What is so GOOD about Fat?
I am just a chef --- and as a chef I am in constant contact
with food. The food that I am in contact with has been changing at an alarming
rate over the last decade. Finding food that is not made with genetically
modified ingredients, that hasn't been injected with chemicals and hasn't been
sprayed with stabilizers is getting quite challenging. My mission is to
convince you that there are definite health benefits to seeking out and eating
what I like to call Clean Food. Clean Food means food that has been grown,
harvested and prepared in a traditional manner. Real Food is Good.
As we venture forth into the jungle of health information,
there is one reoccurring truth that continues to surface through the marketing
muck. The truth is that the traditional diets of regional peoples are the
healthiest diets of all. Are they low fat, low calorie, high carbohydrate diets
like the one the FDA recommends for us? Not exactly. The healthy, ancestral
diets of the world are based on fresh local ingredients in balance and harmony
with the seasons. Clean fats combined with fresh fruits, vegetables and legumes
is the optimum diet. Thinking about food in this way is the healthiest approach
possible.
Many of my recipes contain a fair amount of fat, yet all of it
is unprocessed, "good" fat. Most traditional diets contain considerably higher
amounts of fat than our own FDA recommends. They also contain more calories.
Our bodies need fat and a fair amount of it to operate properly. Fats carry the
vitamins A, D, E and K. Fats are found in every single cell of the body. Why do
you think they are called Essential Fatty Acids? The challenging task is
learning the difference between good and bad fats and then learning where to
get good, clean fats. We all know that extra virgin olive oil is a great fat.
We know this because there is published evidence that the Mediterranean diet is
a "heart healthy" one. Consuming a tablespoon of cold pressed olive oil daily
not only increases your HDL or "good" cholesterol but it actually lowers your
LDL or "bad" cholesterol.
What are we doing that is so BAD?
Until recently, many cultures traditionally used cold pressed
oils. Grapeseed, peanut, corn, coconut, sesame and palm oil are prevalent in
the diets of some of the world's most vibrant people. Unfortunately, technology
and the global economy have brought higher yield processed oils to the far
reaches of the earth. More and more, the statistics indicate that a rise in
cardiovascular disease is directly related to the worldwide distribution of
American processed foods and food processing technology. Are we a help or a
hindrance?
Here are some stunning statistics. Americans have one of the
highest rates of Type II diabetes per capita in the world and the numbers are
rising yearly. Over 15.3 million Americans suffer from this disease which leads
to heart disease in many cases. The evidence that our processed food culture is
the culprit behind this unfortunate statistic is only now trickling into our
media stream. Sadly, other countries which have embraced our fast food,
processed fat culture are experiencing a similar rise in circulatory diseases.
The rise of juvenile obesity in China directly correlates to the rise in sale
of American soft drinks and fast food in that country. We Americans don't fare
very well in the cardiovascular world over all.
Sure, through our technological advances we've learned to
prolong life in those who are afflicted with heart and blood maladies. But
maybe we are missing the point. Maybe we should be addressing the reason so
many of us are becoming sick in the first place. Over 40% of the deaths in
America are due to disease of the cardiovascular system. Countries which have
maintained their traditional diets have a much lower ratio of heart and
circulatory illness.
In Brazil, where traditional cuisine includes abundant meat
dishes seasoned with raw palm oil, the percentage of deaths due to diseases of
the cardiovascular system is only 28%.
In Peru, where the traditional diet of grass fed meats, native
corn varieties, legumes, vegetables and chiles has remained the same for
centuries, the percentage of deaths due to diseases of the cardiovascular
system is 13.8%!
My conclusion is that our dilemma in America has nothing to do
with eating fat or lean foods. It has to do with eating processed foods,
especially processed and hydrogenated fats. It is the commercial processing of
fats which creates bad fats.
What is a processed oil and why is it UGLY?
When commercial oil is processed for human consumption it is
combined with caustic acids. The introduction of the caustic acids removes the
beneficial free fatty acids. The oil is then filtered, degummed, bleached,
deodorized, scented, stabilized and colored. Often, synthetic antioxidants are
added to replace what was lost in the refining process. Lastly, a defoamer is
added before it gets to market. The oil is often sold in clear containers even
though sunlight and florescent light destroys most of the remaining
advantageous fatty acids.
The process of hydrogenation is intended to create a solid fat
with smooth, rich mouth-feel. The hazard lies in the process of shattering fat
molecules into smaller parts which are much more easily absorbed into our
intestines than are fat molecules in their natural state. Additionally, all of
the essential fatty acids are destroyed in the processing, leaving an
indigestible product.
A quick walk through a modern American supermarket will reveal
to you that the staggering majority of the foods we are sold contain processed
and hydrogenated fats. Just about any deep fried food is fried in processed
oil, also. So, if the FDA means that we should consume less of those foods, I
agree. But without essential real fats, we become out of balance and our
vital organs and blood cells will begin to break down.
On the question of animal fat, I have arrived at a similar
conclusion. There are distinct differences between good and bad animal fats.
Animals raised on the pasture get adequate exercise. They are grass and green
fed without processed feed, antibiotics and growth hormones. When this is the
case, moderate intake of their fat is a healthy and beneficial addition to our
diets. When the animals are raised in boxes and are fed processed fats
themselves, such as genetically modified high yield corn and soybeans, they
pass these unnatural, damaging fats right into your body when you eat them.
An animal raised naturally on a diet of organic vegetation and
insects contains elusive and vital minerals and nutrients from the earth. Those
wholesome nutrients become assimilated into their fat, flesh and eggs for we
humans to consume. It is a REAL and healthy chain of events. This is what
nature intended for us. Immune system invigorators like Selenium and CoQ-10 are
found in abundance in grass fed meat and free range eggs. The same cannot be
said for commercial grain fed meats and eggs.
The same is true for seafood. Farm raised seafood is also fed
high yield grains to fatten it up more quickly. Hence, we consume more of the
same when we eat farmed seafood. Wherein wild seafood subsists on a diet of
mineral rich plankton (or smaller prey who have eaten it) and pass it to us via
their fat and flesh. This is the real deal.
So, back to the recipes. As you prepare these recipes and the
rest of the food you choose to cook, file the info I just gave you. Real food
can't be wrong. We are not smarter than the infinite wisdom of our ecosystem.
We can't improve it, either. We are a part of it. Buy the cleanest food you
can. It is a small investment in yourself and your family
Some Excellent Sources of Clean Food Wild and Sustainable
Seafood
Wild Seafood
Adam's Fairacre
Farms
Kingston
Poughkeepsie
Newburgh
Cousins Fish Market,
1706 Rte 9W Lake Katrine, NY 12449,
(845) 336-4264
Gadaleto's Seafood Market,
Cherry Hill Center, New Paltz,
NY, ( 845) 255-1717
Rhinebeck Health Foods
24 Garden Street
(20 minutes
north of Poughkeepsie, at Route 9 and West Market Street ( 845) 876-2555
Free Range, Grass Fed Meats and Chicken
Gallo's
Rt 212, just east of Woodstock
Hurley Ridge Market
West Hurley, on Rt 375, between Rt 28
and Rt 212 (Woodstock)
Jack's Meats
79 Main Street, New Paltz, ( 845) 255-2244
Northwinds Farms
185 W Kerley Corners Rd, Tivoli, NY
12583, ( 845) 757-5591
Organically Grown Produce
Sunfrost Farms
217 Tinker St., Woodstock. (845)
679-9589
Just west of town on Rt 212
Gallo's
Rt 212, just east of Woodstock
Sunflower Natural Foods Market
Rt 212, Bradley Meadows
Shopping Center, Woodstock 845-679-5361
Mother
Earth's
Saugerties, Kingston, Hyde Park & Poughkeepsie
High Falls Food Coop
Lucas Turnpike & Rt 213, High
Falls, NY, ( 845) 687-7262
The Recipes
New World Poke (PO-key) of Cured Alaskan Salmon and Tuna
Poke is a popular and spicy seafood tartare from Hawaii. There
are as many recipes for poke as there are for, say, potato salad. That is good,
because once you have a feel for making poke, you can design your own according
to your tastes. For me, this is the perfect kind of cocktail dish---beautiful,
assertive and settling. The intense protein fix and the excellent fats from the
fish will keep you and your guests sated while mingling. This is very important
when you are pouring delicious sparkling wines!
serves 8
ricter scale -5
6 ounces sushi grade raw
Alaskan salmon or gravlax (see recipe below)
or you may substitute any fine
quality cured salmon.
6 ounces Sushi grade tuna
1/4 cup wakame (dried
green seaweed), reconstituted
2 tablespoon finely chopped scallions
1
tablespoon grated ginger
1 small Thai chile, sliced into thin rings or
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 tablespoon sesame seeds
2
tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1 tablespoon
sweet vinegar or Mirin
Put the wakame in a work bowl. Cover with 3 cups warm water
and allow to reconstitute (about 5 minutes). It will bloom to 3-4 times its
size so make sure your bowl in big enough. When it has bloomed, strain and
squeeze out any excess water.
Dice the fish into small pieces---slightly bigger than if
minced. In a glass bowl, toss gently with the seaweed and all of the other
remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for 15 minutes to allow the flavors to
mingle like your guests. Serve cold, spooned onto rice-seaweed crackers, endive
petals or romaine hearts.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving (2-3 pieces
96 calories, 5 g
fat (45% calories from fat), 10 g protein, 3 g carbohydrates, 19 mg
cholesterol, 232 mg sodium
Gravlax- Salt & Sugar Cured Salmon
Serves 4 with leftovers
1 2 lb filet of salmon, skin on,
pin bones removed
1/4 cup strong dijon mustard
1/4 cup sea salt
1/8
cup Turbinado sugar or Organic sugar (Florida's Crystals)
1 tbls ground
coriander seed
Place salmon on a plate with the skin side down
Use your
hands to rub the mustard into the flesh of the fish.
Mix the dry
ingredients and sprinkle onto the filet like a thin coating of snow.
Carefully wrap in plastic wrap or waxed paper.
Put back on the pack and set
another plate on top of the fish, creating a gently press.
Refrigerate. Let
fish cure for 2-3 days. Rinse under cold water to remove most of the curing
salt before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Wasabikko Deviled Eggs
Wasabikko is fish roe flavored with wasabi. If you have eaten
sushi, you have probably had tobikko, or Japanese style caviar. Made from the
roe of smaller fish like smelt or flying fish, it is quite affordable. The
wasabi flavor in wasabikko is unusually delicious. The combination of egg and
mayo with the pop and crunch of the fish roe and the pungency of the wasabi is
WILD! Serve these at your next cocktail party and videotape the expressions on
your guests' faces as they let the texture of these eggs develop in their
mouths. You will be creating culinary erotica!
Serves 6-8
Ricter scale 5
I dozen large free range
chicken eggs
1/2 cup or more of prepared safflower mayo
1 tablespoon
frozen wasabi or wasabi powder
2 tablespoons wasabikko plus more for
garnish
Whisk the wasabi into the mayo and set aside.
Hard boil
the eggs, cool and carefully peel them. Rinse the eggs gently under cold water
to remove any residual shell pieces. Cut the eggs in half lengthwise and remove
the yolks to a medium mixing bowl. Put the cooked whites on a serving platter.
Whisk the wasabi infused mayo into the egg yolks to blend. Whisk thoroughly
until the mix is smooth. (An electric hand mixer is perfect for this job) Fold
the 2-3 tablespoons wasabikko into the prepared mayo. Fill a piping bag fitted
with a large star tip with the yolk mixture and pipe into each half egg white.
Garnish with a sprinkling of wasabikko. Serve cold.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving (2-3 pieces)
92 calories, 9 g fat (87% calories from fat), 3 g protein, 1 g
carbohydrates, 70 mg cholesterol, 177 mg sodium
Strawberry, Tomato and Basil Salad on Goat Cheese
Bruschette
Local strawberry season is one of those agricultural events
that starts with a trickle, proceeds to a flood and then dries up almost
overnight. When Fourth-of-July berries are plentiful at the farm stands, this
is the dish to use them in to knock your friends' socks off. The complex
textures and tart accents of pepper and vinegar are sensational. This recipe
provides a good opportunity to use up those delicious berries that may be
slightly bruised or imperfect.
I served this dish at the 1999 Taste of the
Nation event in Fishkill, NY and my 10 year old son Willie helped me serve. So
many people were puzzled by the combination of strawberries and basil that he
began barking in his deep raspy voice "just taste it!" to the guests. He was as
big a hit as the food was!
Serves 4
Ricter scale -3
For the Dressing:
1 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup dry
red wine
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons turbinado
sugar
For the Salad:
3 cups ripe strawberries, hulled and cut in
half lengthwise
2 cups ripe tomatoes, diced
20 - 25 fresh basil
leaves
coarsely ground black pepper
fruity extra-virgin olive oil
For the Toast:
12 half inch thick slices Italian or French
bread.
8 ounces "Fromage Blanc" - mild, soft goat cheese
Put all of the dressing ingredients in a non reactive pot,
bring to a boil and reduce by half. Cool.
Tear or gently chop the basil
into bite-size pieces.
Add the strawberries, tomatoes and chopped basil to
the cool dressing and fold gently together.
Gently toast the bread slices
in a toaster oven or broiler. Spread with a schmear of goat cheese.
With a
slotted spoon, put a spoonful of berries and basil onto the goat cheese toasts.
Drizzle with some of the remaining dressing and grind a little more black
pepper on the top, if you like.
Nutrition Facts Per Serving (2 pieces)
152 calories, 5 g
fat (29% calories from fat), 6 g protein, 23g carbohydrates, 8 mg cholesterol,
173 mg sodium
