Ok, I have to get on my soapbox now. Paula Deen has Type 2 diabetes!!! Duh!!! Are you kidding me? I mean, really, you are what you eat and if she’s surprised after eating all the butter, cream cheese, fried food and sugar she eats, she’s nuts. And believe me, I’ve spent a lot of time in the South. Southern cooking is not all that, or just that.
First of all, the fact that she hid it from her audience and fans for three years is despicable. She had to get all her ducks in a row with whatever diabetes drug she decided to take, make the deal to negotiate to endorse it, and get the money from them. This is incredible! I think she is scum. (I won’t hold back.)
I have always told my children, look at the chef whose recipes you’re making. James Beard’s recipes were always loaded with butter, cream, mayo and everything fattening. He was huge. His recipes were incredibly tasty and frankly, not all of them were fattening. In fact, I still use his Canadian method for cooking fish as a standard.
Never to put her name in the same category as James Beard, as she is not a chef, I was watching Rachel Ray two weeks ago while making dinner with one of my sons. She was promoting four weeknight dinners with pork, each dinner for four people had a full stick of butter!!! That’s ridiculous. That’s two tablespoons of butter per person, per day, not counting the fats from the sausages and other cuts of meat, because she doesn’t drain the fat. Look at Nigella Lawson – I love her personality and I like a lot of her recipes – but you can’t eat like that all the time. Maybe just a few times a year. I splurged with Bobby Flay’s Nacho Burgers I made two weeks ago.
Now Melissa Clark and Mark Bittmann, they are both average-sized, slim people and their recipes speak to it. The article in The Times today talked about all the butter used in Michelin star restaurants like Bouley. But you don’t eat at Bouley but maybe once a year for a special occasion – at least for me – and these people – Paula and Rachel are encouraging folks to eat like this every night of the week. It’s absurd! And by the way, Thomas Keller of The French Laundry and Per Se is mighty thin, as the portions at his restaurants are small too. All of his dishes are just one or two bites. Chef Anthony Bourdain said that Paula Deen’s fatty food made her “the worst, most dangerous person” on the Food Network. It’s true, because she’s got all of America listening to her.
I even try to use less oil whenever possible. And I do love my olive oil. But if a meat recipe that calls for browning, calls for three tablespoons of olive oil, I try to do it with two. I even have a recipe for four chicken breasts that calls for one teaspoon of olive oil to brown the skin side, and believe me, it works!
Take a look at the line up of people waiting to get in to Paula Deen’s restaurant. You’re not surprised, are you?
Epic Mother’s Day dinner
Father’s Day!
Happy Valentine’s Day!
For Football Sunday
Best Quick Roasted Chicken
Great post Mary. I think she’s undermined her credibility as a spokesperson for diabetes. And she’ll regret not changing her eating habits over the last three years as her diabetes wreaks havoc on her body.
I totally agree!!!
And I love the etching!! Happy New Year!!
I so agree with everything you said.
A Chef I follow on Social media made a simple comment about her choices and he was ripped to shreds by his fans. I spoke up. I just could no longer read how absolutely foolish people are with comments like, way to kick her when she’s down.
Really. People are reacting like someone GAVE Paula diabetes.
It is all about choices. We are all responsible for what we put into our bodies.
As for Rachel Ray………….. there are no words to describe how little I enjoy her or her show.
Great post!
Found you via Twitter!
Thank you for writing. Americans need a lot of education in terms of food and eating habits.
Hi Mary,
Not to defend Paula Dean in any way. I have always found her show impossible to watch. But fat may not be the culprit in Paula’s diabetes as much as her sweet tooth. Dietary fat has wrongly been the culprit in the obesity dilemma. When we decided to follow the bad advice to go low-fat, the obesity epidemic and rates of diabetes rose exponentially. Not to say that some kinds of fat, like over-processed vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats, have not been contributors to the overweight problem. But vilifying all fats is not appropriate. Especially since butter and lard from high quality sources can actually be quite health promoting. Coconut oil, in particular, has many healthy attributes. For a very thoughtful study on fat in our diet, read either of Gary Taubes’ books, “Good Calories, Bad Calories” or “Why We Get Fat.” Another good source is Mary Enig and Sally Fallon’s “Eat Fat, Lose Fat.” Even Walter Willet, of the Harvard School of Public Health is now on the bandwagon pointing out that the studies supporting fat as the demon were flawed and unscientific resulting in one of the worst dietary claims in history. Here is an article that will shed some light on this: http://bit.ly/zCtibv
Eating healthy fat is essential to reversing diabetes, keeping inflammation at bay, regulating hormones, lubricating cells and neurons, keeping blood vessels pliable. It’s the high glycemic food that’s killing us.
Here’s to healthy eating!
Lynn Klein Riotto
Holistic Health Counselor
Lynn – Thanks for the clarification.
You said “See that curly hair? That happened a month after I started taking these Chinese herbs to clear up cataracts, instead of having surgery. Before the herbs, my hair was very straight.” I would love to know more about these secret ingredients 🙂
I will try to send you the info tonight – it’s at home and I am in the office now.
Pam – So sorry for the delay in answering you. Things have been so hectic with this office move. But here’s the scoop. The herb mixture is called Night Vision from TaiChi people in Texas. 512 332-2544 or http://www.TaiChiherb.com. These have NOT been evaluated by the FDA and I am not publicly endorsing them.