Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

Protect the environment and animals by reforming factory farms

Promote health by curbing junk food marketing to kids

Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

If you’re interested in furthering some or all of these causes, here are some ideas to get involved or learn more:

Join me at EAT NYC today, October 24, at 6:30pm: Columbia Grammar and Prepatory School (5 W. 93rd St)

• I’ll be partnered with G-free NYC, the city’s only gluten-free marketplace, at EAT NYC– a celebration of local, healthful and sustainable eating in New York City.  There will be food tastings from some of NYC’s best restaurants…streaming episodes of “LUNCH NYC,” a TV series highlighting health-conscious goings-on around town…NYC organizations working hard to improve food systems in the city… and of course, a chance to chat with me about what’s on your mind as we nibble on free gluten-free, healthy snacks generously provided by Beanitos, Zing Bars, Kookie Karma, Mini Pops, Skinny Crisps and Purely Elizabeth!

Take Action on an issue important to you by signing a petition!

• E-mail a letter to Congress demanding that they take measures to fix our broken food system in the upcoming Farm Bill!  Click here to sign a letter that will be sent to your state Senator and representative in the House!

• Sign a petition to support pending legislation in your state requiring Genetically Modified Food to be labeled.

• Californians: Call Governor Jerry Brown and ask him to reverse the state’s decision to allow the use of carcinogenic pesticide Methyl Iodide on Strawberries!  Use the talking points and phone number provided by the Pesticide Action Network of North America provided here.

Visit a local farmer’s market and buy some fresh-in season produce to cook a from-scratch meal tonight!

• Here in New York, the Union Square Farmer’s Market is open for business today (Monday) until 6:00pm, and the stands are piled high with crispy local apples, the season’s first cruciferous veggies, gorgeous squash of varying shapes and sizes, and all the leafy greens, herbs, fresh baked breads and humanely-raised meat, eggs and cheese you need to complement your meal.
• To find a Farmer’s Market near you, visit Local Harvest’s website and enter your zip code!

Read a great book to learn more about the issues above!  Some recent reads I recommend are include:

• The Town that Food Saved, by Ben Hewitt
• Eating Animals, by Jonathan Safran Foer
• The End of the Line, by Charles Clover
• Food, Inc, by Karl Weber, Ed.

Vote with your wallet!

• No message is clearer to food manufacturers than the one you send by choosing to buy–or stop buying– their products.
•  If you eat meat, choose as humanely-and sustainably raised meat as you can afford (and eat less of it).
• Put your order in now for a Heritage Breed Turkey for Thanksgiving to avoid having to buy a factory-farmed variety.  (Attention GILT members: whole Amish Heritage breed turkeys are 30% off now @ gilttaste.com !)
• Choose Pastured or Certified Humane Eggs (and learn more about de-coding egg label claims by reading this helpful guide)
• Choose sustainable varieties of fish as recommended by the Monterrey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch (you can download the app!)

Happy Eating!

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The legacy of “conventional wisdom” that advocates avoiding introducing peanuts to babies and children–even up to ages 1 through 3– continues to this day, despite the fact that the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has retracted previous endorsements of this practice due to lack of scientific evidence.  Indeed, evidence is trickling out to the contrary, suggesting that perhaps delaying introduction of peanuts beyond year one may unwittingly *increase* the risk of childhood peanut allergy.  More evidence is needed to clarify the relationship between timing of peanut introduction with risk of peanut allergy for certain, though.

And yet, among those families who choose to introduce peanuts in early childhood, the sticky issue (no pun intended) of how to do so technically remains.  Peanut butter is often considered a choking hazard for young children (though a supremely thin layer spread on an appropriate delivery mechanism can be safe for many babies in their final few month stretch toward turning one).  And peanuts themselves–whole or chopped–are also a choking hazard.

The buzz on the NYC mommy listservs is that pediatricians-in-the-know have a workaround for these issues that’s appropriate for babies ready for finger foods (~8-10 months, roughly): they’re recommending Bamba.

Bamba is a beloved Israeli snack food that’s essentially a puffed corn doodle lightly coated in peanutty powder (rather than, say, cheese powder as in a Cheez Doodle.)  Similar to ‘toddler puffs’ snacks marketed by a variety of companies, Bamba easily melts in the mouth, making it a safer delivery system for peanut protein than thick, sticky peanut butter itself.

And although it comes in a brightly-colored, crinkly bag, Bamba is surprisingly benign, nutritionally speaking.   It’s very low in sugar, relatively low in sodium (5% of the daily value) and is vitamin and iron-fortified, though I’d stop short of calling it a “healthy” food, per se.  Each 1 ounce serving has 160 calories, 4g of protein and 1g of sugar; it also has 4.5 mg of iron (25% of the daily value for adults, but 64% of the recommended intake for children aged 1-3 years and 45% of the recommended intake for kids aged 4-8).  The product is also Vitamin C fortified, which should help with the iron absorption.

Bamba is vegan, making it appropriate for kids/families who avoid dairy.  And Bamba is also gluten-free, in case any of you Celiac parents accidentally lick your fingers after serving Bamba to your little ones.

While some people are quick to point out that the incidence of peanut allergy in Israel is significantly lower than it is in the US– experts rightfully point out that the unscientific observation that Israeli babies and kids coincidentally also eat lots of  Bamba cannot be mistaken for proof that early introduction of peanut protein causes lower allergy risk.

Still, if you and your pediatrician agree that there’s no medical reason to delay peanut introduction in your young child but are concerned that your little one can’t handle the texture of peanut butter yet, Bamba may be a good solution for you.  I think we’ll probably try it out in our house as soon as Max & Stella master the pincer grasp in another month or so, though I view it as a stopgap measure until they’re ready for real peanut butter rather than a staple snack for the long haul.

Unless you live in a community with a large Israeli population, your best bet to finding Bamba would be to order it online.  Amazon sells large-sized bags of it by the case (go in with a few other families in your area; no one family needs 84 ounces of snack food laying around in the pantry just for the sake of introducing junior to peanut protein!)

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I decided on a black quinoa-stuffed acorn squash, both because the colors were right and because they are incredibly nutritious and delicious foods in their own right.  (Subliminally, the fact that acorn squashes kind of look like mini pumpkins may have played a role, too.)  Since I’m also on the hook to come up with a vegetarian entree option for our family’s Thanksgiving meal this year, I figured that developing this dish would give me a good practice run for the big day next month.  It was the Thanksgiving angle that inspired the flavor profile of the quinoa stuffing, in fact.  Why not stud it with Thanksgiving-stuffing-ish ingredients like savory sauteed onions, chestnuts, mushrooms, and sage to offset the sweetness of the squash?  And why not top it with a garnish of roasted squash seeds while I was at it?

It was all sounding so delicious that for a moment I almost believed squash and quinoa could be the next classic Halloween combo–right up there with chocolate and peanut butter.  (Alas, my husband assured me that it could not be, but conceded that it was damn delicious nonethless.)

Recipe: Black Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Serves 6

3 acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise, seeds and stringy membranes scooped out and set aside.

Olive oil

1 cup black quinoa, rinsed well

1 cup diced onion

1 tsp minced garlic

2 cups diced mushrooms

1 cup diced peeled chestnuts (from a jar; equivalent of about 1/2 cup of whole chestnuts)

6 fresh sage leaves, minced

1 tsp dried thyme

Salt

To garnish: Roasted acorn squash seeds (see instructions below)

Directions:

1. Roast the acorn squash as follows: using your hands, rub the exposed squash flesh (flat part as well as the scooped-out cavity) with a thin layer of olive oil and sparse sprinkle of salt.  Place squash halves flesh side up on a baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees until the flesh is soft and cooked through.  (Depending on your oven and the size of the squash, this may take anywhere from 30-45 minutes, so keep an eye on them.  ).  When squash halves are roasted, remove from heat and set aside.
2. While squash is roasting, cook the quinoa as per package directions and set aside when done.
3. While squash is roasting and quinoa is cooking prepare the vegetables as follows:
   • Heat 1 TBSP olive oil in a large saute pan; when hot, add minced onion and cook until it starts to soften and become translucent, about 4 minutes.
   • Add minced garlic and stir for about 30 seconds
   • Add the minced mushrooms and chestnuts to pan, stir constantly until vegetables are well-blended and mushrooms cook down
   • Add the minced sage leaves and thyme leaves; stir until blended.
4. Add the cooked quinoa to the vegetable mixture in the saucepan and stir until well-blended.
5. Add salt to taste
6. Fill the hollowed-out squash with quinoa/vegetable mixture
7. Garnish with roasted acorn squash seeds (see directions below) and serve!

Recipe: Roasted Acorn Squash Seeds

• Rinse seeds in a colander under running water to remove excess flesh/stringy membranes.
• Spread clean seeds on a paper towel and allow to dry thoroughly
• When dry, toss seeds with just enough olive oil to coat and sprinkle with salt
• Spread seeds out on a baking tray so that they’re not overlapping
• Bake for 15 minutes at 275 degrees (preferably in a counter-top toaster oven, or until golden brown)

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1. Going Wild for Thanksgiving

But fear not, ye gluten-eschewing Mu Shu fans: where there’s a will, there’s a way.  And since I happen to think that Mu Shu is a perfect dish to showcase high-fiber, colder weather veggies like cabbage, I decided to find us a way.

Preparing for Mu Shu

You’ll need very few fresh ingredients to make your Mu Shu dish, but a few key specialty pantry items to do so.  This is especially true if you’re making a gluten-free version, and it might take some persistence to track down GF versions of the necessary condiments.

First, you’ll need some dried Chinese mushrooms, particularly “cloud ear” mushrooms (available at most Asian groceries), and three key Chinese condiments: Oyster sauce, Hoisin sauce and soy sauce.  Gluten-free versions of all three of these condiments are available; for specific brand names, see my previous Gluten-Free Guide to Chinese Food.

Then there are the pancakes.  If you can eat gluten, you have a few good options.  The easiest would be to buy store-bought flour tortillas from any supermarket.  The second easiest option would be to buy store-bought Mandarin Pancakes from a local Chinese/Asian grocery if you are lucky enough to live near one (they’re sold frozen).  But if you’re gluten-free, you’ll need to make your own pancakes.  (These will taste better than storebought options anyhow.)  To that end, I offer two relatively quick and easy options:  (1) Make chestnut flour crepes (click here for recipe), or (2) make buckwheat flour crepes as follows:

Combine: 2/3 cup buckwheat flour + 1/3 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour + 2 eggs + 1 1/4 cups milk (or dairy-free milk substitute) + 1 TBSP honey + 1/4 tsp salt.

Spray a small skillet or crepe pan with cooking oil spray, spread it around with a paper towel to cover the whole surface and heat over medium-high flame.

When pan is hot, pour in 1/4 cup of batter while tilting pan at 45 degree angle and and swirl around to spread batter evenly.

Cook about 1 minute on each side or until underside is brown.  Flip.  Cook 15 more seconds and remove from pan.  Repeat.

Recipe will yield about 10 crepes.

These thin crepes will have the right texture to approximate the traditional Mandarin Pancakes, and their slightly sweet, slightly nutty flavors will compliment the dish swimmingly.

Recipe: Vegetable Mu Shu

After shopping around for recipes, I decided to heavily adapt Dorothy Huang‘s recipe for Mu Hsu Pork to be: vegetarian, cabbagey, lower fat and gluten-free.  Depending on what you have on hand, feel free to improvise with the vegetable ingredients; a cup of mung bean sprouts or 1/2 cup julienned carrot, for example, would be terrific additions to the mix; you could add them in to the wok along with the cabbage if desired.  Some mu shu recipes call for a sprinkling of crushed peanuts atop the final product; I imagine this would also taste quite good!

Ingredients:

6 Chinese dried mushrooms (any kind will do; I used shiitake)

1/4 cup dried black cloud ear mushrooms

5 cups shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 of a medium-sized cabbage head)

Seasoning sauce:

1 tsp cornstarch

2 TBSP water

1 TBSP oyster sauce (for GF: use Lee Kum Kee Panda Brand Green Label Oyster-Flavored Sauce)

1 TBSP soy sauce, preferably reduced sodium (for GF: use gluten-free Tamari sauce such as San-J or Eden Foods)

Canola oil

2 eggs, beaten

1 TBSP chopped garlic

1/2 TBSP shredded ginger (can substitute 1/2 tsp dry powdered ginger)

2 scallions (green onions), thinly sliced

Mandarin pancakes or gluten-free substitutes (see pancake discussion above in “Preparing for Mu Shu” section)

Hoisin sauce (for GF: use Premier Japan Wheat-Free Hoisin sauce, Y&Y brand Hoisin sauce or Ka Me Hoisin sauce)

Directions:

1. 

   Cloud ear mushrooms, dried and reconstituted. (Photo credit: tastehongkong.com)

   1. Reconstitute and prep all of the dried mushrooms per package directions or as follows: soak them in 4 cups hot water for 20-30 minutes; rinse with cold water.  When soft, cut off and discard stems or any tough/knobby bits as necessary; cut into thin strips and set aside
2. Prepare the pancakes per recipe directions and set aside.  (If you are making crepes from scratch, once you’re finished with them, use the hot pan to make the eggs as described in step #4… it will save you having to wash an extra pan!)
3. Combine seasoning sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
4. Heat 1 tsp canola oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat (or use a quick spritz of non-stick cooking spray.)  Pour in the eggs.  Tilt the skillet so whole surface is covered with thin coat of eggs.  Flip eggs over and cook for a few seconds until set.  Transfer to a plate; when cool, shred into thin strips 2″ long and set aside.
5. Heat 1 TBSP canola oil in wok or large skillet.  Add cabbage and stir fry until cabbage is bright green and has softened but still retains a bit of crunch, about 4 minutes.  Transfer to a bowl.
6. Using same wok, heat an additional 1 tsp oil and add garlic, ginger, scallions and mushrooms.  Stir fry for 1 minute until fragrant and well-blended.
7. Add cabbage and seasoning sauce to the wok.  Stir until well blended.
8. Add sliced egg strips to wok.  Stir to combine.  Turn off heat.
9. To serve: spread a little hoisin sauce in the center of pancakes/crepes and add a pile of Mu Shu to the center.  Wrap up and eat!

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While Hibiscus-based, caffeine-free beverages have been enjoyed for ages throughout the world (particularly in the Caribbean) for their flavor and their natural diuretic properties, the ingredient appears to be enjoying its 15 minutes of fame here in the U.S. for the first time.   Natural hibiscus sodas have hit Whole Foods (careful; they’re quite high in sugar); non-carbonated Hibiscus beverages (also high in sugar) are giving pomegranate juice a run for its money as the trendy cocktail mixer of choice; and the Republic of Tea has launched a whole new collection of Hibiscus “Superflower” teas, touting the flower’s natural richness in Vitamin C (though they don’t actually list the Vitamin C content).

Hibiscus for High Blood Pressure

The recent popularity of Hibiscus has been given a boost by recent research in pre-hypertensive and mildly hypertensive people showing that three 8-oz cups of hibiscus tea per day (hot or cold)

Dried hibiscus leaves may be sold as "sorrel" at international groceries

lowered systolic blood pressure by an average of 7.2 points.  These effects were believed to result from a combination of Hibiscus’ observed effect on relaxing blood vessels, its diuretic properties, and/or the beneficial effects of the flower’s brightly-hued anthocyanin pigments (those same heart-healthy flavonoids found in berries and red wine).  In this way, unsweetened Hibiscus tea  joins Coconut Water as a very refreshing, low calorie summer drink that may especially benefit people with mildly elevated blood pressure.  (Of course, cutting out some sodium from the diet never hurt, either.)

Four Ways to Enjoy Hibiscus

• Starbucks Unsweetened Passion Iced Tea (0 calories).  My favorite way to enjoy Hibiscus.  And yes, of course you can make your own version at home using Hibiscus Tea bags.

• Hot hibiscus tea for a relaxing, caffeine free tea option.  Major brands like Tazo (Passion flavor) and Republic of Tea have hibiscus varieties, and hibiscus is a key ingredient in most of the berry “zinger” tea flavors by Celestial Seasonings.

• Iced Hibiscus Ginger Tea: Take Martha Stewart’s recipe and replace the 3/4 cup sugar she calls for with 1/4 cup Agave Nectar.  (Substituting Agave yields 190 calories for the whole batch; 24 calories per serving, assuming it serves 8.)

• Homemade Hibiscus Soda: Dilute sweetened 1-2 oz Hibiscus beverage (Hibisca) in a tall glass of club soda; squeeze in a bit of fresh lime juice and serve.  Note: Hibisca contains 16 calories/4g sugar per oz… so try using 1-2 oz of Hibisca per tall glass of icy club soda to capture the flavor but keep the calories and added sugar on the lower end of 16-32 calories per serving.  This has about 1/3 (or less) of the sugar and calories of a store-bought, sweetened Hibiscus soda.

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Luckily, nutrition science has several pink-ribbon-worthy morsels to offer us as far as things we can actually DO (or eat, or not eat) to lower our individual risks of developing breast cancer.

Best evidence: These things should definitely help lower your risk:

1. Lose that gut.   Being overweight both increases your risk of developing breast cancer, as well as decreases your risk of survival if you have breast cancer.  The risk of developing breast cancer is particularly pronounced if you become obese after menopause, with some studies showing as much as a 50% increase in risk.  After menopause, the more weight you gain, the greater the risk increases.  It also appears that women whose excess fat is concentrated around the belly have a higher risk of developing breast cancer than women whose excess weight is more evenly distributed among their hips and thighs.  There are a million reasons to maintain a healthy body weight, and now you can add breast cancer prevention to that list.
2. Lay off the sauce. Even moderate alcohol consumption (average of 1 drink/day for women) is associated with an increased risk in breast cancer compared to not drinking at all.  And the more you drink, the greater the risk.  It appears that alcohol increases the risk of a type of tumor classified as ”estrogen or progesterone receptor positive,” suggesting that alcohol works by influencing circulating hormone levels.   If you choose to drink (and I personally do), consider targeting a range closer to a drink or two per week instead of a drink or two per day.
3. Exercise most days.  30-60 minutes.  Moderate is good, but vigorous is better.

Good evidence: These things will probably help lower your risk:

1. If you do drink regularly, make sure to meet your daily folate needs. Folate is a B-vitamin that is required for normal cell replication.  Drinking alcohol impairs absorption of dietary folate.  Studies seem to show that folic acid supplementation can help mitigate the risk of developing cancer among women who use alcohol regularly, but it does not reduce the risk of breast cancer among non-drinkers.  The amount of folic acid in a typical multivitamin (400-600mcg) should suffice for moderate drinkers when taken in addition to a diet that includes some fruits, green vegetables and fortified breads/cereals.
2. Eat more (organic), traditionally-prepared soy foods.  Several large, well-designed studies out of Asia show significant decreases in breast cancer risk among women who consume higher amounts of whole or traditionally-prepared soy foods, such as tofu, misso, tempeh, natto and/or boiled soybeans (edamame) as compared to women who consume the lowest amounts of these foods.  Note that there is no good data to support that you can get this same effect from eating processed Western foods loaded up with soy protein isolate (SPI), and some reasons to be wary of doing so.  However, if you have a digestive intolerance to soy or have thyroid abnormailities, steer clear of soy; there are plenty of other things you can do to help reduce your breast cancer risk without aggravating the rest of your body.  I understand that the message on soy and breast cancer is a confusing one, with some women concerned that dietary soy may actually *increase* breast cancer risk, but the scientific literature (human studies) does not support this association.
3. If you can’t/don’t eat soy, eat flax.  There is some evidence that suggests eating foods high in phytoestrogen compounds called lignans may have a similar protective benefit as do the phytoestrogenic compounds called isoflavones found in soy; the best dietary source of lignans, hands down, is flaxseed.  Besides, flaxseed is a great source of fiber and omega-3′s, so you can kill 3 birds with one vegetarian stone.  You multi-tasker, you.
4. Go easy on the fat.  Most (but not all) studies show that lower-fat diets are associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, particularly diets that are low in saturated and trans fats.  In the typical U.S. diet, saturated fat is mostly found in red meat, milk and cheese , whereas trans fats are found in fast foods, margarine, and commercially-baked goods.  The best way to minimize saturated fat in your diet is to eat low-fat dairy instead of full-fat, go for quality over quantity with your cheese intake, and use meat as an accent rather than as the main event.  I’d advise avoiding trans fat alltogether if possible.  Be aware of deceptive marketing tactics pertaining to trans fats: many restaurants or food packages claim “0g trans fats per serving.”  It’s that “per serving” you need to watch out for, as they can legally claim 0g if each serving has <0.5g.  Are you really going to just be eating just one serving of that food?  If not, then you could be eating several grams of trans fat without realizing it.  If the label reads “partially hydrogenated oil” of any kind, the food will have trans fats, regardless of what the marketing claims.

Emerging but as-yet inconclusive  evidence: These things may help lower your risk:

1. Improve your Vitamin D status.  Recent government data shows that a frightening 77% of Americans have a Vitamin D insufficiency, and that an astounding 97% of non-hispanic black Americans are Vitamin D insufficient.  And the trends show our collective vitamin D status is worsening– NOT improving– due in large measure to more sedentary, indoor-based lifestyles, sunscreen use, and low intake of fortified dairy products.  What’s more, even people who take in the current recommended levels of Vitamin D are still coming up deficient, leading most researchers to conclude that the currently recommendations are too low.  While there are not yet any human studies which show an association between Vitamin D supplementation and reduced breast cancer, there is mounting circumstantial evidence that points in that direction.  Breast cells actually have vitamin D receptors to supply them with this much-needed vitamin, which is shown to have a role in proper cell division and differentiation.  Breast cancer tumor cells have Vitamin D receptors too, and in vitro, Vitamin D has been shown to stop them from replicating.  Epidemiological evidence shows lower rates of breast cancer among people with greater exposure to the sun, since our bodies are able to manufacture Vitamin D from UV rays.  Since Vitamin D is so important for numerous health outcomes– of which breast cancer prevention is just one possible such outcome–and since Vitamin D is virtually absent from our food supply, it’s not a bad idea for most people to take a supplement–at least during the winter months.  Personally, I supplement 1,000 IU of Vitamin D3 per day from October through May, and make sure to get 15 minutes of unprotected sun exposure on my arms from June-September.  This level of supplementation is safe for everyone, and it should be sufficient to increase your vitamin D status to sufficient levels when taken in addition to a diet that includes some fortified dairy/dairy substitutes, fatty fish (like sardines, salmon, herring and mackerel) and/or other sneaky Vitamin D-rich foods, like dried shiitake mushrooms.

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