Union Street Farmers Market a Haven for Dieters

Each and every Wednesday of the year, the farmers market comes to town. When you show up, it feels like you’re at the annual county fair: there’s food, animals and some unabashedly weird people.

Children dance and play next to the stage at Bo Diddley Plaza, where locals play live music during the farmers market. Photo by Shayna Tanen.

The Union Street Farmers Market is a venue where local food producers and artisans unite, each Wednesday (rain or shine) from 4-7 p.m. at Bo Diddley Plaza in downtown Gainesville. Typical vendors sell local fruits and vegetables at decent prices, which is expected at any reputable farmers market.

But the Union Street Farmers Market also harbors vendors who stretch the imagination and taste buds in the form of vegan, gluten-free and paleo tasties for their alternative customers.

Take “Jose’s Tempeh,” the pet name for the Tempeh Shop, for example. Jose Caraballo formed the Tempeh Shop in Gainesville and is joined in partnership by his son and daughter. Caraballo’s son, Damian Caraballo, who has been working with his father for six years already, was selling the family tempeh on Wednesday.

Tempeh is fermented soybeans. The way Damian Caraballo explained it, tempeh is a product of soybeans so the process starts off with soybeans, but after fermentation the soy is basically all eaten up.

Damian Caraballo said that his father has been making tempeh since 1985, even when it was not popular in the U.S. Tempeh is actually an ancient food in Indonesia, but it took Americans a long time to catch on.

America’s health kick and rising animal-consciousness seems to be giving the Tempeh shop good business, though. “A lot of people really appreciate the natural way it’s made,” said Damian Caraballo.

“Jose’s Tempeh” is certified organic and contains no GMOs. Damian Caraballo said his favorite product of the Tempeh Shop is the ready tempeh, which is pre-cooked and super convenient.

Check out their website for more info and more places to find the Tempeh Shop’s food: http://www.thetempehshop.com

Another awesome, entirely unique product sold at the farmers market is cashew cream cheese. Cashew – what? That’s right, cashew cream cheese is a non-dairy, non-soy, gluten-free cheese.  It doesn’t taste exactly like cream cheese, but it’s close with its smooth texture, soft white color and indisputable salty tang.

Mouskowitz’s cashew cream cheese is salty and creamy and oddly close to cheese, minus the cow milk. Photo by Shayna Tanen.

The cheese is made by soaking organic cashews in a homemade probiotic liquid called rejuvelac. What business could make such an intriguing, earth-and health-friendly product but Mouskowitz Earthly Delights?

“We’ve really taken off locally here in town,” said Christina Oh, a partner in Mouskowitz and a vegan chef.

Oh says the cheese is very versatile. It can be used in veggie lasagna, soups, salad dressing, as a dip and so much more.

Look out for recipes that I’ve made with this cream cheese (namely spaghetti squash casserole), and check out Mouskowitz Earthly Delights on Facebook for more info and recipes.

Last, but not least, is Wild Man Foods, a paleo vendor that specializes in wild, sustainable meat. The table was covered in dried, smoked meats and fishes and pickled and fermented vegetables.

Sarah Cervone was manning the booth on Wednesday. She follows the paleo diet but wanted to emphasize that to her, paleo is a lifestyle, not a religion. “I see it more as a lifestyle than a particular body type,” she said.

Wild Man Foods is a new, unpretentious business. Its philosophy is similar to Cervone’s: Eating paleo is healthy, but there’s more to life than meat freezers and rock climbing.

Visit http://www.wildmanfoods.org to learn more about “paleo products for modern people.”

Most of the time I can find everything I need to eat for the week at Trader Joe’s. But, like that feeling you get before the county fair comes to town, there’s a lingering emptiness in my stomach that can only be filled with out-of-the-ordinary things.

Unlike carnival fare, you cannot fill your belly with fried Oreos, corn dogs or exotic insects at the farmers market. What you can get, though, is fresh, local, whole foods that satisfy a pesky, adventurous food craving.

Flashback: Spring Break Eats Survival Guide

Spring break is that wonderful time in a college student’s life when you get a whole week to do anything but think about school. Consequently, when my thoughts are away from homework and exams, they are almost always dwelling on food.

Going home on a diet can be tough, though, when your parents love pasta, pizza and sandwiches. It’s even tougher when your best friend from home is a vegetarian and supplements her diet with carbohydrates like bread, and all you can do is supplement your diet with meat.

So here is a guide to my happy-medium: how I cook for myself and for my friends and family over spring break.

1. Chili

This one goes out to my dad, who just loves chili to death. Chili is like SCD heaven: you can make a great chili without leaving out any integral ingredients or compromising. I like my chili with just beans, meat, tomatoes and spices, which makes sticking to the SCD very easy. My family has been making the same chili since I was a child, and I have not had to change it because of my diet restrictions.

The recipe comes from an old magazine (at least 10 years old). I’ve altered it a bit though.

• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 pound of ground meat, your choice of meat
• 2 tbsp. chili powder
• 1 tsp. ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp. cayenne, less or more depending on how spicy you like it
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon (I know it sounds weird but it’s awesome.)
• 1 28-oz. can San Marzano tomatoes, crushed
• 1 16-oz. can kidney beans
• 1 16-oz. can black beans
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• black pepper

1. The prep is easy. Chop up the onion and throw it into a large, hot pot with oil. Cook on medium heat for about five minutes, then throw in the chopped garlic.
2. Next comes the ground meat. Crank the heat up just a bit so the meat gets brown.
3. Once the meat is mostly cooked through, add all the spices and allow them to heat up with the meat and toast in the pan.
4. Add your tomatoes. I use San Marzano tomatoes because I know nothing is added to them, and San Marzano tomatoes are always the sweetest, reddest canned tomatoes. Put the salt and pepper in now so they can flavor the chili while it cooks.
5. Leave your chili cooking on medium-low, and let it go for about two hours. Add the beans about 20 minutes before serving. A hint with the beans is to CHECK THE LABELS. Most canned beans have salt, sugar and preservatives added to them. If you cannot find canned beans that only contain beans, salt and water then go for dry beans and soak them overnight.

I like to eat my chili with white cheddar cheese and the original Tobasco sauce.

2. Beach picnic

I mentioned that my best friend from home, Kara, is a vegetarian. We always used to make pizzas and bake together, but now that I follow the SCD our eating paths run parallel rather than intersect. Picnics can be especially hard to make when sandwiches and potato chips are not allowed.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Luckily, I was able to find something to make that satisfies us both at the beach: hard boiled eggs, strawberries, bananas and veggie chips. I can’t eat the veggie chips but that doesn’t mean Kara can’t! Pack it all up in a cooler, and you’ve got the perfect beach food. 

Here’s a tip for making perfect hard boiled eggs: start the eggs out in room-temperature water and bring the eggs to a boil. Once they begin to boil, take the pot away from the heat and keep it covered for 11-13 minutes. This prevents the eggs from getting too dry and getting that hideous gray ring around them.  For a more complete guide to making boiled eggs any way you like, check out this Bon Appetit article: http://www.bonappetit.com/test-kitchen/how-to/article/how-to-boil-an-egg

3. Larabars

Over spring break I was in the car a lot. Whether it was driving to and from Gainesville or taking a day trip downtown, I always kept a Larabar at hand for snacking.

Larabars are fruit, nut and date bars. The dates keep the bar intact and the fruit and nut adds yumminess, all without added sugar, dairy or grains. These bars are about the only pre-packaged, non-homemade food a person on the SCD can eat, and they are a life saver.

You can find Larabars at Publix in the energy bar section. I must warn you, they are not cheap, but they are definitely worth the money. My favorite flavors are coconut cream pie, banana bread and peanut butter and jelly.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

These tools and tips for finding a middle-ground with friends and family on the SCD made my spring break a relaxing time. I didn’t have to stress too much about what everyone could eat together, which gave me more time to enjoy a whole week without school — and what an enjoyable week it was.

Long live spring break!

Restrictive Diet Restaurant Reviews

Ken Peng loves Trader Joe’s truffle brie cheese and smoking meat. He also loves dining out.

Peng, creator of Ken Eats Gainesville, gives the inside food critics review on where to eat when you think there’s nowhere to go out because of your diet.

Fortunately, Peng does not have to eat according to any diet, but he is still the go-to guy in Gainesville for all things restaurant.

Ken Peng, 28-year-old food writer and employee at Trade PMR in Gainesville. Photo courtesy of Ken Peng.

His story began in childhood. Peng’s father owned an Asian supply company, and he grew up dining out in restaurants and traveling. He’s eaten cuisine in the United States, Canada, parts of the Caribbean, China and Japan. Like many students, when Peng moved to Gainesville in 2004 to attend UF, he knew nothing about the food here besides chain restaurants like TGI Fridays and Chili’s. When Peng was a student at UF, Yelp didn’t even exist. His resources were very limited, so he had to do all the searching himself.

He slowly learned about the local cuisine and started writing restaurant reviews on his personal Facebook page. “I would just rant about stuff,” Peng said.

Peng made his first review on his Facebook page, Ken Eats Gainesville, last year while in between jobs. “I didn’t think anyone would actually wanna read it, but at one point people actually started to read it,” he said about his reviews. He said his goal with the Facebook page is to appeal to college students like himself, when he was 18, who don’t know where to find good food.

So far, he has reviewed 24 restaurants in the Gainesville area, and he doesn’t plan on stopping.

On the topic of restrictive diets Peng recommended a number of diverse restaurants, all with different cuisines and different things to offer.

Interesting diets:

Bangkok Square, a new Thai restaurant at 6500 SW Archer Road offers authentic Thai food and a whole section on the menu is devoted to Macrobiotic diets, which are popular in Asia. The diets emphasize dishes rich in vegetables with whole grains and zero processed food. If you can tolerate grains, this is a great option to consume your carbs without all the additives that often come with them.

Vegan/Vegetarian:

Peng also mentioned a number of restaurants that offer vegetarian and vegan food. The Top, the Jones, Vegan2go  and Tempo Bistro To Go are excellent choices for vegan and vegetarian eaters.

I used to eat “The Burger” at the Jones B Side (there are two Jones restaurants) with black beans and quinoa before going on the SCD. If you are a vegetarian I highly recommend it with garlic aoli and cheddar cheese.

Gluten-free/Grain-free

For gluten-free eaters, Peng said Dragonfly Sushi has lots of gluten-free choices. People on the SCD and Paleo diet can also dine at places like The Daily Green and Designer Greens, which make great salads.

Peng’s recommendations are worth a try. His Facebook has over 3,600 likes, and it is clear Peng is passionate about food and dining. Be sure to visit http://www.keneatsgainesville.com to see what Ken eats next!

Banana Pancakes

One thing I truly miss from my old carbohydrate-filled life is eating pancakes at restaurants on Sunday mornings. My breakfasts now mainly consist of eggs – every day for weeks on end. Lucky for me, when I get a pancake craving, I just make banana pancakes (minus the flour)!

These pancakes are sugar and grain free. They do contain a small amount of butter, which can be replaced with coconut oil or any other type of oil, and eggs. They don’t have the same texture as your average pancake: They are softer and egg-y-er than their flour counterpart. This does not make them bad. They have a great banana flavor, and the cinnamon and vanilla makes them reminiscent of bananas foster.

Here’s how to make them:

Gather all your ingredients: bananas, eggs, coconut flour, baking soda, vanilla extract, salt (not pictured), cinnamon and butter. The measurements are down at the bottom.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Next, peel your banana and and crack an egg into a medium or large bowl. I am only using one banana and one egg, which leaves me with no left-overs. But you can certainly make more, just double up the recipe!

Mash the banana up with the egg. I use a whisk to get everything nicely combined.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Once your batter looks thin and goopy, it’s time to add the flavorings. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and coconut flour and mix it up. Now you are ready to cook.

Allow your pan to come up to medium heat. NEVER put food in a cold pan. It inhibits browning and makes your food soft and much less delicious than if you had waited for your pan to get hot. Coat the pan with a generous slab o’ butter and pour out your pancakes. They are hard to flip so I like to make little silver dollars, but if you are brave go ahead and make a big one.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

So my banana pancakes might not be as gorgeous as regular pancakes, but when you are on a restricted diet you get used to that. They taste different too, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing!

Make sure to wait until the pancakes are golden brown on one side to flip them. Once they are done, serve them up with more butter and honey. I also like to sprinkle on more cinnamon because it makes them look nice.

Photo by Shayna Tanen

Banana Pancakes recipe:

• 1 very ripe banana
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tbs. coconut flour
• pinch of salt
• butter
• honey

1. Peel banana and crack an egg into a medium or large bowl. Mash the banana with a whisk until it is broken up well and the egg is combined.

2. Add vanilla, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and coconut flour and stir well.

3. Pour the pancakes into a hot, buttered pan.

4. Cook on medium heat until brown on both sides.

5. Serve with honey, butter and cinnamon if desired.

Tips

• Coconut flour has a tendency to be very absorbent. If the mixture still looks too wet and runny after adding the flour, don’t worry. Adding too much coconut flour makes the pancakes very fibrous and less tasty.
• If you do not adhere to the SCD, but follow the Paleo diet, you may use maple syrup on your pancakes.
• Never overcrowd your pan. Keep the pancakes well-spaced out and at least half an inch from each other.
• You can serve them with yogurt or berries or bacon for a more filling meal!

Enjoy!

Chipotle is good for the SCD soul

I love Chipotle.

It is by far my favorite restaurant chain. I don’t care if the employees at the University Avenue location see me there one to three times a week without fail. When I feel a pang of hunger and a craving, Chipotle is the first place I go to.

I’ll start at the beginning:

I remember the first time I experienced Chipotle. It was wonderful. I got a burrito and it was VERY hard to eat, and I didn’t know what to do with myself but that was okay, because I had discovered the most delicious Mexican food a Florida girl could find.

Fast forward to 2014, and my love affair with Chipotle has grown exponentially. Not only do I appreciate the flavors, freshness and integrity of Chipotle food, I can eat it without breaking the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.

Living in a college town, I am constantly faced with beer and pizza, neither of which I can eat. Chipotle is the only restaurant in Gainesville where I am 100% positive of the ingredients I am consuming. It is a huge relief when I can rely on Chipotle for sustenance when my fridge and pantry are depressingly empty. 

If you are on a restrictive diet like the SCD, Paleo or gluten-free diets, Chipotle is unrivaled in its ability to cater to you. Gluten-free? Opt for rice instead of a tortilla. If you eat according to the SCD order lettuce, extra beans and guacamole to replace a tortilla, rice and sour cream.

There’s another important factor that contributes to my love for Chipotle: I have an obsession with all things food, and I’ve seen Food, Inc. That should sum up my view on food — artificial ingredients do not belong anywhere near my plate.

Chipotle campaigns for food with integrity which “is our commitment to finding the very best ingredients raised with respect for the animals, the environment and the farmers,” according to Chipotle’s website.

Chipotle’s transparency is astounding, considering it is a profit-making company on the New York Stock Exchange. Its website includes a comprehensive chart of special diet information and a full list of ingredients for every dish.

Lastly, Chipotle is making its own campaign against inhumane and unnatural practices in an original series called “Farmed and Dangerous.” Once you watch it you will understand why my love runs so deep; It’s witty, informative, hilarious and insightful.

Chipotle amazes me in so many aspects, and that is why I will always love it.

 

http://www.chipotle.com/en-us/Default.aspx

http://farmedanddangerous.com/