Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 9, Number 5, 1 Mei 1992 — ʻAi Pono, E Ola [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ʻAi Pono, E Ola

By Terry Shintani, M.D.

Wai'anae Diet Program's "Transition Diet"

"Hawaiian foods are too expensive" is a eommon complaint that I hear when people give excuses why they have difficulty following the Wai'anae Diet Program. What they don't understand is that the Wai'anae Diet Program

includes what we commonly eall the "transition diet." That is, reasonable substitutes for Hawaiian foods. The use of substitutions for these foods is based on the fact that every major culture had a traditional diet, such as of the Native Hawaiians, that was a healing diet. This is how I was treating patients in my private practice even before the Wai'anae Diet Program. It is indeed possible for people to get off their insulin or blood pressure medication by using brown rice instead of poi for example. lt is possible to have a good source of ealeium by eating Japanese seaweed instead of Hawaiian limu. These are foods that are included in the Wai'anae Diet Program's "transition diet" so that participants may continue the diet without having to rely on a scarce source of traditional Hawaiian foods.

One of the reasons that people don't use transition foods is simply that we are unfamiliar with how to eook or serve these foods. Here are

some examples of "transition diet" foods that you ean use that are simple and practical. I like brown rice because it is inexpensive and versatile. I like wakame as an example of limu because it is easy to prepare and available in the Japanese section of most supermarkets. In future issues of this paper I will share more recipes with you so that no one has to say it is "too expensive" to stay on the Wai'anae Diet Program.

Pressure-Cooker Rice For pressure cooked brown rice use 3-1/2 cups of water. Wash rice and soak 2 to 6 hours. (It will take a little longer to eook if not pre-soaked.) Plaee rice and water into a pressure cooker (stainless steel if possible.) Add sea salt, cover lid as directed by manufacturer of pressure cooker. Bring to pressure on high heat, then lower to low heat and eook for 35 to 45 minutes. Let pressure eome down, then let stand for 5 to 10 minutes, stir and serve. Wakame (Japanese limu) Wakame is a leafy sea vegetable often used in soup. One of the easiest ways#to eat it is to buy "wakame flakes" and toss them in a soup that you are making. Miso soup is a logical ehoiee but it will work in just about any soup. It quickly absorbs water and the flavor of the soup and fits right in. You will be amazed that when wet, it

swells to about five times its dry size. One neat trick I use is to carry it to the restaurant and toss a small handful in my soup. Wakame is also delicious as a side dish in its own right. You ean simply soak wakame in water and drain to remove the sodium and you have a simple fresh green to use as a side dish or as a high-calcium addition to any salad. You ean also have delicious side dishes when cooked with other vegetables. Here is an example.

Wakame with Onions 1/2 oz. dried wakame One medium-sized onion Water Low sodium soy sauce, about one tsp. Rinse, and soak the wakame until tender, then slice into roughly one-ineh pieces. Peel and slice onions vertically into crescents. Plaee onions in a pot, then cover with wakame. Add fresh water to nearly cover the wakame. Bring the mixture to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 15 minutes. Season with low-sodium soy sauce to taste and eook for 5 to 10 minutes longer to the texture you want. Dr. Terry Shintani, physician and nutritionist, is ihe director of preventive medicine at the Wai'anae Coast Comprehensive Health Center. He has a eall-in radio talk show on nutrition from 7 to 9 p.m. Sundays on K108. You ean eall in with your questions at 522-5108.