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July 28, 2008
House Salad
One of my aunts to my grandmother at her 92nd birthday party:
"I already know what you're going to eat. The house salad! That's all!"
"Just about," said my grandmother, who is a legendarily light eater.
Looks great, lives independently, still drives, and is pretty as a picture at 92.
I'm just saying.
Posted by april at 12:46 AM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 27, 2008
92nd Birthday Veggie Dip
My stepmother wanted to make appetizers that everyone could eat, so she asked me for a recipe for veggie dip. This one was a big hit with the crowd.
1 carton fat free sour cream
1 package frozen spinach, thawed and drained
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
Nonfat mozzarella (she couldn't find the nonfat call, so she used parmesean instead for the top, which was also good)
If you can find the nonfat mozzarella, blend two ounces of that with the rest of the ingredients in the food processor until smooth. Chill well. Just before serving, top with a layer of fat free mozza, and microwave for just long enough to slightly melt the cheese.
This dip was obviously inspired by TJI Friday's spinach artichoke dip, a dip that I've seen on the menu at so many chain restaurants that it must be a classic. The original, full fat version is loaded with calories, where this one is surprising low cal, and I think tastes just as good as the original.
Posted by april at 5:42 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 26, 2008
On the Road Again...
Hi all, I'm not dead, just travelling. MR and I have gone to NC for my grandmother's 92nd birthday party. More soon!
Posted by april at 9:29 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
July 16, 2008
Zucchini Envy
I walked into the office this morning to find that one of my co-workers who has a huge garden had given Danny California two huge, giagantic zucchinis. For us he has turnip greens, which are wonderful, but with as much as I've been stuffing squash, zucchini, eggplant and portabella mushrooms lately, I really wanted some giant zucchini.
"I've known you for ten years, Jerry, and you bring me no zucchini?"
"He was here first. First come, first serve."
No zucchini for me.
I know what you're thinking. But sometimes, a zucchini is just a zucchini. No matter how big.
Posted by april at 9:45 AM | Comments (7) | TrackBack
July 14, 2008
Vaguely Southwestern Black Bean Stuffed Portabello
This was a huge hit over the weekend. I had a bit of leftover black bean salad from a bbq at Edward's house, so I decided to make a bit of a black bean burger on a portabello cap out of it. Here's the basic recipe, feel free to modify.
Black bean salad (also great on its own):
2 cans black beans, drained
a few scallions, chopped
green pepper, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
cumin, paprkia, chili powder, garlic
fresh cilantro
fresh lime juice (juice of 1 whole lime)
To make the mushroom burger, remove stem from a portabello. Fill in the cap with the black bean salad, and top with fat free mozzarella and/or cheddar (I used both.) Microwave until the cheese melts, then top with some fresh avocado. You could even dot with a bit of Tabasco or other hot sauce. This makes a hearty, meaty vegetarian dish that packs a decent protein punch if you use a couple of ounces of fat free mozza as the cheese. You could also top with a dollop of fat free sour cream for a portabello surpreme flavor.
I've been using the microwave instead of the stove a lot lately because it's just too darned hot to slave over a hot stove! It's a fine way to lightly steam veggies. More stuff veggie recipes to come...
Posted by april at 1:48 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Rudd Sound Bites Weighs in On WALL-E
Which is my new favorite movie. A cross between R2D2 and ET. What's not to love?
Read here.
Posted by april at 5:53 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
July 12, 2008
Fact Is Still Fact, Even If You Don't Like It
Ah, the obesity is genetic argument.
Here is a re-post of MR's comments on the Rudd Center blog, explaining that while appetite may be genetic, obesity is not. He is replying to an article by a Rudd Center blogger named Chelsea, that you can read here.
Chelsea writes,
genetics and biology account for most individual differences in weight and that our increasingly 'obesogenic' environment is responsible for population increases in weight over time.
Let me see if this can be teased apart ...
Both of these statements are true, but they seem to be in opposition: if environmental influences are responsible for population increases, then genes "shouldn't" be a meaningful factor. The problem is that when most people hear that "genetics and biology account for most individual differences in weight," they imagine that it means that something in overweight peoples' genes makes them gain weight no matter how little they eat or how much they exercise, and this simply is false. There are no escape clauses on the laws of thermodynamics. Rather, the genes that influence individual body weight are genes governing precisely the predisposition to eat more Calories -- principally, how strong a reward the dopaminergic and other systems in the brain receive and reinforce in response to the taste or other effects of high-energy foods are, how strong the appetite is.
That is: yes, there are genes that predispose toward weight gain -- but the way that those genes create that predisposition is simply by encouraging people to eat more. Contrary to the impression that the irrational arm of the "fat acceptance" lobby would like propagate (I mean here the folks who pretend eg. that being overweight isn't bad for you, as opposed to those folks who simply want to end the ridiculing and discrimination against people on the basis of their weight), overweight people are heavier than slim folks not because they have a magical physiology that makes them gain weight on low-Calorie, healthy diets, but because they consume more Calories and/or exercise less. The role of genetics is to shape brain pathways that make it harder for some people, and easier for others, to maintain their Caloric intake within reasonable bounds, because of variations in the desire to eat, and to eat high-Calorie foods.
This is all covered well in a couple of free-access, full-text review articles from the scientific literature, to which I hope people will turn before arguing further, unless they are themselves credentialed physiologists with a specialty in weight regulation:
----------------
"most obesity in the modern world is a natural biological response to a changed environment and that innate body-weight regulatory mechanisms have been overwhelmed by energy-dense diets and sedentary lifestyles ... all of the monogenic defects leading to obesity so far discovered operate on neuroendocrine pathways involved in the regulation of energy intake rather than energy expenditure ... "
Prentice A.
Are defects in energy expenditure involved in the causation of obesity?
Obes Rev. 2007 Mar;8 Suppl 1:89-91.
PMID: 17316309 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-789X.2007.00325.x
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"The results of these studies show that obesity is not primarily due to energy saving mechanisms; it can be inferred from these data that the positive energy balance that leads to obesity is mainly due to an excessive energy intake."
Jequier E, Tappy L.
Regulation of body weight in humans.
Physiol Rev. 1999 Apr;79(2):451-80.
PMID: 10221987 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
http://physrev.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/79/2/451
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Posted by april at 12:32 PM | Comments (8) | TrackBack
July 6, 2008
Food Waste
I've discovered this blog that I really like called Wasted Food, by a fellow named Jonathan Bloom. He writes about all sorts of food waste, from personal to industrial. Tons of food waste in the restaurant industry, waste as kiwis don't fit size specifications and have to be thrown out due to stupid regulations, tales of dumpster diving West Philly-ites (awwww! like all my old friends!) serving rescued food at a community brunch... lots of tips on how not to waste food.
I haven't thought much about food waste lately because our CR practice makes it almost impossible for us to have leftovers. Since we know exactly how many calories we'll need for a meal and we weigh and measure so that we know exactly how many calories are on our plates, we clean our plates. MR even licks his plate and the dishes. We never have leftovers.
In addition, MR has taught me to use every piece of every piece of food we buy. He eats the asparagus bottoms that most throw out: I just cook them a minute longer. I cut up the hard stubby stems of cauliflower heads and cook them up in stir fries and stews. Even the bottoms of romaine lettuce make it into a stew. I used to kid him that he'd be the guy using buffalo testicles to make bike tires were he to learn how to hunt buffalo. He eats all citrus peels (which is why we only buy organic citrus -- the pesticides concentrate in the peel.) It's amazing how yummy finely diced lemon peel can be in a soup or stew, especially a curry or a southwestern-inspired dish. MR uses the very end of every condiment we buy, even if it means swishing vinegar around in the hot sauce bottle to get out the very last dreg. He can be kinda annoying on the subject, but I know he's doing the right thing. And Jonathan... we eat the whole brussels sprout too. Obviously you've just never had them done right. ;)
I used to be a bad food waster. I would let things go bad, throw out leftovers, and just forget about things I'd left in the fridge. My college roommate and I used to joke that "Dead Vegetables" would be the name of the rock band we would form, after the contents of our fridge.
Another way in which I used to waste food but don't anymore is that I used to eat too much. Rather than order just the entree I wanted, I'd order soup because everyone else at the table was having soup. I'd eat bread or nacho chips when they were free on the table, get all filled up before the meal even came, but eat the meal anyway. Most of the time these days, my friends and I just ask the server not to bring the bread. When we do feel like eating bread, we get it and eat it, but it's not an automatic thing anymore. I also take food home a lot, if I order more than I want to eat at that particular time. And I've just gotten to know how much food I want in the restaurants I usually go to. If I want a bite of something, just to try it, I quite routinely take a bite off my friends' plates... after asking, of course! That's better than ordering an entire dish I don't really want or need.
Maintaining the weight I used to carry around, pre-CR, was definitely a waste of food. I ate a whole lot more calories then, calories that were reducing my quality of life rather than improving it. Putting excess food into the body is just as much a waste as throwing it in the trash.
Posted by april at 8:07 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
July 4, 2008
Yeah, But She Had *Cancer*
I am waiting for it to happen. Every time we do any sort of media (which I haven't done in a little while) my blog and the popular press are filled with comments about how selfish we CR folks are. How very selfish -- you eat less than other people! That's really horrible. My God, if you were to eat more, you could bring about peace in the Middle East! But no, you selfish people starve yourselves.
Here's one of my favorites:
Curious asks:
So, what do you plan to do with this supposedly extended lifespan of yours, other than enjoy sexual pleasure? Are you working to make the world better, or is this an exercise in selfish self-control that only the wealthy (and those with time on their hands) can afford? What do you do in your daily life that will make this purported "extra time", if you actually achieve it, worth it? Why, when justifying this choice, do you and your compatriots talk about "having fun" instead of using the time to work at effecting positive changes in the world? Is a 125-year life of pleasure better than a 75-year life of duty and selflessness? Why are no CR people using their time to work in Third World countries, fighting against poverty and disease? I'm genuinely curious of your thoughts on this.
I wrote something back, something pretty good in fact, about being a union organizer and spending most of my days and nights fighting to help working people get some fairness and a decent standard of living.
I'm waiting for a new round of selfish accusations because I've started to talk about taking yoga classes, during this once every five years time when work is slow and I actually getting to take some of my accumulated 52 days of vacation time.
I am just waiting for the comments that go, "Gee, you selfish thin people, eating less than others and indulging in yoga, that pass time of the rich. You should do something good for the world!"
Excuse me? I've spent thirteen years sweating blood in the trenches where real change is made. I think I've earned an 8:30 am Vinyasa.
Lately I've been thinking that the entire argument that you have to be avidly engaged in doing something "good for the world" in order to justify taking care of yourself is just bullshit. The idea deserves some de-construction: why do we feel, collectively, as a society, that doing something good for your health or your spiritual life (which are obviously inextricably intertwined over the medium term, but others have covered that topic more than adequately) is selfish, perhaps even elitist, while engaging in a lifestyle that we all know leads to disease and early death is normal?
Does anybody remember that horrible commenter on Amy's blog who, when Amy reported that she did yoga from like 4:45 am to 5:30 am, commented that she should stop being so selfish and doing yoga when she could spend that time cuddling her two children? I can't find the link, and I don't want to glorify it anyhow, but it was just an awful attack on one of the most hard working, loving parents out there. To accuse someone of being selfish because she took 45 minutes (or maybe it was a half an hour) for her physical and mental health is just absurd. Are women supposed to be machines that care for others twenty-four hours a day with no need for rest or self-care? The answer is obviously yes, and most of us chicks have played into that mentality. I know I have. For years, I made it clear to all in my life that I exist for my work, and that I was willing to sacrifice nearly everything else (health, sanity, time off, relationships outside of work) to make sure that the workers win... and indulging in less than healthy ways of unwinding when the stress was too much. When MR came along, he provided an important counterweight (oh, the pain of that pun!), pushing me to take care of myself. But it wasn't until I started taking yoga that I really started to think, "Maybe I don't need to apologize for spending this hour working on *me*." Not just hanging out with friends at the bar (which is also restorative, in moderation) but taking time, early in the day, to actively improve not just my body but my spiritual life. Not just the often way too brief period of time I spend in meditation (if I don't I am really not a pleasant person) but a whole yoga class.
Then yoga happened. I'd resisted taking yoga all these years, though my mom and many fellow CR bloggers raved about it, because I just wasn't yet in a place where I wanted to deal with the facing yourself that you do when you twist yourself into these funny positions that if done right actually do resemble the animal they're named after (or when done my way, resemble a dying bug.)
The big surprise I had was that instead of having some sort of horrific Luke Skywalker in the dark swampy place in Empire where he kills Darth Vader and it's his own face in the dark mask (oh no! What if someone out there has never seen Star Wars? Did I just ruin it for you? I'd better put a warning at the top of this post!), I discovered that I'm not nearly as horrible as that constant negative self-talk soundtrack that I think all women are born with, or learn by the time we're five, told me I was. And I'd had a rough year.
Doing yoga hasn't just improved my relationship with myself. It's improved my relationships with the people close to me. I'm less quick to get angry and blow up. It's easier for me to see others' points of view. For the record, I'm still mad about everything I was mad about before. But I am becoming much better at controlling my reactions, at assuming that there's some reasonable explanation for others' behavior (other than, "He's a jerk!") and at simply waiting before reacting.
I expect I will be better at my work. Lately I've managed to avoid it entirely by taking some of my vacation time, but I feel confident that I'll be ready to jump back in as a calmer, happier, saner person. All of this is more valuable to me than the development of the "yoga butt." But I'm not complaining about the physical benefits either!
I recognize that I've only just begun, and that you experienced yoginis are out there thinking, "Awwww, aren't they cute when they're little???" It's probably a lot like how I feel when I meet a real CR practitioner in her first year. I remember all those feelings, all the excitement, how changing your life can be as exhilarating as falling in love, without all the excessive phone bills.
You senior yoginis have figured out a lot of things that puzzle me. You probably know what to do with your hair that both avoids having your balance thrown off by a ponytail when you're on the floor, but also avoids hair flying in your face in tabletop or a high plank. You've figured out why it is that only yoga teachers look good in yoga pants. I am excited by being at the start of a journey, and knowing that there really is no end to how far one can go. With CR, there comes a point where you've figured out how to do it, and it's just the discipline to keep doing it that's in question. With yoga, I get the sense that there's ever more to learn, as there is an ever-increasing level of discipline required to use what you've learned.
I am so lucky that I can afford a summer membership at my yoga studio, and that I have both paid vacation and some flexibility in my hours such that I can take classes. And that I don't have kids that I have to watch 24 hours a day. And that I can walk to my studio instead of paying high gas prices to drive there. And that I am healthy enough that the stuff is hard but not impossible. And that I am sufficiently comfortable in my body (thanks to CR and Pilates) that I don't feel horrified at the thought of putting on yoga pants (other than the horror at how the black ones are covered in white cat fur.)
Wow, I am so fortunate. How dare I exercise such privilege when there are single mothers out there who don't even have time to cook?
I mean, it's not like I had cancer or something. Nothing really bad happened to me.
Now our Yoga Chickie, she has what sounds like an idyllic life now: have you seen the pictures of where she practices? She's a stay at home mom of two sons who sound pretty good, she gave up her lawyer job in NYC and now lives by a duck pond. Somehow, the bills are being paid. She blogs about yoga, even has a column on the Huffington Post. I really like it.
When I first read that she is a breast cancer survivor (which I read on her website a few weeks ago, so it wasn't new information when I read the article linked above, From Cancer To Yoga: 10 Year Nap My ASS!.) And I'll admit that when I first found that out, I thought something along the lines of, "Well, she's entitled to have an intensive yoga practice because she had cancer."
People are always remarking on how a life-threatening illness can really re-order your priorities, making you focus on what is really important, and leave the rest aside. Lauren writes about this in her most recent article. Her inspiration in this case was the book, The Ten Year Nap, (and I'm quoting Lauren here, "a novel about a bunch of housewives who all had super-promising careers before they gave it up for the daydream of pushing around a baby carriage, lunching with toddlers and iced-coffee clatching with the other moms on the park-bench in the playground. Ten years later, they're 40. And they realize that maybe they could have, should have had it all. Hence, the 'Ten-Year Nap.'"
Lauren describes her journey from corporate lawyer to stay at home mom and yoga teacher. It's not a nap. It's a more meaningful, more mindful life. Go read her article, she describes it (obviously) better than I would.
Lauren went from law office to yoga mat when she had cancer. What's my excuse?
I have a better question. What was my excuse for *not* doing something to calm the mind and quiet or annihilate the inner demons and prevent me from freaking out on my partner or my best friend? I'm spending a lot of time now taking yoga and taking care of myself... and what damage did I do before? Not just to my health (thank heaven CR is protective against most bad things that get us, health-wise) but to my sanity, my relationships, and no doubt to my health as well.
No, I'm not quitting my job, or anything like it. My work is extremely satisfying, and I believe it leaves the world a better place. If anything, I'd like to see my yoga practice improve my work. We have some challenges coming up that would stress out even the most enlightened of yoginis. Well, maybe not *the* most... she'd totally rise above... but you get the idea.
But I'm committed to not letting my job kill me, or drive me crazy, or drive away the people who are important in my life (ironically enough, most of whom are involved in my work.) A few weeks ago, at the beginning of this slow/vacation time, MR commented that it really is the chronic stress that makes me so crazy and at times unhappy. (Nice call, genius boy!) The trick is to maintain the yoga awareness I have now (and to deepen it with more practice) when I'm in decidedly western conflict in the heat of the upcoming campaigns. And to silence the voices in my head (or on my cell phone) that say I should be working at every possible moment, when I know, I know, that I need to do yoga, or rest, or spend some time with MR or my cats or whomever. And not work myself to the point where all I can stand to do is drink wine and stare at the thing we call in our house "the internet machine."
What have I done to deserve this? What do I do that's so important that I've earned the right to take care of myself?
We shouldn't have to wait until we have a life-threatening illness to find some kind of balance in life. Whether that means raising children, keeping a home for your family, and practicing/teaching yoga or raising hell as an organizer while maintaining a CR practice, AND a yoga practice, we all deserve health, happiness, and peace. Yoga Chickie's life might not suit us all, (yikes! Where did these children come from? Help! There's a frog staring at me!) but her example of someone who has made active, mindful choices to live the life that is most meaningful to her is an example I'd like to follow.
You go, girl! That's no nap!
Besides, I do have a life-threatening illness. We all do. It's a degenerative disease. It's called aging, and while it may be "natural," it's no more benign than ebola. It's just slower, and socially acceptable (nothing ruins a good party faster than a case of ebola!) and something most people are resigned to.
The recent rash of revelations throughout the scientific community that we may be closer to reversing some elements of the aging process than we thought we were inspires me to do whatever I have to do to make sure I am young and healthy enough to make it. It's not as immediate as a cancer diagnosis, to be sure. But to me, it's a wake up call.
I am grateful to Lauren, Kai, Arturo, all my teachers, and all those who set an example with their practice and their presence. I am one of those people who learns very well by following someone else's example. No wonder I start meowing all the time after spending a few days at home with the cats.
To live more mindfully, more peacefully, in the here and now, and to use CR and every other means available to make it to a time when we actually can reverse the aging process, all while organizing workers and making innovative coleslaws: it's an ambitious goal, but it beats resignation to chronic stress and the eventually debilitating effects of aging.
It's also possible that eventually I will look good in yoga pants.
Posted by april at 12:30 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack
July 3, 2008
Another Random Troll
It never ceases to amaze me. There are quite a few people who feel moved to write nasty comments on my blog. This one just came in, on the old post "Is A Tomato A Fruit Or A Vegetable?"
Sad soul? Get a nice steak a couple of pints of 'real ale' and get a life.
This on a fairly innocuous entry describing a few days in which I had gone out to various lectures and parties with friends. Apparently that doesn't count as having a life. But a nice steak... that qualifies one for entry into the human race.
Why are people so f*&%ed up?
Posted by april at 12:28 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
More Coleslaw Mania!
Wow, am I into making low calorie coleslaws! With cabbage being so cheap and the variations on the theme being almost endless, coleslaws are becoming a staple of our summer table.
A few recent favorites:
Tarragon Lime Coleslaw:
red and green cabbage, shredded or finely chopped
lime juice
red wine vinegar
tarragon white wine vinegar
dried tarragon
garlic powder
Mix it all up, using more red wine vinegar than tarragon vinegar, and adding lime juice at the end. Stir well and allow to chill in the fridge as long as overnight if possible, stirring again before serving. Top with 1 teaspoon olive or flax oil per person.
Special Sauce Cheeslaw
This is the one where I take Walden Farms Thousand Island dressing, cabbage, a tablespoon cider vinegar, a tablespoon or more pickle relish, and an ounce or two of fat free shredded mozzarella, mix it up, and serve a weird coleslaw surprise.
Italian-esque Coleslaw
Cabbage
Red wine vinegar
Capers
Black olives, sliced
Fat free mozzarella (shredded -- we always use the shredded kind, it's all we can get)
Dried or fresh basil, fresh is best
Dash lemon juice
Dried oregano
Fresh parsley
MR has given up on the philosophical argument of "What is a coleslaw?" He just likes to eat them.
Posted by april at 5:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack