In response to a recent column about the food games we play, I got these delightful letters:

Hello Barbara,

I usually scan the newspaper but recently your article ("Food games we play") caught my attention. I'll tell you mine.

This habit started in high school. Whenever cake or a cookie was served at the table, I would cut the cake slice in ...Read more

I’ve been reading the back of cereal boxes since I was a kid. They entertained me with games or puzzles while I munched on breakfast. Last week, my cereal box got me thinking about whole grains.

Besides being crunchy good, researchers report that whole grains may reduce the risk for certain cancers — colon cancer in particular — and they ...Read more

When my oldest daughter was a baby, I noticed that each time I’d eat spicy food, she would cry and refuse to nurse. That’s when I learned that some foods mom eats elicit tastes in their milk that baby may not particularly like.

Some components in a breastfeeding mom’s diet do more than just affect the flavor, however. Breastfed babies can...Read more

Gotta love the great state of Nebraska. On a recent visit to the historic Haymarket district in Lincoln, we stopped for lunch at an upscale Japanese restaurant. I casually gazed out the window at a giant screen across the street. Up flashed advice on how to social distance. I laughed when I read “Keep one cornstalk apart.”

Nebraskans are ...Read more

My sister started smoking in her early 20s. She thought it would help her lose weight. Knowingly or unknowingly, that decision opened the door for her lifelong battle with cigarette addiction. Years later, when she was diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), she was still unable to conquer the powerful pull to smoke “just ...Read more

I’m thinking about my mom, whose birthday is this week. She had a delightfully low-key sense of humor, especially about food.

One longstanding joke was in response to opened bags of food that she would “suddenly” discover when she was unpacking groceries.

“Would you look at this? That store sold me this package of cookies … and there...Read more

Easter and eggs … I get it. Easter is the Christian celebration of Jesus’ coming back to life after his death on a cross. Easter eggs represent new life. Very fitting.

But what the Easter bunny has to do with Easter, I’ll never understand. That said, let’s enjoy some of the good news about Easter and eggs.

When it comes to nutrition, ...Read more

It had been festering for a long time … an infection that didn’t show up on routine tests. But we knew sometime was not right. Cal was not eating as enthusiastically as he usually does. And he was steadily losing weight.

His routine doc was stumped and sent him to a specialist. Further testing found the answer to his weakened condition—a ...Read more

A woman who wished she was thin,

Fought hard to resist her snack bin.

When she wanted to eat,

She’d say to her feet

Walk away from this place that you’re in!

___

Hello Barbara; I've been trying to loose weight. I do good during the day but in the evening and into the night I feel like I have to eat, and sometimes I do not make good ...Read more

I’ve been called a lot of names in my day. “Nutri-bird” “The Diet lady” “Dr. Quinn, Nutrition woman” (I’m not a doctor but that didn’t matter to one of my clients.)

Nutrition professionals identify themselves with credentials. RD or RDN (Registered Dietitian or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist ) both designate experts who ...Read more

For many reasons, I’m always glad when I can bid February goodbye and welcome the march toward spring. March is also National Nutrition Month️ when the experts at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics walk us toward a diet that can help put spring in our steps.

This year’s theme is “Personalize Your Plate.” I like that. It means that...Read more

I just love the science of nutrition. It constantly changes as we learn more about how food and nutrients work in the body. And as we gather more information, experts tweak the recommendations for how we should eat.

Take the egg, for example. In 1968, the American Heart Association looked at the evidence that seemed to show that a high intake ...Read more

It’s only about the size of your fist. Yet every day your heart pumps the amount of blood that could fill a 2,000 gallon tank. Its job? To keep a constant supply of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood flowing through 60,000 miles of blood vessels to feed every cell and tissue in your body.

Unfortunately, we rarely give this amazing organ that is ...Read more