Folks often make assumptions about what I eat. In recent weeks it’s been announced (in my presence, and not by me) that I eat vegan, as well as Paleo, that I follow Weight Watchers, and that I’m just lucky, whatever that is, so I can eat whatever I want. In a funny way, this last part is true; I do eat whatever I want. It’s just not what you might think I want.
When I’m at the grocery store, neighbors often try to to take a nonchalant peek into my grocery cart. So I’m going to spare you the trouble and explain it myself, right here and now.
For breakfast this morning, by the way, I had a cup of black coffee, a handful of grapes and a big bowl of soup, a perfect choice for a day when the temperature is still 15F. Made on Friday, this simple soup has just a few ingredients: turkey stock, turkey meat, greens (swiss chard, bok choy), and the juice of a squeezed lemon. That’s all and that’s enough. The turkey stock recipe can be found here.
What’s for lunch? Let me preface the answer to this question with a very important caveat: I ALWAYS (99.9%) bring my lunch to work. It’s usually leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, so I often bring in soup, stew, or vegetables. It usually contains some kind of meat, chicken or fish. Or an avocado, sprinkled with salt, or a bowl of homemade soup (some kind of vegetable soup with or without meat) and a couple of pieces of fruit. Favorite fruits this time of year are clementines, oranges, bananas, pears. At the moment, the kitchen counter also holds two Chinese apples and a large, beautiful, red pomegranate. Afternoon snack consists of nuts (any and all kinds), another piece of fruit, and usually a piece of dark chocolate. I keep a small knife and small flat cutting board in my desk drawer at work to slice up apples, oranges, and the occasional mango.
Dinner might be roasted chicken, cod, eggs poached in tomato sauce, salmon, turkey meatballs, canned tuna. There is always a green salad, and always a vegetable, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, eggplant, carrots, or celery (braised, steamed, sauteed, or roasted). Sometimes there are a couple of vegetables, but one is always green. There is the occasional sweet potato (baked), or quinoa, or kasha, or brown rice, but never more often than once or twice a week. On the nights when no one has time to cook dinner, I heat up leftovers and make a salad. Salad means lettuce, olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt, and that is all. Rarely, a few olives get sprinkled on, or maybe some tomato slices. Very rarely.
So, what do I eat? Well, it’s not any of the diets listed above, at least not exactly. I eat no gluten, so that means no wheat, barley, or rye. I eat no dairy, so no milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream. Why? Let’s just say that, for many reasons, it’s better that way. I highly recommend it. And I eat virtually no processed food-like items. No soda, no corn syrup or modified corn starch. No “vegetable oil,” and that goes double if it’s partially hydrogenated. Besides the obvious personal benefit to me of not eating gluten, a secondary benefit is that gluten-free eating decreases one’s consumption of processed calories considerably. The benefit of avoiding manufactured calories cannot be overstated.
What DO I eat? Everything else. Real food, and plenty of it. Loads of vegetables and fruit, chicken, beef, turkey and fish. Eggs. Nuts. Beans (almost always in a soup). Occasionally, a spoonful of whole grains. A friend made the point that my diet probably shows significantly more variety than the standard American diet, heavily weighted as it is with wheat, corn, and soy. Since I eat virtually no processed food-like items, pretty much the only corn and soy I eat are straight off the cob or from a bowl filled with fresh, green edamame.
I think I’ll make scrambled eggs and braised red peppers for lunch today.
Okay then, what do my lab results show? My total cholesterol was 186 (goal: below 200). The HDL cholesterol was 76 (goal: above 55). LDL was 92 (goal: below 130), and triglycerides were 92 (goal: below 150). My fasting blood sugar was 82, and my average blood sugar over the past 3 months was 100 (measured at 5.1 by the hemoglobin A1C test). My c-reactive protein is 0.1 (normal range: 0-1.0). Elevations in c-reactive protein correlate with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. My B12 levels were measured at 645 (normal range 221-700). This is impressive, given that I do not take a supplement. My diet clearly supplies a generous amount of B12. My Vitamin D level was slightly low at 28 (normal is greater than 31). The last time it was checked, it registered in the 40’s. I probably could use a supplement in the winter, when I both leave for and return home from work in the dark. In the summer I walk outside in the light every day.
So you tell me, how am I doing?
When I’m at the grocery store, neighbors often try to to take a nonchalant peek into my grocery cart. So I’m going to spare you the trouble and explain it myself, right here and now.
For breakfast this morning, by the way, I had a cup of black coffee, a handful of grapes and a big bowl of soup, a perfect choice for a day when the temperature is still 15F. Made on Friday, this simple soup has just a few ingredients: turkey stock, turkey meat, greens (swiss chard, bok choy), and the juice of a squeezed lemon. That’s all and that’s enough. The turkey stock recipe can be found here.
What’s for lunch? Let me preface the answer to this question with a very important caveat: I ALWAYS (99.9%) bring my lunch to work. It’s usually leftovers from the previous night’s dinner, so I often bring in soup, stew, or vegetables. It usually contains some kind of meat, chicken or fish. Or an avocado, sprinkled with salt, or a bowl of homemade soup (some kind of vegetable soup with or without meat) and a couple of pieces of fruit. Favorite fruits this time of year are clementines, oranges, bananas, pears. At the moment, the kitchen counter also holds two Chinese apples and a large, beautiful, red pomegranate. Afternoon snack consists of nuts (any and all kinds), another piece of fruit, and usually a piece of dark chocolate. I keep a small knife and small flat cutting board in my desk drawer at work to slice up apples, oranges, and the occasional mango.
Dinner might be roasted chicken, cod, eggs poached in tomato sauce, salmon, turkey meatballs, canned tuna. There is always a green salad, and always a vegetable, like broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, eggplant, carrots, or celery (braised, steamed, sauteed, or roasted). Sometimes there are a couple of vegetables, but one is always green. There is the occasional sweet potato (baked), or quinoa, or kasha, or brown rice, but never more often than once or twice a week. On the nights when no one has time to cook dinner, I heat up leftovers and make a salad. Salad means lettuce, olive oil, and a sprinkle of salt, and that is all. Rarely, a few olives get sprinkled on, or maybe some tomato slices. Very rarely.
So, what do I eat? Well, it’s not any of the diets listed above, at least not exactly. I eat no gluten, so that means no wheat, barley, or rye. I eat no dairy, so no milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream. Why? Let’s just say that, for many reasons, it’s better that way. I highly recommend it. And I eat virtually no processed food-like items. No soda, no corn syrup or modified corn starch. No “vegetable oil,” and that goes double if it’s partially hydrogenated. Besides the obvious personal benefit to me of not eating gluten, a secondary benefit is that gluten-free eating decreases one’s consumption of processed calories considerably. The benefit of avoiding manufactured calories cannot be overstated.
What DO I eat? Everything else. Real food, and plenty of it. Loads of vegetables and fruit, chicken, beef, turkey and fish. Eggs. Nuts. Beans (almost always in a soup). Occasionally, a spoonful of whole grains. A friend made the point that my diet probably shows significantly more variety than the standard American diet, heavily weighted as it is with wheat, corn, and soy. Since I eat virtually no processed food-like items, pretty much the only corn and soy I eat are straight off the cob or from a bowl filled with fresh, green edamame.
I think I’ll make scrambled eggs and braised red peppers for lunch today.
Okay then, what do my lab results show? My total cholesterol was 186 (goal: below 200). The HDL cholesterol was 76 (goal: above 55). LDL was 92 (goal: below 130), and triglycerides were 92 (goal: below 150). My fasting blood sugar was 82, and my average blood sugar over the past 3 months was 100 (measured at 5.1 by the hemoglobin A1C test). My c-reactive protein is 0.1 (normal range: 0-1.0). Elevations in c-reactive protein correlate with an increased risk of coronary artery disease. My B12 levels were measured at 645 (normal range 221-700). This is impressive, given that I do not take a supplement. My diet clearly supplies a generous amount of B12. My Vitamin D level was slightly low at 28 (normal is greater than 31). The last time it was checked, it registered in the 40’s. I probably could use a supplement in the winter, when I both leave for and return home from work in the dark. In the summer I walk outside in the light every day.
So you tell me, how am I doing?
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