A seriously satisfying and inspiring meal...

I found myself in a quaint little town called Carlisle, Pennsylvania, which is the home to Dickinson College; a liberal arts college which has a huge focus on sustainability in terms of both its infrastructure and educational content.   A big contributor to the college's sustainability efforts is their links to Dickinson Farm; a 50 acre organic farm owned and run by Jenn Halpin and Matt Steiman.  Not only do Jenn and Matt run an educational program for many of the students at the college, they have internship and apprenticeship programs and provide extremely high quality produce to the college and students via their very successful CSA program. I was lucky enough to arrange a catch up and overnight stay with Jenn and Matt out at their farm, and also got to meet a bunch of students who volunteer for the 'weed and feed' activity that they hold each Friday.  I'll be uploading a blog about what I discovered during this extremely inspiring and fun catch up...so stay tunned.

I actually arrived the day before our meeting, so I was lucky enough soak up a lil bit of luxury with a night at Carlisle House; a gorgeous little B&B run by husband and wife, Alan and Mary Duxbury (highly recommend this little home away from home, for anyone who finds themselves in Carlisle!) and an absolutely deliciously refreshing meal at an organic restaurant called the Green Room.  Whilst it was very much by chance that I ended up there in the first place, it was such an unexpectedly enjoyable experience on a number of levels, that I wanted to take a moment to share it with everyone.

When I arrived, I was greeted by my waitress for the evening, Kristiana, who turned out to be a student at Dickinson College, in her third year of Environmental Science, with a major focus on food and agriculture.  It was lovely chatting with Kristiana as not only was she very knowledgeable about the composition of the various meals on the menu, she also had a sound knowledge of exactly where all of the ingredients came from around the region. I could tell she was really passionate about people knowing and having confidence in where the food they were serving came from, and she felt proud to be working for The Green Room for this very reason.  As a consumer, it was so comforting to know that what I was eating was not only grown sustainably and organically (so ridiculously health for me!) it was supporting the local economy and environment too.

When I opened the menu I was greeted with a modest but more than adequate list of meal options, all of which made from simple and delicious, locally sourced organic ingredients.  It was so refreshing to see a menu which had been developed based on whatever was in season and whatever the chef was able to access within the local region that week.

I ended up choosing a delicious broccoli and basil soup that had a hint of spice and was so ridiculously tasty, accompanied by two slices of homemade gluten free, grainy bread and locally produced butter (which, can I just say was out of this world... I could genuinely taste the difference).  I accompanied this refreshing meal with a glass of 'green juice'; which was a combination of a variety of fresh greens (whatever was available that week), cucumber, apple and ginger.  I then topped it all off with a slice of their vegan cheesecake; made from mainly pureed cashew nuts (!) with an almond and honey base.  It too was insanely good!

One of the best and most refreshing parts about this meal (aside from the blissful happiness experienced by my taste buds!) were the modest serving sizes.  They were much smaller then I have received anywhere else and I will admit, my instinctive reaction at first was, "hmmmm is that going to be enough". I then stopped to think about my thought process, to realise that I too had become really accustomed to seeing these ridiculously large portions placed in front of me. It turned out, the amount I was served was more than enough to satisfy my hunger and you know what, I found myself eating much slower and savouring and enjoying the delicious meal placed in front of me, instead of thoughtlessly hoeing into it, the way I often find myself eating these days. 

While I enjoyed and savoured this inspiring meal, I thought about what drives me to eat so quickly and unconsciously.  On reflection, I think it's probably because I'm subconsciously thinking if I eat too slowly or stop to savour it, it will give my body time to register that I'm full, and how the hell am I going to get through the massive meal in front of me if I allow that to happen?  It's quite ridiculous, because but in actual fact, giving by body the time to recognise that I'm not hungry anymore is EXACTLY what I should be allowing it to do.  Not only is it my best defense against over eating it also allows for the optimal digestion, extraction and absorption of the nutrients within the meal.

I chatted to Kristiana about this after my meal and she said that portion size is probably the one comment (or complaint) she often has to deal with from people who come to the restaurant.  The crazy thing is though, my guess is that not a single person would leave that restaurant feeling hungry and it just goes to show, that in order for many of us to feel satisfied these days, we must feel 'full' rather than 'comfortable, without a sensation of hunger'.  Sometimes I think instead of asking ourselves "do I feel full" in order to determine if we are hungry anymore, is the wrong question to be asking.  Instead, maybe if we asked ourselves "do I feel hungry anymore", and stop eating when the hunger signals have ceased, we would find ourselves eating more appropriate amounts of food.

Additionally, in the case of dining out, I think our perception of 'value' has shifted from the 'quality' of the food we receive to the 'quantity' of it.   There is no doubt, restaurants have played a significant role in this and I therefore think, they have a key role to play in helping us to revert our sense of 'value' back to quality of the food served; from both nutrient and origin perspectives.

My sense is, however, that I don't think I'm too left field in saying that the habit of eating too much, too quickly is something many of us can attest to.  What is encouraging though, is that it's certainly a mentality we can easily reverse by changing our perspective and perception of 'value' and redefining what is 'normal' about our serving sizes and eating practices.  And I think, this is certainly something restaurants can play a really positive role in helping us re-create this balance for our bodies and our environment.

Interestingly, when I went to bed that night, I slept like a baby and I feel quite sure it was because I'd not eaten past my limits and everything I ate was 'real' and made from natural, wholesome ingredients.  The entire experience was also so inspiring and satisfying that it certainly gave me a wonderful sense of hope, that changing this seemingly warped world off food we are living in right now, could be possible if we rekindle this sense of 'satiety awareness' and encourage restaurants to serve us smaller portions from seasonal and local suppliers (where possible).  By eating this way, we create the demand for the development of a food system that can provide us delicious, locally sourced, seasonal and appropriately sized meals in restaurants... and with the amount we, as a society, eat out, this is a huge piece to the sustainable food system puzzle in my mind.

So following this incredibly satisfying and inspiring meal, I'm certainly going to go out of my way to find places who serve food this way and make sure I support them.  Not only am I also going to eat till I'm satisfied, I'm going to be brave and ask where various components of my meal have come from and if they know under what conditions it's been produced.  This is something I really encourage everyone to do, because whilst we can be sure there will be many a wait person/restaurant who doesn't know this information and will find these requests frustrating and confronting, the more we ask the more they will need to know about and be accountable for, the food they are serving us... and the more comfortable we can feel about the food that's about to enter our bodies!

www.dickinson.edu
www.thecarlislehouse.com
www.blogs.dickinson.edu/farm
www.thegreenroom.us

Organic farming, vegan food, yoga and mediation in Buenos Aires

Whilst in Buenos Aires, I was lucky enough to experience what it is like to live a truly sustainable lifestyle at Eco Yoga Park which is run by a beautiful Hari Krishna community, in a small town approximately 100km outside of Buenos Aires, called General Rodriguez.  For those who don't know, I decided to change my flight to San Francisco, because, for this really unexplainable reason, I just didn't feel like it was the right time to leave BA.  So on a bit of a whim, I changed my flight with a hope (a belief/feeling I had) that an opportunity would present itself to escape the city for a while to allow me the time and the space to reconnect with myself and my food safari across the world. 

I had very loose plans with an idea to travel to Mar Del Plata, a coastal town approximately 5 hours south of Buenos Aires as, although I was keen for a more rural experience, I thought it would still be a lovely place to clear my mind and escape the craziness of BA.  However, the universe had other plans for me, and whilst I travelled to 'Mar Del Plata', it turns out it was the name of the road I stayed on in General Rodriguez.   Instead, I found myself living on a beautiful organic farm, meditating, taking yoga, surviving (or should I say, thriving) on a delicious vegan diet (from a large amount of the farm's produce) and with the space (physically and mentally) to clear my mind and digest all that I have seen and done thus far on my trip.

The journey to the property was as interesting and serendipious as my entire week there, so I thought I might just take a few lines to share...  I left my hostel in Recoleta (downtown BA) and set off on a 4km walk, with my massive back pack and day pack (!) through the bustling streets of BA.  It turned out to be an extremely warm morning so I more than worked up a sweat (and gained some insight into what my journey along the Camino may be like!) and somehow, without a map, I found the enormous, 'Plaza Once' (pronounced 'on-say') and a couple of thousand people all boarding and alighting a couple of hundred different buses!

 

In extremely broken Spanish (and with the help of some very patient people) I somehow found the line for bus 57 and what I can only call, my guardian angel!  The only information I had about how to get to the property; was to jump on bus 57, pay $8 pesos, hop off a La Serenisma (be sure to tell the driver where you want to get off, as it's not an obvious stop) and then walk 500m to a cab company and give them the address to the property... easy right?  Well, turns out, not so much...but the gods were smiling on me:-) As it so happened, the lady who was standing in front of me was going to La Serenisma, and although she could not speak english (nor I spanish), when she understood where I was going, she took me under her wing...and I was so lucky she did!  When I hopped on the bus, I was unable to pay for my ticket with coins (I needed a special transport card), so she paid for me and then when I had to stand the entire way with my big pack on my back (as the bus was so packed), she so very kindly helped me with my other bags.  

50 minutes into the journey, she then signals we have arrived at La Serenisma, which turns out to be a piece of concrete in the middle of a very busy highway!  Here I was looking for some kind of suburb or landmark!  Had she not been there I would never have found it and goodness knows where I may have ended up!  We then were able to jump in the same cab as she lived approximately 10 minutes from the park, and was able to ensure the cab driver knew exactly where to take me (which is off the beaten track to say the least!).  

Other than wanting to highlight the beautiful and comforting serendipity of this entire experience, I really wanted to share this journey, as it's experiences like these (which happen, so often, whilst on your travels), that really re-instill your faith in the goodness of people and the genuine care we hold for the wellbeing of one another.  I was a complete stranger, with whom she could not communicate and she so easily could have given me the cold shoulder or brushed me aside, instead, she went out of her way to make sure I arrived safely.  I have certainly wondered if I would have ever made it to the park on my own, had I not been so lucky to have stood in the line at that time and met her.  Such a wonderful person, whose selflessness has certainly enabled the life changing experiences and realisations I had whilst on the farm... It's a beautiful example of the butterfly effect of random acts of kindness and I certainly hope I too can pay it forward.

So as it turned out, my whim to stay a little longer in Buenos Aires unfolded in ways I could never have imagined.  Not only was I able to gain some incredible insights into food production and preparation, I got to spend some really lovely time getting to know some seriously amazing people from all over the world, who were also volunteering on the farm.  Everyone was extremely interesting, from very different life experiences and had arrived at the park for very different reasons.  Over the course of the week, we all shared really fascinating an enlightening conversations and discovered many things about each other and ourselves.  I must say, I left the park a different person and I am extremely grateful for having met all of you; Johanna, David, Susanna, Andres, Holly and Leina!!  You all rocked my world! hehe

We stayed in a very basic (but comfortable), fire-warmed hut, along with two adorable dogs and a very affectionate cat, all of whom stayed in my room at varying times throughout the week...which I loved just quietly!  It had a small bathroom with 'eco-friendly' toilets (so no water people - just a hole and ash to throw on it) and showers, that had hot water... twice!  Needless to say, my showering activity was less frequent - however, my fellow volleys followed similar showering practices, so I didn't feel too bad about it!

The food that we ate everyday was absolutely phenomenal.  'Variety' was taken to a whole new level as no meal was ever the same and every meal consisted of fresh, whole foods, made from scratch (absolutely everything from scratch), jammed packed with nutrients and taste.  My taste buds had an absolute field day, 4 times a day, every day and I tell you now, my body thanked me for it too! The first few days were obviously detox days, however the 'come down' from my cheese addiction was surprisingly easy. All of the foods were created using simple (however, ridiculously tasty) flavours and I have to say, it was the most satisfying (and motivating) reward for the work you did each day.  

I must say, after the diet consumed in both Venezuela and Buenos Aires, containing meat, cheese, pasta, pizza, empanadas, ice-cream and coffee, I loved this huge influx of vegies and nutrients.  Whilst I LOVED the food in both of these countries, it really has brought home the need for balance and the beneficial role ALL foods play in our diets, when eaten in moderation. But more specifically, the way in which 'access' is such a determinant of our food choices. 

Unless we make the kind of foods that nourish us (and our environment) easily and readily available, physically and economically, we simply cannot expect to see the kind of changes we want (and need) to see around the food choices we are making as a community.  It really doesn't matter about how much you know about food or how motivated you are, as whilst these are both really important ingredients (and certainly go hand in hand), if the right food is not easy to come by, you simply go for what you can get.  So the need to advocate for a food system that has more equitable access to healthy, sustainable and nourishing foods for all people, is certainly a key piece of the food puzzle this contrast has allowed me to discover.  Not too sure if this came to me bent over the carrot patch or when I when I was peeling, cutting or grating vegies for our meals... probably both :-)

It is actually quite an obvious piece to the puzzle, but the solution is incredibly complex. In order to create a food system that is healthier and more equitable, a huge number of changes are required across many levels of our food system. And as it turned out, the opportunity at Eco Yoga Park allowed me to gain my first REAL insight into what it takes to produce food organically and the time and skills required to prepare every meal, every day from scratch.

The farm was approximately 9 HA and grew a large variety of vegetables in a space which is approximately 1 acre.  As it is winter, there were not a huge number of vegetables growing, however there were:  broccoli, various lettuce, spinach, radishes, carrots, cauliflower, silver beet and rocket.  Everything was grown organically and in harmony with the land, so there were no herbicides, no pesticides, no fungicides and no synthetic fertilizers used at any point along the growing process.  So the survival of what is grown, is completely the result of the nutrients mother nature provides, the nutrients we put back into the soil and the care provided by both the volunteers and workers...every day. 

It absolutely poured with rain almost every day we were there, and whilst we were lucky enough to get a day off because it was just too wet and muddy, the garden basically needs to be tended to every day; rain, hale or shine.  Johanna, Susanna and I got to experience our first taste of weeding together and I have to say, if we want to instill a greater value or deeper appreciation of what it takes farmers to produce our food, particularly organically, get a person to weed for half a day!    

It was so challenging and insightful on so many levels, and the physical and mental hurdles you need to push through to keep you bent over the vegetable patch, covered in mud with sore hands and sore backs; ultimately to save these plants from being over run by weeds, is incredible.  I will admit, each day we did it, the easier it became, but it really got me thinking, that this is the reality of food production and the energy and care that goes into ensuring a lettuce or carrot or broccoli floret grows and flourishes is phenomenal... and we simply do not pay enough for it in my opinion.

Organic growing practices also make you acutely aware of the importance of eating seasonally and growing food that is appropriate for the conditions of the landscape.  To produce foods out of season or in inappropriate areas requires a significant amount of inputs; energy, fertilizers, pesticides and water to counteract the natural checks and balances of nature, which means not only is it incredibly detrimental to our health, it's damaging to the biodiversity and integrity of the land and is completely unsustainable (whether we want to admit it or not). 

Another thing that was also highlighted to me, was how obsessed with are with making sure our food looks 'pretty'; all the same size, colour and shape etc.  I have put 'pretty' in quotation marks as, in my mind, this kind of standardised food is not pretty or appealing. In fact eating the food in whatever shape or size mother nature has chosen to provide us, is so much more deliciously appealing to me; aesthetically, nutritionally  and tastefully.  The food picked on the farm was ALL shapes, sizes and colours and I cannot begin to tell you how delicious it all was.  Not standardised on any level but completely perfect.  There has very much been a perception of 'quality' developed around standardised food, but the truth is, a lot of this food could not be further from 'quality' because of the unnecessary (and unhealthy) inputs required to produce it in this way and the subsequent waste that is generated from throwing away the 'less than perfect' rejects.  Give me a curly capsicum or a beautiful bumpy carrot any day!

I can't help but think if we all got over our obsession with standardised perfection and 'abundance' all day, every day and the 'whenever we want it we can have it' mentality, it would certainly be the first key step in changing the way our food system operates. Because, the reality is, eating this way is simply not sustainable and we simply won't be able to eat like this in the future because our finite plant (and the finite resources needed to produce food like this) will simply not exist.

There is no question, really, that food produced with little or no chemicals from seeds that mother nature so selflessly provides us year after year, is certainly better for us and our environemnt.  Her system is completely and utterly perfect and I think we are kidding ourselves if we think we can change or control it; she will simply just rear her strength in other ways... far beyond our control or comprehension.

So as you can see, many insights gained and thoughts generated during my time at the Park.   Although it was sometimes quite tiring, our days were so refreshingly simple and organised, that it really gave me the space, physically and mentally, to clear and detox my mind (and body). I certainly feel I left a somewhat changed person (for the better) and I am so very grateful for the wonderful new friendships I gained. It was certainly an experience I will remember and be extremely thankful for the years to come.

www.ecoyogapark.com.ar