Seven Strategies for Better Health in the Coming New Year

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is a festive day of celebration and a serious day ofjudgment. It's not about making resolutions. But with the start of a month filled with holiday meals, it's a good time to think about improving your health. Here are seven strategies for eating healthier in 5771:

1. Use smart fats. Extra virgin olive oil is high in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats and powerful antioxidants. Use it in cooking, baking and to dress salads. Canola oil is also good for baking. Stay away from margarine, which is highly processed and may contain trans fat.

2. Replace refined grains with whole grains. Adding whole grains to your diet may lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and obesity. Replace white flour with whole-wheat flour when you bake. Try whole grain pasta. Serve a whole grain for dinner – try brown rice, bulgur, kasha, quinoa, barley or wheat berries. They're high in important vitamins, minerals and fiber and delicious too.

3. Cut out sodas. If you're a big soda drinker, start off by drinking one less can of soda a day. Regular soda is high in sugar and calories with no nutritional value. Diet soda, with its array of additives, is not much better. Make your own refreshing (and economical) drink: Pour ⅓ cup pure fruit juice into a large glass and add sparkling water to the top. Try tea – hot or cold, black, green or herbal, for a refreshing beverage. Don't forget plain unadulterated tap water – the budget-friendly beverage of choice.

4. Use sweeteners judiciously. Sugar, whether it's white or brown, honey or maple syrup, adds calories to your diet with little nutritional value. Stay away from highly-sweetened store-bought baked goods. Cut back a little on the sugar in your favorite cookie or cake recipes and no one will know the difference. Make baked goods a special Shabbat treat, and stick with fruit for dessert during the week.

5. Cook more often. Did you know that obesity rates are highest among people who spend the least amount of time cooking? You don't have to spend hours over a hot stove to cook "from scratch". Keep a well-stocked pantry and plan menus in advance. Cook extra amounts and store leftovers in the freezer for those days when you don't have time to cook. Pick up a cookbook to get some ideas. (My book has menu ideas and lots of easy-to-cook recipes!) Start off with the basics and go from there.

6. Go easy on salt. Most processed food is loaded with salt, and the more salt you eat, the greater your chances of developing high blood pressure. Check the label for sodium before you buy foods like soup powder, noodle cups, canned soup and pasta sauce. Even frozen waffles and breakfast cereal may be loaded with salt. In the kitchen, substitute fresh herbs and spices for salt. If you gradually reduce the amount of salt you use in cooking, it's less likely to be missed.

7. Eat mindfully. Think through your food choices. Make a list before you shop and don't be tempted to buy things that you know you shouldn't eat. Learn about portion sizes. Eat when you're hungry and not when you're bored or feeling bad. Pay attention to when you feel full, so you won't overeat. Most importantly, enjoy your food!

With best wishes for good health and happiness in the coming year!

Diet and Acne

Between 80 and 90% of all adolescents get acne. So do many adults. Does diet have anything to do with it?

Immigration studies show that acne increases when a population shifts to a more Westernized diet. What's the cause? A 2009 review of scientific literature showed that dairy products and high-glycemic-index foods (like simple carbohydrates) may be to blame. There's also evidence that omega-6 fatty acids play a role in acne.

When I was a teenager, we thought that eating chocolate caused acne. But there's no scientific evidence to back that up. Salt doesn't seem to play a role either.

Dairy Foods

Researchers think that hormones in cow's milk play a role in acne. Skim milk showed the strongest association with the frequency and severity of acne in teenage girls, leading scientists to believe that hormones and not milk fat are to blame.

High-Glycemic-Index Foods

The glycemic index measures how fast and how far blood glucose rises after eating foods containing carbohydrates. Foods that are absorbed more slowly after ingestion (like whole-grain, complex carbohydrates) cause a slower rise in blood glucose levels and have a low glycemic index. Other foods – like those containing lots of sugar and simple starch (like white bread, cookies and cake), are digested quicker, causing blood sugar to rise faster. As blood sugar levels rise, the body secretes insulin to help metabolize it. In a number of studies, people given a low-glycemic-index diet showed an improvement in their acne. Scientists believe that insulin and hormones are involved.

Omega-6 Fatty Acids

Acne, depending on the type, may or may not involve inflammation. Although no large studies have been done, it's believed that high levels of dietary omega-6 fatty acids, which produce inflammation, may be associated with acne. On the other hand, omega-3 fatty acids, which are anti-inflammatory, may decrease the incidence and severity of acne.

What Can You Do?

Severe acne should be treated by a dermatologist. If you'd like to try dietary measures to reduce the frequency or severity of acne, here's what you can do:

1. Go "dairy-free" for at least several weeks to see if there's an improvement. Be sure you get enough calcium from alternative sources, like fortified soy milk, almond milk or orange juice, canned salmon and sardines, leafy greens, tofu, or a vitamin supplement.

2. Choose foods with a low-glycemic index, like whole grains, legumes, nuts and vegetables.

3. Stick with fats that are high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, like olive and canola oil. Eat plenty of fish, especially fatty fish like salmon and sardines. Ground flax seeds and walnuts are also high in omega-3 fatty acids. Reduce your intake of corn, soybean, safflower and sunflower oil, which are all high in omega-6 fatty acids.

4. Limit your intake of processed foods, which tend to be high in simple carbohydrates as well as unhealthy fats.

If acne is a problem, these relatively easy-to-do dietary measures just may make a difference. It's worth a try!

Nutrition Blog Network

Did you notice the new link on my blog? (It's on the right-hand side, above "labels") I'm now a member of the Nutrition Blog Network, a source for reliable and credible nutrition information.

Nutrition Blog Network is a collection of blogs written by registered dietitians. You'll find ideas on feeding your picky toddler, tips on what to eat during pregnancy, gluten-free and vegetarian recipes, tips for diabetics and more. Most, if not all of their blogs are written by US and Canadian dietitians. (I think I'm their only Israeli blogger!) Don't expect kosher recipes, but I think you'll find plenty of other interesting information.

Click on their "Nutrition Blog Directory" and pick your subject. Blogs are arranged alphabetically, with a short description of each one. Browse through the listings and click at the link to get to the blog you want.

Happy and healthy blogging!

Ice Cream - Making Your Own

After years of frustration with our modest old ice cream machine, I splurged and bought a Gaggia – the gold-standard of home machines. After all, it was a month of special occasions – a special birthday for my husband, our anniversary, and seven years since we returned to Israel.

I had other, even better excuses – the poor quality of low-fat ice cream, the lack of flavorful fruit sorbets and no kosher gelato. Yes, I know they're available in Tel Aviv, but here in Beer Sheva, there's very little to choose from. Grocery-store brands are filled with gums, stabilizers, vegetable fat and loads of sugar. They taste more like marshmallows than ice cream. Even our very own "Glida (Ice Cream) Beer Sheva" is mediocre tasting.

I just wanted to make low-fat, low-calorie, palette-popping frozen desserts. So I've been on a bit of a binge. I started with:

Pistachio gelato

Chocolate sorbet (parve)

Mexican chocolate (cinnamon and a bite of chili) ice cream

Peach frozen yogurt

Matcha (Japanese green tea) ice cream

Then I moved on to:

Pistachio gelato made with almond milk (parve)

Fresh cherry and chocolate chunk gelato

Dulce de Leche ice cream with pecans

What's the trick to delicious low-fat frozen desserts?

1. For "ice cream" I use a mixture of 2 cups low-fat (1%) milk and 1 cup half and half (10% cream). That comes out to about 4% total fat – a lot less than the 20-some percent fat in store-bought premium ice creams.

2. For gelato, I use 1% milk cooked with cornstarch to a soft pudding. (Use either the microwave or the stovetop to cook the mixture.) The ratio is 3 cups of milk to 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add the flavors or fruit and refrigerate the mixture until it's completely cold.

3. I don't use egg-based custards. Eggs add custard-like richness, but they also add cholesterol and fat calories. Instead, I concentrate on flavors with pizzazz.

4. Cold dulls the flavor of things. For example, even though I cooked the cherries first and then steeped them in the milk/cornstarch mixture, my cherry gelato still lacked excitement. The peach frozen yogurt was also on the dull side, even though I used lots of fresh, ripe peaches and tangy sheep's milk yogurt. Back to the drawing board on fruit flavors.

5. Flavor is everything! When you're not using eggs and high fat milk and cream, you've got to emphasize flavor – use the best chocolate, nuts, fruit and spices. Even then, things don't always work out. For instance, we only had high quality matcha tea powder (my husband is a Japanese-tea specialist!) which was barely perceptible in our ice cream. Next time we'll try stronger, lower-grade matcha.

What's next on my flavor agenda? I'm thinking about halvah ice cream and espresso gelato. And fresh mango sorbet for next Shabbat.

I'm not suggesting that you buy an expensive ice cream machine. (There are plenty of good machines available in all price ranges.) But if you enjoy frozen desserts and are looking for a healthier, tastier treat than you can buy at the store, you may want to try your hand at making it yourself.

Jet Lag – To Eat or Not to Eat

Some of us will be traveling long distances this summer. I'm always envious of my European friends, whose families are a mere four hours or so flying time from here. Those of us who travel to North America or Asia know what it's like. It's hard enough being squished into in a sardine-can sized seat for a 12 hour or more flight. Then, when you finally arrive, you're exhausted during the day and wide awake at night.

The usual (and sound) travel advice is helpful: Set your watch for the destination time at the start of your trip. Try to get a head start by eating and sleeping in that time zone during the flight. Drink a lot of fluids during the flight, but avoid alcohol and coffee. Try to adjust to the new time zone as quickly as possible, by eating and sleeping when everyone there does.

Upon arrival, I find that a brisk walk outdoors in the morning and a cup of coffee helps. I force myself not to take a nap.

There may be another way to cope with jet lag: fasting.

Circadian rhythm (our internal pattern of sleep and wakefulness) is influenced by exposure to light. But it's also influenced by food. At least in mice. Studies of mice (whose brain circuitry is similar to ours) show that when food is available to them, they are alert, awake and ready to eat, even if it's the middle of the night. When they're deprived of food for many hours and then fed, their brains re-acclimate to the correct time.

This information may be helpful to long-distance travelers. Here's what you can do:

Don't eat for 12-16 hours before you want to be awake. In many cases, that means starting to fast before you leave home and for the duration of the flight. (That shouldn't be too hard given the quality of airline food!) Break your fast with a healthy meal, preferably at your new "morning" time.

Here's another way of planning it: Figure out when breakfast time will be wherever you're landing and fast for 12-16 hours before this.

We're not certain that this is a sure fix for jet lag, but it's certainly worth a try. And, except for a few calories, there's nothing to lose.

N'siyah tovah – Have a safe and healthy trip!

Summertime…And the food is warm when it should be cold

The reception was called for 5:30, the chuppah (wedding ceremony) at 6:30. This being an Israeli wedding, we got there at 6:30 and the chuppah started at around 8 pm.

If you've never been to an Israeli wedding, here's how it usually goes:

During the reception, there's a buffet (mainly fried foods and soft drinks)

The ceremony starts at least an hour late

Dinner starts with challah rolls and a variety of salads served family style

Dancing begins

The first course – usually a huge portion of fish, is served

More dancing

More food – platters of rice, potatoes, couscous and vegetables is served

More dancing

The main course – chicken or meat is served

More dancing, followed by dessert

Usually there's enough food for an army battalion. Usually it's heavy on the carbohydrates and fats. Trans fat is abundant in the desserts. But that's another story.

The wedding was lovely – outdoors on the lawn of a nearby kibbutz. There was just one problem. Several hours before the guests sat down to eat, all of the salads had been placed on the tables.

I warned my husband not to eat the potato salad. He listened to me for once.

Food-borne illness is a big problem. Caterers are not the only ones who make mistakes. Restaurants, food processing plants and growers all play a role in the safety of our food supply.

Even foods that we think of as safe – like lettuce, potatoes, cheese and ice cream have been implicated in thousands of cases of food poisoning. But you can't stop eating.

What can you do to protect yourself?

At home, cook foods thoroughly. Use a meat thermometer to check poultry and red meat to be sure they're cooked completely. When you're finished using utensils for raw meat, fish or poultry, wash them with soap and hot water before using them for cooked foods.

Don't eat raw or undercooked eggs.

Wash salad greens and scrub hard vegetables. Be sure your refrigerator and freezer are at the proper temperature. Keep cold food cold and hot food hot until they're ready to be served. If you're traveling with food, use ice packs and an insulated carrier to keep them cold.

Don't stop going to weddings. But nosy around for bad food handling habits and eat cautiously. It may sound extreme, but I never go to a catered event on an empty stomach. With a glass of sparkling water in my hand, nobody notices what I do and don't eat.

Whole Grains from the Middle East – Freekah

Years ago I read about green wheat – freekah in one of Paula Wolfert's cookbooks. It sounded interesting, but I didn’t go out of my way to find it in the US. Years later, after I moved to Israel, my friend Sophie called me. Her son bought freekah at an Arab market in Haifa and she wanted to know how to cook it. A few months ago she told me that freekah was now sold at the upscale natural food store near her house in Tel Aviv. Another ethnic food that's become a "health food"!

Freekah is young, green durum wheat that's processed by burning. The chaff is scorched, making the grain easier to remove. It's got an almost wild, grassy smoked taste and a haunting aroma.

Nutritionally, freekah is a winner. Compared to other grains, it's high in fiber, protein, calcium, iron and potassium. (This is according to the Australian Government Analytical Laboratories. A company there is marketing freekah.) It's also got a low glycemic index, so it's an especially good carbohydrate for diabetics.

I like to serve freekah as a side dish with roast chicken or turkey breast. For a lovely vegetarian grain salad, cool the pilaf and add fresh parsley, mint and/or coriander. To avoid rancidity, store raw freekah in your freezer.

Freekah Pilaf (Parve)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 cup freekah, picked over and rinsed

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon baharat *

1 ½ cups vegetable broth

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until it's soft and lightly brown.

While the onions are cooking, soak the freekah in water for about 5 minutes. Drain it well and add it to the onions, along with the salt and baharat. Cook it for a minute or two, while stirring. Add the vegetable broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed and the grains are cooked. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 3 cups

* Baharat is a blend of spices used throughout the Middle East. In Israel, Pereg Gourmet sells a fine blend. I'm partial to the baharat (with a "bite") made by The Spice House in Milwaukee, a mix of black pepper, coriander, cumin, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, paprika and chile peppers.

If you don't have access to store-bought baharat, make your own using either of these recipes:

Baharat Blend 1

2 tablespoons fresh ground black pepper
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground cardamom

Baharat Blend 2

1 tablespoon ground cardamom
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
½ tablespoon ground allspice

½ tablespoon ground nutmeg

Winter Squash in Summer

Making aliyah has its challenges – language, culture, manners (or lack of) all require getting used to – or not. Even the food takes getting used to. Although Israel has modern grocery stores and an abundance of locally grown produce, food elicits nostalgia, and most olim (new immigrants) want at least a little "taste of home" once in awhile.

For me, that nostalgia hits once a year, at Thanksgiving. Turkey, stuffing, wild rice, cranberries and pumpkin pie, which I can easily do without all year round, start to make my mouth water. So I roast a turkey breast, bake cornbread and make stuffing. I cook wild rice with dried cranberries. But American-style pie pumpkins aren't grown here.

There's another problem with winter squash (that's what pumpkins are) in Israel – they come to market in the middle of summer! Right now, in July, we're eating the most delicious squash of the season – and I don't mean zucchini, which haven't been offered for months by our organic subscription farm. The fresh picked butternut squash is wonderful. Acorn squash – new in the Israeli market, is small, sweet and nutty tasting.

Here's a very easy way to cook winter squash: Preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Remove the stem and cut the squash in half lengthwise, from the stem end to the bottom. Take out the seeds. (A grapefruit spoon makes it easy.) With your fingers or a brush, rub the cut edges and the inside of the squash with olive oil. Sprinkle the surfaces with salt and pepper and bake, cut side down on the baking sheet until the edges begin to brown and the squash is soft.

With the abundance of delicious winter squash throughout the summer, I really don't miss it during the winter. What do I make for dessert on Thanksgiving? I use what's readily available at that time of year and make sweet potato pie!

Apricot Jam – Easy on the Sugar and Easy on You

Between the fruit trees in our yard and the nearby orchards (now subdivisions), there was always a surplus of summer fruit when I was growing up. First my mother made pies, and then jelly and jam. I remember pouring a layer of melted wax over the jelly – an old (and not very safe) method for sealing.

Now I still enjoy making jam, but usually in small batches. Last year I made cardamom fig preserves and apricot jam. When this year's crop of berries arrived from the Golan, I made blackberry jelly, raspberry preserves with berry liqueur and cherry jam.

Making jam does take time and effort. Between standing over the stove and stirring, cleaning jars and processing them in a water bath, it's definitely a project. And then there's the sugar. Jam takes a huge amount of sugar – most recipes call for equal weights of fruit and sugar.

Then I found a recipe for apricot jam that I had cut from a magazine ten years ago. (Yes, in addition to keeping recipes on my computer, I still clip and file.) It's nearly effortless and it uses just a little sugar and no pectin. (That's also good, because pectin isn't available in Israel.)

Pit and cut up the apricots. Add a small amount of sugar and lemon juice. Microwave.

Between cooking for a few minutes in the microwave, the jam cools for up to 3 hours before getting zapped a few more times. That's about it. There's no water-bath processing, so you'll have to store this jam in the refrigerator. It should last for several weeks.

Of course, I had to play around with the recipe. I used demerara sugar instead of white and added Amaretto to the first batch. The second batch has chopped candied ginger (I'm sure I used too much – but that just means more for me!) and a splash of orange juice.

Apricot season just ended here, but next week I'm hoping to try the recipe with plums.

PS We're not big jam eaters, but I still find plenty of uses for it. A small spoonful is wonderful with plain or frozen yogurt. I recently used homemade blackberry jam to fill two layers of a very simple birthday cake. I'm thinking of some apricot jam, white wine and herbs for this Shabbat's roast chicken. I also like to pour the jam into small glass jars and give them as gifts.

Microwave Apricot Jam (adapted from Sunset Magazine)

1 ¼ pounds (½ kilo) fresh apricots

2 tablespoons lemon juice

½ cup sugar (white or demerara)

2 tablespoons Amaretto, orange-flavored liqueur or orange juice

Wash and pit the apricots. Cut them into quarters and put them into a large microwave-safe bowl. (I use an 8-cup Pyrex measuring cup.) Add the sugar and lemon juice to the apricots and mix.

Heat the mixture in the microwave, on full power, for 6 to 8 minutes, until it boils. Take it out, stir gently and let it sit at room temperature for at least 1 hour and up to 3 hours.

Microwave the mixture again for 5 or 6 minutes, or until it comes to a full boil. Take it out, stir and let sit again for 1-3 hours.

Now stir in the liqueur or juice and microwave for 12-15 minutes, stirring every 4 minutes. You should see lots of big bubbles. Pour the jam into clean jars (I pour boiling water into them so they're sparkling clean.) Cover, cool and store in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 cups

Probiotics

They're added to yogurt, snack bars, water, baby food and pizza crust. You'll find them in chewing gum, fruit juice, lozenges and toothpaste. They're even in dog food.

Are probiotics just another "health food" gimmick? What are they and what do they do? Should you add them to your diet?

Although they don't have a legal definition in the US, the World Health Organization defines probiotics as "Live microorganisms, which when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host."

"Live organisms" can also be described as "friendly or beneficial bacteria". They've been around for thousands of years in fermented foods like yogurt and kefir. But because the science of probiotics is just emerging, there are still a lot of unknowns. In typical fashion, the marketplace is often ahead of the science. Products containing probiotics are all the rage. But not all of them are effective or worth your money.

Here's what you should know:

The full name of the probiotic, including genus, species and strain

For instance, a popular yogurt drink contains Lactobacillus (genus) casei (species) DN-114 001(strain), a probiotic that may help support the immune system.

Another yogurt product contains Bifidobacterium (genus) animalis (species) DN-173-010 (strain), a probiotic that may help relieve constipation.

What's it supposed to do?

Different strains of probiotics provide different benefits. Targets for probiotic influence include digestive function (traveler's and antibiotic related diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, lactose digestion, colic), oral health, allergies, eczema, vaginal and respiratory infections, and even brain function.

Is there scientific research to back up the claims?

The most important question to ask is whether the claim made for the product is true. Has it been tested on humans and shown to have a benefit? Search the web or call the company for details that may not be on the package. Check for articles published in scientific journals. Some products have their own website with links to clinical studies.

How much probiotic is in a serving size or a dose? What is the expiration date of the product?

It doesn't matter if a probiotic is added to food or if it's in supplement form. What's important is whether reliable research substantiates the health claim and whether there's an adequate amount of probiotic for therapeutic benefit. The minimum dose must be the dose shown to have a health benefit in controlled studies.

Are probiotics for everyone?

Check with your physician before giving probiotics to infants, the elderly and anyone with a seriously compromised immune system. Terminally ill cancer patients and people whose conditions have the potential for leaky bowels (including acute pancreatitis) should not take probiotics.

In Israel, there are a number of kosher yogurt products containing probiotics. In the US, similar products may or may not be kosher. Many yogurts in the US contain non-kosher gelatin, so check the labels. I found one probiotic supplement in the US with kosher certification, though most seemed to be non-kosher, due to their gelatin-based capsules.

Considering their possible benefits, probiotics are a low-risk intervention. They're worth a try as long as you do your homework and find the right product (and the correct dose) for what ails you.

For additional information about probiotics, try these websites:

http://www.gastro.org/patient-center/diet-medications/probiotics

http://isapp.net

http://www.usprobiotics.org