YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: “Nice Cream” with Peanut Butter & Dates

As you have probably noticed, it’s been a little on the hot side. It is August after all, but I took a quick trip down to Austin, Texas, this week to give a talk on diet and inflammation, and it was, at 104F, 30 degrees hotter than in Cleveland where I can usually be found. I’m pretty sure that 104 degrees is a record for me.

This recipe is guaranteed to make your belly happy when it’s hotter outside than you are on the inside. It’s a great dessert, but it’s also a delicious and nourishing breakfast or afternoon snack. Yes, you read that correctly. It is INFINITELY more nourishing than a bowl of sweet ultraprocessed cereal. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Oatmeal-Peanut Butter-Chocolate Treats

For almost a decade, I worked side by side with a wonderful doctor, made even better by the fact that his wife, from time to time, would send in a plateful of these seriously yummy oatmeal-peanut butter-chocolate treats. I don’t remember where I put her recipe, but if this isn’t it, well, then it’s close enough. These are sweetly satisfying when you want a treat, and nourishing enough to take the edge off when it’s 2 o’clock and you haven’t had lunch yet. A couple of these with a glass of milk (for snack) or cup of tea or coffee (for breakfast) would also be perfect. And of course they’re not just for grownups. Continue reading


Plums, Poetry, Public Transit, and William Carlos Williams

If you look up as you walk through the back door into my kitchen, you will see a poster written in Swedish, a translation of a poem written in 1934 by the great William Carlos Williams. In addition to being a pediatrician, Dr. Williams, from Rutherford, New Jersey, was a great poet. Here is the story of how the poster and poem, below in the original English, ended up in my kitchen. Continue reading


Breakfasts for Kids and Their Loving Parents

I was talking with a dear friend who teaches in the younger grades at a small school north of Detroit. “The kids are bouncing off the walls by 9:30,” my friend says, and I think to myself that maybe their blood sugars are starting to fall. Nine-thirty in the morning is pretty early. He says that a snack often helps. Yup — it very well may be their blood sugars. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Deep-Dish Greens with a Millet-Amaranth Crust

Looking for something to do with those collards?! Still trying to figure out what to do with that millet you bought in a weak moment a few months ago already? This is what you’ve been waiting for! What I love most about this beautiful recipe is the unusual and complementary pairing of greens and grains to highlight their different tastes and textures. Once you get the hang of it, you may even want to try it with other grains, like polenta (corn) or brown rice. Don’t skimp on the stock — water just doesn’t give it as much flavor. Continue reading