Foods Long Life

Dr. Christine Gallagher and I at the 2015 Annual Nutritional and Health Conference in Phoenix, Arizona Follow Foods For Long Life on Pinterest and Facebook . Preview my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen Health and Nutrition Conference   Dr. Christine Gallagher and I became good friends while getting our doctorates; her in Natural Health and me in Holistic Nutrition. Although she lives and practices in Grand Junction, Colorado and I live in Sebastopol, California, we make it a point to attend a conference together as often as we can. This year we headed to Phoenix to attend the 2015 Nutrition and Health Conference hosted by the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine.  As always, I came away inspired to share the latest nutrition research with my readers but I also came home with a list of things I wanted to immediately change in my life. In the weeks to come, I will write more about the details of the conference and post a few recipes from the classes I took there, but...

Newly planted kale borders the walkway with calendula. Inspired I'm back from Andrew Weill's annual nutrition conference and I'm more inspired than ever to cook nutritious meals with fresh, organic vegetables. What better way to do that than to have all the produce you need right there in your yard! Besides, with the drought here in California, it's better to plant and water things you can at least eat for dinner. We put in some nice garden boxes in our back yard 5 years ago (see our very popular post -  instructions on how to build garden boxes) but this year we expanded our garden to the entry, the front yard, the walkways, well - just about anywhere we have dirt. I like to mix veggies with flowers to make the area pretty but still productive.  For example, in the walkway to our front door, I planted 5 different types of spicy pepper plants with a few marigolds. We had already taken out all the roses and other shrubs to plant Sauvignon Blanc grape vines. The front en...

Cranberry beans are a great source of protein and fiber. Follow Foods For Long Life on Facebook and Pinterest . Preview my eBook, Health Begins in the Kitchen . Beans and Greens "Beans and greens" is one of my absolute favorite and versatile meals. We always have tons of kale in the garden and a pantry-full of various dried beans. Spinach, chard, escarole, collards, mustard and turnip greens are also excellent "greens" to make with this dish (cooking times will vary depending on the selection of beans and greens). I usually make a big pot for dinner and serve left-overs for lunch. Beans and greens can be eaten over a cooked grain, pasta or as is. And now with my Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker, it's easier than ever to make this healthy and delicious dish. The Mind Diet, a diet used in a study to reduce the risk of Alzheimer's, recommends eating six or more servings of greens and three servings of beans per week.  Cranberry (Borlotti) Beans This year I...