Stress Eating Done Right

 Tonight is a night for stress eating. Anything and everything is being popped into our mouths as we await the election results here in the States. To be honest the whole year has been one series of stress snacking and drinking. The problem is we're stress eating all wrong.

What most people do in stressful situations , pre-pandemic was head out for something that appealed to our savory or sweet side. Eating unhealthy favorite foods was preferred over grabbing a  slice or a floret of fruit or veggie. Many will say that they left work after a stressful meeting to grab chicken at Popeye's or a chocolate sundae at Dairy Queen.It was a chance to get away while enjoying a treat. It was a bad habit but it didn't happen that often, Now with almost everyone working from home , snacks and junk food abound. we can sneak leftover Halloween candy during a Zoom meeting , balance grades and our kids' schooling while enjoying chips and a soda. We can even escape into the back yard with a bottle of wine just to get a buzz on. It's all fine and well, yet it's not the best direction for us or our bodies. All that sugar and transfat will eventually lead to the "pandemic pounds" - weight gained while in captivity. Can we break it? Yes, if we wean ourselves off the unhealthy stuff and reach for healthy and actually delicious snacks. The key is to having a "clean kitchen" free of any junk food temptations. If there's ever a time to clean your kitchen it's now before the holidays come.

Clean kitchen mean clean food too. You can still stress eat but do it with fruit and veggies.A fun and healthy snack is a bowl of apple slices dipped in cinnamon. Apples are good for losing weight as well as keeping diabetes at bay. They also promote good bacteria in the gut as well as preventing certain cancers.Cinnamon (and nix the sugar here) is loaded with antioxidants along with preventing cancer and heart disease. It's aroma and taste trigger many happy memories for some, so it's the ideal comfort food. Pears are another good snack for stress eating. There are so many different types and the flavors vary depending on the type. Of course veggies are the perfect nosh for stress eating. Try baby carrots to gnaw on tonight. You get that crunch factor , perfecting for relieving that tenseness in the jaw along with getting a good dose of the all important beta-carotene. Broccoli and cauliflower florets are also good for easing anxiety, especially when served with a tasty dip., Again make the dip healthy by adding herbs and spices to Greek yogurt. Nuts like almonds and pecans are good for snacking as those classics - pretzels. Nibble on a few pretzel sticks as you watch the election returns. Serve these with hot chamomile tea which can relax you for a restful sleep.

This is the night for stress eating - and drinking. Try to make it a healthy nibble. The better you eat, the less stress you put on your body.

The Season Of Kindness

 This is All Soul's Day, a day when most Christians memorialize those we have lost - and this year we have lost many. Yet we also need to honor and help the living. It's time we come together to feed and nourish each other during what will be a difficult holiday season.

Again, it's so important to contribute to various food drives and food pantries right now. If you can, please  help those who are solely giving out food parcels.  This could be packaging or helping to hand out. It could also mean helping to shop and gather important foodstuffs such as cans of beans and veggies as well as containers of milk and orange juice. Another way of helping is financially contributing. If you don't have the money , then consider a pot in which family, friends and neighbors can put as low as ten dollars. You can easily raise $200 to $300. Also pay your local restaurants to supply dinners for those in need. If you live in or near Red Bank and  Toms River,  New Jersey there is Jon Bon Jovi's JBJ Soul Kitchen where you can volunteer to serve delicious food to those who need it. Donate enough to pay for a dinner out for a family or couple who needs a day or night out. Other restaurants are doing this too in your area. Find out where they are and contribute financially.

Many are also going to be alone this  holiday season, whether for Thanksgiving or Christmas. You may not be able to include them physically yet there are ways to share. One is sending over a portion of your dinner and then Zoom eating with them. It's a way of being inclusive without being in the same room or house. another is making an entire dinner for them. Include their favorite dishes too, whether it's cornbread stuffing or pumpkin pie. Christmas is the same idea too. share part of your ham or turkey dinner with them. Include their favorite or family dishes in your meal plan as well. If they want to contribute, let them. It's always fun to try new dishes and flavors. Again you can share all this on Zoom. The same applies to Christmas Eve, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  For Christmas Eve, remember to include a plate full of homemade cookies. Ask what the person's favorite cookies are and make them. Toss in some  candy canes and chocolate kisses too in the platter for more fun and flavor. For New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, bring over a bottle of champagne to make the day festive. Again remember to include the person on Zoom.

Make this the season of kindness. Cook and bake extra for those who need it. Contribute financially to food pantries and restaurants who help those in need. We're all in this together. Let's unite over a good meal , good drinks and good talk.

Roar With Roar Organic Electrolyte Infusions

 This is the time of year when our systems need boosts. This year is especially important because of the Corona virus. Roar Organic Electrolyte Infusions is just the boost we need.

Roar has both the powdered sticks and bottled infusions. I like the already made bottled ones which are perfect with lunch or dinner. They're also great when you've got mid afternoon cravings  for something sweet and refreshing too. Another plus is that they're  seventy per cent less sugar than most juices and forty per cent less than power drinks. 

The infusions comes in four tasty flavors, all with a summery vibe. There is  cucumber and watermelon along with mango clementine.

The other two flavors are blueberry acai and Georgia peach, the last is quickly becoming my favorite, although they're all delicious. I'm thinking of turning them into Slushies too when the warm weather comes. Roar Organic Electrolyte Infusions can be found at any Wal-mart or Costco.

Our bodies need food and drink that will give us our needed boost during these difficult health challenged times. Roar Organic Electrolyte Infusions is just that. Try these refreshing drinks to replenish your body and quench your thirst.

A New Way To Eat Healthy

 Our diets and eating habits are going to be wrecked thanks to the ongoing Corona virus and upcoming holidays. Yet there's a new help/recipe book that can not only help us to eat healthier but diagnose the root of our eating habits and problems. It's an eye opening must have book that everyone should have in their home libraries.

Whole Person Integrative Eating : A Breakthrough Dietary Lifestyle To Treat Root Causes of Overeating,Overweight and Obesity (white River Press) was written by Deborah Kesten and Dr. Larry Scherwitz. The first half of the book is full of tests which everyone should take and the explanations behind the scoring. It's an eye opening study of how and why we eat.Part One of the book is where the tests are and interpreting their meanings. Readers can discover the cause of their eating problems along with prepping for any eating and lifestyle changes. Part Two deals with the seven principles of  whole person integrative eating. Some of the ideas deal with eating out with friends versus solo or dining alone and choosing fast food or fresh made.There's also good ambiance versus bad ambiance dining as well as eating without savoring the components of the food such as aroma, flavor and look. Our love of chocolate and what kind is best for us is also discussed and examined. There's also microbiome discussed too along with the age old advice of cutting down on sugar, caffeine and alcohol. 

Fast food and its' components are also demystified.Both Ms Kesten and Dr. Scherwitz write about how transfat and hydrogenated oils but there are also a host of chemicals that you 'd find in your cleaning products. That was an eye opener. It's best to eliminate any fast food from the daily diet and concentrate on what the book suggests. It's a good variety that even includes  such  fermented foods as kim chi and sauerkraut. They also recommend ancient legumes such as anasazi and adzuki beans as well as the more popular, kidney and pinto beans along with red and black. Yes, there are recipes but they're grouped into ethnic cuisines. Readers can try Thai dishes one week where they can make and eat Gai Pad Med Mamauang Thai chicken with cashew nuts and Pad Pak Bung Fae Daeng stir fried morning glory or water spinach. The next week could be soul or African American food with modified macaroni and cheese along with unfried chicken , a flavorful take on the classic dish.  Reformed eaters can also try Native American and Tex-mexdishes too such as corn tortillas and three sister salad that has beans in it.Italian cuisine lovers will love their take on Italian food with the fun but nutritious breakfast pizza.along with veggie lasagna. There is also Mediterranean which features labneh and Indian akki roti, a mix of spices and veggies. There are desserts but they're very healthy being made with fresh fruits along with nuts and ancient grains like Grandma Marian's cookies and lychees and bananas

Whole Person Integrative Eating ;A Dietary Lifestyle To Treat the Root Causes of Overeating,Overweight and Obesity is the must have book we all should read now. It can not only give us healthier bodies but healthier lifestyles. It's something we need, especially during the upcoming months where eating right can be difficult.

Coming Home To Indonesia

 Indonesian food is a vast array of flavor, color and texture. Not many know this, associating the archipelago with turquoise waters and white sugar sand beaches. However, there's a new cookbook coming out that  will change people's view of the country. Lara Lee is the author and her new book is a kitchen must have.

Kayla Stewart ,a freelance food writer interviewed Ms Lee about her new book Coconut And Sambal: Recipes From My Indonesian Kitchen (Bloomsbury Publishing), Ms Lee is originally from Australia with an Indonesian father and an Australian  mother. It was when her paternal grandmother, Margaret Thali moved from West Timor to their home. Suddenly there were dishes like roasted Balinese chicken, gado gado,a kind of hot salad with peanut sauce dressing and rendang,a spicy and colorful beef dish. Ms. Lee missed these dishes when she moved to London where there were only two (!) Indonesian restaurants in the entire capital. She had to cook her favorites and then discovered she loved to cook these classic Oceania dishes. The idea for a cookbook was born after she visited family there in 2016. She unearthed her grandmother's handwritten recipe book, an oddity because Indonesian family recipes are orally passed from one generation to the next. Back in London, she reached out to Sri Owen, the prolific food writer, cooking teacher and guardian of Indonesian cuisine. She worked with Ms Lee to help deepen her understanding of the cuisine.

There are recipes included and the ingredients are pretty common. Home chefs can try rendang daging, or beef rendang. This is cubed and defatted beef cooked with a spicy paste of chiles, shallots and garlic along with a host of such spices as cumin , coriander and ginger.Coconut milk, lemongrass and bay leaves are also added along with makrut limes leaves (which can be bought at an Asian grocery). There is also chicken nasi goreng, a chicken and  sunny side up eggs dish, spiced up with shallots, ginger and turmeric. Kecap manis a , kind of ketchup, and soy  sauce are added too. Kecap manis can be bought or made ,It's soy sauce cooked with light or dark brown sugar until a syrup forms and can be stored up to two weeks in the fridge.The chicken and eggs are served with crisp crackers and basmati or jasmine fried rice. Rib lovers will love iga babi bali, Balinese sticky glazed pork ribs. The marinade is a fiery blend of cayenne chilis, garlic shallots and kecap manis. After being marinated , the ribs are then slow roasted in a 350 degree oven for two(!) hours. This would be great served with fried basmati or jasmine rice.

Indonesia is beautiful beaches and the ultimate vacation getaway. It is also islands full of rich culinary history. Coconut and Sambal: Recipes from My Indonesian Cookbook will show that along with delicious recipes full of fire and flavor.

A Resourceful Cuisine From Puerto Rico

 The island of Puerto Rico has been through some rough times lately.. Hurricane Maria devastated this beautiful island three years ago and now the Corona virus is doing the same thing and then some. Luckily the Puerto Ricans  are resourceful and know how to create dishes from very little. Their recipes are nourishment for the body and for the soul.

Von Diaz, author of many cookbooks reflecting her heritage, wrote this informative piece for today's New York Times Food section. 

There are also classic island recipes too, home chefs can try.  This beautiful island has been dealing with hurricanes since recorded time, the earliest one being Hurricane San Roque in 1508. Islanders have been resourceful, relying on foraging and each other for food and ingredients when electricity and water have become scarce.A pandemic is different. People can't come together. They can't share. There is food insecurity and limited supplies. Yet they rally. The Puerto Ricans can take the ingredients given to them and turn them into filling and delicious dinners. This is true in the case of plantains which came from Africa to the Caribbean to feed enslaved workers.They're blended with Spanish based ingredients such as garlic, olive oil and pork cracklings to give the famed and flavor packed dish mofongo. Arroz con pollo is another dish which is a marriage of indigenous herbs and a European basic  - chicken. Then there is Spam which came to the island in 1947 with Operation Bootstrap. It may have wrecked Puerto Rico's agriculture but it became a beloved ingredient in many dishes.Crispy fried Spam figures in many dishes from Spam and eggs to Spam guisado with tomatoes, olives and potatoes.

The recipes included are Spam macaroni and cheese and the classic arroz con pollo. The first is a nice departure from the usual mac and cheese. A whole can of Spam is used, as it's first fried for ten minutes until crispy.It will have a smoky ham flavor, sort of like bacon. Ms. Diaz recommends tasting it along away to decide what is the desired crispness. The rest of the recipe is not that far from the classic baked mac and cheese. The cheeses used are the spicy Monterey Jack and a sharp yellow cheddar. Milk and flower along with seasonings are added too. For a more involved recipe, definitely try the arroz con pollo. There is the adobo marinade which is a mix of garlic, olive oil and white vinegar mixed with oregano and black pepper.Then to give the chicken and rice more flavor there's sofrito, a mix of red bell peppers, aji or amarillo pepper, garlic,onion and the two herbs cousins, culantro and cilantro. Culantro can be bought at either Latin or Asian markets. Use boneless , skinless chicken thighs that have the adobo poured over them Let them marinate for at least thirty minutes and then cook them in a Dutch oven. Sofrito, tomato sauce and chicken broth are added. The chicken meat is pulled as the rice is added. It's fluffed together with green olives  to create a flavorful , filling meal, perfect for the cold days ahead. You can serve with salted avocado and tomato slices along with a squirt of lime juice.

The Puerto Ricans have been resourceful for a very long time. They can take the most basic of ingredients and turn them into the most flavorful dishes. It's a reflection of their resilient spirits and souls.

Chicken And Waffles Vegan Style!!!

 One of the most popular dishes right now is chicken and waffles. This Amish Sunday dinner and famed Black dish is being made throughout the US.I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and make it. The only problem? It has to be vegan.

The vegan chicken part was easy.It was simply air frying Gardein's chicken tenders in the air fryer.

This was the easy as pie part. It was just air frying the tenders at first 400 degrees F for eight minutes, then  turning. They were finished at 360 degrees F for five minutes.

The next part was hard.

I used Bisquik's gluten free mix which gives the finished product s dense texture. 

To make the waffles vegan it was adding two cups of almond milk which produced a creamier batter (the recipe called for a cup and a half but that was a mistake. The batter looked like wallpaper paste). The recipe called for three tablespoons of vegetable oil along with one egg. I used Vegg's Uncaged egg baking mix for the egg substitute. One teaspoon of the mix is mixed with half a teaspoon of granulated sugar and a quarter of a cup of milk. This is thoroughly mixed before added to the batter.

I chilled it for half an hour, simply because I needed time to prep the waffle iron and air fryer.

I used my batter distributor to evenly pour the batter onto the iron after spraying the plates with cooking spray (I used Stop and Shop's butter flavored one).

This is the batter precooked.It looks like gooey toast.

This was the first batch which was sorely disappointing. 

They were half cooked and stuck to the plates.

I didn't cook them long enough. Bisquick recommends cooking the waffles for five minutes.

 Depending on your waffle iron I'd say ten minutes should do it. This was the third batch.

They're not deeply golden but they are perfectly formed. Both were served with maple syrup which is an interesting add on (but not one I particularly like. There has to be another sauce to put on both)

Would I try this again? Maybe. I may  add soy cheese to the waffles to make them more savory and nix the maple syrup.Maybe a barbecue sauce????)

Chicken and waffles are the latest thing right now. I will try them again, - maybe less sweet and more sandwich like for the chicken. The best part is that it was all vegan,