Getting Back in Balance

It seems that Spring has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest and I have been planting flowers and vegetables...and having fewer headaches. The tomatoes in the photo were from last year's crop. I am hoping to have more this year. 

While weather changes do seem to bring on headaches for me, the change to Spring has been surprisingly mild headache-wise. Each month since January I have had one less headache that I had to take a triptan drug to abort. April was the best month in a long while. Only 5 triptan-worthy headaches. As usual, I think the reason for the improvement is due to a mix of things. My doctor has me taking a preventative blood pressure med that I am now taking half a dose in the morning and half at night. I continue to watch my diet and blood sugar to avoid triggers and sugar crashes. And I exercise almost daily and get enough sleep. One other thing that has helped is to take Aleve with the triptan drug and then to continue taking Aleve on the third day after the headache to prevent any lingering inflammation from triggering it again. That seems to work pretty well, but is tricky. If I take too much Aleve it bothers my stomach. A lot. 

So balance seems to be the word of the day. If I keep myself in balance, mentally and physically, and if the weather isn't too changeable, I can keep the headaches at bay. I still struggle to remember to drink enough water for me. And I have been struggling to get my diet on track. My latest tactic is to really push the fruits and vegetables and try to keep things interesting.  Most days I make a big salad for lunch and I find that if I add some chopped apple or leftover roasted potato to it I don't have the cravings for sweets afterwards. Which is good. I make my own salad dressings to avoid gluten and preservatives that my head doesn't like. Recently a reader asked how I make dressings so I thought I would share my recipe, such as it is.

I keep track of how much oil I use pretty carefully so whether I make a small or large amount of dressing, I always measure the oil in teaspoons. This is because I am a lifetime member of Weight Watchers and I know that 1 tsp. of oil equals 1 WW point on their program. So if I know how many teaspoons of oil are in a serving of my dressing, I can figure out how to count my portion. So here it is. I just use 1 tsp. of good olive or walnut oil and add either 1 tsp. or 1 T of vinegar or lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste, maybe a bit of mustard or water. I use the 1/1 ratio if I want a less tart dressing, or I add some water. Sometimes I add some stevia (a natural zero calorie sweetener). Sometimes I add a little soft fresh goat's cheese (Chavrie) if I want creaminess.

The trick is to use high quality ingredients. I love the oils from O & Co. My favorite dressing is to use a 1/1 ratio of their citron olive oil and their balsamic vinegar. It is so sweet and delicious. I also like to mix their olive oils with champagne vinegar or red wine vinegar. When I use the latter, I use a larger amount of vinegar: 1 Tablespoon per 1 tsp. oil. 

Latest great gluten-free find: Glutino Fiber Bread. I got it at Whole Foods Market. It tastes like real bread and if you put a little butter on it toasted, you can forget it's gluten-free. It is made from corn and tapioca starch and has flax seed meal, sugar beet fiber, some sugar and egg white and is fortified. At 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, and 2 grams of fiber, it is 2 WW points per slice.

Flank Steak with Bell Peppers and Mango

I made flank steak with peppers and mango the other night. It is my husband’s favorite of my invented recipes and one of mine too now that I have perfected my workarounds to avoid gluten, ginger and corn syrup. I started making this dish a few years ago in an attempt to recreate a dish my husband used to make for me when we were dating. The original recipe was from the Time-Life series on Chinese Cooking, published sometime in the 1970’s ( I know I am really dating myself here).

Anyway, being the lazy sort of person that I am sometimes, I didn’t feel like digging out the book and I thought I remembered the marinade well enough to wing it. This was before I knew I was gluten intolerant, so I used regular soy sauce, rice vinegar, Mirin, corn starch and ginger. I like red bell pepper better than green (which was in the original recipe) so I used those as well as shallots (which were always in the recipe). It came out pretty well and I continued to make it, eventually adding a jar marinade (Thai Chili Roasted Garlic Dipping Sauce from Wild Thymes) that brought some heat to it and I tossed in some red wine at the end. One summer I added sliced nectarines and the result was heavenly.

My first few attempts to make it sans gluten and ginger were pitiful. I could substitute sake for the Mirin and wheat-free soy for the regular, but substituting the ginger was really hard. I was afraid to use the Wild Thymes dipping sauce because it had unidentified “spices” in it and I am allergic to chili powder. I experimented with different spice combinations and discovered that allspice, cinnamon, paprika, red pepper flakes and cayenne worked pretty well. It tasted good, but not particularly Asian. The nectarines were still great and in the summer I would alternate with peaches. In the Fall I tried Fuyu persimmons and then I hit on the mango version. All of them are great and allow me to make the dish in any season. I recently discovered that adding a bit more soy, rice vinegar and sake near the end of the cooking process brings a bit more Asian flavor to it and gives the sauce that extra sweetness I used to get with the red wine—without the headache! I serve it over Japanese style white rice cooked in a rice cooker.

Flank Steak with Red Pepper and Mango

1 lb. flank steak, cut lengthwise into 4 or 5 strips, then cut crosswise into bite size pieces.

2 red or orange bell peppers, cut into 1" squares

1 large shallot, peeled and roughly sliced

1 mango, peeled and cut into large dice

1 T peanut oil

a few drops of sesame oil

marinade:

4 tsp. wheat-free soy sauce

2 tsp. corn starch

1 tsp. sake or corn syrup-free Mirin

1 tsp. rice vinegar

a few drops of sesame oil

1/4 tsp. allspice

1/4 tsp. paprika

1/8 tsp. cinnamon

dash of cayenne

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes

Japanese style rice

feeds 4

Start rice (if using a rice cooker, it should finish right on time).

Cut steak. Add marinade ingredients to meat. Toss to coat.

Chop vegetables and mango.

Heat peanut oil in wok (use medium heat if using non-stick pan). Add shallots and saute until slightly soft. Add bell peppers and mango and cook slightly. Remove from wok with slotted spoon. Add marinated steak to wok (add more oil if necessary). Use a slotted spoon or tongs to add meat. Do not pour in rest of marinade. Trust me. The steak will boil in it and end up tough. Brown the meat well on all sides. Let it form a crust before turning. Add the vegetables and mango back in. Cook, stirring all until the meat is done to your taste and the vegetables are still a bit crunchy. Taste and adjust seasonings. Add a bit more soy, rice vinegar and sake. Cook a minute more and taste, making any adjustments necessary. You should have a lovely sauce by then. Serve over rice. Sigh with happiness.

Karen, herself