Food Research

This video is called "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead" and it's a large part of what started my investigation into food and how it could work with my body. It's also where I got the idea of a juice-fast from. And this guy is impressive for what he does and the other people he inspires. It's very challenging to do something like this from home and without stopping life around you. Everyone wants to hang out and get together, and let me tell you, there are FEW occasions when Americans gather without gathering around food. It's like trying to run and having tons of little threads tied to you. It's much harder.

There's also "The Future of Food" which gives a lot of information, actually, about the history of food and how we've gotten to where we are today. I love this documentary because it makes a lot of pieces fit together better. Again, this is an excerpt, but I think the whole video can be found on Hulu.com or Amazon.com in instant videos. Definitely worth the time it takes to watch. Very informative.

Okay, yes, now I am learning about myself that I am a food nerd. I love learning new things about food and nutrition and applying those things to my diet. My recent discoveries revolve around dairy and eggs. I have grown frustrated lately walking into the store and seeing products that are made by animals and having no idea where those animals come from, what the labels on the products really mean, and what the practices are at those places, let alone how long things have been idling on store shelves. Somehow, buying natural products in a climate-controlled, flourescent-light-filled building has started to feel really weird to me. It makes sense to do that in the winter when produce cannot be locally grown, but in the summer? And certain products have just begun to make so little sense to me, I can't keep it up. We've been avoiding buying milk and eggs at the store lately because I've asked to have a little time to do some research before we start up again.

Well, the research has been done, and of course, there will always be more, but for now, a satisfactory verdict has been reached. So, I wanted to know what the chickens were being fed, where they lived, and how they were handled. I did just enough research to become thoroughly mentally scarred and determined to gain a better understanding. I learned that organic chicken farmers usually don't raise their own chicks from eggs. They buy them from chick farmers who sort out the boy chicks. The boys are then either thrown (alive) into a grinder and ground up for meat in dog foods and such, or are put in a plastic bag and just thrown out with the trash. I also learned that "cage free" just means that the chickens are given a certain amount of floor space per chicken, not that they're free-range. They are usually kept in an indoor area and are given very little in the way of space (I think it's something like 3 square feet per bird) and live their entire life indoors.

Then we get to cows (used for milk). What they're fed is incredibly important. Many American dairy and meat cattle are fed grains and corn. While that sounds fine, their bodies aren't made to handle it. Thus, all the talk about cattle with or without antibiotics. So, often, our meat and dairy products will be labeled as antibiotic-free. The important piece of the puzzle, then, becomes what they eat. If the animals are eating mostly grains and soy and corn, but they are not being given antibiotics, it's really cruel because they will get sick, but won't be given antibiotics. So, someone who is very intent on eliminating excess antibiotics from their diet and doing so in the healthiest way will do best by finding cattle that are fed a grass diet. An all-grass diet is best, but hard to find. Mostly grass is also good. Free-range cattle are best, but often hard to find because the farmer would need to own a decent bit of land and specialize in more than just cattle. There's an excellent farmer who sets an example in "Food Inc."--a movie I strongly recommend everyone watch. We are all eaters, we vote 3 times a day with our food choices. This video exposes how mono-cultural our diet has become. Very intriguing.

I believe that information is very powerful. This information sent me on a journey to find a solution. I no longer wanted to reach out and take a gallon of milk with no idea of its actual source. I no longer wanted to feel completely blind behind the mask of marketing and the claims made on labels. I scoured local dairies in Northern Colorado, I called the top few I found and have some interesting findings. I'll intersperse my information with some really interesting food information resources.

Another food documentary that is not so much shocking as it is empowering is "Food Matters." Included here is just an excerpt, but I would highly recommend watching the entire thing. It's really excellent. Not every opinion in here jives with what I think makes sense, but it is very interesting to consider, nonetheless.

My top-pick local dairy for the Denver area is Johnson Acres. They are local, they deliver to ten areas in the Denver Metro area, one of which is just 2 miles from my home. All cattle are always completely grass-fed. (Many people who keep cattle will raise them on grass and "finish" them with corn or soy which means at least 6 months to a year of corn or soy to "fatten them up" or give them the calories to produce more milk.) Johnson Acres cattle are alternated through different pasture areas to allow the pasture to re-grow and keep the cattle healthy (they don't end up consuming their own waste as a result of being left in the same pasture too long). This dairy is fantastic. There are two reasons we're not ordering milk from them right now. 1) There is a waiting list for getting onto their delivery route. To me, that's a good sign, being able to stop obtaining new customers when they are at capacity. But sad, because we can't even try their stuff yet. 2) Their milk is only delivered raw. There is not pasteurization. In my opinion, that's a fine thing if the milk is handled very carefully. This dairy farm has certain very strict guidelines for the quality of their milk. This dairy also sells poultry raised on the farm and beef, etc. Jason is not so sure. So, for now, we're using a different dairy.

We got our first delivery from Longmont Dairy yesterday. The milk is delivered in glass containers that are reusable. It tastes amazing! The cattle are fed a majority of their diet in hay and grasses, which is excellent, and they are not left hooked up to milking machines all day, but spend all their free time in a large pen with plenty of space. It's not the same a large, grassy fields, but much better than cattle that can't walk because they spend literally all their time stuck in the milk farm. We're really pleased with this dairy. They do pasteurize their milk and deliver directly to our house. We can add things to our order whenever we want, and they deliver our favorite yogurt, Noosa. Eventually, I think we'll go the route of pursuing a milk share (where you buy into ownership of a cow with a one-time fee, and therefore it is legal for you to obtain raw milk from those cows). For now, however, this works excellently.

As far as eggs go, I found a guy just a couple miles down the road from us who raises chickens from eggs in his yard and sells the eggs. We went and toured his egg facility and were able to see all the hens, roosters, turkeys, quail, pheasant, etc. that he keeps. It was really excellent to be able to actually see the birds and to know that the eggs are fresh. Upon getting them home, we found that the eggs were blue, green, white, brown, and slightly speckled. It was lovely. They cook up really nicely and have very orange yolks that stand up a bit taller and are larger than others I have had before. The farmer's name is Rick and his phone number is (303) 324-3567. I found him on Craigslist and contacted him. He's looking to sell about 20 dozen more eggs per week. If anyone would like me to pick up eggs for them, I am happy to do so and you can pick them up from my house. They're $4 per dozen. I am actually on my way out the door now to go pick up some more eggs for the coming week.

I also found useful the documentary, "Forks Over Knives" which states the importance of a plant-based diet. I don't think I'll be becoming a vegetarian any time, but this really suggests the critical role of moderation and appropriate portions where animal-based foods are concerned. Animal-based food is not necessary to live, though it does round out our omnivorous diets nicely. This has made me re-evaluate how much meat and animal products I use on a regular basis. A very interesting documentary. I've taken to watching things I agree with and don't agree with. I certainly don't agree with everything that's said in these videos, but find it thought-provoking. I really enjoy researching things, and especially familiarizing myself with other people's opinions (provided they are well-thought-out and well-presented). This documentary also gives some good information about how food affects our health. We spend SO much money (as a country) on medical treatments and prescriptions, but want to get cheap food. Perhaps it should be the other way around.

This next video is "The Gerson Miracle." It was recommended to me by my upstairs neighbor who follows these principles. It started me thinking about food as more than just something to do, or something that tastes good. I think the entire philosophy in this video is a bit hard to swallow, but the idea is very thought-provoking. I am leery of anything that calls itself a "miracle" just because it smacks a bit of Snake Juice or something along those lines. And yet...it's quite something to think about.

The final video for thought today is called "Vegucated." It's about some people who decide to take a challenge to live a vegan lifestyle for a while and what they learn through this experience. I honestly don't think I would ever become vegan, but still found the information that is presented to be very interesting. Hope you do, too. Just "food for thought," hope you enjoy perusing it. And check out the dairy and egg farms we've discovered.

Where do I land on these ideas? I think I line up well with author and researcher, Michael Pollan, who wrote The Omnivore's Dilemma, In Defense of Food, The Botany of Desire, and many other books. His main point is this: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants." I think that is very sensible, but much more difficult than it should be. What is food? Well, if you've watched even one of the above videos, you are probably a bit shell-shocked about what food is. I did this research (and am continuing by reading about ten different books--yes I read more than one book at a time), while I started a garden in my back yard. Gardening and healthy eating are good friends; concepts that get along with each other well. I am continuing this and my goal is that I will become more conscious of what my food choices are, why I make the ones I do, and re-evaluate them as necessary. Also, as Michael Pollan says, I won't be afraid of food. I won't become afraid of making the wrong choices and get caught up in that fear. I will just become conscious. It's like waking up. It feels good.

I'll probably be adding a page to my blog soon about the different resources I have found and used to help me understand food better.

Sewing and gardening and juicing, oh my!

Long time since I've been here, I know. I have been doing a lot and have enjoyed the process of the last couple of months. I have taken on new things and done well. I have been out of school for just a couple weeks now, and have made considerable progress in starting new things and keeping busy. I don't really get bored at home. There's quite a lot to do!

Sewing:
After taking my machine to a shop and learning that I had drastically mis-set the tension and stitch length, I have made amends with my sewing machine and am just a few steps from finishing my skirt!
Below is a picture of my greatly beloved sewing machine and draped across the chair in the foreground is what I have finished of my skirt! It's lovely! All I have left to do is to sew the waistband onto the top and reinforce the waistband with interfacing. I also want to add a petticoat layer so the thing isn't see-through in the sunshine. Eh, who needs decency when you have a full-circle, homemade skirt with fabulous fabric that is just heavy enough to flow well in a serious twirl. Life's made for twirling.

Sheba is my companion and helper in everything I undertake at the house. The year we got her, I made her a coat (poor thing was so skinny, she had NO fat to keep her warm at all), and from then on, she's LOVED it when I sew. She settles in and just watches me go. Love this dog!

 There's the skirt with the waistband all propped up near it so it looks lovely and finished. When I moved back from Africa in 2007, both of my checked bags got hopelessly lost in transit. Part of my luggage at that time was a skirt like this one that I wore until it started going threadbare. This is an attempt to re-create that skirt. I followed a simplicity pattern...except that I ended up adding about an inch of width to each panel that was angled...so it's got more kick and fabric than it was supposed to. :) Never an issue if you ask me.

 Here it is all splayed out on the floor to show it's full-circle-ey-ness. Imagine spinning in this and having it table out flat around you. Yes, I wanted to be a ballerina when I was a kid.

Random things:
Total side-note, here. I would like to declare that another piece of my little vintage soul came alive a few days ago upon seeing the car below parked along the side of the road and marked for sale. Wow! We went and had a test-drive in this baby, didn't buy it, but we're a bit in love with vintage classic cars now.

My little garden:
This is my garden a month ago. I will post a picture of it now in my next post. It's not even recognizable! This garden has been a major source of life for my husband and myself. Through it, I have spent a lot of time pondering how God tends my life like a garden, pondering the miracle that is life. I mean, seriously, you take a seed, throw it in the DIRT, toss water on it, then it grows. Not just grows, but then makes food to eat, too. It's just unbelievable.
My sister shared something with me the other day that she stumbled upon in her garden, as well. She was trying to pull weeds and they kept breaking off. She kept watering the yard and even after watering, couldn't get those roots to come up. Then, of all things, a hail storm came. It was emense and ended up leaving piles of hail on the ground that soaked it deeply. After that storm, she went out to tend her yard and was able to pull out the weeds easily...roots and all. She wanted to share with me that I can't "water" my own life enough to make it possible to extract the weeds. I need to let God water the garden and accept that some of the water is hail, even welcome the hail. The water--or rest--needs to absorb deeply, it has to sink in. Then the weeds can be extracted much better. I also ran across the Bible parable today about the farmer who sows wheat in a field and then his enemy comes and plants weeds among it. When people ask the farmer if he wants to pull the weeds, he says, "No" because pulling the weeds will hurt the wheat. But to wait until harvest and separate it then. The parable is about separating believers and those who reject God's word, but in this moment, I was intrigued by the fact that the farmer decided to wait. I am letting God tend the garden of my heart right now, and in doing so, am allowing for His timing to help me pull the weeds in my life.

 This photo shows my kale, collard greens, and broccoli (going from the top row, moving right to left), then in the second row from the top, my carrots and at the left side of the photo, my lettuce, and in the next row, rainbow Swiss chard, then onions, then garlic, then artichokes. This is half of my garden and it is MUCH bigger now.

 The roses in this picture are in my guest room. They're from my yard! I have been getting the most lovely bouquets of fresh flowers from my yard. I've been able to give them to friends, set them up for guests who come over, and put them in our room. We got about 90 roses off of our bushes last week, and there were still several to spare.

 This is another shot and shows three of my varieties of roses as well as lavender. I've been harvesting lavender like a mad woman as well. The lavender is SO lovely and reminds us of our wedding day. It's wonderful to have it growing in my yard!!

My house:
Our house from the front. This yard has come alive SO much in the last year. The tree is wrapped because it was so damaged (who knows from what) when we moved in that the entire front of the tree was dead. We put in planters because our yard was being used as a parking lot. The gras has started to really make a comeback. It's such a feeling of success to see this place standing a little straighter each time we do something new to it. This time, though, it's just been our joy to provide enough water to make it possible for things to correct themselves mostly.

This is what we first looked at when we thought about buying this house. Looks kind of like a creepy, run-down house from a kids' scary movie. You know, the house that eats people or something. It looks completely abandoned and unloved. Which was true. When we moved in, the place had been vacant for a year.

 The next shot is the day we moved in. Just looking at this again, it looks like the lawn has receeded a LOT to be where it is now, but that's not the case. The actual grass was only from the lilac and over to the left from there, but the rest is weeds. Yeah, mowed weeds for a driveway. We REALLY had our work cut out for us. But we were so thrilled to have this place. It's been such an incredible blessing, too. Everything about it is just so special to us.
In the picture, you can see that there are NO rose bushes and the tree in the yard has low branches in the back that are thriving and everything else is basically dead. And you can't really tell, but the plum bushes on the right are overgrown and are actually falling in on themselves. Only the end of each branch has living leaves on it. And the large bush by the house, the lilac, is much taller in this picture, but also much more sparse.

The final picture of the house is from just a month ago. And we've made changes since then, even, but it's almost the same then to now. The next big change coming for the house is a new fence. Our target is to have one in by this time next year. We are thinking a cedar fence. I know you can't see it from this shot, but the fence that's currently in place is made of excess siding. Our house is all-wood siding and apparently, the woodwork had no end. (Shoot, when we moved in, we had a wood-paneled shower, for crying out loud!!) The fence is pieces of siding from the '60s that has been stapled and nailed and screwed to posts that are very deeply rooted in the soil.

Above is a rose covered in rain. This comes from the same bush that makes TONS of roses. Just guessing there must be something right with the soil in the place it's planted because it cannot be discouraged. (Not that I'd want to do that, anyway)

 Below is a plum growing on our plum bush. When we moved in, we thought the bush was dead. Then, when it came (weakly) to life, we thought it was ornamental. Now, every year, I trim it to the shape I want it, and the thing now has the energy to make plums! It's just loaded with them! We are looking forward to plum pies in the late summer.

Diet and a new plan:
Okay, changing gears a bit, I have decided to do a juice-fast. A long one. I am tired of the doctors not knowing what's wrong with me and I am tired of being overweight. I am ready to start feeding my body what it needs. As I write this, I am two weeks into this juice fast. I feel great. I am noticing things like the fact that my fingernails are stronger than they've ever been. I have TONS of energy and get full off of a glass of juice. I have even started drinking it slower because my attitude towards food has changed. I also notice that my sense of smell is really keen. I smell things way before other people do and I can identify all kinds of things. Crowning moment for me was walking into a restaurant where they have a juice bar and saying "Where is the ginger?" and the guy about 6 feet away from me was holding about an inch of ginger.

Below is a picture of a typical days' juice. This will last me about two meals and then I make another juice for dinner. We are buying all of our produce at the Golden Farmer's Market. It's excellent. We can get a grocery bag STUFFED with veggies for just $10. Best part, they're local, organic, and fresh. There are kids asking you to buy things from their family's farm. It rocks. They're proud of the produce and they should be, too!

 These veggies are from before the Farmer's Market opened. I no longer peel cucumbers, but this one was from King Sooper's and was so waxed, it felt disgusting. So, I peeled it, and voila! All better.

 Gotta have a cup of tea with your book, juice, and music. Behind the tea is several pounds of jalapenos from a local market. It was $2 for an entire grocery bag of jalapenos. Most people wouldn't be so inordinately excited about jalapenos, but we eat them on and in everything. Yum!

 All recipes seem to call for kale to be stemmed. It also makes it somewhat easier to get it into the juicer. I have used a knife to do this before, but this is the simplest way to go about it. Grab the kale stem and wrap the fingers of your free hand around the leaves.

 Hold the stem tightly and pull your fingers along the stem away from your other hand. The leaves will come off pretty easily.

 Then, you're left with the stem and the leafy greens: separate.

 This is the complete product of a morning's slicing and dicing and peeling and washing and stemming. Wow!!

 My Champion Juicer: be still my heart!
I chose a masticating juicer (masticating is a fancy way of saying "chewing"--so this juicer uses blades to chew and separate the juice from the solids) because it means a much simpler process (therefore a less "processed" finished product--remember, the things we do to food in our kitchens is a form of "processing" it, too).
I ended up using a centrifugal juicer for a little while after my grandmother passed away and found it so difficult to clean that I gave up completely and didn't use it. It also made a huge mess. This baby (my Champion) is easy enough to clean and use that I can make it go 3 times a day without missing a beat, and I don't feel like I just spent all day cleaning the same thing over and over. The process of "masticating" gives the juice a little bit of foam on top at times, but it's all just juice. I love this machine and really enjoy being able to eat things that are fresh.

 Blur alert! Sorry. Put the veggies in the top like this.

 Use the plunger to press the veggies gently down into the blades.

 Watch juice pour into the cup below like drops of health in a cup. It's lovely to see. I just imagine all the wellness that can be obtained being extracted and placed into my glass.

 The "solids" come out the front. I usually re-cycle them through the juicer a couple of times just to get all the juice out. The first little bit is the wettest of the solids.

 Finito! Voila, a glass of green, lovely juice. And it tastes pretty amazing, too, I must say.

I am doing a juice fast for many reasons. I want to lose weight, I want to re-train my tastebuds so they enjoy whole foods and real foods instead of processed food stand-ins, I am hoping to help my body solve its own issues by giving it all the nutrition it needs to help it fight whatever is messing with it. I have been a medical anomale this year and I would like to give my body a fighting chance to fix what's wrong with it. Since the medical field is baffled by what's going on with me, I might as well turn to nutrition and see if I can equip my body to heal itself. Juice made from fresh fruits (so, not Minute Maid, Tropicana, or really any store-bought juice) is able to send the nutrients of the fruit and veggies directly to your system. It takes only about 30 seconds from when you drink juice until it is absorbed into your bloodstream and goes to work in your body. What about juices like "Naked"? Those are great, and I have had those a couple of times when I've been out doing things and wasn't able to make a juice. The main drawback is that those juices are pasteurized, or cooked. This means they lose a lot of nutrients. They also sit on a shelf which depletes the nutrients.

The way I see it, when I can get fresh, local, organic fruits and veggies in the summer for $10/week, why wouldn't I want to turn those things into juice and feed my body what it needs? In the winter, it can be a little more tricky and expensive because fresh produce doesn't exactly grow in Colorado during snow storms. Those fruits and veggies lack some of the important nutrients as well, but you have to eat in the winter!

I will let you know how it goes as I journey through this. I am hoping to hit the other side with confidence and gusto!

Making Sushi

 I learned this time that it really does matter what kind of nori (seaweed paper) you use. The brand above is thick enough that it doesn't break when you roll it, it has a nice amount of give and is dark--more black than green.
The sushi above and below were from one batch of rice. "Sushi" actually is a word that refers to the specially prepared and seasoned rice in the dish, not to the raw fish. Many sushi dishes can contain no fish at all, and no raw fish as well. The rice is the most challenging and time-consuming part of the dish. It takes about 2 hours to prepare sushi rice and instructions are very particular. I would recommend finding a reputable source for how to cook rice. The other thing that is very particular is what kind of fish you are purchasing if you're going to use raw fish in your sushi. I used sashimi grade ahi tuna. It's very important that the fish is sashimi grade, it must be handled carefully in order to be safe to eat raw. I find mine at Whole Foods.

 I made two rolls with chopped up tuna and a spicy sauce of mayonaise and sriracha. They all have avocado, carrots, and cucumbers in them. The cornucopias on the right are made with cooked beef and vegetables. I made a sauce for the beef with sesame oil, rice vinegar, and soy sauce.

The photo above shows the rice, rolled into a ball and ready to be placed onto the nori sheets and spread. It is spread by pushing the rice into the nori and spreading in a kneading motion. 

 Pick up some wasabi and swipe it down the middle of the roll in a small channel you have created.

 Layer fish, vegetables that have been julienned, and any sauces you are planning to use. Place them in the center of the roll.

 Use the bamboo sheet to roll up the sushi making sure the edges of the rice come into contact at the far edges of the roll. Bring them together and press them together allowing the nori to seal the roll shut.

When it's time to cut the roll, make sure you are using a VERY sharp knife. Wash it off between cuts to ensure the knife is clean. Leave a little water on the knife so that it will allow the sushi to be cut without ruining its shape and presentation.

 I made this for Father's Day for my dad.

 And a (sadly blurry) picture of my dog and Kirsten's dog hanging out. They're so much cuteness!