AARP The Magazine is last place seniors should go for nutrition advice

AARP The Magazine urges seniors to choose an Arby's roast turkey and bacon sandwich, right, over a roast beef and cheddar cheese sandwich, left, arguing the latter has fewer calories and less fat. Who in their right mind would eat either of them -- stuffed as they are with harmful antibiotics, preservatives and cholesterol?

Editor's note: AARP The Magazine and Consumer Reports cover food and nutrition in completely different ways. AARP's articles appear to be filled with marketing tie-ins and plugs for advertisers, while CR exposes restaurants supplied by factory farms that give massive amounts of harmful antibiotics to healthy animals.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Do the senior citizens you know stick to a steady diet of fast-food and chain restaurants?

AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, thinks they do, judging from a major article in its magazine, "Eat This, Not That!"

"Forget fad diets and deprivation," the editors declare. "Instead, lose weight and get healthy with these simple food swaps."

Like ordering the Rib Eye and Baked Potato with Butter and Sour Cream at Ruby Tuesday over the Asiago Peppercorn Sirloin, Biscuit and Broccoli to avoid the latter's higher dose of sodium.

Or picking the Sugar Raised Doughnut and Iced Latte at Dunkin' Donuts over the Sesame Seed Bagel with Plain Cream Cheese to avoid 200 extra calories.

But all of those so-called healthier meals deliver big doses of unwanted sugar, cholesterol or saturated fat.

The editors at AARP The Magazine think the majority of Americans over 50 can't stick to a diet.

Instead, they urge readers to pick "slightly healthier versions" of pizza, ice cream, chocolate" and "other foods that you enjoy."

That's a formula for disaster.

CR gives 'F' to chains

Consumer Reports asks:

"Did you know that large factory farms that serve restaurants like KFC, Burger King and Dunkin' Donuts regularly give massive amounts of antibiotics to healthy farm animals?

"Instead of being reserved for treating sick people, antibiotics are used to fatten up cows and chickens and help them survive in factory farm conditions."

Restaurants that received an "F" rating on CR's report card include Domino's Pizza, Sonic, Starbuck's, Jack In The Box, Little Caesars, Chili's, Denny's, Arby's, Olive Garden, Applebee's, Buffalo Wild Wings and IHOP.

Doing slightly better ("D") are Pizza Hut and Papa John's. McDonald's, Wendy's and Taco Bell were graded "C"; Subway and Chick-fil-A got a "B."

The only "A" ratings went to Panera Bread and Chipotle Mexican Grill.

"The problem with factory farms overusing antibiotics is that they are creating resistant bacteria that spreads through our food, water and the environment," the magazine reports.

"Scientists have been telling us for years that antibiotic-resistant superbugs are multiplying at an alarming rate, and we know that medicines to treat deadly infections aren't working like they used to."

Common-sense advice

A second part of the AARP article is far more useful.

For example the editors recommend salmon, tuna, sardines, anchovies and other fish for their beneficial omega-3s -- which can lower the risk of type 2 diabetes -- compared to the very few omega 3s in tilapia and catfish.

Other recommendations include olive oil over soybean oil, and reduced-sodium soy sauce over regular soy sauce.

In the April/May 2016 issue of AARP The Magazine, only fast food and chain restaurants -- which are supplied by factory farms -- are listed, including Chick-fil-A, Outback Steakhouse and P.F. Chang's.

The editors' picks are called "slightly healthier versions."

An outdoor company offers timely tips for taking care of your inner self

EDITOR'S NOTE: Cotopaxi sells outdoor products and "funds solutions that address the most persistent needs of those living in extreme poverty," according to its Web site. Noting that May is International Mediterranean Diet Month, the company also has prepared a graphic with tips on healthy living and eating.

I've supplemented that advice with a simple recipe that includes three major components of the Mediterranean Diet -- seafood, vegetables and olive oil.

-- VICTOR E. SASSON 

HEART HEALTHY: Fresh wild Atlantic Cod with Spinach, Organic Diced Tomatoes and Pitted Olives takes about 15 minutes to cook in a preheated 400-degree oven.

HOW TO ASSEMBLE: Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Meanwhile, place a half-pound of fresh spinach in a large pan lined with aluminum foil or parchment paper, drizzle with plenty of extra-virgin olive oil, add up to 2 pounds of cut-up pieces of cod fillet seasoned with a little sea salt, spoon on organic diced tomatoes from a can, add reduced-fat shredded cheese and then squeeze fresh juice from a lemon or lime over everything.

SHRIMP WORKS, TOO: We used the same simple recipe with 2 pounds of wild-caught shrimp, which we shelled and deveined.

FRESH TOMATOES: This time, we used fresh tomatoes, and the shrimp were ready in 10 minutes when we preheated the oven to 400 degrees.

Eye opener: Organic eggs with parmigiano, pesto and fresh herbs

IN THE PAN: Cage-free organic eggs from Costco Wholesale with Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese and Basil Pesto, two other premium items from the warehouse store; chopped fresh herbs and a couple of pinches of Aleppo pepper. Make them butter free by using olive oil for frying.

ON THE PLATE: I ate them with garlicky mashed sweet potatoes prepared the night before. I boiled two cut-up, skin-on medium sweet potatoes with lots of peeled garlic cloves for about 50 minutes, and mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil and several seasonings, including curry, cinnamon , black pepper and red-pepper flakes.

--VICTOR E. SASSON

At Taverna Mykonos, we were flooded with memories of Greece

Image via Wikipedia

The magical isle of Santorini, where we stayed in one of the cozy cave houses.

Editor's note: Looking at the menu in August 2017, when I re-edited this post, shows significant price increases, including the stifado, which is now $26.95 compared to $18.95. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Dinner at Taverna Mykonos in Elmwood Park brought back warm memories of meals I enjoyed during a visit to Greece in the early 1990s -- extra-virgin olive oil, a profusion of fresh lemons, aromatic oregano, glasses brimming with ouzo and fish harvested with the help of dynamite.

This upscale taverna on busy Broadway has been open about five weeks, and shares a building with a nail salon. It seats 80 in booths and at tables. The modern setting includes photos of the islands and beautiful tiles used as framed art, as well as wall- and floor-coverings. A bar is at the rear, and there are wine cases here and there.

Panteleakis family

The restaurant serves traditional fare. It was opened by the Panteleakis family, which has operated Oceanos, a fish house, formerly Peter's Whale, in neighboring Fair Lawn for many years.

We started with hummus and Greek pita ($6.95) and horyatiki ($9.95), a salad of skin-on cucumbers, ripe tomatoes, sweet pepper, onion, olives and a block of feta cheese. 

The salad apparently was made ahead and refrigerated, robbing big, beautiful tomato sections of much of their flavor. 

The dressing, however, was delicious sopped up with the warm pita. In view of all the lemon used in Greek food, the creamy hummus sure could have used some.

Two entrees

We ordered only two entrees --stifado, a bowl of  slow-cooked pork chunks, onion and mashed potatoes ($18.95); and barbounia, a special of red mullet, a fish I haven't seen on New Jersey menus before ($19.95). 

We received five, small pan-seared whole fish in a simple lemon sauce and oven roasted potatoes. A wonderful, tasty, little fish. My son raved about the tenderness of the pork.

I also ordered a dish of horta ($4.95) -- sauteed dandelion with olive oil and lemon juice added at the table. This is a delicious green I enjoyed often in Greece.

Free dessert

We were walk-ins and were surprised when the waiter brought us three desserts on the house, including creamy rice pudding topped with coconut, and two gooey confections with whipped sweet cream, set on a plate covered in chocolate, cinnamon and powdered sugar. I guess all customers receive them during the restaurant's grand opening.

I tried a couple of spoonfuls of rice pudding, but it was too cold to really enjoy, and my wife and son were too full to finish the other desserts.

Prices, service


Prices are higher than at the Greek To Me chain, and portions range from skimpy (hummus) to good (the red mullet special). Service was excellent, but the dining room was only a quarter full when we left. 

Our meal, with two soft drinks (free refills) and a glass of retsina wine ($7), came to $76.75 with tax but not tip. I'll go back for the quality of the food.


After we were seated, we were brought a big loaf of indifferent white-and-dark bread  and some extra-virgin olive oil for dipping. I tried the doughy loaf, and immediately asked for toasted Greek pita, the only bread that should be served there.


We saw valet parkers when we arrived around 5 on Saturday evening, but I believe you can park in a small lot behind the restaurant reachable from Broadway. I parked on a side street.

Fishing with dynamite


Oh, about fishing with dynamite. On my early '90s visit to Athens, the Pelopennese and some of the islands, including Crete, Santorini and Rhodes, fish in restaurants was very expensive, and the explanation I saw in guide books was that Greek fishermen used dynamite to kill their catch, leading to overfishing. 

Details

Taverna Mykonos, 238 Broadway (Route 4), Elmwood Park; 201-703-9200.

Website: Welcome

'Why does my broccoli rabe turn brown?'

Image by urbanfoodie33 via Flickr

I was looking over the produce selection at DePiero's Farm in Montvale on Wednesday afternoon when I saw a woman picking up a bunch of broccoli rabe (photo) -- the dark green, bitter, Italian variety many people prefer over the standard vegetable. 

I tapped her on the shoulder, then asked, "Why does my broccoli rabe turn brown?"  She answered immediately, "You cooked it too long." Ah-ha.

She described how she prepares it: A few minutes in boiling water, where it turns bright green, "to remove some of the bitterness." Then, she adds it to hot olive oil with chopped garlic and a little red pepper flakes, cooking it for well under 10 minutes, until it is tender but not limp.

Over at the eggplants bin, another woman complains her husband is "a pain in the neck," because he insists she prepare it Italian-style, with an egg wash and breading. I say, "Do you fry it? The eggplant soaks up so much oil. I grill slices on the stove with a little olive oil and salt."


"I don't fry it. I bake it." Voila.

I stopped at DiPiero's for a cup of coffee with a friend after we left a meeting in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y. The hilltop farm store is next to U.S. headquarters for Mercedes-Benz, where I once picked up new models to evaluate for my automobile road test column in The Record. 

I made sure I picked up four ears of bicolor Jersey corn for dinner, to accompany fried, wild-caught flounder from Costco in Hackensack and wilted, fresh spinach in garlic and oil from H Mart in Little Ferry. I steamed the corn, and it was so sweet, we ate it as is. 

I also found a large, stainless-steel pot with two steamer inserts at the Korean supermarket for $29.99. It will allow me to steam vegetables and frozen, wild-caught sockeye salmon in sake, soy sauce, sesame oil and lemon at the same time or prepare forty Korean dumplings at once.

DePiero's Farm, 300 W. Grand Ave., Montvale; 201-391-4576.

Loving food too much

Image by roboppy via Flickr

 "I love food."


"I know. Just love food a little less."


That pretty much sums up the exchange today between me and my doctor after my yearly physical. My weight -- 226 pounds, four more than in May 2009, but four pounds less than my recent peak -- prompted his advice that I'm eating too much, even though I go to the gym five days a week.


His words weren't exactly ringing in my ears when I drove to the other end of Englewood to see if I could pick up three fish dinners at Jerry's Gourmet & More. I was out of luck; I only found one dinner with fish among the restaurant-quality chicken and pork meals.

Jerry's was probably the wrong place to go after my physical. I had to fast for the examination and needed breakfast, and all the free samples of cheese, bread and olive oil were too hard to resist. I had a dozen or more small cubes of cheese, four or five pieces of bread dipped in extra virgin olive oil, crackers and yogurt, but didn't try the energy drink. 


I bought three of Jerry's small, chewy focaccias ($1.49 each) -- covered in marinara sauce and lots of chopped garlic (I had half of one to complete my breakfast at home). The Original Napoletana Pizza Margherita (like the one in photo above), with house-made fresh mozzarella, fresh basil, tomato, salt and extra-virgin olive oil, was $4.99, a bargain when compared to what a Neapolitan pizzeria charges.


For dinner tonight, I'll heat up Jerry's two-pound lasagna (meatless, $10.99) and steam a pound of French green beans from Costco.


Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St.,
Englewood; 201-871-7108

Web site:
Jerry's Homemade

Keep your hands off the fruit, please

Image via Wikipedia

Costco shoppers are by and large a weird bunch, and watching them during my once- or twice-a-week visits to the Hackensack warehouse store isn't amusing. Why does saving money bring out such bad behavior?


Their frenetic driving in the parking lot may be familiar to you, but they're lazy, too, leaving those big shopping carts up against parked cars rather than walking the carts a few steps to keep them  out of the way.


Now, their behavior inside the store is deteriorating. Never mind that fickle shoppers will abandon their selections almost anywhere except where they found the items, including under the checkout counter, perishable food or not. Just look over the carts employees fill with rejects near the first registers.

I've also started to notice that some shoppers open packages of produce and seem intent on examining every tomato, orange, strawberry and even blueberry. True, I hate to buy produce and discover soft or moldy pieces, but the store's return policy is so generous, you can always get your money back. The other day, my wife ate two imported tangerines she bought at Costco, said they weren't sweet and asked me to return them for a refund, which I did.


To me, opening produce and touching it is taboo. I plan to speak to the store managers next time I'm there.


Good buys at Fairway Market


The sales flier from Fairway Market in Paramus is heralding "club store pricing" on 8,000 grocery items every day. Here are examples: Florida Natural orange juice (64 ounces), two for $5; Kozy Shack rice pudding (six pack or 22-ounce tub), $1.99; and Barilla pasta, 80 cents. Among specialty items, a three-liter tin of Fairway extra-virgin olive oil is $14.99.

Punch up your pasta sauce 

I don't have the time or inclination to make my own pasta sauce, especially when there are such great bottled sauces available at Fairway Market and Costco at low prices. But I do add a few things to my bottled sauce to make it really special: olive oil, dried Italian seasoning, dried garlic and crushed red pepper. 

Still, my sauce isn't complete without adding a can of anchovies, including oil (and capers, if any), and boiling it until the fish and anchovy taste disappear, leaving behind a distinctive, robust flavor. I'm not sure why, but the sauce with anchovies is not salty at all (I don't salt my pasta water, and use as little water as possible).

Last night, I added a can of anchovies to a little more than half of a 32-ounce bottle of Fairway tomato-and-basil pasta sauce ($3.49), and added about half a package of al dente fusiloni (oversize corkscrews from Italy that I buy at ShopRite). Delicious. And  I love to have crusty bread to soak up the sauce left on the plate.

Turn your back on refrigerated hummus

Image via Wikipedia

If you love hummus, read this New York Times story (link below), then go out and buy canned hummus from Lebanon and make your own with tahini, olive oil, lemon juice and garlic powder. With all the money you'll save, you can buy some fresh Syrian bread to scoop up your tasty, homemade dip.


I buy my canned hummus at Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson (975-77 Main St.), a one-stop shopping experience for fresh bread and everything you'd want to eat with it. Lebano Verde is the brand I favor, and a 15-ounce can was 99 cents the last time I was there 10 days ago. 

I garnish my hummus with more olive oil and cumin or Aleppo red pepper, and use it as a sandwich spread when I'm not scooping it up with bread. Here is the link to the story:

 Hummus with peanut butter?

(Photo: Hummus served in Haifa, Israel)

Beans, beans and bread

Image by seier+seier+seier via Flickr

My passion for the spices and flavors of the Middle East only seem to increase as I get older. I have been trying more and more to experience again the wonderful meals I enjoyed for many years at my mother's table -- her Jewish specialties from Aleppo, Syria, where she was born.

Now, I visit Aleppo Restaurant and Middle Eastern bakeries and markets in Paterson to taste that wonderful food or gather the ingredients for home-cooked meals.

The other day, I found a large, 32-ounce can of fava beans from Lebanon in my cupboard and immediately thought salad. I drained most of the liquid and poured these humble beans into a bowl, adding chopped scallion and parsley, extra-virgin olive oil, juice from two small lemons, garlic powder, cumin, allspice, Aleppo red pepper and salt.

You can heat up the seasoned beans, smash some of them and serve them with a hard-boiled egg on top. Or you can spoon a good amount of beans on a plate, warm them in the microwave and top them with one or two sunny side up eggs, as I did for breakfast today. Then, I warmed up Syrian bread and scooped up egg, yolk and beans, or made small sandwiches with the pocket bread.

Image via Wikipedia

Grace Sasson, my mother, used to make falafel with fresh fava beans, as the Egyptians do. Everyone else uses chickpeas. In her self-published cookbook, "Kosher Syrian Cooking," she has the falafel recipe and a second recipe where shelled fava beans are cooked in oil, water and allspice until they turn brown and served as a side dish.

I'll probably be making some hummus (pureed chickpeas) this week -- adding powdered garlic, lemon juice and olive oil to canned spread from Lebanon -- and I know I'll be snacking on pocket-bread sandwiches of fava beans and hummus. Basic, filling and delicious.

A cross-cultural breakfast

Image by wka via Flickr

When it came time for breakfast today, I found I was out of my usual fish -- canned red salmon and smoked wild salmon, and though I had sardines, I ate those most of last week.

So I immediately thought eggs and assembled a quick meal from a number of sources:

First, I made a plain egg-white omelet in organic, Italian extra-virgin olive oil (eggs and oil from Costco, Hackensack) and seasoned it with salt and coarse red Aleppo pepper (Fattal's Bakery in Paterson). I heated up leftovers -- scrambled eggs with strips cut from whole-grain tortillas (Trader Joe's, Paramus) and tomatoes, and plated the omelet next to it, dousing both with Valentina's Mexican hot sauce (Hackensack Market, Hackensack).

I warmed four pocket bread halves (Fattal's) in the toaster, took prepared Libano Verde-brand hummus wuth tehina from Lebanon (also Fattal's) from the fridge, put some Arirang-brand cabbage kimchi in a bowl (Gaboh Inc., Englewood) and dug in. I drank Bromley black tea (ShopRite).

Greek Island Grill in Hackensack

Extra-virgin olive oil.

We lived in Englewood when the first It's Greek To Me chain restaurant opened, and it soon became one of our favorites. 

But as the years passed, its popularity grew, and so did the prices. After we moved to Hackensack, we no longer made the restaurant part of our dining-out routine.

So, last night, we finally tried Greek Island Grill, a BYO on one of Hackensack's quietest stretches of Main Street, a vivid contrast to Englewood's congested Palisade Avenue and the noisy families that flocked to Greek To Me. 

We were the first customers to arrive for the evening, but soon two more of the dozen or so tables were occupied and there were no screaming little kids.

The staff turned on a Greek music soundtrack, but did not  turn off the wall-mounted TV, which showed Spanish-language movies where so many people were shot to death or blown up, I soon lost count.

It was apparently a movie festival called "Kiss of Death."

We liked everything we ordered, but the service was a bit slow and clumsy. 

Why do restaurants bring you a salad or an entree to share without serving utensils? It's an enduring mystery. Still, we'll definitely return.

We ordered a terrific salad ($7.50) -- beets, potatoes, chick peas and red onions -- to share, but it could have used a serving spoon and a lot more dressing.

There was plenty of Greek pita to soak up olive oil and lemon juice.

Our entrees were jumbo shrimp with orzo in tomato sauce ($16) for my wife and a simply grilled, whole fish with rice ($24.95) for me and my 12-year-old son. 

My wife liked her dish, which she had often at Greek To Me, noting the shrimp were crunchy and not overcooked. 

And the fish was great, too, though I don't think it was the red snapper we ordered. The waiter forgot to bring the Greek fries my son asked for, but I caught the error on the bill.

Greek Island Grill, 77 Main St., Hackensack; (201) 489-4733‎.

Tossing the guacamole

In preparing dinner last night, I had second thoughts about serving guacamole from 2005 I found in the back of the freezer. See post, "What's in your freezer?"

I just now tossed the package into the garbage.

Image via Wikipedia

But I did serve two other side dishes with antibiotic-free Australian shoulder lamb chops that were quick, easy and nutritious -- Middle Eastern fingerling potato salad and collard greens with garlic.

The multicolored potatoes came in a 5-pound bag from Costco. The salad is quick to prepare, but boiling  about three cups of potatoes, which I cut up, took about 20 to 25 minutes. You could do that while the chops are roasting in the oven. After draining the potatoes and running cold water over them, I added:
 
Juice of one big lemon
Two to three ounces of extra-virgin olive oil
Cumin, allspice, Aleppo pepper and salt to taste
Toss and serve

I washed and cut up the collard greens (from H Mart), then blanched them for a few minutes in boiling, salted water. (I have found that if you don't first blanch fresh greens, spinach and similar items, they turn brown.) Using tongs, I transferred the greens to a pan in which I had heated heated extra-virgin olive oil and dehydrated garlic chips, sauteeing them for another four or five minutes. Then I turned off the fire and covered the pan to let the greens steam until I served them.

The only problem, my wife said, is that I didn't make enough. My son thought they needed salt.

Sushi with cracked pepper, olive oil and kimchi

I continue to work my way through that great block of smoked-mackerel sushi from Mitsuwa Marketplace in Edgewater. See post, "Back in the food-shopping game."

Yesterday, I opened the two packets that came in the box and looked over the inserts from Komego, all in Japanese, which I don't read. I poured the cracked peppercorns and extra-virgin olive oil in separate dishes. This is different. I've always associated sushi and sashimi with soy sauce and wasabi.

This fatty, Omega-3 rich mackerel with rice is good enough on its own, but takes on extra dimensions when dipped first in the oil and then pungent cracked pepper.This morning, I had two more slices and paired one with

Image via Wikipedia

crunchy cabbage kimchi before popping it into my mouth. Delish.