making food your ally

            So many people view food as their enemy.  Whether it's the perception that fat is bad, that cholesterol clogs your arteries, that dessert is sinful, that foods that are good for you taste bad, or that all the yummy foods are bad for you.  Well, here is a list of complaints that makes food your enemy. There is a lot of bad science behind these blanket statements, and many of them have been debunked in recent years, although it is a fact that the so-called Western Diet makes us sick. It is true that eating empty calories, foods without nutritional value, will never satisfy your body and you'll keep craving and eating more in a vicious cycle.   

            How about making food your ally in building a strong and energetic body instead?  "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food," Hippocrates, the famous physician from Ancient Greece, is purported to have said.  When you learn to cook well with the foods that are healing and beneficial you'll make food your ally.  When you learn to love good food unconditionally because it is what heals your body and assures a good life you'll make food your friend.  When you become knowledgeable about the healing properties of food, the guiltless pleasures of food, you'll not only create a great hobby, but also the basis for healing the Western civilization diseases. When you learn about the good-for-you foods, and how to prepare them well so they taste delicious, you can have your cake and eat it too. 

complex shopping logistics

             Thirty, forty years ago things were simpler.  You'd go to the big supermarket to one-stop shop for most things.  We weren't worried about pesticide residue, we didn't think much about where our foods came from,  we didn't see the bigger picture of the conflict between profit and growing food sustainably, and the Western Diet hadn't blown up in our face yet.

            Nowadays I spend quite a bit of time running around to different places to fulfill my many food philosophies:  local food from local farmers to support the local economy and get the freshest possible food, produce that has not been sprayed or at least as little as possible, foods that are grown sustainably, pasture raised meat and sustainably fished seafood, eating more vegetables and lots of greens, and of course being cost conscious of the higher cost these types of food command.  It creates an intricate and more time consuming web of food related errands. 

            While we still do eat meat we eat a lot less of it and every few months I stock the freezer at a local farm where the animals graze outside all year round.  We get our raw milk and yogurt from a farm that is twenty-five miles away and have organized with several other families to take turns picking it up for the group so each of us only has to drive every other month.  Eggs come from the family whose place serves as the local weekly milk pick-up point.  Once a month our buying club gets a grocery and produce delivery from our food coop - we buy in bulk and share and save.  Some of the things I buy from the coop are bulk legumes, seeds and nuts, bulk tea and spices, condiments, nut and seed butters, also some personal care items.  Since the coop produce only lasts for about two weeks I fill in from a whole bunch of local farmers, and sometimes the supermarket.  I buy my recycled paper goods at Trader Joe's, where I also get some other organic basics such as vinegar and oils, chocolate, frozen organic spinach, and organic canned tomatoes.  Most of our supplements I order online as well as some specialty items I cannot readily find locally or through the coop (like our favorite smoky tea lapsang souchong, which our daughter humorously calls lapsang sooch).  And, believe it or not, I recently found a 5.5lb container of organic chia seeds at Walmart of all places (yes, I admit that I go there, too).

heavenly crunch

           What is it about crunchiness of all food textures that makes it so satisfying?  It's easy to eat a whole bag of potato chips (and then wonder how you did it).  Crunch is so satisfying under my teeth and hearing the crunch in my ears while I eat is addictive.  I want to feel and hear and experience it over and over and over.  I don't seem to get tired of the experience.

            Food texture and sensation is important, eating all mush is just not interesting.  There is chunky (as in roasted root vegetables or stew), there is chewy (as in meat or seitan), there is shredded (as in a raw carrot salad), there is dense (as in cooked eggs or fish or cheese), there is fluffy (as in sponge cake or some breads), there is granular (as in quinoa or rice), there is silky and smooth (as in pudding or silken tofu), there is powdery (as in different kinds of flour or powdered sugar), there is leafy (as in green vegetables), there is crispy (as in a cold fresh apple).  But crunchy is best I find. 

           Crunchy foods involve our sense of hearing in addition to our senses of taste and feeling.  Maybe that is the difference - heightened sensation.   We live for experiences.  Other than perhaps crispiness none of the other textures produce a sound.  As a kid I used to love KitKat and Crunch bars and brittle, all because of the crunch factor - now I find them too sweet.  I have been tempted to buy a food dehydrator just to make crunchy vegetable chips.  Then I can crunch away in a healthy way. 

on nut milk

           Now that lots of people are looking for alternatives to cow's milk for various reasons almond milk has become a very popular substitute.  Store bought almond milk isn't exactly cheap, nor does it taste like much.  Making your own is simple and - oh, the taste difference.  You will find a lot of information on the web on whether making your own is cheaper.  But that's really only half the story.  It's not necessarily cheaper, but what if for the same price you got a vastly superior and more nutritious nut milk?  Or for the same price as regular nut milk you got homemade organic nut milk?  In addition, you can play with a variety of nuts to make hazelnut milk (delicious), cashew milk, brazil nut milk, or walnut milk, none of which are available at the store.  Moreover, you may have read that store bought almond milk is made with only a few piddly nuts for a half gallon of nut milk.  Lastly, many nut milks are sweetened, and they contain thickeners, additives and chemicals - not so great. 

            To make nut milk simply soak a generous handful of nuts overnight (see previous post on soaking nuts, grains and seeds), rinse in the morning, blend with 4 cups/half gallon water, then strain.  You can sweeten if you must (try liquid stevia instead of sugar), add vanilla or cinnamon, but it's good as is.  What to do with the leftover bonus nut pulp?  Mix into veggie burgers, meat loaf, cookies, pie crusts, bean loaf - your imagination is the limit, but don't waste it (you can freeze it in baggies for later use).  Play with different nuts, play with the nut/water ratio, see what you like.  Oh, and you can make coconut milk by soaking shredded coconut in water, blending and straining.

soaking nuts, seeds and grains

           Oh no, you are going to think, she is going to propose to add yet another gimmick to my already full and crazy life.  Granted, soaking or sprouting adds a layer to food preparation, requires a bit of organization and thinking ahead.  But deep living is about going deeper, getting away from coasting and skimming the surface. 

            Shifting towards a more plant based diet is ultimately healthier (for us as well as the environment), and it's good to become aware of deeper nutritional connections.  Moreover, we live in times when we are bombarded with environmental pollutants and it's so important to consume the very best foods and beverages we can in order to boost our immune system and cleanse out toxins that have accumulated in our bodies over the years.

            Soaking nuts, seeds and grains increases their digestibility and permits the body to absorb their nutrients more easily.  The process takes a load off your body so to speak.  Nuts, seeds and grains all contain phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors - also called antinutrients - that prevent them from sprouting prematurely.  While not exactly harmful - don't be alarmed if you never soaked your nuts before now -  they are not exactly great either.  As said before, these antinutients cause a lesser availability of nutrients and possibly digestive troubles.

            Whether preparing nuts for snacks, making nut milk, requiring legumes for soup or chili or refried beans, even baking with whole grain flour, simply soak them all in fresh water - see chart for length of time - and be sure to throw away the soaking water and rinsing well. 

            You can go a step further and sprout seeds, which takes another day or two.  Now you're talking, because sprouts are some of the most nutrient rich foods we have, chockfull of antioxidants.  I recently started to make broccoli sprouts, from tiny broccoli seeds bought in a big 1lb bag.  What a superfood.   You can now find tofu made from sprouted soy beans, tortillas and bread made from sprouted grains, and you can sprout wheat berries to make the fermented drink called rejuvelac, which tastes almost like a light lemonade.

            This is one more way to support our bodies in staying healthy.

too acidic?

             Our body chemistry is healthiest at a pH of about 7.3, so slightly alkaline.  If it becomes too acidic we become ill (when my daughter was diagnosed with Diabetes 1 last year her body pH was at 6.8).   Overacidification makes us prone to cancer (tumors feed on sugar), diabetes, heart disease and all inflammatory conditions (overacidification causes inflammation).

            The mainstream Western diet is too high in acidifying and too low in alkalizing foods and it's easy to become imbalanced.  So let food be thy medicine to stay healthy or heal yourself - low tech, low cost.   Food comes in all colors of the pH spectrum - it is simply a matter of awareness in order to eat more of the beneficial ones.  In broad strokes the foods that acidify the body chemistry are sugar (as a culture we are literally addicted to sugar and meat!), meat (the redder the more acidifying) and refined carbs (as they transform immediately into sugar).  Ha - you'll say.  Exactly. 

               The foods that alkalize our body chemistry are most fruits and vegetables (not potatoes, and not bananas as they are both highly starchy - starch also turns immediately into sugar).  The most alkalizing vegetables are all the greens.  Since we thrive with a slightly alkaline chemistry we need to not only balance acidifying and alkalizing foods, but eat slightly more alkalizing than acidifying foods - hence the recent push for a more plant based diet.  Of course each person is unique and you need to test for yourself which foods work better for you and which don't.  Some people are better with breads and cheeses, others not so much.  Some people are ok with reasonable amounts of pastured meats, others less so.  Your digestive system and constitution are unique, and also tied to your geocultural and genetic heritage.

            The main message is to increase the amount of vegetables (you heard that one before), especially the greenies, cut out the sugar (no news, really), and drastically reduce your meat (go meatless every few days, switch to fish, do poultry instead of red or pork) and refined carb intake (less bread, pizza, pasta, waffles, bagels, and baked goods).  Instead, increase the amounts of healthy fats, nuts and legumes in your diet to meet your long-term energy needs (sugar is a false energy booster without nutritional value).

            See here earlier posts on the gluten-free craze, and the paleo diet, as well as links to food pH charts, and here that are very helpful.  Is your body chemistry balanced?

what's your food worth it to you?

             One of the main issues in the organics versus conventional food conversation is that it's not cheap.  But consider that Americans spend less than 10% of their income on food (outside and at home combined), down from about 18% in 1960.  Moreover, Americans spend on average less on food than 83 other countries worldwide. 

            You wouldn't argue that a simple plastic or canvas handbag would cost a lot less than a well made leather bag.  It goes without saying that the leather bag will last for many years while the canvas or plastic bag will tear and deteriorate much faster.   Quality materials and craftsmanship cost more because we obviously value them higher.  Translate that into food and who would argue that food grown on a small farm without toxic pesticides and chemical fertilizer should cost more?   It is natural that an artisanal cheese from a small farm made in small batches costs a lot more per pound than a factory made cheddar cheese made on an assembly line in huge quantities.

            How you spend your money is a question of values and priorities.  To me nothing is more important than what I put into my body.    My life depends on it.

extreme culinary art

          My husband and I are currently watching the Netflix series Chef's Table, one episode a night after dinner, a true dessert, and I am in awe.  All these super chefs from around the world have several things in common.  

         First of all they are true artists with an extremely high sense of esthetics - every one of their creations is art at its best, both esthetically as well as gustatorily.   These chefs don't use recipes, they create recipes, and it's from a different planet than what you and I are cooking for dinner.  Second, they are all local food frontiers people, whether foraged or farmed.  Third, most of them have a deep connection to the land and either have their own farms or work closely with farmers to cultivate, develop, and grow food with deep and authentic flavor.  Many of them did not go to cooking school, but apprenticed with France's luminaries to learn traditional French techniques, before developing their individual geographical and cultural spins and striking out on their own.  All had difficult beginnings, attesting to their struggles in finding their unique mode of expression.  Of course, they are all perfectionists.

            Perhaps the most important take away from watching these culinary geniuses is that their life is their profession, or their profession is their life.  Their occupation is who they are.  Their art expresses their soul.  They don't go about their job from nine to five and live for the week-end in order to finally do what they like best.  They followed their passion and live it - all the time.

eating a rainbow

          Food is a multi-sensory experience of sight, smell, taste and sensation.  In continuation of the musings on the pleasures of food texture here are some thoughts on the pleasures of color on your plate.

            There is a name for the absence of color in your diet - the beige diet.  Many kids are on it, but some not so adventurous adults as well.  It's a diet of meat (browns) and starches (beiges - pasta, potatoes, bread, rice), absent of fruits and vegetables that is monochromatic and boring to look at.           

            I love seeing vibrant colors on my plate.  The jewel tones of ripe red peppers and tomatoes, of red cabbage's and eggplants' dark purple, the deep orange of bell peppers, carrots or persimmons, summer squash's intense yellow, beets' dark garnet red, in addition to the myriad greens of broccoli, zucchini and all the leafies are just so joyful to look at.  They add to the complexity of our eating experience. Produce's color is an all important indicator of its varied nutritional components, besides adding visual pleasure and vibrancy to our food experience.  So, do "eat a rainbow," as they say.

caprese with avocado

foraging 101

dandelions

lambs quarters

         For the past few weeks I have had an abundant supply of wild greens in my backyard.  Lambs quarters and dandelions are growing with abandon. Both can be eaten raw as salad greens, used in a smoothie, or quickly sautéed or steamed with some garlic and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Dandelion leaves become bitter as the leaves grow bigger and older, so harvest the smaller ones if you don't like bitter greens.  The yellow flowers are edible and look very pretty in a salad, or you can put them in your smoothie.  Lambs quarters is a mild tasting green and can be substituted in any recipe that calls for spinach or chard. 

            In a few weeks we are looking forward to a bumper crop of blackcaps.  What's growing in your backyard?

budding blackcaps