Lunch Date Newsletter #18: Top health news & recipes from last week

Hi friends! It’s time for another mid-week news roundup. Thank you for finding some time in your busy day to catch up.

Here’s my collection of articles and recipes from the last week, from The 14 Foods You’ve Been Storing All Wrong to Gingerbread Biscotti.

I hope you find it helpful!

My Latest Press:

• I wrote The 14 Foods You’ve Been Storing All Wrong for The Huffington Post. I bet you’re storing cucumbers wrong…

What I’m Reading:

Food, Nutrition & Health:

• Do Cleanses Really Work? – Heidi Mitchell for The Wall Street Journal
• Shoppers Buy More Healthy Foods With Store Audio Tour: Nutrition Podcasts Increase the Likelihood of Purchasing Omega-3 Products – Ann Luktis for The Wall Street Journal
• BPA in Cans and Plastic Bottles Linked to Quick Rise in Blood Pressure – Anahad O’Connor for The New York Times
• Obamas’ Chef Sam Kass to depart White House – Alexandra Jaffe for CNN
• Vegetable Spawns Larceny and Luxury in Peru – William Neuman for The New York Times
• Making fruit easier to eat increases sales and consumption in school cafeterias – Cornell University Food and Brand Lab
• 27 Breakfast Ideas for Toddlers – Jill Castle, MS, RD
• Energy drinks cause insomnia, nervousness in athletes – Science Daily
• Kalettes: A Brand-New Veggie You Should Know About – Alexandra Sifferlin for Time
• Mediterranean diet linked to longer life – Science Daily
• Mediterranean Diet Is Good for Your DNA – Nicholas Bakalar for The New York Times
• Medittera’s savory nutrition bars carve out space in crowded category – Elizabeth Crawford for Food Navigator
• Barrel-aging takes tea to the next level, says Tea of the People founder: ‘Not all teas are created equal’ – Elaine Watson for Food Navigator
• Well + Good’s Wellness Trends of 2015 – well + Good
• Benefits of Nuts and Seeds – Lisa R. Young, PhD, RD, CDN for A Day in the Life, The Visiting Service of New York’s Blog
• Another case against the midnight snack: Researchers tinker with a time-restricted diet in mice and find that it’s remarkably forgiving – Science Daily

Kitchen Techniques:

• How to Line a Baking Pan with Aluminum Foil (why didn’t I think of this sooner?) – David Lebovitz
• How to Line a Round Cake Pan with Parchment – The Kitchn
• How to Quickly Ripen Bananas – Alissa Rumsey for The Cutting Board

Mindfulness & Intuitive Eating:

• Most eating is psychologically motivated, says IFST – Caroline Scott-Thomas for Food Navigator
• Holiday Survival Guide – NourishRDs

Exercise:

• Run to Stay Young – Gretchen Reynolds for The New York Times

I Tweet the latest news as I find it. To stay current, follow me on Twitter!

What I’m Salivating Over:

Breakfast:

• Asparagus and Scallop Risotto with Poached Egg and Bacon Bits – Goody Foodies

Breads & Muffins:

• Alice Medrich’s Buckwheat Squash Loaf with Cranberries – The Wednesday Chef
• Raspberry Coconut Carrot Cake Muffins (gluten-free, no added sugars) – NourishRDs

Appetizers:

• Baked Brie Recipes Your Friends Will Ask For (And That You’ll Want To Keep For Yourself) – The Huffington Post

Sides:

• Spinach & Artichoke Dip – Damn Delicious
• Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate Seeds – Kara Lydon, The Foodie Dietitian
• Asian Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Crispy Fried Shiitake Mushrooms – Blogging Over Thyme

Salads:

• Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprouts Salad – Lemons and Basil for Kitchen Daily

Snacks:

• 9 Healthy Predinner Snacks – Maureen Callahan for Real Simple

Soups:

• Broccoli Potato Soup (vegan) – Luci’s Morsels

Main Courses:

• Chicken Bolognese – What’s Gaby Cooking
• Chicken Tagine with Fennel and Olives – Bon Appetit
• Beef Bourguinonne – Bon Appetit
• Braised Chicken with Dried Plums, Olives and Capers – fANNEtastic food
• Beet Greens and Feta Pasta – Chow
• Mushroom Lentil Balls with Quick Homemade Marinara Sauce (Gluten-Free, Vegan) – Homemade Hearts
• Black Bean Edamame Burgers – Hip Foodie Mom
• Easy Vegetable Chicken Casserole – Melissa’s Healthy Living

Slow Cooker:

• Slow Cooker Vanilla Bean Steel Cut Oats – The Nutritious Kitchen
• Slow Cooked Fennel Tomato Sauce over Zucchini Noodles – Cafe Johnsonia
• Healthy Slow Cooker Lasagna – Nourish RDs for Tomato Wellness

Desserts:

• Gingerbread Men – California Raisins
• Gingerbread Biscotti – Smitten Kitchen
• Salty, Deep-Dark Chocolate Brownies – David Lebovitz
• Loaded Sweet Potato Scones with Marshmallow Glaze – A Teaspoon of Happiness
• Oatmeal Raisin Cinnamon Roll Cookies – kbaked
• Blondies from America’s Test Kitchen – Hip Foodie Mom
• Butter Walnut Cookies – Joy the Baker
• Celebrating Apple Pie Day with a Healthier Twist– NourishRDs for Food & Nutrition
• Gingerbread with Salted Caramel Sauce – My Baking Addiction
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip with California Raisins – Sweet Cayenne
• Ginger Raisin Biscotti – California Raisins
• Almond Cloud Cookies – King Arthur Flour
• Mini Santa Hat Cheesecakes – Baked by Rachel
• 48 Healthier Cookie Recipes – Greatist
• Rainbow Chocolate Chip Cookies – Amy’s Healthy Baking

What You Should Consider Giving Food-Loving Friends for the Holidays:

• Vegetable Temporary Tattoos – Tattly
• “Let’s Go Wine Tasting on the Couch” T-shirt – Skreened
• “That’s How I Roll” Apron – Zazzle

All of these recipes & many MANY more on my Pinterest page. Follow me on Pinterest!

Photos From the Week:

On Sunday, I went to brunch with a group of L.A. food bloggers at Scopa Italian Roots in Venice, CA. My coffee came in a New York food cart-style paper cup and between sips of mimosas and forkfuls of beefsteak tomatoes, raw brussels sprouts salad and apple crostata, I got to meet some amazing bloggers. I sat across from Meg of Beard + Bonnet, a west-coast-style steel magnolia who runs a gluten-free blog. Catherine McCord of Weelicious joined our end of the table, and if you have kids and haven’t visited her blog, you’ve got to check it out. She’s just as fabulous in person as you’d imagine after reading her posts. Special shout-out to my friend Lily at Kale & Caramel who is a superstar blogger (recognized by Martha Stewart herself) and takes insanely beautiful photos of her culinary creations.

Last night, I went to an L.A. food event at the Four Seasons restaurant, Culina hosted by Food & Friends L.A. (a group of food-loving folks who work in food media in L.A.). Everyone I met loved food and worked in media, but did something totally different – it’s always fun to meet people who come at the same field from different angles.

 

I hope to see you for another mid-week lunch date next Wednesday!

 

“Be nice to yourself. It’s hard to be happy when someone is mean to you all the time.” ~Christine Arylo