Turkey Lurkey

Turkey parts were on sale at Whole Foods and we love turkey in my household, so there will be a couple of posts about it. This batch was marinated in blood orange juice, cayenne, Spice World Mexican seasoning, chipotle pepper flakes and harissa. This combination would easily work with chicken or pork too.

Why Shop for Produce at the Farmers Market?

There are several really good reasons to get your produce at a nearby farmers market, including the carbon savings on transportation. Besides that, fruit and vegetables that have to be shipped long distances are specifically bred for shelf life and looks, not nutrition. That's one reason veggies and fruit at the supermarket these days just isn't as good as it used to be.

Swordfish with Italian Flavors

More wild caught frozen fish from Trader Joe's. Sauteed garlic and onions in butter, added pepper and dried herb mix. Crushed cherry tomatoes in my hands and added to pan along with quite a bit of fresh rosemary and a tiny sprinkle of cayenne. Spooned sauce on top of fish filets while cooking. Served with Chinese broccoli in butter.

GMO foods - question from reader

Question:

I recently read an article from the "Well Being Journal" re: GMO's. I'm assuming you avoid tofu, but I've noticed on your blog that you have some recipes with edamame. What about fresh corn on the cob? Can you help shed some light?

Answer:

This one is really hard. This article brings up some points that I had not considered before, and they are scary. I can't seem to link to the article, but the website for the Well Being Journal is here.

Supposedly organic products are made from non-GMO plants, and I have eaten a small amount of organic tofu and some edamame in the past year. I’ve also read, however, that no soy can be guaranteed non-GMO because of cross-contamination.

The bottom line for me is that I use only organic soy products, and I generally tend to eat only edamame. No matter what, tofu is a processed food. I don’t eat edamame at sushi restaurants because there is no way to tell if it is organic. I haven’t had any reactions such as stomach ache or headache from the amount that I’ve been consuming.

As for corn, I react with bloating and cravings, so I don’t eat it. Like soy, it can be assumed that no corn available in our markets is non-GMO because of years of cross-contamination. I generally tend to recommend that people who are looking to lose fat avoid it also because of its high starch content. Fresh corn on the cob, local and in season, could be a treat for some people who don’t react.

The idea that GMO foods “might be colonizing the gut flora of North Americans” is extremely frightening and I will be doing more research. The author also has a website.

Salmon with Chinese Broccoli

Trader Joe's wild caught frozen sockeye salmon in coconut oil and sliced garlic with herb mix and ancho. Chinese broccoli in pasture butter and olive oil.

More Reasons to Stay Fit

It looks like overfat is on its way to becoming the leading cause of cancer. Wow!

Santa Monica Farmers Market Haul

pistachios
red grapes
broccoli
short cucumbers
orange pepper
purple pepper
Blue Lake green beans young and tender
daikon sprouts
Chinese broccoli
cabbage

Veggieful Breakfast

A friend/colleague/client asked me if the pictures on this blog were of my actual portions. AB, the answer is sometimes yes and sometimes no. Here is a picture of what I actually had for breakfast this morning. It includes a bed of raw spinach (1.5 cups loosely packed), 2 whole eggs, 1/4 cup white onion, 1 cup broccoli and 1 cup zucchini cooked in olive oil and pasture butter. The plate is 11".

The green sauce is roasted tomatillo, a very easy recipe of chunks of tomatillo with onion, roasted with olive oil, dried herb mix, ancho and cayenne until soft but not crisy. Once it cooled, I blended it with a bit of lemon juice. You can make a big batch because it freezes without losing texture.

Should We Tax Soda Pop?

I really like slate.com's coverage of food issues. Interesting, thought provoking article with lots of other links to follow.

Fiber Bomb Follow Up and Reader Questions

One of our clients tried the Fiber Bomb recipe and had the following comments and questions. Keep 'em coming!

Question:

This made about 12 large and 16-18 small muffins. I think next time I will halve the recipe. I cooked them at 350 degrees for about 45min. (I will cook longer next time).

2 ripe bananas
3 eggs
2 grated pears
2 handfuls: frozen blueberries and 1 handful of frozen raspberries
2-3 handful nuts: almonds
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cups oat bran (Trader Joe’s)
1 handful whole ground flaxseed meal (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 handful whole grain steel cut oats (Bob’s Red Mill)
1 tsp baking soda (optional)
1 tsp baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tsp agave
12 oz cup of plain Greek yogurt

Next time I will use less blueberries and no raspberries. I felt like they needed salt. What do you think it needs? Can I add a pinch of salt? Per muffin would be so minimal.

Also, I found LARABARs. Not sure if you are familiar with them......but they have no added sugar, unprocessed, raw, non-gmo, gluten, dairy and soy free, vegan and kosher. I love the apple pie bar. I looked at the ingredients list: dates, almonds, unsweetened apples, walnuts, raisins and cinnamon. Are these good?

Answer:

I don't think a bit of salt would hurt anything in the fiber bomb, and salt is known to add flavor to baked goods. I agree about the raspberries too - they tend to get mushy with all the hearty grains.

We have frozen fiber bombs before and they're fine when thawed, if slightly mushier in texture. In that case, they're great broken up and added to some yogurt, for example.

As for Larabars, they're a decent product that can be used in a pinch or while traveling. But as always I'm wary of any food in which the digestion process has been started for me. Under normal circumstances, a piece of whole fruit with raw unsalted nuts or seeds is always better.

More Comments:
The fiber bomb can also be made in a loaf pan. Insert a butter knife in the middle when you think it is done. The knife will have some stuff sticking to it, but shouldn’t be wet. Then you could slice it and freeze with wax or parchment paper between the slices.

Also, if anyone knows of other bars that don’t have added sweeteners or any of the MSG ingredients, please let us know.

Grilled Veggies

I am a morning person, so if I know I'm working out at night, I cook in the morning. I grilled a bunch of veggies and they're just lovely. If you're feeling ambitious, marinate them in some fresh squeezed citrus juice first. Make sure you pat them dry before putting them on an oiled grill to reduce spattering. Of course I dumped chipotle all over them.

Rave: Frozen Wild Caught Albacore Steaks

from Trader Joe's. I sprinkled them with Cajun seasoning and a little extra cayenne, smashed some garlic in a pan, and gently fried them in olive oil. Fast and fantastic.

Answering a Reader's Question about Breakfast

Reader Question

Hi there! I've been enjoying your blog since you linked to it on facebook. :)

I eat pretty much the same thing for breakfast every day. I don't want to change it too much, because it was hard enough finding something that worked for me, but I'm curious if you'd have suggestions to make it healthier (other than reducing portion size, which I'm considering).

Here it is:
2 slices wheat toast
(Laura Scudder's) smooth peanut butter
1 banana, sliced

If I run out of bananas, I use frozen blueberries.

I typically drink a mug of coffee and lactose-free milk in approximately a 3:2 ratio. I'm sure I could easily transition back to tea.

Your thoughts?


Answer

Two suggestions: make sure your bread is 100% whole grain or whole wheat - that should be the first ingredient, and make sure it doesn't contain any hidden sugars. The very best bread is Ezekiel sprouted (or any sprouted brand) because the grains are not ground. Grinding actually starts the digestion process for you - not a good thing. Names of hidden sugars at the link below:

http://www.bukisa.com/articles/17509_a-list-of-hidden-sugars-beware

Second, bananas aren't a great choice - blueberries are much much better, as are any berries. Better fruits include the stone fruits such as peaches and plums, as well as citrus like oranges and grapefruit, but citrus probably wouldn't go that well with your breakfast combo. Bananas are very high in sugar and not that high in fiber for the nutrients they offer, plus they're shipped from super far away by companies that exploit the land and the people.

Nothing at all bad about that amount of coffee, or milk. Coffee is only an issue for most people with normal blood sugar once they get into the 18-20 oz or more per day category.

Have a good one and thank you for reading my blog!

Roasted Cauliflower with Turmeric and Cayenne

Right after I wrote the spice entry, I saw cauliflower on sale at Ralphs. I roasted it with turmeric, cumin, coriander and cayenne and added some garlic cloves for good measure. I used a mixture of avocado oil, grapeseed oil and olive oil for the high heat cooking method.

Spice Up Your Health - Cinnamon, Turmeric and Hot Pepper

Cinnamon has been in the news lately because some new studies on diabetic people are showing that it can help regulate blood sugar. I eat it every day in my two cups of coffee and on my yogurt. I also like it at holiday time baked along with apples or pears and walnuts or pecans. It has a whole slew of health benefits that you might not know about.

Turmeric is another personal favorite. I like it in an Indian curry mixture on chicken or turkey, white fish, and I really like it on roasted cauliflower. As you know (see Chipotle Turmeric Chicken post), it also pairs well with red hot spices like chipotle, ancho and cayenne. Turmeric has some really exciting antioxidant properties that appear to work against cancer. Not only that, the active ingredient, called curcumin, looks like it could suppress fat cell formation.

Cayenne, ancho, paprika, chipotle, etc. contain a substance called capsaicin. It is in all kinds of spicy peppers like Anaheim chiles, pepperoncini, jalapeno and banana peppers too. This one is exciting because it combines two of my pet topics - spicy food and fat loss. Among many other health benefits, capsaicin appears to elevate metabolism. What's good with hot pepper? Just about everything.

Please note I am not advocating using supplements from these spices. As always, we get our workout from whole foods. Why not make your food even more delicious and nutritious with spices?

Food Industry Hijinks ad infinitum

Colleen is really on her game this week. She sent along this article from MSN detailing some ways that the food industry tries to get us to eat more and more and more of their disgusting creations.

Omega-3 Fats

I read many articles and books about food, dieting and nutrition, and it can make my head spin. I'm fired up about so many different topics that it can be hard to decide what to include in this blog and hard to find the time to do so. But sometimes I come across an item that brings together several of the threads in my head, and this article from prevention.com is just one of those.

I first learned about the essential (must be acquired in the diet) fats in The Mind and Metabolism, the class that changed my life. They are quite important to my favored pet topics - fat loss and mental health.

Although I prefer to get my "workout" from foods as a rule, omega-3 supplements are an exception. I use and recommend Nordic Naturals.

Why Counting Calories is a Waste of Time

Many people ask me how many calories they should eat, how many calories they should cut, and often make comments about the calories in what we're eating or drinking. It is common to hear that you should figure out how many calories you're eating, then subtract 500 per day to lose a pound per week. Funny how that never seems to happen to the poor soul who tries it. Dr. John Berardi has a great article about this very topic.

What is a calorie? It is the measurement of the "fuel or energy value of food," according to dictionary.com. How do we know how many calories are in foods? It isn't an exact science at all.

Many people don't understand that this energy value is a measurement outside the body. Once a calorie is in our systems, there are hundreds of variables that can make the calorie act in any given way, including its chances for being used as fuel or stored as fat. Those variables include our age, sex, body fat percentage, sleep deficit, stress level, and any combination of hormones and neurotransmitters that result from the sum total of our state of health and well-being.

Sound complicated? It is. In my humble opinion, we will never figure it out.

What exactly do you need to know if you want to lose fat? A few simple guidelines will help. First, get enough sleep, preferably while it is dark out. Second, find ways to manage your stress level, whether it is yoga, aromatherapy, kickboxing, or talking with a trusted friend - whatever works for you. Those two factors alone will help prevent cravings for the wrong calories.

What are the right calories? They're real food, not edible products, including lots and lots of plant foods (thanks, Michael Pollan). If you see something on an ingredient label that isn't a food, put it back. In fact, avoid foods with ingredient labels, with few exceptions such as natural nut butters with only nuts and salt, or yogurt with milk and cultures.

Every couple of days, fill your refrigerator with leafy greens like spinach, kale, collards, all salad greens, bok choi, tatsoi, mustard greens, beet tops, etc. and eat them with every meal. Make sure you're getting your brassica vegetables every day, including cabbage, cauliflower, Brussels sprouts, and broccoli. Several of the green leafy vegetables are also brassica.

Are there any other vegetables you like, such as tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, celery, cucumber, radishes and many many others? Every few days, make sure they're accessible and prepared for eating to save time when you need it. A piece of fruit every day is a great idea. The best fruits to keep you on your fat-loss journey are berries of any kind, apples, grapefruit and oranges, and stone fruits such as peaches and plums. Avoid dried fruit because it concentrates sugars and often has sugar added.

Have a bit of meat or fish nearly every day. If you reduce portion sizes, you can save money on the good stuff: grass fed beef and bison, organic chicken, wild caught fish, cage free eggs, nitrate- and nitrate-free sausages or bacon. Read the labels on bacon - you'd be surprised at how many brands add sugar. Whole eggs are fast and delicious, and people like them at all times of day. Fish and seafood are quick, versatile, and a very satisfying food. More on this soon.

When to Have a Special Occasion Treat

Truly special occasions don't happen every month, especially if you're trying to lose fat. I generally don't have much of a hard time with alcohol and sweets anymore (clean cheesecake incident excepted), but I know that very many people do. My weakness has become large amounts of Pinconning mild cheddar cheese. It is only available in Michigan or by mail order, so I simply can't buy it. Just so you know I'm normal, ask me about the time I ate seven chocolate desserts for breakfast at the buffet at Paris Las Vegas.

I've developed some guidelines for special occasion eating. They're meant to help, not make you crazy. You don't have to follow all of them, but you'll be doing yourself a favor if you hit as many as you can. They are in no particular order.

1. Plan ahead and choose the treat. It should be one serving, not a whole treat extravaganza. That can be too hard to bounce back from. For instance, if you know you can't have just one slice of pizza, it might be better to go with a different treat. By the same token, a bowl of pasta with a glass of wine and slice of chocolate cake is about five treats.

2. Enjoy the treat with your family, friends and loved ones.

3. Eat or drink the treat very slowly.

4. Choose a homemade treat with the finest ingredients, or find a treat made by a master, like a famous pastry chef or pasta in a Batali restaurant. Don't just eat a Twinkie.

5. Plan your treat around your workout schedule so that treat time comes not too long after a workout.

6. Visualize your treat as a celebration, not a transgression. No beating yourself up. Help yourself by including lots of green vegetables in the next day's food plan.

Do GMO Foods Fight World Hunger????

No.

I had the idea to make some of my blog entries about topics I discuss with my clients, friends and family. Recently a family member mentioned that they knew someone who worked for big agribusiness, and this man claimed that GMO foods were helping to fight world hunger. Well, not according to the Center for Food Safety, a reputable organization in my book.

Something must be in the air because a client just sent along their guide to avoiding GMO foods. Their website is a plethora of food-related information that you just don't see that often. Have fun reading.

Trying to Eat Clean at the Office

My office had an event today, catered by Dagwood's Pizza of Santa Monica. I had their avocado salad, with chicken. I had them leave off the candied walnuts and the canned pineapple and I did not use the balsamic vinaigrette. The salad has nice, high-quality greens and quite a bit of very salty feta cheese and sliced avocado. I might ask for half the cheese next time.

Health Care Reform? How About Food Industry Reform?

Thanks Colleen for the heads up on this extremely sad article by Michael Pollan. I know it has occurred to many of you that the cost of obesity may be the biggest (not a funny pun) problem when it comes to our health system. A must-read.

Update on 1/2 Portion Experiment

For the most part, I've been keeping up with my resolution to reduce my portion size of animal products while increasing veggie intake, especially raw veggies. I am proud and elated to report that I have lost a full inch in my waist since I took my measurements on the same day I started. Since I've injured my knees (getting to the doc this week), I am determined to stick with this program, as I have had to reduce my activity quite a bit.

Chipotle Zucchini Fries

I love zucchini (cheap, low insulin impact, versatile) and usually eat it every day, but I was looking for a new way to cook it. I got some Spectrum cold pressed avocado oil, which is nice for high heat cooking, so I thought of zucchini fries. I also used pasture butter. Of course I love it spicy, so Spicely chipotle and some Italian seasoning from Spice World fit the bill. I topped it with a bit of goat milk feta from Whole Foods' cheese bar.

Why is Sleep So Important?

Did you know that if you don't sleep while it is dark out, you're increasing your risk of heart disease, diabetes, weight gain and mental illness?

Are you looking to lose fat? Did you know that if you don't sleep while it is dark, your body thinks it is summer? Therefore, it is very insulin sensitive because it wants to gain weight for the coming winter famine. That's why you crave carbs and alcohol if you don't get enough sleep.

Do you work out? If you don't get enough sleep, you're actually doing more harm than good because you are never giving your body a chance to recover - both your muscles and your circulating hormones need rest.

Here's what you can do to help: get at least eight hours of sleep every night if you can, beginning as soon as possible after dusk. Make your room very dark with curtains, turning off any electronics lights, and even using a sleep mask. Limit your nighttime TV watching, computer time, and your phone time if it has a glowing screen. Your body doesn't know the difference between natural and artificial light.

Cooking with Mom III - lime shrimp

We found some lovely wild Gulf shrimp in the Sweetbay market in Naples, FL. They came sliced open with the intestine removed, but still had the shell on for that really fresh taste. We prepared them very simply with olive oil, garlic, black pepper and lime and served them over salad with Brussels sprouts on the side. It was a satisfying light dinner.

The Instinct Diet - Book Review

The Instinct Diet by Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D. and Betty Kelly Sargent started off auspiciously. The author has a distinguished academic pedigree and tries to base her discussion of five chosen "food instincts" on research.
The instincts are hunger, availability, the craving for calorie density, familiarity and variety. There is an intelligent concise discussion of each of these instincts and how to cope with them in our world. So far, very interesting.
I could almost recommend the book based on that discussion, but it falls very very short when it come to the diet itself. The good doctor advocates plenty of cereal grains, including refined ones, although we know for certain that grain foods do not satisfy and do qualify as healthy foods that will help us lose fat. Unfortunately her plan also includes artificial sweeteners.

More Clean Eating on Vacation in Florida

Awesome people help me stay on track. Kelly's dad Bill made garlic oil by cutting up some cloves and putting them in a cup of oil, then sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes and basil and drizzled it over. Fantastic. But wait! First he served us shrimp with fresh made cocktail sauce. Then we had huge filets from the stovetop grill with sauteed mushroom sauce. The steaks were a fantastic medium. Nice job Bill! I kinda felt funny asking to take a picture, though. You'll have to imagine it.

cooking with Mom II - bean dip

We used Whole Foods brand organic refried black beans as the base. I added chopped white onion, tomato, green pepper, and avocado. The happy spices were chipotle, paprika, and black pepper. We ended up adding a huge scoop of Horizon organic sour cream for creaminess. It was a huge hit served with tons of cut veggies. A separate sour cream dip for those who like it spicier included chopped pickled jalapenos, a bit of shredded cheddar, cayenne and black pepper.

cooking with Mom

We got this lentil soup recipe from an Indian cookbook we can't remember. First you sautee white onion and garlic in butter and add two cans of tomato, watching out for MSG ingredients. Then comes the spices - turmeric, garam masala and cumin. Lemon juice, two cups of veg stock, one cup of lentils and one cup of coconut milk rounds it out. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 30 min. We couldn't find red lentils so we used regular brown. We also pureed the soup at the end and it was fabulous.

Nighttime Eating Makes You Fat - Duh Research

I think it is a little irresponsible, not to mention premature, of the news report to include that sentence at the end, and for the researchers to say it like that.

Chicken Habanero Sausage and Greens

I almost never eat sausages because of mystery ingredients that usually include MSG, and lots and lots of salt. But there is a sausage man who goes to the Venice Farmers Market on Fridays, and since I've met him, I can have sausages. These are so hot that the greens and peppers needed almost no other seasoning.

The Gourmet Prescription by Deborah Friedson Chud, M.D.

The Gourmet Prescription by Deborah Friedson Chud, M.D. is an absolutely lovely cookbook for an insulin-controlled diet. It is meant to be a gourmet addition to the glut of cookbooks on this topic, and it is certainly geared towards a certain audience in that many of the recipes use a stovetop smoker. They're not cheap and they're not small.
The author is very excited about using pre-made sauces and marinades, and her favorites use the smoker. I thought it was an interesting idea, but since I don't have a smoker, I roasted some of the ingredients she calls for and made an onion and garlic sauce that came out very nicely.
It is a pretty book with nice photos of some of the ingredients and recipes, but for once it seems that the pictures are actually of the recipes, which are a little too low in fat for my liking. Some of the pictures look dry and forlorn to me.