Real Food for Superbowl Sunday

I try to avoid Superbowl Sunday. Maybe it’s un-American of me, but I always make it a goal to not know who’s playing who or even (if possible) when the game is. It’s not because I dislike football, but because I loathe how saturated with advertising American culture is. This single football game has more advertising dollars thrown at it than just about any other event in the entire year. So, I play a game with myself. Can I avoid all the advertising? Can I possibly make it past a Superbowl Sunday without noticing who’s playing, or even that they’re playing?

Of course, I always fail. Even if I manage to miss the 20 foot tall banner ads at my grocery store, even if I manage to avoid television or radio for the entire month of January, even if I manage to only associate with football-challenged friends, there’s still Facebook.

Today I lost my game. I discovered that this coming Sunday, February 7th is Superbowl Sunday. (I still don’t know who’s playing. The Saints maybe? Don’t tell me!) So, I decided to share some of the game-appropriate recipes that have amassed on Food Renegade over the past year.

Real Food LOVE

It’s been a couple of weeks since my last Real Food Link Love post, and I have collected some really tasty, tantalizing, practical, and exciting things to share with you!

Decoding Supermarket Beef Labels

I buy my beef in bulk directly from a local rancher. But I remember the days before I lucked into my current freezer, the days when I had to buy beef at the supermarket. Reading and understanding the labels drove me batty.

Labels can make all sorts of vague claims — even claims that don’t seem vague. For nearly an entire year I periodically bought an “all-natural beef” that promised “no antibiotics EVER*” and “no growth hormones EVER*.” Then one day I got curious about those asterisks. I looked on the rest of the packaging to see what the asterisk referred to, but couldn’t find anything. So I asked the guy behind the butcher counter, and he found a pamphlet that comes with the pre-packaged beef. It turns out they were claiming they didn’t use antibiotics or hormones in the processing of the meat. You know, the process of butchering, cutting up, and packaging the meat for retail. What???!!!

I would have killed for a beef label decoder. That’s why I’m presenting you all with this one.

2009 You Were A Good Year

Everybody’s doing it. Why shouldn’t I?

These are the top ten hottest posts of 2009 here at Food Renegade — the most viewed, most commented. Some of them are simply useful information; others are quite controversial. Hope you enjoy this look back!

Real Food News Heats Up

I’ve taken a rather long hiatus, but the Real Food Revolution kept marching forward. Because of that, I’ve got quite a few news stories saved up to share with all of you.

First, though, I wanted to thank all of the participants who’ve kept Fight Back Fridays going in my absence. I’ve occasionally had the ability to leave some comments on or Tweet some of the entries, but mostly the carnival has just been happening on its own thanks to the faithfulness of all of you — the participants and readers. You guys are amazing.

In today’s Link Love installment, at least three of the links are somewhat controversial. The heat is on, folks. The heat is on.

5 Cookbooks I LOVE

We all have favorite cookbooks — those go-to sources ripe with beautiful recipes and loads of good information. These are mine. These are the five cookbooks that I would wholeheartedly give to anyone who asked me for recommendations, the five cookbooks that I turn to weekly to inspire me to culinary greatness. They are my rut-breakers. My guiding lights.

I’m sure you’ll love them, too.

There Is No Love In That Food

“Even though the food is bad, I really like McDonald’s,” my son explained.

“Why is that, son?” my husband asked. He expected to hear something about indoor play places or ice cream. Instead, my soon-to-be five year old continued, “Well, I think it’s special.”

“But they’re not special,” I interrupted. “Every McDonald’s is exactly the same. They all look the same, make the same foods. There is nothing special or unique about them.”

Raw Milk, Coconut Pancakes, Whole Foods, and More

This has been a busy week in the world of Real Food. I’ve seen several great new recipes, a couple powerful editorial commentaries, and heard a handful of truly moving interviews. Picking the five stories I thought most interesting and most likely to have gone unnoticed proved quite the challenge.

Hope you enjoy!

Julie And Julia — A Lovable Movie

It’s taken me long enough to finally go see Julie & Julia. I wanted to see it opening weekend, but sadly couldn’t. Meryl Streep? Amy Adams? Paris? Glorious food? I couldn’t have wanted to see a movie more.

I had read a number of reviews, and almost every reviewer said the same thing: LOVED Meryl Streep as Julia! The filming in France was gorgeous! But Amy Adams as Julie Powell? I’ll take a pass. I would have preferred the whole movie be Julia’s story.

I beg to differ.

We Have A Winner — And a 10% Off Coupon

If you are not the lucky winner, I’ve got a consoling bit of news. Cultures For Health is offering 10% off all purchases for a limited time with the coupon code below. That’s good for anything in the store — whether it’s starter cultures for kefir, kombucha, sourdough, buttermilk, or yogurt OR any of the equipment you’ll need to start sprouting and culturing.