I was giving a talk to a group of physicians the other day when one asked if I had any simple handouts about the Mediterranean diet. I mentioned that there were a lot of handouts in the “For Physicians” section on the Web site.

As I said this I wondered what was there. We have so much information available it is hard to keep up sometimes. When I checked there was a great handout but it was written about 4 years ago and in need of updating, as we’ve learned so much more about the Mediterranean Diet. The updated version is a simple guide that tells you, for example, what “whole grains” are and guides you to easy ways to eat more. I hope you’ll download it and share it with your primary care doctor.

This update goes along with another project we have been working on, the Mediterranean diet score card. The Mediterranean Diet Guide and Score Card

Featured Recipe

Acorn Squash Soup with Apple and Bacon

This is an amazing soup and super simple to make. It takes a little planning because the roasting the squash takes some time. This soup is a lot better if made the day before and refrigerated overnight.

When I am giving lectures I love to talk about lentils. Legumes are one of my favorite ingredients and lentils are one of my favorite legumes. They keep well in the cupboard, cook quickly and there are dozens of ways to use them – in soups, salads, stews, chili or simply as a side dish.

Lentils, like peas, garbanzos and peanuts, are legumes. You can think of them as a starch since they are mostly carbohydrate and protein with essentially no fat. They best part is that they contain tons of fiber with a half cup of cooked lentils coming in at around 8 grams.

You can find references to lentils in the Bible and they have been found in Egyptian tombs (dried lentils do keep well). Like other legumes you can cook and serve lentils whole, but they are also great pureed into in soups and sauces. Because they are so tiny, dried lentils don’t have to be soaked overnight like other legumes.Lentils

Featured Recipe

Lentil and Sausage Stew

The great thing about lentils is that you can make a quick stew like this one. It’s simple, delicious and great for you, but best of all there’s only one pot to clean up. Look for sausage that contains about 300 mg sodium for a 1 1/2 to 2 ounce serving. For this recipe I used Applegate Farms Classic Pork breakfast sausage.

The term pesto likely has its origins from from two Italian words. One is the Italian verb pestare which means “to pound or crush” as one does with the garlic and pine nuts. Pestos were traditionally made in a mortar andpestle, the pestle being the heavy tool used for grinding and crushing.

Over the course of the last few decades the term pesto has come to refer to many different recipes, but they all have a basic set of ingredients and techniques. The classic pesto is customarily made with crushed pine nuts, garlic, basil, olive oil and Parmigiano-Reggiano. It seems so simple, but these five ingredients go so well together. You can use a mortar and pestle but a blender, food processor or even a mini-chopper is much easier. Pesto

Featured Recipe

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto Risotto

After steeping sun dried tomatoes it’s always a good idea to save the liquid. It keeps for a couple days in the refrigerator and adds a lot of flavor to pasta sauces or in risotto dishes like this one.

When I was designing this recipe, my first choice was cod or halibut, but when I got to the market the best quality white fish was sole. Each of these choices might add a different flavor to the dish, but the key is to make your ingredient selections based on what is fresh.

When I was in high school one of the coaches taught a class in health. Even as a teenager I knew that it was pretty sad stuff, with no curriculum, text or tests. He simply rambled for a full year about this and that. Most of it we thought was pretty silly and we were not far from wrong. It was more typical for him to talk about camping or sport and he actually ran a football pool that I am sure that he did pretty well on.

The only thing he said in the whole year that I remember was that if we were stuck in the “the city” with a dollar, we should purchase peanuts as our sole source of nutrition. A buck was a fair amount of money at the time and would have netted a fair amount of nuts. Silly though it may sound, he was probably not far off. Peanuts

Featured Recipe

Rice Noodle Chicken Salad

I love rice noodles. The texture is great and they are quick to cook. There are a few tricks though. One is to not overcook them or they will become gummy. Second is that they will stick together if not oiled or sauced almost immediately, especially if you’re going to use them in a salad like this recipe.

There is the drawback that they don’t have much fiber, but the other day there were brown rice noodles at Whole Foods made by Annie Chun. These are really fantastic and worth the extra 60 cents or so. The texture is a little denser and the rice flavor a little bolder. Best of all, they contain 4 grams of fiber per serving, where the regular ones have none.

Recently I saw an article about a chef who has created a low-fat Mediterranean diet. Until now, I really did think that I had heard it all, but this is just so utterly bizarre that I sat stunned, staring at my computer screen for a minute or so. If ever there was a contradiction in terms it is the words “low-fat” combined with “Mediterranean diet.” Reading about this chef, it’s clear that this is another of those people who simply don’t understand anything about nutrition.

One of the great benefits of our understanding about the Mediterranean diet is that it put to rest the myth that a low-fat diet is beneficial. Forget You Ever Heard the Words “Low” and “Fat” and “Diet” Together

Featured Recipe

Peruvian Steak

This steak can be as spicy as you want. Use a small jalapeno or even a half of a pepper for a milder sauce. Use more peppers or even something super spicy like a scotch bonnet for a real punch.

The key to this steak is making sure that you marinate for a while, not only to impart as much flavor as possible, but so that the lime juice will help tenderize the meat.

Elaine’s Blog
Following the Just Tell Me What to Eat! Plan

In Chapter 5, Dr. Gourmet talks about making simple changes like planning and cooking your own food. To that I would add: exercise three times per week. By coincidence, during the time I’ve been following Dr. Tim’s book,Just Tell Me What To Eat!, I’ve also been in physical therapy twice a week due to pain in my knees caused by paetellar tendonitis. By trying to be active too quickly without enough stretching, my patellas became inflamed—OUCH!. Just this bi-weekly one-hour non-strenuous workout of stretches and mild weight lifting along with a weekly 20-mile or so bike ride gave me increased strength in my knees for walking and has promoted weight loss. Food and Activity FEEL Good!

In the New Orleans Area?
Mark Your Calendars!

Dr. Harlan will be signing copies of his books at The Garden District Book Shop, 2727 Prytania Street in New Orleans, on Thursday, June 30, from 5:30pm to 7:00pm. Taste food from the book and sip a glass of wine as you visit with other Dr. Gourmet fans. Hope to see you there!

Do You Have Your Copy of Just Tell Me What to Eat! Yet?

This is a 6-week plan that will have you and your family eating well and eating healthy, while learning how to improve your life and your health, one plate at a time. Find out more about Just Tell Me What to Eat! or purchase your own copy for $19.99.

Here in the United States we’re on the verge of Memorial Day Weekend. Officially, Memorial Day honors those who have died in the service of our nation. It’s also become the unofficial start of Summer and is often a weekend filled with family and friends. Backyard grills around the country are fired up and hundreds of pounds of potatoes are sacrificed to become potato salad. Here’s a roundup of our favorite salads to take with you to that backyard potluck.

And wherever you are this weekend, please take a moment to remember and honor those who have given their lives in the service of your country.

Win a Signed Copy of Just Tell Me What to Eat!

Win one of five signed copies of Dr. Harlan’s new book by entering the sweepstakes on Facebook! This is a 6-week plan that will have you and your family eating well and eating healthy, while learning how to improve your life and your health, one plate at a time.

Sweepstakes ends on June 7, 2011, when the book is released, so don’t wait! Sign up to win your copy of Just Tell Me What to Eat!

Black Eyed Pea Salad

You wouldn’t think that black eyed peas are all that good for you but they are. The cheap, lowly black eye is a member of the legume family and chock full of everything good for you. A great ingredient as a side dish with your Oven Fried Chicken or used in a salad.

Garbanzo and Feta Salad

The rich feta combines with the olive oil to create a rich and savory dressing. This is about as great a side dish as you can get. It goes especially well with grilled fish or chicken.

Purple Potato Salad

I love purple potatoes. They don’t taste a whole lot different than other waxy potatoes — maybe they’re a little sweeter. They do make a great addition to the plate, however, with the bright purple flesh against the pink of salmon or shrimp. A great dish to take to a potluck…

Traditional Carrot Salad

I love carrot salad and this is the version I grew up with. It’s been on my to do list for some time and I am glad I finally got around to it. The great thing is that it’s so easy and quick and perfect for your picnic or potluck supper.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

I’m a fan of breakfast. Those of you who follow Dr. Gourmet know how important breakfast is. In fact, I think that breakfast is so important that I made it the first chapter of my new book, Just Tell Me What To Eat.

I am a fan of having cereal for breakfast and this may come from my parents. They were eating healthy cereals before it was really fashionable. There were always things like Shredded Wheat, Grape Nuts and 100% Bran Flakes around the house. I loved the large shredded wheat biscuits and when I was a teenager thought that they were quite cool to eat in that quirky way of “I’m eating large wheat biscuits so I must be a hipster.” They really are, however, quite tasty and when the bite sized version came along I would have a bowl of them as a snack, thinking that was pretty hip too. Lying With Statistics: Kellogg’s Does It So Well

Featured Recipe

Lemongrass Beef

If you are going to cook this recipe on the same day you make it, the best choice for the meat would be better quality sirloin or a similar tender cut. If you are marinating overnight, using a less tender cut like top round or flank steak will be just as good – and a lot less expensive – but just as tasty.

Elaine’s Blog
Following the Just Tell Me What to Eat! Plan

I’m a cook, OK? The Joy of Cooking is my favorite book. All month long on my commute to work, I study the recipes in Southern Living and the Penzy’s Spice catalog. I have fun testing whatever recipes strike my fancy. My husband prefers to eat my meals at home. And not surprisingly, one of our favorite activities is having friends over for a great dinner (and drinks). This is not a diet! This is a menu plan for living well!

With my new book coming out on June 7th (Just Tell Me What to Eat! The Delicious Six-Week Weight Loss Plan for the Real World), I’ve been reflecting on the myriad diets out there. There are lots of them and they make all sorts of claims – weight loss, belly fat, improved energy….

I have avoided making such claims for Just Tell Me What to Eat!, but in an interview the other day I was specifically asked about a few of the more popular claims and whether the Mediterranean diet could deliver on any of these claims. The interviewer’s focus was on “belly fat” and it’s clear that people are concerned about it and are looking for a diet plan to help them with it. While I don’t care for hype, the fact is that a Mediterranean diet offers many of the same benefits that fad diets make their claims about, but the Mediterranean diet has the distinction of being backed by solid research – and you get to eat great food. How to Lose Belly Fat

Featured Recipe

Grilled Shrimp Tapenade

You can use the tapenade recipe on the Dr. Gourmet web site or purchase some bottled in the grocery. If you are going to buy prepared tapenade, check the label – they have widely variable amounts of salt and the recipe can end up tasting very salty. Look for tapenade with about 350 mg of sodium per tablespoon.

A Healthy Pregnancy
with Faith Bontrager, RN, BSN

The RDA (recommended dietary allowance) of iron for pregnant women is 27 mg daily, compared with 18 mg for non-pregnant women. During pregnancy a women not only increases her own blood supply, she also gives her baby the iron needed to support his growth before birth and gives him supplemental stores which will help his growth in early infancy. Does iron intake matter?

We review convenience mealson the Dr. Gourmet web site. While I am not a fan of them, I do realize that folks are busy and challenged for time, so we try to look for the better choices to help you out. Most of the ones that we choose to put to the tasting panel come out of the freezer case, and there’s a reason for that. When I look for foods on the aisles of the grocery store, what I find is so terrible that I can’t even consider putting anyone through having to taste it. (Remember our motto: “We eat it so you don’t have to.™”)

I will use Hamburger Helper as the prototype (hey, there are others but it’s such an easy target). What Not To Eat: Processed Foods Edition

Featured Recipe

Southwest Crab Cakes

It’s funny how some recipes happen. I was having tapas at a local Spanish restaurant and thought about the flavors that work well with seafood. The crab and cumin go fantastic together. Combine that with the corn flavor from the tacos and you have these crab cakes.

Dr. Tim Says….

I suppose that I can’t put this off any longer. The discussion about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) can really get people riled up. At virtually every single talk that I give, someone in the audience asks about it. Something seemingly simple like, “What about high fructose corn syrup?”

Should you care?

I think you should, but not for the reasons put forth on myriad blogs that demonize this sweetener as being responsible for the obesity epidemic, diabetes, hyperactivity and numerous other maladies. While there is some evidence that the higher levels of fructose may be of concern, I don’t see that research as being conclusive. My reading of the literature at this time does point to some very worrisome issues that implicate all added sweeteners as being a major contributor to obesity. What Not To Eat: High Fructose Corn Syrup Edition

Featured Recipe

Fish Tacos with Asparagus Salsa

I love tacos and there are endless variations. After creating the Asparagus Salsa recipe I decided that it would be fantastic on fish tacos and I was not disappointed. The salsa is better the second day, so if you can make it in advance (you can do the fish in advance too), you won’t be disappointed.

This week’s death of Blair River, the 575 pound spokesperson for the Heart Attack Grill is disturbing to be sure. First and foremost because this young man was only 29 years old. This means that he lived a scant 11 years as an adult and this kind of story always makes my heart ache.

There was a tremendous amount of press surrounding Mr. River’s death because of his role as a morbidly obese man pitching a restaurant that profiteers from today’s tremendous problem with weight gain in America. Founded by Jon Basso, who uses the moniker “Dr. Jon,” the restaurant serves burgers and fries with no limit on the calories, fat or salt. In Memoriam

Featured Recipe

Creamy Crab and Asparagus Fettuccine

This is a light pasta dish with the flavor of the crab enhanced by both the slight creaminess and the flavors of the lemon and oregano.

I am fortunate enough to live on the Gulf Coast and there’s great quality crab here. I purchase mine at the farmer’s market here in New Orleans. You can find great quality crabmeat even if you don’t live on the coast – ask at the fish counter of your local store.

I have been writing for a long time about the Mediterranean diet and how easy and healthy this is. The recipes on the Dr. Gourmet web site use these principles and translate them to dishes and menus that are familiar to you. I have talked about the 9 areas that have been used in research and what this can mean for you.

But how much? What makes up a score?

One of the first really large studies to look at this determined a threshold based on consumption in population of over 22,000 Greeks. The following quiz is based on those thresholds and you can calculate your own diet score based on these amounts. Take the Mediterranean Diet Quiz

Featured Recipe

Roasted Vegetable Pizza

This pizza is fantastic. It’s just that simple. Roasted veggies, cheese, yummy pizza crust.

It’s hard to know who to trust. There is so much information about diet, weight loss and nutrition out there. Much of it is pretty silly and a lot is downright dangerous. As you know I try to provide you with the best, evidence-based information. We base everything we do at Dr. Gourmet on the most up to date research available.

I rely on my colleagues at peer reviewed journals to provide that quality information, and I work to translate that for you so that you can both understand it better and put it to practical use in your day to day life. You may have noticed citations and recognize some of the journals that I draw information from. I read everything from the Annals of Internal Medicine to Appetite to theJournal of the American College of Nutrition. Every week these journals push their tables of contents into my email box and I read dozens of articles each month. I rely on these folks being unbiased and scientists being honest. Trust: An Editorial

Featured Recipe

Savory Mushroom Cheeseburgers

This juicy burger is full of savory flavor and so easy to make. It’s worth the extra step to brown the mushrooms and blend them into the burger. Delicious.

For the past three weeks Dr. Jacques has been my personal trainer. I’m pretty lucky to have had him working with me and the great thing is that you can follow along and get instruction as well. It’s been an interesting three weeks. I am a bicyclist and have never really been into resistance training.

This has been great and I am getting better after three weeks. It’s interesting what I can and can’t do. I don’t like really the Shoulder Circles and actually have gone backwards with the weight to try to do them better. Exercise, Part Four

Featured Recipe

Shrimp Taco Salad

I love Taco Salad. It is one of the “go to” meals for me when I just don’t feel like cooking. While I generally use chicken, shrimp makes a great variation.

Select lower fat tortilla chips or taco shells and make sure that they are Trans Fat free.

If you don’t have time to make the Tomatillo Salsa, look for a salsa that is lower in salt at the grocery store. Most of the major brands have about 150 mg of sodium in a 2 tablespoon serving. Looking for the smaller manufacturers can be rewarding, with less than 100 mg of sodium in the same serving.

I’ve never been all that athletic. I never played sports as a kid and didn’t really start exercising until I was in my late twenties. I know a little bit about jogging and a fair amount about bicycling (which is my exercise of choice). However, I am not an expert in any way. I’d sort of like to be an expert, though, and in the last few years we’ve had Dr. Jacques Courseault writing for the web site. I have learned a lot but still feel a bit clueless. I think that this is because I learn best by doing.

Dr. Courseault and I were talking recently about this and I challenged him to help me exercise better. At the end of our discussion I realized that this will take more dedication on my part than simply riding my bike 50 to 70 miles a week. We’re going to start in the gym with resistance training. I will make progress by his teaching me the best ways to exercise and weight lifting seems a good place to start. Our hope is that you’ll learn from our conversation. Exercise with Dr. Tim and Dr. Jacques

Featured Recipes

Whitefish with Cumin Butter

Pick the freshest fish you can for your recipes. A great dish starts with the best ingredients. A simple whitefish – flounder, drum, sole or trout works great. Cook this fish at a little lower heat, starting with a cold – not hot – pan.

Kale with Nutmeg and Honey

One of the great things about kale is that it cooks so quickly and you can use almost any flavors with it – honey, maple syrup, olive oil, sesame oil, spicy flavors or sweet ones.

Mashed Yams with Mint

I love plain mashed yams, but the hint of peppermint makes these sweet and savory and a bit spicy.

My column a couple of weeks ago, about being prepared for the cocktail or holiday party, resulted in a lot of questions about alcohol and drinking. While we know that drinking can be beneficial, it can also cause many health issues. About 2 drinks a day on average for men and 1 per day for women has been shown to be favorable, but binge drinking can cause more health problems than balanced consumption.

The key is moderation. That may be a challenge and parties can be a place that tips the balance. When heading out for that party it helps to understand a little about what you are going to consume. For instance, there are a lot of things that affect alcohol absorption. Being Careful with Alcohol

Featured Recipes

Rosemary Turkey Skewers

These skewers are perfect for a weeknight meal. They take about 10 minutes to prep and will keep for about 48 hours marinating in the refrigerator. After that they only take about 15 minutes to cook.

Cranberry Glaze

This sauce is great served over turkey or roast pork for your holiday meal, but you don’t have to wait for the holidays to have cranberry sauce.

Wild Rice with Cranberries

This is the perfect recipe for holiday meals. The savory mushrooms and wild rice combine with the sweet cranberries to hit all the taste buds. Serve this with holiday turkey or roast pork tenderloin.

I see a lot of articles about eating a “rainbow.” It’s a good idea because there are so many great fruits and veggies that are so good for you and thinking of all the colors can help bring a lot of variety to your meals.

But you don’t have to restrict this to just fruits and veggies. There are a lot of great foods that are part of that rainbow of healthy colors. I am including brown and white as part of that rainbow, because if I don’t, you’ll miss so many great foods. A Different Rainbow

Featured Recipe

Roasted Yam Soup with Bacon Bits | Low Sodium Version

Yams make for the perfect base of a hearty soup. You’d never know that they’re good for you and the bacon and sage gives this a rich savory flavor. Serve with a side salad for a complete meal.

Dr. Harlan’s newest diet book, Just Tell Me What to Eat!: The Delicious 8-Week Weight-Loss Plan for the Real World, is being published in April, 2011, and you can be part of it!

Have you used The Dr. Gourmet Diet and lost weight, improved your cholesterol scores, or even avoided going on diabetes medication? Maybe you just feel better or discovered that there are some vegetables you do like? If you’ve had success with The Dr. Gourmet Diet, tell us about it and your comments may be used in the book!

Send your stories tosuccess@drgourmet.com and if you are quoted in the book, you’ll receive a free copy, signed by Dr. Harlan. We’d love to hear from you!

Recently there was a study, funded in part by Jenny Craig, that showed that structured meal plans can help people lose weight. There are ads all the time for such plans – Jenny Craig, Nutrisystem, Bistro MD…. These work – in a way – and I have had patients lose weight using such plans. But the weight doesn’t stay off for long: they almost always gain it back. This is partly because the programs don’t really teach you anything about eating healthy without someone else making the decisions about what to eat and when.

That said, I believe that convenience meals like those provided by Jenny Craig et al. can be a healthy part of your life. I’d much rather you make your own meals, whether it’s taking a sandwich to work or putting together something healthy out of a well-stocked pantry, but I’m realistic. People do use Lean Cuisine, Healthy Choice and Weight Watchers meals in lieu of cooking. If you are going to choose these, how do you know which ones are healthier? Our tasting panel at DrGourmet.com has sampled dozens of these products over the years and have found some that are fairly good (and a lot that are really terrible). Can You Make Convenience Foods Part Of A Healthy Diet?

Featured Recipe

Whitefish with Savory Tomato Sauce

The bacon gives this sauce a great savory flavor and makes this rich and creamy. A perfect pair for your delicious healthy fish. Serve this with mashed potatoes or brown and wild rice.

The recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is certainly alarming: it says that the number of Americans with diabetes will double or triple in the next forty years. If they’re right, we’ll see up to 1 in 3 of all Americans affected. The vast majority of these new cases will be Type 2 diabetes: people whose bodies continue to make insulin for regulating their blood sugars, but their bodies don’t use it properly.

Those who are already at a higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes include people who are older and with a family history of the disease, as well as being African American or Hispanic. Even so, Type 2 diabetes most commonly develops in those who are overweight or obese. Bad News, Good News – Diabetes On The Rise, But There’s A Solution

Featured Recipes

Flank Steak with Espresso Rub

This is a fabulous and savory rub for steak. It’s a great idea to keep instant espresso on hand – you can use it in a lot of recipes. (You could use instant coffee granules in this recipe, but the flavor will be much milder.) You could also use a cup of liquid espresso, but you would need to reduce it by about half. Put the espresso in a small pan over medium-high heat and simmer until reduced. Let cool and add the spices and oil.

Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes with Basil Oil

I love having herbed oil on hand. Basil oil is a great choice and is especially delicious in this recipe. You can use any herb oil you want to for this recipe – rosemary or thyme oil, for instance, will give these potatoes a lovely herbaceous flavor. (You could, of course, leave the oil out as well.)

Halloween is one of my favorite times of the year, but the challenge is that there’s always a lot of leftover candy. Having all those sweets around the office can be tempting, and it’s pretty easy to rack up a ton of extra calories at this time of year. You can, however, make the season work for you.

Here are five simple tips that can keep you from feeling like you’ve spent the days after Halloween at the Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory. Halloween Candy is Your Friend: Really!

Featured Recipe

Lamb Sauce with Olives and Fettuccine

This sauce is perfect for making your home smell just wonderful. The lamb and olives with the warm herbs is so savory and comforting as it cooks. It’s hard to be patient with this and let the sauce finish because the aroma is so terrific.

Parmigiano-Reggiano

Parmesan is most famous in the USA in the green shaker box. None of the recipes on this site use that type of cheese.

All of the recipes that use parmesan call for Parmigiano-Reggiano. This is a hard granular cheese that originates in Parma Italy. Those made in the area of Parma and Reggio Emilia are the real deal. Whenever possible I use the Italian cheese (Parmigiano-Reggiano) rather than domestic or imports from South America. This costs more but the flavor difference is worth it

Dr. Tim Says….

There is a pretty clear link between high serum cholesterol and heart disease. When I say “serum” cholesterol I mean the blood test that your doctor performs. It’s not just the total cholesterol that we care about but the lipid panel. Lipids are fats and the various types of fats that we measure are the High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and triglycerides. The key is there is a difference between these lipids and the cholesterol we consume.

For most of us dietary cholesterol, the cholesterol we eat, has not been clearly linked with any effect on our serum cholesterol. Quite simply, it appears that consuming cholesterol is not really something that we need to focus on. For instance, one food that has never been shown to have an effect on cholesterol is eggs. That’s right, eggs. In a recent article in Circulation researchers found no association between the amount of eggs the subjects ate and any change in their total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, or ratio of total cholesterol to HDL cholesterol. Foods To Help You Lower Cholesterol

Featured Recipe

Quickie Arroz Con Pollo

This is a super simple recipe, but don’t let the ingredients deceive you. All the ingredients keep well. You can keep all the ingredients on hand, thaw the chicken in the fridge during the day, take 15 minutes to assemble and then about an hour to cook it up.

This works with any instant brown rice, but from the testing I’ve done the Uncle Bens brand is better. It holds up well and doesn’t get as sticky or gummy.

I look for salsa with lower sodium. For this recipe I used the Tabasco brand, and it comes in right at 200 mg of sodium for 2 tablespoons. Try to pick one with the same amount of sodium or no more than 250 mg of sodium in 2 tablespoons.

I was thinking about the idea that shopping around the edges of the grocery store is better for you. It’s an idea that makes sense on the face of it. You start in the fresh produce section, make your way along to the fish counter, maybe pick up some fresh meat or dairy products and then to the bakery counter. I even had a group of the first year medical students suggest this as a healthy strategy in a recent student project, but upon closer inspection I think that using this as a general suggestion does folks a disservice.

I went to the local Winn Dixie (can’t get a much more basic grocery store than that) and walked around the edges, starting at the door and working counter-clockwise (some stores are set up opposite). I was a bit dismayed by what I found. It’s not all that great around the edges. Shopping The Edges of the Grocery Store: Good For You or Myth?

Featured Recipe

I created a number of Dr. Gourmet pantry meals so that you can almost always have something on hand that’s easy, tasty and better for you than ordering pizza or popping a frozen meal in the microwave. One of my favorites is the Tamale Pie. It’s quick, easy and uses items that keep well in your pantry, fridge or freezer.

Tamale Pie (Pantry Meal)

Growing up this had a lot of names depending on whose house I was at. Tortilla casserole, taco casserole, tamale pie, it didn’t matter. And there are endless variations. This one was created to be as simple as possible and to use items out of your pantry or freezer.

This is also made to be more family friendly and is less spicy than some folks might want. A bit more cumin (an extra teaspoon) and chili powder (another 1/2 teaspoon) will give it more flavor. Adding a bit of cayenne pepper adds the zing that you might crave.

There are a lot of taco shells on the market. Some of them still contain trans-fats, so check the package carefully. Interestingly, the house brand taco shells at my local Winn-Dixie don’t have any sodium in them.

Dr. Tim Says….

We have reviewed a lot of snack bars on the Dr. Gourmet website. This is because I realize that folks do eat snack foods. Like my reviews of frozen dinners and fast food recommendations, I talk with my patients about trying to eat the freshest food possible, but I also want you to know what the best alternative is.

I was giving a talk the other day at the medical school and one of the questions I had was about snacking. It was similar to many Ask Dr. Gourmet questions I have received lately such as this one:

I find the hardest time to stick to healthy eating is when I get home from work. I’m tired, hungry, and I won’t have dinner ready for at least 30-40 minutes. What are your recommendations for healthy snacks at that time of the day? It’s too easy to fill up on chips and salsa!

When I was asked the question at the lecture I didn’t hesitate in my reply. What Should I Snack On?

Featured Recipes

Moroccan Shrimp | Coumadin Safe Version

I love these flavors. The aromatics of the cumin, cinnamon and paprika go so well with the veggies and shrimp. This is the perfect dish for a chilly Fall evening.

Cinnamon

This spice is the dried inner bark of evergreen trees that are in the laurel family (such as bay laurel). There are three types. Cinnamon harvested from the Cinnamomum zeylanicum tree that is native to Sri Lanka is a softer and sweeter spice with a paler color. Because Sri Lanka was known as Ceylon, this is usually referred to as Ceylon cinnamon. Cinnamon

Dr. Tim Says….

This week’s newsletter comes to you with a lot of great stuff. As always there are new recipes and we have super articles by Nurse Faith and Dr. Jacques Courseault. Make sure to read Dr. Jacques’ article as it reports on research on how exercise helps you control your appetite.

Even cooler, we wanted to let you know that we’ve completely revamped our exercise section! Now there are easy to follow exercise programs from beginner to advanced, to make getting healthy simple for you. All of the plans have videos of Dr. Jacques to show you the right way to exercise.

We’re excited because this helps us complement the information about why and how to eat healthy. Not only do we have recipes and tools to help you plan your menus and eat healthier, we’ve added practical exercise information to provide you with a complete guide to a healthy lifestyle. We think you’ll enjoy these additions to the site and want to thank you for letting us be a part of your healthy life.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life! (And exercise!)

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

Featured Recipes

Curried Chicken Thigh Burgers with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce

I do love chicken thighs. They are so savory and the sweet curry marinade goes perfectly. This recipe is a great alternative to burgers and can really spice up your weeknight meal or next cookout.

Exercise Improves Eating Habits
Exercise with Jacques Courseault, M.D.

It’s no secret that overeating and sedentary living are the most important factors that contribute to the obesity epidemic that Americans are facing today. We all have great excuses for why we don’t exercise. In fact, a recent article in “Time” magazine reports on research that suggests that exercise will not help you lose weight. Yes, the biology of caloric management is not fully understood; however, researchers are beginning to show that exercise does have an effect on eating, and their results are encouraging. Exercise Improves Eating Habits

A Healthy Pregnancy
with Faith Bontrager, RN, BSN

Exercise provides many health benefits to all of us, but there are extra benefits for pregnant women. Exercise helps keep weight gain at appropriate levels. It may help prevent gestational diabetes. It decreases problems with constipation, which also helps avoid hemorrhoids. It certainly helps you feel better. Physicians debate whether being physically fit decreases the length of labor (maybe) but it does help prepare a woman for the physically hard work of labor. Pregnancy – a time to be ACTIVE!

Dr. Tim Says….

I was editing my next book the other day and there’s a section where I talk about what to drink. When I am speaking with patients I always urge folks to think about what they are drinking. There are so many options and, unfortunately, most of them filled with empty calories. For years when I talk about diet with people the topic of what to drink always comes up. I have always said “water, coffee and tea.” They’re great choices – delicious and calorie free.

There’s a lot of temptation out there though. It seems like there’s a vending machine everywhere full of drinks with calories. It’s not just soda but juices and flavored teas also. And not a few calories but a lot. A 20 ounce soda contains 240 calories while a 16 ounce juice is about the same (that’s about 15 teaspoons of sugar). Coffee is a great choice but with all of the enhanced, flavored versions sold in coffee shops there’s risk for you with many of them being well over 500 calories. Water Helps You Lose Weight!

Featured Recipes

Seared Salmon with Caper Yogurt Sauce

You can use mild paprika for this recipe but hot paprika is even better. The spice is great with the salmon and the yogurt sauce is the perfect cool complement.

Garbanzo and Feta Salad

The rich feta combines with the olive oil to create a rich and savory dressing. This is about as great a side dish as you can get. It goes especially well with grilled fish or chicken.

Dr. Tim Says….

I have a list of quick tips that I use with patients when they ask about eating healthy. Often this is simply for people who are otherwise healthy and want to avoid the creeping weight gain that many people experience. It is also an easy place to start for those who want to lose weight.

1. Take half of your restaurant meal home with you. Because the portions in restaurants are so large, and you likely need only half of what you have been served, put the other half into the doggie bag. Hmm… that leads us to number two…. 10 Quick Tips for Eating Healthy

Featured Recipes

Eggplant Parmesan

This is a time consuming recipe but oh, so worth it!

It is something that you are going to have for a special occasion as it will take about an hour (or a little more) on a Saturday afternoon to make. It is very rewarding. It is a recipe that is higher in fat and sodium than many on my site but it can still be part of your diet occasionally and should because Eggplant Parmesan is so great. You can feel better because this is chock full of great things like fiber, Vitamin A, iron, calcium and Vitamin C.

Ratatouille

This is a recipe that I almost decided not to work on. I served ratatouille in my restaurant because it was made by an old hippie that worked as a prep cook. I had his recipe and, as with most vegetarian dishes, it was full of fat (and not very good fat I might add). I am so glad that I worked on it. The key is the highest quality fresh mozzarella you can find. But even more important, the fresh herbs make the dish possible. I am not sure I would do this with dried herbs – it would taste like it was made in a vegetarian restaurant.

Chef Tim Says….

When I am creating recipes I choose ingredients that are lower in calories but very satisfying. Sometimes this means simply cutting down on the amount of fat in a dish by using healthier oils or leaner meats. A recipe might call for a substitution to give the dish more volume so that it’s more filling without adding too many calories. Adding more veggies like onions or mushrooms to a pasta dish, stew or soup, for instance, can make a big difference in the total calories.

There has been some very well designed research showing that eating lower calorie dishes that are higher in volume can be very satisfying. The interesting thing about this is that folks don’t tend to replace all of the calories they might be used to eating by snacking or eating more later in the day. Ingredients are Everything

Featured Recipe

Chilled Tomato Soup | Low Sodium Version

I started out thinking that I would make this soup with tarragon, but it just hasn’t grown well in my garden. I had the fresh basil and used it instead. I love this soup, but you should use what you have available, and basil, tarragon, oregano or even thyme would be great choices.

Featured Ingredient: Tomatoes

There are thousands of varieties of tomatoes and a look at any seed catalogue always makes my mouth water. I love some of the names — Isis Candy, Cupid, Tiny Totem, Snowberry…. Not many of these make it to the markets, however.

Buying tomatoes at the supermarket can be a daunting task. The quality is often poor because most are picked green and ripened in big rooms using ethylene gas. Even so, even the worst tomato can be made better by placing it stem side down on a sunny windowsill. It will continue to ripen further and if you want it chilled, place it in the fridge for only a couple of hours, as cold is the enemy of the tomato. Tomatoes

After every holiday I always have patients who put on some weight when they had been trying to take it off. While they blame the holiday, it’s clear that it’s not just overeating. The problem is that when they splurged on the holiday the whole idea of eating healthier went out the window. Eating well and eating healthy means there are times when you overeat – and allowing yourself to do so. It’s part of life, and it’s really good for you, in my opinion. The challenge of holidays is to think of them as a time to splurge on eating delicious food – not junk. This means planning.

Planning is the single most important you can do to eat healthier. Most people plan their holiday meals, and I bet you already have a good idea of what the menu will be for the Fourth of July. As part of eating healthier, plan that menu with better choices. Here are some guidelines.

Featured Recipes

Shrimp with Chili Lime Butter

Shrimp is great because it’s just so darn quick. Recipes like this one are perfect for a weeknight. Mix up some yummy butter, put a bit of olive oil in a pan, saute and add the butter. Serve this with Mexican Rice and there’s enough sauce to add some extra zing to the rice.

Mexican Rice | Low Sodium Version

This is a perfect recipe for those who think that they don’t like brown rice. Cooking the rice a little bit longer will soften the brown rice, and adding the spices only enhances the nutty flavor. It’s perfect for your family – they may never know that it’s brown rice.

Dr. Tim Says…

There is mounting evidence that many of us are increasingly deficient in Vitamin D. While there is some controversy about the health impact of this it seems that changes in our diet in the last few years towards fewer foods rich in Vitamin D has led to a much lower intake. Likewise, with the recommendations on avoiding the sun and wearing sunscreen while in the sun to prevent skin cancer we end up with less available Vitamin D (contact with the sun activates our own bodies manufacture of Vitamin D).

The longstanding recommendations of 200 to 400 International Units (IU) may not be adequate according to some research. There is not consensus, however, on whether Vitamin D supplements are as effective as natural sources. Vitamin D in Food

Featured Recipes

Rosemary Potatoes

Rosemary and potatoes are just made for each other. This is a quick and easy fresh recipe. If you’re really in a hurry, place the potatoes in the microwave for 1 minute on high. Turn them and then microwave on high for a second minute. Remove and let cool for a minute or so. Cut into chunks and then proceed with the third step, putting the potatoes in the roasting pan with the other ingredients.

Sauteed Spinach with Roasted Garlic

Garlic and spinach are just made for each other. Make sure that you use a very large pan for this recipe so that the water in the spinach will evaporate while you are cooking.

There’s no other food subject that gives rise to the level of controversy than genetically modified foods (GMOs). There are so many factions. On the one hand are the creators of the raw ingredients, such as Monsanto, who sell their products to the farmers. There are the food manufacturers and then, of course, the consumer. Emotions run very high from every quarter, with each vocally defending their position. Genetically Modified Foods

Featured Recipe

Asian Peanut Chicken Salad

I love using rice noodles in salads, but you have to handle them just right. The noodles, sometimes called cellophane noodles, can become quite gummy when they are overcooked. If you’ve had a bad version of Pad Thai, you know what I mean.

The key is to keep the water going at a slow boil and stir the noodles almost from the moment you add them to the pot. Keep a close eye on them and don’t overcook them. At about the 7 minute mark start tasting for doneness. When they have just a very slight chewiness they are ready. You can drain them in a colander, but I just use tongs to pick up the noodles and let them drain into the pan. Shake them a bit and then toss them into the bowl with the oil, which will coat them and keep them from sticking together too much.

This recipe works well with grilled flank steak, scallops or shrimp.

This recipe is gluten-free and lactose-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux, Coumadin (warfarin) users and those on low-sodium diets should avoid it.

A Healthy Pregnancy
with Faith Bontrager, RN, BSN

Many hospitals currently restrict food intake during labor. A few hospitals allow laboring women to have only ice chips, others allow clear liquids only. These policies are based on work by Dr. Mendelson in the 1940s that indicated that under general anesthesia there was a possibility of acidic stomach contents entering the lungs and causing damage. Eating During Labo

There’s been a lot of controversy about whether calorie counts should be a part of restaurant menus or not. Laws have been enacted around the country, with the most notable being in New York City. The legislation has been vigorously fought by the restaurant industry, with them actually suing to block these requirements. I have been saying for years that information matters and that knowing what is in the meal you eat makes all the difference. The real question is, does this work and can it work for you?Information Matters

Featured Recipe

Mexican Style Risotto with Whitefish

I had set out to do this recipe using salmon, but when I went to the market the drum was so much better looking. Take this approach when you are looking at recipes – you don’t usually have to stick to a particular fish. Generally speaking you can substitute another whitefish for recipes where the fish is lighter and another dark fish with dark fish recipes.

This recipe has a lot of ingredients, but don’t let that intimidate you. About half of them are spices. For some folks this may be a bit too spicy and you can leave the cayenne pepper out if you like.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin users, is low in sodium (salt) and is gluten-free. Those who are lactose intolerant but can tolerate cheese may be able to enjoy it. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

How to Begin an Exercise Regimen
Exercise with Jacques Courseault

Exercising is an important lifestyle change that you should begin making if you haven’t already. The purpose of this article is to get you from sitting in your computer chair, to the point where you are seconds away from sweating, burning calories and improving your overall health. How to Begin an Exercise Regimen

Dr. Tim Says….

When I was in my twenties I had a friend who was very goal oriented. He had participated in one of those training classes on how to choose, plan and achieve an objective. He carried a picture of a baby grand piano around in his day planner and said that he looked at it all the time. He worked hard and sure enough he had his piano within his target period.

You might think that this would work for eating healthy and weight loss. Carry around a picture of yourself slimmer, maybe? (That is what PhotoShop is for, isn’t it?) I had a friend who sort of did this by putting up pictures of skinny people on her refrigerator. This seems to make sense but what about carrying around a picture of chocolate cake? Can looking at photos of what tempts you to snack actually help you eat healthier? It appears that it can (cool, huh?). The Picture of Success

Featured Recipe

Beef Tips in Brown Gravy | GERD / Acid Reflux Friendly Version

This is a recipe that I remember from my childhood. I am not sure how my mother made it but I can remember the taste and this is it. A rich umami flavor from the caramelized mushrooms and onions combine with the beef for that great comfort food flavor. Perfect for a cold winter’s night.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin users, low in sodium and lactose-free. Those with gluten allergies should use gluten-free pasta in this dish.

I love poblanos. Sometimes they can be a little spicy, so be warned, this recipe is not for folks who don’t like spicy food. It’s not really all that easy to predict how spicy the poblanos might be when they are whole, so you might want to hold off on the chili powder until you taste the soup. The creaminess of the milk and cheese will soften the spiciness a bit.

Anaheim chilies can be a little milder, with the ones grown in America being on the 500 to 2500 Scoville scale. Poblanos are usually 1000 to 1500 so it’s not easy to know. One thing to keep in mind is that much of the spiciness is in the seeds and membranes, so when seeding and chopping make sure to remove the membrane along with the seeds.

If you want a milder, sweeter version of this soup, use half green bell peppers and half Poblanos or Anaheim peppers. For a really mild soup, use 1/4 lb. poblanos and 3/4 lb. green bell peppers.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and gluten free. Those who are lactose intolerant and those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

Most all of the baked goods were made with white and not whole wheat flour (although oatmeal was available).  Similar bread offerings at lunch.  The lightest item at lunch was a crab vinaigrette in lettuce cups.

For an afternoon snack — Snickers!  Snickers!  Amazing!

It’s just amazing how folks put together conferences like this and don’t even think about the food.

Dr. Tim Says….

I get requests all the time for advice on how to start eating healthy. Folks simply want some direction and there’s a lot of confusing info out there. We’re going to begin a series to help you with this. Every Monday we’ll present a new segment to help you get started and move forward to your goals.

The first few months will be about one of the most important issues: assessment and planning. During that time the key is to sort out where you are: learn about yourself, where you are and where you need to be. Topics will range from healthy breakfast planning to food diary to information about carbs, fats and protein.

This week we start with a discussion about breakfast.

Featured Recipe

Pork Chops with Garlic Sauce

This is a lovely sauce and proves that simple ingredients prepared with care can make for the most subtle flavors. Garlic, olive oil, butter… that’s all it takes. The slow simmering of the sauce gives it a rich, savory flavor enhanced by the richness of the butter. This goes well with pork but can also top a grilled flank steak or roasted chicken breasts.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users, is low in sodium, and is gluten-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux and those who are lactose-intolerant should avoid it.

Dr. Tim Says….

I don’t write about exercise a lot because it’s not my specialty. While I know a lot about it, exercise regularly myself and always talk with my patients about it, the Dr. Gourmet website is about food and nutrition. We’ve begun to incorporate exercise into our mission because of its importance and you’ll see more info in the future on this topic.

I have, however, as part of our mission written occasionally about nutritional supplements – vitamins and such. Those of you who are regular readers know that I don’t believe the research supports taking vitamins. In the past I have used the premise of “doesn’t help but probably won’t hurt” when it comes to vitamins. There has been some recent evidence that I’ve written on that indicates taking vitamins might actually be bad for you. We’re a long way from knowing for sure, but this past week another study has been published that casts more doubt on the idea of “probably won’t hurt.” One of the medical students I work with who is very interested in exercise sent this one my way. Exercise and Supplements

Featured Recipe

Seared Tuna with Mango-Wasabi Salsa

So I generally do most of the cooking. My wife is a good cook but doesn’t really like to all that much. Mind you, she has a fantastic palate and knows when a recipe is good or not as well as what might be wrong with it. Every once in a while she will come up with a recipe. This is one of those and it’s really fantastic. The tuna works great with the mango salsa and the combination is not just great tasting but great for you.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and is low in sodium. It is both lactose-free and gluten-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it as it is likely too spicy.

Eating Gluten Free
with Julie Gee

It is not always easy to stick to a gluten-free diet. The good news is that there are many resources for folks trying to eat gluten-free. One of your best resources is your local Celiac Disease support group. Support groups help you to feel normal and provide you with a place to talk about the issues you face every day. In addition, your local support group is an invaluable source of information and experience. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel if you can instead rely on others to help discover new places to eat and shop. Since Celiac Disease affects approximately 1% of the American population, most cities or counties have a support group. These groups also welcome individuals who have wheat allergies or gluten-intolerance.

It is always a good idea to seek out a support group for Celiac Disease when you are in the process of being diagnosed. Some doctors in the United States aren’t as educated about Celiac Disease as we might like, so it is important to find a physician who is experienced and knowledgeable about Celiac Disease and the many related health issues. Your local support group is an excellent way to find a physician who can help you get a diagnosis. Getting Help

Dr. Tim Says….

There are a few nights a month where I really don’t have time to cook. I need something simple to put together and this usually takes the form of a quick Mediterranean sauce. I can use this on almost anything – fish, beef, pork or pan roasted chicken. I have started a few times to write up these recipes but each time I make theme they are a little bit different. There is a pattern to how I create this, however.

I always start by placing a large skillet in the oven and preheating it to about 375°F. This is the pan that I will roast the protein in, making it easy to cook the meat but also allowing for simple clean up. I set the olive oil spray next to the oven because I will need it in a bit. The Mediterranean Sauce Kit

Featured Recipe

Tortilla-Crusted Chicken

Look carefully at the tortillas you buy. Even though most are low in sodium some have a fair amount of salt.

This is a great coating and one key is the medium-hot non-stick pan. The tortilla will crisp while the cheese melts slightly. This dish is great with Cumin, Black Eyes and Corn Salad (Low Sodium Version) and topped with your favorite salsa.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users, is low in sodium and gluten-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux and those who are lactose-intolerant should avoid it.

Eating Gluten Free
with Julie Gee

For people with Celiac Disease, eating at restaurants is a challenge. Unless you are sure that a restaurant has a good understanding of Celiac Disease and cross-contamination, I suggest avoiding eating at most restaurants. A good way to be social and still eat safely is to bring your own food. I suggest calling a restaurant ahead of time to let them know you have Celiac Disease, and would like to bring your own meal to be reheated there. You can usually give the meal to the waiter, have them reheat it in the microwave, and serve it on a plate when the rest of your group is served (this is a great strategy for weddings or catered events).

Often, when you call to discuss this with the chef, restaurant staff may offer you some gluten-free alternatives. This is a great time to work with the staff and design a gluten-free meal, but be wary of hidden cross-contamination from less-than-knowledgeable staff. Although it may seem like you’re a difficult customer, restaurants are often happy to accommodate you, since you’ll create a lot of repeat business and bring your friends back with you. Eating Gluten-Free in Social Situations: Eating Out

Dr. Tim Says….

When I was growing up we had the typical diner special of “a meat and two veg.” This isn’t too far from what makes sense for a healthy dinner. We know that combining protein with carbs helps with feeling satisfied for longer after a meal. One issue is, however, what to actually put on your plate.

One issue is that serving sizes have become so large in many restaurants. This has carried over into folk’s dinner tables at home and portions have gone from big to bigger to huge. So when you’re considering dinner ideas think in terms of right-sizing your meal.

Begin with the main course. By that I mean the fish, lean meat, shellfish, chicken, turkey, lamb, etc. that you will have. The rule of thumb is 4 ounces by weight for each portion. When you are reading recipes keep this in mind because many call for double or even triple this amount. With a 4 ounce serving coming in at around 150 to 200 calories it’s easy to see how in today’s world folks can easily get too many calories. What to Put on Your Dinner Plate

Featured Recipe

Gnocchi with Tomato Mushroom Sauce
Gluten-Free Version | Low Sodium Version

I love gnocchi and this rich tomato mushroom sauce just makes it that much better. In the first iteration of this I used a single pepperoncini instead of the paprika. These are small pickled Italian peppers and the slight spiciness adds a lot to the sauce.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and those who are lactose-intolerant. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

Crimini Mushrooms

Crimini mushrooms are marketed under many names, including Baby Bella, Roman, Italian, Brown or Classic Brown mushrooms. They are similar in size to white mushrooms but are a light cocoa color and have a firmer texture. They are much more flavorful than white mushrooms, having a richer, earthy taste that activates the umami taste buds. Their flavor has often been referred to as “meaty”.

Portobello mushrooms are actually large crimini mushrooms and, because of the savory meaty flavor, have become popular in the last few years. As mushrooms mature, the ring that protects the spores breaks and as a result there is loss of moisture. Young mushrooms contain as much as 80% water and, as they lose water (as portobellos do by having their gills exposed), the savory mushroom flavor is increasingly concentrated. Crimini Mushrooms

Keep Up With Dr. Gourmet

Follow Dr. Gourmet on Twitter!

Find Dr. Gourmet on Facebook!

Make Comments on DrGourmet.com!

Did you know that you can now make comments on the recipes on the DrGourmet.com website? If you have a Facebook account, you can make comments on the recipes and have those comments posted to your Wall for you to share with your Facebook friends. (If you don’t have a Facebook account, you don’t have to have one to make comments.) Let us and your friends know what you think of our delicious healthy recipes!

Over the next few weeks you’ll see the comment boxes added to all of the pages on DrGourmet.com, from “Ask Dr. Gourmet” to the special dietary needs sections such as Coumadin (warfarin), gluten and lactose intolerance, and low sodium diets.

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users:
The Cookbook

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages of what you need to know while on Coumadin (warfarin), including food lists – so you’ll know what you can eat! Includes a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and over 90 recipes. Just $31.52 for the spiral-bound book and $14.95 for the eBook. Order yours now!

Dr. Tim Says….

When I am giving talks I always joke that none of my patients ever eats Oreo cookies. This always gets a big laugh and I believe that folks are laughing at themselves. We aren’t always honest with ourselves and probably even more often are not completely honest with our doctors (shocking, I know). I base my assertion that my patients are so good on the fact that when I discuss people’s diets with them only one has ever admitted to eating cookies. One. That’s it. A single patient in the last fifteen years.

Now, I find this really strange because the aisles in the grocery are FULL of cookies (but none of my patients are buying them).

I would really like to leave the office and drive to their house to root through their cupboards and refrigerator. Maybe I’d be proved wrong, but the research says that folks have an awful lot of cookies in their pantry. Studies of people’s trash have shown this repeatedly, with researchers finding a clear disconnect with what people will say they are eating and what ends up in their trash bins. Change Your Pantry and Get Healthy

Featured Recipe

Crawfish Pie

Fish pies like this are hugely popular in England. Done right they are the best comfort food. This twist on the traditional recipe includes a rich creamy filling topped with yummy mashed potatoes. The dish has it all – fish and veggies in a warm comforting meal.

One of the tests in developing this recipe was done with purple potatoes. The dish was really beautiful with the pink crawfish folded together with the veggies and topped with the purple mashed potatoes.

Placed into individual au gratin dishes, these make a great dinner party meal. Everything can be done in advance and then placed under the broiler. It will take a little longer in the oven to reheat fully, however.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users, is low in sodium, and is gluten-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux and those who are lactose-intolerant should avoid it.

Living Gluten Free
with Julie Gee

When I was first diagnosed with Celiac Disease, my first few gluten-free shopping trips took so long that the dairy items in my cart were warm by the time I got to the checkout. Despite what it may seem at first, there are ways to make shopping for gluten-free foods faster and easier. You will need to read every label, and that will take some time. Here are some ways that you can simplify your grocery shopping while still maintaining a healthy gluten-free diet.

First of all, remember that “wheat free” does not necessarily mean “gluten free.” Many items do not contain wheat, but they may have other sources of gluten in them, such as malt flavoring or contaminated oats. Before you put an item into your cart think about how it might have been cross-contaminated. Supermarket Strategies for a Gluten-Free Diet

Keep Up With Dr. Gourmet

Follow Dr. Gourmet on Twitter!

Find Dr. Gourmet on Facebook!

Make Comments on DrGourmet.com!

Did you know that you can now make comments on the recipes on the DrGourmet.com website? If you have a Facebook account, you can make comments on the recipes and have those comments posted to your Wall for you to share with your Facebook friends. (If you don’t have a Facebook account, you don’t have to have one to make comments.) Let us and your friends know what you think of our delicious healthy recipes!

Over the next few weeks you’ll see the comment boxes added to all of the pages on DrGourmet.com, from “Ask Dr. Gourmet” to the special dietary needs sections such as Coumadin (warfarin), gluten and lactose intolerance, and low sodium diets.

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users:
The Cookbook

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages of what you need to know while on Coumadin (warfarin), including food lists – so you’ll know what you can eat! Includes a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and over 90 recipes. Just $31.52 for the spiral-bound book and $14.95 for the eBook. Order yours now!

Chef Tim Says….

There’s no doubt that eating by yourself and eating healthy can be a challenge. There are a few considerations and first and foremost is that there’s no one to share the shopping, cooking and cleaning up. With couples and families often one person will cook and the other clean up. Or sometimes people will switch off making different meals on chosen days. With a larger group of 4 or 5 in a family it can be easier to cook because most recipes are scaled for two or more.

Back when I first started helping people build menus to eat healthier it became clear that these issues were important for folks living alone. At the time I was also living by myself. Here are a few tips for making your life easier, delicious and healthy if you are on your own: Eating Healthy Alone

Featured Recipe

Mustard Glazed Salmon with Lentils

This is one of my favorite dishes. It’s a variation of one created by a chef friend of mine that he used to serve in his restaurant. It is an almost perfect meal. High fiber, legumes, salmon full of monounsaturated fats, rich flavors and veggies make it a complete Mediterranean Diet meal. Best of all it’s really easy to cook and the whole recipe is less than 30 minutes start to finish.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users, is low in sodium, and is gluten-free provided that your ingredients are gluten-free. Those who are lactose intolerant and those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

Living Gluten Free
with Julie Gee

If you’ve just been diagnosed with Celiac Disease or a gluten allergy, you may be wondering what to eat today. Your gluten-free life has already started. It’s time to look in your pantry and find a few safe and delicious items. You’ll learn more about cross-contamination and how to read ingredients in the coming weeks. Today I’ll going to tell you about 15 items that are gluten free and probably already waiting in your pantry or refrigerator. 15 Gluten-Free Foods You Can Eat Right Now

Keep Up With Dr. Gourmet

Follow Dr. Gourmet on Twitter!

Find Dr. Gourmet on Facebook!

New Features in
The Quality Calorie Diet!

You asked for it! Now those who follow a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet can create their own two-week meal plans. Just choose “Vegetarian” in your profile.

Plus, now you can add Dr. Gourmet recipes to your Recipe Box! Just click the “Add to My Recipe Box” icon on the recipe’s page (below the Print icon) and if you’re logged in to The Quality Calorie Diet, it’ll be added to your Recipe Box at the bottom of the page. Log in to The Quality Calorie Diet to see the new features!

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users:
The Cookbook

eatTHISdiet for Coumadin Users is now available in both spiral-bound paperback and PDF format!

Over 200 pages of what you need to know while on Coumadin (warfarin), including food lists – so you’ll know what you can eat! Includes a complete six-week eatTHISdiet for Coumadin users, with weekly meal plans, shopping lists, and over 90 recipes. Just $31.52 for the spiral-bound book and $14.95 for the eBook. Order yours now!

Chef Tim Says….

I get a lot of questions during lectures from people wanting to know how they can eat better when it’s so expensive. This is, quite simply, one of the last great myths of eating healthy – ranking right up there with the fallacy that eating healthy doesn’t taste good. There’s no doubt that it’s just as easy and economical to cook a meal that’s good for you than eat one that’s not.

One argument that I often hear is that it’s cheaper to eat at McDonalds. After Going to McDonalds recently and putting together a typical meal for 4 (mom, dad and two kids), I came up with a total of about $14.00 (I didn’t actually buy anything – ugh!). You get almost nothing of nutritive value for your money – white bread, greasy burgers and fries with sugary soda.

That same $14.00 will purchase two pounds of lean ground beef, a pack of eight whole wheat buns, lettuce, tomato and enough potatoes to make oven baked French Fries with money left over. The best part is that this is twice as much food as at McDonalds, so there’s plenty for leftovers later. Better food at half the price. The Price Myth

Featured Recipe

Quick and Easy Tomato Sauce and Pasta

Proof positive that eating healthy is easy, delicious and also inexpensive. This recipe serves 6 and with 2 ounces whole wheat pasta and 3 tablespoons of cheese per serving it’s only about 75 cents each. That’s it. The ingredients for a meal that serves six cost about 5 dollars. Healthy, easy, delicious and smart.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and is low in sodium. It is gluten-free provided that you use gluten-free pasta. Those who are lactose intolerant but can tolerate cheese may enjoy it (or leave out the cheese). Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it and use the Low-Acid Tomato Sauce instead (although it will take longer to make).

New Features in
The Quality Calorie Diet!

You asked for it! Now those who follow a lacto-ovo vegetarian diet can create their own two-week meal plans. Just choose “Vegetarian” in your profile.

Plus, now you can add Dr. Gourmet recipes to your Recipe Box! Just click the “Add to My Recipe Box” icon on the recipe’s page (below the Print icon) and if you’re logged in to The Quality Calorie Diet, it’ll be added to your Recipe Box at the bottom of the page. Log in to The Quality Calorie Diet to see the new features!

Dr. Tim Says….

One of my favorite lectures that I get to give is about fad diets. Those of you who regularly read the Dr. Gourmet website know that I believe them to be just silly. Atkins, South Beach, The Zone, Perricone, it doesn’t matter. Sadly, all of these have been conceived by doctors (3 M.D.s and 1 PhD). There are a lot of other kooky diets that have been created by people who don’t have advanced degrees, so having gone to graduate school is not an absolute requirement for making up a diet.

Fad diets vary in so many different ways – fat, low carb, high fat, high protein, high carb and just about every variation. None has been well founded in science and most use pseudoscience to bolster their concepts. The good news is that we now have more and more solid research on such diets. In the last few years research has compared diets head to head and they’ve not shown much difference between fad diets and conventional physician-recommended diets. Essentially, if you eat less you lose weight (what a concept!). Silly Fad Diets Finally Debunked

Featured Recipe

Grilled Halibut with Tangerines and Capers

This recipe works well on the grill, and with Spring coming on this is a perfect dish for your recipe box. Choosing the sweetest fruit possible is key so there’s a good balance of flavors – sweet, sour, salty and savory. It’s a good idea to let the tangerine topping macerate overnight so the flavors blend best.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users, is low in sodium, and is gluten- and lactose-free. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

Isis: A Meal at Moto, Course Seven

The first dessert to come out was described as “Fruit and Bubbles.” When it arrived at our table, all that could be seen was a crinkly sculpture of what looked to be thick white tissue paper, with a brown powder dusted on top. The waiter informed us that it was crispy rice paper with apple spice powder on top. Underneath the spiced sculpture was a square white bowl, the vessel for our dessert. In the bottom of the bowl was what looked like ordinary pieces of fruit – a few grapes with thinly sliced apple and pear. As the waiter explained that the fruit was carbonated- like soda. I looked at the remainder of the contents of the bowl. In one corner, there was a puddle of something white, while in the opposite corner was a mound of light-brownish powder. The waiter went on to tell us that in one corner was a white chocolate and cheese sauce, and opposite it was a powdered walnut praline. FRUIT and bubbles

Dr. Tim Says….

There was a time when the Nutrition Facts box on food labels didn’t exist. The first book I wrote was mostly about how to read a food label, because before 1990 all that was required was simply a listing of ingredients. The only way to know if what you were buying might be healthy or not was that the ingredients were listed in order of amount by weight.

This is still the case and when you see that sugar is the first ingredient listed you know that there’s more sugar by weight than any of the other ingredients. But we now, of course, have a lot more information. It can still be a bit of a challenge, however, if you don’t know a lot about nutrition. Here’s a guide on how to read the Nutrition Facts box.

Featured Recipe

Fusilli with Smoked Gouda and Chicken

Using a precooked rotisserie chicken from the grocery can really speed up your meals. This is a great comfort food recipe that takes advantage of someone else cooking the chicken for you. Most of the time the cooked chickens are not any more expensive than the uncooked.

While the water is coming to a boil you can easily skin and debone the chicken. The rest of the assembly takes about 10 minutes and the result is a warm, comforting but still elegant pasta bake.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and is gluten-free (provided the ingredients used are gluten-free). Those with GERD / Acid Reflux and those who are lactose intolerant and unable to tolerate cheese should avoid it.

Isis: A Meal at Moto, Course Six

We were getting closer to desserts, only one more savory entree dish left, then on to the really fun part (not that the entrees weren’t fun…). The last of the entrees was listed on the menu as PRIME with potato. It came out on plates that were about four by ten inches. The plates were like miniature tables, about an inch high. Each plate had three shallow dips in it, like little shallow round bowls built in.

In the farthest dish to the left had a small puddle of bacon puree with three extremely thin medallion shaped slices of steak. The bacon puree was the exact brown color of perfectly crispy bacon, and the flavor was incredible. It was like the flavor of my step grandmother’s bacon (the best in the world), but intensified. The steak slices were so thin they were almost translucent, but no matter how small the pieces were, the flavor was huge – salty and slightly peppery. They were cooked impeccably, just rare, so that they were somewhat pink in the middle, and tender, and slightly juicy. Because they were sitting in the bacon puree, they had the salty, smoky flavor of the bacon. PRIME and potato

Carbohydrates are not your enemy. After years of research we do know what we have known for a long time – poor quality calories are bad for you. It doesn’t really matter whether the focus is on carbs or fat or protein, if the quality of the food is great, the food is great for you.

So what are the best quality carbs for your pantry?

Bread is a great place to start because so many people fear it. Don’t. Breads are a great part of a healthy diet. The key is to choose whole grain breads and looking for the highest fiber is key. A slice of white bread has little nutritive value with sometimes less than 1 gram of fiber. Look for breads with at least 2 grams of fiber or more. Practical Starch Choices

Featured Recipe

Pasta Carbonara

This is one of those recipes that proves Mediterranean diet is healthy. Lots of good fats, low in saturated fat, high in fiber and full of flavor.

Original recipes generally call for bacon or pancetta, but I use prosciutto because it’s more widely available. On the other hand, the addition of peas is clearly a Western variation, but they add so much and make this a full meal (pretty too).

This recipe is not low in sodium, but it is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and those with GERD / Acid Reflux. Those who are lactose intolerant but can tolerate cheese may find that they enjoy it, and those who are gluten-sensitive should be sure to use gluten-free pasta.

A Healthy Pregnancy
with Faith Bontrager, RN, BSN

One important step you can take to help ensure a healthy pregnancy is to consider your weight before even getting pregnant. Obesity has major effects on placental, embryonic, and fetal growth. Obese mothers are more likely to have large for gestational age (LGA) babies than lean moms, no matter how much weight they gain during pregnancy.

We know that certain birth defects are more common in babies born to obese women. For example, obese mothers are twice as likely to have babies with spina bifida as non-obese mothers. Some pregnancy problems such as preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are more common with obese women. These pregnancy complications are dangerous to the women themselves and to their developing baby. Thinking About Getting Pregnant?

Dr. Tim Says….

Eggplant is a member of the nightshade family as are tomatoes, peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes. As such, eggplant is technically a fruit. As with tomatoes and other of nightshade veggies there are a number of varieties of eggplant. You’ll find a wide assortment in your market these days. While it is known as eggplant in much of the western world in the U.K. this lovely ingredient is called by the much sexier aubergine (sounds like a heroine in a racy romance novel).

The large dark purple pear shaped eggplant is the most common. I love the hefty feel of a large fresh eggplant, but the larger they are the less flavorful they will be and the tougher the skin. I generally look for fruit that is no more than about 1 lb (about 8 inches long and 4 inches in diameter).

The smaller version of the larger purple skinned eggplant is often called Italian or baby eggplant. These have a somewhat more intense flavor and the flesh is much more tender. Eggplant

Featured Recipe

Eggplant Pesto

I love the aroma and flavor of roasted eggplant. When I was working on this recipe my wife said, “Hey, let’s just eat it now,” as it came out of the oven. She’s right. A little sprinkle of salt, a bit of pepper and some olive oil, and that’s living. But I digress.

You can use this Eggplant Pesto in place of any other pesto, but it’s more subtle so you’ll need more. Where about two or so tablespoons of a Basil Pesto would be enough in a pasta dish, this works great as a sauce and you can use about a half cup or so.

This is just as versatile as any other pesto. You can use it in pasta, as a spread on sandwiches or bruschetta. It also works great in making hors d’oeuvres and other appetizers. A dollop in a creamy soup like Cream of Cauliflower or Butternut Squash soup would be perfect.

This recipe is low in sodium (salt) and is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and those who are sensitive to gluten. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it due to the garlic.

Basil

There is no substitute for fresh basil. Dried basil has a completely different flavor and using it in recipes is something I rarely do.

The fresh basil you will find in the market is most likely Sweet Basil. The soft green leaves bruise easily and then turn black. Because of this fresh basil doesn’t keep very well.

To keep the leaves fresh, rinse gently and then wrap them in a damp paper towel. Place the bundle inside a plastic bag before putting them in the fridge. You can also put them in a glass of water stem side down like a bunch of flowers in a vase.

5 leaves fresh basil = <1 calorie, <1g fat, 0g sat fat, 0g mono fat, <1g protein, <1g carbohydrates, <1mg sodium, 0mg cholesterol

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

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Dr. Tim Says….

Next week everyone will be working on their New Year’s resolutions. I have read estimates that as high as 75% of people will resolve to lose weight or eat better. Certainly changing the way you eat is a good way to lose weight but there’s other great reasons. Recently I was interviewed about the effects of diet on the ageing process. Some of this you may have read in past columns but when it is all taken together the research is pretty compelling.

Here’s some excerpts from that discussion.

Featured Recipe

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous | Low Sodium Version
This is a remarkably simple recipe for one with so much flavor. The combination of spices is typical of the region but offers such a rich, savory and warm meal that it’s almost like this is comfort food. These are the spices that have influenced so much cooking in the Americas including the Caribbean, Creole and Cajun food as well as Mexican and Southwestern cuisine.

I love it that you can now more easily find boneless, skinless chicken thighs. These are almost as lean as chicken breasts but I love dark meat and its rich flavor. Best of all they’re about half the price of boneless chicken breasts.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and those who are lactose intolerant. Those with GERD / Acid Reflux or gluten sensitivity will want to avoid it.

Couscous

Often thought of as a grain, such as bulgur wheat, couscous is actually processed much like pasta. When wheat is milled, it separates into three components – the wheat germ, bran and endosperm. Endosperm is also known as semolina. To make couscous, the yellow semolina is rolled in flour until it is well coated.

Traditionally, couscous was made by hand rolling the coarse hard-wheat semolina with flour and a small amount of cold water until the right consistency was achieved. It is a staple of many North African diets and is now widely made in factories, making it more easily available. Couscous

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

Follow me on Twitter! | Read the Dr. Gourmet Blog

Chef Tim Says….

One of the main things that I have noticed over and over is portion size. It’s just plain smaller in Spain vs. the U.S. (or the U.K. for that matter). For instance, the croissants are about 2/3 the size of those found in America. Other pastries are similarly compact.

At lunch, sandwiches are smaller too. I have been recommending for years that folks limit the amount of meat or cheese in their sandwiches to about 1 or 2 ounces. That’s standard in Spain and more often it’s only about a single ounce. As I have mentioned before, the quality of the ham, cheese and sausage is so much richer that only a little is needed to make a delicious sandwich. Spain: Portion Size

Featured Recipe

Curried Pork Tenderloin

It doesn’t get any simpler than this recipe and if you are a curry lover it doesn’t get any better. The glaze is sweet, spicy and savory all in one. The pork is savory and the best part is that this takes only a few minutes. Even better: there’s almost nothing to clean up.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users. It is low in sodium, lactose-free, and gluten-free, provided the ingredients used to make it are gluten-free. Those who have GERD / Acid Reflux will likely find this recipe too spicy.

Pork Tenderloin

Dollar for dollar this is one of the best cuts of meat going. Pork tenderloin is lean and flavorful. You can roast it, braise it, grill it, or cut it into medallions for small filets – almost anything. In most grocery stores they are sold in 2 packs, with each tenderloin in the pack being about a pound. Ask the butcher if you want only one.

There will be a variable amount of fat and I trim this carefully. Most important is the silverskin. This is a thin layer of fascia at the head of the tenderloin on one side. It has to be trimmed because it is tough and fibrous.

Lay the tenderloin on the cutting board with the silverskin side up. Press gently on the top to flatten the meat. Slip the point of your filet knife under the fascia and cut toward the end of the tenderloin. Keep the pressure slightly upward and the silverskin will easily cut away from the meat.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

Timothy S. Harlan, M.D.
Dr. Gourmet
Follow me on Twitter!
Read the Dr. Gourmet Blog

Chef Tim Says….

There’s been an expression in medicine called the “French Paradox” for some time now. This is based on the concept that the French eat many high fat, rich foods, yet have lower rates of heart disease. The same “paradox” can be extended to other Mediterranean countries, but I don’t believe that there’s any puzzle at all.

For instance, there’s a pastry or bakery shop on almost every corner in Spain. These do have a lot of delicious and often very rich delicacies. A typical breakfast of espresso with milk (cafe con leche) and a croissant seems decadent. Yet the typical breakfast on the run in the U.S. – of a Starbucks 500+ calorie coffee drink and an oversized muffin or bagel – can easily be well over 500 more calories than that “rich” croissant and a coffee. (Interestingly, there are now a lot of Starbucks in Spain: 35 in Madrid.) Breakfast in Spain

Featured Recipe

Fish Cakes (Pantry Meal)

These fish cakes are super simple and you can use almost any white fish. I have labeled them a Pantry Meal because everything in the recipe are items that are staples in the kitchen. You can use frozen fish filets to make this, or it’s perfect for using up those little bits that are left over after trimming fish. (I put those leftover bits in the freezer for later.) The frozen fish only takes about a half hour to thaw and makes great fish cakes.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin (warfarin) users and has no specific GERD triggers. It is low in sodium and lactose-free. Those who are gluten sensitive should use gluten-free bread crumbs.

Bread Crumbs

This simple ingredient has so many different types. It is important to read a recipe carefully and choose the correct breadcrumbs because they are important to the recipe’s final texture. The two main types of breadcrumbs are dry breadcrumbs and fresh breadcrumbs. Dry breadcrumbs usually make for a finer, crisp texture while fresh have a moist crumbly consistency.

I don’t like to use stale bread to make dry breadcrumbs and prefer to use bread that has been dried in the oven. This is due to the fact that stale bread makes for stale tasting breadcrumbs. When making dry bread crumbs you can either toast the bread or not – each way has a different flavor. Toast bread in the oven at about 300°F turning a few times until it is evenly browned. I let them cool on racks before processing in a food processor or blender, as the slight moisture that remains will make dry breadcrumbs moist.

If you don’t want a toasted flavor, then simply dry the bread in the oven set on warm (this is 175°F on most ovens). Let them cool and then grind.

Fresh (sometimes called moist) breadcrumbs are just that – made with fresh bread. I find that the food processor makes better fresh breadcrumbs than using a blender.

Certainly you can use any type of bread to make your breadcrumbs – whole wheat, French, sourdough, rye, or even cinnamon raisin. Keep in mind that breads vary widely in the amount of fat and calories. I have not found a pre-made breadcrumb at the grocery store worth using.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

Chef Tim Says….

OK, I love pans. I have more than a few because over time I have collected ones that work best for certain recipes. I get questions from visitors about what are the best pans to purchase. The answer depends on the amount of room in your kitchen, your budget and how much of a geek you might be.

Heavy gauge aluminum pans are a fine value and are good conductors of heat. Because of this they will be fairly responsive to changes in heat. Many brands come coated with non-stick and handled carefully will last for years. These are a great choice for beginning cooks. Those that are not coated will take on a lovely cure and a natural non-stick over time.

Stainless pans are higher up the price range and somewhat more conductive. There’s a wide range now of pans that have everything from basic stainless steel to sandwiches of stainless or aluminum or copper. For beginners it’s best to find a moderately priced heavy gauge pan. Pans

Featured Recipe

Roasted Pork Tenderloin with Paprika Mayonnaise

This is a lovely and lush mayonnaise that works well on roast pork but the best part is that there are likely to be leftovers (depending on how much pork you cook). Both the pork and the mayonnaise make great sandwiches together or separately.

Cooking the spices helps mellow the harsh flavors and for most folks this will be mild enough to be GERD friendly.

This recipe is safe for Coumadin® (warfarin) users and is low in sodium. It is gluten-free provided that the ingredients used to make it are gluten-free, and it should be safe for most with GERD / Acid Reflux. Those who are lactose intolerant should avoid it.

Featured Ingredient: Paprika

This lovely spicy red powder is ground from mild to piquant peppers in the Capsicum family. The most common used to make paprika is the dried tomato pepper, which is closely related to other peppers, such as sweet peppers and jalapenos.

Paprikas on the market today come from as disparate locations as California, Spain, Chile and Hungary. It is Hungarian paprika that has become the most famous and most feel is the best quality. Cultivation began in the 17th century and the spice quickly became a staple of the Hungarian diet.

The aromatic flavor of the raw tomato pepper is between that of sweet and hot peppers. Drying and grinding creates a complex, pungent spice that is both spicy and sweet. The spice rack in your grocery store will carry a milder variety, while the spicier paprikas are found in gourmet groceries and online.

The powder is a great garnish and, when I was growing up, the main use was on deviled eggs. The true subtlety of its flavor and color is released with heating. Add the spice later in a dish, as the high sugar content will easily caramelize with direct heat.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

Dr. Tim Says….

I have written before about the interaction with certain medications and grapefruit. It wasn’t until about 2 years ago that scientists identified the exact substance in grapefruit that causes the problem. We now know that furanocoumarins (naturally-occurring substances found in grapefruit’s juice) are the culprit.

The issue is how those furanocoumarins interact with the CYP3A4 enzyme made in the liver. The problem arises because of the way this enzyme acts on certain medications. Drinking grapefruit juice affects this enzyme and interferes with how they are broken down. We don’t know exactly how long after eating grapefruit or drinking the juice the effect wears off, however. Consequently the ongoing presence of the grapefruit in the body continues to have an effect on the system.

Interestingly, there are also CYP3A4 enzyme produced in the intestine that can interfere with the availability of drugs being absorbed into the bloodstream. As a result you should be aware that there may not be a safe time to take some medications when eating grapefruit or drinking grapefruit juice.

One of the questions that I have received after writing on this topic is just which drugs can be a problem. Grapefruit Interactions

Featured Recipe

Trout with Tarragon Mustard Sauce

I like serving trout in filets because I am not all that fond of fighting with my food when I am ready to eat it. Most trout filets have been boned before you buy them, but check carefully before cooking. The key to cooking is a pan that’s quite hot but not so hot as to scorch the fish. Place the filets in skin side down to sear and then reduce the heat. The skin will crisp up nicely and the fish will cook easily.

This recipe is Coumadin® (warfarin) safe and gluten free provided that the ingredients used to make it are gluten free. Those who are lactose intolerant or have GERD / Acid Reflux should avoid it.

Taste Buds

There are five types of receptors on the tongue that sense all of the flavors that we taste. They are salt, sweet, bitter, sour and one called umami. Umami is a taste receptor that was identified only about six years ago and is best described as savory.

Each of these flavors acts on their own, but how they interact with each other is key to making recipes taste fantastic. Activation of any one taste will enhance another taste bud.

Sour
Sour tastes come from acidic foods. Because of the properties of acidic foods and how fast they react on the sour taste buds, these flavors can quickly brighten an otherwise dull dish.

The properties of salt react with acids and soften the bitterness of dishes. In doing so, sweetness is enhanced. Taste Buds

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

Chef Tim Says….

It’s Labor Day here in the United States. I love summer but it’s about over and time to celebrate. Holidays are certainly a good time to splurge a bit and maybe eat too much. Not a big deal—that’s one of the most important parts of eating healthy. It’s really important to give yourself permission to cut loose now and then.

That said, you can still eat food that’s great for you even if you’re eating a bit too much. I’ve put together some ideas for you.

I had a reader send a note recently asking for the Scallop and Barley Salad and she mentioned that it’s perfect to take to a pot luck. It’s easy to make ahead and people love it. If it’s your barbecue the Cajun Cheeseburgers are great. Pair that with this Potato Salad recipe sent in by Barbara Gendelman and you’re good to go.

Another great choice for the grill is the Polynesian Chicken. You can use the marinade with shrimp for some variety and either one of these paired with Lemon Rice makes a great end to the summer.

For dessert, look at our reviews of frozen yogurts, or make the super easy Strawberry Shortcake.

Here are some other ideas for your Labor Day:

Grilled Sage Lamb Kabobs or
Barbecue Chicken with Roasted Corn on the Cob
Cornbread Muffins
Cole Slaw
Potato Vinaigrette Salad

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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

Dr. Tim Says….

Almost every day I have patients ask me what they should weigh and how much they need to lose. I will admit that sometimes I am a bit evasive, saying such things as “Start working on your weight and I’ll tell you when to stop.”

Why am I not always more direct? Because folks can often be pretty unrealistic about their health and their weight. Usually people are shocked when I tell them what an ideal weight would be for them. While shock is their first reaction, folks usually say something like “Oh, I’ll do that, it’s easy for me to lose 50 pounds and you’ll see when I come back in three months.”

Man oh man, do I wish I had a dollar for every time someone said that (and another dollar for those who return in three months and have not lost any weight at all). I have no doubt that this mentality comes from fad diet books and pills that repeatedly advertise about how people can easily lose that much weight in such a short period. Realistic Goals

Featured Recipe

Scallop and Penne Salad | Low Sodium Version

Roasted criminis are an easy and inexpensive way to add maximum flavor to a dish. Sauteeing them like this until they are well caramelized is the key. The combination of the umami flavor in the mushrooms, the sweetness of the scallops and the richness of the olives combines well with the pasta for a great salad.

This recipe is Coumadin® (warfarin) safe, safe for those with GERD / Acid Reflux, and is gluten and lactose free.

Portion Size

Eating healthy is as much about the amount of food you eat as any other issue.

A serving size of pasta is two ounces (the amount in the Nutrition Facts on a box or bag of pasta). Since the standard box of pasta is one pound, there are eight servings in a box with each serving having about 200 calories.

There is usually not much fat in pasta, about a gram or so per serving. Most pasta is simply flour and water.

Eat well, eat healthy, enjoy life!

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