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

When did breakfast become synonymous with bacon and eggs? All the breakfast cafés I’ve been to are loaded with wall to wall eggs, bacon, sausage, cheese, and other griddle thingies, and, The Flying Biscuit Café, pretty much continues the tread.

Clearly, I’ve got my work cut out for me. As expected The Flying Biscuit Café has plenty of omelets, creamy dairy, smoked meat, and bread to go around, but, are they’re at least one or two nutritarian-type dishes to found? Could an Eat to Liver make this work? Let’s see.

First up, is the all-day breakfast. Now, I know Dr. Fuhrman considers eggs to be a cleaner and safer animal food, but, eggs just aren’t for me, but by ditching the eggs, I’m seriously cutting down the menu. So, what’s left? Well, as far as the breakfast goes, not much. The Organic Oatmeal Pancakes might work (provided they’re not cooked on a greasy griddle); three cakes, topped peach compote and served maple syrup. It could be worse! At least the oats are organic, peach is a fruit, and the maple syrup is served on the side—it kind of works.

Alright, onto the appetizers—unless you think I should spend time examining the Pasta, Sausage & Eggs—that’s what I thought, moving on. The appetizers are a little better and by “better” I mean there’s ONE item I’d order without reservation. Take a guess what it is? A salad! Of course it’s a salad. According to the menu the House Salad is field greens tossed with balsamic vinaigrette and a Flying Biscuit. Personally, I’ll make the biscuit fly alright. I’m tossing it out the window, and, getting that dressing on the side. Good idea?

Let’s see what the favorites have in store for us. Okay, this is better. I like the Vegan BBQ Burrito; barbecued tofu, collard greens, mushrooms, sun dried tomato tortilla, and topped with salsa verde. Well, the barbecued tofu does give me pause. It’s probably a little salty and burnt, but since I seldom eat this sort of thing, I could roll with it. Same goes for the tortilla. Overall, not a bad option, I’m definitely digging the collard greens—actually, I’m eating some right now!

Cool, we’ve reached the salad portion of the menu. As we all know, salads are a great place for the panicking Eat to Liver to find refuge. Not all of The Flying Biscuit Café’s salads are winners, but I see two I could work with. First is the Warm Chicken Salad; grilled chicken breast, oven-roasted rosemary potatoes, bleu cheese, field greens, and balsamic vinaigrette. Relax! The cheese and chicken are history. Next I like the Tofu & Tater Salad; tamari-marinated tofu, oven-roasted rosemary potatoes, field greens, feta cheese, red onion, and balsamic vinaigrette. Adios cheese! And you guessed it, dressing on the side.

And to close the show, let’s scope out the sandwiches. Okay, I see two I really like. The Hummus Wrap and The Angel Burger are cool; combined they include sun dried tomato tortilla, rosemary potatoes, lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, feta, veggie-grain patty, and roasted red pepper mustard. For starters, the bread and tortilla are concessions, but beyond that I’d nix the feta. Provided you can get past the bread, you’ve got lots of yummy veggies to enjoy—hello phytonutrients—nice!

Well, there you have it. The Flying Biscuit Café is certainly in the mold of standard American restaurants, but, they are clearly making an attempt to offer some healthier options. So, despite all the eggs, cheese, bacon, and sausage, I have to give them a little kudos, but what do you think? It’s your turn! I’m putting YOU to work. Check out The Flying Biscuit Café’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 next time, eat greatly! Peace.

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In tribute to the Giants surprising trip to the NFL AFC championship game, Eating to Live on the Outside is heading back to the big apple. Let me point out, I’m not a Giants fan, so I’m doing this under protest—GO RAIDERS—alright, time to check out NYC’s own, Souen.

According to their website Souen is an “Organic Macrobiotic Restaurant.” Well, this is certainly a promising start. Oh! If you don’t know what macrobiotic is, just Wikipedia it. In short, people who are macrobiotic eat a lot of whole foods and avoid refined and processed food; its “kind of” Fuhrman-ish. Okay, lets crack this menu open!

First up are the soups. Now, at this past weekend’s event at the Beaver Brook Country Club Dr. Fuhrman pointed out that you should never order soup at a restaurant because most of these soups are loaded with salt. He’s right, but to be honest, most food cooked outside the house is salt bombarded. Hence my whole rap about concessions and not eating out very often.

So, if I felt like enduring a salt hit, I’d go with the Hayato Soup; a big bowl of mixed vegetables in a miso soup. Hey, it’s hard to beat mixed vegetables! Now, there is a Wakame Soup on the menu and I love wakame, but wakame is really salty and this soup has sesame oil too, so, I’ll pass.

Next, I’m skipping the breads and jumping to the Salads. Honestly, they all work. Here’s the two that really turned me on. The Green Garden Salad looks yummy; heaps of greens, watercress, raddichio, endive, daikon radish threads, grated beets, and sesame vinaigrette. Beets! You got to love that. The Cucumber Salad is cool too. It’s pretty basic, just slices of cucumber tossed with akatosaka seaweed, carrot, and sesame vinaigrette. The seaweed might be a tad salty, but I can live with it. Overall, if you go easy on or omit the dressing, these are both solid options.

Now, there’s a bunch of stuff under Small Plates. Most of them are iffy, but, I like the Edamame and the Sauteed Greens. The Edamame is just steamed soy beans in the pod and the Sauteed Greens are dark leafy greens sautéed in olive oil and garlic. Let’s start with the greens. Clearly the olive and sautéing is the concession—I can deal with it. The soy beans might have a concession too. I’ve found that occasionally these beans are salted. Before I’d order them, I’d ask the wait staff, but overall edamame beans are really great.

The Daily Fare looks good. There’s a bunch of things I’d order; the vegetable summer roll, bean of the day, avocado, steamed vegetables, grain of the day, hijiki seaweed, and steamed greens. Heck, I could make a meal out of these and be more than happy about it. I’d probably order the bean of the day, some avocado, steamed vegetables, and the steamed greens. The awesome part about all this is its concession-free—sweet!

I love some of the Vegetarian Entrees, namely the Macro Plate, Broccoli Tofu, Inspired Vegetable Curry, and the Kuzu Stew. Combine they’re made with beans, hijiki seaweed, steamed greens, vegetables, rice, broccoli, vegetables, scrambled tofu, onion, carrot, kabocha squash, white mushrooms, snap peas, a turmeric-curry-ginger broth, cauliflower, snow peas, shiitake mushrooms, tamari, and apple juice. Lots of good stuff! I don’t see really anything alarming here. Do you?

Okay, the rest of the menu is comprised of fish dishes, noodle-based entrees, desserts, and beverages. Now, as I’ve said many times before. I do eat fish, but, when confronted with all these veggie options, I wouldn’t order any fish. Take a moment and acknowledge my continued growth as a nutritarian—thank you, thank you.

But as for the beverages, there are some cool juices. Yes, I know, in one of today’s posts I say I don’t drink a lot of juice. I’m not lying, I really don’t, but sometimes, some very tempting juices do come along. All three of Souen’s are cool; Organic Fresh Squeezed Juice (apple, carrot, beet, ginger, celery, cucumber), Carrot with Ginger, and Carrot with Mixed Vegetables. I wouldn’t binge drink on any of these, but, I’d certainly give them a whirl. How about you?

Well, unlike the Giants this weekend, I like a nutritarian’s chances of finding a great meal at Souen. My friend swears by it. She said she usually orders the Miso Soup and apparently, Souen also offers an incredible Chef Salad that isn’t on the menu. Now that is certainly worth a look! Speaking of looking, it’s your turn. Scope out Souen’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. As always, make a comment or send me an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well. Peace.

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Whoa! I’m reeling. Between the news that blogging is hazardous to my health and the aftershocks of last week’s Eating to Live on the Outside nightmare, Buffalo's Southwest Café, I’m in need of saving. Oh please, oh please! Let this week’s restaurant be more palatable.

Now, like avenging angels, loyal DiseaseProof readers Jayson and Julie, swooped in and splattered this on my windshield. So, today Eating to Live on the Outside is paying Main Squeeze Natural Foods Café a visit. Well, not literally, via the powers of the internet—BEHOLD!

Main Squeeze is actually looking pretty good. It’s not perfect, but far better than Buffalo’s Southwest Café...of premature death. Now, there are some pesky things to deal with, like cheese, bread, and eggs, but nothing as bad as last week’s grilled pork chop and fried cheesecake. Alright, time to put Jayson and Julie’s recommendation to the test. Let’s hit it!

Okay, breakfast is my favorite meal of the day and lucky for me. Main Squeeze has some solid breakfast options, four in fact. I like the Aussie Platter, the Mediterranean Scrambler, the Fruit Salad, and the Low Carb Scrambler—and yes, the name of that last one gave me the heebeegeebees too. Combined, these dishes include scrambled eggs or tofu, steamed spinach, soysage, wholegrain toast or corn muffin, tomato, scallions, spinach, broccoli, Monterey Jack cheese, peppers, onions, Feta cheese, and seasonal or organic fruit. Alright, I’m ditching the eggs—even though Dr. Fuhrman considers eggs to be a safer animal food—the soysage, cheese, and wholegrain toast or corn muffin have also got to go. In the end, you’re left with a nice array of veggies to go with that tofu.

Next up are the soups and salads. Honestly, I like them all. They’re all loaded with tasty veggies—like spinach, beets, sunflower seeds, and almonds—but I really like Nell’s 7 Layer and Babette’s Feast. Nell’s 7 Layer is prepared with lettuce, cabbage, carrot, beet, tomato, cucumber, sunflower seeds, and sprouts. Come on! It’s hard to beat beets. Now, Babette’s Feast is made with spinach, apple, beet, red onion, Swiss cheese, and almonds. Clearly, the cheese is out the window, but other then that, they’re both looking really great. Oh! And I’d be sure to go easy on the dressing.

There are also some options lurking in the sandwiches and wraps. They’ve go some teeny-tiny concession, but nothing earth-shattering. For example, the Super Mario sandwich is prepared on a baguette with hummus, roasted peppers, spinach, tomato, red onion, Feta cheese, and topped with a roasted red pepper dressing. Again, the cheese gets the heave-ho, but, I’d obviously keep the baguette and the hummus. The baguette is a concession because its bread and the hummus most likely has some sort of oil. I can live with both of them, especially if I order the dressing on the side. Two more decent options would be the Good Fortune Wrap and the Garden Burrito; together they include tofu, brown rice, carrot, spinach, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, sesame ginger dressing, grilled tortilla, beans, Monterey Jack cheese, beets, sprouts, salsa, and lettuce. For starters, I’m ditching the cheese, but keeping everything else, meaning the concessions would be the tortilla and the brown rice—no biggie!

As for the hot dishes, I’m digging the Buddha Bowl and the Peggy Plate. The Buddha Bowl is made with brown rice, tofu, carrot, broccoli, cabbage, scallions, sesame seeds, sprouts, and sesame ginger sauce. The concession would be the brown the rice, I can deal with it. I’d also order the sesame ginger sauce on the side. The Peggy Plate comes with brown rice, beans, the vegetable of the day, and lemon tahini. Looks cool to me! I’m currently on the edge of my seat thinking about the veggie of the day.

Finally, Main Squeeze offers some fresh juice combinations too. Personally, I’m not that big on juice—aside from my shot of pomegranate juice every morning—but, if you’re feeling adventurous, they all looking pretty nutrient-dense. The Ring of Fire is neat; it’s made with apple, orange, beet, and ginger. The Elvis Parsley is fun too. It’s a blend of carrot, celery, spinach, parsley, and beet—interesting, very-very interesting.

Well, I got to hand it to Jayson and Julie. They picked a winner here. Usually when I pick a winner, I just stick it under my desk. Kudos guys! Okay boys and girls. It’s your turn. Are Jayson and Julie really onto something? Scope out Main Squeeze’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. As always, make a comment or send an email to diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat healthfully! Peace.

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Have you ever been punched in the stomach? I mean really had the wind knocked out of you. Well, in case you haven’t. Just check out the menu for this week’s restaurant. Without question, Buffalo’s Southwest Café is a Mike Tyson sized wallop to the gullet—Wham!

Even a casual Eat to Liver would be hard-pressed to find SOMETHING acceptable on this menu, but, let’s knuckle up, strap on our helmet, snitch up our gloves, and step into the ring. Oh man, this has all the symptoms of a David versus Goliath rematch.

Okay, the World Famous Wings and the Starters aren’t exactly cutting the mustard. They might however, help you cut the cheese, because they’re loaded with ooey-gooey mozzarella, pepper jack, and white cheese. Not exactly nutrient-dense eating!

Now, beyond the appetizers and wings, it’s not going to get any better. The Steak & Favorites, Sweet Stuff, Outlaw Burgers, Lunch Stampede, Hand Helds, and the Mixed Grill are quite simply the antithesis of healthy eating. In fact, this stuff is the food of nightmares.

But hey, maybe I’m wrong. What do you think? Is there something redeeming about a grilled pork chop topped with bourbon roasted apples and brown sugar—those poor apples—or what about fried cheesecake wrapped in a flaky tortilla, topped with ice cream and raspberry sauce? If you think either of these are an option, please sit quietly and hang your head in shame.

Alright, I had to dig deep here, but, I think there might be a couple Fuhrman-friendly options under Soups & Salads and Southwest Specialties. However, before I proceed, let me say this, I don’t think they’re slam dunks, just the best this hellish menu has to offer.

The best salad I see is the Buffalo’s Cobb Salad; fresh greens, crisp bacon, cheddar jack cheese, black bean & corn salsa, bleu cheese crumbles, fresh tomato salsa, and chicken. The word “best” is relative here. Clearly, the bacon, cheese, and chicken have got to go, and, I’m skipping the dressing entirely. After that you’ve got something that at least resembles healthy food.

Another option might be the Sonora Salmon Salad. It’s made with grilled salmon, mixed greens, tomatoes, bacon, bleu cheese crumbles, and chipotle-ranch dressing. Well, the bacon, bleu cheese, and dressing are history, and, I’d probably go with a little vinaigrette dressing. Overall, it’s not great, but, it works. Oh! And if I got the fish, I’d wait a few weeks before I’d eat fish again.

Onto the Southwest Specialties, I could go with either the Black & Bleu Salmon or the Chimayo Mahi-Mahi; combined they include salmon filet, southwest seasoning, chipotle sauce, bleu cheese, steamed veggies, rice, mahi-mahi filet, jalapeno butter, and black bean & corn salsa. Now, after I nix the chipotle sauce, bleu cheese, and jalapeno butter, I could go with either of these, but again, I’d wait a while before I’d dine on fish.

Well, I feel like I just went twelve rounds with Evander Holyfield. My head is spinning, and, my stomach is turning. Buffalo’s Southwest Café is a standard American disaster. Lots of junk, “good ole fashioned America food,” and we’ve seen how good this stuff has worked out. I can’t image ever eating at a place like this.

Restaurants like Buffalo’s Southwest Café are a shining example why so many Americans are having heart attacks and are hopped up on statins and blood pressure medications, but, maybe I’m wrong. After all, I’m just a loony blogger. Tell me what you think. Check out Buffalo’s Southwest Café’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Make a comment or shoot me an email at diseaseproof@gmail.com. Until then, eat well, or at least try to. Peace.

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