Vegetating with Leslie: Love in a Cookie Jar (Not)

My Arkansas grandmother died at age 65 from colon cancer.  I was 21 years old at the time and very close to her.  I lived with her and cared for her at various times during her illness, which was brutal.  Some people who lose someone they love seek answers in medicine and may become doctors.  My intuition turned me toward food and the environment.

When I became pregnant 3 years later in 1971, I began to read everything I could find on food and nutrition and organic gardening.  I became deeply distrustful of what had become the American diet, in particular the commercialization of the food supply.

Three issues stood out to me at the time as being deeply implicated in my grandmother's illness and death: lack of fiber in her diet, rampant pesticide use and chemical additives in commercial foods.  I planted a large organic garden and learned by trial and error how to tend it.  I made almost everything that we ate in our home myself including whole grain breads.

Fifteen years ago a friend of mine was diagnosed with diabetes.  We are both interested in wellness, and our conversations often turned to natural health and diet.  She explained to me that some things we had always considered part of a healthy diet were no longer part of her new regimen as a diabetic.

I was interested in learning more about what she was doing and started reading about the glycemic index and what we now call "non-inflammatory" ways of eating.  Over the last fifteen years I have become convinced that abuse of sugar in the way we eat was the missing piece in the puzzle I have been trying to work out ever since my grandmother died in 1968.

Of course I understand that cancer is a complex disease and eating 100% whole foods and avoiding sugar will not put an end to it.  I believe, though, that eating whole foods, high in fiber, can be an important part of fighting cancer and may well be a key to preventing much of it.

Not only cancer but diabetes, heart disease, stroke and Alzheimer's (which is now called Type III Diabetes) are all on the rise.  A new category of sickness called "metabolic syndrome" is a diet-induced set of issues that is often associated with these specific diseases.  Something changed somewhere along the way that caused these diseases to become epidemic.  I believe that something is food and the environment.

I have personally experienced the power of changing my diet.  There are certain issues I remember having as a teenager that I no longer had once I changed my eating style to rely on whole foods, freshly made.  I didn't initially attribute those issues to diet but now do.  Those issues included severe stomach cramping, depression and skin irregularities.  More recently I have had dramatic results from eliminating all forms of added sugar from my diet.

Some studies have suggested direct links between our high levels of sugar consumption and specific types of cancer.  While these initial studies are not yet definitive, they catch my attention.

In addition, I note that a growing field of immunology is cancer immunology, an attempt to discover immunotherapies to treat and slow progression of the disease.  We know that sugar suppresses the immune system.  In my opinion, it follows that reducing or eliminating sugar consumption, particularly through processed foods, can only have a beneficial effect in the fight against cancer. A stronger immune system is better able to fight cancer cell growth.

Finally, it seems to me that eating in such a way as to maintain blood sugar at a healthy, stable level reduces the energy our bodies put into warding off chronic disease and increases the energy available for fighting abnormal cell growth or better, maintaining wellness.

I am very cautious about eliminating foods from my diet.  As a vegetarian, I have eliminated meat.  Recognizing the importance of fiber, I avoid reduced food products -- things that were originally food but have had the fiber and important nutrients removed.  Now I have eliminated added sugar.

My focus is on whole foods with all their fiber.  That includes sweets - ok with me when they arrive in their own fiber package, like a whole date or dried apricot.  I favor the Mediterranean diet, which expresses a joy in life through its whole foods and beautiful colors.  Sadly Middle Easterners have gotten away from it these days as they have moved to white Pita and commercial products and as a result suffer one of the highest diabetes rates in the world.

I am passionate about my eating style.  Yes, it hurts me to see people I love eating in a way that I know causes damage and heartache, but it is not just a personal issue.  Making whole foods (and wholesome foods) accessible and meaningful has become my mode of social action and protest.

In addition to my work through my Cafe, I have become involved with the Food Shed Coop, an effort to create a McHenry County food coop.  The name suggests that this cooperative will be part of a food system, one that includes local farmers, local farmers markets and local consumers.  I am very excited about this project and hope you will become part of it with me. Please learn more and find out how you can support this effort at foodshed.coop.

Here is a simple little treat you can prepare for those you love when you'd like to sweeten their lives. My partner, Laura, made these for a recent event:

Filled Dates

Ingredients
Whole dates
Dried apricots
Walnuts
Labne (a Middle Eastern yogurt) - for a second version

Preparation

• If the dates are not pitted, use a small knife to make a slit on one side. Remove the pit.
• Place equal parts apricots and walnuts in the processor and pulse until you have a coarse mixture. You may have add a few drops of fruit juice if mixture seems too dry.
• Fill the pitted dates with some of the walnut-apricot mixture, mounding it attractively.
• The walnut-apricot filling can be varied with a labne filling. Fill the dates with Labne, which is cream cheese consistency. Top with a half walnut piece.
• Arrange finished dates on serving platter with orange slices for decoration.

Vegetating with Leslie: Oh the weather outside is frightful...

Just a few days ago the Groundhog saw his shadow.  Easy for him to do.  He went back to his burrow.  I, on the other hand, have to leave mine every day, and I'm freezing!  I seem to have lost the ability to keep myself warm no matter how many layers I pull on before I brave the cold and wind and snow.

I decided it's time to become proactive.  The last time I made this decision was in the winter of 1982/83.  In that year, as in this one, wind chills plunged to 40-60 degrees below zero.  I found myself never wanting to leave my burrow . . . that is, my home . . . and specifically, my fireplace.  I needed to take action, so I bought a winter camping tent and a sleeping bag designed for use in the most frigid climes and went winter camping to toughen up.

That worked pretty well.  It carried me through a few years.  But this is 22 years later, and my tent and I are a little older and worn.  My thoughts turn to other solutions. Here is a question that bubbled up: could I raise my body temperature with food?  It seems logical that I could, so I began to do some research. Here is what I found:

YES!

"How?" is another question. I found several answers.  I chose those that made sense to me based on this thought process: It requires energy (expressed as heat) to process food.  In fact, food processing may warm your body as much as two degrees (every degree counts in this weather)!  The more energy a food requires for processing, the more likely it is to heat your body.

So which foods require more energy for processing?  One estimate is fats require 3%, carbohydrates require 7%, and proteins require 20% of the energy (calories) they supply for processing.  I would therefore expect that protein is most likely to heat your body and complex carbohydrates next most likely.  Fats are least likely.  But does that correspond to the reality?

Turns out it does!  Lean protein tops most lists of warming foods, followed by complex high fiber carbohydrates like whole grain breads, brown rice, oatmeal, beans, almonds and apples. Root veggies like sweet potatoes, Idaho potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, and ginger require more energy to digest than above-ground veggies.  Above ground veggies recognized for their thermogenic properties include cabbage, kale, and Brussels sprouts.  Spices and spicy foods like cayenne, peppers, salsa, chili and mustard stimulate metabolism by as much as 20% or more and can also warm you.

OK, so now I needed to apply that to my vegetarian lifestyle, all-carb all the time.  Beans, grains and nuts top my list because in addition to the fact that they are high fiber complex carbs, they are a great protein group with complimentary amino acids.  Isn't it interesting that the veggies most effective at raising body temperature are also the most readily available during winter and are, in fact, considered winter veggies?  So winter veggie stews . . . bring them on!  And be sure to make mine spicy!

It turns out that warming the body is really about exercising the metabolism and giving it a boost, so the same diet should be great for weight maintenance as well.  Indeed it is!  Just be sure to include good fats in your winter warming project for satisfaction and to help you avoid craving sweets (which are not warming, just inflammatory . . . and that's a whole different story).

In the final analysis, keeping warm is all about making your body work, whether it's camping in frigid weather or exercising in the cold with light clothing or making your metabolism pump harder.  This year I'm opting for exercising indoors in my fleece and enjoying some hearty, spicy veggie stews.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Stew with Quinoa
This is one of my favorite Middle Eastern style recipes.  I love the warm, golden color from the butternut squash, carrots, paprika, and tumeric.

Stew
2-4 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp Hungarian sweet paprika
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp peeled, minced ginger
1/2-1 tsp Hungarian hot paprika
6 plum tomatoes, petite diced
2 TB fresh lemon juice
3 cups 1-inch cubes peeled butternut squash
2 cups 1-inch cubes carrots

Quinoa
2 TB olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1/4 cup finely chopped peeled carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 cup quinoa
2 cups water
1 bunch fresh cilantro
2 bunch fresh mint

Stew
Cover the bottom of a pan with extra virgin olive oil.  Add chopped onion, garlic and ginger.  Saute briefly.  Add plum tomatoes and juice of two lemons. Bring to a simmer.  Add remaining seasonings.  Simmer briefly.  Add peeled and cubed butternut squash and carrot pieces.  Stir, and place a tight lid over the pot to steam the mixture until squash and carrot are fork tender but not mushy. Check periodically for moisture content, adding a bit of water if necessary.

Quinoa
Cover the bottom of a small sauce pan with extra virgin olive oil.  Add chopped onion, minced garlic and slivered almonds.  Saute briefly.  Add chopped carrots and remaining seasonings with 1 cup quinoa and 2 cups water, stir, cover tightly and cook until done (10-15 minutes).  Chop the mint and cilantro together.  Add half to the stew. Reserve the other half as garnish.

A nice way to serve this beautiful meal is to place a portion of stew on a plate, leaving an opening in the middle.  Place an ice cream scoop (1/2 cup) of quinoa in the middle of the stew.  Garnish with remaining mint and cilantro.

Happy, healthy eating!

Vegetating with Leslie: LESS IS MORE - But for whom?

As the only vegetarian cafe in the area, I have many health-conscious customers.  Increasingly they ask for gluten-free products.  Most of my food is, in fact, gluten free naturally.  For those who want some kind of bread with their meal, though, I stock gluten free crackers.

Last week we ran out of our regular product and I had to run to a local store to pick up a substitute:  $7.00 for a small box of rice crackers with just enough in it to provide a few small crackers to four customers.  $7.00 for a product that has little nutrition, no fiber and is high on the glycemic index.  This same $7.00 would buy me seven bags of whole wheat pita, each with 10 "loaves" of six inch pitas, from a small bakery in Chicago that makes the bread fresh on their premises.  Enough for 70 customers.  Wheat with protein, vitamins B1, B2, B3, E, folic acid, calcium, phosphorus, zinc, copper, iron, and good fiber content.  Why does it cost so much more to get so much less?  This question aggravated me all week.

I understand some of us need gluten free products -- yet I cannot help but feel we are being duped by a food industry that creates a health problem and then offers "solutions" from which it profits enormously.  Gluten-free sales reached more than $2.6 billion by the end of 2010 and are now expected to exceed more than $5 billion by 2015. (Source: Packaged Facts, 2011).  On the other hand, I wonder if many of us go gluten-free thinking it's healthier but choose "substitutes" that are not only more expensive but nutritionally inferior.

Two years ago I first heard the term "value added product."  I wasn't familiar with this term so did a little research. "Value added" refers to any step in the production process that improves the product for the customer and results in a higher net worth.  I suspect the operative words are "production process," which in my experience results not in added value for the customer, where value should be defined as enhancing health, but for the food industry, where value is defined as profit.

Those rice crackers I bought might be considered "value added".  They are simple grains of rice subjected to a series of steps involving water, heat, expensive machinery and sprayed on seasoning.  Chicken McNuggets would also be an example of a "value added product."  A few weeks ago, a report revealed the real content of a Chicken McNugget, renaming it "Chicken Little."  The Nuggets turn out to be no more than half chicken "meat" and the rest fat, cartilage, bone, blood vessels and nerves.

While the real content of Chicken McNuggets may disgust some of us, there is nothing inherently wrong with using otherwise unusable parts of a chicken to create tasty food.  People have always found ingenious ways to make the inedible edible: witness chit'lins (chitterlings) and gribenes.  Chit'lins are the intestines of a pig, stewed for several hours and sometimes fried into what some consider a delicious treat.  Gribenes are a by-product of schmaltz making.  Excess chicken skin is cut into small pieces and sautéed in a pan until the schmaltz (fat) is rendered.  The "cracklings" are removed, and caramelized onions and seasonings added for a treat that in pre-low-fat diet days was well-loved by many Jews.  Now that we know that fat, even animal fat, is not the cause of weight gain, diabetes and sickness in our American diet, who knows? These items may become popular once again.  Coming soon to a summer near you: Gribenes and chit'lin stands!

What we do know is that when a "value added" product comes to us via the food industry, we can assume the way the product was turned into something that will "add value" for the industry probably decreases value for us.  We can expect the raw food is subjected to heat and/or speedy, mechanized processes that result in undesirable changes in the food product (from the health standpoint), or cheap oils high in omega 6s are used or sugar or undesirable chemicals are added.

A real value-added product is one made from scratch with the best, whole food ingredients. An example is "Fatoush," a way that Middle Eastern cooks found to use up stale pita.  For a gluten free version, leave out the pita.  Although delicious with it, it is substantial, satisfying and delicious without it.  A few chickpeas thrown in will replace the protein and B vitamins of the wheat, some avocado or olives will add fat, and walnuts will add crunch.  No designer gluten-free products needed, just real food!

FATOUSH - Fatoush means "crushed" or "broken" and refers to the Pita croutons that are a prominent feature of this salad.

Romaine 1 "head"
Spinach 1 quart
Radicchio 1/2 "head"
Plum Tomato 4 large
Cucumber 1 large or 2 small
Green Onions 1 bunch
Radishes 5-6
Mint 4-6 sprigs (1/4 cup chopped)
Garlic 1-2 cloves crushed
Lebanese Pita 1 quart pita strips
Extra Virgin Olive Oil 1/4 - 1/2 cup
Lemon Juice of 1/2 - 1
Sumac 1 TB
Salt To taste

Cut 2 Lebanese pitas into 2" x 1/2" strips and toast lightly or dry in oven.  Set aside.  Shred (slice thinly) the Romaine, spinach and radicchio.  All greens should be in 2" x 1/4" strips.  Deseed tomatoes and cucumbers.  Petite dice (1/4"-1/2" dice) radishes, tomatoes and cucumbers.  Chop green onions and mint.  Crush garlic.   Toss the veggies, garlic and pita croutons together gently with the sumac.  Toss again with extra virgin olive oil, freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt to taste.  Gluten-free: leave out pita and add chickpeas, avocado, olives and/or walnuts.

Happy, healthy eating!

Vegetating with Leslie: What's the Beef?

In early August this year, scientists held a taste-testing for burgers made from laboratory grown meat. This report came out just about a year and a half after the "pink slime" report of March 2012. 

For anyone who missed that story, pink slime is filler that was found to be present in 70 percent of the ground beef sold in supermarkets and at the time constituted about 25 percent of every hamburger.  It is gelatinous material made from the most contaminated parts of the cow formerly used only for dog food and cooking oil.  To make it USDA approved "safe" for human consumption, trimmings are simmered at a low temperature, fat separated from tissue by centrifuge and the result sprayed with ammonia gases to kill germs.  Safe and delicious.  Really? 

Now we have burgers created by extracting stem cells from the muscle tissue of a dead cow, nourishing them in a chemical broth and engineering them to produce something like muscle tissue.  Strands of tissue are compacted into pellets and frozen, then defrosted for cooking.  The artificial meat starts out white, so dyes are added to make it look more like the real thing.  And there we have it . . . tissue created in a laboratory from a dead cow's stem cells bathed in chemicals and dyed to the appropriate color.  Safe and potentially delicious when they get the chemicals right.  Really?

The arguments in favor of this "magic meat" are that it requires killing fewer animals, is more sustainable and vastly more environmentally friendly.  I get it.  But there are other paths to the same goal.  For me, at least, those paths are healthier, tastier and more spiritually satisfying.

Speaking of "magic meat," I was curious if the concoction would be considered kosher.  The Jewish dietary laws are centered primarily around meat, fish, poultry . . . and insects, in other words, living creatures.  I understand this body of laws as an expression of reverence for life.   

I did a little research and found that while there is as yet no definitive ruling on this question, there is an interesting Talmudic discussion about the status of "magic meat," meat that descends from heaven or is miraculously created by human beings.  The argument was presented (in the 16th century!) that this meat could be eaten without kosher slaughtering.  The meat could even be eaten live, limb from limb -- otherwise forbidden -- since normal laws do not apply to it. 

Biblical and Jewish dietary regulations express deep and important values about living creatures, the line between life and death and our place as human beings.  The discussion of "magic meat" along with the rest of the discussion about the status of this manufactured meat expresses those same values and lays bare the complexity of ethical dilemmas involved in meat eating.

I'm often asked why I'm vegetarian.  The assumption is that it is for reasons of health.  It isn't.  It also isn't environmentally driven.  Although I disagree with the agri-business model for meat production current in our country and believe it is dangerous for our eco-system, our health and our spiritual balance, I can see there is a way to include meat in one's diet that is healthy for ourselves and the planet.  For those who do eat meat . . . as Michael Pollan says, pay more and eat less.  There are options other than meat from factory farmed animals.

My own vegetarianism is driven by my spiritual values.  In that context, pink slime and "magic meat" are no more an option for me than supermarket plastic wrapped packages.  Meat from grass fed animals is also not an option for me.  I never eat or make meat "substitutes."  I make good food from plants, which offer a world of delicious and spiritually satisfying options. 

Here's one: Falafel.  When eaten in the traditional way with Tahina, Falafel are a complete protein package.  Along with protein, this combo packs essential fatty acids and high fiber.  Falafel were not created to substitute for anything and in their long history were never anything but Falafel.  The beans are not cooked, just soaked, so they retain a wonderfully crunchy texture.  They can be loaded with lots of green stuff and seasoned with some of my favorite seasonings.  Occasionally frying foods in good oils at the correct temperature is, in my opinion, much less likely to damage to your health than "magic meat" or pink slime.  Certainly it will do less damage to your soul.   

                                                                                                                         

FALAFEL     

Ingredients                                                          Amount

Dried split peeled fava beans  -        -        -        3.5 cups soaked drained beans
Garlic           -        -        -        -        -        -        2 cloves or 1 tsp. chopped
Onion           -        -        -        -        -        -        1/4 large Spanish onion
Parsley         -        -        -        -        -        -        3 oz. (about 1 bunch)
Sea Salt        -        -        -        -        -        -        1 tsp
Cumin          -        -        -        -        -        -        1 tsp
Allspice        -        -        -        -        -        -        1 tsp
Szeged hot paprika         -        -        -        -        1 tsp

Directions

1)   Wash and dry parsley. Cut off and discard stems. Pre-chop leaves.

2)   Place parsley and seasonings in processor bowl and run 30 seconds. Scrape down and run another 30 seconds. 
3)   Pre-cut onion, add to processor bowl and pulse 10 times.
4)   Drain fava beans thoroughly.  Add 3.5 cups drained beans to processor bowl with parsley onion mix. Pulse 10 times, then scrape down.
5)   Run processor until mixture holds together forming a tube around the blade.  It should remain textured.
6)   Use a 1.5" scoop to shape into balls.  Deep fry 2-3 minutes at 375 degrees. Serve with Tahina, salad and a good hot sauce.

Healthy, happy eating!

Moments to Remember with My Dad

My Dad died yesterday.  As I sat with him during these past months and especially during the last three weeks, I remembered so many special moments.  Here are a few, in no particular order:

My Dad was a Methodist minister.  One of my favorite times was at the end of services when I could go to join him as he greeted parishioners leaving the service.  I was so proud of him in his clerical collar and black robe.  He was very handsome with beautiful, black wavy hair, and he was so warm and friendly and caring with his parishioners as he spoke with them.

Bible stories were our bedtime reading when I was little.  My favorite book was The Golden Book of the Bible.  It was the pictures I loved best...dramatic and colorful.  My Dad would read to me from The Golden Book or tell me stories in his own words.  One day he gave me his pulpit Bible.  I used to sit on the screened front porch of our Medford, Massachusetts parsonage and read through the pages.  I still have that pulpit Bible here on my shelves, along with the hundreds of other books about religion and the many Bibles that I accumulated during my own studies, inspired by my Dad and these moments we shared.

My Dad was from Arkansas, and he was proud of the skills he learned in the Boy Scouts.  He loved to camp, and we camped a lot as I was growing up.  Some of my favorite pictures are from a summer camping trip in the Adirondack Mountains.  We set up and slept in those old, heavy canvas tents.  We dug trenches around the tents and cooked over open fires or Coleman stoves.  We hiked and fished. Fishing was probably my favorite time on these trips because I would often go out alone with him. We would sit together for many hours in a rowboat on an open lake or in reeds closer to shore.  I was always filled with the beauty of these quiet moments alone with him and am still filled with joy when I think about these moments today.

My Dad was one of the most kind and humble people I have ever known.  One of his  favorite biblical verses was from Micah: "What does The Lord require of you but to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your G-d..."

Something happened during one of my Dad's visits to my West Rogers Park home that was forever after the quintessential image of my Dad for me: I had two beagles, Bree and Samantha.  Samantha liked to sit in the wing chair in my living room sometimes.  While my Dad was visiting, he sat down in that chair at one point and opened a book and started to read.  Samantha came over and sat quietly on the floor in front of him, looking at him.  After a couple of minutes, he glanced up and saw Samantha.  He barely hesitated before he said, "Oh, excuse me, Samantha.  Did I take your chair?"  He moved to the couch, and Samantha jumped up onto the chair.  He was a kind and humble man, and he loved animals.

Three years ago after I lost my beloved beagles, I got a new little Havanese puppy, Rafi.  When I visited my Dad the week before I got my puppy, I told him I was getting Rafi and that I would bring him to visit the next week.  I called my Dad on the way to visit him the next week to remind him I was coming.  Although he was already well into his dementia and his memories were very attenuated and unreliable -- and I'm not certain he even remembered that I was coming -- when I said I was bringing "a friend," he said, "Oh, your puppy!"  He remembered, and Rafi and my Dad formed a close bond over the next three and a half years of weekly visits.  Rafi always got excited when I got home from the Cafe early and got his travel bag out . . . and my Dad always got a great big smile when he saw Rafi coming.  When my Dad entered into his last weeks, Rafi recognized the change and became very subdued.  Since my Dad was then bedridden, Rafi took to climbing out of his bag to curl up by my Dad's feet.  The night before my Dad died, Rafi was in just that spot, and I took a picture.

Along with his humility, my Dad had a pretty strong stubborn streak.  My brother can make us all laugh until we cry telling stories about where that stubborn streak sometimes took him (and us).  Rafting trips without a guide that resulted in upended rafts, sailing with an insistence on using nautical language that no one understood that resulted in family members landing in the "drink" when the boom swung around . . . or stalls in the middle of the lake.  Losing a fully loaded trailer along the road, insisting that it was indeed still attached to the car as the other occupants of the car watched it drift backward while the car continued to charge forward.

I think my favorite memory along these lines, though, is from the time he took me water skiing on Lake Tenkiller in Oklahoma.  My sisters and brother were in the (borrowed) motorboat with him, and I was behind the boat on skiis.  My Dad was fully dressed in a suit, and his pockets were filled with his pipe and tobacco pouches and pipe paraphernalia.  At one point, the rope got tangled in the motor, and while I dog paddled, he leaned over to untangle the rope.  Unfortunately he leaned too far, and whoops . . . tumbled right into the water.  His jacket, still on, floated up around him, and the pipe and tobacco and other odds and ends floated away from him across the water.  My brother and sister and I were trying to remember if that was the same trip when he was straddling between the boat and the pier while my mom was guiding the boat gently out into the lake -- and the keys dropped into the water.  What do they call those splits? Chinese?

My Dad was brilliant, an academic, and he had a varied and fascinating career.  He was Arkansas state typing champion, he was a Naval Academy tumbler, he completed a degree in engineering and was a champion -- if unorthodox -- do-it-yourselfer in our home.  He could build cabinetry, handle plumbing and electrical work and paper walls.  He was incredible with math and science, as are my two sons, and he spent many frustrating hours with me when I was in high school.  I missed that gene.

My Dad completed his seminary training at Boston University and his doctorate at Northwestern University, a doctorate that started out in political science, passed through Garrett Evangelical and ended up in education.  He was for many years the Midwest Director for a Carnegie Foundation sponsored organization called the Church Peace Union, later renamed The Council on Religion and International Affairs (CRIA).  When I was in junior high and high school I attended many seminars with him on ethics and foreign policy that featured high level government officials and clergy of all faiths.  I have a picture of him at a dinner with Eleanor Roosevelt.

At a later time, his Evanston offices were bombed by members of the John Birch Society, and he was verbally attacked by leftists when he organized seminars.  I well remember an occasion when I was in college in the early 70s when we had a party in our home during an Israeli-Arab seminar he had arranged at Northwestern University.  In the Middle East, Arabs and Israelis were at war, but in our home, they enjoyed drinks and hors d'oeuvres.  My mom recalls sitting next to King Hussein at a dinner hosted at the University during the same conference.  We also had the Thai crown prince for drinks and hors d'oeuvres one summer in our backyard . . . and I believe in the same summer, we hosted the Northwestern University cherubs.  I can't quite remember how or why that happened, but it was fun.

One of my most proud moments came when I was working on my own doctorate and gave an academic presentation to the Catholic Student Union at the University of Illinois.  My Dad happened to be in town. He read my presentation beforehand and made a few helpful suggestions.  He didn't say so then, but he confided later that he had doubts whether I would be able to carry it off because it was somewhat esoteric, complex material, and I was no public speaker.  After the presentation, which was well-received and was the one and only time he ever heard me teach or speak, he told me how proud he was of me, and I thought I would burst!

After my Dad completed his doctorate and moved on from CRIA, he was assistant superintendent at New Trier High School for a time during the late 60s, a time when schools were volatile places to be.  He always seemed to find those hot spots, as he did in the last position he held during his career as the Director of the Navajo Education and Scholarship Foundation in Window Rock, Arizona.  Newspaper reports from Arizona at that time indicate a great deal of political turmoil in the Navajo nation.  Nonetheless, he succeeded in getting a Community Hall built for the Navajos, for which he was honored at a sing.  Tomorrow I will hang the plaque commemorating that event on the wall in my Cafe.

My Dad was not a cold academic.  He was a very emotional man.  One of my most powerful memories is when I was in high school, the day John F. Kennedy was assassinated.  We left school early, and I walked to downtown Evanston to catch a bus home as I usually did.  On this occasion, I was crying.  I bumped into my Dad coming down the street, openly weeping.  We hugged and walked the two miles home together.

My Dad's emotional nature -- and impulsivity -- could and did cause considerable difficulty in his life . . . and considerable difficulty in ours, even while these characteristics also made him very loveable. Invariably he would announce that we were leaving for Fort Smith, Arkansas (from Evanston, Illinois) in one hour, and we should pack. This never happened during spring break, always before or after.  He sometimes lived his life that way, so stability wasn't always the most prominent feature of the way we grew up.

My Dad followed his pastoral impulses and heartfelt emotions even when he was in the nursing home suffering from and living with others who were suffering from dementia. One day when I came, an agitated woman was roaming the halls crying out repeatedly, "Where am I? Where am I going? I don't know where I am going!" She was inconsolable, and no one was able to calm her. My Dad stopped and put his hand on her arm, looked right into her eyes and said, "I don't know where we're going either, but I know they will tell us soon. Don't worry -- you will be ok." And she was.

He was always enthusiastic about wherever he was and would take us around to examine every detail as if he were a tour guide. In his enthusiasm, he always impressed upon us the amazing nature of being alive and being human . . . whether by taking us out in the middle of the night to witness the flight of Sputnick overhead or the northern lights . . . or visiting one of the early McDonald's. Everything was a remarkable achievement, an extraodinary sight or an amazing discovery, no matter how high or how lowly, and everything was worth exploring, experiencing and commenting on.

One of the most wonderful experiences I had with my Dad was yesterday, while my brother and sister and I sat with his body after he died. So many people from the nursing home stopped in or called to tell us how much they loved my Dad, how he was so kind and never complained and how much they enjoyed caring for him.

These last weeks my Dad was in a very Zen space.  He was neither rushing toward death nor struggling to remain in life.  He was exactly where he was and was content there.  I imagine that now that he has moved on to his next destination, he is eagerly exploring and preparing to give the rest of us an enthusiastic tour.

I loved my Dad so much, and I will miss him terribly.  Although I have had some pretty difficult patches in my own life, the shimmering, beautiful, joyful moments always predominate -- and always will -- because of the ways my Dad taught me to see.

When I converted to Judaism many years ago, my Dad said to me that he probably would have made a better Jew than a Christian.  These words from the Jewish memorial prayer, El Malei Rachamim, feel so right for me to say for him now:  yitzror bitzror hachayim et nishmato, "May his soul be bound up in the bundle of life."  Dad, you lived fully, and you lived well, and I know you will continue to live. I will always be grateful that I was blessed with "the best Dad in the world."



Real Foodies: Session III

This week with Real Foodies was less information intense and more oriented toward checking in with participants on their experiences with a one-week de-tox.

Most participants had some difficulty for one reason or another excluding all required elements from their diet during the week, and several who did exclude most or all of the items commented about experiencing cravings.  I attempted to engage in the de-tox myself but also had limited success.  I was not properly prepared for moments of hunger and experienced cravings because the foods on which I normally rely for satiety and which I consider good foods were not part of the program.

My evaluation of this short experiment is that while a de-tox is definitely a worthwhile project as the first step in an effort to determine specific food items that may be interfering with one's health and/or ability to lose weight, it can also be a detriment as one attempts to forge a lifelong plan for a healthy, sustainable eating style.

I shared with the group an earlier experience I had with a partial "elimination diet" in which I found no reaction to wheat but did discover that dairy products caused some congestion, which cleared quickly when I refrained from eating them.  Yoghurt and Labne (fermented milk products) do not seem to have the same effect on me. For those who are interested in experimenting more with a detox or an elimination diet, I suggest Dr. Michael Hyman's book, UltraSimple Diet, or several books, including a recipe book, available on Amazon .com with a search on "elimination diet."   

We considered briefly one of the primary potential allergens and inflammatory agents which is generating a lot of discussion right now: wheat.  I shared material from Dr. William Davis, cardiologist, who wrote the book Wheat Belly, in which he cites modern wheat as the cause of many of our modern diseases of aging beginning with diabetes.  We did not take time to review arguments against Dr. Davis' presentation, but I promised to include one in these notes: Analysis of Wheat Belly Hypothesis.  My conclusion: my goal with our group is to find a sustainable healthy eating style. From my perspective, it doesn't make sense to exclude whole grain bread from our diet unless there is a demonstrable reaction to wheat or other grains. This can be determined by using the elimination diet technique. I prefer a diet with fewer exclusions and a focus on real food.

Additional resources on the Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load requested by participants are available via links from my website: www.expresslyleslie.com/resources.  Among other things, we can see in this list that while whole grain breads may be as high as white bread in the Index, they are lower in glycemic load due to their fiber.  Similarly the carrot soup we enjoyed -- carrots are high in the Index but have a low glycemic load due to their fiber.

In conclusion, a diet of real foods, high in fiber and low in sugar with high quality protein and good fats (including saturated fats in moderation) is the best lifelong diet.  During our next session, we will spend some time label reading to sort out meaningful from meaningless information and we'll take a look at some non-extremist "rules" going forward.  Assignment: browse labels in your pantry - or the products you removed from your kitchens three weeks ago.

Our dinner included our usual salad of mixed greens, which participants dressed themselves at the table with Extra Virgin Olive Oil, a squeeze of Fresh Lemon, Salt and Pepper.  Lemon lowers the Glycemic Index of any meal.  A good goal is to strive for an eating style which results in an average below 55 on the GI and below 10 on GL. 

We enjoyed Carrot Soup as our next course.  The main meal was Kidney Bean Jambalaya, an example of taking two basic ingredients (kidney beans and rice) which can be prepared at the beginning of the week and made into something different each evening of the week. For a video of seven different ways to prepare Kidney Beans and Rice, go to my youtube page, www.youtube.com/expresslyleslie.

   

Real Foodies: Session II

During the second session, we focused more attention on the issue of sugar in all its forms, but particularly fructose, and on the connection between sugar and metabolic syndrome.  I shared with the group Dr. Lustig's review of several popular diets, and we saw that the common denominator between all these programs is that they are high in fiber and low in sugar.  The most highly recommended program specifically avoided fructose.

These features of the most popular diets correlate well with my own experience.  Recent research on nutrition, particularly with regard to causes of the current obesity pandemic, provide the scientific and statistical foundation for what I intuited and found to be true over 40 years.

We talked about portion control.  I am somewhat on the fence about this issue.  I don't like to count calories.  Counting carbs is . . . well, it doesn't work for a vegan since a vegan diet is 100% carb.  I like to go by the quality and type of food.  In class, we have talked about the best plate for metabolic efficiency: 1/4 good quality protein, 1/4 higher starch, more calorie dense veggies and 1/2 (or unlimited) higher water content / low glycemic index veggies.  I recommend these ratios, as much as possible, for snacks as well.  Plates for meals can be 9" plates and plates for snacks 5" plates.  I think the plates are kind of self-limiting.  It's true, you can pile a lot of beans and rice onto a 9" plate -- but you can eat a lot more when your diet is very high in fiber and low in sugar, and you will probably feel satisfied more quickly.

Several current researchers and writers say eat only until you're satisfied, not full.  Some say eat 80% of what you want.  Here's what I say: if you are eating a very high fiber diet with plenty of good fats, you will find it very satisfying.  Just eat slowly enough that your satiety signals can reach your brain and register, and quit eating when you're satisfied.  You don't have to clean your plate! Don't ever starve yourself.  It sends the wrong signals to your brain and body, and in addition you have a tendency to eat more quickly.  I think over time, with correct eating, portions will take care of themselves.

For dinner we had Zucchini and Leek Soup with Fennel (a variation on the recipe provided for last week's soup), a salad of mixed greens with berries and walnuts dressed with olive oil and lemon juice, and Quinoa with Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas and Cauliflower.  Since it was Valentine's Day, we had a special Valentine's Day treat: Strawberries 'n' Cream (Labne):

I asked participants to continue to avoid food items we removed during the first week of our program, including all sugars and sugar alcohols, white flour, refined carbohydrates and all processed foods.  This week, in addition, I recommended a one week de-tox.  The de-tox is basically a shortened version of the elimination diet, used to find food allergies and sensitivities.  The recommended foods to remove are potential allergens and foods which may otherwise generate inflammation.  The foods to remove include: Citrus fruits and juices, Yeast including vinegar, Dairy products, Eggs, Gluten, Corn, Beef, Pork, Lamg, Nighshades, Peanuts, Refined oils and hydrogenated fats, Stimulants, All flour products, Processed foods or food additives, Fast food and Junk food.  Any foods that come in a box, package or can or are commercially prepared are likely to contain chemicals, preservatives and other unnatural ingredients and should be avoided.  These are instructions from Dr. Mark Hyman's program.  I am not including Nightshades in my own program but told participants they could make their own decision about that.

So what can we eat? Fish, especially those less likely to be laden with toxins and organic lean white meat (if you are not vegetarian), non-citrus fruits, fresh veggies, legumes, brown rice, quinoa, nuts and seeds, flaxseeds, lemons and clear broths.

There is not time in our few weeks together to do a complete elimination diet, but if participants try this limited de-tox for a week and discover something of interest for themselves, they may wish to pursue a project like this more fully at a later time.  In the meantime, we will begin to add foods back during the next two sessions so that by the end of our four sessions together, participants will have a good idea of how they can eat going forward to enjoy best health and find their correct natural weight.

Following is a recipe for Spicy Moroccan Chickpeas and Cauliflower, adapted from an internet recipe published by Emily Todd of Habitually Hungry:

1 lb. dried chickpeas, cooked
2 TB extra virgin olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, diced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground tumeric
3/4 tsp hot paprika
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1 TB fresh ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 stalk celery, diced
3 cups cauliflower florets
12 plum tomatoes, petite diced
1/2 cup parsley leaves, chopped
1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1.5 tsp salt

Add olive oil to a pot, and saute the diced onion, ginger and garlic.  Add the diced celery and saute a little longer. Add the diced tomatoes, lemon juice and all remaining seasonings and bring to a simmer.  Add cauliflower and simmer for a few minutes.  When cooking is complete, add chopped parsley and cilantro and cook very briefly.  I liked serving this as a stew topped with an ice cream scoop (one cup) of quinoa.

Tip: Prepare your seasonings before you begin cooking.  Simply measure them all out into a small bowl and set to the side until you are ready for them.  This seasoning mix is spicy and delightful!