A food memoir of weight loss, family recipes, digital cookbook and nutrition information for family and friends
The 5 Ingredients You’ll Always Find in Jacques Pépin’s Kitchen
https://www.foodandwine.com/jacques-pepin-pantry-staples-11790988
Memo to Self – OK to use cheaper olive oil for cooking. Dried herbs essential, fresh is better.
Memo to Self – For this dish one boneless chicken breast feeds two people. Jacques says this in the video but I didn’t believe him.
Researchers tested whether sauerkraut’s nutrients could help protect intestinal cells from inflammation-related damage. The study compared raw cabbage, sauerkraut and the liquid brine left behind from the fermentation process. The sauerkraut samples included both store-bought products and fermented cabbage made in the lab.
They found that sauerkraut helped maintain the integrity of intestinal cells, while raw cabbage and brine did not. Marco said that there was also no noticeable difference between grocery store sauerkraut and the lab-made version. University of California – Davis. “The gut health benefits of sauerkraut.”The gut health benefits of sauerkraut https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250414162040.htm (accessed April 15, 2025).
I stopped eating sauerkraut a long time ago when I stopped eating hot dogs.
Tofu dogs anyone?
I’ve always preferred baking sweet potatoes over boiling and mashing sweet potatoes because my boiled version always turned out watery.
I just learned you have to boil the peeled sweet potatoes whole. After about 45-50 minutes check to see if the potatoes are cooked through. Then drain and return to the cooking pot. Turn the heat on to low and start smashing, and mashing while constantly stirring to avoid burning (I use a wooden spoon). After about five minutes a good amount of moisture will have evaporated from the potatoes. This is why sweet potatoes made this way aren’t too loose and watery. Add a splash of milk or half and half, a bunch of butter, salt and pepper to taste.
Memo to Self – buy more sweet potatoes, eat more sweet potatoes.
In this new study, published in Nature Microbiology, Professor Anders Rosengren and colleagues have instead looked at prediabetes. This condition is a precursor to type 2 diabetes, with slowly rising blood sugar levels due to impaired insulin production.
The study encompassed 89 people with elevated fasting blood sugar, an indicator of prediabetes. Other criteria included the participants being overweight or obese and 35-75 years old.
The participants were randomly assigned sulforaphane or a placebo for twelve weeks. Neither the participants nor the researchers knew who was assigned which. A total of 74 participants completed all stages of the study.
The results show that participants taking the sulforaphane compound had a higher average reduction in fasting blood sugar than those taking the placebo. The difference between the two groups in the study was considerable.
University of Gothenburg. “Reduced prediabetes in people who ate broccoli compound.” ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250214003212.htm (accessed February 21, 2025).
Eat More Broccoli. Sauteed in extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Lots of garlic.
Celery leaves. I always tossed them out until The Boss informed me she doesn’t like big chunks of celery in dishes I make that use celery for an ingredient. I recently discovered you can use celery leaves like a fresh herb, finely chopped and added to your creation in lieu of big chunks of celery. So far I haven’t gotten any complaints about the tiny green stuff floating in the soup.
10 Ways To Use Celery Leaves In The Kitchen.
Read More: https://www.tastingtable.com/1572645/uses-celery-leaves/
Memo to Self – instead of buying celery with less leaves buy celery with more leaves, especially bunches with dark green leaves which have a more intense flavor than the stalks.
The scientific report has some positive recommendations. It recommends that Americans eat more beans, peas, and lentils and eat less red and processed meat. It recommends that Beans, Peas, and Lentils move from a subgroup of the Vegetables Food Group to a subgroup of the Protein Food Group. When listing foods in the Protein Food Group, Beans/Peas/Lentils should be listed first, followed by Nuts/Seeds/Soy products, then Seafood, and lastly Meats/Poultry/Eggs. – 2025 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee’s Scientific Report Recommends Eating More Beans, Peas, and Lentils and Eating Less Red and Processed Meat – http://www.vrg.org/blog/2025/01/31/2025-dietary-guidelines-advisory-committees-scientific-report-recommends-eating-more-beans-peas-and-lentils-and-eating-less-red-and-processed-meat/
If you want to geek out on the full report here’s the download link – https://www.dietaryguidelines.gov/2025-advisory-committee-report
U.S. rates of nutrition-related chronic health conditions are high, and data show significant differences in prevalence across socio-demographic groups. For example, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian children compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, and the prevalence is lower in non-Hispanic White children compared to non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic and/or Latino children. Obesity is significantly lower among children with higher family income compared to those with lower family income. Among adults, the prevalence of obesity is lower among non-Hispanic Asian adults and higher in non-Hispanic Black adults. Prevalence of hypertension is higher in non-Hispanic Black adults than adults of all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined. Diabetes is lower in non-Hispanic White adults compared to all other race and/or ethnicity groups examined, while gestational diabetes is highest among non-Hispanic Asian adults and lowest among non-Hispanic Black adults. Income data show that among adults, the prevalence of obesity, of hypertension, and of diabetes are higher among families with lower incomes compared to higher incomes.
I’ve not read the entire report but judging from what I’ve read so far it is definitely Geek Paradise.
Just another Electronic Sticky Note to remind myself to eat more winter squashes besides my favorite Butternut. The Health Benefits of Winter Squash (Plus, 7 Types to Try) – https://vegnews.com/health-benefits-winter-squash-types-to-try
And as a reminder about my previous Electronic Sticky Note 42 Vegetarian Butternut Squash Recipes- Vegetarian Times to try some different preparations besides a simple roast or Butternut Squash Enchilada Casserole.
Lasagne? I’ve totally forgotten about Butternut Squash and Spinach Lasagne.
Beans and peas are the best meat and milk replacement from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives.
Our findings suggest that suitable alternatives to meat and milk exist and are available and affordable without necessarily requiring new technologies or product development. This contrasts with discussions in high-income countries on the needs to develop novel replacement foods, especially those that would completely mimic meat and dairy (18). Our nutritional, health, environmental, and cost analyses suggest that if one is prepared to consider foods for their properties instead of whether they are completely mimicking meat or dairy—and surveys suggest that consumers are (49)—then unprocessed legumes are, for the most part, superior to processed alternatives. This is also relevant for low and middle-income countries where legumes are readily available, but discussions on processed meat and milk alternatives are at an earlier stage, despite diets rapidly becoming similarly imbalanced as in high-income countries (1, 50). M. Springmann, A multicriteria analysis of meat and milk alternatives from nutritional, health, environmental, and cost perspectives, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 121 (50) e2319010121, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2319010121 (2024).
Keep it simple.
4Earth Farms, LLC. Recalls Organic and Conventional Vegetable Medleys and Organic Whole Carrots, Containing Grimmway Farms Carrots, Because of Possible Health Risk – https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts/4earth-farms-llc-recalls-organic-and-conventional-vegetable-medleys-and-organic-whole-carrots
garyskitchen.net 