This Little Liquid Diet Phemomenon

Hey there folks!
Interesting news in the nutrition world this week...

By clicking on the above link, you are now privy to some fabulous information about a little phenomenon called the K-E Diet. Incase you did not watch the video, this diet uses something called an NG, or nasogastric tube (a tube that goes through the nose and down the esophagus into the stomach) to provide all nourishment, with no carbohydrates, for 10 days. The amount of calories administered throughout one day? 800. For this diet to be effective, no other food or liquid is to be consumed during this 10-day period. 
Dr. Oliver Di Pietro, MD, the doctor in the above video, said body weight is lost quickly through ketosis, the state in which the body burns fat rather than sugar. Patients at his office are monitored during the 10-day period for things like constipation, bad breath and dizziness. Not to mention walking around for 10 days with a tube in your nose looking like a sick or dying hospital patient. Best of all, their is no follow-up program for when you are done with the tube feeding. Sounds fantastic, doesn't it?
There are already a million blogs out there bashing this diet into pieces. Instead, what I wanted to do is remind those of you who follow my writings and nutritional teachings of a few key pieces of information...


1. Trying to have a "perfect" body is not realistic.
What is a perfect body anyways? In my opinion, a perfect body is a healthy body that is fed properly and moved around a bit from time to time. I also think if you are in pursuit of a so called "perfect" body, perhaps there are other issues in your life you need to fix surrounding this body. A healthy mind always helps.


2. Eat whole foods.
Liquids are great. Specifically water. If you want to make yourself a juice in your juicer that is fine too. But there is no substitution for eating whole real foods. They make you feel good. Shoving liquids up your nose for 10 days is not going to last for long, and if you have read any of the articles on this K-E diet, it doesn't exactly make your body feel great. 


3. Losing weight quickly slows your metabolism.
Chances are if you chose to go on this K-E diet, it is probably not your first go-round in the dieting world. You are probably a yo-yo dieter, and if you didn't know this already, your metabolism is not happy with this. "If you go on a very strict diet and gain the weight back quickly, you might lose a lot of muscle and regain a lot of fat," says Keith Ayoob, M.D., R.D., an associate professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. "Then your metabolism operates on a slower idle, which means it's going to be harder to lose weight as time goes on." The theory is that the more times you yo-yo, the more fat your body gains in each rebound. Because muscle burns 10 times more calories than fat does, your metabolism eventually will slow to a crawl.


4. Depriving yourself of food can lead to many emotional issues.
Let's face it, your body is not happy when it is starving itself. Without carbohydrates, you are probably feeling tired and antisocial. You can probably forget about meeting your friends for lunches and dinners during this time period, unless you like being out in public with a tube in your nose.
Jessica Schnaider, the woman who was interviewed in the ABC news article about this diet, said "It was emotionally difficult, the 10 days of not eating and sometimes I had to give excuses to people who were asking are you sick? And I was like, 'No, I'm not sick, I'm not dying, I'm fine." Schnaider also said she was tired. "I didn't feel like exercising. The doctor told me that if you can compliment with walking for a half an hour on the beach, that would be great, but I didn't feel like doing that. I'm a very energetic person, but those days I was a little tired." I don't know about you, but I cannot imagine being that tired for 10 days. 


5. If you cannot maintain a "diet", you also will not maintain the results.
This is pretty much inevitable, seeing as you are not going to go around the rest of your days with a tube in your nose and a purse full of protein solution. This goes for any "diet". I cannot stress enough a DIET needs to be a way of life you can live with forever...and hopefully be happy with it too! 

Mc Donalds-The Demonizing Of A Fast Food Powerhouse

Last week, I received an email from the Los Angeles Dietetic Association inviting me to attend a behind the scenes tour of how McDonalds operates. Last year, due to poor timing on my behalf, I missed out on this opportunity. Being that this is the powerhouse of all fast food restaurants, I did not want to miss it again.

Ah, McDonalds…I know some of you shiver at the name and cringe at the site of those golden arches. I can recall a time when seeing those arches brought only happiness and contentment into my life. In my childhood, I recall many joyous Friday afternoons, where it was tradition for me, my best friend Jessica, and one of our mothers to take us to McDonalds to eat before ballet class. We would race into the restaurant in our little tutus and ballet slippers. We would each get a Happy Meal-which consisted of a cheeseburger, small fries and a small drink of choice. Yes, Happy Meals and happy times.

Back in those days, McDonalds was a positive place for me, my friends, and even my parents. That was before we knew or cared what calories or ingredients were. Not to mention, we were on our way to ballet class, so we would be burning those calories. We also ate Happy Meals, not supersize portions (they didn’t even have those back then!), and this was a Friday afternoon treat, not a daily occurrence.

Now we flash forward to current day, where to most of us working in healthcare (and non-healthcare!), McDonalds is looked at only in a negative light. We have criticized and scrutinized this particular fast food chain so much, the moment I tell people, “ I am studying to be a dietitian”, the first thing out of their mouth is  “Ooooh, well I never eat McDonalds, fast food is nasty.” Well, what about other fast food restaurants? And what about places like TGIFridays and Chilis, where an average hamburger with the bun starts at 800 calories?

So, needless to say, I was excited to finally get to tour a McDonalds. The tour was held at a McDonalds right off of 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica. It has its own parking lot, which gives this McDonalds major bonus points. Inside, we were greeted by a PR representative for McDonalds, the liaison for McDonalds Corporate Offices, the franchisee of this particular McDonalds location, and McDonalds freelance dietitian Bonnie Modugno.

They had a little area roped off just for us. We each got a booklet that lists all (or most) of McDonalds menu items, calorie and ingredient content, food exchanges (for people who need meal planning assistance due to diabetes or weight control) and different 600-calorie meal combinations. I found looking through the 600 calorie meal combinations very interesting, because there are actually quite a few options that appear well balanced in this section. Mind you none of these options include French fries or a burger. I posted pictures of the four 600 calorie meal options that were in the booklet. I will tell you that if you want a burger and fries within the 600 calorie range, I looked up the information, and a plain hamburger, small fries and small low fat milk will set you back at about 590 calories. However, this is not considered one of McDonalds healthy, nutrient friendly 600 calorie meals.

The first part of this tour consisted of Bonnie talking to us about what she does for McDonalds and answering questions we have about McDonalds food. She has been with McDonalds for over 20 years and says during that time she has never been asked to cross the lines of what she believes in as a dietitian. Bonnie is a freelance dietitian for McDonalds, so she also runs her own practice and is not with McDonalds full time. Apparently, McDonalds has dietitians all over the United States, but Bonnie takes care of some of Southern California.

Bonnie says that, “we are challenged with a food issue NOT a fast food issue.” What she means by that is that McDonalds has a few healthy options as well as a reasonable calorie count for many of their less healthy menu items. Their hamburger has only 250 calories (if you only eat ONE!), which is slight considering some other restaurants burger options. You can also ask for no salt, no mayonnaise, etc…so it is not McDonalds fault when someone comes to their restaurant and orders two Big Macs and two large fries and eats them both in one sitting, is it? If a person decides to eat at Mc Donalds more than once a day? This is also not McDonalds fault. McDonalds is a restaurant, not a babysitter.

Bonnie then talks about how everyone is different. We all have different metabolisms, as well as different food preferences, genetics, activity levels, etc. So these differences would be part of the reason some people are obese and some are not. NOT because McDonalds made them that way. She has a good point here.

Before this tour, I wasn’t sure that McDonalds used real food products, but in the refrigerator I saw real tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, sliced apples and real milk. I even saw real eggs that they use for the Egg McMuffin. They actually have a machine with little metal circles the eggs are dropped in to make that circular egg we see in the McMuffin sandwich. I also saw real chicken breasts and real hamburgers. I will admit in the freezer I did not get a glimpse of any of these meats before being cooked, but I think it is safe to say they have real animal protein products. I did not get to see any of the seasonings.

REAL lettuce and onion...along with the liaison for McDonalds corporate

REAL cheese!

REAL eggs!!

This is the cute little Egg McMuffin maker

These are REAL apples and REAL milk

The grill...where the magical burgers and chicken breasts are cooked

Couldn't leave without a shot of the famous french fries

This is a grilled chicken sandwich that I ate. Yes, I ate it...are you shocked? 

 I asked a question about the chicken nuggets and how they get their shape. Bonnie told me that real chicken breasts are sized up for the chicken sandwiches and cut so they fit the sandwich bun properly. The ends of the breasts that are not used are then used for the chicken nuggets. Sounds fair…right?

A few people asked about this whole pink slime ordeal, and Bonnie cleared that up pretty quickly. McDonalds DOES NOT use pink slime. According to Bonnie, the truth is, it is sold in stores where people who want the cheapest source of protein can buy it. It is a mechanism used to save product. Apparently just a few days ago, an article came out that says some meat product companies will list whether or not this product is in their meat on their labels, so now it will really be your decision whether or not you consume this so called slime. McDonalds will not be force feeding it to you.

But listen, this blog was not meant to go on and on about the pink slime. The point of me writing about my experience was actually to let people know McDonalds is NOT the devil. I prefer not to eat here, because although they do have some real, fresh products, I am skeptical of the seasonings they use and did not get to find out more information about them. Again, Bonnie did say you can ask for “no salt” and “no grill seasonings.” But are you going to remember to do that?

When I have a few extra dollars to spare for food, I will probably go spend it on fresh kale and expensive olive oils for a salad. I have time to go to the store and buy food and cook it and that is what I value. I make the time because it is important to me. Only you can decide what is important to you. If you chose to eat at McDonalds, as a nutritionist, I am not going to beat you up over it, because the reality is that PEOPLE EAT AT MCDONALDS, and although I personally do not plan on working with the kind of people who eat McDonalds regularly, some of these people might be my clients. McDonalds is a billion dollar corporation and they also sponsor the American Dietetic Association. If I have a client who eats McDonalds, I am going to try to make the healthiest suggestions possible because I now know there are a few items that are better choices than others and my job is to educate you on eating better. 

Yes, There Is More Than One Type Of Kale...Isn't That Exciting?

Being involved in nutrition has everyone believing I am super food savvy. In some ways, this is true, but I do not know everything about all foods, that’s for sure. Case in point- cooking with kale. I always thought there was just one kale. One bitter, tough kale, that tastes best sautéed with olive oil and garlic or cooked in a steamer and covered with Braggs Liquid Amino Acids. Eating kale raw is something I have heard of, but never attempted to do at home. I have eaten raw kale salads at restaurants before, but I figured they had some magical sauce, or way of cooking that took the bitterness away that I would never figure out on my own.

Recently, a girlfriend of mine gave me a challenge to create one of her favorite kale salads from the restaurant True Food Kitchen, which has locations in Arizona and California. When I firt saw her post the recipe on my page, I shuddered at what kind of bitter, chewy concoction I would end up with. I did notice that the recipe did not call for just any type of kale. It asked for Black kale.

Wait…so the bag of pre-chopped green kale from Trader Joe’s is not good enough? Well, sure enough, that kale is called curly kale. Although pre chopped at Trader Joe’s, that particular kale, when bought whole, has ruffled leaves and a fibrous stalk and is a very deep green color. This kale has a very pungent flavor and bitter, peppery qualities that have always made me cringe at the thought of eating it raw.

Curly Kale

Ornamental kale is a more recently cultivated species that is oftentimes referred to as salad savoy. Its leaves may either be green, white, or purple and its stalks blend to form a loosely knit head. If you want to eat any of the ornamental kale varieties, just make sure that they have not been treated with pesticides or other harmful chemicals since they are raised for decoration rather than human consumption. Ornamental kale has a more tender texture and mellower flavor.

Ornamental Kale

There is also a Red kale, which I also saw at Whole Foods when I went on a search for this Black kale I never knew existed. Red Kale a type of Russian kale that is super high in vitamins K, A, and C and may even help prevent cancer. Unlike other members of the brassica family, such as green dinosaur kale and mustard greens, red kale's flavor is more sweet than bitter, and its leaves are more tender. Red kale can be eaten raw in salads or it can be steamed, boiled, or sautéed. Perhaps I could have used a red kale for this salad, but I picked the black because that is what the recipe called for.

 Red Kale

Black/Lacinato Kale

Immediately upon seeing the Black kale (also called Lacinato or Dinosaur), I knew there was something different about it. It was softer in texture, more lush and darker in color, like a dark blue/green color. When I got home and washed it, I pulled one of the leaves to taste and took note of the sweeter texture. I could definitely understand now how kale could be eaten raw, it just depends on the type of kale. Also, the dressing for this dish included olive oil, lemon juice and garlic, all which when added to the kale, tossed around and left to sit for about 5 minutes, did take a lot of the bitterness out of the salad.

Tuscan Black Kale Salad (recipe is at www.drweil.com)

So, the lesson is, experiment with food. You never know what delicious new healthy recipe you might be able to create. Also, you might learn a thing or two in the process!

Let's Have Some Fun In The Kitchen-Cooking Healthy Chicken "Fried" Rice

Hey there folks,
Yes, I know it's been a few weeks since you've heard from me. Personally, I have been taking some time to try to start studying again for the Registered Dietitian Exam. Also, quite frankly, I haven't really seen anything in the news nutritionally that has given me an urge to write anything. Soooo...yesterday, I was browsing the internet in search of some new recipes to make here at home and I came across a chicken "fried" rice that I found interesting and thought I would share the play by play with you. The reason "fried" is in quotations, is because the "fried" part involves one, yes ONE...tablespoon of olive oil...not necessarily the way a restaurant would make fried rice, right?

So, let's start off with the oh-so-gratuitous shot of all the ingredients used in this recipe. I forgot to put the bottle of ground ginger out there, so you know that is a key part of making the dish taste delicious, so don't forget it! Once again, all of these ingredients, except the Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids and the ground ginger, are from Trader Joe's! I think they are going to owe me something at some point for all this publicity.

Just incase you cannot see everything in the recipe...here we have two kosher organic chicken breasts. You do not have to use kosher organic, that is just a personal preference. Two cups of brown rice, two eggs, a half an onion, one roma tomato, diced garlic (obviously it hasn't been diced yet in this picture), half a cup of broccoli, half a cup of edamame, half a can of garbanzo beans, a handful of spinach, and for seasoning, a lime, Bragg's Liquid Amino Acids (a low sodium soy sauce substitute that I swear by!) and two tablespoons of agave nectar.

So the next step (and the easiest by far), is cooking the brown rice. Feel free to use quinoa as a substitute. The recipe I saw did and it looked just as tasty. I used Trader Joe's Microwavable Brown Rice, because honestly, it tastes just as good, if not better than rice that is cooked in a rice cooker, but each bag takes three minutes to make and has two and a half servings. It's just easier and quicker.

Yay!! I love pictures of the inside of my microwave. Anyhow, moving onward...while the rice does its thing, go ahead and chop up the garlic, tomato and onions. 

Lovely. Now by this time, the rice is done cooking. So you can go ahead and and cook the edamame. It is possible to buy fresh edamame, or to buy the frozen edamame from Trader Joe's as I have done and boil it on the stove, but for time's sake, I take my half cup of frozen edamame and put it in a Pyrex measuring cup with some water and let it cook for two minutes, drain the water, and then you have your half cup of cooked edamame.

Also at this time, assuming you use canned garbanzo beans as I do for this recipe, open the can, pour out approximately half a cup and drain them in a strainer. I like to do this because this way I am reassured they are clean and residue free.

Ok, so now we are going to start all the major cooking. Let's assume at this point you chopped the chicken. For this recipe I used only one chicken breast, but you are more than welcome to use two. So fire up the stir-fry pan to HI, and put one tablespoon of olive oil in the pan. You may use more if you'd like, but one seems to be more than adequate. Then add your chopped chicken breast and let it cook for a minute before adding the other ingredients.

After the chicken cooks alone for about a minute, wash off a half a cup of the broccoli florets and add them to the stir fry. Again, you can go buy big heads of broccoli at the grocery store and cut them up if you would like, but buying the pre-chopped bag cuts back on time, which can be crucial for some people. I add broccoli first before the other ingredients because aside from the chicken, I believe it takes the longest to cook. Next, I add in the garbanzo beans and the edamame. Then the garlic, onions and tomatoes.

And now it's starting to look pretty...

Next to go in this dish is a generous handful of pre-rinsed, bagged spinach. I like to save the spinach and the eggs for last because they only need to be cooked a few minutes, especially the spinach. You do not have to use eggs if you don't want to, but the point is that it is "fried" rice...and we all know from going to Chinese food restaurants that usually fried rice has egg in it.

The last solid food item you will add to this dish is the brown rice you cooked in the microwave.

So after you have added the rice and stirred the dish around a bit, now it's time for the seasonings. I did not take pictures of this, but it is pretty simple. I don't measure my seasonings, but I would say I can estimate I use two tablespoons of Braggs Liquid Aminos (you can use low sodium soy sauce if you prefer it), one half of a squeezed lime, two tablespoons of agave nectar and one teaspoon of ground ginger. I know the agave nectar sounds weird, but trust me, it makes this dish taste amazing. Actually, ALL the seasonings make the dish amazing! 

So below is the FINAL DISH...how does it look? I think it looks amazing! And tastes amazing as well. How can you go wrong? You are getting a ton of protein from the chicken and egg, vitamins and minerals from all those veggies, fiber from the brown rice, edamame, garbanzo beans (AND of course the veggies!), and some fat from the chicken, egg yolk and olive oil.

Enjoy your Sunday...more recipes and blogs to come!

Sugar And Spice And All That's Not Nice, Apparently...!

Growing up, my family had a second home in Calistoga, a small city in Napa County, which is a bit north of San Francisco in Northern California. I can remember driving up to that house on weekends, which was only about an hour drive, but when you are 8 years old, an hour seems like five hours. My dad would always stop at a local gas station along the way, and my sister and I would get to pick out a candy of our choice. I remember how excited I would get to eat that piece of candy. There was a certain one I always liked and I would eat it slowly and with joy the entire rest of the drive. I can recall other life events where sugar played a major role in my recognizance of the event.

There were always beautiful cakes at birthday parties, fancy desserts at graduation dinners, boxes of See’s candies at Valentines Day and jumbo Hershey’s Kisses during the winter holidays. Even in the grocery store yesterday, I saw a recent stocking of those goo-infused Cadbury eggs on the shelves and I got a little warm and fuzzy inside thinking about growing up, and even though we didn’t celebrate Easter, my mom would always doctor up cute little candy baskets with sparkly green grass and candy eggs so we could be like all the other kids in school…she would even send us these baskets when we were away at school. So for me…sugar always has a lot of good memories. Sugar is warm. Sugar is fuzzy. Sugar is love. So how can sugar possibly be considered toxic?

Last week, a high-profile science journal called Nature published a commentary by three academic professionals. They argued that sugar is a toxin and that it should be subject to similar kinds of public-health mediations just as alcohol is. Put more simply, sugar should be taxed and restricted just like liquor.

Robert Lustig is one of the main authors of this commentary. He runs an obesity clinic at a children’s hospital, which is part of the University of California, San Francisco. Lustig has gained an online following since 2009 for a lecture entitled ‘Sugar: the Bitter Truth’. While Lustig’s tone throughout this video is rather melodramatic, it is apparent that there is a growing body of evidence linking refined carbohydrates to a group of related symptoms – obesity, fatty liver disease, type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This wonderful little collection of symptoms can also be called ‘metabolic syndrome’.

These chronic diseases have increased in importance in recent decades as has consumption of refined carbohydrates – specifically, sugar. We in America have a very large sweet tooth.  The average American consumes 131 pounds of sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) per year, up from 113 pounds per person in 1966. And some consume even more than this average. One of many examples--for people who love their huge daily soda fix, A 7-11 convenient store 44-ounce Big Gulp weighs in at 128 grams of sugar. In my opinion, that is what a few days worth of sugar intake should look like, not a few hours.

So, we have rising rates of diseases related to metabolic syndrome, alongside increased sugar consumption. Sucrose, which is the kind used as table sugar, and HFCS are regarded as particularly problematic by many researchers because they are both made up of two simpler sugars, glucose and fructose. Glucose activates the production of insulin and would seem to be a reasonable suspect in problems of insulin resistance and diabetes, and therefore also obesity. Fructose, which is a sugar that is also found in fruits, is public enemy number one for some health researchers because of its effects on the liver and in relation to heart disease. That being said, some see the consumption of fructose, sucrose and HFCS as a dietary triple threat that significantly increases the risk of the numbers of chronic diseases.

So yes, there is a body of evidence that suggests sugar and HFCS are culprits in some common health problems. But is government action really necessary? In some areas I think it is. For example, I don’t think it is necessary to add sugars to vegetables, meat and fish dishes. I don’t think there should be added sugars in sauces. I can think of a few sauces I can make on my own for dishes with no sugar that taste amazing. I think the government should try to help with some of those specific food items and why there is so much added sugar in them. 

It is a good thing to advise the population on what may be good or bad for our health. Education is key and something I happen to be very passionate about. Many people have chosen to quit smoking, for example, for health reasons even though they might have enjoyed it at one point. They were educated about their habit, perhaps saw pictures and facts and made their own decisions. No one forced them to stop. It is quite another issue to demand that adults should change their habits at the whim of medical researchers, politicians or campaigners.

I believe it is up to YOU how you lead your life. It is up to you to create a balance, recognizing excess and practicing moderation. After all, for most people, these chronic health problems are largely diseases related to genetics and even more likely, old age.  The trend in recent years seems to be to take choices out of our hands or punish us financially with “sin taxes” for things like drinking and smoking. I am not saying drinking and smoking are good, but honestly, people are going to smoke and drink, and it is a choice people can and should be able to make as free adults.

People are going to eat sugar. Even I am going to eat sugar. What should be done? Should we just tax people who end up in the hospital with health problems and massive bills due to a lifetime of overeating?  Should we withhold health treatment from the general population for their own self-inflicted health problems? Maybe this would scare people into taking responsibility for their own actions. Maybe it would do nothing.

As I mentioned in the beginning of this blog, sugar has a lot of memories for me. I grew up with a little bit here and there and I know that once in awhile I can have a slice of cake or a piece of candy. But I can have just one slice, not the entire cake and a box of donuts after. I also know I am planning to stay physically active on a regular basis, cook for myself and pay attention to additives in my food as much as I can. I would rather do these sorts of things on my own and keep some balance of health and sanity than have the government slap me on the wrist for buying a cake or cookies for a personal affair, wouldn’t you?

So You Wanna Make Some Tasty Kale, Huh?

Ahhhh yes, Kale. My brother once told a friend at a party he thought kale was an oat. Not so! Definitely one of the more trendy leafy greens for 2012, it is high in vitamins K, A and C and is a great vegetable source of calcium. Although many people read of its benefits, they are still fearful to try it. People are concerned about its robust and bitter flavor and its tough, fibrous texture. After various friends have expressed interest in wanting to eat this virtuous veggie but aren't sure exactly what to do with it, I decided I would dedicate a short blog to a recipe I guarantee will make any kale taste delicious.

There are recipes similar to this online, but I thought I would make it easier for my readers by not only showing the ingredients used but showing pictures of the kale as it turns from boring raw veggie in a bag into glorious sautéed garlic flavored deliciousness.

Shown below are all of the ingredients used to create this kale dish. As you can see, because I am a huge fan of Trader Joe's...all of these ingredients are from that grocery store. Don't be discouraged if you do not have access to Trader Joe's...you can buy these ingredients at almost any grocery store.

You will notice I have two oils in the above picture, grapeseed and olive oil. I prefer to do my sautéing with grapeseed oil. The reason is grapeseed oil has a moderately high smoke point, and as a result is more ideal than several other cooking oils for high temperature cooking. It also has a very clean, light taste. Olive oil is okay to use as well, as some people prefer its flavor, but it does have a lower smoke point, so it is better for drizzling on a salad or a raw vegetable.

So first, you will want to chop up a few cloves of garlic (as many or little as you would like!)

Then you will heat up the stove and pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into the pan along with the chopped garlic.

Next, you will add around two cups of kale to the pan. This depends on if you are cooking just for you or for a few people. You can adjust the amount of this recipe however you would like depending on if you are feeding guests or not. I prefer to use Trader Joe's Kale because it is already chopped. Just rinse it off and it is ready to go!

Let the kale bathe in the oil for about a minute. Toss it around and then add 1-2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar. You can also use rice vinegar or apple cider, but I personally like the zing that the red wine vinegar flavor gives to the kale.

After another 30 seconds or so, sprinkle a bit of lemon pepper over your finished product. You can do this after you turn off the stove, because lemon pepper doesn't need to cook. I just the extra flavor of lemon pepper. Again, you may not need this, or desire another flavoring. Some people like to use red chili pepper flakes or garlic salt. Feel free to use any seasoning you would like. If it is salt based, use it sparingly. Remember this dish is supposed to be healthy!!

Aaaaannnndddd you're done! The final product should look something like this here below. This is one of two servings, since I was cooking for a friend when I made this last. Delicious and nutritious! Go ahead, try it and tell me what you think.

Cheers To A Delicious Life, America! Pass The Butter and the Novo Nordisk, Please.

Perhaps this batter was for a cake...where everyone was having just one slice...right?

Only a week later, this blog has already been overwritten. But it is such a huge issue in the media and nutrition world, I wanted to touch on it as well. Most of us who follow news know by now, famed cookbook author and television personality Paula Deen came out last week. Known for her Southern drawl and enthusiasm for high-fat and fried foods, Deen has been a closet type 2 diabetic for three years. Having seduced us with unhealthful, butter filled recipes on the one hand while she secretly checked her blood sugar with the other, Deen is now under some major scrutiny in the media.

The media craze surrounding the news of her illness is exactly the sort of publicity camraderie the pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk must have been dreaming of when it hired Deen to be the spokesperson for its latest marketing campaign. Deen, along with her two sons, have been hired to to help the rest of us, see “Diabetes in a New Light,” according to one of many links to the Novo Nordisk website. Paula Deen also wants you to “live a life that is delicious.” Hopefully that’s also portion controlled and low sugar based.

Surely Deen fans with the disease will start asking their doctors if the $500-a-month Novo Nordisk drug she takes could be right for them, not because they need a new medication but because it will bring them closer to being like Deen. Which is what celebrity endorsements are all about, right? Like when Jillian Michaels was endorsing diet supplements. Like Lebron James and Kobe Bryant endorsing VitaminWater. I mean…if we take whatever supplement/medication/sports drink a celebrity claims to take, it brings us that much closer to being like them…right? I am not saying that is a good thing, I am just saying…this is what happens.

There is much debate in the blog world, also the nutrition world, over what Deen knew, when she knew it, and the amount of sugar, fat (butter!!) and calories she dished out in the meantime. But truthfully, the worst thing she might be guilty of is being a savvy entrepreneur. The woman has a famous face and people who like her will listen to what she has to say, be it about biscuits or diabetes medication.

I can recall a few years back when I was still in school, my younger brother, who probably doesn’t cook much more than chicken in a stir fry pan, was talking to me about a television cooking show he was addicted to, and he started mimicking her drawl and saying how she cooked everything with butter. Paula Deen is a character. She is loud and boisterous and puts on a good show. My brother thought the gluttony of her recipes was funny. He was smart enough to know that obviously he should not eat that sort of food on a regular basis. But she was entertaining, and thus he paid attention to her.

I do recall the original USA Today article with Deen saying that T.V food is not for every day. She says she suspects she will “…stick to my roots but will say a little louder, 'Eat this in moderation. You don't want to make a steady diet of just lettuce. You don't want to make a steady diet of fried chicken." That, my friends, is reality. Paula Deen never told anyone to eat fried eggs, fried chicken, cheesy grits, and butter cake on a daily basis. Most people I know with Type 2 Diabetes, including my father, do still eat a slice of chocolate cake, or a burger and fries every now and then. But not every day. 

Unfortunately, you probably won’t see Paula Deen discussing the complications of this disease. The National Institute of Health lists the life-threatening complications: Heart disease, stroke, hypertension, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disease, amputations, dental problems, pregnancy complications. Other devastating complications  include coma, greater risk of death from pneumonia, trouble with physical activity for those over 60 and (surprise!) depression. 

Like I said earlier, my father has Type 2 Diabetes, so I have seen some of the damages this disease can do over time. I can say with some jurisdiction that while a diabetic’s life is manageable, it is certainly not always delicious and if they don’t watch themselves, there are dire consequences. A diabetic better not skip a meal, or wait too long between meals, or eat too much or too little at a meal, or eat too much fruit, or consume too much alcohol…the list seems to go on and on of the can’s and can not’s. Doesn’t sound like a delicious life now, does it?

I am not sure that even Paula Deen can make this disease seem better, even with her cheery grin and hospitable persona. But she can try and put a band-aid over the issue…because this is America--and we love a familiar television face and an opportunity for a quick fix.