Enlightened Eater

It’s a new year and a time for new beginnings. On the dietary advice front, 2015 was indeed a year of battles. Paleo followers and their meat-filled menus regularly squared off against  vegans and vegetarians. Self-proclaimed nutrition experts declared that we had been led astray with the wrong nutritional advice. News headlines tried to capture […]

Whole Grains Month is coming to an end as are the Jewish High Holidays (next week). This is a time of year where traditional favourites have to make an appearance on the menu and up there on my family’s list are kasha varnishkes or kasha and bow ties. Kasha or buckwheat, although it resembles and […]

Whole Grains Council Survey Reveals Whole Grain Habits It’s Whole Grains Month and it looks like there’s some good news to report on our whole grain eating. A just released survey conducted by the Boston-based non-profit Oldways Whole Grains Council (WGC) shows nearly two-thirds of those surveyed are heeding the dietary advice to “make at […]

Grains of truth during Whole Grains Month Talk about a pendulum. Grains have really been put through the mill lately:  First they were believed to make us fat, then they didn’t — because how can they if they contain very little fat?  And now they’re back to making us fat again or so many believe. […]

I have a confession to make: I’m having a passionate affair with avocados.  I simply can’t get enough of them. I can eat them morning, noon and night.  At breakfast, a little avocado mashed on a slice of whole grain toast and topped with a fried egg (and maybe a dash of habanero hot sauce […]

Cocoa is food for thought If you’re familiar with my philosophy, you know I’m not an extremist but there are times when I simply don’t understand why we just can’t enjoy what nature provides to us. Case in point: cocoa. Yes, natural cocoa has a slight bitter edge to it and it’s not as dark […]

This past week marked the 22nd anniversary of the introduction of the Mediterranean Diet Pyramid by the Boston-based think tank, Oldways.  The introduction of the pyramid took place in the midst of fat phobia. The pyramid  was a model of healthy eating based upon the traditional eating pattern which included healthy fats. Healthy fats? Olive […]

In my last post, sprouted grains were on the menu- what they are and their nutrient content. But there’s much more to these grains of goodness. Over the past few years, there has been increasing interest by scientists in the health benefits sprouted grains may offer. Here’s a sampling of some of the studies conducted […]