Ingredients for a Good Life

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Georgeanna
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Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

[ Inspired by Belinda's recipe for dal ]

Concerning philosophy and the Good Life. What are the ingredients for a life of well-beingness ?
If we follow Maslow's hierarchy of needs we could work our way up.
I've forgotten exactly what they are but I'm sure Food and Shelter is a basic.

How can we do anything without good nutrition and sustenance ?
The health of the body is often overlooked in discussions of morality, religion, etc.
However, types of food, the forbidden kind, the 'sins' of some dietary fad...the way they are combined and cooked so as to maximise health or minimize harm...with care and taste...what can possibly be more fascinating ? It's an oral thing.

What, for you, makes life enjoyable, worth living...and is good ?
I never used to think of food, and the cooking thereof, as anything other than a boring necessity - if a pill could have been invented to replace it, I would have bought it.
Now, I see the value of it. The trouble is - so much of it is bad for you, in so many ways...

Belinda, we need your help !
Georgeanna
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23902918

For a discussion and illustration of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Georgeanna
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

Philosophy of Food Project

http://www.food.unt.edu/philfood/
Georgeanna
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

Re the Philosophy of Food Project above. It covers:
Introduction to the Philosophy of Food

What is philosophy of food?

What is food? (Food metaphysics)

How do we know it is food? (Food epistemology)

What is good food? (Gustatory aesthetics)

What should we eat? (Food ethics)

Should food be natural? (Food technology)

How should food be distributed? (Food politics)

Are you what you eat? (Food identity)

Text below is from The Philosophy of Food, ed. David M. Kaplan (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012).
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Burning ghost
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Burning ghost »

Food is medicine. I spend the bulk of my money on three things; travel, books and FOOD! Food is so important because it is something I must have everyday and so I view it as being deadly important - for pleaure, sustenance and over all well being.

We are, after all, built from the matter we put into our mouths. Better make sure the fuel is top-notch imo!
AKA badgerjelly
Steve3007
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Steve3007 »

For a quick and easy snack for one, a tin of chickpeas with some garam masala thrown in the microwave works for me.
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Steve3007 »

Home made vegetable samosas are to die for. Here's a recipe:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipe/vegetable-samosas

As I recall, the hard part (for me at least) was shaping the pastry wrapper properly so no oil got it. I think I'll make some of these tonight.
Georgeanna
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

To BG and Steve3007

Good to hear about balance of life activities and economics. I remember when the majority of my income was taken up by mortgage payment.
Then, we hardly ate any meat at all and we walked a lot more. I think it was the healthiest I've been. Perhaps not the happiest...

Cheap and easy sustenance was e.g. cheesy beans on toast. A bit like your chickpeas and garam masala, Steve. I think the latter was in Belinda's recipe too. The flavour of choice ? I like garlic...yes, some say it is good medicine, BG - I think for lowering high blood pressure. My stomach wouldn't thank me for highly spiced substances. I no longer deep fry anything. Filo pastry sounds far too finicky and time consuming...

Steve, I read the background to your samosa recipe on the bugs thread:
At the small company in which I work we all had a little trip out a few months ago and went on a day-long Indian cookery course. The simple and easy-to-make vegetable samosas that we made were fantastic. Made me never want to buy them from the supermarket again.
I enjoy it when I hear of workplaces arranging informal days out - it does give a sense of balance of work, rest and play.
And I'm sure you wouldn't have noticed if anyone had slipped squashed spider into your samosa.
There may well be a few natural additives in the supermarket variety...who knows...
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Belindi »

I made chips (fries in American English)today which were so evil that they should be a mere garnish for wholesome protein such as seeds or chick peas and some colourful vegetables.

Evil chips:

Packet of frozen chips . Take roasting pan and make large pool of olive oil in the bottom of it. Add a smaller pool of runny honey. Add a little garam masala . Add ground black pepper to taste. Crumble an Oxo cube on it all. Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon . Put the frozen chips on top and coat thoroughly with the sweet oily mixture. Bake until the chips are cooked and the honey mixture is a caramelised coating on each chip.
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Belindi »

For months now I've been buying Oatly instead of milk and it tastes nicer than milk. I never tried making it at home but will have a go.

The health properties of oats are well known: they are rich in fibre, especially cholesterol-lowering beta-glucans, and, being a low glycaemic index food, provide a long-lasting energy drink that is favoured by many athletes. "Studies have shown that oats are better than sports drinks at boosting endurance levels," says Louise Sutton, a dietician at Leeds Metropolitan University. Commercial oat milks (such as Oatly) are widely available, but you can also make your own. Fill a large jug with one-third oats and two-thirds water. Mix, and leave overnight. The next morning, sieve the mixture and you will be left with a milky liquid that can be drunk as it is or used in place of cow's milk in some recipes.

(Guardian)
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Sy Borg
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

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Burning ghost
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Burning ghost »

What percentage of your monthly budget do you spend on food? I spend around 25% of my earnings on food per month.
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chewybrian
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by chewybrian »

Georgeanna wrote: November 3rd, 2018, 9:35 am [ Inspired by Belinda's recipe for dal ]

Concerning philosophy and the Good Life. What are the ingredients for a life of well-beingness ?
If we follow Maslow's hierarchy of needs we could work our way up.
I've forgotten exactly what they are but I'm sure Food and Shelter is a basic.

How can we do anything without good nutrition and sustenance ?
The health of the body is often overlooked in discussions of morality, religion, etc.
However, types of food, the forbidden kind, the 'sins' of some dietary fad...the way they are combined and cooked so as to maximise health or minimize harm...with care and taste...what can possibly be more fascinating ? It's an oral thing.

What, for you, makes life enjoyable, worth living...and is good ?
I never used to think of food, and the cooking thereof, as anything other than a boring necessity - if a pill could have been invented to replace it, I would have bought it.
Now, I see the value of it. The trouble is - so much of it is bad for you, in so many ways...

Belinda, we need your help !
I was suffering from anxiety and depression, overweight and out of shape, when I reached a fork in the road. My doctor gave me a prescription for high blood pressure medicine. I looked down that road and saw the prospect of more prescriptions and ending up riding a motorized cart around the store to get more soda, and decided it was time to change before it was too late.

I never filled the prescription, but rather decided to eat better and get fit (an option my doctor did not bother to discuss with me!). I cut sugar out of my diet and started riding a bicycle, a little further every day, every week. Those two simple choices were very effective. I lost 100 pounds and got rid of the high blood pressure. A side effect is that my anxiety and depression were diminished, and this allowed me the mental clarity to work on them further.

I found stoic philosophy to be a great help, especially the dichotomy of control. Much of what I was worrying about was outside my control, and not worth the energy of worrying about.

So, clearing the junk out of my body and my mind allowed me to enjoy simple pleasures again, like: riding my bike, playing golf, walking my dog, being outside, reading... I think those 'little things' are the ingredients of the good life, and the possessions we are told might make us happy are more like a cocaine addiction (or a prescription from the doctor!). They mask the unhappiness for a time, but they don't really make you happy and you'll never get enough.

I think you've hit on something. You probably won't make much progress at the top of the pyramid unless you have a good foundation. I know I was not making progress until I improved my nutrition and fitness. I never realized until after the fact how my poor physical health contributed to poor mental health. Our culture here in the states certainly does not help people make this connection. If you don't believe you can control your desires, and you are surrounded by objects of desire (as our culture tells us we are), then you are bound to be unhappy.
"If determinism holds, then past events have conspired to cause me to hold this view--it is out of my control. Either I am right about free will, or it is not my fault that I am wrong."
Georgeanna
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

Belindi wrote: November 3rd, 2018, 7:57 pm For months now I've been buying Oatly instead of milk and it tastes nicer than milk. I never tried making it at home but will have a go.

The health properties of oats are well known: they are rich in fibre, especially cholesterol-lowering beta-glucans, and, being a low glycaemic index food, provide a long-lasting energy drink that is favoured by many athletes. "Studies have shown that oats are better than sports drinks at boosting endurance levels," says Louise Sutton, a dietician at Leeds Metropolitan University. Commercial oat milks (such as Oatly) are widely available, but you can also make your own. Fill a large jug with one-third oats and two-thirds water. Mix, and leave overnight. The next morning, sieve the mixture and you will be left with a milky liquid that can be drunk as it is or used in place of cow's milk in some recipes.

(Guardian)
I have only ever used oats to make porridge. This is quite the eye-opener. I tried to find the Guardian article but came up with this one instead:

[ Not just for porridge ]
There are so many more things you can do with this mighty grain. I love a thickie: a fruit smoothie bulked up and made creamy by a handful of oats. And I've been experimenting with oat milk, made by soaking 200g medium oatmeal in 600ml cold water for 30 minutes, blitzing in a blender, then passing through a muslin-lined sieve. Use the oat milk plain, sweeten it with honey or add a pinch of salt. It's a refreshing drink, or you can add it to smoothies or use in baking. And it's brilliant on your breakfast cereal instead of milk.

I also enjoy turning porridge into something unexpected by cooking it as a savoury dish (as in Heston Blumenthal's snail porridge). Rolled jumbo oats or pinhead oatmeal can be simmered gently in stock to produce a uniquely warming, creamy-textured dish. Add something fresh, such as greens, and something piquant, such as crisp bacon or salty cheese, and you have a supper that will satisfy, sate and soothe.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyl ... ttingstall
There are quite a few recipes for oat milk out there. Some say you need a blender, perhaps that makes the process quicker than having to soak overnight ? I was wondering what you do with the left over oats...waste not, want not :wink:
Do you really need a muslin-lined sieve - wouldn't just an ordinary metal sieve do ?
Georgeanna
Posts: 436
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Re: Ingredients for a Good Life

Post by Georgeanna »

Belindi wrote: November 3rd, 2018, 7:41 pm I made chips (fries in American English)today which were so evil that they should be a mere garnish for wholesome protein such as seeds or chick peas and some colourful vegetables.

Evil chips:

Packet of frozen chips . Take roasting pan and make large pool of olive oil in the bottom of it. Add a smaller pool of runny honey. Add a little garam masala . Add ground black pepper to taste. Crumble an Oxo cube on it all. Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon . Put the frozen chips on top and coat thoroughly with the sweet oily mixture. Bake until the chips are cooked and the honey mixture is a caramelised coating on each chip.
Well, that was a surprise ! Then again, what is the good life without a bit of naughtiness ?

The potato is apparently the world's favourite root vegetable. And I'm sure there must be gazillions of types and recipes.
I used to love home-made chips made from real tatties and deep-fried. I've managed to survive without them...
I also adore mashed tatties...but have been lazy and let Aunt Bessie do the hard work.
When I want to have a baked potato I microwave first and then pop it in the oven to crisp up...

Unfortunately, when I buy potatoes, there is some wastage. The skins turn poisonous green before I get round to eating them.

Some tattie knowledge here:

https://www.farmdrop.com/blog/potato-va ... ast-chips/
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