Cravings

Winter Sky

The winter is dragging on and we are hoping that spring is around the corner, at least we have convinced ourselves that it is. It is the time that a little bit of laziness creeps in, not enough sunshine, too much cold and dark. It is the perfect time for comfort food. At least this is what you tell yourself. My all-time favorite comfort food is potato chips, I think Yifat's is chocolate, but it isn't fair since chocolate is good for you. I can't say the same for potato chips. I think next to potato chips it is a hamburger and I know this is high on Yifat's list. Cravings are centered somewhere deep in our DNA telling us to eat more fat and protein. There are better people than me that probably can ignore them, I can't all the time; but there is hope. This difficulty we have staying away from fats is backed up of course in scientific studies and general knowledge of ourselves.

There was a study released in February entitled Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1200303#t=abstract. The study finds an inverse relationship between a Mediterranean Diet and the cardiovascular risk. The Mediterranean diet is defined by Wikipedia as” inspired by the traditional dietary patterns of southern Italy, Greece, and Spain The principal aspects of this diet include proportionally high consumption of olive oil, legumes, unrefined cereals, fruits and vegetables, moderate to high consumption of fish, moderate consumption of dairy products (mostly as cheese and yogurt), moderate wine consumption, and low consumption of meat and meat products.” The study has been criticized because (read the comments) lack of control on the “low fat group”, funding by “food companies” and general weak statistical significance.
We think a more interesting take is that it is difficult to stay on a low fat diet for a long time and there is a growing body of evidence that consumption of fats are important to overall health. For example a good summary article about Omega 3 fatty acids (http://www.ecmaj.ca/content/178/2/177.full) explains that “Consumption of recommended intakes of omega-3 fatty acids may lead to a general increase in the overall health and well-being of the population.” Ok why all the science? In the end it is about making decisions everyday about what to eat and knowing that in a world in which you are surrounded by bad choices you will occasionally make a bad choice. I have found a substitute for my beloved hamburgers, which is so good I barely miss the real thing. The Portobello burger which I have been eating for years and generally curbs my desire for a meat burger.

 

The way to cook this burger is simple - heat a pan with olive oil until hot- add Portobello and sear on both sides. Reduce heat and cover. In the meantime tart toasting the bun with olive oil. The Portobello should be done in 5 minutes after searing. We chose goat cheese, sundried tomatoes and red onion for our toppings.

That's all for today! Bob and Yifat