Navigating Health Consciousness and the Pursuit of Finger-Licking Good
Navigating Health Consciousness and the Pursuit of Finger-Licking Good
Can there really be a balance?
If you’ve met me personally, you know that I tend to live my life as a sort of nod to Erich Brenn. Just when it seems like I couldn't juggle any more responsibilities, I add even more plates to the mix. This isn't always a conscious decision; sometimes, when something deeply resonates with me, I feel compelled to act immediately, driven by an irresistible magnetic impulse. It's a journey I'm still navigating and becoming increasingly aware of, a process I'm gradually becoming more comfortable with – a topic for another discussion.
At the beginning of 2021, amidst the hustle of working full-time as a production manager for Alo Moves, a wellness platform booming with online workouts during the pandemic, I was dedicating any of my free hours to self-publishing "Mamacita." It was during this busy period that I stumbled upon an Instagram post about an online certification in Holistic Health. Before I knew it, I was calling the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and signing up for their Health Coaching program that was to start that same month.
My interest in holistic healing traces back to childhood days spent exploring the used book section at our local Goodwill with my mom, a place we frequented in the early years of moving to the U.S. There, I discovered a book filled with herbal recipes and holistic approaches to various skin issues, reminiscent of the wisdom held by the Curanderas my papa would take us to visit in Mexico. These visits involved driving to the mountains on weekends, returning with plastic bags filled with herbal remedies for indigestion, headaches, and stress. As the pandemic unfolded, and my grandmother's Alzheimer's worsened, my focus on reducing and preventing inflammation grew stronger, especially with the illness being referred to as Type 3 Diabetes.
After publishing Mamacita and graduating with my certification in Holistic Health Coaching, I felt two parts of my identity start to divert. There was the side of me wanting to eat every pastry in Europe and the other side that was interested in how those simple carbs might have a long-term effect on my longevity. It wasn’t just an internal disconnect. It felt like the more I shared about what I was eating and what I wasn’t in a strive for balance publicly and in intimate conversations with friends, the more I feared that my personal preference could be misjudged for an endorsement of diet culture.
The question persistently echoed in my mind, akin to a blind spot signal in a car, trying to keep me in my lane and prevent a collision "Am I the food writer, or am I the Holistic Coach? Do I create delicious recipes, or do I educate people on the adverse effects of sugar?" The answer, I discovered over a year after becoming a Cookbook Author and a Holistic Health Coach, lies somewhere in the grey area.
To me, the balance is found in the mix – the intersection of food that tastes good and food that makes me feel good. It's an acknowledgment that enjoying a variety of foods requires an understanding of how they interact with our bodies, minds, and spirits. Pleasurable food, for me, aligns with my morals and values, ensuring it doesn't exploit people, land, or animals.
Beyond food, this realization extended to the societal pressure to label ourselves, limiting us to one identity. However, I've come to understand that we are more like trees. The trunk represents our core, and each branch is a facet of who we are – an interest or pursuit. Cutting off a branch doesn't mean the whole tree is gone; likewise, growing a new branch doesn't diminish the importance of existing ones. At the root, our connection with each other and the world defines us. True balance lies in the recognition that we can be many things, eat many things, enjoy many things, balance numerous responsibilities, and decide what aligns with our values.
Have you ever felt pulled in two directions? What did you do?
Last week my friend Abena, and Your Friend in Food shared about her 2024 approach to food. One of the approaches was your Fridge Is Your Oyster. And since the weather in Seattle this weekend has been frightening cold, I was craving something warm and comforting. Lucky me, I had just about everything short of eggs to make a delicious, protein-packed porridge, because it turns out that yes, you can have both.
Servings 6
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups brown rice, rinsed
10 cups of bone broth or broth of preference. (I ended up using 5 cups of veggie broth and 5 cups of bone broth because that is what I had).
2 stalks of green onion, white ends cut off
2 1-inch pieces of ginger, no need to peel it
Avocado oil
5 garlic cloves, sliced
1 pack of Enoki mushrooms
4 tablespoons Tapioca Starch ( you can also use corn starch)
Toppings:
Kimchi
Green onion
Chili Oil
Chili crisp
Soy sauce
Soft-boiled egg
Literally anything your heat desires
To make this porridge first start by bringing your rice, broth, 2 stalks of green onion and ginger pieces to a boil in a large soup pot over high heat.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover and let simmer for 90 minutes until most of the liquid has been absorbed. I like my porridge on the mushier side so I take off the lid at 80 minutes and let it cook uncovered for the last 10 minutes.
Once ready discard the onion and ginger.
Meanwhile, heat up a small skillet over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of avocado oil. Once hot, add your garlic and fry it for about 1 minute until golden brown. Make sure not to over do it or your garlic will turn bitter. Remove the garlic from the oil and let it drain on a paper towel. Don’t discard the oil!
Using a knife remove the bottom half inch from you enoki mushroom, and using your hands disperse the enoki so they open up rather than keeping them in a bundle. Place them on a cutting board and place a paper towel over the top. Now using a heavy bottom pot gently press down to flatten the enoki.
On a shallow plate, add your tapioca starch and cover your enoki fans on both sides with starch before adding them one at a time to the hot oil. Watching them fry is honestly the best part! I love how they dance and shrink as they become crunchy.
Flip once after about a minute when you start to see the bottom turn golden brown. When both sides are ready, place the enoki on a paper towel to drain the excess oil. Repeat this process with all of the enoki.
Serve your porridge on deep bowls, topped with plenty of kimchi, sliced green onion, fried garlic, fried enoki and any other topping your heat desires or your fridge inspires.
Provecho!
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Since the weather was so cold in Seattle this weekend, my team and I decided to postpone our Cookbook Writing and Food Photography workshop to February 3rd and 4th! If writing your own cookbook or learning how to style and shoot your own dishes is part of your 2024 intentions make sure to check out the workshop. We have only 5 spots left!
