The impending holidays, stress and how to keep off the pounds…

It is hard to believe that the holiday season is upon us. I am facing the beginning of finals and the unending study sessions and all nighters often fed by coffee, pizza and ice cream. Instead I am still drinking coffee (but less than my colleagues), but replacing the pizza with whole grain breads and peanut butter I ground myself at the health food store, instead of the ice cream, chocolate sorbet (I like two brands: hands down ciao bella is the best – but also has 8 grams of fat. sharon’s sorbet – a slightly lighter version with only 3.5 grams of fat, still has 22 grams of sugar and makes me want to eat more than a 1/2 cup serving of ciao bella which fills me up) and in between I have turkey chili, grass fed beef stew, vegetable stir fries with wonderful winter vegetables such as kale, broccoli, carrots and butternut squash.

During the holiday season (and all times), I find that preparing food that is quick cooking with minimal preparation is key. I like to cook things that I call 10 minutes from prep to plate…including cooking. These are things like chili, stir fries and some meal soups. In the time that it takes to boil pasta, I can cut up three kinds of vegetables (carrots, zucchini and brocolli – 1 of each if I am making for 4 servings – 2 stalks of broccoli, 1 zucchini, 1 large carrot), with a shallot, small onion and 2 cloves of garlic and 2 inches of ginger chopped (don’t want to be bothered with ginger and garlic – they sell both already chopped up in jars – just make sure you get organic – because otherwise it comes from China and not sure of the quality). Stir fry in a little bit (about 1 tablespoon) of olive oil and add a mixture of 1/2 cup soy sauce, and if you aren’t allergic, 1/4 cup peanut butter (you could also use tahini or almond butter depending on your allergy, none of these work, add some broth or email me for more ideas!). This makes a great side dish or…when you are combining the soy sauce and peanut butter (in a saucepan until the peanut butter melts), add about 1 pound of shrimp, cubed chicken, sliced beef or 1 pound of cubed tofu. Serve with quinoa or brown rice and you’ve got a meal for one person for about three servings or a meal for four people. In 10 minutes or less. And its really fun to make, I just recently demonstrated this to a group of sixth graders and they couldn’t get enough.

It is difficult when I travel or go to parties. I find there is always a wonderful vegetable plate or cheese plate with fruit. I stay near there. As I am often at parties with academic colleagues or business networking colleagues who are either potential clients or referral partners, I always keep alcohol to a minimum. If I am going to drink, I have one glass of the best champagne or wine they have,, so that I can savor the flavor, mouthfeel and finish for a few hours. I do the same thing with holiday snacks. I use a small plate or a napkin and only eat what I can carry. I do my best to stay away from those passed appetizers which are often fried…but if there is a stuffed mushroom or piece of fillet Mignon on a toast I might indulge…but I do just that, I keep track of what I eat and I make choices.  Its fun and easy. That and I always have a buddy at the parties and we watch what we eat together. We’ll often send emails to each other before the parties talking about all the food that is going to be there and then when we get there have a plan to hang out together near the fruit and vegetables and watch out for the drinks and fried foods. We are each other’s accountability. I bet you can find such a friend or relative and if they can’t be there with you at the party, well put that texting phone to some good use!

When it comes to holiday stresses, it is best to organize. Do a lot of the shopping you would do in stores online and save only the most necessary shopping for stores. Go at off times – early in the morning or late at night…on a Tuesday instead of Saturday or Sunday afternoon. Get a Christmas bonus? Instead of a high fat meal and three to four days of getting drunk, why not get an indulgent hot stone massage or other spa treatment (men, you can do this too, after all the metro sexual is the new black!) Take time to chat with family throughout the holiday season instead of leaving confrontational conversations to in person visits. A series of short hello how are you conversations work…even if you don’t want to talk to the person, it is better to show you care by having a short conversation, even if it is just five minutes. If you are really uncomfortable with the person, do it every day, that will confuse the heck out of them and there’s really nothing they can do in return except love you for it. Nothing wrong with that.

Enjoy the holiday season, healthfully, I’ll be back in a little bit to talk about local versus organic.

Marathon training, biking up hill and cooking for love

I have just passed the less than 2 months to the marathon mark – seven weeks to go. I ran 6 miles somewhat easily yesterday, I’ve got to get myself back up to ten over the weekend and start adding on to get up to half marathon distance by end of September with an 18 mile and 20 mile run by mid October and taper off last week of October until that first weekend in November. I’m also a full time student, working full time and cooking once a week for private clients. It’s a tough life.

I was very inspired by a fellow student I met in class today. She is also a marathon runner. She started running (Boston was her first marathon, brave girl!) for the same reason I did – for charity. I raised money to fight terror in Israel, she raised money for Cancer. Her father had cancer. He died 5 minutes after she started running Boston. She’s running again this year to honor him. I was blown away by the story. Granted triathlons and running also changed my life, helped me lose weight, discover self confidence, determination and drive I never knew I had, plus it helped me realize my passion for cooking and teaching. Had I not done a triathlon, I never would have started giving cooking classes which led to the downward spiral that led me to leave the job I hated, ultimately end a ridiculously unhappy relationship, and start the business of my dreams as well as going after the education that will ultimately conclude the dream chapter enabling me to teach, write a book and hopefully lecture at conferences and land a research job with funding.

I’ve also started biking to work recently. Granted I live about 5 minutes away from work by bike and I want to get long runs in the morning. So it’s possible to train, cross train and eat well. I’ve been working on it by eating home nearly every night a mostly vegetarian, high fiber diet low in refined sugars.

Some of the things I’ve had lately:

Black quinoa with lentils, broccoli and carrots with sesame oil and ginger

Peas in coconut milk with kale, broccoli and eggs

Greek yogurt with fresh fruit

I’m thinking meat tomorrow night. I’m seriously disappointed I can’t get grass fed beef anywhere in a 5 mile radius of the upper west side…although I’m slightly excited at the prospect of going to whole foods on 97th street in between work and my 5pm class, but I don’t know if that will happen.

I started biking to work on Morningside Drive which is straight up. I didn’t really think twice since I’ve only taken it down and just didn’t think twice about it, but let me tell you, a 10 minute bike ride straight up a hill is better than coffee. I didn’t need any today, I was so energized from that ride, I made it straight through an incredibly busy day and a 2 hour class afterward without thinking twice about my 3pm snack. I had some pea soup as a pick me up after lunch because my office was freezing. I think soup is an amazing snack as its starting to get cold. I used to love hale and hearty soups when I worked in midtown. They have several great vegetarian, non-dairy, low fat soups and a few good protein containing ones that area also low fat, just avoid the creamy ones, the corn ones and anything else that seems too good to be true, it usually is….but bean soups, vegetable soups and pea soups are all great as are mushroom ones.

I’m looking forward to an at least 8 mile run tomorrow AM, although I might only make it 4 given that I have not been able to wake up early enough. I’m looking forward to yoga at lunch or on Thursday AM. I’ll be taking Amsterdam on the bike, which is slightly flatter. I’ll leave you with my recipe for Quinoa surprise.

Black quinoa with lentils, broccoli and carrots

1 cup of brown lentils
2 cups of water
¾ cup quinoa
1 ½ cup water
1 stalk of broccoli
Handful of baby carrots
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (I use black ones)
Sprinkle or two of cumin
Garlic or chopped up ginger
A little butter or ghee (about 1 tsp)
A handful of cilantro, chopped
In two pots heat measured amounts of water and bring to a boil separately. When water boils add lentils to the pot with 2 cups and quinoa to the pot with 1 ½ cups. Boil quinoa about 12-15 minutes or until all water absorbed. Remove from heat, toss with butter and leave aside. In other pot, boil lentils about 20 minutes. In last 5 minutes of cooking add chopped broccoli and carrot. Let cook with cover on until vegetables have steamed and are fork tender. Drain any remaining water. Stir in spices and a bit of chopped cilantro.

I hope you all enjoy this recipe and get inspired to do something active – whatever it is: go to a dance class, get on that bike and do a lap of central park or whatever park is near you, take a tai chi class or just play in the dirt with your kids. Just get out there. Realize how the sunshine (what’s left of it anyway!) and end of summer/beginning of autumn air will invigorate you and bring you closer to whatever goal you have. Its good to have goals…however big or small they are.

Sprouts, zucchini and purple peppers

This week at the farmers market I saw one of my favorite and delicious friends, a purple pepper. The bell peppers are smaller than your supermarket red or green pepper – about half the size and a deep purple (not eggplant, but a true purple). The taste is sweet, crunchy and delicious. A great salad has purple, yellow, light green peppers with lentil and pea sprouts. Delicious. Add some sesame oil and a bit of tahini with lemon and fresh chopped cilantro and you’ve got a crunchy, amazing salad.

Recipe:

Salad: 1 medium sized purple pepper chopped into 1/8 inch squares

1 small green, yellow or orange pepper, chopped into 1/8 inch squares

2 cups lentil, pea or other assorted sprouts (can get in any supermarket)

1 tablespoon shallots, chopped

½ red onion, chopped fine

Dressing:

3 tablespoons tahini

Juice of 1 lemon 2 tablespoons sesame oil Black sesame seeds (1 tablespoon)

1 tsp honey

Directions: Mix sprouts, peppers and greens in a bowl. Make dressing in a small bowl. Place ingredients in order, except sesame oil. Whisk this in last with a little honey. Add a touch of orange juice or slightly more lemon if too thick/sticky. Dress salad and top with sesame seeds.

radio interview – cast down your bread – the truth about gluten

http://healthmedia.mypodcast

check this out for a great interview. I was on the radio Tuesday takling about gluten intolerance.

great blogs and ideas – from superfoods to super jobs

As we are all struggling to figure out what to do, what to eat and how to downsize these days, I find myself often struggling as to how to communicate. I have come across some wonderful blogs and resources for recipes, jobs, apartments and more.

The first resources I have found for frugal gourmets and what my friend Adrienne has terms “frugalistas” is her wonderful blog just yee. For great recipes try www.andreabeaman.com for recipes. I just picked up this anti-inflammation diet and recipe book by Jessica Black. I’ve been making many of the recipes already, but it kind of puts it all together. Some of my other favorite sites are www.foodrevolution.com and http://dicksonsfarmstand.com/ and www.uswellnessmeats.com.  I am determined to get people aware of the hazards of eating corn fed beef where the animals are sick! Animals who are ruminants should be eating grass. Their stomachs are built to eat and digest grass. Give them grain, they get fat and their meat (just like their bodies) gets diseased and sick.  They do taste good, but do you really want to be taking on the energy of a sick animal? I am not telling you to be a vegetarian (although a few vegetarian meals a week won’t kill you – oh the things you can do with lentils and quinoa, and millet has not yet been struck by the same price problems as quinoa!!!)

Let’s make 2009 the year to remember. Its ripe with possibilities. Yes, things seem difficult, the economy is in the toilet and there are some stores selling quinoa for $8 a box, but the 4th street food co-op still sells it for $3.23 a pound. So for a while we turn to organic corn meal, brown rice or millet.  I really love millet. Its close to quinoa and for some reason, not as expensive. I don’t know why. It makes great gluten free bread too as does amaranth, which can sometimes be a pain to cook. Let’s eat more cabbage and apples – perhaps together in a salad with a bit of sesame. If you are allergic to sesame – use lemon and cilantro.  Add limes, avocados and tomatoes to everything, in salads, soups or with broiled fish. Can’t eat tomatoes – enjoy fish with lime, lemongrass and chilipowder. Skip the chili if you can’t handle it. Try a little – it goes a long way and its good to get you in the mood for a bit of lovin and also to help relieve that cold you’ve been suffering from. Cilantro is probably the most flavorful way to get your greens. There’s so many flavors and so many great way to be healthy while having a healthy pocketbook. Stay tuned and I’ll let you know a hundred ways to have great tasting, great for you food on $20 or less a day. One great way…stay out of starbucks…or stick to the refresh tea, for a tall its only $1.70 or so last time I checked in New York. However, if you buy your own tea and carry a thermos with you or get one of those hot water kettles you can plug in you are pretty good to go anywhere.

www. justyee.typepad.com

natural food

So, I just saw a commercial for Pizza hut’s new “natural” pizza made with a whole grain crust, sauce that didn’t contain high fructose corn syrup and “natural” pepperoni. It seems like a step in the right direction. I’m not sure the cheese is any less processed and I’m a bit concerned about the naturalness of the pepperoni – but it definitely seems like a slightly better option. I’m glad to see that food companies are moving in this direction.

In the meantime I am writing two business plans for juice bar type ventures and continuing to brand my company as specializing in allergy free options for getting excited about food. Growing up with food allergies and sensitivities myself I know how challenging it is to know what to eat. I found myself eating mostly sugar and gumdrops/licorice because it seemed to be the one thing I could eat. So many other gluten/wheat/egg/milk allergy sufferers are also addicted to and consume a lot of sugar.

Many food companies still haven’t figured out how to properly make these foods taste great without adding tons of sugar…and while in moderation its ok – the amount in most processed foods is pretty high. Sugar leads to inflammation which can sometimes exacerbate an already inflamed system due to allergies or food sensitivities.

I’m doing a lot of research into anti-inflammation diets…but from my experience its fairly simple: fresh fruits such as berries, apples, pears, dark green leafy vegetables, whole grains (that don’t contain gluten), minimally processed gently pasteurized milk (or raw if you dare) in moderation, some sweets such as dark chocolate in moderation and lots of vegetarian protein and some meat (more as a condiment, flavoring than a main dish).  There’s more too it – but not much…then there’s the key of using fresh local and organic when possible vegetables, herbs, spices, sea salt (in moderation), butter (in moderation), wine (in moderation), broths/stocks, vinegars, fruit juices and purees (in moderation) to make it all taste good!

That’s the key…making it taste good – well that’s what I am here for. I’m in the coming weeks and months opening two restaurants and a zone chef like delivery service. Starting in January my juice bar cafe will be open on Wednesday nights for a pre-reserved dinner and I will be taking orders for a weekly delivery service of a bag of meals for 4 days or so.

Soon to come check www.sobelwellness.com/greenbag.html for more information. Cafe information www.sobelwellness.com/luscious-organics-cafe.html. Email meredith@sobelwellness.com or call 646-209-4519 for reservations this Wednesday night 1/7 or this weekend 1/10 and 1/11 for lunch. 324 Lafayette Street, 7th Floor. Meals served by reservation only.

vegan baking, gluten free cookies and en masse cooking

So I have been experimenting with gluten free baking. What’s the deal with gluten anyway? So many of us are inflamed and on top of it have poor digestion. My body is so attuned to eating that if I go one day eating a non-whole foods diet, I get a bit ill. Most of us however walk around stressed, overworked, underpaid, underloved and our blood is literally boiling, and we don’t even realize it. Eating non-plant based fatty foods from animals that have not been eating a quality diet, or fats that are highly refined as well as excess sugars and foods that turn quickly to sugar once ingested (high glycemic foods) doesn’t help reduce inflammation, it actually increases it. Eating a plant based diet rich in whole unaltered grains (i.e., not ground into a flour and not removing the fiber – whole grain flours are better than non-whole grain – but once a flour you are already starting to lose some of the whole gain goodness). The problem is, sometimes we want something a bit sweet. Inflamed and all. I would love a piping hot bowl of pumpkin soup sweetened with agave, but sometimes I either don’t have the pumpkin on hand or I don’t want to cut them up (thanks to my super heavy vegetable knife, its a bit easier, but sometimes I feel like I need a cleaver or a machete, which the people who run my cafe said we have somewhere, oh boy!).

So instead, I turn to whatever else is available…and then I pay for it. Yesterday I was preparing a miso soup, greens stir fry with bean casserole. Pretty healthy right? I also was planning to sell these gluten free ginger snaps made with sorghum flour and rice flour. I am not sure what sorghum is, but they were pretty good. However, no one wanted dessert and I was stuck with an open bag of cookies. There are all kinds of rules I am learning about selling things that are open and how long they can last, so basically, I can’t sell them. So then I got stuck with them. And they were really good, too good. Often times though these store bought cookies are a) super expensive and b) sugary. I’ve been experimenting to see what I can sell in my cafe. Despite training under a pastry chef, pastry and dessert has never really been my thing. I mean I love to eat it, but its so much more of a science than cooking, which is truly an art.

Many of my cafe and catering clients however love vegan baked items and want them, so I am experimenting with vegan baking. I do a lot of vegan cooking in the cafe, although I am not a vegan and despite 20 years of avoiding eggs, I do love my organic brown eggs, especially when I get them from Traditional Nutrition Guild or the Union Square Farmers market and they are all different colors with the speckles. Its amazing. I still don’t quite understand what makes an egg brown, white or any other color for that matter. I do understand the taste difference between a fresh organic egg and a store bought one. But I am trying other things: egg replacer (I feel like this stuff is unnatural and nothing more than cornstarch, so I am still looking for something more natural), applesauce, honey (some vegans don’t like me to use it). I’d love any feedback from vegans who are as natural as possible and have ideas for me. I can do gluten free baking, but vegan baking has been incredibly difficult. I tried vegan quiche as well and it didn’t quite come out right.

This morning I poached an egg and enjoyed it with curry powder and two slices of gluten free bread made from flax, tapioca flour and cornstarch. I think the fact that its made with corn starch, delta glutalactone (what on earth is that?) bothers me a little…but I am not yet baking bread myself. This is also a yeasted bread. I think a bowl of brown rice or quinoa or whole grain cereal from Bob’s Red Mill is still a better choice for my carb intake. Otherwise that bag of gluten free cookies is going to be calling my name.

I am now a travel writer

I have been doing some posts for Travel Guides from Real New York Insiders. I want to say I am not only a consummate New Yorker and definitely have an insider’s view, but I am also a New York culinary expert. Download my guides for a mere $3 each and learn about some funky neighborhoods and all their great sights and restaurants. I just posted my first two guides on Inwood and the East Village. Here is the address: http://www.notanotherguide.com/. Check it out.

Fertility and what you eat

So I have been thinking lately about fertility and how infertility seems to be on the rise these days. We try all kinds of drugs, technologies, we’ll even rent a womb out to try to have a baby…but scarcely do we look at what we are putting in our mouths. A few changes to diet can clear blockages and help with fertility both male and female. Look at the amount of processed foods you are eating. High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Oil and other Corn products from from genetically modified corn that have terminal seeds. These seeds can’t reproduce. You are what you eat, right? Just some food for thought…

babies, healthy conception and fish

I’ve been doing some research lately into the fertility diet. What foods can help you conceive and what foods are going to maybe cause you some trouble. I found some research regarding fish. So, for years doctors have warned that pregnant women should avoid sushi for fear that contaminants in raw fish might harm the baby (not to mention the mother). Being a huge consumer of sushi myself, I am more wary of quality of fish and avoid sushi that doesn’t come from a reputable place. In general I would avoid Sushi on a Sunday or Monday when there might not be fresh deliveries. Certainly on a Sunday night.

Raw fish aside, I have also been doing some research on mercury. It appears the most frequently consumed fish is tuna. White albacore tuna in the can. Good stuff, right. Not raw, safe for pregnant women and those wanting to become pregnant? Not so, tuna fish as well as shark, grouper, tilefish, white snapper all have high levels of mercury.

Fish such as salmon, rainbow trout, and canned mackerel, for instance — that contain
low levels of mercury and are high in healthy fats. These should be part of a healthy diet for all people including pregnant women and those trying to get pregnant.