Crunchy Refreshing Salad

This morning when I went to prep my salad stuff for the week, I found that I had a number of things that needed to be used up pronto. The result is this salad- light, crunchy, refreshing, and kind of...weird.  I've found that most raw vegetables taste pretty good with a light dressing of citrus juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper, and in this case, I also added mint and ginger to give the salad a little more pizzaz.

Erin's Weird Weekend Salad
1/2 an English cucumber, cut into small pieces
1 bulb fennel, thinly sliced
stems from 1 bunch of chard, thinly sliced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1 apple, cut into tiny pieces
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced
a handful of fresh mint, chopped
juice of two limes
olive oil
salt
pepper

Pour lime juice into a medium-sized bowl. Add salt and pepper and stir. Slowly pour in a stream of oil oil and mix with a fork or a whisk until you have a light dressing. Add all other ingredients to bowl and mix well.

Skin Deep

As is evident from previous posts, I think a lot about the food I put into my body. I prioritize eating food that is high quality, organic, and minimally processed. As far as I'm concerned, the fewer ingredients in a food product the better; if I don't know what something is, I don't want to eat it.

So why is it that I haven't given the same attention to the body care products and cosmetics I use on the outside of my body? While I do tend to buy "natural" body care products, many of them have long lists of ingredients that I know nothing about. I also have at times purchased products that I know are likely to be full of chemicals that aren't good me. For a long time, I have wanted to be more aware of what's in the products I use, and make better, safer choices for myself and for the environment (after all, the issue is not just putting harmful chemicals into your own body, but also that harmful chemicals continue to be manufactured due to the demand for products that contain them).

A few months ago I found a website to help me in achieving my goal to make better decisions when purchasing body care products- it's the Environmental Working Group's cosmetics database Skin Deep. This database examines and rates nearly 80,000 body care products and cosmetics based on the safety of their ingredients. According to this website, in the United States public health law allows:

Almost any chemical as an ingredient in personal care products

Misleading and incomplete labeling of ingredients

Unsubstantiated claims about product benefits

No required safety testing of products or ingredients

When I checked out some of the products I was using, I was shocked to discover that the haircare product I was using received a score of 9 (with 10 being the most dangerous rating). Wow, that was a wake-up call! The database has a lot of great information about how to choose safer body care products, specific chemicals to avoid, and a section that is organized by common (and dangerous) chemicals in products for specific parts of the body (teeth, hair, etc.).

So adding to my list of goals for the year, I'm going to check the database for information about body care products before I buy them, and try not to purchase anything with a rating over 4. Why 4? While I would ideally love to eventually get to a place or using products that have scored only a 1 or a 2, I think I will have better success tapering off gradually, and a 4 seems like a realistic starting place for me.

Hot Sauce

Last night Zach made a dinner that was thoroughly delicious. It was a spicy stir fry with bok choy, tofu, ginger, black beans, and chili-garlic hot sauce. Normally, I can't handle food that is very spicy, but this was perfect; right at my edge but not over it. By the way, the hot sauce he used in this recipe is similar to Sriracha, which you may have seen before (bright sauce with a green lid and a rooster on the front of the bottle ). Sriracha and similar hot sauces have a devoted following, probably because they are such a convenient and easy way to add spice and flavor to many dishes. In fact, Bon Appetit even has a slideshow called 25 Ways to Use Sriracha, where they suggest adding it to all kinds of dishes and condiments. I especially like adding a little hot sauce to pho on days when I'm feeling cold and need to warm up quickly.

The recipe Zach made last night comes from Vegetarian Times and I've included it below. Simple, spicy, and delicious!

Stir-Fried Bok Choy with Tofu and Black Beans

Serves 4

This stir-fry is usually made with super-salty fermented black beans. We’ve substituted plain black beans to give the dish body without the extra sodium.

1 16-oz. pkg. firm tofu, drained

2 Tbs. hulled sesame seeds

4 tsp. toasted sesame oil, divided

1 ½ lb. bok choy (large or baby), chopped (9 cups)

2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)

½ cup cooked black beans

2 Tbs. low-sodium tamari

2 tsp. dark brown sugar

1 tsp. chile-garlic sauce

1. Place tofu between 2 cutting boards; tip boards over sink edge to let excess liquid drain off 30 minutes. Cut tofu into bite-size cubes, and roll cubes in sesame seeds in bowl.

2. Heat 2 tsp. sesame oil in nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tofu, and cook 10 minutes, or until golden brown, turning occasionally. Set aside.

3. Heat remaining 2 tsp. oil in wok or large skillet over high heat. Add bok choy; stir-fry 4 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and black beans; stir-fry 2 minutes more. Stir in tamari, brown sugar, and chile-garlic sauce. Fold in tofu.

January/February 2013 p.82

Free Workouts!

The other day I was wishing I had some new yoga DVDs to try out. Although I enjoy the few yoga DVDs I own, I have grown a little tired of them. As I think I mentioned in a previous post, I like to use yoga DVDs on days when yoga classes don't work with my schedule or when I am needing to be a little frugal. While watching a DVD at home is a totally different experience than attending a class, sometimes I really enjoy it, and it is definitely better than not doing yoga at all. I have been thinking about where I could look for some gently used yoga DVDs (Goodwill? Value Village? Garage sales?), and then thanks to some magnificent library staffer who put one of the DVDs pictured on the "Staff Picks" shelf, I realized that the library has tons of fitness DVDs that you can borrow for free! This evening I did the amusingly titled "Yoga For Surfers III" DVD, and it was a really challenging workout. I've had some friends tell me that they don't feel like they can afford to join a gym or attend fitness classes right now, so I wanted to give a shout-out to the library, where you can find lots of great yoga and other fitness workouts for free.

Avocado Smoothie

This morning I cut an avocado in half and was disappointed to find that it was streaked inside with brown. On Friday when this batch of avocados came into the Co-op they were perfect (I know because I cut one open myself and checked), but by today, the one I purchased looked like a mess inside.The avocado tasted fine, it just looked very unappetizing. I remembered seeing a recipe for a smoothie that had avocado in it in the latest issue of Vegetarian Times, so I decided to give that a try. I didn't have some of the ingredients their recipe called for, so I just threw together some things I had on hand. It was luscious!

Avocado Smoothie
makes two servings
1 very ripe avocado
1 banana
juice of one grapefruit
1/2 cup of frozen pineapple chunks

Combine all ingredients and blend. For a thinner smoothie, you could also add the juice of a lime or an orange.

5 Word Thesaurus

Today at work I was talking to a co-worker, and we were lamenting using the same words over and over. The particular word that prompted the discussion was "awesome", as in "You went for a hike yesterday? That's awesome" or "That shirt looks so awesome on you".  I am definitely guilty of overusing "awesome" and a few other words as well ("incredible", "totally", and "hilarious", are ones that come to mind). At one time I had a pretty decent vocabulary, but in recent years I have become overly reliant on a pool of words that doesn't do the world around me justice. My co-worker and I joked that it would be fun to try to identify five words that we use more often than we'd like to and make a 5 word thesaurus to carry around. I'm going to do just this, so please don't judge me if I tell you "What a magnificent blue shirt you have on today" or "I'll bet the dawn hike you went on was breathtaking". Plus, I can dust off my old thesaurus... after all, it is the expanded edition for the 1990s!

Do Walnuts Look Like Brains Because They Are Good For Brains?

I recently read an article about Alzheimer's disease that helped me decide to recommit to eating nuts. In the article from Vegetarian Times, the author examines dietary and environmental factors that contribute to the development of Alzheimer's disease, and makes recommendations for foods that can help protect you from developing Alzheimer's disease and sharpen your memory in general. One of the recommendations the author makes is to add a small quantity of nuts to your daily diet, since nuts contain ample amounts of Vitamin E:
"...Vitamin E is your fire extinguisher. It is a powerful antioxidant—it neutralizes free radicals. You’ll find it in spinach, mangoes, and sweet potatoes, and in much larger amounts in nuts and seeds.

It makes a real difference. In the Chicago study, people who ate these vitamin E–rich foods had less than half the Alzheimer’s risk, compared with people who were missing vitamin E. The amount that made a difference was 8 milligrams per day—which you’ll find in just 11/2 ounces of almonds."

One of my favorite ways to enjoy nuts is in a snack I call The Scone Substitute. I started eating The Scone Substitute as a way to stop myself from eating pastries mid-morning at work (which I totally love, especially scones). Somehow, this combination usually scratches my itch for a bready sweet treat, and it combines three foods that are excellent for me- blueberries, yogurt, and nuts. 

The Scone Substitute

6oz goat yogurt (or other yogurt of your choice)

1/2 cup blueberries

1/4 cup toasted walnuts

Mix together and enjoy!

Toasting nuts really brings out their flavor, and I think it is worth the few extra minutes it takes. Toasted nuts are also a great addition to salads, particularly those with fresh, tender greens and fruit.

How to toast nuts

Skillet method: Heat a dry skillet on the stove. Add nuts and stir frequently until toasted.

Oven method: Heat oven to 300F. Put nuts on cookie sheet and toast in oven, shaking pan occasionally until nuts are toasted.

Tasty Spring Salad

Last night we had dinner on the deck! It was such a warm and beautiful evening, and we made a frittata, roasted potatoes, and a variation on this salad, which was so delicious and fresh tasting.

Radish, Arugula, Fennel, and Tangerine Salad

2 tangerines

2 tablespoons finely chopped radishes plus 6 radishes trimmed, very thinly sliced

1 tablespoon chopped red onion plus 1/2 cup thinly sliced

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons fresh Meyer lemon juice or regular lemon juice

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium fennel bulb,very thinly sliced

4 cups (packed) arugula

1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh mint

Zest enough peel from tangerines to measure 1 Tbs; place in small bowl and reserve for dressing. Peel and section tangerines, cut each segment in half and set aside.

Combine 2 tablespoons finely chopped radishes, 1 tablespoon chopped red onion, lemon juice, and grated tangerine peel in small bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Whisk in extra-virgin olive oil. Season salad dressing to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Combine tangerine slices, radish slices, onion slices, fennel slices, arugula leaves, and chopped fresh mint in large bowl. Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat thoroughly. Transfer salad to large shallow bowl and serve.