Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups turkey brine (see below on how to make this)
• 1 quart water
• 4 quarts buttermilk
• 1 fresh turkey (16–18#): neck, heart, gizzard removed
• 4 tbs unsalted butter, at room temp
• Fresh herbs (thyme, rosemary, sage for instance), minced and mixed with butter
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil for covering bird

• Large bucket from your local home remodeling store

  
  

  Turkey Brine Ingredients (for 14–16 bird)

½ gallon vegetable broth

1/2 cup kosher salt

¼ cup packed brown sugar (dark)

½ tbsp black peppercorns

Zest from 1 tangerine

1 orange, juiced fresh

Your choice of herbs: thyme, rosemary, sage, etc. Double this recipe if you are not using buttermilk.




Directions for Turkey Brine

Combine vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, zest, orange, and the herbs in a large stockpot over medium-high heat until salt and sugar are dissolved. Remove from heat and cool to room temp, then refrigerate brine until ready to use.




Buttermilk-Brined Turkey Directions

• Have your turkey brine ready to use.
• In a small saucepan over high heat, combine the turkey brine and water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring often, until the brine dissolves for 5–10 minutes.
• Let brine mixture cool to room temp. In a large pot, stir together the brine mixture and buttermilk.
• Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water and place in a large brining bag.
• Carefully pour brining mixture into bag and seal, pressing all the air out and place in your large bucket.
• Refrigerate or put in cool, dark place (like a garage) for 24–36 hours.
• Remove the turkey from the brine, discarding the brine.
• Rinse turkey inside and out with cold water and pat dry with paper towels.
• Trim off and discard the excess fat.
• Place the turkey, breast side up on a rack with a large roasting pan.
• Rub the skin evenly with the herb-butter or place herb butter under skin.
• Truss the turkey as desired using kitchen twine.
• Let turkey stand at room temp for 1 hour.
• Position a rack in the lower third of an oven and preheat to 400 degrees.
• Roast the turkey for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and continue roasting, basting every 30 minutes with pan juices. If the breast begins to cook too quickly, tent it loosely with aluminum foil.
• After about 2 hours of total cooking time, begin testing for doneness by inserting an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the breast and thigh, away from the bone. The breast should register 165 degrees and the thigh, 175 degrees. Total roasting time should be 3–4 hours.
• Transfer the turkey to carving board and cover loosely with foil. Let it rest for 20–30 minutes before carving.

Hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 1 cup of chopped pecans
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of chipotle powder
• Salt to taste

Method

Melt the butter in a skillet on low heat. Add the pecans and stir them until they are covered in the butter. Add the cinnamon and chipotle powder and stir to coat. Cook the pecans, stirring occasionally, for ten minutes. Salt to taste.

This easy recipe also makes a great companion for sweet potatoes, bringing a smooth sweetness to balance out the spice and nutty flavors.

Cooking legend Paula Deen is the epitome of you are what you eat. The Savannah restaurant owner and author of several cookbooks, who also appears in her own television show, tells “kids to have cheesecake for breakfast… chocolate cake and meatloaf for lunch—and french fries” according to Barbara Walters. Apparently the chef heeded her own advice and now the blatant disregard for eating healthy has caught up with her as she has been diagnosed with type II diabetes. The official announcement of her type II diabetes only came about recently, several years after she was actually diagnosed. Unfortunately this announcement did not come out in conjunction with a public service announcement promoting organic foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, or while pushing healthy entree selections at the buffet of her world famous restaurant. Instead Chef Deen elected to take her diabetes story public in conjunction with her role as a paid spokeswoman for Novo, the Danish-based pharmaceutical manufacturer, pushing its new diabetes management program. With role models such as Chef Deen, it is no wonder that America is becoming the fattest nation, with staggering statistics on cholesterol, heart disease, diabetes and more alarmingly, juvenile diabetes, to back it up.

With Chef Deen on the air and in our children’s cookbooks the nation will turn into the capital of juvenile diabetes in no time unless parents take a proactive stance against such role models. As a parent and physician myself, I will not allow Chef Deen’s children’s cookbook in my home because I don’t want any child to follow in her footsteps and become a diabetic. I encourage all parents to step away from the plate and lead by example by deep-sixing Chef Deen’s cookbooks and planting an organic garden with your children instead.

KPFA Radio - Interview with Dr. Moshe Lewis (Acute vs. Chronic Pain)

Interview length: 56 minutes — Interview date: November 21st, 2011

In this interview with Dr. Michael A. Lenoir on KPFA Radio's About Health, we touched on acute vs. chronic pain, Michael Jackson and dietary considerations. We answered many listener questions regarding increased sensitivity to pain, acupuncture, avoiding surgery, chiropractors, arthritis, the stress caused by pain, and more.

Listen to this interview on KPFA Radio's website

I often encourage my patients to cook at home since it tends to be healthier, but I understand that cooking can put a lot of ware on the body, especially if you’re not using well-made equipment. I was interviewed by EverydayHealth.com for advice on the most useful cooking tools and gadgets around. With these eight cooking appliances, pain caused by working in the kitchen will be replaced by fun and pleasure.

1. Food processor
2. Slow cooker
3. Bamboo steamer
4. Lightweight cookware
5. Electronic can opener
6. Electric jar opener
7. Ergonomic tools
8. Reacher/grabber

This article is a little dated since it’s from 2009, but the information in this NYTimes article is still very relevant. I recommend everyone read through it to learn about the addictive and destructive nature of processes sugar.

On May 26, 2009, Robert Lustig gave a lecture called “Sugar: The Bitter Truth,” which was posted on YouTube the following July. Since then, it has been viewed well over 800,000 times, gaining new viewers at a rate of about 50,000 per month, fairly remarkable numbers for a 90-minute discussion of the nuances of fructose biochemistry and human physiology.

Lustig is a specialist on pediatric hormone disorders and the leading expert in childhood obesity at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine, which is one of the best medical schools in the country. He published his first paper on childhood obesity a dozen years ago, and he has been treating patients and doing research on the disorder ever since. The viral success of his lecture, though, has little to do with Lustig’s impressive credentials and far more with the persuasive case he makes that sugar is a “toxin” or a “poison,” terms he uses together 13 times through the course of the lecture, in addition to the five references to sugar as merely “evil.” And by “sugar,” Lustig means not only the white granulated stuff that we put in coffee and sprinkle on cereal — technically known as sucrose — but also high-fructose corn syrup, which has already become without Lustig’s help what he calls “the most demonized additive known to man.”

Read the rest of this NYTimes article.

Most people know the danger of high cholesterol: It puts people at increased risk for heart attack, stroke, and other cardiovascular conditions. But the good news is that you can lower your “bad” cholesterol (low-density lipoprotein, or LDL) and raise your “good” cholesterol (high-density lipoprotein, or HDL) — just by altering your diet. Here is a list of cholesterol lowering foods that are most effective at keeping your blood vessels and heart in tip-top shape.

1. Green tea
2. Red wine
3. Fruits and vegetables
4. Chocolate
5. Beans & oats
6. Nuts
7. Salmon & other fish
8. Olive oil
9. Yogurts

Read more about these ten 10 foods that reduce your Cholesterol at EveryDayHealth.com

Before Running

Your pre-exercise goal is to be fueled for your training. The ideal pre-exercise meal should be carbohydrate rich and well tolerated. The number of carbohydrates you need depends on your weight and the timing of the meal prior to exercise. Generally, you should consume 0.5g to 2g per pound of body weight of carbohydrate 1 to 4 hours prior to exercise.

An hour before a run, consume 0.5 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight. For a 145-lb runner that’s 145 lb x 0.5 g/lb or 72.5 grams of carbohydrates.

Sample meal:
1. one small banana (15g of carbs) + one slice toast (15g of carbs) + one Tbsp of jam (15g of carbs) + 16oz of Gatorade (30g of carbs) = 75 grams of carbohydrate
2. one cup of cooked oatmeal (30g of carbs) + 4 Tbsp raisins (30g of carbs) + 8 oz Gatorade (15g of carbs) = 75 grams of carbohydrate

During Running

Consuming 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates every hour has proven to improve performance in exercise lasting longer than 90 minutes. Your pre-workout meal will provide enough energy for exercises lasting less than 90 minutes. Try gels, energy drinks, or anything that you can tolerate.

After Running

If your exercise lasts longer than 90 minutes, you should consume 0.7 grams of carbohydrate per pound of body weight immediately after exercise, followed by 0.7 grams of carbohydrates per pound of body weight 2 hours later, which will enhance your muscle recovery rate.

Consume carbohydrates that are quickly absorbed into your bloodstream. You may prefer a high carbohydrate drink if your stomach does not tolerate solid food immediately after exercise. Adding a small amount of protein (about 6-15grams) will also provide amino acids for building and repairing muscle tissue.

For a 145-lb runner that’s 145 lb x 0.7 g/lb or 101 grams of carbohydrates plus 6-15 grams of protein.

Sample meal:
one bagel (60 grams of carbs) + 8 oz chocolate milk (45 grams of carbs) + 2 oz of low fat cheese (14 grams of protein)