Drinking Tea May Bring Deeper Benefits Than You Realized

Coffee, tea or … well, both have their fans. But only one of them is traditionally drunk with crumpets at teatime, so, hey, tea definitely has that in its favor.

 

What’s more, a new study suggests that drinking tea, especially for women, could actually affect us at a genetic level and modulate our risk for certain diseases, especially cancer. The results were somewhat different for coffee. Big ups for tea then.

 

“Previous studies have reported health benefits of tea and the aim of our study was to investigate if tea consumption lead to epigenetic changes on the DNA, which might be one of the mechanisms behind these health effects,” the study’s lead author, Weronica Ek, a researcher at department of immunology, genetics and pathology in the Science for Life Laboratory at Uppsala University, in Sweden, tells Healthy Eats. “We did find epigenetic changes in women, but not in men, drinking tea.”

 

Ek says the study suggests that the changes may be one of the factors behind tea’s health benefits, but adds that it’s too soon to tell precisely how or even whether the changes affect our health. It’s also not clear why, exactly, or again, even whether, tea may affect men and women differently, how the kind of tea people drink may factor in, whether it’s simply a matter of healthy people choosing to drink tea over coffee, and the role that other elements, such as whether or not people added milk to their tea, may play. “Further research is needed to confirm how (or if) these changes affect our health,” she cautions.

 

As for whether people should choose tea over coffee, Ek won’t say. “I would suggest that people drink the beverage that they enjoy,” she demurs. So there you have it, coffee fans. You’re good to go.

 

Nevertheless, Ek’s study provides yet another piece of evidence pointing to potential health benefits from drinking tea.

 

“Tea, specifically green tea, has been reported to have a host of health benefits, including protection against cancer, heart health, diabetes and metabolic syndrome,” Elizabeth Ann Shaw, MS, RDN, CLT, nutrition communications consultant @ShawSimpleSwaps, tells Healthy Eats, citing a National Institute of Health literature review on the topic. “Although further research is needed on larger sample sizes and populations, it’s exciting to see there are other benefits outside of a great, refreshing beverage.”

 

Shaw also notes that both black and green tea contain antioxidants, which are key to ridding our bodies of the free radicals that can “wreak havoc” on our health. “Just like fruits and vegetables, tea is another great addition to increase your antioxidant intake to help boost your immunity, too,” she says.

 

Still, Shaw warns, although drinking tea may be beneficial, it’s important to be mindful of the caffeine you may be taking in as you sip it — unless it’s decaffeinated — and any added sugar.

 

“Most bottled teas on the market contain added sugar that can easily add up,” she says. “Choose natural brewed teas and add flavor, if desired, with lemon wedges.”

 

Pinkies up!

 

Amy Reiter is a writer and editor based in New York. Her work has appeared in publications including The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Glamour and Marie Claire, as well as Salon, where she was a longtime editor and senior writer. In addition to contributing to Healthy Eats, she blogs for Food Network’s FN Dish.

*This article was written and/or reviewed by an independent registered dietitian nutritionist.

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Are Mangoes Really the “King of Fruits?”

So many “superfoods,” so little time. We know. But when the superfood in question is as juicy and pulpy-perfect as a mango (mmmm … mangoes), it’s worth paying attention.

 

Research suggests mangoes may have a variety of health benefits, including, according to two recent studies, partly funded by the National Mango Board conducted by researchers at Texas A&M University and Oklahoma State University, possibly reducing the risk of chronic inflammation and metabolic disorders.

 

“Eating mangoes provides the body with a wide variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants as well as dietary fiber,” says Emily Kyle, MS, RDN, owner of Emily Kyle Nutrition.

 

The fruits are packed with vitamins A and C and are a good source of vitamin B6, as well as the minerals potassium and magnesium, Kyle says. What’s more, she notes, the antioxidants in mangoes may offer protection against some cancers, including breast, colon and prostate.

 

Kyle, who was not involved with the recent studies, says mangoes can rightfully be considered a “superfruit” or even a “king of fruits.”

 

“They may help lower bad cholesterol levels in the body, prevent and reduce the incidence of constipation with their high fiber content, and may even be able to improve gut health with their unique enzymes,” she says.

 

And of course, they are delicious — enjoyable straight up as well as when in everything from slaw to salsa, salad to smoothies. Kyle especially enjoys eating them for breakfast over plain Greek yogurt. (Check out her gorgeously photogenic Immune Boosting Tropical Breakfast Bowl.)

 

Kyle warns that eating mangoes is “not a ‘cure all’ or a ‘magic pill’ for good health.” But as part of an overall balanced diet, she notes, “they no doubt provide exceptional nutritional benefits.”

 

Bring on the golden-orange tropical orbs!

 

Amy Reiter is a writer and editor based in New York. Her work has appeared in publications including The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Glamour and Marie Claire, as well as Salon, where she was a longtime editor and senior writer. In addition to contributing to Healthy Eats, she blogs for Food Network’s FN Dish.

*This article was written and/or reviewed by an independent registered dietitian nutritionist.

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The Art of the Salad with Chef Joshua McFadden, Author of Six Seasons

When you think of Italian food, chances are hearty classics like meatballs, osso buco and pastas with a slow-cooked ragus first jump to mind. So you might be surprised that those aren’t necessarily the most crave-worthy dishes on Chef Joshua McFadden’s Roman-inspired menu at Ava Gene’s, his much-touted restaurant in Portland, Oregon: the veggies are.

 

We call them salads by default, but there really should be a different word for McFadden’s layered and complex vegetable dishes, often made with grains, nuts, cheese, and sweet-and-savory combinations of vegetables and fruits.

 

Luckily the “vegetable whisperer” is now sharing the recipes for 200-some of these dishes in Six Seasons: A New Way with Vegetables. Peak-season produce is the star of each and every dish, including Cucumbers, Celery, Apricots and Pistachios, and Raw “Couscous” Cauliflower with Almonds, Dried Cherries and Sumac. Or Celery Salad with Dates, Almonds and Parmigiano — McFadden’s take on childhood favorite “Ants on a Log.”

 

The book is divided into six micro-seasons (Fall, Spring and Winter — plus Early, Mid and Late Summer) to help home cooks pinpoint which veggies are at their peak throughout different points in the quickly-evolving months of June through September.

 

So what inspires the chef’s balanced, unexpected, deceptively simple and very interesting “salads” (for lack of a better term)? McFadden credits an unexpected source as one of his early inspirations: a crispy watercress salad at cult-fave Thai spot Sripraphai in NYC’s Woodside, Queens neighborhood. “That was one of those moments that changed my idea of where I could go, even with simple, Italian-style food. Because the dish was at a temperature that you didn’t expect, and there were layers of ingredients like cashews, peanuts, chiles, sauce, mint, and fermented shrimp that weren’t expected. It was a symphony of flavors, instead of something one-note,” says McFadden. “And then while working at Franny’s I started working with colatura, the Italian fish sauce. From that point on, it opened up doors to start playing with flavors, and not be so classic — even with Italian food.”

 

But getting creative with your cooking shouldn’t be daunting for home cooks. McFadden likes to remind people that it should be fun: “And no one knows how to do it until they do it!” So cook your way through Six Seasons, learning McFadden’s clever techniques along the way, and then keep his four-point formula for a perfectly-balanced vegetable dish in mind as you make your own seasonal creations at home.

 

 

1. Creative Combinations

So how does McFadden come up with these combinations of cauliflower and cherries, celery and dates…and make them work? “It becomes fairly obvious when you’re thinking in the context of a season, and what ingredients you have available,” he says. “Whether it’s citrus, tomatoes, or parsnips…that’s your starting point. So what are you doing to that produce? Hopefully not much, but whatever you treat it and add to it, you want say ‘What the hell just happened?’ when you taste the finished dish.”

 

2. Acidity

McFadden considers acid to be an essential component to every dish…but not in the traditional way salads are dressed. “We don’t make vinaigrettes,” he says. “I’m a real big believer in dressing first with vinegar or lemon juice — or whatever acid you’re using — and then getting the dish to a point with salt, pepper, chile and all the other components you’re using that you don’t need olive oil. And then you taste it all and add the olive oil as its own ingredient, which brings it all together and adds another layer.” (Take for instance the recipe for Cucumbers, Celery, Apricots, and Pistachios below, where McFadden calls for the apricots to be plumped in vinegar before getting mixed with the rest of the salad.)

 

3. Texture

When McFadden was a kid, he hated crunch from nuts added to cookies or stuffing. But now he understands how texture can take dishes to the next level. “It’s fun to pull that out of vegetables and then enhance it with nuts and puffed grains. Not just for texture, but also for flavor. And it’s really cool that it’s all healthy too.”

 

4. Variation

McFadden wants the seasoning in his salads to be uniform…but likes to mix up the size and shape of ingredients. At one point while cooking at Franny’s, he realized he should stop ripping up fresh herbs, and started using the whole leaves as…well, leaves. “A basil leaf is like a salad leaf…why rip it up? Why can’t you just have explosions of flavor from herbs? I don’t want every bite of a dish to be exactly the same, so why I would I cut it up?”

Cucumbers, Celery, Apricots, and Pistachios

Recipe excerpted from Six Seasons by Joshua McFadden (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2017.

Serves 4

 

This dish hits every flavor note—sweet, sour, salty, bitter . . . and it’s all kinds of crunchy. The more herbs you pack in there, the better. Mint, parsley, basil, and celery are just the beginning—you can add sorrel, every kind of basil you can find, chives, even some cooked grains or couscous. Serve this with grilled lamb, friends, the great outdoors, and cold pink wine.

 

1 1/2 pounds cucumbers (a mix of varieties if possible)

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 medium celery stalks (leaves reserved)

1/2 cup dried apricots, quartered

1 garlic clove, smashed and peeled

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup pistachios, lightly toasted (see below) and chopped

1/2 cup lightly packed mint leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves

1/2 cup lightly packed celery leaves (if you have them)

1/4 teaspoon dried chile flakes

Extra-virgin olive oil

 

Peel the cucumbers if their skins are tough or waxed. Trim the ends of the cucumbers, halve lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Cut the halves crosswise on an angle into very thin slices.

Put the cucumbers in a colander and toss them with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Set aside for at least 20 minutes to extract their water and give them a “quick-pickled” flavor.

Meanwhile, cut the celery crosswise on an angle into very thin slices and soak in ice water for

10 minutes. Drain, pat dry, and pile into a serving bowl.

 

Put the apricots, garlic, and vinegar in a small bowl. Let the apricots plump for 10 minutes.

 

Pat the cucumbers dry and add to the celery, along with the pistachios, mint, parsley, basil, and celery leaves (if using). Remove the garlic from the apricots and discard it. Add the apricots and vinegar to the bowl, along with the chile flakes and 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with black pepper, but don’t add more salt yet because the cucumbers will have absorbed a bit. Toss, taste, and adjust the flavors with more salt, vinegar, chile flakes, or black pepper until it’s bright and zingy. Finish with another drizzle of olive oil. Serve right away.

 

 

Toasted Pistachios

Quantity is up to you

Heat the oven to 350°F.

Spread the nuts on a pan in a single layer. For a small quantity, a pie plate is good; for more, use a rimmed baking sheet.

Bake until you smell the nuttiness and the color is deepening slightly, 6 to 8 minutes for most whole nuts.

When the nuts are done, transfer them to a plate so they don’t keep cooking on the hot baking pan. Determining doneness can be tricky, because the final texture won’t develop until they’re cool, so at this stage, you’re mostly concerned with color and flavor. To be safe, take them from the oven, let cool, taste one, and if not done enough, pop them back into the oven.

 

Photographs by Peden + Munk (top) and Laura Dart and A.J. Meeker (bottom).

 

Per serving: Calories 279; Fat 21 g (Saturated 3 g); Cholesterol 0 mg; Sodium 654 mg; Carbohydrate 21 g; Fiber 5 g; Sugars 11 g; Protein 6 g

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Can Packaging Give Your Food a Health Halo?

We all try our best to eat healthy and buy nutritious food for our families. But the amount of information, misinformation and just plain marketing speak we’re hit with every trip to the grocery store can make goal hard to achieve. “Many foods contain front of package nutrient claims that make you think you are eating a healthy food,” says Alissa Rumsey M.S., R.D., author of Three Steps to a Healthier You. “This so-called ‘health halo’ often causes people to overeat foods they think are healthy.”

 

A recent study, published in the Journal of Business Research, supports this theory. Researchers presented two different foods (a cookie and a granola bite) in two different packaging options (an unportioned bag or a bag that contained several individually packaged single-serving packs) to a group of 171 students. What they found is that the granola bites had a powerful health halo that that cookies did not — and that affected how much the students ate. So when faced with a full, unportioned bag of granola bites, the students ate substantially more of them than they did of the cookies. “They perceived the granola to be a healthier snack alternative and chose to eat more of it,” explains Myla Bui, associate professor of marketing, Loyola Marymount University, and lead author of the study. “Consumers are paying less attention to nutrition information and serving sizes and relying instead more on preconceived notions regarding a food’s healthfulness.”

 

Interestingly, the participants said they would eat about the same amount of cookies or granola bites if eating them from the individually portioned packages. So if you are worried about intake of even seemingly healthy (but in the case of the granola, high in calories and fat) snacks, portion-control servings are the way to go. “For foods that are easy to over-consume, never eat them directly out of a large bag,” advises Rumsey. “Make your own portion-controlled packages by putting a single serving into plastic snack bags or reusable containers.”

 

Sally Wadyka is a Boulder, Colorado-based journalist who writes about nutrition, health and wellness.

*This article was written and/or reviewed by an independent registered dietitian nutritionist.

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Super Fast Goat Cheese Crostini

These little goat cheese crostini are one of my favorite appetizer recipes to make when we have a ton of people coming over. Why? Because this recipe… Is Easy Is Super fast to make (which is important if you’re making a bunch of dishes!) Is Light and low-calorie Requires 3 ingredients Looks fancy 🙂 Is […]

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Chickpea, Tomato, and Feta Salad

We’ve been doing a lot of picnic-ing these days. The weather has been absolutely perfect for it: warm, sunny, with a light breeze but not too hot or humid! It also helps that the parks around our neighborhood have tons of nice shady picnic spots, and eating outside with kids means less mess to clean […]

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Q&A with Chef Aaron Adams of Farm Spirit

Aaron Adams knows a thing or two about making vegan food taste delicious. That was certainly my conclusion after eating at Farm Spirit, his dinner club style restaurant located in Portland, Oregon. At a cozy, 14-seat counter, he and his chefs prepare and serve a series of small dishes, featuring produce, grains, and nuts from local farms — none of which are more than 105 miles from the restaurant. By the end of the meal — up to 13 courses in all — you might imagine you’d have to roll home. Not so. Aaron’s light touch leaves you feeling satisfied, not over-stuffed. What’s more, there’s a lovely smug feeling that comes with consuming what might just have been one of the healthiest meals of your life. Recently, I had the chance to ask him about what inspires his ultra-healthy cooking style, and how home cooks might up their vegan game.

 

Healthy Eats: How long have you been eating vegan and what inspired you to make the change?

Aaron Adams: I’ve been a vegan for 12 years now. It wasn’t an overnight thing. At the first restaurant I owned in Jacksonville, Florida, I started out by serving foie gras! But the more I learned about the practices involved, the more I couldn’t stomach it. After taking foie gras off the menu, I started asking more and more questions of my purveyors. I even took my cooks to a slaughterhouse to see what the animals went through to get to our restaurant! Eventually, I decided that I couldn’t ethically serve meat anymore and I shut down the restaurant.

 

HE: Do you think that vegan diets are healthier?

AA: Yes! I’m a big guy and I had high cholesterol and high blood pressure before going vegan. I got those numbers way down and I lost 100 pounds. Now, I actually have very low cholesterol. I can’t conclusively say that it’s the healthiest diet for everyone, but it’s been a healthier way for me to eat. And it’s definitely better for the environment!

 

HE: What do you do to stay fit?

AA: I do power lifting 4 days a week and I’m on a power-lifting team.  I can bench press 300 pounds, and deadlift 500. A lot of people say you can’t get enough protein to build strength from a vegan diet, but I say ‘hogwash!’ Besides eating vegan ‘mock meats’ I drink smoothies made with pea protein. Pea protein is the best for weight lifting because it doesn’t have too much fiber — it’s also great stirred into a pancake or waffle batter.

 

HE: Before you opened your latest restaurant, Farm Spirit, you owned another restaurant called Portobello Vegan Trattoria. What’s different about the new place?

AA: With Portobello, we wanted to create a restaurant that was vegan but would also be accessible to non-vegans. We went with Italian because most people have an idea of what Italian food is. We also liked the spirit of Italian cuisine with its emphasis on fresh, local ingredients. Ultimately, I opened Farm Spirit because I love doing small plates and tasting menus, and I wanted to focus even more on local ingredients. Farm Spirit is really hyper-local cuisine. But it’s not just about being local, it’s about creating a new cuisine with a bio-regional identity. We are really serving a modern interpretation of ‘Cascadian’ food — the food grown and enjoyed in the Northwest.

HE: Can you share a secret tip for making vegan food delicious?

AA: One thing people can do to add dimension to vegan food is to use the power of fermentation. That will give any dish you make a more complex flavor, not to mention adding in healthy probiotics. I like to say that fermented foods fill in the flavor gaps. We use a lot of nut yogurts at the restaurant for this purpose. We also ferment Hakurei turnips and purée them to make a sauce with a wonderful acidity to it. Then we take that purée and fold it into sautéed vegetables. That’s something you can do at home, too, by whizzing up some sauerkraut in a blender with some of the brine and a bit of oil. You can then use that to dress all sorts of vegetables. Really, anything you can do to add brightness to your food — acidic ingredients like lemon juice or vinegar — will help make the flavor pop.

 

HE: What do you think are some of the biggest misconceptions about a vegan diet?

AA: I always say that people who have had a bad vegan meal hold onto that experience too hard. I mean, they’ve had thousands of bad omnivorous meals, but they still keep going back for more, right? Part of the problem is the concept. What even is the definition of vegan food? To me, it means having a meal that is purposefully free of animal products. People object to vegan diets because they think it means they have to give up something. I say, stop worrying about having choices taken away from you, and think more about making healthy choices for yourself and the environment. For people who live in communities with good access to ingredients, it’s really not necessary to eat meat. I would never say you should feel guilty about not being vegan. If you’re poor or live in a food desert or have kids to feed, it might not be an option. But for many people, it’s just not that difficult.

 

HE: What is your favorite lazy-man dinner to cook at home when you’re short of time?

AA: At home, I use more convenience products, I’ll admit it. I’ve been cooking all day! I cook vegan burgers, or make a salad and top it with a vegan ravioli and a nice tomato ragú. Probably the dinner I eat the most at home involves sautéing up a lot of different colored veggies — whatever I have on hand — like peppers, carrots, squash or whatever’s in season, along with some tempeh. On the side, I’ll have a baked potato. Another yummy meal my wife came up with is Asian tacos. We pick up some steamed bao buns at an Asian market and serve them stuffed with BBQ tofu and a spicy slaw of cabbage and carrots dressed with a Sriracha lime-mayo.

 

HE:  What vegetable doesn’t get enough love, in your opinion?

AA: I always say that kohlrabi is that veggie you let rot in the bottom of your CSA box or produce drawer. People just don’t realize what you can do with cruciferous veggies, like kohlrabi, cabbage and cauliflower. They are so savory, particularly when roasted.

 

HE:  Favorite season of the year for cooking?

AA: The next one! I’m just excited about what’s happening next. If I had to say, I would pick Spring. When I see that first asparagus I get pretty emotional. The winter stuff is running out by March, but there’s hardly anything fresh to eat yet. When the nettles and Miner’s lettuce show up at the market, I think ‘We made it!’

 

HE: Favorite vegan junk food?

AA: There’s so many! Do I have to answer only one? Justin’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups. I also really like Stonewall’s Jerquee. It’s an old-school vegan snack —basically just flavored soy protein — but it’s darn tasty.

 

Abigail Chipley is a freelance recipe developer, writer and cooking teacher who lives in Portland, Oregon.

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