Food Combos Amp Up Nutrition

I was astonished to read an article on MSNBC yesterday that said there are nutritional benefits to eating tomatoes with olive oil, garlic with fish, or in drinking a glass of o.j while eating a bowl of oatmeal.

The vitamin C in the juice and the fiber in oatmeal, for example, clear away artery clogging cholesterol three times better together, than if they are eaten separately.

I was just speculating, in my last post, over the evolutionary benefits of collecting recipes. I was trying to figure out why we are so inclined to seek out a list of ingredients to cook together, rather than just thinking "I have a cup of rice in my cupboard, a half a can of tuna in the fridge, and look, a carrot." We could save so much money if we didn't insist we need cilantro, scallions and soy sauce for that rice, mayo, celery and a bulky roll for the tuna, and tomato sauce, onion and pasta for that carrot.

Then, here comes an article on food combinations, which states the sum of a recipe is greater than the parts. Apparently we have evolved to eat lemon with kale, because the vitamin C in the lemon helps release the iron in the kale. Astonishing.

"The complexity of food combinations is fascinating because it's tested in a way we can't test drugs: by evolution," says Jacobs. And, he adds, "it's tested in the most complex of systems: life." What's more fascinating, however, is that the evolution between eater and eaten might answer the long-held question about why humans live longer, healthier lives on traditional diets. "

I Spent $57.66 at the grocery store

I recently found a blog, called Less is Enough, written by a woman who normally spends $90.00 a month on food. Last month she conducted an experiment to see if she could actually live on a dollar a day.

And she can, quite easily. I think I could too, if I made that my priority. Really, I could just live on brown rice, cabbage, orange juice and beans and I would save a bundle. I wish I were that disciplined. The catch is, I have this inner hunger artist, who demands variety, sugar and recipes with "names." Why do we focus on recipes? Who eats "tomato-bacon-wheat," or "bread, tuna, onion, oil" ? We eat Spaghetti Carbonara or, Pan bagnat, or Singapore Noodles, or Pad Thai, because our food is more than just a collection of edible ingredients, its a story. And why do we insist on eating food stories, instead of just an ounce of this and a cup of that? After all, this woman's $30.00 a month experiment shows just how much you could save if you skipped the story, and just viewed food as a carrot, some rice, and a piece of chicken meat. I think the "stories," i.e. recipes, evolved over time to help people remember to include micro nutrients in their diet. Pan bagnat isn't just a reminder: eat oily tuna, don't forget bread. It's a story that says mix tuna with capers, vinegar, onion, garlic, black olives, layer on arugula, let it chill, because that tasted good the last time we did it. And these micro nutrients are just a collection that tasted good, and which made the body say, "ah, I needed that dose of calcium with my B12. Brain, remember that combination. Maybe give it a name."

Anyway, that's my excuse why I spent $57.66 on:

Barefoot Merlot wine $6.00, Canned salmon $2.84, frozen peas $1.29, imported tuna $3.66, eggs $2.19, Grey Poupon Mustard $3.29, mozzarella cheese $1.99, ricotta $1.99, frozen fruit mix $3.99, 2 boxes of Pastene brand pasta $4.38, Omega 3 spread $2.69, shallots $1.79, celery $1.99, basil $2.29, organic carrots $2.99, 2 portabello mushrooms $2.59, shiitake mushrooms $3.99, whole wheat rolls $1.99, paper towel $1.79.

My plan is to make salmon burgers, portabello burgers, a creamy pasta broccoli dish (with broccoli from last week), a pasta primevera dish (cold pasta salad with the tuna ) and to get drunk. (just kidding.)

Mother Love

A quote from Carl Jung on the mother archetype:

. . . the mother-love which is one of the most moving and unforgettable memories of our lives, the mysterious root of all growth and change; the love that means homecoming, shelter, and the long silence from which everything begins and in which everything ends. Intimately known and yet strange like Nature, lovingly tender and yet cruel like fate, joyous and untiring giver of life–mater dolorosa and mute implacable portal that closes upon the dead (Archetypes 92).

Psychology of Food

I have read in some Jungian Psychology tomes, that food, that is the image of food, the topic of food, is associated with the mother archetype. In symbolic terms, anorexic thinking is shaped by a rejection of the mother archetype, and, I suppose, to be addicted to food is to always be seeking, and never finding, the "Good Mother."
My belief in this is influenced by the brilliant Marion Woodman, and her work including The Owl was a Baker's Daughter, the Still Unravished Bride and Addiction to Perfection. These are not pop psychology books, but imaginative psychological ruminations on women, food and the longing for nurturing.

The other night I had a dream, I was in a second floor room of a large house. People have come to the house to inspect it, or look around, or something. A chicken is in the room, and startled by the people, it flies out the window. I go outside and pick up the chicken, or, rather, it is handed to me by someone who has picked it up. I am afraid to hold the chicken, a pretty, red and yellowish bird, but I decide to hold it close to my chest, like holding a baby. The chicken is still alive, but its neck is broken, and as I hold it, it dies.

I once sat with a dying chicken, a friend's pet, that a dog had gotten a hold of and snapped its neck. I felt very sad and afraid as it labored to breath, even though it was "just a chicken," one bird similar to the thousand I had bought in a supermarket and brought home to saute.

I had made a chicken stew this week, and ate it all week till I got absolutely sick of it. I ended up throwing it out on Friday, thinking it might no longer be safe to eat.

Food and mothering are inseparable themes in my mind. I hold the chicken to me, like a mother holding a baby. When I cook a chicken stew, I am attempting to feed myself, to take care of myself, as a mother sustains a child. The chicken, in the dream, has broken its neck in a fall from a window (chicken's don't fly too good.) It is passing from the state of being a living bird, to being food, although I wouldn't eat this chicken, as I wouldn't have eaten the bird I watched die after being injured by the dog.

$115.24 hauled home from the grocery store

Chicken breasts on sale $5.83, frozen shrimp $5.99, mushrooms $1.99, 1 broccoli crown $1.99, 1 carrot .57, Napa cabbage as big as my head $9.67 (didn't think it was going to cost that much!),
garlic .46, lime .50, 2 lemon $1.00, basil $2.29, cilantro $2.29, 1 red pepper $2.13, hot pepper .07,
multigrain bread $2.29, peanut butter $4.69, coffee $4.59,milk $4.19, pasta $1.99, oyster sauce $4.99, (not the price it said on the shelf, usual grocery store rip off), frozen fruit $3.99, oatmeal $2.75, cheddar cheese $2.29, parmesan $2.99, kidney beans .89, rice vermicelli $2.66, brown rice $2.69, tomato puree $1.55, tomato paste .50

non food: fish oil capsules $7.49, Tums $4.54, tooth paste $4.59, Ivory soap $2.47, Chapstick $1.19, Oil of Olay beauty creme $7.97, dental floss $2.00.

This always happens when I have several new recipes in mind to try. This is not a frugal haul, but I will make it last two weeks.

Mashed White Beans

I never made it to the supermarket today, so I ate out of the pantry. Breakfast was oatmeal, lunch was brown rice with salsa, dinner was mashed white beans with garlic and rosemary. The beans were so good. Oh, I also finished up some ice cream.

Last Sunday, I spent $12.78 at the grocery store. Ground Turkey $3.29, 2 cans crushed tomatoes $1.74, box of rigatoni .99, cheddar cheese $2.39, omega spread $2.89, carrot .48, celery $1.11, mushrooms $1.99.

I made a Turkey Bolognese and ate that for four days, along with brown rice and cheese, for lunch and dinner. On Thursday I bought a slice of pizza for lunch $5.00, and ice cream and chips $9.00 at the corner store, Friday I bought an Italian from Amatos for $5.00, and a roast beef and boursin sandwich for dinner $7.00.

As usual, I have been reading articles on nutrition all over the internet. One article I read made a strong case for eating more omega 3's, especially by consuming fish. The author credits fish oil capsules with lifting his depression. Another article I read compared four different diets, and concluded any food combination will work for losing weight, as long as calories are controlled.

I continue to aspire to eating a "Mediterranean Diet." Basically, this diet consists of fruits, vegetables, olive oil, and whole grains, with protein from beans, fish and poultry. Red meat is only consumed about once a month. I am convinced of the benefits of eating this way, however, I find it difficult to figure out exactly how to put it into practice.

Food Blogs Lead One Astray

I have become an avid reader of food blogs lately and its steering me way off course. Example: the Pan bagnat recipe I tried last week, inspired by several glowing descriptions of this fancy sandwich on various blogs (funny how the same recipe turns up around the internet at the same time.) I bought capers, canned Italian tuna, black olives, and artisan bread last week, thinking this would be my new brown bag lunch solution, and forgetting the fact I am not all that fond of capers, black olives and canned tuna. Did I think the internet would transform these ingredients into something I would love through some kind of digital alchemy? Didn't work. Oily tuna smashed between bread slices by a heavy weight. Yuck. Maybe if I had remembered to buy the arugula it called for. Maybe if had chopped the capers smaller.

Of course, its possible, in addition to being an inept cook, I am an incompetent eater. The best thing I ate last week, to my mind, were half cooked mushrooms straight out of the pan, which I was sauteing while very hungry. Truthfully, I enjoyed the half cooked mushrooms more than the dish they ended up in.

So, is it possible my palate was ruined being raised on Captain Crunch for breakfast, egg salad on white for lunch, and frozen french fries, overcooked broccoli and fish sticks for dinner? "No Pan bagnat for you, you uncouth swine!" the Nazi-like Chef might say. That can't be entirely true, as I have enjoyed fresh spring rolls, Szechuan shrimp, vegetable tempura, and other "ethnic" food in restaurants for years. Maybe I just don't like French food. The scary thing is, with the economic news as it is, I can well imagine losing my job and ending up on food stamps. Then, I would have to live on $21.00 for food a week and the question of learning to like capers would be moot.

So, I vacillate between wanting to emulate the food blog writers who whip up seafood bisque and rave about it, and combing the frugal people sites where they talk about cutting coupons for Hot Pockets. Meanwhile, I peruse nutrition sites that advocate for calorie restriction, or the Mediterranean Diet for good health and increased longevity, and that make me anxious to avoid cream of mushroom/ground beef type casseroles and other poor people staples. The Harvard Nutrition website says "no potatoes!"

You have to eat 1,800 a day, that's just a fact. The more vegetables and fruits and whole grains those calories come from, the better off you are. It's that simple. So what if your meals don't look like the food bloggers' masterpieces and you don't get the same pleasure they seem to from Tuna Nicoise?

It's not necessary to slide into eating Spam, white rice and Velveeta (its all coming back to me now. We really ate those foods growing up. We also drank Tang.) It's OK to eat simply, count pennies, and aim for those seven servings of nutrient dense vegetables a day. That's the point. Get a grip.