Another knock on processed meats, this one from WHO

Processed meats, such as hot dogs and cold cuts, are full of sodium and other things that have led me and many others to avoid them in recent years. I’m always amused by Subway calling its sandwiches healthy when they’re filled with high-sodium processed meats, for example.

Nathan's hot dogs and waffle fries, wondrous stuff. — Nathan’s hot dogs and waffle fries, wondrous stuff.

Another knock on processed meats came from the World Health Organization (WHO) recently. It pointed to a link between an increased likelihood of cancer and the consumption of processed meats. The report also threw in red meat as a possible cancer causer. Continue reading “Another knock on processed meats, this one from WHO” →

October 30, 2015 1

Lose It! weighs in on fast food menus

Lose It! is a calorie-tracking, weight-loss app I’ve been using since long before my angioplasty in 2012. I love it’s versatility and ease of use, especially when I’m offline but still want to find food in a database it offers that stores on my phone.

My Almost healthy burger creation for McDonald's — My Almost healthy burger creation for McDonald’s. Lose It! says get the smallest burger possible at fast food places.

I’ve written about the badges it sends out to encourage healthy eating. Now it apparently has started an e-newsletter with eating tips as well. I received one last week that gives some fast food tips, along with other articles. Continue reading “Lose It! weighs in on fast food menus” →

October 1, 2015 1

Always hungry? Welcome to my world; this might help

Since my 2012 angioplasty and the complete change in my eating habits which followed, it’s fair to say that I am always hungry. It’s really not possible, I’ve found, to eat enough low-fat, low-salt, low-sugar food to fill me. The only exception is when I make whole wheat pasta and eat large portions of that.

Eating watermelon doesn't fill me up, although it's high in water content. — Eating watermelon doesn’t fill me up, although it’s high in water content.

A theory I heard years ago about feeling hungry had to do with over-consuming sugar. But my sugar consumption is way down since giving up cakes and chocolate candies of many kinds. Have you had the same experience with hunger since trying to eat healthier? Continue reading “Always hungry? Welcome to my world; this might help” →

August 24, 2015 2

Americans are eating less, finally, but what about the salt?

Americans are consuming fewer calories, finally, according to widespread media coverage of recent government statistics. But there’s still too much salt, fat and sugar in most people’s diets, in my opinion after looking at the statistics involved.

“Calories consumed by the typical American adult, which reached an alarming peak in 2003 having risen inexorably since the late 1970s, are undergoing their first sustained decline since the US government started monitoring them more than 40 years ago,” notes the Daily Mail, a British publication that provides an interesting overseas view of America’s bad eating habits.

“The most dramatic fall has been in the amount of sugary soft drinks consumed by Americans. The average American drinks 25 per cent less of such drinks than since the late 1990s, when he or she drank an astonishing 40 gallons a year,” the Mail reports. Continue reading “Americans are eating less, finally, but what about the salt?” →

July 28, 2015 0

Purple potato chips — make them fat-free, salt-free

Potato chips are difficult to squeeze into a low-fat, low-salt diet, but I found a way to make my own with no salt and no fat thanks to a handy microwave device, Top Chips chip maker, that I bought last year. I’ve come to make them as a special treat from time to time, usually making one large russet potato into chips.

Purple potatoes can be turned into fat-free, salt-free chips in minutes.

I recently ran across purple potatoes at our local farmers’ market and wondered what those would taste like turned into chips. I was a little surprised to learn the inside of the potatoes was not actually purple. A few purple flecks were noticeable but other than that they looked like regular potatoes. so these must have been a hybrid of some sort since information I’ve found about true purple potatoes shows them with a purple color inside. Continue reading “Purple potato chips — make them fat-free, salt-free” →

July 27, 2015 0

Broadway and Nathan’s hot dogs, the perfect match

Visiting New York is all about going to Broadway shows, I think. My wife and I try to see at least one and sometimes two when we’re in town like we were in early June this year for my birthday.

The theater district, like all of New York, has no end of choices for eating after a show and we’ve gone many places over the years. But one of our favorite things to do after a show is go New York old-school and have Nathan’s hot dogs for our late dinner.

The original Natahan’s is in Coney Island, about six or seven blocks from where we lived while I was in high school and college. Its an hour-plus subway ride from Manhattan, but if you have the time, experience it, especially in summer when it’s packed with people. That way you can say you’ve done something real New Yorkers do. Continue reading “Broadway and Nathan’s hot dogs, the perfect match” →

June 24, 2015 3

Bye bye trans fats — the FDA finally lowers the hammer

Trans fats, which unfortunately Americans have been eating for the past half century or so, are finally being banned from U.S. foods. The Food and Drug Administration finally has set a deadline for the complete elimination of partially hydrogenated oils, the main source of trans fats in our diets, from things like cake frosting, microwave popcorn, cakes, cookies and other things we used to think tasted good.

Bye bye trans fafts. Maybe now movie popcorn will get healthier.

I say finally because this has been a long time coming. I blogged about it way back in 2013, not long after I started this blog. As I wrote then, “food makers and restaurants saw the writing on the trans fat walls long ago and have been phasing it out of most products.” Continue reading “Bye bye trans fats — the FDA finally lowers the hammer” →

June 22, 2015 0

Junior’s in Brooklyn — coming home, eating amazing cheesecake

Junior’s restaurant in downtown Brooklyn boasts on its website that it serves “The World’s Most fabulous Cheesecake.” If it’s true, is it a boast?

Junior’s is one of the few things in Brooklyn that’s still there from my childhood so, so many years ago. It’s also a place that binds my family together. My parents went there before I was born and then took me there in the days when downtown Brooklyn was where we did our major shopping.

Lunch at Junior with my wife Carolyn, and wonderful friend Vic.

We ate breakfast there in 2011 with my daughter as she was about to graduate from New York University. Even a vegetarian like her loved Junior’s cheesecake!

So my wife and I planned a Junior’s meal as part of my birthday dream week in New York recently. When I realized a wonderful high school friend worked nearby, we invited him to join us, turning a great meal into a great meal with great company as well. Vic was one of my closest friends in high school and now, even though he lives 1,000 miles away from us, has become a major supporter of my new theater company. Continue reading “Junior’s in Brooklyn — coming home, eating amazing cheesecake” →

June 20, 2015 0

My New York food vacation

My birthday this year was very special for me because, thanks to my wonderful wife, I was able to spend it in my hometown, New York City. We saw two Broadway shows and went to a Tony Awards party while there. And I also resolved to eat the foods I grew up loving, plus some new favorites, during my five days there.

The result of my food vacation? I gained 6.5 pounds over the five days we were there.

My wife Carolyn and I ended our New York dream trip with very late-night drinks at one of the Waldorf's bars. — My wife Carolyn and I ended our New York dream trip with very late-night drinks at one of the Waldorf’s bars.

My splurge included pastrami and cheesecake at Junior’s, a classic Brooklyn deli and cheesecake emporium, hot dogs and waffle fries at Nathan’s, the classic New York hot dog spot, a slice of NYC-style pizza at a street corner storefront, Italian ices, an unbelivable breakfast in bed at the famed Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and the most exquisite sashimi I’ve ever eaten at at Iron Chef Morimoto’s New York restaurant on my birthday night. Continue reading “My New York food vacation” →

June 14, 2015 2

Happy Birthday to me!

I turn 62 today and I’m back in the city of my birth. A few years ago, just before having an angioplasty performed in August 2012, I didn’t think I’d see my 62nd birthday, or even my 61st. Even in the year after the surgery, I expected a heart attack every day. It’s amazing to me I’m still here.

My New York, Luna Park apartments at Coney Island.

What’s even more amazing is to be in New York City for this birthday. New York is the land of bad food, all the foods I grew up loving — New York pizza, pastrami, cheesecake, Italian pastry, sausage and onions, giant plates of spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, Nathan’s hot dogs, Drake’s cakes, Carvel…the list goes on and on. Continue reading →

June 4, 2015 5

Category: binge eating