Date Night

My hubby and I haven't had much time in our relationship that hasn't involved kids (sorry about the double negatives…). For the last couple of years, we have tried—mostly unsuccessfully, unfortunately—to have "date nights." Tonight is Tuesday and for the last year or so, we have tried to consider Tuesday our date night. As I sit here typing, it is 10:10 pm, my children have just now gone to bed, and my hubby is taking a shower…alone. Needless to say, we were unsuccessful yet again with date night tonight. I realize that this post is supposed to be about dates the fruit, but I have this other kind of date on my mind tonight and felt like sharing. Since Chef Brett and I wanted to make this blog about our lives—and share these events and stories with you, our faithful reader—for this post I'm going to talk about the "health benefits of dates" and I hope you will pardon the pun and bear with me!

My family life is a bit crazy. I'm sure that many of you are in a similar situation. How do you balance time for work, children, home, friends, family, self, and still have time for a relationship? My husband works very hard, long hours and has a 35 mile commute each way. He leaves home most mornings at 6 am and often (especially this time of year) doesn't get home until after 6 pm. I work two days a week (outside our home) and take on most of the household duties and get to spend time at home with our boys. I am so grateful that my hubby's job supports us and allows me the chance to be home to raise our boys and also has given me the opportunity to work part time and start building my medical practice. But this definitely comes with a trade off: he and I don't get much time together as a couple.

Fortunately, we have a very strong relationship and despite the fact (hopefully not because of it!) that we don't get much quality alone time together, we are still going strong. We try to take advantage of the times we do get together, we talk to each other, we are on the same page about parenting, we have lively political and social debates (he's a bit more conservative than I tend to be), and we try very hard to keep the romance alive. So here in this public arena of my blog post, I'm going to make a promise to my hubby—for our health and the health of our relationship—to be better about date night! I love you babe! Wanna go out?

Yours in health,

Doctor Crystal

Time for a Date

I have recently rediscovered my love for dates. I regularly shop at Trader Joes and when I do I will buy a container of their chocolate covered cranberries or their raspberry sticks, which are covered in chocolate. I like to purchase these items so that I have a small treat around the house to satisfy a sweet craving rather than indulging in say a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard from Dairy Queen. It usually works but my new favorite treat I have discovered at Trader Joes are dates. In the produce section they have a package of approximately 25 dates that is easy to grab and store in the refrigerator and pluck a date or two out when the need for sweet is upon me. I know that Trader Joes is not the only place to get dates, it is just the place where I rediscovered them. I would also like to add that my 2 year old son will not touch the dates. He will eat a prune but under no circumstances will he even taste the date, I don't get it.

The recipe I want to share today I have not made yet (will do a follow-up post with a full report on the outcome). It is a bran and date bread straight out of Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker. Sounds healthy… or at least good for the colon, right Dr. Crystal?

Quick Bran Date Bread

2 cups chopped dates

2 cups boiling water

2 eggs

¾ cup brown sugar or ½ cup molasses

2 cups whole grain flour (divided)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups bran

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup chopped nuts

 

Preheat the oven to 350®

Combine the dates and the boiling water. Set aside.

Beat eggs and slowly add the brown sugar or molasses.

Add 1 CUP of the flour and the baking powder and baking soda to the egg mixture.

Add half of the date mixture and the remaining cup of the flour, the bran, and the vanilla.

Add the rest of the date mixture and the nuts.

Place the dough in two lightly greased loaf pans.

Bake for 1 hour.

Enjoy!

Honey for Health

I have already talked about honey as a sweetener in my post Sweet 'N' Lowdown so I'm going to focus on the health benefits of honey in this post. Honey can speed wound healing, act as a cough medicine, relieve diarrhea and constipation, and even treat ulcers.

Honey was commonly used to treat skin wounds up until World War II when antibiotics started to be more widely used. Now, honey is being used once again in mainstream medicine—to help fight skin infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The sugar in honey helps absorb moisture which bacteria need to survive; honey contains varying amounts of hydrogen peroxide; finally, raw honey contains propolis which kills bacteria.

Honey is an effective cough suppressant. Research has shown it to be more effective at relieving cough than dextromethorphan ("DM") and also improved sleep quality better than diphenhydramine (Benedryl). I would dose a two year old with ½ teaspoon and a child over 6 with 1 teaspoon.

Honey is very useful in the treatment of diarrhea & constipation. Mixed with water, honey becomes an electrolyte replacement with the added benefit of having antimicrobial properties that can kill off the microbes in the digestive tract that may be causing the problem. Honey can be helpful with constipation because it contains large amounts of fructose that sometimes arrives undigested in the large intestine. This undigested fructose draws water into the colon acting as a laxative.

A specific type of honey called Manuka, made by bees feeding on a flowering shrub from New Zealand, has been found effective at killing Helicobacter pylori—a bacteria that causes stomach ulcers. To be effective, this honey must be taken raw.

A folk remedy recommends eating local raw honey to help treat allergies and hayfever—the idea being that the honey will contain small amounts of local pollens and may work similar to an allergy shot to reduce symptoms. Unfortunately, there is little research on this topic and the research there is doesn't show honey to be any more effective than placebo. A rare but serious possible side effect is anaphylaxis if the honey contains enough of a pollen you are particularly allergic to.

A word of caution: because honey may contain trace amounts of Clostridium botulinum—the bacteria that causes botulism—honey should never be given to infants under 1 year of age.

So, you may want to start using your honey for more than just sweetening your tea! My personal favorite use for honey is to make beer—my favorite homebrew, Rocky Raccoon's Crystal Honey Lager—is made with honey in addition to the malt. I've got to say, it's a particularly refreshing way to take your honey!

My Sweet Honey Baby

After my son turned one we started experimenting with honey. Honey in yogurt, honey on toast, honey in oatmeal. "Unee? Unee?" were the most common words out of his mouth when he was 18 months old. Needless to say honey is a staple in our house. We have also started using Low Sugar Red Raspberry Jam from Smucker's. The great thing about this jam is that there is less sugar than in regular jam and no artificial sweeteners, and although it is sold as a "diet" jam it is perfect for families that want to lower their sugar intake but also want to avoid artificial sweeteners.

But I digress… the real reason we are here is to talk about honey. So if we combine the honey discussion with the jam discussion we get Honey-Strawberry Jam.

4 cups strawberries, trimmed & crushed (about 2 quarts whole berries)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1 package powdered fruit pectin

1 ¾ cup honey

Combine the berries and lemon juice and pectin in a 6-8 quart saucepan.

Place over high heat and stir until mixture comes to a boil.

Immediately add honey and stir until mixture comes to a full rolling boil that cannot be stirred down.

Start timing at this point for approximately 10-12 minutes.

Continue to stir slowly.

Jam will foam at first, then subside and, when ready, will feel thick and sticky when stirred. The color becomes a deep garnet red.

Ladle into hot, scalded half-pint jars, leaving ¼ inch headspace, and seal.

Process in a boiling-water bath for 10 minutes.

Yield: 4 half-pints

A special thanks to my neighbor, Charlotte, for loaning me the book Stocking Up: The Third Edition of America's Classic Preserving Guide
, and for making the recipe originally that got such great reviews.

Quin-wow!

I love quinoa. It's true—I love the way it pops in my mouth when I eat it; I love the nutty flavor; I love that it is high in protein so I feel good about feeding my body. Quinoa is a food that I am constantly encouraging my patients to try. It's an excellent choice for diabetics because it doesn't spike blood sugar and for pregnant women because it's a good source of protein. It is gluten-free so it's a good choice for those with gluten intolerance and celiac disease. Like rice, it is a great carrier of flavor—you can eat it with anything. Unlike rice, as Chef Brett mentioned in her post, quinoa is a complete protein—this means that it contains all of the essential amino acids our bodies require for building muscle, proteins & enzymes. Quinoa contains 5 grams of protein per half cup serving and is particularly high in lysine, an amino acid important for tissue growth and repair (it also is important for preventing herpes outbreaks). In addition to protein, quinoa is also high in iron: 4 milligrams (40% of the RDA) in a half cup serving. Compare this to brown rice which only has 1 milligram of iron per serving. Quinoa is also a good source of magnesium and riboflavin, both important to heart health. So, quinoa truly is aptly named by the Inca as the "mother grain."

I'm going to share with you 2 ways that I most enjoy quinoa. I do have a disclaimer—I am not a chef (I leave this to my dear Chef Brett) and thus do not have "recipes" per se. I rarely measure ingredients unless I'm baking or making a dish for the first time. And, when I make up a recipe, I rarely write it down so it's never quite the same twice. The good news is, there is a lot of room for experimentation in the kitchen so you can take my suggestions and make them your own!

One of my favorite breakfasts is quinoa and black beans topped with fried eggs, avocado, sour cream, salsa, and fresh cilantro. Unlike Chef Brett, I do rinse my quinoa (that is how I learned to make it so that's how I continue to make it). I usually sauté some diced onion and minced garlic in a little olive oil, add the rinsed and drained quinoa and stir it around a bit before adding chicken stock (water works too), cover and simmer 20 minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. For the beans, I also sauté diced onion and minced garlic in a little olive oil, add a can of rinsed and drained black beans, salt and pepper, a handful of fresh cilantro leaves, and a decent amount of cumin. I let this simmer on low to let the flavors mingle while the quinoa cooks. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, fry 2 eggs in some butter with salt and pepper. To serve, put a scoop of quinoa in a wide shallow bowl, top with a scoop of beans, the 2 fried eggs, diced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, salsa (preferably fresh) and a sprinkling of fresh cilantro leaves. Enjoy!

Another way I love to eat quinoa is in a cold salad. Cook quinoa in water with a bit of salt or in broth. While still warm, stir in diced green onions, diced fresh mango, diced red bell pepper, and lots of fresh cilantro. Make a dressing with olive oil, fresh mango juice squeezed from off the pit, the juice of 1 lime, your favorite vinegar (I like either seasoned rice vinegar or white balsamic vinegar), salt and pepper, and curry powder to taste. Stir the dressing into the quinoa mixture until well coated. Adjust seasonings as desired and serve warm, at room temp, or chilled.

I hope you have fun experimenting with quinoa and we'd love to hear about your favorite ways to eat it!

Yours in health!

Quin – what?

QUINOA, pronounced keen-wah, is a seed of the Goosefoot plant which was originally cultivated in South America as far back as 3000 B.C. Beets, spinach, swiss chard, and lamb's quarters are all relatives of quinoa. Quinoa is used like a grain because it cooks so similarly to a grain. The thing that makes it stand out from a typical grain, like rice or barley, is the protein content. Quinoa is considered a complete protein and is gluten free so it is a great alternative grain from a health standpoint (which my good friend Dr. Crystal will address I am sure).

Quinoa is the size of millet but it has a flat shape. When it is cooked there is a little white curl that springs off the side that gives it its distinctive look and texture; the main part of the grain is soft but the curl has a bit of a crunch to it. There is a resin like coating on the grain that gives it a bitter flavor so before cooking quinoa it is important that it is rinsed. As quinoa has become more widely known and used the production and packaging of it has become more commercial and so the process of rinsing is mostly taken care of before you purchase it. There will be instructions for rinsing the quinoa repeatedly on the package but I must admit that I typically skip this step and have had no bitter tastes in my final product.

I recently discovered that you can buy quinoa at Costco, so on my next trip I plan on picking up a package and replacing the basmati rice I would typically use with stir frys or soups with the quinoa. This will be a great way to get more protein into my toddler's diet, assuming he will eat it (although I have discovered he will eat anything as long as I feed it to him with chopsticks). The recipe I am going to share with you today is a cold salad and is a modified recipe from epicurious.com. The original recipe is called Quinoa and Bulgur Salad with Feta, we were trying to avoid wheat for the meal that I was preparing that evening so I left out the bulgur and added some more vegetables.

Quinoa Salad with Feta (makes 4 side dish servings)

• 1 cup quinoa
  
• 2 cups water
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  
• 3/4 teaspoon dried mint, crumbled or 1 ½ teaspoons fresh mint, minced
  
• 3/4 teaspoons salt
  
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  
• 8 brine-cured black olives, such as Kalamata, pitted and cut into slivers
  
• 4 radishes, quartered and thinly sliced
  
• 4 oz feta, coarsely crumbled (1 cup)
  
• 1 cup frozen peas
  
• 1 cup chopped broccoli
  

Cook the quinoa as you would cook rice: boil the water and add the quinoa then reduce the heat to low and cover, cook for 20 minutes

When the quinoa is done spread on a plate or cookie sheet to cool.

Meanwhile whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, mint, salt, and pepper and set aside.

Boil 3-4 cups of water then add the frozen peas, when it comes to a boil again add the broccoli for 2-3 minutes, until broccoli is al dente. Drain.

Now toss it all together, the cooled quinoa, olive oil mixture, broccoli and peas, radishes, olives, and feta.

This can be served as is or served on top of a green salad.

Referenced: http://chetday.com/quinoa.html and http://www.quinoa.net/

Enjoy!

 

Food Myths Debunked: Eggs

In this our second post about food myths, we discuss the humble egg. Eggs get a bad rap because they are "high" in cholesterol; I often have patients come see me with high blood levels of cholesterol who have been told by their allopathic doctor to avoid eggs. This unfortunate advice stems from the early 70's when the link was made (supposedly) between cholesterol and heart disease. Suddenly, we were being told to limit our daily intake of cholesterol to no more than 300 mg—alas, the egg contains 278 mg of cholesterol in its yolk. Because of this, the egg industry as a whole almost collapsed and people began avoiding egg yolks. Nina Planck, in her book Real Food, helps us understand how "real" eggs—pastured eggs, are almost a perfect food. To paraphrase, eggs are a source of protein with a balance of amino acids that is so close to the ideal for humans that eggs are the model for rating the quality of protein in all foods. Egg yolks are high in lecithin (a source of choline vital to fetal brain development), carotenoids such as lutein and zeaxanthin (which prevent macular degeneration and may help fight colon cancer), biotin (which is essential for healthy hair, skin, and nerves and allows us to digest fat and protein), and betaine (which reduces homocysteine and thus protects from atherosclerosis). Egg yolks, particularly those from pastured eggs, are also high in vitamins A & E, folic acid, and omega 3 fatty acids. To quote Food Renegade, a blog I love:

"When compared to the USDA's nutrient data for conventional eggs coming from chickens confined in factory farms, the eggs of pastured hens usually contain:

• 1⁄3 less cholesterol
  
• 1⁄4 less saturated fat
  
• 2⁄3 more vitamin A
  
• 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
  
• 3 times more vitamin E
  
• 7 times more beta carotene
  
• 4 to 6 times more vitamin D
  

In short, they're much more nutrient dense. And they're healthy. Rather than being loaded down with so-called "bad" cholesterol, they're actually rich in the cholesterol your body needs to keep your memory in tip-top shape, your mood serene, and all your organs and cells repaired."

Getting back to that cholesterol issue, a study of 118,000 people reported in JAMA in 1999 showed no significant association between egg consumption and heart disease and in fact that people who ate 5-6 eggs per week had a lower risk of heart disease than those who ate less than 1 egg per week! Furthermore, earlier studies linking egg consumption to heart disease used powdered eggs, which contains oxidized cholesterol—the kind that causes atherosclerosis. There is more information about the great cholesterol-heart disease debate in my first Food Myths Debunked post on coconut oil.

Supermarket eggs are NOT real eggs, despite labels like "organic," "free range," "all natural," or "cage free." All these labels mean is that the hens were fed organic food and were caged in a warehouse rather than in individual cages. It does not guarantee that these hens actually had exposure to the outdoors and a diet rich in insects that raise nutrient value. The only guarantee that you are getting "real eggs" is to raise hens yourself or get them from a trusted person who does. Luckily, this is fairly easy to do: most cities allow you to raise 3-4 chickens (no roosters), or else you can find eggs from people who are raising them (check your local craigslist and farmer's markets). I found a great website with info about raising city chickens with a great photo gallery of chicken tractors that just might inspire you to build one and raise your own eggs!

One last important note about eggs. Unfortunately, many people have allergies to chicken eggs. This may be in part due to the fact that several vaccines are grown in chicken eggs and, because children receive so many vaccines at an age before the immune system is fully developed, our bodies form an allergic response. If this is the case for you, consider trying some alternative eggs: duck eggs and quail eggs may be an option for you. Just this week, I had quail eggs for the first time: hard boiled with some sea salt and pepper and they were delicious! One of my favorite ways to eat eggs is fried in butter and eaten over quinoa and black beans and topped with sour cream, salsa, avocados, and fresh cilantro. I'll share that recipe in my next post about quinoa… (yeah, I know, it's a shameless plug but hopefully it will keep you reading!)