Weekend Reading, 3.20.16
March 20, 2016

weekend_reading

Happy Sunday! I hope you’ve been having a lovely weekend. Thanks a million for the nice feedback on my vegan lunch bowl post–glad that you found the tips to be helpful!

Little by little, I’m seeing more spring fare appear on some of my favorite food blogs. It’s all getting me excited to have asparagus, peas, radishes, and other seasonal produce at my fingertips. For now, I’m still enjoying a lot of soups and stews, and chilly weather in NYC this weekend makes them as appealing as ever.

Here are some of the recipes that caught my eye this week.

Recipes

download

First up, I absolutely love Maya’s arugula, kidney bean, and za’atar spiced salad. I tend not to use kidney beans often enough in my cooking, and this is a great reminder to soak and cook some soon.

no-bake-matcha-mint-grasshopper-pies-in-jars-gluten-free-vegan-13

There were plenty of green recipes circulating this week for St. Patrick’s Day, but this one in particular stood out to me: Alanna’s no-bake matcha mint grasshopper pies in jars. They are absolutely adorable, and they look like such an easy, healthy dessert to whip up.

jerusalem-artichoke-hummus-zaatar-crackers-16

I really love the idea of a hummus that uses Jerusalem artichokes as a base. Sophie’s Jerusalem artichoke hummus with za’atar spiced crackers (can you tell I’m a sucker for za’atar spice?!) looks silky smooth, flavorful, and rich.

Spicy-Vegan-Choccolate-Chili-12110

I have yet to try my hand at chocolate/mole chili, but I love the concept, and Ice’s spicy vegan chocolate chili will be my go-to recipe when I do give it a shot.

scone-redo-4

Finally, I’m totally smitten with my friend Jessie’s dark chocolate chunk olive oil scones. They sound fancy, but the recipe is really simple, and the results are lovely (as you can see). I can’t wait to dip one of these scones into a cup of hot coffee.

Reads

1. One of the co-founders of Reddit recently gave a talk in which he alleged that “sucking is the first step to being sorta good at something.” I like this reflection on his words.

Too often, the author says, we wait to do or start something because we worry that we haven’t got enough mastery. But if we all wait for mastery or expertise to hit, we run the risk of overvaluing experience and undervaluing the vital processes of experimentation, improvisation, and making/learning from mistakes. And we delay doing what we truly want to do because we’re waiting for a feeling of readiness that may or may not ever come.

I’ve struggled with this pattern, putting off and avoiding new projects and endeavors because I don’t think I have the skill, knowledge, or expertise necessary. (Being a major perfectionist doesn’t help.) Life has taught me that, to some extent, we’re all stumbling around in the dark, trying to figure things out as we go along. This is true for novices, and it’s often true for individuals who have already achieved great success. There’s a lot to be said for taking action sooner, rather than later, with a humble acknowledgement that lessons will be learned along the way.

2. A lot of you have probably seen this already, but a new report suggests that ultra-processed foods make up about 58% of all calories Americans consume in a typical day. They also deliver 90% of the added sugars that Americans eat and drink.

The news isn’t all worrying: one of the study architects noted that, while the typical study participant got nearly 60% of his or her calories from ultra-processed foods, one in five got fewer than 30% of their calories that way. This means that about 60 million Americans consume more than 70% of their calories in the form of real food.

Still, there’s clearly so much work to be done in helping to minimize the influence of processed foods on the American diet. And I think that this work must include making whole foods more affordable and accessible to people of all circumstances, and processed foods less so: in other words, creating a culture in which healthful choices are easier, and less healthful choices are more difficult.

3. My Advanced Nutrition II class this semester focuses almost entirely on micronutrients–vitamins and minerals–as opposed to macronutrients and energy metabolism, which were the main topics of Advanced Nutrition I. Our professor continually stresses the complex interplays of different vitamins, noting that, while we often study deficiencies discreetly, health care practitioners are far more likely to encounter clusters of deficiencies or multiple inadequacies in clinical settings.

So it’s fitting for me to have stumbled on this informative US News and World Report article on vitamin synergies. Some of these (iron + Vitamin C) will be very familiar to most of you, but others–such as B6, B12, and folate, or vitamins C + E, may be more surprising.

Articles like this are a great reminder that nutrients don’t work in a vacuum, and that a healthful diet is really more than the sum of its parts. Vitamin synergy is a good reason to aim for as much dietary variety as possible, as a greater host of food options is more likely to ensure that we’re getting the diversity of micronutrients we need.

4. This week, the New York Times addressed the growth and proliferation of ED treatment centers, which is raising concern about the role of corporate interest/funding, preferential referrals from affiliated health care providers, and the overall efficacy and value of treatment that is offered at such a high price.

I never experienced in-patient treatment, so my perspective on it is limited. Clients and readers who have been through residential programs don’t generally report positive experiences, though it’s worth saying that those who attribute their recovery to the in-patient experience are adamant that they would not have survived without it (in other words, most of the feedback I’ve heard has been mixed, but the positive feedback is strongly positive).

There’s no doubt in my mind that residential treatment serves a vital purpose, and I often wonder whether going at a young age would have saved me two painful relapses. There’s no way to know, and treatment through outpatient therapy did ultimately help me. Still, I remain really interested in in-patient treatment and the ways in which it can continually be tailored to provide an effective healing experience for those who suffer–one that is worth the significant investment that families often must make to secure a loved one’s place in a program.

5. Elaine Showalter’s A Literature of Their Own was a favorite book of mine in college, a work of feminist literary theory that felt empowering and paradigm-shifting to me when it read it for the first time. So I was interested to see that her new biography of the abolitionist Julia Ward Howe places some significant focus on Howe’s relationship with food, and specifically on the fact that Howe’s family members seemed intent on controlling her food choices until the very end of her life.

I believe firmly that appetite for food is deeply linked to other appetites. These might include appetites for sex, for freedom, for self-expression, or for success. It’s no surprise to me that EDs often quash and stifle these appetites as they also “police” the appetite for food. For me, recovery has meant growing comfortable with the idea of taking up space in the world, asserting my presence, and asking for what I want. Hunger for food, in other words, has real symbolic meaning.

This is loaded and fascinating material, the intersection of food and personal freedom. I’m curious to read Showalter’s new book!

On that note, friends, I wish you a very happy Sunday. I’ll see you tomorrow for Menu Plan Monday.

xo

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    9 Comments
  1. Just gone through 2 weeks worth of Weekend Reading in a wonderful bank holiday article-fest! Finished up with that article on Julia Howe and I think thats the first, last and only time I feel thrilled at someone eating foie gras
    p.s. happy anniversary!

  2. Thank you tons for the sweet link love to my scones here Gena! You are just too kind. Plus that matcha mint grasshopper pie up there?! Goodness. Need that in my life. Happy start to the week lovely lady! <3

  3. I always love reading your link roundups Gena! Such good reads + eats 🙂 thank you so much for including my recipe! <3

  4. Thank you so much for publishing the article about Reddit’s co-founder. I had been debating taking a new role offered to me at work because I “wasn’t ready” for it yet. After reading this, I’m going to go for it!

  5. I always love these roundups of articles! The residential treatment story was interesting – and I”ve noticed similar experiences with clients who have gone. It’s definitely super beneficial for medical stabilization and refeeding when necessary, but I’ve found outpatient treatment is where most of the work for healing happens. It’s great to develop the skills for recovery in residential, but a lot of people have a hard time when coming back home and adjusting to recovery in “real life.”

  6. What a great list of recipes and reads for the weekend. Reddit’s co-founders’ message made me think about how I should change my way of thinking in my creative work. So powerful and helpful… Thank you for sharing that.
    Also, thank you so much for including my recipe in there as well. <3
    All the best,
    Ice

  7. Thank you as always for putting together such thought provoking, interesting articles. I so missed stopping by here.
    Thanks for sharing your knowledge and discoveries.

  8. Thanks for some delicious recommendations And the nutritional info too. Interesting how food and eating habits are linked to other urges, as well. My daughter explored this in an art project recently; she photographed alphabet spaghetti on white plates to spell out her message.

You might also like

I’ve had a chance to reflect on my internship experience in the last two weeks, and what stands out to me is how much of my own “stuff” I’ve been able to let go of, or work on. I’ve gotten better at taking care of myself. I’ve become firmer and clearer with boundaries. I’m communicating more directly. And, maybe best of all, I’ve come a long way in letting go of perfectionism. I was thinking about this a lot this week, because it…

There’s nothing quite like assembling my weekend reading picks while Vegan Mofo is in full force. So many delicious recipes to choose from, and so little time. It’s always hard to pick among the incredible vegan dishes that abound online, and it seems especially hard at this time of year. Anyway, it’s a tough job, but someone’s gotta do it. Here’s what caught my eye this week. I can always count on Julie for gorgeous, simple, healthy recipes. Her black sushi rice bowl…

Happy Saturday, friends! After Austin last weekend and a particularly busy few weeks, I’m glad to be catching up on my work quietly at home today, and enjoying the fall weather. I’ve got butternut squash soup simmering and plenty of ginger tea at the ready, and it feels good. This morning, I took some time to round up my favorite recipes and reads from the past week. Lots of beautiful autumnal fare here, as you’ll see. If you enjoy the weekend reading recipe compilations, don’t…

Some of you may have seen a story, which is now making the rounds, about the response that one employee got from her CEO when she let her coworkers know that she was taking a mental health day off. Software developer Madalyn Parker sent out an email to coworkers that read, “Hey team, I’m taking today and tomorrow to focus on my mental health. Hopefully I’ll be back next week refreshed and back to 100 [per cent].” Her CEO took the time to thank…