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Inspiration at the Farmer’s Market

11 May

I think that I must have been a farmer in another life.

There’s nothing that gets me more motivated to eat well and eat clean than to buy groceries fresh from their sources. I have accepted that this means putting a few extra dollars aside every week, but it is a.) incredibly important to support local farms that focus on sustainable agriculture and b.) much better for all who eat my cooking to not be unwillingly inundated with extra hormones/salt solutions…etc.

It was with that motivation that I set out for a Saturday morning trip to the Arlington Farmer’s Market. For many folks, the image of these street markets conjures up thoughts of craft stands with the occasional person selling homemade preserves or fresh herbs. Arlington’s market, however, is a clean eater’s paradise. There’s a vendor for nearly any grocery item you might need including (but not limited to) a baker that sells whole-grain products (some gluten-free items), several dairy farmers featuring fresh eggs, milk, and cheese, veggie/fruit farmers with produce of all kinds, tomato and herb plants, livestock farmers selling meat and poultry, a mushroom vendor with a wide variety of types, and even someone selling raw honey. The Master Gardener’s club also has a tent on-site to answer any gardening questions people purchasing plants might have.

This week’s trip yielded a whole chicken, some buffalo burgers and jerky, pork chops, vine tomatoes, homemade ricotta (which is so good that eating it out of the container with a spoon is perfectly acceptable) and mozzarella cheeses, a dozen eggs, two giant portobello mushrooms, baby arugula, romaine lettuce and a sweet onion.

Many of the farms are located in Loudon County, which is having their spring farm tour this coming weekend. I’ve already decided that I want to visit one of the places where you can gather your own eggs, but it’s also getting close to the time of year when strawberries are candy-like, so…decisions, decisions!

Anyway, my motivating trip to the market segued nicely into cooking. Looking to use up some of the grains I had around, I decided that pizza dough was in order…

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups whole grain spelt flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup whole grain durum flour (Usually labeled as semolina, has the consistency of fine cornmeal)
1/2 tbsp. light olive oil or grapeseed oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
2 1/2 tsp. dry active yeast
1 cup warm water (105-110 degrees F)
1 tsp. sucanat or evaporated palm sugar

The method is the same as you’d do for any normal yeast based pizza dough…

*Dissolve the sucanat in the warm water and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow this to sit for 5 minutes or until the yeast foams.

*In a separate bowl, combine the flours and salt. Make a well in the center and gently pour in the yeast/sucanat/water mixture.

*Add the olive oil.

*Mix until a soft dough forms and then turn out onto a board lightly dusted whole wheat pastry flour. Knead 10-15 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

*Roll the dough into a ball and put it in a bowl that has been greased lightly with olive oil. Toss to coat the dough with the oil and then cover with a towel and allow it to rise for one hour.

*Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

*Punch the dough down and allow it to rise for another half-hour.

*Now, you’re ready to bake! Stretch the dough out on a cookie sheet or pizza stone, top with your favorites, and bake for 15 minutes. (I made some homemade sauce out of those vine tomatoes and topped with the fresh mozzarella and a few dollops of ricotta)

NOTE: I did a slow-rise with this the first time I made it (24 hours in the fridge as opposed to 1 hour in a warm place), but it came out a touch tough. I prefer a crust that is crisp on the outside, but has a little softness to the bite.

A common complaint from people who try this and other whole-grain based breads/crusts is that it’s heavy. Yes, it’s true. I ate one piece of this pizza and was full for the rest of the afternoon. (Joe had two pieces and was full to give you an idea of how the average stomach reacts.)

You’re absolutely going to feel full. Eating whole grains means that you’ve got to digest every part of the grain including the germ, bran, and kernel. It takes a lot of time and effort for the body to do that. When you eat refined flour, a lot of those elements get taken away, thus it takes more to fill you up. This is, I think, the main issue in the American diet that causes weight trouble. Most of what’s hanging out on the grocery store shelves contains huge amounts of highly-refined ingredients, which in turn allow us to eat large quantities without feeling full. Add sugar, fat, and salt and you’ve created the drug that so many of us get hooked on.

Fortunately, many farmer’s markets (including Arlington for those of you in my area) stay open year-round, and more and more natural food stores are opening up and forcing competition with some of the chains. While it’s still more expensive than a trip to Safeway, I find that I am able to stretch the ingredients I buy further because I’m eating less. (We did have more than half of a pizza left yesterday!)

If you want to try some different flavors, replace the whole wheat pastry flour with garbanzo bean or white bean flour. It’s a neat texture difference and really nice if you have a bit of a gluten-sensitivity(it is not, however, gluten-free).

That’s all for now! Hopefully, the next few weeks will mean more time to experiment while I’m on break from school. If you have a recipe that you’d like to see reformed for a clean diet, please shoot me an e-mail at bananafish711@gmail.com. I’d be glad to give it a go!

Ciao friends!
-Neen

Food Rehab

5 May

David Kessler, M.D., former FDA commissioner under presidents Bush the first and Clinton has been popping up here and there lately to promote his new book The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite. I saw him first on the Daily Show with Jon Stewart and then last Friday on Real Time with Bill Maher.

Kessler theorizes that “hyper-eating” is not a personal character flaw, but rather a biological challenge that individuals must overcome through education and persistence. Lifestyle changes, along the increase of power in the advertising and food industries since the 1980s have left many Americans at the mercy of reward-driven eating. Kessler’s main argument is that the brain has a significant reward response to the diabolical combination of salt, fat, and sugar. This sets people up for a lifetime of food obsession due to the permeating presence of these attributes in most mass-marketed/widely available foods. Kessler makes an urgent plea for “food reform” and suggests a simple kind of rehabilitation for overeaters, promoting new sources of reward and pleasure.

Anyone who has ever tried to make a significant lifestyle change knows that it’s a struggle. Some days are easy, while others you find yourself frustrated, angry, and willing to make any excuse as to why it’s okay to stick with a bad habit rather than change it. One of the main things that surgeons performing the RNY and other weight-loss procedures emphasize is the lifestyle change. It’s repeated over and over again how truly permanent the changes have to be in order to make the surgery a success.

When I made the decision to cut refined flour and sugar out of my life, I was miserable for about 2 weeks. I chewed through multiple packs of Trident in a day to keep myself from biting the inside of my mouth or grinding my teeth. I had unbelievable cravings for bread, crackers, and salty snacks. My own miniature detox.

It took time, but I stopped craving those things with that kind of fervor. I still think about them and even still want them, but I don’t feel compelled to find them.

When I want sweets, I crave oatmeal with evaporate cane juice (sucanat), roasted nuts, Vietnamese cinnamon and diced apples. When I want salty food, I crave roasted chicken, spinach and artichoke dip, or hot multi-grain cereal with parmigiano reggiano and a dash of olive oil. As I have changed my lifestyle and altered the way I grocery shop, the cravings have changed too. I don’t stress about my “diet” as much because the only real thing I need to watch is the quantity of what I eat (oh freeze-dried fruit, I could eat you forever and a day).

What does it all boil down to? The cover of Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food (another great book) reads “Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.” I think he’s got it covered pretty well. I’d add eat fresh and as local as possible too. Cleaning up your eating as opposed to simply going on a diet will have greater long-term benefits.

Some people who try a new diet often consider the idea of having a “cheat day.” As much as this idea seems alright on the surface, it’s considerably risky to healthy lifestyle success. If cheating means the occasional binge on a food containing large quantities of addictive, dangerous substances, then you can never really be the one making the decision. (Do you want food to make your decisions for you?) Food addiction is no joke and the obesity epidemic is evidence enough to convince me. You wouldn’t encourage an alcoholic to indulge in one drink a week, so why do the same thing regarding your own diet?

That said, I’m not suggesting depriving oneself of the pleasure derived from food entirely. I’m simply saying that it’s possible to feel healthy, sustained, and happy without needing dangerous foods to feel that pleasure.

If you’re a foodie who takes pleasure in providing delicious things to others, I suggest starting a small garden and canning at the end of the season. There’s a special kind of pleasure reserved for opening a jar of homemade tomato sauce in the middle of a freezing, gray winter.

Have a great week!

Are You Addicted?

12 Sep

Hello, my name is Neen and I am a recovering sugar addict.

For years I both knowingly and unknowingly consumed large quantities of refined white sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (how did that end up in canned soup???) which contributed to my eventual rise to 280 lbs. Foods like my beloved cinnamon scones from Au Bon Pain, fluffy white bread, muffins, white rice, white potatoes, ice cream, juices (with added sugar), pastries, and most baked goods are problematic to the human digestive system.

According to Dr. Francine Kaufmann, professor of Pediatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California and Head of the Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, “the human response to ingestion of carbohydrates is an evolutionary relic from Paleolithic man. In short, our bodies are designed to work based on slow digestion and absorption of complex carbohydrates and a gradual release for energy in lean times. Essentially, our bodies have not responded to modern lifestyle and eating habits. Any spikes in blood sugar provoke an insulin response as a survival hormone to capture extra calories and store them as fat” (Cunningham, Kilara and Merolli 2).

In other words, if you’re looking to live a healthy lifestyle and maintain a normal weight, rapid spikes and drops in blood sugar are not what you’re after. Think about kids on Halloween night or Easter morning (1 lb. chocolate bunny anyone?). A sugary snack provides a short period of hyperactivity and then leads to an eventual crash. Your blood sugar is that little kid.

But don’t get depressed. There’s a solution, and I promise that it’s doable and won’t leave you longing for that fluffy white bread. In fact, quite the opposite happened in my case. Once I recognized how those spikes and drops in my blood sugar really made me feel, I realized that I didn’t want to experience that anymore. Starting my day off in high school with a Pop Tart (or two) made me feel wide-awake and ready to go during my first two classes. By third period, I was toast and craved more energy. In contrast, starting my day off now with a serving of high-protein, high-fiber cereal (specifically Kashi Go-Lean) leaves me with a satisfied pouch (stomach for those of you without re-routed digestive plumbing) and a steadier stream of energy. When I do feel hunger in between meals, it can usually be tamed by a few swigs of water. If not, I reach for a protein cupcake or Glucerna mini snack bar.

I digress. The solution I propose is one that diabetics are somewhat familiar with and is commonly referred to as “glycemic management.” The glycemic index ranks carbohydrate containing foods according to how they affect blood sugar levels within two hours of digestion. “The glycemic index separates carbohydrate-containing foods into three general categories: (1) High Glycemic Index Foods (GI 70+), which cause a rapid rise in blood-glucose levels; (2) Intermediate Glycemic Index Foods (GI 55-69) causing a medium rise in blood-glucose; and (3) Low Glycemic Index Foods (GI 54 or less), causing a slower rise in blood-sugar” (Cunningham, Kilari and Merolli 1). For instance, a french baguette has a glycemic index of 95 while apples have a glycemic index of 38. Don’t fear spaghetti either, its glycemic index is only 41. Have some that’s been enriched with protein and it goes down to 27(southbeach-diet-plan.com).

By eating foods with a low impact on blood sugar levels, glucose is released slowly into the bloodstream and the demand on the body to produce insulin is reduced. This, in turn prevents the cycle of spike-crash-crave from occurring. Other benefits exist as well. According to a study published in Diabetes Care, following a low glycemic diet has been shown to help prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes and reduce the risk for coronary artery disease (Temelkova-Kurtschiev et. al, 2000).

All of that sounds really exciting and wonderful, but you’re probably wondering where to turn in the grocery store. For starters, seek out foods that are high in fiber, like multi-grain cereals (avoid those with suspiciously high amounts of sugar) and cruciferous vegetables. Fiber digests very slowly and thus, foods containing high amounts of it usually have low GIs. Most vegetables, fruits, and 100% fruit juices are low on the GI chart, but carefully read the labels on any dried fruit you might buy. Many companies add sugar or high-fructose corn syrup to dried fruit to make it more shelf-stable, thereby increasing the product’s GI. Beans and lentils of all varieties are great, and most milk products (including unsweetened or low-sugar yogurt). If the thought of unsweetened yogurt grosses you out (it does for me!) use a low-impact sweetener like blue agave nectar or a medium impact sweetener such as raw honey or grade b/c maple syrup to add flavor. Or just throw it in a blender with a handful of fruit. Instant deliciousness. Nuts and seeds are also your friends, but once again they’re often abused in some prepared forms. Specifically, many peanut butters are high in sugar, so either find a place that lets you crank your own (Whole Foods does this and it is so much fun) or look for all-natural peanut butters.

This all comes back to being aware of what you put into your body. A properly fueled body is a well-oiled machine prepared to get the job done (whatever yours may be). By maintaining steadier blood glucose levels, weight management becomes easier and risks for later health problems decline. In short, be nice to your body and it will be nice to you.

I hope this little lesson hasn’t bored you to tears or scared you away from my blog forever. I just really wanted to share some of the research I’ve been doing lately. Who can resist when granted access to thousands of journals via a university library? I’d been longing for that student perk again, haha. Anyway, I hope that everyone has a fantastic weekend. The Steelers play the Browns on national TV Sunday night so I think you all know where I’ll be!

Ciao for now, friends!

References

Cunningham, S., Kilara, A., & Merolli, A. (July-August 2006). Managing glycemic response: the rapidly rising popularity of glycemic index (GI) has opened the doors to many food industry innovation opportunities. Nutraceuticals World , 9, 7. p.82(3) Retrieved September 12, 2008, from Culinary Arts Collection via Gale: http://0-find.galegroup.com.mill1.sjlibrary.org/itx/start.do?prodId=PPCA

Glycemic Index Food Chart and South Beach Diet. Retrieved September 12, 2008 via: http://www.southbeach-diet-plan.com/glycemicfoodchart.htm

Temelkova-Kurktschiev, T., Koehler, C., Henkel, E., Leonhardt, W., Fuecker, K., Hanefeld, M. (December 2000). Postchallenge Plasma Glucose and Glycemic Spikes Are More Strongly Associated With Atherosclerosis Than Fasting Glucose or [HbA.sub.1c] Level. Diabetes Care, 23, 2. p.1830 Retrieved September 12, 2008, from Health and Wellness Resource Center via Gale: http://0-galenet.galegroup.com.mill1.sjlibrary.org/servlet/HWRC/hits?docNum=A68322731&year2=&year1=&aci=flag&index3=KE&index2=KE&index1=AU&tcit
=0_1_0_0_0_0&lociD=sjpllib&rlt=2&text3=&text2=&origSearch=true&text1=temelkova
&op2=AND&op1=AND&t=RK&s=11&r=d&items=0&o=&secondary=false&n=10&day2=&l
=d&day1=&month2=&month1=&c=3&bucket=per

Save Room, (later tonight) There’s Pie!

8 Sep

Hello all! Sorry for the hiatus. Last week was the first real week of graduate classes. I’m still trying to master the balance between working during the day and taking some time in the evenings to check in on my class discussion boards. I’d prefer to make my schedule somewhat regimented, but I don’t want to over think it at the same time. At any rate, this semester is somewhat of an experiment, and hopefully I’ll learn what I can and can’t handle in terms of a workload.

This weekend was full of good things. Saturday night we went to Wolftrap to see Les Miserables with Joe’s parents. Fortunately, the remnants of hurricane Hanna dissipated in time for the performance (it was at an outdoor pavilion) and we ended up with perfect evening weather.

The production itself was very good. Les Mis is one of my favorite shows, so there were lots of particular scenes/songs that I was looking forward to. The cast did not disappoint. The gentlemen playing Valjean and Javert had near-perfect antagonistic chemistry. Vocal-wise, I felt the strongest players were the actors portraying Valjean, Javert, Enjolras, and (surprisingly) Marius. I’m not usually a fan of Marius’ character as the love-struck student. If an actor isn’t careful, the role can come off as fickle (in my opinion), but that wasn’t the case. In fact, the song in which he eulogizes his friends, “Empty Chairs At Empty Tables” was my favorite solo vocal performance of the evening. As for ensemble numbers, they were all well done, but “Do You Hear the People Sing?” and “One Day More” were outstanding. They’re both those kind of big ensemble numbers that get your adrenaline going.

Going to the theatre is somewhat bittersweet for me at times, and Saturday night was no different. There is still a part of me that wishes I’d stuck it out as a theatre major and tried to make my name in New York City. I miss performing a lot, and hearing the songs that I used to sing in voice class makes me nostalgic for it. Saturday night particularly made me remember performing “At the End of the Day” (another Les Mis ensemble number) with my group voice class when I was about 13 years old. I couldn’t help but smile when I thought about that group of people. It still makes me chuckle remembering that we only had one boy in the class, so he and I always ended up singing tenor in the group numbers to balance out the sopranos.

Thinking about that in conjunction with what I’ve been learning in my Information and Society class really helped me to get a better grasp on the concept of how things link together through a common thread. As humans, we categorize and organize facets of our lives in order to create better wayfinding methods. By wayfinding, I mean the things we use, know, and do in order to get from one place to another. For instance, the Folger’s main webpage has many links to the various current exhibits, publications, and visitor information. Each of those subpages has links to more specific subpages and a link back to the main page. In navigating those links (like watching road signs) we essentially follow a path that leads to the information we seek.

Now, what does this have to do with thinking about my past theatre experience? Well, haven’t you ever gotten lost in your thoughts, or had a conversation go off on a tangent only to step back and think, “Wait, how did I/we get here?” In my case, thinking about that group performance made me realize how much the Pittsburgh CLO became the “main page” that “linked” me to many of my future theatre endeavors. It was someone in that group of people that told me about CLO’s choir, which I joined and performed with for a while. Then, someone in the choir told me about auditions for Bye Bye Birdie, which I went to and ended up performing in the following summer. That experience led me to finally taking private voice lessons…and so on and so forth. It wasn’t until after I’d followed the path to the end of high school that I realized I was doing a sort of historical wayfinding to understand how I’d ended up where I was.

And to be honest, it made me feel better. It made me remember why I’d made the decision to pursue English as a major in college and why I’d decided that the performance life wasn’t for me. I still felt the happy nostalgia, but the lingering pang of regret was gone. Finding the information I sought brought resolution, as does any fruitful research (hopefully).

Once again, I find myself thrilled to have this blog. Now writing here is even keeping me thinking about the concepts I’m learning in school. Since I haven’t updated in so long, I decided that I’d make something extra special and tasty to share. Unfortunately, the pictures are at home, so you’ll have to wait just a little longer. Like the title says, “Save Room, (later tonight) There’s Pie!” and tonight I promise to post a recipe for Apple Pocket Pies that I promise is delicious and full of whole grains and protein.

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend and that your Monday isn’t too terrifying. Ciao for now!

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