The headline in Yahoo News yesterday read “Scientists Say Curry Compound Kills Cancer Cells.” A pretty compelling attention grabber, but the content left me longing. When I first saw it I thought – “hey now, we’ve come a long way in making healing foods headliners.” I thought interested readers, however, might like a few more details before they run off and turn their skin yellow by eating buckets of Indian food.

“Curry Compound” is incredibly vague, and the word curry itself is as ambiguous as “chai,” so I’ll start there. “Curry” is a blend of spices, most commonly consisting of the following:

Coriander Seeds

Cumin Seeds

Fenugreek Seeds

Turmeric

Cloves

Garlic

Ginger

Salt

Black Pepper

Cardamom

Cinnamon

Nutmeg

Onion

Mustard

All of these spices have medicinal qualities, so what exactly is the “curry compound”? The article specifically refers to the curcumin, which indicates they are referring to turmeric (curcumin is the primary bio-active agent in turmeric). Turmeric is a member of the ginger family (Zingiberaceae), and has a long history in Ayurvedic Medicine. Turmeric has been known far and wide for thousands of years as an anti-inflammatory herb, and has been used to treat everything from arthritis, IBS, and psoriasis to bacterial infections, and even anxiety. Turmeric is a known free radical scavenger, and is thought to enhance neurological nerve production – making it a modern experimental treatment for Alzheimer’s Disease.

The use of turmeric in cancer research is not new. It has been known for decades as a tumor inhibitor, and has been used in numerous treatment studies on colon cancer, pancreatic cancer and the prevention of cervical cancer. The excitement around this Yahoo News/Reuters release is specific to new findings with research on esophageal cancer, and the findings are remarkably promising for patients suffering from a disease with an incredibly low chance of survival.

So the question is, should we all add curry to our food repertoire? How much? Maybe we should just eat turmeric? And this got me thinking about cancer prevention, as opposed to cancer treatment. It is not fair, nor is it my intention, to imply that individuals are responsible for developing cancer, so I do want to be clear at the outset on that point.  Having said that, there are preventative practices that we can employ in our lifestyles to reduce risk – especially where other risk factors such as environment, genetics, or just being dealt a lousy hand may be present. This is where I think foods such as curry can be helpful.

When I look at the nutritional profile of the average curry dish I basically see a bowl of disease-fighting militia. Not only that, I see more servings of fresh whole foods and vegetables than the average American consumes in a week. Add to that a cocktail of herbs and spices that are known medicinals, and you have just taken a step towards a lifestyle of cancer prevention, not to mention cold and flu prevention, digestive balancing and cardiovascular support. The main point is that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables that minimizes processed foods is how you can fight cancer and stay well overall.

When you see articles about a certain food or a particular spice being used in medical treatment research you need to know that they are using therapeutic doses, and this does not at all look and taste like what you get for dinner at your favorite ethnic restaurant. For example, the therapeutic dose of turmeric can be as high as 3- 9 grams [Michael Tierra; The Way of Herbs]. That is an enormous amount of any kind of supplement, and it should not be used without the guidance of a trained medical professional. Further, when mainstream articles like this are published they don’t always make it clear if the studies are being done on animals or humans, and they rarely tell you details about the study group (for example, additional medications or side effects).

In sum, I hate to be a buzz kill, but the real news is not glamorous and isn’t new, but I like the haiku Michael Pollan wrote to describe it in “In Defense of Food:”

“Eat Food

Not too much

Mostly Plants”

Eat Well and Live Well,

Sacred Harvest

It was tough to pick one thing in season to promote this week since October kicks of harvest season, but in my opinion dates don’t get nearly enough publicity. Their season is short, and when they are ripe enough to eat they must be handled with care since they squish so easily.

Many people know what a wonder food dates are, so I’ve seen people choke them down in an obligatory way that is usually reserved for fish oil wheat grass, but there is something about figs that stands out as an epicurean hallmark when someone prepares and serves them for you.

People who would never otherwise bother with the fig hoover conspicuously over the platter when they are served in small bite-sized wedges along side pear and apple slices and some sharp cheddar. Curiosity gets the better of them, and as they experience the celebration of seasonal flavor meeting a kaleidoscope of texture, you can see in their eyes that they will buy figs at the next trip to market.

Alas, as the best intentions go, it turns out to be too much work on a dark, rainy night after a long day at work. What seemed magical in the cocktail party environment suddenly takes on an aire of extravagance in your own kitchen, and the poor raindrop-shaped powerhouses languish in the fridge until they meet their demise.

It doesn’t need to be so!!! Figs are easy, versatile and one of the most flavor flexible foods around. This snack attack serves as a mid-meal pick-me-up, a pre-dinner appetizer, a hearty lunch sandwich or even an exotic dessert with a little dressing up. In every instance it takes no more than 5 minutes to prepare and serve.

Ingredients:

Fresh bread

Fresh figs

Brie Cheese or Goat Cheese

Directions:

1. Slice bread of choice (I like multi-grain)

2. With a fork, Squish fig into bread

3. Place cheese on top of squished fig

4. Place in toaster oven until cheese is melted

Here are some pictures in case you can’t believe it’s this easy

Yesterday Congress introduced a new bill legislating more restrictions on the tobacco industry. It was cute to see our legislatures share a warm-fuzzy, but I am waiting for someone to mention that two of the major food manufactures in the US are owned by Phillip Morris and RJ Reynolds.

Isn’t it also noteworthy that nearly as many people die each year from diet-related illnesses as from tobacco use? So when the Associate Press reported that smoking is the largest cause of preventable deaths in the US, too bad they didn’t think it was worth mentioning that the difference is only 35,000 people (In 2004 there were approximately 435,000 tobacco related deaths and 400,000 diet related deaths).

About 20% of Americans smoke.

63% of Americans are overweight.

31% of Americans are obese.

Since 1965 smoking in the US has gone down 40%.

Since 1962 obesity has increased 31%

Health costs related to smoking – $100 Billion

Health costs related to obesity – $99.2 Billions

So tell me again which is killing us – Kraft Macaroni and Cheese or Marlboro Reds? Oh wait, it’s the same company! As well as Miller Beer, General Foods (i.e. Jell-O, Kellogg cereals), Nabisco,(aka RJ Reynolds, i.e. Fig Newtons, Chips Ahoy, Triscuts, Oreos).

Even Coca-Cola has Miller doing most of its bottling for them. Since Miller is owned by Phillip Morris, you could argue that when you buy a Coke you are supporting the tobacco industry.

So thanks Congress, for imposing more stringent marketing regulations on the tobacco industry. America will know you are serious when you declare a cease and desist of little cookie baking elves and talking chocolate chips selling us diabetes.

I have declared a war on styrofoam, so as of late I’ve been  giving local business who use it the business.

Sticks to the following pro-styrofoam businesses:

1. Blenders

2. Jack’s Bagels

3. Los Arroyos

4. Joe’s

Carrots to these planet friendly businesses:

1. Crush Cakes

2. Fresco

3. Hummingbird Cafe - also a fair trade business

4. The Burger Bus – These guys get a carrot and a pomegranate for using only local, organic, and/or sustainably raised food

There are more of both, I am sure, but these are the businesses I have noticed in the past few days. After taking my Fresco left-overs home in a cozy, unbleached compost-friendly container made of post-consumer waste, I found the gigantic styrofoam box for a tiny piece of chicken at Joe’s outright offensive. Then, to add insult to injury the waiter   put the styrofoam in a plastic bag!!!!

I’ll tell you one place I will absolutely never go back to, and that’s Jack’s Bagels. I knew in advance that my bagel sandwich was going to get stuffed into styrofoam, so I explicitly asked them to not do that, and please just wrap it in a piece of foil. This was no high maintence order for custom ingredients or sauces on the side, it was a very simple request that probably even would have saved them a few cents. Whether it was spite or benign apathy I will never know, but when my oder came in styrofoam I decided they will not get another dollar of my hard earned money until they change their ways.

For such a fashionable city, I find Santa Barbara’s excessive use of styrafoam suprising since it is so passe. Even McDonald’s got rid of styrafoam nearly two decades ago!

Yesterday the New York Times published an article about how Lays Chips (re PepsiCo) is a local food. The reasoning is that there is a chip manufacturing facility in Florida, and they buy their potatoes from farmers in Florida.

It’s a clever marketing concept. Too bad it doesn’t change the fact that 1 oz. of Lays chips still contain 10 grams of fat with 90% of its 150 calories from fat, 180 mg of sodium, and have no significant nutritional value.

I would also be curious about how much money the farmers share in the profits from each bag of chips sold. Do you think it’s a 50/50? You know, because there would be no Lays Chips if there were no potato farmers. And what is the true cost of a bag of chips when you factor in the production of them?

When the marketing campaign kicks off in a few weeks, as citizens we might be curious to know if Frito-Lay PepsiCo will be able to answer the following questions for us:

1. What sustainability practices are employed to mass produce such vast quantities of potatoes?

2. If the farms are not organic, what measures are taken to prevent chemical run-off into ground water or water-ways that lead to the ocean?

3. How many gallons of water are used to produce a bag of chips?

4. Where are the chip bags manufactured and what are they made of?

5. How many gallons of oil are used per year to distribute the chips to retailers?

6. Where does the corn oil the potatoes are fried in come from, and what are the production costs/impacts of that?

7. What is the carbon footprint of the chip manufacturing plants?

8. Are the chip makers and farmers well paid with generous retirement and health care policies?

I also found the timing of the NYT article to be interesting because yesterday Terry Gross of Fresh Air happened to interview David Kessler about the neurological response to highly salty, fatty processed foods. It turns out that the brain actually compels a person to overeat when exposed to these foods, and satiation mechanisms are actually over ridden. It gives weighty meaning to a past marketing slogan used by Lays, “Betcha You Can’t Eat Just One.”

How True! Because if we could eat just one Lay’s Potato Chip they would not be millionaires and we would not have an obesity crisis.

While I am a true subscriber to the concept that slow is beautiful, my life doesn’t always seem to go that way. Likewise, I work with families that want to eat local fresh foods, but simply don’t have 90 minutes to savor the cooking process.

Here is a meal you can count on for nutrient density without compromising flavor or your schedule. It takes about 30 minutes, but the interactive time is low since the squash just bakes in the oven so you can multi-task while you make this meal.

Stuffed Acorn Squash with quinoa, goat cheese, chopped walnuts and pumpkin seeds. Roasted bell peppers and sauteed kale on the side:

The Squash and Bell Pepper:
Set oven to 450

Slice and seed the squash. Place flesh side down on a bake pan with about 1/4 inch of water. Place in oven for about 20 minutes, or until flesh is easily punctured by a fork.

Place bell peppers right on the rack for 10-15 minutes or until flesh can be punctured with a fork.

Stuffing:
Cook quinoa on the stove-top 2 parts water to 1 part grain (takes about 10 minutes and you can cook this ahead of time).

Toss quinoa with walnuts and pumpkin seeds. (You can really use any nuts, seeds, or diced/sauteed veggies you like).

Remove squash from the oven. Place goat cheese in the cup of the squash, then add quinoa blend.

Turn Oven Off:
Place stuffed squash back in the oven to keep warm while you prepare the peppers and kale.

Kale:
Warm about a 1/2 teaspoon of olive oil (or water for a low-fat steam).
Add diced onion – warm until lightly translucent
Add chopped kale – saute for about 3-5 minutes

Serving the Bell Peppers:

Peel if you like, slice in strips if you prefer, or just serve up whole peppers. Left-overs keep for several days in the fridge and make flavorful additions to sandwiches or salads.

When the drums sing like this it’s like being found.

When the drums sing like this it’s like you can show the world your heartbeat,
And you can see theirs;
And all of our differences don’t matter.

We are the stars,
We are the drum skin,
We are the soil we stomp upon in praise.

In praise of who we are,
In praise of who we can be,
In praise of the journey in between.

Asparagus is my pick for this week. I look forward to asparagus season every year, and so far 2009 has not disappointed. The key to really enjoying asparagus of course, is buying it as fresh as possible. Ideally asparagus is eaten within 2-3 days of harvesting, which means that I buy it either at Farmer’s Market, or at Mesa Produce.

Asparagus is a member of the lily family, and its fame dates back to the third century. It’s grown world wide, and is believed to originate from the Mediterranean. The top exporter of asparagus is Peru and the U.S. the largest importer. This surprises me to the extent that asparagus is said to be easy to grow and pretty adaptable to climates. It also implies that few people have enjoyed the pleasure or truly fresh asparagus.

Medicinally asparagus is a know diuretic, and has been used to treat urinary tract infections and kidney stones.

Nutritionally asparagus is rich in folate, vitamins K, A, C and most B vitamins. It also contains iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium and calcium. Overall it’s a well balanced food with no fat, and little sodium. It contains inulin, which promotes healthy gut flora, and it’s a recommended pre-natal food due to its high levels of folate and B vitamins. Folate is a heart tonic, and B vitamins are necessary for healthy nervous system development.

My favorite way to prepare asparagus is to lightly stir fry it with grated ginger and garlic. It’s also delicious steamed, and can be served warm or cold. If you’re not watching your sodium intake, marinating it with ginger and soy is a great way to enjoy asparagus.

I personally like the stand-out flavor of asparagus, so I tend to cook it alone rather than mix it into a stir fry. Try this for a nutritious and affordable vegan dinner:

Quinoa with toasted almonds and parsley
Asparagus pan fried with garlic and ginger
Baked yams

A serving of this heart healthy dinner will give you the following nutritional intake:
461 Calories
147 Carbs
11.5 g Fat
16 g Fiber
20 g Protein
970 mg Vitamin A
32 mg Vitamin B (all Bs combined)
32.5 IU Vitamin E
318 mg Folate
92 mg Vitamin K
16 mg Vitamin C
172.5 mg Calcium
230.5 mg Magnesium
846 mg Potassium
80 mg Sodium
575 mg Beta Carotene

Notice the electrolyte ratios, and how low naturally occurring sodium is in relation to calcium, potassium, and magnesium. Some health professionals claim that high blood pressure is caused not necessarily by sodium sensitivity, but by an electrolyte imbalance.

If going vegan is not your thing, a 4 ounce roasted chicken breast will add the following nutritional data:

225 Calories
34 g Protein
9 g Fat
95 mg Cholesterol
165 IU Vitamin A
36.5 Vitamin B (All Bs combined)
13.5 IU Vitamin D
4.5 mcg Folate
16 mg Calcium
30.5 mg Magnesium
278 mg Potassium
80.5 mg Sodium (This is natuarally occurring sodium, so take note that highly processed meats are often injected with sodium to prolong shelf life).

Eat Well and Live Well!
Namaste,
Sacred Harvest

In a post a while back I made a reference to conspicuous consumption and global ethics. At the time I had no idea that the world economy was going to tank. I was writing from the perspective that our consumption in the U.S. was simply not sustainable. And so it is true – in more ways than I had imagined. I wasn’t aware that so many Americans were over their heads in mortgages and debt, I only knew that the production, distribution and disposal of all these consumer goods had an environmental ripple effect that was invisible to most people.

My intention was to encourage people to consume more consciously, and shop with intention and responsibility. I was wanting people to think about how the mindless shopping, the casual overuse of water and the accidental leaving on of lights impacts people they will likely never meet. For every light left on additional coal is burned, adding to greenhouse gases, and accelerating glacial melting.

I was also challenging people to think about why they buy, in addition to what they buy. Why do we need to own every movie we like on DVD? Why do we attach our egos to the latest fashion trends? Why is our identity embedded in the vehicle we drive? What does all this consumption indicate about our hunger, when our dinner plates are full? What “nutrient” is missing to make us so insatiable?

Most anyone who has traveled to financially destitute countries will tell you that they have never met so many joyful people, and they come away changed – knowing in their heart of hearts that wealth and possessions have nothing to do with happiness. My brother once called it “the mystery of misery.” Because you know logically that poverty is a hard, hard life filled with toil and uncertainly, but because of it, or perhaps in spite of it, the spirit of people in these communities is fully present.

“It’s embarrassing,” one friend said after living in an African village to build schools. “You know these people have nothing and the grandmother taking care of dozens of AIDS orphans insists you join them for a meal. You feel guilty eating their food because you know they have nothing to spare, but in the end you have been given the greatest gift, and it was the most amazing meal you ever had in your life because your soul feels nourished.”

Now we find ourselves in an economic crisis, with unique undertones that could turn out to be the perfect storm when you factor in climate change, and peak oil. I don’t want to come across as a Pollyanna about the financial hardships so many people are going through, but I do see this as an opportunity for us to reflect as a culture on how we can come together as communities, and begin feeding our spirits instead of our pockets.

For starters, the environmentally friendly choices are nearly always the better economic choices. Turning lights off in rooms not in use saves you money on your utility bill, while you do your part to reduce green house gas emissions. Re-using your ziplock bags can save you hundreds of dollars over the course of a year, and eating at home is better for your health, it saves you money, gas, and increases quality family time.

As communities, we are being given an opportunity to see how we can come together – a modern Stone Soup may be within our midst. You can see this especially with business models like Same Cafe, in Denver Colorado. At Same Cafe you pay for your food by donation, or you can work for it and lend a hand in the kitchen. The menu has no set prices, and meals are made from organic whole foods.

We live in a global world, and with that we have global responsibilities. Let’s come together during these trying times and bring out the best in one another. Use less so that those in need can have more. Feed your body and your spirit. If you’ve been laid off, use this time to get involved in a community project. If you’re gainfully employed, spend your money responsibly, consciously, and support fair trade and local businesses.

“Whether we and our politicians know it or not, Nature is party to all our deals and decisions.” -Wendell Berry

Namaste,

Sacred Harvest

I found a place where I can get free wireless internet, organic whole foods for breakfast or lunch, a fantastic latte, homemade lemonade, outrageously delicious cupcakes, groovy music, superb service, soups from scratch, organic salads, and even the takeout containers are made from recycled post-consumer waste. Think I’m making it up? Not at all – this place is for real, and very affordable too!

Check out Crush Cakes and Crush Cakes Cafe in downtown Santa Barbara at 1315 Anacapa:

http://crushcakes.com/CrushCafes/about.html