Reduce Stress / Find Comfort (and Dairy-Free Mac & Cheese!)

Stress is a constant in most of our lives.  It’s sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, but it always takes a toll on our health. In fact, most Americans suffer from a condition known as “Chronic Stress.” I make this distinction because stress itself is neither positive or negative. There is even a term—“eustress”—which refers to positive stressors in our lives, factors that provide motivation, inspiration and drive. However, over time, even eustress can result in the development of Chronic Stress. Chronic Stress is the condition in which the body’s natural coping mechanism can no longer effectively respond to one’s total stress burden.

When our evolutionary development is considered, this makes a lot of sense. Our bodily stress response was developed to deal with acute stress, i.e. being chased by a saber-toothed tiger. As a result, the body’s response to stress is to divert energy away from cellular repair, digestion and hormone regulation (not much point regenerating those organs, assimilating that meal or prepping to have a baby if you’re dead), and instead puts energy toward muscle contraction and adrenal stimulation—to run away, very quickly.

The adrenal glands are our bodies’ chemical energy reserves. They are there just in case that saber-toothed tiger jumps out from behind a bush when you hadn’t had a meal in a while. The adrenals kick in, giving you a jolt of adrenaline that allows your body to perform physically, even without proper fuel from food. You may have heard to the term “adrenal fatigue.” When the adrenals are constantly being activated due to stress they burn out, not only inhibiting this response to acute stress but also throwing many other systems in our body out of whack.

The following are the most common signs and symptoms of Chronic Stress and the resulting adrenal fatigue:

• Blood sugar imbalances (craving sugary or starchy foods and/or dramatic changes in energy throughout the day)
• Low thyroid function (identified through medical testing)
• Decreased fertility (could manifest as irregular menstrual cycles)
• Depression
• Poor cognitive performance (poor memory or fuzzy thinking)
• Poor wound healing
• Decreased bone density (identified through medical tests, or frequent fractures)
• Fatigue (especially the pattern of not feeling awake until late morning, feeling tired late-afternoon but then better in the evening and getting a late-evening spike in energy)
• Lowered immune function (getting sick often, slow recovery from illness, low WBC count)
• Dysbiosis (poor digestion, gas/bloating after meals)
• Cold intolerance
• Salt cravings
• Low blood pressure (for some people)

Sound like you? Not surprising. The typically American lifestyle and diet is practically tailor-made to put people on this track. Here are some suggestions to manage and correct Chronic Stress:

• Get enough sleep (8-9 hours/night)
• Go to bed by 10 pm
• Make sure your bedroom is very dark
• Make time for social interactions
• Make time for a meditative or spiritual practice
• Do gentle, enjoyable exercise (overexcerise can worsen adrenal fatigue)
• Let go of perfectionism
• Schedule some unstructured time into your days
• Identifying what relieves stress for you (baths, journaling, reading, being outside, ???)
• Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables
• Get enough protein (protein needs are elevated when stressed)
• Ensure an adequate intake of healthy fats
• Balance your blood sugar (eat breakfast every day/ get protein, fat and carbs with every meal and snack/ eat regularly throughout the day)

It can be tricky to give a prescription for stress reduction since the things that cause stress and relieve stress vary depending on the individual. However, I find that that a lazy day punctuated by a warm bowl of mac and cheese is a good start for just about anyone. Of course, this would seem to be flouting all of the expert nutritional advice above, but not so! I offer you a surprisingly delicious, surprisingly nutritious, surprisingly dairy-free recipe:

Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese (makes a lot)
Recipe is flexible, depending on the characteristics of your squash—play around with the seasonings to suit your taste.

• 1 medium butternut squash (or other winter squash)
• 1 cup nutritional yeast
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ white miso
• 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
• 2 Tbs. Dijon mustard (or ½ tsp. dried mustard or horseradish)
• 1/8 tsp. freshly-grated nutmeg
• Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
• Unrefined salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
• Non-dairy milk (to achieve desired consistency—amount will vary. I use almond)
• Macaroni noodles (use gluten-free noodles, if you swing that way)

1. Peel, dice and cook your squash. You can boil, steam or bake it.
2. Once squash is cool enough to handle, put it in a blender or food processor and add all other ingredients except for the almond milk.
3. Blend until smooth. Depending on the moisture level of your squash, you made need to add a little almond milk.
4. Taste and adjust your seasonings. Keep warm in a saucepan on the stove.
5. Cook your noodles and toss them with a healthy serving of the cheese sauce. ( Add diced hot dogs [vegan or otherwise] or extra comfort food bonus points).
6. Leftover cheese sauce is awesome in burritos, enchiladas, on nachos or as a dip.

De-stress and enjoy!

You Say Tomato/ I say Panzanella

Last weekend, O and I dragged ourselves out of bed early and drove out east of town to pick tomatoes on our CSA farm. For three hours we stooped in the dirt, grasping for the bright, plump fruits hiding within their rows and rows of tangled vines. Row by row, our senses became more honed: Was this one ripe enough? Diseased? Too soft? Begging to be sampled on the spot? It was hot and hard work—I have so much respect for all of the people who are out there harvesting our food every day. But even though we came out of it scorched and thirsty with aching thighs and backs, it was the best time I’d had in a while. There was something so intensely satisfying about being truly connected to the food that would end up on our plates and in our bodies. The heat and the dirt seemed to somehow intensify the scent and flavor of those tomatoes. When we were sent home with several pounds, we swooned over every bite.

For the last hour I’ve been trying to write something insightful about the importance of personally connecting with our food, but it’s just not coming out. Let’s just leave it at this: putting some energy into what you eat makes it taste better. So before tomato season is up, I urge you to try the following recipe using the most luscious, perfectly ripe, warm from the sun tomatoes you can get your hands on—it makes all the difference.

Panzanella (serves 2–3)

• 6-8 slices of stale bread
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 cup losely-packed fresh basil leaves
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• Flavorful Olive oil
• Vinegar (your choice)
• Sugar
• Sea Salt

1. Cut the bread into 1-inch chunks. If the bread is fresh (not stale), toast it in the oven until crisp and dry.
2. Chop the tomatoes in half and squeeze out most of their seeds. Then into 1-inch chunks and place in a large bowl.
3. Tear the basil leaves into pieces and add to the tomatoes.
4. Chop or grate the garlic into the bowl with the tomatoes.
5. Add the bread and toss everything together.
6. Dress with olive oil (be liberal) and vinegar to taste (I like using the vinegar from pickled jalapenos for a little kick).
7. Add salt and sugar to taste (even just a dusting of sugar really brings out the sweetness of the tomatoes).
8. Serve!

Eating Beyond the Numbers

Photograph By Richard Burbridge

What will all the news stories on pink slime, anti-botic resistant bacteria in our meat, GMOS, the obesity epidemic and all that other fun stuff, it seems like as there is more and more interest in what we ought to be putting in our bodies. On the whole, I think this is totally awesome. After all, all change must start with education. But (and it’s a big but), almost all the pop-culture nutritional information I’m seeing is grossly over-simplified. And it’s not that proper nutrition is even particularly complicated, per se.

The most common fallacy I see over and over again is the assertion that weight loss (or gain) is all a simple equation of calories in versus calories out. The simplicity of this concept is certainly tempting, but this is simply not true. Our body is far more complex than this teeter-totter equation.

Consider this: each second around 400 billion chemical reactions are occurring in your body. Each of those processes requires co-factors, chemicals will assist with these reactions in order to function. Some of these co-factors are made internally but many of them must be acquired from outside of ourselves, generally through our diet. Co-factors in our diet are the vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients we consume in our food.

The food we ingest acts as a message to our body. When we eat nutrient-dense foods, our bodies are providing with all the necessary cofactors to break down that food and turn it into energy. When we eat food that lacks micronutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients), our body turns it into glucose, but then lacks the co-factors necessary to complete the chemical reactions required to process that glucose into energy in the form of ATP, via the Krebs Cycle. Our bodies’ being efficient above all else, will then store the glucose, preferentially in the form of glycogen for later use. Then when our blood glucose levels get low, the body turns this glycogen back into glucose to maintain our energy levels. Our glycogen stores function as our bodies’ short-term storage, allowing us to have energy throughout the day even when we are not actively consuming food. But, when we are ingesting enough food that our glycogen stores are full, our body then diverts the excess glucose to long-term storage in the form of adipose tissue, aka fat. Of course, weight gain is probably one of the less deleterious side-effects of eating nutrient-void food. You are also denying your body the nutrients it needs to keep you healthy and happy (yep -brain neurochemistry is ditating by diet too).

Another component of weight gain/loss is that the body needs to maintain a relatively consistent range of glucose in the blood. Eating well-balanced meals, containing adequate protein, fat and fiber, allow for a controlled release of glucose into the bloodstream. Refined carbohydrates, excess sugars and meals lacking protein, fat or fiber will all lead to an immediate spike in blood sugar and the urge to eat more of the same again soon, perpetuating the cycle.

An excess of blood glucose will signal the body to store some as glycogen and a deficient will signal the body to convert glycogen back into glucose and release it. Every cell has insulin receptors that escort glucose from the blood into the cell and the number of receptors is dependent on the cell’s environment. If the body is constantly flooded with glucose (from a diet high in glycemic foods like refined carbohydrates and sugars), cells reduce the number of insulin receptors, since they are perceived as unnecessary (with all this glucose floating around the cells think they’ll be no threat of not getting enough). Consequently, with the lack of adequate insulin receptors, glucose cannot be absorbed as quickly and builds up in the blood. The body perceives this as a threat and unnecessarily stores the glucose as glycogen and fat. Conversely, when we have low blood glucose levels, such as when we do not eat breakfast or when we drink alcohol, our bodies freak out and send a hormone response signally that we are in a starvation situation and that all incoming glucose should be stored as fat, because who knows when we’ll have access to food again.

So sure, the number of calories you eat does mater. And the calories you burn during exercise also do mater. But, as you approach your daily eating habits remember that nutrient-dense foods are the only ones that your body can readily turn into energy. Nutrient-void foods cannot be processed and will have to be stored until enough nutrients are consumed to deal with them—so you better balance that Big Mac with a lot of kale salads! Also, the time of day you eat does matter. Do eat breakfast to stabilize your low blood glucose level from the night and eat consistently throughout the day, consuming well-balanced meals and snacks that will not cause the glucose in your blood to skyrocket. And remember, nutrition really is very simple. Just eat whole foods, consume a balance of fat, protein, carbs and fiber and eat consistently and sensibly throughout the day. Take care of your body and your body will take care of you.

 

 

The Heart/Liver Link

My head feels so stuffed with information, I’m surprised it’s not coming out my ears. The pace at school has really picked up over the last couple of months and it’s all so fascinating. I feel as though I could write hundreds of blog posts on everything we’ve been learning—but alas, I barely find the time to do my homework. One of the most fascinating subjects we’ve delved into recently has been fat, and the link (or lack thereof) to heart disease. I’ve personally seen so many people in my life grappling with heart disease, I feel it’s important to get this information out there – please share it!

As a culture, we’ve been grossly mislead as to the causes of heart disease. Ansel Keys, who in the 1950s, published a “definitive” study showing a correlation between diets high in fat and cardio-vascular disease worldwide has been continually disproven and is now aknowledged to have used questionable evidence and statistical methods (at best) to support his findings. Despite this fallacy, the “low fat myth” persists.

In actuality, heart disease stems from inflammation in the body (as does all other disease). Inflammation can be caused by poor quality foods (overabundance of Omega-6 oils , trans-fats, sugar, GMOs, etc), food allergies, exposure to toxins, poor digestion/ leaky gut, drugs (perscription or otherwise, including alcohol, nicotene and ceffeine) and, perhaps most widespread, stress. Inflammation is a natural and important reaction in the body, but is intended to be an acute reaction when we hurt ourselves or are fighting off a viris. Systemic inflammation or chronic inflammation from repetative lifestyle choices that encourage inflammatory reactions are what cause many of the so-called “chronic” diseases of our day, from heart disease to diabetes to cancer.

When the body is inflammed, that includes in the arteries in the heart and the body responds by sending out “bandaids,” in the form of cholesterol, to the infected area. The heart gets a heavy dose since it is absolutely vital to human survival. In a healthy body, cholesterol is an extremely important and healthful substance. The body essentially coats inflammed areas with a layer of waxy cholesterol to allow it to heal and, in the case of an acute inflammatory response, this is just what we need. The tissue heals and the cholesterol is recyled and all is well. Of course, when we don’t treat the cause of the inflammation, the same tissue simply becomes inflamed over and over again and layer after layer of cholesterol is futily deposited in an attemt to heal the area. In the case of heart disease, there are of course other factors at play. For example, excess calcium intake (generally through supplements) that is not matched with a similar magnesium intake can cause blood vessels (and other bodily tissues) to become less flexible, making cholesterol buildup all the more dangerous.

A healthful liver is also vital to heart health because cholesterol regulation is controlled by the liver. The liver can produce cholesterol (from saturated fats in our diet) but it also increases or decreases its output based on the amount of cholesterol in our diets. In general, if you liver cholesterol regulation is not working altogether, you will have cholesterol levels in the 400s or 500s, not the case for most people. Nevertheless, supporting a healthy liver ensures that this mechanism is functiong properly in response to diet. When blood cholesterol levels are measured, it is really a reading of how your cholesterol is being recyled. LDL cholesterol is cholesterol leaving the liver to treat an inflammed area of the body. It is “bad” because it is a sign that their is a new inflammatory response requiring attention. HDL cholesterol is cholesterol which has been used to treat an inflammed area and is returning to the liver to be recyled. It is “good” because it is a sign that inflammation has been sucessfully treated. Hence, a high LDL/HDL ratio signals a problem because inflammation is popping up and requiring treatment (LDL) more quickly than it is being treated (HDL).

So, what to do, you may ask? Start with treating the inflammation. Up your intake of Omega-3 oils (fish, flax, walnuts and/or oil supplements) and reduce your intake of Omega-6 oils: this includes all processed foods. Ensure all animal products you’re ingesting come from pastured animals and not grain fed. Avoid sugar and refined grain products. Diagnose and treat any suspected food allergies. Reduce exposure to toxins, both environmental and dietary—buy organic or non-GMO and avoid body-care products with unrecognizable ingredients. Reduce drug use, including elimianting or greatly reducing alcohol, caffeine and tobacco use and exploring what it would take to get off any perscription medications. And, very importantly, find a way to cope with stress: meditate, exercise, do yoga, make art, play music, take a bath, write… whatever floats your boat.

In addition to treating the inflammation, focus on supporting your liver. This includes eating plenty of leafy greens, brightly-colored fruits and vegetables, oranges and lemons and ensuring an adequate protein intake. Cruciferous veggies (broccoli, cabbage, kale, etc.) and alliums (onions, garlic, leeks) as well as bitter-tasting foods are especially helpful. Also, focus on liver-supportive lifestyle choices such as eating consistant balanced meals and snacks, avoding late night snacking, going to bed by 10 or 11 pm and, of corse, the stress reduction, mentioned above.

I’m sure this overview is somewhat elementary, so please do not treat it as fact – do some of your own reasearch! May you all keep your hearts healthy and free to do what they do best—love!

Digesting Information

It’s been a whirlwind of work and school recently, with much less time than I’d like devoted to baking cooking and reading things not related to gastrointestinal processes (not the most appetizing subject). But our unit on digestion is coming to an end and I realize that by some miracle of osmosis I have learned a lot about how to sustain, repair and maintain proper digestion.

In short, our digestive system is sort of like a second skin: it controls the entry of substances from the outside world into our bodies. Digestion begins in the brain when we are excitied by food-related stimuli. In response, the brain sends hormonal signals down to the stomach, liver, pancreas and intestine, alerting them to prepare for an influx of food. Then, as soon as food enters you mouth it begins to be broken down by the enzymes in your saliva. Carbohydrates in particular, are significantly broken down in the mouth, which is part of why they affect your blook sugar and energy level so much more quickly that proteins and fats.

Then the food passes through the esophogus and into the stomach, where hydrochloric acid and pepsinogen are secreted to continue the process of breaking down the food. Pepsinogen is a precursor to pepsin, an enzyme that breaks down protein. Of course our muscle cells, including our stomach, are made largely of protein, so releasing enzymes that break down protein into an organ made of protein doesn’t really seem like the best idea. But, here’s where it get’s cool—pepsinogen is an inactive form of pepsin. It only turns into pepsin when it comes into contact with HCl, and the stomach only releases HCl when it’s mucosal layer is sufficient to protect itself – part of the whole hormonal signal response! If you do not currently have a oozing hole in place of your stomach, give it a pat and “thank you” for the good work.

After passing through the stomach, the partially digested food passes into the small intestine. Bile (from the liver) and pancreatic enzymes (from—you guessed it—the pancreas) are mixed in, as is bicoarbonate (also from the pancreas) to alkalize all the stomach acid. It is really in the small intestine where the nutrients from your food are absorbed into your body. If your small intestine isn’t functioning properly, it doesn’t matter how healthfully you eat—you won’t fullyabsorb the nutrients. Absorbtion can occur both transcellularly (across cell membrines) or paracellularly (between cells). Often, intestinal permiability is the cause of a poorly functioning small intestine. This is when, for whatever reason—often food allergies, lack of healthful bacteria, excess stress, excess alcohol consumption or perscription drugs—the intestine allow too many substances/too large of molecules to pass between cells into the blood. Inflammation and antibody response will be triggered as a result, as well as nutrient deficiency. To learn more about supporting a healthy small intestine, check out my nify handouts: Small Intestine Job Description and Supporting the Small Intestine.

Of course, after passing through the small intestine, “food” (not really food at this point) passes into the large intestine, or colon. It’s here that water is absorbed from the stool and it is compacted to pass from the body. It is also in the colon that much of our friendly gastrointestinal bacteria is located. These friendly little guys help to ferment matter still in the stool and extract and absorb vitamins. Regular ingestion of unpasturized, fermented or cultured foods is great for the bacteria in your small and large intestines—make these tasty food a part of your daily diet!

Our next unit is school is nutritional biochemistry. A theme to strike fear in the hearts of many a liberal arts major… But on the first day, our instructor for the course, strongly encouraged us all to read Lipton’s The Biology of Belief to gain some perspective on what all the this nitty-gritty chemical stuff really means within the body. I’ve only begun the book, but it is truly fascinating stuff! Maybe biochem ain’t so scary after all…

Cooking with Unrefined Oils

I’ve completed my first round of homework for school! This consisted of keeping a diet and activity log for a week (sooooo painfully tedious) but also creating a handout related to any nutrition related topic we chose. We’ll make these handouts as a part of each module’s homeowrk assignment, with the idea of having a variety of handouts already prepared to hand out to clients at any given time. I chose to focus this first handout on unrefined oils. As I touched on in my recent post, I never realized how highly processed and poor for one’s health refined oils are. As I began to research unrefined oils, I was surprised by the true health benefits many of them provide—it’s not something you generally think of with oil. I was also pleasantly surprised by the variety of unrefined oils that are available. I’m excited to experiment with using avocado oil, red plam fruit oil and nut oils in my cooking. 

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I have made O’s chcolate-chip cookies with a mixture of coconut and macadamia nut oil with steller results. Buh-bye refined sunflower oil! So long!

Below is the information included on my handout. If you’d like to print a copy to keep in your kitchen, click here to download the PDF.

—————————————————–

Refined oils, even supposed “healthy” ones like canola, sunflower and safflower oils go through extensive processing before reaching our plates. Most of their nutritional value has been removed or seriously compromised by high–heat processing and filtration. (Murray, 2005)

For everyday cooking, choose cold-pressed, unrefined, non-hydrogenated, organic oils, appropriate to the dish and cooking method. Keep in mind that smoke points are always a range, never exact—always heat oil until it just begins to shimmer and never beyond this point (Meyer, 2012).

Medium – High Heat:

Avocado Oil (extra virgin): is one of the best vegetable fats for for high heat methods. The smoke point is around 480°F. Look for bright green varieties, as they are highest in healthful chlorophyll (Wong, Requejo-Jackman and Woolf, 2010).

Coconut Oil: is a good choice for dishes cooked at medium-high heat. Its smoke point varies by variety (between 300°F-450°F) (Spectrum Organics; Murray, 2005). Though once shunned for its high concentration of saturated fat, it is made of medium-chain fatty acids (different than those in animals foods), which have a beneficial effect on cholesterol, raise metabolic rate and boost immunity (Murray, 2005). Experiment with different brands, as the odor and flavor will vary.

 Palm (Fruit) Oil: should not be confused with palm kernel oil, which can only be obtained through chemical extraction and it nearly always refined (Weil, 2005). Palm fruit oil, a traditional cooking oil in Brazil, is golden-red in hue from beta-carotene (it’s the richest natural source). It is also rich in vitamin E and co-enzyme Q10. Similar to coconut oil, palm oil is largely comprised of medium-chain fatty acids, which have a similarly positive effect on cholesterol and help to prevent heart disease. Also, like coconut oil, it can be heated to high temperatures without denaturing (Wood, 2010). Sustainability is an issue—do your research to ensure that you are purchasing an environmentally friendly, ethically produced product (Brown and Jacobson, 2005).

Macadamia Nut Oil: also has a very high smoke point (450°F), owing to its particularly low concentration of polyunsaturated fat. It is quite rich in antioxidants, especially vitamin E (Murray, 2005). Its mellow, buttery flavor is suitable for most dishes as well as in baked goods.

Low – Medium Heat:

Sesame Oil (untoasted): is a mild, nutty option for medium-heat sautés and sauces and is especially at home in Asian dishes. It is less prone to rancidity than many other oils, thanks to very high amounts of antioxidants, particularly the liganan, Sesamin (Murray, 2005). Smoke point is between 250°F to 350°F (Spectrum Organics; Wood, 2010).

Olive Oil (extra virgin): a staple throughout the Mediterranean, this flavorful oil can range greatly in flavor from fruity, to spicy or grassy.  It is somewhat prone to rancidity so take care to keep away from light, heat and air. It has been shown to prevent atherosclerosis and shows evidence of aiding in the prevention and treatment of asthma, arthritis and cancer (Murray, 2005). In addition, olive oil supports a healthy liver and gall bladder (Wood, 2010). The smoke point is around 325°F (Spectrum Organics).

No – Low Heat:

Nut Oils (walnut, hazelnut*, almond, pistachio, etc.): Aromatic and flavorful nut oils are very high in monounsaturated fats and can go rancid fairly quickly. Keep them in the fridge and use in dressings, sauces or as finishing oil.  Smoke points are quite low—walnut oil is especially delicate owing to its very high concentration of omega-3 fatty acids (Murray, 2005). *Hazelnut oil is more stable than other nut oils. Medium heat may be applied (Wood, 2010).

Flax Seed Oil: This nutty, vegetal tasting oil is exceptionally high in omega-3 fatty acids and lignans. These compounds have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer (especially breast cancer) and to retard tumor growth. Flax oil is denatured by light and heat, so store in opaque bottles, keep cold and use only in cold or very low heat applications (Murray, 2005).

References:

Brown, E. and Jacobson, M. (2005). Cruel Oil [electronic version]. Washington D.C.: Center for Science in the Public Interest. Retrieved from: http://www.cspinet.org/palm/PalmOilReport.pdf

Meyer, H. (2012). 10 bad cooking habits you should break. Eating Well. Retrieved from: http://www.eatingwell.com/healthy_cooking/healthy_cooking_101_basics_and_techniques/10_bad_cooking_habits_you_should_break

 Murray, M. (2005). The Healing Power of Nuts and Seeds. The Encyclopedia of Healings Foods. New York: Atria Books

Spectrum Organics. Kitchen Guide [Handout]. Retrieved from: http://www.spectrumorganics.com/?id=116&findall=kitchen+guide

Weil, A. (2005). Tropical oils: What’s healthy? What’s not? Q & A Library. Retrieved from: http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/id/QAA118473

Wood, R. (2010). The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia. New York: Penguin Books

 Wong, M., Requejo-Jackman, C. and Woolf, A. (2010, April). What is unrefined, extra virgin cold-pressed avocado oil? Inform (American Oil Chemists Society). Retrieved from: http://www.aocs.org/Membership/FreeCover.cfm?itemnumber=1099

Symbiotic Health (+ brownies!)

Yesterday, in class, our teacher introduced a section of the lecture covering several different popular diets and food philosophies by saying, in essence, people can get very stuck in their beliefs around food. That the heart of healthy sustainable eating is to tune into our own bodies, what they need and what they, individually, feel best eating. So simple, but profound too. A similar sentiment is echoed by the author of one of my favorite food blogs:

A lot of people want to know “what I am” – vegetarian, vegan, raw foodist, fruitarian, macrobiotic…guess what? I am a person who eats! 

My food philosophy is this: I hate labels. They stink. They force a person to define themselves in very rigid terms, beat themselves up if they suddenly eat something that doesn’t fit that definition, and I know I never want to have to label what “kind” of diet I subscribe to. Being dogmatic about anything, for me, just doesn’t work. Being flexible does. 

I like this idea. And, in reality, I don’t know a single person who subscribed to any specific way of eating 100% of the time. I often identify myself as a vegan, but that doesn’t stop me from having a slice of birthday cake, on occasion, or even a little fish from time to time. And yet, by using this term, which is defined objectively, I expose myself to feeling of guilt or inadequacy when I do diverge from the party line… and somehow I know that’s not part of achieving an optimal, healthy relationship with food and nutrition.

In class, we dismissed one diet after another on the basis of not accounting for bio-individuality. By nature, any diet or food philosophy simple enough to write a book on is going to be pretty basic and is formulated to be applied universally. While it is probably inarguable, that everyone these days needs to eat more whole, unprocessed foods and especially vegetables, just about anything else in diet is up for grabs. Some people need far more protein that others, some people have trouble digesting grains, others have problems with dairy or soy. Some people thrive on higher fat diets than others, or higher in raw foods or greater concentration of certain vitamins or minerals. It’s mind boggling the set of conditions that influence each of us: our ancestry, lifestyle, routine, metabolism, food we grew up with, food we like or dislike, and so on. There is no one answer and no one prescription that will lead us to health, happiness and nourishment. This is so absurdly obvious and yet so difficult to really accept – for me, certainly, and I would imagine, for most people. It’s near impossibly not to feel judgmental of others that don’t seem to making the “right choice” like you – buying convention produce/eating meat/eating fast food… the list could be endless. I know this is going to be a major hurdle for me to succeed in this field, though my super-high metabolizing boyfriend has already helped me learn a lot about bio-individuality – a meal that leaves feeling satisfied is not likely to work for him and visa versa. I hope to start the process by being less rigid in my own diet choices, especially as I learn all this new, fascinating information on how food reacts in the body, I want to use myself as a guinea pig without feeling trapped by the vegan dogma.

That having been said, one of the aspects of diet that we didn’t touch upon in class, and is extremely important, in my opinion, is ethics. Even in a world where we all were perfectly in touch with our bodies and their needs, and what they felt best eating – what happens when you discover that you feel really top-notch when you’re eating nothing but steak? What about happens to the rest of the cow? What about the happiness of the cows? They certainly aren’t living optimally happy, healthy lives, if you’re plucking them daily to munch on their rumps. I would argue the goal here is not necessarily just about achieving your own optimal health, but also achieving a sustainable symbiosis with the world, which, in turn, increases your overall sense of wellbeing. Say you do feel better eating meat, but you also don’t feel so good about the ethics of it. Perhaps you choose only to eat meat that you have personally witness is humanely grown? Or perhaps you only eat wild game, that was allowed to live their lives naturally…until they were shot? Or perhaps, you notice that on a high-protein plant-based diet you feel pretty darn good and it’s just not worth it to you to compromise your ethics to gain that little bit of extra oomph you get from eating meet? We are not simply physiological being, who, when are belly’s are full and our nutrition needs are met, will automatically exist happily and healthful in our world.

I don’t have the “answer” to any of this. Just plenty of food for thought. But, I do notice that mulling over things always goes better with a snack at hand—thus, I introduce you to Power Brownies! Don’t freak when you see the ingredients. These little morsels are chocolaty, fudgy and delicious. They also just so happen to be quite high in protein and fiber and free of flour, refined sugar, eggs and dairy.

Power Brownies (makes 9 large or 12 small brownies)

1 large Japanese Sweet Potato (baked or steamed until soft)

1 1/2 cups cooked black beans (1 15 oz. can, drained and well-rinsed)

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup maple syrup

1/3 cup almond milk

1 Tbs. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. finely ground espresso (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Don’t put the cocoa powder on the top – or you’ll end up with a cocoa cloud. Whizz until mostly smooth and well-combined. Stir in:

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup chopped walnuts

Pour into a well-greased 9″x9″ pan and bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, until the edges firm up and begin to pull away from the sides. They will be quite gooey when you take them out of the oven, but will solidify as they cool.

 

The Oily Truth

First day of school is under my belt and I am feeling good about it so far. I’d almost forgotten how painful all the administrative details of the First Day can be—but they’re over with now and our instructor even managed to squeeze in about 45 minutes of lecture (to make sure we’d come back next week, no doubt).

One of the most interesting topics she touched upon was refined oils, and how decided boorish they really are. I’d heard plenty of stuff about how canola oil was not so good as it is highly processed and so on, but I never really spend much time looking into what “processed” meant. Apparently, canola oil goes through 80 (!) steps to turn it from rapeseeds to oil. And, alas, while canola is a particularly extreme example, all refined oils go through a similar process:

1. Oil is pressed, using extreme force, creating friction and heat (*Expeller pressed oils are heated to a somewhat lower temperature, but only olive, sesame, coconut and nut oils can be truly “cold pressed”).
2. Often treated with hexane solvent (a petroluem biproduct known to be carcinogenic) to extract more oil
3. Injected with phosphate and put through a centrifuge to separate the oil and plant solids
4. Degummed to remove the natural lethicin content (important for memory and cognitive function, cardiovascular health and liver function)
5. Neutralized by treating the oil with sodium hydroxide (sound familiar? It’s in Drano) to remove even smaller bits of residue, such as pigments (and vitamins)
6. Bleached using heat and carbon or clay to filter out still more of the “impurities”, including nearly all of the natural antioxidants and nutrients.
7. Deodorized using pressurized steam (at over 500 °F) to make the oil seem like something you might be willing to ingest.

Ick. Our instructor mentioned the deodorizing step in particular, explaining that oils oxidize and go rancid from the heat and time to perform all of the steps above (and more). This really struck me. If I picked up a bottle of oil from the shelf and it had gone rancid, no way would I use it or even be tempted to, but it would seem that most of the oils we use regularly in our kitchens are rancid, just in disguise. Blech. When we ingest these oxidized oils, the antioxidants in our bodies are pulled away from performing their duties to instead try to “anti-oxidize” the ingested oil.

So, what’s a girl (whose famous chocolate chip cookie recipe depends on refined sunflower oil) to do?! Well, there is good news. As I mentioned above, certain oil producing plants can be cold pressed to produce shelf stable, nutrient (and flavor) rich oils for all sorts of applications. Olive oil is the most familiar, and arguably the most versatile, but certainly not the only option. For higher heat, coconut oil (makes sure it’s unrefined) works like a charm or macadamia nut oil (a new one for me). For medium to low heat, (untoasted) sesame oil, nut oils (walnut, hazelnut, etc.) and avocado oil are tasty options. And for raw applications, flax seed oil is an exceptionally healthy choice. And, my vegan conscience wrestles with this one, but fresh, local, humanely produced butter and ghee are good choices as well, in moderation.

Of course, it’s healthiest of all to ingest most the fat in our diets through whole foods themselves. Instead of using a heavy hand with the cooking oil, go nuts with nuts, seeds, coconut, avocados, flax meal, chia seeds—even oats are 10% fat. And, if you regularly eat a diet high in colorful fruits, veggies and spices (and bonus points for sea vegetables!), the antioxidants in your body will be numerous enough that diverting some to deal with the doughnut that just came down the pipes will not kill you…

Reinvention

Tomorrow I start school again. Astoundingly, it’s been nearly five years (!) since I last sat in a classroom, listened to a lecture or did homework. I’m equipped with a stack of slightly intimidating textbooks, a brand-new notebook and a handful of my favorite pens and feel just a touch of those first-day butterflies that have been hanging around since grade school. It’s all so familiar and yet, what I am about to begin is in fact very different that any of my education up to this point.

In the morning, I’ll be beginning Bauman College’s 18-month Nutritional Consultant program. At the end of it I will be a certified Nutritional Consultant and will be able to take the Holistic Nutrition Boards in Colorado. Unlike dietetics, which maintains a very strictly regulated USDA-compliant curriculum, these certifications will allow me to offer unique, personalized nutritional advice to individuals, based on their own personal histories, health goals and dietary philosophies. I plan on combining this knowledge with my already well-developed skills in the kitchen to guide clients through the whole process of changing their diet: from meal planning to shopping for, storing, preparing and preserving their new dietary staples.

I am so excited to be learning something so relevant and applicable that also happens to be something I’m naturally passionate about. Throughout my college education, I’ve always felt something of a disconnect between these two desires. I studied anthropology and classics, both of which I found to be fascinating, but I knew that neither would exactly set me up for a career outside of academia. After realizing I was more attracted to an academic career for the argyle than its actuality, I’ve toyed with the idea of attending culinary school to further develop my love of cooking. But, with some careful reflection, I realized that life behind a stove all day, every day would likely destroy that love rather than bolster it. I felt at a loss for how to proceed for several years, until I stumbled upon an ad for the Natural Culinary Institute in NYC in a magazine. I was blown away that such a program existed, focusing on both health and cooking. I researched the school further and even dropped in for a visit, but ultimately realized that it wasn’t a great fit for me – they seemed mostly to turn out students as personal and professional chefs, albeit enlightened ones, but it still wasn’t exactly what I wanted… I just wasn’t sure what it was that I did want.

Then, last summer, I heard about Bauman College, which conveniently had a branch in Boulder. I was initially attracted to their Natural Chef program and attended an open house to find out more. I left feeling similar to how I had after the visit to the New York school – like it was close to what I wanted but not quite there. Along with hearing about the chef program, several students spoke about the school’s nutrition program. They were knowledgeable and engaged, but at that point studying nutrition hadn’t crossed my mind. I mulled it all over for several more months, but Bauman kept popping back up in my mind. It was in Boulder, not too expensive and philosophically totally on the same page as me… why wasn’t it what I wanted? I did a little more research into the school and decided to look into their Nutrition Consultant program—why not? It was amazing. Something just clicked for me. I already knew and loved cooking, I was committed to healthy eating and I wanted a career that would allow me to share this with others, not keep me in a kitchen, separated from those with which I was sharing. This made total sense. I met with an advisor and sat in on a class and the more I learned about the program the more excited I became. The approach was very comprehensive—something I demand from my education. I don’t care if broccoli is “good for you” if you can’t explain to me exactly why that is. This program effectively combines in-depth physiology and biochemistry with their broader holistic curriculum to ensure students really grasp how food, medicine and supplements act on the body. The whole thing was just totally “me”!

I know that this program has the ability to be truly transformative —in a way that none of my other education experiences have been. My biggest goals are too maintain my inspiration and focus throughout the program. I know it will be hard to have homework again, but I really want to continually remember why I am doing it—not for the teacher, but to build my own knowledge and confidence with the subject matter. I also want to reach out and network as much as possible with the instructors, other students and anyone else in the field that crosses my path. Putting myself out there can be difficult for me, but I am committed to working on it. Also, I am going to strive to maintain balance in my life. I will still be working full–time at my job, so I will be busy, for sure. But I am also committed to making sure I find time to rest, relax and have fun.

Wish me luck as I embark on this new adventure!

The Fermented Dairy Product of the Gods

Mmmm… cheese. Turns out human’s love of cheese goes beyond its tangy creaminess. Cheese actually contains casomorphin, an opiate released during the digestion of casein, the protein in milk. Biologically, this makes total sense. All breast-milk contains these chemicals to encourage bonding between mother and child, and cows are no exception. In fact, cow’s milk contains significantly more casein than human’s milk. What’s more, during the production of cheese these proteins are highly concentrated. So yes, your cheese “addiction” may be just that – heroin in the form of a nice block of chedder.**

There a several vegan cheese options available in stores these days, most notably the tapioca-based Daiya. While it does make a mean pizza, I find something slightly off-putting about faux-cheese—it’s just so unidentifiable. I have attempted to make my own cheese sauces a few times before, culminating in a delicious butternut-squash based macaroni and cheese, but actually producing a homemade block of sliceable vegan cheese always seemed  a little out of my league…. until now. My dad’s compulsive used bookstore browsing (talk about an addiction :-p) recently turned up The Real Food Daily Cookbook. This lovely book just so happens to contain a recipe for “Cashew Cheddar Cheese” and, owing to the large amount of agar (a flavorless seaweed that acts very much like jello) called-for, it sets firm, very much like a soft block of dairy cheese. While the flavor isn’t likely to fool any die-hard cheese addicts, its tang, fattiness and texture provide a very satisfying cheese alternative, made entirely from wholesome, identifiable ingredients.

To access the recipe, just click the link to the cookbook above, or better yet buy it at your local booksellers—it’s worth it! I’ve played around with the seasoning a bit. The best version yet omitted the onion powder and instead added an equal amount of powdered horseradish and a couple of tablespoons of Chalula hotsauce—delicious! To make up for the lack of addictive opiates in this cheese, I brilliantly thought that a little ground up coedine with make a handsome addition, but alas my wise boyfriend shot me down on this one. Still, couldn’t it be like a training-wheel cheese replacement for those trying to get off dairy cheese? I still think it’s brilliant, just don’t tell anyone you’ve added it. ;-p.

Happy Cheese-making!

** If you are interested in learning more about the opiate effects of non-human dairy on our health, check out Chapter 4: Opiates on a Cracker: The Cheese Seduction in Dr. Neal Barnard’s book Breaking the Food Seduction (available to read online here). Chapter 3 of Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet also provides a good overview (read here). For more in depth information on the effect of casein on human health, T. Colin Campell’s The China Study is well worth a read. Heck, it’s worth a read if you’re human and eat food. Just read it!