Root Cause

It's easy to be inspired by the seasons. Fall is in full swing here in the NE and the farmer's markets reflect a bounty of familiar fall foods: root vegetables, squashes, apples and pears. While we think about summer showing the full spectrum of colors, let's not forget about the bright colors you'll find in the fall. The deep oranges of squashes, the red and greens of apples, the myriad of colorful carrots and the stunning ruby purples from beets! The color not only intrigues us visually, but provides substantial health benefits, such as antioxidants, bioflavanoids and essential vitamins and minerals.

One particular root vegetable has gained substantial attention recently, the humble beet. Scientist are excited about this vegetable for the potential benefits it may provide. The reason is two fold:

1. One study showed significant blood pressure lowering properties in people who drank one 500 ml (that is 16.5 ounces) dose of beet juice. Another found results with 250 ml (about 8 ounces), which was sex dependent, with the males benefiting.
2. Recent research is showing that beet juice may be helpful in cognitive function by increasing blood flow to the brain.

Why beets? Well, beets, along with other fruits and vegetables contain nitrates. Nitrates are converted to nitrites in the body, which is a precursor to nitrous oxide (NO). NO is a vasodilator (widens blood vessels), which lowers blood pressure and also increases blood flow. Though these are the same nitrates found in your hot dog or sausage, they are beneficial rather than harmful because the package (ie - fruit/vegetable) they are delivered in contain so many other health promoting compounds.

So does this mean that we should all drink beet juice for the rest of our lives? Well, it may be helpful if you do have high blood pressure or notice decline in brain power. Because fruits and veggies already have naturally occurring nitrates, eating more of them may offer a solution as well. Take home message: including fruits and vegetable in our diet is a wise choice. Let food be your medicine. And if you include beets in your diet already, well great!

Big Sky

Montana is a large state. Today we drove about 250 miles to Bozeman, Mt up and down mountain passes. It is truly a beautiful state. The clouds rose above us forming small bundles interspersed by bright blue sky. This was set against a mountainous backdrop littered with flowing streams and evergreens. At one point, all you could see was towering evergreens on each side of you as you drove. A sight I can never forget. We made a pit stop in Missoula for lunch and found a local fast Mexican joint. I got a veggie burrito on a whole wheat wrap and Chris got two pork tacos on corn tortillas. It was a satisfying lunch. We made it to Bozeman by 5:30 pm and sat to have dinner at a local brew pub. I enjoyed a green salad (local organic greens) with goat cheese, beets, and cherry tomatoes with chicken in balsamic vinaigrette. Chris tried the Angus beef burger with cheese. We both had some of the local microbrews. Afterward we decided not to go on to Yellowstone just yet and camp in Bozeman for the night. We found a campground surprisingly in the city. The only downfall was the proximity of the camp sites to I-9o. Oh well, we were tired and didn’t know what we’d find in Yellowstone. We plan to start bright and early tomorrow morning to drive through the park. Oh and we stopped at the Community Food Co-op, which was lots of fun (at least I though so!). We’ve decided that stopping for food is just not plausible for the duration of the trip. Well we’ve known this, but hey it’s our vacation! So we picked up a few items to make it through the next couple of days until we make it to Chris’ mom’s place in Salt Lake City, Ut.

I own the road!

I’m off to New York today. My boyfriend, Chris’ car and my car are loaded down with the contents of our lives. We start out with a hearty breakfast (well, lunch actually by the time we got started) after a morning of wrapping up at Chris’ place at the Grand Central Bakery. I had the basil egg salad, while Chris had the pork sandwich with apricot chutney. I saved half my sandwich for a road snack. I was not very prepared food-wise for this trip, but to be honest, there wasn’t enough room for that! I’ve already lovingly packed my kombucha and fish oils in the front seat with me and am carrying around my probiotics in my purse to keep their vitality. Fortunately, I have a GPS which helps me find local co-ops and health food stores.

As I headed East on I-90, it all felt kind of surreal. Wasn’t it just yesterday that I arrived in Seattle, all wide eyed and scared of what it was going to be like? Now I feel like a seasoned pro driving on mountain passes. The drive in through Washington was fairly uneventful, except for the heat. The highest temperature my car hit was 103 and fortunately, my car was doing ok with the boiling temperatures. In Idaho we stopped in Cour de alane for a quick rest and then decided to move forward into Montana. We didn’t make it that far before we decided that it was time to stop for the night. We ended up in Saltese, Mt (a very small town only the motel/convenience store and a bar and grill) at Mangold’s Motel. We were greeted by a slightly stoned man who appeared to be the owner. We checked in and were told that we could take two complimentary tapes to watch in our rooms. That’s right VHS. Apparently, there was no cable in the rooms due to a trucker taking down the lines as of late. We proceeded to pick two classic 80’s movies, Fletch with Chevy Chase and Twins with Danny Devito and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Unfortunately we only got through Fletch. We did however make it to the Montana Bar and Grill, which has been around since 1910. I ordered up the bison burger and Chris got the elk burger. That is one thing I really like about towns like this. You get to sample local flavor. Whereas, it would be unusual to see bison or elk on a menu in Texas, it is common place to see in small northern towns like Saltese. Needless to say, it was quite tasty. Though it was by no means the “perfect meal”, I was quite happy to be eating game animals, as they are most likely going to be more “natural”. By that I mean that they will be free of hormones, eating their natural diet and allowed to roam free. By allowing these natural behaviors, the meat is a lot leaner and has a better fatty acid profile, therefore making it a better meat. Though it is possible for these to be grain fed animals, the likelihood is less. As the demand for these animals increases, so will the chance that these animals will be raised in situations similar to cows, chickens and pigs.

Farewell to Seattle

This week has been an emotional one, not to mention very busy and physically tiring. I’ve had to say goodbye to friends that I have formed close bonds with and I’ve had to pack up all my things into my car and move out of my small studio. Though I’m excited to begin this next phase of my life, I am saddened that this one is over. Though these past two years have been the hardest that I have worked, they have also been very rewarding. Emotionally, I’ve made some friends for life and met a great partner. I’ve achieved a great deal academically and am proud of my accomplishments. Still, even though my next step will get me where I want to go, I just can’t seem to get excited about living in NY again. As a farewell to the place I have called home for the past 2 years, I made a lovely last meal with what I had left in my refrigerator. It was an impromptu meal with a bit of this and that, so amounts will not be exact. The main meal consisted of strips of buffalo steak, pinto beans, carrots, onions, garlic, baby spinach, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper. You can use your imagination to how these ingredients all came together. For dessert I made a Sabrina inspired berry crisp with local raspberries, blackberries I picked not far from Chris’ place and local peaches. I definitely winged this dessert with what I could find in my packed car. To thicken the filling, I ended up using Kudzu, which is a starchy root used to make a jello like thickness in pies and jelly like concoctions. Medicinally, it has been used to soothe upset stomachs. I ended up using a bit too much (about 2 tablespoons in a 9 X 13 pan), but the flavor of the crisp was not effected. The topping was oats, butter, brown sugar and maple syrup, but I think that date sugar (which I didn’t have), would work great here! It turned out to be a lovely meal and a fitting farewell to Seattle.

My perfect summer meal

Last summer I had just moved into my small studio apartment in Seattle. I was so excited to be on my own in the city. What was also exciting was my proximity to Whole Food Market and the Farmer's Markets in the U-District and Wallingford. This could also be considered a negative because as my stomach benefited, my wallet was soon being emptied on the summer bounty. While most Americans are spending less of their disposable income on food (less than any other developed country), I was spending most of mine on food (granted my income is a lot less than typical being a poor student and now intern). It was one of my first days in my apartment and I was enjoying my new found freedom away from my roommates. I walked over to Whole Foods to browse and find "inspiration" in the isles, my usual, but time consuming routine. When I saw the beautiful multi-colored cherry tomatoes, I had my idea. This summer, as soon as I saw the tomatoes at the market, I had to have it again! This recipe can easily be adapted for elimination diets (except nightshade allergies) by using brown rice linguini and omitting the cheese.

Linguini with Garlicky Cherry Tomatoes, Kale and Toasted Pine Nuts

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 bunch lacitino kale, ripped into small pieces
1 lbs whole wheat linguine
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
ricotta salata cheese for topping (optional)

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the garlic. Cook about 30 seconds, careful not to burn the garlic. Stir in the tomatoes and sea salt. Cook until the tomato skins are slightly wrinkly, about 10 minutes. Add the kale and cook until it turns bright green and is slightly wilted. Toss the cooked pasta with the tomatoes and kale in the skillet and add the toasted pine nuts. Serve with crumbled ricotta salata cheese if desired.

The last time I made this dish I also made simple chicken cutlets with it. I used a dry herb mix that I bought in the whole food bulk section, which I used like bread crumbs. It had dried basil, oregano, thyme, rosemary and marjoram. For this particular recipe, I think dried herbs work best, but substituting with some fresh would be ok too.

Italian Herb Crusted Baked Chicken Cutlets

1 chicken breast, sliced into 1/4 thick cutlets
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup Italian herb seasoning
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1 clove garlic minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

In one dish, pour the olive oil and in another combine all the spices. Dip the chicken cutlets first in the olive oil, coating it completely, then into the herb mixture. Place cutlets onto a cookie sheet. Bake at 350 for about 15-20 minutes.

Choosing the diet soda?

We all know this scenario: woman/man walks into a fast food joint, orders a super large meal (with dessert) and then asks for the diet soda. I think we can all sense the irony in that situation, the consumption of a high calorie meal with the concern about calories in the soda. What difference can that possibly make? Let's break it down. Say you order a Big Mac (540 kcals), large fries (500 kcals), an Oreo McFlurry (550 kcals) and a large Coke (310 kcals). That totals to 1900 calories! Now minus the soda (equivalent to getting a diet soda) and you get 1590 calories. That is still a lot of calories. It takes an extra 500 calories a day to gain a pound in one weeks time, so opting for diet does put you in the right direction calorie wise, but by eating this meal at all you are bound to go over the amount of calories that you expend and ultimately gain weight. So what are you options? Well first of all, a meal this calorie dense should not be eaten at all! If you are still choosing to eat this, than try drinking some water or seltzer with your meal and ordering the small sizes. This obviously does not solve the problem at all, but it does take the diet soda out of the equation and reduce calorie intake. Artificial sweeteners are not beneficial for your health. For some people, the side effects can be severe and most of the time people do not even connect the two to their sense of well being. Artificial sweeteners can actually make you gain weight. Sounds counter intuitive right? What happens is that your body senses something sweet, now out bodies are actually a lot smarter than we know. Just the sensation of the sweetness that your brain detects will increase you insulin levels regardless of the actual sugar being released into the blood stream. Insulin is the hormone in the body that is responsible for storing energy (ie-fat). If our levels are high, we'll constantly be in the storing mode. Besides this, some research indicates that the artificial sweeteners will raise your insulin levels on their own by interacting with taste receptors. After the drink your body has sensed something sweet (therefore preparing for it) and when it doesn't get it, it will still want it! This may come in the form of a ice cream or cookies later, but your body is going to get it sweet fix. So the next time you go to reach for your diet soda, or "diet" anything for that matter in an effort to lose weight or stay healthy, think again.

The Beginning

It’s always exciting in the beginning. I feel motivated and happy to start my journey. It is now day 5 of the detox and this is the first chance I’ve gotten to write. Day 1 was temporarily pushed back when I realized that I had a high tea planned for a friend. I had never been to one of those, so I thought I’d take advantage of the new experience and I’m glad I did. It was wonderful! All those little tiered plates with finger sized treats and piping hot tea, mmmm! So I officially started on Thursday. It’s been going very well, except for a small slip up on Saturday.

I’ve been having smoothies for breakfast with bananas, ground flax seed, tahini and rice milk (I’m unsure if rice milk counts as a grain, but you have to draw the line somewhere). I made a large pot of chili with ground turkey, pinto and kidney beans. It turned out so creamy and delicious. I think I can attribute that to me over cooking the beans slightly. Some of the pintos were very soft, while others in tact, making the “sauce” rich and velvety. I made that pot several meals, which I paired with fresh green salads and simply prepared veggies. Here is my simple recipe for tasty coleslaw; it is so pretty to look at too!

Simply Delicious Coleslaw

Serves 4-6
15 minutes

¼ head red cabbage, shredded
2 carrots, matchsticked
1 bunch radishes, cut into rounds
¼ cup chopped Italian parsley
Juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons sea salt

Combine the cabbage, carrots, radishes and parsley in a large bowl. In a small bowl combine the lemon juice and apple cider vinegar. Whisk in the oil and salt. Add the dressing the cabbage mixture and toss to coat. Add more salt to taste.