Worshiping My Solar Plexus

The Sun has been vibrantly out in Seattle the past week . .only to hide behind the clouds this weekend, but these past few days of no sun hasn't affected me a bit, because lately i have been having a craving for another type of solar energy . . . .

About a month ago i started my obsession back up with Mangoes. To me they are the most loveliest fruit and have been such a great addition to my morning yogurt with bananas, also a yellow food. ( notice the color scheme) Corn season couldn't have come any sooner. I have been eating corn in many different ways. We had a corn-roasting party at midnight a few weeks ago over our fire pit in the back yard. I also introduced my two friends to roasting over the barbecue while we were at the lake cabin. They didn't believe me that you could keep the husk on the corn, place it on the BBQ, and trust the rest to the grill . . turned out crunchy and sweet. My boyfriend and I have used our oven to cook the corn, and last night at a BBQ we enjoyed some boiled corn. In fact, i recall that at the BBQ last night, while everyone was eating the hot dogs and sausages, my plate looked a little unbalanced: Corn on the cob and a corn salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. I finished up the leftover corn while others got seconds on the meat! Also last week, while working at the juice bar, I felt very drawn to the pineapple, snacking on pieces throughout the day! I have always been a big fan of bananas for breakfast, but this last week, i have been craving them in the afternoon before my daily workout! Lastly, i have been eating a lot of jack fruit which is a sweet tropical fruit that I ate a lot of when i was in Vietnam ( see the picture above).

So anyone notice a pattern here? It's definitely staring at me like a big sun shinning in my eyes . . . . yes, i have been obsessed with yellow color foods! Now normally, this would concern me a little, except for the fact that i bought a book last week that confirms my behavior as normal and totally appropriate if we look to the vibrational energy of the food i am eating. According to Deanna M. Minich, Ph.D., C.N. and her book: Chakra Foods for Optimum Health, the vibration of food interacts with our internal vibration so we should eat foods that have the vibrational food that we are lacking in. Low energy yellow foods can both stimulate and balance the solar plexus charkra which represents fire, inspiration, accomplishment, and self-esteem. This chakra liberates energy and carbohydrates. I feel that i need to stimulate this chakra within my own life because of my digestion problems and my high need for intellectual stimulation among other things. This chakra is the one most people in American need help balancing!

Healthy low glycemic food that will sustain the Solar Plexus are legumes, hummus, broccoli, dark green leafy vegetables, barley, oatmeal, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts,nut butters, apples, berries, cherries, and yellow, tan, and golden foods like pineapple, plantain, corn, ginger, yellow squash, lentils, amaranth, brown rice, millet, quinoa, and cornmeal.

I encourage anyone with an interest in how foods can improve their energy to check out Deanna's website at www.foodandspirit.com for more information!

Okay off to eat some sunny yellow eggs for breakfast!

Studying and Coconut Dreams

Today was a very productive day which needed to happen in order to perserve my sanity for upcoming finals week. However, i was not as sucessful in catering to my nutritional needs. I know that when i get busy and start working on a project, i can actually feel my body's sympathetic nervous system being turned on. I have never been one of those people who "snack" a lot on bad junk food while trying to study. Oh no, I am the opposite, letting my mind run wild, rapidly writing my papers, and not much thought on the needs of my stomach.

This of course isn't the first time i have realized my extreme nature surrounding my forgetfulness about eating while doing homework. I know that food is fuel for the brain, but just can't simply stop myself and cook up something in the kitchen. I did however have a delicous coconut smoothie with blended cashews from a new restaurant by my house, called Thrive. http://www.generationthrive.com/. It was the perfect addition to studying, because it was cold, creamy, and I could sip on it while i divulged myself in my readings. Coconut is a great source of saturated fat for vegetarians and in traditional chinese medicine, it can help clear the effect of summer heat and quenches thirst. Cashews are in fact the nut with the least amount of fat!

Most importantly it brought me back to my trip to Vietnam last summer. It has almost been a year since i took my first trip overseas and indulged in all the tropical fruits the country had to offer. We drank coconuts morning, noon, and night, mostly because of the abundance of them and their ability to quench our thirsts when it felt like 150 degrees outside. My favorite memory was heading to the local market on old bikes, and having another coconut craving, we had to tie the coconuts to the back of our bikes. The locals got quite a laugh at our attempts to be "tourists" at the market and willing to try and bike ride home on a rusty old bike loaded down with coconuts. We definitely had some "junk in the trunk" that day!

So I was highly satisfyed with my drink today that brought back such vivid memories. Perhaps if I dont think i have time to stop and eat while I'm cramming for finals, i can try to surround myself with a particular food that evokes a memory of happiness, relaxation, and comfort. Happy Studying!

Angie

Food comes first at the Local Farmers Markets

Well here I am again . . ready to blog again, or so I hope. I took a little hiatus from my blog due to busyness. A word that i generally dont like using, because i think it is way overused. Everyone is busy, I know, which is why it isnt a very good excuse for not doing something that you value. I vaule expressing myself with food and with words, but at times, i feel that i spend so much time studying food, that at the end of the day, i dont want to write about it. Since my last blog, i have only cooked a few times, and none of them were great masterpieces, except that my boyfriend and I made about 5 bowls of Emerald City Salad one night until about 1 am! It was very exciting, because it was his idea, and he is a meat eater, who never gets too overly excited about kale and collard greens. I was estatic when he asked me if we could make it one night, and the outcome was that we made enough for an army and ate it all weekend. However, I wouldn't recommend making it in such large batches, because after about 2 days, the kale and collards start to taste bad. Other than that culinary experience, i have been telling myself that i was just too "busy" to cook. In writing this, i realize that there are other things in my life that i don't put value on, even though i want to, for example being more mindful and slowing down in life.

This morning i finally made time to walk to the University Farmer's market. (check out www.seattlefarmersmarket.org for a listing of all of them ) So close to my house and i was very impressed by the amount of vendors and people shopping around. I love watching the families with their small children. I evesdrop on their conversations about what they are having for dinner, and listen closely to how they describe the produce to their children. I thought how lucky those children are to grow up going to the farmer's market with their parents and hoped that they would establish a lifelong love for food. I hoped that food always comes first in their lives and that they always make room for it no matter what other things go on in their day. These of course are still areas that I am cultivating in my life, but i hope this summer to make it a more regular event to visit the farmers market. Not only is it a great experience, local, and sustainable, but its great to be around other people who love and appreciate food as well. Now im off to make some black bean mango salsa lettuce wraps with my goods from the market!

Papayas and Klondike Bars

Recently, I read that stress is spiritual isolation. I know that food anxiety is a form of stress that many people experience daily. Where does this anxiety over food start in a culture?

I have been fortunate to share many meals eating homemade Vietnamese food by my boyfriend's mother. His family and him came to the states 18 years ago, and she still prepares traditional meals from her country every night. They are flavorful and unique, and eating her cooking has helped me open up my taste buds from the american food i grew up on.

Tonight as i was over at his parent's house, we shared a fresh papya after dinner. As i sat there like a small child, waiting for it to be peeled and the seeds scraped out, i had flashbacks of our trip to Vietnam last summer. We spent 3 weeks in south Vietnam, and although the scenery and people were amazing, the tropical fruits were unforgetable. I woke up every morning eating pomelos and lychee. Every meal was followed by my favorite: dragonfruit. If you have never ate a dragonfruit, i highly encourage you to buy a ticket to a tropical country just to experience this great combination of kiwi and watermelon! And the apperance of the fruit is just badass, i mean who wouldn't want to eat something that looks like a hot pink ball of flames?

So as we enjoyed the fresh papaya, my boyfriend's father sat on the couch next to us and induldged in good old american Klondike bar! He looked just as satisfied with his dessert as i was with mine. But i did find it ironic that him and I were both enjoying food from the other's culture. I guess it demonstrates that everyone wants what they don't have or didn't have growing up. Im pretty sure he wasn't offered ice cream every week, like i was. I hardly saw ice cream or any dairy products for that matter while i was in Vietnam. On the other hand, i ate my very first papya at that same dinner table, just like i have tried a great deal of new tropical fruits and asian vegetables since moving to Seattle.

As i watched his father walk to the fridge and grab his second Klondike bar of the night, i realized that some cultures dont have a fear of food like Americans do. Some people are just glad to be living in a country where they have food on the table, whether it be a traditional meal or a savory american ice cream bar. Some people are excited to have a refridgerator even!

I think tonight i became aware that in order to rid our culture of food anxiety, we need to be humble and thankful for food in all its many forms. Although we can separate health food from the SAD: standard american diet, we can and need to also be thankful that we have food in this country and more imporant that we have choices and freedom to eat what our stomach desires.

The art of burger making

Last night i attempted to make garbanzo bean burgers that would be the perfect consistency for my mechanically altered diet for someone with dysphagia ( difficulty swallowing). At first, i thought it was going to take all the fun out of cooking, having to make food that forms a "bolus" in your mouth without chewing. In fact, i had a lot of fun, trying out both pan frying and broiling the patties to get a desired consistency. I felt like a scientist in the kitchen, experimenting with different temperatures, oils, and methods. But really, isnt that what all good cooks do? They experiment while they cook. I wish someone would have brought this up back in science class . . why dont they teach kids about food and science at the same time, instead of only talking about food in health class or home economics?



It does seem kinda ironic that although i have been studying science for both my undergraduate education and graduate program, learning to be a scientist in the kitchen is still frightening to me. I still cling to my recipes and try to follow every step. I know that one of the best ways to cook is through the senses, but i am still trying to remind myself that food is forgiving.

Just like our bodies.

I am also trying to step away from the having a scientific mindset about everything and instead learn through better use of my feelings. I feel that it is easy in my program to get consumed by the scientific knowledge about food and analyze it down to the last molecule. I also feel that my program is unique because it allows me to grow in my relationship with food emotionally and spiritually.

Therefore as with most things, the answer for me is to find a balance between the art and science of cooking. The art will evolve quietly, sometimes without my awareness, and this process requires trust and maybe burning a couple of burgers first!

Truthfully . . .

I have heard of new diets which are based upon trying to hide healthy food from children so that they will eat it. These disguised diet, do more harm than good. Why are we hiding good food? Why don’t we tell children whats in food? Where did it begin in history where we gave a piece of food to a child and said, "eat it, its good for you." Since when did we start treating children like they couldn't handle the truth. Children have so much more understanding then we give them credit for? I grew up with a great amount of love and attachment, but i also grew up with very little information about food. My mother cooked a lot, and i remember having to cook a meal for my family for my junior high home economics class, but other than that, i watched my mom cook. I never understood about what made a food whole versus what made a food processed. I never looked at an ingredient list and i didn't really understand where real food came from. But i knew that i loved eating my mom's meals, because they were satisfying and she took time to cook them. I could taste her intention to love through the use of food.



But what does education do for us? I keep thinking back to the ignorance is bliss statement. What we don't know wont hurt us. Now that I'm fully armed with education about food, am i really that much healthier? yes for sure, i have lost weight and my skin looks great, and how about my cravings . .they aren't for chocolate as much as they used to be. But am i happier? I couldn't tell you. I feel that my food choices are made off of what i learn in school, I'm still having trouble allowing myself to eat anything i crave.

SO i guess what I'm trying to say, is what if we teach children how to experience food for themselves, without just telling them to eat vegetables cause they are good for them? What if instead we taught them where food comes from and how farming can change the quality of food and then give them types of food to try and let them be the experts of their own bodies. That way they feel that they had the choice and let their body decide what was good and nutritious for them to eat.

Gut Lessons

Our bodies are forgiving.

I am realizing this more and more with each year that i live and put more food into my mouth. Our bodies can handle quite a bit in fact. There are some bodies that can go for 60 or 7o years on a diet of grease and saturated fat . .and never choose to rebel until then. Today i woke up and was amazed at this fact. Just the simple fact that our bodies can heal from the poor diets that we choose to feed it. And they can heal so beautifully and quickly, if we give them the proper nutrients. This thought came upon me, because i was thinking of how drastically different my diet is today from when i was growing up. I sometimes have to sit back and laugh at myself when i think of how many turkey sandwiches and spaghettio's i would eat. It was my favorite thing to eat after swim practice in the summer. Or how about good old McDonald's again . . .earlier i divulged my obsession with the sweet and sour sauce, but how do you think i got addicted to that stuff? Yep, i was a big fan of the chicken nuggets as well. I remember my sister and I fighting over who got to open up the 20 piece box first and choose which ones to devour.

So i never went hungry as a child, that's for certain. I was always happy and full. But now, I can't even stand the smell of fast food. And spaghettio's? Haven't touched the stuff since i was 12. But my body has been enjoying the whole grains, veggies, and beans i have been giving it, and the fruit . .i love the fruit. I just guess what I'm trying to say is that everyone has their memories of the food they grew up with and how yummy it was, but most people i know don't still eat like that. They tastes have changed or simply, the fact that they are now adults and have more control about who buys the groceries. But our bodies, they adapt from the poor diets we may have had as children and learn to run off of the food we choose to eat instead.

So the next time i do want to remember my days of spaghettio's or indulge in a little fast food. I should have no concerns that my body will handle the food just fine. It may not like it. It may grumble, it may rage as the sodium and high fructose corn syrup enter my stomach again. Or maybe it might say, " AH yes . . I remember this . . . .where have you been?"

You see, I'm pretty sure my body likes the food i give it now better. How do i know? Well i feel better, lighter, my skin is clearer, i lost weight, my blood pressure went down; stuff like that. But how do I really know if my body misses any of my old food obsessions that looking back, i think were so "BAD?" I guess that in writing this, i cant say for sure. What i do know, is that the body is adaptable and it will use whatever we feed it for fuel. It will make the best of the environments we choose to place it in. Our bodies will always try to find a balance for us to live in, regardless of what we may be supplying it with.

I think we all should marvel at that more. Or at least I'm going to, because i don't give my body enough credit for what it is capable of doing. And i certainly don't listen to its messages enough.

So who knew? Our own bodies can be the best teachers of adaptability and forgiveness. And all we have to do is listen and eat.