Iranian food without rice is not Iranian!

Share/Save/Bookmark

Iranian food without rice is not Iranian!
by Anonymouse
23-Sep-2010
 

After a recent annual checkup I was once again borderline on the health charts for things such as Cholestrol, blood pressure, sugar and some other stuff like white and red blood cells which I don't pay attention to much because I don't know what the heck they are!  Not that I know more about Cholestrol but at least it is more famous.  One of these years I'm going to break the barriers and be screwed!

I recall in the past few visits over the years my Doctor (who is Egyptian so he knows about the polo issue :-) kept telling me that I could reduce my Nitroglycerine by eating less rice and bread.  Now as an Iranian we're given chai in our milk bottles and as soon as we develop teeth we're fed Shomali rice followed by khoresht.  So when the Doc advises less rice obviously I ignore it.  I mean Chinese eat the most rice, more so than Iranians or even the entire Middle East combined, and they're pretty healthy.  They seem fit most of the time and you'll be hard pressed to find an obese Chinese!

But sooner or later I have to face the reality and reduce the polo and bread intake.  Bread is another issue, the dishes that don't have rice like Kotlet, Oloviyeh, KooKoo or Kashk-e bademjan, still need bread like Barbari bread to wash them down!  Doc says less fried food too, so there goes Kotlet and Koo Koo!  So I have to be realistic that as an Iranian I can't not eat polo.  I can only reduce it for the sake of lower Nitroglycerine.  Now the question is how to reduce it.

I was reading Organic jaan's blog on excercising (which I do seasonably and leisurely :-) -- my Doc has stressed so much and every year puts notes in my file that I don't do it regularly to make me feel bad -- and noticed Nazy jaan's comment that asked about ways to have more healthy Iranian food.  So I thought to write this blog and share my view and seek alternatives.

I think Iranian food is really healthy to begin with and unless you soak it in fat and grease and Crisco it is made of healthy ingredients and can be cooked very healthy.  The issue is not being healthy the issue is not eating polo and bread and reducing them.

So the way I'm solving the problem for myself is to eat other ethnic food like Mexican, Chinese or Italian.  Mix and match chicken with vegetables or grilled chicken and green salads and/or wheat pasta hot or cold and tomato sauces.  These combinations are endless and you can mix beets with seaweed and olives with walnuts and roots and leaves and so on and so forth. 

Perhaps polo is good for 2 or 3 (or 3.5 :-) times a week?  We can't give it up, we just have to reduce it.  I like brown rice but the damn thing takes forever to cook unless you can eat hard rice which can crack your teeth!  Are there even any brown basmati rice?  I've not seen one so far.  And is wheat bread, like wheat barbari bread that I can find, kosher and all-you-can-eat-ok?  I actually like wheat bread, didn't like it before, but like it now and can totally substitute it with white bread but that seems to be only minor and the much lesser of the 2 "evils"!

Share/Save/Bookmark

Recently by AnonymouseCommentsDate
Flag as abusive!
30
Dec 28, 2010
دعوت به یاوه گویی!
26
Dec 02, 2010
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
15
Nov 23, 2010
more from Anonymouse
 
Anonymouse

Monda jaan jogging is old news for me

by Anonymouse on

I don't like jogging anymore but did it when I was in college or when just out of it, and never much.  Jogging is hard on your knees like you said even doing jumping jacks is like that.   I prefer bicycle riding and do that regularly, on weekends as time and weather permits. 

Unfortunately the healty things I like seems to be not good and healthy anymore.  Perhaps this blog can be used for a stand up routine about health charts!

Thank you for your good luck wish and good luck to you as well! 

Everything is sacred


Monda

one mile is a good start, Anonymouse

by Monda on

before you know it you can do 2 and then the next month miles, faster and faster then jog... how about that idea?  Still don't forget nice stretches before and after.

Some spices have high efficacy, cinnamon and turmeric for example. Garlic is another wonder, lowering blood pressure and cholesterol.  Ginger is great too, but raises blood pressure.

Anyway, the idea is to find out about their cross-actions with your meds and your other health attributes. Best of luck to you.


Souri

Yes, you are right

by Souri on

Alborz jon,

You're right, you better stop or I'll commite suicide :)

I must have both sleep apnea (I mean I have light sleep and recently snoring, too :)) and carry some extra pounds since 10 years now.

I lost them many times but regained them back! They just love me too much! They always come back :))

I will ask you for more details, soon.

Thanks for all those good information.


alborz

Dear Souri - Glucose is my favorite molecule.

by alborz on

Glad to hear that you have things under control.

You should however remain focused on diabetes.  It is the cause for many other chronic diseases.

Sleep apnea has also been shown to cause diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is why sleeping well at night is so important.  Many people simply accept snoring or light sleep as a part of life.  Being constantly tired should not be ignored - a sleep study is the first step in determining whether sleep apnea is the cause.  Most people suffer from sleep apnea but are not aware of the symptoms (light sleep, snoring) - therefore they go through life with it and this affects every organ in the body.

Folks that carry a few extra pounds are more likely to suffer from sleep apnea. 

Everything is related to everything else and typically we focus on the first thing that is measured - like blood sugars.  Poor metabolism could be due to poor sleep.  Poor sleep can therefore be the cause of weight gain or an inability to lose weight. Docs typically focus on treating the symptoms - the cause goes undetected and therefore unaddressed.

I better stop now...

Alborz


Anonymouse

Alborz yes the triglyceride

by Anonymouse on

I'm totally in the woods about these terms and what they even mean!  You're right I believe "reducing" the intake is the best solution, at least for me.  I have started to change and for example am eating more chicken with salad instead of chicken soltani with rice!

This weekend I got brown basmati rice and will replace it with the white rice until further notice or when eating out!

But in the end our body parts will start to malfunction!  You fix one thing and the next will break down!  Hopefully I can control the sugar as well because the charts for sugar are borderline again and talk of being pre pre-diabetic.  Doggone it, no Sohan either! 

Everything is sacred


Anonymouse

Monda jaan the homeopatic remedies are complicated!

by Anonymouse on

I actually take Saw Palmetto for prostate health and a few years ago while looking for something for my father I came across it.  It is proven to work and Native Americans have been using it for a long time.

Other herbal medicine can be complicated and since there are no known and proven studies they can cause other problems.  As you noted requires attention to dosage and consistency.

As for exercise yes sure but it is easier said that done.  I don't think I'm going to be able to exercise religiously unless I break the barriers or have a heart attack or something!  I don't know, hopefully walking about a mile is enough!  

Everything is sacred


Anonymouse

I posted a picture of Brown Basmati Rice in a new blog!

by Anonymouse on

Here it is!  We use this brand's white rice regularly and we love it.  The brown version was good too.  I bought it from an Indian store this weekend, the Iranian stores didn't have it. 

Everything is sacred


alborz

Triglyceride not Triglicerene!

by alborz on

I don't think there is anything called Trigllicerene.

Many on this post have recommended that regular exercise will reduce total cholestrol. Exercise reduces the Triglycerides.   Yours is probably above 120 and should you be able to reduce this through exercise, you won't have to cut back on bread and rice as much (relatively speaking).

As for adjusting the ratios and amounts of the target ingredients, like cheese, rice and bread, I can tell you from personal experience that if you do this gradually, you will adjust.  Eliminating staples like bread, rice and cheese has never worked for me, so I simply reduce their consumption by introducing variety in my routine or menu.

In the end, it is all about adjusting our routine to the reality of our changing metabolism as we age.  What we eat every day over time matters. What we may eat occassionally seldom matters.

Enjoy.

Alborz


Monda

Always listen to your doc

by Monda on

i was suggesting that once things are balanced by meds, and for the long haul, exploring herbs and spices may be helpful with maintenance. Homeopatic remedies require attention to dosage and consistency.

Don't forget exercise in general, specifically yoga. Baba you're a lifelong skier, i don't need to preach You anything keh! 


Souri

Dear Alborz

by Souri on

I really enjoyed reading your informative comment!

Wow!! Man, you know lots of things in so many subjects!!

You surprised me about the diabet type 2!

I started to have a big belly since 4 years ago....then just 3 years ago, I learnt that I was running to the risk of the early diabet type 2. I never knew that ther was a relation between the diabet type 2 and that big belly!
Now, the diabet is under the control, but the big belly is still there, no matter what I do :)


Anonymouse

Niki jaan funny you should mention a fist full of rice!

by Anonymouse on

You know in parts of Iran, actually not just Iran in many parts of the world including here in USA people like to eat by hand on certain occasions or cultures, but let's stick with our own for now.

When I go to Shomal some people like to eat their polo with hand and in my uncle's household we sit down around a sofreh family style with many people and his wife stays in the middle of sofreh (I'm not kidding :-) and shovels polo from the dees of polo to your dish and if you're not alert she'll shovel the entire dees!

So once the polo is "served" it is custom that many, myself included, eat the polo with our hands.  So I can't imagine having a "fist" full of polo, that's just one bite! LOL!

As for pasta, I love it too and we have 100% converted to wheat pasta be it Spagetti, Rigatoni or Fettuccini.  I actually like the taste of wheat pasta with tomato sauce much better. 

Everything is sacred


Anonymouse

Alborz Triglycerides it is though I thought it was Triglicerene!

by Anonymouse on

You know when we go to a supermarket and buy stuff we buy the things that we like and while there are many goods there we select our own taste and what we eat becomes our diet and our diet becomes our fate!

My doctor doesn't know what I eat but he's saying that rice and bread can be eaten less and it just so happens that they are a big part of my diet.  He's also recommending that less tomatoes be had and that's where I draw another line!  I LOVE tomatoes and especially the various exotic kinds and hand pick them whenever I get a chance, so no can do on tomatoes!

As far as adding more addass to addass polo as I said in the blog yes those options can be used but I can change the addas polo's recipe too much other wise it'd be an addas polo from Krygystan!

As for French feta, indeed!  I love that cheese and it is part of my morning breakfast every day. Hopefully I don't have to consider reducing it ;-) 

Everything is sacred


Anonymouse

Faramarz and Sarshar

by Anonymouse on

Faramarz jaan yes of course as I said nothing beats aging gracefully.  Those with good minds are like Kerman rugs!  

Sarshar, it depends which kind of lettuce.  Iceberg lettuce?  or even the Romaine lettuce, we'll have to use the leaves on top where we normally discard or chop and they don't always taste good.  Perhaps the steamed cabbage leaves would work and are stronger to hold stuff.  But yes your idea is good and as I mentioned in the blog, it basically is another ethnic food, like Thai or Vietnamese perhaps. 

Everything is sacred


Anonymouse

Monda jaan herbs and supplements can't always replace meds

by Anonymouse on

If the doc prescribes us a medication, what do we do? Don't take it?  Sure I can delay it and try other herbal medicine but at some point when things don't get better I have to go back and start taking the meds, at least until the symptoms get better or stopped.

Also, if I don't take a prescribed med I'll be starting a legal fight with the healthcare provider where if things get worse they can deny coverage because I went against the doctor's decision and made my situation worse! right?! 

Everything is sacred


Parthianshot91

Iranian food is/has always been healthy

by Parthianshot91 on

  Sure, polo (Rice) isn't gonna get you abs, but it's not gonna make you fat nor obese either. The crappiest food you could eat is American, like  the disgusting crap they serve at mcdonals, kfc, burger king and other fast food restaurants.

 --------------------------------------------------------------

"They are not afraid of the ideology alone, but of the detemination and will of the men behind it"

 "I would rather be hated for who I am than loved for who I'm not"


Niki Tehranchi

Mouse jan you might think this is a ridiculous suggestion

by Niki Tehranchi on

but you could still eat your rice if you reduce the portion to the size of your fist.  I think that is a good measure of how much you can eat without overdoing it. I have never been a polo eater myself, my biggest carb weakness is pasta.  By switching to whole wheat pasta and reducing the portion, and by only indulging once a week, I have really made a difference.  Of course you have to exercise too.  I just push the ladybug's stroller up and down the hills where I live for about 30 mns each day. That way I am spending quality time with the baby (the stroller faces me instead of out) and get some much needed exercise.


alborz

Anonymouse Jaan...Nitroglycerine is explosive!

by alborz on

Perhaps you meant Triglycerides.

The best way for us Iranians to lower our total cholestrol is to reduce our Triglycerides - simply achieved with activity.  If you walk 30 to 40 minutes a day or better yet hike 3 times a week, you can drop  your Triglycerides by as much as 50 points.  You can take that right off of your total cholestrol.

Next we need to worry about our HDL being too low.  To increase it and keep it above 42 just make sure that you are having that noon sangak and cheese (preferrably french feta that is lower in fat) with walnuts.  They are high in HDL.  Also try getting used to having unsalted Almond butter with a little jam on bread. This will also boost your HDL - the good cholestrol.  Avoid Peanut butter as it increases LDL - the bad cholestrol.

Finally, Persian food is very low on protein - our khoreshts, with the exception of gheymeh, provide very little protein.  Therefore you can alway increase the proportion of meat so that you don't eat as much rice.  You can do this with any of the khoreshts.  With rice dishes like Adas polo by having a 1 to 1 ratio of lentil to rice you can have a very filling meal with much less rice than otherwise.  You can also do this with Loobia polo by making sure that it is rich in meat and green beans - yum!

Persian food can be made healthy with a few minor adjustments if you complement it with regular cardiovascular exercise like walking or hiking.   A sure sign that you have lowered your risk is to not to have a big belly (or small one for that matter) - it is now a proven early sign of impending type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Enjoy the many years ahead with these minor adjustments and you won't have to give up that bread that I too have with rice.

Alborz


default

if you want to avoid breads also....

by sarshar45 on

if you want to avoid breads also, try wrapping your kotlet or salad olivieh or kashke bademjoon in lettuce.... the persian version of a lettuce wrap. also good are the dolmehs. they dont have THAT much rice or substitute barley or eliminate the rice totally in the filling.


Faramarz

Anonymouse and Cousin Mehrdad

by Faramarz on

 


ما نوجوانان ما قبل بشر مثل قالی کرمان میمونیم که هر چی پا میخوریم بهتر میشیم و مثل بادمجون بم آفت نداریم!

حالا که ادعا میکنید که من از شما ها بزرگترم، باید همیشه به من سلام کنین و
بی اجازه حرف نزنین! کفش هاتون رو هم باید دم در دربیارین!    


Anonymouse

دوستان روز و روزگار بر همگی‌ خوش و آخر هفتهٔ خوبی‌ داشته باشید!

Anonymouse


Everything is sacred


Monda

Anonymouse, before i run to My ball...

by Monda on

i'd like to remind you of jumpingjacks on hard surface, causes damage to joints. Stick with soft, chaman for instance. Well you like that better good for you, but many of my male friends have used it and liked it. And they ain't gay either :o))

i buy mine at trader joe's, i'm telling you it takes 10 mins longer for polo or katteh, the way You define each dish.

once you follow your doc's interventions, you does not have to be all about medication, for the rest of your life... Once you know good eating, exercising and mindset incorporated in your lifestyle. Taking supplements, in herbs and spices for example or visualizing joy and laughing your head off when you can, etc. can be more effective than meds. trust me bro, it's all evidence-based science by now. Good luck with your healthy habit-formation, homework! 


Anonymouse

ماندا جان ما آماتوریم توپ پلاستیکی به دردمون نمیخوره!

Anonymouse


Besides bouncing balls seem gay :-) Perhaps basic jumping jacks or school exercises we used to do in school is more beneficial to us!

As for brown rice, well technically a good basmati rice becomes polo (not kateh) in 20 - 25 minutes or so and if brown rice becomes kateh in 10 minutes longer that means the brown polo takes about 35 - 40 minutes.  I really like brown rice, I just want to find brown basmati rice and hopefully that takes the same cooking time as white basmati.  This weekend I shall look and find it!

I'm not "worried" about aging I just want to delay taking more medications!  I don't want to end up with a bag full of pills sooner than I have to!  I like and advocate aging gracefully, nothing is better!

Thanks for reading and commenting. 

Everything is sacred


Monda

brown rice, pilates, yoga and Bavafa's poem

by Monda on

Aziz, brown basmati takes only about 10 minutes longer than white.  All you need to do is measure the water twice as in white rice. I put the lid on a la katteh, from the beginning to help cook faster. Brown is Much better for us. And remember taste is acquired. Everybody makes negative comments on having brown rise with khoreshs, at first. But you and they will love it after second or third sitting. Trust me on that. It's all about conditioning and healthy priorities! Hey as a bonus point, brown rice makes crunchy tah dig too.

I'd like to vouch for plastic-free pilates, unless you don't mind floor balls. Pilates in general and specifically on the floor balls, is fantasticg for stretching the core. You'd be surprised how much more fun sit-ups and push-ups (+shoulder-stands) can be.

I vouch for yoga too. But, I'd say stay away from Bikram, at least for starters and especially if you don't care to learn about your physiology before attempting it. Because Bikram has unpredictable consequences on the nerves and joints. I mean, it's assumed that one's body becomes prepared "faster" for the stretches, however many have reported injuries in bikram due to inappropriate/ speeded-up warm ups. 

It sounds like Bavafa has truly pondered on his life stages - loved his poem :o) So Cute!

Not to worry too much Anonymouse, most consequences of aging can be reversed or at least controlled in this day and age, by wisdom. Read up on the Chinese and Indian types. 


Bavafa

I will make sure that always

by Bavafa on

عرض ادب از من باشه.  من چاکر شما و پسر خاله فرامرز هستم

On other notes,

As my father in-law says, when you get to my age, you can't go to the doctor and not come back with some issues. So, the best way to avoid having medical issue is to avoid the doctor.

Mehrdad


Anonymouse

نگفتم؟! من یک سال از شما بزرگترم! فرامرز هم از ما دو تا بزرگتره!

Anonymouse


Everything is sacred


Bavafa

Anonymouse jaan, be sene man ke beresi, do ta chiz peesh miad

by Bavafa on

اولیش حافظت رو از دست میدی

دومیش هم یادم نمیاد

Mehrdad

P.S. I got drafted, so I guess I was 18, na?  I am 48 now :( 


Anonymouse

لیلی مال بعد از اسلامه, لیلا پیش از اسلام. توفیر نمیکنه!

Anonymouse


Everything is sacred


Hoshang Targol

نظر شما در

Hoshang Targol


نظر شما در مورد آخرین گرایشات "خانوم" لیلی  چیه ؟  


Anonymouse

هوشنگ خان ته چین هم بالاخره پلو دیگه! فرقش چیه؟!

Anonymouse


Everything is sacred


Anahid Hojjati

Dear Bavafa, what a funny poem.

by Anahid Hojjati on

This was a very funny poem. Thanks for sharing.