It's been a season of unexpected gifts. And that does not mean our Christmas tree was exactly bulging with wrapped presents. These gifts are those that nourish our hearts.

I thought about that as I cut up a fresh pear to top my usual granola and yogurt this morning. During this holiday season, I've been privileged to see -- perhaps more clearly...Read more

As I write this column, I'm looking out on snow-covered hills listening to "White Christmas" on the radio. Not that I'm even near ready for the holiday. Until yesterday, I still had pumpkins and Thanksgiving turkeys all over the house.

Maybe that's not so bad. Recent travel and other commitments have forced me to look at this Christmas season ...Read more

We tend to classify them all together, but winter vegetables are not always the same as root vegetables. Nevertheless, these veggies deserve our attention during these cold winter months.

Take Brussels sprouts, a veggie you either adore or adhor. These hardy vegetables that look like baby cabbages on stalks belong to the cruciferous family -- ...Read more

And here we are in December. I don't understand it, but this year -- for the first time in a long time -- my Christmas shopping has been extremely easy. So far, I've happened upon gifts that are handmade or personal ... and not too expensive. I love when that happens.

So for those of you who missed Black Friday (I did) and would like some ...Read more

We see amazing sights from our home in the country. Last week as I drove into town, I came upon a flock of wild turkeys, plump from their diet of berries, insects and special treats from a neighbor's corn field.

I've seen this flock before. But this particular morning, half of the group--sunrise at their backs--stood posed in full feather ...Read more

There seems to be a lot of clamoring to replace real meat in the marketplace. Here are some things to consider:

We need protein. In fact, experts predict that within the next 30 years, the world will need to produce 50% more protein to adequately feed everyone on this planet. Some people feel that needs to be done without the help of animals, ...Read more

What does diabetes have to do with heart disease? A lot, says the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Unfortunately, many people with diabetes are not aware that diabetes and heart disease are closely associated. In fact, compared to a person without ...Read more

"Greetings from Canada," a reader from Ontario wrote. He then politely corrected me on a grammatical error he found in a recent column published in the Toronto Star.

In the article, I described how "vitamin C stimulates the formation of antibodies that bind up dangerous toxins before they wreck havoc in our bodies." The correct word in this ...Read more

"I don't know if you answer questions," a reader wrote recently. I assured her I do, as time allows.

"After reading recent articles, I am wondering about whether vegans can get enough vitamin B12 and enough choline and if there are other elements that are problematic for them. I have an adult child who has become vegan after years of being ...Read more

Flu season is here again. And this year's vaccine is designed to protect against four different flu viruses, says the Center for Disease Control (CDC). So when I went for my yearly poke in the arm, I was informed -- by reason of my age -- that I would receive the "high dose" flu vaccine -- four times as potent as the regular flu shot.

Guess ...Read more

Her opening statement caught our attention: "We start with a glass of wine...and then we start the lesson." With that, Chef Anna and her assistant proceeded with our cooking (and wine-tasting) class at the historic Villa Casagrande in the Tuscany region of Italy.

"We started making wine in 1491," she continued. (I assumed this spry, attractive ...Read more

Does an apple a day really keep the doctor away? I hope so, because my trees are groaning with hundreds of these beauties this year.

I decided to see if this old saying was true. And lo and behold, there really was a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2015 entitled "Association between Apple Consumption and ...Read more