I have had some incredible opportunities and in a lot of ways my childhood was pretty unique, but it was also very very normal. I have been able to travel the world and meet some incredible leaders and pioneers, but I also did my chores, attended public school, and didn’t understand why strangers wanted my dad’s autograph. I thought it would be fun to show a more private side of our lives as father and daughter. Here’s a little snippet of a conversation I recently had with him about being a father, his advice to parents, and how to live with passion and still make money.     

You had me in 1991 when you were a little older. You had a full and adventurous life before having me to say the least. What was that like?

I was 49, so you know that’s later in life than most people have children. I had not thought I wanted to have children until a few years before that, and I don’t know what changed, but I suddenly felt I really wanted to have a child.

Was it hard because you had had such an interesting life before? Did having a baby slow you down or were you ready to slow down?

I think some of both. I had gotten married which was a big change, and there were step kids so it was a family situation, I was definitely tied to that more than I had been. But yes it slowed me down some, but it was time in my life when that felt right. I remember the first night after you were born when you were crying and all of a sudden the reality of having a baby dawned on me and I thought, “woah this is going to be different”. I can remember that very distinctly.

(Me laughing hysterically) Did you panic a little bit? That’s so funny hearing you say that. I think that’s why having kids scares me so much. I’m not ready to lose my freedom.

Oh yeah it’s a huge change.

I had kind of an unusual birth. How did that come about?

I really wanted you to have an underwater birth. It was something I was interested in for a long time and having seen a lot of births in many different situations, it just seemed to be a good idea. But it was very hard to get advice about it from anyone.

Really? Its really popular now, but it probably wasn’t as popular back then.

I don’t think it was. We had a great midwife who was really supportive, but people were so scared of it. Everyone thought the baby could drown. When your mom went into labor I was seeing a movie. I had a pager and I got this message saying it was time. I drove back right away, and we had to fill the inflatable tub up in the living room. It was the easiest birth I’ve seen. It was quick, and completely non-traumatic. I caught you as you were born, and lifted you out of the water. It was a really neat experience. I also believe in not cutting the cord for a long while (20-25 minutes), because all of the antibodies are transferred in cord blood. In hospitals they cut it right away.

Would you recommend home and water births?

Oh home births absolutely. I think water births are great. You know the Apgar score that you use to score babies on various things? You got the highest score our midwife had ever seen in her practice.

When I was a little kid you didn’t give me dairy until I was 3.

Right, because your mom and siblings were all allergic and there was a history of allergies and sinus issues. I really see that being related to cows milk. My advice to parents is if you have that history in your family to keep infants away from any cows milk until they are 2 and maybe even 3 years old.

And this means no cheese, no milk, no yogurt right?

Nothing. It also means reading labels avoiding nonfat dried milk in packaged food.

Is there any other advice you would give to parents besides no dairy?

Do you remember Dr. Fulford, the osteopath? He believed all newborns should have a prophylactic session of cranial therapy, which we did for you. So if you can find someone who does it, that’s not a bad idea.

Did you give me a multivitamin as a kid or was I a good eater? How did you get me to eat my vegetables?

Like most kids you liked to eat pureed vegetables. I don’t remember it being an issue when we introduced vegetables to you. I got you to eat broccoli by making your favorite- potato stuffed broccoli.

Oh that’s right! I always loved that so much. What about when I stopped eating meat and fish? Was that a challenge?

It was first meat right? Which was fine with me because I hadn’t eaten meat in a really long time. I don’t serve meat in the house so I don’t remember if you really had an opportunity to eat it. Maybe when you were out. But when we were eating fish one day you told us about your pet beta fish and that you didn’t want to eat fish anymore. That was OK with me. I just wanted to make sure you got enough protein, but you liked soy foods and you were eating cheese by that point

So you think its totally healthy for kids to be vegetarians?

Yes. However, if they’re vegan I think you have to be careful because they can become deficient in certain areas. I do think I had you on omega-3 fatty acids.

For kids you would recommend omega-3, vitamin D and maybe a multivitamin?

Yes. And iron

I obviously love food and nutrition and it has actually become my career, but you never pushed it.

I would bring you into the kitchen when I was cooking, but you weren’t particularly interested. You also didn’t read, by the way. I never thought you would learn to like reading. I was worried about that.

(Laughs) But here we are! Side note: I have indeed learned to read and cook. Sometimes I even do both at the same time! I also became such a bookworm that my dad would have to make me put the book away so we could eat dinner. Miracles do happen.

I don’t remember when I started to love cooking but now it’s totally our thing.

I was so happy when you started to like it and you’re a good cook.

Do you have any advice for parents who are trying to get their kids interested in food?

I think not forcing kids. I do think involving them in food preparation and cooking is a good strategy. Make them excited about preparing food and knowing where food comes from. Try to avoid the all macaroni and cheese diet. I think broccoli and stuffed potato is a good idea, and you can do that with pasta as well. Try soups and other pureed vegetables. It seems like the trouble starts when you introduce solid vegetables to kids. It’s the texture that puts them off. There’s also a great deal of individualization with taste sensitivity. Some people taste things that other people don’t. Beets and Brussels sprouts are a great example. There’s a taste there that some people find horrible, and you want to pay attention to that. Some people might taste things differently. Really avoiding fast food and soda is probably the most important thing.

Ok so switching directions. You have become very successful as a writer and a doctor. But that wasn’t always the case. There are a lot of people who struggle to find what they love but also make money. How did you achieve that?

Well it was a process. There was a long period of time where I sold books but I wasn’t really making an income from it. That was really for a long time and money was tight; I lived frugally. There’s the famous story about Devorah (my godmother) and the washing machine.

I don’t remember that story.

When I bought that house on Hunter road, which was the first house I ever owned, it was a stretch for me. Money was really tight and I was living from piece to piece, trying to sell articles to magazines. My washing machine broke and I didn’t have the money to fix it, it was maybe $200. Devorah came over and said, “This is ridiculous that you can’t afford to fix the washing machine.” She helped me get a job for a year at Canyon Ranch. It was the first time I actually had a real job, and it was high paying, for a year it was good for me. And then you know it wasn’t until Spontaneous Healing (the book) when things turned around.

What advice would you give to people my age who are really struggling with the idea of passion and money

I think it’s really important to follow your heart and do what your passion is. That was what my parents always told me. They said they didn’t care what I did as long as it was satisfying to me. There were a lot of years when I didn’t get much support from the world for the path that I was following. I got a lot of criticism from people saying that I was crazy for having dropped out of medicine. For writing and traveling and not being married. I had a lot of people telling me I had made bad choices, but you know my inner wisdom told me that this was my path and I should follow it

And it worked

Exactly, eventually it worked. So I think you have to be willing to take that risk.

If you have any good questions comment below and maybe you’ll hear the answers in part 2!

Last week the myth of soy foods came back into my life. I had to write a paper for my organic chemistry course (ugh) on a phytochemical relevant to nutrition and integrative health. I chose isoflavones, which, you guessed it, are the estrogen-like components of soy. Isoflavones as weak estrogens, but by blocking hormone receptors on cells, diminish the effects of the body’s own estrogen and reduce risks of certain kinds of cancer. So without further ado I present the fruits of my research labors:

The belief that soy foods are dangerous mostly came from studies done on animals consuming HUGE amounts of soy. This is problematic because lab rats have many physiological and anatomical differences and they metabolize isoflavones differently than we do. There was a story floating around of a man who ate tofu and grew breasts. He was eating more than a pound of tofu a day, which is insane. Even watermelon can be dangerous if you eat an enormous amount of it.

Estrogens are a class of very powerful sex hormones. There are actually a few different types of estrogen and their main purpose is to tell cells to grow. Think stimulating your menstrual cycle, and growing endometrial cells in pregnancy. The faster cells multiply, the greater the chance they will undergo malignant transformation (turn into cancer cells). So it’s pretty understandable why scientists and nutritionists freaked out about isoflavones. The thing is, isoflavones don’t actually duplicate the effects of estrogen. Isoflavones are chemically similar to estrogen (which is what the hub bub was about). So they can bind to estrogen-receptors and have estrogen-like effects on the body under certain conditions. But isoflavones bind to receptors in unique ways, causing different and even opposite physiological effects. This is why isoflavones can protect us from breast and prostate cancer as well as reduce the frequency of menopausal hot flashes and improve renal function- all really great things am I right?

Europe recently decided to conduct a huge study on isoflavones to figure out once and for all if they are dangerous. Guess what they found? NO. The European Food Safety Authority determined that isoflavones do not negatively impact the breast or other organs.

Phew! Tofu lovers around the world can breathe easy.

So what do you think about soy? Were you a believer that tofu was bad for you? Let me know in the comments below!

Take Astragalus as a preventive measure. Astragalus, also known as Huang Qi, has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. It is used to ward off colds and the flu by strengthening the immune system. Astragalus is considered to be an adaptogen; adaptogens are natural substances, mainly herbs, which help the body deal with stress and disease and get back in balance (homeostasis). Taking astragalus before traveling can help to boost your immune system and protect you from getting sick. Buy capsules of standardized extracts of this herb and take 1 or 2 twice or a day or as the label directs. You can take astragalus long-term, for example, throughout your travels or for the entire cold and flu season.

Watch what you touch. We all know how germ theory works right? Don’t touch washroom fixtures directly, such as door handles or faucets. Use a coat sleeve, or tissue instead. And avoid touching your face when you’re out and about, especially after being in the restroom.

Drink your water. I am the queen of not drinking water when I fly, so I get that this is harder than it seems. Flying dehydrates your body because of the high elevation. Being dehydrated dries out the mucus membranes in your throat and nose, which prevents bacteria and viruses from being flushed out of your system. Try bringing and empty water bottle with you and fill it up before each flight; Extra points for drinking water on the plane instead of soda.

Use Ayr saline nasal gel. This keeps your nasal passage moist, which helps block any nasty germs from getting a foothold there. Follow the directions on the tube. You can also try applying a small amount of Vaseline or even Neosporin to the inside of your nostrils.

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your holidays filled with cookies and cheer. What are you doing for the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!

The 38 days between Thanksgiving and New Year’s are either your favorite 38 days of the whole year, or well, not your favorite 38 days. No matter how you feel about the holidays however, I think we can all agree it’s a hard time to stay committed to health and fitness goals. For example, when its 20 degrees outside I would much rather have about 10 bowls of macaroni and cheese followed by a sleeve of Christmas cookies, than a cold salad followed by a trip to gym (which involves scraping snow off my car). Do I actually eat 10 bowls of macaroni and cheese? Regrettably, of course not, but am I eating that cold salad? No way, José. I would much rather have some soup and go to a hot yoga class. The point is, you have to find what works for you, and this will probably change from season to season.

If we’re talking about things that derail our health goals, holiday parties would top the list. They are often stuffed to the brim with unhealthy indulgences and lots and lots of alcohol. Now don’t freak out! The last thing I want you to do is feel stressed or guilty about the food choices you’re making over the holidays. But if you’re getting to that point where you just aren’t feeling good anymore, listen up. I’ve listed below some of the best ways to combat holiday overindulgence and guilt.

1. First things first: Let go of that guilt. You ate an extra cookie and now you don’t feel so great about yourself. Well what’s done is done, and I bet it was a delicious cookie. Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. Next time you’re faced with a difficult food choice, be mindful. Close your eyes if you can (even if just for a moment) and ask yourself how this treat will really make you feel, and if you really even want it. If the answer is yes, then go for it and savor each and every bite. If the answer is no, walk away.

2. Wake up 5 minutes early and start your day with some breathing and meditation. I know how cozy and warm your bed is, but all I’m asking for is 5 minutes and you don’t even have to move! Set your timer for 5 minutes and begin in a comfortable seated position with the 4-7-8 breath. After you have completed your 4 rounds, remain seated with your eyes closed. Rather than trying not to think, monitor your thoughts. Imagine your thoughts are clouds in the sky, and without judgment, watch as they pass by. If this is hard for you, try counting your breath instead.

3. Drink a warm glass of hot water and lemon. (I like to add some honey and fresh ginger to mine.) It’s not only comforting, but also great for your digestive system.

4. Eat simple foods like clear broth with vegetables, miso soup, or quinoa. Let your digestive system have a rest from all the alcohol and processed foods you’ve been eating.

5. Take a hot bath with Epsom salt. Sprinkle with some lavender essential oil as an added stress buster.

6. Exercise- try something new to make it fun! Great options are a hot yoga class, a spin class, boxing, or a class at your local gym you’ve wanted to try.

7. Eat your vegetables. Incorporate vegetables into every meal. For example, you could try a veggie omelet for breakfast, minestrone soup for lunch, and a grilled chicken breast with steamed asparagus for dinner.

8. Cut out sugar for a week. This one is a toughie so you’re going to have to be really committed, but the feeling you get is totally worth it.

9. Sit in a sauna or steam room if you have access to one. Sweating is really the only full proof way to get rid of toxins. Drink plenty of water to replace what you sweat out.

10. Get more sleep. Studies show that sleep deprivation is linked to making poor food choices and overeating.

The holidays should be a time to enjoy yourself, so don’t give yourself a hard time if you have and extra glass of eggnog here and there.

What do you do to combat stress and overeating during the holidays? Let me know in the comments below!

As we cook he tells me about Thanksgiving when he was young. His mom and grandmother would spend all day making a very traditional Thanksgiving dinner. The men would be out in the living room watching football – something my dad was never interested in, so you could find him in the kitchen until he was shooed away. He says that there was always too much food, and dinner would usually end with a major family fight and someone storming out of the house. After dinner was over, the men would be in total food comas while the women slaved to clean things up… his words not mine. He had an aunt Rebecca who was vegan, a very strange concept back then; all her relatives gave her a very hard time. If only she could see us now. But let’s get to the good stuff.

The menu:

• For appetizers we have beet pesto and vegetarian chopped liver with crackers
• Winter root soup -a recipe from Fast Food, Good Food
• Hashed brussels sprouts
• Mixed green salad
• Kasha Varnishkes (kasha and bowties)- a Russian Jewish dish made with buckwheat groats, bowtie pasta, and  caramelized mushrooms and onions. It’s basically the most delicious stuffing alternative.
• Tofurkey with roasted root vegetables
• For dessert my dad made a vegan black walnut ice cream. Click here for the recipe.

Lets just take a moment to discuss black walnuts shall we? Black walnuts are a Native American nut with an incredibly hard shell. Like so hard you have to drive a truck over them to crack them. They look just like walnuts, only a little darker, but taste very different, almost fruity. They are unusual and taste delicious in cookies, cakes, and ice cream. My dad says they are underutilized, and many people have never tasted them.

We eat dinner around 5 pm with glasses full of wine. We give thanks for all the blessings in our lives and Ajax (a 110-pound Rhodesian Ridgeback) takes his position next to my dad, resting his head on top of the table ready and waiting for any tidbits. I promised myself I would take pictures of everything on the menu, but eating got in the way.

I hope you all had an amazing Thanksgiving. Let me know how you celebrated in the comments below!

I’m not a fan of thinking about foods only in terms of what they offer nutritionally, or how “healthy” they are for you. Of course there are foods that are better or worse, but food has significance beyond just the vitamin and mineral content. That being said, I do think you might as well get everything out of the foods you are eating. However, with one food in particular this might take a little bit more prep work. Some of you may be familiar with the idea of letting crushed garlic sit for ten minutes before cooking it. Here’s why that actually matters.

The beneficial properties of garlic come from a sulfur-containing compound (which are responsible for the heat of garlic) called allicin. But allicin forms only when garlic is chopped or crushed, because an inactive precursor, alliin, is converted by oxidation to the substance you want. Allicin is a powerful antibiotic, can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol and help prevent chronic diseases such as cardiovascular disease, and cancer. I use scientific names mostly just for fun and so can you the next time you tell someone to eat their garlic.

 Heating garlic may destroy or reduce allicin. The health benefits of garlic are numerous, and while garlic is delicious enough to eat no matter what, you might as well get these awesome benefits. A study in the Journal of Nutrition completed in 2001, heated garlic in the microwave for 60 seconds, or in the oven for 45 minutes. They found that after they heated the garlic the nutritional value had gone down. When the researchers crushed the garlic beforehand, and let it sit for 10 minutes prior to heating it, more of the allicin was preserved.

So here’s the deal should you freak out if you are cooking and forget to leave your garlic for 10 minutes? Definitely not. Pat yourself on the back for making a delicious home cooked meal and move on with your bad self. Do scientists know with absolute certainty that letting crushed garlic sit will you turn you into a super human? Also no. But if you do happen to remember, it is a great way to get a little more out of your garlic cloves, and I’m pretty into that. If you’re interested in learning more about cooking times and temperatures for garlic check out this link.

P.s

There’s really not enough allicin content in onions to worry about preserving it in this way. Onions, and onion relatives like leeks and chives, are not where you get your allicin from, but they do have other beneficial sulfur-containing compounds that are great for your microbiome (especially raw onions).

For years we have associated skim milk with a healthy diet. It has less fat, fewer calories, and less cholesterol. That makes it healthy right? Well I’m here to tell you that it just might be time to break up with skim milk. Time to enjoy that glass of whole milk guilt free.

Skim milk could increase your risk for type I diabetes. Research published in the journal Circulation recently found that “People who had the most dairy fat in their diet had about a 50 percent lower risk of diabetes,” Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, who led the study, told NPR. The study tested 3,333 adults and began in the late 1980’s. Blood samples from the research participants were tested and analyzed for biomarkers of dairy fat. Over the next 15 years researchers analyzed who among the 3,333 participants developed diabetes. According to TIME magazine people who had higher levels of these full-fat dairy biomarkers had a 46% lower risk of diabetes than people who had lower levels of these biomarkers. One of the main benefits of fat is that it provides satiety, the sense of feeling full. When people cut fat out of their diet they often replace it with sugars and other quick-digesting carbohydrates, all of which can have detrimental effects on the hormones regulating appetite, especially insulin, ultimately raising your risk for diabetes.

Low fat could actually make you gain weight. A study published in the American Journal of Nutrition recently studied the correlation between dairy intake and obesity. The study observed 18,438 women who were free from cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes and had an initial BMI (body mass index) between 18.5-25 (a range categorized as normal). After 11 years, 8,238 of those women were considered obese, thats about 45%. The study concluded that consuming a diet with an intake of high-fat dairy products was associated with an 8% lowered risk of weight gain. When dietary guidelines suggested people cut out fat from their diets, they didn’t really think about the fact that fats help us feel full and satisfied. Without fats in our diets, people tend to eat more carbohydrates that raise blood sugar and eventually increase body fat.

It has a nasty secret ingredient the FDA doesn’t require be labeled. Powdered milk is often added to skim milk to “enhance” the color and taste. On its own it has a blueish color and a chalky texture. Tasty right?  Powdered milk is problematic because it contains oxidized cholesterol, which, most experts agree, you do not want in your diet. Manufacturers create powdered milk by forcing milk through very tiny holes at a high temperature and pressure. This causes the cholesterol to oxidize and creates toxic nitrates. Cholesterol found naturally from foods isn’t much of a problem, but oxidized cholesterol is responsible for plaque buildup and inflammation in your arteries. And these of course, are one of the main causes of cardiovascular disease and stroke.

And just as an added bonus…

You aren’t getting your vitamins. Milk is typically fortified with vitamins A, D, E, K all of which are fat-soluble vitamins. Meaning you need fat in your food in order for these vitamins to be absorbed by the body. In addition, calcium absorption is greatly enhanced by vitamin D, but seeing as how skim milk has no fat, calcium absorption is significantly reduced. So there isn’t really anything substantial about that glass of skim milk.

Skim milk may cause infertility. Research published in the journal Human Reproduction evaluated the connection between skim milk and ovulation. The study followed 18,555 women between the ages of 24-42 who had no history of infertility and who were trying to become pregnant or had become pregnant in the last 8 years. Researchers concluded that a high intake of low-fat dairy may increase the risk anovulatory infertility, whereas intake of high-fat dairy may decrease the risk. Women who ate more than two portions of low-fat dairy daily had an 85% increase of becoming infertile due to ovulatory disorders than women who ate low-fat dairy only once a week.

Definitely time to switch out that skim milk for the real deal. If you’ve been drinking skim milk religiously it may take some time to adjust to the taste of whole milk or whole fat yogurt, but trust me you’re going to love the taste eventually.

While eating mac and cheese and s’mores by the campfire comes close to a spiritual experience for me, it isn’t exactly the best for your body (sometimes you just have to do it for your soul though). I spent the majority of the summer camping and on the road, and I knew that if I ate mac and cheese and s’mores for three months straight my body was going to revolt. These tips are exactly what I used, and I came home feeling better than ever (although I was excited to wake up in the middle of the night and pee in an actual bathroom).

Plan

This is absolutely crucial and I can’t stress it enough. I know that part of the fun of a road trip is the spontaneity and not being on a strict schedule. But don’t worry! All I’m asking for is a little bit of meal planning. It’s really hard to make smart decisions when you’re starving and pull into a gas station late at night. Plan your week! Make it easy on yourself and do everything you possibly can in your kitchen before you leave. Having real counter tops and a stove come in pretty handy while cooking. Prep as much as you can so when you get into camp late at night your veggies are already cut up and everything is ready to go.

One of the rare times we actually had a table to cook on

Bring Snacks

Driving can be boring, and I know when I’m bored I eat. Have fruits, nuts, and other easy snacks readily available. Keep all of the yummy indulgent things in the back so they aren’t easy to get to. Just say no to gas station food (except pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds)! I always have pumpkin seeds with me, the slightly salted ones are my favorite. They are packed with protein and are easier to eat than sunflower seeds.

Drink Water

Even if this means you’re going to be peeing every half hour. Repeat after me… It is ok to stop the car so I can pee. In fact, you should have everyone thank you for giving them a chance to stretch their legs. Sitting all day is one of the worst things you can do for your body.

Find a Farmers Market

Keeping veggies fresh in a cooler is a real challenge. Its like the cooler suddenly becomes this magical destroyer of all living things. Vegetables wilt, freeze, or get waterlogged. But just think of this as another opportunity to explore where you are. Find a local farmers market and pick up whatever veggies you need for the next few days. Cant find a famers market? Its probably worth stopping at a grocery store daily or every other day to buy veggies.

Cook Once, Eat Twice

This is something I recommend to all my clients, but it’s especially useful if you’re traveling. Make enough for dinner that you can eat leftovers for lunch the next day. This way you can easily grab a healthy lunch out of the cooler that takes zero time and saves you from stopping at McDonalds for a burger.

Explore

Its about balance remember! You’re in a new place and there are probably some awesome restaurants around. Go explore! You can be healthy and still indulge every now and then.

Let me know what other tips and tricks you have for staying sane and healthy on the road!
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Olive Oil is my nutritional equivalent to the perfect date, the one where you walk away feeling slightly weak in the knees. I’m not quite crazy enough that olive oil makes me weak in the knees, but I do get just as excited to buy a new bottle of olive oil as I do opening a new sponge (which is the best thing ever). Olive oil is unique among the oils because it is packed with antioxidants and monounsaturated fats (the healthy ones that your heart loves). In fact olive oil is as powerful an anti-inflammatory as ibuprofen.  Chances are you probably already know just how amazing olive oil is, and I don’t need to convert you, but this is a nutrition blog so humor me. As well as having some pretty amazing anti-inflammatory benefits, olive oil has been shown to have cancer preventative properties, and can even protect the health of our gut bacteria. See what I mean about that perfect date?

The only problem with olive oil is that it’s kind of complicated to buy. But no ones perfect right? In fact olive oil has become so fraught with mishaps that the EU created a task force under their anti-fraud office just to track the quality of olive oil. A TASK FORCE FOR OLIVE OIL!!! In 2007 an article appeared in the New York Times called “Slippery Business” by Tom Mueller. He reported that in the late 90’s olive oil had become the most adulterated agricultural product in Europe. A remarkable amount of lower quality nut oils have been packaged and shipped as extra virgin olive oil. If I’m about to spend $20 on a bottle of olive oil, it better actually be olive oil, know what I’m saying? So without further ado here are some tips for making sure that the olive oil you’re about to buy is going to take you on one incredible date.

Buy Cold Pressed Extra Virgin

Extra virgin olive oil is the oil produced from the first gentle pressing of olives. It hasn’t been treated with chemicals or refined by temperature. So it has the most health benefits without all the extra nonsense.

Look For Stamps Of Authenticity

On the front or back of most quality oils there will be a stamp of quality. Look for the California seal of good quality or the international quality insurance stamp. I typically choose California olive oils because they have stricter requirements (and no anti-fraud task force).

Buy Dark Green Containers

Olive oil is very easily damaged by exposure to light and heat… meaning you won’t be getting all those awesome health benefits if it hasn’t been properly handled and stored. Look for glass bottles with a dark green tint and avoid plastic if you can. Keep your olive oil away from windows and preferably in a cool, dark pantry.

Taste It Like A Fine Glass of Wine

I know this wont be quite as enjoyable as a glass of vino, but whip out that olive oil and have your own glorious tasting party. Good olive oil will have a fruity or grassy smell with a peppery after taste. Look out for rancid oil. This one is a biggie, but your nose can detect rancidity once you know how to recognize it. Rancidity smells kind of like crayons or oil paint. If you open a new bottle of oil and get a whiff of this, take it back to the grocery store and they should be happy to exchange it for you (and throw out any oil that has that nasty smell; olive oil does have an expiration date).

You can find some great options at Trader Joes or other health food stores like Sprouts for $10 or less. Sometimes I’ll grab a smaller bottle of a pricier olive oil that I use only for dressings (it really does make a difference) and keep a cheaper one on hand for cooking.

Now grab that olive oil and that glass of wine and get to tasting!

I would love to know what brands are you favorite so comment below!//assets.pinterest.com/js/pinit.js