Plastic bag recycling - YES you can!

Plastic bags are recyclable, but not through EcoMaine anymore. You may NOT put it in with your regular recycling - it gums up the recycling machines and they have to stop everything to fish it all out. If you put it in the trash, it will be incinerated with the rest of the trash, but if you carefully sort it and take it to the correct place, it can be repurposed.

First, where can we take it? As per Maine law, any retailer that provides a plastic bag MUST take it back, and provide a receptacle within 50 feet of their entrances. (Click HERE for a list of closest sites.) Many retailers do not know this (or pretend not to) If you don’t see it at your local food store, ask an employee and make some noise if they don’t have one. Locally, you can easily take plastic film/bags/packaging back to Hannaford, Loews, and Whole Foods. At Hannaford, if you enter the vegetable area front door and turn immediately right (opposite the shopping carts), you’ll see two blue bins, one says plastic. At Whole Foods, it’s in the disposal area near the front doors where you can sort other food scraps etc.

Second, What sort of plastic are we talking about? Any plastic film item that is soft and scrunchable - do the crinkle-sound test. If you crumple a plastic shopping bag in your hand, that’s the sound. You can recycle plastic wrapping (like around a pack of toilet paper or paper towels), bubble wrap, fast/junk food bags, plastic shipping pillows (deflate them), plastic bags (like the single-use shopping bags) and clean-ish plastic film, like rinsed saran wrap or other flexible plastic wrappers.

Third, what happens to it once you put it in the bin? It gets shipped to Virginia and recycled into Trex Decking, that anyone may then use to build weather-resistant outdoor structures. The average 500-square foot composite Trex deck contains 140,000 recycled plastic bags! Both Home Depot and Loews carry this up-cycled product.

Checkout the Recyclopedia app on the EcoMaine website/app store to find out what to do with absolutely everything you wish to throw away. And get a composting service.

Cinnamon - Spicy and delicious health benefits

A friend repeatedly visiting Chennai India was boggled that with the lack of fresh vegetables in the local diet, the citizenry appeared to be relatively healthy. This flies in the face of western dietary philosophy, which dictates that a large amount of fresh veggies and fruits are imperative to good health. He postulated that it was due to the high concentration of spices used in every meal (and the phytochemicals therein).

Many spices from warm climes (clove, ginger, cinnamon, coriander) have been associated with health-giving and antibacterial properties and Ayurveda certainly makes use of these attributes in it’s ancient healing systems. This topic turned into a rabbit hole, so I decided to focus on only one spice. The familiar sweet spice cinnamon is used in baking, beverages, cooking and cosmetics and comes from the bark of varying species of cinnamomom tree.

There are statements about ‘true’ versus ‘fake’ cinnamon. These are misnomers - they are just different species. The two most common cinnamon species consumed in the west are Cassia, and a varietal “Korintje” (grown in China and Viet Nam, cheaper, readily available in the grocery store), and Ceylon (mostly grown in Sri Lanka, available online, at health food stores and at the Portland Co-op). Scientific articles distinguish that Cassia/Korintje cinnamon has higher quantities of coumarin, an anticoagulant. If one is on an anti-clotting drug such as Warfarin, it’s best not to use too much Cassia/Korintje cinnamon, in fact more than 1 tsp a day could be harmful to anyone. Comparatively, Ceylon cinnamon has very low levels of coumarin. Cinnamon has been tested and proven to have antibacterial effects , possibly lowering blood sugar (so decreasing effects of type 2 diabetes), and having anti-inflammatory activity. It’s effective against the bacteria that cause gum disease and bad breath, perhaps moreso than cloves.

Cinnamon makes sweet and savory foods, mulled wine and cider taste wonderful - Choose the Ceylon variety and it’s a healthy anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant and anti-microbial delicious way to spice up the holidays.

Farmers Markets - why shop there?

There are many different reasons.

1) Freshness of food. Likely the food you buy at the Farmers market was picked within 24 hrs. Certain nutrients are light and heat vulnerable and start to decay within a day or so. The 3-week old apple from Chile no longer has the vitamin C, folate or thiamin it started out with.

2) Local is defined as within 100 miles; so within a day to transport. Choosing local means choosing food that has a lower fossil fuel footprint to bring it to you. The apple from Chile was driven, flown and then trucked to the North American grocery store, spending thousands of calories in fossil fuel for the 50 or so calories that it actually provides to the eater.

3) Quality assurance. If you can visit a farm and it has an open and welcoming policy, you can see how they run their business with your own eyes. You can develop a relationship with your farmer and be reassured of the quality of the food you are buying.

4) Economics. A small local Farmer takes home 95% of what you pay them at the Farmers Market, vs 5-15% from the supermarket. Local farmers mostly source their supplies and equipment locally, almost 90% in one study, and create close to 3 times as many jobs per $1M in income. Local farmers spend their money locally too, perhaps even supporting your business. What goes around locally, comes back locally.

In Portland, the Farmers market is Saturdays in Deering Oaks Park and Monument Square from 7-1 until Nov 27th. Then it moves inside to the Girls School on Stevens Avenue near Walton st. for the winter on Saturday mornings only, 9-1.

Halloween trifecta: sugar+fat+salt

Be afraid, be very afraid… Why is Halloween candy so hard to resist? We know it’s garbage and yet…just one more…

Very calculated mad-food-science creates processed food containing perfectly addictive proportions of sugar, fat and salt to hit us in the pleasure centers of our brain. The same brain centers light up on imaging when hit with cocaine or other addictive substances. Override happens, even for those of us with the best of intentions to ‘avoid eating that stuff this year’. There may also be a nostalgic pleasure connection if you really enjoyed Halloween as a child, so that lends itself to the situational trick or treat binge.

Thing is, excess sugar, far and salt and processed foods are affiliated with higher risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, cancer, stokes, kidney damage.. the familiar and frightening list goes on. And these are truly scary stats.

Luckily this day only happens once a year, so if you have a pretty good day-to-day food plan, you won't take on too much damage, apart from perhaps a tummy ache. After 10/31, get that stuff out of your house, ASAP and make yourself a delicious fresh local green salad, soup or stew made with local ingredients, and breathe a sigh of relief, thumbing your nose at the demonic processed food industry.

Probiotics vs Prebiotics

Probiotics are the microorganisms that live in our intestines. They help us digest our food and maintain our health by preventing pathogen attachment, and secreting important molecules such as vitamin K and some B’s. “Prebiotics” is a fancy-schmancy name for dietary fiber that our microorganisms eat to stay viable. Don’t let anyone sell you “pre-biotics”. AIGHHHH! You can eat an apple, vegetables, legumes, nuts or a bowl of oatmeal and be just fine.

Sitting vs standing? How to approach the screen.

Unfortunately, many of us sit to work. This puts a big strain on our muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones, since humans were not designed to sit still for hours at a time (ask any elementary school child.) If you are held in one place at work (sorry) do as much as you can to move around, stretch and change positions during those 8’ish hours. There’s a small difference in energy burned from sitting to standing (a 155# person sitting burns 45 cal/hr, standing: 47 cal/hr, this link provides energy required for various activities) , so I think the biggest benefit of standing desks is the fact that they allow you to move and stretch, change positions easily, and not get all accordioned-up in the hip flexors. If you are standing on a concrete floor, a fatigue mat will help. But standing out of alignment for a long time will be just as uncomfortable and damaging as sitting all day, so be sure that your screen and keyboard are placed so that the neck, shoulders, elbows and wrists are neutral and aligned. Best approach: remember elementary school? You were right: fidget. Move around A LOT. Balance. Stand on one foot. Stretch. Don’t get stuck in one position for longer than an hour, and alternate between sitting and standing. Use an alarm on your computer. Drink a lot of water and walk to the restroom for mental and body breaks. Keep the blood moving, not pooling in your lower extremities. And don’t work through your breaks. Take them and use them healthfully. The old adage is true: simply move it or lose it.

Count ingredients, not calories

This is a way of simplifying how to think about healthy food, and ending up with the healthiest body composition and weight possible. How? Eat the healthiest food possible.

The more ingredients an edible item contains, the more likely it is to be processed and further from the original local whole food. Think of the progression from a freshly picked apple to an apple shipped from Chile, to applesauce, to apple pie, to a weird apple turnover-thing wrapped in cellophane that will never decay.

The fewer additions, subtractions, chemical and mechanical processes to which a food is subject, the greater retention of nutrients, vitamins, fiber, freshness and palatability. Instead of reading the caloric value on a package, notice the ingredient list. If it’s really long, have suspicions about it’s quality, flavor and nutrient value. Peanut butter should have peanuts and salt and maybe some extra oil, not peanuts, sugar, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil and unpronounceable stabilizers. Here are some comparisons of labels.

Quality of food is the aim here, not quantity of calories. Your body is valuable - feed it amazingly healthy things. If you wouldn’t feed it to a 5 year old (that you like), you shouldn’t eat it either. Aim for foods with very short ingredient lists or those without labels. Foods that have only one ingredient are the ones that will give you the biggest health bang for the buck. And you will probably never have to count calories again.

Apple vs “apple snack pie”

Kombucha - drink your culture!

Everyone is walking around with a $4 bottle of kombucha these days. High end kombucheries abound, offering flights and flavors, the hempy-hipster version of the fermentation evolution, following in the path of breweries and distilleries. What’s the deal with this beverage? And what the heck is that weird thing floating around in a vinegary jar anyway?

Kombucha lore is a bit misty, but it is an ancient ferment that may date back centuries, possibly from Manchuria. The word kombucha may have come from a Eastern doctor’s name (Kanbu) treating a monarch with tea (cha), or possibly a misnomer from the Japanese ‘Konbu’ (seaweed) and ‘Cha’ (tea), though it is not based on seaweed at all. It’s also known by Russian names tea kvass or gripe (gree-peh). Though erroneous perhaps, here it is commonly known as kombucha, so we may as well stick with it now.

Kombucha is made by adding a SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast, it looks a bit like an unappetizing rubbery pancake) to sweetened black or green tea and allowing it to ferment. I have spent a good number of hours nerding out about the particular microbes found in this thing, but to summarize, the SCOBY floats on top of sweet black or green tea and it’s resident bacteria and yeasts digest the sugars, (just like wine). It puts out a little alcohol (ends up at 1% typically), a lot of acetic acid (which is what gives it the vinegary characteristics) and many other byproducts. The incubation can last 5 days to 2 weeks, and is best between 70-85F. A shorter incubation time (or lower temperature) will keep more sugars undigested and create a sweeter kombucha. Conversely a longer fermentation time or higher temperature will allow the SCOBY to convert more sugar into acetic acid, resulting in a more sour beverage.

Why drink it? Though scientific studies are still coming in, there is something to be said for a product that is low in sugar, actively probiotic, hydrating, easily and economically home-sourced, and a tasty alternative to alcohol. Other benefits touted (described in experiments of giving diabetic rats kombucha) are improvements in liver and kidney function. There are reports of B and C vitamins and some other beneficial byproducts of the SCOBY’s metabolism of the sugar. As with many fermented foods and beverages, I think it is an acquired taste - I seem to have acquired it.

**Late breaking quick tip! If you wish to decaffeinate your kombucha, simply pre-steep your tea for 30 seconds in a cup of boiling water, then drain the water which will contain 50-70% of the caffeine (can be used to water plants, once cool). Finish making your kombucha with the now lower-caffeine tea leaves. Dont use “decaffeinated tea” because it is decaffeinated chemically and there may chemical residue in the tea leaves that you will ingest.

home made kombucha

Stair climbing; calories burned, offset the metabolic creep!

On average, you’ll burn about 2 calories going up a flight of stairs (loosely based on median person weight, about 10 steps in a flight, and no huge baggage lugged). Calories burned taking the elevator -> zero. Burning a mere two calories seems negligible, but it does add up. I live at the top of 4 flights of stairs, and probably go up and down them (minimally) 3 times a day. That’s 2 cal x 4 flights x 3 times = 24 calories/day. But if I do this every day, that’s 8544 calories a year. If a pound of fat is contains 3500 calories, then my stairs are burning 2.4 pounds of fat per year. With age, metabolism tends to decelerate by about 5% for every decade of life past age 40. If your resting metabolic rate (amount of calories needed to keep you alive at rest) is say, 1,200 calories per day at age 40, it will be around 1,140 at age 50 and 1000 at age 60. The average weight gain after age 40 is one pound per year if one is not paying attention. Luckily, you can offset this with regular daily exercise, and very importantly, keeping your muscle mass up. Choosing stairs instead of elevators is an easy life hack to offset the metabolic creep. Also, it’s good ongoing training for your leg and butt muscles, stabilizing your knees and ensuring that you’ll never get stuck in an elevator.

Cashews! Raw! Toasted! Yum!

Cashews  come from Central and South America as well as the Caribbean, and are funny looking seeds that grow singly on the outside of a fruit called a cashew “Apple”. The seed is shelled to give us the creamy cashew snack we know and love. Cashews are high in magnesium, which is important to help us absorb adequate calcium form our diet. An ounce of cashews also has 2/3rd of our daily does of copper, not something we usually think about, but copper is important in collagen and elastin – components of our skin and connective tissue.

Cashews are high in fats which can go rancid at room temperature or after heating, so for best results, buy small amounts of raw cashews frequently and store them in the fridge. If you want them toasted, toast them yourself fin small batches. You can also make this delicious cashew cream! (Thanks Carie!)  as a delicious dairy cream substitute.

Spinach – Popeye was right.

Spinach belongs to the amaranth family and is related to beets, swiss chard  and quinoa. It is a highly nutrient 
dense food and has large amounts of fiber, Vitamins A, B, C, K1 (clotting) Folate, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron. It also contains carotenoids such as lutein, essential for eye health and protects against macular degeneration.  Per calorie, spinach does have more protein than ground beef. 100 calories of ground beef has 10 grams of protein while 100 calories of fresh baby spinach has 12 grams. Percentage-wise, spinach is 30%protein (and the rest fiber, phytonutrients and water) while ground beef is 40% protein (and 60% fat).

Raw spinach contains the full complement of nutrients including heat- sensitive vitamin C and Folate, so using spinach as salad base, throwing it into soup at the very last second or blending into smoothies will give a full complement of these nutrients. Another way to eat large amounts of spinach is to bring olive oil to a medium heat in a deep skillet, add garlic and let it sizzle for  a few seconds, then add lots of spinach tossing it with tongs for about 20 seconds until a wilts a little. Add a squeeze of lemon, a scattering of salt and pepper and serve immediately, or as a wilted warm salad. A few pine nuts, pumpkin seeds or walnuts on top are yummy. Spinach is one of the most pesticided foods, so buy this one organic.

Sumac – the local vitamin C spice, and Za’atar.

Sumac is a tangy spice locally available, but not commonly used. It grows everywhere in the northeast and has a sour citrusy flavor enhancing whatever it’s on, reducing the need for salt. Sumac is high in vitamin C and antioxidants – its deep red color gives it away. The ground form can be found in natural food stores and online but it’s easily found in Maine in the woods if you are walking around in the Autumn. Staghorn sumac has velvety branches and red cones that stand up in midsummer to late fall. Avoid the ones by roadways that may have absorbed pollution, and any sumac with white berries (poison sumac). Dry the cones (made of “drupes”, like raspberries or blackberries) or store them in a paper bag in the fridge. Grind dried drupes in a mortar and pestle (I use a small electric coffee grinder), push through some mesh to remove the seeds, and voila! Your own red fluffy ground dried sumac! Add to lemonade for extra vitamin C tang. You may also  steep 2 T of the drupes from the cone in hot water, or make a sun-tea. This method of tasty and nutritious beverage extraction has been used by First Nations in the area for millennia. You can also use the sumac to make Za’atar (ZAH-tuhr), a Middle Eastern spice blend made of sumac, thyme, sesame seeds, cumin, salt and pepper, with some variations also adding oregano, coriander and aleppo pepper. (recipe here. and more info here ).  It can be sprinkled on grilled vegetables, meats, grains, cooked vegetables and hummus,  and is frequently seen on Middle Eastern-style toasted breads.

Up in (liquid) smoke

We had a discussion at the Healthy Potluck about smoky flavors in food, and sources thereof. Since according to the World Health Organization, there is no safe level of bacon, plus; vegetarians, we wondered what else could be used to impart such a flavor to dishes. Here were some things I discovered; Make some Lapsang Souchang tea and add a few teaspoons to your recipe. Smoked ancho or chipotle chiles  are an option if you like a kick to go with your smoke. Smoked paprika and smoked salt (use at the end, or things might get too salty before they get smoky)  are also available and can impart depth to your recipes. There is also a product called “Liquid Smoke” and if you have sensitive smoke detectors in your house, this might be a good solution. It’s made from filtered condensation from a  smoky hardwood fire. Be careful – apparently a little goes a long way. It was suggested to add it to a spray bottle and spritz the recipe, stir and then taste before adding more.

Helpful Hemp

Seeds are delicious and healthful and hemp seeds are one of the most nutrient-dense foods in this category.  They contain large amounts of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins E and B, and the minerals Fe, Zn, Mg, P, K. Like soy, they are also a complete vegetarian source of protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids – the ones we cannot make. A tablespoon of hemp seeds contains about 3 g of protein. The seeds contain no psychoactive component, so you don’t have to worry about failing any drug testing at work. You can consume them as hemp milk, or do what Dr. Andrew Weil does:  toast hemp seeds in a dry skillet until they start to pop, then add olive oil, salt and pepper, or a combination of soy sauce garlic and ginger. These seeds can then be eaten as is, or scattered on top of a salad or stirred into steamed veggies.

Reduce your Plastic Footprint

So-called “disposable” plastic. The wonder of the 1950′s has become a current scourge. Here are some creative ideas to reduce your purchase of packaging and single-use plastics at the grocery store and at home. Put 2-3 big re-useable grocery bags in your car and put up to 10 pre-used plastic bags in them for vegetables, fruits, bulk and other foods. Fabric mesh bags can be reused indefinitely and easily washed in the laundry. Bring your own bottles or containers to the Portland Food Co-op (at the little plaza on Congress and India streets) and refill them with honey, maple syrup, olive oil, dish soap, laundry soap and other cleaners, vinegars and tamari. Glass bowl with lids allow you to store foods without extra plastic in a number of ways. Refrigerating leftovers in a bowl with a plate on top works well. I save all my plastic bags and reuse them for fridge and freezer storage. Plastic yogurt containers and glass jars can be used in the freezer if you let things like soups cool before freezing them, leave a bit of space at the top for expansion, make sure they are upright in the freezer and then put the lids on after freezing. Get creative and experiment! Let us know what you find out! Bonus action: Here’s a link to ask Trader Joes to escape from their plastic dependence!)

Fiber: Soluble and Insoluble

Fiber is an umbrella term that describes two types of carbohydrates made by plants. Insoluble fiber is structural and surrounds a plant cell like the rigid scaffolding around a building. If you add water to insoluble fiber, nothing happens to it (think celery).  Soluble fiber is not structural and turns into a mush or gel when water is added (think oatmeal or psyillium)  and both types help keep things moving in the intestines. Neither types are digested by humans, but soluble fiber is digested by your gut bacteria and helps provide for a happy biome. Soluble fiber also picks up bile (made of cholesterol) in the gut and prevents it’s reabsorption, thus transporting it out, and regulating our blood cholesterol levels. Insoluble fiber does not dissolve in water, passes through relatively unchanged and simply adds bulk to the larger intestinal contents. Its important to have enough fiber in the diet to keep the intestines happy and moving. For a normal adult female, this is 21-25 g. For a guy, 25-30 g. How much is this?  1.5 C broccoli has 7g. 1 apple has 4.5 g. A head of lettuce has 13g. 2 Tablespoons of Psyllium has 10 g. 1 cup of brussels sprouts 3.3 g.  Animal products have ZERO fiber, because animals are not plants.

You can search this site for fiber content of foods: https://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calorie-chart-nutrition-facts

Bee Pollen: For the bees?

Bee Pollen is one of those mysterious “natural superfoods” that has had many claims made of it, and from what I can tell is simply another great way to separate people from their money. These claims of boosted athletic prowess, immunity and vitality have not been scientifically substantiated. The only thing that science has to say is if you are allergic to bees or their products, stay away from it.  One guy had increased bleeding when taking both bee pollen and a blood thinner (Warfarin/Coumadin). I don’t put a lot of faith in situations with and N=1, so this effect might be a mulligan. It’s obviously the perfect food for bees, but at this point, there is no evidence to suggest that humans derive any benefit other than perhaps a psychosomatic or placebo effect. Try honey instead.

Foods for fighting the cold and flu season

First off, wash your hands. Second, stay hydrated. Get a flu shot if that works for you. But then, why not use your diet to boost protection from upper respiratory tract infections? It’s a form of medicine that you can access up to 3 X a day. Create delicious recipes using the following foods:

Vit C from oranges, tomatoes, red peppers, spinach and Vit D from egg yolks or supplements (no sun source here from Sept – May)

Probiotics from fresh yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi and kefir

Antioxidants from blueberries, ginger, green tea, dark leafy greens and dark chocolate (**70%+ gives you theobromides with less sugar)

Zinc from fish, shellfish, almonds and cashews

Allicin from Garlic (presqueeze it 5 min before to allow for the chemical reaction to activate it)

Adequate dietary protein to build antibodies

water water water.

And lastly, wash your hands.

Vitamins - Is timing everything?

When is the best time of the day or night to take vitamins or supplements?  Well, the most efficient answer is “whenever you remember to take them”, but this could be broken down into more specific times. You want to give your body the best shot at dissolving the tablets or capsules and absorbing the tablets, so food and water accompaniments come in to play.

Vitamins are either water soluble or fat soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) are best taken with some food to dissolve the nutrients. B vitamins boost energy, so best to take them in the day time. Multi-vitamins are usually pretty big and should be taken with a lot of water to break them down. In the past, I have crushed them in my mortar and pestle and added water and drunk them down. Trouble here is that they don’t taste very good. Also; don’t take them with fiber powder, or they may not have a chance to dissolve and be absorbed. Liquid versions of multi-vitamins and minerals are also available and might offer a better chance at absorption. You can add those to smoothies as well. Taking supplements with food is the best bet bet due to absorbability and some multis will cause stomach upset if taken on an empty stomach. If you have to take more than one of the same vitamin (say 3 tablets of vitamin C, then if you can remember to spread them out over the days, that will allow you the best absorption. Your body won’t store it and simply eliminates the excess through the kidneys. Talk about pissing your money away!

Bottom line: if you are taking supplements, the best time to take them is 1) whenever it’s recommended by your medical professional 2)  spread out over the day and with food, and then 3) whenever is best for you***. Create a ritual and stick to it even if you are traveling. I take psyllium and lemon juice plus a vitamin C in the morning,  then the rest of the vitamins with lunch, and ground flax with more lemon at night. (advice from Dr. Weil)