Grand Granola

Recognizing friends, coworkers, or neighbors with a little gift around the holidays is always fun, but coming up with a gift idea is not always easy.  You want the gift to be useful, affordable, appropriate for a variety of ages and interests (and it can't be too girlie!).  Often times, it's homemade, which satisfies at least 2 out of the 3 criteria.  Some years, I just don't get around to it.  But during the holiday season, usually between thinking, "It really doesn't seem like that much work to send out Christmas cards," and finishing my shopping, I start a little arts and crafts project.

In past years, I've made salt and essential oil hand scrub or packaged my own "cranberry orange scone" kit in a mason jar.  Another year, I found lotion cheap and just handed that out to folks.  This year, inspired by the orange scone kit, I wanted to give an edible gift in a jar, but I wanted to try and make it healthier.

Everyone is entitled to indulge at Christmas, but I was especially inspired to plant a seed of healthiness because of so much diverticulitis I've seen in the hospital (and a friend came down recently with the disease).

Since the holidays are a time when everyone is bombarded with delicious (and processed) sweets, why add fuel to the fire?

So I made a tasty alternative to the scones or cookies in a jar: I'm calling it Grand Granola.  I made it over several days while preparing a power point for work and doing Christmas cards.  At first I tried to layer the ingredients so recipients could make the granola themselves at home, but the texture and density of the ingredients are too divergent and it looked like a mess.  Roasting the granola to gift a finish product took more work, however I think people liked having a "finished product" that was as tasty as it was visually appealing. The variety of nuts and their different shapes add visual appeal, but if you are making this for yourself, play around with your favorite combo (see note at end).

Grand Granola
3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup shelled raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 cup whole, raw almonds (substitute walnuts if preferred)
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut, shredded or shaved
1/4 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey or agave nectar (agave nectar is easier to blend in because it's thinner)
1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup golden raisins

In large bowl, combine the oats, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, almonds, and coconut.  Mix with a wooden spoon until well blended.  Add the oil and sweetener slowly as you stir so the mixture is uniformly coated with liquid ingredients.  This may take a few minutes.  Sprinkle on salt and stir.

Spread the mixture evenly on a large cookie sheet and roast at 275F for 60-75 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.  Cool completely.  Add dried fruit if desired.

Scoop ingredients into mason jars (I used pint-sized).  If you want to be fancy, cover the jars with fabric or add a stencil.  That's where my craftiness stops, however.  I was lucky to finish this project sans decorations!  And people loved it!  I did encourage folks to eat the granola within a week or two, because the dried fruit can make the roasted mixture soggy.  If you want long term storage, throw mixture in the freezer and take out what you want as desired.  Otherwise, skip the fruit and encourage recipients to add fresh or dried fruit of their own when they munch.

Serve alone as a snack (yum), with yogurt or your choice of milk.  Yes, you can even throw it on top of ice cream or frozen yogurt.

Note: feel free to substitute your favorite nuts or dried fruit for above.  I made one batch with pineapple tidbits: yum.  I also sprinkled cinnamon, vanilla, and/or almond extract on some batches.  Feel free to experiment and half fun with this tasty and high fiber snack.

High Fiber Happy Colon

My Grand Granola was inspired by many cases of diverticulitis I have seen in the hospital over the past several months.  Americans hear about weight loss and "general healthiness" properties of fiber.  Yet, many people don't understand why fiber is so important: it can prevent you from being hospitalized!  Diverticulitis is very common and preventable.  Hopefully as a fiber ambassador,  I can help prevent some diverticulitis attacks for friends, family and colleagues (basically anyone who will listen!) over the next few decades.  

Diverticulitis is an infection involving the large colon. It is a disease of the West. Basically, since the industrial revolution when processed grains became popular, people have not eaten a fraction of the fiber their bodies had evolved to process and this has lead to dysfunction of our  (ahem) "elimination" system.  How?  Well, since you asked....

Fiber absorbs water, makes our stools bulkier and makes waste easier to pass.  Think of squeezing a toothpaste tube.  When the tube is new, there's lots of bulk in the tube and it's easy to squeeze out what you need. As the tube empties,  you need more and more pressure to push out the paste.  An empty toothpaste  tube is like eating a low-fiber diet: less fiber means less bulk.  Therefore, more pressure is needed to eliminate waste.  Instead of tooth paste and your hand squeezing, however, pressure in the end portion of the colon where stool is formed (sigmoid colon) increases as the body tries to get rid of stool.  The pressure can become so overwhelming to the walls of the colon, that an inner layer of the colon pops through the muscular layers of the colon, just like how the inner tube of a tire can pop through the sidewall (this is called diverticulum or when there are many diverticular disease or diverticulosis).   

Risk factors?  Risk of heart disease and cancer is complicated, but this one is actually straight forward.  Like I said: a low fiber diet.  It is linked to obesity, which makes sense since most obese people probably aren't gaining weight on beans and nuts and other high fiber foods.  It has been associated with people who have constipation, but if the pressure is strong enough the colon will get the stool out--so even people who don't have a history of constipation can come down with it.  Though diverticular disease tends to run in families, there has been no genetic component identified.  The familial link is probably environmental: all those people tend to eat the same foods (and have the same habits).  So you can blame your diverticula on your mom, but it was her cooking, not here genes.

Food can collect in these outpouchings of the mucosal layer of the colon and sometimes get infected causing severe abdominal pain and fever (Divertulitis).  You can typically diagnose someone from their signs and symptoms (often a middle-aged to elderly person with fever and left lower abdominal pain), however it is common to order a CT scan to rule out an abscess caused by the infected contents. The treatment is antibiotics, pain medications and bowel rest.  If it happens often enough or becomes complicated by other factors, a patient might be a candidate for surgery.  During the surgery, the affected portion of the colon (usually there are multiple outpouchings) is just plain taken out and the remainder is hooked up the the rectum.  The surgery can last several hours and recovery in the hospital alone can be 4-7 days.  And that's without a complication!  There's always a risk of bleeding and organ or nerve injury any time you enter the belly.  Even with dedicated surgeons and vigilant post-op care, superficial wound infections run about 8%.  Anytime pieces of colon are hooked back together there is a chance for the "seams" to come loose, and then guess what happens inside your abdomen?  A sewage leak and a dirty mess--not to mention pain and infection!  Though uncomplicated outcomes are by far the norm, you still have a risk of being "that person" to have a leak.  I saw it while I have worked as an intern.  The 40's-year-old patient became so sick she was on a ventilator for several days.  The recovery will most likely be full, but slow, and in the mean time she has a colostomy and may have one forever.  That's not the end of the world, but a far cry from normalcy.  Though it's hard to blame the victim, the whole situation could be avoided by eating a high fiber diet.  

How much fiber?  Well the USDA suggests 14g per 1000 calories consumed (or about 25-30g daily for the average person), but there is no upper limit identified.  I say we probably can't eat enough through our diet.  Beans, grains, vegetables, fruit, nuts.  Daily.  Eat like the hunter/gatherer or non-westerners who have never heard of this disease, and this is one disease you might be able to avoid altogether.

Soup Season (ing)

Oh, Soup.

It's that time of year again.  I've been eating it about as fast as I can make it and experimenting, of course.  It's the scientist in me!  This version of a vegetable soup is traditional but also filling, hearty, and oh so tasty!  I challenge anyone who doesn't like vegetables to not love this soup.  It also includes some shining stars of the vegetable world that don't get as much attention in the daily life of most Americans (like cabbage and parsnips).  I think a big barrier to people getting enough fruits and vegetables in their diet is the fear of preparing a new food.  For those of you who aren't used to eating parsnips, prepare it just like a carrot (peel and slice/dice).  The flavor might surprise you! 

Vegetable Soup: Version I

1/2 Nappa Cabbage, chopped (about 4-5 cups)
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 celery stocks, sliced (include the tops as long as they are clean)
3 small parsnips, peeled and sliced finely
2-3 medium potatoes, cleaned and diced (skin on)
1 red pepper, finely sliced
1 medium zucchini, finely sliced
2 tomotoes, chopped
1 15oz can kidney beans
1-2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 quarts stock (chicken or vegetable)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
salt and pepper to taste

In medium stock pot, saute carrot and parsnip over medium heat for 5-10 minutes.  Add celery and cabbage  to root vegetable mixture.  You can add a little salt at this point and stir a few times over the next 5-10 minutes.  Pour in the stock (or cubes + water).  Bring the mixture to a simmer.  Add remaining vegetables.  Cook for about 20 more minutes until the potatoes are tender (if you want the soup to cook faster, cut the potatoes into smaller pieces before adding them to the mixture).  Add the seasonings to taste. 

For those who prefer soup sans beans, You can also add the beans to individual portions: about 1/2 cup of beans will give you a wallop of fiber and protein!  You could also try other bean varieties, like Navy Beans, for nautical inspiration :-)