Bon Appetite Magazine offered this delicious recipe for a roasted vegetable tart. It starts with roasting vegetables, then layering them in a pie plate filled with a glaze, topping with cheese and a pastry crust. To save time I used a store bought pastry crust. The pie is inverted so the vegetables are seen as the star of the dish. This can be a side dish or vegetarian main dish. I am sure it would be terrific cut into small wedges and served as an appetizer.

Sliced vegetables ready for roasting

The New York Times just ran an article on the drinking and making of ordinary broth. Making turkey or chicken broth is simple. I save the bones from a roasted chicken or turkey. Place the bones in a large pot add enough water to cover it by about 3 inches, add 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar, a bay leaf and a whole onion. Simmer on low heat until you have the flavor you like- this will take  at least 3 hours,  up to 6 hours. Strain the broth to remove the bones.

Now you have a simple broth  which you can drink instead of tea or coffee or add vegetables, cooked chicken, cooked noodles, or barley to make  a delicious soup. Broth can also be refrigerated until ready to use or freeze for up to 6 weeks.

Writing in the British Medical Journal researchers set out to clarify the answer to where fat goes when we lose weight,  and they present a novel calculation to show how we “lose weight.” All  fat is stored in the form of triglyceride and triglyceride is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.  The authors explain losing weight requires unlocking the carbon stored in fat cells and that carbon is eventually expelled through the lungs. The authors  recommend the concepts described in the article be included in secondary school education  to correct widespread misunderstandings about how the body loses weight.  A short and simple cartoon video explains the concept. To view the cartoon click on this  link, scroll down a paragraph to find the video.

Jane E. Brody writes about the exciting  FVRx  food prescription program in her recent  New York Times  blog. In the FVRx program doctors identify children that are over weight, counsels them on better food choices and provides them with a prescription to eat more fruits and vegetables. Along with that prescription comes a voucher to purchase fruits and vegetables at the market.The families meet with the doctor or dietitian monthly. Brody reports on a program created in Harlem which helped the participating children reduce their weight and lower Body Mass Index (BMI).

The program was started by Wholesome Wave:  “The Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program measures health outcomes linked to increased fruit and vegetable consumption. FVRx promotes innovative partnerships between healthcare providers, farmers markets and families with diet-related diseases. The four to six month program is designed to provide assistance to overweight and obese children. FVRx is also expanding to target community members with Type 2 diabetes and other diet-related diseases.” They hope to expand the program to other communities.

Illness from heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are all related to being overweight. The risk of being overweight has increased because we eat more of our meals away from home (where calories are always greater), and portions sizes are larger.  Less cooking at home and more eating out is linked to meals that contain less fruits, and vegetables, while supplying more saturated fat and calories. When we do eat at home too few of us know how to prepare the foods that will keep us healthy or we do not know how to plan a meal that will be “balanced”.

According to a commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association many Americans (specifically parents) simply lack the knowledge of how to purchase and prepare foods for healthy meals and therefor are not passing the skills onto their children. There are three recipes I recommend new cooks learn and use to improve meals they include  how to roast vegetables, vegetable soup and fruit based desserts such as a Fruit tart, or Apple Brown Betty.

Almost any vegetable can be roasted and added to any meal making it “healthier” and serving a fruit-based dessert will help to insure the diners are getting closer to eating the recommended fruit servings they need each day. A good vegetable soup makes a nice addition to lunch or even a good snack in cold weather.