Believe it or not, this past Monday marked the end of my second 12-week cooking demonstration series with the Diabetes Prevention Program! Time flies when you’re having fun and keeping busy, which I have been. In fact, since the spring, I have gotten involved with two other community health and nutrition efforts: a farmers market and the new Elm City Market cooperative in downtown New Haven
One of the best parts of being involved with these types of ventures are the people I meet and get to observe. While some individuals like to challenge me, others refuse to try my vegetables, and a few ignore me completely, I have, nonetheless, had some really great conversations over the past few months. One of the most common questions I am asked is, “Why do you do this?”
The first time someone inquired, it gave me pause and I had to think, “why exactly do I do cooking demonstrations?”
The reality is, not only do I eat to live, but I also live to eat.
What came to mind? Exercise? Reading
Well, to put it metaphorically, cooking is my “downward facing dog”. Going a step further, enjoying what I’ve prepared—or better yet, sharing it with others and seeing looks of pure pleasure on their faces as they take the first, second, and so on bites—is my “runners high”.
Despite the undeniable passion I have about cooking and eating, it took many, many years to reach this point where I can honestly express how I feel about food. Indeed, my own parents were really concerned about my weight, how much I liked to eat, and how much I talked about food. (I’ll come back to this more though in a little while.)
The truth is that their concerns were valid and I struggled with weight for many years.
As a child and adolescent, I was always taller and heavier than everyone else (both the girls and the boys). I could never share clothes with my friends. I was embarrassed to change for gym class. I did not think I would ever find a boyfriend. Plain and simple: I felt pretty bad about myself. (I’ll come back to this more in a little while too.)
Contrary to what you might be expecting me to say next, I was extremely active. I ran wild in the woods of North Carolina and New Hampshire
The first thing I realized was that I was not exercising hard enough. Like any college student, I walked all over campus. But the body gets used to certain activities though and it just doesn’t require the same amount of energy output the more often you do them (as an example, if you're a gym rat and are always on the treadmill, switch to the eliptical today and see how long you last).
Essentially, I realized that if I wasn’t seriously sweating and my heart wasn’t pounding, I wasn’t doing enough. While going to the gym is not the thing for everyone—heck, I even have a friend (hi Rach!) who is a marathoner and she won’t step foot in a gym if she is not forced too—there has to be *something* you like to do that constitutes exercise.
Besides the gym (learning how to read on the treadmill is a must if you require a distraction), as I already mentioned, I really liked (and still like) team sports. I like the camaraderie, the fact that it is typically scheduled so it keeps me from making excuses, and playing with other people who love what they are doing pushes me to push myself. I also discovered that yoga, hiking, and going out dancing (as long as you keep the drinking under control) are all great workouts.
After several months of working out more and differently, I felt a lot healthier because my cardiovascular system was improving, but I had only lost about 10 pounds.
Enter, Dr. Nigel Crawford.
Winter quarter (January-March 2006) I took a biochemical nutrition class with Dr. Crawford at UCSD. Forget the molecules and biochemical pathways I memorized. Bottom line? I was eating WAY TOO MUCH!
Here are a few key numbers to remember:
Calories: 1700-2000
Fat: 30g
Protein: 46g
Water: 10-12, 8-ounce glasses
Until I took this class and started paying attention to what I was eating, and even more importantly, how much I was eating, I had NO CLUE that I did not know *a single thing* about portion control.
Over the past 5 years, I have learned a lot more too from reading, developing my passion for delicious and healthy food further, and watching and talking with others. Simple things like putting my fork down between bites, eating slowly and mindfully, plating foods as individual portions instead of serving them from serving bowls, and waiting for a little bit after I finish eating to see if I am really still hungry make a huge difference.
The result is that my life has changed dramatically over the past few years. Currently, I maintain my weight around 168 pounds (Yup! That’s right! A 31-pound loss since college!) and am still working to lose a few more. I have made some amazing friends through team sports. And despite my former worries, I have had several very tall, dark, and gorgeous boyfriends. Essentially, I am happier now than I have ever been.
So this brings me back to the two thoughts I said I would follow up on more earlier.
While my parents never bought soda, potato chips, candy, or the like for me (thanks guys!), the fact that I never learned portion control was almost as bad of an offense as buying any of that junk. Believe it or not, I did not know what it felt like to be hungry until college and I had a 3-hour lecture in the late afternoon a few times a week. For many people, it is mind-boggling that someone could never experience one of the body’s most basic signals, especially considering that people even here in New Haven are underweight from not having enough to eat. For me, my experience is simply a testimony to the fact that too much of a good thing (including tasty and healthy foods) can be bad.
The point I am making here is two-fold. The lessons we learn at home in our formative years are INCREDIBLY important. If a parent does not know that a portion of meat is supposed to be about the size of a deck of cards and he/she always feeds her child a 10-ounce piece instead, then there is a good chance that child will grow up with a misconception about food portions.
In a medical school interview recently, I was asked who I think is responsible for education. It is a great question and is at the heart of my story. I think that parents or guardians, as well as pediatricians, are responsible for a child’s education, especially nutrition education. Then, when children reach school age, the responsibility broadens to include teachers. But at some point (and when exactly that is, I am still undecided), we also become responsible for our own education.
While I do believe that many of the years I struggled with weight can be sourced back to learning the wrong lessons at home, with other family members, and at school, as well as my pediatrician not pushing the issue hard enough with my parents, I also know that every day since I started feeding myself, I MAKE MY OWN DECISIONS on how to live my life. The same goes for you. If you are unhappy and/or unhealthy, who else can make a change in your life besides yourself?
Nevertheless, ATTENTION parents who pick up fast food on the way home, grandmothers who don’t take “no” for an answer, ever, regarding food, and anyone else committing “food offenses”: STOP! You could be ruining the life-long health and self-images of the people you love most.
In all my years—albeit few in comparison to others—I have never met an overweight or obese individual who would not prefer to be thinner and healthier. I am not saying that it is not possible or that people who are overweight cannot be happy or feel good about themselves. For me though, it comes down to being healthy, and whether we like to admit it or not, being overweight shortens lifespan and is associated with a whole slew of diseases from heart disease to diabetes to cancer and so on.
The reality is that I’ve been there; I get what it is to be overweight. I, too, have struggled. But at the end of the day, I have also worked really, really hard to become healthier and take control of MY LIFE. So, I implore you to take a look at yourself and be honest (like I am being with you about my life): Are you healthy? Do you need to lose weight? Do you know how much you eat in one day? Can you fit in even a little time for exercise?
Food can be a sneaky little devil. While it seems to reward us in the moment with its great flavors and satisfying effects, its risk-benefit ratio is a bit obscure I think (compared to, say, taking drugs). While many of you know how sick you can feel after eating to the point of feeling like a stuffed turkey, the long-term risk of over-eating is typically unapparent in the immediate timeframe. That is to say, we do not put on 20 pounds overnight so it is easy to rationalize our eating behaviors instead.
“It’s just a few cookies.”
“I’m ‘really hungry’ so it’s OK to eat half of this pizza.”
"I'm too tired to work out."
And then there are those bad habits that are subconscious.
“I am going to watch a movie so I need to get a snack.”
My point is, if you take the time to become better-educated about food, pay attention to yourself, identify the role food plays in your life and how you consume it, and take responsibility for your actions, there is a very good chance that you will be able to eliminate some bad habits and a few pounds!
So, going back to the original question.
Why do I do what I do?
Because I believe in a healthier world and a healthier YOU, and know that food is a big part of that for better and for worse.
Raw Kale Salad
Time to Prepare: 20 minutes
Time to Cook: 0 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4, 1-cup portions
Cost: $0.75/serving
Lacinato kale (a.k.a. Tuscan kale, and cavolo nero in Italy
1 bunch kale (Tuscan or curly)
1 garlic clove
1 garlic clove
⅓ cup basil leaves
¼ tsp Kosher salt
¼ tsp Kosher salt
¼ cup (or small handful) grated Pecorino or Parmesan cheese
1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 lemon
⅛ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1. Make a paste out of the garlic. Sprinkle a little salt on the garlic and after mincing it, run the blade of the knife pressed hard to the board over it until a paste is formed. Put the garlic in a bowl and allow it to rest for 5 minutes for its flavor to evolve and its full health benefits to emerge.
2. Wash and dry the kale and basil. Trim the stems off the kale up to the bottom of the leaves and discard them. Stack the kale leaves on top of each other and then roll them up into a tight tube. Use a very sharp knife to cut the kale into half-inch ribbons (chiffonade) or thin pieces if using curly kale. Place the kale in a large bowl and allow it to rest for 5 minutes.
3. Cut the lemon in half. Over a fine mesh sieve placed in a bowl (to catch the seeds), use a fork to juice the lemon entirely (about ¼-cup juice).
4. To the garlic, add the cheese, oil, lemon juice, pepper flakes, and salt and black pepper to taste. Stir or whisk to combine.
5. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well. Let the salad sit for at least 5 minutes for the flavors to combine.
6. Tear the basil leaves into small pieces and finish the salad by sprinkling it with the torn basil leaves.
Roasted Delicata Squash with Tarragon and Goat Cheese
Time to Prepare: 10 minutes
Time to Cook: 35 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 4 (1 serving = ½ squash)
Cost: $1.60/person
Not only are winter squashes like Delicata incredibly delicious and easy to prepare, but they are also fantastic sources of Vitamins A and C, Potassium, fiber, manganese, and carotenoids. This combination of nutrients is important for eye health and has antioxidant properties that help the body fight and prevent damage to our cells. Almost exclusively, carotenoid-rich foods like winter squash are low in fats, but the fats they do have, like Omega-3’s, have anti-inflammatory benefits. Delicata is a tender, sweet winter squash with distinctive green stripes against yellow-orange skin. Although it is considered to be a winter squash, Delicata shares much in common with summer squashes like zucchini, particularly in that you can eat the skin. Like other winter squashes though, the seeds make a delicious and healthy snack when lightly roasted.
2 Delicata squash (aka sweet potato squash or peanut squash) (about 4 cups)
¼ Tsp cayenne pepper
½ Tsp freshly ground black pepper
½ Tsp ground cinnamon
¾ Tsp salt
1 Tbsp honey
3 ounces soft goat cheese
2 Tbsp fresh tarragon
1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Water
1. Preheat the oven to 400’F.
2. Cut the squash in half lengthwise. Using a sturdy spoon to scoop out the seeds and remove the stringy parts of the squash. Then cut the squash crosswise into ½-inch wide half-moons. Do NOT peel the squash; the skin is edible!
3. Place the half-moon squash in a large bowl. Add the oil and toss the squash well to coat evenly. Then add the cayenne, cinnamon, black pepper, and salt, and toss well again until the squash are evenly seasoned.
4. Place the squash in a baking dish and add just enough water for an even layer in the bottom of the dish. You don’t want so much water that the squash are floating, but just enough so that the squash will not burn while cooking (about 1/8-1/4 inch of water).
5. Roast the squash for 30-35 minutes until the flesh and skin are tender. Turn over 1-2 times throughout the roasting process, especially if any of them begin to burn or darken faster than the others.
6. While the squash are roasting, wash and dry the tarragon well. Then coarsely chop. When the goat cheese is very cold, use your fingers to break it into small crumbles.
7. Remove the baking dish from the oven. You can serve this dish hot, at room temperature, or chilled. Season with more salt as needed. Finish the dish by sprinkling the fresh tarragon and goat cheese over the squash, and then drizzling evenly with honey.
Think of something that relaxes you, mellows you out, *always* makes you feel better.
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