Caryn’s New Year’s Diet

I’m starting off the new year with a  diet.   I want to set myself up for success, so I will not make this an all or nothing plan.  I will start with 30 days and if I have a slip up so be it.  Yoni Freedhoff says slip ups happen so I will accept that it will happen and move on. After 30 days I will assess my progress and decide what the next step is.

My diet is about social media.  I don’t think I consume it in a healthy way.  I spend an excessive amount of time on social media.  Since I did not have it growing up, it is a novelty that I cannot get enough of, kind of like junk food for some people.

I long for those days of simplicity with paper and productivity.  I remember fondly writing little notes in class and passing them to my BFF known then as my best friend.  I remember hours of phone conversations instead of endless digital chats.  When I wanted to learn something new, I would get a book on the subject or read an article in a journal.  Now I just scroll through my Facebook feed and click on the many links to learn about stuff I don’t really need to know.

One of the problems has become too much information.  I can’t take it all in. Too much of anything is unhealthy.  Too much food, even good food, is not healthy.  Eat less, is the message top nutrition scientists have been saying for years.  I am going to implement this same advice for social media consumption.

My high school buddy Dr. Tanny is also dieting.  He proposed the idea and it was just the impetus I was looking for to stop the insanity of Facebooking. Partnering up with someone who has the same goals is motivating and fun.  Exercising with someone helps with accountability and reduces the chance of missing  a workout.

We will see how far we get and what positive experiences stem from this approach to reducing the consumption of social media.  Dr. Tanny will wean himself off slowly by ranting on twitter. I will relax on Pinterest for now.

The Corny Dietitian Writes About Corn

It’s August in Quebec
and that means CORN, CORN and more CORN until there is no more left.  This is the only time of year that I eat fresh
corn.  The rest of the year if I make a
salsa I might toss in some canned corn. 
I would never ever consider eating fresh corn at any other time of the
year because it wouldn’t actually be fresh. 
Truly fresh corn is picked at dawn and served by 5pm!  You can get away with keeping it in your
fridge for a day or two but that is it. To cook it properly, you bring
a big pot of water to boil and then throw your shucked corn in.  Wait until it boils again and then time it
for 3 minutes.  Take the pot off the heat
and plunge each cob into cold water. 
This will stop the cooking process and keep the corn crunchy.  then, return the corn to the pot and serve hot.  If it is good fresh corn picked that day it
will be very sweet and there is no need to douse it in butter.

This time of year reminds me of a corn roast I was at when I
worked in Kanesatake.  It was the best
corn ever! The Mohawks of Kanesatake and Kahnawake use corn as a staple
food.  Even in today’s modern society
corn is always served during feasts and gatherings.  Corn is used to make traditional bread and
corn soup which is actually an entire meal in a bowl.   Traditionally, corn was (and still is!)
gathered and braided ensuring food safety throughout the cold winter months.
Natives also use corn in medicine and in crafts.  The husks are used for doll making.  If you would like to learn more check out
this interesting website by turtle island native network.  I credit this information to my friend Robin
Sky who lives near Oka right in
Kanesatake. 

My favourite thing to do with August corn is make peach,
corn salsa.  I have never actually
written this down before but it gets a lot of compliments.  Here goes: I cut corn off several cobs
depending on how many people I am serving it to.  I guess you can say a ½ a corn per person.  I dice in some fresh August Ontario peaches and again it’s about a ½ a peach per person.  Then I toss in some freshly diced tomatoes,
at least a ¼ cup of fresh cilantro, for sure 1 fresh red pepper diced, ½ a red
onion diced, 1 ripe avocado diced and if I am in the spicy mood I will throw in a finely chopped green jalapeño.  The piece de la
resistance has got to be the fresh lime juice I squeeze over the entire bowl
just before serving.  Actually, you
should let the recipe sit on the counter for a while so the flavours can mellow
into each other. 

Now you know how I really cook.  I make things up with foods I guess will go
well together.  It’s all visual. I just
open the fridge and see what I can toss into a bowl or pot.   I am
not even sure I wrote down all the stuff that goes into my summer seasonal
salsa. This is the time of year to experiment.  I love going to the outdoor markets and
getting fresh ingredients.  Then I come
home and create something interesting. 

Addendum 

After I wrote this blog and took pictures of the salsa, I threw in a can of rinsed black beans, chopped Swiss chard and a dollop of Balkan style yogurt and ate it for supper.