Lebanese Restaurant

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.