Disease Proof : Disease Proof : Health & Nutrition News & Commentary : Dr. Joel Fuhrman

Okay, I’ve been on the fence about this restaurant for a month now. Why? Well, it smacks of fast food. I nasty stigma I know, but, one not without merit. McDonald’s junk, Burger King junk, Arby’s junk, Wendy’s junk—do you see where I’m going with this? Clearly, a fast food restaurant would never be on an Eat to Liver’s radar. Or would it?

Do remember Chipotle? What about Baja Fresh? Both of these eateries are basically fast food restaurants, but, each received a glowing recommendation by me. The reason why? Well, they’re not your typical Kentucky-fried, double-whoppered, extra-cheesed standard American fast food restaurants. And as you’ll see, Taco Del Mar isn’t either, at least not totally.

Taco Del Mar’s menu is pretty short. In fact, you’ve only got five selections to choose from; Mondo Burritos, Tacos, Platters, Taco Salads, and Quesadillas. Okay, I know what you’re thinking—QUESADILLAS! Relax, these cheesy monstrosities are hopeless. So we’ve only got four items to pick from.

Let’s start with the burritos. According to the menu they come with tortilla, beans, meat, cheese, and pico de gallo. The beans are good and so is the pico de gallo, but the problem is everything else. I don’t eat dairy, so the cheese has got to go and refined flour tortillas aren’t exactly nutrient-dense, but I’d be willing to make that concession. Now, onto the meat, the menu boasts a bunch of different options; Carne Asada Steak, Ground Beef, Shredded Beef, Seasoned Pork, Braised Chicken, and Fish. Honestly, I wouldn’t order any of them. Maybe the fish, but who knows what kind it is and what the level of mercury contamination might be. So what should I do?

Well, Taco Del Mar’s menu also gives you the option to order your food vegetarian or vegan style. A great option for me, but the burritos don’t really come with a lot of veggies, so what’s the point? If I walked into Taco Del Mar, I wouldn’t be eyeballing the burritos. Let’s move onto something else, shall we?

Next up are the tacos. They’re prepared with tortilla, meat, cheese, lettuce, and pico de gallo. Again, the cheese is out the window and so is the meat. If I do that, I’m left with a totally veggie taco. Then my only concession would be the tortilla. This isn't terrible, especially for a fast food restaurant.

Okay, I just spent a few minutes starring at the Platters, and, I didn’t like what I saw. The Platters are a basically a dish of enchiladas and after I make all my Eat to Live modifications, well, it’s just not worth it. So I’m skipping that one and moving right onto the Taco Salads.

Salad is a great word if you’re a responsible eater. To me, salad means phytonutrients. And if I were eating at Taco Del Mar the Taco Salads would be my bastion of refuge. They’re made with a tortilla shell, beans, lettuce, cheese, pico de gallo, and meat. Alright, if you haven’t caught on by now, I’m basically applying the same logic over and over again. So—WHAM!—after I ditched the cheese and meat, I’m left a bunch of lettuce, beans, and pico de gallo inside a giant corn chip. Provided I go easy on the dressing and not nibble the tortilla, its not a bad option for an Eat to Liver stranded in a fast food restaurant.

In the end, Taco Del Mar isn’t a slam dunk for an Eat to Liver, nor is it as good as Chipotle or Baja Fresh. But, if I had to eat there—let me rephrase that—if you HAD to eat there, a veggie-fied taco or taco salad wouldn’t leave me feeling too upset with myself. Although, I still hold out very little hope for typical standard American fast food places, which explains why I haven’t even set foot into a fast food restaurant in many-many years.

So, how’d I do? I think I took on a tough challenge this week, one that I won’t be quick to do again. Have you ever been brave enough to try tackling a fast food restaurant? If you have, spill the beans. Email us at diseaseproof@gmail.com or leave a comment. Also, be sure to check out Taco Del Mar’s menu and tell us how do you Eat to Live on the outside?

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Hopefully the altitude doesn’t bother you, because Eating to Live on the Outside is heading to Colorado, Denver to be exact. What’s in Denver? Wholly Tomato! No, I’m not trying to sound like the old Batman television show. Wholly Tomato is actually the name of this week’s restaurant. So, if there’s a veggie in the name, it’s got to be good, right? Well, let’s see.

For starters, Wholly Tomato’s menu is pretty cool. It’s actually divided into two parts, Carnivore and Herbivore. Now, if you’re like me, you’re going straight for Herbivore. Why? Because the Carnivore section isn’t exactly loaded with foods Dr. Fuhrman considers health-promoting. Yeah, last time I checked bacon, cheese, and sausage don’t rank too highly on the Fuhrmometer. So let’s just pretend this portion of the menu doesn’t exist, shall we?

Okay, back to the Herbivore dishes. Honestly, they’re not perfect. Some of them need a little work, especially the ones with cheese, but, they’ve got potential. Alright, the first one I’d order would be the Nebuchadnezzar sandwich. And right off the bat there’s a concession. It’s a sandwich, so there’s bread, but let me cushion the blow. I’m going with the Agave whole wheat bread. Given the feel of this menu, I’d bet that this bread is very rustic and full of whole grains. So I don’t feel too bad about it. And, once you get past the bread you’ll see it comes with things like avocado, tomato, sprouts, roasted garlic hummus, and swiss cheese. Yeah, you guessed it—adios cheese! Now clearly I’m excited about the avocado, but, the hummus gives me pause. Why? Well I suspect that it’s made with at least some olive oil, again, according to Dr. Fuhrman not exactly a healthful food. Although I’ll stick with it, but I’m invoking my standby justification—I don’t eat out very often, so I can deal with a little olive oil. What do you think?

The other sandwich to catch my eye was the Barbar-Bella, although it also needs a little tweaking. First off, the melted swiss cheese is going out the window. I don’t do diary—no exceptions! So, once you’ve ditched the cheese and relaxed about the whole wheat bread, you’re left with roasted portabella mushrooms, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and a light dijonaise. The portabellas look good, so do the tomatoes and romaine lettuce, but the dijonaise also has to hit the bricks. Why? Well, to the best of my knowledge dijonaise is a mix of mustard and mayonnaise—I could be wrong on this—if I am wrong, the dijoniase can stay, but if I’m right, I’ll repeat what I said last week. I’d rather lick a Manhattan sidewalk on a hot summer day than eat mayonnaise. If you know what dijoniase is made with, please give me a heads up.

Moving on, a couple of the Bowls are looking real good, in particular the Quin Kong and the Acropolis. Let’s start with the Quin Kong. It’s made with quinoa, tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, green peppers, light olive oil, and tamari sauce. Quinoa! You don’t find that popping up on too many menus. Actually, I’ve never eaten it before, so this would be a great opportunity to give it a whirl. Clearly the veggies are great, but the tamari sauce and the olive oil give me pause. Since the tamari sauce is loaded with salt, I’m ditching it. And for the sake of adding a little more flavor, I’ll keep the olive oil, which will be my concession. Now the Acropolis, it comes with roasted vegetables, brown rice, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, capers, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and feta cheese. Okay, I’m tossing the capers, feta cheese, and the olive oil. Capers are salty, I don’t eat cheese, and since Acropolis includes balsamic vinegar, I don’t need the oil for added flavor. So with that being said, the brown rice would be my only major concession—I just have to make sure I run an extra mile at the gym to make up for it.

Wholly Tomato also offers up a variety of salads. Salads are usually a great safe haven for an Eat to Liver. Let’s see how Wholly Tomato’s salads stack up. Well, they look okay, but each requires some futzing with. Like a lot of restaurant salads they’re prepared with things that don’t look so good, like cheese and various bread or pasta strips. Take the Asian salad for example. It comes with Asian vegetables, mixed greens, fresh pineapple, a light sesame dressing, and rice noodles. I’m digging the veggies and of course I’m going easy on the dressing, but rice noodles? Why ruin a salad with refined pasta? Yup, you guessed it, sayonara rice noodles! The other salad to snatch my attention is the Mediterranean. The Mediterranean is made with roasted vegetables, mixed greens, fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts, capers, olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and pita slices. Okay, kiss the capers, olive oil, and pita slices good bye. Then you’re left with a good looking salad. Personally, I love artichoke hearts, so when I see them in a menu selection, I’m most likely going to order it. Do you eat artichoke hearts too?

Not bad, right? Wholly Tomato certainly has some potential. Sure, you’ve got to work around the cheese and other animal products, but if you give it a little thought you can make almost any dish work. So, while it’s not a home-run, Wholly Tomato is certainly on the right track. And hey, don’t forget to check out  Wholly Tomato’s menu and let us know how you Eat to Live on the Outside? Leave a comment or email us at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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Maybe I’m a masochist and I don’t realize it, but, for some reason I've picked another tough restaurant for this week’s Eating to Live on the Outside. Go ahead. Say it, “Dummy!” Maybe so—I've got a laundry list of ex-girlfriends that would second that dummy, and, follow it up with at least a few expletives. Anyway, that’s beside the point, what do you say we dig into this week’s restaurant? Gumbo Shop.

Now, I’m assuming the name didn’t stump you. Gumbo Shop, if you’re looking for New Orleans cuisine, this is the place. But, how does it stack up health-wise? Could an Eat to Liver find refuge here? Yes. No. Kind of. Not really. Told you, it’s going to be tough. At first glance I can already tell—they’ll be concessions! Hope you like fish. Alright, let’s have at it.

Luckily the menu isn’t huge, so narrowing it down should be pretty quick. Let’s start with the most Fuhrman-friendly menu items—mind you, I say that loosely. First up is the Vegetarian Dish of the Day. What’s in it? Well according to the menu it’s a creation of hearty beans or peas, plenty of seasonings and lots of local flavor, served with rice or pasta. Okay, if you can get that prepared with brown rice and no- or low-salt you’ve got a pretty good meal. Sure the rice isn't exactly the most nutritious thing on the planet, but as I say all the time—focus on the veggies!

Next up is the Veggie Po’Boy. If you’ve never had a Po’Boy, it’s basically a sandwich. And like all sandwiches, it’s not inherently Fuhrman-friendly. Besides the bread, you’ve got plenty of ingredients you might want to omit. For example, most Po’Boy’s are made with mayonnaise. Personally, I’d rather lick a Manhattan sidewalk on a hot summer day than eat mayonnaise. Clearly the veggies are good, but I’d interrogate the wait staff before I ordered this menu item. What do you think?

Okay, before we ponder the fish-based dishes, these two options are certainly worth a mention. The Seasonal Green Dinner Salad and the Fresh Fruit Plate, these are probably you’re best choices if you’re planning to walk away from Gumbo Shop concession-free. For me, it would depend on my mood. Sometimes I’m more willing to bend than others, but, if I was feeling particularly anal I’d simply order one of these and call it a day. Heck, I might even order both!

If you keep up with this series you know that when I eat out I am willing to deviate from Eat to Live a little. Why? Quite frankly, it’s because I don’t eat out that often and I watch my diet closely 99% percent of the time. So, going a little “crazy” on that rare occasion that I’m actually eating outside the house is fine with me. And with that being said, let’s check out the fish dishes.

Well, there’s only two I’d consider ordering and their loaded uncertainty. The Fresh Fish Florentine and the Fresh Fish Creole. And why do I say uncertainty? Well, who knows what the fish is? It could be good or it could be bad. According to Dr. Fuhrman, if its something like tilapia or flounder your risk of mercury contamination is low, but, if its tuna or mackerel—you’ve got problems! So it’s a tough call. Sure the veggies in both dishes are great, but if you’ve got a bad piece of fish, why bother? Now if I were to go with the fish, rest assured, it’d be a while before you'd catch me eating fish again. Oh, and one more thing, the hollandaise sauce on the Fresh Fish Florentine—got to go!

See, I told you, a little tough. If I wanted to play it totally safe it can be done, but, with a little tweaking and some tolerance for concessions, you can make Gumbo Shop work. Not too bad, right? And as always, we want your feedback! Scope out Gumbo Shop’s menu and let us know how you Eat to Live on the Outside? Leave a comment or email us at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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Okay, the past couple weeks have been up and down for Eating to Live on the Outside. Two weeks ago we all bore witness to the nightmare that is Indigo Joe's, an ooey-gooey super-cheesy standard American restaurant—certainly not for the faint of heart! But last week we redeemed ourselves with Thai Kitchen, a much healthier option for the discerning Eat to Liver. Not perfect, but miles ahead of other Eating to Live on the Outside flops like Denny’s, Friendly’s, and Houlihan’s. So, what does this week have in store for us?

What if I told you things like avocado and tofu regularly show up on this menu? Not mention, the word vegan is actually in the name of restaurant! Alright, I’ll stop trying to build suspense. This week Portland Oregon’s Veganopolis goes under the microscope. And as you’ll see, it’s a great place for an Eat to Liver to grab a quick bite to eat. So what do you say? Let’s crack this menu open!

I’ll start with the breakfast menu. First up, I’m really digging The Garden breakfast sandwich. It’s prepared with raw organic tahini, wheat toast, cucumber, tomato, spinach, and avocado. Obviously this dish appeals to me because of the avocado—I’m a total avocado mark—but the tahini also caught my eye. Tahini is made from sesame seeds and Dr. Fuhrman considers sesames seeds to be one of the healthiest foods you can eat. Of course the other veggies are great too. Okay, I’m sure you’re saying to yourself, “What about the bread?” You’ve just met the concession. Sure, eating bread isn’t exactly high up on Dr. Fuhrman’s list of smart things to do, but I’m okay with it. I’ll just have to make sure I don’t eat anymore bread for a while, besides, the sandwich comes with a side of fresh fruit. That should make you feel better about eating a little bread.

Now here’s an interesting dish, Red Flannel Hash. It’s made with yams, turnips, rutabagas, onions, kidney beans, dill, and spices. A very unique assortment, don’t you think? I’m sure most people—especially standard American dieters—would head for the hills if someone presented them with this, but not me. I’d give it a whirl! Would you?

It’s time to move onto the lunch menus. The Roasted Eggplant sandwich is looking mighty good. Again, the bread—in this case a ciabatta roll—is the concession. In addition to the bread it includes eggplant, tomatoes, spinach, roasted red pepper sauce, onions, and soy mozzarella or almond feta. Personally, I’m going with the almond feta instead of soy mozzarella. It sounds more interesting. I’d also ask the wait staff about the red pepper sauce. It might be prepared with some sort of oil, which might deter you. Although this wouldn’t bother me too much, as I’ve said a bunch of times, I don’t eat out very often, so that makes me more willing to bend a little. The Roasted Eggplant sandwich also comes with a side of potato chips or roasted potatoes. Between to the two, I’d obviously pick the roasted potatoes, but, since I’d be already be eating bread, I’d just skip the both of them. At the risk of sounding like a low-carb lemming, too many carbs!

And the last menu item to catch me eye is the Marinated Grilled Tofu salad. It comes with spinach, cucumbers, tomatoes, peapods, rice vinegar, and organic tofu marinated with tamari. What’s tamari? Soy sauce, which brings me to an important side note, a few days ago I received an email from a concerned reader. He wanted to know why I selected dishes from Thai Kitchen’s menu that had a potentially high salt content, like ones made with soy sauce. Now my answer is pretty simple. I’m aware that soy sauce and a lot of the sauces used to prepare Asian-style cuisine can be very salty—then again most restaurant food is salty—so I just kind of deal with it. If you’re eating out, most of the time it’s unavoidable. Take me for example, I know if I’m eating outside my home I’m going to have to make some allowances, but, I try my best to limit them. And if I do eat something that might be on the salty side, I make sure that I’m vigilant not to do it again for a long while. Unfortunately the standard American dietary frontier is not easily conducive to an Eat to Live lifestyle, so you better be prepared to roll with the punches.

Now don’t forget to check out the Veganopolis menu and let us know how you Eat to Live on the Outside? Also, be sure to weigh in on the problem of salty restaurant food. How do you approach the whole situation? Leave a comment or email us at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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After a week of rest and relaxation the swelling on my forehead has finally gone down. If you forgot why I was repeatedly bashing my head against the wall, please, revisit last week’s Eating to Live on the Outside: Indigo Joe's. How people can eat that much cheese, bacon, and ranch dressing is beyond me. Good thing today’s restaurant is way more Fuhrman-friendly. I’m not sure I could take back to back standard American restaurants—ouch!

So, how do I know Thai Kitchen is Fuhrman-friendly? Well, I’ve eaten there! I’m a big fan of Thai food. And if you’ve ever eaten Thai, you know most dishes are loaded with a variety of vegetables. Which beats the pants off of salads topped with bacon or deep-fried green beans. Okay then, time for a little change in protocol. Usually I talk about what I might order if I found myself dining at one of these restaurants. But, since I’ve actually eaten at Thai Kitchen, I’ll tell you what I have ordered.

As I’ve mentioned before, I don’t eat out very often, once maybe twice a month. So when I do, I tend to stick with what works. In my case it’s the Pad Kra Tiem. This is pretty much my go-to dish. And I only order it veggie-style, which means it’s prepared with sautéed garlic, onions, baby corn, carrots, broccoli, tofu, and white pepper. It’s very tasty and they don’t over cook the vegetables. To be honest, most of the time the veggies are still a little raw, which is fine by me—veggies al dente! Okay, now I know what you’re saying to yourself, “What about what it’s cooked in? That stuff can't be good for you.” You know what? I’m not going to argue with you on that one and that’s why the cooking mixture or sauce is my concession—a concession I can live with.

That’s pretty much the way I approach Thai Kitchen. I know that it’s not perfect, but every dish—even the ones with noodles and meat—come with lots of vegetables, and, the portion sizes are perfect. So, as a person that doesn’t eat out a lot, I can live with this tiny shortcoming. In my opinion a big part of Eating to Live is allowing little moments where you can let yourself off the hook. And I hardly think a steaming plate of veggies with a little brown sauce is worth beating yourself up over, especially if you practice nutritional excellence 99% of the time.  What do you think?

Now before I pinpointed my standby dish, I used to graze the menu. In the past I’ve ordered the Pad Preow Wan, which comes with pineapple, bell peppers, baby corn, celery, cucumbers, and tomatoes. And it’s all sautéed in sweet & sour sauce. Not a bad meal, but, I’m not the biggest fan of sweet & sour, so that one didn’t last. I’ve also given the Pad See Eue a whirl. It’s a pretty basic dish, made with stir fried broad rice noodles, Chinese broccoli, and soy sauce. Again, I realize the concessions here. The rice noodles are nothing more than refined grains and the soy sauce is loaded with salt. Needless to say I only ordered this once.

The first dish I ever tried at Thai Kitchen was the Pad Thai. In fact, this was well before my DiseaseProof days, meaning I was still a standard American dieter. The Pad Thai is prepared with sautéed Thai noodles, shrimps, eggs, crushed peanuts, scallions, bean curd, and bean sprouts. Definitely a few concessions there! Don’t worry, I haven’t ordered the Pad Thai in years.

Okay, now I’m giving you a homework assignment. Check out Thai Kitchen’s menu and pick a dish you’d like me to order. Try to select one that I haven’t already tried and post it in the comments. Then next time I’m at Thai Kitchen I’ll give it whirl and I promise I’ll tell you all about it. Oh, please no spicy dishes. I’ve got a wimpy stomach and I don’t really feel like blogging from the fetal position. Well, what are you waiting for? Get to work on that menu!  And remember, you can always email us your Eating to Live on the Outside story at diseaseproof@gmail.com.

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