I’ve been thinking about an idea that I am calling a “hierarchy of carbohydrates.” This concept divides the enormous category of carbohydrates into discrete groups, each of which affects insulin release differently. Read on to learn more about what this means for you. Continue reading
Tag Archives: fruit
Dried Fruit–The Original Fast Food
People frequently mention that they are unsure about whether they should eat dried fruit. They are usually worried about the amount of sugar. There are a number of ways to approach this issue. One would be to ask yourself if your great-grand ancestors ate dried fruit, if they would have considered it food. The answer to this question would, of course, be yes. You could also ask yourself if dried fruit was invented in the 20th century. And the answer would, of course, be no. Continue reading
Big Cereal Gives Frooty Words the Business
I have written in the past about the high margin-to-cost of the breakfast cereal business. I also think a lot about the words Big Cereal uses to sell its product, specifically the pervasive use of fruity words in naming breakfast cereals. Continue reading
Making Your Kitchen Fruit-Friendly
For the record, I do not want you to think that I have always eaten the way I do now. It has been a process. There have been important milestones and realizations along the way such as, for example, the day I realized that there was absolutely no high-fructose corn syrup in my refrigerator. Or the time I decided that we were going to begin diluting the boxes of marginally nutritious “breakfast cereals” with dried fruit, nuts, seeds (e.g., sesame, pumpkin, sunflower), and rolled (steamed) oats until they contained essentially none of the original agents.
And then there was the time I realized that we had inadvertently made an important change in the way we unpacked the groceries. This change, though virtually invisible, was to have a significant effect on the way we ate. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Greens-and-Grains Winter Salad
I love eating food in season, and many of the ingredients for this recipe have winter written all over them. Leftover nuts and dried fruit from the holidays. Quinoa, a staple in the cabinet. Some fall apples and a few leftover stalks of celery in the fridge. And a sweet memory of the large box of oranges sent every year to my parents by friends who used to spend their winters in Florida. Continue reading
Grand Celebration
Our brand new grandson was born into our family this past week, after which my son-in-law named it “Birthday Week,” not only for the fact of his own birthday and that of his newborn son, but also because we celebrated the first birthday of the infant’s newly promoted big sister! Birthday week!! In celebration of this newly expanded family, the week basically consisted of one wonderful meal after the next, all of which reminded me of a post that I wrote once upon a time about the meals at my parents’ small farm in the Watchung Mountains of New Jersey. The years have passed, and my own parents are gone now, but all our beautiful babies have been named in memory of my mother and father, and that has been a gift of its own. Continue reading
The Illusion of Variety
Like many people who have been holed up in their homes for the past 15 months or so, this past week I entered a supermarket for the first time in more than a year. Omg. I left with one package of granola bites (treat), one cabbage (food), two kinds of beer (treat), and tonic water (treat–Fever Tree, the best!). Hopefully, I’ll do better next time. The whole experience got me thinking once again about what a supermarket really is, and I decided to share something I first posted a very long time ago. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PANDEMIC: Homemade Orange Juice
This is a special recipe for when you’ve had enough but the pandemic has not. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Watermelon Sunshine Drink
My kids have all grown up to be great cooks. Adventurous, inspired by simple ingredients, and willing to try unusual combinations of ingredients at least once. Here’s a little something my youngest (now grown and married) invented on the spot last Friday afternoon, inspired by some slightly mushy watermelon in the fridge.
By the way, if you’ve noticed that things seem a little different around here, it’s not your imagination. Comfort food (of all kinds) wins. The main goal of each day is to get to the next. Deep breath. You’re gonna like this one. Continue reading
YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Grandma Rosie’s Rhubarb
Last week, I wrote about my Grandma Rosie’s chopped eggplant, and it was a huge hit! So now, this week, with the rhubarb starting to poke up in the garden, I thought I’d write about her rhubarb. But first a few words about the woman. My Grandma Rosie was an extraordinarily good cook. I mean exceptionally good. Continue reading