foods that are rich in specific nutrients. These rules are right for everyone, not just people with already established health problems. They hold particularly exciting promise for children, who can benefit by forming tastes for the right foods early in life that may protect them when they reach adulthood.
Moderation If your favorite foods today are high in sodium, fat, or cholesterol, you don't have to give them up entirely. Just eat less of them, and eat them less open. Don't expect to change your eating habits overnight. Do it gradually and steadily. For example, if you abruptly stop cooking with salt, you're likely to find your foods unpalatable. But if you gradually cut down on the amount you use, you'll hardly notice the difference.
The guidelines are simple and should guide you the rest of your life. Go easy on fatty meats, on animal products such as eggs, butter, and cream, and on rich desserts, processed foods, and salty snacks. Increase your in-take of fresh vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, whole grains, dried beans, and low- or nonfat milk products.
Often it is a matter of trading off. For example, if you start the day with cholesterol-rich eggs and then have a high-sodium fast-food hamburger for lunch, just eat mostly vegetables for dinner. A stir-fry of broccoli, carrots, and onions (with perhaps an ounce or two of fat-free chicken) flavored with plenty of garlic and fresh ginger root will do very nicely.
Variety The need for a balanced diet cannot be overstressed. Eat a variety of foods with at least two servings of ocean fish per week. Include fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole-grain bread and cereals in your diet every day. For protection against certain forms of cancer, look to vegetables in the cabbage family (such as broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, and turnips) and to fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamins A and C (dark green vegetables and all yellow-orange fruits and vegetables such as carrots, sweet potatoes, pumpkins, squashes, cantaloupes, apricots, and citrus fruits).
In sum, good nutrition doesn't mean you have to become an extremist or food faddist. Nor does it mean you have to eat bland foods or miniscule amounts. As the recipes in this book prove, you can enjoy all the pleasures of good eating and still protect your health.
* Articles about the benefits of fish oils are listed in the bibliography under Dr. Daan Kromhart of the University of Leiden, Dr. Tak H. Lee of the Harverd Medical School, and Dr. Beverley E. Phillipson of the Oregon Health Sciences University.
Ingredients and Cooking Tips
In the pages immediately following are notes about nutrition, ingredients, substitutions, and some cooking tips that apply to many of the recipes contained in this book.
Meat, Poultry, Seafood, Fats and Oils, and Eggs
Meats Allow ¼ pound of uncooked, very lean meat, poultry, or fish per person. This will yield approximately 3 ounces of cooked meat (not including bone or fat).
Eat beef, lamb, and pork less frequently than poultry and fish. Pork is the preferred meat in Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese cooking, and insofar as fat is concerned there are no very lean cuts of pork. Fortunately, chicken substitutes satisfactorily for pork in most Asian dishes. Avoid duck, goose, fatty meats, bacon, sausages, luncheon meats, and organ meats such as liver and kidney. Choose lean cuts. Half the battle is won if you take care to trim visible fat, discard poultry skin, use as little oil as possible in cooking, and skim off and discard the fat that results from the cooking process.
Chicken Chicken provides high-quality, low-fat protein. Most of the fat is in and under the skin. Removing the skin and fat after cooking will cut your fat intake and calories considerably; removing the skin and fat before cooking will cut them even more. White meat has less fat and cholesterol than dark meat. Keep in mind that small young chickens are leaner than large older ones, so if you are planning a meal for a party, it's better to buy two small chickens than one big one. To estimate servings of uncooked chicken, on the average, half a medium chicken breast will yield approximately 3 ounces of cooked meat, as will a chicken leg (drumstick plus thigh).
Chicken and Beef Stock or Bouillon Stocks and bouillon can add large amounts of salt and fat to a soup. When unsalted chicken stock is called for in a dish, the recipe on page 10 in the Japanese section is recommended. There is also a recipe for beef stock on page 69 in the Korean chapter. Be sure to make the broth a day before you plan to use it to allow for defatting after refrigeration.
If desired, canned or powdered low-sodium chicken and beef stock or bouillon may be substituted. Canned stock should be refrigerated before the can is opened so that visible fat may be removed before using. To season canned stock, heat it with a slice or two of fresh ginger root.
Fish and Seafood Fish and seafood provide high-quality, low-fat protein with fewer calories than meat. Actually, up until recently it was widely believed that fatty fish and shellfish should be avoided, and the best choices were thus thought to be lean fish like sole and flounder. However, recent research reported in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that these fatty fish, with their high levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids, known as omega-3s, may be useful in lowering blood cholesterol levels and are therefore recommended as desirable substitutes for red meat once or twice a week. Moreover, shellfish, especially shrimp, are no longer prohibited from diets designed to lower blood cholesterol, because improved laboratory techniques have shown that they are not as high in cholesterol as was thought in the past. An important point to be made in comparing fatty fish with red meat is that the fat content of fish ranges from less than 1 percent to 13 percent. This is very different from the fat content of red meat, which ranges from 10 percent to over 30 percent. Thus, the fish with the highest percentage of fat is almost as lean as the red meat with the lowest.
The benefits of omega-3s notwithstanding, health practitioners warn against taking cod-liver oil or fish-oil supplements and derivatives. Their safety and efficacy have not been established, and some of these supplements may even have serious toxic effects. It is always more beneficial and more enjoyable to use the foods themselves rather than supplements.
Some seafoods that are high in omega-3 fatty acids include Atlantic mackerel, herring and sardines, blue fish, four varieties of salmon-rpink, chinook, red or sockeye, and coho—rainbow trout, lake whitefish, sablefish, American eel, European anchovy, Pacific oysters, New Zealand green mussels, squid, and striped mullet"albacore and blue fin tuna. Many of these, such as squid and fresh tuna, are more appreciated in other cultures than they are in the United States.
The cardinal rule to follow when preparing fish is that it must be very fresh and it must not be overcooked, A simple way to estimate cooking time is to measure the fish at its thickest point and cook it no longer than 10 minutes per inch. Keep in mind that fatty fish is more perishable than lean fish and should be cooked on the day it is purchased. If you are unable to cook any oily fish immediately, marinating is a good way to keep it for a day or two.
Squid Squid is widely appreciated in Asian and Mediterranean countries. It is caught along the southern Californian coast, but most of it is canned for export. Recently, it has begun to win favor in the United States, earning the affectionate title of the "poor man's abalone." It is an inexpensive protein food whose fat content is only about 1 percent and it is very low in calories. But its cholesterol content is high and varies dramatically depending on the season. On the average, after cleaning, it contains approximately 250 milligrams in 3 ½ ounces. To stay within the recommended allowances for cholesterol, it is suggested that squid be eaten only in small amounts.
If it is fresh, squid will be sweet-smelling and ivory colored (not yellow) beneath its spotted skin. Also, the transparent quill or center bone should detach easily. The tentacles are a substantial portion of the squid's edible meat and should
