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

Happy Friday! Let’s go on a journey, a digital journey. Fire up the internet, we’re heading to The Vegetable Garden in Rockville, Maryland. And this place is loaded with veggie fare.

It took me awhile and several run-throughs to decide what I’d eat. So, after much deliberation, here’s of list of things I might order. Have a look:

Whole Wheat Steamed Dumplings

• Wheat flour, green chard, carrots, firm tofu and rice vermicelli; the vermicelli is a little iffy, but the chard is cool.

Spinach Roll

• Spinach, sesame and sesame dressing; rock on spinach!

Asparagus Seaweed Roll

• Fresh asparagus, carrots, lettuce, sea salt and sesame dressing; skipping the salt, but everything else is fine.

Vegetable Garden Salad

• Romaine lettuces, carrot, red cabbage, cucumber, grape tomato, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, roasted pine nuts, mandarin orange, dried cranberries and rice vinegar dressing; I’d get the dressing on the side.

Mugwort Soba Noodle Salad

• Wheat flour, buckwheat flour, sea salt, mugwort leaves, organic radicchio, organic cabbage, organic Romaine lettuce, organic carrots, organic maple syrup, organic marukan rice vinegar, black-pepper, roasted sesame seed, roasted sliced almond and virgin olive oil; I’ll ditch the salt and ask for the oil on the side.

Asparagus with Oyster Mushroom

• Yuba, oyster mushroom, asparagus and brown sauce; I’d ask about the brown sauce, the asparagus is awesome.

Eight Treasure Eggplant

• Dried eggplant, shitake mushrooms, yellow squash, zucchini, red bell pepper, lily bulb, pine nuts, dried cranberries, cashew nuts, firm tofu and spicy sauce; just ask about the sauce, otherwise a ton of veggies!

Bamboo Raft

• Marinated yuba, celery, carrots, asparagus, shiitake mushrooms, jicama, steamed green cabbage leaves, curry and coconut milk sauce; go easy on the sauce.

Lo Hen Cantaloupe

• Yuba, cucumber celery, butternut squash, jicama, cantaloupe, black mushrooms, pecans, cashews, dried cranberries, curry and coconut sauce; same deal, watch the sauce.

Pearl Squash

• Butternut squash, fresh lily bulb, ginger, red bell peppers, beets and light black bean sauce; watch that sauce again.

Jian Pao Vegi-Gourmet

• Asparagus, firm tofu, lily bulb, sugar snap peas, oyster mushroom, yellow squash, red bell pepper and spicy sauce; yup, again with the sauce.

Bean Nest

• Red kidney beans, chic peas, baby lima, lentil, adzuki beans, pinto beans, black soy beans and brown sauce; all those beans, I wonder what will happen.

Alright, that is a lot of food to choose from. I mean come on! Now, as for my exact order, I’d either get the Vegetable Garden Salad, Bean Nest or any number of the veggie rolls.

I give The Vegetable Garden the seal of approval, but what about you? Check out their menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside.

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Our hunger drive craves volume. A key skill that you are developing for your health is the ability to eat large volumes of raw and cooked, high-nutrient, low-calorie foods every single day. This means eating lots of vegetables.

When you are actively trying to lose weight, you should strive to satisfy your volume requirements first, before addressing the other dimensions of hunger. This may feel strange at first because you may not immediately feel satisfied by the higher volume of food. This is because you are accustomed to eating large quantities of high-calorie foods that cause a dopamine rush, a rush that low-calorie foods don’t deliver. However, your body will adjust, be less dependent on the dopamine surge in the brain, and will gradually become more and more satisfied with fewer calories. Give yourself time, and use the knowledge you have gained. Striving to fulfill your body’s volume and nutrient requirements can help you resolve food cravings and your toxic hunger.

The trick to get you to desire fewer calories faster is to eat lots of these high-volume, high-nutrient foods. You are already familiar with these, but many of the foods that you have been incorporating into your diet because of their nutrient values are also great tools in meeting your volume requirements. They include:

• Raw Vegetables: lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, celery, anise, snow pea pods, carrots, beets, cucumbers, water chestnuts, red cabbage, onion

• Most Fresh Fruits: melons, oranges, grapefruits, apples, kiwis, berries, papaya

• Cooked Green Vegetables: Brussels sprouts, string beans, artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Chinese cabbage, bok choy

• Other Non-Green Vegetables: mushrooms, eggplant, sun-dried tomatoes, onions, bean sprouts, cauliflower, spaghetti squash

Especially on holidays and days when you know that you will be around a lot of unhealthy foods, pre-fill with these high-nutrient, low-calorie foods. Never go to a party or event with an empty stomach. Eat a large salad with assorted raw vegetables and a bowl of vegetable soup before going to the places that may tempt your desire to eat unhealthily. Being healthy is about being in control. You must control your hunger, and the more low-calorie, high-volume foods you consume, the less high-calorie food you will be able to eat. When you increase these super healthy foods in your diet, you will feel less temptation, and you will be in control of your food cravings and appetite.

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After a week off, Eating to Live on the Outside is back. And today I found Grezzo Restaurant in Boston and it’s got a lot of potential. Grezzo serves up a ton of veggies!

Having flipped through their online menu, here’s a bunch of things I’d consider ordering. Some are pretty wild and very unique, take a look:

Winter Melon Stew

• Watermelon broth, Santa Claus melon, honeydew and lavender; interesting, I’ve never even heard of Santa Claus melon!

Caesar Salad

• Creamy lemon and dulse vinaigrette, baby iceberg lettuce, red onion, eggplant bacon and garlic croutons; I’ll skip the croutons and since they don’t use animal products, I’m curious to see what eggplant bacon is.

House Salad

• Baby lettuce, house-made cheese, croutons and green goddess vinaigrette; same deal with the croutons and don’t worry about the cheese, its nut cheese.

Big House Salad

• Baby lettuce, marinated and pickled vegetables, raw red wine vinaigrette, herbed cheese and croutons; again with the croutons.

Baby Arugula Salad

• Pickled asparagus, baby arugula grapefruit, marcona almonds and soaked currants; I love asparagus!

Marinated Shiitake Mushroom and European Cucumber Salad

• Baby iceberg, fresh garbanzos, marinated shiitake mushrooms, cucumbers and orange Thai chili cream; looks good.

Land and Sea

• Maitake mushrooms, yellow oyster mushrooms, honshimeji mushrooms, ricotta, dulse and Maine coast kelp; wow, that’s a lot of mushrooms, although the kelp might be salty.

Like I said, pretty exotic. But if I had to choose, I’d probably go with the Land and Sea or the Big House Salad. All those mushrooms intrigue me and a salad is always a great idea.

But what would you order? Check out Grezzo’s menu and let me know how you handle Eating to Live on the Outside. Just make a comment. If  not, I'll kick your butt—kidding.

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