Potato Celery Root Mash

Celery root and golden potatoes

Golden potatoes and celery root are paired in this rendition of mashed potatoes.  The subtle flavors of the root provide a different take on the usual mashers.  Most recipes feature lots of cream and butter, but here we use mostly broth to keep this light.

Simply peel with a knife, and the flesh underneath is creamy white
with a delightful celery aroma and flavor.

serves: 6                    prep time:  15 minutes

5 golden potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
2 small celery roots, peeled and cut into chunks
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons half and half
Salt and pepper to taste

Bring a pot of water to boil and add the potatoes and celery root.  Cook until fork tender and drain.  Add back to the pan and mash, adding chicken broth and half and half to moisten.  Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Each serving provides about 160 calories, over 3 g fiber, almost 4 g protein, and a good dose of vitamin B6, C, and elemental copper. 

Copper, along with iron, helps in the formation of red blood cells. It also helps in keeping the blood vessels, nerves, immune system, and bones healthy, and helps with collagen formation.  For copper to be properly absorbed, you also need to take in zinc and manganese.  These are trace elements and daily recommended amounts are easily found in the foods we eat.

The first time I tried this recipe, I didn't have a potato masher and had this bright idea to use a blender.  Don't do it!  The potatoes and celery root turn into a sticky goo.  Yuck.

- Kim Fielding

Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot soup on a cold day is the perfect tummy warmer.

Chicken noodle soup is the proverbial cure-all for whatever ails you.  You don't need to be sick to enjoy this version however.  The key to the success of this recipe is to cook the noodles separately and add them to the soup when serving.  That way the noodles don't get mushy. 

The basic ingredients for broth.

serves:  10                    prep time:  30 minutes
                                    cook time:  1 hour 15 minutes

One whole chicken, giblets removed
3 large carrots, peeled and chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
handful of parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon boullion (make sure it doesn't have MSG!)
Water
1 package egg noodles, cooked

Place the chicken in a large soup pot and add the carrots, celery, garlic, onion, parsley and boullion. Add water to cover all the ingredients (about 16 cups or just fill the pot to the top) and bring to a boil on the stove. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and cook for about 1 hour 15 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Remove from heat and let cool. While the chicken and broth are cooling, prepare the noodles and set aside.

When the chicken is cool enough to handle, remove the skin and bones and shred the meat. Reserve the broth with vegetables and adjust seasoning if needed.

When ready to serve, reheat the reserved broth. Place 1/2 cup cooked noodles in a soup bowl, top with 3 ounces chicken, and ladle the hot broth with vegetables over.

Each serving of soup offers less than 350 calories.

- Kim Fielding

White Bean Puree with Mesquite Oil




Similar to hummus, this bean dip comes together quickly in a food processor or blender.

 

My kids love hummus.  However, sometimes garbanzo beans become a little boring which is why we often make this with white beans.  Spread onto a platter or wide bowl and drizzle with the flavored oil.  Addicting!

serves:  8                           prep time:  15 minutes

1 can white beans, drained 

1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

Squeeze of lemon

Salt and pepper to taste

Drizzle of mesquite olive oil

Place all ingredients except mesquite oil in a processor and blend until smooth.  Adjust the seasoning and add more oil or lemon juice if desired.  Pour into serving dish and drizzle with the mesquite oil.  Serve with pita chips or veggies.

One serving of bean dip (not including crackers or veggies) contains about 125 calories, 6 g protein, 4 g fiber, and a healthy dose of elemental nutrients such as copper, iron, magnesium, and manganese.

- Kim Fielding

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To take or not to take supplements?

That is one of question in health tabloids a la mode these days.  And as always, it is not that simple. Nothing is obvious when it comes to general health, except for that too much and too little is always bad.  But that is true about everything, anyway.

               We ridicule people who present claims and statements that are not backed by scientific evidence. But behind that scientific evidence the evidence is frequently really weak.  Some medicines that are recommended for common diseases like osteoporosis and high cholesterol require a large amount of people to be treated to benefit only one or two, like 1 person out of 100 benefits from using treatment for osteoporosis or 1 out of 30-40 for preventing heart disease.  That one person is the lucky one but the others just get the side effects or take a pill for no good reason.  The reason for this is that we don’t exactly know, who will benefit,  and we treat them all with all of our good intentions.

               Same is for supplements. The science is weak and frequently flip-flops, making not only public but, also, doctors crazy.  Beta-carotene, vitamins E, folic acid, niacin were good for you five years ago, but now, “no more”. Just last week I recommended to the patient to take magnesium, she got home and called me right back after she saw that magnesium might cause I can't remember what, to which I recommended to her not to go with my recommendation. Internet is the greatest source of confusion.  I tried to look up what was wrong with magnesium and still couldn't find but I'm sure something was there.  Another "doesn't make any sense" example that I see pretty much every day is that the sickest middle age people I have in my practice eat only organic foods and take all the "recommended" supplements. I'm pretty sure that there is no correlation between the two, but the obvious message is - the supplements and organic foods do not bring their health back.

               There are three major factors that impact our health:  genetics, age and environment. Until we know our genetics, and as long as we remember our age, we have impact only on our environment.   But when the equation has three variables: one somewhat unknown, the other one relatively stable but impossible to change, we can full around only with our eating, drinking, activities and exercise. What about supplements?  Eat healthy, exercise and take vitamin D, not too much and not too little: 1000 u of D3 will do it for most people.

Sugar Addiction and Beyond

I’m going to give you compelling evidence that there is practically not a lot of difference between sugar and heroin:

- Both come from nature and are derived from plants; heroin from the opium poppy, sugar from sugar beets or sugar cane.

- Both undergo excessive chemical manipulation to get to its final product. 90% of nutrients, water, fiber and protein are removed from sugar beets and sugar cane to turn it into sugar. Heroin is derived from the opium poppy, but to turn it into morphine it has to go through extensive chemical modification.

- Both cause addiction: for heroin about 14 million people and sugar about 1.5 billion worldwide.

- Both cause dependence, craving and withdrawals.

- Both coincide with depression or emotional distress.

- Both cause death: heroin about 600 people per year in the USA, sugar about 300,000.

- Both are used in medicine for medicinal purposes. Morphine is derived from opium and used to alleviate pain. Sugar is used in intravenous fluids for a variety of conditions.

When imaging studies are done in addicts to heroin or sugar, they light up the same locations in the brain, an area called the orbitofrontal cortex: the part of the brain located behind the eyes and among other things is responsible for decision-making.

The key similarity of the two addictions lies in the behavior of the addicts: despite clear knowledge that the use of those substances comes with unpleasant and somewhat deadly consequences, people continue to use those. This also true about alcohol, smoking and gambling, but only gambling acts through exactly the same circuits as sugar and heroin. There is a perceived difference between those two. We can live without heroin but we need sugar for our bodily functions. False! We don’t need sugar per se; we need glucose that we can get from all sorts of foods without any chemical manipulations. Fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes contain plenty of sugar that we can use for thinking, breathing, exercising, and all the other important functions. Honey, molasses, and maple syrup in small amounts will do the job of bringing the sweet taste. What about organic or brown sugar? No different. Just like salt, sugar should be used as a spice and not as an ingredient. So, if heroin of course should not be used at all, sugar can be used as a spice and, as far as I’m concerned, should be sold in spice containers.

I’m certainly not the first person with revelations about sugar addiction. In 1975, William Duffy, released his book “Sugar Blues” which has sold more than 1.5 million copies. There are other books revealing the sugar addiction. Around the time that Duffy’s book became popular, the US changed its “sweetheart” from sugar to high fructose corn syrup. We didn’t abandon sugar, but we just slightly backed off that to the creative genius of the manufacturers. If in 1980, the average person ate 39 pounds of fructose and 84 pounds of sugar (total of 123 lb.), in 2004 the average person consumed 83 pounds of fructose and 66 pounds of sucrose (total of 149 lb). Speaking of ubiquitous – high fructose corn syrup penetrated into 90% of supermarket produce. Is it a mystery why we have an epidemic of obesity? Duh! In the interest of brevity, I suggest two quick solutions:

- Get most of your food from Farmer’s market.

- Read the labels: Buy only foods with few ingredients, preferably without sugar, high fructose corn syrup in it (also don’t forget partially hydrogenated oil and artificial colorings). If sugar is listed, make sure it is toward the end of the ingredient list.

- Dr. Mariam Manoukian

   

Everyday Cranberry and Pear Relish

I am not usually a huge fan of cranberry sauce.  The obligatory sickly sweet red goo that accompanies turkey on Thanksgiving has never been my fave.  However, given the task of bringing cranberry sauce to our potluck holiday dinner, I decided to experiment with recipes.  Looking through the internet and magazines, I found two versions that piqued my interest. This version was given a thumbs-up by my family and, most importantly, by our hosts Jennifer and Brad.  Cranberries, pears, and citrus fruits are fall and winter seasonal foods which is a bonus when shopping for local produce this time of year.  I modified the sugar asked for on the cranberry bag by half because the pears provide perfect sweetness.  Try this on roast pork and chicken instead of just turkey.

Three pears allow for minimal sugar required to sweeten the berries.

serves 10-12                     prep time: about 30 minutes

3 pears, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 bag cranberries, rinsed

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup dried cherries

Squeeze of lemon, optional

Into the pot they all go.

Place all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a slow boil.  Stir regularly with a wooden spoon.  As pears soften and cranberries "pop", squish them down.  After about 15-20 minutes, you should have a fairly smooth mix.  Turn off the heat and use a potato masher to further reduce any lumps.  Cool and serve.

This is almost fully cooked.  A little more time, then a mashing,
and the sauce/relish is ready.  A surprise occured when all the kids
at the table gobbled it up.  Cool!

When I calculated calories (fitday.com) I came out with about 780 calories for the whole batch which includes about 25 g. fiber, and a measly 1 g of fat.  Divide by 10 or more, and you get about 80 calories, 3 g fiber, and 20 g carbs per serving.  Don't forget the value of cranberries for urinary tract health and antioxidant properties.  Cheers!

-Kim Fielding