Eat More Fruits and Vegetables

I'm extremely proud to report that Polish people eat the most vegetables and fruits among European nations.

World Health Organization (WHO) recommends eating ≥400 grams per day of fruits and vegetables, not counting potatoes and other starchy tubers. As you can see on the graph above, only in four European countries (Poland, Germany, Italy, and Austria) this recommendation is met (link: Fruit and vegetable consumption in Europe). Needless to say, eating fruits and vegetables is very important for one's health, and I'm happy to see that my compatriots lead the ranking at least in this category. Finally, other European countries can look up to us for something :)

Bharta

This recipe for bharta (eggplant) is an excellent example of a style of cooking dominant in Indian cuisine. If you examine the list of ingredients below, you'll notice that the recipe requires twice as many spices as other ingredients! For a novice to Indian cooking, this can be quite intimidating. But I guarantee that after a few attempts to cook different Indian dishes, you'll start feeling more and more comfortable with those spices, and you might even find yourself tempted to experiment with them a bit.


Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1/2 medium chopped onion
• 5 tbsp crushed roasted peanuts
• 5 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch of hing 
• 1 tsp of cumin seeds
• 1 tsp of mustard seeds
• 1 tsp of sesame seeds
• 1 tsp coriander powder 
• 1 tsp cumin powder 
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala 
• 1/2 tsp hot red pepper powder 
• 1/2 tsp tumeric

Directions:

1. In the hot water simmer the eggplants for about 10 minutes. When soft, drain the water, mash the eggplant, and add the crushed roasted peanuts and the fresh chopped cilantro.
2. In the meantime, heat olive oil in a large saucepan. 
3. Add a pinch of hing and 1 tsp of cumin/mustard/sesame seeds. 
4. When the seeds pop, add the chopped onions and all the other spices (1 tsp coriander powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp garam masala, 1/2 tsp hot red pepper powder, 1/4 tsp tumeric).
5.  Saute until the onions are light brown. 
6. Add the eggplant mixture, mix and serve.

Carrots with Fresh Cilantro

Here is another quick and easy recipe. Of all the different ways in which carrots can be prepared, this is my favorite.

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp canola oil (or olive oil)
• pinch of hing
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4-5 big carrots, peeled, diced
• 8 tbsp finely chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garam masala
• lemon juice, to taste

Directions:

To the hot oil add the hing and cumin seeds. After 15 seconds add the carrots, cilantro, cayenne, salt, garam masala, and lemon juice. Stir for a minute. Add 3 tbsp water, cover and cook for about 5 min, till carrots are tender.

Hot & Sour Vegetable Curry

I adapted this recipe from Suneeta Vaswani's "Complete Book of Indian Cooking." It's rather elaborate and time-consuming, but it's also well-worth the effort. Whenever I feel like eating something a bit more sour in taste, this is the dish I prepare.


Ingredients:

• sweet potato (2 cups, peeled, cut into 1 cm cubes)
  
• potato (1 cup, peeled, cut into 1 cm cubes)
  
• carrots (1 cup, peeled, cut into 1 cm pieces)
  
• frozen peas (1 cup, thawed)
  
• green beans (1 cup, cut into 2 cm pieces)
  
• onions (2 cups, chopped)
  
• tomatoes (1 cup, chopped)
  
• cilantro (1 cup, chopped)
  
• garlic (6-8 cloves, finely chopped)
  
• ginger (2tbsp, finely chopped)
  
• white vinegar (3/4 cup)
  
• water (1/2 cup)
  
• sugar (1.5 tsp)
  
• cumin powder (1 tsp)
  
• salt (1/2 tsp)
  
• turmeric (1 tsp)
  
• cayenne pepper (1.5 tsp)
  
• oil (as little as possible)

Cut carrots

Cut sweet potatoes

Directions:

1. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add the sweet potato and saute until it becomes slightly brown. Set aside.
2. Saute the carrots as above. Set aside.
3. Saute the potatoes as above. Set aside.
4. Saute the beans as above. Set aside.
5. In meantime, blend the garlic and ginger with 3 tbsp of water. Set aside.
   
6. Stir the sugar into vinegar. Set aside.
   
7. Saute the onion over medium-high heat until golden.
   
8. Add the tomatoes, garlic-ginger mixture and all spices (salt, turmeric, cumin, cayenne). Mix well, cover and cook until tomatoes are soft (6-8 minutes).
   
9. Add all other veggies (sweet potato, carrots, peas, beans, potatoes). Mix.
   
10. Add vinegar and water. Mix and cook until vegetables are tender (6-8 minutes).
    
11. Add cilantro. Mix and cook for 2 more minutes.
    
12. Serve with rice, quinoa or couscous.

Hot & Sour Vegetable Curry

Kale with Raisins

Here is another quick and easy recipe. This delicious recipe for kale with raisins comes from Madhur Jaffrey's "World Vegetarian."

Ingredients:

• kale (~ 1 lbs, cut into fine strips) - remember to buy organic!
  
• raisins (~ 1/2 cup)
  
• olive oil (as little as possible)
  
• garlic (3 cloves, peeled, lightly crashed but left whole)
  
• hot dried red chili (1, left whole)
  
• vegetable broth or water (2 glasses)

Directions:

1. Put the oil, chili, and garlic in a frying pan and set over medium-high heat. Stir until garlic becomes golden-brown on both sides.
   
2. Add the raisins. Stir once.
   
3. Add the kale, stir.
   
4. Add the vegetable stock, mix, cover and turn heat down to low.
   
5. Simmer 20-30 minutes, add salt if needed.
   
6. Serve and enjoy :)

Venetian Carrot Cake

Since we are on a subject of food, I'm going to share a few recipes with you.

The first one is for a delicious almond-flour carrot cake. The recipe traveled to me from Poland, but it's actually a creation of the British cook, Nigella Lawson. The original version of the recipe can be found on the Food Network.

I introduced a few minor modifications to the recipe (e.g., I use less than a half of the amount of sugar the original recipe calls for), and I plan to further experiment with it (I think next time I'll try to add some coconut). Here is how I make it.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts
• 2-3 large carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup golden sultanas OR cranberries
• 1/4 cup rum (can be omitted)
• 1/2 cup superfine powdered sugar OR 1/2 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups almond meal/flour
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 lemon, juiced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Line the baking pan with baking parchment.
3. Toast the pine nuts in a small frying pan (without oil). Set aside.
4. In a small saucepan place the raisins (or cranberries) and rum (or hot water), bring to boil and simmer on low heat until most of the rum (water) evaporates.
5. In a large bowl whisk the sugar with olive oil until creamy.
6. Whisk in the eggs, vanilla, and nutmeg.
7. Fold in the almond flour.
8. Add the grated carrots and raisins (cranberries).
9. Lastly, add the lemon juice. 
10. Mix well and transfer to the baking pan.
11. Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.
12. Bake at 350F for around 35-40 minutes.

The cake can be stored at room temperature for a few days, it can be refrigerated for up to 5 days, and it can even be frozen. It can be served warm, but tastes best when cold–then the marzipan taste comes out the most. 

It's one of the easiest cakes to make. It demands no baking skills whatsoever, and it only takes 15-20 minutes of work (plus 40 minutes in the oven). At the same time it's quite delicious and all my friends that tried it, liked it too. An added bonus is that it is gluten-free, and if made with honey, it can also be served to paleo-maniacs.

How to Reduce Sodium Intake

Salt-free food can be very tasty. I cook almost completely without salt and, despite that, I often receive compliments on my cooking skills.

In my household of two, a kilogram of salt lasted more than two years (which means that my husband and I consumed less than 0.7 gram of salt per person per day, well within the limits of the Institute of Medicine recommendation to reduce salt intake to less than 1.5 grams per day. (Our bodies need only 0.18-0.5 grams of sodium per day! Still, the average daily sodium intake in the US is about 3.5 grams per person, age two and older.)

If we would eat out often, or would eat processed food, we would probably end up slightly above the daily limit. Luckily, I love cooking and my husband enjoys home-cooked meals much more than eating out, so we don't have that problem. As a result, my blood pressure is usually about 90/60, and doesn't rise much even after several coffees. So you can consider me a living proof that a low-salt diet works.

Needless to say, maintaining a low-blood pressure has multiple health benefits, the most important of which is decreasing the risk of stroke and heart disease. Nearly 400,000 Americans die every year as a result of high-blood pressure. Most of these people could be saved if only we could convince them to switch to and maintain a low-sodium diet.


So how to switch to a low-sodium diet?

(1) Cook for yourself.

(2) When you eat out:

• Ask that the food be prepared without added salt, MSG, or salt-containing ingredients. 
• Stay away from salty snacks, as well as mustard, ketchup, pickles, soy and teriyaki sauces.
• Don't add extra salt.

(3) Don't buy pre-cooked foods.

Cut back on frozen dinners, especially pizza, canned soups and broths, as well as salad dressings—these often have a lot of sodium.

(4) Cook rice, pasta, potatoes, and vegetables without salt.

Cut back on instant or flavored rice, pasta, and cereal mixes, as they usually have added salt.

(5) Limit consumption of pickles, pickled vegetables, olives, and sauerkraut.

(6) Limit consumption of ketchup, mustard, and horseradish.

(7) Limit consumption of even lower sodium versions of soy, teriyaki, and barbecue sauces.

(8) Eliminate canned food, especially canned fish and ham, but also beans and vegetables.

Choose fresh or frozen products over canned. And if you have to use canned foods, rinse them well to remove some of the sodium.

(9) Use fresh poultry, fish, and lean meat, rather than canned, smoked, or processed types.

(10) Limit consumption of processed cheese.

(11) Use other spices instead of salt. Flavor foods with herbs, spices, lemon, lime, vinegar, or salt-free seasoning blends.

(12) If salt is needed, add it at the very end, just before serving food, and choose large-grain potassium and magnesium-enriched sea salt instead of regular salt.

(13) When buying food, look for no-salt-added, salt-free or low-sodium versions of foods.

Read the Nutrition Facts labels on foods to compare the amount of sodium in products. Look for the sodium content in milligrams and the Percent Daily Value. Aim for foods that are less than 5 percent of the Daily Value of sodium.

This is what labels mean:

Sodium free or salt free	Less than 5 mg per serving
Very low sodium	35 mg or less of sodium per serving
Low sodium	140 mg or less of sodium per serving
Low-sodium meal	140 mg or less of sodium per 31/2 oz (100 g)
Reduced or less sodium	At least 25 percent less sodium than the regular version
Light in sodium	50 percent less sodium than the regular version
Unsalted or no salt added	No salt added to the product during processing (this is not a sodium-free food)

(14) Conversely, increase consumption of products rich in potassium and magnesium, such as: potatoes, sweet potatoes, zucchini, kale, spinach, tomatoes, bananas, apricots, oranges, soybeans, lentils, kidney beans, split peas, almonds, milk, yogurt, lean meats, fish, and poultry.


Adapted from: link.

Pesticide-Rich Foods

As I mentioned in the previous post, there are very few, if any, proven adverse health implications from consuming trace quantities of pesticides present on exterior of foods. However, there might be long-term effects of pesticide consumption that we aren't aware of yet. So I'd recommend playing it safe, and trying to limit consumption of foods which have a lot of pesticide residue.

One way of achieving it would be eating only organic food. By definition, organic produce was cultivated without use of pesticide or other harmful chemicals.   

If organic food is not available where you live, or you can't afford to go purely organic, take a look at the list I posted below, and consider either limiting those foods in your diet, or switching to buying their organic counterparts. If you do that, you should be able to reduce your exposure to pesticide by 80% (link).

A list of foods that consistently have a lot of pesticide residue (based on the USDA tests conducted after a typical household preparation):

(1) Leafy Greens 

• Spinach
• Lettuce
• Kale
• Collard Greens

Safer alternatives: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, dandelion greens.

(2) Berries

• Strawberries 
• Blueberries 
• Cranberries 
• Cherries 

Safer alternatives: kiwi, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, melons.

(3) Tree Fruits

• Apples, as well as apple juice and apple sauce.
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Grapes, as well as raisins and wine

Peeling will help reducing exposure to pesticide residue, but it will also take away many of the fruit's most beneficial nutrients.

Safer alternatives: kiwi, pineapple, mango, grapefruit, melons.

(4) Celery

Safer alternatives: cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts.

(5) Potatoes

Safer alternative: sweet potatoes. 

(6) Fatty Meats

Safer alternative: lean meats.

(7) Milk

(8) Coffee and cocoa beans (coffee, cocoa, chocolate)

And here's a list of fifteen "clean" vegetables and fruits: 

(1) Onions 

(2) Sweet Corn

(3) Pineapple

(4) Avocado Avocado

(5) Asparagus

(6) Sweet peas

(7) Mango

(8) Eggplant

(9) Cantaloupe (domestic)

(10) Kiwi

(11) Cabbage

(12) Watermelon

(13) Sweet Potatoes

(14) Grapefruit

(15) Mushrooms

In general, fruits and vegetables with thick skins that are removed before eating (melons, avocado, corn, etc.) tend to have the lowest amounts of pesticide residue.

Adapted from: link.

Drink Milk from Happy, Grass-Fed Cows

"Organic" food is food grown without use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.

This kind of food is growing in popularity in California, even though there aren't any proven adverse health implications associated with consuming trace quantities of pesticides.

Playing it safe, of course, cannot harm. So if you can afford buying organic food, go ahead and keep on doing it. (In California, organic food is, on average, two to three times more expensive than non-organic.)

However, know what you are paying for. "Organic" does not mean "natural." For example, buying organic milk doesn't automatically guarantee that the cows that produced the milk were grass-fed.

This is an important issue, as the composition of milk from grass-fed cows is vastly different from the composition of milk from grain-fed cows. In addition, several research articles showed that the milk from grass-fed cows is healthier for the heart, significantly reduces risk of stroke, heart attack, several types of cancer, allergies, diabetes, and may help with weight loss (you can read more on this subject here).

This prompted me to conduct some more Internet research to identify milk that comes from grass-fed cows and is easily available in San Francisco shops. I found a very informative webpage, which collected information on all "organic" milks available in the US. As per this article, some of the "organic" milks do not even deserve such name!

On this website you can find a link to a rating of all organic milks available in the US: a complete list.

Based on that list I concluded that the best organic brands of milk available in San Francisco are:

(1) Organic Valley
score: 1115/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(2) Nature's One
score: 1100/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(3) 365 Organic from Whole Foods Brand
score: 1070/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with hormones or antibiotics

(4) Clover Organic
score: 1050/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with antibiotics, but OXYTOCIN occasionally used!!!

(5) Sunnyside (available e.g. at SaveMart, Lucky)
score: 1025/1200
from grass-fed cows, not treated with antibiotics, hormones unclear

My Body Is My Temple

When you are young you take your body for granted, as if it was a piece of machinery that can't be broken, or that could be easily repaired/replaced.

As you get older you slowly start to realize that your body can't be replaced, or easily repaired. You come to a realization that you're not as much in charge of it as you thought you were. And if you're smart, you realize that the better you treat your body now, the better it will serve you in future.


So what does it mean to "be good to your body"?


At the very minimum it means:

(1) Not smoking.

(2) Being physically active. Even as little as one hour of physical activity a week will do.

(3) Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables a day.

(4) Drinking between 1 to 14 units of alcohol per week. (A pint of 3 to 4% beer equals 2 units. A glass, 125 ml, of wine equals 1.5 units.)


If you follow all four recommendations, you will live, on average, 14 years longer than people who adopt none of these behaviors.

Isn't it amazing how easy it is? I'm sure that most of the readers of this blog follow all of these recommendations anyway. But if you don't, please start! (Here is a link to the article that describes those findings in detail: link. I critically examined this paper and trust its findings and conclusions.)


If you want to do more, consider the six other recommendations, also based on the study mentioned above:

(5) Learn how to cope with stress. One good method of doing this is through meditation. Even as little as 20 minutes of meditation a day can have a drastic positive impact on our health (link).

(6) Maintain healthy body weight. Keep your BMI between 19 to 25, or 30 even. Interestingly, people with BMI between 25 to 30 (classified as "overweight") live the longest (Portland/Canadian study; Japanese study).

(7) Eat a hearty breakfast. Consuming a higher proportion (20 to 50%) of total daily calories at breakfast is associated with relatively lower weight gain in middle age.

(8) Limit the amount of sodium you consume. Decreasing sodium intake below 1.5 grams a day will keep your blood pressure in check, and decrease your chance of stroke and heart attack. Along the same line of reasoning, eating food rich in potassium is good for you. It means you should cook your own food; processed and restaurant foods will put you way over the recommended salt intake limit.

(9) Eat fiber. Dietary fiber protects against bowel cancer, even in red-meat eaters.

(10) Do sports! Various health experts recommend different amounts and kinds of sports, but I'd still stick with the old rule: at least 3 times a week 30 minutes of whichever intense cardio activity you enjoy. Not only it will help you keep your heart healthy, but also it may help you preserve bone density and reduce the risk of fracture.

These recommendations are discussed in more detail on this webpage. The site also provides links to some relevant papers that I read and trust.

In the next few posts I'll talk about organic food and ways of limiting your sodium intake.

Supperclub = Super Lame

I so wanted to like Supperclub. I think that the idea is pretty cool: chilling in comfy beds while eating delicious food and watching an interesting show. Sadly, San Francisco's Supperclub executes so poorly on this idea that we just could not like it. The beds were not comfy, the food was not up to San Francisco's standards, the show was terrible and the people working at the club seemed stressed. How do you expect your guests to have fun if you don't? Also, to call 3 four-minute one-person performances "a show" is a definite overstatement.

Anil and I were bored and barely survived the 2.5 hours that it took to get through the meal and "show". As soon as we were done with food, we asked for the check and left. Actually, the food portions were so small that after arriving back home we ate another dinner. In conclusion, if you have several hundred dollars to spare better do it elsewhere.


The bar at the entrance to the club:

The ambiance of the club:

The best one of the three short performances that we saw in the club:

Cooking Classes with Indian Mother in Law

There are benefits of having an Indian mother in law. She can teach you how to cook delicious Indian food :)

During our last few days in India, Anil's mother taught me how to make dosas, idlies, lemon rice, coconut chutney and sambar. I was also able to successfully make those dishes after we came back to the US, so I guess that makes her a good teacher and me a good student :)

Below are six recipes that Anil's mother wrote down for me:

1. Lemon Rice
2. Rava Dosa
3. Coconut Chutney
   
4. Dosa
   
5. Idly
   
6. Sambar

Lemon Rice

Ingredients:

• 5 tbsp tamarind extract (soak tamarind in warm water for 1h, use water later in the recipe)
• 2 cups rice
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp urad dal
• 1 tbsp chana dal
• fistful ground nuts or cashew nuts
• fistful curry leaves
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• pinch hing
• 3-4 tbsp oil

Cook rice. It should be slightly harder than usual and should not be sticky. In a pan heat oil and when hot add dals and nuts. After 1 minute add mustard seeds, hing and curry leaves. After 1 minute add tamarind extract, mix and reduce heat to low. After around 2 minutes (when most of the liquid evaporated) add this mixture to hot rice. Add turmeric (to make it yellow) and salt to taste and mix well. Tamarind Rice (Puli Hara) should be eaten cold and can be stored outside a fridge for up to 2 days. Lemon juice can be used instead of tamarind extract. In that case it is added directly to rice, not spices in a pan.


Rava Dosa

Rava dosa is a quick alternative to "real" dosa. It is super-easy to make and it takes almost no time to prepare.

Ingredients:

• 1 small cup rava
• 1/3-1/4 cup of curd
• 2 cups maida (all purpose flower)
• water
• salt
• finely chopped onions and green chillies

Mix all ingredients (except onions and chillies) and keep them aside for 5 to 10 minutes so that they become soft. Make dosas on a non-stick pan on medium high heat. Dosas should be very light brown on both sides. If you want to add onions or chillies, do it before dough is dry.  


Coconut Chutney

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of roasted chana dal
• 3/4 cup shredded coconut
• salt
• 1/2 green chilli
• grated ginger

Grind all the ingredients together. Done! (Anil and I sometimes add a little bit of lemon juice to make it a bit more tangy.)  


Dosa

Ingredients:

• 1 cup urad dal
• 3 cups rice (old rice)
• salt

Soak urad dal and rice separately for around 5h to overnight. Grind rice with very little water. Remove rice paste from the grinder and then grind urad dal with 1 cup of water. It should become very fine. Mix rice and urad dal together in a big bowl and add salt. Keep the dough outside until it becomes slightly sour (from overnight to a day, depending on a climate). Make dosas on a non-stick pan.  


Idly

Idly dough has the same ingredients as dosa, but they should be slightly less well grounded. To make idlies one needs a special idly pot. I will post a picture of it at some other occasion.  


Sambar

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Toor dal
• 1 tsp sambar powder
• fistful coriander leaves
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 3 tbsp tamarind extract
• vegetables - all can be used; you should use either onions or drumsticks

Cook toor dal and keep it aside. Cook all vegetables together, add tamarind extract, coriander leaves, brown sugar and sambar powder. Boil together for around 5-6 minutes. Add mashed dal and again boil on slow heat for 2 minutes.

Vegetarian freeze-dried food for backpacking

As part of the preparations for our backpacking holidays in Peru, I invested some time gathering as much information as possible about all available freeze-dried vegetarian backpacking products.

This information might be useful to others who are also vegetarian and look for (1) lightweight, (2) tasty, (3) high in calories and protein, backpacking lunch/dinner options.

I looked at all vegetarian products from the following four companies:

1. Mountain House
2. Backpacker's Pantry
3. MaryJanesFarm
4. Natural High

For further evaluation I selected the ones that had more than 9 grams of protein per serving and a consumer rating above 3 (on a scale of 1 to 5, where 5 is the highest, as judged by backpackers who left their comments on the REI webpage).

All the data that I collected can be found in the excel file HERE.

The file contains:

1. Product name
2. Company name
3. Average product taste rating
4. The lowest price online found for the product (*)
5. Package weight
6. Protein content
7. Number of calories
8. Time to cook (only for the products that I ended up buying)
9. Link to the product info on the REI webpage
10. Link to the product on amazon, if amazon is selling it at the lower price than REI

The list is sorted from the best to the worst product (as per criteria I described above).

Size of the packages is one more important parameter that is not discussed in the attached excel file as this information was not available to me before I bought some of the freeze-dried food items. As you can see at the photos below, some of the products (notably the ones from MaryJanesFarm) are MUCH smaller than the competitors.

Each pile contains 6 products of the same kind as the one on top of the pile:




(*) If you order 12 food products in the REI's online shop you get 10% discount. In some states (e.g. CA) there will be also no sales tax. Shipping is free for the REI members on orders bigger than $75. Some products, e.g. all from MaryJanesFarm are 30% cheaper on amazon! So shop around before you place your order.

Cabbage Soup Diet

The diet on which Anil and I went a few weeks back was a cabbage soup diet. I don't think it is a particularly good diet, but I like that it is teaching you self-control.

On different days throughout 7 days this diet takes, you are allowed to eat different group of products (on top of the cabbage soup, of course, which is allowed on all days):

1. Any fruit you want, but no bananas. (We ate apples, oranges, grapes, watermelons, peaches, grapefruits.)
   
   
2. Any veggies you want. A baked potato for dinner. (We ate baby carrots, celery, pickles, cauliflower, and a salad with avocado, tomatoes, and cucumber.)
   
   
3. Any fruit and vegetables you want, but no baked potato. (We ate the same things as on day 1 and day 2.)
   
   
4. As many as eight bananas and as many glasses of skim milk you want. (I believe I managed to eat 5 and Anil 6 bananas, and we drunk 2-3 glasses of milk each.)
   
   
5. 10-20 oz of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes. (We substituted beef with soy patties.)
   
   
6. Beef and vegetables, no baked potato. (Again, instead of beef we ate soy patties.)
   
   
7. Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables. (We did not eat brown rice and the only juice we drunk was orange juice. We ate baby carrots and salad with avocado. We broke the diet in the evening and rewarded ourselves with a poppy seed cake.)

I found two first days of the diet difficult, but after that it became pretty easy. I believe Anil felt the same way. I do not think I lost any weight, but I do feel better and lighter after it. So I decided to go on it again and, just like the last time, I started it on Monday as it makes it easier for me to remember what I am allowed to eat on each day. Hopefully this time around I will be able to shed some of the extra fat that accumulated around my hips :)

A small tip: The official soup recipe is rather bland, so I would strongly advice you to add lots of other spices as well, like cayenne pepper, oregano, basil, cumin, powdered garlic and onion.

Zucchini with feta and basil

Here is one of my new favorite recipes that many times proved to be popular with my guests (dinner victims). The big plus of this recipe is that it takes not more than 5 minutes of work (wash veggies, cut veggies) and is fully ready in 25 minutes (20 minutes of steaming on the frying pan).

Ingredients needed:

1. 4-5 zucchinis, washed, not peeled, cut
   
   
2. two cloves of garlic, chopped
   
3. glass of crumbled feta
   
4. 20 fresh basil leaves, washed, chopped (could be substituted by dried basil and oregano spice)
   
5. 3 tbsp of fresh cilantro (also can be omitted)
   
6. salt and pepper to taste
   
7. 2 tbsp of olive/canola oil

Instructions:

1. Warm up oil on the frying pan.
   
2. Add zucchini and garlic, mix, cover, steam for around 15-20 minutes.
   
3. When zucchini becomes soft and slightly brown, remove from fire, add feta, basil, salt, pepper, cilantro. Mix and serve warm.
   

I do not think recipes get any easier!

my husband is the best

The title pretty much sums it up: my husband is the best best best. He does thousands of things that make me very happy (and very few that drive me crazy..., but still the balance is hugely on the positive side).

The whole past week he was the most perfect house-husband: every day he drove me to work and/or picked me up from there, cooked delicious multiple-course lunches and dinners for both of us (my only contribution in this department was to make two salads) and kept our place nice and clean. All that without being asked to do anything and on top of his very demanding job. I am one lucky wife :) Thank you dear husband.

On a side note, it seems that we completely switched from eating rice to eating quinoa. Quinoa has way better nutritional value than brown rice (*), and in my opinion, it is tastier. Also, to my great surprise, so far it tasted perfectly well with all dishes that we prepared.


(*) 1.6x more protein, 20% less carbs, 20% more fiber, more magnesium, potassium, folate!, and better proportions of essential amino acids

call me wife, house wife

Yesterday I cooked a nine-dish dinner for myself and my husband. It seems that I have to overdo everything, even being a wife:


Clockwise, starting in the left top corner:

1. couscous
   
2. ginger-glazed carrots (fried grated carrots in ginger & spices)
   
3. cucumber raita (yogurt, grated cucumber, cilantro, turmeric, salt, pepper)
   
4. coconut chutney (this dish was made by Anil)
   
5. ratatouille (sauteed, each separately, mushrooms, onion, green bell pepper, white squash, tomatoes, tofu, spices)
   
6. sauteed white squash (white squash, pepper, salt)
   
7. sweet cabbage (shredded cabbage, orange marmalade, white wine vinaigrette, soy sauce, ginger, garlic)
   
8. fresh salad (mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, avocado, salt, pepper, oregano, basil, lime juice)
   
9. zucchini with feta (sauteed zucchini, feta, cilantro, spices)

I also planned on making cheesecake, but luckily we did not have any butter/margarine at home.

Christmas Eve dinner

Even though initially I had been very excited about going for Christmas to the mountains, the moment came that I felt sad about not being in my family home for Christmas Eve dinner. My family has very strong Christmas traditions that I appreciate a lot and which I would like to preserve for my own family as well for many years to come. For example we all dress up in our best clothes for the Christmas Eve dinner and also wear elegant clothes during next two Christmas days, even if we would not be leaving the house during that time at all. Also during these two and a half days we spend 100% of time together and if somebody would like to do something on their own, he/she has to ask for a permission to the rest of the family. In this busy world that we live in, there are very few moments that we can complete dedicate to our families, and that's why I appreciate Christmas as a family holiday so much.

This feeling of temporal sadness disappeared from my heart as soon as a traditional band from the mountains entered the restaurant where we were having our Christmas Eve dinner and started playing and singing Christmas carols. Actually, it felt really wonderful to be sharing this moment with random strangers. Especially that the whole room was singing the carols together.

"Gorale" band:


The Christmas Eve dinner in Poland always starts with sharing the Christmas wafer and exchanging wishes:


After that twelve-course dinner follows. Dishes change from one region in Poland to the other one, but almost always you get dried fruit compote and herring in oil:


It is almost impossible to imagine a Christmas Eve dinner without a red beet soup called barszcz, in which we usually put dumplings filled with mushrooms and cabbage:


This dish was a surprise for my family. It is a dried plums soup with beans. Quite interesting I must say:


This dish was also surprising to us. Usually we would have cabbage with mushrooms, but here it is served with yellow peas:


Even though potatoes are crucial ingredient of Polish cuisine, usually my family would not serve them during Christmas Eve dinner. But somehow they made their way to the table in the restaurant:


There were also two kinds of fried fish served: carp and cod. Carp is traditionally the main course served during the dinner:


My favorite dish is always kluski with poppy seeds. Apparently the more you eat of them, the more money you will have in the coming year. Trust me, it is a big challenge to be able to eat any of them at all after eating so many of other dishes.


The dinner ended with a fruitcake:


All in all, it was a very nice experience to have a Christmas Eve dinner outside our family house. It clearly demonstrated that it is not important where you celebrate it, but with whom.

strange days

small electronic devices:


extreme buddhism:


moon more eerie than usual:


deep philosophical discussion in very unexpected circumstances:


della cooking thai(!) food and screwing up french chocolate mousse(!!!):


the world is on a downward spiral, i tell ya

Greek yoghurt dessert with dates and honey

I specialize in quick and easy recipes that I like to believe are tasty too :)

Here is a Greek-style dessert that takes 2 minutes to make:


Ingredients (per serving):

100ml Greek style yoghurt
3 dates, cut into slices
1 tsp cranberries (I prefer orange-flavored ones over regular ones)
1 tbsp honey