I presented two talks at a conference on Preventive Medicine in Las Vegas a couple of years ago, and awoke the first morning to discover that my black tights had not made it into the suitcase. This did not jive with my plans to present myself as a black-tights-wearing professional. Ugh. Shortly thereafter, at approximately 6 o’clock in the morning, I left my hotel room in search of a new pair of black tights. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dr. Sukol
Coffee Whiteners Aren’t Food
When I ask patients what they put in their coffee, they almost always say cream. So I say, “…like cream from a cow?” And sometimes the answer is yes. But sometimes the answer is no. Continue reading
Roasted Sweet Potato Celebration
If you’re looking for something really beautiful to bring to your table any time this month, try this. The colors are warm and gorgeous, and they make a nice impression served in a large wide dish. The recipe works as a side dish as well as a main dish, especially if you add tofu. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Cranberry-Ginger Relish After Thanksgiving
Since I go absolutely ga-ga over cranberries, and I absolutely adore ginger, I consider this a perfect recipe! Eat this cranberry-ginger relish straight off your fork, or drop a heaping spoonful into a bowl of squash soup or a cup of plain yogurt. And it’s a perfect choice for slathering onto a slice of leftover turkey that could use a little more moisture.
Thanksgiving Gratitude
Many years ago, when I was eleven years old, my parents bought a Corning Cooktop stove, a fancy new appliance whose coils remained white when they were hot. You just had to take it on faith — or not. No matter how long I stared at that new stovetop, I could not convince myself that the white coils were hot. And that is why I still remember clearly, so many years later, the perfectly oval burn on the tip of my right index finger. I only touched it once, but that was all it took. I couldn’t take anyone else’s word for it. I needed to see for myself. Continue reading
The Magic of Peanut Butter
This week is short and sweet. I want to say that it recently occurred to me that peanut butter is like the trifecta of good nutrition. There is plenty of fiber from the peanuts. There’s loads of nourishing fat, with a variety of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated, and saturated fatty acids. And there is a ton of protein. So if you want to eat something nourishing, but you’re not in the mood to cook, think peanut butter. Continue reading
Nourishing Breakfast Ideas for Kids and the Parents Who Love Them
A while back, a good friend of mine, an elementary school teacher at a small school north of Detroit, says “The kids are bouncing off the walls by 9:30.” It occurs to me that maybe their blood sugars are falling, though 9:30 a.m. is pretty early for that. Then he says that a snack usually helps get them back on track. Yeh, I think, it’s probably their blood sugars. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Slow And Steady Wins the Race (2 vegan, 1 turkey)
Now that the cold weather has moved in, I thought it would be nice to talk about slow oven cooking. As often happens when food cooks overnight in my oven, its extraordinary fragrance awakens me periodically throughout the night. You have to try it to believe it; the smell is amazing. It’s impossible to go wrong with slow oven cooking. The flavors caramelize and blend to become complex and satisfying. Although it is true that eating well takes more planning, it does not take more time. In the case of slow oven cooking, it actually takes less, and all these recipes can also be made in a crockpot set to low. Continue reading
Food with a Capital F
I am thinking about how to refer to real food, as opposed to the “not-food” that is driving the epidemic of chronic disease that doctors see in our offices day after day. You can approach this problem from any number of angles. Continue reading
What’s the Best Way to Eat?
An article entitled Can We Say What Diet is Best for Health? by David Katz and Stephanie Meller, from Yale’s School of Public Health, was published in the Annual Review of Public Health a few years ago. A story about the article was published in the Atlantic by James Hamblin, who called it Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner is Real Food. I would have edited out the word “Real” and simply called it “Food.” Then I might have presented a review of the differences between Food (With a Capital F) and manufactured calories. Continue reading