Hello folks! Are you still there?
I am out in the bush right now. Some nice pics coming soon, just forgot the cable at home so I can't transfer them to the computer.
Well, just wanted you to know that I have sinned, or in other words tried my kryptonite. Lessons learned, will try to avoid it in the future.
As I am out in the field right now and get the offer to have an "once" (Chilean evening tea, involving some sort of bread usually) or lunch, I have had no heart to say no thanks. Yesterday the lady of the house was preparing sopaipillas as I arrived, some half an hour later I was faced with the option of being rude or take the risk of falling ill. I chose the second option. And oh my, those sopaipillas were goooood! With some homemade jam. Yam! And I didn't fall ill.
I started thinking that maybe I do not have any problems with wheat. Maybe I have overreacted all this time... maybe it was all in my head. So today when I was invited for lunch at another place, and the lunch was pasta with a nice vegetarian sauce, I thought, what the heck, if my tummy could take care of the sopaipillas it will also fix the pasta. Dead wrong. Dead wrong, my friends. No more experimenting for this lady. My body clearly signaled that it was not happy with my risk taking two days in a row.
Well, good that we got this sorted out. At least I learned that I am not nuts, it's not all in my head. There is something in my tummy as well...
Have a nice weekend you all!
Friday, September 28, 2012
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Selected food pictures
Our egg-production facility. Personally certified it as both organic, local, and fair trade!
Typical oven in Cajon de Maipo where they bake a delicious bread (no more of this for me unfortunatelly).
Loose and happy hen = excellent eggs!
Almond tree
Child labor: almond hacker.
No more of this: locally produced manjar & mermalades.
Typical Chilean food: No more of this either....
Chilean fast food.
Pebre and Chimicurri, Chilean and Argentinean combo.
The Parrillada. Paleo dream (if you leave out the potatoes).
Digestion drink after all that food...
Nuts and dried food in San José de Maipo (the seller spoke Swedish)
Natural remedies in San José de Maipo.
LIMONES at the fair in Quilin.
Alcachofas & their seller.
Fresh seafood
So good!
Machas, almejas, congrios, reinetas, corvinas... and much more!
Saturday, September 15, 2012
My first treats in Chile
Muffins based on cacao, bananas, almond meal, coconut oil. vanilla essence, eggs and baking powder.
Our favourite coco balls - now also known in Chile- Success as always. (I illegally imported buckthorn berry and lingon berry powder to roll them in - was not caught at the border control).
Oh, and I just have to add... that last plate -it used to be ours when we lived here. Sweet nostalgy!
Friday, September 14, 2012
Thursday, September 13, 2012
Land of plenty
After getting home with some 10 kilos of fresh fruits and veggies from the veggie market today, I ask myself, why on earth are there so many stands around this city that dedicate their business to sell only cookies, chips and sweets? Why on earth would anyone like to eat that crap when you can have fresh avocado, apples, oranges, chirimoyas, celery....whatever you wish in abundance. And cheap.
Fruits and vegetables are just the best invention ever. And I am happy that I am located in the land of plenty right now. Do not even feel cravings for chocolates! And although I found coconut oil (Tropical Traditions, expensive as h*ll) and dates today, I have a feeling that we will not be rolling too many chocolate balls while we are here.
Instead, today I taught mother and sister-in-law how to make cauliflower-pure based on bonebroth and butter. Yammy.
Here you can read about our trip to the vegetable market: La vega - I´m in love!
Next time I need a double granny-buggy to get all the necessary vegetables with me home!
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Sweet dreams from the South
We have crossed the world and are now for the next four months located in the land of "chilis", the end of the world or better known as Chile. This time we will try to explore local food culture from a new perspective: natural food, free from sugar, wheat and (mostly) milk.
That means no more Bravissimo ice creams (hubby was almost sucked into the icecream stand today when we passed through the mall to go and shop some apple cider vinagre), no marraquetas (white fluffy bread), and no manjar (caramel sauce, dulce de leche). Instead I take on the challenge to find dates and Fiber husk, introduce coconut icecream to our family and friends, make empanadas free from gluten, and make our favourite chocolate balls known in this city of 6 million people...
In return, we have the luxury of an granmother who is an expert in homecooked traditional food. Yesterday she had the bonebroth based cazuela (Chilean soup) ready as we arrived from our 24h flight. Today we have had porotos (white beans with pumpkin and rice). And in between a lot fruits and palta (avocado). Luxury!
I can tell you that the grandparents are impressed by the apetite of Kidone. Our previous trips have always presented a certain degree of challenge regarding food to our picky eater. It started with my special arrangements for breast feeding (heat wave of 38 degrees outside, four month old baby who was not particularly keen on eating), later the stage of closing the mouth at any spoon of "exotic" food approaching the mouth (having to opt for safe bets such as acovados and hard boiled eggs), and then in our third and last trip rendering to whatever would go down (meaning a diet consisting of a lot of spaghetti "cabello de angel" and always emergency cookies at hand when out and about). Needless to say that the mood was a bit more jumpy back then...
I have to admit that the beans were not well received by Kidone, but at least she ate her five spoons and then filled the plate with avocado and vegetables. Kidtwo, in contrast, despite his suspicion at first sight just loved the bean "porridge" (think it was granddad who said that it was a magic porridge...) and ate both his plate as his sister's left overs.
Right now I am searching the web for Psyllium Husk. Chilean National Day approaching and I am planning to have my share of empanadas as well. No Psyllium at the local "green hypermarket" but I am now placing my bets at the Asian stores up at Patronato. I hope to find both dates and coconut oil it the same place. Another challenge is to locate buckwheat flour, but maybe quinoa flour with rice flour will do this time.
That means no more Bravissimo ice creams (hubby was almost sucked into the icecream stand today when we passed through the mall to go and shop some apple cider vinagre), no marraquetas (white fluffy bread), and no manjar (caramel sauce, dulce de leche). Instead I take on the challenge to find dates and Fiber husk, introduce coconut icecream to our family and friends, make empanadas free from gluten, and make our favourite chocolate balls known in this city of 6 million people...
In return, we have the luxury of an granmother who is an expert in homecooked traditional food. Yesterday she had the bonebroth based cazuela (Chilean soup) ready as we arrived from our 24h flight. Today we have had porotos (white beans with pumpkin and rice). And in between a lot fruits and palta (avocado). Luxury!
I can tell you that the grandparents are impressed by the apetite of Kidone. Our previous trips have always presented a certain degree of challenge regarding food to our picky eater. It started with my special arrangements for breast feeding (heat wave of 38 degrees outside, four month old baby who was not particularly keen on eating), later the stage of closing the mouth at any spoon of "exotic" food approaching the mouth (having to opt for safe bets such as acovados and hard boiled eggs), and then in our third and last trip rendering to whatever would go down (meaning a diet consisting of a lot of spaghetti "cabello de angel" and always emergency cookies at hand when out and about). Needless to say that the mood was a bit more jumpy back then...
I have to admit that the beans were not well received by Kidone, but at least she ate her five spoons and then filled the plate with avocado and vegetables. Kidtwo, in contrast, despite his suspicion at first sight just loved the bean "porridge" (think it was granddad who said that it was a magic porridge...) and ate both his plate as his sister's left overs.
Right now I am searching the web for Psyllium Husk. Chilean National Day approaching and I am planning to have my share of empanadas as well. No Psyllium at the local "green hypermarket" but I am now placing my bets at the Asian stores up at Patronato. I hope to find both dates and coconut oil it the same place. Another challenge is to locate buckwheat flour, but maybe quinoa flour with rice flour will do this time.
Friday, September 7, 2012
Dental Check and Energy Drinks
We went to the dentist today. Both Kidone and Kidtwo had their biannual check. Nice teeth. No problems. Kidone used to have some issues with her bite, now gone. Very nice. After having read "How to Cure Tooth Decay" I ask myself whether a healthier diet had something to do with it, or whether it was just due to her cheaks getting bigger, as the official statement says.
Well anyway, now I just have to start brushing the teeth right when we get up (before brecky) and then in the evening also let the teeth rest for 30 minutes before brushing. I didn't discuss flour or no flour... felt I did not have enough energy for that debate... and I truly do not know what to think of it....
But I did discuss sugar with the dental nurse. I asked if she knows how the municipality is sabotaging their work on combating sugar to kids. She said yes, she is well aware of it. But she doesn't understand why. Juice, cookies for birthdays, sweet yogurts etc, way too often. she said.
On the way out I grabbed a brochure on energy drinks. Did you know that we Finns waste 100 (!) million euros on energy drinks every year. There are over 30 different brands of energy drinks on the market. Wish I was the sales person of energy drinks... good bonuses to fetch.... or then not... Energy drinks include coloured (!) water, coffein (!), taurin (!), and sweetners. Coffein together with taurin stimulate the central nervous system. Energy drinks can cause irritation, shaking hands , nausea, tenseness, restlessness and anxiety. Yaks! And this stuff has no age limit in Finland! I guess money talks loud and clear here.
This made me remember something I heard on the news a couple of days ago. The Finnish PTA is currently gathering names to create a law initiative to ban energy drinks to kids under 16. This is a campaign worth supporting. After all, we are only 10 years away from that danger!
So please everyone sign the petition. Here are the links:
Hem och skola: energidrycker
Facebook: energiajuomat
Well anyway, now I just have to start brushing the teeth right when we get up (before brecky) and then in the evening also let the teeth rest for 30 minutes before brushing. I didn't discuss flour or no flour... felt I did not have enough energy for that debate... and I truly do not know what to think of it....
But I did discuss sugar with the dental nurse. I asked if she knows how the municipality is sabotaging their work on combating sugar to kids. She said yes, she is well aware of it. But she doesn't understand why. Juice, cookies for birthdays, sweet yogurts etc, way too often. she said.
On the way out I grabbed a brochure on energy drinks. Did you know that we Finns waste 100 (!) million euros on energy drinks every year. There are over 30 different brands of energy drinks on the market. Wish I was the sales person of energy drinks... good bonuses to fetch.... or then not... Energy drinks include coloured (!) water, coffein (!), taurin (!), and sweetners. Coffein together with taurin stimulate the central nervous system. Energy drinks can cause irritation, shaking hands , nausea, tenseness, restlessness and anxiety. Yaks! And this stuff has no age limit in Finland! I guess money talks loud and clear here.
This made me remember something I heard on the news a couple of days ago. The Finnish PTA is currently gathering names to create a law initiative to ban energy drinks to kids under 16. This is a campaign worth supporting. After all, we are only 10 years away from that danger!
So please everyone sign the petition. Here are the links:
Hem och skola: energidrycker
Facebook: energiajuomat
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The dying soul of my hometown
I am on the train heading South. ´Behind me I have a couple of days of beautiful autumn in my childhood town. As always, my senses are open for anything regarding food, health, and ecological living.
We made it through the week with just a little bit of food from the grocery store. Most stuff was based on leftovers from our now empty freezer. Read: Organic spinach and grassfed meat on the bone. These two ingredients combined with some local roots (carrots, potatoes, celery) and eggs made up our dinner and lunch for almost four days (spinach pancakes, spinach soup, beef risotto boiled in bone broth and fortyfied with tumeric power and meat soup). Most food was well received, maybe because our active days out in the parks of this hometown of mine.
We also went to the market place to buy the vegetables and some fresh local apples. The market place is in the VERY city center. It is the soul of this town. If you haven't seen this place after visiting this town, either you are blind or you missed the most essential part of the city. Really, Vaasa, without the square is not Vaasa, nor Vasa (Swedish spelling for the same city) for that matter. Once this quite big square was filled with farmers selling their produce. Particularly at this time of the year you would have seen the square filled with life and fresh vegetables, apples, lingon berries etc. Today, there is one - yes, let me repeat: ONE - local farmer selling her local produce on the market square. And then there are the guys over at the berry stand (strawberries in September - hellou, don't think so!), who are not local, based on their appearance. Note: nothing against immigrants, but this just shows how sad the situation on the market place is... Local farmers have all given in, people go out to buy their food at the big hypermarkets outside town. The only lady left said she'll give it another four years, then she quits. She is done with complaining customers and a 15 hours day shift.
I get really upset when I hear this. I want to shout and scream at the top of the statue of liberty (yes the square has one of those too, just that it refers to the liberty after the civil war...not anything to do with the NYC ditto). People of my dearest hometown - don't let the square die! Invest a few euros extra in showing your support for locally produced foods! Give incentives to those few vegetable farms around the city to go back to the square and sell their stuff directly to you! Encourage the farmers to start selling local eggs, directly to you! Do whatever you can to maintain the soul of Vasa alive!!!
While farmer's markets are living a booming life in the country where hypermarkets were invented, we here in Finland are giving the farmer's markets its last blow by choosing the hypermarket aisles. Do you really have so little time in life that you can't make it to the square? Do you really feel glad when stressing down the aisle of the green hypermarket, queuing with your cars outside, queuing at the cashier inside. Do you really feel good buying those apples from the other side of the world, without a clue of how and with what chemicals they were produced?
I hope the square life will have its revival! I hope you who can do something about it think so too!!!
We made it through the week with just a little bit of food from the grocery store. Most stuff was based on leftovers from our now empty freezer. Read: Organic spinach and grassfed meat on the bone. These two ingredients combined with some local roots (carrots, potatoes, celery) and eggs made up our dinner and lunch for almost four days (spinach pancakes, spinach soup, beef risotto boiled in bone broth and fortyfied with tumeric power and meat soup). Most food was well received, maybe because our active days out in the parks of this hometown of mine.
We also went to the market place to buy the vegetables and some fresh local apples. The market place is in the VERY city center. It is the soul of this town. If you haven't seen this place after visiting this town, either you are blind or you missed the most essential part of the city. Really, Vaasa, without the square is not Vaasa, nor Vasa (Swedish spelling for the same city) for that matter. Once this quite big square was filled with farmers selling their produce. Particularly at this time of the year you would have seen the square filled with life and fresh vegetables, apples, lingon berries etc. Today, there is one - yes, let me repeat: ONE - local farmer selling her local produce on the market square. And then there are the guys over at the berry stand (strawberries in September - hellou, don't think so!), who are not local, based on their appearance. Note: nothing against immigrants, but this just shows how sad the situation on the market place is... Local farmers have all given in, people go out to buy their food at the big hypermarkets outside town. The only lady left said she'll give it another four years, then she quits. She is done with complaining customers and a 15 hours day shift.
I get really upset when I hear this. I want to shout and scream at the top of the statue of liberty (yes the square has one of those too, just that it refers to the liberty after the civil war...not anything to do with the NYC ditto). People of my dearest hometown - don't let the square die! Invest a few euros extra in showing your support for locally produced foods! Give incentives to those few vegetable farms around the city to go back to the square and sell their stuff directly to you! Encourage the farmers to start selling local eggs, directly to you! Do whatever you can to maintain the soul of Vasa alive!!!
While farmer's markets are living a booming life in the country where hypermarkets were invented, we here in Finland are giving the farmer's markets its last blow by choosing the hypermarket aisles. Do you really have so little time in life that you can't make it to the square? Do you really feel glad when stressing down the aisle of the green hypermarket, queuing with your cars outside, queuing at the cashier inside. Do you really feel good buying those apples from the other side of the world, without a clue of how and with what chemicals they were produced?
I hope the square life will have its revival! I hope you who can do something about it think so too!!!
Saturday, September 1, 2012
On air again, regarding sugar!
Important topic that I participated in today's radioshow:
Familjeliv om socker till barn
Don't have much time for blogging now. But what you can see is that those that have not read up on this stuff have a non-problematic "let go" principle, while those who know a little bit about the effects of sugar are all for restricting as much as possible. I personally liked Bitten Johnson's part. She has the facts. Listen to her!
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