Weil, Taubes, Oz: The Diet Discussion and The Princess' Philosophy on Food

I probably agree most with Dr. Weil on this one. Gary Taubes ideas about fat, though, are intriguing. It's interesting that even Dr. Oz admits he eats mostly low-carb in this clip.

My mom and dad had no heart disease, had very different body types, different food preferences, and both lived to their 80's. My mother was not much of a meat-eater. She ate small servings of meat, and larger servings of starchy veggies (plantains, cassava, boniato, malanga, potato.) She loved her dairy: especially milk (whole fat) and ice cream. She loved fruits and fruit juices. And soups (usually some sort of legume.) My father loved his rice and meat and eggs and whole milk. Every day, we had whole milk with breakfast, and often with a snack late in the afternoon or at night. Butter and olive oil were our main fats, although mom used lard when I was a kid to fry stuff. Lard was later exchanged for corn oil. Our only salad dressing was olive oil and vinegar. White cheese was often consumed (Cuban thing).

But mom and dad were cod liver oil afficionados. All of us got it. It was mom's cure-all. Cod liver oil. My dad consumed huge quantities of the stuff.

With all the hoopla about fish oils now, well, makes one wonder if that was mighty helpful in keeping their hearts normal.

I wish I could still take fish oils, but my allergy to seafood makes me leery. I'm really afraid I'll end up in the E.R.

As far as my food philosophy, here it is, and I hope I do not offend any of you. This is just how I see it, and I respect your right to disagree and hold a totally different philosophy:

I believe we are meant to eat the wide spectrum. I believe this for religious reasons, first and foremost--ie, I'm a Christian, and I believe humans are created, not genetic accidents--but also because of my reading on the subject. And because I tend to shy away from food extremism. Whether it's the raw food recruiters or the no-carbs proselytizers or the no fat fanatics or the vegan venerators.

I believe we were created to consume fruits/veggies/herbs/nuts in abundance, yes, as depicted in Genesis.

I have given you every plant with seeds on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seeds. This will
be your food. Genesis 1:29

But whatever and wherever Eden was, it's not here and now. Our foreparents were driven forth, barred from the ease and healthfulness and abundance of Paradise, and our diet was altered by God to suit a changed world and our changed beings:

Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field Genesis 3:18

Every moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you; even as the green herb have I given you all things. Genesis 9:3

And take your father and your households, and come unto me: and I will give you the good of the land of Egypt, and ye shall eat the fat of the land. Genesis 45:18

And he took butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree, and they did eat. Genesis 18:8

There's even a warning that, well, may apply to our age:

Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils ... commanding to abstain from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. -- 1 Timothy 4:1-3

I'll let the theologians wrangle that out. But it's worth keeping in mind when extremist diets are touted.

Still, back to my general philosophy: What is good and wholesome out there, given to us from the earth and its creatures, by sanction of God, is okay to eat AS LONG AS IT AGREES WITH OUR BODIES. Some of us have special chronic conditions that disallow an all-inclusive diet (say, diabetics or people with celiac disease or allergies).

Wholesome being the key word.

Yet, the way we tend to purchase it in the grocery store or restaurants can be mighty different from how it comes from nature, nutritionally sound. Whole foods, I believe, give us what our bodies need. Over-processed foods with additives can give us things we really don't want. We weren't created to consume mass quantities of salt, sugar, corn syrup, preservatives, etc. (I consume processed products for convenience's sake, but I do try to make sure what I eat includes MOSTLY wholesome, whole grain, organic, minimally processed foods. I do have special, chronic conditions, and I have to adapt, but I try to make sure I eat something raw with every meal and I've mostly--though not altogether--eliminated sugar and white flour and trans fats and minimized the consumption of foods with a gazillion chemicals with freaky names. Although, sorry, I do use sucralose in place of sugar. It's fakey, but we insulin resistant folks have to make concessions.)

Healthy animal flesh is also given to us to eat by the Creator, and by healthy or wholesome I mean creatures allowed to grow and move in a mostly normal animal manner (not penned up and unable to move more than mere inches), and who eat in a natural way (as opposed to being fed a lot of garbage), breathe fresh air, drink clean water, breed, nurture young, etc. I believe this is also wholesome to the human body. Animals stressed by overcrowding, abusive conditions, poor feed, excessive hormones and chemicals and such, I do not believe are wholesome to the human body.

(BTW, I'm not a vegetarian, but often eat vegetarian days. I just don't believe it's a moral issue, certainly not for me. If God says I can eat meat, hey, sorry, but you won't convince me otherwise. But if I choose not to eat meat--for whatever reason, health or political or conscience--then God's cool with that, too. We don't have to eat just one way any more than we have to pray just one way or sing the same song in worship or wear the same outfits everyone else does in church. I prefer beans and cheese to, say, steak and ribs. And I wish I could eat seafood, but, hey, allergic. )

In any case, the discussions provoked by Taubes in the past few years have been beneficial, I believe, to the whole diet world. And I have started to read his book,which is dense reading, I can tell you.

I hope the discussion continues, with input from scientists and dietitians and other persons, because folks like me and you really want good information, not bad science or bad anecdotal evidence or crazy theories. We just eant to eat well.

And sometimes, it's about experimenting. Seeing what works for each of us, since we're not all the same.

Tastes Like Family--"Preserved" Memories

The Grumpy Chair dieter's Thursday post made my mouth water and my "preserved" food memories float around a bit more insistently. Fig preserves..mmmmm.

But figs don't have a strong nostalgia factor for me.

What flavor of fruity spready thing tastes like "family" to you?

For me: guava

I have this vivid series of images: I and my pop spreading guava paste. He bought a brand that came with a thin (maybe 1/4 inch) strip of guava jelly down the middle of the rectangular bar of paste. I'd usually pull out the jelly strip and eat it like candy. Then I'd spread the paste on Cuban or Italian bread or Cuban-style water crackers. With cream cheese added--we're talking absolutely divine splurgey combo.

That is a flavor that's "family" to me. It's got our culture and the remembrances of innocent, shameless eating by the young me, a Princess free of worries about sugar, fat, calories, etc.

Also, my fave Cuban pastry treat is a guava pastry (and they use guava paste in the middle of the flaky, phyllo-ish crust). We call it a "pastelito de guayaba." Lord, but I love those things, fresh, warm, in the morning with some cafe con leche (our version of cafe au lait). The last time I had one was August, at my brother's birthday. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

When my hubby and I were dating and newlyweds, there was this place we'd go to several times a week for Cuban food. And I'd have the guava shells in syrup with cream cheese for dessert (a very typical Cuban dessert). See it in THIS RESTAURANT'S menu. And the pic at right shows how it's served.

Oh, I better stop. I'm getting horrible cravings!

:::serenity now, serenity now:::

Second would be the home-made marmalade mom used to make--grapefruit, orange, papaya. Mainly the citrus, though. It wasn't my favorite thing, but it sticks in my mind as being "mom" when spread on those Cuban crackers.

When I hit my next mini-goal, I just might splurge on a breakfast of guava paste and cream cheese on a huge Cuban cracker.

Soup Recipes For Dieters

My fairy-tale based blog certainly has to ADORE a fatfighting blogger named "Twisted Cinderella." Well, she's on the FitRoll (see sidebar), and I visited her site just a couple of days ago. I wanted to share two of her yummy sounding soup recipes.

Y'all like soup? I ADORE SOUP! Among my faves are lentil, black bean (Cuban style), red bean (Cuban or Puerto Rican style), garbanzo (my mother's style, ie, Creole), pasta fagioli, cream of mushroom (a no-no on this eating plan, ouch), tomato bisque (ah, the cream, sigh), and gazpacho. I go nuts over gazpacho. (I'm a tomato freak.) (See below for gazpacho recipe from SElf.com.)

Well one of the recipes from TC's site a few days ago was Dahl (the Indian for lentil). Well, here, I'm copying and pasting. I hope TC doesn't mind:

Dahl Soup.(Basic)
1 1/2 cups dhal (yellow split peas)
6 cups of water or stock.
1 teasp.salt.
1/4 teasp.crushed ginger.
1/4 teasp.crushed garlic.
1 teasp.curry powder.
1 small onion chopped.
a pinch of cummin.

Wash dhal, add to the water or stock and bring to the boil with the rest of the ingredients,then simmer for 30 minutes or till the dhal is soft.When cooked it should be yellow in colour and the consistency of sloopy porridge,
There are several different other spices you can add depending on what you like,as in
fenugreek seeds and lemon juice,
Masala.
chillies,
curry leaves,
Even add some spinach near the end of cooking and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Creamy Vegetable Soup

This is wonderful way to get rid of all the left over veggies from your holiday vegetable trays. I modified it from a recipe that used an entire cube of butter a quart of heavy cream and four cups of cheese!

4-6 cups chopped broccoli florets, cauliflower, and carrots.
1 Quart chicken or vegetable stock, or as much as you need to cover the vegetables.
1 medium onion
1 Potato (optional)
2-3 stalks of celery
2-3 cloves of garlic minced or crushed.
1 tbs olive oil
Two Thyme sprigs
2 Bay Leaves
3/4 C. half and half, FF or just use milk.
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Grated cheese to sprinkle on top.

Saute' onions, celery and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add the other vegetables, chicken stock, thyme sprigs and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes or until veggies are soft. Remove from heat and mash vegetables just a bit with a potato masher.
Discard the thyme stems and bay leaves. Stir in the half and half. Serve with a little grated cheese on top.

She has other nifty sounding vegetarian recipes over there. Visit and see.


Her week's eating menu sounds delicious, if overly heavy on eggs. One day had three egg dishes--B, L, D. I have cholesterol issues and I actually fear having more than one to two eggs a day, and I use egg whites at least half or more of the time. I do eat whole eggs on a weekly basis, though, cause 1. I like em and 2 they have great nutrients in the yolk that protect eye health. And I got crap eyes.

But if I could eat six whole eggs a day, I probably would. Adore eggs.

One of my "comfort food" combos is fried eggs with fried sweet plantains. Or fried eggs with fried yuca (cassava root), and yes, my mom used to use lots and lots of oil, deep fat frying those eggs. Egads. Nowadays, when I have fried eggs, I use a non-stick pan and PAM spray, maybe a teaspoon of Smart Balance to give it that fried consistency, sort of. And I used BAKED sweet plantains, not fried. Same fabulous taste, much, much less fat.

The boiled yuca doesn't cut it with eggs the way the fried does. Ah, well. Can't have it all.

If you have fabulous soup recipes that yield soup with low points, let me know. Link me up. Comment me.

Oh, I just found this one at Health Discovery, three WW points per serving: Red Lentil and Spinach Soup (Do add olive oil to make it heart healthier, not just any cheap old vegetable oil. And extra virgin makes for FLAVOR!)

And if you like squash, try this one with only a handful of ingredients: Delicata Soup

Now, that gazpacho recipe from Self.com, a magazine I've subscribed to for, geez, a longlonglong time. Nearly since they first came out in the, what, 80's--though I clearly have not always followed their dieting and fitness advice:

HEIRLOOM TOMATO GAZPACHO
Serves 8


INGREDIENTS
6 large heirloom tomatoes, all varieties and colors, seeded and diced into 1/4-inch cubes (reserve seeds and juices)
1 medium red onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 English or hothouse cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 1/2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 tbsp Tabasco
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
8 tbsp aged balsamic vinegar


PREPARATION
In a bowl, combine tomatoes, seeds and juices, along with onion, cucumber and peppers. Add cilantro, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and Tabasco. Add a few pinches of salt and black pepper. Using hands or two forks, squish vegetables into a juicy soup, leaving a few big pieces. Add oil in small increments, tasting as you go. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving. Ladle soup into bowls and drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

THE SKINNY
120 calories per serving
7.4 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
11.6 g carbohydrates
1.9 g protein
2.5 g fiber

Enjoy soup this week.

Later...

Onward and Downward!

Princess Dieter Discovers...Grits are Not as Satisfying as Oatmeal

Because of my current dental woe--ie, cracked tooth--I have been keeping to softish foods. So, instead of toast or crackers at breakfast, or even high protein bagels or meal bars, I've been having grits with my scrambled eggs. (I'm an egg freak. Watch for an egg factoid soon.)

Grits don't keep me as full as oatmeal, I've discovered. Huh. Hmmm.

Well, they both have fiber. They're both grain-based, starchy, whatever. But for some reason, oatmeal really does make me feel satisfied longer. One cup of cooked grits just doesn't beat one cup of cooked oatmeal. And oatmeal has that cholesterol lowering type of fiber.

So, time to make a huge batch of oatmeal.

Do you like the stuff? I do. But then, it's one of my comfort foods. I have very warm memories of chilly fall and cold winter mornings when mom would make me a very soupy bowl of oatmeal. She made it with milk, lots of milk, and I still like it best that way. Milk as the base instead of water, and lots of slow cooking to get it all mushy, and cinnamon. Mmmmmmm.

These days, I use skim milk. Sometimes add a bit of water to lessen the caloric count. I add cinnamon and vanilla extract. I put in some honey for the luxuriousness of it. But I principally sweeten it with Splenda. I like to make a big pot and put some in the fridge for enjoyment for a couple of days.

Makes me think of mom, milky oatmeal. Ah, I miss her. Wonder if they eat in Heaven. Oh, they must eat. How could it be Heaven without yumsy treats?

So, go make a pot of oatmeal to have a cup as a snack (add high protein powder if you're insulin resistant or diabetic or just carb-conscious), and save some to have with your breakfast. Your bowels and heart will thank you.