a medical librarian's adventures in evidence-based living
HOW TO FIND A POST
HOW TO FIND A POST
If you came to this page from a Google search, click on Edit in the search bar on top of your screen. Then click on Find & type in the KEYWORD you are looking for, like CERTO. You'll get to the exact spot you are searching for.
If you received this post via email, click here, to get to the web version with a video & all the links, or to share a comment.
When a friend or relative is sick, & we don't know what we can do to really help, what do we often make for them?
Soup, of course. Somehow the simple act of soup-making makes us feel useful. Often it makes me feel as good as I hope it will make my sick friend or relative feel.
And that's a glimpse of the theme of the movie, "The Intouchables". It's about caregiving at its highest level--when it's not quite clear who really is the caregiver--and who is the "cared for". Turns out, both parties are caring for each other--both take turns at playing the part of "able-bodied" & "handicapped".
No one has to be sick, ill, or handicapped to try our hands at a little caregiving for each other, either. I think it's happening all the time--right under our noses.
If you haven't read it yet, don't miss the heartwarming mind-changing Sunday New York Times Magazine article about the wunderkind Wharton School of Business professor, Adam Grant: "Is Giving the Secret to Getting Ahead?" And no, it's not about giving with the intention of receiving something in return. That's what makes this a worthwhile thoughtful read.
Last night, when I returned home from work, the Lab Rat had a big pot of Smoky Lentil Spinach Olive Soup simmering on the stove. Yep, I definitely felt cared for. Tonight? I'll do some caregiving cooking for him, and whip up a batch of Navratan Korma Curry. At least that's my plan right now.
The Movie: The Intouchables
If you don't see the trailer on your screen, click here.
Don't miss the French film, the "Intouchables", based on a the true story of a wealthy Parisian quadriplegic who gets a second chance at living a fuller life when he hires an untrained, unemployed Senegalese caregiver who has just been released from prison for robbery.
I missed this film when it was first released in theaters last year. Honestly, I'd completely forgotten about it. So, it was a big serendipitous surprise when I noticed that a Netflix copy of the film had just arrived at my kids' home on the same day that we arrived for our visit last week.
Once the grandkids were put to bed, all four of us sat on the couch & had a chance to view this warm often-funny mesmerizing film. All of us were touched deeply by its story of friendship, respect, and mutual careging between two men who on the surface, shared nothing in common. Nothing preachy or heavy-handed about its message, either. It just slowly unfolds.
Here's the scoop: Philippe is an over-the-top wealthy widowed Parisian, paralyzed from the neck down from a paragliding accident, and completely unable to survive without the help of an entire staff. He's privileged, cultured, knowledgeable of art & classical music.
Driss is an unemployed Senegalese immigrant, tall, strong, sexy, handsome, cocky, and completely clueless about caring for a quadriplegic. He's newly released from prison, living in a tiny apartment full of assorted relatives--and he's anxious to start receiving unemployment benefits. His musical tastes lean toward disco pop. His knowledge of art is zero.
The relationship between this unlikely pair turns the idea of caregiving upside-down. It's hard to know who is caring more for whom.
And that's all I'm going to tell you about this film.
The Caregiving Dinner
Smoky Tomato Lentil Spinach Soup with a Kalamata Kick (Enlightened PPK)
by The Healthy Librarian
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
To print, email, or text the recipe on one page, click here.
Ingredients (serves 8)
1 large sweet onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried thyme)
2 tablespoons of sweet smoked paprika
1 cup dried brown lentils
5 cups of low-sodium vegetable broth
Fresh black pepper
1 28 ounce can of fire-roasted crushed or chopped tomatoes
8 ounces of fresh baby spinach
1/2 cup roughly chopped kalamata olives (you can add up to 3/4 cup of olives, if you like--I cut the amount to 1/2 because of their high salt content)
Instructions
1. Preheat a large soup pot over medium high heat.
2. Saute onions until translucent with the easy no-oil method. Add onions, lower heat to medium-lowish, cover the pot & let them sweat & soften for about 10 minutes. Check every 3 minutes to stir the onions & add small amounts of water or broth if they start to dry out--& to deglaze the pot. They're done when they're soft, translucent & sweet.
3. Add garlic when the onions are done & saute for about 1 minute. Add the thyme & smoked paprika
4. Add the lentils, broth, & a little pepper. Cover, bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about 25 minutes, stirring occasionally until the lentils are almost tender.
5. Add the tomatoes--if they aren't already crushed, make sure you mash them up well before adding them to the soup. Return the soup to a boil, then lower the heat for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are very tender.
6. Now add the spinach & olives, stirring well until the spinach softens & wilts. Add additional broth if you want your soup thinner.
7. Let the soup sit for at least 10 minutes before serving to intensify the flavors. Taste & adjust the seasoning.
The Latest Spanish Study (NEJM) Nudged the Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet Up to a 30% Reduction over the "Western Diet" Control Group - But, There's a Better Choice
A Small Pilot Study Comparing Omega-3 Levels in a Mediterranean Diet (with fish & olive oil), the Average US Diet, & a Plant-Based No-Oil Diet
ALA=plant-based omega-3's
DHA=the most important component in Omega-3's
The higher the n3 Index, the better!
The lower the n6:n3 ratio, the better!
In the Spanish Study (Estruch, NEJM) the ALA levels in the best performing group (nuts & olive oil) averaged: 0.45--far below plant-based no-oil. The researchers speculated that the decrease in cardiovascular events seen in the olive oil/nut group was due to their higher levels of ALA--which were far lower than those in the plant-based in our pilot study.
Sorry, guys. I'm super short on time--so I'm just throwing out some slides & Gayl J. Canfield's excellent analysis of Estruch's Spanish Mediterranean Study before I get busy with vacation & holiday preparations.
I'll leave all the analysis to you! Sorry, no time to fill in all the details.
This article, recently published in the online medical news service, Medscape, presents one of the most balanced explanations of the recent Spanish Mediterranean Study that's gotten so much exposure lately. I posted it on FB today--but it's so good, I wanted to share it with non-FB readers, too.
Are olive oil, nuts, & fatty fish the way to go?
Not by a long-shot. Yes, it's a much better choice than the Western Diet--which for all intents-and-purposes is what it was compared to in the Spanish study. Make no mistake--the so-called "low-fat" control in the study was anything but low-fat & heart healthy.
Canfield lays out three diets that are much better choices than the Mediterranean Diet--with the Ornish/Esselstyn Diet (plant-based, no-added-oil, no nuts, with a source of omega-3's) leading the pack, because they provide the highest level of cardiovascular benefits--able to prevent & (sometimes) reverse heart disease.
1. Ornish/Esselstyn: Plant-based, low-fat, no-added oil, no nuts, & includes adequate omega-3's
2. Pritikin Diet: Low-fat, no-added oil, allows up to 4 oz. of animal protein a day.
3. DASH Diet: Very high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and beans; low in fats, salt, red meats, and sweets; and moderate in fish, poultry, nuts, and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods.
Gayl J. Canfield, PhD, RD, The author is Director of Nutrition at the Pritikin Longevity Center in Miami, Florida.Medscape.
Mediterranean Diet Better Than Typical American Diet
In light of the recent media attention on the Mediterranean diet,[1]
you may find yourself fielding lots of questions from patients about
which diet they should follow. Right now, we cannot say which diet is
best because we still need rigorous studies of all of the popular diets
that physicians routinely recommend to their patients. Moreover, we
cannot unequivocally recommend the Mediterranean diet on the basis of
the recently published study because this study was seriously flawed.
One major problem with the study was that the
"low-fat" diet being used to compare against the Mediterranean diet was
not, in fact, low in fats. The participants in this group started out
with a diet that averaged 39% fat, and during the study period they
decreased fat intake to just 37%.
Nor was this so-called low-fat diet a
healthy, well-designed regimen. Many of the foods eaten by participants
were artery-damaging foods such as red meat, commercially baked goods
full of refined flour and fat, sugary sodas, and low-fat cheeses.
(Though called "low-fat," these cheeses typically get 35% to 60% of
their calories from fat.)
Moreover, the "low-fat" diet excluded
an important food proven to protect against heart disease: omega 3-rich
fish. This category of food is included in many healthy low-fat-diet
plans.
The bottom line is that the study authors
were not really comparing a Mediterranean diet with a nutritious low-fat
diet. It would be much more accurate to say that they were comparing a
Mediterranean diet with a typical American-style diet. But it did not do
justice to a well-constructed low-fat diet.
Healthy "Low-Fat" Diets
A substantial body of research exists that
has documented the heart-healthy benefits of 2 well-known low-fat diets,
Pritikin and Ornish [H.L.'s note: similar to Esselstyn's Diet]. In fact, the data are so strong that Medicare now
covers cardiac rehabilitation programs based on the Pritikin and Ornish
plans for people with a history of cardiovascular disease.[2] Both programs also include exercise and lifestyle-change components.
The Ornish Program [H.L.'s note: similar to Esselstyn's Diet] has been proven to regress heart disease,[3,4]
and the Pritikin Program has been proven to significantly reduce many
modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including
low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, blood glucose,
hypertension, inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, and
excess weight/obesity.[5-7]
Both programs recommend an eating plan with
about 10% to 15% of calories coming from fat, and both emphasize hearty
consumption of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes such as
beans. The Ornish Program is completely vegetarian, whereas the Pritikin
Program allows up to 4 oz of animal protein daily, such as omega-3-rich
fatty fish, skinless white poultry, or lean meat such as bison.
Both of these programs are a far cry from the
"low-fat" diets of the 1980s and 1990s, many of which were anything but
healthy. Often, the "low-fat” and "fat-free" products people were
eating (remember "fat-free" cookies?) were essentially junk food
themselves -- very high in sugar, salt, and/or refined white flour.
Low-fat plans such as Pritikin and Ornish, by contrast, focus on real food -- whole, minimally processed, naturally fiber-rich foods that, as Michael Pollan wrote in his superb book In Defense of Food, "are foods our great grandmothers would have recognized as food."
Another low-fat diet that has proven to be
particularly beneficial for blood pressure control is the DASH (Dietary
Approaches to Stop Hypertension) diet. Several studies funded by the
National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that the DASH diet lowers
blood pressure as well as or better than medications. DASH also
promotes menus that are high in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and
beans; low in fats, salt, red meats, and sweets; and moderate in fish,
poultry, nuts, and low-fat or nonfat dairy foods.
In one study, NIH researchers found that 8
weeks of following the DASH regimen resulted in reductions in blood
pressure in all groups of men and women studied.[8] Even
those who started with a normal blood pressure (systolic pressure <
120 mm Hg) saw improvements. The biggest reductions in blood pressure
were observed in the individuals who were hypertensive (systolic
pressure >140 mm Hg), emphasizing the fact that diet is a major
factor in determining blood pressure in most hypertensive patients.
In another DASH study, 3 groups of people
followed the diet but took in varying levels of sodium (3300 mg, 2400
mg, or 1500 mg per day). The researchers found that the biggest drops in
blood pressure occurred in the group on the 1500 mg/day diet.[9]
Life Lessons
After nearly a decade of teaching healthy eating at the Pritikin Longevity Center, I can say with certainty that people can
change. They really can revamp their behaviors and live better,
healthier lives. But it takes much more, unfortunately, than simply
handing them a diet pamphlet. What works is a solid education in several
key skills for healthy living: classes in grocery shopping, reading
food labels, cooking, and dining out healthfully. In addition, we
provide classes that teach why these skills are so vital and how they benefit the body.
What matters, too, is taking time away from
what I call the "American assault on our taste buds" -- a week or more
spent eating foods that are completely free of salt, sugar, and grease,
so that our palates have a chance to rediscover the good flavors of good
food.
If, as a nation, we can institute educational
programs like these, we can begin to empty our hospitals of patients
needing angioplasties or coronary bypass surgeries; we can lighten the
load of nursing facilities filled with people stricken with diabetic-
and cardiovascular-related strokes, kidney failure, and amputations.
We know that the Mediterranean diet is better
than the typical American diet. We also know that healthy,
well-designed low-fat diets are better than the typical American diet.
We need more research -- rigorous, randomized trials -- to identify not
only the best diets but also the best ways to teach these diets.
In doing so, we can achieve real change
across America, change that can not only curtail the staggering economic
costs of chronic disease but also help people feel better and live
better.
References
Estruch R, Ros E, Salas-Salvadó J, et al. Primary
prevention of cardiovascular disease with a Mediterranean diet. N Engl J
Med. 2013;DOI:10.1056/NEJMoa200303.
[No authors listed] Ornish, Pritikin get Medicare okay for cardiac rehab. Harv Heart Lett. 2010;21:7.
Ornish D, Brown SE, Scherwitz LW, et al. Can
lifestyle changes reverse coronary heart disease? The Lifestyle Heart
Trial. Lancet. 1990;336:129-133. Abstract
Chainani-Wu N, Weidner G, Purnell DM, et al.
Changes in emerging cardiac biomarkers after an intensive lifestyle
intervention. Am J Cardiol. 2011;108:498-507. Abstract
Barnard RJ. Effects of life-style modification on serum lipids. Arch Intern Med. 1991;151:1389-1394. Abstract
Sullivan S, Samuel S. Effect of short-term
Pritikin diet therapy on the metabolic syndrome. J Cardiometab Syndr.
2006;1:308-312. Abstract
Wegge JK, Roberts CK, Ngo TH, Barnard RJ. Effect
of diet and exercise intervention on inflammatory and adhesion molecules
in postmenopausal women on hormone replacement therapy and at risk for
coronary artery disease. Metabolism. 2004;53:377-381. Abstract
Appel LJ, Moore TJ, Obarzanek E, et al. A
clinical trial of the effects of dietary patterns on blood pressure.
DASH Collaborative Research Group. N Engl J Med. 1997;336:1117-1124. Abstract
Sacks FM, Svetkey LP, Vollmer WM, et al. Effects
on blood pressure of reduced dietary sodium and the Dietary Approaches
to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet. DASH-Sodium Collaborative Research
Group. N Engl J Med. 2001;344:3-10. Abstract
"'Always go to the funeral' means that I have to do the right thing
when I really, really don't feel like it"
I have to remind myself
of it when I could make some small gesture, but I really don't have
to and I definitely don't want to.
I'm talking about those things
that represent only inconvenience to me but the world to the other
guy: you know, the painfully underattended birthday party, the
hospital visit during happy hour, the shivah call for one of my
ex's uncles.
In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good
vs. evil. It's hardly so epic. Most days my real battle is doing
good vs. doing nothing."
-Deirdre Sullivan, "Always Go to the Funeral," August 8, 2005. NPR Series, "This I Believe"
Isn't it strange how books, teachers, people, podcasts, articles, and experiences sometimes serendipitously arrive on our doorstep, unasked for--but offering exactly what we didn't know we needed to hear? Does that make sense?
This week, three "Wake-Up Call" kind-of-serendipitous lessons literally fell into my lap. Two short videos. One short podcast. Two take place in hospitals. One's about funerals. Hmm. What's the connection here?
All together, they added up to nine powerful minutes out of my week.
Nine minutes that have kind of shaken me up--awakened me --and made me
look at my everday life a little differently. Maybe they'll have the
same effect upon you.
Here's the strange part. It turns out, all three of the following "on-line learning opportunities" are saying the same thing--sort of.
Many of us have jam-packed schedules. Throw in another obligation, or try to change the way we eat or shop or start an exercise program, or pay closer attention to everyone we have contact with during the day---sometimes it just seems impossible & so overwhelming. Who has the time for it all?
For me, the videos & the podcast were a kick in the pants to recognize what sometimes holds me back from "doing the right thing"!
Honestly, sometimes I just don't feel like it.
The antidote: Habit kicks in.
Bottom line: It's often the inevitable inertia of everyday life -- Aargh, I'm too busy for that right now, it's not a convenient time, & let's face it--what can look like the lack of empathy is more about being too preoccupied or busy to pay attention to what's going on with someone outside of my own inner circle. Just speaking for myself, here.
The Three Kick-In-The-Pants Reminders I Received This Week
1. "Always Go to the Funeral". I deeply regret the ones I've missed--but, shouldn't have. But, I still struggle with how to decide which ones are OK to miss, or which circumstances are excusable. It's not all black & white. Thoughts?
What Do "Two Hospitals" & "a Funeral" Have in Common?
1. They're about doing the right thing--even when it's inconvenient, even we're too busy right now, even when we can't afford it, even when we can't spare the time or even when we just want to take a pass--this once.
2. "If I waited until I felt like doing it--I'd never do it [you fill in the blanks]"
4. They're about the little things, the small good habits, the better choices, the slight attitude adjustments, when done over & over again slowly change us over time. After awhile, the changes become automatic--it's just what we do. Who we are.
They can add up to a healthy vibrant last 10 years of life.
They can add up to making a difference to someone else's life--even if we are unaware of it.
It's the power of habit, that changes us into the people we want to be.
5. It's about overcoming our own inertia and the inconvenience of doing what we'd rather not be doing.
That's it.
"Smart people who’ve thought about this usually understand that the
habits we put into practice end up shaping the people we are within.
Don't miss this one minute video produced by the Canadian Heart & Stroke Foundation.
What will your last 10 years look like?
My eyes filled with tears watching this--memories of my mom & dad. They are the reason I'm so careful about staying health. And so are my grandkids, my husband, & my kids.
Giant thank you to C.S., the Canadian reader who shared this video with me.
---------------------------
Empathy - If You Could Stand in Someone Else's Shoes, Would You Treat Them Differently?
Don't miss this video about EMPATHY--that profoundly challenges us to walk in someone else's shoes.
It has the potential to change your perspective forever. The video was produced by the Cleveland Clini & was featured on the blog of my favorite radio show: "On Being".
Have
a kleenex ready.
A big thank you to my daughter-in-law who shared this
video with me--I missed viewing it when it was shown at work last week. Read the full post about the video here.
"If
you could stand in someone else's shoes... Hear what they hear. See
what they see. Feel what they feel. Would you treat them differently?"
"These words
end this incredibly beautiful video produced by the Cleveland Clinic, a
nonprofit medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with
research and education.
This video speaks to each person's complexity,
the stories that go unsaid but float just beneath the surface.
Titled
"Empathy," this video was presented by the health care organization's
CEO Toby Cosgrove at his annual State of the Clinic address on February
27, 2013. And it gets at a point that immunologist Esther Sternberg
explores in her work and personal life: how new knowledge about the
physical spaces of our lives can stress us, make us sick, or help us be
well and connect with others."
I
am forever grateful to Krista Tippett & the producers of "On Being" for the inspiration, the insights, & the new ways they make me
think about the world--every Sunday morning on the radio. If you aren't familiar with this
award-winning weekly show--I encourage you to discover it on NPR.
-Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each others' eyes for one instant?-
Listen to Deirdre Sullivan explain why she always goes to the funeral, here
"I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that.
The first time he said it directly to me, I was 16 and trying to get
out of going to calling hours for Miss Emerson, my old fifth grade math
teacher. I did not want to go. My father was unequivocal.
"Dee," he
said, "you're going. Always go to the funeral. Do it for the family."
So
my dad waited outside while I went in. It was worse than I thought it
would be: I was the only kid there. When the condolence line deposited
me in front of Miss Emerson's shell-shocked parents, I stammered out,
"Sorry about all this," and stalked away.
But, for that deeply weird
expression of sympathy delivered 20 years ago, Miss Emerson's mother
still remembers my name and always says hello with tearing eyes.
That
was the first time I went un-chaperoned, but my parents had been taking
us kids to funerals and calling hours as a matter of course for years.
By the time I was 16, I had been to five or six funerals. I remember two
things from the funeral circuit: bottomless dishes of free mints and my
father saying on the ride home, "You can't come in without going out,
kids. Always go to the funeral."
Sounds simple — when someone
dies, get in your car and go to calling hours or the funeral. That, I
can do. But I think a personal philosophy of going to funerals means
more than that.
"Always go to the funeral" means that I have to
do the right thing when I really, really don't feel like it.
I have to
remind myself of it when I could make some small gesture, but I don't
really have to and I definitely don't want to.
I'm talking about those
things that represent only inconvenience to me, but the world to the
other guy. You know, the painfully under-attended birthday party. The
hospital visit during happy hour. The Shiva call for one of my ex's
uncles.
In my humdrum life, the daily battle hasn't been good versus
evil. It's hardly so epic. Most days, my real battle is doing good
versus doing nothing.
In going to funerals, I've come to
believe that while I wait to make a grand heroic gesture, I should just
stick to the small inconveniences that let me share in life's
inevitable, occasional calamity.
On a cold April night three
years ago, my father died a quiet death from cancer. His funeral was on a
Wednesday, middle of the workweek.
I had been numb for days when, for
some reason, during the funeral, I turned and looked back at the folks
in the church. The memory of it still takes my breath away.
The most
human, powerful and humbling thing I've ever seen was a church at 3:00
on a Wednesday full of inconvenienced people who believe in going to the
funeral. [I couldn't agree more.]
Want to Have Fun, Get Fit & Burn Mega Calories? Go Square Dancing!
"All cultures dance. You don't have to teach people to dance. Basically people learn not to dance."
-Choreographer Mark Morris, at the keynote address for the 2008 Society for Neuroscience Conference-
"As a dance critic for some twenty-five years, I've long been aware that choreographers and dancers seem to age, mentally and physically, so much more slowly than the rest of us.
What is the connection between how dancers spin magic out of intricate physical movement and how they keep their cells humming along vigorously well into their eighties and nineties?
What are the mechanisms that keep their brains, muscles, bones, and organs so much more vital and active than the same parts in the rest of us?
Dancing....combines many of the elements of longevity revealed in the latest scientific research on stress and aging:
Intensely focused mental and physical attention
Grappling with novelty--to build new neural pathways rather than just etch existing ones deeper
Aerobic and resistance exercise together
The elimination of abdominal fat
Dealing with risk, but within a controlled environment
Meditative practices--talk about mindfulness!
A sense of spirituality
Powerful social relationships
Eating healthful diets rich in fruits, veggies, and whole grains.
If you received this via email, click here, to get to the web version. LOTS of photos & links!
Want to feel like you're a kid again?
How about hooping & hollering in public? And I'm not talking about sporting events!
Remembering skipping, spinning around like a whirling dervish, & laughing so hard you almost had run to the bathroom?
How about listening to live fiddle, banjo, guitar, & bass Bluegrass music, too?
And what if I told you that you could also burn almost 1000 calories on a Saturday night just having good old-fashioned fun?
Honestly, this is play-time for grown-ups, pure & simple--and kids of all ages. It's impossible to not have a good time!
Anyone interested?
You Should Have Joined Us at the Silver Anniversary of the Tree Tapper's Ball Last Saturday Night!
Last Saturday night was the 25th Anniversary of the Tree Tapper's Ball. That's a big deal! Translation: A big old-fashioned 3 hour Square Dance to celebrate the start of maple sugaring season. All ages. All kinds of folks with big smiles on their faces--all evening long.
Who Could Resist This Invitation for Fun?
"The Tree Tapper’s Ball has always featured live old-time string music.
If you square danced in middle school or junior high, now’s a good time to thank your old gym teacher for making you hold hands and dance with members of the opposite sex, Senior Naturalist Dan Best joked.
“It’s the most fun dance west of the Appalachians!” declares Bob Smakula, a professional instrument repairman and champion string musician from Elkins, West Virginia, who has called 22 of the past 24 balls.
This year, the "Wild Spiles" are tuning up to provide rip-snortin’ old-time string band music on fiddle, claw hammer, banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass.
Steps will combine Appalachian-style square and New England-style line dances.
And last year plenty of smiles and laughter could also be seen and heard with fumbled allemande lefts, mis-stepped promenades and swings lost to centrifugal force – it’s all part of the fun!"
It was 3 hours of old-fashioned, high-energy, foot-stomping, belly laughing, promenading, spinning, circling, & allemande lefting fun. The 1000 calories burned was a side benefit. Just for the heck of it, I strapped on my heart rate monitor to see how many calories are burned squaring dancing.
Can't wait until the first Saturday in April. That's the next dance event--Contra Dancing! We want more of this dancing action!
Guests Even Came from as Far Away as Germany & Canada
The Girls (and the Guys) Just Wanna Have Fun - Square Dancing Has It All: Joy, Fun, Friendship, Music, Laughter, Exercise & More
My photos from this year's dance are all a blur. Spinning/twirling dancers are impossible to photograph on an iPhone. Aargh!
You'll have to settle for photos from the Tree Tapper's Ball of 2011. Nothing much has changed.
Same caller. The band has a new name. Same dances. Lots of the same dancers. And always loads of fun!
My Back Story:
No joke. For 23 years I've been wanting to go to the Tree Tapper's Ball--a community square dance that celebrates the annual tapping of the maple trees. And just so you know (after the "Bitter Truth of Sugar" post)--my vote for the healthiest sweetener goes to maple syrup--because of its great taste, minerals & low fructose content.
This year, I was going to make sure that I made it to the ball! The thing is--you can't delay--or you get closed out. There's only room for 225 people. You snooze, you lose. As soon as I learned of the date for this year's dance, I sent out emails to friends I thought would enjoy an old-fashioned country square dance (this isn't everyone's cup-of-tea)--and since I could only make reservations for 8--the first 3 couples to respond were in!
Hands-Down - A Hoe Down is One of the Best Ways to Feel Like a Ten-Year Old Again!
The Guy on the Far Right? My Husband (looking like he's 10 years old) Having a Laughing Fit
The Magic Three of Square Dancing
1. It's just plain fun--Dr. Stuart Brown, the physician founder of theNational Institute for Play, firmly believes that adults need to play as much as children do. Without it, we risk becoming depressed, rigid, unable to problem-solve, unsympathetic to others and humorless. Who wants that to happen? Read more about Brown's views on the importance of play in the New York Times, "Taking Play Seriously"
2. Music & Laughter are so good for the heart--and the soul. Music, like laughter benefits the heart. According to Dr. Michael Miller of the University of Maryland, if you're listening to music that makes you feel "joyful or euphoric"--like the bluegrass music that The Wild Spiles played at the Tree Tapper's Ball, your blood vessels will dilate 26%, improving blood flow--which is an effect similar to that of exercise. But, wait--dance is exercise--does that mean we had a 52% improvement in blood flow? Miller says: "The inner lining of the blood vessels--the endothelium--serves as the gatekeeper to vascular health." Keep them dilated & keep them healthy.
Humans thrive on touch--and what better way to connect with friends--and strangers, for that matter, than through the casual touch of dance? Touch releases oxytocin--the hormone that creates a sense of trust--and reduces cortisol levels--the hormone of stress. When oxytocin is released through touch, we relax, we feel good, we feel bonded.
In addition to the friends we came with, we got to also dance with new friends: Johanna, Sarah, Tom, Doug, Dottie, Cindy & that's the limit of the names I remember!
Kid Stuff
Here's the thing about square dancing--or contra dancing. All those things you loved to do as a kid--you'll find them all on the dance floor!
Spinning Around. Remember how much fun it was to spin around and around purposely making yourself dizzy? Go square dancing--every time the caller says, "Swing your partner!" you can spin around like crazy, if you like. At least that's how we like to do it.
Rolling down hills. Remember how much fun it was to roll down a big hill as a kid? You'll get that same feeling when you square dance.
Screaming for Fun. Remember how much fun it was to scream at the top of your lungs--hoop & holler? Every individual dance begins and ends with everyone holding hands in a circle and coming into the center to let out a loud "Woo Hoo". Lots of screaming to stimulate the sacculus--the pleasure organ of the inner ear!
Getting all mixed up & not worrying one bit about it, because you're a kid. Remember how much fun it was to mix up your left from your right, go one way when everyone else was going the other way? Get all mixed up, and no one blamed you--you all just laughed? Go square dancing!
Laughing so hard. Remember how much fun it was to laugh so hard you could hardly breathe--or worse? Go square dancing.
Active kid games. It's like playing tag, statues, London Bridges, Crack the Whip, Duck Duck Goose all rolled into one--and you don't have to know a thing about square dancing to do it! It's the caller's job to teach you!
Running & skipping. Remember feeling just pure joy from running or skipping and hanging out with your friends? Go square dancing!
Every single one of us had a blast--and danced non-stop for three hours. Even the folks sitting on the sidelines had smiles on their faces watching everyone else makes fools of themselves. It was freezing outside--but we were sweating buckets on the inside! Not a drop of alcohol was served--just old-fashioned lemonade and plain old water.
Dr. Stuart Brown and the National Institute for Play
He firmly believes that adults need to play as much as children do. Without it, we risk becoming depressed, rigid, unable to problem-solve, unsympathetic to others and humorless. Don't want that to happen!
I first learned about his research almost three years ago on Krista Tipppett's award-winnig Public Radio "Speaking of Faith" broadcast, called, "Play, Spirit, and Character". Brown totally captivated me--because frankly, once we grow up it really is so easy to leave the world of play behind.
After studying both animals, infants, and children at play, Brown is convinced that it's through play that we learn how to get along, how to forge friendships, develop empathy, trust, irony, problem-solving, and how to just "blow off steam."
"When one really doesn't play at all or very little in adulthood, there are consequences: rigidities, depression, no irony — things that are pretty important, that enable us to cope in a world of many demands."
"Sometimes, I have to realize that wherever I feel stuck, it's often a cue to start playing. And it's as if play can actually open my mind again, actually help to reinvigorate the work that I'm doing." from Speaking of Faith, "Play, Spirit, and Character".
The Roots of Play - What We Learn in Infancy & Childhood
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, if you're lucky enough to have a normal childhood, you learn early the basic elements of play--and for the rest of your life, when you're feeling pure exuberance and joy--it's likely that you're revisiting one of these elements.
Interesting how these three elements are integral parts of dance!
1. Attunement Play: When you dance, you have to make eye contact with your partner(s). You have to get in sync with each other. And if you don't want to get dizzy when you spin or swing around--you have to stare straight into each other's eyes. "When an infant makes eye contact with her mother, each experiences a spontaneous surge of emotion (joy). The baby responds with a radiant smile, the mother with her own smile and rhythmic vocalizations (baby talk). This is the grounding base of the state-of-play. It is known, through EEG and other imaging technologies, that the right cerebral cortex, which organizes emotional control is “attuned” in both infant and mother."
2. Body Play and Movement: What's dance? It's movement & play. "If you don’t understand human movement, you won’t really understand yourself or play. If you do, you will reap the benefits of play in your body, personal life and work situations. Learning about self movement structures an individual’s knowledge of the world - it is a way of knowing, and we actually, through movement and play, think in motion. For example the play-driven movement of leaping upward is a lesson about gravity as well as one’s body. And it lights up the brain and fosters learning. Innovation, flexibility, adaptability, resilience, have their roots in movement. The play driven pleasures associated with exploratory body movements, rhythmic early speech (moving vocal cords), locomotor and rotational activity - are done for their own sake; pleasurable, and intrinsically playful. They sculpt the brain, and ready the player for the unexpected and unusual."
3. Social Play: Dance is nothing more than social play. "The urge to play with others, in addition to being fun, is often driven by the desire to be accepted, to belong. Kids start this process by “parallel” play, i. e., without much consciousness of the feelings or status of the play partner. But as development proceeds, friendships happen, empathy for another is felt, with mutual play as the crucible in which it becomes refined. Group loyalty and affection ensues, and with it the rudiments of a functioning community. In animals, affiliative play appears to be kindled by the release of certain hormones and neurotransmitters, but it requires the experience of play to make “belonging” occur.
What's Up With My Love of Square Dancing?
Bob Howell, educator, ski instructor, life-long square-dance caller
Junior High assistant principals are supposed to be the "Enforcers". The ones who keep kids in line, and dole out the detentions & suspensions.
How lucky for us that our junior high of the 1960's had someone like Bob Howell as the Assistant Principal. Funny, firm, kind, easy-going, and always wearing his signature red socks. Just so happens that he was also a professonal square dance caller--so everyone who went to my quasi-urban junior high school learned how to square dance--and learned how much fun it was!
Mr. Howell got me hooked as a pre-teen. And when I set out to write today about how much fun we all had at "The Tree Tapper's Ball", I remembered Bob Howell--who was still teaching skiing & square dancing well into his seventies or maybe even his eighties. He passed away March, 2010, at 87.
"Howell has traveled the world putting the fun back into square dancing. He's cued dancers to promenade in the South Pacific, allemande in Australia, and swing their partner in Sweden.
I go back to the roots - the basic stuff - that's where the fun is. Keep it simple, keep it folk.
He's taught nursing home residents confined to wheelchairs to do solo dances like "Alley Cat". And he's shared sashays with the severly mentally retarded, who pen green and red dots on their hands to keep left and right straight. He's even taught a precision unicycle team to square dance - on unicycles.
One of Howell's most memorable jobs was calling for a group of foreign exchange students who had just arrived from Nigeria, Japan, Poland, Trinidad, and other countries. He vividly recalls a beautiful Indian woman dressed in a silk sari, red dot on her forehead, a diamond stud piercing her nostril.
She came into the circle and had to swing her corner, and she froze. He was a Pakistani - an untouchable. He froze, too.
After a few tense moments, the man and woman joined hands and danced together the rest of the evening. Howell sees it as only one of the many miracles that dance can bring about.
At home, they'd be shooting at one another, here, they're holding hands. The world has to dance. Dance together and we're going to get along." Source: "His calling is the Dance" Plain Dealer, January 29, 1993.
This Snake Dance Got Faster & Faster & Coiled Up Tightly
Under, Over, Inside Out - A Sure-Fire Recipe for Rotator Cuff Injury and Laughter
About to Collide with Another Couple During the Virginia Reel
A Little Bit of Acrobatics
The Pure Joy of Dance
George and Laurie
Group Hug? No--It's a Dance Move. Women's Arms Around the Men. The Men's Arms Around the Women. Then You Spin Around & Around as Fast as You Can! Oh, Baby Is That Fun!
2. More Dancing, Singing, Laughing, Playing, Schmoozing, and Mahjing. What's the point of staying healthy without having fun? That's the reason we work at staying healthy. Cool fact: There's a little organ deep in the ear, called the sacculus--and it gives us a great sense of pleasure and well-being when it's stimulated. But, it can only be stimulated through singing! That's why it was so much fun to hoop & holler before & after every dance! From: "The Report Card on the Healthy Librarian's 2010 Simple Strategies for Staying Healthy and Happy - What's Working, What's Not, What's New for 2011?"
3. Why sit on the sidelines watching everyone else dance? Trust me, no one is watching you--just get out there and have a good time! We're now checking the calendar for upcoming square and contra dances! Get those dancin' shoes on!
4. It's a 2-fer--Have Fun & Burn Calories-my friend Snez dances regularly, and often clips on her step counter at dances--she regularly logs in over 18,000 steps during an evening, just having fun! Can't beat that! This year I strapped on my heart monitor to see how many calories I would burn. 1000!!
Hey, everyone, I'm experimenting with adding my recipes into Recipage, a searchable database. It's going to take awhile to get up & running. So here goes.
This delicious soup was adapted & "enlightened" from Dreena Burton's "Let Them Eat Vegan" cookbook.
It's an easy-to-prepare soup that has complex flavors from the cinnamon & cumin. Top this soup with a dollop of my Creamy Cashew or Chia Chipotle Topping for a spicy creamy kick. The topping doubles as a salad dressing or a topper for any Mexican dish. It's definitely a regular condiment I like to have on hand in my refrigerator.
You might want to double this recipe to have enough for lunches or to freeze.
2. Dry saute the chopped onions for about 6-8 minutes by covering the pot, lowering the heat to low-medium or low, & checking on the onions every 2 or 3 minutes. Stir every time you check on them, & add a small amount of broth or water if they start to dry out, or stick to the pan. The liquid will deglaze the pan.
3. When the onions are soft, add in the garlic, salt, pepper, cumin seed, oregano, cinnamon & jalapeño & continue to saute for about 2 or 3 minutes, watching carefully that the vegetables do not dry out. Add a small amount of broth if they start to dry out or stick.
4. Add in the 2 1/2 to 3 cups of broth, the tomatoes, beans, corn, & sweetener. Bring to a low boil, then cover the pot, & simmer for about 15 minutes.
If you received this post via email, click here, to get to the web version for all the links & to share your comments & advice.
And don't forget to visit the HHLL Facebook page regularly, where I daily post so much more on the latest health/medical research, recipes, inspiration & more. You DO NOT need to be on FB to read it. Just hit the escape button when you're asked to sign in. Simple as that!
Bet you can't read everything on this intriguing card! I know I couldn't.
So, I enlarged it--and was rewarded for my efforts. It's a hoot!
It may be tongue-in-cheek, but guess what? We're kind-of-living this greeting card message. Don't hate me. I lucked out "big time" in the husband department. Pooh-pooh-pooh! Kenahora! (But, don't get the wrong idea. We still argue, disagree, get annoyed, & get on each other's nerves sometimes. Who doesn't?)
Lucky us, I say!
But, it took 41+ years of practice--every day--to get there! We're slow learners. Plus, lots of luck, the 5-1 ratio, & Bill Murray's Groundhog Day. More on that later.
In case you're wondering, the words in italics are how the Healthy Librarian & the Lab Rat stack up to the card's standards.
I WILL
Buy You Flowers For No Reason. Check! He's done that. A lot. I haven't. But, I buy him other surprises for no reason, that I know he'd appreciate.
Remind You That You're Good at Your Job. Check! For both of us--all the time. But, it's usually not about our "work" jobs--it's about other things we're good at.
Make Coffee For You Every Morning.Check--whoever is up first, makes the coffee!
Open The Door For You.Check! For both of us.
Not Roll My Eyes When You Talk About How Hot Tom Brady Is? Huh? Who's Tom Brady?
Be Vegan If You Want To Be Vegan. Check! We both were willing to give this one a try.
Cook For Your Book Club.Check! It's "our" book club--it's co-ed--and we both cook for it when it's at our house.
Wash Your Car For You.Check! He washes my car. I've never washed his. He's into car care--I'm not.
Rub Your Feet While We Watched House Hunter's International.Check! I kid you not--this actually happened this year--and, trust me, he must have really felt sorry for me to do this. Can't think of a show he hates more--and he's not a foot-rubber.
Let You Spend All Day Sunday In Front Of The TV. Check! Sure, why not? Occasionally. Sometimes a guy needs to veg-out without being nagged about it. But, TV's his thing--not mine.
Not Interrupt You! Hasn't happened yet-but we're working really hard on this one!
Where Did This Card Come From?
This adorable card illustrated Tara Parker Pope's December 11th, 2011 Sunday New York Times Magazine story, "The Generous Marriage".
So, what's a "generous marriage"--and why should we care?
This excerpt will give you the gist:
"Researchers from the University of Virginia’s National Marriage Project recently studied the role of generosity in the marriages of 2,870 men and women.
Generosity was defined as “the virtue of giving good things to one’s spouse freely and abundantly” — like simply making them coffee in the morning — and researchers quizzed men and women on how often they behaved generously toward their partners. How often did they express affection? How willing were they to forgive?
The responses went right to the core of their unions. Men and women with the highest scores on the generosity scale were far more likely to report that they were “very happy” in their marriages.
The benefits of generosity were particularly pronounced among couples with children. Among the parents who posted above-average scores for marital generosity, about 50 percent reported being “very happy” together. Among those with lower generosity scores, only about 14 percent claimed to be “very happy,” according to the latest “State of Our Unions” report from the National Marriage Project."
Then, I asked my husband to take it. I couldn't believe he didn't roll his eyes at that request--but he took the quiz. It helped that there are only 4 questions to answer!
Turned out we got the same score--a 17, I think. But, if you ask me, he's definitely the more generous one.
Here's what I wanted to tell Tara Parker-Pope after I read her article:
Love this study--and this column. Thanks, Tara. I'll try to be more generous.
Yikes--In about 2 weeks my husband & I will be married for 40 years (note: originally written in 2011--now it's 41+).
He's incredibly generous--every day.
Last night he shared his Good & Plenty with me, at the movies, even though he only bought a small box because I swore I wasn't going to want any of it. No kidding--that's generous!
Whoever gets up last--makes the bed. Whoever gets up first makes the coffee in the morning. Whoever has the time, does the grocery shopping, makes dinner, or cleans the house.
He knows the stuff I hate to do--so he'll just do it for me. Car stuff. Lawn stuff. Money stuff.
I'll do the the stuff he hates to do.Make the phone calls. Keep in touch with the relatives. Make the social plans. Buy the presents, the cards, do the non-guy-type shopping.
He'd deny it, but, honestly, I think he's more generous to me, than I am to him--but, I always keep a look-out for what I can do for him.
So Why I'm I Bringing Up "The Generous Marriage" Again?
Today is Valentine's Day & I Think It's Excellent Advice! I Certainly Need the Reminder.
Everyone Has Advice About What Makes a Good Marriage.
But, I'm Still Sticking With What I Wrote on Our 37th Anniverary, Four+ Years Ago:
What's the Secret of a Good Marriage? Luck, the 5-1 Ratio & Bill Murray's Groundhog Day!
A reposting from:
December 26, 2008
Happy Anniversary - Secrets of a Good Marriage - Luck, the 5-1 Ratio & Bill Murray's Groundhog Day
"Happy marriages begin when we marry the ones we love, and they blossom when we love the ones we marry."
-Tom Mullen-
"Life is a Life-changing Experience"
-Harry Shearer-
Today is our 37th wedding anniversary! Yikes! Where did the time go? We were both only 20 years old when we first met. We literally grew up together. And now we are into the dessert course of marriage--the best part! Empty nest & grandchildren.
My husband is the funniest person I knew. He makes me laugh everyday, really! He's also the most trustworthy person I know. Except when he's being the most annoying person I know.
When I asked him what superlatives he would give me, he answered instantly, "You're the nicest person I now. And the kindest. Except when you're being the most annoying person I know. You're also funny, but not the funniest person I know. Sorry."
So what's the secret to a happy marriage? I wouldn't presume to answer that question for anyone but us, but I figure you need 3 things going for you:
Good luck in who you choose and good luck in the curve balls life will surely throw you.
The 5-1 ratio. Your nice-to-nasty ratio must be 5-1! It really works!
John Gottman's pioneering research on marriages suggests that there is a "magic ratio" of 5 to 1 -- in terms of our balance of positive to negative interactions. Gottman found that marriages are significantly more likely to succeed when the couple's interactions are near that 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative. When the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages "cascade to divorce."
The Bill Murray Groundhog Day Principle. If you stay married long enough, and keep repeating the same stupid mistakes over & over again, you finally get it right! The light bulb will go on & you'll figure out what works & what doesn't. Ditch what's not working.
For instance:
I am spatially-challenged, so my husband has quit relying on me to help him move furniture through narrow doorways or going up & down stairs.
My husband is directionally-challenged (as in maps) so I'm the directions person, & I make sure I know exactly where we are going.
I love to hike, but I'll pass on backpacking--why would you want to ruin a perfectly good hike carrying 50 lbs. on your back? So he goes with a friend.
He's not into going to lectures on weeknights--I go with friends.
He got tired of listening to me whine & he finally learned to dance--and loves it.
He knows I hate to read technical manuals, so he'll just read them for me.
Nagging never works! (I'm still working on this one.) Sounds simple enough, but like Bill Murray, it took us years to figure these little things out.
"Making the best of what we have....is not second best. It is rather, a demand for active engagement in caring for what and whom we value.
That is what's touching about Groundhog Day. Our trapped weatherman has to learn this the hard way. His life is reduced to one inescapable day. It's the entire deck he's been dealt, the allotment of flowers he can arrange, the cast of characters in his life.
He goes through stages of feeling trapped, depressed, and living as if there's no tomorrow. He finally comes to the not-so-profound-but-still-pretty-rare realization that he can change his world by changing himself.
..it's about making the best of what you have...over and over. Making small repairs and improvements so that the commitments of midlife--the work you do and people you love--don't become a trap. They become and remain the town in which you choose to live even when you have options."
Back in May 2008, in honor of a very special wedding in Chicago I did a little thinking about what I'd learned after almost 37 years of marriage.
Laugh a lot, touch a lot, show affection & give each other compliments! It's the WD-40 of marriage.
When your spouse asks for your help or needs you to show up--Do it!
When your spouse needs to talk--Listen.
When it's important to speak your mind--Speak up.
Know when it's important to keep quiet.
Cut each other some slack.
Learn to dance.
Get into the habit of taking walks-it's the best time to talk.
Listen to your spouse. Shut up and listen, every day, for at least a half hour a day. Ask pertinent questions. Remember the answers. Keep notes if necessary. Your children depend on your relationship with your spouse. Make sure your marital relationship is solid and your kids will be fine.
For men: if your wife is looking miserable, ask her to tell you what’s wrong and keep asking until she spills her guts. WHATEVER it was, it will no longer make her miserable because she has talked about it with you. This is the magic key to making women happy. Flowers are always nice too!.
Rest. Sundays are good if only because other people may be doing the same thing. But any day is fine. Rest is essential to everything else you care about. Without rest, the fragility of your life will be front and center; with rest, you have a savings account of energy from which to draw to help out others. Make it religious in the sense you ALWAYS take rest at least once a week.
My Wish for Dave & Emily back in May 2008, is exactly what came true for us!
Outrageous & memorable adventures
Wonderful friends
Good health
Work that you're passionate about
Enough of life's challenges to make you stronger, wiser, and kinder
Kids who are above average, sleep through the night, are easy-going and lots of fun
The gift of balancing your life, your work and your family
Enough money to feel both secure and generous. Not so much that you become out-of-touch & spoiled.
The knowledge that it's your friends, family & experiences that will bring you your greatest joys. Invest your time and money accordingly.
"We've all got our good and bad sides. If you want to find love and joy in this lifetime you've got to live by mercy.
Focus on the best in people and ignore all the bad that you can ignore. It's really that simple."
To Life, To Life, L'Chaim, Be Happy, Be Healthy, Long Life!
Now It's Your Turn. What Secrets of a Good Marriage/Partnership/Relationship Would You Share with a Newly-Married Couple? Click here, scroll down, & share your wisdom.
Ann Esselstyn Speaking at a Hospital Employee Wellness Talk: "How to Eat Plant Perfect"
The Esselstyns
If you received this post via email, please click here to get to the web version so you can view the videos of Ann's talk, all the links, & photos.
Oh, gee, it's been three weeks since I PROMISED to summarize Ann's talk. Finally, coming through today, folks--here it is!
Isn't it Ironic that on January 14th, Tara Parker-Pope writes a column in the NYT on, "How to Go Vegan" , garnering almost 800 comments. Tara, why didn't you talk to Ann, first? She's got years of experience.
Then on January 15th, Ann Esselstyn delivers an energizing talk & demo on "How to Eat Plant-Perfect: What to Eat, Where to Buy It, How to Cook It" to a standing-room crowd of hospital employees where I work. Do you think plant-based is maybe, just maybe, moving a tiny bit closer to "oh, that's not sooo weird" & "it really does makes sense"?
Ann is a high-energy, down-to-earth dynamo & this crowd of "mostly-new-to-the-plant-based-world" employees loved her! She shared her Top Ten Plant-Perfect Rules, along with her most favorite foods--like who makes the best pizza crusts, pasta sauces, salad dressings, non-dairy milks, veg broths---& her go-to everyday breakfasts. Ann's all about making it easy. Not fancy schmancy.
Ann is the nuts-and-bolts member of the Esselstyn team. She'll tell you how to shop, transform your pantry, & how to cook all these strange new foods. Dr. Esselstyn, on the other hand, is armed with his clinical experience, statistics, angiograms, journal citations & science to explain how eating a diet of just vegetables, grains, beans, & fruit can prevent & reverse heart disease. You can get a summary of Dr. E's explanation here.
Ann tells us how to do it!
How to Eat Plant Perfect. The Ground Rules
1. Forget about replacing meat with "faux meat"
Avoid this: Ann calls it Vegan Junk Food, and the freezer cases of our grocery stores are filled with faux chicken nuggets, barbecue ribs, fake sausage, hot dogs, & lunch meat. Newbie vegans figure all they have to do is find plenty of plant-based meat substitutes. "Forget about it," explains Ann. Read the labels. Most of those "faux meats" are filled with faux ingredients. They're high in fat, contain ingredients of questionable benefit, like isolated soy protein, and they usually have too much sodium. Just read the labels.
Consider instead: If you're looking for a quality plant-based burger, Ann recommends one made by a company in Columbus, Ohio, called Luna Burgers. You'll recognize ALL the ingredients on their labels: Spelt Berries, Black Beans, Oats, Onions,
Carrots, Kale, Beets, Blueberries, Molasses, Garlic, Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Rosemary, Pepper. I know. Strange sounding ingredients for a burger--but, they're really good! Not available everywhere in the US, however.
2. Forget about vegan cheese.
Avoid this: Carefully read the labels. Most vegan cheeses contain 2 ingredients you definitely want to avoid: casein, which is a milk protein, & oil.
Consider instead:Nutritional yeast. Find it in the bulk food section of health food stores, or at most grocery stores, these days. Nutritional yeast is a "must-have" seasoning. It looks like dry pale yellow flakes, but it imparts a subtle cheesy taste to sauces, tofu "ricotta", "mac 'n cheese", pestos, mashed potatoes, popcorn or as a topping, sprinkled on casseroles. It is a bit of an acquired taste--but, an easy one to acquire. It's an excellent butter substitute in mashed potatoes.
3. Give yourself time for your taste buds to adapt & change
If you've eaten a typical American diet all your life, it's going to take time to adapt to the taste of no-oil cooking, new vegetables, less salt, less sugar, exotic spices, unusual beans & grains. Never fear. Our tastes change!
When San'Dera Prude, the 30-something single mom, featured in the documentary Forks Over Knives, was invited to lunch at the Esselstyn's for the first time, she later told Ann she hated the food she was served.
San'Dera was used to fried foods, Kentucky Fried Chicken, a lot of salt, & she wasn't much of a fruit or vegetable fan. Months late, San'Dera realized that she needed to taste a new food at least THREE TIMES before she liked it. Don't make a judgement on your first taste of something new.
Nuts & avocados are included in the less stringent Engine 2 diet plan. That's it. Both plans emphasize: no oil; no meat, no poultry, no fish, no dairy or milk; and both advise a diet of whole grains, mostly unprocessed foods, lots of leafy greens, vegetables, fruits, beans, and legumes. That's it! Engine-2 was originally conceived by Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn's son, Rip Esselstyn for a younger population who didn't have heart disease--and wanted to avoid it.
Ann's Top Ten Plant Perfect Pointers
1. No Oil, Ever.
It sounds hard, but it's really the easiest change to make. Here's what's problematic with olive oil.
Sauteeing vegetables without oil: Instead of oil, find a low or no sodium vegetable broth to saute with, like Kitchen Basics No Added Salt Vegetable broth. Read labels. Avoid boullion cubes. The first ingredient is usually salt, & the second ingredient is often palm oil.
Sauteeing onions & mushrooms is easy, because they have a high water content. First, preheat your pan on medium high heat. Add the onions, mushrooms or celery. Lower the heat to medium low, & cover the pan. Check on the vegetables about every 2 minutes, stir, add a little broth or water if they are starting to stick--and that will easily deglaze the pan. In about 7 to 10 minutes you'll have beautiful golden & soft vegetables. Garlic has less liquid content, so you'll need to add more liquid when sauteeing garlic.
Baking without oil: In place of oil, you can use mashed bananas, baby prunes (avoid Gerber Organic brand--it contain tuna oil. The "conventional" Gerber brand is fine! ), or apple sauce.
Salad Dressings without oil: Ann's favorite dressing is made with a no-oil, no-tahini hummus, some balsamic vinegar, the juice of an orange, & mustard. Often she dresses her salads with just a high quality flavored balsamic vinegar, like Olive Tap's. They have every flavor imaginable, like: black currant, pear, chocolate (which is great on banana "ice cream" or drizzled on strawberries), or tangerine.
2. Eat Leafy Greens. Many Servings. Everyday.
Strip. Ann's fridge & garden are perpetually stocked with kale & collards. Even in the winter she's harvesting kale. She calls kale, "Spinach with Heft" because it's so nutrient dense, hardy & "hearty". To help kale cook evenly, she removes its thick stems by holding each leaf in her left hand, and starting at the stem's base, grabbing the stem with her fingers & sliding the leaf quickly off of the stem. You can chop up the kale leaves, tear them apart--or not. Place them in a pot of boiling water, cover, & it's done in 5-6 minutes. Kale stems can be cut on the diagonal & sprinkled on salads, or thrown into soups. Kale stems: almost like a brand new vegetable.
Massage. To use raw kale in salads, you'll need to break down it's tought cellulose a bit by massaging it with your hands using a citrus juice, a non-oil dressing or even some hummus. After massaging, add cherry tomatoes, some lemon zest & lemon juice, or even mango & lime juice to your salad. An exotic delicious salad in minutes. Here's a favorite raw kale salad of mine.
Ann's favorite kale: Lacinato, the long deep dark puffy textured kale, also known as Tuscan or Dinosaur kale.
Use collard greens as a sandwich wrap, a burrito or for making sushi. Ann fills large softened collard leaves (burrito-fashion) with steamed asparagus, red peppers, carrots, hummus, cilantro, & lemon slices. Or she makes them into burritos filled with black beans, sweet potatoes, cilantro, & salsa.
Greens in your pasta. Another genius Ann tip. Throw cut up greens into a pot of boiling pasta water & let them soften as the pasta cooks--or throw a bunch into the pasta sauce as it heats. An easy way of getting more greens into your life.
Remember, no oil, greens every day--in salads, soup, pasta, or sandwiches. Lots of vegetables.
3. Eat Oats (Oatmeal)
Raw, Cooked, Rolled, Steel-Cut, or Whole Oat Groats. It doesn't matter how you eat them, just eat them everyday for breakfast. Or whenever.
Oats help to reduce cholesterol, reduce inflammation & the more you eat, the greater the results--because their benefits are dose-responsive.
Dr. Esselstyn eats his Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats raw, every night after dinner as a snack. He adds 1 tablespoon of chia or flax meal (kept refrigerated) to them, along with bananas or berries, a crunchy cereal like Kashi, Ezekiel, Grape Nuts, or Shredded Wheat, and oat milk.
Ann used to eat her rolled oats totally dry with halved red grapes, & maybe a squeeze of grapefruit juice. She wasn't a fan of cooked oatmeal. But, she's changed her tune, and she's now passionate about cooked steel-cut oats, made with a REALLY RIPE banana, 1 cup of water, & 1 teaspoon of vanilla. When done cooking, she tops it with chia & blueberries. No milk in her oatmeal.
Ann's Favorite Savory-Style Oats: Yay! She's a fan of my "Cheezy Savory Oats with Greens" They're steel-cut oats that you could serve to company for dinner.
Dr. Esselstyn's Favorite Milk: Oat milk
Ann's Favorite Milk: Almond milk
Don't Forget One of These Important Oat Toppers: Add a tablespoon or two of ground flax seed (flax meal) or chia seed to your daily oatmeal for a handy source of omega-3's. Flax seeds need to be ground for your body to absorb their nutrients--and always keep them in the refrigerator for freshness.
The of variety of non-dairy milks is stunning. Almond, Oat, Soy & Rice. Sweetened, unsweetened, enriched, Vanilla, Chocolate, you name it. Each come with there own benefits. Some are better for cooking. Some are better tasting. Most are enriched with calcium & vitamin D, to match dairy milk. Read the non-dairy milk labels carefully. Avoid any that contain oil or ingredients that you don't want to consume. Avoid coconut milk.
4. Fill Your Life with Beans & Lentils
Ann's favorite bean is red lentils, because they cook quickly & dissolve into a thick creaminess which is perfect for soups & stews. She even throws red lentils into pasta sauces.
Bean rule #1: Look for cans or cartons with no-added salt. Whole Foods 365 Brand & Eden Foods make no-salt beans. Eden Foods packages them in no-BPA cans, & now 365 Brand packages their beans in tetra-boxes.
5. Eat Whole Grains
Read all bread, tortilla, pasta & cereal labels CAREFULLY. The first ingredient should include the word WHOLE, as in WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, not just wheat flour, or semolina flour.
Pizza crusts: Ann sometimes uses whole wheat pita bread or lavash as a pizza crust. But, her all-time favorite, & mine, is Sami's Millet & Flax crusts. Unless you live in Florida, unfortunately, you'll have to order Sami's crusts from their main bakery in Tampa, FL. To cut down on shipping costs, I order them with a group of four friends. 32 crusts at a time, 8 crusts for each of us, & we store them in our freezers.
Pizza & Pasta Sauce?
Ann recommends Walnut Acres Basil & Tomato. It's one of the few prepared sauces that's made with no-oil & is low-sodium. Look for it at health food stores, Giant Eagle, or order it through Amazon.
Second best:Muir Glenn's Portobello Mushroom Pasta Sauce.
Third best: Trader Joe's No-Oil Marinara Sauce. It's high in sodium.
Ann's tip for pizza sauce: Mix chopped-up cooked kale into your pizza sauce to get extra greens. You won't even notice it in there.
A Delicious New Bread Discovery by Ann. Almost dessert-like.
Manna Bread. This is a sprouted, organic bread made with whole wheat kernels, carrots, & raisins. Ann recommends toasting it for your "eating pleasure"--because it has a soft squishy texture. I haven't tasted it yet, but Ann's got a loaf set aside for me in her freezer to be delivered the next time we meet up at the gym. Look for it at some Whole Foods.
6. Drink Water
Don't drink your calories. No soda. No diet drinks. Don't juice. Don't drink smoothies. Better to chew your fruits & vegetables, & eat them whole, rather then blend them into a drink.
7. Limit Salt
The amount of salt that's added to processed, prepared, or restaurant foods is over-the-top. Instead of salting your foods, Ann recommends a squeeze of lemon or lime juice, because they activate the same taste receptors on the tongue & trick our brains into not missing the salt. Other brain-tricking options are using a dash of vinegar, hot sauce, sriracha or cholula sauce.
Ann tip: Freeze lemons & limes whole & grate some onto whatever you're eating. Vinegar takes the bitterness out of foods, so drizzle some onto greens or other strong-tasting vegetables.
8. Limit Sugar
Bottom Line: Keep sugary snacks & baked goods out of the house. It's just too tempting, & as long as you keep the sweets around you'll keep your sugar addiction. Just try eating one piece of chocolate or one cookie. You know you'll be back for more.
Ann tip: Consider a Yonanas machine& make your own sugar-free "soft-serve ice cream" from frozen fruit & bananas.
9. Avoid Coconut Milk or Coconut Oil
Coconut is everywhere these days, touted as a "healthy fat" mostly because of its creamy mouth-feel. It's in non-dairy milks, ice creams, & yogurts. Don't use it. It's a highly saturated fat. In just 1/4 cup of coconut milk (about 1 serving) you'll find 12 grams of fat--10 grams of which are saturated. Even if it was found to be a healthy, unharmful fat--it's still a fat, that's loaded with calories of limited nutritional value.
A Handy Coconut Milk Substitute: You can easily substitute the taste & creaminess of coconut milk in recipes by adding 1 teaspoon of high quality coconut extract, like Silver Cloud Estates, to one cup of non-dairy milk. You'll need 1 1/2 teaspoons & 1 1/2 cups of milk for a typical can of coconut milk.
10. Unsweetened Un-Dutched Cocoa Yes! Dark Chocolate, No!
Ann's daughter, Jane, recently gave her a Perfect Tortilla Cup set. It's available at Bed, Bath, & Beyond--so I hear. "The best part", Ann says, "is that the Engine 2 No-Oil Sprouted Grain & Gluten-Free Torillas fit perfectly into these molds & make "perfect tortilla bowls" for salads."
I'm an unabashed Ann Fan! She tells it like it is. She's fit, strong, energetic & a role model for all of us who want to age with health & vitality.
Excerpts from Ann's Talk at the Lab Rat's Rotary Breakfast Meeting (8 minutes)
Ann, you'll be happy to know, the Rotarians were taking excellent notes. Yesterday's newsletter had a full page summary of your talk!
If you received this via email, click here, to get to the web-version with all the photos, links, & to leave a comment.
And don't forget to visit my Facebook page, whether you use FB or not. That's where I post many updates of news, recipes, articles, research & more throughout the day.
Whenever I discover a recipe that's easy-to-make, scrumptious, makes a lot--and I find myself making it over & over again--I can't wait to share it with all of you!
That's the story with Chef Chloe Coscarelli's Ooh-La-La Lasagna. I lightened it up--cut out the oil & used Na-SoyA's Low-fat Firm Tofu--and Ta-Da!! Ooh-La-La Librarian's Light Lasagna.
No long intro here, except to share with you what Chloe says about her own lasagna recipe:
"With a last name like Coscarelli, I know my lasagna. So trust me when I say this is the best vegan lasagna you will ever make!"
But, one more thing.
Even though some of the recipes in "Chloe's Kitchen" contain oil, Earth Balance, nuts, coconut milk, vegan shortening, & assorted Esselstyn no-no's -- and there are lots of delectrable desserts made with SUGAR & CHOCOLATE -- there are SO MANY recipes that can be easily enlightened. I haven't been disappointed in my enlightened versions yet. I've found enough winning recipes in this cookbook to make it worth the purchase price.
Chloe is a master chef, with a talent for creating easy, flavorful, & out-of-the-ordinary recipes. Check it out from your library first. I bet you'll want your own copy.
That's exactly what I did. I found I couldn't live without it!
My "Enlightened" No-Oil Version of Chef Chloe's Ooh-La-La Lasagna
Hot Out of the Oven - Needs No Cheese or Faux-Cheese Topping
Finally Found No-Boil Whole Wheat Lasagna at Whole Foods - A Real Time-Saver!!
No worries. If you can't find whole wheat no-boil noodles, go ahead--use the regular version. This recipe is designed SPECIFICALLY for no-boil noodles. It uses lots of sauce, & raw spinach--which help to sufficiently soften the thin no-boil noodles.
Layer Sauce, Noodles, Garden "Ricotta Cheese" & Plenty of Raw Spinach
1 1/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper (to taste, naturally)
1 tablespoon of white miso paste
3 cups of fresh basil (Must use fresh basil--never dried! OK-not so easy & inexpensive to buy basil in the winter. We found mini-fresh-growing bags of basil for $2.99.)
Sauce ingredients
8 to 10-ounces of crimini (or white) mushrooms, sliced
1 32-ounce of no-oil marinara sauce (add 1/4+ teaspoon of red pepper flakes if you like your marinara spicy, like we do. Walnut Acres Tomato-Basil Low-Sodium No-Oil is a good choice, but, it needs some extra spice, IMHO.
1/4 cup of non-dairy milk
1 tablespoon of brown sugar or maple syrup
Pepper &/or salt to taste (salt optional)
5 ounces of baby spinach
9 ounce box of no-boil lasagna noodles
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Options: Lightly spraying a 9' X 13" pan with high-heat canola spray; or line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper; or simply go "bare naked pan". Suit yourself. I mostly go "bare naked pan". Never a problem.
Preparation of the Garden Ricotta
1. Preheat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Add the chopped onion, lower the heat, cover the pan & saute for 5-7 minutes until the onion is soft. Every couple of minutes, lift the lid, stir the onions, adding a small amount of water if the onions start to dry out--and to deglaze the pan. Remove from the heat when done.
2. In a food processor, combine onions, garlic, drained (not pressed) tofu, lemon juice, salt, pepper, & miso paste. Pulse until the mixture is almost smooth, but still has some texture. Now, add the basil and pulse a few more times to mix the basil into the "ricotta". Taste--and adjust seasonings, accordingly.
Preparation of the Marinara Sauce
1. Preheat the large frying pan again over medium high heat. Add the sliced mushrooms, lower the heat, cover the pan & saute for 5-7 minutes until the mushrooms are soft. Every couple of minutes, lift the lid, stir the mushrooms, adding a small amount of water if the mushrooms start to dry out--and to deglaze the pan.
When the mushrooms are done, add the jarred marinara sauce, the optional hot-pepper flakes-to-taste (if you are using them), the non-dairy milk and the brown sugar or maple syrup. The milk & sweetener moderate the acidity of the tomatoes. Add black pepper or salt to taste.
Assembling the lasagna--follow this exactly even if it sounds a little odd--and not equal divided.
1. Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of your pan.
2. Arrange 4 lasagna noodles across the pan. Spread half of the Garden Ricotta over the noodles. Layer half of the spinach over the Garden Ricotta.
3. Arrange 4 more noodles on top of the spinach layer. Spread another layer of sauce over the noodles, and then arrange 4 more noodles on top--and then top the noodles with another layer of sauce. Yep, that's the weird part. Noodles, sauce, noodles, sauce. Don't ask! I just did what Chloe said to do & worked just fine.
4. Finally, spread the remaining Garden Ricotta on top of the sauce layer. Top the Ricotta with the remainig raw spinach. Now finish with final layer of 4 noodles--and top the noodles with the remaining sauce. I ended up with 1 left-over unused noodle. Aesthetically rearrange the mushrooms in the top layer of sauce to make the top layer look pretty.
Note: I know the layering sounds odd--but, it all works out just fine. The lasagna may seem extra saucy, but, it helps to cook the "no-boil" noodles.
5. Cover the lasagna pan with foil and bake at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes or until the noodles are cooked and the sauce is hot & bubbly. Remove from the oven & let it sit for about 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition facts based on 1/8 of a serving of the pan of lasagna
Nutrition Facts based on the "Big Boy" portion of 1/6 of a serving for a pan of lasagna
Buon Appetito!!!
So good. Hope you have enough left-over for a 2nd dinner, or at least a lunch.
Whole-Grain & Seed Power Breakfast Waffles or Pancakes
If you received this post via email, click here, to get to the web version with the photos, links & to write a comment.
On Saturday, Deb, an ultramarathoner and endurance athlete sent me the recipe for her favorite waffles & pancakes.
I tried the recipe out immediately & we liked the waffles so much, that I made a second batch on Tuesday--working the kinks out of the recipe so I could share it with you.
The Lab Rat & I couldn't believe how delicious & filling these waffles were. On Sunday, just one waffle kept me full & fueled for 5 hours & over 2 hours of exercise. Had one for breakfast today with PB2 & berries--and I'm just getting hungry now--6 hours later. That's something!
Thank you, Deb!
Here's what Deb emailed me:
My favorite breakfast!
Features:
Whole grains
Whole foods
Gluten-free
Lots of flax
Seed + Grain = Complete protein
Spices, like cinnamon for improved insulin response
Plant-based & no chemical leavening
No added-sugar
I ate one before a 25 mile mountainous trail run last weekend, and all i had later was a gel and a bite size snickers bar (yeah, i know, but it tasted good!) for the whole day...
Here's the recipe.......
The Breakfast with Big Benefits
For the many benefits of consuming oats & buckwheat groats click here. Whole grains, protein, soluble & insoluble fiber, low-glycemic, gluten-free, steadies blood glucose, B-vitamins, increases nitric oxide production. Need I say more?
Flax is fiber, lignans, & a fantastic source of plant-based omega-3's rolled into one package. Read more about its benefits here.
As for pumpkin seeds, although I don't eat them regularly, they are loaded with nutrients. Read more here. Dr. Mladen Golubic, the Medical Director of the Cleveland Clinic Center for Lifestyle Medicine rarely consumes nuts, but, pumpkin seeds are a different story for him. They are a regular favorite snack of his, owing to their high nutrient-content. Plus, pumpkin seeds are a snack he's eaten throughout his life.
Deb's Back Story
I first heard from Deb over 2 1/2 years ago--soon after she had started on the E2 version of a plant-based diet. I figure that if a plant-based no-oil diet can fuel an endurance athlete--it certainly will work for mere mortals like us. But, even with all those years of running Deb was never able to lose those extra pounds or belly fat until she switched to plant-based & no-oil. That made an impression on me. My exact same experience, too!
Here are some bits & pieces of Deb's story:
"I am a 58 year old woman, and I have seen an amazing difference in the way I feel, and how I can train now.
I was "mostly vegetarian" for a number of years, until switching to plant-based no-oil over 2 1/2 years ago.
However, even with running 50+ miles a week, and eating a healthy diet without a lot of processed foods, I could not lose weight or get rid of that blob around my middle!! Looking back, I realize we ate refined flour in the form of pizza dough and in our "multi-grain" (but not whole grain) bread, and occasional crackers and bagels... and white rice.
Since switching to plant-based, my joint pain disappeared, other seemingly unrelated symptoms (dry eye, allergies, sinus problems, asthma and digestive issues) all went away!
I lost weight, about 20 pounds, got leaner, have more energy, I don't need as much sleep, I feel GREAT!
I am never hungry, I am able to keep training hard on this diet, and actually, am even running better than before (gotta be not lugging that extra weight around!) I love this way of eating!!
Of course, after only a short time on this eating plan, all of my numbers also dropped - cholesterol was 156 after only a week and a half, down from the 180's, and is probably lower now... blood sugar down, blood pressure healthier.. all good stuff!
And how many almost 60 year old women do you know who can regularly run 30+ miles, and race at distances of 50-100 miles? I have gotten my hubby, also an ultramarathoner, off of almost all animal products, but with a great increase in good plant based foods... he even eats kale!
Even at my age, there are markedly positive results from changing to a healthier way of eating. And maybe that's worth sharing - "it's never too late" sort of thing...
Waffles for a Week - If You Can Eat Just One at a Time
Nine Golden-Brown Slightly Sweet Waffles for the Week
Peanut Butter (PB2) & Blueberry Waffles for a Protein Boost
Deb's Power-Packed Plant-Based Blueberry Waffles
I hope this waffle recipe will soon be your fave, too.
The recipe makes 9 medium size delicious-hearty-slightly-sweet waffles that can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer to eat throughout the week. They're perfect plain, with maple syrup, topped with blueberries, or even spread with 2 tablespoons of PB2 & blueberries.
What's PB2? It's defatted peanut flour (1.5 grams of fat per 2 tablespoons) that reconstitutes into a creamy "peanut butter" with just 2 tablespoons of water. It's now available at Whole Foods &even my local grocery store. You can order a pound or more at a time through the company's website. That's how we do it.
Without a topping, these make a very portable take-with power snack.
3 cups of unsweetened almond milk--or your favorite non-dairy milk. Water can also be used--although I've only made this with milk.
Preparation:
1. Before you start, soak the 1/4 cup of raisins in about 1 cup of the milk needed for the recipe.
2. SEPARATELY grind each of the grains & seeds in a power blender, like a VitaMix. Emptying the contents into a large bowl after each one is ground. Works beautifully--& this won't clog up your blender. DO NOT try to grind everything together at the same time. DO NOT GRIND or blend the raisins in anything--except the milk.
I'm sure a food processor will also work, but, I haven't tested that out.
NOTE: Raisins or currants are too gooey & must be blended separately with the milk, or they'll get stuck around the blades. Because the pumpkin seeds have fat in them, they don't grind up as "cleanly" as do the grains.
3. Pour the remaining milk--2 cups--into an empty blender, along with the raisins & their 1 cup of soaking milk & the banana. Add the cinnamon & nutmeg & mix until well-blended.
4. Pour the milk into the bowl with all the ground up grains & seeds & mix until just smooth with a whisk or a mixer on slow speed.
5. Preheat your waffle iron or griddle, if you're making pancakes. I have a non-stick waffle iron, but I still had to spray it with Spectrum's high-heat canola spray before each waffle, or they stuck. The trick for me was figuring how long each waffle took to cook & not opening the waffle iron until then. Using 1/2 cup of batter, each waffle took 4 minutes to be done. Larger waffles will take longer. NOTE: I hear that pancakes brown up perfectly, without oil or spray, with a Scanpan. I'm seriously ready to purchase their Classic 12 1/2 inch non-stick fry pan.
6. USE 1/2 cup of batter per waffle in order to make 9 waffles.
7. Store extras in the refrigerator or freeze them. Heat them up in a toaster oven for crispness. Top with thawed wild blueberries or a fruit of your choice. The Lab Rat insists on maple syrup. I skip the syrup. For an extra 5 gram protein boost (45 calories), spread with 2 tablespoons of PB2.
Nutrition Facts based on making 9 waffles from this recipe.
The Healthy Librarian's Riff on Alton Brown's Best Winter Vegetable Soup
Just Saying.... If you aren't already a regular visitor to my Facebook Page--please do check it out. You're missing a lot of helpful information. Several times a day (usually early in the morning or after work) I post summaries to news about medical & wellness research, links to plant-strong recipes, photos of recipes I've made, summaries of articles that make me think, inspire me, make me laugh, enrich my life, and so much more.
If you don't have a FB account, no worries. Once you've landed on my page, just keep hitting the escape button when you're asked to log in or to sign up for FB--and then close that annoying "log in" message, when you can. You should be able to read the entire page.
And Now for the Recipe
On Saturday morning an anonymous (really) HHLL reader sent me this email:
"Hi,
Saw this on tv this morning, figured I'd share..it's mostly plant strong!"
Later, that day I checked out the recipe & it looked outstanding. It was on an Alton Brown show called: "Best Dish I Ever Made: One Dish Wonders"
A winter vegetable soup that Alton Brown says is one of his best dishes?
A winter vegetable soup that can be made Plant Strong? No-oil?
I was on it in a flash! I watched the video, copied down the recipe. Silly me--if I had searched for 30 seconds, I would have found the recipe already printed out. Aargh!
I cut out the oil, increased the amounts of some of the vegetables, substituted vegetable broth instead of water---& bingo! I had a recipe.
On Monday morning as I left the house for work, the Lab Rat asked, "How about a hearty soup for dinner tonight? Any ideas?"
"Oh, yeah! I have just the right recipe. And here it is."
Full Disclosure:Alton adds a definitely "no-no" plant-strong ingredient to this recipe. Some of you may be shocked that I even included it in my soup. I made the executive decision that it was just a "flavorizer"---and I wanted to find out how much flavor it was really going to add to the soup.
Honestly, both the Lab Rat & I noticed the delicious "robusto punch" it added. When the soup was finished cooking--we discarded it. Just like a bouquet garni. Right into the garbage. I think it would add to the depth of flavor in my Italian Wedding Soup Rapido, too.
What's the "no-no" ingredient?
A 2" X 2" skinny slivery square of parmesan rind. My nephew Josh, an accomplished professional chef, would totally approve!
You can easily leave it out--but, I thought it added a mellow richness--without adding any cheese. There was nothing to really melt. It's just a thin 2-inch square sliver of parmesan rind. It stayed pretty much intact & was easy to discard after cooking. Obviously, this is a deal-breaker for 100% vegans. Easy to leave out.
The Healthy Librarian's "Enlightened & Enriched" Riff on Alton Brown's Best Winter Vegetable Soup
28 ounces of whole tomatoes in tomato puree or
juice (next time, I'm using chopped tomatoes)
2 ½ quarts of low-sodium vegetable broth
3 tablespoons of low-sodium soy sauce (Alton says the soy adds Umami)
2” X 2” skinny square of parmesan rind (TOTALLY OPTIONAL!!) It stayed intact & we discarded it after cooking.
1 pound, 2 ounces of pre-cut butternut squash cubes (the size of TJ's pre-packaged cut-up squash)
10 ounces of chopped curly kale, stems removed
2 cans (15 ounce ea.) no-salt Great Northern beans---DO
NOT DRAIN!
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. (Alton says the vinegar cuts the acidity of the tomatoes)
Directions:
1. Use a large 8 quart soup pot. Heat on high & sear
& brown the mushrooms, until tender. Only add a little water or broth if they start to stick. Remove them from the pot, to add back in later.
2. Lower heat & sweat onions, carrots, & celery
over low heat for 30 minutes, at least. I like to cover the pot, and stir occasionally, checking to see if they are getting too dry, & need a little water to deglaze the pan. They’ll be very soft.
3. Add in garlic, rosemary, & sage
4. Add the tomatoes in their juice, & mix with a
wooden spoon to break up the tomatoes. Cook for about 5 minutes, to blend everything together. (Note: next time I'm using chopped tomatoes)
5. Increase the heat, & add the vegetable broth to the pot. Mix in soy sauce & drop in the parmesan rind heat just until
boiling.
6. Lower heat to a simmer & add the squash &
kale. Cover & simmer for at least 30 minutes.
7. Now, add the mushrooms back in, & the 2 undrained
cans of Great Northern beans to help thicken the soup with the starch. Mix well. Then
add the 2 TBS of red wine vinegar to cut the acidity from the tomatoes.
8. Heat through.
9. Alton says this is the best soup he has ever made.
Options: Consider adding some orzo or other whole grain small pasta into the soup.
