A Practical Guide To Healthy Living

L. was sick for 5 days straight – some dumbed-down version of the swine flu, maybe, or maybe just some other pesky virus. She recovered Monday night, but I felt like I was going down. So I reluctantly cancelled plans to see “Precious” with “the girls,” and went foraging in the fridge for dinner. In my mish-mash-hodge-podge of items was a favorite: Kimchi.  ‘Cause as you may remember, when the chips are down for me health-wise, I like to treat my body as best I can . . . and kimchi is pretty much as healthy as it gets.

So . . . what is it?  Kimchi is Korea’s most representative food – served at pretty much every meal.  Essentially, it’s fermented vegetables – often made with cabbage, radishes, garlic, scallions and leeks, each with its own health benefits.  But because it’s fermented, kimchi provides the health benefits of the veggies, plus, it can lower cholesterol, improve digestion, provide essential vitamins and minerals and provide a great, non-dairy source of live probiotics.  

You’ve probably heard about probiotics – they’ve been in the news a lot lately.  You mostly hear about supplements and yogurt.  Probiotics are the beneficial bacteria that aid in maintaining the balance of microorganisms in your body’s intestinal tract. On average, the human digestive system contains more than 400 types of probiotic bacteria. These all serve to inhibit the growth of dangerous bacteria by promoting the health of the digestive system.  And did you know that kimchi has more lactic acid bacteria than yogurt?  It does! 

What can kimchi do for you?

• Kimchi helps reduce indigestion and gas. Excess bad bacteria causes irritation leading to indigestion, gas and fluid retention.
• Kimchi may help you feel less hungry. Lactobacillus, one common strain of good bacteria, has been linked to appetite control. Good bacteria helps stabilize blood-sugar levels which means less frequent and less intense hunger.
• Some studies have shown that kimchi can shorten the duration of a cold.
• The juice and salt from kimchi helps to keep the intestines clean.
• The chili peppers and garlic help to lower blood cholesterol and are an aid in blood-clotting.

How do you eat kimchi?  Really, any way you like.  The other night, I had it with chicken tenders and roasted root veggies.  But in addition to eating kimchi as a side dish, it’s also served as kimchi stew, kimchi soup, kimchi dumplings, kimchi stir fried rice, etc. etc. etc.

You can make your own kimchi, but I’m lazy.  I get my everyday kimchi at Whole Foods, but if you’re in the area and want an adventure, the new HMart in Burlington has an entire wall of kimchi . . . so you can sample different varieties, with absolutely NO health-downside to your nibbling.  What could be better?

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You’ve heard it over and over and over again:  Breakfast is “the most important meal of the day.”  Maybe you’re like me, and you make time to eat breakfast every day . . . I can’t imagine getting up and out without putting something in my belly.  But maybe you’re one of “those people” who doesn’t like to eat in the a.m.  If you don’t eat breakfast at all, I urge you to try to eat a little something – you might find these two bits of new research encouraging.  In one, UK researchers found that when they gave thirty-two volunteers breakfast, or made them skip breakfast, the ones who ate did better on a memory test.  In another, a University of Georgia study found that eating breakfast along with 200 mg. of caffeine improves cognitive performance and mood.  Now, who among us doesn’t want to be smarter and happier?   [Read more →]

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Still working my way through my CSA inventory . . . and the last of the greens are getting tired.  I decided the escarole wasn’t going to hold out much longer, so I made this on Friday night – D. and I both think it’s “a keeper.”  I consider this a one-dish meal because it’s got a decent amount of greens and decent protein and fiber from the beans . . . but if you want to serve this with a leafy green salad, it’d be great.  Whichever way you serve this, it cries out for a delicious, crusty loaf of bread to sop up the flavorful broth.

This way, using canned cannellini beans, is the quicker way to prepare this soup – 45 minutes to 1 hour total time.  If you prefer the taste of dried beans, this’ll take significantly longer, but the beans will have more flavor and will be more firm.  Up to you!

White Bean and Escarole Soup

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until golden, about 10 minutes.  Add the garlic, rosemary and pepper flakes, cook until translucent, about 3 minutes longer.

Stir in the escarole and cook until just wilted, about 2 minutes.  Add the broth, beans and tomato and bring to a gentle simmer.  Season with salt to taste.  Cover and cook until slightly thickened, about 10 to 15 minutes.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Serve in bowls with a drizzle of olive oil and Parmesan, if desired.

Serves 6.  Even better leftover on day 2+!

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Happy Friday, everyone!  This is my last Thanksgiving-related post, unless I get requests for other dishes . . . what I’ve listed so far is my hit-parade of annual menu items.  The cooked veg changes from year-to-year (sometimes, my MIL makes a delicious creamy broccoli casserole thingy that’s worth the splurge).

Today I’m sharing a nice fall salad recipe that I make on Turkey day.  I have to admit, the salad doesn’t get as much play as the other side dishes.  But I happen to love a green salad amongst all the richness.  Don’t get me wrong, I love richness too, but a little somethin’ to cut the grease is always good.

Cranberry Pear Salad With Candied Walnuts

Make the dressing:  in a bowl, whisk together the first six ingredients and set aside. 

Candy the walnuts:  In a heavy skillet, melt the sugar over medium heat, stirring constantly.  Add the walnuts and stir to coat.  Remove from the heat.

Assemble the salad:  In a large salad bowl, combine the green, pears and cranberries.  Drizzle with the dressing.  Add nuts and blue cheese and toss.

Serve immediately.  Yields 12 servings.

Note:  I usually try to pick up some different types of pears for this, some with more brown flesh, some with red . . . makes the salad more colorful!  Also, if you have the wherewithall to plan ahead, get your pears a few days in advance so they’ll have time to ripen.  Sweet, juicy pears are best here.

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Eeek!  A shortage of canned pumpkin!  (NYT)

On the road?  Here’s a clever and funny fast-food flowchart to help you decide where to stop to eat.  (Eating The Road)

Not one, but 2 Brigham’s locations have closed in the last few weeks – High St. in Boston (oh, the memories!) and last week, Mill St. in Arlington.  (Wicked Local)

Good suggestions for how to clean your home effectively, without the use of commercial antibacterials and disinfectants.  (Healthy Child Healthy World Blog)

Some helpful ideas for feeding your toddler.  (Real Food For Real Life)

Mark Bittman’s great list of Thanksgiving make-ahead dishes.  The Thai squash soup idea would be a great way to use some of your CSA butternuts, folks! (The Minimalist)

Just another reason to avoid (or at least view with skepticism) foods that have health claims plastered across the front – usually they’re just not true.  Here’s a chronicle of Cheerios vs. the FDA.  (Fooducate)

And even more on bogus food claims – the Epicurious Blog debunks common claims.  (Epiblog)

See how Sigg bottles (boooo!  hissss!) are made – including the spraying of that evil lining.  Your kids might enjoy this.  (Enviroblog)

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Mmmmm, mashed potatoes and gravy!  Can you tell that for me, Thanksgiving is all about the side dishes?  Turkey’s OK, but what really gets me fired up are all of the once-a-year traditional foods we eat along with the bird.

These are not light.  Not great for you, but they’re a rich, creamy, easy and indulgent holiday side-dish that you can make several days ahead and store in your fridge.

Sarah’s Make-Ahead Mashed Potatoes

Combine the mashed potatoes, butter, cream cheese, sour cream and milk.  Add salt & pepper to taste.  Mix well and place in a large, oven-proof casserole.  Cover and bake at 325 degrees for 50 minutes.

If you do make these ahead and put them in the fridge, removed them from the fridge 30 minutes before you intend to bake them.

Yields 12 servings. 

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or dressing, or whatever you want to call it, is one of my favorite components of Thanksgiving dinner.  Yes, it comes with some debate, as do most things around a holiday.  Put it in the bird?  Leave it out of the bird?  Add meat?  Dried fruit?  Nuts?  None of the above?  People get craaaazy about their stuffing preferences.

Here’s what I like.  I like either a very simple white bread stuffing with sage, celery, parsley and onions, or else I like a full-frontal assault of oozy, rich sausagey stuffing.  More recently, the latter.  Either way, I love it most cooked inside the bird, and whatever you do, leave the fruit and nuts out of the picture.

I have 2 stuffing recipes for you today.  The simple recipe was my Grandmother Olivier’s recipe, which she called dressing, and which is much loved by all who taste it.  It is, of course, not an exact recipe, so you’re going to have to trust your gut on quantities, and you can certainly tweak amounts to your liking.  I’ve included my editorial suggestions in brackets.  If you make this recipe, please do promise me you’ll set an elegant table.  Were Peggy here today, she’d insist on that.  [Read more →]

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Monday, Monday – here we are again, new week, new recipes . . . still workin’ the CSA loot here.  Saturday night, D. and I had a lovely, but super-rich dinner.  We had killer food hangovers yesterday.  So I wanted to keep dinner very light, and this soup did the trick.  I had a nice-sized head of Napa from my share – super-crisp, lovely light-green and tasty.  This is another quickie soup – 40 minutes or fewer from counter to table. 

Napa Cabbage Soup

Place the oil in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn the heat to medium.  When the oil is hot, add the cabbage, onion, salt and pepper.  Cook, stirring frequently, until both the onion and cabbage are tender.  It’s OK if they brown a little bit in the process.  Stir in the ginger and cook for 1 minute.  Add the broth, sesame oil, soy sauce and fish sauce.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.  Finish by adding the lime juice, then taste and adjust the seasoning.  Serve hot.  Serves 4.

There are infinite ways to create a meal around this.  I drained and pressed, then cubed up some firm tofu (our favorite is Chang Shing tofu, made in Cambridge – they just started carrying this at the Fresh Pond Whole Foods which saves a trip to Super 88 or Russo’s) and put it in the bottom of the soup bowl before I ladled in the soup.  Another way to add heft to the meal would be to serve steamed dumplings alongside . . . .  Enjoy!   

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