I’ve been thinking a lot about dietary issues lately, as if my recent posts haven’t given that away.  One of the big issues in my life has always been portion control.  I know that this is a huge issue for many people, especially given that restaurants like to give out huge platters of grub (more on why some other time).

I’m trying to address this in my own house in a number of different ways.  The first approach is to use our “luncheon plates” instead of our “dinner” plates.  These are generally quite a bit smaller, but still plenty large enough for everything that should be on your menu.

I’m also trying to cut down on the starches and refined sugars and to replace them with fruits and colored vegetables.  So instead of potatoes or rice, I might try apples or carrots.  That was the idea behind my recipe from the other day.  I’m also trying to use a lot more salad ingredients (yes, often from a bag- I’m not perfect yet, either).

The other major change that I’m trying to make has to do with “satisfaction”.  I’ve noticed that more mild dishes generally don’t make me feel as full as quickly.  It takes my tummy awhile to notice that it’s full.  Worse yet, I often have to eat at school lunchroom pace (15 minutes for lunch, folks!), a habit that sticks with me even when I’m not working.  That stuff-it-down speed eating doesn’t give my system enough time to register fulfillment.  As a result, the urge to eat more when it’s available is sometimes overpowering.

However, I’ve noticed that stronger flavors help reduce the time it takes to register that I’ve eaten.  Now I suppose I could spice the snot out of everything, but that can be a bit overpowering.  Plus Kara and John (our housemate) aren’t as keen on Tex-Mex as I am, so I can’t use that tool night after night.  I’m working on Thai cooking (think spicy Chinese/Indian food), but I’m not very good at it yet.

Enter the stinky cheese.  Sharp cheeses, like aged cheddar and blue cheeses contain strong flavor and aroma compounds.  Like spices, they can add enormous punch to a dish; but, cheeses can do it without setting fire to your tongue.  Of course, the type of cheese you like is important- for instance, I’m not sure John liked the Gorgonzola the other night.  I’m not sure if it was the cheese or just the context, so I’m trying it again tonight with thin-sliced pork chops and green beans.  Last night, though, I used sharp Vermont cheddar on sirloin tips and ciabatta bread to make mini sandwiches to go with a salad (including Roma tomatoes, yellow bell peppers for Kara, and cucumbers).

I think that without the sharp cheddar- say if I’d used American cheese or even just a mild cheddar, I would’ve needed more sandwich to feel satisfied.  I didn’t even eat a cookie last night, nor a Reese’s peanut butter cup, though I had both available to me.

Putting this in a historical context, think about what kinds of cheese would’ve been available to most people before the dawn of refrigeration.  Sure, some fresh cheeses would’ve been available, but most had to be fermented (aged) to deter spoilage.  For instance, aged cheddar has less lactose than fresh cheese because the bacteria eat it for energy, making the cheese less hospitable for other cheese munchers.  Blue cheeses are filled with edible mold, filling up the ecological niches that might have been occupied by inedible fungi.

Given how little many European peasants had to eat (“Allons infants de la Patrie, le jour de gloire est arrivé!”), it makes sense that strong flavors would have been necessary to impart satisfaction without huge portions.  Sharp, aged cheeses would have filled that role nicely.

It’s also worth noting that aged cheeses often contain glutamates, which impart a savory or meat-like flavor (“umami”) to foods.  The chemical MSG (monosodium glutamate) was the first compound of this type isolated (from kombu seaweed broth), but there are many forms that appear naturally in fermented foods.  Worcestershire sauce, fish sauce, and soy sauce all contain similar compounds, as do miso, yeast extract, vegemite, aged country ham, and so on.

Of course, the Global Grocery Grid likes to load processed foods up with MSG to encourage snacking.  How then, can umami decrease consumption if the MegaChip Corporation uses it to increase consumption?

Quality over quantity.  When you munch an extruded rod of puffed corn coated with whey powder and MSG, your body knows that it’s not getting anything useful out of it.  The “cheesy poof” tastes good, but it isn’t satisfying.  If instead you ate something worthwhile- say a carrot, coated in the same stuff, I think that your body would register the carrot as more meaningful food.  The MSG and cheese flavoring doesn’t change your body’s ability to know the difference between good food and garbage, it just makes both taste more savory.

The difference between eating umami foods and non-umami foods is similar to the difference between eating sweet foods and non-sweet foods.  When I’ve got a hankering for sugar, bacon won’t assuage that.  Similarly, a cinnamon bun probably won’t help if I’m jonesing for salt.  Umami flavors resemble those of amino acids, the building blocks of protein.  Regardless of whether your protein comes from animal or vegetable sources, your body uses your taste buds to determine if what you’re eating is something you need.

Considering how cheap and plentiful carbohydrates are in our society, is it any wonder that your body isn’t satisfied when you overdose on them, say by eating a whole bag of cheesy poofs?  When your body wants real food- the kind with protein and vitamins and minerals, it will urge you to eat umami-rich foods.  If you’ve switched off your human brain and put your “lizard” brain in charge, guess what happens…

That’s right, your hand pops a cheesy poof into your mouth.  Your taste buds detect umami and say, “that’s good food, eat another one”.  By the time that your tummy realizes that it’s been duped, sixteen more cheesy poofs are headed down your gullet.  Your tummy then sends a message upstairs saying, “we need some real food down here, send umami”.  Your taste buds, fooled by the fake umami of the cheesy poofs, obliging send more into your belly.  Meanwhile, your tummy is yelling, “we’re starving for actual nutrition here, send umami, not sweet and fat!”.  Unfortunately, your taste buds don’t understand that they’re being fooled.

Only your human brain can make that connection.

I guess that’s why I’m trying to think about this stuff more.  Far too often, I’ve let my taste buds run the show.  I need to realize their limitations and work on tricking them into acknowledging reality.  So, long live the stinky cheese!

Well, okay, the sorta stinky cheeses…  I’m not quite ready for Limburger.  I hear it makes a really satisfying sandwich, I’m just not that brave yet. :)

Update:

John really didn’t like the Gorgonzola.  Maybe I’ll experiment with Stilton…