You may have heard a new phrase that’s been floating around: functional foods. The idea of functional foods is that they add some health-promoting or disease-preventing property beyond their basic nutritional value. They are considered to have a specific health use above and beyond their caloric contribution.

Functional foods do not include items in which fortification has been mandated by government regulation. So adding iodine to table salt, Vitamin D to milk, or B vitamins and iron to stripped grains, like white flour, does not make a food functional.

Functional foods are foods such as oatmeal, which is rich in the soluble fiber that causes cholesterol levels to drop. Live-culture fermented foods, like yogurt and sauerkraut, are also considered functional, owing to their probiotic effects. Garlic and herbs are functional, fish is function, tomatoes are functional, and nuts, too. All fruits and vegetables can be considered functional, with their significant antioxidant activity and their rich supply of polyphenols.

Not surprisingly, the food industry has an interest in using the concept of functional foods to develop creative, new-and-improved versions of food products and to increase market share. Calcium-enriched orange juice, for example, is being touted as an example of a functional food. While oranges, like all fruits, are a great example of a functional food, orange juice is not. Unless, of course, you make it yourself at home from your own oranges, and then share the pulp with your family. Let the buyer beware!

I have a simple way of thinking about this topic. I would say that ALL food is functional. If it’s not functional, it’s not food. The function of food is to nourish. In the words of my respected friend and colleague, edible items that don’t nourish aren’t food; they’re entertainment.

Here are two simple recipes made from real, functional food. The first is an herbed salmon. Mix together one-half cup white wine, 1 T olive oil, the juice of half a lemon, plus 4 T of any combination of the following fresh herbs: basil, tarragon, thyme, dill, or parsley. Heat the mixture in a saucepan, pour it over 8 oz. salmon, and bake at 400F for 15 min or until the fish flakes easily.

Then wash a bunch of kale, trim out the hard stems, and chop the leaves coarsely. Saute in 2 T olive oil 3-4 min. until bright green and softening. Add 2 tsp. balsamic vinegar and remove to serving plate. Sprinkle with 1 tsp. toasted sesame seeds, and serve.