A real-life deadliest catch — canned tuna recall

Frozen ahi tuna from Costco.
I’ve never eaten canned tuna, thankfully. I much prefer tuna steaks like these.

A major canned tuna recall is underway. The product may cause deadly botulism, reports the Associated Press. Botulism can bring on difficult in breathing, paralysis and, ultimately, death.

“Tri-Union Seafoods of El Segundo, California, last week recalled certain lots of tuna sold under the Genova, Van Camp’s, H-E-B and Trader Joe’s brand names, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 

“The company said that lids on the “easy open” cans may have a manufacturing defect that could cause the products to leak or to become contaminated with the bacteria that causes botulism. 

Continue reading “A real-life deadliest catch — canned tuna recall”

Time for some healthy Super Bowl snacks

Grilling our swordfish steaks.
Grilled swordfish steaks could be a hearty Easter dinner choice. Or try this recipe from the Times..

Super Bowl Sunday isn’t just about football and new TV ads. It’s also about snacking, big time. But most American snacks are not heart healthy, so I’ve tried over the years of doing this blog to give you some healthy, and tasty, alternatives. Just click this link to review all my Super Bowl-related posts.

To get into specifics, how about swordfish steaks for your main course of the day? Use a salt-free spice rub to give them great flavor.If weather allows, grill them outside to spare your house a fishy smell afterwards.

Continue reading “Time for some healthy Super Bowl snacks”

More good news on olive oil, it can deter dementia

Olive oil should be a go-to good fat for any heart patient. Plus it can taste great, I use it not only on salads but on grilled veggies and a host of other dishes, just check my recipe page.

And now there’s more good news, a study has found it can cut the risk of developing dementia.

According to a report in Everydayhealth.com:

Olive oil we brought back from Italy in 2017.

“Scientists examined data collected over almost three decades on about 93,000 middle-aged adults. At the start of the study, participants were 56 years old on average and had no history of cardiovascular disease, a major risk factor for dementia. 

“Every four years, participants completed dietary questionnaires detailing what foods they typically ate and indicating how often they consumed olive oil: no more than once a month; up to 4.5 grams (g), or 1 teaspoon (tsp) daily; between 4.5 and 7 g (1.5 tsp) daily; or more than 7 g daily. 

“Compared with people who rarely if ever consumed olive oil, those who got at least 7 g a day were 28 percent less likely to die of dementia-related causes by the end of the study, according to results published in JAMA Network Open.

Continue reading “More good news on olive oil, it can deter dementia”

Low-salt Easter turkeys are scarce in 2024

One of the most popular posts on my blog this time of year deals with making turkey for Easter dinner to cut down on your salt intake at the holiday table. You can read it by clicking Low-salt Easter dinner: how to enjoy the holiday meal.

Sarra Lee reduced sodium oven roasted turkey
Beware self-basting turkeys, they are loaded with salt. Always read the nutrition label before buying.

In the post-Covid food retailing environment, however, finding a fresh, low-sodium turkey has been tough. Two mainline supermarkets I went to had only one turkey brand, Jennie-O or Butterball, in freezer and refrigerated cases crammed with high-salt hams. Those turkeys come with self-basting fluids that are loaded with salt.

I finally turned to Whole Foods which thankfully had fresh turkeys, although even those had more salt, 125 mg a serving, than truly fresh turkeys which have about 75 mgs per serving. And I had to pay up, around $3 a pound, for the fresh turkey.

Another issue, stores are no longer carrying low-fat turkey gravy. During and after Covid, supermarkets cut the number of products they carried to simplify their supply chain management, and to increase profits. Low-salt, low-fat and low-sugar items suffered as a result.

Shop carefully this Easter, always read nutrition labels and enjoy a peaceful Sunday dinner.

You can cook like Julia Child, at least when it comes to salad dressing

Cooking icon Julia Child was a hero of mine when I was a kid. Her PBS shows kindled my love of cooking, and of experimenting when I cook.

But I’ve never attempted her recipes, even though I’ve owned some of her books over the years. They all seemed more complicated than I could handle.

Another Standard Market Grill salad offering.
Top your salad with a little piece of Julia Child’s food legacy.

If you’ve felt the same way, take heart. I found one of her recipes you and I can easily make, and enjoy, since it seems relatively heart-healthy too.

It’s in this piece, Julia Child’s Timeless Vinaigrette Helped Me Fall in Love with Salad on Eatingwell.com.

Start with these ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons wine vinegar or a combination of vinegar and lemon juice 
  • 1/4 teaspoon dry mustard
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil and/or salad oil, such as grapeseed oil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons minced shallot or scallions and/or ¼ teaspoon dried herbs, such as tarragon or basil
  • Big pinch of freshly ground pepper

I’d omit the salt and stick with olive oil. But even if you use the salt, it’s still a relatively small amount given the amount of dressing you’re creating.

Continue reading “You can cook like Julia Child, at least when it comes to salad dressing”

A failed try at touting “healthier” game-day snacks; try mine instead

The weight-tracking app LoseIt recently sent me this article in its e-newsletter, 7 Popular Super Bowl Snacks and RDs’ Healthier Alternatives. (RD stands for registered dietitian.)

The concept is a good one, leave behind high-fat, high-salt munchies for others that are less damaging to your health.

These mini cups are low in fat and salt and sugar-free. Fill them with salt-free treats for Super Bowl munching.

Try filling mini-puff pastry for Super Bowl snakes.

But the items included largely left me shrugging my shoulders. Things like Jalapeño Cream Cheese Stuffed Bacon Wrapped Poppers never made my Super Bowl table.

The list has a Southwest tilt to it, again not what I usually eat for game watching. The turkey sliders are probably the only item of the seven listed that I would try.

So I’d say this list doesn’t cross the goal line for a touchdown. Much better are some of my past pieces:

A healthy salmon recipe for the New Year

Happy 2024 everyone! Now that the year-end holidays are out of the way, it’s time to get back to healthy eating. Here’s a tasty recipe to start with, Sheet-Pan Roasted Salmon & Vegetables.

Here are the ingredients with my notes on what to change to cut salt content and help in other ways as well:

  • 1 pound fingerling potatoes, halved lengthwise (red potatoes are better if you’re worried about sugar and diabetes)
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 5 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
  • ½ teaspoon sea salt (omit this, fish has enough of its own salt)
  • ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 5 to 6-ounce fresh or frozen skinless salmon fillets
  • 2 medium red, yellow and/or orange sweet peppers, cut into rings
  • 2 cups cherry tomatoes
  • 1 ½ cups chopped fresh parsley (1 bunch)
  • ¼ cup pitted kalamata olives, halved (substitute low-salt regular olives to cut salt)
  • ¼ cup finely snipped fresh oregano or 1 Tbsp. dried oregano, crushed
  • 1 lemon

Directions are fairly straight-forward:

  1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place potatoes in a large bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp. of the oil and sprinkle with garlic and 1/8 tsp. of the salt and black pepper; toss to coat. Transfer to a 15×10-inch baking pan; cover with foil. Roast 30 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, thaw salmon, if frozen. Combine, in the same bowl, sweet peppers, tomatoes, parsley, olives, oregano and 1/8 tsp. of the salt and black pepper. Drizzle with remaining 1 Tbsp. oil; toss to coat.
  3. Rinse salmon; pat dry. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 tsp. salt and black pepper. Spoon sweet pepper mixture over potatoes and top with salmon. Roast, uncovered, 10 minutes more or just until salmon flakes.
  4. Remove zest from lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon over salmon and vegetables. Sprinkle with zest.

Salmon is great if you’re looking for a substitute for red meat main dishes. It has body and flavor to it, and supposedly some of the good fat we’re supposed to eat.

Enjoy and Happy New Year!

Eggplant and kale parm, sounds intriguing

I’m always looking for new takes on classics that are low in salt, fat and sugar. This Food Network recipe for eggplant parm with kale thrown in intrigued me as a possibility I would like as would my vegetarian daughter.

Sadly, there is no nutrition information for it, but I’m guessing the cheese is high in salt and fat. The recipe calls for part-skim mozzarella, I’d look for fat-free instead to help a bit. One of the ingredients specified is no-salt, kudos for that.And egg whites are used instead of whole eggs, another plus.

The ingredients listed are:

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

Kosher salt

One 28-ounce can no-salt whole tomatoes, crushed well by hand

1 small bunch curly kale, stripped from the stems and chopped (about 6 cups)

1 cup torn fresh basil leaves

1 cup almond flour

1/2 cup whole-wheat breadcrumbs

2 large egg whites

2 medium eggplants, sliced into 1/2-inch rounds, ends discarded (about 2 1/2 pounds)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella

1/4 cup grated Parmesan

2 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves, chopped

Instructions for preparing:

  1. Position 2 oven racks in the middle and upper third of the oven, and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment.
  2. Cook the oil, garlic and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large skillet over medium heat, stirring, until the garlic just starts to turn golden, 4 to 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes; rinse the can with about 1 1/2 cups water, and add the tomato water to the skillet. Add the kale and basil, bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens, about 25 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, combine the almond flour and breadcrumbs in a medium bowl until evenly mixed. Whisk the egg whites and 3 tablespoons water in another medium bowl until frothy.
  4. Lay out the eggplant slices on a clean surface, and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper. Dip the eggplant slices in the egg whites, then press into the almond-breadcrumb mixture to coat. Place the eggplant pieces on the baking sheets. Bake until the eggplant is tender and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Rotate the baking sheets if the top one is browning too quickly.
  5. Turn the oven to broil. Spread a little of the sauce on the bottom of a broiler-safe 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Arrange half the eggplant in the dish in as close to an even layer as you can without overlapping too much. Spread half the remaining sauce on top, then 1/4 of the mozzarella. Top with the remaining eggplant, sauce and mozzarella and the Parmesan. Place the baking dish under the broiler until the cheese is melted and browned, about 1 minute. Serve immediately, while the cheese is still warm. Sprinkle the top with the parsley.

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