Tag: nutrition

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Veering from the usual tradition of recipes that are from the health pages of the New York Times and due to the frigid temperatures, I decided to pull some comfort food recipes from my personal files that will serve to warm the body and soul even if you aren’t braving the elements. The recipes are also large enough for leftovers for week night meals. Served with a salad and your favorite beverage, they make a great warming meal. Bon appétit

Many of us had ham for New Year’s Day and are wondering what to do with that ham bone and the left over ham. So if you can’t face another ham sandwich here are a few recipes for soups and a casserole.

One soup recipe that uses a ham bone has been served in the US Senate for over 100 years. The current version does not include potatoes but I like tradition in this case. I also would add a cheese clothe sachet of bay leaf, parsley, peppercorn and thyme for flavor. I also use chicken broth in place of the water. You can play with your own seasoning to taste.

There are numerous versions of this recipe, this one uses ham hocks but the left over ham bone can be substituted.

My daughter says to increase the sauce by half for a creamier dish.

Les Halles is long gone but the traditional French Onion Soup that was served there lives on but it’s hard to find a proper soupe á l’oignon. My favorite recipe is from Bernard Clayton, Jr.’s The Complete Book of Soups and Stews with some variations. It is from a restaurant near the Halles Metro station. M. Calyton’s version uses a hearty homemade beef stock which is time consuming to make. I found that either Swanson’s or College Inn Beef Broth produces a good result, just reduce the salt. The low sodium broth didn’t produce the hearty broth that’s needed to compliment the flavor of the caramelized onions and the cheese.

French onion soup in France is served as the traditional French farmer’s breakfast or the end of the day repast for the late night café and theater crowd. It was made famous in the great open market of Les Halles in Paris where hungry truckers converged from all over France with their fresh produce.

Remember stay warm, if you have to go out: dress in layers, keeping hands and head covered, a scarf to cover you mouth and nose. Try to limit your time outdoors and be aware of the symptoms of frostbite and hypothermia

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

I always stuff an orange or a tangerine into the toe of my son’s Christmas stocking. He is more interested in the chocolate in his stocking and I usually end up eating his orange, but I’ll never forego this European tradition that dates from a time when citrus was a rare treat. We in the United States take our oranges and grapefruit for granted year round, but citrus really does have a season – winter – and it is welcome at this time of year, when we need all the vitamin C we can get.

~Martha Rose Shulman~

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

I have never been a gravy fan, but I am a fan of what I call “Mushroom Ragoût Gravy,” which is not a gravy at all but a mushroom ragoût, or stew. I always make too much. I double the recipe if we are going to be a dozen people, which we usually are during holiday gatherings, even though I know that nobody will have enough room on their plates for more than a spoonful. [..]

The recipe makes quite a lot of ragoût, but you won’t mind having it around. It keeps for three or four days in the refrigerator and freezes well, and the leftovers can be used to make omelets, strudels and more.

Martha Rose Shulman

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

I was planning to devote this week’s Recipes for Health to walnuts, as the California walnut harvest took place just a few weeks ago and the walnuts I am buying in my farmers’ market couldn’t be fresher (well, they could be a little fresher – slightly moist, the way fresh, undried walnuts are sold in French produce markets. But the California growers dry their nuts before sending them to market, as the spoilage risk for moist fresh walnuts is high.) I began working on recipes, and once I had written out and begun testing I realized that each dish was a winter greens recipe that included walnuts. The two foods go wonderfully together.

Martha Rose Shulman

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Many of you, still full from Thanksgiving, may be anticipating holiday parties to come and wondering how to balance things out with some of the meals in between. With this in mind, I decided to work on light fish and seafood dinners for this week’s Recipes for Health. They should provide you with a respite from rich food during this shortened window between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Martha Rose Shulman

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Planning ahead, I was all set to devote this week’s recipes to potatoes, which I have always defended against the anti-carb brigade because potatoes are a wholesome food, high in B vitamins and vitamin C, potassium and fiber, with some protein and lots of complex carbohydrates. A plain, seven-ounce baked potato eaten with the skin contains half the daily amounts of Vitamin C and Vitamin B6 recommended for adults. I had Thanksgiving in mind, the most popular time of the year for this tuber; or is Hanukkah the most popular time?

As it turns out both holidays fell at the same time this year. All the more reason for five new latke and potato pancake recipes that combine potatoes and other vegetables. If you made mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving you can use the leftovers for the mashed potato and broccoli raab pancakes and for the mashed potato and cabbage pancakes, or just steam up some potatoes.

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

I love the idea of soup as part of the Thanksgiving meal. There are so many fall vegetables that make delicious, light purées, and that you might want to include in your Thanksgiving menu. But the prospect of a first course with the additional bowls and soup spoons to place and clear, when the main course and trimmings and dessert are the real focus of this meal, gives me pause.

But this year I found a solution, and it solves not just the soup conundrum but also the problem of what to serve before the meal, when guests and family are trickling in, maybe some people are watching football, and you need and want to serve something good without filling people up too much. I will be serving soup shots in demitasse espresso cups. They won’t require spoons, as four of the choices are purées and one is a consommé.

~Martha Rose Shulman~

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

I know there are probably ready-made crusts out there, and there is plenty of gluten-free flour mix on the market; but I have yet to find a gluten-free all purpose flour that doesn’t taste like bean flour, and that just doesn’t work for me.

After a few false starts, I finally came up with a whole grain crust that held together well and did not have a chalky texture. Rather than use the combination of 30 percent potato starch or cornstarch and 70 percent whole grain flour that I use in other baked goods, I used a combination of fine cornmeal, or corn flour, oat flour, and a small amount of almond flour. The oat flour was the key – it has a wonderful flavor and a fine, starchy texture, but it’s not chalky. You do have to check that it is processed in a facility that does not process wheat, however. Bob’s Red Mill is a good source.

~Martha Rose Shulman~

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Some pastries lend themselves to interpretation and adaptation to whole grain variations; others are best left alone in their white flour and sugar splendor. Biscotti, the dry Italian cookies that are twice baked (which is what the name means), is one of the pastries that does. It is supposed to be hard, and doesn’t have to be too sweet, though most of the biscotti you find in coffee shops are – too sweet, that is.

I had a lot of fun working with different whole grain biscotti variations this week. I began with a straight all whole wheat and almond flour cookie filled with toasted almonds, made with Community Grains whole wheat flour, which I never hesitate to substitute for white flour in baked goods because it is so finely ground. I used no more than two-thirds of the amount of sugar called for in virtually all of the biscotti recipes I looked at, and the sugar I used was either organic brown sugar or organic white sugar (which is really more of a beige color) and coarsely ground. One of this week’s recipes, a hazelnut orange biscotti, is sweetened with honey only.

~Martha Rose Shulman~

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

These hearty vegetarian meals in a bowl (or on a plate) are inspired by the Korean dish bibimbap. I call them “Big Bowls” because they are also inspired by a popular food truck I’ve eaten at, in Portland, Ore., whose only offering is called Big Bowl, and is a comforting bowl of brown rice, with black beans, salsa, avocado and queso blanco. The long line of people I observed at this truck confirmed for me the fact that a simple, satisfying meal with grain, protein and terrific vegetables can be worth standing in line for.

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Whether you enjoy your broccoli raw or cooked, you will benefit from its many nutrients. In addition to the sulfur-containing phytonutrients that all members of the brassica family contain, broccoli is a good source of the carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin, which have been shown to protect the eyes against macular degeneration. It is also an excellent source of vitamins C, A, K, folate, and fiber, and a very good source of manganese, tryptophan, potassium, b-vitamins, magnesium, omega 3’s, iron, calcium, zinc, and vitamin E.

Welcome to the Health and Fitness News, a weekly diary which is cross-posted from The Stars Hollow Gazette. It is open for discussion about health related issues including diet, exercise, health and health care issues, as well as, tips on what you can do when there is a medical emergency. Also an opportunity to share and exchange your favorite healthy recipes.

Questions are encouraged and I will answer to the best of my ability. If I can’t, I will try to steer you in the right direction. Naturally, I cannot give individual medical advice for personal health issues. I can give you information about medical conditions and the current treatments available.

You can now find past Health and Fitness News diaries here and on the right hand side of the Front Page.

Peppers are very low in calories (about 25 calories per cup), and red peppers in particular are an excellent source of vitamins C, A and B6, as well as a very good source of potassium and vitamin K. By weight, red bell peppers contain three times as much vitamin C as citrus fruit. They also contain lycopene, a carotenoid found in tomatoes and other red fruits and vegetables. Some research has suggested that lycopene helps fight certain kinds of cancer.

Peppers offer the cook endless possibilities. Roast them and they become a household staple, useful for snacks, salads and quick toppings for sandwiches and bruschetta. Fry or stew them, and they can be stirred into scrambled eggs and frittatas, risottos, pastas and pilafs. Uncooked peppers make a great, healthy snack, a crunchy vegetable that kids will eat.

~Martha Rose Shulman~