High Carb Low Fat BreakfastWritten by Dr. Donald A. Miller
The current Low Carb fad is way off target. Our ancestors, depending on era and location, mostly ate more grains, fruits, vegetables, and less four legged meat than is common in present diets of North America and Europe.It is no secret that fats can satisfy hunger, even long after eating. That's one reason for traditional popularity of breakfast bacon, sausage, butter, breakfast pastries, et cetera. For most of us who are not athletes, farmers, stevedores, or other calory burning people, we should restrict fat intake, and prefer unsaturated plant sources over saturated fats from meat sources. Refined sugars can give us a quick energy high, but this won't last. Lumberjacks have long known that old fashioned pancakes and breads can sustain one through hours of heavy labor. I don't have a reference handy, but I recall reading that Roman Legionnaires got an early morning start by eating cereal grains, proving that cereals can make a hearty breakfast. In our "more advanced" society, we have many prepared cereals to pick from. My very strong advice is to avoid ones having hydrogenated oils or refined sugars, or more than a trace of added salt. And don't bother with enriched cereals if you are taking a daily vitamin - mineral tablet. So what do I recommend for breakfast? Example 1: eggs poached in a small covered pan with a small amount of water, plus whole grain bread with a small amount of one of new butter substitutes that has no hydrogenation. Example 2: Whole grain cereal such as shredded wheat, corn flakes, wheat flakes, oats, oat meal, or similar. You can make your own from whole grains, if you have a grinder. Some food blenders will work. Avoid wheat farina, from which bran and most of germ were removed prior to grinding.
| | Reduced Fat Meat LoafWritten by Dr. Donald A. Miller
It is no secret that four legged meats, especially beef and pork that were fattened in feedlots, comprise one of highest sources of fats in American diet. If you want to keep some of your recipes, but lower fat by ten to fifty percent, you can substitute some soy foods for part. This is easiest to do with meals which can be made from ground beef.I have yet to find an artificial meat cutlet, molded from tofu and / or TSP/TVP = Textured Soy/Vegetable Protein, to taste very good. But I have learned to like tofu and tempeh for themselves. I have made "beef stew" with tempeh replacing all meat, and omelets with mashed tofu instead of cheese, and served without sausage or bacon. I also like angel hair pasta mixed with spices, soy sauce, and an equal mixture of ground beef and tofu. The scientific test for success was that I have eaten my invented recipes more than once, and without any regrets. So, what about meat loaf? It looks like a natural test case. One should realize that fat in starting meat will be mostly trapped in final dish, so start with lean ground beef. Major groceries should have 5 to 10 percent fat ground beef. If not, ask for some to be made from their leanest cuts. If you extend meat by folding in crushed crackers or bread crumbs, realize that such will help trap fat. Here is my experiment of a recent weekend. First, start an oven heating to about 375 Fahrenheit, plus or minus 25 degrees. It will be ready when dish is. I placed 12 ounces (a common standard package size) of extra firm tofu (least water content) in a round ceramic baking dish, then used a manual potato masher to reduce it to paste. I then added 3 cups of lean ground beef, and blended thoroughly, until color was uniform. Along way, I had tossed in some diced garlic, blended green herbs, two tablespoons of real soy sauce, and some fresh ground black pepper, but no salt. Other people might want to include some diced green or red pepper, some tomato sauce or fresh diced tomatoes, and similar.
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