Great article

I love this article on What and When to Eat to Build Muscle. A lot of this I've learned intuitively over the years, but there's new tips here, too. It's not my goal to become the Hulk, just trying to keep myself toned and strong enough to navigate life well :-)

Chipotle delivers a powerful message

Chipotle's promotional video for their mobile game app gets some key points out in under four minutes that some people may never otherwise consider. A personal epiphany came for me some years ago, while visiting in-laws in Iowa, where there's corn and soy as far as the eye can see but the vast majority of it is destined for animal feed only.

A personal food philosophy is about as hard to explain and discuss as religion, because it's usually an intimately held belief. Despite the diverse viewpoints this promotional video is already raising, the message is powerful and will promote discussion, which is a good thing!

See the video and the behind the scenes presentation by the creating studio members.

Coffee: OK to drink it or not?

Sure, drink it occasionally but hold it to one or two cups when you do. I tend to drink a green tea and ginger blend (Tazo or Archer Farms), or Pu-erh with cocoa, or Rooibos Chai (both Numi, I love them) during the week.

But a mug of coffee is great to perk your system up and has antioxidant benefits, too. So if you enjoy coffee, no worries, continue to do so!

Benefits of a Mediterranean style diet

I've been on a modified Mediterranean diet (meaning no meat and reduced dairy) into the second year now, plus taking a bi-weekly off-the-shelf multivitamin supplement. I'm finding it's proving healthy for me as an older adult. Nice to see that there's some independent confirmation, too.

Why perfection isn't perfect

Yet another instance of how retailers attempt to sell consumers perfectly spotless and healthy plants and vegetables can actually introduce potentially adverse consequences to the ecosystem (see the article). And it isn't even discussed what happens to our physiology upon ingesting systemic neonics, either - but I bet it ain't good!

Comparing veggie protein sources to meat

I want to be sure I'm getting enough protein on my vegetarian diet, so I naturally became curious on how vegetarian protein sources compare to meat. After doing some searching, here are some interesting articles I found:

• Vegetarian protein sources
• Tofu nutritional value

According to the second article, 1/2 cup of tofu actually contains a bit more protein than the same amount of ground beef. Yippee! Sounds great to me :-) Quinoa is right in there, too. So as long as one includes veggie protein sources regularly, all should be well!

Experimental lunch

I have more time to cook from scratch during the weekends, but I also get hungry and can't wait forever for food! So here's a quick lunch I whipped together after making a grocery store run for the week.

 
Note: Amounts are approximate. You can vary ingredients; heck, I did :-)  Have fun with it!

Tools: veg. peeler, zest peeler, 4" paring knife, santoku chopping knife, wooden spoon, stainless steel fry pan with cover, 1 qt. stainless steel pot with cover.

Pearl Cous Cous pilaf

 Ingredients:

• 1 lg. clove (or 2 - 3 small cloves) fresh chopped garlic
• 1 tsp. fresh peeled & chopped ginger
• Zest from 1/2 fresh lemon
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 1 cup tri-color pearl cous cous (I like Bob's Red Mill)
• 1 tsp. chopped parsley or cilantro

Prep: 

• Boil 1 1/4 cups water, set aside 1 cup cous cous
• Add the salt, chopped garlic & ginger to the boiling water
• Add the cous cous
• Stir in the lemon zest
• Cook for 10 min until all liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and let stand.

Sauteed Green Veggies with Tofu

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1/4 sliced onion
• 1 handful Chinese broccoli, coarsely chopped
• 1 handful baby Bok Choi, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 tsp. fresh thyme
• 1/4 cup diced firm tofu
• 1/4 cup low sodium organic vegetable broth (Pacific Foods or Whole Foods works fine)
• 1 splash Sake (I used Sho Chiku Bai)

Prep:

•  Saute the sliced onion in 2 Tbs. EVOO for a minute or two
• Add the chopped greens and thyme and saute them with the onions
• Add the tofu, vegetable broth and splash of sake, cover and reduce. Saute for 2 - 3 min.

Plate and serve, add a little chopped parsely or cilantro on top of the pearl cous cous.

Wine pairing: Tapiz Malbec
Dessert: Fresh fruit salad, with a splash of Di Saronno and fresh-ground nutmeg.

Yum!

Whole Foods demo: Why the health of the bee population matters

Over half of produce at grocery stores depends on natural pollination.

Capsaicin (the hot tamale!)

I've been reading up lately about capsaicin, the compound in chili peppers that gives them their spiciness. It seems capsaicin has some interesting nutritional and analgesic effects, such as assisting the immune system, facilitating cellular termination at the end of the cell lifecycle process, and analgesic benefits in managing arthritis and muscular pain. Not to mention that it keeps our food interesting, too. So it seems having a spicy dish or two occasionally, as comfortable, is also a healthy and beneficial thing :-)

Fun meatless spaghetti

Here's an off-the-cuff, all fresh veggie spaghetti recipe that turned out great:

1/2 large onion, chopped
3 fresh garlic cloves, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
2 Tbs. EVOO

Pan saute the above ingredients in the EVOO, then add the following:

Some fresh dill cut ends
Some fresh oregano leaves
Some fresh chopped kale
1/4 cup vegetable broth (Pacific brand organic worked well)
Some sliced cauliflower florets

Cover the pan and steam the above ingredients for a couple of minutes, then cover the mixture with an organic tomato and basil sauce (Classico brand organic worked great).

Serve over spaghetti noodles, top with freshly-grated Parmesan cheese, and add a nice glass of red wine - yum!