Thai Coconut Curry & Honeymoon

Friends, it's been awhile! Too long. Since our last encounter I've changed my last name and went on a honeymoon to Costa Rica. It was thirteen days and it was lovely. Waterfalls, Howler Monkeys, and Coatis, or "nose bears," were the highlights and a wicked sunburn was the low. 

I couldn't fit the whole waterfall in this shot but there's the hubs  swimming next to it! 

Arenal Volcano... yes, volcano.

Being the longest vacation either of us had ever taken, on day eleven we each confessed that we were ready to go home. Ready to get back to our own bed, anxious to get those thank you cards out, and excited to finally get the house in order . Maybe the last two were just me. I was also ready to get back to cooking. We both were burnt out on too-busy/wedding-prep/vacation food- simple carbs, refined sugars, even pop! gasp!

I've been dreaming of these, my lentil burgers, and maybe another round of cold buckwheat soba noodles. Alas, this past week did not allowed for much cooking. Our tasks to straighten up after the wedding (getting the many something-borrowed items back to the right people, cleaning a very messy home, writing many thank you cards, making a giant goodwill pile out of old muffin pans and the like, taking all the cardboard shipped presents came in to the homeless shelter, etc.) took for-ev-er. All very wonderful problems to have, no?! The hubs had to leave Wednesday morning for work and wasn't back until Monday night, plus I was traveling over the weekend- so it just didn't make sense to go stock the fridge with crisp fruits and veggies that would inevitably wilt before we had a chance to enjoy them.

Thus, we did a lot of take-out. The house is finally starting to look like a home and not a war zone, however, recently there's been much more resturanting than preferred.  The upside is that one of these meals out inspired me to find an at-home-version.

If you haven't been fortunate to become acquainted with much Thai food, please allow me to introduce Panang curry. The true-blue recipe is complex if you don't typically use thai ingredients like dehydrated shrimp, but produces an incredibly delicious result. My version of the recipe will be simplified for us beginner home cooks and give you some whole food benefits.

whole cumin

Turmeric and fresh chillies have immune-boosting power. The brown rice instead of white gives the dish a high fiber count and is rich in selenium, which studies claim reduces the risk for developing cancer, heart disease and arthritis. Additionally, one cup of brown rice provides 80% of our daily manganese requirements, which helps the body synthesize fats and benefits our nervous and reproductive systems. Coconut milk will give the dish a wonderful cream, without leaving out your lactose intolerant or paleo friends. Further, while coconut oil/milk does have a lot of saturated fats, it is debatable whether that is a bad thing. The saturated fat in coconut oil/milk is plant-based and breaks down in the body somewhat differently than saturated fat from animals. Many researchers claim that this fat may actually lead to an increase of HDL - or good - cholesterol levels. Coconut oil and milk also contain Lauric acid, which may work as an anti-bacterial agent, helping your body fight off unwanted bacteria, such as staph. That being said, some of the research out there causes me to go at coconut oils and milks in moderation. But really, isn't that always the key?

I always order Panang with chicken though it is traditionally made with beef and can be prepared with pork too. It usually comes with a side of white rice and a vegetable. The first time I had it the curry was made with some chicken and tons of green beans. Other times it has been served with steamed broccoli but I much prefer the green beans. Of course the green veggies are going to serve up a good source of dietary fiber, vitamins, and minerals. If you have the beans on the side they stay crisp until making it to table, where, if it's my plate, it will end up mixed into a big bowl of deliciousness. I went ahead and threw mine into the curry sauce to save dirtying up another pot. It's spicy enough that you'll stop eating when you run out of water, but not painful. (Unlike the hub's experience with "authentic thai heat" at noodlehead in Pittsburgh the first night of our honeymoon. A restaurant I highly recommend, btw. I had the Chiang Mai Curry which was some sort of heaven, but a much more complicated dish that I will leave for the professionals at this time... humm when's the next time I'll be in Pittsburgh?)

Not-so-traditional Panang Curry

Adapted from http://thaifood.about.com/od/thairecipes/r/penangcurry.htm
Note: Takes about an hour and a half to prepare and cook. There is a good bit of prep work but then it just simmers on the kitchen stove for a long time. I served mine with brown rice. This makes a pretty big recipe, so use a big pan for the curry!

• 3 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces or small slices. Can substitute other meats, even shirmp.
• Every recipe I researched called for kaffir lime leaves, but they aren't available where I'm from so I substituted bay leaves during the simmer and some lime zest.
• 1 red bell pepper or sweet red pepper, slice.
• 1/2 loose cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped or tore up.

Curry Sauce: 

• 4 Tbsp. tomato paste

• 1 small white or yellow onion, chopped

• 1 thumb-size piece ginger, finely minced

• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced 

• 1 Tbsp. soy sauce

• 1/2 tsp. soy sauce

• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce (If you don't want to experiment with fish sauce, or if you're allergic, you could try using a few drops of Worcestershire or more soy sauce with an extra squeeze of lime juice.)

• 1 tsp. shrimp paste  I just substituted 2 Tbsps more of fish sauce to save $ and on the ew factor. Additionally some sites recommend avoiding shrimp paste if you are preggo, get heartburn, or are on a reduced salt diet. Shrimp paste is not a health food.

• 1 Tbsp. paprika

• 1 Tbsp. chili powder (I used what I had, smoked paprika and smoked chili powder. If you have regular, use it- the smoked flavor made it taste a little more southwest and less thai.)

• 1/2 tsp. ground coriander

• 1/2 tsp. whole cumin

• 1-2 red chili, minced, OR 1/2 to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper or chili flakes to taste

• 1/2 tsp. turmeric

• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg (Fresh nutmeg is stronger, more aromatic than the pre-ground stuff- so use less if you wield a trusty micrograter like moi'.)

• 1/8 tsp. ground cloves

• 1 can good-quality coconut milk

• juice of 1/2 lime

1. Blend all curry sauce ingredients - except the whole cumin seeds - in a vita-mix or food processor. (I forgot to hold my cumin seeds- darn!)
2. Start browning chicken (or your meat of choice) and add in cumin seeds and cook until fragrant  Pour curry sauce into pan before meat is cooked through. 
3. Add in the lime (or lime leaves) mix well 
4. Cover and stir occasionally until chicken is cooked through. In last 3 minutes add peppers to top of curry and cover, do not stir in. Steam green beans (or broccoli or whatever) on the side(or throw into curry 10 minutes before cooking time is finished)
5. Season to taste: add more fish sauce if not salty enough; add more coconut milk or a little yogurt if too spicy; add more lime juice if too salty.
6. Sprinkle with fresh basil leaves and serve with your veggie and brown, whole-grain rice.

Headaches

So I sort of fell off the bandwagon over the past 2-3 days. I was eating valentines candy and some chocolate leftover from Christmas. Last night I had a huge headache. The first substantial headache I've had since the cleanse. This one was keeping me awake last night. Further, I can rule out hormonal imbalance because I've been tracking that too. Guys, I'm more convinced than ever that refined sugar gives me headaches.

Perhaps something like this? http://www.livestrong.com/article/116901-sugar-causing-headaches/

What do you think? Does anybody else have reactions to sugar? I'd love to hear about it.

Sugar Addict

This weekend I went home. I got to see my parents and my dog got to be spoiled... and run around untethered in the snow... and bark at deer that were so not afraid of him. When my Dad offered to take me out, I pounced. He did not need to ask my restaurant preference, knowing that I have become an Italian food snob. It's true. Whenever somebody suggests getting Italian here in my new town, I openly scoff and make a grade-A jerk of myself. "There is no real Italian food in this town." So we happily braved roads that were too icy for sensible folks and traversed into the next county. We didn't even have to wait for a table on a Saturday night because the roads were so crass. I even overheard the waitstaff planing an early close. But, God bless em', they didn't kick us out. I had a sort of shrimp primivera and even requested the whole wheat pasta. pats self on back. My true success was eating only half a wonderful parmesan graced bread stick. Drool. All and all, I did pretty well. Because I was still under my caloric goals and because I had been doing so well on my clean eating, I ordered a chocolate mouse to share with the table. Apparently was the most interested in it, and ended up eating half of it even though there were five around the table. Even still, I didn't regret it. It was wonderful and delicious.

The issue arose the next day... my sugar cravings were back full force. The next morning the box of chocolates my mom lovingly gave me for Valentines day were calling to me. When we traveled down to visit the future-hubs' dad, he had krispy kreme filled doughnuts and, as always, those dark chocolate bite size bars. It took every ounce of my will-power to avoid falling off the wagon. Seriously, it was so weird. That stuff always tempts me, but I've realized that I'm a bit of an addict. I don't mean to compare myself to people that are addicted to drugs or alcohol, I don't want to minimize the severity of those people's plight, but I mean, that white sugar makes me crazy! I can hardly control myself! But when I went on this cleanse, it really helped. I swapped in natural sugars like honey and maple syrup to get me through, and wouldn't you know it, my cravings became manageable. I didn't feel out of control. I could look at a piece of candy and say, eh, that's not really worth it and be done with it. It didn't constantly call my name.

Well it turns out that I'm not 100% crazy.

source: wikipedia

"The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs stated in a study published in 2010 that sugar releases euphoric endorphins in some people's brains in a manner very similar to that of certain drugs which are commonly abused.

"Sugar addiction" follows the same pathways in the brain that a habit-forming drug does. Fortunately, sugar cravings can be stopped within a week of withdrawing from the white crystals.

The entire scope of drug addiction has been observed in people with sugar addiction. There are cravings, an escalation of tolerance levels, and dramatic withdrawal symptoms associated with sugar addiction that parallel that of both prescription and non-prescription "street" drugs. In addition, sugar addicts often become narcotic addicts, according to the above study." http://www.naturalnews.com/037337_sugar_addiction_habits_raw_honey.html#ixzz2K2oVDOBd

Anyone else out there a bit of an addict with certain kinds of food? Think I'm nutso and overreacting?

kale chips

I saw a post the other day about annoying things food blogger do. The author begged bloggers to stop posting about kale chips.... What's a kale chip? Well I found out and am now going to do exactly what the aforementioned author plead against. 


Kale Chips are apparently a good way to force some veggies down your throat. Kale boasts an impressive resume of nutrients. Besides being high in fiber, it is a powerhouse of iron, calcium, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, Antioxidants, such as carotenoids and flavonoids that help protect against various cancers, omega-3 fatty acids, which help, fight against arthritis, asthma and autoimmune disorders. If Kale was someone at the bar, you'd buy em' a drink. So I was pretty excited to put this veggie in my shopping cart. (this veggie is on the dirty dozen, so buy organic if you can find it and afford it.)


So I gave kale chips a try, and while they weren't all the rage I was reading on the blog-sphere, they were a pretty tasty way to replace a potato chip. I experimented with Old Bay seasoning and another round with garlic salt, which upped the taste-o-meter. I'd definitely recommend giving kale chips a shot if you're a salt craver like my mom. My down fall is sweets, hers is salt, so maybe to her, this recipe would be all that and a bag of chips. ... pun intended. 

Here's a video on how to prepare kale chips. 

http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/11/02/crunchy-salty-kale-chips/


or if you prefer, here's a text version of a slightly different recipe (with a bonus recipe on butternut squash):

http://www.doorsixteen.com/2011/01/16/butternut-squash-kale-chips/

I used curley green kale, but I'd like to give it another shot with Purple Russian Kale if I ever come across it! Sounds pretty!

sorta detox, t-minus 3 days.

I gotta text from a good friend last night. A friend that I grew up thisclose with, a friend I got to stand behind at her wedding, and a friend who's daughter is the cutest thing since puppies were invented.

pal:

"Read your blog. You need to read it starts with food. I did a whole 30 challenge in October. Lost 10 pounds. Was hard but worth it. You can do this."

First off: Yay! Someone read my post! lol.
Secondly: How sweet to send me some encouragment!
Third of all: Wow. Can't wait to hear more about it. She gave me the okay to post our convo, so here's the email thread that ensued. (Is that a thing, an email thread? Whatever, you get the picture.)  It contains some of those documentaries I promised and even a recipe that sounds pretty tasty!

pal:

here's the websitehttp://whole9life.com/category/whole-30/

I read the book - and was inspired - mostly for my MS and trying to reduce a lot of inflammation - so i challenged myself and did it for 30 days
it was hard - and sometimes my stomach was pissed off b/c I was detoxing but it was so worth it
I'm doing it again right now - well sort of - until after I get over this terrible cold or whatever I have - but I don't eat dairy, sugar, grains, or even vegetable oils just everything in true form
so meat, veggies, and some fruit. You sleep better at the end of it and you feel better i also perform better at yoga when I do it.

moi':

Has it helped your inflamation any?  Is whole 30 just this inspirational newsletter or do they give you a meal plan?
Was it difficult to plan all these meals? Did the hubs do it with you?
Did you have a specific imbalance that needed to cut dairy and sugars (in grains and sugar form)? Do you eat legumes?

I watch these documentaries and have read these type of books in the past- I think they can get a little conspiracy theory, or a little extreme, but really, I do think we eat to much crap. And I'm on board for watching/reading this stuff if it gets us thinking and fired up to make a change. (That Jamie Oliver can grind on your gears because he gets overly theatrical and seems to exploit people, but hey- a wake up call, is a wake up call) I don't think it's necessary to juice everything that goes into your mouth, but I do eat WAY too much crap. And for people trying to figure out what's going on with their bodies (like Joe Cross from Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead), I think it's such a common sense approach to cut out everything, see if you feel better, and then slowly add stuff in. I know like 3 people that have discovered their gluten intolerance by doing that.

I went to the grocery store last night and bought some "health" foods: chia seeds, apples, spinach, organic milk, bulgar, real maple syrup (for sugar replacement), whole wheat english muffins and maybe a couple other things. It ran me like $50. It was just a few small bags and I was like, what's wrong with our food system that it costs way more to eat foods that have less done to them.  ... Well actually I know why because I took a course on farm policies in law school, but it's no wonder we're all overweight and sick.  I know that most of those things are cut from Paleo methods- I might do that sort of cleanse for lent. But right now I'm mostly concerned about isolated nutrients, preventative antibiotics, and added hormones... the hormones really freak me out.

What kind of yoga do you get into? With a group or at home?
 
... can I post our convo on my blog?

Miss you, hope the family is well.

 

See, told you I asked permission.

pal:

Yes, it has helped my inflammation. Between watching mostly my gluten intake (i rarely eat breads etc) I haven't had an epsisode in a long, long while. In fact, I can say that I have a nasty cold right now and my legs haven't went numb - usually I'll go numb while I"m sick so something is going right. I know its partially conspiracy theory too - but I honestly believe wheat is a huge problem in this country. Another very fantastic read is Wheat Belly - give it a shot too - it talks about how wheat of the 1950's is not the wheat we eat today and has been genetically modified as well. So the wheat is affecting people differently.

[Hubs] didn't do it when me the first time- ther ewasn't really a meal plan but usually my day would go breakfast: eggs and avocado, lunch would be a salad with protein and homemade dressing and nuts. dinner would be steak, sweet potato, and a green veggie  - rinse and repeat  - it got a bit old - I know that this whole30 thing is HUGE in the crossfit world - so I'm not as hardcore as some people.

I do agree it's insane about prices - we do try to stick to organic milk - as for organic fruits and veggies - I try to buy only organic from the dirty dozen - organic bananas aren't necessary, but organic strawberries are better to buy.

Fun fact about organic milk - it stays fresh longer - i know its weird, but it does. Organic strawberries do too in the fridge. Also I feel you on the real maple syrup - ITS FREAKING INSANE how expensive some stuff is.

For a nice yummy breakfast I make this as a cereal replacement - http://paleomg.com/pumpkin-granola/ IT'S DELICIOUS.

I watched Fat Sick and Nearly Dead too - made me want to juice everything!!!

I honestly think staying away from processed foods in general is the best form - ive been looking at ingredients more and when I can't pronounce something its probably not a good idea.

I go to a yoga studio 4 times a week for an hour or hour and a half at a time. Keeps my anxiety at bay and you can post what you want. :)

Did you read that? Her diet is helping her control her Multiple Sclerosis, an autoimmune disease that affects the brain and spinal cord (central nervous system). WOW!

moi':

That's awesome! I'm so glad you aren't having episodes. That right there is amazing, and like you said, something is going right. 

Yea, I watched King Corn, read the Omnivore's Delima and just some other articles and so forth in my Agriculture and Rural Lands Law class- so have a little bit of an understanding of the modified wheat thing. I mean, all that stuff seems like a good idea at first- more food, less $, more people eat. But now we are realizing that this stuff is having unintended side effects. I have a friend who's involved in the agricultural world and she get's upset when people attack modern farming practices because it's necessary to feed everyone at the prices we're accustomed too. And she's partially right I think, we have to realize that we as consumers have somewhat chosen these practices, and most American's cannot afford to eat whole foods like we're suggesting. What really gets me up in arms is when food companies use science to trick and mislead consumers. So like, MSG making us fat, or using addictive isolates.  As an aside, did you know one of the reasons corn is used in everything is because we subsidize it so much that big farmers are pretty much forced into using/growing it. And one of the reasons we subsidize it is because we are using leftover fertilizer (nitrogen) from the second world war. That stuff is pretty interesting.

Yea; the organics lasting longer thing is wild! Why that is!? I feel like it sets off the cost a little bit- I never have to throw organic milk away before I get to use it. I didn't realize that organic fruits lasted longer. I guess that makes sense though- there's no poison on them. I wonder about rasberries... I never buy rasberries because they go bad so quickly, especially for the price. 

Pal:

That makes a ton of sense about the industry and feeding everyone.
Next summer maybe think about joining a CSA with [future hubs]- i'm sure your area has them.
I do mine all year round it just depends, but for example = for the summer - I pay a flat fee and go pick up fresh vegetables at a farm about 3 miles from my house. It's great - CSA - community shared agriculture. I get some delicious local foods and don't worry about pesticides etc b/c she's an organic farm. http://www.localharvest.org/

sorta detox

So if you read this blog, you likely know me in real life, and may have heard my relatively recent understanding about how all sin is a perversion of something that was originally good and how such perversions are intrinsically harmful to our health (whether it be physically, emotionally, or as a society), often in ways that we don't recognize. So when God instructs us not to do something, it usually is for our own benefit. For example, sex outside of marriage and masturbation is a perversion of the sexuality God gifts us and harms our current or future spouse, ourselves, and harms society as a whole, messing with an individual's or society's ability to commit and creates families that have the odds stacked against them.

I also think that the root of most of our food/weight issues follow this same framework. Gluttony is a perversion of enjoying the bounty God provides for us. And it makes us fat, sick, and sad. God gave us diligence to work for his Glory, or 'stick-with-it-ness' to overcome difficulties in life. The human body is perfectly made for labor, but when we move away from that we embrace sloth. Sloth is a perversion and it makes us fat, sick, unsuccessful, and sad. On this note, I have also been more aware of the theory that when we mess with the make up of our food, we are treading this line of perversion that may harm us in ways we don't know. 

When we shove all our beef into concentrated animal feeding operations ("CAFOs") the cows stand in their own excrement, therefore we have to prevent them from getting sick and passing that sickness onto other animals and to us by using preventative antibiotics. That paired with growth hormones or steroids makes for some pretty altered food. I'm not saying that doctoring sick animals is bad, and I'm not saying that you're going to Hell for eating McDonald's. However, what I am saying is that this dramatic alteration of our food may be harming us in ways we don't understand. We're building tolerances to antibiotics, we're finding more and more people with endocrinology problems (raises hand), and even fish in our water supply are showing the effects of our country's dependence on medicinal hormones. http://www.lifesitenews.com/news/what-the-pill-is-doing-to-our-water-supply/

So, I'm swearing off soda, foods that have been genetically modified, and foods that have been so broken down that they only have one nutrient (white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial sugar, bleached flour)for 10 days. I'm also skipping any artificial preservatives (sodium nitrate, that means no deli meats), picking organic fruits and veggies when able ($), and most importantly, avoiding any animal, or animal product, that has been raised with steroids, other hormones, or preventive antibiotics.

source: smitten kitchen

I'm only doing this for 10 days for a few reasons. #1. I'm expecting it will be expensive. #2 It's going to take a lot of meal planning, beyond what I usually do. #3 I'm addicted to carbs, breads, and cookies and to find/bake without processed flour and sugar is going to be very difficult for yours truly.  Fortunately though, I have two buddies willing to take the plunge with me to spur me on and to help absorb some of the duties of cooking and the cost of the groceries. I really shouldn't call it a detox because we're still going to eat a small amount of : complex carbs, sugar in the form of honey, meat, and dairy. Really, we're just trying to eat the way we should be already and searching for food in its original form without excessive poking and prodding from the food industry.

Here's an example of what a day will likely look like:

  Breakfast                                    Lunch                                        Dinner

Pumpkin spiced oatmeal

Greek chicken salad

Bulgur Salad with Chickpeas, Roasted Red Peppers and Spiced Cumin Dressing

See, no deprivation. But none of the foods are instant and they are in their original form.

If this is a success and isn't as difficult as we thought, I'm planning on doing a longer diet for lent.

I'll post my whole 10-day meal plan with some of the recipes here in a few days in case you want to do it with us. We start the 6th and go until the 16th.

I'll also post some of the names of documentaries that are great motivation for changing your diet. They are better at explaining how the body works with processed foods than I can explain. Sometimes they can get a little preachy and conspiracy laden, but they'll inspire you to forgo the 3pm diet coke and cheetos.......... Jesus help me; I love me some cheetos.

Getting over a Cold

Home Remedies:

Pap's Remedy: Shot or two of Burbon and then go to bed and stay hot.
To make Pap's remedy a little more palitable: Hot Toddy
although others say that alcohol supresses the immune system.
What I've been sucking down to get through work and Christmas carols: tea, tea, and tea

What Science Tells us to Eat:

Fish, chicken and turkey can help the organs that make your cold-destroying white blood cells. Just don't eat fried stuff, when you're sick you don't need to put your body through the extra riggors of digesting processed, fatty foods.

garlic eaters seem to fight off colds, possibly because of the compound allicin's ability to block infections, the New York Times reported.

What to Skip:

While OJ has some immunity boosting benefit, its a lot of sugar and not much substance. Going straight to an orange (or kale or a red pepper) would serve the cold bearer better. "However, before you run out for a week's worth of grapefruit, keep in mind that the jury is still out on vitamin C's real cold-busting benefit. A 2007 study that followed more than 11,000 people over several decades found that the average person isn't benefitted all that much by a daily dose of vitamin C." Sarah Kline at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sarah-klein/foods-for-cold_b_1885300.html#slide=1525245.

The jury is also out on whether to avoid dairy products when you have a cold.  Some say it increases mucus, while others say nay. Dairy products can be good sources of protein and vitamin D, which can both help fight infections, so pick your poison.