Kale Salad and Watermelon Gazpacho

It's been an incredibly busy month.  Travel to my husband's family reunion.  A visit from my step daughter and her boyfriend.  Lots of eating at places other than home.  Here are two recipes which have helped get me through the last month without a major dent in my diet.

My husband's family knew I was basically vegetarian but ate a little chicken and fish, but I was hesitant to ask then to also do non-gluten, non-sweetened, no dairy when they had to provide food for 60+ people for three days.  They did a great job on providing things that met all those by the way but because I was unsure, I decided to bring a dish to pass each day.

The watermelon gazpacho is a favorite of ours and was a big hit at our wedding last summer.  It proved to be a winner at the reunion as well.  It's perfect for a hot summer day.  This recipe came from our Whole Foods in West Bloomfield, Michigan via my friend Julie who kindly passed it on to me.  Amounts of everything can be varied to taste.  It's hard to tell just  how many cups of fruit are in a watermelon.  Since I hate to not use all the watermelon, I adjust the other ingredients accordingly.  It's a very forgiving recipe.

Watermelon Gazpacho

1 small seedless watermelon
1 small green pepper finely chopped
1 green apple peeled and finely chopped
1 red onion  finely chopped
about 2 or 3 T of cider vinegar
1/2 to 1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp dried basil or about 1 T finely chopped fresh basil
salt and pepper to taste

Puree watermelon in a blender or food processor. (Or if you're somewhere without the gadgets you may have at home, you can mash the watermelon with a potato masher.  It turns out somewhat chunkier but still does the trick.If you do this, you may want to chop the other ingredients a little more coarsely.)  Pour puree into a large bowl (or the hollowed out shell of the watermelon.) Stir in other ingredients.  Add the cider vinegar, chili powder and salt and pepper to taste.  This will make about 8 servings depending on the size of your watermelon.  Don't worry about extra.  It tastes great the next day!  You can serve it in the short, wide clear plastic cups at an outdoor event. They're much easier to handle than a bowl.  Add a sprig of basil for a decorative touch.

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This next recipe is one I've been getting a lot of requests to share.  When I decided to bring it to the family reunion the second day, my husband assured me I'd have it all to myself. (He's not a big leafy green veggie fan.)  Not so.  It vanished even more quickly than the soup.  This comes from Kathy Abascal's The Abascal Way Cookbook.  This salad has been a lifesaver for me.  Not only does it taste great, it keeps well in the fridge for a day or so and can make it through a day in an insulated bag with a small ice pack. I've taken it on many day trips as well used it for a dish to pass. I try to keep extra dressing in the frig at all times as well as a box or two of chopped kale to mix up for last minute changes in plans where I'm unsure I'll be able to find appropriate food.  Or when I'm just feeling lazy at home and want some "fast food."

Kale Salad with Tahini Dressing
 
1 bunch of kale (or use the cleaned and pre-chopped kale for a quick and easy dish.  I use a wonderful rainbow kale salad with grated carrot that I get at my local PCC store in Edmonds. It's a lighter kale than the curly kale but sturdier than baby kale.  In Michigan I used a mix of pre-cleaned and chopped baby kale and curly kale plus some grated carrot.) 
1 small carrot coarsely grated (Optional)

1/2 cup tahini
Juice of one lemon
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 T rice vinegar
enough water to make a thick but pourable dressing (about 3-4 T)
1 T tamari (don't add to dressing, sprinkle on once dressing is mixed with kale)

Clean and dry kale.  Remove ribs.  Chop the leaves finely.  Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl.  Toss the kale with enough dressing to coat the leaves.  (I usually don't use all the dressing.  Store it in the frig for the next batch. Thin with a little more water if necessary.)  Toss with tamari.

It shouldn't have to be this hard

The last few days have been busy ones.  I’ve missed a couple of snacks because I was away from home.  It’s easy to pack nuts for protein.  An apple or pear is a little more cumbersome to carry but vegetables—they’re a much bigger challenge.  I’m not really big on raw carrots.  Actually, my favorite snack (right up there with kale chips) is a finely chopped mix of different varieties of kale with a tahini dressing on it.  It’s also my favorite lunch right now.  In fact, I could eat this stuff everyday it’s so good.  Luckily, I can buy the kale already mixed and finely shredded at my local PCC Store.  And I’ve finally caught on that the dressing will keep in the frig for a number of days.  Next time, I’ll make a double batch of dressing and can use it throughout the week.  

 So, back to my original issue, why are there no places to go to pick up a dish of something like this kale salad?  Even the pre-made salads at  my beloved PCC seem to have things like canola oil or sweeteners.  At least they can tell you exactly what’s in them.  But I’m curious why nobody has thought to add “clean” food and snacks that you can walk in (or drive thru) and pick up as easily as a hamburger.  Not a bland salad with poor quality vinegar and questionable oil but something truly tasty and satisfying like the kale salad.  Is there really no market out there?  Maybe it seems so because the anti-inflammatory food that’s out there in many restaurants is so generic and bland—unless you get into a more upscale restaurant.

 

Or maybe it’s because fresh organic produce, at least around my neck of the woods, is expensive.  I haven’t added it up, but the little cash register in my head is telling me I’m spending significantly more on food since I’ve been on this diet.  It’s worth it to me but I can’t help but wonder about people on a tight budget.  Which brings me to one of my pet peeves.  U.S. Government farm subsidies go almost exclusively to the large, corporate food producers.  This was not their original intent—they were intended to help independent farmers.  And yet, I’ve not heard of one small organic vegetable grower who gets a penny.  What’s wrong with this picture?  With so much of our tax dollars supporting corporate growing of patented and often genetically modified corn, wheat and soybeans, no wonder all the stuff on the “no eat” list is so inexpensive.  Hasn’t it occurred to anyone that by making this kind of food so cheap, we’ve made our health care extremely expensive? 

So, what am I finding so far?

I’ve been off my anti-inflammatory meds now for a week.  My foot still hurts some of the time but it’s mild.  Jury still out on whether food can control the inflammation enough to avoid surgery.  I do find though that I’m less achy after working out or working in the garden. 

Several nagging menopausal related symptoms have disappeared.

My nagging little stomach aches and bloated feeling are gone and I’ve been able to stop the expensive pro-biotic pills I was taking.

I’ve held at about 4 lbs. lost.  In fact, earlier in the week, it actually seemed like I gained a couple of those pounds back.  But my stomach looks flatter to me and I feel lighter.

The dark circles under my eyes have lightened up.  This may be my imagination but two months ago they were starting to concern me.  Now, I barely notice them.

I have a much deeper appreciation and empathy for those people who have real food allergies and how because of our food habits, customs and attitudes in this country, it can isolate these folks from being able to enjoy good food outside of their homes.

I am even more sensitive to how our food system and habits make it very time consuming, costly and difficult to eat this way.  If I ever fall off this way of eating, it won’t be because I’m bored or don’t like it, or it doesn't help me feel great, it will be because it is just too difficult to be part of modern society and hold to this way of eating.  And the sad part is, is that it doesn’t have to be.

Road Trip Food

We just returned from a lovely four days away from home and I'm happy to report that I was able to hold to my diet (with a few minor unknowns).  That being said, it took a bit of doing and some healthy snacks tucked into the cooler.

We arrived at the Cave B Inn at 1pm just in time for lunch only to find out they had only a brunch buffet with little other than fruit that I knew for sure was okay. With no other restaurants within a 35 minute drive and a 2:15 appointment at the spa, this was my first challenge.  The cook at the omelet bar was willing to do a no butter, no oil omelet with spinach, mushrooms and onions.  Added some fresh fruit from the buffet and a bit of lox (does lox have sugar in it?).  So far, so good.  Dinner was a fabulous ratatouille of spaghetti squash dressed with roasted carrots, celery, garlic, tomatoes, red peppers and onions and topped with a fried egg.  Delicious!

The following morning, two poached eggs on a bed of lightly braised spinach was terrific although the special request took 45 minutes to arrive.

Off on the road the next morning, we made a stop at McDonald's (mostly for the restroom) but I decided to get a drink and my husband wanted some fries.  This was my first trip into Micky D's in probably a decade.  I ordered an iced coffee for me and large fries for my husband.  "Will that be caramel or vanilla?" the server asked.  "Neither." I said.  "Oh, you have to pick one, it only comes that way." she said.  Turns out the iced coffee is not coffee chilled over ice but rather a pre-mixed, highly sugared beverage.  I went with an ice tea.  While I waited, I noticed the person next to me taking delivery on a box of fries that was as big as the popcorn boxes at the movies.  "Is that a large fries?" I asked.  It was about 4 times larger than I had remembered.  I revised my order to a medium.  "Medium fries and a sweetened ice tea" a server called as she pushed it in my direction.  They re-did my drink order to reflect my unsweetened ice tea order.  I walked out with a little better idea of how easy it can be to over sugar and over order if you're not vigilant.

A stop at a small town cafe was an unexpected surprise with a fresh looking salad bar.  Soup came with it.  I order lentil figuring the tomato mushroom likely had cream in it.  The lentil soup looked fabulous but was filled with small pieces of ham.  The server gladly replaced it with the tomato soup which it turned out was a clear, vegetable broth.

For dinner in Spokane and I chose Wild Sage on 2nd St. since it advertised non-gluten options.  Adding non-dairy severely limited the choices but I did end up with an excellent fresh, nicely presented salad with a high quality balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Main course was black quinoa and lentil cakes served with a roasted tomato sauce, asparagus and pea shoots.  I asked  them to hold the Parmesan. They were very accommodating and knowledgeable about their ingredients.  Mmmm.

In the morning, the restaurants near the hotel didn't look too promising.  Eggs were plentiful but no mention of fruit or veggies on the breakfast menu.  I was dying for a Starbucks style cafe Americano so we headed down the street to what ended up being an independent coffee seller who sold Starbucks coffee.  I got my Americano and dug into my pack for a pear and my almond butter.  It was a satisfying breakfast that stuck with me.

Back at Cave B, I used a slightly different strategy and talked to the chef this time.  I ended up with a chicken salad sandwich minus the bread and chips with some extra lettuce mix.  I think the chicken had a tiny bit of mayo but since mayo is part of the diet as long as no added sugar, I decided not to sweat it.

The menu for dinner hadn't changed so ended up doing the ratatouille again since it was something I wanted to analyze a little further to see if I could replicate at home.  My husband ordered halibut which without the pureed peas which contained dairy would have also worked.  Tried my hand at dinner photos although the intense light and shadows were a bit of a challenge.  My husband drew the line at asking them to adjust the shades or move the table.

Figured breakfast would be a no-brainer since I ordered the poached eggs and spinach again.  Hmm.  Instead of the big plate of braised spinach with a small dish with two poached eggs next to it, I got a huge plate filled with bread, deep fried potatoes (which looked very tempting), and a small dressed salad topped with a few leaves of spinach along with my two poached eggs. I offloaded the bread and potatoes to another plate and made due with what I had since there were no offenders.  But I must say, it wasn't the same as the braised spinach. 

For dinner we ended up in Leavenworth, a Bavarian style town with lots of brats, and sugary treats.  I didn't have high hopes but my husband needed dinner and I still had some fruit and almond butter in my bag.  We ended up at Visconti's Italian Restaurant where the server gladly offered to substitute olive oil for the butter in the fire grilled mussels.  They were some of the best mussels I've ever had. Just the right amount of smokey flavor softened by the lemon, olive oil and herbs. Can't believe they would have been better with butter.  I added a  dish of roasted beets sprinkled with saba ( a balsamic like dressing made from grape must).  They also do a great Americano.

So what did I learn from all of this?

• You can't be afraid to ask.  There is dairy and sweetener hidden in less than obvious places.
• Be explicit. You can assume nothing.  Just because something is savory doesn't mean it doesn't contain sweetener.  Just because something doesn't have sugar, doesn't mean it doesn't have honey or some other sweetener in it.  If you ask about sugar, they don't always tell you if there is honey in a dish. If you don't want bread or potatoes, say so.
• Don't assume servers know ingredients or will accurately convey your requests to the kitchen.  Talk to the chef if at all possible.  Chefs change day to day so each day is a new experience.
• Carrying small containers of olive oil and vinegar comes in handy if you can find a salad bar since it may be difficult to ascertain the ingredients in dressings or the nature of the oil.
• Higher end restaurants are not necessarily more willing to accommodate although on this trip, all the restaurants did try to work with me.  If you're going somewhere for longer than a day or two, it would likely be helpful to call ahead so they can purchase accordingly. 
• You may have to wait longer to get your food since special requests often require your dish be pulled "off line".  At a busy time, this could mean waiting for someone to break away from their station to attend to your dish. 
• Apples, pears and almond butter travel well and can easily be carried in a shoulder bag or large purse and can always do in a pinch.
• Kale Krunch from Alive & Radiant Foods comes in a 2.2 oz. resealable bag.  It's mostly organic and with none of the prohibited ingredients.  I tried the southwest ranch flavor--it was excellent.  One of the few ways to get greens that can travel well without a cooler. I will be sure to have several bags with me for future trips.  I got mine at PCC in Edmonds, WA.

Happy trails!

The first test--eating away from home

Tomorrow, my husband and I leave for a four day driving trip to celebrate our first anniversary.  This will be my first time away from home and eating out since I started my anti-inflammatory diet.  Tomorrow night we have reservations at a nice restaurant connected with a winery.  It's got a farm to table reputation so I suspect that dinner will not be a problem.  Fish or poultry, a salad, lots of veggies.  I expect they'll have extra virgin olive oil and good balsamic vinegar.

But what concerns me are the stops along the way for lunch.  Although I'm sure I could find a salad at most places, I'm not so sure I trust their oil to be olive.  I've also seen a number of balsamic vinegars that contain sugar.  So today I was off scouring the stores for a couple of food friendly 3oz. bottles to carry some good olive oil and balsamic vinegar.  I was hoping to find a couple of sleek, slender 3oz. glass bottles that could also fly in a carry on but had little luck.  I can't believe nobody makes these!  I ended up buying a three pack of GoToob plastic bottles.  They weren't cheap but they were the only ones I could find that were rated as safe for food.  Plus they have a big enough opening that they seemed easier to clean.  So, now at least I'll have good dressing for salads and plain veggies along the way.

I also went looking for some snacks to take along.  I had hoped to grab a couple of packs of the dried seaweed I had a while back-- it was quite good.  Alas, the regular flavor contained sugar.  I didn't check the wasabi flavor since I'm not found of wasabi.  Not much in the packaged department.  I ended up buying tamari almonds, and spiced pumpkins seeds along with some apples and pears.  I purchased a couple 5.5 oz cans of coconut milk and packed a can opener and a small metal drink bottle to store leftover coconut milk once it's opened. (we'll have a small cooler).  I'll also throw in the rest of my chopped raw kale with tahini dressing.  Come to think of it, I probably won't even need to stop for lunch tomorrow, with everything I'm bring with me.

Wish me luck.  Not just with the diet.  I'm a little concerned about walking when we get to our destination.  My foot has been feeling so good this week that I think I might have overdone it yesterday.  I'm a little sore again today.  In spite of that I'm loving how the rest of me is feeling eating this way and will continue on.  I'll report back on Thursday about how it goes eating out.