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Cooking Up A Cure

When It Comes To Autoimmune Issues, Chef Michael Symon Lets Food Be His Medicine

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When Iron Chef Michael Symon found out that he had both rheumatoid arthritis and discoid lupus, he suspected his diet could make a profound difference in the inflammation and pain he felt coursing through his body. 

So, the self-professed lover of ice cream, saucy barbecue ribs and cheesy lasagna committed to a food “reset” in front of an audience of millions. As part of a new year’s resolution, the co-host of ABC’s former food-themed talk show “The Chew” was challenged to create a new diet – one that involved no red meat, white flour, sugar, dairy or alcohol for almost three weeks.

Sharing the experiment over social media, which proved to be extremely popular with fans, Symon found himself shocked by the outcome. While he had always blamed his joint pain on a combination of sports injuries sustained during his high school wrestling career and 30 years spent working on his feet in restaurant kitchens, he found that doing the reset made him feel amazing. 

“I was astonished to discover that by the fourth or fifth day, most of my joint pain had subsided, the skin splotches from the lupus had vanished and I was feeling less fatigued,” says Symon, 50. “By the end of 10 days, the improvement was dramatic. And after 20 days, I felt like a teenager again!”

It also helped him to clearly identify the main culprits for his inflammation. By avoiding dairy, sugar and processed flours, his pain essentially vanished.

“Since I hate the word ‘diet,’ I wanted to try more of a lifestyle change,” he says. “The initial reboot was a challenge, but, once I learned my triggers, it has been relatively easy. People should not feel the pressure of a ‘diet,’ as I feel that is what leads to failure.”

The experiment proved to be a catalyst for his sixth cookbook, “Fix It with Food: More Than 125 Recipes to Address Autoimmune Issues and Inflammation,” published last month. Symon’s collection of recipes is intended to serve as a guide for people to identify their own triggers, satisfy cravings without aggravating their bodies or sacrificing flavor, and create a realistic meal plan. 

Whether they count themselves among the 23.5 million estimated Americans coping with a chronic autoimmune disease, according to the National Institutes of Health, or are simply seeking healthier variations of popular classics, Symon’s fans now have a plethora of fresh new ideas from which to choose.

“Throughout my seven years at ‘The Chew,’ I had never received as much positive feedback as I did while completing this exercise,” he writes. “Through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and email, people would reach out to share their own personal results and to request more and more recipes. It was incredibly refreshing to learn that people not only were cooking the recipes and enjoying them, but that they were also finding success in eating this way and feeling better because of them.”

Divided into sections, including gluten-free and low-sugar options, the book’s first section gives readers a roadmap to success via a 10-day meal plan, The Reset. It’s a cleanse that’s free of the top five inflammatory triggers and full of whole foods, such as fruits,  vegetables, whole grains and eggs. 

In addition to shopping lists, recommendations for anti-inflammatory foods and pantry staples to keep on hand, Symon gives readers options like oatmeal with coconut cream, fresh strawberries and toasted almonds for breakfast or fillets of striped bass made in a skillet, shakshuka-style, for dinner.

Through creative substitutions, Symon shows it is possible to still feel excited about cooking and consuming healthy food. For instance, the creaminess of oat milk and the collagen in bone broth are used to fortify and give flavor to dairy-free cream of wild mushroom and barley soup, while spaghetti squash and zucchini noodles are substituted for pasta. 

There are lots of snacks, too. Instead of traditional kale chips, Symon proposes the more original chili and garlic Swiss chard chips. Strawberry fruit roll-ups are whipped up using raw honey, and dairy-free parmesan is used as a nut-free vegan alternative to add a savory, cheesy flavor similar to the real thing with none of the side effects.

This new focus is certainly a departure for the James Beard Award winner, who wrote a previous cookbook called “Carnivore: 120 Recipes for Meat Lovers,” runs a chain of B Spot hamburger joints and operates two Mabel’s BBQ restaurants where giant beef ribs are a prominent – and popular – menu feature.  

Born and raised in Cleveland, Symon – a New York Times best-selling author and host of “Burgers, Brew & ’Que” on the Cooking Channel – has opened more than 20 critically acclaimed restaurants throughout the country since graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York in 1990. 

In addition to Mabel’s and B Spot, he now operates Lola Bistro in Cleveland, Sara’s in Las Vegas, Angeline at the Borgata Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City, Roast in Detroit and Bar Symon at Pittsburgh International Airport and Washington Dulles International Airport.

Often credited with putting Cleveland on the dining map, Symon was showered with accolades early in his career, including being named one of the 10 Best New Chefs in America by Food & Wine in 1998 and Lola being called one of the best restaurants in America by Gourmet in 2000. 

He first appeared on the Food Network in 1998 on shows such as “Sara’s Secrets” with Sara Moulton; “Ready, Set, Cook”; and “Food Nation” with Bobby Flay, before being tapped to host more than 100 episodes of “The Melting Pot.” After being named the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef for the Great Lakes Region, he began hosting cooking shows such as “Food Feuds” and “Cook Like an Iron Chef.” He holds a permanent spot on the panel of Iron Chefs after winning the first season of “The Next Iron Chef” in 2008.

Despite his shift toward healthier eating, it’s clear that Symon is a carnivore at heart. His appetite for meat is even reflected in his choice of body art, which includes a chest tattoo of two cherub pigs holding a “Got Pork” sign and another on his leg showcasing various cuts of meat. Throw in his Greek, Sicilian and Eastern European heritage into the mix – and the fact that dairy has always been his favorite food group – and you might have a sense of how difficult some of these dietary concessions have been.

It helps that his wife, Liz Shanahan, whom he met in the restaurant business in 1990 and who has contributed to some of the recipes in his book, is vegetarian. While Symon still consumes meat, he does so in smaller portions and balances it with other sources of protein like spinach and flax. It’s also important “not to skimp out on aromatics like herbs, spices and seasonings,” he writes. 

“Fresh herbs, good quality (and recently purchased) spices, home-made vegetable stock, last-minute additions of citrus and punchy vinaigrettes transform what are often (in my opinion) bland and boring vegetarian dishes into satisfying and even exciting ones. There’s good reason why plant-based and plant-forward restaurants are all the rage right now in big cities across the country.”

Symon admits that he’s not always going to be able to avoid detrimental foods, he writes, “like that bowl of ice cream on a hot summer day, or a crock of creamy mac and cheese in winter (or that second glass of bourbon)! But knowing what foods cause issues – and having at your disposal a selection of delicious recipes that avoid these triggers – puts me (and you) in control and offers the best opportunity to live pain-free while still eating well.” O

Flaxseed-Crusted Salmon with Grape and Walnut Salsa

From “Fix It with Food: More Than 125 Recipes to Address Autoimmune Issues and Inflammation” by Michael Symon

Serves 4

Ingredients

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350° F. Place the walnuts on a sheet pan, and cook until lightly toasted, about 8 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to a cutting board; when cool enough to handle, roughly chop, and set aside.

Increase the oven temperature to 400° F. Line a sheet pan with foil.

Using paper towels, pat the fish fillets dry. Evenly coat each fillet with 1/2 tbsp. mustard. Season the fillets on all sides with salt and pepper, and then sprinkle 1/2 tbsp. flaxseed on top of each fillet, gently pressing it into the flesh. Place the fish on the lined sheet pan, and drizzle each fillet with 1 tbsp. olive oil. Transfer to the oven, and bake until the fish reaches an internal temperature of 125° F, about 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the salsa, whisk together the remaining 4 tbsp. olive oil, vinegar and honey in a medium bowl. Season with a pinch of salt and a twist of black pepper. Add the walnuts, grapes, parsley and scallions; toss together.

When the fish is done, remove it from the oven, top each piece with a generous amount of salsa and serve.

Reprinted from “Fix It with Food.” Copyright © 2019 by Michael Symon. Photos copyright © 2019 by Ed Anderson. Published by Clarkson Potter, an imprint of Penguin Random House, LLC. 

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