Category Archives: Sound Nutrition

Get a New Grain: Millet

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I love millet, so it throws me when, more than with any other grain it seems, people scrunch up their noses when I mention it. In an effort to remedy this, I’m going to wax on a bit about why I adore it. First off, it’s a quick-cooking grain; on your plate in just 20 minutes. Second, it’s like vanilla ice cream: good on its own, yet still a blank canvas for whatever you want to make it. Third, its texture is lovely—and versatile; you can make it fluffy like a pilaf, or sticky like sticky rice. And last but not least, it’s incredibly nutritious, packing a good dose of protein and vitamin B along with minerals like iron and manganese.

Those four reasons should be enough to inspire you to read further. After you do, let me know what you love about millet!

millet-whole-grain

What it Looks Like: Millet looks like butter-colored—the really intensely yellow of French butter–beads.

What it Tastes Like: Taste-wise, I find millet to be about the same “neutral but with a pleasing flavor’”as a basic brown rice. Texture-wise, as I mentioned above, millet can vary from fluffy and almost poppy (as in it sort of bursts to the bite) to somewhat dense and sticky.

How to Cook it: As with many grains, millet takes on a deeper flavor and retains its integrity better if you toast it in a bit of fat in the pot before boiling (skip this step, though, if you want to the millet to be sticky). Then add 2-1/2 cups liquid (with millet, I like to use some sort of flavorful broth) to 1 cup millet. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Finish by letting the millet stand, covered, for 5 minutes and fluffing before serving.

How to Use it: I like to use millet as a stand-in for rice in baked one-pot dishes, like the Cuban-Style Millet con Pollo below. Sticky millet makes a fun crust for savory pies and casseroles.

Additional Notes: Like many whole grains, millet can go rancid quickly in the cupboard. It’s best to buy it in smaller quantities (from the bulk bin is fine … although sniff it to make sure it doesn’t smell bitter) and keep it in the freezer. Another big note—millet is gluten free.

Nourishing Issues 2011: Will Nutrition Get Real?

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This is part 3 in our Nourishing Issues 2011 series, in which we’re spotlighting a few key topics: food safety, local food and nutrition. The list could be much longer, of course, but these are three biggies that we’re sure to revisit throughout the year.

Hmmm. I’d hoped to have some actual news to report in this post, since the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans were due to be released, well, last year. These guidelines, issued jointly by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the department of Health and Human Services, are updated every five years. They’re a big deal, because they influence public health policy, including programs like school lunches. The finalized 2010 guidelines may be released by the end of this month. Or maybe not.

As we reported last fall, the USDA and HHS are evaluating the recommendations made by the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC) of experts and based on all the latest nutrition research. As we noted then, many of the recommendations were in line with NOURISH Evolution’s core values of sound nutrition, eco-clean food, mindful meals and cooking skills. As for the finalized guidelines, here’s what we anticipate the guidelines will include, based on the committee’s recommendations:

Predicted guideline: Eat more fruits and vegetables.

Our take: Duh, this has been part of every version of the dietary guidelines since they were first published in 1980. Trouble is, government recommendations do little to encourage Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables–consumption rates have been flat since 1999.

But we don’t expect the finalized guidelines to go along with the advisory committee’s call for a shift shift toward a more plant-based diet with only moderate amounts of lean meats, poultry and eggs. That’s excellent advice, but it’s hard to imagine the USDA will overlook influence from the powerful beef, poultry and egg lobbies, which will want to keep their foods on the American plate.

Predicted guideline: Reduce the recommended intake of sodium to 1,500 milligrams per day (that’s a little over 5/8 teaspoon of salt) for the general population, down from 2,300 milligrams (about 1 teaspoon) in the 2005 Dietary Guidelines.

Our take: Because the evidence is so strong, we think the final guidelines will lower the recommended daily allotment of sodium.

Predicted guideline: Americans need to get off the SoFAS (solid fats and added sugars, that is).

Our take: We think the final guidelines will urge Americans to minimize their consumption of solid fats (butter, cheese, fatty cuts of meat and the like) and added sugars, both of which comprise more than a third of the American diet and contribute to our ballooning obesity rates.

But here again, the USDA will continue to deliver a conflicting message–on the one hand, urging moderation and a healthy diet while on the other working with the industry to create programs that promote consumption of the very foods contributing to our nation’s health problems. Cheese, anyone?

Will we be right? We’ll revisit this when the 2010 guidelines are–finally–released. At the very least, we’re hoping the new guidelines also come with a fresh new graphic. The 2005 guidelines came with a confusing color-coded pyramid that no one liked.

Also in this series:
What Will It Take to Make Our Food Safe?
The Evolution of Local

Cooking for a Cold

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Yea, yea, yea, we all know that chicken soup is the standard go-to when cold season hits. And, sure enough, chicken soup has been clinically shown to ease cold suffering; a particular amino acid in the steam helps clear out nasal passages, and the broth reduces inflammation. But I’m wondering if we can up the ante.

I’ll admit right up front, this post is partially driven by my enduring love for brothy Asian soups. But it also came about because I had some lingering memories of research showing that various spices and aromatics were good germ-fighters too. So, when my husband went down for the count with a nasty cold, I thought it a good time to dig up those findings and concoct a Super Soup. Here’s what I found:

  • Garlic — Don’t you love finding out your favorite ingredients work overtime to keep you healthy? That is certainly the case with garlic. Garlic’s high sulfur content (which makes it so lovely and stinky) is a natural purifier that ushers toxins out of the system and boosts immunity. But it’s also a powerful antibiotic. Some Petri dish studies even show it performing as well as, or in the case of antibiotic-resistant bacteria … better than, prescription antibiotics like penicillin and tetracycline.
  • Ginger — Ginger is a soothing, warming spice that stimulates blood flow (ever notice how you sweat when drinking ginger tea?) and calms the tummy. The compounds in ginger are both anti bacterial and anti inflammatory. They’re so powerful, in fact, that they’re being studied as a preventative to food poisoning.
  • Cinnamon — Cinnamon is another wonder spice. Its antimicrobial and antifungal properties are so effective that the food industry is playing with what they call “active packaging”; adding cinnamaldehyde, one of the active compounds in cinnamon, to food packaging in order to prevent contamination.
  • Cloves — Cloves are helpful with colds for a few reasons; one being the fact that they’re a natural anesthetic (if you’ve ever had a tooth ache and used clove oil, you’ll know what I’m talking about). They also have strong antimicrobial properties. Studies innoculating fresh salmon with lysteria have proven that cloves (in this case, clove oil) inhibit growth of the pathogen.
  • Star Anise — Traditionally, star anise has been used to treat stomach pain. New evidence, however, shows that it too is a strong, natural antibiotic.
  • Chiles — Chiles stimulate the body and cleanse the blood. They’re also high in vitamins C and A … two strong antioxidants essential to fighting off colds.

I don’t know about you, but this list makes me hungry. Use it as a catalyst for your winter cooking. Add a few more cloves of garlic to a stir fry, for instance, or star anise, cloves and cinnamon to a stew. For many cultures, the healing qualities and unique flavor of these spices are inseparable; people inherently reach both for what tastes best and for what makes them feel best. Now you can too.

Fruit of the Day

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Here’s a healthy eating resolution that’s easy to do: Eat at least one piece of seasonal fruit a day. “I’m not much of a fruit person, so I tend to just skip over them,” Lia confesses. “But when I do finally bite into an apple or peel an orange, it makes me feel so grounded and good and vibrant.” I’m in the same boat. Fruit isn’t the first thing I reach for when I’m hungry, and I have to make a point of eating the stuff.

fruit of the day

Lia and I aren’t alone in this challenge. In September, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a state-by-state analysis of fruit (and vegetable) consumption among American adults. When it comes to fruit, the numbers are dismal: Overall, less than a third of grown-ups eat fruit at least twice a day. Among states, just 18% of Oklahomans eat fruit twice daily while Vermonters and New Yorkers are the most consistent fruit-eaters. But even that doesn’t guarantee adequate consumption. According to the market research firm NPD Group’s Nutrient Intake Database, just 8% of Americans–of all ages–eat their recommended daily intake of fruit.

That means however much fruit you’re eating now, you probably need to eat more. How much is enough? That depends on your age, gender and activity level, and the CDC’s Fruits & Veggies More Matters website has an online calculator. Turns out, I should be nibbling at least 1-1/2 cups of fruit a day (along with 2-1/2 cups of veggies). That’s a modest goal, really, when you consider that a small apple or medium pear counts as 1 cup.

Here are four simple strategies for getting more fruit into your day:

Eat in season. Fruit that’s in season tastes vibrant–and it’s affordable, too, because it’s so abundant. Eating seasonally also helps expand your fruit vocabulary. These days I’m gobbling satsuma tangerines by the flat, but I can also sample other super-seasonal citrus, like the exotic Buddha’s hand. Not sure what to with an unfamiliar fruit? Ask the farmer at the farmers’ market or the produce manager at the store for ideas. Also experiment using seasonal fruits in your favorite recipes–it’s easy to swap fruits and the flavor will be even better. The Cook’s Thesaurus is a helpful resource to research how to use different ingredients.

Keep it sweet. Put fruit front and center in desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth and boost your nutritional profile. This time of year, try Pumpkin Oat Bread with Golden Raisins and Walnuts (yes, pumpkin counts as a fruit) or substitute sliced seasonal kiwi for the strawberries in Lia’s Strawberry Cheesecake Tartlets.

Make it savory. Fruit can lend wonderful nuanced flavor to savory fare, as I was reminded when I dined recently at Ludo Bites, Chef Ludo Lefebvre’s wildly popular Los Angeles pop-up restaurant. My favorite dish was his mussels and pineapple in veloute sauce–the sweetness of the fruit added a subtle, bright note to balance the richness of the dish. Try this sweet-savory strategy in our Fennel and Granny Smith Salad with Blue Cheese or Fennel, Red Onion and Blood Orange Salad with Miso-Orange Vinaigrette. You can use different fruits in spicy salsa (swap pineapple for peach in our Fiery Sweet Peach Salsa) or in a sauce (like our Star Anise and Brown Sugar Pear Butter, below) to pair with roasted pork or chicken.

Discover the range of flavors and textures. Many of us associate fruit with sweetness, but that isn’t always the case. Consider the avocado. It’s a fruit that boasts creamy texture and mellow vegetal flavor. So if you fix a bowl of Guatemalan Guacamole, you’ll enjoy a bonus serving of fruit.

 

20-Minute Whole Grains

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I talk a lot about whole grains. And when I do, people often scrunch up their noses and ask, “But don’t whole grains take a lot of time to cook?” The answer is: yes … some do. But others like quinoa, bulgur, rolled oats– even popcorn–take about the same time to cook as white rice. Here are five whole grains you can have on the table in 20 minutes or less.

20-minut-whole-grainsBulgur — Bulgur is made from wheat berries that have been steamed, dried and crushed to result in rough little nuggets that look a lot like steel-cut oats. Bulgur is one of my favorite whole grains, for its fluffy-yet-chewy texture, its versatility and its convenience. Fine- or medium-grind bulgur (it ranges from fine to coarse) cooks in just 10 minutes and makes a great addition to breakfast, salads, main courses … even dessert.

Quinoa – Quinoa is considered a super grain in that it contains all the amino acids necessary to build protein (which is why it’s called a complete protein). Outside of the animal world, that’s an anomaly. Raw quinoa looks like beautiful little beads. But they puff up considerably when cooked (about 15 minutes), into a texture a bit like fluffy oatmeal. I like to have a batch of quinoa on hand in the fridge for mixing into salads, shaping into skillet cakes, or even folding into eggs (Noe loves them that way).

Rolled Oats – Rolled oats (sometimes called “old-fashioned” rolled oats) have all the same nutritional benefits as their more toothsome cousins, steel-cut oats; they’ve just been steamed and rolled flat. Depending on the size, rolled oats will cook in 5 to 15 minutes and can be used interchangeably (adjusting cooking time) with steel-cut oats. They’re also terrific in homemade granola, cookies and breads.

Whole Grain Pastas – Aha! I’ll bet you didn’t expect to see pasta here. But whole grain pastas—whether made from whole wheat, brown rice, or a combination of grains and legumes—have all the nutritional benefits of a whole grain, and they cook as quickly as “white” pasta. Our Brussels Sprouts Carbonara with Whole Wheat Fusilli transformed Alison’s opinion of whole wheat pasta; now it’s a weekly go-to favorite in her household.

Popcorn – Don’t discount popcorn as a whole grain! But do stay away from the microwave variety (or the pre-popped kind already in bags); they tend to be loaded with artificial ingredients and high in sodium. The old-fashioned way of popping popcorn is decidedly easy, though, and takes just under 10 minutes. Heat a tablespoon of canola oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat and add ¼ cup popcorn kernels. Swirl around to coat and then put the lid on the pot. In a few minutes you’ll start hearing the ping of the pops. Give the pot a few good shakes (hold the lid so it doesn’t slip off) and take it off the heat when the popping stops. Then top it with whatever you choose (Alison and I discovered we both love truffle oil and sea salt) for a snack, or turn it into a fun dessert.

There you are; five whole grains that cook fast enough you can build them into a weeknight. See … no need to let time keep you from trying whole grains.

5 Recipes to Try:

Brussels Sprouts Carbonara with Whole Wheat Fusilli

Maple Caramel Popcorn

Dark Molasses Cranberry Granola

Lamb Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Dates and Bulgur

Curry Quinoa Cakes

Butternut and Beyond: A Winter Squash Primer

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I’ve talked to a lot of people lately who are intimidated by winter squash. The first barrier they site is the impenetrable shell of skin: Whereas summer squash can be eaten skin, seed and all, only the flesh is edible on winter squash. The second is the daunting variety. Which are edible, what do they taste like, what can you substitute and how do you cook them?

We’ve got answers here in our winter squash guide … to butternut and beyond.

butternut-winter-squash

Choosing a squash: In general, you want a squash that is firm and heavy for its size. If you feel any soft spots or mold, take a pass.

What’s inside? Winter squash are nutritional powerhouses loaded with beta carotene, potassium, folate, lutein and fiber, with very few calories. Their flesh is both filling and satisfying enough to make a meal in and of itself.

Varieties

Butternut
Butternut squash is a lovely buff-colored squash that’s shaped like an oblong gourd with a bubble at one end. Of all the winter squash, Butternut has some of the softest skin (along with Delicata and Acorn); you can easily peel it off with a Y-peeler. Its flesh ranges from pale Dreamsicle to deep orange and is creamy and nutty when cooked. And there’s a good amount of it; the entire neck is seedless.

How to use it: Butternut is a super-flexible squash and my favorite for cubing and roasting. Halve, seed, brush with oil and roast flesh side down at 400 for 50-60 minutes; or peel, cube, toss with olive oil and seasonings and roast at 450 for 40-50 minutes, turning occasionally. Use roasted squash in risotto, soup or as a spread for sandwiches or pizza.

Substitute: acorn or Buttercup.

Acorn
It used to be acorn squash were dark green with an occasional orange mottle, but nowadays this squash comes in all sorts of colors and patterns, like the spotted Carnival variety above. Although acorn’s skin is even thinner than butternut, its deep grooves make it more difficult to peel. Its flesh is sweet, but stringier than the rest.

How to use it: I like to cut this squash into wide slices or wedges and roast them with a sticky-sweet glaze. Halve, seed and brush with oil. Then slice or roast halves at 425 for 20-40 minutes.

Substitute: butternut or delicata.

Kabocha
Most kabocha squash are somewhat squat, with lumpy, shiny, dark green skin. Although I’ve also been finding kabochas with pale blue skin (above) which look a bit like miniature Hubbards. Regardless of the external color, the flesh of a kabocha is deep reddish-orange and dense in both texture and flavor when cooked.

How to use it: Kabocha makes a wonderful roasting squash and I find it melds well with Eastern-leaning flavors. Halve, seed, brush with oil and roast flesh down at 400 for 60-75 minutes. Scrape out flesh and use in soups, pasta or a mash. Or seed, stuff and roast whole.

Substitute: Buttercup.

Sweet Dumpling
Shaped like a miniature pumpkin with pale yellow, green-striped skin, Sweet Dumplings have deep orange flesh that’s mild, dry and sweet—almost like a sweet potato.

How to use it: The main draw of Sweet Dumplings is that they’re so darned cute. Stuff and roast them whole or ladle in soup for serving. Seed and roast at 400 F for 50-60 minutes.

Substitute: kabocha or buttercup.

Delicata
Delicata are beautiful oblong squash with gently-ridged, butter-colored skin and dark green stripes. It’s the most perishable squash of the bunch because its skin is so thin (so thin, in fact, it’s edible). The flesh is light, sweet and kind of cakey-moist in a good way.

How to use it: Halve and seed the squash, brush with oil, cut into slices and roast at 400 F for 20-30 minutes.

Substitute: acorn squash.

Buttercup
Similar in appearance to a kabocha squash, but with slightly smoother, lighter green skin that grows a “turban” as it ages. Buttercup’s flesh is bright orange, smooth and creamy with voluptuous flavor and hazelnut overtones when cooked.

How to use it: Halve, seed, brush with oil and roast flesh down at 400 F for 60-75 minutes. Scrape out flesh and use in soups, pasta or a mash. Or seed, stuff and roast whole.

Substitute: butternut or kabocha.

10 Ways to Make Fresh, Healthy Food Fast

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It’s all fine and dandy to talk about eating fresh, healthy food, but when it’s 5:30 and you’re faced with the dilemma of what to put on the table, good intentions can often be nudged out by convenience. Which is why it’s important to stack the deck in favor of fresh, healthy food. Here are 10 easy meal-planning suggestions to help make fresh as feasible an option as fast food.

make-fresh-healthy-food-fast

  1. Zip some greens – There’s no doubt, a bunch of greens busting out of the crisper can be daunting at the end of the day. But five minutes when you’re not rushed can mean having ready-to-use greens on hand. Zip the leaves off kale or chard (Noemi loves helping with this), roughly chop and give them a rinse in a big bowl of water. Then store them in a produce or plastic bag until you’re ready to use.
  2. Have stock on hand – Chicken, mushroom or vegetable stock are incredibly versatile ingredients to have on hand (or in the freezer). Make an impromptu soup, or use a few tablespoons to make a quick pan sauce.
  3. Have a well-stocked pantry – A well-stocked pantry can mean the difference between a healthy meal and heading out for a McDonald’s Happy Meal. Canned tomatoes and beans, an assortment of oils and vinegars, and a variety of grains and pulses are the mix and match essentials of quick, nourishing meals.
  4. Keep a stash of homemade frozen go-to’s in the freezer – Think of the freezer as an extended pantry; between the two, you can often pull together a complete meal. I like to have a batch of Super Succulent Five-Spice Pork Shoulder and Revelationary Duck Confit in the freezer, along with a winter supply of No Work Slow Roasted Tomatoes from the summer. Shrimp and scallops are also great to keep stocked in the freezer for quick stir-fries or to add to soups. And, while it requires a bit of planning ahead for defrosting, we’ve been getting most of our meat from a local CSA and keeping it in the freezer, so we’ll have anything from ground beef to goat.
  5. Make a batch of beans or lentils – These can be in the fridge for the week or frozen for later. I love to have cooked garbanzo beans (which are easy to do, and taste better than the canned version) in the freezer, along with a batch or two of lentils, which are fantastic as an instant side dish or for adding heft to a salad.
  6. Cut up some cauliflower … or squash … or green beans – I eat so many more vegetables when I have a bag or container prepped in the fridge. It, literally, becomes fast food to sauté cauliflower for tossing with pasta, or roasting squash to serve with lentils, or smash onto a sandwich, or squash in a quesadilla.
  7. Make a simple plan – A few minutes of meal planning at the beginning of the week can actually save you major time throughout the week. I like to sketch out a rough schedule on Sunday for meals through Friday. True, I’ll veer from the plan quite a bit, but the exercise lets me see where there are opportunities to double up a recipe, where I can get creative with leftovers, and roughly what I’ll need for the week.
  8. Roast some veggies – Roasted vegetables, in any season, are a boon to have in the fridge. In winter, I’ll use leftover root veggies as a spread for open-faced sandwiches, or in a soup or risotto. In summer, I’ll toss roasted tomatoes and eggplant with pasta (hot or cold) or into a frittata, or just serve them at room temp as an appetizer.
  9. Cook up a batch of whole grains — There’s a whole world to explore when it comes to whole grains, but it helps to have some pre-cooked and on-hand in the fridge (or freezer … cooked grains freeze extremely well). Some, like quinoa and bulgur, cook up super-quick. Others, like wheat berries and farro, take a bit longer. Scoop a cup of almost any whole grain into a green salad to make it a main meal.
  10. Dice an onion — Once you learn how to dice an onion (see a Kitchen Tips video here), it doesn’t take but a few seconds. Dicing one or two ahead of time to keep on hand in the fridge makes things even easier … and might just tip the scales when it’s “should I cook or call for takeout?”

Don’t feel like you have to do all 10 of these at once — jeez, talk about daunting. Instead, look for little nuggets of time when you’re not rushed, and view them as opportunities to do one thing to help set yourself up for happy, healthy meals.

Root Vegetable Roundup

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Last winter, I was at a brand new organic market in Denver, CO, stocking up to cook dinner for my friends. I had a nice local pork roast in my cart when I stumbled on their lovely bulk spices. So I sniffed and scooped and soon had the makings of a Spiced Pork Roast that, in my mind, was already sitting beside a caramely, burnished roasted root vegetable medley. So into the cart went a turnip, a couple of parsnips, a rutabaga and a knobby celery root.

I thought nothing of those humble root vegetables, other than how scrumptious they’d be with the pork, yet when I lifted them onto the checkout belt everyone in line–including the checker–looked at me as if I were holding a baby wallaby.

root-vegetable-roundup“Wow, you’re making some kind of fancy dinner, eh?” the checkout woman said.

I was stumped. “You mean these?” I pointed to my cart. “These are just root vegetables.”

“Well I’ve never seen them before,” she countered, and was seconded (and thirded and fourthed) by others in line. So I gave them a quick run down on root veggies (and a NOURISH Evolution card … hee hee) and they promised to venture beyond potatoes on their next visit to the market.

The irony is, root vegetables are about the most common, hardy vegetable group out there. Yet they are nutritional powerhouses, mighty tasty and refreshingly inexpensive.

So if you were in line behind me in Denver last year, or if you’re just curious about root vegetables, this roundup is for you:

  • Parsnips — Parsnips look like a pale, creamy carrot that’s a bit stouter at the shoulders and more tapered at the tip. They’re earthy-sweet and nearly as starchy as potatoes, and are a great source of vitamins C, K and folate, and the mineral manganese. Choose smaller ones (large parsnips can be quite woody inside), then peel and cube for a roast, mash, puree or fries.
  • Carrots — Carrots are ubiquitous on grocery store shelves, yet in nature they come in a variety of sizes, colors and flavors. All carrots, though, are packed with vitamin A from beta carotene. Carrots excel both raw (they’re delicious grated into a salad), roasted or in soup. The fresher the carrots, the sweeter and juicier they’ll be.
  • Turnips — Turnips may sound frumpy, but, when young, they’re tender and sweet. Look for small ones with firm, pearly white skin and try them in our White Bean and Kale Ragout with Turnips and Sausage. Swap out the kale for the turnip greens for a bit more zip (they’ve got a nose-tingling, mustardy flavor), and a big boost of vitamins A and K to turnip root’s C.
  • Rutabagas — Rutabagas are similar to turnips (they’re actually a cross between cabbage and turnip), but have more of a yellowish hue and a violet rim, whereas turnips are white with a scarlet nape. Rutabagas are more fibrous than turnips and slightly sweeter and, like turnips, are a great source of vitamin C. Choose firm ones no bigger than a softball for roasts and mashes.
  • Beets — Beets are beautiful. They range in hue from the aptly named Bull’s Blood to golden to the candy-striped chiogga and in flavor from earthy to downright sweet. Beets are higher in both fiber and sugar than other root vegetables, and are a decent source of folate, potassium and manganese. Peel beets to use them raw in salads or cubed in a roast. Or boil or roast them skin-on and remove skins after cooking.
  • Sweet Potatoes — Sweet potatoes are sweet and creamy and complex and versatile, and are busting at the seams with vitamin A. I often use them as a stand-in for squash or pumpkin when I’m not up for peeling and seeding. They’re terrific in a roast, as fries, as a puree and even a pie.
  • Celery Root — Celery root, or celeraic, is omnipresent in France, where it shows up in salads and soups nearly everywhere. It’s a big, gnarly ball of a vegetable that’s a bit tough to peel. But once you do you’ll be rewarded with an earthy, almost herbal flavor that comes through whether raw, roasted, pureed or mashed.
  • Radishes — I think we take radishes for granted here in America. They’re like little gems, with a crisp, spicy bite that mellows under heat; I find them a refreshing cool-winter alternative to warm-weather cucumbers. Choose firm radishes with a healthy sheen and no cracks, and slice them into salads or on a sandwich, or venture into new territory and saute them in brown butter with mint.

Ask the Expert: What’s the Deal with Agave Nectar?

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We’re proud to introduce the first member of the NOURISH Evolution Advisory Board: Rebecca Katz, M.S. We profiled Rebecca as a Nourishing Hero, thanks to her smart, delicious approach to nutrition. She’s the author of The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery and One Bite at a Time: Nourishing Recipes for Cancer Survivors and Their Friends (both published by Celestial Arts).

I first heard about agave nectar about five years ago. It’s the the liquid sweetener made from the agave plant–the same plant that gives us that other sweet nectar: tequila. And what could be wrong with that? When agave nectar first emerged in the 1990s, it was heralded as a low-glycemic alternative to sugar. Since then, questions about agave’s nutritional credibility have cropped up, so I asked NOURISH Evolution adviser Rebecca Katz, M.S., to help clear up the confusion.

“I use it in the cookbook [The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen] extremely sparingly,” says Katz. “But I wrote the cookbook before a lot of the more controversial information about agave came out.”

Agave nectar is comprised mostly of fructose. That means it has a low glycemic index, which means it doesn’t raise blood glucose as dramatically as, say, table sugar. Sounds good, especially if you’re diabetic, right? It’s also thought to have potential anti-inflammatory properties.

Not quite, says Katz. “It is a sweetener, and like any sweetener, it will interfere with metabolism in some way and can leave you feeling hungry,” she says. “Don’t pick it up thinking it’s a ‘healthy’ magic bullet.” According to the Glycemic Research Institute, a testing lab in Washington, D.C., large amounts of agave nectar can cause metabolic reactions in diabetics who eat too much of the stuff. The American Diabetes Association considers it like any other sweetener–table sugar, maple syrup, molasses and the like.

As with any sweetener, you should use agave nectar sparingly. “You have to look at agave like you would look at honey, or sugar or any other sweetener,” says Katz. “Used in moderation, it’s fine.” Agave nectar is about 1.5 times sweeter than cane sugar, so you can use less.

But not all agave nectars are created equal. Some are as processed and refined as high fructose corn syrup. “Look at the label very carefully because some of the big commercial brands can be cut with other ingredients,” Katz warns. Your best bet: raw, organic, blue agave nectar.

From a culinary perspective, agave is nice to include among your repertoire of sweeteners. It also works well as an inert sugar instead of corn syrup in candy-making, as we’ve used it in this Salted Pistachio Brittle. It has a more neutral taste and thinner consistency than honey, so you can use it in place of simple syrup in cocktails.

“It would make a great mojito!” says Katz.

Nourishing Hero: Rebecca Katz

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This is the latest installment in our Nourishing Heroes series, in which we feature the individuals and organizations who inspire us with food that nourishes body, soul and planet. Do you know a Nourishing Hero we should feature on NOURISH Evolution? Let us know who inspires you!

When my mom was dying from lung cancer, I responded like anyone who has a loved one battling a major illness. I cooked whatever I thought might tempt her to eat–oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, homemade pizza, soups of all kinds and anything with her favorite ingredient: bacon. One of my last memories is of her propped up in bed happily tucking into a bacon-wrapped scallop.

Of course, we all need nourishment every day. It’s even more crucial, more elemental when we’re sick and need food to bolster our bodies, lift our spirits and soothe our souls. But that can be tricky when someone is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation for cancer treatment.

“It’s like demolishing the whole house to renovate the bathroom,” says Rebecca Katz, M.S., author of The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen: Nourishing, Big-Flavor Recipes for Cancer Treatment and Recovery (Celestial Arts). The treatment weakens patients and kills appetites at a time when they most need the healing power of food. That’s why, she says, 80% of cancer patients are malnourished.

“The biggest issues, by far, are nausea and taste changes–those are the two culprits that keep people from experiencing food,” she says. “If they disconnect from food, they’re disconnecting from life.”

Katz is the senior chef-in-residence and nutritional educator at Commonweal Cancer Help Program, which offers weeklong retreats for cancer patients at its oceanfront facility in Bolinas, Calif. She’s also the executive chef for the Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s Food as Medicine and CancerGuides® Professional Training Programs to train doctors and other health-care pros about nutrition.

Her journey learning about the healing power of food for cancer patients began when her father battled cancer. Although she’d trained as a chef at New York’s Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts, she says, “I didn’t have a clue how to cook for someone with cancer.” So she started doing some research, out of which came her first book, One Bite at Time: Nourishing Recipes for Cancer Survivors and Their Friends (Celestial Arts).

“That was the beginning of my exploration in this area,” she says. “The longer I was involved with it, the more studies that came out about how food can help us fight disease, particularly cancer.” She estimates that 5,000 new studies about the healing power of food were published between the time One Bite was first released in 2004 and when The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen was published last year.

She offers advice for what to eat before, during and after chemotherapy, as well as suggests specific recipes to counteract common side effects like anemia, nausea, fatigue and weight loss. Since cancer treatment often messes with a patient’s taste buds, she has tips for how to balance flavors accordingly. Everything tastes like cardboard? Add a dash of sea salt or a spritz of lemon juice–both enhance flavor and move it forward to the front of the mouth. Food tastes metallic? Balance it with maple syrup or agave nectar for sweetness or a touch of fat from nut butter.

Her “culinary pharmacy” is stocked with healthy, whole foods–all manner of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, organic poultry, sustainable fish, spices, oils and nuts. Although The Cancer-Fighting Kitchen focuses on the healing aspects of these foods–what Katz calls the “culinary Rx”–it’s anything but medicinal. Colorful, tantalizing recipes like Triple-Citrus Black Cod, Shredded Carrot and Beet Salad, and Emerald Greens with Orange leap off the page.

That’s the key, she explains. “The nutrition is great, but the taste is what’s really going to make the difference between whether someone is going to eat or not. Great taste and great nutrition have to sit together on the same side of the table.”

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