What Not To Eat

Let's start with what you should eat, then move onto what you shouldn't.

The Food Pyramid was first developed in Sweden in 1974.  The USDA started using it in 1992.  It was touted to be the gold standard on what to eat.

Over the years there were a lot of talk that it wasn't all that good for us to follow so in 2011 the USDA came out with ChooseMyPlate.

http://www.choosemyplate.gov

This version is more realistic and a lot easier to follow.  The website also has a ton of good information.

When trying to eat right is good to use the RDA (Recommended Dietary Allowance sometimes referred to as Recommended Daily Allowance) as a guide.  It is defined as "the average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (approximately 98 percent) healthy individuals".  For people with medical problems they need to follow the advise of their doctor which may be different from the RDA. 

Anyway, for healthy individuals here's the breakdown:

The recommended calorie amount for inactive males between the ages of 14 to 50 is 2,200 calories per day, and 3,000 if active.  After the age of 50, calorie requirements for men fall to between 2,000 and 2,800 depending on the level of activity.

Active females between the ages of 14 and 50 should consume 2,400 calories per day; inactive females of the same age 1,800 calories each day.  Inactive females over the age of 51 should consume 1,600 calories per day; active females should consume 2,200 calories per day.

The RDA for sodium is currently no more than 2.3 grams (2,300 mg) of sodium daily.  That is equivalent to about 1 tsp. of salt a day.  According to MayoClinic.com, the children's RDAs for sodium are the following: ages 2 to 3, 1,000 mg; ages 4 to 8, 1,200 mg; and ages 9 to 18, 1,500 mg.

The USDA recommends that healthy adults over the age of 19 consume between 20 and 35 percent of their daily calories from fat.  Young children (ages 1 to 3 years) need as much as 40 percent of their daily calories to come from fat.  If you eat a diet of 2,000 calories per day, ingest between 44 g and 77 g of total fat daily.

To reduce the risk of disease, women should eat no more than 25 grams (6 teaspoons) of sugar a day.  Men should limit intake to 37.5 grams (9 teaspoons) a day.  Children should also keep sugar intake to 6 grams or less per day.

A lot of emphasis has been on how bad fast food is for us.  Because of this some of the major chains now show more dietary information on their menus.

But the bad news if that some sit-down restaurants aren't all that good either. 

Here are some examples:

Johnny Rockets' bacon cheddar double burger.  This burger meal served with sweet potato fries and a Big Apple shake has 3,500 calories, 88 grams of saturated fat, 3,720 milligrams of sodium and, 15 teaspoons of sugar. 

The Cheesecake Factory's Bistro shrimp pasta.  This dish of crispy battered shrimp, fresh mushrooms and arugula tossed with spaghetti in a basil-garlic-lemon cream sauce has 3,120 calories, 89 grams of saturated fat, and 1,090 milligrams of sodium.

Cheesecake Factory's crispy chicken costoletta.  This lightly breaded and sautéed chicken breast served with lemon sauce, mashed potatoes and fresh asparagus has 2,610 calories and 4½ days' worth of saturated fat.

IHOP's country fried steak and eggs.  This breakfast dish has 1,760 calories, 23 grams of saturated fat, 3,720 milligrams of salt and 11 teaspoons worth of sugar.

Maggiano's Little Italy's veal porterhouse.  This veal dish with roasted garlic, caramelized onions and lemon with crispy red potatoes has 2,710 calories, 45 grams of saturated fat, and 3,700 milligrams of sodium.

Maggiano's Little Italy's chocolate zuccotto cake.  This rich desert dish has 1,820 calories, 62 grams of saturated fat, and 26 teaspoons of sugar.

Smoothie King's peanut power plus grape smoothie.  It may sound healthy, but this 40-ounce drink has 1,460 calories and 22 teaspoons of sugar.

Chili's full rack of baby back ribs with Shiner Bock BBQ sauce.  This dinner meal that comes with homestyle fried and cinnamon apples has 2,330 calories, 45 grams of saturated fat, and 6,490 milligrams of salt.



Uno Chicago Grill's deep dish macaroni.  This 3-cheese dish has 1,980 calories, 71 grams of saturated fat, and 3,110 milligrams of sodium.

The reason I bring all this up is that we need to do a little research when we go out to eat.  We don't need to consume an entire days calories in just one meal.

All restaurants, both sit down and fast food, have menus that show the nutritional breakdowns of their meals.  And many even list meals that are approved by the American Heart Association. 

You usually have to ask to see these menus. 

So ask already. 

Smoked Turkey

This last Thanksgiving was at the Los Angeles City Firehouse 61. 

My son-in-law, Stan, was on duty.  My wife, Kim, and our daughter, Katie, and I were invited to the pot luck.

Four of the guys at the firehouse and myself each cooked a turkey.  To give everyone some variety we all cooked them differently.

I've done a lot of turkeys over the years.  Usually they were baked in the oven and a few were even deep fried, but this year I decided to smoke one.

After defrosting the turkey in the refrigerator I gave it a wash then dried it with paper towels.  Now for the brine.

And not just any brine but one by Emeril Lagasse because I wanted to kick it up a notch.

In a large plastic bag I put one gallon of cold water, 2 minced jalapenos with their seeds, 2 oranges cut in half, 3/4 cup of fresh orange juice, 1 cup of lemon juice, 1 cup of chopped yellow onions, 1 cup of light brown sugar, 1 cup of kosher salt, 1/4 cup of chopped fresh cilantro leaves, 2 tablespoons of chopped garlic, 1 tablespoon of chili powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin, 1 teaspoon of dried Mexican oregano, and finally 1 tablespoon of Emeril's Original Essence.  BAM!

After mixing it all together I put mister turkey in the bag, sealed it up, and put it in the refrigerator for 3 days.  Twice a day I would turn the turkey over ensure it was evenly marinated.  I'm never really happy with the white meat on a turkey.  It's usually too dry with not much taste.  That's why I did the brine for 3 days.  Turkey skin is pretty thick and I wanted to make sure the marinate penetrated all the way in.

Thanksgiving morning I took the turkey out of the brine and wrapped it in bacon.  That's right, bacon.

I had planned to smoke it at home nice and slow for about 8 hours.  The problem is we were going to leave for the firehouse at 1:00 pm.  That means it had to go in the smoke at 4:30 am.  Gee, this sure sounded like a good idea the night before.

So there I am at 3:30 in the morning, a shot of Jameson in my coffee, getting the charcoal going.  I had one pan of cherry wood chips soaked in apple juice for the smoke and another pan of apple juice for the steam.

I had the smoke going the entire time and kept the heat between 200 and 225 degrees.  After 7 hours I took the bacon off and threw it away.  That was a heart breaker.  Throwing away bacon.  

For the last hour I increased the heat to 275 degrees.

At 8 hours and 20 minutes I had 165 degrees on my instant read thermometer.  I put the turkey in a covered roasting pan and we were on the road.



There was a lot of food.  Everybody brought something and it was all great.  All 5 turkeys got great reviews.  I was really happy with mine.  The white meat was very moist and had the flavor of the marinate and the smoke.

And, yes, twice during dinner the alarm went off and the guys headed out with lights and sirens.  But that's the nature of the business.