The Goods (Recipe) - Tropical Chai Smoothie

I found a great little juice bar/take-a-way food place in Solana Beach, CA, called Juice Nation, while looking for lunch options close to my office.  Among the smoothies on their menu was a Tropical Chai Chia Smoothie, which had a much different flavor than any other smoothie I tried.  The recipe below is my version of a this smoothie.   

½ c. frozen mango

½. c. pineapple

2 c. coconut water (or water)

2 c. spinach (or kale)

½-inch slice of fresh ginger root

2 tbls. Flax seed

6 dates

¼ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. fennel seed

1/8 tsp cardamom

1/8 tsp ground clove

(1) Combine all ingredients in a high-speed blender until thoroughly incorporated.

Note that you can use all fresh fruit.  In that case, replace 1/2 c. of the coconut water (or water) with ice. 

Smoothies - Food and Drink of the Gods

In Greek mythology, the Gods are often said to partake of ambrosia and nectar, the food and drink of immortality.  If there were such a food and drink, I am inclined to believe that smoothies would be one of the top candidates.  Several trains of thought that I have run across link high nutrition and low caloric intake with increased life spans (For Example, Eat, Fast, and Live Longer, a documentary by Dr. Michael Mosley, discusses these trains of thought and proposes a 5:2 fasting diet).  After looking at and wading full Monty into the food and drink landscape, I am convinced that smoothies provide the best platform for increasing nutrition while decreasing caloric intake.  Let me clarify that I am not talking about most commercially produced smoothies, which are often laden with sugar and cream - I'm talking about smoothies exclusively made with whole fruits and vegetables and a few acceptable adder ingredients.  These types of smoothies can be found in independently owned juice bars, but it is quite a bit cheaper to make them at home (if you own a high-power blender - which I recommend).

Smoothies, especially green smoothies, have become routine in our household for breakfast.  And after years of experimentation, Ingrid and I have found several rules that we recommended for making impromptu smoothies (from the fruit and veg sitting in your kitchen right now) in addition to a few specific recipes for which we deliberately buy ingredients.  I will start posting these guidelines and recipes shortly...

Our Current Fresh Fruit and Veg Stores.  A little sparse (mostly oranges and passion fruit) , but add some organic frozen fruit and it's still enough to make a mean smoothie...

The Goods (Recommendation) - Vitamix

I do not get paid to advertise for Vitamix, but I probably should.  Within a month of buying my first Vitamix a few years ago, at least six friends also purchased machines based on my recommendation.  What is a Vitamix, you ask?  Vitamix is the manufacturer of a high-power blender.  This high-power blender comes with a 2 horsepower motor and a 7 year warranty and will set you back somewhere around $400 (depending on model and accessories).  On the face of it this seems like a lot of money for a blender (and it is) - but with the changes Ingrid and I made to our diet, buying a Vitamix was by far the cheapest alternative and the overall best value.  So if you are thinking about making a dramatic change to your diet, a Vitamix blender is a must.

Vitamix, 48 oz., 64 oz., & Dry Grains Containers, Tamper, Cookbook, Smoothie Cup

We use our Vitamix almost daily for a number of reasons including:

1. Making Smoothies

We started to make green smoothies on a regular basis to increase our consumption of whole fruits and vegetables.  By making these at home, we had control over the ingredients (primarily to limit the sugar and increase the organic content) and to reduce the cost (versus buying smoothies at a juice bar).  Nowadays we rarely make a smoothie without some sort of green ingredient to boost the nutrition content.

2. Blending Sunflower Seed Butter
After cutting our peanuts and treenuts (almonds, cashews, etc.), one of the greatest discoveries was sunflower seed butter. In addition to being difficult to find in our local grocery stores, sunflower seed butter is expensive. The version that I make at home is much cheaper.

3. Milling Gluten-Free Flours
 The last reason that a Vitamix was the best value was because we bought the dry grain blender and milled our own gluten-free grains (rice, millet, sorghum, etc.) in bulk and grind them into flours for gluten-free baking.   We still buy some commercially prepared flours, but for the basics like rice flour, our homemade versions are much less expensive.

4. Making Babyfood
We grind rice into rice flour to make rice porridge for our daughters and use the Vitamix for grinding up fruit and vegetable mashes for our little ones.

I also advocate for the Vitamix because of the reputation of the company for producing a quality product and having excellent customer service.  One of the biggest factors in the quality of any motor (and hence the longevity) is the amount of metal used. More metal equals more money. The high cost of the Vitamix in addition to the 7 year warranty tells me that the motor is of very high quality. And every review that I have read in addition to my own warranty experience has verified Vitamix as a trustworthy company that stands by its warranty.

The Depths of Illness - Tight Muscles & Muscle Spasms

Shortly after Ingrid and I moved to San Diego, I felt my muscles tighten.  The tightening wasn't gradual over a few years, it was a noticeable progression over a week or so in which it felt like someone was pouring concrete into one muscle group at a time - starting with my neck, then upper back, lower back, hamstrings, and finally calves.  The tightness never left, triggering an obsession with stretching.  I tried yoga, Wii fit stretching, self-regulated stretching, dynamic stretching over the better part of six years - all without significant improvement in flexibility.  The tightness and lack of flexibility felt like part of the problem.  When I felt most ill, my muscles were the tightest.  At random intervals, my muscles felt uneasy, vulnerable, and quivered.  I suspected that I wasn't getting a key nutrient or vitamin that was preventing my muscles from regaining their elasticity but had been unable to find the right combination of vitamins and minerals.  So I kept experimenting and dealing with the tightness as best as I could until one morning the severity of my condition came to full light.

Adelaide sat in her high chair eating waffles that I had toasted, slathered with butter, soaked in maple syrup, and cut into small sticky cubes.  Our nanny, Caroline, arrived as I put the finishing touches on my own waffles.  I sat on the bar stool next to Adelaide.  Caroline sat on the couch in the next room as we chatted.  I felt sluggish but not overly fatigued.  After a bite of waffle my stomach soured, and I put down my fork.  Not an unusual occurrence for me - only this time the sour stomach came with a little surprise.  As the fork hit the plate, my lower back quivered - as if god had reached down and plucked a muscle like a guitar string.  The muscle relaxed for a two count and then seized, tighter and tighter, forcing my whole body to clenched.  Pain exploded in my lower back.  The muscle relaxed, bringing with it all the other muscles.  Legs weak, I dropped to the floor.  Another spasm began.

I rolled and twisted on the kitchen tile unable to breath.  I could not cry out - I could only clench my teeth and hold my breath.  The spasm lasted a minute, though it seemed forever, then paused - a singular moment of respite - before returning just as strong.  I could do no more than ride the waves of pain, thrashing into the kitchen cabinets and Adelaide's Chair.  After a few minutes, Adelaide began screaming.  I couldn't believe that she was still in the chair and Caroline was still on the couch.  "Can I do anything?" Caroline asked.  I yelled for her to get Adelaide out of the kitchen. 

Between spasms, I tried stretching.  The pain intensified.  I tried huddling in the fetal position.  I rolled onto my side.  Onto my back.  No relief.  I shook uncontrollably.  Over an hour, the length of spasm slowly decreased and the respite got longer.  Caroline came out from the back where she was keeping Adelaide occupied and dug through our medicine cabinet for me.  She got out a vial of Oxycodone that remained from a concussion a few months earlier.  I prayed the Oxycodone would put me to sleep, as it had done the few times taken it before.  It didn't.  But it did allow me to relax in a drug-induced trance.  After five hours, the spasms completely subsided.  I tried to move from the kitchen floor but couldn't, the pain too unbearable, my muscles too weak.  I remained on the kitchen floor till early in the afternoon when, after taking another dose of Oxycodone, I crawled into the living room and collapsed onto the floor.

The aftermath of the spasm was both short and long-term.  In the short-term, I couldn't walk for two days and needed a cane for the week after that.  I went to see my doctor, two chiropractors, and my acupuncturist during that week - but the cause of the spasm was undetermined and all treatments did not produce noticeable relief.  In the long-term, my lower back felt fragile and vulnerable.  The sight and smell of waffles nauseated me, and without a diagnosis for the cause of the spasm, I feared a reprise virtually every day.  

The Goods (Recommendation) - Living Without

Living Without is a magazine dedicated to those of us living without certain foods, including options (and substitutions) for excluding all of the major food allergens.   Ingrid and I have subscribed to Living Without for years and find it an invaluable resource.

For easy ordering, check out the link below...

The Depths of Illness - Disorientation

One night in 2008, I awoke in a cold sweat.  I laid still, unsure of where I was, adjusting to my surroundings.  I sensed that there was someone, a man, sleeping in the bed next to me – but I couldn’t remember why I was sleeping in the bed next to another man.  I didn’t recognize the room I was in – only that the room was familiar.  I wondered if it was a hotel room, if I was on a job installing Solar Panels with Carter and for some reason we only managed to get a room with a single queen sized bed.  I wondered if it was Dan, a childhood friend, if we were traveling somewhere.  I wondered if it was a stranger.  I did not remember going to sleep and could not rationalize the situation.  I did not move for fear that the man would hear me or feel my movements. 

I strained to put familiarity to the details that I could see and feel – white popcorn ceiling, white walls, large window to my left, bookshelf, overly-soft mattress, down comforter.  Nothing I saw or felt brought any more details to the situation until the stranger moved, rolled over and then sat up and walked toward the bathroom.

My heart raced, unsure of what was coming. From the corner of my eye, I saw the stranger’s long straight hair and details of my situation came flooding back.  San Diego. I was in San Diego, in the apartment that I shared with my girlfriend. And the stranger, the person that I had been sure was a man, was actually Ingrid.

Ingrid returned and saw that I was awake. “Can’t sleep?”

“Bad dream,” I replied, trying to shake some lingering disorientation.

“Oh,” she said sleepily. “Anything you want to talk about?”

“No,” I said, hoping it a one-time occurrence.  It was not...

The Goods (Recipe) - Dairy-Free Nut-Free Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto is traditionally made with pine nuts (a tree nut) and parmesan cheese (dairy).  When I stopped eating tree nuts, Ingrid and I experimented with a few different seeds and ultimately ended up choosing pumpkin seeds as the best replacement.  A few years later, when I stopped eating dairy we found that upping the acid (lemon juice) and adding a different herb (parsley) ultimately replaced the sharp tang of the cheese.

4 C. Chopped Basil

1 C. Chopped Parsley

1/2 C. Pepitas (Pumpkin Seeds)

1 Lemon (Juiced)

1 C. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 Garlic Cloves

Salt

(1) Dry toast pepitas in a frying pan over low to medium heat until a light golden toast is visible on the outside of the seeds.  Stir frequently to get as even of a toast as possible.

(2) If your garlic cloves are bitter or the flavor is too strong, microwave garlic cloves for 30 - 45 seconds. (Alternately, this pesto can be heated on low after completed to remove any bitterness).

(3) Put all ingredients into a blender and turn on high until well incorporated.  Salt to taste and blend until incorporated.