Making your pizza from scratch is not just better for you, it’s fun. But sometimes you can’t make your pizza from scratch (like when you’re [...]]]> This week we’ve been featuring pizzas you can make at home from scratch.

Making your pizza from scratch is not just better for you, it’s fun. But sometimes you can’t make your pizza from scratch (like when you’re at work). These are the pizzas we’ve tested to be eating well and eating healthy. Enjoy!

Amy’s Organic Flour, Broccoli Basil & Tomatoes Pizza Pesto
diGiorno Rising Crust Pizza – Three Mushroom
Frontera Frozen Pizzas by Rick Bayless
Glutino Duo Cheese Pizza
Glutino Spinach & Feta Pizza
Wolfgang Puck’s Grilled Vegetable Cheeseless Pizza

A: Vitamin K is not listed in the Nutrition Facts box on frozen food packages (indeed, it is not on any [...]]]> Q: What does avoiding eating frozen foods have to do with being on Coumadin (warfarin)?

A: Vitamin K is not listed in the Nutrition Facts box on frozen food packages (indeed, it is not on any food). Because of this you can’t know for sure how much Vitamin K you are consuming when eating convenience meals. For this reason I tell my Coumadin patients to avoid eating frozen and other convenience foods. Your doctor may feel differently and you should follow their guidance.

A: There have been animal models showing that MSG has [...]]]> Q: Recently I read an article about MSG. It claimed that MSG causes weight gain based on a study done by university of Carolina. Is this true?

A: There have been animal models showing that MSG has an effect on the hormones that influence weight gain. A group of researchers at North Carolina did indeed look at whether such changes might be linked to weight gain in humans. MSG and Weight Gain

A: The idea that popcorn does not contain calories is a myth.

100 grams of un-popped popcorn contains [...]]]> Q: If corn has calories, how come popcorn essentially doesn’t? Where do the calories go?

A: The idea that popcorn does not contain calories is a myth.

100 grams of un-popped popcorn contains 375 calories, while 100 grams of popped has a similar amount at 387 calories. The difference is that 100 grams of un-popped kernels is about 1/3 cup and that will make a LOT of popped popcorn. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 13 cups. Popcorn

Last week we tested two Naan Pizzas from Tandoor Chef and gave them two thumbs up. When I passed the frozen foods aisle at Whole Foods and saw that they had the other two varieties of Naan pizzas, I seriously thought about passing them up.

All too often we find a great frozen meal, only to have our expectations shattered when we try another meal from that company. Consistency is just not frozen foods’ strong suit, and Tandoor Chef is no exception. Their Vegetable Pad Thai was terrible and their Tikka Masala was good but an incomplete meal and not worth the trouble. On the other hand, the Naan pizzas were great, and frozen pizzas are just not that good very often. Could the proverbial lightning strike twice (or rather, four times)? More Naan Pizzas

Is this a product that many people are allergic/sensitive to? I strongly suspect that I have an allergy [...]]]> Q: Can you tell me anything about modified food starch/modified corn starch? It is in almost every type of commercially prepared food.

Is this a product that many people are allergic/sensitive to? I strongly suspect that I have an allergy to the modified starches, but I am not able to find any information about them.

A: Modified food starches are used in many processed foods today. These are highly processed, fine granular powders made from any number of sources, including wheat, corn and tapioca. They are used in foods as thickening agents and to help emulsify ingredients. Because there’s no requirement to list the source of the starch, it could be made from any of these ingredients. Food Starches

This stuff is fantastic.  I’ve been using it for a long time.  My parents used to buy it and serve it over cream cheese with crackers at cocktail parties.  I didn’t know until recently that this was imported by a family owned company here in New Orleans.  It’s low in calories and sodium but full of [...]]]>

This stuff is fantastic.  I’ve been using it for a long time.  My parents used to buy it and serve it over cream cheese with crackers at cocktail parties.  I didn’t know until recently that this was imported by a family owned company here in New Orleans.  It’s low in calories and sodium but full of great tropical flavor.

Their other sauces are great as well.

http://www.pickapeppa.com/

If you’ve never had it, go out and purchase a bottle today.

Cheers,

Dr. Gourmet

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7013

If you want more great info and a look at the Nutrition Facts of cereals click this link:

http://cerealfacts.org/

This is a great organization that [...]]]> OK, sarcasm aside, there’s a great report by the Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity that shows how marketing has an profound effect on our children’s nutrition.  Here’s the link:

http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7013

If you want more great info and a look at the Nutrition Facts of cereals click this link:

http://cerealfacts.org/

This is a great organization that looks at exactly what the impact of cereal marketing has on consumption.

The new “Healthy Choice All Natural Entrees” have a pretty good track record here at Dr. Gourmet. All but one have been really good, so I was pleased to find the last two varieties in my grocery’s freezer case for today’s review.

The first one we tried was the Asian Potstickers. I’ll admit to being a little dubious – potstickers are hard to do well in the first place, but microwaved? Two Thumbs Up for Healthy Choice

There’s no shortage of such dishes in the grocery store. It’s an [...]]]> I love layered food. Lasagna, eggplant parmesan, tamale pie, Shepherd’s Pie… We’ve been reviewing a number of versions of these in the last few weeks with fair success.

There’s no shortage of such dishes in the grocery store. It’s an easy item to make and reheat and the structure of the dish just lends itself to being frozen. For instance, with lasagna the noodles are broad and flat and should remain firm with freezing. There’s enough moisture in the sauce and filling to keep the dish appealing when reheated and then there’s cheese. Face it, melted cheese is great. Layers Work

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172098.php

Look, I like chocolate and it’s not really bad [...]]]> I love stories like these.  They are all over the web.  They are research studies that are funded by a particular company to make the public think that their product is somehow healthier (in this case flavanoids = good and chocolate = flavanoids therefore chocolate = good).

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/172098.php

Look, I like chocolate and it’s not really bad for you unless you eat a lot of it (which most Americans do at about 12 pounds a year).  It’s statements like this that make folks think eating chocolate is good for you:

“Being able to fully measure and communicate the levels of flavanol antioxidants in products is increasingly important for studying the potential health benefits of cocoa and chocolate and providing information to consumers,” said Debra Miller, Ph.D., Director of Nutrition at The Hershey Company.

It’s OK to study this but until you really prove something there’s no reason to do a press release (unless, of course, you are the publicist who’s job it is to send out press releases).

Dr. Miller, when you can show through research that risk of eating 12 pounds of chocolate a year is outweighed by the benefits of the flavanoids in that 12 pounds of chocolate that’s something to report on.

Oh yeah, am I the only one who thinks that the title Director of Nutrition at The Hershey Company is the best oxymoron?

Dr. Gourmet

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Hope springs eternal here at Dr. Gourmet. Given Michelina’s uniformly poor track record with the meals we’ve tried, only hope springing eternal (or is that merely Don Quixote riding merrily through the frozen foods aisle?) would bring more Michelina’s meals to the tasting table.

You know as well as I do that frozen pizza doesn’t have much going for it. Too often you end up with pizza crust that’s too doughy or the toppings are flavorless (or both). I’ve made Pepperoni Pizza on pita bread and had that turn out better than many frozen pizzas (and here’s the Pepperoni Pizza Pantry Meal recipe to prove it). This week, however, I had quite the surprise. Michelina’s Gets it (Almost) Right

At Dr. Gourmet, we really are all about the food. (And yes, “We eat it so you don’t have to.”) This week we reviewed two meals from “the New Healthy Choice” that together are a great example of our focus on great food.

One meal has only 270 calories, but it contains 7 grams of fat, 550 milligrams of sodium, and only 5 grams of fiber. The other has 360 calories, with 5 grams of fat, 500 milligrams of sodium, and a whopping 12 grams of fiber.

Which one do you think we liked better?

In an effort to continue providing information for those on a gluten free diet we’ve been sampling some of what is available. Doing so has proven… interesting… with many products being both more expensive than the regular version and also not measuring up in terms of taste.

The cracker aisle is one area that is less of a challenge for those wanting to eat gluten free. There’s a wide variety of crackers on the market and they are comparably priced with other crackers. Most of them are made with rice flour. As with many of the rice based gluten free products these contain very little fiber: often less than a gram per serving. Gluten-Free Breads and Crackers

You may recall that [...]]]> I’m determined to find some good frozen meals that contain seafood. In my quest, and in the continuing spirit of “We eat it, so you don’t have to,” we have three shrimp meals to review today.

You may recall that we’ve reviewed some frozen meals from Michelina’s here in the past, and they’ve gotten uniformly bad reviews, whether they were from their Authentico line or their Lean Gourmet line. Still, sometimes the frozen meal companies get it right, so when I spotted two shrimp and pasta dishes I decided to give them another chance. In Search of Seafood

You know: they’re supposed to come up with the complete works of Shakespeare. And Lean Cuisine puts out so many frozen meals that despite their track record here at Dr. Gourmet, they should come up with one or two that are pretty good. Right? Hold that thought.

Fish is so good for you that a convenience meal with fish in it would really be a great help for those who have a hard time finding the time to cook. I can understand why they’re so hard to find, however. Fish just doesn’t generally reheat well unless you cook it very carefully in the first place. My Saffron Salmon Risotto is a good example of this. It was created specifically for a patient who did shift work and often ate her main meal of the day out of the microwave. This recipe was designed so that when it was reheated the fish didn’t become mushy or break down. The good news is….

I’m writing to you today with some very exciting news.

In response to many requests from people who, like you, are using The Quality Calorie Diet to [...]]]> Dear The Quality Calorie Diet User,

I’m writing to you today with some very exciting news.

In response to many requests from people who, like you, are using The Quality Calorie Diet to eat well and eat healthy, we’ve added two new options to your meal plans.

These users told us that sometimes they didn’t have time to make sandwiches for lunch. In fact, sometimes they’d rather be able to take a frozen meal with them to work. Other users told us that they wanted to eat those familiar American comfort foods, like Meatloaf, Turkey Burgers, or Creamy Mac ‘n’ Cheese, while still using the Food Diary and other features of The Quality Calorie Diet.

We here at Dr. Gourmet listened. Now when you create a new menu, you will be able to choose from a selection of convenience foods from companies like Lean Cuisine, WeightWatchers, and Kashi for lunch and dinner. You’ll also be able to choose The Comfort Food Diet option if you want to eat only those familiar comfort foods that you and your family love.

You can switch to The Comfort Food Diet version of The Quality Calorie Diet by making the selection on your profile page. Convenience foods are available when you select the “alternate” icon on your weekly menu.

Login and try the new features today at www.drgourmet.com/user/login.php.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet

This is true [...]]]> I like that we review Amy’s products. They are widely available, somewhat reasonably priced and don’t contain any ingredients that I don’t recognize. Their products can be a bit hit or miss but they are usually tasty.

This is true for the Indian Vegetable Korma which is pretty darn good. This gluten free, non-dairy all vegetable dish is proof positive that eating healthy is eating well.

Follow Dr. Gourmet on Twitter | Read the Dr. Gourmet Blog | Find Dr. Gourmet on Facebook!

See what we thought was good – and what wasn’t – [...]]]>

Pastas Roundup

In our ongoing quest for convenience foods that are eating well and eating healthy, we’ve reviewed over 20 different varieties of pasta alone. That’s a lot of pasta!

See what we thought was good – and what wasn’t – at Dr. Gourmet’s Food Reviews.

© 2008 Harlan Bros. Productions | www.drgourmet.com | Read more reviews.
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Could you send me a list of foods for a low fat, low cholesterol diet? My husband just had 3 stents put in. He’s only 45 and [...]]]>

Dear Dr. Gourmet,

Q: What type of foods help to raise HDL (good) cholesterol?

Could you send me a list of foods for a low fat, low cholesterol diet? My husband just had 3 stents put in. He’s only 45 and I need to know what kind of meals to cook him.

A: The main foods that might have a positive effect on HDL (good) cholesterol are those that are high in unsaturated fats, especially monounsaturated fats like Omega 3 fats. You can find these in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, halibut and cod. Many nuts and seeds are also very high in monounsaturated fats.

There is no specific list of foods but there is a style of eating that can help.

Q: As a user of Coumadin blood control drugs and the need to watch the level of daily intake of vitamin K, I read in your pages that Kiwi Fruit contain a reasonable amount of this vitamin. Other sources list kiwi as virtually K free. Can you confirm the level of Vitamin K in this fruit?

A: Kiwi does contain Vitamin K. The USDA database reports a moderate amount. A medium kiwi (about 3 ounces) without the skin contains about 31 micrograms (mcg) of Vitamin K.

Q: I have put on warfarin for 6 months following a DVT in the left leg. I understand that it is safe to take pomegranate juice with warfarin.

There are some products here that are almost 70% pomegranate juice, but there are also some pomegranate juice products in the UK which have in addition a small amount of the juice of the Aronia berry added (eg. 23% pomegranate juice 2% of the Aronia berry and the remainder made up of white grape juice). The Aronia (chokeberry) is noted for its health giving properties throughout Scandinavia and Eastern Europe, but I cannot find if it has any interaction with warfarin. I obviously would like to continue taking the pomegranate juice because of its vascular strengthening properties, but would like to know if I could also take a product (these are quite a bit cheaper!) with the Aronia berry in it.

A: I have done a great deal of research on this in the last few weeks and I am not able to find any issues with the Aronia berry.

That said, the issues that have been reported with those drinking cranberry juice while taking Coumadin are clearly well reported in the literature. The reasons for this are not, however, well defined as to what is causing the interaction.

It is certainly possible that the Aronia berry could be an issue as it is somewhat related to cranberries….

Q: I would like to know what you consider the best meal replacement bar? I don’t have time to make a lunch, some days, and would like to be able to have one on hand for those busy days. Thanks for your help!

A: This is a great question. We’re all really busy today and the idea of being able to get a meal in a bar that you can eat on the run is really appealing.

While the ideal is to take the time to make a nice sandwich or pack some leftovers for lunch, you’re right that it doesn’t always happen. And, while most doctors and dieticians aren’t fans of meal bars, I believe that it’s a lot better choice than hitting up the fast food joint where you could toss back 1,000 calories pretty easily.

Keep in mind that choosing such bars is somewhat subjective….

Have a question? Send it to askdrgourmet@drgourmet.com and your question may be answered in this column. Read more Ask Dr. Gourmet questions.

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We reviewed the Healthy Choice Café Steamers at about this time last year. These new meals, Fresh Mixers, are sort of like those except that you cook the rice or pasta “fresh” in the microwave in a little plastic steamer that comes with [...]]]>

Sweet and Sour Chicken

We reviewed the Healthy Choice Café Steamers at about this time last year. These new meals, Fresh Mixers, are sort of like those except that you cook the rice or pasta “fresh” in the microwave in a little plastic steamer that comes with the product.

These really are a cute gimmick but a needless one. After peeling off the plastic retaining strap the top lifts off and a tray of sauce lifts out. Fill the bowl with water to the fill line and then snap on the top.