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Oatmeal is a classic breakfast. And if youve gotten the impression that its a plain and boring meal that is only carbs, think again. Make it right, and you can have a well-balanced bowl of oats that contains the right amount of carbohydrates, protein, and fat, which will keep you full and satisfied throughout your morning. Oh, and, youll want to make it delicious, too. By acknowledging these common missteps and following registered dietitians' tips, you can prioritize health and taste. Heres what you need to know.

One cup of cooked oatmeal is a healthy serving size, says Jessica CrandallSnyder, RDN, CDCES, and CEO ofVital RDin Centennial, Colorado. That amount will contain 154 calories, 27 grams (g) of carbs, and 4 g of fiber, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

That doesnt have to be the only part of your breakfast either. Go ahead and have eggs on the side or throw berries on top, she says, which will add more filling nutrients (protein, fiber) and volume. If one cup looks disappointingly puny in your bowl, it might be helpful to downgrade to a smaller vessel, like an appetizer bowl, she says.

RELATED: 8 Ways to Sneak More Fiber Into Your Diet

If you love the way oatmeal tastes when its made with water and oats, continue to make it as you wish. But dont be afraid to experiment with dairy and nondairy milk, says Seattle-based registered dietitian nutritionist Ginger Hultin, spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and owner ofChampagne Nutrition.

These liquids do add calories: 37 per cup for unsweetened almond milk, according to the USDA, and around 100 for soy or low-fat (1%) cows milk. Your choice depends on your goal. If youre aiming to make your bowl creamier for fewer calories, opt for almond milk. If youre looking to add in protein, try soy (6 g per cup) or low-fat cows (8 g per cup). Along with that, any dairy or fortified nondairy milk will add in extra minerals, so youll get a boost of nutrients, too, says Hultin.

When putting together meals, Snyder makes sure she has a source of healthy complex carbs, protein, and produce. The same goes for oatmeal, but it may be even more important because its easy to think of your bowl as a complete meal. The oats supply healthy complex carbs and topping it with fruit will get you the produce (and more carbs), but youll want to incorporate protein to round things out. (One cup of cooked oatmeal made with water has 5 g of protein, per the USDA.) I recommend 15 to 20 grams of protein at breakfast. Getting to this number creates more satiety, supports muscle mass and metabolism, and helps balance out your blood sugar, she says.

Some ideas: Make your oats with soy, cows, or protein-fortified plant milks. Add in a scoop of protein powder. Stir in PB2, a personal favorite of Snyders; the powdered peanut butter nicely dissolves when stirred in and 2 tablespoons adds 6 g of protein. Nuts, nut butters, and seeds will also bump up protein. For instance, one ounce of almonds has 6 g of protein, according to the USDA.

RELATED:15 Top Food Sources of Lean Protein

Its easy to go overboard on sugar, as a result of including sneaky and obvious sources in your bowl. For instance, flavored, sweetened nondairy milk, some nut butters, and sweetened dried fruit contain added sugar, as the USDA notes. Then, theres the addition of brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey, all of which are sugar. Adding a lot of sugar to an already carbohydrate-rich breakfast can cause it to become imbalanced, as its high in carbs but low in fat and protein, says Hultin. Make sure youre using unsweetened nondairy milks and unsweetened nut butters to restrain added sugar. She also likes to mash in half of a banana for high-fiber, natural sweetness. (A half of a medium banana has 1.5 g of fiber, per the USDA. Thats about 5 percent of your daily value.) You could also sprinkle your oats with cinnamon and nutmeg during or after cooking to impart a natural sweetness, says Snyder. Topping with fresh fruit, such as berries, is another way to sweeten your bowl!

Stirring oats on the stovetop may be the most traditional way to make oatmeal, but it takes time and requires attention, lest they scald. (Yuck.) Steel-cut oats take 20 to 30 minutes to make, says Hultin, while rolled oats can be made in five minutes. But if thats unappealing, you can make oatmeal in ways that work better with your lifestyle. You can actually microwave either type of oat for a more hands-off approach so you can multitask, she says. Stovetop or microwave will not change the nutritional properties of oatmeal. Another option: If you have a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, make a larger batch, portion it out for the week, and reheat, says Hultin. Just stir in a splash of liquid to get it creamy again and grab a spoon.

RELATED: 8 Ways to Take Your Oatmeal to the Next Level

Steel-cut, old-fashioned oats, and rolled oats: Its shocking, but theyre all essentially the same, says Snyder. The manufacturing and processing [to get the different shapes of oats] differs, but the nutritional values are the same, she says. Each type of oatmeal offers unique textures, and some youll find more enjoyable than others. Go for the type you like the most, because eating healthy should make you happy. The one exception is the prepackaged packets of instant oats. Many of these are flavored and contain added sugar. If opting for instant, choose the plain variety and gussy it up yourself.

Oatmeal is known as a hot cereal, but a wonderful thing happens when you combine dry oats, yogurt or milk, fruit, and (maybe) chia seeds in a container in the fridge, says Snyder. After several hours (or, ahem, overnight), the oats absorb the liquid, plump up and soften into a familiar texture, and become overnight oats. These are eaten cold. The benefit is that theres little prep, you dont have to cook a thing, it switches up the style of oats to add variety, and theyre perfect as a snack. I like to make overnight oats in to-go coffee cups, which I could just grab and head out the door, Snyder says.

RELATED: The Best Oatmeal for People With Type 2 Diabetes

Excerpt from:
7 Oatmeal Mistakes to Avoid - Everyday Health

Everyone has their own reason for eating a plant-based diet.

For Robin Beltrn and her husband, it was purely a medical decision. After surviving an attempted robbery in 2014, Manuel went through a dozen abdominal surgeries. After several years, they finally had to accept that his stomach could no longer process meat or dairy.

The only problem was: She had no idea how to prepare meat-free foods. "I knew no vegans," she says.

They had two young children, and Robin decided the whole family would become vegan to support Manuel. People who have been through trauma already feel excluded and isolated, she says, and for him to be able to eat well and eat what the whole family was eating became her primary focus.

"Instead of cooking these separate meals for him, we wanted to do this together," she says.

She spent hours a day researching new-to-her ingredients and recipes. She started adding turmeric and paprika to her food to help relieve his inflammation. They switched to Himalayan sea salt, which is packed with minerals and tastes saltier than table salt, and that inspired them to use less salt.

"We didnt have much money, but instead of spending more money on a prescription we couldnt afford, we spent what we could on food," she says.

Her daughter was just an infant, and her son was at that "snacky 2 to 3" phrase, so she started replacing her kids favorite yogurts, milks and ice creams with plant milk-based products. She started using coconut milk in her coffee.

They both started doing yoga, and Manuels PTSD subsided. Shed been dealing with hair loss, but her hair grew back, and she lost a substantial amount of weight, but more importantly, their whole outlook on life changed. Outside their immediate family, however, Robin, who is Black, and Manuel, who is Hispanic, found themselves having to explain their dietary decisions, over and over again.

"When I finally told my family, they didnt really get it, but I told them, Im trying to save my husband and my hair is growing and I feel happy," she says.

The fog lifted

One of their friends, Rolando Rodriguez, had noticed those not-so-subtle improvements to their life.

The longtime friends grew up in Houston. Beltrn had long called Austin home, and Rodriguez was still in Houston, where they had recently been dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey. "My body wasnt able to keep up with the physical work that needed to be done," Rodriguez says.

The Beltrns started hosting a Sunday dinner once a month, which is where Rodriguez first realized that vegan food wasnt all "mystery meat" and boring salads.

Rodriguez says he grew up watching family members struggle with diabetes, including losing limbs to the disease. "I had been trained to believe that the disease was hereditary, which it is, but food habits are also hereditary. The way we eat is passed down to us," he says.

After trying Robins food and seeing the positive changes in their whole family, he decided he wanted to start changing those habits.

"Over two years, Im watching my friends go through this dramatic change, mentally and physically. I said, I want to partake in that," he says.

Rodriguez had struggled for years with anxiety and depression, and he thought those were just normal things he was going to have to deal with as an adult. But he quit meat "cold turkey," and he started to experience some of the same physical and mental benefits. "The fog lifted and I was able to concentrate," he says.

Rodriguez and Beltrn started talking about what it would look like if they started a company to share what they were learning with other people.

They sent a batch of Beltrns five-alarm chili to their friend and fellow Houston native Nicole Valadez, who was living in Washington, D.C. "I ate the entire batch," she says. "I saw Rolando slimming up and feeling better and decided I wanted to make the switch, too."

Going vegan herself was easy, she says, but it was telling her family in Houston that she knew would be the hardest part. "Its so important for us to have our family traditions," Valadez says, so she started thinking about ways she could make vegan tamales at Christmas by using jackfruit instead of pork and what egg substitute she could use VeganEgg is her favorite so her mom still could make her breakfast tacos on the mornings when she visits.

"It was important to make culturally relevant dishes that are meaningful to me so we could make them vegan and not miss out on dinners with my family," she says.

Breakfast tacos are a particularly meaningful dish for Rodriguez, too. "To give up the idea of breakfast tacos on a Saturday morning, thats stripping away an incredible tradition for me," he says. "What is my grandmother going to say or think about me if I tell her I cant eat them? There are familiar consequences to changing your diet in our communities."

But when you find an alternative that everyone can eat like a ground beef or chorizo substitute, jackfruit or hearts of palm instead of pulled chicken or pork or that VeganEgg it allows people who are eating a plant-based diet to maintain those close bonds with their loved ones.

"These are very real positive consequences about how we live our lives and interact with our families," he says.

Empathy and eating together

Opening peoples eyes to the possibilities of vegan eating while taking into account very real cultural needs is what drives everything about the Black Vegan Company, from the online cooking classes and virtual and in-person grocery store tours that Beltrn hosts to the new products that the rest of the team members are hoping to sell in grocery stores soon. They also have a cookbook in production.

Plant-based eating has grown immensely in the past decade. Some people are drawn to it because of health and medical reasons, and others feel compelled to avoid meat and dairy products because of ethics or the environmental effects.

But no matter why, when or how someone eats a plant-based diet, there are nutritional, culinary, cultural and relationship factors at play.

The Black Vegan Company wants to help people address all of those by encouraging people to ask deeper questions about what role food plays in the home and how a plant-based diet can fit within a familys time and financial budget. What culturally relevant foods are important to the extended family, and how can a wider social group have healthier conversations about what we eat and why? How can we teach and lean on each other without judging others food choices?

When veganism is presented as trading something "regular" for something "weird," that can be the root of many problems, Beltrn says. Its important to normalize plant-based eating and have empathy for the transitional issues that come when making a big dietary change.

Food is how we show love to each other, Rodriguez says, and its not uncommon for a parent who is used to showing love to their kids through food to go through a mourning period when they cant or dont want to serve the kinds of food they used to.

Valadez, who now also works with the Black Vegan Company, wrote about her family going through all five stages of grief when she told them about her transition to veganism ahead of Thanksgiving one year. "They were angry, they were in denial, they tried to bargain, all of it," she says. "Eventually, they got to acceptance," but it remains an ongoing and profound conversation about cultural values, as well as health and wellness.

"We want to show people how to talk to their brothers and sisters who are going to give you a hard time at the holidays," Rodriguez says. "One way is to remind them, This isnt about you. I need your empathy.

"Were striving for more civil discourse, and its a marathon, not a sprint. Both sides can be less judgy of each other. Vegans feel judged for trying something new, and vegans judge the nonvegans for not adopting their way of eating."

Making it a family affair

Beltrn says she tells clients to be realistic about expectations that they can relearn entirely how to grocery shop and cook in just a day or two.

When a family first starts this transition, Beltrn asks them to list what foods they like to eat and what are their must-haves in order to survive, the gotta-have pantry and fridge staples. Then, start looking for good plant-based alternatives for each one, maybe starting with a single product each week, say, yogurt or milk. Buy a few brands, but not the original product youre used to buying, and see which one gets the most votes in a family taste test. (To find out more about their services, go to theblackvegancompany.com.)

"There are definitely different stages of veganism," she says. There might be a stage when youre upset or your kid is mad that they cant have what they want, but that desire to re-create some of those favorite textures and tastes will drive your familys discoveries, both in the kitchen and in the grocery store.

This is about learning together and bending together. "If your kid wanted to play basketball, youd put a goal out there and get a ball and support them on their journey," Beltrn says. Its OK if not everyone eats the same all the time, but its also important to make sure that everyone feels like they are included at the family table.

Eating meatless meals a few days a week is one way to ease into it, Beltrn says, and its important to have the whole family involved in picking some of these new dishes to try, such as cauliflower buffalo "wings" or barbecue sliders made from jackfruit.

"Then it becomes a family activity and something you are doing together, even if you arent doing it seven days a week," Beltrn says.

She also encourages people not to get frustrated if they try a new product or a new recipe and dont like it. There are hundreds of products on the market, and one persons way of cooking meat-free foods might not be aligned with the kind of foods you like. Try out new sources for recipes until you find someone whose tastes "fit" with yours.

"Dairy is the part that freaks everybody out," she says, but vegan substitutes have improved so much over the past 10 years that there are plenty of options sold in mainstream grocery stores that satisfy even the most fervent cheese- and ice cream-lovers. Beltrns favorites are Daiya, which makes a cheeselike product that shreds and melts, and Chao from Field Roast.

Major improvements also have been made to meat substitutes, such as those from Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat, but as a health and wellness coach, Beltrn explains that processed foods are processed foods and they should often be consumed in moderation.

She usually uses mushrooms and jackfruit to provide a hearty base for a dish that might otherwise be based on meat. When she does use a meat substitute, she adds extra layers of fresh ingredients to add the fiber and nutrients that a body naturally craves.

Beltrn uses JustEgg, another vegan egg substitute, when she makes her fried "chicken" with breadcrumbs and mushrooms, and she uses vegan grounds to make lasagna, spaghetti and chili. (Gardein and Quora are two popular brands, and you also can cook lentils to make a from-scratch version.)

At Thanksgiving, Beltrn makes her familys sweet potato pie using coconut milk instead, and "it is better than the original recipe." That was one way she started to break down the stereotype that vegan dishes were somehow less than nonvegan food.

"The most encouraging thing was when my mom went shopping at the grocery store and came home with all these blueberry dairy-free yogurts. It was the only (vegan) thing in her fridge, but she tried."

Today, her mom is 70% vegan, and she served vegan burgers on the Fourth of July. Thats the kind of small win that Rodriguez says families should celebrate.

"Robins got something special," Rodriguez says. "Heres this Black woman in this very Mexican mans kitchen helping to start this journey together because of a thing that were all too familiar with." But the love of food and people coming together around food, which is also something they are all so familiar with, is also undeniably there.

"These difficult stories, these problems, they can become the beginning of a great story," he says. "For me, it was like what Tupac said (in the song Changes): If you change the way you eat, youll change the way you think and the way you treat each other."

Fried "Chicken" Shrooms

Want that fried chicken taste and crunch without the guilt? Try this fried mushroom recipe to satisfy your craving. Use these bites in poboys, fried "chicken" dinner with mashed potatoes or "chicken" nuggets with ketchup and french fries. Instead of a commercial egg substitute, you can use chickpea water, which is called aquafaba. If you dont want to fry these in oil, use an air fryer set to 375 degrees.

Robin Beltrn

18 to 20 shiitake mushrooms (or oyster mushrooms or black pearl mushrooms)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh dill

2 cups panko breadcrumbs

2 cups flour

2 cups egg replacement (Just Egg or aquafaba)

3 cups olive oil (or use an air fryer)

Cut the stems off mushrooms and wash well to remove any dirt. Completely dry them and slice into rounds of desired thickness (we slice about 1/4-inch rounds).

In a bowl, combine salt, dill, breadcrumbs and flour. Mix thoroughly.

Dip the mushrooms in the "egg" wash. Immediately after, dip them in the breadcrumb mixture. For best results, dip/coat one slice at a time. Place the dipped/coated mushrooms to the side on a plate.

Once youve finished dipping/coating all the mushrooms, add 3 cups of olive oil to a deep fryer or skillet. (You can use an air fryer instead for a lower-calorie dish.)

Set oil to medium-high heat on the stove or 375 degrees in the deep fryer. (You can also use 375 degrees in the air fryer.)

Fry mushrooms until golden brown (2 to 4 minutes total). If frying in pan, flip mushrooms to fry on both sides. Place fried mushrooms on a paper towel-lined plate to absorb excess oil.

Allow mushrooms to cool for 3 to 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh dill (optional). Serves 4.

Robin Beltrn

Jalapeo Aioli

1/3 cup vegan sour cream or mayo

1 tablespoon fresh dill

1/2 teaspoon pink Himalayan sea salt

1 lemon, squeezed

1/2 to 1 teaspoon chopped jalapeo (optional)

To a bowl, add the sour cream (or mayo), dill, salt, lemon juice and jalapeo, if using. Mix thoroughly. Serve with fried "chicken" mushrooms.

Robin Beltrn

Guajillo Jackfruit "Pork"

Whenever I prepare a dish that my nonvegan family says tastes as good as stuff with meat in it, I do a little happy dance. I love exposing them to new, healthy ways of consuming our favorite classics and reprogramming what they think about veganism. During one holiday season, the recipe that knocked it out of the park was a vegan take on pork tamales. In order to mimic pork for this recipe, we used jackfruit. Jackfruit is a large fruit grown in tropical regions of the world. I like cooking with it because it looks like and has the consistency of shredded beef or pork. This makes it the perfect meat substitute for dishes that require a shredded, meaty texture, like pork tamales or pulled pork sandwiches. I like to use the Jackfruit Companys lightly seasoned frozen jackfruit. This quantity of guajillo sauce and filling will make about 10 dozen tamales, but you can reduce the quantity by half if you want to make a smaller batch or use the filling in another way. The technique of cooking the jackfruit could be adapted for making barbecue-style sandwiches.

Nicole Valadez

For the guajillo sauce:

15 guajillo chiles

3 ancho chiles

6 garlic cloves, peeled

1/2 onion, halved

2 teaspoon salt

For the jackfruit "pork":

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 cup diced onion

6 1/2 cups jackfruit

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon garlic powder

3 teaspoons onion powder

2 teaspoons brown sugar

Salt, to taste

To make the sauce: Fill a large pot with water and set on high heat. While you wait for the water to boil, remove the stems from the guajillo and ancho chiles. Slice each chile in half and remove the seeds. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the chiles, garlic and onion. Boil until the peppers are soft, about 30 minutes.

Transfer peppers, garlic and onion to a blender and add salt. Blend until smooth and add salt to taste, as needed. The sauce should be well salted, smooth and not very thick. Add a bit of water and blend if too thick. Set aside.

For the jackfruit, set a large pan to medium heat. Once hot, add olive oil and diced onion. Saut onions until they are a bit translucent, about 3 minutes. Lower heat slightly if onion begins to brown.

Add jackfruit to the pan and mash it to break up the large pieces. Once fully mashed, the jackfruit should resemble shredded beef.

Read more:
For the Black Vegan Company, plant-based eating is a family affair that requires empathy, breakfast tacos - Austin American-Statesman

Just because you have type 2 diabetes doesnt mean you cant ever let anything sweet pass your lips again. With a bit of strategizing, there are ways you can satisfy your cravings from time to time.

According to the American Diabetes Association (ADA), if you have diabetes, you can absolutely include sweets and desserts in your diet, as long as theyre part of a healthy eating plan and you dont overindulge. The ADA also recommends working with a registered dietitian, a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES), or another diabetes healthcare professional to help you formulate an eating plan thats right for you.

When you eat or drink carbohydrates, such as sugar, starch, and fiber, your body breaks them down into glucose, raising levels in your blood, according to the ADA. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body isnt able to use insulin efficiently to move this glucose from your blood into cells, where its used for energy. So its important to take steps to make sure your glucose levels dont spike too high.

You also want to make sure you eat healthy foods that are nutritious and high in vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and avoid or eat only small amounts of foods that contain unhealthy ingredients such as added sugar, high amounts of sodium, and unhealthy fats.

Many sweets, including cakes, cookies, and candy, tend to be highly processed and chock-full of added sugar, refined flour, and saturated fats, which is why they should be enjoyed in reduced portion sizes as an occasional treat.

Try these tips from diabetes nutrition experts to include sweet treats in your healthy eating plan.

1. Allow yourself the occasional treat. Deprivation isnt likely to work, says Karen Lau, a registered dietitian and CDCES at Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston. Completely eliminating treats from your diet may backfire, and you may end up craving those foods more, notes Lau.

2. Plan ahead. Consider how many carbs youre getting in your meal, not just in your dessert, says Tami Ross RD, CDCES, author of What Do I Eat Now? A Guide to Eating Well with Diabetes or Prediabetes and a spokesperson for the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists (ADCES). That total number should factor into your calculation of what you will eat on days you have dessert or a sweet snack.

Make sure the meal is balanced with other foods. Cut out carbs from the main dish, and save it for dessert instead, says Lau. For example, if youre planning to have dessert, skip the bread, pasta, or side of mashed potatoes at dinner.

3. Be mindful of sugar-free foods. Kristen Smith, RDN, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, suggests choosing foods that dont list sugar in the ingredients and have sugar substitutes instead. But keep in mind that these foods are often still made with flour and other carbohydrate-containing ingredients, says Smith.

4. Pay attention to what you drink. You probably know that regular soda, juice, and fruit punch are loaded with sugar, but sports drinks, energy drinks, and bottled tea can also raise blood glucose. Plus, these sugary drinks can contain as many as several hundred calories in just one serving, according to the ADA.

Healthier options to help you stay hydrated while still giving your taste buds a treat include seltzer water with slices of lemon or lime or water infused with fruit, says Veronica Brady, PhD, an advanced practice registered nurse at MD Anderson Cancer Center and assistant professor of nursing at The University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. She is also a spokesperson for ADCES.

5. Swap out ingredients. In the kitchen, use whole-grain flours, such as wheat or oat, or versions made from nuts, such as almond flour, to help with blood sugar control, advises Smith. You can also look for recipes that use fruit or fruit puree to reduce or eliminate sugar, says Smith.

6. Designate a sweet treat day. Depending on how well your diabetes is managed and what you and your diabetes management team decide is best for you, you can decide how many days you can budget in per week or month to indulge your sweet tooth.

7. Focus on fruit. Not only is fruit delicious enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, but it has the added bonus of being healthier, because it has fewer carbs and no added sugar, compared with processed sweets, explains Smith. Plus, fruit has fiber, which is helpful, because it takes longer to digest and is less likely to cause a rapid rise in blood sugar, she adds.

That said, its still important to watch portion size and sugar content when eating fruit. If youre making a smoothie, for instance, youll want to stick to about 4 to 6 ounces rather than drinking a giant tumbler of it, notes Dr. Brady. And if youre snacking on dried fruit or using it in a recipe, make sure you take into account how much sugar it contains: Just 2 tablespoons of raisins or dried cherries can contain as many as 15 grams of carbohydrates.

Some great ways to enjoy fruit:

8. Pick something you really like. Rather than settling for something that you might not like as much just because its labeled low sugar, eat smaller portions of something you love, notes Lau. Not only will eating what you prefer leave you feeling more satisfied, but opting for the diabetes-friendly version may also prompt you to eat more than you should.

9. Take a few bites and make them last. Split that piece of cake with a friend, or just have half of a large cookie. The first few bites are often what you enjoy most, notes Ross. Try to stick to two or three bites, and practice mindfulness about what youre eating.

The next time you take a bite of a treat, try this: Eat more slowly, think about what youre eating, and savor the taste, suggests Brady.

10. Freeze bite-size treats. One great way to have portion-controlled sweets on hand is to freeze bite-size Halloween candies, says Brady. Eat one of these slowly for a treat, she says.

11. Keep temptation out of sight. Ask family members to be supportive and help you stay healthy by not eating sweets in front of you or bringing cookies or candy into the house. Store ice cream at the back of the freezer, and dont put sweets in front or at eye level in the pantry, where you can see them, suggests Smith.

12. Identify your cravings. Are there circumstances where youre more likely to be tempted? Think about what makes you crave sweets, says Smith. Are you often influenced by a TV show or commercial? Be mindful of activities that might spark a craving, advises Smith. If you know youre always tempted when you pass a certain restaurant or billboard, for instance, try to avoid going that way.

13. Dont be too hard on yourself. You dont need to always aim for 100 percent, notes Lau. Instead, she recommends striving to strictly follow your diabetes diet at least 80 percent of the time and allowing yourself the occasional indulgence.

Read the original here:
How to Satisfy a Sweet Tooth if You Have Type 2 Diabetes - Everyday Health

For the past two years, the FDA has been investigating a strange development in dog health. The agency started hearing reports that more pups than usual were developing a condition called dilated cardiomyopathy, which causes the heart to weaken and grow larger.

Typically, veterinarians see this issue in large dogs. Some breeds, such as Doberman pinschers, Great Danes and others, are genetically predisposed to the condition, which slowly saps the heart of its ability to efficiently pump blood. This can lead to fainting, weakness or death. But recently, dogs that arent considered at risk of the heart disease, like golden retrievers, started showing up to veterinarian offices with enlarged hearts. Veterinarian providers began talking amongst themselves and observed that some of these dogs were eating grain-free food kibble and soft canned food formulated without corn, wheat and soy. It begs the question: Could these heart troubles stem from a dogs diet?

That's what prompted the FDA and other research groups to investigate the health effects of grain-free dog food. For the most part, researchers have a lot to learn about this supposed relationship, which is a familiar situation for the profession. All of us that are in this from an academic standpoint are the first to admit that nutrition of dogs and cats is woefully behind that of other animal species and humans, says Greg Aldrich, a pet nutritionist at Kansas State University. The more investigators learn, the closer they come to gaining broader understandings about what keeps our pets healthy.

A stroll through the ever-expanding pet care aisle could leave any owner confused about what food to buy. A few decades ago, this might not have been the case. Thats when grain-free varieties first emerged, and the products took up little shelf space. This type of dog food appeared, in part, because some breeders and owners concluded that commodity foods like soy and other grains must somehow be lower quality, Aldrich says. The science doesnt back up that idea. But that didn't stop the product from taking off. It emerged from nothing to a prominent part of the marketplace, Aldrich says.

To replace starches in grain-free kibble, companies introduced substitutions like sweet potatoes, lentils and legumes. But these "new" ingredients could leave dogs with low levels of an essential protein building block called taurine. Legumes might not be an adequate source of two precursor nutrients that dogs' bodies rely on to make taurine. To add to that, it's also possible that these alternative starches can ferment in dogs' intestines and may foster taurine-degrading microbes creating a one-two punch of nutrient deprivation. Several grain-free formulas also throw in more unusual or exotic protein sources, like lamb, duck and kangaroo all of which might provide less taurine, or make the precursor nutrients less effective.

These possibilities are just that possibilities, Aldrich says. Researchers have yet to conclusively prove whether or not these ingredients cause enough taurine deficiency to create heart problems in dogs. In one study, dogs on grain-free diets had some heart measurements that were larger than those of dogs on traditional kibble, but they didnt show any taurine deficiency. When seven of the dogs that had heart abnormalities switched to traditional diets, the researchers saw their condition improve. Other research looking at beagles found that when the pups ate grain-free diets that supplemented with taurine, their taurine levels were comparable to those of dogs on normal food.

When it comes to golden retrievers, diets that cut out grains but include legumes might be especially troublesome. A 2020 study linked this type of diet with taurine deficiency and heart abnormalities in goldens that were consistent with dilated cardiomyopathy. The researchers also found that goldens with heart problems were more likely to be fed dog food produced by smaller companies.

In fact, of all the dogs with this particular heart issue reported to the FDA recently, golden retrievers are the most represented breed. The agency thinks this is because of a reporting bias, as social media pages dedicated to the breed might have encouraged owners to bring their pets to the vet, but its also possible that some breeds are more sensitive to taurine deficiencies.

In fact, its likely that a range of other life factors beyond diet influence whether or not dogs develop this heart problem. Researchers dont know if obesity, diabetes or other health conditions make a dog more likely to develop dilated cardiomyopathy, Aldrich says. The influence of household chemicals or pesticides is similarly unclear.

If dietary factors are to blame for dilated cardiomyopathy, it's also possible that the problem might be related to overall recipe formulations used by some brands rather than single ingredients. What seems to be consistent is that it does appear to be more likely to occur in dogs eating boutique, grain-free, or exotic ingredient diets, writes Lisa Freeman, a veterinarian at Tufts University, in a Cummings Veterinary Medical Center blog post. A quality, nutritious dog food needs a range of considerations, including rigorous quality control and extensive testing, she writes. Not every manufacturer can do this.

When it comes to selecting dog food, the consumer is often making an educated guess at best. Though there are basic requirements each manufacturer is supposed to meet, theres no Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval, Aldrich says. If youre unsure, aiming for a middle of the road dog food variety is a safe bet.

Like with humans, the standard dietary recommendations dont work for every dog, Aldrich points out. It might be the case that nutrition recommendations should be tailored to each breed, as theres so much variance from tiny Yorkies to mastiffs the size of adult men. We want to be there, but we're just not, he says.

Go here to see the original:
Grain-Free Diets Have Been Linked to Serious Heart Problems in Dogs - Discover Magazine

It seems fitting that a government lacking in substance is now urging the nation to lose some of its own. At the end of July it launched its anti-obesity strategy, boosted by evidence that Covid-19 hits overweight people hardest. Today saw a more targeted soup-and-shakes weight-loss plan aimed at people with type 2 diabetes.

Common to both initiatives is the advice to exercise more and eat less. It seems as pure and virtuous as Mom and apple pie (well, maybe minus the pie). But as a strategy for weight loss it has a basic and fatal flaw: it doesnt work.

I learned this through bitter experience. Several years ago I carefully cut back on my eating, and sure enough, the kilos fell away. So did my sanity. Feeling hungry most of the time had made me grumpy, irritable and obsessed by the next meal. I was leaner but meaner.

When I hit my target weight I was careful not to go back to old habits. So it was deeply disturbing when I could not stop my lost weight piling back on with a vengeance. Twelve months later I was at least as heavy as I had been before. Anecdote is not evidence, of course. But my case is an example of a well-established fact: the vast majority put back on all the weight they lose when dieting, or even more.

The reasons for this are complicated, but the basic principles are clear enough. The simple energy-in-energy-out model treats the body as though it were a machine, always burning its fuel in the exact same way. Instead, nature favours organisms that can adjust their energy expenditure in accordance with what is available.

The human body is such a homeostatic, self-regulating system. Deprive it of calories and it starts to burn fewer of them, and tries to horde away any excess as fat. So all the time the dieter is congratulating themselves on their weight loss, their body is wondering what the hell is going on, and doing all it can to reverse it.

Evidence is mounting that body weight is not determined purely by calorie intake. How we metabolise our food depends on what kind of food it is, not just how much energy it contains. We dont yet know exactly what makes a difference, but we have lots of evidence that people get fatter when they eat more highly processed foods, especially refined carbohydrates. They are also slimmer when they eat more home-cooked meals. So a serious anti-obesity strategy would require the government to take on the food industrys promotion of highly processed foods.

The apparent success of the soup-and-shakes strategy in trials is no vindication of old-school calorie-counting. Its not just that the trials were highly controlled and participants had serious health conditions and so were highly motivated. More importantly, the success heralded was in remission of type 2 diabetes, not weight loss. While 35.6% of participants were in remission after two years, only 11.4% had maintained a 15kg weight loss. Since the results after two years were significantly worse than those after one, we dont yet know whether even these gains are sustainable. The study is encouraging for diabetes treatment, but it is not even close to being evidence that sustainable weight loss is achievable for most people.

We should be less obsessed by weight in itself anyway. Ive seen meta-studies that suggest all-cause mortality is lowest in people who are actually slightly overweight. Even a recent Lancet study, which suggested the officially healthy body mass index of 25 was indeed optimal for health, still showed that increases in risk are minor for the moderately chubby.

Government calls to reduce our weight assume we can control what in reality we can merely influence. The most we can control is the kinds and amounts of food we eat, how much we exercise, whether we smoke and how heavily we drink. If you do that and are a little overweight, you are going to be much healthier than a couch potato who stays slim through endless cans of diet Coke and cigarettes.

If the government wants to help people to eat better, its main priority should be ending what is often called food poverty more accurately described as poverty, full stop. The poorer you are, the more likely you are to be overweight, almost certainly because of the way poverty limits your food choices. If people cannot afford good food, or the fuel to cook from scratch at home, telling them to eat less and better is pointless.

Of course we should all try to take responsibility for our own health. But we can be responsible only for what we have the power to do. That is limited not just by basic biology, but by what is on our shop shelves and in our wallets. Tackling those problems requires controls on business and greater redistribution of wealth. The government rejects both on ideologic grounds, and instead promotes dieting and personal responsibility, preferring flawed common sense to the evidence.

Julian Baggini is a writer and philosopher

See the original post here:
It'll take more than a soup-and-shakes diet plan to tackle obesity in the UK - The Guardian

Norah Nabkey has always been more nervous than her two older siblings.

Living in a global pandemic, however, has further heightened the 7-year-olds anxiety levels. Its made her fear leaving the house or visiting her grandparents. She has asked her mother, What happens if I get sick? Am I going to die?

Its so hard to drive home caution without instilling fear in your kids, said Brooke Nabkey, a mother of three in Ada Township. She was already an anxious kid to begin with and weve sort of created a monster.

This summer, she just crumbled.

Across the state in Grand Blanc, Michelle Counts has grappled with finding balance between keeping her three sons vigilant and aware of the dangers of the virus that has hospitalized multiple family members and friends, while not overwhelming them.

I wouldnt say depression but the majority of kids have dealt with fear surrounding things, Counts said. Both my little ones have voiced being scared, I dont want to go back to school, get corona and die ... they miss being with their friends but they dont want to lose their life or spread it.

The Nabkeys and Counts arent alone. Over the last five months, mental health experts across the state have noted elevated levels of stress, anxiety and depression among people of all ages, including children and teens.

The pandemic, along with attempts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 in communities, have altered routines, isolated youths from their friends, teachers and coaches, and raised concerns over the threat of the virus itself.

In some cases, youth have been further affected by seeing loved ones get sick or die from the virus that has killed more than 6,400 Michiganders since mid-March. Others have had their home life impacted by a parents loss of income due to the associated economic recession.

Across the state and the nation, weve seen an increase in anxiety and trauma symptoms, said Lauren Kazee, a social worker whose career has focused on the mental health and wellness of youth. It has impacted different people in different ways.

Michigan has not yet compiled data on the mental health impact of the coronavirus pandemic. But the state is working in partnership with school leaders and mental health experts to prepare for the fallout by providing schools and parents with additional resources.

In April, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced the state would provide funding to make a program known as Michigan Cares free to children, teachers and parents for the 2020-21 school year. The program, presented by the non-profit Michigan Virtual, provides free digital lessons focused on developing social, emotional and mental well-being skills.

Hindering the states response is an already apparent shortage in access to mental health services, Kazee noted.

We were already looking at such a huge need, a huge gap in service provisions and providers around mental health and to compound it with a pandemic has exponentially increased the need for these services, Kazee said.

Elevated risk of trauma, suicide

In June, Pine Rest Christian Mental Health Services in West Michigan published a report forecasting the profound impact that the COVID-19 crisis would have on the mental health of Michiganders.

Due to the emergence of the disease and its impact on our lives and economy, many of the conditions that are known to increase risk for suicide are now in place in Michigan, reads an executive summary of the report.

The report includes children and adolescents among the groups who are especially at risk for a behavioral health crisis. They are at a higher risk for trauma and suicide due to being isolated from positive external supports, witnessing increasingly stressed family members and may be experiencing a lack of parental engagement as families try to balance work, homeschooling and childcare.

The economy could also play a role. In July, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Michigans unemployment rate at 8.7% -- a drop from Junes 14.9%.

Heightened unemployment rates suggest a potential for increased child abuse and neglect instances as well, according to the Pine Rest report. Individuals who are victims of child abuse and neglect have three to five times greater odds of suicide than others.

For teens, the impact of social distancing may be particularly difficult, and teens who are experiencing social isolation are two times more likely to attempt suicide, the report states.

Among the recommendations called for by Pine Rest is for Michigan to continue to scale up teletherapy and telepsychiatry, and to urgently address shortages in the mental health workforce by retraining those whose jobs have been eliminated to work in entry level positions in the mental health field.

How to address the news with your children

Brooke Nabkey has taken differing approaches to keeping her children informed with the coronavirus based on what they can each handle. She lets her 12-year-old son Simon watch the news with her and they discuss it.

But for Norah, its better to filter the news.

With my son, Im showing him the world, she said. But for Norah, Im keeping the world away because thats what she can handle. When we watch the news or read an article, we can set it aside. But as a 7-year-old, everything she has stays right there in front of her.

Michelle Counts said her family initially kept a close eye on news related to the pandemic, but as things became too sad she limited her sons viewing and began coming up with activities to distract them like projector movies in the yard or making crafts on the weekends.

We decided lets not drown ourselves, she said. We know its out there, but lets not be so into it that were not living.

Bob Sheehan, executive director of the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan, noted that children start to make sense of the world around them around ages 5-7 years old. Youth 6-12 years old are more likely to ask questions and talk to their parents than older teens, who tend to rely more on discussions with their peers than their parents.

When it comes to informing your kids about the pandemic, he recommends finding a middle ground between scaring them into complying with safety guidelines and keeping them informed on how to minimize the risk of catching the virus.

You can tell them we wear masks to protect ourselves like we wear mittens in the winter, or wash our hands after going to the bathroom, or look both ways before we cross the street, he said. We dont show our kids horrendous crashes to teach them, we just say look both ways before crossing and alert them to the danger.

Sheehan recommends putting your kids on a news diet. Too much can be overwhelming, but not enough could leave them only learning from their peers. He noted that some kids will link the pictures and headlines of civil unrest related to police brutality with the pandemic, if the fact that theyre separate issues isnt explained to them.

Returning to schools

As students begin returning to school, both virtual and in-person, Kazee said its going to be just as vital for teachers to address their students emotional and social health as it is to get them back on track in math and science.

I think itll be important for us to really go slow, for schools to have permission to not push academics first and really attune to social and emotional needs of their students, Kazee said. Were coming into a unique situation we havent faced before.

To help schools prepare to welcome back students, both virtually and in-person, The Michigan Department of Education partnered with School Based Mental Health Professionals Coalition to create a pandemic return to school toolkit.

The toolkit provides resources for administrators and teachers, as well as parents and students. It focuses on disease prevention, but also addresses the underlying long-term effects of the pandemic, including the impact of collective trauma on students and their families.

Theres been a lot of focus on how to check in with kids as they come back, Kazee said. Thats the focus of meetings Ive been in.

If schools and mental health providers are able to bring in protective factors to offset the impacts of the pandemic, Kazee anticipates that theyll be able to build resilience in students and prevent lasting negative impacts down the line.

My hope is we want kids to have some type of routine and progress academically but we cant do it without addressing the social and emotional impacts of all of this, she said.

Michelle Counts youngest sons, Caden, 14, and Jordan, 11, will be starting the school year with remote learning through Grand Blanc Community Schools. To combat distractions from learning at home, shes setting up a phone- and video-game free area of her house with desks for completing school work.

Im nervous about that, she said. Its so easy to get distracted and I dont want them falling behind. I work from home but my job can be so demanding. I worry that a bunch of kids may struggle.

New counseling services emerge

Between January and June 2020, Michigan saw a 33.7% decline in the use of its mental health services for kids 17 and younger. Utilization declined each month from January through April, likely due in-part to the governors stay-home order to slow the spread of COVID-19.

That doesnt mean the need for those services declined though.

Its like after a car wreck, you see people walking around before they realize they broke their arm, Sheehan said. Thats what were seeing. Then there comes a wave of calls, people not taking their medications, and a rise in anxiety.

In May and June, Michigan reported a rise in mental health service use from the prior months, though with a notable difference in service type. While face-to-face contacts dropped significantly, virtual and phone-based counseling services grew exponentially.

Michigan has seen a significant increase in virtual forms of mental health services since the beginning of the year, due in part to the coronavirus pandemic. (Courtesy | MDHHS)

Kazee called the growth in telehealth and teletherapy a silver lining for the pandemic. She said youth have shown in many cases that they feel more comfortable and are more honest during these sessions. She also noted that some providers are experimenting with text-based services as well.

Im hoping it will increase accessibility for those services, Kazee said. Were trying to think outside the box.

That doesnt mean tele-medicine is right for everyone. Brooke Nabkey said shes tried it with her daughter Norah, but its harder for her to focus than during in-person sessions.

Nabkey has seen improvements in her daughters anxiety levels since she began speaking with a therapist and taking lexipro, a medication that helps to restore balance of serotonin in the brain. Shes using virtual counseling in the short-term, but is looking forward to a return to normal.

As weeks of the pandemic have turned to months, Nabkey said she and her husband have gotten better at helping Norah through her anxiety. The therapy and medication have helped her to verbalize her feelings, Nabkey said.

Last week for the first time we took her to a restaurant again; we sat outside and she was OK as long as we explained the safety measures, like a constant reassurance of how were going to stay safe, she said.

We try to be patient but its hard to rally understanding for it if you dont suffer from it. Its trying to be logical and anxiety isnt logical.

For more information, visit the states mental health resources website, here. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Preventions also has resources available, here.

COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS:

In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus.

Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible.

Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued executive orders requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nosewhile in public indoor and crowded outdoor spaces. See an explanation of what that means here.

Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus.

For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.

Read more on MLive:

Wednesday, Aug. 26, coronavirus data by Michigan county: See counties with highest, lower infection rates

See more here:
Put your kids on a news diet and other tips to coping with anxiety during a pandemic - mlive.com

September through December is the best time to fertilize a cool-season lawn, research has shown.

Not sure if you have cool-season grass? The answer is simple. If it stays green all winter, then it is cool-season. If it turns brown in the fall, assuming it is healthy, it is a warm-season lawn.

This only applies to grass. Most perennial plants, like trees and shrubs, should not be fertilized from August until the end of October. Fertilize an azalea now and it may start growing instead of entering dormancy like it is supposed to in the fall. Summer annuals can be fed as long as they are growing.

Lawns can be fed in the spring but only with light applications. Too much nitrogen can lead to summer disease problems. Most cases of brown-patch disease happen when too much nitrogen was applied in March or April.

What should the lawn be fertilized with? For decades most people used the good old stand-by: 10-10-10. They figured if it was good enough for the farmers crops, it was good enough for their lawn. There are two problems with that. The fertilizers used by farmers are formulated to be applied to agricultural crops. They do not work as well in landscapes.

The other problem occurred in recent years. About five or so years ago most, if no all, states passed laws that said phosphorous cannot be used in lawn maintenance fertilizers unless there is a recent soil test that states it is needed. The middle 10 in 10-10-10 says that the fertilizer is 10% phosphorous by weight. Therefore, 10-10-10 will be illegal to use on lawns in most cases. You can still use it to establish a new lawn, but there are better products.

View post:
IN THE YARD: Getting a lawn into a proper diet is important to its health and growth - GoDanRiver.com

Virtuous chefs are forever trying to convince us that a healthy diet can still be rich in voluptuous flavors.

The meat-and-potatoes crowd those who enjoy their steaks, buttery casseroles, cream sauces and whove never met a macaroni and cheese they didnt like dont buy it.

But with Good for You: Bold Flavors With Benefits, chef Akhtar Nawab makes a persuasive case that gluten-free, dairy-free, vegetarian and vegan diets can be as intensely flavored and satisfying as any other. Fully versed in Indian, Mexican, Italian and Southern cuisines, Nawab doesnt just practice a healthful-eating lifestyle, hes the living proof it works.

Recipe: Gazpacho with Poached Shrimp

The first-generation son of Indian parents, Nawab grew up in 1970s Louisville, Ky., marked by white bread and The Brady Bunch, he writes in Good for You. He was a chubby kid his Muslim Indian mother was an accomplished home cook who gained even more weight his first year in college, eventually topping 250 pounds.

After dropping out of college, he returned home and went on a joyless diet working with a nutritionist. Combined with exercise, he was able to lose weight. After culinary school in California in 1994, he went to work in the Bay Area, which led to working under superchef Tom Colicchio at Gramercy Tavern, Craft and Craftbar in New York. Today, Nawab who says hes not vegan but calls his diet plant forward and mostly gluten-free owns Alta Calidad in Brooklyn, N.Y., and Otra Vez in New Orleans.

Good for You:

Bold Flavors With Benefits

By Akhtar Nawab

Chronicle Books

224 pages, $29.95

Recipe: Crispy Brussels Sprouts with Tamarind and Cashews

Good for You synthesizes Nawabs secrets for making healthful food taste like not-so-healthful food. He accomplishes this by building flavor using spices, roasted chiles, herbs, aromatic brines, spiced marinades, seeds and nuts.

Flavor, he emphasizes, doesnt always have to employ fats. Instead, his recipes benefit from concentrated tomato paste, romesco sauce, cashew pure and a vegan soubise that makes dishes taste like they are full of butter and cream. He developed the recipes for these building-block sauces and marinades by making full-fat recipes and then stripping away the unnecessary.

From there, I replaced whatever I thought was missing with something that would add a nutritional benefit and amplify flavor, he writes.

Seeing is believing: The cookbooks photographs for dishes such as bison burger with paleo Thousand Island dressing; gluten-free bread (made with almond flour and ground flaxseed); pumpkin pancakes dripping with maple syrup; meatballs with cremini mushroom sauce; and turkey lasagna show that clean eating can be good eating.

Recipe: Cauliflower Rice Biryani

greg.morago@chron.com

Excerpt from:
How one chef builds flavor without the fat - Houston Chronicle

Eleanor Frederick / For The Times-News| Times-News

Ready to enjoy a way of eating that is great tasting and good for you? Then the simple, delicious and satisfying Mediterranean way of eating may be right for you.

Created by N.C. State Extension and the Community and Clinical Connections for Prevention and Health Branch of the North Carolina Division of Public Health, MedInsteadofMeds.com is filled with recipes and resources that make Med Month a great time of year to start eating the Med way.

The Med way reects a way of eating that is traditional in the countries that surround the Mediterranean Sea and includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, fish, nuts, seeds, and olive oil and limits highly processed foods and added sugar. This approach to eating has been extensively studied and is associated with promoting health and decreasing the risk of many chronic diseases including some forms of cancer, Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

As such, the Mediterranean way of eating is recommended around the world, including in the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

In 2019, the Mediterranean diet won the gold as 2019's best overall diet in rankings announced recently by US News and World Report. The analysis of 41 eating plans also gave the Mediterranean diet the top spot in several subcategories: best diet for healthy eating, best plant-based diet, best diet for diabetes and easiest diet to follow.

More: Lighten up your favorite comfort foods

Fortunately, the Med Instead of Meds program isnt all about pasta and olive oil (although theres nothing wrong with those tasty ingredients!) The program also lends itself to creative and delicious uses for much of the fresh harvest available in fall.

Wild mushrooms and barley risotto

Serves 6

Barley is a great grain with lots of nutty flavor and a nice bite. We often see barley in soup, but it can be used for many dishes. This risotto takes advantage of this grains great taste and creamy texture when cooked using this method. Risotto is often thought of as a dish made with rice, but it is actually a cooking method. It seems hard at first, but it is not difficult. Just get a glass of your favorite beverage, stand and stir and contemplate life for a few minutes. The extra effort is worth the trouble. This dish is a great example of adding lots of vegetables in a grain dish to decrease calories and boost fiber.

Ingredients:

6 cups mushroom, vegetable, or chicken broth

1 cups water

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup minced onion

cup red wine

3 cups sliced or coarse chopped mushrooms, any variety or combination

1 cups uncooked barley, rinsed (do not use quick cooking)

6 cups baby spinach or Swiss chard (chopped)

cup grated parmesan cheese (omit to make this dish vegan)

1 tablespoon butter (omit to make this dish vegan)

2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a medium sauce pan, bring broth and water to a simmer.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or large chefs pan. Add onion and cook for 2 minutes.

3. Add red wine and cook until almost evaporated.

4. Add the mushrooms and cook stirring often until they begin to release their juices.

5. Add barley and cook for 1 minute.

6. Add 1 cup of warm broth and stir continuously until almost all of the liquid is absorbed.

7. Continue adding broth 1 cup at a time while stirring. Keep adding broth until barley is cooked through and tender (about 35-45 minutes). Add a bit more broth. Dish should be a bit loose at this point as it will continue to thicken.

8. Stir in spinach and allow to wilt.

9. Add more broth if the dish is too stiff.

10. Stir in balsamic vinegar, cheese and butter if using.

11. Taste and add pepper and adjust seasoning if needed.

Apple cucumber slaw

Serves 2

Dont just pickle those end of the season cucumbers. Combine them with crisp apples and other veggies that have a crunch for a light and easy fall salad.

Ingredients:

1 apple, cut into matchsticks (use a sweet apple such as Red Delicious, or a tart apple such as Granny Smith)

English cucumber or garden cucumber, chopped,

sweet onion, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped fine

cup white wine vinegar or rice wine vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.

2. Serve immediately, or chill in refrigerator until serving.

Microwaved baked apples

Serves 2

This is a super easy and super delicious dessert or snack. Any apple will work, but firm apples such as Fuji, Gala, or Braeburn work best. You can change it up with different spices to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

2 apples

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Core the apple, leaving the bottom intact.

2. In a bowl, mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Spoon the sugar mixture into the apples.

3. Place the apples in a deep casserole dish and cover with the lid.

4. Microwave for 3-4 minutes or until tender.

5. Let the apples sit for 2 minutes before serving.

Eleanor Frederick is the family and consumer sciences agent for the Alamance County Cooperative Extension Service.

The following story appears in the Sept. 2020 edition of Alamance Living magazine. If you want to read more stories like this, pick up a copy of the magazine at various locations in Alamance County, or call 336-227-0131 to subscribe so issues will be mailed to your home.

Read more from the original source:
Enjoy Autumns bounty the Mediterranean way - Burlington Times News

From social media influencers to great aunt Bess, everyone has an opinions about the best habits for a healthy lifestyle. But whether youve gone all-in on apple cider vinegar or think the latest health fads are all hype, the choices you make can have long-term health consequences.

Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center. Advertising on our site helps support our mission. We do not endorse non-Cleveland Clinic products or services.Policy

Healthy lifestyle habits can slow or even reverse the damage from high cholesterol or high blood sugar, says lifestyle medicine specialist Mladen Golubic, MD, PhD. You can reverse diabetes, obesity, hypertension, high cholesterol and heart disease.

Here, he sifts through the noise to help you choose the best lifestyle habits to prevent chronic diseases.

The leading causes of death worldwide are chronic diseases, Dr. Golubic says. And they include the usual suspects:

But you can prevent many of these chronic conditions by addressing their root cause: daily habits. About 80% of chronic diseases are driven by lifestyle factors such as diet and exercise, he says.

To prevent chronic disease, Dr. Golubic recommends adjusting your habits in these five areas:

His advice is straightforward: Eat plants that are whole, unrefined and minimally processed. Eating plant-based foods helps reduce diabetes, heart disease and cancer risk.

There is evidence that the Mediterranean diet can reduce the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and other chronic diseases. This diet is rich in vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains fish, olive oil and nuts.

Other evidence suggests that consuming a fully plant-based diet can even reverse chronic, diet-related conditions, including advanced heart disease. This diet eliminates meat, dairy and eggs and includes whole foods such as vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruits. It is the most compassionate and the most sustainable diet, Dr. Golubic says, and the one he recommends most.

I suggest you experiment. You dont have to go fully vegan tomorrow, he says.

Avoid refined and processed plant foods. Start by preparing one new plant-based meal a week.

Moving helps all your bodys systems. Experts recommend 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity each week.

If that seems daunting, Dr. Golubic recommends starting small. Most of us can walk. So start with a 10-minute walk. Repeat this two or three times a day, he says. Then try to walk faster, have a minute of more intense walking or climb a flight of stairs. If walking is not an option, any physical activity will do. Simply move more and sit less.

Shoot for seven to nine hours of restful sleep each night. But if you just cant help burning the midnight oil, try to:

Chronic stress is not your immune systems friend. Try mindfulness, meditation and gratitude to relieve stress and improve your physical and mental health.

We tend to self-medicate with food, but there are healthier ways to relieve our stress, worries and concerns, Dr. Golubic says.

Mindfulness: Mindfulness is the state of being more present and aware of what you sense, feel and experience. Its a great way to cope with stress and relax.

Dr. Golubic suggests two ways to master mindfulness:

Meditation: If youre new to the practice, 44 breathing, or box breathing, is a great place to start. Heres how it works:

Do this for five minutes three times a week, building up to 20 minutes a day.

Gratitude: Practicing gratitude is a good antidote for stress as well. In studies, burned-out healthcare workers who performed acts of gratitude such as remembering three good things or writing gratitude letters reported positive effects on their well-being after a few weeks.

Throughout our days we tend to notice more things that are not going well and pay little attention to positive moments, Dr. Golubic says. We are likely to feel better when, in the midst of a hectic day, we recognize and remind ourselves about all the gifts we have in life.

Social connectedness, or loving people, keeps you emotionally and physically healthy. Even when physical distancing is the norm, virtual connections can be transformative.

We have tremendous access to technology to help us avoid social isolation, Dr. Golubic says. Almost everybody has a cell phone, so you can be in touch with people and tell them how you feel about them. Even work emails signed, I hope youre OK, or, stay well, make a difference.

There are a few reasons it can be hard to get a handle on our habits, including:

To make healthy habits stick, Dr. Golubic suggests you:

Read the rest here:
5 Healthy Habits That Prevent Chronic Disease Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic

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