bina's Profile

You can use white chocolate chips to make white chocolate bark with any number of toppings (i just made some with dried cherries and crystallized ginger) or peppermint bark with some dark chocolate and crushed candy cane.

Get 5-8 servings of fruits and veggies a day and most other things will take care of themselves. (At least this is what I tell my patients just to get them started!) I'd say my main food philosophy is to avoid processed foods and cook at home. I try to view each meal as an opportunity to get nutrients, and not as an opportunity to cut calories. I have overweight people in my family for whom food is such a complicated issue...every meal is like a minefield. My mom was telling me she has light english muffins and light jelly for breakfast and it's only 100 calories. I'm like: that's horrible! Breakfast is your fuel for the day, why are you trying to cut corners? What do you get from those processed foods? You need calcium! You need fruit! I want like 400 calories for breakfast, and I want to check foods off my list: 1-2 fruits, a dairy, some nuts, and some grains. Steel cut oatmeal with pears, milk, and nuts with a tea on the side. Whole grain toast with peanut butter and apple slices. Whole wheat toast with ricotta cheese, cinnamon, walnuts, and an orange on the side. Done. Honestly, I start the day with a sense of accomplishment that I'm already on my way to eating healthy for the day. Food is about nutrients and pleasure for me. I realize that since I have never been overweight it's a lot more straightforward for me, however. I know people who can't have a delicious meal without tons of guilt, and I wish I knew how to change that for them.

Since I have a sweet tooth: I only eat baked goods that are homemade and really good (no mediocre cake mixed with canned icing) or are from a good bakery. I want those calories to be really enjoyable, and the truth is I don't come across excellent baked good often enough for it to be dangerous. I almost never buy cookies or sweets to keep at home except some good dark chocolate. I bake at home sometimes, but usually only to share.

I also try not to make rules about food. I try to cook most of my own meals and bring my lunches, and if I'm using healthy ingredients, they are healthy meals. So I have no guilt about an indulgent restaurant meal on the weekends, and I always go out at least once on the weekend. Everything in moderation, including moderation. Nothing is off limits, but the truth is that I feel gross if I eat gross food regularly.

i made these with marcona almonds (crushed up to make "flour") and also used 1/2 gruyere and 1/2 gouda. so good!

Conditions are similar for sugar production. I recently did relief work in the Dominican Republic and was shocked at the horrifying conditions the (mostly Haitian) workers and their families endure on sugar cane plantations (bateys) there.

We pay $0.99 for a box of Domino sugar, and these people suffer making 30 pesos (less than 1 US$) for hauling 3-5 tons of sugar cane a day, with little to no access to education, plumbing, healthcare. And their kids live in a state of constant malnutrition -- just a few miles from lavish resorts with overflowing buffets.

But I also struggle with my decision to boycott mainstream sugar production, as I know it may harm them more. No easy answer.

whole wheat pasta (penne usually), kale (chopped up and tossed in the pasta water towards the end of cooking), and some feta cheese. with the optional addition of sliced red onions or cubed butternut squash. a touch of olive oil, and perhaps a splash of balsamic.

I have a foster brother. We are all grown up now and he's one of my favorite people ever. Good luck to you and your family.

so nice to celebrate a first independence day! :)

some diabetics don't eat cooked fruit, only fresh (the fiber in the fresh slows the sugar spike, making it safer for diabetics). you can't go wrong with a frittata or some egg based dish and a fruit salad, though grapes are a no-no. i suggest you ask her what she prefers to eat. some diabetics may also (or should also) maintain a diet low in saturated fat because their risk of heart disease is so high.

overall, lovely. but...eeek. is your dog creeped out by the animal rug?

i broke my foot this summer. i live in a 5th floor walk up. fresh direct was a miracle. i still use it sometimes now, even though i'm fine hauling groceries up the stairs. i prefer to get food at fairway, but honestly, it's always a madhouse and i can't deal with the stress of it every week.

i've been consistently impressed with fresh direct's produce. everything i've gotten has been pristine. i love their produce rating system. frozen foods have also arrived frozen. but twice i had yogurt that arrived spoiled.

the hassle of figuring out when you will be home is a little annoying (no doorman here to sign for it). but overall it's something that makes my life easier.