When Hippocrates said, “Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food…” he may well have been talking about dandelion. Dandelion has been used in many traditional medicine systems as a remedy for liver, kidney, and spleen diseases. Today, dandelion gets a nod in its role as a diuretic or treatment … Read more
During the summers, when the sun is blazing and the temperature becomes unbearably hot, there is one excellent way to make it through, and that is by making yourself a refreshing glass of squash. Not many people are aware that there is a huge variety of squash that could be made, including … Read more
Cutting carbs with cauliflower is a great way to enjoy your favorite foods at a fraction of the calories. Carb lovers can cut calories by adding creamed cauliflower to mashed potatoes, and even riced cauliflower to flour for baking. But pizza crust? I had heard about cauliflower’s extender power when it came … Read more
Hot on the tail of news showing that Americans are living longer but not necessarily better lives, comes a large study from Sweden linking fruit and vegetable intake with overall mortality. The study, published in the August edition of the Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed over 71,000 Swedish adults for a period … Read more
A vegetarian diet may be good for your longevity. Or so says a new study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The study looked at over 70,000 Seventh-Day Adventists over a period of 6 years and found that vegetarians (who ate seafood, dairy, and eggs) had a 12% lower chance of … Read more
Sweet potato fries tend to come with a health halo: because they’re made with sweet potatoes, people automatically think they’re healthier than white fried potatoes. With most sweet potato fries, that’s not the case. Deep frying any product, and then salting the heck out of it quickly reduces the food’s nutritional benefits. … Read more
Apples top the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) ninth annual “Dirty Dozen” list of the top 12 fruits and vegetables that show the highest levels of pesticides for 2013. It is EWG’s recommendation, that when possible, you should avoid conventionally (non-organic) versions of the dirty dozen, instead purchasing and consuming their organic counterparts. … Read more
Hot on the heels of Taco Bell pulling their ad chastising veggie-toting football-watching fans comes the Wall Street Journal’s 22 Super Bowl Party Rules. Rule 7. A good Super Bowl prank is to show up with big bowl of kale salad and yell, ‘WHO’S READY FOR SOME KALE SALAAAADDD!!!” Now, what’s ironic … Read more
A recent report from the CDC analyzed the sources of foodborne illness in the US from 1998-2008. Cited as one of the most comprehensive analyses of attributing illness to food, the results of this report might surprise you – namely because of the role that fresh produce plays. The researcher found that … Read more
Nutrition screeners are a great way to obtain a quick snapshot of the adequacy of a particular person’s nutrient or dietary intake. They can be used in many settings: for weight loss, education, as part of a larger nutrition assessment, or just for fun to figure out how you stack up to … Read more
Just in time for Easter comes good news about cruciferous vegetables: women who consumed the most cruciferous vegetables were 62 percent less likely to die from breast cancer and 35 percent less likely to have a reappearance of the disease, when compared to those women who ate the least amount of cruciferous … Read more
The American Academy of Pediatrics recently endorsed the new National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute’s (NHLBI) recommendation to begin screening children for high cholesterol as early as age 9. While the importance of early detection of cardiovascular disease – the number one killer of Americans – cannot be understated, these recommendations do … Read more
Hominy is a term not known to many. It is a food that is produced from dried maze (corn) kernel that has been treated with alkali. This process is known as nixtamalization. In Mexican cooking, Hominy is used to make masa, after it has been finely ground. Previously, it was said that … Read more
One of the many benefits of a high fiber diet is that – when combined with adequate fluid intake – fiber helps prevent against constipation. This apparently applies to children as well as adults. In a recent study published in the Journal of Clinical Nursing, researchers in Hong Kong found that primary … Read more
Most Americans know lima beans as the green – usually Fordhook – frozen variety found in our grocery stores. But the Greeks…they know lima beans! “Gigandes plaki” or “Gigantes” is a Greek dish meaning “giant lima beans” baked in a savory tomato sauce. Here’s a great recipe made from dried giant lima … Read more