Did you know that two-thirds of people diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease are women? And that we don’t know why? Maria Shriver founded The Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement™, a global alliance, to help find out. This month I participated in her annual Move for Minds event, a day focused on the mind/body connection and raising funds to wipe out Alzheimer’s. As Maria says, “Women are at the epicenter of the Alzheimer’s crisis. That’s why we must be at the heart of the solution.”
 

I'm delighted to share this delicious post from our archives — one of my all-time favorites, as you will imagine since I am a self-proclaimed spud slut! There! I said it. No truer words. And I may be a bit counter-culture by championing potatoes, but hear me out, and learn that yes! Potatoes can be a marvelous, and especially delectable, part of a healthy diet.

Did you know that potatoes are a dream food?

They are soul-satisfying, comforting, scintillatingly delicious, and full of extraordinarily healthful properties. So why do people dis them? What’s not to like? 

It’s no secret that I am an avid cookbook collector, and that I am deeply beholden to the exceptional cooks that have gone before me. Back in the day before food television was busy creating celebrity chefs, there were a group of amazing women cookbook authors, scholarly ambassadors, who brought food from afar to our shores. Julia Child introduced us to French cuisine, Alice Waters brought us fresh, farm-to-table cooking, and Paula Wolfert shared Mediterranean cuisine.

When I say “carbohydrates,” do you picture bread, bagels, pasta and pastries? Well, yes. But that’s not the WHOLE picture. See the gorgeous plant foods above? These have carbohydrates in them, too, what are called COMPLEX carbohydrates. I want to be clear as a bell that the effects of simple vs. complex carbohydrates on the body are totally different.

Do you struggle with cooking for one? This was BY FAR the number 1 topic request resulting from my recent reader’s survey. Strategies. Practicalities. How to overcome fatigue and inertia to cook just for yourself, when it’s all too easy to stop for take out on the way home. Are  you looking for a way to get in a solo healthy cooking groove?

I’m hearing this refrain a lot among friends lately: I’m soooo tired! Is it life? Politics? Work or family stress? Are we doing too much, trying to absorb too much information, sitting too much, and moving too little? Whatever IT is, I have some terrific food news for you that you can employ to improve that feeling of fatigue.
 

Feeling a little… stressed these days? The good news is that to a large degree we have the means at hand to soothe stress. You probably know about stress reduction through exercise and mind-body work such as yoga and/or meditation — but did you know that food can help? 

It’s amazing to me how we can get so hoodwinked every year into thinking that there’s some new-fangled magic bullet outside of ourselves that we need to try; that we’re going to shed unwanted pounds, get our health back on track, and go to the gym in the middle of the winter (good luck with that). Instead, I think we need to reset a little bit of our thought process around food, and think about the season that we’re in.

My dear friend and collaborator, who’s always been my mini-shaman, who tends to sprinkle that something something just when I need to hear it, did it again the other day.

I was starting to panic, a little. It was one of those days when I caught myself reaching too far, thinking that I can do everything at any time at the speed of light, like I’m not even human!

After listening to my verbal panic attack, my shaman friend said, “You can begin again at any moment. When you eat a healthier meal, you’re healthier. When you nurture yourself, you’re healthier. Care for yourself in this moment. Be healthier now.”

Ahhhh! That hit the spot.

After several years researching, writing and perfecting recipes for The Longevity Kitchen: Satisfying, Big-Flavor Recipes Featuring the Top 16 Age-Busting Power Foods, did I ever develop even MORE love and respect for sweet potatoes! 

Today is the first day of Autumn, officially the Autumnal Equinox. However, we’re not really into fall yet; we’re in transition time, which is the perfect time to prepare!

Just as asparagus means spring, basil means summer to me.  I first met basil when pesto sprang onto the food scene as the absolute latest in pasta sauces — an indulgence even I could afford on my working girl’s salary in NYC. And pesto was not only budget-friendly, but easy to make in quantity and freeze to suit my busy lifestyle. 

I’m here with a hearty shout-out to Dr. Drew Ramsey’s new book, Eat Complete: The 21 Nutrients That Fuel Brainpower, Boost Weight Loss and Transform Your Health. In my opinion, this is a MUST have: a whole foods prescription, written by a leading brain expert, farmer, cook, and founder of National Kale Day! And the book is beautiful.

I often get asked about coffee. Is it good for you? Or is it not? The answer: everybody has a different caffeine threshold. I’m saying, if you’re sensitive to caffeine and you get heart palpitations or jittery when you drink coffee, this is NOT your food!

In case you don’t already know: protein is beyond a doubt one of our body’s essential components, and one we need to replenish on a DAILY basis. When it comes to protein, quantity, variety, and quality all matter. And eating the types and amount of protein that are JUST right for you and your needs is key to great health in SO many ways.

You know that I’m passionate about food and plants. But you may not know that I’m really passionate about mint! This little uber-aromatic plant that grows wild, that ANYBODY can grow, that you may not pay much attention to (except in your toothpaste) is possibly my ULTIMATE favorite.  

To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary last month, Gregg and I headed off to Greece, to spend time mostly on the island of Crete. I was looking forward to the luxury of relaxed time together and of course, the Mediterranean diet! While you may know intellectually that the Mediterranean diet emphasizes fruits and vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts and olive oil, it’s another thing altogether to be IN a culture that actually lives it.

Oh, my gosh! Doing a top rated nationally syndicated television show proved to be… fun!

You never know when you go on live TV exactly what you’re going to get. You’ve got a (very tight!) script; but you don’t know the mood the hosts are going to be in… what the audience is going to be like… how much of your material is going to get in.

What are blood sugar regulators? The answer to this first question is pretty straightforward: fat and fiber. Some of the foods you’ll especially want to consider are avocados, almonds, walnuts, flaxseed, chia seeds, sesame seeds, legumes, edamame, cinnamon, peas, and quinoa, along with all of the dark leafy greens. (Dark leafy greens nearly always make an appearance on healthy food lists, don’t they?)

A reader recently asked: what does your plate look like? Great question, and one I can answer in a word — veg-centric.