I have a question. What next? What happens after Putin oversees the brutal murders, mass destruction and elimination of Ukraine's heritage then installs a Russian friendly government? Not to mention the imprisonment of innocent Ukrainians. What happens after he pulls out of Ukraine ( if he actually doesn't continue to neighboring countries)? Does the world community go back to business as usual with Russia? Let's face it, Russia needs the rest of the world but the bad news is the world needs Russia. How can we return to pre-invasion relations with a mad man? Will there be lasting repercussions? Will Putin be prosecuted in absentia for crimes against humanity or will the world just look the other way in an effort to get back to "normal"?
OK, I had several questions but they all come back to my original query: What next?
We dropped all meat but left fish and dairy on our table over 15 years ago. Never felt better. Added a little no nitrate pancetta occasionally for pasta and the same with occasional small amount of andouille for soups used like Jefferson said: as a condiment. Never felt better.
We have a zojirushi rice cooker and an instant pot for beans. Now we have mason jars with an assortment of dried beans and a selection of rices that we prefer with various beans, heavy on the short grain brown rice. Both tools do a fantastic job. You can set times, go away and return to a wonderful meal. Also great for soups, lentils, split peas….you name it.
Add a cast iron skillet for stove top fish or cast iron grill pan for oven hi—temp conv roast fish.
All those grains and veggies help with the fiber content you need daily.
One more thing: get a Vitamix so you can experiment with all sorts of frozen fruit, ice, protein powder, veggies and more to make a morning shake.
The 3 electric tools, some cast iron, a pot to boil pasta and a saucier pot and you are all set!
We're lucky enough to have a few wonderful shops around here that sell bulk beans etc. I'm not allowed in there unsupervised lest I come home with ALL THE BEANS.
We write the instant pot cook time on the lid of each different bean jar. The rice cooker has a setting for the type of rice. A family of 4 does fine with the 3 quart pot. Dried beans are also easy to order.
So the longevity study supports a Mediterranean food lifestyle. My husband and I have adopted it. Here's what we have found so far: the weekly meat (poultry, beef, pork, seafood, etc.) should be about 15 oz. That takes some adjusting - think of that 16 oz steak you ordered....or even a 10 oz. Red meat - have it just once/month. Legumes can be fun...and delicious! We have a good cookbook - The Everything Mediterranean Cookbook by Dawn Altomari-Rathjen and Jennifer M. Bendelius that helped us get started. It includes a Mediterranean food pyramid that is an indispensable guide. Kate - if you want a copy of the pyramid, let me know and I'll send it to you.
Bottom line - I thought it would be a difficult transition. We are meat eaters! But it hasn't been difficult and it has been fun learning about different foods....without going off the deep end trying to do all kinds of new cooking....to much other things to do in life to get in that deep!
Being 3/4 Norwegian ancestry, I have a family history of eating a great deal of fish. About 30 years ago, I cut way, way back on red meat. I have been following more or less a Mediterranean style diet (not perfect but doing it in my own way with some flexibility). Berries, either Black, Rasp, Blue and Straw for breakfast topped with Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of flaxseed, and an 'omelet" of sorts with 3 cups of broccoli, mushrooms, black beans and cauliflower. Salmon later on, maybe sardines for a snack and perhaps some popcorn and nuts, then later for dinner 2 or 3 cups of low-starch vegetables with Stracchia sauce on them. Eggs for protein. My downfall is chocolate. I don't know if I can be labeled with this diet (maybe flexitarian) but being about 70 years old, I am doing pretty well. As far as mushrooms, I ingest probably a cup a day, some at breakfast and then later some. I heard about the benefits of mushrooms about 20 years ago and I know they are great for all manner of health benefits. I have 2 cartons in the fridge right now. Years ago, I started on ground flaxseed. I read about a guy in his 90s who attributed his long life to flaxseed every day. I am not too rigid on my diet but I have had the same breakfast for probably 25 or so years. I never get tired of it. I also use EVOO liberally.
I think Kate's column offers great advice-cutting back on red meat, and meat in general, has great health benefits and has a positive impact on the environment. But I must respectfully disagree with the part about eating a tuna sandwich, especially since I assume most people would get their tuna from a can. Years ago, someone I know worked in a tuna canning factory, and what is put in there can hardly be described as tuna-rather, it is all the disgusting detrius and abhorrent flotsam that is not used when real tuna is served, and might include almost anything that is about. Think about it-an eight ounce can of tuna might be around one dollar while tuna at a seafood place is easily over ten dollars/pound, at least the last time I looked. There is a reason for this price disparity. So eat the real thing if you must, but please stay well away from the canned variety if you value your health.
The type of canned tuna does make a difference - there have been MANY improvements in sustainable and ethical practices in the past decade or so, but there's still a difference between line caught and otherwise, and between skipjack and albacore vs yellowfin (which is the expensive one you get as a steak). Best choice is skipjack, which grows very quickly and can be quite sustainable, when pole/line caught. You ARE still getting a lot of the scraps, but those can be both nutritious and sustainable (eg, the "bloodline" that's trimmed off steaks is actually very good for you and super-high in protein).
But yep, your average can of basic regular tuna? Maaaaybe not the best.
Kate, good for you!! Your suggestions and statistics won't fall on deaf ears. They're sure to affect many followers. I'm sure you have made a good move toward your own healthy longevity, and will continue to influence many others. I might be living proof of your new approach to diet. One week from today I will turn 94. I've lived 26 years longer than my father and 11 years longer than my mother. I had been mostly vegan since the 1970s and a sometimes pescatarian (no shell fish, though) since then. I take a variety of supplements (never mind that most studies find they do no good. Researchers, by and large, are looking for the wrong benefits.) But I also I have a first cousin who just celebrated his 98th birthday who eats like most people do. While he's in much worse physical condition than I am, we both may share a longevity gene. BTW, I think Biden's SOTU speech was his best so far.
Now that's a heck of a recommendation for that sort of diet! I feel like you're rather like my partner's father, who's lived a similar lifestyle for ages and is in amazing shape....but then there's my partner's grandmother (father's mother) who was drinking sazeracs and chain-smoking and eating steak until the day she died....at 96. Those are some sturdy genes...and just makes you wonder how much longer she'd have lived with a little less meat!
On food. I was a vegetarian for 40 years. Allergic to everything and had to bring my food everywhere. I was also sickly most of the time. I stopped eating fish before I made this dietary change because I’d constantly get parasites from it. After 40 years I decided to try meat again - but only grass fed and humanly slaughtered. Suddenly I had strength and endurance. My mind was sharper and my body stronger. Come to find out, I can’t digest legumes (even with enzymes). I’m much healthier now.
My friends and I were joking about countries that should go back to their mother/fatherland. Alaska would go back to Russia. Louisiana would go back to the French and Texas/Florida/Arizona/California would go back to Spain and the rest of the States would go to England. Heaven only know where Alsace-Lorraine would fall. So we might think Political history before agreeing with reuniting Russia with former states. And of course, laugh at the US.
Kate, another great (and useful) article! Thank you. I have been battling the “sweets syndrome”. That is enjoying my sugar fix. This is very helpful and I really want to play with the Food4HealthyLife app. I would have a very hard time with what you did to switch to a vegetarian diet! My repertoire of vegetables is peas, beans and corn! I am going to study what you sent us and see how I can make meaningful changes. Thanks again.
The beans in your repertoire already put you ahead of the game! And it's easier than you'd think to cut back on red meat and add more of those - personally, I've always made swaps like using half lentils or kidney beans in chili or pasta sauce, instead of all ground beef. You can also use finely chopped mushrooms and walnuts to add meatiness to things like sloppy joe (or really anywhere you'd use ground beef). Just swap about half the beef for lentils, beans, mushrooms, and/or walnuts and you get tons of benefits beyond just reducing red meat!
The great thing about this study is that it shows you don't have to go COMPLETELY vegetarian....just supplementing your red meat with beans and mushrooms helps a ton, and replacing one meat meal with one fish meal a week makes a big difference.
Hope you find a combination that really works for you - and good luck with controlling the sweet tooth! I promise, that part gets a lot easier with practice...the sugar cravings really diminish after some time away from the sweets.
Thank you, Kate, for the encouragement to bring on the beans! I’m 70 and in pretty decent health but I’ve slowly been adding legumes once a day and easing up on meat. I noticed you mentioned using a mixture of chopped mushrooms and walnuts to make chili. One day I came across a recipe where you put mushrooms, walnuts and carrots in a food processor to serve as “the meat” for chili. OMG! It made the BEST chili ever and was perfect when my vegan friend comes to lunch. But the best part thing about beans is not how good they are going in, but how wonderfully well they exit!
I am so happy that Understandably covers some many diverse topics to enhance our lives.
Oh, that chili sounds GREAT! Another trick I use is a way to get more whole grains in...you know the classic Grape-Nuts cereal? You can cook it in salsa and it makes a wonderful taco filling.
I have a question. What next? What happens after Putin oversees the brutal murders, mass destruction and elimination of Ukraine's heritage then installs a Russian friendly government? Not to mention the imprisonment of innocent Ukrainians. What happens after he pulls out of Ukraine ( if he actually doesn't continue to neighboring countries)? Does the world community go back to business as usual with Russia? Let's face it, Russia needs the rest of the world but the bad news is the world needs Russia. How can we return to pre-invasion relations with a mad man? Will there be lasting repercussions? Will Putin be prosecuted in absentia for crimes against humanity or will the world just look the other way in an effort to get back to "normal"?
OK, I had several questions but they all come back to my original query: What next?
Politico has a great interview with Fiona Hill on this very topic. Worth the read.
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2022/02/28/world-war-iii-already-there-00012340
We dropped all meat but left fish and dairy on our table over 15 years ago. Never felt better. Added a little no nitrate pancetta occasionally for pasta and the same with occasional small amount of andouille for soups used like Jefferson said: as a condiment. Never felt better.
We have a zojirushi rice cooker and an instant pot for beans. Now we have mason jars with an assortment of dried beans and a selection of rices that we prefer with various beans, heavy on the short grain brown rice. Both tools do a fantastic job. You can set times, go away and return to a wonderful meal. Also great for soups, lentils, split peas….you name it.
Add a cast iron skillet for stove top fish or cast iron grill pan for oven hi—temp conv roast fish.
All those grains and veggies help with the fiber content you need daily.
One more thing: get a Vitamix so you can experiment with all sorts of frozen fruit, ice, protein powder, veggies and more to make a morning shake.
The 3 electric tools, some cast iron, a pot to boil pasta and a saucier pot and you are all set!
We're lucky enough to have a few wonderful shops around here that sell bulk beans etc. I'm not allowed in there unsupervised lest I come home with ALL THE BEANS.
We write the instant pot cook time on the lid of each different bean jar. The rice cooker has a setting for the type of rice. A family of 4 does fine with the 3 quart pot. Dried beans are also easy to order.
So the longevity study supports a Mediterranean food lifestyle. My husband and I have adopted it. Here's what we have found so far: the weekly meat (poultry, beef, pork, seafood, etc.) should be about 15 oz. That takes some adjusting - think of that 16 oz steak you ordered....or even a 10 oz. Red meat - have it just once/month. Legumes can be fun...and delicious! We have a good cookbook - The Everything Mediterranean Cookbook by Dawn Altomari-Rathjen and Jennifer M. Bendelius that helped us get started. It includes a Mediterranean food pyramid that is an indispensable guide. Kate - if you want a copy of the pyramid, let me know and I'll send it to you.
Bottom line - I thought it would be a difficult transition. We are meat eaters! But it hasn't been difficult and it has been fun learning about different foods....without going off the deep end trying to do all kinds of new cooking....to much other things to do in life to get in that deep!
Being 3/4 Norwegian ancestry, I have a family history of eating a great deal of fish. About 30 years ago, I cut way, way back on red meat. I have been following more or less a Mediterranean style diet (not perfect but doing it in my own way with some flexibility). Berries, either Black, Rasp, Blue and Straw for breakfast topped with Greek yogurt and a sprinkling of flaxseed, and an 'omelet" of sorts with 3 cups of broccoli, mushrooms, black beans and cauliflower. Salmon later on, maybe sardines for a snack and perhaps some popcorn and nuts, then later for dinner 2 or 3 cups of low-starch vegetables with Stracchia sauce on them. Eggs for protein. My downfall is chocolate. I don't know if I can be labeled with this diet (maybe flexitarian) but being about 70 years old, I am doing pretty well. As far as mushrooms, I ingest probably a cup a day, some at breakfast and then later some. I heard about the benefits of mushrooms about 20 years ago and I know they are great for all manner of health benefits. I have 2 cartons in the fridge right now. Years ago, I started on ground flaxseed. I read about a guy in his 90s who attributed his long life to flaxseed every day. I am not too rigid on my diet but I have had the same breakfast for probably 25 or so years. I never get tired of it. I also use EVOO liberally.
I think Kate's column offers great advice-cutting back on red meat, and meat in general, has great health benefits and has a positive impact on the environment. But I must respectfully disagree with the part about eating a tuna sandwich, especially since I assume most people would get their tuna from a can. Years ago, someone I know worked in a tuna canning factory, and what is put in there can hardly be described as tuna-rather, it is all the disgusting detrius and abhorrent flotsam that is not used when real tuna is served, and might include almost anything that is about. Think about it-an eight ounce can of tuna might be around one dollar while tuna at a seafood place is easily over ten dollars/pound, at least the last time I looked. There is a reason for this price disparity. So eat the real thing if you must, but please stay well away from the canned variety if you value your health.
A very valid point!
The type of canned tuna does make a difference - there have been MANY improvements in sustainable and ethical practices in the past decade or so, but there's still a difference between line caught and otherwise, and between skipjack and albacore vs yellowfin (which is the expensive one you get as a steak). Best choice is skipjack, which grows very quickly and can be quite sustainable, when pole/line caught. You ARE still getting a lot of the scraps, but those can be both nutritious and sustainable (eg, the "bloodline" that's trimmed off steaks is actually very good for you and super-high in protein).
But yep, your average can of basic regular tuna? Maaaaybe not the best.
Wild Planet is a good tasting and good for you brand. We get it at WF
Kate, good for you!! Your suggestions and statistics won't fall on deaf ears. They're sure to affect many followers. I'm sure you have made a good move toward your own healthy longevity, and will continue to influence many others. I might be living proof of your new approach to diet. One week from today I will turn 94. I've lived 26 years longer than my father and 11 years longer than my mother. I had been mostly vegan since the 1970s and a sometimes pescatarian (no shell fish, though) since then. I take a variety of supplements (never mind that most studies find they do no good. Researchers, by and large, are looking for the wrong benefits.) But I also I have a first cousin who just celebrated his 98th birthday who eats like most people do. While he's in much worse physical condition than I am, we both may share a longevity gene. BTW, I think Biden's SOTU speech was his best so far.
Now that's a heck of a recommendation for that sort of diet! I feel like you're rather like my partner's father, who's lived a similar lifestyle for ages and is in amazing shape....but then there's my partner's grandmother (father's mother) who was drinking sazeracs and chain-smoking and eating steak until the day she died....at 96. Those are some sturdy genes...and just makes you wonder how much longer she'd have lived with a little less meat!
For you next article, “Easy recipes with beans!!”
As a former food writer, YES PLEASE. Get Bill to let me line that sucker up, hehe. (I have a really good one for chickpea coconut curry...)
That will cost you and I ain’t cheap! 😅
On food. I was a vegetarian for 40 years. Allergic to everything and had to bring my food everywhere. I was also sickly most of the time. I stopped eating fish before I made this dietary change because I’d constantly get parasites from it. After 40 years I decided to try meat again - but only grass fed and humanly slaughtered. Suddenly I had strength and endurance. My mind was sharper and my body stronger. Come to find out, I can’t digest legumes (even with enzymes). I’m much healthier now.
My friends and I were joking about countries that should go back to their mother/fatherland. Alaska would go back to Russia. Louisiana would go back to the French and Texas/Florida/Arizona/California would go back to Spain and the rest of the States would go to England. Heaven only know where Alsace-Lorraine would fall. So we might think Political history before agreeing with reuniting Russia with former states. And of course, laugh at the US.
Oh goodness, that's about the opposite of what I'm dealing with just now - legumes are one of the few things I CAN seem to have without incident!
Kate, another great (and useful) article! Thank you. I have been battling the “sweets syndrome”. That is enjoying my sugar fix. This is very helpful and I really want to play with the Food4HealthyLife app. I would have a very hard time with what you did to switch to a vegetarian diet! My repertoire of vegetables is peas, beans and corn! I am going to study what you sent us and see how I can make meaningful changes. Thanks again.
The beans in your repertoire already put you ahead of the game! And it's easier than you'd think to cut back on red meat and add more of those - personally, I've always made swaps like using half lentils or kidney beans in chili or pasta sauce, instead of all ground beef. You can also use finely chopped mushrooms and walnuts to add meatiness to things like sloppy joe (or really anywhere you'd use ground beef). Just swap about half the beef for lentils, beans, mushrooms, and/or walnuts and you get tons of benefits beyond just reducing red meat!
The great thing about this study is that it shows you don't have to go COMPLETELY vegetarian....just supplementing your red meat with beans and mushrooms helps a ton, and replacing one meat meal with one fish meal a week makes a big difference.
Hope you find a combination that really works for you - and good luck with controlling the sweet tooth! I promise, that part gets a lot easier with practice...the sugar cravings really diminish after some time away from the sweets.
Thank you, Kate, for the encouragement to bring on the beans! I’m 70 and in pretty decent health but I’ve slowly been adding legumes once a day and easing up on meat. I noticed you mentioned using a mixture of chopped mushrooms and walnuts to make chili. One day I came across a recipe where you put mushrooms, walnuts and carrots in a food processor to serve as “the meat” for chili. OMG! It made the BEST chili ever and was perfect when my vegan friend comes to lunch. But the best part thing about beans is not how good they are going in, but how wonderfully well they exit!
I am so happy that Understandably covers some many diverse topics to enhance our lives.
Oh, that chili sounds GREAT! Another trick I use is a way to get more whole grains in...you know the classic Grape-Nuts cereal? You can cook it in salsa and it makes a wonderful taco filling.