Archive for September, 2008
Weight Loss Basics Explained
Sep 28th
I covered the nitty gritty of digestion from a biological point of view in yesterday’s post. But say you just want to lose that paunch you’ve developed from too many late-night viewings of Dr. Who (accompanied by salty buttered popcorn). Let’s find out:
Say I’ve got a friend, Rose Tyler. Rose is 5’9”, weighs 180 lbs (slightly overweight), consumes 2000 Calories daily, and exerts herself enough to not gain or lose weight. She wants to lose 10% of her bodyweight for a final (and healthy) weight of 162 lbs. A healthy rate of loss is 1-2 lbs/week, so this could take 9-18 weeks to achieve.
1 pound [2.2kg] of body fat is the same as about 3500 Calories [kcal]. Thus to burn one pound of fat requires an expenditure or deficiency of 3500 Calories. Since we’re shooting for 1-2 lbs weekly, that means:
(3500 Calories/week)*(1 week/7 days) = 500 Calories less (or extra exercise) daily. Double this (1000 Calories) for 2 lbs/week.
Reducing food intake is tricky. Undernourishment is possible—especially when exercising—and also puts you at risk of going into “survival mode”, when your body stores more calories as fat. I’d tell Rose to eat a small snack before and after her work out, which should also last a bit longer to account for the extra calories. Eating before and after is helpful in maintaining muscle mass, and also ensuring enough fuel to burn and recover. Also, eating several smaller meals throughout the day evens out caloric intake and ensures your body always has the energy it needs. There are other ways to do this, but you’ll have to wait for the next post!
Energy, Excretion and Exertion
Sep 27th
Yesterday’s post focused on how we can use nutrition labels to gauge what we eat. It briefly mentioned that calories are units of energy – but today I’ll explain what calories actually do.
Just like cars, our bodies need fuel. Cars combine refined oils with oxygen into combustible gases, which expand in the piston cylinders and make the wheels turn. You probably know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed. It can only be stored or transferred. So what is actually happens to the energy we obtain from food?
After being broken down in our stomachs, our intestines absorb food nutrients into the blood. As blood is pumped through our bodies, so too are the nutrients which are taken into our cells. Here, glucose is converted into ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) through a series of processes referred to as cellular respiration. The ATP is further broken down into usable biochemical energy, thereby creating water, carbon dioxide and heat as byproducts.
This video brings back memories of high school freshman biology, but it’s detailed, short and not too complex:
So then what? Of the usable energy,
- 65-75% goes to fueling our bodies core needs. The speed with which your body burns energy at rest is called basal metabolic rate (BMR) and it varies depending on how big you are, your gender, how much you eat, and your activity level. The climate is also a factor.
- 12.5-25% goes to fueling your muscles, such as exercising or walking up a flight of stairs.
- %10 goes to the actual processing of food. In other words, it takes some energy to breakdown food to release more energy – just like drills used to find oil use gasoline engines.
These percentages assume you’re only eating as much as you need to balance your BMR, physical exertion, and digestive requirements. If you consume more calories than you expend, the extra energy is stored in your body as fat. This is critical to understand. Though fat is the most calorie-dense nutrient, the fat that we see around our waists is fat created by calories. That means it could be from carbohydrates, alcohols, fats, or even proteins. Though eating a lot of fat will yield a lot of calories (as well as other potential issues such as high cholesterol), most people gain weight because they consume excessive carbohydrates, which are the cheapest and most readily available food source.
Carbohydrates aren’t bad—and neither are fats. In fact, they are necessary. But eat too much of anything and you won’t need to buy an exercise ball for Christmas. You’ll be the size of one. I’ll make this more tangible in the next post – weightloss basics explained.
Nutrition Label Data – Understanding What We Eat
Sep 26th
Nutrition labels aren’t entirely useless—their regulations are surprisingly thorough and they provide basic information about most of the food we eat. Unfortunately, they also legally allow misrepresentation (mostly of serving portions), which the FDA and other regulatory bodies are often unable to validate. The far larger issue is understanding what those numbers and ingredients mean.
Over the course of several weeks, I will build a general nutritional knowledge base. Some bits will be scientific, while others will be more holistic. I will provide specific ways to improve your diet while still eating things you like. I’ll also explain why those methods work.
Here’s some information to build our foundation:
What we consider calories are actually kilocalories, or 1000 calories. One calorie is the amount of energy required to raise 1 gram of water by 1°C. Thus, 1 kilocalorie is the amount of energy required to raise one kilo of water by 1°C. Since a single calorie is quite small, kilocalories [kcal, Calories (uppercase)] are used for measuring energy contained in the food we eat.
Most of what makes up our food can be broken down into three groups: carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. Each gram of carbohydrate yields roughly 4 Calories, and each gram of fat yields 9 Calories. Proteins actually contain 7 Calories per gram, but because the human body cannot convert all amino acids to usable energy, proteins generally yield about the same 4 Calories that carbohydrates do. It should also be noted that alcohol has 7 Calories per gram.
Some foods are entirely contained by one group. Olive oil, for example, is pure fat. If one were to measure 14.235 grams (approximately 1 tablespoon), it would yield roughly 128.115 Calories, or 14.235 grams olive oil * 9 Calories/gram of fat.
Other foods have different combinations of each. For example, some peas I bought have the following properties per serving:
- 0g fat
- 12g carbs
- 5g protein
- 70 calories total
We can figure out the calories on our own by: (0g * 9Cal/g) + (12g * 4Cal/g) + (5g * 4Cal/g) = 0 Cal + 48 Cal + 20 Cal = 68 Calories, which is rounded up as is allowed by the FDA guidelines.
The balance of these nutrients is also important. It is generally agreed upon that a standard diet should be comprised of roughly:
- 55-70% carbohydrates
- 15-30% fats
- 15-25% proteins
If you eat 65% carbs, 25% fats, then you’d be under your daily protein allotment at 10%. Luckily, these are guidelines. There’s nothing saying you can’t eat more or less of each group. I do often. You will, however, see these figures reflected across many of the world’s cuisines, with some disparity. See for yourself:
- diets around the world (NBC)
- how the menu varies (FAS/USDA)
- the world’s healthiest diets (Oprah)
- diet secrets from around the world (medicinenet.com)
- what the world eats, part I (TIME Magazine)
Variety is also hugely important in diet in order to get other nutrients such as vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals and enzymes. But that’s another post.
Call to Action and Things to Come
Sep 22nd
Hi there, awesome blog readers! Last week hit an all-time record high of 167 readers, averaging 24 per day! On top of that, I’ve gotten some wonderfully kind in-person and online feedback over the past two weeks, and total hits are quickly approaching 2000. I want to do an even better job, but I need your help.
Here’s how you can do that: let me know what you like about my blog, what you don’t like, what you’d like to see more of. If there’s a particular recipe or technique you’d like to see, post a comment or send me an email. I’ll do my best to realize all requests. You can also help by subscribing to my RSS feed. If you don’t know what that is, watch this video:
Finally, if you like what I write about, tell somebody. Pass the link on to friends, family—whoever you think will get something out of it.
I’m hoping to post more DIY and community centered content that relates to food. As Autumn’s nearly here, there should be some good stuff to wrap up Wisconsin’s growing season. While that means no more farmers’ markets and fresh produce, I’ll try my best to find relevant and interesting winter food information, as well as things that are applicable year-round. It’ll be a challenge, but one that I am very much looking forward to.
Thanks for reading, and please, interact!
100 Chinese foods to try before you die
Sep 19th
I found a few links on the serious eats feed that I think I’ll repost, just so I can keep track of things that I’ve eaten. Here are 100 Chinese foods to try before you die [original link]. The ones I’ve had are striked-through, and new ones will be dated.
- Almond milk
- Ants Climbing a Tree (poetic, not literal, name)
- Asian pear
- Baby bok choy
- Baijiu
- Beef brisket
- Beggar’s Chicken
- Bingtang hulu
- Bitter melon
- Bubble tea
- Buddha’s Delight
- Cantonese roast duck
- Century egg, or thousand-year egg
- Cha siu (Cantonese roast pork)
- Char kway teow
- Chicken feet
- Chinese sausage
- Chow mein
- Chrysanthemum tea
- Claypot rice
- Congee
- Conpoy (dried scallops)
- Crab rangoon
- Dan Dan noodles
- Dragonfruit
- Dragon’s Beard candy
- Dried cuttlefish
- Drunken chicken
- Dry-fried green beans
- Egg drop soup
- Egg rolls
- Egg tart, Cantonese or Macanese
- Fresh bamboo shoots
- Fortune cookies
- Fried milk
- Fried rice [I LOVE IT! In all its forms. Yes, I am a gweilo.—AK]
- Gai lan (Chinese broccoli)
- General Tso’s Chicken
- Gobi Manchurian
- Goji berries (Chinese wolfberries)
- Grass jelly
- Hainan chicken rice
- Hand-pulled noodles
- Har gau (steamed shrimp dumplings in translucent wrappers)
- Haw flakes
- Hibiscus tea
- Hong Kong-style Milk Tea
- Hot and sour soup
- Hot Coca-Cola with Ginger [This sounds awesome! Someone gimme a recipe. —AK]
- Hot Pot
- Iron Goddess tea (Tieguanyin)
- Jellyfish [I think I've had Japanese jellyfish dish, but not sure if I've had a Chinese version. —AK]
- Kosher Chinese food
- Kung Pao Chicken
- Lamb skewers (yangrou chua’r)
- Lion’s Head meatballs
- Lomo Saltado
- Longan fruit
- Lychee
- Macaroni in soup with Spam
- Malatang
- Mantou, especially if fried and dipped in sweetened condensed milk
- Mapo Tofu
- Mock meat
- Mooncake (bonus points for the snow-skin variety)
- Nor mai gai (chicken and sticky rice in lotus leaf)
- Pan-fried jiaozi
- Peking duck
- Pineapple bun
- Prawn crackers
- Pu’er tea
- Rambutan
- Red bean in dessert form
- Red bayberry
- Red cooked pork
- Roast pigeon
- Rose tea
- Roujiamo
- Scallion pancake
- Shaved ice dessert
- Sesame chicken
- Sichuan pepper in any dish
- Sichuan preserved vegetable (zhacai)
- Silken tofu
- Soy milk, freshly made
- Steamed egg custard
- Stinky tofu [I've had Japanese natto. Does that count? —AK]
- Sugar cane juice
- Sweet and sour pork, chicken, or shrimp [Have had all of them. —AK]
- Taro
- Tea eggs
- Tea-smoked duck
- Turnip cake (law bok gau)
- Twice-cooked pork
- Water chestnut cake (mati gau)
- Wonton noodle soup
- Wood ear
- Xiaolongbao (soup dumplings)
- Yuanyang (half coffee, half tea, Hong Kong style) [Mmm. Sounds good. I'm missing out! —AK]
- Yunnan goat cheese
That makes 30/100 as of 19 September 2008. 70 to go!
Greek Siesta Snack
Sep 18th
Yes. Tostones are good. But this is better. Simple, filling, delicious, and pretty cheap assuming you have a few pantry staples. Best yet, you won’t find this in any cookbook (I’d hope, anyway). It’s not even a recipe, just a rustic happenstance that occurs across much of the Mediterranean.
I learned it from my Yiayia while relaxing on her terrace in Greece, here:
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The miserable might of the early afternoon sun sends most people home for lunch and a nap—the beach would be refreshing were it not for that excessively radiating ball of gas, which burns even those whose skin is darker than cinnamon. 110ºF plus is not uncommon. So, to recreate a Summer afternoon in a Greek paradise, stay home and gather the following:
- Bread, unsliced, homemade or from your baker—it can even be a day old. Baguettes and peasant loaves work wonderfully. And while I’m at it, fuck sliced bread and abominations that come in plastic bags. Seriously, fuck that inferior fodder. Bread should have 5 ingredients: flour, water, yeast, salt, air. Additional herbs, cheese and so on are fine, but when your bread even has an ingredients list, you’re fucked, hard. No apologies. It’s inexcusable that most Americans don’t even know the simple pleasure of real bread. Off my high horse. I’ll post a recipe eventually. Back to the ingredients.
- Extra virgin olive oil. Don’t skimp. Or I’ll drop another rant on your ass.
- Balsamic vinegar. Always get the best you can afford—but any will do, really.
- Ripe tomatoes. I usually use Romas, but any will do.
- Dried oregano. It’s not a Greek kitchen without olive oil and oregano
- Kosher or larger crystal sea salt
- Freshly cracked black pepper
- 1/2 a red onion or a large shallot
Optional are:
- Feta. Not absolutely necessary, but awesome. Get a whole block in brine. If you ever admit to me in person that you buy crumbled feta, I’ll smack you. Seriousl
- Water. If your bread’s a little hard, sop the bread with some H20. Not too much, it should still be able to absorb the oil, vinegar, and tomato.
- Capers in brine. Yum.
You’ll also need:
- a large, flat-ish bowl or dish
- hands; the more the merrier
- a trusty knife and board (if necessary)
Okay. Simple simple. Rip your bread into chunks big enough to hold and gnash on. Two or three bites—big and place in the bowl. This is where you sop the bread if need be. We usually do it even with fresh bread because it helps everything meld together. Cut the tomatoes into wedges and distribute over the bread. Do the same with the onion or shallot. Season with salt, pepper, and oregano. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, roughly 3:1 respectively. If you want feta, cut off a piece and crumble it up by hand, as fine as you like. Let it sit for a bit to absorb the flavors. We sometimes even use our [clean] hands to mash it roughly together so each piece of bread becomes imparted with all the flavors.
Grab a piece, make sure it’s got a bit of everything on it, and sink your teeth in. Amazing
N.B. I’m a huge fennel and tarragon fan—and I think those flavors would work here, as they do for a lot of light, refreshing Mediterranean fare. Give it a try!
Tostones – Fried Plantain Medallions
Sep 16th
This is one of the easiest and most rewarding dishes I’ve ever made. Ever.
These are eaten all over the Caribbean and Central America, and are also called patachones and tachinos. Since they’re starchier than bananas, they’re usually eaten with some sort of savory dish and used to sop up fats and liquids—but they’re also eaten as treats, which is how I’ve prepared them. Here’s how to do it. You’ll need:
- However many plantains you want to prepare. I’d get two or three the first time around.
- Oil. I prefer vegetable. Canola can suck it. Hard.
- Salt. Kosher please, thanks.
- Sugar (optional)
You’ll also need:
- a pan—preferably a wide one if you’re cooking a lot. I used a small 8–inch cast iron pan (I only used one plantain). I’d say at least a 12–inch pan if you’re cooking two or three.
- tongs
- a knife and cutting board
- a wooden spoon, spatula, or glass bottle
- a bowl of cool water
- a cloth towel for drying the plantains
- a drying rack or paper towels/bags to absorb excess oil
- a fry thermometer (optional)
First things first: get your pan on a medium high flame and fill it with 2cm of oil. Let it heat as you prep your plantains. If you’ve never seen a plantain…
Now you have.
They look super similar to bananas, but they’re not as easy to peel by hand. So, with a knife, cut off both ends. Then make a slit through the flesh from end to end. Remove the fruit and cut into 4cm lengths (roughly 1½ inches). The peel should look something like this:
Not all that different from a banana, but it is much stiffer, as is the fruit inside. Anyhow. Since the segments you cut are 4cm and the oil is 2cm, that means we’ll have to give them a flip to cook both sides. Once the oil is up to temperature (325°F) gently place in the segments so they rest on a flat, cut side. If you don’t have a fry thermometer (I don’t either, don’t worry), just guess. The oil should get excited initially, but should settle down after 30 seconds or so. If it continues to rage, turn the heat down slightly. You should be able to see the segments as they cook–they shouldn’t be completely enveloped in bubbling oil. Here’s a photo to clarify:
After about 1½ minutes or when the bottom halves have started to brown, give them a flip to the other flat side with your tongs. Cook again for 1½ minutes. They should look something like this:
Now remove them from the oil and let them drain a little on a cooling rack or paper towels. I kill the heat at this point because the cast iron retains the temperature and I don’t want the oil to burn. Using the wooden spoon (or other squashing implement), flatten each segment down to half it’s size, like this:
Then, place the medallions in the bowl of water for a minute or so. Don’t let them sit too long or they’ll absorb excessive moisture and fall apart. Keep this in mind when squashing them–don’t make them too flat! Remove them from the water and pat dry in a cloth towel.
Get the oil back to about the same temperature as before and gently place in the medallions. You’ll need a little more room this time around; work in batches if you need to so you don’t overcrowd the pan and lower the temperature. Also: when frying it’s best to place things in away from you, so the oil doesn’t splash onto you. Don’t blame me for your hospital visit! Work smart and safe, always. Here they are back in the oil:
Cook for about 4 minutes per side, until golden brown. Remove, drain, and season immediately with salt (even if making them sweet). If you want them to be sweet, sprinkle on a sugar variety of your liking. I like granulated or cane for the texture. You could even use a squeeze of lemon juice, some crème fraîche, or whipped cream to add some more richness and bite to this treat.
There you have it.
If you live in Milwaukee and are fry-tened (groan) to fry on your own, let me know and maybe we can arrange something.
Eat well, and cook safely!