by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Despite how North Americans may classify them, weeds like watercress can be healthy and can offer medicinal properties. In fact, watercress is listed as an aphrodisiac in Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica from 77 A.D. Ancient Egyptians knew its benefits before it spread...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
The highlight of the Institute of Food Technology (IFT) meeting in July was meeting Karla Chambers, Vice President of Stahlbush Island Farms. Her book, Farming, Food & Fine Art is filled with easy to prepare fruit and vegetable recipes with full color photos that...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
At its recent annual meeting, the American Diabetes Association estimated that more than 85 million Americans have prediabetes, and that without medical reimbursement for nutrition education most of them will develop Type 2 diabetes. Major causes of prediabetes are an...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Fifty-one million Americans visit doctors and hospitals annually with digestive system disorders, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A papaya fruit preparation could greatly reduce bloating, diarrhea, reflux and constipation based on the...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Plant foods get all the glory these days as we are challenged to stop eating burgers and choose highly processed meat substitutes. But human beings survive by eating other living things. We need to eat those foods that allow us to survive. Beef is a significant source...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
The importance of salad vegetables is currently being questioned as feeding the world population takes focus. A recent Washington Post article described lettuce as “leafy-green waste of resources”. Other researchers have criticized salad vegetables as...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Smoothies are a refreshing way to get your summer fruits and camouflage vegetables for children and those who won’t even look at a slice of tomato. But many recipes are high glycemic, eliciting the same elevated sugar responses you might experience after eating a...
by Dr Betty | Oct 19, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Beets are “the most under appreciated food in the history of eating “, according to Carolyn Pierini, a nutrition consultant at the A4M (American Academy of Anti-Aging Medicine) meeting in Hollywood, FL last month. Beets have been used as a source of food...
by Dr Betty | Sep 28, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Eye health is the subject of mounting research as age-related macular degeneration (ARMD), glaucoma and cataracts become the main causes of vision loss/blindness in the U.S. today. The American Academy of Ophthalmology estimates that ARMD has resulted in blindness for...
by Dr Betty | Sep 28, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
The secret to immortality comes from the sea according to Shin Kubota at Kyoto University. He tends jellyfish and reports they contain apoaequorin- a protein proven to support brain function like memory and learning. Japan has the world’s oldest population and...
by Dr Betty | Sep 28, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
1 pound ground bison 1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil 1 garlic clove, minced 1 egg 1 teaspoon mustard Combine all ingredients and shape into 4 burgers. Cook in skillet over medium heat until patties are desired doneness. Serve hot with favorite accompaniments. Makes 4...
by Dr Betty | Apr 24, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Blueberries are one of the most potent foods in terms of protecting the brain according to Martha Clare Morris, PhD, nutritional epidemiologist at Rush University Medical Center, Chicago. Berries are the only fruit specifically identified in the MIND diet...
by Dr Betty | Apr 24, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
In October 2014 I attended the Hemp Conference in Las Vegas with the intent to better understand medical cannabis and find out why brownies were the food of choice by consumers of medical marijuana. I’d seen medical cannabis used in Amsterdam, China, Peru and at...
by Dr Betty | Mar 17, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Medicinal mushrooms have been part of traditional medicine for thousands of years. Ancient Egyptians associated mushrooms with immortality and a food for kings and queens. The Chinese also promote mushrooms for longevity and health since early research showed...
by Dr Betty | Mar 3, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Combine the famous US snack food and sweet brown powder from the cacao tree and you have the making of a healthier snack than you’ll find in the supermarket. Chocolate has become one of the most popular favors in the world and was used widely throughout the...
by Dr Betty | Feb 9, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Fresh fruit salad needs to be a staple choice in menu planning to provide adequate Vitamin C in the diet, especially when short winter days and sneezing friends can alter your immune status. A healthy fruit salad enhances natural killer cell and lymphocyte production...
by Dr Betty | Jan 21, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world but it has amazing culinary and medical properties. The small crocus plant with purple flowers and three stamens is handpicked throughout the Mediterranean and India. About 150,000 flowers are needed to produce 1...
by Dr Betty | Jan 6, 2015 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Ring shaped cakes are a symbol of good luck especially around celebrations of a new year. The ring expresses the full circle of a year in some cultures while Asian cultures regard it as a symbol of eternity. Bundt cakes are a healthy addition for any celebration at...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
More than 11 million Americans suffer from some form of macular degeneration, a serious eye condition that can lead to significant vision loss and even blindness. The recent Journal of Clinical Investigation indicated that it is the most common source of central...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Watermelon is a wonderful addition to a summer menu. As a fruit salad, it can be made ahead of time, chilled and served at the beginning or end of a meal. Watermelon is currently a hot nutrition item not only because of the lycopene in the red flesh but because of the...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Before you munch down on all that chocolate candy in the Easter basket, consider the real truth about which dark chocolate has cocoa flavanols to lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. Only a special patent and proprietary process of chocolate production conserves...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Don’t throw that Halloween pumpkin away! It could help improve your eyesight better than the carrots your mother told you to eat. As we age our eyesight begins to diminish and carotenoids from orange and green foods become more important. Research suggests that...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Yogurt dates back thousands of years but it has been increasing in popularity for sauces, salad dressings and frozen novelties for five consecutive years. Whether yogurt’s benefit in healthier lifestyles is related to consumption of less cakes, pudding or potato...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Fresh cranberries in the supermarket indicate Thanksgiving is coming. Wild cranberries are distinctly an American fruit grown from as far north as Newfoundland, west to Minnesota and south to the mountains of North Carolina. Early American settlers learned the health...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
June to September is calico scallop season along the west coast of Florida. During our annual treck to Homosassa Springs, concern about red tide and oil contamination seemed to outweigh the nutritional benefits of harvesting wild scallops- a real privilege for us on...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Cookies are an iconic American treat for the holidays and chocolate chip cookies are adored by young and old alike. Numerous variations of this small, sweet single serving finger food are available and several requests from readers indicated that a healthier variation...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Walk into the produce section of any supermarket from June to August and bright red cherries greet you. On a recent visit, 3 people were discussing how sweet cherries were going to cure their arthritis and joint pains. Such was the announcement on a recent news...
by Dr Betty | Dec 24, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
The cost of pork has hit an all-time high recently due to a virus that is killing young pigs. PEDv is not a food safety concern for those enjoying pork chops, pork tenderloin or even bacon, as it is not transmitted to humans. However, the virus, which has killed an...
by Dr Betty | Dec 22, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Health Benefits of Green Tea Green drinks are a popular addition to a healthy diet without much consideration about components in the green powder or foods. To have a healthy green smoothie or dessert, consider matcha green tea as the source of chlorophyll instead of...
by Dr Betty | Dec 22, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
SALT Americans consume too much sodium according to health messages for the past decade yet supermarkets devote increasing shelf space to gourmet salts. Most consumers have little idea which salt to buy or why sodium chloride (salt) is essential to their health. Some...
by Dr Betty | Dec 22, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Aquaculture at Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show Thousands of restaurant and foodservice personnel were treated to healthy choices at the recent Florida Restaurant and Lodging Show. Sustainability was the buzz word in many seafood exhibits and the emphasis on the...
by Dr Betty | Sep 18, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
On August 19, 2014 The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) proposed a standard of identity for honey. Yes, you read that correctly. We currently can sell most anything as “honey” because there is no standard for marketing a product called honey...
by Dr Betty | May 13, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Healthy comfort food is hard to find in the supermarket- especially when you want it tasty, cheap and appealing to everyone. Rice pudding is the ultimate comfort food because it is found on almost every continent wherever rice is available (none was found on Antartica...
by Dr Betty | Apr 29, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
In 40 years of writing cookbooks, I never made gumbo for a simple reason: I never liked okra! I had only encountered it heavily breaded and deep fried, or else cooked down to a slimy mess in soup. But then at a farmers market in the midst of okra season, friends...
by Dr Betty | Apr 29, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Kale is the poster child for healthy foods and it shows up in snack foods, juicing recipes and salads. Kale has long history of cultivation dating back to the Middle Ages in Europe and Siberia. As a member of the Brassica family (like broccoli and collards), it is...
by Dr Betty | Apr 29, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
A recent trip to the supermarket revealed how often “fake” strawberries are used in breakfast and snack bars. Cereals have even added “strawberries” to many favorite choices. These products are NOT made from dried strawberries. The ingredient...
by Dr Betty | Apr 29, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Curry Powder is synonymous with Indian cooking and is referred to as “the spice of life”. Curry powder is a mixture of spices with the key health component as turmeric which provides the Asian tang and yellow color to a curry dish. Turmeric may hold the key to...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Who would have believed that curry lovers enjoy increased immune protection based on their dietary choices? Turmeric, the root that is the source of curcumin, has been shown to help fight bacteria, viruses and fungi. India, South Asia and the Middle East have been...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Wild rice is sacred in Native American cultures, and as a member of the Ojigwe nation, I have harvested this rice by canoe on lakes in Minnesota and Wisconsin. Because of its nutritional value and great taste, it is a favorite for entertaining. Cooking wild rice takes...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
What do silkworms and soybeans have in common? They both have compounds that decrease pain and reduce inflammation. Many years ago my Japanese college roommate described how silkworms produce a bacteria in their gut that dissolves the cocoon so they could emerge as a...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
We’re just a few days away from the new year, and so you may be thinking about banishing treats such as cookies from your diet as of Jan. 1. But wouldn’t it be more realistic — and enjoyable — to resolve to make cookies healthier? They don’t need to be seven-layer,...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Snack dips are great at holidays and sports events. Be the health guru of your community with this spinach, yogurt, avocado and tomato combination. Each ingredient brings its own weight in healthy nutrients to the party. Spinach is packed with chlorophyll, folate,...
by Dr Betty | Apr 28, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable with anti-cancer properties due to the high levels of Vitamins A & C and folate. Slowly cooking broccoli for soup is a great way to increase vegetable intake and enjoy one of the most nutritious of all vegetables with a rich...
by Dr Betty | Apr 15, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Before you munch down on all that chocolate candy in the Easter basket, consider the real truth about which dark chocolate has cocoa flavanols to lower blood pressure and LDL cholesterol. Only a special patent and proprietary process of chocolate production conserves...
by Dr Betty | Mar 18, 2014 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Salmon is a healthy menu choice and a recent supermarket encounter led to a discussion about the nutritional value of fatty fish. My neighbor was trying to chose between wild and farmed salmon. Even though wild salmon may be more expensive, it has more omega 3 fatty...
by Dr Betty | Nov 29, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Eye health is on everyone’s mind as over 11 million Americans suffer from some form of macular degeneration (MD). The recent Journal of Clinical Investigation indicated that MD is the most common source of central vision loss in North America. This vision loss...
by Dr Betty | Nov 29, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
There may be no fruit that is at once so connected with holidays and health benefits than the cranberry. Native Americans used this perennial fruit for its outstanding nutrition benefits, which have been rediscovered by nutraceutical companies. Cranberries contain an...
by Dr Betty | Oct 3, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
The Florida Restaurant & Lodging Show last month in Orlando offered little in healthy food trends but pasteurized eggs, gluten-free cookies, and bamboo disposable containers filled my show souvenir bag. The show stopper was a platter of potato chips with blue...
by Dr Betty | Sep 3, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
4 large tomatoes, cored and peeled 1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeds removed 1/2 clove garlic, crushed 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper 1 tablespoon chopped scallions, shallots or onion Chopped green pepper, parsley...
by Dr Betty | Aug 19, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Kale is the poster child for healthy foods and it shows up in snack foods, juicing recipes and salads. Kale has long history of cultivation dating back to the Middle Ages in Europe and Siberia. As a member of the Brassica family (like broccoli and collards), it is...
by Dr Betty | Feb 14, 2013 | Healthy Recipes & Menu Ideas
Hemp Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (Gluten-Free) 1 cup rice flour 1/2 cup oatmeal 1/2 cup hemp seed or powder 2 tablespoons potato starch 2 teaspoons baking powder 1/3 cup date sugar or honey 1/2 cup chocolate chips 1/2 cup soft butter or oil 1 egg 1/4 cup water...
