Mindful Eats

Squash, Tomato and Goat Cheese Pasta

Summer squash,grape tomatoes and goat cheese over whole wheat spaghetti

My guiding principles for weekday dinners are that they are easy, fast, and take no more than two pans to make (one to boil a whole grain or pasta). This week I managed to surprise myself with a delicious meal. I had yellow squash and zucchini on my Mindful Battle Plan, and when I looked in my refrigerator I saw grape tomatoes that were about to go, and left over goat cheese. Tossed over whole wheat pasta, (yes, it's processed, but I had a hankering. Oh well.) it ended up being the perfect dinner for the false-summer April heat. I am rarely pleased with a new weekday dinner, but this was pretty dang good. And it's easy to customize for your specific tastes or refrigerator leftovers:

Summer Squash, Tomatoes and Goat Cheese with Whole Wheat Pasta

Serves 3

Squash (I used 2 yellow and 1 zucchini)

4 cloves garlic

oregano

crushed red pepper

1/3 log goat cheese

2/3 pint grape tomatoes

olive oil

whole wheat spaghetti

1. Boil water for the pasta. I like to use filtered water.
2. Chop the squash into quarter pieces and dice the garlic.  
3. If the water is boiling, put in 1/2 lb. to boil.  
4. Heat olive oil in saute or frying pan over medium. Add squash and tomatoes and saute 5 minutes.
5. Add garlic. It's really good for you, so if you want to add a couple more cloves feel free. If you like the taste of garlic, you may want to reverse the order and cook the garlic until golden before adding the squash.
6. Add 1 shake of crushed red pepper and three shakes of oregano.
7. Cook for a few minutes until squash is soft and cooked to your liking. This is what it looks like when it's done:   
8. Put a few tablespoons of pasta water in a large pasta bowl, then add the goat cheese. Stir until melted. If you don't like goat cheese, then skip this step. If you prefer olive oil and parmesan, add more olive oil to the squash.
9. Drain the pasta and add it to squash pan. Mix it up.
10. Add to the bowl with goat cheese, and serve with salt and pepper. If you are going the parmesan route instead, just add parmesan over the top.
11. I think the right mix is 1/2 vegetables, 1/2 pasta.

What I ate: 14 oz. green juice, 1/2 papaya, 1 latte, 1/2 c. Barbara's Bakery whole-grain cereal, 2 cups Good Earth tea, 3 c. whole wheat spaghetti + squash (see above recipe), 1 oz. pumpkin seeds, 2 apples, 5 macadamia nuts, 1 c. quinoa, steamed broccoli + tofu, 8 oz. mango kombucha, 1 mango, 1/2 c. brown rice + seaweed, 1/2 c. yogurt + 1T Sarabeth's strawberry-peach jan, 1 hot chocolate, 55 oz. water

Exercise: Ran 4.8 miles, 1 hour yoga

Tea: Steeped in Health Benefits

Teapot with a selection of teas: Dr. Weil's green, Twining's classic black teas, Tazo white, and Celestial Seasons

Strange how a teapot can represent at the same time the comforts of solitude and the pleasures of company. ~Anonymous

Tea - cha in Mandarin and much of the world - is the most popular drink after water. Devotees (and there are many of them) insist that hot tea is the perfect drink since it cools you off during hot weather, and warms you up in cold. Or you can do the American thing and dump ice in your tea during the summer. In this post we are referring specifically to "regular" tea from the Camellia sinensis plant instead of herbal tea.

Tea contains 900+ chemicals, of which a multitude of benefits are associated:

• polyphenols (catechins) are the big daddy of positive health benefits in tea (catechins can be up to 30% of dry tea weight!)
• flavonoids are unique antioxidants (including potent ECGC) that help against free radicals that are associated with cancer, heart disease, and clogged arteries
• fluorine helps prevent cavities
• caffeine can help mental alertness (though there is less caffeine per cup than coffee) 
• no calories (as long as it is straight up, without milk or sweetener) 

Sound good? There's a huge variety of tea to choose from, but they are categorized by how they are processed. In order from the least processed and highest level of antioxidants (healthiest):

Shop Mindfully and Support Your Beliefs

 

Voting at the Union Square Greenmarket

  

Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed. - Mohandas K. Gandhi

  

You possess unlimited power in your pocket. Every time you pull your wallet out to buy something, you are casting your most powerful vote. Money talks... it makes people snap to, and it makes companies pay attention. Let's face it, money makes the world go round. It may be a ridiculous, sad reality, but it's reality. The awesome thing is that knowledge is power, and you can use it to your advantage! You can even have fun with it by buying things that are consistent with the change you want to see in the world.

 

  

In today's world, your dollar is your strongest voice. Are you wielding your power to its max? Use it to support the things you care about. Every time you buy something, you have an opportunity to cast a vote for your cause(s). By purchasing things that reflect your values, you are successfully working the system. :) Go you! Of course, you have to be aware of what you want to support, but we're confident you have the awareness.

 We l-o-v-e food shopping because it's an opportunity to create demand for the things we care about (in addition to finding tasty things to eat.)

What MindfulEats shops for:

 

• high-quality ingredients: if it's going in our mouths, we prefer the good stuff
• environmental sustainability: no chemicals/pesticides, happy animal products from farms instead of industrial Orwellian nightmares, minimal shipping from local farms or efficient shippers, unendangered seafood that is sustainably caught
• good farming practices: chemical-free with good land management 
• fair-trade: employees work in safe conditions and receive fair wages 
• seasonal produce: if it's fresh and not seasonal, it comes from someplace far away or it's grown under unnatural conditions  
• responsible owners: we support owners/retailers that are committed to it's impact on the community

 

This is just a partial list of values we support. To make it fun, the list is even more extensive and we have lists for non-food items too!

What to do: Shop Mindfully

1. Figure out what values are important to you. The above list is part of what we look for in brands/companies/growers. Some of the other things you might consider are: where the item is manufactured, how labor is treated, environmental practices, animal rights, the company's political beliefs.
2. Research the items that you buy. Learn more about the companies and the growers. Be old-fashioned and talk to the retailers and growers you frequent. Develop relationships. Go online and see if they have a web presence where you can learn more. If it's a large company, look in this database and see where they make corporate donations to make sure they support your causes.
3. If you shop for certain items frequently, find the people/brands you trust and respect, and support them. This might seem like a lot of work, so just figure out where and what you shop for the most and start with those. You probably get 75% of the things you shop for that way. Flex your power and make your dollar count!

Want some ideas on where to use your power to shop for real food? Check out the Food Renegade blog carnival!

What I ate: 16 oz. green juice, Barbara's oat cereal + SkyTop milk, whole wheat spaghetti + Rao's Siciliana sauce, 2 tangerines, 2 oz. pumpkin seeds, 24 oz. Good Earth tea, 1 coffee, 6 oz. Stonybrook strawberry yogurt, 1 apple, 1.5 oz. chocolate, 1 tiny shrimp taco, 2 tiny seared seared tuna on rice cakes, 2 tiny grilled cheese squares, 7 almonds, 1/2c. quonia, steamed tofu + broccoli + mushrooms, 1 hot chocolate, 45 oz. water

Exercise: none

Breakfast is Your Most Important Meal

MindfulEats breakfast favorites: latte, McCann's steel-cut oats, scrambled eggs, avocados and NYT (recipe below)

Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper ~Adelle Davis

You know those days when you're at the top of your game - witty, wise, energetic, handling all that comes your way with nothing short of brilliance, drawing everyone into your orbit with your magnetic attractiveness, all while radiating goodness and joy? Yeah, you know those days.

Do you want to have more of those all-star days? Consistently? Have breakfast! Starting your day with the right type of fuel sets up your day for success. This works because:

Fried Foods are Bad for You

Fried chicken and french fries in the cafeteria, waiting for Fatty

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall. -Confucius

You may have noticed that deep frying isn't included in the MindfulEats "How to Cook Healthy and Fast" series. That's because it's not. Healthy or fast to cook. 

Trust us, we know that fried food is delicious - we can polish off a plate of french fries in minutes. Just having a plate of fried food in front of us can be irresistible - that's why it's best to avoid even looking at fried food (avoidance isn't the best policy for healthy relationships, but it's okay for bad food. Trust us.)

Cutie, if you are confronted with fried food, we recommend reaching down and grabbing hold of your belly or your love handles. Feel that? Do you want that around your heart and in your arteries? Do you want to add more around your waist? We didn't think so. Put the doughnut down. If you have nothing to grab around your middle, then you are in luck! Put the doughnut down so you stay that way.

Why is fried food so bad?

• It can contain trans fats, which puts you at higher risk of heart disease. Restaurants like trans fats since it raises the flash point and lets them use the same oil over and over again. At MindfulEats, we recommend everything in moderation, but we have zero tolerance for trans fats. Avoid this completely. If you have fried food, make sure there are no trans fats in it!
• It can make you obese. A Spanish study found that people who ate the most calories in fried food had a positive correlation with obesity. OK, maybe you're not shocked by this finding, but fried food is loaded with calories and fat. The breading on fried food soaks up the grease. It's kinda like drinking oil straight from the vat. Which you would never do. 

Quick comparison: 

• Wendy's large French fries (420 calories, 20g fat) vs. large baked potato (278 calories, 0.4g fat) 
• PF Chang's Kung Pao Chicken (1228 calories, 79g fat) vs. Ginger Chicken with Broccoli (656 calories, 26g fat) 
• KFC Original thigh & drumstick (460 calories, 32g fat) vs. Boston Market thigh & drumstick (300 calories, 17g fat) 

Cut down on your fried food to cut down on calories and that heavy, greasy feeling. You'll feel lighter for it.

If you want to make your own fried food, and you are a meticulous person, it can actually be healthy. It ain't easy though. Just don't bread the food, use clean peanut oil heated up to 365 degrees Fahrenheit slowly (no smoking), cook only a few pieces of food for the right amount of time, then drain on a rack.

What to do: Cut down on fried foods

1. Avoid fried food; it's bad for you!
2. If you have to indulge, be mindful when you do and limit it to once every two weeks, then once a month. If fried food is your ultimate fantasy, cut it way back. It's about reducing it to improve your batting average; you don't have to be perfect. Once a month won't kill you, and you'll start feeling better after a while.
3. If you are indulging, make it a luxury and go to a high-quality restaurant and ask if they use partially hydrogenated oils. No trans fats!
4. Fry it yourself to keep strict control on quality. Follow the above directions.

Want to see examples of fried food to avoid? Check out This is Why You're Fat.  This seems to have been removed 11/29/11

What I ate: 2 tangerines, 1 espresso, 1 hard boiled egg, 1 oz. almonds, 1/2 cup yogurt + 1t Sarabeth's strawberry-peach jam + 2T flaxseeds, 1 Eggs Copenhagen and potatoes (L'Express), 1 latte, 1 handful Mindful Mix, 1 kiwi, 1 grapefruit, 1 tofu+spinach+mushroom wrap (Grey Dog), 1 large green tea, 60 oz. water

Exercise: 3 miles + 4 mile race (ran my fastest race in years but still got beaten by 1200 people. Sweet.)

Whole Grains are Good for You

I make the most of all that comes and the least of all that goes. - Sara Teasdale

I have to confess - I am deeply in love with carbohydrates. I know that carbs have had a rough go of it the past few years - people love to bash them and accuse them of making people fat. The Zone, Atkins and South Beach diets were all very trendy. However, the evil carbs are the refined, processed ones. Go ahead and say it aloud, "processed food is bad." 

I grew up on white rice (bad) and I was made in Taiwan, so maybe my love of carbs is compulsory. My carb palate is highly refined (I'm not bragging, I'm just saying), and I can taste the difference between the same type of white rice cooked in different ways. On average, the most delicious bowls of white rice are from Korean restaurants, then Japanese. Chinese restaurants fall a distant last.

Still, when I had my first bite of brown rice, it was an instant moment of deep, soulful recognition and bliss. It was nutty, chewy, and basically divine. However, I had initial doubts about brown rice's versatility - I thought it only went with steamed hippy foods and stir-fry - but now I realize it goes with everything. Sushi? Bring it on! Rice pudding? Why not? After falling head over heels for brown rice, I realized I liked everything in the whole grains family. Quinoa, barley, wheat berries, steel-cut oatmeal...

And the awesome thing is that whole grains are not only delicious, they are really nutritious! 

• Packed with nutrients: protein, fiber, B vitamins, antioxidants and minerals
• Reduces the risk of heart disease, obesity, type II diabetes and some types of cancer 
• Keeps you feeling full longer and away from "carb crash" since your body does not absorb it as quickly
• Potentially helps lose belly fat 

Diary: Raw Foodist for a Week

 Peppery raw radishes

Nothing will ever be attempted if all possible objections must first be overcome. ~Samuel Johnson

We are very pleased to present our first guest blogger, Brandi Simpson. I was visiting Brandi for some spring snow in Utah last month, and the subject of MindfulEats and food came up. Of course, we started talking about interesting diets. I told her about my prior flirtation with the raw diet, and she volunteered to go raw for a week. I was delighted - Brandi is a distance athlete that is interested in food and health, but not a freak (she still eats pre-packaged cookies with hydrogenated oils). Perfect! A healthy, normal person goes raw:

I had mixed emotions the first time I heard about people adhering to a raw only diet.  Extreme? Check. Inconvenient? Check!  Nutritionally sound? Maybe if you do it right, but it seems like that might be very, very difficult. On the other hand, I could see some of the virtues of the raw diet. The idea of consuming only unprocessed, whole foods seems like it should be a sure path to physical wellness. I fully accept the notion that a diet consisting primarily of raw fruit, vegetables, and nuts ought to significantly reduce the amount of non-nutritious junk we consume. However, as a believer in the value of low-fat dairy products and lean meat as good sources of protein and essential vitamins and minerals that are difficult to get from plant sources, I had to believe that it would be difficult to get all of the nutrients one needs from a raw diet.

A little about me: I eat a lot. I do, however, try to make healthy food choices as our ever mindful friend, Jean, suggests. I eat lots of fruits and veggies. I don’t eat a lot of processed food, but when I do, it usually takes the form of true junk – pretzels, candy, crackers (oh I do so love candy!) In fact, at least once or twice per month, I go a little nuts and consume enough sugar to keep a small Caribbean island nation solvent. I compete in triathlons, running races, and am training for an upcoming century bike race, so while I am certainly burning those candy/cracker/cookie calories, I am not doing my body any favors by consuming them. By the same token, I do need more calories than the average bear (or in this case a 115ish pound female).

Get Your Health and Beauty Sleep

 Ahhh, bedtime

 

"Sleep, sleep tonight. And may your dreams be realized." - U2 (MLK)

You need to do four things for optimal health: eat a high-quality (unprocessed) diet, drink a lot of clean water, exercise regularly, and get enough sleep. Short-change yourself of one of these, and you'll start to drag and put yourself at risk of getting sick.

 

Last week I went to a very fun wedding (Jen & Billy 4EVR!), and only got a couple hours of sleep before work. Doing the simplest tasks took a noticeably longer time (even to me), and conversations were painfully convoluted. I ate way too much food. It was comical. I finally realized I was too inefficient and error-prone to be of any use to anyone, so I left.

Sleep deprivation hurts performance - mental and athletic. It also leads to a slew of other ills - weight gain, heart disease, shorter life span, crankiness, embarrassing faux pas. There's nothing great about being too tired to hit each day full-on. Conversely, your body repairs and rejuvenates itself during sleep and releases healthy hormones, and your brain gets to rest and mull things over. You can wake up with the answer to all your problems.

My motto used to be "You can get plenty of sleep when you're dead", but it's impossible to be on top of your game when you're exhausted. Now that I've gotten a bit healthier with fewer foggy days, I choose to be much more mindful about my sleep debt (it has to be worth it!).

People clearly need more sleep as American “sleeponomics” is estimated to be worth $20B a year (Business 2.0). There's little that's more tortuous than lying in bed and being unable to sleep. To help, people are buying everything from sleeping pills to sound systems to $60K+ mattresses. Unless you have a sleep disorder, it's time to stop the madness and go to bed earlier.

What to do - Get enough Sleep

Can Healthy Food be Tasty Instead of Flavorless and Boring?

Stir-fried tofu, broccoli, mushrooms and squash over brown rice and flaxseeds

Our greatest glory consist not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall. -Oliver Goldsmith

People often tell me that they would eat healthy, but it's flavorless and boring. To that, I can say, 1) I can definitely relate and 2) have faith - that won't always be the case. Here's how I know:

I loved junk food. I don't often tell people this, but I had a boss that used to stock a snack drawer at work to get me to work late. She filled it with junk (cause that's what I loved), and the piece de la resistance was my special order of spray cheese in a can with Pringles. This was an irresistible treat to me but it seemed to horrify others. Now I know why. Because... it's... GROSS!

People often think that I've been eating mindfully forever, but I didn't start eating (more) healthy until 2005. In fact, I remember talking to a healthy eater years ago and being fascinated. The guy didn't eat potato chips! I couldn't understand. "OK, you don't eat them. But don't you crave them?" I asked. Again he said no. I loved potato chips and couldn't comprehend not wanting to eat them every day, let alone being able to think about them and not wanting to eat them.

Why Sugar and Sweeteners are Bad

If you are bitter at heart, sugar in the mouth will not help you. -Yiddish Proverb

 

Sweetheart, you are sweeter than sugar. It's true! Sugar and other food sweeteners are sweet nothings - just another empty calorie. Sugar is the most commonly added sweetener, and it's only 16 calories a teaspoon.  So why does it have such a bad rap?

 

Just like in a relationship, what you do is often more important than what you say. Sugar depresses your immune system, leads to tooth decay, and is implicated in obesity, along with a long list of other ills.

 

Table sugar has been refined from sugar beets and sugarcane to such a degree that it has virtually no nutritional benefit. There are no vitamins, minerals or fiber.

 

It tastes sweet on your tongue, but it is refined into simple sugars so it is quickly absorbed by your body and spikes your blood-sugar levels. It's a bit of a shock to your body - your pancreas secretes insulin to drop your blood-sugar levels back to normal. That's why you feel that sugar high (insulin burst) and then a crash. This spike and crash routine is bad for a few reasons: