This weekend while canning I came across this podcast about plants you should grow if you want to live off your land. It comes from "The Survival Podcast by Jack Spirko. I plan to listen to it a few times a year and think about which forest plants I want to move into our yard to make it easier to collect nutrition from the land we live on.
Check it out - 15 underrated plants for the homestead.
http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-miso-soup
My first Miso Soup lesson (circa 2002):
After 9 hours in the air, and still recovering from walking pneumonia, all I wanted upon arrival in Japan was miso soup. Luckily, we were invited to a Japanese household for dinner. We ate at a special low table with a quilt for warmth called a kotatsu, something that would fit very well at our holler home during the winter.
This was the menu:
Japanese people can be excellent hosts. I was polite, but a little disappointed.
As things were winding down for the night and we were sharing cultural stories, my host asked if there was any traditional Japanese foods I would be interested in trying. Not wanting to impose, I simply asked questions about how different dishes were made and what Japanese people traditionally eat. When miso soup came up, my host got very animated.
My host explained that miso is the solid by product that is produced when soy is fermented for soy sauce production. His family made their own miso and he jumped up to show me what it looked like. His wife then showed me how to make it and we all had a round of miso.
Instead of making it like most of the on line resources say you should, they made it as follows:
Place water and seaweed on the stove and bring to a near boil. Whisk in the miso, add tofu cubes. Add a dash of fish sauce. Pour into bowls and garnish with green onions.
Most on line sources recommend that you use dashi instead of water, as shown in the video below. I suspect that the above method was used because there was no convenient way to produce dashi on a whim.
Health benefits:
Recently, I have eaten more miso soup (sans tofu) because it is only 40 calories per serving and thus makes an excellent snack for a woman with a cooking blog who wishes to maintain a certain BMI. It was nice to not that miso soup is not only a yummy low calorie snack, it also has health benefits.
Today, I was so sick that I almost lost my cookies after dinner. After doing a little poking around online, I decided that Atkins, while it has caused me to lose weight this week, is not the right choice for me. On Thursday, I was so weak, I couldn't make it through my Pilates class, and swimming 2,000 yards would have been impossible. My conclusion? An active person really needs carbs to function.
The whole time I was on the diet, I did not crave sugary foods, but rather fruits and grains. Mark, having lost 10 pounds in a week, agrees that we need to slow down the weight loss and go about things in a more balanced way. WebMD.com has been a good source of information, as has simply googlesearching "How to safely stop Atkins." We decided, since most of the initial weight loss on Atkins in only water weight, to be careful about how much fat we consume.
We are transitioning int he following ways:
1) High fiber, whole grain foods. No white foods.
2) Lots of veggies
3) Low fat consumption
4) Seeking protien somewhere besides meat - but not cutting out all meats
www.sparkpeople.com has turned out to be a great resource for this strategy. They set up an individualized plan for you, tell you what you can consume, then give you all sorts of online tools to track what you are doing and compare if it is what you should be doing. They are much better than WeightWatchers because they are FREE!
Hats off to those of you out there who are able to stick to this diet.
Recipe of the Day: Low Carb Glazed Ahi
Lightly salt and pepper both sides of the ahi, rub the rosemary and peppers over the outside of the meat. Drizzly the brandy on the steak. Grill until it is as cooked as you like it.
Day 5 Summary
Consumed: two cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons cream, 2 bites of steak (2oz), 2 hard boiled eggs, 4 cups lettuce, 1 cup broccoli, 3 slices summer sausage, 3 pieces cucumber, 3oz grilled chicken breast, 1 tablespoon blue cheese dressing, 48 ounces fizzy water, one cup jasmine tea.
Calorie Count: This is approximate - 650.
How I Feel: Nauseous. Headachy. Lethargic. Weak. Like my stomach lining was eating itself.
How Mark Feels: Worse than I do.
Weight at 8pm: 159.0 pounds.
Work Out: Are you kidding me?
Mark was reading about Atkins and it was described as the "Starvation Diet." This is how it feels. You feel like you are starving but you are not hungry. Everyone I have spoken with about the diet has said the same thing. The first four days or so, you have a low grade headache and feel weak, but then you get over the hump and feel great as you lose weight.
Well, we made it to day four and have started discussing if we will quit the diet early and just try counting calories. We fantasize about pizza, donuts (I don;t even like donuts), and crackers. Last night, Mark pointed out that the net effect of this diet has been that he and I want different foods. I was craving chicken celery soup and he wanted chicken breast salad.
Luckily, we managed to compromise on grilled Ahi and this new veggie puree I dreamed up. Now, this is not a strictly Atkins initiation phase compliant recipe, but it is about 6 carbs per serving and a welcome break from boiled eggs, celery sticks and meat.
Recipe of the Day: Veggie Puree
1.5 cups chopped broccoli
1 dries red pepper from the Ristra
.5 cups chopped brussel sprouts
.5 cups grated cheese
salt to taste
1/4 stick of butter, unsalted
Boil the heck outta the veggies and drain them. Put them in your food processor, add the butter and cheese and puree. Salt to taste.
This dish made us so happy after eating all that meat in the last few days that we bucked up and watched some Soprano's on the 'puter.
Day 4 Summary
Consumed: two cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons cream, 1 bite of steak (1oz), 1 celery stock, 1 pork chop, 1 hard boiled egg, 8 tablespoons of sauerkraut, a shot of brandy (on the outside of the Ahi, 1 cup veggie Puree, Ahi steak grilled (about 6 ounces), 4 cups lettuce, 72 ounces fizzy water.
Calorie Count: This is approximate - 950.
How I Feel: Nauseous. Headachy. Lethargic. Weak. More energy after dinner.
How Mark Feels: Like I do.
Weight at 8pm: 162.0 pounds.
Work Out: 1 hour of Pilates - I could not hold certain positions at the end and got really sore muscles afterward.
Ok, so dieting isn't fun, but I a thinking of all those new clothes I get to buy when this is over. Mark and I have begin to plan our Superbowl Sunday celebration. Vegetarian lasagna is currently at the top if the list, though a nice chicken ravioli might replace that.
Recipe of the day, German influenced: Pork chops and sauerkraut
Combine ingredients and simmer for a very long time. These chops are really good with spicy mustard.
Day 3 Summary
Consumed: two cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons cream, 1 steak (6oz), 2 celery stocks, 1 pork chop, half a package of bacon, 3 hard boiled eggs, 8 tablespoons of sauerkraut, a shot of brandy, 72 ounces fizzy water.
Calorie Count: This is approximate - 1200.
How I Feel: Nauseous. Headachy. Cold. Lethargic.
How Mark Feels: Like I do.
Weight at 8pm: 164.0 pounds.
Work Out: 15 minutes of tossing the football around.
Such an odd think to be able to eat piles of meat and have absolutely no desire to do so. The morning started with no feeling of hunger and a slight nauseous sensation. This feeling is akin to being on the birth control pill: I am slightly dizzy and there is this lump in the back of my throat that makes me not want to eat. Half way through my noon work out, I was finding no strength in my legs.
Welcome to day two.
Our recipe for the day is pretty simple: Chicken Salad
Rub the chicken breast with the spice mix (light salt, pepper, hot peppers), drizzle a little olive oil on there and grill these babies. Serve the chicken breast on the bed of lettuce.
We invested $50 in a wonderful gas grill that was barely used last summer. This grill is now the best Atkins tool for cooking in the world. On Day 1, I tried to broil my breakfast steak and ended up setting off the fire alarm. As smoke billowed out the open front door, Mark recommended that we just grill a bunch of steaks at once while the weather is nice and keep them in the fridge to reheat.
Day 2 Summary
Consumed: two cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons cream, 1 steak (6oz), 1 celery stock, 12 shrimp drizzled with Cholula, 1/2 cup steamed broccoli, 1 chicken breast, lettuce, ceasar dressing, lots of fizzy water.
Calorie Count: This is approximate - 600. Starting to see why this diet works.
How I Feel: Overfull. Nauseous.
How Mark Feels: Like he has been fasting for 24 hours, but without hunger pangs.
Weight at 8pm: 164.4 pounds.
Work Out: 1 hour of Pilates.
So, after all the food of the holidays and in spite of our snow shoeing activities, I find myself with a BMI of 25.5. This is officially over the line. I can be defined as "Overweight." For the last two weeks, Mark and I have discussed possible diets for me to try. Our roommate even piped in. At the end of the day, I have decided to test this Atkins thing for two weeks and measure the results. Interested in comparing? Click on the Weightloss Experiment Nicole Sauce category to view related posts.
According to Wiki:
The Induction phase is the first, and most restrictive, phase of the Atkins Nutritional Approach. It is intended to cause the body to quickly enter a state of ketosis. Carbohydrate intake is limited to 20 net grams per day. The allowed foods include a liberal amount of most meats, up to 4 ounces of aged, hard or soft cheeses, three tablespoons of heavy cream, two cups of salad vegetables, one cup of other low glycemic low carb vegetables. Caffeine and alcoholic beverages are not allowed.
This rather conflicts with other instructions we found online, so we came up with the following compromise:
1) 20 grams of carbs per day for 2 weeks
2) Coffee and vodka are OK in moderation
3) We will try to eat as many veggies as we can fit into the 20 gram scenario
4) After 2 weeks, we get a day of fun (Superbowl Sunday), where we track nothing. After that, I am on a 1600 calorie per day diet, balanced Sparky style.
5) Ongoing maintenance will include one "fun" day per week where I can eat and drink anything.
There are many tools available to plan the first two weeks of Atkins, but I just decided to download a nutrition chart and go for gold...
Each day, I will update my progress and outline what I consumed.
Day One
Consumed: two cups of coffee, 2 tablespoons cream, one bacon-wrapped fliet (6 oz), 1 celery stock, 3/4 cup meat based stuffing, 1 cup cabbage, 1/2 small summer squash, 1 tablespoon blue cheese dressing, 1 shot vodka, a bite of grilled steak, 1/4 cup shredded Mozzarella, lots of fizzy water.
Calorie Count: This is approximate - 1500.
How I Feel: Overfull. Not happy, not sad.
How Mark Feels: Sick to his stomach.
Weight at 8pm: 166.2 pounds.
Work Out: None.
Recipe of the day: Stuffed Cabbage
1) Squish together spices, meat, diced summer squash and blue cheese dressing
2) Cut the cabbage into quarter pieces and pull out the center so you have a 1/2 inch thick shell
3) Stuff the meat mixture inside the cabbage
4) Place a pat of butter on top of each quarter
5) Sprinkle cheese on top
6) Bake at 350 until it is done
Note: I undercooked ours and had to finish it off in the microwave. Use a meat thermometer if you have one to make sure it is done.
Total carbs: 16. (That's 8 each)
The serving was too big to finish and I awoke the next morning still FULL.