Lettuce Wraps

Happy Sunday. I hope everyone has been able to find some time to rest and relax.

While I love lazy Sundays, it also means meal prep for Team Harrison. This week is particularly unique, because it’s the first time we are integrating our new diet with the kids meals. This means we will be trying to remove diary, gluten, nuts, and animal protein as much as possible. This doesn’t mean we are going to force the kids to follow some strict diet, but rather change the foods we put in front of them and see how it goes. I thought I had convinced Scout that Hemp milk was delicious, but she said it was gross so I bought her regular grass fed, organic Whole Milk. Remember, this is a journey, so nothing is going to happen overnight.

For the first half of the week, I am preparing Lettuce Wraps, Vegan Lasagna, Kale and White Bean Soup, Pesto Chickpea Pasta, and some Greensbury Organic Free Range Chicken tenders with gluten free crust.

A few people reached out and asked me if I wouldn’t mind sharing some of the recipes, so today I’ll share the Lettuce Wraps.

This recipe is derived is from Longeve, the company where I buy my plant based protein crumbles. Thus far, I’ve only used this product for the Lettuce Wraps and Vegan Lasagna, but I am really impressed at the quality and taste of their product. I’ve modified the recipe to fit my nutritional needs, but you can find the original recipe here.

FILLING:

1 1/2 cups of Longeve crumbles

1/4 cup of coconut aminos

2 tsp of toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp of sunflower butter

2 tsp of ginger, fresh grated

1 tsp of sriracha

1 cup of mushrooms (for my diet I use shiitake or maitake), finely chopped

1 shallot, diced

2 tbsp of coconut oil

2 tsp of garlic, chopped

1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped

1 cup of carrots, finely chopped

1/2 cup of scallions, sliced

14 oz can of bamboo shoots, drained and chopped

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

1 head of Bibb lettuce, separated for wraps

1 tbsp of sesame seeds toasted

1 cup of mung bean sprouts

SAUCE:

1/4 cup of coconut aminos

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

PREPARATION:

(1) Prepare the Longeve crumbles by adding 3/4 cup of hot water and let sit for 5 minutes

(2) Whisk the coconut aminos, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, sunflower butter, grated ginger and sriracha until smooth and put aside for later

(3) Heat the coconut oil to in a large skillet over medium to high heat.

(4) Add garlic

(5) Add mushrooms

(6) Add Longeve crumbles and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently

(7) Add shallots and lower heat to medium and cook for 3-4 minutes more, while continuing to stir

(8) Add garlic, carrot, scallions, and bamboo shoots and cook for 2-3 minutes more, stirring occassionally

(9) Add Cilantro

(9) Add the prepared sauce mixture to the skillet and stir to combine all the ingredients. Continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes

(10) Remove from heat, salt and pepper to taste

(11) Place two spoonfuls of the cooked mixture into the Bibb Lettuce leaf. Drizzle some sauce and top with bean sprouts, scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

I hope you enjoy.

Walking

Happy Saturday morning.

I hope everybody had a good and productive week. I know for me, it was a hard one. I completed my Prolon fast and successful lost 10 lbs in six days. It just goes to show (1) how much crap I put into my body while in Cape Cod and (2) how amazing the human body is at detoxing and cleansing if you give it the chance.

Today, I wanted to touch on the simplest form of movement that I think is one of the easiest and most beneficial activities to add to your daily routine – walking. Did you know that the American Heart Association (where my wife Angie worked for 16 years) recommends a minimum 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity every week with a goal of 300 minutes each week? For me that’s 6 days of trail walking for 50 minutes.

Walking is amazing, easy form of activity that humans have been doing since the beginning of time.

If you are currently following a Paleo or Keto diet, did you know that our ancestors walked an average of 5-7 miles every day? They were constantly on the move.

Walking also gives you time to think and reflect. I am very fortunate that we live on a street that has access to the Barton Creek Greenbelt. This affords me miles and miles of wilderness trails with uneven terrain and beautiful views. More importantly, I can take my dog Ziggy and let her off the leash so she gets her daily exercise. Some days, I stop and find somewhere to sit and meditate. It is very important for us to connect with nature. We all need to smell, hear and experience nature for our bodies to be in harmony.

My brother-in-law, Tony Dorsett always mentions that the healthiest old people in his lake community are the ones he sees walking every morning.

When I worked at AOL, it was very common to have walking work meetings. Everyone would meet and walk across the campus and discuss business while getting some fresh air and exercise.

Now in the time of Covid, it’s important to social distance, so perhaps meeting someone new and going for a walk outdoors is a way to connect.

No matter what your goals might be, adding a daily walk can only help. It provides aerobic exercise, fresh air and time to clear your head.

Make Your Own Food

The single most important thing to do when you want to eat healthy is to prepare your own food.

When I do research and go to the Supermarket or Coop to look at plant-based foods, I am very shocked at the amount of ingredients that are added to most of the products from Impossible Burgers, to Beyond Meat and all the various meat and cheese alternatives.

To get started, let me share that my current focus is an Ayurvedic diet aimed at overall health and wellness, with a focus on reducing inflammation and reversing some coronary calcium buildup in my left anterior descending artery (LAD or Widowmaker). The inflammation in my body is mainly due to three major injuries in the Army which left me with a Service Disability rating of 30% and no cartilage in my right hip. The mild coronary artery disease is part genetics, part diet, and part lifestyle, but as I approach 50 I am more committed than ever to eliminate the plaque through science and dietary changes.

This means I am focusing on a diet high in fruits and vegetables with no four legged animals and no birds to include eggs. Additionally, I will be eliminating all nightshades (which I actually haven’t eaten in years) and while I am allowed limited fish, I will not be consuming shellfish (my favorite) nor will I be eating tuna, swordfish or catfish. Furthermore, my diet does NOT include nuts. While I am permitted to eat seeds – sunflower, flax, pumpkin, hemp – I am not allowed to consume nuts, nut milks, or nut products. Lastly, there is NO gluten. This includes wheat, rye, barley and oats. However, I can consumer long grain rice, quinoa, millet, and amaranth. I was very encouraged when I reorganized my pantry and discovered that I already had most of the approved grains in grain and flour form.

The reason I thought it was important to share my current dietary focus, is because when you go to the market or health food store and start to look at the back of the packaging for most plant-based alternatives for meat and cheese, the majority of these items contain gluten, nuts and/or soy. That’s pretty unbelievable, here I thought I was going to commit to being more planted based and I’d simply be able to go to the “healthy” section of the store and grab something from one of the new popular alternative brands like Beyond Meat or Impossible Burger. Unfortunately, that’s not going to work for me.

The good news is that it re-enforces the topic of today’s post – make your own food. The only way to truly know what you are eating and how it works for your body is to understand the process by which the food was created and what raw ingredients are assembled to get the final product.

Yesterday, I began working on two new homemade products: Adzuki Bean Tempeh and Sunflower/Pumpkin Seed Ricotti.

The reason I picked these two items was driven based upon what I wanted to eat next week – Adzuki Bean Tempeh stir-fried over mixed vegetables (next week I might try fermenting my own Kimchi) and Vegan Lasagna.

When I was in the market yesterday, I noticed the first ingredient in almost all the Tempeh was “vital gluten” or “vital wheat,” neither which I want to consume. Secondarily, most Tempeh is based on soy and while I am not technically avoiding soy, I am definitely trying to limit my exposure.

Dr. Nibodhi had actually mentioned that the local Whole Foods in Austin has one of the best Adzuki Bean Tempeh his ever eaten – so that’s what inspired my desire to make my own. I’ll let you know in a day or so how it came out.

As for the Sunflower/Pumpkin Seed Ricotti this is also a first attempt, but it’s currently sitting on the counter in a Mason jar with the probiotic, himalayan sea salt and some coconut milk. Again, I’ll check back later.

Thanks for your time today, and remember, the best way to watch what you eat is to make your own food.

Now go Do The Work Today!

Much Love

How to get started

One of the biggest problems people face when making life changes, is the simple act of getting started.

Often the beginning of any new diet, exercise program, meditation or other habitual change can be a daunting task.

Most of us have said to ourselves, I’ll start on Monday, the first of the month, or of course, after New Years.

It really doesn’t matter when you start, just start. And if you say Monday, and you don’t get started until Wednesday, then be kind to yourself and just congratulate yourself when you do get started.

The other big problem for most people is how to get started. You don’t want to be so drastic that your new program is unattainable. In my experience, it’s always easier to smart small and build upon your initial success.

How we eat is probably the most important overall factor in our health and longevity. We’ve all heard the saying “you are what you eat.” There is a lot of truth in this statement and in fact, if you can find a diet and lifestyle that gives you more energy and focus while providing the right levels of micro and macro nutrients then the overall benefits are remarkable.

Today, there are a lot of different types of dietary lifestyles with people embracing intermittent fasting, ketogenic diets, and vegan or plant based diets.

Whatever diet you want to try – start and see what works.

Personally, during my current journey I am going to combine intermittent fasting with a vegetarian based diet. My vegetarian diet will be mostly vegan with the elimination of dairy and animal protein from 4 legged animals and birds, however I will still be eating fish. (And for those of you who have been following Greensbury, don’t worry, I will still be cooking delicious organic meats and sustainable seafood for my wife and kids).

I am targeting about 80% green leafy vegetables and 20% legumes, seeds, fruits, and fish. Additionally, I am following an Ayurvedic programs that incorporates fasting by targeting 1-2 meals a day. The first meal window is 9-10am and the second meal window is 12-2pm with no food after 6pm. In fact, I will try not to eat after the lunch meal which is the primary meal of the day.

To start my transition, I am actually using a program called Prolon. The Prolon program is a fasting mimicking diet that is vegan based. It comes in a box with all five days of the meals included in individual packaging with a simple guide of what to eat when. It’s super easy and the food is pretty tasty consisting of nut bars, soups, kale crackers and olives. I’ve only used it once before but I felt amazing and lost about 12 lbs in the first week. I am on day 2 and I have already shed 4 lbs.

This transitional program allows me to not have to think about what to eat when I get started. Then as I transition back to regular food, my system is already primed for the new lifestyle.

Another easy way to get started is an elimination diet. Make a list of things that you need to cut back on and then simply start eliminating them from what you eat. You can do this with gluten, dairy, red meat, etc.

I know that a lot of people think about eliminating carbohydrates is the key to weight loss and healthy living, but that is simply not the case. I think a lot of people confuse gluten with carbohydrates. Gluten in general is a very inflammatory food, whereas carbohydrates can be very beneficial. The consumption of sweet potatoes, legumes, seeds, quinoa, millet, long grain rice and fruits actually provide critical nutrients that our bodies need for energy. While you might think that protein is what your body and brain need the most, it is in fact carbohydrates. And when you eat protein your body simply converts the protein into carbohydrates.

Whatever diet you do pursue – please cut out sugar. Sugar is the most destructive additive to our systems. Did you know that cancer feeds off of sugar. Refined sugar is bad – plain and simply. This doesn’t mean that all fruit is bad because it has sugar. In fact, small servings of fruit can be very beneficial due to the nutrients and the energy your body gets from the fruit. I’d recommended lots of berries, red grapes, cherries, apples, kiwi, guava, mango, papaya and pineapple. However, according to Ayurvedic guidelines you should not mix fruit with the rest of your meal. In fact, have your fruit 90 minutes before or 2 hours after your other food. The only exceptions are avocados, olives and coconut. For me, this means that fruit will be the primary food at the breakfast meal without any other vegetables or protein. You can mix the fruit with coconut yogurt and you can chop in some cilantro to help detox. Cilantro is one of the best naturally chelation foods and can help remove heavy metals and other toxins.

That’s a lot for today, so think about it and then lets do the work today.