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January 27, 2010
Another Hazard of CR -- Stuffed Eggplant -- N&M Society Meeting
My right wrist is starting to hurt when I chop vegetables. Does anyone else have this problem? I chop so many veggies making food for MR and myself that I think I am getting a repetitive stress injury. I will ask Sage Jonathan, my yoga teacher, what to do about it, but other suggestions are welcome from excessive vegetable choppers.
Tonight's MR dinner: surprise! Another stuffed eggplant! Am I getting boring? He says he never tires of the old favorites, and I've rarely made the exact same dish twice, but will there come a point where he just doesn't want another stuffed eggplant? I doubt it. He's not a huge fan of variety. But still... I should learn some new tricks.
Here's a healthy way for us all to entertain our brains: I propose a stuffed eggplant recipe contest. You've seen the kinds of things I do with stuffed eggplant: mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, Walden Farms Marinara, nonfat ricotta, nonfat mozzarella, etc. Always topped with olive oil, after cooking. Send me new and creative stuffed eggplant recipes.
Obviously, MR is not yet convinced of the okayness of sat fat, so keep the eggplant recipes low carb and low sat fat, k? If he has some sort of revelation, you'll be the first to know.
Meanwhile, here is something I should have told you about long ago: the Feb 27 meeting of the Nutrition and Metabolism Society. As of yesterday there were only about 17 spots left, and I'm sure they're going fast, so especially if you're in the NYC area, you should think about going. The cost is outrageously low, which I think is wonderful since this sort of thing shouldn't be reserved for only people who have a lot of money. Here's the description:
Reminder:
Saturday, February 27th, 2010. Join Dr.'s RD Feinman, RK Bernstein, Eugene Fine and many other Society members at our 2010 NMS planning meeting.
We will hear from Dr.'s Bernstein and Feinman, review science in the news from 2009, discuss our plans to make headlines in 2010, Adele Hite will share plans to strengthen our global presence and we want to hear from you, our valued members!
The meeting will be in Manhattan from 10:00am to 3:30pm
Location: Partnership with Children
299 Broadway, Suite 1300
New York, NY 10007
There will be lunch, raffles and lots of great prizes for participants! There will be a $10 fee for Society members and $15 for non members to participate in the meeting.
Space is limited and there are just 18 seats left. You may reserve your seat today by clicking here and then clicking on the "JOIN" button. This will take you to paypal. Type the word 'meeting' in the blank box and enter the appropriate fee to reserve your seat today.
Please note: We prefer you use Paypal by clicking on the link above, however, if you do not have a paypal account you may use this link and enter the reservation fee under 'general donation'.
All reservations are non-refundable.
And, not to compare this to the opportunity to meet the rock stars listed above, but I'll be there too!
Posted by april at January 27, 2010 5:55 AM
Comments
Followed the link to the Nutrition and Metabolism Society but can't find the meeting or any way to register for it.
Posted by: Gary at January 27, 2010 8:23 AM
For chopping vegetables : see http://www.cnet.com/8301-13553_1-10413243-32.html
Illustrates and describes various sizes of food processor, with prices. Yes, it is possible to chop vegetables without making a puree, and if you have a lot of chopping to do the clean up is worth it (it's hard to have less clean up than washing a knife and chopping board).
Posted by: artifex at January 27, 2010 2:02 PM
I've sent you a stuffed eggplant recipe by e-mail. It sounds yummy (and this is coming from someone who isn't really crazy about eggplant). ;-)
Posted by: Judith at January 27, 2010 2:34 PM
April,
Please take minutes at that meeting. If lived less that 500 miles from NYC, I would be there. I was a patient of Dr. Bernstein once, and he is awesome. I still have the audio tapes he made for me. It is because of him that I can boast my continued good health.
Andrea Tiktin-Fanti
Posted by: Andrea at January 27, 2010 3:39 PM
Make a smoky guacamole stuffing:
tomatoes/chilies (even Rotel canned ones are great, or the fire-roasted organic ones)
avocado cubes
chipotle seasoning or smoked paprika - something smoky
protein of choice (I'd do cooked cubes of eggwhite, but your standard ricotta would work)
upon serving, drizzle with avocado oil! :-)
Posted by: Andrea at January 27, 2010 9:16 PM
Hi, April!
I have a question regarding megamuffins, I would comment there' but it's an old post, and I don't know if you would read the comment. I'm thinking about baking a vegan version, but have trouble finding some ingredients here (Croatia). I have found a mucolytic OTC drug containing N-acetylcysteine (200 mg in 5 grams of powder) but it also contains sucralose, saccharin and colourant E110. How much is a tablespoon, how many doses would I have to use? I guess it's about 15 grams, so that would be way too much sucralose. I don't have a measuring spoon, so I would have to weigh it.
Posted by: patientia at January 28, 2010 6:01 AM
Patientia, a tablespoon is very close to the size of spoon you would use to eat soup. Scoop up the stuff you're going to measure then scrape off the top so it's flat. That will be close.
Posted by: Judith at January 28, 2010 12:32 PM
Hey April,
Some thoughts about the chopping from a lefthanded chef ;) I know that often chopping in the cuisinart is a good deal for large batches, but (especially as we have no running water here) it's hard for me to motivate getting it out and having to clean it afterwards. I.e., generally I'm a fan of the good old knife and cutting board.
Tips that may seem obvious:
- Make sure your knife is always very sharp, touch it up if necessary.
- A heavier knife with a longer blade will probably be more efficient because it has more pressure and resistance powering the chop.
- How do you hold your knife? The way that I was shown is to hold the handle firmly, so that your hand is perpendicular to the blade. It can often be tempting instead to twist your hand toward the angle of the blade, have a finger aligned with the blade, etc.
- Height of your cutting board? Surfaces are often too high for me. If your hand+knife can be well above the board, it enables more effective downward motion and less sliding around.
That said, despite my penchant for simplicity and saving electricity, and resistance to having to wash appliances, I do sometimes yearn for a good mandolin slicer. And I often use the crappy grater that I do have for those kinds of things.
That little manual chopper with a springloaded knob and zig-zagged blade that rotates with each push downwards might speed some things up too.
Hope this is some kind of help!
I really enjoy your insomniac lucidities and especially sharing what has been helpful.
love
Ela
Posted by: Ela at January 28, 2010 6:17 PM
I've heard good things about the Vitamix from those that have one. It does look a lot more flexible than a regular blender (to my kitchen appliance novice eyes), and so will do things a regular blender simply can't. There are some short videos on that page which give a good overview. Being able to make hot soup in 5 minutes from putting in the whole raw veggies in the top of the blender caught my eye as one example.
One downside: it is pricy. You do get what you pay for however. I'm considering getting one myself.
And yes, it will very quickly chop veggies, if that's all you want it to do :)
Posted by: Gregg M. at January 28, 2010 6:44 PM
Holy cow what a timely post about your wrist- I am right handed BUT my left wrist is bugging me like crazy this week out of the blue -- and I do tons of yoga like you- it may be a combo of all the use - typing - and yoga --
I heard of some oil (ok you'll kill me but I don't have the info with me) that helps for strains - e-mail me if you want it I"ll share it - but also trying to rest it up (ie, I can't do hand stands in yoga now - and it's killing me but best until this gets better) and less typing - so I'll end this now ;-)
Posted by: Irit at January 29, 2010 3:11 PM
Irit,
Google for bikram half-locust for a wrist-mending yoga posture.
And fish oil is good for inflamation in general. :-)
Posted by: andrea at January 31, 2010 3:18 PM
Irit,
Google for bikram half-locust for a wrist-mending yoga posture.
And fish oil is good for inflamation in general. :-)
Posted by: andrea at January 31, 2010 3:19 PM