February 17, 2025

Lunar New Year 2025: A Guide to the Year of the Snake

The Lunar New Year begins on January 29, 2025, marking the Year of the Wood Snake in the Chinese zodiac. The Snake is known for wisdom, transformation, and intuition—making this a year to embrace new beginnings and focus on health, balance, and nourishment. The Lunar New Year has always been a special holiday for me. Growing up in Southeast Asia, I was immersed in the traditions passed down from my family—my father was three-quarters Chinese, and my mother was half Chinese. Our celebrations were filled with symbolic customs, especially through food. At FoodTrients®, we love celebrating the Lunar New Year with […]
February 7, 2025

12 Great Foods To Improve Your Love Life

Valentine’s Day lets us turn our thoughts to adding a little more love and romance to our lives. Can certain foods boost romantic relationships and enhance sexual desire? According to St. Thomas Aquinas, aphrodisiac foods had to produce good nutrition and a “vital spirit.” In other words, the nutrients that contribute to overall well-being will also help to ensure a healthy love life. Chocolate is typically at the top of my list for Valentine’s Day, particularly dark chocolate. It truly is one of the best superfoods for lovers. Dark chocolate can help relieve stress, sharpen our minds, improve blood flow […]
January 14, 2025

Put These Good-for-You Grains on Your List

Cultivating grains is what changed our Neolithic ancestors from hunter-gatherers to an agrarian society about 10,000 years ago. In the grass family of plants, grains are a part of the human diet all over the world, providing complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, and minerals. I’ve put together a list of grains, some of which you may have heard of and some that may be completely new to you. Among them are ancient grains that people are rediscovering and incorporating into meals in creative and tasty ways. Characteristically, these grains are unrefined, have a firmer texture and more flavor than highly processed […]
January 12, 2025

Oregon Vegan Mushroom Soup: Immune-Boosting

This recipe is from my latest cookbook, Anti-Aging Dishes from Around the World. Oregon is a fabulous place to forage for mushrooms. There, varieties such as chanterelles, hedgehog, matsutake, lobster, morel, black truffle, white truffle, and milky cap grow under Douglas fir, pine, oak, western hemlock, Sitka spruce, aspen, willow, and birch trees. If you can get your hands on any of these exotic mushrooms, especially morels and/or chanterelles, use them in this soup. Vegetable broth and the secret ingredient rolled oats—not steel-cut or instant—blend together to create vegan creaminess in this light, healthy soup that’s low in calories and fat, […]
January 12, 2025

Echinacea: A Natural Ally Against Colds, Flu, and Beyond

You’re coming down with that tickle in your throat and a bit of fatigue – possibly getting a cold. As viruses like the flu rage on this winter, do you reach for the herb echinacea to help boost the immune system at the first sign of trouble? If so, you’re not alone. A perennial flowering plant related to sunflowers, daisies and ragweed, echinacea is native to the Rocky Mountains in the U.S. It was originally discovered and used by Native Americans who passed it along to early settlers and its medicinal uses were then taken back to Europe. It is […]
January 12, 2025

Could You Have A Vitamin D Deficiency?

Regenerate Joint Health Are aching, creaking joints making your simple daily activities uncomfortable?  For many of my patients, joint pain prohibits them from exercising and that’s not a good thing.  I have to tell them that sore, aching joints does not have to be a function of getting older. The truths is, sore, aching joints and bones, are more likely due to nutritional deficiencies, specifically Vitamin D! That’s right.  In fact, many health researchers believe there is an epidemic of Vitamin D deficiency today, especially amongst older people. Most of my patients, like many people across the country, are deficient […]
January 12, 2025

Age Better with These Recipes for Beauty

You don’t need to resemble a Hollywood star to embody beauty. True beauty comes in many forms and shines from within. We’ve all met people whose vibrant health, radiant skin, and energetic presence make them undeniably attractive—proving that beauty goes far beyond conventional standards or celebrity ideals. The truth is, natural beauty is achievable for everyone. A healthy, balanced diet can help anybody enhance their natural beauty while improving overall health. According to Ginger Hultin, FoodTrients’ nutritionist and dietitian, nourishing your body with the right foods can support long-term beauty in several key ways: Skin elasticity and color ● Hair […]
January 12, 2025

The New Face of Alzheimer’s: Diet Plays Crucial Role

Alzheimer’s disease is associated with advanced memory loss and cognitive impairment, but an increasing number of individuals are being diagnosed in the early stages and are taking proactive steps to manage the condition. According to JohnsHopkinsMedicine.org: There are over 6 million Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease with 3 million new cases diagnosed each year. Alzheimer’s is deadlier than breast cancer and prostate cancer combined. The disease is most prevalent in women and Black Americans. 11 million Americans act as unpaid caregivers for a loved one diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. We now know that nutrition plays a crucial role in maintaining cognitive […]
January 12, 2025

Anthocyanins For Your Health Video

Anthocyanins are the compounds in fruits and vegetables that turn them blue, purple, and dark red. Anthocyanins contain a host of health benefits. Watch this video and read more about them in this post. We have lots of recipes containing anthocyanins on this website and in our cookbooks such as: Blueberry Upside-Down Cake Almond Blueberry Gelatin Parfaits Prune and Walnut Bars Moringa Vegetable Soup