Food, Food, Glorious Food!

Have you ever seen Over The Hedge? If not you should. My FB friend Nick Raven wrote a piece for CS Indy on Junk Food and my husband is off meditating in the next room so I suddenly find myself on a weekend with some free time and I'm struck with the urge to write for once in several years....

I appreciate my fair share of junk food too! But, I did learn to cook growing up. I never especially enjoyed cooking (Probably has something to do with gender norms. This is one way in which American males are typically NOT privileged! A book I need to read: Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?, the introduction of economics to the discussion probably escalates it to Intersectional Feminism... ok, enough rabbit hole), and as an adult who works full-time, time is my scarcest resource (or a combination of time, and physical/mental energy). But I do care about health and have managed to learn some nutrition over the years so I've accumulated some ways of trying to do "quick and heathy".

I could probably write a whole separate blog post on my views of nutrition at this point, but if I had to sum it up in one word it would be: fiber! People in modern industrialized societies, especially Americans, don't eat nearly enough. The human gut microbiome is truly amazing and science is only just beginnng to understand the complexities (See: I Contain Multitudes by Ed Yong), but treat it right and it will take care of you. Gut bacteria thrive on fiber (and there are different kinds of fiber: soluble, non-soluble, prebiotic, resistant starch, etc)! Traditional hunter gatherer societies may have eaten as much as 100g a day. I believe "high-fiber" may be the true paleo guideline. The (FDA?) suggested daily targets are 30-38g for men, and 25g for women. Easier said than done nowadays. To accomplish this, you have to learn what foods have fiber. Well, the simple answer is: plants. But some plants have alot and many have almost none.

Rule-of-thumb fiber amounts:

• Avocado: 13g
• Pear: 6g
• Apple: 4g
• Banana: 3g (as it ripens, it loses some fiber)
• Peanut Butter (2 Tablespoons): 3g
• Cocoa (1 Tablespoon): 2g
• Chia seeds (1 Tablespoon): 5g
• Old fashioned oats (1/2cup dry): 5g
• Whole Grain Bread (1 slice): 2g (Some brands have more. Dave's Bread is 5g, I think?)
• Whole Grain pasta (5-13g per serving, depends on the type/brand)

Power Combos (small amount of prep work):

• Smoothie (Peanut Butter, Cocoa, Banana, Oat Milk)
• Overnight oats (My favorite is peanut butter & cocoa)
• Chia pudding (I usually add blueberries or bananas. Or add: frozen dark cherries, coconut flakes, cinnamon, vanilla, and almond extract)

Quick Snacks (No prep!):

• Pumpkin Seeds (1/4 cup, with shells): 5g
• Okra Chips (Sprouts and now King Soopers): 6g
• Dark chococlate (varies by %cocoa)
• Kirkland Nutbar (Costco): 8g
• Toasted whole grain bread w/butter and Everything But The Bagel Seasoning

Quick meals:

• Quorn Mozarella & Pesto "Chicken" Cutlets (I love Quorn products, made from mycelium!) with microwave steamable Brussel Sprouts in butter sauce
• Tasy Bite microwaveable Indian veggies (I like Kashmir Spinach, and Madras Lentils) combined with Seeds of Change microwaveable rice pouches. Both are available from Costco. Maybe a toasted multi-grain mini naan on the side.
• BANZA pasta, Quorn crumbles, and your favorite brand of marinara sauce (Costco's Bertolli is pretty good).

Small amount of prep work:

• Corns chips and guacamole (Tip: blue corn has extra anti-oxidants)
• Roasted Chickpeas (I decided to pop some in the oven while writing this!)

Note: if you suddenly increase your fiber intake, it can be... uncomfortable. I recommended adding it to your diet gradually. Some people's bodies respond to different types of fiber in differt ways. Go slow, find what works for you.

Fast food is still faster than some of these. And yes, some fast food is just such an amazing flavor bomb! Ok, here's a plug for some of my favorite junk foods:

• Thin Mint Oreos
• Reeses Take 5
• Dr Pepper, FTW!
• Jalapeno Cheetos
• Chex Mix Party Blend
• Carl's Jr: Beyond Burger with Cheese, Spicy Chicken Sandwich
• Arby's: Classic RB Sandwich, Curly fries, Jamocha shake (I'm not a vegetarian)

(see, I'm a relateable human being, if I can add healthy stuff to my diet, so can you...well, I mean, I know some people can't. Food deserts, money, allergies, etc, sorry if any of that is you, not trying to condecend here)

Believe it or not, I actually dream of a day when fast food is healthy food! Another thing I care about in food production is sustainability. I mentioned Beyond Burgers, and Quorn. I'm all for lab-grown meat! I also want to try kelp burgers, algae-based foods (there is a promising replacement for palm oil derived from algae), and insect based foods. Cricket Donuts, anyone?

I have never tried Soylent, sorry. The name is kind of a turn-off for me. Probably not a bad product. Also, if you are in The Springs I highly recommend the restaurants: Arharn Thai (Veggie Lard Na), Pho-Nomenal (Veggie Pho), Mi Mexico (Crab Soup & Sangria), Little Nepal (buffet. Unique items: Tomato Coconut Soup and Carrot Pudding), and Poor Richard's Soup Bar with Bread (All the soups are good, but if you go on a day that they serve Beer Cheese you are in for a treat). It's fall. A chill is in the air and I had soup on the brain.