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Sides

  • Catalonian Grilled Vegetable Salad
  • Romesco Sauce
  • Calabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers (Patate Fritte con PeperoniCalabrese-Style Fried Potatoes with Peppers (Patate Fritte con Peperoni
  • Traditional ColeslawTraditional Coleslaw
  • Kasha and Beet Salad with Celery and FetaKasha and Beet Salad with Celery and Feta
  • Moroccan-Style Couscous StuffingMoroccan-Style Couscous Stuffing
  • Down-Home Tomatoes with OkraDown-Home Tomatoes with Okra
  • Fennel Braised with TomatoesFennel Braised with Tomatoes
  • New Orleans Braised OnionsNew Orleans Braised Onions
  • Cumin BeetsCumin Beets

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After working as a journalist and political speechwriter for many years,  I was able to pursue another of my passions when I was offered the opportunity to write a cookbook. That marked the beginning of my serious interest in the health benefits of consuming nutritious whole foods.  Several years ago, this interest took me in an entirely new direction when I discovered the work of epidemiologist David Barker. My most recent book, You Are What Your Grandparents Ate is based on 40 years of research into the field of science spawned by his research, which is known as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease.  Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of studies are now showing that many of the risks for chronic diseases can be traced back to your first 1,000 days of existence, from the moment you were conceived and perhaps even beyond to the experiences of your parents and grandparents. 

Yes, you may be more susceptible to certain chronic illnesses due to your ancestors’ experiences. The good news is you can change this story. Emerging research in the field of epigenetics is showing that taking even small steps, like getting more exercise and eating more nutritious food, can help to reverse inherited vulnerabilities by changing how your genes express themselves.  The end result is better health, not only for yourself but also for your offspring and their children, and likely for generations to come

judith.finlayson

If you’re like me, you enjoy reading cookbooks a If you’re like me, you enjoy reading cookbooks as much as cooking from them. Jubilee:  Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking, is one of those books that I can pick up, read and re-read and always find something interesting and new. Author @tonitiptonmartin has combed through the history of this rich and colorful tradition, sharing stories and recipes in a delightfully readable way.
This recipe for pork chops with rich caper-lemon sauce is one of my favorites from the book. The author has really tweaked it, but the recipe’s origins lie in Creole cuisine, the sophisticated blending of Black and White culture that characterized New Orleans. The sauce owes its origins to trailblazing Chef Nathaniel Burton, who began as a busboy and cooked his way up to fine-dining establishments like Broussards (still going and something of an institution.) 
Chef Nathaniel wrote just one cookbook, Creole Feast, a compendium of recipes from 15 New Orleans chefs.  Since I’ve always seen food as a vital component of culture, I was delighted when I stumbled on the fact that Nobel laureate Toni Morrison was the editor.
I’m enjoying the last slices of my truly delicio I’m enjoying the last slices of my truly delicious Buckwheat Nut and Seed Bread from @evelyns.crackers . As someone who can’t eat gluten, I’m almost always disappointed in bread offerings, which are usually based on refined flours that taste more like glue than real food. These days, I usually bake my own, but I’m delighted to have a ready-made option. Evelyn’s philosophy is right in line with mine.  They source locally-grown grains and mill them in-house, so the whole grains retain all their fresh flavor and abundant nutrients. Although I understand why it’s difficult to do so, I do wish they had more gluten-free offerings.  I ordered one buckwheat brownie and it was so delicious, I ate virtually all of it myself, letting my husband know if he wanted any he’d better scurry over for a taste.
We decided to try a different takeout this weekend We decided to try a different takeout this weekend and are glad we did.  We loved our dinner from @curryishh --- which is described as contemporary Indian food, using seasonal Canadian ingredients. This was the first course: Chilli Marinated Baked Sweet Potato Salad, served over Mint Coriander Chutney and garnished with green onion and pomegranate seeds. It was delicious, as was the rest of the meal, Chicken Drumstick Curry and Red Lentil and Celery Root Saji served with Star Anise-Spiked Rice.  The portions are generous and left us leftovers for lunch.
So excited to see the French version of You Are Wh So excited to see the French version of You Are What Your Grandparents Ate, which has just been published by Editions Marabout. So far I’ve seen German, Japanese and Spanish editions (only available as an e-book) and it’s amazing how different they all look and how the material is re-packaged to suit their specific needs.  But I’m so happy that the message is getting out:  You can take control of your health and influence the health of your children and even your grandchildren, by making healthy lifestyle changes like eating a nutritious diet.
When you’re craving something different…..try When you’re craving something different…..try making a rice pilaf spiked with Medjool dates and fresh dill. Because they are so sweet, it’s not common to see dates in savory dishes (Devils on Horseback is a notable exception) but their extreme sweetness really harmonizes with dill, balancing its bitterness to create a dish that  really hits the mark. Thanks to @edeneats for this recipe, which is in her cookbook Eating Out Loud.
 
BTW it’s easy to dismiss dates as a healthy food because they are loaded with natural sugars. However, dates are low on the glycemic scale and high in a range of minerals, including selenium, magnesium, potassium and copper. They are also high in fiber and antioxidants like phenolic acids. This combination suggests that eating dates can really boost gut health. Like dietary fiber, some phenolics act like prebiotics, fostering the growth of beneficial bacteria that help to keep you well.
We often do take-out on the weekend and our most r We often do take-out on the weekend and our most recent dinner from @tanto.toronto was delicious, as always. There is so much food that we usually save a course or two for another night but still manage to enjoy a very satisfying meal. Looking at my main course plate I was impressed by how well it conformed to healthy eating guidelines. A panoply of whole foods provided the wide range of nutrients associated with health and well-being. I was also impressed by the inclusion of chestnuts in the Chestnut-stuffed pork loin. An unusual addition, they are particularly high in vitamin C and other antioxidants and add an abundance of gut-friendly fiber to the meal. So, too, the apple mustarda, a condiment for the pork. A kind of bumped up applesauce with pleasantly crunchy mustard seeds, its sweet-spicy flavors were a mouth-watering contrast to the pork and added additional nutrients to the meal, once again confirming that eating the right kinds of delicious food is also the best strategy for eating healthfully.
Rounding out the meal were forked potatoes (contrary to some traditional wisdom potatoes are extremely nutritious: among their benefits, they are very high in potassium and provide gut friendly resistant starch) and Swiss chard, a sturdy leafy green that needs no introduction as a nutritional superfood.
Looking for the perfect pre-dinner nibbly? Look n Looking for the perfect pre-dinner nibbly?  Look no further than edamame in the shell. These young soybeans have a mild but pleasantly addictive taste. They remind me of Italian fava beans but are far easier to prepare. I drop the frozen pods into heavily-salted boiling water for 3 to 5 minutes. Eating them is kind of tactile and fun:  just pop the beans out of the pod. Save any leftovers and add them to salads.
These tasty little bites are also loaded with nutrition, which makes them the ultimate  healthy snack. They are a great source of vegetable protein and supply a panoply of nutrients, including potassium with a dash of calcium, which helps to explain why some research has linked soy consumption with improved bone density in women at risk for developing osteoporosis.
These bone-building capacities are associated with the isoflavone genistein. It’s a phytoestrogen and therefore has been linked with a potential increased breast cancer risk, although this research is not very strong. In this context, the American Cancer Society has concluded that the benefits of consuming soy likely outweigh the risks.
Edamame are very high in fiber and I suspect many of their health benefits, like helping to keep cholesterol and blood sugar levels under control, are linked with improvements to gut health. At the very least, because it’s a prebiotic, dietary fiber fosters the growth of beneficial bacteria that interact with various body systems, helping to keep you well.
Since travel is out of the question, I satisfied m Since travel is out of the question, I satisfied my wanderlust by watching the first episode of Searching for Italy on CNN. The charming @stanleytucci is a terrific host for this culinary tour of Italy and his appreciation for the simple pleasures of Italian food inspired me to make a rustic Italian dish for dinner: chicken cooked in white wine with garlic, parsley and olives. I served it with brown basmati rice and steamed broccoli.  Simple and delicious, it was the perfect antidote for a cold and snowy evening.
Lobster pasta. Rich and delicious. The perfect V Lobster pasta.  Rich and delicious.  The perfect Valentine’s Day treat.  Began the meal with oysters and finished with deeply chocolate ice cream from @nadegetoronto . 😋😋
I don’t know about you but when it’s cold outs I don’t know about you but when it’s cold outside (and it’s very cold right now in Toronto) I crave something fatty. Healthy fats like omega-3’s are known to be calming and although coconut milk does not provide those particular fatty acids, it is loaded with various types of fat that are thought to be healthy. For sure I find its rich, creamy texture extremely comforting. Since I also love the taste of coconut rice I decided to make a rice pilaf cooked with coconut milk based on a recipe from @yasminfahr.  Basically, it’s sautéed zucchini and shrimp, seasoned with fresh green chile and spring onions. Once those ingredients were cooked, I combined them with the cooked rice. A splash of soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and cilantro finished the job.
I used brown rice in this dish since I prefer its’ slightly nutty flavor. Also, it’s much more nutritious than the white version. However, if you are eating a lot of rice, it’s worth remembering that when it’s growing rice soaks up arsenic from contaminated soil --- a downside of our increasingly polluted planet. That’s why I always soak my rice prior to cooking. A good soak in plenty of filtered water removes about half of the naturally-occurring arsenic in rice. You can reduce that amount even further by cooking the grain in far more water than you need and draining off the excess before serving.
These days we’re cooking at home virtually all t These days we’re cooking at home virtually all the time (except for take-out), which means I’m poring through cookbooks in search of new ideas for what to eat. This version of a simple grilled steak served over dandelion greens seasoned with lemon juice, garlic and yogurt, provided a truly delicious dinner solution. The recipe is from NYC chef @mpsilakis and it’s from his first book How to Roast a Lamb.
 
To be honest, I don’t eat dandelion as often as I should, since I’m well aware that these leafy greens are especially good for me. They have long been used in herbal medicine to promote liver and gallbladder health and, therefore, various types of detoxification. Dandelion encourages bile production, which makes it helpful in digestive health. The leaves also work well as a diuretic, helping to cleanse your kidneys and prevent bloating.  If you find dandelion leaves too bitter for your taste, a quick blanching removes some of the tang.
A healthy snack: Fried artichokes. These tasty lit A healthy snack: Fried artichokes. These tasty little bites are also gluten-free --- they are dipped in chickpea flour for additional nutrition. 
I really enjoy eating artichokes, not only for their taste and impressive nutritional profile, but also because artichokes have been shown to support liver health. Thanks to some genetic variants I am a very poor detoxifier:  my second stage liver detox sucks. Studies show that certain phytonutrients found in artichokes help my liver to do its various jobs. Artichokes are also high in prebiotic fiber like inulin which nurtures gut bacteria and supports digestive health. And, of course, all these body systems interact, working together to keep me well.
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120 Eglinton Avenue East Suite 800
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