Many Americans of my generation were raised on a diet that was heavy in meat and potatoes. Unfortunately, these eating habits were found to be very high in cholesterol and fat. The starches in potatoes, rice and many pastas contribute to the problem. So, the question arises: How does a person find satisfying meals that are healthy for the heart and help control the blood sugar?
For me, the answer is home cooking. By this I mean cooking from scratch. If you read the labels on products, you find that the nutrition information in many cases is terrifying for the health conscious person. It's not only the carbs and fat that you have to look at. Many times, manufacturers will say "Healthy" on the front of the label because they have reduced the serving size and thus the amount of fat or carbs per serving. (these things are listed as a percentage of your daily intake) It's a trick. They have not changed a thing. They've just made things smaller. The can is the same size so you eat extra servings to satisfy your hunger.
So, let's say you've been good and checked the carbs and fat. You've looked at the serving size and decided you can live with it. You are about to put that can of soup into your shopping cart. STOP!
You've forgotten the silent killer. Salt! Check the sodium content per serving in the nutritional information. The American Heart Association recommends a total daily salt intake of 1500 mg. That can of soup you are about to buy or eat probably contains quite a bit more salt than you should have for one meal. In many cases, the amount of salt in 1 serving of a canned food is more than the recommended total daily amount of salt.
Folks, I am not a doctor or a nutritionist. I'm just an old Sailor who has learned a lot in the last year about these things. I'm just passing on some information that seems to be working for me.
Soup is in fact good food. As long as you make it yourself. The prep doesn't take long and many soups can simmer away most of the day, without attention. If you make a large pot of soup you are very likely to get several evening meals and maybe a couple of lunches out of a large pot.
Stews and chilis are also very versatile. If you make a nice thick stew for dinner, you can take left overs and add a little stock or wine. Simmer it for a half hour. Now you can serve it in a bowl as a soup. Add more veggies and it's a beef vegetable soup. Toast a small slice of french bread and put it on top, if you can handle the carbs. A dish fit for "Food Network".
I took left over chili and added chicken stock, some left over chicken (shredded up) a small can of black beans and a small can of sweet corn. Garnished with some tortilla chips (light salt) and we had a great tortilla soup. It took no time at all. It cost nearly nothing since I used left overs and beans are cheap. Dinner tasted great and I controlled the salt and other nutritional issues.
As far as the budget is concerned, cooking fresh food is much less expensive than using preprocessed ingredients.
Americans waste ungodly amounts of food. How many times have you roasted a chicken or turkey and just thrown the carcass away? Why? It's easy to make stock. It takes just a little bit of time to start and after that, it simmers away on it's own. I call this "automatic pilot" cooking. Once again, you've controlled the salt and the fat. Your stock tastes better than anything you can buy and you've saved a ton of money. The only new ingredient you've used to make the stock is the water in the pot!
Most everyone has veggies in their fridge that are almost ready to be thrown away. They are not quite ready for the trash but, they don't quite look real appetizing. That soft celery and carrot with it's cousin the half an onion that you didn't need yesterday all work wonderfully in your stock pot.
That home made stock can be used for a ton of different dishes. The next time you make rice, instead of water; us that home made stock. Oh, before I forget; stock freezes very well too.
Pour your room temperature stock into ice trays. When you want to make a gravy; use 1 or 2 of your stock cubes. You've added flavor and cut the salt again. Those packets of gravy mix and jared gravies are loaded with salt. You really don't want to eat them.
The point of all of this is simple. With a little thought and not to much extra work, you can eat healthier, feel better, maybe live longer and save money at the same time. What's the down side?
The tips that I have mentioned have all worked for me. We do these simple things every day. It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change. The results are tangible. I've lost weight. My blood sugar is much easier to control. My blood work has improved. As a consequence I am taking less medications and having to go to the doctor less. I've gone from having to take 60 units of insulin a day (20 units before each meal) to taking 15 or less on average, daily. There are many times I have not had to take any insulin before a meal.
I'm working hard to get healthy and I'd like you all, my friends to share in the good fortune I have had in learning to live a healthier life.
As always...
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