Eat Well For the Rest of Your Life

Lebanese Restaurant

2005-06-10T20:11:00.000-04:00

It's posible to eat a very healthy meal at a Lebanese restaurant, though you're going to have to toss away part of a meal combination if you want to go really low calorie. One of the best things about Lebanese food is the use of good olive oil as the only oil. I have also found the meats used to be universally lean and flavorful.

Some healthy items:

Taboulleh - Lebanese taboulleh is an especially healthy version - almost all parsley with very little wheat.

Fattoush - a tomato, cucumber and lettuce salad with a vinegarette dressing

Kabobs - chicken kabobs provide the protein

Lentil soup - always delicious, the Lebanese versions tend to have good vegetables as well

Hummus and dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) are less nutritious than these other items, but can be eaten in small quantities. I often dip my fork or spoon in hummus and then in the taboulleh. The combination is really great.

Things not to eat:

Rice - not enough nutrients to make it worth the calories
Pita - same problem
Falafel - fried in oil, these are too high calorie and no doubt full of acrylimides
Kibbeh - if they weren't fried, these might be okay

Full service Lebanese restaurants often serve very healthy main dishes. A commonly available one that is a good CR choice is Sapanekh - spinach and lamb. Okra, tomato and meat stews are often available. Look for meat and vegetable stew combos that don't mention oil and when you get them, skip all or most of the rice.

La Madeleine

2005-05-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

The challenge at La Madeleine is to avoid the free bread and jam. If you can manage to do this, there are acceptable choices here.

For breakfast try the Spinach, Mushroom and Tomato Omelette – the fat-free and cholesterol-free omelette of spinach, mushrooms and tomatoes. Tell them you don't want the baguette bread that comes with it. This is 290 calories and presumably is made with the yolks.

Order either Chicken or Salmon with the regular size Wild Greens or Spinach Salad - and skip the dressing in either case. There are plenty of fats in the meat or fish already, so no point in adding any. The Wild Greens salad with Salmon is only 260 calories for the regular size, so it would make a great lunch. You might even get the large size (380 calories) or add a fruit salad (60 calories) . This is by far the healthiest entree!

There are some other choices, if you just can't stand to eat another salad and want a conventional dinner:

There is no official calorie count for Chicken la Madeleine – Tender breast of chicken with mushroom sauce, Rice Provençal and Broccoli - but it's likely to be okay. The sides are 240 calories. Perhaps a "container" to take home 1/2 the meal? Or leave 1/2 the rice on the plate.

A splurge meal that won't totally blow your calorie count is Shrimp & Spinach Crêpe - pesto cream sauce with shrimp, tomatoes and spinach wrapped in a light crêpe. My calculations estimate this at 400 calories, but I may be guessing wrong on the contents.

Two meals that are reasonably nutritious, but just way too big for CR are the Herb-Crusted Pork Tenderloin- savory herb-crusted pork tenderloin with a Dijon mustard demi-glaze, garlic mashed potatoes and green beans almondine - and the Beef au Poivre - beef sautéed in a peppercorn sauce with mushrooms and pearl onions, served with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans almondine. Share these with someone or take 1/2 the meal home for tomorrow.

Priestesses of High Carb Darkness

2005-05-04T21:21:00.000-04:00

A month ago, I included a discussion of protein, carbohydrate and fat ratios. Rereading it, I realize that I casually assume that people are not fat phobic. It's quite possible that among you, there are priestesses of high carb darkness. I run into them often. I was with a woman at work the other day who said she wouldn't eat avocados - too high in fat. These women often eat very small amounts of protein and fat - like 10-15% of calories as protein and 20% or less as fat. I used to eat like this often. April's been there, too.

My theory is that many women easily fall into this eating pattern. They happily eat lots of lots of carbs. It's easy to do. Bagels for breakfast. Pasta for lunch. A casserole for dinner. Women often seem to lose their taste for meats and easily become near vegetarians. Low fat is not hard for them.

When I ate like this I felt really crummy. I had no energy. I easily went into blood sugar swings. When I started tracking my diet with a tool, I was shocked. I was only getting 30g of protein a day. I was only getting 50% or less of most B vitamins. I was hungry all the time and craving lots of odd foods. I had headaches every time I went more than 4 hours without food. I was easily stressed. My weight was slowly climbing and dieting never really worked for long.

If you are eating like this, and having any of the same problems, please try my P/C/F ratios. Try eating Zone - or close to Zone ratios of 30/40/30. You may be surprised at how much better you feel after a week or two. You may regain your interest in protein foods. And don't be afraid of some good oil - monounsaturated oils should be you focus - olive oil, almonds, avocados are all good oils.

Eating Well Vs. Dieting

2005-05-03T21:52:00.000-04:00

I've joined a couple of healthy eating and dieting groups lately and I'm struck by the differences between my eating experience and theirs. Dieting is torture. But eating well is a pleasure.

I lost all the weight I wanted to - 40 pounds - and have kept it off for over 4 years now. I weigh what I weighed at 18 years old. This was at age 47 after decades of unsuccessful dieting.

I did not "diet". I changed my eating habits permanently. I have chosen to eat 30% less calories than I did before and to do this forever. I do this because it makes me feel the best I have ever felt in my life. While I eat lower calorie, this is not the main focus of my eating philosophy. My primary focus is on nourishing my body. I try to give my body all the things it needs to keep itself healthy. I get several times the RDA in Vitamin A and C each day. I get at least 60g of high quality protein - and average more like 75 or 80 grams. I get the RDA of B vitamins on average and the RDA of most minerals. I supplement to make sure I have more than enough in some cases.

By focusing on nutrition, and making the permanent commitment to eat less for the rest of my life, I have taught myself to eat more and more nutritious foods. I believe your body adjusts to the improved nutrition and your tastes change totally, making you enjoy and desire nutritious healthy foods. Junk foods lose their appeal. It becomes easier and easier to eat well.

You become used to feeling better. Eating too much food or too many bad carbs and you will feel somewhat ill, and you will not want to repeat the experience. Like a hangover.

This is not a diet - it's a total lifestyle change. If you can keep this regimen going for several months, you will not want to turn back. There are so many delicious foods that are nutritious. Fresh fruits, nuts, lean meats, tasty vegetables, fish. Bread becomes boring.

You will stop worrying about your weight. You will achieve your fantasy weight and find it easy to maintain it. But, you will lose the community of fellow "fat sufferers". When they are all drooling over the chocolate cake, you will not be interested. Or you will be able to eat a tiny piece and no more. Everyone will start to look fat to you (so many Americans are). You will become a thin person in a fat world. The grocery store will seem strange to you, filled with "bad food" that you are sorry that so many people are buying. The farmer's market will seem like heaven. Choosing the fish at the fish counter will seem like an adventure.

Eating will become a sacrament. Your small meal of carefully prepared fish or meat, vegetables and fruits will taste fabulous to you and you will think about its nourishing potential as you eat each bite. The flavors will seem exciting and strong. You will taste spinach like you never tasted it before. Asparagus will fascinate and delight. It appears this happens because calorie restriction enhances the effect of food on your pleasure response - your dopamine response. This is nature's way of encouraging you to eat. But for you, this will be just an added benefit.

So, as you see, this is nothing like the torture of dieting. This is eating. Eating well. And eating well for the rest of your life. Your long and healthy life.

Other Kinds of Flours

2005-04-30T20:32:00.000-04:00

Many people are gluten intolerant or allergic to wheat - and most people who are, are not aware of it. Mysterious stomach problems and minor health ailments like sinus conditions, headaches, and skin problems can be caused by this. Wheat flour is so pervasive in our cooking culture, it is very hard to avoid it unless you go to a lot of effort. If you have these minor, but annoying, health issues, its worth taking a vacation from wheat to see if they improve. Regardless, our food culture is boringly fixated on wheat - there are lots of other flours out there.

Most people are familiar with corn meal and rye flour, but did you know that you can cook with chickpea, lentil, soy, rice, oat, sorghum, millet, quinoa, tapioca and amaranth flours? Other cultures use these flours every day. They have their own interesting flavors and uses. Here's a website with lots of information about alternative flours.

Use oat flour in pancakes and cookies. Chickpea and lentil flour make an especially good coating on fish and chicken. Rice flour makes cookies delicate and light.

In recipes that need gluten for chewiness - like breads, biscuits, and cookies - you will need to use oat flour or at least 1/2 the flour must be wheat.

A mixture of 1/3 chickpea, 1/3 rice, and 1/3 sorghum flour or 1/2 rice and 1/2 chickpea flour can be used in cornbread recipes to make a very pleasant quick bread.

Soy, chickpea, and rye flours are nutrient rich enough to belong in a low calorie diet. Rice and wheat flours should be limited.

Here's a nutritional comparison of some of these flours:

Make Your Own Salad Dressing

2005-04-25T20:21:00.000-04:00

Please. The ones in the store are mostly soybean oil. You can do a lot better than this.

You should eat salads with a little oil to make sure you absorb all the vitamins from the greens. And a little acid helps you absorb all the minerals! There's a reason that salads have traditionally been eaten with oil and vinegar - your great great great grandmother knew best.

Salad dressing is an opportunity to get some good oils. Olive oil and nut oils are all excellent choices. Make sure you get cold pressed oils and extra virgin olive oil. Our favorite relatively inexpensive brand is actually Whole Foods store brand. You can add cold pressed flaxseed oil or walnut oil to get some Omega 3 fatty acids. Mix the oil with vinegar or lemon juice and add some seasonings. A teaspoon of lecithin will help it stay mixed and is actually good for you.

Here's my favorite recipe:

Mary's Omega 3 Italian Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil
3 T flaxseed oil
1/4 cup vinegar or juice of one lemon (I like to mix this 1/2 and 1/2)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp of oregano, dried
1/2 tsp of basil, dried

A tablespoon of this is about 90 calories.

Another alternative is to use lemon juice and feta cheese - Greek style. Crumble an ounce of feta on your salad and sqeeze on the juice of 1/2 a lemon. This adds about 75 calories and adds some calcium. It also adds 4g of saturated fat vs. 2.25 in the recipe above.

CR Barbecued Beef Brisket

2005-04-24T20:42:00.000-04:00

This is a spicy barbecue sauce, Texas style - more piquant than sweet. Beef brisket can be very healthy. Braised at low heat in a nutritious sauce full of antioxidant vitamins, it provides plenty of B vitamins and lean protein. Braising at low temperatures should minimize the amounts of AGEs produced. Trimming of all fat is necessary to get the amount of saturated fat to an acceptable level.

Barbecue Brisket

3 lb. of brisket, completely trimmed of ALL fat
1/4 cup vinegar
1 T. mustard
3 T. picante
1/2 jar of barbecue sauce
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp worchestershire sauce
1 tsp lime or lemon juice
1 T. molasses salt and pepper to taste
chile powder to taste
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp coriander

Mix all the ingredients in a covered roaster big enough to fit the brisket, stirring just to distribute ingredients evenly. Immerse brisket in the sauce. Put in a 275 degree oven and cook for 3-4 hours. Remove lid and cook for another 1-2 hours until the sauce cooks down. Check occasionally to make sure the sauce is not too reduced. Remove the brisket and slice. It should be very tender and falling apart. We use an electric knife. Put back in the sauce and let it sit in the oven with the heat turned off for another 15 minutes - if you can stand to wait.

Lettuce and greens

2005-04-23T21:51:00.000-04:00

Not all lettuces and greens are created equal. As an illustration look at this nutritional comparison:

As you can see, iceberg lettuce is the least nutritious green of the five. Kale, chard and romaine are all significantly more nutritious. Here's another set of greens, including kale again as a comparitor:

On average, spinach is the most nutritious. It's higher in almost everything except Vitamin C. Parsley, kale, chard, and romaine are pretty equal in nutritional value, and just a notch below spinach. Collard greens, arugula, Boston lettuce and iceberg lettuce are all very good for you for the amount of calories they provide, but don't measure up to the other greens.

Notice how similar these greens are in protein and carbohydrate composition! The values shown are for the amount needed to get 100 calories. You have to eat a lot of lettuce to get 100 calories (and the nutrition that goes with it) - over 1 1/2 pounds! These are very nutritious foods for their low calorie content. The large amounts of A and C these foods contain throw the comparison scale off, so it's not easy to see how valuable these foods are for B vitamins and minerals as well. Notice that 100 calories of spinach has close to the RDA of iron and magnesium. All these foods are rich in nutrients if you eat enough of them. Even though iceberg lettuce looks weak in this comparison - it's 50% more nutritious than steamed green beans.

So don't be afraid to eat all the greens that you can manage. I see people leaving lettuce on their plates all the time. Finish your salad. Fill your bowl.

Paleo Eating

2005-04-21T22:01:00.000-04:00

"Paleo" diets are not uncommon among CR practitioners. One reason for this is that it's pretty easy to get high nutrition from paleo foods. What is a paleo diet? Here's a website that goes into detail. In general, paleo diets attempt to recreate the diets of our early ancestors - hunter/gatherers. They eat lean meats, fish, shellfish, eggs, vegetables, nuts, and fruits. They avoid foods like beans and potatoes that cannot be eaten raw. Lean meats are the only kind of meats that make sense, since fatty meats were not available to early humans. One of my favorite diet books is Neanderthin - which sounds silly, but is a well written book with interesting points.

This concept is related to eating traditional diets. I prefer eating cuisines with a long, long history of being eaten by people who are healthy. Ronald Schmid's book has an interesting discussion of this. You can rely on these diets - if you really eat them as the natives do - to provide reasonable balanced nutrition. However, they may provide way too many calories, since traditional diets are no doubt meant for peasant farmers or hunter gatherers, not desk sitting couch potatoes. So, one way to adapt them is to cut out the least nutritious elements of them. This means that you eat Asian food and skip most of the rice, eat Middle Eastern and skip the pitas.

Paleo diets don't really have this problem. They have virtually no high calorie elements with low nutritional value. Only nuts have the potential to push the calories too high if you avoid the fat in meats. If you focus on lean meats, fish, fruits and vegetables, you will find that fruits are needed to give you enough calories.

P/C/F ratios

2005-04-19T20:51:00.000-04:00

This is protein/carbohydrate/fat ratios - a topic of continual debate among diet gurus and CR practitioners. For me, a Zone-ish regimen works far better than any other, giving me good energy and keeping me from getting hungry. Many other CR practitioners have had the same experience. Being a relatively flexible eater, I don't get too hung up on achieving Dr. Sears 30-40-30 ratio at every meal. But I stay within a range, regardless, because I know if I don't, I won't feel as good and may have appetite control problems. In my opinion, the level of fat doesn't matter that much - it's protein and carbs that have the most dramatic effects.

I average 70g of protein and rarely get below 60. I space this out and get at least 10g with each meal. I avoid meals with lots of high glycemic carbs, but I also try to get at least 75g of carbs a day, and no more than 150g, averaging 120g. I try to space the carbs over the day as well. If I drop below 75g of carbs, I feel spacey and light headed. If I go over 150g, I experience hunger and appetite control problems - often for days afterwards.

This makes my P/C/F ratio on average 25/40/35 - a little low in protein for Sears and a little high in fat. I add very little fat to my food and a lot of the fat comes from my protein sources.

At my calorie level - 1150-1200 calories a day - you can't afford to eat many carbs outside of fruits and vegetables and still get vitamins and minerals. This means only 1 or 2 servings of grains a day. Someone eating at a higher level of calories has more flexibility in what they eat. I choose to spend a lot of my carbs on fruit - because I love fruit so much. A piece of bread has about the same calories as 1/2 a pound of watermelon. Bread has 1 more gram of protein than the watermelon, but 1/2 the B vitamins. The 70 calories of watermelon has almost 30% of the RDA of A and C - the bread has none. The bread has more minerals, but it's not a high source of minerals. I choose the watermelon over the single slice of bread.

What fish to eat

2005-04-18T21:30:00.000-04:00

There are three considerations to take into account when choosing fish: environmental impact, mercury, and nutrition. Actually, all fish are great sources of lean protein. They also all provide high amounts of B-12, which is relatively low in most other protein source that are low fat. Fish, in general, provide good B-vitamins and some minerals. Oily fish are generally good sources of Omega 3 - though some CR society members avoid the long chain form found in fish and eat only the short chain plant version.

A nice guide to the environmental and mercury aspects of common fish can be found at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium site : recommendations. The best choices include Pacific halibit, Alaskan wild caught salmon, and farm raised catfish, tilapia, striped bass, sturgeon, and rainbow trout. Bigeye and yellow tuna are also good - but these are not common. Light tuna is okay, but all tuna has significant mercury, and should be eaten once a week or less.

Farmed shrimp are not environmentally friendly, but farmed oysters, mussels and clams are. All shellfish are safe for mercury - they are at the bottom of the food chain.

Nutrition-wise, oysters have fabulous amounts of B-12 and minerals for the calories. 100g of oysters has 5 times the RDA of B-12 and almost 4 times the RDA of zinc.

Many popular fish have either an environmental or mercury issue. Avoid Chilean sea bass, swordfish, Atlantic flounder, halibut and cod, orange roughy and red snapper.

Comparing "Milk" Products

2005-04-17T09:39:00.000-04:00

My last post had a smoothie recipe that let you choose different milk products. Many people avoid cow's milk for several reasons: allergy, lactose-intolerance, vegetarianism, hormone-and antibiotic avoidance, saturated fat restrictions, and the belief that it's not that healthy for you. Cow's milk has a big dairy lobby behind it and the USDA is there to help sell it, so a little skepticism is not unreasonable. Countries with high dairy consumption do not have good osteoporosis stats and the recent claims that it helps you lose weight have been brought into question by later studies.

Regardless, if you don't use cow's milk products, please take a good calcium/mineral supplement, like Bone-Up from Jarrow. And if you do drink milk, make sure you get magnesium, because cow's milk does not provide balanced minerals - it has too little magnesium for its high level of calcium.

Many CR Society members avoid soy - there are studies that say it's associated with dementia, especially in men. Modest amounts of soy, say a few cups of milk a week, nonetheless, should not be an issue.

Let's look at the nutritional data for 5 kinds of "milk" - lowfat cow's, soy, rice, coconut, and oat. Oat milk is not nearly as available, but can be purchased at some grocery stores. I don't have data for nut milks, which are also available at some stores. These look more like soy or oat milk than rice milk in nutritional composition.

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Soy milk has the best B vitamins and minerals, except for calcium. Soy and oat milk more closely resemble cow's milk in protein and carbohydrate content. Rice milk does not measure up to cow, soy and oat milk nutritionally. Coconut milk is even less nutritious and has a high fat content.

It's all a matter of personal preferences. Most cow's milk drinkers will find that their taste buds adjust to alternative milk products after a few weeks. I do not recommend rice milk unless you are allergic to all the other products, which is quite possible, since many people are allergic to cow's milk, gluten and nut products (oat milk has gluten).

Breakfast Smoothie

2005-04-17T09:19:00.000-04:00

This would also make a nice dessert on days when you've eaten really light otherwise.

Fruit Smoothie for 1
125g of frozen berries and/or mangos
125g of milk (1% cows milk, soy, rice or oat)
scoop (25g) of whey protein
teaspoon of flax seed oil
tablespoon of ground flax seeds
Spenda/sucralose to taste (may be needed for berries)

Put all ingredients in a blender and give it a whirl. It will be thick. Add water if it's just too thick for you.

The cows milk version will be the most Zone balances and nutritious. My fruit recommendations apply - berries and mangos are your best bet here. Skip the bananas. The mangos are higher in nutrition than the berries, but have more natural sugar.

All versions are around 250 calories and provide 30-40% of the RDA and 15+ grams of protein.

Chili for dinner

2005-04-15T20:59:00.000-04:00

Homemade chili can be nutritious and quick. You can use lean ground beef, ground turkey or ground buffalo as the meat. The easiest chili recipe is to use Bush Chili Magic - a canned product that is basically pinto beans in a chili sauce base. However, you can reproduce the same thing with canned beans and chili powder.

CRON Chili
1/2 an onion, chopped fine
two cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 a green bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 tsp of olive oil
1 lb of extra lean ground beef, ground turkey, or ground buffalo
1 can of diced tomatoes (soup can size)
1 can of Bush Chilimagic
(OR 1 can of pinto beans and 2-3 tablespoons of chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, salt to taste)

Saute onion, garlic and bell pepper until soft in olive oil. Add meat and cook until no longer pink - but don't brown. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes or more, until chili ingredients "blend and meld".

150g of this chili is only 210 calories and provides 25% of the RDA of B vitamins, 23% of minerals, and 11% of antioxidants.

A balanced 400 calories dinner using this chili would be:
150g of chili (5 1/2 ounces)
green salad with avocado, carrots and tomatoes (50g of romaine, 2 oz of avocados, 2 oz of tomatoes, and 1 ounce of carrots)
bowl of fresh blueberries and peaches (2 oz of blueberries and 4 oz of peaches)

This is relatively low in calcium but high in A,C, B-12, folate, and zinc.

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Meats are not all created equal

2005-04-14T21:45:00.000-04:00

I try to eat a variety of protein sources, since I make a practice of getting the RDAs for the B vitamins from food. The nutritional profiles for beef, pork and chicken are actually pretty dissimilar:

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As you can see, beef is relatively high in B-12, zinc and iron. The iron requirement used in the graph is 18mg/day - the RDA for young women. Pork is high in thiamin and riboflavin. Chicken is high in niacin and B-6. All three meats have pretty similar protein and fat values.

Fruits and Nutrition

2005-04-13T20:51:00.000-04:00

Any fruit is better than a piece of cake, at least from a nutritional point of view. But all fruits have little protein or fat and many have significant amounts of sugar. Compared to most vegetables, fruits do not provide as many micronutrients per calorie. But fruits are not all equal. Some of the most commonly eaten fruits are some of the least nutritious - in terms of Vitamin A, C, and ORACs. ORAC stands for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity. This is a good stand in for anti-oxidant capacity. There are many anti-oxidants besides Vitamin A and C. We're still discovering them all. They all have different properties and capacities.

Here's a site with the ORAC value of many common foods on a Web page maintained by Greg Watson, one of the CR Society members:
http://optimalhealth.cia.com.au/OracLevels.htm

Taking A, C, ORACs and fiber into account, the very best fruits are berries. All berries are high in all of these components. Berries are also relatively low in calories.

Yellow fruits are also high enough in A to overcome their often high sugar content. So mangos, peaches, and cantaloupes are all well worth eating.

Likewise, citrus fruits and cranberries are so high in Vitamin C and ORACs that they are a good choice for breakfast, snacks or dessert.

Watermelons and plums are both fairly high in both A and C, as well as fiber - so eat them without guilt.

Grapes and cherries have high ORACs and moderate amounts of A and C, still acceptable in a calorie restricted diet in reasonable quantities.

Apples, bananas and pears are some of the least nutritious fruits, with relatively lower levels of vitamins and ORACs. While there are many worse things to eat, they should be considered a treat, more than a nutritional component.

Here's my heirarchy of fruit goodness:

Best
Strawberries Blackberries Raspberries Mangos Cantaloupe Kiwi

Very Good
Blueberries Peaches Apricots Oranges Grapefruit Tangerines Watermelon Honeydew

Good
Plums Grapes Pomegranate Cherries

Poor
Apples Pears Bananas

April and Applebees

2005-04-12T21:02:00.000-04:00

April and her mom ate at Applebees yesterday from the Weight Watchers menu. I am not a fan of Weight Watchers. The focus on calories without nutritional consequences worries me. I am sure most men eating 1800 calories or more on WW are getting reasonable nutrition. But what about 1200 calorie or less a day women? No way.

I've been on a hundred diets before I started eating well five years ago. They never worked - at least not for very long. I think my current diet has worked for me because I am well nourished. I feel great. I am never sick. And I am not hungry.

Looking at the WW menu from Applebees, there are several dishes that would qualify as EW4L dishes, as well as WW. And there are some that would not.

Berry Lemon Cheesecake - If it's your birthday, yes. Otherwise, let someone else order it and just have one or at the most TWO bites. See my recommendations on desserts. Remember, cheesecake is on the once in a great while list.

Chocolate Raspberry Layer Cake - NO, NO, NO - there is no redeeming value.

Grilled Shrimp Skewer Salad - This looks very good - shrimp for protein, mixed greens, sugar snap peas and tomatoes. I might even go to Applebees myself.

Grilled Tilapia with Mango Salsa - Also a good choice. You might leave some or all of the rice on the plate if you are eating less than 1200 calories a day.

Mesquite chicken salad - Go ahead - this looks a lot tastier than the McDonalds salads.

Onion Soup Au Gratin - No. I don't get it. I am not a fan of reduced fat cheese. It reminds me of Elmer's glue.

Sizzling Chicken Skillet - This looks healthy, but I am suspecting that the supposed 360 calories does not include the 2 whole wheat tortillas, which would bring the total up closer to 500. I may be wrong though - in which case, this is a nice choice.

Tango Chicken Sandwich - Too much bread, not enough vegetables for 370 calories.

Teriyaki Shrimp Skewers - Another good choice - 290 calories and lot of meat and vegetables.

Tortilla Chicken Melt - Not the best choice. 460 calories, with more of the reduced-fat cheese and lots of tortillas. The other 5 good choices are a lot better.

When McDonalds is your only choice

2005-04-11T21:11:00.000-04:00

Yes, there are some meals you can eat at McDonalds. Willie had this experience the other day and made the same choice that I did a year ago - he ate the Chicken Caesar salad without dressing. McDonalds has three salad choices that are all pretty nutritious - if you skip the dressing and the croutons. Avoid the Crispy Chicken versions - no telling what oils were used (and reused and reused) to make it. All three salads have enough fat in them without the dressing to make them Zone! I find that cutting up the chicken into smaller pieces and eating a piece of chicken with each fork of lettuce gives you plenty of flavor without dressing. The biggest problem I had with the salad was that it was not as fresh as my homemade salad would have been. All three seem pretty equivalent to me, so order the version that sounds best to you.

Bacon Ranch Salad with Chicken - 250 calories and 30g of protein. This provides lots of A and C, plus reasonable amounts of B vitamins, iron and calcium.

Caesar Salad with Grilled Chicken - 210 calories and 28g of protein. This provides lots of A and C, plus reasonable amounts of B vitamins, iron and calcium.

California Cobb Salad with Chicken - 270 calories and 33g of protein. Same amounts of A, C, etc as the Bacon Ranch Salad.

I find the RDA amounts suspicious, since they are such round numbers. But then, there is probably enough variance between actual servings that this is accurate enough.

If you just have to eat breakfast there, the least objectionable thing is the Egg McMuffin. This is not something that I would recommend every day, but it does have 17g of protein in 290 calories and provides 10% of A, 30% of calcium and 15% of iron. It claims to have no transfat. To make it a little more nutritious and less caloric, throw away one of the 1/2s of the muffin.

Shellfish for B vitamin and minerals

2005-04-10T20:38:00.000-04:00

Many people today eat a far too limited selection of high protein foods. Health conscious women are probably the most likely to limit protein sources to egg whites, chicken breast, turkey and fish. While this is probably not a bad idea for middle aged men with high cholesterol, it's a mistake for younger women. At their lower levels of calories, they are very unlikely to be getting the B vitamins and iron that they need. Women of child bearing age (14-50) need twice the iron that men do - and a lot of them don't get nearly enough. Poultry and fish don't have all the B vitamins either. While fish provides the B-12 that chicken is low in, they are both too low in riboflavin, thiamin, and iron.

With low iron, women may experience fatigue and mental fuzziness. B vitamins are important for the proper functioning of your nervous system.

One way to boost B-12, iron and riboflavin is to eat shellfish - especially oysters, clams, and mussels. Here's the scoop on these foods:

Oysters
4 oz of raw oysters is only 76 calories but provides 877% of the RDA od B-12, 490% of Copper, 75% of iron, and 1430% of zinc. Make your own super nutritious oyster stew by adding raw or smoked oysters and a cup of chopped kale or spinach to chicken broth and simmering for 10 minutes.

Clams
4 oz of clams have lots of protein - 28g - in 162 calories. This much provides 4532% of the RDA of B-12 and 308% of Iron, 43% of riboflavin, 76% of copper, and 43% of zinc. An easy way to get clams is in Manhattan clam chowder. Make your own by adding canned clams to a good vegetable soup.

Mussels
3 oz of mussels provide 15g of protein in 167 calories. Also high in B-12 (573% of the RDA) and iron (45%) . This amount provides more than 20% of the RDA of E, folate, riboflavin, and zinc. Mussels can be steamed in a light broth or cooked in a marinara sauce.

Eating Traditionally

2005-04-09T19:40:00.000-04:00

For tens of thousands of years, our ancestors ate a variety of traditional foods - lean grass fed meats, eggs, shellfish, fish, fruits, nuts, greens, tubers - and things like bugs, too. Then, 500 generations ago, agriculture added grains and beans. Dairy foods were added a little later. Oils came from the foods and later from cold pressing olives and other seeds.

Then, in the last 5 generations, we've introduced refined vegetable oils, high in Omega 6 polyunsaturates, large amounts of sugar and refined grains, and recently high fructose corn syrup. Hydrogenation is now common - introducing transfats. In the last several years, food manufacturers have started adding milk and soy derivatives to many processed foods.

It's well known that people from cultures with traditional cuisines - ones that have been handed down for many, many generations - are generally healthier than Americans. And when these people adopt an American diet, they start to get our chronic diseases. Our genes are not programmed to thrive on these new foods. We are not adapted to them. They are making us sick.

I personally think its unwise to eat a diet largely composed of these new foods - as most Americans now do. When I see what people buy at the grocery store - it's these new foods that they are buying. I think they are buying poor health.

When I shop, I fill my cart with grass fed meats, free range chicken, wild caught fish, nuts, fruits and vegetables. I consume few grains and limited dairy. I avoid sugar, corn syrup, and vegetable oils other than extra virgin olive oil.

I think it's smart to observe the eating patterns of cultures that have long culinary traditions and borrow from them. I make one adaptation. I assume that traditional diets are too high calorie for our sedentary society and cut out a lot of their starchy staples - the rice in Asian cultures and bread and potatoes in European ones; the tortillas of the Americas, and flatbreads of the Middle East. But I keep the meats, the oils, the vegetables and fruits.

Most Americans are now overweight - too many calories for a sedentary lifestyle. It's important to return to traditional foods - though with a lower level of nutrient-poor carbohydrates than is typically eaten by hard-working farmers or hunters-gatherers. If you want the best health possible, this is the path to achieving it. I've had remarkable success with this strategy. I lost 40 pounds in 8 months - going from 156 to 116, my weight at 18 - and have kept it off without once regaining it for 4 years. I haven't had a cold or the flu since. I have double the energy I had before. My skin looks the best it has in ten years. Aches and pains are gone. I feel really great for a 51 year old - more like a 31 year old. Better than a lot of 31 year olds.

I have found it easy to eat this way. It quickly become a habit, even though I previously ate a very typical American diet. You feel so good that you can't imagine going back to Krispy Kreme hell. Food tastes better and you enjoy it so much more when it's nourishing you. I can eat 1200 calories a day, every day, without hunger or feeling deprived.

Diets don't work. Just cutting calories or carbs or fat is not enough. You need to give your body everything it needs to work well. Or you will get sick or tired or stressed. The purpose of this blog is to help you to eat well for the rest of your life - your long and healthy life. I've been eating this way for 5 years, and I want to share what I've found with you.

P and J Eaters

2005-04-08T19:33:00.000-04:00

This is about Meyers-Briggs.

In case you are not familiar with it, M-B is a system of personality categorization. You take a test and it gives you a 4 letter word that describes many aspects of your personality. One of the letters can be a P or a J. P stands for Perceiving and J for Judging.

I am very, very P. This makes me terribly interested in figuring things out and learning all about things. I do not have a problem with changing my mind - if it seems like the right thing to do. I don't believe there is the "one right way" to do things. Or even the best way. J's are the opposite. They like to stick with the right way. P seems to stand for Procrastination to them, and J for Just Right. Variety is not important.

Many of the CR Society folk eat the same "perfect meals" every day. This is a very J thing to do. It is righteous - and I don't mean that in a negative way. But, this would drive me insane. One of my favorite things to do is to try new foods and go to interesting restaurants. So, I do CR like a P. It's all about learning. Every day is a new CR learning day for me. More choosing and experimenting. Variety. P is about Perception, not Perfection.

So, I have come to realize that I know a lot about food as a result. I've spent hours on the Web looking up recipes for ethnic foods and analyzing them. I see how my choices resulted in a high nutrition Zone-ish day - or did not. No day has been exactly like another. I can wing CR. I can CR on the road.

So, the perfect tool for me has been my diary tool. My diary tool is like my microscope for food. Each day is like a specimen, put under the lens for examination. Very interesting to a P. But, I am thinking that J's would probably rather have menus of preconstructed "good meal days". So, my new tool is for this. I am making a J tool. The patterns I have learned from my P studying make me able to think of many, many variations of CR. I hope these will be useful for everyone, especially you many wonderful Js out there.

Thai Restaurants

2005-04-05T19:50:00.000-04:00

I love Thai food. Thai people love beautiful presentation and insist of fresh, natural, whole ingredients. It seems like the food is an artistic creation - both for the eye and the tongue. There are always lots of choices with lean protein, especially seafood, and vegetables. They often include lots of carrots, cabbage and lettuce.

Avoid the Pad Thai - too many empty carbs in those rice noodles. For the healthiest choices, look to the soups, salads and curry dishes with added vegetables. A good choice for dinner is either a soup and salad combination or one of the curry dishes.

There are many healthy Thai dishes. Here's some of the best:

Num Tok or Nam Tok- a spicy green salad with strips of marinated beef flank

Green Papaya Salad - Shredded green papaya, with a lime dressing, it usually comes with broiled shrimp

Larb - A tasty chicken salad dish - very high protein and low calories

Any soup - really - they are all good. Even the delicious ones with coconut milk are relatively low in calories and good protein sources. The lemony ones without are really low calorie.
Tom Kai Gai - chicken in coconut milk
Tom Ka Talay - wonderful mixed shellfish in coconut milk - lots of B-12!
Tom Yum Koong - piquant shrimp soup

Curries with Rice
If you like spicy food, these can be a good choice. The curry sauce is always high in vitamin A and C. Choose a curry with added vegetables - like bell pepper, broccoli, asparagus or carrots. Thai restaurants are a good place to get shellfish - squid, shrimp, mussels, and scallops. Use as little of the rice as you can - 1/2 a serving at most.

Food vs. Supplementation

2005-04-04T20:05:00.000-04:00

It seems like it should be easier to just take pills. Why bother to try to get the RDA of vitamins from food?

If we really understood the human body completely and knew what we needed to be well for our entire lifetimes, this would be acceptable. But, we don't. Medical science has not spent a lot of effort understanding nutrition - it's too focused on developing drugs for people who are already sick.

So, we must assume that we need to look to nature and the world we live in for guidance on what to eat. Think about what our ancestors must have eaten thousands of years ago. That is what our bodies are designed for. Science has identified a few dozens of essential nutrients. There is nothing that gurantees that there are not many more. They may be so common in our food that deficiency is rarely encountered. Common diseases whose cause is unknown may even be caused by these deficiencies. Perhaps we will find this out in the future.

Because of this, it seems like a good idea to get at least the RDAs of vitamins from food. There may be other vitamins that we need that are undiscovered. If we eat foods high in the vitamins that we know, we are likely to get any that we don't know. It's easy to get several times the RDA of the carotene form on vitamin A. It's also a simple matter to get significantly more than the RDA of C. With a varied diet that includes lots of lean protein sources, the RDA of the B vitamins is attainable even at a low calorie level.

To summarize, your diet should provide 2-3 times the RDA of vitamins A and C and 100% of B vitamins. No point in supplementing A - the research evidence does not support this. Hypersupplementing C does help you throw off infections and has been proven to be valuable. Animals other than apes make their own Vitamin C. They don't need to eat is at all. When they are stressed, their body makes a whole lot of it. So, you can copy your pets and take extra C when you are exposed to illness. Smokers need more C. Pollution raises your need for C. So, extra C makes sense. I take 500mg of C a day and will take 3-4 g of C when I am stressed. Hypersupplementation of B vitamins may be helpful to some people. Some people need more. Your body will just filter out extra B vitamins, so unless you have kidney problems, extra B won't hurt you. I take a B complex that provides 25x the RDA on average.

Minerals are better understood - there are only so many elements. Supplementing these are acceptable as an alternative. Minerals interact - they are electrolytes. So it is important not to get too much or too little of them. I recommend getting 100-200% of the RDA of all the minerals - no more and no less.

Beverage choices

2005-04-03T11:11:00.000-04:00

Humans did not have high fructose corn syrup in their diet AT ALL until the 1970's. Ever since it was introduced, Americans have gotten fatter and fatter and diabetes is not an epidemic. It's very difficult to find any sweetened drinks now that don't include it. Stay away! Drinks that contrain it have little or no nutritional value.

Here's some drink recommendations:

Mineral Water
These have 0 calories and can contribute significantly to you mineral intake. If you don't drink milk, then they can provide a good source of calcium. You can get used to the higher mineral content waters if you give yourself a chance. A very common brand that is pretty high in mineral content is San Peligrino. Whole Foods Italian Sparkling Water appears to be private label San Peligrino. Gerolsteiner is my favorite - it has twice the mineral content of San Peligrino. A liter of Gerolsteiner has the same calcium content as a 9 oz glass of milk, but more than twice the magnesium. Cow's milk does not provide balanced calcium and magnesium - so you really need to eat high magnesium foods or supplement if you get your calcium from milk.

Tea
Hot and iced tea are both good for you. Herbal teas and decaffeinated teas as well as black and green teas all provide some B-vitamins and minerals. Each tea has a different profile, but they often provide folate and trace minerals.

Coffee
Much maligned, coffee appears to have no ill effects, despite many studies that have tried to find them. Unfiltered European-style coffee does contain oils that raise cholesterol. But filtered coffee appears to provide useful antioxidants. Again, zero calories and trace amounts of minerals and niacin. If you drink a lot of coffee, these amounts can actually add up to a substantial contribution. 5 cups a day of decaffeinated coffee provides 20% of the RDA of niacin, magnesium and potassium.

Low Calorie Cocoa
This might sound unappetizing, but if you are a chocoholic it's actually very tasty and provides a major chocolate fix. Buy a good quality cocoa - organic is best for avoiding heavy metals. Pour a heaping tablespoon in a cup of hot water and add a packet of Spenda. Stir until mixed. For 15 calories, this provides 2 grams of fiber, 27% of the RDA of copper and 10% of the RDA of iron, magnesium, manganese and zinc.

Lowfat or Skim Milk
Nutritionist love to encourage milk drinking. I personally avoid it and have an allergy to it. It also causes nasal congestion in many people. If you have stuffy sinuses, you might try avoiding dairy for several days and see if you feel a lot better. But, if you are a dairy fan, this is a great beverage. 10 oz of lowfat milk, at 135 calories, provides 16% of the RDA on average and lots of protein.

Vegetable Juices
These all provide lots of anti-oxidants for few calories. They tend to be high in sodium, so look for low sodium versions if you are watching your salt. Both mixed vegetable versions and tomato juice are great for you. A big glass is always less than 100 calories and typically will provide as much most of the RDA of A and C.

I really don't recommend fruit juices. They are high glycemic index foods and are too sugary.

I also don't recommend diet sodas. Their high phosphorous content may cause bone loss. If you don't drink them for a month, you will be surprised at how really awful they taste to you when you try them again.

Little, simple breakfasts

2005-04-01T18:44:00.000-05:00

Not everyone is ready for a big breakfast. A simple pattern to follow is:

Light and Easy Zone Breakfast
1 egg or 1 ounce of ham or 1 ounce of Canadian bacon
1/2 grapefruit or cup of vegetable juice

Any of these combinations is Zone balanced, about 90-120 calories, and provides 12-24% of nutrients. The Canadian bacon or ham is a little more nutritious than the egg. The vegetable juice is better than the grapefruit. I like the ham or Canadian bacon for breakfast, since it provides thiamin that is not easy to come by at low calorie levels. Eggs have great protein and the yolk has lots of minerals and B-12 and riboflavin. Don't choose eggs if you are watching cholesterol - choose the ham or Canadian bacon.

The egg can be scrambled, boiled or cooked in a teflon pan sunny-side up with a couple of drops of olive oil. The ham or Canadian bacon can be heated in a pan or the microwave.

So, just buy 4 oz of Canadian bacon and a dozen eggs (free range, please), a bottle of V-8 or organic vegetable juice, and a grapefruit or 2. Now, you have a week or 2 of breakfasts that you can vary every day.

If you want more calories at breakfast, you can just double up on each of the ingredients. In fact, a double combination is a great breakfast choice:

Ham and Egg Breakfast

1 egg, over easy, cooked on non-stick pan, with 1/2 a teaspoon of olive oil
1 oz of Canadian bacon
1/2 a grapefruit with sucralose (Splenda)
1 cup of vegetable juice

Total 232 calories, P/C/F of 26/34/40, and 36% of the RDA. High in B vitamins, full RDA of A and C, and lots of minerals.

Taco Bell

2005-04-01T00:06:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you have few options on eating. It's nice to have some reasonable fast food alternatives. None of these really meet my criteria for every day eating, but when you are on the road or at the airport, you should not feel bad about eating them.
Fresco Style Enchirito
The best item at Taco Bell to eat is the "Fresco Style" Enchiritos. These are each around 250 calories with P/C/F ratios of 25/50/25 and 25% of the RDA for the day. The steak and chicken are somewhat better nutritional values than the beef. Enchiritos are high in A and C due to the red pepper sauce on them. Make sure you get the item with sauce - it's highly nutritious and low in calories and fat. Meat provides good B vitamins, iron amd protein. Beans are a good source of folate.

Regular Enchirito
Almost as good is the regular enchirito, which has cheese instead of extra salsa. This is considerably higher in calories and fat - 370 calories and P/C/F of 21/38/41. These also provide calcium from the cheese. Again, the beef is somewhat higher in calories and fat than the chicken and the steak variety.

"Fresca Style" Burritos
Similar in nutrition to the regular Enchirito, the various Fresca Burrito Supremes include the Steak Burrito Supreme, the Chicken Burrito Supreme and the Chicken Fiesta Burrito. All are around 350 calories with a P/C/F of 22/55/23. These have lots of nutritional value and are higher in calcium and iron than the fresca enchiritos, but lower in A and C.

One Last Word
One of the things I like about all these choices is that they aren't fried food - so minimal bad oils that are reused over and over in the fryer. The enchiritos have 1 g of transfat and the burritos have 1 1/2 - 2 grams.

Dinner Salads with Chicken

2005-03-30T20:23:00.000-05:00

You often see dinner salads on the menu at restaurants these days. These can be quite nutritious and can work for Zone.

Panera has a couple of salads that fit this pattern. These meals each be about 400 calories, within a reasonable Zone balance, and acceptable nutrition:

Panera Asian Sesame Chicken Salad - with bread or a piece of fruit
If you eat this with the bread, it will be Zone, but less nutritious than if you skip the bread and eat a piece or two of fruit - an orange, an apple, two plums, a bunch of grapes, a bowl of strawberries or a banana.

Panera Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad -
Ask for dressing on the side - use only 1/2 of the amount they give you. Do not eat the bread. Either eat the croutons or leave them and eat a piece of fruit for more nutrition.

One thing I do not like about these salads is that the dressings are not as healthy as one you can make at home. They contain soybean oil rather than healthier olive oil. Make your own from a recipe - or use the Good Seasons packets with good olive oil. Another alternative is to use an ounce of feta cheese and a tablespoon of lemon juice in place of dressing. This is an excellent alternative that is actually quite nutritious.

It's a good idea to try to achieve Zone-level fats with any salad you eat. Oil is necessary for absorbing the oil soluble vitamins from lettuce.

If you want to make a dinner salad at home, this is really easy. You can buy a roasted chicken from the grocery store or just cook your own chicken breast. Here's the recipe for a meal based on cooking the chicken yourself:

Homemade Chicken Dinner Salad

4 oz raw chicken breast
Season salt
teaspoon of olive oil
1 oz feta cheese
1 1/2 cups of romaine torn into small pieces
4 grape tomatoes
3 baby carrot sticks
1 tsp lemon juice
large bunch of grapes or 2 plums or orange

Trim chicken breast and cut in half across the thickest part (like butterflying) so it's 1/2 the thickness. Coat a skillet or grill pan with the olive oil. Saute chicken until cooked - 10 minutes or so - on medium heat. Cut carrot sticks into quarters. Combine all ingredients (except fruit) and toss.

This meal is around 400 calories and provides 47% of the RDA on average. P/C/F ratio is 33/32/35. This provides a good balance of nutrients.

If you make this with roasted chicken from the grocery store deli section - just use 3 oz of cooked chicken.

Healthy desserts

2005-03-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

Not all sweet things are bad for you. Here I suggest two levels of dessert treats. The first level is actually good for you - you can eat these without any guilt at all. The second level have some reasonable nutritional value and would be okay to eat occasionally in small amounts, allowing you to join in the festivities at public and family events.

Eat any time!!

Berries and Mango
50 g of blackberries, raspberries and/or blueberries (raspberries are the prettiest!)
50g of diced fresh or thawed frozen mango

57 calories, lots of A, C, and folate, more than 10% of the RDA on average

Pumpkin custard
1 lb. can of cooked pumpkin (420g)
3 eggs
3 oz of soy, rice or oat milk
1 oz of maple syrup
15g of plain whey powder
spices and salt as directed on the pumpkin can (cinnamon, ginger, etc.)
2 T of ground flax seed

Combine all the ingredients except the flax seed and mix until smooth. Pour into 4 oz. individual custard cups. Sprinkle with the flax seed. Put filled custard cups into a large rectangular pan filled with water an inch deep (a water bath) and bake at 400 degrees for 60 minutes.

4 oz of this is 92 calories and provides 46% on average of the RDA! Lots of A, B vitamins and minerals AND it's almost zone - P/C/F is 25/45/30. This makes a great breakfast.

Strawberries and Chocolate Dip

120g of fresh strawberries (3-5 whole strawberries)
T of cocoa powder
package of Splenda or equivalent in sucralose
1 1/2 T of water

Mix cocoa, water and sucralose, stirring until it's a syrup. Dip the strawberries in the chocolate!
If this sauce is too weird for you, half an ounce of chocolate syrup is really not going to hurt you.

With regular chocolate syrup this is 92 calories and 10% of the RDA, with the homemade no-sugar version of the syrup, this is 70 calories and 14% of the RDA. This is high in C and minerals.

Eat Rarely in Small Amounts

Commercial Pumpkin Pie - Actually pretty good for you, but a little too caloric for everyday eating. A small 3 oz piece is 180 calories, 26% of the RDA, high in A, B vitamins and minerals. Too high in saturated fat to be really healthy.

Carrot Cake with Icing - Skip the icing and it will be much better. A 3 oz. piece is unfortunately 343 calories, and 17% of the RDA. Outside of pumpkin pie, this is actually the most nutritious dessert in the USDA database. This is too high in calories to eat more than rarely.

Cheesecake - Though high in fat, the eggs and cheese in cheesecake have more nutritional value than other cookies, cakes and pies. A 3 oz piece is 266 calories and 8% of the RDA. Its 7.5 g of protein makes it a relatively high protein dessert.

Baked Apples -
Peel and cut raw apples into slices. Put them in a microwave-proof bowl. Add a tablespoon of maple syrup per apple. Sprinkle generously with cinnamon and add a dash of salt. Stir. Microwave for five minutes or more until apples are soft. You may like this cooked a little less so that apples have a little bite to them. Top with 10g of chopped walnuts per apple. 5 oz has 175 calories and 6% of the RDA. This is pretty delicious and reasonably low calories, but it does not provide enough nutrition to make it a healthy dessert.

Breakfast Hors d'Oeuvres

2005-03-28T20:54:00.000-05:00

Breakfast can get boring. Pretend it's a party! Here's some menu ideas:

Smoked Salmon Breakfast Hors d'Oeuvres
Take a 9g rye crisp cracker and top with 1/2 an ounce of goat gouda (or regular gouda if you can't find goat gouda). Melt in the toaster and top with an ounce of chopped smoked salmon. Sprinkle with fresh or dried dill. Eat with a grapefuit half, sweetened if you need to with Splenda (sucralose). If you just can't afford the saturated fat in the cheese (e.g. your cholesterol is high) use hummus instead and skip the toasting.

With cheese:
173 calories, P/C/F of 30/34/36, very balanced nutrients with lots of A, C, and B-12. Provides on average 29% of the RDA.

Pate Breakfast Hors d'Oeuvres
Top a 9g rye crisp cracker with an ounce of pate. I love Les Trois Cochhons brand - Mousse Truffee. Put 10g of chopped red bell pepper or olives on top if you like. With this, drink 8 ounces of vegetable juice (like V-8 or organic equivalents).

With bell pepper:
160 calories, P/C/F of 18/40/42, balanced nutrients with lots of A,C, and B-12. Provides on average 35% of the RDA.

Now for something slightly more mundane:
Ham and Hummus Breakfast Hors D'Oeuvres
Top a 9g rye crisp cracker with 15g of hummus and one ounce of lean ham (uncured if possible). With this, drink 8 ounces of vegetable juice.

160 calories, P/C/F of 29/42/29, balanced nutrients with good B-6, folate and thiamin.

Top Ten Lean Cuisine Meals

2005-03-27T21:06:00.000-05:00

I haven't really done the detailed nutritional analysis on these meals, but the Lean Cuisine site has pretty decent basic information, including A,C, iron, potassium, and calcium. All their selections are close to 200 calories, so they would make a good lunch or a light dinner. If you added a green salad and a serving of fruit for dessert to any of them, it would be a very nutritious meal. Here are 10 Lean Cuisine meals that are good to eat and reasonable Zone-balanced:

Cafe Classics Garlic Beef and Broccoli - 170 calories, perfect Zone, with lots of A and C - you could even eat 2 of these for dinner!

Cafe Classics Baked Chicken Florentine - 200 calories - high protein, low carb, lots of A and good calcium

Cafe Classics Grilled Chicken - 160 calories, close to Zone, lots of C - again 2 of these for dinner would not be unreasonable

Spa Cuisine Salmon with Basil - 260 calories - lots of A

Cafe Classics Roasted Garlic Chicken - 200 calories, high protein, high A

Cafe Classics Honey Roasted Pork - 230 calories, close to Zone, high A, source of thiamin

Cafe Classics Steak Tips Portobello - 180 calories, close to Zone, low carbs, good C, 2 of these would make a good dinner

Spa Cuisine Lemongrass Chicken - 240 calories, high A

Cafe Classics Baked Lemon Pepper Fish - 220 calories, close to Zone, high protein

Skillets Chicken Oriental - 170 calories, a little high in carbs, high in A

Although 5 of the 10 dishes are chicken, it is nice to see 2 fish meals, 2 beef meals and a pork dish. I am a big believer in rotating protein sources. You just won't get the full complement of B vitamins unless you eat more than chicken breast!

Flounder for Dinner

2005-03-26T19:28:00.000-05:00

Even people with minimal cooking skills can quickly make simple meals like this one.

Here's the menu:

Rye crisp crackers with goat gouda (9g cracker and 15g cheese)
Broiled flounder with lemon and dill (90g)
Sweet potato (100g)
Wilted spinach and chard salad (80g)
Fresh strawberries (110g)

* Weights are for a small serving (1200 calories per day)

Here's your shopping list:
Fresh or frozen flounder fillets - 4 -5 oz raw fish per person
Raw sweet potato - 1/2 large or 1 small per person (120-150g per serving)
Rye crisp crackers
Gouda cheese (goat cheese or cow's cheese)
Fresh spinach and/or swiss chard (3 oz per person)
Fresh strawberries (in season in the spring - 4 oz per person)
1 lemon
clove of garlic or 1 tsp crushed or chopped garlic
olive oil
Dried dill

Cooking directions - 30 minutes or less preparation time:

Heat the broiler or toaster oven.

Cut off the stems and tops of and cut into halves, place 4 oz into small bowls for each person.

Clean the sweet potatoes by washing them under running water.

Place flounder fillets in a shallow baking pan. Cut the lemon in half and squeeze over the salmon. Sprinkle with dill and season to taste with salt and pepper. Put under the broiler or in a toaster oven. You are going to cook these for about 12-15 minutes. So, move on to make the rest of the ingredients.

Chop the spinach and chard loosely and put in a pan or skillet - like a 12" frying pan or "wok" pan. Add the garlic. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and toss. Let it sit while you make the other ingredients.

Make yourself an appetizer - a rye cracker topped with 1/2 an ounce of gouda. Put this in the microwave for 15 seconds until the cheese melts. Eat this while you cook!

Put sweet potatoes in the microwave. Cook for several minutes (as many as needed) until they are very soft.

Now, cook the spinach and chard on high heat on the stove, stirring constantly until wilted and soft - just 2 or 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and squeeze the other lemon half over them. Season with pepper and salt if desired. White pepper is a good choice.

Cook the flounder only until just done - no need to let it brown.

Flounder is hard to beat for fresh, mild flavor. This fish is not a mercury risk. If you've never eaten plain sweet potatoes, give them a try. Microwaved sweet potatoes - cooked well - are delicious all by themselves.

Nutritional Analysis:

380 calories, 31g of protein, P/C/F ratio of 32/42/26, over 20% of all essential nutrients, provides the RDA of A, C, and B-12, over 40% of the RDA of B-6, folate, riboflavin, copper, iron, manganese and fiber.

Soup For Lunch

2005-03-25T21:11:00.000-05:00

Many soups make great calorie-restricted meals. Although canned soups are usually high in sodium, if you are not watching your blood pressure, they are fine for a quick, inexpensive meal.

Stay away from most cream soups. Forget cheese soups as well. These are too high in calories and low in nutrients. Most bean soups are surprisingly low in nutrients for the calories they provide. If you're low in folate though, a cup of bean soup with a salad and some chicken breast makes a fine balanced meal.

Some good canned soup choices, all by themselves -

Manhattan style clam chowder - 16 oz. is only 237 calories, and provides lots of Vitamin A and B-12. A little high in carbs with a P/C/F ratio of 22/56/22. A good balance of nutrients.

Chunky Beef Vegetable Soup - 16 oz is 300 calories, with a P/C/F of 28/45/27 - close to Zone. Even better balance of nutrients, with lots of B vitamins and minerals, and good A.

Some soups make a good lunch if you add some lean meat to them. Think of a couple of ounces of chicken breast, turkey breast, a chicken sausage, Canadian bacon or lean ham.

Minestrone - 16 oz is a low, low 145 calories, so you're going to want to eat this with something else. This would actually make a perfectly good breakfast for a light eater. The P/C/F is a little high in carbs at 20/53/27. Not so balanced, the vitamins are mostly A and folate. If you ate this with some lean meat, it would make a very balanced meal.

Tomato Soup - prepared with water, 16 oz is also 145 calories. Needs some lean meat added to balance out its P/C/F of 11/78/21. A nice balance of nutrients otherwise, with lots of C, a nice mix of B vitamins and minerals.

And if you have even the most minimal of cooking skills you can make great homemade soups in 30 minutes. Start with a couple of cups of chicken broth. Throw in your best vegetables. Cook for 20 minutes. Run it through the blender if you like it French style and creamy. Add chopped chicken breast or lean ham or even a tin of smoked oysters, leftover salmon. Be creative. You can make soups yourself that far surpass the nutrient value of canned soups.

Here's two of my favorite homemade versions:

CRON Oyster stew: Start with 2 cups of chicken broth, add 1 cup of chopped kale, 1/2 cup of chopped onion, 3 or 4 chopped mushrooms, and a drained tin of smoked oysters. Simmer for 20 minutes. If you like oyster stew, you will be surprised how fabulous this tastes. It's very nutritious. 16 oz is 300 calories, with a P/C/F ratio of 40/40/20. This is a major source of all B vitamins, high in A and C, and also high in all the minerals except for calcium. This is a superfood that will put you in good shape for the rest of the day. You might eat this when you know your other meals will not be that nutritious. This has huge amounts of zinc and B-12.

Greek asparagus soup: Start with 2 cups of chicken broth, 12 oz of trimmed fresh or frozen asparagus spears (throw the woody ends away), 1/2 a cup of chopped onions, garlic, 1/2 cup of spinach or chard. Simmer 20 minutes and run through the blender with 2 oz of feta cheese added. Throw in a couple of ounces of cubed lean ham. Season with pepper and lots of dill. This is only 200 calories for 16 oz. and very filling. P/C/F is low in carbs at 28/31/48 (kind of Atkins). This is high in all nutrients - very balanced. You could make this soup with broccoli as well.

Sushi for Lunch

2005-03-24T21:05:00.000-05:00

I've taken sushi rolls home and deconstructed them several times - weighing all the components and putting the recipe in my tool. I'm happy to share the results with you.

All sushi is fairly low in fat. It can provide reasonable protein. The main drawback to sushi is a lack of vitamin A and C. So, to create a balanced meal you need to add a green salad, maybe some carrots or a fruit like watermelon, mangos, cantaloupe, or citrus. A great choice would be the cold spinach salad, Go-ma-ae, sold in some Japanese restaurants.

I have analyzed 4 kinds of sushi rolls. Here they are in order of increasing nutritional value:

California roll - these are made of rice, seaweed, fake crab, avocado and cucumber. Fake crab is not the most nutritious food. It's made from white fish, potatoes and crab stock. Cucumber does not add much in the tiny quanitities used. Of course, the rice is mostly calories. The seaweed and avocado are the biggest nutrtional contributors. 8 oz of California roll - a typical serving - is about 225 calories and has 13 g of protein. P/C/F is 22/62/16. B vitamins are good, but there is no calcium, and minimal antioxidant value.

Spicy tuna or salmon - depending on the chef, these can have a tiny amount of mayonnaise - or lots of it. An 8 oz serving typically has 252 calories, 12g of protein, and a P/C/F ratio of 20/60/20. It has slightly better B vitamins and minerals that the California roll, and some Omega 3. Of course, the tuna has a potential mercury problem, so you wouldn't want to eat it often.

Shrimp roll with avocado and roe - this is like the California roll, but with real shrimp, and orange roe on the outside. Roe is a "superfood". This tiny amount adds lots of E, minerals, and B-vitamins. The shrimp is also better protein than the fake crab. An 8 oz. serving has 225 calories, 17g of protein, and a P/C/F ratio of 30/50/20. It has more E, more B vitamins and minerals that the California roll, some Omega 3, and very high B-12.

Eel roll with asparagus and roe - Once again, the roe adds a lot, and eel has meaningful amounts of E and A. The asparagus is also helpful. This roll has twice the vitamins and minerals as the California roll. Eel is also pretty high fat, so the P/C/F ratio is 23/40/38, better for counteracting the rice's high glycemic index. Total calories is 287, with 16g of protein, high in B-12 and providing 1/2 the RDA for A and E. Perhaps a salad or fruit is not needed with this sushi choice.

Try eating sushi without the soy sauce. The spicier varieties really don't need it, for my taste buds. Soy sauce is incredibly high in sodium. You're not going to find a low sodium version at a restaurant. The wasabi has negligible nutritional content, due to the tiny amount most people consume. But, then, it has almost no calories, either. If you eat large quantities of it, it is a source of C. 10g of wasabi (a large rounded teaspoon) has 6% of the RDA. Soy sauce has about 12 calories an ounce.

My pick for a meal - the eel roll with asparagus and roe, 1/2 an ounce of soy sauce with a little wasabi, and an orange. This provides high levels of A,C,E and all the B vitamins, good amounts of Omega 3. It's lacking in calcium and potassium, and is generally a little low in minerals.

If such an exotic composition is not available, plain old eel roll or the spicy salmon roll is another good choice. Balance this roll out with some cantaloupe or a green salad.

Either of these meals should be around 300-350 calories.

Stocking the pantry

2005-03-23T21:38:00.000-05:00

Someone asked the very good question: what would I suggest for stocking the pantry for CRON?

First of all, I would throw a lot of things out - not easy to do if you live with other non-CRON people. Throw out anything with high fructose corn syrup or hydrogenated vegetable oil. Throw out all your oils except olive oil, nut oils and maybe cold pressed canola. Throw out cake and cookie mixes. Really - you should throw out sugar. Just get rid of all those crunchy snacks - chips, pretzels, crackers, cookies - all of it. We only keep a small package of plain rice or rye crackers on hand. Throw out the ice cream.

CRON should involve buying a lot of fresh vegetables, fruit and meats. My pantry is pretty empty actually - but my refrigerator is full.

Here's what I would stock up on besides fresh food that is bought a few days before eating it:

Warren Taylor's sucralose powder - or Splenda
High quality olive oil - my favorite is actually Whole Foods store brand in the big metal container
Bulk flax seed and a little coffee grinder to make it fresh - keep it in the refrigerator
Frozen berries - for dessert!
Almonds and any other nuts you like - walnuts are another nut we use a lot
Whole grain slow cooking oatmeal (a totally different experience from instant!)
Frozen vegetables, if you are watching your pennies - especially frozen bell peppers, asparagus and spinach - and brussel sprouts and green beans and lima beans
Organic cocoa - to make hot cocoa
You can also try guar gum - to make puddings - I don't really care for it myself
Red wine
Green tea and other teas
Mineral water - my favorite is Gerolsteiner which has very high mineral content
Canned tomato products - paste, diced tomatoes, tomato puree
Spices of all kinds - I grow lots of my own herbs
Garlic
We buy one kind of cold cereal - Flax Plus granola. Any unsweetened whole grain cereal would also be a good choice.
Brown basmati rice and/or whole wheat spaghetti - if you just must have carbs
Eggs - please buy the cage free ones
I keep frozen shrimp and frozen mussels in the freezer
Canned tuna (but don't eat it more than once a week - due to the mercury!)
Canned oysters (lots of zinc and B-12 - make these into a soup with kale)
Canned beans - we always have pinto beans
Chicken stock - make your own vegetable soup any time

Staple vegetables at our house include onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, and sweet potatoes
We almost always have spinach, kale, romaine, and chard
Fruit - lots of what is in season

My family has also experimented and enjoyed alternative whole grain and bean flours - which we buy at an Indian market: chickpea, lentil, millet, and sorghum flours. We especially like oat flour - bought from Whole Foods.

Chicken Out for Dinner

2005-03-22T20:46:00.000-05:00

I am really doubting the accuracy of the nutrition info on the Chicken Out website. How do they make chicken salad with 4.5 g of fat? Even plain chicken breast has more than that? But, perhaps their cooking methods are better at draining off fat than the ones they used for the USDA data base. The carb counts are clearly "net carbs" without the fiber - they are all much lower than the USDA numbers.

I really like the philosophy of Chicken Out. It is one of the healthiest chain restaurants. Check out this web pasge:
http://www.chickenout.com/eathealthy.asp?pg=0

Here's a good dinner plan:

Order a dinner with 2 sides. Tell them you don't want the baguette. (Really, you don't want it. You are going to be stuffed anyway.) Notice that you actually need a pat of butter with the mashed sweet potatoes to be Zone. Chicken Out food is really, really low fat.

For the entree, choose one of the following:
Quarter white rotisserie chicken OR signature chicken salad OR skinless chicken breast

For one of the vegetables choose:
Creamed spinach with artichokes OR mashed sweet potatoes with pat of butter

For the other vegetable choose:
steamed broccoli and carrots OR oriental green beans OR coleslaw

Any of these combinations are really good. Total calories is around 400-420. This will provide you with 40g of protein, and lots of C, A, niacin, and B-6. The healthiest combo is the rotisserie chicken, sweetpotatoes, and steamed broccoli and carrots. P/C/F for this combo is 37/37/26.

This meal is fine for paleo eaters and "no red meat" eaters.

I love all these vegetable dishes. If you've never tried the green beans, you should check them out. They are cold and slightly crisp. The mashed sweet potatoes are very tasty and really don't need the butter. I never put it on them myself. If you are not fanatical about Zone and would rather clock in at 360 calories, skip the butter.

If you eat this for dinner, you need to eat some pork, lamb, beef, or seafood at one of the other meals to balance out the B vitamins. If you eat the steamed broccoli and carrots, you won't really be needing any more C or A for the day!

Here's some suggested combinations for more or less 400 calories:

Signature chicken salad, sweet potatoes with pat of butter, green beans
Rotisserie chicken breast, spinach and artichokes, broccoli and carrots
Skinless chicken breast, sweet potatoes with pat of butter, coleslaw

These all provide around 40g of protein, and around 10g of fat. All have considerably more than the RDA of vitamin A in the form of carotenes.