Some pictures of the seedlings:
Seedlings soaking up some sun
Eggshell seedling
Where are my catnip seedlings?
Patio yellow tomatoes in rolled cardboard
Patio red tomatoes
Patio eggplant and sweet red peppers
Leggy patio yellow tomatoes
Basil
April 28, 2010
April 22, 2010
Beating Obesity
The Atlantic magazine's May 2010 issue features a very well written obesity article that I thought to share on here. As a recent graduate of a public health program the statistics and overall rates are not surprising, albeit, difficult to see and when placed in the context of future population growth and medical expenditures, still overwhelms.
It seems to me, that nutrition and physical activity policies are a great place to start. In the article, obesity and healthy weight legislation is often compared to anti-tobacco legislation and policies. In the US, at least, these policies (along with state and federal regulation) have reduced smoking rates. It then would seem that policies really are a smart way of targeting the many issues that pop up when discussing overweight and obesity, at least it provides some regulatory power both to states and at the federal level. Tackling the weight issue is going to be best pursued with healthy weight legislation (which I think sounds better than obesity legislation) and above all is going to have to be based on so many more factors.
For example, their are rigorous debates in shifting the blame towards the individual, and by extension also blames these enablers: big agriculture, food marketing, and the medicalization of treatments for overweight and obesity. Other issues of course discussed in the article include: calorie labeling, point of purchase calorie labeling, food deserts, food marketing to young children (and this definition really should be extended to include 0-18 years), school nutrition reform, taxation of junk foods, zoning laws and restrictions, and promoting access to healthy foods in low-income areas, among many others. Its difficult to link any one of these reasons as being the sole cause of overweight, and obesity, but there is stronger evidence linking multiple factors as risks in becoming overweight, which the article did a good job of explaining.
I think the outcomes of good policies weren't discussed as well in the article; it provided more the view of "single issue" policies such that taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages will reduce childhood overweight, instead of focusing on nutrition policies and programs currently in place, and that are working towards improving nutritional status among the population and reducing chronic diseases, and overweight and obesity. Further these "single issue" policies take greater blame, receive more media attention and coverage, and detract away from the issues at hand. I would like to see policies in place that address multiple issues, but that also work to support the current nutrition programs and policies that are already in place such as but not limited to...WIC the Women, Infants and Children Program, a supplemental food and nutrition program for low-income pregnant women and children up to the age of 5, the Centers for Disease Control's Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grants which provide yearly funding to every state and allows them to target their health issues (!), multiple Federal Food Programs which include the National School Lunch Program, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program among others all working to increase access to healthy foods through public schools and other centers. These programs are never free from criticism, but they operate on federal and state budgets, and could be improved and supported by additional national and state policies. Overall these would increase momentum in changing the social norms associated with nutrition, health, and weight.
The US is the heaviest country in the industrialized world! The health care debate has certainly brought up health indicators within our population as being worse off than many other industrialized countries, of which many fall in Europe. The article really focused on increasing medical costs (which I think is a key issue in the obesity debate). There is this notion that Europe is more progressive and stricter with it's policies and regulatory powers. However the EU is also disjointed in many ways, having multiple cultures and languages represented in which social norms vary (food culture, access to health, smoking and tobacco use, and exercise). Comparing these indicators to US indicators seems futile, although not without merit, it seems inappropriate to use indicators for weight when comparing populations with very different governmental programs and oversight.
One thing I would like to see more of in the US is the built environment. There is plenty of healthy debate on zoning laws, and removing fast food, and limiting food advertising, but we really need to be thinking of how to rebuild physical activities into daily life. Biking and walking are HUGE forms of physical activity that have been replaced by cars, sprawl, urban decay, and poor mass transit. The overall amount of calories burned (and if those calories are from highly junk processed foods) by 1-2 hours stints in the gym is never going to reverse weight gain. This is the worst uphill battle of our generation. Without infrastructure that is provided by local, state and federal governments, policies that are put in place to improve nutrition and physical activities are going to stagnate. Which is also another great reason we need these policies in the first place!
Finally, the health care debate. Let's hope there is more universal access to those that really need it - to those that could not afford or maintain coverage, and that it drives preventative medicine further. Part of health care is being able to go to a doctor or health care professional when you need it, and having it be available to you at a clinic or within the community, at a reasonable cost. Escalating costs in chronic disease management exacerbate the problem, and as is, there isn't much available to those that really need it (as the author of the article points out having undergone bariatric surgery). Another factor driving medical costs upwards is going to a doctor or hospital when your symptoms are past the manageable phase and require immediate medical supervision. There needs to be access and support of chronic disease management at all levels of the population. Overweight and obesity are linked to many other metabolic disorders, ones that can be reversed or managed with modest, 5-10%, reductions in body weight. This is a realistic goal, but one that cannot be executed or maintained without medical and nutrition support. As a community health advocate and public health dietitian it is not appropriate to assume that task fall solely to the individual. There are great programs within communities that operate at the local public health department level that need further support, need further funding, need competent health professionals and political advocates that can vouch for their positive contributions in assessing and addressing their population-level health.
It seems to me, that nutrition and physical activity policies are a great place to start. In the article, obesity and healthy weight legislation is often compared to anti-tobacco legislation and policies. In the US, at least, these policies (along with state and federal regulation) have reduced smoking rates. It then would seem that policies really are a smart way of targeting the many issues that pop up when discussing overweight and obesity, at least it provides some regulatory power both to states and at the federal level. Tackling the weight issue is going to be best pursued with healthy weight legislation (which I think sounds better than obesity legislation) and above all is going to have to be based on so many more factors.
For example, their are rigorous debates in shifting the blame towards the individual, and by extension also blames these enablers: big agriculture, food marketing, and the medicalization of treatments for overweight and obesity. Other issues of course discussed in the article include: calorie labeling, point of purchase calorie labeling, food deserts, food marketing to young children (and this definition really should be extended to include 0-18 years), school nutrition reform, taxation of junk foods, zoning laws and restrictions, and promoting access to healthy foods in low-income areas, among many others. Its difficult to link any one of these reasons as being the sole cause of overweight, and obesity, but there is stronger evidence linking multiple factors as risks in becoming overweight, which the article did a good job of explaining.
I think the outcomes of good policies weren't discussed as well in the article; it provided more the view of "single issue" policies such that taxation of sugar-sweetened beverages will reduce childhood overweight, instead of focusing on nutrition policies and programs currently in place, and that are working towards improving nutritional status among the population and reducing chronic diseases, and overweight and obesity. Further these "single issue" policies take greater blame, receive more media attention and coverage, and detract away from the issues at hand. I would like to see policies in place that address multiple issues, but that also work to support the current nutrition programs and policies that are already in place such as but not limited to...WIC the Women, Infants and Children Program, a supplemental food and nutrition program for low-income pregnant women and children up to the age of 5, the Centers for Disease Control's Preventative Health and Health Services Block Grants which provide yearly funding to every state and allows them to target their health issues (!), multiple Federal Food Programs which include the National School Lunch Program, the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program, the Child and Adult Care Food Program among others all working to increase access to healthy foods through public schools and other centers. These programs are never free from criticism, but they operate on federal and state budgets, and could be improved and supported by additional national and state policies. Overall these would increase momentum in changing the social norms associated with nutrition, health, and weight.
The US is the heaviest country in the industrialized world! The health care debate has certainly brought up health indicators within our population as being worse off than many other industrialized countries, of which many fall in Europe. The article really focused on increasing medical costs (which I think is a key issue in the obesity debate). There is this notion that Europe is more progressive and stricter with it's policies and regulatory powers. However the EU is also disjointed in many ways, having multiple cultures and languages represented in which social norms vary (food culture, access to health, smoking and tobacco use, and exercise). Comparing these indicators to US indicators seems futile, although not without merit, it seems inappropriate to use indicators for weight when comparing populations with very different governmental programs and oversight.
One thing I would like to see more of in the US is the built environment. There is plenty of healthy debate on zoning laws, and removing fast food, and limiting food advertising, but we really need to be thinking of how to rebuild physical activities into daily life. Biking and walking are HUGE forms of physical activity that have been replaced by cars, sprawl, urban decay, and poor mass transit. The overall amount of calories burned (and if those calories are from highly junk processed foods) by 1-2 hours stints in the gym is never going to reverse weight gain. This is the worst uphill battle of our generation. Without infrastructure that is provided by local, state and federal governments, policies that are put in place to improve nutrition and physical activities are going to stagnate. Which is also another great reason we need these policies in the first place!
Finally, the health care debate. Let's hope there is more universal access to those that really need it - to those that could not afford or maintain coverage, and that it drives preventative medicine further. Part of health care is being able to go to a doctor or health care professional when you need it, and having it be available to you at a clinic or within the community, at a reasonable cost. Escalating costs in chronic disease management exacerbate the problem, and as is, there isn't much available to those that really need it (as the author of the article points out having undergone bariatric surgery). Another factor driving medical costs upwards is going to a doctor or hospital when your symptoms are past the manageable phase and require immediate medical supervision. There needs to be access and support of chronic disease management at all levels of the population. Overweight and obesity are linked to many other metabolic disorders, ones that can be reversed or managed with modest, 5-10%, reductions in body weight. This is a realistic goal, but one that cannot be executed or maintained without medical and nutrition support. As a community health advocate and public health dietitian it is not appropriate to assume that task fall solely to the individual. There are great programs within communities that operate at the local public health department level that need further support, need further funding, need competent health professionals and political advocates that can vouch for their positive contributions in assessing and addressing their population-level health.
April 21, 2010
Pad Thai
This was consumed so quickly I had no time to take some artsy food shots. The New York Times published this pad thai recipe. It is SO good. Omit fish sauce if you really hate it, I think it brings everything together quite nicely. Video below is Mark Bittman from The Minimalist; lovely.
Pad Thai Recipe
Pad Thai Recipe
April 16, 2010
The Best Portobello Mushrooms. Ever.
Guffawing at my overinflated title post much? Well go on, try it and see for yourself.
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 medium to large portobello mushrooms, wiped clean
2 T olive oil and cooking spray
1/2 to 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, minced fine or shredded
1 T parsley, chopped
1/2 t marjoram, chopped
1/2 t thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of hot salsa
1 14 oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained
Directions
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 medium to large portobello mushrooms, wiped clean
2 T olive oil and cooking spray
1/2 to 3/4 cup ricotta cheese
1 clove garlic, minced fine or shredded
1 T parsley, chopped
1/2 t marjoram, chopped
1/2 t thyme, chopped
salt and pepper to taste
1 jar of hot salsa
1 14 oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained
Directions
- Preheat broiler to the hottest setting.
- Pick clean firm portobellos, and wipe off any spots. Carefully trim the stem off and scoop out the gills with the side of spoon.
- Arrange the mushrooms cap side up on a large baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Drizzle 1 T of the olive oil over the tops.
- Broil 3 minutes.
- Flip mushrooms over, drizzle with the remaining 1 T olive oil, and broil 3 minutes.
- Meanwhile combine ricotta with herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Adjust herbs as needed.
- Once mushrooms are done, flip over so the gill-side is facing you. You will be layering the salsa, ricotta cheese and beans.
- Spoon about 1-2 T of salsa in the inside, top with 2 T of the herbed ricotta cheese, and about 2 T of beans. You may be able to use more or less depending on the size of the mushroom. When all are finished, broil 3-4 minutes. Check often to make sure they don't burn. The beans should be barely golden once finished. Serve with some steamed green beans and focaccia.
April 13, 2010
Kidney Bean Spinach Salad with Caramelized Onions and Mushroom Soup
A Turkish dish adapted to a Belgian kitchen. Essentially I made this with whatever was available from the corner grocery store (and the corner grocery store is basically like a Food Lion). Prepare the vinaigrette first. Then cook the onions. Give the onions enough time to caramelize - they need to be cooked over slow heat for 30-40 minutes. This should give you enough time to prep a simple mushroom soup.
Canned beans are mixed in with the vinaigrette then heated together with caramelized onions for like 2 minutes. The salad and bean-vinaigrette mixture can be mixed together if you'll serve all the salad; store separately if you have extra salad. Beans taste extra delicious the next day.
Vinaigrette:
5-6 T fruity olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
3 T mixed herbs (mint, parsley, tarragon, thyme)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz red kidney beans (or garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained.
Directions:
1 small or 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, cut into rings.
2 T olive oil or butter (probably 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil would be great)
Directions for onions:
Canned beans are mixed in with the vinaigrette then heated together with caramelized onions for like 2 minutes. The salad and bean-vinaigrette mixture can be mixed together if you'll serve all the salad; store separately if you have extra salad. Beans taste extra delicious the next day.
Vinaigrette:
5-6 T fruity olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp chili pepper flakes
3 T mixed herbs (mint, parsley, tarragon, thyme)
2 T fresh lemon juice
1 T ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
1 14 oz red kidney beans (or garbanzo beans) rinsed and drained.
Directions:
- Mix the olive oil with the garlic and chili pepper flakes until combined.
- Stir in herbs, lemon juice, cumin, and beans. Mix together and adjust taste with salt and pepper. Set aside.
1 small or 1/2 of a medium yellow onion, cut into rings.
2 T olive oil or butter (probably 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil would be great)
Directions for onions:
- Heat up the olive oil or butter in a sauté pan, (cast iron if you can) over medium-high heat.
- Put the onions in, toss around until they are nice and covered with oil, and then turn the heat to low and stir occasionally until nice and golden (about 35-40 minutes). Prep other items, while the onions cook.
- Once the onions are done, toss in the vinaigrette to the sauté pan, just dump the salad dressing with beans into the already hot pan (this adds a charming sizzle and really wakes up the herbs in the vinaigrette).
- Warm for like 2-3 minutes and give it 2-3 quick fancy chef's tosses. Remove to a bowl.
Mushroom Soup:
1 T butter or olive oil
1 small carrot, diced into 1/4" pieces
1 small onion or the other half of the medium onion you caramelized, diced into 1/4" pieces
1 small garlic cloved, minced fine
2 cups mixed mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed, and sliced
2 T red wine
1 vegetarian broth - no salt bouillon cube in 6 cups water OR 1 quart vegetable stock and 2 cups water
1 T thyme or Italian herbs
1 T parsley for garnish
pinch truffle salt or truffle oil
Directions for mushroom soup:
- Heat up olive oil or butter in a medium to large stockpot. Once hot add in carrot through garlic.
- Pour in wine (this will give you a nice cooking show effect), broth, and the herbs, reserving the parsley for a garnish.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a slow simmer, and partially cook for 30 minutes. This is really undersalted so adjust salt as needed. Add in parsley and truffle salt and stir to combine.
Assemble salad ingredients
I just reserved some raw mushrooms, and carrots from what I cooked, and added in tomatoes and measured about 1.5 cups of spinach greens per person (a large bag). You could use bell peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, or other lettuces. Top with kidney bean caramelized onion vinaigrette and serve with a steaming bowl of mushroom soup.
April 12, 2010
Spring Garden 2010
I have decided to set out a container garden this year. The back shared porch isn't really used by anyone and it could use some beautification. It gets great sunlight. There is a 3' x 3' abandoned plot that probably had some trees in it that is just growing weeds, and I convinced Karl to help me turn it to set some flowers and summer veggies in. This plot is going to get the lasagna layering gardening technique.
I started some seedlings last week and have already gotten a few sprouts which I'm extremely proud of. Instead of buying seed flats, I'm reusing a bunch of plastic vegetable containers, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, and water bottles. Since all of them have been featured on other's posts on the web, I figured I would try all of them and see which works best (hopefully all of them).
I picked up some seeds from around town, and Karl and I just got back from a visit to Amsterdam where I was able to pick up some container varieties of some summer veggies from the famous flower market. They had hundreds of seeds, and they'll probably work with the climate around here. Amsterdam is a great biking city, they have tremendous infrastructure to support biking as a sole mode of transport. I came back quite inspired by the Dutch biking culture. Which essentially for me is you can transport just about anything on a bike (including pots, compost bags, potting soil, and trellises).
Last week I started:
Patio cherry red
A lettuce mix (red and green lettuces, arugula, chervil, endive and radicchio)
Provencals herbs (basil, dill and thyme)
Sunday I started (from the new seeds):
Patio Tumbling Tom yellows
Patio Baby Rosanna eggplants
Sweet Patio red peppers
Today I'm setting out (all are seeds)
Oregon Sugar Pod sugar snaps (to be planted in 1-2-3 week intervals)
Bright Lights swiss chard
National radishes
Flamboyant radishes (like red icicles)
Spring onions
Strawberries
more fancy lettuce mix
..
Stay tuned, pictures coming.
I started some seedlings last week and have already gotten a few sprouts which I'm extremely proud of. Instead of buying seed flats, I'm reusing a bunch of plastic vegetable containers, egg cartons, toilet paper rolls, and water bottles. Since all of them have been featured on other's posts on the web, I figured I would try all of them and see which works best (hopefully all of them).
I picked up some seeds from around town, and Karl and I just got back from a visit to Amsterdam where I was able to pick up some container varieties of some summer veggies from the famous flower market. They had hundreds of seeds, and they'll probably work with the climate around here. Amsterdam is a great biking city, they have tremendous infrastructure to support biking as a sole mode of transport. I came back quite inspired by the Dutch biking culture. Which essentially for me is you can transport just about anything on a bike (including pots, compost bags, potting soil, and trellises).
Last week I started:
Patio cherry red
A lettuce mix (red and green lettuces, arugula, chervil, endive and radicchio)
Provencals herbs (basil, dill and thyme)
Sunday I started (from the new seeds):
Patio Tumbling Tom yellows
Patio Baby Rosanna eggplants
Sweet Patio red peppers
Today I'm setting out (all are seeds)
Oregon Sugar Pod sugar snaps (to be planted in 1-2-3 week intervals)
Bright Lights swiss chard
National radishes
Flamboyant radishes (like red icicles)
Spring onions
Strawberries
more fancy lettuce mix
..
Stay tuned, pictures coming.
April 8, 2010
Attempt 1 - Sourdough Starter
I am going to try and bake bread - but not just any bread, sourdough. To those of you that have known me for a really long time, I tend to suck at anything that involves baking (collapsed brownies, undercooked bread, hockey puck cookies, granola tasting carrot cake). But, I have lots of free time these days and a kitchen. If you have a recipe or thoughts please share or comment - I'd love to hear.
Since I have no clue what I'm doing - I'm using the instructions from these fellow bloggers to see how they turn out:
This is a sourdough starter from the Wild Yeast Blog
This is a sourdough starter from Sourdough Baking by S. John Ross
I'm taking this blogger's advice on starting multiple starters because, I too, do not want to wait around for a bunch of duds. (She also has some really yummy looking recipes)
Since I have no clue what I'm doing - I'm using the instructions from these fellow bloggers to see how they turn out:
This is a sourdough starter from the Wild Yeast Blog
This is a sourdough starter from Sourdough Baking by S. John Ross
I'm taking this blogger's advice on starting multiple starters because, I too, do not want to wait around for a bunch of duds. (She also has some really yummy looking recipes)
April 6, 2010
Abdij van Park - Abbey of the Park
The Gyllstraves just returned from an amazing vacation and wedding from the US Virgin Islands - and lucky for us the weather has improved here in Belgium, by about 10 degrees F. We need to keep leaving, in order for the weather to keep improving. I continue to sneak weather updates from Chapel Hill, and I could hardly believe that the NC Piedmont will have temps as high as 90 today. Wow. Leuven is groovin at 60 today.
We brought back a lot of useful things with us from the states: a large boiling pot for wort, an entire medicine cabinet worth of drugs, incontinent pads (that was fun to buy) for Duds (they make exceptional litter box mats for the world's messiest litter box cat), cookbooks! Of course, I looked off the important things as tax day arrives. This is the first year I'm/we're filing jointly. Karl and I are a nice mix of new vs old. His, of course, are filed and stored online - and while I filed online last year, I have a paper copy that is back home thousands of miles away. Useless!?
Here's whats new: we've decided to play an ultimate tournament in Gent. This tourney is the Belgian Outdoor Ultimate Championships (BUOC). Leuven sends 1 team - which has 3 levels (?): Zeppelins, Propellors, and JetSet. JetSet is the main competitive team, but the other 2 teams provide good play time for almost every level. Yesterday we went to the Zeppelins practice and it was held on a field that was located in a freaking old historic abbey in Heverlee. It was amazing - unreal. You bike in to what looks like a gorgeous old church and then there are cobblestone roads and gorgeous archways. There is a field for growing vegetables, an old graveyard site, running trails, 2 large lakes, and beautiful views all around. I stumbled upon another huge community garden (hallelujah!?). It went on and on. I'm going to go have to go back and take some pics and then share them on here. Just unreal, that is what keeps things interesting, you just get into your routine and then you stumble on something that is like out of a travel guide or like a Wikipedia article on the Low-Country Middle Ages. If you ever get the chance to live somewhere totally new and different - do it in a heartbeat. This practice was mostly run in Flemish and I think hearing a language in a context to which you can understand really makes a difference.
Karl dragged me out for a LONG bike ride on Saturday. There is a canal with paved bike lanes on both sides that goes out of Leuven to Mechelen. We made it 3/4 of the way there. Ha! It rained on us, this is mostly hilarious because it rains 3/4 of the time here. Neither one of us had thought to bring rain gear. Our bikes are old and sit upright, this is not the most comfortable position to be riding in, but the views and the scenery were just fantastic. Lots of farms and wildlife along the way, even the rain hitting the canal was quite nice. Belgium is really big sky country. You can't help but see a different sky everyday. The clouds create gorgeous colors, you can't help but be in awe.
(these photos were taken on a bike ride to Brussels in late Feb)
I started reading Stan Hieronymus's Brew Like a Monk again, and being here really makes the book useful as a visitor guide. These are the Belgian Trappist Monasteries, which also produce Trappist beers: Achel, Chimay, Orval, Roquefort, Westmalle and Westvleteren. Most trappist beers are available everywhere, except for Westvleteren. We've visited Westvleteren, with the next visits to be Chimay, followed by Achel or Westmalle. Most of these Abbeys are located in some beautiful areas. Chimay is close to the Ardennes. One of my favorite beers so far is Orval. Simply a magnificent and lovely beer.
I've applied for a fellowship back in the states (this is a ridiculous thing to share on here of all places). Mostly it's a practice in applying and staying active in my field. I don't think they would entertain hiring me on from Belgium, but I think I could be a competitive candidate, and that feels nice. Still trying to wrap my head around the EU public health and nutrition organizations - I'll get there.
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