How much fruit?

This post may be a struggle for some of you. On the way back to our home office this morning I had the radio on NPR where some experts were discussing the new government guidelines for telling us how to have a healthy diet. I find it deeply disturbing to find out how our tax dollars are being "invested". One bit of advice was to load half of our plate with fruits and vegetables and cut way back on red meat, especially meat with saturated fat in it. I think most of us can agree on the vegetable part, but some of us may not agree on the other two food types.

I shall briefly address the fruit part of our diets. We grow apples, oranges, figs,  grapes, and now blueberries. We like fruit. But we want to be wise about how much we eat and how we consume it. Too much sugar, even the homegrown kind from our yards and orchards can be detrimental to health. So here is one approach that we take to drinks- Squeeze half of an orange, grapefruit, or lemon into a cold glass of filtered water, and only if you like, add a minuscule amount of pure stevia. You will get the taste of the fruit, some of the nutrients, without the big hit of sugar to our livers that comes from 100% squeezed fruit juices. Check out these links for some "philosophy" regarding fruit sugar (and other sugars) in our diet. Some of this may be a bit controversial, but it may give you something to consider.

http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-definitive-guide-to-sugar/
Scroll down to the section on Fruit Sugar
http://www.thepaleodiet.com/nutritional_tools/fruits_table.html
This is an informative table. Note the differences between oranges, lemons, and grapefruits.
http://www.paleonu.com/get-started/
Especially note #1 and #10 when considering the list on the last link.  This M.D. is way out there for many mainstream people, and I do not agree with some of his underlying philosophies, but he has some really sound data driven practical advice to ponder. The government experts would vilify this man! I find many of his ideas refreshing.

Dandelion Greens & Bok Choy

Here are before and after pics of lunch. The before includes freshly picked dandelion greens and bok choy. It is difficult to do any better than the nutrition found in dandelion greens. Most of these came from one of our backyard garden plots. Why throw away what some people pay $9.00 per pound for? When sauteed the very mild bitterness of early season dandelion disappears. These greens pair well with the bok choy. Both were sauteed in butter, and I added half of a small avocado and a sliced hard boiled egg. This is a balanced meal of good carbs, protein, and the fat of the avocado. Everything is covered with Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning.
See these links for the use of dandelion greens:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124338226000356493.html

http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/vegetables-and-vegetable-products/2441/2

Homegrown Coriander & Elk Breakfast Sausage

There is not much elk left in our freezer so we are getting creative to make it last as long as possible. Today it was a secret-recipe sausage, some coriander Cristy grows on our front patio, and scrambled eggs. We gathered two out of these three items. I suppose I should build a chicken coop so we can make it three out of three. The entire plate is covered in Trader Joe's Everyday Seasoning.

Easy Small

Using the food we grow does not have to be a big production. We can get flavor and enjoyment in easy and small ways. Take, as an example, this little jalapeno pepper. These things are easy to grow, and while they are excellent when used fresh, they can last a very long time when dried. I take a very fine grater and run this pepper across it over eggs or salad or whatever. A little bit of growing goes a long ways toward changing an otherwise sometimes boring egg breakfast.

Emergency Salad

After walking and running in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve for over 1 1/2 hours I get hungry. The Bok Choy is to the point that we have to eat it soon or it will be too late. I also added some of our dried figs from our Mission Fig tree, some of our gleaned pecans, some cheddar, marinated artichoke hearts and some almond slices. Sometimes you have to add things you did not grow. We all do the best we can. But it is good. The combination of fresh greens, crunchy pecans, and chewy figs with a homemade vinaigrette dressing is just about right. From the ground or growing in containers, or even on a window sill, anyone can do this.

Gathered Grapes & Foraged Wild Juniper Berries

Wild Juniper Berries

Cristy found an inexpensive pork roast for $2.99 per pound. I found a recipe from the United Kingdom that fit our commitment to growing and foraging for our own food. The recipe included grapes, which we grow in our back yard, and juniper berries, which grow on and around our property in the mountains up north. If you look closely you can see the cracked juniper berries on top of the roast. Our grapes are everywhere in the picture. This was a huge roast, and with the assistance of Kyle and our three daughters, we polished off the whole thing in one setting.
It is a personal goal to find a wild boar somewhere so that I can provide the pork. My friend Neil, from KC, Missouri and I are starting to work on this project. He wants to hunt boar with a knife or an atlatl. I prefer something a bit more decisive and in favor of the hunter - so he does not end up being the hunted. Please let us know if you can help Neil or myself locate a hunt able wild boar or wild feral pig. Your assistance will be much appreciated. You can help us butcher and then eat the harvest.

Home Grown Orange Cream Smoothie Meal

Sometimes we are in a hurry in the morning. Little time to make one of our excellent breakfasts. Or maybe we just do not feel like sitting down to a regular meal. What to do. We go into our yard and pick a couple of oranges from one of our 5 citrus trees, peel them and place them in our Vita-Mix blender with 1/2 can of chilled coconut cream, a few ice cubes, some quality whey protein, and maybe a bit of stevia, turn on the blender for a while, and then pour and drink breakfast.
Anu, our friend and neighbor who is from India shows us Americans how to buy quality food products in small ethnic markets that most of us do not know about. You will pay a lot more in the fancy stores that cater to upscale "whole food" buyers for something like coconut cream/milk - but it will be no better than, and maybe not as good as the stuff with other languages on the label. These are products consumed by lots of people all over the world every day. Combine them with your own gathered foods and you have nutritious, tasteful, inexpensive meals.
The "experts" will tell you that full cream coconut milk has too much saturated fat. There is a lot of discussion about which fat is good or bad. I think of this while I am climbing up the side of a mountain for an hour to an hour and a half in the Phoenix Mountain Preserve, or while lifting logs or doing push-ups or some such odd thing - BURNING OFF FAT! For a different perspective on fat and oil from coconuts check out the links below.
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/the-wonderful-world-of-coconut-products/    and also  http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/1576-land-of-oz-attack-on-coconut-oil.html