Healthy social responsbility

Eating a healthy meal does not start in the kitchen with grilling chicken and cutting up vegetables for a salad. Eating a healthy meal starts with social responsibility.

Social responsibility is an integral part of living a healthy Jewish life. If the world we live in is not a healthy place then it is impossible for us to ever be truly healthy.  Food does not grow on shelves at the supermarket; rather, there are people, pieces of land, and complex processes that are involved in bringing food to our plates.  As Jews we must come to understand the multifaceted ethical implications that our food choices have in our lives and in the life of the land and the people involved in supplying our food.

            Tzedaka is part of the universal language of Jewish social responsibility.  However, tzedaka is not restricted to giving money and donating time.  The Torah links agricultural production to social justice and establishes the importance of health and wholesomeness in Judaism, thereby elevating the act of feeding the hungry to a holy level.  “When you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  You shall not pick your vineyard bare, or gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger” (Leviticus 19:9-10). 

Although most of us are not farmers and cannot strictly abide by this concept, it provides an interesting way of looking at our food.  Everything we have and everything we eat is not necessarily our own; part of what we have belongs to those who have not, as a means of balancing out our bounty.  If we consider those who may not be able to provide for themselves every time we produce or eat a food we create a healthier world for all in the future. 

This idea is relatively easy to put into practice in every day life.  Perhaps every time you go to the grocery store you can buy one extra non-perishable item to give to a local food pantry.  Or you can take your leftovers from a meal and give them to someone in need of nourishment or carry an extra apple in your bag for someone who may need it.  Finding a way to reserve some of what you have for someone who is in need balances out social inequality and helps to build a healthier Jewish life for you and the world around you.

            I’ve included a recipe below that can easily be doubled, tripled or quadrupled so that you can share your bounty.
(This is the first in a series of posts on food and social responsibility)

Turkey Sweet Potato Shepard’s Pie

Filling

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 medium yellow onions, diced

4 small carrots, diced

2 lbs ground turkey

3 cloves garlic

1 bay leaf

¼ cup flour

2 teaspoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon worschetire sauce

1 ¼ cups chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

½ cup frozen peas

Heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat.  Add the onions, carrots, turkey, garlic and bay leaf and sauté until the turkey is cooked through and the vegetables soften and brown.  Add the flour and coat the turkey mixture.  Add the tomato paste, worschestire sauce and chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Simmer 1 minute and season with salt and pepper.  Remove from the heat and add the peas.

Topping           

4 sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

½ cup soymilk

1 tablespoon canola oil 

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook potatoes in boiling water until they are fork tender.  Drain the water and return the potatoes to the pot.  Add the soymilk, oil, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.  Mash until you get a smooth consistency.

Pour the turkey filling into an 8 x 12 casserole dish and spread the potatoes evenly over top.  Make cross hatches with a fork in the potatoes.  Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes or until the potatoes are slightly crisp.  (1 casserole serves 8 people)

Sweet potatoes are extremely high in vitamin A, which is good for your immune system, your eyes and your skin, and potassium, which helps with muscle growth and water balance in the body.  Ground turkey is an excellent lean alternative to ground beef and is especially high in selenium, which is an important antioxidant.

Weight loss can mean spiritual gain

Rabbi Hillel, a well-known rabbi from the Mishnaic period, was once famously asked by a non-Jew to relate the entire Torah while standing on one foot.  Hillel's timeless response was, "Do not do to your neighbor what you would not want done to you.  That is the whole Torah, the rest is commentary"  People are constantly asking me about loosing weight.  Here's my answer: Eat less and move more.  The rest is commentary.  I know, its a bit Michael Pollan-esque (who says, "Eat food.  Not too much. Mostly plants") but it really is that simple.  1 pound equals 3500 calories.  If you eat 3500 calories more than what your daily needs are (which generally ranges from 1500 - 2500 calories depending on age, sex and physical activity) you will gain a pound.  If you eat 3500 calories less than what your daily needs are, you will loose a pound.  This adds up over time, so if you eat 500 calories a day less than what your body needs, in a week you will loose a pound.  It all sounds very neat and simple and easy.  And we all know that its not.

When trying to lose weight we deal with cravings and patterns that often feel impossible to overcome.  We set up unrealistic goals for ourselves and are not honest about what we can and should do.  We refuse to feel positive about our bodies and our appearance until we meet a random number on the scale.  In short, in our quest for physical fitness, we often lose sight of our spiritual fitness.

What is the best way to lose weight and still remain spiritually fit and positive about ourselves and our bodies?  Its important to recognize that our bodies have a tendency toward a certain weight and a certain shape which is not easily changed; our bodies naturally crave homeostasis.  You can starve yourself to take off those extra 5 or 10 pounds, but you won't stay there, because thats not where your body wants to be.  If you accept your body's natural tendencies, your future weight struggles will be a lot easier.  Also, keep yourself happy when you're trying to lose weight.  Eat delicious food, go out with friends, do activities that you enjoy.  Don't get sucked into the weight loss gym vacuum, so focused on the scale that you lose site of the rest of your life.

Every morning when you first wake up think of a body part that you are thankful for.  Try and be aware of that body part throughout the day and remain thankful for it.  You could be thankful for your biceps because they help you lift heavy grocery bags, or you could be thankful for your navel because it connects you to your mother and gives you a sense of your past.  You can also try to consider the deeper reasons for why you are trying to lose weight.  Is it because you have high blood pressure and are at risk for heart disease, or is it because you want to look good on the beach or be more attractive for someone else?  The first is an excellent and spiritually fulfilling reason to lose weight.  The second reason is okay to have, but it is more superficial and may be harder to justify spiritually.  If you make your weight loss about you and your self-image the reward will be greater and the blow to your spiritual self will be lessened.

Losing weight is a good kind of loss, but it also represents losing part of yourself.  My last suggestion is to put something back into yourself every time you lose a pound or reach a goal.  When you lose a bit of weight find a new way to connect to your community, contribute to a different charity, go online or into a library and teach yourself something new, write a prayer or a mantra, help a friend, or find a new way to observe and connect to your religion.

The basics of weight loss really are easy on a practical level, however its the spiritual plane that often gives us the most trouble.  I challenge you to couple your weight loss with a serious spiritual
gain - I promise it will lead to great health and fulfillment.

 Below is a spicy and delicious recipe for carrot soup.  Soup is a great thing to eat when you are trying to lose weight - it is filling and is the ultimate comfort food. 

Spiced Moroccan Carrot Soup

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 small yellow onions, roughly chopped

2 ½ lbs carrots, roughly chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

3 small Yukon gold potatoes, roughly chopped

¼ tsp cayenne

1 tsp cumin

1 ¼ tsp cinnamon

Salt and pepper

7 cups water

8 mint leaves

Makes 8-10 servings

In a large heavy-botttomed soup pout heat olive oil over 

medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until translucent. 

Add the carrots, garlic and potatoes and sauté 3 minutes

more, until they begin to cook.  Add cayenne, cumin, 

cinnamon and salt and pepper to taste.   Stir continuously 

until the spices coat the vegetables and until they begin to 

cook, about 1 minute. Pour in the water and bring to a boil, 

then cover the soup and simmer about 30 minutes, or until 

all of the vegetables are very tender.  Add the mint leaves 

and puree in a blender or with an immersion blender. 

Adjust seasonings and serve.

Carrots are high in fiber, which is good for digestion and for

lowering your cholesterol. They are also high in vitamin A, 

which is good for your immune system, your eyes, and your 

skin.