Coffee for your health?
I’ve always slightly tainted coffee as an unfavorable drink that cunningly grabs people in with its addictive caffeinated affects. Until relatively recently, I viewed it as a drink for those who are dependent, almost weak, willing to frivolously spend their money on something differing not too far from a pack of cigs.
It’s not that I myself didn’t love the bold taste and the even more delightful smell of the roasted coffee grounds brewing in the morning. I had one too many sips from my daddy’s daily styrofoam cups, luring in my little kid nose with its sweet smell, not to enjoy the taste of coffee as I grew into an adult. Like cigarettes, after enough repeated tastes, it’s hard not too fall in love with coffee.
It’s just that I always viewed coffee as little more than a treat, one that I wasn’t willing to let take a tenacious hold on my wallet or my mind. If I was tired in the morning, I certainly wasn’t one of the 50% of Americans running for coffee to lift my droopy eyes. That’s what sleep was for, and if I missed a few needed hours of shut-eye the night before, I wasn’t going to rely on a drug to cure my energy depletion. Rather, I’d take the”healthy” and free route and make an effort to get a little extra sleep the following night. No morning coffee for me.
That is, until I went to London…and discovered how people could so easily get addicted to caffeine. A few late nights, a coffee shop on every corner, and a handful of friends drinking energy drinks as if they were water, and pretty soon I was beginning to shed my unfavorable views of coffee. A trip to the boot-shaped country specializing in oh-so tasty espresso later, and I was hooked.
No, not in the addictive/dependency kind of way. More like the “nothing’s better than a morning cup of Joe while reading the newspaper” kind of way. Don’t get me wrong, you still won’t find me drinking coffee anywhere close to every morning. I hate getting addicted to things. But I just love the taste, and the slight buzz that comes with it. Yes, coffee is still my little “treat,” but a treat I’ve started to enjoy at least once or twice a week.
And ever since, I’ve been reading all of these studies showing the health benefits of a cup of coffee! For one, coffee has been shown to reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. A study published by the American Association for cancer showed a possible link between coffee and a reduced risk of head and throat cancer. Another study done by Harvard showed that drinking coffee may reduce your chance of getting Parkinson’s disease (esp. if you’re a man) by as much as 80%!
These results surely aren’t because of coffee’s pernicious little ingredient, caffeine. In fact, it’s probably best just to stick with decaf all together. According to Women’s Health magazine, “coffee has more antioxidants than almost any other food,” which is probably the primary reason it has shown some noted health benefits.
The bottom line: A cup of regular coffee won’t kill you, and in fact it might even do you some good with all the anti-inflammatory properties in contains. I certainly won’t be swapping my regular consumption of tea for coffee, but I won’t feel bad about sipping on a morning cup every now and then.
Ratatouille
Another one of my favorite easy ways to cook up garden vegetables is ratatouille. This dish is so surprisingly simple yet incredibly delicious. It’s also super healthy. The flavors of all of the vegetables seem to melt together in just the right way, creating a no-fuss dish that is sure to impress your friends with its robust taste.
Ratatouille
-2 onions, chopped
-2 bell peppers, chopped
-1 medium yellow summer squash, sliced
-1 medium eggplant, diced
-3 medium tomatoes, diced or 1-15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
-A generous handful of basil leaves, chopped
-2 Tbsp. olive oil
-Salt and pepper, to taste
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large saucepan. Add onions and peppers to pan and saute for 5 minutes. Add eggplant and yellow squash to pan and salt and pepper, to taste. Saute for another 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and basil, and cook for another 10 minutes, or until all veggies are tender.
Serve alongside your favorite grain or pasta.
Roasted Summer Vegetables
I love summer’s garden vegetables. Nothing beats the freshness of vegetables picked straight from the vine, moist dew drops still dribbling down their skin and keeping them vibrant and crisp.
I love them steamed. I love them raw. And I especially love them roasted. Sure, turning on the oven will heat up the house on an already sweltering summer day, but it’s worth the temperature raise.
Placed in the oven and baked at a high temperature, the channelization of roasted veggies gives the nutrient powerhouses an extra sweet taste with just the perfect hint of sultry smokiness.
Please don’t be afraid to stray from this recipe and use whatever veggies you have available!
Roasted Summer Veggies
-2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 yellow squash, sliced
- 2 medium onions, chopped
- 1 head of garlic (about 8 medium garlic cloves), sliced
- 1 eggplant, sliced
- Basil, thinly diced (optional)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 475F. Place prepared vegetables on an aluminum foil-lined baking sheet. Generously drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake 50-55 minutes, or until veggies are tender and the edges begin to blacken.
Note: I like to add a little protein to the veggies by roasting some tofu as well. Simply cut a 1/4-inch slice of extra firm tofu and drizzle with olive oil, S&P, or use a prepackaged already baked tofu of whatever flavor you prefer. Add to baking sheet right alongside the veggies, and cook as described above.
Summer Bumblebees
More Butterflies
An Unkept Garden
This is what a summer away will do to a garden.
The two plots of land below used to be in pretty good shape… Looks like my dad couldn’t handle our over-sized garden without me this summer. Two weeks spent with the entire family in Italy seemed to top it off and turn the garden into a jungle, literally.
I was soaked after my safari this morning. But, under all those monstrous weeds, I was still able to pull out a bag full of peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, okra, and squash. The corn patch is on the brisk of booming, and the onions, potatoes, and sweet potatoes are waiting to be stored. Happy to say I’m still taking a crapload of fresh veggies back with me to school!
Off to Philly this morning.
Butterfly Baby
Home
After spending two months in Europe, my journeys have sadly, but finally come to an end. But certainly not forever. I have no doubt that I will one day go back to Europe. And revisit the countries I have grown such fond memories of this past summer. And hit the many countries I still have yet to visit.
London and Italy were both incredible experiences that have begun to open my eyes to the world. It has shown me both how similar and unique each individual culture is. In the end, we’re all just humans who have grown up in different places.
On Sunday, just two days from the present moment, I will head back to Philly, move into my new apartment and get ready for classes to begin on Monday. Where has the time gone? Each summer slips quicker than the last. Each summer also seems to surpass the last.
Between working with the CSA farm, traveling all across London, and visiting several gorgeous destinations in Italy, I couldn’t have asked for a better, more awakening past three months.
One thousand sweet potato plants, a few plates of tacos paired with a kick ass story, 15 something British candy bars, and a whole lot of pasta, wine, and breathtaking sights later, I am alas leaving the summer to start yet another phase in my life. My life seems to be one bewildering multiplex of endless fascinating and illuminating changes. Cheers to whatever comes next.
Bottoms up.
Positano of the Amalfi Coast
Positano is a small town on the Amalfi Coast. Once an area primarily dominated by poor fishermen, the beauty of the hilly beach town now draws a significant number of tourists each year.
Amalfi Coast
Once you get over the chair-to-chair people at the beach, the Amalfi Coast becomes quite a beautiful place to be. Take a swim out in the clear blue water to one of the coves containing a more desolate beach, and you’ll feel like this place is paradise.
