Here’s a fun quiz from the American Institute for Cancer Research to test your knowledge of safe grilling practices . If you’ve heard or read my show on Grilling, you should get an excellent score! (Maybe you’d like to review it before taking the quiz?)
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Fructose leaves you hungrier than glucose: Why this doesn’t matter
A new study found that people who consumed a beverage sweetened with glucose were less hungry afterwards than people who drank a beverage sweetened with fructose. This makes a lot of sense. Some of the hormones that regulate your desire for food are cued by rising blood sugar and insulin levels. Because fructose causes a much lower rise in both, it doesn’t send as strong a signal to your brain that you’ve eaten. Continue reading “Fructose leaves you hungrier than glucose: Why this doesn’t matter”
Five delicious ways to use miso
After last week’s episode on the benefits of miso, perhaps you were inspired to buy a big tub of it at the market this week.
However, if you’re not accustomed to cooking with miso, you may be at a bit of a loss with what to do with it. Fortunately, miso has a nice, long shelf-life. Like most fermented foods, the beneficial bacteria act as natural preservatives. The other good news is that miso is a remarkably versatile ingredient that can add flavor to a number of dishes.
Here are some ideas:
Miso Dressing
Whisk together 1 tablespoon of miso and 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice. Slowly whisk in 1/4 cup of tahini and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Thin with warm water to desired consistency.
This dressing is particularly good with kale salad or drizzled over roasted cauliflower or butternut squash.
Asian Slaw
Blend 2 tablespoons of miso with 1/4 cup of seasoned rice vinegar, 1 teaspoon each of grated ginger and sesame oil, and 1/3 cup of reduced fat mayo. Toss with shredded Napa cabbage or a bagged coleslaw mix, and garnish with slivered almonds and scallions.
Miso Burgers
Mix 1/4 cup of miso with 1 1/2 pounds of lean, ground meat and a handful of chopped mint or cilantro. Form into burgers and grill. Serve with Asian Slaw, above.
Miso Butter
Blend 2 tablespoons of miso into a stick of softened butter, and melt onto steamed fish or vegetables. Or, spread it on a slice of sourdough bread, and cover it with a layer of alfalfa sprouts or thinly sliced radishes.
Maple Miso Glaze
Whisk 2 tablespoons of miso with 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar, and 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard. Use as a glaze on grilled salmon, pork, tofu, or mushrooms.
This article originally published at QuickandDirtyTips.com
What Causes Elevated B12 levels?
Q. What causes elevated B-12 levels? My levels are high but none of my doctors seem to think it’s a problem. Should I be concerned?
A. Elevated B-12 levels can be a sign of a serious disease, such as certain types of leukemia or liver disease. If your doctors are unconcerned about your high B-12 levels , it suggests that they have ruled out these other possibilities based other test results (such as white blood cell count or liver enzymes). You could ask them to be sure! Certain drugs used for insomnia (specifically, chloral hydrate) can also cause elevated B-12 levels.
References
Ermens AA, Vlasveld LT, Lindemans J. Significance of elevated cobalamin (vitamin B12) levels in blood. Clin Biochem. 2003 Nov;36(8):585-90. Link
My SNAP Challenge
After Gwyneth Paltrow’s spectacular fail last week, I decided to try a virtual SNAP challenge of my own. Could I buy enough groceries to eat nutritiously for a week on $29?
Paltrow’s grocery haul was perfectly respectable in terms of nutrition. The problem was that it didn’t contain nearly enough calories to sustain an adult for a week.
I’m not saying that the following rations would win any gourmet awards. But it would supply 2,000 calories per day and meet 100% of almost all of your dietary requirements…for just over $4/day. (Prices were sourced from my local grocery store, using their online shopping tool.) Continue reading “My SNAP Challenge”
Monica on Dr. Oz: What’s the deal with designer milk?
Should you drink whole milk or skim? Enhanced skim? What about the new “designer” milk from Coca-cola? I recently sorted it all out for Dr. Oz.
My conversation with Jamie Logie on the Regained Wellness podcast
Last week, I had the pleasure of being Jamie Logie’s guest on the Regained Wellness podcast. We talked mostly about diet and inflammation but somehow favorite books and movies, the dangers of Netflix binging, and other fun stuff also came up. You can find Regained Wellness on iTunes and Stitcher, or listen here:
Can I get my veggies in a pill?
Q. “I’ve heard about capsules that contain powdered vegetable juice. It sounds too good to be true. Wouldn’t the nutritional value of the vegetables get lost in the processing?”
A. Some of the nutritional value of the vegetables would surely be lost by processing them into a powdered supplement – but certainly not all of it. However, I don’t think that popping a few capsules of powdered vegetables is the best way to get your recommended 5 servings a day. Part of the benefit of eating a lot of vegetables is the nutrients they contain. However, there’s another equally important benefit.
Vegetables are very nutrient dense but not very energy dense. When you fill your plate (and your stomach) with vegetables, it leaves a lot less room for other less nutritious foods – like potato chips or brownies. People who eat more vegetables not only get more nutrients, they also tend to eat fewer empty calories.
Related listening
If you fulfill your vegetable quota by popping a couple of capsules of powdered vegetable juice, you’ll get some good vegetable nutrition. But those capsules aren’t going to take up any room on your plate or in your stomach…which may tempt you to eat more junk. And if you are eating lots of fresh vegetables, taking powdered vegetable supplements seems like an unnecessary expense.
This post originally appeared on quickanddirtytips.com