SNACKING AS A GOUT SUFFERER

On the subject of gout, that wicked joint pain, swelling of the big toe, or ankles, or anywhere the uric acid wants to make home on your skeletal frame. Eating well, to keep the weight down, sodium down, sugar down, and the uric acid levels down. The uric acid can be a nightmare because not only does it manifest into gout, it can also morph into kidney stones, I've never had that, but I've had friends who claim that is very painful. Imagine trying to pee, and that stuff is stuck inside of your thing? I'd rather have a swollen toe thank you. No, I don't want kidney stones, nor do I want any more swollen joints, that sucks big time! So let's get into snacking because we all get a little hungry during the course of the day, and eating clean and healthy will help the uric acid stay out of the hurt zone.

Want to know what I been snacking on? I'll tell you right now this is what I've been snacking on, and it's no longer Lay's chips, or Snicker bars, or M&Ms. I'm trying my best to snack on more plant based foods.

Apples: I'll buy an apple, any apple, wash it, and slice it thin into chips, sprinkle some lemon juice on there so it doesn't get all brown, and put it in a ziplock bag. (Good bye potato chips)

Oranges: I peel the orange, and break each member apart and bag it. Lots of vitamin C, good for the cells, good for building the immune system.

Pineapple: OK this one, is a chore, I can't stand slicing pineapples, just do. But I'll slice it into various shapes, slices, chunks, and bag it, chill it, and have some of it with ice cold water. Sounds good?

Bananas: I slice the bananas into mini disks, and spread organic peanut butter on them, that's better than eating candy.

Pickled cucumbers, you can buy them at your favorite market. If you can't get them, simply slice some cucumbers very thin, and place them in a jar. Add a little water, some sugar and vinegar, and let it sit in the fridge.

Organic brownies: OK it's kind of sweet too, however if you can get fresh baked ones from your local vegan deli, chances are those brownies are made with real raw sugar, and zero fructose. At least it's not filled with preservatives that's engineered. I know I've made fun of the organic crowd, but hey, tell me this, would you eat a fruit that you knew was grown all natural, or a fruit that was sprayed with poison? Only if you knew of course. So why not go for more natural foods, God made us natural, we should eat natural just the same.

Now it took me a while to get used to not eating the Lay's Sour Cream & Onion chips, or those Asian salty rice crackers, or those artificial shrimp (flavored chips). I got used to eating that junk, and it has to be that junk that is causing my health to go south! Let's all try to eat healthier.  And here's the thing guys, try eating an organic fruit. You will feel fuller, you won't be hungry, why? Because all the God's given nutrients are in there, all the stuff we need for survival. We can't get nutrition from junk. Common sense right?

Until the next blog take care!

© 2017

SOY SAUCE WATERED DOWN

Soy sauce. You've all had it by now right? Go to a ramen joint, and there it is, that clear bottle with that dark colored liquid, with that red cap. Have a bowl of good ramen, you add a little dash of it and away you go into ramen orgasmic ecstasy. Growing up soy sauce or (shoyu) was a go to condiment as well as marinade. I put soy sauce on everything. Mom made sunny side ups, it was soy sauce at the ready. Dad cooked us pork adobo, though it was salty enough, I had the soy sauce at the ready Freddy! And I mean I used to pour a quarter of that bottle on everything. Kikkoman was the brand, and ask anyone in my age group or older, that stuff came in metal rectangular containers and not plastic like today. When the thing was empty, we'd cut it out to use as dust pans, or Tahitian drummers used it to make a great sounding drum, though it would get beaten to hell. And as a mayonnaise fan, man soy sauce in mayo, that mix was the bomb on fried fish, or chicken sandwiches. It's amazing I didn't have a quad by-pass yet. 

So what is soy sauce? It is made from fermented soybean paste, and manufactured into the dark liquid we see in many an Asian food dive. Simple right? Don't get me looking into it, that's boring. We have it, we can buy it, that's all you need to know. Shit, go check out Alton Brown, he must have all the fucking answers. Anyhoooo, on with this condiment.

A lot of people with gout, or hypertension need to minimize the use of this sauce, because it is salty and sodium filled to kill. I've heard of stories where guys getting drafted would drink shit loads of it so their blood pressure was raised so much so that they couldn't pass the physical. Cowards! Nah just kidding, if I got drafted I really don't know man. Canada? Nah. I'd go. But it's freeeeeking salty man. Even the marketed Low Sodium versions are salty. I find it best to buy regular soy sauce, any brand you like, and just add water to it, and taste it. Too salty add more water, too watery add more soy sauce it's simple as that. 

So what this blog is really about is eating healthy, watering down a soy sauce can still give you joy in eating your favorite chow fun, meat jun, or ramen. Keep it healthy, don't be too salty if you get my drift. Haha. And here's the thing, let's say you invite people over to your cookout, and you're making Korean BBQ ribs, and your uncle Tom has high blood pressure, well, make him a marinade that is watered down, you can cut that sodium level by more than 50-75 % for sure, and you can still taste the soy sauce. Seriously. I should be a soy sauce sommelier. Haha.

Good luck eating healthy guys.

A table setting soy sauce from Kikkoman

DOUBLE CHEESE BURGER AND GOUT

How's everyone doing? I'm going to blog about double cheeseburgers and gout. Now I suffer from gout, and I'm trying my best to lose a few pounds, keep my blood pressure down, and uric acid levels down as well, and also the sugar levels too. So here's the deal for all you gout sufferers. You need to know what may have triggered your gout episode. Was it fatty pork bellies? Bacon? An all you can eat crab leg buffet in Vegas? Once you know what actually triggers your gout attacks, all you need to do is don't eat those foods that keep you bed ridden. So a friend of mine asked me if eating a double cheeseburger was bad for him since he as well is a gout sufferer. 

"Ron, I'm afraid to go to Teddy's and eat a double cheeseburger brah."
Well I asked him if cheeseburgers triggered his gout, and he said not that he knew of, but he like most sufferers will read up on foods that have high purines, and in some journals, ground beef is found.

So to answer his question, (and I am not an expert in the medical field) all I can say is this-

1. If you don't eat a lot of beef, or red meat and want to treat yourself to a juicy double cheeseburger, go ahead. Maybe don't eat any fries, but ask for a salad or veggies on the side, and drink  lots of water instead of a soda.

2. Ask the cook/chef to cook it more towards the well done phase, maybe a bloody burger will give you more chances of uric acid build up.

3. Go for a walk after you eat it, or do something that will make you sweat, sweating helps get rid of waste hence your purines or uric acid will flush out easier.

4. Eat some citrus, oranges, or some melons, fruits is a good cleanser, helping rid of uric acid.

5. Again, drink lots of water, as much as you can without gagging.

One thing you have to remember is this, everybody is different, some people can drink lots of beer and never get gout. But once they have some shrimp, they are hung up for a week. Some people eat fried chicken and develop gout, I've seen people that don't eat rich foods get gout because it was stress related. The best thing to do is have your doctor check your uric acid levels by doing some blood work on you, and blood work will determine if you have other ailments as well. Don't go overboard on cheeseburgers, but if that food didn't in your life trigger gout, then you should be fine eating it. It's a tough call man!

© 2017

PORK CHOPS WITH TOMATOES ONIONS WITH RAMEKIN OF PATIS

Hey friends, today's blog will be pork chops with tomatoes, onions and patis (fish sauce). Now the last few blogs was about eating to prevent gout, and of course pork chops is out of the question for my diet, however today I had a gig cooking for a few people, to make a few dollars & not a lot, but got me cooking you know?

So today was an easy one, the plate or should I say the styrofoam box with a lid on it, now illegal in some states was filled with about 10 oz. of pork chops, without the bone on it. Also white rice, and a mixture of diced tomatoes and red onions, this is usually a Filipino style mixture, the eater will simply pour some patis (fish sauce) into the tomato mixture, and some on the sliced pork chops. Easy eats, easy cookings.

And I had the chance to use my latest addition to my knife bag, a Mercer 8" Chinese Cleaver, I love it.

Here my cleaver is razor sharp as I prepare the diced tomatoes

Another angle on this sharp knife

I prepare the sliced red onions

Sorry, but you can see the diced tomatoes in the bowl.

I FORGOT TO TAKE MORE PICTURES

Here (l) Pork Rib Chop & (r) Pork Loin Filet

I forgot to take pictures of the pork chops in the pan searing, and of course the finished product. But I'll give you the lowdown right now.

1. I took 2 large tomatoes and diced them up, and sliced squares out of 1 large red onion

2. I sprinkled black pepper all over the onions and tomatoes, and squeezed the juice of half a large lemon into the mixture

3. For the chops, each plate had approximately 10 oz. of lean pork meat. It was seasoned with garlic salt, and black pepper.

4. Let the chops come to room temperature, then I seared it in a large pan with some canola oil, on medium heat as to not over cook it. The chops were about an inch thick. Each side took about 8 minutes to cook because I had to use tongs to lift up each chop and sear the edges that had fat, I had to brown it otherwise it would look livid.

5. Took the chops off the heat, and let it rest on the cutting board. 

6. Each plate had a scoop of white rice, and a scoop of the tomato and onions mixture

7. Sliced the chops and plated it. Put 2-1 oz. ramekins of patis (fish sauce) in each plate.

* I also added minced green onions to the tomatoes and onions.

There you have it, and sorry I forgot to take more pictures my mind was preoccupied with making the dish perfect and not overcook the meat.

© 2017

READY MADE & COOKED, BUT PORTIONED

The blog post of the day is buying foods that's already cooked. It could be foods you buy from the hot grab and go displays at your local supermarket, or when you call in to your favorite local takeout and they got your favorite entree for you. To be quite honest with you, I kind of don't want to be in the kitchen. Seriously. Cooking fun? Yeah until it's clean up time, that shit sucks! So I figure if I spend $50.00 at the supermarket to cook dinner for four people, when you factor in the prep time, cook time, setup time, and clean up time. Shit that's too much time on my part for that money. For $50.00 or maybe a little more, me and the other three can go to some Asian barbecue and eat, and I meant eat as in don't cook before we eat, just pay the guy at the counter and get our eats and...eat.

However I must admit, I'm trying to stave off gout and high blood pressure without the pills. So that requires adamant healthy eating, diets that are balanced. For my gout prevention, omitting the foods with high purines that gets into the bloodstream and that turns into uric acid. Just those two medical terms sounds fucking gross doesn't it? (Purines), sounds like an adative to put in dog food. Or (Uric Acid), shit uric? Sounds fucking cancerous! "Sir, I'm sorry, we found uric in your brain we gotta operate now! Ah what? No insurance? See ya wouldn't wanna be ya!" And then acid. Shit acid is no good, I mean all the acids that I've known isn't any good. Battery acid? OK let's get serious. Uric acid under the microscope looks like microscopic needles, and this shit gets in between the joints of your toes, ankles, even other parts of the body.

So how does one eat healthy? For the high blood pressure, no fatty foods, and less sodium. That's easy, the gout part is a little more intense. Says in the medical journals to stay away from shell fish, organ meats, some veggies like asparagus? Shit I love all that. Anyhoooo, let's take a scenario like I'm buying stuff to eat. Now for me, lean chicken meat is good, a few ounces of dark meat doesn't do me in, though the breast meat is leaner, fuck that. I like the legs. And if I'm only going to eat a few ounces, some dark meat should be alright. So I'd go to the local market, and get me a half roasted chicken. Then I'll get some brown rice, one scoop. Then make my way to the ready made salads, and get me a nice green salad with a vinaigrette dressing. And go to the fruit stand and pick up an orange or two. And get a liter of water. Boom! 

So what I'd do is shred the roasted half a chicken, remove all skin and bones, and toss it to the kitty next door and hope she doesn't choke! Not my cat. Get out a scale and weigh out about 4-5 ounces of meat, ah... mix it up dark and white meat and plate it, with the scoop of brown rice. Then I'll take the green salad, and set it aside, I'll eat all of that, more veggies the better. Then I'll take an orange and half that, and slice it into some wedges. And get some ice for my water, always drink lots of water.

Now what do I have?

1. My safe to eat protein in the roasted chicken, 4-5 ounces
2. Got my brown rice for starch, which is better than white processed rice
3. The salad is healthy, no rich mayonnaise based dressing, but a nice tangy vinaigrette
4. The half an orange for a sweet chaser and a lot of water on ice

Boom! I did not need to cook, the food is already made, and all I had to do was put it together. Now the old me would head to the nearest KFC, and eat a 4 piece dinner box complete with mashed potatoes, gravy, slaw, biscuit and butter, and a large Pepsi. Not good. 

So if you want to eat ready made food, just portion it correctly and you'll do OK, for me, I'm doing good. I'm eating a lot, but healthy foods. More fruits and veggies for snacks instead of Lay's potato chips. Ah, I'm trying, I just don't want another bout of gout. Hey I'm a rhyme master.

© 2017

PRE-COOKING AND VACUUMED SEALED

This is another post on healthy cooking and eating. There's no doubt that fast foods aren't the best for you. Too bad we don't have fast healthy food places where we can drive through, that would work. 

However, by taking some time each week and planning out your menu that fits your diet, you can eat healthy and quick when you want. For instance if you have your foods cooked and frozen at the ready, all you do is thaw it out on the day you want it. Going to work? Just thaw it out the night before, and stick it into your lunch cooler, and nuke it at your office.

Here's an idea for you workers that work 8+ hours a day, 5 days a week. Now eating the same thing everyday for lunch is boring. So here's what you do. Considering.

Do this on your day off, have some fun in the kitchen, invite kids and friends who want to learn something together.

- You need about 4 ounces of protein  per meal
- You need about 4 ounces of starch
- And the rest fibers from vegetables or fruits (the more the better).

Day 1- A fish dish. Take 4-5 ounces of a nice fish filet from your market, and sauté in some olive oil with fresh garlic minced, add some lemon juice, salt and pepper lightly. Let it cool, and vacuum seal it. Freeze it. Boom! You got your lunch. (Veggies and fruits don't freeze)

Day 2- A Noodle dish. Take one chicken thigh, without skin and bones, chop it up. Stir fry it with some garlic and ginger, light soy sauce and whatever veggies you want. Add a packet of frozen but thawed chow mein noodles, and heat through. Cool it off, and vacuum seal it. Freeze it. Boom! An Asian dish for you.

Day 3- A chicken dish. Day 2 had chicken, but we'll do chicken again another style. Take another chicken thigh, boneless and skinless, and simmer it in some water, a little apple cider vinegar, garlic, bay leaves and cloves, a little salt and pepper. Steam some broccoli and cauliflower. When that cools, vacuum seal it. Freeze it. Boom. Chicken on the tangy side.

Day 4- A beef dish. Take some lean ground beef, 4-5 ounces, sautéed in some canola oil with minced onions and garlic. Add some canned organic green beans, salt the pepper to taste. Easy! Cool it off, and vacuum seal it. Freeze it. Boom, just like grade school lunch.

Day 5- Pork and Rice. Take a lean cut of pork loin chop. Pan fry it with some corn oil, top it with some sautéed onions and mushrooms, salt and pepper to taste. Cool it off, vacuum seal it. Freeze it. Boom! Lean pork chops, you can't get easily.

As you can see, this alone looks daunting, "Man that's a lot of work bro!" Well, remember fast foods are fast because there's no thought into making it healthy, it's just making profits for the likes of Micky D's, Jack's Box and so on. Take some time in your kitchen, and you'll feel better for sure. And if you you buy stuff in bulk, you do one dish for a few weeks, like the day 1 dish, make it for 4 weeks, and so on with the other days, you'll have food for the office for the whole month. Moving around is good for the soul. Believe it or not, you will be exercising your mind, body and soul when in the kitchen. Keep it simple, watch cooking videos, take classes on nutrition, keep an opened mind.

© 2017

CHECK OUT THIS VIDEO FOR MORE IDEAS!

Until Next Time!

EASY HEALTHY PIZZAS

The last week and a half has been a true wakeup call for me, as I near the big 53, I mean in age, I suffered a week of intense gout, and then a severe cold, sore throat, sore muscles, fever, it just felt like shit! So now as I write this blog in Starbuck's drinking hot green tea, I'm feeling a tad better. 

I wanted to go to Pizza Hut and nail a medium Meat Lover's pizza. Yeah right, the angel on my shoulder said, "You are kidding right?" While the Devil on my other shoulder was saying, "C'mon man! Go for it, I know YOU WANT IT, HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

No. Won't do that, instead I might go to the market and get some items for a healthy easy pizza, no meats, maybe some real cheese, but I can whip up a simple one. I think I'll get a loaf of whole wheat French, some canned pitted olives, fresh garlic, mozzarella slices, onions, peppers, and use a ready made spaghetti sauce as the pizza sauce. Easy.


Directions: (2 servings, 2 slices each)

1. Slice whole wheat French in a diagonal, about an inch thick
2. Spread some spaghetti sauce over each slice
3. Put a slice of mozzarella on each over the sauce
4. Spread some olives, garlic, onions, and peppers over that, then top with a slice or 2 of mozzarella.
5. Bake in a 400 degree F, oven (preheated), for about 12 minutes or until top of each slices are golden, or to your liking.

Boom! Easy dudes!

© 2017