naked notes

There has been a lot of discussion lately about the dangers of too much salt, as NYC prepares to wage this latest battle against restaurants and prepared foods much in the same way as it did against trans fats in recent years.  I could write a whole post debating the merits of policies and their [...]

February is here, which means Valentine’s Day…and it’s also Heart Health Awareness month. In honor of this I wanted to focus on something that has become been quite a hot topic in recent years - especially given the prevalence of obesity issues. While a low-fat diet seems to have become one to be admired and [...]

The Japanese half of my background reined much of my upbringing—well, sort of, at least the culinary effects were strongly felt. My mother’s mother would drive her silver diesel Mercedes from the strawberry land of Oxnard, CA, and unload countless trays of food from her trunk: big pot of teriyaki short ribs, rolls of futomaki [...]

As someone who has always had an aversion to seafood, you never could have told me I’d learn to incorporate sea vegetables into my diet.  But after coming to realize the incredible health benefits these gems from the water offer, I have found a number of ways to do so that are actually quite delicious.
In [...]

As with everything else in your diet, protein needs can be very individual.  Whether my clients are meat eaters, vegetarians, or vegan, I always work with them to evaluate their protein intake – quantity, quality, and sources.  It can be a very enlightening experience.
Not too long ago, I experimented with going vegetarian.  It was a [...]

In my last post I spoke about some rather intense sugar cravings over the holidays.  I am happy to report that I survived, but also that I enjoyed every minute of the trip!  With the New Year in full swing, I find myself excited by new possibilities that have, perhaps, filled the void that I [...]

Ok I admit it. I am craving holiday treats like never before, and certainly not like a Health Counselor is “supposed to”!  When it comes to sugar, I’m usually most likely to forge a battle with chocolate or ice cream, something creamy.  I’ve never been much of a cake kind of girl.  But for some [...]

Have you seen the latest ad from the NYC Health Department as part of their anti-soda and sugary beverages campaign?:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F4t8zL6F0c
Wow.  I mean…wow!  I am a huge advocate for eliminating soft drinks and other sugary beverages, but, for me, this misses the mark.   Not because I don’t agree with the message.  I surely do, and [...]

I have to admit that I haven’t been cooking as much as I’d like these days.  I’ve been traveling and dealing with starting a new job part time.  My fiancée and I will be relocating to Portland, OR at the end of next month, where I’ll start full time with the Oregon Wine Board.
On one [...]