Bring a platterful of this amazingly delicious recipe to the table, full to the brim with tiny round hugs (lentils), and cross-hatched X’s (carrots), and share the love all around. Everyone will be so glad you did. You can serve it warm, or at room temperature. It’s great either way. Continue reading
Author Archives: Dr. Sukol
Nourish Your Heart and Soul with Real Food
Nowadays there’s a lot of talk about “real” food. What is “real” food? It’s food that has not been processed, refined, stripped, polished, fortified, enriched or otherwise modified. It’s basically fruit, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, fish, eggs, dairy products, and meats, like poultry, beef, and game, and including all the wonderful variations of these things that our brains are capable of inventing. If it’s not food, then it’s manufactured calories. This post is designed to help you figure out how to tell the difference. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lovely, Lovely Legumes
Many years ago, my then-vegetarian sister had a boyfriend whose mother served her “bean loaf” on her first visit to their home. Its dreadful and unappetizing name was nothing like its fabulous flavor. So we renamed it “chickpea pie,” and it ended up sticking around for much longer than the vegetarianism. And the boyfriend. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Recipes to Watch the Leaves Fall By
Any day now, our kitchen counters will be covered in pumpkins and onions, and this week I have two simply extraordinary recipes for you to try. Both make a meal very special: if you’d like to test them in the next few weeks for any upcoming fall celebrations, go for it. Also, although it’s not essential, if you have time to make the onions the day before, then I highly recommend it. As fabulous as they taste on day one, they taste even better the next day! Continue reading
Oatmeal of all Kinds (with recipe)
Like many other messages of its kind, we American consumers have internalized the idea that oatmeal is “good for us.” Not all oatmeals are alike, however. Follow this listing, from most (no thank you) to least (yeah) processed oatmeal. Continue reading
Gains and Losses
There is a clear connection to be made between stripped carbs, insulin release, and weight gain. High insulin levels cause us to gain weight and store fat. How does that happen? Little by little we are figuring it out. The fact that the obesity and diabetes epidemic continues to worsen day by day underscores that we are operating under a fundamental misconception: If things continue to get worse no matter how hard you try, it’s time to reexamine the fundamentals. The information we get from advertisements and cereal boxes is frankly inaccurate. I have a special name for the nutritional claims on food products: advertising. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Bamboo Rice Salad
Last week, my friend Conner brought me a container of bamboo rice, a short-grain white rice infused with chlorophyll-rich bamboo shoots to turn the rice the color of pale green jade. I had never tasted bamboo rice before, and I wanted to prepare it in a way that decreases the rate of absorption, reducing the glycemic index as it were, so as to decrease the height of the sugar spike that it might cause. Though bamboo rice is not a whole-grain product, the chlorophyll provides a different type of benefit. Continue reading
Don’t Spike Your Blood Sugar!
Imagine a diabetic character on TV who suddenly begins to act a little strangely, but is not too confused to murmur, “I think my blood sugar is too low.” Everyone on screen runs for something sugary that the character will absorb quickly. Orange juice, or maybe Coke. Sweet drinks like juices and sodas, with up to 12 (!) teaspoons of sugar per can, are great for spiking your blood sugar. None for me, thanks. Continue reading
Should I Be Drinking Whole Milk?
After medical school, my friend Brian moved to Baltimore and became a pain management specialist. He wrote to ask my opinion about the newly re-constituted controversy about whole milk vs. skim milk. In Brian’s pain management practice, he has noticed that diabetic and pre-diabetic patients seem to struggle with more pain and arthritis than patients without these diagnoses.
Food for Kids
Today we’re talking about food for kids. Some years ago a friend from medical school, Julie Kardos, joined forces with another pediatrician, Naline Lai, to launch an award-winning blog for parents called “Two Peds in a Pod.” All three of us have serious concerns about the food-like products that are marketed to young ones. I had mentioned to them that when my adult patients used to show up with children in tow, I would often see the little ones’ rounded bellies shrink to normal size as their families began to purchase, prepare, and eat more nourishing food. When Dr. Julie heard that, she said “The adults you treat are the ones packing the lunches of the kids that I treat.” Right. Continue reading