Atkins

Atkins blog posts

Standing rib roast

Dear Reader,

Introduction

This post is about my Christmas lunch.

After getting home from church, I put the roast in the oven.

Recipe — standing rib roast.

I have been enjoying more beef and lamb over the last few months. Between the two, I’m eating more beef. If only beef had lamb fat on it. That would be a perfect combination.

If I was eating with others, I’d suggest seafood for lunch. I’d head out and buy some Moreton Bay bugs, Endeavour prawns, sand crabs, and wild-caught Pacific salmon if they had it. I’m drooling thinking about tearing bite sizes of crustacean or fish flesh, mounting them with soft butter, and sprinkling them with flaky salt.

This Christmas, I’m in Canberra. I thought it would be nice to enjoy a rib roast. It would also provide me with lots of meat to eat during the week.

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Meat thermometer

Ingredients

  • Standing rib roast (three ribs) (1700 grams)
  • Salt (17 grams)

Instructions

  1. One Christmas Eve, season the roast with a liberal amount of salt. I read somewhere it should be about 1% by weight.
  2. Place the joint on a tray and refrigerate uncovered overnight. This is dry brining.
  3. Remove the joint a few hours before cooking. I did this before leaving for church.
  4. Preheat the oven to 120 °C.
  5. Put the roast in the oven on a tray and cook until the internal temperature reaches about 55 to 57 °C.
  6. When the roast gets to that temperature, remove it from the oven and allow it to rest for 30 minutes.
  7. Turn up the heat on the oven to maximum and brown the roast.
  8. Remove the roast from the oven.
  9. Carve the roast and transfer the meat to a dinner plate.
  10. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. You can pick up the rib and just bite into it. This minimises washing. I cut the bone off and then bluntly dissected the spinalis from the longissimus. I then sliced both muscle bundles.
  11. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, meat and some plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination.
  12. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots.
  13. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this meal won’t be suitable.
  14. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  15. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion.

An alternative style

I know some people prefer to dissect the ribs from the muscle meat before cooking. They will tie the bones and meat together for the cooking phase. Once cooked, it becomes easier to cut the string and carve thin slices of meat. This is great for families and meals with friends.

Because I will eat this roast myself, I don’t need to go to the extra trouble. I prefer slicing between the ribs and then dissecting the bone from the meat.

For the remaining ribs, I’ll remove them and then bluntly dissect the spinalis (deckle or fat cap) from the longissimus dorsi (fillet) and store each muscle bundle separately. I will use the longissimus for lunch meat. The spinalis will be cut into cubes and served cold with King Island smoked cheddar cheese, Outback brand pork rinds, and gobbets of butter.

Recipe — Dessert

Ingredients

  • Blueberries 10 grams.
  • Pure cream (not thickened) 10 mL.

Instructions

  1. Pour the cream into a bowl.
  2. Add the blueberries.
  3. Eat with a spoon.

Thoughts on the meal

I like roast beef, especially a rib roast. This meal was good. I enjoyed it. It was deeply satisfying.

The pink hue is oxidised myoglobin in the meat juices. It is not blood.

The dessert was a treat.

Final thoughts

  • I hope your Christmas and New Year are filled with peace, joy, and rest.  

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

Nutrition information

Nutrition information for 300 grams of roasted scotch fillet (ribeye) steak.

  • Calories: 720–864
  • Fat: 40–55 grams (15–20 grams saturated)
  • Protein: 50–55 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 0 grams
  • Cholesterol: 200–250 mg
  • Sodium: 800–1200 mg

Nutrition information for 10 grams of blueberries.

Calories: Around 6–8 calories (very low!)

Macronutrients:

  • Carbohydrates: Approximately 1.4–1.5 grams, mostly from simple sugars like glucose and fructose.
  • Protein: About 0.07–0.1 grams, minimal amount.
  • Fat: Trace amount, less than 0.1 grams.

Additional notes:

  • The glycæmic index (GI) of blueberries is around 53, considered low and unlikely to cause significant blood sugar spikes.

Nutrition information for 10 mL of pure cream.

Calories: 35–38 calories

Macronutrients:

  • Fat: 4–5 grams
  • Saturated fat: 2–2.5 grams
  • Unsaturated fat: 1.5–2 grams
  • Carbohydrates: 0.4–0.5 grams
  • Sugars: 0.3 grams
  • Protein: 0.2–0.3 grams

Additional notes:

Pure cream is high in fat, primarily saturated fat.

Steak and horseradish cream

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. 😊 My target audience is readers who live alone and are keen to cook meals for themselves. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions (not advice) on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to sharing my opinions (not advice) on some food and non-food-related topics. Your comments are welcome, even if I may disagree.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week. I had a fabulous weekend in Adelaide with Kathleen.

The Canberra weather this week has been good. Most days have been >30 °C (86 °F). The Bureau of Meteorology is issuing alerts about extreme heat, with temperatures in Sydney approaching 40 °C (104 °F). I hope people can stay comfortable and not suffer from heat stress.

What have I been watching?

Frasier (2023)

I subscribed to Paramount+ to watch some of the more recent offerings from Star Trek. I noticed the new Frasier, starring Kelsey Grammer (who has also appeared as a guest star on Star Trek: The Next Generation), is on Paramount+. It’s been thirty years since the original Frasier (1993) aired on TV.

The new Frasier is much the same as the old Frasier. The show is still funny.

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: Voyager

Having watched Star Trek: The Next Generation after listening to Patrick Stewart’s memoir (thanks again, Kathleen, for a lovely gift), I decided to proceed to both DS9 and VOY, given they were broadcast at the same time.

I’m alternating between each series, one episode at a time.

What have I been listening to?

No Middle Name

This book is a collection of Jack Reacher short stories by Lee Child. The settings and plots range across Reacher’s life, including his childhood and adolescence. (Child, 2017)

What have I been reading?

The Wolf you Feed: Wayne Bennett the man, the myth, the mayhem  

This book is an unauthorised biography written by Andrew Webster. It’s one of the best biographies I’ve listened to. While it is unauthorised, the author was able to speak with Wayne Bennett directly many times with Bennett’s knowledge about the book.

Andrew Webster describes someone I’ve been interested in for decades. He has failings and faults like all humans. Andrew Webster fleshes out those faults and failings while highlighting Wayne Bennett’s exceptional qualities. Wayne Bennett polarises people with his words and behaviour. He says very little and is introverted. His advice about rugby league and mentoring young men is worth listening to.

Do you know that conversation starter when you get asked which four people apart from family you’d invite to your final meal? Wayne Bennett would likely make my list.

If you want to read about Wayne Bennett, I recommend reading The Wolf You Feed. (Webster, 2023)

Recipe — steak

While in Adelaide, Kathleen and I experienced a scotch fillet steak from Press Food and Wine restaurant. It was a 700-gram steak served with horseradish cream and mustard. We loved it and were taken by the rich, creamy horseradish cream, which enhanced the beef flavour.

I thought tonight I’d cook a steak and make some horseradish cream. I’ve never made horseradish cream before.

I’d prefer to use fresh horseradish and grate it into the ingredients. I wasn’t able to find any. I will have to explore some local markets next time. Tonight, I’ve made do with prepared horseradish.

Equipment

  • Precision cooker/water circulator
  • Water bath
  • Frypan
  • Hand mixer  

Ingredients

  • Scotch fillet steak
  • Iodised salt
  • Horseradish cream (see the separate recipe below)

Instructions

  1. Select a nice-looking steak. I bought a scotch fillet (known as ribeye in North America) steak from my local supermarket.
  2. Season the steak with salt the day before cooking and place the meat on a rack. Put the steak in the refrigerator and leave it uncovered overnight. This process is known as dry brining.
  3. A few hours before you sit down and eat, remove the steak from the refrigerator, place it in a vacuum bag, and seal it. At this stage, you could also add some freshly ground pepper. Sometimes I do this, sometimes I don’t. I’ve become accustomed to a simple approach, and I like my steak well-seasoned with salt and finished in butter.
  4. I couldn’t find a thick steak like the one we ate together last week; therefore, I reduced the temperature for the water bath to 55 °C rather than 57 °C. Cook the steak in the water bath at 55 °C for 2 hours.
  5. Remove the steak from the bag and dry the surfaces of the steak with an absorbent paper towel. A dry surface helps with caramelisation from the hot frypan.
  6. Heat a frypan and sear the steak with some butter.
  7. If you have one, you could use a small gas torch to melt butter over the steak.
  8. Turn the heat off and move the steak to a cutting board.
  9. Cut the steak into thin slices. With scotch fillet, I like to bluntly dissect the spinalis from the longissimus and eat the fat cap or deckle meat at the end.  
  10. Form a quenelle of horseradish cream to add to the dinner plate.
  11. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, meat and some plant-based foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, fill your boots. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this steak won’t be suitable.
  12. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  13. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. I used chopsticks. 🥢

Recipe — Horseradish Cream

Ingredients

  • ½ cup full-fat sour cream (at least 30 per cent fat).
  • ¼ cup pure pouring cream (not thickened cream).
  • Two tablespoons softened cream cheese.
  • Two tablespoons of pre-grated or fresh horseradish. I will try to source fresh horseradish for grating in the future.
  • One tablespoon Dijon mustard.
  • One tablespoon of chopped fresh chives (optional).
  • ¼ teaspoon iodised salt.
  • Black and white peppercorns will be freshly ground.

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the sour cream, heavy cream, and cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth and creamy. I will use a hand mixer, which my daughters gave me as a birthday gift a few years ago.
  2. Stir in the prepared horseradish, Dijon mustard, chives (if using), salt, and pepper.
  3. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed. Add more horseradish for a stronger kick or extra cream cheese for a richer texture.
  4. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, allowing the flavours to blend. Refrigeration helps the sauce thicken up slightly.
  5. Serve chilled with the steak.

Tips

This horseradish cream can be kept for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Nutrition per serving (based on one tablespoon)

Calories:55
Fat:6 g (4 g saturated)
Carbohydrates:1 g (0 g net carbs)
Protein:1 g

What are the nutrition details for mustard powder?

Mustard powder, derived from ground mustard seeds, offers a unique nutritional profile:

  • Calories: Around 28 calories per tablespoon.
  • Protein: Approximately 1.7 grams.
  • Fat: About 1.7 grams, primarily unsaturated fats.
  • Carbohydrates: Roughly 3 grams per tablespoon.
  • Fibre: Contains about 1.6 grams of dietary fibre.
  • Vitamins and Minerals: Contains small amounts of essential nutrients such as manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and calcium.

What are the nutrition details for store-bought Dijon mustard?

Store-bought Dijon mustard typically contains the following approximate nutritional values per tablespoon serving:

  • Calories: Around 15–20 calories.
  • Protein: Approximately 0.6–1 gram.
  • Fat: Roughly 1–1.5 grams, primarily from healthy unsaturated fats.
  • Carbohydrates: About 0.5–1 gram of carbohydrates.
  • Fibre: Contains minimal fibre, usually less than 0.5 grams per tablespoon.

Store-bought Dijon mustard often has a lower calorie count and fewer carbohydrates than mustard powder, as it includes additional ingredients such as vinegar, spices, and sometimes wine. Its nutritional content might vary slightly among brands due to added ingredients and processing methods.

Thoughts on the meal

I like to think I can cook a steak. While this steak tasted great, it’s nothing on the experience of enjoying a meal with Kathleen.

Final thoughts

  • Do you like reading biographies?
  • Who would you want at your last meal besides your spouse and family?
  • Do you like horseradish cream?
  • Did you watch Frasier on TV 30 years ago?

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Child, L. (2017). No middle name: The complete collected Jack Reacher short stories (First edition). Delacorte Press.

Webster, A. (2023). The wolf you feed: Wayne Bennett the man, the myth, the mayhem. Macmillan by Pan Macmillan Australia.

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Well-being Diet.

CVD = cardiovascular disease.

FMT = Faecal microbiota transfer.

FSANZ = Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Lp(a) = lipoprotein(a).

LDL = low-density lipoprotein.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heavy in processed and ultra-processed products). 

T1DM = Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

T3DM = Type 3 diabetes mellitus is a new term some people are ascribing to Alzheimer’s Disease.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series.

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation.

ENT = Star Trek: Enterprise (originally called Enterprise).

DS9 = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Avocado and lamb cutlets

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care for my rambling palaver.

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. 😊 My target audience is readers who live alone and are keen to cook meals for themselves. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions (not advice) on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to sharing my opinions (not advice) on some food and non-food-related topics. Your comments are welcome, even if I may disagree.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

The weather is getting warmer, and with warmer days and evenings comes a greater sense of well-being, at least for me. Today, it is also wet, I don’t mind wet weather. I know many readers prefer colder, dry weather. We’re all different.

Last week, I cooked kangaroo steaks. Coincidentally, this week, I was engaged in conversations at work about kangaroo/wallaby meat and parasite infestation. I enjoy discussing biological threats and their implications for human health, especially when they overlap with my interest in food and cooking.

Work is getting busier, so I enjoy it when my job and personal health and nutrition interests intersect, and I can read and learn more about food, food safety, and human health.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I’ve now finished the seventh and final season in this series. It had some excellent episodes, and in my opinion, the final episode, which wraps the series, is one of the best in the franchise.

I’m going to start watching Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

What have I been reading?

Standard mental health first aid manual

My employer is encouraging employees to undertake Mental Health First Aid® training. The hope is that collectively, as an organisation, we will look out for each other through greater awareness.

The core of the training is a book, viz., “Standard mental health first aid manual” (fourth edition). (Kitchener, 2017)

During the week I took part in the training and found the manual to be well written and very helpful.

More information can be found at the Mental Health First Aid® website.

Lipoprotein(a) and diet—a challenge for a role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease risk reduction?

The authors consider new information on dietary recommendations to reduce saturated fat intake to modulate an individual’s global risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). While it is known that lowering dietary saturated fat intake decreases low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations, the findings increasingly show an opposite effect on lipoprotein(a) (Lp(a)) concentrations. Many studies have shown a role for an elevated Lp(a) concentration as a genetically regulated, causal, and prevalent risk factor for CVD. However, there is less awareness of the effect of dietary saturated fat intake on Lp(a) concentrations. The authors discuss this issue and highlight the contrasting effect of reducing dietary saturated fat intake on reducing LDL cholesterol and increasing Lp(a). It appears that a low carbohydrate, high saturated fat diet can reduce Lp(a). (Law et al., 2023)

Honey, what’s in a name?

During the week, Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ), issued a media release seeking comment on whether the honey from Australian stingless native bees should be permitted. It comes down to definitions of honey, and at the moment, it seems the food standard definition doesn’t accommodate Australian stingless native bees.

With Jeremy Clarkson in mind, if the Australian Native Bee Association Inc. is unsuccessful, perhaps they should call it Australian stingless bee juice. 🤔

If you are not familiar with the connection with Jeremy Clarkson, in a search engine (I use Duck Duck Go, but Google, Bing, and others will work), enter search terms like “Jeremy Clarkson”, “Diddly-Squat” “Bee juice” and hopefully you will see the connection.

What have I been listening to?

Into the Heart of Romans: A Deep Dive into Paul’s Greatest Letter (Wright, 2023)

Tom Wright (also known as N. T. Wright) is an Anglican bible scholar who (in my opinion) articulates the historical facts of the bible in a compelling way. I’ve enjoyed listening to his podcast and watching him speak via YouTube videos. He has a winsome approach to teaching doctrine.

Recipe

The more I read about meat in the human diet, the more I favour ruminant species. I’m eating more beef and lamb and less pork and poultry. For my palate, foregut fermenting mammals have a more pleasant flavour and texture in their meat and fat.

I also eat New Zealand Pacific salmon over locally farmed Tasmanian Atlantic salmon. The difference in flavour and texture is distinct. I’m also conscious of the criticisms of the Tasmanian salmon farming industry. This week, I read a newspaper report suggesting the criticism of the industry may create economic hardship for many people residing in Tasmania. I hope they find a solution that allows them to keep employed and improve the health and well-being of the salmon they farm.

Eat me, Gary.

I saw a rack of lamb ribs in the supermarket and felt it speaking to me. “Buy me and eat me, Gary”.

I’m also adding a modified guacamole 🥑 for tonight’s meal. During the week, Lorraine, from Not Quite Nigella, posted a recipe for what she believes is the BEST guacamole recipe.

Equipment

  • Oven
  • Meat thermometer
  • Gas torch

Ingredients

  • Rack of lamb
  • Iodised salt
  • Garlic
  • Rosemary
  • Avocado
  • Red onion
  • Coriander (some people call it cilantro)
  • Lime (for the juice)
  • Birdseye chilli
  • Pork rinds made with lard (no seed oils used)

Instructions

  1. Heat the oven to 120 °C for a low cooking temperature.
  2. In the baking tray, add bruised garlic cloves and stalks of rosemary (I bruised the garlic with a metal weight).
  3. Place the lamb on a wire rack over a baking tray.
  4. Insert the meat thermometer into the thickest portion of meat.
  5. Place the lamb into the oven and cook until the internal temperature reaches 55 °C.
  6. If the fat isn’t brown enough, use a gas torch to sear the fat.
  7. When the lamb has rested, carve the cutlets from the rack and sear the cutlets in a hot frypan with some of the lamb fat collected in the baking tray.
  8. Keep the lamb fat for future use. I hope to keep my Lp(a) low with some saturated ovine fat. 😉 🐑
  9. In a medium-sized bowl mix the onion with the lime juice and salt and allow to sit on the counter for 20 minutes.
  10. Tear the coriander leaves and stalks.
  11. Place the avocado 🥑 flesh into a bowl and smash with a fork. I like my smashed avocado to be chunky rather than smooth.
  12. Stir in the onion, marinating juices, chilli, and coriander (leaves and stalks).
  13. Eat the guacamole with the pork rinds before the avocado oxidises because of exposure to oxygen in the air.
  14. If you don’t like avocado, consider serving the lamb cutlets with vegetables or eat it with some extra seasonings like iodised flaky salt and freshly ground black peppercorns. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, the meat and some plant-based real foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, some sautéed asparagus with hollandaise sauce would be great. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this animal meat won’t be suitable.
  15. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  16. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I ate the meat lollipops by holding the rib bone and gnawing the meat from the bone. 🦴 I dipped pork rinds into the guacamole and put them in my mouth with my fingers. I didn’t need to dirty a knife or fork. 🍴

Cooking guide for rack of lamb

DonenessInternal Temperature (°C)Internal Temperature (°F)
Rare49–52120–125
Medium-rare54–57130–135
Medium60–63140–145
Medium-well66–68150–155
Well-done71 or higher160 or higher
Cooking guide

Thoughts on the meal

Tonight’s roast was an experiment. Many recipes suggest a higher oven temperature, e.g., 200 to 220 °C. Those recipes also recommend searing the lamb before entering the oven. I was interested in knowing the texture if I used a much lower oven temperature and took a low and slow approach to hopefully render the fat better.

It turns out, this approach works well. It takes longer, but the outcome is good. I recognise that many others will disagree and cook their rack of lamb differently. I’m trying to simplify the process and maintain the flavour and texture that suits my palate. This low-temperature approach also resulted in some great pan juices that didn’t evaporate.

Since changing my diet, I’ve been enjoying more lamb. The money I’m saving by not buying starchy, high-carbohydrate plant food and processed food is going into buying better-quality meat.

The birdseye chillies and lime juice gave the guacamole a nice zing. 🔥

While I’m probably eating more meat-only meals, avocado 🥑 is a regular feature in my meals. I am conscious that, unlike beef and sheep which are environmentally friendly when you consider the carbon dioxide sequestration and soil care in regenerative farming, avocado farming has problems. This is especially true for water requirements. (Buxton, 2022)

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Buxton, J. (2022). The great plant-based con: Why eating a plants-only diet won’t improve your health or save the planet. Piatkus.

Kitchener, B. A. (2017). Standard mental health first aid manual. Mental Health First Aid Australia.

Law, H. G., Meyers, F. J., Berglund, L., & Enkhmaa, B. (2023). Lipoprotein(a) and diet—A challenge for a role of saturated fat in cardiovascular disease risk reduction? The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 118(1), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ajcnut.2023.05.017

Wright, T. (2023). INTO THE HEART OF ROMANS: A deep dive into Paul’s greatest letter. SPCK Publishing.

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Well-being Diet.

CVD = cardiovascular disease.

FMT = Faecal microbiota transfer.

FSANZ = Food Standards Australia New Zealand.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Lp(a) = lipoprotein(a).

LDL = low-density lipoprotein.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heavy in processed and ultra-processed products).  

T1DM = Type 1 diabetes mellitus.

T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

T3DM = Type 3 diabetes mellitus is a new term some people are ascribing to Alzheimer’s Disease.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series.

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation.

ENT = Star Trek: Enterprise (originally called Enterprise).

DS9 = Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.

Kangaroo

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care to read my views. 😉

If you continue having problems, message me via the blog’s contact page.

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. 😊 Yummy Lummy is a blog for readers who live alone and are keen to cook meals for themselves. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to sharing my opinions on some food and non-food-related topics. Your comments are welcome, even if I disagree.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

While driving this week, I nearly hit an eastern grey kangaroo (Macropus giganteus). When I first arrived in Canberra, kangaroos were replete. The local government has kept numbers in check with a careful program of culling by professional shooters. With extra fencing along main roads, the number of dead kangaroos on the streets is much smaller.

It got me thinking about eating some kangaroo this week. 🦘

World Toilet Day

Tomorrow, Sunday, is World Toilet Day. In the days when I was eating a carbohydrate-rich, low-fat diet, I was always keen to know where the nearest toilet was because my irritable bowel was unpredictable when it came to the urge to purge.

These days, because I’m eating a low carbohydrate diet, my stools are much better in terms of the Bristol stool chart, and my bowel frequency is more manageable. That doesn’t mean I don’t get sudden urges; I still do, but life is a lot easier to manage. I think I’ll still be keenly interested in the location of the lavatories. If you’re in Australia, we have an Australian Government funded toilet map for public conveniences. It’s part of the national continence program.

This week, I met with other medical practitioners and regulatory affairs scientists at work. The topic of discussion was faecal microbiota transfer (FMT). The main speakers were a gastroenterologist and a regulatory affairs expert. I was asked to share my clinical experiences with FMT, and a new phrase has entered my workplace lexicon, “Gary’s super stools”.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation

I’m now in season 5. Gene Roddenberry had already died when this season finished production, but his influence remains. The Star Trek ethos centred on a future where humankind evolves beyond conflict and petty behaviour to be morally and ethically mature. That doesn’t mean conflict and petty behaviour aren’t encountered in space and amongst other humanoid and non-humanoid sentience.

What have I been reading?

Kangaroo and food safety

Last week, I was reading about ducks; this week, it’s been kangaroos. Specifically, I was reading papers about the contamination of kangaroo meat.

Most specialist microbiologists and infectious diseases physicians will mention toxoplasmosis when asked about the risks of eating undercooked kangaroo meat. Most people don’t want to overcook kangaroo because it’s lean. That’s why pasteurisation using sous vide gives a good result. (Mirza Alizadeh et al., 2018)

I know some readers have left comments on the blog before that they’ve never been sick after eating kangaroo, which is excellent. Most people don’t have a problem. The problem is if someone who is immunocompromised, e.g., an organ or bone marrow transplant recipient, is infected via a muscle cyst, which is a lower risk than from a tachyzoite from feline faeces, toxoplasmosis brain abscesses are life-threatening. Fortunately, in Australia, most commercial licensed suppliers know that freezing helps reduce the risk, while proper cooking is necessary to minimise the risk.

There are also other risks associated with eating kangaroo meat, including salmonellosis and finding too much lead from being shot. (Geesink et al., 2017)(Shapiro et al., 2020)(Borkens, 2021)(Ratnasiri & Bandara, 2017)(Hampton et al., 2023)(Dubey et al., 2021)

Fibre and Crohn’s disease

Fibre is becoming a controversial topic in human nutrition. The widely held view is that fibre helps keep the human microbiota in good condition. Fibre is converted to saturated fats by bacteria, and the human colon absorbs the saturated fat. However, the downside of fibre is its inflammatory properties and people with inflammatory colon diseases may suffer from them.

Unlike most other primates, humans don’t have a large caecum for fermenting fibre (hindgut fermentation). The human alimentary tract may not need dietary fibre.

I read an interesting paper by a group that examined why fibre-deficient exclusive enteral nutrition (EEN) works in patients with Crohn’s disease. EEN is a type of medical nutrition therapy that involves replacing all food and drinks with a specialised liquid formula for a period, usually 6-12 weeks. The formula is designed to provide all the nutrients, including fat, calories, protein, vitamins, and minerals.

The authors looked at a commensal bacterium, Mucispirillum, which becomes pathogenic when nourished by fibre (i.e., a pathobiont). The authors demonstrated that using a fibre-deficient diet managed the symptoms of Crohn’s disease in a mouse model. (Kuffa et al., 2023.) I love the entirety of microbiology beyond my specialty clinical training and experience.

What have I been listening to?

Podcasts relevant to the conflict involving Israel and Palestine.

Each week, the pastor of the church I worship in sends an e-mail with links to podcast shows and articles he’s listened to and read over the preceding week. This week, Tim shared a few shows that discuss the conflict between the people of Israel and Palestine from a reformed evangelical Christian perspective.

One of the results of listening to these shows is that I stumbled on a show featuring N. T. Wright, who was talking about his new book on Paul’s letter to the Romans. I have bought the audible book and plan to listen to it soon.

Recipe

Unlike most other meat sold in Australia, kangaroo meat can potentially contain cysts of Toxoplasma gondii. While the faeces of cats and other animals may transmit tachyzoites, muscle meat cysts still pose a potential problem. For that reason, kangaroo meat should be frozen before sale and then appropriately cooked to ensure cysts are inactivated.

Many people in Australia and other countries (that farm kangaroos for meat production) have never been concerned about the parasite load in wild or farmed kangaroos. They will eat it in a way that is not near a pasteurisation temperature. (Mirza Alizadeh et al., 2018.) Most people infected with Toxoplasma gondii will have no appreciable effect. The encysted parasite will exist dormant for years. The problem occurs in people who become immunosuppressed (especially transplant recipients) and develop symptoms of a lesion. Often, the lesion is in the brain. It used to be expected in patients with advanced HIV infection. To be fair, the likelihood of this occurring is remote, but it remains a possibility.

Equipment

  • Precision cooker
  • Water bath
  • Frypan
  • Gas torch

Ingredients

  • Kangaroo
  • Duck fat
  • Iodised cooking salt to season the roo meat.

Instructions

  1. Dry brine the meat overnight. Dry brining means seasoning the meat with salt and putting the steaks on a rack uncovered in the refrigerator.
  2. Place the meat and duck fat into a vacuum bag. I do this because kangaroo meat is lean and doesn’t have much fat.
  3. Cook the meat at 55 °C for 2 hours to ensure medium doneness and sufficient time and temperature for pasteurisation.
  4. Remove the meat from the bag and dry the surface with a paper towel.
  5. Sear the skin in a hot frypan and finish with a gas torch (if necessary).  
  6. Serve the kangaroo with vegetables or eat it with extra seasonings like iodised flaky salt and freshly ground black peppercorns. If you’re following a meat-only diet, just the meat will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate eating, the meat and some plant-based real foods like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, potato mash, rice or pasta with gravy would go well with the meat. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this animal meat won’t be suitable. I’m unaware of any commercially produced faux kangaroo meat suitable for plant-only eaters.
  7. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  8. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. For this meal, I used a knife and fork.

Thoughts on the meal

Kangaroo is not my favourite meat. I like beef and lamb. Kathleen loves kangaroo. I hope she enjoys how I cook kangaroo.

In my opinion, kangaroo has a neutral taste and chewy texture. It benefited from a lot of flaky salt and black pepper. The duck fat meant it seared better. While it would not be my last meal if I were on death row, I’d rather kangaroo every night of the week than ultra-processed food. (Cordova et al., 2023.) I’d also prefer real kangaroo over faux kangaroo meat.

If you’ve never eaten kangaroo or wallaby, it’s worth a go so you can decide for yourself. I know many people love the taste and texture of roo meat. The best macropod meat I’ve tasted was raw wallaby tail, done in a fashion similar to steak tartare. I should probably measure my anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibodies. 🤔

Fun stuff

Needless to say, I will not be participating in fairy bread festivities.

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog are not medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

For health advice, see your regular medical practitioner. For diet advice, consult with appropriately registered professionals.

References

Borkens, Y. (2021). Toxoplasma gondii in Australian macropods (Macropodidae) and its implication to meat consumption. International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife, 16, 153–162. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2021.09.004

Cordova, R., Viallon, V., Fontvieille, E., Peruchet-Noray, L., Jansana, A., Wagner, K.-H., Kyrø, C., Tjønneland, A., Katzke, V., Bajracharya, R., Schulze, M. B., Masala, G., Sieri, S., Panico, S., Ricceri, F., Tumino, R., Boer, J. M. A., Verschuren, W. M. M., Van Der Schouw, Y. T., … Freisling, H. (2023). Consumption of ultra-processed foods and risk of multimorbidity of cancer and cardiometabolic diseases: A multinational cohort study. The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, 100771. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2023.100771

Dubey, J. P., Murata, F. H. A., Cerqueira-Cézar, C. K., Kwok, O. C. H., Su, C., & Grigg, M. E. (2021). Recent aspects on epidemiology, clinical disease, and genetic diversity of Toxoplasma gondii infections in Australasian marsupials. Parasites & Vectors, 14(1), 301. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-04793-4

Geesink, G. H., Van Den Heuvel, A., & Hunt, W. (2017). Meat quality attributes of Agile Wallabies. Meat Science, 133, 173–179. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.meatsci.2017.06.016

Hampton, J. O., Pain, D. J., Buenz, E., Firestone, S. M., & Arnemo, J. M. (2023). Lead contamination in Australian game meat. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(17), 50713–50722. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-25949-y

Kuffa, P., Pickard, J. M., Campbell, A., Yamashita, M., Schaus, S. R., Martens, E. C., Schmidt, T. M., Inohara, N., Núñez, G., & Caruso, R. (2023). Fiber-deficient diet inhibits colitis through the regulation of the niche and metabolism of a gut pathobiont. Cell Host & Microbe, S1931312823004201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chom.2023.10.016

Mirza Alizadeh, A., Jazaeri, S., Shemshadi, B., Hashempour-Baltork, F., Sarlak, Z., Pilevar, Z., & Hosseini, H. (2018). A review on inactivation methods of Toxoplasma gondii in foods. Pathogens and Global Health, 112(6), 306–319. https://doi.org/10.1080/20477724.2018.1514137

Ratnasiri, S., & Bandara, J. (2017). Changing patterns of meat consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in Australia: Will kangaroo meat make a difference? PLOS ONE, 12(2), e0170130. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170130

Shapiro, A., Bosward, K., Mathews, K., Vincent, G., Stenos, J., Tadepalli, M., & Norris, J. (2020). Molecular detection of Coxiella burnetii in raw meat intended for pet consumption. Zoonoses and Public Health, 67(4), 443–452. https://doi.org/10.1111/zph.12707

Legend

BMI = Body mass index.

CGM = Continuous glucose monitoring.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Wellbeing Diet.

FMT = Faecal microbiota transfer.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heaving in processed and ultra-processed products).  

T2DM = Type 2 diabetes mellitus.

TOS = Star Trek: The Original Series

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation

Beef chuck steak

Dear Reader,

Welcome to Yummy Lummy. Yummy Lummy is a blog for people who live alone and are keen to cook meals for one. If you’re part of a couple, I hope the recipes are adaptable for you, too.

I also share my opinions on topics others may (or may not) be interested in. With my recent change in diet (SAD→CSIRO TWD→LCHF), the blog’s emphasis is shifting to my opinion on some food and non-food-related topics. Comments are welcome, even if I disagree.

I cite most journal articles or books I’ve read and mentioned. You can see the citations at the bottom of the post.

You can skip the introduction and jump to the recipe if you don’t care to read my views.

Slowly cooked beef chuck steak

Introduction

I hope you’ve had a good week.

My week was mostly enjoyable. I’m more mobile, and I’m able to exercise more. I attended a follow-up consultation with my surgeon, and he is delighted with my progress. He was complimentary of the physiotherapist I am attending.

What have I been watching?

Star Trek: The Next Generation  

Considering Kathleen’s generous gift of Patrick Stewart’s memoir, as I was listening, I developed an urge to rewatch TNG.

What have I been reading?

Blood biomarker profiles and exceptional longevity: comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians in a 35-year follow-up of the Swedish AMORIS cohort (Murata et al., 2023)  

The authors hoped to better understand ageing by comparing a set of biomarkers.

The authors sought to:

  1. describe and compare biomarker profiles at similar ages between 64 and 99 among individuals who become centenarians and shorter-lived peers,
  2. investigate the association between specific biomarker values and the chance of reaching age 100 and
  3. examine to what extent centenarians have homogenous biomarker profiles earlier in life.

Participants came from a study spanning 1985–1996 and were followed for up to 35 years.

The authors considered biomarkers of metabolism, inflammation, liver, renal, anaemia, and nutritional status.

One thousand two hundred and twenty-four participants (84.6% females) lived to their 100th birthday. There were 44,636 participants in the study.

Higher levels of total cholesterol and iron and lower levels of glucose, creatinine, uric acid, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, lactate dehydrogenase, and total iron-binding capacity were associated with reaching 100 years.

The authors suggest that genetic and possibly modifiable lifestyle factors reflected in these biomarker levels may affect longevity.

The paper describes an observational study and cannot make claims about causation.

Nevertheless, the author’s message for me is to maintain a low-carbohydrate, healthy fat, and no alcohol diet. Another key message from this paper is that longevity is not the be-all and end-all. I’d rather live well and die without lingering and suffering than live past 100 and be miserable.

What have I been listening to?

Making It So: A Memoir by Sir Patrick Stewart

I’ve been enjoying Kathleen’s gift. So far, I’m up to Stewart’s period with the Royal Shakespeare Company. (Stewart, 2023)

It’s fascinating listening to Stewart’s adventures with the RSC. I was meant to read about half a dozen of Shakespeare’s works in high school. I never did. I was not a fan of English as a school subject. Of all the plays and books on the reading list, I only read one book. That was “The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith”, written by Thomas Keneally and published in 1972. (Keneally, 1972)

I preferred reading non-fiction, especially biology or space travel. I barely passed humanities subject examinations in high school.

The total book will take more than 18 hours of listening. I’m about halfway through. I’ve been listening in the evenings.

Thanks, Kathleen, for this beautiful gift.

Today’s lunch

I bought some smoked New Zealand Pacific salmon for lunch and added it to scrambled eggs made with butter.

Recipe

The beef chuck is often regarded as a cheap and tough cut of meat. With beef and lamb becoming more expensive, cheaper cuts are becoming more desirable. The burden of the cost of living is especially true for people watching their pennies and keeping to a budget.

Equipment

  • Slow cooker
  • Air fryer
  • Gas torch

Ingredients

  • Beef chuck steaks — The two steaks (see photographs) cost $AUD12. I’ll get two meals from these steaks.
  • Iodised cooking salt — 1 tablespoon.
  • Tap water — ½ cup.
  • Salted butter

Instructions

  1. Place the meat, salt, and water into the cooking vessel.
  2. Slowly cook for eight hours on low heat.
  3. Remove the meat and place the beef on a tray and into the air fryer for 20 minutes at 160 °C (320 °F). An alternative to the air fryer is a frypan. I’d use a carbon steel or cast-iron frypan to sear the surfaces of the steak.
  4. For the air fryer choice, once out of the oven, place a lump of salted butter on top of the steak and melt it with a gas torch.
  5. Set aside some of the beef for dinner, put the rest into a container, and refrigerate. I will use the meat for lunches during the week.
  6. Filter the cooking liquor and add it to my perpetual master stock.
  7. Serve the beef with vegetables or eat them alone. If you’re following a carnivore diet, just the beef will be more than sufficient to satisfy your hunger. If you’re low-carbohydrate, healthy-fat eating, the meat and some plant-based “real foods” like avocado, leafy green leaves, olives, and tomatoes are a good combination. If you’re not concerned with carbohydrates, potato mash would go well with the beef. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, this beef won’t be suitable.
  8. Always give thanks to the Lord.
  9. Eat with whatever implements you prefer. Eating with your fingers is okay, in my opinion. Tonight, I used a steak knife and a fork.

Thoughts on the meal

Chuck steak has the beefy flavour of more expensive cuts like rump and scotch fillet (also known as ribeye in North America). The marbling gives the meat a rich, buttery flavour.

The melted and torched butter added a nutty flavour.

Slowly cooking the meat ensured tender muscle fibres, and the fat was nicely rendered.  

Disclaimer and comments

This post and other posts on this blog do not constitute medical or health advice. I’m sharing my personal experiences from my lived experience. My opinions remain mine.

References

Keneally, T. (1972). The chant of Jimmie Blacksmith. Angus and Robertson.

Murata, S., Ebeling, M., Meyer, A. C., Schmidt-Mende, K., Hammar, N., & Modig, K. (2023). Blood biomarker profiles and exceptional longevity: Comparison of centenarians and non-centenarians in a 35-year follow-up of the Swedish AMORIS cohort. GeroScience. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11357-023-00936-w

Stewart, P. (2023). Making it so: A memoir. Simon & Schuster Australia.

Legend

RSC = Royal Shakespeare Company.

TNG = Star Trek: The Next Generation.

CSIRO TWD = Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Total Wellbeing Diet.

LCHF = low-carbohydrate healthy-fat eating.

Red meat = is the meat of mammals, including pork.

SAD = Standard Australian diet (rich in carbohydrates, poor in healthy fats, and heaving in processed and ultra-processed products).  

T2DM=Type 2 diabetes mellitus.