YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Chicken with Split-Pea Gravy

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This recipe inspires an entirely new approach to gravy. It’s extremely flavorful, the texture is spot-on perfect, and it is impossible to mess up. You should consider it when cooking for company, Friday nights or Sunday dinners, Thanksgiving and other holidays, or any time you want something rich, flavorful, creamy, and cozy, with leftovers guaranteed to keep you satisfied. When my children were elementary school age, it was one of their favorite dinners.

8 chicken drumsticks
1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
3 stalks celery, rinsed and trimmed
4 green onions, sliced
1 quart water
2 large potatoes, each washed well and cut into 4-5 thick slices
2 cloves garlic, peeled

  1. Place split peas, water, garlic, celery, and onion in a large pot.
  2. Cook at least 1 hour, until peas are soft. Blend well with immersion blender until smooth.
  3. Pour into a dutch oven, and stir in the potatoes.
  4. Carefully layer the drumsticks on top, cover, and cook at 325F for 2 hours. Leave uncovered the last 15-20 minutes to allow the potatoes and chicken to brown a bit.
  5. Serve 1-2 drumsticks with 1-2 slices of potato per plate, along with generous amounts of “gravy” on top.
  6. Refrigerate leftovers, and feel free to add 1-2 cups water to turn it into soup the next day if you’d like. Serves 4-6.

Scoop at the Coop: First Eggs! 2025

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When our most recent flock of chicks was brand new this past August, we kept them under a heat lamp to maintain their body heat. We were able to wean them from the heat lamp by the time they were about 6 weeks old. But in January, during the recent nationwide cold snap, we made a decision to turn the heat lamp back on. I think it was the low of minus six degrees that did it. 

The girls stayed close together, cuddling and fluffing up their feathers to insulate themselves and conserve energy. I could also see that they were eating more food than usual.  Continue reading →

Is Cinnamon Still Safe?

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Recent Awareness of Cinnamon Contamination  

A few weeks ago a reader wrote in to ask specifically about whether it is still safe, in light of recent events, to eat cinnamon. I spent some time researching the issue.

In October 2023, lead and chromium poisoning was diagnosed in 519 children. It was traced to consumption of specific brands of cinnamon apple puree and applesauce, and a major recall was initiated. The cases were traced to the cinnamon, which was found to have originated in Ecuador, from where it had been supplied to the apple puree and applesauce manufacturer. Continue reading →

Is That Soup Healthy? Or is it Nourishing?

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Today I’d like to talk about just one thing, and that is the difference between healthy and nourishing. In 2017, Michael Ruhlman, the noted chef and writer, published a book called Grocery*, in which he reflected on a great many aspects of supermarkets and grocery stores. As part of his endeavor, he asked me to meet with him and share my perspective. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Spicy Stuffed Peppers

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You may have noticed that I am working on providing you with a few recipes that warm you up through these winter months. I love heat, so this is a perfect recipe for me. But if your tastes tend more toward the gentle landing, I recommend skipping the jalapeño and reducing the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon. Or you can just forget both of them altogether. That’s because the chili powder will still provide some spicy excitement. For me though, I’m all in, which means that if my batch of jalapeños isn’t particularly hot, then I’ll happily add an extra one. So if you’re game, I’m going to recommend that you try letting this gorgeous fireworks of color land on your tongue all at once, because if you can tolerate the concert, your tastebuds will sing! Continue reading →

Ultraprocessing Hits the Popular Press

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I am thrilled to report that the discussion about ultraprocessed items has finally reached the popular press in a big way. This past week Jancee Dunn, a wellness columnist for the New York Times, wrote a week-long series about different aspects of ultra processing, beginning with her love of sprinkle-covered sheet cake. Then Reuters covered California governor Gavin Newsom’s recent executive order focusing on reducing consumption of packaged snacks and sugar-containing beverages, and investigating the effects of synthetic food dyes. This order cited a 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee report showing that 73% of American adults aged 20 or older are overweight and/or obese, and 38% of children and youth aged 12-19 are pre-diabetic.  Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Anya’s Salmon Soup

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I published this recipe once many years ago, and haven’t made it in a long time. But Anya’s salmon soup is the perfect choice for this time of year, and I have all the ingredients I need to make some this week! It’s a beautiful color, exactly right for adding some brightness to your life as you start settling into the deepest part of winter. Also, the combination of ingredients is exactly right for bracing yourself for the coming Arctic temperatures. Continue reading →

My Favorite Topic: Real Food

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Almost all diets have one particular strategy in common, which is to increase the amount of real food that people are eating while simultaneously decreasing the amount of manufactured calories, including both stripped carbohydrates and the ultraprocessed oils invented in the 20th century.

Stripped carbohydrates are processed to remove the most nourishing parts, including the bran and germ. Other stripped carbohydrates include white rice, corn starch, corn syrup, and sugar. It is not a coincidence that white flour, corn starch and powdered sugar look exactly the same. We’ve removed the original identities of these products, so all that is left is a pile of white powder. Continue reading →

Self Care is Being Kind to Yourself, plus Lentil-Vegetable Soup

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I spent my days as a practicing physician teaching people to be kinder to themselves, and that kindness manifested itself in three spheres: 1) eating patterns, 2) activity patterns, and 3) rest & relaxation patterns. The goal is to make small, incremental changes that result in nourishing your heart and soul with better food, more movement, and quality rest and relaxation.  Continue reading →

A Menace to Satiety

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A member of my family texted me a few weeks ago: “Thinking of you as I’m watching CNN report on the effects of ultra processed foods… Followed by an ad on controlling diabetes numbers. (Did they consult you?)”. She knows how long I’ve been thinking about this.

So I decided to write about ultra processed “items” this week. The media has got to stop calling them food.

An old friend once came to visit, and she told me that she’d been discussing my dietary recommendations with her clever boyfriend. He spent some time mulling them over, and then said: “Processed food is a menace to satiety.” Ha. Indeed it is. Continue reading →