A Tactical Shift

One of my favorite ways to kill time is to go on ted.com and watch one of the talks. I've been trying to unwind after the GRE experience (studying and stressing up to yesterday) and I found this one by Lewis Pugh on how he tackled a cold water swim on Mt. Everest.

Regardless of what you think about climate change, the idea of revamping a tactic when your current strategy isn't working is useful. I've been looking at this lifestyle shift as a restrictive, temporary thing, but it's clear that I'm going to have to keep doing it in order to continue to have a semi-clear/clear complexion. Continuing to consider this thing as a restrictive thing is not going to help me stay on it.

The Great and Powerful Green Drink

Apparently, the green powder that I've been slacking on makes quite a big difference. I had half a scoop of the stuff in water with some coconut milk and lemon juice last night, and, when I woke up this morning, my shoulders and face were much less red and swollen. I had no idea. Sheesh.

Anyway - this is the stuff - Field of Greens by Vibrant Health. It's organic, raw, vegan, gluten-free, and filler-less. It's a bit strong by itself, so this is how I drink it most of the time.

1 tall glass water (divided)
1 scoop Field of Greens Green Powder
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
Splash of coconut milk, to taste (optional)

Fill the glass about half way with water. Add Field of Greens Green Powder, lemon juice, and coconut milk. Fill the glass the rest of the way with water. Stir until the green powder is dissolved. Enjoy immediately cold. It takes some getting used to, but the lemon really helps cut the strong green taste.

Every once in a while, I will pick up some coconut water and add in my daily powder. The sweet coconut water does plenty to mask the strong green flavor of the powder.

My face is not happy with me - back to the strict diet

I finally took the GRE today and it feels fantastic to be done with that thing. My face, however, is not happy with me for it.

See, while there is a significant dietary/hormonal component to my acne, there is also a significant stress component too. My natural inclination is to hold stress in until whatever is stressing me out passes, after which I breathe a huge sigh of relief. Thing is, I rarely know how bad something is affecting me until after it's passed: in this case, the GRE must have really been doing a number on me because areas that have been clear for months (forehead, neck, shoulders) are now breaking out! I'm going to have to take soy (fermented and un-fermented) completely out of the picture again, and not to mention going out to eat and most desserts. I'll have to be more careful about the birth control too - I almost wonder if that could be contributing to my breakouts too. Maybe I should go back to writing a confession each time I so much as toe the line - I've not been terribly strict all summer about doing that. Perhaps its in my best interest.

Why must my body be so darn sensitive - seriously? It's driving me crazy. I don't know if I'm going to be able to reincorporate those ingredients I slashed in March after things re-clear up. Oi vey!

Anti-Performance-Anxiety Smoothie - Literally!

A few years back, I was really worried about panicking at my piano juries (really high-pressure performances - not fun). My counterpoint professor overheard me and told me that if I give up dessert for a week and have toast with peanut butter and a banana at least two hours before my jury time, it would have the effect of a beta-blocker, without the nasty meds. I did it and it worked.

Now, I have to take the GRE - like an SAT for grad students - and I'm worried that I'll choke. It's not that the test is hard, but it's long, and it messes with your head. Thankfully, I have a way to bail out if I don't like the way I did, but it costs $140 to take the test, and I only want to do this bugger once. I can't have traditional bread, but I have a kick-butt blender, so I made this.

The Anti-Performance-Anxiety Smoothie

4 tablespoons peanut butter
1 whole banana
1 tablespoon hemp seed
1 tablespoon flax seed
1/4 cup lite coconut milk

Place all ingredients in blender. Blend until smooth. Enjoy cold at least two hours before your high-pressure event for an all-natural beta-blocker.

I think I understand now why Elvis liked peanut butter and banana sandwiches so much. I never made that connection before.

Trying out soy again - yum!

In the name of figuring out which, if any, of the foods I cut I can bring back, I bought some organic, wheat-free tamari - aka, soy sauce. I made some chicken with Thai peanut sauce and basmati rice last night and boy have I missed soy sauce! It tasted so good and rich and punchy! I'm going to take this slow because I wonder also if it may be that I can handle only certain quantities of soy, and only if it's fermented (aka, soy sauce, miso, tempeh, natto). While soy has been heavily marketed as a health food for it's isoflavinoids and plant-based protein in the West, some say that un-fermented soy (soy milk, soy cheese, etc.) does more harm then good (1, 2, 3). So here, we go!

Boiled White Rice Recipe

When my dad's family lived in Japan, his mom asked for a no-fail recipe for boiling rice, and the recipe has been passed down to me (and probably my sister, though I don't know how much rice she makes). I'm passing it on to you, dear readers, with optional olive oil and salt.

3 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
a dash of salt (optional)
2 cups rice

Rinse rice. Pour water, olive oil, and salt in a sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil on high heat. Add the rice. Bring heat down to medium heat and allow to lightly simmer uncovered. Simmer until water evaporates - about 20 minutes or so. Fluff and serve hot immediately.

Boiled Amaranth Recipe

In the spirit of getting back to basics (with some actual measurements), here's the basic recipe I use for boiling amaranth seed (adapted from 1).

2 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
a dash of salt (optional)
1 cup amaranth

Rinse amaranth. Pour water, oil, and salt into sauce pan and bring to a vigorous boil. Add amaranth. Allow the amaranth to boil for until the water evaporates - about 20 minutes or so. The end result should be sticky, but not gummy.

A realization or two (or three)

So I've been trying to figure out what exactly to do with The Acne-Free Foodie to make it better (and bring more people to the site), and I'm thinking that a major restructuring of the blog is in order. Here's what I'm thinking:

1) The original purpose - to be an advocacy/food-news/cookbook blog that challenges the conventional wisdom about food-health relationships - was a bit too ambitious. I need to par this thing down to make it manageable for a music theory graduate student. The original intent may have been a good idea for someone in a food/health-related field, but maybe not for music theorist.

2) The recipes I've posted (except for the basic buckwheat) are woefully inexact. The reason for that - that's how I cook. Cooking, for me, is something creative and (in comparison to composing music) instantly gratifying. I don't have a professor "murdering my baby" when I cook - it's just me and the food. I don't have a problem taking liberties with recipes or experimenting without them because, in my other creative pursuits, I'm supposed to create my own recipes. For someone else though, that's downright intimidating.

3) This blog is all text! I'm not taking advantage of one of the things I most love about the Internet - the multimedia, hypertextual possibilities. I frequently rant about how academia has not taken advantage of all the web-based publishing's possibilities, yet I have yet to post so much as a picture on this blog. How hypocritical!

So, in summary:

1) More focused purpose
2) More detailed, exact recipes
3) More multimedia integration/hypertextuality throughout

What say you?

A basic buckwheat recipe

A few weeks back, as part of my efforts to get over major food boredom, I bought some buckwheat groats to try. I finally made another curry-like dish last night and a oatmeal-like dish this morning, both of which need some refining before I post here. I will admit that buckwheat has an unusual texture that I need to get used to (fluffy, but kind of springy), but I understand why the food allergy community likes to use the grain as the base for pancakes so much. Here's a basic cooked buckwheat recipe.

Cooked Buckwheat
4 cups water
1 tablespoon olive oil (optional)
a dash of salt (optional)
1 cup uncooked, rinsed buckwheat groats

Pour water in a saucepan. Add olive oil and salt, if desired. Bring water to boil. Add buckwheat. Turn stove to medium-high, or just enough so that the contents are vigorously simmering. Cook until the water evaporates. Serve hot immediately.

New Blender - and I didn't break the bank! (yet)

The failing blender issue has been temporarily resolved. We ended up getting a $100 KitchenAid 5-speed Custom Blender (KSB560) a brick and mortar Bed, Bath and Beyond for $80 with a 20%-off coupon. I've not tried it yet, but the reviews online are favorable. I do hope that this holds up better than by my poor Oster, which will be given as comfortable a retirement as a blender can receive. Goodwill will take blenders that work, and it'll probably serve the average user much better than it will serve me. It's the least I can do, especially after asking the Oster do things at a frequency it was never designed to handle.

An Ice Cream Maker!

A few posts back, I was pleased to discover a technique for making ice cream that was quick and didn't involve coffee cans or going out and buying an ice cream maker. My parents have an ice cream maker that has just been sitting in their cupboard and offered to let me use it. As wonderful as Luna and Larry's Organic Coconut Bliss is, it's expensive, so I'll be experimenting with my own coconut milk ice cream and coconut water sorbet when I get home. Yum!

New Page: AFF Friendly Food Brands

My family visit gave me an idea for another page - a list of AFF-friendly food brands. So far, I have two listed, Udi's Gluten-Free Foods, and Enjoy Life! Foods, but I know about others - I just need to relocate them and post links to their online stores.

Hurray for Udi's Gluten Free Foods!

I'm visiting family this week and gluten, soy, and dairy free they are not. Thankfully, my parents hardly live in a gluten, soy, and dairy free desert, so they can tell me what they are going to eat, and I can buy AFF-friendly substitutes. Udi's makes the best gluten, soy, and dairy free bread I've ever had (it may be the only gfcfsf bread I've ever had, but it's good), as well as AFF-friendly pizza crusts and blueberry muffins. They are pricey and can be difficult to find, but it makes navigating the social aspect of food a lot easier - especially the "I can't have that because it has [insert objectionable ingredient here]" conversation. Yay Udi's!

The Ultimate Green Smoothie Variation Set

I was poking around the Vitamix site again and they have a mix-and-match green smoothie cheat sheet in PDF format. There's a quick sign-up, but what you get is quite good - 336 different variations on the green smoothie. I have been beat, dear readers, by quite a long shot. Then again, this is Vitamix - this is what they do. Maybe I'll try out the cheat sheet and share my favorite combinations here.

My only quibble is that it doesn't include basil, cilantro, parsley, or other green, leafy herbs anywhere on the mix-and-match table. They do cut the same old green taste quite a bit and make things more interesting.

Holy Bleep! (on Vitamixes)

I've been looking around at blenders to replace my poor Oster blender, which is starting to go. I've heard from multiple sources (the blogosphere, Consumer Reports) that Vitamix makes the best blender on the market and will last for a long time. I knew it would be pricey because it's institutional/professional chef quality - not to mention durable - but the base model, the Vitamix 5200, the time of this writing, is $449.00! That's enough to make any grad student gulp in terror. I guess I could just buy another Oster, but I don't want to have to buy another blender in 4 months (since I've been slacking) because I've been using it (abusing it?) the way I have. At the rate I'm going through blenders, I'll go through 2 $40 blenders a year. That's $80 on blenders a year. At that rate, it'll take me 5.625 years to get to $450. I feel great when I stick to the diet, and it helps tremendously, but I'm paying quite a bit for food as it is. That much on a blender - even a good blender - is a lot of money. Yes, spend it on food or spend it on the doctor, but sheesh - this better work!

Cookbook, Edition #7: Basil Smoothie!

Here's yet another variation on the green smoothie in a further attempt to cure food boredom. It was inspired in part by Giada De Laurentiis' version, but without the dairy or the syrup.

As much fresh basil as you can stuff into your blender (the stuff reduces fast)
A squirt of lemon juice or two
A teaspoon or two of agave nectar/honey
A splash of coconut milk
A splash of water.

Blend until smooth. Serve immediately cold.

Enjoy!

Finances, Edition #5

Today's finances are a double whammy to make up for getting a week behind. I think I'm getting the hang of how to do this diet at least semi-cheap, which means cutting back on the strawberries and the blueberries and going more with the fruits on sale. These past two weeks, the kiwis, the peaches, and the nectarines have been on sale, and, with those, you get more fruit for less money. I don't understand why the kiwis are so cheap - just $.79 each - when they source them from New Zealand (!).

7/2/10

2 1lb packages organic strawberries @ $3/package = $6
2 packages organic blueberries @ $3/package = $6
2.64 lbs organic bananas @ $1.29/lb = $3.41
organic raw almonds = $3.65
bunch of carrots = $1.99
6 kiwi fruit @ $.79/ea. = $4.74
organic rice puffs = $2.19
organic millet puffs = $2.19
C20 coconut water = $1.39
2 15oz cans organic garbanzo beans @ $1.39/can = $2.78
2 15oz cans organic diced tomatoes @ $2.39/can = $4.78
2 15oz cans organic black beans @ $1.39/can = $2.78
1.03 lbs organic white peaches @ $2.29/lb = $2.56
1.11 lbs organic lemons @ $2.49/lb = $2.76

Total = $49.61

7/10/10

2 15oz cans organic black beans @ $1.39/can = $2.78
2 15oz cans organic pinto beans @ $1.39/can = $2.78
3 15 oz cans light organic coconut milk @ $1.99/can = $5.97
1 jar organic sunflower seed butter = $6.99
organic raw almonds = $5.45
1.11 lb organic lemons @ $2.99/lb = $3.32
1.85 lb organic nectarines @ $1.69/lb = $3.13
2.33 lb organic yellow peaches @ $1.69/lb = $3.94
6 organic kiwi @ $.79/lb = $4.74
1 bunch organic cilantro = $1.49
1 bunch organic parsley = $1.29
3 organic avocados @ $.99/each = $2.97
1 bunch organic spinach = $2.49
1 plant organic basil = $2.99
2.22 lb organic bananas @ $1.29/lb = $2.86

Total = $54.58

Media, Edition #8: Sweet Misery

Here's something scary: the history and affects of Nutrasweet, AKA aspartame. It shows how toothless the FDA has been, how bad the revolving door is between industry and politics in the US, and how nasty all of this food regulation stuff is. For more information on aspartame, check out the DORway.

Cookbook, Edition #7: WholeFoods Raw Berry Crisp

I've not made this yet, but it looks and sounds fantastic! My mouth started watering just thinking about it. And there are so many variations you could make on it: peaches, mangoes, pears, apples, cherries - yum!

And WholeFoods puts out more recipes indexed by special dietary needs - I'll be posting more as I find more good things to eat!

Regimen, Edition #2: Turmeric and Coconut Oil Update

After a few days of trying to turmeric and coconut oil mask applied topically at night, I've decided that it may work for some people, I'm more frustrated with the mess it's causing than pleased by the results I'm getting. I bought some color friendly bleach to get the yellow stain out of my clothes. Turmeric tea doesn't bother me though (it tastes like liquid mustard, but I like mustard), so that will be how I reap turmeric's benefits.

Turmeric Tea

1 Cup Water
A dash of ground Turmeric
A dash of ground Black Pepper
Lemon Juice (optional)
Coconut Milk (optional)
Agave Nectar (optional)

Combine Water, Turmeric, and Pepper in a microwavable container. Microwave until the water gently boils. Add optional ingredients to taste. Serve hot immediately.

Odds and Ends: Facemapping Acne

This is cool - face-mapping acne to see what's causing it. According to this, the rest of my acne, which is largely on my upper cheeks these days (though I have some on the lower cheeks and on my neck), could be due to lung issues, talking on the phone, or my pillows. I have had minor respiratory issues in the past during exceedingly bad allergy season, and I probably don't exercise enough. I've got time these days, so I don't have an excuse.

Diet, Edition #4: A New and Improved Restricted Ingredients List!

I had a request that the Restricted Ingredients list be formatted and presented in a way that's easier to read and download, and I have fulfilled that request. I have compiled all of the ingredients from the three major categories (plus other ingredients that I avoided before taking on the AFF diet) into a relatively short, printable list. Before I update the Restricted Ingredients page, I wanted to see if this works as well for you, readers, as it does for me. Also, I've been looking at ingredients too long, so if there are any typos, duplicates, or other mistakes, let me know in the comments.

Media, Edition #8: Top Chef Tom Colicchio for improving school food

CNN reports on Top Chef host and judge Tom Colicchio's testimony in support of H.R. 5504, the Improving Nutrition for America's Children Act. While I am generally a fiscal conservative concerned about the mounting national debt, I know from personal experience that investing in good food is well worth the extra expense. I have written here many times that I feel lighter, cleaner, brighter, and more sane when I adhere to my general food principles strictly - not to mention that my face is clearer. My experience corrobates with scientific studies demonstrate that good food helps prevent and heal disease (1). The current obesity epidemic, the cost of good food, and the difficulties faced by the poor and middle classes necessitates a school lunch program where good food is the rule, not the exception.

Finances, Edition #4

I enjoy my weekly grocery store trip. There’s something about all the colorful food that makes me briefly forget about my worries. I also adhere to my family’s food-money philosophy: “You either spend money on food or you spend money on medical bills”. While I knew that my food bills would increase when I started buying all-organic fruits and vegetables, I didn’t think they would increase as much as they did - to $60, $80, sometimes $100 a week. To draw attention to the cost of good food, I’m keeping a cumulative tally of my weekly grocery bill and the tab from any time I eat out.

I realized I missed a week, so I owe you this receipt from two weeks ago as well as yesterday's receipt. Two weeks ago was an expensive week, mostly because I ran out of spices, tea tree oil, and grains - at the same time!

1.31 lb Organic Lemons @ $2.49/lb = $3.26
1 Bunch Organic Carrots = $1.99
Organic Tea Tree Oil = $11.49
1.62 lb Organic White Onion @ $2.49/lb = $2.99
2.37 lb Organic Red Seedless Grapes @ $2.99 = $7.09
Organic Raw Hemp Seed = $9.44
Organic Raw Hemp Seed = $4.44
1.05 lb Organic Millet @ $1.29 lb = $1.35
2 Packages of Organic Blueberries @ 2 Packages for $5 = $5
10oz Organic Girl Baby Spinach = $6.99
1.25 lb Organic Short Brown Rice @ $1.99/lb = $2..49
.76 lb Organic Raw Buckwheat Grits @ $2.39/lb = $2.49
Organic Cumin = $5.59
Organic Tumeric = $4.39
Organic Curry Powder = $4.99
Raw Blue Agave = $11.99
1.51 lb Organic White Jasmine Rice @ $2.29 /lb = $4.82
.76 lb Organic Amaranth @ $2.39/lb = $1.82
4 Mangos @ 4 for $5 = $5
2 1lb Packages Organic Strawberries @ 2 packages for $6 = $6
3.35 lb Organic Bananas @ $1.29/lb = $4.32

Subtotal = $108.01
Tax = $1.09
Total = $109.10

Regimen, Edition #1: Turmeric and Coconut Oil Mask

Because the diet I've been following is such a challenge, I've not written much about my topical regimen. The regimen I've more or less settled on is washing my face with coconut oil, applying tea tree oil with a cotton ball, and then applying a small amount of coconut oil as a moisturizer both in the morning and evening. In the evening, I've also used prescription strength retin-A cream after the tea tree oil and before the moisturizing coconut oil.

A few nights ago, I stumbled some people who use turmeric as a mask and tea to help with acne to great effect. While I don't like changing up my regimen too much, I also don't mind a nice face mask every once in a while. I made a mask using turmeric, all purpose wheat flour (which I haven't thrown out, since I've not conclusively proved that I am gluten sensitive, but I have suspicions - hence the diet), and coconut oil. I mixed it up, washed my face with coconut oil, applied the mask, and let it sit. It felt good while on my skin, and when I washed it off, my skin felt smoother than it had felt in years.

Now, there are drawbacks. The turmeric yellow stain is annoying. I've noticed that my neck is breaking out again (just two little buggers, but they hurt), probably from the stuff I didn't wash off. And, of course, the wheat flour seems unnecessary. I'll keep trying it, but I'll make the next batch sans the wheat. If the stuff irritates my skin, then it probably irritates my insides too.

Media, Edition #7: Sugar linked to high blood pressure

CNN reports that a study that found that the more fructose (the sugar naturally found in fruit and vegetables) you eat, the more likely you are to have hypertension (1).

With all the worries about fructose products (high fructose corn syrup, refined fructose, etc.), this is not a cop-out to avoid fruit and vegetables all together. When you eat the whole fruit (or as much as possible), you get a small amount of fructose and plenty of fiber, which helps you properly process the sugar. Dr. Robert Lustig, MD at University of California, San Francisco shows how in his lecture, Sugar: The Bitter Truth. The section on biochemistry is technical, but well worth the time, if you have it and remember some of your high school biology.

Cookbook, Edition #7: The Pink Smoothie

The Pink Smoothie resulted from two things: 1) combating food boredom, and 2) applying lessons from my former academic concentration to my food.

I am a musician by training, but I am more an academic than a performer. I was a composer until I realized that, as much as I love composing, I love learning about and teaching music theory more. One of the main lessons I took away from composing was that you can generate a lot of good stuff from just a few ideas. In fact, the less stuff you have to work with, the more creative you get with what you do use.

With the original Green Smoothie, I just wanted to get the vegetables into my system without setting off my gag reflex. As a brave soul who actually tried some of the original Green Smoothie said, "It doesn't taste bad. It doesn't really taste like anything." While that works for awhile, drinking tasteless green goop doesn't work long term, especially for a food lover. The variations on the Green Smoothie are one result of that effort to make this thing long term and enjoyable.

That said, just plain fruit is fantastic, especially in the morning. This is what I've been making for breakfast as of late.

The Pink Smoothie
2 handfuls chopped strawberries
2 handfuls blueberries, de-stemmed
1 banana
1 tablespoon or so hemp seed
1 tablespoon or so flax seed
a splash of coconut milk
a splash of water

Place all ingredients in a blender. Blend until smooth. Serve cold immediately.

Cookbook, Edition #6: Green Smoothie, Variations I and II

Spinach and berries are great, but I get bored with the same food all the time quickly. Not only that, but other fruits pair nicely with spinach and have been in-season (and on sale) recently, and I like saving money just like anyone else. To take advantage of the in-season, on-sale fruit, I had to come up with a few variations on the green smoothie. This is what I came up with:

Variation I

2 fistfuls baby spinach
2 big handfuls red grapes
2 big handfuls chopped mango
1 peeled, chopped banana
1 chopped carrot with green, leafy parts
1 tablespoon or so hemp seed
1 tablespoon or so flax seed
a splash of coconut milk
a splash of water

Blend in a blender until smooth. Serve cold immediately.

Variation II

2 fistfulls baby spinach
2 big handfuls chopped mango
2 yellow peaches, diced
1 peeled, chopped banana
1 tablespoon or so hemp seed
1 tablespoon or so flax seed
a splash of coconut milk
a splash of water

Blend in a blender until smooth. Serve cold immediately.