DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am almost 83, and often make green split pea soup using freshly bought dried split peas. I use only a small amount of salt, and ensure the peas are well-covered with cold water. I put a lid on the pot and cook them at low heat. I don't know why, but I always end up with a coating on the inside of the pot lid. I try to scrape the crust, but can't remove it without soaking and scrubbing the lid. Can you please advise me on what causes this and how I might prevent it from happening? Growing up in Chicago, I recall my family serving green split pea soup with ham hocks, and I don't recall having this problem then. -- M.F., Tucson, Arizona

DEAR M.F.: A degree of foaming is normal when cooking split peas or other legumes. A main contributor is the saponins -- phytochemicals that serve as part of the plant's microbial defenses. Saponins have a bitter taste.

Soaking and rinsing legumes before cooking can reduce the amount of saponins. Another option is to skim the foam off the water periodically during the cooking process. Bubbling and boiling can splash foam onto the lid, so more gradual heating can reduce the foaming, as can adding a small amount of oil to the cooking water.

Because water minerals can affect foam formation, your comment that you seem to be experiencing more foam today might be associated with the hardness of the water in your current location.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: I am trying to lower my weight by making small changes in my diet. One change I've made is to lower -- but not eliminate -- my carbohydrate intake, mainly breads and pasta. I've lost 5 pounds in 4 weeks. It's not a huge amount, but it's a start! My question is about the combination of rice and legumes. I've been told that the amino acids combine to make a complete protein when you eat beans and rice at the same meal. I'm confused about how the body digests this combination as a protein or a carbohydrate. Would you please clarify this for me? Should I give up my favorite brown rice and black bean recipe? Thank you. -- M., Pinole, California

DEAR M: Both beans and rice contain carbohydrates, protein (in the form of amino acids) and a small amount of fat as separate nutrients. They will be digested in the same manner, whether eaten at separate meals or at the same time.

Individually, neither beans nor rice contains all essential amino acids. But if these foods are present together, their amino acids serve as raw materials for the body to make complete proteins, similar to if you had consumed an already complete animal protein food.

I am unclear as to why you would think it necessary to forgo brown rice and black beans, which is a great example of a plant food combination that provides amino acids for a complete protein. Keep an eye on your total caloric intake, stick to healthful foods such as these, and maintain an active lifestyle, and you will continue to make strides.

Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: Compared with 75% lean, would 95% lean ground beef be considered low-fat? This came up during a discussion at a burger party, and we all recorded our votes. Is one that much more healthy than the other? -- C.T., Los Angeles

DEAR C.T.: The government standard for low-fat food is no more than 3 grams of fat per serving, and neither passes that test. Some background about ground beef fat is required to make the determination, including consideration of what happens during cooking, as well as some math.

A serving of hamburger might be considered the burger itself, but given that they come in a range of sizes, especially when homemade, this can be confusing. Let's consider a serving to be one-quarter pound (4 ounces, or 114 grams) for our comparison.

Before cooking, a 4-ounce serving of 75% lean ground beef will have 331 calories, of which 28 grams (252 calories) is from fat; this represents 77% of the total calories in the serving. This serving has 18 grams of protein.

The same weight of uncooked 95% lean ground beef will have 155 calories, of which 5.7 grams (51 calories) is from fat; this represents 33% of the total calories. This serving has 24 grams of protein.

Both of these ground beefs are above the 3 grams of fat per serving benchmark for low-fat foods.

Now consider what happens during the cooking process that causes both burgers to lose water and fat. Because doneness is a factor, for our comparison, we will assume the burgers are cooked to medium.

Cooking causes the 75% lean patty to drop from 113 grams to 70 grams -- a 38% weight loss -- and it will now have about 13 grams of fat, a 54% decrease from raw. There is no significant loss of protein.

Cooking causes the 95% lean patty to drop from 113 grams to 82 grams, a 27% weight loss, and it will now have about 5.4 grams of fat, a 4% decrease. Again, there is no significant protein loss.

A medium-cooked burger from a quarter pound of 95% lean ground beef gives you more to eat -- 82 vs. 70 grams -- and provides more protein (24 vs. 18 grams) and less fat (5.4 vs. 13 grams). Still, neither meets the low-fat standard.

What is healthful depends on the rest of the food on your plate that day. There are other issues that come into play, such as where the beef came from, how that rancher feeds and treats their beef cattle and the land on which the cattle were raised. All these issues deserve consideration.

Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.

DEAR DR. BLONZ: Nutrition labels on foods and meats show their fat content. But when meat items get cooked, such as bacon, sausage and ground meats, fat gets rendered out. Does the package labeling indicate fat content before cooking, or after? If it is the former, as I suspect, how significantly does cooking reduce the fat content?

I also wonder about the labels on cake mixes, to which you must add ingredients, and meat purchased directly from the butcher case, where there are no labels besides a description of the cut and the price per pound. -- K.G., San Jose, California

DEAR K.G.: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are involved here.

The Nutrition Labeling and Education Act of 1990 (NLEA) requires that nutritional information be displayed on FDA-regulated foods. These information labels indicate the nutrients per serving as described on the package. Cake mixes, muffin mixes and the like can require additional components to make a finished product; in these instances, an "as prepared" column can provide information on the nutrients in the fully prepared food. (More about FDA labeling at b.link/ua4zghx.)

The meats you list are products regulated by the USDA, not the FDA. The USDA has a set of parallel rules for labeling, but there are some differences -- the main one is how the information is displayed.

Unless otherwise stated, information on a nutrition facts label for meat should be assumed to be from the raw, uncooked product. How much fat and cholesterol is lost when cooking sausage and ground meats depends on how lean the product was prior to cooking. In the case of bacon, the nutrition facts panel displayed on most brands indicates data for a serving that is already cooked. Read the label carefully to verify whether the nutritional values are for "as prepared."

A cooked piece of bacon will weigh about one-third its uncooked weight, dropping some of its weight as fat and some as moisture. The liquified fat remains, so consider using a paper towel to blot cooked bacon before serving.

Pre-packaged ground or chopped meats and poultry should have their USDA nutrition facts label on the package, or be available at the point of purchase. Some markets will post the information on their website. (For sample labels of ground meat products with different fat percentages, see b.link/639fn6a.) You can also ask for the nutritional information when you shop, but you may have to wait a while during busy shopping hours.

Send questions to: "On Nutrition," Ed Blonz, c/o Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. Send email inquiries to questions@blonz.com. Due to the volume of mail, personal replies cannot be provided.