Coming to Your Table Soon - Weeds from the Negev Desert

Bedouin living in the Negev once survived on the wealth of wild plants growing in the desert. Purslane, Mediterranean saltbush, desert stork's bill and sea aster (photo at right) are among those plants that are now being domesticated for today's market. Agricultural researchers in Israel are creating high quality strains of these wild plants that will be easy to grow, have a long shelf life and appeal to modern consumers.

Why not just stick with the cucumbers, peppers and tomatoes that we're all used to?

Good nutrition is one reason. Purslane, a wild green that's already popular in Arab countries, is high in vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. Sea aster is also high in iron and calcium, as well as vitamin C, protein and fiber. Desert stork's bill was once used as a sweetener. Maybe it will join stevia and agave syrup on supermarket shelves.

Besides nutrition, it's always exciting to expand your palate. Why not do it with native plants grown in your own (at least my own!) back yard?

Red Yeast Rice – an Alternative to Statins?

Red yeast rice (RYR) has been eaten for centuries, mainly in Asia. There it's known for its medicinal properties in aiding digestion and circulation. In the West, it's become increasingly popular as an alternative lipid-lowering agent, especially among people who can't tolerate or aren't comfortable taking prescription statin drugs.

Just what is it? Should you consider taking it if you have high cholesterol?

When rice is fermented with the fungus Monascus purpureus (a type of yeast), it takes on a reddish-purple color. It's eaten fresh or dried and also pasteurized and sold as a paste. As the rice ferments, several chemical compounds are formed, including monacolin K, which is chemically identical to the drug lovastatin.

In controlled studies, RYR was shown to raise HDL (healthy lipids) and lower LDL and triglycerides (unhealthy lipids). A large Chinese study showed a marked decrease in heart attacks among patients taking RYR for nearly 5 years.

Here's the difference between RYR and lovastatin:

Lovastatin is a prescription medication which is standardized and regulated by the government. You know just what (and how much) you're getting.

RYR is an over-the-counter "food supplement". The amount of monacolin K can vary from one product to another. In a recent study of 12 different brands of RYR, scientists found levels of monacolin K that varied widely – from 0.10 mg to 10.09 mg per capsule.

An additional concern with RYR is the possible presence of the toxin citrinin, another byproduct of the fermentation process. Four out of the 12 brands of RYR tested had high levels of citrinin.

So the main question is whether you want to take a regulated and standardized prescription drug or an unregulated and non-standardized food supplement.

If prescription statins don't work for you, you may want to ask your physician about RYR. (It can have some of the same side effects as statins, so it should be taken under your doctor's supervision.) Obviously there are companies who do produce a reliable product – the challenge is finding the right one.

As for me, I'll stick with prescription statins until RYR becomes standardized and regulated.

Heart Healthy Eating

You already know that eating plenty of vegetables, whole grains and fish is good for your health. But did you know how much these foods can actually help lower your risk of heart disease?

1. One serving a day of leafy green vegetables is associated with a 23% reduction in cardiovascular events.

2. Eat at least 2 to 3 servings of whole grains every day and your risk of having a heart attack may be decreased by 21%.

3. Two servings of fish each week is associated with a 27% reduction in risk of a fatal heart attack.

Eat all these and you may lower your risk of heart disease by over 20%. That equals or exceeds the results of some medications! (If you're already on cholesterol-lowering medication, don't stop taking them without consulting your physician.)

It's easy enough to eat leafy greens – 1 cup of salad greens (dark green lettuce please, not iceberg) is one serving. Then there's spinach, chard, kale, and a variety of Asian-style greens (like Napa cabbage and bok choy) that can be stir fried or used in soups, omelets and casseroles.

Kasha, bulgur, farro, barley, brown rice, quinoa and millet are just some of the whole grains to try. One way to cook them easily is to add them to a pot of boiling water – just like you'd cook pasta. When they're done to your liking, drain in a strainer. Whole grains work as a side dish and as part of a m

ain course. Start your day with half a cup of cooked whole oats and you've already eaten one serving of whole grains!

If you enjoy fish, eating two servings a week shouldn't be difficult. But with warnings ab

out mercury, farm-raised fish and endangered species, it's often hard to know (or to find) the healthiest fish choices. And if you just don't like fish, what are you supposed to do?

For cardiovascular health, fish oil is often recommended, especially if you don't eat fןsh regularly. Fish oil contains EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which have been found to lower triglycerides and reduce the risk of heart attack and stroke in people with known

heart disease. It may also lower blood pressure and slow the buildup of atherosclerotic plaque.

Dosage varies, depending on your age and state of health, so talk to your health care professional before starting to take fish oil capsules. If you've tried fish oil and stopped because it caused you to burp, store the capsules in the freezer and swallow them while they're still frozen.

Next: Red Yeast Rice for Heart Health?

Baking – How Much Can You Change a Recipe?

I'm often asked if it's possible to substitute oil for margarine, honey for sugar, or whole-wheat flour for white flour in cakes and cookies. Of course it's possible, but the results may not turn out to be very good!

So my answer is "it depends". Solid fats like margarine and butter create a different texture than oil does in baked goods. Margarine contains water, whereas oil is 100% fat, so the measurements need to be adjusted. Honey is a liquid, so it doesn't substitute for sugar without adjusting other ingredients in your recipe. Whole wheat flour gives a heartier taste to baked goods, so you might not want to use it when you're looking for a delicate or subtle flavored product.

Here's the recipe for a cake I baked last Shabbat. The original recipe called for white flour and 1 ¼ cups of sugar. It also called for a larger bundt pan (24cm/9 ½ ") than I had. So I divided the batter between my 20 cm (8") pan and a mini pan that could go into the freezer later for another occasion. Did you know that if you serve a large cake, people are likely to eat more of it than if the cake is smaller to begin with?

The recipe contains flavorful spices and citrus zest, so I felt comfortable substituting whole-wheat flour for all of the white flour. And because most cakes are just too sweet for my taste, I cut back on the sugar by ¼ cup.

The results – excellent! Nobody even guessed that it was made from whole-wheat flour or that it wasn't sweet enough. It's also quick and easy. You'll need an electric mixer, but otherwise this cake goes together in just a few minutes.

Orange Spice Cake (Parve)

3 eggs

1 ¼ cups sugar (white or demerrara)

2 ½ cups whole-wheat pastry flour

2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder

(Or substitute one 350 gm package of self-rising whole-wheat flour for the flour and baking powder)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 tablespoon grated orange zest (preferably organic)

1 teaspoon grated lemon zest (preferably organic)

¾ cup orange juice

¾ cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Powdered sugar (optional)

Heat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Spray a bundt pan (see above for size information) with baking spray.

Beat the eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed, until they've significantly increased in volume and are light colored and thick.

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, cardamom, orange and lemon zest together in a separate bowl.

Measure the orange juice and oil in one measuring cup and add the vanilla extract to it.

When the eggs are ready, lower the speed of the mixer and add the flour and liquid ingredients to the eggs. Scrape the bowl occasionally and mix to get out any lumps.

Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for about 30-40 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 15-20 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely on the rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving, if desired.

Two New Books

No doubt about it – kosher is "in", and not just within the kashrut observant community. The popularity of kosher food in the US has soared, as have the number of products now boasting kosher supervision. New kosher cookbooks are following the trend.

I've just had a chance to review two of them.

Gil Marks spent years researching material for his fascinating Encyclopedia of Jewish Food. He's written over 600 pages on every subject related to Jewish food that you could imagine – and many that you've probably never heard of. (How about Csipetke, Kharcho and Dukkah?) With much detail, Gil discusses ancient and modern foods from Jewish communities all over the world. This is not a standard cookbook, but many delicious and moderately easy-to-make recipes are included.

Although the book cover is absolutely gorgeous, smatterings of black and white photographs don't make this a glamorous read. In fact, it's not a "read through" kind of book at all, unless reading encyclopedias are your thing. But I've been making my way through it slowly, enjoying it immensely and already using it as the exceptionally well-written and interesting reference it's meant to be.

The Kosher Baker by Paula Shoyer is a glamorously designed book with an eye-catching cover and top-notch color photographs throughout. It's organized by preparation time, rather than type of food, which I found a bit awkward.

The premise of Paula's book is that you can re-do any of those gorgeously fancy dairy baked goods you've drooled over for years and make them parve.

She may be right, but at what price to your health? Most of her recipes call for large amounts of solid fat (stick margarine or Crisco), parve whip topping, parve coffee creamer, parve sour cream and cream cheese, and frozen puff pastry.

Here are the ingredients of some of the products called for in her recipes:

Rich's Whip Topping: Water, high fructose corn syrup (sugar), hydrogenated coconut oil, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, more sugar, gums, stabilizers and other various chemicals, flavors and colors

Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry: Unbleached enriched wheat (white) flour, water, partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils, mono and diglycerides derived from hydrogenated soybean oil, and soy lecithin

Although some of her recipes do use canola oil and soy, rice and almond milk, the majority are dependent on artery-clogging hydrogenated fats and lots of sugar. While recommending these products, Paula claims in her introduction that "…many studies link milk consumption with various medical symptoms and diseases."

Is she referring to dairy allergies or lactose intolerance? If so, how can you compare these to heart disease – the number one cause of death in the US, brought on in large part by diets high in saturated fat, sugar and way too many calories?

I guess Paula and I are just on different wave-lengths when it comes to parve desserts. Her idea is creamy, rich, sweet and loaded with saturated fat, while I prefer desserts made with fresh and dried fruit, nuts, whole grains, olive and canola oil. Maybe there's another kosher cookbook waiting to be written?

Cranberries

Beer Sheva is finally on the map.

We just got a branch of Eden Teva – the kosher Israeli equivalent of Whole Foods Market in the US. It's a gorgeous store and well stocked with healthy and alternative (organic, gluten-free, dairy-free, sugar-free) foods from around the world. They've got hormone-free chicken and beef, fresh fish, dozens of varieties of olives, grains, beans and spices. Their in-store bakery actually makes whole-grain challot without caramel coloring. Among their huge selection of frozen foods, I found cranberries for "Shabbat Thanksgiving". Not the usual "mini" variety occasionally brought in from Eastern Europe, but big, bright red cranberries from Maine!

Besides the tasty Thanksgiving tradition, there are lots of good reasons to eat cranberries. They contain proanthocyanidins (PACs) and other polyphenols – antioxidants that may benefit everything from heart disease to cancer. Cranberries can help prevent urinary tract infections by preventing the growth of E.coli bacteria.

They're fat-free, low in sodium and high in potassium, vitamin C and fiber.

Since cranberries are naturally tart, the tendency is to add lots of sugar to make them palatable. Just go easy on the sweetener so you don't overdo the calories.

Here's my favorite Thanksgiving cranberry recipe:

Cranberry Sauce (Parve)

3/4 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger or a few slices fresh ginger (optional)

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries

Bring the maple syrup, water and ginger to a boil. Stir in the cranberries and simmer, stirring occasionally, until they begin to soften and pop. Let them cool and then refrigerate.

Makes 2 cups

Welcome Back!

To all of my faithful readers,

Please excuse my absence.

In truth, I have not been well for the past several months.

The good news is that I'm not seriously ill. After lots of tests and visits to medical specialists, the diagnosis is fibromyalgia - a set of treatable symptoms rather than a disease. So I'm returning to regular exercise, trying different medications and resting a lot. The worst symptoms are exhaustion and difficulty in concentrating - thus the lack of blogs.

Now that I'm feeling better, I'll be back to blogging more often. Look for a new post following this one.

Thanks so much for your understanding.

Chana

Macaroni and Cheese

When our granddaughter comes over after gan (preschool), this is her favorite lunch. Even with salad (which, like most Israelis, she's eaten since she was little) I can't seem to make enough to satisfy her appetite.

What's the big deal?

It's a good way to introduce healthy whole wheat pasta.
Tomato sauce adds flavor, so you can use less (high fat) cheese.
The attractive rosy tint hides the fact that the pasta is brown.
Homemade is better than the highly processed, over-salted boxed variety.
You can make it all in one pan, so it's quick and easy.

Otherwise, it's really just homemade macaroni and cheese: Start with whole grain pasta. Make a white sauce. Add a little cheese and some pasta sauce. The quantities are up to you. Here's the "recipe":

Start by boiling whole wheat pasta (children especially enjoy shapes like bowties and corkscrews). When it's cooked "al dente" (with a little bite to it – not mushy), drain it and rinse in a colander. Let the excess hot water in the pan evaporate for a minute or two.

Heat a spoonful of canola or olive oil in the same pan. Mix in a tablespoon or so of flour and mix together, stirring frequently, to make a paste. Cook for a minute or two, stirring all the time. (A whisk is good for this.) Gradually pour in about a cup of low fat milk, whisking constantly to prevent lumps. Bring the sauce to a boil and let it simmer for a minute or two on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in a handful of grated cheese (I like cheddar). Stir it into the sauce until it melts. Now add pasta or tomato sauce (homemade or purchased – I like the kind with chunky pieces of vegetables in it) until it turns a lovely rosy pink color. Add the drained pasta into the sauce. That's it! Serve now or refrigerate and microwave it later.

What do we do after lunch? This week we painted each other's nail's. For a savta (grandmother) who raised three boys and no girls, I was in heaven!

Diets – How to Spot a Fad

Diets have been around forever. Whether you're trying to lose a few pounds or a lot, you'd like to do it easily and as quickly as possible. The diet industry is ready and waiting – there are hundreds of "quick fix" and "miracle" diets claiming to be the best approach to weight loss. All you have to do is…

Here's where it gets tricky. It's tempting to try something new and different. Or to buy special food, supplements and books that promise quick, easy weight loss. But before you do, here's what to look out for:

1. Is the diet based on drastically reducing calories? Starvation-type diets rely on a simple trick: When deprived of food, the body's natural reaction is to dump water. So most of the weight you lose on a very low-calorie diet is water. After you start eating normally, the body acts like a sponge and sucks up the lost water and you regain the weight.

2. Does the diet require you to buy pills, herbs, nutrition bars or supplements? There's no such thing as a magic pill. Herbs and supplements will not speed up your metabolism, suppress your appetite or block the absorption of food, as they might promise. Besides, most supplements are not regulated. Many of them don't contain what they say they do, and some have even been found to contain contaminants. Prescription weight-loss drugs are another matter, but require the supervision of your health-care provider.

3. A diet that eliminates meals or whole food groups is likely to lack essential nutrients. Likewise, a diet that focuses on eating just one particular food may come up short in important vitamins and minerals. While high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets may be safe and effective, it's best to use them for short periods of time under medical supervision.

How else can you spot a fad diet?

It promises a quick fix

The claims sound too good to be true

It draws simplistic conclusions from complex data

It's based on studies that are not peer-reviewed or are too small to draw conclusions

It's selling you a specific product

Successful weight-loss involves good nutrition, portion-control, mindful eating and exercise. These long-term life style changes are much more reliable and healthy than the latest fad diet.

Back-to-School Ideas

Do you get into a rut when it comes to packing school lunch boxes? I remember those days. One son insisted on peanut butter and jelly for months at a time. Another wanted only strawberry jelly. The third refused anything resembling jelly. Sneaking in whole-wheat bread was another challenge.

Here are some creative ideas that add nutritional "punch" to sandwiches.

Avocado

Mild in flavor, smooth and creamy, avocado is a winner in sandwiches. It's high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and nutrients like vitamin E, potassium, folate and healthy plant sterols. Slice it or mash it with a drop of lemon juice. Use avocado instead of mayonnaise on cheese, tuna, chicken and turkey sandwiches.

Nut and Seed Butters

Peanut butter is a staple for most of us. But how about trying other kinds of "butters"? Almond butter is a delicious source of calcium and magnesium. Look for hazelnut, soy nut and sesame butters. There are a variety of techina (sesame) spreads, including my favorite, made with ground sesame seeds, walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts and honey. Try nut butters with bananas, apples or pears for a tasty sandwich.

Dried Fruit

When fresh fruit is not in season, try dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, plums (the new word for prunes), cherries, figs, dates and apricots. Dried fruit is nutrient and calorie dense, so just ¼ cup equals a full serving of fruit. Dried cranberries are great in tuna and chicken salad sandwiches. Raisins and cut up apricots are tasty with nut butters. Fill a small bag with whole or cut up dried fruit for a nutritious snack.

Hummus

Made from chickpeas and techina (ground sesame seeds), hummus is popular as a dip, spread and salad. Why not use it in sandwiches? Both chickpeas and techina are high in protein, fiber, vitamins and minerals. Spread hummus on whole-grain bread, pita or a bagel and add tomato and cucumber slices for a tasty sandwich. Before you buy hummus, check the label. Some brands have lots of added vegetable oil and very little techina.

Roasted Peppers

You can buy them in a jar or make them yourself: Cut around the stalk of the pepper and lift it out with the seeds. (Shake out the rest of the seeds.) Roast them in a 450 F (230 C) oven until the skin is charred all over. While they're still hot, put the peppers into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Peel them when they're cool enough to handle. Roasted red pepper strips added to a tuna or cheese sandwich are not only delicious. They also give you a boost of vitamins C and A.