How to Gain Weight during the Holidays

Well, it is your adipose tissue's favorite time of the year! Obviously the title of this post is a bit of a joke, but it got your attention didn't it? Here is how you can gain weight during the holidays:

1. Get little or no sleep.

2. Eat lots of Sugar

3. Eat lots of grains, especially gluten grains in highly refined states such as bread and pasta. Avoid fresh fruits and vegetables at all costs.

4. Eat lots of Cheese

5. Make sure to drink a large amount of alcohol, especially in the form highly sugared mixed drink cocktails and beer.

6. Maintain a high stress level

7. Skip breakfast and lunch and gorge on snacks and evening meals.

8. Do not move your body more than you absolutely have to.

You are already doing this on a daily basis? Then the holidays should really help you pack on more pounds! Just think how you will help stimulate your local economy with all those clothes you will need to buy after the holiday, because you do not fit in the ones you already have!

So, if this is not what you want to have happen, here are a few tips on how to avoid weight gain during the holidays. To be honest, this is how we all should live on a day to day basis.

The reason behind these tips is based on sound scientific evidence and a basic understanding of physiology. When you eat something, the nutrition you eat goes into your blood stream, which results in raising your blood sugar levels (also known as blood glucose.) Your body responds to this increased level of sugar by releasing a hormone called Insulin, which basically converts all that sugar and puts it into your blood cells as fat. (again, this is very very simple explanation, you can go to http://dtc.ucsf.edu/types-of-diabetes/type1/understanding-type-1-diabetes/how-the-body-processes-sugar/blood-sugar-other-hormones#Cortisol    for a more complete discussion) Stress influences this mechanism, and so does exercise or lack of. Sleep affects this system and what kind of foods you eat affects this mechanism.

Your holiday goal is to make sure you make this system of blood sugar and insulin be even and healthy. When this happens you are less likely to gain weight, and you actually may loose weight during the process.

Here are some tips to keep your blood sugar levels even (fancy term for not gaining weight) during the holidays.

1. Get enough sleep, this means going to bed at 10 pm. Sleep helps reduce stress, and evens out blood sugar levels.

2. Make sure to get in some exercise everyday, go walking for 30 - 40 mins a day MINIMUM.

3. Eat a good breakfast every morning. I suggest eggs or tofu or tempeh with green vegetables and a serving of citrus. (recipe to follow)

4. Eat six small meals per day. This means your three regular meals which should have a serving of protein and at least one serving of leafy green vegetables, and three small snacks which should be a piece of fruit or serving of vegetables, a tablespoon of nuts or seeds. Think FIBER and PROTEIN.

5. Avoid cheese, very high in calories, high in fat and easy to eat lots of at parties.

6. Limit alcohol to one glass of wine, extend it by making your own cooler with club soda and a slice of citrus. You won't look funny at the party without a drink, and can nurse it all night long.

7. Avoid bread of all kinds, crackers and such. Lots of calories. Bread raises blood sugar levels, even whole grain breads. 

8. Bring your own fruit or veggie platters to parties, you will have something to eat and it is a great hostess gift. If you don't have time to make one up, most grocery stores offer pre made ones or you can order one and simply pick it up on the way to the festivity. Make your own dip, or buy a prepared hummus to go with the veggies to save on calories and everyone can enjoy.

Simple Holiday Recipes

Good Breakfast

In a skillet heat up with 1 tbsp sunflower oil. Add 1/4 cup chopped onion, saute till soft, add some chopped tomatoes and saute for about a minute, add 1 - 2 cups spinach or kale, saute adding water or broth if needed until slightly soft. Crack an egg over mixture and stir over medium heat until egg is fully cooked. Add salt and pepper to taste and enjoy!

Quick breakfast ideas: Boil up a dozen eggs and have on hand in the fridge. Grill tempeh strips on stove top grill have on hand in the fridge. Make up a large portion of cooked spinach or kale with onions and tomatoes to have on hand in the fridge. Heat up the greens in the microwave, peel and crumble egg on top and eat. You can also use the tempeh strips instead of the egg.

Basic Hummus Dip Recipe

1 cup cooked garbanzo or bean of your choice

juice of one lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

1 crushed clove of garlic

salt and pepper

water for thinning 

Put first four ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth, adding a teaspoonful of water as needed to get desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve with raw vegetables. You can add herbs to this as you like, or use different beans. You can add salsa to this recipe to make a spicy hummus, cilantro, jalapeno, chipotle what ever you like. White beans with basil and sun dried tomatoes is a nice blend, black beans with salsa is another idea.

Spa Ranch Dip

1 Pint fat free Greek yogurt

1 packet of ranch dressing mix

Mix together and let sit for at least 2 hours before serving. Excellent alternative to regular ranch dip. You can make your herb mixture if you like by mixing together 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp dried dill, 1/4 tsp ground pepper, a dash of cayenne, 1 tsp dried onion flakes and 1/2 tsp thyme. You can also add 1 cup of thawed frozen spinach, 1/3 cup chopped green onion, and 1/4 cup sliced water chestnuts. For those of the lactose intolerant group, substitute 2 packages of silken organic tofu with 1 tbsp sunflower oil, and add juice of 1 lemon to for the Greek yogurt.

So you can see, it may take a bit of effort, but there is no need to gain weight during the holidays. In fact, you can get a start on your new years resolutions and health goals by making this a time to set new behaviors. You will feel great, and won't it be fun to buy new clothes with those gift cards you received because you have lost weight?

Listen to the podcast athttp://www.blogtalkradio.com/real-food-empire/2013/11/30/how-to-gain-weight-for-the-holidays

Urban Harvest

The greatest challenge agricultural and governmental experts tell us is the fact that 50% of the worlds people currently live in cities. Within the next generation, estimates place nearly 75% of the worlds populations in urban areas, with less and less people and land available for growing food. Multinational corporations are eager to cash in on this trend, making lab grown food out of petroleum the major food source in the future. Other planners are focusing attention on developing plans for Urban Agriculture, using small spaces, vertical and roof top gardens and encouraging home made food stuffs as part of the solution to feeding 9 billion people in the next 25 years.

As I continue my delightful exploration of the land, culture and people of Macedonia in the Pelagonia region, each day I am exposed to another aspect of the traditions of this tiny nation. What also has been my observation, currently and since I have been paying attention for the last six years, is that this region has much to offer the world in terms of blending modern technology and ancient cultural practices. Each day during my visit, I am treated to a new experience that sounds mundane but ends up in a grand revelation of the senses and practical application.

After work one day, my cousins inform me that we will go pick pears and walnuts. I had visions of going into the country to lush orchards. Not so, we walked down the street to Valentina's mother's house, where there was on the tiny plot of exposed ground around the structure. It was filled with a garden containing the seasons last tomatoes and peppers, a quince, pear and apple tree, and a large walnut tree covering the garage. Harvesting was done by my stylish cousin in her beautiful Italian designer heels, and her Lawyer husband who scaled the roof in search of walnuts.

What was particularly amusing was how Vladko would shake the tree and the nuts would fall on the pavement. He did warn us of each impending shower. I felt like I was living the Macedonian version of the animated film, "Cloudy with a chance of Walnuts." Each large green fruit would fall to the pavement and crack perfectly open revealing the shelled nut inside. How convenient! I had never eaten a freshly picked walnut before, but I hope to continue this practice as the nuts are more sweet than I have ever tasted.

We went on to pick pears, quinces and apples. Later in the week, Valentina announced we would go to her father in laws land outside of Prilep to pick apples. We drove through the rolling marbled land to a small plot with a summer house. Her in laws rent the property to farmers who grow a full range of crops, raise hogs and have bee hives to produce the particularly pungent local honey from the region. 

Field of Broccoli outside of Prilep, Macedonia

The few apple trees where literally drooping to the ground the fruit was so abundant. Again, we harvested in our city clothes beautiful, organic fruit. After about an hour, and many large bags and boxes filled, it seemed that we had barely made a dent on the trees. The quinces and apples will be turned into compote, which is made with lemon juice, plums, raisins and cinnamon. It is drunk as a tea and enjoyed as a natural sweet.

What is natural and simply a seasonal chore with no fanfare is a way of life. It is also a life line and model for the future. We in the states have facebook pages, support groups and books on "foraging." Here, it is as natural as putting up seasonal decorations, only the beautiful strings of peppers, oak wine barrels and shaking of trees is how they supplement their diets with what we in the states would call local artisan food.

Local bees eat the fruit for a nectar source

Later we go to a "super market" which is spelled phonetically in Cyrillic, to pick up some cleaning supplies. I wander the aisles looking at everything, the jars of Ayvar, pickles, olives, traditional seasonings and local versions of junk food. The market is open daily and late. I wonder how long the real food sources will stay in the awareness of the populations mind. When will gardens will be seen as ornamental instead of edible, or will this ever happen here?

In the meantime, I am enjoying the delicious food from the gardens. I hope you can too! Stay tuned, we have two tours available in 2014. But more importantly, learn from the Macedonians and apply it in your own communities. Learn how to grow food in small places, it is actually the wave of the future.

Ajvar Season

It is Autumn in Macedonia. The nights are very cold, but the days can still eek out sunshine and warmth. The markets are bursting with peppers of all shapes, sizes and colors. Because the peppers are at the height of their season, it is time once again to make and preserve food for the long winter ahead. My cousins invited me to watch them and their neighbors make Ayvar, a roasted red pepper relish that is the pride of the season. When I was young, my uncle Austin and aunt Zena made a variation of Ayvar, but I was told in no uncertain terms that Ayvar is made of red peppers and garlic, and may, depending on the cook, include some spicy varieties, and of course the condiment of Macedonia; salt.

Ayvar starts it's preparation with the harvest or purchase of the  pepper used is called roga, i.e. horned — it is large, red, horn-shaped, with thick flesh and relatively easy to peel. It typically ripens in late September. 

Often, the whole family or neighbors gather to roast the bell peppers, peel them, and cook them with almost reverent ritualistic methods. In our case, it was the tenant of my cousin who roasted what seemed like an entire pallet of beautiful red peppers on a small wood burning stove. The blistering fruits made the air in the garage smell smokey and fantastic. 

After all sides of the peppers were blackened, they were dropped into a covered pail to steam. 

When the entire peck of peppers was roasted, the peppers are peeled and allowed to drain overnight. The next day, the peppers are stemmed and seeded, and cooked in a large flat pot with garlic, oil, salt and depending on the family recipe some hot peppers and chilies can be added. 

Ayvar Pan for Sale in the Market Place

What amazed me personally, and made me a bit ashamed of my own attempts at Ayvar, is the ritual that follows: a vigorous stirring of the red "gold" mixture for up to four hours. I saw a neighbor stirring her Ayvar with a large wooden paddle, all on a wood burning stove. As I walked through the neighborhood, I saw many Ayvar groups feeding their wood burring stoves and taking turns stirring.

There is something that can not be measured in any meaningful way when it comes to food. Weather it is fruits and vegetables, cheese, bread or preserves. You can have the exactly same product, same amount of calories, protein, fat and grams of seasonings, and yet there is something different when it comes to taste. You can only compare when you taste an item that is made by hand with a machine made product. I believe there is an energetic exchange with a food that passes through human hands. The human touch is a transformative one, it connects the heavens with the earth, and usually results in an incredible taste experience. Mmmm has yet to be quantified, but your tongue and your tummy knows the difference.

It is tradition that when a family makes Ayvar, a sample must be brought to the work place for all to sample. My cousin Valentina works as an Orthodontist in a large office building in Prilep. She brought her Ayvar and her co workers brought bread, sausages, wine and cheese. If the jar that contained the red relish could have been squeezed to get that last bit of pepper deliciousness out, it would have been. Our shared table looked as if the locusts had descended, there was not a crumb or flake of pepper left, to the the joyful satisfaction of all. The shared snack was completed with thick rich grainy Macedonian style coffee.

Can these traditions survive? No one I saw meticulously roasting or stirring looked young to me. There are of course prepared Ayvars on the market, but they really do not compare with the hand made relishes I have tasted. We can only hope that these traditions will be maintained. For now, you simply MUST taste this hand made relish, with bread and Kashkaval if possible

The Food Bazaar in Prilep Macedonia

I have been coming to Prilip since 1982. That year, my father was invited to give lectures at the Dental School in Sofia Bulgaria and Skopje, then Yugoslavia. He decided to buy an Audi in Frankfurt Germany and take the family on a pilgrimage of sorts, visiting our relatives that were, because of very complex political history, located in Greece, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria.

Old Town Prilep, Macedonia

So much has changed since then, the world has new borders, new nations and new technology. Back in those days, phone calls were expensive and difficult, and letters could take months to reach their destinations.

Since my personal Slow Food Macedonia food tour in 2011, I can barely recognize the places I visited back in 1983. Macedonia in particular has all the accouterments of a western capitalist democracy, with ATM's, mini markets, malls and modern road side gas stations catering to tourists and truckers. What has not changed is the delightful spirit of the people, who are warm, generous, passionate and full of wit and sarcastic humor. What has changed the most for me, is the increasing awareness and discovery of the incredible culinary treasure that this part of the world has to offer. In the beginning, outside of my relatives homes, the food was the dull communist fare, if there was anything in the markets at all.

Today, the fates arranged for me to have a personal tour through central Prilep, in the old town Bazaar. My guide, Magdalena, I found out was a well known poet and author in the area. She took me to the library to see the collections there, and then we wandered into the Bazaar. As you may know, since I have been writing about this for some time, as well as having radio podcasts, I am very interested in the ESSEDRA project through the Balkan Slow Food partners. I received a list of 25 products that have been nominated to board the Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity Ark of Taste. I was familiar with some of the products, as well as being supportive of the goals of sustainable rural development.

As I wandered the Bazaar with Magdalena, I encountered a kaleidoscope of vivid colors of all the local produce. It is the time of the Pepper and Tomato harvest, and strings of drying peppers can be seen hanging from the local apartment balconies. 

I saw bags of the K’cana salt

I met herb sellers that were offering beautiful samples from the local mountains, all I was told that would make "Chai" or tea, the Planinski caj – Mountain Tea from Galicica mountain.

I saw the Bieno Sirenje Cheese that was featured in Bra at the Cheese Festival

And so many lovely different fruits, vegetables, olives and more. 

My physical presence screams "American" so the sellers were all interested in where I was from, Magdalena dutifully told them I was from San Francisco. When I asked if I could take a picture, each seller instantly grinned and posed, I even had a couple of women ask me to take their picture.

This market has been a part of Prilep since as long as there has been a community in the valley. The first recorded mention of Prilep dates from the 11th Century. Magdalena told me all the produce and cheeses come from the surrounding area, the only imports were the bananas. I had the delight of tasting a local apple, that literally tasted like rose water. The thought of these people and their centuries old way of life, along with their bountiful produce being swept away in the name of convenience brought new urgency to the importance of ESSEDRA. There must be a way to help maintain these agricultural gems, for current and future generations.

My cousin Joana, a 7th grader, informed me yesterday that McDonald's had closed in Skopje. I asked her why? She told me, "We Macedonians don't like fast food."

My cultural pride started to swell. After going to the Bazaar and tasting the local food, I can see why the Macedonians prefer their own food. I hope they can have access to this for another thousand years.

 

The Clock Tower, Prilep Macedonia