eat more

I had a consultation with a nutritionist this week. My blood sugar levels have been up and down and my doctor wants them to even out a bit. Not to worry, everything is absolutely fine with the pregnancy. My doctor is just being extra cautious because I’m here rather than in the United States. He found me an American nutritionist who lived in Nairobi for several years, so has a good idea of what kinds of food are and are not available and she knows what life in general is like in this region. She’s also worked with celiac disease and gestational diabetes (ugh, I hate that term, but technically I have it based on a couple unusually high glucose readings).

Basically, I have to eat more. My weight gain has been slow and steady, but she wants to see it increase a bit now that I’m entering the third trimester. I have to stop eating so much dried fruit and stop drinking juice and I have to increase my healthy fats. I should start taking a calcium supplement, since I’m not getting as much dairy here as I would be in the United States. That all sounds reasonable enough. I just have to buckle down and force myself to eat the same foods, day in and day out, until I get back to the States in a few weeks. And see if any other Americans around here have some TUMS I can buy off them, for the calcium.

And the nutritionist knows this, too. She understands that I’ll basically be on a peanut butter and avocado diet for the next month, since they are the easiest of the healthy fats for me to obtain here. She knows I snack on the dried fruit to add a little bit of variety to the limited fresh fruits that are available. And she knows I’ll expand my dietary horizons as soon as possible. It was nice talking to someone who has an understanding of what it’s like here. Other nutritionists I talked to didn’t really understand the living conditions and gave me lists of foods that are impossible to find here, which I can’t really fault someone for if they haven’t been here; but they also didn’t seem to grasp the gluten-free diet, which is troubling.

So, no sugar, no gluten. But eat more. It's hard to do that when your food options keep getting narrower.

easiyo yogurt maker

Quite simply, I love my Easiyo yogurt maker. A friend recommended it as one of the best kitchen gadgets you can buy for moving overseas. She'd had problems with infections and was told to eat more yogurt, but she didn't trust what she could buy in Nigeria. And making your own can be difficult, messy, and time-consuming. Then she discovered Easiyo and told all the rest of us living in Africa to give it a try.

The local yogurt and milk here is great when it's good, but really bad when it's bad. I question the amount of refrigeration it receives -- we have city power and a generator and still can't manage to keep our fridge running continuously; I can't imagine what it's like for anyone with less reliable electricity, which is most homes and businesses in the country. So when a nurse here told me to start eating more yogurt to fend off infections, I looked into the Easiyo.

It's so simple. You add cold water and the powdered yogurt mix to a plastic chamber. Then you add hot water to the outer capsule, put the chamber in the capsule, seal it up, and let it sit overnight. In the morning, remove the chamber and put it in the fridge, and in a couple hours you have cool, fresh yogurt. There are recipes for making sour cream and cream cheese, but I haven't tried those yet. I've been happy with adding yogurt to my smoothies and fruit salad every day.

There's one drawback. You have to keep buying the Easiyo powdered yogurt mix packets and they don't seem cheap to me. In all honesty, I've been away from the U.S. for so long that I don't know how the cost of a packet that supplies 5 to 6 servings of organic, probiotic yogurt compares to the same number of servings and same level of quality, ready-made in the grocery store dairy case. I'd been buying my Easiyo packets from Amazon.com, but they recently raised the price. Currently the cheapest price I can find is from the Easiyo U.S. website. Easiyo is from New Zealand and doesn't ship to every country, but they have a U.S. distributor. I'll definitely keep shopping around for the best prices, at least while I'm living overseas.

There are several different varieties of yogurt, from "plain," to probiotic, to a luscious, thick, Greek-style yogurt. The different varieties are available in low-fat versions. And there are fruit flavors as well. I haven't tried the fruit flavors because I generally find flavored yogurt too sweet for my taste. But occasionally I'll add a bit of honey to the yogurt powder and water mix to make the probiotic variety a tad less tart. So far, every item I've looked at on the site states that's it's gluten-free, but you should check the ingredients and nutrition information on individual items before you purchase them.

Image from Easiyo.com. I was not compensated for this post in any way. Items were purchased by me for personal use.

chocolate banana milkshake

Milkshakes aren't generally regarded as health food (don't even think about SlimFast or anything related). But as a weekend treat for myself, I've figured out a pretty good combination of bananas, unsweetened cocoa powder, and nonfat milk. How do you get a thick creamy milkshake out of nonfat milk? Freeze the bananas!

Frozen bananas are my latest food obsession. Several times a week I send my housekeeper out to buy bunches of the baby bananas we have here. They are very sweet and taste better than any banana I've ever had in the United States. And they are a perfect size for adding to smoothies and shakes without having to cut them up. Not that it's not difficult to cut up bananas, but every bit of time saved seems to help these days. When I get my bunch of baby bananas I peel them all and put them in a bag in the freezer (which also keeps the ants away from them!). Then each morning I pull some out to add to my daily blender beverage. I only use two in fruit smoothies, because there's plenty of other fruit. But four or five added to the milk makes for a cold, smooth, creamy treat that is exactly as if you've added ice cream.

I don't really measure and sometimes I end up with enough for two (or three, depending on if you're counting both Mike and the baby). I use 1 1/2 to 2 cups of nonfat milk (I use Bob's Red Mill Nonfat Milk Powder to make my nonfat milk), four or five frozen baby bananas, and a heaping spoonful of cocoa powder. Blend it up and pour it into tall glasses. It's super-fantastic, if you like bananas.

If you are in the United States, you may be able to find these baby bananas at an international grocery store. I'd get them at an Asian grocery store in Falls Church, Virginia, and I'm pretty sure I saw them at some of the Mexican/South American stores in the area also. They really are tastier than the oversized, over-produced, under-flavored Chiquita or Dole bananas you'll find at Stop & Shop.

day 1 without sugar -- not very successful

I've decided to make a concentrated effort to give up refined sugar for the rest of the pregnancy. (Notice I haven't gone all the way and said "entirely eliminate" yet. Baby steps. Attainable goals.) Just to avert any worrying, it has nothing to do with diabetes or any other pregnancy-related issues. It's something else that I'm trying to manage holistically. (It's a personal thing that I'd rather not spell out specifically.) I've already given up wheat, because of the celiacs. I refuse to give up fruit and dairy to solve this problem, because without them I have few other food groups to choose from. The only thing I can realistically eliminate at this point is refined sugar. And if the problem isn't better after a few months, I'll look into further options.

So this morning my smoothie was nothing but fruit and yogurt, sans juice. I refrained from all chocolate throughout the day. I did not eat the leftover crepes sucre for an afternoon snack. I did fine except for lunch.

I neglected to tell my housekeeper about the new no-sugar rule. And when he served strawberry ice cream for dessert at lunch time, I couldn't help but have some. I ate about half of what I usually would -- my usual amount is about half of what he actually serves. But eat some I did.

I don't feel guilty exactly, but I feel like I really need to reign in on these occasional treats, or else they'll turn out to be not-so occasional.

One thing that should help me manage is the sugar shortage going on in the country right now. If it's not for sale at the markets, it can't be bought and turned into delicious baked goods.

what I eat while pregnant

I have celiac disease, I live in Africa, and now on top of that I'm navigating the world of eating for two. The gluten-free part is easy. The lack of variety here is my big challenge. I haven't really had cravings, but I've had some very strong aversions, which makes the lack of variety even more challenging. Like every expectant woman I want to make sure the baby and I are getting enough of everything that we need.

A friend here gave me her copy of What to Expect When You're Expecting and I immediately turned to it for dietary guidelines. Most of the foods on the list are either unavailable here or inedible for me, which didn't surprise me. What surprised me was the gigantic amount of food that they want you to eat in one day! I'm working hard to gain the weight I need to with the proper nutrition, but I can't get anywhere near the daily calorie recommendation. (My husband looked at it too and was amazed. He doesn't even eat that much, and he's a fit, athletic guy who consumes mass quantities.)

I have a gluten-free prenatal vitamin. I'm eating a lot of quinoa and quinoa pasta, which has protein and folic acid. I'm also eating a lot of rice and beans, another good source of protein and folic acid. I try to get one serving of meat per day, but sometimes meat is my greatest aversion. I started making my own yogurt and I found a nonfat powdered milk that I can tolerate, so I'm getting plenty of calcium and my healthy yogurt bacteria. Every morning I start my day with a tropical fruit smoothie. (Sometimes on the weekends I make a banana-chocolate milkshake instead for a treat -- with my yogurt and nonfat milk of course.) I can get broccoli, carrots, lettuce, tomatoes, zucchini, and cucumbers here for my veggie intake. The baby craves carbs more than anything so I'm baking my own bread and eating cereal like mad. And my ultimate comfort food is Annie's gluten-free macaroni and cheese.

Besides the nonfat milk, I also drink a ton of water. Most of the other beverage choices here are too sugary for me and even before the pregnancy I drank them sparingly. I occasionally have caffeine-free coffee or tea. I gave up caffeine and alcohol as soon as I found out I was pregnant, and within two weeks my blood pressure plummeted from borderline too high to the low end of normal.

I know my efforts are paying off with every visit to my local nurse, who checks my blood pressure and does a urinalysis every other week. Without adequate medical care here (for anything more in-depth I have to go to Nairobi, South Africa, or even Europe or the States), my diet has to be my primary source of health maintenance. As you can see, I'm eating good stuff, but I am dreaming of the day several months from now when I will be back in the United States and can walk into any grocery store to face a huge variety of food.

cheese fest

I run so I can eat cheese. 

Last night we didn't just eat cheese, we celebrated it. The Belgian community organized a feast of European cheeses and cold meats, like parma ham and hard salamis. It was phenomenal. We met some friends, shared some wine, and ate all the cheese we could. Most of the cheeses were soft, like brie and the most amazing chevre I've ever had. High-quality soft cheeses are hard to find here and expensive when you do find them, so a whole table piled high with them was quite a sight. 

I unfortunately forgot to bring my own crackers or bread so watched the others indulge in artisan breads while I picked at my cheese with a fork. Of course it wasn't the same, but I did what I had to. When it comes to cheese, sometimes you have to make sacrifices.

Image from Jupiter Images.

white russians

Last night we had our much anticipated and much planned La Fete Lebowski, a celebration of all things Big Lebowski. We wore robes, we (Wii) bowled, we watched the film, and we made white russians, a drink with which no Lebowski celebration can be without.

We stockpiled vodka and Kahlua for months. When I traveled through Nairobi earlier this week I grabbed an additional bottle of each from the duty-free shop and it's a good thing, because we opened those last two bottles. They can both be purchased here but can be quite expensive and may not be top quality.

When making white russians in a country where  you can't run down to the Ralphs for some half-and-half, it's important to test your recipe ahead of time with the different milks you have available. As far as I'm concerned, white russians made from irradiated pouch milk are utterly disgusting. We decided to use our fresh milk source and everyone raved about how great our white russians were.

In a place where beverage options can be mind-numbingly limited at parties--Coke, Fanta, Primus, Fruito, Amstel grande and Amstel petite--expect that more people will choose to drink your signature drink than, well, you expect. We bought a lot of extra milk for the party and didn't think we'd go through it all. We assumed that the cream, sugar, and alcohol content would keep folks to one or two white russians each. (I certainly couldn't have had more than two without yakking.) But a novel beverage choice was extremely popular and by the time the movie ended we were out of milk; folks were adding dry milk powder, Lebowski-style, to straight Kahlua.

Mike and I took turns tending bar and used a simple, basic recipe:

1 part Kahlua

1 part vodka

1 part full-cream milk

over ice

Some people added additional splashes of their favorite ingredient.

Vodka and other distilled beverages are widely regarded as gluten-free. However, if you're unsure, find a potato-based vodka with no additives. Most sources state Kahlua as being gluten-free. (It sneakily contains dairy, which is what gives some people a reaction; however, if you're drinking white russians I certainly hope you are dairy-tolerant.)

I actually didn't get to drink much white russian. The one that's in the photo is one I made earlier in the day, while we were prepping for the party and testing proportions. I only took a few sips because I didn't want to be wasted before the party even started. Then, later, I made one to drink while watching the film but I put it down on a table for a minute and it disappeared. After the film I tried for the third time, just to discover we were out of milk. And I didn't relish the thought of milk powder so I gave up for the night.

We have enough Kahlua and vodka so that the next time we buy milk I can make a white russian to sit and enjoy quietly.

Cross-posted at Where in the World Am I?

tropical fruit smoothie

One of the greatest benefits to living in Bujumbura is the abundance of tropical fruits: bananas, pineapple, mango, and papaya. Sure, it's not a huge selection and occasionally I crave an apple, but it's available year round, it's always delicious, and it's cheap.

Our cook has a standing order to keep fresh tropical fruit salad in the refrigerator at all times. We eat it for breakfast most days and sometimes for dessert after lunch. And several times a week we make fruit smoothies with it. With some of the local passionfruit or pineapple juices and a bit of dry milk powder, we have an amazingly sweet, creamy treat.

We have a five-cup blender and I fill it about halfway with the fruit salad. I add about a half cup of dry milk powder (I prefer Bob's Red Mill nonfat or buttermilk powders), a bottle of fruit juice (250 mL -- and the pineapple is sugar free; the passionfruit has cane sugar added), and six to eight ice cubes, and blend.

When a friend from the States was visiting, I made these smoothies for him and Mike after they'd gone for a run. He exclaimed, "You'll pay seven dollars for this back home!" And here seven dollars buys you more than enough fruit to make a smoothie every day for a week. The juice and milk powder are optional. At the very least all you need is the fruit and the ice.

On Sunday mornings the fruit smoothie makes the weekly malaria pill go down, well, smoothly.

fresh milk

When we first started doing research on Burundi one thing that worried us about the food situation rather than excited us (fresh mangos and pineapple!) was milk. We were under the impression that the only milk available would be very expensive powdered or irradiated, shelf-stable milk-like products. I resigned myself to two years of nondairy creamer in my coffee.

However, soon after arriving we noticed there were a lot of cows here. And a lot of tasty, fresh beef. Naturally we began to wonder if there wasn’t fresh milk available somewhere as well. (Just look at those happy, delicious, albeit thin, cows.) One day a coworker of Mike’s pointed out a place to buy fresh milk. It was as if we’d been inducted into a secret club. A building with a sign-less white façade has a grated door that leads you into what Mike calls the “Milk Bar.” There’s a counter, where if you bring your own bottles, a woman will fill them for you, asking “Pasteurize ou non pasteurize?” The first time we went, we decided to get unpasteurized milk and boil it ourselves. That was a disaster, so since then we’ve always filled up our three Nalgene bottles with lait pasteurize.

The reason Mike calls it the Milk Bar is this: In a separate room there are tables and chairs where men (and the occasional woman) sit and order milk by the glass. Cows are a sign of wealth and only the healthiest, wealthiest people can afford to drink a big glass of milk. It’s like a status symbol, to be seen sitting at the bar drinking a glass of milk. The women working behind the counter spend more time processing the receipts of the customers drinking milk by the glass than they do filling bottles for folks like us.

We love our fresh milk. It’s so wonderful in coffee. Our cook makes the creamiest ice cream and other desserts with it. There’s no such thing as a choice between non-fat, skim, and whole milk. It’s all full-fat milk, all the time. When we get back to the States, we’re going to be snobby fresh milk people who won’t be able to stand Stop & Shop homogenized milk by the carton.

chiles rellenos

What do I do when Planet Organics drops four unexpected poblano (or pasilla) chiles on my doorstep because I wasn't paying careful enough attention to my produce order?

Chiles rellenos! I'd never had this at a restaurant because of the breading. But Mike loves these cheesy chiles, especially from one particular place that was our favorite Mexican restaurant in San Diego. So I set about figuring out a way to make them at home with my beautiful accidental poblanos. Between online searches and rifling through cookbooks I couldn't find anything that jived with Mike's memory of the specific chiles rellenos. But I figured out the basic idea and I used Joy of Cooking as my main guideline.

First I roasted the peppers. To roast in the oven, place them on a baking sheet and broil for a few minutes, turning two or three times for evenness. Make sure you use tongs for turning them; a fork might pierce the skin. They're done when the skin starts to blister and turn black. Once they're cool enough to handle, peel off the skins.

Then I came to my first impasse. How do I get the cheese in and the veins and seeds out? I wanted to bread them, which makes it difficult to make a long, lengthwise slice. None of the recipes I found made the chiles exactly the way I wanted them, so I had to wing this part. I made two slices near the stem, forming a T. I was able to get my paring knife into the T and with a little careful wriggling I cut out the bulk of the seeds near the base of the stem and most of the veins. After that, shoving in the cheese was a cinch.

I grated some Monterey Jack cheese to stuff the peppers. I also threw in some kidney beans. I couldn't come up with a good side dish, making the chiles rellenos the only course, so I wanted them to be slightly healthier than breaded cheese. Beans make a good filling because they are nonfat yet high in fiber and protein.

Phew. Next step, breading. Usually I recruit Mike for this job but being my first stab at chiles rellenos I wanted to have my hands on every step. It was surprisingly easy to handle the stuffed peppers. They are sturdy yet pliable. Dipping them in potato starch then in egg made a nice sticky paste that sealed the slices together quite nicely.

For bread crumbs I used Southern Homestyle Tortilla Crumbs. I had never even heard of tortilla crumbs, yet lo and behold, I found a new grocery store recently and they sold tortilla crumbs. Theoretically, you'd think they'd be the perfect breading for chiles rellenos.

I baked my breaded chiles in the oven at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Since they're already roasted, they're soft enough to eat. You just need to get the cheese all warm and melty.

And boy were these warm and melty! The taste wasn't perfect and Mike and I have a few ideas for improvement. But lots of melted cheese heals all ills. (Except lactose intolerance I guess.) We deemed these chiles pretty good for a first effort. The breading wasn't quite as thick and crispy as we both like. Mike's the breading genius so I'll let him do it next time. And more flavor was needed in the stuffing. I'm thinking either garlic or green onions next time. Poblano chiles are mild, so if you want a little kick you need to add it. Maybe a bit of chopped serrano?

tandoori chicken with yogurt sauce

I first mentioned this recipe from Everyday Food a few weeks ago because it inspired the apple yogurt slaw I like to serve with other dishes. Sometimes though we like to do this complete recipe.

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground ginger
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 bone-in, skinless chicken breasts halves (10 to 12 ounces each)
2 Granny Smith apples
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 475°. In a large bowl, mix together 1/2 cup yogurt, garlic, turmeric, ginger, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Add chicken; turn to coat.
2. Transfer chicken to a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of breast (avoiding bone) registers 160°, 25 to 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, peel apple; coarsely grate into a medium bowl. Add cilantro and remaining 1/2 cup yogurt; season with salt and pepper. Serve sauce alongside chicken, with rice, if desired.

I like to use 2 boneless chicken breasts instead, for faster, easier cooking. Also, I use whatever apples I have on-hand and I like to add lime juice to the apple slaw. And we always make rice for the side.

We had this on Sunday. Last night was marinated, grilled pork chops. Tomorrow we're going to a steakhouse for dinner. So tonight it's tofu, veggies, and water.

baked eggplant with feta and tomatoes

AFter my produce delivery left me without basil, I had to change my plans from the egglplant with basil and feta that I'd been craving. I remembered that a couple years ago I jotted down a recipe from a seed catalog at my mom's house, stuck it in my recipe notebook, and never made it. Left with a giant eggplant and handfuls of tomatoes but no basil, it seemed like a good time to try it.

From the Seeds of Change print catalog (they don't appear to have this recipe on their website). I've typed this in here exactly as I wrote it down at the time. The original recipe in the catalog might be different.

4 eggplants
1/3 cup olive oil
feta cheese
salt & pepper
4 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped

Preheat oven to 375. Slice eggplant in half lengthwise and score cut sides in criss-cross pattern. Heat 3 Tbl oil in large skillet. Add eggplant, cut sides down, and fry over medium-high heat until golden. Fry other side for a few minutes then remove to plate and salt and pepper. Wipe out pan. Heat 1 Tbl oil, add tomatoes and cook over medium-high heat until broken down into chunky sauce, 5 to 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Put eggplant cut sides up in a baking dish. Crumble cheese, spoon tomato over, sprinkle with dried oregano. Cover and bake until eggplant is tender, about 40 minutes. Uncover and back 5 minutes more.

First off, I used just one eggplant for the two of us (we still ended up with some leftovers). I had to pan fry the eggplant slices one at a time, and the eggplants soak up a lot of oil. But maybe I used too little; I didn't measure. Be very careful when handling slippery eggplant halves around hot oil! I had a bit of a splash and thankfully didn't get any oil on my skin, but hopefully did not ruin a favorite pair of shorts.

I used 5 or 6 roma tomatoes, which weren't very juicy. I chopped them ahead of time, not removing the skins or seeds--we like lots of chunky texture. I let them sit in a bowl for a bit with some salt to help bring out the juice and I minced 3 cloves of garlic and tossed it in to sit with the tomatoes.

The garlicky tomatoes smelled so good during their heating up time that I became very hopeful for this dish. I don't really like eggplant that much but it's a good vehicle for foods I do like. I spooned my tomatoes over the eggplant and crumbled my feta, then put it in the oven and forgot about it for 40 minutes. I forgot to add any dried herbs, but I think I'll add them next time. I also think I'll pay closer attention to the eggplants while baking because they were a tad too mushy. I think a few minutes less would have been better.

Anyway, it's a pretty basic meal, and I'm sure just about everyone out there can do something better with eggplant than I can.

(For a premeal snack we had cantaloupe and prosciutto, both from my food delivery yesterday. Super yummy.)

indian spice rub

This is a recipe I snagged from the Everyday Food magazine: all-purpose spice rub. Online they don't give the suggestions for making different varieties, but the print magazine does. In order to make this more Indian-inspired, replace the oregano and thyme with cardamom, ground ginger, curry powder, and tumeric.

Indian Spice Rub
1/3 cup coarse salt
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/4 cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cardammom
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 tablespoon tumeric

Put everything in a jar and shake it. Spoon out as much as you'll use for whatever you're coating, then put the jar away in the cupboard. Keeps for about 6 months.

I like to use this on chicken breasts, but you could use it for anything. (I'd like to try tofu cubes some day.) Per Martha's instructions, coat the chicken breasts in a little vegetable oil, then coat them with the spice rub, 2 to 3 tablespoons per pound of meat (measure out the spice rub beforehand and put what you'll need on a separate plate so as not to contaminate your whole jar). Let it sit for awhile to soak in the flavors or throw it on the grill right away.

In order to cool down the spiciness I pair this chicken with an apple slaw inspired by an episode of Everyday Food on PBS. Their full recipe is here, Tandoori chicken with yogurt sauce. It's really good and pretty easy, but sometimes on a hot summer evening you want something even easier that you don't have to light the oven for. To make the apple slaw I grate an apple or two, mix in some plain, nonfat yogurt, some lime juice, and some chopped fresh cilantro. Everything is "to taste" and dependent upon how much I want to make.

Make some rice and this meal is complete. And completely tasty and quick.