A few days ago, a very lovely man that I have been working for came to my desk and stared at me eating my large bowl of Cous Cous Tabouli. First, he’s a 75 year old world renown businessman known for his candor and humor. Second, he is the son of a southern caterer who was able to knock your socks off with her ham and biscuits filled with butter and gravy. And, here I am little old me, smelling up the corridor to his office eating something he can’t pronounce. He says “That there smells good. What you call it again? Ta what? Girl, how you learn to make all this diabetic food?” I laughed. Diabetic food? “You know, all that healthy stuff? Vegetarian worldly food.” Again, I laughed and went on with working. Later, as I sat eating some Baba Ganoush and whole wheat pita chips, it took everything in me not to start laughing uncontrollably at my desk. I looked at my bag lunch, filled with Middle Eastern food. I realized why it’s so hard for my mother to remember that I am not in fact a vegetarian. Not that there is anything wrong with being vegetarian. I am just not one… at all…at all!
I am however making a conscious decision on this blog/show to first give lots of options for incorporating more fruits and vegetables into your daily routine. Our western diet is over loaded with saturated fats, salt, meat, dairy, and fraken foods. If you look at the food pyramid, you know that thing we were forced to memorize in 3rd grade health class, it’s completely misleading; if not down right wrong.

According to Harvard scientist Dr. Walter Willett, the original USDA Food Pyramid is massively flawed. He states that the Pyramid has not kept up with scientific nutritional research. The original food pyramid created by the USDA made a number of blanket claims supporting its food list, such as, all fats are bad; all complex carbohydrates are good; protein is protein; dairy products are essential; and there was no recommendation for exercise or mineral, vitamin, or phytonutrient intake.
This isn’t all that surprising when you know the history of the pyramid or the USADA for that matter. First let’s look at the USDA . As per lovely wikipedia the purpose of the USDA is:
The United States Department of Agriculture (informally the Agriculture Department or USDA) is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food. It aims to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers, promote agricultural trade and production, work to assure food safety, protect natural resources, foster rural communities and end hunger in the United States and abroad.

Okay, so the USDA was created to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers and create governmental food policies not to evaluate the nutritional needs of the nation. Also, if their aim is to meet the needs of farmers and ranchers that is often in direct opposition to what is BEST for your health. Just read the latest information regarding the government’s oxymoronic promotion of Domino’s cheese laden pizza while warning people about the dangers saturated fat. This is a hilarious and scary example since one of the biggest culprits of saturated fat in the American Diet is CHEESE! www.nytimes.com/2010/11/07/us/07fat.html .

As for that food pyramid, nutritionists and scientist like Dr. Willett’s, have proven the pyramid is based on many poor assumptions.
All fats are bad: Not true, Saturated and Trans fats are bad, but monosaturated and polyunsaturated fats, as well as fats from fish, nuts, olive oil, grape seed oil, flaxseeds and grains, are good and vital to optimal health.
All complex carbohydrates are good: Not true, again. First of all, the pyramid say “six to eleven servings of carbohydrates”. Up to 11 servings?! That’s WAY way too much. The Pyramid also does not differentiate between refined carbohydrates, such as pasta, and true complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain cereal (millet, teff, oats, barley).
Protein is protein: Again doctors and nutritionist disagree. Some sources of protein are better for you than others. For example, red meat is high quality protein, but it is also high in cholesterol and saturated fat; whereas fish, chicken, turkey are lower in saturated fat. That doesn’t mean you can’t have red meat at all but, do choose leaner cuts, organic and grass fed when possible. And please note that a “burger a day” habit is not healthy any way you cut it. Beans and nuts are an excellent sources of protein filled with good fats. There are also complete proteins found in Quinoa and hemp seeds.
Dairy products are essential: I am a huge lover of dairy myself, but there are many other ways besides dairy products to get the calcium we need. Low fat dairy can be a part of a healthy diet but, far from the only way to get calcium. Also our body needs a synergy of vitamins to absorb and process the calcium we are receiving: Vitamin D, Vitamin C, Magnesium, the amino acid Lysine. Also eating too much zinc, caffeinated or carbonated (phosphorus laden) drinks can impede absorption and in the case of caffeine and sodas leach calcium out of our bodies.
Guidance on weight, exercise, alcohol, sweets and vitamins are missing: more recently the USDA has added alcohol and sweets to the pyramid as things that should be eaten in moderation. However, they still don’t give solid guidelines for how weight management, exercise or breaking down how important the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients in our food are for us. Also some alcohol is better for us then others…like drinking on glass of red wine a day has been shown to be extremely beneficial for heart health.
Understanding all of this can be overwhelming enough but then what do you do about it? I know how scary it is to walk down that produce aisle looking at vegetables you have the slightest idea what to do with. Eggplant? Zucchini? Cauliflower? Really? For me that’s the question that got all this started!

On my journey to eat things on the lists given by the nutritionist, in a way that wouldn’t make me want to lose my lunch….I looked to international cuisine. I looked to places where they make an assortment of vegetable filled dishes daily. I went to restaurants and tried things… Asked friends…and went online to sites like mine to find new and interesting things. Now… I share what I’ve found with you.

Now back to the whole Cous Cous Tabouli moment. It was created out of an event last weekend. I had several lovely ladies sitting in my living room discussing my new play. They had graciously done a reading for me in October. So, I invited them over for a pow wow and some food.

Getting a meal together that fulfilled everyone’s food restrictions was an interesting challenge. Instead of trying to create one big meal, I decided to go tapas/mezzo/noshing style and do lots of little dishes. I figured Middle Eastern/ Mediterranean fare would cover most everyone. Plus, with health conscious artists how can you go wrong with veggies? There was hummus, zucchini “hummus”, baba ganoush, Kalamata Olive/Artichoke Tapenade, Tabouli, Chicken, a cheese plate, and tomato basil avocado mozzarella salad…plus two dipping sauces and three bread option. Yes, I went a little nuts. There was soo much food! And, so very many left overs to be ingested by just me. However, thankfully it was also very cheap as it consisted of mostly vegetables and pantry staples. This type of menu is a perfect as 1) they are quick to make 2) great for every day and for parties 3) inexpensive 4) freeze well. (The latter of which, came in handy this week as I tried to eat all this food by myself.)

All in all eating better isn’t some huge mysterious and difficult journey. It is a matter of little by little adding more fruits, whole grains, vegetables and good fats into our lives. Below find four of the dishes I made last week to add to your recipe list!

Bon Appetit

Zucchini (Raw) Hummus

Two large Zucchini peeled down to the whites only (no green hummus)
4 cloves garlic
1-2 tablespoons of ground sesame paste/tahini
(I made my own. Put some sesame seeds into the food processor or coffee grinder)
1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
1 tablespoon of sea salt
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

Throw all the contents into your food processor and give is a whirl. That’s it!

Baba Ganoush

2 large Eggplants
4-6 cloves garlic
¼ cup of ground sesame paste/tahini
2-3 tablespoons of lemon juice
1 tablespoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of chili flakes, chili powder, or cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon Grape seed or Olive oil
Handful of cilantro/coriander or flat leaf parsley

Place whole eggplants onto a baking sheet. Puncture a few times with a fork and then place into the oven on 375-400. Cook for 35-40 minutes turning ever so often. Once cooked place eggplant in a large bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Once soft, open the wrap and place eggplant on a cutting board. Slice down the center to reveal the soft inner goodness. Scrape contents out without the skin and place into a food processor. Add all the other ingredients and give it a whirl. Add salt to taste. Garnish with paprika or cayenne pepper.

Mint Cilantro Chickpea Hummus

2 cups cooked chickpeas
¼ cup of low sodium vegetable broth
1-2 cubes of the mint cilantro chutney from my earlier post (cilantro, mint, onion, garlic, jalepeno) if you like it hot add more peppers
Salt to taste
¼ cup of sesame paste/tahini
¼ cup of lemon or lime juice
3 cloves fresh garlic

Quick Cous Cous Tabouli

Serves 8 (as main dish)
2 cups Whole Wheat Cous Cous
Or
1 cup Cous Cous
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups water or broth
1 large bunch flat leaf parsley
5 cloves Garlic
2 tomatoes
1-2 cups shredded carrots
1 cup shredded spinach
¼ cup chopped olives of choice
¼ cup lemon juice
½ shredded zucchini
½ cup chopped green onion
½ cup chopped white or yellow onions
½ cup of mint
½ cup garbanzo beans

If using only Cous Cous – In a large heat safe bowl pour 2 cups of boiling water/broth into two cups of Cous Cous.
If using Quinoa – cook on stove top as per box instructions. Add to bowl of Cous Cous.

Puree garlic, parsley, mint with 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Add to grains and mix well.
Incorporate all the other ingredients one by one. Stir until fully incorporated.
Add Salt and remaining lemon juice to taste.