Stacie's note: I have yet to encounter a sushi chef who will not
prepare
your sushi with paleo ingredients only. My personal recommendation is
a tuna
roll (no rice, just raw tuna) eaten with a bit of wasabi (no shoyu,
which
contains soy and wheat) followed by a bit of gari (if no pink dye; but
don't
confuse pink dye with shiso) and some good green tea (when I make it
at home
I use hojicha, not the traditional green tea to accompany sushi). Too
bad
this article does not discuss that health benefits of eating raw fish.
More sushi info. at http://www.stickyrice.com
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An Eye for Good Food
By Sandra Gordon
WebMD Medical News
Medically reviewed by Dr. Craig H. Kliger
Sept. 25, 2000 -- The waiter gently places a lacquered mahogany box
before
you. A delicate piece of grilled salmon rests in one quadrant. A
tangle of
seaweed glistens in the center. Crimson tuna sashimi accented with a
thimble
of wasabi shines in a neighboring corner; a half moon of white rice
completes this manicured mosaic. Though most modern Japanese people
don't
eat this way every day, this is typical of a meal eaten in a
traditional
restaurant. It's a feast not only for the palate but for the eyes: a
portrait of order, clarity, and simplicity.
"The Japanese have an aesthetic appetite. Enormous pleasure is taken
in the
presentation of food," says Elizabeth Andoh, owner of A Taste of
Culture, a
Tokyo school that educates non-Japanese businesspeople in the food and
customs of Japan. They pay as much attention to the menu selections
(which
often feature foods in season) as to the serving plates that are used,
whether lacquer, ceramic, or bamboo. Indeed, at formal Japanese meals,
presentation is key. For added appeal, "you might see garnishes of
leaves
and flowers from the garden," says Lucy Seligman, who teaches Japanese
cooking in Richmond, Calif., and who lived in Japan for 13 years.
To those of us living in America, a nation of dashboard diners and
connoisseurs of cubicle cuisine, such mealtime mindfulness may seem
downright foreign, not to mention time-consuming. But American eaters
would
do well to turn off their TVs and cell phones and follow the Japanese
lead
by spending more time enjoying meals -- especially if they're watching
their
weight.
Why All the Fuss?
Ever since the sixth century, when Buddhism was declared the religion
of the
land and the flesh of fowl and "four-leggeds" was forbidden, the
Japanese
have prepared their meals to be "eaten with the eyes." To make their
meatless cuisine more satisfying, they began stressing elegance.
Although
the Japanese are free to eat meat today, food is still beautifully
displayed, much as you might expect it to be at a fine restaurant.
Besides the visual appeal of traditional Japanese meals, there's also
an
element of reverence. According to ancient Buddhist principles,
"eating
should be a spiritual experience that gives you a moment of calm
during the
day," says Donald Altman, a former Buddhist monk and author of Art of
the
Inner Meal: Eating as a Spiritual Path.
According to the Japanese principle of eating with the eyes, you'll
get more
satisfaction per calorie by paying attention to presentation. A small
serving of sirloin, for example, will be less apt to leave you
hungering for
more when sliced and fanned on a pretty plate. A half-cup of frozen
yogurt
really satisfies when served in a beautiful bowl and topped with a
strawberry. Even if you don't have time to artfully arrange your
meals, "at
least put your food on a plate rather than eating it out of the
take-out
carton," says Daniel Stettner, PhD, director of psychology in the
department
of preventive and nutritional medicine at William Beaumont Hospital in
Birmingham, Mich.
According to Japanese tradition, a meal should be a meaningful sensory
experience, he says. "It's not about how fast you can get it down so
you can
go on to the next thing."
Feeding your senses and thinking of mealtimes as stress breaks can
help make
your meal more satisfying and slow you down enough to consume fewer
calories, says Stettner. "Satiety is often absent when people wolf
down
their food or are very distracted." It takes 20 minutes for your brain
to
respond to increased glucose levels and get the "I'm full" message, he
says.
"If you were to eat a reasonable amount of food in less than 20
minutes, you
could still be hungry." In other words, if you took more than 20
minutes to
eat the same amount of food, you'd likely feel fuller.
Eating on the run is also an efficient way to consume loads of fat and
calories without even realizing it. For example, consider a McDonald's
ham,
egg, and cheese breakfast bagel. According to nutritional information
furnished by the company, in just a few hasty bites during your
morning
commute you'll consume roughly 40% of the calories and sodium found in
the
average 2000-calorie diet and 27% of the allotted saturated fat.
American-style speed eating can also leave you empty emotionally.
"What
you're lacking in fulfillment, you may make up by indiscriminately
nibbling
at different times of the day," says Stettner.
Calories on the Rise
With habits like these, it's no wonder the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's
statistics show that the average daily caloric intake of Americans has
risen
from 1,854 calories to 2,002 calories during the last 20 years. That
significant increase -- 148 calories per day -- works out to an extra
15
pounds a year.
Meanwhile, caloric intake in Japan has declined an average of 192
calories
per day from 1975 to 1993, says the American Institute for Cancer
Research,
a nonprofit research organization in Washington, D.C. The typical
Japanese
diet has also remained comparatively low in fat, weighing in at
roughly 9%
less than the typical American one. An added bonus: According to the
World
Health Organization, Japan reports the world's longest healthy life
expectancy (the number of years to be lived in "full health") for its
population: 74.5 years -- 4-1/2 years longer than for Americans.
The Japanese habit of mealtime mindfulness probably contributes to
this
stellar statistic. How can you translate their practices to your own
life?
Allot specific time periods -- say at least 20 minutes each -- for
meals.
"Think, as I'm going through my day, I need to schedule time for me as
much
as I'm scheduling time for others," says Stettner. Go ahead and jot
lunch in
your calendar if you must. Your mission: to truly experience the food
you
eat. Consider those 20-minute time-outs as personal self-care breaks
that
can help you avoid overeating.
To get even more fulfillment from meals, eliminate distractions like
the
television and the phone -- after all, that's what answering machines
are
for. "Light a candle, make it special," says Altman. "Do something
that
helps you appreciate the moment."
Sit down and let the meal nourish your body, mind, and spirit.
According to
Japanese tradition, less can be so much more if you don't let your
meals
consume you.
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