Skillet Torta Recipe, Spotlight on Fresh and Dried Chiles, How to Choose Better Tortillas, The Brain and Processed Foods plus Does Cold-Water Immersion Impact Good Health?
When you have the fresh spiciness of extra virgin olive oil to lavish on food, the dishes themselves don’t need to be complicated to taste delicious. This one-skillet torta meal is a case in point—prep time is minimal and it bakes in short order. You’ll also read about a provocative study that shows how the brain is involved in obesity and type 2 diabetes and another study that looked at the potential benefits of cold-water plunges.
Skillet Torta
Skillet TortaThis is a fun breakfast or lunch dish that can be made fresh…or it’s a great way to add zest to leftover vegetables. It has the cheesy goodness of a quiche but without a heavy crust. I’m giving it a Spanish flair with Manchego, a sheep’s milk cheese, but you can use whatever cheese you like, even a mix of cheeses if you have a little bit of this and a little bit of that in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 5 large eggs
- 1 cup shredded Manchego cheese
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use, plus more for drizzling
- 4 ounces red onion, finely diced
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely diced, or 1 dried chipotle, soaked and diced
- One 12-inch round corn, whole wheat, or grain-free tortilla
- Optional toppings: sour cream, chopped cilantro, salsa, avocado slices
Directions
Step 1
Preheat your oven to 375°F. Whisk the eggs, cheese, cilantro, salt, pepper, and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a bowl; set aside.
Step 2
Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil, the red onion, bell pepper, and jalapeño, and sauté until tender. Transfer the vegetables to a separate bowl.
Step 3
Use tongs to place the tortilla in the skillet and press the edges against the sides of the pan. Add back the vegetables and then pour in the egg mixture. Bake until firm, about 20 minutes.
Step 4
Keeping an oven mitt on the handle of the hot skillet, run a spatula around the edge of the torta and then cut it into quarters. Plate each serving and top with your choice of optional garnishes and a drizzle of olive oil.
Yields 4 servings
Healthy Ingredient Spotlight
Chiles: Fresh and Dried
Go to any garden nursery in the spring and you’ll see a huge selection of chile peppers for planting—a few varieties are a great addition to the vegetable garden. But which to choose? The amount of heat a chile adds to a dish varies widely, from about 1,000 Scoville units to well over a million (with few people finding those varieties pleasant to eat). An unusual fact is that many fresh chiles get renamed when they’re dried. Chipotle, for instance, is a dried jalapeño and ranges from 2,500 to 8,000 Scoville units. A poblano is a dried ancho chile, rather mild at 1,000-1,500 Scoville units, and a mirasol becomes a guajillo, in the 2,500-5,000 range. These are all relatively mild dried chiles that are great to have in your pantry. When you need to turn up the heat, chile de árbol has between 15,000 and 30,000 Scoville units. Online spice stores and Latin food markets usually have a good selection to choose from.
If you want to sprinkle on dried chiles the way you would red pepper flakes, toast one or two in a hot, dry pan for about 30 seconds to bring out their flavor, then chop in a spice grinder with or without the seeds, depending on how much heat you want. To use dried chiles for part of a salsa or other sauce, rehydrate them with a 20-minute soak in warm water before removing the stems and seeds and then chopping.
Quick Kitchen Nugget
Choosing Better Tortillas
Prepackaged white flour tortillas are not among the healthiest of foods, but there are now many alternatives available, not only whole wheat options but also wraps made from corn or other whole grains with beneficial fiber included. Be sure to read labels to find brands with a low sodium level and a minimum of added ingredients.
For Your Best Health
The Brain and Processed Foods
A recent study, done at the Institute for Diabetes Research and Metabolic Diseases (IDM) of the Helmholtz Center Munich at the University of Tübingen and the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD) in Neuherberg, offered intriguing new insights into the possible origins of type 2 diabetes and obesity as well as detail into the brain’s function as a critical control center and the complex roles of the hormone insulin.
Most of us think of insulin’s job as regulating blood sugar levels and energy metabolism, but there’s much more to it. When a person is in a healthy state (and at a healthy weight), insulin has an appetite-suppressing effect in the brain. But in people with obesity in particular, insulin no longer regulates eating behavior properly, resulting in insulin resistance. Brain insulin responsiveness is linked to long-term weight gain and unhealthy body fat distribution. The new research shows how little it takes to start this chain reaction.
The researchers divided 29 male volunteers of average weight into two groups. For five days in a row, the first group had to supplement their regular diet with 1,500 calories of highly processed high-calorie snacks. The second group—the control group—did not eat the extra calories.
Both groups underwent two separate examinations following an initial evaluation, one immediately after the five-day period and the other seven days after the first group had resumed their regular diet. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to look at the liver’s fat content and the brain’s insulin sensitivity. The fat content of the liver of the first group increased significantly after five days of increased calorie intake, and a significantly lower insulin sensitivity in the brain compared to the control group persisted one week after the participants’ return to their normal diet. This effect had previously only been observed in obese people.
“Our findings demonstrate for the first time that even a brief consumption of highly processed, unhealthy foods (such as chocolate bars and potato chips) causes a significant alteration in the brain of healthy individuals, which may be the initial cause of obesity and type 2 diabetes,” said study leader Stephanie Kullmann, PhD, professor and deputy head of the division of metabolic neuroimaging at the University Hospital of Tübingen.
Professor Andreas Birkenfeld, MD, director of the IDM, a DZD board member, and the study’s final author, concluded, “We assume that the brain’s insulin response adapts to short-term changes in diet before any weight gain occurs and thus promotes the development of obesity and other secondary diseases.” More research on how the brain contributes to these illnesses is needed in light of these findings, he added.
Fitness Flash
The Big Chill: Does Cold-Water Immersion Impact Good Health?
From frigid showers to icy polar plunges, cold-water immersion is increasingly popular among athletes and wellness warriors. It involves immersing the body partially or fully in cold water, in temperatures typically ranging from 10° to 15°C, or 50°F to 59°F. Is it just good fun or is it also good for you?
In the most comprehensive review and analysis of its kind, University of South Australia (UniSA) researchers have taken a deep dive into its effects on health and well-being. They analyzed data from 11 studies with 3,177 participants with exposure at or above chest level and for a minimum time of 30 seconds, including cold showers, ice baths, and cold plunges. They found that cold-water immersion may lower stress, improve sleep quality, and boost quality of life…but there are limits.
“Cold-water immersion has been extensively researched and used in sporting contexts to help athletes recover, but despite its growing popularity among health and well-being circles, little is known about its effects on the general population,” UniSA researcher Tara Cain said. “In this study, we noted a range of time-dependent results. Firstly, we found that cold-water immersion could reduce stress levels, but for only about 12 hours post exposure. We also noted that participants who took 20-, 60-, or 90-second cold showers reported slightly higher quality of life scores, but again, after three months these effects had faded.
“[Other] benefits may be gained from cold showers as well, with one study reporting that participants who took regular cold showers experienced a 29% reduction in sickness absence. We also found some links to cold-water immersion and better sleep outcomes, but the data was restricted to males, so its broader application is limited. And while there have been many claims that cold-water immersion experiences can boost your immunity and mood, we found very little evidence to support these claims.”
Co-researcher Ben Singh, PhD, said the study also showed that cold-water immersion caused a temporary increase in inflammation. “At first glance this seems contradictory, as we know that ice baths are regularly used by elite athletes to reduce inflammation and muscle soreness after exercise,” Dr. Singh said. “The immediate spike in inflammation is the body’s reaction to the cold as a stressor. It helps the body adapt and recover and is similar to how exercise causes muscle damage before making muscles stronger, which is why athletes use it despite the short-term increase. Knowing this, people with preexisting health conditions should take extra care if participating in cold-water immersion experiences, as the initial inflammation could have detrimental health impacts.”
The researchers pointed out that while the findings highlight the potential benefits of cold-water immersion, they also underscore the highly time-dependent and contextual nature of its effects.
“Whether you are an elite athlete or everyday wellness seeker, it’s important to understand the effects of what you put your body through,” Cain said. “Right now, there isn’t enough high-quality research to say exactly who benefits most or what the ideal approach is to cold-water immersion. More long-term studies, among more diverse populations, are needed to understand its lasting effects and practical applications.”
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