Serving up food news and views
From the monthly archives:
What’s hot in beverages?I often write about food trends, but what about drinks? Here’s a look at several beverage trends — a peek at what we’ll be sipping in 2010.
For starters, there’s no denying that coconut water has become the latest health drink craze. Coconut water has been moving from inner-city bodegas, selling primarily to immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, into the world of the “in-the-know” hipster crowd. [click to continue…]
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Photo courtesy of National Peanut Board
This may be the best coleslaw I’ve ever had. It’s not your mayonnaise-laden slaw that you’ll typically find at picnics, in diners or on salad bars. No. This slaw is quite different.
It’s the creation of Suvir Saran — a quite amazing (and funny) Indian chef, cookbook author and consultant that I got to know at the recent Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives Conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. He demonstrated this recipe as he talked about how to make vegetables “sexy” and “craveable.” I think he totally achieved that with this flavorful slaw.
1 piece of ginger, 1/2-inch, peeled and grated
2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 lime)
1 tablespoon citrus vinegar or white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon chaat masala
1/2 teaspoon toasted cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon cracked peppercorns
18 scallions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeno, seeded and veined for less heat, finely chopped (optional)
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, finely chopped
2 tablespoons mint leaves, fresh, finely chopped
1 head green cabbage, halved, cored and finely sliced
1/2 cup peanuts, roasted chopped
Whisk the ginger, lime juice, vinegar, sugar, chaat masala, toasted cumin, cayenne pepper, salt and cracked pepper together in a large bowl. Add the scallions, jalapenos, tomatoes, cilantro and mint leaves and toss to combine. Add the cabbage and toss with your hands, making sure to coat it thoroughly with the other ingredients. Sprinkle with the peanuts and serve immediately, or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 4 hours, sprinkling with the peanuts just before serving.
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Whole grains. Everyone knows how important they are. Studies link whole grains to a reduced risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer. There’s also evidence that whole grains can help you manage your weight.
Yet when you mention whole grains, most people tend to think about breads and cereals. That’s true. These foods are probably the most obvious sources of whole grains — yet the amounts they actually contain can vary greatly. Beyond breads and cereals, an increasingly number of foods boast about whole grains. It’s become the new marketing buzz word. Although not all of these foods are reliable sources. Just take a look at the latest issue of CSPI’s Nutrition Action Healthletter that reveals “whole grain finds and frauds.”
The best sources of whole grains are — no surprise — whole grains. Trouble is, many people have no clue how to cook whole grains. Often, their first attempt is brown rice and they might be turned off by the gummy, porridge-like results, said Tucker Bunch, a chef instructor at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone. I recently had the opportunity to take a whole grains workshop with Tucker at the CIA’s Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives conference that was co-sponsored by Harvard Medical School.
It was eye opening. I’ve always been a lover of grains, but I think my range was limited. Yes, I regularly make bulgur, quinoa and whole-grain couscous (actually a pasta) — but I didn’t really go beyond that and my preparation methods were typically the same. Lately I’ve been experimenting with freekeh, which was actually a new grain for my instructor Tucker. I was thrilled I got to teach him something new! But I learned so much from Tucker about cooking whole grains.
For starters, he said there are three important things to keep in mind when cooking whole grains:
1. Use the right proportion of liquid – people often use too much liquid, it’s not always a 3:1 ratio like we might use to prepare rice (too much liquid can make for gummy grains)
2. Use a flavorful liquid instead of simply water — such as chicken stock, vegetable broth, juice and wine
3. Parch or toast the grains in a little oil before cooking — helps build flavor, brings out a sweet nutty taste (I haven’t been doing this and now I’m hooked)
At the start of the class, Tucker demonstrated the Mediterranean Grain Medley (left) that featured farro and quinoa, along with crimini mushrooms, fennel, fava beans and cherry tomatoes. He then showed how the grains could be transformed into other dishes: topped with roasted chicken for a main entree, stuffed into a whole wheat pita with tzatziki sauce, or added to leafy green salad. After his demonstration, we put on our own chef hats and aprons to make the following whole grain dishes (recipes are included at the end). Believe me, they were all so easy to make and incredibly delicious. I liked each one, but I think my favorite was the farro and cannellini bean salad. The crispy prosciutto added a unique flavor and enticing crunch, and the strips of dried plums provided just the right amount of sweetness.
Seven Grain Kashi and Bean Salad with Grilled Shrimp, Mint, Red Onion, Roasted Peppers and Harissa Vinaigrette
Mediterranean Grain Medley Topped with Roast Chicken and Tzatziki
Warm Farro and Cannellini Bean Salad With Dried Plums and Crispy Prosciutto
Warm Farro and Cannellini Bean Salad with Dried Plums and Prosciutto
2-1/2 cups farro or soft-wheat berries, fully cooked (use 2:1 ratio of liquid when cooking)
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 oz. prosciutto, cut into thin strips
2 carrots, small, peeled, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
3/4 cup dried plums, cut in strips
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
In a large saute pan, heat oil over medium-low heat. Add prosciutto and cook, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes or until crisp. Remove with slotted spoon and drain on paper towel. Add carrots, celery, fennel seed, salt and pepper flakes to the rendered oil in the saute pan. Cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables are cooked al dente. Add cooked farro (or could substitute barley or another whole grain), beans and dried plums. Cook, stirring gently, until heated through. To serve, mound on platter, sprinkle parsley and crumbled prosciutto on top. Makes 6 portions. [click to continue…]
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I was so fortunate to have spent the last few days in the Napa Valley attending an amazing conference at the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone called Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives, which was co-sponsored by the CIA and Harvard Medical School.
The conference was the brainchild of David Eisenberg, MD, who is the director for research and education in complementary and integrative medical therapies at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Eisenberg, a passionate food lover and cooking enthusiast, is a true visionary who hopes to blend the worlds of food and medicine. He’s trying to merge partnerships with culinary schools and medical schools.
The people who make the food we eat and the medical professionals dedicated to keeping us healthy rarely speak to each other, he said. But we need to work together if we’re going to make any impact on America’s widening waistlines and rates of chronic disease.
Dr. Eisenberg also wants physicians to increase their own culinary literacy. He wants to see the day when a recipe may be just as likely to be handed to a patient as a prescription. His vision is to have teaching kitchens in hospitals — a place where patients can learn the skills they need to improve their health.
Most of the 450 people in attendance were physicians — who typically receive little or no nutrition education in their training. The four-day conference was a perfect blend of nutrition science with hands-on cooking classes in the stunning CIA kitchens.
The presentations covered a lot of territory, but the primary take-home nutrition messages can be boiled down to these nine concepts:
I loved the way a nutrition concept was addressed and then recipes were demonstrated to help bring this to life. For example, we talked a lot about the benefits of a plant-based diet. That doesn’t been eschewing meat, but learning to “flip” the normal American plate so vegetables dominate. It’s rethinking the meat as center-of-the-plate star. Dr. Eisenberg said he relies on stir fries to help increase the vegetables on his family’s dinner plate. He demonstrated his favorite stir fry, including the final touch of a cucumber garnish that he lovingly added to the corners of the serving platter.
Quick and Easy Asian Stir Fry Recipe
Sauce
1 cup chicken stock
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
4 teaspoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons chili garlic sauce
Stir fry
3 tablespoons canola or peanut oil
3 garlic cloves, minced or smashed
1 piece ginger (1-1/2-inch), thinly sliced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
black pepper, coarsely ground, to taste
16 oz. shiitake or white mushrooms
10 oz. shrimp, or sliced chicken breast
1 lb. snow peas
1/4 cup sake or chicken stock
2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 4 teaspoons water
Peanuts, chopped for garnish
Combine sauce ingredients in a bowl. Place a wok or saucepan over high heat until it starts to smoke. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil, swirling to coat sides, add mushrooms, stir-fry until golden brown. Remove from wok. Set aside.
Rinse out and dry wok. Heat the wok until medium hot. Add 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil, swirling to coat sides, then add the garlic, ginger, scallion and pepper until aromatic. Add the shrimp, increase heat to high, and stir-fry for 30 seconds or until the shrimp are half-way cooked. Add the snow peas, stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes, if the ingredients get too dry, while cooking, add the sake or chicken stock. Add sauce, bring to a boil, add cornstarch to thicken. Adjust seasonings. Garnish with peanuts. Plate and enjoy! Makes 4 portions.
I just returned from the conference last night. I’ll be writing more about the meeting and sharing some of the amazing recipes. I took a lot of photos, so come back to visit soon!
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I happened to catch a segment on the Today show about a new book called The Nine Rooms of Happiness. I thought it sounded a bit corny at first, or I was skeptical about a new self-help book. But I was quickly wooed by the authors — Lucy Danziger, editor in chief of Self magazine, and Catherine Birndorf, MD, a women’s health psychiatrist in New York City.
The same day I got a message from the folks at Self offering to send me a copy of the book to review. I get these types of requests all the time (“read this book,” ”eat this product,” etc.). This time, I thought, yes, this book might be worth taking a look at.
You can learn more about the book by visiting this site Nine Rooms of Happiness or Self magazine. Here’s a video with the authors:
The book uses the metaphor of a house to talk about our emotional life — the living room is where we deal with friendships and our social life, the bathroom is where we face issues of health and body image, the kitchen is about nourishment and so on. Our “inner house” can have eight beautifully designed, neat and tidy rooms, and one messy one, and still we focus on the mess.
Whether it’s the size of our thighs or our bank accounts, there always seems to be something that isn’t measuring up to our high standards — and we let the dissatisfaction spill over into other areas of our lives, distracting us from taking pleasure in everything that’s going right. [click to continue…]
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Have you heard, it’s National Nutrition Month — an annual celebration sponsored each March by the American Dietetic Association. Today is especially note worthy. It’s Registered Dietitian Day.
It’s a great time to recognize the valuable contributions RDs make to help people live healthier lives. Increasingly, dietitians are contributing to the blogosphere — helping to provide reliable, trusted nutrition advice online.
I’m trying to help RDs get an even louder voice online with the Nutrition Blog Network, which I recently wrote about. This new site of RD bloggers isn’t quite ready to launch, but we’re getting close. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, two of my RD colleagues have created a Registered Dietitian Blogfest to commemorate Registered Dietitian Day — which is a tremendous idea. The Blogfest was created by Monika of InCyst Network and Renata of Nurturing Notes. They asked this question of dietitians: If you had one message to give, what would it be?
Take a look at the participants and their responses: [click to continue…]
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Have you heard? Atkins is back. This time it’s supposed to be a kindler, gentler low-carb diet. With new authors, and a (slightly) new approach, the new book promises to create a new you: The New Atkins for a New You: The Ultimate Diet for Shedding Weight and Feeling Great.
I remember doing a ton of media interviews 10 years ago during the height of the Atkins craze — and that was when the diet was experiencing a resurgence after its initial introduction in 1972.
Now others are carrying the flag for the late Robert Atkins. The new book is written by Eric Westman, director of the Duke Lifestyle Medicine Clinic in Durham, NC, along with co-authors Stephen Phinney (UC-Davis) and Jeff Volek (University of Connecticut).
The buzz is just starting to build. Here’s what others have written about the new Atkins diet:
USA Today: Digesting the facts on “new Atkins’ diet
Dr. Keith Ayoob’s blog on USA Today
Washington Post: Atkins diet’s return reflects idea that saturated fat shouldn’t be demonized
Diets in Review
I particularly enjoyed Keith Ayoob’s comments in USA Today — both in the paper and on his blog. We were both media spokespersons at the same time for The American Dietetic Association, and he could always say just the right thing in an interview! I totally agree with his comments on the book…
Basically there are new recipes, and it’s a kindler, gentler Atkins than the original diet book, but it’s still basically the same plan — carbs are mostly considered bad, and fats, including saturated fat, are allowed. People do lose weight on this plan, but that doesn’t make it optimal. Some examples of same-old, same-old. Skim milk is still bad, heavy cream is still good. Bananas and apples are still bad. If you want to eat whole-grain bread, can’t live without a baked potato, don’t want to limit yourself to a quarter-cup strawberries and don’t see anything wrong with eating a whole apple, this isn’t the diet for you.
Gary Foster, a well-respected obesity researcher from Temple University, is also quoted in Nanci Hellmich’s article in USA Today. He talks about some of the research that’s been conducted on the Atkins diet. And it’s true that some of the original concerns about the saturated fat levels in the diet haven’t panned out. The low-carb, high-fat diet has not been linked to an increased heart disease risk. Still, I worry about what you’re missing by following this diet — foods that have established health-promoting properties, including whole grains and fruit.
No doubt, you can lose weight on this diet. A new study published just this week in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that people on a low-carb diet lost weight, but over the long-term the results were no better than low-fat dieters. It all comes down to calories.
As Gary Foster said in USA Today…
If you tell people to count carbs, they end up eating fewer or equal calories than if you tell them to count calories, but at the end of the day, it is still just a way to wrap your mind around eating less.
So if this is really about the amount of calories you consume, why don’t we help people make better choices for the calories they eat. It’s not only about total calories, it’s important to consider the quality of those calories. Even if the “new” Atkins helps people lose weight, the food choices are limiting and the diet excludes so many valuable foods that are known to play a protective role in our health.
It’s unfortunate, but I’m expecting a third resurgence for the Atkins diet. Brace yourself.
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All the popular new diets books seem to have “skinny” in the title. Have you noticed?
New York City Real Housewife Bethenny Frankel’s “Naturally Thin” promises to unleash your Skinnygirl. Her latest cookbook is The Skinnygirl Dish and there’s an audiobook The Skinnygirl Rules. Do I smell a Skinnygirl empire brewing? Frankel is getting her own Bravo TV show, so expect to hear a lot more about being a SkinnygIrl and sipping Skinnygirl Margaritas.
You can find an array of books that glorify the attributes of being skinny, celebrate the journey from fat to skinny and outline what it takes to be skinny.
I’m not saying all these books are bad. In fact, some of them are likely to include good information. I haven’t read all of them.
I did like Joy Bauer’s book “Your Inner Skinny.” It 
was one of my top five picks in the Chicago Tribune. Her new book includes solid nutrition advice and some inspiring case studies of people who have successfully lost weight. But still, I wondered why skinny?
No doubt, publishers see dollar signs with “skinny.” Is this what it takes to sell books? Is having skinny in the title the only way to appeal to the book-buying public?
Perhaps the trend got started with the runaway success of “Skinny Bitch,” which is a vegan book that sparked an entire line of skinny books and products — including “Skinny Bitch In the Kitch,” ”Skinny Bitch: Bun in the Oven (for pregnant women) and ”Skinny Bastard” for men.
“Fat to Skinny” appears to target men. Yet, by far, most of the skinny books are trying to appeal to women — inspiring you to be either a skinny bitch, skinny girl or skinny chick.
The list keeps growing: “The Secrets of Skinny Chicks,“ ”Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads,” “The Secret to Skinny,” “Skinny Chef,” “Goodbye Fatty! Hello Skinny!” and “Get Skinny On Fabulous Food” by Suzanne Somers. Many of these books focus on appearance. There’s Urban Skinny that wants to help you live a fabulous life and still zip up your favorite jeans and The Skinny is all about fitting into your little black dress. Katie Drummond rants about the ”The Secrets of Skinny Chicks” on True/Slant:
According to the author Karen Bridson, “skinny is a state of mind.” If that’s the case, then I’m not sure what all the references to “size six jeans” and “fabulous bodies” are doing in the book — other than reinforcing that skinny is not a state of mind, but rather an unattainable, and very physical, ideal….Bridson goes on to offer glimpses into the diet and exercise routines of 25 “skinny chicks,” most of whom eat less than 2,000 calories a day, exercise at least 10 hours a week and weigh in on the dangerously low end of the BMI Index. These ladies, by all accounts, aren’t training for the Olympics or an Ironman. They’re just trying to stay skinny. And I’m not referring to a state of mind. Bridson’s book is yet another example of health gone oh-so-wrong. When a successful health journalist is the same person advocating excessive exercise and “cheat foods,” not to mention misconstruing skinniness with wellness, I can’t help but hope I don’t have daughters.”
To their credit, some of the skinny books attempt to promote a non-diet mentality, including Bethenny Frankel’s book that says “free yourself from a lifetime of dieting. And “Skinny Chicks Don’t Eat Salads” talks about ”stop starving and start eating.” Good messages.
Even so, the skinny titles overly emphasize weight and appearance, along with obsessive calorie counting.
Not sure where the health and enjoyment of food fits in.
I contacted registered dietitian Evelyn Tribole, who has pioneered the concept of intuitive eating. Her specialty is helping people discover a healthy relationship with food, mind and body. She believes the skinny trend is troubling.
Ultimately, health and healthy behaviors are not a size, Tribole told me.
I believe that this “skinny” trend combined with the “war on obesity” and our “toxic food environment” will converge into a perfect storm that in the end will create more weight problems and eating disorders.
Beyond diet books, “skinny” has become a big marketing buzz word. You can buy skinny jeans, skinny hair products and even skinny lattes at Starbucks.
Registered dietitian Marsha Hudnall of A Weight Lifted said she understands the marketing aspect of “skinny,” but believes it fails to 
consider the implications for a population that is struggling with achieving and maintaining healthy weights. A focus on body size (being “skinny”) tends to make people adopt behaviors that don’t lead to health in the long term, she told me.
In the pursuit of thinness, or skinny, we try fad diets, skip meals, even fast, and generally do things that are all about calories (or fat grams, carbs, etc.) and nothing about health. It’s a misplaced focus that only exacerbates problems instead of getting people where they’d like to be. And for most people, I believe that would be feeling good and if society would allow it, at a weight that’s right for them independent of the media image of what’s right. Ultimately, it’s about enjoying a fulfilling life, not spending our time obsessing about what we eat and weigh.
Hudnall, who runs the healthy weight retreat Green Mountain at Fox Run, said a focus on skinny simply reinforces the message that skinny is the shape we should all be, and not everyone can truly be skinny.
This is a pursuit of an unrealistic ideal that leads to loss of productivity and again, ultimately ill health, whether it be from methods adopted to attempt to reach that unrealistic ideal or just from the stress of it all and the unhappiness it generates. It also perpetuates the idea that anyone who isn’t skinny is somehow less than acceptable. Ultimately, I believe a focus on health is the only way to move Americans, and increasingly the rest of the world, to a better place physically is to stop thinking about weight and size and start thinking about the real issues of health. If we turn our attention to these issues instead of a number on a scale or a label on a piece of clothing, we’re much more likely to have a significant impact on helping those who are at unhealthy weights and not create problems for those who aren’t, even when it’s larger than the societal ideal.
Hey, maybe Mo”Nique has the best “skinny” book of all: “Skinny Women Are Evil, Notes of a Big Girl in a Small-Minded World.”
What do you think?
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