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Cooking from the Heart…

9 Sep

I strive to be a really positive influence on others, but we all experience times of doubt and insecurity. Sometimes, I don’t think I am as honest with my readers as I could be about the struggle that is a part of healthy eating and living. The truth is that for as often as I am happy about the progress I have made, there are days where I beat myself up. It could be that I finally broke down at the deli and bought a candy bar after months of clean eating, or simply that I woke up that morning I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror. There’s a part of me during those moments that knows it’s time for a reality check, but sometimes that voice can get stifled.

Food and I have a tenuous relationship. As humans, we need sustenance to live. At a young age we come to acknowledge those who provide us with that sustenance as our caregivers. From very early on, we learn that to feed another person is to love them. When I met Joe and discovered that I liked him, one of the very first things I did for him was to make sauteed balsamic-thyme sirloin tips with mozzarella cheese. And it was not a dish I made to be particularly impressive, but because I had those ingredients in the fridge. It won him over, and the feeling of providing that kind of comfort to another person won me over. True, I’d spent the latter half of my freshman year of college cooking weekly meals with a friend for our group of friends, but that was the first time it was me alone just whipping something up on the fly for someone else. In any case, I kept cooking. I read culinary textbooks, southern cookbooks, cookbooks for every ethnic food imaginable…anything to stimulate my imagination to create new things. But at the same time, I found it difficult to avoid overeating when I was always trying out new recipes. I walk the line. I am constantly trying to balance between being passionate about the creation and sharing of food while avoiding gluttony and irresponsibly grown/created food products. It becomes overwhelming, it becomes burdensome, and worst of all…cooking becomes guilt-ridden.

And then I know it’s time to step back, take a breath, and just go home again. Time to take a day and remember why the act of sharing a meal is an act of love. Remove everything else from the equation and just create out of the desire to love another person.

And on Sunday, I did just that. Taking flour from Morris farms, eggs from Polyface farms, cheese from Blue Ridge Dairy Co., tomatoes, garlic, and basil from Bull Run Mountain Farm, and cayenne peppers from my own backyard, I brought together those who provide me with products I know are grown and raised with love and a sense of pride.

First, I made these:
I made the pasta dough from a combination of whole wheat and whole grain durum (semolina) flours, two eggs, a few tablespoons of olive oil, and a few tablespoons of water. It made a fine, elastic dough that was surprisingly light. I think that one of the keys to whole wheat pasta is to make sure that the dough gets a proper rest before it’s rolled out. The filling is comprised of part-skim ricotta, parmesan, and pecorino romano cheeses. I bound it with an egg and added a few herbs and spices to bring out the flavors of the individual cheeses.


What good are ravioli without a nice sauce? Since Leigh said that it was likely the last week for big, ripe tomatoes (damn blight) I took the bunch of gorgeous orange and yellow ones he gave me and sauteed them in a few teaspoons of bacon fat with garlic, some bell pepper, thyme, basil, and spices. I finished it with a diced cayenne pepper. I’m not really a huge spicy food fan, so I removed the seeds first. After tasting the sauce, I instantly mourned that it would be gone so quickly. Even Joe, who normally asks me to go light on the marinara sauce when I serve him pasta, asked for more of it on his plate.

And what better to serve a lovingly prepared meal on than a dish designed with the earth in mind?[FYI, that’s a seven-inch triangle plate in grass green from Riverside Design Group’s Sea Glass collection. How awesome is that color? If I didn’t already have an “Empire Red” theme going on with my kitchen appliances, I think I’d go with that green. It’s refreshing!]

After it was all said and done, I felt accomplished. Even satisfied.

But it wasn’t until Joe brought me his empty plate in search of a few more ravioli that I felt “the happiness.” There was that same look that made me feel all warm and fuzzy five years ago, and I thought “Yes. I may not always do right. I may not always make the best choices. But if I can always give this kind of comfort and love to the people around me, then I think I’ll be okay.”

-Neen

Mystery Food Week 3 and the Glory of “Brinner”

25 Jun

Hello all! Here’s this week’s batch of produce

Included in this week’s bag were mixed greens (mostly purslane), a head of pak choi, garlic scapes, baby onions, lots of sage, lavender, a potted flower, and basil. Leigh also had some eggs for sale, so I grabbed a half-dozen.

All in all, another good week. Some of the salad greens were the base for today’s very clean, very tasty, and mostly local lunch:

Lots of greens and scapes from Bull Run, a boiled egg from Smith Meadows (the yolk was divine in color and texture. Picture does not do it justice), peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and carrots from the farm market, and a few pieces of grilled chicken from a little place near my office. Finished off with a touch of salt and pepper. I guess one fortunate thing about my clean eating journey is that I’ve never really preferred dressing on salad all that much. I like a little bit of oil and vinegar on occasion, but dressing was never really my thing.

After I got home last night I was pondering what to do for dinner and feeling a little lazy. I had an assignment due for class that really needed to be finished, another assignment to work on…etc. Joe’s parents recently gave me their waffle iron, and so I decided that it was definitely a night for Brinner (the glorious combination of breakfast @ dinner, but you Scrubs fans knew that).
Whole Grain High-Protein Waffles
Ingredients
1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup graham flour
1/4 cup soy flour
2 tbsp. wheat or oat bran
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp. raw honey
1/2 cup non fat greek style yogurt
2 tbsp. low fat milk
2 egg whites
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch cream of tartar

Method

Combine the egg whites, a pinch of salt, and cream of tartar in a blender and process until doubled in volume (about a minute).

Add the applesauce, vanilla, milk, yogurt, and honey and process until smooth.

In a separate bowl sift the flours and bran together with the baking powder and 1/2 tsp. of salt. Then add the dry ingredients to the blender and process until well combined.

Cook in a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions.
Makes 5 tasty waffles at 103 calories, less than 1g fat, 16g carbs, 7.5g protein, and 3g fiber each.

I had mine with a little bit of raw honey, cinnamon, and a half ounce of chopped mixed nuts. Fruit would have been even better, but I was out.

Now, I obviously wasn’t going to eat 5 of these by myself. They’re really filling. I put one of the extras in the fridge and 2 in the freezer. The one in the fridge took maybe 2 minutes to crisp up in the toaster at work this morning. I imagine that right out of the freezer they’d take about 5-6 minutes on a medium setting.

Other flours that are good in this recipe: spelt, buckwheat, potato, brown rice, garbanzo/fava bean, or finely ground nuts.

For even crispier waffles, add about a tablespoon of sucanat or evaporated palm sugar to the batter. The sugar will caramelize and make nice, toasty edges.
It’s been very busy around here. My boss is retiring at the end of the month, school is back in full swing, and couch to 5k is getting more and more challenging! Joe and I are really looking forward to a nice weekend though. We’re going to a pig roast with the folks at Slow Food DC. I’ll be sure to post a trip report if I don’t enter a pork coma. Mmm.
Stay local, folks!
-Neen

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

Two down, six to go! (Boca loaf inside)

11 Aug

What a weekend! Saturday night, we watched as Michael Phelps claimed his first gold medal in the men’s 400 IM. It was the event he said would be his toughest. Well, he blew past his own world record by 2 seconds and made it look easy. Then, last night Jason Lezak pulled of the comeback of all comebacks to bring the men victory in the 4X100 freestyle relay. It was unbelievable. Coming out of the final turn, he was still nearly a full body-length behind the Frenchman Alain Bernard. Suddenly, it just seemed like something changed inside of Lezak. Barnard hadn’t slowed down. If anything, he was exploding during the last 50 meters. Lezak just wanted it a little more, and his determination paid off when he touched the wall first.

So, thanks to Jason Lezak, Phelps’ quest for 8 gold medals continues. Here’s the list of events with their televised times (ET)

400m IM- August 9 @ 10pm- GOLD
4X100m freestyle relay- August 10 @ 11:01pm- GOLD
200m freestyle- August 11 @ 10:13pm
200m butterfly- August 12 @ 10:18pm
4X200m freestyle relay- August 12 @ 11:16pm
4X50m IM- August 14 @ 1o:45pm
100m butterfly- August 15 @ 10:07pm
4X100 medley relay- August 16 @ 10:55pm

In comparison to the feats of athletics I saw this weekend, my accomplishments were rather small. In my own way, I had some good success. Here’s another vegan loaf recipe that’s a bit more “meaty” tasting.

Cast of Characters:

½ cup almonds (ground to a coarse meal)
2 TB olive oil One onion, diced
One large garlic clove, minced
One large carrot, peeled and grated
Two celery ribs, diced
One red or green pepper, diced
One cup baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
2 cups Boca Ground “meat”
1 cup cooked whole wheat cous cous
1/4 – 1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 teaspoon mixed seasonings (whatever herbs and spices you like)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. salt

Use the same method as the lentil-veggie loaf and add only as much vegetable broth as is needed to bring the loaf together. This loaf only takes about 40 minutes to cook, although you can leave it in the oven for 5 extra minutes if you want the top to be very crispy. Divided into 8 slices, it comes out to about 116 calories and 10 grams of protein per slice. It is low in fat and carbohydrates too, but I don’t have the numbers with me right now. I’ll post them in the comments later if anyone shows interest.

Here’s me deciding that a fork won’t be necessary…

In other news, I decided on a chocolate protein powder to experiment with. It’s by BSN and it’s called Lean Dessert (in chocolate fudge pudding flavor). It made really good ice cream—yum! I really like it, but I’m still trying out more samples because as powders go, it comes in a little bit low at 20g protein per scoop. I got a sample of Jay Robb’s whey powder at Vitamin Shoppe. That comes in at 25g protein per scoop and they only use milk from cows that have not been given hormones. To me that seems like a good thing. I have enough hormones of my own, thanks.

Also, looks like it’s back to the drawing board on the iron front. Remember that I mentioned I was due for blood work in August? Well, everything came back looking great with the exception of my ferritin (1), iron (9), iron saturation (2), and hematocrit (25%). It’s really hard not to get discouraged. Pushing more red meat into my diet doesn’t exactly thrill me because of the cholesterol factor, so fixing this issue will be about making good choices and creating new ways to sneak iron into recipes.

Safeway sells giant bags of frozen shrimp and scallops. I can toss those into my stir-fries along with vegetables like broccoli and red peppers that aid in iron absorption. I also plan to buy some bran flakes and molasses to make iron muffins. Another thought that crossed my mind was finding some young, mild calves or chicken livers, chopping them finely, and adding that to one of my protein loaves. Like I said, I’m going to have to get creative. It’ll probably mean giving up my beloved protein bars as snacks in exchange for something that is high protein AND high iron, like some tuna fish or a molasses-bran muffin. At any rate, I spent most of last evening researching high-iron recipes and I will most certainly post anything successful.

Even though I’m discouraged about my iron level, I have to remember that I’ve successfully raised my vitamin D and B vitamins, have normal liver functions, and have maintained proper levels of everything else. My goal now is to keep eating healthy and to raise my hematocrit as much as I can. I’ve said it before, but I truly believe writing down a goal is all the motivation we need sometimes, and this situation is no exception. I will fine tune my eating habits to focus on protein and high iron. Since I’m not a medical expert, I’ve also consulted a hematologist to help me monitor everything.

I hope everyone is having a wonderful start to their week and that the sun is shining wherever you are. Stay motivated and stay positive!

Ciao for now, friends.

Eat Your Veggies: Lentil-Veggie Loaf

3 Aug

Comfort food is a wonderful thing, and in my opinion, there’s nothing better than a good meatloaf. It’s tasty, high in protein, and makes enough for days of leftovers. However, some RNY post-ops have difficulty digesting meat and that can make it hard for them to meet their daily protein requirement. I’m fortunate enough not to have that problem, but here’s a recipe for my meat-intolerant friends. Bonus: It’s vegan friendly, too!

Lentil-Veggie Loaf

Cast of Characters:

½ cup almonds (ground to a coarse meal)
2 TB olive oil
One onion, diced
One large garlic clove, minced
One large carrot, peeled and grated
Two celery ribs, diced
One cup baby bella mushrooms, coarsely chopped
**2 cups cooked lentils
1 cup uncooked oat bran
1 teaspoon mixed seasonings (whatever herbs and spices you like)
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tsp. salt

Method:

Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

**To cook the lentils, place one cup of thoroughly rinsed red lentils into a pot with two cups of water. Let it come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes.

Begin by dicing all of the vegetables. Sauté the onions and garlic for a minute, and then add the rest of the vegetables, and sauté until they are slightly softened.


In a large bowl, combine the oat bran, flaxseed meal, almonds, herbs, and seasonings.
Add the lentils and sautéed vegetables, (don’t wash the sauté pan if you want to make gravy) and then mix/mash until the mixture is moist, soft, and can keep a shape. It should not be runny, but if it is, add a little extra oat bran to thicken it.
Thoroughly grease a loaf pan and press the mixture into it.
Bake for approximately 45 minutes to an hour (in my oven it took 50 minutes). The outside will be crisp, but the inside should remain somewhat moist. Yum!
Oh, and remember that sauté pan you left out for gravy? (I didn’t have any tonight, but I promise it’s good!) You can make a tasty pan gravy while the loaf is cooling a bit. If there’s any excess oil remaining in the sauté pan, drain it off, and then return the pan to the stove. Let it get warm over medium heat, and then remove just long enough to add ¼ cup of dry white wine before returning it to the stove. Scrape the browned bits off the bottom of the pan using a spatula, and then add ¾ cup of vegetable stock or broth. To thicken the gravy, bring the liquid to a boil and then add a slurry (1 tbsp. of cornstarch mixed with 2 tbsp. COLD water) while stirring vigorously. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and allow the gravy took cook for 5-10 minutes. Season with herbs and spices similar to those you added to the lentil-veggie loaf. Spoon the gravy over a slice and enjoy!

Enjoy the leftovers as a sandwich filling, try topping cold slices with different sauces (mustard, ketchup, salsa, marinara sauce…etc.) or even topping them with other sautéed vegetables. A combination of sweet and hot peppers sounds great to me. Be creative!

The recipe yields 8 generous slices with 153 calories, 5 grams of fat, 18 grams of carbohydrates, and 10 grams of protein each. It might be a low calorie meal, but it certainly sticks with you (I had a slice an hour ago and still feel quite full).

Tomorrow, I hope to make some new protein bars. Joe and I went out to dinner at Moe’s Southwest Grill (home of my new favorite 200 calorie taco!) last night and there happened to be a Trader Joe’s next door. Needless to say, I returned home with a bunch of new ingredients to try out.

We have some friends coming over to watch the Redskins/Colts game tomorrow night, so I’m also pondering what healthy snacks I could serve. I got some mushroom-asiago chicken sausages at TJ’s and I’m thinking they could come in handy. We shall see.

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend. Mine has already been full of fun and pleasant surprises, including these:

Irises! My favorite flower. What can I say? I snagged a great guy.
Ciao for now, friends!

A Lesson in Distraction (and a Recipe!)

4 Jul
 

I learned soon after surgery that I needed things to replace food. I’d used food when I was bored, needed comfort, wanted to celebrate…etc etc. Every emotion seemed to be a trigger to eat. Once I decided that I wanted more out of life, I realized that I needed activities to replace all of that emotional eating. Origami was something that I found could use as a distraction when I had those feelings to eat out of boredom or anxiety. It was complicated enough that it kept my brain occupied, but left me with a sense of well being when I finally figured out a particularly difficult pattern. The panther above was one that I tried multiple times before figuring out the way it all came together. Seeing the final product gave me a sense of satisfaction that no piece of fatty, sugary cake ever did.
That’s not to say I gave up loving to cook. Once again, “necessity is the mother of invention” and I needed to invent. When I really was hungry, I still wanted things from my old life from time to time. But much like origami distracted me from eating when I didn’t really need food, playing kitchen scientist brought me creations that distracted me from going for their less healthy counterparts. Case and point: Pancakes. I love pancakes. But when you think about what’s in the average pancake (flour, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, baking soda, butter…) there isn’t really much in the way of good nutrition. Add to that the fact that RNY patients are required to eat AT LEAST 50 grams of protein a day, and I couldn’t really afford to waste the little bit of food I could eat at each meal on something carbohydrate laden. It was when a fellow patient mentioned that she had made pancakes using cottage cheese that I got thinking. Thus, the ricotta-cake was born!

Light, fluffy, and a completely suitable meal for anyone. If I had never explored, I never would have known that a pancake with only 2 tbsp. flour could taste so wonderful.

Ricotta-Cakes
1/2 cup light ricotta cheese
1 egg
2 tablespoons of whole wheat flour or almond flour (multi-grain pancake mix works too)
teaspoon or two of oatmeal if you want some more texture
1 tsp. vanilla
Flavorings/toppings of your choice: fresh fruit, cinnamon, other extracts, sugar-free flavored syrups, peanut butter, cocoa powder…etc.

Cook them as you’d cook regular pancakes. They’re a little more difficult to flip, so keep them small and you’ll have an easier time. The above recipe makes a serving of 3-4 small pancakes, but it is certainly filling and full of protein. I personally like a little bit of peanut butter and banana with mine.

The ricotta pancakes were one of my first experiments after surgery. Cooking it and variations on it made me realize that I didn’t have to give anything in my life up, I simply had to reinvent things and improve the nutrition. A lesson and a distraction all in one.

Mangia bene!

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