Vegetarian Chicken Parmesan-I Kid you Not

I'm a sucker for chicken parmesan. Most of you know that I was a vegetarian for 12 years. I’m surprised I made it 12 years being deprived of this delicious dish! If only I had this recipe back then! We all know that eggplant parm. is not the same. Don’t get me wrong, I had a lot of eggplant parmesan during that 12-year period and still make it during the summer months when eggplant is in season. This dish is different and best of all, it doesn’t use any soy or wheat-gluten fake meat. It uses chickpeas (aka garbanzo beans). I didn’t even make the connection to chicken parmesan until my husband said “Wow, this is like chicken parmesan!”

This recipe came to me as I scanned my pantry, desiring to concoct a recipe with what we had on hand. I was going to call them chickpea burgers, but I like vegetarian chicken parmesan better. So, here’s the deal!

Ingredients:

2 cans organic chickpeas

1 Tablespoon organic Italian seasoning

Up to 1/3 cup warm water

¼ cup raw walnuts

½ cup nitrate-free sundried tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic minced

1.5 Tablespoons olive oil

4 slices organic mozzarella cheese (soy or rice cheese for vegans)

Directions:

Blend the chickpeas in a food processor so it turns into “mashed chickpeas.” Pour into bowl and mix in Italian seasoning, sundried tomatoes, and garlic.

Slowly mix water in and use your hands to mix all ingredients until the consistency feels like dough.

Preheat oven at 350.

Pulse the walnuts in the food processor for 10-15 seconds until they turn into small pieces/crumbs (not flour).

Dry roast the walnuts for 3 minutes on a pan over a medium flame.

Pour olive oil in a large pan (I like cast iron) over a medium flame. Make four patties out of the chickpea mixture and press into the pan with a spatula.

Turn the patties every few minutes and sprinkle walnuts on the outside each time to get a crunchy outer texture.

Place cheese slices over the patties and place in oven for 10 minutes or until patties are thoroughly heated. Delicious!

I like using Eden canned beans because these cans are BPA-free unlike most canned foods. BPA is a toxic xenoestrogen, which just means it's like the female hormone estrogen, except for two things: 1) it's foreign to the body, which is what "xeno" means, and 2) it is way more harmful than our natural estrogen for everyone, male and female. It can lead to fertility problems and even certain types of cancer, like breast cancer.

Don't Let the Word "Natural" Fool You

Excuse the cliche, but when it comes to food, never, ever "judge the book by its cover!" A few weeks ago, I attended the Natural Products Expo East. One would expect to find only natural food there, right? Well, no, not exactly. There were several products there that were terrific, some that I even fell in love with. I'll blog about those at a later date. At the moment, I need to get a few things off of my chest.

There were many products with soy protein isolate! That is SO far from being natural. First of all, the soy is likely genetically modified. Secondly, soy protein isolate is made in large aluminium bins, which leaches aluminum (a TOXIC metal) into your food!

One product that irked me to the extreme was Chortles. I found the package to be super-cute and I loved the taste! Think Cocoa Puffs! I was mortified when I read the label! It had partially hydrogenated soybean oil. I haven't knowingly consumed that in years! It also had high fructose corn syrup, another ingredient that I avoid like the plague. Lesson learned: even at a natural products expo, you cannot trust that everything is truly natural. Remember this the next time you go to the grocery store, even when you are shopping in the "natural" section!

A Case Against Coupons

“American food-and-beverage producers spend $36 billion annually to advertise and market their products, but practically none of this goes to promote fruit and vegetables—a few million dollars a year compared to the tens of hundreds of millions used to promote any single soft drink, candy bar, or breakfast cereal.” ~ Marion Nestle, What to Eat

I admit it; there is a frugal side to me. In graduate school, I not only read the SundayNew York Times, but also read the local paper just so I could clip coupons. And I used those coupons too for everything from toilet paper to canned soup (ick—I can’t believe I used to unknowingly consume MSG). Anyway, you would think that I would ditch frugality once I learned how to eat healthier, but I did not do so immediately. I did refrain from clipping Sunday paper coupons because I didn’t eat that stuff anymore nor did I use chemically-laden beauty products. Instead though, I would jump at a product in the natural food section of the grocery store that had coupons on the box (and I confess, I’d grab a couple off from other boxes as well). I’d also readily grab those little booklets of coupons that highlight organic foods (not just one or two booklets, but like five). I did this up until about six months ago.

I would look through my coupons every time I wrote my grocery list. I’d add two boxes of Kashi cereal to my list because I HAD A COUPON! I’d add two boxes of Cascadian Farms granola bars because I HAD A COUPON…and so on. Then one day, I reflected on this and decided to ban coupons from my life. You never see coupons for produce (okay, maybe once in a while you’ll see one for bananas, but first you have to buy a sugar-laden cereal that is made with genetically engineered corn. No, thank you.). And those organic food-focused coupons, those are no good either. Why? They get you hooked on processed food. Do you notice that you usually have to buy two or three of something to get a discount? I don’t know about you, but if I didn’t have a coupon, I certainly wouldn’t buy two or three boxes of granola bars!

Since I’ve weaned off my coupon addiction, I rarely crave processed food. I’d take homemade granola over boxed cereal any day! And fruit and veggies have become my favorite snacks. I kid you not. Am I still frugal? Yes, I am when I have to be; hey, I’m not rich! In my next couple blogs, I will share with you ways that you can eat outstandingly healthy and still SAVE!

LOCAVORE CHALLENGE DAYS 5-7

NOFA knew what they were talking about by labeling this Locavore adventure I’ve been partaking in as a “challenge.” It was a heck of a lot more challenging than I would’ve ever imagined it would be. How do I grade myself? A solid B +. As you saw in my previous entry, I did cave in and had gluten-free pretzels. I also had to alternate my five cheats each day; without that switch up, I don’t think I could have completed the challenge. So to summarize the final three days of my locavore challenge…

Day 5:

Day 5 was a rough day at work. Super-busy insanity. For breakfast that morning, I had my non-local muesli; this time, I ate it like oatmeal so that I wouldn’t have to waste a cheat on rice milk. I brought a local egg and cheese wrap with a non-local brown rice tortilla to work with me; that was to be my brunch, but I didn’t even get to eat it until 3:00 PM and followed that with a succulent local, organic peach. Brent and I went to Empire Brewery and I had a delicious local free-range turkey sandwich with sautéed onions and peppers and chipotle mayonnaise; let’s call it a Philly Cheese Steak-Shannon style! And I had a most delicious local beer called Golden Dragon.

Day 6:

Day 6 was by far the most difficult day. I had local eggs with local cheese and a non-local piece of toast for breakfast. For lunch, I had local purple string beans dipped in babaganoush. At 4:30 PM, I had to rush to the airport for a flight from Syracuse to NYC. I had a local peach while I was waiting to board. After boarding the plane, we all learned that our flight would be delayed for an uncertain amount of time. That uncertain amount of time turned into turned into three hours. Needless to say, I was starving when I arrived at JFK. I didn’t find anything local at the airport, but I did find two healthy and organic options. An organic chicken sandwich, and an organic fig and pistachio bar. Both options made me happy.

Day 7:

I didn’t get much sleep the night before, so I opted for black coffee in the morning as one of my non-local cheats. I met my friend Judy at the Union Square Green Market and we shared a rosemary-garlic sourdough baguette with local honey chevre. That was absolutely delectable! We then shopped for all kinds of local veggies that we would later roast for dinner along with homemade pesto from basil picked out of her garden. I forgot how scrumptious and appetizing roasted veggies were. I’ll be roasting away all fall and will have recipes to share. Locavore Challenge completed!

If you ever in Syracuse, you must go to empire Brewery; they source a great deal of their food locally and have damn good beer!

Hot peppers growing in Judy's Bedstuy Brooklyn garden! So pretty!

It's amazing to me how heat alone can add so much flavor to vegetables. Judy and I roasted these veggies at 475 degrees for 20 minutes. What a super fast meal. Roasting makes onions so sweet and eating onions prepared this way doesn't make your breath smell!

Locavore Challenge Days 2 and 3

Being a true Locavore is tough work especially when you thrive on variety! I have thoroughly enjoyed eating seasonally-available foods since spring but there are some things that are available year-round that I am not loving much anymore. I can not eat another egg! That feeling put me in a jam yesterday for breakfast. I HAD to have my Bob’s Red Mill muesli! Some may argue that I should have had Mu Mu Muesli because it is produced locally. However the ingredients are not local so I somewhat feel as though that doesn’t count, though I LOVE SUPPORTING LOCAL COMPANIES, PRODUCERS, ETC. And I will vouch that Mu Mu Muesli is delicious!

Being at work on my locavore diet has been challenging. I had to ignore my Cajun-spiced pumpkin seeds and my licorice. I am a grazer; I think it’s a product of being an athlete and bordering hypoglycemic. I generally eat 4-6 small meals a day. I found it SO odd yesterday that I didn’t need to graze. I was totally satiated by ¾ cup muesli with rice milk for breakfast and then 1 ½ cups of my quinoa with local veggies for lunch. Granted I did have a BIG cup of iced black tea and the caffeine could have been suppressing hunger. I didn’t even want my yummy gluten-free allowable chocolate chip cookies. When I arrived home from work yesterday, I had my local peach that I forgot to eat at work. And then I reheated the homemade chicken soup for dinner and made a beet, goatcheese spicy greens solely-locally produced salad. Gotta love the yellow and red/white striped beets from Wyllie Fox Farm! The goat cheese and spicy greens came from Monarch Farm. And Brent’s client tipped him with some local beer. I only had a few sips, but it was tasty! So, I’ve decided my five non-local ingredients can rotate by the day. Monday, my non-local five were: muesli, rice milk, quinoa, black tea, and the rice that was in the chicken soup.

Today, I had muesli again. And I had quinoa salad again for lunch. I had my peach at work in the mid-afternoon and two of my gluten-free cookies. Then I strength trained and was soooooooooooo hungry after the fact that I had to have some of my gluten-free pretzels with the baba ganoush. So, there goes my five non-local foods: muesli, tea, rice milk, quinoa, cookies, pretzels and baba ganoush! Oops-that’s seven! Good thing my dinner was entirely local: local chorizo sautéed with local red onion, over baked butternut squash with dried oregano from my herb garden and other spices (shhh…not local) like cumin and cayenne. I’m about ready to have a couple of slices of local cantaloupe and then to bed I go! I have leftover dinner for lunch tomorrow. But dinner might have to be a trip to Empire Brewery!

Local chicken soup with local beet medley, goat cheese, spicy baby greens salad!

Local chorizo with local green chard, local red onion, over local butternut squash!

Locavore Challenge Days 1 and 2

I am attempting to be a locavore for an entire week. I’m on Day 2 and it is HARD! I am partaking in the Northeast Organic Farming Association (NOFA)’s Locavore Challenge. It’s happening for the entire month of September. You can choose to be a locavore for a day, a week, or a month. When I first learned of this challenge back in July, my intention was to do it for an entire month, but then I remembered that I had the Montreal Marathon in September. There’s no way I’d be able to melt into the magic of Montreal if I had to scout out only local food. Brent and I opted the challenge for a week.

If you would’ve asked me a week ago how much of my food is local, I would’ve confidently replied “About 90 %.” Wrong! I’m only now realizing this. So, for this challenge, we’re allowed to select five non-local foods to have in our food repertoire. That was easy for me: quinoa, brown rice (as athletic as Brent and I are, we need grains to sustain us), tea, my gluten-free chocolate chip cookie mix, and chocolate.

Day 1:
So yesterday, I started to prepare a homemade tomato soup. This was my first time peeling tomatoes! Oh my goodness, I was like a kid tying her shoes for the first time! Success! But then I started adding ingredients and looked at my spice cabinet, dismayed that so few of my spices are local. Fortunately in the locavore challenge, spices don’t count; they have a Marco Polo rule. After cooking though, I had to expand that rule to include ANYTHING that I use to season my food with (and sadly it’s a long list: vinegars, several spices (like asafetida powder), lemons, broths, yikes! At any rate, my homemade tomato soup was so delicious with a dozen fresh, local heirloom tomatoes (thanks to Wyllie Fox Farm). I wanted to have grilled cheese sandwiches with the soup. Ugh—Bread! And I can only eat sourdough; I get hives when I eat any other type of bread. Brent and I scoured the market looking for sourdough bread with flour that was made locally. The closet we could get was Vermont, but the vendor made us aware that there “could be some North Dakota flour mixed in there.” We’re trying. We used a local sharp cheddar cheese. Yum!

Day 2:
Breakfast was easy. We had local eggs, with local goat cheese, with chives from my herb garden and leftover local eggplant parm (oops the tomato sauce was not local, but I guess that can count as a seasoning?), and the semi-local sourdough bread toasted. Lunch was my yummy quinoa, corn, cucumber salad. And the corn and cukes were local! Dinner is cooking in the crockpot right now. Homemade chicken and rice soup with a local organic chicken, wild rice, local carrots, celery (shoot that’s not local either, but it is organic!), local garlic, and lots of chives and parsley from my herb garden!

Two days almost done! Five to go! Stay tuned! Definitely contact me if you’re up for this challenge!

Simplicity: A Lifestyle

Isn’t it crazy how complicated we make our lives through technological advances? The things that are supposed to make our lives “easier,” can in fact make our lives less meaningful. Think of all of your acquaintances; they all have mobile phones, right? And many, if not all, have Blackberries or other email-functioning mobile devices. This is just one example of how technology dominates our lives.

Americans are seduced into thinking that we need these items in order to be satisfied. Think of how many young lives are sucked up by video games. Think of how many miles are put on our vehicles. Think of hours used in cyber world.

I challenge you all to try to simplify your lives some. Go back to basics. Spend time “in person” with your close friends as opposed to skyping with them! Encourage your kids to “go outside and play.” Play with them! Fly a kite!

This reflection was inspired by a new Canadian friend that Brent and I met in Montreal. Francois owns a Bed and Breakfast. He and his wife Isabelle opted to make this their career so they could spend more time with their two children. Francois mentioned several facets of their lives that I admire and each facet revolves around the notion of simplicity. Here are just a few.


1.) His children are given a choice to either go outside and play or play an educational game on the computer (no Wii in this family)! They choose outside almost every time!
2.) The family owns only one car and they use it sparingly.
3.) Many of their friends take holidays to far-away places like Cuba. They stay close-to-home generally.
4.) They bring LIFE to their home with COLOR as opposed to material objects. One immediately feels at peace merely by looking at the walls.
5.) The family takes strolls through parks together.

Don’t let technology interfere with your life. Yes, I am usually writing about food and encouraging you to feed yourself this nutrient or that nutrient and I’m also telling you to avoid this toxin or that toxin. Remember though, that relationships are of primary importance to your health. So too is nature. You can experience both by simplifying your life a bit. Turn your computer off now and go get a coffee with a chum!




A Clutter-Free room makes a Clutter-Free Mind!

I have Converted...to a Container Gardener

If you told me last summer that I’d be growing a container garden of tomatoes, green peppers, zucchini, mint, parsley, basil, cilantro, sage, lavender, thyme, tarragon, rosemary, and chives, I’d laugh hysterically. I do not have a green thumb at all. But, I’m attempting to develop one. This summer, I grew all of the above. Some of my growing was successful; some was not. For those items that were not successful, I’m learning what to do next year and I’m eager for the challenge. I’m open to ANY suggestions on how I can transform this thumb of mine into a bright-and-shining shade of green.

My Outdoor Garden:

Tragedy # 1: I was way too enthusiastic! I planted my bell peppers, tomatoes, and a variety of herbs the second week in May. We had two frosts in May. During the first one, Brent and I carried the plants indoors. YIKES! What a workout. During the second frost, we were away, which resulted in the deaths of my pepper plants, parsley, and cilantro.

Tragedy # 2: Mr. Groundhog. He had quite the obsession with my zucchini flowers. I sprinkled my dog’s fur around our plants, put up ugly windmills to frighten him, sprayed vinegar, etc. I didn’t ever see him again, but my zucchini never did grow (I should probably mention they were free as part of the Finger Lakes Wine + Herb Tour…I’ll decline the plants next time).

Tragedy # 3:

Not enough drainage. I was intelligent and drilled holes in all my plant pots...and lined the bottom with pebbles for helpful drainage…except Brent did not properly drill holes in my plum tomato pot…I got three lone tomatoes from that plant!

Tragedy # 4:

Beatles! They’re back and they’re big and gross! They love my basil. Oddly, they would go through phases; one week they’d munch away, the next week they wouldn’t. I was still able to make tons of pesto, so this was the mildest of tragedies.

Okay, on a positive note, I did get over a dozen yummy tomatoes, plenty of parsley, a lot of basil, and a decent amount of mint.

My Indoor Garden:

My little herb box contained chives, thyme, tarragon, mint, and sage. I have a separate lavender plant and a separate rosemary plant. All get plenty of drainage and sunlight. I think I didn’t tug enough at the roots of my chives, tarragon, or thyme seedlings before planting them because they didn’t live very long.

What I love about indoor herb gardens is that I can attempt to grow all year long! I better re-pot my lavender soon too because it is outgrowing its pot!

All in all, a positive experience. And few things are as therapeutic as digging in dirt, especially after a long day at work!

Sadie's fur and this flower windmill did seem to scare the groundhog away!

My window herb box looked so lovely until the chives and tarragon kicked the bucket!

I suspect that this gigantic beetle ate my basil. Here, he/she's munching on our grape vine!

Isn't this tomato a beauty? I'm so psyched that I grew this!

You Ain't Gonna Find a Cucumber Like This at Whole Foods

I remember when I first discovered Whole Foods; it was the summer of 1999, a few years before I began my adventure into holistic nutrition counseling. I was in complete awe of the fruit and vegetable arrangements; the beauty of the peppers in orange, red, yellow, and green stacked to perfection astounded me. I had a friend who lived near Whole Foods and was completely irritated to learn that she couldn’t get Crisco there; I thought the concept was kind of cool and that was before I even learned that Crisco was nothing more than trans fat grossness!

So at first, I thought Whole Foods was pretty darn awesome even though it didn’t quite welcome those with budgets like mine; I was a graduate student after all and absolutely agreed with the nickname “Whole Paycheck.” As I began to learn the differences between organic and conventional vegetables and fruits, I developed an aversion toward Whole Foods. I could not BELIEVE that they made people believe that because they shopped there, they were eating healthier foods, when in fact, the majority of their food was pesticide-laden conventional foods. Yes, they do offer plenty of organic, but it’s not all organic.

At any rate, I recently bought the most delicious, organic cucumber I have ever had. Where did I get it? I bought it from my CSA, Wyllie Fox Farm, for $1.00. It was so big that I was able to use it in two different salads. Try this recipe. So delicious. And to think, you can get such a gorgeous cucumber for less than a cup of coffee, isn’t that great?

Brent shows off our awesome cucumber!!!

Shannon’s Dilly-Wonder Salad:

Ingredients:

SALAD

- 1 cucumber sliced thinly (or in the case of a cucumber as big as mine, you only need half)

- 5 cups baby salad mix

- 1 cup shredded carrot

- ½ cup chopped dill

DRESSING

- ¼ cup lemon juice

- 4 Tablespoons olive oil

- ¼ teaspoon Herbamare or sea salt

- 2 Tablespoons agave nectar

- Ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Mix the salad ingredients together. Toss in the dressing.

I Heart My CSA

Each spring, I get super-psyched about my “CSA season,” which typically runs from June through November here in the Northeast. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture; its structure connects conscientious consumers to a local farmer. As a CSA member, you purchase a share of the farm and in return receive an abundance of seasonal produce every week throughout the CSA season.

I have been a member of three different CSAs: one in New York City, one in Easton, PA, and my newest CSA in my newest city of residence, Syracuse. I feel amazingly gratified to be able to say that my CSA, Wyllie Fox Farm, just received its USDA organic certification! The USDA has many specifications for farmers who choose to become officially organic and the process of becoming legally organic is so arduous that many farmers choose not to apply for the certificate. In order to become USDA certified organic, a farm has to refrain from using synthetic pesticides or fertilizers; they can not use plastic mulches, they can not use non-organic transplants; they are not allowed to use any synthetic materials in their washing, handling, and storing of the produce; the list goes on and on. But Jamie and Maggie Edelstein work very hard to meet the USDA certified organic specifications.

Here is an example of a large share! So many greens! And rhubarb!

(wait until you find out what I did with THAT!)

Brent and I had the great pleasure of visiting the farm and celebrating their certification. They’re totally GREEN! For example, the plastic that they use for their high tunnels is recycled; it came from farmers who no longer need high tunnels. The farm equipment appears archaic, but hey, it does the job; they feel no need to get the “latest and greatest” farm equipment.

We are thrilled about our CSA! We’re splitting it with a friend so it’s only costing us $275 a season. $275 for 20 weeks! That comes out to $13.75 a week. What a deal for the freshest, local, organic produce!

Picking Local Organic Strawberries and Why!!!

The beauty of local-organic produce!

Hello everyone. I have a lot of catching up to do on this blog. Expect updates probably more than once a week for the next 3-5 weeks because I have a plethora of blogs floating around in my head not-so-patiently waiting to be released to the virtual world.

This blog is about local, organic strawberries and my adventure picking them here in Central New York. On Tuesday, June 15, my brother Shawn and his adorable 4-year old son Blaze and a few of our friends headed out to Cobblestone Valley Farm to pick strawberries after work.

When we arrived at Cobblestone Valley Farm, there were several other pickers of all ages; a neat sight to see! We had our buckets weighed and were ready to go. The first two rows of about 10 rows in total were ready to be picked. I hadn’t been strawberry picking since I was a kid and I never remember it being so much work. I very well could have been more of a strawberry-pointer-outer like Blaze as opposed to a strawberry picker. We picked for an hour and a half straight leaving my hands all scratched up and my back achin’ from hunching over. Let me tell you, I admire those who do this for a job. I can not imagine doing this all day long; it saddens me that so many farm workers in the United States get paid such low wages for this intensive work and for those who work on non-organic farms, they have a major health risk with pesticide exposure. A great organization that promotes social justice for farm workers is located here.

At any rate, I did end up with four pounds of strawberries for only $10---what a deal and I was ecstatic about the fact that they were organic. I will only eat strawberries if they are organic; if they are not organic, chances are that they are extremely contaminated with pesticides. The Environmental Working Group ranks strawberries as one of the dirty dozen, which you should always buy organic. Print out the shoppers guide to pesticides in produce here.

I will be enjoying these strawberries for weeks in my smoothies!

The strawberries I picked were so delicious. Brent and I enjoyed some fresh and froze a bunch. Our smoothies have never been so delicious! Thank you Cobblestone Valley Farm! If you live in Central New York and want local, organic strawberries---give them a call (607-749-4032) and see if they still have strawberries available. Their website says they may have them available through July 4^th

No matter where you live, visit pickyourown.org to find berry picking farms near you! In the Northeast United States, the next available berries will be blueberries (July-August). Have fun! When you go local, you are supporting farmers right in your own community; it doesn't get much better than that.

June 5th Farmers Market Trip

I can’t imagine changing my Saturday morning routine; honestly, it is the highlight of my week. I wake up at the break of dawn (who knew a night owl like me could acclimate to such a schedule?). I go to my triathlon practice. After that, on my way home, I stop at the Central New York Regional Farmer’s Market. Parking is a %$&^* at this hour, but it’s worth it. I bring a couple of my shopping tote bags and I load up. For the longest time, I only bought my produce at farmers markets; I thought I couldn’t afford paying an extra buck for each dozen of eggs and I didn’t even want to investigate meat prices. The truth of the matter is that my food budget has not increased and I feel healthier than ever.

And I’m supporting local farms---how can I NOT feel good about that? Here’s what I bought this past Saturday:

A pint of strawberries - $4 (SO DELICIOUS)

A HUGE bunch of spinach $5 (think 2-3 of those bags you buy at the grocery store)

A bunch of organic asparagus $3

A pint of snow peas $2

1.5 pounds of wild-caught Washington State salmon - $13.75

(I’ll elaborate below—the BEST!)

Pint of local vanilla yogurt from grass-fed cows $4.25

(not much more than Stonyfield Farms)

Two dozen of free-range eggs $5 (yummy omlettes)

A total of six basil plants for my garden $7 (hope I can make lots of pesto this year)

Garlic-lemon chevre $5 (my favorite EVER--a huge log of it)

3 small organic zucchinis $1 (what a deal—I should have bought more)

The total = exactly $50

I purchased all of that food for what it generally costs for Brent and I to have a meal out. And this food covers probably close to 80 % of our food for the week. Brent made a phenomenal grilled salmon pictured here. Strawberries with my homemade granola and yogurt is sensational. I made a yogurt-mustard sauce for the asparagus. We used the spinach in this spinach, black-eyed pea and wild rice vegetarian dish that we love so much. Eating this way is SO SO SO fun. Thank you CNY farmers!!!

Pictured below: Photo 1 = grilled salmon marinated in cilantro, mango juice, lime juice, olive oil, splash of rice vinegar, ginger, and cumin. Photo 2 = glorious strawberries in the nude!

Book Review: FOOD RULES: AN EATER'S MANUAL By Michael Pollan

I am so happy that Michael Pollan wrote Food Rules. If you have read my review of The Omnivore's Dilemma, you know that I found it to be quite thought-provoking and brilliantly written. Sadly, I have many clients who just can not dedicate time toward reading something so "dense." Food Rules is an awesome solution for those people. It is a wee 140 pages comprised of 64 rules and some pages have no more than 15 words on them! I swear!

Pollan's introduction is the only portion of the book that requires sit-down time. It's about 11 pages. Here, he sets the premise for the rules based on two truths.

FACT 1: Because of packaged foods, lots of meat, lots of sugar, and lots of refined flours (the main components of the Western diet) along with very little vegetables and fruit, populations who eat a Western Diet invariably suffer from Western disease including by not limited to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer.

FACT 2: Populations eating an extraordinarily wide range of traditional diets don't suffer from these diseases.

All of the rules throughout this book are fairly-easy-to-implement things to remember as far as what you should and shouldn't eat in order to get back to basics and achieve a healthier lifestyle.

Some rules I particularly like are:

Rule 19: If it came from a plant, eat it; if it was made in a plant, don't.

Rule 27: Eat animals that have eaten well. Animals that have access to green plants (grass) are much healthier--as it turns out, so are their meat and eggs!

Rule 39: Eat all the junk food you want, as long as you cook it yourself! I've lived by this rule for years and as it turns out, I'm rarely in the mood to cook junk food b/c I've come to love healthy food so much!

Rule 51: Spend as much time enjoying the meal as it took to prepare it. Slow down my friends! Savor it!

All and all, this book is a quick, informative read for beginners on the journey to sustainable eating and it serves many great reminders for those who have been on the journey for many years!

Thank you Michael for getting this news out there!!!

Sprouting Success and Update!

Hi everybody,

I know, it's been well over a month since I've written. I have been busy with food, nutrition, and all the wonderful bits I like to share with you all--as a result, I will have plenty to update you with weekly. First of all, I want to inform you that I have had a sprouting success. It happened way back in April. I decided to sprout mung beans! Folks, they're so easy, and so delicious!!!

You take 1/4 cup of mung beans and soak them in a 2-cup size mason jar (fill the jar almost to the top). Close the lid and instead of using the jarring top, line it with cheese cloth. Soak for 24 hours. Drain well (the cheese cloth is an awesome strainer). Then each morning and each night, rinse the sprouting mung beans well. Be sure to drain well. I rest the jar on its side on a small shelf and then place a bowl under it to catch any excess water. In less than a week, you will have delicious sprouts!

The nutrients of sprouts compared to their non-sprouted counterpart increase exponentially. Here is a breakdown of the increase in nutrients that mung bean sprouts have compared to mung beans (source: sproutnet.com)

Energy content - calories	Decrease 15 per cent.
Total carbohydrate content	Decrease 15 per cent
Protein availability	Increase 30 per cent
Calcium content	Increase 34 per cent
Potassium content	Increase 80 per cent
Sodium content	Increase 690 per cent
Iron content	Increase 40 per cent
Phosphorous content	Increase 56 per cent
Vitamin A content	Increase 285 per cent
Thiamine or Vitamin B1 content	Increase 208 per cent
Riboflavin or Vitamin B2 content	Increase 515 per cent
Niacin or Vitamin B3 content	Increase 256 per cent
Ascorbic acid or Vitamin C content	An infinite increase

I hope you all try this out! In my next blog update, you will learn about my container gardens!!!

Sprout your Way to Optimal Health!

As many of you know, I am extremely dedicated to sustainable eating. I devote much of my time to learning new ways to eat sustainably and to live green! My latest adventure has been sprouting! I am starting with fenugreek seeds and red lentils. The lentils are getting there (but I think they may not be working because they were "split" lentils). The fenugreek seeds became moldy! ACCCK! But you know me, I refuse to give up on this adventure. This weekend I will try lima beans and mung beans. You better believe that if I get them to sprout, I will share my images here!

I urge you all to try sprouting. It's an excellent way to get nutrients. Sprouted legumes and seeds have 700X the nutrients of their non-sprouted counterparts. They are phenomenal for antioxidants, fiber, and protein. They will be a necessary component of my spring detox (don't worry you can buy them at the store; you won't be required to make your own). If you do DARE, here's an excellent resource on how to start your sprouts!

My Favorite Fats # 2: Avocados!

I can not even begin to count the number of times that I have had clients say that they stay away from avocados because of the fat content. Oddly for me, the avocado is one “fattening” food I haven’t ever feared; I think it’s partly because I feel so good after eating avocado. These days, I especially love it sliced on sprouted bread, with a little olive oil drizzled over it and some hot pepper flakes sprinkled on top! When I first met my husband, he turned me onto avocados; adding avocado and mango to a salad gives it so much life! It’s undoubtedly delicious even to those who are salad skeptics.

Avocados are high in oleic acid (also known as Omega 9), a mono-unsaturated fat that research has shown to help prevent heart disease and even cancer! As if that isn’t enough good news, avocados can actually help increase the absorption of nutrients from other vegetables! This is a concept I call nutrient fusion. For instance, a salad with lettuce, carrots, some spinach, and salsa is rich in carotenoids (example: beta carotene), which are extremely health-promoting. Add an avocado in your salad, and you automatically increase your body’s ability to absorb those nutrients! Why? Because these catotenoids are lipophilic (which means they are soluble in fat, not water); if you eat them along with a healthy fat, like avocados, you enhance their bioavailability! A 2005 study published in the Journal of Nutrition proves this point. Adding avocado to salad increased absorption of alpha-carotene, beta-carotene and lutein 7.2, 15.3, and 5.1 times higher, respectively, than the average amount of these carotenoids absorbed when avocado-free salad was eaten. Amazing stuff, isn’t it!

Supermarket Blues

Usually, I write enthusiastically and I attempt to inspire and encourage you all to jump on the healthy lifestyle bandwagon. I apologize in advance that this blog entry is more of a blues-song-type entry. It’s going to be a free-write of complaints, but knowing myself, I may just be able to turn it around in the end.

I hate grocery shopping; I really do! If I had my druthers, I’d live on a farm and grow my own food and would barter with nearby farmers for various organic goodies. But, we can’t all live that way; it’s quite unrealistic. And the urbanite in me would miss the city!

Why do I hate grocery shopping though? Because I’m CONSTANTLY reminded of how our food is so chemical-based, so industrialized. I’m sorry, but the thought of eating food that’s packaged in an assembly line grosses me out. I want food that is as natural as can be; that’s given to us from Mother Earth. Food is supposed to nourish us, not poison us!

I cook almost all of my meals and I do get the majority of my food from the farmer’s market, but like you, I’m busy and I need some easy options. The other night my husband mentioned this cannellini bean, collard green, and rice recipe I used to make with Trader Joes Goddess Dressing. Well, we no longer live in driving distance to a Trader Joe’s. I can’t tell you exactly what’s in Trader Joe’s goddess dressing, but I’m a manic label reader so when I used to get it, it had to have been of decent quality.

My search for a healthy goddess dressing, or ANY dressing for that matter was so horribly disappointing! Soybean oil as the first ingredient---c’mon, if we want non-homemade dressing, we have to poison ourselves with genetically modified soy? And if it did not have soybean oil, it had canola oil, which is such a scam. Canola isn’t even a plant; this oil comes from the rape seed and the company who created it (Mazola) created it in Canada, so they called the oil a more appealing name, canola oil! What happened to good ol’ heart-healthy olive oil? To my dismay, I had to make this dish without goddess dressing, but it still tasted delicious with dulse and herbes de Provence sprinkled in it for flavor!

That was such a disappointing trip to the super market. And don’t even get me going about breads. High-fructose corn syrup? Enriched wheat flour? How much more processed can they get? I stick to the bakery for now, but I’m inspired to go back to my bread-making days! And all the pre-packaged hummus out there is made with canola oil! C’mon! I remember when they used to make it with olive oil! But canola (ummm…I mean rape seed) is genetically modified, government subsidized and cheaper, so they use that instead! So, needless to say, I have befriended my food processor and make my own hummus again!

It’s hard, isn’t it? When you prioritize your health, you have to devote a lot of time to it! BUT if we consumers keep demanding QUALITY, maybe we will see the tide turn! Maybe we can start a revolution!!! Please join me in these efforts! And if you know of a non-homemade quality goddess dressing or hummus, comment here and let us all know! And all you Californians and residents of super-eco-conscientious communities, I envy you! I even miss my NYC days and the abundance of natural health resources!

My Favorite Fats #1: Olive OIl

As I promised back in December, I will be blogging about my favorite fats in 2010. I have tons of favorite fats, so hopefully that will translate into tons of interesting blogs for you all!

Let me first give you a brief background of my history with fat. I used to be terrified of fat! I have been a competitive runner since the age of 12 and all throughout my adolescent years, I abhorred the idea of eating fattening food: my diet was extremely unhealthy basically consisting of bagels and bananas. Through college, my repertoire expanded a bit, but still, I would steer clear of fat. I remember dining out with a professor and several students who were in my honors class and I ordered a salad without dressing. It was at that point I realized I had a problem. I wasn’t full-fledged anorexic, but my eating was certainly disordered!

With the encouragement of my boyfriend at the time, I invited more food into my life. He was a fantastic cook and introduced me to homemade hummus. I loved it so much. And the ingredient that made it so delicious? Olive oil, of course!

I soon became an olive oil snob of sorts. I would buy specialty bottles of olive oil and began making salad dressings with it. I started cooking with it. I would even dip bread in it for a snack! To this day, I use olive oil almost daily. My husband and I go through a large bottle every 4-6 weeks.

Let me tell you something. When I first began eating olive oil and incorporated more fat and protein in my diet in general, I felt far less fatigued. I felt focused and strong. A few years ago, my mom found out she had alarmingly high cholesterol levels. I convinced her to stop frying food in corn oil or butter and use olive oil. That was the only major health change she welcomed and guess what? Her cholesterol levels are now within a normal range! For that, how can I NOT love olive oil?

Himalayan Salt Lamps for Mood Balance

I love the color orange. It's so soothing; my husband and I are currently looking for the perfect shade of orange for our living room! We've sampled three so far and will be sampling a fourth before we make our final choice. It will sure be an improvement from our pesto green colored wall that came in our home!

Himalayan salt lamps are a nice shade of orange and it is not only the color that produces positive effects on mood, but it is also the composition. Salt emits negative ions. In order to understand how negative ions can uplift your mood, think of nature's sources of negative ions: moving air in the mountains, the air after thunderstorms, crashing surf at the beach, waterfalls, and other moving bodies of water. All scenarios seem to create a feeling of peacefulness.

I recently wrote an article about Himalyan salt lamps for N.E.E.D.S. It's a great way to brighten up your dull office or cubicle. I suggest plants too! Bring some life into your office space and watch your mood elevate! It's a great thing to do this time of year for all of you in the North East when winter drags you down!

How NOT to Neglect Fruit and Veggies

Do you ever go an entire day without eating more than maybe one or two meager servings of fruit and veggies? I have! Once you’re used to nourishing your body, the effects of fruit and veggie neglect can feel awful rather quickly…slumping energy levels, major lack of motivation (do I really need to go the gym today?), and tendency to downward spiral into an unhealthy eating pattern every day. Don’t allow this to happen to you! Here are some easy ways to get in your fruits and veggies.

• Add berries to your morning cereal.

• Add sliced cucumber, alfalfa sprouts, parsley, or cilantro to your sandwiches.

• Keep a fruit bowl filled with seasonal fruit in your home and at your office.

• If you have limited time to whip up a healthy dinner, do the pasta thing, but add shredded carrots and shredded zucchini. This is one reason why I have fallen in love with my Cuisinart food processor.

• Keep some dried fruit on hand (make sure they are sulfate-free); have them combined with some raw nuts to keep your blood sugar balanced.

• Aim for originality when snacking. Lately, I’ve been buying the pre-washed and trimmed snap peas, which I keep at the office and eat with hummus.

• Try juicing or smoothie making! I do this whenever I need a major veggie or fruit boost. Awesome for detoxing after a weekend of unhealthy eating (or drinking).

Alice Waters on Nutrition

Alice Waters is such an inspiration and she GLOWS, so you know she walks her talk! Here's a recent quote from her: "We need to protect the planet because that is the source of our food. It is unimaginable to me that people could think about global warming without talking about food, because 40 percent of the emissions--the bad kind--come from the wrong sort of farming, ranching, and distribution of food around this planet. So if we were all to be asked to support the people who take care of the land, to buy our food carefully with intention, then I think we could make a dramatic difference." Read more about Alice Waters' edible school yard here.

Do you get the 3:00 Slump? Solution: Shannon's Grain Bliss

Many of my clients complain about fatigue they experience every work day around 2:00 PM or 3:00 PM. That's generally when they reach for their second or third cup of coffee or caffeine of choice. By reconfiguring their lunches, I have probably helped well over 100 people to overcome this incredibly unpleasant slump! If you experience this slump, look at your lunches. Are you getting enough complex carbs (such as brown rice, millet, quinoa, wheat berries)? What about lean proteins? You need BOTH for energy!! An easy answer could be a turkey sandwich on sprouted bread (rich in protein and fiber). A tastier option is Shannon's Grain Bliss. I make this occasionally on Sundays and blend it in with green salads throughout the week. It's tasty on it's own too. It's yummy served warm or cold!

SHANNON's GRAIN BLISS!

Ingredients:
3/4 cup dry red lentils soaked overnight
1 cup wheat berries soaked overnight
2 cups cooked brown rice
1 can "no salt added" organic chickpeas
1/3 cup Israeli couscous

Dressing:
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
2 Tablespoons Tamari
3 Tablespoons agave nectar
1 Tablespoon hot sauce

Boil the wheat berries for 2-3 hours until tender in huge pot of water. Drain.
Cook lentils in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Bring just over 1/2 cup of water to boil. Add couscous. simmer for 5-8 minutes until couscous is cooked and all water is soaked up.

Mix all ingredients. Combine all dressing ingredients. Stir well. Pour over grains and mix well!

Buffalo for Dinner: My Buffalo-Turkey Meatloaf

Many of my friends are still in shock that I consume meat at all so announcing that I had buffalo freaked many out to an extent. My recipe creations are based on the combination of taste and health. The food has to qualify as delicious and has to be healthful. I get it right most of the time. Of course, I won’t be publishing a blog about the rice pilaf that I burned or even the grilled healthy turkey Ruben sandwiches I made whereby the bread stuck to the pan and the sandwich was no longer consumable as a sandwich (fork and knife were required)!

Anyway, back to buffalo! It’s so good for you! It’s a great alternative to beef. It’s leaner than beef. It contains very high levels of the fat-blocker and anti-carcinogen, conjugated linolaic acid (CLA). CLA can help prevent cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of immune disorders. Buffalo is also high in iron and vitamin B12.

I decided to make a meatloaf using ground turkey and ground buffalo. It was delicious! This recipe is easy and uses a lot of ingredients that I tend to have on-hand in the pantry.

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces ground buffalo
• 8 ounces ground turkey
• 1 egg whipped well
• 1 1/4 cup Trader Joe's bread crumbs
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
• 3/4 cup Newman's Own medium salsa (separated into 1/2 cup and 1/4 cup)
• 5 mushrooms chopped in small pieces
• 1 small onion chopped and sauteed in olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic minced

Directions:

Mix all ingredients well, reserving ¼ cup of salsa. Form into 9X4 bread pan. Bake for 45 minutes at 375. Pull out spread ¼ cup salsa on the top and bake for 20 more minutes! Voila1 I served this with roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts.