YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: HOT GREEN TOMATO PICKLES

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If you saw the photo of my haul of green tomatoes and the rest of “the best harvest of my life” last week, then you know what I’ve been doing.  I made my way through a whole bunch of recipes I’d never made before, including green tomato chutney, hot sauce, sauerkraut, pickled watermelon rind, and the aforementioned hot (as in hot pepper) green tomato pickles.  The house smells a little vinegar-y, but the pickles came out great!  They’re nothing like my Grandma Rosie’s green tomatoes, which were deliciously sour, garlicky, and completely different.  I’ve also given away a few jars, which has been an extra bonus.  



I did not actually put up the tomato pickles for long-term storage.  I just filled up glass jars and stuck them in the refrigerator.  Learning proper methods for canning is on the list of things I intend to get to in the next year or two.  I’m not really concerned about their shelf life in the refrigerator.  First, there’s so much vinegar in them that nothing could live.  Secondly, they’ll be gone long before there could even be a problem.  They go with everything, and were particularly good with scrambled eggs and applesauce for lunch the other day.  



Here’s the recipe:

8 cups quartered green tomatoes

2 cups chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped hot peppers

1 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons salt

2 cups white vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seed



Place all the ingredients in a large pot.  Cook on high heat until mixture begins to boil, and remove from heat immediately.  Pour into clean jars and refrigerate.



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Diabetes Is an Epidemic and It Is Getting Worse

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Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I may be overstating the urgency of the diabetes epidemic.  So I gathered together a few statistics for you.

A couple of weeks ago the Associated Press said that, “An estimated 366 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and the global epidemic is getting worse….”  According to the Washington Post, “The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has found that…one person is now dying from the disease every seven seconds.”  At the September meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Portugal, the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) announced that  “The worldwide diabetes epidemic continues to worsen, with…4.6 million deaths each year, and annual health-care spending at $465 billion.”  IDF president Jean Claude Mbanya, MD, said that “the numbers are likely underestimated, since not all countries have good data….”  Dr. Mbanya estimates that the diabetes epidemic will affect nearly 600 million people within 20 years.

Here’s the thing, though: Diabetes is preventable.  That’s the part that I can’t get around.  We don’t have to live with this; we can do something about it.  Here are a few ideas:

1) Go for a walk around your block.  Inviting a friend helps even more than just the walk.

2) Eat a breakfast that is not made from white flour.  I had scrambled eggs, and they were quite tasty.

3) Slice up a pineapple.  I just learned how to do it this week from Wolfgang Puck, and it was a lot easier than I thought.  First, turn the pineapple on its side and slice off the top and bottom.  Then stand it up on its bottom, and slice away the skin in long vertical strips.  It takes approximately 8-10 cuts to get all the way around the pineapple.  Don’t worry about wasting, just get rid of ALL the skin.  Finally, turn the now completely naked pineapple back on its side and slice into 1/2-inch rounds.  Slice these into half-moons or quarters if you’d like, or just pile the large slices on a plate.   Way delicious dessert.

4) Go back outside and sit in the sun for a little while.

5) Garden.  If you don’t have one, make one.  If you can’t have one, get some potting soil and some seeds, and grow some herbs in your kitchen window.

6) Roast some beets.  Scrub, slice into quarters, stir with olive oil and salt, and spread out on cookie sheet.  Cook at 450 until you can push a fork through.

7) Make homemade soup.

8) Start a compost heap in your backyard behind a big tree.  This takes no preparation whatsoever.  Just start putting all the bits of cooking leftovers into a plastic container until it is full, and then take it outside and dump it behind the tree.  Compost your tea bags, egg shells, coffee grounds, pineapple skin, grapefruit peels, moldy humus, rotten grapes, spent lettuce leaves, melon rinds, strawberry tops, and so on.  Remember not to include any dairy products, eggs (except the shell), fish, poultry or meat, because these will attract rodents.  That’s all there is to it.

9) Eat a handful of nuts in the middle of the afternoon.

10) Eat lunch with a couple of people whose company you enjoy.

You don’t have to do all of these every day.  Pick just a couple and see if you can get to them this week.  Apply the underlying themes to other things you’d like to do.  Eat food that you made yourself.  Get some exercise, and get outside.  Preferably both, if the weather allows.  Do things outdoors.  Make as much of your own food as you can manage.  Eat fresh food that has not been processed in any way.  Keep working the program.

Angela’s Recipes

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To celebrate the end of this spectacular growing season, I spent the afternoon pulling tomatoes off the vine, as well as cherry peppers, jalapeño peppers, cayenne peppers, eggplants, cabbages, cauliflowers (gorgeous orange-colored ones), parsley, basil, and sweet peppers. I left the squash and watermelons on the vine for now.  My mom helped a lot.

To use up some of these beautiful vegetables, I’m inspired by a few of Angela’s recipes, given to me just this week by her son.  Angela was my friend’s mom and one of the great things she did (besides cook) was to teach Joby how to find his way around the kitchen, too.

Tomato sauce:
1 onion, medium
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
6-8 medium-large tomatoes (or 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes) 
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
1 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
Blend onion and garlic in blender or food processor, then sauté in olive oil until golden.  Pour in tomatoes and stir.  Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer.  Add salt, sugar, and pepper.  Add crushed fresh basil if desired.

Eggplant:
Peel eggplant and slice into one-half-inch slices.  Salt eggplant slices and allow to sit 15 min.  Rinse in drainer and place in glass baking dish.  Cover with large dish towel and microwave 6 min.  Pour the tomato sauce (recipe above) all over the bottom of a second glass baking dish.  Layer the eggplant, sprinkle with freshly grated romano cheese, then add slices of mozzarella, and more tomato sauce.  
Keep repeating the layers to the top of the pan.  Cover with sauce and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees.

Pasta fagioli soup
Rinse a package of lentils and sift through through a strainer to remove any stones.  Add 8 cups of water or broth, 1 medium-large onion (chopped), 2 finely chopped carrots, and 1 thinly sliced celery stalk.  Bring to a boil, and cook on medium heat for 30 min.  Then add 1/2 box didalini pasta (tube shapes cut into small “slices”) and cook for an additional 30 minutes.  Add 1 tablespoon salt.  Then chop 3 cloves fresh garlic, fry in 2 tablespoons olive oil until light brown and crunchy, and stir garlic into soup.  Serve immediately.

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If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit the post called Let’s Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: TWO SOUPS FOR THE SEASON

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A friend of mine does her own thing by spending Monday mornings at 4 a.m. down at the city’s commercial organic vegetable market.  She elbows her way in between buyers from some of the best restaurants and grocers in town to bring home boxes of the most beautiful produce she can find.  Then she divides it into a dozen or so bags, which she leaves out on the front step for those of us lucky friends who all join in for this weekly bounty.  Did I mention that she’s a very talented cook, besides?
Last week she sent out a recipe for “Butternut Vegetable Soup.”
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 T. olive oil
1 medium butternut squash, cubed
3 sweet potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, sliced
3-4 potatoes, cubed
1 T. fresh basil 
1 T. fresh thyme 
1 quart vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste
Sauté onions and garlic for 10 min.  Add carrots and squash, sauté for 10 min more.  Add all remaining vegetables, vegetable stock, and 4 cups of water.  Add basil and thyme.  Bring to boil and simmer covered 30-45 minutes until vegetables are soft.  Puree soup with an immersion blender if you have one, or a potato masher if you do not.  Add water to thin soup if you like. Salt and pepper to taste.
And then she explained how to make “Simple Cauliflower Soup.”
Break up cauliflower into florets.  Cover cauliflower with water in a saucepan.  Bring to boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 min or until cauliflower is tender.  Puree cauliflower and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.  She says that her children love this simple soup.  
I’ll bet it also tastes great with a 1/4 cup cashews tossed in before the puree step, and I’ll bet I can make it in my new Vitamix!

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Omega-3s and More

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This week I’ve been doing some reading about omega-3‘s, and I thought I’d pass along some of the things I’ve learned.

Omega-3 fatty acids have lots of double bonds, which act as pivot joints.  That’s why they are so important for movement and flexibility.  They are also essential in photosynthesis, wherein green leaves convert sunlight to food.  So you find lots of omega-3s in greens, especially leafy ones.  Omega-3s owe their flexibility to all those double bonds, the last of which is located just 3 carbons from the tail (omega) end of the molecule.  That’s why it’s called an omega-3 fatty acid.  “Omega” means end.


Omega-3 fatty acids are found in all green plants, so eat your vegetables!  Interestingly, the largest mass of greens on Earth is phytoplankton, tiny sea plants that are eaten by little fish, which are then eaten by bigger fish, and so on.  Sea creatures eat tons of phytoplankton; in order to survive in their cold water environments, fish need at least 1% of their calories to come from omega-3s.  Warm-blooded animals need only half that.  This is why fish, fish oil, and algae are such good sources of omega-3s. 


Two important omega-3 fatty acids are DHA and EPA.  EPA is a blood thinner and has anti-inflammatory properties.  DHA is a component of cell membranes, keeping them flexible and functional.  With hundreds of possible configurations, DHA is like a “quick change artist.”  According to Susan Allport (author of The Queen of Fats: Why Omega-3s were Removed from the Western Diet and What We Can Do to Replace Them), “DHA creates membranes with…behavior that is almost liquid-like.”  Cell membranes aren’t inert, like dry wall.  They live and breathe, and they work hard to keep the internal environment of a cell completely separate from the outside environment. 


DHA makes up 25% of brain tissue.  It prevents abnormal heart rhythms, or “arrhythmias.”  It helps the eye to see better by increasing the amount of rhodopsin, a light-responsive protein found in rod cells in the retina.  DHA also appears to improve insulin sensitivity, which would mean that it lowers the risk of developing obesity and diabetes.  

 

Omega-3s have one important limitation:  Double bonds react easily with oxygen, which makes them unstable, chemically speaking.  In fact, fat oxidation is the major cause of food rancidity.  This reactivity makes omega-3s an unreliable way to store fat in nature.  That’s where omega-6s come into play.


Omega-6s, less reactive because they have fewer double bonds, are a much better choice for a different job: storage.  That’s why omega-6s are the main fat in grains and seeds, where long-term storage is all-important.  The stability of omega-6s makes them the preferred form of stored fat in plants.  Plants can convert omega-6s into omega-3s whenever they need some.  They store fat as omega-6s until seeds germinate and initiate photosynthesis.  Then they release an enzyme that converts omega-6s to omega-3s.  

Animals and humans do not have this enzyme, so once an omega-6, always an omega-6.  All the omega-6s we eat end up in our cell membranes as stiff as always.  


The stable chemical configuration of omega-6s increases shelf life considerably, which is why they’re the leading polyunsaturated fat of choice for processed food products, including vegetable oils.  It’s also why it’s not a coincidence that the ratio of omega-6s to omega-3s in our diet has climbed from about 1:1 throughout history to upwards of 75:1 today. 


Omega-6 fatty acids in plants serve as a stable, reliable system for storing fat until the plant needs omega-3s.  Omega-3s are flexible, and omega-6s are stiff.  Omega-3s are reactive, whereas omega-6s are stable.  Omega-6s, with fewer double bonds, are more stable and, therefore, less prone to oxidation and breakdown.  That is why omega-6s are found in highest concentration in grains and seeds.  Dry beans can remain viable for centuries under certain circumstances.  That’s clearly not true of lettuce, under any circumstances.  

 

Stiff membranes are good for seeds and grains, but not for green leaves or for  human brains, blood vessels, eyes, or joints.  High blood pressure, inflammation, insulin resistance, and platelet aggregation are predictable consequences of stiff cell membranes and suboptimal function.

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: JAPANESE EGGPLANT STIRFRY

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Not sure where I found this recipe, but I have at least 10 gorgeous Japanese eggplants hanging out in the garden and begging to be eaten in exactly this way.  This recipe has more ingredients than I usually choose, but I thought it was worth it.  Since almost all the ingredients are in the sauce, just skip it if you don’t have one of them.  It’ll still be delicious, just different.



1 medium-large eggplant or 3-4 Japanese eggplants (small, long, thin, dark)

2 long English cucumbers

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon honey

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons dark sesame oil

2 tablespoons coconut oil (or canola oil if you prefer)

1 tablespoon minced ginger

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 tablespoons minced chives



1. Trim the eggplants. Cut in half lengthwise, slice 1/4 inch slices.

Toss lightly with approx 1 tsp. salt, and place in colander. Allow to rest 15 minutes, and prepare other ingredients. Then squeeze excess water from eggplant slices and dry with cloth or paper towel.

2. Meanwhile, trim cucumber ends, cut in half lengthwise, and slice again into 1/4 inch slices.

3. Combine rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey, salt and sesame oil in a bowl and set aside.

4. Heat wok or skillet over high heat until very hot.  Add oil and tilt the pan to distribute. Add eggplant and stir-fry 3-4 minutes until cooked through. Add ginger and red pepper flakes, stir-fry 30 sec. Add cucumbers and chives, stir-fry 30 sec more. Add soy sauce mix, and stir-fry 60 sec until cucumber begins to soften.  Serves 2-4.

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Eating Nuts at the University of Toronto

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I am very pleased to report that a recently published study at the University of Toronto confirmed what we’ve been saying all along: nuts (2 ounces in this case) improved blood sugars better than whole grain snacks, and did not increase weight either.

The study, conducted by Dr. David Jenkins at St. Michael’s Hospital, U. of T.’s teaching hospital, evaluated the effect of two food items in Type 2 diabetics.  The first group ate muffins, which were made with “whole wheat flour, applesauce, and vegetable oil.”  Not sure what kind — all vegetable oils are not created equal, as you probably know.  The second group ate a mix of raw almonds, pistachios, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, peanuts (technically a bean, not a nut), cashews, and macadamias. The third group ate a mix of both.

The patients who ate only nuts showed the most improvement in blood sugars, and lowered their low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and kept their weights steady.  Patients who ate [muffins] or [muffins + nuts] showed no significant improvement in blood sugars, although those who ate [muffins + nuts] did lower their LDL.  So nuts had a favorable effect on LDL cholesterol, whether or not they were eaten with muffins.

Dr. Jenkins concluded that “…nuts appear to be well suited as part of weight-reducing diets.  Mixed, unsalted, raw, or dry-roasted nuts have benefits for both blood glucose control and blood lipids and may be used as part of a strategy to improve diabetes control without weight gain.”

I have one observation to add:  If eating nuts improves your blood sugar control and cholesterol without increasing your weight, why wait until you’re diabetic to eat them?  

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Driving While Diabetic

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Every week, an on-line newsletter for diabetics appears in my inbox.  This newsletter tends toward the practical, the up-to-date, the amusing.  It’s well done.  I subscribe because I like to know what general information diabetic patients find helpful.  Last week I found a comprehensive list of tips for managing blood sugar while traveling. Two things occurred to me.  The first thing was that many  of the items on this list would be useful not just for those with diabetes, but for all travelers.  Tips #1 (minus the testing supplies), 5, 6, and 8 fall into this category.








The second thing I thought about was that diabetes sure makes traveling more complicated.  It doesn’t make it impossible, and it certainly doesn’t make it inadvisable.  It’s fine to drive if you’re diabetic.  As long as your blood sugars remain the normal range.  

What’s the difference between being diabetic and not being diabetic?  One thing and one thing alone.  People who are not diabetic are able to keep their blood sugars in the normal range without having to think about it.  Their bodies do it automatically.  People who are diabetic, on the other hand, have to involve their brains in the process.  They can’t keep their sugars normal anymore without thinking about it, walking the walk, and measuring and monitoring throughout the day.  That’s what it takes to keep your blood sugars in the normal range when your body can no longer do it automatically.

As long as you do what needs to be done, however, you can expect to remain healthy, with a very low risk of developing complications.

This list reminded me of the difference between being diabetic and not.  As long as you do everything you need to do to keep your blood sugars normal, you should expect to be able to do anything and everything that non-diabetics do.  Like travel.

But have you taken a look at the list yet?  It’s unbelievably detailed!  They thought of everything, and good for them.  Now here’s the rub.  If you’ve ever left home for more than a day or two, you know how complicated it can be.  You have to arrange for the animals, the newspapers, the mail, the house lights, the lawn (if you’re leaving for a while), the children (if they’re not coming with you), the job, the email account.  You have to notify the neighbors, the police (maybe), the boss, the co-workers, the paperboy, the lawn guy, the babysitter, the house cleaner.  Makes you not want to leave home.  

So why would you knowingly make choices that increase immeasurably the complexity of your arrangements?  My suggestion would be that you add these tips to your mental list of reasons that you don’t want to become diabetic (type 2).  Think of it this way:  God grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.  

Make the choice to change the things you can!  Most cases of type 2 diabetes are preventable.

Here are the tips:
1. Pack more snacks, drinks, and blood sugar testing supplies than you think you will need, so that you are prepared in the event of travel delays.
2. If you take insulin, store it for the road trip in a cooler or insulated container.
3. Be sure to wear your medical bracelet if you have one. 
4. If you are taking a long car trip, test your blood sugar before leaving. If it is 70 mg/dL or below, eat or drink something that will raise it quickly, and wait until your blood sugar is back to normal before getting behind the wheel.
5. Research nearby restaurants and grocery stores in your travel destination so you know your healthy options for meals and snacks.
6. You can also research emergency or urgent-care clinics along your travel route. If you belong to an HMO, ask what doctors and facilities along your travel route are affiliated with your plan.
7. Test yourself at regular intervals.
8. Stop periodically to walk around, stretch your legs and give your body a break from sitting down.
9. Follow your daily dosing routine at the regular times. If you always take a medicine at 10 a.m., do so in the car at the same time.
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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: ANOTHER GAZPACHO, THIS ONE GOLD!

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I saw this recipe on a site for new blenders.  Since I expect that I’ll have a new blender by the end of the week (!), I thought it was a perfect time for this beautiful, late summer, golden gazpacho recipe.  If you can’t find yellow (acid-free) tomatoes, use red ones and the soup will be orange.



5 medium yellow tomatoes, quartered

Corn kernels stripped from 2 cobs

1/2 cucumber, peeled if thick or waxy

1/2 yellow pepper, cored and seeded

1/2 clove garlic

1 scallion, cleaned and sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 tablespoon white vinegar

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper



Blend the tomatoes first.  Then add in the remaining vegetables, one at a time.  Then add the oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Serves 4.



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Creamy Kale (No Dairy)

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You would not believe how much kale is growing in my garden.  I’ve given some away, eaten some steamed, spun some into green smoothies, and still there is more.  So here’s one more way to use it up.  Many thanks to Whole Life Nutrition Kitchen for this great recipe.  They recommend serving it with quinoa, raw vegetables, and chicken or black-eyed peas for dinner.  They also warn that 10-12 cups of chopped kale may seem like a lot, but it shrinks a lot when you cook it.

Ingredients:
10-12 cups finely chopped kale

2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (approx. 1 heaping cup)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup raw cashews
2 cups water
1/2 small jalapeno pepper, seeded
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 to 2 teaspoons Herbamare (an herb/seasoned salt mix–I used 1 t. salt + a mix of fresh basil and oregano)

#1  Chop the kale and set aside.
#2  Heat a large skillet over medium heat, add olive oil, then onions and garlic. Saute 5 min or until soft and turning brown at the edges.  Add to a blender with cashews, water, jalapeno pepper, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, and Herbamare. Blend until smooth and creamy. 

#3  Return sauce and chopped kale to the skillet and simmer 10-15 min until kale is soft and sauce is thick. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

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