Category: Nutritional Advice

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Celeriac…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

This is the root of the celery vegetable. It is a massive ball of roots that is an earthy, celery-flavored vegetable. It can be mashed with potatoes, used raw in a salad or cooked. It is loaded with Vitamin K and potassium while being low in calories. It is a big part of South American cuisine especially in Peru. It can have a shelf life of 8 months if stored between 32 to 40 degrees Fahrenheit. Celeriac is excellent to stimulate digestion. Here are a few suggestions below.

Celeriac oven chips…                                                                                           https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/celeriac-oven-chips                                                    Celeriac, pancetta, and Thyme soup                                                                https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/celeriac-pancetta-thyme-soup                                   Celeriac, and Potato Latkes                                                                            https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/celery-root-and-potato-latkes-231193

Vegan Coconut-Ginger Black Beans…

Posted on by Lenny Variano

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 (15 0z.) cans black beans
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil or extra-virgin oil
  • 1 ½ ground coriander or cumin
  • 1 (three-inch piece) fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated (about 3 tablespoons)
  • 1 (13- ounce can) full fat coconut milk
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • ½ cup toasted coconut flakes
  • 1 teaspoon lime zest plus 2 tablespoons lime juice

Directions:

  • Rinse 1 can of black beans- set aside
  • Large saucepan heat coconut oil-add cumin and ginger, stir about 2 minutes
  • Add rinsed beans plus second can including liquid, coconut milk, salt, pepper
  • Bring mixture to a boil, lower heat, and simmer for about 20 minutes until beans are soft
  • In a separate bowl, mix coconut flakes with lime zest and pepper
  • Remove beans from heat, stir in remaining ginger, season with salt and pepper, stir in lime juice, top with coconut flake mixture

Time 30 minutes    Serves 4

Kindness:

Posted on by Lenny Variano

Is it true that it is better to give than to receive? Some attribute it to the fact that it makes one feel that your life is more valuable. Can doing good for someone else counter act anxiety, depression, as well as all the stress brought about by the pandemic. “Prosocial Behavior” is a term given to acting in a way that may be beneficial or helpful to others.  An act of kindness can bring about both positive mental and physical changes from lowering stress levels to releasing feel-good hormones. Even Darwin who wrote about survival of the fittest felt that caring for others is instinctual. An act of kindness can be as simple as a positive e-mail to someone who may be having a rough day. Sociologists feel it should begin with the next generation. That is teaching children to empathize with others, recognize injustice and take part in changing things. Compassion can release serotonin to counter depression and at the same time slow heart rate to calm a person down. Empathy is fine but an act of kindness needs to have a follow up. Being able to see and feel that someone needs help is only half of the solution. It needs to be accompanied by action. Community is created by kindness. Researchers are finding that celebrating a friend’s success is as or more important than responding to when that person is in need. Kindness is also the ability to tell the truth to someone in a gentle but constructive way. It goes both ways which means that you should be able to receive constructive criticism if done with kindness. Most of all it means being kind and taking care of oneself.

Exercise in the Morning or Evening?

Posted on by Lenny Variano

The time of day you choose to exercise may have a great deal to do with control of blood sugar levels as well as cholesterol. Our internal clock mechanism is controlled and synchronized by not only sleep and light but also by the type of food we consume. Most past studies dealt with the time of day we ate and presented very different results. Some encouraged exercise before breakfast while others showed the benefits by working out later in the day on both blood sugar levels and heart rate. Most of these studies did not factor in the type of meals being eaten. A new study published in “Diabetologia” was performed at The Mary Hopkins Institute of Health Research in Australia. It involved 24 sedentary, overweight men who had all their vital statistics recorded before the experiment began.  They were placed on a diet of 65% fat for five days and were then invited back to have all their vitals recorded once more. This was a diet that included extreme amounts of fat to concentrate on how the body would use fat during exercise.  They were then divided into three groups. One group started their exercise routine at 6 AM, the next at 6 PM and the last remained sedentary. The exercise routine was identical. After five days they were again tested. Both, the sedentary and the 6 AM workout group had dangerous increases in cholesterol levels as well as the markers for heart disease. The group that worked out at 6 PM showed less of an impact of the poor diet. Their cholesterol, blood sugar levels as well as the molecules which are markers for heart disease were all lower. The study did not reveal how or why the time of day affected fat metabolism. This study did not encourage the intake of high fat diets which have been proven to be extremely unhealthy.