Health

One of the things I love about writing about food is trying new ingredients. When I run across something at the farmers’ market or in the grocery aisle I haven’t cooked before, it almost always ends up in my cart. When amaranth (pronounced ah-mah-ran-th) found its way into my kitchen last month, I was skeptical but curious about what this tiny grain had to offer.

Trying new ingredients usually ends up one of three ways in my kitchen:

Not long ago, my little boy was sick for a few days, so my usual cooking routine was interrupted. I absolutely don’t mind the interruption, and like having him home with me all day again, but I just hate it when my little ones are sick. Since he hasn’t been eating a whole lot (sore throat), I’m so thankful to have frozen broth at the ready for both the ease and the nourishment that it can give to him. I guess this is as good a time as any to post this recipe, then.

Making broth isn’t a new concept, but it seems as though the foodie/health world has rediscovered it lately. There’s a good reason for that. Making broth is simple and it offers so many healthy benefits that store-bought versions simply do not. They also taste so much better. Make a homemade broth and then do a taste-test with a store brand. I have. The difference is stunning.

Having burned and scraped my way through various pots and pans and spent a pretty penny for new issues every five years or so, I have a few reasons for reverting to old ways and adopting cast iron into my cookware family.

Formed by a pouring molten pig iron into casts, the technology behind the creation of this age-tested cookware is very simple. The earliest references to civilization’s use of cast iron can be traced back to fourth century BC and its debut into the kitchen scene was around the 17th century. 

Though the cast iron skillet was chucked aside by most and Teflon-coated pans became commonplace, there are many worthy qualities to be examined and preserved. Here are four reasons you should consider giving this time-honored cookware a try:

Some companies strive to provide healthy snacks for employees, but Minneapolis-based Haberman & Associates goes about 10 steps further, with an employee garden that abounds with organically grown vegetables. 

Started in 2009, the plot of land in Delano — nicknamed The Dude Ranch — allows any staff members and their families to work the soil and harvest the bounty, with vegetables distributed free. (check out SGT's previous coverage here). 

Are you groggy? Stiff? Headachey? Overweight? Suffer from indigestion, sleep disturbance, or allergies? Sounds like you may suffer from what Dr. Mark Hyman refers to as FLC (Feel Like Crap) Syndrome. What if I told you that you could reverse those uncomfortable patterns naturally? 

Detoxing is a simple way to jumpstart your metabolism, boost your energy, quell disease-causing inflammation, and kick unhealthy habits that keep you feeling sick and tired.

The word detox may send shivers of fear down your spine. Let me reassure you, "detoxing" is not synonymous with "starvation" or "deprivation." In fact, detoxing can be incredibly liberating, delicious, and pleasurable. I mean, think about it, you are dedicating yourself to unabashed expressions of self-love while caring for your body in intentional, empowering ways. Doesn't just thinking about that feel so good?  

It's winter. And in the Midwest, it's been kinda rough, with 42 days of below-zero temperatures and plenty of snow. If weathering the cold and gray is making you glum, here are seven ideas for boosting your mood and your energy so the next couple months don't feel so heavy.

Fortify yourself with vitamin D-3, the "sunshine vitamin." Low blood levels of vitamin D are linked to depression, as well as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, autoimmune disease, osteoporosis, and cancer. This fat-soluble vitamin is the only vitamin that can be generated by the body in a super cool chain-reaction that is catalyzed when our skin is exposed to sunlight, specifically UV-B rays. 

Fellow foragers had warned me about elderberries. They cautioned me about the hours of tedious labor the dark purple berries demand. They told me how the stems, unripe red berries and even seeds can be slightly toxic as they contain a compound similar to cyanide, and how almost every stem must be painstakingly removed. I’m glad I didn’t listen to these warnings (or conveniently forgot them) as my grandfather and I struck out on a sunny early autumn afternoon to collect our elderberries from a ditch near the family cabin in northwestern Wisconsin. Visions of pies, jams and medicinal tinctures danced in my head, and the elderberry bush, laden with ripe berries seemed happy to oblige. When I pulled my octogenarian grandfather out of the bramble a half hour later, we had four paper bags full of berries. My grandfather wondered if this bounty would be enough for his jam and my various elderberry dreams.

This post is part of an ongoing series on Wellness, which looks at the importance of health and healing in living a Simple, Good, and Tasty lifestyle. Also check out the previous Wellness posts on sugar and seasonal eating.

According to a recent article by Michael Pollan in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, “There’s a case for dirtying up your diet” in order to increase your exposure to bacteria. Really? More germs, not fewer? Yes! More germs, please, according to the article, “Some of My Best Friends Are Germs.” 

Michelin-starred restaurants, street food stalls, and bucolic vineyards have always been top destinations for gastro-tourists, but open air markets and farmers' markets are now making the food tourist’s must-visit list, as well. Full of sights, sounds, and smells missing from sterile tourist centers, these sensory wonderlands offer visitors a way to experience authentic local foodways, especially in foreign countries, where the marketplace can be notably different than the neighborhood farmers market.