Tag: vegetables

Nuts, Sperm, and Sex: The Surprising Connection | NutritionFacts.org

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Walnuts, almonds, and hazelnuts are put to the test for erectile and sexual function, sperm count, and semen quality.

In 2013, I posted a video based on a study that found that men with erectile dysfunction who ate 100 grams of pistachios (a little more than three handsful) a day for three weeks had “a significant improvement in erectile function.” It’s always nice to see a whole-food intervention have clinical effects, and I was curious to revisit the topic and see what’s been published since.

Even if you ignore all the lab animal studies on hazelnuts improving the function of rat testicles—really, there’s a study titled “Hazelnut Consumption Improves Testicular Antioxidant Function and Semen Quality in Young and Old Male Rats”—you still never know what you’ll find searching the medical literature for nuts and sexual function. I found “a case of penile strangulation with a metal hex nut” in which someone put one on his penis “for sexual pleasure” but couldn’t remove it. (I guess some kinds of nuts can sometimes make things worse.) They tried the Dundee technique, which involves creating 20 puncture holes to relieve the pressure, but that didn’t work, so then they tried a diamond disk cutter. It slipped a few times, but the hex nut was successfully removed. All’s well that ends well.

That got me curious. Evidently, penile entrapment is so common that there is an entire grading system that emergency room doctors can use, as you can see here and at 1:21 in my video Mixed Nuts Put to the Test for Erectile Dysfunction. If a drill isn’t available, the surgeons advised, “a hammer and chisel may be used to remove nuts.”

A drill? Oh, they mean a dental drill. Doctors describing one case bragged about the “precisely cut edges,” but it looks pretty jagged to me. You can see for yourself below and at 1:38 in my video.

To “preserve the penis from fatal outcomes” (that’s a strange way to put it), urologists should be aware of all the available tools and approaches, and if you don’t know how to operate the saw, you can always call in the local blacksmith—but only if “special consent [is] taken from the patient”!

But how are you going to remove an iron barbell or steel sledgehammer head? “With a heavy-duty air grinder provided by the fire department,” requiring six hours of cutting and fire coats to protect the patient from the sparks. Use whatever it takes—hack saw, “cement eater.” You can even use the silk winding method pioneered by Dong et al.

Back to the task at hand! Consuming “at least one serving of vegetables a day and more than two servings of nuts a week was associated with a more than 50% decrease in the probability of ED” [erectile dysfunction] in a snapshot-in-time cross-sectional study. But such observational studies can’t prove cause and effect. It’s like finding that men who eat healthier have better sperm motility. Maybe men who eat nuts are just health nuts, and the improvement is due to some other factor, like exercise. What we need is an interventional trial.

And there is one: a randomized controlled trial studied the “effect of nut consumption on semen quality and functionality.” Healthy men were fed the standard American diet with or without a mixture of nuts—a handful (30 grams) of walnuts and half a handful (15 grams) each of almonds and hazelnuts. Individuals in the nut group experienced significant improvements in their total sperm count, vitality, motility, and shape, perhaps because those “in the nut group showed a significant reduction in SDF”—sperm DNA fragmentation. The nuts appeared to protect their sperm DNA. It’s too bad that the researchers didn’t measure the men’s erectile and sexual dysfunction while they were at it. Oh, but they did!

What is the effect of nut consumption on erectile and sexual function from that same study? The researchers report that those in the nut group saw a signiﬁcant increase in orgasmic function and sexual desire, but what about erectile function? Any time you see this kind of selective glass-half-full reporting, you suspect some kind of industry funding, and, indeed, that was the case here; the study was partially funded by the International Nut and Dried Fruit Council. Yes, there was a marginal increase in orgasmic function and sexual desire of questionable clinical significance, but there was no improvement in erectile function, intercourse satisfaction, or overall satisfaction. As with so many comparisons, even the so-called significant findings may not even be statistically significant.

But why did the pistachios I talked about back in 2013 work, while these other nuts didn’t? Well, the original study was done on men mostly in their 40s and 50s who already had chronic erectile dysfunction for at least one year, whereas the average age of participants in the newer study was 24. So, the individuals in the later study may have started out with near-maximum circulation, not leaving much room for the nuts to work any magic.

Doctor’s Note

Sorry for that crazy tangent! I just wanted to give people a taste of what it can be like when you dive deep into the medical literature.

The 2013 video I mentioned is Pistachio Nuts for Erectile Dysfunction.

What about walnuts for arterial blood flow? See Walnuts and Artery Function.

More on fertility and sexual function in the related posts below.

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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February 12, 2026
Which Foods Help a Leaky Gut? | NutritionFacts.org

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What is the recommended diet for treating leaky gut? Which foods and food components can boost the integrity of our intestinal barrier?

Our intestinal tract is the largest barrier between us and the environment. More than what we touch or breathe, what we eat is our largest exposure to the outside world. Normally, our entire gastrointestinal tract is impermeable to what’s inside of it, allowing our body to pick and choose what goes in or out. But there are things that may make our gut leaky, and the chief among them is our diet.

The standard American or Western diet can cause gut dysbiosis, meaning a disruption in our gut microbiome, which can lead to intestinal inﬂammation and a leaky intestinal barrier. Then, tiny bits of undigested food, microbes, and toxins can slip uninvited through our gut lining into our bloodstream and trigger chronic systemic inflammation.

“To avoid this dysbiosis and intestinal inﬂammation, a predominantly vegetarian diet”—in other words, eating plants—“should be preferred.” The gut bacteria of people eating a vegetarian diet are associated with intestinal microbiome balance, high bacterial biodiversity, and integrity of the intestinal barrier. Vegetarians tend to have markedly less uremic toxins, like indole and p-cresol, and because fiber is the primary food for our gut microbiome, the gut bacteria of those eating plant-based diets have been found to produce more of the good stuff—namely short-chain fatty acids that play “a protective and nourishing role” for the cells lining our gut, “ensuring the preservation” of our intestinal barrier. Plant ﬁber is of “prime importance” to preserving the integrity of our intestinal barrier, but you can’t know for sure until you put it to the test.

When people with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease were given whole grains, beans, lentils, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds for six months, they had a significant reduction in zonulin levels.

Zonulin is a protein responsible for the disassembly of the tight junctions between gut-lining cells and is “considered to be the only measurable biomarker that reflects an impairment of the intestinal barrier.” In other words, zonulin is a useful marker of a leaky gut. But since adding all those plants seemed to lower levels, that may “imply that appropriate ﬁber intake helps to maintain the proper structure and function of the intestinal barrier.” But whole healthy plant foods have a lot more than fiber. How do we know it’s the fiber? And the study didn’t even have a control group. That’s why the researchers said “gut permeability might be improved by dietary fiber” [emphasis added]. To prove cause and effect, it’d be nice to have a randomized, double-blind, crossover study where you compare the effect of the same food with or without fiber.

Such a study does, in fact, exist! A group of healthy young men was randomized to eat pasta with or without added fiber, and there was a significant drop in zonulin levels in the added-fiber group compared to both pre-intervention levels and those of the control group, as you can see below and at 2:51 in my video How to Heal a Leaky Gut with Diet.

So, fiber does indeed appear to improve gut leakiness.

Are there any plant foods in particular that may help? Curcumin, the yellow pigment in the spice turmeric, can help prevent the intestinal damage caused by ibuprofen-type drugs in rats. Similar protection was noted for the broccoli compound sulforaphane in mice. There are no human studies on broccoli yet, but there was a study on three days of the equivalent of about 2 to 3 teaspoons a day of turmeric, which did reduce markers of gastrointestinal barrier damage and inflammation caused by exercise compared to a placebo. Less turmeric may work, too, but no smaller doses have been put to the test.

If you ask alternative medicine practitioners what treatments they use for a leaky gut, number one on the list—after reducing alcohol consumption—is zinc. You can see the list below and at 3:42 in my video.

Zinc doesn’t just protect against aspirin-like drug-induced intestinal damage in rats; when put to the test in a randomized trial of healthy adults, the same thing was found. Five days of 250 mg of indomethacin, an NSAID drug, “caused a threefold rise in gut permeability,” as one would expect from that class of drugs. But this rise in permeability did not occur when participants also took zinc, “strongly suggesting a small-intestinal protective effect.” The dose they used was massive, though—75 mg a day, which is nearly twice the tolerable upper daily limit for zinc. What about getting zinc just at regular doses from food?

A significant improvement in gut leakiness was found even with a dose of just 3 mg of zinc, suggesting that even relatively low zinc supplementation may work. You can get an extra 3 mg of zinc in your daily diet by eating a cup (200g) of cooked lentils.

Doctor’s Note

For more on preventing gut dysbiosis and leaky gut, check out Flashback Friday: Gut Dysbiosis: Starving Our Microbial Self and Avoid These Foods to Prevent a Leaky Gut.

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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February 10, 2026
My Easy & Delicious Hawaiian Roll Sliders Are the Star of Every Game Day Gathering

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Rachel PerlmutterCulinary Producer

I’m a recipe developer, food stylist, and content producer. I’ve spent the past seven years at meal kit companies like Marley Spoon and Dinnerly, teaching at food nonprofits, and doing a little farming. Originally from Houston, I live with my partner, dog, cat, and rabbit. We all love local, seasonal produce.

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Rachel Perlmutter

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February 3, 2026
Keeping Better Score of Your Diet | NutritionFacts.org

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How can you get a perfect diet score?

How do you rate the quality of people’s diets? Well, “what could be more nutrient-dense than a vegetarian diet?” Indeed, if you compare the quality of vegetarian diets with non-vegetarian diets, the more plant-based diets do tend to win out, and the higher diet quality in vegetarian diets may help explain greater improvements in health outcomes. However, vegetarians appear to have a higher intake of refined grains, eating more foods like white rice and white bread that have been stripped of much of their nutrition. So, just because you’re eating a vegetarian diet doesn’t mean you’re necessarily eating as healthfully as possible.

Those familiar with the science know the primary health importance of eating whole plant foods. So, how about a scoring system that simply adds up how many cups of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, chickpeas, split peas, and lentils, and how many ounces of nuts and seeds per 1,000 calories (with or without counting white potatoes)? Looking only at the total intake of whole plant foods doesn’t mean you aren’t also stuffing donuts into your mouth. So, you could imagine proportional intake measures, based on calories or weight, to determine the proportion of your diet that’s whole plant foods. In that case, you’d get docked points if you eat things like animal-derived foods—meat, dairy, or eggs—or added sugars and fats.

My favorite proportional intake measure is McCarty’s “phytochemical index,” which I’ve profiled previously. I love it because of its sheer simplicity, “defined as the percent of dietary calories derived from foods rich in phytochemicals.” It assigns a score from 0 to 100, based on the percentage of your calories that are derived from foods rich in phytochemicals, which are biologically active substances naturally found in plants that may be contributing to many of the health beneﬁts obtained from eating whole plant foods. “Monitoring phytochemical intake in the clinical setting could have great utility” in helping people optimize their diet for optimal health and disease prevention. However, quantifying phytochemicals in foods or tissue samples is impractical, laborious, and expensive. But this concept of a phytochemical index score could be a simple alternative method to monitor phytochemical intake.

Theoretically, a whole food, plant-based or vegan diet that excluded reﬁned grains, white potatoes, hard liquors, added oils, and added sugars could achieve a perfect score of 100. Lamentably, most Americans’ diets today might be lucky to score just 20. What’s going on? In 1998, our shopping baskets were filled with about 20% whole plant foods; more recently, that has actually shrunk, as you can see below and at 2:49 in my video Plant-Based Eating Score Put to the Test.

Wouldn’t it be interesting if researchers used this phytochemical index to try to correlate it with health outcomes? That’s exactly what they did. We know that studies have demonstrated that vegetarian diets have a protective association with weight and body mass index. For instance, a meta-analysis of five dozen studies has shown that vegetarians had significantly lower weight and BMI compared with non-vegetarians. And even more studies show that high intakes of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes may be protective regardless of meat consumption. So, researchers wanted to use an index that gave points for whole plant foods. They used the phytochemical index and, as you may recall from an earlier video, tracked people’s weight over a few years, using a scale of 0 to 100 to simply reflect what percentage of a person’s diet is whole plant foods. And even though the healthiest-eating tier only averaged a score of about 40, which meant the bulk of their diet was still made up of processed foods and animal products, just making whole plant foods a substantial portion of the diet may help prevent weight gain and decrease body fat. So, it’s not all or nothing. Any steps we can take to increase our whole plant food intake may be beneficial.

Many more studies have since been performed, with most pointing in the same direction for a variety of health outcomes—indicating, for instance, higher healthy plant intake is associated with about a third of the odds of abdominal obesity and significantly lower odds of high triglycerides. So, the index may be “a useful dietary target for weight loss,” where there is less focus on calorie intake and more on increasing consumption of these high-nutrient, lower-calorie foods over time. Other studies also suggest the same is true for childhood obesity.

Even at the same weight, with the same amount of belly fat, those eating plant-based diets tend to have higher insulin sensitivity, meaning the insulin they make works better in their body, perhaps thanks to the compounds in plants that alleviate inﬂammation and quench free radicals. Indeed, the odds of hyperinsulinemia—an indicator of insulin resistance—were progressively lower with greater plant consumption. No wonder researchers found 91% lower odds of prediabetes for people getting more than half their calories from healthy plant foods.

They also found significantly lower odds of metabolic syndrome and high blood pressure. There were only about half the odds of being diagnosed with hypertension over a three-year period among those eating more healthy plants. Even mental health may be impacted—about 80% less depression, 2/3 less anxiety, and 70% less psychological distress, as you can see below and at 5:15 in my video.

Is there a link between the dietary phytochemical index and benign breast diseases, such as fibrocystic diseases, fatty necrosis, ductal ectasia, and all sorts of benign tumors? Yes—70% lower odds were observed in those with the highest scores. But what about breast cancer? A higher intake of healthy plant foods was indeed associated with a lower risk of breast cancer, even after controlling for a long list of other factors. And not just by a little bit. Eating twice the proportion of plants compared to the standard American diet was linked to more than 90% lower odds of breast cancer.

Doctor’s Note

You can learn more about the phytochemical index in Calculate Your Healthy Eating Score.

If you’re worried about protein, check out Flashback Friday: Do Vegetarians Get Enough Protein?

It doesn’t have to be all or nothing, though. Do Flexitarians Live Longer?

For more on plant-based junk, check out Friday Favorites: Is Vegan Food Always Healthy?.

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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February 3, 2026
Can You Freeze Broccoli? Why This Step Is a Weeknight Lifesaver

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You’ll always have some when you need it.
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Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn

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January 31, 2026
My 4-Ingredient “Melting Potatoes” Are So Delicious, I Want Them Every Night of Winter

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Jan ValdezAssociate Recipe Producer

I cover recipe content on The Kitchn, write and update recipes and recipe roundups, and test recipes for the team. I have 10 years of experience working in R&D test kitchens, testing products and recipes, and at publishers including Serious Eats and EatingWell.

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Patty Catalano

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January 28, 2026
Brain Health Challenge: Try the MIND Diet

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Welcome to Day 2 of the Brain Health Challenge. Today, we’re talking about food.

Your brain is an energy hog. Despite comprising about 2 percent of the average person’s body mass, it consumes roughly 20 percent of the body’s energy. In other words, what you use to fuel yourself matters for brain health.

So what foods are best for your brain?

In a nine-year study of nearly 1,000 older adults, researchers at Rush University in Chicago found that people who ate more of nine particular types of food — berries, leafy greens, other vegetables, whole grains, beans, nuts, fish, poultry and olive oil — and who ate less red meat, butter and margarine, cheese, sweet treats and fried food had slower cognitive decline.

Based on these findings, the researchers developed the MIND diet.

Large studies encompassing thousands of people have since shown that following the MIND diet corresponds with better cognitive functioning, a lower risk of dementia and slower disease progression in people with Alzheimer’s. People benefit from the diet regardless of whether they start it in midlife or late life.

Experts think the foods included in the MIND diet are especially good for the brain because they contain certain macro and micronutrients.

Berries and leafy greens, for example, are rich in polyphenols and other antioxidants, said Jennifer Ventrelle, a dietitian at Rush and a co-author of “The Official Mind Diet.” Many of these compounds can cross the blood-brain barrier and help to fight inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which can damage cells and are linked to dementia.

Nuts and fatty fishes, like salmon and sardines, contain omega-3 fatty acids, which are important for building the insulating sheaths that surround the nerve fibers that carry information from one brain cell to another.

Whole grains and beans both contain a hefty dose of fiber, which feeds the good microbes in the gut. Those microbes produce byproducts called short-chain fatty acids that experts think can influence brain health via the gut-brain axis.

You don’t have to revamp your whole diet to get these nutrients. Instead, think about “MIND-ifying” whatever you already tend to eat, said Dr. Joel Salinas, a neurologist at NYU Langone Health and the founder and chief medical officer of the telehealth platform Isaac Health. For instance, add a handful of nuts or berries to your breakfast.

Today’s activity will help you MIND-ify your own meals. Share your choices with your accountability partner and in the comments, and I’ll discuss the ways I’m adjusting my diet, too. For added inspiration, check out these MIND-approved recipes from New York Times Cooking.

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Dana G. Smith

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January 5, 2026
Are the Effects of Ochratoxin Concerning? | NutritionFacts.org

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The overall cost-benefit ratio for mycotoxins depends on which food is contaminated.

Ochratoxin has been described as toxic to the immune system, developing fetus, kidneys, and nervous system, as well as being carcinogenic, but that is in animal studies. Ochratoxin “causes kidney toxicity in certain animal species, but there is little documented evidence of adverse effects in humans.” That’s why it’s only considered a possible human carcinogen.

Big Ag assures that current ochratoxin levels are safe, even among those who eat a lot of contaminated foods. The worst-case scenario may be young children eating a lot of oat-based cereals, but, even then, “their lifetime cancer risk is negligible.” Individuals arguing against regulatory standards suggest we can eat more than 42 cups of oatmeal a day and not worry about it. Where do they get these kinds of estimates?

They determine the so-called benchmark dose in animals—the dose of the toxin that gives a 10% increase in pathology—then, because one would want to err on the side of caution, divide that dose by 500 as a kind of safety fudge factor to develop the tolerable daily intake. For cancer risk, you can find the tumor dose—the dose that increases tumor incidence in lab animals by 5%—and extrapolate down to the ”negligible cancer risk intake,” effectively incorporating a 5,000-fold safety factor, as seen below and at 1:28 in my video Should We Be Concerned About the Effects of Ochratoxin?.

It seems kind of arbitrary, right? But what else are you going to do? You can’t just intentionally feed people the stuff and see what happens—but people eat it regularly. Can we just follow people and their diets over time and see if those who eat more whole grains, like oats, for example, are more likely to have cancer or live shorter lives?

What is the association between whole grain intake and all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer mortality? Every additional ounce of whole grains eaten a day is associated with not only a lower risk for cancer mortality but also a lower risk of dying from all causes put together. Below and at 2:05 in my video are findings from all the big cancer studies. Every single one trended towards lower cancer risk.

The bottom line is that you don’t find adverse effects confirmed in these population studies. This is not to say ochratoxin is necessarily harmless, but “any such risk does not outweigh the known beneﬁts of wholegrain consumption.” In fact, healthy constituents of the whole grains themselves, like their antioxidants, may directly reduce the impacts of mycotoxins by protecting cells from damage. So, eating lots of fruits and vegetables may also help. Either way, “an overall healthy diet can play a signiﬁcant role in mitigating the risk of contaminants in grain.”

In summary, healthy foods like whole grains are good, but just not as good as they could be because of ochratoxin, whereas less healthful foods, like wine and pork, are worse because of the mycotoxin, as shown below and at 2:52 in my video. Ochratoxin was detected, for example, in 44% of tested pork.

Doctor’s Note

This is the third video in a four-part series on mold toxins. If you missed the first two, see Ochratoxin in Breakfast Cereals and Friday Favorites: Ochratoxin and Breakfast Cereals, Herbs, Spices, and Wine.

Should We Be Concerned About Aflatoxin? is coming up next.

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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December 16, 2025
Cheese Sauce for Broccoli
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This post may contain references to products from one or more of our advertisers. Oh Sweet Basil may receive compensation when you click on links to such products.

This easy 7 Ingredient Cheese Sauce for Broccoli recipe is the recipe that will help picky eaters like vegetables! It is so simple to make and one secret tip keeps the cheese sauce smooth and never clumpy! It goes wonderfully with freshly steamed broccoli for that classic side dish everyone loves.

Broccoli Recipes for Picky Eaters

Do you remember years and years ago on that Broccoli Salad post where I chatted about Cade surprising me by cooking a delicious steak dinner and how that was the first time I ate and enjoyed broccoli? Ever since posting about that broccoli he made me, I have received a crazy amount of emails asking for the recipe for his broccoli cheese sauce.

I feel really guilty about taking so long to write about it but Cade never measures so it took some time to figure out exactly what the recipe was. So, without any further babbling, here it is. From the man who didn’t even eat it that first night because it wasn’t healthy and he didn’t eat junk. (I’ve since cured him of that. You’re welcome.)

Ingredients for Cheese Sauce with Broccoli

This is a no roux cheese sauce meaning we aren’t using flour or butter. Here is everything you’ll need:
- Sharp Cheddar Cheese: The star of the sauce! Sharp cheddar will give the most bold cheesy flavor. Buy a block of cheese and grate it yourself for the best meltiness.
- Cornstarch: Toss the grated cheese in cornstarch to help thicken the cheese sauce as the cheese melts. Cornstarch also helps with the emulsion of the cheese and milk. Flour can also be used, but by using cornstarch, you keep the sauce gluten free.
- Evaporated Milk: Acts as the base for the creamy cheese sauce and doesn’t have the heaviness or high fat of cream. It has less water than regular milk which helps the sauce be extra creamy.
- Salt and Black Pepper: Adds flavor and hint of warmth.
- Ground Mustard: Adds flavor that enhances the flavor the cheese. Mustard is also a great emulsifier which helps keep the sauce smooth.
- Broccoli: Using fresh broccoli florets is preferred. Frozen broccoli ends up soggy and don’t hold up to the cheese sauce very well.
How to Make Homemade Cheese Sauce
1. Toss: Add the grated cheese and cornstarch to a large bowl and toss together. Let it sit at room temperature for 10 minutes.
2. Combine: Add all the ingredients for the sauce over medium-low heat and stir to combine. Whisk until the cheese is melting and it comes to a soft boil. Then whisk constantly for 2 minutes until slightly thickened.
3. Serve: Pour over cooked broccoli with fresh cracked pepper.
The secret for smooth cheese sauce is all about the CHEESE…

First, buy a block of high quality cheese and grate it yourself. When you buy shredded cheese, it is coated in additives that keep it from melting and mixing together smoothly.

Second, sharp cheddar will gives you the best cheesy flavor. We also love this recipe with monterey jack.

Can Broccoli Be Roasted?

Broccoli is delicious when roasted. Toss broccoli florets in a little olive oil and place in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast without stirring until the edges are crispy and the stems are crisp-tender. (about 20 minutes). Then add the cheese sauce on top and serve!

Storing and Reheating

Leftovers should be stored in an airtight container in the fridge. It will keep for 3-4 days. It will not freeze well, so I do not recommend that.

Reheat the cheese sauce on the stove top over medium-low heat or in the microwave.

Other Ways to Use Cheese Cause

This cheese sauce is also a great topping for baked potatoes, cauliflower, nachos, or soft pretzels.

If you’re having a hard time getting your kiddos to eat vegetables, cover them in melty, gooey, delicious cheese! Come to me with all your parenting questions, friends! I have all the answers! Ha! This cheese sauce for broccoli recipe is on repeat in our house!

Watch How to Make Broccoli and Cheese Sauce

More Tasty Vegetable Side Dishes:
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In a large bowl, toss the cheese and the corn starch.

1 ¾ Cups Sharp Cheddar Cheese, 2 ½ teaspoons Cornstarch

Allow to sit out for 10 minutes.

In a saucepan over medium low heat, add the cheese, milk, salt, ground mustard.

¾ Cups Evaporated Milk, Pinch Salt, Pinch Ground Mustard

Whisk until the cheese is melting down.

Whisk occasionally until it comes to a soft boil, increasing the temperature a little if needed.

Whisk constantly for 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Serve immediately over cooked broccoli with fresh cracked black pepper.

3 Cup Steamed Broccoli, Fresh Cracked Black Pepper

Reheat in a saucepan over low heat.

Serving: 1g, Calories: 293kcal, Carbohydrates: 11.4g, Protein: 17g, Cholesterol: 64.1mg, Fiber: 1.8g, Sugar: 6g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Sweet Basil

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October 19, 2025
A Stunning Garden in North Haven, NY, by DeMauro + DeMauro

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Strike one: a house in need of a major renovation. Strike two: a garden in need of love. Strike three: a remodel that left the surrounding landscape decimated. Such were the conditions that Emilia and Anna DeMauro, the sisters behind DeMauro + DeMauro Landscape Design & Gardens, encoutered when they first met with their client in North Haven, a hamlet north of Sag Harbor, New York. “When we came on the property, it was essentially a construction site,” remembers Emilia. “It really was just exposed earth—just dirt. And further back it was so overgrown in some areas it was difficult to even walk.”

With a main house, a barn, a pool and a pool house, the two-acre property was not quite a blank canvas. There were also mature oaks dotted across the property, which abuts both woodland and wetland. In addition to repopulating the landscape with native plants, the client, an avid cook and gardener, hoped to add vegetable and cut flower beds (she also wanted to keep the peach trees planted by the previous owner). Last, the client wanted to highlight several sculptures by her late husband.

To tackle the large project, the DeMauro sisters created distinct gardens within the property, including two pollinator gravel gardens close to the house, a wildflower meadow near the wetland, grassy meadows on either side of the driveway, three cut flower beds, and fourteen vegetable beds—plus, on-site composting and even a chicken run.

Take a tour of the revived and diverse bayside landscape:

Photography by Doug Young, courtesy of DeMauro + DeMauro.

Before

Above: Before the landscape redesign, the land surrounding the house was nothing but compacted, post-construction dirt. Anna saw the sunny spots between the two house wings as the perfect opportunity to create a dry gravel garden inspired by Beth Chatto’s celebrated garden in Essex.

After

Above: Two years after DeMauro + DeMauro’s installation, the pollinator gravel gardens are coming into their own.

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October 16, 2025
The 20-Minute Brussels Sprouts Side Dish I Make Every Week (My Family Loves It)

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Christine GallarySenior Recipe Editor

After graduating from Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, I worked at Cook’s Illustrated and CHOW’s test kitchens. I’ve edited and tested recipes for more than 15 years, including developing recipes for the James Beard-award winning Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown cookbook. My favorite taste testers are my husband, Hayden, and daughter, Sophie.

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Janette Zepeda

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October 13, 2025
63 Ridiculously Delicious Vegetarian Dinners Our Editors Love

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They’re not just for meatless Mondays.
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Sheela Prakash

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October 11, 2025
Creamy Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower with Bacon
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This post may contain references to products from one or more of our advertisers. Oh Sweet Basil may receive compensation when you click on links to such products.

This indulgent Creamy Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower with Bacon makes the most amazing side dish. It’s a one skillet recipe filled with tender cauliflower and vibrant broccoli simmering in a creamy garlic sauce topped off with gooey cheese and crispy bacon! I can’t wait for dinner!

Upgrade your vegetable game with this delicious and easy recipe for creamy garlic parmesan broccoli and cauliflower topped with crispy bacon. Perfect for an easy side dish or even as a meal on its own.

Ingredients for Creamy Garlic Parmesan Broccoli and Cauliflower

There is so much flavor and creaminess packed into this dish, it almost seems like you aren’t even eating vegetables! Haha! Not that eating vegetables is bad! I love vegetables! But load them up with bacon and garlic and all sorts of cheese and even my picky kiddos eat them! Here is everything you need:
- Bacon: I found thick bacon worked the best, but it adds a lot of grease so make sure you follow the recipe and remove some before adding the butter.
- Butter: I prefer unsalted so that I can control the saltiness a little more.
- Onions: Regular yellow onion is great.
- Broccoli and Cauliflower Florets: The stars of the dish!
- Garlic: adds flavor
- Kosher Salt: adds flavor
- Aleppo Pepper: Aleppo Pepper is a must on top. That tiny fleck of sweet heat takes this dish to a whole new level. It’s not spicy, but it adds that wonderful flavor like a spice would.
- Heavy Cream: adds all the rich creaminess to the sauce
- Lemon Juice: adds a pop of freshness that takes this dish to a new level
- Mozzarella Cheese and Parmesan Cheese: We tried other cheeses like monterey jack and cheddar but the flavor was off with the garlic.
How to Make Creamy Broccoli and Cauliflower

Let’s walk through each step of making this indulgent vegetables dish…
1. Cook: Fry the bacon until crispy in an oven safe pan over medium heat. Once cooked, remove the bacon from the pan to a plate lined with paper towels. Drain most of the bacon grease.
2. Preheat: start the broiler
3. Sauté: Melt the butter in the skillet and add the onions. Cook it until transparent stirring occasionally.
4. Add: Place the broccoli, cauliflower and garlic and season with salt and pepper and toss everything together. Cook until the broccoli is bright green and fork tender.
5. Simmer: Pour the cream in and then reduce the heat to medium low and let it summer until the sauce thickens.
  
  NOTE: If the sauce doesn’t thicken, add a teaspoon of 2 of Sure Gel and it will thicken right up.
6. Squeeze: Squeeze in some fresh lemon juice and stir to combine.
7. Broil: Sprinkle both cheeses all over the top and place the skillet into the oven. Broil it until the cheese is bubbling and golden.
8. Garnish: Top the whole dish will the bacon and a pinch of aleppo pepper.
Keep scrolling down the end of the post for the complete recipe in the recipe card.

Pro Tip for Thickening

Simmering the heavy cream is essential for it to thicken up. Occasionally a heavy cream just won’t thicken as much as I’d like so I’ll throw in a teaspoon or two of Cornaby’s Ultra Gel. I love it because unlike cornstarch you can add it straight to the pot, no slurry with water needed!

Can I Substitute Another Vegetable for Cauliflower?

Yes! You could use all broccoli, green beans or brussels sprouts would be amazing!! If you’re a brussel sprout fan, try our creamy garlic parmesan brussel sprouts and broccoli.

Can I Freeze the Creamy Cauliflower and Broccoli?

Yes!! Let it cool completely and I prefer to freeze the bacon separate so it stays crisp. Creams don’t reheat exactly the same, but it’s still delicious!

For Our Utah Readers…

If you live in Utah try grabbing Toum at your local Harmons (or other stores in your area may have it as well) and use that instead of the cream and garlic. It is transformational in this dish!!!

Idea for Leftovers

Turn it into soup!

Got leftovers? Turn this dish into a broccoli and cauliflower soup! Just add it to a pot that has our base from our broccoli soup!

Why You Will Love This Recipe
- Flavor: The flavors of bacon, cream, parmesan and garlic all coating those delicious vegetables is just out of this world!
  
  PRO TIP: If you want to change the flavor up a little, try roasting the broccoli and cauliflower first in the oven before tossing it in to sauté it.
- Quick: This side dish is ready in less than 30 minutes!
- Texture: The contrasting textures of the crispy bacon, tender vegetables with the creamy sauce is so amazing!
- Simple: The ingredients are few and easy to find! The steps are easy to follow and fail proof.
- Low Carb: With only 4 grams of carbs, this is great low carb side dish option.
- One Pan: Every part of this recipe is done in the one pan. No extra dishes to clean!
Storing and Reheating

Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. They will keep for up to 5 days.

Reheat this dish on the stove top over medium heat until heated through. Add a little more cream and buttermilk to keep it from drying out.

Indulge in this delicious and savory dish featuring creamy garlic parmesan broccoli and cauliflower topped with crispy bacon. Perfect for a satisfying and flavorful meal.

More Vegetable Side Dishes:
Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

In an oven safe pan over medium heat, fry the bacon until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.

8 oz Bacon

Drain most of the bacon fat from the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons.

Preheat broiler.

Melt the butter in the pan and add the onion, cooking until transparent, about 4 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2 Tablespoons Butter, 1/2 Onions

Add the broccoli, cauliflower and garlic and season with salt and pepper and cook while stirring occasionally for about 3 minutes, or until bright in color and fragrant.

1 Head Broccoli Florets, 1 Head Cauliflower Florets, 5 Cloves Garlic, Kosher Salt, Fresh Black Pepper

Pour in the cream, reducing the heat down to medium low and allow to simmer for about 3-4 minutes or until the sauce thickens.

1½ Cups Heavy Cream

Squeeze in the lemon juice and stir again.

1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Top with the mozzarella and parmesan cheeses. Place in the oven. Broil until cheese is bubbling and golden, about 2-3 minutes.

3/4 Cup Mozzarella, 1/3 Cup Parmesan

Top with bacon and a pinch of pepper.

Serving: 1cup, Calories: 462kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Protein: 12g, Fat: 45g, Saturated Fat: 24g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g, Monounsaturated Fat: 14g, Trans Fat: 0.2g, Cholesterol: 117mg, Sodium: 474mg, Potassium: 160mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 1145IU, Vitamin C: 2mg, Calcium: 183mg, Iron: 0.4mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Carrian Cheney

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October 11, 2025
“Mississippi Mud Potatoes” Is the Southern Side I Make on Repeat for My Family

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We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

I should probably start off by saying that I absolutely love potatoes and cheese more than anything else. If I could survive on just those two things, I definitely would. If you’re a potato lover like me and enjoy a cheesy, decadent side dish, Mississippi Mud Potatoes are definitely for you!

I was completely unfamiliar with this dish until I had the chance to develop a recipe for it myself, and it completely surprised me and my whole family. While I’m not usually a mayonnaise fan — though I do love Kewpie mayo — this dish turned me into a believer, it turns out. A little mayo never hurt anyone. The best part of all is it’s a one-bowl situation and, honestly, you just can’t beat that.

What Makes Mississippi Mud Potatoes So Good

There are so many things I love about this recipe, but at the top of the list is how perfectly potatoes and cheese belong together. For me, it’s the crispy, smoky bacon paired with soft, creamy potatoes, all bubbling under a golden layer of melted cheddar. It’s the kind of romance you’d see written in the movies.

The flavor profile is rich, comforting, and indulgent, with the creamy potatoes balanced perfectly by the smoky, savory bacon. That touch of saltiness from the bacon is exactly what potatoes need to elevate them from simple to unforgettable. The crispy bacon garnish on top adds the perfect crunch and makes every bite feel extra special. I’m a true believer that some of the best side dishes of all time have come from Southern cuisine. Developing this recipe showed me how a few simple ingredients, combined thoughtfully, can create something that feels both classic and completely irresistible.

This side dish fits right in next to almost any protein, whether it’s chicken, steak, or even fish, and it just works. I didn’t grow up with this recipe, but it comes together so quickly that it feels like it’s always been part of my table. Honestly, it’s one of those dishes I know I’ll be making forever, and my kids certainly don’t mind.

How to Make Mississippi Mud Potatoes

If You’re Making Mississippi Mud Potatoes, a Few Tips

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Janette Zepeda

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October 7, 2025
The Cooking Trick for Making Pork Chops Taste So Good, Everyone Thinks They’re From a Restaurant

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Add more olive oil to the skillet if it looks dry. Add the onion, peppers, and a pinch of salt. Cook, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the onions begin to soften, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onions and cook, stirring, until just toasted, about 1 minute. Stir in the wine, chicken broth, and vinegar. Nestle the pork chops back into the skillet and pour over any collected juices from the plate. Simmer until the sauce is thickened and the chops are cooked through, about 6 minutes, flipping the chops halfway. Transfer to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes.

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Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn

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October 5, 2025
My Mom’s Filipino Beef & Potato Stew Is Famous in Our Family (It’s So Good)

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It’s the kind of comfort food you’ll want to make again and again.
READ MORE…

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Jan Valdez

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October 4, 2025
The No-Bake Pumpkin Dessert You Should Make for Every Fall Gathering (I Dream About It All Year!)

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Kelli FosterCulinary Producer

I’m a recipe developer, food writer, stylist, and video producer (and The Kitchn’s Dinner Therapist), with more than 10 years professional experience. Since graduating from The French Culinary Institute, I’ve authored 3 cookbooks: Buddha Bowls, Plant-Based Buddha Bowls, and The Probiotic Kitchen.

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Kelli Foster

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October 3, 2025
How to Protect Plants from Frost and Get a Late Harvest
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Dreading the end of the growing season? Fear no longer! I’ll show you how to protect plants from frost so your edibles can continue to thrive in any weather.

Fall is in full swing, which means that many of us have accepted that the growing season is coming to an end. Some of us, however, refuse to accept that because we just aren’t ready to say goodbye to all the hearty, yummy, homegrown produce we’ve been feasting on.

There are a few ways to extend the growing season of your favourite veggies and herbs. Try out these methods for frost protection for plants and keep on enjoying that garden produce well into the colder months.

Cold frames can be great for starting seeds and extending the season in the fall.

How to Protect Plants from Frost

Here are some simple things you can do to keep your garden growing and producing into fall and winter. The following methods will help to keep your plants as warm as possible when jack frost comes calling.

Mulch

Mulching keeps the soil at the base of a plant warm so that it takes longer than usual to freeze when the temperature drops. A few items you can use as mulch include:
- dried leaves
- bits of bark
- wood chips
- cardboard
- straw
The thicker the layer, the more protection your plant has against freezing.

Mulching is a great, very simple way to protect plants from frost, and it is also a good way to shield more delicate plants such as herbs over the winter.

Keep Plants Toasty with Water

During the day, fill some plastic milk jugs with warm water and put them outside to heat up in the sun. Right before dusk, place your jugs next to the plants you want to protect and place a cover over them.

The soil and air will lose heat quicker than the water will, allowing the milk jugs to emit some warmth to its neighbouring plant.

You also may want to water your plants right before an anticipated frost. While this may seem counter-intuitive, wet soil actually holds heat better than dry soil and works to protect the plant’s roots. Water during the day so the wet soil has time to soak up some heat from the sun.

Wet soil holds heat better than dry soil.

Use Frost Covers for Plants

Without a doubt, frost covers are the most effective way to protect your plants from frost. This will require good timing on your part, so pay attention to the weather and notice any anticipated dips close to freezing. Here are a few tips to help you:
- Cover your plants before dusk. By the time darkness arrives, all the stored heat in your garden will have disappeared.
- Make sure your cover extends all the way to the bottom of the plant. However, do not gather your covering to the trunk or stem of the plant. The soil is what is providing the heat!
- Try to keep the material from touching the leaves of the plants. If your covering is fabric or doesn’t have shape, you can use stakes to help support it.
- The next morning after the frost has thawed and gone away for the day, remove any of your covers. It’s important to let them grow normally during the day so they don’t break dormancy. Otherwise, they will start to grow again and become even more susceptible to frost damage.
There are a ton of different ways to cover your plants. I’ve detailed some methods down below!

Cloche

These domes come in many varieties, from plastic to glass to fold-up umbrella-style cloches. Place one over top of an individual plant to shield it from early frost and keep it warm, happy, and growing longer.

Cloche frost protectors are a great option for plants that are spaced out or if you want extra protection for each plant.

Plastic cloches are inexpensive and work great for covering up single plants.

Row Cover

Row covers are simply large swaths of a breathable, lightweight material used to cover and protect multiple plants in a row or bed. You can use lightweight, flexible plastic, netting, fabric, or garden-specific covering material draped gently over the plants you wish to protect.

This is a great option if you are taken off guard by cold weather and need something really quick and easy to protect your plants from frost.

You can also build a more substantial “hoop house” over a garden bed by draping your row cover material over a structure made of PVC pipes bent into horseshoe shapes.

Cold Frame

Cold frames are raised beds with a removable cover, often attached by a hinge. They are a great way to begin your growing season early because you can plant directly in them in the early spring when it is still cold out, and the cover will keep plants protected.

These frames are also great for growing winter veggies and will allow you to harvest and eat some vegetables well into the holidays or even all winter long, depending on your zone.

Cold frames can easily be made out of recycled wood.

Greenhouse

I think it is every gardener’s dream to have their very own greenhouse! Greenhouses, of course, are the most effective way to extend the season as they offer a ton of protection.

This dream doesn’t have to be so far-fetched, as there are plenty of ways to have a greenhouse, big or small, expensive, or more budget-friendly.

There are also many different versions that you can make or buy for home use, such as this upcycled window greenhouse. Your plants will be happy year-round with this high level of protection.

Greenhouses allow for year-round gardening.

While these options are great investments for the avid gardener, it’s also important to remember that frost covers don’t need to be expensive to be effective.

There are a ton of DIY options out there. Use sticks to prop up your covers and cover with newspaper, bed sheets, towels, or whatever you have on hand. You can also make your own little domes for individual plants by sticking an upside-down pot over the top or a plastic container such as a milk jug with the top cut off.

How to Protect Flowers

We want to hold onto flowers for as long as possible! If you have flowers in containers or hanging baskets, try to bring them inside at night when you expect a frost. Plants that are in containers are much more susceptible to root damage as the cold can come from all directions.

Before you bring them inside, ensure they don’t have any insects or diseases on them that could spread to indoor plants. Placing your plants inside a warm garage or shed is another good alternative.

Move any containers you’d like to protect indoors or in a shed.

The first frost doesn’t have to be the end-all for your plants this year. Give these tips a try and see just how long you have thriving greenery into the winter!

More Fall and Winter Garden Projects

A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
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Stephanie Rose

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October 3, 2025
A Longer Life on Statins? | NutritionFacts.org

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What are the pros and cons of relative risk, absolute risk, number needed to treat, and average postponement of death when taking cholesterol-lowering statin drugs?

In response to the charge that describing the benefits of statin drugs only in terms of relative risk reduction is a “statistical deception” created to give the appearance that statins are more effective than they really are, it was pointed out that describing things in terms of absolute risk reduction or number needed to treat can depend on the duration of the study.

For example, let’s say a disease has a 2% chance of killing you every year, but some drug cuts that risk by 50%. That sounds amazing, until you realize that, at the end of a year, your risk will only have fallen from 2% to 1%, so the absolute reduction of risk is only 1%. If a hundred people were treated with the drug, instead of two people dying, one person would die, so a hundred people would have to be treated to save one life, as shown below and at 1:01 in my video How Much Longer Do You Live on Statins?.

But there’s about a 99% chance that taking the drug all year would have no effect either way. So, to say the drug cuts the risk of dying by 50% seems like an overstatement. But think about it: Benefits accrue over time. If there’s a 2% chance of dying every year, year after year, after a few decades, the majority of those who refused the drug would be dead, whereas the majority who took the drug would be alive. So, yes, perhaps during the first year on the drug, there was only about a 1% chance it would be life-saving, but, eventually, you could end up with a decent chance the drug would save your life after all.

“This is actually the very reason why the usage of relative risk makes sense…” Absolute risk changes depending on the time frame being discussed, but with relative risk, you know that whatever risk you have, you can cut it in half by taking the drug. On average, statins only cut the risk of a cardiovascular “event” by 25%, but since cardiovascular disease is the number one killer of men and women, if you’re unwilling to change your diet, that’s a powerful argument in favor of taking these kinds of drugs. You can see the same kind of dependency on trial duration, looking at the “postponement of death” by taking a statin. How much longer might you live if you take statins?

The average postponement of death has some advantages over other statistics because it may offer “a better intuitive understanding among lay persons,” whereas a stat like a number needed to treat has more of a win-or-lose “lottery-like” quality. So, when a statin drug prevents, say, one heart attack out of a hundred people treated over five years, it’s not as though the other 99 completely lost out. Their cholesterol also dropped, and their heart disease progression presumably slowed down, too, just not enough to catch a heart attack within that narrow time frame.

So, what’s the effect of statins on average survival? According to an early estimate, if you put all the randomized trials together, the average postponement of death was calculated at maybe three or four days. Three or four days? Who would take a drug every day for years just to live a few more days? Well, let’s try to put that into context. Three or four days is comparable to the gains in life expectancy from other medical interventions. For example, it’s nearly identical to what you’d get from “highly effective childhood vaccines.” Because vaccines have been so effective in wiping out infectious diseases, these days, they only add an average of three extra days to a child’s life. But, of course, “those whose deaths are averted gain virtually their whole lifetimes.” That’s why we vaccinate. It just seems like such a small average benefit because it gets distributed over the many millions of kids who get the vaccine. Is that the same with statins?

An updated estimate was published in 2019, which explained that the prior estimate of three or four days was plagued by “important weaknesses,” and the actual average postponement of death was actually ten days. Headline writers went giddy from these data, but what they didn’t understand was that this was only for the duration of the trial. So, if your life expectancy is only five years, then, yes, statins may increase your lifespan by only ten days, but statins are meant to be taken a lot longer than five years. What you want to know is how much longer you might get to live if you stick with the drugs your whole life.

In that case, it isn’t an extra ten days, but living up to ten extra years. Taking statins can enable you to live years longer. That’s because, for every millimole per liter you lower your bad LDL cholesterol, you may live three years longer and maybe even six more years, depending on which study you’re reading. A millimole in U.S. units is 39 points. Drop your LDL cholesterol by about 39 points, and you could live years longer. Exercise your whole life, and you may only increase your lifespan by six months, and stopping smoking may net you nine months. But if you drop your LDL cholesterol by about 39 points, you could live years longer. You can accomplish that by taking drugs, or you can achieve that within just two weeks of eating a diet packed with fruits, vegetables, and nuts, as seen here and at 5:30 in my video.

Want to know what’s better than drugs? “Something important and fundamental has been lost in the controversy around this broad expansion of statin therapy.…It is imperative that physicians (and drug labels) inform patients that not only their lipid [cholesterol] levels but also their cardiovascular risk can be reduced substantially by adoption of a plant-based dietary pattern, and without drugs. Dietary modifications for cardiovascular risk reduction, including plant-based diets, have been shown to improve not only lipid status, but also obesity, hypertension, systemic inflammation, insulin sensitivity, oxidative stress, endothelial function, thrombosis, and cardiovascular event risk…The importance of this [plant-based] approach is magnified when one considers that, in contrast to statins, the ‘side effects’ of plant-based diets—weight loss, more energy, and improved quality of life—are beneficial.”

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Michael Greger M.D. FACLM

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October 2, 2025
My Creamy French Chicken Meatballs Are All I Want for Dinner Right Now

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Rachel PerlmutterCulinary Producer

I’m a recipe developer, food stylist, and content producer. I’ve spent the past seven years at meal kit companies like Marley Spoon and Dinnerly, teaching at food nonprofits, and doing a little farming. Originally from Houston, I live with my partner, dog, cat, and rabbit. We all love local, seasonal produce.

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Rachel Perlmutter

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October 1, 2025