I’ve been eating this salad for breakfast, yes breakfast, for many years. I know Americans consider it somewhat unconventional to eat salad for breakfast (though not Europeans and in the Middle East), but I believe it is such a great way to start the day. The success of this salad is built on simplicity. My strategy remains similar, week in and week out. It is never quite the same, but it is always delicious. On occasion, I make it with a sweet potato instead of a white potato. Thank you to Alice Waters for teaching me to eat simply. This salad makes one single serving, but is infinitely flexible if a friend or an army is coming to share a meal. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dr. Sukol
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Mediterranean Roasted Onions
Generally speaking, I read a lot about Mediterranean cooking, but lately I’ve been focusing on its emphasis on simplicity. I keep seeing one particular idea, that you need only a short list of ingredients in a small kitchen to make spectacularly flavorful dishes. No need for 40 herbs and spices. Maybe five or ten. Here’s what I mean. Today I have in mind an exceedingly simple recipe: roasted onions. These onions are really, really gooooood, and they add a special something to every meal you can imagine. Continue reading
Setting an Intention
I am writing today about what it means to set an intention.
What is an intention? I was introduced to the idea many years ago by my friend and yogi Mel who is full of heart, full of smarts, and, yes, full of intention. She said that it’s good to “set an intention” for your yoga practice each time you get started. I had heard other people say that, too, but I had no idea what it meant, so I ignored them. But you ignore Mel at your own peril. So I smiled, nodded blankly, and tried to act like I knew what she was talking about. Oh yes, an intention, good idea. Yes, definitely. Smile. Continue reading
Be Here Now
“Be here now” is what the Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh used to say. I think about that sentence a lot. It grounds me in the present and keeps me here, no matter what I’m doing, No matter when and where I’m doing it. Not there, not then, but here and now. For a long time I thought of “Be Here Now” as “be HERE now.” Sometimes “be here NOW.” But then I heard myself think “BE here now.”
Thich Nhat Hanh said BE here now, not DO here now. Continue reading
On Ordering Food for Hospitalized Patients
My mom was a very no-nonsense type of person. When her blood sugars began to rise slightly as she entered her 70s, she announced that she did not want take any diabetes medicine. From then on, she kept her blood sugars normal through a combination of common sense and careful carbohydrate consumption. Once, she was hospitalized for what she called a “minor procedure.” The procedure went fine, but not the food. The first meal they brought her consisted of breaded fish (frozen), mashed potatoes (instant), corn (canned), a dinner roll (frozen), and tea (2 sugar packets on tray). “If I ate that, my blood sugars would have gone through the roof!” she told me. She drank the tea (without sugar), and called my dad, who arrived in short order with a chopped salad, roasted peppers, and meat loaf. Continue reading
Testimonial from an Old Friend
I was scrolling back through some posts that I wrote over a decade ago, and came across this one. I decided to include it here once again to highlight the message that diabetes is reversible. A great many people feel that their diagnosis is inevitable, and that once it appears on their list it will stay forever. Not true. Continue reading
Moments to be Mindful
This week I would like to share a few examples of mindfulness. Goodness knows we can all use a few more.
Some of the these ideas are mine, and others come from friends, co-workers, and family members. One was contributed by our chocolate Labrador retriever (may her memory be a blessing), though it was honestly more of a demonstration.
Nourishing oneself comes in many different forms and flavors. Food is what I usually think of first when it comes to being nourished, but the truth is that we also nourish ourselves with peace and quiet, regrouping, putting away cellphones, taking our brains off the rail, being kind to ourselves, spending time alone and with people we love. Here are some of the examples I came up with, but please add your own below in the comments section. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Orange Soup
One of our family’s favorites, Orange Soup (mah-RAHK kah-TOME), is a recipe that I have shared in the past. I have found that no matter how large a pot you make, it is always gone within a couple of days. In other words, this recipe makes a lot of soup, but it still won’t last very long. It’s quintessential comfort food. Continue reading
Gratitude 2026
This week I am thinking about gratitude. That’s not hard for me. I was born an optimist; I always see the glass half-full. I always make lemonade from lemons — what else would you do with them? While it is certainly true that I have had my share of bad days, I’ll be the first to tell you that they have made me a better person. And they made me a better doctor, too. See what I mean? Glass half full. It’s a given. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Yellow Eye Heirloom Bean Soup
Today was a lovely day, temperatures notwithstanding. School was cancelled, of course, because no one in their right mind could require children to stand outside in these temperatures waiting for school busses. This is why, having received the text from my daughter late yesterday, family camp was in session today.
The children unrolled our many yoga mats end-to-end all over the living room, and then raided the pantry to build a long winding row of mostly dry and canned beans that they subsequently climbed over and among for close to an hour. In the meanwhile, I put up a pot of soup in my beloved 5.5-quart Staub Dutch oven (cocotte). Continue reading