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The Olive Oil Hunter News #72

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Nutty Oat Muffin Recipe, Spotlight on Oats (and Groats), plus the Body, Gut, and Brain Connection

This week’s news shows just how connected the body, gut, and brain are, with what we eat and how we move very much linked to our mental health. My nutty oat muffin recipe, so easy to make in less than 30 minutes, not only tastes great but can also help boost brain health as well as gut health, thanks to those oats. And we’re learning that movement goes beyond boosting physical health to also benefiting the brain—you can even pick types of exercise based on what mental benefits you seek. 

Nutty Oat Muffins

  • Nutty Oat Muffin Recipe Nutty Oat Muffins

    These muffins have a great crunch and are packed with whole grain goodness. 

    Ingredients

    • 1-1/2 cups white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour 
    • 3/4 cup rolled oats 
    • 2 ounces almonds or walnuts, roughly chopped 
    • 1 tablespoon baking powder
    • 1/4 cup brown sugar 
    • 1 tablespoon stevia
    • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
    • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 cup blueberries, rinsed and patted dry
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 2 extra-large eggs
    • 1 cup milk, your choice of dairy or plant-based
    • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat your oven to 400ºF if conventional, 380ºF if convection. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, nuts, baking powder, sugar, stevia, cinnamon, and salt. Add the berries and toss to coat (this will help them stay well distributed in the batter).

    Step 2

    In a separate bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil, eggs, milk, and vanilla. Pour the liquid ingredients over the flour mixture and use a spatula to fold them in just until no traces of flour remain.

    Step 3

    Use a large ice cream scoop to fill a 12-muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or until the tip of a knife comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes and then transfer the muffins to a rack to finish cooling. Store in a covered tin for up to two days and then refrigerate.

    Yields 12 muffins

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Groats and Oats

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

From groats to oats

Oats are known as a good source of soluble fiber—the 5 grams per serving help lower cholesterol levels and heart disease risk. Oatmeal is just the beginning of what you can make from rolled oats. In the recipe above, they meld beautifully into the finished muffins. But when a hot bowl of oatmeal is on the breakfast menu, you might be wondering whether you should start with popular steel-cut oats instead. Both come from oat groats, the oat grain with the hull removed (the bran and germ are intact, so oats are still considered a whole grain). What happens to the groats next explains the difference between rolled and steel-cut oats.

Rolled oats are oat groats that have been steamed and then passed through roller mills. The thicker the rolled oats, the more nutrients they pack. 

Steel-cut oats are groats that have only been chopped into two or three pieces, no steaming or rolling. They need to be cooked much longer than rolled oats and are better in breakfast bowls than baked goods—they simply won’t soften enough. Because they need more water to cook than rolled oats, you end up with a bigger portion by volume. Finally, they’re digested more slowly than rolled oats; you feel full longer and have less of a spike in blood sugar—important if you’re managing a health condition like diabetes or prediabetes. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: A better vanilla?

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

A better vanilla?

If you’re looking for intense vanilla flavor but don’t want to go to the expense of buying vanilla beans, consider using vanilla paste in place of extract. You can use it teaspoon-for-teaspoon in recipes for a deeper flavor, plus it has vanilla bean seeds for that characteristic speckled look, and because it’s thicker, it adds less liquid to batters. Though you often see the suggestion to use vanilla bean paste in desserts where the vanilla is the star, such as ice cream, custard, and crème brûlée, I find it perks up the flavor of any recipe that calls for extract. 

For Your Best Health: Fiber: The new brain food

For Your Best Health

Fiber: The new brain food

You already know that fiber is a must for digestive health and that we often don’t get enough. Need more motivation to up your intake? Researchers in Japan found that fiber may help brain health. Their study, just published in the journal Nutritional Neuroscience, looked at the diet and health records of 3,500 participants from the 1980s to 2020. They found a link between a high-fiber diet and a reduced risk of dementia. 

There are two main types of fiber. Insoluble fibers, found mostly in whole grains and vegetables, are important for bowel health. Soluble fibers, found in foods like oats and legumes, are important for the beneficial bacteria that live in the gut, among other health benefits. When the researchers looked at the link between fiber intake and dementia, they found that soluble fiber had a more pronounced effect.

“The mechanisms are currently unknown but might involve the interactions that take place between the gut and the brain,” says lead author of the study, Kazumasa Yamagishi, MD, professor at the University of Tsukuba. “One possibility is that soluble fiber regulates the composition of gut bacteria. This composition may affect neuroinflammation, which plays a role in the onset of dementia. It’s also possible that dietary fiber may reduce other risk factors for dementia, such as body weight, blood pressure, lipids, and glucose levels. The work is still at an early stage, and it’s important to confirm the association in other populations.”

While we wait, there’s no reason not to stock up on those oats!

Fitness Flash: Movement for the brain

Fitness Flash

Movement for the brain

More amazing boosts to brain health come from exercise. A fascinating article posted by the Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley, explores the new book Move!: The New Science of Body Over Mind (Hanover Square Press) by Caroline Williams, who points out that the connection between exercise and the brain goes deeper than the release of feel-good endorphins known as a runner’s high. 

She describes how movement or the lack of it can send signals we may not even be aware of to the brain. As the article explains it: “If our body is communicating to our brain that we are sedentary or weak, that might create underlying feelings of depression or anxiety, insecurity or uncertainty. On the flip side, moving and building strength could create positive changes in our bodily systems that, when passed along to the brain, give us a subtle sense of happiness, confidence, and positivity.” 

Based on interviews with researchers and practitioners around the world, Williams details the many ways that working your body can influence and improve your brain for the better. It’s full of suggestions for different ways of moving that have different brain health benefits. So, while any exercise is helpful for the body physically, you can also make choices tailored to your best mental health, like taking a group fitness class to feel more connected socially or dancing to your favorite music to escape anxiety while getting lost in its rhythms.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #69

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Spinach and Artichoke Dip Recipe, Spotlight on Artichoke, Why You Should Choose Glass for Food Storage, Getting the Recommended Amount of Fruits and Veggies, and The Connection Between Exercise and Brain Health

One of the greatest benefits of following a Mediterranean diet is that the all-important servings of fruits and vegetables are built in. But finding good produce can be a challenge in the dead of winter—this week’s newsletter has ideas to help. My spinach and artichoke dip recipe shows that the comfort foods we crave now can be healthy, too. And though it’s more tempting than ever to park yourself on the sofa, new discoveries on exercise and brain health will make you want to do more than get up to go to the fridge!

Spinach and Artichoke Dip

  • Spinach and Artichoke Dip Spinach and Artichoke Dip

    So much better than store-bought, this dip for chips and crudités also makes a great topping for baked potatoes.

    Ingredients

    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
    • 8 ounces baby spinach leaves, rinsed, patted dry, and coarsely chopped
    • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
    • 1/2 cup sour cream
    • 1/2 cup cream cheese softened at room temperature
    • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt 
    • 4 ounces artichoke hearts, roughly chopped
    • 3 garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1/4 teaspoon dried dill 
    • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
    • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
    • Salt and pepper to taste
    • Red pepper flakes to taste (optional)

    Directions

    Step 1

    Heat a sauté pan and add the olive oil and the baby spinach a large handful at a time. Sauté until completely wilted and all the liquid has evaporated. Let cool while you proceed.

    Step 2

    In a large bowl, use a spatula to fold together the mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese, and yogurt. When blended, add the cooked spinach, artichokes, garlic, dill, lemon juice, and onion powder.

    Step 3

    Season to taste with the salt, pepper, and optional red pepper flakes for an added kick. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.

    Yields about 3 cups

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Artichokes

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Amazing artichokes

It’s easy to be intimidated by the look of artichokes and easy enough to buy them jarred or frozen when using them in recipes. But a freshly steamed artichoke makes a tasty light lunch or great vegetable-based first course. Native to the Mediterranean region, but also grown in California (where it’s the state vegetable!), artichokes are low in calories and rich in potassium, fiber, and antioxidants. They are also a good source of vitamin C, folate, and magnesium.

Here’s how to steam whole artichokes, according to the California Artichoke Advisory Board: Wash under cold running water, and then pull off any small or discolored petals near the base of the stem. Working one artichoke at a time, cut off the last half inch of the stem and use a vegetable peeler to take off the stem’s outer layer. Next, cut off the top quarter of the artichoke, and place it in a large bowl filled with 4 cups of water and a tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice, to avoid discoloration. When all the artichokes are prepped, bring 2 inches of water to a boil in a large stockpot, add a steaming rack, place the artichokes on the rack, cover the pot, and steam until a petal near the center pulls out easily, between 25 and 45 minutes, depending on their size. 

To eat, pull off a petal, one at a time, dip it in olive oil, melted butter, or vinaigrette, and pull it through your teeth to get the pulpy portion of the petal. Discard the rest of the petal and repeat until they’re all gone. Use a grapefruit spoon to scrape out the exposed fuzzy layer, or the choke, in the center of the base and discard. What’s left is the sweet heart of the artichoke to enjoy along with the stem. 

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: Glass Storage Containers

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Choose glass for food storage

If you rely on plastic containers for storing and reheating food, consider the benefits of switching to glass. Even BPA-free plastic has chemicals that can be released into food and have a negative effect on your endocrine system when ingested, a problem you avoid with glass. 

Not only do glass containers last almost indefinitely, but when necessary they can be recycled easily—something that simply isn’t happening with plastics. Look for glass containers that can be stored in the freezer as well as the fridge. 

Try to buy frozen foods packaged in paper, but if your favorites only come in plastic, move the contents of the bag to a glass bowl when you’re ready to defrost them. If it’s necessary to release the food from the packaging, run the bag under cool water for a few seconds, then transfer it. 

For Your Best Health: Importance of fruits and vegetables

For Your Best Health

More fruits and veggies, please!

A startling CDC report released on January 6 showed just how few Americans get the recommended daily 1.5-to-2-cup equivalents of fruit—just 12.3%—and the 2-to-3-cup equivalents of vegetables—only 10%. As part of a healthy diet, these food groups support immune function and help prevent obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and even some cancers. Of course, eating fruits and veggies can be harder to do in the winter months when seasonal produce is almost nonexistent and the temptation to eat comfort foods is high. 

Try a two-pronged strategy to boost your intake. First, remind yourself to get these daily servings: Write out a daily diet plan that includes them, so they’ll be front of mind. Next, make shopping for produce more of an adventure. Explore the produce section of your favorite stores to look for new and exotic imported fruits and vegetables—now is a great time to try them. Then check out the frozen foods aisle for selections that were flash frozen at harvest for best flavor, like corn kernels, sweet peas, raspberries, and melon chunks, among others. You’ll get a taste of summer by using them in your favorite warm-weather recipes.

Fitness Flash: Exercise and Brain Health

Fitness Flash

Explaining the exercise–brain health link

A recently published study in Nature got us closer to understanding how exercise slows cognitive aging and why it’s tied to better brain plasticity and less inflammation within the hippocampus. Lab experiments showed that exercise leads to higher levels of a naturally occurring protein in the blood called clusterin. Clusterin can bind to certain cells in the brain and reduce inflammation, a precursor to brain diseases like Alzheimer’s. Researchers studied a small group of people with cognitive impairment who followed a set exercise program for six months and found that they were able to increase the level of clusterin in their blood. One takeaway is that it’s never too late to start getting more physical activity for better brain and body health.

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #68

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Creamiest Cauliflower Soup Recipe, Spotlight on Cayenne Pepper, Roux—The Classic Thickening Agent, Rethinking Anxiety, and The Latest Fitness Trends

February always finds me going through my repertoire of rich and hearty soups, so warming and so easy to turn into a meal with a salad and crusty bread for dipping in extra virgin olive oil. A less healthy aspect of winter is that we often find ourselves hunkering down indoors, not getting the exercise we need. Good news: The top trends in fitness don’t always require that you leave your home. I’m also sharing advice from noted author and neuroscientist Dr. Wendy Suzuki—her latest science-based book is about conquering anxiety, an emotion almost everyone faces.

The Creamiest Cauliflower Soup

  • Creamiest Cauliflower Soup The Creamiest Cauliflower Soup

    Roasting cauliflower adds great depth of flavor to this velvety soup enhanced with cheddar cheese and a hint of heat from cayenne. 

    Ingredients

    • 1 large head of cauliflower
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
    • 2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
    • 2 cups milk
    • 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, coarsely shredded
    • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    • 1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken broth, more as needed (okay to substitute water)

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat your oven to 375°F. Core the cauliflower and break it into the florets. Transfer them to a large baking sheet and toss with 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast for 45 to 60 minutes, until tender and slightly browned. Remove from the oven and set aside, reserving a few small florets to use as garnish.

    Step 2

    Start the soup by making a roux: Heat a large saucepan and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, sprinkle in the flour and whisk quickly, letting the mixture cook for 5 minutes until bubbling. Slowly whisk in the milk in batches, bringing the mixture to a low boil after each addition. Next, whisk in the shredded cheese and stir until melted and fully incorporated—it should be thick. Add the cayenne and black pepper and remove from the heat.

    Step 3

    In a blender, process the cauliflower, cheese mixture, and chicken broth until smooth (you may need to do this in batches). Transfer back to the saucepan, and slowly reheat before serving. If the soup is too thick, whisk in more broth (or water) as needed. To serve, ladle into bowls and top with the reserved roasted florets.

    Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Cayenne Pepper

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Get a kick from cayenne pepper

These bright-red skinny peppers are a snap to grow, even indoors. I like to air dry a batch, grind them up, and put the flaky powder in a pepper shaker to use whenever I want to rev up the spice in a dish. Of course, you can simply buy cayenne pepper powder, though it will be somewhat milder. 

Even though cayenne is mostly used in pinches, it still provides snippets of vitamins A, C, K, and B6, plus many other plant compounds, including antioxidants. According to the Cleveland Clinic, capsaicin, which gives peppers their heat, helps protect against inflammation, helps some people with their digestion rather than giving them the heartburn usually associated with spicy foods, and might enhance the good bacteria needed for a healthy colon. If you’ve ever sneezed when sprinkling it, you know that it can also help clear congestion. 

Cayenne is a wonderful ingredient used in so many cuisines, but don’t limit it to savory foods—rev up your next cup of hot chocolate or coffee with a sprinkle!

Healthy Kitchen Nugget: Roux

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Fast and furious roux

Made with equal amounts of fat and flour, a roux is a classic thickening agent used to easily turn a liquid, such as pan drippings or even milk, into sauces and gravies. It’s the perfect medium in which to melt cheese without scorching it—as long as you keep your whisk moving! French-inspired roux use butter, but I prefer olive oil for most recipes that require a roux—it’s healthier and tastier. For creamy soups and sauces, the roux is cooked just long enough so that the flour is no longer raw. With recipes like gumbo, it will cook until it turns a deep mahogany, which can take up to 20 minutes with constant whisking. And every roux represents a great opportunity to use whole wheat or white whole wheat flour—both are milled in ways that preserve most of the grain’s nutrients. 

For Your Best Health: Rethinking Anxiety

For Your Best Health

Rethinking everyday anxiety

Anxiety can get the better of us, even when everything is going well. It can also affect both physical and emotional health. The latest book from NYU neuroscientist Wendy Suzuki, PhD, Good Anxiety: Harnessing the Power of the Most Misunderstood Emotion (Atria/Simon&Schuster), explains how you can turn the tables on anxiety by facing it, understanding it, and taking action to prevent a perceived threat, rather than allowing it to keep you stuck. 

Anxiety was helpful when our cave-dwelling ancestors had to react to life-and-death situations. Even though we don’t face the same kind of threats they did, our brains still react the same way—whether the threat is real or something we imagine. As Dr. Suzuki points out, these days it’s more the threats we imagine that cause worry and sleepless nights. 

The first step to defuse the anxiety is to quiet it, either by getting your body moving—with a walk outdoors, for instance—to activate positive neurochemicals in your brain or with deep breathing to activate the parasympathetic nervous system that controls the body’s ability to relax. Just 5 to 10 minutes of either activity can help. 

Next, it’s time to try to understand why you’re feeling anxious—to find out what’s causing the anxiety. It might be something within your control, like a work deadline, or something deeper, like the fear of public speaking. In either case, the third step is to come up with an action plan, a to-do list to turn anxiety from bad to good and be productive instead of ruminating. For example, to meet the work deadline, steps might include carving out set blocks of time when you’ll focus only on the components of the project, no distractions, or finding a partner you can collaborate with. To overcome a fear of public speaking, you might tap into therapy for tools that enable you to give a speech despite your worries. By completing the to-do’s you come up with, you help resolve the anxiety and become more productive as a result, according to Dr. Suzuki.

Fitness Flash: 2022 Exercise Trends

Fitness Flash

Get on trend with exercise

We all know the dilemma—you want to move more but it’s hard to get started! For the past 16 years, the editors of the American College of Sports Medicine’s Health & Fitness journal have compiled an annual list of the top fitness trends based on responses to an electronic survey from thousands of fitness professionals around the world. To get energized, look at the top trends for 2022, pick one that excites you, and take the plunge.

1. Wearable technology. Fitness or activity trackers, smart watches, heart rate monitors, and GPS tracking devices from names like Apple, Polar, Fitbit, Samsung, and Jawbone are a great way to keep track of your steps. Set a target, and as you watch the daily number go up, you’ll become more motivated to reach and exceed your goal. Counting calories burned and reminders to stand up every hour are other functions that will encourage movement. Blood pressure, oxygen saturation, body temperature, respiratory rate, and electrocardiogram readings will keep you on top of any health issues as well.

2. Home gyms. Just because you’re hunkered down at home doesn’t mean you can’t get in a workout. A home gym can mean a basic stationary bike or one with all the bells and whistles. There are options to suit every budget.

3. Outdoor activities. Get outside when you can. Small group walks, bike rides, and hikes have zoomed up from 25th in popularity in 2010, the first year they were ranked, to the 3rd spot in large part due to the idea that exercising outdoors during the pandemic is safer than in a commercial gym. While you can look for organized events with a group leader, it’s easy enough to put together your own team of friends and family.

4. Strength training with free weights. Whether you use barbells, kettlebells, dumbbells, medicine balls, or even high-tension bands, building muscle is key to good health, and is especially essential once we start to lose muscle in our 30s. You might add an all-in-one weight training unit to your home gym—it takes up little space but lets you target all major muscle groups. But it’s important to get proper instruction from a trainer—perhaps virtually—to learn correct form and progress safely and effectively. 

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The Olive Oil Hunter News #57

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The Ultimate Thanksgiving Day Stuffing Recipe, Spotlight on Mushrooms, How to Shop for Sausage and the Healthy Benefits of The Great Outdoors

When it comes to Thanksgiving feasts, for me it’s all about the sides, starting with the stuffing! I’m sharing a stuffing recipe that can be a meal in itself—it makes the perfect lunch the day after, with or without leftover turkey. One of the ways you can customize stuffing is with mushrooms, so I’m giving you the lowdown on the tastiest varieties. Plus: Here’s why communing with nature is so good for you.

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Day Stuffing

  • The Ultimate Thanksgiving Day Stuffing Recipe The Ultimate Thanksgiving Day Stuffing

    The blend of sweet and hot sausage means a taste explosion in every bite. (Of course, if you prefer your stuffing to be on the milder side, you can use 2 pounds of sweet sausage only.) Though we still call it “stuffing,” the safest and tastiest way to bake it is in its own dish—you’ll get the crispy top that everyone loves over the greatest surface area too. 

    Ingredients

    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for the baking pan
    • 2 large onions, peeled and diced
    • 3 stalks celery, trimmed and sliced thin (leaves are OK)
    • 1 pound mushrooms, thickly sliced
    • 1 pound each, sweet and hot sausage
    • ½ cup pine nuts
    • ½ teaspoon dried thyme or the leaves of a sprig of fresh thyme
    • ½ cup sweet vermouth
    • 1 French baguette or crusty Italian bread, cut into small cubes
    • 3 to 4 cups chicken stock, preferably homemade
    • 3 large eggs, beaten
    • 8 tablespoons salted butter, cut into half-inch cubes

    Directions

    Step 1

    Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil and then the onions and celery, sautéing the vegetables until soft. Push them to the outer rim of the pan, and sauté the mushrooms in batches to avoid crowding them. Next add the sausage, breaking it up into small pieces as it cooks. Continue cooking the meat until no pink is visible. Add the pine nuts and thyme, and cook for another minute. Pour in the vermouth, stir, and cook for another minute or two, loosening any bits on the bottom of the pan.

    Step 2

    Place the bread cubes in a very large mixing bowl, and fold in the sausage and vegetable mixture. Moisten with the broth, adding one cup at a time—the mixture should be very wet but not runny. Fold in the eggs. 

    Step 3

    Grease a deep 13″ by 9″ baking pan with olive oil, and pour the stuffing mixture into the pan, leaving about 1″ clearance from the top—it will bubble up as it bakes. (Use two baking dishes if necessary.) Dot the surface of the stuffing with the butter cubes, and cover with foil, making a fairly tight seal. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes, taking the foil off for the last 15 minutes to brown the top, if needed. The stuffing will keep warm out of the oven with the foil back in place for up to an hour.

Healthy Kitchen Tip: How to Shop for Sausage

Healthy Kitchen Nugget

Shopping for sausage

I like to buy sausage meat that’s been spiced but not put into casings because it’s easier to sauté for stuffing or form into patties for breakfast sandwiches. Ask for it from the butcher at your favorite store if you don’t see it in the meat section. If links are the only option, squeeze the meat out of each sausage, working from the middle out to the two sides, and then discard the casings. 

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Flavorful fungi

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Flavorful fungi

White mushrooms, whether button or jumbo size and primed for filling and baking, are versatile and delicious, but there are other varieties that can enhance many dishes with their earthy flavors. 

Portobellomushrooms are large, dense, and highly flavorful—they can be the star of many meatless dishes. They’re great grilled, thanks to their toothsome, steak-like texture, and wonderful when sliced and sautéed for pasta dishes.

Crimini mushrooms are young portobellos—you might see them labeled “baby bellos.” Use them to elevate most any recipe that calls for white button mushrooms. These are great for my stuffing recipe.

Shiitake, oyster, and enoki mushrooms are uniquely shaped varieties, popular in many Asian dishes. You can often find dried shiitakes and can easily rehydrate them by soaking them in water; they are an essential in stir-fries. Enokis are more delicate than other varieties and are often used in broths.

Native to the US, hen-of-the-wood mushrooms grow in wide clusters with overlapping light brown and somewhat frilly-looking caps. 

Many French and Italian recipes feature wild mushrooms, such as golden chanterelles and brown-toned porcinis and morels, all prized as delicacies. Because they are often foraged, they can be quite expensive, but some are available dried, which makes them more affordable and gives them a longer shelf life.

For Your Best Health: Magic of mushrooms

For Your Best Health

The magic of mushrooms

Despite being very low in calories, mushrooms have a variety of nutrients as well as key antioxidant and anti-inflammatory substances such as polyphenols and carotenoids. According to experts at Harvard Health, these fungi also have a substance called ergosterol that can turn into vitamin D when exposed to UV light. Mushrooms grown in dark conditions have very little of the substance, but fresh wild mushrooms such as chanterelles and morels may develop up to 1,200 IUs of vitamin D in a 3.5-ounce (100-gram) serving. Button mushrooms that are exposed to sunlight can produce up to 400 IU (about two-thirds of the recommended daily amount), but some producers actually expose their mushrooms to light before packaging to increase their D content, so check labels. (There’s vitamin D in dried varieties as well.) Mushrooms also deliver some of the B vitamins and such minerals as copper, phosphorus, and selenium.

Fitness Flash: The great outdoors

Fitness Flash

The great outdoors

Leif Hass, MD, a family medicine doctor and hospitalist at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center in Oakland, California, and a clinical instructor with UCSF, wrote a wonderful post in Greater Good Magazine online, pointing out how science has finally caught up with what years of human experience have demonstrated—that being outside amid greenery is healing and that trees, like exercise, is free medicine. What’s more, we should take our cue from Japan, where forest bathing—spending time taking in awe-inspiring forests and allowing their sights, sounds, and smells to wash over you—is practiced by nearly a quarter of the people. Its proven benefits include lowering blood pressure, heart rate, and stress levels; improving mood and immune function; better sleep; and increased creativity. 

How much outdoor exposure is enough? Dr. Hass reported that researchers from Finland suggest a minimum of five hours every month to get lasting effects (being out on water or even in a city park can be healing too). He wrote that he often gives “nature prescriptions” to his patients: “For those with the resources, I prescribe breaks to a quiet cabin or tent for at least three days, once or twice a year. I also recommend house plants for home and office, microbreaks where you stop work to look out the window, or a couple short walks even if it is in an urban environment. If all else fails, there are always nature videos, which have been shown to have positive effects. A walk with a friend outside is a Greater Good ‘three-fer’: exercise, friendship, and nature all at once.” 

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