“Food for Lovers” at Kenmore Live Studio Dec 11th!

Yes that’s me. And yes, that’s a eyeliner mustache on my lip. And no…that’s not my wife but Emily, a lovely Kenmore Live Studio employee who has a great sense of humor and helped me with the promo video you just watched. Trust me…I won’t give up my day job! 🙂

A bit on a more serious note, in my book, 101 Optimal Life Foods, I discuss the real health challenges that many of my patients are experiencing that get in the way of “living”. Most of those challenges may be considered “quality of life” challenges but in fact can be an “early warning detection system” for bigger troubles a-brewing!

Many of the guys I see who experience erectile dysfunction have the beginnings of heart disease. Many women I see who are having trouble getting pregnant have Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) which is also linked to life-threatening metabolic syndrome and heart disease. So as I say in this video, “What’s good for the heart is good for every other part!” Choosing the right foods along with physical activity and proper rest can help treat these problems WITHOUT medications!

Come join me at Kenmore Live Studio located at 678 N Wells Street in Chicago on December 11th at 7pm for a fun evening filled with tasty tips and facts on how to bring romance back into your relationships and fix the plumbing at the same time. It’s FREE!! No reservations needed but come early to grab a good seat. Here’s one of the recipes I will be preparing and serving that evening. Enjoy and hope to see you there!

Rosemary Nuts

Featured in 101 Optimal Life Foods

Servings: 28-30 portions (approx 1/4 cup portions)

Ingredients:

2 lbs. assorted nuts, roasted; but not salted
4 tablespoons fresh rosemary needles; finely chopped
1/4-1/2 teaspoon cayenne
1 1/3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/3 tablespoons kosher or sea salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter; melted

Directions:

Pour nuts one-layer thick on a baking sheet and toast in a 350 oven for 14 minutes.

Mix all other ingredients into the melted butter in a bowl big enough to hold the nuts, and keep warm.  Nuts should also be warm when they are added to the butter mixture. Gently re-heat either one until if they cool before combining.

Pour warm nuts into the bowl, and with two wooden spoons, mix thoroughly, coating nuts with the butter.  Let the nuts dry and cool completely before storing them in an airtight container.

Nutrition Profile

290 Calories, 16g Fat, 2.5g Sat Fat, 0mg Cholesterol, 260 mg Sodium, 7g Carbs, 3g Fiber, 5g Protein

Yummy Food Pics and “Ask the Guyatitian”

My Cooking Classes at Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking in Dayton, Ohio    

I recently was interviewed by a journalist who asked me, “Do you have any regrets about the two books you wrote?” My response was “Yes! Not having pictures of the recipes!” So I thought I’d share a few with you today.    

What has been so cool about writing these two books of mine are the fantastic recipes that are featured in them. In fact, they are soooooooooo good that I double-dare the most worldly foodie to find tastier, healthy recipes that can make taste buds jump for joy like these recipes can!

Participants who attended my cooking demo this past Tuesday and Wednesday night at the Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking agreed – the recipes are über delicious. And let me clarify, it wasn’t really my cooking demo. In fact, I didn’t cook a darn thing. It was these two wonderful chefs (Chef Elizabeth Wiley from the Meadowlark Restaurant and Chef Carrie Walters from the Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking pictured below) and their able assistants who made my latest book, 101 Optimal Life Foods come alive on all the plates that evening. 

 Why were the following dishes so special? I literally gave each of these chefs a list of ingredients to use for their recipes in the book and said to them “Make something that tastes amazing”.  And everyone agreed that evening that great taste and good health lived as one in those recipes. Here’s a sampling of the dishes we featured and the corresponding page numbers in the book.

  

  

   

   

 Gazpacho with garlic croutons, creme fraiche, local veggies and a hint of Tabasco! (page 276)    

Boy… this soup is so easy to make, fun to eat, and so refreshing. One bowl is only a 130 calories and meets most of your veggie requirements for the day! 

  

   

 Asparagus-Sesame Stir Fry (page 362)    Such a wonderful dish. The key is to not overcook the asparagus – leave it fairly crispy. This is a fave recommendation to my patients who have digestive complaints. Asparagus contains inulin which promotes friendly bacteria in the gut. Perfect for IBS sufferers. 

     

     

Chicken Thighs with Red Wine, Prunes and Garlic (page 323) Only 3 grams of saturated fat per serving!    

See that white stuff that looks like whipped potatoes on the top left of the plate? Yes, the stuff that is sopping up that delish wine-prune-garlic gravy. That’s not whipped taters at all – it’s creamy mashed cauliflower. It was a recipe by Chef Walters that was dreamt up the first day of the class. Let me tell you, it was EXCELLENT and a huge hit with the class. It is not featured in my book. But it is your lucky day – Chef Walters just sent me the recipe – here it is! 

   

   

   

“Optimal” Cauliflower  

by Chef Elizabeth Wiley and Chef Carrie Walters  

 Ingredients:  

1 head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets  

2 T olive oil  

2 garlic cloves, minced  

¼ C chicken or vegetable Stock  

4 T Greek yogurt  

2 t balsamic vinegar  

Salt and pepper to taste  

Directions:  

In a large pot of boiling water, cook florets until tender about 8 minutes. Drain well and return to pot. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a small sauté pan and briefly sauté the garlic until fragrant but not brown and remove from heat. Mash or process the cauliflower with the olive oil, chicken stock and yogurt until desired consistency is reached. We like it with some texture. Add the balsamic vinegar and season to taste with the salt and pepper. Enjoy!  

  

Beanie Greenie Brownie (page 309)    

This was a dessert that was submitted by Deb Schiff of Altered Plates. This is one of the best brownies I have ever had and contains carob NOT cocoa. Nothing wrong with cocoa  – it’s in my book – but this recipe is perfect for those who may have a sensitivity\allergy to cocoa. Besides, carob is wonderful for the digestive tract. And if you don’t want to use carob, swap it out for cocoa powder and chocolate chips.  

Lastly, we ended our exhausting two-day cooking demo and lecture at Dorothy Lane Market School of Cooking with our own song “Pans on the Ground”. Enjoy!  

 

    

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Ask the Guyatitian     

David, for about 10 years, all different friends of mine have been swearing by these drinks. Genesis, Noni, Goji, Xango, Limu, and MonaVie, Z Radical Health Juices. *My nail guy swears by Monavie, others Limu, and Xango. Just inquiring what you think about these drinks? I look forward to hearing from you. Do any of your patients ever talk about using these drinks? I would like your feedback.     

Kristy     

Kristy:     

Coming from a guy who wrote about 101 Foods That Could Save Your Life, not one of them, in my opinion, were so fantastic that they were $30+ bucks a pop! Unfortunately, many of these superfood drinks don’t contain enough of the good stuff to warrant the often outrageous price tag that goes with them.     

That said, some of my patients swear by them. There may be positive research on some of the featured ingredients (notice I did NOT say MAIN ingredients), rare is it that the actual formula is featured in the actual research. Bottom line. Save your money and eat the real deal. Can’t find some of the more exotic superfruit at your local grocery store, then turn to the ol’ standby superfruits such as Strawberries, Cherries, Blueberries, etc, which have substantially more research behind them than the bottled stuff does. And heck, its cheaper and tastes better. Hope that helps!!     

The Guyatitian     

      

    

    

   

Is This Guy Nuts (or Just Crazy About Them)??!

Tasty Things are coming Soon!

Before you make that decision, here’s some things you should know about me…

I’m a registered dietitian but I’m also a father, husband and a regular guy who LOVES food. I’m in decent shape but don’t sport a “six pack” nor aspire to but I’m happy that I’m not lugging around a “little pony” either.

If I screw up and don’t follow my own advice, guess what happens to me? My weight, cholesterol, blood pressure all go up, just like many of you who are reading this. It took quite a few years for this realization to sink into my head – “It’s a good thing to know about health but it is an even better thing to achieve it.” Wow! That’s quotable! :). Or did I just totally rip that off of someone else?

I’m also a realist. I know what people like to eat and where they like to eat. I don’t think it serves anyone to say this company is “bad” or that restaurant is “bad” – they wouldn’t exist unless there was a market for them and their offerings. I also think many idealistic food influencers out there tend to draw the line in the sand and forget that people gravitate towards certain foods and restaurants namely because  they bring something to the table so often overlooked by nutritionists and food influencers alike – FUN and ENJOYMENT. (My) Our continued challenge is how to we get people to salivate over fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds as much as they do over foods that are not that great for them? I have some ideas on this that I’m going to share with you from time to time – feel free to do the same. 

As you will see, I tend to run without much of a filter (much to my wife’s dismay). I like to call it the way I see it and I can become quite passionate about some topics – especially childrens’ health and nutrition. I’m committed to providing YOU with good sound information… something that you and\or your family can use that might make your lives better. But I promise I will keep  my posts “clean” and I ask that any responses that you are kind enough to offer, also contain suitable language. I would love for the kiddies to come by and stay awhile ;).

He’s naked!

Nice. I thought you were going to keep it clean, Dave?! No worries, I’m not going to blind-side you with a shocking nude photo of myself when you scroll down. What I mean by “naked” is that I come to you in the spirit of full-disclosure.

As the sisters of St. Francis once said, “No Money, No Mission”. How I put food on the table is by being a nutrition counselor, a writer, a spokesperson and a consultant for the food industry. If I find products\foods I believe in, I may do spokesperson work for them from time to time. I promise that I will disclose any relationships that I have with any companies\partners in my posts. No fine print here. But also keep in mind that you won’t see me hawking things I don’t believe in which may include but not limited to:

• Artificial anything – sugar replacer, fat replacers, etc.
• “Foods” that are questionable as to their ability to nourish the body – ones full of white flour, sugars, chemicals, etc don’t score big nutrition points with me but trust me, it doesn’t mean you won’t see me eating some “junk” every now and then. Now, let me state for the record that I love me some junk every once in a while – sure… you may see Dave scarfing down a honeybun, candybar, a sat fat burger – anything that might clog the arteries. But though I choose to eat them doesn’t mean that I’m going to help “push someone off of the ledge”. You want to eat junk? Do so with my blessing. This blog\website thingy is all about adding in good food, NOT staying away from OR promoting the consumption of, junk.

Also keep in mind that I only associate with food\products that are congruent with my nutrition philosophy. And yes, you should always read everything with a skeptical eye (even from me) but don’t fall into the trap of automatically writing off info you read as “tainted”  because there is a business relationship involved.  I am commited to sound science and truth. I have a reputation at stake and good standing amongst my nutrition brethren so I’m careful about who and what I affiliate with (see Nutrition Housecall page for a full listing of past and current affiliations).  

The Shelvic Exam

Some of you may know that this blog was originally going to be called “The Shelvic Exam” . Those who I hold in high regard advised me not to do so (wife included). They thought the name was  a little “out there”.  But what I mean by ‘Shelvic Exam” is that I want to offer to you, the reader, the same service I offer my patients through my Nutrition Housecall practice. I want to take a peek into your cabinet and shelves and give you the opportunity to submit your pictures of whats in your refrigerator, freezer and pantry shelves…any shelf that has food on it. I want to know what you are eating and what’s eating you?  My goal is to render a “diagnosis”, “prognosis” (what may happen – good or bad- if you keep eating THAT food) and a “prescription” that advises you to:

1. Keep up the good work – great food selections
2. It doesn’t make much difference the food choices are neutral –  like Switzerland!
3. You may want to get rid of the food or don’t eat it as often. But I discourage you to give any food that I consider to be “a poor choice” to the poor. They have never done anything against you. So give some thought on giving these foods to a neighbor you don’t like.

Another part of “The Shelvic Exam” will be reviewing nutrition and cook books and food products. Warning! Anything that is less-than-truthful, misguided and claiming to be something that they are not, please be on notice – wherever there is food injustice and nutrition misinformation  – I will call you out.

Rules of engagement

I hope you will  like what I will be posting here. There will be recipes, food photos, my rants and raves, my “Shelvic Exam” and other stuff, I’m sure. I hope to have contests and giveaways. I welcome book and healthy product submissions for review (see Contact Me). By the way, my kids will be doing all food product reviews. So here’s fair warning. If my kids like it, they will tell you so. If they don’t …? For my kids, it’s about taste and enjoyment, not nutrition. I respect that. But I also believe that you don’t have to sacrifice one for the other, right? 

I truly do want to hear what YOU want to hear about not just my ramblings. Feel free to ask questions and certainly post your comments. I want your pictures\videos here, too – open up your cabinets and let me take a peek! I promise, it won’t hurt a bit ;).

1. Your comments. Make them clean please.
2. Disagreeing is a healthy thing. If you don’t feel what I posted or what a reader has submitted for comments is right, say so. But let’s not be unkind or resort to name calling. I promise that this is me without a filter but it doesn’t mean getting nasty – keep me in check in case I get too passionate and violate rule #2.
3. Companies who have products that you want me to review, I’m happy to try it all. But know this:
   1. If I feel it’s a fit for my nutrition philosophy, I will tell you so. I will be quite honest about the taste, cost, ease of prep and such.
   2. If it’s junk but tastes good, I will identify it as such.
   3. If it’s junk, pretending to be healthy, and taste great, I will identify it as such.
   4. If it is junk, pretending to be healthy and tastes like poop, prepare to be skewered!

That’s it for my first post. Oh yeah, I’m going to Florence, Italy next week and plan on taking some sweet pics of what’s on the shelves of Italian homes. I will eat and blog my way through the city. I hope to take a picture of “David by the David”. I’m bringing my Flip Camera and hope to provide you with some neat interviews of people who will be attending the food conference that I will be presenting at. So, swing by as often as you like – I hope to things interesting. Oh, by the way, the photo at the beginning is of a dish called “Rosemary Nuts” (as in the herb Rosemary) from my new book, 101 Optimal Life Foods. So the answer to the title is “Yes and “YES”!

Chow and Ciao!