Reflections on Metabolic Balance and External Modifiers

This week we cooked to the theme of metabolic balance and external modifiers. We played with the idea that humans are more likely to overeat when presented with lots of variety in their meal and the opposite which is that people with less variety in their diet tend to eat less. For the increased enjoyment of our classmates, we decided to go with a meal full of variety. We decided on the base meal being a baked potato with many options for toppings. The options for toppings included bacon, vegetarian chili, broccoli, cheese, and sour cream.

Another aspect of our meal represented the innate drive humans have towards highly dense, caloric foods. For this reason, we included skirt steak. Our chefs decided to add a delicious chimichurri to add some more taste variety to our meal.

I know that I overate at this meal because there were so many delicious options available to me. It is very interesting to see that the data mostly show that this is almost solely because of an increased consumption and does not have much of an association with activity level, so this should really be the source of our interventions. Unfortunately, as we have explored in this course, there are so many influences on appetites that it will take a multi-faceted approach to truly tackle this public health concern.

Our ingredients list:

-30 large roasting potatoes 

-sour cream 

-avocado

-bacon

-shredded cheddar cheese

-salted butter 

-scallions (green onion)

-chives 

-chili fixings (1.5# ground turkey or beef, 1 can each black and kidney beans, 1 large onion, 1 can crushed tomatoes, 1 fresh jalapeno) 

-chimichurri fixings (2 heads garlic, 1 lemon, 2 red onions, red wine vinegar, 1 bunch fresh parsley) 

-8# skirt steak 

-vegetables (broccoli & cabbage)

Ethan Brown's Inspiring Podcast about Beyond Meat on How I Built This

I have become a weekly listener to the npr podcast called How I Built This: a podcast about entrepreneurs and innovators, and the stories behind their businesses. In each episode, the entrepreneur tells the narrative about the many failures he/she experienced while building the company, and highlights how persevering through the many failures has resulted in a successful and profitable company. There are many wealthy and well-known entrepreneurs on the show such as Mark Cuban and Richard Branson, to name a few, but the most inspiring podcast for me is the one from last week with Ethan Brown--the founder and CEO of Beyond Meat.

Beyond Meat is a plant-based protein company that has been able to use the yellow pea to create products that look and taste like animal meat. They have chicken strips, beef crumble, a beast burger, but their new and most ground-breaking product is called the "Beyond Burger," which looks, smells, tastes, and bleeds like a real hamburger. The Beyond Burger is the first ever plant-baed product to be sold in the meat aisle, and it has flown off the shelves in Whole Foods stores across the country (except in the Southern region).  

To this day, Beyond Meat is still not profitable, but the company recently received an investment from Tyson Foods, the world's largest poultry producer, controlling 22% of the poultry industry. Tyson acquired a 5% stake in Beyond Meat in Beyond Meat's latest fundraising rounds and the company has investments from Bill Gates, Biz Stone (the founder of Twitter), and Kleiner Perkins. The Tyson investment is one that made Beyond Meat struggle with an ethical question: is it ethical for a plant-based, environmentally conscious company to receive an investment from the largest producer of poultry in the world, that has been criticized for the ill treatment of chickens as well as its own workers? In addition, Tyson is at the center of the meat industry, an industry that is the largest contributor to global warming. Beyond Meat ultimately decided to take the investment not because the company needed the money, but instead because an investment from Tyson decreases the amount of meat consumed in America, by more widely distributing Beyond Meat, a healthy plant-based alternative.

What inspires me about Brown, and what is clearly exhibited in the podcast, is that he has continued to work hard in spite of the recent success of his company. The Beyond Burger is flying off the shelves and the company has celebrity sponsors, but he has stayed true to his environmentally-conscious mission to decrease the amount of meat consumed by Americans. Ethan Brown is a truly admirable person: he has the ability to stay positive amongst his company's challenges and the ability to stay humble amongst his company's recent success. I think both of these traits are clearly shown in his How I Built This podcast. I definitely recommend listening to Ethan Brown's unique narrative. I also recommend listening to the other fascinating entrepreneurs on the show. Here is the link to Ethan Brown's podcast and below it is the main site of the How I Built This podcast. Enjoy!

https://www.acast.com/howibuiltthis/live-episode-beyond-meat-ethan-brown

http://www.npr.org/podcasts/510313/how-i-built-this

Looking at the total costs

I recently cooked for my good friends birthday, and I wanted to review my cooking method for serving ten to twelve guests, with less than a hundred dollars worth of food. Not only can you cook a great meal for a lot of people for cheap, but you also can use ingredients that are thought to be more prestigious and expensive (AKA meat).

If you look at our society today, across the world, most people want a nice piece of meat or fish for their birthday or another special occasion. However, most people also cannot afford a nice roast tail of monkfish or a filet mignon, but this shouldn't mean people must forgo these categories in entirety. Most home cooks today in american cannot even tell you the difference between a filet and a short rib, let alone how each should be treated in cooking it.

My friend wanted a nice birthday dinner to share with friends. As he is Jewish, He doesn't eat pork or shellfish, but he said he loves beef, so I knew I had to do something with beef. While most are right when they say that beef is expensive, there are avenues to get around these expensive conventional routes. Moreover, when cooking at home, it is always crucial to not only look at the price of ingredients, but also look at the cost of time to you. If you want to spend five hours a day for a whole week preparing for a meal for ten, it may still cost under a hundred dollars, but the time spent on that meal for ten may actually be a bigger cost overall than the actual price. So while I could buy a cut of the shoulder or rump of the cow (both fairly inexpensive cuts), I would have to sacrifice much more time braising and working with the ingredients. Therefore, I bought a skirt steak. Skirt is a great cheap cut of steak; the fat marbling is good and the texture isn't too tough if cooked right. Once I narrowed down the cut of the steak, I knew how I was going to cook it, and what it could work with. I immediately jumped to build it yourself authentic tacos. I cut onions and limes, laid out toritillas on a board, and made my own rice, guac, and carne asada for people to assemble themselves. Working for twelve guests or more can seem daunting, but in reality, its just planing, picking, and choosing the right dishes and ingredients to serve your needs.

Reflections on Cooking Non-GMO

Last Sunday, Isaac and I ventured to the DeKalb Farmer's Market to source ingredients for our class dinner on Wednesday. We wanted to do something a little bit different, so we settled on making shakshuka, tabbouleh and roasted sweet potatoes. All of the recipes came from Yotam Ottolenghi's cookbook Jerusalem. 

While Isaac and I were at the market, I wasn't sure how we'd go about making sure our food was non-GMO. I felt as long as we stayed generally plant-based we'd be fine. Corn, soy, yellow squash and zucchini are the top most genetically modified crops, and we weren't buying any of those. I'd also briefly examined the website nongmoproject.org to have an idea of what was and what not genetically modified. The Non-GMO Project is a third-party verification for non-GMO food and products. You can visit the website and find brands that they have recognized as containing no GMO ingredients.

At the market, we easily found everything we needed. We found out figs aren't in season in February (calling the DeKalb market a "farmers market" is a bit of a misnomer if you're used to open-air farmer's markets with local products, but they still only supply produce that's in season), so we had to improvise. Cooking--as we learned further in preparing our meal--can be an act of improvisation and making do with your resources, which can be fun, as well as a lesson in thinking on your feet. After brainstorming with a friendly stranger, we decided we'd replace the figs in our roasted sweet potato recipe with persimmons, which are in season right now. We also didn't really think deeply about our egg purchase. After our discussion in class, we aren't entirely sure if our eggs could have suffered the consequences of trickle-down GMOs through their feed.

After gathering all of our ingredients, we made the shocking discovery that feeding a little over 20 people an Israeli-based meal was only $88. I thought for sure we'd go over budget. We could have made something more elaborate and still come out well within budget. I love the DeKalb Farmer's Market for its affordability and variety.

Cooking the meal Wednesday was a true lesson in teamwork. We prepped most of our meal Tuesday night, but the kitchen posed some challenges in cooking a large amount of tomatoes, red peppers, garlic, and eggs. In the end we pulled the whole thing together and I hope the class enjoyed the meal and our effort to make it GMO-free.

Below please find the recipes from Wednesday night's dinner (courtesy of Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi):

Shakshuka (serves 2 to 4)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp harissa (optional, we did not include)
2 tsp tomato puree
2 large red peppers
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
5 large, very ripe tomatoes, chopped (canned are also fine)
4 large free-range eggs, plus 4 egg yolks
1/2 cup labneh or thick yogurt
salt

Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the harissa, tomato paste, peppers, garlic, cumin, and 3/4 teaspoon salt. Stir and cook over medium heat for about 8 minutes to allow the peppers to soften. Add the tomatoes, bring to a gentle simmer, and cook for a further 10 minutes until you have a thick sauce. Taste for seasoning.
Make 8 little dips in the sauce. Gently break the eggs and carefully pour each into its own dip. Do the same with the yolks. Use a fork to swirl the egg whites a little bit with the sauce, taking care not to break the yolks. Simmer gently for 8 to 10 minutes, until the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny. You can cover the pan with al id if you wish to hasten the process. Remove from the heat, leave for a couple of minutes to settle, then spoon into individual plates and serve with the labneh or yogurt.

Tabbouleh (serves 4)
*Nadia made this based off of a family recipe, but here's a loose translation:
1/3 cup fine bulgar wheat
2 large tomatoes
1 shallot, finely chopped
3 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 large bunches flat-leaf parsley
2 bunches mint
2 tsp ground allspice
1/3 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method:
Put the bulgar in a fine sieve and run under cold water until the water coming through looks clear. Transfer to large mixing bowl. Use a small serrated knife to cut the tomatoes into slices. Cut each slice into 1/4 inch strips and then into a dice. Add the tomatoes and their juices to the bowl, along with the shallot and lemon juice and stir well. Chop the parsley and add to the bowl. Chop the mint and add to the bowl. Add spices and serve.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Persimmons (serves 4)
4 small sweet potatoes
5 tbsp olive oil
balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp sugar
12 green onions, halved and cut into segments
1 red chile, thinly sliced
3 ripe persimmons, chopped
5 oz goat's cheese (optional)
Sea salt and pepper

Method:
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Half the sweet potatoes lengthwise, then cut each half again into 3 long wedges. Mix with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt, and black pepper. Spread the wedges out, skin side down, on a baking sheet and cook for about 25 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Remove from oven to cool. To make the balsamic reduction, place the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then decrease the heat and simmer for 2 to 4 minutes, until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey; it will continue to thicken as it cools. Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving platter. Add the chopped chile, green onions, and persimmons, then drizzle the balsamic reduction over the entire platter. Crumble the cheese over the top if using and serve.

Cooking for a Heart Healthy Diet.

Our group was responsible for cooking the meal with the theme “Heart Healthy Diets: A Recipe For Life”. The mediteranean diet has proven positive benefits for health, notably a reduced risk of cardiac failure [Annu. Rev. Nutr. 2015. 35:11.1–11.25]. We designed a multiple course meal to fit within the design of the class. Hummus with celery, carrots, and cucumber was prepared to eat during the initial presentation by Dr. Stirling. The main course consisted of a greek salad, lentil soup, and steamed makerel. The dessert consisted of a fruit salad. Water and unsweetened iced green tea were provided as refreshments. Hummus is protein rich and lacks almost all unhealthy fats. Mackerel was chosen for the main dish due to the prominence of health Omega 3 fats in it.

All of the ingredients were acquired at Your Dekalb Farmers Market. This location was chosen for a variety of reasons. The primary reason was that it offers a huge variety of organic vegetables. Its spice selection is second to no other place I have seen. Finally it also offers everything else the meal will need such as chickpeas, fish, and lentils. This is conveniantly coupled with very affordable prices compared even to non-organic produce at Kroger and other supermarkets. Finally the Dekalb Farmers Market is a place of commerce that I support due to ethical reasons. Unlike many corporations they do not take advantage of their employees to excessive degrees. Furthermore they are dedicated to combating food scarcity. Dr. Hadley stated that the Dekalb Farmers Market was likely the reason that food insecurity was not seen at increased rates among local refugees, and this is not accidentally. Indeed, they have published a book about why combatting food scarcity is important, and what steps they take to combat it. [https://www.ourworldmarket.com/]

Food cooked:

Hummus

1kg of dried chickpeas

1kg of tahini

zhatar

cumin

olive oil

water

1 tbspn Baking soda

more than 12 cloves of garlic

kosher salt

4 lemons, juiced.

Chickpeas where soaked overnight, and the water was discarded. They were briefly cooked with baking soda, and then covered with water and allowed to simmer for close to 1h, until they were easily squished between two fingers. They were then drained.

Chickpeas where placed in a food processor and briefly processed. Tahini, a small amount of olive oil, and some water was added. The rest of ingredients where then added and blended. Spices, salt, and garlic were added to taste. This was done in 6 batches.

Last minute refrigeration to cool down the hummus before serving.

Blending the hummus together

Garnishing the hummus

Chickpeas, cooked and drained.

Carrots and Celery, cut up and ready to serve.

Lemons, cut, and being squeezed.

Greek Salad

We based off the following recipe, with some basic substitutions, such as different types of lettuce, bell peppers, olives where ommited and cucumbers were added.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/14373/greek-salad-i/

Lentil Soup:

The following recipe was followed:

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/lentil-vegetable-soup-recipe

Steamed Makerel:

Mackerel was steamed in parchment paper in the oven. 

Mackerel, getting stuffed with lemon slices.

Garnishing and mackerel.

Mackerel, prior to being covered in aluminum and cooked.

Fruit Salad

12 apples, 4 bananas, 6 blood oranges, and 6 pears were cut and mixed together. Pomegranate molasses the the juice of 2 lemons was added.

Green tea:

6 bags of organic green tea were added to a 1 gallon jug of cold water and allowed to seep for 24h. The tea bags where then removed.

~~ Benjamin Kasavan

Satiety- Lessons Learned

I may need a bit of help from my teammates for the glaze on the salmon, but at long last, here are the recipes from last week's meal. The amounts for the salad and salmon listed are approximately one serving.

Salad:
Curly kale- 1/2 cup
Spinach- 1/2 cup
Chickpeas, soaked boiled and cooled- 1/2 cup
Quinoa, rinsed and boiled with salt-1/2 cup
Balsamic fig dressing- 1 tbsp

Wild salmon- 3 oz.
Brown sugar
Miso
Salt

Apple Crumble (total):
Gala apples- 6 cups
Oats- 3/4 cup
Whole Wheat Flour- 1/4 cup
Corn starch- 2 tbsp
Butter- 1.5 tbsp
Maple Syrup- 2 tbsp
Cinnamon- 2.5 tsp
Nutmeg- 1/8 tsp


I learned a lot while preparing for this meal and shopping for ingredients.  I looked up which foods are the most satiating, where I learned the difference from satiety and satisfaction.  Satiating foods are full of fiber and water, as well as other foods such as legumes and complex carbohydrates.  Fatty foods are the least satiating, but the most satisfying.
This alone has helped me to understand which foods are better to eat in order to feel fuller longer. I then looked up appropriate portion sizes. Many recipes for salmon called for 6 ounces per person when the portion size should be 3 ounces.  We prepared a meal with very satiating foods, and I thought it would not seem like enough food when we plated it.  The portions filled the plates, and I was very full after eating it. I did, as we expected, continue to eat popcorn even though I was full.
I would like to really think about the food I eat and how much I am eating- even just this week I think I ate several portions of the bread and ribolita soup, as well as the dessert!

Chicken Fried Waffles: when enough isn't supposed to be enough

When in Charleston, do as the southerners do? That, at least, was what I told myself when I had fried chicken and waffles not once, but twice during a weekend trip to Charleston a few days ago. But both times I set out on this gastronomic adventure, I couldn't stop thinking of last Wednesday's lecture on the concept of satiety.

Last Wednesday we discussed how many of us view eating experiences as an event where we are trying to achieve "fullness", and why this viewpoint is a break from traditional philosophical thought towards how much a person should eat. In the texts Professor Crane described, a person was commonly instructed to leave a third or a fourth of "space" available in their body when eating, so that the eater would not be split open if they were to becoming strongly emotional. While we can now view the last part of this advice with a bit of a laugh, it is physiologically true that eating to less than our capacity is a better decision in regards to the amount and long-term effects of acids and hormones that are released in our bodies after meals.

Which, of course, is why I paused halfway through my serving of crispy chicken and thick waffles, both smothered in maple syrup.. and then proceeded to finish the entire plate. I knew that I was past the point of satiety, I knew that what I was doing was a poor decision for my health, and I wasn't even eating with the goal of becoming full to the point of bursting. Rather, it was purely a decision based on the environment I was in, the experience I was having, and the memory I was consciously trying to cultivate. It was the first time myself and the person I was with had been to Charleston, neither of us had ever had chicken fried waffles, and we were trying to have a special and memorable weekend. Somehow, in the moment, stopping partway through the meal and stating that we felt comfortably satisfied would seemed contrary to these factors. Perhaps our discussion missed a component: the societal and cultural role "fullness" can have in forming bonds with others, and how we can navigate such situations in a way that the exuberance of the eating experience is preserved without pushing ourselves past a point of satiety.