Simply Edible

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EDIBLE Food and Eating

Eating Local:

Austin’s Farmer’s Markets

Going Out to Lunch?

The story of one of Austin’ s hottest new restaurants.

MARK SEILER and his rise to success

Healthy on a Busy Schedule Staying

Winter 2012 ||1

Letter from the Editors Dear Simply Edible Readers-

Isn’t it funny that some people are just incapable of making food for themselves?

Thankfully, your dear editors were blessed with family members and teachers that felt that they should teach the younger generations how to take advantage of the things around them and create meals for themselves.

Personally, I love cooking. It has brought much joy to my family and myself. “I”

being all of the editors. Food is what brought us together. Because of Simply Edible, we are now closer together as people, and as a team.

We hope that Simply Edible will help you to create food that will bring people together.

After all, isn’t that what cooking is all about? Making something that will tie people together, and create a bond. Bonding in the kitchen is one of the oldest ways to get to know someone. People say the way to someone’s heart is through their stomach, which is incredibly true, for guys and girls.

Food is a basic necessity, and we hope to help you make an art of it. There is no

right way to cook. If we want to teach you anything, it would be that. Recipes are merely guidelines. When you cook, you should take artistic freedom and do what feels right.

Although this may end in some burns, both for you and your food. The dish you make should be stamped with your own personal style. It is yours and yours alone.

Food is a gateway to new relationships. Make it your own. No two relationships

are exactly the same, and no dish comes out exactly the same twice. If you can’t tell, food is very much like a relationship. The one big difference is that food is simply... edible.

Much Love,

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Ann, Alex, Emily, and Wilson

Table of Contents

Profiles: Straight Off the Farm

Profiles: Rise of Kome

Profiles: Maine Root of it All

Miscellaneous

Recipes 5

Classic Hummus Recipe

Profiles 6

Rise of Kome

15

Asian Noodle Recipe

10

Maine Root of it All

18

S.P.E.B. The (as close as we can get to) perfect breakfast

16

Straight Off the Farm: The Farmer’s Market

Informationals 8

Miscellaneous

A handy guide to dietary restrictions

2

Letter From the Editors

14

Obesity in America

4

Staff Biographies

20

Choose or Lose

9

Cooking Tips

23

Tips on eating after you work out

24

Contributors

3

Staff EMILY HEUBAUM

Favorite Comfort Food: Phish Food Ice Cream by Ben & Jerry’s.

First Dish She Learned to Make: Pasta! Does that count? It should.

Favorite Dish She Can Make: Orzo in a parmesan cream

sauce with peas and bacon, a lot like a carbonara, but lighter.

Favorite Thing in the World: When people smile. That’s why I like cooking, it makes people smile.

WILSON NGUYEN

Favorite Comfort Food: Peking Duck with steamed buns.

First Dish He (The only male) Learned to Make: Seared chicken

with herbs.

Favorite Dish He Can Make: Barbecued pork, chicken and beef.

Favorite Thing in the World: Spending time with friends and family.

ANN WANG

Favorite Comfort Food: Miso Ramen with Chicken.

First Dish She Learned to Make: Chicken noodle Soup.

Favorite Dish She Can Make: Fried Rice with Eggs.

Favorite Thing in the World: Having a good time feasting with friends and family.

ALEX SEILER

Favorite Comfort Food: Whole wheat toast with Nutella and fresh

cut strawberries.

First Dish She Learned to Make: Chocolate chip pancakes with scrambled eggs and bacon.

Favorite Dish She Can Make: Garlic bread and chicken and angel hair pasta in alfredo sauce.

Favorite Thing in the World: Eating good food with friends and family.

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classic hummus

Recipes

A healthy everyday snack, hummus is a great thing for on-the-go eating. Great with chips, pita bread and veggies. Here is a classic hummus recipe from the restaurant Lebanese Taverna.

Serves: 6 people Time: 1.5 hours For: Snack Ingredients: 2 ⅓ 2 3 1 2 ⅓

cups of ground sesame baste cups of fresh squeezed lemon juice cups of cooked chick peas cloves of crushed garlic tsp baking soda tsp of salt cup of water

Garnish:

Olive oil, paprika, and parsley

Steps:

The night before: Soak 1 cup dried chickpeas in three times their volume of water overnight with one teaspoon baking soda. This will soften the skins and therefore help reduce the cooking time.

1. Rinse chickpeas under cold water, put them in a saucepan, cover with cold water and add ½ teaspoon baking soda.

2. Bring to a full boil and then simmer for about ½ hour or more until very, very tender. Test by mashing between your fingers.

3. Stir occasionally and remove excess foam from top. It’s very important to let peas cool before the next step.

Start from this point if using canned chickpeas: (Make sure to rinse well and if you’d like, cook canned beans for 15-20 minutes and cool before next step).

Hummus with crackers and chips Photo by Alex Seiler

4. Put peas in food processor and then add tahini, salt and garlic and process until very smooth, the color will become lighter.

5. Add lemon juice and water (alternating) slowly while food processor is going, scraping sides of the bowl. It’s difficult to give exact amount of lemon juice as sizes and tastes vary, we suggest you add it gradually and decide for yourself how sour you like your hummus and what consistency.

6. Serve in shallow bowl and garnish with olive oil, paprika and parsley.

5

The Rise of Komé

Y

ou know that clean, yet powdery smell of rice?

Mix that with hints of nice wood furnishings and good food, and you get what Komé smells like at 11:30 am on a Saturday.

The interior is nice, clean, and modern. Japanese trinkets and signs grace the walls, but in such a way where it looks like art, not clutter. The main room is small and filled with tables, with one wall of windows. The opposite wall is a sushi bar, with an area leading into the kitchen where the food for the day is busy being prepped, no doubt. Down the short, hardwood floored hallway and out the door, you are greeted by a wall of sandy beige planks, adorned with a large sign with the Japanese word for plain, uncooked rice. Komé.

The owner of the restaurant is actually a family. Také Asazu, the

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By Emily Heubaum

father; Kayou, the mother; and Kaya and Kenta, their two children. Také and Kayou are Japanese natives, so they are extremely qualified to run one of, if not the most authentic japanese restaurant in Austin.

They’ve lived here for almost 15 years, which makes them more than able to give it a bit of the familiar weird flare you find in Central Texas, especially North East Austin, one of the most artsy neighborhoods around. Famous for being popular with the younger generations, Komé is the epitome of a hot new eatery, and its defining twist is a deep cultural background and a relaxed feel.

Také Asazu didn’t want to be a chef. “Actually, I didn’t have any interest in the restaurant business,” he says. “I was painting at the university.”

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t

love what he does. The Asazu’s first culinary endeavor was far from the stationary restaurant they have now, though. They first began by selling bento boxes, little pre-made japanesestyle lunch boxes, at the local farmer’s market. From there, they opened up a food trailer, called Sushi-A-Go-Go. They sold sushi made from only fresh ingredients. They’d actually close up shop for the day when they ran out.

Eventually, it became so popular that they opened up a second one. It was surprisingly successful, and it may have had something to do with their own signature flare they put into their work.

Even though there is “no more A-Go-Go,” they are still going strong. Komé seems to be filled up every day of the week, and has only been open for about a year. Located on Airport Boulevard, Komé draws in customers of all kinds.

“I see pretty much diversity, like Asian people, American people, kids, and old people...” Také says.

They will even see the same

Profile

Miso Ramen is one of the most popular dishes among the young adults who visit Komé.

Photos courtesy of Colleen Heubaum

customers, twice or three times a week.

“Late 20s to 30s,” Kayou says. “And a lot of artists, we see a lot of artist because we’re on the East Side of Austin, we see a lot of professionals, like a lot of doctors from hospitals and UT.”

Although many of their customers are loyal patrons, that doesn’t mean Komé don’t get attention from first-timers. One of their favorite things is when they meet other Japanese natives and they enjoy Komé as much as they do. For example, last spring, a large group of English teachers came to Austin from Japan, and all twenty or so of them ate at Komé. Some of them came back more than once, and a few even recommended the quaint restaurant to the students they were visiting as the best meal they had while in the States.

“We have a lot of people visit from Japan and they find comfort here, and they come to us and say, ‘the past five days we’ve been eating

lots of barbeque, which is great, but we started missing our food, like oh my God this so good,’ and we are able to give them comfort,” Kayou says.

This “comfort” factor may come from the fact that many of their dishes are family recipes, such as Kayou’s personal favorite. “It’s called Tompei Yaki, on the dinner menu, it’s basically an egg omlette, but Japanese style, it’s something that my mom used to make when I was little, so that’s my family recipe,” she says.

Although Také takes credit as the head chef, Kayou does the cooking at home. She says cooking will be very important for her children, even if Kenta claims he isn’t learning to cook and doesn’t really want to learn. However, he’ll have to learn one day, he won’t be able to survive off of miso soup and kimchi, his personal favorites.

Even though Komé is a ‘place of business,’ the Asazus see a fair share of families, not unlike their own. “We’ve been in this business for a long time, so we see the couples

getting married, having a kid, seeing the baby growing up, it’s great,” Také says. Even though Komé has only been open for a year, the couple already has ties with their regulars, dating all the way back to their farmer’s market days. The restaurant has garnered attention from all over the nation, and Také says they are working on opening another location.

Their incredibly quick success aside, Také says just wants to introduce his own spin on authentic Japanese cuisine into the US. Komé’s style is unparalleled, and their welldeserved time in the limelight was heightened by being mentioned in such magazines as the Condé Naste Traveler and Bon Appétit.The abundance of customers they have is evidence enough to their popularity, exemplified by the incredible line outside the restaurant that forms in the half an hour leading up to it’s opening on a humid, drizzly Saturday.

Oh, and Také’s advice to Simply Edible readers who are cooking for themselves? “I think, in my opinion, I’ve been a chef for so many years, I think that whatever you make... it should be good enough for somebody else.” SE

“We’ve been in this business for a long time, so we see the couples getting married, having a kid, seeing the baby growing up, it’s great,” 7

Informational

Know the LIMITS...

by Emily Heubaum

Your lovely friends at Simply Edible have compiled a handy-dandy guide to common dietary restrictions. You will no longer look like an insensitive idiot in front of your friends with food issues! These are just a few of some really common ones that you might encounter and not know the details of. Welcome to the easily digestible guide to dietary restrictions: for medical, religious, or personal reasons.

VEGETARIAN You should be familiar with this. They don’t consume meat from animals. Plain and simple. (Psst. Pescetarians are similar, they eat fish but not red meat or birds.)

Usually by personal choice or religious restriction.

If you want to do further research, your best bet would be vrg.org, the vegetarian resource group. They do recipes, nutrition information and all that good stuff.

VEGAN Very similar to vegetarian, in the sense that they don’t eat meat.

The only difference is that they don’t consume any sort of animal product. Most vegans also avoid using animal products in general.

It’s more difficult to maintain than vegetarianism, but again, a personal choice.

Again, (usually) by personal choice.

For more information, go to vegan.org. They’re nice people.

KOSHERGLUTEN INTOLERANCEMost people would say that they can’t eat bread. Yes and no. Gluten, a protein found in certain grains, is found in wheat. Yes, that includes barley and rye. People with gluten intolerance or sensitivity usually steer clear of bread and pasta and foods prepared with wheat.

Most often a medical issue, but it can be a personal choice.

To learn more, visit gluten.net.

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This was explained to me as, “you can’t eat meat and dairy together, and you can only eat certain cuts of meat.” That is pretty much the bottom line. There are a lot of very specific rules, but no mixing of meat and dairy at a meal is the pretty much the jist of it. You’ll also see them avoiding pork.

“Keeping Kosher” is a religious restriction.

(Judaism) chabad.org will answer your questions about being Kosher from a religious standpoint.

Cooking Tips:

What All Chefs Should Know

Miscellaneous

Here are some tips that could help you later on in your cooking career or just cooking for your family. These tips include what you should do before and after cooking a meal, as well as what to do with food to keep it fresh.

Photos taken by Ann Wang

Always wash your hands before and after attepting to cook. You don’t know what germs could be on your hands.

Squirt lemon or lime juice on the flesh of the avocados to prevent the avacado from browning.

Don’t turn the over food too often. It the food sticks on the pan, it may not be ready to turn over yet.

Don’t over-soften your butter. To let your butter to cream properly, let it sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.

When you heat up the pan, don’t put the food in immediately, only start cooking when the pan is hot.

Always use sharp knives, this makes working more efficient and makes food easier to cut.

For more information about cooking: Prepare everything beforehand, such as sauces or vegetables. This way you don’t need to stop in the middle of your cooking to do something in a hurry.

For vegetables to last longer, wrap them in a damp paper towel and put them in a resealable bag.

www.foodnetwork.com www.cookinglight.com www.foodreference.con

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Photos by Wilson Nguyen

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Bottles of Maine Root Root Beer

Profile

The Maine Root of it All

T

en years ago, Mark Seiler was a software salesman who sacrificed his own time and mental well-being for the company he worked for. He labored for hours each day of the week in order to reach a quota set by the company every quarter. If he did not reach this quota, then he would risk being laid off or fired.

After spending numerous hours in the office, Seiler would come home and collapse from exhaustion. His heart was broken into halves since he missed key experiences that parents usually experience with their children and family.

But now, Seiler, co-owner of Maine Root, an all-natural soda company based in Austin, Texas, sets his own quotas, finds time to spend with his family and works to promote his own company whose sodas are sold in every major city in the United States and are distributed internationally to several other countries.

“In the software business you can make a whole lot of money. It is extremely stressful and your life cycle of being in that business is very short,” Seiler said. “It is a lot like being a running back in the NFL, you can’t really do it for 20 years. You can go hard for five years and then you are just completely burned out.”

Being a software salesman wore down Seiler, both emotionally and physically. Quarters are one fourth of a year and are extremely work laden. “Quarters are like dog years, you work so much and you are never at home so living a dog year is like living four to five years in a normal person’s business life.”

During this phase of his life, Seiler had very little opportunities to be at home with his family and friends.

“I missed my kid’s birthday and I missed them saying their first words, basic things for parents to experience.”

Most of his time was spent working, traveling, and selling his software to numerous customers in order to make large profit that would meet the demands of the company. The software companies were only interested in the money gained by the employee for the company and did not place much interest in the dedication of the employee or how long they have worked for the company.

“If I miss my number which means my quota for one or two quarters even though I had a five year run somewhere they will cut [me] loose without even batting

By Wilson Nguyen

an eye, so it is kind of a soldier for fortune or guns for hire kind of life. You can’t really put yourself on that for years and years on end.”

As a young salesman, his goal in life was just to make money and “when you are 25 years old that is all that matters.” However, Seiler soon realized that “you only have 20 to 25 years left in the workforce and do you want to spend it carrying out someone else’s mission or carry out your own dreams, your own mission, once that switch goes off it is kind of tough to work for someone else.”

This switch would trigger in Seiler’s head when he “heard about it through a friend that [his brother, Matt Seiler, founder of Maine Root, started making root beer for the restaurant that he was working in.”

“I decided you only go around once, so why not roll the dice. I had a good run selling software, then it just wasn’t fun anymore. We’re only on the earth for a blip in time. I was tired of not liking what I was doing for a living, so I took a chance.”

This was a chance for Seiler to leave his stable job as a software salesman, attempt to start a soda business from complete scratch and pray it would work. He would be able to decide for himself the work that needed to be done by setting his own quotas and chasing after customers on his own time. Seiler would appreciate the most his ability to spend more time with his family which is “sort of the meaning of life” rather than “[in the software business] when [Seiler] was gone for 80 percent of the time.”

These benefits are the reasons that convinced Seiler to join his brother Matt Seiler in this mission to start Maine Root. He did not doubt himself when he chose to move forward on his decision. He believed that “second thoughts are the first losers. I go with first thoughts only. After I made that decision it was just time to put the pedal down.” The only way to know whether this company was a real opportunity or not was to try it out.

The task of starting Maine Root was a difficult test for Seiler, but well worth it. “It was time to use all that I had learned since college all at once, all the 11

“Then, one day, after eight years of busting your butt, someone tells you they think you are a success. You kind of look around to

marketing I had learned in college, all the operations I had learned in 16 years and 20 years and applying it from an executive CEO position.” He had to “make it all happen,” pull from his experiences and lift up a small, growing company from a starting phase to a level in which the company could produce a profit.

Maine Root “started out small, getting customers one at a time and doing a great job so that [the customers] kept doing business with [us].” Seiler did not wait “until everything was perfect to get [his company’s] first customer.” Instead, he “built his business along the way, avoided coming out of the gates with a lot of debt” and kept his ownership by not selling his company early on.

By selling Maine Root soda before it was perfect, he was able to take his customers input on the soda and improve it.

Traveling across the 12 || Simply Edible

Caption

Mark Seiler next to boxes of Maine root soda

United States was a way for Seiler to gather numerous customers, produce profits along the way, enjoy meeting new people and catch up with old customers.

“Fun traveling is when [I] get to go to Los Angeles and [my] day consists of going to a television show set where [I am] delivering product and meeting the actors. It is fun when

[I] get to meet restaurant and grocery store owners who sell and like [my] product” This allowed for popular names in media and entertainment such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Ernest Hemingway’s granddaughter to drink and advertise his product, soda.

However, Seiler only traveled when the trip would produce a substantial

Photo by Alex Seiler

see if they are really talking to you.”

Photo by Wilson Nguyen

Bottles of Maine Root Root Beer

amount of money.

“Every trip costs a few thousand dollars in hotel, airfare, and rental car fees and if you are not making that amount times five then it is not worth going.”

After investing, building, selling, perfecting his product and “using everything [he] had, all of [his] talents and all of [his] training,” Seiler was able to light a fire that would

fuel Maine Root’s prosperity and spread Maine Root’s sodas across the United States and a sprinkle of other countries in the world. He formed lifelong customers such as Lois’s Natural Marketplace, Whole Foods and Central Market that will provide business and input for Maine Root for many years to come.

“Then, one day, after eight years of busting your butt, someone

tells you they think you are a success. You kind of look around to see if they are really talking to you, or someone behind you.

There were plenty of hardships getting started, then plenty more once we got our gig off the ground, I’m sure we will run into more...I think we are a success, I think we are going to keep growing.” SE

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Informationals

Obesity has been on the rise worldwide, but the issue is especially apparent here, in the United States. Here are some statistics, according to the CDC, the Washington Post and Obesity in America organization.

American Health

Obesity is included in the top 10 contributing factors of

death

“Overweight and obesity and their associated health problems have a significant economic impact on the U.S. health care system,�

-CDC

did you know?

Being obese/overweight increases your chances of getting...

sleep apnea

liver disease

respiratory problems

coronary heart disease by 2030 the majority of breast cancer the American high blood pressure population will be stroke obese type 2 diabetes

1/3

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Of American Adults are Obese

68.8%

Of U.S. adults are either overweight or obese

asian noodles

Recipes

by Ann Wang

These noodles have been for made for special occasions, when a simple, but tasty dish is needed.

This easy-to-make recipe of noodles will only take 35 minutes to make for food for four people. This recipe was introduced by my aunt, who enjoys cooking and simple recipes.

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons of soy sauce 3 mushrooms, sliced 2 slices of ginger ¼ Sliced Pork or Ground Pork 1½ lb of cabbage 1 can of chicken broth ½ teaspoon of sea salt Pre-cooked Noodles 1 stalk of Green Onion Sprinkle of Pepper

Ingredients

Steps:

1. Mix the soy sauce and pork together into a bowl.

2. Now pour the mixture of soy sauce, and pork into a large cooking pan for about 3 minutes with the fire on high.

3. Place the cabbage and mushroom in and cook the the them until they turn soft.

4. Pour the chicken broth, the pre-cooked noodles, and seasalt into the cooking pan.

5. Stir and make sure everything is mixed together evenly.

6. Adjust the fire to small, and cover the cooking pan for 3 - 5 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with pepper before serving.

Finished Product Photos taken by Ann Wang

For more Information on Different Kinds of Asian Noodles, visit: www.allrecipes.com www.asiannoodlesreno.com

www.asianfoodgrocer.com

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Straight from the Farm

E

ven though it’s an early Saturday morning at the Farmers’ Market, a big crowd gathers.

As people line the streets, the stalls soon pack with customers waiting for the newest batch of fresh fruits and vegetables. Kids, as well as adults, can be seen participating in festivals and educational events, such as the Formula 1 Grand Prix and Edible Austin’s Eat Drink Local Week.

“[Starting the Farmer’s Market] takes a lot of charismatic leadership, it takes telling them we did nine months of research and planning before we even opened our doors,” said Suzanne Santos, the Sustainable Food Center Farmers’ Market Director, “Just showing [the farmers] we had planned out step by step how this would unfold.”

The Sustainable Food Center started the Farmers Market Project

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Customer buying persimmons

By Ann Wang

about ten years ago. The Farmer’s Market needed to assure the farmers that they would be supported and “having the confidence” that people would come to the market. “Just having a good organization and having good leadership, planning, and have a good marketing plan” was crucial in gathering community supporters nine months to a year ahead of time.

“People want the idea germinated to have a Farmers Market,” Santos says, “ They were excited about it.”

The Farmers’ Market consists of fresh locally picked food in Austin. These prospects attract customers and the prices also contribute to the number of consumers. The food is fresh from the farm and “hasn’t been in storage, hasn’t been gassed,” Santos says, “small local farms in Central Texas are either certified organic or they

grow with organic practices.” She believes practices can affect the quality of the food being produced.

“Local food is better concerning health because the farmers pick any where from, if it’s a morning market, they would have picked the evening before, so within 24 hours, you’re getting a raw food that is still nutrient rich,” Santos says, “What we’ve seen with kids, what we’ve seen with just shoppers in general and from our consumer surveys, is people are more likely to eat more fruits and vegetables which they need, if it tastes good. When you’re buying fresh, when you’re buying local, it does taste good.”

Most fruits and vegetables last about a week while still retaining most of its nutritional value. Spinach for instance “loses 50% of its vitamin content in a 48 hour period”. “If it was imported

Profile Photos by Ann Wang

Radishs on stand to be sold

in from another place, California for instance, it has usually been through a two week transit or been in storage,” Santo said, “[these foods] typically begins to start rotting within three days.”

She compares this to a local market. Even if you let the food stay in the fridge, it still stays relatively fresh and retains its nutritional value. The food is nearby at small family farms and does not require storage for long periods of time.

“[Customers] want fresh food, they want more vitamin content, they want it to taste good, they want to support local farms, small family farms, and they don’t want a lot of environmental impact on their food,” Santos says, “Consumers are in control of their food, they can choose where they want to vote with their dollars, so they do want to vote towards a more environmentally friendly type of food system.”

Shipping the food from long distances harms the environment

by gas emissions produced from trucks and other shipping methods.

Over 27% of gas emissions in the United States come from transportation. In order to conserve limited resources, buying local is more environmentally friendly.

The spending of the people and the amount earned relates largely to the economic impact of the Farmers’ Market.

“I can speak for the Sustainable Food Center Farmers Market, we run four of them, we have along all four of them, almost a four million dollar economic impact through a twelve month period,” Santos says, “[Farmers] as venders, over a hundred of them, contribute to the local economy.”

The spin off of the customers of the Farmers Market totals up to be over two million dollars, which she says equals a big economic impact on the economy in Central Texas. This also helps the small farms stay in business, who plant the vegetables and fruits,

supply us with fresh food.

Because of the 35,000 customers currently going to the Farmers’ Market, it is now in the top 10% of markets in Texas. The Farmers’ Market offers a direct line week after week to the farmers, who also serve as the venders.

It doesn’t look like the Farmers’ Market is not going away anytime soon.

“I think the Farmers’ Market are a way to connect one good food to everybody in Austin,”Santos said, “We always like to say the Farmers’ Market are for everybody.” SE

“I think the Farmers’ Market is a way to connect one good food to everybody in Austin.”

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Photos by Wilson Nguyen

Sauasage, bacon, eggs in skillet.

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S.P.E.B on plate.

s.p.e.b. the perfect breakfast Recipes

This recipe for S.P.E.B (sausage, potatoes, eggs and bacon) is easy to follow and complete. S.P.E.B is a complete breakfast because it contains a majority of essential food groups such as carbohydrates, protein and oils. It is capable of satisfying the voracious appetites of children and young adults alike. S.P.E.B is not only nutritious and filling, but it is delicious and simply edible‌

Serves: 1-2 people Time: 30 minutes For: Breakfast Ingredients: 2 Large Yukon Gold potatoes 2 Slices of (Pre-cooked) Thick-Cut Smoked Bacon 2 Extra Large Grade-A Eggs 2 Large (Pre-cooked) Smoked Sausages Water (amount depends on diameter of skillet)

Equipment: 1 Non-stick skillet 1 Vegetable Peeler 1 Chef ’s Knife 1 Cutting Board 1 Cup 1 Spatula

Preparation: 1. Potatoes: Take the 2 potatoes and thoroughly wash them under warm running water. Peel off the skin of the potatoes. Dispose of the potato skins. Cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Lay the flat bottoms of the potatoes on the cutting board. Cut the potatoes into thirds widthwise and lengthwise.

2. Bacon and Sausage: Cut bacon slices into Âź inchlong pieces. Mince the sausages.

Cooking: 1. Skillet: Place the non-stick skillet on high heat and wait until the pan is hot.

2. Potatoes: Place potato pieces into skillet. Fill the skillet with enough water to surround every piece of potato.

Place on cover. Once potato pieces can be easily cut by a spatula, remove cover. Continue cooking until water has evaporated.

3. Bacon and Sausage: Place bacon and sausage pieces in pan and mix thoroughly until everything is evenly distributed.

4. Eggs: Crack both eggs into the skillet and mix. After bottom of mixture has cooked, fold in half. Turn off heat.

Serving: 1. Remove the S.P.E.B. from skillet and put it on a plate.

Let the S.P.E.B. sit for 2 minutes before consuming.

2. Eat!

For more information on: Yukon Gold Potatoes: potatoassociation.org Thick-Cut Cooked Smoked Bacon: baconbaconbacon.tumblr.com Eggs: incredibleegg.org

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Fast food is always a convenience for teenagers with busy schedules 20 || Simply Edible

Photo by Alex Seiler

Informationals

Fast Food and Slow Minds

M

ost people don’t know that food plays a major role in the human body, both physically and mentally. A poor diet can have many negative effects on the body including a lack of concentration and energy, hyperactivity and depression.

With the recent increase of accessibility to fast food in the United States, many teenagers diets are loaded with sugar, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, artificial flavors and food coloring. A majority of teens struggle with drinking enough pure water and eating foods that don’t artificially stimulate the body. These poor diets have resulted in many teens having nutritional and health issues.

Nancy Turner, Doctor of Chiropractic, makes a point to say that “Obviously without any food, the human body eventually dies,” so it makes sense that if a person is eating food that is deficient in nutrients needed to sustain life, that person would likely have health issues.

Doctor Turner focuses on natural therapies for people with health issues, which allows her to help a wider variety of people in ways that are not usually approached by other doctors. As a result of this, she is aware of the prominent relationship between how our diets affect us physically and mentally in the long and short term although this relationship is frequently not acknowledged by many medical doctors. In Turner’s practice, she often sees patients who have diets high in sugar, chemicals, hormones, antibiotics, artificial flavors and coloring “and most exhibit [behavior that includes] a lack of concentration, hyperactivity, anger, depression or depletion of energy”.

There have been studies that show that people with diets high in sugar are more likely to commit criminal acts, and also studies that

By Alex Seiler

show ADHD, autism, schizophrenia and manicdepressive disorder are worsened by diets containing food additives, chemicals, wheat, sugar and dairy. Researchers and doctors in the field of nutrition have also published countless papers provinwg that all major diseases including cancer, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis are all caused or worsened by improper dietary practices.

This brings up the question of what exactly is considered to be healthy and how is a healthy diet maintained?

According to Turner, “If you are eating a healthy diet, you are nourishing the body, mind, emotions and spirit instead of depleting or draining your resources in [those] areas. You are [also] happier, more balanced, less reactive, more focused and you can concentrate for a longer period [of time]”.

In general, businesses and restaurants are in it to make money and usually they purchase the cheapest foods available when preparing their own products. There are also very few restaurants out there that use organic produce and hormone and antibiotic free meats but “If consumers demanded it, they would be a lot more numerous,” Turner says. The lack of genuinely healthy restaurants has brought up a wiser approach for maintaining a healthy diet, which would be to prepare meals at home.

The problem is, many people don’t know what makes a homemade meal considered healthy.

It’s simple, it all comes down to what is being cooked and where the ingredients being put into the meal are being purchased from.

On the whole, when preparing meals, people should try to consume as many organic products as possible and avoid flavor enhancers such as MSG and aspartame that have been proven 21

to damage the nervous system. Salt that has additives should also be avoided, which is toxic due to additives and anti-caking chemicals. Instead of artificial salts, try healthier alternatives such as Celtic and Himalayan, which are naturally derived and therefore better for the body. Meats, fish and poultry that contain antibiotics and hormones are also a very shady area and many should try and minimize their consumption of these foods. A good place to find healthy ingredients such as these would at a local health store.

Overall, sodas, energy drinks, dairy products, candy, artificial sweeteners, deep fried foods, vinegar, caffeine, wheat, and even chewing gum should be avoided because

of the has artificial sweeteners in them that are toxic to the body.

There are many foods that need to be consumed sparingly but there are even more foods that are good for the body. According to Turner, “I’ve seen kids in my practice who have never had a vaccination, never had antibiotics, eat healthy food without chemicals, eat very little sugar and not much dairy, and are by far healthier” compared to “kids on diets loaded with sugar”. Although a healthy diet may seem like it requires more effort compared to an unhealthy diet, it clearly has positive effects on the body and “there is simply no comparison.” SE

“I’ve seen kids in my practice who have never had a vaccination, never had antibiotics, eat healthy food... and are by far healthier,”

P.Terry’s, a popular fast food restaurant in Austin, uses mainly natural ingredients Photo by Alex Seiler

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Eating to Exercise

by Emily Heubaum

Attention, Simply Edible Readers! Being the young exciting people you are, many of you are athletes or you just work out. Or try to. It’s okay, I’m like that too. But many people overlook the fact that eating is a huge component of exercising. Here, I’ll list some of my favorite post-workout snacks. Enjoy!

Oh, and a special thanks to my teammates, coaches and parents for their input. Such a list wouldn’t be possible without their constant nagging help! If you want a more scientific look at “athletic eating,” Colorado State University has some more information. If you want a cookbook about eating for active young individuals, my favorite is “The Athlete’s Palate,” which is what many of these ideas are based off of. You can find more books on the subject at Amazon. com. Start there if you want to do more research. Good Luck!

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CRUNCH CRUNCH.

Another usual is something crunchy.

You can’t survive on liquids. You just can’t. I suggest things like pretzels, a trail mix, crackers, or your own personal mix. The best I’ve had was a mix of pretzel sticks, sweet Chex, dried cranberries and chocolate chips.

This is definitely a must-have. You’ve lost salt from sweating, and you’ll need to replenish it.

And try to avoid inhaling a bag of chips, that’s counter-productive. And you feel nice and healthy nomming on some legitimate snacks, not junk food.

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Informational

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CHOCOLATE MILK.

This is a personal favorite has been a general favorite of mine for a long time. Yes, ladies and gents, chocolate milk. You now have an excuse to drink chocolate milk. Since this is “postworkout,” you might want to go for a skim milk or a pre-bottled “light” variety. I’ve been drinking chocolate milk after my workouts for almost two years, and I’ve gotten a few of my friends addicted to it too. The protein in the milk helps rebuild your muscle and the sugar from the chocolate helps get your energy back up to normal. Plus, it tastes great.

Fruit is your friend. Plain and simple. I shouldn’t have to explain why, but I’ll do a crash-course anyway. Fruit has sugar. Good sugar. You want good sugar, especially after exercising, when your blood sugar is low. Fruit is also good for a bunch of other reasons. And it’s delicious. Just eat it, it’s good. I recommend bananas: the potassium in them is always great, especially when you’re working your muscles. But the bottom line is: fruit is your ally. B-A-N-A-N-A-S.

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Back to diary! (Sorry if you’re lactose intolerant, my advice is to go for a protein shake.) Cheese is another good post-workout food. Cheese sticks, cubes, the funny little rounds with the wax on them, slices to go with your crackers... It goes on and on. The protein will help rebuild your muscle, and it generally tastes good. But be careful, too much dairy will upset your stomach, and that’s the last thing you want when you’re exhausted. In general, your best bets are natural sugars and proteins. You need to rebuild what you lost, and you need to not be dirt tired. Carbs are also a go-to. Just eat! MOO~ (AGAIN).

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Contributors Photography

All of our photography was done ourselves, with the help of parents and our “mentor,� Ms. Harrison, unless stated otherwise.

Art credits can be found adjacent to or on the picture in question.

Editing Writing and editing was done ourselves. Each piece of work in this issue of Simply Edible was conceptualized, created and edited and by the four young people listed to the right.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to Ms. Harrison, our amazing teacher. Thank you to our designer, Sarita. Thank you to our parents, who helped us photograph and thank you to the people we interviewed for their time and patience. And thank you to you, our readers.

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