YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: POACHED EGGS ON A BED OF SWEET POTATOES

Posted on November 4, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

Many thanks to Nancy and Bob Charles from High Meadow B&B in Wallingford, Connecticut, for this wonderful recipe!

First, cut a couple of sweet potatoes into thick slices and toss them with some salt and olive oil. Lay the slices on a cookie sheet and bake at 400 until soft. Then slide them, one layer thick, into a wide pottery serving dish and set aside.

Now poach a few eggs. Bob has one of those fancy poacher inserts that fits into a pot of boiling water. I just crack the eggs into salted, boiling water and hope for the best. As soon as the whites are cooked, with yolks just beginning to set and a bit on the runny side, scoop out the eggs onto the sweet potatoes and serve. So good!

If you decide to serve this dish to guests, as Nancy and Bob did, you can serve the eggs and sweet potatoes with fresh papaya, homemade strawberry and ginger jam, and home- baked bread. Yum!!!

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If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit Let’s Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Fall Soup

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

I got this recipe just today from a woman I work with. I arrived home to find my daughter frying onions. What’s for dinner? I asked. I don’t know, she replied, this is as far as I’ve gotten.

So here is what we made:

Step 1: Fry 2 medium diced onions in olive oil in a soup pot

Step 2: Peel 3 beets, 3 carrots, 2 sweet potatoes and 1 turnip

Step 3: Cut the vegetables into several large chunks each, and add to the soup pot

Step 4: Cover the vegetables with water, and boil 15 min until softened

Step 5: Scoop out the vegetables into a food processor or Vitamix, and swirl until smooth.

Step 6: Return the puree to the pot of liquid, add a teaspoon each of thyme, salt, and pepper.

The soup was heavenly. The color was divine and the flavor was a celebration of autumn, earthy and sweet at the same time. I put a whole bunch of spices on the table for people to choose from, and they were terrific in all different combinations: turmeric, cumin, and hot paprika. Rosemary would be good, too.

Hearty appetite!

In Hot Water? Decrease Your Risk of Heart Attack

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

A number of genes, one of which was given the name chromosome 9p21, have been associated with an increased risk of heart attacks, strokes, and hardening of the arteries. Researchers are now interested in studying whether people with chromosome 9p21 can lower their risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) with changes to their diets. They can.

A terrific new study was published last week on this topic. The results, from McGill University, were published in Public Library of Science (PLoS)-Medicine and funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario. The study compared the number of heart attacks in two groups of people with 9p21. One group ate lots of fresh produce, while the other group ate the standard industrialized diet.

Here is what the researchers found: In a study of more than 8000 individuals of different ethnicities who carry the 9p21 gene, a diet high in raw fruits and vegetables decreased the risk of CVD by one-half. They concluded that “These findings suggest that the deleterious [negative] effect of 9p21…might be mitigated by consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables.”

Let’s take a closer look at this conclusion. We know that the standard American diet causes obesity in approximately 65 percent of people who eat it, and diabetes in approximately 20-30 percent. How do we know this? Because these are the numbers that we are working with in the current American population. We expect one-third of current ten-year-olds to become diabetic if present trends continue.

Remember that people who carry chromosome 9p21 have a higher risk of heart disease than average, and that they can halve their risk of heart attack by substantially increasing their intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. Why is that?

Eating a diet rich in produce has two benefits: The first benefit is that you eat more fruits and vegetables, but the second (equally important) is that by replacing manufactured items with produce, you end up eating fewer manufactured calories. Depending on their genetic makeup, stripped carbohydrates and trans fats probably affect some people more quickly and severely than others.

I would say that the standard industrial diet causes heart disease, but some people are more susceptible than others. Humans are meant to survive on a diet containing large amounts of produce. This is the diet we evolved to eat.

This, therefore, is my conclusion: “These findings suggest that while the industrial diet is deleterious, its effect is worse in individuals who carry the 9p21 chromosome. Consuming a diet rich in fresh fruits and vegetables will likely decrease the risk of heart attack in all individuals, but the benefit may be more dramatic in individuals who carry the 9p21 chromosome and/or other chromosomes associated with heart disease.”

Let me explain by sharing an imaginary experiment using frogs. Frogs are meant to survive in cooler waters. High temperatures cause death, and some frogs are clearly more susceptible than others. Now put aside the gruesomeness factor, and remember that the frogs are just pretend. Here is an example that gets the point across.

Let’s begin by filling a large pot with cool water, and then adding lots of frogs of all different sizes, shapes and colors, collected from all over the world. Now put that pot over a blazi
ng fire so that the temperature of the water begins to rise.

As you can imagine, some of the frogs, just 2 or 3, are going to get into trouble pretty quickly. Maybe they come from near the South Pole. Whatever the reason, these select few cannot tolerate even mildly elevated temperatures. The temperature in the pot continues to rise, and by now almost half the frogs have died. As the temperature gets hotter and hotter, more and more frogs die until, finally, the last few succumb. Once all the frogs have died, the pot is removed from the fire.

You run the experiment a few more times and discover that you can actually predict how many frogs will die at each temperature. Once the first frog dies, you observe that one-third of the frogs die by the time the temperature rises just five more degrees. Ten degrees higher, and two-thirds of the frogs are gone. Five degrees beyond that, and all the frogs are dead.

Now you do a chromosomal analysis of the frogs’ DNA and discover that all the frogs who died at the lower temperatures contained a chromosome that we’re going to call F9HW. All frogs with F9HW were in one of the first two groups to die, and none of the frogs in the last two groups had F9HW. For some as-yet-unknown reason, frogs with the F9HW chromosome had a much harder time tolerating hot water than did the other frogs.

You might draw this conclusion: “These findings suggest that the deleterious effect of F9HW might be mitigated by avoiding high heat.” But then again you might see that such high temperatures constitute an unusual and extremely abnormal environmental stress, and that while some of the frogs appear to tolerate it better than others, it is, ultimately, lethal to them all.

If I were to give this phenomenon a diagnosis, I’d call it “dyscalorimetry.” But dyscalorimetry doesn’t mean that heat intolerance is genetic. It means that hot water is deadly.

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If you’ve never been on “Your Health is on Your Plate” before, and you’re not sure where to start, visit the post called Let’s Start at the Very Beginning to get a jumpstart on preventing diabetes and obesity in yourself and the ones you love!!

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Talia’s Crispy Apple Cereal

Posted on October 19, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

You know how some of the best inventions happen by accident? So this past Sunday I decided to slice up about a dozen of the abundance of apples in my refrigerator and dehydrate them. I don’t have a real dehydrator, so I used the next best thing — the oven. Around noon, I sliced each apple into 5 or 6 circles, spread them on cookie sheets, sprinkled them with cinnamon, and turned the oven to 200 F. Then I left on an assortment of errands. I planned to return around 4 pm, at which time I would begin to check on the apples periodically.

But it didn’t turn out that way, exactly. I’ll spare you the details, only to say that the apples were quite crisp at 8 pm. I thought I was going to have to feed them to the chickens, but was surprised to discover that they were really good! I began scooping them off the cookie sheets and putting them into a jar on the counter.

Right then, my daughter walked through the kitchen and helped herself to a few. Hey, these would be great in milk, she said. So she crumbled a few into a cup and poured some milk over them. Almond milk, in her case, but any milk would work. They kept their crisp and made a great (grainless) “cereal.” And we still have bunches more.

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The Term “Healthy Fats” Gets Under My Skin

Posted on October 17, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

Frankly, it rankles me when people use the term “healthy fats.” We don’t make a distinction like that when we’re talking about carbohydrates, although there are certainly carbs that are nutritious and carbs that are not.

Consider the Atkins diet. I like to believe that Dr. Atkins was on the right track, but that he had some of the details wrong. Clearly, he realized that there was something about carbohydrate in the American diet that was causing a problem. But he did not understand that there is a big difference between muffins and mangoes, white flour and lentils, table sugar and peaches. So people who tried the Atkins diet lost lots of weight when they removed virtually ALL the carb from their diets, even green beans, and then regained it when they got tired of the restriction and began to eat breakfast cereal again. Along with doughnuts, pasta, bread, cookies, cake, and potato chips.

Dr Atkins also did not understand that there is a big difference between a slice of salmon and a scoop of Crisco. To him, all fats were the same and they all were good. We know now that that is not true.

We are still sorting out the differences among the three main families of fats: saturated, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated. We know for sure that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids are very good for us, and that the standard American diet is extremely deficient in them. We know that we can increase our consumption of omega-3s by eating more fish, walnuts, flax seed, and green, leafy vegetables.

We have seen the benefits of the Mediterranean diet, in which olive oil (a monounsaturated fat) is the main fat used for cooking, and from this we understand that olive oil, too, is good for us. Conversely, we know that trans fats (partially hydrogenated polyunsaturated fats) damage blood vessels, causing heart attacks and strokes. We know they also increase the risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol. So trans fats are definitely NOT good.

But there is still a great deal to figure out. We know, for example, that cocoa butter is one of the most highly saturated fats on the planet. But….isn’t dark chocolate supposed to be good? And aren’t saturated fats supposed to be bad? So what does this tell me? That we still have a lot to learn.

Want another curious example? Most animal fats are actually a mixture of a variety of monounsaturated, polyunsaturated and saturated fats. Which animal fat contains the most monounsaturated fat, similar to olive oil? Lard. Yes, believe it or not, that is true. So what is most clear to me at this point is that we still, indeed, have a lot to learn.

At the same time, there are some things that I do understand. The fact is that there are good examples of nutritious foods from each of the three main nutrient groups (fats, carbohydrates, and protein). If I’m going to make a recommendation that you try one, or if I use one in a recipe or an explanation, I don’t think I need to qualify it with the word “healthy.” Fat IS healthy. Protein IS healthy. Carbohydrates are healthy, too, as long as you get most of them the way our ancestors did, from the garden, with the fiber still intact. Think fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains. These are carbohydrates, through and through. When I include one in a recipe, I don’t need to say “healthy” apples. You can assume that I am referring to apples without worms or pesticides.

When I talk about fats and oils, you can assume the same.

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: HOT GREEN TOMATO PICKLES

Posted on October 12, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

If you saw the photo of my haul of green tomatoes and the rest of “the best harvest of my life” last week, then you know what I’ve been doing. I made my way through a whole bunch of recipes I’d never made before, including green tomato chutney, hot sauce, sauerkraut, pickled watermelon rind, and the aforementioned hot (as in hot pepper) green tomato pickles. The house smells a little vinegar-y, but the pickles came out great! They’re nothing like my Grandma Rosie’s green tomatoes, which were deliciously sour, garlicky, and completely different. I’ve also given away a few jars, which has been an extra bonus.

I did not actually put up the tomato pickles for long-term storage. I just filled up glass jars and stuck them in the refrigerator. Learning proper methods for canning is on the list of things I intend to get to in the next year or two. I’m not really concerned about their shelf life in the refrigerator. First, there’s so much vinegar in them that nothing could live. Secondly, they’ll be gone long before there could even be a problem. They go with everything, and were particularly good with scrambled eggs and applesauce for lunch the other day.

Here’s the recipe:

8 cups quartered green tomatoes

2 cups chopped onion

3/4 cup chopped hot peppers

1 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons salt

2 cups white vinegar

1 teaspoon celery seed

Place all the ingredients in a large pot. Cook on high heat until mixture begins to boil, and remove from heat immediately. Pour into clean jars and refrigerate.

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Diabetes Is an Epidemic and It Is Getting Worse

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

Sometimes I get the feeling that people think I may be overstating the urgency of the diabetes epidemic. So I gathered together a few statistics for you.

A couple of weeks ago the Associated Press said that, “An estimated 366 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and the global epidemic is getting worse….” According to the Washington Post, “The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) has found that…one person is now dying from the disease every seven seconds.” At the September meeting of the European Association for the Study of Diabetes (EASD) in Portugal, the International Diabetes Foundation (IDF) announced that “The worldwide diabetes epidemic continues to worsen, with…4.6 million deaths each year, and annual health-care spending at $465 billion.” IDF president Jean Claude Mbanya, MD, said that “the numbers are likely underestimated, since not all countries have good data….” Dr. Mbanya estimates that the diabetes epidemic will affect nearly 600 million people within 20 years.

Here’s the thing, though: Diabetes is preventable. That’s the part that I can’t get around. We don’t have to live with this; we can do something about it. Here are a few ideas:

1) Go for a walk around your block. Inviting a friend helps even more than just the walk.

2) Eat a breakfast that is not made from white flour. I had scrambled eggs, and they were quite tasty.

3) Slice up a pineapple. I just learned how to do it this week from Wolfgang Puck, and it was a lot easier than I thought. First, turn the pineapple on its side and slice off the top and bottom. Then stand it up on its bottom, and slice away the skin in long vertical strips. It takes approximately 8-10 cuts to get all the way around the pineapple. Don’t worry about wasting, just get rid of ALL the skin. Finally, turn the now completely naked pineapple back on its side and slice into 1/2-inch rounds. Slice these into half-moons or quarters if you’d like, or just pile the large slices on a plate. Way delicious dessert.

4) Go back outside and sit in the sun for a little while.

5) Garden. If you don’t have one, make one. If you can’t have one, get some potting soil and some seeds, and grow some herbs in your kitchen window.

6) Roast some beets. Scrub, slice into quarters, stir with olive oil and salt, and spread out on cookie sheet. Cook at 450 until you can push a fork through.

7) Make homemade soup.

8) Start a compost heap in your backyard behind a big tree. This takes no preparation whatsoever. Just start putting all the bits of cooking leftovers into a plastic container until it is full, and then take it outside and dump it behind the tree. Compost your tea bags, egg shells, coffee grounds, pineapple skin, grapefruit peels, moldy humus, rotten grapes, spent lettuce leaves, melon rinds, strawberry tops, and so on. Remember not to include any dairy products, eggs (except the shell), fish, poultry or meat, because these will attract rodents. That’s all there is to it.

9) Eat a handful of nuts in the middle of the afternoon.

10) Eat lunch with a couple of people whose company you enjoy.

You don’t have to do all of these every day. Pick just a couple and see if you can get to them this week. Apply the underlying themes to other things you’d like to do. Eat food that you made yourself. Get some exercise, and get outside. Preferably both, if the weather allows. Do things outdoors. Make as much of your own food as you can manage. Eat fresh food that has not been processed in any way. Keep working the program.

Angela’s Recipes

Posted on October 2, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

To celebrate the end of this spectacular growing season, I spent the afternoon pulling tomatoes off the vine, as well as cherry peppers, jalapeño peppers, cayenne peppers, eggplants, cabbages, cauliflowers (gorgeous orange-colored ones), parsley, basil, and sweet peppers. I left the squash and watermelons on the vine for now. My mom helped a lot.

To use up some of these beautiful vegetables, I’m inspired by a few of Angela’s recipes, given to me just this week by her son. Angela was my friend’s mom and one of the great things she did (besides cook) was to teach Joby how to find his way around the kitchen, too.

Tomato sauce:
1 onion, medium
4 cloves garlic
1/4 cup olive oil
6-8 medium-large tomatoes (or 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes)
1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

1 tsp sugar
1 tablespoon fresh basil leaves
Blend onion and garlic in blender or food processor, then sauté in olive oil until golden. Pour in tomatoes and stir. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat and simmer. Add salt, sugar, and pepper. Add crushed fresh basil if desired.

Eggplant:
Peel eggplant and slice into one-half-inch slices. Salt eggplant slices and allow to sit 15 min. Rinse in drainer and place in glass baking dish. Cover with large dish towel and microwave 6 min. Pour the tomato sauce (recipe above) all over the bottom of a second glass baking dish. Layer the eggplant, sprinkle with freshly grated romano cheese, then add slices of mozzarella, and more tomato sauce.
Keep repeating the layers to the top of the pan. Cover with sauce and bake for 45 min at 350 degrees.

Pasta fagioli soup
Rinse a package of lentils and sift through through a strainer to remove any stones. Add 8 cups of water or broth, 1 medium-large onion (chopped), 2 finely chopped carrots, and 1 thinly sliced celery stalk. Bring to a boil, and cook on medium heat for 30 min. Then add 1/2 box didalini pasta (tube shapes cut into small “slices”) and cook for an additional 30 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt. Then chop 3 cloves fresh garlic, fry in 2 tablespoons olive oil until light brown and crunchy, and stir garlic into soup. Serve immediately.

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YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: TWO SOUPS FOR THE SEASON

Posted on September 28, 2011 by Dr. Sukol

A friend of mine does her own thing by spending Monday mornings at 4 a.m. down at the city’s commercial organic vegetable market. She elbows her way in between buyers from some of the best restaurants and grocers in town to bring home boxes of the most beautiful produce she can find. Then she divides it into a dozen or so bags, which she leaves out on the front step for those of us lucky friends who all join in for this weekly bounty. Did I mention that she’s a very talented cook, besides?

Last week she sent out a recipe for “Butternut Vegetable Soup.”

1 medium onion, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2 T. olive oil

1 medium butternut squash, cubed

3 sweet potatoes, cubed

2 carrots, sliced

3-4 potatoes, cubed

1 T. fresh basil

1 T. fresh thyme

1 quart vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onions and garlic for 10 min. Add carrots and squash, sauté for 10 min more. Add all remaining vegetables, vegetable stock, and 4 cups of water. Add basil and thyme. Bring to boil and simmer covered 30-45 minutes until vegetables are soft. Puree soup with an immersion blender if you have one, or a potato masher if you do not. Add water to thin soup if you like. Salt and pepper to taste.

And then she explained how to make “Simple Cauliflower Soup.”

Break up cauliflower into florets. Cover cauliflower with water in a saucepan. Bring to boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 min or until cauliflower is tender. Puree cauliflower and season with nutmeg, salt and pepper. She says that her children love this simple soup.

I’ll bet it also tastes great with a 1/4 cup cashews tossed in before the puree step, and I’ll bet I can make it in my new Vitamix!

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