cooking lesson #2: salt the eggplant

Western variety

Asian Variety

Eggplants come in many shapes and sizes, but 2 varieties are most common: Asian and Western.  Asian varieties include round or long and thin ones.  Western varieties may be larger and are shaped like plump pears.  They are all super yummy and can be cooked in many ways.  They can be grilled, baked, steamed, fried or sauteed!  

Tip:
When you cook your eggplant- add salt.  

diet myth #1: food combining

Top 10 Secrets...

It wouldn't surprise anyone to hear that my classes spend time talking about current dieting techniques or "fad diets."  There are plenty of diets with outrageous requirements, like the watermelon diet or the grapefruit diet, but there are some that seem to work.  For example, Kate Middleton has famously lost weight on the high protein Dukan diet.  Food combining seems to be in this group of diets that appears to work, but like any diet, there are flaws.


The premise of the food combining diet is that foods are optimally digested in specific combinations.  The theory is that the stomach releases enzymes, either acidic or basic, depending on the food ingested.  However, if you eat food that requires both acidic and basic enzymes (ie. chicken with rice), the released enzymes will neutralize one another, thus making food hard to digest (slowing your metabolism and causing stomach pain).  By eating food in the "right" combinations, proponents of this diet say that you will increase your metabolism, lose weight, and ultimately feel better.  Here is a chart of the combinations and rules, but basically- there are 3 groups of foods: proteins, starches, and "neutral foods" like seeds and nuts. You can only eat a protein with neutral food or a carb with neutral food, but neither can be eaten together.  Further, fruit must be eaten in isolation.  (There are many rules, and I am dramatically generalizing it- please feel free to read about this diet on your own!!) 

if you can't stand the heat... cooking lesson #1

Cooking (heating) does a lot for us in terms of food: It improves palatability of food; makes it easier to digest; adds a variety of flavors; and it kills some harmful pathogens.  Cooking can make food gorgeous- bringing out color of fruits and vegetables, but it can also help bring out some vitamins and and other phytochemicals!!  However, you must be careful with cooking because you can quickly and unknowingly lose nutrients and flavor.

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Lesson #1: water soluble v. fat soluble vitamins

A carb is not a 4-letter word!

We've all heard it- carbs are "bad" for you. They are making you fat.  Avoid them.  

Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Over the past several decades, Americans have increased their relative proportion of carbohydrates and gotten fat.  But, are the carbs the problem?  The answer turns out to be- yes and no.  Since 1970, the average consumed calories per person has increased 300-500 calories per day, and these calories seem to be coming from carbohydrates.  So, in a way, the 20 lb increase in the American body weight is coming from carbs.  But, they are not the enemy!  In fact, countries that live on a traditional high-carb or rice-based diet (Japan, China, Africa) have lower rates of obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.  Why?


Carbohydrates are essential for your diet.  The sugar from carbs (glucose) plays a vital role in the functioning of body tissues and are a critical energy source for nervous system (think, your brain!).  Carbohydrates also are an important factor in weight management because they supply fiber, other nutrients, and beneficial phytochemicals!

superfood me

I remember, in college, I "learned" that blueberries support short-term memory, so I decided to eat as much of them as possible. Seriously.  While studying for organic chemistry, I ate.... pints of blueberries (and Alpine's frozen yogurt- but that's a story for another time).  I did well in that class, but I think it had more to do with the fact that I was studying than with the blueberry consumption while studying. 


I wasn't totally wrong about the blueberries though... there are some fantastic components in certain plants called phytochemicals (phyto= plant; chemical= chemical).  These are the compounds that give food color and taste (and other characteristics) and promote biological activity in the body beyond their simple nutritional benefits.  (Meaning- these foods do more than provide a source of vitamins and minerals and calories!)  There are tens of thousands of these that are known to exist, but just a small amount have been analyzed with research.  This poses a slight problem because often we see products containing some of these elements that manufacturers will label as 'preventing cancer' or 'sharpening brain function' in order to promote sales.  You must be aware that many claims about "superfoods" are not yet based on scientific evidence; no single food has magical health benefits! (Sorry- acai berry diet devotees!)  What we can say with reasonable certainty though is that diets rich in plant foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, seeds and nuts) help lower blood pressure and risk for inflammation.

it's not what we eat, it's how much

It has been raining for the past three days here in New York- really, raining the whole day, everyday.  Because of this, I have not had time to do any school supply shopping or have time for fun, outdoorsy activities (read... non-school supply shopping), but I have had time to read.  This is a good thing, because I have already been given more reading than perhaps I have done in the last four years since college.

We all know that Americans are overweight- well at least two-thirds are.  But, it may not be all because of a change to a more sedentary lifestyle or the development worse eating habits.  The reason may be simply that: we eat too much.

Bucket Gulp 

The size and portion of our food has increase dramatically within the past few decades, and Americans are unaware of how much more they are eating.  Foods we buy are sometimes two to five times larger than when they were first introduced into the marketplace.  (Even our apples are bigger!!)  Haven't you heard about people who go on vacation in Italy or France and lose weight- even though "all they ate was pasta and bread and cheese and delicious crepes?"  The reason is that the portions are much smaller in other countries, and if less is on the plate- you eat less and still feel satisfied.  (by the way- the French croissant doubles in size when it's baked in America! oy)

first day!!

Classes started today; no more summer for this girl.  On the bright side- we have the arrival of the pumpkin spice latte at Starbucks!  (Not quite as exciting as when they bring out the red cups at Christmas time, but it's close!)

I got my first assignment (yes, BEFORE classes even started) to write essays about the contributions of 4 industry leaders: Alice Waters, Mark Bittman, Dan Barber, and Howard Schultz.  It's pretty amazing how much each of these people have contributed to the food industry.  I will not go into details about each one, but what they all have in common is their interest in identifying and preserving the connection between food and environment.  In the United States, we rarely have to harvest our food, so we do not generally get a sense of where it comes from, what it takes to get it to the kitchen, or even what "fresh" tastes like.  Of course, there is a huge push for bringing local ingredients to your kitchen table (and you have Alice Waters and Dan Barber to thank for that!), but plenty of people opt for the convenience of prepackaged and processed foods. If I got anything from reading about these people, it is to really acknowledge where I am getting my food from.  That is the first step.