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

This week Eating to Live on the Outside tangos with The Old Bay. The Old Bay serves up New Orleans inspired creations and, in this case, in all their unglory. Yeah, you guessed it. Its not good, but, we solider on—lets see what we got!

Oh boy. I don’t think the Natchitoches Beef Pies aren't going to cut it. Neither will the Gator Balls or the Three Cheese Baked Bread. Well, the only thing I see on the Sharing Plates that might work is the Wild Mushroom Mini Pizza Forestier. Yeah-yeah, I know what you’re saying, “PIZZA!” Relax, I’m ditching the cheddar cheese, but, I’m keeping the roasted red pepper sauce and the Criminni, Portobello, Shitake and Oyster mushrooms. So, with that being said, the only concession would be the pizza dough. I’m not thrilled about it, but its cool.

Alright, the soups and the classic Cajun dishes aren’t looking good, so I’m skipping over that section of the menu—onto the rest of the main dishes! Okay, the only thing I see—and this is a big concession—is the Vegetarian Zucchini Boat. What is it? Brace yourself. It’s a seedless zucchini “boat” corn floured, fried, stuffed with ratatouille, surrounded by long grain rice, and smothered in a roasted vegetable sauce. Now, this thing has a lot strikes, but maybe if the sun, the moon, and the stars are in line, you might be willing to make this concession. Personally, I wouldn’t. The misgivings with this veggie dish is obviously the frying and any cheese or dairy products that might be used in the ratatouille or sauce. If it turns out its dairy-free and you can deal with the frying. It’s an option, albeit a bad one.

Now, the steaks are next—and we’re done! Moving on. The next viable menu items are the salads, again, no surprises here. You’ve got two options: the Garden Salad of Mixed Greens and Caesar Salad. The Caesar Salad is a big waste of time. I never bother trying to futz with Caesar salads, especially in the face of a house salad. In the case of The Old Bay the garden salad comes with mixed leaf greens, grape tomatoes, carrots, and mushrooms, and your choice of dressing. As always, if you limit or omit the dressing you’ve got a great meal here and possibly concession-free—hard to argue with that!

Okay, confession time. I’ve actually eaten at The Old Bay. So, what did I ordered? Drum-roll please, actually it’s not that dramatic. I had the Garden Salad with a teeny-tiny amount of balsamic vinaigrette. It was pretty good. It’s hard to muck up a salad. My friend I was eating with—she is not an Eat to Liver—ordered the Wild Mushroom Mini Pizza and the Fried Calamari Creole. Now, she ordered the pizza with the cheese, so I didn’t touch it, but it did look good and without cheese I think it’d still be very tasty. I don’t need to talk about the fried calamari do I?

Well, there it is. Eating to Live on the Outside Cajun-style. I’m sure a Cajun restaurant in New Jersey isn’t the best representation of Creole cooking, so maybe it is a lot better than this, but as far as The Old Bay is concerned I doubt it’ll become a hotspot for Eat to Livers. But what do you think? Check out The Old Bay’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well. Peace!

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As you know, my favorite Eating to Live on the Outside restaurant is New York City’s Sacred Chow. In fact, I was there again this past weekend. Now, this week’s installment isn’t about Sacred Chow, rather, it’s about another New York City eatery right down the road. I haven’t eaten their yet, but, Red Bamboo certainly has some potential. Let’s take a look-see.

Red Bamboo serves up vegetarian cuisine, and, it certainly lives up to its namesake. The only immediate gripe I have about the menu is the tremendous amounts of faux-meat products like tofu chicken, bacon, fish, and seitan. I’ve got nothing deep-rooted against this stuff. I just don’t like them all that much. I rather eat wholesome fruits and vegetables—you know?

Alright, let’s start with the appetizers. I like the steamed Edamame the best, but I’d nix the sea salt. There’re also a few dumplings and rolls that I might give a look. Combined the Asian Dumplings, Spring Rolls, and the Thai Vegetable Rolls are made with spinach, cabbage, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, mixed green salad, soy-ginger dipping sauce, carrots, bean sprouts, soy protein, jicama, basil, rice paper, and soy-lime dipping sauce. Certainly lots of good stuff! I’m not sure about the soy protein and I’d probably go without either dipping sauce—I don’t want all that salt!

And like always, the salads present a lot of opportunity. The House Salad works; prepared with mixed field greens, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, mushrooms, and carrot-ginger dressing. Limit that dressing and you’re good! My favorite—because it is so exotic—is the Sea Vegetable Salad. It includes wakame, sesame hijiki, mixed greens, cucumbers, carrots, onions, bean sprouts, and house dressing. I love me some wakame! Again, watch that dressing. The Roasted Vegetable Salad and the Mediterranean Salad are also neat; combined they’re made with Portabello mushrooms, shallots, green peppers, red peppers, beets, sundried tomatoes, mixed greens, toasted walnuts, sherry-wine vinaigrette, field greens, seaweed, grilled tofu, kalamata olives, and house dressing. Personally, I’d probably ditch the tofu—not really my thing—I’d also can the olives and go easy on the dressing. All and all, pretty good!

There are some interesting vegetable entrees too. My favorite is the Grilled Vegetable Platter. They make it with grilled yellow squash, zucchini, red onions, Portabello mushrooms, and brown or white rice. I’d order it with brown rice, and, I’d just like to say—grilled yellow squash is fantastic! Yummy! The Stuffed Portabello Mushroom is up my alley as well. It’s prepared with a large Portabello mushroom, minced red pepper, garlic, basil, fresh cilantro, and mixed greens. It’s hard to beat Portabellos! Another two options might be the Teriyaki Vegetable Stir-Fry and the Black Bean Ginger Stir-Fry. Now, these are okay if you can get past the whole “fried” thing. I don’t really like fried food, but, I’m a very good boy with my eating, so I might consider one of these. Together they  include zucchini, yellow squash, carrots, asparagus, cauliflower, broccoli, sweet teriyaki glaze, garden vegetables, Cantonese black bean, chili ginger glaze, and white or brown rice. Naturally, I’d go with the brown rice for either of these. How do you feel about stir-fried dishes?

Okay, if all this doesn’t turn you on, try this. Honestly, this is an idea that I’m increasingly warming up too. Make a meal out of the sides! And Red Bamboo has some really killer sides. Here are the ones that caught my eye: sweet corn mashed potatoes, garden salad, collard greens, hijiki with carrots, steamed mixed vegetables, and mango salsa. Well, I love collard greens, I eat collard greens many-many times a month—oh, and who doesn’t love steamed veggies? Alright, here’s my combination. I’d order the sweet corn mashed potatoes, collard greens, and the steamed mixed vegetables, and, I’d order the garden salad as an appetizer. What do you think about that?

I been in New York City a lot lately, so, I think the likelihood of me hitting up Red Bamboo is pretty good. And rest assured, if I do, I’ll certainly blog my hot little hands off about it. But now it’s your turn. Check out Red Bamboo’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. And please, make a comment or send me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well! Peace.

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This week Eating to Live on the Outside heads all the way to California, home of the Sage Grill, and, it’s a toughie. Not the most daunting menu we’ve ever encountered, but not the easiest either. I’d say it’s middle-of-the-road, but, there’s only one way to know for sure—let’s hit it!

Surprisingly there are a couple options under Burgers & Sandwiches. First is the salmon burger. Salmon is a low-risk fish (provided it isn’t Atlantic Salmon), so that’s good. It’s prepared with Muenster, dill aioli, and an Italian herb ciabatta. Well, the cheese is history. After that, the concessions would be the oil and the bread. I’m not thrilled about it, it’s not my first choice, but, at least the salmon has lots of healthy fats.

The Artichoke & Basil Sandwich could work too. It includes artichoke hearts, spinach, basil, tomatoes, parmesan, garlic, capers, balsamic vinegar, and focaccia. Okay, the parmesan and the capers are gone, making the bread the only concession. It’s not a slam-dunk, but it’s an option—I guess.

The salads have the most potential, well, all but Spinach Goat Cheese Salad and the Caesar Salad. In general, an Eat to Liver ordering a Caesar Salad is a big waste of time. My favorite salad is the Sage House Salad; made with romaine lettuce, organic baby greens, cherry tomatoes, Asiago, and champagne vinaigrette. Once I cut the cheese—pun intended—it looks pretty good to me. Provided I go easy on the pesky salad dressing. What do you think?

Other salad options could be the Grilled Tiger Prawn Salad and the Club Salad; combined they’re prepared with tiger prawns, organic baby greens, tomatoes, Pomelo orange, citrus fruits, mango vinaigrette, romaine lettuce, roasted chicken, applewood bacon, avocado, and blue cheese dressing. Alright, if you eighty-six the prawns, chicken, bacon, and blue cheese dressing, I think you’re sitting pretty. Remember just focus on those phytonutrient-packed veggies—yippee!

Outside of the salads, it really gets iffy—I’ve certainly said that before. I originally thought the Miso Black Cod was an option, but, when I checked it out on OceansAlive—wow! Cod isn't exactly safe, so I scratched that idea. The Pan-Fried Buttermilk Catfish also gets the axe, because of the fried and the buttermilk—egad! Even the Saffron Salmon is bad news. Why? Isn’t salmon a safe fish? It is according to OceansAlive, but this is Atlantic Salmon and Atlantic Salmon is an Eco Worst and a Health Concern—screw that!

Now if none of these strikes your fancy, try this strategy. Make a meal out of a bunch of sides. Here’s what I have in mind, a plate of roasted new potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and sautéed organic baby spinach. Hopefully none of these are cooked in any animal products or excessive amounts of oil. If they’re not, I think this is a solid option—any thoughts?

There are also some soups you can toy with, but, in my experience eating out, most soups—even the vegetable soups—are made with chicken broth. Personally, meat broths kind of revolt me. So instead of interrogating the wait staff about it, I usually order something else, most likely a salad. I can say quite honestly, nine times out of ten, when I eat outside my home, I order a salad—stick with what works!

Like I said, not the worst restaurant we’ve encountered, but certainly not a Fuhrman-friendly paradise. I often wonder, if it wasn’t for the inventor of the salad, I’d never leave the house. Okay, your turn. Check out Sage Grill’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well!

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I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m a Jersey guy; born and breed. An Italian from New Jersey—go figure! Now, all kidding aside, Jersey is a great place for food. But, in my experience doing Eating to Live on the Outside I can tell you New Jersey is not unlike other states. Sure, we got healthy eateries, like Mesob and Fresh Food Kitchen, but there’s also plenty of IHOP’s, Panera Breads, and Friday’s to go around. This week’s restaurant certainly falls towards the latter.

One of my Jersey stomping grounds is the town of New Brunswick—home of Rutgers University—and, Old Man Rafferty’s is a local favorite. Not of mine, I’ve never been—and thank goodness for that! Because I’m looking at the menu right now and it doesn't look good. It’s positively loaded with all the trappings of the standard American diet; cheese, bacon, beef, bread, chips, etc, etc. But, I’m dedicated to my craft, so, I’m going in. To the Eat to Live mobile boy wonder!

First off, Old Man Rafferty’s has two menus—lunch/dinner and dessert—I’m nixing the dessert menu. I hardly think ice cream, cake, and fudge are Fuhrman-friendly. Onto the lunch/dinner menu! Alright, what do we have here?

I see a few salads I like—I know what you’re thinking, “What a shock!” Hardly, but I’m a big salad guy, so I don’t mind. I’m digging the Italian Country Salad—for obvious reasons—it’s prepared with mesclun greens, poached pears, gorgonzola cheese, candied walnuts, and sherry wine vinaigrette. Ciao cheese and candied walnuts! After you say goodbye to those two unsavory characters, you’re left with a pretty basic salad.

If this is too boring for you, give Rafferty’s House Salad a whirl; made with romaine lettuce, baby lettuce, fresh vegetables, tomatoes, cucumbers, and your choice of dressing. I love cucumbers! Not as much as I love avocado, but they’re great. I’d probably just drizzle some balsamic vinegar over all this which makes it a pretty tasty pile of veggies if you ask me.

Another option is the Tuna Nicoise. Now, I know tuna isn’t the safest fish to eat, considering it high mercury content, but, if I were to order this it would be the first time in long time that I’ve eaten tuna, and, I certainly wouldn’t be in any rush to eat it again! It’s prepared with Boston Bibb lettuce, radicchio lettuce, plum tomatoes, red bliss potatoes, red onion, hard boiled egg, black olives, hearts of palm, grilled tuna, and a lemon & roasted garlic vinaigrette. Lots of stuff! Well, I’m ditching the egg and the olives, and, keeping the dressing to a minimum. Sounds goods, don’t you agree?

Okay, outside of the salads, things get dicey—don’t they always? Maybe the Stir Fry is an option. I say maybe because I’m really not into fried food, but for veggies, I sometimes make an allowance—sometimes. Its prepared white meat chicken or shrimp, assorted vegetables, sesame oil, stir fry sauce, sticky rice, and lo mein noodles. Yeah, it’s a little rough. Well, if you ditch the chicken or shrimp and the noodles. The only things you’re stuck contending with are the noodles and the sesame oil. Now, this isn’t my first choice, but, if the mood struck me, I might consider ordering. Might being the key word—what do you think?

The Grilled Salmon Filet is cool. I like it because it’s served with red bliss potatoes and asparagus—asparagus rocks! In fact, I’ve regularly seen Dr. Fuhrman himself munching on some. Quite a sight, the man is ravenous for his veggies. In addition to the vegetables and the salmon filet, the dish is topped off with a lemon black pepper vinaigrette. Honestly, I can live with the whole shebang. Especially since Dr. Fuhrman considers salmon to be a low mercury risk.

Old Man Rafferty’s also serves up a Veggie Burger. Now, I’m not really into veggie burgers, but this one has intrigued me. It’s made with whole grains, chopped vegetables, and soy beans—very cool! Here’s the problem, it’s served on a hard roll, with fries, coleslaw, and a pickle. I dig the pickle, but everything else makes me gag! So, I’d take the bread hit and keep the roll, but instead of the fries and coleslaw I’d order a salad to go along with it. I think that works.

Now, even though I hangout in New Brunswick fairly often, I can’t say I’ll be dropping by Old Man Rafferty’s anytime soon. Outside of the dishes I mentioned the rest of the menu is no man’s land for an Eat to Liver. But maybe I’m crazy—my mother says I am—so, it’s your turn. Check out Old Man Rafferty’s menu and tell me how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well!

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