The Plan, or "Dieting"

I will be the first to tell you, I don't diet.

I'm of healthy weight and like to eat.  General concepts like "everything in moderation" and "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" work better for me than psyllium husks; non-fat, food-like products; and fake sugar.  I find the forced limitations of dieting to be damaging in more ways than beneficial.  Not to mention that the latest new thing will be negated in a few days or years and replaced by the next, with equal and exhausting enthusiasm.

On the other hand, I'm not too fond of my poor complexion or dry eyes or other discomforts that bother me from time to time.  And I have allowed myself to be convinced that if I find which foods might be causing these reactions in my body, I might just be able to clear them up.  How great would that be?

Well, perhaps not so great if it is determined that I react negatively to foods I love.  Like any member of the nightshade family or mushrooms or dairy.  Or wheat.  But, I already do not eat the foods I dislike, so I suppose that the culprits must be ones I enjoy.

Taking in all the factors, I have decided to complete a three-week regimen that is something like a modified elimination diet.  I repeat, I am not interested in losing weight.  I want to reiterate this fact, because I do not have a weight problem and have shocked at least four (well-rounded, intelligent, open-minded) people by stating that I do not have an innate "female" desire to be über-thin and consequentially well-liked by all.  I simply want to be healthy and feel good.

Luckily, the food I am eating throughout the regimen is satisfying.  Whole and low-reactive foods can still be delicious and, well, pretty!  Making my meals look good makes a huge difference when I'm missing lattes and pastries.  Or any of the celebratory LaMar Donuts that my coworkers brought into work last week (they're so good!).  It also helps that if I feel fine after eating wheat and dairy products this week, lattes and pastries are in my near future.  Woo-hoo!

It is somehow comforting that I did not feel fine after eating copious amounts of flax seeds last week.  Ugh.  I am supposed to start my day with a bowlful of "flax granola" (above), which is a morning routine I quickly came to dread...even the prettiness of it couldn't save that one for me.  Then I realized that me practically gagging on the stuff was some sort of a negative reaction and that I should probably eliminate this "fabulous" health food.  Since cutting this part out and replacing it with tasty things, like fruit and Silk Coconut milk, I feel so much better emotionally about breakfast that I feel better physically, too.  Yay!  First "diet" lesson learned.

Everything else has been satisfying and fulfilling.  It feels wonderful to have eaten 99% whole foods for several days, but to also feel full and eat good-tasting meals. It's nice to discover that recipes that sound boring, like julienned carrots and a shredded raw beet (above, with a candy stripe beet from my garden), are actually really great.

I'm learning to put together common-sense, balanced meals and am looking forward to the end of the trial period, when I can start developing my own recipes that are based on a solid, balanced theory of eating.  I think it will lead to some brand-new, delicious recipes for Omnivora!

Most importantly, figuring out what doesn't really work for me doesn't mean that anything is out of my life forever.  I can learn how to manage problematic foods in a way that allows me to enjoy them if I love them.  And that is what eating well is all about, right?



MANGO CUCUMBER SALSA
Adapted from The Plan, by Lyn-Genet Recitas*

• 1 mango, small dice
• 1 pickling or English cucumber, small dice
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeño
• sea salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

If you have a gas range (and I hope you do!), roast jalapeño over open flame, until well-blistered.  Set aside to cool.

Combine mango, cucumber, and lime juice in a bowl.  Mince jalapeño and stir into salsa, along with cilantro, if using.  Salt to taste and serve with anything you can think of...like fish or other meat, or tortilla chips, or broiled tofu.  It's delicious and you will love it.  I will be making it for an upcoming salsa party.


*The dietary plan I am following is The Plan, by Lyn-Genet Recitas.  I really am having a great time with it and I hope to learn about the foods I don't handle well.  The book is an interesting read, but could use a cookbook editor - planning for The Plan can get out of control.  The website offers shopping lists and alternate menu plans, based on previously held dietary restrictions.  It definitely helps if you like to make spreadsheets and are generally analytical like I am.

Garden Series Part V: Green Beans & Chiles

This week the garden has been neglected.  It was not intentional, but for once I was busy doing more traditional thirty-somethings' pass times.  If you live in the Denver area, you may be aware of the UMS (Underground Music Showcase) and that it can take up a lot of your time.

It was fun and I saw some long-overdue shows.  I saw many friends and had many drinks.  I happened upon Residual Kid, and holy shit, they were awesome.  But if I'm being honest, I normally tend towards the nerdier of hobbies.  Like this poor garden, overgrown with runner beans and turnips and dill.  And wilting in the July sun.

Most of the time, friends are surprised about the gardening habit.  I'm not sure they are more surprised that I actually have a back yard in the city or that I would willingly do all the work.   I usually meet the astonishment with confusion, because I see it as more than rewarding for not much work at all. Sure, digging up 300 square feet of compacted soil by hand is serious labor, but I only had to do that once four years ago and there is machinery available for that sort of thing.  And I don't mind working when I'm properly compensated.

If you really want to know about why I do it, it's not just about the produce or eating off the land.  It's not about making any and all guests take my garden tour (which is pretty high on the things-I-love-about-gardening list). Although I am concerned about the food industry and I like to know where my food comes from, I'm not even trying to reach some high level of local eating.  It's mostly because I find the entire process endlessly fascinating. Every summer I am shocked to see what I get from a handful of seeds in March.  I am enamored with the hundreds of heirloom and unusual varieties that you just never see at the grocery store.  I consider getting some sort of advanced degree in botany.

Plus, I'm growing quinoa this year.  Quinoa, guys!

As for my other nerdy interests, like cooking and sewing and learning about things...uh, I'm not much of a camper or an athlete. Ahem, but when the world ends and we sink into survivalist indecency, I will have clothing and food and a warm quilt and I will know stuff.*  And I share.

Oh.  How about a recipe?

BLISTERED & SPICY GREEN BEANS

• Large handful green beans, trimmed
• Splash olive oil
• 1 hot chile, sliced thinly
• Salt to taste
• Sesame oil

Set a medium pot of salted water to boil and meanwhile prepare the rest of the ingredients.  Once at a boil, blanch green beans for about 2-3 minutes.  Strain through a colander and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.  Drain well and blot them with a towel to dry before adding them to hot oil.  Ouch.

Put olive oil in a medium sauté pan and heat to medium-high.  Toss in chile and allow to sizzle.  Once hot, add the blanched green beans and toss to coat.  Stirring or flipping the pan only a few times, allow the beans to cook until blistered on all sides.  Season with salt and plate them up.

Drizzle a very small amount of sesame oil over the top.  Pretty delicious.



*I'm feeling a little ornery this time.

**The purple beans in the first picture are Trionfo Violettos.  They turn dark green when cooked.  The purple chile is a 5-Color Chinese Chile.  These make for such beautiful plants - the chiles start purple, then turn white, yellow, orange, and red.  The purple stage is quite spicy enough.