The coming of fall

As the days grow shorter and the cold air moves in my garden has begun to shed its last offerings. The chickens are in the freezer, the salsa has been canned, the cucumbers are pickled, and I am enjoying the last of the kale and beets. 

With the loss of our beloved companion Luna, I am ever reminded of how fleeting life can be. Like a garden we nurture our loved ones, watch them grow, enjoy the beauty they give and grow with them, and then we let them go when their time has come, but we are forever left filled by their love. 

My garden on a late summer evening.

 Tania's, beautiful garden, with blue-ribbon worthy cabbage. 

Tania's bounty 

Luna resting in the shade of recently stacked wood. 

Mom and Dad with Luna

Sprouted beans, the really magical fruit!

While I was working at The Local Buzz in Bradford, VT, my coworker Abby, a total health guru, told me about sprouting beans and grains. I had come across sprouting grains and the healthy benefits of doing so in Sally Fallon's book Nourishing Traditions, but I never took the time to actually try it or think much about it. I was too busy and thought I already ate a pretty healthy diet. Abby, a very busy working wife/mother of two, sprouts beans at the café and at home. Her practice is that before she goes to bed she just decide if she will have beans and/or rice in the next few days and she put out the amount she wants in a bowl and covers it with twice as much water. Then the next day she drains off the water,  puts them into a colander over a bowl and rinses them twice a day until they sprout.  If plans change and she doesn’t need the grains within a few days, it is fine to put them into a container and keep them in the fridge for 2-3 days.

One bag of kidney beans in 2x the water

Why is sprouting/soaking bean and grain important? As it turns out they contain a chemical called phytic acid, which is the principle storage form of phosphate in many plants, especially grains and seeds. Phytic acid can inhibit absorption of important minerals, and enzymes such as pepsin, which is used to break down proteins, and amylase that is needed to break down starch into sugar. If a diet contains moderate amounts of phytic acid the body will bind calcium to them and form insoluble phytate complexes resulting in not only the lack of absorbing nutrients but also some loss of calcium. 

Soaking also cuts down on cooking time! 

Sprouted beans cooked, with olive oil and Italian seasoning.

Germinating grains has many benefits; it produces vitamin C, but it also changes some characteristics of grains, legumes, and seeds. It increases the availability of vitamin B6, B5, and B2, as well as a major increase in carotene. The most important reason for sprouting grains is that is neutralizes the phytic acid that is present in the bran of all grain. Phytase is the enzyme that breaks down phytic acid and it is generally found in the same foods as phytic acid, but not always in a quantity that will break down all the present phytic acid. Plants like corn, oats, millet, and brown rice do not contain enough phytase to eliminate all the phytic acid. Ruminating animals (such as cows, sheep and goats) have no trouble eating a diet high in phytates because rumen microorganisms produce phytase. Humans also produce phytase, but far less. It is sort of like people who do not produce enough lactase in order to break down the lactose disaccharide in milk.

The key point is to activate the phytase in order to break down the phytates and allow your body to better absorb all the nutrients found in whole grains, legumes, and seeds. It is best to soak in water for about 24 hours before preparation because the enzyme phytase can be destroyed in high temperatures or freezing for long periods of time so. ALWAYS RINSE THE BEANS after they soak! It is important to rinse off all the dirt and chemicals that come off of the grain/bean.

To complete the bean sprouting here are the steps: found at Vegetarian Times.

1. Soak the beans or grains over night

2. Then in in a quart size bowl or mason jar fill it 1/3 with nuts, seeds, grains, or beans and fill the rest of the way with warm water. Add 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and cover the bowl with a breathable cloth.

3. Soak for around 8 hours (soaking times can vary). Then drain of the water and rinse well.

4. At this point it is good to put the beans in a colander over a bowl and allow to drain. Cover iwth either a plate, seal with a lid, or cover with saran wrap. Rinse every 8-12 hours (once in the morning and once in the evening) until there are little sprouts. This can take 1-4 days depending on the plant. Eat them within 2-3 days.

It is important to be aware of contamination such as E.coli and practice safe food handling.

If you are interested in learning more about phytic acid most of my information was found on the Weston A. Price Foundation website. Click here for more on phytic acid.

In order to eat healthy on a budget step one is knowing how to shop for health on a budget. The most helpful tool is to plan ahead or at least help yourself be prepared to make healthy meals. It is also important for me to create an environment (my apartment) where I only have healthy options from which to choose. When there are temptations around I have not honed in my self control enough to resist, so I say out of sight out of mind (or at least out of the question).

My brother and I go grocery shopping about once every other week generally at a conventional grocery store like Shaws or Hannaford for most items except for produce, dairy, and eggs. I give a big effort to eat fruits and vegetables local and/or organic. In doing so I have to cut back on a lot of produce, so sometimes I do buy conventional in order to come close to my recommended daily needs. It is rare I eat a salad, while I'm at school, but I will munch on carrots and peppers through the winter. Fruit is generally local apples and pears, or organic bananas, or oranges. Vegetables are always onions, and garlic, then I will choose usually a dark green, like broccoli. Come winter I may have some local squash but I am often buying frozen vegetables. If I am buying fresh produce I try to buy local even if it isn't organic. In the fall I harvest a lot of vegetables from my garden, which has saved me a bit on produce for the time being, but my garden is not very big and it is an hour and a half away. Before returning to school I made and canned my own salsa to have on hand; salsa can be expensive for the good stuff. I also tried to freeze and dry zucchini and eggplant to add into soups in the winter. Before I left I received a whole chicken and other preserved treats from my fantastic homesteading neighbor Tania.

One of the wonderful chickens that had a good life and quick end at Tania's house.  

I budget $150 per month for myself on groceries, which includes any eating out, alcohol, and coffees. This allows about $37.50 per week and about $5.36 a day. It helps me to think in weeks. This leans on the slightly low side for a budget. It is easier as a single person. My brother maintains his own budget. I don't eat meats, I eat minimal dairy, and I rarely drink alcohol. I minimize these items for financial reasons, health reasons, and ethical reasons.

As for the list I look at my pantry (a couple shelves) and try to plan out the month or at least the next two weeks. This has become easier over time with practice.

This is my pantry when it is well stocked

Here are the steps I go through when making my list:

• Buy in bulk when you can. I buy big bags of dried kidney beans, lentils, and mixed beans. This way they are cheaper and I have a variety to choose from. I also like to soak beans before I cook them. (I will talk about soaking in the next blog)
• A few cans of beans are good for when you do not have time to plan ahead and soak the dry beans. I don't buy organic varieties unless I can find them cheaper than conventional, which sometimes you can, always check.
• Grains are also good to buy in bulk. I like to have a bag of brown rice and also a bag of Pakistani basmati white rice. 
• While at school I don't eat meat, this saves a lot of money, but meat is also something I like to eat locally grown or avoid all together.
• I like to keep bread on hand for an easy breakfast or to dip in soups. I always buy locally made bread, that is WHOLE WHEAT, whole wheat is important for so many nutrients that are negated by refining grain, plus I think it taste better. I buy local bread because there's a lot of it, it's awesome, and it tends to not be more expensive than others and I can even buy it at the Co-op that is right near where I live for a decent price (2.99 on sale, which it often is).
• Eggs I buy local and free range. I eat one egg most mornings. They are filling and about $2.69 for a dozen large, local, and free range. My breakfast is one egg plus toast (a loaf on sale for 2.99) for 12 days cost me about 50 cents per breakfast...I also have coffee though. 
• Dairy (cheese, milk, yogurt). These tend to be pricey items so I eat them in moderation. I also buy these local because again it is just as easy and the price is the same, but buying these conventionally is okay if that is your option. These items tend to be good when eaten in moderate quantities. Zero fat plain greek yogurt is what I opt for because it is very versitile. As a breakfast or dessert it is great with a tablespoon of jam. I also use it as a sour cream substitute on breakfast burritos, and in a cucumber-yogurt sauce (tzatziki). It has more protein and buying low fat dairy can help save on calories while still containing just as much calcium. I know many people prefer whole fat, which I don't argue is bad for you, but when you are watching calories this is one place where I say go low fat or no fat. I get 2% milk that I mostly just drink in my coffee in the morning so it last longer.
• Then for vegetables in the fall I do try to go local. I live in Vermont where there are loads of farmers and loads of vegetables. Buying local is easy for me and worth a few extra cents to buy. However, this is not always possible for everyone and in the winter I tend to run very low on funds so I buy frozen vegetable medleys. These are great because the vegetable is flash frozen which help it retain most of its nutrients. Canned vegetables are soaked on a preservative and tend to come out all rubbery and salty. Organic is great, but not always practical or possible for people on tight budgets. It is most important to avoid heavily processed foods, so buying a can of nonorganic vegetables is way better than buying a a bag of Hamburger Helper. 
• dark greens; broccoli, string beans, peas, Brussels sprouts (find frozen medleys with no additives like butter and sauces. 
• color; bell peppers, onions, edamame, mushrooms (also available frozen).
• Nuts; almonds roasted unsalted as a snack, and I usually have peanut butter a natural variety (Teddy) unsalted, and no added oils or sugar. 
• Extras; always decent quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar, low sodium teriyaki, Pataks mild curry paste, Italian seasoning, vegetable bouillon, lemons, Dijon mustard, corse salt and whole pepper corns in a mill. 

• 

  This is my fridge with a good variety

Life is crazy enough with school, work, bills, deadlines, blah, blah, blah. It's important to find what makes you happy for the moments in between the madness. For me it's the outdoors, gardening, cooking, being with friends and family, and learning about how to lead a healthier life. I believe the concrete base to a happy life is a healthy life. But I also understand the difficulty of being healthy when there seems to be so much else to do and not enough time to do it in.

This is my final year as an undergraduate Nutrition major at the University of Vermont. The stress of pending expectations has never felt so heavy; a full course load, GREs, applying to graduate school, and becoming a certified yoga teacher, but I have made it a goal this year to be as healthy as I have ever been even during a stressful time. This blog is to help support others in my exact position with too much to do, too little time, and few funds to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

I am living with my brother, Ben, a total health nut, who is coming back to school to study physical therapy. We have some strong differing opinions about what health is, but we support each other in our individual pursuit of health even if we don't always agree. Hopefully together we will be able to bring a well rounded view of what a healthy lifestyle could look like.