Maine Event: Day 58

Today was another busy workday and I'm dragging as I had a cooking class from 9-11pm last night. We went for a little walk at lunchtime and one at the end of the day. It will be an early to bed night tonight.

In terms of class there was some new stuff but mostly a lot of affirming the stuff I already knew. More than 50% of the world has a non-communicable disease and the primary causes of that are unhealthy eating, physical inactivity, tobacco use and exposure, and excessive alcohol. Those are the main risks to good health and in that order. So the focus of this course is focused on eating better.

The class is focusing on cooking and health and is taught by two people: a French chef that works now at USF and a wellness teacher that is focused on food because it has the biggest impact on health.

1. Choose plant-based foods as close as possible to their natural form.

2. Choose your carbohydrates carefully focusing on whole grains and starchy vegetables; minimize refined carbs and processed food.

3. Prioritize plant-based protein.

4. Replace harmful fats with healthy fats from whole foods (EVOO).

5. Minimize sodium.

6. Minimize dietary contaminants - pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals.

7. Maximize - fiber, antioxidants, herbs, spices, prebiotics, probiotics in whole foods.

8. Hydrate with water.

9. Integrate with a whole-body approach.

*exercise and move more

*manage stress

*spend time with your people/your community

*eat good healthy food

What I learned was that heat destroys Omega - 3 fatty acids. Meaning canned and fried fatty fish have had their rich Omega-3's turned into Omega-6s. Baking seems ok even at 400° for 20 mins or less. Walnuts should also be baked no higher than 350° for 10 or so minutes. Mostly this is what I do but I do love fried sardines and canned fatty smoked fish (Riga Sprats). 
What surprised me was that adding lemon zest to miso soup adds that little extra something. 
What I'm relearning (again) is how wise my mother was. 
What I'm excited about is that they are as into fermented foods as I am. 

In class, we had a "cook along" and made vegetarian stock. I made mine ahead because the class is late in this timezone and I'm tired. Basically, I'd prefer to just take notes because they talk fast and cover a lot of ground. I'm sure we will go into detail about all of this and be cooking more but this was our first overview of the material we will focus on over the next six weeks. 

The quote of the day: "What you include is as important as what you exclude"

secret passageway.

Sunset over public housing where the nicest people from several different countries live.

Wishing you a healthy evening.

Sending you oodles of love, Tawnia