Spices add not only great flavor to foods, but also micronutrients for a healthy diet. Spice blends can be especially zesty, but many on grocery store shelves are loaded with sodium, which can spike your salt intake and detract from the spices’ benefits. Mix your own blends instead. A very versatile mix is taco seasoning. It’s great for marinating meat, adding depth to chili, using as a dry rub on chicken and fish, or instead of salt to flavor a cooked dish. Dried chili powder is one of the main ingredients in a taco seasoning blend. Chilies give your spice mix a smoky tang. You can pulverize whole dried chilies in a coffee bean grinder or buy them already ground. You’ll find many varieties to choose from, including mildly sweet anchos, spicy chipotles and the hotter cayenne and urfa from Turkey. The hotter the chilies, the higher their capsaicin content, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. Another key ingredient is cumin. Cumin is high in iron and adds an earthy tang, which complements the smoky flavor of chilies. You can buy cumin seeds to grind yourself or buy cumin already ground. Oregano is a great herb to add to a no-salt blend. It has the highest antioxidant levels of any herb. Use fresh, finely chopped oregano leaves if you plan to use your mix right away or…  read on >

Spices add not only great flavor to foods, but also micronutrients for a healthy diet. Spice blends can be especially zesty, but many on grocery store shelves are loaded with sodium, which can spike your salt intake and detract from the spices’ benefits. Mix your own blends instead. A very versatile mix is taco seasoning. It’s great for marinating meat, adding depth to chili, using as a dry rub on chicken and fish, or instead of salt to flavor a cooked dish. Dried chili powder is one of the main ingredients in a taco seasoning blend. Chilies give your spice mix a smoky tang. You can pulverize whole dried chilies in a coffee bean grinder or buy them already ground. You’ll find many varieties to choose from, including mildly sweet anchos, spicy chipotles and the hotter cayenne and urfa from Turkey. The hotter the chilies, the higher their capsaicin content, a potent anti-inflammatory compound. Another key ingredient is cumin. Cumin is high in iron and adds an earthy tang, which complements the smoky flavor of chilies. You can buy cumin seeds to grind yourself or buy cumin already ground. Oregano is a great herb to add to a no-salt blend. It has the highest antioxidant levels of any herb. Use fresh, finely chopped oregano leaves if you plan to use your mix right away or…  read on >

The number of cases of severe lung disease linked to vaping has now doubled, with more than 450 people in 33 states struck by the illness, U.S. health officials reported Friday. At least three of those patients have died. The leading culprit at this point is an oily chemical called vitamin E acetate, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. There have been three confirmed deaths linked to vaping, as well as one death that’s potentially connected, Ileana Arias, acting deputy director of non-infectious diseases at the CDC, said during a media briefing on Friday. The deaths occurred in Illinois, Indiana and Oregon. “The focus of our investigation is narrowing and that’s great news, but we’re still faced with complex questions in this outbreak that will take time to answer,” Arias said. The CDC urges people to not use e-cigarettes until more is known about what’s causing these lung injuries. “While this investigation is ongoing, people should consider not using e-cigarette products,” said Dr. Dana Meaney-Delman, the incident manager in charge of the CDC’s response to this health crisis. “People who do use e-cigarette products should monitor themselves for symptoms such as cough, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea and vomiting, and promptly seek medical attention for any health concerns,” she added. Many patients hospitalized More information has also been released regarding…  read on >

Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 (American Heart Association News) — Incorporating pumpkin pulp or seeds into a healthy diet may help reduce blood pressure levels, according to a new study using rats. The research, presented Thursday at the American Heart Association’s Hypertension 2019 Scientific Sessions in New Orleans, compared the effect of a control diet to one that contained pumpkin pulp or seeds on the rats’ blood pressure and heart muscle. The rats were put on the diet at 6 weeks old and fed it for eight weeks. The rats on a diet in which 4% of the calories came from pumpkin seeds or pulp had blood pressure levels more than 20% lower than the rats on the control diet. For close to two decades, researchers have looked at the nutritional benefit of pumpkin oil and seeds, said Dr. Soweto Thomas, a biomedical researcher at Tuskegee University in Alabama who conducted the study. “But most of this research has been in other countries.” Until now, he said, no one had looked at the effect of pumpkin flesh on high blood pressure. High blood pressure, also called hypertension, affects nearly half of American adults. Often called “the silent killer,” it has no symptoms. High blood pressure puts people at risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney disease and more. Using medications as prescribed and making lifestyle changes, such…  read on >

About half of all Americans take steps to limit or avoid saturated fats, the kind found in foods like fatty red meat and cream. But fewer than one-third stick to the limit set by the Dietary Guidelines for Americans to keep saturated fat intake under 10% of daily calories. You might be surprised to learn that the single biggest source of saturated fats — 35% — comes from mixed dishes, especially those with both cheese and meat. Think lasagna, burritos and pizza. A gram of fat has twice the calories of a gram of protein or carbohydrate, so if you’re trying to lose weight, cutting back on fat frees up calories for foods with greater volume. One way to scale back is by limiting prepared foods. Fat is often added to make them taste better, rather than to add any nutritional value. Home cooking lets you control fat content, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. Rather than preparing complicated recipes, simplify by broiling or baking chicken or fish to serve with sides. Meat can be on the menu once or twice a week, but choose lean cuts of beef and pork, and trim away all the white fat you can. When you do make recipes that call for meat and cheese, replace half the meat with vegetables or beans. Use grated parmesan, which goes…  read on >

Looking for an elegant dessert that’s healthy, too? Poached pears are ideal because they’re sweet and hold their shape well during cooking. They can also be topped with a sweet finish or a surprisingly tangy one. Either way, you can wow guests at your next dinner party. Pears are a filling fruit, high in fiber and a long list of antioxidants. They’re in season in the fall, but can often be found year-round. Bartlett, Bosc or any other variety will work well for this recipe. Just be sure to choose firmer pears so they don’t get soggy after poaching. Peeled pears can be poached in red or white wine, depending on the color you’d like them to have when cooked, but will be just as delicious using water and spices. Sweet or Savory Poached Pears 4 firm pears, such as Bosc or Bartlett 1 tablespoon honey 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon 2 ounces dark chocolate, melted 2 tablespoons slivered almonds 2 tablespoons crumbled blue cheese 2 tablespoons honey Peel pears and core them from the bottom so that the stems remain intact. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Add one tablespoon of honey and the cinnamon. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until fork tender. Carefully remove with slotted spoon and chill…  read on >

Few ingredients span the range of international cuisines as much as garlic. Garlic has a rich and interesting history as both a flavoring and a medicinal food. The bulb of a plant in the allium family (along with onions and chives), garlic contains potent antibacterial and antimicrobial properties, and is immensely flavorful while being extremely low in calories. There are well over 30 varieties of garlic, from Elephant to Kettle River Giant and Transylvanian, all with a savory flavor. Though most recipes that call for garlic involve mincing raw cloves and adding as is to no-cook dishes or sauteeing it as part of a recipe, roasting garlic brings out its natural sweetness, reduces its pungency and turns each clove into a spreadable paste. Roasted garlic is great for salad dressings and dips, because it won’t overpower the other ingredients and it blends in smoothly. For cooked dishes, simply replace raw garlic with the equivalent amount of roasted garlic and reduce cooking time accordingly. For a quick snack, squeeze the garlic from a roasted clove onto a cracker and spread it like butter. Roasting one or more bulbs at once means you’ll have cooked garlic anytime you need it during the week ahead. Roasted Garlic 1 or more garlic heads 1/4 teaspoon salt for each head 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil for each head Preheat your…  read on >

Getting kids to eat right can be a challenge, but an easy place to start is with the lunch they bring to school. Make the contents of their lunchbox more fun, and they’ll be more likely to eat what you pack. These creative tips will make this meal more nutritious, too. Begin with a sandwich makeover. Use a soft whole-wheat bread, or a gluten-free whole-grain bread if needed, instead of white. Fill the sandwich with high-quality protein like slices of roast chicken or turkey. Instead of a traditional spread like mayonnaise, try a thin layer of finely mashed avocado to add more fiber to their diet along with nutrients like vitamin E and other antioxidants. Just mash half of a ripe avocado with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt and spread it on the bread. To make sandwiches more enticing, use a cookie cutter to turn them into fun shapes. Vegetables, crucial to your child’s growth and overall health, seem to be the toughest foods to get kids to eat. One easy way to pique their appetites is to turn the veggies into mini kabobs. Children can feel overwhelmed by large chunks of food, but will eat them if they’re in bite-sized pieces. Cut steamed broccoli and cauliflower into small florets and thread them onto skewers along with grape tomatoes. Fill a…  read on >