Why We Eat What We Eat
As a cooking teacher, who regularly meets people through my cooking classes, here on the sunshine coast, I get to see what a cross-section of society likes to eat and feels comfortable with on their plate. It is interesting to observe shared traits amongst the groups of people, who pass through my cooking school, and it gets me thinking about the whys and why nots. I wonder why most of us tend to eat from a similarly small selection of meals, despite the fact that we now have available in our supermarkets a far greater choice of ingredients than ever before. I think about what food represents, in terms of its psychological ramifications within our lives, and whether these settings can be adjusted.
It seems to me that many of us retain attitudes towards foods, which were garnered in the family home when we were children; and that the apple generally falls close to the tree. If mum and dad liked certain foods and cooked these foods more often, then for many people these influences remain strong throughout their adult lives. A bit like the children, who upon leaving the nest, build their own homes in the same street, suburb or town as mum and dad, keeping extended family close. Food like shelter is a primal need and is intimately tied up with our notion of emotional security.
As we expand the concept of family outwards and it becomes our cultural heritage, food choices again are inextricably linked to our regional and national identities. Here in Australia we can celebrate the rich diversity of our many multicultural strands and this happens most often through experiencing the foods and culinary dishes of these transplanted cultures, like Italian, Thai and Chinese foods – made available by the restaurants and takeaways, which have been created by the sons and daughters of foreign shores.
We are enriched by experience when we allow ourselves to move beyond the close confines of who and what we think we are. Just as our human species is strengthened biologically when we mate and breed outside of those whom we call our own. The cross fertilisation of genes, ideas and even recipes can make us all healthier, smarter and our lives definitely tastier. Our predominantly Anglo-Saxon backgrounds, have unfortunately, cursed many of us somewhat with limited culinary antecedents and if we do not break out of these restrictive walls, then we are condemned to eat poorly and to miss out on the more sublime flavours that life has to offer.
What and how we cook is often a bit like how we make love, we learn from experience a few things and then tend to groove these moves; somewhat unchangingly. Primal activities are a bit like that, not something that we muck about with too much, and what and how we eat falls into this category. We eat to refuel, to derive energy and sustenance from food, but eating is also a profoundly sensual activity. The nerve endings and taste buds inside our mouths feel every morsel as it slides about, and we experience our food in full technicolour, sensorama – if we are lucky enough to be in touch with our full five senses of taste, smell, sound, sight and feel.
So eating is a very personal activity, it is close to who we are, and yet we often eat in public, unlike other intimate activities like sex and going to the toilet. This sharing of the eating experience in communal structures, like cafes, restaurants and workplaces is a ritualised cultural activity. We bring our own mores, likes and dislikes, to this public performance of consumption. I am always reminded of the recounted experience of migrant children in the Australian school yard at lunchtime, as the contents of their lunch boxes were reviled by the Anglo kids because of their peculiar differences. As children we often fear what is not customary and uniform, and unfortunately many of us remain in this childish state, particularly around our foods and what we consider acceptable.
When people form intimate relationships, like marriage and close friendships, they are often confronted with the need to move beyond their culinary comfort zone in a bid to cement the stability of their relationship. The desire to share tastes and flavours is sometimes paramount to couples and their ongoing sense of emotional security. I regularly hear about the compromises being made by one partner or the other, and the effect that the changes to their diets has upon them, both positively and negatively. In fact this can be a major motivating impetus in getting people to come along to my cooking classes. A bit like going into relationship counselling I suppose, with both parties hoping that the inspirational influence of a neutral teacher may magically impart some shift in the culinary status quo of their relationship; and it sometimes does.
Seafood is a commonly held culinary ‘no go zone’, among many of the people who attend my classes. I hear again and again the refrain, “Oh I didn’t know that seafood could taste this way!” Whether they had an unfortunate early experience with a bad cook or perhaps have actually never tried the said example of fish or shellfish, due to the fact that mum or dad likewise had avoided the experience and did not cook these critters at home, the fear based result was the same. We often work out who we are by declaring the things we know that we dislike, “Oh I don’t eat fish, or oysters, or mussels.” I may have made this decision when I was 6 years old but I unquestioningly stand by it today. The walls around this individual are close and in yours and their face, perhaps it makes them feel safe. Eventually however there comes a time when the individual feels somewhat cramped by their stated dislikes, and this is when they often find themselves in one of my cooking classes, either alone or with their partner.
I speculate that the adolescent or young adult who has consciously rebelled against the tastes and predilections of his or her parents, usually has developed a wider and more far-reaching culinary diet – they still may not be able to cook but they may consume more different foods. This individual has broken away from the invisible ties that bind the obedient child to the emotional strings surrounding mummy and daddy. We are all on variable time lines regarding this necessary rebellion, some do it early and some very late, but eventually we all need to break the moorings and swim free; and perhaps then taste the sea.
Sacred Chef Cooking School on the sunshine coast.
©Sacred Chef
House Therapy – Discovering Who You Really Are at Home.
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Sardine and Fetta Cheese Pastries
Sardine & Fetta Pastries
Pastries
1 packet filo pastry
2 cups crumbled fetta
250g tinned sardines in spring water
1 cup spanish onion diced
1 tbspn garlic minced
2 tbspn capers
1 tbspn fresh dill
1 tbspn fresh parsley
2 tbspn butter melted
½ cup kalamatta olives sliced & pitted
½ cup ground parmesan
1 tbspn olive oil
1 tspn sea salt
black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
In a saucepan over a medium heat, add in oil, garlic, Spanish onion, capers, salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat & transfer to a large bowl, mix in sardines, fetta, parmesan, fresh herbs & olives. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in fridge before wrapping in filo.
Lay out 2 sheets of filo & brush with with melted butter, spoon a desired size of filling & fold into desired shape & brush outside again with melted butter. Repeat until you have enough pastries & then place on tray & bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Serve with a tomato chutney or tangy salad.
Serves 4
©Sacred Chef. Cooking School Sunshine Coast
Canned Tuna Fettucine
Fettuccine with Tuna, Tomato & Kalamatta Olives
This is a dish where you can use canned tuna & still get a really good eating result. It is great when the cupboard is bare & time is fleeting.
250g fettuccine
2 cups leeks sliced
1 can tuna in water or brine.
2 cans crushed tomatoes
1 tbspn garlic chopped
2 tbspn olive oil
1 tbspn fresh basil chopped
1 tbspn fresh parsley chopped
1 cup merlot
2 tspn sea salt
½ cup kalamatta olives pitted & chopped
1 fresh lime juiced
½ tspn fresh chillie
2 tbspn fresh parmesan (optional)
In a large enough saucepan boil your pasta with salt.
In a heavy based large frypan or saucepan sauté your oil, leeks, garlic, chillie & salt for a couple of minutes before adding your wine & tomatoes. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until leeks are soft. When your pasta is al dente & draining fork a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil through it & a little black pepper. Add your basil & parsley to the sauce & black pepper. Serve pasta onto plates & cover with a ladle of sauce. Open & drain tuna before forking a portion onto the top of the sauce on each plate & drizzling with fresh lime juice. Arrange a spoonful of olives around the tuna & serve. Parmesan is optional.
Serves 4.
©Sacred Chef. Cooking school on the sunshine coast
Poached Salmon Fillet in Miso Soup
Poached Salmon in Miso Soup
with Udon Noodles.
I like to use a lighter coloured miso, like a rice & soy miso paste.
1 cup miso paste
1 tbspn mirin
1 tbspn minced garlic
1 tbspn finely sliced ginger
1 tbspn bonito flakes
1 cup shitake mushrooms sliced
1 cup button mushrooms sliced
1 tbspn umeboshi vinegar
1 tspn sesame oil
1 tbspn soy sauce
1 fillet salmon chopped into chunks
1 cup shimenji mushrooms sliced
2 tbspn chopped spring onions
250g udon noodles
1 tspn sea salt
6 cups purified water
black pepper to taste
In a large heavy based saucepan begin with your water & heat over a medium flame. Add in your garlic, ginger, bonito flakes, salt & mushrooms & cook for 5 minutes. Mix your miso paste with a little of the stock that you have been creating in the large saucepan in a separate bowl until you have a creamy consistency. When the stock is at a steady simmer add in your noodles & salmon, about 4 minutes before serving. Then stir in your miso & season with mirin, soy & umeboshi vinegar. When the salmon is perfect begin serving into bowls & top with black pepper, tiny drizzle of sesame oil & black pepper.
Serves 4.
©Sacred Chef cooking school sunshine coast
Eco Living Health Aware Magazine
Thai Fish Cakes
Thai Fish Cakes with Crunchy Raw Salad
Thai Fish Cakes with Crunchy Raw Salad
To make really great fish cakes I recommend making your own red chilli paste.
Chilli Paste
Red Chilli 3 deseeded
Green Chilli 3 deseeded
Eschallot small 3 finely chopped
Garlic 3 cloves
Lemongrass 1 stalk
Galangal 1 tspn chopped finely
Coriander roots 2
Lime leaves 1 tspn finely chopped
Shrimp Paste 1 tspn
Black Pepper 1 tspn
Water 3 tbspn
In a mortar and pestle or food processor blend all ingredients together to make a paste, adding a little water to get things moving.
Fish cakes
Snapper fillet 300g
Egg 1
Chilli paste all of above
Fish sauce 3 tbspn
Palm sugar 2 tspn
Lime leaves 6 finely chopped
Green beans 50g very finely sliced
Peanut or Saflower oil 1litre for frying
In a food processor, blend together all of the ingredients, minus the frying oil, lime leaves and green beans. Blend until a sticky mass and then transfer to a large bowl, add in lime leaves and chopped beans. Refrigerate for 20 minutes. Heat up your oil in preparation for deep frying. Form little cakes from scoops of fish cake mix and lay out on a surface before lowering into frying oil and cooking until golden.
Cucumber Relish
White vinegar or rice vinegar 60ml
Water 60ml
Palm sugar 3 tbspn
Coriander root 1
Garlic 1 clove
Sea salt pinch
Ginger 1 tspn finely chopped
Green Chilli deseeded chopped
In a saucepan heat all the ingredients, minus the ginger and chilli, bring to boil and cool. Add in remaining ingredients before serving in a bowl.
©Sacred Chef
Eco Living Health Aware Magazine
Recipes
Pickled Lemons
Pickled lemons are a fantastic condiment to have handy to add to your cooking or to a finished dish. The complexity of flavour that a little pickled lemon creates really intensifies the enjoyment that your guests will derive from your food. Now this is the ultimate in slow food as it may take up to three months for these lemons to get really pickled. You will need a very big jar with a seal tight closure to hold as many lemons as you can fit, because if you have to wait that long you will want to do a lot.
12 med sized lemons
2kg rock or sea salt
1 bunch fresh rosemary
1 bunch fresh thyme
2 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp whole black pepper
1 Tbsp whole cloves
1 Tbsp star aniseed
1 Tbsp cumin seeds
Take each lemon and make two incisions as if to quarter the lemon lengthwise but leave a couple of centimetres so that the lemon remains whole. Then mix your spices and herbs through the salt before packing this salty mixture around the lemons inside the jar. You will want the lemons completely covered by the salt before sealing your jar and storing in a dark place for its lengthy sojourn. You will notice after a few days that the salt leaches out the moisture from the lemons and that your jar fills with a brine solution, this leaching out takes the bitterness with it. At the conclusion of the pickling time you use the lemon peel not the flesh, as the flesh is very salty but the pickled peel is piquant and wonderful.
I like to add my preserved lemon cut finely and curled over fresh cheeses as a canapé topping. It is great in marinades for olives or added to fish dishes of most persuasions. It will pick up the pedestrian and make it interesting.
Salt is great on nibbles and here are a few taste enhancers to start a celebration with.
Kumera or Sweet Potato Crisps
In one of my restaurants I used to lay these out on the tables to start with and they proved so popular that I had to cease the practice as people started ordering less food.
If you don’t have a deep fryer just use a large heavy based frypan or saucepan and use a mix of peanut and olive oil. Peanut is great for frying & the olive is for flavour and health. Depending on the quantity of crisps you are aiming for — one medium sized sweet potato will make a couple of bowls. The key here is that you will need a certain volume of hot oil to deal with the inherent moisture in the sweet potato. Either hand slice or put through the food processor the sweet potato until you get very fine discs (machine is much easier to achieve the level required) Now you are going to get better results with at least a litre of oil brought to a good heat, just before smoking. You may like to dry off the sliced kumera with paper towel to reduce the moisture and then test your oil with one disc. When ready add in a proportion of the sliced kumera that the oil is comfortable with, it really is a case of testing the waters — most likely it will take you three lots. Fry the kumera until brown & crispy & then drain on kitchen paper. If you are very concerned about excess oil you can further remove excess oil in a warm oven. Salt liberally with the finest salt that you can afford before serving in bowls.
Mediterranean Chilli Popcorn
2 cups popping corn
1 cup olive oil
6 red chillies
6 large cloves garlic
6 sprigs of fresh rosemary
salt & black pepper to taste
In a heavy based large saucepan with a heavy lid pour in your oil & then your popping corn. Add to this chillies whole, garlic cloves whole & unpeeled, sprigs of rosemary & an initial salt & pepper. Cover with lid & place over a good heat. Things will soon start popping so keep your lid on. I like to give the whole saucepan a shake or two so that as much corn gets popped as possible. When the pops have died down, open your lid to be assailed by a wonderful aroma of olive, garlic, rosemary and popcorn of course. More salt & pepper before serving.
Warmed Kalamata Olives in Infused Oil
So that we don’t waste any of the wonderful oil that we fried our kumera crisps in, add a little of this still hot oil into a skillet or frying pan. Leave it to cool down a bit, say 5 minutes & then chop up a lime & 6 cloves of garlic & a piece of ginger & add this to the warm oil, before adding in 3 cups of kalamata olives. Stir through for 5 minutes & add salt & pepper to taste. Serve on a platter.
The Thais, of course, are great exponents of salty food and one of the simplest delights that I enjoyed while I was in Thailand, was the gracious way that your Thai hosts would bring you regular freshly prepared snacks.
Salted fresh pineapple was a favourite of mine and is a great way to experiment with the many new salts that are now available in the marketplace. Choose a ripe pineapple by its aroma, if you can find one that has not been too dulled by refrigeration, and cut it up into bite sized pieces and lightly salt with a special salt. Accompanied by a fresh lime soda or a cold beer — and heaven is right there on that tropical island inside your taste buds.
Cheeses were also derived from their contact with salt; the great preserver. On this occasion milk curdled through exposure to salt, thought to have first occurred when milk was carried in animal skins that had been cured by salt to become vessels. This was then found to be a way to preserve a source of nourishment that had before this quickly perished and gone sour.
Fish has however been the most well known beneficiary of its relationship with salt. Anchovies although not as salty today as they were when there was no refrigeration are a reminder of our salty past. Salted Herring were responsible for the beginning of the great wealth accrued by the Dutch as they traded these salty fish around the world.
Way before this however, comes a recipe from the fourth century BC by the Sicilian born poet and gourmet Archestratus, for Salty Baked Tuna:
“Take the tail of the female tuna – and I’m talking of the large female whose mother city is Byzantium. Then slice it and bake all of it properly, simply sprinkling it lightly with salt and brushing it with oil. Eat the slices hot, dipping them into sharp brine. They are good if you want to eat them dry, like the immortal gods in form and stature. If you serve it sprinkled with vinegar, it will be ruined.”
Archestratus – The Life of Luxury.
Salads are a delight in summer and the crunch of greens amid the tang of a vinaigrette or crudités dipped in aioli are all worthy offerings on my banquet table.
Fresh Asparagus Spears dipped in Lime & Cashew Mayonnaise
Whole free range egg or egg yolk mayonnaise with a teaspoon of Dijon mustard ;
1 Tsp honey
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
½ cup roasted salted cashews
1 ½ cups olive oil drizzzled in slowly.
Freshly ground black pepper & sea salt to taste.
Whizz it by hand or in the blender adding in your oil slowly as you go.
Lightly steam or blanch your asparagus spears & serve accompanied by your tangy mayonnaise.
Fresh Fig & Goats Cheese Salad
Figs are a divine extravagance and for this dish you will only need a few.
3 Figs sliced lengthwise into quarters
150g fresh goats cheese
1 cup chopped fresh basil
3 Romano tomatoes sliced lengthwise into quarters
Dressing – ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tsp finely sliced preserved lemon
sea salt & black pepper to taste.
Gently arrange dobs of the goats cheese amid the figs & tomatoes & basil on a platter & lightly dress before serving.
Crunchy greens in the form of a mixed leaf salad with the great variety of lettuces we have available now & some rocket & perhaps some watercress. All lightly dressed with a fragrant vinegar & cold pressed macadamia or walnut oil.
The BBQ or grill holds a special place in my summer kitchen, where if possible the blue sky is my only ceiling. Preparation of a marinade is one of the best ways to give great flavour to the food that you create.
Tofu Yakitori
2 Blocks of firm tofu cut into squares or triangles
1 Pack wooden skewers soaked overnight
Marinade
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup lime juice
2 Tbsp mirin or dry sherry
2 tsp grated ginger
Marinate the tofu overnight for the best results and then skewer on your sticks. For best results dry the tofu pieces before barbequing.
Perfect with this is a Spicy Sate Sauce:
1 Tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp peanut or canola oil
1 Tbsp finely chopped garlic
1 Tbsp grated ginger
1 tsp finely chopped birdseye chilli
3 Tbsp brown sugar
150g roasted peanut butter
1 Tbsp fish sauce
½ cup soy sauce
3 cups coconut milk
In a heavy base saucepan heat your oils & add in garlic & ginger & chilli, sauté for 5 minutes before adding in sugar; soy sauce; fish sauce & peanut butter. Stirring constantly as the peanut butter melts in, begin to slowly add in your coconut milk until you have a creamy consistency.
Colourful Mediterranean vegetables take to the grill particularly well, and all you need is a great olive oil, lemon juice and salt of course. Slice your pumpkin; any ripe variety will do, thinly into quick cooking discs; along with eggplant, treating this in the same manner. Red capsicum slice into long strips. Find some space on the grill & lightly oil them & salt them as they cook, turning them over when ready. Finish with lemon juice; a splash of soy & a little extra virgin olive oil on their platter as you serve them.
Salt is wonderful rubbed into the skin of meats & fish before baking or grilling as it seals the surface to keep the natural moisture in & enhances the flavour.
Whole Baked Pink Snapper on the BBQ
Every banquet table needs a star & a big fish emerging from an alfoil tuxedo with a steaming aroma of the Mediterranean all about, is that star.
1 whole pink snapper cleaned & prepared
1 large ripe peach stoned & chopped into pieces
1 bunch watercress, washed & destalked
2 tsp sliced preserved lemon
6 large cloves garlic thinly sliced
½ cup chopped continental parsley
¼ cup toasted almond flakes
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
2 tsp special salt of your choice
black pepper to taste
This is where we get to salt the skin of our big fish & then fill the cavity with all our ingredients. I like to wrap my fish in an inner layer of grease proof paper or edible leaves that will prevent the skin sticking to the alfoil. We will need to secure the fish reasonably firmly in its alfoil jacket. If you have access to the hot coals of the BBQ I like to really wrap up the fish in alfoil & place it in the coals – otherwise a lighter wrap & on top of the grill. Now this is going to take some time depending on the size of the fish. At least 40 minutes but you can always check with a little incision. As I said when you get your fish on the platter the oohs & aahs, well, it makes it all worthwhile.
Summer fruits are mouth watering & inspiring.
Mangoes, paw paw, lychees, cherries, tamarillo.
Dress in a little lime juice & serve with double cream whipped through with roasted hazelnuts & some tangy gelato.
Bon appétit
©Sacred Chef
Food as medicine!
Heading: Food as Medicine.
Subheading: Nutritional Medicine.
Great leaps in understanding have recently occurred within nutritional medicine. For many years what we ate was studiously ignored by the scientific community, & with the funding for many of their studies coming from pharmaceutical companies, who focus on patenting artificial derivatives we can see why. There is no serious money to be made from food as medicine & this is another shining example of where the free market economy does not serve the whole person within the whole community. In matters of nutritional health we need some guidance beyond the money making principle, we need in my opinion our governments to get up to speed on these matters & to offer some leadership. Which we are now seeing to some extent here in Australia, with the senate enquiry into childhood obesity. The huge costs we as a community are now facing in maintaining a national health budget that continues to blow out in managing hospitals in particular, which are basically dealing with things when they have reached the ‘too late’ stage, may finally spur our political leaders to seek a preventative health strategy. It will not be cheap to begin with, we will have to spend more educating doctors, health professionals & the media so that they can pass that knowledge onto the general public. Eventually however in ten to twenty years it will save billions of dollars & improve the quality & life expectancy of our societies.
A perfect example of the institutionalised neglect of food is in our hospitals, where meals are still served with scant regard for their potentially healing properties. Unappetising fare produced by those without the most up to date knowledge of nutritional medicine & with definitely little understanding of the importance of colour, freshness & presentation is not serving us well in our healing instititions. The highly publicised TV chef Jamie Oliver & his recent attempt to revolutionise a British school canteen highlights a similar need to reappraise our attitudes to the diets of our children. It has been quite a journey that so called health food has been on, since the nineteen sixties & seventies when those who consumed mung beans & lentils were derided as hippies, up until now, where we see the large supermarkets rapidly expanding their range of organic foods to cater for ever growing demand. We in the general community tend to receive nutritional health information in piece meal bits that have filtered through by word of mouth, stray news reports & the like. For example suddenly the concern may be the high level of salt in processed foods, then it is bad fats like monounsaturated fats versus polyunsaturated fats, low carbohydrate diets or high fibre diets and so on. We hear the alarm bell warning, “don’t eat this or that,” but we do not understand the whole picture as it is either considered too complex for the media or we just want the result and can’t be bothered how we got there.
Recently the focus on polyunsaturated fats has been refined to take in Omega –3 fatty acids and Omega-6 fatty acids which are essential to our bodies cellular make-up and needs. Common Omega-3 fatty acids within our body are alpha linolenic acid (ALA); eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Gamma-linolenic acid is an Omega-6 fatty acid, as is arachidonic acid, and the latter is an important precursor of anti-inflammatory prostaglandins. It is the anti-inflammatory activity of the Omega-3 fatty acids that has raised the attention of scientists in regard to many common diseases in the western world. Coronary artery disease; myocardial infarctions or strokes; cancer and arthritis are all caused or worsened by inflammatory reactions within the body. It is now also being posited that depression may be an inflammatory condition of the brain and there have been several randomised placebo-controlled studies into the effectiveness of EPA in the treatment of severe depression that have showed profound results. These tests have been written up in leading journals like the American Journal of Psychiatry and the United Kingdom’s Archives of General Psychiatry.
The key to understanding the effects of Omega-3 fatty acids within us is to look back into our very origins and our first diet. The two essential fatty acids Omega-6 & Omega-3 are all present in our foods. Omega-6 are derived primarily from grains and today we consume most through oils and animal fats and through the meat of grain fed animals. Omega-3 are found in algae, plankton and some leaves including grass. Although both are vital for our cellular wellbeing, too much Omega-6 can provoke inflammatory responses throughout the body. At the time when the modern human brain developed, early humankind lived in Afrika, around the lakes of the Great Rift. Scientific evidence points to their diet being balanced on a 1 to 1 ratio between foods containing Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids. This combination is now seen to have provided their bodies with the perfect nutritional resources to develop the new kinds of neurons that enabled them to evolve new skills like language; self-awareness and the utilisation of tools.
However today we have lost that balance in our diets between the two essential fatty acids Omega-3 & Omega-6. In fact it is now so far out of kilter that in some countries like Australia, USA, and the UK for instance it is thought to be one Omega 3 to every ten or twenty Omega-6 in our diets. Why has this occurred? Once again it is due to economics, this time in the livestock industry, where the practice of feeding animals grain, rather than pasture grass has taken root. Also the over whelming presence of Omega-6 rich vegetable oils in all our processed foods, with the likes of soy beans being in just about everything. Basically we are feeding ourselves the wrong ingredients because it is superficially seen to be cheaper, but of course in the long run the consequences to our health will & is now much more expensive.
If we look to coastal Asia where the diet is seafood rich, there is not the prevalence of depression and heart disease that we see in our own western communities. Fish is rich in Omega-3 fatty acids because of the diet of the fish, eating plankton and algae or other smaller fish who have eaten plankton and algae. Seafood stores the Omega-3 fatty acids in their fat tissue. The best source of Omega-3 are smaller fish as they are the least contaminated by mercury, dioxin and organic carcinogens. Flax seed is an excellent vegetarian source of Omega-3, but like all non-animal sources they do require a further metabolic step to become part of our neural membranes. Green leafy vegetables contain precursors of Omega-3 fatty acids in small amounts. Organically raised grass fed animals are a good source of Omega-3 and the eggs of free range chickens contain up to twenty times more Omega-3 than their grain fed counter parts.
Omega 3 Food Table
· taken from Healing Without Freud or Prozac by Dr David Servan-Schreiber
Food Source Omega 3 level
100g mackerel 2.5g
100g herring 1.7g
100g tuna 1.5g
100g anchovies 1.5g
100g salmon 1.4g
100g sardines 1g
1Tbsp Flax seed 2.8g
1Tbsp Flax seed oil 7.5g
1 Tbsp Canola oil 1.3g
100g Walnuts 2.3g
40g Spinach 384mg
1 Tbsp Seaweeds (dried) 268mg
1 Tbsp Spirulina 260mg
40g Watercress 528mg
Olive oil has more Omega-6 than Omega-3 but has very little of either so can be used without adding further to the imbalance in our diets. It is this imbalance that we need to address in our own diets if we are to return to a time and place within our own bodies that is not headed toward so many of the potentially fatal diseases that our community so often suffers from. Limiting the use of processed foods from your diet, if you cannot comfortably eradicate them all together. Becoming far more aware of what is actually in the foods that you eat, as coeliacs soon discover the prevalence of wheat additives in processed food is endemic. It is not only about adding more Omega-3 rich foods to your diet it is also reducing the many Omega-6 foods that is important
I think one of the underlying messages here is that we are of the sea, that we originated from the oceans & that our bodies work best when we feed them foods from the sea. “Never forget where you came from,” someone famous once said. With this in mind it is another timely reminder to stop polluting the oceans of the world. For if we are truly dependent upon the sea as a food source, it will be a bugger if we mess it up with our petro-chemical toxins and the like. There is so much to learn from looking at ourselves instead of always out at the world. Let’s teach our children about themselves, how their bodies work, before we teach them anything else. In the words of Dr David Servan-Schreiber, “On the day historians begin to analyse the history of medicine in the twentieth century, I believe they will point out two major events. The first one, without any doubt, was the discovery of antibiotics, which practically eradicated bacterial pneumonia- the leading cause of death in the west until the second world war. The second is a revolution that is still in the making: the scientific demonstration that nutrition has a profound impact on practically all the leading causes of disease in western societies.”
.In terms of the possible anti-depressant effect of Omega-3 fatty acids you would need to imbibe between 1 and 10 grams of the combination of DHA and EPA, which are the two Omega-3 fatty acids in fish oil. These can be taken as supplements but as with all nutrition it is better consumed as wonderful food.
Here are a few of my recipes that will boost your intake of Omega-3 fatty acids & hopefully provoke your taste buds into delicious new territories. If the salty fish in My Omega Pie are too daunting for you, why not swap them for a less offensive but still oily fish like trout or tuna. Vegetarians can leave the fish out & use spinach & other green leafy vegetables instead.
Recipes:
My Omega Pie
Pastry
1 ½ cup plain wholemeal flour
1 cup Linseed Sunflower Almond Meal
100g unsalted butter
1 tbsp Linseed Oil
2 freerange eggs whisked
1 tsp purified water
Filling
4 fillets fresh sardines or 2 tins
4 fillets anchovies
1 lge desiree potato cooked & sliced
1 can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp canola oil
1 spanish onion diced & sauted
3 cloves garlic minced & sauted
1 punnet cherry tomatoes sliced & sauted
1 cup chopped continental parsley
1 tbsn fresh rosemary chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano chopped
1 cup fresh ricotta cheese
1 cup walnut meal
½ cup parmesan cheese
sea salt & black pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 180C
Beginning with pastry, sift flour into mixing bowl or food processor & combine remaining ingredients to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth & place in fridge for 30-60 minutes. Remove & roll out pastry to about 5mm in thickness & cover a 15-20cm pie dish, prick pastry & bake blind for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove blind beans & bake for a further 5 minutes. Then set aside to cool. While the pastry is resting in the fridge you can begin your filling.
In a large fry pan or saucepan, saute your onion, garlic, & cherry tomatoes in oil for 5 minutes. Then add in your can of tomato, rosemary, oregano, salt & pepper & simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley & set aside.
Lay your sliced potato & fish fillets inside your pastry case, top with the tomato sauce, then crumble ricotta over this before sprinkling walnut meal & parmesan to finish. Salt & pepper to taste before baking for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Serves 4.
Marinated Salmon with Spinach & Watercress
2 fillets of salmon sliced into 8 wafers of 1cm in thickness
1 lemon juiced
1 lime juiced
sea salt & black pepper to taste
2 cups baby spinach leaves washed
2 cups watercress washed
2 tbsp flax seed oil
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
2 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp sliced pickled ginger
1 tbsp capers
sea salt & black pepper to taste
Place your salmon wafers in a shallow flat container & cover with lemon & lime juice. Cover & refrigerate for 30 minutes. Remove, drain & dry with paper towel. In a salad mixing bowl toss your washed & dried spinach & watercress, add capers & pickled ginger, sprinkle with flax seed oil, tamari, lime juice & salt & pepper. Arrange salmon & salad on plates & serve at room temperature.
Serves 4.
Steamed Mackerel with Pan fried Shitake Mushrooms & Seaweed
4 mackerel fillets
1 punnet fresh shitake mushrooms sliced
1 cup wakame seaweed, rehydrated in water & chopped
1 bunch bok choy washed & chopped
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tsp minced garlic sauted
2 tsp minced ginger sauted
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice wine
sea salt & black pepper to taste
Have your steamer ready to cook. You will need to cook your fish & the pan fried mushrooms at the same time to coordinate the serving of this dish.
In a large saucepan or frypan saute your garlic, salt, ginger & oil for 3-5 minutes before adding in your mushrooms, seaweed & finally bok choy. Finish with rice wine, tamari & lemon juice. Pepper to taste.
Place your fish fillets inside your steamer & cook for 3-5 minutes depending on the thickness of your fillets. Place your fish on the plate & spoon over mushrooms & seaweed.
Serves 4.
I would like to acknowledge the inspiration & source material that I garnered from Dr David Servan-Schreiber’s book Healing Without Freud or Prozac, Rodale, Pan Macmillan Books. The Revolution in Nutrition, is but one chapter in an extra-ordinary book that I highly recommend.
©Sacred Chef
As appeared in WellBeing Magazine.
Eco Living Health Aware Magazine
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