A few weekend things..

My house is on the market again. Been meaning to post the pictures in case anyone wants to buy it...cause you never know. It's a really lovely house. I'll be sad to leave but it's time to go. 

So I'm a wee bit behind but I want to throw out a few mini blogs I've been meaning to post.

First, have you seen the cover of Serena and Lily's catalog for the spring/summer? Here's a sneak peak of it in case you don't get it. Love the cover photo...it's stunning and makes me want to buy all of their linens.

 Love the pink rug and yellow duvet combo.

Also, I recently found a great nail polish remover called Peacekeeper that's virtually non toxic. It really works without the horrible toxic fumes. Finally! Find the whole line of eco products at www.iamapeacekeeper.com

Saving the best for last...as my husband and I work on cleaning up our diet for the spring/summer season with the help of a local Naturopath...we've been trying more healthy cleanse-type recipes. 

Here's a Healthy Rice Crispy Treat recipe I've been making from her cleanse coobook to help with sugar cravings. Mind you, it has a sweetener in it, but it's low glycemic and high in protein.

 

You need: 

3/4 cups of brown rice crispy cereal (gluten free, no sugar kind)

3/4 cup of brown rice syrup

1 cup of almond butter (no sugar kind). 

Directions:

Butter a 9x12 dish.  Heat up syrup and almond butter in a pan on low/medium heat, after it melts together, fold it into the rice crispys in a separate bowl and stir gently. After thoroughly mixed, spread the whole mixture into the pan you just buttered. Let cool for 30 minutes and they are done! So good.  And you can add anything you want - nuts, dried fruit etc. So easy, so fast!

The Vegetarian Myth

Fascinating read. The Vegetarian Myth by Lierre Keith. I know many of you are vegetarians and I'm not trying to start a debate, that's for sure. But this is a good read for anyone. It's not necessarily a pro-meat, anti-vegetarian book. It's really just a good source for learning more about how food is produced and grown in our country, the economics of food and how our bodies digest and use different types of food. 

The woman who wrote the book was a vegetarian for 20 years and then started doing her own research.  She now eats meat, but is very careful about the quality and the source.

I love reading books like this. I think the more information we have the better in deciding not only what to eat for the body we have, but where to buy our food and who to support. All so important. And I'm just so grateful there are people out there willing to do the extensive research to educate the rest of us! If this topic is up your alley, I hope you pick up a copy. I think you'll enjoy it.

Your great grandmother's ketchup

This is off the beaten path for Modish living, but I really think the topic of food fermentation is very interesting. I learned alot about fermented foods years ago when I was trying to whole-foods my way out of a thyroid condition. I basically found these foods to be packed full of enzymes and probiotics, and they basically digest themselves and help digest most of the meal you eat them with. So healthy. They also contain a higher level of vitamins and nutrients when compared to regular foods. 

So when I came across this recipe today for fermented ketchup from Nourished Kitchen, I thought I'd better pass it on. I will be making this for sure.  How good will it feel to feed your kids an ultra healthy ketchup!

Homemade Ketchup: Ingredients

• 2 cups tomato paste, preferably homemade
• 1/4 cup raw honey, maple syrup or whole unrefined cane sugar 
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh whey*, divided
• 2 tablespoons raw apple cider vinegar, plus extra for thinning the ketchup, if desired
• 1 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Homemade Ketchup: Method

1. Spoon tomato paste into a large mixing bowl and fold in raw honey or other natural sweetener of choice.
2. Whisk in one-quarter cup fresh whey or vegetable starter culture into the sweetened tomato paste along with apple cider vinegar, sea salt, allspice and cloves.  Continue whisking these ingredients together until the paste is smooth and uniform.
3. Spoon the homemade ketchup into a mason jar, top with remaining two tablespoons fresh whey or vegetable starter culture, cover loosely with a cloth or lid and allow the ketchup to sit at room temperature, undisturbed, for three to five days.
4. After three to five days, uncover the homemade ketchup and give it a thorough stir before transferring to the refrigerator.  Naturally fermented homemade ketchup will keep for several months in the refrigerator.

TIME: 5 minutes (active), 3 to 5 days (fermentation)
YIELD: about 1 pint.
DAIRY-FREE? Omit fresh whey and substitute one packet vegetable starter culture (see sources) dissolved in one-quarter cup plus two tablespoons filtered water.

Hip Chick Macrobotics

I thought I'd share what I'm reading these days. I have a huge stack of books I want to get through this winter, and this one has kept my attention for days: The Hip Chick's Guide to Macrobiotics by Jessica Porter. It's an easy read and very funny. Jessica starts out the book talking about taking a class on Macrobiotics in NYC and wanting to run for the hills because everyone was a weirdo (but ultimately ended up fully embracing the diet and writing this book obviously).

Personally, I've never paid any attention to macrobiotics because it's a grain focused diet and I've always had trouble with gluten grains. That said, it's similar to a vegan diet but more flexible in a way so I wanted to look a little deeper. The diet and philosophy center around the yin and yang energies of food and how they effect our bodies. It's really fascinating.  People who follow this diet, unlike other diets, claim to be healthier (as all diets do) but also seem calm, balanced and frankly,  just plain happy.  Now I'm not ready to dive in head first, but I'm intrigued. I like the idea of sticking to whole grains, fruits, vegetables, sea vegetables (this one is tricky), beans, soups, and sometimes animal products.

 

Here's a great excerpt for all of us living in the Northeast:

"WINTER:    Imagine your winter coat. Gloves. Seeing your breath. Cold air on your cheeks. Our part of the planet has pulled away from the sun so it becomes extremely cold, which creates contraction. Everything is dark, and all the living things go inward. Trees have pulled their sap in and down. Bears hibernate. People go to indoor parties, huddling together for a type of warmth they don't even know they are seeking. The weather outside is extremely yin (cold/dark) and that produces a yang response in us; our bodies fight to stay warm, active, and gathered. We are literally floating in an in-between that eventually becomes the strong expansion of spring."

"In winter we need to stay warm. More oil, hearty soups, animal food, and rice bean dishes are necessary in a five season climate. Baking feels comforting. Even deep frying is appropriate for sealing warmth into the body. Buckwheat, beans, sea vegetables, and good quality salt are all the very nourishing to the kidneys, bladder and reproductive organs - the most strongly charged by winter's inward, floating energy"

Isn't this fascinating and doesn't it make so much sense? I'm only a quarter of the way through the book but my rice cooker is on the way.  She suggests trying this diet out by just changing one meal a day to an all grain meal. I love brown rice, so this is easy for me.  We'll see if I take it any further.  I'll let you all know how it goes....

Btw, if you want to learn more quickly without getting the book, Jessica has a great website - www.hipchicksmacrobiotics.com.

Back to business

Happy New Year! 

Whew, didn't mean to be away from blogland for so long. Christmas festivities, travel, family visits and re-enty into a routine has kept me away. Lots of fun and quality time with family and friends, but now it's time to refocus and re-prioritize for the coming year. I think it's great we have this time every year to at least think about the changes we want to make in our lives. Even if we don't act right away, I think the process itself gets us at least closer to realizing the goal.

That said, one of my priorities will be better eating. So, for the month of January my goal is to cook more, and......eliminate sugar. I loved all the holiday food over the past few weeks, but from trials in the past, I know I feel much better when I go without sugar. So here I go again. Anyone else in? It's not that hard, I swear!

If you can get past the first week or two of withdrawl, literally, then you're home free (unless ofcourse you cheat). And I'm not suggesting a sugar-free year, only a month. As a trial. To experience the health changes.  When doing this in the past, although brutal for a few days, I felt incredibly calm, mood swings went awat, and I experienced way way better sleep. That's me ofcourse. I wonder how other people will feel?

So to remove sugar: remove honey, molasses, white and brown sugar and all the derivatives, chemical or otherwise. I allow myself stevia and fruit juice sweetened stuff. Here are some other tips....

A good book I found as a good reference the last time I did this.

GT Organic Raw Kombucha drinks are a lifesaver, especially when withdrawling from sugar. They actually use sugar to brew the Kombucha but the good bacteria eats it all up, so other than then fruit juice that's added, it's all good! And it helps with sugar cravings. Most natural grocers carry these, and Whole Foods or you can order them in bulk here.

And if you're in a real bind and crave sugar, Dagoba 87% dark chocolate works too. A wee bit of sugar but no big deal. I love this brand. The best.

Wish me luck! And ditto to anyone else who goes for it!

It's official. Winter is here.

I realized today that the weather we've experienced so far up here in the corners of Massachusetts has not really been winter. Winter is what we had today and yesterday. It's not the throw on a coat and hat and a pair of flats type weather we've been lucky enough to have the past few weeks. 

Winter up here is a wear all your layers, slushy-muck on the streets, dry skin,  windshield scraping, cold catching time of the year. There are positives too of course, but since I don't ski, I don't count them.

That said, I'm trying to get into the spirit.  Which basically means getting out the slow cooker, UGGS and NorthFace gear and putting away all my pretty shoes and hats.

Luckily I love the slow cooker in the winter so I spent some time today researching some new recipes to try. The recipe I posted below happens to be from a great Gluten Free Blog. Doesn't it look delicious? I love the combo of garlic, tomatoes and pomegranate (I know what you're thinking, pomegranate and beef???). I'm going to try this one as soon as I can locate a large chunk of grass-fed beef. Karina also references the slow cooker book, Make it Fast, Cook it Slow in her blog.  I think this book was written specifically for me to help me through these tough winter months. Fast, easy, fresh, natural, and slow to cook in the slow-cooker. Perfect.

Slow Cooker Grass Fed Beef in Pomegranate Sauce Recipe

1 1/2 to 2 pounds grass fed beef or buffalo roast or steak, fat trimmed if necessary
Sea salt
Light olive oil, as needed
1 onion, sliced
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup unsweetened pomegranate juice
1 14-oz can Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar- omit for yeast-free
1/8 cup pure maple syrup- or use agave to keep it lower glycemic
1/2 cup fresh cranberries or golden raisins
1 teaspoon dried French herb mix or Bouquet Garni
A small pinch of cinnamon

Salt the beef on all sides. Wait a few minutes. Get your slow cooker situated and turned on to High.
Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef on all sides to sear in the flavor, using long tongs to turn the pieces. This doesn't take but maybe five minutes, or so. Remove the beef and set aside.
Add a small dash of olive oil to the crock. Add in sliced onion and garlic. Stir to coat with the olive oil. Place the beef on top. Pour in the pomegranate juice, crushed tomatoes, balsamic vinegar and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Add the cranberries or raisins, dried herbs, a pinch of cinnamon, sea salt and ground pepper. Stir a little bit to co-mingle ingredients. Cover and let the magic happen- about 4 to 5 hours.
 

By the way, you may be wondering - why am I posting recipes about beef when I started off this blog talking about veganism? I'm not alienating the vegan diet. I do hope to evolve more towards a vegan diet in the summer months, but in the winter time when it's cold, I decided that I need warming foods. My acupuncturist talks alot about this.  There are people who have warm body types (Chinese medicine talk) that can handle lighter fare and colder foods all year round, and then there are bodies that are cooler and need the strength of warmer, cooked food. Meat is very grounding  and warm in nature and really helps add bulk to a meal. So although my mind embraces the philosophy of veganism, my body really needs heartier food, especially in the winter. That said, when I do eat meat, I am very careful now about the quality, cleanliness and humane farming practice used to produce it. I refuse to support anything factory farmed.

Veganism, status update

So, things are going OK. I'm not eating entirely vegan, but I'm eating very consciously (except last night).  I am still attracted to the vegan way of eating, because if you're creative, you can eat really well and after reading Eating Animals I don't want to support the animal factory farming industry in this country in any way.  But there is so much research on the importance of good quality, clean meats in a diet, along with good fats: olive oil, coconut oil, butter, lard, that it's hard to make the switch the more I read. I'm beginning to think the key is to understand what your body wants and needs, and not throw yourself into a rigid way of eating. That said, I do think everyone would benefit from removing and really limiting sugar in most forms, along with grains, soy and processed food. Dr Mercola just posted an interesting article on his website about the most common causes of cancer and how most of them are environmental, and insulin fluctuations are a big cause, among many others.

So what am I eating so far? Alot of vegetables and salads and millet bread and rice pasta and risotto and fish. I don't really like to cook vegetables and eat them individually (laziness!) so I either juice them or roast whatever I have and make a pureed soup. Doing both everyday. Both are really good ways of getting a few servings in a day at least. I'm also researching possibly getting a small extra basement freezer and finding a farm where I can buy clean, well raised animal meat and buy in bulk.  I'll let you know what I find out. From what I learned from the book, even Bell and Evans isn't great because although their chickens may free of chemicals, those birds I'm sure are not leading happy lives. I might try to look into this too to confirm my suspicion.


Here's a quick recipe I've been using everyday for a carrot curry dip. It really is a copy of something the Natural Grocer makes here in town. I don't have their recipe so I copied based on taste.


A bunch of carrots, maybe half a bag, skinned and chopped
1/2 to 1 t of curry
1/2 to 1 t of salt
olive oil
1/2 cp coconut cream milk


I basically boiled the carrots until they were very very soft, drained the water, added the curry, olive oil, milk and salt in the pan and blended until it was very smooth, tasting as I went.
Then cooled it in the fridge. It's best when cold and it's great with any kind of chips and/or rice crackers.

Here's the book by the way.  I think everyone should read it just so they are informed.

More later. Have a great weekend!

Souen, NYC. A Macrobiotic meal. Broccoli Tofu, Mu Tea anyone?

My first post of a few on our trip to NYC last week. How I miss it so. I took my family back to my favorite macrobiotic restaurant located in SOHO. www.souen.net I used to eat there by myself when I lived in NYC because I was really one of two people I know who like or would really desire to eat Macrobiotic. Not my normal diet - too many grains - but really good food too. Here is a sampling of what you might expect at a Macrobiotic restaurant: maze salmon, gluten free cornbread, vegetable curry, bean soup, steamed greens, and healthy dessert goodies such as sugar, gluten and dairy free parfaits, scones and muffins and tofu cheesecake. Really good food. Once I was in NYC by myself, I ate a basic lunch at Souen and the meal not only fueled me for an entire day of walking the streets of NYC, but kept me full until a very late dinner 10 hours later.

It's all about Yin Foods and Yang Foods (which fascinates me), and the idea that we should eat balanced food, local and unprocessed, that's easy to digest, and it should taste good. Ofcourse, I think we would all agree with that as the desired diet, but what is also means is that you basically do the following:

• Make well-chewed whole grains (such as brown rice) 25 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Vegetables should be 30-40 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Beans and legumes should be five to 10 percent of your daily dietary intake.
• Bean and/or miso soups should be approximately five percent of your daily dietary intake.
• The remaining intake should be composed of fish, nuts, seeds and fruits.
• Nightshade vegetables (such as potatoes, peppers and tomatoes) should be avoided.
• Avoid stimulating foods (such as hot spices, tropical fruits, sugar and caffeine) and dense foods that create stagnation (such as dairy, poultry, meat, eggs and salt.) Instead, eat foods that promote balance such as whole grains, beans, fruits and nuts.
• Don't eat dairy, meat or poultry. These foods are avoided on macrobiotic diets.
• Avoid coffee, tea and soda. Teas made with roasted grains or dandelion greens are acceptable.
• All cooking and drinking water must be purified.
• Select only organic produce.
• Use only fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid canned and frozen produce.
• Avoid use of the microwave to prepare your food.
• Avoid intake of all animal products except for fish.

Yikes, a tad strict for me, but I admire those who can stick to it. It's truly a very healthy diet for most people. What about any of you, who may be reading this post one day - seem appealing?

So there you have it foodie readers. Check it out next time you're in NYC. I do recommend! This btw, will be one of my many posts about food and diet. An obsession of mine.