Twelve Tips for Getting More Vitamins from Your Food

Cooking at home is the best way to make sure that your food is high in quality and nutrition. Just by cutting out extra salt, fat and sugar and preservatives in processed foods, you’re ahead of the game. But all home cooking isn’t equal. Some techniques preserve the vitamins and minerals in your food, while others destroy them.

It’s not always practical to follow every technique each time. But the tips below can help you make better decisions.

1. Wash vegetables shortly before cooking or eating, and avoid soaking.

Guide to Buying Gluten-Free Products on Passover

In Jewish communities across the globe, stores are stocking shelves with Kosher for Passover (KFP) products. And people with celiac disease, or their parents, whether Jewish or not, are stocking up on KFP foods for their children. What’s the connection?

The central food of the week-long Jewish holiday of Passover is matzah. Matzah can be made of any of five species: barley, oats, rye, spelt and wheat. Wheat is the only kind generally available. Because of the quantities required and the strict rules surrounding its production, matzah is generally made in a separate factory.

Eating matzah is an important part of the Seder, the festive meal served on the first night of Passover. This doesn’t concern non-Jews with celiac. What’s important for celiac sufferers is the prohibition against leavened foods, or chametz.

Making Gradual Changes: Bread

Over the years I buy fewer ready-made foods and cook more at home.  As my family grows, the time I spend cooking pays off more in terms of both time and expense. A box of packaged cereal seems to disappear in minutes, and even two pizzeria pizzas won’t feed a family of 8 that includes […]

Putting Food in Perspective: Strategies to Prevent Food Issues

Obesity is growing at epidemic rates, along with anorexia and other eating disorders. My mother used a variety of strategies that I believe helped her children develop a healthy attitude toward food. I can’t say that I have no food issues, and genetics play an important role, but I still think her approach served us well.

My mother:

  1. Served appropriate servings on individual plates. Click to read my analysis of the advantages of this approach.
  2. Served a healthy, varied, and fresh dinner for the family every day at the same time.