Health

The coco palm has become almost synonymous with paradise. Along with a deserted white beach, its image stands out on countless postcards and holiday brochures. I don’t know about you, but every time I catch sight of one I know I am where I want to be. The Coconut originated in the islands of the

The Mighty Coconut

Kids love snacks! Your child’s lunchbox does not have to include chips, candy, cookies or sodas – these are full of ‘empty calories’. They have little nutritional quality and have lots of ingredients that are actually harmful to your child’s health – sugar, salt, fat, artificial colors and additives. You don’t have to ban these

Ideas for healthy school snacks

Not long ago I came across a thread in one of our favorite forums* in which people discussed Dominican cooking. A friend of ours commented that most Dominican cooks used seasonings and calditos (bouillon/stock cubes) in their food. Is that really so? As a child from a family of diabetic, hypertensive, picky eaters this was

Do we really do this?

This article is written with children in mind but much of the advice applies to adults as well. Accidents in the home – especially in the kitchen – can be avoided if you apply several commonsense measures. My first and central tip would be: if at all possible, keep children out of the kitchen when

Kitchen wise – a safety guide

These are some tips for preventing foodborne illnesses caused by pathogens. Some of them are fatal, however, in a person with a weakened immune system all of them are potentially deadly. Campylobacter jejuni It reproduces in the “intestinal tracts of animals and birds, raw milk, untreated water, and sewage sludge” and is transmitted by “contaminated

Food safety

Food contains natural chemicals that are essential to our health – vitamins and minerals are obvious examples. But did you know that in some foods lurk certain substances which may be harmful? Some of these items – like rhubarb – are not commonplace in our cuisine, but looking through the lists of foods that need

Hidden poisons in common foods

Why spend money on losing weight when it is mainly a question of common sense? Diets are a relatively new phenomenon, unless you count the biblical “milk and honey”, “bread and fishes” or the Roman “wine, women and song” as diets. The compulsion to go on a diet is relatively recent, because not so long

I could have told you that! – There’s no secret to weight loss

The neon sign in the colorful photo that illustrates this week’s article can be found on one of Copenhagen’s main avenues and reads “1/2 liter of milk every day, all your life”, an indication of the importance of this food. But some of us discover that instead of a source of nutrients, dairy products might

Lactose intolerance

Yes, you can continue eating and enjoying your favorite traditional dishes by following these simple steps: STEP #1 The number one goal of diabetes treatment is to keep your blood sugar (glucose) levels as close to normal as possible. Your fasting blood sugar levels should be between 80-130 and no higher than 150 two hours

Eating well with diabetes – The Dominican diet

The kitchen can be a dangerous place, as could be sworn by the participants and the winner of our Kitchen Disasters Contest. Barring some serious injury, for which we encourage you to seek medical attention, these basic remedies are all you will need to return the fun to the kitchen. The basic first aid kit

First aid in the kitchen

A tourist’s worst nightmare is to have his/her hard-earned holiday in the sun ruined by a debilitating stomach upset. For some it is inevitable, not because of infected water, poor hygiene or unusual foods, but simply because some people’s stomachs are more sensitive to the unaccustomed organisms found in the water and food in the

Caonabo’s Revenge

Santo Domingo has it all, some would say. Drive around the newer parts of the city, and they are all there, those familiar blots on the landscape of every modern city in the world. When I first arrived in the country over eight years ago, there were very few international fast food chains in evidence,

Fast food fiasco

Being that the consumption of organic food is a relatively new phenomenon, and the limited research that has been carried out on people who have eaten organics for a prolonged period of time, the debate over the nutritional value of organic versus conventional food is quite controversial and vast. Some reputable researchers claim that they

Organics: Is it worth it?

I weaned my baby son here in the DR, and found that many of the foods found here worked as excellent first foods for him. The requisites – wherever you’re coming from – were that they should be palatable, easy to digest, and nutritious. First stage (never before the age of 4 months): purées like