Doctoring up the food for better health

08/08/2003

By ALINE McKENZIE / The Dallas Morning News

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Dr. Richard Collins' trademark appearance blends two uniforms – the surgical scrubs and mask of a doctor plus the jaunty toque of a chef.

It's all part of his persona as "The Cooking Cardiologist," a doctor who promotes healthy eating as a way to prevent heart disease.

"I felt the most important thing I could do as a cardiologist is show people how not to need one," he says in an interview on a Dallas visit, part of a tour sponsored by Bristol-Myers Squibb Co., makers of Pravachol, a cholesterol-lowering drug.

Dr. Collins, 59, trained and went into practice in Nebraska, and now practices in Littleton, Colo., near Denver. He began as a traditional cardiologist, but later decided to change his focus to preventing heart disease, rather than treating it after it developed.

"I hung up my (angioplasty) balloons," he says. "I left the ... lab and went into the kitchen."

Admittedly not a chef at first, he began experimenting with ingredients known to be healthful. His three daughters and the family dog served as test subjects – he jokes that if the girls didn't like a dish but the dog did, it could still have a chance with a little more development.

He likens being a traditional cardiologist to being a firefighter, called into service when there's a crisis. Now what he does is more like being a forest ranger: educating people about how to prevent fires.

"I try to teach people basically options," he says.

His first book, The Cooking Cardiologist: Heart Healthy Cooking Secrets to Avoid FATigue, contains more than 350 recipes.

"There's no need to give up what you want," he says. "Just make it healthier. ...We're not eating with awareness, we're not cooking with awareness."

The book went into a second printing, but he decided not to reprint it again because of all the new ingredients available – better vegetable patties, prepared grilled chicken, and so on. Instead, he's working on a new book incorporating those changes.

One of his trademark dishes is a dessert, a flourless black bean torte. The beans – admittedly unusual in a dessert – give the dish protein, complex carbohydrates and fiber.

"It's a wonderful twist on the fact that a dessert can be healthy," he says.

There's also a "60-second pizza," a piece of pita bread opened and stuffed with low-fat cheese, with sauce, cheese and toppings layered on top.

Another of his recipes is a salad dressing called "Lettuce on Lettuce." Lettuce is roasted in a pan, then pureed with vegetable broth, Dijon mustard, garlic, honey, and "oh wow," he says.

The most important part of dieting, he says, is simply to burn more calories than you take in, in whatever form, whether it's a high-protein or high-carbohydrate diet.

By 4 p.m. each day, he says, most Americans don't know what they're going to have for dinner, in contrast to Europe, where he says food gets more respect.

"In America, dinnertime has become an interference – there's no time," he says.

Lettuce on Lettuce

With Garlic Dressing

1 head of romaine or green leafy lettuce
Vegetable broth or white wine for deglazing

2 cups shredded lettuce for sauteing

4 fresh garlic cloves

1/2 cup rice vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon honey

In a dry saute pan, roast shredded lettuce. When bottom of saute pan browns, remove from heat. Deglaze roasted lettuce in saute pan by drizzling with vegetable broth or white wine. Cool and add to food processor. Add garlic, rice vinegar, mustard and honey. Blend. Serve over lettuce. Dressing can be warm or cold. Add garnish of tomatoes, green onions, or soy "bacon" bits. Serves four.

(To make soy "bacon" bits, mix ½ cup Grape-Nuts cereal and 1 to 2 tablespoons light soy sauce with a touch of liquid smoke flavor if desired. Let dry and sprinkle on lettuce greens.)

High Protein Chocolate
Black Bean Torte

1 can (15 oz.) black soybeans

4 egg equivalents, 8 oz. Egg Beaters or similar substitute

11/2 cups sugar (or replace 3/4 cup sugar with 3/4 cup Splenda)

1/2 teaspoon baking power

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

10 small peppermint patties or four jumbo patties plus 1 tbsp. fat-free milk

Mint leaves for garnish


Preheat oven to 350 F. Drain and rinse beans and then place in a food processor and puree until smooth. With the processor running, pour in the eggs.

The fiber in the bean will not blend, so texture will not be entirely smooth. This is normal. Add sugar, baking powder, vanilla and cocoa. Blend to combine ingredients.

Coat a 9-inch nonstick cake pan with vegetable spray. Pour in batter. Bake on center rack for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry. The surface should be firm yet spongy.

Remove from oven and cool for 15 minutes. Remove cake from pan. Bring torte to room temperature. The torte tastes best cooled. It is more moist and dense the next day.

Melt the peppermint patties in a double boiler, whisking with 1 tablespoon fat-free milk. Drizzle the chocolate mint sauce over the torte. Garnish with a mint leaf.

SOURCE: www.thecookingcardiologist.com

E-mail amckenzie~dallasnews.com