With the weather turning chilly, easy-to-cook steel-cut oats (also called Irish oatmeal, or groats) are making their regular comeback at my breakfast table. Not heated or pressed like regular rolled oats, steel-cut oats are a favorite in my house because of their well-known cholesterol-lowering abilities, slightly nutty taste, and hearty texture (toothy, not mushy). Here’s how to cook up a batch.

For a single (generous) serving: Combine 1/3 cup steel-cut oats and 1 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes, to desired consistency.

To save time in the morning: The night before, combine oats and water in pan, bring to a boil, stir, turn off heat completely, cover, and let sit overnight. Heat it up in the morning for about 5-10 minutes.

To make enough for the week: Combine 1.5 cups steel-cut oats and 4.5 cups water in a larger saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook to desired consistency. This makes about 4 cups cooked oats. Cool remainder, store in fridge, and heat desired amount each morning for 5 minutes in a small pan with a little water or milk. (I don’t recommend microwaving, which can make the grains tough.)

I love steel-cut oats mixed with antioxidant-rich dried sweet-tart cherries, cranberries, or blueberries. How do you make them?

Mark Bittman, the excellent New York Times food columnist and author of Food Matters, gave the keynote address this morning at Natural Products Expo East in Boston. Here are excerpts from an article written at Expo by Mitchell Clute:

“The food most Americans eat makes us sick and makes the planet sick,” said Bittman…. For example, he referred to a USDA chart that listed the top ten foods by caloric intake in the typical American diet. Those foods, in order: soda, donuts, hamburgers, pizza, chips, rice, breads, cheese, beer and French fries. …

Our diet … has repercussions that go beyond the obvious. Seventy percent of agricultural land in the U.S., Bittman said, is used either for animals or grain to feed animals, a system that is horrendously inefficient. Each Big Mac patty produced requires enough grain for five loaves of bread. And, according to a UN report titled Livestock’s Long Shadow, 18 percent of all global warming gasses are directly attributable to livestock production, an agricultural system Bittman called “barbarous, insane and fascistic.”

Yet Bittman’s attitude is not all gloom and doom. His own approach is to take small steps, like trying to convince people to eat rice and beans one meal a week. In his own life, he’s adapted an approach to eating he calls “vegan before 6.” Beginning with dinner, Bittman eats whatever he wants, but until then he restricts himself to fruits, veggies and whole grains.

As a result of this small change, he said, he lowered his cholesterol by forty points and lost more than thirty pounds. “It’s got to be plants first—real plants,” Bittman said. He’s living proof that such a simple approach can yield significant health results.

For more, check out deputy editor Radha Marcum’s video interview with Bittman: “What’s the link between obesity and global warming? …”

Looking for a great gift for your favorite foodie? One of my favorite non-recipe books, The Food Lover’s Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst and Ron Herbst, just came out with a gorgeous new edition, The Deluxe Food Lover’s Companion, pictured at left. It’s the perfect gift for someone who loves to know details of just about any ingredient, cooking technique, or regional dish — from acai and adzuki beans to yuzu (an Asian citrus) and zuccotto (an Italian, dome-shaped dessert). Expanded glossaries for grains, cheese, citrus, fats, spices, and the like provide even more details on common ingredients — what they are, how to choose, and how they’re used. Unlike the regular edition, this deluxe edition also includes a ton of quick ideas and fast facts, including such helpful gems as:

>Wrap food with aluminum foil’s shiny side out to prevent food from overbrowning in the oven.

>If the flavor of your finished stew is lackluster, enrich it with a teaspoon or two of instant coffee powder or unsweetened cocoa powder.

>Dry parsley leaves thoroughly; they’re much easier to chop than those that are damp.

>Mint pairs well with tomatoes.

>When zesting citrus, wash fruit, then remove zest from the whole fruit and freeze the unused portion for up to 6 months, using as needed. Run citrus fruit diagonally across a grater rather than up and down.

As it says in the intro: “All Food Lover’s Companion books are not only for cooks (both amateur and professional), but for anyone who loves good food and drink — whether you’re a home cook who’s curious about raclette cheese … a professional chef who wants to verify how to garnish an a la Conti dish … or someone who wants to impress others with the correct pronunciation of prix fixe.”

How important are they to you? Whether you’re just trying to boost your immunity with the changing of the seasons, or thinking more about prevention as we head into Breast Cancer Awareness month, supplements should be top on every woman’s health checklist, according to Donnica Moore, MD, president of Sapphire Women’s Health Group and DrDonnica.com and editor in chief of Women’s Health For Life. Her presentation at last week’s Congressional Dietary Supplement Caucus focused on the importance of combining supplements with proper nutrition, sleep, and exercise. It’s easy to shy away from new supplements if we don’t know what they do or how to take them, and discovering which supplements are right for you can take time. But here’s an easy place to start: Check out our women’s health archive, filled with information on the top supplements for fertility and pregnancy, menopause and other hormone-related conditions, and stress. Also be sure to read The Breast-Health Diet, our October feature, with expert-recommended tips for promoting breast health, including upping your intake of vitamin D and folic acid.

What extra steps can you take to fight off illness during cold and flu season?

Dietitians say your diet can affect your body’s ability to fend off the flu. They recommend keeping your kitchen stocked with foods containing immune system boosters, such as allicin, vitamin C, zinc and probiotics. These include common foods like garlic, citrus fruits, seafood and meats, and yoghurt. Dietitians also suggest switching to vitamin D-fortified milk, since research indicates that vitamin D boosts immunity against respiratory viruses. more

Happy birthday, Earthbound Farm! It’s been 25 years since Drew and Myra Goodman started Earthbound Farm, the first organic grower to offer prepackaged organic lettuce nationwide — revolutionizing lettuce buying and arguably putting organic lettuce on the map. (Of note: Their clamshell containers are now made from 100% recycled plastic.) Earthbound Farm’s dedication to organic food and methods hasn’t changed, and every year, they avoid the use of 10.3 million pounds of synthetic chemicals and fertilizers, and help fight global warming because organic land absorbs carbon dioxide (a process called carbon sequestration). Bravo to Earthbound Farm for putting organic farming first and making it economically viable by producing great products. Here’s their recipe for California Waldorf Salad from the wonderful cookbook, Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook. I’m going to make it tonight.

California Waldorf Salad

1/3 cup plain yogurt or sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon grated lime zest

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/2 teaspoon honey or sugar

1 unpeeled apple, cut into 1/3-inch dice (1 cup)

1/2 cup thinly sliced celery

1/2 cup raisins

3/4 cup seedless grapes, cut in half

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted

5 ounces (about 6 cups) prewashed baby spinach or mixed greens

1. Place yogurt (or sour cream), mayo, zest, juice, curry, and honey or sugar in a small nonmetallic bowl and whisk to combine.

2. Place apple, celery raisins, grapes, and nuts in a large bowl. Add about half of the dressing and stir to combine. Just before serving, add spinach and toss to combine. Add more dressing if desired. Any leftover dressing can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 1 week. It’s good in chicken salad or as a dip for vegetables or fruit, too.

Last month we went on vacation and left Oliver with friends. Much to my dismay, we came home to a dog that was out of sorts and suffering from unbelievable “gastric upset”. A trip to the vet and a few stool samples yielded the result – our furry one had Giardia.

Giardia is an infection caused by parasites often found in lakes, ponds and streams (Oliver had been enjoying a vacation of his own, swimming in mountain lakes). It is transmitted when your pet drinks the water. It can interfere with the absorption of nutrients. And your dog (like ours) may lose a bunch of weight.

Symptoms include diarrhea (sometimes uncontrollable) and watery stool that may look light-colored and oily/greasy. It can smell really bad, too. Your pup may seem lethargic.

If your dog is showing these symptoms – get thee to your vet immediately! The treatment is a prescription drug - metronidazole (Flagyl). You may also be advised to give your pup bananas and rice to help with the loose stool. You should also be prepared that many dogs will need two rounds of this drug, as Giardia can be aggressive.

It’s not easy to prevent Giardia. In fact, most dogs get it in their lifetime. However, you can mitigate the source of infection by removing places where water collects, cleaning concrete surfaces, and keeping your dog from drinking out of mountain lakes and streams.

Oliver is doing fine. He’s back to his goofy, active, 65-lb self. Me? Let’s just say, I’ll be looking into more dog-friendly vacations for our family.

Giardia Resources:

http://www.dog-health-guide.org/causesofgiardiaindogs.html

http://www.giardiaindogs.com/

http://www.thepetcenter.com/article.aspx?id=3424

I am thrilled to hear today that Organic Valley, the nation’s largest co-op of organic farmers and producers, has been named the milk supplier for the 28,000-student Boulder Valley School District. As reported in DL’s September 09 issue, chef Ann Cooper, a.k.a. Renegade Lunch Lady, has recently focused her prodigious efforts to improve school lunches here in Boulder, and the organic-milk change is the most welcome new element. “School lunch programs across the nation need to make fundamental changes to improve the health and well-being of our children. Unfortunately, public schools are one of the last places where organic milk is usually found,” she says in the press release. “Not only is organic milk produced without antibiotics, synthetic pesticides and hormones, making it healthier for growing children, but Organic Valley milk is healthier for our local community because it’s produced by local family farmers.”

When people ask me what they should “start with” in terms of organic food, I always say dairy … because all that nasty stuff in conventional milk and dairy products can’t ever be washed off, and kids (at least MY kids) drink a LOT of milk. It was the first thing our family switched to organic, and now our schools have the same benefit. If you want to see this happen in YOUR school district, don’t wait: check out Cooper’s Food Family Farming website, with resources such as The Lunch Box tool to help you get something going.

Yes, according to experts, chemicals in plastics and other everyday items do make us fat. Recently, we reported on BPA’s link to obesity, but BPA isn’t the only synthetic chemical thought to possibly increase fat storage. PCBs, phthalates, PBDEs, and PFOA—all common household chemicals in everything from carpet to toothbrushes—are also suspect. To find out more about where these lurk, check out Children’s Health Magazine’s breakdown (via this Grist roundup of commentary and evidence on this issue). Have you done anything to avoid these chemicals? Where do you concentrate your efforts? Food, cleaning products, household items? As a parent, I easily become overwhelmed and guilt-ridden at the fact that I haven’t replaced ALL of the plastic cups, toys, and bedding in our home.

Chocolate has long topped the list of no-no foods for migraine headache sufferers, but now scientists think that cocoa compounds may actually offer migraine relief. In a recent study, rats fed cocoa showed lower levels of inflammatory markers associated with migraine headaches and increased levels of anti-inflammatory proteins thought to suppress the inflammatory response typical of migraine headaches. Other experts believe that chocolate may not cause migraines but a craving for chocolate may indicate that a migraine is imminent.

Caffeine and other compounds in chocolate have long been blamed for migraines. So if you suffer from migraines, should you avoid or increase your chocolate intake? What do you think? Post a comment below. And check out nutrients such as these that have been proven to help.