Contents
About the Author : ix
About the Artist: Paul Kuo xii
Guide to the Reader xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Part One: Setting the Table: Why We Eat What We Eat 1
Chapter 1: English Cooking: Root of the American Diet 3
Early English Foods 3
Fast Days and Fish 4
English Love of Meat 5
Spit Roasting 5
Porridge – Food for the Poor, Healthy for All 6
Potatoes and White Bread 6
High Life Tradition 7
Early American Food 8
Living Off the Land 9
Effects of the Industrial Revolution 9
Breakfast Cereal, the Father of Processed Foods 10
Fast’Foods for Today’s Lifestyle 11
Modern American Foods 11
Winning Strategies 11
Conclusion 12
Chapter 2: Food Processing: A Lesson from the Shrimp 13
The Technological Revolution 13
Danger of Depending on Technology 14
Differences between Natural and Processed Foods 15
Examples of Pharmaceutical Grade Foods with Elements Removed 16
Food or Medicine? 21
Healthy Diets, an Oxymoron 22
A Lesson from the Shrimp 22
Instant Weight Loss 23
Simple Minded 24
Too Lazy to Do It Right 24
Consequence of Affordable Fast-Foods 25
Vulnerable Population 25
Interesting Old Custom 26
Chapter 3: Old Wisdom 29
New Knowledge and Old Wisdom 29
Medicinal Value of Foods 30
Chinese Medical Wisdom: Yin and Yang in Balance 31
Similar Concepts from the West 33
Too Scientific for Our Health 34
Body Warmer Tradition 35
Best of Both Worlds 35
Part Two: Food for Thought: Modern Foods 37
Chapter 4: Salad 39
Is It Good to Eat Like a Rabbit? 39
Raw Versus Cooked Foods 40
Three Reasons Why Foods Need to Be Cooked 41
Playing the Hand that Nature Dealt Us 44
Remember Fermented Foods 45
Eat Veggies for Your Health 47
Chapter 5: Animal Farm 49
Grains Are for People 49
Our Abundant Meat Supply 51
Animals As Machines that Convert Grains to Meat 51
Natural Ways to Raise Animals 53
Did You Ever Try Beijing Duck? 56
Naturally Grown Meat Versus High-Tech Meat 56
Meat As Part of a Balanced Meal 57
Are We Animal Farming Our Babies? 58
What Is Baby Formula? 59
Chicken Breasts Grown on Chicken Trees 60
Chapter 6: Sugar 61
Where Does Sugar Come From? 61
Pharmaceutical Grade Sugar 63
Dulling Our Sensitivity to Sweetness 63
Artificial Sweeteners 64
Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water 65
My Sweet Experience 66
You Don’t Have to Give Up Sweets 69
Part Three: Food for Thought: Better for Us 71
Chapter 7: Staple Foods: Rice 73
Rice Varieties 73
Bread Versus Rice 75
Automatic Rice Cookers 76
Brown Rice for Your Health 77
Various Ways to Eat Rice 78
Chapter 8: Tea 81
A Brief History of Tea 81
Health Benefits of Tea 82
Not All ‘Teas’ Are Created Equal 84
What Is Tea? 84
Quality of Tea 85
About Decaf Tea 86
How to Make a Cup of Tea 86
So What Is Real Tea? 87
Reality Check 88
A Word About Ginseng 90
Folk Wisdom 90
Chapter 9: Herbs and Spices 91
American Spices 92
Asian Spices and Saute Seasonings 97
Part Four: Serve It Up 101
Chapter 10: Let’s Start Cooking 103
Eat a Variety of Food 104
How to Cook Vegetables Essential for a Healthy Diet 104
Rice and Automatic Rice Cookers Again 105
More About Cookware 105
Basic Pantry Items 106
An Example: Stir-Frying Broccoli 107
General Guidelines 109
Why Not Try Some New Veggies? 110
Cutting Vegetables Ill
Prepared Fresh Veggies 112
A Few Exceptions 112
Stir-Frying Meat 113
Vegetables with Meat Dishes 115
More Ways to Cook Meat 116
Chunky Meat 116
Soy Sauce Stew Dishes 118
How to Cook Spare Ribs 119
Use Your Automatic Rice Cooker to Cook Meats 120
Another Way to Slow-Cook Meat 120
Crockpot or Slow Cooker 121
The Rice Cooker as a Steamer 121
Meatballs 121
Curry Mix, a Tasty Meal 122
Sea Food 123
Stir-Fried Shrimp 123
Pan-Fried Fish Steak 124
Chilean Sea Bass Dish 124
Join the Devil 125
Chapter 11: Stocks, Soups, and Porridge 127
How to Make Stock 128
Soups 129
A Quick, Healthy Soup 130
Chicken Soup 130
Ready-Mix Soup Base 131
Porridge 132
The Benefits of Porridge 132
Basic Porridge 132
Gourmet Porridge Meal 133
Simple, Plain Porridge 133
Fancy Porridge 134
Light and Bland Porridge Meal 134
Dishes to Accompany Porridge 135
Chapter 12: Fermented and Marinated Vegetables 139
Lacto-Fermentation: the Benefit of Lactobacilli 139
How Does Fermentation Take Place? 140
As a Mouth-Watering Side Dish 140
You Have to Make Them to Get the Real Thing 141
Basic Fermentation Principles 141
Taiwanese Fermented Cabbage 142
Marinated Vegetables 143
Simple and Delicious 144
Broccoli Stems 145
Extra Dish for Every Meal 145
Part Five: Eating and Living in a Modern World 147
Chapter 13: Meal Time 149
Differences in Food Choice 150
An Endless Repertoire of Dishes 152
How to Eat a Meal
A Good Old-Fashioned Dinner 153
Modern Asian Meals 154
Make Changes Gradually 155
Plan One Week at a Time 155
A Weekly Planner 156
Breakfast 158
Lunch 159
How to Eat and Stay Healthy 160
Stay Away from Deep-Fried Food 160
Don’t Drink Sodas 161
Start with the Veggies 161
Choose a Good Restaurant 161
Don’t Assume Any Ethnic Restaurant is Healthier 161
Order Simple Dishes (It’s Healthier and Usually Cheaper, too!) 162
Try a New Place 162
Conclusion and Checklists 163
Chapter 14: Unfamiliar Foods 165
Mother’s Buddhist Philosophy 166
Should We Eat Just Meat? 166
The Power of Soy 167
Making Soy Milk 169
Tofu 171
Bony Meat 172
Shrimp in the Shell 173
Soft Shell Crab 173
Canned Seafood 174
Seaweed 174
Green-Leafed Vegetables 175
Chapter 15: Chemicals are Hazards to Your Health 177
Index 181
Author Resume
Jack Chou is a mechanical engineer by training, but a student of food, exercise, and American lifestyles as his passion. He has lived the American Dream, emigrating from Taiwan in 1962, earning his Masters in Engineering from Southern Methodist University, and building his own company, International Sensor Technology, into a multi-million dollar global leader. This is Mr. Chou’s second book, and he is at work on his third.
Mr. Chou has owned and co-owned six restaurants, a hotel and casino in Reno, Nevada, a tennis club, a Gold’s Gym, many shopping centers in Colorado, and he specializes in commercial real estate development in Southern California. His unique experience with Japanese and Chinese cultures enables him to observe American lifestyles from several perspectives, while his problem-solving aptitude leads him to find solutions for America’s problems with weight, immune deficiencies, and related health issues.
Donated by Jack Chou
Posted on 06/2019
