Monthly Archives: November 2011

Nov22

Dr. Fuhrman’s Weekend Health Immersion

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Dr. Fuhrman’s Weekend Health Immersion

This past weekend, a friend and I attended Dr. Fuhrman’s Weekend Health Immersion in Princeton, New Jersey. From Friday night through Sunday afternoon, we attended lectures about the role of nutrition in health and disease prevention, workout sessions, and buffets offering a wide variety of highly nutritious and often delicious foods. I came back armed with a deeper understanding of what makes for good long-term health, and I hope to put it all into practice immediately.

The main thrust is to eat a diet low in calories but high in nutrients. The focus is on eating greens, onions, mushrooms, berries, beans, and seeds/nuts. Animal products, if consumed at all, should be extremely limited. The basic daily  eating plan looks like this:

  • eat 1 pound of raw veggies daily, with a lot of that being green
  • eat 1 pound of cooked veggies daily, including some mushrooms and greens
  • eat 1 cup of beans daily
  • eat some seeds and/or nuts daily (1/2 ounce to 4 ounces, depending on your activity level)
  • eat 3-5 fruits daily
  • avoid salt, sugar, caffeine, alcohol, and refined grains

There’s a whole bunch of research and science backing up the plan, and you can read more about that on Dr. Furhman’s website or in one of his many books. I’m not going to discuss it all here, but the information is out there if you care to learn more. What I’m going to talk about here is implementing the diet, and how it impacts my life.

I already know that this way of eating is powerful because I used this eating plan to drop 30 pounds and get my energy and health back. In the past few months, though, I’ve gone from the occasional compromise to the daily compromise, which lead to gaining back a few pounds and losing the spring in my step. Attending the immersion helped me refocus on my goal of staying healthy and vibrant.

I also already know that this way of eating is not easy. I will compromise, of that I have no doubt. I know that am not going to eliminate my daily cup(s) of coffee–I just brought back several pounds of super-awesome Costa Rican coffee beans, and those are going to be honored and properly consumed! I also have concerns about cutting my salt too low since I have borderline low blood pressure–just two days of salt-free eating caused me to have chest pains, which I take as a warning sign.

That said, I can do a huge daily salad, lots of cooked greens, and a cup of beans. I can avoid the white flour and rice, and I can cut way back on the sugars. I came back from the immersion with a brand new masticating juicer, so I can now also add fresh juiced greens to my day. I can eat those daily nuts and seeds, adding them to my smoothie in place of the isolated protein powders I had been using.

And of course, I can blog about it, sharing my recipes, triumphs, and moments of weakness here with you. I just hope you like reading about kale! If you want to join in the fun, Dr. Fuhrman is running a Holiday Challenge, complete with a free 6-week trial membership to his website, and I encourage you to check it out!

 

Nov17

Costa Rican Gallo Pinto

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Costa Rican Gallo Pinto

A pretty little mound of Gallo Pinto, splashed with just a wee bit of chili sauce.

While traveling in Costa Rica, I made an effort to sample local flavors. The fruits and fruit juices were amazingly fresh. The tree-ripened bananas, for example, had a depth of flavor that I had never experienced before. I tried many fresh juices, including one made from cocona fruit which I can only hope I will someday get to have again. Roadside vendors sold us agua en pipa (coconut water from an unripe coconut), often drunk straight from the shell, which was the most refreshing thing after a long hike in the jungle.

Many restaurants we went to served both American meals and Typical (local) fare. Of course I had to try to Typical breakfast, which was centered around Gallo Pinto, a hearty mixture of rice and black beans. The Typical breakfast was usually Gallo Pinto with some fried eggs, farmer’s cheese, tortilla, and fruit. I confess to having tried the full deal, since I am sometimes less strict with my vegan rules when traveling abroad and will permit the occasional egg and local cheese. The meal was usually served with a bottle of Salsa Lizano, a green vinegary sauce of which I have become quite fond, and a piping hot cup of amazing Costa Rican coffee.

Last night I whipped up a batch of Gallo Pinto for dinner, splashed with hot sauce and served with salad rather than eggs, though it would also be great with a side of sautéed greens and maybe a little scrambled tofu. The trick with this recipe is to cook it down just enough that you can put it in a mold and have it hold its shape on the plate. I used a 1-cup measuring cup, and you can see in the photo how the mixture held the form. If you don’t have Salsa Lizano on hand, you can splash it with anything vinegary, like a hot sauce.

Gallo Pinto
makes 6-8 servings

  • 1 cup long grain brown rice cooked in 2 1/2 cups water (about 3 cups when cooked)
  • 3 cups canned or cooked black beans
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, cut in a small dice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1/2 green pepper, cut in a small dice
  • 1/2 red pepper, cut in a small dice
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • pinch sea salt
  • 2 cups liquid (water, broth, or a combination of the two)
  1. Cook the rice and beans, dice the veggies, and measure out the spices before beginning to cook.
  2. Heat the coconut oil in a wok or pot. When melted and hot, add onion. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until clear.
  3. Add garlic, and cook for about 30 seconds (until fragrant). Add peppers, and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes or so.
  4. Stir in spices and pinch of salt, and cook for 30 seconds, then add rice and beans. Stir to mix evenly, then add liquid.
  5. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, stirring vigorously once in a while, until the liquid has reduced or evaporated and mixture is thick enough to mold.
  6. Measure out and serve hot. Top with some fresh chopped cilantro if you have it, but don’t worry about it if you don’t!
Nov16

Green Living is Pura Vida

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Green Living is Pura Vida

That's me basking in a little Pura Vida somewhere between San Jose and La Fortuna, Costa Rica.

A few months ago, I declared here my fierce determination to chisel that last 15 pounds off my body. I intended to update you all with my progress, when it happened. Days passed, then weeks, then months. The scale failed to budge much, and I was too embarrassed to write until I could report measurable progress. I’ve done a lot in the last few months that I could have shared here–amazing vegan meals, gardening victories, hurricane survival, and other wonderful adventures unrelated to the number on the scale that was keeping me mum. I even trained for and ran a half marathon, but I ran it at my start weight, so I didn’t write about it.

How friggin pathetic.

Then last week I went on a trip to paradise. I spent a week exploring Costa Rica with my sister, Shannon. As is often the case with travel, it changed me forever and gave my attitude a much needed adjustment. The country was so full of life, and its people so friendly and hospitable. I spent nearly the whole week gawking in amazement, full of the wonder I had thought only children could feel.

The Ticans, as the locals call themselves, have a philosophy called Pura Vida. This literally translates as Pure Life, but it is so much more. It means being full of life–awesome, grand, and amazing life. It means finding the good and wonderful in whatever situation you find yourself. Sometimes it means “Your tour will start when it starts, Gringa, so sit back and enjoy a hot cup of coffee on the house and learn to relax a little.” Sometimes it means “Pull off the road here for a fun adventure that will leave you full of wonder.” But it always means that you should enjoy the moment you are in and milk it for all its worth.

In Costa Rica, I experienced Pura Vida over and over again. I felt it birdwatching in the jungle every time we found another amazing animal that I had never seen before. I felt it when we found familiar species, both bird and plant, in an unfamiliar and wild environment. I felt it soaking in the volcanic thermal springs in the Rio Celeste river in Tenorio National Park. I felt it when the horse I was riding decided to gallop and then to jump over a boulder, forcing me to learn how to ride like a real caballero very quickly. There was so much to thrill and wonder over, that it was all Pura Vida.

Worrying about the numbers on my scale is not Pura Vida, especially if it keeps me from doing things I enjoy, like writing here. So I’m going to let it go. So what if I’ve lost 2 1/2 pound rather than 15? A Pura Vida life is measured in moments, not pounds.