Is there more to food than food?

I think you know I'm going to say yes.

Of course, there are macronutrients - fat, protein and carbohydrates - along with vitamins and minerals essential to our wellness.

And then there's the energy of that food, the impact it has on us in more than just physical ways.

Can it help us to relax, feel energized, annoyed, or happy?

Yes, yes.

And yes.

We█ll visit Puglia today, where living our healthiest lives is easy, on Christina Cooks.

Funding for Christina Cooks is provided by: GreenOnyx, producers of Wanna Greens A tiny but nutrient dense fresh green vegetable.

Wanna Greens can be added to any meal, snack or dessert.

Fresh greens.

Wanna Greens.

Additional funding provided by Finamill.

The flavor of freshly ground spices and dried herbs with refillable, swappable pods.

Finamill.

And by Mauviel, creators of copper, stainless and steel carbon cookware for professional and home cooks.

A story of passion since 1830.

And by Suzanne█s Specialties Offering a full line of alternative, vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne█s Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

And by Jonathan█s Spoons.

Individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding provided by: Hi, I'm Christina Pirello, and this is Christina Cooks, where each week, we take fresh, seasonal ingredients and whip them into amazing dishes.

Will they all be plant based?

Yeah.

Will they all be delicious?

Yes.

Will we be visiting Puglia?

Yes.

Anyway, let's talk about food.

Everyone thinks that the food on your plate is the food on your plate.

But did you realize that food has an energetic quality and a physical quality?

So there's more to it than the actual broccoli, zucchini, pasta on your plate.

What you eat creates who you are and how you move through the world.

So we're going to make a dish that's designed to keep you warm strong, grounded, is anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer has fermented food... is delicious...

Anyway.

Let's start.

This is kasha.

Kasha or buckwheat comes to us from very cold northern European climates.

And what that means to us energetically is that it keeps the body warm.

Scientifically, what it means to us is that it's really high in protein, and it's a really strong grain.

Now, when you buy it, you can buy it like this, toasted.

But I'm going to toast it a little more.

Gonna use about half cup.

I'm going to toast it a little bit more because that really brings out the flavor while it's toasting.

I'm going to bring to a boil a cup and a quarter of water, which is what I'll need to cook this kasha.

And in that water, while the kasha toasts will go, some diced red onion, about a quarter cup of each of the veggies, some diced carrot.

Some diced zucchini or celery.

Something green that has a little body to it.

And a small handful like this of bowtie pasta.

Cover it with the right cover and let that come to the boil while we toast.

While you're toasting the kasha, you'll notice that the color starts to change and it becomes really dark and it becomes really fragrant.

The aroma is just gorgeous.

So kind of be attentive here.

This is not where you walk away to go walk the dog and come back 20 minutes later to find your kasha charred You want to pay attention.

It's a very delicate grain, even though it's strong, it's actually a wild grass.

It's the seed of a wild grass.

So it's a little more delicate than what we usually call whole grains.

Although all whole grains are seeds.

So.

Once you get to the color that you like, your water does not have to be to a wild rolling boil.

You want to sauté this, And because the kasha is hot, when you add it to the water to cook it, you want to add it slowly because the kasha is hot, the water is coming to a boil.

It could foam up and make a mess.

No big deal.

We just want to be a little bit careful when you do this.

So the kasha█s almost there.

Slowly stir in the kasha.

A touch of soy sauce.

Give it a little stir.

And this is going to cook over medium heat for about ten minutes.

And then it'll be perfect.

And then you'll see the next step.

(gentle music plays) After 10 to 12 minutes, this is your kasha.

It has a beautiful fluffy texture, a nice flavor.

And you could serve it just like this.

No problem.

But why would you want to make things too simple?

What we'll do instead is take some extra virgin olive oil.

We're going to make things a little more interesting.

Extra virgin olive oil.

Some diced red onion.

Some tempeh.

And some soy sauce.

And we're going to cook this just until the tempeh is coated with oil and soy sauce.

Now tempeh is fermented, So it helps with digestion as well as giving you protein from soybeans.

Red onions are sweet and full of magnesium, which helps to coat your nerve endings and makes you less stressed out.

So, so far, we've got energy that makes us strong, makes us feel grounded, helps with digestion, and makes us feel not so stressed out.

Adding to this, we will add the world's greatest anti-inflammatory, green cabbage, just shredded and that goes in.

If you have aches or pains in natural medicine, Chinese medicine, if somebody has aches or pains, we take cabbage and put it either right on the bruise.

If a baby has a low grade fever that we know isn't anything serious.

We put cabbage on the back of their head to pull the fever out.

We use it when women have mastered this from nursing, so it's a really good topical anti-inflammatory.

So when you eat it, hello, the anti-inflammatory effects are inside.

So it's something that you want to have in your diet really really often.

The good news is it's really, really delicious.

So once it wilts we'll add some cauliflower florets.

You can add whatever veggies you want.

It does not matter.

But the cauliflower florets are going to give us anti-cancer properties as well as high fiber and vitamin C. So every single ingredient in this dish has had a science quality and an energetic quality, all to help us to create great health and wellness.

On top of these sauteeing veggies goes the kasha and bow ties that are already fully cooked.

Kind of really make sure the kasha is even on top of your sautéing veg.

A tiny, tiny bit of water.

Don't flood it just a little.

You'll hear a sizzle.

You hear that?

That's it.

Cover it.

And in about three minutes, depending on the size of your veggie chopping, you will have a finished kasha and bow tie dish that's kind of to the next level.

Like I said, you can leave it just the way it was, or you can take it up a notch.

(gentle music plays) Okay, so once it's fully cooked, you have this beautiful, beautiful dish.

Lots of veggies, lots of protein, lots of energy.

you sauteed so the dish doesn't get too heavy....

I usually like to █ when a dish cooks a long time like this, I usually like to garnish with something fresh.

So.

Take some fresh parsley just right over the top to make it look fresh and wonderful.

And then you have the perfect energy main course.

(gentle music continues) So I'm here today with Todd Napolitano, whose job encompasses the safety of whatever you put in on or near your body, which is pretty all encompassing.

Hi, how are you?

It's great to be back.

We've known each other for a very long time.

I would like to talk to you today about the fact that all calories are not created equal, but not so much, empty calories, bad calories.

We sort of all know that.

But I want to talk to you about ultra processed foods and alternative proteins.

You know, the ones that we're all so suddenly seeing as the last great hope of humanity.

Well, I'll tell you, you've gone right to the heart of it, because, there was a lot of hope.

And there still is for alternative proteins, and synthetic biology and ways in which we can, really redesign our supply, food supply chain.

-So that we█re not using so much animal husbandry.

Correct?

-Without question.

And if you're a vegetarian, vegan or even flexitarian, this is important to you for a number of different reasons.

But big processed food has worked its way into alternative protein, protein and even synthetic biology, where you have ultra processed foods even though they're plant based, even though they're alternative protein based, still greatly reflect the processed foods we might eat every day.

With the empty calories and and devoid of nutrients that were once there in the plant form.

So but what I. I guess the question too, is on top of that, like a lot of us eat, they eat those foods for the environmental impact as well.

So while that's less, the impact on humanity is not great.

It is.

Yeah.

They do share a footprint up to a certain point.

So if you were to go all the way upstream and say, okay, at the level of fertilizer, at the level of feed, at the level of slaughter and harvest.

-Pesticides, antibiotics... -It█s a much smaller footprint.

But as you begin to go downstream and you begin to process these foods, you begin to have the same footprint.

You share that same footprint.

And so that's where the divergence comes back together.

And you find that it really does represent the very thing you're trying to get away from.

Wow.

So then talk to me about the way our microbiome is changing with the use of ultra processed foods.

Well, this is very interesting.

There's a lot of research, most notably coming out of Stanford University.

- And it's pretty new research.

-Very new.

It's cutting edge where they're looking at indigenous peoples, as one group of, one study group, and they're looking at sort of the modern, gut flora and the modern gut flora.

And what they're doing is they're saying, okay, what's missing?

What was in the indigenous microbiome that's no longer in our modern microbiome?

The question arises, not where did it go, We know what happened to it, but can we get it back?

Right?

█Right.

-And and I firmly believe that with the help of synthetic biology, with the help of taking supplements and the help of of eating differently, closer to the plant, closer to the source, we can rebuild our gut flora, like reshelving a library.

See, some experts say no.

I tend to agree with you, but I am an eternal optimist.

But I do think the body is miraculous in its ability to rebuild and recover.

I never underestimate the human animal's ability to adapt, to evolve, and to change.

So if we are heading down a road with which we're not happy, I firmly believe we can correct that path, as we've done for millions of years.

So with people moving back to more whole unprocessed foods, you believe we can recover some of our gut health?

-Closer to the plant.

and more of that bacteria that we lost?

Absolutely.

You can rebuild it like you're, as I said, restocking a bookshelf.

Thank you, my love.

And now you know.

(Italian music plays) I'm here in Matera with Francesco... scuza.

-Linzalone.

Linzalone!

leads the slow food movement here in Matera.

And today, Francesco, I was wondering if you could speak to me mainly about the use of chickpeas in Matera.

Because I see them in everything I read about Matera, that they are sort of like especially the black, in the past.

So I see three kinds here.

Can can you talk to me about them specifically and why here?

Yes.

Yes.

Why here... Because the... the people that grow -Yeah.

Farmers.

-Yeah.

The farmers.

Yeah.

That work the land... the soil...

They knew that the chickpeas was the more, adapted?

-Adaptable.

-Adaptable.

-That kind of grew... -Of climate.

-Climate.

-Okay.

-All the... -And the soil.

All the ambience.

Yes.

And the soil in particular.

- Okay.

And then because the the, this kind of food is good for, the, (speaking Italian) -Health, health.

-Health of people.

Yeah, yeah.

Because inside there are the vegetable, vegetables.

-Proteins, fibre, fiber.

-Fiber.

Of course.

But chickpeas in particular, we have the, the most known is white.

And the white, there are some different varieties, but we have this kind.

But what is not very known... -No I have never seen... -Red.

-Red chickpeas.

Never seen them.

-Red chickpeas.

I have seen black.

-Just more known is the black.

-Is the black.

-And they're, they're small and almost, wrinkled harder.

-Yeah.

Yes.

-But sweet when you cook.

-Not... -Sort of sweet.

-Yes, but, sweeter... -Sweeter are these.

-These.

But these, now we don't use very much.

-These?

-In cooking.

because they are -They are more difficult... yes.

-Take more time.

Take more time.

Yeah.

You have to, prepare...

The preparation is two days before soaking in the water.

-Wow, soaking, yeah yeah yeah.

So you have to soak these little ones, ff you ever find them, for about two days before you can cook them.

But in Chinese medicine, (speaking Italian) Yes.

Yeah.

The chickpea nourishes the spleen, pancreas and stomach and help us to feel strong and centered and calm.

So we use them.

I use them quite often in cooking.

And if you live a life with lots of stress, this are you work very hard physically.

This is a very good bean and source of protein for you.

So these if you can find all three, that's great.

But these are the most common in the US.

So if you can find chickpeas you should cook them as we're going to.

Francesco, grazie mille!

See you soon.

-Soon.

(Italian music concludes) (gentle music plays) I don't know about you, but my mind was blown in that cave with Francesco talking about the history and the meaning of food and leaving with a very fine gift from my new friend, black chickpeas, which we talked about briefly.

Black chickpeas are an ancient form of chickpeas.

And you don't find them too often today, so don't panic.

You can just use regular chickpeas in this recipe.

But if you can find these in, an Italian shop or a gourmet store, you should get your hands on them because you soak them for about 10-12 hours, which is longer than I normally soak things, but they cook really quickly and they're really sweet.

And I can't wait to make the salad for you and talk to you a little bit about that.

We think about food and we, we just eat sometimes we just eat, you know, it's there.

So we eat it.

It's a cookie.

We eat it.

It's, it█s a - whatever.

So we eat it.

It's a coffee drink with a deep fried cookie on top.

So we eat it.

But there's more to food than just that.

And as we've seen, history tells us that we can be healthier if we eat well.

So this is a very simple dish.

The chickpeas are cooked.

We're going to put them into the bottom of a salad bowl.

And then we'll just add to it some raw ingredients, some diced cucumber.

I'm using small Kirby cucumbers.

But you can use English.

You can use whatever you like.

And I've diced them because the chickpeas are small.

So all the pieces in the salad will be small.

Next we'll take some black olives and cut them in half.

And that's going to give us really nice flavor.

And we'll be able to use less salt, right?

Because we've got, you know, have olives in here.

You don't have to cut them in half.

But I'm really going for like bite size kind of things here.

Some cherry tomatoes which we█ll quarter.

Which will give us beautiful color.

And they also give us really sweet flavor.

So it'll kind of match the earthiness of the chickpeas.

And don't forget chickpeas in Chinese medicine help to relax the spleen, pancreas and stomach and help you to feel grounded and calm and strong.

All those things we need in the world we live in today.

The next thing to go in if you can find it.

Otherwise, just use whatever green you like or regular radicchio, This is treviso radicchio.

It's long and comes from the north of Italy and I very rarely see it in the US, but when I see it here, it is on the menu.

And we're just going to roll this and finely shred it.

Next we take an orange.

And you're going to take your knife, a sharp knife.

And you're going to take your knife.

You're going to run it down the side of the orange.

Removing the peel and what's known as the pith, and trying to leave as much of the orange intact as you can.

Like this.

Just like this.

Do you need some knife skills for this?

You do.

And then the next step.

You really need a good knife for.

You're either going to love me or hate me for this one.

You're going to do what's called supreming the orange.

You see this little line here of the membrane of the orange that makes the section?

I'm going to lay your knife right in there, and then lay your knife inside the next membrane.

Pull it out.

And you do this over the salad bowl, because the orange juice is going to become part of your dressing.

Along with these little sections.

You go all the way around the orange, work your way around it.

Does it take a sharp knife to do this?

It does.

Does it take a little bit of skill?

It does.

Should you cultivate that skill?

You should.

Squeeze your orange juice from what's left of the orange.

Some extra virgin olive oil.

A tiny bit of salt.

Because you have olives.

Remember?

Maybe not that tiny.

Okay.

And then, at home, I would use my best kitchen tools to mix this.

But I'm going to be civilized.

Just mix this together, and you want to mix it Just mix this together, and you want to mix it pretty thoroughly so that everything is coated with oil and orange juice and that little bit of salt.

And then I usually take my salad from a mixing bowl onto a plate so that it's more beautiful.

There's no oil on the rim of the dish.

Make sure you get all your dressing.

And you have a fresh, protein rich, vegetable heavy salad that I'm pretty sure nobody will turn their nose up at.

And you can demonstrate in your daily life that there's more to the food on your plate than the food on your plate.

So what are you waiting for?

Let's get back to the cutting board and I'll see you next time on Christina Cooks: the Macroterranean Way.

Funding for Christina Cooks is provided by: GreenOnyx, producers of Wanna Greens Organic and sustainable, Wanna Greens are grown in a completely closed, indoor environment.

At Wanna Greens, we believe in the benefits of fresh greens for people and the planet.

Additional funding provided by Finamill.

The flavor of freshly ground spices and dried herbs with refillable, swappable pods.

Finamill.

And by Mauviel, creators of copper, stainless and steel carbon cookware for professional and home cooks.

A story of passion since 1830.

And by Suzanne█s Specialties Offering a full line of alternative, vegan and organic sweeteners and toppings.

Suzanne█s Specialties.

Sweetness the way Mother Nature intended.

And by Jonathan█s Spoons.

Individually handcrafted from cherry wood, each designed with your hand and purpose in mind.

Additional funding provided by: You can find today's recipes and learn more by visiting our website at christinacooks.com and by following Christina on social media.

Learn how to add delicious plant based dishes to your daily diet with the companion cookbook VegEdibles.

Featuring more than 80 easy-to-make recipes To order your copy for $32.95 plus handling, call 800-266-5815 or visit christinacooks.com.

Add “Back to the Cutting Board” and get both books for $55.95 plus handling.