Chickpea Salad

 

chick pea salad 

• chick peas
• green peas
• black beans
• whole corn
• diced tomato
• chili pepper
• onion
• garlic
• turmeric
• ginger
• olive oil
• apple cider vinegar
• Greek seasoning

Travel food

I've noticed over the past two years of living in Germany with frequent trips to the US for work and family that I often get sick during or just after trips. I can't do much about the stale air and cramped quarters that encourage germs to spread or the lost sleep. But I try to eat as well as I can, which is especially difficult on long flight with very few options.

So I've started trying to bring my own food for the flight rather than depending on what is available. Since preparing for a trip is stressful and busy as it is, I try to keep it simple. Here is what I brought this weekend:

- travel-friendly lentils and rice, recipe below (which I ate with the salad I got on the plane)

- cubes of semi-hard cheese

- some crackers (packaged, making my own just didn't happen this week)

- salami sticks

- dark chocolate (having something sweet keeps me from being tempted to eat whatever highly processed dessert is provided)

Some other ideas:

- fermented vegetables

- sourdough bread or pita

- quinoa

Travel-friendly lentils

- 1/2 cup lentils

- 1/2 cup whole-grain rice

- 1 Tbsp whey, vinegar, or lemon juice

- 1 tsp salt

- 1-2 tsp curry spice mix, or to taste

- 2 cups water or vegetable broth

- 1/2 onion, diced small (optional)

I usually cook lentils and rice in stock, but to ensure the food doesn't spoil I just stick with vegetable ingredients.

Rinse the lentils. Place lentils and rice in two separate bowls and cover with plenty of water, adding half the whey to each bowl. Soak 7 to 12 hours. Strain water.

Sautee onions in butter or olive oil. Add salt and spices, cook another minute. Add 2 cups liquid and bring to a boil. Add strained lentils and rice, cover, and let cook about 45 minutes until all liquid is absorbed.

Mix in some yogurtsauce or tzatziki (be sure to use yogurt with live bacteria to avoid spoilage) and refrigerate until its time to leave. Can be eaten plain or with salad, fermented veggies, and/or pita bread.

Yogurt

Yogurt is a great way to add probiotics to your diet and is available, without having to make it yourself, both in the US and where I live in Germany. But during my trip to the US I noticed a significant difference in the yogurt there. The "plain" yogurt (Stoneyfield full-fat plain) had added sugar - in the form of pectin. Since I've been trying to cut back on sugar, I usually just add a little jam or eat my yogurt plain. I've come to like the sour taste of yogurt, and after eating the pectin-sweetened yogurt here I decided it mostly tasted bland to me. Rather than having tart and fruit-complementing taste, it doesn't taste like much of anything.

Yogurt has become increasingly popular in the US as a health food. But low-fat, high-sugar yogurt with artificial flavoring is pretty far from healthy. Low-fat is an especially problematic misconception; much of the nutritional value of yogurt is tied up in fat-soluble vitamins A and E, which are not available when the fat is removed. Additionally, more sugar is usually needed to make the fat-free yogurt actually taste good, further decreasing the nutritional value.

Here are the things I look for when choosing yogurt:

• Full-fat 
• Active probiotics (many yogurts are heated, which destroys the probiotic value, so don't assume anything unless it's labeled)
• No added sugar (Just add some maple syrup, jam or fruit to taste)
• No added ingredients (i.e. synthetic vitamin D. If you want to supplement, consider cod liver oil)
• Good-quality milk source (ideally grass-fed and organic, but most importantly no BST)
• I would buy raw-milk yogurt if I had a good source, but so far I haven't found any.

As far as I know, regular or Greek yogurt are equally nutritious, choose whichever you prefer. If you like greek yogurt, you can also buy regular and strain it yourself, setting aside the whey for fermenting vegetables or soaking grains.

Some ways I like to eat yogurt:

• With chopped fruit
• With granola or oatmeal
• Made into yogurt sauce (tzatziki, or see recipes below) and served with anything with a Mediterranean or middle eastern flair (vegetables, meat, beans)

Fresh Yogurt Sauce

• 1 cup yogurt (use strained greek yogurt for a thicker sauce)
• 2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley
• 1 small clove garlic, finely minced
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
•  (optional)

Mix all ingredients together. Ideally let sit for a few hours at room temperature before serving

Dry Yogurt Sauce Mix

• 6 Tbsp parsley
• 2 Tbsp salt
• 2 Tbsp freshly ground white pepper
• 1/2 Tbsp garlic

Mix together all ingredients and store in a glass jar. To make sauce, stir 1/2 to 1 tsp of mixture into 1/2 cup yogurt (regular or greek-style strained).

Sugar Guidelines

I've started really trying to cut back on my sugar consumption. I find the more I educate myself on nutrition and the affects of sugar in particular, the less interested I am in consuming it. When I think about eating something sweet, I also consider how it often makes me feel (drowsy and unfocused) and the possible long-term consequences (increased susceptibility to illness, cancer, heart disease).
 

In general I try not to be legalistic about how I eat, but here are some general guidelines I try to follow.
 

• One sweet or dessert item per day, but still being conscientious about what I choose in most cases. Examples are a piece of dark chocolate, a small serving of homemade ice cream, or a naturally sweetened homemade cake or cookie. Desserts pre-made or prepared by others are only eaten occasionally, as the usually contain more sugar than things I make myself.
• Small amounts of natural sweetener can be added to foods where appropriate. For example, maple syrup on pancakes, honey in muffins, or rapadura-sweetened jam in oatmeal.
• Little to no juice, as it typically contains almost all of the sugar of more fruit then I would eat in one sitting, but none of the fiber and other nutrients.
• Avoid all added sugar in non-dessert dishes such as sauces and meats. Small quantities of natural sweetener added to homemade condiments such ketchup and chutneys.
• Fermented drinks such as Kombucha, made with white sugar, are fine, as the sugar is a necessary part of the fermentation process and does not result in a sugary beverage.

I'll be the first to admit I don't always follow my own guidelines, especially in social situations or when traveling. But this is a blog about the journey, and the above are a guide I've recently been working to follow.

Mosquitoes

Like everyone, I have noticed many times that some people seem to get bitten by mosquitoes more often then others. I recently learned that this may be more than just chance or random body composition, but a result of what we eat.

While it's true that female mosquitoes need blood for proper reproduction, but a recent study by the US Department of Agriculture shows that mosquitoes need sugar even more [1]. So, it follows that mosquitoes seek out victims with higher levels of sugar in their blood, which comes from higher levels of sugar in their diets.

Anecdotally, this could explain my in-laws' situation. They've commented several times how he always gets bit, and she doesn't. Well, he likes to eat a decent quantity of sweets, whereas she tries to minimize sweets and carbs in her diet. Sally Fallon tells of how, since cutting out sugar, she can be outside without any chemical repellents and never be bothered [2].

So, if you're tired of spraying toxic mosquito repellent on your skin and breathing the fumes, try cutting back on sugar instead.

[1] http://www.insidescience.org/content/mosquitoes-need-sugar-not-blood-survive/1206

[2] Nourishing Traditions, http://www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-up-reviews/nourishing-traditions

Soaked Whole-Grain Pancakes (or Waffles)

I recently wrote about why I grind my own flour and my soaking experiment. Here's an easy and flexible recipe for soaked, whole grain pancakes. It is very forgiving and can be make with a mix of grains, but I would suggest using about 2/3rd gluten-based grain such as wheat or spelt. I like to use part quinoa, amaranth, or oat flour, all of which can be made using a grain mill. 

Note that this makes a lot of pancakes - I counted thirty. It does take a while to cook them all, but for my husband and I this makes enough for the two of us to eat for four or five days. I like to cook a large batch on the weekend, put them in the fridge, and toast a few for breakfast every morning. However, you can easily reduce the quantities if you don't want to make so many at one time.

You can also add your choice of fruit such as blueberries, sliced peaches (or pears or apples), or mashed bananas. But they're also tasty topped with lots of butter and some maple syrup or jam. 

Another note on making pancakes: keep the temperature low. You want it just hot enough that the battler sizzles when you put it in the pan, but too hot and the pancakes will burn before they cook through. These pancakes especially need to cook slowly; don't flip until you see a handful of bubbles on top.

Ingredients

3 cups (375g) freshly milled flour*
3 cups buttermilk
1 Tbsp flaxseeds, freshly ground (optional)
1 t vanilla
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/3 cup butter for pancakes, 1/2 cup for waffles, melted (or coconut oil)
4 eggs
butter for frying
optional: fruit such as blueberries, peach slices, grated apples, or mashed banana

*Can be a mix of flours. I usually stick with at least 2/3rds glutinous grains like wheat or spelt. Quinoa and oat flour are nice to lighten the flavor; amaranth gives a strong but interesting flavor. I have never tried this recipe gluten-free.

Directions

Mix flour, flax seeds, and buttermilk. Let sit 12-24 hours at room temperature.

Whisk eggs together and then mix in remaining ingredients. Add to flour mixture and stir until just mixed. Add in optional fruit and stir.

Heat a heavy skillet over medium-low heat. Add about 1/2 Tbsp butter per batch to the pan, then use a 1/4 measuring cup to spoon batter into the pan. Cook until a handful of bubbles appear, then flip and let cook on the other side.

Serve with plenty of butter and your choice of maple syrup, jam, honey, and/or lightly sweetened whipped cream.

Why I grind my own flour

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The wheat kernel is, like all other seeds, made up of several components. The bran is the outer protective layer of the kernel, and contains antioxidants, vitamins and fiber. The germ contains all of the fats and some vitamins, fiber, and protein. The endosperm is mostly carbohydrates and protein, and a small amount of additional vitamins. [1] When wheat is processed into white flour, the germ and bran are removed, removing almost all of the nutrients but giving the flour a longer shelf life.

Whole wheat flour is made by grinding the entire kernel. However, there's a catch: within 72 hours of milling the grain into flour, about 90% of the over 30 nutrients are lost due to oxidation [2]. This is why I grind my wheat fresh as needed.

Another downside of purchasing whole wheat flour is that the oils in the wheat will go rancid as they oxidize, causing products made from the flour to have a bitter taste. Flour must either refrigerated or used immediately to avoid rancidity and loss of nutrients.

Note that if you do use white flour (I use it in small quantities for cooking and occasionally for sweets), be sure to get unbleached and unbromeated flour to avoid further removal of the few remaining nutrients [4].

Vitamin E

Vitamin E is critical to every function of the body. It's main purpose is to prevent oxidation of fatty acids and other fat-like substances in our bodies [2]. Without vitamin E, our body may not be able to fully utilize other nutrients that it needs. Vitamin E is lost when exposed to oxygen after milling.

After processed white flour became readily available, growing health issues were linked to vitamin B deficiency and back to the new white flour. When brought up by the government, millers began to "enrich" the flour by adding back in 4 of the at least 24 vitamins and minerals removed by milling [3]. This was motivated by cost - the long shelf life and preferred taste of white flour could bring in more money than wholesome whole wheat flour.

Grinding flour at home

There are a number different appliances for grinding flour from whole grains. Wheat and similar grains can be purchased in bulk and stored for years if kept in a properly sealed container. Generally flour should be ground as needed, but excess can be stored in the fridge for short periods. Having a grain mill also makes it easier to use a variety of grains in your baking, such as oats, buckwheat, kamut, rye, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, corn, and others.

My grain mill is a Kitchen Aid attachment made by Family Grain Mill. I like that it is small and easy to use, not requiring counter space in addition to the multi-purpose mixer. My mom uses a WonderMill, which is a standalone appliance and takes up more space, but is also much faster and can produce a finer flour.

My mom and I have both purchased bulk grains from Bread Beckers. They only have one retail location, but ship throughout the US. (Unfortunately, living in Germany I have not found a source of bulk grains). Whole Foods and other retail stores also sell grains in bulk bins and in packages.

One thing that can be annoying is following a recipe which measures flour in cups. It is not always clear exactly how much whole grain is needed to produce one cup, and in general it is more accurate to measure grain by weight rather than volume. I use 125 grams of grain for every cup of wheat flour, Bread Beckers recommends 1/3 cup whole grain per 1/2 cup flour for wheat. Other flours have different mass and density so you may need to adjust. Also, keep in mind that freshly ground flour will not be as compact as flour which has been packaged and had time to settle.

As I mentioned earlier, I also soak grains before baking as much as possible.

Sources

[1] The Whole Wheat Kernel (http://www.greatharvest.com/bread/whole-wheat-kernel.html)
[2] Vitamin E, Needed by Every Cell (http://info.breadbeckers.com/vitamin-e/)
[3] Do Not Eat the Bread of Idleness (http://info.breadbeckers.com/bread-of-idleness/)
[4] The Truth About Potassium Bromate (http://www.livescience.com/36206-truth-potassium-bromate-food-additive.html)

Related

Soaked Whole-Grain Pancakes

My Soaking Experiment