Author Archives: Dr. Sukol

A Monthly Column

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A few months ago I was approached with a lovely proposal.

Would I like to author a new monthly column on health and wellness for the Cleveland Jewish News? You bet I would! I am thrilled to be able to share these with you today.

I’ve included links to the first two columns below, and I hope you enjoy reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them! They are not meant to take the place of YHIOYP. I’ll keep writing this blog just as I always have.

The first column is entitled Real Food Nourishes; Manufactured Calories Entertain.

The second is Developing [a] Firm Foundation: Three Pillars of Wellness.

The next one will be out the second week of January! Til next time, stay well!

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Citrus Edamame Salad

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You are in for a treat this week, but not that kind of treat. This salad is fantastic on its own, in a scooped out tomato, alongside a slice of butternut squash, or on a bed of greens or grains (quinoa, whole wheat pasta, or brown rice, for example). You can spoon some into the bottom of a Ball jar to start building a to-go lunch for work or school, and it makes a wonderfully colorful addition to a large festive serving platter covered in fruit slices, dips, pickled veggies, crackers, chunks of cheese, smoked fish, and the like. And did I mention how great the leftovers taste? It’s packed with flavor, protein, phytonutrients, nourishing fats, and fiber: in other words, it’s the whole package. Enjoy! Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Weekend After Thanksgiving Soup

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This recipe is perfect for getting back on track after Thanksgiving. It will take most of the day to cook, but just 10 minutes to throw together. Some years we actually start it while we’re cleaning up, and leave it to cook slowly all night long. Except for the scallions and ginger, there’s a good chance you already have all the other ingredients. The only labor-intensive part of this recipe is the time spent looking through the bones for bits of meat. But don’t feel the need to go looking for every last piece. Whatever you have will be enough. If you don’t see much turkey on the carcass, that’s fine too. Since most of the flavor comes from the bones themselves, the broth will be delicious whether or not the bones are stripped clean. Continue reading →

Real Food for Real People

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In discussing the nutritional value of the things we eat, I often talk about real food, by which I mean food that has not been ultraprocessed, refined, stripped, polished, fortified, degerminated, enriched, or otherwise modified. Real food means fruits, vegetables, legumes (beans and lentils), nuts, seeds, whole grains, fish, eggs, dairy products, and meats, like poultry, beef, or game. And that’s about it. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Luscious Lentil Salad To Go

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Here’s a wonderful recipe for you to try! Especially after weekends of the kinds of food extravaganzas that the coming weeks are sure to bring, this salad will be a great choice for helping your digestive system to get back on track. Lentils are a very special food. Not only are they a fantastic source of protein, but they are also rich in fiber. There are only a few categories of foods that can make that claim. Not just that, but they are delicious, especially as prepared in this recipe. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: October Soup

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I was looking back through old posts, and discovered this one from 2011, eleven years and almost 1000 posts ago. Though I do not remember who gave me this recipe, I do know that it came from someone I was working with at the time.*

I arrived home from work one particular evening to find my daughter frying onions, and I asked her what’s for dinner. “I don’t know,” she said, “this is as far as I’ve gotten.” Her amusing reply put me in mind of a guy named Jeff whom I had met many years prior. He became famous in our family, and remains there to this day, because of something he used to say: “First I fry the onions and garlic, and then I decide what to make for dinner.” And that is what my daughter was doing. Continue reading →

Real Breakfasts for All You Champions

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Last week I wrote about the sorry story of how boxed cereals came to predominate morning choices for breakfast; this week I’m sharing some of my own breakfast choices. The first thing I am going to point out is that my breakfasts do not differ significantly from other meals I eat through the day. That is to say, I don’t keep a separate list of breakfast options from lunch and dinner options. While I would say that I probably eat less spicy stuff at breakfast time, it’s more of a suggestion than a hard-and-fast rule, as you will see.

A major category of breakfasts in my house is the leftovers I find in the refrigerator, with or without a little extra something. So it could be that I heat up a bowl of leftover stir-fried vegetables, and that might be enough by itself, but I might also add some leftover rice if there is any. Or maybe I will fry an egg and slide it on top, or melt a slice of cheese (vegan for me) on top.  Continue reading →

Not a Breakfast for Champions

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Breakfast cereals, generally speaking, are not particularly nourishing, although they do have a praiseworthy origin. They were invented near the turn of the 20th century by health spa owners offering an alternative to the eggs, coffee, and beef, bacon or sausage that constituted the usual breakfast of the time.

Not coincidentally, the invention of breakfast cereal also provided an economical use for the crumbs that fell to the bottom of the bread ovens at the health spas. The word “cereal” itself is a synonym for “grain,” and it is derived from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. We have strayed a long way from that origin. Continue reading →

YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Spaghetti Squash Marinara

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The squash has been coming in gorgeous and heavy this year! We’ve been making our way through dozens of delicata, acorn, and spaghetti squash. No Hubbards or butternut yet, but they’re coming! As far as I am concerned, there is always room for more. I especially love how they can sit on the counter for weeks and weeks without any negative consequences. So if we happen to have more than we can use at the moment, it’s no problem — just wait a little while! They will still be fine.  Continue reading →

Eating Slowly

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Many years ago my mom and I were spending the day running errands when we suddenly realized that it was already the middle of the afternoon and we hadn’t eaten lunch yet. We were famished. I rummaged around for a snack, but all I could come up with was a tiny cellophane package of jelly beans. While my mom kept her eyes on the road, I tore open the package and divvied up six jellybeans. A very short while later we laughed as we realized that now we were barely hungry at all. Knowing that this was going to be a temporary state, however, we soon pulled in to our favorite diner and ordered lunch.

For me, this experience illustrates an important principle, namely that if you wait a little while after you eat, there is an excellent chance that your hunger will resolve. Continue reading →