First Spring Break Blog

I'm on spring break, and one of my goals for a good break is a little blogging every day--or a lot, if that's what comes.

Today I'll write about some of the pieces of eating wisdom I've also committed to for spring break.  It helps that many of these are already part of my regular habits, of late at least.

1.  Homemade yogurt every day (for the wonderful probiotics).  Also, I found an easy way to make the yogurt in my instant pot.  I scald, cool, and inoculate (using two tablespoons of yogurt) two quarts of whole farm milk in a kettle on the stove.  Then I divide it up into four peanut butter jars, and put on the lids.  I pour an inch of so of warm water around the jars and settle the lid in place.  Then I push the yogurt button.  This time I left it alone for the next eight hours and then got it out and refrigerated it.

2.  One-half cup of beans every day (for the fiber).  I added only salt and fat to the beans while cooking.   I cooked the pinto beans in the instant pot after soaking them for most of the day--all the time I was away at school.  After I got home I discarded the soaking water and added the bacon drippings.  Then I used the automated beans/chili button and cooked it under pressure.  Next time I believe I will also use the + option to add a few minutes to the cooking cycle, since a few of the beans (presumably those not under water) were a little "toothsome."

3.  A handful of pictachios and three Brazil nuts every day (for detoxing and for the eyes).  This is Hiromi's idea, based on something he's been listening to online.  I know that they both contain good fats, and Brazil nuts also contain selenium--which reportedly binds with any stray mercury in the body and makes natural removal possible.  Both of them are reputed to promote good health for the eyes.

4.  Adding healthful fats, especially oils, to foods at every opportunity (for energy without insulin spikes).  This means choosing oils that are not chemically extracted or created, and that do not come from genetically modified crops.  Hiromi and I already have some coconut, olive, sesame and flaxseed oil with breakfast most days.

5.  Raw vegetables and fruits every day (for the vitamins, minerals, and phytosterols).  Fiber is another benefit here--and enzymes--which promote good gut bacteria.  Avocadoes are rich in good enzymes, and are part of most days' breakfasts at our house--along with parsley, spinach, and blueberries. 

6.  Very limited amounts of sugary desserts or snacks.  I don't have a sweet tooth and don't prepare desserts regularly for consumption at home, so this is not a big departure from the usual fare.  Being at school and attending other functions where food is served are times when I usually encounter offerings of sweet desserts or snacks.  At those times and places, I don't abstain.  I don't want my food choices to create unnecessary social barriers and I want to enjoy the generosity of those who offer me treats in a spirit of goodwill and kindness.

7.    Limit food intake to a ten-hour window (that lets me call the rest of the time intermittent fasting--which sounds virtuous).  We usually eat a late breakfast to accommodate Hiromi's late lunch hour--1:30--on the days he works at Walmart.  If I don't eat after 7:00 in the evening, I have a 14-hour fast every 24 hours.  This week we'll plan to eat our usual generous breakfast, and I'll copy Hiromi's salad lunch habit on the days he works, with a cooked meal in the evening.  On days we're both home, I think we'll try for a cooked meal at 1:30 and a small (salad?) meal in the evening.

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Hiromi came up with the plan for the breakfast that we usually eat Monday through Friday.  I consider it a great improvement on the breakfasts he used to prefer, and I used to eat also, because he preferred them.

We usually eat one egg fried in sesame oil.  Mine is always over-hard.  Besides that we eat one fruity dish with a yogurt base, and one savory dish with a tuna base.  These high-protein bases provide vehicles for many good nutrients in fruits and vegetables, seeds, spices, and oils.  The homemade yogurt is a recent change from commercial cottage cheese, and we're on a quest to replace the tuna (which can be a source of unwanted mercury) with another fish.  I know this sounds like a strange breakfast, but we like it.

We have individual bowls for the tuna dish.  First, Hiromi melts a bit of coconut oil in each bowl, and then adds olive oil and sesame seed oil also.  At some point he adds flax meal, lemon pepper, and a bunch of spices chosen for their healthful properties--cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom, and turmeric--probably about 1/4 t. each.  To the tuna also is added chopped parsley and, in season, chopped garlic chives.  After this is thoroughly mixed, I usually do the rest.

This is in response to Hiromi asking me early on if I could do something to "make it look good."  In a clean bowl I put baby spinach leaves and place the tuna mixture on top.  Then, I cut apart an avocado and, on an unseeded side, I make narrow slices by cutting crosswise across the avocado half, with one final cut from "stem to stern."  With a spoon, in one motion I scoop out half of the slices in a neat row, placed along one side of the bowl.  Then I place a lemon slice,  also along the edge.  A cherry tomato and a sprig of parsley are placed next, either in the center or near the lemon slice.  It looks pretty and the lemon juice flavors the avocado.

The yogurt dish has olive and sesame seed oil, to which Hiromi adds several tablespoons of pineapple juice.  Then he adds chia seeds and flax meal and mixes it up thoroughly.  I top this mixture with about 1/3 cup of plain homemade yogurt.  Then I add several tablespoons of frozen (& thawed) blueberries, and sliced fresh strawberries.  Lately we've been using some stevia-sweetened frozen strawberries or red raspberries.  Each serving requires only the tiniest amount of sweetener--maybe 1/32nd of a teaspoon.

This ends up being a high-fat, low-carbohydrate breakfast with many healthful nutrients.  It's definitely not fast food, but at our age,being fast isn't a reasonable priority anyway.