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How to eat
lobster
Crusty Veteran
Food is part of the Middle Way. Theravadin Sangha often eat once a day.
I like food. Here are some tips:
Bircher muesli: grate apple, add oats and milk/yogurt/cream. Soak. Add fruit and nuts to taste.
http://mylittlegourmet.com/breakfast/bircher-muesli/
Lassi = third of pint of Greek yogurt plus two thirds milk. Blend or mix in milk gradually with fork. Drink.
Hydrates better than water, includes probiotics and can be salted or sweetened if required.
Sandwich: Toast bread. Add virgin olive oil on top, cheese and onion. Fold. Eat. Microwave to melt cheese.
(nb: onions not suitable for many sangha following strict vinaya)
Any tips for the culinary novice?
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Comments
Raw vegan-ism is by far the most superior diet I have tried. I was a meat-eater until I was 18, an unhealthy vegetarian for a number of years, a healthier vegetarian for a few years, then raw vegan, and raw vegan is on another level altogether. There's no bias... I love pizza, crisps, chocolate etc. but the momentary pleasure these things provide cannot compensate for the ill effects they have for the other numerous hours of the day.
I enjoy Chinese take-out as often as possible, and have learned to maneuver chopsticks almost like a pro...I can eat cole slaw with them, green salad, and other stuff with them. Every time I pick up a single pea or other small bit, I think about the movie Karate Kid and how he caught the fly and Mr. Miyagi said it was beginner's luck.
@Lobster
How to eat?
Gratefully!
&
to make use of whatever food that was harvested to fuel us, best aid in the cessation of everyone's suffering.
Eat slowly...
Ha-ha great topic I have considered this question for a long time...
I worked in the food industry for quite a while, consumed large quantities of meat and processed food - although I was raised (quite fortunately) in a house where we were taught to cook all of our meals from scratch using natural raw ingredients.
I read about a modern Buddhist monk that advocated that the consumption of any animal is the equivalent of eating (and thereby harbouring) suffering. He stated that all of our food should be sourced naturally - to eat a chicken that has been raised in a small cage amongst thousands of others, a chicken that would never see the real sky, that had its beak cut off to prevent it from pecking itself or its neighbour to death (out of desperation?) was to cause suffering.
In effect, the sandwich you choose to order is the equivalent of choosing whether or not to torture a defenseless animal.
Further, we could argue the benefits of modern life have finally allowed us to become free of flesh. We know what vegetarian options to consume to complete our daily nutritional requirements, and we can boost our efficiency with supplements.
Yet, inversely;
Some of you might remember the story of a hunter of a traditional people in North America stating that his people kill for the meat, but will thank the spirit of the wild animal for its sacrifice, and promise to fully utilize its flesh and bones to the extent that they could.
If I hunted an elusive wild chicken down - would I still be consuming anger and sadness - or would I simply be participating in the natural order? Would Buddha be upset if I killed a chicken that was an adult, lead a free life in the wild, felt the sunlight - a naturally raised chicken, out of (arguable) necessity? Is it my biological right to participate in the hunt, and if I cannot, satisfy my natural urges through the consumption of its result?
Most Buddhist traditions teach to abstain from the consumption of meat.
I try to think circumstantially. I wonder if the reason why Buddha was concerned about the consumption of meat was related to the time and place that this tradition was established. Did the interpreter scribe this in because at that time, many a century ago, meat was a sign of wealth, much less affordable and obtainable, and much more likely to cause the infection of its consumer with a wide variety of illnesses that have been virtually eliminated in modern practice?
Compassionately for the chicken, I could choose not to eat it, no matter where it came from. Compassionately, for myself, I could choose to eat the chicken because I believe complete protein is what my body needs after a workout (and I refuse to consume chemically engineered protein shakes).
Most of the chicken I eat will be raised in horrible circumstances and bought from my local grocery store. However, unlike my former years, I limit its consumption, and eat vegetarian meals most of the time. I am, in my own diluted fashion, respecting both my nutritional requirements and the plight of the poor chicken.
Extremes can be crippling if you are too afraid to find a pathway. I can change my mind at any point, and I will never take judgement on those that participate in either side - although I will pray extra hard for those that consciously waste the gifts their environment has provided them with.
My mother has an acre where she raises about 50 chickens - not for meat - just for the enjoyment of having chickens around (as well as their proficiency at eliminating bugs and creating "amazing" plant fertilizer).
"I could never eat a chicken that we have named, learned its personality, and gotten along with so well."
If you believe in karma and its influence on the quality of your next incarnation, this conversation really makes you consider "eating right".
We had this conversation while we were eating chicken.
Very simple but all sound very tasty @lobster.
Cook toast. Spread with butter. Relatively thin spread of Marmite (the English version - not Kiwi)
Yummmmmmmmm.......a snack I often enjoy at about 8.30pm.
My favorite easy one is...veggie and fruit trays. Anywhere...anytime. From my kids to coworkers...I show up with fruit and veggie trays. I also send local fresh trays for family members for holidays!! Most people will eat raw veggies if they don't have to do any prep...and you make a nice yogurt dip!
I always try to include a fruit or veggie people don't usually buy here....dragonfruit...new things for people to try. Bean salads are another one! Easy!!!
Added bonus: I'm not the one that stirs the pot by bringing the meat...lololololol
And please....while we're talking about the how. How about not starting fights in/at retreats while people are eating. I'm pretty sick of hearing the honey arguement...hahahaha. Eat and be nice.
Thanks guys
.
Indeed.
Marmite similar to Vegemite. Intense flavour. Makes good gravy for veggies and vegans.
Tasty is important. Food is often an emotional experience or substitute. If bland and emotionally unfulfilling you will eat more. Hence @Will_Baker is expressing a simple useful technique. Eat slowly. Those of us who have fasted will know how intense 'bland' food is when reintroduced.
Comfort eating is not mindful.
Can you afford Woodland eggs and chickens?
http://www.glenpark.co.nz
I like omelettes, sometimes Spanish style:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_omelette
As well as potatoes, I think of an omelette as something you make the ingredients for first. Practically anything that would top a pizza and then I whip eggs and milk, salt in a bowl and learn not to burn.
Junk food I try not to eat. It is junk and designed to feed the food industry not you.
I eat very little junk food these days either mate.
My kids have discovered McDonalds fries so I buy them for them occasionally.
I do like a cheese and salad sub from Subway I must admit.
Another simple dish is just cutting up a heap of root vegetables (think potatoes, pumpkin, parsnip, beetroot, carrot, onion, garlic etc.), drizzle with some olive oil and sprinkle with salt, pepper and any other herbs that take your fancy.
45 mins to an hour in the oven to bake - superb just by themselves!
^^^ my sister makes that. Yum it most certainly is.
ah yes yogurt dips ... also home made dressing : vinegar and olive oil and salt - job done
What about a baked potato in the microwave? Your microwave likely has a setting ... Toppings from baked beans to cheese to ... yum ...
@Bunks ...Subway is my spot!!!!! Try a chopped salad there. Not the regular salads...but a chopped salad. They put all your veggies in a bowl and chop like a big salsa. Then get Oil and vinegar....and top off with oregano. Slammin!!!!!!! The soups are pretty good too!
On evil days...get a strawberry cheesecake cookie.
Money is always a factor in diet.
Sad as it is to admit, when you're poor, you buy crap, because crap is more affordable.
Sure, you can buy a bag of vegetables for a particular sum, but sadly, the particular sum will buy a greater quantity of crap, to 'keep you going' longer.
Also, my H has a long-standing aversion to anything green, healthy or vegetative. Put him in a situation where he is obliged to consume a vegetable dish, and he will. But he will always leave some on his plate... declaring all the while that actually, that was surprisingly delicious....
Try offering him the same dish at home however, where he has a choice, and the offer will invariably be declined....
I'm hoping next year to be able to randomly grow some vegetables... even to the point of planting them with companion ornamentals.... A friend of mine managed to obtain some wooden pallets and made compost bins, raised beds and on their sides, cut in half, plot-dividers. She also used some rubber car tyres, stacked them filled them with compost, and planted courgettes and pumpkins... she has an amazing photo record on FB, which is fun to look at, and witness the progress....
She is also blessed with a huge ENCLOSED (and somewhat sheltered) garden, and while the plot I'm responsible for, is big, it's not 'boundaried' and sectioned off, so theoretically, it's much less secure...
True. Money determines whether we have 99 cent cheesburgers or a 6 dollar salad. Here is the poorest state in the US...and also the unhealthiest. The South is notorious for both.
We buy over 30 pounds of potato with butter, greek yogurt, and low fat cream cheese and make twice baked potato to get a lot of our calories for the month.
Carbs are my nemesis.... I know, I know. Good carbs are good.
My problem is, I love all the 'bad' ones.... And be honest... when was the last time you ever heard anyone say "My goodness, I'm famished, I could just murder a stick of celery....!"
Dont eat sugar, easy to say but hard to avoid, but cancer and sugar goes hand in hand...
Yup. I'm really lucky in that I do NOT have a sweet tooth at all...gimme savoury hot and spicy any time.
Oh and that kind of food, too....
Sounds cheap and healthy and delicious. Yum.
We got to our local supermarket at about 4pm before closing! They have loads of specials on perishables at that time!
Then you just freeze them. Things with a long shelf life are always suspect.
I'm a really boring eater and not much of a cook. I eat the same stuff all the time.
Example. Breakfast is rolled oats and milk. No flavours at all. The oats are partially cooked for 2 minutes.
Enjoy!
Eat very fast so you don't get attached to the flavours.
^^^ you been hanging out with aghori by any chance?
http://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/dorje-shugden/aghori.html
Well, you gotta catch dinner first....
Our @lobster is protected by International Fishing Laws. Besides, you'd have to get a trawler onto the Serpentine, and it's a demn choppy lake.... there be dragons, too... No insurance company would touch you with a bargepole.
Which are also conveniently for hire for a modest fee of £2,000/hour....
Lol! Just so everyone knows the lobster in the photo was protected too. It's a very matronly female heavy with eggs, and too large to keep. She was released unharmed.
Don't just dump that lobster in a pot of water. Hypnotize it first.
Don't dump the lobster in hot water.
Full stop....
Unless you enjoy the agonising death screams of a living animal, which is as just as good a reason for killing an animal as it tastes good.
lobsters don't feel pain!
ask @lobster
Phew!
As someone who likes to get into warming water, simmer gently and stir into nutrition, I recommend seafood as a healthy diet, that if off can kill.
Be careful who you eat.
Now back to the Dharmakaya as food.
Yum! Me too.
Lobster celery murdering recipe:
Remove leaves for garnish
fry gently like onions,
add hot and spicy or 'erbes at end
add towards end leftovers
remove heat, add milk/cream/yogurt/nuts/diced toast fried in olive oil and curry powder (croutons) and garnish to taste
Deadly soup.
http://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/celery-soup
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-7AheVpARRBk/T7kqBoCBCOI/AAAAAAAALTk/DKjVjZ_aNWg/s640/pocket-pigs-of-pennywell-farm-richard-austin-003.jpg
That's just too cute. No, I mean, really, it is...
I think if people start to change how they look at food and money, their view of what they can afford will change. The problem is getting that level of education to the general public and getting them to understand the long term impacts. I've been in the place where you have to feed your family for a week on $40. It's not easy, and no, you cannot feed them an organic veggie diet on that. But, you can add in cheap fruits and veggies very easily, and make stuff from scratch which is actually far cheaper than buying it. But it requires some forethought and planning and that is where, in the US, we truly fail. We don't think about our meals until we are starving, and then we grab something, and rarely is that something good for us.
One of the favorite dishes in our house is ratatouille. Super cheap and easy to make and packed with veggies. But it requires knowing which veggies are nutritionally superior and sometimes even how to identify them in a store! How is someone supposed to know what a yellow squash is? Half the time fresh produce is poorly labeled, so someone who doesn't know and is following a recipe just doesn't know.
Soup is one thing poor people eat frequently, but you can get many times the bang for your buck by making your own chicken stock. But again, it takes a little knowledge and some time. We don't like to have to think about anything, and we don't like to put time into anything that doesn't entertain and distract us.
Pound for pound, unhealthy food is more costly than healthy food. You can eat a box of mac cheese for a buck (or the cheap kind for cheaper than that) but because of the effects it has on your body, you will be unfulfilled and starving a short time later, so in the end, you eat more and spend more (nevermind the eventual health care costs that come with eating poorly for years).
Thanks for your post and hi
@karasti has mentioned how hunting is sometimes part of a poverty time diet. Understandable.
Wild food is something I am aware of. In my part of the world it includes greens such as spinach, fat hen, orache, fruits and mushrooms. Hunting game is just not feasible unless one is a poacher, in which case you might add rabbit, deer and fowl. Catching a deer or fowl in London would probably result in imprisonment.
There are community growing projects/gardens, we have dumpster diving and food banks.
Beans are a staple in many parts of the world and cooking them in a slow cooker/low heat is the best way I have come across ...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/topics/slow-cooker.html
I think the best way to eat is to eat in a manner that causes the minimum amount of suffering for others.
yeah...alone!
>
As others mentioned, your local market really affects your diet, as well as what you can produce from the raw ingredients you can acquire -
It's a seasonal thing - in spring I'm asparagusing every night because it's so cheap. Then summer and all the tomatoes, in fall it's apples, and in winter - I'm headed to BulkBarn for dried chickpeas - hummus is soooooo much cheaper to make if your chickpeas don't come from a can.
It's a hunt. And extra work. Making my own bread takes more time, in the kitchen and on YouTube. But I cut the cost of pitas/bread/naan/bagels/muffins down to 15% of what they would cost at retail, and I'm free of chemical preservates
I walk down the produce aisle every time - so when items are super affordable I can pounce like a vegan tiger. (I'm not actually vegan or a tiger.)
I don't decide what is for dinner - my grocery store does. They price their perishables based on their acquisition prices, which are based on the market as affected by the season. In effect I am eating seasonal produce at the cheapest rate and finding alternatives (dried chickpeas) when the market is unfavorable.
Sounds like a plan.
Chick peas are one of my favourite legumes. My favourite are flagelot beans but not had them in years. Here we can get four tins of chick peas for £1 in the 99p shop.
I tend to shop mostly in lidl and aldi in uk as they are consistently cheaper with excellent quality items available. They have junk food too. Booh!
Yesterday I made wholewheat spegetti with tomato passatta in a carton and topped with fresh basil and mature chedder. I say yum [Dukkha/Sukha can be fun too]
Before adding the passatta
I sweated a red and white onion with a chopped sweet banana [oh yeah - top tip]
added mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, frozen fish [my lobsterian heritage] frozen peas and some limp looking mixed lettuce. Sometimes I use Californian prunes if I dont have sun dried tomatoes or fresh. I like the colour and sweetness of prunes.
Seasoning.
I then felt all Italiano ...
"living off the land" is something done quite frequently here, plants and animals/fish. People protect their blueberry picking spots and their morel mushroom spots to the death. They will sever an arm before they tell you where they pick, myself included lol. Morel season just finished up and blueberry season is a month away. We have a large raspberry patch and garden in our yard as well. We are lucky to have a vast forest around us, so we have a lot of berries and apples we can pick. But, we have 6-7 months of winter when nothing plant-wise is available and even the picks at the store get to be pretty horrid because keeping them from freezing in transport is hard.
Yes, I grew up in a family where when my dad was laid of his mine job (repeatedly over my childhood years) we ended up hunting fishing and trapping for food (and money). My dad preferred to put in the work to do so since he was able rather than rely on the government for minimal support. I learned a lot about doing so and am grateful for that knowledge. Not only for knowing how to do it should I ever need to, but in knowing where food truly comes from and not being so removed from it that when I see meat at the store or on my plate I don't realize what it truly is and what was sacrificed for me to have it. My family was always rather self-sufficient. My grandma canned food from her garden for many years, so that is knowledge I have now that we have a garden. It's all good stuff to know. Even if you don't' use the information anymore, knowing what it TRULY takes to keep a single person alive for one year is pretty astounding.
@karasti
Do you have Saskatoon berries down there?
Love them. We had bushes of them growing wild close to our acreage when I was growing up.
Any Ideas on food that effects your mood? Makes you feel good. Fyi this site needs a page down button.
Here is something new we've been eating lately. It's a pomfret. Almost 40 years of fishing and this is the first time I've seen them. Things are changing out there. Tasty little guys.
My Mom has been taking Adjua out to the Amish farms and trading veggies for their fruits. She's been canning and making jams.
. I got a whole box in the mail of strawberry jam and she called me all excited this morning about coming back with baskets of peaches. I'm so grateful she's able to have that experience there and learning those things. I stocked up on Peanut Butter..... Yes! Your never too old for PB&J !!! ....( Throw a few Doritio's in the middle, it'll change your life) ... hahahahaha
Well the most obvious drug foods are chocolate, coffee and tea. Sugar is probably the most destructive. Chilli is another mind altering food.
More subtle and long term are pro-biotic foods.
Lovely looking fish @robot. I really like rainbow trout with the head on. Reminds me how beautiful these fishes are ... and delicious.
@Vastmind - peaches and nectarines, lovely fruit. We get some luscious mangos from pakistan - probably my favourite fruit.
Mood @Mingle, long term, is effected by a balanced diet, high in fruit and veg. Think of food as medicine and you won't go far wrong, would be my advice.
Fish and fruit go well together. I like to cook with fruit. Tomatoes are probably my favourite cooking fruit, though they are considered a veg. The next one I use the most is probably raisins which I fry with onions to add sweetness and iron. Then add spices, minced meat and/or fish and serve with brown rice or potatoes and a salad. Yum.
I try to eat with the seasons. In the winter, I can hardly choke down a raw, cold salad. In summer, I can't get enough. Had a gigantic salad today with mixed greens, I added some chia and flax powder, chick peas, roasted asparagus and cherry tomatoes and a boiled egg with some vinegar and oil. I love the contrast of the cold crisp veggies with the warm oven roasted veggies. Fresh salads make me feel amazing. But only at the right time of year. In the winter, curries and Navajo Stew. Later in summer, plain greek yogurt with berries fresh from the yard and honey from the neighbors bees. Unbeatable. No matter what it is, the closer to it's original source, the better it tastes. Makes me want to live in the tropics where fresh food can grow year round rather than where our growing season is 80 days, LOL.
@Mingle can't you just use the page down button on the computer? Or maybe you are on a phone which doesn't help you at all.
@Walker We have serviceberries, aka June Berries, but they grow on trees the size of small apple trees instead of bushes. So probably similar but not quite the same? Ours are kind of like larger, more squish blueberries, they are good to eat but we mostly use them for making jam and wine, lol.
Ctrl+alt+down arrow. (To go up, Ctrl+alt+up arrow). (remove cursor from comment box, or it won't work.)
About 20 members of staff at work have grouped together to lose weight for charity. Every week we pledge £2 and we keep weighing in and losing weight, until we all reach our target weights. so we keep paying while we're overweight.
The money is going to a local charity for a little girl who two days after her 3rd birthday was diagnosed with leukemia.
I only need to lose about 1 stone (14lbs imperial) but one lady is aiming to lose 10...!
^^^ bravo
I will support your efforts. Send uneaten chocs.
@karasti yeah Im using a phone which means I gotta scroll all the way to the bottom to post a comment. Gonna wear my thumb out.