Add 20 Years to your life!

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“Keeping yourself on the edge of hunger will add 20 years to your lifespan …”
Toronto Star, November 21, 2010
Article by Vivian Song

Okinawa and the Shimaine Prefecture in Japan are the two places in the world with the highest number of centenarians per capita. Researchers feel  that it’s not just genetics that counts. From 50 to 70 percent of aging gracefully and healthfully is based on lifestyle. The lifestyle of these leaders in lifespan is primarily based on moderation. They stop eating when they are 80% full! In addition, their diet focuses on fruit, vegetables, soy and fish.

So calorie reduction is important and has led to a new term or concept – “calorie restriction” and new resources that I plan to investigate:

1. The New York Times bestseller “The Okinawa Program“, by Craig Willcox, and
2. The Calorie Restriction Society International.

According to the article, experts categorize how the body’s energy and resources are needed into maintenance, repair, growth and metabolism processes. Extra calories and weight put more pressure on the growth and metabolism categories. Otherwise more energy is available for maintenance and repair, which should lead to fewer age-related chronic diseases.

The lifestyle of centenarians in Okinawa is also described as “uncommonly austere” and active. This report substantiates my nutrition strategy and confirms that my next priority should be an effective exercise program.

There’s always something new to learn. Two other ideas are important and need to be developed as habits:

• How do you recognize when you are full or 80% full?
• Is a simpler lifestyle healthier?

Fresh & Light Antipasto Tuna Salad

Saturday’s are usually a special day at our place, especially in the fall. NCAA football is at it’s best and an easy and nutritious lunch fits right in. This tuna salad on a toasted multi-grain bagel hit the spot! It’s from dairygoodness.ca and can be viewed at:

http://www.dairygoodness.ca/recipes/fresh-light-antipasto-tuna-salad

Portobello & Mozzarella Sandwich

Image via Wikipedia

 

This recipe is on page 136 of Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer. It can be also used with other large-capped mushrooms.

  

   

 It may be a bit too heavy for lunch. We enjoyed it so much for dinner that Marg, who loves mushrooms, put it in her “Best” folder.

 

 

 

Ingredients 

 

4 Portobello mushrooms

 ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil

Sea salt

Freshly ground pepper

8 slices of sourdough bread

1/3 cup (40 g) mozzarella cheese

½ cup (150 g) pesto, basil or watercress

　

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. (200 degrees C)

Remove stems from mushrooms and sprinkle the mushroom caps with olive oil.

Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Arrange mushroom caps on baking sheet, top down.

Grill or broil on high heat for 12 to 15 minutes.

Toast bread slices.

Cut the mushrooms into ½ inch (1 cm) thick slices.

Cut mozzarella into slices the same thickness as mushrooms.

Combine the mushroom and cheese slices in alternate layers on baking sheet.

Bake in oven until cheese is runny, about 5 to 6 minutes.

Remove and place on 4 toasts, garnishing with pesto.

Cover with other toast slices and serve.

Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer

Cover of Cooking with Foods That Fight Cancer

 

Even though I have already identified over 100 “healthiest” foods and developed a year’s worth of dinner recipes, I keep an eye out for ways to improve my data base. I just read and recommend Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer by Robert Beliveau and Denis Gingras.

 

They analyzed the diets of countries with the lowest cancer rates in the world. Although the culinary culture of the countries studied varies, they have one thing in common – their diets are largely based on plant foods.Most of the foods have already been identified as healthy and are included in my strategy. The ideas that were new to me are:

 

 

Seaweed (Nori, Kombu, Arame, Wakame, Dulse)

 

 

Seaweed farm in Indonesia

My initial reaction is “ugh” … but I may look into seaweed, if I can find it easily

Seaweed is rich in essential minerals (iodine, potassium, iron, and calcium), proteins, all of the essential amino acids, vitamins, and fibre. It is also low in fat and has Omega-3 in the ideal 1:1 ratio with Omega-6.

Mushrooms (shiitake, emaciate, maitake, oyster)

Shiitake Mushrooms

We already enjoy white button mushrooms and sometimes include large-capped mushrooms in our celebrations. It’s risky however, since several family members won’t touch them.

The Portobello & Mozzarella Sandwich recipe on page 136 was excellent and will be included in the next post.

 

Flaxseed

Flax Seeds

This is the best plant source of linolenic acid, an omega-3 fat, used by cells to make EPA and DHA, two anti-inflammatory substances. Two tablespoons provide 140% of the recommended daily allowance of omega-3!

You should avoid buying pre-ground seeds since Flax seeds must be ground to increase absorption of omega-3 fatty acids and to favour the transformation of lignans into active phytoestrogens. Purchase whole grains and grind as needed with a normal coffee mill. Store the flaxseed meal in a hermetically sealed container in the refrigerator for at most two weeks.

Turmeric needs to be stabilized in oil before it can be absorbed by the body. Other important spices are ginger, chile pepper and clove.

 　

The already-identified categories discussed are: Probiotics, Cabbages, Garlic, Soy, Tomatoes, Berries, Citrus Fruits, Herbs and Spices, Green Tea, Red Wine, and Chocolate.

Related Articles

• The Benefits of Flaxseed (webmd.com)
• How to Eat More Sea Vegetables (dietriffic.com)

Seaweed (Nori, Kombu, Wakame, Arame and Dulse)

Moist Caramel Apple Cake

This recipe was well-received at Robert’s birthday party on Saturday.

It was also devoured at our Thanksgiving dinner after quite a feast. The menu for Thanksgiving has already been posted. You can easily pull it up by searching for “Thanksgiving”.

It’s not exactly the “healthiest”, but includes apples; and who doesn’t like caramel or vanilla pudding?  

http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/moist-caramel-apple-cake-82827.aspx

Dinners for Days 67 to 72

Day 67 The Ultimate Salmon Fillets, #53198 at Food.com

http://www.food.com/recipe/the-ultimate-salmon-fillets-53198

Day 68 Chickpeas and Herb Salad at Meal-Master

http://www.meal-master-recipes.com/m3/mm13185.html

Day 69 Hilton Head Herring Salad, #387449 at Food.com

http://www.food.com/recipe/hilton-head-herring-salad-387449

Day 70 Spinach and Red Pepper Calzones from Epicurious.com

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-and-Red-Pepper-Calzones-352293

Day 71 Haddock Oriental from Loblaws

Day 72 Border Black Bean Chicken Salad from cooksrecipes.com

http://www.cooksrecipes.com/salad/border_black_bean_chicken_salad_recipe.html

Dinners for Days 61 to 66

Great week for different fish: salmon, mackerel and trout!

61 Lemon Salmon (canned) & Navy Bean Salad from Chef MD

http://www.chefmd.com/recipe_display.php?id=50

62 Tofu Tuna Patties, Garden Salad from page 56 Consumer Guide

63 Smothered Mackerel from Cooks.com

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1726,146169-251202,00.html

64 Broccoli Soup from page 60 Light Kitchen and in Marg’s Best folder

　

65 Baked Trout, Mashed Potatoes, Mixed Veggies

　

66 Chicken, Broccoli and lemon stir-fry

Thanksgiving Menu

Thanksgiving & Rick’s Birthday (Oct 18, 2010)

Chinese-style Pork Spareribs

Vegetable Tray

Cheese Tray

Red Pepper Soup

Herb & Garlic Turkey with Pan Gravy

Apple Cranberry Sauce

Exotic Mushroom & Bacon Stuffing Terrine

Grainy Mustard Mashed Potatoes

Pan-Roasted Shallots w/Butternut Squash & Brussels Sprouts

Danish Lima Beans

Moist Caramel Apple Cake

Birthday Cake

Coffee & Tea

Chocolate Mints

 

The Chinese-style Pork Spareribs is an old recipe from The Gourmet Magazine

The Red Pepper Soup is on page 27 of Ultimate Kitchen Comanion.

Most of the rest of the recipes are from Canadian Living:

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/herb_and_garlic_turkey_with_pan_gravy.php

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/apple_cranberry_sauce.php

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/exotic_mushroom_and_bacon_stuffing_terrine.php

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/pan_roasted_shallots_with_butternut_squash_and_brussels_sprouts.php

http://www.canadianliving.com/food/grainy_mustard_mashed_potatoes.php

The Danish Lima Beans is from Food.com, formerly Recipezar.com:

http://www.food.com/recipe/danish-lima-beans-48406

The Moist Caramel Apple Cake is from Kraft Canada:

http://www.kraftcanada.com/en/recipes/moist-caramel-apple-cake-82827.aspx

Are there really only TWO healthy cereals?

My pantry only has two boxed cereals in it. That’s because there are only two healthy boxed cereals manufactured – Post Shredded Wheat and General Mills Fiber 1! If you have young children, keep all the other cereals away from them … they have too much sugar!

I classified cereals as “healthy” if they met the following mandatory guidelines for a ½ cup serving:

1.       The first ingredient must be whole grain; in addition there must be:

2.       no sugars listed in the first five ingredients,

3.       no corn syrup or trans fat,

4.       5 grams or more of fiber,

5.       less than 5 grams of sugar, and

6.       less than 2 grams of saturated fat.

The spreadsheet below lists other factors that were not deemed as important as the mandatory guidelines. For example, each serving should be:

• high in vitamins,
• high in protein, and
• low in calories.

Post Grape Nut Flakes just missed the cut-off list – its fiber, at 4 grams, missed by 1. Kashi Go Lean missed by a greater margin – its sugar, at a whopping 9 grams, missed by 4.

Farther down the list were

• Kellogg’s All Bran Flakes,
• General Mills Multi Grain Cheerios,
• Post Shreddies,
• Kellogg’s Guardian,
• Quaker Life Multigrains,
• Kellogg’s Vector, and
• General Mills Oat Cluster Cheerios.

Check out my “Breakfast Strategy”, which is based mostly on oats and home-made mueslis. Once in a while, maybe every two or three weeks, we pull out the Shredded Wheat or Fiber 1.

Factors in ½ cup	Post Shredded Wheat	General Mills Fiber 1		Post Grape Nut Flakes	Kashi Go Lean		Kellogg’s All Bran Flakes		General Mills Cheerios Multi Grain
1st ingredient = whole grain
No sugar in 1st 5 ingredients							3-		3-
No corn syrup or Trans fat
Fiber > 5g	6	14		4-	5		5		3-
Sugar < 5 g	0	0		0	9-		4		6-
Saturatedfat < 2g	.2	0		0	.2		0		.3
Sodium < 200 mg	0	105		180	95		150		200
Protein	5	2		4	13		4		2
Calories	80	100		140	100		60		55

Cranberry-walnut oatmeal

The Cranberry-walnut oatmeal recipe by Mayo Clinic staff is excellent with one change. I find the steel-cut oats are more tender if I

1. toast them in a heavy saucepan,
2. cover them with water to 2 inches above the oats, then
3. soak them overnight.

Check the recipe out at :

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/healthy-recipes/RE00035