Green's the best color to add your palate
Wednesday, March 26, 2008 6:20 AM PDT
By Don Fuller
Printable version
E-mail this article"Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants," declares the cover of Michael Pollan's newest book, "In Defense of Food."
The title and subtitle pretty well sum up Pollan's point of view. To him, food is the key word to defend. Simply put, you should not consider something food if your great grandmother would not recognize it as food.
What we have today are too many overly processed items on the grocery shelf that do us more harm than good.
To Pollan, the basic problem with the American diet is that nutritionists have asserted control of what we eat by over-analyzing food, and from their studies making unwarranted assertions about what is good for us.
For example, the common chicken egg is strongly argued to be dangerous because of the amount of cholesterol it contains. Yet there is little proof that consumption of a large number eggs can be linked to coronary heart disease.
Too much time has been spent promoting low-fat diets and not enough attention has been spent on the type of fats consumed. The recent publicity about the dangers of trans fats points out how easily the topic can change.
Pollan argues that what we need to do is stop analyzing everything we eat to find out what is bad. A few simple principles based on eating what our grandparents ate make for a healthier alternative.
We should avoid processed food. Food that's processed has been changed from its natural state, usually to make it safe or convenient. Canned, frozen and dehydrated foods are processed.
Some foods are healthier because they're processed, like homogenized milk. And frozen vegetables are generally not harmful. But processed meats, white bread and pasta, mixes and frozen dinners, snacks, and foods that are full of sugar, sodium, high fructose corn syrup and trans fats are not healthy.
We should eat plants.They contain many of the critical nutrients that our bodies need.
We should eat fish and other animals whose diets are rich in plants.
While plants are good, their seeds do not contain the same level of nutrients as the plants themselves, so diets dependent on corn and soy products are likely to be less nutritious. Thus, pastured chickens and cattle are more nutritious than those raised on corn and soy products.
Pollan's practical advice includes many ways we can recover our health by eating genuine food. He suggests we shop around the perimeter of the store, choosing the fresh food that is most often found there.
If you can, find farmers' markets or individual producers of fresh foods. Meat is not bad for you, but it can't displace other essential food. He also adds the caveat that animals raised in an artificial environment will not yield meat that contains healthy nutrients. These are only found when these animals have access to and eat green plants.
The same argument applies to plants as well. Plants that have been raised on commercial fertilizers will not have the same nutrient value as plants raised in soils that are rich in organic matter.
Finally, eating socially, slowly, and preparing food at home will have the greatest reward in healthy living and a happy life.
My choice of some highlights from his book does not do justice to his well-developed argument about why our food supply's quality has diminished and has led to many of the current health problems in America. He is not an extremist about what kind of a diet we have as long as we are eating "real" food.
I believe it is a book that people who are concerned about what is a proper diet should read. It might change your meal plans and shopping habits. It did mine. In line with his arguments, I offer two salads and a shrimp dish, with its healthy omega-3 oil.
ROCKET (ARUGULA) SALAD
4 large handfuls of rocket, washed, stemmed, and dried
1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar or mixture of red wine and sherry vinegar
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 or 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts, walnuts, or pecans
Whisk together 3 tablespoons of oil with vinegar. Taste the dressing with a leaf of rocket. Add more oil and salt to taste. When ready to serve, toss the rocket with vinaigrette. With a sturdy vegetable peeler cut thin curls of cheese and scatter over the top of salad before serving.
-Adapted from a recipe in Alice Waters, "The Art of Simple Food," 2007
FRUIT SALAD WITH POPPY SEED DRESSING
(6 to 8 servings)
1 bag baby green lettuce or spinach
1 to 2 cups toasted walnuts
1 to 2 cups of finely cubed havarti cheese
1 or 2 cups fruit (strawberries or apples work well)*
In a large salad bowl, toss together greens, walnuts, cheese and fruit. Divide among individual serving plates. Put the dressing in a bowl with serving spoon so that each person can add the dressing to the salad. Dressing recipe follows.
*Your favorite fruits in combination also make a good addition to this salad.
Dressing
(Makes about 1 1/2 cups dressing)
1 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard or other prepared mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Dash salt
Empty all the ingredients into a blender or into a tall quart container to blend with an immersion blender.
Blend the dressing until dressing thickens to the consistency of heavy cream.
-Adapted from a recipe of Stephanie Worth, Longview.
BAKED STUFFED SHRIMP
(Serves 4)
8 uncooked jumbo shrimp, tails on and peeled
1/2 cup cooked crabmeat, shredded or equal amount bay scallops chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup celery, finely chopped
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons dry sherry
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg slightly beaten
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Butterfly shrimp by carefully cutting the shrimp almost in half along the inside curve of the shrimp. Flatten and place on a greased baking sheet.
Sauté onions, garlic and celery in butter for 1-2 minutes or until softened.
Stir in mushrooms, lemon juice and sherry and cook 2 minutes.
Remove pan from heat. Blend in crabmeat or chopped scallops, breadcrumbs and egg into the sautéed
mixture.
Spoon equal amounts of breadcrumb mixture on each butterflied shrimp. Sprinkle with cheese.
Place the shrimp in a broiler about 5 inches from heat for 5 or 6 minutes or until browned.
-Adapted from a recipe found on www.gortonsfreshseafood.com
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