Spring is nowhere in sight. January is more frigid than I can ever remember. Don’t even think about feeding me cold food.
Author Archives: Dr. Sukol
Leaves, Stems and Buds: Cruciferous Vegetables
A few years ago a patient came into my office complaining of migraines. He said, “You might think I’m crazy, doc, but I only get these headaches when I eat certain vegetables.” Which ones? It was hard to be sure. Salads gave him a headache only sometimes, and usually only in restaurants. Cole slaw gave him a headache no matter where he ate it. The list seemed completely random, and included Brussels sprouts, watercress, broccoli, and radishes. I grinned like an amateur holding a royal flush. The patient was naming only cruciferous vegetables. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lentil Stew
Thank you to gluten-free-vegan-girl for this gift of a perfect January dinner. Put all the ingredients in your crockpot one morning, and hours later you will return home to a magical meal.
Earning Your Bread
Looking once again to words for clues about our long-time relationship to food prior to the dramatic changes of the past one hundred years or so, I thought it would be interesting to look at the words associated with harvesting grain.
I’ve written about how people’s characterization of low-grain diets as “low-carb” demonstrates some confusion about carbs in general. But I think it also displays a vague recognition that grains are somehow different from the rest of the carbs (fruit, vegetables, beans). Too many people have noticed for themselves that decreasing their intake of grain often makes their pants fit better. And rather quickly at that. Why would that be, and what does it mean?
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: White Bean Chili
This week I wanted only one thing in a recipe: heat. I mean, when you can send a photo of the weather app displaying -8 F along with a message that says “I’m glad it’s warming up,” temperature is all that matters. Thank you to girlmakesfood.com for this hot, hot chili for a cold, cold night.
Walking With Wellness
The institution with which I am affiliated just sent me a Pebble® with which to track my daily steps, and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Attached unobtrusively to an elastic band or strap, it ventures forth with me every day as I plot my path, set my course, walk my steps and take my hike.
Now I happen to be the sort of person, with clothing for every sort of weather, who is not usually bothered much by rain or snow or heat or cold. In fact, I especially love to walk in the falling snow. In the summer I sometimes walk at sunrise or late in the evening to avoid the heat of the day. There’s also an elliptical in the basement just in case it’s absolutely pouring, but to me there’s no substitute for fresh air. So my Pebble® and I are planning to get out pretty much every day no matter what. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Happy New Year, Black-eyed Pea Soup (II)
All kinds of special foods symbolize the New Year around the world, including sauerkraut, fish, and, yes, black-eyed peas. One of the great things about black-eyed peas is that they do not require pre-soaking. This recipe came to me this week from Jean Nadeau, who has been following YHIOYP since the very beginning. If you don’t happen to have any of these fancy little pasta, then just toss in some elbow macaroni, whole-grain if you can find them. Thank you, Jean!
Functional Foods
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. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Black-eyed Pea Soup (I)
According to Southern tradition, eating black-eyed peas and collard greens at the New Year brings good luck in the year ahead. You’ll have plenty of time to gather the ingredients because I’m sharing this vegetarian version today. It comes from Terry Walters’s Clean Start: Inspiring You to Eat Clean and Live Well with 100 New Clean Food Recipes. Happy holidays to all!
The Trouble With Angel Food Cake
Have you ever worked with someone whose actions caused you to hear your mom’s voice inside your head saying things like “everyone gets a turn,” or even “let’s be nice”? When my friend Dee heard her kids complain repeatedly about the frustrating behavior of certain adults in their lives, she used to suggest to her kids that they think of them as “negative role models.” She said that just as it’s important to have good examples of how you would like to behave, it’s also valuable to have examples of how you would NOT like to behave. Continue reading