While preparing my upcoming talk on organic vs. nonorganic fruits and vegetables for Dr Roizen’s Preventive & Integrative Medicine Conference in Las Vegas, I came upon an interesting couple of lists called the Dirty Dozen and the Clean Fifteen. [Don’t bother to count; the lists I found contained sixteen “dirty” entries and seventeen “clean” entries. Crazy, huh? Don’t worry; as far as this story is concerned, the more the merrier.] Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Turkey Wild Rice Casserole
Right now I’m guessing that there’s a turkey, or turducken, or tofurkey, or stuffed pumpkin in your house, being readied for your great big Thanksgiving celebration. You don’t need fresh ideas, just a good-sized oven. But come Friday, when you’re looking for things to do with your leftovers, this recipe will be a welcome choice. The original version, from which it is adapted, may be found at kitchenparade.com.
Humans Have a Short Memory
In a couple of weeks I’ll be heading for Las Vegas, where I’ll be speaking at Dr Roizen’s Preventive & Integrative Medicine Conference on two subjects: 1) differences between omega-3s and omega-6s, and their impact on inflammation in the body, and 2) organic vs. nonorganic fruits and vegetables. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Celebrate the Season’s Root Vegetable Stew
On the wall alongside my desk at work, I put up a bumper sticker that says “I ♥ Crock Pots!” And it’s no exaggeration. There is something about slow cooking that draws the best from ingredients, blending them together in a most extraordinary way, filling our home with scents so sublime that we have been awakened by them as they cooked through the night, and then warming us, body and soul, with complex flavors at once sweet, spicy, sour, and umami.
Use It or Lose It
I have two personal aphorisms to share with you. The first is “I’ll pay any price to keep you mobile.” The second is “I’ll pay any price to keep your blood sugars in the normal range.”
These are high priorities — the highest, in my book. When my kids were in high school, and they were in a mood (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, of course, took it to the next level. Fever? Go for a walk! Migraine? Take a hike! Appendicitis? Walk it off! Broken leg? Very funny, I said. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Ginger-Thanksgiving Relish
So this is a very good time to start thinking about what’s going to be on your Thanksgiving menu this year. Since I am a cranberry fiend, and I absolutely adore ginger, I consider it the perfect recipe!
If you avoid candy and sweets most of the time, the relish should be sufficiently sweet to eat by itself, as is, on your fork. If, on the other hand, you’re still working on taming that sweet tooth, then plan to spread it on a slice of turkey, or drop a spoonful in a bowl of squash soup. If it’s still really not quite sweet enough for you, add a few drops of warmed raw honey. Thank you to eatingwell.com for yet another opportunity to eat well.
Diet Coke: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bubbles
For at least 20 years I drank a diet Coke at about 3:30 in the afternoon. I acquired this questionable habit as a young college grad, newly hired in Clinical Virology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia to a team of other ambitious, young women. Every day at 3:30, anyone who wasn’t titrating virus or infecting cell lines on a deadline would tromp down a few stairs to get themselves a Diet Coke. We’d stand around chatting, enjoying a break in the almost nonstop action, and consulting with one other about boyfriends, graduate school, snafus in the lab, or whatever else mattered at the moment. I loved the break and would occasionally get anxious if it looked like I might have to miss it that day. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Essence of Autumn Root Veggies
Thank you to Allrecipes.com for this wonderful way to jazz up the sweetness of the fall bounty.
If you don’t happen to have all the ingredients on hand, no big deal. It’s gonna be great whether or not you feel like tracking down a rutabaga. If, on the other hand, you can’t get your hands on some chili sauce, then do substitute 1 1/2 tablespoons each of vinegar and honey, and double the red pepper flakes to 1/2 teaspoon. Enjoy!
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pumpkin Soup
Here is my all-time favorite thing to do with a worthy pumpkin. This is the memorable recipe you’ve been waiting for to make for your Thanksgiving guests, fall weekend guests, beloved kids home on break, book group, or your family just because. Believe me, it makes an impression! Thanks go to Molly Katzen, noted author of Moosewood Cookbook, who first introduced me to the idea of cooking inside a pumpkin many, many years ago. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Pumpkin Bread, Of Course!
Couldn’t resist! Thank you to Treehugger.com for this unusually flavorful, gluten-free, vegan treat. No tricks.