aging gracefully Archives - Page 24 of 37

November 27, 2017

Published by Grace O

Eat Up! Form Follows Functional Food

In today’s food-conscious world, many of us want to get more benefits from the food we eat. Functional foods provide just that. A functional food is a natural food or manufactured food that has benefits beyond basic nutrition and calories. According to Mayo Clinic nutritionist Jennifer K. Nelson, R.D., L.D., “All foods are functional because they provide varying amounts of nutrients and energy to sustain growth or support vital processes. However, functional foods are generally considered to offer additional benefits that may reduce the risk of disease or promote optimal health.” Functional foods can also act like health supplements. For […]

November 7, 2017

Published by Grace O

Say Gracias! To the Superfoods of Mexico

There are a couple of ways to look at Mexican ‘superfoods’. First, if you eliminate the tortilla chips, full-fat cheese and beans cooked with lard, much of the basics of Mexican cuisine are quite healthy. Beans (cooked, but not refried) and rice, fresh seafood, chicken, lean beef, tomatoes and avocados are all highly nutritious foods that provide plenty of benefits. And many of these foods qualify as ‘superfoods’—nutrient dense and high in healthy fats, fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein. The other way to look at Mexican superfoods is to seek out indigenous foods that have been staples of the traditional […]

October 23, 2017

Published by Grace O

Let’s All Hail the Healthy Benefits of Jicama

If you don’t live in California or the Southwest, you may not be familiar with jicama (HEE-kah-mah), a large root vegetable that comes from Mexico and South America. Featuring a thin but tough brown skin and sweet, crunchy, white flesh, jicama is also known as Mexican potato or yam bean root. It’s eaten raw, diced up in salads, baked, steamed or even fried. It has a texture and taste similar to a cross between an apple and a turnip. Not only is jicama delicious and versatile, but it also contains plenty of healthful benefits that make it an excellent nutritional […]

October 17, 2017

Published by Grace O

Another Delicious Reason To Love Nuts

I’m nuts about nuts, but some of them are better for us than others. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and pecans are all great for helping to control blood sugar. Nuts may be small in size and have relatively high levels of calories and fat, but they are nutrient dense. They are full of protein, unsaturated (healthy) fat, vitamins and fiber. These factors help keep blood sugar levels low. Healthful as they are, nuts are high in calories, so it’s a good idea to substitute nuts for high-carbohydrate foods, such as croutons or pretzels. Sprinkle them on yogurt and salads, or nibble […]

September 12, 2017

Published by Grace O

Meet 8 Great Superfoods from China

Chinese cuisine has long been recognized as one of the great world cuisines, up there with French and Italian. But much of the familiar Chinese food in the U.S. consists of many fried dishes that are often loaded with salt, sugar and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Tasty, yes. Superfoods? Hardly. The truth is, traditional Chinese cooking is based on many healthful ingredients that are certainly considered to be ‘superfoods.’ When I was in China recently, the FoodTrients team and I were delighted to sample a number of Chinese dishes from Yantai (in the picturesque agricultural and coastal area of the Shandong […]

July 24, 2017

Published by Grace O

We’re Going Nuts for Plant-Based Milks

The dairy aisle used to be so simple—whole milk, low fat milk, non-fat milk, half and half, cream and maybe goat’s milk if it was a health food store. With the growing number of people with lactose intolerance, or those following a vegan diet, the consumption of plant-based ‘milks’ has been expanding by about 11 percent each year since 1999. Consumption of cow’s milk has declined by 25 percent since 1975, according to Cooking Light Magazine. Cow’s milk was for decades considered an almost perfect food with 8g protein, 460 mg potassium (13% of the RDA), 35% of the RDA […]

July 4, 2017

Published by FoodTrients

Age Beautifully Wins Gourmand’s “Best in the World” Award

Grace O’s The Age Beautifully Cookbook was awarded the 2017 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards’ top honor — “Best in the World” – in the Innovative category on May 28 at Gourmand’s annual awards event in Yantai, China. Grace O and members of the FoodTrients team traveled to China for the Awards ceremony and were thrilled when Age Beautifully was announced as the winner. Grace O, who was proud to accept the award, said, “It was two and half years in the making, but it has been a labor of love for good foods that can help us look and feel […]

July 4, 2017

Published by Grace O

4 Super Reasons to Eat Strawberries

Strawberries are loaded with antioxidants, which help defend cell structures in the body and protect the body’s organs. Strawberries are second only to plums as the richest fruit in phenols and antioxidants, and are especially high in cancer- and heart disease-fighting flavonoids, quercetin, catechin, and kaempferol. Strawberries can offer enhanced protection against crippling inflammation-related diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. Strawberries have shown an ability to inhibit tumor growth and to slow the progress of tumors as they begin to develop, according to a study using rats with esophageal cancer. In a study done by the Institute of Biochemistry in Ancona, Italy, researchers found that when […]

June 26, 2017

Published by Grace O

What’s for Breakfast? Quinoa Porridge and Carrot Quiche

For those of us who grew up in Southeast Asia, big, savory breakfasts were the norm. A popular breakfast staple was smoked fish with scrambled eggs and tomato salad. Fried rice, fried eggs, sausages called longaniza (a bit like Spanish chorizo), and rice porridge with fish or meatballs were also regularly on the menu in most homes, but not in mine. My father, who was a physician and very health-conscious, always ate plain oatmeal, and he insisted we eat it, too, without berries, bananas or raisins. We reluctantly complied, but today I am grateful for all of my father’s health […]