Time and Time again

Time Magazine has been a longstanding icon of hard journalism — international issues reporting, human interest pieces, mean-mugging profile portraits. It’s been one of those steadfast magazines that has no plan to fold.

When I was buying some delicious caffeinated beverages at Wal-Mart last week, a special Time issue caught my eye. It was gorgeously designed, printed on thick gloss paper and 112 pages long. To boot, it was one the topic of “good, healthy food.” Universe, meet the Time Book.

Dec. 2012 issue

Sept. 2011 issue

Turns out, there was a special nutrition edition Sept. 12, 2011 by the same title, and another cover story Dec. 3, 2012. While they’re great articles, neither are up to par with the glory that is a Time Book. The topic of good food isn’t just the issue’s anchor story — it IS the issue.

The book is 100+ pages dedicated solely to talking about healthy, good-for-you, good-for-your-soul food. Some are old articles from the Time archives, some are new reporting. It covers an expanse of topics, from the perks of frozen fruits and veggies to the modern local food revolution. It consults chefs, nutritionists and experts from a variety of fields. As you might have known, the food industry is one of those that wiggles its way into all others: business, health, pharmaceutical, fashion, industrial. The topic of food pervades our personal lives so deeply that it should seem quite shocking not as many people pay closer attention to what they eat.

Now that’s what I call design.

My thoughts on the Time Book, food aside, are all positive. It is a lengthy, extended edition made to be a collector’s item. It can be read and re-read, since it was made to be kept, not necessarily to be timely. Of course, scientific discoveries about food change, but not at the “news circuit” pace. The Book contains recipes from the editors of Cooking Light, helpful hints on grilling, good insight into the health food revolution (which I am 150% on board for) and other articles. It is, if you’ll excuse the horrendous pun, essentially timeless. As a human being, and especially as a Polish human, food is always is the front of my mind. It is something I know I’ll be referring back to time and time again.

New obsession alert!

Chia seeds, y’all. Y’ALL. What took me so long to try these little superfoods?

Chia seeds are tiny little seeds (groundbreaking writing here, I know) that come from the Salvia hispanica plant. The seeds are rich in protein, omega-3s and fiber – i.e. they’re good for you.

Most people put chia seeds in gree smoothies (which I am doing tomorrow for breakfast). Today, I had juice instead (spinach, apple, lemon, carrot), paired with apples and peanut butter. I dipped peanut butter-covered apple slices in chia seeds and nearly fell over. It was super good! The seeds are mostly tasteless, but the texture is super great, like sprinkles on ice cream or poppy seeds in muffins.

What is your favorite way to eat chia seeds?

An ode to green smoothies.

They’re crazy healthy, delicious and I can’t get enough of them. (That’s a lie – I very happily had pizza for dinner last night whoooooops).

But in all seriousness, I think that everyone could benefit from trying a green smoothie. The taste is a lot less, er, “healthy” than green juice, but with most of the same nutritional benefits. In case you were wondering what the benefits are: making vitamins like vitamin K super easy to absorb and digest, clean eating, and a bunch of other things that this person can explain to you (because I don’t want a novel-length post…)

I’m going to assume that most of you haven’t tried one. You can’t taste the spinach – I PROMISE. Let’s go over two of my favorite recipes, hmmm? Don’t worry too much about exact amounts. I believe in your ability to eyeball.

Sunshine smoothie (an A+ way to start the day)

• half an apple
• handful or two of baby spinach
• orange juice
• banana (frozen, if you can manage it)
• almond/soy/skim milk
• strawberries (again, frozen is fine)
• handful of uncooked oats (yes, as in oatmeal)

 

Lunch smoothie (a little more heft)

• spinach (because duh)
  
• almond/soy/skim milk (“or,” not “and”)
• a 1/4 cup-ish yogurt (I like to use Activia)
• scoop of protein powder
• kale (the greatest superfood of all superfoods, okay)
• banana (again, frozen is best)
• a little honey

The great thing about green smoothies is that you can put pretty much anything in them. Try adding raspberries, mango, blueberries, raw coconut flakes, chia seeds, hemp milk, orange slices, ginger, lime, etc. Think of food that would go well together on a spinach salad and then dump it into the blender and hit “Liquify.”

Happy blending!