Jan 1
We are barely into the New Year, and already I’ve heard people talking about cleanses and detoxes and other extreme eating regimes they are planning for January or February, so I’m just going to come right out and say this: Read more
Sep 13
Beluga . . . Parisian nibble . . . Kashmir . . . Roman Holiday . . . unctuously delicious . . . moistest chocolate cake . . . I’m guessing these words and phrases don’t automatically conjure up lentils for you. But that is all about to change.
We are going to banish the wet-wooley-hiking socks reputation that has dogged the lovely lentil and rehabilitate the image of this nutritious gift from the garden. Long the victims of sludgey brown casseroles, lentils have been relegated to the slag heap of cuisine for decades. Sure, the occasional chef has tossed them into his confit of duck, but for the home cook, lentils have suffered from the curse of miserly good-for-you-ness. But no more. Today’s post begins the renaissance of the perfect pulse.
To start with we are going to ignore the lentil’s goody-goody two shoes rep, so I want you to pay no attention to the fact that lentils are Read more
Aug 11
I’m announcing a fun, new family game, but first I want to tell you a story, so settle yourself down for a second.
Once upon a time, there was a young Yale student who had been given one of the best educations available in the western world. As he was about to head off to live on his own, this strapping young athlete stood chatting with his mother in the family kitchen. He turned to her and, pointing to the can of tunafish in his hand, said, “So how long do I need to cook this before it’s done?” This is a true story, and a worrying one. I hear stories like this all the time: last week the mother of a college-age daughter relayed that her daughter had called to ask how to turn the pancake batter in the fridge into pancakes. Another well-educated young woman thought that mashed potatoes came from a box.
We are raising an amazing generation of young people. They can find anything on the Internet, compete in triathalons, design websites, create apps, compose sophisticated dance music, speak multiple languages, start non-profits, ace their ACT’s and build houses in Haiti. What many of them haven’t yet learned is how to perform one of the tasks most essential to human survival — make themselves a meal that will nourish their body, mind and spirit.
People who cook their own food are living healthier, happier lives. Earlier this year, food journalist Michael Pollan told The New York Times, “We need public health ad campaigns promoting home cooking as the single best thing you can do for your family’s health and well-being.”
The problem is that learning to cook, like learning your multiplication tables, learning to play lacrosse or learning to swim, takes coaching, practice and patience. It can also make a big mess. But it is worth it! It is time to bring the children into the kitchen.
To that end, Good Food Naturally is sponsoring the first annual
Summer Family Cooking Games
Here are the ground rules: Read more
Jun 29
Increasingly, I hear conversations that go something like this:
Fred: I don’t eat carbs any more — they make me feel so bloated.
Ginger: I know! I have a kale smoothie every morning; it’s so much better than all those carbs.
Fred: Oh, that sounds good. I had this great kale salad for lunch yesterday — I feel so much better when I don’t have carbs at lunch.
Just so we’re all clear on this . . . KALE IS A CARBOHYDRATE! There are three categories of macronutrients that we humans consume: protein, fats and carbohydrates. Most food has a complement of these nutrients, as well as water, fiber and splatterings of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals and such). Kale is no exception — there are small amounts of protein and some trace fatty acids in kale, plus vitamins and minerals, but it is primarily a carbohydrate. In fact, most fruits and vegetables are primarily carbohydrates. If you are eating lettuce and radishes, you are eating carbs. If you are eating blueberries and Brussels sprouts (not together, I hope), you are eating carbohydrates. Swiss chard, collards and spinach? All carbs. Have I made my point? I hope so, and I hope that you will continue to eat a range of these wonderfully healthy plant-based foods. Read more
Mar 8
Sometimes you just need a friendly nudge to come up with new idea for supper. Last night, with two teenage boys in the house, both in training for crew, I was looking for something tasty and filling. A dear friend had recently reminded me of a lovely, Indian-inspired, chicken kebab dish that we had created during a Good Food Naturally cooking workshop. That, and a fun spin on Read more
Feb 18
Hold onto your hats everyone, I am going to come right out and say I disagree with T.S. Eliot …. April is not the cruelest month; that honor goes to February. Think of it; the dark darkness of deep December (which at least had some festivities to keep you going) is past, Read more
Jan 26
Image by Jana Bouc
Time to put on your beret and your best gallic pout. Okay, ready? Let’s talk about breakfast, or le petit dejéuner as the French call it, literally translated as the little lunch. Thinking of the first meal of the day as my little lunch changes the menu completely. All at once a new array of savory offerings are on the table. Gone are all those swoggy Read more
Jun 11
I was shocked, shocked recently to hear a friend say that she never buys parsley — “Why bother,it’s just for garnish.” Quel blasphème! She might as well have told me that you don’t need a little black dress in your closet. Without parsley, my fridge feels positively naked. Parsley is much, much more than a garnish. It is rich in Vitamins A, K*and C, as well as a good source of iron and folic acid. In fact, a cup of parsley has more iron than a cup of Read more
Mar 6
Image by Leslie Kuenne
The grumpy adolescent boy looked at the kale and quinoa on his plate and then stared me down with indignant brown eyes. Mum, you’re going to have to choose between your cute little vegetables and me. I’m a growing teenage boy and I NEED MEAT.
My own offspring was reading me the Riot Act. Never mind that I had been preaching the gospel of less meat, more lentils, less meat, more greens, less meat, more carrots, kohlrabi and cabbage. Possibly because of all my preaching (he is a teenager after all) this progeny was begging for a steak, a hamburger, meatballs, OMG, Mum, SOMETHING with meat in it! Since this is a kid who will happily munch on fennel, endive and sushi, I figured he wasn’t being finicky. I put it down to a growth spurt and gave him some beef. Read more
Jan 4
We always have almonds in the house, and lately I’ve begun stocking raw almond butter — like peanut butter but better!
A handful of almonds is a great snack, filled with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats as well as Vitamin E, magnesium and Read more
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