Marshall Brain's Blog

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Basic Food Recipe

On Saturday, Alton Brown was in Raleigh for a food/cooking show. Alton is the host of the show "Good Eats" on the food network. I was asked to do a presentation at the show entitled "How Food Works".

One of the things I talked about was the basic food requirements of a human being. Since it was a cooking show, I then made a batch of BASIC FOOD. It breaks down like this:

• A person at rest needs 12 calories per pound of body weight per day
• a person needs 0.36 grams of protein per pound per day
• The current recommendation is 30% of calories from fat.

A 150 pound person needs 12 * 150 = 1,800 calories, 0.36 * 150 = 54 grams of protein and 600 fat calories. Therefore, the following recipe would satisfy the nutritional needs for a 150 pound person for one day.

BASIC FOOD

2 1/2 cups flour (supplies 1,000 calories)
2 cans Tuna fish (supplies necessary protein and about 300 calories) (could use protein powder instead)
4 3/4 tablespoons olive oil (Supplies 600 calories as fat)
1/2 cup coarse wheat bran (25 grams of fiber to avoid plumbing problems)
RDA of vitamins and minerals (in the form of pills and supplements)
Salt to taste
Seasonings and color as desired
Water

Dissolve vitamin and mineral supplements in a small amount of water. Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Add enough water to form a stiff dough. Knead. Shape into bars or balls and eat moist, or dry to form crackers. Consume the entire recipe (and nothing else but water) during the course of a day for complete nutrition.