Moroccan Braised Kale over Wheatberries

MOROCCAN BRAISED KALE OVER WHEATBERRIES
(with a poached egg)

This summer, my coworker and I decided to keep a shared daily log of everything we ate and all the exercise we've done in order to feel a sense of accountability for a healthy lifestyle.  You've probably heard of this as a method of establishing better habits, but if you haven't tried it you absolutely should!  I also highly recommend pairing up with someone who is a gluten-free vegetarian...seeing that every meal on this log he's keeping is super healthy omelettes and salads.  I may return to school in August to find a rabbit sitting across from me in the office.

One of the benefits of this experiment has been a sort of mirroring effect.  Looking at PA's progress has been really impressive, and it has rubbed off.  So now, I find myself wanting to create more meals that are vegetarian, for example.  I've also found myself eating lots of eggs for protein, because that's his main protein source.  So, while this particular post includes wheatberries, the basic recipe for this braised kale is one I've been coming back to over and over again this summer.  It's a bit of a variation of both my Kale, Spinach, and Meatball Soup and Shakshouka, but without the meat.

I've found keeping the log is motivating enough to try and continue with it while I'm abroad for almost the remainder of the summer.  I know that sounds a bit crazy - and believe me I'll still allow myself a good lemon and sugar crepe in Paris, a waffle in Belgium, etc. - but I think it will be a good way to prevent a dietary nuclear meltdown.  Hopefully it also turns out to be a good way to document some great flavors I discover across the pond, and then bring them home and back to the blog when I return.  I know this is already only the second post of the summer, but surely I'll pick it up again with more regularity in August.
  

three grain salad

Let me start by saying this: I'm not a doctor.  Or a dietician.  But as a casual observer, it would seem that carbs are the enemy of man.  I see more and more students needing gluten-free diets every year for serious health reasons, and I also note that many a friend has had lots of success loosing weight on the paleo diet.  In the case of the former, I hope medical science soon explains the cause of rising gluten intolerance, but I have a bone to pick with the latter (pun intended!).  Not with the paleo diet, per se, but with the (mis)use of the terms "paleo" and "caveman."

Again, I'm not a doctor or a dietician,  but I know as a historian that our paleolithic, pre-agricultural, "caveman" ancestors ate tons of carbs.  Any anthropologist can tell you that hunting alone isn't a reliable and efficient enough source of energy to support human groups.  Perhaps we forget that gathering of grains has always been central to human survival because we imagine grain growing in perfect rows of industrially fertilized farmland, but grains are wild and can be gathered as plentifully (if not more so) than fruits and vegetables.  Grains and carbs aren't the enemy of human genetics: in and of themselves they don't make you plump (although carbs in the form of twinkies, do).  Eating grains and carbs and not burning off the complex carbohydrates that provide you with really efficient little packages of energy will make you plump.  We're programmed to store this energy that is meant to eventually be expended.  So if you were more plump eating carbs than on your paleo diet, it just meant that your body was working exactly the way it was programmed to work: saving your padded ass in the case of drought or famine.  It's just our lifestyles that have changed (decline in drought, famine, and general energy expenditure). 
Really, I'm not trying to bash my paleo friends at all.  Your fit, post-industrial bodies are getting all the energy and simple carbs needed for your lean physique.  Chances are, you're in better shape than me.  All I'm saying is that this salad full of three unrefined, whole grains is just as "paleo" as steak.  (Maybe more).

So go eat like a caveman and make this three grain salad recipe.  It's perfect for finding yourself with random and smallish amounts of barley, farro, wheatberries, quinoa, millet, or whatever whole grains you might have around.  Special thanks to Mandy over there at Lady & Pups (my favorite food blog of many months now) for her arugula pesto inspiration.

vegetable wheatberry salad

Well today was Easter and the last day of spring break.  It was nice to spend a sunny morning with family and good food before real life starts again tomorrow - in full gear.  The next few weeks are the final push to AP testing, the rush to finish (erm, start and finish) my term paper for grad school,  and the last weekends I'll spend in Chicago before dotting around the planet for various travels.  That means lots of late nights at school for review sessions, hours past bedtime reading and writing, and even more cups of coffee. 

Stop freaking.   I cooked up a storm in the past week and have enough recipes and photography to hold you over until life calms down for a second in mid-May.  Not only was there holiday cooking for Passover, Holi, and Easter in the last week, but it was also Garrett's birthday so expect a breakfast post coming up (who doesn't get pancakes made for them on their birthday?). 

So before I work myself into an ANXIETY ATTACK, let me dwell on what a nice brunch my mom hosted today.  She is a consumate host who pulls out all the stops for these events.  We (my siblings, and I) always bring a dish or two (or three) but regardless of what we bring, my mom always cooks enough for an army.  There will be two kinds of eggs, three styles of potatoes, various forms of bacon and sausage, quiche (my favorite food, gets its own category outside of "eggs"), and coffee cakes in addition to regular cakes.  My sister also brought some awesome ombre cupcakes that my nephew just loved.  

Easter Brunch, 2013

Maybe it goes without saying, but in the Easter spirit of rebirth I left brunch today with a strong commitment to further burdening myself over the next ten weeks with a new health kick.  Luckily, some of the leftover veggie and wheatberry salad I made is a fantastic way to start tomorrow on the right foot.

Greek Meatballs

GREEK MEATBALLS & WHEATBERRY ARUGULA SALAD

What a fast week...with a snow day Tuesday, dinner in the burbs with family on Thursday, and a professional development conference in the city on Friday, I barely had any time with my students or, less importantly, the vegetables in my fridge.  To top it off, this weekend Garrett and I are in Detroit for a wedding, so we needed to make quick use of the foodstuffs lying around.

So here's a recipe for a few typical situations:

1. You have hearty vegetables that need to get used up.
2. You or your significant other don't like vegetables all that much.
3. You want to stretch that buck you spent on meat in your diet by adding some healthy filler. 
4. You want to minimize your portion size when eating meat.

All of the above situations applied in my case, except #2.  Any time I make burgers, meatballs, or meatloaf, I throw whatever vegetables I can into a food processor that won't dramatically change the texture or flavor.  In this case, I managed to sneak in two whole zucchini, probably getting another entire serving from the recipe (yes, lunch is made) and making the meal a lot less heavy.  

The wheatberry salad in itself is a delicious and hearty meal if you want to skip the meat part all together.