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Editor's note: Michelle's Foods of The Americas series continues this week with the first of a three-column series on squash, the noblest of vegetables. By Michelle Bakeman The following is an excerpt from “The Pumpkin,” by fireside poet John Greenleaf Whittier: On...
Back in the early 1980s, I was living in New York City. At the time, fish on the menu was ho-hum, usually a tasteless, overcooked filet. Suddenly, Chilean Sea Bass appeared and was all the rage, commanding a pretty high price. Why had no one ever bothered with it...
By Nancy Clark For most of the past 40 years, dieters have been told to limit dietary fat, believing it leads to obesity and heart disease. Today, dieters hear messages to indulge in a very high-fat (ketogenic) diet and limit the carbohydrate-based foods that fueled...
The experience of solo hiking in the Caja’s range of the Andes has cost more than one adventurer their lives. Several months ago, according to CuencaHighLife and local newspapers, an experienced hiker in his mid-sixties went missing while hiking there. The man was a...
In the first part of this series on Conscious Living and Dying I referred to my early involvement with the Taoist philosophy as represented by the Tao Te Ching. I remember learning about the key principle of Wu Wei and being totally perplexed. As a young man this...
Are you a frugal chef? If you’re making hummus from canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas), don’t throw away the drained water — that ‘bean juice’ is called aquafaba, and it’s got a lot going for it! According to the McGill University Office for Science and Society,...
Author’s Note: This is Part II of my egg series. To read Part I, click here. In 2015 the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued new Dietary Guidelines. Reflecting current research, they dropped the 1960s-era blanket advisory to limit dietary cholesterol to 300 mg per...
By Louis Bourgeois This series is my best attempt to bring into perspective a lifetime of study, observation, and experience. It has been my life's work, now some 45 years since clear guidance at the age of 21 propelled me on a journey of personal development and...
It was early in the morning, barely light out, as the lapping sounds of a rising tide grew more demanding. The ocean’s water was beginning to flow into some backwater areas near the end of the beach. I kept walking, threading my way among the sinew like mangrove...
Editor's note: Michelle's Foods of The Americas series on tomatoes continues this week with a surprising account of the origin of everyone's favorite condiment, ketchup. Click here to read Part I about the origins of the tomato, and click here to read Part II as the...
Recently, a reader asked me to peel back the latest nutrition advice on eggs. In particular, he requested some clarity on conflicting advice for people with diabetes. Are eggs OK to eat again? Or is the advice different for people with diabetes? About this time,...
A successful photographer must be adept at the skills of observation. I watch all types of people in all ways necessary for my purposes. And, I’m good at doing it without detection when I choose to execute that skill set. As I wander aimlessly around various settings,...
It was a great day in Cuenca. As usual, I woke up alert, the sun was shining and continued until mid-afternoon (although there would be rain later from the clouds that formed to the east). I met with my tour guide friend, Juan, to arrange the details of a trip to the...
What was life like in Ecuador prior to antibiotics? In a word: short. For people with bacterial infections, life was cruel… but of course, not just in Ecuador. As described by the American Chemical Society, “Before [penicillin was introduced] there was no effective...
Editor's note: Michelle's Foods of The Americas series continues this week with the third of four fascinating accounts of the tomato's impact on global cuisine. Click here to read Part I about the surprising origins of the tomato, and click here to read Part II as it...
As I knelt on the dew freshened grass, I was sure fairies and hobbits would soon be about. It was gnomish here too so I couldn’t rule them out. Positioning myself more in the midst of things always provides a different perspective. I dropped lower and began inching...
By Ranelle Kirchner There's more to citrus than just Vitamin C. We don't hear as much about the other health benefits and reasons to celebrate citrus, so, today, I'm going to do my best to redefine everything you thought you knew about citrus, and hopefully increase...
By Christine Stiparo We choose the foods we eat for a variety of reasons. Taste and convenience seem to top most of our lists, but healthfulness, enjoyment, and affordability are part of it too. We all have different needs, and knowing what those are and how to fill...
By Sarah Knapton The MMR vaccine is linked to lower rates of autism, the largest ever study has shown, as parents were urged to ignore anti-vaccination campaigns and make sure their children had the jab. The new study by Danish researchers found children who had the...
High blood pressure is a global health crisis. The worldwide prevalence of hypertension has soared past 1.39 billion persons, more than 31 percent of all adults. Take this quiz to see how much you know about high blood pressure. The most common symptom of high blood...
