Getting your gut right: veggies in the morning

As habits go, getting a veggie in with every meal- including breakfast- is hard to beat. Vegetables are the core of every truly healthy diet.  A plant-based diet doesn't cause any long-term damage, unlike keto which can lead to heart problems and organ failure. Sorry, but its true.

Last night we went a little nuts and had a tempurafest. Sweet potatoes, carrots, onions, shrimp. We wanted to make broccoli but just ran out thanks to something else earlier in the week. Jasmine rice with a tasty dipping sauce and a variety of beers were consumed as well.

In the hangover haze I realized a great many sweet potatoes and onions remained. Sitting out on the cutting board. Drat! What a waste. Well, gentle reader, what happened next I don't recommend ANYONE do, but I have survived too many slices of cold pizza for breakfast still found in the box on the counter the next morning to not do this. As the cutting board was otherwise pristine, and the ambient temperature cool and humidity low, I cut everything up and made it into breakfast tacos.

To reiterate: I do not endorse this. And I would disavow anyone suggesting I told them to.

But, to continue the recipe, dear reader, I persist. I live on. I thrive. And sweet potatoes fueled me that good spring day.

The sweet potatoes and onions were in 1/4" slices already, prepped for their sacrificial batter bath and dip into the oil volcano. All I had to do was basically quarter them. I don't know about you, but I like my sweet potatoes sweet and smoky, and I want to put an egg on anything sweet and smoky. and eggs before noon make me think of breakfast tacos. Not the most coherent of thought connections, perhaps, but in the end it made glorious sense.

The ingredients

Corn tortillas- however many fulfill your taco lust
Pinto beans- about a heaping tablespoon per taco. Possibly chili powder or adobo sauce to season
Sweet potatoes- for this I used about half a potato's worth. Sliced then quartered
Yellow onions- three or four slices of a medium onion, quartered
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp chili powder
2 tbl water
1 tsp soy sauce- to flavor the cooking water
sesame oil- one squirt, for same

Sriracha- a good drizzle, exact amount up to you
1 tsp-1 tbl sweet and smoky BBQ sauce
1 tsp taco sauce per taco
Scallions
Eggs- I fried one and split it across two tacos. One per, if you're that kind of person, and you know if you are. Poached would be delicious too.
1 tsp cooking fat, more if cast iron or steel probably. Was adequate for non-stick
Cheese- slice or two or some crumbles. I actually prefer a fake cheese for tacos, Daiya American style- but I'm weird. Use whatever you like- Monterey Jack, Asodero, go nuts.

The method

The sweet potatoes are going to take the longest. Heat up your pan to medium to medium low, melt your fat (in the case of butter or coconut oil) or bring up to temp if olive oil. I don't recommend a polyunsaturated oil for this. Sweet potatoes are sweet, like water is wet, and sugar sticks like crazy. Drop in the sweet potatoes and onions. Warning- following my recipe will render your onions well-browned- the way I like them. Hold off adding the onions five to ten minutes if you don't like the idea of that.

While the sweet potatoes and onions cook, bring beans up to temp in another vessel. I'm going to assume if you have pinto beans in the fridge, they are already seasoned to perfection. That's just how people with pinto beans already in the fridge roll. If you are opening a can, drain and then bring up to temp on medium to medium low. add a pinch of chili powder or a half teaspoon of adobo from a can of chipotles in adobo sauce, then salt and pepper. When they lightly bubble, reduce to low/keep warm.

Move the potatoes and onions around and turn over until the potatoes start to brown. at that point, add the cumin and chili powder. add the water, soy sauce and sesame oil. Lid and cook until the sweet potatoes are soft and buttery.

If you can heat a third pan, preferably a cast iron pan, do so and toast the corn tortillas on each side then add some cheese, reduce to low and let melt. remove at that point, no one likes overly chewy tortillas.

Un-lid the potatoes and add a squirt of sriracha and the BBQ sauce. Stir to incorporate. Top with scallions and set aside.

Cook egg or eggs as you see fit.

top the tortillas with beans, a splash of taco sauce, an egg or half-egg each.

Spoon some potatoes on top and/or have on the side.

Enjoy your sweet, smoky, spicy, buttery, savory creation.

Getting your gut right: Miso soup

Years ago, I took a continuing education course in massage therapy. The instructor had some metaphysical things to say that I didn't really pay much attention to. But I do remember one thing. He said that all energy flows from the heart, and in order for your massage to benefit more than muscles, your massage work should radiate out from the heart. What I'm suggesting to you this new year is build your foundation from the center in a similar manner, because it affects every other aspect of your health. I'm talking about the gut, and it is at the center of your well-being.

In your gut, as most people have heard by now, are millions of bacteria. Studies have shown that the makeup of that population customizes itself according to an individual's habits. According to The Impact of Diet and Lifestyle on Gut Microbiota and Human Health, a NIH study, an imbalanced diet such as the Standard American Diet can significantly hinder the gut flora's ability to derive full nutrition from ingested food. So if you eat a bad diet, you starve your good bacteria, and as a result you starve yourself of nutrients. What is needed is a regular infusion of good bacteria derived from fermentation to supplement and help resuscitate weakened gut populations. 

But in order to effect change, it needs to become a habit, Traditional miso soup is tasty, but it's not what I want on the menu every day. What was needed was more like the bullet coffee version of miso soup- a shot of good stuff you can glug down first thing in the morning like the lemon water that seems to be in vogue nowadays. So I made a relatively plain brothy soup, chock of good things like seaweed for pituitary-balancing  and blood-enriching minerals. shiitakes and cloud ears for the linoleic acid and B and D vitamins, and ginger and capsicum for anti-inflammatory properties.

Ingredients:

1 - 1 1/2tbl red miso

1- 1 1/2 tbl white miso

1 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce or coconut aminos

1/2 tsp sugar

4 cups water

two pieces of kombu

four slices of dried shiitake mushrooms

1-2 cloud ear mushrooms

1" chunk of ginger, sliced in thick pieces

optional: chili flakes, chili sauce, or sriracha

Method:

1. Put the water in a pan over high heat. add the kombu, mushrooms and ginger.
2. Bring water to a boil, lower to medium and let it boil gently for ten minutes.
3. Take off heat, let cool two minutes, then strain. return liquid to pan, discard solids.
4. Mix the sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and worcestershire/coconut aminos together in a small bowl. 
5. Mix the miso together and, with a small amounf of water, make into a smooth paste.
6. Mix the miso into the broth. Right before serving, add the soy sauce mixture and spicy stuff, if desired.

Drink a small cup of this every day to help restore your gut flora to fighting condition.