EatingWell June 2021

As we’re finishing this issue of the magazine it’s late March here in Vermont, the heart of mud season, that time of year when the snow has melted and the dogs’ legs look like they’ve been dipped in chocolate every time they stand by the back door and beg to come in the house. I’m obsessing about how long it’s going to be until the fields sprout green, and wearing flip-flops isn’t absurd (at least from a temperature perspective, if not a fashion one). On my ideal summer day I’ll watch the sunrise over the Green Mountains from my front yard while I sip strong coffee. In the evening I’ll have a glass of wine while I cook a juicy steak on the grill. In between there will be lots…

“My family loves these ribs—and they’re so easy.”—Penelope Wall, EatingWell digital content director 1 Kid-Friendly Summer Suppers From Tortilla Pepperoni Pizza and Slow-Cooker Baby Back Ribs (shown) to One-Pot Lemon-Broccoli Pasta with Parmesan, we have recipes even the pickiest eaters will love. EatingWell.com/KidFriendlySummer 2 Diabetes Shopping List Upgrade Our staff dietitians offer a wealth of advice on the best blood sugar-friendly foods to stock up on at the grocery store. EatingWell.com/DiabetesShoppingList 3 Eat More Veg Challenge Join the EatingWell team to see how many different vegetables you can enjoy in 30 days. And get our best veggie-forward recipes. EatingWell.com/EatMoreVeg THE EATINGWELL GOOD-LIFE GURUS These Instagram accounts inspire us to get outside—and make the most of glorious summer! @hungryrunnergirl Janae Baron blogs every day about her daily runs and what she’s cooking at hungryrunnergirl.com, but it’s her ’gram…

Carrots get all the kudos for protecting vision and staving off eye-related diseases. But a 2020 American Academy of Ophthalmology list of top eye-healthy foods included much more than Bugs Bunny’s favorite snack. In fact, it named 36 different fruits, vegetables, beans and fish. Among the standouts: apricots. The fruit is a good source of carotenoids—a form of vitamin A found in orange, yellow and red produce—which act as antioxidants, safeguarding the eye from cellular damage and harm from blue light. A study published in JAMA Ophthalmology that tracked age-related macular degeneration (AMD, the leading cause of blindness in the developed world) in middle-aged people over the course of more than 20 years found that those who ate the most carotenoid-rich foods were 40% less likely to develop advanced AMD…

Hand sanitizer and toilet paper aren’t the only products flying off shelves lately. Heartburn medications are also more in demand than ever, as reports of acid reflux—when stomach acid or food flows back up into the esophagus, causing symptoms like chest pain or that on-fire feeling in your throat—are on the rise nationwide. Experts like Carolyn Newberry, M.D., co-director of Weill Cornell Medical College’s Innovative Center for Health and Nutrition in Gastroenterology in New York City, say factors contributing to this spike include changing eating patterns, weight gain and less physical activity. Over-the-counter and prescription acid-suppressive medications can help. But wariness of long-term use and potential side effects (including nutrient deficiencies and loss of bone density) have more people seeking nonpharmacologic therapies, says Newberry. Here are four habits to add to…

On an egg farm near Fort Wayne, Indiana, 20,000 hens live in avian luxury. The “girls” cavort on more than 10 acres of pasture, pecking into the foliage for insects and scratching their toes into the fertile soil. There are shrubs to roost in and shade trees for protection from predators. “It’s like a park,” says John Brunnquell, founder of Egg Innovations, one of the country’s largest producers of free-range and pasture-raised eggs. These diverse, utopian pastures aren’t a norm in the commercial egg industry—even amongst those that prioritize animal welfare like the 54 other Midwest farms his company works with. But the investment they made on the Fort Wayne farm to convert to regenerative agriculture—replanting and restoring their hens’ stomping grounds—has made them the first company in the U.S. to…

On a recent Friday, Julie Rubaud made chicken and dumplings seasoned with a tangy chive-flower salt and lots of fresh thyme. She then sprinkled a pink-hued vinegar infused with Thai basil blossoms on just-picked lettuces. This meal, which would be lunch for her crew at Red Wagon Plants, was seasoned with intent—using products made with the herbs she grows. Delicious food and supporting the community and environment imbue everything Rubaud does at her organic nursery in Hinesburg, Vermont, where half of the nearly 1,500 plant varieties she cultivates are edible. To keep staff employed through the winter and minimize food waste, the team blends and sells herb-infused salts and vinegars that deliver a taste of summer all year round. She also schools customers on how to make their own with end-of-season…