Give up what? --- no more burgers, pizzas and fries

Numbers don’t lie.  So when your medical professionals tell you that according to your numbers, you are pre-diabetic and  pre-hypercholesterolemic,  and therefore a good candidate for heart disease, they  will likely tell you to change your diet as well.  The advice used to be something like this, “cut out rice, bread and pudding”, their way of saying avoid white bread, simple carbohydrates and desserts.  Now, medical professionals are more likely to say, “avoid inflammatory foods”.  What?  No more burgers and fries, pepperoni pizza and fettucini Alfredo?

It is almost impossible to eliminate some foods from your diet altogether, when you have been enjoying them for decades.  Unless you were raised in the wild and never exposed to foods like the all American beef burger, your comfort foods are here to stay.  For me, it was hot dogs and mac ‘n cheese, for others it is pizza and pasta or a Philly cheese steak and Dr. Pepper --- all 100% inflammatory,  all what I refer to as BAD FOOD. 

Don’t be sad.  There are ways to reduce the inflammatory element of your favorites by consuming what I refer to as GOOD FOOD.  Here are six ways to enjoy more GOOD FOOD and less BAD FOOD. 

Cut down on sandwich bread

It is tough to make a sandwich without bread.  Yes, you could “sandwich” a patty with condiments between slices of some plant food like sweet potato pancakes but if you are craving a burger, it will most likely not do.  Choose a thin sliced whole grain round or buy a fresh baked loaf of whole grain bread from any bakery and slice it yourself.  It will not eliminate the inflammatory element, but it will reduce it considerably when compared to a traditional hamburger, sub or deli roll.  Don’t substitute a flour tortilla wrap because it is no less inflammatory than white bread.   

Add more plant foods

All plant foods are anti-inflammatory, meaning that they do not contribute to inflammation and may even reduce it.  Add as many plant foods to your meals as possible.  Plant foods include herbs and spices as well as vegetables.  Heap on a pile of fresh basil and spinach and top it off with fresh, not canned, sliced tomatoes and a sprinkle of chili powder, cayenne or red pepper flakes.  All of this is 100% anti-inflammatory --- GOOD FOOD.

Avoid bottles, bags, cans and boxes

Avoid them all.  Don’t believe the claims made on the packaging such as heart healthy, fat free, gluten free and others.  Those phrases are marketing gimmicks to make you believe that the product is good for your health.  Do any of them claim that their products are inflammatory free?   If you read the labels, both the nutritional labeling and ingredients labeling, you will see that almost all packaged foods have added sugar, salt, fats processed from soy and corn, and chemicals ending in ose, ase, ate, etc.   If the ingredient was added by humans or processed by humans, avoid it --- BAD FOOD.  Use fresh --- GOOD FOOD! 

Use condiments

Plain food is boring.  Food that is covered in condiments is much more flavorful and interesting.  Make your own condiments, salsas, pestos, sauces and spreads and avoid those that come packaged in bottles such as ketchup, mayonnaise, hot sauces, relishes and dressings.  By making your own condiments from whole produce, vinegar, lemon, lime, whole garlic, whole ginger, chilis, herbs and seasonings like cinnamon and turmeric, you are boosting the proportion of anti-inflammatory ingredients --- GOOD FOOD.   

Choose wild

Protein animal foods are all inflammatory --- BAD FOOD.  But, any protein animal food that is wild grown, wild caught, fed it’s natural diet, or free roaming is LESS inflammatory than those that are farmed.  Farmed animals including fish are fed a diet manufactured in factories.  If the beef, pork, chicken, lamb, talipia, salmon, trout, and sturgeon processors included the feed ingredients, the list would start with soy, corn and chicken by-products.  When was the last time any fish, freshwater or salt water, naturally fed on soy, corn or chicken?   Wild means it feeds on its natural diet of whole food.  The more whole food, the less inflammatory!

Learn how to cook

In my opinion, the most important life skill you can learn and pass on to your children is how to cook.  Those of you who do not know how to cook are forced to rely on packaged foods  --- BAD FOOD.    Those of you who do learn to cook can rely on mother nature --- and  that’s GOOD FOOD!  

You can learn more about how to prepare foods that are anti-inflammatory in my book GOOD FOOD BAD FOOD  available now on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.  

Good Christmas gift giving idea --- bring a copy to Beyond the Bull before December 23 and I will be happy to sign it.

Buon Appetito e Buona Salute, Chef AngelaB

Beyond the Bulll (an "eat smart" kitchen)

8095 Keowee School Rd., Seneca, SC 29672
http://antiaginggastronomy.blogspot.com/
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