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.

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February 12, 2025 0

Another Chicago-area fast-food salad option

Regular readers of my blog know that McDonald’s salads, without the high-salt dressings, were a mainstay of my lunch diet over the years. But in 2023, those salads disappeared from McDonald’s menus. victim of Pandemic-related menu changes.

I’ve been searching for a quick-salad alternative ever since, trying Wendy’s and a chain called Zupas among others. I’m adding another option now, a salad at Chicago-area chain Buona Beef, its Tuscan Harvest Chicken salad.

Priced at $11.19, the salad has a nice mix of chicken, cranberries, apples, spinach and romaine lettuce. Eat at a Buona’s and it comes in a real bowl, not a plastic container, a civilizing touch absent at other outlets.

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February 11, 2025 0

Eating healthy on restaurant week, sort of

Chicago is in the midst of its annual restaurant week, a time when local restaurants offer specially priced menus to draw people in on cold winter days and nights. It’s a good time to try new places but can you find healthy offerings? Well, sort of.

Restaurant food is notoriously high in salt, fat and sugar. So you need to be picky, and also know you’ll likely go off your healthy menu more than once.

My wife and I so far have gone to two restaurants, Pescadero, a suburban seafood place; and Big Jones, a Cajun restaurant in Chicago. We also plan a trip to L Woods, another suburban spot, since we live in the suburbs.

Seafood dishes tend to be healthier per se, assuming they aren’t loaded with sauces heavy in fat and salt.

I opted for the oysters to start my Pescadero meal, they’re served raw, so aren’t mucked up with salt or fat. I had the octopus for my main course. It was grilled and wonderfully tasty, if you love octopus as I do.

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February 5, 2025 0

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.

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February 4, 2025 0

Red & white zucchini boats for July 4th

The Fourth of July usually means grilling lots of meat on a grill or two (or four like I have in my outdoor kitchen) but don’t forget your vegetarian family members or friends — here’s a great stuffed zucchini boat you can make on the grill as well.

It already has two colors for the 4th, kudos if you can find a way to add something blue — maybe the plates you serve it on?

Any regular reader of my blog knows I love zucchini and regularly post recipes from famous chefs like Giada D. Follow this link for a page of past posts with zucchini recipes.

*Our tilapia, zucchini and corn dinner. Another zucchini alternative.*

But back to the latest recipe I found on a site called SimplyItalian Cooking. The ingredients:

Medium zucchini
Onion
Tomato
Garlic
Breadcrumbs
Italian cheese (Romano or Parmesan)
Olive oil
Basil
Salt and pepper (optional — leave out the salt)

The instructions:

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July 4, 2024 0

A primer on building your food budget

Rising food costs have obsessed consumers in these post-Covid times. While signs have emerged that costs have leveled off, they likely won’t fall any time soon, so everyone needs to work on budgeting for their food needs. If you haven’t done this, a good place to start is with this primer The New York Times ran recently entitled 9 Tips to Stretch Your Food Budget.

Among the tips are changes in lifestyle — eat less meat, snacking less and avoid wasting food. But there are also ways to save money, like using coupons and knowing your grocery store and how to find the cheaper offerings in a. given food category.

Coupons these days are largely digital, be sure to have the shopping app for every store you shop at to get their best deals. Also, check out national couponing sites. These tend to have coupons for major brands, which I tend to avoid because they’re usually the most expensive, but you can get occasional deals.

My goal is to only buy sale/coupon items every time I shop, and to save at least 30% off full prices overall. You can see an example of one of my recent receipts here with all the discounts noted.

July 3, 2024 0

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.

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May 7, 2024 0

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.

March 27, 2024 0

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.

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February 13, 2024 0

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:

Low-salt, Low-fat recipes for Super Bowl

Super Bowl Low-salt, low-fat party menu — try swordfish steaks as a main course

Super Bowl Treats — Puff pastry shells with salasa, mushroom, tomato combo

Super Bowl Party dishes — try fat-free twice-baked potatoes

Salt-free potato chips for Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Treats — Puff pastry shells with salasa, mushroom, tomato combo

February 10, 2024 1

Tag: recipes

A real-life deadliest catch — canned tuna recall

Another Chicago-area fast-food salad option

Eating healthy on restaurant week, sort of

Time for some healthy Super Bowl snacks

Red & white zucchini boats for July 4th

A primer on building your food budget

More good news on olive oil, it can deter dementia

Low-salt Easter turkeys are scarce in 2024

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

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