MORT’S MID-DAY MEAL MANAGEMENT
Mort Fox – Article #3

(First off I wish to repeat I am NOT a health care professional of any description. I am a man whose weight was, according to doctor’s records, 220 pounds. That was several years ago. My current weight is about 155. That’s a far leaner cry from 220. This was accomplished without dieting. Honest!)

“Mr. Carnivorous”, that’s how my mother, of blessed memory, would refer to me at times, due to my insatiable appetite for meat. I think she believed that lions and tigers were vegetarians in comparison. First of all I want to take the opportunity to refute that analogy, since they like their meat raw and I like mine well done (that’s when meat was a much larger part of my normal eating pattern). My mother could certainly attest to that, as I would have her split my hamburgers horizontally to cook the inside.

Now that I have fed you all of this background material, let’s get to the meat of the subject. The machinations of Mort’s mid-day meal management. My carnivore’s tooth (sort of like a sweet tooth in a different direction) was especially aimed at deli products. I would concoct combination sandwiches that included: corn beef, pastrami, salami, bologna, and whatever else I could think of and surround it with rye bread and mustard (0 fat in mustard). Sometimes when attempting to bite into one of these, I would almost envy a snake that could unhinge its jaws.

Many of the satisfying tastes from these luncheon meats are essentially duplicated in products made from a combination of gluten, soy protein and spices. Naturally, if you are gluten sensitive these won’t work for you. However, the rest of us can take advantage of several of these very fine products.

Be aware, not all of these “fakes” (my pet name for non-meat containing products) are fat free! You must read the ingredients. It’s ok if the nutrition statement indicates a small percentage of fat (1 or 2%), that’s probably the naturally occurring variety, no problem. But what we are looking for is that no fat (oil, margarine, etc.) has been added!

Some of my favorites include products from: Litelife Foods ( and Yves Veggie Cuisine ( Check these websites for your selections. These sites do not sell directly to the public. Most of my choices come from Whole Foods in Chandler. However, some of these products are available at Fry’s and Fry’s Marketplace.

Check with your favorite supermarket, especially in the produce or dairy section.

The next thing that I am going to mention might seem a little obvious, but it’s not. Everyone knows about tuna and salmon salad. Perhaps, but it’s what you do to it that makes the difference. Make it with vegetables that have almost no calories and no fat. Finely chopped onion, cucumber and pickles will work perfectly. Use a volume of these equal to or greater than the amount of fish. I also add wheat bran, garlic powder (not garlic salt) and onion powder. None of this will help the cause if made with the typical mayonnaise. A fat free mayo is available in the supermarkets. A tablespoon of the fat free variety contains only 10 calories. The regular stuff has about 50 calories per tablespoon and approximately 5 grams of fat. And that’s only one tablespoon. Who uses only one tablespoon? The bottom line of this lunch is that a sandwich made this way will save at least 50% of the calories and about 99% of the fat.

Ok, what are you going to do with the salad or the “fake” luncheon meats? More than likely you’ll want to put some wholesome bread around them. As promised, here is my whole wheat bread recipe.

Dry Ingredients

4 cups packed - Whole wheat flour (I use stone ground)

3 tbsp - Wheat gluten

1½ cups - Wheat bran

Liquid Ingredients

2 cups - Water

1 ½ oz - Honey

½ tsp - Salt

4 tsp - Dry yeast (I use bread machine yeast. Personally I feel yeast is yeast)(and west is west).

Completely blend dry ingredients. Dissolve the honey and salt in the water. If you use a bread machine, as I do, it will do most of the work. The liquid portion is the first into the machine followed by the flour mixture and finally the yeast. Before the last rise, I remove the dough and dump it out on a floured surface. Divide the dough in half (if you wish to make rolls or smaller loaves, please be sure to reduce the baking time). If you are not adding raisins, place each portion in a loaf pan and allow it to rise for an hour. If raisins are included, roll out the dough and spread as many raisins as seem appropriate. Roll it up like you would a rug. Lay out your tubular shaped dough in a loaf pan. Place in a warm moist area for an hour. After this final rise, they will be ready for the pre-heated oven at 350° F. I usually bake this size bread about 35 to 40 minutes.

Before leaving the subject of mid-day meals, I would like to reiterate a suggestion from the breakfast information. How about an egg substitute (such as Original Egg Beaters® which is 100% egg whites) omelet with chopped up “fake” luncheon products and onions (if you don’t have a date). This has about 1/3 the calories of regular eggs and no fat at all. And they taste great.

In the previous article I said that I would go into the subject of exercise. Please, don’t kid yourself into thinking, “Why, I get plenty of exercise, won’t that take pounds off permanently?” Almost no form of exercise is going to equal your caloric intake. Whether your exercise is rather strenuous, or you walk from your car in the parking lot of your favorite fast food restaurant instead of using the drive-thru, it’s not likely to come close to the caloric intake. Don’t get me wrong, I am absolutely in favor of physical activity as a part of the No Fat Added Lifestyle. Watching the no fat added aspect makes it easier to control the calories.

To illustrate how one-sided the exchange rate of calories is, here is an example. I use a stationary bicycle 3 times per week. Each ride is for 30 minutes, non-stop. It has a built-in small computer that calculates the calories burned and the time and speed attained. In one 30 minute episode it tells me that I used approximately 160 calories and only about 35 of those calories from fat, in that time. The exact number will be determined by my speed. I’m usually peddling between 18½ and 20 miles per hour. Frankly, I do this more for the cardio-vascular benefit than for maintaining my weight. I only mention this to demonstrate the effort required to expend 160 calories. This information is based on my exercise machine. Let’s assume that 160 calories is low and it’s really 200 used (400 per hour). Now, here is the cute part, that’s for half an hour. So, in order to expend 2,000 calories (a government recommended consumption for one day), I would have to spend five hours per day peddling away. I would have to eat at least one meal while riding.

The intake of that quantity of calories requires only a matter of seconds to a few minutes, depending on how fast you eat. I’m sure I am not alone when I say, “I love chocolate cake.” If I ate the usual fat and sugar containing version of this delicious treat, it would represent 235 calories (94 from fat), and that’s only about 2¼ ounces. Not a very satisfying amount for someone with a serious sweet tooth. It’s easy to see that calories in and calories out do not come out even remotely close. Now that I have painted this negative, you can easily see the benefits of a lifestyle that includes changes in the nature of the foods and drinks consumed.