All Dressed Up Quinoa Salad

Another successful night slept! It turns out I went a bit overboard with the blanket layers, but that’s what happens when we do anything in excess. I woke up about twenty minutes before the alarm clock, though I’m just so ecstatic with actually catching decent shuteye that I really don’t mind at all. In fact, I was so energized I tackled housecleaning before work, and perhaps a blog post to boot. 

This is going to be an amazing day.

So, do you remember in my last post that I had declared January to be “Breakfast Bake Month”? Well, you may also remember that I accepted the challenge to do other recipes also, just to get back on track with blogging more often. There will definitely be more breakfast bakes, but I can definitely feel the emptiness where my “Bento Box Snapshots” used to be. This month’s Gluten Free Ratio Rally has also proven to be rather difficult, but I’m not giving up.

No sir, not I.

It occurred to me that I’ve been very, uh, bakerish lately and I wanted to do something different than using an oven and letting it do all of the work in transforming the dish. I wanted to be an active participant from start to finish, and it had to be a vegetable-based recipe as a side dish for dinner. That’s where quinoa comes in.

After not having rice as often as I used to, it was no longer was my go-to gluten free flour like it once was. Although I’m not strictly following the grain-free free, sweetener free, one fruit a day diet, my body just doesn’t crave it anymore (as well as oats, white potatoes, corn, and yeasty things). And this is coming from a gal who swore by rice cracker sandwiches.

But quinoa has really shone through the drastic changes in my taste bud preferences, and even in flour form I like it much better than I had before. When I can find it, I always go for red quinoa because of its texture, but white quinoa is most common in stores and has a pleasant creaminess to it in addition to a mild, seedy taste (well, it is a seed after all).

Looking back throughout my previous posts in 2011, I am surprised to find how many of my recipes have called for quinoa, both as flour and as whole grain. But it truly is a remarkably adaptable food, as it can be a very healthy addition to any recipe you can think of.

The following recipe was an experiment on how I could “dress up” plain ol’ quinoa with the pork. I played around with flavors and textures, and mixed up fresh ingredients in with the cooked ones. I think it needed a dressing of some kind, perhaps something sweet that enhanced the apricot and tomatoes.

Just remember, folks:  you can dress up any sort of gluten free grain to fit your needs to any meal. Play with your food, and your stomach will thank you.

Trust me, I'm a Blogger.

All Dressed Up Quinoa Salad

168 g White quinoa
480 ml Water
1 tsp. Unrefined apple cider vinegar
1/4 – 1/2 tsp. Sea salt
1 tbsp. Olive oil
1/2 Large (or 1 small) Red onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 Garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 Medium carrot, sliced into thin circles
14 g Fresh parsley, stemmed and coarsely chopped
122 g or 15 Mini pearl grape tomatoes, halved lengthwise
1 Fresh apricot, pitted, peeled, and thinly sliced (note: you want a slightly firm one that is tart in flavor)
1 Avocado, pitted, peeled, and cut into small chunks 

Place the quinoa, water, cider vinegar, and salt into a rice cooker (or in a medium saucepan on the stove) and prepare it as you would white rice.
On medium heat, place the olive oil in a hot sauté pan and cook the onion, garlic, carrot, and parsley until the onion has become translucent (you want the carrot to have a little crunch).
After the quinoa is cooked, place it in a large mixing bowl and add the cooked veggies as well as apricot, tomatoes, and avocado.
Lightly toss with a wooden spoon until thoroughly integrated.
Serve warm.

Makes 4 – 6 servings.

The Breakfast Bake Jamboree!

Last week must have been my most bangin’ week that I’ve had in a while. I was busy when there was something to do, and was relaxed when there was nothing to do. The house is cleaner, my demeanor is happy-go-lucky and open, and better still, I’m sleeping. Last night was my longest sleep yet: nine-something hours.

It’s weird, though. I figured that this awesome way of looking at the world would give me more time to blog, but the somethings in my life (i.e. working two jobs part-time equaling thirty-two hours, cleaning, exercising, hanging out with people) have kept me plenty occupied. In retrospect, I think this blog was my outlet from stressing out and losing it last semester, an escape through recipe writing and reaching out to those who visit Meals With Morri with stories of my day-to-day life. But after this week, I know when I am free to cook just for the sake of cooking, and following up with a post.

This particular post on my take of breakfast bakes has been two plus weeks in the making, if only because I wasn’t sure if I wanted each recipe to have its own post or do like I did with my various socca versions in “The Socca Chronicles”. After my stagnation of not blogging much of anything, the photos on my camera were adding up and I was getting overwhelmed with the idea of having to do so many over a short amount of time. In my something-nothing philosophy, that kind of thinking just wasn’t kosher. 

One post it was then.

My first ever “breakfast bake” (if I could call it that) on this blog was significantly different than what they look like today. They’ve transformed based on how they are cooked and in what, and I am truly digging my oven-safe soup bowls to do the job I wanted. They’ve varied in flours, liquids, fruits, leavening agents, and fats. Some of them have been amazing while others, well, not so much. I wasn’t partial to baking powder, only because of wanting to avoid cornstarch (or starches in general to keep the bakes whole-grain), and used equal measurements baking soda and cream of tartar instead. At the moment I’m only using baking soda, not as highly rising a product but delicious all the same.

By the way, the following recipes were baked in a preheated soup bowl at 350ºF for 30 or so minutes. Butter and coconut oil were used for greasing the pan just before adding the batter, though I’m using coconut oil currently. Oh, and all of the batters were made the night before and placed in the fridge to “set”.

The first is similar to the breakfast bake I had almost every day during the boyfriend's and my ski trip. It was made with 60 g of garbanzo bean flour, 90 g water, one egg, salt, baking soda and half a Granny Smith apple, so I just rolled with calling it a “socca bake”. But I started to realize that my tummy could only handle so many beans in a day, so I tried it with buckwheat flour and groats. 

Spiced Apple Buckwheat Bake

30 g Raw buckwheat groats, whole

30 g Buckwheat flour

90 ml Filtered water

5 ml Unrefined apple cider vinegar

1 Large egg

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Allspice

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into small chunks

1 – 2 tsp. Butter, for greasing

Combine everything into a mixing bowl (except for the leavening agents, the apple, and the butter) and let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF with a small oven-safe soup bowl (or ramekin) in the center.

Add the leavening agent and apple chunks into the batter and let it sit on the counter until the oven is heated.

Melt the butter in the hot bowl and swish around the bottom as well as the edges and then pour in the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes (or until you press the top in the very middle as does not give way).

I cut mine so it resembled a puffy sandwich and put a little peanut butter love in the middle.

Over the next few recipes I fell in love with cream cheese and wanted to use it in a few of my breakfast bakes as well as topping them with it.

Strawberry Dream Breakfast Bake

60 g Buckwheat flour

6 g Buckwheat groats

90 ml Filtered water

1 Large egg

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1/8 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

Stevia, to taste

30 g Cream cheese

140 g Strawberries, cut into small chunks (if frozen, put in the fridge to thaw overnight)

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 – 2 tsp. Butter, for greasing

Like the “Spiced Apple BB” recipe above, mix together all but the cream cheese, strawberries, leavening agents, and butter to sit in the fridge overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF with a small oven-safe soup bowl (or ramekin) in the center.

Add the leavening agent, the cream cheese in small patches, and strawberry chunks into the batter and let it sit on the counter until the oven is heated.

Melt the butter in the hot bowl and swish around the bottom as well as the edges and then pour in the batter.

Bake for 30 minutes or until done.

I think I would have liked it more if there was a little more stevia in the mix, but it was very satisfying nonetheless.

While I’m on the cream cheese track, I made one with cream cheese, coconut flour, and pureed berries for a cheesecake breakfast bake sort of thing. It looked darling until it sank. And there needs to be a different flour; the coconut gave it a weird texture.

Moving on.

I started craving the lemon poppy combination, and thought about making a breakfast oatmeal cookie with the two flavors. But I found that quinoa flour and garbanzo bean flour were simply made to be together, and deliciousness ensued.

Lemon Poppy Bake with Sweet Poppy Cream Cheese Spread

30 g Garbanzo bean flour

28 g Quinoa flour

120 ml Filtered water

12 ml Orange juice

1 Large egg

1/4 tsp. Grated lemon zest

4 g Poppy seeds

1/8 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

Stevia, to taste

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 – 2 tsp. Coconut oil

Sweet Poppy Cream Cheese Spread

15 g Cream cheese

1/8 – 1/4 tsp. Poppy seeds

Stevia, to taste

With this recipe, you can combine all of the ingredients with the exception to the leavening agents and coconut oil and bake as instructed above. I particularly enjoyed this one because it was something different, and quinoa flour has been neglected for much too long in this house.

Along with using the typical dry ingredients for the “flour" component, I also tried out pumpkin and sweet potato for a change of pace. Both bakes were significantly softer and creamier than the others, and resembled very much like a baked pudding or spoon bread.

Pumpkin Pudding Bake

60 g Garbanzo bean flour

183 g Pumpkin puree

90 ml Filtered water

1 Egg

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1/4 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Nutmeg

1/4 tsp. Allspice

Dash of Powdered sage

Stevia, to taste

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

Finally, in an attempt to keep the Winter Wonderland Spirit alive (since it only became cold enough to snow as of Friday), I thought of some of the recipes I didn’t get to make in December, like gingerbread cutout cookies and other recipes associated with the holidays. But I did have fresh ginger root on hand. And I did have some odds and ends that reminded me of ornaments, trees, and lights…

Gingerbread Bake with a Touch of Currant

30 g Buckwheat flour

28 g Buckwheat groats, coarsely ground in a spice blender

120 ml Filtered water

1 Large egg

1 tsp. Orange juice

1/4 tsp. Grated lemon rind

6 g Finely grated fresh ginger

5 g Fresh ginger, cut into very small cubes (you can also use candied ginger in its place)

15 g Dried currants

5 g Unsweetened baking chocolate, finely ground in a spice blender

1/4 tsp. Sea salt

1/4 tsp. Cracked pepper

1/4 tsp. Cinnamon

1/4 tsp. Allspice

1/8 tsp. Bourbon vanilla extract

1/8 tsp. Nutmeg

7 g Honey (or 1 pureed prune, as I had done)

1/4 tsp. Baking soda

1/4 tsp. Cream of tartar

1 – 2 tsp. Coconut oil

Just like with the "Lemon Poppy Bake" and the "Pumpkin Pudding Bake" you combine all of the ingredients except the last three to sit in the fridge overnight. And just when you are preheated the oven you add the leavening agents, and then put the coconut oil into the hot pan ahead of the batter.

So there you have it: five breakfast bake recipes with an additional two mentioned in passing (one of those passing fancies being a flop). I learned a lot about how leavening agents differ, and the glories of cream cheese were only just realized. There were many I didn’t photograph simply because I was up at such a ridiculous hour and my brain was fuzzy with fatigue and hunger, but I have one of the recipes written down and one still in the thought process, both of which need to be tinkered with.

It’s official: January is definitely Breakfast Bake Month for the year 2012. Don't get me wrong; that’s just dandy. I do, however, intend on the last week of this month having other recipes besides breakfast bakes. Cookies maybe. Or something with whole grain quinoa in it. 

We'll just have to wait and see.

Change, Growth, and Skillet Cornbread

It seems like the transformation occurred overnight. Along with my feeling better from that two-week flu, I’ve seen a complete change in my perspective. I feel like a new person, a new Morri who is taking life into her own hands, and daring to fly. 

Change has always been a scary thing for me, and for a while I avoided any form of it that would bring positive growth simply because I was afraid to fail. I was living quietly, for I didn’t wish to cause ripples, and I didn’t wish to disappoint. I felt I was and was not living to others expectations at the same time, and I suffered as a result. I was waking up at 4:30 a.m. on five to six hours of sleep, restless and tired of the constant chatter in my head. I had no desire to blog or go out with people, even though I have had plenty of time to do both, and became absorbed with Sherlock Holmes. There was a loss of connection with the world around me, stagnation in my relationships with the people who mattered most, and insecure with how I fit into it all.

After my various heart-to-hearts with the boyfriend, Mama Dazz, and myself intrapersonally, I realize I have been doing an injustice to myself. At one point this weekend, I remember the chatter being particularly critical and unpleasant, and in the darkness of my bedroom I realized just how unproductive it really was. Instead of griping about things I could indeed fix, that energy could be used to do something about it. It was my first of many “Well, duh!” moments these past few days, but it altered a lot of my thinking in the right direction. 

And yet here I was, treating my own self as the enemy, as someone who couldn’t be trusted. If I wouldn’t dream of treating others like that, being overly critical and judgmental with how they live their lives, why the hell am I doing it… to myself?  This question lifted my post-graduation funk, just as the New Year shows itself to be an enlightening one.

 

My other enlightenment takes the form of a new philosophy: when there is something to do, do something; when there is nothing to do, do nothing. I’ve found that the reason behind a person’s boredom and restlessness is that you’re doing nothing when you should be doing something. Mental exhaustion and physical strain, on the other hand, is the result of doing something other than doing nothing. When it comes time to doing nothing, you shouldn’t be thinking of the things you would have to do later. Doing nothing can be anything that relaxes you or brings you peace, so as long as you don’t tire yourself out with them. I dare you to try it out, because you will never be bored and/or exhausted again. Better yet, you will feel like an entirely new person.

This new attitude has given me a new confidence, a new fitness regimen, and I am actually getting things done. My room is getting cleaner by the day, and the house is setting itself back into order. I ran this morning, all bundled up in an early January rain, and I feel so free of all the static and prattle that once plagued me. I’m still getting up earlier than I would prefer at 5:45 a.m., but I’m sleeping an hour more than I had been recently. Much of it has to do with a firmer pillow, but I like to think it has more to do with my new outlook on life than anything.

So, even though I’m working two jobs part-time, and I do have obligations to uphold, I’m not going to live a life of mediocrity anymore or settle for good enough. If I’m going to work and exercise and blog, I’m going to do the best I can. And if I’m going to rest and meditate and love, I’m going to give the time doing nothing deserves. Above all else, the fear of failure and success shows itself in many forms, from cooking to expectations to how high you aim to go.

To quote two people who've inspired me for many years:

 “It is sometimes a mistake to climb; it is always a mistake never even to make the attempt. If you do not climb, you will not fall. This is true. But is it that bad to fail, that hard to fall?” (N. Gaiman, from The Sandman: Fables and Reflections)

“You must be the change you want to see in the world.” (M. Gandhi)

You may be asking, what does this have anything to do with cooking or health? Well, it has everything to do with it. If you only stick to the things you know how to cook and are good at making, you will never learn but you will never fail either. As for change, I’ve learned to treat my body (and thus, life in general) as one big experiment. The food you eat and the life you live is forever changing. It is a push and pull movement, a dance that never ends, sometimes obvious and sometimes not.

I have every intention of succeeding, no matter how it may be defined and no matter how scary it is. It took numerous times of failing to getting cornbread right, but that didn’t keep me from trying.

If I can make a perfect cornbread recipe, I can do anything.

Cornbread is one of those foods that can be finicky at the best of times. The cornbread I remember as kid was out of a box, a Jiffy box if I’m not mistaken. For some reason, my homemade recipes were grainy, dry, and not too appetizing. I tried using various flours with different grain sizes of cornmeal. I tried incorporating applesauce, using milk in place for water, and different kinds of fats. As the Southern states have made cornbread without any other flours for years and years, I was at a loss as to what I was doing wrong. My goal was a dense Southern cornbread in comparison to the cakelike Northern counterpart, with a good crust which only came from a hot skillet, and a final product that held up to stews and sauces.

Masa harina was the answer.

I was successful in making the recipe the two times I made it, the first with buttermilk and the second with lassi (drinking yogurt), though I am sure regular milk will work here also. The recipe I am posting is from the second batch, since the former was accidentally erased (note to self: always write a recipe down on paper). Both were moist and dense, the perfect basic skillet cornbread. I do intend on playing around with additional ingredients and flours, but this is just delicious as is with a slab of butter and a drizzle of honey on top.

For future reference, dear readers, all recipes will be measured in grams from now on in the name of precision, though teaspoons and tablespoons will be listed as they always have been. 

Basic Skillet Cornbread

240 g Masa harina (also called maseca)
2 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
1/2 – 3/4 tsp. Sea salt (if using lassi, put in less salt)
240 ml Water
240 ml Lassi (or buttermilk)
2 Eggs
1 tbsp. (21 g) Honey (15 g was in the first batch)
3 tbsp. Butter

Preheat the oven to 425ºF, and place an 8 – 10” iron skillet in the middle.
Combine the masa harina, baking powder, and salt in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs in with the liquids (including the honey but not the butter), and then pour it onto the dry ingredients.
Blend with a wooden spoon until a wet dough forms (the baking powder will make it rise and give it an airy texture), and let it sit for a few minutes.
Take the skillet out of the preheated oven and melt the butter to coat the bottom and edges of the pan.
Drizzle the remaining butter into the dough to combine, and then pour the dough into the skillet (to evenly distribute the dough and smooth the top, use a medium-sized silicone spatula).
Lightly cover the top of the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes.
After 45 minutes, remove the foil and bake for an additional 15 minutes.
Take out of the oven and let it sit for a few minutes, though it’s recommended to be served warm.
Serve with butter and honey, or as an island in the middle of a huge bowl of chili or stew.

Makes 8 servings.

The New Year so far

Nine days. That’s how long my hiatus has been from this blog. A little over a week, but it has felt like an eternity. After we came back from Timberline, I finally caught the bug everyone had in the last week of the old year, so I’ve spent the first two weeks of the new year with a terrible cough, a persistent off again and on again fever, a weird eating and sleeping pattern, and napping throughout the day in between enthusiastically reading Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes mysteries via my Kindle Touch.

Even with my borderline delirium – because lack of decent REM sleep and persistent fevers can do that to a person – I was often in the kitchen, cooking up new breakfast bakes and thinking of innovative recipes I would like to make when I’m feeling better. With my new oven-safe soup bowls and my consistent socca breakfast bake success while at Timberline, I’ve been trying out different flours and gluten free grains, fruits, and spreads. Most of them have been delicious, though I think I would have preferred using a tad more stevia for sweetness. I would like to experiment with savory ingredients, so for those who are big on savory breakfasts, feel free to give me some ideas.

One of my new oven-safe soup bowls: perfect for breakfast bakes!

As for my 6-Week fitness plan, it could’ve been better. It’s clear that I started at the wrong time to get any benefit out of it. Three of the six weeks I was either dealing with school or sick, though I did enjoy having a plan and trying something new. At Timberline I felt so calm and at peace with myself. Even after the injury (which is doing A-Okay at present, thank you for asking) and lazing around the cabin, I was sleeping until nine or ten in the morning, never before eight, feeling well rested and enjoying the quietness of the surrounding mountains. Even if I couldn’t ski for the remainder of my stay in Davis, West Virginia, I can’t remember a time I was so relaxed. Not only was I not hungry at odd hours, I was content after every meal, and I learned the deliciousness that is Russian cuisine. 

After a few days, I decided to throw caution to the wind and try out the dinner laid out for the others. I was told what was gluten free (as well as sugar and soy free) and what wasn’t (essentially, the bread, beer, and crackers), and I gobbled it down with gusto. Russian cuisine varies from family to family, but I knew I had a new favorite type of food. Each dinner was balanced in flavor and nourishment, and there was a satisfying tang of vinegar in many of the dishes that brought out a new depth entirely new to my taste buds.

Yours Truly with the boyfriend's brother, the adorable Mr. "Button".

Besides making amazing food, the Russian family I spent the last week of 2011 with opened my eyes to a culture that the boyfriend still holds onto in very particular ways. Like the Swedes I met the year before, they were reserved but open, shy until they get to know you, and can converse until the early morning. They are competitive, enjoy philosophical and logical forms of debate, and love the complexities, the beauty, and the sheer largeness of nature, various sciences, the universe, etc. They warmed up to my larger than life affectionate ways, my bear hugs, and my willingness to listen to their opinions, whether it was in English or not. Personally, I find Russian to be a soothing language, one I’d like to learn by next year’s ski trip. I learned quite a different way of celebrating this time of year, and we drove home on New Years in time for another traditional meal. By Tuesday the 3nd, I traded my limp for a cough, and have been trying to stay afloat ever since.

Kale, Hearty Beef Stew, & Green Beans with Black-Eyed Peas

It is clear that I have to reconsider New Year resolutions. In the past I’d write pages of resolutions, varying from the very detailed to the very vague. Truthfully I focused on my health in a very vain fashion, and I had rather unreasonable goals pertaining to my weight and the things I wanted to do in life. If I wasn’t a certain way, no matter how hard I tried, I would feel like a complete failure. In reality, I just wasn’t aiming for the right goals and, thankfully, I think 2012 is going to be an amazing year.

So what are my “resolutions”? Stress management, mostly, and going where life takes me. I’m a young, recently graduated BA student, with a fairly successful food blog and have plenty of things to keep me mentally and physically busy. It is very likely I’ll do another fitness plan after I recover, but I’d really like to do atypical things outside the gym. I want to hike, boulder, swim, kayak, ski, and learn some form of martial arts. I also want to write, continue cooking and working towards the evolution of this blog for the better, hang out with the people I’ve sorely neglected, volunteer, and simply enjoy every moment that I experience. And this isn’t just for 2012. These are resolutions for life.

My grain-free, one fruit a day, and stevia-only diet has come to an end, though it shines through for days at a time. As you may recall, it was to help the healing process of my tummy after simultaneously getting glutened and fluey. Now that my stomach has clearly healed itself, I’m integrating root veggies and gluten free grains back into meals (though buckwheat, groats and flour, has become a Morri favorite), and am not afraid to have an additional serving of fruit or one to two teaspoons of honey in my afternoon tea. Oh, and I've finally perfected a recipe that has been the bane of Morri's everywhere, and it's a perfect side dish to chili...

... can you guess what it is? :)

   

Even though it is clearly belated, I wish you a Happy New Year all the same, with plenty of recipes ahead.

The Joy of a Book Review: Joy Bauer's Food Cures

Last year, Joy Bauer’s Partnership Director contacted me with this email:

Hi,



We would like to reach out to you regarding one of our most prominent experts, Joy Bauer (the official Today Show nutritionist) who has been doing great work advocating for "real food" diets concentrating on a more holistic view of nutrition.

We have exciting news that we want to share with you about Food Cures, her encompassing food and health philosophy that gives attention to issues like local and organic diets, as well as gluten free and food allergy sensitive diets as well as other serious conditions, like diabetes and heart disease. 

The updated Food Cures book is hot off the press and we want you to be the first to review it! The information is currently updated online so check it out: http://www.joybauer.com/food-cures.aspx

. Let me know that you're interested and we'll get a book out right away.
We also invite you to be part of the Joy Bauer Food Cures network, which includes receiving up-to-the-minute food news, exclusive invites to events with Joy, and other partnership activities. Just show your enthusiasm and we'll get you a button to add to your site linking to Joy's. 



Look forward to working with you on this project and more to come!

Intrigued, I googled Joy Bauer. I had never heard of her, let alone the books she had published. I wanted to make sure that, if I was going to do a book review, I wanted to get all the facts straight about what she stood for regarding health. Her website is very informative, though I wanted to also find out what other people thought of her work.

From what I could see, there was a little criticism, but it was rather minute in comparison to all the positive things I found in my researching of her. Bobby Flay is quoted to saying she is a go-to source regarding nutrition. And in my opinion, whatever Bobby Flay says is law (I admit it, it’s a chef-crush).

When this book came in my mailbox, I was beyond ecstatic. I was actually being given a book to review from a well-known nutritionist. It felt like I was being given a scroll to decipher, it was that important to me. I wanted to be sure that I knew the book cover to cover, with all the pros and cons listed in front of me, so that this review had all the facts for my readers. Also, I wanted to at least share similar values to the author who requested my critique when they offer to give me a free copy of their book.

(source)

On Amazon, the book was given 4.5 stars out of 5, and I want to analyze the comment of the person who gave her 1 star. While the critic said,

“This book is too big and heavy for starters! It is more like a textbook. I did not find it to be an easy, informational read and would not recommend it.”

I happen to disagree. Yes, it is like a textbook, in the sense that Joy’s Food Cures (2011) are separated in parts (i.e., losing weight, looking great, living long and strong, and feeling good), which are then broken down to various ailments one may have. And I happen to like how it had been laid out. From weight loss to a healthy face, from cardiovascular disease to memory, from mood to cancer prevention, she essentially made sure that whatever you wanted to work on, you could go to that section and find the food to help with the healing process. In my case, her sections on PMS, IBS, and celiac disease have been quite helpful. Each section begins with facts on each condition, like how it is caused and how it affects the body, but most importantly how food affects the body, both positively and negatively. She also offers supplements and vitamins and her specific reasoning for choosing them in addition to her food fixes, and then her 4-Step program for each section is broken down based on the basics of each ailment, a grocery list for ultimate healing, going above and beyond the ailment with other considerations, and finally, the meal plans.

I really enjoy the FAQs throughout the book from people seeking advice, as well as the tables with specific information further analyzed. The best part of her answers is that she treats them like they aren’t anything to be embarrassed or ashamed of, which is how it should be done. Her voice throughout the book is diplomatic and empowering towards the reader, and her advice as well as her meal plans is easy to follow. And since most foods have more than one healing property, snacks and recipes are shown in multiple sections and at least provide the page number where you can find it.

The recipes are rather delicious, and although I’ve tried to stray away from calorie counting because of disordered eating (which she also talks about via starvation on p.31), she also shows the grams in protein, carbs, fat (saturated), cholesterol, sodium, and fiber. In her section for Type 2 Diabetes (p. 183), she provides the grams in sugar in addition to the other recipe breakdowns just mentioned.

I’ll admit; her section on Type 2 Diabetes concerned me before I received the book. I was afraid that she was one of those nutritionists; you know, the ones who encourage artificial sweeteners for weight loss. While she does encourage low fat, reduced fat, or 1% dairy – something I don’t particularly agree with her on, and here’s why –, she uses the term “sugar substitute”, and this kind of diplomatic wording could mean anything. Instead of using the words artificial sweetener or *shudder* Splenda, it could mean xylitol or stevia or coconut sugar or agave nectar. I gave her kudos just for this in of itself. That, and her not using or opting for soy in everything as a protein or dairy replacer.

Her recipes are broken down by meal type: breakfast (300 – 400 cal.), lunch (400 – 500 cal.), and dinner (500 – 600 cal.). She is all for a good breakfast, snackage from under 100 calories to 100 – 200 calories, well-balanced meals, and provides other options to enhance recipes calorically. In essence, you should be eating over 1200 but she does stay within the lines of a 2000-calorie based diet (which sometimes does not apply to athletes and other special cases as recommended by your doctor). So she’s a nutritionist that’s all for eating, and variety for said eating at that.    

(source)

I like using her recipes as guidelines for nutritional balance and calorie range. In her section for Celiac disease, she does know her gluten free grains, including additives that have many gluten-freers cocking their heads to the side. She also has common and not-so common foods containing gluten on pages 416 – 417, including a list of foods that may contain gluten. She provides the best advice for those newly diagnosed with celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or conditions that benefit from a gluten free life:

• Don’t cheat. Ever.
• When eating packaged foods, choose labels specifically with a “certified gluten-free label.” Trader Joe’s is very good about that, and I’ve not had any issues with any of the products I’ve eaten.
• Be a gluten sleuth.
• Avoid all uncertainties: When in doubt, don’t eat it.
• Beware of contamination in your own home: I don’t have a gluten-free household, so double dipping in condiments and spreads is a strict no-no.

With the meal plans, particularly in the Celiac disease section, it is very apparent that she has done extensive research and testing to make sure you have a delicious outcome every time. She is big on healthy fats, rice crackers, and many of the recipes throughout the book are naturally gluten free anyway. I was rather partial to the Breakfast Burrito (pages 144, 205, 316, and 452), though I used two eggs to make a “crepe” on a griddle pan with 1/4 – 1/2 c. black beans and a slice of cheese as the filling. I’ve also done something similar to her Strawberry-Banana Cottage Cheese with Almonds (pages 44, 144, 204), and blended the fruit together to make “syrup” and topped it with flaxseed meal and chia seeds. She also has a recipe for Green Tea Pound Cake (p. 464), something I definitely want to make in the future (a gluten free version, of course).

So it comes down to this, the pros and cons of the book, and my rating.

The Pros:

• The book overall is well written and nicely separated into sections that is consistent, informative, and easy to read.
• There are numerous recipes that are easy to make, delicious, great for budgets and those seeking nutritional variety.
• The author is very big on food fixes over supplements, and always wants you to consult your physician and/or nutritionist before changing your diet (but really, the food she offers is delicious and healthy so I don’t think the professionals will complain).
• Diplomatic wording: she knows that some people who have Type 2 Diabetes as well as those looking to lose weight use artificial sweeteners but doesn’t encourage it. Words like “sugar substitute” is used, and even stevia is mentioned.
• She shows that there is nothing to be embarrassed about or ashamed of when you have an ailment, and gives you a very easy way to take your life into your own hands (again, with the help of a health professional).
• Joy encourages whole and fresh foods over processed and pre-packaged foods. A total plus, in my opinion.
• List love: I love how she lists foods based on their nutritional profile, such as the best foods for all the Vitamins, Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Flavonoids, Magnesium, Biotin, Folic acid, and this is just to name a few.
• For weight loss, she recommends eating protein with every meal (p.24). Awesome.
• Her background and resources: she knows her stuff and has references to back it up.

The Cons:

• The encouragement of low-fat/reduced-fat/1% milk, cheese, tub spreads: I’m not big on these products because they have a tendency to have unhealthy additives and actually have more fat than the whole fat products (which is usually 4%).
• The discouragement of saturated fats: I’m all about moderation, but I find that my body has difficulty functioning properly without a little animal fat throughout the day.
• The emphasis on calories: it is important to know when you aren’t eating enough, but calories aren’t everything. I think if she plans on updating her book in the future, I’d like to see what 100 calories of almonds looks like in comparison to 100 calories of radishes, and maybe talking more about calories in general (i.e., what it is, why it’s important, how calories can differ, etc.).
• The studies: I’d like to see in-depth explanations to the studies she mentions.

To conclude the first of (hopefully) many book reviews, I’d like to thank Joy Bauer and her people for giving me the opportunity to do this. I give this book (which can be ordered on Amazon) 4.5 + out of 5 stars (4.8, give or take), and recommend this book for anyone looking to up their nutrition.

Fitness Week 4: Timberline Ski Resort

Monday 

Notes: Packed for trip, and made it to Timberline Ski Resort.

Tuesday

Notes: Rain. No skiing today. Spent the day reading Sherlock Holmes mysteries.


Wednesday

1 hour hike to the Blackwater Falls.
2 hours of skiing. 

Notes: My first time skiing ever. I fell five times, but I was able to do the Salamander and the Easy Does It green slopes (i.e., the easiest trails). Here is the .pdf file to view the slopes.

Thursday

2 hours of skiing... then, as I was getting on the lift for our last ride down for the day, my left ski got caught on the pillar. My ankle and knee were twisted in a very painful fashion. I thought I'd be able to go down the slope, but once I was off it was apparent that I'd better be safe than sorry. At least I can say I went down a black diamond, though I am not sure which. I was cocooned in a first-aid sled at the time, but it was so cool! I was told it was either a sprain or a strain, but I didn't hear a pop! and nothing was broken, thank goodness.

Notes: No skiing, a knee brace, and no hot tub for 72 hours? Lame...

Friday 

Notes: Called Mama Dazz to tell her of my skiing adventure, and set up an appointment with my chiropractor/sports doctor, Dr. Jacobs. Cabin fever set in, but it was relieved by going into town with the boyfriend. We went to Shop n' Save to get provisions (sour cream, tea, and toilet paper to name a few) and then to HypnoCoffee. He had an espresso, which he wholeheartedly enjoyed, as did I my Americano with steamed whole milk. 

Saturday

Rest Day, i.e. Blog Day. 

Notes: Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! I have so far enjoyed the rainy day by finishing up Sherlock Holmes, eating an oatmeal bake, and playing various card games. I can walk on my left leg a little, and it doesn't hurt as much. 

Sunday 

Rest day due to limping.

Notes: Drove back to Virginia, and made it back in time for New Years dinner.