This weekend I was introduced to two great recipes, both of which owe their greatness to garlic.  The first is “pure de verduras,” or pureed vegetable soup.

My friend Stacy, who had the good fortune to live (almost 30 years ago) with a family in Spain for one year of high school, came home with enough recipes and inspiration to last a lifetime.  Yesterday she told me how her host mother would make pure de verduras with whatever vegetables were left at the end of the week and how, for this reason, it was never exactly the same twice.  Stacy sighed when she reminisced about the times that the recipe included red or golden beets.

Here’s what her host mother did:  She chopped up the combination of (washed, peeled) vegetables coarsely, and put them into a pan with a bit of hot olive oil.  After a few minutes of frying, she would add just enough water to barely reach the surface of the vegetables.  She covered the pan, and let the vegetables cook for maybe 10 minutes until they were just cooked through.  The cooking time differed depending on the types of vegetables.  Then she would put the contents of the pan into a blender and blend until the vegetables were pureed.

In the meantime, she would heat a bit more oil in the frying pan, and then add slices of fresh garlic.  These would cook for just a minute or so, so that they still retained their bite, but mellowed somewhat. To serve, she poured individual bowls and then spooned some garlic and oil onto the surface of each bowl of soup.  All these years later, memories of the taste of this simple dish brought such joy to my friend’s face.

Not two hours later, I was sitting in the kitchen of another friend’s home.  She brought out bowls of fresh vegetables, crackers, and a delicious red dip made of dried tomatoes.  This is great, I said, how do you make it?  Oh, it’s easy.  And she meant it.  

A couple of cups of dried tomatoes and 1 clove of garlic.  Put them into a food process or blender and pulse just a few times until it’s chunky.  Be careful though, she said.  If you turn on the machine and walk away, you’ll end up with tomato paste.   

I shared last week that cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling that comes from believing two conflicting ideas at the same time.  How does this apply to what we eat, and to its effect on our health, both as individuals and as a nation?

This week and next, I’m discussing the concept of “cognitive dissonance.”  Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable feeling that comes from believing two conflicting ideas at the same time.  Whenever a reasonable person engages in risky behavior, whether slight (a second slice of cake) or serious (texting while driving) he or she experiences some cognitive dissonance.  Humor is a common way to decrease the tension caused by cognitive dissonance, so beware if you find yourself chuckling when you tell your friends what you did last night.

What are other examples of cognitive dissonance?  Smoking is one.  Smokers reconcile their desire for a cigarette with their desire to live long, healthy lives. This conflict makes them feel uncomfortable.  The knowledge that “I am increasing my risk of lung cancer” does not support the belief that “I am a smart and reasonable person who makes good decisions.”  So how do smokers decrease their cognitive dissonance?  I have seen any number of strategies.

A smoker might rationalize that lung cancer, heart disease, and emphysema develop only in people who smoke more than they do.  They might trick themselves into believing that smoking actually protects them from illness.  Or they might decide, once and for all, to quit.  All these strategies reduce cognitive dissonance, but the last obviously works best.  

Aesop’s fable, The Fox and the Grapes, provides another example of cognitive dissonance.  A fox sees some delicious-looking grapes hanging high on a branch but cannot reach them.  The fox wants something that he cannot have, and he soon decides that the grapes are probably sour and not worth the effort.  In this way, he convinces himself that 1) there is something wrong with the grapes, and 2) there is something wrong with anyone else who might want them.  

Therapists sometimes use cognitive dissonance to help clients see how their own behaviors are causing them discomfort or harm.  It’s not always easy to see that on your own, but it’s often impossible to ignore once someone helps you see it for yourself.  When you understand your actual choices, it’s easier to make them in a way that supports your goals.  

Cognitive dissonance can cause a person to feel surprised, guilty, angry, or embarrassed. People experiencing this discomfort usually try to reduce it by changing their beliefs or adding new ones to reduce the conflict between the two conflicting ideas.  

Next week I will discuss how we have come to accept a large amount of cognitive dissonance in what we eat and how it makes us feel.  Americans live with so much food-related cognitive dissonance that it has become an invisible part of the background.  But that doesn’t mean it’s normal, or healthy.  Far from it.

Early this past week, a woman to whom I had just been introduced told me that she doesn’t do well with soy-based food.  It upsets her stomach, she said.  What kinds of items do you mean?, I asked.  Well, anything made of soy, she thought out loud, like soy chili, soy bacon, “texturized vegetable protein” made from soy, soy milk, and so on.  What about edamame?, I asked.  Or tofu?  Those are fine, she said.  I can eat those without any problem.  I don’t think you have a problem with soy, I replied.  I think you have a problem with food processing.  Processed soy.  It’s not the same as food.  

Michael Pollan says that it’s not food if your (or somebody’s) great-great-grandparents didn’t eat it.  So those processed soy products that are upsetting her stomach aren’t food.  

Think about the expression, “Trust your gut.”  If something seems not to agree with you, trust your gut, and don’t eat it.  Unless you want to feel sick.  End of story.  

On the home front, my parents came to visit this weekend, and they brought with them, from their NJ farm, half a dozen golden-laced Wyandotte chicks.  Those chicks are CUTE!  Right now they are cuddling up together for a little snooze.  We are looking forward to the increased egg production that these beautiful girls will help to provide.

Mom and I did some weeding in the garden today, and the big hens helped out by scratching around the weeds, scooping up bugs and worms, and just generally being good company.   Today is such a beautiful day.

I received this letter from a reader couple of weeks ago:

“With the weather warming I am digging out summer clothes and finding that some things are a bit “snug.” My diet is healthy and I run several times a week, but I would love to shed a few pounds around my waist. If my diet is already good, what would you suggest to take a few pounds off?”  –RRM

Let’s look at this from a seasonal point of view.  Winter, unlike the warm-weather growing season, is not a time of caloric abundance.  Centuries and millennia ago, food was markedly more scarce in the winter.  Nature made up for this annual caloric shortfall with the final ripening, at the end of the growing season, of carbohydrate-rich produce such as squash, pumpkins, beans, and potatoes.  Notice that as the growing season draws to a close each fall we enjoy acorn squash, pumpkin pie, zucchini bread, and stews made sweet with root vegetables.  All of these are foods designed by nature to provide one more chance to increase the likelihood of our surviving through the winter.  These kinds of crops served as an insurance policy of sorts to fend off starvation over the winter.  

Then, when spring finally arrived, we began to restore our nutritional reserves with the first crops to appear: small greens shoots — like asparagus, and then leaves.  Low in calories but rich in nutrients.

Fast forward to the 21st century.  We enjoy eating in abundance straight through the winter, and arrive at spring with our winter insulation intact.  The solution?  This is the best time of year to eat in season.  Spring is a great time of the year to eat seasonal, local produce.  Greens, parsley, asparagus and rhubarb are coming up.  There’s thyme, and rosemary and sage, too, to sprinkle on salads.  Eat plenty of greens all year round, but especially in spring.  Don’t forget about green smoothies.

A couple more ideas:  If you’re looking to improve the way your pants fit, it’s best to get some form of exercise every day.  It doesn’t have to be running; you can walk some days, or do yoga, or just stretch.  And, finally, do a careful evaluation of your diet for hidden sources of processed sugar.  Do your very best to limit added sweeteners.  If you can’t find any, then take the next step and switch out your diet soda for club soda or unsweetened iced tea.  Let me know how that works.