The Healthy Cooking Coach

Love That Liver

 “Since history began, "liver has ranked above all other offal as one of the most prized culinary delights. Its heritage is illustrious--whether savored by young warriors after a kill or mixed with truffles and cognac for fine patés de foie gras." So write Margaret Gin and Jana Allen, authors of Innards and Other Variety Meats (San Francisco, 1974).

Photo right (raw liver) from Wikipedia

“Practically every cuisine has liver specialties. Some cultures place such a high value on liver that human hands can’t touch it. Special sticks must move it. The Li-Chi, a handbook of rituals published during China’s Han era (202B.C. to 220A.D.), lists liver as one of the Eight Delicacies. Throughout most of recorded time humans have preferred liver over steak by a large margin, regarding it as a source of great strength and as providing almost magical curative powers,” writes Lynn Razaitis, a high school biology teacher and Weston A Price Foundation chapter leader in Atlanta Georgia in an article In the article entitled, “The Liver Files: Recipes and Lore About Our 
Most Important Sacred Food” on the Weston A Price Foundation website.

What’s in it for you?
Liver is…

1. an excellent source of high quality protein
2. nature’s most concentrated source of vitamin A, which is not the same as the beta carotene found in plant foods; true vitamin A can be found only in certain foods of animal origin
3. a source of all the B-vitamins, particularly vitamin B12
4. one of our best sources of natural folic acid
5. rich in highly usable iron, which is absorbed at a higher rate than the iron in plant foods
6. a source of copper, zinc, and chromium
7.  our best source of copper
8. a source of an unidentified anti-fatigue factor
9. rich in coQ10, a nutrient that is vital for healthy cardiovascular function (FYI: cholesterol lowering drugs destroy this essential nutrient)
10. a good source of purines, nitrogen-containing compounds that serve as precursors for DNA and RNA

Is liver dangerous?
Despite the fact that traditional practices and scientific evidence support the many health benefits accrued by eating liver, many modern people express ambivalence about eating liver or express an outright refuse to eat it because they’ve been told that the liver stores toxins. This view has become popular among many conventional nutritionists and natural foods advocates.

The “liver is toxic” belief stems from a misunderstanding of what the liver actually does. The liver does not store toxins, rather it neutralizes toxins (e.g., drugs, chemical agents, and poisons). Toxic compounds that the body cannot neutralize and eliminate are more likely to lodge in the fatty tissues and the nervous system, not the liver.

What does the liver store?
Razaitis emphasizes that “The liver is not a storage organ for toxins,” rather, “it is a storage organ for many important nutrients (vitamins A, D, E, K, B12 and folic acid, and minerals such as copper and iron),” nutrients the body needs to get rid of toxins.

Don Matesz, a licensed acupuncturist, herbalist, and adjunct nutrition professor at Southwest Naturopathic College and Southwest Institute of Healing Arts, both in Tempe, AZ, co-author of The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook, and author of the Primal Wisdom blog seconds that motion. He explains:

“The liver has multiple detoxification systems that reduce both endogenous and exogenous toxins to less- or non-toxic forms, which it eliminates via bile or get removed from circulation by the kidneys. Also, the liver produces vital substances, such as bile, albumin, antibodies, antihistamines, heparin, and cholesterol. It also regulates carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism, including blood sugar levels. It removes excess hormones—including insulin—from circulation. To do these jobs the liver cells retain high levels of micronutrients, which makes liver one of the most nutrient-dense
whole foods you can ingest.”

 What about the risk of vitamin A toxicity?
Studies linking vitamin A consumption to toxicity relied on doses of synthetic vitamin A, which was found to cause problems and even contribute to birth defects. “But natural vitamin A found in liver is an extremely important nutrient for human health and does not cause problems except in extremely large amounts,” explains Razaitis.

Other than unusual cases, such as Arctic explorers eating polar bear or seal liver and taking several million units of vitamin A at one time, the risk of vitamin A toxicity in people eating one or two reasonable servings of liver per week are highly unlikely.

Taking megavitamin supplements containing vitamin A over a long period of time has induced acute toxicity (e.g., 100,000 IU synthetic vitamin A per day taken for many months); however these go away upon cessation of taking such unusually high does of A in supplemental form.

How much liver is safe to eat?
 “A good recommendation for liver is one 100-gram serving of beef, lamb, bison or duck liver (about 4 ounces) once or twice a week, providing about 50,000 IU vitamin A per serving. Chicken liver, which is lower in vitamin A, may be consumed more frequently. If you experience headaches or joint pains at this level, cut back until the symptoms go away,” explains Razaitis.

Which liver is best?
“We should consume liver from healthy animals--cattle, lamb, buffalo, hogs, chickens, turkeys, ducks and geese. The best choice is liver from animals that spend their lives outdoors and on pasture. If such a premier food is not available, the next choice is organic chicken, beef and calves liver. If supermarket liver is your only option, the best choice is calves liver, as in the U.S. beef cattle do spend their first months on pasture. Beef liver is more problematical as beef cattle are finished in feed lots. Livers from conventionally raised chicken and hogs are not recommended,” says Razaitis.

My first taste of liver
As a child I hated liver. I can only recall eating it one time. I remember the house we lived in, the side of the table I sat on, the napkin in my lap, and my beagle, Cochise, waiting  expectantly under the table for what I would not eat.

That’s the only time I remember being served liver as a child and the time I think I feeding my dinner to the dog. I wanted dessert. I knew I had to finish what was on my plate to get it so I elicited help from my dog. As I got older I was left to my own devices at most meals so whether I ate dinner before dessert or had vegetables or fruit on my plate went largely unnoticed. But I digress.

Something about the texture of the liver made me gag. I couldn’t get it past the back of my throat. It triggered the gag reflex big time.

Revisiting liver
As an adult, somewhere in my mid thirties, during my initial attempts to recover from years of vegan and macrobiotic eating, and under the influence of the work of Dr. Weston A. Price I cooked liver.

Chicken and turkey liver I could handle. I liked them cooked Chinese style with tamari soy sauce and spices. I think they called it red cooked liver. I even made a batch of liver paté. But beef liver, even 100% pasture-raised, I could not swallow. Lamb liver gave me the same gaggy feeling in the back of my throat. So I resigned myself to eat dessicated liver tablets for a time and to try other organ meats, some of which I found more palatable, such as thyroid (when I could get it), lamb kidneys, and once, sweet breads.

It wasn’t until years later, until about a month ago that I ventured to try liver from a large animal.  My dear friend and nutrition buddy, Don, with whom I wrote The Garden of Eating, told me about a new way to cook liver that he gleaned from a conversation with another customer in line at Sprouts Market. He really liked the results and began experimenting with different ways of preparing liver. When  he told me about them, I was curious and interested in trying his recipes.

The next weekend the two of us took a field trip to Arizona Buffalo Company in Buckeye, AZ. We both took home some meat, including liver, something very few people buy. Most of the organ meats from this grassfed buffalo ranch end up in pet food. If you want to buy buffalo liver for yourself or your pets, contact them.

I was willing to give liver another try and open to sampling one of Don’s liver recipes. So, the following weekend, we had brunch together. Don brought the liver recipe below. I made a sautéed cauliflower dish and sliced fruit for dessert. I liked the flavor of the buffalo liver cooked his way so much that I took seconds and accepted some of the leftovers, which I had the next morning for breakfast.

Buffalo Liver with Bacon

Prep: 15 minutes    Cooking: ~15 minutes  Servings: 4 to 6

This is the recipe that changed my mind about liver. Finally I found a way to cook liver that I liked enough to eat and repeat. The key is it cook it in plenty of fat. Look for a fatty cut of bacon (really!). Don used bacon ends or trimmings (odd shaped pieces leftover from cutting bacon that have slightly more fat than usual) from Sprouts Market. You can probably get them from a butcher shop as well. When I made the recipe with a leaner variety of bacon, it didn’t turn our as good, so I ended up frying the leftovers in bacon grease to make them more palatable.

FYI: Turkey bacon won’t work here. If the bacon you buy is on the lean side, i.e., it doesn’t have a large rim of fat, you’ll need to add a couple of tablespoons of bacon grease, beef tallow, rendered pork fat, non hydrogenated palm shortening, ghee, or olive oil to the pan along with the liver.

Ingredients:
1 pound of buffalo liver
1/2 pound bacon (fattiest looking brand you can find)
Ground pepper to taste
1 cup salsa (preferably unpasteurized), or to taste

1. Chop the bacon into 1 inch pieces.  Start it frying in a  deep pan (a Crueset pot or cast iron Dutch oven or other pan with 2- to 4-inch high sides). 
2. Meanwhile, using kitchen shears, cut the liver into pieces about 1-inch long and 1/2-inch wide. 
3. When the bacon fat is translucent and soft, and the bacon meat near cooked through, add the pieces of liver.  Sprinkle liberally with black pepper.  Fry the liver just until cooked through but still tender and soft. 
4. Serve with salsa.
5. Refrigerate leftovers in portions to serve 1 or 2 people. Once chilled, freeze what you don’t plan to eat within 2 or 3 days. Gently warm leftovers in a heatproof dish in a toaster oven at 300˚F for about 10 minutes or briefly in a skillet with bacon fat.

Variations:
*  Make this recipe with beef liver or turkey, chicken, or duck liver.

Recipe source: Don Matesz, co-author of The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook (Planetary Press, 2004) and creator of the Primal Wisdom blog

Kitty candy? Healthy Treats for Cats & Kittens

“Candy and snack food are an everyday occurrence for human children, but what about allowing kittens to have treats? It is a fact that people use food to express affection, and they enjoy showing affection to their pets by offering especially tasty treats. This practice can be harmful, or health, depending on what kinds of treats are involved and how often you treat your pet,” says veterinarian Elizabeth Hodgkins in her book, Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life.

Lovely Lilly (photo right)>>>

She acknowledges that pet stores and pet aisles in supermarkets are filled with products that will make your cat sit up and bag and that most of these treats are poor choices for your kitten or cat because they contain ingredients that a cat’s digestive system is not designed to process. As an obligatory carnivore, a cat is designed by nature to eat a high protein, low carb diet with moderate amounts of animal fat.

Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M., esq., and author of Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life seconds the motion explaining that, “Today’s dry cat foods [and snacks] have high levels of processed carbohydrate, low levels of fat, and modest levels of often low-quality animal protein, much of which may come from vegetable matter like gluten and soy. The damage caused by such an upside down diet for such a specialized animal cannot be overstated.”

Although we humans indulge in foods that we know aren’t good for us now and then, this is a poor justification for offering our kittens and cats food they would not eat if they were able to choose healthier options when there are better options.

So what are the alternatives? What can you give your cat or kitten as a reward during training or as a treat that won’t set him or her up for health problems?

Kitty crack?
Hodgkins’ recommends freeze-dried meat snacks to all of her clients and says that her own cats are crazy about them. These treats, made from pure cooked or dried meat are free of artificial flavorings, colorings, salt, and carbohydrate, are crunchy because they’re freeze-dried. They are so palatable that some of her clients refer to them as “kitty crack” because their cats enjoy them so much. But don’t just take her word for it.

What do the cats think?
I conducted an informal survey on the topic using a product I saw advertised in a catalog and also found on line. I won’t tell you that four our of five veterinarians recommend freeze dried salmon treats for their patients who eat snacks. Most vets recommend grain-based food and snacks to their patients. Like many modern physicians, they’ve been trained to promote these products by the processed food industry.

What I can tell you is that in an informal survey of my three closest feline friends, three out three cats who eat snacks, gave these treats a high paw. The sold-out status of their favorite paleo perfect pets snacks on some websites further attests to the popularity and great taste of these grain-free, high protein, zero carb pet snacks.

Sophie
Ten months ago, when she was about 4 months old, Sophie discovered these freeze dried salmon treats when her person (that’s me!) read about them in holistic pet care books and saw them advertised in the Best Friends Animal Shelter Catalog and ordered them and she’s been enjoying them ever since.

Sophie liked them so much she asked for more when her supply ran out. She knows the sound of the package opening and will do almost anything, even withstand several minutes of brushing her long hair, for a tasty salmon treat.

After adopting a low-grain, mostly meat and fat-based diet with small amounts of rice (in her food), she lost her taste for cereal-based dry food and snacks. On her first visit to the vet, when she was 5 months old, Sophie turned down the cereal-based snacks offered by the vet tech. She’s a meat loving, low-carb girl. Her favorite flavor of cat food, which comes in a can, Whole Foods Beef & Liver, contains no grain whatsoever.

Angie (the girl with the slippers)>>>
Angie’s person, Don, heard about Wild Side Salmon Treats from Rachel and Sophie. So when he adopted Angie he ordered a few packages of WSSTs for her, which she immediately took a liking to. When offered a tasty freeze-dried salmon morsel held over her sisal scratching post, Angie will gladly stop scratching the carpet.

Lilly
Lilly (barely 2 months old) discovered Wild Side Salmon Treats almost three weeks ago when she moved in with Rachel and Sophie. She loved them from the very first sniff. The treats helped her bond with her new friend, Sophie, who was less likely to growl, hiss, and chase her off the bed when the two girls received peace offerings of Wildside Salmon Treats before bed and first thing in the morning.

The verdict?
So there you have it. Three out of three cats surveyed prefer Wild Side Salmon Treats to any other snacks. On a scale of 1 to 10, they all gave it at least a 12. I myself haven’t tried them. However, they have such pure ingredients that if I was stranded on a dessert island with my kitties and a pallet of these salmon treats (how likely is that??) I would eat them, but for now, I’m not stranded and I have plenty of my own meat to eat, so I’ll let the girls enjoy them.

Wild Side Salmon Treats are gluten free, grain free, and contain only one quality ingredient: 100% raw, freeze dried wild Alaskan salmon. Note: They do not contain any ingredients from China (good to know!) If you want to order Wild Side Salmon Treats for your cat, check out the following web sites.

Kitty Snacks
This site offers you one low shipping price for up to 12 packages of salmon treats.

Wild Side Salmon
This company also makes Wild Side Salmon Treats for dogs too! You can buy them on this sidte and others over the internet.

Best Friends Store

Catnip Toys
For a list of other freeze dried goodies consisting of pure animal protein for cats and/or dogs, consult The Cat Bible by Tracie Hotchner.

You get what you pay for
“These pure, unadulterated snacks may seem expensive compared to the usual kibble-type treats, but these products are very concentrated nutrition, and pets  need less of them to be satisfied,” says Hodgins. I concur! These freeze-dried bits can be used for training purposes, as rewards for good behavior or during travel when it may be difficult to feed the kitten his/her usual wet food.

The company that makes these purely carnivorous cat treats also makes the same goodies for dogs, called Wild Side Salmon Dog Treats. Same ingredients, slightly different packaging—puppies on the outside of the bag. I’m assuming the dog treats come in larger morsels. They also make Wild Side Lamb n' Fuji Apple Treats for Dogs and they sell Salmon OIl for dogs and cats.

Is your cat eating a species appropriate diet?

You know about the benefits of unrefined, whole or minimally processed foods free of preservatives, additives, artificial colorings, flavorings, and excitotoxins. You know how important it is to get enough protein from high quality animal products meat and omega 3-fattty acids from wild fish. If you follow a low-carb paleo or primal diet, you read about the importance of eating a species appropriate diet. You know about the benefits of limiting your carbohydrate intake and avoiding or minimizing grains and added sugars. But what are you feeding the rest of your family members?

Cat w/dry food picture courtesy Wikipedia>>>>

Feeding your feline friends
What are you feeding your feline friends? Are they eating a species appropriate diet or a highly processed, unnatural carbohydrate-rich diet? If you’re giving your cats (or dogs) cereal-based dry food and pet snacks I urge you to reconsider. 

Cats are obligatory carnivores (ditto for dogs). They require meat to survive. A cat’s digestive tract is even shorter than that of a dog or human. 

“Finding the best food for your kitten [or cat] means finding the food with the most meat,” says Elizabeth Hodgkins, veterinarian and author of Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life. This rules out dry food automatically.

Is your cat eating a junk food diet?
Dr. Hodgkins explains that “Dry cat foods, even the high-priced premium brands with their high starch and over-processed nutrients, are the equivalent of junk food for pets,” adding that “kittens may have a certain tolerance for junk food, as human youngsters do. However, we want to prevent our pets from becoming addicted to unhealthy foods, just as we want that for our children. Feeding carbohydrate-loaded junk food to cats leads to several devastating diseases later in life.”

The unnaturalness of grains
Tracie Hotchner, author of The Cat Bible: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know, seconds the motion. She explains that pet foods made primarily of cereal grains pose problem for cats and kittens.

“A cat needs a diet of protein and no more than 20% carbohydrates. A carb-heavy diet is ill-advised for a cat because it can lead to serious health issues: obesity, diabetes, digestive problems including constipation and urinary tract problems (to which cats are prone to in the first place).” It can also lead to allergies, IBS, chronic ear infection, and even cancer or heart disease.

Hotchner emphasizes that “Grains are not natural to the cat’s digestive system in anything but the smallest amounts¬¬––for example, the undigested grain and plant matter that would be in the stomachs of rodents or birds they would feed on if they were feeding for themselves in nature.” Sounds a lot like paleo diet advice for humans, eh?

Fat cats
Approximately 40% of modern cats (and dogs) are overweight or obese, like their human caretakers. They develop some of the same health problems as modern human children and adults because they are frequently fed foods that were not part of their evolutionary or historical diets until the advent of processed, packaged, and artificial foodstuff.

Grain heavy diets paired with constant access to highly stimulating food leads children, kittens, and cats to overeat. For cats, the problems can be more serious because they don’t have the option of changing their diets when they get older; they rarely leave home, unless they escape, and even then they are likely to end up in another human household where grain-based meals are the only option, particularly if they are indoor only cats.

Cultivate good habbits in kittens (and cats)
Dr. Hodgkins has observed that “kittens that become accustomed to nutritious foods during their youth will prefer and seek that same level of nutrition throughout life, leading to better health and a longer life,” explaining that feeding dry foods, which have a low moisture content, to cats and kittens, causes them to become dehydrated and to struggle to maintain normal water balance, despite drinking more water. She discusses the consequences of this in later chapters when she covers kidney disease and bladder problems.

Baby Sophie wants to look in the bag>>>

Don’t shoot the dog!
I saw an example of the adverse consequences of natural carnivores eating a starch-based diet a couple of years ago. I was visiting the home of one of my clients for kitchen coaching. I was there to go through the contents of her family’s fridge, freezer, and pantry and to make recommendations for what to keep, what to toss, and what to stock up on. Part way through the visit I heard the mother yell from the kitchen two of her kids “shoot the dog, someone shoot the dog!” 

My baffled expression was met by the explanation that their dog was diabetic and needed insulin shots. Their obese dog was suffering from the ill effects of a species inappropriate diet. The dog’s diabetes was one of many signs that the family needed a dietary overhaul. (They were all eating a starch-based diet, even the dog.) I have heard similarly sad stories about domesticated cats contracting diseases previously unheard of in their wild and captivated cousins. At the time I didn't think to recommend a BARF (bones and raw food) diet for their dog. Trust me it's better than the acronym sounds!

Photo of dog w/pig foot on right courtesy of Wikipedia

If not dry food, then what?
Dr. Hodgkins has found several brands of commercial cat food she considers nutritious alternatives to grain-based dry chow. She recommends plenty of meat in a kitten’s (or cat’s) diet, and very little or no cereal grains, fruits, or vegetables––foods she sees as inexpensive fillers that appeal to humans (the pet food purchasers who’ve been sold on the benefits of plant foods).

So what does a typical label on a reasonably healthful canned cat food container look like? “It will contain meat, meat broth, meat by-products, and a vitamin/mineral supplement for balance,” says Dr. Hodgkins who considers wheat gluten, corn gluten, and soy flour (used to increase protein content) less desirable (read: to be avoided!). I agree with her and other authors on the subject, which is why I sought out canned food free of those adulterants. I won’t get into the technicalities of what constitutes good or bad animal by-products, for that you can read her book and others like it.

The low down on label reading
Ingredients to avoid include wheat, corn gluten, soy, include corn syrup, honey and other sweeteners, BHA and BHT, ethoxyquin, propyl gallate, sodium benzoate, flavoring agents, artificial colorings, especially those with numbers following the color, such as yellow dye number whatever. Also avoid "chicken flavoring, beef flavoring, or fish flavoring." Your cat needs the real thing not faux flavorings.

Should you make your own cat food?
If you have the time and inclination, yes. It can be as simple as combining ground meat and bone mixtures with a vitamin/mineral supplement and essential fatty acids, although you’ll want to consult a book on the subject so you know exactly what to add and how much. You can also consult web sites that offer instructions for making raw cat food.

If you’re not going to make your own cat food, Hotcher recommends several brands in her book, The Cat Bible, qualifying that “it is super important to buy ONLY the flavors that are recommended of any brand (in her book). I’ve listed my (and my cats’) favorites below.

Which canned foods are best?
I buy my cats’ food in natural foods stores (Whole Foods & Trader Joe’s). I took the advice of several holistic pet care experts to be wary of and avoid the more expensive brands that contain added fruits, vegetables, and grains (other than rice) because they do not contribute essential nutrients for cats. These foods are extenders, like hamburger helper, lowering the manufacturer’s costs and at the expense of your cat’s nutritional needs. The two best brands I found contain some rice, but far less of it than dry cat food. One of these brands makes one completely grain-free flavor.

I settled on Trader Joe’s Chicken, Turkey & Rice; Turkey & Giblet; Oeanfish, Salmon & Rice. I also buy Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value canned Beef & Liver Formula (the only completely grain-free flavor!); Chicken & Rice Formula; and Ocean White Fish & Tuna. Both brands sell for 69 cents a can, which I consider reasonable; they’re the most economical canned food brands I found that fit feline needs. Note: Whole Foods Markets give a 10% discount if you buy a case (24 cans).

Helping your cat make the transition
I transitioned my first cat (then a 3 month old kitten, now a 13 month old adolescent) from heavily processed and artificial Friskies Buffet dry food, which she was accustomed to, to quality meat-based canned foods (Trader Joe’s & Whole Foods brands) in about 10 days. The appearance of her coat and bowel movements improved immediately. Recently I adopted a second kitten (about 8 weeks old); I fed her the same quality canned food from meal number one and she had no complaints and required no transition. I rotate the flavors to keep things interesting. Cats like familiarity along with a little variation.

The books lited below offer suggestions for helping your cat make the transition to low carb canned food or an all-raw meat diet. Cats, like people, get addicted to processed food and all of the appetite stimulating preservatives and additives contained in them. The longer they've been eating dry food the more challenges you may face when introducting unfamiliar food. 

For more info about care and feeding of your feline friend(s) I recommend the following books. They provide sound advice about biologically appropriate nutrition, holistic cat care, and much more.

 1) Whole Health for Happy Cats: A Guide to Keeping Your Cat Naturally Healthy, Happy, and Well-Fed by Sandy Arora
This book includes recipes for making raw pet food from ground meat and bones with added nutritional supplements. It includes info on natural pet care, how to keep your cat healthy, tips for using essential oils and other natural remedies for health problems, vaccination issues, how to know when to consult a veterinarian, and more.

2) Your Cat: Simple New Secrets to a Longer, Stronger Life by Elizabeth M. Hodgkins, D.V.M, Esq.
This book contains has a lot of information about feline nutrition and health care, about how to read a pet food label, why cats need a low carb diet, and a small amount of information about feeding your cat a raw meat diet. The author dispels many myths promoted by the processed pet food industry.

3) The Cat Bible: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know by Tracie Hotchner
This book contains a list of brands (and flavors within in brand) of suitable cat foods and snacks that the author recommends. You’ll find info about choosing a cat, make your home cat-friendly, understanding your cat’s behavior and needs, grooming, nutrition, medical basics, and more.

Bone appetite!

My trip to Tottie’s Asian Fusion

Located at at the NW corner of Thomas & Hayden Roads in Scottsdale, AZ, this award-winning Asian restaurant features authentic Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese, and Japanese (including sushi) menu items.

Offering so many cuisines and doing it well might sound like a daunting task. But it wasn’t for Tottie Kaya who grew up in Laos in a family where everyone learned to cook and everyone helped in the kitchen. Her mother, a renowned caterer, specialized in Laotian, Thai, Vietnamese and Chinese cooking and passed this on to her children.

As an adult, Tottie experimented in the kitchen and shared her food with friends and coworkers who eventually encouraged her to open Shanghai Palace in 2003. The restaurant attracted a loyal following and rave reviews in local magazines. In 2006, Tottie appeared on the cover of Food & Life magazine as one of the Valley’s Best New Chefs.

In response to her restaurant’s success, in December of 2007, Tottie expanded Shanghai Palace and changed the name to Tottie’s Asian Fusion. She brought in bigger booths, banquet seating for large parties, an authentic sushi bar, more eye-catching décor, and a larger menu.

Allergy-friendly Asian cuisine
Unlike many Asian restaurants where eating gluten-free can be difficult if not impossible because of the soy sauce, flour, and noodles, Tottie’s Asian Fusion accommodates special needs, including wheat-free, gluten-free, and low-carb diets.

You can ask for wheat-free tamari soy sauce, gluten-free vermicelli rice noodles, brown rice instead of white rice, gluten-free rice paper, or lettuce wraps to replace any items that contain wheat or gluten.

Low-carbers can order classic Pad Thai, Bun Tom, or any other dish without noodles or rice, and you can ask for extra veggies instead. If you’re following a lower sodium diet, you can ask them to use half as much soy sauce.

The extensive menu includes anything and everything you would look for on an Asian-fusion menu: appetizers, soups, sushi, beef, pork, chicken, and seafood entrées, along with classic noodles and fried rice dishes.

You’ll also find Thai, Vietnamese, and dim sum items. Among the desserts are different flavors of 100% dairy-free, egg-free coconut-milk based ice cream.  With so many menu options, including lunch specials, it can be hard to choose.

My first visit
 One of my cooking assistants joined me for lunch. We ordered an appetizer, Sugar Cane Chicken Lettuce Wraps ($8.95) comprised of ground chicken meatballs threaded on sliced sugar cane skewers, heated over a tiny fire pot at the table.

 This came with a plate of cilantro, mint, cucumber, lettuce leaves, and rice vermicelli noodles, which we made into wraps and slathered with one of the best peanut sauces I’ve had. I liked that it contained all five flavors––sweet, sour, bitter, salty, pungent––with a slightly spicy bite. Although I found the chicken meatballs fairly plain the sauce really tied it all together.

We also ordered Tom Ka Gai Soup with Chicken ($8.95), which is also available with shrimp. This was the best I’ve ever had. I found the coconut milk base light and at the same time full of flavor. The chicken melted into the slightly sweet, slightly spicy, and tangy lemongrass-infused broth. We asked for mild; next time I will try it spicier. The tureen provided enough soup for four people. It could be a meal in itself with a side of stir fried vegetables or salad.

 We also ordered a Thai Stir Fry with Mixed Vegetables, Thai Bbasil, and Beef ($8.95), which I thought was good but not great. It came with rice, which I didn’t try. We found the portions so generous that we couldn’t finish everything. I forget how much food Asian restaurants serve and how easy it is to over-order. We each took some of the food home for the next day.

I’ve heard their coconut milk ice cream is to live for. It’s completely dairy-free and egg-free and the flavors change from day to day. They have an Ice Cream Sampler plate, which sounds like a fun thing to order with a group. They also offer Fried Honey Bananas with Coconut Ice Cream, Banana Tapioca in Coconut Milk, and a Pumpkin Custard made from Kabocha pumpkin (one of my all time favorite varieties of squash); and Mango with Sticky Rice.

 We were too satiated to order dessert, although I’d love to try their ice cream sometime to see how it compares to the coconut milk-based frozen desserts I make and feature in my Ice Dream Cookbook.

The first verdict
I thought the food was good (the Tom Ka  Gai and peanut sauce were great!). Although I don’t eat out often, I would go back and my friend, and cooking assistant, Mary agreed, as did her husband, Steve, who ordered his meal to go.

My second visit
On my next visit I joined my friend, and restaurant reviewing partner, Heather, and her friend, Kim who was totally new to restaurant reviewing. We each ordered a salad.

I ordered the Cucumber Chicken Salad seasoned with mint, ginger, and lemon, topped with crispy rice noodles. I would ask them to hold the noodles next time; I didn’t think they added to the dish. I liked the basil and mint flavors and the dark meat chicken, but not the puddle of thin, vinegary dressing that pooled on the bottom of the plate.

I would have preferred a thicker dressing made with oil, coconut milk, or peanut butter to balance the tang and add substance to the dish. I didn’t order rice and didn’t want any, but needed something to anchor the meal.

Heather ordered the Papaya Salad Platter made with green papaya served with barbecued Chicken and Sticky Rice. It came to the table in a series of tiny bowls, which she thought would have been better all on one plate rather than deconstructed.

 She thought her salad had a good flavor but was too wet, the chicken a bit fatty, and she didn’t think it looked or tasted barbecued. She thought it needed a thicker dressing. We all tried a bit of her rice, which we found dry and hard. Having cooked sweet rice for years before adopting a paleo diet, I would say it needed more water and possibly more time cooking.

Kim ordered Red Curry Salmon with Steamed Mixed Vegetables and white rice, which she really liked, however we thought it needed more sauce to amply cover both the salmon and the plain vegetables. I would have liked to see them ask what spice level she wanted it, as the waitress did on my previous visit.

I think my salad was the least traditional of the dishes we ordered. I think all three of our dishes were created with the typical low-fat diet salad eater in mind. We found the portions of both the vegetables and meat (chicken or salmon) were big enough, we just wouldn’t order those dishes again.

Customers can order brown rice instead of white, but brown rice adds an extra $2 to the order, a charge we thought wasn’t cool. Heather, the most seasoned restaurant critic among us, says PF Chang's and Pei Wei offer brown rice for no extra charge, and I’ve been to other restaurants in the past that also offered that option.

The second verdict
We thought the food was good, not great. If you’re not into starch (rice, noodles, egg rolls, won tons), I think you’re best off choosing a fairly authentic dish such curried vegetables with chicken or shrimp or the Tom Ka Gai soup, stir fried vegetables, or a classic beef, pork, chicken, or fish dish.

Would I go back?
For a business lunch, meeting out of town guests, or if a friend was treating me, yes. Otherwise, I’m satisfied with my own cooking (I always plan for leftovers), dinner at a friend’s house, or a potluck shared with people who have similar dietary leanings. Of course I’ll continue offering my monthly restaurant review.

Why don’t you try Tottie’s let me know what you order and what you think. I’d love to hear from you.

Tottie’s Asian Fusion Located in the Indian River Plaza
7901 E. Thomas Rd, Ste. 108, Scottsdale, AZ 85251.
Phone: 480-970-0633.

Hours of operation:
Tuesday through Thursday 11 am to 9 pm
Friday to Sunday 11 am to 9:30 pm
Closed Mondays

 

Healthy eating on a budget

“Healthy food costs so much.” “I can’t afford to buy healthier food.” I hear those words spoken as if they are facts. You might assume eating a healthy diet will cost more. It doesn’t have to. It all depends on where you shop and what you buy. Although some nourishing and natural foods will cost more, if you make the right choices, you can buy a lot of great food for your money.

Do you follow a paleo diet, practically paleo, Specific Carbohydrate Diet, or also called SCD, something similar? Think eating a protein and produce rich diet will break your budget? Think again. There are bloggers who have taken on the challenge of eating low-carb on in a limited budget and come up with some amazing meals and menus for the week that blow away the idea that healthy eating is only for the elite.Even if you don't follow one of these foodways, you can still benefit from the tips I've listed below.

Want help cutting your food costs?
Lowcarbohydrate.net
lowcarbdiets.about.com
bellaonline.com

Know what you’re looking for
Convenience and snack foods from natural foods stores usually do cost more than similar products from the supermarket. In fact, snack bars and protein bars cost a lot no matter where you buy them. That’s why you want to skip over those foods altogether. There are so many less processed, more healthful, and  economical foods you can purchase.

Try this Pork & Tomato Stew below.

They key is to minimize packaged products and go for the unpackaged or minimally packaged foods with the simplest and fewest ingredients in a state as close to the way God and Mother Nature made them. Replace industrialized foods with more traditional, primitive, pre-agricultural, whole foods and you can save money and have a healthier diet. It doesn’t have to be an either or proposition. I’ll show you how.

Real foods
Think whole eggs, fish, poultry (and not just the breast meat), and red meat, fresh vegetables and fruits, healthy fats and oils (coconut, olive, avocado, and palm oils, real butter or ghee), avocado, coconut milk raw nuts and seeds, roasted nut butters, herbs and spices, and vinegar and unrefined, mineral rich sea salt, if you want to add them as flavorings. These foods provide every nutrient your body needs to maintain health. You don’t need grains, beans, protein powders, or powdered vegetable or fruit concentrates.

Become a more selective shopper
You’ll want to shop the periphery of the supermarket and select freezer sections for these items. From here you are limited only by your lack of imagination. You can build an amazingly varied and satisfying array of meals and snacks using these foods. For this you’ll need to build your recipe repertoire so you don’t get stuck making the same five to ten recipes over and over. Try a few new recipes each week. Take note of what you like  most and want to repeat. Experiment with simple or multifaceted variations on the dishes you already know and love. Keep adding to your collection.

Here’s the first in a series of saving strategies I’ll share with you.

 For the cost of one steak...
…you can buy two, three, or four times as much roast. A local market near me called Sprouts runs weekly meat specials. They often sell pork and beef roasts for $1.99 a pound.

You can make some amazingly economical dinners with roasts. I encourage you to use recipes. You can learn a lot by following other people's recipes. You can make modifications, just write down what you do before you start cooking and again as you cook so you can repeat the great recipes and know how to modify the ones that don't come out as good as you would like.

Sure, steaks are easy to cook, but roasts really aren’t difficult, they just require a little more advance planning. You need to start them them cooking before you’re hungry.

You don’t have to cook the roasts the same way every time. You can try different recipes every time or two. Try different roast cuts from different parts of the same animal, even the ones with some fat on the outside, which can make for satisfying meals. You can cut them into pieces and stew them with vegetables and spices or slow roast them. Cook them on the weekend for the first few days of the week or after work, making them ready for the next three day’s lunches or dinner.

What about organic, grassfed, and local food?
Sure, the ideal is to buy 100% grassfed or pasture-raised meats and locally grown, mostly organic or chemical-free produce, but if you’re feeling financiall strapped and you need to make your money go farther, I think it makes more sense to eat a wide variety and abundant quantity of fresh vegetables and fruits, even if their not organic, and to eat ample animal protein and fat, even if it’s not grassfed, pasture-raised, or organic. That way you’re still eating a species appropriate diet (produce and protein-rich diet), controlling blood sugar and insulin levels, and avoiding the problems associated with high carb, starch and grain-based diets. Incidentally, some supermarkets have signs telling you which vegetables are locally grown, so you can still support some local farmers even in financially challenging times.

Check back
I’ll post more money saving tips and recipes, so if you haven’t already subscribed to this blog, I encourage you to do so now, so you receive updates when I make new posts.

Pork & Tomato Stew 

Prep: 30 minutes or less    Cooking time: 2 hours     Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Eating well doesn’t have to cost a lot. Roasts are some of the most economical cuts of meat you can buy. They’re easy to cook and yield delicious leftovers for the refrigerator or the freezer. Don Matesz, one my best friends, a fellow blogger, and my co-author in writing The Garden of Eating, created this delicious and economical recipe. For a simple meal, serve this stew with cooked leafy green or mixed vegetables or a colorful green salad with vinaigrette or lemonette dressing with fresh raw or lightly cooked fruit for dessert.

Note: Don’t trim the fat from the roast. You'll need it to flavor and enrich the stew.

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon beef tallow, lard, coconut oil, or non-hydrogenated palm shortening
1 onion, cut into roughly 1/4 to 1/2-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger (double if desired)
2 pounds pork shoulder or butt roast, cut in 1-inch pieces
2 cups canned whole tomatoes with juices, coarsely chopped or mashed
1 teaspoon unrefined mineral rich sea salt or to taste
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon wheat free tamari soy sauce (I use Eden or SanJ)
1 tablespoon honey (preferably raw and locally produced)

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions/scallions, white part and about half of the green part

1. In a heavy 4-quart pot, sauté onion in 1 teaspoon of beef tallow, coconut oil, or palm shortening over medium heat. When translucent, add garlic and ginger. Stir, then add tomato and tomato juices, sea salt, pepper, cumin, bay leaves, tamari, and honey. 
2.  Stir and bring to a boil. Add chopped pork. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring periodically.
3. Finely slice or chop green onions for garnish. Cover and refrigerate in a jar.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed before serving. Ladle into bowls, garnish with scallions and serve.
5. Refrigerate leftovers and once chilled to refrigerator temperature, freeze or use within 3 days. Reheat gently in a saucepan on the stovetop or in a heatproof dish in a toaster oven.

The Benefits of Eating Buffalo

I like knowing that by buying and eating buffalo I’m supporting one of the last remnants of wild food on the American continent. I like the wild, untamed nature of the animals, their rugged character, and toughness. They stand in stark contrast to the rest of our cultivated diet.

Buffalo, what’s in it for you?
Ounce for ounce buffalo meat contains 69% more iron than beef and slightly more protein than beef. Everyone can benefit from eating bison on regular basis to prevent or rectify iron deficiency anemia. Men, women, children, and former vegetarians and vegans can benefit from is tonifying food. Like beef, bison is a great source of B-vitamins, zinc, and other brain and body-building nutrients that are poorly supplies and poorly absorbed from plant foods.

Photo right by Rachel Albert-Matesz, © Copyright 2009

Cholesterol, a non-issue
Although buffalo is promoted as a lower cholesterol meat, that’s a bit of misnomer. A 100 gram serving (3 1/2 ounces) of buffalo contains approximately 82 milligrams of cholesterol whereas the same size portion of beef (or pork) contains 86 milligrams. The difference of 4 milligrams is hardly signfificant. (That’s 0.0002% of what most bodies produces in a day!)

Now you may be wondering why eat cholesterol if you body can make it? Although your body can manufacture cholesterol, it is actually better to obtain it from dietary sources. Traditional human diets have always contained significant amounts of cholesterol.

To find out why your life depends on cholesterol, click here.

 According to Nora T. Gedgaudas, CNS,CNT, author of Primal Body––Primal Mind, “Restricting or eliminating its [cholesterol] intake indicates a crisis or famine to the body. The result is the production of a liver enzyme called HMG-COA reductase, that in effect, then overproduces cholesterol from carbohydrates in the diet. Consuming excess carbohydrates while decreasing cholesterol intake guarantees a steady overproduction of cholesterol in the body.”

“The only way to switch this over production off is to consume an adequate amount of dietary cholesterol and back off on the carbs. In other words, the dietary intake of cholesterol stops the internal production of cholesterol. (Schwarzbein, 1999).”

Back to the Buffalo
Buffalo is usually lower in fat than beef. The specific fat content of a particular cut of buffalo will depend on upon the particular animal, its diet age at the time of slaughter, and how much fat is trimmed from the carcass or cut you buy.

The lean of the land?
USDA handbook data includes comparisons showing a 100 gram (3 1/2 ounce) portion of beef at 9.28  to 14 grams of fat and the same size portion of buffalo at 2.42 grams of fat. However, I’ve seen 6 ounce (128 gram) buffalo burgers in gourmet markets boasting 30 grams of fat (ground meat may contain more fat if it’s processed with trim from the rest of the carcass, particularly if it was not 100% grassfed). However, fat isn’t bad.

Eating more fat and protein and less carbohydrate can provide many health benefits.  Still most buffalo on the market, particularly if grassfed, will contain significantly less fat than factory farmed beef.

For the pictures on the right, I used a small buffalo steak from Arizona Buffalo Company, located in Buckeye, Arizona. It turned out really great. Although it was a lean steak, I found it easy to cut and easy to chew.

Buy local whenever you can
When I buy meat, or anything else, I support small local farmer means and help them stay in business. I reduce fuel use because my food doesn’t log thousands of miles to reach me. I cut out the middle man. I usually save money, and have contact with the people who are raising my food. I much prefer this to buying anonymous meat whenever I can, although I’m flexible in this respect. I don’t think it has to be all or nothing.

How to cook a buffalo
Cook it one piece at a time. As with grassfed been and other lean, wild, or game meats, you’ll get the best results cooking steaks, roasts, and burgers, rare or medium rare. Well done will be overdone, tough, dry, and leathery. Reduce the cooking time, the temperature, or both to produce the best results. And don’t rush a roast, long slow cooking is required for certain cuts to make t hem moist and tender. Marinades help with some cuts.

How does it taste?
I like the flavor. You might expect buffalo to taste gamey and have a tough texture, but I find it tender and juicy (as long it’s not overcooked), with a slightly sweet undertone. I like to sear the steaks on both sides and leave them blood red on the inside. You’ll notice buffalo meet has a deeper, darker, redder color than beef. Stay close and remove it from the heat when it’s under done, so you don’t lose all that color in cooking.

If I had a chest freezer (or room for one) I would consider stocking up on buffalo, particularly buffalo grown in my own state on a small family-ownded and operated ranch, such as Arizona Buffalo Company.

Although I’m partial to 100% grassfed meat, I don't shun buffalo fed grain,  particularly if it comes from ranchers who belong to the National Bison Association. I think buying buffalo is good for people, the continuation of the (buffalo and human) species, and the planet. Read my previous posts on grassfed meat to learn how pasture-raising ruminant animals actually improve the land and our air, contrary to what you might hear from environmental extremists.

Eat it, save it
Historically people who eat a food are more likely to preserve it than those who don’t. Deer hunters are more likely to preserve deer than people who don’t hunt and eat them. The Native Americans were better and conserving buffalo than the pale-faced hide hunters who didn’t eat the meat. Instead they ruthlessly reduced buffalo herds from tens of millions to about 1000 in 1885. Lucky for us, the outcries of individulas and organized groups has let to the preservation and restoration of small herds of these magnificent beasts.

According to the other NBA (the National Bison Association) more than 3000 people are raising more than 270,000 buffalo today. They would not be raised in these numbers nor would they receive the attention or have the support they do if people were not raising them for food. Eating buffalo helps preserve what was once an almost extinct species.

Steak with Cumin & Mustard Rub       

Prep: 10 minutes/ Cooking: 8 to 25 minutes/Yield: about 5 servings

This is my favorite way to season and cook steak. It combines three great spices that add immense flavor and antioxidants. I like to leave any visible fat on the steaks. It adds moisture, particularly with lean cuts of meat. (The fat in beef is preferable, from a health standpoint, to the fat in vegetable oils.) I round out the meal with cooked leafy greens or a crisp green salad with a side of fresh fruit.

For a smaller piece of meat, reduce seasonings and cooking time as needed. I used an 8-ounce buffalo steak, which took only about 2 or 3 minutes per side to come out rare.

Press Test: To test meat, hang your hand by your side. Rare meat will feel flaccid, like the web between your thumb and forefinger. Make a a loose fist and press again; that’s medium-rare. Make a tight fist and press into the web; that’s what well-done (really overdone) feels like.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds boneless or 2 pounds bone-in beef or bison/buffalo steak (at least 1-inch thick):
    sirloin, tenderloin, fillet, NY strip, top loin, round tip, flank, London Broil, rib-eye, T-bone, porterhouse, club or sandwich steak, or other cut         
1 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt, optional
1 tablespoon ground cumin, or as needed to coat
1 tablespoons ground dry mustard (powder), or as  needed to coat
½ to 1 tablespoon coconut oil, non-hydrogenated palm shortening, avocado oil, or virgin olive oil

1. Preheat a medium-hot gas grill or preheat broiler. If using broiler, position a broiling rack 2 to 3 inches from heat source for 3/4-inch thick steaks, 3 to 4 inches for 1- to 1 1/2-inch thick steaks, 4 to 6 inches for 1 1/2- to 2-inch thick steaks.
2. Pat steaks dry. Lightly sprinkle both sides with sea salt and pepper. Rub the seasonings in with the back of a spoon. Liberally sprinkle one side with cumin and rub in with the back of a spoon. Turn and repeat with mustard on the second side. If time permits, let meat rest at room temperature for 30 minutes, or cover loosely with parchment and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
3. If using an electric oven or toaster oven, add 1/4 cup water to the bottom of the broiler pan (under the meat tray that has holes in it). The liquid should not touch the bottom of the meat rack. Lighlty mist, brush, or rub the steaks with oil. During cooking, leave the door of an electric oven ajar.
    If grilling, place meat on hot grill.
4.  Grill or broil steaks, turning them after the halfway point. To test for doneness, make a small slit in the steak and check the center. The interior should be slighlty less done than desired; the steaks will continue cooking after you remove them from the heat.
5.  Allow steaks to rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes to allow the juices to settle, then slice and serve, or refrigerate for later. Deposit bones in a bag in the freezer for making broth or stock. Consume leftovers within 3 days.

Variation:

*  To cook steak(s) in a skillet: Add 1 or 2 teaspoons of fat or oil to a hot cast iron or heavy stainless steel skillet over medium heat for 1 steak. Add steak. Sear one side for 2 to 4 minutes, depending upon thickness, then repeat on the second side cooking to desired doneness. Repeat with second steak as/if desired.

 

My trip to Arizona Buffalo Company

Two weekends ago I took a trip to Buckeye, Arizona, 40 minutes west of Phoenix. My mission? To visit Arizona Buffalo Company to see the buffalo and get buffalo meat.

If you think the females are big
What surprised me most was the size of the buffalo and quickly they move their hefty bodies. I leaned my arms over the top railing of the fence to get a good picture. My point and shoot 35mm camera is weak on the zoom, or so I thought. I was particularly interested in the babies.

One big creature came charging at the fence. Surprised me! Turns out it was a she, not a he, protecting her little one. She briefly rattled more than the fence and I decided to take some distance shots. I was utterly surprised to find that some of my pictures did come out pretty good. If you’re wondering why the buffalo’s coats look so shaggy, they’re shedding their winter coats in time in preparation for our triple digit days.

Photo right: Rachel Albert-Matesz © Copyright 2009

The herd of mothers and babies moved farther away from where my friend and I, and our tour guide stood. Then I noticed the bull, on the opposite side of the field. All of the buffalo I’d been watching from up close were females.

From barter to buffalo ranching
Kristin McGuire, operations Manager for Arizona Buffalo Company gave us a tour of the ranch and their small store and told me about how the owners got started raising and selling buffalo stock and meat.

Bryan and Mary Adams owned a construction company in Colorado. In 1990 one of their customers wanted to give them buffalo in trade for their work. Not the meat––but three live buffalo calves.

They were already familiar with Buffalo and enjoyed buffalo meat, so they accepted. Seven years later their work brought them to Arizona and they decided to start Arizona Buffalo Company. They grew their heard by purchasing from auctions from the National Bison Association and Western Bison Association and by "Private Treaty," buying buffalo from private ranchers. Now they have between 50 to 70 buffalo that they sell and/or lease to the public (I’ll get to the rent-a-buffalo part in a minute).

Grassfed gourmet meat
Although they used to feed th buffalo grain for 120 days prior to slaughter, Bryan and Mary now feed their animals exclusively on grass and hay, producing premium pasture-raised buffalo with a higher omega-3 content than when they were fed on grass and grain.There are so many nutritional and environmental benefits to feeding the animals a grain-free diet. You can read more about grassfed meat on my previous posts about grassfed meat if you click here. Photo right: Rachel Albert-Matesz © Copyright 2009.

Buy it, you’ll like it
If you want to try buffalo or you already know you like it and want more, you can buy Arizona-grown buffalo meat directly from Bryan and Mary, from their ranch store, from Bountiful Baskets, a local coop buying club, or by mail order. In the fall and winter you can also buy it at two farmers’ markets, including Tonopah Rob’s Saturday Farm Market in Goodyear, AZ.

You can buy buffalo by the package as individual steaks, roasts, packages of ground buffalo, burgers, liver, etc, or in bulk.  It’s most economical in larger amounts, a quarter or half a steer at a time. When you order a quarter or half a buffalo, you can have it custom cut.

A quarter of a steer runs $4.65 a pound based on the hanging weight, which averages 100 to 125 pounds. Prices for half a steer run the same (but you get twice as much meat). Figure a 25 to 30% shrink (reduction in total weight) after 10 to 14 days of dry aging.  It comes frozen.

While 80% of the buffalo meat they sell comes from their farm, another 20% comes from other ranches that belong to the other NBA (National Bison Association) and the NBA co-op, which provides an outlet for selling buffalo from other farms that belong to the association.  This helps them meet local demand and helps other buffalo farmers. 

Rent a buffalo
Besides selling buffalo for food, Arizona Buffalo Company raises buffalo calves for cutting horse programs. It is kind of like renting or leasing with option to buy. People pick up a buffalo when it reaches 6 months of age. They pay a one-time fee representing the current price for the calf. They take for about 18 to 24 months and use it for training cutting horses that need to practice with real herdable animals. The customer has can keep the buffalo, although they don’t work well for training purposes once they get beyond a certain age and size, or they can bring the buffalo back to the ranch and trade it in for a fresh, young calf with no additional fees. The animals have to be in healthy condition to return to the ranch. Usually they go straight to slaughter and are not put back into the heard at this point.

  I was already sold
I already knew I’d like the buffalo meat. I like grassfed beef and lamb, wild game meats, and I’d tried buffalo burgers many years ago. This time I was even willing to take home some buffalo liver and overcome my life-long aversion to beef liver and liver from other large animals.

Here is one of the buffalo recipes I tried this week. Next week I’ll post the recipe that made me change my mind about liver. I took first and second helping and ate the leftovers the next day for breakfast. Keep checking back. Subscribe to my blog if you want automatic updates when I add content.

These are my broiled buffalo kabobs, right.Photo right: Rachel Albert-Matesz © Copyright 2009

Grilled Bison & Roasted Vegetable Skewers
Prep time: 20 minutes    Cooking time: 8 to 10 minutes Yield: 4 servings

I used this recipe, from The National Bison Association as a starting point. You can powder gluten free rice crackers in a spice-dedicated coffee grinder, blender, Vita-Mix, or food processor. Alternatively you could use 1/4 cup rolled oats plus 1/4 cup water or nut milk or 1/4 cup powderded Shan Yao (use a coffee grinder to powder) mixed with 1/4 cup warm water. Shan Yao (Radix Dioscorea) is a starchy white tuber sold in Asian markets and Chinese herb shops; look for the dried, sliced version in bags or boxes.

Note: If you have metal skewers, you don’t need to soak them before grilling. You could replace orange marmalade with fruit sweetened apricot, peach, fig, or pineapple preserves. I  like St. Dalfours brand, which lists fruit as the first ingredient.

Spicy Barbecue Sauce:
1/4 cup orange marmalade (I improvised with 3 tablespoons frozen orange juice concentrate + 2 teaspoons honey + 1 teaspoon lemon juice; see notes above)
1 tablespoon (salt-free) chili powder blend
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon apple cider, brown rice vinegar (you could use lemon juice)

Bison & vegetable skwers:
1 pound ground Bison
1/4 cup cracker crumbs (you could pulverize gluten free rice crackers)*
1/4 cup chopped cilantro or Italian Parsley
1 egg white, beaten (I used a whole egg; yolks are super nutritious!)
3 ounces crumbled feta cheese (I left it out; you could add it back)
3 tablespoons pitted, chopped Kalamata or other black olives
3/4 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
16 (2-inch squares) red, orange or yellow bell peppers (I used 2 small peppers) 

12 (8-inch) wooden skewers, soaked in water for 20 minutes
Spicy Orange Barbecue Sauce (recipe above)
Enough assorted vegetables to fill 8 skewers, cut into chunks,  halves or wedges: onions, cherry tomatoes, zucchini, mushrooms, etc, optional

1. In a small bowl, mix all ingredients. Use as basting sauce.
2. In medium bowl, combine ground bison, cracker crumbs or powdered shan yao plus water, cilantro, egg, feta, olives, sea salt, cinnamon, black pepper, and garlic. Mix with your hands or a fork until well blended.
3.  Shape into 8 large meatballs.
4. To prepare a skewer: alternate 4 bell pepper squares and 2 meatballs per skewer. Repeat process making 4 skewers. Cut other vegetables into chunks or wedges to grill and threat on skewers if desired.
5. To grill: Allow coals to burn down to ash grey. Barbecue bison and vegetable skewers for 5 minutes (less if you want it rare). Turn, baste bison skewers with Spicy Barbecue Sauce and grill 3 to 5 minutes longer or until done (preferably still rare or medium rare). Baste vegetable skewers with coconut or olive oil and remaining barbecue sauce and grill 5 to 7 minutes longer or until tender. Serve.
    To broil: Preheat oven to high broil. Place bison and vegetable skewers on a rimmed baking sheet or in an oblong metal pan. Broil 3 to 4-inchs from the heatsource. Turn them after 3 to 4 minutes and base with barbecue sauce. Cook for another 3 to 4 minutes.
6. Refrigerate leftovers and use within 2 to 3 days. Serve close to room temperature or reheat briefly in a toaster oven or over a steamer.

Per serving (includes barbecue sauce): calories 419; protein 34 g; carbohydrates 34 g; iron 6mg; fat 17g; cholesterol 84 mg; sodium 998 mg

Nutrients per 2 teaspoons barbecue sauce (using their recipe, not my modifications): calories 60; protein 0.52g; carbohydrates 15g; iron .49g; fat 0.5g; cholesterol 0 mg; sodium 30 mg

In Search of a Good Egg

Real, whole eggs are good food, nourishing, delicious, versatile, economical, and easy to prepare. Unfortunately, supermarket eggs are almost always factory farmed and of inferior-quality, flavor and nutritional value compared to their more traditional, garden- or pasture-raised counterparts.

Dr. Artemis Simopoulos, Ph.D. author of The Omega Plan, compared the omega 3 essential fatty acid content of Greek eggs (from truly free ranging hens fed fish meal) with factory farmed supermarket eggs.

Look at the difference in color between an omega-3 rich pasture-raised chicken egg from a mixed, pasture farm A Bar H Farm in San Simon, AZ, vs. an organic health food store egg.The bright orange egg also tastes better and more flavorful.

The chickens eating a better diet contained 6.6 milligrams of DHA (an essential fatty acid found in oily, deep ocean fish, fish oil, wild game, 100% grassfed meat, pasture raised dairy products, and egg yolks) for every gram of yolk. Battery raised, regular supermarket eggs contained only 1.09 milligrams of DHA per gram of yolk.  What’s the difference?

Their diets. Grass fed beef and lamb and pasture-raised pork and poultry are healthier and more resilient to disease and their meat contain more vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, and more flavor. Similarly, free running chickens living outdoors, eating their natural diet are healthier and produce more nutritious and flavorful eggs than factory-farmed eggs.

Photo right (chickens and nest) courtesy A Bar H Farm

Gathering eggs
Where can you buy super eggs that contain all the nutrients nature intended? Look for farmers in your city or state who produce 100% grassfed beef or lamb or pasture-fed pork and poultry. Next, check local natural foods co-op or small natural foods stores that stocks food from smal farmers. Also check farmers’ markets.

Pasture fed eggs are different from and better than so-called free-range, uncaged, or organic eggs. The terms free-range and uncaged can mean the chickens are allowed to run around in a barnyard. They might have  access to the outdoors, but not necessarily live or eat outdoors with no real pastures or gardens to run and feed in and nothing to forage for. Organic just means the chickens were fed herbicide- and pesticide-free corn and soybean, a grain-based diet. It doesn’t mean the chickens ate an optimal diet they were designed by nature to eat.

Pasture-raised or grass-fed chickens run, scratch, and around outdoors on grassy pastures or in gardens eating bugs, worms, and grubs, which they  thrive on. They help control pests on pasture raised farms where they co-exist with cows, goats, and other animals and they eat vegetable scraps and insects when they live on vegetable and fruit farms. And they produce superior eggs that contain higher contents of vitamins A, B12, and omega 3 essential fatty acids than battery raised eggs from the supermarket.

Photo right (chickens and nest) courtesy A Bar H Farm

If you cannot find such eggs, the next best thing is eggs from a supermarket or  natural foods store labeld “EPA-rich” or “DHA-rich” eggs. These come from chickens fed DHA-enriched feed (usally flax seed meal and/or fish meal). Chickens are far more efficient than humans at convering LNA (linolenic acid) in flax seeds and greens to long chain actived omega 3 fats. EPA and DHA-rich eggs cost more than other store-bought eggs and they’re worth buying if you can’t get eggs from a farmer who lets the chickens run and feed in pastures.

What about fertile eggs?
Fertile eggs come from chickens that run with roosters; these eggs have more life force because they have the potential to produce new life if allowed to develop. In contrast, non-fertile eggs have less life force. 

What about the color of the shell?
Different breeds of chickens produce eggs with different colored markings.  Colors may range from speckled brown to beige, cream to brown, and turquoise to green. Some may be white. White eggs are not inherently unnatural, although most eggs from truly free ranging or pastured chickens have more vivid color.

Signs of a great egg 
Nutrient-rich eggs from healthy, free-ranging birds (ideally those raised on open pastures) have a tougher shell that’s harder to crack and a firmer, brighter, more well rounded, golden orange yolk that rises up out of the whites and is harder to break than a conventional yolk. The healthier the chickens, the more nutritious and distinct and enjoyable the flavor and aroma of the eggs.

Angeled Eggs 
Prep: 30 minutes/ Cooking: 1 minutes/ Yield: 6 servings

Angled....deviled, what’sthe difference? Deviled sounds so much less inviting and puts the eggs in such an unfavorable light. There’s nothing evil about these eggs as long as you avoid using mayonnaise that contains refined vegetable oils (soy, safflower, sunflower, corn, or canola oil) or hydrogenated oils.

For the richest, smokiest flavor, use bittersweet (not hot) smoked paprika and add toasted dulse––a crinkly, purple sea vegetable––adds a slightly smoky and salty taste along with healthful minerals and potassium. Look for it in natural foods stores or order it over the internet. You can mail order dulse here.

To toast dulse leaf: spread it on a baking tray and place it in a preheated 200˚F oven for about 10 minutes until slightly crispy. Stay close to avoid burning it. Sort to remove small shells or stones. Place dulse in a widemouth jar and store at room temperature.

Ingredients:
6 large Hard-boiled Eggs (click here to learn how to cook eggs perfectly)
1 3/4 teaspoons white or yellow mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric, optional, antioxidant
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper or ground chipotlé (smoked dried jalapeno)
1 tablespoon finely minced (thoroughly washed) fresh scallions, chives, parsley, tarragon or chervil  or 1 teaspoon dried, crumbled herbs
1/2 cup Toasted Dulse or Applewood Smoked Dulse leaf (not flakes!), crumbled
1/4 cup minced sweet white onion or scallions or 2 teaspoons minced shallots, optional
2 teaspoons lemon juice or organic apple cider vinegar, optional
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Mustard Tahini Dressing (see The Garden of Eating) or Grapeseed Oil Vegenaise or Homemade Mayonnaise (click here for recipe)
Paprika or bittersweet smoked paprika, to dust egg halves

1. Peel eggs and slice in half lengthwise. Add yolks to a medium bowl with remaining ingredients (except paprika). Mix and mash into a coarse cream with a fork or potato masher.
2. Portion and spoon heaping teaspoon-size balls of yolk mixture into the egg white halves, then evenly divide any remaining mixture. Dust with paprika.
3. Cover in a glass or Pyrex container and refrigerate. Use within 3 days.

Variations:

*  For wet mustard substitute 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard. For a spicy kick, double the pepper.

*  Egg Salad: Mash whites with yolks and seasonings. Serve on toasted whole grain bread or stuffed into whole wheat pita pockets with lettuce or baby greens, cucumber, bell pepper, celery, and grated carrot. For roll-ups, wrap tablespoon sized portions of egg salad in lettuce leaves and secure with toothpicks

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet and Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz & Don Matesz. For more info on the book and to order, click here.

Cracking the Egg Myths

Much Maligned Food
Do you like eating eggs? Are you holding back, eating them only infrequently or tossing out the yolks–––because you’ve heard that cholesterol and saturated fat are bad for you, that they’ll increase your risk for heart disease?

Eggs have taken a beating over the past 30 years. The poor yolk has been blamed for elevated cholesterol levels, atherosclerosis, heart disease, and more minor crimes. Eggs used to be considered one of nature’s most perfect foods, rich in the highest quality protein and other important nutrients, most of which are concentrated in the yolk.

The idea that egg yolks are an unhealthy and a threat to our  health and longevity is deeply ingrained in the minds of a majority of Americans. But there’s no solid evidence to support this cracked theory. 

It’s all a big fat lie
What happened? It all started with a theory called the lipid hypothesis proposed in the 1950s to explain the development of atherosclerosis. This hypothesis received a lot of attention despite it’s flaws and despite evidence to the contrary. The medical community accepted it without proof and we’re living with the consequences of this outdated belief today. Eggs have been charged with a crime they didn’t commit.

We’ve been erroneously led to believe  saturated fat and cholesterol are bad for us and that eating cholesterol rich foods, including eggs, will elevate our serum cholesterol levels increase our risk of developign heart disease. Yet numerous studies have disproven this hypothesis.

Since 1990, Dr. Uffe Ravsnkov, M.D., Ph.D. has published more than 30 critical articles and letters addressing the alleged link between saturated fats and cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in peer-reviewed Scandinavian and international medical journals. In The Cholesterol Myths Dr. Ravsnkov shows that despite millions of dollars spent on research, scientists have repeatedly failed to produce good evidence that diets rich in saturated fats or cholesterol promote heart disease or cancer.

Eggs were framed!
The famous Framingham Heart Study found that dietary cholesterol has no influence on serum cholesterol.  In the Archives of Internal Medicine in 1992, the director of that study, Dr. William Castelli (Director of the Framingham study) wrote:

“In Framingham, Massachusetts, the more saturated fat one ate, the more cholesterol one ate, the more calories one ate, the lower people's serum cholesterol...we found that the people who ate the most cholesterol, ate the most saturated fat, ate the most calories weighed the least and were the most physically active."

For an easy to understand overview of the lipid hypothesis and the lies we’ve been fed about fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, check out the comedy documentary, Fathead: You’ve been fed a load of bologna.

For a more technical explanation about why the cholesterol-heart disease theory is wrong, click here

Mother Nature didn’t make a mistake
 Cholesterol is a vital substance in the human body. Our bodies use cholesterol to create stress-combating hormones and sex hormones, to build healthy cell membranes, to protect nerve sheaths, and as a structural component of our brains, adrenal glands, and other organs. We require it for the development of our brains, eyes, and nervous systems. Cholesterol is so important to our health and survival that every cell in our bodies has a mechanism to manufacture its own supply.

Egg are a super food
The protein in eggs is so high in quality that it has been used as the standard against which all other proteins are measured.  Eggs are rich in potassium, phosphorus, folic acid, pantothenic acid, vitamin B12, biotin, thiamine, niacin, the fat soluble vitamins A, D and E, the amino acid methionine, and, in some cases, omega-3 essential fatty acids.

That golden yolk 
All of the vitamin A and D, 84% of the vitamin B12, 87% of the pantothenic acid, 81% of the folic acid, 92% of the calcium, 45% of the protein, and 23% of the potassium in an egg are concentrated in the yolk!  The unsaturated fats, essential amino acids, folate and other B-vitamins in eggs may even help raise HDL levels.

The whole of it
The parts make up the whole. Nutrients in the yolk help you digest and assimilate the whites, and vice-versa. Vitamin A in the yolk boosts  assimilation of protein in an egg. Lecithin in the yolk aids in the assimilation and metabolism of the fat and cholesterol found in the egg. Choline in the white emulsifies fats in the yolk. These fat soluble nutrients also carry vitamins A and D into your cells.

Lecithin and other phospholipids found in egg yolks help emulsify fats, keeping them suspended in the blood and body fluids and along with cholesterol are vital constituents of cell membranes. Eating foods rich in natural phospholipids help maintain the health and integrity of cell membranes. Many symptoms of age-related decline found in modern man are the result of insufficient phospholipids, due to an insufficient intake of nourishing animal-source foods such as egg yolks.  

Frequency of use
Although many health organizations caution against eating more than three eggs per week, there is absolutely no scientific justification for such restriction.  Researchers have noted an inverse relationship between egg consumption and death from heart disease. A 1996 analysis of world wide of egg consumption found that France, Spain, and Japan all have a high per capita consumption of eggs the lowest rates of death from heart disease! 

Do you really know how to cook an egg?
Here’s a simple recipe you can incorporate into your weekly cooking routine. You might think you know how to boil and egg…..and you may be surprised at the directions below. How long do you boil eggs? More than a minute and you’re cooking ‘em too long. Do you find the yolks tinged with a greenish hue? Do they give you odiferous gas? Many people find eggs cooked with this method easier to digest and less likely to cause intestinal gas.   

Perfect Hard-Boiled Eggs
Prep: 1 minutes/ Cooking: 1 minute (plus 25 minutes to rest)/ Yield: 6 eggs

You might think you know how to hard boil eggs. However, most people boil eggs far too long, resulting in dry, greenish tinged, difficult-to-digest yolks. What’s too long? If you boil them for more than 1 minute! This recipe is quick and easy to prepare, only the instructions are long. You’ll learn it by rote after a few tries. Consider cooking half a dozen or a dozen eggs at one time, so they're ready for breakfasts on the go, quick snacks, egg salad, or for garnishing green salads. 

Ingredients:
Filtered water
6 medium to large pastured or at least omega-3 chicken eggs or duck eggs
4 to 6 ice cubes
Ground black pepper, lemon pepper or hot sauce, optional
Toasted Dulse leaf or crumbled or dulse flakes, optional

1.  Arrange eggs in a 2-quart saucepan. Cover with 1 to 1 1/2 inches of cold water. Cover pot and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat. Cook 30 to 60 seconds. (That’s right, SECONDS!) Remove from heat, and allow eggs to rest in covered pot for 15 minutes. 
2.  Drain, and cover eggs with ice water for 10 minutes, then drain and refrigerate them in the shell. Or, tap lightly and peel, or roll eggs between your palms to free shells and skin.
3.  Refrigerate peeled eggs in tightly covered container. A wide mouth Mason jar or Pyrex container works well. Use peeled eggs within 1 week, unpeeled eggs within 10 days.

2 medium chicken eggs: 128 calories,12 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 44 mg calcium, 110 mg sodium

2 large chicken eggs: 146 calories, 12 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate,10 g fat, 50 mg calcium, 126 mg sodium

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz & Don Matesz. For more information or to order your copy, click here