The summer of slaws

photo by LaCheryl

I know everybody here is familiar with our (okay, my) fondness for food themes. Hummus, soups, salads, sandwiches, quiche...it seems like not a summer, especially, can go by without one.

I've decided that this summer will be the summer of slaws. I use that term sort of loosely, but basically to encompass the non-lettuce-based, often tangy vegetable medleys we've gotten into as of late. Coleslaw is one; this cooked vegetable hash is another. I found it one day looking for a way to cook brussels sprouts. I didn't expect much, but somehow all the ingredients really came together (especially after letting them rest for about 30min, which isn't called for but made all the difference) and it was just delicious. Here's the recipe:

Brussels Sprout Hash with Caramelized Shallots

• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided
• 1/2 pound shallots, thinly sliced (I used yellow onions)
  
• Coarse kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 4 teaspoons sugar (I used a couple of tablespoons of honey instead)
  
• 1 1/2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup water

Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sprinkle with coarse kosher salt and pepper. Sauté until soft and golden, about 10 minutes. Add vinegar and sugar. Stir until brown and glazed, about 3 minutes.

Halve brussels sprouts lengthwise. Cut lengthwise into thin (1/8-inch) slices. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add sprouts; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sauté until brown at edges, 6 minutes. Add 1 cup water and 3 tablespoons butter. Sauté until most of water evaporates and sprouts are tender but still bright green, 3 minutes. Add shallots; season with salt and pepper.

As I think I've mentioned before, having some kind of cooked or cold vegetable dish makes our main-dish salads feel much more filling, and this one definitely functioned that way. I think you could probably give other cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower) a similar treatment and it would be just delicious.

The funny thing about all this is that I've never liked coleslaw, potato salad, or other vinegary things until recently. I did love things that were tart and/or sour, but unfortunately my tastes ran more toward things like cherry pie or Sour Patch Kids. Now that I've made the effort to reorient my taste buds toward things that aren't pure crap, I've found that the tanginess of vinegar is amazing in egg salad, coleslaw, or the above "hash." Something else that works well in that role? Sauerkraut. We already eat it alongside our scrambled eggs every morning, and last night we whipped up a spur-of-the-moment skillet dinner comprised of onions, mushrooms, sauerkraut, and thinly sliced hotdogs. Might sound kind of crazy, but it was delicious!

Here are some of the types of recipes I'm hoping to try out this spring and summer:

Cabbage and lime salad with roasted peanuts

Broccoli slaw

Blue cheese coleslaw (scroll down)

Asparagus, peas, and radishes with fresh tarragon

And friends of ours introduced us to a wonderful corn, avocado, and shallot salad which is held together by sour cream and a little lime juice, and which never lasts long around here. We plan on making it at least once a week!

We're back!

Our trip to Kentucky was absolutely fantastic. While there was more screaming in the car than we'd like to have had (including an especially gut-wrenching hour and a half at the end of the trip home, following 8 hours of angelic behavior, and occurring prior to getting home and realizing we didn't have our keys, a long story I'll not revisit heere)--on the whole, the trip was wonderful and relaxing. I met up with an old (well, 1.5 years, since Frontier Bound) friend and made a great new one, and laughed more and harder than I have in years. Matt and Eden spent many hours together tromping up and down a mountain and through the woods, and we were able to eat three meals a day together (despite bringing much of our own food, we were actually impressed with the Frontier spread most days--seems as though there are a lot of people not eating gluten these days, so protein and fresh fruit and vegetables abounded) and spend most evenings together, too. It was nice to get away and enjoy such a beautiful setting for awhile. And last but not least, in terms of midwifery, Clinical Bound was, like Frontier Bound, incredibly inspiring. I learned a ton, and came back recharged.

Which is good, because I'll need it. The next few months might be somewhat grueling as I attempt to work and do clinicals and Matt leaves his job and we start providing childcare for a friend's baby. It's going to be a number of enormous changes in routine for all of us, and with that will almost certainly come stress. This is compounded by the fact that we STILL don't have a clear idea of where we're ultimately meant to live, or what exactly we're meant to do. We're trying to hang onto our faith, though, that if we just take it one day at a time, we'll eventually figure it out.

Freebies & hitting the road

We're getting ready to head out tomorrow on the closest thing we've taken to a family vacation-- driving down to Frontier in Kentucky for a week while I attend hands-on skills training prior to starting clinicals. (Oh, how it seemed this day would never come.) Since Eden is still mainly breastfeeding, she and Matt are coming along and we're making it a family affair! We're also planning to camp one night after we leave Frontier--either in the Smoky Mountains or Cumberland Gap, depending on how the whim strikes us after we leave!

Our changes in eating habits are still going along quite successfully--Matt's lost 15 lbs, and I've lost an additional 10 in the past few weeks; for comparison, it took me four months of counting calories and exercising daily to lose the first 10. We're feeling great, our grocery bill has actually shrunk, and we're looking forward to the farmer's market opening next month--at that point, we should be able to get almost all of our food either from there or the local farmer where we get our meat, milk, and eggs. We're also now eating in a way that could essentially be feasible if we were growing/raising our own food, which is a major long-term goal.

At this point, we've sort of transitioned from the GAPS diet--emphasis on bone broths, tight dietary restrictions--to the Primal Diet. I like the Primal Diet for maintenance because it offers pretty logical algorithms for eating--basically, eat like a caveman--versus the GAPS diet, which is a little bit more arbitrary (not that it isn't based on science, but it requires memorizing more than reasoning). From the site Mark's Primal Blueprint, here's somewhat of a breakdown:

Is it Primal?

You know the basics: Lean meats and vegetables are healthy, grains and sugars should be avoided. But what about everything else?

• Eggs – Yes (even raw eggs? Why not.)
• Nuts – Yes (Almonds, Walnuts, Soaking Seeds & Nuts)
• Seeds – Yes
• Coconut – Yes, in every way, shape, and form
• Coffee/Tea – Yes
• Whole Grains, Oatmeal, Brown Rice – No
• Beans & Legumes – No
• Dark Chocolate – Occasionally
• Red Wine – Occasionally
• Artificial Sweeteners – Not really, but not terrible [we don't eat these]
  
• Cheese – Not officially, but…
• Soy and Whey and Protein Powders – Depends [we don't eat these either]
  
• Chewing Gum – Depends

Here you can read about how this diet works for weight loss, effortless weight maintenance, and why the Food Pyramid results in an average weight gain of 1.5lbs/year for each American. (Hint: it's the 6-11 servings of grains!)

In that spirit, it's somewhat of a bummer that we won't be able to take advantage of many of the Tax Day Freebies--Cinnabon, ice cream--being offered tomorrow, but on the other hand, we look at that as a very good thing. We know our bodies will thank us for it! And,while we've mostly given up on coffee, even decaf, we do partake occasionally as a treat if it's free. And it's certainly a good time for that: we recently got two free cups from Corner Bakery (ongoing), we're going to Whole Foods (good April 14) later today, and are planning to hit several Starbucks (April 15 only if you bring your own reusable mug) on our trip tomorrow.

We'll be back in just over a week!

How are we doing?

I mentioned in this post a few weeks ago my goals for "spring cleaning" my/our lifestyle. One of the major changes we've made lately is to follow a restricted GAPS-style diet in an effort to jump-start our gut flora. (You can read more about the GAPS diet here, and the importance of healthy gut flora.) What does this look like on a day-to-day basis? Matt's following it more strictly than I am, but here's what we're eating now:

Breakfast:
Scrambled eggs (usually 3 each) topped with a pat of butter. Yum!
Tea

Lunch:
Me: Smoothie with homemade yogurt, frozen fruit, sometimes a cooked carrot or two, and coconut milk (for healthy saturated fat)

Matt: salad and a cup of homemade (chicken or beef) broth

Dinner:
Salad and broth, sometimes some kind of meat or eggs

We've also got probiotic capsules on the way (Bio-Kult) and will be introducing those soon.

We've both been amazed at how eliminating simple carbs and gluten have broken food's addictive hold on both of us. We'd heard people talk about how this way of eating actually made them more satisfied and less hungry, but it's hard to imagine for a couple of chowhounds like us (who really need something this restrictive or else we just give up and splurge). We do get hungry sometimes, but we're more able to make good choices about how to handle it, vs plowing through anything and everything that's available. We've each dropped several pounds and are feeling leaner and more in control. It's a good feeling!

We've also been hitting up the library frequently and I'm happy to report that I've already finished a book for March (The Mood Cure, which I found very interesting and a wonderful easy-to-understand resource on mood chemistry). I'm currently working through Nine Parts of Desire: The Hidden World of Islamic Women and The Politics of Birth, and Matt and I are reading Bill Bryson's (very funny) The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid aloud. As you may recall, we did the same thing with some of his other books and enjoyed that immensely as well. As a result of our rekindled interest in reading, Food, Inc. has been sitting on top of our TV for several days, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

NIH panel on VBAC, or: Give me liberty

Recently the National Institutes of Health convened a panel to examine the "issue" of vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC). Evidence was reviewed, testimonies heard, and a consensus statement released.

While cautiously optimistic that the issue was being reviewed at all, birth advocates had reasons to be concerned.

First, in 2006, a similar panel convened regarding the issue of Cesarean delivery on maternal request (CDMR). What they found was that there was "inadequate evidence to recommend for or against." Which is ridiculous, really, given that the risks of Cesarean to mother and baby are well documented, and they become even clearer particularly when there's not a potential medical indication and therefore benefit (such as resolving fetal distress, interrupting an obstructed labor, etc). So basically, they treated a natural process as having no greater weight than a surgical one and so came out stating that the scales were balanced. The ridiculous presumptiousness of assuming that they know everything there is to know about human labor and birth, that its impact on mother and baby and family and society at the time of birth and forever after is able to be scientifically measured and accounted for--and that even if it were, that the choice is theirs to make-- is outweighed only by the fact that in the case of debating VBAC, vaginal birth (which will happen, come hell or high water, as the natural end of a full-term pregnancy) is treated as the "intervention," something to be "done" as that which needs to be justified, while surgical delivery is treated as the control--the status quo, the "innocent until proven guilty." You can read more on the limitations of that panel's decision here.

Anyway. Henci Goer very cogently articulated the concerns going into the VBAC panel here. The Unnecessarean takes up the other end by articulating the concerns coming out of it. Both are very much worth reading, as are the comments; they contain a good deal of backstory on the lengths that doctors and courts are willing to go to in order to maintain control over birthing women's choices (some particularly sickening facts of court-ordered Cesarean cases, in paritcular), and one commenter shares the following quote from Sheila Kitzinger:

No one would deny that each infant and particularly every maternal death is tragedy to be prevented if at all possible, nor that modern obstetric care, which has developed in the hospital setting, has been at least partly responsible for the dramatic decrease in both maternal and peri-natal mortality over the past half century. But it is not necessarily perverse to question whether our present priority should be to reach minimum figures for peri-natal mortality at any price when this includes giving up things which free human beings have often felt to be more important than their own survival- such as freedom to live their own lives their own way and to make individual choices in line with their own sense of values.

Living out here as we do, in Virginia--home of liberty and rebellion in two major wars, the Revolutionary and the Civil War (not to wander too off-topic, but we recently watched Gettysburg and I was amazed to realize that far from what I learned in history, the Civil War was not about "OMG The South is racist," because the north was, too; it was about whether or not the states had the right to withdraw from a federal government making decisions they didn't feel were in their best interest. I'm inclined to believe that the founders intended that they SHOULD have this right, and so the whole outcome, viewed through that light, feels completely different to me) --I'm struck by the fact that this is exactly what "Give me liberty or give me death" MEANS. It doesn't have to mean death at the hands of the British army--it might mean facing down the (albeit very small) risk of a uterine rupture. Or the right to refuse chemotherapy. Or drink raw milk, or refuse vaccination. People have chosen the risks of freedom over the "safety" of relative captivity here for a long time ("ships are safe in harbor, but that's not what ships are for"), and parents have long been accepted as the proxy decisionmakers for their children, able to elect for one or the other on behalf of those too young to make the decision themselves, but this right is quickly being eroded, now beginning before birth.

So basically, while a small battle or two was somewhat won (recommending that ACOG drop its strict recommendation that only facilities with "immediately available" operating room personnel "perform" VBAC), the war (having any power to compel them to do so, plus the greater--central-- issue of a pregnant woman's right to what essentially amounts to constitutional personhood and self-determination--ie, informed refusal of surgery without regard to whether her physician "feels she is a good candidate") was not.

So. Henci Goer's signature line contains the quote below, which sums up the reaction to this latest news:

“You are not required to complete the work, nor are you free to cease from it.”
Pirke Avot 3:18

Let the work go forward.

Thanks for nursing

I casually joined the Facebook group "If breastfeeding offends you, put a blanket over YOUR head" some time ago. I only recently learned of the companion blog. They are currently featuring the above printable cards, which I think are completely awesome. I will probably print some out to have on hand, even though I think I have only seen someone else breastfeeding in public ONE TIME. Oh, well--it never hurts to be prepared.

What should you do if you come across a nursing mother and you don't have one of these at the ready? Make eye contact and smile at her. That's all. Don't: a) stare, b) grimace, c) say something rude, or d) hastily avoid eye contact and shield your children's/husband's eyes like you've just caught her urinating.

If all else fails--just ACT NORMAL. There's a crazy thought, huh?

Spring goals

One thing I meant to talk more about in my last post was cutting down not just on coffee, but on a variety of other substances that I find to be rather addictive. They're nothing earth-shattering; sugar is one, BAKED GOODS are another. Someone brought banana bread in to work the other weekend and I wound up polishing off half the loaf, knowing while I was doing so that it wasn't what I wanted to be doing. Even decaf coffee kind of functions that way--I find myself downing it mindlessly, then craving more. Whereas when I drink tea in the morning, it's more like "That was nice, now I'm done." There's a certain kind of reaction I have to particular things that keeps me from making level-headed decisions about them. Television and the internet are another. The kind of slothful, bloated, I-know-I-should-get-up-or-do-something-different-but-I-can't-make-myself feeling that I really don't care for. I love spontaneity, but there's something to be said for intentionality as well.

The antidotes? Again, nothing mind-blowing. Eating "decent food" that lacks such a strong binge potential. (Generally easy for me at home, where I plan the meals; much harder when I'm somewhere else with unlimited junk food!) Going to bed early (staying up late--another addictive practice) and even a little hungry now and then. Getting plenty of activity and exercise. Sticking to a routine and keeping the apartment as neat as I can. I'm happy to say that I'm back to my pre-pregnancy weight, but in a way, that's removed my impetus to exercise. I'm happiest and most energetic when I do, though, so I need to find a way to keep that up. I'm trying to spend less time on my computer in the evenings, since school means I spend a lot of time that way during the day.

Another way to engage in the real world in a mindful way is by reading actual BOOKS (and magazines). Even most of my course readings these days are online, and so actually holding a book and turning the pages are activities that have threatened to become obsolete for me. I've found this tends to make me rush, feel a little bit hyper, skimming to get through something versus reading it in order to know it or enjoy it. I see this tendency in myself and I don't like it. So I'm making an effort to check out books from the library, and I've actually changed two online subscriptions (great for reducing clutter and waste, but somehow not as satisfying or durable) to print (Mothering magazine and Midwifery Today).

Luckily, spring is coming and I'm also on break from school, so it should afford me some good chances to continue to energize my routine and myself. I've always liked doing seasonal rather than just new year's goals too, so in honor of the warmer weather, here are my spring goals:

1) Keep exercising 5 days a week
2) Go to bed before 10 and get up before 6:30
3) Keep tracking calories with The Daily Plate and avoiding addictive triggers like coffee, sugar, and baked goods
4) Stay off the computer in the evening
5) Read a book a month

Let's see how I do!