FAT FREE FOODIE

Those who know me know that I'm a serious cook and a serious eater. I love food and everything about it: the farmer's market, pretty linens, cookbooks, dutch ovens, china, my gourmet grocery store, aprons, my dining room, and people, always the people. Food is a language of comfort, of companionship, of caring, of fun. Food is my language of love.

Our first day of school celebratory dinner: shrimp, of course. It's Owen's favorite. The big bowl of raspberries on the table. ("I got those for you," I say as Scott's eyes light up. "I know," he replies.) A gorgeous bridal shower buffet. Baked mac and cheese that treats sadness and celebrates new babies. A birthday cake that looks like a back hoe.

I do love a cooking challenge and I'm determined that life as a fat-free foodie not be an oxymoron. Sure, the velvety bechamel I've perfected and the baked brie for which I am famous are a thing of the past, and probably that delectable beef ragu that once rendered me speechless is too. But really, it won't be so bad eating (saturated) fat free.

Here's the good news: I should eat all the vegetables, fruit, and nuts I want. Grains too (after years of dieting, I'm giddy that I'm actually supposed to eat them, especially oats, barley, and flax). I should eat more soy protein and seafood because I need those omega-3s even more now.

How about avocados? Yep. Mayo? Yep. Sushi? Uh huh. Oh, and I almost forgot, red wine.

Yummy. See how I suffer?

And here's what not to eat: Any animal that lives on land. Foods made from animal products. Anything artificial. Added salt.

Duh.

Okay, it's not quite that simple and the rules are not that draconian, but if I wanted to eat the most heart-healthy diet possible it would have to be vegan. I'm starting out with lots of vegetables, grains, seafood, and some turkey and chicken once in a while. I'm eating very little dairy other than skim milk and fat free yogurt, and that is a true cooking challenge. I've also had to give up Diet Coke, which is honestly harder to live without than butter.

I've just begun my fat free foodie education and my plan is to share Jen- and family-approved recipes on this blog, along with my experience integrating my heart-healthy diet into a busy family life (as well as onto my party table). I'm really more interested in talking about food than myself anyway.

So I'll start today with some good info for your nutritional inspiration, and one good recipe from this weekend.

• "Four Foods That Lower Your Cholesterol" an article in Time Magazine. 
• (Brace yourselves, Diet Coke lovers) "Daily Diet Soda Linked to Higher Risk of Stroke and Heart Attack"  on MSNBC and other sources
• "From Omnivore to Vegan: The Dietary Education of Bill Clinton" on CNN
• "Time to Revive Home Ec" from the New York Times (I loved home ec!)

ROASTED TOMATO SPAGHETTI
Serves 4 hearty eaters, with a bit left for you for lunch the next day
Adapted from Real Simple magazine

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar)
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives (about 12)
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes with juice
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound spaghetti (I use Barilla Pasta Plus, for more protein and omega-3s.)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat oven to 450° F. 2. In a large ovenproof skillet or baking pan over low heat, combine the oil, onion, garlic, olives, anchovy paste, crushed red pepper, and oregano.

Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Remove from heat, pour the tomatoes over the top, and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. 

Transfer to oven and roast for 20 minutes until the sauce is hot and bubbly and the onions are soft. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

Transfer the roasted tomato mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse once or twice to your desired consistency.Toss with the spaghetti and parsley.

Variation I'm going to try: This robust sauce, similar to puttanesca, would stand up well to tuna. I'm going to add some next time to get in another fish serving and up the omega-3s even more.

Nutritional Information
Calories   639 ;   Calories From Fat   141 ;   Fat   16g ;   Sat Fat   2g ;   Cholesterol   0mg ;   Sodium   853mg ;   Protein   19g ;   Carbohydrate   105g ;   Sugar   15g ;   Fiber   8g ;   Iron   5mg ;   Calcium   114mg

RECIPE: ROASTED TOMATO SPAGHETTI

Serves 4 hearty eaters, with a bit left for you for lunch the next day
Adapted from Real Simple magazine

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped red onion
1 tsp crushed garlic (from a jar)
1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives (about 12)
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 teaspoon dried oregano
28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes with juice
kosher salt and black pepper
1 pound spaghetti (I use Barilla Pasta Plus, for more protein and omega-3s.)
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Heat oven to 450° F. 2. In a large ovenproof skillet or baking pan over low heat, combine the oil, onion, garlic, olives, anchovy paste, crushed red pepper, and oregano.

Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring, for two minutes. Remove from heat, pour the tomatoes over the top, and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.

Transfer to oven and roast for 20 minutes until the sauce is hot and bubbly and the onions are soft. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to the package directions.

Transfer the roasted tomato mixture to a food processor or blender and pulse once or twice to your desired consistency.Toss with the spaghetti and parsley. 

Variation I'm going to try: This robust sauce, similar to puttanesca, would stand up well to tuna. I'm going to add some next time to get in another fish serving and up the omega-3s even more. 

Nutritional Information

Calories   639 ;   Calories From Fat   141 ;   Fat   16g ;   Sat Fat   2g ;   Cholesterol   0mg ;   Sodium   853mg ;   Protein   19g ;   Carbohydrate   105g ;   Sugar   15g ;   Fiber   8g ;   Iron   5mg ;   Calcium   114mg

GET IT. GOT IT. GOOD.

Alright ladies, listen closely. If you haven't ever had your cholesterol checked, do it now. If you know you have high numbers, start working on it. If you have a family history, get yourself a cardiologist and have a full workup. Know your body and know your risks. Now.

As if you need a reason other than living past 40, consider this one: do you want kids? If you have kids, do you want more?

I have two sons and they are the center of my universe and my reason for living. And now I know they are even greater miracles and blessings, because yesterday I learned there will be no more babies. Ever. Apparently being a heart attack survivor and being pregnant are incompatible.

"You would be extremely high risk."

I figured.

"The increased blood volume is too much for your heart."

Okay.

"You already have children who need you to live."

Okay!!

"Furthermore, all the drugs you are on are not safe for pregnancy and it's not safe for you to go off them."

Okay, okay, I got it!

And to ice the cake: "But, you can't have any hormone-based birth control, and oh, when you get to menopause, you can't have hormone therapy then too."

Sweet.

I'm not really as bitter as this sounds, it's more like bittersweet. I'm even more grateful that I was able to have my two boys, and we had pretty much decided that we did not plan to have more children. It's just so weird when something so close to my definition of myself -- a woman, a mother -- is suddenly no longer my decision or even an option. I guess that's part of living with heart disease (or any disease for that matter). I can't decide that I don't like the idea of medications. I can't decide I'll just work off the extra calories if I want to eat that dulce de leche or mac and cheese. I can't decide, when my youngest turns eight or so, that I really did want one more baby.

But you can decide to be proactive and protect yourself as much as possible. What could you do to avoid this not-surprising-yet-life-changing side effect? Don't have a heart attack, if you can avoid it. Do everything you can to make yourself as safe as you can. If you know what you need to do, do it. If you don't, find out, and then do it.

Get it? Good.

THANKS, I NEEDED THAT

Her name was Ellen and she brought me dinner.

The parish nurse at our church has organized volunteers to bring over dinner a few times a week, and Ellen's day was Tuesday. She came to the door with a roast chicken, a salad from her garden, and a loaf of nine-grain bread. We chatted awhile, she asked how I was doing, and I replied that while my body felt fine, my head is another story. That we are all still in shock and I just don't feel like myself.

Ellen said she knew how I felt, having been diagnosed with diabetes in February. As we talked more about the challenges of special diets it hit me: Here's a woman (like me), with kids (like me), with a chronic health condition (like me), who, on a day she took off of work, is bringing me dinner.

Talk about humbling. But really, what good is a crisis without being taken down a peg or two?

When something bad or sad or scary or just hard happens to someone you love, or even someone you know just a little, the urge to help is strong. I know that this is true. I've been inundated with offers of help, and my own instinct when I hear of someone else's crisis is to start cooking, preferably pasta with some kind of cheese- or cream-based sauce. (Those were the days, but that's another post.) It's one of the best things about human beings, and no matter how cynical things may seem, it's alive and well. The better angels of our nature are with us still.

This isn't my first life crisis, and it probably won't be my last. Having learned a thing or two the first time around (the birth of my first baby nine weeks early by emergency c-section after I developed a life-threatening-for both of us-condition), I readily said yes to every offer of help I have received, and then asked for more. I've been clear about what we need, and what we don't. I've let friends see my house a mess. I've sat at my own kitchen table and watched someone else cook for my family. I've asked for favors I wouldn't dream of asking at any other time. And I haven't even sent my thank yous.

But I have noticed and I will remember. I was helped in innumerable ways then. I'm being helped now. I'll be helped again tomorrow. I can't do this alone, and I don't intend to try.

So, to Ellen and everyone who brought us dinner, took care of our children, provided transportation, bought groceries, supervised walks, hosted parties, cooked, cleaned, folded, shopped, played, emailed, wrote, and listened:

Thanks, I needed that.