Food | Z-Car

Low-Fat Milk Linked to Increased Obesity in Children

By Jimmy March 25, 2013 Food, Paleo, Primal No Comments

Even Taylor Swift is surprised about the new research that continues to debunk the theory that low-fat diets are the solution to our obesity epidemic. One of the more recent studies focuses on whole milk, and the findings that high-fat milk is actually healthier than low-fat. Clearly more studies need to focus on the evils of carbohydrates, sugars, and processed food in general.

“Our original hypothesis was that children who drank high-fat milk, either whole milk or 2% would be heavier because they were consuming more saturated fat calories. We were really surprised when we looked at the data and it was very clear that within every ethnicity and every socioeconomic strata, that it was actually the opposite, that children who drank skim milk and 1% were heavier than those who drank 2% and whole,” says DeBoer, who is also the chair-elect for the AAP Committee on Nutrition.

Press Release from University of Virginia
http://news.virginia.edu/content/uva-study-children-drinking-low-fat-milk-gain-similar-amount-weight-those-drinking-whole

Related study from several years ago that points to a similar conclusion.
http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=486041

Related Book “The Great Cholesterol Myth: Why Lowering Your Cholesterol Won’t Prevent Heart Disease”

Why were people so much healthier 150 years ago?

By Jimmy March 21, 2013 Food, Paleo, Primal No Comments

“Analysis of the mid-Victorian period in the U.K. reveals that life expectancy at age 5 was as good or better than exists today, and the incidence of degenerative disease was 10% of ours” as outlined by Paul Clayton and Judith Rowbotham in the paper “How the Mid-Victorians Worked, Ate and Died“. How could this be? Hasn’t the common knowledge been that the average life expectancy was only 40 years old? That poor diet resulted in horrible diseases and illnesses? Apparently once again the common knowledge is wrong, and has helped lead to the flawed nutritional guidelines promoted by our government. Not to mention the fixation on high-carb/low-fat diets which are slowly destroying the health of our nation.

If you are concerned about your health, take the time to research alternatives such as low-carb diets, primal fitness blueprints, and a return to our natural diet and physical activity.

A good primer that I can recommend is “The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health, and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series)”

GE Induction Cooktop – Control Lock Stuck ON

By Jimmy March 17, 2013 DIY, Food 10 Comments

My cat is a naughty, naughty kitty. She likes to jump up on my counter and walk all over my General Electric induction cooktop. Normally this is not a problem, and just results in various beeps, buzzes, and flashing lights. However, the other day she was up on the cooktop, and somehow she activated the Control Lock feature. When this happens, the Control Lock red light comes on, and none (except the timer) of the other controls work.

The standard response from GE is to Press the Control Lock button for five seconds. This did not work in my case, and apparently also does not work for hundreds of other people. Seems GE is telling them they need a service visit, and they then charge the customer a minimum of $75 to “adjust” the control-lock sensor.

Let me tell you a secret that the General Electric hotline does not tell the customer. The Control Lock sensor does in fact work, it just is not lined up properly. To fix, take your palm and lay it flat across the control lock button, you will hear a beep, and then in 5 seconds, you will hear two beeps and the Control Lock will be off. This may take a bit of fussing with your palm to find the right place, but it does work.

Thank goodness I figured out, I had a pound of bacon with my name on it just waiting to get sizzled up.

Dinner at VOLT: Order the Beets!

By Jimmy November 9, 2009 Food 1 Comment

So I’ve been suggesting to husband to make reservations at VOLT restaurant in Frederick for a while now – hoping we could get in before one of the Voltaggio brothers wins Top Chef this season — brother Bryan is chef at VOLT (http://www.bravotv.com/top-chef/season-6/bios) (http://www.voltrestaurant.com/). Brunch was booked up, so husband kindly made dinner reservations for Sunday.

We arrived a bit early and sat in the open bar/lounge area of the ‘mansion’ to await our table… Gary wasn’t convinced an entire Sam Adams fit into his fancy glass, though the barman insisted it did… We were seated in the main dining room (in addition there’s the noisy kitchen-view tasting dining room and a glassed-in Chef’s Table) with white linens and coppery brown ceiling – elegant and populated with nearly as many servers and sommelier-types as diners.

We selected three of the four courses from the four course menu including, starting with the beet salad which was the tasiest dish of the night: as Gary put it, 75 cents worth of beets for $12, but they looked very pretty on the huge plate, swirled with tasty oil, a cheese mousse, and tiny green ‘weeds’ and tasted lovely.

Next up was goat cheese ravioli in brown butter — nutty flavor but Gary said too oily. Teeny-tiny scallops (seriously, as big as a dime) atop some sort of nutty grain were overpowered by the grain, and it was hard to tell the flavors of the white, orange and green ‘smears’ of sauces on that plate.

We both selected fish as main plates, with Gary’s striped bass a winner featuring crispy skin and a deep earthy flavor. My slightly rare halibut was a disappointment in comparison. The accompanying hot, puffy dinner rolls in various flavors (from sea salt to bacon) were lovely – we should’ve ordered more!

For dessert I ordered the banana split dish – a ‘deconstruction’ similar to something Bryan made in restaurant wars. It was interesting, but unsatisfying-with nut powders beneath teaspoon size samples of chocolate and vanilla ice creams and a strawberry sorbet that would’ve been great as its own serving in a cone or normal size bowl. There was a strange tofu-like-textured banana ‘mousse’ winding across the plate and a ‘spherical’ maraschino ball that burst when I tried to spoon it up. Gary fared a bit better with his peanut butter and chocolate combination, decorated with organic chocolate and some micro-green cilantro and cilantro powder(!) If was amusing to look around the dining room and watch the other diners eating their tiny servings with great care and precision of fork, most leaning forward and examining the food items thoughtfully while taking itty-bitty bites.

The yummiest dessert came as a complement of the pastry chef, a dish of miniature ice cream sandwiches on various cookies. And the check was delivered hidden beneath two tulle-wrapped citrus/pumpkin muffins, ‘in case you’re still hungry, you can eat them on the way home’ is what the waiter actually said. If you have to hide the check under muffins so folks don’t get upset at the cost while their bellies are still empty, that sums it all up…

It was a pleasant dining experience, and was interesting to taste and see some of the flavors and styles of food that we’ve been seeing on Top Chef, though we both agree that the restaurant across the street — Acacia — offers more flavorful and more satisfying food for Frederick visitors.

Good luck Bryan Voltaggio – we’re still rooting for you!