Here in the Midwest, it’s finally safe to plant flowers and vegetables without fear of frost. We hope. I’m going to risk it. The daffodils and tulips are done for another year. My lilac bushes are fragrant and their beauty is short-lived. My peonies are going to open...
If you’ve watched television recently, perhaps you’ve noticed that not a commercial segment passes without the mention of a prescription drug. Or at least it seems that way to me. Sometimes several drugs are mentioned before regular programming resumes. The list of side effects seems just as...
For those of you who have been following my blog for the past 2 ½ years, you may recall my weekly posts about the size of my friend’s baby in utero compared to various fruits and vegetables. Baby Angelos recently celebrated his 2nd birthday, and I...
This week I was asked, “My young son gets some red irritation around his mouth when he eats lots of tomatoes. Why does this happen?” The answer: acid in the tomato is irritating the area where it comes in contact. Citrus fruits may have the same...
Lately I’ve been honoring my addiction to chia pudding. While not everyone is a fan, you may like to give it a try if you: like pudding don’t have an aversion to interesting food textures are trying to increase your intake of plant-based omega-3’s could use...
(The following article was written for the March 2022 issue of Get Healthy magazine, a publication of The Northwest Indiana Times.) Chia seeds have been popular since they appeared on a ch-ch-ch-Chia Pet ram in 1982. To answer your burning question, yes, the seeds are the same...
The avocado can sometimes be a heartbreaker. If you’re a fan, you know what I’m referring to. You buy what appears to be a beautiful avocado. You allow it to sit the perfect number of days until it is just right. Finally, you’re ready to add it...
Spring. The time of year when we think of new life, cleaning, outdoors, daffodils—and rain. Lots of rain. Winter was mild here in the Region. Thankfully. The season was still long, cold, and extremely dreary. There were at least two weeks when my sunglasses never left their case. ...
Here’s a big surprise (not): your diet influences the health of your skin. Besides the natural aging process, other factors that affect our skin include sun exposure, alcohol consumption, stress, smoking, high intake of processed foods, dry weather, certain soaps. Dairy products and whey protein have been...
Green bell peppers are not a favorite of mine. In fact, when I order veggie skillets, I usually request that they be omitted. I find them to be bitter. Here’s the reason why. Green bell peppers are unripe red bell peppers. They truly ARE bitter. Since they...