Science Sundays

This past Sunday, I organized a “small group” of kiddos for beach experiments. I wanted to see if there is a desire to have more hands-on science with elementary-aged kids. I invited a few parents to bring their kids so we could create sand volcano eruptions and experiment with density (how oil reacts with water, detergent, honey, etc.).

I expected around 6 kids to show up. Luckily, I had enough food coloring to paint the Sistine Chapel… since over 20 kids appeared at my table. (When in doubt, give kids food coloring– nothing can go wrong!)

We created “water fireworks” with warm water, oil, and food coloring. We made colorful glasses of different liquids as each created a layer depending on its density. We tested the properties of warm and cold water (how they mix with each other due to their density/volume.)

 

Now I have parents asking me if I can do this every month, come into classes, organize a science club… The pressure is on! So glad to see parents and kids excited about science.

If you would like to order a copy of Stinky Stardust Feet (the behind reason Science Sunday) please click here.

Many thanks,
Chelsea

"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge." - Carl Sagan

No Sugar November

September and October were the most stressful two months of my life. Hurricane Irma and Maria toppled the Caribbean while I chewed my nails from the sidelines.

I've been a relatively stress-free person. So this was a new experience. I had pain in my sides, trouble breathing, a little to no sleep for weeks. Unable to understand what was happening to me, I quickly found an anti-anxiety solution: indulging in cheesecake and wine for 45 days.

At least I indulged in good company.

During my downtime on Stallion court, I stumbled upon a book I had bought for my father years ago, Whole30. It is an all-in-one guide to getting complete health via food (and lack there of). Which is something I totally believe in. But to get the benefits of the program, you must cut out dairy, grains, legumes, sugar, soy, alcohol and certain processed foods for 30 days. That leaves meat, veggies and fruit. Beans, hummus and wraps play a big part of my diet, so cutting out those left a significant gap.

However daunting it seemed, I was persuaded to do it once I returned to St. Martin for November. As I was discussing it with my island friends, two others jumped aboard.

So the three amigos took on Whole30 to see if this detox would really benefit us. I simply enjoyed the challenge of the program. It is not easy for me to pass up a glass of Merlot or a dark chocolate bar. It was a test of self restraint, and I think I did pretty damn well. Once you cut things out of your life, you stop forgetting how much you enjoyed them, and you move on.

The number one benefit I got from the program was sleep. There was but one night I faltered. And I have a history of sleep problems, so this was a welcomed surprise. Also, I did not have to cut out coffee in the detox, so I believe it was the lack of sugar (esp. in alcohol) that allowed me such rest. I did however, have to cut out coffee cream and sweetener. And what do you know... black coffee grew on me. You know it's not so bad? Simple can be good too.

Because we did not have grains, flours, breads, granola, quinoa (which are actually seeds), rice, etc., we didn't get full as easily. So we had to eat a lot of potatoes and cassava. For this reason, I gained weight. I am not used to eating so much. Ninety-eight percent of people lose weight during the month. Which is no surprise when you cut out sugar and alcohol... I was the lucky 2%. In conclusion, science is fake and alcohol is not bad for you. Cheers.

But with less dairy and beans came less gas. That, everyone benefitted from.

The second best part about this program is the cookbook. It is wonderful. I cooked about 95% of the meals listed. (I really got into it.) And now I know how to make amazing curry, baked chicken, gazpacho, chicken cacciatore, cauliflower mash, ratatouille, shepherd's pie... the list goes on.

I relied on sparkling water and kombucha to replace alcohol, which it did just fine. I fried plantains and other fruit when we needed a dessert. And we just got used to having savory breakfast. No more granola, yogurt and oatmeal– no problem.

But with all the cooking, came all the cleaning. Especially since in Whole30 you have to make all your own dressings. Ketchup, mayo, mustard, tomato sauce, roasted red pepper sauce, salsa, guacamole, vinaigrettes, etc. That takes time and space. And for someone who doesn't have a dish washer, it took muscle.

Never the less, we came out better for it.

Keep in mind I am not a food photographer. After all the shopping, prepping, cooking, cleaning I'm not in the mood to take serious photos– also there was no wine to guide me during this time.

 Tuna salad with coconut mayo, grapes, almonds, avocado & celery.

Lemon curry sauce with shrimp.

Baked chicken, cauliflower mash, braised brussel sprouts & beets in a balsamic reduction.

Chicken chowder with sweet potatoes, broccoli, coconut milk & onions. 

Slow cooked pot roast with carrots & broccoli.

Gazpacho with prosciutto & olive oil.

Butternut squash soup with grilled mushrooms & egg.

Spinach frittata.

Salad with apples, cashews, ham & hemp seeds.

Crockpot spaghetti squash with homemade red pepper sauce & meatballs.

Tuna salad with yellow carrots & anything else I could find.

Average breakfast consisted of leftovers with a fried egg thrown on top & fruit.

Cauliflower mash, portabella strips & broccoli.

Scrambled eggs, broccoli, eggplant & tomato sauce.

Ratatouille aka the bomb.

Spaghetti squash with homemade tomato sauce.

Shepherd's Pie with sweet potato topping.

Cold Thai salad, zucchini, carrots, mushrooms, bean sprouts & sunshine sauce.

Baked chicken, broccoli cauliflower mash & roasted mushrooms.

Sweet potato mash, creamed spinach & roasted cassava.

Scrambled eggs, peppers, tomato, ham & sautéed plantain.

The idea behind the transition back into our old diets is to take it slowly. Try one food type and see how the body reacts. I've noticed that alcohol does in fact mess with my sleep. Pizza (it could be the bread or cheese or both) halts my digestion. Diary sometimes gives me stomach cramps– this was old news.

I am not sure what effects soy, peanuts, rice and some other foods have on me. But since science says they're inflammatory, we've basically cut them out. Almond butter rules the house. Coconut aminos replaced soy sauce. Cauliflower rice has my heart. Ice cream is still a work in progress. Cashew "cheese" is the next mission. Honey, which the vegans call "bee vomit" and say rots your teeth, has been untouched. In fact, the hardest thing to give up... was the easiest to keep at bay. We'll see if that lasts.

As Hypocrites once said:
"Let food by thy medicine and medicine be thy food."

Balloon Fiesta

The International Balloon Fiesta takes place in the first weeks of October in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

The pictures don't quite do the event justice. I have posted a time lapse video  from my Aunt's garden that gives a glimpse of how many people are involved in this. Waking up to hundreds of balloon floating over you is a pretty neat experience. 

The balloons take off before sunrise, so I was chugging tea at 5am and suiting up to try to beat the traffic to the launch park. Seven layers later, I did not beat the traffic, but being only two miles from the park it wasn't too bad. 

The Balloon Fiesta Park is so large that it had golf carts taxiing people from the parking lot to the entrance. I chose to power-stride my way down to get some feeling back into my toes. You would not believe how 'ballooned' the fiesta-goers were as well. Then again, it was not so surprising as most of the food stands consisted of burritos, deep fried burritos, cheese curds, french fries, chili burgers and the likes. Supply and demand, I guess... welcome to New Mexico! Pinon Coffee was the only healthy stop I could find (at least their beans aren't refried?). Anyways. After a few hours running around with a smile stretched over my face, I became sore and decided to pack up and head out. The morning launches are the most exciting parts of the day, so I didn't feel that I was missing out by skipping the chainsaw carvings. I've never been so happy and so cold at the same time. I did return the next night to witness the "Special Shape Glowdeo" where the balloons light up for a little show– although they stayed anchored to the ground. The Balloon Fiesta was one of the surrealist festivals I've ever been to, not to mention fall is a fantastic time to be in the Southwest. It was worth every over-priced parking pass, entrance ticket and deep fried chicken cutlet. I will be back for more.

Deep Fried Twinkies #MakeAmericaGreatAgain

Fast & Slow: my week without food

Most people from my region in the South Eastern US don't know too much about fasting.  It's not part of our culture, religious practices (Bible belt, y'all), spiritual preferences or medical treatments.  So I think it's safe for me to assume a lot of people haven't researched or studied fasting.  I have.  Hence, why I took on a week-long experiment (originally only for 3 days, but then... go big or go home, right?).

I looked into fasting because I was experiencing many problems that store bought products couldn't fix.  My eyes were constantly irritated and blood shot, even with the doctors rx, they would not heal.  My skin was flushed with bumps and the all natural homemade remedies: coconut oil/aloe body scrubs failed miserably.  My hair became straw-like and was falling out at alarming rates.  I was gaining weight even though I swam all the time and my (mostly) vegetarian diet remained unchanged.  So a lot of things didn't add up.  Some of these factors had to have been linked to stress and the environment, nonetheless, I was tired of zero progress.

So I became obsessed with how fasting works and who supported it in the past (Hippocrates, Socrates, Plato, Gandhi, Upton Sinclair, and many modern doctors/scientists).  It is found all throughout history, especially as a religious tradition for detoxifying the body.  There is a ton of research on it, books explaining how it is linked to nature, people beating cancer with it, animals living longer when scientists put them on fasts, and so on... I watched youtube videos of people going through it, read blogs of their experience, got my doctor's approval, read Sinclair's book and it all made sense.  I can do this and I should do this.  Everyone who has has benefited from it.

I got some negative feedback when I was explaining my ordeal.  People told me that it's not good to starve myself, I need food for fuel, lack of vitamins only makes things worse and so on.  But they were all wrong.  And I told them so, but it hard to explain so much information to people who are set in their lifestyles.  Something so off-the-wall is hard to accept.

The week I became a plant: sunshine and water for all.

So I began my water-only fast feeling good- it's 90% mental anyways.  Not that I had to prove to anything to anyone, but I wanted to know for myself.  If all the research I did was true and it could work.  I'm naturally a hangry person so it was a real test to myself.  

I spent the week drinking lots of water, resting, watering my plants and writing articles.  When my stomach started to growl, I hushed it.  And it worked.  Real hunger is felt around the 35 day mark (we can go without food for 40 days) and it's not by a growling stomach.  Throat pains tell you you are really hungry and running out of reserves.  My squeaky grumbles were no problem and I felt full off of all the water.  It was much easier going without food than I imagined.

My biggest struggle was my mind.  I would get a slight headache from time to time, but the thoughts of food were endless.  This is also because I am cooking and experimenting with food everyday, so I am always thinking these thoughts anyways.  The funny part was that I remained clear-headed and creative.  Others have spoken about "mind fog" that is frequent... not for this girl.  I had trouble sleeping because I could not shut my mind off.  An increase in creativity was noted as a common side effect, and for this I was happy.

To wrap this up, it was a nice little fast and I'm glad I did it.  I broke the fast on the sixth day as I was losing too much weight. I am already a lean girl, and with all my muscle gone, I called it a week.  My skin cleared, my eyes have yet to act up (it's been over a month now), my hair is healthier but still falling out.  Maybe I'm just old now?  I was also having a leg pain for a few months, but that has stopped as well.

The greatest part was what I learned after breaking the fast.  Once I started introducing foods into my system again, I could directly see how they affected me.  I've known dairy upsets my stomach, but I didn't realize meat did the same and then some.  Sugar makes my skin break out and I feel drained/gross after eating it.  So now my senses are more heightened to my bodily reactions and I can understand what they are saying.  I read that most people feel more in tune with their bodies and desire foods less.  Which is good. 

There is a lot here that I haven't said.  I would encourage anyone to try it out, even intermittent fasting, or just juice fasting one day a week.  I would like to do a week-long fast once a year with intermittent fasting throughout.  "The Fasting Cure" by Upton Sinclair and "Eat Stop Eat" by Brad Pilon were good resources.  This lady: personalexcellence.co/blog/fasting-series/ explains and records it very well.  Youtube also has tons of day by day videos and reviews.  Your body deserves a break from digesting so it can focus its energy on the parts of us that need healing.  Sometimes we just need to slow down and fast.  

Plant A Better Life

Week one back on the island.  A reset of sorts since I've decided to settle in...  it's officially time to upgrade the standards of life.  Focussing on sustainable living and eating.  Welcome to my porch and kitchen.

Being on an island of Dutch, French, English and German speakers, seed packages come in various languages.  So to avoid any confusion,  Andi has so thoroughly given them name flags with each country's translation.  The French garlics don't seem to get along with the German basil, however.

My avocado after a month of sitting in a jar of water.  Finally greeting us!  Now only about six more years till she fruits.  Patience is a virtue, they say. 

Plants increase happiness- fact.  And if food also makes me happy, surely food grown from the earth will double up on that happiness.  So win/win, yeah?  Plants and vegetables rule this house. 

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Slow cooked spaghetti squash with steamed broccoli, fresh basil and topped with a light peanut sauce (roasted sesame seeds, finely chopped peanuts and amino acids- soy replacement).

Slow cooked eggplant and carrots, seasoned with cayenne, curry, salt, pepper and turmeric. Topped on a bed of sautéed spinach with homemade chia tortillas.

"Mexican Cauliflower Pizza" (cauliflower, egg, oregano, basil, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper) with tomato sauce, kale, onions, peppers, and black beans.

Homemade gluten free (+ wheat germ) chia tortilla wraps with homemade hummus, cucumbers, kale, carrots and beets.

It's a lot of the "homemade" business, but when you live on an island that imports everything and uses the Euro... it starts to make sense.  Not only do we save money,  but the foods are much less processed, contain no added sugars, preservatives, or any bad additives that make foods taste so good and last so long.  Health is life, so make it the best possible.