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.

2013 Food Challenge: Sweet Potatoes, with due credit to Tomatoes.

I was going to write a post on cherry and grape tomatoes, but that would be too easy. All I have to do with those babies is open the box and eat. No-brainer there. True, they are from Florida... and they did fill the quota, along with carrots and arugula, of my vegetable intake for the 9 days I spent in the car last month crisscrossing the continent. Thank you tomatoes. I love your sweetness, plumpness, and cheerful sunny colors.

But I will write about sweet potatoes instead. Yes, the one that looks like a potato and, once you buy it, have no idea what to do with it.

Sweet potatoes are an incredible vegetable. Traditionally, they are considered to be good for the blood. In Western lingo, sweet potatoes contain iron, which is an important nutrient for women like me that do not eat a whole lot of meat. Those sweeties will also give you vitamins B6, C and D, carotenoids, magnesium and potassium. Yes potatoes do pale in comparison: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/9-reasons-to-love-sweet-potatoes.html?page=1.

Why sweet potatoes? Because I happen to be cooking them tonight, plain and simple. Cut them up to look like potato fries. Toss them, with your hands, in a generous amount of olive oil and sea salt... and feel the softness that the oil gives your hands afterwards- added bonus. Then place them in a glass ware or cast iron pan to roast. I like to bake them in Florence, my cast iron pan, because it is easier to clean Florence than to scrub away crusty glass pans. I also use, when Florence is not available, a stainless steel frying pan. Never use Teflon!!!!! Never. Throw that junk, along with anything Calphalon, away. How many times have I written this, along with info to back it up? Not enough. So here it is: http://www.freshfoodunderground.com/2010/02/on-quest-to-get-rid-of-teflon.html, and http://www.freshfoodunderground.com/2010/12/what-are-you-cooking-your-food-in.html.

Now that your hands are nice, salty and oily, you can lick them, or you can just proceed to step 2- wash them. Step 3, place the potatoes in the oven preheated to 400ºF. If you are like me, and don't want to deal with waiting, put them to bake as the oven preheats to the right temp. Those babies are so hardy, they come out tasting great no matter what. Bake/roast for about 15 minutes, toss them around, put them back and bake/roast for another 15, or until they are as blackened as you wish them to be. I love mine like this. Take them out, and they are ready to eat alone with a nice beer, or with a salad and quinoa as I am about to enjoy mine. They are also yummy with chicken, kibbies, for school lunches, snacks, rice and beans... you name it, and they will follow your orders. Enjoy!

Down to Earth Farm

Brian and Kristin Lapinski started Down to Earth Farm in November of 2007.

Brian always felt a calling to the sustainable food movement. After graduating from the University of Florida (UF), where he earned a Bachelor's Degree on Sociology, and a Master's Degree on Community Development, he travelled as far as New Zealand and Australia in order to internship and learn more about organic agriculture. The Lapinskis then returned to Jacksonville, their hometown, and moved into 2.5 acres on the Westside, where they started their farm.

Brian is committed to farming sustainably; he uses cover crops and composted animal manures for fertilizers, uses no synthetic pesticides, and practices crop rotation to improve the soil and fight bugs and disease. All of Down to Earth's planting, weeding and bug squishing are done by hand. Down to Earth is not certified organic, but if you visit the farm you will see for yourself how their food is grown- as opposed to relying on labels and stickers. I have visited the farm, picked and eaten straight from the plants, as well as purchased eggs from them. Their vegetables, and eggs, are beautiful, tasty, and grown with care.

It is well worth it to take a trip, on Saturdays, to the Riverside Arts Market, and find Brian and his assistants there between 10am to 4pm... or the Beaches Green Market, from 2 to 5pm.

Brian will be more than happy to answer any questions you may have. And he is willing to discuss- and educate those interested at any time, on the different kinds of kale selections;  beet, sweet potato, turnip and collard greens... radishes, green beans, broccoli... arugula, tomatoes, carrots, potatoes... eggs and flowers.

I am grateful for the work of farmers like Brian that make it possible for us to enjoy the bounty, and beauty, of locally grown vegetables.

My New Iron BFF.

Sweet potato greens.

I had previously written about how I borrowed my friend's cast iron pan over this summer in order to keep my sanity. I mean, cook.
When I arrived back in Jacksonville and found my own place, I realized that keeping my sanity not only served me well, it was actually quite enjoyable. So I decided to keep on cooking- with my own cast iron pan. A simple 8 inch pan.
My cast iron pan stays on top on my stove. I don't ever put it away, as I use it for pretty much everything I cook. Bacon for the beans, eggs, spanish tortilla, mexican tortillas, granola in the oven,  meat, corn bread, roasted chicken, vegetables, greens... all I need to do, when done cooking, is rinse it, without soap, and put it on the hot burner for half a minute for it to dry. Done. It goes hand in hand with living simply, using my time efficiently, and eating well. Good, wholesome, tasty food that is nourishing, fresh, and free of crap- pesticides, hormones, antibiotics. Food that is not processed.

Roasted chicken.

My challenge living alone, or even when I have my children with me, is to eat a broad, good-quality variety of food, especially when it comes to vegetables. It is so easy to say to myself ''oh, this is so complicated to make, it takes so long, I don't have the time, I need to study, I want to go climb, I just want to go ride or run, I am too tired to deal...''  I don't want to commit to hours in the kitchen. I already must wash all dishes by hand, mine and my kids'- that takes time. I don't want to toil all day in the kitchen, I am done with that part of my life. But I still want, and need for my own and my children's health, to eat well. Bling! Along comes my BFF!

Portabello in coconut oil.

My BFF can cook anything in minutes. Baby spinach that is about to go bad because the package is too goddamn big for me to eat it all as salad? Throw it in the cast iron with butter. Sweet potato greens from the local farm that only last a few days before turning brown? Cast iron with olive oil. Left over mushrooms that my son asked me to buy and never ate? Cast iron with butter. My daughter doesn't want to eat anything for breakfast? Throw her in the cast iron. Just kidding, throw some eggs in the cast iron, and let her cook them. Zucchini, peppers, eggplants, onions, garlic... sautée them with the fat of choice on high heat, and no matter what kind of vegetables they may be, simple or complicated, they are ready to eat in a few minutes. Serve over, or with, quinoa, roasted potatoes, farro salad, rice, chicken, meat, pasta... the choices are infinite.
Thank you, cast iron, for being there for me. Your companionship and loyalty is deeply appreciated. Even if you burn me sometimes- I understand.