Dr. Kracker

An article in the November 1st issue of The Wall Street Journal, “Does Belt Tightening Have To Lead To Waist Expansion?,” cited current findings of Harry Balzer, from the premier research group NPD. Mr. Balzer’s frequent reports on what we eat and how we eat it provide invaluable insight into American food and food culture. In this article, among other things, he says that healthful eating is a casualty of our recession, and that organic and good-for-you foods are more out of the reach of consumers today than they were a year ago. At the same time, though, NPD also found that consumers are eating more meals at home. This should have a positive influence on the diet, and it would, if it weren’t for the microwave oven. According to Balzer’s research, in 2008, American consumers used a microwave to prepare foods 30 percent of the time, compared with 22 percent in years past. Unfortunately, “zappable” (highly processed) food has been establishing residency in our homes faster than we can learn to cook the real way.

In previous newsletters, we considered the negative impact on good health of constant snacking, takeout and fast food; these are the villains in our personal reality diet show. (Restaurant sales are down, so the oversized restaurant portions are “off the plate” for now.) But the connection to healthier cooking is still missing.

Buying, preparing, and consuming unprocessed or minimally processed food is the best way to save money and improve the diet. The savings are even more dramatic for those of us who have made the switch to a plant strong diet. In its endorsement of this approach to eating, Whole Foods Market figures that the average person would spend around $200 per month (less than $7 per day per person) to eat “plant strong,” that is, to switch out concentrated animal proteins for whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables. And although home-prepared, plant strong meals require a bit of an investment of time, with a little planning, it’s not that hard to do. (More on this later.)

In its November 1st article, the WSJ recommended a few ways to keep your wallet fat and your waist thin (my notes in italicized parentheses):

The common theme in these recommendations can be summed up like so: spend more time planning what and when you will eat. “Planning” sounds like work, and to some of us, it is. But if you think of it as a skill rather than a chore, it’s easier to do, and once you’ve mastered it, it’s very rewarding to experience. Rewarding both for the waist and the wallet.

Writing weekly menus is one way to do this. It removes the stress of the daily food prep and organizes your grocery shopping at the same time. (Check the web, there are lots of how-to plan guides). Using a list when you shop for food means less spontaneity, but also usually results in better food choices and more room for our favorite good-for-us foods. Filling the pantry with staples such as whole grain pasta, tomato sauces or canned tomatoes, healthy soups, precooked beans and whole grain rice may cost more initially as we build the inventory, but it also means more flexibility in preparing food and executing the plan. Putting a plan together for the week can be an interactive family activity that happens during a meal, and it is a good time to review what’s working in the diet, what pleases the palate and where more experimentation is needed.

What about planning a waist-and-wallet-friendly diet as a single person? I can’t remember that far back, but I think the same basic rules apply: avoid junk food and learn to cook. It may mean more salads, stir frys and smoothies, but there is no downside to creating a personal eating plan.

According to Harry Balzer, the single greatest impediment to improving our diets is our reluctance to spend more time in the kitchen. I’d like to address the time issue by using myself as an example, and describing how I plan, spend, and utilize the time it takes to cook dinner for my family of five. If we understand the time involved, and how little it really is, I think that it is much easier to make the commitment to it.

I cook dinner almost every night, and I find that an hour is about the time it takes to unwind, get things ready, cook and serve. (Despite the WSJ’s advice, I’m not certain that there are too many 10-minute recipes to be found that go much beyond peanut butter and jelly or the very quick tortilla wrap. Between 25 and 60 minutes is a more reasonable expectation when it comes to preparing a healthy and nutritious meal.)

The easiest meals are any of the hundreds of whole grain pasta dishes. Step number one for pasta, as I learned listening to National Public Radio, is fill a pot of water and place it on the stove to boil, which anyone can do. While you’re waiting for the water to boil and the pasta to cook, get busy on steps two and three: sauce and side dish. When it comes to the sauce, the sky’s the limit–unleash your creativity and use ingredients you love. (I always open a can of some kind of beans (Canellinni is my favorite) to add protein, flavor and body to my pasta sauce.) In the meantime, I usually organize a green salad, and if I have whole grain bread on hand, then I’ve got a healthy, filling meal, with fruit for dessert is always an option. I always try to make enough so there will be leftovers for lunch the next day. (This just happens to be a vegan dinner — for more wholly satisfying vegan ideas, check Rip Esselstyn’s Engine 2 Diet.)

Another anchor ingredient for a typical dinner at my house is brown rice, which takes about an hour to cook from start to finish. While the rice is cooking, there’s plenty of time to prepare the accompanying greens and/or vegetables. For variety, check out all the curry and Indian simmer sauces that can open new gastronomic adventures.

I like the WSJ suggestion of making multiple portions; I’d go one further and suggest creating a basic soup that can morph into 2 or 3 stews and soups. During the week, the crockpot works perfectly — put the ingredients in the morning, and the soup/stew is ready in the evening. My favorite soup stock is a combination of lentils, split peas, other beans, potatoes and winter squash, all foods that add protein, colors and textures. To this basic soup or stew, I add vegetables such as spinach or chard to create one soup; I add an Indian curry simmer sauce and more beans to create another. (Sausage is a wonderful memory of my omnivore days.) There is no limit, all can be accomplished without a huge investment of time. All you have to do is plan ahead!

As Bunny noted last month, it’s rarely possible to change our lives immediately. I would recommend making a New Year’s vow of cooking 2 more meals every week. And in the spirit of planning, I’m suggesting this in December instead of waiting for January, 2010!

We’ve all got an eating gene that makes us want more food, it’s the cooking gene that needs to be discovered and developed. We truly need to look at cooking as a learned skill, one that takes practice.

For anyone who wants to get more involved with home baking, check out our new website: breadhealthy.com. I’ve been experimenting with some exciting new whole grain recipes that are both waist and wallet friendly. We don’t do any quick breads at BreadHealthy; it’s very much slow food and slow bread — and by the way, both of my kids love the hearty, whole grain flatbreads!