NOURISHED; A Cookbook for Health, Weight Loss, and Metabolic Balance

I am very pleased to say that my new book is going to make its belated appearance soon. If you have been following this saga, the first thing you may notice is that the title has changed. After my interview with Jimmy Moore http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/the-llvlc-show-episode-469-judy-barnes-bakers-almost-ada-approved-low-carb-diabetic-cookbook/10714, one of my recipe testers contacted me to say that when she searched for the original title, Eating on the Edge, something totally different came up—a line of low-fat products and a book that had just come out. To avoid confusion, I changed my title to what you see above. The silver lining is that I like the new title better. (One person told me Eating on the Edge sounded like going to the jungle to eat bugs and worms, while Nourished sounds warm and comforting.) We are planning to celebrate the launch with a promotional event including some really great prizes. Details will be forthcoming.

Meanwhile, check out Dr. Feinman's blog to see what a REAL Mediterranean diet looks like. He included a couple of recipes from Nourished as examples. http://rdfeinman.wordpress.com/2011/11/28/a-mediterranean-interlude/ 

(C) 2011, Judy Barnes Baker, www.carbwars.blogspot.com

RED KURI

I've been looking forward to the fall season after reading about Red Kuri Squash. It didn't disappoint.

Red Kuri may also be called Japanese Squash, Hokkaido Squash, or Uchiki Kuri Squash. It is Potimarron in France, and Onion Squash in the UK. In the US, it shows up around Halloween and disappears again after November. This tear-drop shaped, red-orange winter squash has the same high-fiber and low-carbohydrate count as pumpkin (4 net grams of carbs per 1/2 cup serving), and it can be used in the same recipes, but it has a firmer texture and the flavor is more like butternut squash than pumpkin.

I roasted some for dinner tonight and served it with steak, broccoli, and cranberry sauce. It will make a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving, reminiscent of sweet potatoes, but much lower in carbs. I started out with a very simple version, but it was so good, I may not change it (although a little cinnamon and nutmeg might be nice).

Red Kuri has a very hard rind, so I punctured it with a knife to keep it from exploding and microwaved the whole thing for 2 or 3 minutes until it softened a bit. Then I cut it up and used my trusty grapefruit spoon (never yet used on a grapefruit) to scrape out the seeds. I peeled the pieces with a vegetable parer and cut them into one-inch dice. I put them in a roasting pan with some chopped onion, sprinkled it all with salt and pepper, and dotted it with butter. After about 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven, stirring once half way through, the squash was soft and starting to brown. I left it in the oven for a few minutes longer while I pre-heated the broiler for the steaks. Actually, I left it a little too long and had to pick out a few blackened pieces, but other than that, it was a complete success!

Red Kuri Squash photo above by Schwabin.
(C) 2011, Judy Barnes Baker, www.carbwars.blogspot.com

STEVIA: THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE BITTER

Stevia comes from a South American herb that has been used by the indigenous people of Brazil and Paraguay for thousands of years as a sweetener and as a folk remedy for diabetes. It is hundreds of times sweeter than table sugar, but in its original form it has a bitter aftertaste that some people find objectionable. Many of the new stevia products that are now available, such as Truvia, Nuva, and PureVia, use only the sweet-tasting part of the leaf combined with erythritol as a bulking agent. Stevia is also available as a liquid and as a blend with fructooligosaccharide (FOS), a sweet fiber that comes from chicory root or Jerusalem artichokes, and other sweeteners. 

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Stevia was banned for use in foods in the US in the early 1990s and could only be sold as a dietary supplement. As a result of intense lobbying from the soft drink industry, rebaudioside-A, an extract of stevia, was granted GRAS (generally recognized as safe) status in 2008. A GRAS designation allows it to be sold as a food without undergoing the normal tests for safety. Some countries still restrict or ban the sale of stevia.

 A study published in Denmark in 2000 demonstrated that stevia has the ability to stimulate insulin secretion by acting on the beta cells in the pancreas. The researchers concluded that it may have potential as an anti-hyperglycemic agent in the treatment of type 2 diabetes. 1

Stevia can cause hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) in some people and it may increase insulin sensitivity and delay the absorption of glucose from the intestines. As a result, it can change the effectiveness of diabetes medications and interfere with the timing of injected insulin, making it essential for those with diabetes to consult a doctor before using it. It is also said to lower blood pressure, so those on medication for hypertension should seek medical advice about using stevia.

Mayo Clinic nutritionist, Katherine Zeratsky, R.D., L.D., had this to say: "...It is probably safe in moderate doses. However, until we have more research, women who are pregnant or breast-feeding should probably avoid using stevia. Similarly, people taking diabetes or blood pressure drugs should use stevia with caution because of the risk that it might cause hypoglycemia or hypotension when combined with these drugs."2

 I've noticed one more thing about stevia from my personal experience that I haven't seen mentioned. It has always been known that some people love stevia and some think it tastes bitter. The new reb-A extracts were supposed to solve that problem by using only the sweet compounds and leaving out the bitter ones. When I tried some of the new products, I found that they didn't taste bitter, but they also didn't taste sweet. It dawned on me that some of us can't taste the sweet components and that's why it tasted bitter in the first place. That would explain what happened a while back when the owner of a company that makes stevia-sweetened cookies sent me some samples. (I can't remember the name—and wouldn't tell you if I did, as I wouldn't want to discourage anyone from trying them or hurt the company's business.) I really wanted to like them, but they were horrible, like a mouthful of straw. The comments posted on Amazon by buyers showed that some people loved the cookies, but some reacted the same way I did.

Many sugar substitutes that contain stevia are blended with erythritol, lo han guo, sucralose, or other sweeteners, and those taste fine to me, but not quite sweet enough, as would be expected if I can taste all the sweeteners except the stevia. I still use them, but I either use a bit more or kick up the sweetness by adding a little sucralose. I'm not sure how many people are like me in regard to stevia. It is especially strange because I am usually something of a "super-taster." I can't eat cilantro, for example, because it has a strong, nasty flavor to me that other people can't taste at all. Clearly, there's just no accounting for tastes.

1 Jeppesen, P.B.; Gregersen, S.; Poulsen, C.R.; Hermansen, K.; "Stevioside acts directly on pancreatic beta cells to secrete insulin: actions independent of cyclic adenosine monophosphate and adenosine triphospate-sensitive K+-channel activity," Metabolism 2000 Feb; 49(2):208-14. Abstract at:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gove:80/entrez/query/fcgi?cmd=Retrieve&db=PubMed&list_uids=10690646&adopt=Abstract

2 www.mayoclinic.com/health/stevia/AN01733MayoClinic.com

Stevia photo by Ethel Aardvark.
(C) 2011, Judy Barnes Baker
www.carbwars.blogspot.com