Basic Hummus

I love hummus. Tonight I made Spicy Veggie Burgers for supper and was left with 2 cups of beans. I figured if I didn't so something with them right away, I'd forget about them in the fridge so while the burgers were under the broiler, I threw the ingredients in my food processor (if you make the burgers first, you don't need to bother washing the food processor...just go ahead use it!)

You can make all kinds of substitions in this recipe. Try different types of cooked or canned beans, different spices or add chopped finely chopped veggies and herbs that you love. Enjoy!

2 cups beans (I used a combination of chickpeas and kidney beans)
4 tbsp lemon juice
4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp tahini
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cloves garlic

Process until smooth. Keeps refrigerated several days.

Spicy Veggie Burgers

I wasn't sure what I wanted for supper tonight. Then I remembered the veggie burger recipe I Stumbled upon last week:
Ezra Poundcake Veggie Burgers

Well, I didn't have all of the ingredients, and I wanted to try making it vegan and gluten-free, so I made some substitutions. This made a fairly spicy burger, I'd suggest cutting back a bit on the red chili flakes and doing a taste test before you form your patties. Keep in mind that the cooked patties will be a little spicier once they've been heated through. I'm pretty happy with the results!

Ingredients:

3 tbsp yellow onion
3 tbsp orange or red pepper
1/2 cup raw packed spinach
1 stalk celery
3 tbsp mushrooms
3 cloves garlic

I'll admit it, I eyeballed the veggie amounts, cut them in large chunks and threw them all in the food processor together until they were finely chopped. Saute this veggie mixture on low-medium high heat with enough olive oil to keep it from sticking to your pan to soften the veggies and release the flavour. Don't worry if the mixture looks "mushy"...cook it anyway :)

While that is cooking, turn your oven broiler on "high" and combine the following:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup chickpeas chopped in food processor (1/2 large can)
1 cup kidney beans chopped in food processor (1/2 large can)
1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (this was in my freezer, leftovers from another supper)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp red chili flakes
1 tsp crushed Celtic sea salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin

When your veggie mixture is cooked to your satisfaction, mix with the rest of the ingredients. Don't be shy about getting your hands in there to get it mixed really well.

I measured out 1/3 cup amounts and shaped them into patties, then put the 9 resulting patties on a broiler pan. Then I brushed the tops with olive oil and placed them 6" under the "high" broiler for four minutes. After four minutes, remove from oven, turn over and brush with more olive oil. Return to the oven for another four minutes.

Garnish and enjoy! If you opened large cans of beans, and want an easy way to use up the leftover beans, try making Basic Hummus. I'll post pics next time I make these, my camera isn't home at the moment!

Birth and Life: Why Noone's Opinion Matters But Your Own

I am an absolutely fanatical birth junkie.  And a failed blogger.  Which is funny, because I constantly formulate opinions about birth, life, and the general state of the cosmos, but I am reluctant to share those thoughts in the public sphere. And I sit here and wonder, why is that?

I think it comes down to fear. I’m so scared that other people will disagree with me. The idea of someone attacking my ideas makes my stomach churn and my palms get sweaty. As an aforementioned birth junkie, I watch as birth enthusiasts of all persuasions attack each other like rabid wolves. Epithets get thrown around, frustrations abound, it’s so fascinating and yet totally exhausting. Some people “listen” and some don’t, some posts convey more respect than others, feelings get hurt, members come and go.

We don’t really need to fight. Oh we can disagree, we can disagree all we want. That is perfectly fine, and in the spirit of general freedom, should be respected and even encouraged. Do we really want conversations where everyone agrees with everyone else? Isn’t that what we think the OBs are doing? We constantly criticize the big bad medicos for not breaking through the status quo, for not being adaptable, for not following the evidence. We acknowledge that generally, sharing of our experiences and ideas needs to take place in order for us to learn, and yet when people disagree with us, we tend to argue instead of debate. In an argument, people tend to dig their heels in and commit to staying the same. In a debate, people have an opportunity to learn new things and are willing to grow and change.

So I guess that leaves me with: share your thoughts. Our opinions will always be based on our experiences and the conclusions we come to after reviewing the information we have. Always. And not one of us can claim to be absolutely right. But we could, if we really worked at it, create a community where healthy debate is alive and well, where we don’t feel scared to ask anyone’s opinions on something, where we don’t fear attack and being ostracized and judged.

And to the women out there, the ones who don’t know if they want to be mothers, the pregnant ones, those trying to figure out how to be a parent, this one is for you, too: noone’s opinion matters but your own. Look at the information. Weigh the evidence. Ask for other people’s opinions. And make the very best possible choice you can in any given situation. Accept the fact that the only person who has to live with your opinion and its effect on your life is you. Take joyful responsibility for your decisions. I’m going to try to set an example here and actually keep writing on this blog every day. Wish me luck.

Response to: Milkshake: The Breastfeeding Narrative, and "Eats on Feets"

I was unable to post my response to the above blogpost due to space issues, so here goes:

I think you bring up some important points Yolande and I would love to share with you my thoughts on them.  First of all, breastfeeding is not “bestfeeding” or “superior” or anything like that- it is simply NORMAL.  Human milk is the most basic, whole food for human babies.  All artificial milks are “less than” breastmilk, they are inferior food, and babies who are fed formula have higher rates of cancer, diabetes, autoimmune disorders and more throughout their lives.  I could write a whole post in itself about all of the wonders of breastfeeding our children, full term (often way beyond 2 years), and how all the wonderful benefits of doing so are actually our birthright and are indicative of normal human health and functioning.

I agree with you that most women who don’t breastfeed do so because there are incredible stumbling blocks along the way, from society, family and healthcare providers.  There are also a myriad of other reasons, from being a victim of childhood abuse, to having breast surgery and more.  I would posit that many women who want to breastfeed but eventually give it up do so out of frustration, worry and exhaustion.  The number one thing that new mothers need is an unassuming friendly mother who’s “been there”, who understands that nursing is as much an art as a skill, who can hold your hand and say, “I know this sucks right now.  Let me help you by holding your little one for 10 minutes so you can have a shower, then I am putting you in bed for the next 48 hours with some lovely food on a side table so you and your baby can snuggle skin to skin and figure this out.”  That alone, as championed by the lovely Gloria Lemay and so many others, would go a long way to keeping the 75% of NB women who initiate breastfeeding doing so.

That said, we need to face the reality that there are many women out there who are convinced that they want their babies to have breastmilk and yet, for whatever reason, they are unable to/feel they are unable to provide that for their babies.  There are also households where someone other than the birth mother is the primary care provider, either through adoption or other circumstances.  Here’s where Eats On Feets comes in.  They are providing a space in which donor mothers can be matched up with those seeking human milk for their babies, and in the process, are educating the public and pushing back against the notion that women are dirty, diseased, and unable to make sound decisions about their own offspring’s welfare.  I agree that it would be great for women to be able to have donor milk or wetnursing from their personal circle of family and friends but I think a lot more education has to happen first- I mean, if you stopped nursing due to a lack of support, are you going to turn to these same people for donor milk?

EOF has good information in their FAQs about making a supplemental nursing system (SNS) easily and cheaply.  If supplementing, I highly recommend the use of an SNS because it allows the baby to suck and receive nourishment in a more natural way, at the breast, and the suckling can stimulate milk production in a lactating woman.  A friend of mine found that she had to supplement her first due to a breast reduction surgery; she used an SNS and donor milk when she could get it, formula when donor milk was unavailable (no EOF then!).  With her second, the stimulation from nursing the first baby seemed to allow her body to adapt and she was able to feed him without supplementation.  Shanie, you could most certainly use this as an adoptive mother!  As for any and all questions, I would encourage everyone to go to the EOF Global webpage and read the FAQs:

http://www.eatsonfeets.org/#faq

I think that Dr. Jack Newman has contributed greatly to understanding *how* to deal with breastfeeding issues, in a way that peer-to-peer mentorship, like LLL, or midwives or family members haven’t done: he has worked with such numbers of women, often in difficult situations (like the mom who wants to try the breast again after three months of bottle feeding), that he’s been able to perfect some specific techniques that work for such situations.  I think that on the whole, his techniques work well for mothers who are already experiencing problems....which of course could be avoided in the first place, but again, I am looking at the current world and what is actually happening with women.  I think I was at the same talk and while I find him indignant in regards to formula pushers, and very passionate, I really enjoyed it.  Yes, he’s a man.  But in my mind that would be like saying that I can’t advocate for intact baby boys because I’m not a man. 

Finally, I would posit that the reason it’s harder to find people who agree with you in NB is simply because we are a small province.  I am addressing this because it’s a common thread that works its way through many of your posts: that somehow NB isn’t as evolved as your home province of BC.  I honestly don’t take offence at such a statement, but I ask you to consider: the population of BC is 4.5 million.  NB?  750,000.  I think it’s going to be easier to find people who agree with you in BC just by sheer numbers.  I’ve never been given a hard time for nursing my babies in public, ever, even in little ol’ Plaster Rock.  While more babies initiate breastfeeding in BC (95% vs 75%), more baby boys are mutilated (BC: 30%, NB 18%).  I think we all have a long way to go no matter where we are in the world.  We need a wholehearted return to natural, compassionate living.

Thanks, as always, for sharing your thoughts.  Keep writing mama!

Interesting reads of the day: December 1, 2010

Breaching the Breech Protocol

Risks of informal milk sharing vs formula feeding

Midwife Barbara Herrera on vitamin D supplementation

Help midwife Pamela Hines

Pamela Hines is an outstanding midwife in Oregon who needs your help. Pamela was serving her clients for a year without a licence, and during that time she was paid $45,000 by the Oregon Health Plan. They now want that money back: techinically they won't pay out to unlicenced midwives (keep in mind that Pamela performed the work and has happy, healthy clients). 
Now they've made a deal that she may make a one-time payment of $25000.  If you support midwives and the rights of women to make reproductive choices, I urge you to consider a donation to Pamela. There are so many of us out there, all over the world...we could raise this money easily ladies!  You can make a donation at the link below (payments are made via PayPal or credit card and may be done anonymously):

http://funds.gofundme.com/18ufw

C'mon ladies, if we help each other the load gets lighter on all of us.

Interesting reads of the day: November 30, 2010

Discussing the safety of peer-to-peer milk sharing

A Physiological Explanation of Breastfeeding