Under these circumstances...What should I eat?

Under these circumstances…What should I eat?
A Registered Dietitian & Holistic Chef’s perspective on making food choices when information is abundant and money is scarce.

For the past three years I have been writing a book which is actually not unlike this blog. My book/blog chronicles my life’s journey as I move around the country trying to develop and host my own cooking show. This has been my dream for the past 20 years, ever since I began my education to become a Registered Dietitian.

I always felt lucky, and maybe even a little too confident, that I knew my purpose in life at the age of 18. Prior to that I thought I wanted to be an actress and then a newscaster. I knew I had something to say and I wanted to say it in a big way. Twenty years later I am still pursuing my dream. As a financially poor but knowledge rich Dietitian and Holistic Chef I feel both lucky and cursed. I can’t stop trying to achieve my dream no matter where it takes me. Moving more than 20 times in a lifetime can be both liberating and reality checking. When you have to go through you 'stuff' every year you begin to think about what you can and can’t take with you. Because afterall, you can’t take it with you so why bother trying. Living a more minimalist life, I have realized now, more than ever, what is truly important to me. The only thing that really matters is my health. Now that I know how take care of my health to the best of my abilities, it is time for me to share my knowledge with the world, or whoever will listen.

Here’s a little insight into the developmental mind of a Dietitian who is also a Holistic Chef and a.k.a. The Kitchen Vixen.

In 1986, while running on the indoor track and lifting weights in my high school weight room, I was approached by my French teacher, Mr. Moyer, who also happened to be the power lifting coach. Mr. Moyer or Monsier Moyer (Pronounced: Missur Moy- A) as he was affectionately known by his French students, like me, told me that I should start powerlifiting and compete. I just laughed. And looking back, the situation was both funny, ha-ha and ironic because at the time I was only just beginning to exercise but now I consider myself quite an athlete. At that moment, when Mr. Moyer approached me, I had officially been lifting weights about six months, today I can boast that I have been lifting weights for 21 years and 3 months and I will never stop. I feel that strength training is the most important aspect of my physical life. I love being strong, I love my muscles and I love where they can take me. Like my most recent move from Las Vegas to Santa Monica. At age 38, I did it all myself, moved all my stuff and my car from one state to another to arrive where I belong. I have Monsier Moyer to thank for helping me realize the strength I had within me which had been untapped for 17 years prior.

At the time I started working out I thought I was such a late bloomer, many high school kids had played sports most of their lives and I did too, for a few years. Basketball was one of my loves. I played for two years in elementary school and two years in middle school but when I got to high school, I hung up my basketball shoes. Afterall, going into high school I was maybe 5’2’’ and barely 100 pounds. I never saw that weight again after that first year of high school. I spent the rest of my high school years and my life, at 5’4” and 123 pounds. Although then I was a size six and now a size two. I know sizing parameters change to make women feel better because they are able to wear smaller sizes but I also know that my body has changed tremendously over the years. I have muscles and definition I never had in my youth.

But, before I loved weight lifting, I loved and still love, B-ball. We had a net over our garage and a big driveway to keep me safe from the streets, although no one really drove down our little neighborhood street so I was always safe to shoot ‘til my heart’s content, so I did. Being small though, I didn’t feel that I could hang with the real basketball players in high school, so I didn't even try. Anyway, once I got to high school and started getting attention from boys, I realized that I needed to spend all my time looking good; clothes and make-up where far more important to me then.

At the age of 16 I was ready to drive, or so I thought. My stepfather would not even teach me to drive until I got a job and could pay my own insurance, so I did. My first job ever was in a steak shop, called Seward’s Steak Shop, named after the family that owned it. When I was young, by young I mean, under five, my family would go to Seward’s every Friday. We called Seward’s “The Greasy Spoon” and getting a piece of some of that grease was a weekly treat for my family. We weren’t the only ones who called it “The Greasy Spoon”. But by the time I began working there, more than 11 years later, Seward’s had lost that nick name and was now being run by the shop owner’s son. At this point in my life, nutrition was not even a word I really knew. I knew “exercise” and I knew “food”. But I never thought about how the two collaborated in my body.

As I am writing I am also cooking and eating before I go to the gym and then go to work. This is kind of what sparked this tangential thought process that I am sharing, the fact that I am a poor Dietitian who has to work, who loves to workout and who wants to host her own cooking show; my dream. But my reality is that I have to have a full time job that is ‘not’ hosting a cooking show. I consult in nursing homes. My income is OK, but barely lets me get by living in Santa Monica. I have to live close to the water so my rent is high and my food budget low. However, that being said, I will not sacrifice good nutrition for a small food budget, I just get more creative with my food choices and recipes. I usually do my cooking for the week on a Sunday but this Sunday I did not because I had some things left-over from last week. Just some vegetable soup and a tempeh & swiss chard dish which I make most every week, so that recipe will show up eventually. Rent is due this week and it is nearly one whole “two week’s worth” pay check which means that I am using up every last scrap of food I have to nourish my body.

I follow primarily a vegetarian diet. Yogurt is the only animal based product I consume on a regular basis. I do often eat eggs but have not been in the mood for them for the past few weeks. However, there are always some eggs in my frig as there should be in yours. Eggs are the gold standard for protein. They are literally the frame of reference by which food and nutrition experts compare other protein sources. Eggs are perfect because they contain all of the essential amino acids in the perfect proportion for optimal protein use in the body.

Now, just to be clear, you don’t have to eat only “complete” proteins in order to make complete proteins in the body. You can eat foods with only certain amino acids and foods that contain certain other amino acids and over the day, your body will put these amino acids together to make usable proteins in the body. Protein is used to make muscle, of course, and because I exercise regularly I want to be sure I get ample protein to help my body repair and build new muscle cells everyday. But I don’t worry about eating large amounts of animal protein or meat in order to ‘meet’ my body’s protein requirements. Instead, I focus on good quality plant based foods to supply the essential amino acids throughout the day.

Since I did not go grocery shopping this week and am using only what I have in my ‘pantry’ and frig, before going to bed last night I thought about what I would eat for the next three days. I am still finishing that tempeh dish but tomorrow will be the last day. I also have my famous Autumn Wheat Berry mix made with the whole wheat 'kernel' known as a 'wheat berry', plus chopped apples, dried cranberries, ground walnuts and flax seeds plus cinnamon and nutmeg and eaten with blueberries and Kefir (a type of liquid yogurt good for replenishing good intestinal bacteria). This Autumn Wheat Berry mix is a staple in my diet. It helps to satisfy my tastes for things sweet and chewy. Everyone who has every had it has loved it, including more than 400 hospital employees who I gave samples to at health fair in Las Vegas.

That takes care of my snack, but for meals I need something more substantial. A protein rich dish with lots of veggies is usually what I have for meals. I need to use what I have to meet my nutrition and taste requirements. I have some black beans, two avocados, a head of celery, some quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa), and some fingerling potatoes. The celery, potatoes, and avocados are all from my local farmers market and the black beans and Quinoa are from Whole Foods.

Dried beans and grains are a must in every pantry because they last forever, OK not forever, but for at least a year, and they are some of the most nutrient rich foods you can eat. Beans, for example are a source of carbohydrates and nearly a complete protein. One half cup of cooked beans contains about 22g of carbohydrates with 7g coming from fiber. That means that 7 of the 22 grams are non-digestible. You do break down some of that fiber but generally do not absorb all of the calories. Actually, the friendly bacteria that live in your Gastrointestinal (GI) tract help you break down that fiber so it can pass through and out of your body carrying with it other things we don’t want inside of us.

Fiber helps to lower cholesterol by decreasing its absorption from foods and reabsorption from bile. Fiber also helps you feel full. But water is really the biggest contributor to that feeling of fullness. That is why it is so important to consume and prepare water rich foods. Dried beans and whole grains need lots of water to make them edible therefore they are better choices than their dry counterparts like breads and crackers which are so easy to overconsume.

So, last night I soaked some beans, and this morning, while waking up and preparing to go running and writing, not at the same time, I cooked those beans, cooked some Quinoa, chopped some celery and diced and mashed one avocado. What I created is a kind of salad which I will actually use to top the leafy greens I eat everyday. I don’t necessarily eat a salad everyday but somewhere along the way I eat a leafy green.

After I workout it is a protein shake made with fresh mint leaves. Or it could be my tempeh with sauteed greens or a soup with kale or a spinach or baby green salad. My black bean & quinoa recipe is as follows.

Soak ½ cup black beans overnight in the refrigerator (cover the beans by more than double)
Rinse beans and add fresh water, 2 cups water for each ½ cup soaked beans.
Cook the beans on medium high heat checking every ten minutes and adding more liquid as needed
You want the beans to boil slowly with enough water to keep them rolling
Beans can take about 30 minutes to cook completely.
To test for doneness, remove a bean from the water using a spoon. Blow on it or run under cold water so you don’t burn your tongue
When the beans are done remove from heat then cool in the pot in an ice bath in the sink. We want these beans cool to make a salad. Drain any excess liquid from the beans.
½ cup dry beans yields about 1 ¼ cups cooked
To cook Quinoa, add about ¼ cup dried Quinoa to a fine strainer and rinse with cold water to remove ‘inhibitors’ – protective components of the plant that can inhibit the absorption of some essential nutrients
Add the Quinoa to a small sauce pot. Add 2 cups water or fresh brewed tea. I often use tea to cook grains, beans or sauté greens. Tea adds antioxidants. Any tea will do, they all have antioxidants.
Bring to a boil on medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce to medium low and allow to boil slowly until the quinoa is done.
You need to stir often and add more liquid as needed to keep the grain hydrated, don’t let it dry out.

The Quinoa is done when it looks like each grain has a tail on it. This is called the germ and it is the most nutritious part of the plant. Literally it is considered “the nourishment for the seed or grain”. The germ contains essential B vitamins, Vitamin E, along with minerals such as Zinc, Selenium and Magnesium just to name a few of the very essential trace minerals. Most “whole grains” as we know them, are stripped of the germ and the bran to leave only the remaining one third of the plant known as the endosperm. The endosperm contains most of the calories for the plant plus some protein and B vitamins, but it is no GERM. The germ is the bomb. The germ and bran are often removed in processing in order to extend the shelf life of the grain or seed. As consumers we are left with a more calorie dense and less nutrient dense skeleton of the plant’s former self. Therefore, the true “whole” grain is really where it is at. Now you just learned to cook Quinoa and now you also know why you should.

Some of this Quinoa is going to the black bean salad but since the morning is getting later and I want to go to the gym I will have to eat first. As it gets later I have to eat before I workout. Usually I can just crawl out of bed and go workout on an empty stomach but once I am up and about and active for more than two hours, then I have to eat before I can exercise. But I have to let my food digest for a good hour before I can go exercise. Typically I just get up and go so I don’t have to eat and then wait for my food to digest. Since I am hungry, I mixed ¼ cup of the cooked Quinoa with one cup of frozen wild blueberries, a teaspoon of organic raw honey and about ½ cup of soy milk and had myself a bowl of whole grain cereal. Yummmy!

The black bean salad is not done yet though…while everything was cooking I washed and finely diced three stalks of celery, the leaves and all. I also chopped one avocado and scraped a little avocado into a separate small bowl (about a tablespoon). To that small bowl I added about ¼ cup olive oil, 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes, 1 teaspoon dried garlic, 1/8 teaspoon sea salt and three turns of fresh ground black pepper. I mashed and mixed it all with a fork then added it to the cooled black beans and quinoa plus the celery and chopped avocado. It has been marinating in the frig for the past hour as I write. I just tasted it and it is perfect. This will be the topping for my leafy green spinach salad at lunch. Speaking of…I better go workout now. It is now 9:30AM. By the time I get to work it will be lunch time. Thanks for joining me for the first episode of…Under these circumstance, what should I eat? Tune in again to see…what I eat and why…