11 hard to get in nairobi foods you should be eating

NY Times posted the “11 best foods you aren’t eating” back in the summer and it was actually one of the most viewed stories of 2008. Wow. I am impressed that people take such an interest in food. Here are the foods of which most are not so easy to find here in nairobi…

1. Beets: Think of beets as red spinach, Dr. Bowden said, because they are a rich source of folate as well as natural red pigments that may be cancer fighters.
   How to eat: Fresh, raw and grated to make a salad. Heating decreases the antioxidant power.
2. Cabbage: Loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes.
   How to eat: Asian-style slaw or as a crunchy topping on burgers and sandwiches.
3. Swiss chard: A leafy green vegetable packed with carotenoids that protect aging eyes.
   How to eat it: Chop and saute in olive oil.
4. Cinnamon: May help control blood sugar and cholesterol.
   How to eat it: Sprinkle on coffee or oatmeal.
5. Pomegranate juice: Appears to lower blood pressure and loaded with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Just drink it.
6. Dried plums: Okay, so they are really prunes, but they are packed with antioxidants.
   How to eat: Wrapped in prosciutto and baked.
7. Pumpkin seeds: The most nutritious part of the pumpkin and packed with magnesium; high levels of the mineral are associated with lower risk for early death.
   How to eat: Roasted as a snack, or sprinkled on salad.
8. Sardines: Dr. Bowden calls them “health food in a can.” They are high in omega-3’s, contain virtually no mercury and are loaded with calcium. They also contain iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper and manganese as well as a full complement of B vitamins.
   How to eat: Choose sardines packed in olive or sardine oil. Eat plain, mixed with salad, on toast, or mashed with dijon mustard and onions as a spread.
9. Turmeric: The “superstar of spices,” it may have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
   How to eat: Mix with scrambled eggs or in any vegetable dish.
10. Frozen blueberries: Even though freezing can degrade some of the nutrients in fruits and vegetables, frozen blueberries are available year-round and don’t spoil; associated with better memory in animal studies.
    How to eat: Blended with yogurt or chocolate soy milk and sprinkled with crushed almonds.
11. Canned pumpkin: A low-calorie vegetable that is high in fiber and immune-stimulating vitamin A; fills you up on very few calories.
    How to eat: Mix with a little butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

Snacks and glints

Two interesting NYT articles about the basics of scientific cooking and what to keep or throw out in kitchen by Bittman. I love the dash of science article – because cooking is all one big experiment. The bittman piece is great because it simply says, use fresh ingredients.

At the Stove, a Dash of Science, a Pinch of Folklore

Fresh Start for a New Year? Let’s Begin in the Kitchen

Tom Yummy in Thailand

My apologies for the long haitus, but we have been eating our way through Thailand for the past two weeks. I don’t think I have to say that Thailand has a plethora of food awesomeness and diversity. You know when you are eating Thai food, not just because of the beads of sweat that come rolling down your head from the hot chilis added to just about everything, but the unique flavors and ingredients that can only be classified as Thai.

lots of chilies

Supposedly the secret to Thai food is the balancing of the five fundamental flavors of hot, sour, sweet, bitter and salty. They like to use strong and salty fish sauce, kaffir lime leaves, Thai basil, ginger, cilantro, curry powder, lemongrass, limes and large amounts of chilis.

essential thai ingredients

I remember the first time I had Thai food was in Tucson during my undergraduate years. It was truly an awakening experience and no matter how you slice it or dice it, Thai food is unique. Everyone says that you don’t know a cuisine until you have traveled to the country of origin, like Indian or Vietnamese food. But I must say, there are some restaurants in the United States that have gotten Thai food right. Maybe the spices have been simmered down to an acceptable gringo level, but overall, the flavors are there in the basic popular dishes. The green and red curries and pad thai, even in Thailand, were excellent but didn’t taste all that different to what you get in the U.S.

pad thai on banana leaf

The green curry, made with green chilies and is considered one of the hottest curries, was never hot. Not in Thailand. Not in the U.S. I just don’t get it. One thing I have not seen anywhere in the U.S. that was added to a lot of the dishes in Thailand are fresh peppercorns.

peppercorns and shrooms

One of my favorites, and still after traveling to Thailand, remains a favorite, is Tom Yam Goong or in Thai, ต้มยำ a hot & sour soup with shrimp. Yum. Everywhere we went in Thailand, it was always a little bit different, more spicy sometimes (like at some random bar in a small city north of Bangkok) or more mushroomy in other places. But, tom yam goong, in my opinion, encompasses all the flavors of Thai cuisine. Their fried whole fish with chilies is also so delicious, everywhere we went, especially the coast.

fish and chilies

The Thai also lean towards the exotic. Derek tried a few interesting “snacks” like giant water bugs and grubs, and also frogs. Most of these are prepared by deep-frying them and are often fermented in fish paste and smothered with chilies.

derek eating giant water bugs

Speaking of deep frying, although most Thai are thin, there seems to be an increased amount of individuals who are overweight. You can see more overweight children in Bangkok. I also noticed that everywhere you look, on the street carts or in the food stalls, there is a plethora of fried foods being sold, and sugary drinks.  Even their Thai iced coffees have a heaping mound of whip cream on them.

1/2 thai iced coffee, 1/2 whipped cream

Fried chicken, fried fish balls, fried pork rinds (the favorite) fried bugs etc etc. Also, lots of american-type junk food everywhere – lays potato chips, cheetos, and candy in brightly colored packaging. But fried food here is king.

pork rinds on a cart

Other interesting things about Thai cuisine and food habitation:

• For breakfast, they eat their own version of Vietnamese Pho, called Khao Tom, basically a soup with chicken or pork, with the leftover rice from the night before added to the broth. Often quite salty, and not nearly as fresh as pho, it is still tasty.
• They don’t use chopsticks there. Only a fork and a spoon. Interesting.
• Thai’s like whiskey and singha beer, what they call “sing”. When you order whiskey in a bar, they bring you a whole bottle, with a bucket of ice and some soda waters. Not good. But they do like Johnnie Walker, as do the Irish visiting Thailand…another story…
• Their wide rice noodles, usually made in a gravy with meat and some veggies are very mushy (called Rad na)
• They like eating morning glory (or kale like leafy greens) in oyster sauce. I liked it.
• They often give you extra salty fish sauce on the side. Not like you need to add more salt to the food…

Popkin’s View of the World. And it is fat.

Barry Popkin, one of the world’s experts on obesity and the “nutriiton transition”, and a Professor of Nutrition at the University of NC Chapel Hill, has just come out with a book called ‘The World is Fat’. I have yet to read the book but I have read many of his publications and articles. Popkin is known for bringing to light some scary realities about how obese we as a society have become – with 1.3 billion at least overweight – and the impact of obesity on our health and economic systems. Yikes. The Population Reference Bureau interviewed him here and there are some good slides that accompany his views.

Popkin describes the nutrition transition as follows:

“Large shifts have occurred in dietary and physical activity and inactivity patterns. These changes are reflected in nutritional outcomes, such as changes in average stature and body composition. Modern societies seem to be converging on a pattern of diet high in saturated fat, sugar, and refined foods and low in fiber – often termed the “Western diet.” Many see this dietary pattern to be associated with high levels of chronic and degenerative diseases and with reduced disability-free time.”

What are we going to do as a society to tackle this ever increasing prevalence of obesity? Ban softdrinks? Tax food? Whatever we do, we are in for the long haul in paying for huge medical bills of the many who will suffer from the repercussions of obesity – heart disease, diabetes, stroke and all the rest.