Bar Method's 90 Day Challenge is All About Eating Right

I'm about to embark on my second 90 day challenge at Vancouver's Bar Method in less than six months. I joined the Bar Method because I needed desperately to regain my phsical health, and to keep up with my very active pre-schooler without constantly running out of breath.

For those of you not yet aware of BM, its a rigorous program of excercise that combines, "the muscle-shaping principles of isometrics, the body-elongating practice of dance conditioning, the science of physical therapy and the intense pace of interval training into a powerful exercise format that quickly and safely reshapes and elongates muscles."

While the Vancouver location of the Bar Method, founded by Burr Leonard in 2000, is a great hub of instant social bliss around excercise and health on a daily basis, the 90 Day Challenge takes this vibe to another level: think prizes, holitistic nuturition worshops, recipes and food with Jennifer at My Edible Advice, a trip to do the Grouse Grind (haven't done that in over a decade), and a serious nudge to join this year's Underwear Affair.

Each Saturday, if I wear my Bar Method tank top (haven't worn one of those in ages), I'm told that I'll get a healthy smoothie after class.  Jennifer has already made us some seriously yummie smoothies. And, I'd like to share one with you.

3 or 4 handfuls of spinach (organic preferred)
2 or 3 dates
1 banana
Some ice/water to your desired consistency

This smoothie tastes as good as working out at the Bar Method makes me feel.

For more information about the Bar Method, and to find a location in your area, go to:
http://www.barmethod.com/

Sourdough Spelt Pizza Dough

So long turkey, bring in the pizza!

This is a great recipe for really good, authentic pizza dough. It takes a little time to prepare but it’s really fun for the kids to dress it with personal toppings.
Some of our favorite toppings are: fresh tomato, wild mushrooms, spinach or kale, prosciutto or turkey sausage, anchovies, olives or capers, various peppers, sun dried tomatoes, pesto sauce, thinly sliced potatoes, and a vast array of cheeses; goat cheddar or chevre, fresh grated parmesan, feta, Monterey or mozza .

And you must remember to add unrefined salt your pizza to bring out its natural flavour, as well as a nice drizzle of cold-pressed olive oil over top. Mmm…

Mix and match the toppings on different pizzas. It’s a good idea to make 2 or more pizzas, and then have leftover for lunches.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the perfect pizza is a HOT oven. We preheat our oven 15 minutes ahead to 500 F, turning down the heat to 375 just before putting in the pizza.

So get your crust ready tonight to have pizza tomorrow.

INGREDIENTS:
¼ cup sourdough starter
3 cups spelt flour
3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS salt
2 cups water
1 cups sprouted spelt flour (or you can use regular, if you prefer)
2 tsp olive oil

METHOD:
1. Combine starter, 5 cups spelt flour, olive oil, salt and water in a large bowl.
2. Cover loosely with a towel or lid and allow to stand in a warm place for 5-10 hours (overnight is best).
3. Next add 1 cup of (sprouted) spelt flour and work it into the dough, enough so you can handle it without it being too sticky.
4. Form the dough into a ball, and rub 1 tsp of olive oil all over it.
5. Place it back in the bowl and let it stand 20 minutes.
6. Then knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic, then place it back in the bowl, and allow it to double in bulk – about 1 hour. At this point you can use it to make pizza.
7. We bake our pizzas on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. This makes the crust super crisp and delicious. Pizza stones also produce good results. *Cook until your desired consistency and cheese is well melted.

This recipe makes about 1 large cookie sheet rectangular pizzas. If you are not going to use it all store in a freezer until you want to use it. Then, take it out to defrost, and roll out, and put your favorite toppings on and cook.

Yes, it has IRON!

Contrary to what Popeye might have you believe, spinach isn’t the prime ruler for iron. It’s good for you, yes, and contains iron (best when lightly cooked), but there are other surprising and abundant sources of iron out there. Why does iron matter? Inadequate exposure to iron can create a failure to thrive, lack of stamina, tiredness, loss of appetite, anemia. Some doctors argue that a lack of iron in the formative years can lead to learning disabilities, excessive trantrums, and holding one’s breath until turning blue.

Your little one needs a significant amount of iron throughout their development. The early years are important. From 7 to 12 months, a baby’s need for iron springs by double to 7.8 mg and from a year onwards hovers between 6 to 7 mg. And, at 7 years it jumps to almost 9 mg. That said, it’s confusing and frustrating to expose your child to 7.8 mg at 7 months when they have just started eating solids. It’s these figures that lead most parents to buy and offer highly processed and refined, and fortified (often with the worst quality vitamins/minerals) baby rice cereals.

There are two types of iron, heme which is found in animal products and the iron found in vegetarian sources known as non-heme. Conventional nutrition argues that heme sources of iron are more available to the body, and therefore more readily absorbed. The amount of iron absorbed from vegetarian foods is believed to be around 1 - 10%, while it is 10 - 20% from animal foods. The misleading thing here is that we often read the nutritional charts on packages to determine the nutrients contained within. What we often don’t know is how much and how many nutrients are absorbed by our bodies. So, simply exposing your child to their 7.8 mg may not be enough. You’ll want to expose them to a variety of sources, taking into account that the body doesn’t absorb all of the iron available in the foods we eat.

Combining vitamin C rich foods with foods that contain iron can increase absorption. Broccoli and bok choy for instance are high in both iron and vitamin C.

There are some excellent and surprising non-heme sources of iron. Here’s the WeeMunch shortlist.

Blackstrap Molasses

Tahini

Tofu (Non-GMO, organic preferred)

Raisins (ideally organic)

Turmeric

Watermelon

Mint and Parsley

The following is a list of foods that provide 8 mg or more of iron per 100 grams:

Whole (unrefined) cereals and grains

Legumes: lentils, soybeans, lobia (black-eyed bean curry)

Vegetables: Beetroot greens, parsley

Spices: Turmeric

Fruits: Dried dates

Fish, turkey and red meats

Mussels, sardines, oysters, shrimp

Fun with Filo

I recently embarked on making homemade apple turnovers. I was having a pretty specific craving and my little Oskar was up for the challenge. Now before you start to think that I actually made the filo from scratch I must tell you that I bought the filo pastry from Choices Market (and I must specify that it was spelt filo). It basically looks like filo but a bit darker. The directions are much the same as far as I know and pretty straight forward.

I am including a recipe I developed for spanikopitas recently for a client here on Bowen Island who loves pastry but doesn't love the side-affects of the white flour. So we made homemade ones with goat feta, onion, organic spinach and butter and, of course, spelt filo.

They were magnificent. Yes, they worked out beautifully despite our inexperience and trepidation while watching the filo flake and break at every move we made as we tried to fill it. I kept reassuring my client that it didn't matter. The butter will make it all better by glueing it together and once you bake it the many repair jobs you made to the multiple layers of dough are hidden...and who waits to analyze it anyways!? It's filo for crying out loud. You eat it as soon as it's cool enough that you don't scorch your tongue.

My son Oskar loved it. He promptly exclaimed, "hot-apple-pie, Momma!" for the first time as I recovered it from the oven after a lengthy bake. I'm not sure where he got that from as I've never made apple pie, but it was pretty darn cute!

My husband didn't know I was making it and came from working in the cottage to see what we had been creating. His look of delight was enough to know I had to stash some away or this wasn't going to last until tomorrow.

Here's the recipe. Follow the method on the box of filo and stuff it with either sweet or savoury or whatever you fancy, and prepare for tastebud enlightenment.

Lisa Marie’s Spelt Spanikopita w/ Spinach & Goat Feta

½ box Spelt filo pastry (from the healthfood store)
I head of fresh *organic spinach (or equivalent frozen or pre-washed)
1 cup crumbled feta cheese (goat, sheep or organic cow feta)
Large onion, sautéed (optional)
Approx. 1/3 cup organic butter, melted (1/4 cup if you don’t choose to sauté onion.)

Method

1.) Follow instruction on box for preparing spelt filo for stuffing.
*Note that you should remove from freezer the day before you make it and let sit in fridge for several hours. It can be re-frozen if you have a change of plans.
2.) Cut large onion very finely (use food processor for quick, tearless option) and start frying it on low heat in butter until well-cooked, and somewhat browned.
3.)Meanwhile, put spinach and feta into food processor and blend until well-chopped.
4.) Melt butter on stovetop in a small pot or stainless steel measuring cup.
5.) Spread out sheets of filo and as per direction spread butter with a brush all over in between layers.
6.) Spread feta and spinach and onion mixture over filo and roll or cover, as desired (see directions for options).
7.) Bake according to direction until lightly browned on the edges (browning is crucial for best flavour)
8.) Let cool slightly, serve and enjoy!

Sweet version with apples: To prepare the apples, simply sautee them ahead of time, covered, in a bit of butter and a splash of water until they are soft. Add some unrefined sugar, especially if the apples are tart, and some cinnamon and/or cardamom to flavour, let it cool and stuff!

Comments? We'd love to hear them...as well as any creative ideas for filo.

Your WeeMunch hosts,

Lisa Marie & Karen

Indian Fast Food

My husband’s family is Indian from Fiji. And, Tin Fish Tarcurry or Tarkari, the Bengali term for curry, is an old family standby when a quick, healthy meal is desired in an instant.

I was recently cruising the aisles of a local market and discovered some fresh, organic turmeric, which looks identical to ginger except for the lovely orange yellow colour on the inside. I decided to learn how to make my husband’s family recipe, and to include my newfound fresh turmeric.

My son Ilan just gobbles this dish up and once it’s finished, he then tries to lick the bowl. I’m dead serious.

Tin Fish Tarkari Recipe

Ingredients

A tin of wild unsalted salmon (empty the water and rinse)
Note: We’re not wild about tinned food at Weemunch…the lining, aluminum, high sodium and preservatives aren’t the best, but, once a week isn’t anything to worry about. You could also use fresh fish if it’s readily available, as it’s still quick and easy to cook.
An onion
Spices: Cumin, Turmeric, Unrefined Salt, Pepper, Chili Flakes, garlic
Organic, Spinach (optional)
Fresh Tomatoes (optional)
Butter and olive oil

1. On medium heat, in a large frying pan or saucepan, melt a pat of organic butter with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil
2. Then add your chopped onion and cover, letting it simmer until translucent and curled.
3. Then add some chopped garlic, a teaspoon of cumin, turmeric, and a dash of salt and pepper (to taste) and a small sprinkling of dried chili flakes. Stir and let simmer for a few moments to infuse the oils, onions and spices.
4. Then add your tinned salmon. Stir in and blend with the spices. Then add some spinach until wilted. Serve on its own or with brown rice, couscous, or roti. Enjoy!