Older Bolder Life

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the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 1 August: Quick Pickled Beets (and Onions)

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Growing up in a fairly austere food-household in my younger years, I’m not sure at what point I developed a taste for pickled beets. One of my grandmothers was an avid gardner and she loved to “put up” all sorts of pickled goods; her cucumber pickles (fermented dills, sweets, as well as bread and butters) were great, as were her pickled okra and “dilly beans”.

She made her pickled beets in small, crinkle-cut cubes; they were over-sweetened by primal / paleo standards but fit the cuisine of the day in South Texas, but man, oh man, they were astoundingly good.

She liked to add a bit of red or sweet onion to her pickled beets, and we do too.

We like to mix it up a bit when making quick pickles out of various root vegetables (try radishes sometime) by varying the spices we add, hence the list of consider adding spices below. Try various combinations and find your (or your family’s) favorite(s), and by all means vary the vinegars as well. The recipe below is scaled for a single quart jar by the way.

With beets coming into the farmer’s markets now, it’s time to “put some up” as my grandmother used to say…

3-4 medium size beets, trimmed
1 small red onion, trimmed, peeled, thinly sliced
1 cup apple cider vinegar
or
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar + 1/2 cup unseasoned rice wine vinegar
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp pickling salt

Water as needed

Consider adding
1 tbsp pickling spice mix
Cloves (1 or 2)
Allspice berries (2-4)
Peppercorns (3-6)
A cinnamon stick
Honey (1-2 tbsp)

Trim the beets, wash (scrub) them thoroughly, throw in a pot and cover with water; bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 minutes until they can be easily pierced with a fork or knife.

Remove the beets from the heat, drain and rinse with cold water; when cool enough to handle, slip off the skins, and slice into approximately 1/4-inch thick slices.

Start a pot over medium heat with the vinegar(s), bay leaf, salt, and whatever spices from the “consider adding” list you want to try. Stir the honey in if using. When boiling, turn off the heat and set aside.

While the vinegar mixture is heating up, take a sterilized one-quart canning jar and layer the sliced beets and onions in artfully, taking care to pack fairly tightly. When full, pour the just-boiled liquids over the beets, leaving about 1/2-inch headspace.

Leave on the counter to cool, then screw on the lid and into the fridge they go. The beets will be better a day or two down the road, but will be tasty within a few hours of setting them up. With appropriate cautions, they’re probably good for up to two weeks, but ours never last that long.

Enjoy.

Foundation Series: Fitness Secret Weapon No. 1 – MOVE

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I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with a good friend from Montana.

He’s a very successful businessman with a loving family; though his principle business interest is commercial (multifamily) real estate, he and his two sons run an impressive grass-fed cattle operation in Montana on three fairly large land plots (they call them ranches up in that part of the world).

We’ve known one another for a lustrum or better now, and he’s been impressed enough with my body composition (and other) changes over the past eighteen months to himself jump on the Primal bandwagon. Working on his seventh decade of a very active life, he’s still out in the field six of seven days per week, though spends the bulk of his time behind a desk. He and his clan have additionally weathered a heart-wrenching tragedy this spring with the loss of a daughter-in-law.

After a rapid and for the most effortless weight loss for the first four months as a Primal guy, he’s been stalled now for the last two months and change. Even more frustrating to him was the fact that he felt his overall fitness level hadn’t changed radically since the New Year. So he called me Saturday afternoon, feeling just a bit defeated, and looking for some answers.

Time for a Bit of Long-Distance Detective Work

The first half hour of our conversation was spent with me mostly listening, prompting with a question here and there, but gradually a consistent story began to take shape, focused around two things.

One, and of lesser importance in the big picture, my friend had been consuming (too much) fruit (mostly South American in origin) on a near daily basis during the long Montana winter, which, pending where you happened to live in the state, persisted via a snowy, cold spring until late April or early May this year. This is another story for another day, but suffice it to say that fructose has been the undoing of many a concerted weight loss attempt.

Two, and perhaps most critically, my compadre hasn’t been moving enough. Yes, he’s busy, some days putting in 15 hours between desk, truck, and tractor, but we pretty quickly came to the same conclusion – he’s been far too sedentary coming out of winter and having dealt with the issues they faced as an extended-family unit this spring.

Back to the Basics with the Secret Weapon of Movement

One of the first things we did together was agree that movement – general, everyday, functional-task linked movement is a critical cornerstone for good health (and the Primal lifestyle). I reminded him that the movement we’re talking about here, the essential, get-off-your-butt and just move stuff, isn’t really what most would call targeted exercise or higher-level training (Sisson speaks to the distinction ably here), but really ought to be something we all think of as an essential, pretty much non-negotiable part of our day.

While for many a goal of 10,000 steps a day is ambitious, my friend noted that much of the tasking that he does “around the place” could be easily accomplished on foot instead of from the seat of a four-wheeler, truck, or tractor. Given the trials of the spring, and a generous spring runoff, he’d not be fly fishing much, though had two excursions involving hiking set up for this week (dang, that sounds like fun).

We chatted about ways to incorporate quick walks into his day, like a quick walk breathing in those glorious summer Montana mornings before settling in for the day’s work, a 10-minute stretch every two hours (or less) during the desk day, a 20-30 minute walk after dinner, and rewarding himself with at least one 2 hour or better hike each week to fish his favorite waters on the Big Hole River near his home.

We agreed that for him, a rational, baseline goal for moving in some form of low level aerobic activity (it works for most of us, too) would be in the 5-7 hours per week range, shooting for at least an hour per day or better (in a addition to his HIIT and resistance workouts he’s been fairly diligent with so far).

Bottom line, moving more is something we all can fairly easily incorporate into our day; it may take a bit of effort and reprograming and old habit or two, but the results build in quickly.

Foundation Series: When It Comes to Exercise, There are Times When Less is More

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In the American College of Sports Medicine’s annual worldwide survey of current fitness trends (the 2018 edition), they ranked high-intensity interval training (HIIT) at the very top as per the image/list from the article to the right.

That’s of course no surprise to many, though it seems I run into people just about every day who aren’t sure what to think about HIIT, presume that it’s too extreme for those of us over 40, particularly if we’re significantly deconditioned and/or overweight. There’s another cadre of HIIT skeptics who fall into the “chronic cardio lifer” category.

Yet the pull of HIIT is inescapable.

HIIT offers for most identical – or greater – fitness benefits compared to much longer, historically traditional cardio-focused workouts. High-intensity interval training can be completed much more quickly, is damned efficient at producing its benefits, induces less physical (and quite possible biomechanical stress, pending your workout choices) stresses on your system, saves joint wear and tear, and provides a great change-up in your routine.

A Quick Glance at HIIT in the Literature

I know, I know, almost everybody you read these days reaches back to one of the first (landmark) studies published looking at HIIT vs moderate-intensity cardio – the 1996 study in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. HIIT completed five days per week was clearly more effective than traditional cardio in measures of both aerobic and anaerobic fitness; of note, the workout program in the study was eventually described as the Tabata protocol (20 second sprints, 10 second rests, 7-8 reps).

But wait, five days of HIIT per week? This study from the International Journal of Obesity in 2008 showed impressive benefits from only three times per week HIIT over 15 weeks, with body changes impressively better than the moderate-intensity cardio group.

This study from 2007 showed low-volume HIIT (sprint training) physiologic improvements were basically the same as (for the day) typical endurance training regimens. Another study from 2006 again demonstrated similar benefits in a low-volume sprint group compared to a high-volume endurance group in exercise tolerance/capacity and a detailed skeletal muscle analysis.

And despite chronic cardio’s dominant position for decades as the purported cornerstone of improving cardiac function and health, this study (2008) clearly demonstrated that HIIT was as effective as traditional endurance training in measures of arterial stiffness and flow-mediated arterial dilation. Even my own specialty (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation) has recently published a study on HIIT in cardiac patients, with a good review of workout intensity recommendations as well.

A Few Quick Thoughts on Starting Your Own HIIT Program

Without a doubt those with significant cardiopulmonary disease such ischemic or other heart disease, valvular disease, history of MI (heart attack), or cerebrovascular disease (stroke) should clear a HIIT program with their physician. For that matter, if you have any major medical or orthopaedic issue (T2 or T1 diabetes, hypertension, any arthropathy whether it’s degenerative/osteoarthritis, gout, or others, or perhaps osteoporosis), it’s worth clearing HIIT with your doc.

Don’t forget that you can accomplish a very effective HIIT workout with lower-impact exercise; the HIIT game is all about intensity, briefly pushing to 85 (up to 100) percent of your age-adjusted maximal target heart rate with short bursts of more intense effort, combined with/alternating with brief (yet still moving) recovery periods.

For the more mature among us, I often suggest starting with common-sense, fairly simple, whole-body/at least multi-joint movements/exercise for your HIIT program. Think of simple stuff like swimming, walking lunges, walking up an incline/hill, hill jogging/running, simple sprints (i.e., running, stationary bike, elliptical). Even squats, pushups, or jumping jacks will work.

Start slowly, listen to your body, and don’t push for more than one HIIT workout per week or even every ten days to start. You may need to experiment with several different specific workout versions to find what fits your capacity, tolerance, current level of overall fitness, and interests today (remember, this is supposed to be fun).

More on HIIT to come shortly.

the Older Bolder Life Salsa (Sauce) Sunday 29 July: Quick Columbian Aji Sauce

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While I have to admit that I’ve never dined anywhere in Columbia, our friends in the know shared this recipe with us several years ago to enjoy with this Columbian Marinated Flank.

This tasty Aji Sauce is supposedly a kissing cousin of the delicious Brazilian Chimichurri sauce, another favorite of ours, though we’ve come to appreciate the sharp spiciness of this Aji recipe even more.

If you’re handy with some simple knife work, this one can be together in under five minutes; we’ve eaten it with just about every protein imaginable, but it seems to shine with beef, pork, and firm, white-fleshed fish. And as always, if you want a bit more heat, pile on the peppers…

4 large jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, and roughly chopped
3 large green onions, roughly chopped
1/2 sweet onion, roughly chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 tbsp lime juice, fresh preferred
3/4 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper

Throw the jalapenos, green onions, sweet onion, and cilantro into your trusty food processor and puree until a coarse paste forms. Add the vinegar and pulse again.

Now pour/scrape into a small bowl, and stir in the lime juice, salt, and pepper, adjust with more of each to suit your palate.

Throw in the fridge, covered, until ready to use; best made close to your meal.

Enjoy.

Inquiring Minds Want to Know (Links and Stuff) 28 July 2018

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Top of the Fold: Nutritional Ketosis

Crossfitters in Ketosis Lost Fat (tiny study, but interesting)

Nutritional Ketosis and Mitohormesis

Odds and Ends Worth a Glance from the Week

Low Carb Diets Improve Arterial Flexibility in Women

So Full Fat Dairy Isn’t the Boogie Man After All?

Walk it off, 280 pounds in 6000 miles

Blood Glucose Spikes in “Healthy” People

(European) football is medicine. Another suggestion to move, move, move…

Raising Kids Who Read

Interesting OpEd in the BMJ: Pills are Not the Answer

Our Recipes for the Week

Ring the Bell (Pepper) Salad
Versatile Vegetable Kimchi
Judy’s Grilled Salmon

the Older Bolder Life Friday Feast 27 July: Judy’s Grilled Salmon

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Several weeks ago when posting this recipe for Lemony Spiced Salmon Kabobs, I shared about a clandestine fresh Alaskan salmon connection we had years ago up in Salt Lake City –

Years ago, living and working in the Salt Lake City valley, we befriended a couple who, among a bevy of interesting quirks, were partners with another guy in a small Alaskan fishing business.

This ‘other guy’ had a boat and spent a fair part of every summer up there and fished (commercially); he sold some of his take to the big canneries, but some, he packed up on ice in coolers, threw on a direct Delta flight, and were then sold by our friends out of their garage, most often 24 hours or less out of the water. And at prices far, far less than local fish markets (there weren’t multiple hands clamoring to take a cut out of the pie).

The halibut was amazing, but the salmon was simply stunning.

The guy’s wife, a wonderful woman named Judy, taught us this quick and easy marinade for salmon the first summer after we’d met. We like to set it up the night before grilling, and it’s well worth using a handful of fresh dill in the marinade. We like to stir in a tbsp or more of chili garlic paste (it adds a very subtle but discernible note), and while Judy’s original recipe called for a tbsp of brown sugar, we don’t miss it all leaving it out these days.

1-2 wild caught salmon fillet(s), pin bones removed

1 cup soy or tamari
Juice of one large lemon
1/2 lemon cut into thin rounds
1 bunch fresh dill, trimmed
1/4 cup olive or avocado oil

Optional
1 tbsp oriental chili paste or chili garlic paste
1 tbsp brown sugar or maple syrup

Prep your salmon (pull those pin bones!) and combine all the marinade ingredients, then pour into a large, flat container. Lay the salmon flesh side down in the marinade, cover, and throw in the fridge.

When ready to grill, fire the grill, drain and discard the marinade, and grill skin side down first on an oiled grill for 3-4 minutes, then turn and cook for another minute or two until done to suit your clan. Great hot off the grill or chilled for the next day’s salad.

Enjoy.

Foundations Series: Cultivating a Sense of Wonder

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Every child I’ve ever observed, whether as a medical professional or simply as an interested observer of the human condition, has always at one point or another demonstrated a profound sense of wonder and native curiosity about the world at their fingertips.

Perhaps spending a week recently helping care for our three-week-old grandson in Montana prompted thinking about how we should marvel at the natural world around us more often (probably much more often) than we do.

There are countless things we all encounter daily that should stoke and provoke our sense of wonder and curiosity, and yet we’re often distracted by the urgencies of the moment or digital diversions overtly (and covertly) designed to sidetrack our thoughts and behaviors to some other end.

What I’m calling a sense of wonder here, others might simple define as curiosity.

During my years in office practice, I slowly began to realize that even in the face of profound pathology or injury, patient outcomes were most often greatly improved when said patient exhibited a great deal of interest in their condition, firing questions, reading, calling for clarifications, etc. Curiosity consistently worked in their favor, even in the face of intractable medical challenges.

[By the way, even though recent data suggests physicians interrupt patients quickly (11 seconds in this this study!), there are still some patient docs out there who’ll listen. Your mission is to find them.]

Curiosity isn’t an easy concept to measure in traditional medical-model research environments, though there’s this study that revealed correlations between curiosity and mortality, with both men and women who were deemed curious outliving their non-curious counterparts.

In the past few years there have been calls to look deeper into the psychology and neuroscience of curiosity, and even business schools (Wharton in this example) have found it useful to ponder the concept.

Flexing Your Curiosity and Sense of Wonder Muscles

I like to challenge any and everyone I spend time interacting with of late to be more curious about life in general, particularly if you happen to be someone waking up to the reality that the standard American diet isn’t intended to make you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

Ask questions; particularly ask “why” when you’re given advice, or “how” when it’s suggested you do something, or approach a problem in a particular way. Don’t “google” something, do some genuine research. Pay less attention to reviews and crowd-sourced opinions about topics and more to the science and experiential data that’s available.

Sure, you might have to do some digging, and it may take a trip to the bookstore, or heaven forbid, a library (remember those)? Pro Tip: University and medical center libraries are often great resources.

And don’t forget your play and recreation time. Delve into that art, music, or language project you’ve been putting off for years. How about learning to fly fish? I’m a devoted fly fisher in a family of fly fishers – it’s an astoundingly rich hobby, packed with artists and creative types, and with hoards of pedantic backroads of history, tradition, entomology, etc to get lost in. Fly fishing won’t save the world, but you’ll be a better person for engaging…

The more you marvel at the world around you, and the more often you flex those curiosity muscles, the better equipped you’ll be to master tomorrow, and lead, teach, and provide for those you care for.

the Older Bolder Life Vegetable Wednesday 25 July: Versatile Vegetable Kimchi

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Recognizing that it’s supposed to be hot during the dog days of high summer, the past few weeks here (just north of the DFW metroplex) have been scorching – 112 on the hottest day in our little neighborhood.

We find ourselves reach more and more for something crisp and cool to accompany proteins for dinner, and while slaws and salads are on the menu often, we sometimes get a hankering for something with a bit more flavor and acidity.

We’d played with making traditional kimchi in years past, though had our eyes opened to pushing the kimchi boundaries a bit after fighting over the last bit of collard green kimchi on a butter bean hummus plate at Ida Claire in Dallas a couple of years ago (served with a great array of vegetables by the way).

At one point I reached out to chef friend Libby in Austin to pick her brain about kimchi, and she suggested we try her quick Versatile Vegetable Kimchi recipe below. She noted that she makes it with what ever vegetables look good and are handy, including cucumbers, carrots, radishes, beets, and even turnips.

She offered up a few key pieces of additional advice as well, including a reminder that the recipe is best considered to be a framework to start from– e.g. if you like more ginger, put it in, and that if you’re going to age it longer than a few days, it’s probably best not to use the darkest green parts of your scallions as they tend to get a bit slimy the longer they sit in the pot or jar. She serves it within a few days of stirring a batch together at catering events, as the taste is milder; the longer you let it sit in the fridge, the taste gets a bit more “funky” as fermentation works its magic.

2 lb cucumbers, ends trimmed, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
3 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar

10 scallions, cut on diagonal into 1 inch pieces, use the white and pale green sections
1/3 cup (or more) gochugaru (Korean red chile flakes, coarse) OR
1.5 tablespoons crushed red pepper flakes, ground
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoons fish sauce

Veg options: radishes, carrots, beets, turnips, string beans, asparagus

Toss your prepped vegetable of choice, the salt, and sugar in a large bowl; now let it sit (covered with a clean towel) at room temperature for 2-3 hours to begin to pull some water out of the vegetables.

Add the remainder of the ingredients, stirring to mix well and make sure everything is coated.

Spoon into clean quart jars, making sure to divide the liquid equally among the jars, leaving about an inch of headspace. Cover loosely and leave on the counter (out of direct sunlight) for up to two days to begin the magic of fermentation. YOU CAN of course start eating on a jar right away, seems like we always do…

Once you’re happy with evidence of fermentation, throw in the fridge, where the flavors will deepen and mature over the next week as fermentation slowly moves onward. Supposedly this will keep for up to two months in the fridge; we can’t ever make it that long (they only last about a week or so in our kitchen).

Enjoy.