For those working on maintaining weight

[NbyNW]

Sushi is a stealth vehicle for salt & white rice

These days I try to do mostly sashimi and just a few nigiri or rolls, and definitely go for low sodium soy sauce on the sushi.

[han-grrl]

I have been into "low grain" myself -

i just had my lunch (check my blog for lots of details)

when i eat out, i tend to get sashimi

but i did something quite different today and it was (to toot my own horn)
awesome.

no rice.

yay!

[tulip]

I've been to a Whole Foods that has sushi made with a variety of grains, not just rice. Things like quinoa and other grains of which I don't know the name. Anyhow, it's tasty, although slightly purple.

I have learned to like brown rice, but only basmati. I've found that my rice cooker is essential in successful rice cuisine. I've also learned to really like whole grain pasta, but it did take me a while to get there. Now I find it so much more nutritious and tasty. It doesn't wear off after an hour, like white pasta does (I always feel hungry an hour or two after lots of white pasta).

Whole milk is so much better than skim. I can't stand skim milk; my grandfather used to call it Blue Death. Whole milk yogurt, with the cream on top, is also fantastic. I prefer to eat foods that have escaped unnecessary processing, and that includes removing the fat from milk and the whole grain from pasta and rice.

Avocados and olive oil are good fats, as is fish, especially cold water fish. I also eat beef (locally farm raised--I buy it directly from the farm) once a week, and chicken (also local-it just tastes better) once or twice a week. I'm a big veggie-eating person, but I have to make sure I get enough protein, so I often add leftover meat/fish/chicken to my salads (with avocado).

I also like smoothies made with yogurt and berries and bananas. I stock up on frozen berries. Berries might not work for someone with ulcer problems, though, I don't know (seeds??)

Can you tell that I ate lunch MANY HOURS ago??

[NbyNW]

Tulip's last post just reminded me of a couple favorite smoothies -- some are variations on a theme just for variety:

almond milk + banana + whey protein powder (you can also add slivered almonds for texture if you're using a blender, and when I'm feeling adventurous I'll toss in a tsp of powdered greens)

almond or cow's milk + whey powder + ovaltine

1/2 an avocado + 1 shot espresso + 1-2 T. sweetened condensed milk + ice (you can add a bit of milk to this one if it's too thick)

I'm told the whey powder is a good post-workout protein source. It fills me up, so maybe there's something to it.

[shootingstar]

*BUT* I do get annoyed when people think that Asian cuisine is the solution to all of their dietary problems. It's probably a better way to eat than most, but there are still a few things to keep an eye on, like the sodium in soy sauce, or my mom's friend who had a stent put in and has been told by her doc to stay off the white rice (she does 1/2 white 1/2 brown b/c she can't stand the flavor of brown rice). I love tofu and soy milk, but some people can't digest it.

Long term benefits? I hope I haven't undone anything because I certainly haven't eaten that well since I grew up and moved out. It's probably an individual thing with many factors. I do have uncles and aunties in Taiwan who worry about keeping their weight down. Could be a problem of recent prosperity against scarce resources when they were growing up. Could be more access to western convenience products from McD's & 7-Eleven, who knows? My mom has struggled with emotional eating and keeping her weight down ever since I was born (it's my fault), and dad has, too, depending on his stress levels and whether or not he makes time for exercise and makes good decisions about what he eats when he's not at home. All this in spite of a lot of home cooking and home-grown vegetables.

Crankin, some of that weight gain you're experiencing after an Asian meal _could_ be from water retention if you're eating anything with lots of sodium. Try reaching for the low-sodium soy sauce or asking the chef to leave out the MSG. I started to get really bad PMS bloating a few years ago, and my doc told me to try cutting my sodium back. It helps, a bit.

To highlight what I would and do fall back, are selective Asian styles of food preparation and dishes that are healthy.

And yes, han-grrl, certain types of seaweeds are healthy in moderation. I don't know why alot people freak out over this anyway. If they remember that seaweed is really...underwater/sea vegetables. Eating it is like eating leaves or other varieties, like a fine dark brown vermecelli.

Upon the family doctor's orders, my mother has had to cut back her sodium intake, etc. because she has high blood pressure. So she had to adjust food preparation both for herself and for my father. My father followed suit because he figured it wouldn't hurt him anyway and besides my mother controls the kitchen. (Even though my father was a restaurant cook his whole life before retirement). As you know a traditional Asian diet doesn't use much sugar, so the sugar cutback for both of them was a non-issue. Parents have been eating healthily for over last 15 years. I am grateful they were motivated to change themselves ...instead of their children reminding them.

Same for cutting off meat fat before cooking..mother was doing it already when I was a teenager. At that time I thought she was obsessed. I had very little dessert/pop when growing up. It was reserved for special occasions. Our childhood homemade cake...was making STEAMED chiffon egg cake. Steaming a cake is more traditional Asian style. It's very easy. And uses just eggs, flour and sugar. And you steam the whole batter. It rises. That's how we had strawberry shortcake as children.

So I genuinely credit..a long family history of home Asian cooking that became healthier and healthier over the decades...to a point where my parents barely use any soy sauce in their cooking. Yes, it is STILL a Chinese tasting dish.

I was at my healthiest 20 years ago, when I used to look a Danish dessert and feel ill: ick, how sugary. Now, I have refined my appreciation of gourmet European desserts because my partner is German and has a mother who was a fantastic, gourmet baker.

I have no need to drink homogenized milk..I'm not a lactating mother nor no longer a growing child. I have soy cheese, tofu, etc. Will continue with skim milk. After 2 full cafe au laits, I do get uh..abit of diahrea anyway. Disappointing, since I love cafe au laits. (not cafe lattes which have more coffee...)

[letsride89]

for this thread?

sounds just like me.

100-105lbs is where i am...

lactoseintolerant and i have IBS. try to eat at a restaurant with that kind of diet. ahhaha

maintaining weight is just as much on my mind as if i was trying to lose weight. its annoying to be honest.

great thread!

[han-grrl]

for fish

i received this the other day

http://current.com/items/89086078_po...rse_than_bacon

tilapia may not be the best fish around for you...

[NbyNW]

maintaining weight is just as much on my mind as if i was trying to lose weight. its annoying to be honest.

great thread!

Yes, thanks han-grrl for starting this thread.

I've had people look at me like I had two heads when I tell them my goal is to build and maintain muscle, and that means eating differently than those who are try to lose weight.

They thought I should be perfectly happy looking like Kate Moss, when I was down to 93 lbs at 5'1".

Somehow it's hard to explain to people I'd rather be able to run a mile without bonking.

[han-grrl]

Jocelyn - i so hear you...

its so important to find "our own way" to eat for riding and training...

myself, i have found that eating LESS when not riding that day, and eating more pre-rides and during has done much much more for me than eating a steady amount over time, and eating a bit more on rides...

so i actually eat a fairly low calorie diet, but i have felt SOOO good this year on rides.

[NbyNW]

To highlight what I would and do fall back, are selective Asian styles of food preparation and dishes that are healthy.

. . . .

So I genuinely credit..a long family history of home Asian cooking that became healthier and healthier over the decades...to a point where my parents barely use any soy sauce in their cooking. Yes, it is STILL a Chinese tasting dish.

shootingstar, your illustrations of how Asian cooking can be adapted are excellent.

I feel like I should also clarify some of my earlier comments too, as while I feel you make some valid points, there are those who take it too far.

apologies in advance for going a little off-topic, too.
*warning* *cultural baggage rant about to begin*

I have occasionally encountered non-Asian people in my life who place what I feel is TOO MUCH stock in what, to them, is an exotic cuisine. There is a lot of marketing around the potential benefits of soy and green tea, for example.

I think the idealization of things from other cultures can lead to misperceptions about those cultures as a whole. Those misperceptions in turn lead to messed-up thinking.

Two illustrations:

A few years ago my dear FIL, who has been trying to lose weight, was trying to introduce soy to his diet, I don't know on whose recommendation. I think he tried different kinds of tofu, imitation meat, and soy milk. He found all forms of it unpalatable, even when I made soy milk from scratch, which tastes way better than the branded-stuff-in-a-box that is readily available in your neighborhood grocery. When I suggested that the benefits of soy might not outweigh his displeasure in eating it and the American Soy Growers Association's marketing team might have something to do with why he was putting so much pressure on himself to eat something he didn't like, he said,

"Well what the heck are they eating over there (in Asia) if they're all so d@mn healthy?!!!"

I had to explain to him that Asians, too, struggle with obesity, heart disease, high risk of certain cancers, osteoporosis, Alzheimers, etc. Just at different rates than other populations. Lesser for some things, greater for others. And that a good diet can only protect you so much from smoking like a chimney.

FIL felt better after that. In his mind he had built up some impossible higher standard of health, which I think were really frustrating his weight loss efforts.

Illustration #2 was when an acquaintance asked what I did for Thanksgiving and I related the annual Taiwanese potluck that my Auntie Lin hosts.

"Oh, that sounds SO healthy! How WONderful! Oh, I bet it was all very HEALTH-y!"

I swear this guy was about to enter an orgasmic fit of ecstasy. Was he seriously fetish-izing my Thanksgiving dinner? I mean, there's only so much non-frying of an eggroll before it isn't an eggroll anymore, am I right? And there was a lot of stuff fried in peanut oil. Certainly not an everyday meal, and it probably would not be considered heart-healthy.

That encounter just bugged me. If I enjoyed my dinner, it wasn't because of any potential health benefits. It was because it was lovingly prepared by a wonderful group of family friends who wanted to pull out all the stops on a special evening. And Auntie and Uncle Lin make the best eggrolls.

If there is a misperception out there that Asians have fewer health problems than other populations, then potentially there is less education regarding screening and diagnosis out there for people who are at risk of developing certain medical conditions, and that conditions needing treatment go undiagnosed for longer periods of time. And that people misplace their faith in an exotic diet.

Oh, and how do you explain that occasional octogenarian who smokes a pack a day and eats bacon like it's an essential nutrient?

Good eating habits didn't protect my mother or her mother from breast cancer (Mom is a 20-year survivor, though!); didn't protect my father from Graves' disease; didn't protect his mother from arthritis; didn't prevent my friend Joe from succumbing to leukemia at age 33. I could keep going . . .

I'd just like to see people stop thinking Asians have discovered the fountain of youth or some magical elixir of health. We are as human and vulnerable as everyone else.

*rant over*

[han-grrl]

Jocelyn

Rant away! This is what this thread is all about!

I think you are proving a valid point - that eating/nutrition is VERRRY personal even genetic - that our genetic make up as well as our culture of either sedentary or active lives really affects how we "process" foods physiologically...

and yes people do idealize "foreign foods" mainly because they are always looking for that quick fix, rather than REALLY taking the time, maybe even experimenting to see what works...and then of course if it takes some time, they get frustrated...

[shootingstar]

I have occasionally encountered non-Asian people in my life who place what I feel is TOO MUCH stock in what, to them, is an exotic cuisine. There is a lot of marketing around the potential benefits of soy and green tea, for example.

I think the idealization of things from other cultures can lead to misperceptions about those cultures as a whole. Those misperceptions in turn lead to messed-up thinking.

An illustration of messed up thinking is not understanding that although tofu itself, is healthy...lots of miso paste is not. Though both forms of food are derived from the soy plant, one does not have salt while the latter does.

I continue to be appalled to see TV cooking shows or recipes that use way too much soy sauce or miso paste. I can make steamed sliced chicken dish (cut in 1-2 inch slices) that is flavoured with low-sodium soy sauce with 1/4 teaspoon of soy sauce, small jot of sunflower oil, etc. ...to serve 6 people. It would have rehydrated tiger lily buds, etc. Real home cooking.

In my extended family, over the last few decades, I can easily see the profound effect of diet changes, physical activity levels and its effect when relocating from a poor, agrarian/agricultural area of a developing country to a affluent, industrialized country.

Several different relatives who immigrated to Canada at different times, from southern China agricultural areas over 20-15 years ago, where they worked on farm communes and construction projects (before present semi-privatization of land), now look overweight because they ARE eating more processed foods, junk foods (pop, etc.). It's just more readily available here (and now in China compared to 2 decades ago). They started to look like that within 5 years or less after arriving in Canada. Though some have jobs where they are still physically active, but not to the same level of intensity as compared to what they were required to do in China with less machinery, appliances, etc.

Sorry I'll continue this later...this evening.

[tulip]

Because of this post, I had amazing sashimi last night with my parents. I usually sushi, but thought I'd branch out a bit. It was served with long strings of daikon (I think). I also got some rice because I like it, but I don't think it was as much as comes with sushi.

Maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to me that the sashimi fish was fresher and better than the sushi. Maybe it's just because it comes in larger pieces, I don't know.

I am one of those people who loves Asian cuisine, but I cannot stand what passes for Chinese food because my experience with it is heavy on the oil and heat lamps and light on fresh ingredients. But Vietnamese, Thai, Korean, and Japanese I'll take any day.

[han-grrl]

I often eat sashimi

in fact i will order sashimi, miso soup (i have a weakness, i'm sorry!) and a salad for my dinner...maybe like one kind of "fancy" sushi - but i just like the natural flavour of foods...

I've also been trying to eat a lot of raw foods ie fruits/veg because i'm a bit of a paleo type - that is, i believe we should be eating more like cavemen...i often wonder about cooking foods and whether it is totally "natural'
i know it is necessary - because of our digestive systems, like for proteins, but i always go back to "what would the cave WOman do"

[NbyNW]

Shootingstar, I love your food descriptions. Can I come to your house? I'll bring a potluck dish!

I wish my mom had taught me how to cook . . . you've inspired me to bug her when I am visiting the parents this weekend.

Tulip, you're so right about "what passes for Chinese food." It wouldn't pass muster in any (or most) Chinese communities anywhere in the world. I had a history professor in college who had a theory that a lot of Chinese restaurant food as we know it in the U.S. has its origins in the merchant marine service and the introduction of Chinese labor to the U.S. Being the cook was not a desirable job, nor did they go to great lengths to hire people (usually men) who were good at it . . . voila, greasy heat-lamp piles of stuff. I avoid it too.