Wizard Recipes

Innovation is exciting, but when it comes to food, novelty should be approached with caution. If various types of diets or nourishments are the result of an evolutionary process, than this means that a culinary innovation is a kind of mutation: it could be a revolutionary breakthrough, but probably it is not. Abandoning the idea of pitched roofs was a great and interesting step for the modern architecture, but often trough horizontal roofs that replaced the pitched ones water could penetrate.

Soy is an interesting case. Americans consume more than ever many soy products, especially because of the ingenuity of an industry whose purpose is to process and sell the immense amounts of so-called Western diseases- including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and some types of cancer related to nourishment- which almost invariably begin to appear shortly after a population abandon their traditional diet and lifestyle. But what we did not know before O’Dea brought the aborigines in the Savanna (Her experiment was followed by a series of similar experiments that generated similar results achieved by Native Americans and indigenous subjects from Hawaii) is that some of the most harmful effects of Western diets are reversible in a very short time-interval. It seems that, at least to a certain extent, we can set back the change of diet and can eliminate some of the evil done. This has major implications for our health.

Kerin O’Dea’s experiment is remarkable in its simplicity and trough the refuse of the researcher to get lured and attracted into the scientific labyrinth of nourishment. She didn’t set her mind (before or after the experiment), to isolate a nutrient from all the food complexity, that could explain the results- no matter if the improved health condition of the group was because of the low-fat diets, lack of refined carbohydrates or reducing the total number calories. O’Dea was interested in ample food models even if this approach is limited (such a study does not tell us which element of the Western diet should be adjusted to temper the worst effects), it has the great accomplishment to avoid the chaos of conflicting theories regarding various individual nutrients and turn our attention again, on some fundamental issues on the relationship between diet and health.

For example: How much are we all aboriginal? If we think that two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, as one quarter of us suffer from metabolic syndrome, that 54 million of people have started to diabetes and the incidence of type 2 diabetes increases by 5% every year since 1990, Going up from 4% to 7.7% of the adult population (that means more than 20 million Americans), the question sounds not at all ridiculous

Leaving aside the causes of confusion, populations that eat according to the rules of traditional food culture, are generally much healthier than populations that have adopted contemporary Western diet. This is valid for Japanese cuisine and for other Asian cuisines, as well as for traditional food from Mexico, India and the Mediterranean regions, including France Italy and Greece. Probably there are some exceptions to this rule-for example lets think about my ancestors Eastern European Jews nutrition.

But who knows? You may find that chicken fat and duck fat are much healthier than expected now at the present. (Weston Price would not be at all surprised) I tend to believe that all traditional nourishments are healthy, otherwise, nutrition and population in question would have disappeared long ago.

Traditional nourishments have two dimensions- the consumed food and the way it is prepared- and it is possible that both can be equally important for our health. Let us talk first about the content of traditional food, regarding the form in the next section.

In some ways, traditional diets resemble other cultural autochthon creations, such as architecture. During a long process of trial and failure, cultures discover strategies that works- the best way to reconcile human needs with what nature can offer in a certain region.

Thus, as the inclination of a roof reflects the amount of rain or snow in that area, they are greater as a rainfall is more abundant, and the degree of seasoning in some kitchens reflects in another way the local climate. Spicy food helps people to face high temperature; also many spices have properties against germs, so essential in regions with a hot climate, where food can easily alter. According to research, the more the climate is warmer, the spicier are the local dishes.

Of course, traditional food concerns only health or biology, many of the culinary practices are arbitrary and possibly inappropriate, such as refined rice. Kitchens can have purely cultural functions, which is one of the ways by which a society expresses its identity and shows their differences in relation to other societies. (For example kashrus is a set of Jewish dietary laws that fulfill these functions for Jews respectively for Islam)

This would explain why traditional kitchens refuse changes; it is said that in an immigrant household, the last place you’ll find signs of assimilation is the storehouse. But as shown by food psychologist Paul Rozin, “aromatic principles” of a sustainable kitchen- Whether it is lemon and olive oil in Mediterranean, soy sauce and ginger in Asia or even the ketchup in America- allow that culture to assimilate new and useful food easier, which we might think they taste so completely foreign.

Yet, the act of eating is more than other cultural practices, deeply linked to nature-on one hand it is linked to the human biology, and on the other to the natural world. The specific food combinations of a certain kitchen and the food preparation methods are a source of knowledge stored in terms of diet, health and region. Many traditional culinary practices are the product of a biocultural evolution so the modern science is trying to decode its ingenuity.

In Latin America, corn is traditionally consumed in combination with beans; each of the two plants has a deficiency of a specific type of essential amino acid that is plenty contained in the other one; therefore, consumed together, corn and beans make up a balanced and no meat Menu. Also, in countries from Latin America, corn is milled or macerated with limestone to achieve to contain vitamin B, without which people will get sick of pellagra.

Often when a society adopted a new food, but without adopting the afferent culinary culture, as happened when the maize was brought to Europe, Africa and Asia, people got sick. The context in which a particular food is consumed can be as important as the food itself.

Meat illustrates the idea that the health of food product can not be separated from the health of the food chain. This means that the health of the soil, of the plants, of the animals and of the consumers depend on each other.

This leads us to a special rule for those who consume products of an animal origin: You are not only what you eat, you are also the consumed food of the animal that you eat.

This means that the animal nutrition whereby we eat is influencing the nutrition quality and the consequences that food has over our health, no matter if it is meat, milk or eggs.

This is supposed to be evidence, but unfortunately it is a systematic ignored truth of the industrial food chain, in his endeavor to produce huge quantities of cheap animal proteins. This effort changed the nourishment of the majority animals bred for consumption; they went from green plants to seeds and cereals over, because of the fact that animals grow faster and produce more milk and eggs if they are fed grains rich in calories. Some of these animals are ruminants which are evolved to feed on grass; if they eat too many seeds they get sick, therefore grain fed cattle should receive antibiotics.

Even those animals that tolerate cereals, like chickens or pigs, are much healthier if fed with fresh green plants, therefore their meat and eggs are healthier. Generally if the animals raised for consumption are fed with grass, their meat, milk and eggs contain much healthier natural fats (more fat acids omega 3 and conjugated linoleic acid or ALC, less fat acids omega 6 and less saturated fat) and higher amounts of vitamins and antioxidants.

Sometimes is the difference visible, for example the yellow butter or the orange yolk is because of the beta-carotene content in fresh grass. So it is worth spending more money looking for products from animals raised in a traditional way on pasture. And even if, seen from the outside, an industrial egg looks exactly like the one coming from hens fed on grass; the industrial egg is several times more expensive than the first one and the two are completely different. So the rule to eat more leaves and less seeds are applied not only for humans but also for animals that are part of our tropic chain

If you can, eat in most of the cases food, no matter what this food would require, probably everything would be ok. One of the knowledge that we can draw from the amazing traditional food variance of the entire world is that we can feed extremely varied food, as long as it is food. There have been and still are many healthy types of nourishment rich in fat or healthy low fat nourishments, as long as they are based on integral food not processed food. But there are some integral nourishment that are better than others and some ways to produce and combine them in different menus that are worth trying. This is why the following section will propose some politics regarding what you eat over and beyond “food”.

Feed yourselves mostly with plants and especially with leaves

Scientists haven’t reached a consensus regarding the benefits of plants- is it because of the antioxidants? Is it because of the fibers? Is it because of the Omega-3 fat acids? But it is sure that all scientists agreed that plants are probably beneficial for our health and certainly, they don’t harm. In the interviews that I realized with different nutritionists they all agreed over de benefits of a meal based on plants. Even those nutritionists tempered by decades of disagreement and confusion regarding the recommendations for nutrition, answered my question” ok, but how are your certainties now?”

In a variation on the theme” eat more plants” (Marion Nestle was a little reserved: “it’s obvious that plants don’t harm”)

It is not hard to observe that plants are good for us, but from the evolutionary point of view, the explications are the fact that they are our source of Vitamin C and antioxidants.

Our ancestors had the biological capacity to produce vitamin C, an essential nutrient.

Like other antioxidants, Vitamin C (or ascorbic acid) is beneficial for our health from at least two points of view. A part of the routine processes of our body, among others the cellular metabolism and the protective inflammation mechanism, produce “oxygen radicals”- oxygen atoms with one odd electron and so with a high chemical reactivity that can generate a lot of problems. Free radicals are involved in many health problems, including cancer and different ageing problems (the output of free radicals is increasing with the ageing) Antioxidants like Vitamin C absorb and stabilizes free radicals before they can make havoc. But this is not the only good thing of antioxidants. In addition, they stimulate the liver which produces the necessary enzymes for the decomposition of antioxidants, enzymes that, once produced, decompose other substances, including different toxins like it. In this way antioxidants contribute to the dangerous chemical neutralization, including the cancerous ones, so if your diet contains several types of antioxidants, so much more toxins will be neutralized in your body. That’s why it’s important to eat as many sorts of plants possible: all contain different antioxidants, so they will help the body to remove different types of toxins. (As rich in toxin the environment is, as many plants you have to consume)

Psychologists proved, the most of us eat according to external signals, especially the visual ones. The bigger the portion of food, so much more we will eat; the bigger the plate, so much more we pour soup, the more we buy if the wending machine is nicely arranged and the more we will eat, if the bowl with M&M’s is closer to us.

All of this makes us easy targets for the alimentary producers and advertiser that want just to sell us more and more food. Like many others branches of our modern life, the food industry, has become a visual culture. But for the eating process, it’s better to till also our other senses, which often provide more useful and accurate information that are useful for our own body.

Is the third bite of dessert better than the first?

Could I continue to eat? But am I still hungry?

It seems that the human brain needs 20 minutes to get the information that the stomach is full; unfortunately the most of us eat in less than this 20 minutes, as result the feeling of satiety is influencing in a little way or not at all, the quantity which is consumed.

This means that by eating more slowly and being more careful for the satiety sensation, we could learn to eat less. French’s know this better than us, Brian Wansink proved it. When asked when to stop eating, the French subjects answered “when I feel full” (what a brilliant idea! Americans answered “when there’s nothing else on the plate” or “when I’m fed up”)

Maybe that’s why the long and relaxed meals allow French’s to know when they are sated. When we will learn to eat slower and will pay attention to our senses, than we could change the external signs that guide us. The idea is that it’s better to self-manipulation than traders-manipulation.

You will find a lot of tips in the recent work of Wansink, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think, but I prevent you that all will hurt your quality of free will. Eat little portions, in little plates, eat and drink from small recipients (even if it means to reassign the products from gigantic packages into little containers); leave your food rests on the table- empty bottles, bones and so on-  so that you can see how much you eat. Use tall glasses instead of the wide ones; leave the healthy food at sight and hide the unhealthy ones; leave the food containers from where you served in the kitchen so that you are not tempted for a second round

You don’t eat where you refuel your car. Nowadays the American gas stations obtain o greater profit by selling grocery (or cigarettes) than by selling gas. But, about what food are we talking about?

Besides milk and water, there are highly processed and durables snacks and refreshing drinks, that are sweetened in excess, bottled in little pint bottles. The gas stations turned into corn stations with high content of fructose for you.

Try not to eat alone!

Americans eat increasingly more often alone. Although some studies sustain that moderated persons will eat more if they dine in a group (perhaps they spend more time at the table). In the case of those exposed to excess, the meals taken together with other people are limited, because it’s less likely that we stuff ourselves under the eyes of others.

That’s why the advertising is encouraging us to eat in front of the TV or in the car. When we eat alone in a mechanic way, we eat more. The appetite control is one of the smallest advantages of a meal taken with others: this activity evolves eating from a mechanical process of feeding into a family and communication ritual, from a simple biological act into a cultural act.

Psychologists proved, the most of us eat according to external signals, especially the visual ones. The bigger the portion of food, so much more we will eat; the bigger the plate, so much more we pour soup, the more we buy if the wending machine is nicely arranged and the more we will eat, if the bowl with M&M’s is closer to us

The best way to get rid of the Fast Food culture and its values (that the food has to be fast, cheep and easy to cook; that food is a industry product, not a natural product; that food is a fuel, not a form of communication and bounding with other people or a bounding with the nature) is to participate to the complex but fascinate processes that involves the procure of food.

Water is the essential element of life, representing 70% of our body. Water is vital for our survival. If we cannot live without food for 40 days, without water we cannot live more than 2-3 days…

WATER

Water does not contain calories, but only minerals in diverse proportions.

High quantities of Potassium, Calcium and Magnesium make water ideal for losing weight, increasing dieresis.

Water acidity must be between 6 and 7, to assure optimum cell exchanges.

The water quantity that should be consumed daily depends on temperature, physical activity and own body needs, all of these being regulated by a hormone called vasopresine. This hormone is produced if water quantity from the body decreases and its effects are water retention at kidney level, thirst sensation appearing.

A healthy person does not retain excess water, nor eliminates more toxins from the body. Just that the urine quantity is larger, being more diluted.

Water goes through the empty stomach faster, so, instead of drinking a glass of water before meals, it’s better for you to eat and take small sips of water all along the meal. It will keep your stomach full longer.

TEA

Tea represents the most consumed beverage in the world after water. Green or black, tea contains many antioxidants that protect against cardio-vascular diseases, inhibit cancerous cell development and tanine in green tea increases dieresis.

Tea does not have any calories if it is not sweetened. Ice tea and all kinds of ready made fruit teas contain lots of added sugars, so be careful with that

Tea can be made from many plants, medicinal or not, and can be drank with or without sugar or honey.

Mushrooms are not a particularly nutritious food, but few people are thinking of nutrition when they bite into a perfectly prepared specimen. They are high in protein compared to other vegetables, but in an absolute sense, they are still a low-protein food. They contain lots of vitamins B2 and B3, a significant amount potassium and a moderate amount of phosphorous.

The mushroom’s job is to add flavor, texture, eye appeal and richness to a dish or plate of food, not nutrition. Western cuisines tend to use mushrooms mainly for flavor, although the subtle mushroom texture is an important part of many dishes that don’t require long cooking.

In Oriental cooking, their texture and ability to absorb other flavors from the liquid are more crucial. Japanese cuisine in particular adore mushrooms for both flavor and texture. That is why the cultivation of so many flavorful mushrooms originated in Japan.

Mushrooms add a chewiness that is pleasing even if the flavoring effect is modest using milder mushrooms. In fact, some of the dried Chinese mushrooms match tofu in blandness, but cooks use them extensively for texture, color and to absorb the flavor of the sauces.

The mushroom’s very pretty, appealing shape in food presentation has made it even more trendy among contemporary cooks and chefs, particularly in white tablecloth restaurants

So what type of mushrooms should you use in your cooking? If you have an unlimited kitchen budget, use fresh black truffles ($1300 a pound or $3000 a kilo) and morels from France. They will be a sure hit among your guests, particularly if you can weave their cost into the dinner conversation.

But most of us work with a more limited kitchen budget in which the other end of the spectrum is the more likely scenario, even considering to rescue the mushrooms on the “reducedfor- quick-sale” shelf of the supermarket.

For most everyday cooking, fresh button mushrooms are perfectly adequate. When you want to splurge a little, one of the more common exotic types is a nice addition to your menu.

Remember, a little mushroom goes a long way. Two ounces (55 g) of an exotic mushroom per person is plenty to get the full benefit of mushrooms when you mix it with other ingredients in a side dish. So 1 pound (half a kilo) serves 8 guests-not an outrageous expenditure for an elegant meal.

To make the price even more reasonable, mix the exotic mushrooms with button mushrooms half and half. You will still get the flavor and visual impact of the exotic mushrooms. You can also blend fresh button mushrooms with dried reconstituted exotic mushrooms for their added flavor. Use 1 or 2 ounces (30 or 55 g) of dried mushroom for every pound (half kilo) of fresh mushrooms.

Mature mushrooms are always more flavorful than younger ones. Both the umbrella shape and the deepening color of the “ripe” spores indicate a mature mushroom. Don’t use quite as much of a mature specimen as you do the same mushroom in the button stage.

A flavorful exotic species like the chanterelle goes with any robust, full-flavored dish, while the milder exotics, like the oyster mushroom, are better with mild-flavored food, particularly seafood.

Some mushrooms are perfect for garnishing to add visual impact, such as the enoki. Their size and blandness are hopelessly lost among the other ingredients, but they look great as a garnish.

You may also use mushrooms raw in salads. They add visual impact to the dish with their pretty-shaped cross-section when thinly-sliced. But uncooked mushrooms are almost flavorless. Marinated or pickled, they readily absorb the flavor of the liquid in which they are soaked, thanks to their spongy flesh. A marinated mushroom retains its crunchiness, too, making it great hors d’oeuvres to serve with toothpicks.

How much mushroom should you count on for each serving? Mushrooms are 92 percent water so with cooking they shrink considerably as heat evaporates much of that moisture. Generally, a 4-ounce (110-g) serving is an adequate size when mushroom is a side dish, but for a more generous serving increase that to 5 ounces (140 g).

When it is the main ingredient of a mushroom dish, such as a mushroom stroganoff and mushroom stew, increase it to 6 or 6 1/ 2  ounces (170 or 185 g). For hors d’oeuvres as marinated mushrooms, count on everyone taking anywhere from 2 to 5 buttons, depending on their size and what else you are offering

The old Chinese knew the organs’  schedule. The body sends  its whole energy to some of its parts at a certain time. It is scientifically proven that persons that do not respect this inner rhythm  are prone to getting sick faster and more often.

• 6:00        Your organism  wakes up. Even though you’re still sleepy, your body rushes into producing hormones. The sugar content in our body, the amino acids and hormones take action at full capacity. Alcohol and nicotine must be avoided.
• 7:00        Your heart shifts into fifth gear. Sexual hormones production begins. Who enjoys exercising in the morning is making a big mistake because the heart is over solicited, and the result is the same. At this hour, you should stick to serving your breakfast , but before, drink a glass of water to help digestion.
• 8:00        Your organism craves fuel. Unfortunately this is also the hour at which most heart attacks and cerebral vascular accidents happen. It’s the perfect time to take your blood sample. At any other hour, the blood composition may be changed because of stress.
• 9:00        The body almost doesn’t feel pain and is immune toward fear. Chemotherapy and shots should be done at this hour, because the risk of complications is minimal.
• 10:00        It’s learning time! The brain is the most receptive. Making decisions and solving problems is easy. The body temperature reaches the highest level. It is the perfect time for taking a ride in your car, because attention and reflexes reach their peak.
• 11:00         The body burns the fat. Just eat all you can. Your heart and blood circulation are at the top. Avoid going to the cardiologist’s because he may assert you a wrong diagnostic.
• 12:00         Half of day is over! You should take a nap. The organism is tied up in producing acids and the brain is not exactly in its best shape. Get your room well ventilated! The stomach is the only organ truly active. It gets prepared for processing food .
• 13:00            Attention drops, everything focuses on digestion. It’s lunch time , and then a little bit of relaxation. After lunch the gallbladder starts the digestion and absorption of lipids from the intestine.
• 14:00           All functions are low. The body must rest.
• 15:00          The brain starts moving again. Attention and focus are at their peak again. Start working!
• 16:00           The body starts working. It is the ideal time for exercising. Lungs and air ways are widely opened. Just take a walk. Stomach drugs work at best at this hour.
• 17:00       Hands do their job perfectly. Painters create masterpieces, magicians are excellent.  Sportsmen obtain the best results.
• 18:00         It is time for cultural activities! The senses become sharpened; the taste buds and nostrils reception even the finest taste and scent. The nails and hairs have their biggest activity. The body is yet a little tired and the nerves react to pain or anger.
• 19:00         Best time to take your medicines. Your skin craves nourishment, the pores open up and assimilate at best all cosmetic products. But be careful, the blood pressure drops.
• 20:00         Visual capacities increase. It is the moment to choose fabrics and designs. Don’t take the last meal of the day later than 20:00, because all bodily functions are already decreased. The liver works perfectly, so alcoholic drinks are tolerated at best at this hour.
• 21:00         Body temperature and metabolism decrease. No food is assimilated. Just the stomach and liver are working.
• 22:00            The livers stops its functions for the day. Stop smoking, because, with the liver functions stopped, all the nicotine is absorbed  without filtration by the organism.
• 23:00           The day dreaming begins. The body cools down. The blood pressure, heart rate are reduced at minimum. Cortisol (the stress hormone) production is shut down. The skin regeneration process starts.
• 24:00            The organism auto regulates itself at minimum. You should sleep at this hour. At night, between 2 and 4, all the senses are inhibited. Between 3 and 5 the blood pressure drops.
• 

It is easier to remember information in the morning, but to memorize them, they should be repeated in the afternoon.