What did you eat today?

Food is one of the topics that over the past few years has managed to hold my interest. After all, a majority of us live to eat right ? :) we are what we eat and still most of the times we pay little attention to it beyond the taste factor.

As a poor graduate student, I remember me and my roommates being awe struck the first time we entered a supermarket. Row after row after row of choices . Like most graduate households, canned beans became our best friends and we literally survived for two years on "Chole" and various bean dishes.

Then, after moving to Seattle, my food choices remained pretty much the same till a few years ago when we found of this ingredient called high fructose corn syrup. Its present in almost all packaged food and yet we were oblivious to the fact that there is very little fructose in it, that in fact its made of corn but its so highly processed that its almost a chemical, that it increases tendencies to packing calories, that it seems like a bad ingredient to eat over and over and over again.

Later I read two excellent books on food practices in America by Micheal Pollan, 'The Omnivores dilemma" and "In defense of food". It was surprising to learn that when you break down chicken nuggets to its molecular level, its just corn. Corn flour, corn oil and corn fed to chicken. Both these books have had a profound influence on me and got me thinking about this whole business of processed food and whether I really need to eat all the xanthan gum, HFCS, the enriched bleached flours, the waxed apples and an variety of other chemicals that I can neither pronounce nor spell. Clearly even the bacteria and fruit flies dont seem to care for this and generally leave it alone.

Now, I try to follow the rules by Micheal Pollan from "In Defense of Food":

1) DON'T EAT ANYTHING YOUR GREAT-GRANDMOTHER WOULDN'T RECOGNIZE AS FOOD.
No Go-Gurt Portable Yogurt tubes. (She wouldn't be able to identify high-fructose corn syrup, modified corn starch, kosher gelatin, carrageenan, tricalcium phosphate, natural and artificial flavors, etc.) No "protein waters," "nondairy creamers" or foods that never grow stale.

2) AVOID FOOD PRODUCTS CONTAINING INGREDIENTS THAT ARE A) UNFAMILIAR, B) UNPRONOUNCABLE, C) MORE THAN FIVE IN NUMBER, OR D) THAT INCLUDE HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP. Pollan's example: Sara Lee's Soft & Smooth Whole Grain White Bread, which fails every test proposed by this rule. "If not for the indulgence of the Food and Drug Administration, (it) could not even be labeled "bread," he wrote.

3) AVOID PRODUCTS THAT MAKE HEALTH CLAIMS.
If a food has a health claim, it probably has a package and that means it's very likely processed. Moreover, the FDA's "qualified" health claims" are all but meaningless.

4) SHOP THE PERIPHERIES OF THE SUPERMARKET AND STAY OUT OF THE MIDDLE.
"Processed foods products dominate the center aisles of the store while the cases of ostensibly fresh food--dairy, produce, meat and fish--line the walls," Pollan wrote. Be careful though, because high-fructose corn syrup lurks in the dairy case.

5) GET OUT OF THE SUPERMARKET WHENEVER POSSIBLE.
"You won't find any high-fructose corn syrup at the farmer's market. Also look into CSA (community supported agriculture), in which you can subscribe to a farm and receive a box of produce.)"

To summarize, keep it simple, cook from scratch and enjoy every bite of it!

Land of Contradictions

I have to be honest here... not too long ago I had a stereotypical impressions about Iran. A desert country with a tyrannical government. Not exciting, dangerous and definitely not on my list of countries-to-see.

Then I saw a movie by an Iranian film maker Majid Majidi, "Color of Paradise" and my jaw dropped looking at the picturesque scenery. The lovely flower filled hills, the lovely fields with happy people, the crisp air, the thick forests and of course the snow capped mountains in the background.... what .... is this Switzerland or Iran I thought, my curiosity was triggered.

After that I read a book called "Gaatha Irani" , a travelogue of author Meena Prabhu written in Marathi and I was completely mesmerized. The lively descriptions in the book have painted a different image of Iran in my mind. The book talked about solid historical monuments like Persepolis, the romantic towns of Isfahan, the mosques and palaces of grandeur that witnessed an ancient and a mature culture. The highlight was not the monuments or nature of this country, it was the people. The authors narration of her encounters with Iranians on their going-out-of the-way hospitality, the modern, educated youth in Tehran and the bonds of friendships she developed with the locals during her stay shattered my preconceived notions completely. Now this country ranks fairly high on the wish-list of countries.

Though Iran has captured a high spot on my list, present day Iran is still a challenge to visit especially for women. There are strict "hijab" laws throughout the country and even stricter "chador" laws while visiting the mosques and towns like Kome. The only channel broadcast is the one from the government. There are cultural police ensuring that cultural laws are enforced. I wish it was different.... but.... its not. This is going to be an unconventional journey for sure.