The GAIA Health Blog

Some Healthy Food Fun:    The Wanderlust Food Diaries (of a chronic daydreamer)

Remembering "The Greatest"
(1942-2016)

On the Menu The Endurance Athlete's high carb/high protein lasagne
Video Clips of Muhammad Ali,   How to make lasagne

"I'm free to be what I want to be, and think what I want to think. "
    --Muhammad Ali   

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The duality of Human Nature (chuckle to myself)

With Muhammad Ali, I used to think it was pretty cut and dry, either you love him or you hate him. In the backward glance that is this blogpost, it’s not so cut and dry, because many of us have both loved him and hated him.

I loved his bold refusal to allow himself to be drafted into the army, I hated his continuous badgering of Joe Frazier, with his subtle and often blatant references to Frazier’s dark skin and African features.

But we cant’ blame Ali, that duality of human nature exists in all of us, especially in this country, as many of us must admit we have at some point been the best of humankind, and other times, the worst of humankind.

Although I don’t pay homage to any man or woman, I learn to grab inspiration from anyone, including my own psyche, knowing that inspiration is merely divine light coming from imperfect nature.

Muhammad Ali was born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr. on January 17, 1942. Ali was a microcosm of all the chaos, divisiveness, uncertainty, fear, and all the rest that came out of the late 60’s and early 70’s.......and still hangs over us today.

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This segment of “The Wanderlust Food Diaries” wanders back into time, to take a backwards glance at the man, the myth, the legend that was Ali. In that spirit of cuisine tailored for athletes, I will be preparing The Endurance Athlete's High Carb /High Protein Lasagna.

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The Endurance Athlete's High Carb/High Protein Lasagna

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A quick note on grains: I have no problems eating occasional grains, since I have incorporated papaya enzymes into my eating regiment. Papaya enzymes assist in digesting meats, gluten, and digestion in general. Read more on papaya enzymes here.

Lasagna

1 pound of grass fed ground beef (I'm no longer comfortable with commercial beef)

-Organic Olive Oil
-Pink Himalayan Salt
-3 Pasture Raised Eggs
-1.5 pounds quality Ricotta
-1/4grated grass fed parmesan
-5 tbsp Grass Fed Butter
-1/2 cup Quality Organic Flour 
-3 cups Grass Fed Milk
-Ground White Pepper
-Pinch of Nutmeg
-Organic Spinach
-Quality Organic Lasagna Sheets
-Whole Tomatoes
- Basil
-Garlic

see video for instructions

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Frazier takes down Ali in round 15,   Ali/Frazier I, 1971                              Ali takes down Foreman, Zaire Africa, 1974                                             Ali and Malcom rare footage

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Ali/Frazier I, 1971, the greatest sporting event in my historical eye.

Let me set the scene. Basically in 1971, the chaos of the late 60’s resolved nothing. Vietnam War was still raging, cities were still in ashes from riots. A great divide existed in the country, arguably two camps. Since nothing seemingly could resolve the issue, all the energy fell on Ali and Frazier, and the issue would be settled once and for all in the ring. The alliance of so called militant blacks, younger white college students, Vietnam War protesters, and a hodge-podge of others supported Ali, the Frazier camp consisting of working class blacks (my estimate is 70% of all blacks were for Frazier), mainstream American Suburbanites, Vietnam War Supporters, and huge swath of conservative America would also “borrow” Frazier to fight for their cause.

Ten adults and me the only kid, were listening to the fight on the radio at out our house (don't remember how, unauthorized re-broadcast? tape delay?), equally divided between Ali and Frazier, a microcosm of the psychological civil war in the country. Mom’s brother, the head of the Frazier camp, asked me to give the deciding vote on who would win the fight. I jumped up and defiantly said “I’m for Clay” (as Cassius Clay was often still used back then). As the Frazier fans pelted me with couch pillows and fake punches, I was on floor giggling with pride at my defiance to the system, as I still giggle to this day whenever I get to “stick it to the man”. By fight night, as I remember, everyone in the country took a side. People weren't picking a fight winner, what would 91 year Ms. Anderson on my block know or care about boxing, as when I was coming from the candy store, she yelled out that she was for Frazier? Everyone was in essence picking which side of the "Great Divide" they stood for. Everyone was stating their "belief system". Anyhoo, Madison Square Garden was no less than electric that night, even Frank Sinatra could not get ringside seats. If you watch the fight it was, for lack better words, a thing of beauty. Ali more fluid and graceful, Frazier more stocky and powerful, for 15 rounds the fight ebbed and flowed, with neither the victor or vanquished decided. A GREAT documentary on the buildup up the fight is in a documentary called "Ali/Frazier I: One Nation, Divisible". For the time being it is on Youtube and the link can be found here

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Even within the ring, the fight goes beyond a fight to a spiritual confrontation, with the most classic dialogue in my sports history, with Ali telling Frazier in the ring throughout the fight, “You can’t beat God, you can’t defeat God”, Frazier responded, “Well God is gonna get knocked on his butt tonight!!!!" True to his word, Frazier got the upper hand in round 15, knocking Ali to the canvas (first video on left above). Frazier wins the fight. The status quo in the country is (at least temporarily) in tact.

As Ali lost the fight, Frazier fans in our house started screaming and running about the house, two older cousins taunted me and laughed in my face at the redemption of their cause with the Frazier victory. Me, my bottom lip and jaw quivering in attempt to hold back my "athlete's tears", blurted out a line I remembered from some movie, “yawl won the battle, but we gone win the war”. The two cousins, stopped and thought a second, not being able to decipher the comment coming from such a young mind, and eventually went back into their taunting and teasing, but as it seemed to me, with a little less vigor.

History belongs to those who write it, thats why it's called "His-Story".......but as I see history, my prediction came true.
~stay healthy~

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"Sail Forth. Steer for the deep waters only. Reckless O soul, exploring. I with thee and thou with me. For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared go. And we will risk the ship, ourselves, and all." --Walt Whitman

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all entries in "The Wanderlust Food Diaries"

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