What to do next when your body still has a strong tendency to store significant amounts of belly fat? This question was put to me twice this week on behalf of two different people. Both eat a nourishing diet rich in whole foods. One runs marathons. And yet… Continue reading
Category Archives: Real Food
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Watercress-Grapefruit Salad
Make yourself this sweet little salad, just for you or just for two. It’s an exotic bunch of ingredients, so it’s unlikely that you will have all these ingredients in your kitchen when you’re ready to put it together. And it will probably help to take the recipe with you when you go to the grocery store to collect your ingredients. But here’s a trick: you can make this salad two different ways, one easier and the other more involved. Buy all the ingredients for the fancier version, or skip over the [bracketed ones] for a simpler version. Either way, it’ll be [simply] delicious. Continue reading
My Mom’s Best Aphorisms
Tomorrow my mom will turn 80! Can you imagine?! Eighty years! In honor of my mighty wise mom, and 80 years walking this wondrous planet, here are some of the marvelous things that she taught me. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Anya’s Salmon Soup
I’ve been waiting till now to share Anya’s salmon soup recipe, a perfect choice for this time of year! It’s exactly the right color for all the festivities, not to mention that it’s a wonderful addition to a fish-filled menu for my many friends whose holiday celebrations include such a custom. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Turkey Meatballs
When I arrived home one night this past week, I was absolutely thrilled to be greeted by the heavenly aroma of a crockpot filled to the brim with small turkey meatballs. The meatballs had been bubbling away for many hours, and they were now ready to be ladled into soup bowls. Lucky, lucky us. Continue reading
Winner by a Mile
Last year, an article entitled “Can We Say What Diet is Best for Health?” was published in the scientific literature, and James Hamblin wrote a story about it for the Atlantic. He called it “Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner is Real Food.” You know, I would have edited out the word “Real” and then called it, simply, “Food.” The original article was written by David Katz and Stephanie Meller, of Yale School of Public Health. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Kale Salad Like You’ve Never Imagined
Here’s another fabulous recipe from Sweet Amandine‘s Jessica Fechtor, just in case one wasn’t enough! You will not be sorry. In case you were wondering, kale happens to be one of those cold-weather vegetables that continues to grow even after the first frost. In fact, sometimes it seems like the frost kicks it into high gear. Try this recipe with whatever kale you can get your hands on, whether from the grocery store, or your own garden, or someone else’s. And thank you! to my friend Suze, who stopped by this week with a big bunch of kale from her family’s own prodigious garden. Continue reading
That TED Talk, Now WITH Those Photographs
My TED talk is over and done! Exhausting, exhilarating, and done! I’m super charged about sharing the video, which I’m told should be online in just a few weeks. This presentation included a number of firsts for me, but the most significant was that it was the first time I have ever shared “before-and-after” photos. The feedback, fantastic and instructive, is what I’m going to discuss today. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Roasted Carrot & Fennel Soup
Please meet one of my favorite new food writers, Jessica Fechtor, who writes on her blog Sweet Amandine and whose first book, Stir, reached the NYTimes bestseller list in recent weeks! What a grand success for a newly published author! Yes, I read it and, yes, it was wonderful! Stir, by the way, is not just about food. It’s about how finding her way around the kitchen was how Jessica found her way back to living after a brain aneurysm and its aftermath left her overwhelmed and unsure of absolutely everything. Continue reading
Plant-Based Eating and the Esselstyns
I had the pleasure last week of hearing Dr. Caldwell and Anne Esselstyn speak on plant-based eating. Their strategy, which works beautifully for them, is to include among their food options only those items that belong to the macronutrient category I term “intact carbohydrates,” i.e., carbs with an intact fiber matrix. This is in contrast to “stripped carbs,” which have had their fiber matrix removed. Their diet is very similar to the vegan diet, with one major exception as enumerated below.
Intact carbs are rich in fiber, and consist of these four food categories: vegetables, beans, fruits and [whole] grains. In addition to fiber, a second major benefit of intact carbs is their color. No other food group contains fiber, and no other food group has such a tremendous variety of colors. Each color represents a different phytonutrient, so the more colorful your food, the more antioxidant power your diet will provide. All good. Continue reading