It seems like just about everything has a commemorative day, week or month. Hug Day is coming up February 13^th, and the National Day of Silence and the National Day of Dialogue both share April 15^th. Interesting to see how that works out.

Last year, the United Nations decided that soil health deserved special recognition. But the U.N. decided that soil health was so important that it deserved more than just a day, a week or a month.  That’s why 2015 has been designated the International Year of Soils.

Chances are, you don’t think much about soil. Chances are, you think of it as dirt.

But the dirt your kids track into the house is the basis of nearly all of our food, clothing and shelter. So, it’s pretty important that we pay attention to it.

Unfortunately, much of conventional farming over the past few years has attempted to ignore this fact, utilizing the “better living through chemistry” philosophy focused on feeding plants with chemical fertilizers.  As a result, much of our soil, and the world’s soils, are in trouble. Wind and water erosion are only two symptoms of that trouble.

Fortunately, organic agriculture and other sustainable farming practices are addressing the root cause. Organic farming is based on the principle that healthy soil creates healthy food. That’s why organic farming practices focus on building biological health, including earthworms and beneficial bugs. And, it’s another reason that organic food often tastes fresher and sweeter.

I will be touching on the International Year of soils further in upcoming blogs. Let’s just say that I want to spread lots of dirt about good dirt.

Bad news for soda drinkers  –  scientific research shows that drinking too much soda can shorten your life by 4.4 years!

This recent study was done by University of California researchers.  The study included 5,300 healthy participants between the ages of 20 and 65.  They looked at sugar (or HFCS) sweetened soda, diet soda, sweetened non-carbonated beverages and fruit juice …  and the effect on telomere length.  Do you remember what I taught you about telomeres?  If not, please review it so the rest of this makes sense. Now, each cell has its own DNA with telomere end caps.  For study purposes, the telomeres in white blood cells were used (from a simple blood test).  Remember that we are made up of trillions of cells, each with our DNA and each with telomeres protecting the DNA.  As the cells go, so we go!

Here are some of the study findings:
●  Each 8 ounce serving of sweetened soda was associated with shortening of telomere lengths equivalent to roughly 1.8 years shorter life span for the cells.
●  Over 20% of the participants drank 20 or more ounces of soda per day which equated to 4.4 years of additional premature cellular aging.
●  No telomere shortening was not found with diet soda.
●  No telomere shortening was found with sweetened non-carbonated beverages.
●  Drinking 100% fruit juice improved telomere length slightly.

OK, so what should we make of this information? Well, drinking sweetened sodas causes cells to age prematurely.  Drinking diet sodas don’t shorten telomeres (that’s good) …  but, we know that artificial sweeteners used in diet soda is not good for us  for other reasons.  (SIDE NOTE:  diet soda sweetened with stevia make for great soda choices.  The brand that is easiest to find is Zevia and there are tons of different flavor choices.) Our children drink sodas too and, although the study was done on adults, we can certainly extend the suspicion that the sweetened sodas could shorten their telomeres too.

The bottom line …. Don’t go overboard in drinking sweetened sodas!  And help your children with their soda intake as much as you can!  Heck, controlling ourselves is hard enough, but controlling the older kids  …. that will be a challenge!  Of course, kids are the only ones to want to be older .. quicker!!

Avgolemono sauce is a staple in Greek households. Not only is it the basis for wonderful dishes like dolmathakia and my personal favorite, yiaprakia (or Lahanodolmathes, as they call it in southern Greece) it can take any ordinary dish of veggies or meat and make it spectacular.

I’ve heard people say avgolemono sauce is difficult to make, but it isn’t. My great-grandmother taught me when I was about 12. And she was completely right about how versatile and delicious this sauce is. It goes with chicken, lamb, beef, pork and fish.

But pour a tablespoon or so over asparagus, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach or even green beans and you’ll find out how dreamy this iconic sauce really is. And if you’re serving chicken soup, adding a tablespoon or so will make you think you’re in your favorite Greek restaurant.

There is one caveat, never use garlic in any dish that will have this sauce over, under or in it. Although lemon and garlic go together beautifully, garlic does not pair well with the egg in this sauce. I know it seems counterintuitive, but trust me on this one — or trust YiaYia Grammy Zerkus. She knows. My YiaYia would never steer you wrong!

YiaYia’s Avgolemono Sauce Recipe

Makes about 3 cups of sauce

2 cups Wild Oats Marketplace Organic Chicken Broth

2 organic eggs, room temperature

1/3 cup of fresh squeezed, organic lemon juice

Heat chicken broth over medium heat until boiling. Reduce heat to simmer. Separate eggs, putting yolks in one bowl, whites in another. Using an electric mixer, beat whites until stiff peaks form. Add yolks and beat for 2 minutes or until well incorporated. Add lemon juice and continue mixing egg/lemon mixture.

Put about a 1/4 cup of the hot chicken stock into a cup. With mixer running, add 1 tablespoon of the broth, and continue mixing. Wait about 15 seconds then add another tablespoon of broth and continue mixing. Repeat this procedure, increasing the amount of broth in each addition, (1 tablespoon, then 2 tablespoons, etc.) until the entire 1/4 cup is in the egg/lemon mixture. Remove pan containing chicken broth from heat and stir the egg/lemon mixture into the hot broth. Stir to combine. Add salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve over meat or veggies as desired.

While it’s important to try to make half your grains whole every day, I struggle the most with switching from white pasta to whole wheat pasta. But is it really necessarily healthier to swap out white pastas with the whole wheat ones?

NY Times’ Melissa Clark asks NYU Food Studies and Nutrition Professor Dr. Marion Nestle, a popular author of many food culture and politics books,  to explain in her 2010 article, Fiber Meets Flavor in New Whole-Grain Pastas:

“These [whole grain pastas] can taste terrible enough to turn off even the staunchest nutritionist. When I asked Marion Nestle…what she thought of the profusion of whole-grain ‘super’ pastas, she wrinkled her nose.

‘I object to people adding stuff to food to make it seem healthy,’ she said. ‘Pea powder and flaxseeds don’t belong in pasta.’

She did approve of whole-wheat pasta with an ingredient list of one (that would be whole wheat). ‘Just make sure it has plenty of fiber,’ she said — at least three grams in a two-ounce serving. ‘Otherwise it’s just not worth eating.’”

Personally, even as a registered dietitian who is very conscious about what I eat, I can’t seem to make the switch. I have forgiven myself for this, and get my whole grains from other sources, such as rye bread, corn tortillas, brown rice and whole wheat everything bagels.

One thing that I learned from my nutrition professor Dr. Andrea Pezzana, an Italian medical doctor from the University of Gastronomic Sciences, associated with the international Slow Food movement, is that when you cook white pasta al dente, it takes your system longer to digest, and makes it a lower glycemic food that when fully cooked. I like my pasta firm, so I’ll just go with this approach. Italian Doctor’s Orders anyway!

With the Big Game just around the corner, it’s time to talk snacks. With an estimated viewership of 180 million Americans, over 1 billion chicken wings and an average of 1200 calories consumed throughout, Game Day is reported to be the second largest day for U.S. food consumption, just behind Thanksgiving.

Luckily for me, a dear friend recently dropped by and taught me how to make delicious homemade chips and salsas. My fellow Blogger Elizabeth recently covered how to make your own tortilla chips, so I will defer to her on that one (click here for the how-to); below are three delicious salsa recipes to dazzle your guests.

These make for an impressive spread, whether you are hosting, a considerate guest, or skipping the event but love a tasty snack.

Pico de Gallo:

• Juice of 1-2 Juicy limes
• ¼ white onion, finely chopped
• 1/4 – whole Serrano pepper (to spice preference), finely chopped
• 4-5 large tomatoes, diced (to preferred chunkiness)
• a large handful of cilantro (roughly ½ bunch), finely chopped
• sea salt to taste

Pour or squeeze lime juice into a large bowl; add the onions to ‘cook’ them, and let them mellow for a few minutes. Next, add Serrano pepper, tomatoes, cilantro and sea salt to taste. Serve and stand nearby- this tends to go fast.

Salsa Verde:

• 9 small, or 5-6 large, tomatillos, husks removed
• 2 chile de arbol or chile japones, stems removed
• ¼ white onion
• 1 bunch cilantro
• sea salt to taste

Boil a pot of water large enough to fit all tomatillos. When boiling, add tomatillos and peppers. Turn them occasionally to ensure even cooking. When the tomatillos have turned a dull green-verging-on-brown, they are ready to be removed from heat.

Remove the chiles and set them aside. Place the tomatillos, onion, cilantro and salt-to-taste in a blender, and blend until smooth. Let cool, garnish with a few sprigs of cilantro (and a pepper, if you like!), and serve.

Salsa de Molcajete:

• 4 large tomatoes
• 2 chiles gueros, stems removed
• 1 jalapeno pepper, stem removed
• 1 serrano pepper, stem removed
• ¼ white onion
• ½ clove garlic
• juice from ½ lime
• handful of cilantro (roughly half a bunch)
• salt to taste

Heat a skillet over medium heat, and add peppers, tomatoes, and garlic. Turn occasionally to evenly scorch the skin. When you have achieved even scorching (roughly 5-10 minutes), remove from heat. Let cool briefly, then remove the tomato skins. Place tomatoes, peppers, garlic, onions and cilantro in a blender or food processor. Pulse until blended but slightly chunky. Add lime juice and salt to taste, and stir. Let cool, garnish, and serve. You may want to set some aside, as this salsa is epically delicious when added to eggs in the morning.