Your Body's Not a Garbage Can

I was so proud! Last night, my younger son started singing the words above, and then told me he got them from me. He listens! Yay! Then, her morphed them into a rap, and those words are not fit to print (he wants you to know that it's a rap, so the words were perfectly acceptable in the genre). Still, I was proud of the creativity (and that he listens to me! Yay!). Until again, it was pointed out that the words are so close to John Mayer's song "Your Body is a
Wonderland" as to not be all that creative after all.

However, if you know Mayer's song, try singing these words along to the melody. It might help you remember them. I think they're good to remember because too many of us, do in fact, put much in our bodies we should just be throwing in the trash.

The biggest culprits of this might be mothers of small children. I know I was one. Little kids are notorious for not finishing what we put on their plates (unless they finish it by dumping it over their heads). We, the people who spent money and time providing that food, and are often bored and distracted during the serving so we eat what our children won't rather than throwing it out. Think about it: what purpose does this serve? It may be decent parenting because teaching kids to finish what's on their plates teaches them to ignore their bodies and overeat rather teaching them to be aware of their hunger and satiety and eat according to that (which they'll do naturally if we don't intefere). However, it's poor self-care: why should we eat what we're not hungry for - we, too, should eat to satiety and stop. I wrote that it's decent parenting, not good parenting, because ultimately, our children will do as we do - so if we eat just to clean a plate, most likely our children will start doing so as well.

The next group of people who eat what should be tossed is many of the rest of us. We sometimes overeat because:
1. we bought it/spent good money on it/it would be wasteful to throw it out.
2. we spent time cooking it/it would be a waste of time to not have it eaten.

Again, if you're not hungry for it, you're not saving money or time by eating it. Either way the money and time is gone. There's no getting it back, but that doesn't mean you have to gain extra pounds and risk the fallout from that because you don't like wasting food. How much do you spend on doctor's appointments, medication, the gym, weight loss books, etc., etc. because you're eating too much or eating unhealthy foods?

What can you do? Two things come to mind:
1. if you can't stand to part with leftovers, put any amount in the 'fridge for tomorrow. Even a bite of this or that may be a nice snack - or you might be able to add it to another meal. I added some sauteed vegetables to a pilaf this morning. It was only about 1/2 cup's worth, not enough for much, but enough to flavor the pilaf and add a bit more nutrition to it.
2. accept that there's a certain amount of waste that comes with life. Look at all the packaging materials you throw out (of course, I'd advocate for reducing this, but for most of us, at least some is unavoidable). You live here, you impact the earth, just your being here is wasteful: accept it!
3. throw it out and forget about it.

And just in case you've forgotten, here's another gentle reminder that's on point: there's no such thing as junk food: there's junk and there's food. Try to keep the junk out of your body.

Finally, and as Promised, Chick Pea Patties!

I am reading the book, "A Complaint Free World" by Will Bowen (www.acomplaintfreeworld.org), so I'm not going to complain about how busy I've been. I also won't do so because I took a vow of honesty a few years ago, and although I've been busy (as have you, most likely), to say that I haven't posted because of that wouldn't quite be true. But, I'm sorry to have been gone so long. I missed writing. I missed hearing from readers that they like the blog. I like to think of life as a pendulum - everything comes and goes, peaceful times are followed by stressful times and then we're back to peace. Or should be. There's work we can all do to bring more of what we want into our lives, but not everything is totally under our control - or, at least, not for most of us. There may be some highly evolved people with enough experience and self-discipline to reach amazing states (watch "Man on Wire", the film about Philippe Petit, the man who walked on a wire he strung between the World Trade Center for a sense of what I'm talking about).

But wait, you're thinking, where's the recipe for the chick pea patties? Okay, I'll stop the philosophizing right now, and get to it. And, because it seems my son Harry's allergic to eggs, I'll post it the way I used to make it, but also add tips for making it without eggs.

These patties disappear from sight so quickly once they've hit my table that I'd be embarrassed to serve them to company for fear they'd think I otherwise starve my family! The recipe makes quite a lot because over the years I've had to make more and more to keep certain people in my house from looking sadly at an empty platter - they may have be full but they aren't ready to stop eating! (I know, I know, not a good habit.) Adjust as necessary, or make as is and have leftovers for lunch or another dinner (the patties can be frozen, too).

olive oil
6 cups chickpeas (canned or cooked)
6 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup of flour - wheat, spelt, or if using a gluten-free mix, also a bit of xantham gum
vegetables: your choice of grated carrot, kale, spinach, celery, onions, garlic - about two cups
3 t cumin
1 1/2 t dried thyme
1 1/2 t dried basil
1 t coriander
1 t dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste

Grind chickpeas in a food processor or mash with a potato masher. Mix in other ingredients. Let mixture set in the 'fridge for a half hour or more. Then form into patties and saute in olive oil until golden brown.

There's two ways to go egg-free. One is with chia seeds and the other with flax seeds. So far I've tried the chia seeds. The patties were more crumbly, but the taste was excellent. I took 9 T of chia seeds and mixed it with 27 T of warm water (so, the ration is 1:3). It forms a gel in about 15 minutes, which can then be mixed with the batter in lieu of eggs. According to the Post Punk Kitchen (www.theppk.com), I T of flax seeds mixed with 3 T water, replaces 1 egg - like the chia seeds, this mixture will also form a gel.

BTW, if you're not familiar with them, both chia and flax seeds are very healthy and can easily be added to other foods to boost nutrition. Chia are rich in Omega 3s, fiber, calcium, magnesium, and vitamins. It's suspected that chia give the Tarahumara the energy to be the world's best long-distance runners. Flax seeds are also high in Omega 3s, fiber, and lignans (which have antioxidant properties). Both can be added to cereal, smoothies, and baked goods. Because of their high fiber content, don't overdue it - a couple of tablespoons a day is probably a good upper limit, and make sure to drink plenty of water when having any high-fiber food. Chia should always be soaked before using so that they form a gel. Just use the ratio above. Flax seeds should be purchased and stored whole, in the freezer. I grind what I use each day in a coffee grinder (used specifically for that purpose).

That's all for today! Next up: the update on Harry's diet and why I should be spending even more time than usual shopping for and cooking healthy food!