Put Your Heart Into It.

Three months ago today I underwent Open Heart Surgery to repair an Ascending Aortic Aneurysm that was on the verge of exploding. My Cardiologist, during a routine annual stress test, saw a small shadow on my chest x-ray and sent me to Cedars-Sinai for an MRI which discovered a very large Aneurysm that could have ruptured at any time. How is this pertinent to a Food Blog? Well it's this, since food has alot to do with your health, I've been bombarded with information on what to eat and how to change my diet so to become healthier and protect my Heart from further disease. Jump forward to the present… I've started Cardiac Rehab Physical Therapy to help rebuild my stamina and strength and one of the things the program offers is a consultation with a Certified Dietitian. I thought this would be interesting as I've never talked to a Dietitian before.   She's about food…I'm about food.

The meeting was very pleasant and interesting. This woman knew more about food than I knew there was food to be known about. She could rattle off statistics about a Big Mac or an avocado in a flash. I was impressed. We talked about HDL, LDL, Triglycerides, Antioxidants, Sugar, Salt, etc. I already knew that salt and fat wasn't good for a healthy heart and always believed that all food should be eaten in moderation. I said I believed in moderation, not practicing it! So here I am fresh out of the hospital after undergoing surgery and 20 pounds overweight. I was plagued with the dilemma of what I learned as a Chef, “butter, salt and fat are good” and wanting to live a healthier lifestyle, what side of the road should I drive? Coming to the conclusion and returning to my old mantra “all things in moderation”, I would adjust my diet to be healthier without depriving myself of some of the things I've learned to love over the years. Tricky right? Not really. It's just a matter of educating yourself, making a plan and executing the plan!  The Dietitian gave me some terrific ideas on how to eliminate some of the salt and fat from my diet without sacrificing flavor. Keep in mind this Dietitian is a Vegetarian and I'm a Carnivore so there were a few things I found hard to swallow (no pun intended) but nevertheless very helpful in my quest to lose weight and become healthier. She doesn't like butter, prefers smart beat. I like butter, don't like the chemicals in margarine.  Solution…don't slather everything in butter and instead use unsalted butter in moderation.  When she goes to a restaurant she orders pizza with whole wheat crust, roasted vegetables and no cheese. I almost ran from her office screaming “PIZZA WITH NO CHEESE!” The roasted vegetable idea sounds good but no cheese? Once again I’ll apply my philosophy of moderation, easy cheese please and low sodium if possible!

And one more thing I changed the name of my blog to  "Been There, Done That, Eat This"

which will most likely be the name of my cookbook... 

Hope you all enjoyed reading my Blog.

Chef Ken