by SARA on March 10, 2010
by Camille on March 9, 2010
Years ago, I remember a women’s magazine editor I knew fretting about the single glass of wine she’d had the night before; she was convinced that alcohol was the only thing keeping her from losing the “last five”. (For the record, she was extremely thin and had no reason to worry about her weight).
Personally, I’ve never been convinced that alcohol is the fat trap it’s purported to be. That’s why I was pleased to hear that a new study from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found that not only will having a drink once in a while not pile on pounds, women who drink moderately actually tend to be thinner than their teetotaling peers. Read more…
Over the past few weeks, I’ve been working on a bunch of stories on stomach issues, meaning I’m suddenly knee-deep all kinds of doctor-approved advice about everything from bloating to IBS. Maybe it’s because digestive problems are so universal (everybody has some kind of issue at some point, after all) but I’m finding the whole process fascinating. In light of that, I’m kicking the week off by posting a few foods that either hadn’t been on my good-for-digestion radar at all before or about which I learned something extra and unexpected. Some of them are pretty fun…
*Chamomile: Known for its soothing properties, chamomile is often used as a relaxant for symptoms of IBS. It also contains a set of compounds known as sesquiterpenes that have anti-inflammatory effects and can help soothe an irritated stomach lining.
*Olive oil: Spanish scientists recently found that virgin olive oil could knock out eight different strains of the ulcer and the stomach cancer-causing bug H. pylori. The researchers credit the oil’s high levels of polyphenols; these kinds of antioxidants are believed to have strong antibacterial properties. Read more…
by Camille on March 5, 2010
Remember my post about how eating away from home packs on major pounds? Well, luckily that extra weight isn’t inevitable–if you choose the right food. Check out some of the delicious, hunger-busting snacks that you can eat almost anywhere (even on a plane!) from a recent Forbes.com story I wrote.
- Nuts. They get a bad rap for being high in calories, “but research shows that nuts may actually increase hormones that lead to satiety,” says Julie Miller Jones, Ph.D., C.N.S., L.N., professor emeritus of Food and Nutrition at St. Catherine University in Minnesota. “Some research even suggests that they’re passed to the gut partially unabsorbed—meaning they may technically be lower in calories than stated.” One clever way to limit your portions: “If your airline offers a bag of nuts, take them. They’re the perfect serving size,” says Jones. Read more…
Lately, one of my favorite online food reads has been Gael Greene’s Insatiable Critic. I love the personality she gives to her reviews–they unfold like good stories–and she’s never steered me wrong. In sort of a Julie and Julia (lite) way, I feel like if Gael and I were to have dinner together we’d totally order the same things.
This week, Gael took on Meatpacking District mainstay Bagatelle. Given my aforementioned critic crush, it was fun to see how similar her take was to Camille’s and mine when we went not too long ago: We’d assumed that the buck stopped with the exhausting scene. What we discovered was that–while there’s no shortage of sparklers and champagne–the restaurant can also be warm, down-to-earth-friendly and awfully cozy on a winter night. As for the food, courtesy of Chef Nicolas Cantrel (veteran of more than one Alain Ducasse outpost), it was the kind of stuff you’d imagine having grown up with–if Julia Child were your grandmother. Read more…
by Camille on March 3, 2010
It’s not everyday that someone drops a solid, well-paying career to write about food—and actually becomes wildly successful in the process. But that’s exactly what happened to Monica Bhide.
Five short years ago, Bhide was working as an engineer when she realized that what she really wanted was to cook and write about it, with a focus on her native Indian cuisine. Fast forward to today and she’s penned several cookbooks; Padma Lakshmi deemed the latest, Modern Spice, one of her all-time favorites in Newsweek. Bhide also blogs about food for the Washington Post and has an essay in Best Food Writing 2009, among many other credits.
In addition to being highly talented, Monica is one of the nicest people I’ve ever met—we’d just gotten to know each other when she found out I was expecting, and she sent me a huge package of spicy treats that satisfied my out-of-control cravings for the rest of my pregnancy. Needless to say, I’m thrilled to share Monica’s journey, as well as her advice on using spices to make bland food more delicious and nutritious.
Monica, what inspired you to leave the corporate world for food writing?
My first memory in my life is of food! And I had been writing, mostly for myself, as far back as I can recall. While I followed the traditional path of becoming a “person who could get a real job”, I never did find engineering to be my passion. Read more…
Ever since Camille posted last week about the potential mood benefits of chocolate, the stuff has has been on my mind. Yesterday morning, for example, I managed to work an experience I had at the New York Chocolate Show into a magazine article about willpower (I later rewarded my efforts with Junior Mints). Later in the day, I found myself salivating over this chocolate lava cake recipe. And that night, I couldn’t get enough of a dessert I discovered at Tangled Vine–slices of french bread generously spread with melted chocolate, drizzled with Spanish olive oil, and sprinkled with a little sea salt. Oh my.
When I was researching the antioxidant benefits of dark fruit, I kept coming across studies on cocoa, the component of chocolate that itself is rich in flavonols, a potent type of polyphenol antioxidant (one of the reason’s there’s such a premium on dark chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa). While it’s important to know that most commercial dark chocolate only retains about a quarter of cocoa’s original benefits–and it isn’t low in fat or sugar, either–my feeling is if you’re going to choose a dessert, chocolate might nevertheless be a good one to run with. Here’s why. Read more…
by Camille on February 26, 2010
How often do you eat out? As I recently mentioned, I’ve been cooking a lot more these days. Still, I live in New York, and in a particularly foodie neighborhood, to boot. Whether it’s brunch at Buttermilk Channel, green curry at my favorite Thai joint, or even the amazing fried-and-sugared dough balls at the corner pizza place (which, for the record, are so delicious that I’d take them over the finest dining any day), there’s literally temptation at every turn.
I’d never give up restaurants entirely; having an amazing meal that someone else prepared for you is one of the great joys in life, I think. But a brand-new study has me thinking that I need to be more careful about what I order–and that I may even want to cut out one more restaurant meal each week.
Why? Because each meal you eat outside of your home weekly puts on two pounds (i.e., if you have dinner out every Friday, it will result in a two pound weight gain over the course of the year), according to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s Economic Research Service. Read more…
by SARA on February 25, 2010
Yesterday, on my way home from an appointment, I paid my first-ever visit to Willner Chemists, the “oldest and largest nutritionally-oriented pharmacy in the U.S.” The more choices I have, the more I freeze up. From that perspective, impressive as it was, Willer was a landmine. I walked away grateful that I was at least able to settle on a brand of fish oil (and full disclosure: I was pretty sure about that one when I stepped in). What I did get out of seeing all those herbs and remedies was some insight into just how pervasive our enthusiasm over acai and pomegranate products has become. The shelves were overflowing with purple supplements, dried snacks, and powders. So of course I went home and did some research.
It turns out there’s a big unifying force to these two foods: They’re both rich in anthocyanins, a class of polyphenol antioxidants thought to be especially potent in helping to reduce inflammation and preventing cancer. Other studies have demonstrated that anthocyanins may have a role in strengthening collagen, protecting memory and the nervous system, fighting allergies, and–this was exciting for me, as someone who can no longer read a menu by candlelight–improve night vision. Read more…
by Camille on February 24, 2010
By now you’ve heard that you should never eat white bread, it’s filled with empty carbs, blah blah blah. Well, turns out that’s not entirely true. Researchers from Lund University in Sweden discovered that when people ate white rye bread, they had lower blood sugar and insulin levels than they did after eating wheat bread. That’s no small thing; Read more…
