Health Update

It's been a while since I've written in this space but I've made some discoveries, or one major one, rather, and I'd like to share my experience in the case that someone out there may be reading. Perhaps this might provide some information that they've been looking for.

In previous health updates, I shared my frustrations with hair shedding, spotty skin and painful menstrual cycles. I'm happy to report that after a lot of trial and error, I've figured out the reasons for the spotty skin and painful periods. The culprit? Soy.

This discovery both thrilled me and saddened me. I love soy. I love tempeh and I love tofu and they were a big part of my diet. Which is probably why they were wreaking so much havoc-- I had a lot of the stuff. There is a lot of conflicting research out there, soy has a positive effect on hormones, soy has a negative effect on hormones. It never occurred to me to eliminate it.

Since the summer, I experienced a lot of breakouts on my lower back, breakouts that wouldn't really pop or go away as well as a lot of breakouts on my neck. It eventually became something that I was extremely self conscious of. In addition, I was having periods so painful that I had to take off work. I was bed bound and nothing helped. No amount of hot water bottles would relieve the cramps. Periods like these are highly unusual for me. I had ultrasounds done, blood tests. Everything came up clean. I was stumped.

I had taken to eating my grape nuts with soy milk, every day pretty much, and one day, I had this epiphany. What if it was the soy? I started doing some research and as mentioned, I came up with lots of different opinions. I asked my gynecologist if it could be a cause, and he had no comment on the issue. I decided I would try it. I eliminated the soy milk and stopped consuming tofu. I have to say, my skin started clearing up immediately. My lower back and neck, while scarred are now completely smooth and the best part is, the last two periods have been really really smooth and I must say, normal. It might be too soon to tell, but I'm going to keep laying off the soy and see how things continue. It's hard to keep eliminating things from my already vegan diet, first nightshades, now soy, but I think I'm getting closer and closer to understanding what works and what doesn't work for my body.

As for my hair.... This is the last piece in this very complex puzzle of mine. It has been frustrating and depressing me for nearly two years. I have lost pretty much half of my hair. Not only is it thinning but it is visibly thinning. I can not express how sad this makes me. I no longer think it is due to a vitamin deficiency. The last six months have been stressful for me, it might have caused more damage, but that can't be the initial cause. The latest step that I've been taking is to two fold. Firstly, Im tracking all of my calories on cronometer, to make sure that I am getting enough calories. Sometimes it feels like Im eating a lot but really, I barely hit the 2000 calorie goal on a daily basis. I go most days without eating a proper dinner. I might very well have been starving my body without even knowing it. That has to change. Secondly, I'm going to focus more on getting a good balance of macros- not just carbohydrates but fats and proteins. I've been on the McDougall plan for a long time and being an all or nothing person, it's hard for me to eat fat at this point as it makes me thing I'm doing things wrong or that I'll regain weight. On the other hand, I believe that all of our bodies are different, and no two bodies run the same. I may need more protein and/or fat to thrive than other people. And that is just going to have to be fine. I'm going to keep the oil at bay but I will incorporate more avocados and such and see how things go from there.

To health!

Meal Plan: April 19th- April 23rd- Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl with Tofu

This week's recipe comes from the Bowls chapter of Isa Does It. To me, bowls are consummate comfort food but are still a little bit intimidating to me because they have a bunch of components that have to be made. I am not the person who likes to make a million things for one meal. I chose to begin my foray into this chapter with the Curried Peanut Sauce Bowl. And oh me oh my what a good pick that was. I love me some tofu and I love me some rice but put this curried peanut sauce over the top and I am right in heaven. I could eat this sauce with a spoon and if I didn't need it for the rest of the week, that's exactly what I'd do! I gotta figure out what else I can smother this stuff on. Isa, you done good!         So this week, I didn't spend any money at the grocery store. I've been eating leftovers of the tamale shepherd's pie for lunch and I pretty much bought everything I needed for this in previous trips. (I've been trying to be thriftier than usual because I just booked a ticket to fly to the states in August and I gotta save every shekel! As it is, this month is stacking up to be pretty expensive!)                                                                               The original recipe called for kale but I stopped by my local vegetable store on the way home on the day I made this and they were all out so no kale here. It definitely could use some color but maybe I'll add that the next time I make this. I used a natural peanut butter to make this (no JIF or Skippy here!) and I dry fried the tofu and the garlic and ginger for the sauce-n o damage done to either. I also found that two tbsp of tamari wasn't enough for me. I think I may have added an extra tbsp and a half or so to get that perfectly umami flavor.

Shabbat Cooking: Miso-Apple Tofu

Dinner Friday night was a surprise pre-birthday dinner for a good friend. While she knew that her roommates were hosting a meal and that I was coming, she didn't realize it was in her honor! I asked her what she wanted to me to make and she suggested tofu. She had really liked the hoisin-mustard tofu that I made a few weeks ago but I told her up front that I wouldn't be making the same recipe. Life's too short not to keep trying new recipes! I had a specific recipe in mind, the Apple Miso Tofu, that also comes from Appetite for Reduction. (I'm so not looking forward to finishing this cook through. I'll probably cook with some of her other books next. Anyway...) 

Apple and miso kind of sound odd together but many bloggers out there have offered rave reviews of this recipe. Honestly, just the sauce alone on tofu would have been perfect, it's that yummy. The apple does lend a bit of sweetness, but I don't think it was that present. Maybe I needed more apple, or to use a more apple-y apple. That being said, I really loved this tofu. The white miso called for in this recipe is a lot more mellow but really, you probably could win me over with any fermented soy product. Miso, soy.. I'm there.

I'm glad to have a couple of go-to, tried and true tofu recipes should I ever need to please a crowd or if I ever decide to host that vegan meal that I've been wanting to do for a while. I doubled the recipe and set some aside to have with basmati rice for Friday lunch and so I would recommend serving with rice, although you can certainly choose something else. I left out the sesame oil; the recipe doesn't indicate what to do with it anyway and it wasn't missed here. Because I doubled the recipe, I allowed it to cook a lot longer to get some nice darkened pieces. It probably would have been wise to use a larger pan. Oh well. 

On  a side note, I'll just mention that it seems to be that rice is my evening starch of choice. I cook up a batch and serve it with almost every dinner I make. I'm trying to lay off of more refined starches like pasta or couscous and rice is the perfect fit for me especially since cooking a batch in my Instant-Pot is super easy and fast. It's a staple here in Israel so it's pretty inexpensive as well.  Oats are my breakfast starch and potatoes are my lunch starch. I'm thinking that with spring/summer fast approaching, I will make breakfast all about  the fruit, particularly melons. I love melons because they are both delicious and abundant here in those months. They are also full of water and I love being able to eat my water instead of having to force myself to drink. It keeps my tummy very happy.

Now, about that tofu...

Meal Plan: March 15th- March 19th: Red Thai Tofu and (Bhutanese) Pineapple Rice

Happy election day! Here in Israel, election day is a national holiday, meaning a day off from work! It's already coming to an end but I can say that I got a lot of Pesach cleaning done and my room is looking a lot tidier and less dusty. Trying to focus on getting as minimalist as possible and getting rid of things that I don't need, have any use for, or have simply expired. I'm making progress but it's not always easy!

In any case, this week, I put the second package of tofu to use in the recipe for Red Thai Tofu. (Tofu, being from soy is not allowed to be consumed by Ashkenazi Jews on Pesach which is approaching faster than I can say chametz! Gotta get a move on the rest that I have laying around!) I made the Bhutanese Pineapple Rice, which was pretty good, to go along with it. 

This week I spent 71 shekels. (Btw, I am already five pounds into my ten pounds of oats! Yikes!) I picked up red onion, frozen cauliflower (for next week's dinner), potatoes, pepper, cucumber, corn, fresh ginger, canned pineapple for the rice, and garlic. 

Isa's tofu recipes are a bit labor intensive, for me at least. Lots of chopping, for both the tofu and the rice and then all of the tofu needs to be browned before the sauce gets made. The component of this dish that makes this a Thai dish is the red curry paste. It adds a little spice to the tofu. Honestly, I really like tofu in any form so it can't really be bad to me, but this dish didn't wow me as much as the previous tofu recipe I made. I would be much more inclined to make the soy-hoisin tofu again if I would be asked. Therefore, I won't include the recipe here. won'That said, there wont be leftovers of this in my fridge by the end of the week- no tofu goes to waste here. I'm really curious to try the Apple-Miso tofu.

Shabbat Cooking Part 1: Hoisin Mustard Tofu

Purim is in full swing! I gotta say, it is NOT my favorite holiday on the Jewish calendar, not even close. This year, most of my focus was on reading Megillah. I spent the last few months learning how and preparing for my grand debut. ;) I was very nervous leading up to it but I pulled it off! Very proud of myself. This year, Purim falls out on Friday, which is right into Shabbat, making this day quite rushed. One who celebrates Purim in Jerusalem has to prepare and eat a meal in honor of Purim and then prepare another one for Shabbat. Eek! For me? I need a relaxing Shabbat after all this hulabaloo. I'm eating with a couple of friends at her apartment and then at home in the morning. Need me some quiet after all those firecrackers!

It was a while before I figured out what I wanted to make as I am WFPB and wanted to go as unprocessed as possible. I don't know that I succeeded but I decided to make tofu and rice. I finished all the cooking Thursday afternoon so I wouldn't be rushed on Friday. Obviously, I turned to my go to girl right now, Isa Chandra and decided to make the Hoisin Mustard Tofu and the Unfried Fried Rice. That girl hasn't let me down yet!

First things first. That tofu? Amazing. I really am a savory over sweet girl and I just love some soy. The tofu did not disappoint. Im so excited that I made a triple batch and have leftover for Shabbat morning. (I missed tofu so much that I decided to change up this week's meal plan!) I started by pressing the tofu and then cubing it. I dry fried it (not even cooking spray!) and that turned out well. I tossed it with some soy sauce and set it aside. Next came sauteeing some vegetables in sesame oil and then adding some mirin, hoisin and mustard. So simple, but so flavorful. This recipe is a freakin' winner! If ever I need a protein rich dish to bring to a meal, I can guarantee you, this is going to be it!

As I mentioned, I tripled the recipe but didn't use as much oil as called for. Below is the recipe as it appears in the book. Gosh, make this and stat!