Chef With a Mission
What do you get when you mix the art of cooking with science? Answer: Tasty food that helps prevent heart disease.
Tasting some of Chef Jean-Marc Fullsack's food is like dining at a four-star restaurant-but leaving with your health still intact. "Creating food that tastes good, that makes people healthier at the same time, especially those with heart disease," says Jean-Marc, "is rewarding for me."
Jean-Marc is the executive chef for Dean Ornish, M.D., known for his studies in "reversing" heart disease through the lifestyle changes of a low-fat, whole food diet, stress management, exercise, and group support rather than conventional surgery and drugs. Before meeting Dr. Ornish, Jean-Marc apprenticed in the French countryside of Alsace, then honed his skills working in several prestigious restaurants across the U.S. "When I met Dr. Ornish, I was teaching low-fat cooking techniques at the California Culinary Academy in San Francisco and cooking low-fat, low-cholesterol meals at Cyril's, the Academy's health-conscious restaurant. Dr. Ornish said, 'Here is the diet we use in our lifestyle (change) research project.' Then he asked me to prepare his lunch based on the guidelines."
Shortly afterward, Jean-Marc began working full-time as the executive chef on Dr. Ornish's research project. Meeting with the research participants two times each week, Jean-Marc cooked and prepared "no-fat-added, whole food meals" for them. "To make it easy to follow the program, I made their lunches and dinners in boxes, with their names on the back," he explains. "I also worked closely with our nutritionist, modifying recipes when necessary to ensure the meals fit the nutritional guidelines (10% daily calories or less, from fat) of our research project."
Since then, he has also created "no-fat-added whole food" for thousands of heart patients who have attended Ornish retreats. In addition to creating and preparing healthful food, Jean-Marc has trained hospital chefs and food service managers from major medical centers who are offering Dr. Ornish's reversal program-he has even trained chefs from the White House.
Accompanied by top chefs Hubert Keller of Fleur de Lys in San Francisco and Michael Delmonico of Club 21 in New York City, Jean-Marc and Dr. Ornish visited White House chefs on their own turf in Washington, D.C. to present low-fat cookery and meals to chefs and staff who serve the President. "Through our presentation, we demonstrated that it is possible to make low-fat food that is tasty, delicious and interesting," says Jean-Marc. "Later the President and his family ate the food we had presented earlier."
Today, Jean-Marc couldn't be more satisfied with his work. It's challenging and creative and ultimately helps people feel better. What makes him feel especially good about the food he creates? With a smile in his eyes, he says, "Probably cooking for the research participants for five years. If they still like you, that's a great compliment."
"No-Fat-Added" Ornish Diet
Dr. Ornish's "reversal" program includes a diet that is 10% (or less) calories from fat, stress management, exercise and group support. To follow the Ornish diet, eat lots of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole grains and beans and peas, with not more than 1 to 2 cups nonfat dairy products daily. Optional: egg whites, tofu (not more than 11/2 cups/week-due to tofu's fat content), and nonfat hard cheese. Don't use any added fat or oil, and avoid caffeine-containing beverages such as coffee, tea, and colas. Alcohol, though not recommended, is limited to 2 ounces daily.
A word about fat...it's virtually impossible to consume a "no-fat diet." Eating a balanced, whole food-based diet means you'll obtain 10 percent or less of your daily fat calories from the naturally occurring fat in these foods. The key concept: The Ornish diet is a no-added-fat diet. To follow it successfully: Eat fresh whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes) in their natural state as often as possible. Don't prepare or eat foods with any additional fat (such as butter, margarine or lard) or liquid oils (such as canola, olive, or safflower).
Fat-Cutting Tips
To help you avoid added fat, here are some of Jean Marc's techniques for cooking the no-fat-added way.
1. Start Simply. Start preparing simple foods first, such as plain pasta with tomato sauce. Or try some easy salads or beans and lentils.
2. Modify Recipes. You can take any cookbook, use any recipe, as long as you keep the ingredients limited to vegetables, whole grains, beans and peas, and fruits with limited amounts of nonfat dairy products and egg whites. Use any recipe you like, as long as only these foods are included.
3. Keep Food Moist. The key is to keep food moist without adding fat. There's never really one fat substitute or one solution. Try a good vegetable stock, or nonfat sour cream. Or, try using fruit puree (such as applesauce) in your baking to keep food moist. What's important is the way you cook the food. Cook at a low heat, with a non-stick pan. Avoid reheating food in a high-heated oven. It'll make the moisture evaporate and dry out the food. And be sure not to overcook food.
4. Use Substitutes. Replace oil in dressing with vegetable stock, juice, or nonfat dairy products such as yogurt, cottage cheese, sour cream or mayonnaise. Or flavor salads simply with sweet-tasting balsamic vinegar, lemon juice, or low-sodium soy sauce. Another tip: Try using these flavor enhancers as a marinade for roasted or grilled vegetables.
5. Buy Smart. The most important point is to start with the right ingredients. If you begin cooking with a poor quality product, you end up with a bad product no matter what. For instance, vegetables should be at their prime. Buy eggplant that is shiny; this shows they're fresh. Carrots, potatoes, or turnips have to be firm.
Rewards of a Research Participant
Reaping the rewards of Jean-Marc's culinary expertise is Hank Ginsberg, age 69, a participant in the Ornish research project. In 1983, at age 58, Hank had six-way bypass surgery. He also had high blood pressure, angina (chest) pains, adult-onset diabetes that required three shots of insulin daily, and he was overweight. "My body seemed like a (broken) cuckoo clock," he recalls. "All of a sudden the springs and everything went." Hank remembers his doctor's advice. "He told me to get away from the stress and lose weight." At the time of the bypass surgery, "he also told me to go home and take care of my insurance."
Like 40 million other Americans, Hank had followed a familiar path to cardiovascular disease. As a successful international investment banker, working long hours was typical, so was his high stress, exercise-free, high fat lifestyle. "I was time-urgent, always on the phone," recalls Ginsberg. With no time to exercise, "I ate what I thought was a normal diet: bacon and eggs for breakfast, perhaps a hamburger with dessert for lunch, and steak, chicken or lobster for dinner."
When Hank learned that Dr. Ornish was recruiting participants for his research program, he contacted him, and luckily, was placed in the treatment group. "I had had six-way bypass surgery, but within 31/2 years the arteries closed up again," he recalls. "My physician recommended another bypass, but instead, I chose to change my lifestyle and take control of my disease."
While in the research program, Hank complied completely with the new lifestyle. He ate the food prepared by chef Jean-Marc; avoided caffeine-containing beverages and alcohol; followed a stress management program that included yoga, meditation and breathing exercises; exercised by walking a minimum of an hour at least three times weekly; and he attended support meetings with the other research participants (and the project's health care professionals) every Tuesday and Thursday night.
Was it easy to change his lifestyle so completely? "During my time in the program, I complied 100 percent," he says. "I knew that following it was important not just for me, but for others. But afterward, when I started feeling better, I began to slip," he admits. "Then the angina came back. It didn't take long."
In the long-run, Hank realizes that maintaining his new lifestyle has been well worth the effort. Today Hank is diabetes- and insulin-free, his angina pains have stopped, some of his coronary blockages (plaque) have "reversed," his high blood pressure is normal (with the help of some medication), and he has lost weight-effortlessly. All this without additional bypass surgery.
Eating Out
Today Hank still enjoys good-tasting food, "but now I choose lots of whole foods and nonfat dairy products with absolutely no added fat," says Hank. And instead of drinking nine cups a day of caffeine-laden coffee, he chooses herbal tea or grain-based beverages, which are dark and full-flavored but caffeine-free. "I don't feel I've given up anything. That's important," he says. "I've learned to enjoy lots of different foods-Indian, Italian, Chinese."
Over time, he has learned a few tricks about eating healthfully in restaurants. "I go to restaurants that I like and begin by talking with the chef or cook," he explains. (Hank and his wife of 44 years, Phyllis, avoid doing this during peak dining hours when cooks are often too busy to talk or modify recipes.) "I have to be assertive sometimes and send the food back if I find fat in it," he says. "But often the cooks are able to make sauces and create meals with absolutely no added fat or oil." Mission accomplished.
Chef Jean-Marc's Pizza Primavera
Pizza Dough:
4 cups organic, unbleached flour
1 pkg. or 1 Tbs. active dry yeast
1-1/2 cups warm water
1 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
1. Dilute yeast with 4 tsp. flour, honey and 11/2 cups warm water. Cover and let activate and foam for 30 minutes in a warm place.
2. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well for about 10 minutes until dough is homogenous; if dough is sticky, sprinkle a little more flour. Let rise, covered in a warm place until dough doubles in volume. Punch down and roll out to fit a 12 x 16" pizza pan.
Pizza Sauce; combine the following:
1 cup onion, oven-roasted and sliced
1 cup tomato puree
Salt (optional), sugar (pinch)
1 tsp. dried thyme, fresh basil, oregano, chopped garlic, black pepper (one of each)
Topping
1 zucchini, sliced 1/8" and blanched
1 yellow zucchini, sliced 1/8" and blanched
1 eggplant, sliced 1/8" and blanched
2 Roma tomatoes, sliced 1/8"
1 tsp. fresh basil
1. Spread pizza sauce over uncooked pizza dough. Place layers of sliced vegetables and bake at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes until dough is golden brown.
RECIPES
CHEF JEAN-MARC'S PIZZA PRIMAVERA
HANK'S QUICK-FIX FILLED TORTILLAS
Serves 4-6.
1 SLICE: 361 CAL 11g PROT 77g CARB 1.3g FAT; .2g SATURATED FAT 200mg SOD 0mg CHOLESTEROL
Hank's Quick-Fix Filled Tortillas
1 cup corn niblets, frozen or canned
1/2 cup your favorite salsa, or to taste
2 cups canned nonfat refried beans
2 cups brown rice, cooked
8 corn tortillas
1. Prepare the sauce by mixing the corn and salsa in a blender. Heat the beans and rice in a saucepan. Add the sauce. Stir. Place the corn tortilla in a heated pan. Heat one side, then the other. Remove from pan. Spread some nonfat sour cream on the tortilla. Add the bean, rice and salsa mix. Roll up the tortilla. Serve warm.
RECIPES
CHEF JEAN-MARC'S PIZZA PRIMAVERA
HANK'S QUICK-FIX FILLED TORTILLAS
Serves 4.
2 FILLED TORTILLAS: 348 CAL 14g PROT 72 CARB 5g FAT 1g SATURATED FAT; 765mg SOD 0mg CHOL 10.5g FIBER
No comments:
Post a Comment