Monthly Archives: December 2008

Auld Lang Syne

by Miragratitude, holidays, seasons, stressnew year, resolution

Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne? - Robert Burns

Auld lang syne, times gone by. As the New Year fast approaches many of us think back on the year that has been and, of course, eagerly await the year to be.

For some reason, the celebration of New Year's is tied to an expectation of promises for the year ahead. I will....lose weight, start to exercise, get more organized, anything that we think needs to be fixed.

The problem, as I see it, is that many people try to do this in an absolute fashion. It's all or nothing for the diet, the gym, the insert-your-choice-here. My trainer at the gym laughingly tells me that although the gym is starting to get very crowded these days I should be patient because in another 30 days it will empty out again.

People will start the New Year with good intentions and lots of motivation. But it is hard work and, if they've done no mental preparation other than making a vague promise to themselves, overwhelming. It doesn't last long.

When I work with clients I encourage them to not work in absolutes. If you slowly and mindfully make changes, just one or two at a time, they are more likely to stick.

As an example, I have one client who is trying to break a fast food habit. Instead of never ever ever going to a fast-food restaurant again, we started by having her give up the soda (that was her choice). Then we began to cut down on the number of times she went out for fast food. Next, it was to downsize the meal (get a Jr. burger and a small fries). Eventually, it will not even be a temptation.

In the past, because she would say, "that's it, I'm never eating fast food again" she would not have much success and usually within 30 days found herself standing in line to order and feeling really bad about it. Feeling bad about it may be modestly motivating in the short term, but I believe it just helps build up that "I don't care" callus and gets in the way of making positive changes.

I don't make grand sweeping resolutions anymore. I personally see no need to tie all my motivations and changes to one day. Instead, I try to live mindfully; to make thoughtful, achievable choices. Don't make a huge, possibly overwhelming, promise to yourself later tonight. Consider a modest goal that, when you reach it, will make you feel good about yourself and encourage you to keep going.

Some suggestions might be:

Adding a gratitude practice to your day - writing down five things a day that you are grateful for
Choosing to leave five minutes early for appointments to reduce stress
Planning to turn off or not answer the phone the first 15 minutes after you arrive home from work to give yourself some decompression time
Deciding that at least one day a week you will set a beautiful table for yourself and your family to eat dinner at
Choosing to eat one more piece of fruit or vegetable a day than you normally do
Drinking one (or one more) glass of water every day if you, like most people, don't drink enough

Think about what you want to achieve, why you want to accomplish that goal, and a small step as part of the process to get you there. With this kind of mental preparation and reasonable expectations, you will achieve your goals.

Have a happy, healthy New Year, and be well.

Maple Syrup: How Is It Made, Grades, & Oat Pie Recipe

by Mirabaking, oats, recipes, sweeteners

Recently at the grocery store, I overheard a conversation. The couple standing in the middle of the aisle were looking for Grade B maple syrup and couldn't find it. They also were wondering what the heck the difference was between Grade A and Grade B.

Having lived in Vermont before and having spent some time in a sugar shack (just tasting mind you, not cooking) I thought I would share a little information about maple syrup.

About Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is made from the sap of the sugar maple tree. In the spring when the weather warms up the sap starts "running". At this point, the trees are tapped and the sugar shacks start boiling to create the syrup. We don't often think about it when buying those small containers of maple syrup at the grocery store, but it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup. And the average maple tree produces approximately 10 gallons of sap. Once they start boiling in the sugar shack they don't stop until the sap stops. That includes shifts to cover 24 hours a day until there's no more to boil. As you can imagine, this can make for some very long days.

Grades of Maple Syrup

There are five grades of maple syrup, Grade A Light Amber is the fancy grade and the one most people use. Grade A Medium Amber and Grade A Dark Amber are darker, obviously and they have a slightly different taste. Grade B is even darker and thicker than Grade A Dark Amber and has a more pronounced flavor. It is more often used for cooking because of the more intense flavor. The last grade is Grade C, or commercial, which is for flavorings and other commercial uses.

When we lived in Vermont and my kids were little they used to love seeing the smoke curling out of the sugar shack down the road. That meant that there was an opportunity to stop by for a sip. And if they had the time we could also sometimes make sugar on snow, taking just a little of the fresh syrup and pouring it over a pan of snow to make a maple candy.

If there was some already bottled we would buy a gallon and bring it home. Until I left Vermont I didn't really appreciate how lovely it was to buy syrup directly from the source and use it for baking and other recipes. The premium that you pay for bottle syrup is so high we are now back to purchasing small bottles and doling it out.

According to Ed, the guy who owned the sugar shack down the way, Vermont maple syrup is better than any other because they use more gallons of sap per gallon of finished product, boiling it thicker and making it more flavorful.

Sweetening with Syrup

I never learned to drink coffee with maple syrup (which a number of people in Vermont do). I did, however, get a recipe from my friend Carol for a Maple Oat Pie which is a Vermont specialty. I've modified the recipe slightly over the years but still call it Carol's Maple Oat Pie and think of her every time I make it (warning, this is not a low-calorie food but it sure is good).

Maple Oat Pie

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup organic cane juice crystals
1 cup organic butter
3 eggs
1 cup grade A maple syrup
1 cup gluten free old fashioned oats
2 teaspoons vanilla
pinch of sea salt
1 cup crushed walnuts

Instructions

Preheat over to 325°F
Cream together sugar and butter
Add eggs one at a time
Add remaining ingredients
Pour mixture into unbaked 9" gluten free pie crust
Bake for 10 minutes
Reduce heat to 300°F and bake another 45 minutes or until set

Outside Your Food Zone

by Mirarecipes

When I was studying to become a Nutrition Educator one of the important lessons we were taught was to be sensitive to the food culture that other people came from. If you are trying to help them learn to make positive changes you need to do it within the context of the food they are familiar and comfortable with. I think this is very important as it gives people more of a chance to make successful changes.

Having said that I also believe that it is fun to step outside our “normal” food patterns and look at what is available in other cultures. We are very fortunate, where we live, to have large numbers of people from other cultures in our community. This means that there are abundant shopping opportunities for the adventurous eater.

Today I took my oldest daughter on an expedition to an Asian market. We were in search of a few things that we were familiar and comfortable with but also willing to try other foods. A casual comment about miso in one of the isles turned into a serendipitous encounter with a very friendly person who introduced us to a new kind of green, a new kind of chive, a different kind of miso and an explanation of the best way to cook the type of seaweed we had chosen. His accent was not difficult to understand and his enthusiasm for sharing his native cuisine was wonderful; we left the store excited to try the new foods that we had purchased.

After we got home we made a most delicious and satisfying miso soup for dinner. This recipe is not an exact science, but it worked really well.

Miso Soup

bring a large pot of water to a boil

add some wakame seaweed

turn off heat, cover and let sit 30 minutes

pour a little boiling water over dried shitake mushroom

let sit to rehydrate

prepare a pot of vegetarian soup base

add a generous spoonful of miso paste

cook on medium until hot and starting to thicken

drain and pat dry wakame

snip into small pieces

cut medium firm tofu into blocks

shred one carrot

dice scallions or chives

slice mushrooms

wash and shred greens (we chose watercress)

place “fixings” in your bowl

ladle soup liquid over it

enjoy!

I encourage you to think outside your comfort zone when it comes to food. Look, listen, learn; who knows what delicious dishes await you.

Fifteen Minutes

by Mirameditation, stress

As a Nutrition Educator with a holistic focus to my practice I believe it is important to do more than just pay attention to the food we eat. We need to nourish our whole being; that includes our brains, our emotions, and our spirits.

I recently learned about Spring Forest Qigong's gift to all of us. In the hurry and flurry of post-holiday time, as we settle back into our normal routines and recover from any holiday-induced stress, we need to remember to take some time for ourselves.

Master Chunyi Lin has created a free fifteen minute guided meditation that is wonderful. You deserve to take fifteen quiet minutes for yourself to listen to this amazing gift.

Kitchen Questions

by Miraproduce, questions, seasons

My friend Helene had a couple of questions for me:

1. “My cookies require fresh ginger….the last root I bought turned out to be very fibrous…..little strings and after the cookies were made they look like they are full of cat hair. taste delicious…look unappealing….on the Food Channel I noticed them mincing ginger and there were no hairs at all…how can I tell if the ginger I am about to buy will be smooth?“

I too have frequently had a problem with fibrous shredded ginger. But since all ginger is fibrous the answer lies not in finding one that has no fiber but in finding the right tool to shred your ginger. I used to use a box grater but it wasn't great. The best is a rasp-type file. The story is that a woman who was frustrated by her inefficient lemon zester one day grabbed her husbands' microplane rasp and found that it did an excellent job.

My local Sur la Table has one very reasonably priced at $10 but I'm sure you can find them at any upscale cookware store.

2. “Potatoes and squash are on sale this week…I have 3 bags of potatoes, a cold basement, lots of boxes and newspaper….could you discuss cold storage for produce for those of us in NE climate?“

It's much easier to store foods for long harvest in colder climates. The process is known as cold storage, or root cellaring. According to my favorite source book Root Cellaring: Natural Cold Storage of Fruits & Vegetables, “Second-crop potatoes are best for storing…they should be cured before storing to give them a chance to heal surface nicks and toughen their skins. Spread them out in a protected place where the temperature is 60-75 degrees F. They should not be exposed to rain, sun or wind during curing. After a one-week to two-week curing period, potatoes are ready for storage…for winter keeping, put your potatoes ina cold damp spot…[they] keep best at 36-40 degrees F with high humidity, around 90 percent.”

Squash also need to be cured (except for acorn squashes) and recommended storage is warmer and drier than for potatoes, an unheated side room or attic can be ideal.

I highly recommend the Root Cellaring book as well as Four-Season Harvest: Organic Vegetables from Your Home Garden All Year Long. Both of these books have a lot of excellent information, presented in an easy-to-read-and-understand format. I believe that they are very good resource books for anyone interested in food storage.

If you have any questions about food, nutrition or holistic health just let me know…the answers may appear here on the blog.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Nino_Barbieri

Pie

by Mirabaking, family, holidays, recipes

Christmas is, as most of us over four feet high know, not just about the presents. It's about a lot of different things; for many of us that includes family. And food. Lots of food. And where there's food there is dessert.

We were fortunate to have a large family gathering. My brother and his wife came to Texas where her father lives. We drove out for the day, spending it with them plus an assortment of her family, cousins, kids and all; it was wonderful.

I didn't want to go empty handed and decided to make a pie. Looking around my kitchen I decided that banana coconut custard pie was the order of the day. Since I made this pie at 10:00 pm the night before I confess that I did use a pre-made pie crust. Well, that and the fact that I am not very good at making pie crusts…I need to work on that.

The pie was delicious and so easy to make. It turns out that Poppy's (my sister-in-law's father) favorite pie is anything-to-do-with-coconut. He tried to hide the pie in the refrigerator to keep for later. I guess I'll be making this again for the next time I see him.

Banana Coconut Custard Pie

8″ pie crust, baked

3/4 C. evaporated cane juice crystals

1/3 C. oat flour

1/4 t. salt

2 ripe bananas

1 can coconut milk (I prefer Thai Kitchen brand as they have no preservatives, bleaching or added sugars)

3 egg yolks, beaten

2 T. butter

1 1/2 t. vanilla

1 C. shredded coconut

To make the custard:

mix together sugar, flour and salt in a pan

turn burner to medium heat

shake coconut milk to mix and slowly pour in to dry ingredients

mix well to avoid lumps

stir continuously until mixture start to bubble

remove from burner

slowly add 2-3 T. of hot mixture into egg yolks to combine

(this prevents curdling)

add egg yolks to milk mixture stirring well

put back on heat, bring back to a bubble

remove from heat

add butter and vanilla

put back on heat and cook 2 more minutes

remove from heat and let cool

Once the custard has cooled assemble the pie

slice bananas thinly and arrange on bottom of pie crust

sprinkle with 1/2 C. shredded coconut

pour custard over the top of the bananas and coconut

sprinkle remaining 12/ C. shredded coconut on top of pie

Bake 350 degrees F for 15 minutes

chill for one hour before serving

I hope that your holiday celebration was everything that you wanted it to be and that you too were surrounded by family, friends and good food.

Be well.

Hanukkah

by Miraholidays, recipes

Hanukkah is a wonderful holiday in our family. We love the traditions associated with it, the story, the songs, lighting the menorah, and, of course, all the latkes you can eat. The tradition is that you eat fried foods with jelly doughnuts (sufghaniot) and potato pancakes (latkes) being the top choices.

I only make latkes once a year, at Hanukkah. Each year my husband says, “Oh don't make latkes, they are fried and so fattening, we really shouldn't eat them.” And as we are sitting at the table enjoying them he says, “Oh, I'm so glad you made these, I love them!” I used to only make regular potato latkes but now I also make sweet potato latkes. It's hard to decide whether we like the plain or sweet potato ones better.

The recipe is as simple as can be; however it is very important that the latkes be served with applesauce and sour cream. To serve them without these side condiments would be a shame.

Latkes (this recipe serves 6)

3 pounds of potatoes, scrubbed, peeled and shredded

1 large onion peeled and shredded

1 large egg

1/4 C. flour

salt and pepper to taste

mix ingredients together

heat oil in a pan

drop mixture by very large tablespoons into pan

after 2-3 minutes flip to other side and cook another 2 minutes

remove from pan and drain on paper towels

enjoy!

Not So Sweet News

by MiraUncategorized

Oh boy, here we go. The FDA has just made what is called a “midnight approval” (meaning a last minute decision before the new administration steps in) certifying Truvia. What is Truvia? It is the chemical analog of Stevia, an herb, Stevia Rebaudiana, which grows primarily in South America, is related to the Chrysanthemum and is approximately 300 times sweeter than sugar.

The FDA has refused to certify Stevia as safe for use in food even though it has been used for centuries by native populations and has no known side effects. It is really only available in healthfood stores as a dietary supplement.

Enter Cargill and Coca-cola. They collaborate together, create something called rebaudioside A and go begging to the FDA for approval – AND GET IT!

I'm very upset about this. The Center for Science In the Public Interest (CSPI) reveals that studies done at UCLA show a concern among scientists that this creation has not been adequately tested. Unfortunately with this approval big business will now try to market all sorts of soda, ice creams, candies, etc touting their new “natural” sweetener. I wrote about this in a paper over a year ago and am saddened to see my suspicions coming to light.

Just as corporations try to promote Splenda as being “just like sugar” they will now promote Truvia as a natural substance. It's not. Stevia is just like stevia. Truvia is a created version that is similar but is not the same. Don't be fooled and please don't eat it.

As an aside, if you didn't already know, Splenda is indeed made from sugar but the resulting powder has replaced three hydrogen-oxygen groups on the sugar molecule with chlorine. This makes it a chlorocarbon. And what do chlorocarbons do? It is a well-known fact that they cause various types of body damage including organ, genetic and reproductive. Approval was given based on the fact that the manufacturer claims the chlorines are so tightly bound in the structure that there is no health risk. They are now doing some long term studies with rats but, again, I don't think it's real food and I don't think you should eat it.

Low processed sugars like sucanat or evaporated cane juice crystals, honey, molasses, maple syrup, are the sweeteners that are best (in moderation).

Be well.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Siebrand

Sugar Notes

by Mirarecipes, substitutions, sweeteners

Following up on yesterday's post, I received a number of questions about different types of sugar. Rather than getting into a discussion of all the different types of sugar out there I recommend that you check this google link for the particular sugar that you are interested in.

I did, however, want to mention a couple of ideas about substitutions that may be helpful.

Sugar

For most baking I substitute sucanat (SUgar CAne NATural - the lowest process sugar you can get) unless I am making something more delicate like scones or lemon cookies, etc. The substitution is one for one, ie, if the recipe calls for 1 C. sugar use 1 C. sucanat.

If I cannot use sucanat because the flavor will overwhelm what I am making, I use evaporated cane juice crystals or demerara depending on what I have on hand. Both are more processed than sucanat but far less processed than white sugar. They are sometimes also found as raw sugar. Again the ratio is one for one.

Brown Sugar

I am going to try using turbinado sugar. I've been using sucanat with a spoonful of molasses mixed in but have recently learned that turbinado is moister and has less calories.

Cinnamon Sugar

I use a 7-1 ratio, 7 T. sucanat to 1 T. cinnamon.

Confectioner's Sugar

I use sucanat or evaporated cane juice crystals whirred in my cuisinart to make it very powdery. For each C. of powdered sucanat I add 1 T. cornstarch.

Other substitutions that may prove helpful are:

Honey

If you want to use honey instead of sugar in a recipe, use 3/4 C. honey for each C. of sugar called for. Then reduce the remaining liquid by 1/4 C, add 1/4 t. baking soda (to help neutralize the honey) and reduce the heat by 25 degrees F (honey tends to make things darker when baked, reducing the temperature will help keep it from over-browning).

Maple Syrup

If you want to use maple syrup instead of sugar in a recipe, use 3/4 C. maple syrup for each C. of sugar. Reduce the remaining liquid by 3 T. and add 1/4 t. baking soda to help neutralize the maple syrup).

Finally the non-caloric sweeteners:

I do not use and do not recommend any of the artificial sweeteners. These include Nutrasweet, Splenda, Equal and Sweet-n-Low.

While I like Stevia as a sugar alternative I have not worked much at substituting it in family favorite recipes. The general theory is that 1 C. of sugar can be replaced with 1 t. stevia liquid/1/2 t. stevia concentrate/18 stevia packets. In baking, for every 1 C. of sugar that is replaced with stevia you need to add 1/3 C. "liquid" to replace the missing bulk. Acceptable substitutes would be yogurt, unsweetened applesauce, egg whites (no yolk because that will change the structure of the baked good), fruit puree, unsweetened fruit juice or water.

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How Sweet Is It?

by Mirasweeteners

I just received an email from my friend Helene:

“I recently read that ‘Rapadura is just Succanat made by another company. Then there is, Florida Crystals. All three the same thing, they are all processed sugars. The difference between them and regular super-market sugar is that they have not been bleached. All four are identical nutritionally.‘ what are your thoughts?”

So here goes:

My research shows that sucanat is far less processed than regular white sugar. White sugar goes through so many filterings and then a bleaching that it has no mineral content left, it is pure disaccharide (a form of sucrose made up of fructose and glucose). Sucanat has the following:

Nutritional Analysis of Sucanat:

approximately one cup

* water………………………………..2.7g
* calories…………………………….570g
* carbohydrate………………………135.g
* fat……………………………………0g
* sodium……………………………..0.5mg
* potassium…………………………1,125mg
* vitamin A………………………….1600IU
* thiamin (B1)………………………0.21mg
* riboflavin (B2)…………………….0.21mg
* niacin……………………………….0.20mg
* calcium……………………………..165mg
* iron…………………………………..6.5mg
* vitamin B6………………………….0.60mg
* magnesium………………………..127mg
* zinc………………………………….2.3mg
* copper……………………………….0.3mg
* pantothenic acid………………….1.8mg
* chromium…………………………..40mcg
* phosphorus………………………..48mg

Source: USDA Handbook of Nutrient Content of Foods

Any form of sugar provides calories that are easily absorbed by the body. Lots of people are looking for the “perfect” sweetener that is sweet but has no impact on the body — not possible. White sugar is most easily absorbed by the body and spikes insulin because it is broken down into it's lowest form. But there are forms that are better than others, because they are less processed and retain some of the mineral content which slows down the body's response.

I personally use sucanat and find it to be a good sweetener. I do not, and have not for years, used white sugar or brown sugar (which is just white sugar with a little molasses thrown in). I also use evaporated cane juice crystals, also known as raw sugar, as an option when the rich flavor of sucanat would be too overwhelming for what I am making. I have heard that turbinado sugar is a good substitute for brown sugar because it does hold in some of the moisture unlike demerara or sucanat. Turbinado is also lower in calories with 11 calories per per teaspoon versus 16 calories for white sugar. As far as other sweeteners go I also use honey, maple syrup, molasses and stevia.

So by way of conclusion, I have heard that rapadura and sucanat are the same thing but even if they are they are not the same as white table sugar. Because they are less processed I do believe that they are a better choice.

Update: Helene says she's happy to hear this. She uses sucanat and honey plus occasionally a splash of stevia in her coffee.

photo courtesy of freephotobank.org