I've been really into greens and rice for breakfast lately. It keeps me full until lunch so I don't go crazy and eat everything in the house like usual. As a society, we are used to cereals, granola, oatmeal, bagels, pre-made waffles and sweets like donuts and pop-tarts for breakfast, but have you ever thought of why that is? To me, it's just another way we are trained to give into big corporations that truly don't care about us, but rather the money flowing into their pockets. Cereal and granola can be easily homemade, but most people think it too time consuming to make themselves and go straight to the store to buy this, or else be lost when it comes to breakfast. And how long does that bag of cereal even last you before you find yourself back at the store buying the same thing, over and over again... a week at the most? Being late to school or work in the morning has become an epidemic and we are continuously given things like donuts, pop-tarts, instant oatmeal packets and cereal to "make life easier".
What I want to know is, where's the solution? We don't need another quick fix for our problems. We need to learn the reason it is that everyone is always running late, teach them time management skills and respect for themselves and other peoples time and maybe we would have that extra hour in the morning to make a hearty, delicious meal with enough time to sit down, relax and enjoy it. If in the first place, we couldn't find these quick-fix meals absolutely everywhere we turned, do you think we would be walking around starving all day cos we didn't have time to eat? No, we would learn after the first couple times that going to work on an empty stomach is not fun and that next time you better make the time to eat breakfast, or you are going to be starving all day.
All I know is that I want to continuously educate myself and change my ways so I am always growing and improving my life, instead of just giving up on myself and giving into todays quick-fix society.
On a happier note, I've reintroduced rice into my diet with no problem at all and it's becoming a regular breakfast or dinner option. If you follow my blog, you'll know I did 30 days of the
whole30 paleo diet-vegan style. That's 30 days without the usual vegan restrictions, plus legumes (soy), corn, wheat/grains, alcohol, caffeine, white potatoes, and sugar. It's an absolutely amazing experience and has changed my thinking significantly. I don't buy any pre-made soy meats anymore, or any nut milks, I make my own. Those things contain preservatives and sweeteners that you shouldn't be consuming. I stopped baking with buckets of sugar, flour and margarine and now look for ways to make my desserts raw or use as many natural, raw ingredients as possible. I'm not making the same stir fry over and over, I search the internet and cookbooks for simple and nutritious meals.
After you spend 30 days eating whole vegetables and fruit (real food) you give your body a chance to cleanse and completely clear itself and get rid of any bad side affects from unhealthy eating, like fatigue and "allergies". After the 30 days is up, if you stick to healthy eating habits, you will feel AMAZING. But if you go back to your usual ways, like processed foods, sugars and wheat, your body will tell you that it is bad for you by giving you a stomach ache, headache, or will make you bloated or tired. Now that your body is completely clear, you can feel how food makes you feel.
The other day, my sister made a pizza that was absolutely amazing-- tomato, olives, broccoli and mushrooms. Pretty healthy, right? So why did I feel like absolute garbage after eating it? Well, since we had some all-purpose flour leftover from before the whole 30 cleanse, she made a pizza crust out of it. It honestly was the best pizza crust we've made, thick, fluffy and delicious. But it left me sleepy with a bad stomach ache. Reintroducing all-purpose flour obviously didn't go over well, and we gave it away to a neighbor after immediately realizing our bodies didn't respond well to it. Being healthy is all about listening to what your body wants and needs. There isn't a specific diet or book that can give you a step by step guide to eating, because we are all different. What my body can handle with ease, yours might not be able to. The best thing I ever did was give my body time to completely clear out, and most importantly, I'm learning to listen to what it is telling me.
So I thought that since I can't handle even the smallest amount of wheat flour, I wouldn't be able to take grains whatsoever, but that's not the case. After having rice for the first time in months in my
Meatless Jambalaya, I was anticipating a stomach ache, but instead I got a slight feeling of my body getting used to it again (that's the only way I can describe it) followed with a calm, satisfied feeling (and joy because I LOVE rice :)
In Alicia Silverstones book, The Kind Diet, she says whole grains should ideally be a part of every meal. To paraphrase her, she explains that grains are our perfect fuel. They will keep us balanced, centered, energized and focused in life. She's not talking about bread and noodles when she says "whole grains." She's referring to wheat before it's ground into flour, rice before it's hulled to make white rice--brown rice, quinoa, wild rice, farro, millet, barley, whole oats and more. And flour products made from whole grains like bread and noodles are alright to eat every once in a while.
So whats the deal with carbs? Aren't they bad for us? There's two categories for carbs: Simple carbs--like white sugar and white flour--break down in the body really quickly, so your blood sugar spikes through the roof and then crashes, leaving you feeling like garbage. Complex carbs--like those in whole grains and veggies--break down slowly, raising your blood sugar gently, and providing sustained energy over a long period of time, until you're ready to eat again.
The benefits we get from whole grains, Alicia states, are internal balance, relaxed and happy mindset, great skin, the ability to loose weight easily, and makes going to the bathroom a lot easier. Whole grains make you feel relaxed and happy. They are full of B vitamins, which relax the nervous system. (Maybe that's why monks eat so much rice!) The B vitamins are also necessary for making beautiful, glowing skin. You feel balanced and connected with yourself because our physiology is designed to work with whole grains in their whole form, so they help us feel right in our bodies and minds. As opposed to highly refined foods that cause mood swings, hormone imbalances and a rise in cholesterol. You can loose weight easily because low-calerie, low fat whole grains make you feel full, give you good energy, and nourish your body beautifully. Meat and dairy contain no fiber, but diets rich in whole grains and veggies contain tons, which makes going to the bathroom a lot easier for people who have problems with that.
She also explains that wheat has such a bad rep because--like corn and soy-- some form of wheat appears in almost every processed food, so our bodies have been bombarded and overloaded with wheat, often creating a mild intolerance. True gluten intolerance is a genetic disorder called celiac disease, and it's relatively rare. For most people who consider themselves "allergic" to wheat, white flour is often the culprit. Highly processed and commonly overeaten white flour can cause problems that feel like allergies.
If you have a hard time with wheat, try cutting all flour out of your diet for a while, or try the whole 30 diet, and you might be able to tolerate whole wheat flour products after a few months. That's what happened to Alicia. I still have yet to try whole wheat flour at home, but have had it in some store bought cookies and the reaction wasn't nearly as bad as all-purpose flour, but I'm still a little iffy on that and don't think it's a necessity. But when faced with the decision, definitely opt for whole wheat flour vs. all-purpose.
Raisin rice with lacinato kale and broiled tomatoes
Serves 2-3
For the rice, I used my raisin-cumin rice recipe
here, but substituted jasmine rice for organic brown basmati rice. When the rice is fully cooked, leave the heat on low and let the bottom of the rice burn. When it starts to smell good (or like burnt rice), turn the heat off and mix everything, scraping the bottom the get the burnt bits.
Cut 3 vine tomatoes in half and place under a preheated broiler for about 10 minutes or so until tomatoes are soft.
For the kale, I tried something new and got some lacinato kale (dinosaur kale) that I'm now in love with. It's super easy to cook, just pop it in a strainer and place over a pot of boiling water and cover to steam for 5-10 minutes. Lacinato kale is delicious and has a really earthy taste. Unlike traditional curly kale, it doesn't get all wilted when you steam it. It gets soft but it keeps it's shape and a little firmness, making it easy to chop afterwards and mix in rice. The stem also is tender enough to eat so you don't waste a thing! Steaming helps preserve kales nutrients when you can't eat it raw. Loaded with anti-cancer phytochemicals, high in calcium, iron, fiber, vitamin B, chlorophyll, manganese, calcium and more, kale is one of the most nutritious veggies we can eat! It's recommended to eat it every day, or at least 3 times a week for maximum benefits.
In 1777, Thomas Jefferson grew lacinato kale in his vegetable garden at Monticello (even though it was maintained by slaves, but we won't talk about that right now..)
I also made some rice pudding with leftover
rice porridge, but thats a whole other post. Check back tomorrow or within the next couple days for a recipe. I can't wait to share it with you, it's AMAZING!
