blog

Pretty in Pink?

April 11th, 2012

I heart me some Mark Bittman! He knows how to stir the pot in all the best ways and questions me to think about where food comes from.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/04/03/the-pink-menace/

Who doesn’t love a good burger? Hamburgers are one of the most popular foods in America–studies show each of us eats about 150 burgers per year.

Unfortunately, not all hamburgers, or even turkey or veggie burgers, are created equal. Cooking method, portion size, and choice of bread and toppings can mean the difference between a relatively harmless lunch and a day’s worth of calories, fat, and sodium.

Before you take a bite out of that hamburger you’ve been craving, you might want to know whether it contains “pink slime” — the phrase that has become shorthand for the filler also called “lean finely textured beef.”

Add to that the knowledge the so-called pink slime is composed of mechanically-separated beef trimmings — parts of the cow that once were only used for dog food, not human consumption. And those trimmings are whipped together in a centrifuge and then treated with ammonium hydroxide (ammonia combined with water) to eliminate possible pathogens, particularly E. coli and salmonella, and you have cooked up a perfect stew of controversy.

DON’T ALWAYS COUNT ON LABELS

If you examine a label at the grocery store, it is unlikely to tell you whether a package of ground beef contains the filler as an additive. The U.S. Department of Agriculture has not required such labeling. The USDA also does not require manufacturers to include ammonia treatment on labels, because it says it is a “process,” not an ingredient.

After a major backlash, the whole “pink slime” thing has done a number on ground-beef processors nationwide — causing one to suspend operations at three out of four plants and another to seek bankruptcy protection.

The nation’s leading fast-food chains and supermarkets spurned the product, even though U.S. public health officials deem it safe to eat. Hundreds of U.S. school districts also demanded it be removed from school lunch programs.

WHERE’S THE BEEF?

What people may not have known is that ammonia – often associated with cleaning products – was cleared by U.S. health officials nearly 40 years ago and is used in making many foods, including cheese, baked goods, and chocolate products. Now that little known world is coming under increasing pressure from concerned consumers who want to know more about what they are eating.

SO WHAT TO DO?

Next time you crave a burger, create a healthy one at home. Use 4 ounces (quarter-pounder) of 95 percent lean beef and grill or broil. Enjoy on a whole wheat bun, for fiber, and top with fresh vegetables such as tomato and romaine lettuce leaves. Skip the mayonnaise, but top with low-calorie pickles, ketchup and mustard. Make your own baked fries for a side dish to satisfy your cravings without all the fat and calories.

A hamburger isn’t, by itself, a terrible nutritional choice. Topped with some lettuce and tomato, ketchup and mustard, and a relatively small bun, a burger is a high-protein treat that shouldn’t pack too much fat or too many calories. Unfortunately, the good, old-fashioned American burger has evolved from lean and simple to very fat and very complicated. Stay away from the 1,000+ calorie burgers like the six dollar burgers (some of these burgers has as much as 62 grams of fat or about 560 calories from the wrong kind of fat). Get a regular burger for 300 – 500 calories and add extra lettuce and tomatoes on your burger. The worst part of a burger is actually the bun, the white bread. Try it with a whole wheat bun or even without the bun wrapped in a lettuce leaf “protein-style”.

July 14th, 2011

Being a culinary producer and working in television certainly has its advantages—I get to cook with top-notch chefs, travel the country, and eat in the best restaurants to name a few. I recently wrapped production of a new series called Bar Rescue—premiering this Sunday 7/17 @ 10pm on Spike—which was an amazing experience. A crew of 50 of us traveled all over the country saving bars, during a grueling 9-week shoot schedule. The bonus was we shot in a few delicious dining cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, and Boston. The 3-Ball crew is one of the best I’ve worked with in my 12 year career: professional, intelligent, fun to work with, and total foodies. This dream team made living out of a suitcase and working 15 hour days a lot more tolerable.

When I go out to eat, I usually do what most food people do—order as many different dishes as I think I just might possibly be able to put away. This is part because I relish the experience of dining in restaurants, particularly when I’m out of LA. The other part is that I love good food. My Italian grandmother used to call me a “good eater”—thankfully I’ve turned my hunger into a successful career. Compounded with long shooting hours, craft service, little exercise, not enough water, and too much wine, comes more than a few extra pounds and an overall sluggish, polluted, unhealthy being.

Just for giggles, here’s a list of some of the places I ate; I want to reflect on my utter unabashed gluttony:

Chicago
The Gage
Gino’s East
Portillo’s
Greek Isles
The Purple Pig —Twice!
David Burke’s Primehouse
Graham Elliot
Frontera
Rockit
Sweetwater Tavern

Scotch Eggs @ The Gage in Chicago

Philly
Pietros Pizza
Fergies Pub
Pho Saigon
Amada—Twice!
Village Whiskey
Tinto
Garces Trading Co.
Cuba Libre
Amis
Campo’s Deli
9th Street Italian Market Festival (still bummed they didn’t have zeppolis)

Lamb Chops @ Amada in Philadelphia

Boston Area
Nebo
Modern Pastry
Harvest
Samba Steak & Sushi
Oishii Sushi
J&M Diner
Lumiere
Deluxe Town Diner
Allium
Baba Louie’s
Fiori

Salmon Tartare @ Oishii in Newton

When I returned home to LA a couple of week’s ago, I was faced with the hard fat truth that the size 2 clothes hanging in my closet no longer fit—my sweats were even tight! I didn’t dare step on a scale for fear of going into a deep depression. My stomach was constantly bloated and I just looked awful! No matter how well I was eating now in my own kitchen or spinning in my neighborhood gym, I just felt like crap and was not operating anywhere near optimum capacity. I’m pretty health conscious and I’ve always practiced fasting or going on a veg only diet when I feel my body is in toxic overload. But this time I felt like I couldn’t cleanse at home, I was too far-gone and needed to commit to a more stringent program. I found The Spring Resort and Spa in Palm Springs that has a 7 day retreat with detoxing through juice fasting and colonics. Now, I know the latter is not for everyone, and trust me; I have been the “butt” of jokes by guys on the crew more than a few times. To each his own but for me, this is the right move to get my body and mind clear, and eliminate waste. When I make up my mind to do something, I jump in and do it with power and determination.

There will be a group of us at the spa, all there for the same reason—to eliminate all the crap (pun intended) in our bodies, as well as our minds. I believe that when you cleanse and detoxify physically you also do mentally, purging negativity takes you to a happier level. 7 days of no solid food may sound severe but I know the result will be beyond worth it. My 7 day fast will be supported with sauna, mineral springs, pool, Jacuzzi, yoga, breathwork, and of course colonics. I may treat myself to a massage too while I’m there—hey, I work hard!

It’s too jolting on the body to just jump into a program this drastic, so I have gone on a Precleanse, to ease my body into fasting. Ahh…more on that next time.