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.
Patty Catalano
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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.
Dana G. Smith
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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.
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM
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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.
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.)
This is a no roux cheese sauce meaning we aren’t using flour or butter. Here is everything you’ll need:
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.
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!
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.
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!
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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.
Sweet Basil
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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.
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.
Janette Zepeda
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They’re not just for meatless Mondays.
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Sheela Prakash
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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.
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:
Let’s walk through each step of making this indulgent vegetables dish…
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!
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.
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!!!
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!
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.
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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.
Carrian Cheney
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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.
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.
Janette Zepeda
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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.
Andrea Rivera Wawrzyn
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It’s the kind of comfort food you’ll want to make again and again.
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Jan Valdez
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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.
Kelli Foster
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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.
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.
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:
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.
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.
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:
There are a ton of different ways to cover your plants. I’ve detailed some methods down below!
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
A city girl who learned to garden and it changed everything. Author, artist, Master Gardener. Better living through plants.
Stephanie Rose
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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.”
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM
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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.
Rachel Perlmutter
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I’ve always loved pasta — although we rarely had it when I was growing up. In our house, Mexican food was what was on the table. Which is why espagueti verde was the best of both worlds, and it quickly became a family favorite (my dad is a big fan). It’s inspired by the flavors of rajas poblanas con crema (roasted poblanos with cream), and it’s one of my all-time favorite dinners.
Rajas poblanas are strips of roasted poblano peppers cooked in a rich cream sauce and garnished with queso fresco (a soft, mild, slightly salty cheese commonly used in Latin America), and are often served with tortillas and rice. Rajas poblanas have been around much longer than espagueti verde, which makes them the true inspiration for this dish. They originate from Puebla and are popular across central and southern Mexico, including Mexico City and Oaxaca. This pasta captures all those flavors and blends them into a vibrant, creamy sauce that is as flavorful and tangy as it is beautiful.
Poblano peppers are perfect here because they give the sauce a smoky depth without making it too spicy. It’s an easy, velvety pasta dish that even kids will love (my daughter Charlie can’t get enough), and the addition of cream cheese makes it irresistibly creamy. It’s a recent Mexican staple (within the last century or so) that is ideal for weeknight dinners, as it brings bold flavor and comfort to your table with minimal effort. Pair it with steak or chicken, or enjoy it on its own. Trust me — once you try this, you’ll never look at any other pasta sauce the same way.
If Mexican crema is hard to find, sour cream makes a great substitute. When you combine it with the cream cheese, it gives the pasta its signature creamy, tangy flavor.
Peppers can be broiled and peeled ahead of time and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Reserve leftovers and any remaining pasta water in separate airtight containers for up to 4 days. Use the pasta water to loosen up the sauce when reheating over low heat.
Janette Zepeda
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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.
Kelli Foster
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Do you know more about basic nutrition than most doctors?
“A poor diet now outranks smoking as the leading cause of death globally and in the United States, according to the latest data.” The top killer of Americans is the American diet, as you can see below and at 0:23 in my video How Much Do Doctors Actually Know About Nutrition?.
If diet is humanity’s number one killer, then, obviously, nutrition is the number one subject taught in medical school, right? Sadly, “medical students around the world [are] poorly trained in nutrition.” It isn’t that medical students aren’t interested in learning about it. In fact, “interest in nutrition was ‘uniformly high’ among medical students,” but medical schools just aren’t teaching it. “Without a solid foundation of clinical nutrition knowledge and skills, physicians worldwide are generally not equipped to even begin to have an informed nutrition conversation with their patients….”
How bad is it? One study, “Assessing the clinical nutrition knowledge of medical doctors,” found the majority of participants got 70 percent of the questions wrong—and they were multiple choice questions, so they should have gotten about a fifth of them right just by chance. “Wrong answers in the…knowledge test were not limited to difficult or demanding questions” either. For example, less than half of the doctors were able to guess how many calories are in fat, carbohydrates, and protein; only one in ten knew the recommended protein intake; and only about one in three knew what a healthy body mass index (BMI) was. We’re talking about really basic nutrition knowledge.
Even worse, not only did the majority of medical doctors get a failing grade, but 30 percent of those who failed had “a high self-perception of their CN [clinical nutrition] expertise.” They weren’t only clueless about nutrition; they were clueless that they were clueless about nutrition, a particularly bad combination given that doctors are “trusted and influential sources” of healthy eating advice. “For those consumers who get information from their personal healthcare professional, 78% indicate making a change in their eating habits as a result of those conversations.” So, if the doctor got everything they know from some article in a magazine while waiting in the grocery store checkout aisle, that’s what the patients will be following.
Of doctors surveyed, “only 25% correctly identified the American Heart Association recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings per day, and fewer still (20%) were aware of the recommended daily added sugar limit for adults.” So how are they going to counsel their patients? And get ready for this: Of the doctors who perceived themselves as having high nutrition knowledge, 93 percent couldn’t answer those two basic multiple-choice questions, as seen here and at 2:39 in my video.
“Physicians with no genuine expertise in, say, neurosurgery [brain surgery] are neither likely to broadcast detailed opinions on that topic nor to have their ‘expert’ opinions solicited by the media. Most topical domains in medicine enjoy such respect: we defer expert opinion and commentary to actual experts. Not so nutrition, where the common knowledge that physicians are generally ill-trained in this area is conjoined to routine invitations to physicians for their expert opinions on the matter. All too many are willing to provide theirs, absent any basis for actual expertise…” Or worse, they’re “often made on the basis of native bias and personal preference, at times directly tethered to personal gain—such as diet book sales—and so arises yet another ethical challenge.” That’s one of the reasons all the proceeds I receive from my books are donated directly to charity. I don’t want even the appearance of any conflicts of interest.
“In a culture that routinely fails to distinguish expertise from mere opinion or personal anecdote, we physicians should be doing all we can to establish relevant barriers to entry for expert opinion in this [diet and nutrition], as in all other matters of genuine medical significance.” I mean, we aren’t talking celebrity gossip. Lives are at stake. “Entire industries are devoted to marketing messages that may conspire directly against well-informed medical advice in this area.”
“Medical education must be brought up to date. For physicians to be ill-trained in the very area most impactful on the rate of premature death at the population level is an absurd anachronism….The mission of medicine is to protect, defend, and advance the human condition. That mission cannot be fulfilled if the diet is neglected.”
A possible starting place? “Physicians and health care organizations can collectively begin to emphasize their seriousness about nutrition in health care by practicing what they (theoretically) preach. Is it appropriate to serve pizza and soft drinks at a resident conference while bemoaning the high prevalence of obesity and encouraging patients to eat healthier? A similarly poor example exists in medical conferences, including national meetings, where some morning sessions are accompanied by foods such as donuts and sausage.”
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM
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This Easy Ground Beef Vegetable Soup, or commonly called Hamburger Soup, is the perfect easy soup recipe for a busy day. Our 30 minute soup recipe is a flavorful ground beef based soup loaded with vegetables, lean ground beef, diced tomatoes and potatoes. It’s a one-pot dinner that makes it an easy cozy soup recipe!
Hamburger Soup is a quick and easy ground beef recipe, but don’t worry, as simple as it is to make, it’s still packed with flavor. And best of all, it hits 5 major wins:
One of the first things I learned when I got married was that my mom’s budget-food recipes she sent me off to college with were exactly what I needed as a busy newlywed as well. Easy beef vegetable soup is a filling and inexpensive recipe that makes life so much easier when you’re trying to get dinner on the table.
Mom taught me that homemade soups are super easy to throw together and they’re much tastier than store-bought canned soup, plus healthier too. I like to make a double batch so I can eat one and freeze one!
If you’re not in a hurry, reduce the broth. Letting the broth simmer and reduce for 30-35 minutes or even all afternoon will concentrate the flavors and slightly thicken the soup.
Taste for seasoning OFTEN. Taste the broth as some broths are extra salty. After adding all of the ingredients, taste it again before serving. This is where you can bring a little personality with smoked paprika, extra salt, hot sauce etc. to make it to your liking.
While the soup is simmering, I like to prepare a quick salad which helps to lighten up the meal, while my mom would always slice up a loaf of french bread or even serve sandwich bread… yes, sandwich bread, it was the 90s. 😉 You could also make some quick dinner rolls to go with it.
Yes, absolutely! Brown the ground beef on the stove top first, and then add all the ingredients to the slow cooker and let it cook on low all day (5-6 hours) or on high for 2-3 hours.
The starch from the potatoes should help thicken the broth but if you want it thicker, you can make a cornstarch slurry to thicken it up.
Yes! Ground turkey and chicken both make great substitutes in this recipe. They will be a little less flavorful, but will be lower in fat.
Leftovers should be stored in the fridge in an airtight container. It will keep for 4-5 days. It can be reheated in the microwave or on the stovetop.
This is also a freezer-friendly soup recipe. Let the soup cool completely and pour it into a freezer safe container. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw in the refrigerator and then reheat on the stovetop until heated through.
This ground beef vegetable soup with potatoes is the perfect mix of healthy and hearty. A simple recipe that’s freezer-friendly, budget-friendly, and always delicious!
Prevent your screen from going dark
In a large dutch oven over medium heat, add a drizzle of oil. Add the onion, ground beef, garlic, carrots and celery, and cook until no pink remains. Drain any fat.
1 teaspoon Olive Oil, 1 White Onion, 1 Pound Ground Beef, 2 Cloves Garlic, 1 Cup Carrots, 1 Cup Celery
Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring into the meat until well mixed.
1 Tablespoon Tomato Paste
Add potatoes, broth, tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, seasoning and bay leaf.
2 Russet Potatoes, 8 Cups Beef Broth, 28 oz Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes, 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Bay Leaf
Simmer covered 10 minutes.
Stir in vegetables, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper and simmer 15-20 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
3 Cups Frozen Mixed Vegetables, 1 teaspoon Italian Seasoning, 1 teaspoon Salt, Black Pepper
Serve with fresh chopped parsley and crusty sour dough bread.
¼ Cup Parsley
Serving: 1.5cups, Calories: 235kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 14g, Fat: 10g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.5g, Monounsaturated Fat: 4g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 32mg, Sodium: 1180mg, Potassium: 646mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 4g, Vitamin A: 5431IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 82mg, Iron: 3mg
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Carrian Cheney
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A randomized controlled trial investigates diet and psychological well-being.
“Psychological health can be broadly conceptualized as comprising 2 key components: mental health (i.e., the presence of absence of mental health disorders such as depression) and psychological well-being (i.e., a positive psychological state, which is more than the absence of a mental health disorder,” and that is the focus of an “emerging field of positive psychology [that] focuses on the positive facts of life, including happiness, life satisfaction, personal strengths, and flourishing.” This may translate to physical “benefits of enhanced well-being, including improvements in blood pressure, immune competence, longevity, career success, and satisfaction with personal relationships.”
What is “The Contribution of Food Consumption to Well-Being,” the title of an article in Annals of Nutrition & Metabolism? Studies have “linked the consumption of fruits and vegetables with enhanced well-being.” A systematic review of research found evidence that fruit and vegetable intake “was associated with increased psychological well-being.” Only an association?
There is “a famous criticism in this area of research—namely, that deep-down personality or family upbringing might lead people simultaneously to eat in a healthy way and also to have better mental well-being, so that diet is then merely correlated with, but incorrectly gives the appearance of helping to cause, the level of well-being.” However, recent research circumvented this problem by examining if “changes in diet are correlated with changes in mental well-being”—in effect, studying the “Evolution of Well-Being and Happiness After Increases in Consumption of Fruit and Vegetables.” As you can see below and at 1:37 in my video Fruits and Vegetables Put to the Test for Boosting Mood, as individuals began eating more fruits and veggies, there was a straight-line increase in their change in life satisfaction over time.
“Increased fruit and vegetable consumption was predictive of increased happiness, life satisfaction, and well-being. They were up to 0.24 life-satisfaction points (for an increase of 8 portions a day), which is equal in size to the psychological gain of going from unemployment to employment.” (My Daily Dozen recommendation is for at least nine servings of fruits and veggies a day.)
That study was done in Australia. It was repeated in the United Kingdom, and researchers found the same results, though Brits may need to bump up their daily minimum consumption of fruits and vegetables to more like 10 or 11 servings a day.
As researchers asked in the title of their paper, “Does eating fruit and vegetables also reduce the longitudinal risk of depression and anxiety?” Improved well-being is nice, but “governments and medical authorities are often interested in the determinants of major mental ill-health conditions, such as depression and high levels of anxiety, and not solely in a more typical citizen’s level of well-being”—for instance, not just life satisfaction. And, indeed, using the same dataset but instead looking for mental illness, researchers found that “eating fruit and vegetables may help to protect against future risk of clinical depression and anxiety,” as well.
A systematic review and meta-analysis of dozens of studies found “an inverse linear association between fruit or vegetable intake and risk of depression, such that every 100-gram increased intake of fruit was associated with a 3% reduced risk of depression,” about half an apple. Yet, “less than 10% of most Western populations consume adequate levels of whole fruits and dietary fiber, with typical intake being about half of the recommended levels.” Maybe the problem is we’re just telling people about the long-term benefits of fruit intake for chronic disease prevention, rather than the near-immediate improvements in well-being. Maybe we should be advertising the “happiness’ gains.” Perhaps, but we first need to make sure they’re real.
We’ve been talking about associations. Yes, “a healthy diet may reduce the risk of future depression or anxiety, but being diagnosed with depression or anxiety today could also lead to lower fruit and vegetable intake in the future.” Now, in these studies, we can indeed show that the increase in fruit and vegetable consumption came first, and not the other way around, but as the great enlightenment philosopher David Hume pointed out, just because the rooster crows before the dawn doesn’t mean the rooster caused the sun to rise.
To prove cause and effect, we need to put it to the test with an interventional study. Unfortunately, to date, many studies have compared fruit to chocolate and chips, for instance. Indeed, study participants randomized to eat fruit showed significant improvements in anxiety, depression, fatigue, and emotional distress, which is amazing, but that was compared to chocolate and potato chips, as you can see below and at 4:26 in my video. Apples, clementines, and bananas making people feel better than assorted potato chips and chunky chocolate wafers is not exactly a revelation.
This is the kind of study I’ve been waiting for: a randomized controlled trial in which young adults were randomized to one of three groups—a diet-as-usual group, a group encouraged to eat more fruits and vegetables, or a third group given two servings of fruits and vegetables a day to eat in addition to their regular diet. Those in the third group “showed improvements to their psychological well-being with increases in vitality, flourishing, and motivation” within just two weeks. However, simply educating people to eat their fruits and vegetables may not be enough to reap the full rewards, so perhaps greater emphasis needs to be placed on providing people with fresh produce—for example, offering free fruit for people when they shop. I know that would certainly make me happy!
Michael Greger M.D. FACLM
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