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.

Healthy Cookie: Walnut, Cherry, Chocolate Chip

I am making good on my promise to update you on the baking experiments. The following is a slightly less guilty baking project dotting my holiday season. I still intend on making puppy chow, peanut butter blossoms, and homemade marshmallows to gift, but these little crisp cookies have a little more substance than sugar and are quite tasty. I think they are the perfect mid-afternoon snack to satisfy your 3:30 sweet tooth. Yours may turn out fluffy like the image from self- but mine were somewhat thin and crisp on the edges, making them the perfect companion for a cup of tea. I've made them for my parents, my office mates, the future hubs, and my one confirmed blog reader. [shout out, Jeff!] I really liked the outcome, but you'll have to decide for yourself. Self estimates that each cookie is about 100 calories, contains 6 g fat (3 g saturated), 11 g carbs, 1 g fiber, and 1 g protein. My momma quipped, "you could really even skip the chocolate," but that's just asinine. Just kidding. That's actually a good idea if you aren't a chocolate craver. It would subtract about 28 calories from your one cookie.

Walnut, Cherry, Chocolate Chip Cookie

Source: Self. Makes 20 cookies

• 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 6 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup dried cherries

Heat oven to 375°. In a bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda and cinnamon. In another bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add egg and vanilla; beat until smooth. Blend flour mixture into butter mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, walnuts and cherries. Drop 20 dough balls (1 tbsp each) onto 2 ungreased cookie sheets, 2 inches apart. Bake until golden brown, 9 minutes.

sugar rut smoothie

Maybe what sparked my confession earlier this week was just the overall yeuch feeling I've been carrying around. I feel sugared-out, processed-food-out, and dare I say it, carbed-out. I just haven't been eating enough fresh food and my body has been actually craving fruits and veggies. weird.

So yesterday, I shunned the lone pop tart in my cupboard and took the extra time to actually make myself a breakfast. It was simple, fresh, and delicious. Orange Juice, a handful of frozen fruit (strawberries, mangos, pineapples), a handful of spinach (trust me, you don't even taste the spinach), a quick spin in my vitamix, a fun straw, and BOOM, healthy breakfast. My morning commute felt so much better. It perked me up, kept me full longer, and get this- I didn't crave sweets later in the day as per usual. I remember reading once upon a time that foregoing sugar in the morning helps with sugar cravings later in the day, but I don't remember the science behind it. I think it must be something beyond simple carbohydrate crashing... maybe it's psychological or maybe by starting healthy you are reminding yourself how good that feels and tastes.

What kind of things do you do to get out of a sugar rut? I'm considering cutting out artificial sugar because it tricks your mind into thinking you are getting sugar, but since your body doesn't- it actually makes you continue to crave real sugar. "The taste of sweet does cause the release of insulin, which lowers blood sugar , and if carbohydrates are not consumed,  it causes a drop in blood sugar which triggers hunger and cravings for sugar." full interview with internist and physician nutrition specialist, Dr. Melina Jampolis available at http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/04/27/are-sugar-substitutes-worse-than-the-real-thing/

... but more on that, and my comparison between sin and processed foods, another day.

Friends,

Confession: I have fallen off the wagon. It started with one little baking project with pumpkin and escalated until I was making cookies and icing with abandon. You see, I love to cook and especially to bake. Since the last post I've made beautiful, complicated french macaroons, fragrant pumpkin snicker doodles, fabulous beer mug shaped and decorated sugar cookies, and lots of other fun projects. I logged into my fitness pal ("mfp") for the first time in almost two months. My gym membership expired and I have failed to get closer to the 5k than the couch. The good news is that I haven't packed on much, if any weight since my last weigh in. However, I am definitely out of shape and my pants confirm that I'm a bit more pudgy.

However, last night I readjusted my goals on mfp to a modest half pound per week and have set my sights on some running pants for me and a doggie sweater for the pup. I'll allow it if I can simply meet my calorie goal for the week. I'm considering myself back on track even though I consumed a considerable amount of chocolate this afternoon and am planning on frozen yogurt with a gal pal tonight. Baby steps, right?

Anywhosal, I'm going to have to think up some light baking projects to quell my lust for my kitchenaid mixer, and what I find, I will share.

Until next time dearies,

C

source: http://www.aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2012/04/pot-holder.html

Roasted Tomato Basil Soup

As you might have noticed in a previous entry, I have this thing for buying resturant take-out containers. Probably because I have this thing for washing dishes, namely hate. So I happily clapped my hands when fedex sent me an email confirming delivery of these. Yes these dandies hold 2 cups of deliciousness that I can write on with a sharpie and throw in the freezer or take spill free to work! And it can withstand temperatures from 0 to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, so hopefully I won't have to worry about toxins and all that nasty jazz when I microwave these bad boys. They will also stand up to dishwasher and reuse for days I'm feeling more earth friendly. At least I'm switching to tote bags instead of plastic bags they give you in the grocery store to off set this a bit.

Anywhosal, I find that I eat so much better throughout the week when I can take a night and cook like crazy, throwing together tons of single serving meals, ready to go. Not to mention, when you're a single girl it's hard to cook for one! This way, I don't have to- I can make a big pot of this delicious tomato soup and -boom-sauce- no waste and a supply of soup in the freezer for another day.

I stole this one from Ina Garten and you can go straight to the site here. I've only made a few modifications to make the recipe smaller, come together with fewer manhours, and to make the end product smoother- a personal preference. If you have the time and a big enough pot, I would suggest using the original recipe. The smell of tomatoes roasting is surprizingly heavenly. You might notice from the picture that I threw in a pepper and some carrots too. Although, if you decide to do the pepper too, remember to cool and peel off the skin of the pepper before blending. I also just used mainly canned tomatos and roasted a few cherry tomatoes I needed to use up. The end product was delicious, so no harm, no foul.

Ingredients

• 1/2 tablespoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1chopped yellow onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 dash of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 28-ounce and 1 15-ounce canned (plum and different varieties) tomatoes, with their juice
• 2 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (if you've got em. If not, use 1/4 teaspoon dried. You can throw some oregeno in there too.)
• 1 10-ounce can of chicken stock (or if you want to be vegetarian friendly, substitute water or veggie broth)
• have some olive oil on hand.

Directions

In an 4-quart stockpot over medium heat, (I use my dutch oven) saute the onion and garlic with 1 tablespoons of olive oil, the butter, and red pepper flakes for 10 minutes, until the onions start to brown. Add the canned tomatoes, basil, thyme, and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 20 minutes. Once cooled a bit, put in your sturdy blender and blend to the consistency of your preference. I prefer to do it in two batches, leaving one batch more chunky.

I filled up 4 of these two cup containers with my recipe with a little left over for slurping. Only about 185 calories for a 1 and a half cup serving not to mention it was a super cheap recipe.

Black Bean Brownies

Not all brownies are created equal! I was sooooo angry this past weekend when I had tried my hand at making some healthy brownies as my quest to find healthy indulgences. Whilst these brownies may be more nutritious, with more protein and fiber, they actually have more calories (211!) than the sugary box mixes (about 110)!

Now then, below I've posted the same recipe from above, but with some healthy baking modifications. What's the damage? Only about 83 calories and still all the health benefits of that first brownie!

However, be forewarned! Not everyone likes the idea of a black bean brownie. My darling, sweet grandmother literally stuck out her chocolate covered tongue and yelped, "OHHH! Guuuuuuu- Yuck!!" when I revealed the secret ingredient. Hahaha! WORTH IT! Further, I would never compare these brownies to the delicious crack-cocaine brownies made by an old school-mate's wife. I wrote that woman a civil war-esque love letter professing my love for said brownie and the brownie was shortly thereafter named after me. But enough about once-a-year-crack-brownies. Let us give a fair shake to the humble, healthy indulgence, get-you-through-the-week-brownie.

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup cooked black beans
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce 
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup + 2 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/3 cup + 1 Tbs sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 9-inch square baking pan.

In a blender, puree the beans with the oil. Add the eggs, cocoa, sugar, and vanilla. Melt the chocolate chips and add to the blender. Blend on medium-high until smooth. In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to the blender and pulse until just incorporated. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake until the surface looks somewhat matte around the edges and still a bit shiny in the middle, about 17-20 minutes. Let cool 15 minutes before cutting and removing from the pan.