Wartime Farm

I'm not exactly sure how I found it, but I love love love love love this show.

From Amazon:

What if the most demanding battle of World War II wasn't on the front line but back home in Britain's countryside?  

When war broke out in 1939, 70% of Britain's food was imported. A German blockade would have meant disaster and Great Britain would have been starved into submission. Huge and rapid changes were required to reshape Britain's food production and this had enormous impact on both the agricultural and the domestic scenes.  

Wartime Farm sets these changes within a historical context and looks at the day-to-day life of that time. Following the footsteps of their World War II predecessors Peter, Ruth and Alex must move more land than ever under cultivation, switch from livestock to arable farming, get to grips with new-fangled machinery and look to Land Girls and other unfamiliar forms of labour to help them grow that crucial food.
Wartime Farm offers compelling insight into:

1. How agriculture was changed dramatically in order to produce more food

1. How people were mobilised, from Land Girls to POWs

1. Life in the wartime kitchen and garden, from digging for victory to making the most of rations

This fascinating chapter in Britain's recent history shows how our predecessors lived and thrived in difficult conditions with extreme frugality and ingenuity. From growing your own vegetables and keeping chickens in the back yard, to having to 'make do and mend', many of the challenges faced by wartime Britons have resonance today. Fascinating historical detail and atmospheric story-telling make this a truly compelling read.

So I guess it's easy to guess why I'd be into this show.  It is basically a reality-type show that is also a history lesson in day-to-day life for country people in England during WWII.  They had to be creative and industrious.  They had to double their crop production or England might have be starved out and the outcome of WWII may have played out differently.

I love learning about how they cooked and used everything - and nothing went to waste.  When you cooked up your chicken that you just plucked, you could also use the feathers to make "in a pinch" douvey-type bedding for evacuees that were (with only a day's notice) moved into your barns.  To not use as little cooking fuel as possible, they would use hayboxes.  Hayboxes are sort of like the old school version of a slow cooker.

I made my own version of a haybox today.  I was making some stew, brought the whole thing up to a boil, then placed it in a box (with the pot lid on) with woven placemats in many layers around the sides. Then I put additional towels around it around it, another placemat on top, then a pair of clean, folded up sweat pants on top of that, and a pan to weight it all down.

Later today, we'll pull the pot out of the box and bring it back to up to a boil (to avoid the risk of unwanted bacteria) and then tuck into din-din!

On the Mend

Monday night last week, I was lying in bed reading, on the edge of dozing off to sleep.  The phone rang, as it seems to do when I am on the edge of sleep.  I was sure it was my husband.  He had gone out to an open mic to do a bit of stand-up, and he usually calls to tell me he's coming home.  I slowly climbed out of bed and ran for the phone before it went to voicemail.  It was my husband!  In a frantic voice he told me that I needed to come pick him up, "I think my ankle is broken!  I need to go to the emergency room!"

So I hopped in the car, not knowing what happened (I was really worried he had been hit by a car or fell down the stairs or something - how does one break their ankle at an open mic, i wondered), and drive the short distance to pick him up.  As I neared the corner to pick him up, I called him and he told me that his friend already had him in the car and I needed to meet them at the ER.  So I drove back up to our local ER and met them there.  We got him in to a wheel-chair and started our hour wait to get into see a doctor.  During this wait, I found out he decided to race a friend of his in a "5 house dash."  As he was about to cross the finish line, he heard a thwaap! and headed face-first for the ground.  He threw his right palm in front of him to catch his fall and also scraped up his right elbow and left knee.

After X-rays were taken, we found out that he hadn't broken any bones (thank goodness), but unfortunately, he had ruptured his achilles tendon.  They put a fiberglass splint on his leg, washed up his elbow and knee and sent him home.  By the next Tuesday (this week), he was in and out of surgery, and on his way to a steady recovery.  He now has a cast on and is hobbling around on crutches.

There are a few redeeming factors about this sad state of affairs.

1.) He has been eating Paleo for the last 2.5 months and has lost over 30 lbs.  (It is quite difficult to weigh yourself when you have crutches and a cast and you can't put your weight on your casted leg, but I actually think he's lost more like 35 lbs. by now.)  This is a good thing because it is less weight for him to carry around as he's crutching.  It's also great because, as he is losing weight, his body is in a healing mode and that should speed up his recovery time.  Paleo food is also void of grains, legumes, and seed oils, which can cause chronic inflammation.  Some inflammation is good when you need it to heal your body, but chronic inflammation is just not helpful and can cause or worsen auto-immune diseases, such as Rheumatoid Arthritis.  As he's healing, my husband needs all of the inflammation his body is making to go right where he needs it!

2.) Because he's been losing weight so easily and comfortably (we are NEVER hungry on a paleo diet) he is in a very positive mood, which I think will help keep him sane, me sane (have to help him with almost everything he wants to do - from cooking to showers), and I think if he's in a good mood it may lower his stress levels and help him heal faster.

Beef Bone Broth Simmering on the stove

3.) I made Beef Bone Broth!  You can check out the recipe/video here.  After browning the beef knuckles and mirepoix (carrots, celery, and onion) in the oven, throw them all in a big soup pot with some cold, filtered water and some red wine.  The acid in the wine leaches the calcium from the bones into the broth along with the collagen.  When the collagen enters your body and moves through your digestive system, it goes through unharmed.  It goes into the blood stream and finds places where the collagen is needed (a busted achilles tendon, perhaps?) and repairs it.  For more info on that check out Deep Nutrition.

Hopefully my hubby will be healed up in no time!

Dodging Bullets

I am 29.  I am 5'7".  I am over weight.  Starting at almost 215 lbs., I needed a change.  I felt tired all the time.  I had high cholesterol:  late last year when I gave blood, my cholesterol was 243 (total cholesterol).  I had pretty consistent moderate acne from the time I was about 12 years old.  I had exercise induced asthma, so I didn't like to work out hard, in fear that it might flare up.  I wasn't fitting into my clothes.  

Makin' my flexitarian Beet Chips.  March 26, 2011

But I love food.  So of course I'm fat, right?!  Everyone knows that if you eat too much good, tasty food, you're gonna gain weight.  And if you're lazy or you don't like to sweat it out at the gym, well, those pounds aren't going to lose themselves! 

I was very frustrated.  It came to a point where I felt like I was addicted to food.  I couldn't control my weight and I felt guilty and was extremely hard on myself.  I knew I couldn't fix it with a diet.  I've been on and off and on and off of low-fat diets for pretty much as long as I can remember.  Calorie restriction really worked, but here's the rub: the second you go back to your normal life, you gain it back (sometimes you gain more).  It was a terrible feeling.  I couldn't think of what to do.  

Another angle of the old me.  Not a pretty picture.    April 10, 2011

I researched food addiction on google and complained to my mom on the phone.  Being the child of 2 weight-watchers "lifers" I knew what was expected of me if I wanted to lose weight, but it wasn't working.  I had read Michael Pollan's "In Defense of Food" and was so ready to get healthy and as he says, "Eat Food.  Not too much.  Mostly Vegetables."  So I dug in a little deeper.  I got into the "Meatless Mondays" and crawled through "The Omnivore's Dilemma" (great book, just a bit of a long read for me).  I ate healthy whole wheat bread and focused on adding whole grains and beans to my meals.  I ate a ton of veggies.  I cut way back on my meat consumption.

And nothing happened.  Sure, I felt like I was eating more cleanly - focusing on "from scratch" meals and avoiding some of the aisles of the grocery store.  Then I looked into becoming a "Flexitarian."  It made so much sense.  I could eat mostly veggies and pasta and beans and grains and cheese and I could eat meat when I was in the mood.  I bought cook books and tried out some delicious recipes, but I still wasn't really having much of an improvement on my health.  

The old me: March 2nd, 2011

Then one day, while randomly listening to a new podcast I stumbled across on Stitcher Radio, Underground Wellness, I heard Chris Kresser talk about how grains and legumes and processed food wasn't very good for you.  I was in disbelief.  I'd heard that people with Celiac disease couldn't eat wheat, but normal people are fine, right?!  Wrong.  Many people with a more mild sensitivity to gluten don't even know they are gluten sensitive!  

It was the first time I had ever heard of paleo, and I was curious to hear more.  I started to listen to "Everyday Paleo" and "Latest in Paleo."  I couldn't get enough of this idea that was blowing my mind. ITS NOT FAT, MAKING US FAT!  ITS JUNK CARBOHYDRATES, SUGAR, AND SEED OILS!  We are not broken by default.  Medicine should be our last option, not our first!  Nutrition is so important!

It has now been 2 months since I began my primal lifestyle.  While reading "The Primal Blueprint," I eased into my new eating during my vacation to San Francisco and Yosemite.  At first it was weird; almost too easy.  Sure I wasn't perfect, but it was totally do-able.  I basically just focused on only eating meat, veggies, fruit, nuts, and some dairy.  

I can't even explain how great I feel.  The first month I dropped 10 lbs!  After that the weight isn't falling off nearly as quickly (I'm sure it is because I probably consume a bit too much dairy and fruit - both will raise your blood sugar much more than you realize), but I feel amazing.  There are times when I will go out for a walk and decide to do a quick sprint.  Just for fun.  And sure, when I slow down after my sprint, I have to catch my breath, but I don't have my asthma any more.  My face is clearer than it was when I was 12.  I'm not starving all the time, thinking about food every minute of the day, like I used to do.  I'm ok if I have to go a few extra hours without a meal.  I sleep more soundly and wake up to no alarm clock.  

I know I still have a way to go in my efforts to lose weight.  But I'll tell you one thing, I really don't think I'll be going back to the Standard American Diet anytime soon.  I feel healthy.  And I LOVE eating grass-fed steaks, pastured eggs, whole organic milk, fresh organic fruits and veggies and so much more.  

A delicious Primal Meal: Romain Lettuce with Chimay Cheese, Rotisserie Chicken, Crispy Bacon, and Beef Liver Pate.

My father is a non-insulin dependent diabetic.  Both of his parents had diabetes.  I knew, without going to a fortune teller, what my future would hold if I couldn't turn my health around.  

I feel like I've actually dodged a bullet.  After 1 more month living the primal lifestyle, I'll probably go in for a doctor's appointment and have my blood drawn and see where my numbers are at and hopefully confirm my suspicion:  I am getting healthier, I am dodging the bullet of diabetes, and I am adding years to my life.  

Me and my cubby hubby pre-primal: June 26, 2011

P.S.  My hubby has been eating primal for only about a month and a half and has lost 25 lbs.!  This is such a gift we are giving ourselves and each other.  It is a gift of health, and a longer life together.  :)

Hopefully I'll have some great "in-progress" pictures soon.  

Pickled Radishes - Lacto-fermented (Probiotic) & Paleo!

Perhaps you have a bushel full of radishes that you have plucked from the soil in your garden.  Or you may have gone a bit overboard just bought a bit too many radishes at the farmers market.  Either way, I have a suggestion for your consumption of said radishes:  Pickled Radishes!

[I do like very thinly sliced raw radishes on my salads and such, but most of the time raw radishes are a bit too "hot" for my palate.  So, of course, you can eat them raw, if that's your thing.  You can roast them up with other veggies in the oven.  You can also sauté them in some butter/ghee, salt and pepper.  Cooking them, in general, gives them a much more smooth, mild flavor.  Sautéed Radishes are one of my FAVORITE ways the eat a radish, second only to pickled.]

Pickles - Pickles - Pickles

You've probably had many different kinds of pickles in your life.  There's dill pickles, gherkins, bread and butter pickles.  I'm guessing you've probably also had other non-cucumber pickled items: sauerkraut, kimchi, pickled garlic, pickled watermelon rinds, hot Mexican-style pickled carrots, and many others.  Have you had pickled radishes before?

When radishes are pickled, the flavor becomes mild, smooth and almost buttery.  It still tastes like a pickle, but like no other pickle you've ever had.

Grass-fed grilled sirloin steak with pickled radishes, carrots, Romain and red-leaf lettuce, black olives, and 5 Cheese Garlic Spread from River Valley Kitchens

Pickling radishes (this recipe at least) uses Lacto-fermentation.  Feel free to check out the Wikipedia site for it here.  Basically,  you use water and salt.  No vinegar.  For Dill Pickles you would also add fresh dill, garlic, and pickling spices.  You can check out Sandor Katz's Book "Wild Fermentation" for a ton more info on all kinds of pickling.  (You can also google him, and there are a bunch of recipes on the web.)

Also, on a side note, pickled radishes are SO EASY!!!!  Oh my gosh.  You'll make them and literally be AMAZED at how low effort and quick these steps are.  Ready?

Start with a big bunch of radishes and a large mason jar with a regular 1 piece lid (not the kind that have a top and a seal, just one piece).  Wash and cut up your radishes into the size pieces you'd like your pickles to be in.  I like to do mine in bite size pieces.

Place your pickles in the bottom of your mason jar and cover with a thin layer of kosher salt.  I had about 3/4 of a quart jar full of radishes and used about 3 tablespoons of salt.  DO NOT ADD WATER YET!  Cover the top with cheese cloth and either tie a string around it or use a rubber band to make sure no bugs can get inside.

Wait 24 hours.  Take off the cheese cloth, and fill the entire jar to the tippy-ippy top.  If possible use filtered water, as chlorine may not allow your lacto-fermentation to do its thing correctly.  Place your metal lid on the top and screw it on, but not too tight.  Flip the jar upside down on your counter, on top of a rag or old towel.  SLOWLY and CAREFULLY open the lid until you see a little water come up around the edges of the jar.  This means that you have made a seal.

Don't touch this for a week.  Put a sign up if you need to, but just leave it alone and keep it out of direct sunlight.  After a week, BEFORE PICKING IT UP, screw the lid back on - then flip it right side up and take the lid off.  The odor may be quite foreign to you, but I'm telling you, these little bites of love will leave you craving more when they are all gone.

DO NOT PUT YOUR FINGERS OR USED UTENSILS IN THE JAR.  Don't do it.  There may be bacteria on those items and could ruin your pickles.  Use a CLEAN spoon and spoon your pickled radishes out into smaller mason jars (with their juice - if you need more liquid to have these jars full up to the top, add more filtered water) and then seal them up.  Stick them in the fridge and they should last up to (and maybe beyond) 6 months.  Enjoy!

What is the Paleo or Primal Diet? Is eating so much FAT even healthy?

I love eating Primal.  I actually love it more than when I ate whatever-the-hell-I-wanted.  It may sound weird that any restriction of food choices would actually be liberating.  To me, it is more of a framework; a structure to healthy living and life.  Eat Meat.  Eat Veggies.  Eat Fats.  Avoid Grains.  Avoid Sugars.  Avoid Legumes.  Avoid Processed Foods. There are definitely some middle ground questions around dairy, fruits and nuts.  I eat them pretty regularly, which is probably why my weight-loss is slower than most.  But I FEEL AMAZING.  Seriously.  AMAZING.

Anyway, I could tell you more about Paleo/Primal, but so many others have done a great job.  My favorite one is Fit Bomb's "What is The Paleo Diet?"  It is insightful and pretty much all encompassing.  It talks about the reasons behind the limitations.  It also provides TONS of links to further info.  If you clicked through and read all the info in all the links, you'd probably have read enough to get college credits.  But even just reading his take on it will clear up a lot of questions and mis-conceptions about fat, grains, and sugar.  It also answers some questions about why eating meat is actually BETTER than eating none at all (vegan/vegetarian).  

Side note:  A dear friend of mine posted an article on my Facebook page about why Paleo/Primal is bad for your health (this article was from the stand-point of a raw vegan).  I'm in the process of writing a response, but it is quite a long article, so I've gotta get my ducks in a row before responding.  

Let me know if there are any questions that Fit Bomb's Article doesn't answer for you and I'll do my best to research the answers for you!

Beginning to Lose it

It has been a little over 6 weeks, since I began eating primally.  So far, so good, I'd say.  Although the weight loss has slowed down, I'm still losing, which keeps me motivated.  Even on the days when I weigh myself and I realize I may have done more of a 60/40 than an 80/20 (primal/non-primal ratio), I still feel better than I have in a very long time.

It seems to be less of a struggle to go out to eat than I was expecting, which probably isn't the greatest thing ever: I should definitely be eating at home more.  The price tag of fresh veggies and meat is much more expensive on the "outside" and I've found very few places that serve grass-fed meat.  I have been bringing my lunch with me to work, which is not nearly as social as going out with a group to a local fast or slow food eatery, but I feel better by using the groceries I've bought for the week and not spending extra cash.

Some of my recent foodie loves:

• Grass-fed Mozzarella balls (about an inch in diameter - they come packaged in water) drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, with a sprinkle of salt and pepper.  I know this would be yummy with tomatoes and basil, but even by it self, it must be tasted to be believed!  
• Grass-fed skirt steak marinated and then grilled to perfection
• Lunch meat (Whole Foods roasted turkey, roast beef, or Applegate salami or ham) wrapped in a delicious, fresh piece of red leaf or romaine lettuce
• Coconut cream (take a can of real, full-fat coconut milk and put it in the fridge for an hour or so - we just have the A/C on in the house and that is enough - and then open the can and scoop out the soft, fluffy, coco-licious cream at the top) over frozen cherries
• Bacon, bacon, bacon, bacon, BACON! Yeah.
• Olives
• Mild Kim-chi
• Farmers Market fruit, for when I need something sweet
• Grass-fed, Beef summer sausage

Chorizo Buttered Veggies (with a bit of Chalula Hot Sauce)

Bacon Buttered Veggies
Last night I made myself a new amazing veggified bacon meal.  It's also amazing with chorizo and chalula hot sauce - don't skimp on the butter!  Here's the recipe (for 1 serving):

1 slice of raw bacon chopped up into medium sized pieces
1 big bunch of fresh veggies cleaned and roughly chopped (I used long purple beans (they called them purple asparagus's at the farmers market, but I think that's bologna), green beans, wax (yellow) beans, kale, and some crazy type of spinach where you can also eat the stems (it's purple and green))
Grass-fed butter (Kerry Gold, anyone?!) to taste (I probably used about 4 tablespoons)

Start with a cast iron pan on medium heat.  Once its toasty, throw in your bacon pieces and mix around until they are cooked through and a little crispy.  Then add about a tablespoon of butter (or two if you're in the mood) to the pan and let it melt.  As soon as it is melted, toss the veggies into the pan and toss to cover with bacon pieces and melted butter.  Add more butter if you feel like it.  Toss and wait a minute and a half and then toss again, on and on until your veggies are cooked to your liking.  I added some pepper and truffle salt.  It was yummy.  Check it out!

Primal-ish Vacation in L.A.

My hubby and I just got back from a vacation to Los Angeles.   We had a wonderful time.  I think we may actually move there in the not too distant future.  I would love to be closer to my parents and family (San Diego area).  I'd love to have hubby closer to the entertainment industry (that's his thing) and I'd love to be out of this terrible Chicago weather.  Sure, it's summer time and I can't really complain about it at the current moment, but here's the thing: When it's winter it is dreadful and all you can think about; when it's summer, the thought that winter is coming is dreadful and all you can think about.  At least that's the way it is for me.  It's sort of like looming darkness at the horizon.  But the very best, most wonderful part of possibly living in So. Cal. is the availability of fresh "beyond organic" veggies, grass fed/free range beef, poultry, eggs, and fresh seafood!  I mean, really... they even have "fast food" that is organic (I LOVE TenderGreens - more about that later).  So anyway, I'd like to move out there sooner than later.

While on our trip, we (did i tell you hubby is doing this too??!) were able to keep pretty darn close to our paleo/primal food preference during our trip.  Sure, it's probably because we were in one of the most image-conscious cities in the U.S., but still.  We found a great place for breakfast called Square One Dining.  We actually ended up going there for breakfast twice.  I got the skirt steak (grass fed?) and eggs (farm fresh), with organic mixed green salad with a balsamic vinaigrette and split an organic fruit bowl with the hubby.  We came back the next day for an exact repeat performance.  Now, this wasn't cheap (although looking back, we both agreed we could have totally skipped the $7.50 fruit bowl), but it was delicious.  Total yum-athon.

On my second day, we actually decided to drive down to Encinitas to visit some friends and visit with my parents.  For lunch with my parents, we went to King's Fish House.  I had the grilled Atlantic Sea Scallops and veggies and a side salad.  Not too bad at all!  The veggies in the meal were not organic, but I prefer not to be too overly picky about my veggies.  Quite delish, actually.

For dinner that night, our friends took us to an AMAZING Peruvian place called El Q'ero Restaurant.  OH MY GOSH!!!!  The food was so yum.  We all split an appetizer of quinoa breaded scallops.  (Perhaps I have an addiction to scallops?  Knowing is half the battle.  I think I get it from my mom.)  For my entree, I had the "appetizer special" of diced Ahi Tuna and Watermelon ceviche in a soy vinaigrette topped with tiny bits of basil and served over a piece of boston lettuce.  Now for all of you who are not into raw fish: I AM WITH YOU!  Seriously, not really a fan.  Kinda grosses me out.  But I decided to try this and it was ABSOLUTELY THE BEST THING I HAVE HAD IN A LONG TIME (and I eat at some amazing restaurants).  So yeah.  I wish I could have it again, but alas, I do not live in San Diego or even California: YET.

Then there is my all time favorite "fast food" organic, local restaurant: Tender Greens.  If you live in L.A. or San Diego and you HAVEN'T been there... turn of your computer and GO RIGHT NOW.  Totally delicious.  Did I mention I had them cater my wedding in San Diego (and everyone was amazed at how great the food was?!)?  Ok, so the meat is all local as are the organic veggies.  Everything is tasty and fresh.  We ate at the one in Downtown Hollywood 2 times on our trip (only 4 days).  It really is that good.  Go there, and let me know what you think.  I love their "Backyard Steak" salad with red and golden beets, butter lettuce and radishes, and their home brewed iced tea (is it passion fruit maybe? -- not sweetened, but so good).  Also, check out their "side" of roasted veggies!

Tender Greens: Backyard Steak Salad and a half side of roasted veggies

Last but not least, if you have ever had the issue of lettuce going bad in your veggie drawer at home, try prepping your lettuce and sealing it into mason jars for easy travel and it'll stay fresh longer (they say up to 9 days!).  Check it out on lifehacker here.

Um, also, P.S. I actually LOST weight on my vacation.  It doesn't get much better than that!