Playin’ The Edge

My detox is almost finished and I’ve only posted one recipe so far!  I’m posting this one for yoga-buddy Joanne whose getting her head around starting her detox - you’ll love these babies! 

I saw this recipe in a Nigel Slater cookbook a couple weeks ago while I was planning this detox and thought - by god this is almost detox-friendly!  If I’d been more organized I would have made them up and thrown them in the freezer pre-detox so I had more ready-made food.  I’ll do that next time.

Thai Meatballs

1 pound of ground pork

2 green onions chopped

a small bunch of cilantro chopped

1 or 2 small hot peppers seeded and chopped

2 cloves of garlic squished

1 slice of fresh ginger squished

1 or 2 stalks of lemongrass, peel off the tough outer leaves and dice up the inside bit (lemongrass is not exactly on the detox list but they must be a herb or veggie right?  If you’re hardcore skip it they’ll still be awesome)

It’s best to throw all this in a food processor so you can do less chopping, but mix it up with whatever tools you have on hand.  Dump some oil in a frying pan and while it’s heating make up balls, walnut-sized and then squish them a little so they have an easier time getting cooked through.  I kept the pan pretty high, toasted them good on each side and then turned the heat down to let them cook all the way through. 

2 Suggestions for Eating:

1. While they’re frying put a cup per serving of chicken stock in a pan and add veggies, the slowest cooking ones first.  Some suggestions - sliced carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, chopped spinach.  Add a fresh herb like mint, basil or cilantro for extra flavour.  Once the veggies are cooked enough, throw it all in a big bowl, toss a few meatballs on top and grab your chopsticks to chow down.

2. Throw some meatballs on top of cooked brown rice and veggies and sprinkle all with Braggs soy sauce.  That’s the unfermented stuff that’s ok to eat while detoxing.

Indian-Style Lentils

Heat a T of oil in a saucepan.  Add a chopped onion and cook until it begins to soften.  Sprinkle with 1 tsp of curry, cumin and coriander, a 1/2 tsp of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. Add a couple nickel-size slices of fresh ginger and squish in 2 cloves of garlic. Add 1 1/2 cups of lentils, 2 c of chicken stock and 2 c water. 

Bring to a boil while you scrub up a couple carrots (if organic, or peel if not organic).  Slice them in.  Let everything simmer with the lid off-center for 30-40 minutes until the lentils are soft.  Feel free to add any other veggies you like.  I added a handful of chopped up cilantro at the end.  Let it cool a bit and it’ll thicken.  Serve over brown rice.  Makes 4-6 servings. 

I’m not one of those folks who can eat the same thing for multiple meals, especially when I’m detoxing, it just depresses me.  So I enjoyed the lentils a couple of times and threw the rest in the freezer for later in the detox.  Another thing I want to try is to water the lentils down some, throw half in the blender and mix it back together for lentil soup. 

Ah it’s that time of year again, I’ve bought the kit and stocked the kitchen.  I’m also enjoying an artery-clogging meal of this amazing baked rigatoni dish I found in a Donna Hay cookbook. 

The pasta is gooed up with ricotta, parmesan, eggs, and sour cream and I added garlic and crisp bacon for good measure.  And I’m getting extra enjoyment cos I won’t be having any of *that* stuff for 12 days.  But it’ll feel good to mark the dismissal of winter food eating and remind myself what a green veg looks like. 

Here’s what I got in case it’s helpful to any other detoxers out there:

- the biggest bag of organic brown rice I could find - repeat it with me “brown rice is a detoxer’s friend”

- puffed rice cereal

- unsweetened plain soy milk (it doesn’t taste great but what else are you going to put on the cereal?)

- frozen veggies for when I get lazy

- frozen fruit for putting on cereal or whirring up a smoothie with soy milk

- eggs (I’m going to fry up some peppers and onions the night before, and then throw them in a container with a beaten egg and cilantro to nuke for breakfast)

- chick peas to make this recipe in the slow cooker

- almond butter to put on anything that doesn’t move for snacktime (or I’ll make oat cakes on the weekend)

- brown rice cakes - see “almond butter”

- pistachios - I noticed these babies hiding on the 20% list of page 13.  You can bet I’m going to be cracking a handful of those babies with a piece of fruit at snacktime

- the costco-size bag of almonds - repeat it with me now “almonds are a detoxer’s friend”

- a box of organic chicken stock (you have to check these carefully to make sure they’re not full of MSG and unprounceable ingredients)

- lentils to make an indian lentil rice thing, stay tuned for the recipe

- ground pork to make some kickin’ thai meatballs, stay tuned for the recipe

- a bag of sliced up cabbage for coleslaw, hopefully I’ll get to that recipe too

- some new vanilla roobois tea to trick myself into thinking I’m drinking red wine (I’ll be much too sober for it to work, but I can try)

I’m feeling virtuous already.

Can the urge for certain foods be in your genes? I asked myself this when I had an urge and went looking for cabbage recipes.  Not new age coleslaw recipes, but cooked cabbage.  The old school stuff. 

Where did this craving come from?  My mother *never* cooked cabbage and avoided lots of the unsexy veggies like turnip and rutabaga.  But see, if I look at my great grand parents, nearly half of them come from Germanic or Eastern European countries.  Those folks ate cabbage, baby.  But none of those folks are on my Mom’s side and since Mom was the primary cook in our family, none of those dishes really filtered down.  

But I think the urge has been boiling in my veins and it’s taken this long for it to come into my consciousness.  This is the food of my people.  It’s in my genes to cook up the ol’ cabbage when the temperature drops. 

The key is to make a carmelized version because anything is good with enough sugar and salt right?  And combined with good sausages or ham, you get a bevy of fabulous flavour.  The combination on a lousy winter day is great.  You’ll look at this and say, Wow it’s kinda high in fat isn’t it?  And I say, sure you won’t eat this in August - it’s sustaining winter food. 

Also, think of all the cabbage you’re eating, it has nearly zero calories and will save you from cancer, so get eating. I’ve borrowed heavily from this recipe, but halved it and tweaked it so it’s quicker to make on a weeknight. Here’s my version:

Carmelized Cabbage with Sausages

Melt 1 TB butter in a pan while you chop a medium onion.  Add the onion to the pan and sprinkle with 1 TB sugar and 1 tsp salt.  Add 2-4 sausages depending on how many people you’re feeding.  It’s best to slice them lengthwise facedown so they cook faster. Cook on low to medium heat for 15 minutes stirring the onions frequently. 

While it cooks, slice up half a head of cabbage into 1 or 1 1/2 inch chunks.  Cut up a couple potatoes into big chunks and throw them in the microwave for 2 or 3 minutes to get them started.

Once the onions are carmelized and the sausages are well under way, pour in 1/2 a bottle of beer, add the cabbage and potatoes.  Put a lid on the pan and cook at medium while you drink the rest of the beer and wait for the cabbage to get to the tenderness you like.  Stir the whole mess every once in a while to keep things cooking evenly.  It usually takes 15 or 20 minutes.

And then dig in to the food of the people.

I’m reading Alone in the Kitchen with an Eggplant, it’s about cooking and eating for one and it just reminds me of all the things I want to eat. I have scribbled notes on my bookmark in green gel pen.  Make Lyn’s Chicken Cacciatore.  Find a Trader Joe’s recipe for Butternut Squash Soup.  It’s the second time I’ve read how good that soup is, but alas no TJ’s in Halifax.  And find a mix for something I can’t read in my awful handwriting. 

 I also have the corners of pages folded over to bring me back to the recipe for Cathy’s Salsa. It’s made with canned tomatoes which sounds perfect for January when my last fresh tomatoes resembled red cardboard from Santa.  Also the recipe for Grill-Curried Shrimp Quesarito with Avacado Raita.  It looks easier to make than it sounds, which is what I’m all about. 

I’m liking the book becuase it’s voyeuristic and entertaining to read what people eat when they’re alone.  I can relate to Ann Patchett who said she sometimes goes from white cheese and salsa on saltines right through to a dessert of butter and jam on saltines even though I can’t remember when I’ve last had a saltine.  I used to love making PB & honey saltine sandwiches when I was a kid.  Crumbly and delicious.  I’ve added saltines to my grocery list to remind myself.

And then there are other writers who talk about eating asparagus every day for 3 months in the spring, anchovies *on* everything and eggplant *in* everything.  Those pages are not folded over.

One of the few meals I regularly eat by myself is my post-yoga class dinner at 8:30 pm.  My favourite is rice crackers with slices of cheese and garlicy dill pickles.  Often with a beer. 

The question I ask myself is - do food books written by foodies make me eat more or just eat better?

This first came up when I read French Woman Don’t Get Fat.  She’s all about the quality and not quantity and enjoy what you eat and then WALK AWAY.  And even though I didn’t get a thing from her recipes (Leek soup?  bluck) I buy the philosophy.  So much so that I finished the book, went to Pete’s Frootique and bought $50 worth of foodie foods.  I don’t remember what I bought besides some weird and expensive cheese. But did I find it all so satisfying that I ate less and ate more mindfully?  Or did I eat more because I had 50 bucks worth of tasty food in the house?   I remember it not being as good as I’d hoped.  But I probably just didn’t get the right things.  I’ll have to try that experiment again.

But “Alone” is really about self-care and fulfillment.  Do you just fill the hole in your belly by standing in the kitchen eating cold refried beans from a can, or do you fulfill yourself with a decent meal at a table?  Do you eat alone in a restaurant to be nurtured and entertained?  Or do you skulk in a corner inhaling your food and then slink out as quickly as you can?

My favourite restaurants for eating alone are sushi places.  I love to sit at the bar and watch the chefs make my dinner.  A table is fun too, heck I’d eat decent sushi sitting on a garbage can in an alley. I usually throw whole piece of sushi in my mouth at a time because who wants to denigrate a nice piece of tuna by gnawing through it only to have the rice block break in half and drop into your bowl splashing you with wasabi-speckled soy sauce?  So because of that, dinner conversation over sushi is a little hit and miss with me. 

I remember once being taken to a schmooze lunch by an ad exec and I got to pick the restaurant so I picked sushi of course.  She was cute and blond and picked away daintily at her beef terriaki.  She managed to always ask me a question just as I popped a big piece of delicious sushi in my mouth.  Then she’d pretend not to look at me with mild horror as I chewed happily away, cheeks bulging with fresh raw salmon while the question hung in the air like steam from my tea cup.

But back to self-care, I loved this bit from ”Alone” from Jamie Attenberg:

But there is nothing that fills me up like taking care of myself, taking care of my desires.  Often the fullness lasts only for a minute, and then like the pain that comes from a pinch of skin, it is gone.  But it’s better than not having eaten at all. 

So I wrote before about Bowen Therapy and my hip.  I’ve tried everything to deal with my Piriformis syndrome.  I’ve now finished 6 sessions of Bowen and in the last couple of weeks have been trying to tweak my hip.  I’ve done all the things I either avoided or was Very Careful About.  I’ve run hills.  And lots of ‘em.  I’ve amped up my speed and distance without the appropriate ramp up period.  I should be crippled - instead - nothin’.  Happy Hips.

I actually had the thought, I wonder if I should train for a Half Marathon this spring?  Now whether I do or not, I don’t care - but this is from me, who hobbled about painfully (and grumpily) when my hip acted up.

You just don’t know how happy I am about it.

And it’s had impact on my yoga too.  I’m more flexible.  I can do a full Lotus position now.  Not like “gee I should sit here for a half hour” but at least a few minutes where my foot is not completely dislodging my inner thigh.

And while I’m on that note - let me say something to yoga teachers who are naturally flexible.  Don’t be an jerk, k?  Flexiblility is mostly god-given.  Be careful about using your yoga classes as a ”see what I can do!” Stuart thing from Mad TV.  Most people do not have the kind of flexibility that made you think “wow I’m good at yoga, I should teach”.  Let’s face it, yoga won’t make them a bunch more flexible unless they’re able to do it 4 hours a day.  Don’t let your ego teach your yoga.  Show the advanced version of the pose and then do the modified version.  People will feel included, instead of, well, bad. 

Whew glad to get that out.

So the other thing Bowen has done for my yoga practice is really increased the prana or energy flow in my hips.  We all have those poses that make us go “AH” right?  You know the ones - you feel the rush of energy and it Just. Feels. So. Good.

So because I’m a hip person, those poses for me are Seated Twist, Pigeon, also Reclining Big Toe pose where you cross your leg over into a twist - AH.  Except since I’ve done Bowen those poses give me 10 times the rush.  Like a total Yogasm.  Like wipe the drool, Corilee, it’s not attractive.   Not every time, but enough that it’s defiinitely helped me get to the mat more often

So Sarah the cute little naturopath who did the treatments on me said that I might need to come back in three months for a tune-up or when I notice my flexibility decreases.  No problem, I’ll be there in a flash if I can keep my hip, and me, this happy.

I’ve noticed more being written about gratitude lately, and the health and happiness benefits of being grateful.  One recent article talked about how it’s not enough just to mindlessly list stuff you like - you need to feel the positive emotions or the emotional connection to the things you feel gratitude towards to really get a benefit.  Here’s a visualization:

Get into Savasana after your yoga practice and take a few deep Ujjayi breaths while you relax, letting your body sink deep into the mat.

1. Place - Think of a place you feel grateful for.  It could be a place you’ve visited,  a place you go to to relax, it could be your favourite place in your home.  Someplace that allows you to be who you really are. See yourself in that place and experience it with all our sense.  See your surroundings.  Take in the colors and the feeling of the place. Feel the texture of whatever you’re resting on.  Feel the quality and temperature of the air on your skin.  Notice if there’s a smell to your special place and take that in.  Notice any sounds.  Take a couple more breaths while you enjoy being in your place.

2. Thing - Think of something you own and enjoy, that you feel grateful for.  Try to think of something that you feel emotionally connected to.  See this object in your mind’s eye.  Imagine yourself holding it, or if it’s a large object, sitting or relaxing with it.  Notice it’s color.  Notice its texture and how it feels.  Notice if there’s a smell or a sound.  Come up with a word that describes the emotional connection you have to this object.  Take a couple more breaths while you enjoy it.

3. Person.  Now choose a person you feel grateful for.  It obviously can be your partner or a family member, but doesn’t have to be.  It could be the person who serves you coffee in the a.m., someone you feel a connection with.   See that person and hold them in your heart center, in the middle of your chest.  Try to feel the connection or the feelings that they bring up for you. 

Bring a feeling of warmth to your chest, making the feeling stronger and bathing them in your gratitude.  Then taking a few more breaths, breathe that feeling of warmth throughout the rest of your body:  fill your torso, let it flow down your legs to your toes, let it flow down your arms to your fingers, feel it flow up into your neck and fill your head.  Enjoy the feeling of warmth throughout your body and let it relax any last bits of stress or tension you might be holding onto.

Then take your next breath a little deeper.  Bring slight movement back to your fingers, and then to your toes.  Rock your head slightly on the back of your mat.  Roll over onto your right side for a moment with your eyes closed, keeping as much of that relaxed feeling as you can.  And then make your way up to sitting.

So more on Sarah, the cute little naturopath.  I went to her for food intolerance testing because I know I have issues but wanted something more concrete.  So this isn’t allergy, like grab-the-needle-I’m-going-into-anaphylactic-shock.  My understanding is that it’s foods that your body just doesn’t tolerate well.  You might see side affects, you might not (now), it’s just foods that are tougher for your body to assimilate.

So I thought for me it was wheat, especially bread.  I discovered that bread throws me for a loop.  I’m OK with Ezekial, but regular bread makes me feel like it’s naptime within a few minutes of eating it.  So I avoided wheat too, eating kamut pasta and the like.  I’m also not a big beer drinker for the same reason - naptime city and no fun at parties.

So when Sarah did the test she said that not many people come back with wheat intolerances.  I was like, yeah right, we’ll see.  So the test consisted of taking a couple drops of blood from my ear and sending it off for results.

The results?  My list of foods is potato and sugar.  Interestingly, of the group of people I know who have gone for food intolerance testing sugar shows up on *everyone’s* list.  But the potato part floored me. 

It turns out that potato is in everything - enriched flour used for bread and pasta?  The added niacin and riboflavi are derivatives of potato.  Yeast?  Contains an ingredient that comes from potato.  The anti-caking agent in salt?  From potato.  One of the ingredients of baking powder?  You got it, from potato. 

So I confirmed that bread does bug me just not for the reasons I thought. I bought some special yeast from Sarah, tracked down some non-enriched wheat flour and have been happily eating normal bread again (there is a god!). 

I’ve found that whole wheat products are not generally enriched.  When I’m craving white pasta I look for the real italian brands which often are not enriched.  Real sea salt just contains salt. 

Corona and Bud don’t have yeast in them.  Of course if I drink Bud someone will take away my Canadian citizenship , but I’ve discovered that Corona satiates my thirst just fine with no sleepies.

Breakfast cereals are tough because 90% of them are enriched, but often organic multi-grain cereals aren’t.  And the simple ones like puffed wheat or rice are also non-enriched.

So I’m not totally avoiding everything with potato but I’m on the right track.  Sarah suggests that as long as you’re aware of it and try to at least avoid your list 80% of the time you’re doing great.   I’m happy to have a solid medical reason to avoid potato chips and french fries.  Not that I ate them alot, but now I’m avoiding them like the plague.  And I know my body is happier for it.

I’m not rushing to any conclusions, but here’s the story.  I’ve mentioned my chronic hip issues before, it’s Piriformis Syndrome by the way.  I’ve had various treatments but have only managed to figure out how to avoid the flare-ups, never get rid of them entirely. 

So I went to Sarah the cute little Naturopath near work.  While we talked for an hour about my health history (yes an hour) the hip thing was mentioned.  I was actually there for food intolerance testing - which I should really blog about.  But when she heard about the hip thing she said, “I do Bowen therapy and I’ve had good results with musculoskeletal issues, why don’t you come in and try it.” 

At this point I’d be open to therapies involving bones and chicken blood if there’s a chance of it fixing my hip.  I had no idea what Bowen is (and still don’t really, something to do with the Automatic Nervous System) but I had money left on my medical for more naturopath visits so what the heck.

She thought I’d come for 1 or 2 sessions, but I came for 3.  It’s pretty gentle stuff, like to the point where I wondered if she was really doing something.  She did extra a week ago and the next day I felt like I’d been hit by a truck.  I wasn’t sore, just absolutely no energy, totally blah.  The next day fine. 

Last night I went to an Ashtanga class and as I tipped down into Triangle my fingertips banged into the floor.  Usually my fingers screech to a halt somewhere along my calf, thanks to my hips.  I had to check and make sure I was doing the pose right.  Yup I was, but my hips were looser.

Sarah banned me from running for a week, so this a.m., I was finally able to get outside.  My Hips. Felt. Amazing.  It was like someone had scooped sludge out them.  They felt clear and loose and free.  I was as nimble as a forest creature (there’s your Deadwood reference fellow watchers - what a great moment in Cable that was).

I know that some people have issues with “alternative” therapies.  When I told my chiroprator I was going for Bowen he had nothing but jokes.  He’s all like desperate to prove he’s really a doctor, but he does a good adjustment so I ignore him and keep going.  But all I will say to him is, I don’t need to understand it, all I know is that she has hugely improved my hips.  And you doctor, didn’t.  I can only trust my experience. 

I was reading Ayurveda for Women and thought the bit on addictions was interesting. 

We become addicted to foods we think we need but usually they are foods that support the way we are already are, which make us more that way, bringing us out of balance.

- So Vata people love sugar which temporarily provides instant stimulation and satisfaction making them even more hyper and scattered.

- Pitta people go for meat, alcohol, salty, sour and spicy foods which make them more intensely driven.

- And Kapha people go for heavy or fatty foods which reinforce their natural slowness and complacency.

I can really relate to this, I’m Vata Kapha.  So when I’m feeling hyper-Vata, I crave chocolate, baked goods and wine.  When I’m feeling my most Kapha in early spring, I’m like a bear coming out of hibernation with one eye half open.  All I want is heavy foods and more baked goods.

Svoboda says, we use food to affect our consciousness - the problem is our minds convince us we need the kind of food that reinforce who we are.  But since we’re already that way, it’s not really what our bodies need.  We have to try to go in the other direction to keep ourselves in balance. 

So I need heavier foods to ground me when I’m feeling Vata-crazed.  I need lighter foods like tasty bitter green things in early spring to help me feel less bear-like. Tough to do when you’re feeling out-of-wack.  How do you feel strong enough to make better food decisions so that you really *can* get stronger?  I don’t know the answer, I barely understand the question.

I also don’t know alot about Ayurveda, but when I learn something, it seems to be bang-on for me.  Hey, if you’re interested in recipes and info, check out this blog I recently found - Fran’s House of Ayurveda.