Everyone has a lot going on this week, so I’m going to keep it short and sweet.
There continues to be a lot of talk about why measures of obesity and infant mortality are so high in the U.S. relative to other Western countries. These kinds of measures are commonly employed to assess the overall health of a population. As a country, the U.S. spends significantly more for medical care. Why, then, does it not translate into improved health outcomes? Continue reading
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
I had my teeth cleaned this week, and that included a nice conversation with my dental hygienist, Amy. Amy is everything you could ever want from a hygienist. Gentle and thorough, kind, distracting and inquisitive. Nothing stops her endless lists of questions that are impossible to answer with a mouth full of cleaning instruments. Continue reading
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
The holidays are a particularly meaningful time to think about the most valuable gifts that we receive. I’m talking about the words of wisdom that are passed along from one generation to the next. Around the holidays, a few years ago, a few of my friends from work got talking about our grandmothers’ old-fashioned expressions, beliefs, and bits of sage advice. You may think these expressions are quaint and old-fashioned, but they are really much more. These sayings are the collective wisdom of our ancestors, the survivors. Here are a few of the ones for which I am most grateful. Continue reading
Sometimes, especially around the holidays, more than one family member stops at the supermarket to pick up a few things before heading home at the end of the work day. Sometimes, unbeknownst to one another, each family member picks up precisely the same item, and then that’s how you end up with three large bags of onions. And sometimes the kitchen counter fills up with a number of mostly empty bottles of wine. Here’s what to do when this happens to you. Continue reading
Let’s talk about breakfast cereals, shall we? Developed by a couple of enterprising health spa owners from Battle Creek, Michigan, they originally provided an economical use for the crumbs that fell to the bottom of the bread ovens. The word “cereal,” which simply means grain, comes from Ceres, the Roman goddess of agriculture. Breakfast cereal? That’s a marketing term. Continue reading
I usually thank people for their recipes at the end of my blog posts, but not today. This week, not only does gratitude itself deserve top billing, but so does our appreciation for this particular recipe. Continue reading
This week we’re going to talk about taking a walk. Here’s what I tell my patients: “I’ll pay any price to keep you mobile.” I consider mobility a goal of the highest priority. There is only one other goal about which I feel this way; I also want patients to know that I will pay any price to keep their blood sugars normal. When our kids were much younger, and they got stuck in a complaining mode (I’m cranky; I don’t feel well; I’m bored; I have too much homework), I would always say, “Go for a walk!” It got to be a joke in our house. They took it to the next level. Fever? Go for a walk! Migraine? Take a hike! Broken leg? Walk it off! Appendicitis? “Very funny,” I said. Continue reading
In view of the fact that I’ve been asked yet again to repost this recipe, and since it’s autumn (the most glorious autumn I can remember in at least a few years) I am reposting this recipe for Apple-Walnut Oatmeal. You will be pleased to note that I adjusted the proportions so you can make enough for two. Continue reading