What I've been eating lately

I got very absorbed in my first week of summer and managed to barely post! Part of my absorption, though, has been taking care of things around the house which includes cooking and eating good things!

I went to Trader Joe's last week to pick up just a few things for the recipes I was planning on cooking, but, as always, left with more than I planned! Their fruit just looked so good that I ended up getting grapes, strawberries, and blueberries. Add to that the cantaloupe, peaches, and pluots that came in my Full Circle Farm box, and I've been enjoying lots of sweet treats. I made a fruit salad and then demolished it in less than a day! Hot weather makes that cool, sweet mixture just call out to me.

In the last couple of weeks, I made the Veggie Burgers from The Great American Detox Diet, the Crunchy Chicken Salad Wraps from Weight Watchers, and a Kale and Bell Pepper Strudel from the Moosewood cookbook, all delicious. The strudel is a bit misnamed, I think, since it uses filo dough and looks much more like spanikopita. It was relatively easy to make, even with never having used filo before, and it was quite good. I actually had leftovers from that tonight. I coupled it with some Moroccan Roasted Veggies over bulghur from the Moosewood cookbook, which was delicious. Add some fresh cantaloupe, and it was a great dinner!

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One thing I've been struggling with and know that I will continue to this summer is all the celebrations and cookouts that come along with it. I agree with the commenter "Uncle Paulie" that said that you sometimes have to give into those cravings and really just enjoy what's in front of you. The problem is, I seem to crave it all and give into all of it! I tend to equate food with relaxation and celebrating, and need to be really mindful of that. It's an ongoing process, you know?

I am managing to be really slow in my reading which is very unusual for me, and so had to return In Defense of Food to the library. I'll put it back on my hold list and see when I get it. I also picked up Food Inc., which is evidently a collection of essays that are a companion to the movie. I'll let you know what I learn!

Cold Turkey

As I've wavered in my resolve to avoid things that I know are bad for me, I've definitely discovered that I have next to no willpower when it comes to sweets. Especially chocolate and very especially chocolate ice cream. I've tried to eat them in moderation, but just can't seem to. I have a bite of something sweet and suddenly I'm craving, and indulging in, more. So, back to avoiding refined sugars again. It wasn't that hard before, and I just need to stick with it.

Tonight for dinner we had the Hearty Vegetarian Stew from the Weight Watchers Turn Around cookbook. This is one of our old favorites: it's so easy and delicious. It's #19 here.

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I paired it, sort of randomly, with a curried quinoa from the Moosewood cookbook.
Very easy to make, and quite tasty. The second Jeremy tried it, he said it reminded him of biryani, and I agree!

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Oooh... pretty colors!

I figured that since it's been a while since I posted that I need to bring a peace offering. So, I bring you some photos of food I've made lately.

This was a portobella mushroom topped with brie and sun-dried tomatoes on a bed of bulghur. I brushed the mushroom with balsamic and pre-cooked it a bit in the oven before adding the brie. I added a little Italian spice mix to the bulghur. It was all delicious!

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This was a great stirfry with tofu, red cabbage, kale, and asparagus. I served it over brown rice, and it was delicious. It just tasted so clean and healthy and good, and I'll definitely make it again.

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Tonight's dinner was Corn, Potato, and Mushroom Soup from The Great American Detox Diet. I randomly paired it with a Roasted Veggie Quinoa salad from the same book. It's one of my favorite recipes.

For the soup, I used red potatoes and cremini mushrooms. A wonderful, hearty soup for a cold Memorial Day Weekend!

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Here are the onions, carrots, beets, and parsnip all cut up and ready to be roasted.

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This is the finished product:

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I spent some time making a list of meals today and doing a little shopping. I'll post that tomorrow in the "Meals and Checklists" section. I'm using the Moosewood cookbook this time around, and I'm really looking forward to it.

Mindless Eating

I've been very busy at work these last few days and have been desperate to relax when I get home, so I've been spending a lot of time in front of screens. Television and computer screens, that is. I've been eating in front of them more than I'd like to admit, taking my lunch at my desk as I've been working and eating dinner at home in front of the TV. I've found myself not paying attention at all to what I'm eating, just mindlessly chowing down as I eat.

Through a friend, I found another blog that I'm just loving: Real Food is Good Food. She has wonderful, delicious-looking recipes and gorgeous photos of the process to make it all. I highly recommend it!

Another is Smitten Kitchen. Ditto on the recipes and the photos. I can't wait to find out some of the things I'm finding on these sites! Namely, Homemade Pop-Tarts. I've never wanted a pocket pastry so much in my life!

Our dinner tonight was a Thai Protein Noodle Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find a recipe online, but it had bean sprouts, tofu, rice noodles, avocado, red bell pepper, and a yummy dressing made with peanut butter, ginger, and soy sauce. I can't even tell you how good it was and exactly what I needed to prep for the race this weekend!

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From the Farm to the Table: A Story in Pictures

We picked up our second box of food from Full Circle Farm today - so exciting! I decided to take a bunch of photos to show you the bounty and what I did with it.

It's here!

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Oooh... look at it all!

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Oh crap. Where am I going to put this? Can you tell I just went to Costco?

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There's a little room over here...

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Posed veggies - Those are cremini mushrooms and arugula

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Gorgeous new citrus fruits, tomato, and avocados

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Dinner-making in progress. Note my compost bowl.

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My ever-present chef's helper with a spoon on her head, right before she was banned from the kitchen for not listening. Hiring a new sous-chef if anyone is interested.

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Cooking in progress with my pan already nearly overflowing. Those are roasted golden beets on the right for the salad.

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Finished arugula salad with roasted golden beets and radishes. I made a dijon mustard/caper/maple syrup/olive oil concoction for dressing that was surprisingly good.

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Finished, steaming chili with ground turkey, eggplant, zucchini, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans, carrots... pretty much as much as I could fit in there.

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So, there it is! A gorgeous, yummy dinner in just under an hour with lots of great organic veggies. The bean and veggie chili was one of the recipes in Food Matters and the salad was my own invention. Delicious!

Food, Inc. Part I

I watched Food, Inc. last night. It was shown on PBS and you can still access it on their website here. I found it just incredible to watch and learned so much more about our food and food supply here in the U.S. So much of it was astounding to me and I feel pretty well informed already. So many Americans just have no idea what they're putting into their mouths and the mouths of their children!

Some notes I took and a little commentary:

The way we eat has changed more in the last 50 years than in the previous 10,000. - This wasn't a surprising fact per se, but hearing it really brought home the seriousness of the Standard American Diet. Why are we messing with what's worked for 10,000 years? Convenience? Taste?

The top 4 beef producers control 80% of the market. - Well, we know where our meat is coming from. Not that that's a good thing.

Many of the chickens “raised” never see sunlight. - This fact, along with the shots of the poor chickens in the poultry house made me sad. My heart just aches for mistreated animals and I wonder what it says about our humanity that we can do this to other creatures.

The chicken has doubled in size in the last 50 years, due to production needs. They go to full size now in 7 weeks. They grow so fast, their internal organs and bones can’t keep up and they can barely walk. - See above.

We eat 200 lbs. of meat per person, per year. - Now that's just gross.

Corn is being fed to cows to fatten them because it’s cheap and abundant, but cows are really grass-eaters. Mutant, more dangerous E. coli is formed by their eating this diet. Normally, grass would keep the E. coli out of their system for the most part. The runoff from our farms is contaminating other products, like spinach. - Now this fact made me nervous. I can make better choices, such as organics or buying from certain companies, but the lax USDA standards and inspections really are scary. I may think I'm making the best decision, but it could have terrible consequences.

The food regulatory agencies have often been led by the former heads of the largest food companies and lobbyists. - Being a history major, this surprises me not at all, but it makes me really sad. Really, really sad. Plus, it makes me wonder about other industries as well.

Kevin’s Law, which would give the USDA the ability to shut down plants with numerous failures of microbial tests, has not been passed in the 6 years it’s been in circulation. The lobbyists keep making sure it’s defeated. The bill is named after Kevin, a 2 ½ year old boy that died of hemorrhagic E. Coli. - See above. Kevin's story just broke my heart, especially since my daughter is not much older than he was when he died. It blows my mind that our government cannot regulate its own industries. Is the tail wagging the dog here or what?

I took so many notes that I'm going to have to finish up for today and give you the rest tomorrow. It was definitely worth my time to watch and I hope you will as well!

I picked up some more books at the library today, so be prepared for much more information! Man, my reading list has grown!

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The other day, I posted a not-so-great photo of the whole oat groats I had for breakfast. Though this is steel-cut oats, I fixed it the same way, with a little flaxseed oil, a tiny bit of milk, chopped almonds and walnuts and golden and regular raisins. This is Lauren's portion, not mine. Clearly, I hope.

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This was tonight's dinner: Walnut and Lentil Salad from The Great American Detox Diet. I can't find the recipe, but it has spinach, lentils, walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes and various oils and spices. Very filling and very good!

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Somewhere Between Eating to Live and Living to Eat

Every Friday night I get together with a couple of girlfriends to hang out and watch TV, usually The Biggest Loser. Sometimes we do dinner, sometimes not, and we usually have some sort of dessert. It's such a nice relaxing time and I look forward to it every week.

I have to admit, though, that I've been nervous about this ever since I started with this eating overhaul. Food to me means relaxation, fun, joy. Restricting food from myself will be miserable, right? Eat to live not live to eat, right?

Not necessarily. I'm finding that I get a lot of joy from eating well and taking good from my body, but I also am getting equal joy from eating food that tastes amazing. I'd say beyond the health benefits of my eating, the taste and the quality of what I'm eating has really soared. It's making eating a much better experience, and I'm finding a passion for food. I've been much more excited about the colors and textures and comingling of flavors on my plate. The nice thing is that I'm eating less, as taking the time to savor the first few bites somehow makes me feel fuller faster. That quality makes all the difference. Plus, I get to cook, which is one of the most relaxing things I know how to do, aside from sleeping. So, I'm trying to find that balance between eating to live and living to eat.

I found this gorgeous blog today and it really sums up what I'm thinking, just the idea that food is not just meant to be consumed. It's meant to be enjoyed, savored.

So, with that in mind, I made a cake for us tonight. I picked it out of the Moosewood cookbook: Presto Chocolate Cake. It's just a simple chocolate cake and I made a blackberry-chocolate glaze for the top. It was dead easy to make and was just the perfect amount of rich and light and sweet. It was delicious, and I savored every bite. Just like it's meant to be, right?

As usual, this photo does not do the cake justice.

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A little bit of an artsier shot, though I had a serving fail.

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Eating well doesn't have to mean restriction and boredom. It can be eating all the things you love that are good for you, while being conscious of the choices you're making. Listening to your body is key. So is chocolate cake every once in a while.

Starting the Morning Off Right

Every morning I walk into the kitchen and think, "Dammit! I meant to make some oats last night!" I adore steel-cut oats, but they just take so, so long to cook that I've been wanting to make them in the evenings to have in the morning. Until I get distracted by Lauren or cooking dinner or something shiny and then forget, of course. I've been eating whole wheat toast with a little peanut butter, which is good but no substitute for oats.

Finally, last night I remembered what I wanted to do, so I made another recipe from The Great American Detox Diet: Hearty Morning Oatmeal Porridge. Basically, it's just whole oat groats (pre-steel cutting), simmered for a (really, really) long time in water and a little orange juice with some nutmeg and cinnamon. When it's done, you stir in some maple syrup and top with chopped nuts. I used almonds and walnuts and also added a little flaxseed oil and raisins. It was delicious and kept me full right up until lunch time.

Pre-fixing up. Not very pretty, but delicious!

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Tonight's dinner was awesome. I made the Spinach and Sweet Potato Salad with Warm Bacon Dressing from Food Matters by Mark Bittman. I mean, c'mon, everything is better with bacon, right? It was heavenly, and was certainly enough to eat for dinner. I highly recommend it! Now, what was it I said about maybe going vegetarian?

Once again, my photography talents make the food look much less appealing than it was, but you get the idea!

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I picked up two new cookbooks tonight at the library that I'm excited about. One is an old familiar: Mooosewood Restaurant New Classics. I also got Skinny Bitch in the Kitch which is actually a vegan cookbook. I never would have guessed from the title, but there you go. You can't judge a book by its cover, right? I'll let you know when I try some of the recipes out!

The Box Came!

With more excitement than I have ever had about a box of vegetables, Lauren and I went to our local pick-up spot to get our Full Circle Farm box. We got it home and she pulled her chair up to the counter to stand on so we could open it together. We got strawberries, purple top turnips, red bell pepper, the most delicious-smelling basil, grapefruit and oranges, red potatoes, sweet potatoes, spinach, zucchini... the list just goes on. I did order a few extra things just to make sure I could make certain recipes, but it was all reasonably priced. Now I have a jam-packed crisper and there are mounds of potatoes and onions on the counter. Love it!

I also made a solo venture to Trader Joe's today and browsed around, looking at their organic selection and their various other products. I was surprised at the range of organic fruits and vegetables they had; I'll be able to supplement what I'm getting in my box quite easily. They also have great breads, canned beans and tomatoes, and other sorts of things that aren't heavily processed. With some careful planning, I'll be able to stick to whole foods and mostly organics pretty easily. My most exciting find of the day was some gummy vitamins for Lauren that don't use artificial colors and flavors. I'd been worried about finding such a thing, but TJ's had them!

Tonight's dinner was a wonderful Milanese Tomato Soup (dead easy to make, from the Detox Diet) and a warm kale and potato salad (ditto). Here's a not-very-good photo of the lovely ladies:

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For dessert, I made a kefir/peach/mango not-very-smoothie. Delicious!

Early Mid-life Crisis?

So this evening, I was standing in the kitchen, hand-making veggie burgers and a roasted veggie and quinoa salad while wearing my running clothes and singing along with some song on Sirius' AltNation. It suddenly hit me like a bolt of lightning: I'm a totally changed person in the last couple of years. Heck, the last few weeks have been a massive change. Two years ago, you wouldn't have been able to make me run more than a mile and it would have taken some serious motivation for me to do that (like, being chased with a machete). I definitely wasn't an "alternative" music person; I've always tended more towards to pop music. And this whole cooking with whole foods thing is a total change. I mean, I've always liked cooking and have cooked mostly at home, but really paying attention to labels and using organic produce and cooking with whole grains... very new. I'm a little young for a mid-life crisis (nearly 32) but what else could it be, this total change? I guess it's not so bad as mid-life crises go; it's not like I'm running off with some sleek Spaniard named Alejandro. Not yet, anyway.

Today is day 7 without refined sugar and I think I made it. I had a bite of a cookie that Lauren was eating, but it was from PCC, so I'd suspect it has evaporated cane sugar crystals or the like. Ditto the apple crisp I just had a few bites of. Jeremy really wanted me to have a little bit of a sweet treat and I agreed that was a good idea. That I know was made with florida crystals, which is unrefined. So, I think I made it! Tomorrow is the beginning of the caffeine week of The Great American Detox Diet; I'm not a big caffeine drinker, so we'll see how that goes.

I have a couple of (clickable) photos for you! Tonight's dinner: Veggie Burger patty on whole wheat bread wit dijon mustard and lettuce with Roasted Veggie and Savory Quinoa Salad (both from The Great American Detox Diet:

From 2010-03-25

And from last week, the veggie loaf with mashed sweet potatoes and green salad:

From 2010-03-25

Tomorrow, I'm going to post about why I've chosen to go with organics. Until then, I have a couple of articles for you to read. One is an amusing send up of this whole "Double Down" business by KFC. Seriously, that sandwich is everything that's wrong with our food culture.

The other is about artificial coloring in food, from the perspective of one mom. The Spoonfed blog is fantastic and really shows how it can be a struggle to kick off our society's bad habits with food. She's the Militant Food Mommy of which I speak, but the milder version I wouldn't mind being. The advocate, not the crazed-letter writer. I can hang with advocacy.

It Begins

I woke up still on a tear, so that's a good sign. I'm a notorious non-finisher of projects, but this is really interesting and very important to the health of my family. If I can just survive all the scary and gross information...

I'll get to that in a minute, though. I need to do a little before photo-taking. Here is my refrigerator and kitchen pantry in its current state (Yikes! A little messier than I'd like, and why does Lauren have four sippy cups in the fridge?):



You'll note that I have a decent stash of frozen veggies, nestled right up next to the Mickey Mouse Chicken Nuggets. In the fridge, I have two kinds of milk sharing space with a massive container of ranch dip (for the nuggets, of course!) There's low-fat yogurt (which I'm now feeling dubious about) and some string cheese, which according to the ingredients is actually decent. In the pantry, I have all my baking stuff, the granola bars with High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), Gatorade powder and not one but three kinds of oatmeal. Like I said, I'm not starting off horribly, but I can definitely do better.

What you're not seeing is our other pantry downstairs that has most of the canned tomatoes (which I'm also feeling dubious about), broths, pastas, and extra juices for Lauren. We also have a large freezer in the garage: we buy half a cow's worth of meat every year and a half or so and it's all wrapped up in its pretty white paper in there. This is one choice I feel really good about. We buy the meat from a family friend in Idaho and we know exactly where the cow has been. Plus, it's a great deal. We have that, at least.

I just feel like I have a ton of learning to do. I don't know enough about local resources, what sweeteners are best, whether organic is worth it... It's going to be quite a learning process, and I just have to be patient.

I did start my learning today, though all the books I want to read are on hold at the library. Behold the power of the Internet! Without yet picking up a book, I've already learned a bunch of interesting things about the food we eat and the business of food.:

- Half the people that helped to develop the food pyramid had ties to agribusiness.
- 70% of the antibiotics consumed in America are consumed by animal husbandry. Those antibiotics given straight to us through the meats we eat.
- Every American gets the equivalent of a 5 lb. bag of pesticides each year. (That literally made me shiver to write!)
- We spend about $500 a year per student feeding the children in the schools in the United States. Given all the payroll costs and other overhead, it ends up being about $1 a day per child.
- One out of every four meals is eaten in a car. (Are they counting snacks, you think? What about when I'm wolfing down some of the groceries I just bought because I'm starving?)

All of these facts come from a couple of TED talks I listened to today:

Mark Bittman, "What's Wrong with What We Eat"

Ann Cooper, the "Renegade Lunch Lady"

Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" page has lots of interesting and disturbing facts and figures here


The good news at the bottom of the page? Congress is looking at creating new standards for all food at schools, including vending machines. $4.5 billion over 10 years is a small payment towards the improved health of our children!
See the story here.