First, I went to my first acupuncture appointment on Friday. Wow, can I just say, Eastern medicine is amazing. Truly. It seemed to touch all parts of me - physical, mental, and spiritual - all at once. I can hardly believe how relaxing and energizing it was...and the doctor was incredible. One thing that she told me is that I need to eat more vegetables (certainly a theme for the New Year - the Universe is practically shouting this to me!)
Here is what she said:
"Vegetables, lots of vegetables, all of the colors of the rainbow. You see it, you buy it, you eat it. Essential for cleansing and nourishing the body. If you can't get organic, that's OK. Just rinse your vegetables in 1 gallon of water and 2 Tablespoons of bleach. Then throw away that water in your toilet, to clean your toilet - I am Chinese, we do not like to waste. Then rinse the vegetables again in a cold water bath - and they will be so clean! You can taste it. I know it sounds crazy, but it works, believe me. Before I tried this, I used to peel everything, now I don't have to."
On Sunday, Daniel and I went to go see Michael Pollan give a lecture at Grace Cathedral.
I don't agree with everything that Michael Pollan says, but he does make some interesting points. One of the most memorable things we learned was that 50 years ago, Americans used to spend 18% of their income on food, and a small percentage on health care. Now we spend 9% on food, and much more on health care. Basically, this is because we have created a system in which we are set up to fail - the least expensive foods are the ones with the most calories and the least nutrition. So, we eat badly and pay for it later. Even when it's not an economic concern, we fool ourselves into thinking we are smarter than nature. For example, we decide in the lab that Beta Carotene is what is essential in a food, so we extract that and take it as a supplement. Only later, it was learned that when extracted, it had the opposite of the desired effect. Nature is balanced perfectly - it's not wise to fuck with it.
So, I went out and bought vegetables - organic ones (as I am not too keen about that bleach bath idea), all of the colors of the rainbow. Onions, garlic, tomatoes, zucchini, red pepper, eggplant...I got out a big pot and started chopping and sauteing, and I ended up with one of my favorite dishes, ratatouille. It's so easy and so delicious, just needing a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme for flavoring. I like to cook it down until it almost becomes a thick sauce. It's good on its own, or as a side dish. I love it over scrambled eggs for breakfast.
In tribute to Daniel, who loves Skittles, Michael Pollan, and my acupuncturist, I say "Taste the Rainbow"!
