Post by Okwes on Feb 16, 2006 10:01:57 GMT -5
Simple sustenance
Confronting obesity and dietary problems by returning to our roots
By Terry Rombeck <http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/terry_rombeck/>
(Contact <http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/terry_rombeck/contact/> )
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/15/simple_sustenance/?living
<http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/15/simple_sustenance/?living>
The obesity and diabetes epidemics that face American Indians didn't
exist hundreds of years ago.
So Devon Mihesuah offers a simple solution to combat the problem: Return
to the foods that her ancestors ate.
"There isn't a whole lot we can do about some of the
manifestations of colonization — for example racism, stereotypes or
treaty abrogations," Mihesuah says. "We can fight for equality,
but there's only so much we can do. But what we can control is what
we eat."
Mihesuah, a member of the Choctaw tribe and a Kansas University
professor of indigenous nations studies, is getting international
attention for her views on American Indian health.
Her current book, "Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens: Indigenous
Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness," recently won one of four
U.S. awards from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Two of the other
books were written by poet Maya Angelou and homemaker icon Martha
Stewart.
The national winning publications will be forwarded to the international
competition, with those award recipients announced in May in Malaysia.
Root of the problem
This is Mihesuah's 12th book but the first to deal specifically with
the diet and fitness aspects of American Indian life.
"I wrote this book out of concern, because what we're seeing
more and more is unprecedented high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity
and other health problems associated with poor diet and lack of activity
among native people," she says.
[
Devon Mihesuah, Kansas University professor of indigenous nations
studies, has won an international award for a book she wrote about
getting people back to gardening and eating like American Indians have
in the past. ] <http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2006/feb/15/74527/>
Photo by Mike Yoder
Devon Mihesuah, Kansas University professor of indigenous nations
studies, has won an international award for a book she wrote about
getting people back to gardening and eating like American Indians have
in the past.
American Indians are 2.6 percent more likely to have diabetes as the
general population. More than 30 percent of American Indians are obese,
and one in five has high blood pressure.
"A lot of the tribes are making an effort to solve the problem, but
I don't think they're taking it far enough," she says.
"They have clinics where they can tell you if you have diabetes, and
they can tell if you are (overweight). But they don't address the
root of the problem, which is what you're eating and how much
you're exercising."
Mihesuah, in her first year at KU, says the loss of the active, often
nomadic lifestyle tribes shared generations ago is partially to blame.
But she especially points to processed and sugary foods that have
replaced the foods native people would have eaten years ago.
"Fry bread has really become almost a staple for many native
people," she says. "The irony of fry bread is ... that is made
from wheat that came from the Old World. And it's really a pity that
natives have latched onto that and they're calling it a traditional
food, when it is not. And it's also such a deadly food. It's
almost like you're purposely poisoning yourself if you eat this
stuff in large quantities."
Instead, Mihesuah points to foods such as squash, pumpkins, tomatoes,
potatoes, corn, fruit, elk, deer and turkey as healthy staples.
Growing interest
She recently gained approval from KU administrators to start an
indigenous garden on west campus to grow some of those plants. She's
hoping to get students and the community involved, and the produce may
be given to the poor or sold at the Lawrence Farmers Market.
"It's highly symbolic for native people," Mihesuah says.
"Even if you have half a whiskey barrel growing in your backyard of
peppers and squashes, it's highly symbolic. That is what your people
used to do."
The time could be right for the idea to catch on, says Bill Welton, an
instructor of natural resources at Haskell Indian Nations University.
"From a lot of different directions, there's some
eye-opening," Welton says. "People are beginning to look at the
increase in diabetes, and such a large amount of our society is obese to
the point that, whether it's Weight Watchers or other diets,
they're not doing long-term solutions. A simpler way of life is one
of those options that has more realistic appeal than it did 10 years
ago."
The problem, he says, is it might not be as economical to mass-produce
foods that aren't genetically engineered or have growth hormones.
"I think the issue or question is can simpler food be produced in
such a mass quantity that food now is being processed?" he says.
Mihesuah says there's nothing wrong with American Indians eating Old
World foods — she herself is a big fan of sweet peas and garlic. And
she says the principles introduced in her book could apply to people of
any ethnic background.
"It's also getting back to your roots," she says. "What
does it mean to be a member of your tribe? That means engaging in your
culture. So a lot of people who are getting away from healthy ways of
living are also getting away from what it means to be a member of
whatever tribe they're a member of."
Meat and vegetable kabobs
1 pound meat of your choice (elk, deer, buffalo, turkey or salmon)
2 red, yellow or green bell peppers, seeded and cut into squares
2 cups large whole mushrooms
2 zucchinis, cut into chunks
2 yellow crooked-neck squash, cut into chunks.
Marinate meat in either a plastic bag or covered bowl with marinade of
your choice for at least four hours. Preheat the grill by allowing coals
to burn for 15 to 20 minutes. Oil the skewers with vegetable oil, then
thread meat and vegetables onto skewers and "paint" on a thick
layer of olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper and other spices. Place the
kabobs onto the rack and turn every eight minutes until the meat is
done.
Vegetable sauté
2-3 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
2-3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 large sliced tomatoes
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower
Cover a nonstick pan with vegetable spray or a few tablespoons of
vegetable oil. Cover the pan with a layer of vegetables and sprinkle
with pepper, garlic, oregano or other seasoning. Cook over medium heat
and turn after 10 minutes. Turn to low, cover and simmer until
vegetables are tender.
Green chili
6-12 roasted, peeled and deseeded green chiles
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean pork, elk or venison, cubed
1/2 lime juice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add green chilis, onion, garlic and spices to cooking pan and stir. Add
meat and stir; then add lime juice. Add chicken stock until the meat is
covered. Stir well and reduce to simmer. Cover for 30 minutes, add more
chicken broth if the mixture has become too thick.
Zucchini canoes
2-4 large zucchinis
1/2 pound ground lean meat (such as turkey)
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup chopped onions
1 beaten egg
4 large tomatoes, pureed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Italian breadcrumbs (optional)
Garlic (optional)
Parsley (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Cut squash lengthwise and take out the flesh. Place emptied zucchini
skins in a baking pan. Sauté the ground meat, squash, spices and
olive oil until meat is done. Remove from heat and add the cooked rice
and beaten egg and beat well. Fill each emptied zucchini skin with the
mixture, cover with foil (or glass top) and bake at 350 degrees for
approximately 45 minutes, or until squash is firm and tender.
-- Recipes from "Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens" by Devon
Abbott Mihesuah
Confronting obesity and dietary problems by returning to our roots
By Terry Rombeck <http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/terry_rombeck/>
(Contact <http://www2.ljworld.com/staff/terry_rombeck/contact/> )
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/15/simple_sustenance/?living
<http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2006/feb/15/simple_sustenance/?living>
The obesity and diabetes epidemics that face American Indians didn't
exist hundreds of years ago.
So Devon Mihesuah offers a simple solution to combat the problem: Return
to the foods that her ancestors ate.
"There isn't a whole lot we can do about some of the
manifestations of colonization — for example racism, stereotypes or
treaty abrogations," Mihesuah says. "We can fight for equality,
but there's only so much we can do. But what we can control is what
we eat."
Mihesuah, a member of the Choctaw tribe and a Kansas University
professor of indigenous nations studies, is getting international
attention for her views on American Indian health.
Her current book, "Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens: Indigenous
Recipes and Guide to Diet and Fitness," recently won one of four
U.S. awards from the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards. Two of the other
books were written by poet Maya Angelou and homemaker icon Martha
Stewart.
The national winning publications will be forwarded to the international
competition, with those award recipients announced in May in Malaysia.
Root of the problem
This is Mihesuah's 12th book but the first to deal specifically with
the diet and fitness aspects of American Indian life.
"I wrote this book out of concern, because what we're seeing
more and more is unprecedented high blood pressure, diabetes, obesity
and other health problems associated with poor diet and lack of activity
among native people," she says.
[
Devon Mihesuah, Kansas University professor of indigenous nations
studies, has won an international award for a book she wrote about
getting people back to gardening and eating like American Indians have
in the past. ] <http://www2.ljworld.com/photos/2006/feb/15/74527/>
Photo by Mike Yoder
Devon Mihesuah, Kansas University professor of indigenous nations
studies, has won an international award for a book she wrote about
getting people back to gardening and eating like American Indians have
in the past.
American Indians are 2.6 percent more likely to have diabetes as the
general population. More than 30 percent of American Indians are obese,
and one in five has high blood pressure.
"A lot of the tribes are making an effort to solve the problem, but
I don't think they're taking it far enough," she says.
"They have clinics where they can tell you if you have diabetes, and
they can tell if you are (overweight). But they don't address the
root of the problem, which is what you're eating and how much
you're exercising."
Mihesuah, in her first year at KU, says the loss of the active, often
nomadic lifestyle tribes shared generations ago is partially to blame.
But she especially points to processed and sugary foods that have
replaced the foods native people would have eaten years ago.
"Fry bread has really become almost a staple for many native
people," she says. "The irony of fry bread is ... that is made
from wheat that came from the Old World. And it's really a pity that
natives have latched onto that and they're calling it a traditional
food, when it is not. And it's also such a deadly food. It's
almost like you're purposely poisoning yourself if you eat this
stuff in large quantities."
Instead, Mihesuah points to foods such as squash, pumpkins, tomatoes,
potatoes, corn, fruit, elk, deer and turkey as healthy staples.
Growing interest
She recently gained approval from KU administrators to start an
indigenous garden on west campus to grow some of those plants. She's
hoping to get students and the community involved, and the produce may
be given to the poor or sold at the Lawrence Farmers Market.
"It's highly symbolic for native people," Mihesuah says.
"Even if you have half a whiskey barrel growing in your backyard of
peppers and squashes, it's highly symbolic. That is what your people
used to do."
The time could be right for the idea to catch on, says Bill Welton, an
instructor of natural resources at Haskell Indian Nations University.
"From a lot of different directions, there's some
eye-opening," Welton says. "People are beginning to look at the
increase in diabetes, and such a large amount of our society is obese to
the point that, whether it's Weight Watchers or other diets,
they're not doing long-term solutions. A simpler way of life is one
of those options that has more realistic appeal than it did 10 years
ago."
The problem, he says, is it might not be as economical to mass-produce
foods that aren't genetically engineered or have growth hormones.
"I think the issue or question is can simpler food be produced in
such a mass quantity that food now is being processed?" he says.
Mihesuah says there's nothing wrong with American Indians eating Old
World foods — she herself is a big fan of sweet peas and garlic. And
she says the principles introduced in her book could apply to people of
any ethnic background.
"It's also getting back to your roots," she says. "What
does it mean to be a member of your tribe? That means engaging in your
culture. So a lot of people who are getting away from healthy ways of
living are also getting away from what it means to be a member of
whatever tribe they're a member of."
Meat and vegetable kabobs
1 pound meat of your choice (elk, deer, buffalo, turkey or salmon)
2 red, yellow or green bell peppers, seeded and cut into squares
2 cups large whole mushrooms
2 zucchinis, cut into chunks
2 yellow crooked-neck squash, cut into chunks.
Marinate meat in either a plastic bag or covered bowl with marinade of
your choice for at least four hours. Preheat the grill by allowing coals
to burn for 15 to 20 minutes. Oil the skewers with vegetable oil, then
thread meat and vegetables onto skewers and "paint" on a thick
layer of olive oil. Sprinkle with pepper and other spices. Place the
kabobs onto the rack and turn every eight minutes until the meat is
done.
Vegetable sauté
2-3 yellow squash, sliced lengthwise
2-3 zucchini, sliced lengthwise
1-2 cups sliced mushrooms
3 large sliced tomatoes
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup cauliflower
Cover a nonstick pan with vegetable spray or a few tablespoons of
vegetable oil. Cover the pan with a layer of vegetables and sprinkle
with pepper, garlic, oregano or other seasoning. Cook over medium heat
and turn after 10 minutes. Turn to low, cover and simmer until
vegetables are tender.
Green chili
6-12 roasted, peeled and deseeded green chiles
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound lean pork, elk or venison, cubed
1/2 lime juice
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon olive oil
Add green chilis, onion, garlic and spices to cooking pan and stir. Add
meat and stir; then add lime juice. Add chicken stock until the meat is
covered. Stir well and reduce to simmer. Cover for 30 minutes, add more
chicken broth if the mixture has become too thick.
Zucchini canoes
2-4 large zucchinis
1/2 pound ground lean meat (such as turkey)
1 cup cooked wild rice
1 cup chopped onions
1 beaten egg
4 large tomatoes, pureed
2 tablespoons olive oil
Italian breadcrumbs (optional)
Garlic (optional)
Parsley (optional)
Parmesan cheese (optional)
Cut squash lengthwise and take out the flesh. Place emptied zucchini
skins in a baking pan. Sauté the ground meat, squash, spices and
olive oil until meat is done. Remove from heat and add the cooked rice
and beaten egg and beat well. Fill each emptied zucchini skin with the
mixture, cover with foil (or glass top) and bake at 350 degrees for
approximately 45 minutes, or until squash is firm and tender.
-- Recipes from "Recovering Our Ancestors' Gardens" by Devon
Abbott Mihesuah