If you’ve never tried rutabaga, now is the time.  Rutabaga is spicy, slightly sweet and lusciously creamy when cooked.  And while rutabaga can add a delightfully complex flavor to any dish, it is not at all difficult to cook, which in my book, makes it a winner.

Rutabaga is a root vegetable that ripens in the cool of autumn.  It’s coming into season now, so this is the perfect time to make it a part of your seasonal table.

You’ve probably seen a rutabaga at your market (farmer’s or otherwise) sitting dejectedly, all alone next to the turnips and parsnips.  It’s not what I’d call a pretty veggie — not like asparagus or broccoli — no, rutabagas are hairy with roots, have a weird lopsided shape, and can’t decide if they’re purple, orange, cream or some amalgam of the three.

But looks aren’t everything.  The unassuming rutabaga is both tasty and nutritious, and not only complements the flavors of hearty fall fair, it elevates them.

Rutabagas are distantly related to turnips, so you may have heard them called Swedes, Swedish turnip, yellow turnip or even winter turnip.  The name rutabaga is derived from the Swedish word rotabagga which means round root.  This makes sense because they are an ancient pairing of cabbage and turnip, appearing before 1400 A.D., but grow much larger than turnips.  Their flavor is much more complex than their turnip cousin, too.  Their deep yellow-orange flesh is dense and subtlety sweet, an unexpected surprise in this otherwise homely fall offering.

Rutabagas are a cruciferous vegetable, rich in vitamin C, potassium and fiber.  Rutabagas are also high in antioxidants like lutein and zeaxanthin, as well as other carotenoids, which can help prevent cancer and heart disease and help with inflammatory conditions like arthritis.

All parts of the rutabaga are edible, including the leaves, which can be cooked as you would any other green such as turnip greens, mustards greens or even kale.  But the real prize is the rutabaga root, which can be roasted, mashed, boiled in a stew or soup or even grilled.

So don’t pass up the rutabaga just because it looks funny and may seem unfamiliar.  Give this root vegetable gem a try.  You might just find a new fall favorite.

Below are a few links to great rutabaga recipes from around the web.

Creamy Rutabaga Soup  

Rutabaga Oven Fries

Herb Roasted Rutabaga

Mashed Rutabaga With Sour Cream And Dill

If you never saw – let alone tasted – a purple potato, perhaps it’s time you went out looking for some.

Especially if you’re one of those people who really likes the “comfort-food” taste and texture of potatoes, but has been turned off on them by all those warnings from nutritionists about how they cause your blood sugar to spike, promote weight gain and abdominal fat, and set the stage for diabetes (one site even calls them “health enemy No. 1”).

The purple potato, however, which hails from South America, could be the perfect answer to all those health concerns.

To be sure, it’s a carbohydrate, just like the common-garden variety spuds you’ve probably been eating all your life. But this richly hued little tuber has a lot more going for it health-and-nutrition-wise than those common garden-variety spuds.

For one thing, purple potatoes – which come in several different variations, including Purple Majesties, Purple Vikings and Purple Peruvians — are loaded with a particular type of antioxidant phytochemical called anthocyanin, which, as we’ve noted previously, is what gives blueberries their blue/purple color and which serves as a powerful immune booster and cancer preventive. It’s also anti-inflammatory and helps protect the capillaries, the smallest blood vessels in our bodies.

But those aren’t the only health benefits of consuming a mini-potato imbued with the color purple both outside and inside. A 2012 study found that people who ate six to eight of them a day had lower blood pressure than those who didn’t – which might be due both to keeping those capillaries flexible and the presence of another phytonutrient that has been shown to help lower blood pressure in mice.

Participants in that same study, by the way, also appeared to have no weight gain from having all those purple potatoes as part of their daily diet.

The relatively small size of the typical purple potato offers another advantage, since the most nutritious part of any potato is the skin and the part just underneath it. (For this reason, you might want to look for organically grown ones, so you won’t feel the need to peel them.)

As for taste, well, you won’t find them all that different from the potatoes you’re used to – just a bit “nuttier,” perhaps. They also have a creamy texture that makes them great for mashing and mixing with herbs and spices.

But even if you don’t find purple potatoes in your store right now, the good news is that they’re becoming more popular every day.

Here at the Jersey shore, for example, one of our local farmers is making a point of cultivating them.

They may even be coming soon to a supermarket near you – if they’re not there already.

About a month or so ago we hopped in the car and headed over the border to attend a folk festival in Vancouver, B.C. I’ve been sort of euphoric ever since. It was super fun to be invited as a group to “sing along” with the performers, but for me it was even more fun to come home and belt out my favorite songs. – With or without the recordings. It occurred to me that my neighbors might not be quite as ecstatic about this latest development as I was, and decided maybe I should do some research on the subject, in case the singing police showed up at my door. I am greatly gratified to report that while there are noise ordinances, I am pretty sure I can get a note from my Dr excusing me on the basis of what I found. Science at least definitively supports my urge to sing. Call it a cheap fix, I’m hooked. An article from Time says that studies have shown that endorphins are released when singing, (hence the euphoria) also oxytocin. Singing apparently lessens feelings of depression and loneliness, – which in my case may not be reality based since even the dog leaves the room when I sing. Fortunately you don’t have to be a good singer to reap these rewards! Cortisol, a stress relieving hormone is another of the beneficial chemical released as a result of belting out your favorite tune.

A joint Harvard and Yale study showed that singing increased the life expectancy of Newhaven CT. (Don’t ask me how?) – A study out of Gothenburg Sweden showed that singing is good for your heart! Björn Vickhoff the musicologist who led the study compared choral singing to yoga, telling the BBC that, “When you exhale [as you sing] you activate the vagus nerve, we think, that goes from the brain stem to the heart…” The vagus nerve is also believed to be linked to emotional health. If by healthy they mean imagining oneself as an operatic diva, -I’m in. Meanwhile, if you hear of any choral groups with no qualifying standards, please let me know!

Singing and depression

Singing may be good for your heart

Singing is good for you and your heart

Benefits of Singing

Time – Singing changes your brain

Oh gosh, in the world of your health, there are so many little things that add up to a big impact on your good health  … or … lack of good health!  So, here is more information for you in the category of  “Gee, I didn’t know that!”  Today, we’ll be talking about Pharmabiotics.  Wait, didn’t we talk about this already?  Ahhh, nope.  Back on Sept 21^st I talked about prebiotics.  On July 5^th fellow Oatie Linda talked about Probiotics.  Today, we add Pharmabiotics to the mix!!

To understand Pharmabiotics, we must first visit (or revisit) Probiotics and Prebiotics. Don’t worry, there won’t be a test on this!   Here’s a quick review:

• You have “friendly” bacteria living inside your GI tract (probiotics).
• Certain types of fiber (prebiotics) are digested by the friendly bacteria to produce different molecules, many of which are used directly by the cells lining the intestine as their main fuel source.
• The friendly bacteria also digest other components of the foods we eat and the results of these digestive processes create other health promoting substances.
• “Pharmabiotic” is a fairly new term that encompasses all of the different substances produced by friendly bacteria in the digestion of foods (including the prebiotics).

OK, so…. Pharmabiotics are good things.  There are many different pharmabiotics that have been identified so far:

• Small Chain Fatty Acids  – needed by the cells lining our GI tract
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid  – also directly found in some foods and helpful for immune health, heart health, healthy cholesterol
• Exopolysaccharides  –  this is a sort of sticky film that covers the lining of the GI tract to prevent bad things from entering into our bloodstream
• B Vitamins
• Vitamin K
• And other molecules that seem to influence brain function

You get the idea  –  if you have a healthy population of probiotics  … and you feed it right with wholesome foods including prebiotcs … you’ll make more pharmabiotics!!  That should add up to health benefits for you!

Next month, the first International Pharmabiotics Conference will be held in Paris.  It is such a new and exciting area of health and medicine.  It is new and exciting because physicians and scientists are finally looking at it  …. not because it is something new that is happening inside our bodies!!  If we eat right first, and supplement as necessary, we’ve got the magic.  Our bodies are so incredible, busy doing wonderful good things like producing pharmabiotics!  Nice work!!

Additional Resources:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3026447/pdf/bbug0102_0079.pdf

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25196939

It’s a shame Americans mostly use pumpkins for two things, pie and jack-o-lanterns.  There is so much more to the pumpkin! Encourage your family to eat more pumpkin.  Try the easy pumpkin gratin recipe below.

Pumpkin has the reputation of being hard to clean and time consuming to cook, but don’t be fooled.  The newer varieties of pumpkin like “Sugar Baby” are smaller, sweeter, more tender and easier to cut and peel than their larger, ornamental cousins. Pumpkin is a delicious and healthy addition to your fall table — and not just as a center piece!

Pumpkin is high in vitamin A, beta-carotene, fiber, and at only 49 calories per cup, it can help you keep your waistline in check.  Plus, pumpkin has one of the highest concentrations of potassium — coming in at 564 milligrams per cooked serving — besting the banana by 142 milligrams!

A quick and hearty fall gratin is the perfect way to introduce cooked pumpkin to your family.  The recipe below is delicious as a vegetarian entree, but it also makes a great side dish, especially when paired with a cast iron seared steak.

Roasted Pumpkin Gratin With Fresh Sage And Cream 

• 1 small cooking pumpkin, such as Sugar Baby, Autumn Gold or Baby Pam, about 2-4 lbs., washed, skin and seeds removed, cut into 1” cubes
• 5-6 fresh sage leaves,
• 1 cup organic heavy whipping cream
• 1 cup good quality shredded parmesan cheese
• salt and fresh ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Toss pumpkin cubes with salt, pepper and sage and put into a large, shallow baking dish that has been lightly buttered or sprayed with cooking spray.  Drizzle 1/2 cup cream over pumpkin. Cover and bake 20-30 minutes, or until pumpkin is beginning to soften. Remove dish and add remaining 1/2 cup of cream along with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Stir to combine, then top with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.  Return to oven, uncovered, and continue baking an additional 20-30 minutes, until pumpkin is fork tender and cheese is melted and beginning to brown.  Remove from oven and allow to rest for 5 minutes, allowing the cream to thicken slightly.  Stir and serve.  Makes 6 servings.