City Walker

You can find beauty and joy wherever you walk.

Click here to watch an interesting interactive from the New York Times about a young woman that walks 90 miles a week in New York City.

Weight Loss -- Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

I'm training for the Paris Marathon, this coming April 11th.  I'm a hiker not a runner.  So while I'm in good physical shape and have lots of stamina, I have found this first week of training to be very challenging.

I've been keeping a diary of what I weigh, eat, drink, and how many kilometers I cover each day using the run-walk method of training.  I run one day, and hike the next.

The three dogs run with me.  At the beginning of the week, I found their antics annoying: the puppy comes running at Antoinette, who is usually at my side, so that they both knock into my calves.  I was getting angry with them and stopping to chastise them, until I had a conversation with a friend who was telling me about his marathon running experiences.  He said that the most difficult part of the marathon is staying on your feet and not being tripped up by the thousands of runners that jostle you for position or the endless sea of plastic bottles and cups that litter the road in front of the water stations. 

Now I view the dogs as wily trainers who are teaching me to never lose my balance -- even when being bludgeoned in the calves by furry, 45 pound battering rams.

At Camp Biche, we don't weigh the clients when they arrive or depart, or anytime in between.  I'd rather clients use a tape measure or their own clothes as a guide.  For as my diary has proven this week, even when you're doing everything right, low calories and lots of exercise, the scale doesn't tell the true story.

The daily weigh-ins have made me psychotic about my weight.  I can see why people give up dieting and exercising after just a couple of weeks if they are using the scale as their measure.  Since the beginning of the week I've progressively gained five pounds, and now with one day to go before the week's out, I've come down 2.5 pounds!

That's crazy.

On the other hand, I feel fantastic . . . enervated, brimming over with confidence . . . and my clothes are fitting ever so slightly better.

Throw away your scale . . . it does not reflect improvement in fitness nor health, and it often is a discouragement in your quest for well-being.

Getting fit and losing weight do not happen in neat linear progressions.  If you apply yourself, to eating healthier, eating less, and exercising more, you'll get where you want to go . . . but on your body's own timetable.  Often you must take the inevitable one step backwards in order to go two steps forward.

Breathe in acceptance.  Breathe out acceptance.

Elegant Broccoli-Apple Soup

Here is a broccoli soup that is light, elegant, and delicious. The broccoli is so subtle that you can serve this to a broccoli hater and they will become a convert.  This is a broth soup, not the usual much heavier cream of broccoli soup to which many of us are accustomed.

Broccoli-Apple Soup

• makes six large servings
• quick, inexpensive, with vegetarian/vegan adaptation

1.  Peel and coarsely chop three shallots.

2.  Peel and coarsely chop three cloves of garlic.

3.  Wash head of broccoli, discard long stems and leaves, and coarsely chop.

4.  Peel, core and coarsely chop a medium-sized apple -- preferably tart.

5.  In a large soup pot, heat one tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.  When hot add shallots and garlic, stirring over heat for about two minutes.  (You don't want to brown them.)

6.  Add broccoli to pot and stir all three ingredients over the heat for two minutes.

7.  Add apple to pot and stir for a minute.

8.  Add the juice of 1/2 of a lemon along with one quart of water and 4 chicken (or vegetable) bouillon cubes, a teaspoon of ground pepper, 1/4 teaspoon celery salt.

9. Cover pot. Turn heat up to high and bring liquid to a boil. Then decrease heat to low, and let pot simmer for 45 minutes to an hour.  I left and went jogging.

10. When broccoli is tender, put all the ingredients in a blender and blend until there are no chunks . . . you might want to add 1/4 cup of low-fat milk at this point . . . but it's not necessary.

11. You can serve the soup by itself but I made little whole wheat dumplings with flour from a local farmer. It would also be good with wild rice for something truly upscale.

It's frothy from the blender.

Super Garlicy Potato Soup

Super Garlicy Potato Soup

Fast, Easy, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Hearty, Can be Vegan

4 generous bowls

• one tablespoon of olive oil
• 4 medium potatoes, skins well-scrubbed, and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• two whole HEADS (not cloves) of garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
• one stalk of celery, washed and finely diced
• one large yellow onion, peeled and finely diced
• 4 chicken or vegetable bouillon cubes
• 1/4 teaspoon of thyme

1. In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium heat.
2. Add diced celery and onion and cook, stirring occasionally until onion is tender.
3. Add the chopped garlic to the mixture and stir for two minutes.
4. Turn heat up to medium-high, add potatoes, and cook for five minutes, stirring now and then.
5. Add 5 cups of water plus the bouillon cubes and thyme. Cover.  Turn heat to high.
6. When soup starts to boil, turn heat down very low to let the soup simmer. 
7. You can eat the soup when the potatoes are tender, but the longer it simmers the better the soup will taste. . . . This soup will really change character depending upon how long the garlic is cooked . . . the longer, the mellower.
8. Season with ground pepper and salt.

Storm Lifting Over Montcuq

"Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops. 

Let the rain sing you a lullaby."  ~Langston Hughes

Roasted Eggplant Soup

Roasted Eggplant Soup

Serves 6

Ingredients

•  4 medium eggplants
• 3 to 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 large tomatoes
• 2+ cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
• salt and ground black pepper

Step 1.  Preheat the oven to 400F.  Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise and place on a baking sheet.  Score the flesh of each half with a sharp knife in 5 or 6 places.

Step 2.  Brush the flesh with about 1 tablespoon of the olive oil and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until tender and golden brown.  Set aside to cool.

Step 3.  To blanch tomatoes, score an "X" on the bottom of each tomato and place in a large pan of boiling water to blanch for 15 seconds.  Remove tomatoes with a slotted spoon and plunge them into a bowl of cold water.  Then peel the tomatoes.  Squeeze out seeds and coarsely chop.  Mince the garlic.

Step 4.  Scoop out the eggplant flesh and set aside.  Heat remaining oil in a heavy, 3-quart saucepan over moderate heat.  When oil is hot, add the garlic and tomatoes and saute for 5 to 6 minutes.  Add the eggplant, stirring to combine.

Step 5.  Add the chicken stock.  Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes.

Step 6.  Using a hand or stationary blender, process the soup until a smooth consistency is reached.  Season with chopped rosemary and salt and pepper to taste.  [I like to roast pumpkin seeds and sprinkle on top.]

From the incredibly informative cookbook, Cooking at the Academy, California Culinary Academy

Breakfast at Camp Biche

"Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast."  Oscar Wilde

Autumn is upon us and now we eat breakfast with a fire roaring in the cast-iron stove while it's still dark outside.

It is both humbling and awe-inspiring to start the hike as the sun is rising.  L'aube is French for sunrise.

The Road To Lauzerte

"The long and winding road that leads to your door

Will never disappear

I've seen that road before, it always leads me here,

Leads me to your door."

Paul McCartney

Pumpkin Soup

Craig didn't have a blockbuster garden this year.  Here is the lone pumpkin he grew.

Pumpkin Soup

from the book French Cooking in Ten Minutes, Edouard de Pomiane

Take the skin off 1/2 pound of fresh pumpkin with a potato peeler.

Cut the pulp into pieces the size of a walnut and put them into a pot.

Barely cover the pumpkin with boiling water.

Let it boil for 6 to 8 minutes, then mash up the pumpkin.

Add salt and pepper, and a cup of milk.

Bring to a boil and serve. 

If you like, you can add a little sugar to the soup before serving.

Pasta Salad A La Michael

Michael makes this great pasta salad for our Camp Biche Thursday picnic.  

Last night, I had to throw together a quick dinner and thought I'd try to recreate Michael's masterpiece.

It wasn't quite as good, I'm missing some secret ingredient . . . but the result was close enough to create food bliss.

This photo is of the leftovers which I ate for lunch :)

A Delicious Facsimile of Michael's Pasta Picnic Salad

serves 4

• three large tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into one inch cubes
• two tablespoons of capers
• half a cup of black olives, pitted, and halved
• half of a red onion sliced paper-thin
• two cloves of garlic chopped finely
• quarter pound of washed and de-stemmed spinach leaves, chopped in thin strips
• two cups of dry, whole-wheat, rigatoni boiled until al dente then rinsed in cold water
• 1/8 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/8 cup good quality balsamic vinegar
• 1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano cheese (get the real stuff!)
• salt and pepper to taste

1.  Dressing:  Whisk the balsamic vinegar and olive oil together until it starts to emulsify -- thicken.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

2.  Salad:  Mix all the ingredients except the dressing and cheese.

3.  Place covered in refrigerator until you're ready to serve.

4.  To serve:  Add dressing and toss ingredients thoroughly.  Sprinkle with the cheese.

Antoinette Explores a Garriote

Garriotes were dry stone shelters built by shepherds out in the woods where they were tending their sheep.

Here's Antoinette inspecting one . . . 

Apple Crumble For One

It's apple season here in the Tarn et Garonne.

Valerie brought us some biologique apples that she had freshly picked from her trees . . .

I thinly sliced the apple . . .

In a small bowl, I mixed one teaspoon each of soy flour, wheat germ, and real butter with a half-teaspoon of pure vanilla.

I worked them together with my fingers until all the ingredients were mixed together.

I spread the mealy mixture over the apples  . . .

I put this in a hot oven, 195C, and baked for 25 minutes . . .

I could have topped it off with a little bit of plain sheep's yogurt, as I would have for guests, but I was hungry and devoured it quickly.

Less than 150 calories.  Healthy.  Homemade.  Packed with fiber.

(If you can't find soy flour, use whole wheat flour.)

Client Results With Photos

Libby,

Bonjour!  Well it's been two months since I left Camp Biche.  I'm still going strong and the exercise has been working.  I'm sending you some pictures that show the progress I've been making.

I have an ab routine that consists of 200 (only 1000 less than when I was with you), and also do strength, cardio, yoga and Pilates.  Not all in the same day of course but that was one of huge take home lessons for me. Work outs are so boring if you do the same thing everyday.  All of your trainers brought their own expertise and passion to their classes.  Every time I do yoga or Pilates I think of Joke with her soft convincing voice coaxing us to the point of exhaustion but making us feel that we could do more.  Loic was amazing also.  He is the reason I'm still doing strength training. 

You know for years I've been doing things that put a duration or time span on when you will have success. (Slim in six weeks, this body in 90 days,  eat this way for two weeks then that way for four weeks, cut out this food group etc.)  I'm long past my carbophobic days and eat with pure pleasure....just less. Exercise has become part of my routine, not something I'll do for a set period of time and hope for miraculous results. Of course there are always set backs, but that is life.  There isn't a reset button any more.  I don't say "Oh I'll wait until Monday and start that program again"  I get my tennis shoes on and just get going.  I feel stronger all the time.  I have a very physically demanding job in orthopaedics and I've noticed a difference while at work.  My stamina and strength have greatly improved. 

I have a ways to go but I'm not discouraged.  Camp Biche has taught me to persevere.  When you say boot camp it is meant in the true sense.  The first few days I thought I would surely die.  By the end of my stay I was doing things I didn't know I was physically capable of.  Once you experience that feeling of accomplishment, it acts as a motivator or catalyst to continue. 

It was a spiritual and physical journey that I'm grateful to have traveled.  Thanks for everything, Libby, it was truly a life changing experience.

Kae

Before Camp Biche:

Thirty Days After Camp Biche:

Sixty Days After Camp Biche:

Last Roses Of Summer

I cut these roses from the garden yesterday.

They are all that is left of summer.

Now, the walnut harvest begins.

Lauzerte, Sans Voitures! Formidable!

Photo courtesy of Ann Coble

"The car has become a secular sanctuary for the individual, his shrine to his self, his mobile Walden Pond."

Edward McDonagh

Mantra Power

Recently, a man in England found a huge treasure of ancient Anglo-Saxon gold.  It's the largest find of its kind.  

He said that on the day of his discovery he reworked a mantra that he regularly used for good luck. “I have this phrase that I say sometimes — ‘Spirits of yesterday, take me where the coins appear’ — but on that day I changed ‘coins’ to ‘gold.’ I don’t know why I said it that day, but I think somebody was listening.”

Remember this when you're doing your abs work-out!

Dementia Now An "Epidemic"

"We are facing an emergency," said Dr. Daisy Acosta, who heads Alzheimer's Disease International, which released the report Monday.

The U.S. and other developed countries long have been bracing for Alzheimer's to skyrocket. But the report aims to raise awareness of the threat in poorer countries, where finally people are living long enough to face what is mostly a disease of the 65-and-older population.

While age is the biggest driver of Alzheimer's, some of the same factors that trigger heart disease — obesity, high cholesterol, diabetes — seem to increase the risk of dementia, too. Those are problems also on the rise in many developing countries. [Emphasis added.]

We combat obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes with adequate exercise and by eating whole foods in moderate quantities.  Again, exercise leads us to health . . . both mental and physical.

Vitamin E For Stretch Marks -- Not Cocoa Butter

Studies show that cocoa butter does not prevent or make stretch marks go away. 

For those looking for an alternative, scientists have found that vitamin E creams are more effective. In a similarly double-blinded study of 100 pregnant women in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in 2000, for example, researchers found that those who were assigned to use a cream containing alpha tocopherol, a form of vitamin E, developed fewer marks than those given a placebo.

Surgical and radiofrequency treatments are available, too, but they carry a higher price.

Eiffel Tour

A gorgeous photo taken by Ann Coble.

The Legendary Scottish Snack

Recently I discovered Scottish oat cakes. My friend here in Lauzerte, a Scottish Laird, served them for tea.  Oat cakes are a healthy, low-calorie, and surprisingly filling snack.  52 calories each.  70% oats.  I find that I can eat two of them when I'm hungry in the afternoon, and they sufficiently sate my appetite.