Dining Out Healthy, and Tostadas Revisited

Dining Out

Saturday I mentioned to my wife that I missed going to the Chinese buffet and had even looked on the Panda Express web site for their nutritional information and how I wished I could come up with something that wouldn’t wreck my diet. All she heard was “going to the Chinese buffet” and started getting dressed. I was trapped. When we arrived she headed for the buffet and the garlic shrimp while I negotiated with the waitress, a former student, for no fat, no added salt, and low calorie options. Schezwan tofu with steamed vegetables and steamed rice seemed to fit the bill. The spicy tofu was delicious and I ate half of it, all the vegetables, and about a cup of steamed white rice. I estimated about 600 mg for sodium and hadn’t anticipated the 14 grams of fat in the tofu as I usually cook with NaySoya Lite tofu with only 7.5 grams of fat for the whole package. My diet was still intact.

Friday, the college board of directors hosted our annual appreciation luncheon. The menu was chicken fettuccine alfredo, roasted potatoes, salad, and orange cake. I brought my own four ounce portion of chicken Cordon Bleu, some steamed vegetables with Brussels sprouts, and my own salad dressing for the salad. While I was a little self-conscious and was tolerated by the faculty and staff members I shared a table with, some of the board members congratulated me on my weight loss and expressed appreciation that I was sticking to my diet.

Tostadas Revisited

Deborah commented and took me to task on my Non-fat Refried Beans and Healthy Tostada post for forgetting, “the salsa, or pico de gallo, or chopped tomatoes”. While I did forget them in the article, I remembered them when I ate them. I did have chopped tomatoes and green salsa. This time it was bottle green taco sauce, but when I have the time, I like to make my own salsa verde. To further elaborate, the timing on the tortillas in the oven should be about 12-15 minutes depending on the degree of browning you like. I left them in the oven at 400 degrees for fifteen minutes and turned them several times.

Salsa Verde

Here is my salsa verde recipe. One year at Christmas I made gift packs of four salsas, this one, my Polynesian Salsa, and two red ones. The gift was a big hit.

Ingredients

10 Tomatillos with husks removed
1 Serrano chili pepper
2 Jalapeno peppers, seeded
½ Onion-chopped
2 T chopped cilantro
3 T lemon juice

The original recipe included olive oil and salt. This recipe doesn’t suffer in the least from their omission.

Blanch the tomatillos and chili peppers for two minutes in boiling water, drain, and puree in the food processor. Drain and add remaining ingredients.

This recipe makes about two cups and contains 11.47 calories, .27 g protein, 1.62 g carbohydrates, .23 g fat, and .47 mg sodium per two tablespoon serving.

Here are my dietary recaps for the last three days.

Daily Dietary Recap-4/23/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1253	58.71 g	162.08 g	1450.75 mg	11.63 g	8.27%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/22/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1187.6	46.14 g	221.76 g	973.5 mg	13.77 g	10.44%

Daily Dietary Recap-4/21/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1105.42	63.14 g	164.83 g	950.53 mg	14.05 g	10.22%

Ten Secrets of Weight Loss-Part 3

I will continue with my list of the top ten things I have learned so far about weight loss. It seems to be working as I weighed in at the fitness center today and my cumulative weight loss since January 3, 2007 is now 33.5 pounds. I will talk about numbers 4-7 today. For reference, here is my top ten list.

The Ten Secrets of My Weight Loss

1. Knowledge is power-the knowledge to make choices
2. Non-fat sour cream is my friend
3. Non-fat cream cheese is my friend
4. Fiber is filling
5. My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet
6. My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be
7. Almost any recipe can be remodeled to accommodate my diet
8. Exercise accelerates the weight loss and blood pressure lowering process
9. Vinegar wakes up the flavors of food
10. A playful attitude about food and a willingness to experiment have been strong allies

Four: Fiber is filling Fiber also has specific health benefits and provides filling bulk without adding calories. A high fiber cracker or two and a glass of mineral water is my way of coping with the relatively rare hunger pangs I get now. Fiber helps me to feel full and postpones my desire to eat on my reduced calorie and fat diet. High fiber foods take longer to chew and fool me into thinking that I have eaten more than I actually have.

According to the Mayo Clinic, a high-fiber diet may reduce my risk of hemorrhoids, irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulitis. Soluble fiber may also lower blood cholesterol levels and slow the absorption of sugar. It may also reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

My target, based on the Mayo clinic recommendations, is 30-38 mg of fiber. On a normal American diet, this may be difficult to achieve. I even read an article that recommended that most Americans start their day with enough Metamucil to provide half of their target fiber. On my diet, I haven’t had any trouble reaching my fiber goals. Reaching these goals happened without consciously thinking about them because foods that are low in fat and sodium also seem to be high in fiber.

I like crackers that are high in fiber and whole grain like Ry-Krisp (2 g) and Wasa (1.5 g), my morning oatmeal has 6 g, the flaxseed meal I cook with it has 2g, and the small box of raisins I also cook in my oatmeal (.5 oz.) has 1, for a total of 8 grams of fiber. One cup of my chili has nearly 11 grams, a baked sweet potato has 6.6, an orange has 3.3 grams, and a grapefruit has nearly 4 grams. My plate is always filled with fiber-rich vegetables too. So, I feel full and I have no need for Metamucil.

Five: My palate took about three days to retrain to a low sodium diet. When I first started eating foods without added salt like oatmeal and brown rice, I felt like I was eating tasteless cardboard. I also stocked up on Mrs. Dash products and salt substitutes. I still use the Mrs. Dash seasonings, but I haven’t touched the salt substitutes since the first week of my diet. When I revisited the food that previously had no taste, I found that they were rich with flavors. I was able to taste the subtle rich flavors that are naturally in all food when my palate was not jaded by salt.

Six: My dinner plate is a riot of color compared with what it used to be. My wife was the first to notice how attractive my plate has become at the evening meal. Salmon, brown rice, mixed vegetables, mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, salsa, sweet potatoes, a colorful salad, and other foods combine to create a plate that is as pleasing to the eye as it is to the palate. This unintended benefit adds to my satisfaction with my low calorie diet. It is also healthier to eat a variety of foods.

Once again, I left my thumb drive at school so I will have to double up on my recaps tomorrow.

Low Fat and Low Salt Condiments

When I first started my low-fat, low-salt diet, I bought a number of extra seasonings thinking that I would be using them regularly. The first three days I did use them. After that, my salt-jaded palate cleared and I began to enjoy what food really tastes like for the first time. I still occasionally use Mrs. Dash Table Blend but for the most part, I use the spices I like in the proportions I choose.

I have really started to enjoy the flavors in brown rice, vegetables (especially mushrooms), and fruit. I occasionally use my seasoned sour cream. This was my first attempt at creating a condiment. I mixed 1 teaspoon of horseradish with ½ cup of non-fat sour cream and added garlic powder, onion powder, freshly ground pepper, and Mrs. Dash Table Blend. It has quite a bit of flavor and is good on beef, chicken and pork. I have since added 1 teaspoon of prepared mustard to the blend and sometimes carry it with me when I eat out.

Seasoned Sour Cream

½ C Non-fat sour cream
1 t. Horseradish
1/8 t. Onion powder
1/8 t. Garlic powder
Ground black pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash Table Blend to taste
1 t. Prepared mustard (optional)

One teaspoon contains, 3.33 calories, no fat, .33 g protein, .5 g carbohydrates, and only 13.54 mg sodium.

Vinegar is almost miraculous in its ability to wake up the flavors of foods. It is good splashed on or cooked in. I keep a cruet of vinegar on the table at home and on my desk at work. My standby is apple cider vinegar but, I also love balsamic, wine vinegars of all types, and herbal vinegars. I’ve found that using vinegar takes away any thought of using salt.

I love salsa and use it on eggbeaters omelets and with my corn tortillas and fish tacos. I have found that among the commercially available salsas, the mild one typically have less sodium. My favorite is Frieda’s mild salsa found in produce section of my supermarket. It is best to make your own by chopping a couple of tomatoes, some onion, some red or green bell pepper, cilantro, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, and the hot pepper of your choice (jalapeno, habanero, chile). Genuine Tabasco sauce is the low salt choice as some of the imitators can have up to 200 mg sodium per teaspoon while Tabasco has only 10 mg. I also like salsas that are made with fruit. One year I made and canned four different varieties of salsa and gave them at presents at Christmas. The favorite was this salsa with a Polynesian flavor.

Polynesian Salsa

1 cup chopped peeled pineapple
1 cup chopped peeled mango
1 cup chopped yellow or red bell (red is sweeter) pepper
2/3 cup chopped peeled kiwi fruit
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon fresh lime or lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced Serrano chili* (with seeds)
Ground white pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and season with white pepper to taste. The white pepper is important. Just as much of the hot in Hot Sour soup comes from the white pepper, much of the kick in this salsa comes from it as well. So, feel free to kick it up as much as you want. Until you find your comfort level, you might want to start by adding ½ teaspoon, letting it sit so the flavors blend, and repeat until you find the right balance for yourself. This salsa is great on chicken breasts and mild white fish.

Polynesian Salsa (per 2 Tablespoons): Calories, 9.22 calories; .05 g fat; .58 mg sodium; .16 g protein; 2.34 g carbohydrates.

More on condiments later.

Here's my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-3/13/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1358.12	69.38 g	209.47 g	1046 mg	21.01 g	13.92%