What's Your Rat Park?

Rat park?? Yup. Reading an article recently, I came across this study by a researcher from SFU and it really hit home for me. The researcher noticed that lab rats almost always become addicted when exposed to drugs. Rather than assuming addiction was a predisposition in rats, he hypothesized that the rat's eagerness to indulge in morphine-laced sugar water had more to do with an attempt to 'escape' the miserable, boring, living conditions they endured.

To test this out, he created Rat Park - a rat paradise complete with toys, greenery, junk to explore and most importantly; other rats. When Rat Park residents were offered the same sugary-morphine solution, they were only mildly interested and most skipped it altogether.

Amazing no? Working on some non-nutrition work and sitting at my desk a lot more than usual this month, a very predictable thing happened to me: the cravings started. First it was chocolate and coffee then chips and salty snacks and crunchy things... edible stimulation.

Just as the Rat Park study suggests, this reaction from my body and brain is completely normal and expected. When life’s just not enough, when we aren’t getting enough stimulation, creative outlet, physical activity, fulfilling work, social interaction - whatever we need - we turn to ways we’ve learned to get that feeling of sensation and satisfaction quickly– food, caffeine, alcohol - you name it.

Food is an especially effective, available, and socially acceptable way to get that "ahhh" feeling.

Using food as a coping mechanism is completely valid and ok, but eating without awareness can be just like slapping a sugary band-aid over dissatisfaction because we aren't looking at what's bringing on the cravings in the first place.

When our lives are fulfilling and we're getting what we need (enough sleep, good food, sex, fun movement we enjoy, social time and ideally - work that energizes us etc.) we're much less likely to need a fix be it from morphine-laced sugar water, chocolate or chips.

So as much as those sugar cravings feel like an addiction, the remedy has nothing to do with willpower - it's all about loading up on pleasure (the inedible kind) and things that nourish and fulfill you.

What would your Rat Park be like? What can you do right now to make your life a bit more like it rather than slapping a sugary band-aid over your feelings of discontent?

Here's a simple recipe I made to feel nourished after that depressing first week...

Gingery Chicken Leek Soup

serves 2

3 cups chicken stock

1/4 of a yam (about 1/4 cup) - cut into cubes

1 leek

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

1 inch piece of ginger - peeled and grated or minced (try scraping the skin off with the back of a spoon)

2 green onions - minced

Handful of fresh cilantro, chopped

Leftover cooked chicken breast, shredded (or poach one**)

1 cup cooked rice

Ume plum vinegar

Black pepper

Heat the chicken stock in a saucepan and add the yams. Simmer until the yams are tender, about 5 minutes (see ** below if poaching a chicken breast). Meanwhile, prepare the leek (check out this how-to video) trim the roots off the leek and cut off the darker green (tougher) top (great for stock - throw it in the freezer!), saving the lighter green and white parts. Slice lengthwise down the leek and rinse both halves under water to remove any sand and dirt that leeks are notorious for hiding in their leaves. Slice each half into 1/4 inch pieces or so.

Heat a frying pan with the olive oil and add the leeks and ginger. Saute over medium heat until the leeks are soft. Drizzle the sesame oil over the leeks. Add the leeks to the stock and yams.

Fill a bowl with half the cooked chicken and rice (preferably brown) and ladle the hot soup over top. Sprinkle with green onion and cilantro. Add ume vinegar - a delicious Japanese salty/sour condiment that is the leftovers from pickling plums - and some fresh ground black pepper, and extra sesame oil to taste.

Enjoy!

** - to poach a chicken breast - place the breast in a saucepan and cover with the chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat. Barely simmer (the top of the water should just "shimmer") for about 15 minutes (you can add the yams after 10 minutes). Remove the chicken from the pan, saving the stock and yams for the soup. Let the chicken cool enough to handle them pull it apart into shreds with a fork.

Eat Happy

If you're like me and your science-brain still craves some hard data to back up the fact that you feel better eating more real, vibrant food - here's a study out of Australia...

Researchers found that eating a traditional Western diet (high in processed foods, refined sugars, poor quality beef and animal foods (ie - factory farmed/corn fed)) lead to a 50% increased likelihood of depression vs. eating a whole foods based diet (including a good variety of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts/seeds, grass fed beef/dairy and free range chicken/eggs).

Read the article HERE.

So, as my brother likes to say: here's to feeling good all the time!
Try this simple, delicious way to get some of that variety onto your plate...

Honey Lime Roasted Butternut Squash

1 x 3lb butternut squash
2 tablespoons olive oil
juice of 1 lime***
1 tsp. honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
sea salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375F.

Cut the butternut squash in half lengthwise. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Peel the squash - this is about the hardest part of this recipe. The safest way I have found to do this without dismembering yourself - is to take a chefs knife and cut each of the lengths into 4 pieces. Then take a piece and place firmly on the cutting board and slice down and away from you removing the skin and as little flesh (both yours and the squash's) as possible. Move around the piece until you've got all the skin off. Go slow and you'll get the hang of it. A vegetable peeler doesn't seem to work on that thick skin and a small paring knife felt treacherous to me.

Once the squash is peeled, dice into 1 or 2 inch cubes.

Grab a metal or pyrex baking dish big enough to spread the squash in one layer. Toss the squash with the olive oil, lime juice, honey/maple syrup or agave nectar, and add salt and pepper to taste. I gave some quantities as a starting point here, but I usually just eyeball it and taste as I go.

Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the squash is fork-tender, stirring once during baking.

Serve as a side dish, add to black beans and rice, or to top a spinach and quinoa salad, drizzled with lime/olive oil/garlic dressing with a pinch or two of ground cumin. Delicious...

** The juiciest limes and citrus fruits are the ones that are heavy for their size, glossy and vibrant in colour and still have the calyx (the little stem bit) attached to the end. When this is gone, the lime is older and likely dried out. Avoid limes with lots of dark patches, a few is fine but more can indicate an undesirable mouldy flavour. To juice a lime, first roll it back and forth on the counter while pushing down with the heel of your palm. This breaks up the tiny juice vessicles so you'll get way more juice out. Cut it in half crosswise (between the stem ends), push a fork into the cut side and twist it while squeezing the lime half against the fork.

Hidden Gems

More on burgers.... here's my favourite burger recipe - inspired by my best friend Amy - who stuffs her patties with greens both as a way to make them incredibly juicy and tender and to get some greens into her 5 year old.


Hidden Gems Burger Patties
makes 4 patties

1 lb - 100% grass fed ground beef (18% fat/medium works best)
1/4 small onion, minced
salt and pepper
1 or 2 leaves of kale - washed and chopped fairly fine
and/or small handful of flatleaf parsley or cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon thyme or oregano or other herb you like the smell of
1 tablespoon salsa (optional)


Put the beef into a bowl. Use your washed hand to squish in the remaining ingredients (I love and hate this part at the same time), but add the greens slowly to be sure the patties can still hold together. Mix just until combined so the beef doesn't get too tough.

Shape into 4 patties. Press a divot into the centre of each patty (which prevents the burger from puffing out too much and helps even cooking).

Grill or pan fry the burger patties until a meat thermometer reads 155F in the centre.
Serve with all your favourite fixings. My favourite is good old yellow mustard, ketchup, a smear of mayo and a hefty scoop of my homemade sauerkraut.

here is a link to a visual burger making guide...

Enjoy!

Eat like a princess

Whatever you eat, eat the best quality you can...

I have been craving burgers like crazy this week. I eat some kind of read meat once a week, but once hasn't been enough - maybe it's because I've been more active than usual, or maybe it's the meaty juices vapourizing on the neighbour's BBQ into frequent aromatic reminders... whatever the reason, while I was frying up another succulent onion spiked beef patty yesterday, I realized that there was something greatly different about this meat. When I lifted the patty out there was nothing left in the pan. i.e. no pools of grease.

This was 100% grass fed beef. Raised in a pasture, on nothing but grass. No corn. No M&Ms.

As a kid, I remember cooking ground beef to make tacos from that Old El Paso kit - step 1 - fry the beef, step 2 - pour off the fat, step 3 add seasoning mix. There was always a good 1/4 cup of grease or more to pour off. But my 1/4 lb 100% grass fed burger patty left nothing more than delicious deep browned bits on the pan, and barely a drop of fat.

**I want to be clear that I'm not saying fat is bad. We NEED fat in our diets. It is an absolutely essential part of cell walls and many body functions. However, getting each type of fat in healthy proportions is important. To do this, focus on getting lots of omega 3 fatty acids (walnuts, flax seeds, wild salmon) and omega 9 fatty acids (olive oil), some omega 6 fatty acids (safflower, sunflower, most seeds), a bit of saturated fats (animal products, coconut/palm oils) and avoid trans (hydrogenated) fats like the plague)**

Grass fed beef is very lean. True, meat is still a calorie dense food -much more so than the same volume of vegetables or grains - and meat is a resource intensive and environmentally costly product to raise (with ethical concerns as well). But meat also offers a hefty dose of iron and B vitamins (notably B12) and 100% grass fed, pastured beef (i.e. not corn "finished") actually has an omega 3 fatty acid content that rivals that of wild salmon and has less saturated fat than it's corn fed cousin.

I feel like my burgers are a super nourishing treat.

I had my burger with a side of broccoli and kale sauteed with garlic and a little balsamic vinegar and a few handfuls of Salt and Black Pepper Kettle Chips... Bliss. Adding a few vegetables is important because for all its mineral potency, meat has no fiber, few antioxidants and all that protein can be a burden on the body. Animal proteins are very high in nitrogen, which is metabolized to ammonia. The kidneys then have to process this into a much less toxic compound - urea - which is then excreted. This uses up precious resources that are also needed to handle environmental toxins and detox other compounds we ingest - so meat is something I enjoy less often.

But enjoy it, I do.

When you eat your burgers, when you eat anything - eat the best quality you can afford. And consider it a long term investment that will save you in prescription medicine costs or sick days down the road. Also consider it a chance to nourish yourself. Something I am very fond of.

For more info on pastured meat check out Michael Pollan's book- In Defense of Food. He sums it up with the motto - Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.

For a delicious 100% grass fed beef burger check out the Natural Burger at Vera's Burger Shack. To buy 100% grass fed beef try Choices, Capers, Whole Foods, or your local butcher. I got fantastic 100% grass fed, organic beef for a great price at Windsor Meats on Main near King Edward.