Well

One of my favorite sections of the NY Times’ website is the Well blog, written by Tara Parker-Pope. She comments on all aspects of personal health, but often writes about food. I love reading the comments her readers post. More often than not they are passionate and smart. Two of her recent posts captured my attention and had me reading through all the comments:

Paying Attention to the Food We Don’t Eat references a recent Times story highlighting how much food we waste in America. Posters offered up numerous ideas for how to keep personal food waste at a minimum, basically by shopping and cooking with an eye toward using up everything in the fridge.

Finding the Best Way to Cook All Those Vegetables cites recent studies that link the healthfulness of vegetables to the method by which they were cooked (or not). Frankly, this is all a little too much for me to remember. (“Water soluble nutrients are often lost in processing”… “Fat-soluble compounds…are less likely to leach out in water.” etc.) BUT, Parker-Pope’s post wrapped up with what I consider one of my personal culinary philosophies: make healthy food taste good and people will want to eat it. According to the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, by the time people are 20 years old the only factor that influences fruit and veggie consumption is taste. (Ironically enough, this was also a main theme on last week’s episode of Top Chef.)

Finally, in Lessons in Home Cooking, Parker-Pope interviews one of my favorite cooking authorities, Mark Bittman. Their conversation inspired over 100 readers to share their strategies for preparing quick, delicious home-cooked meals.