreri D. Preventing acne with diet. Disease Proof. July 12th, 2011. http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/hurtful-food-preventing-acne-with-diet.html

2. Davidovici BB & Wolf R. The role of diet in acne: facts and controversies. Clinics in Dermatology 2010;28:12-16

3. Melnik BC. Evidence for acne-promoting effects of milk and other insulinotropic dairy products. Nestle Nutr Workshop Ser Pediatr Program 2011;67:131-145.

4. Kurokawa I, et al. New developments in our understanding of acne pathogenesis and treatment. Experimental Dermatology 2009;18:821-832.

5. Bowe WP & Logan AC. Acne vulgaris, probiotics and the gut-brain-skin axis – back to the future? Gut Pathogens 2011;3:1.

6. Smith RN, et al. A low-glycemic-load diet improves symptoms in acne vulgaris patients: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Clin Nutr 2007;86: 107–115.