Buy organic or not?

To buy organic vegetables is always better for your body since they contain less pesticides, preservatives and are more nutrient rich. Although, this will sometimes harm the environment instead. Instead of buying local produce apples, you may chose to buy organic apples that have traveled across half the planet. So what should we choose then?

I try and look at it from both sides as well as looking at “how bad” the non organic produce are. To buy organic produce is not only an environmental or health related question but also a financial question. The Environmental Working Group is dedicated to protect human health and the environment and they have created a list of what fruits and vegetables that contain most pesticides vs least. “Dirty Dozen” is a list of vegetables that are the worst to buy non-organic, and the “Clean Fifteen” is a list of vegetables that are okay to buy non-organic.

Dirty Dozen – The fruits and veggies with the most pesticides are:

• Apples
• Peaches
• Nectarines
• Strawberries
• Grapes
• Celery
• Spinach
• Sweet bell peppers
• Cucumber
• Cherry tomatoes
• Snap peas (imported)
• Potatoes
• Hot peppers
• Kale / Collard greens

Clean Fifteen – The fruits and veggies with the least pesticides are:

• Avocados
• Sweet corn
• Pineapples
• Cabbage
• Sweet peas (frozen)
• Onions
• Asparagus
• Mangos
• Papayas
• Kiwi
• Eggplant
• Grapefruit
• Cantaloupe
• Cauliflower
• Sweet potatoes

I hope this was helpful and will bring you some clarity when choosing between organics and non-organics.

Sourdough – the culture

I cannot tell you how many sourdoughs I have ‘killed’ in my years of trying to master it. Most of the time I have forgotten about them but sometimes it just does not work regardless of what I do. During my journey of success and mishaps with the sourdough I have come to a few conclusions that are worth keeping in mind when trying to master the complexity of keeping the sourdough starter alive:

1. Remind yourself and live it!

In order to be able to master the sourdough it you have to live it – and understand it. Make it become a habit – put a note somewhere you look before you go to bed, put it in the calendar at start or set an alarm – whatever reminder works best for you!

2. Become friends with it!

When you have got the habit of feeding it or looking after it every night, get to know your sourdough culture. Get to learn where it likes to sit, it is usually happier in a warmer place. Maybe try and put it above your stove if you cook often or on top of the fridge – it tends to be warmer there.

3. Send it good energy!

Dr Emoto proves in his study on water crystals that the molecules of water change accordingly to the energy that is sent to them. Sending good vibes will put the crystals in a beautiful pattern whereas sending anger or negative words makes the patterns all messy and irregular. (You can read more about this on http://www.masaru-emoto.net/english/water-crystal.html if you are interested). Give love and send good vibes to your sourdough culture!

 

4. Find the recipe that suits you!

If your culture just never works regardless of you doing everything right – try another recipe. Sourdough cultures get affected by temperature, humidity and altitude – find the recipe that suits your environment.

5. Keep the basics in mind

• When you feed the sourdough you want it to be the consistency of porridge.
• The warmer the temperature – the more water the dough needs. Same goes the other way around – if you are in a cold climate – add more flour.
• Keep the consistency of temperature – do not move the culture around.
• If it just never works – try and add either grapes, apple or some honey for the sugar to help kick start the fermentation.
• If you do not have time to bake when the culture is all bubbly and ready – you can keep it in the fridge for up to a week.

Happy baking!

 

Why do we diet?

…or, when did food make us so obsessed?

Obesity has been a problem for decades and every morning there is a new diet in the newspaper. From low fat that was popular back in the days to high fat and low carb diets, to intermittent fasting with the 5:2 diet, to going back to the paleolithic era the PALEO diet has been popular lately alongside with the opposites to it such as veganism or vegetarianism. It brings us to wonder: What is the perfect diet?

I often get the question. What oil should I fry in? Why does some people say that coconut oil is healthy and some say it is the worst? How bad is peanutbutter? Is eating natural the best way to go?

There is no perfect diet. Around 90% of all diets do not work in the long run.

Our biggest problem when it comes to overweight and dieting is that we put too much energy to it. We think about it constantly, we blame ourselves when we eat something unhealthy, we are constantly scared of gaining an extra pound, we are bombarded with food everywhere and we can get whatever we want at any time.

In meditation we learn about non-attachment, which means to to detach ourselves from any material, emotional and physical substances. We are taught to accept the reality as it is and to observe whatever is. We need to go further beyond than to believe that a diet is going to help us in the long run. Mindfulness eating has a major positive effect on weight loss. But who would have the time to observe each bite of food, put the knife and fork down, and chew until all the food is broken down completely and only pick up the knife and fork when the bite is swallowed? Not everyone do.

But I encourage you to find more balance in your life. For me, it works to keep myself busy, active and connected to nature. That could be a sunset walk instead of watching a TV show (where I know the chocolate would come out of the cupboard), a long hike on the weekend instead of having beers all day with friends at a bar (I allow myself one after the hike), or raspberry picking instead of driving to the supermarket to buy them!

Choose sourdough!

A bowl of uncooked rye porridge was left out and forgotten about for a few days. This is how sourdough bread was discovered.

The naturally occurring microorganisms in the air started converting the sugar in the flour to gases, acids and alcohol. Gluten is made up of two proteins which when moistened, turn into a strong a strong elastic substance. Sourdough and gluten work together in raising bread – the sourdough create the bubbles and the gluten create a balloon and hold in the gases – which makes our bread fluffy.

Wheat is hard for our bodies to digest – especially in the form of flour. The advantage of fermentation is that it allows the bacteria to fully break down the carbohydrate and the strong stretchy gluten in the dough. It also releases the healthy vitamins, minerals and nutrients that the grain contain. All to make it easier for our bodies to absorb. It also slows down starch digestibility and therefore reduces the glycemic index.

So why don’t we only bake with sourdough? Because it is complicated in mass production! The sourdough lives its own life and it wants on an average 20 hrs to ferment and completely work the nutrients before they are put in to your system. Yeast is easier and allows you to get your bread in 30 min, but what was forgotten in the process is all the benefits of patience and letting the fermentation do its thing. So if you have the choice, choose sourdough next time you buy bread and make sure there is no instant yeast on the ingredients list.