Papas de Navidad | Breakfast Potatoes

Stare at a blank sheet of paper smeared with ink, and you might detect a specific image. But show that same sheet of paper to someone else, and there is a good chance they will see a different image. Of course a psychologist will tell you that the Rorschach test tells us more about the viewers than the sheet of paper.

In many ways, the study of nutrition is similar. All that is needed is a few moments looking at various search engine results about diet and nutrition to see there are widely differing views on the best ways to eat. Add on top of this, the confusion that government agencies and industry lobbyists create, and suddenly it becomes clear why so many people view that ink stained paper in so many different ways.

However, I believe a consensus is slowly starting to form, and a specific image is becoming increasingly transparent to an increasing number of people. The consensus is, of course, in favor of a plant-based diet.

I know of no other diet, because not a single study exists, which can scientifically be shown to reverse heart disease, other than a plant-based diet. Increasingly, the leading experts on cancer are finding the benefits overwhelming as well, as evidenced by the recently statements made by the World Health Organization.

As we enter a new year, and as I enter my 9^th year as a plant-based vegan, I can firmly state that the tide of the evidence for a plant-based diet is growing. And I believe that 2016 will only further support such a healthful message.

As we begin this year together, I remain optimistic, and I invite you all to join me on this journey as we move every away from the wilderness, and closer to living with longevity, intention, and peace.

***

Today’s recipe is called Papas de Navidad (or Christmas potatoes) because I made this dish for M when she got home from her 24-hour shift on Christmas day morning. This is a sweet and savory dish.

I chose to make this dish this Christmas because while we were spending our first Christmas living together, we were both away from our families, and while it is summer here, I’m told that traditional Argentine Christmas dishes tend to mimic the dishes of bewintered North America. As such, this dish incorporates some flavors of the North East, by using maple syrup, an ingredient which we brought to Argentina with us from New York when we moved, making it an extra special dish.

Papas de Navidad | Breakfast Potatoes

4 potatoes - cubed

2 large tomatoes or a handful of cherry tomatoes – cubed or halved

1 medium onion – chopped

1 small head broccoli – chopped

Spices

1.5 tablespoons maple syrup – save to the end

2 cloves of garlic – diced (Or 1 teaspoon of garlic powder)

1 teaspoon cumin

½ teaspoon turmeric

¼ teaspoon rosemary

¼ teaspoon oregano

As mentioned below,* I pre-boiled my potatoes for about 15 minutes until they became soft to pierce with a fork. While the potatoes are boiling, prepare the remaining vegetables. Once all of the veggies are prepared, toss them in a oven safe container (I like to use cast iron for this dish, as it adds a real country flavor to the vegetables) and generously spread the spices evenly throughout.**

Now cover the vegetables with tin foil and place into the oven on 350°. If you pre-boiled the potatoes as suggested, cook for an additional 15-20 minutes, depending on how browned you like your potatoes.

Once done, drizzle the vegetables with maple syrup. I served the dish with a large bunch of steamed kale and dried cranberries, which we also drizzled with maple syrup (don’t knock it until you try it). 

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Feliz Ano Nuevo!

*I prepared the potatoes the night previously to help reduce the overall cook time by boiling them until almost soft.

** Pro Tip – Put the veggies and spices in a large container with a lid and shake the container for 10 seconds until the spices fully coat the veggies.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

A traditional Argentine Fiesta: Carbonada

Last week, M and I invited her younger brother and his girlfriend over for a traditional Argentine fiesta. 

We made a gaucho stew that hales from the northern regions of Argentina called Carbonada. While it appeares to call for a lot of ingredients, the truth is its more of a kitchen-sink type of dish, so feel free to get creative with this savory and sweet dish.

We served the stew inside a roasted gourd that is very common here in Argentina called, Zapallio Okaido (cabotea). However any large squash would be fine, but I think acorn squash is the closest Northern American counterpart to the Okaido.

The stew is a savory and sweet dish (that is what the apple and apricots are for). Traditionally the stew was thrown together in the morning and cooked while the gauchos worked and then served at midday when the sun forced the gauchos to stop and rest during the hottest part of the day. 

We invited family over and all shared mate while the stew finished cooking. Once the stew was ready we transferred it to a roasted gourd and served it with a large salad. When we served the stew from inside the gourd, we also scrapped away at the gourd to include some of the flesh of the roasted gourd. If you want, you can skip the roasted gourd, however it does make for a beautiful centrepiece.

While the entire stew takes about 30 minutes of prep and about 1 hour of cooking time, it is a quite easy and very hearty. The stew can also be frozen and saved for future meals.

Carbonada

Serves 5-6

3 medium sized white potatoes - cubed

2 medium sized sweet potatoes - cubed

2 cups of squash or pumkin – cubed

1 cup of brown rice

1 large sweet onion - diced

1 medium red pepper – chopped

3-4 stalks of celery – chopped

¾ red apple – finely cubed

½ cup of dried apricots or a can of dried peaches

1 full ear of corn or 1 can of sweet corn

1 can of diced tomatoes

1 small can of tomato paste

1 cup of white wine

6-7 cups of veggie broth or water

Spices – Start with small amounts and adjust to taste as the stew cooks

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning mix (marjoram, thyme, parsley and rosemary)

1 tablespoon garlic powder

½ tablespoon onion powder

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 bayleafs

½ teaspoon of organic brown sugar (optional or maple syrup)

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Begin by sautéing the onion, red pepper and garlic with a bayleaf in a large pot.

Once the onion begins to turn transparent, add celery, tomatoes, tomato paste, and all the spices into the pot. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, corn, apples and apricots along with 2-3 cups of broth. Mix everything together and allow to cook for another 5 minutes.

Once the soup comes to a boil, add the cup of rice. If your pot is not large enough, you can cook the rice separately if needed, however if you can, cook the rice with the rest of the dish as the rice will absorb a lot of the flavors.

Once you add the rice, add another 2 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of sugar (this is optional however the sugar is very minimal and is used to help enhance the other flavors. If you prefer, try using a small amount of maple syrup - unfortunately we don’t have access to maple syrup down here). Turn the heat down so the stew is cooking on a low simmer. As the rice cooks, and the liquid evaporates, continue adding broth or water in small amounts and stir occasional to keep the bottom from burning.

Allow to cook for 30 – 40 minutes.

Preparing the Gourd

If you want to serve this inside of a gourd as we did, start by washing the outside of the gourd, cut the top off and clean out the inside as if you were craving a pumpkin. We put ½ cup of plant-based milk inside the gourd and then roasted it in the oven at 300 until the milk completely evaporated – roughly 20- 30 minutes. Make sure the skin can be easily pierced, and the flesh of the gourd is soft and brightly colored. Let it cool while the stew is finishing and then transfer everything inside. 

This dish would make for a wonder holiday meal, particularly in the fall and winter months as it is quite hardy.

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

‘Tis the Season…to treat yourself well! By Sid Garza-Hillman

Another holiday season is upon us, and for many of us who pay comparatively close attention to the food we put in our bodies, this can mean increased temptation, frustration, and even regret (hence the huge amount of New Years’ healthy eating resolutions!). Most holidays in general are food-centered, and Fall/Winter holidays are no exception. Big meals with family and friends can be the highlights of this time of year.

Problems can sometimes arise when you are faced with multiple possibilities to OVEReat and/or eat foods you’d rather not. As a result, larger concepts than food come into play during this time of year, like restriction, discipline, and wellness, which I’d like to weigh in on.

Restriction. People often mistake decisions to eat healthier and/or more ethically/environmentally as restrictive. I devoted an entire podcast episode to this entitled “Making the Trade.” In it I argue that you are not in fact giving up anything when you decide to pay closer attention to what you put in your body, but are trading certain foods for feeling better. I give you cheese, you give me more energy and less allergies. When sitting with friends and family at a table that contains foods you don’t want to eat (not CAN’T eat, but won’t eat—there’s a very real difference), keep this in mind. The choices you are making affect your life long after the meal. Eating without regret or guilt means feeling better about your life—less stress, healthier body and mind, get it?

Discipline. In my practice I advocate for making small steps to greater health and happiness. The reason why most diets and quick-fix plans fail is because they move us too quickly ahead in behavior change. They are ‘all or nothing’ approaches that simply set us up for failure. The ‘beating ourselves into submission’ (e.g. by sticking to a diet and missing out on a holiday meal, and then running ourselves into the ground in spin class the next day to somehow ‘undo’ the damage) reality of these ‘plans’ generally leads to burnout, unhappiness, and often to binge or emotional eating later down the line. Easing your way into behaviors by incorporating small manageable steps allows you to be in control of the speed with which you improve your life, and puts you in a place of self-care and self-support. This means making it OK to enjoy meals that aren’t necessarily the physically healthiest, but give us great joy.

Wellness. I believe that we are all designed to be healthy and happy, and that in that state we are in balance with the world and ourselves. However, in the modern world we are bombarded with a huge amount of activities (e.g. big holiday meals) and foods that create great imbalance in us. The very foods that are the least healthy, least ethical, and least environmentally friendly are the most accessible, cheapest, and ubiquitous on holiday meal tables. Also, the least healthy foods for our bodies (I call them light-box foods) get us the most high, and it can be super hard to avoid these when they’re right in front of us. This fact can create conflict because, frankly, the temptation can be so great.

So….

As you head into the holidays, remember this… your level of health and happiness is determined by what you do MOST OF THE TIME (I refer to this as your MOTT), meaning that a meal here or there isn’t going to make much of a long-term difference one way or another. Be crystal clear with yourself about why you are making the choices you make, and about the person you want to be. Most people I’ve coached don’t want to be restrictive, militant people—they want to be the kind of people that have a feast with friends and family now and then because that makes them feel good and happy too. If eating a certain food sacrifices an ethical decision you’ve made, then certainly it’ll make you feel better to NOT eat that food, but, again, that’s neither restriction nor discipline, but a choice that makes you feel good.

Holidays at their core are about celebration, and I think it can be super fun to indulge a bit here and there without guilt, regret, or shame. Lastly, remember that food is just ONE part of holidays. Time with family and friends creates incredible memories that will stay with you for the rest of your life. Taking the pressure off yourself food-wise (i.e. not being stressed about food, and not devoting a ton of mental energy to it) means more energy devoted to time spent with the people you love.  

****

Sid Garza-Hillman, the Small Step Advocate™, is the author of “Approaching the Natural: A Health Manifesto,” and host of the popular Approaching the Natural Podcast with listeners in over 80 countries. He graduated from UCLA with a B.A. in Philosophy, and for over a decade after college, worked as a musician and actor with a growing interest in nutrition. Sid is now a Certified Nutritionist and Health Coach. He works with private clients all over the country, helping them take control of their lives through his private practice. He is also the Nutritionist and Programs Director at the Wellness Center at the Stanford Inn, North America’s only vegan eco-resort (stanfordinn.com).

Sid’s Website: www.sidgarzahillman.com

Approaching the Natural Podcast: www.sidgarzahilman.com/podcasts/

Sid on Twitter/Instagram: @sidgarzahillman

Sid on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sidgarzahillman

YouTube Channel: Sid Garza-Hillman

As always the information presented in this blog is for educational purposes only. It should not be considered as specific medical, nutritional, lifestyle, or other health-related advice.

Peanut Butter and Oat Cookies

Howdy everyone!

The holiday season is upon us and that means cookies. I’ve seen tons and tons of people posting photos of scores of chocolate chip, oatmeal raisin and even entire gingerbread armies! Accompanying those photos often are messages of feeling sick, tired and guilty.

But not all cookies have to produce those results. Last year I shared a recipe for Quinoa Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies which are one of my favorites, but I also created a new recipe for this holiday season!

These cookies are super easy, only take around 20 minutes from start to finish, and makes a perfect snack.

(as you’ll notice, I forgot the oats and the milk in the picture)

 

Here is what you will need: 

makes around 20 cookies

1 cup organic crunchy peanut butter

½ cup organic, gluten free old fashioned oats (I used extra thick cut)

1 flax egg (mix 1.5 tablespoons ground flax with 3 tablespoons water)

½ cup organic date sugar

1/4 nut milk (I use almond, and I used a little less than ¼ cup)

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 bar dark chocolate, chopped (spring for higher quality here, you’ll notice a difference)*

Heat the oven to 350° F.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients except for the chocolate bar together. The liquid from the wet ingredients will be absorbed by the date sugar and oats as you mix them. Mix until all of the ingredients combine to create a dough-like texture.

Once this is mixed, scoop out a small amount of the “dough” using a tablespoon and place onto a baking sheet. Push down on the top to make them a flat, cookie like shape. Now take the chopped dark chocolate and place on top of the cookie. 

Bake for about 8 minutes, or until golden around the edges. These little guys cook fast so be sure to keep an eye on them!

 

 Normally, I love my cookies to come right out of the oven, but honestly, these guys are way better after they cool. They will keep for over a week when stored in a closed container and refrigerated.

Happy Holidays and continued good health!

what more could He ask for?

* Be sure to check the Food Is Power website for a list of slavery free chocolate. Neither animals nor humans should have to suffer for the food you enjoy.