Ari tries to eat well and maintain herself well. To this end, she works on her own eating/cooking habits from the point of view of Dr. Barry Sears' Zone (tm). That's explicitly NOT to say that Ari is a fanatic about this. Common sense is the biggest factor here. Ari doesn't just adhere to this "diet" (it's a way of life, if it's not something you intend to to for the rest of your life you'll never maintain it, seriously), she exercises often (and hard), and she makes time for things other than work. All these things combined have yielded a stronger, happier, healthier Ari who doesn't get sick very often and battles off illness well when it does occur. This makes it worthwhile, in Ari's opinion. This has nothing to do with living LONGER, per se. Given Ari's tendencies towards dangerous pastimes (living, let's say), there's not necessarily any promise Ari will live long enough to know if this philosophy extended her life at all. In the meantime, however, she intends to get the most out of it, and being healthy is one step in that direction.
Ari also often eats alone. You'll see that many of these recipes are for small portions. They've almost always been created by taking an idea, sizing it down appropriately, and then modifying it to suit. As such, they should scale reasonably well back up to "normal" proportions.
Tea with Vanilla
Ari tries not to sweeten her tea much. To this end, she's stolen an idea shamelessly from a friend. Brew good Earl Grey or Darjeeling (or other black tea, though be careful with the flavours) and just before drinking, add a capful (probably about 1/4-1/2 tsp) of vanilla extract direcly to the tea. This can save a slighly overbrewed tea, or an Earl Grey with too much Bergamot in the mix. This tea goes nicely with a breakfast of Cottage Cheese Cakes.
Ari's Small Batch Cottage Cheese (Zone-Aware) Pancakes
Ingredients:
(NOTE: Now is the time, if you need to, to heat a plate in the oven at 200 F to store cakes on while cooking others. I always do this, but you're not required to. Baking the cakes a little bit in the warm oven dries out their centers slightly, but you might like that.)
Lightly grease your griddle/frying pan and heat it to medium heat (4-5 on a
scale of 1-10, with 1 being low). When the pan is warm, use that 1/4 cup
measure you still have around to scoop up the batter and drop onto the griddle.
(Don't crowd the cakes! You have to turn them over gently, and if
they're crowded your life will be difficult. Keep them warm in the oven
and make multiple batches if need be.)
Each cake will take longer than a normal pancake to cook (per side), so
make sure you give them time to firm up before turning them. They should be
a nice golden color with darker spots before you turn them. Using a good-
sized spatula, turn the cakes, and cook a similar amount of time on the
opposite side.
This recipe was sized down from a larger one (and modified), so feel free to scale it as necessary. The more you make, the more you'll need that warm plate in the oven, since these take a little while to cook.
Serving Suggestions:
Ari likes hers with honey or fruit spread (100% fruit, no sugar added). She thinks pure maple syrup is a bit too sugary for the cakes, but feel free to try it. Other possible suggestions are real fruit, vanilla yogurt, or some kind of creamy thing like lowfat sour cream.
Result:
These are not light, fluffy pancakes. They're quite dense (that is CHEESE
in the middle, you know), and they have moist centers (again, that cheese
stuff is what is really coming in to play here, along with the lack of lots
of dry ingredients). The exterior of the cakes is crisp if you cooked them
enough. If you store cakes in the oven whilst cooking more, the ones in the
oven will be drier in the middle than the ones fresh off the stove. You might
find you prefer this. The curds can be dried more to eliminate some moisture,
but it means starting ahead, and having cheesecloth handy. You need to strain
the curds for 1/2-1 hour through a few layers of cheesecloth. Ari is lazy,
and likes hers just fine without this step.
Overall? Quite edible, low in processed carbohydrates (and oat flour is pretty
nice stuff compared to white flour). Warm on a cold fall morning, which
is when I made these up. Density means I'll not be hungry for a while either.
Total result: 4 cakes made from ~1/4 cup of batter each. 3 is plenty for an Ari, you may wish to pad the recipe if you need more than 4.
Oat Pancake Batter to Store in the Frige:
This batter stores well in the fridge, so you can make yourself morning pancakes for a few days withough having to mix new batter. Make on Sunday, have pancakes mid-week and thank yourself for having been smart!
Ingredients:
Serving Suggestions:
Treat as you would normal pancakes. Syrups, honey, jams/fruit spreads, applesauce, fresh fruit slices/pieces are all appropriate.
Result:
Somewhat fluffy, but denser overall due to the oatmeal. Make sure to use the stone ground/ground oatmeals (ex: Bob's Red Mill Scottish Oatmeal). These are not the flat, disc-like oats that come in packets to add to hot water. This is a ground meal made of oats, more akin in texture to cornmeal or small seeds. Reasonably good for you and protein-rich due to the oat/soy flour, egg whites, oats, and whole wheat flour base. Using applesauce to help with the fat content will naturally reduce it. Lowfat milk also has a good fat/protein ratio.
This recipe yields about a dozen ~1/4 cup sized cakes.
Lunch/Dinner Recipes
Meat ideas:
Take 30 minutes to an hour of spare time and create meat-in-marinade packets for yourself. This has recently become something stores sell, and it's both cheaper and more fun to make up marinades yourself. Take zip-close plastic bags and drop in one meal's worth of meat, plus marinade. This works best with whole meats as opposed to ground ones, obviously, though it is possible to do ground meats in marinade, it just means that if you don't want your meat crumbled (ie, you want marinated hamburger patties) you need to be cautious with the storage. I like to use meats that have been cut into strips, as this allows more marinade to soak in and I like the flavor that way. You can always marinate big pieces of meat, however, and as long as you can zip the bags closed they are pretty safe from leakage.
Now, on to the ideas:
For fowl or rabbit:
-lemon juice and rosemary
-orange juice and herbs de provence (thyme, lavendar, sage, rosemary)
-balsamic vinegar (only marinate this overnight!)
-white balsamic vinegar (find at specialty stores. EXCELLENT)
-other flavored vinegars (wine vinegar with garlic or rosemary, say)
-sherry or other wine (with wines and vinegars you shouldn't marinate TOO long)
-flavored broth of some kind (try marinating chicken in mushroom broth -- you
can find it at specialty stores -- and then saute' it with garlic and
butter and saute' some mushrooms, and throw it all together over
cooked barley. *yum!*)
-italian dressing from a bottle, or other non-cream/milk based dressings
-soy sauce and garlic (don't marinate for too long!)
-teriyaki sauce (I like Soy Vey's Teriyaki)
For beef or more strongly flavored meats:
-soy sauce, and garlic
-teriyaki sauce (I like Soy Vey's Teriyaki myself)
-vinegars, especially balsamic vinegar with some garlic
-italian dressing from a bottle
-flavored broths, particularly strongly flavored ones like garlic
-acidic fruit juices, especially if you marinate it for a few days
-tomato or other acidic pastes. For really flavorful pasta sauce, try
cooking the crumbled meat first (with some salt, pepper, and other
spices you like), then add it to pasta sauce and let it sit
overnight. THIS is why leftover pasta sauce tastes so good!
(The traditional approach is to simmer it for hours, which is
wonderful, but who has time for that!)
Vegetarian Ideas:
Baked Tofu:
Take firm or extra firm tofu (I prefer organic tofu that has a lot of texture for this, though silken tofu also works), and cut it into bite-sized cubes. Lay these out in a baking dish, and pour over them a marinade mixture. Bake until firm with a chewy outside that has a bit of a "crust" to it. I usually bake at 325-350 F for about 15-20 minutes per side, and I flip them over once, so that you get about 30-40 minutes of cooktime total.
Marinades:
My favorite: soy sauce, sesame oil (just a bit), garlic, and ginger (optional)
-white balsamic vinegar, herbs, and olive oil (just a bit)
-juices with herbs
-broths
Remember that tofu has very little flavor naturally, so it will absorb whatever
flavor you give it. It's easy to make something overpoweringly strong, so
use just enough marinade to make a layer in the bottom of your pan, and then
reserve a little bit for adding when you flip the tofu cubes over if need be.
White Beans with Peppers Tapas:
Ingredients:
1 can cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 red bell pepper, and 1/2 a green bell pepper, in small cubes
2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1-2 cloves of minced garlic, or 1 tsp. of garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
saute garlic in olive oil for a *really* short period of time, just enough to take the edge off the flavor. then toss beans, peppers, garlic-oil mix in a bowl, and add salt and pepper to taste. This recipe serves well, and saves well for a few days, so it's ok to have leftovers.
If you liked these experimental recipes, send email to Ari at: