From the Bar: Beer!

So, I love beer. I really do. Ask the Food Beastie, it's really true. My preference is for the Belgian pale ales and Hefeweizens* So, here are some of my favorite beers. Natch.


1) Guinness on tap. not bottled, and sure as hell not canned. Tap. Draft. It's not the same, that shocker ball whatever is total crap. Don't be fooled!

source: here

 2) Hoegaarden. (pronounced "who-garden" if you're being snooty) light, citrus-y, and delicious, it's like Blue Moon, except you don't have to add oranges.

source: here

3) Hacker-Pschorr Oktoberfest Marzen. The King of all Oktoberfest beers, my friends. The Food Beastie and I drank this in our college dive bar one Friday night when they'd run out of Sam Adams Oktoberfest. This beer knocked it out of the park. In fact, it is THE original Oktoberfest beer from one of the oldest breweries in Germany (established in the 15th century). 

Source: here

now drink up! and remember:


"Good people drink good beer"
-Hunter S. Thompson


 
*funny side note: obviously spell check catches that. it's suggested word? Citizenship

Scare alert! (and something a bit lighter)

On a totally separate note, and separate post, I saw this in the New York Times today:

First Signs of Puberty Seen in Younger Girls


by Denise Grady (click on the title for access to full article at the New York Times website)

"A new study finds that girls are more likely today than in the past to start developing breasts by age 7 or 8.

The research is just the latest in a flood of reports over the last decade that have led to concern and heated debate about whether girls are reaching puberty earlier, and why it might be happening.

Increased rates of obesity are thought to play a major role, because body fat can produce sex hormones. Some researchers also suspect that environmental chemicals that mimic the effects of estrogen may be speeding up the clock on puberty, but that idea is unproved.

The issue is of concern for both medical and psychosocial reasons. Studies suggest that earlier puberty, as measured by the age at first menstruation, can slightly increase the risk of breast cancer, probably because it results in longer lifetime exposure to the hormones estrogen and progesterone, which can feed some tumors."

This is the sort of thing that scares the crap out of me. I know it says environmental chemicals as a factor is unproven, but an organic lifestyle is healthier by leaps and bounds. And it prevents you from even having to worry about environmental chemicals being ingested through the food you THINK is making you healthy. I don't know all the facts, and I'm not pretending that I do. I'm just saying it scares the living daylights out of me, and I think we should start paying better attention, and actually start doing something about it rather than just talking about it. At the risk of sounding preachy. Again. dammit.

And, as further proof that Sesame Street can teach you everything you need to know 

 

(minus the gluttony. and the fact that 99% of the time he was scarfing cookies.) 

sources: New York Times, Jbrangwynne53

the Green Monster

So, I've been thinking about this post for awhile. I don't really know how to reconcile what I'm trying to say, and how annoying I find people who sound preachy. So here's my best shot at not sounding preachy, on a subject that just kinda sounds inherently preachy. 

source: Emilia Norman's tumblr

I'm constantly trying to figure out how to make my lifestyle greener in little ways--ways that may sound insignificant to other people. Like, trying to remember to turn off the water while you're soaping up your dishes, or brushing your teeth, rather than letting it run the whole time. And speaking of water conservation, I find that most green tips can be a bit of a sticky wicket, unless you're fully FULLY informed. Some examples that have crossed my mind recently:

-washing your pots and pans by hand rather than in the dishwasher. My family's just always done them by hand, and it wasn't until college (oh, the great equalizer) that I realized that some people just don't do it that way. I finally got around to asking my mother about it yesterday, and she asked "which reasons do you want?" and I said, "the true ones." Here's her response. 1) her mother always had her do them by hand, so by now, it's a force of habit. 2) to teach my sister and I a bit of a work ethic. 3) we don't have a lot of pots and pans, so if we were to stack them in the dishwasher, we'd just have to pull them out and wash them by hand tomorrow. 3) to conserve water.


but is it conserving water if you leave the water running? Which I guess re-iterates the first point, turn off the water in between soaping up (though I draw the line and doing this in the shower. I'm not that crazy.)



video source: Sesame Street, via youtube


-cloth diapers/using towels to wipe up spills. Yes, you're saving all those paper towels and disposable diapers from going in a landfill and just sitting there, but what about all the water your washing machine uses? Even if you have an energy efficient one! And about the diapers . . . do you wash them every day, and if you don't, what do you do about the SMELL? (seriously, anyone who knows the answers . . . these are legitimately burning questions)


Quandaries, quandaries.


But these are some things that seem so simple to me, and honestly put a bit of a bee in my bonnet when people don't do them:


-recycle!! particularly if you HAVE a recycling program in your neighborhood/apartment building! It really makes such a difference, honestly honestly.

source: Santart tumblr

-turn off your lights. And not just when you leave the room. One of my biggest pet peeves in the morning is somebody turning the lights on (though, that's probably just because I'm a bit of a grouch in the morning). But seriously, if you have natural light, and it's daylight, what's the point in having the lights on? It's just eating up your electricity bill. And the Mad Food Beastie can tell you, most of the time my lights are off even when it's dark out. . . . I can be a bit of a mole, sometimes.

               -one thing I have SUCH a hard time doing, is unplugging my appliances when I'm not using them, like my  phone charger, laptop charger, and (in the summer) oscillating fan. They're not ON, they're just plugged in. But my mom gets on my case (gently) all the time, because even just plugged into the wall they still leech electricity.


Now, if I lived in a city, I would probably talk about taking public transit or walking or biking instead of using taxi cabs, or car pooling in the suburbs. But I don't live in the city, and I don't know anyone who I can carpool with to work, so I'd just feel like a huge hypocrite.


Anyway, I feel like so many people feel like the eco-friendly movement is just for people who've build solar panels, and have energy efficient appliances, and all sorts of gadgets. But the small things are so, SO important. And that's something I all too frequently forget.


Amen.
 

Cooking Shows A-go-go!

As was just made evident, The Mad Food Beastie has this sort of creative-food thing that a lot of chefs have. She can sort of look at a bunch of ingredients, come up with something to cook, and if she can't come up with the recipe herself, she knows just where to look to find it.

I cannot do this. At all.

I need recipes, inspiration from someone else. Any recipe I post here will be someone else's, and I will post due credit for it. As a result of my utter lack of cooking genesis, I love cooking shows. Here are some of my favorites, that I feel also advocate our goals.

Jamie at Home:

I love Jamie at Home. I could listen to him talk all day. But he also creates recipes that I think always look tasty, and very local/home-grown. Today, I watched his onions episode, which was not only hilarious, but gave me two great recipes that I want to try. And you all will know when I do!



Giada at Home is also great--if you can't tell, chefs at home is a thing for me. I want to see what they would cook for themselves, on an everyday basis. Because gourmet-esque food is delicious and spectacular, but not necessarily what I want to eat everyday (and invariably generates a bunch of dishes I don't want to clean, either).

Barefoot Contessa. duh.


And this isn't really healthy. BUT! This is a part of indulgence category. IF you're going to eat something unhealthy (and you will, let's be serious) eat something fantastic, decadent, and something that sounds delicious-exactly what you wanted.

Yummy! Yummy!

Mediterranean
Veggie Pita

Serves 2

2 pita pockets (fresh or store bought)

½ cup shredded romaine lettuce

½ cup chopped orange bell pepper

½ cup chopped tomato

½ cup chopped English or seedless cucumber (skin on)

¼ cup chopped red onion

¼ cup kalamata olives halved

¼ cup feta cheese crumbled

2 Tbsp. hummus

2 Tbsp. Greek Dressing (preservative and High Fructose Corn Syrup free)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Pre-chop all of the veggies and set them aside. Either cut the pita in half and open up a pocket and spread the hummus in side or leave whole and flat then spread the hummus on top to fold up taco style. With different brands of pita that have different levels of moisture one method may be easier than the other, just play with it and see which method you prefer. Combine the veggies in a bowl with the olives and dressing, mixing well to coat evenly. Stuff the veggie mixture into the pita and sprinkle with feta. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In my experience the Greek dressing has plenty of salt and just needs a few grinds of black pepper. I even tried my hand at making my own pita with a recipe courtesy of The Fresh Loaf blog. I would definitely say it is worth giving a try since the bread only takes two hours to complete. While my pita did not puff beautifully into a perfect little balloon each time they still had that amazing fresh bread taste unlike any store bought pita I have had. So we just went taco style. Anyways the only problem that I had was keeping any pitas left to add the veggies, once the smell of baked goods filled the house and attracted the wolves. You can also try many variations of this pita with sliced ham or grilled chicken the sky is the limit. Enjoy!

F. Beastie

Copyright ©

The Mad Food Beastie Charges Forward with The Nothing-atarian

I am so excited to be joining in this culinary adventure with one of my best buds, the Nothing-atarian. The blog world is a very new experience for me, so there isn’t a better way to take the big leap than with a good friend that shares in many of your lifestyle convictions. Now the homemade, organic, and locally produced market was not always part of my family’s repertoire.
In my teen years I was plagued with the many unpleasantries of what can best be described as a complete internal upheaval. It sounds as unglamorous as it actually was. Not the kind of topic that comes up during polite dinner conversation and goes undiscussed even between close friends and relatives. It is just the kind of embarrassing condition that makes the normal turmoil of adolescence a complete nightmare.
Suddenly my junior year of high school there was a ray of hope. I was invited to spend three weeks on a farm in Austria with a long time friend and her family. That trip literally changed my life. The knowledge that I gained there was both bitter and sweet. I learned that all of the problems I had been experiencing were all self created, but could be completely eliminated with a change in lifestyle. It was an indisputable revelation since all the meals we enjoyed in the countryside were unprocessed and chemical preservative free. This was a dramatic change from the much more readily available processed meal in a box, packaged goodies, and soft drinks that I was used to back in the States. Well, three weeks of getting our daily bread from a true working bakery (no bag white bread to be found), getting our meat from the butcher, milk and butter fresh that morning right from the farm, picking wild berries and mushrooms (my friend’s grandfather was very knowledgeable about the edible kind and the only person I trust picking mushrooms from the wild, Thank you Opi!) in the Black Forest, and long walks in one of the most beautiful settings on Earth was truly transformative.
Upon my return home to Virginia not only had I lost a healthy amount of weight from the regular long walks (and I was by no means a slouch in high school running both track and cross country) but my body was rejuvenated and toxin free. I was well aware that my Austrian lifestyle would not translate seamlessly to my American lifestyle but with a few small changes here and there I would be able to maintain my state of well being and share its benefits with my family and friends.
First order of business was to phase out all the meal in a box, frozen dinner nonsense that often landed on the table for dinner or in the snack bowl, with made-from-scratch and more real food options. Not only does it command better flavor, but you also have the power of knowing exactly what is in your food. It is as simple to cook an entire meal from start to finish full of only fresh ingredients in the amount of time it would take to reheat frozen lasagna in the oven, and we are not talking about salad here! Fresh spaghetti sauce, eggplant parmesan, chicken chow mien, and lamb curry are some of my favorite go-to recipes. Cooking from scratch does not mean you have to make your own potato chips and always bake your own bread (although you could)! I am a major potato chip junkie and I seldom have the time to bake bread in morning. It is merely about making wise choices such as preservative free whole grain breads from your grocer and moderation with processed junk foods that we all love to gorge ourselves on occasionally.
The second task was to incorporate organic, locally produced ingredients. Locally grown produce on average is fresher and more nutrient rich than the same product brought in from across the country, picked unripe and expected to reach a mature ripeness in a wood crate. Buying local also supports your community economy and is much more environmentally friendly. Not to mention the benefits of having friendly relationships with your local farmers; which is definitely helpful come canning time!
But, I digress, this has been a hefty post but a very important back story that I hope will get others to jump on the bandwagon and understand why changing our lifestyles has been so crucial to me and the Nothing-atarian. I leave you all with a parting gift----a charming, healthy rendition of a classic Mediterranean style take-away, the Mediterranean Veggie Pita; and the promise of more to come. Enjoy.
F. Beastie

Hail, Hail, the gang's all here

So, here's a new venture for me (us!). I'm still the historian and posting there, but I'm also the Reformed Nothing-atarian here at Move Over, Naked Chef with my very dear friend (and ex-roommate) the Mad Food Beastie. 

The term nothing-atarian is a term my mom invented when I was a kid, and an extremely picky eater. I would try to tell people that I was a vegetarian, which at the time seemed like a respectable term for someone who ate nothing at all. My mom would laugh (bitterly?) and correct me, stating that I was a nothing-atarian. And she was right! I ate nothing. Or, at the very least, nothing help me. Nary a fruit nor vegetable passed my lips from the time I moved to solid food for a very long time. I mean, I ate potato chips, but do those really count?

Anyway, by the time I got to college I was a bit more varied in my diet, but by varied I mean I would eat a bit of salad, or pasta, or dumplings, or cold cut sandwiches, etc. Combine this with the all-night snack sessions that come from all-nighters, soda being cheaper/more freely available than water, and driving everywhere you get . . . me at my senior year of college. A lifetime of bad habits, twenty to thirty pounds overweight, what looked like a tire wrapped around my waist, and a rapidly slowing metabolism.

I could've easily fallen into some sort of dietary pit of despair. I'm NOT a major fan of exercising, particularly not in public places, and I don't like denying myself the tastier things in life. I could have resigned myself to never wanting to see myself photographed ever again, to all the health issues that my diet/lifestyle created. Or, on the opposing extreme side, could've been an exercise-orexic or done some fad diet that is more harm than good and just leads to a more massive weight gain. 

But I didn't! And it's largely due to the Mad Food Beastie, honestly. Now I have a very basic set of rules that I can follow, without falling off the bandwagon:

1) no soda
2) no snacking after 9 pm
3) portion control, portion control, portion control
4) drink plenty of water
5) at least 5 days of activity, 1-2 days of rest
6) fewer processed food
7) you want dessert? bake it yourself!

Now, mind you. I indulge. I drink alcohol (I'm over 21!), I have dessert. But I am ALSO steadily losing weight at a healthy pace and creating a habitually healthy lifestyle. For me, it's essential to allow some flexibility. But it's a challenge to find new, interesting, healthy things that I want to eat/cook for myself. I'm constantly hunting for new ideas and recipes. This new blog is an arena to explore my fledgling lifestyle of being sustainable, environmentally-friendly, and healthy. I consider this . . . extra motivation, perhaps?

photo credit: design*sponge