A New Year, A New You! - Part 2

Joe McCoppin - Partner, Better Than A Bistro

Joe writes about his personal revelation of the changes he needs to make, and has made, to make this year his very own New Year, New You!

Part 2 of 2.....

Last week I asked, "What can I stop/start doing right now that will be relatively painless, sustainable and manageable to allow for my lifestyle change? And oh yeah, doesn't cost anything!"

First, I stopped drinking soda altogether. I am a man who enjoys a few Cokes every day. When I realized that wasn't healthy I switched to ginger ale. Like an alcoholic who goes from vodka to beer. That's still no the most desirable solution so now I drink lots of water!

At first I drank at least a pot of very strong coffee a day to replace the sodas. I didn't start drinking coffee until my mid 30's. So after drinking that pot of very strong coffee and then shaking and sweating through the day I decided to do some research. That's when I found green tea. I know, yuck! But I actually love it now. I use 3-4 tea bags per cup. I didn't cut out the coffee altogether but I have easily cut my consumption in half and I never have it after 1pm of so. I absolutely feel better and green tea has lots of benefits and some caffeine too.

Where The Buffalo Roam

Originally, the Native Plains Indians of North America used just about every part of the bison. Their lives revolved the availability of bison whose original range was from Alaska to Mexico to the Florida panhandle. But by the 1890's this all changed as the bison were being eliminated by European settlers. This occurred for 2 reasons.

First, there was the greed factor. For a good part of the 1800's bison were considered to be in limitless supply. For non-native buffalo hunters they were the equivalent of a gold mine on 4 legs. This group hunted bison from trains and horseback for their tongues, hides, bones and little else. The tongue was, and still is, considered a delicacy. Hides were prepared and shipped to the east and Europe for processing into leather. Remaining carcasses were, for the most part, left to rot. By the time nothing but bones remained, they too were gathered and shipped via rail to eastern destinations for processing into industrial carbon and fertilizer. By the 1890's with numbers nearing extinction, the bison "gold rush" was over.

Is Your Fish Really Fresh

Have you enjoyed some of our fish lately and wondered why it is so outstanding, leaving your tastes buds screaming for more? We take pride in the way we handle our fish, which is by flash freezing. This process can taste fresher than the "fresh" fish you could get at your local bistro. Most fresh fish spends one to two weeks in the cold chain before it even reaches your plate. Our fish is processed within 4 hours of harvest and frozen using state-of-the-art Japanese belt freezing systems.

What is flash freezing?

• Flash freezing is used in the food industry to quickly freeze perishable food items. Products are subjected to temperatures well below freezing causing the water inside the foods to freeze in a very short period without forming large crystals, thus avoiding damage to the cells, otherwise known as freezer burn. 

Why buy flash frozen products?

• Quick freezing fish seals in nutrients so it is often fresher than "fresh" fish.
• Fish and seafood begins to decline in quality immediately after being caught, so freezing fish as soon as possible retains quality and seals in freshness.
• "Fresh Fish" can often take up to a week to reach a store. Often time, flash Frozen products are frozen at sea within hours of being take from the water. 
• Flash freezing insures that ice crystals within both meat and seafood are extremely small. This reduces water absorption and destruction of the cells. End result is better quality meat and seafood. 
• Enables the consumer to purchase a high quality food product no matter where they live. Proximity to the food source is not an issue. 
• It is impossible for bacteria to multiply on frozen food. 
• Freezing naturally locks in nutrients and vitamins with no need of preservatives.

Environmental benefits of frozen meat and seafood

• Keeping flash frozen products on hand limits the trips to the grocery store. This reduces your carbon footprint. 
• A full freezer uses less energy than an empty one.
• Longer shelf life results in less wasted food.
• Air freighting unfrozen food has a huge negative environmental impact.