P is for Phytonutrients

I’m writing today about something I’ve been thinking about for a while but have not known how to put to words. A few weeks ago, I attended a wedding. After dinner, the woman seated beside me at the table remarked that now that she had eaten her “protein and vegetables,” it was time to go join the dancing. I hear friends describe how they ate their “protein,”or how they make sure to get the little ones at their tables to eat their protein. It’s like saying you ate your “produce” instead of your tangerine. Or your “fat” instead of your peanuts. People don’t say that. But I am hearing people say that they ate their protein all the time.

To be clear, what I am seeing is that folks are not identifying specific foods by their actual names. Instead of saying that they ate scrambled eggs, wings or drumsticks, chops or burgers, they are grouping them under the heading of “protein.” The woman at the wedding did not say that she ate the steak on her plate. She said she ate her protein. So I ask myself why? What is she really saying? What is happening here? And why?

Are people saying they believe that this portion of the meal is more important than the rest of it? Are they driven by concerns about cost? Is it because, excepting legumes, high-protein foods are usually more expensive than, say, grains and vegetables? 

No one in my family lacks for protein. They all get enough protein, and maybe even more than enough. If, for example, the little ones were to eat the tips off 8 spears of asparagus, followed by a few spoonfuls of rice, and call it dinner, nothing would change. They would still be well nourished. I don’t feel any need to lean on them to eat the protein on their plates. I’m not worried. 

I still don’t know why people are saying this, but I’m going to keep thinking about it. Does it harken back to a time when people were hungry and did not get sufficient protein? Is it because protein is filling, and they are trying to stave off hunger in the hours to come? Is it related to attempts at weight control?

When I look at people who regularly eat lots of greens and other produce, I see a kind of vibrancy in their faces that is difficult for me to describe. But I know it when I see it. 

I’m going to say something that may sound radical. If it were me, I would not put the emphasis on protein. If I were being pressured to choose, I would put the emphasis on phytonutrients. Color. Antioxidant power. If I were choosing components instead of foods, I would go out of my way to get phytonutrients. That’s not because I think they are more important than protein. It’s because I think we are eating much less phytonutrient-rich food than we should, while at the same time most of us are eating more than enough high-protein food.

I am thinking about two things: one is variety. My small grandchildren love eggs cooked sunny-side up. Truth be told, from what I can see, it appears to be primarily a vehicle for eating “yolk gravy.” I’ve seen them dip all kinds of things in their yolks, most recently cucumber sticks and toast. My granddaughter asked her father if she could put leftover “mac & cheese” in the yolk. “Sure,” he said. Anything goes. 

The other is related to the fact that we are privileged to live in a community in which our pantries are full. My family eats sufficient protein, and it’s high-quality protein at that, partly because I suspect that we are consuming many more beans and legumes than the average American family. My protein status is not, therefore, of concern. And the likelihood is that the same is true for my friends and their families. If it’s not beans, it’s chicken, turkey, salmon, cod, tuna, sardines, burgers and probably the occasional steak. 

I think that we are underestimating the nutritional value of phytonutrients, as well as their benefits to feelings of satiety. Phytonutrients nourish us profoundly. If you’re experimenting with ways to keep yourself feeling full, it may be worth seeing how you feel after you eat a generous bowlful of spinach salad with ripe avocados, toasted sunflower seeds, and fragrant olive oil. You may be surprised to discover that it keeps you full longer than you thought would be the case. 


The Importance of Avocados, Olive Oil, and Peanut Butter

Today I’m talking about fats, one of the macronutrients. Protein, fat, and carbohydrate are the three major macronutrients in the diet. Water is sometimes included as a fourth macronutrient.

But first, I’d like to begin with a few words on carbs: The term carbohydrates refers to carbohydrate that comes from a plant that grows in the soil. Whether leaf or fruit or root or stem, this kind of carbohydrate is always, always rich in fiber and phytonutrients. Except for milk and honey, carbohydrate doesn’t really exist in nature without the fiber. This means that whenever you come across carbohydrate without fiber attached, humans probably made it that way. But we don’t call whole, or fiber-rich, carbohydrates “healthy carbohydrates.” In a blog about good health and nutrition, you can assume that I’m always talking about the healthy kind. And while it is true that we, as a society, are drowning in stripped, “unhealthy,” carbs, people do not feel the need to keep reminding themselves.  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Colorful Vegetables

At our house, we make an extra effort to eat plenty of produce. It might come in the form of broccoli/cauliflower soup, tossed green salad, minestrone, tomato-cucumber salad, sweet potatoes, pickled beets, sun-dried tomatoes, guacamole, homemade applesauce. At the moment we have tangerines, blackberries, strawberries, apples and persimmon in the refrigerator, along with bananas, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers, and a pomegranate on the counter. Tomorrow night we’re going to have baked apples stuffed with dried figs and shredded coconut.

Our meals usually have a lot going for them in the form of produce and color. Color means phytonutrients, and phytonutrients mean antioxidant power. Colors might include red, green (light, medium, and dark), white, yellow, brown, blue, orange. As much color as we can pack into each meal. And, as my mom taught me, the more colors at a meal, the better. 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 PLATE: Orange Soup (Marak Katom)

In the past week I received a lot of requests for Orange Soup (marak katom), which I mentioned as having been my inspiration for last week’s Purple Soup (marak segol) recipe. So I checked out a whole lot of recipes, and I used those plus the large pot of Orange Soup I made two weeks ago to come up with a version to share here. Please note that you will need an immersion blender to make Orange Soup. And, in case you like words and their derivations, Marak Katom is named for its orange color, which happens, in Hebrew, to be a completely different word (kah-tome) than the fruit (tah-pooz).  Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Purple Soup

In Jerusalem, “Orange Soup” (Marak Katom, or מרק כתום), made with a mixture of sweet potatoes, carrots, and squash, is very popular at this time of year. When I was at the market last week buying ingredients for orange soup, I also noticed some beautiful purple potatoes and, nearby, packages of carrots like jewels, ranging from butter yellow to crimson to dark purple. Prior to the vendor realizing I was buying the ingredients for orange soup, he tried to convince me to buy the purple potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes. He had a recipe in mind, too, and suggested that I consider making mashed purple potatoes. A nearby customer even joined in to say that they are delicious with a little bit of thyme and date syrup. “You won’t regret it!” she said. Once the vendor realized my intention for the sweet potatoes, however, he raised his palms toward me, tipped his head slightly, and said something to the effect of “Oh, well, okay, in that case!” Orange soup is the kind of recipe that everyone makes in their own slightly different way but, at the end of the day, orange soup is orange soup and it’s not to be messed with. Continue reading


Complementary Colors: Nourishing Yourself from the Inside Out (with recipe)

One thing you may not know about me is that one of my casual hobbies is interior decorating. I’ve picked out paint colors for my friends, rearranged their furniture, and weighed in on frame choices, picture positioning, and all kinds of related activities. Have you ever heard of decorating with complementary colors? Have you ever even heard of complementary colors? It’s when you choose two colors from opposite sides of the color wheel, like purple and yellow, orange and blue, or red and green. They usually clash just a little bit, which confers added visual interest. Here are some examples: A pink pillow that makes a pale green couch really SING! Or a wrapped bunch of lavender stalks in a pale yellow vase on a lemon-yellow tablecloth strewn with tiny purple violets. Or a ceramic bowl painted in stripes of turquoise and orange. And that brings me to sweet potatoes and kale. Continue reading


What’s the Best Way to Eat?

An article entitled Can We Say What Diet is Best for Health? by David Katz and Stephanie Meller, from Yale’s School of Public Health, was published in the Annual Review of Public Health a few years ago. A story about the article was published in the Atlantic by James Hamblin, who called it Science Compared Every Diet, and the Winner is Real Food. I would have edited out the word “Real” and simply called it “Food.” Then I might have presented a review of the differences between Food (With a Capital F) and manufactured calories. Continue reading


The Art of Deception: More Ways the Food Industry is Influencing Your Purchases

Did you know that there’s a massive difference between “cereal” and “breakfast cereal?’ Cereal means grain, such as brown rice, bulgur wheat, oatmeal (not microwave-able), millet, amaranth, spelt. Breakfast cereal means Coco Krispies, Frosted Flakes, Life Cereal, Raisin Bran (one of the highest sugar breakfast cereals on the market). Cheerios and Kashi, too, in case you were wondering. Cereal comes from the field; breakfast cereal comes from the factory. Continue reading


YOUR HEALTHY PLATE: Karen’s Spiced Nuts

My friend and fellow yogi Karen Bush comes up with some of the very best recipes, and this one is guaranteed to make you very popular. You can bring it to a party, to book group, to work to share with your coworkers. You can sprinkle it on your salad and turn a little meal into a spectacular celebration. Guaranteed, everyone is going to love it. Continue reading