Salmon sez, ‘feed your face’
By Jody Stump/Special to The Malibu Times
This week’s column started far from the range; it began on the stage with a rehearsal of Neil Simon’s hilarious comedy about a restaurateur suffering from the fear of aging. “The Last of the Red Hot Lovers” is a fluff in the tradition of Simon’s warmest and funniest works where a hero flounders through a series of foolish affairs only to discover that the soul’s most precious secrets are right at home. Directed by Chris Hart, the play is a delight-don’t miss it at the Malibu Stage Company.
Of course this column is about food, not art, so how did I get from Simon to salmon? A piece in Vogue about the Salmon Diet.
Never heard of the Salmon Diet? It’s not what you think-it’s a dermatologist’s diet to enrich your skin rather than impoverish fat cells. While most of us would be happy to lose a pound or 10, that is rarely my objective when it comes to a good meal. Nevertheless, I’m willing to try many things to avoid “going under the knife.” In this spirit of science, I decided to try the doctor’s Three Day Diet and see if I could lose a year or two. I won’t keep you in suspense-three days, three pounds and a definite improvement in skin tone and, dare I say it, “radiance.” The effect was so promising that I stuck with it, trying out salmon at local restaurants for a change of pace:
Howdy’s: My favorite, all-time salmon-away-from-home is Howdy’s grilled Salmon Burrito-“Hold the rice and beans and heavy on the veggies.” Add lime juice and salsa, and it’s heaven in a flour blanket.
Tradinoi: There are two salmon entrees on the regular menu, but the sweeter, more flavorful and juicy selection is the “Alaska,” fresh grilled salmon topped with a confit of tomatoes and porcini mushrooms.
Marmalade: Although I cheated one day and had a bagel and lox with cream cheese-the doctor would shun the bagel-Marmalade’s “LEO” is a delicious and healthier alternative of lox, scrambled eggs and onion. Swap tomatoes for potatoes and you’re sticking to the diet.
The science is easy and Dr. Perricone’s book, “The Wrinkle Cure,” is a clearly written bestseller if you want details. The villain is a band of cellular terrorists, Free Radicals, which swarm the body seeking to capture unwary electrons and crumble the walls of your cell’s membranes. Antioxidants and essential fatty acids are the body’s built-in defense system, but sun, stress and refined carbohydrates are the Free Radicals’ allies and you need to add good things, inside and out, to win the war on aging.
The doctor’s first rule of thumb is to eat any fruits and vegetables that are densely colored-strawberries are better for your skin than bananas; arugula, an improvement over iceberg and cantaloupe outdoes all other melons by far. The second rule is, eat salmon. It contains massive amounts of DMAE, a nutrient that builds up intercellular muscle tone transmitters the same way dopamine sends signals of peace around the body. Third, drink water. It’s that simple.
In keeping with the simple theme, I offer a recipe that couldn’t be easier and has the added virtue of recycling this paper. Send an e-mail to malibuwayoflife@aol.com if you want a copy of the doctor’s diet and recipes that keep salmon fresh and interesting.