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Olive Oil Hunter News #193

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Jhinga Manchurian and All-American Gingerbread Cookies Recipes, Spotlight on Purple Garlic Powder and Ground Buffalo Ginger Root, Preserving Spices, Treating Metabolic Syndrome and Powerful Pilates

Get ready for two of my most richly spiced recipes yet: a succulent sautéed shrimp dish and zesty gingerbread cookies. They exemplify how you can achieve layers of flavor with the right blends of spices. In addition to turning the spotlight on two ground spices—ginger and garlic— this edition of the newsletter highlights a new approach to combating metabolic syndrome, which now affects one-third of American adults, and the exercise discipline Pilates, a unique approach to becoming stronger and more confident.

Jhinga Manchurian

  • Jhinga Manchurian Jhinga Manchurian

    This Indian dish with Chinese influences has just enough spice for a nice kick and is a deliciously exotic prep for shrimp. 

    Ingredients

    For the shrimp:

    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns
    • 1/4 teaspoon Marash Red Chili Flakes
    • 1/2 teaspoon Purple Garlic Powder
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided use
    • 1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled and deveined as needed

    For the sauce:

    • 1 teaspoon Purple Garlic Powder
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Buffalo Ginger Root
    • 1 teaspoon Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
    • 1 teaspoon rice vinegar 
    • 1 teaspoon sugar
    • 2 teaspoons water
    • 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
    • 1 cup chopped scallion
    • 1 serrano chile, chopped
    • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish 
    • 1 teaspoon cornstarch 
    • 1/2 cup water 
    • Optional: 2 cups of steamed broccoli florets

    Directions

    Step 1

    Prep the shrimp: In a bowl large enough to hold the shrimp, add the black pepper, chili flakes, garlic powder, and salt; whisk well. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil and whisk again. Add the shrimp and toss to coat; set aside.

    Step 2

    Prep the sauce: In a small bowl, mix the garlic powder, ground ginger, ground tomatoes, rice vinegar, sugar, water, and chili garlic sauce; set aside.

    Step 3

    Heat a wok over medium-high heat. When hot, add 2 tablespoons olive oil and sauté the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side or until pink and cooked through. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the shrimp to a nearby bowl. Add the scallions, serrano, and cilantro to the hot wok and sauté until soft, about 3 minutes. Stir in the reserved sauce and bring to a boil. Mix the cornstarch with the water and add to the sauce; continue cooking until the sauce has thickened. Add back the shrimp and optional broccoli and toss to coat. Garnish with cilantro if desired.

    Yields 4 servings

All-American Gingerbread Cookies

  • Gingerbread Cookies All-American Gingerbread Cookies

    The dough for these quintessential holiday cookies can be made a day in advance. After baking and cooling, glaze them with simple icing or use thicker royal icing to create fun patterns. 

    Ingredients

    • 1 tablespoon Ground Buffalo Ginger Root
    • 1 tablespoon ground Heirloom Vietnamese Cinnamon
    • 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly grated nutmeg 
    • 1 tablespoonallspice
    • 1-1/2 teaspoons freshly ground Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns
    • 1-1/2 teaspoons dry mustard 
    • 4 cups all-purpose flour, more if needed 
    • 2 cups white whole wheat flour 
    • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda 
    • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder 
    • 1/4 teaspoon salt
    • 2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature 
    • 1-1/4 cups dark brown sugar 
    • 2 large eggs 
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 1 cup molasses 

    Directions

    Step 1

    In a small bowl, whisk together the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, black pepper, and dry mustard. In a large bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, then whisk in the spice mix (this helps to ensure even distribution).

    Step 2

    Cream the butter and sugar until light and smooth. Beat in the eggs, olive oil, and molasses. When fully incorporated, add the flour mixture at a very low speed, in two or three batches, and mix until a dough forms. If the dough is too wet, add more all-purpose flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Transfer the dough to a large piece of parchment paper and flatten it, then wrap it up in the paper and chill until firm, about 3 hours. 

    Step 3

    To make the cookies, heat your oven to 350°F. Working with half the dough at a time, roll it out on a large piece of parchment paper dusted with flour to about 1/4-inch thick. Use cookie cutters to make your desired shapes and a large metal spatula to transfer the cookies to ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes depending on size. Cool for 10 minutes before transferring the cookies to racks to finish cooling. Ice as desired.

    Yields approximately 50 3-inch cookies 

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Calamansi Vinegar

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Purple Garlic Powder and Ground Buffalo Ginger Root

Purple Garlic Powder

Garlic is a mainstay of nearly every cuisine and is grown around the world. But there’s garlic, and then there’s purple garlic, named for the purple striations on its papery skin. Different from garlic grown on a mass scale, my Purple Garlic Powder comes from an heirloom variety cultivated by local farmers in the mountainous Cao Bằng region in northern Vietnam. You’ll discern the difference on your first taste.

Garlic is the edible bulb of a plant in the lily family, along with other well-known alliums—onions, leeks, shallots, chives, and scallions. It has been enjoyed for 5,000 years, with the earliest uses traced back to Egyptian and Indian cultures. Garlic comes in two varieties, soft neck and hard neck. Hard-neck garlic, like my purple garlic, has a hard stalk, or neck, in the center. The bulbs that grow around a hard neck tend to be more succulent than white garlic. Sweeter and more balanced than run-of-the-mill garlic powder, it has delicious notes of brown butter and toasted hazelnuts. It is so intense that it takes just a 1/4 teaspoon to get the flavor of a garlic clove. Using it in addition to fresh garlic will ramp up the garlic taste. 

Garlic powder is a mainstay of dry rubs, marinades, vinaigrettes and other salad dressings, savory dips, tomato sauces, and stews. Perfect for easy peasy garlic bread and croutons and for sprinkling on pizza, it will also enhance chicken piccata, seared scallops, ground meat dishes from burgers to chili, and veggie dishes like mashed potatoes and sautéed spinach. (You’ll get recipes for the bolded dishes and more in the Spice Report that comes with my collection.)

Garlic has been studied for its ability to prevent and treat many chronic conditions thanks to its organosulfur compounds that protect against oxidative stress, a cause of premature aging. Garlic may help reduce the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease and, thanks to its antibacterial and antifungal properties, boost the immune system. Because garlic’s compounds are relatively stable, it’s likely that garlic powder retains many of them, according to research published in Frontiers in Nutrition.

With origins in southern China, ginger root has been cultivated for more than 5,000 years. Ginger was not only dried and ground into a rich powder but also preserved and candied. Like nutmeg and other exotic spices, it was a highly valuable commodity that was traded with the West. 

Ground Buffalo Ginger Root

The ginger for my Ground Buffalo Ginger Root is also grown in Vietnam’s Cao Bằng region. Buffalo ginger is bigger than other varieties—its large knobs are reminiscent of a buffalo’s horns. It has a subtle spiciness with hints of sweetness, floral notes, and a nice amount of heat with a richness and a warmth missing in run-of-the-mill ginger powders. It is so flavorful it takes just a 1/2 teaspoon to substitute for a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger.

Thanks to centuries of international trade, ginger is part of many global cuisines, from Asia and India to Africa, Europe, and the Americas. It enhances dishes like West African peanut stew, apple crisp, pumpkin pie, and, of course, gingerbread. Add it to hot oatmeal along with diced apples and cinnamon. It pairs beautifully with honey in salad dressings, glazes, and BBQ sauces and in spice mixes like chai masala, baharat, curry blends, and jerk seasoning for chicken, salmon, and shrimp. Sprinkle it on roasted sweet potatoes and squashes and on pineapple carpaccio and sliced peaches. 

Ginger was—and still is—widely used as a medicinal to treat upset stomachs, nausea, colds, and even arthritis. Research credits ginger’s hundreds of bioactive compounds, like gingerols and shogaols, for its antibacterial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. More research is needed, but ginger may one day play a role in lowering cholesterol and preventing heart disease and diabetes.

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Storing spices

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Preserving your spices

Be sure to close the lids securely on all your herbs and spices, especially those that have been ground into a powder. Moisture, in particular, affects flavor and texture, so make sure your hands and your measuring spoons are completely dry to keep moisture out of the jar and avoid clumping. If any clumps do occur, use the tines of a cocktail fork to break them up.

For Your Best Health: Is your diet “pro-inflammatory”?

For Your Best Health

A new approach to treating metabolic syndrome

Health data has shown that over one-third of US adults have metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, excess abdominal fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels. In a new clinical trial called the TIMET study, published in Annals of Internal Medicine, researchers at the Salk Institute and University of California San Diego School of Medicine found that time-restricted eating—also known as intermittent fasting—could offer significant health benefits to adults with metabolic syndrome. 

“For many patients, metabolic syndrome is the tipping point that leads to serious and chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease,” said co-corresponding author Pam Taub, MD, professor of medicine at the UC San Diego School of Medicine and a cardiologist at UC San Diego Health. “There is an urgent need for more effective lifestyle interventions that are accessible, affordable, and sustainable for the average American.”

Western diets high in sugar, salt, and fat, combined with increasingly sedentary lifestyles, are thought to have contributed to the rising rates of metabolic dysfunction. While the initial recommendation from doctors may be to “eat less and move more,” these lifestyle changes are difficult for most people to sustain long term, said the researchers. They suggest that time-restricted eating offers a more practical approach accessible to a wider range of people, including those already on medication for metabolic syndrome. TIMET is the first study to evaluate the benefits of a customized time-restricted eating schedule in people taking medication, a population group usually excluded from such trials, enabling researchers to measure the benefits of time-restricted eating in addition to existing standard-of-care medications. 

“Our bodies actually process sugars and fats very differently depending on the time of day,” said Salk Professor Satchidananda Panda, PhD, holder of the Rita and Richard Atkinson Chair, and co-corresponding author of the study. “In time-restricted eating, we are reengaging the body’s natural wisdom and harnessing its daily rhythms to restore metabolism and improve health.”

“Unlike expensive pharmaceuticals like Ozempic, which require lifetime use, time-restricted eating is a simple lifestyle change that doesn’t cause side effects and can be maintained indefinitely,” said first author Emily Manoogian, PhD, a staff scientist in Dr. Panda’s lab at Salk. “Patients appreciate that they don’t have to change what they eat, just when they eat.”

In the study, 108 adults with metabolic syndrome were randomly placed into either the time-restricted eating group or the control group. Time-restricted eating protocols were customized to each participant’s eating habits, sleep/wake schedules, and personal commitments. The resulting regimen had them reduce their eating window to a consistent 8-10 hours per day, beginning at least one hour after waking up and ending at least three hours before going to sleep. Dr. Manoogian said this personalized approach made the intervention easier for participants to complete, compared with other intermittent fasting studies, which typically assign the same strict time window to everyone. Both groups continued to receive standard-of-care treatments and underwent nutritional counseling on the Mediterranean diet. Participants also logged their meals using the myCircadianClock mobile app, developed at Salk.

After three months, patients who had completed the time-restricted eating regimen showed improvements in key markers of cardiometabolic health, including blood sugar and cholesterol. They also saw lower levels of hemoglobin A1c, a marker of long-term blood sugar control. This reduction was similar in scale to what is typically achieved through more intensive interventions by the National Diabetes Prevention Program. The time-restricted eating group also showed 3% to 4% greater decreases in body weight, body mass index (BMI), and abdominal trunk fat, a type of fat closely linked to metabolic disease. Importantly, these participants did not experience significant loss of lean muscle mass, which is often a concern with weight loss.

The TIMET trial adds to a growing body of evidence supporting the use of time-restricted eating as a practical, low-cost intervention to improve cardiometabolic health. The promising results suggest that healthcare providers could consider recommending the lifestyle intervention to people with metabolic syndrome as a complement to existing treatments, though additional long-term studies are needed to determine whether time-restricted eating can sustain these benefits and ultimately reduce the risk of chronic disease.

Fitness Flash: The benefits of being a “weekend warrior”

Fitness Flash

Adding power with Pilates 

Though it’s been about 100 years since fitness legend Joseph Pilates created his signature exercise practice, an aura of mystery still surrounds this unique fitness form. Considered a type of strength training, Pilates focuses more on muscle tone than muscle building, creating greater strength, stability and balance, mobility, coordination, range of motion, and endurance, according to Pilates expert Steven Fetherhuff, NCPT, a nationally certified Pilates teacher and coordinator of the Pilates program at HSS, the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City. 

Pilates exercises are typically done in one of two ways: on an exercise mat or using unique, Pilates-designed machines like the famous Reformer. Many participants choose Pilates studio workouts so they can do both (you’d need a dedicated home space to accommodate the machines). The exercises can all be tailored to your needs and fitness level. 

At the top of the list of Pilates benefits is improving core strength (in the abdominal area and the back), which helps with posture, performing everyday activities, and reducing the risk of falls. Other benefits include better flexibility and mind-body awareness. The movements are easier on the joints than other types of workouts, which is important if you have any painful chronic conditions like arthritis or back pain. Taking private or small Pilates classes can be especially helpful if you’re rehabbing after an injury.

What’s key is finding a trained and experienced instructor who successfully completed the National Pilates Certification Program (NPCP). Pilates teachers with this certification have taken a comprehensive Pilates course and passed a standardized exam (the NPCP website has a directory of certified instructors searchable by zip code). In addition to getting your doctor’s OK before starting Pilates—good advice prior to any new fitness workout—talk with the Pilates instructor you’re considering about your health history and any physical limitations you might have so that exercises can be adapted to your abilities. 

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Olive Oil Hunter News #192

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheels and Imperial Bloody Mary Recipes, Spotlight on Herbes de Provence and Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes, Storing Spices, Anti-Inflammatory Diet and Weekend Exercising

Recipes are so much more flavorful when you have the best ingredients in your pantry. That’s why I’m so excited about the new herbs and spices in my latest collection from the T. J. Robinson Curated Culinary Selections—six brand-new offerings plus perennial favorites heirloom Vietnamese cinnamon and vine-ripened black peppercorns. I’m sharing two recipes from the Spice Report, the booklet that comes with the collection to show you how easy it is to elevate your dishes. Also, read about an interesting health discovery on the benefits of weekend-only exercise—it provides great motivation for people who just don’t have time to work out during the workweek, along with a study that will have you asking if your diet is pro- or anti-inflammatory.

Savory Puff Pastry Pinwheels

  • Savory Puff Pastry Wheels Savory Puff Pastry Wheels

    These look so elegant yet are a snap to make with packaged puff pastry (I love the Dufour brand because it uses real butter). Flaky and delicious on their own, they’re sublime when topped with a slice of Brie and some fig jam. 

    Ingredients

    • 1 package frozen puff pastry dough, defrosted overnight in the fridge
    • 1 tablespoon Herbes de Provence
    • 1 tablespoon Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
    • 1 tablespoon Caramelized Onion Powder
    • 1 small egg, beaten

    Directions

    Step 1

    Preheat your oven to 400°F. On a floured surface with a floured rolling pin, gently roll out any folds in the dough. Sprinkle the entire surface with the tomato powder, herbs, and onion powder (use your fingers as needed to spread them out evenly).

    Step 2

    Slice the dough in half lengthwise, then roll up each half lengthwise, jelly roll style. Next, cut each roll into rounds about 1-inch wide. Place the rounds flat on two cookie sheets and brush the tops and sides with the beaten egg. Bake until nicely puffed and browned, about 25 minutes, but start checking sooner in case your oven runs hot.

    Yields about 32 pinwheels

Imperial Bloody Mary

  • Imperial Bloody Mary Imperial Bloody Mary

    This recipe has twice the tomato-y depth of traditional mixes, thanks to the tomato powder, yet requires little extra effort for all that taste. Enjoy it “virgin” or with your favorite vodka. Multiply the quantities for a party!

    Ingredients

    • 12 ounces best-quality tomato juice
    • 3/4 teaspoon Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes
    • Splash (about 10 drops) Worcestershire sauce, plus more to taste
    • 1/8 teaspoon Vine-Ripened Black Peppercorns
    • 1-1/2 teaspoons prepared horseradish
    • Juice of 1/4 lemon
    • Cholula or Frank’s hot sauce to taste
    • 1 jigger vodka (optional)
    • Optional garnish: celery sticks

    Directions

    Add all the ingredients to a small pitcher and stir well. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking by adding more tomato powder,Worcestershire, horseradish, and/or hot sauce. Add 3 or 4 ice cubes to two highball glasses and fill with the Bloody Mary mix. Garnish with a celery stick if desired.

    Yields 2 drinks

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Calamansi Vinegar

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Herbes de Provence and Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes 

Herbes de Provence

Provence, in the south of France, is known for picturesque villages, fields of lavender, and, of course, a gentle Mediterranean climate. One of its many culinary gifts to the world is the fragrant blend of dried herbs appropriately named Herbes de Provence. With one whiff of this exquisite mix of oregano, rosemary, savory, and thyme, you’ll be transported to this idyllic locale. 

Herbs have been used for thousands of years. Provence was blessed with a wide range of wild herbs, and eventually, locals began to grow them in private gardens and dry them to use long after the growing season. How the specific mix Herbes de Provence came to be is unclear, though some historians credit it to local monks. Americans’ love of these herbs began in the 20th century when culinary legend Julia Child introduced the US to French cuisine and ingredients. 

A mainstay of French cooking, these herbs are synonymous with classics like tapenade (recipes for bolded dishes are included in the Spice Report), ratatouille, beef bourguignon, and cassoulet, but don’t stop there. Sprinkle them over potatoes and other vegetables before roasting and to season homemade croutons; dress up flatbread Provençal, pasta, pizza, and omelets. Add them to dry rubs, marinades, and vinaigrettes. Because the flavor is intense, it takes just a sprinkling to impart their essence.

The various herbs in the mix have been used for medicinal purposes for centuries. Oregano has a high concentration of phytonutrients, including flavonoids and phenolic acids. Savory is also considered a powerful antioxidant and antibacterial agent. Rosemary is an anti-inflammatory with possible antianxiety and memory-boosting effects. Thyme has long been known for its antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiseptic properties.

Turkey has a unique location in the world, straddling Europe and Asia, with the sprawling city of Istanbul spanning the two continents. The tomatoes for my Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes, a variety known for their tangy flavor, are grown on small farms along the country’s Aegean Sea coastline, part of the Mediterranean region. 

Ground Sun-Dried Tomatoes

The long history of tomatoes began some 80,000 years ago in South America, where small wild tomatoes about the size of cherry tomatoes grew. Early 16th-century explorers brought tomato seeds back to Europe, and soon after, the seeds were carried to North America. Drying fresh tomatoes after the growing season not only preserves them but also intensifies their sweet-tart flavor. Grinding them into a powder is a more modern concept that extends the tomato’s versatility and is a favorite of professional chefs—pure tomato taste with just the right amount of acidity, balanced by sweet notes. 

Mix it with panko and herbs for a mac ’n’ cheese topping or to stuff Roma tomatoes before baking. Add it to your favorite rubs for chicken or roasts, vinaigrettes and olive oil-based marinades, hummus, or aioli. Sprinkle it on pizza and into your fresh-pressed olive oil before dipping bread. It will elevate essential tomato sauce and other sauces,gazpacho or other tomato-based soups, zesty rice pilaf, tomato pies,tomato-strawberry jam, savory shortbreads, and scones. It adds color and flavor to breads,homemade pastas, ricotta filling for stuffed shells, and even cream cheese. Sprinkle it on omelets, sautéed or roasted vegetables, and popcorn. You can mix 2 teaspoons of water with 1 teaspoon of powder to make a tablespoon of tomato paste in a pinch!

Tomatoes are chock-full of nutrients, notably lycopene, an antioxidant that supports heart, eye, and prostate health. Drying and grinding tomatoes into a powder helps make the lycopene more bioavailable. Tomato powder also has small amounts of potassium, beta-carotene, and vitamin A.

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Storing spices

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Storing spices

The best way to store spices isn’t the handiest—they should be in tightly sealed glass containers away from light, humidity, and heat, so not above the cooktop. Keep them on a dry pantry shelf or in a drawer away from the oven, and soon it will be second nature to take them out of their new “home” as you prep ingredients and set the table with these great alternatives to salt.

For Your Best Health: Is your diet “pro-inflammatory”?

For Your Best Health

Is your diet “pro-inflammatory”?

As readers of this newsletter know, extra virgin olive oil has significant anti-inflammatory properties—that’s why it gets top marks as a healthy fat. However, according to research done at The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health and published in the journal Public Health Nutrition, more than half of all American adults eat a diet that’s considered pro-inflammatory, meaning it contributes to unhealthy inflammation in the body, which in turn increases the risk of health problems including heart disease and cancer.

The Ohio State research team examined the self-reported diets of more than 34,500 adults included in the 2005-2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey using an existing tool called the dietary inflammatory index, which includes 45 dietary components. The tool assigns dietary inflammation values ranging from −9 to 8, with 0 being a neutral diet. About 34% of those in the study had anti-inflammatory diets, while 9% had neutral dietary inflammatory levels. But “overall, 57% of US adults have a pro-inflammatory diet and that number was higher for Black Americans, men, younger adults, and people with lower education and income,” said lead author Rachel Meadows, PhD, scientist and visiting faculty member. “The overall balance of diet is most important. Even if you’re eating enough fruits or vegetables, if you’re having too much alcohol or red meat, then your overall diet can still be pro-inflammatory.”

Dr. Meadows said she’s less interested in labeling foods as “bad” and more interested in thinking about anti-inflammatory foods as tools people can employ to boost health. “Moving toward a diet with less inflammation could have a positive impact on a number of chronic conditions, including diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and even depression and other mental health conditions,” she explained.

Many people also have elevated chronic inflammation due to non-dietary factors, including stress and adverse childhood experiences, said Dr. Meadows. “There are a lot of factors that contribute to chronic inflammation, and they all interact—even sleep is a key component. Diet can be used as a tool to combat that.” In addition to extra virgin olive oil, top anti-inflammatory foods to add to your diet include garlic, ginger, turmeric, green and black tea, whole grains, green leafy vegetables, legumes including beans and lentils, fatty fish such as salmon, and berries.

Fitness Flash: The benefits of being a “weekend warrior”

Fitness Flash

The benefits of being a “weekend warrior”

Are you too busy during the week to find time for workouts and try to make up for it on weekends? We’ve heard about the downside of being a weekend warrior, like the potential risk of a sports injury when your workouts aren’t consistent. But a recent study led by investigators at Massachusetts General Hospital and published in the journal Circulation found many positives, most importantly that being a weekend warrior is linked to a lower risk of developing hundreds of future diseases from heart and digestive conditions to mental health and neurological illnesses. Also, compared to inactivity, concentrated physical activity patterns may be just as effective for disease prevention as when exercise is spread out throughout the week.

“Physical activity is known to affect risk of many diseases,” said co-senior author Shaan Khurshid, MD, MPH, a faculty member in the Demoulas Center for Cardiac Arrhythmias at Massachusetts General Hospital. “Here, we show the potential benefits of weekend warrior activity for the risk of not only cardiovascular diseases, as we’ve shown in the past, but also future diseases spanning the whole spectrum, ranging from conditions like chronic kidney disease to mood disorders and beyond.”

Dr. Khurshid, along with co-senior author Patrick Ellinor, MD, PhD, co-director of the Corrigan Minehan Heart Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, and their colleagues analyzed information on 89,573 individuals in the prospective UK Biobank study who wore wrist accelerometers that recorded their total physical activity and time spent at different exercise intensities over one week. Participants’ physical activity patterns were categorized as weekend warrior, regular, or inactive, using the guideline-based threshold of 150 minutes per week of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.

The team then looked for associations between physical activity patterns and incidence of 678 different conditions across 16 types of disease categories, including mental health, digestive, and neurological. Their analyses revealed that weekend warrior and regular physical activity patterns were each associated with substantially lower risks of over 200 diseases compared with inactivity and spanned all the disease categories tested. Associations were strongest for cardiometabolic conditions such as hypertension (23% and 28% lower risks over a median of 6 years with weekend warrior and regular exercise, respectively) and diabetes (43% and 46% lower risks, respectively). 

“Our findings were consistent across many different definitions of weekend warrior activity, as well as other thresholds used to categorize people as active,” said Dr. Khurshid. “Because there appear to be similar benefits for weekend warrior versus regular activity, it may be the total volume of activity, rather than the pattern, that matters most. Future interventions testing the effectiveness of concentrated activity to improve public health are warranted, and patients should be encouraged to engage in guideline-adherent physical activity using any pattern that may work best for them.”

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Olive Oil Hunter News #188

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Potato Frittata Recipe, Spotlight on Condimento Bianco Senape and Blackcurrants, Steaming Potatoes, and A Surprising Benefit of Exercise for Women

Autumn is a wonderful time to get together with family and friends, and what better way than over brunch? If you’re looking for a simple yet satisfying dish, my potato frittata fits the bill. It features Condimento Bianco Senape, a unique vinegar in my brand new collection of artisanal vinegars from the T. J. Robinson Curated Culinary Selections. Sweet, fragrant, and with a hint of mustard, it’s crafted in the style of a fine Italian balsamic (read below to learn why there’s actually no such thing as “white balsamic”). You’ve never tasted anything like it before—get ready to fall in love! 

Also in this issue…I’m sharing fascinating research on blackcurrants, a powerful member of the berry family that might hold the answer to protecting women’s bones in midlife and beyond. Keep reading and you’ll also find out about a surprising benefit of exercise.

Potato Frittata

  • Potato Frittata Potato Frittata

    Elegant enough for a brunch party, this egg-and-potato dish is also easy enough for a casual weekend breakfast. The potatoes can be steamed a day or two in advance.

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound red potatoes
    • 8 eggs
    • 2 ounces freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
    • 2 tablespoons milk
    • 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
    • Coarse sea salt
    • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
    • 1 large leek, twiced rinsed, trimmed of the tough, dark green ends, and sliced into 1/4-inch discs
    • 2 tablespoons Condimento Bianco Senape, plus more for drizzling

    Directions

    Step 1

    Cut the potatoes into 1/4-inch slices. Steam them on a steamer rack over simmering water until tender, about 25 minutes. 

    Step 2

    In a bowl, whisk the eggs until no whites show, then whisk in the cheese, milk, black pepper, and 1 teaspoon salt until well combined. 

    Step 3

    Heat a 14-inch skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the olive oil and the leeks. Sprinkle with a big pinch of salt and sauté until the leeks soften and turn light brown, about 10 minutes. Layer on the potato slices, overlapping them a bit. Pour on the egg mixture. Cover the pan and cook without disturbing over medium heat until the eggs firm up, about 8 minutes. Drizzle on the vinegar, cover the pan again, and remove from heat. Let stand for 10 minutes before slicing into wedges. Drizzle each portion with more olive oil and vinegar.

    Yields 4 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: Condimento Bianco Senape 

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

Condimento Bianco Senape 

Condimento Bianco Senape, or White Condiment with Mustard

I want to set the record straight—“white balsamic” is not a recognized type of vinegar in Italy. That’s because, by its very nature, balsamic vinegar must be made solely with grape must (grape juice made from all parts of the grapes) that naturally darkens to its signature purple-brown color. That being said, my new Condimento Bianco Senape, or White Condiment with Mustard, is reminiscent of a fine balsamic because it’s crafted in the perfect ratio of two parts white cooked grape must to one part white wine vinegar by the amazing vinegar producers known for their balsamic vinegars, Società Agricola Acetomodena in Modena, Italy. Both the grape must and wine vinegar are made solely from Acemodena’s own Trebbiano grapes, which give it its unique light color, and not their Lambrusco ones, which give traditional balsamic its deep color. 

The idea for creating a complex, mustard-seed infused white wine vinegar in the sweet style of balsamic came from Patrizia Vecchi, the wife of Acetomodena owner Paolo Vecchi. She was inspired by the ancient Roman cooking technique of using a white vinegar along with honey and mustard to get a delicious crust on spit-roasted pork. The white mustard seeds, which are entirely edible, add a subtle layer of flavor to my Condimento Bianco Senape that would be lost in a traditional balsamic. 

You’ll use this mustard vinegar to effortlessly create a rich and silky vinaigrette just by whisking in fresh-pressed olive oil and a bit of salt and pepper. I love its sweetness yet will also blend it with other vinegars when I want a bit more tartness. Use it as a marinade for poultry, pork, and fish. Drizzle it on steak and burgers, gourmet sandwiches with prosciutto and other meats, bruschetta with tomatoes, fresh salads like rocket with pine nuts and a drizzle of honey, and my eggless Caesar salad which along with the potato frittata are just two of the many recipes included in the Vinegar Report that comes with the collection. 

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Steaming Potatoes

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Steaming Potatoes

Steaming potatoes keeps them from falling apart and preserves more of their nutrients than boiling. Simply scrub and slice or cube your potatoes and arrange them in a steamer basket set over two inches of simmering water in a stockpot. You can load the basket with two layers of potatoes, but try to keep some space between the pieces for the steam to get through. The potatoes are done when the tip of a knife easily pierces the flesh; start checking after 25 minutes.

For Your Best Health: Blackcurrants for Better Bones?

For Your Best Health

Blackcurrants for Better Bones?

Research done at the University of Connecticut (UConn) has identified blackcurrants, a tart berry known in French foods and liqueurs as cassis, as a potential way of countering the bone density loss experienced by women in the years surrounding menopause. 

For many years, Ock Chun, PhD, MPH, professor of nutritional sciences in UConn’s College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources (CAHNR), has been investigating the berry’s potential to ameliorate a host of conditions including postmenopausal bone loss and osteoporosis. One of her previous studies showed that in mice, blackcurrant supplements helped prevent bone density loss postmenopause, and that the best time to start taking these supplements is in the transition between pre- and postmenopause, before bone loss has significantly progressed. With these findings in hand, Chun and her team wanted to see whether the benefits would translate to people. The new study, published in the Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, found that the supplements prevented the loss of, and in some cases even increased, whole-body bone mineral density in women.

Blackcurrants

The study involved 40 perimenopausal and early postmenopausal participants between the ages of 45 and 60. They were randomly assigned to take either one or two capsules of blackcurrant powder (392 milligrams per capsule) or a placebo daily for six months. The researchers found that the supplements prevented the loss of whole-body bone mineral density and that the group of participants who took two capsules a day actually showed overall increases in bone mineral density at the end of the six-month trial period.

The researchers looked at changes to the gut microbiome and immune system, which interact to play a key role in bone metabolism. They found that the blackcurrant supplements decreased levels of proteins called interleukin-1 beta and RANKL. Interleukin-1 beta stimulates the expression of RANKL, which causes bone resorption and thus a decrease in bone density. “The reduction in RANKL is important because that can cause shifts toward excessive bone resorption, so we’d want to see a decrease in that,” said graduate student Briana Nosal, first author of the paper.

Taking the supplements also increased Ruminococcus 2, bacteria found in the gut microbiome that help degrade polysaccharides and fibers. This is a key function that transforms the foods we eat into energy. This led the researchers to infer that it could be one of the bacteria driving the protective effects blackcurrant has on bones. “It’s all related, and there’s a lot of research showing the gut can regulate various systems in the body,” Nosal said.

The researchers identified a total of four proteins that had increased expression in the group of participants who took two daily supplement capsules. These could serve as potential biomarkers for the changes in bone density that they observed and potentially allow researchers or medical professionals to quickly and easily assess whether the blackcurrant supplementation is benefiting bone density.

This study is especially important for perimenopausal and early postmenopausal women who have or are at risk of developing osteoporosis. While medications for osteoporosis do exist, compliance is low due because of side effects. If a blackcurrant supplement can improve bone density without the same side effects, it could prove to be an effective alternative.

As the research team continues to study the relationship between blackcurrant and its benefits to the body, they’ll try to better understand why exactly they’re seeing these results and “how all our findings connect to each other,” Nosal said. “Conducting that multifaceted research will really paint the picture of how everything works, the different mechanisms, and what we can do for next steps.”

Fitness Flash

A surprising Benefit of Exercise for Women

Recent research led by Donald S. Wright, MD, MHS, of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Yale School of Medicine and published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that sticking with an exercise program is linked to older women staying out of the hospital.

This retrospective study evaluated 718 older adults with a mean age of 69.5; three-quarters were women. The researchers compared the outcomes of those who participated in a structured, individualized exercise training program at a privately owned gym in their community for at least three months (411 participants) to the outcomes of those who did not. The structured program consisted of guided sessions of cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training monitored by exercise physiologists. Participants completed a baseline physical assessment and quarterly reassessments of physical performance including measuring vital signs, strength (bicep curl or grip strength), mobility (as measured by the ability to easily go from sitting to standing), balancing on one leg, and aerobic capacity. These data were paired with regional hospital data and a national mortality database. Participants were followed for over two years. 

When the researchers compared outcomes of older adults who participated in the exercise program with outcomes of those who did not, they found that the risk for all-cause hospitalization was 46 percent lower among the women in the exercise program. Surprisingly, this benefit was not seen among the men. 

The researchers pointed out that the study doesn’t establish cause and effect between exercise and not needing healthcare, just a link, albeit a positive one for women. It’s also not known whether the people who dropped out of the structured exercise program exercised independently, potentially narrowing the observed differences between the groups. They also warned that participants may not be fully representative of the broader US population because they were all from one area of the country and had all been motivated to sign up for the gym program on their own.

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Olive Oil Hunter News #187

Posted on by The Olive Oil Hunter

Spinach-and-Cheese-Stuffed Shells Recipe, Spotlight on San Marzano Tomatoes, Grating Parmigiano-Reggiano, Reducing Type 2 Diabetes Risk, and A Motivation Reboot

As the nights get cooler, warm, nourishing meals become even more tempting palate-pleasers. My recipe for stuffed shells truly satisfies—it’s one of the new seasonal recipes in the latest edition of my online cookbook Savor the Season: Autumn 2024. Put together family style, it’s a great dish for large gatherings—everyone can dig in on their own. It’s also a very filling meatless option. You’ll read why that’s important in the diabetes-prevention research I’m sharing. Then, to get a motivation boost for healthier living, take a look at some top tips from a leading fitness expert to help you stay on track with your exercise goals.

Spinach-and-Cheese-Stuffed Shells

  • Spinach-and-Cheese-Stuffed Shells Spinach-and-Cheese-Stuffed Shells

    This dish doesn’t just taste great; its pretty presentation will wow family and guests alike. You can make my fresh tomato sauce up to three days in advance, or use 3 cups of your favorite high-quality store-bought sauce for faster prep.

    Ingredients

    For the tomato sauce:

    • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    • 4 large garlic cloves, minced
    • 1 cup grated yellow or Vidalia onions
    • One 6-ounce can tomato paste
    • 1/2 cup red wine
    • One 28-ounce can whole tomatoes, preferably San Marzano
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    • Pinch of sea salt, more to taste

    For the shells:

    • 1 pound jumbo pasta shells
    • 2 teaspoons sea salt
    • 1 pound mozzarella
    • 1 pound ricotta cheese
    • 2 cups freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, divided use
    • 1 cup cooked spinach, well chopped
    • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for baking 
    • 1 egg, beaten
    • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
    • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

    Directions

    Step 1

    Make the sauce: Heat a large saucepan. When hot, add the olive oil, garlic, and onions, and sauté until soft but not browned. Push the vegetables to the outside of the pan and add the tomato paste in the center. Sauté the paste until it browns, to release its flavors. Deglaze the pan with the red wine, then add the tomatoes, oregano, and salt. Use a potato masher to gently crush the tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes (or more) while you prepare the shells. 

    Step 2

    Make the stuffed shells: Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil and add the shells and the salt. Cook according to package directions for al dente (don’t overcook, as the shells will soften more in the oven). 

    Step 3

    While the shells are boiling, line a rimmed sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. Preheat your oven to 375°F. Cut the mozzarella into small cubes. Place the cubes in a large bowl along with the ricotta, 1 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, spinach, olive oil, egg, oregano, nutmeg, and black pepper; mix thoroughly. 

    Step 4

    Drain the shells, place them on the prepared sheet pan, and use a small spoon to stuff them with the spinach-cheese mixture. Lightly coat a large round or rectangular baking dish with olive oil and add three-quarters of the sauce; use an offset spatula to spread it out evenly. 

    Step 5

    Place the filled shells in the baking dish in a festive pattern, brush the tops of the shells lightly with olive oil, and cover with the rest of the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cheese topping is thoroughly melted and slightly browned. Serve with the rest of the tomato sauce on the side.

    Yields 4 to 6 servings

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight: San Marzano Tomatoes

Healthy Ingredient Spotlight

San Marzano Tomatoes

San Marzano Tomatoes

These uniquely shaped Italian tomatoes have long been considered the ultimate in sweetness, but as we’ve seen with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, it’s important to know what’s real and what isn’t. True San Marzano tomatoes are grown in Sarnese-Nocerino, near still-active Mount Vesuvius in the Campania region of Italy. The volcanic soil is responsible for the tomato’s near-perfect balance of sweetness and acidity.  

In recent years, consumers in the US have sued companies whose labels imply that the cans contain San Marzano tomatoes when they don’t. This is not to say that other tomatoes aren’t tasty, but if you want the real thing, look for labels with two essential logos: the red-and-yellow DOP (denominazione d’origine protetta,ordesignation of protected origin) stamp from the EU and the colorful logo of the Agro Sarnese-Nocerino Consorzio, which is the local consortium that makes sure the tomatoes are grown according to its rules. Also, San Marzano tomatoes are always canned whole, peeled, and only in their own juice.

Quick Kitchen Nugget: Grating Parmigiano-Reggiano

Quick Kitchen Nugget

Grating Parmigiano-Reggiano

Grating Parmigiano-Reggiano

If you’re a regular Newsletter reader, you know that only Parmigiano-Reggiano is true “Parmesan” cheese and it will have the word imprinted with a dot pattern all around the rind. How you grate it for a recipe, like my stuffed shells, or for a garnish on, say, Caesar salad, is more nuanced. It depends in part on whether the cheese is to seamlessly meld into a sauce, for instance, or stand out in the form of generous shavings. A sturdy vegetable peeler is a great way to get thin, narrow shavings: Run it along the edge of the wedge. For wide shavings, run a cheese plane over the surface of your wedge. Need a small amount of finely grated cheese? Pull out your microplane grater and shave the cheese right over your dish. For a larger amount, try a box grater—its four sides offer many options (place it over a large sheet of parchment paper to catch the gratings). If you want a very large amount, look to your food processor. Most steel blades will turn cubes into shreds. For a near-powder that will melt easily, Cuisinart has a very fine cheese grating blade that works in seconds—just cut off the rind, cut the cheese into pieces that will fit in the machine’s feed tube, and process. 

For Your Best Health: Reducing Type 2 Diabetes Risk

For Your Best Health

Reducing Type 2 Diabetes Risk

We know about the risks for heart disease and some forms of cancer associated with eating too much red and processed meat. Now an analysis of studies that included nearly two million people across 20 countries has also linked these foods to a higher risk for developing type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition that has reached epidemic proportions in the US, according to the National Institutes of Health. (Earlier studies made the association but had varying results.) This research, published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, also looked at whether there’s a link between poultry and diabetes.

The team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Cambridge in the UK, found that eating 50 grams of processed meat a day—that’s about 2 slices of ham—was associated with a 15 percent higher risk of developing type 2 diabetes in the next 10 years. Eating 100 grams of unprocessed red meat a day—that’s roughly a 3-ounce steak—was associated with a 10 percent higher risk. Eating 100 grams of poultry a day was associated with an 8 percent higher risk, but when further analyses were done to test the findings under different scenarios, the association for poultry consumption became weaker, whereas the associations with type 2 diabetes for both processed meat and unprocessed meat persisted.

Professor Nita Forouhi of the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit at the University of Cambridge, a senior author on the paper, said, “Our research provides the most comprehensive evidence to date of an association between eating processed meat and unprocessed red meat and a higher future risk of type 2 diabetes. It supports recommendations to limit the consumption of processed meat and unprocessed red meat to reduce type 2 diabetes cases in the population. While our findings provide more comprehensive evidence on the association between poultry consumption and type 2 diabetes than was previously available, the link remains uncertain and needs to be investigated further.”

The team used theglobal InterConnect project for their work. It’s an approach that allows researchers to analyze individual participant data from diverse studies, rather than being limited to published results. This enabled the authors to include as many as 31 studies in this analysis, 18 of which had unpublished findings on the link between meat consumption and type 2 diabetes. By including this previously unpublished study data, the authors considerably expanded the evidence base and reduced the potential for bias from the exclusion of existing research, they explained.

Said Professor Nick Wareham, director of the MRC Epidemiology Unit and a senior author on the paper, “InterConnect enables us to study the risk factors for obesity and type 2 diabetes across populations in many different countries and continents around the world, helping include populations that are underrepresented in traditional meta-analyses…Using harmonized data and unified analytic methods across nearly two million participants allowed us to provide more concrete evidence of the link between consumption of different types of meat and type 2 diabetes than was previously possible.”

Fitness Flash: A Motivation Reboot

Fitness Flash

A Motivation Reboot

ACE Fitness, the leading organization for fitness professionals, recently published an inspiring blog on staying motivated, written by fitness expert Len Kravitz, PhD, coordinator of exercise science at the University of New Mexico, and students in his Introduction to Exercise Science course. Here are some of the ideas, abbreviated for space, that can help keep you on track with health and fitness goals, important because, as Dr. Kravitz pointed out, 80 percent of adults don’t meet current guidelines for aerobic exercise or resistance exercise. “These tips help target a person’s self-efficacy to adopt an exercise program and avoid dropping out,” he wrote. “As you read through this list, identify those strategies that resonate with you and fit best with your lifestyle, then incorporate those that will make the biggest impact.”

Set realistic health and fitness goals. Make sure they match your abilities, health, and lifestyle. Also break down even short-term three-month goals into smaller, more achievable segments of two to three weeks.

Create a weekly schedule that includes blocks of time for exercise. This helps with consistency.

Diversify. Mix up activities within each type of exercise—cardio, strength training, and flexibility. 

Track your progress. Seeing your achievements in black and white helps keep you enthusiastic. 

Create or join a network of fitness friends. Exercise loves company! 

Give yourself rewards. Treat yourself to new exercise clothes or gear, flowers, or something special you’ve been eyeing. 

Aim for consistency over intensity. Slow and steady wins the race. 

Set reminders. Use your smartphone to ping you 15 minutes before your scheduled workouts.

Create a vision board. This is a real or virtual poster composed of photos, drawings, and quotes that inspire you. 

Go small if needed. Some people find it easier to work out in 10-minute sessions—build up to three a day and you’ll meet daily recommendation of 30 minutes.

Get guidance. Consider hiring a personal trainer to provide expertise, guidance, education, and motivation tailored to you. This could be the smartest money you’ll ever spend on yourself and pay big dividends.

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