Examining Duality and Why Diets Fail

I was speaking with a beloved friend who was going through a struggle this past week and was struck by the way we tend to view the world. All people (and certainly me, included) seek particular atributes in life and hold others in distain. 

Humankind embraces and yet struggles with duality.  We view things in contrasts to create distinction and clarity, but we also attach values to these distinctions.  Good/bad, happy/sad, love/hate, right/wrong.  We often have a hard time reconciling these dichotomies, favoring one quality over another but missing the fact that you cannot have one without the other.

Entire philosophies have been created around the nature of duality.  Taoism's Yin/Yang symbol graphically represents this ideal: masculine and feminine, rigidity and yielding, solidness and openness.  All are contained with the symbol and the philosophy.  E.g, the space of a room cannot exist if there are not borders containing it.  And the walls are useless if there is not an emptiness contained within to create usability.  Most religions make a distinction between the body and the soul; the profane and the spiritual; and the rational and the emotional.

All aspects of our lives are contained within this recognition of differences.  Our very bodies are created to find distinction.  For example, the human mouth has been designed to recognize and place certain values on food.  Sweet and sour, salty and bitter.  At the most basic level, our bodies need variety in our diet and the various flavors help us determine what needs are being satisfied. 

(Thank you to Morphonix for this illustration.  Visit them for more cool stuff!)

Sweet flavors contain a lot of sugars that we need for energy.  Salt contains minerals that our bodies use to regulate our chemistry and which is essential for our nervous system.  Sour and bitter may be warning signs.  Many poisons have strong flavors that we find disagreeable, but these flavors may also signal the presence of certain vitamins and minerals.  Humans have evolved to crave certain tastes when we have a lack of them in our diet.  In modern diets, however, processed foods have taken over and have conditioned our bodies to value sweet and salt to an unhealthy degree.  Even artificial sweeteners stimulate the nerve receptacles in our tongue to such a degree that our bodies crave more sweet foods.  And because most diet foods are highly processed they punctuate flavors that the manufacturer thinks you want.  They try to override the body's natural programming, creating a cascade of cravings that eventually crashes in on itself. 

So to try and wrap up all these thoughts running around this page, look at the nature of duality.  We need a balance of flavors in our diet which helps ensure that we're getting all the nutrients we need.  And a combination of flavors keeps it interesting.  Which is a lot like life.  Sadness creates an appreciation of happiness, but too much sadness leads to depression and too much happiness leads to  . . . well, I guess hedonism.  The world is a rich banquet of experience, and I want to try it all.

Tonight for dinner:

Uber Nachos con Pollo
Restaurant-style Tortilla Chips
2 Chicken Breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 16 oz can Black Beans
Red Chili Powder
1/4 lbs of Cheddar and/or Jack Cheese
1 Tomato, chopped
1 Jalapeno Pepper, seeded
1 Onion, chopped
1 cup shredded Lettuce
1 Avocado
the leaves of 4 large sprigs of Cilantro (about 2-3 tablespoons)
1 large dolop of Sour Cream
Salsa, if you want it

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  On an oven-proof platter, lay out one single layer of chips. 

In a sauce pan, add the chicken breasts and enough water to cover.  Bring to a boil. In a seperate sauce pan, heat the can of beans, adding 1-2 tablespoons chili powder.  bring to a slow boil and then set to a low simmer.  We want the liquid from the beans to be reduced by half.  When the chicken breasts are fully cooked (15-20 minutes), remove from the heat and drain, reserving the liquid for something else. 

Chop or shred the chicken.  Add 1/3 of the chicken and 1/3 of the thickened beans and 1/3 of the cheese to the layer of chips.  Lay down another layer of chips and repeat.  Lay down the 3rd layer and repeat. 

Bake the nachos for 15-20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven and add slices of avocado, shredded lettuce, onions, peppers and tomatoes.  Add the sour cream and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.  I promise, you would spend $15 to $20 at any restaurant for these and you did it for less than half.  Awesome.

Margaritas, deconstructed (per person)
3 oz Tequila (I'm using Milagro Añejo)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed Lime Juice
3/4 oz Triple Sec (natural acutally makes a difference)
pinch of Sugar
Lime slice
Kosher Salt

Salt the rim of a martini (cocktail) glass.  In a cocktail shaker, combine tequila, triple sec, sugar and lime juice with ice.  Shake vigorously.  Strain into cocktail glass.  Garnish with lime.