Favourite Staple Foods

[Geof Nanto]

Rather than special foods, what are your staples?

 

One of my favourites has to be sourdough bread. I’ve been eating it for almost 30 years and it still feels like a treat.  I make it myself from scratch. I buy biodynamic wheat in 20kg bags from a local grower and grind it into flour as needed with a small stone-mill. I make a fresh loaf every 4 or 5 days or so. The bread keeps well.  Sometimes I add about 20% of another grain ground into flour such as rye, brown rice, or barely, but mostly I just stick with plain wheat. I keep a starter going of fermented wheat flour, mix it into the dough as needed, knead the dough for a few minutes, leave it to rise in a warm place for about 6 to 8 hours. And then bake it for about an hour.  That’s it. Easy and delicious!

[Marblehead]

Peanut butter.

[wilfred]

eggs, avocado

[Marblehead]

eggs, avocado

Add some ham and you would have a great omelet.

.

[Aetherous]

Sweet potato has proven very useful. Just poke holes in it, put it in the oven at 425 for an hour, then shut the oven off, and take out after a while...so easy.

I make sure to have staples from each macronutrient category, for each meal (so that it's filling)...

 

carbs: sweet potato, homemade whole wheat bread, and homemade cream of whole wheat

proteins: eggs, tuna+mayo, shrimp, cod, beef, cottage cheese, paneer

fats: butter, olive oil

sides and snacks: salad greens, kalamata olives, raspberries or other fruits that look good

A few meal examples:

1) have salad greens with olive oil and a tiny bit of lemon juice on top, kalamatas on the side...baked sweet potato with a dab of butter, and shrimp fried up with lemon juice, brown sugar, black pepper and salt.

2) mix up tuna and mayo, put it on a piece or two of the whole wheat toast, salt and pepper on top...some olives on the side

3) in the morning I could have a small bowl of homemade cream of wheat that's been soaked in water 12 hours before cooking with some milk and butter, flavor it with a small amount of brown sugar...also medium boil 3 eggs.

I'm new to the whole staple thing, being someone who has tended to eat at restaurants or have frozen pizza primarily for years. For a person like me, it's important to have staples that are easy and filling while being reliably healthy. The next step is making them more palatable, to compete with the great tasting restaurant food...if food isn't really palatable, then is it truly healthy for us? These current staple foods and meals don't even compare to eating out, but they save money and are at least generally whole foods without a bunch of other stuff in them.

[leth]

Legumes of many kinds, root vegetables, rice.

[vonkrankenhaus]

"Food" is the environment.

 

Modern fake culture teaches to see foods as items and products, but this view will not produce understanding.

 

It will produce people looking for items and products - "consumers".

 

Are we "consuming" the environment, or is the environment producing us?

 

There are parts of the environment that we all intake - light, heat, cosmic rays, etc.

 

Then we can see more specific as we look in various areas.

 

Local air, local water, local emergence and continuation of life such as plants and animals.

 

Today not much of this is related to real environments. It is abstracted away from Nature.

 

And so are most choices about what to eat.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[Geof Nanto]

"Food" is the environment.

 

Modern fake culture teaches to see foods as items and products, but this view will not produce understanding.

 

It will produce people looking for items and products - "consumers".

 

Are we "consuming" the environment, or is the environment producing us?

 

There are parts of the environment that we all intake - light, heat, cosmic rays, etc.

 

Then we can see more specific as we look in various areas.

 

Local air, local water, local emergence and continuation of life such as plants and animals.

 

Today not much of this is related to real environments. It is abstracted away from Nature.

 

And so are most choices about what to eat.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

 

Your comment on our alienation from nature as food reminded me of this passage from D H Lawrence's The Fox.....

 

When you really go out to get a deer, you gather yourself together, you coil yourself inside yourself, and you advance secretly, before dawn, into the mountains.  It is not so much what you do, when you go out hunting, as how you feel.  You have to be subtle and cunning and absolutely fatally ready.  It becomes like a fate.  Your own fate overtakes and determines the fate of the deer you are hunting.  First of all, even before you come in sight of your quarry, there is a strange battle, like mesmerism.  Your own soul, as a hunter, has gone out to fasten on the soul of the deer, even before you see any deer.  And the soul of the deer fights to escape.  Even before the deer has any wind of you, it is so.  It is a subtle, profound battle of wills which takes place in the invisible.  And it is a battle never finished till your bullet goes home.  When you are REALLY worked up to the true pitch, and you come at last into range, you don't then aim as you do when you are firing at a bottle.  It is your own WILL which carries the bullet into the heart of your quarry.  The bullet's flight home is a sheer projection of your own fate into the fate of the deer.  It happens like a supreme wish, a supreme act of volition, not as a dodge of cleverness.   

Edited September 7, 2015 by Yueya

[Geof Nanto]

Legumes of many kinds, root vegetables, rice.

 

Yes, I like all these too. My regular legumes are pinto beans and black turtle beans (during cold weather); black-eyed beans and French Puy lentils (milder weather); yellow split peas and green lentils (hot weather). 

[leth]

Yes, I like all these too. My regular legumes are pinto beans and black turtle beans (during cold weather); black-eyed beans and French Puy lentils (milder weather); yellow split peas and green lentils (hot weather). 

 

I guess my favourite legumes are: french puy lentils, beluga lentils, mung beans and chickpeas & green peas. But I eat other kinds aswell. You can do so much with them. One thing I haven't tried yet but what to try is to make tofu out of chickpeas instead of soy, I found a recipy on the internet. Tofu is also nice, if we count that. And considering that I would have to count soy as a favourite in a sense aswell I eat a lot of Soy.

Edited September 8, 2015 by leth

[Golden Dragon Shining]

 

Buckwheat!

Edited September 19, 2015 by Sionnach

[bamboo]

Green juice!!

 

Lemon ginger blast ala Lou Corona. This is probably the single best thing I consume in a day. Mine is comprised of cucumber, celery, spinach, apple, lemon and ginger. Nutritional powerhouse, hit's the stomach and goes straight into the blood with very little work on the part of the digestion. Green blood transfusion

 

Whoops forgot this was meant to be "Staples". Well it's a staple for me 

Edited September 23, 2015 by bamboo

[vonkrankenhaus]

Re:

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"Mine is comprised of cucumber, celery, spinach, apple, lemon and ginger.,,,"

-----

 

You might try swapping out the spinach. It's fairly high in oxalates, and with the citrus, and especially if it is raw, excess of this may produce calcium oxalate in your body. This is what kidney stones are made of.

 

To me, the cucumber and apple are somewhat contradictory energetics. These have similar structure, seed arrangement, and growing pattern - but one is on tree and the other is on ground vine (like tiny temporary version of a tree).

 

I find that intake of small conflicts like this, over some time, can cause things like hardness in tissues (like kidney stone, etc), mental confusions, hormone and temperature fluctuations, etc.

 

But main thing is caution to anyone using oxalate-rich greens (spinach, kale, etc) raw in "smoothies" about the possibility of stone formation. Eapecially people with some calcium issues like low D3 and calcium from lack of sun exposure.

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[Geof Nanto]

I also have reservations about smoothies. I hesitate to express them though because I support anyone who puts thought and effort into their diet. Considering how much junk food the average person consumes, it can be a tad hypercritical to dwell too much on the finer points of relatively healthy food choices. I'm also wary of creating unwarranted fear of foods that have formed a part of traditional diets over long periods of time.

 

That said, my basic problem with smoothies is exactly that they allow the consummation of massive amounts of fruits and vegetables in one concentrated drink, with very little work on the part of the digestion. To my mind it's important to eat foods as staples that need chewing and require our bodies to do the normal work of digestion. Just like the rest of our bodies, our digestive system needs to do appropriate amounts of work to stay healthy.

 

And do we need massive amounts of nutrients in concentrated forms on a regular basis? That's never been a part of traditional diets. Just because a small amount of something is good doesn't mean a larger amount is better, in fact usually quite the contrary. Sure, I can see benefits in appropriate circumstances, but the overconsumption of such foods creates the potential for many problems of which the specific types that VonKrankenhaus outlines above are but a few. 

Edited September 24, 2015 by Yueya

[leth]

You might try swapping out the spinach. It's fairly high in oxalates, and with the citrus, and especially if it is raw, excess of this may produce calcium oxalate in your body. This is what kidney stones are made of.

 

This is not really scientifically proven, it has for instance been shown that black tea (which is high in oxalate) actually decreases the chances of calcium oxalate kidney stones. Furthermore even though one eats nutrient with high content of oxalate it will only make up for a small amount of oxalate in the body there is usualy quite a lot of oxalte in the body (naturaly). But yes, oxalate is poisonous in high amounts but in general one doesn't have to fear this unless one has a medical condition which requires a low oxalate diet.

 

But main thing is caution to anyone using oxalate-rich greens (spinach, kale, etc) raw in "smoothies" about the possibility of stone formation. Eapecially people with some calcium issues like low D3 and calcium from lack of sun exposure.

 

The funny thing about spinach is that it contains a lot of calcium aswell, but it's not bioative, probable because of the oxalte but that is unclear. Kale on the other hand is rather low on oxalate and has much calcium, it's a good source for calcium.

[bamboo]

Sorry, I didn't mean to start a raw food war on the thread. I do not have green juice everyday but I do try to get in 3-4 a week - after consuming it my energy levels go through the roof and I feel like I could wrestle tigers

[leth]

Sorry, I didn't mean to start a raw food war on the thread. I do not have green juice everyday but I do try to get in 3-4 a week - after consuming it my energy levels go through the roof and I feel like I could wrestle tigers

 

Me neither, just wanted to get the facts right.

 

Raw food is good, but not in excess as with everything. The idea of eating very much fruit and superfood is not a good idea in general in my view. They are very high in many micronutrients and that is a reason in itself to avoid eating them in excess, many micronutrients are dangerous to get too much of. A lot of people don't realise this.

 

As an example: Antioxidants are very popular now but it's actualy very dangerous to have to much antioxidants in your bloodstream. Yes you do need them there but they occour naturally if we eat proper food, and it's actually unclear if intake of them in your food actually does any good for you. It might be very good for you on a theorethical level considering that they can reduce oxidative stress, but not when taken in excess. Oxidative stress is of very dangerous for us, but we don't fully understand the process and how antioxidants interact in the body is not fully understood either, even though they should to a certain degree reduce free radicals we also know the some antioxidants can also act as pro-oxidants. Not to mention that some are known to be poisnous. And besides that oxidation is an important part of some biochemical processes and as such we actually need free radicals, so even on a theoretical level antioxidants are protentially dangeours if taken in excess (besides being poisonous and sometimes pro-oxidative)

[WIldCat]

White rice. I know this sounds played out and so plain but I can eat it all the time. I make it so many different ways. I love it with any meat, any vegetable, I even eat it with apple sauce! I find that it is one of the best staples to have because it is so versatile. I am not big on bread and don't like pasta all the time so it works for me.

[Geof Nanto]

I like white rice too and eat it with one meal most every day. In colder weather I prefer medium grain rice; when it's hot I go for Basmati or, very occasionally, Jasmine rice. Years ago I would only eat organic brown rice because of its superior nutritional profile, but these days organic white rice is what I chose. 

[vonkrankenhaus]

Re:

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"But yes, oxalate is poisonous in high amounts but in general one doesn't have to fear this unless one has a medical condition which requires a low oxalate diet."

-----

 

One major condition that predisposes people to develop kidney stones is dehydration.

 

Another is chronic low-calcium, such as osteomalacia (very common in north areas).

 

These both disturb calcium handling and release too much calcium into circulation, which can then redeposit in the kidneys, react with other compounds, and be repeatedly contracted into a solid mass by cycles of dehydration.

 

Chronic, low-level dehydration is actually very common for people living in heated and air conditioned homes and workplaces.

 

Most common type of kidney stone is formed from calcium oxalate. Green vegetable "smoothies" can be an excellent source of oxalates.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[leth]

Green vegetable "smoothies" can be an excellent source of oxalates.

 

I've never heard of anyone getting oxalate poisoning from smoothies, black tea is most likely more dangerous in that sense and you have to drink a lot of tea to get oxalate poisoning.

 

I doubt that drinking one big smothie a day would matter much unless you have any form of medical condition.

 

And i also doubt people put only green vegetables that are high in oxalte in their smothies.

[vonkrankenhaus]

Re:

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"And i also doubt people put only green vegetables that are high in oxalte in their smothies."

-----

 

Well, that's the thing, because they are.

 

Not the only ingredient, but the only greens most people end up using.

 

I encourage everyone to prove their own beliefs and doubts for themselves though.

 

I myself have known many raw green vegetable/fruit jiucing/smoothie faddists, going back to the 1960's

 

The proof is in the kidneys, and over time.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus

[leth]

The proof is in the kidneys, and over time.

 

Are there anty studies that supports this claim?

[Spotless]

In reading this I have been reminded of many of my favorite staples - mung beans, bulgar - I have not even though about these for a long time and used to live on these things!

 

Currently I enjoy Tabuoli quite a bit and humus has returned to a high point again.

 

I like dipping with a leathery heated organic non-gmo tortilla.

 

Sweet potatoes are good inside a rolled tortilla with a bit of mushroom or a slice of bell pepper- any pepper.

 

Kale salads with edemame and a green dressing - not so fond of kale but like the chewing and also liking kale more - it keeps well.

 

Sliced Apple, dried Mango, almonds - I also like to freeze fruit juice and have a small bowl of juice cubes.

 

I love coffee but I am also discovering tea - currently enjoying smooth full bodied lychee tea - while lemon grass varieties are a staple and jasmine flower. Tea can be "discovered" for a great many lifetimes. From Yak Butter tea in Tibet to a cup with my master - it may take a bit to find yourself in the subtle somewhat timid teas but once you find your pallete in these it is really something.

Edited October 12, 2015 by Spotless

[vonkrankenhaus]

Re:

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"Are there anty studies that supports this claim?"

-----

 

It's not studies that have shown me this.

 

It's people with hard calcium oxalate crystals that eventually come out of their kidneys.

 

That's what I saw over a period of about 45-50 yrs.

 

It's not usually normal healthy people who take up "health foods", so many of the "smoothie" people are pumping calcium around their bodies in the wrong way from chronic lack of sunlight when they start flooding the system with oxalates from raw greens mixed with fruit solvents (or even sugar & chemicals from modern food products).

 

But not all people.

 

Some people get plenty of sunshine and good water, lead active lives, and some even eat somewhat modestly.

 

They seem less likely to develop issues, unless they grabbing a fad and overdose on it.

 

Everyone is, of course, free to make their own observations, or to believe studies, or just do whatever they like.

 

 

 

-VonKrankenhaus