Zucchini Pizza

I made Zucchini Pizza tonight for dinner.

Well, okay, I substituted yellow squash for the zucchini because it was all I had on hand, but the zucchini/squash factor is what is spectacular here.  When I was younger, when anyone asked if I had any allergies, I tended to reply, "Yes, but only to zucchini", (and pretty much anything else that could qualify as part of the squash family, too).  Can you keep a secret?  I'm not really allergic to zucchini.  I wanted to be, though.  Oh, how I wanted to be.  I cheered when the slugs got into my grandma's garden crop of zucchini, and teased her about planting it just for them.  The smell of any squash cooking was enough to send me running from the house, gagging.  I've been known to turn down perfectly delicious-looking cake, bread, and muffins because of those suspicious specks of green in them.  Sometimes, I could choke down zucchini raw, if and only if it was smothered in Ranch Dressing first.  Zucchini and I have had a...um, well, hate/hate relationship.

I think that might change this summer.  Maybe.

A few months ago, after reading through quite a few blog posts on the subject, I started avoiding High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), or "high frucshish corn syrup", as my five-year-old calls it.  It was harder to avoid than I had thought, and I became an avid ingredient label reader in my quest to determine which products to continue buying and which to stop buying.  And as I read those labels, I began to wonder about those other ingredients that were listed (and those that are unlisted, like pesticides).  Are they really good for us?  Are they even necessary?  Some of them aren't even pronounceable!  My curiosity was piqued, and my quest began.

I started my search online, reading articles, reviews of books, and, of course, more blogs.  In the course of my research, I came across a book called The Maker's Diet by Jordan Rubin.  The connection of diet and God intrigued me, so I decided to look into it.  (Literally!  Amazon has that neat feature where you can actually read parts of books.)  It looked like too much of one man's experience and not enough of what I wanted, so I kept looking around Amazon.  I got side-tracked by the title of a book by the same author, The Maker's Diet for Weight-Loss.  (What mother of four with some weight to lose wouldn't get side-tracked by a title like that?!?)  I used the same neat "pre-read" feature, and found almost instantly that that book wasn't for me either.  However, the time I spent researching Jordan Rubin's books was not wasted, because on one of the pages in The Maker's Diet for Weight Loss, he quoted from a book called What the Bible Says About Healthy Living by Rex Russell, M.D.  

What the Bible Says About Healthy Living appeared to be a book about not just living healthfully, but eating healthfully as well.  The reviews showed it to be a book based on Biblical truths, written by a man who not only is a Christian, but who has his M.D. and is diabetic.  (Diabetes runs heavily in my family, so that last word, diabetic, really caught my attention!)  All of the qualifications I was looking for, all wrapped up in one author!  I ordered a copy of the book, and while I waited for it to arrive, we went to the library.

First I checked out and read Real Food; What to Eat and Why by Nina Planck.  I learned about things like cholesterol (which I have never understood until now!), why eggs and milk are good for us, and how "they" raise and feed the meat we eat.  It was an interesting book, but as one online critic pointed out, the author's sole qualifications are that "she grew up on a farm and her parents served good food, she is healthy and she has managed/owned greenmarket stores".  I also hesitated to take everything she wrote at face value for the simple reason that she accepted as fact the theory of evolution.  If she ignores even the existence of our Creator, how can I possibly trust her to guide me in my quest to eat right? 

In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan, was also very interesting (although also written from an evolutionist viewpoint), and better written (and researched) than Real Food.  It seemed to cover the same ground as Real Food did, but the last third of the book delved into more of how we Americans eat instead of what we eat.  The author gives advice such as "Eat meals."  "Eat at a table.  No, a desk is not a table."  "Don't get your fuel from the same place your car does."  "Try not to eat alone."  "Eat slowly."  I really enjoyed that book (you can read my friend Amy's take on it here), but the same principle applied; the author ignored even the existence of our Creator.

After I had already finished both of those books, What the Bible Says About Healthy Living came in the mail.  It was refreshing and fascinating!  (You can read another, more detailed review here.)  The text is easy to read, liberally sprinkled with Bible verses and references (as a book entitled "What the Bible Says About..."  should be!), and equal parts "ewwww factor" and funny.  And it is filled with plain-spoken, sensible advice, such as this portion (which inspired this blog's title):

"Smile, but don't join them in eating what you know God did not create for food.  Then eat - with enthusiasm - a lot of the right kinds of unprocessed food - food that is designed for you.  These words will start creeping into your vocabulary: 'I feel good.'"

The knowledge I had accumulated through all of my reading and research was beginning to affect the way I was thinking about food.  I had made a slow start already in avoiding HFCS, but as a result of my new-found knowledge, I made some drastic changes in my shopping and buying habits, big changes in my recipes, and really big changes in my kitchen.  I actually spend time in there now.  Cooking, of all things.

What kinds of changes?  I'm so glad you asked!  (Humor me, pretend you asked...)

I started buying organic produce (when I can), and LOTS more of it.  I shop mostly in the produce section, and hit the center aisles of the grocery store for things like toiletry and hygiene products, and dried beans.  I get farm-fresh eggs from a friend of a friend, and I go out of my way to buy organic, non-homogenized milk and grass-fed beef.  I visit the dreaded Wal-Mart to pick up organic, vegetarian chicken (organic, pastured non-vegetarian chicken would be better, but we buy the best that we can find!).  I've cut out all white and brown sugars, and substitute honey or maple syrup instead.  I asked for a grain mill for my birthday, and I now grind my own wheat (I've completely cut out white flour).  I replaced all the non-stick, Teflon-y pots and pans in my kitchen with glass, cast-iron, or stainless steel.  I actually cook now.  Real food.  Including things like Zucchini Pizza.

Zucchini season is almost here, and for the first time in my life, I'm looking forward to being offered the surplus from my friends' gardens.

"Extra zucchini you need to give away?  Sure, I'll take some!  Hm, let's see...I'll start with...um, well, maybe...one."

Some old habits die harder than others.