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Iranian food without rice is not Iranian!
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"!
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Hamsade what was your level?
by Anonymouse on Fri Sep 24, 2010 05:21 AM PDTBorderline is 210, was yours 220, 260, 320? You see I know of people who despite exercising and eating healthy end up with high cholestrol and it is not necessarily stress. Stress is not going to make your cholestrol 300. People have different metabolism which is one of the reasons prescriptions may be used.
As for me, since polo and bread seems to be my standard diet and I've been told less polo and bread is good, I'm thinking of reducing them and see if it makes a difference. If it does then hallelujah, if not then back to eating chelo khoresht every night!
Everything is sacred
anon, i actually went to
by hamsade ghadimi on Fri Sep 24, 2010 05:13 AM PDTanon, i actually went to the doctor when i was exercising regulary, was trim and had been eating healthy (no meat, sodas, fried food, coffee...) for over a year. when the out-of-shape doctor suggested pills for me and a trip to the nutritionist, and when the out of shape nutritionist told me to eat what i was eating, i thought there was something wrong with the picture. doctors are not gods and my doctor friends remind me of that all the time. :) that doesn't mean they're wrong all the time either. my high cholestrol stemmed from stress at work. my second check-up confirmed that since my exercise and eating habits hadn't changed while my work situation had. my earlier comment to you was in jest.
however, in your case, i think you should deal with eating less rice and bread. :)
Olive oil and bread
by Anonymouse on Fri Sep 24, 2010 04:44 AM PDTEscape yes I almost exclusively cook with olive oil and recently I've found Granola/olive oil that have been infused in each other that may be good as well. They say Granola oil is good too, like olive oil.
Tuna? One of my favorite dishes is having Iranian Tuna (not chicken of the sea or bumble bee, etc.), south Iran Tuna (about $5 - $7 a can) mixed with celery and (low fat) mayonnaise and have it as sandwich. I love it! Next favorite dish with Tuna is to fry it with eggs and sometimes tomatoes (scrambled), like an omelete. The olive oil in the Iranian Tuna cans can be used for the frying purpose and you don't need to fry them much. Lastly on Tuna, regular Tuna steak can be easily grilled and had with salad and that is one of my favorite dishes as well.
My problem with bread is the same as with polo. It is habit and culture! I was raised on bread and have a piece of bread with polo. Like Faramarz said they always told us; eat bread so you can get full (noon bekhor sir she :-). So I feel weird if I don't eat bread or polo and I'm saying other alternatives such as brown basmati rice or wheat bread might do the trick!
Basmati brown rice and wheat bread to the rescue!
Everything is sacred
Anxiety and polo!
by Anonymouse on Fri Sep 24, 2010 04:34 AM PDTHamsade yes anxiety and pharmaceutical industry should not be forgotten but again what is the issue?! Going back to blaming other things and questioning other stuff instead of the real issue itself. What attitude does this remind us of?! wink wink :-)
My grandfather used to say; ask a lazy person to do something and he'll give you a thousand excuses on why it shouldn't be done! Or answering questions with more questions!
When you have an issue like high blood pressure or high cholestrol and take lipitor or blood pressure medication and it lowers their level, it benefits you. You can see the difference in your body, your systems and general well being.
They don't make these drugs for people of other planets! Look I had similar attitudes about polo and always rebelled against those who said less polo is better. I also remember years ago before I quit smoking I'd say why quit? We're all mortal anyway so why send a good lung to the grave when a bad lung is just as good 6 feet under?!
We are all mortal and nothing really matters in the end but we can live with less anxiety, less stress, better health and overall better life to the extent we can have a difference in it.
Everything is sacred
Olive Oil can lower
by Escape on Fri Sep 24, 2010 12:58 AM PDTOlive Oil can lower colesterol.Tuna pasta and Macaroni salad does wonder's for eating less bread.Maybe wrap it in a pita or add some croutons for bread..Umm I'm hungry..
anon, there are lots of
by hamsade ghadimi on Thu Sep 23, 2010 06:23 PM PDTanon, there are lots of articles written about anxietly level and cholestrol level (catch 22). also the profit-driven pharmaceutical industry (cough.... lipitor) and their counterparts, the doctors (wink wink), should not be totally trusted. :)
Hamsade, doctors only say something when they see "something"!
by Anonymouse on Thu Sep 23, 2010 05:16 PM PDTOf course we can deny deny deny! Or as you say stop facing the music and live like those who do. Does turning a blind eye remind you of anyone?! wink wink ;-)
Everything is sacred
i feel much healthier since
by hamsade ghadimi on Thu Sep 23, 2010 05:08 PM PDTi feel much healthier since i stopped going to the doctor. give it a try!
JJJ please don't delete my comments in my own blog to a troll.
by Anonymouse on Thu Sep 23, 2010 05:01 PM PDTEverything is sacred
Faramarz jaan genes and lifestyle and stress are factors too.
by Anonymouse on Thu Sep 23, 2010 04:57 PM PDTThey could affect individuals more or less and I was trying to say in general eating polo and bread will catch up with us. So it is good to start thinking alternatives and way to be able to still eat polo but with options!
I have no intention of stop eating polo but am planning to reduce the intake and also find brown basmati rice! Have you tried it?! I actually like the brown rice and especially the Afghani brown rice.
Everything is sacred
Javadagha I don't know how old you are but there is such a thing
by Anonymouse on Thu Sep 23, 2010 04:58 PM PDTI used to think like you about polo and bread that it is healthy and does not make people fat. This is not about being "fat". Do you know if those people in Rasht who eat polo and bread 3 times a day, 7 times a week, have checked their triglycerne? They may not have and know it but the effect may also cause them something which they would not know either.
If we live long enough, like in our 80s or 90s we'll have a hard time anything much less polo and bread. I don't like it to be this way and am generally healthy and happy and nothing is bothering me but I know based on test results reducing polo and bread would be helpful. I'm also not fat but with a small belly that probably won't go away no matter what, gravity I guess
Just tonight I had a very tasty okra gheymeh khoresht with polo and kookoo sib zamini. The things that I'm starting to experience is new to my entire generation and when you get to our age it might concern you.
Everything is sacred
با نون بخور که سیر شی!
FaramarzThu Sep 23, 2010 02:21 PM PDT
آنونیموس،
مادر بزرگم از بچه گی همش میفگفت:
پسر جان، رو دیس پلو خیمه نزن!
با نون بخور که سیر شی!
پنیر و خالی نخور خرفت میشی!
باقالی نخور کودن میشی!
منهم هیچوقت گوش نکردم و این شد نتیجه اش!
There are two other factors that you did not mention. One is the family history, the genes! And the other is the stress and the lifestyle
Keep those two things in mind
Ugh, I face similar
by Sargord Pirouz on Thu Sep 23, 2010 01:49 PM PDTUgh, I face similar middle-aged health issues.
rice and bread do not make Iranians fat or unhealthy.
by Javadagha on Thu Sep 23, 2010 01:38 PM PDTI was in Rashat about a month ago, some people eat rice three times a day almost seven days, I did not see any fat people. It is NOT rice or bread. In some countries such as USA, they feed chickens growth hormones, everything is genetic!! there was news that new genetic modification will grow salmon in half the time. That is a main reason why people are fat.
I eat rice and bread every day. I disagree, rice and bread do not make Iranians fat or unhealthy.
I'll have to look closer for brown basmati rice!
by Anonymouse on Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:46 PM PDTJavaneh I don't have any restriction but have gone over the borderline on one of these stuff. I meant triglycerne! Oh well :-)
Somehow polo is wreaking havoc with Iranians now! Many Iranians around me here and in Iran who for years were chowing down on polos like there is no tomorrow are suddenly deciding to bankrupt the rice farmers! Apparently polo is now the devil!
Everything is sacred
welcome to my world
by javaneh29 on Thu Sep 23, 2010 12:40 PM PDTWell not quite ..but life with food restrictions takes some adjustment!! I have an allergy to anything with gluten, wheat, barley and oats. Hmmm ... imagine that! So no normal bread for me. I cant remember what it tasts like anymore and I am tormented with the smell of freshly baked bread every whereI go or so it seems. So as of 5 yrs ago I am restricted to gluten free bread. I dont know if that falls within the foods you can eat. I cant tell you its so delicious because it isnt but it's an acceptable substitute. Check it out for nytroglycerins!
As for polou, if I couldnt eat that I would be left with even fewer still options. BTW they do make brown basmati rice... another adjaustment!