Make this one cold evening with a couple of friends, light some candles, and sit back with a glass of wine while you wait for the soup to cook. Then ladle the soup into mugs and pass them around. This soup will warm you from the inside out. Remember that peanuts are a legume, so that makes it nourishing and a good source of protein. Also, be forewarned: the peanut butter and coconut milk make it quite rich, so one cup goes a long way. If you’re up for it, you can add a simple green salad, and call it a meal. Continue reading
Category Archives: Nourishing
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Red Lentils & Sweet Potatoes
I think that it might be exactly the right time of year to have this recipe in the refrigerator. You can make this recipe over the weekend, and then have it ready to eat on the days between the endless holiday parties, celebrations, after-work stopovers, and other seasonal social events. It’s incredibly flavorful, it’ll give your mind and belly a well-deserved rest, and you’ll be glad not to have to think too much about what to make for dinner. Or lunch. Continue reading
Just Pure Tahini
This past February I attended a presentation about tahini by Dana Harary, a founder of SoCo Artisanal Tahini, and Doug Katz, a local celebrity chef. We learned about Dana’s longstanding search for the most flavorful tahini on the planet, about the nutritional profile of tahini, and about SoCo’s commitment to positive change and collaboration. SoCo, short for Seeds of Collaboration, is a supporter of Middle East Entrepreneurs of Tomorrow (MEET), a nonprofit that connects young Israeli and Palestinian students. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Lisa’s Date-Nut-Chocolate Bars
My friend, Lisa, brought these date pecan chocolate bars to book club once and OMG they were pretty wonderful. Technically they are intended for dessert, but honestly there is no reason they wouldn’t be great for breakfast, too. Dates, nuts, dark chocolate. Why not? Frankly, they have a lot more nutrition and a lot less sugar than the standard American breakfast. So, yes, I would go for it. Continue reading
Is That Soup Healthy? Or is it Nourishing?
Today I’d like to talk about just one thing, and that is the difference between healthy and nourishing. In 2017, Michael Ruhlman, the noted chef and writer, published a book called Grocery*, in which he reflected on a great many aspects of supermarkets and grocery stores. As part of his endeavor, he asked me to meet with him and share my perspective. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Wintertime Oatmeal with Apples & Walnuts
In view of the fact that I’ve been asked once again to repost this recipe, and since it’s autumn (the most glorious autumn I can remember in years), I am reposting this recipe for Apple-Walnut Oatmeal. I’ve adjusted the proportions to make enough for two.
Looking out the dining room window as I write this, all I can see are dozens of cool, grey-brown branches against a pale blue, sun-lit sky. It’s beautifully stark, and riveting, calling me to the outdoors while the sun is still low in the eastern sky. But before I venture out into this beautiful day, I’m going to make this oatmeal recipe to warm me from the inside out. This recipe has a lot of flavor, with all the right kinds of yummy. You will probably smile while you’re eating it. I know I do. Continue reading
Nourishing Yourself With Joy
Joy has been in the news lately, and that’s what I want to talk about today.
Eating is meant to be a source of joy, as satisfying as the sunrise. Like listening to music. Talking with friends, or sitting together on a bench at the park. The wind at your back. Trading backrubs. Dancing. Stretching. A hot shower. A book that transports you to the other side of the universe. Walking along the shore.
Eating is deeply satisfying. It speaks to your soul. Eating is sour, sweet, bitter, spicy, umami. Crunchy, soft, toothy, smooth, sticky. Beautiful, colorful, warm, cool, icy, bubbly. Expressive, imaginative. Fun, chaotic, quiet, or peaceful. Continue reading
Is it Really Food?
While talking with patients about how to improve the nutritional value of their meals, we used to talk about real food that had not been processed, refined, stripped, polished, fortified, enriched or otherwise modified. Fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, grains, fish, eggs, dairy products, and meats. And that’s about it.
Here are some guidelines: The first is not to eat anything you have to be told is food. If you have to be told it’s food, it isn’t. Like “processed American cheese food.” Talk about truth in advertising. Some products at the supermarket have names that have nothing whatsoever to do with food. Like Miracle Whip®. Or Cool Whip®. These are not foods either, and that’s why I’m not buying. Continue reading
Some Exciting New Developments
A lot has been happening lately in the field of research into the the health effects of ultra-processed items, and that’s what I want to talk about today. Last month, the results of a huge study, involving almost 10,000,000 (ten million!) individuals, were published in the BMJ [British Medical Journal], “one of the world’s most influential and respected general medical journals,” and they were…shall we say…most informative. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Two Kale Salads
This past Monday we had bookclub at my house, and it was really nice. We read Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi, and ate a whole bunch of delicious things, including a fantastic sweet potato soup (from Amy Chaplin’s Whole Food Cooking Every Day), rainbow carrots and baba ganoush from the West Side market, and Lynne’s fantastic kale salad, which she throws together with tahini dressing and a homemade mix of spiced almonds, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. One of these days I’ll have to get the recipe, but I can already see her laughing and tossing back her head as she says, oh I don’t know, I just toss it all together! So, at least for now, your guess is as good as mine.