Hump Day Exercise Challenge

I slacked on my exercise challenge last week...and maybe the week before that too. But you'll forgive me, won't you? I've been doing Zumba at the gym, with a new instructor on Tuesday evenings. It's so invigorating. I think all of the women in the room (and that old, creep guy, too!) feel young, strong, and sexy. In a non-exploitative way. It's an hour of letting loose to fun music, shaking your butt, and twisting those hips like you mean it: all for the sake of a good workout. There are times when I've almost been brought to tears just looking around the room and watching short women, tall women, skinny ones, fat ones, young ones, old ones, brown and white, yellow and tan ones, coming together without shame, with plenty of grace and smiles for all. So if you can't dance, don't worry. Most of the people in the class move to the beat of a different...song. Seriously. Sometimes I have to stifle my giggles as I watch some of the middle aged women trying to do those "hip gyrations" as my mother would say. Not that I'm much better...Suffice it to say, this is not a class of dancers!

If you have access to a gym that offers Zumba classes, you should definitely give it a try. Sometimes you can find Zumba on those extra cable channels that we don't have, so I can't exactly give you more info than that. You can find some workouts online if you search for "zumba" under the video tab in google. But the best place for a good workout might just be in the audiovisual section of your local, free library! Get moving!

A 2007 segment on The Today Show's "Take it Off Today" featured the Zumba craze.


Zumba in the Today Show -

Avoid the Dirty Dozen

If you're going to buy organic as you can afford it, check out this list, at foodnews.org, which is available in a printable wallet version. At their site, "Food News," the Environmental Working Group says that we can reduce our pesticide exposure by a whopping NINETY PERCENT if we avoid the "dirty dozen," which are the twelve most contaminated fruits and veggies.

So what are the most heavily laden fruits and veggies?
Peaches, strawberries, apples, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, celery, lettuce, spinach, potatoes, cherries, imported grapes, pears

But this little ditty of a post wouldn't be complete without some good news. The produce that carry the least amount of pesticides?
Onions, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet peas, cabbage, broccoli, eggplant, avocados, pineapples, mangoes, kiwi, and bananas.

I hope this brief little post will be useful and influential on your next shopping journey! I will be designing next week's menu with the dirty dozen in mind.

Week 8: Organic Produce

If you think organic produce is a marketing scheme that will just drain your wallet, or you're a bit skeptical about the whole industry, lend me your ear for a moment or two...

I would like to first start out by saying that I do not buy organic or local produce only. I liken my food convictions to my faith convictions. I feel strongly that patience, for example, is something that God desires for me: both for the benefit it will extend to me, as well as the blessing it will be to the one who receives it. However, there are times when I view patience as too costly, and I choose (though not so blatantly) to replace it with anger, frustration, or bitterness. Ironically, the latter three emotions are far more costly in the long run: they eventually morph into anxiety, depression, and self-pity. But at that moment, patience just didn't seem worth it.

Buying organic sometimes feels like this. I don't know if its worth it - and when I'm looking at the prices in Whole Foods, (I don't enjoy shopping there, but Massachusetts Farmers' Markets are very seasonal...) it's sometimes hard to justify. So sometimes, I don't. I just buy conventional. However, after reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, when I reach for the $1.99/lb peppers instead of the $3.49/lb organic variety, I hear this little voice in the back of my head telling me that the run-off from the pesticide laden fields is seeping into our water supply, killing fish, contributing to cancer, deteriorating the health of the migrant workers in the fields of California...And most of the time, I put back the lemons and decide to make hummus without them, or lay aside the bananas until I make it down to Good Health, where they sell deliciously ripe organic bananas for $.29 a pound. But still, sometimes I don't. I say that because I want you to know that small steps are better than no steps. If you really want to make a mango salsa, but the organic mangoes cost $3 more than the conventional ones, and substituting just won't work - get what you can afford, but pay close attention to the rest of your list, as maybe the organic onions are only $.49 more a pound. Every step counts.

That said, I want to make it very clear where I stand and what I'm striving for. To me, organic produce, grass-fed meat, and fairly traded or recycled products aren't luxury items. They are a priority. Mark is unemployed and I'm not exactly raking in the dough, so our food budget is modest. But by eliminating processed foods, we're able to buy a good deal more in the fresh food department. And maybe it means we rent movies from the library instead of going out to the movie theater. Or perhaps I still wear those comfy blue corduroys I stole from my little sister's friend' in 2001...(they're so darn comfortable, really!) Or maybe we don't buy supplements and vitamins, because the food we consume is already filled with them.

I'll give some more "hard" facts in the coming days, but I have to say, although the information appeals to the head, what keeps me striving towards an organic lifestyle is my heart. I want my kids and their kids to enjoy the beauty of our land, in as optimal health (through good nutrition of course!) as possible.

Aruba, 2008. Photo by Mark Massaro

Shopping list for Week 8

Meat
1 lb sirloin or stewing beef
Whole chicken
1 lb chicken (breast or thighs) if you are adding chicken to the root vegetable cobbler
1 lb bacon


Produce
1 bag small onions (about 6)
1lb bag carrots
1 red, 1 green pepper
garlic
1 eggplant
1 leek
1 pound of red potatoes
1 russet potato
1 turnip
1 c peas
fresh ginger root
3 apples
fresh parsley
salad greens

Canned or Dried Items
dried cranberries
pecans
1 can coconut milk
lentils (2 c)
millet
pumpkin puree
12 - 13 oz canned clams (or fresh!)
1 large can salmon
clam juice or seafood stock (~2 c)

Dairy
cage free eggs
plain yogurt (Seven Stars Farm, Hawthorne Family Farm)
whole milk
2 c heavy cream

Other staples
coconut oil (favorite source - Mountain Rose Herbs: $41 for 1 gallon of unrefined or $22 for refined, which will last forever!)

spices: allspice, coriander, cumin, red pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, turmeric

You'll also need, but probably have on hand -
whole wheat flour
milk
yeast

Week 8 Menu

We'll be talking about organic produce this week. The menu does include some vegetables, but I do try to choose seasonally, so some of the info you'll be learning might be best tucked away for the late spring/summer!

I've decided to post a list for you to choose from, rather than a weekly menu (as it seems most people are picking and choosing anyway!!) All of the meals will include enough for two nights' dinners, for two people, so you'll be preparing dinner just three evenings (or if you're like me, all in one day to minimize cooking!). Adjust recipes accordingly if you are cooking for more than two.


Features
When necessary, prepare these early in the week so you have them on hand for recipes and munching!

Bread - No Knead Cranberry Pecan Bread

Soup - Coconut Curried Lentil Soup

Snack - Pumpkin Bread


MENU
Breakfasts
French Toast

Carmelized Apple Pancake

Omelettes


Lunches
Clam Chowder


Salmon Cake Salad

Root Vegetable Cobbler with Millet Dumplings (did you make this yet?? you really must!)


Dinner
Coconut Curried Lentil Soup

Crockpot Chicken with roasted carrot puree (Don't forget to save the carcass!)

Spiced Beef and Vegetables


Snacks
Butternut Squash fries

Peanut Butter Cups (Mark and I have eaten about a dozen of these...each...in two days!)

Power Bars

Crispy or sprouted nuts


Natural yogurt (no added sugars or "vitamins") with unsweetened coconut, soaked nuts, and cocoa powder

Hummus with veggies or crackers

Homemade popcorn, popped on stove in coconut oil

celery with all natural peanut butter and raisins