Shabbat Morning

What do you serve when you get home from services on Shabbat morning? Some people enjoy a Kiddush at the synagogue. Then they come home to eat their main meal at around noon. Others, especially in Israel, are home by nine or ten in the morning, when it's just too early to eat a big meal.

We make Kiddush and then enjoy muffins, fruit and tea.

Why do I like muffins? They're quick and easy to make. They freeze well and they're healthy. With a little imagination, you can create endless varieties.

For instance, last Shabbat we had blueberry cornmeal muffins and fresh grapes. Why? Because I found a bag of blueberries in the back of the freezer, leftover from last year's crop. And because the grapes I found at the market – a large green seedless variety, were delicious.

What's on the menu for this coming Shabbat? With more hot weather this week, our bananas ripened faster than we could eat them. And I happened to have half a bag of chocolate chunks in the pantry. (Have you seen the Scharffen Berger Bittersweet Baking Chunks? Wow!) So it's banana-chocolate chip muffins and a fruit salad of fresh melon and new-season apricots.

Muffins "Any Which Way" (Dairy)

Create endless variations by starting with this basic muffin recipe. Use less flour if you're adding dryer ingredients (like dried fruit and nuts), and the full amount of flour if the ingredients are moist (like frozen berries). Use whole-wheat pastry or light whole-wheat flour if it's available. Otherwise you can substitute white for some of the wheat flour. When I use all whole-wheat flour, I use the lesser amount. Here are some ideas:

Blueberry: 1 ½ cups blueberries plus 2 teaspoons lemon zest

Raspberry: 1 ½ cup raspberries plus 2 teaspoons orange zest

Banana chocolate: 1 large banana, diced plus ½ cup chocolate chips

Date and Nut: 1 cup chopped dates plus 1 cup chopped walnuts

Apple Spice: 1 cup diced fresh apples plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Apricot Ginger: 1 cup diced dried apricot, ½ cup diced candied ginger and 2 teaspoons ground ginger

Corn: Substitute 1 cup cornmeal for 1 cup of flour and add 1 ½ cups corn kernels

2 ¼ - 2 ½ cups whole-wheat flour (see note above)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup sugar (white or brown)

1 1/3 cups buttermilk

1/3 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 cups fruit or fruits and nuts (see above)

Line 12-18 muffin tins with paper liners.

Preheat the oven to 375 F (190 C).

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and sugar.

In a smaller bowl or a 2-cup measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, oil, eggs and vanilla.

Gently mix the wet ingredients into the flour mixture. Just before it's all mixed, add in the fruit. Mix the batter just a little more to incorporate all of the ingredients. Don't over mix or the muffins will be tough.

Bake the muffins for 20-20 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Turn the muffins out onto a rack to cool.

Makes 12-18

Dairy or Not? (Continued)

A nutritious diet and plenty of exercise while you're young is the foundation for strong, dense bones. Osteoporosis – porous bones, is the weakening of bones that occurs as we age. Calcium is essential for building and maintaining strong bones, and dairy products are an excellent source of calcium.

But if dairy isn't for you, there are plenty of other things you can do for your bones.

Like exercise. I'm not into jogging, cycling or exercise machines. But I do Tai Chi and stretching/aerobics classes several times a week. I also walk a lot. Despite severe lactose intolerance and very petite bones, my bone density has actually improved with age. I'm convinced that due to exercise.

Vitamin D is essential for healthy bones. It's hard to get enough from diet alone, and since we're all wearing sunscreen, (or should be!) most of us don't get enough from being in the sun. That leaves supplements. Ask your physician if he or she thinks you should be taking one.

Don't forget about non-dairy sources of calcium, like canned salmon, tofu made with calcium, almonds, legumes, dark leafy green vegetables and techinah made with whole sesame seeds.

Some foods and beverages are fortified with calcium, like orange juice (in the US) and soy, rice and almond drinks. Shake the container before you pour, since the added calcium tends to settle on the bottom.

If you eat at least one serving of leafy green vegetables a day, you're doing your bones a big favor. That's because they contain vitamin K, another important nutrient involved in regulating calcium and building strong bones. So keep eating your broccoli, spinach, Brussel sprouts, kale, chard and dark green lettuce (Iceberg lettuce doesn't count!).

Vitamin A is important for good bones, but too much of it in the form called retinol, can promote bone fractures. If you take a multivitamin, check that the type of vitamin A (at least most of it) is beta carotene and not retinol.

What's Bad for Your Bones?

Although findings haven't been consistent, large amounts of protein could be bad for your bones. Eating a high-protein diet for a few weeks, or even a month, probably won't hurt you, but over long periods of time, it may not be great for your bones.

There's some evidence that drinking lots of coffee (four or more cups a day) can increase the risk of bone fractures. Cola beverages have been found to affect bones as well. Women who drank just one serving of cola a day were found to have lower bone density than women who drank less than a serving of cola a month.

The Bottom Line

If you enjoy dairy, choose non-fat and low-fat products. Save premium ice cream and high-fat cheese for occasional treats. Go easy on coffee and cola and eat plenty of vegetables, nuts, seeds and legumes. And be sure to make exercise a regular part of your routine.

Chag Shavuot Sameach!

Dairy or Not?

We enjoy a dairy meal on Shavuot. I like to keep it simple with a vegetable pashtedah (casserole) or tortellini salad, plenty of vegetables, and ricotta cheesecake for dessert.

Dairy on Shavuot is a popular minhag (tradition). Dairy during the rest of the year has its fans – as well as its critics.

Dairy is a wonderful source of calcium. And calcium is essential for strong bones and teeth.

But what if you're lactose intolerant and can't easily digest dairy? Or maybe you're a vegan who doesn't eat food derived from animals.

Many dairy products are high in unhealthy saturated fats, which are bad for heart health. Although more research is needed, scientists have some evidence that a diet high in dairy foods may increase the risk for ovarian and prostate cancer.

There are plenty of unanswered questions about dairy foods and bone health.

We know that it's possible to have strong bones without eating lots of dairy, but we don't know why. People may be eating more non-dairy foods that are rich in calcium. Perhaps they're eating more green vegetables and less protein than many of us. They could be getting more vitamin D and more exercise.

Unfortunately we can't even say for sure how much calcium is needed for strong bones. Many scientists think that current recommendations are too high. Long-term studies haven't shown that those amounts actually lower the risk for osteoporosis.

More questions than answers? I'd still go ahead with a (low-fat) dairy Shavuot menu, if that's your custom. But if dairy just isn't for you, there are other things you should (and shouldn't) eat for healthy bones.

Stay tuned…