Eating healthy....a complicated subject. I am a fan of nutrition and science. So I have read hundreds of books about how to eat well. And I am more confused now than ever. There are as many trends as there are people. I have followed many of them, and while all had some good I eventually stopped and felt somehow unfulfilled.
I was a vegetarian for about a year and a half and had to stop due to severe anemia, and yes I was getting "enough" iron through my diet. It seems that my body uses iron better coming from an animal source. I tried low fat, low protein plant-based as well and always felt hungry. I did no carb (not even fruits and many vegetables) and healthy fats for about half a year, this one was actually great until my brain started feeling super slow. I have detoxed and fasted. I found out my blood group and ate according to foods that would nourish me most. I have eaten whatever I felt like, trying to listen to my body.
While I have not come to any strong, unchanging conclusions yet, I can say that it is a journey to get back in touch with your body's true signals. Sometimes craving something can mean an allergy and not a true "need". Some strict lifestyles work for a while but become unnatural over long periods of time. It is hard to forever avoid sugar, wheat, dairy etc...especially if you love eating out and having delicious food.
I am currently reading Mark Sisson's "Primal Blueprint", and Dave Asprey's "Bulletproof". I have started to dabble with their guidelines, mainly lots of vegetables, lots of fat and some protein and I have been feeling pretty satiated (and some intense sugar cravings in between).
So in that spirit, here is a delicious salad I love to have for lunch. Warming yet still fresh, perfect for getting a healthy dose of fresh vegetables in the cold winter months!
Warm octopus, arugula salad
Serves 1
Ingredients
1 Can of cooked octopus (substitute for tuna, calamari or any seafood can)
1 cup cherry tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
2 cups of arugula
3 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
half a lemon
salt, pepper.
Now let's get cooking
- Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a pan over medium heat, do not let the oil burn.
- Add the clove of garlic (minced if you like garlic, crushed if you want to take it out). Sautee for about 1 minute.
- Drain the can of seafood and add contents to pan. Let saute for 4 minutes.
- Add cherry tomatoes to the pan for another 4 minutes.
- Pour all contents of the pan over the arugula season with more olive oil, salt, pepper, and lemon.
PS: How can I center an image ???? 😳