White asparagus, new potatoes, chopped parsley in melted butter and prosciutto - have you ever tasted the joy of this? I did last week - traveling in Europe. This is asparagus time, and it is eaten plentifully. Followed by strawberries.
In years gone, I have tried asparagus with sauce Béarnaise or sauce Hollandaise, with Wiener Schnitzel or salted herring. I had it as soup or stew. This year, I learned a new asparagus dish: Jam – made with sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum), an herb that should only be harvested in May, with a flavor that is indescribably delicious – pure May indeed.
But my point is not the asparagus or the sweet woodruff; the point is that Europeans eat in season. They fantasize all year about asparagus with “young” potatoes – and when the white spears finally shoot out of the soil, there eat them often. Until mid-June (the exact date varies from north to south), when traditionally the last white asparagus is cut to let the plant develop strength for next year. After mid-June … nothing for a whole year.
Medicinally, asparagus flushes the kidney and moves the bowel (fiber!), taking with it toxins that have accumulated over the long winter. Parsley gives vitamin C, depleted after the cold season. And young potatoes round out the composition that delights the taste buds. In medieval times it was thought to be an aphrodisiac – but anything that was growing freshly after the long winter and had a phallic form might have served for the purpose, I guess.
Asparagus contains vitamins A, C, B1, B2, and E and is thought to help regeneration of cells, especially of nerves, vessels, skin and hair. White asparagus is kept white by growing them in deep soil, and they always need peeling of the tough skin (which might be the reason that green asparagus is preferred here – less work). Asparagus is rich in calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, potassium and copper – all minerals sorely needed for bone strength.
Of course, it is possible to get white asparagus year-round. But Europeans still stick to the ancient clock: Over there, they have a time for everything, and May/June is dedicated to asparagus and strawberries.
We here think nothing of eating the good stuff whenever we feel like it. We don’t think about that the good stuff is made expensive by world-wide travel, and leaves a huge carbon print. Not to mention of the health consequences. Eating the same thing over and over again makes one prone to food allergies, for instance. And the old wisdom of the body is that what is in season is right for the body when it is in season. Not by chance but because we developed over millions of years together with the plants.
Here a small sample of what should be eaten when – and it is not only ancient lore but modern chrono-biology confirms the value of eating in season:
• January: red Beat
• February: celery, celeriac
• March: spinach, stinging nettle
• April: radish, rhubarb
• May: lettuce
• June: cucumber
• July: carrots, black currants, gooseberries, raspberries
• August: tomato, first apples, blueberries, raspberries.
• September: broccoli, cauliflower
• October: leeks
• November: cabbage
• December: rapunzel
(I will add to these!)
We delight in Christmas, and sometimes go over the top with Christmas decorations and gifts and events. Perhaps, if one had something to look forward year-round, would Christmas take its place among many seasonal delights? Read More
Blog: On Health. On Writing. On Life. On Everything.
Celebrate!
May 22, 2010
Today we celebrate our summer party – a little early this year. Roses and irises honor us by opening this morning for the first time - the garden could not be lovelier!
For a day like this, I want to give you my favorite piece of health advice: On a day like this, go out and celebrate with gusto, eat all the wrong foods – don’t sit around at the party and be on a diet!
This, of course, does not apply if you have food allergies and intolerances. Then you have to stick to your diet, needless to say.
But for all the others of us who just want to get to better health or lose a few pounds – which is commendable! - don’t do it today: Go out and have a good time!
Because, what really counts in the long run, is what you keep in your fridge and in your pantry – not what you eat occasionally when you are with friends - unless you are a professional party-goer, like politicians for instance! If you are, this is a little trick: Don not eat lunch on days when you expect a big dinner. Just skip lunch – you won’t starve. But you will prevent that you look like so many politicians: over-stuffed.
For everybody else: Enjoy the feast! But it would not hurt if you would go through your fridge, freezer and pantry right now and throw out everything that shouldn't be in there: TV dinners, sweets (except for dark chocolate without milk), chips, “nutritional bars, dairy (cheese, yogurt, milk), processed meats (bacon!), instant soups – you probably find more what should not be in there. No regrets, just throw it out! Don 't give it away because it is not healthy for the next person either.
That way you can go to your summer fest and enjoy it – knowing that once you will be back home, only healthy foods will await you.
P.S. If you cheat, observe how you feel afterward, and the next morning. Do you feel great? Lousy? Overhung? Bloated? Achy? Write it down so that you remember why you wanted to live healthier in the first place! Read More
Aging Is Inevitable - Or Is It?
May 21, 2010
Yes, aging is inevitable, but how you age, makes all the difference. You can get a bit stiffer and a bit fatter and a bit more stooped and a bit more depressed every day, or you can embark on an exciting journey starting today that will make you glow with health, sparkle with interest and explode with love.
Will it be difficult? Not more difficult than doing two minutes of exercise every day, eating a bit more reasonably and finding something you love to do. If you start with two minutes exercise a day, you will soon find that your body wants more. What hinders you to get up from your chair right now and do ten belly crunches? Or, if you can't get down on the floor, lifting your knees ten times, then your arms?
Studies done on centenarians – people who made it to 100 – show that it took only surprisingly simple things to keep them alive that long. Good genes help of course, but more important might be staying busy and keeping involved with friends, family, community. Centenarians did not spend long hours at the gym or money for expensive spa vacations or face lifts.
All what is needed are simple, everyday gestures and measures: cleaning out the attic, puttering around in the yard, cooking a meal for a sick friend, knitting a shawl for a grandchild. What centenarians did not do: Sit in front of TV or at the computer. Really, they did nothing spectacular. But the unspectacular made a long, spectacularly fulfilled life. Read More