The challenge continues.

As I open up the blog and check my last entry, I notice that I was then doing 140 burpees a day. Today I have 240 burpees to do. 240 burpees seemed impossible in the past, absolutely impossible. The thought of doing that many push ups and jumps every day, increasing one a day for a whole year, up to 365, seemed absurd. But it is not. The secret is to break it down.

The same holds true for food. The secret to eating well is merely breaking it down to many tiny tasks, instead of one overwhelming chunk of time that no one, including me at the moment, seems to have, or even want to have. I don't blame anyone. Why spend hours toiling in the kitchen when one can be outside enjoying the end of summer? Or studying, which is more like my own reality right now. 

But eating well is essential to keeping good health, and to not gain weight, which is another reality I face as a 42-year-old woman. There is no way around it. It does not matter how much I may exercise, if I don't eat well I will get sick, and/or gain weight, and break out into pimples on top of it. I say it, because I have experienced it. When I don't eat well, my face becomes oily, and I break out. Simple. I start to eat better, my face becomes clearer/cleaner, no pimples. And I fit into my pants. Easy to maintain, hard to fix. 

So how do I break down food? Cook in the morning. In the evening I am too tired to deal with anything except for what is absolutely necessary, which means the exam of the day that I am freaking about. Use the mornings! While I make coffee, I make brown rice. Or cook beans... or roast beets, eggplants, sweet potatoes, squash, cauliflower, garlic, onions... any hardy vegetable that I can coat with olive oil and sea salt, I will roast. I roast in my cast iron pan, so that way I don't have to worry about clean up and scrubbing. Just wipe it down with a paper towel when done cooking- courtesy tip from a climber who camps and cooks in his camper. And yes HE cooks. Don't have to be a woman to cook, or a housewife to cook- anyone can cook. A lot of it has to do with just getting into a habit, so that there is no thinking involved. Just doing...

What about all the chopping? The chopping... I do it while I heat up the food that I precooked in the morning. It takes about 5 to 15 minutes to heat up anything, so I use that time to chop: cabbage, red onions, carrots, radishes, cucumbers, parsley, cilantro, celery, tomatoes, green onions, peppers... any vegetable that can be eaten fresh. Or sautéed... kale, collards, chard, spinach, chinese cabbage, onions, mustard greens, turnip greens... 

I usually chop a little extra, so that I have some left over for the next day- call it a bonus. Have enough containers, even if they are yogurt containers, to keep the left overs. Good storage is important for eating well. Because there is always something in the fridge or freezer waiting for me at the end of the day... even if I am completely wiped out from a long school day, and don't feel like doing any extra work other than opening a beer. And studying some more, of course. 

But why go through all that trouble anyway? Cooking , chopping , storing... because I want to feel good everyday, because I want to have energy everyday. Because I want to stay lean and look good, and because I don't like to get sick. Simple. 

It is so easy, especially here in the south, to go and buy fried chicken, fried food, barbecue, go to Chick-fil-A... people: Chick-fil-A is JUNK FOOD!!!! eat chips, a cold cut sandwich, a snack, a bar... but remember, our bodies don't magically make vitamins. We need to eat them to have them. And we need to eat them in real food, not vitamin complexes that we buy at the store. That is processed food at its best. Eat food. Eat clean- less animal food, more grains, vegetables, beans, fruit, nuts, seeds. 

You will thank yourself years from now, when you are still active and well, instead of... insert your own future dream image of yourself, and how you want to look and live when you are older... and live to fulfill that dream.

In defense of cheap food.

Brazilian Canjica (Hominy)

I have lived in the States for 25 years now, and have seen so many food fads and diets come and go. The interesting thing about them to me is that they all seem to share one common trait: they are all expensive.

Yes, blueberries are good for you. And so is quinoa,  Greek yogurt, sprouted bread, amaranth, green juice, pomegranate, açaí, coconut water, kefir, almond milk, rice milk, soy milk, granola, canola oil, matte tea, coconut fat, flax seed, chia, salmon oil and avocados.

The thing is, all foods are good for you. Not just a few special ones. We were made to eat everything. We are omnivores who can survive on anything from old soggy potatoes to squirrel meat. Just think for a minute about what people ate during war times, draughts and economic hardships. Porridge of grains, beans, oats, vegetables, whatever meat they found... simple, unprocessed food.

Unprocessed foods don't bring in money to grocers though. Vegetables and fruits spoil easily, and there is little profit to be made from grains and beans. Packaged, processed foods are the ones which market well, and sell for more money. And their packaging can always be changed to fit the fad, like the local Lay's potato chips I found at a gas station the other day.

Think about how much money you pay for that healthy granola. And greek yogurt and kefir... and chia and flax seed.... almond milk, soy and rice milk. And the antioxidant miracle fruit of the year of course.

Now go a few isles down the same market, and check the price of bulk oats and brown rice. Check the price of corn grits, yellow and white. Lentils, black and white beans, chick peans... check also how cheap turnip, mustard and collard greens go for, depending where you are in the country. Cabbage, squash, beets, radishes, celery, parsley, green onions, carrots, onions, turnips, garlic... those are all foods that are incredibly nourishing to the human body, and yet cost relatively little when compared to packaged pasta, packaged couscous, lettuces, tomatoes... which make pretty meals, but don't really give us much in terms of nutrients and health.

I am not advocating against buying granola, kefir (which I love), and all the other beautiful foods that we encounter at the grocery store. But I do want to make a point that, in order to eat well and stay healthy and slim on a lean budget, I can easily find and eat traditional, wholesome, simple foods that my parents, grandparents, and their grandparents, ate.

All I need is a stove, a few pots and bowls, a sharp knife, sea salt and olive oil, and I am ready to take care not only of myself, but those I care for. Because that is the beauty of those foods: they are generous. When I cook them, they expand and give, and it is easy to feed many on little.

Take a meal that I made yesterday: 2 cups of organic brown rice (1 Lb, about 2 or 3 dollars), 2 cups of organic dry black beans (1 Lb, about $3), 1 Lb of local, organic grass-fed ground beef (about $8), corn salad (organic corn on the cob, cheap during the summer: $10 for 48 ears) and a beet salad (a few dollars more)... it fed 8 hungry adults, 5 kids, gave some away, and there is still enough food left to feed myself and my kids for another couple days.

Growing up in Brazil I ate hominy, with sugar and ground peanuts, for breakfast and/or as an afternoon snack. I still often eat it for breakfast, with sugar and chopped nuts- it is so incredibly delicious, filling and cheap. I also ate a lot of polenta, both in Argentina and Brazil; cheaper and healthier than pasta, and so very sustaining. Rice and beans, soups made from the meat and chicken bones, eggs... and an incredible variety of vegetables and fruit.

Of course there is room for granola, as well as all the kinds of different and great foods that I find at the stores. But it is important to not forget that just because one food, like quinoa, is being lauded as the super grain of the year (it is actually a seed), that does not mean that good old corn, oats and rice aren't just as nutritious and balanced a grain as their (seed) cousin. The same goes for beans. Maybe they are not as easy to market because they do make folks kind of gassy, but they really are super foods. And don't forget eggs and butter, which I also remember were replaced at one point by egg whites and... margarine???

Trust your simple, wholesome, cheap foods- they will keep you, your budget, and your overall sanity going strong, lean and healthy.

Beans

This post is dedicated to all of us who need a little video help here and there in order to learn...

The ingredients...

1 cup organic dry beans

4 cups filtered water

1 bay leaf

1 stamp-size piece of seaweed 

The steps...

Tips and tricks...

Black beans, white beans, pinto beans, chick peas, black-eyed peas... are all hardy beans that cook much the same way. In this video I use dry white (also called navy) beans. 

I measure the beans, pour them on the counter, and pass my hand through them. I look for stones so that when I eat my own cooked beans I don't break a tooth or, worse yet, break a friend's tooth. 

I put the sifted beans in a bowl of cold water, gently stir, and discard the water by pouring it through a colander. I throw the used water, whenever possible, in the vegetable garden. If the beans happen to have a lot of dirt in them, I give them a second rinse.

I usually make the beans sort of last minute, so most of the time I ''quick soak'' them. That means that, instead of soaking them in cold, filtered water for about 8 hours, I throw them in boiling water, turn off the heat, and let them soak for 30 minutes. This softens them so I don't have to cook them for endless hours... and makes their nutrients more digestible for my body. I use enough water to cover the beans by about 2 inches so that it allows for them to expand as they soak. 


I add the bay leaf and seaweed to the soaked beans to give them fragrance and minerals. I keep the size of the seaweed small, so as not to overdo the sodium content and make the beans hard.

I cook the beans in the same water that I soak them, so they don't lose their nutrients.  I use a pressure cooker, and cook them anywhere from 15 to 17 minutes, depending on how soft I want them to be; softer for rice and beans, a bit harder for soups. I bring the pressure to ''high'' (2 lines on my pressure cooker, and a hissing sound), then lower flame to ''low'' and simmer for the desired amount of time. I turn off heat, and let the pressure subside before I open the lid so I don't burn myself with the hot vapor, or see a lid flying to the ceiling.


When I don't have access to a pressure cooker, I use the heaviest/thickest pot I can find, and cook (simmer) the beans, partially covered, until I achieve the desired softness- about 1 hour. Some batches of beans do take longer than others... it's nature. 


When I use a regular pot, I check the water level throughout the cooking to make sure the beans don't burn- it is easy to happen, trust me. When the beans are fully cooked and soft, I add salt. This is very important, as adding salt to uncooked beans will make them tooth-breakingly hard.

A note on black beans: at the end of their cooking time I sauté (local, nitrite-free) bacon, and/or a few cloves of garlic in olive oil, and mix it in with the beans, along with sea salt. Then I let the beans simmer (low heat) to the desired consistency. I serve them with rice, collards, mustard or turnip greens, chopped tomatoes and cucumbers, finely chopped cabbage, sautéed zucchini... they are so delicious and fulfilling, any time or day of the year.


Where to purchase beans, sea salt, olive oil, bacon and vegetables: Grassroots Market. 

Down To Earth Farm at RAM Tomorrow!

Down To Earth Flowers

Down To Earth Farm will be at the Riverside Arts Market tomorrow, 10-2pm. 
They will also be at The Beaches Green Market, in Jarboe Park, 2-5pm.  

Come check out true local, fresh-picked, pesticide-free, nutrient-rich veggies that you never see in your not-so-local supermarkets... 
White scallop, zephyr (yellow/green) and green lebanese squash... red butter head, green and red romaine lettuce... sorrel... dino, red-russian and green curly kale.... spring onions... leeks... carrots... spicy arugula... and the first few flower bunches of the season. Tomato and strawberry plants also available, along with a few other possible surprises....

Watch Brian Lapinski - Organic Farmer on PBS. See more from 9 to 5.

Squash soup.

Squash soup has been a staple in our home for years now. It is easy to make, and so comforting and satisfying. This is the recipe I use; I love it because it has no precise measurements, and gives me a completely different outcome every time I make it.


For the main, basic ingredients, I use olive oil, butter, sea salt, a medium butternut squash, and a big yellow onion- 2 or 3 medium-sized ones will do the job as well... they just involve more pealing and crying.


For the ''side'' accompanying ingredients, I use either 1 or 2 potatoes, or 1 sweet potato for a stronger flavor; sometimes I will throw in a small carrot, or an apple, or orange, depending on what I find in the fridge that needs to be used. And heavy cream...


The secret to this soup is to cook the onions just right. Cut the onions into half-moons (C shapes), and put them in a big pot (preferably a thick one), along with enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pot, about 3 tablespoons of butter, and salt to taste. Turn the fire to medium and let the onions cook, stirring every once in a while to make sure the bottom doesn't burn, until they are golden. By doing that, I get the full flavor of the onions, which give the soup its sweetness and body.


While the onions cook, I wash and cut the potatoes- no need to peel them, as their skin is nutritious as well. Then I peel (with a peeler), scoop the seeds out, and chop the squash any way I can without cutting myself or getting squash skin under my nail (very painful, not recommended). I also use that time to clean up all the peels and keep the counter clean. When the onions are nice and golden, I throw the potatoes/carrots/apple or orange in, and mix. Then I put the cut-up squash in, and mix. Mixing is very important in order to coat all the vegetables with the butter/oil/salt mixture, and keep them from tasting like ''boiled vegetables.'' I then add water to cover (just like in the picture above), turn the fire to ''high'' until it starts to boil, and turn it to ''low'' to simmer, with or without a lid. I use I lid if I am concerned about a bug falling on the soup (it happens); in that case, I keep the lid ajar so that the soup does not boil over.

I cook the soup for about 20 minutes, or until all the vegetables are soft when pricked with a fork, and turn the fire off. If I have a chance, I let it cool a bit so I don't burn myself while handling it- but that is not totally necessary, in the interest of time. I then put the soup, a bit at a time, in the blender. Once the soup has a nice and creamy consistency, I empty it onto a container or pot. When I am ready to warm it up in order to serve/eat it, I add a bit of heavy cream to it, which makes it taste incredible. Don't let it boil though... very important when using heavy cream. Milk will also do, but really, there is nothing like heavy cream...