Low Carbohydrate Healthy Fat Eating

Low Carbohydrate Healthy Fat Eating blog posts

Sodium bicarbonate and tenderising meat

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

I hope you’ve enjoyed a good week. 

I don’t have a recipe to share tonight. I want to describe how I have used sodium bicarbonate to tenderise meat. 

What is sodium bicarbonate?

Sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) is an odourless white crystal with a molecular mass of 84.0066 g mol–1. It’s primarily used as a rising or leavening agent to aerate foods like bread. This occurs when NaHCO3 combines with hydrogen (H+) and reacts with the acid, and carbon dioxide (CO₂) plus water (H₂O) and sodium (Na+) are formed. CO₂ is the gas that bubbles through the dough. 

I also use NaHCO3 to clean my stainless-steel cooking utensils in the kitchen, like frying pans and saucepans. 

This week, however, I exploited another feature of NaHCO3, its ability to tenderise meat. Watch Dan from America’s Test Kitchen (YouTube video below); he explains it well. 

How have I been using sodium bicarbonate?

Most people would use sodium bicarbonate (also known as baking soda) with raw meat. I have been using it with cooked meat. Because I’m a “freestyler” in the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet, I design my own meals. This relies on cooking the meat portions on the weekend. I find using a water bath, and water heater/circulator for sous vide cooking the most convenient and time efficient. I know many people do not have this equipment. Many prefer using a frying pan and stove, a barbecue grill, or grilling in the oven. It doesn’t really matter what you use for cooking your meat. I manage my work and life around convenience. 

I don’t know if I’ll stop the weekly meal planning and preparation when I retire. It seems like an excellent discipline to retain. 

Meat cooked this way is always tender; however, the second cooking phase can cause the meat fibres to toughen when using this meat in a stir-fry. I’ve used sodium bicarbonate to avoid this and retain my desired suppleness. It works a treat. 

Another terrific resource on sodium bicarbonate in the process known as velveting is the book, “The Wok: Recipes and Techniques” by J. Kenji López-Alt. Check out page 74, where you will find the “Basic Velveting” section. 

Another blogger you can read for wisdom is Lorraine from Not Quite Nigella. Lorraine, who I think is “Better than Nigella”, has written about velveting in a few of her posts. The main one is velveting Chinese beef, chicken, and pork.

Coincidentally, America’s Test Kitchen tweeted this today.

Why Baking Soda is the Most Useful Ingredient in Your Kitchen

While sodium bicarbonate is not specifically mentioned, I can’t help but share a YouTube video featuring Lan Lam. She is a terrific pedagogue and reminds me of my Mum. 

The Secret To Mastering Burgers, Sausage, and Meatballs

On the subject of my mother, I recall, as a young child, standing next to Mum in the kitchen while she cooked. I would watch her use utensils and toss her wok. I also noted her use of sodium bicarbonate and corn flour (in North America, I think you call this corn starch). 

When I left home, I would try to emulate Mum’s cooking, but I am a lazy man who takes shortcuts. When I’ve taken to using those extra techniques that seemed natural to Mum, my food has brought back some of those pleasurable memories of how soft and delicate meat can feel in my mouth. 

An experiment

In Dan’s video, he also mentions that sodium bicarbonate helps enhance the browning of food. 

I thought I’d see if sodium bicarbonate enhances the browning of a lamb rump steak cooked a few weeks ago and frozen. 

I thawed the lamb overnight and then let it sit in a dilute solution of sodium bicarbonate and water for about ten minutes. 

I washed the surface of the meat and then patted it dry with a paper towel before searing it in a hot frying pan. 

Check out the result in the photograph. 

I don’t think it really helped with the searing of the meat. What it did you is make the lamb rump steak noticeably more tender. It’s a bit of a faff, but worth it if you want to improve the mouthfeel of meat. 

Lamb rump steak with tomato, cucumber, and cheese
Lamb rump steak with tomato, cucumber, and cheese

Photographs

Here are a series of photographs and descriptions of how I’ve tenderised meat this week and enjoyed the combination of tender meats and vegetables.

You can improve the texture of beef, chicken, pork, and lamb with sodium bicarbonate. I expect it will work with any other mammalian and avian meat. 

Curry zucchini noodles with NaHCO3 tenderised pork scotch steak, spinach, fennel, and red onion
Curry zucchini noodles with NaHCO3 tenderised pork scotch steak, spinach, fennel, and red onion
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
NaHCO3 tenderised steak with vegetable “rice”
Chicken Cabbage Fennel Onion
Chicken Cabbage Fennel Onion
Leftover tenderised chicken with cabbage, fennel, red onion, and a kipfler potato

You may have noticed in the photographs of my lunch at work, I’m using a new lunch box. I used to use Tupperware plastic containers that were quite good but there was always a rick the lid would detach accidentally.

I’ve now purchased a couple of Avanti stainless steel containers which have a secure fitting lid.

Gifted kipfler potatoes

A workmate grows kipfler potatoes. Potatoes aren’t a big part of the CSIRO TWD. I can’t say no to free spuds though.

Zucchini “noodles” Pork Curry Kipfler potatoes Ginger beer

Final thoughts

I hope you found this post interesting. If you’ve never tried tenderising meat with sodium bicarbonate and you give it a go, please come back here, and leave me a comment on what you think about it. I’d be keen to know if you think it’s worth the extra effort. 

A few people have been asking about how I feel while on the CSIRO TWD. I’m feeling well. I’m feeling more flexible and agile and more energetic. One downside, though, has been the change in bowel habits. It’s not as regular, and the pungency of the aroma, especially of my flatus, can be embarrassing in workplace situations. 

This week’s TWD photo

Photograph of Gary wearing a maroon polo shirt.
Entering week 5 of TWD

Pork and egg burger

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

I hope you are well and eating well. 

I feel well myself and am enjoying the CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet. When I weighed myself this morning, I noted that I had lost 5.2 kilograms since commencing the program. 

My jeans and some of my T-shirts now feel loose. 

While TWD is more than a low carbohydrate approach to eating and living, reducing unnecessary carbohydrate consumption and replacing it with lean protein is crucial. 

I’ve been eating a small portion of granola with unflavoured and unsweetened yoghurt most nights and still losing weight. 

This is a photograph of Gary after he weighed in on Saturday morning for the CSIRO TWD.
Saturday’s TWD weigh-in photograph

I thought this week, I would explore some low-carbohydrate bread options. 

Recipe

Special equipment

  • Water bath
  • Water heater and circulator

Ingredients

  • Pork scotch fillet steak – I found some steak that was about 150 grams. 
  • Salt – Iodised salt because I support the ongoing need for it. Iodine supplementation prevents cretinism. Anyone who tells you that products like Himalayan rock salt are good for you may not have had enough iodine in utero and during their early childhood. 
  • Pepper – I like using whole peppercorns, and with some of the salt, pound it with a pestle in a mortar. Freshly pounded pepper is superior to pepper which has been cracked or ground and then packaged and sold. 
  • Coles 85% lower carb rolls – One roll has 751 kJ, 19.5 g of protein, 8.4 g of fat, and 2.8 g of carbohydrate. 
  • Egg
  • Tomato
  • Lettuce
  • Praise whole egg light mayonnaise 

Instructions

Pork

  • Season a piece of pork with salt and pepper. 
  • Place the pork into a bag, apply a vacuum, and seal it. 
  • Cook the pork at 54 °C for 2 hours. 
  • Remove the pork from the bag and pat dry the surface with absorbent paper. 
  • Sear the steak in a hot cast-iron skillet. 

Burger

  • Cut the bread roll transversely. 
  • Spread some mayonnaise on the bottom piece of bread. Make it a thin smear; too much is too much. 
  • Toast the bread in a hot skillet until it takes on some colour. 
  • Layer some lettuce leaves on the heel of the bun. 
  • Add some slices of tomato. 
  • Add the pork scotch steak to the tomato. 
  • Lay a poached egg on the steak. 
  • Complete the burger with the top of the bread roll and gently compress the top to break the egg yolk’s membrane so that the egg yolk oozes over the pork to form a rich, luxurious sauce. 
  • If I were still doing YouTube videos, I’d cut the burger in a coronial plane and then pull apart the halves to reveal the cross-section. I did it so you have a still shot in the photographs.
  • Give thanks to the Lord. 
  • Eat with your hands. 

Final thoughts

This pork burger is a basic sandwich. It has minimised the carbohydrate component by using specialty bread. It is high in protein, and therefore it is filling. What it is not is lean. I did not remove the fat from the pork, and while I did use “light” mayonnaise, it is still mayonnaise. 

The Coles 85% lower-carb bread is pretty good. It toasted nicely, and it tasted good.

Photographs

Coles 85% lower carb bread in its packaging
Coles 85% lower carb bread
Pork Scotch steak in its packaging
Pork Scotch steak
Pork Scotch steak unseasoned
Pork Scotch steak
Pork Scotch steak seasoned with salt and pepper
Pork Scotch steak seasoned with salt and pepper
Pork and egg burger with the poached egg exposed
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger with the poached egg exposed
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger with oozing yolk
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger bisected
Pork and egg burger
Pork and egg burger bisected
Pork and egg burger

Lamb and cabbage soup

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader, 

The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet is going well. I’m two weeks in, and everything is moving in a good direction. My parameters include body mass, waist and thigh measurements, blood pressure, and heart rate. 

Popcorn

At the end of the twelve-week program, I’ll make an appointment with my GP and seek a pathology referral for multiple biochemistry analyses and a full blood examination. I expect my GP will also suggest a urine albumin/creatine ratio. 

The reassuring thing about this diet is that I can find something in most restaurants that will be suitable. I went to a Turkish restaurant on Tuesday for a farewell lunch for a workmate and enjoyed a duck thigh and salad. Usually, I’d enjoy zucchini puffs with yoghurt plus Turkish pizzas. 

Turkish Pide House Duck salad

I still have leftover lamb rump steaks and thought for tea tonight; I’d eat it with shredded cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 

Recipe

Equipment

  • No special equipment

Ingredients

  • Lamb rump steak. The steak’s mass is about 100 g. I’d previously cooked it and kept it refrigerated. 
  • Drumhead cabbage 
  • Brussels sprouts 
  • Fennel 
  • Red onion 
  • Salt 
  • Pepper 

Instructions 

Steak 

  1. Because the steak was thin and I had four of them, to save time, I cooked the lamb under a vacuum in a water bath at 52 °C for one hour. Because I’m not eating the lamb like a steak, I’m not bothered to sear the meat. 
  2. For this meal, thinly slice the lamb for the soup. 

Soup 

  1. Finely shred the cabbage, Brussels sprouts, fennel, and red onion. 
  2. Gently sauté the vegetables in a saucepan until some colour develops. 
  3. Add a couple of cups of water and bring it to a roiling boil. 
  4. Season with iodised salt and freshly ground whole black peppercorns (I pound my pepper with a pestle in a mortar). 
  5. Add the shredded lamb and turn off the heat. 
  6. Serve in a bowl. 
  7. Give thanks to the Lord. 
  8. Eat with a spoon. 

Finals thoughts 

The soup is the sort of meal I make on nights after work. The great thing about the CSIRO TWD is that it’s perfect for those making meals for one. Everything can be prepared well in advance to make the cooking part simple. 

You may look at this and think, where is the flavour coming from? Trust me, when you add freshly pounded pepper and salt plus the flavour from the sautéed vegetables, you get the flavour. 

Photographs 

Brussels sprouts and fennel
Drumhead cabbage and red onion
Freshly pounded iodised salt and black peppercorns plus sous vide lamb rump steak
Lamb and cabbage soup
Lamb and cabbage soup

Lamb rump steak

Posted by Gary

Dear Reader,

Today, Thursday, 20230126, is a gazetted public holiday in Australia. I’m on-call and doing some work, but I have time to post something here.

I didn’t post last weekend because I was in Brisbane to see my daughters and parents.

I ate well while in Brisbane and managed to bear in mind the principles of the CSIRO Total Wellness Diet.

Before I get to what I have cooked today, let’s run through what I enjoyed last weekend.

Qantas 1710

On the flight to Brisbane, Qantas served zucchini and corn fritters. These morsels were tasty.

    On Saturday morning, I went with eggs Benedict. On the menu, it looked like bacon was an optional extra. I didn’t ask for it and didn’t pay for it. I did receive bacon, and I did eat it. I didn’t eat the bread.

    The Gunshop Cafe Eggs Benedict

    I took my family to Sandgate for lunch at the Sandgate Fishmonger. While some asked for battered cod and others asked for crumbed cod, a few of us enjoyed grilled cod.

    Two pieces of grilled cod and a bottle of ginger beer from the Sandgate Fishmonger

    Dinner was a lovely event. Rather than a gift for Christmas, I asked my daughters to take me to dinner somewhere in January. They know their father, so they chose an “all-you-can-eat” joint. When I was morbidly obese, my favourite four words were “all you can eat”.

    We went to Shabu House, which specialises in Japanese hotpot, sushi, and Japanese-style fried chicken.

    While I was mindful of the principles of the CSIRO TWD, I did enjoy lots of vegetables plus lots of meat and fish. I think the octopus was the best element. The pork and beef were okay, and the white fish (whatever it was) was good, but the baby octopus was the best element for flavour and mouthfeel.

    It was difficult to resist the fried chicken, and I succumbed to the temptation. Regarding the sushi, I ate a little raw fish but didn’t eat the rice.

    Shabu House Fish Pork Beef Tom yum broth
    Shabu house Prawns Octopus Pork Beef Wood ear fungus
    Shabu House Fish balls Prawn balls Sushi
    Shabu House Fried Chicken Chicken Karaage
    Sorry about the white balance. The incandescent bulbs above the table were very warm.

    After the meal, we walked south across the Brisbane River and enjoyed gelato at Messina on Melbourne Street.

    Sunday breakfast was poached eggs, a little hollandaise sauce, plus wilted spinach leaves. I didn’t eat the bread.

    Poached eggs Hollandaise sauce Wilted spinach

    By the time I weighed myself on Monday morning, I’d not gained weight when I had compared the number to what I had measured on Friday morning.

    This week has gone well in terms of how I feel physically. The initial hunger associated with changing the ratios of carbohydrates, protein, and fat seems to have diminished. I’m in a steady rhythm of measuring and tracking the food I consume and the steps I walk.

    The CSIRO TWD app works seamlessly across my smartphone, tablet, and desktop. It synchronises with my app for blood pressure, steps, and weight. The positive feedback from seeing the energy balance plus the values of various parameters at the end of each day provides psychological assurance, which is a significant part of this process.

    Recipe

    The recipes here will be simple and plain for the foreseeable future. They may not be that interesting. If you want to see large joints of meat and other recipes, scroll to earlier posts and find all manner of recipes.

    Equipment

    No special equipment is necessary

    Ingredients

    • Lamb rump steak. I saw these small fillets of lamb rump in the supermarket, which are about the right portion size.
    • Mixed lettuce leaves
    • Cherry tomatoes
    • Baby cucumbers
    • Lemon juice
    • Lemon zest
    • Olive oil

    Instructions

    1. The night before cooking, I recommend dry brining the meat. Dry brining means drying the surface of the flesh and seasoning it with salt. Place it on a rack and refrigerate it uncovered overnight. It can remain like this for one or two days. As the meat dries, the salt penetrates. The flesh doesn’t dehydrate, but the surface remains dry to assist with searing on a hot pan.
    2. When it’s time to cook dinner, remove the meat from the refrigerator.
    3. Heat a pan until it’s hot.
    4. Add some neutral, high-vapour point oil. I like to use rice bran oil or peanut oil.
    5. Quickly cook the lamb rump steak.
    6. Set the meat aside to rest.
    7. Place some lettuce leaves, halved tomatoes and sliced cucumber in a bowl and dress with a mixture of lemon juice and olive oil.
    8. Put the salad on a dinner plate and garnish with lemon zest.
    9. Put the lamb next to the salad.
    10. Say thanks to the Lord.
    11. Eat with a fork.

    Final thoughts

    The lamb was rare to medium rare and perfect, in my opinion. I know some people don’t like the flavour of lamb, but I love it. This meal was an ideal light lunch for a public holiday.

    Photographs

      Chicken tenderloin and kale slaw

      Posted by Gary

      Dear Reader,

      For the next three months, I’m trying something new. Kathleen suggested I try CSIRO’s Total Wellness Diet (TWD). When I looked at it, it centres on meal planning and portion control using higher protein and lower glycæmic index foods. The program also has guides on exercise and other aspects of human wellness.

      The initial programs span twelve weeks. Some programs are tailored to people with out-of-range lipids and out-of-range blood pressure. It also offers options for people who prefer a plant-based lifestyle. The basic plan is a kick start into tracking and monitoring food intake and mindful consideration of meal preparation.

      When I looked at it, I was taken aback by the quantities of foods in the meal plans and shopping lists. My biggest surprise, however, was in the goal setting. Body mass index guides the user, and ethnicity is considered. If I enter that I am Asian, the recommendation is to lose 12 kilograms. If I enter Polynesian, I’m at an acceptable weight. Rather than accept the advice, I’ve modified the goal for a realistic outcome.

      As I read through the meal plans, I’m reassured by the relatively simple building blocks and the emphasis on quantification and measurement.

      Most of the meats are cooked by grilling. Because of my work schedule and personal preferences, I will cook my meals differently. It won’t alter the nutritional status of the food, and the method I use is safe. The TWD is flexible, so making these changes won’t detract from the basic core approach.

      Recipe

      Equipment

      • Water bath
      • Water heater and circulator

      Ingredients

      • Chicken tenderloin meat (150 g per serving)
      • Premixed kale slaw (75 g per serving)
      • Medium tomato (150 g)
      • Commercially made hoisin sauce (20 g)
      • Light mayonnaise (20 g)

      Instructions

      1. Place the chicken tenderloin pieces into a bowl and add the hoisin sauce. Coat the chicken with the sauce.
      2. Put the chicken into a vacuum bag and seal it.
      3. Cook the chicken for 2 hours at 60 °C to pasteurise it.
      4. Allow the chicken to cool in the refrigerator.
      5. Add the kale slaw and tomato to a bowl and mix through the light mayonnaise.
      6. Pull the chicken meat with forks and add it to the salad bowl.
      7. Give thanks to the Lord.
      8. Eat with a fork.

      1.7 Meat and Protein, 0.1 Bread and Cereals, 0.6 Vegetables, 0.1 Dairy, 0.2 Healthy Fats and Oils, 0.1 Indulgences, 1293 kilojoules, 38 g protein, 6 g fibre, 13 g carbohydrates

      Meat planning

      The general guidance is to purchase lean cuts of meat and fish. The average serving size is about 150 grams.

      To achieve this without needing to visit a butcher or undertake complicated meat preparation at home, I selected minute steaks and chicken tenderloin pieces.

      Each steak is about 100 g, and each tenderloin piece is about 80 g. For each meal, I’ll go with one piece of beef or two tenderloin pieces.

      To add a bit of flavour, I prepared the meat by coating the pieces with a thin film of hoisin sauce which seems to be popular in the TWD recipes.

      I did the meat preparation in bulk by using vacuum bags. One piece of steak in a bag and two tenderloin pieces in a bag.

      For chicken tenderloin, the cooking formula for pasteurisation is 60 °C for two hours.

      For the fillet steak, the cooking formula for pasteurisation is 55 °C for two hours.

      For salmon, the cooking formula for pasteurisation is 50 °C for 45 minutes.

      Thoughts on the meal

      The meal was modest, and I expect to feel hungry later tonight.

      That said, the chicken was tasty and tender. I like kale slaw, so that worked well.

      Tomorrow night I’ll cook beef.

      Final thoughts

      1. Have you heard of the CSIRO Total Wellness Diet? Have you tried it?
      2. Do you like structured meal planning or prefer a more free-wheeling approach?
      3. What do you plan to eat this week?

      Photographs

      This is a gallery of photographs of the meal.

      Chicken tenderloin pieces with hoisin sauce in a vacuum bag.
      Chicken tenderloin with kale slaw
      Chicken tenderloin with kale slaw

      This is a photograph of me as I begin the program. The smartphone application includes self-photographs plus weight and girth measurements for comparison purposes.

      A photo of me as I begin the CSIRO Total Wellness Diet
      This is me as I begin the CSIRO Total Wellness Diet.
      Last night’s indulgence
      I made sure I finished off the last of the ice cream last night
      Today’s lunch

      Endnotes

      CSIRO

      The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation is now better known as CSIRO and is often pronounced as “sigh-row”. CSIRO calls itself Australia’s national science organisation and regards itself as the interface between science and industry.

      The organisation’s best-known invention is wireless local area networks or Wi-Fi.

      CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet

      The CSIRO Total Wellbeing Diet has been hailed as one of CSIRO’s best achievements from its base in Adelaide, South Australia.