Healthy New Year, Tip #5: Be careful about what you DRINK

Healthy Foodie Rule #5: Minimize Liquid Calories

As tasty as many drinks can be, they generally are low in nutrition, have next to no fiber and therefore do not really satisfy our bodies. All too often, drinks are "empty calories." Of course, the worst offender is the high-fructose-sweetened soft drink/soda, but I think that fruit juices are also not worth the calories. (Eat the fruit instead.)

I try to limit beverages to these (in order of amount consumed):

Water, tea, wine, coffee and cocktails.

Plain water, whether bottled or tap, should be every healthy foodie's main beverage. If you drink alcohol -- as I often do, having wine with dinner most nights -- be sure to drink one glass of water for each glass of wine or other alcoholic beverage.

Tea has been my morning caffeine drink of choice -- I make a large pot with loose-leaf black tea most days, and of late I've enjoyed home brewed coffee as well. Many studies conclude that both tea and coffee can be part of a healthful diet, with green tea having the most beneficial antioxidants. The research on coffee has been very positive in recent months and  years; for me, the only reason to limit it is that I'm very sensitive to caffeine after about 10 AM. 

As you probably know, wine and especially red wine has been shown to have health benefits, although consuming more than a drink or two a day of any alcohol should be avoided.

The drinks I actively avoid are those that add nothing but empty calories to my daily tally--or the vitamins in them are overwhelmed by the sugar and/or fat they contain. This means no soda -- I try to minimize diet sodas to an occasional indulgence -- and no fruit juices. Not to mention no milkshakes or obscenely caloric coffee drinks.

It's not that hard to stick to water when you're thirsty and simple coffee or tea when you need a caffeine boost. Save those calories for something you can sink your teeth into!

Luscious French Wine for less: Food-Friendly Cru Beaujolais

The shoulder season between the dog days of summer and the nip of full-on autumn is a perfect time to explore lighter red wines such as pinot noir, sangiovese or (a rediscovered delight) cru Beaujolais.

The Beaujolais area of France lies between two more widely known wine regions, Burgundy and the Rhone Valley. Almost all of the red wine produced in this 30 mile-long valley comes from the gamay grape. And the best wines carry the "cru" designation, meaning they each hail from one of ten villages (a list of which I'll post below). In these small towns and rural areas, winemakers turn out carefully crafted table wines that often achieve a pretty balance between fruitiness and depth. I've found that they pair wonderfully well with anything from shrimp cocktail to turkey or bison burgers, roast chicken, or a hearty vegetarian stew heavy on winter squash or mushrooms.


The ten names to look for in the French wine section of a moderately well stocked wine shop, listed north to south, are:

St.Amour: pretty, delicate wines
Juliènas: like St.Amour, but slightly beefier
Chénas: often keenly acidic, with notable minerality and fine tannin
Moulin-à-Vent: a top cru, very complex and muscular
Fleurie: aromatic, pungent wines of medium length
Chiroubles: at their best, these are raw, gamey, and delectable
Morgon: another top cru; powerfully ripe fruit, amazing depth
Regnié: fresh, clean wines; generous, not terribly complex
Brouilly: dark wines, with notable bouillon flavors and strong tannin
Côte de Brouilly: a top cru: intense minerals & richness on the palate

Note: the word "Beaujolais" is not required to be placed on the label of these wines.

Reliable top crus, year after year, are Morgon and Moulin-a-Vent, but any town of origin is worth a try.
 
Georges DuBouef is the beaujolais producer with the longest reach into the American market, and it's not hard to find their Morgon, Julienas or St. Amour, among others. Louis Jadot is another major producer with cru beaujolais distributed widely in the U.S.

In addition to these wines' versatility at the table and their pleasing mouth-feel, they tend to be moderate in alcohol content (around 12 or 12.5 percent) and inexpensive for the quality level.
You should be able to find a cru beaujolais you'll love for anywhere from $13 to $20, with some highly rated (by the wine press) Morgons inching toward $30.
The 2009 vintage was spectacular, so look for that. Because beaujolais tend to be underappreciated, your wine shop might have a couple of dusty bottles on the shelf.  That vintage produced wines with enough depth and structure to improve for a couple more years, although they're terrific now as well.
2010s should be widely available, and it too got good reviews, although these tend to be fresh and fruity -- at least compared to the 2009 wines -- and ready to pour with dinner tonight.

Red, red wine makes you feel so fine -- and has health benefits, too

For wine lovers like us, the news for healthy foodies is generally very positive. Most studies point to the overall superiority of red wine over other alcoholic beverages in terms of enhancing our health.

The consensus seems to be that in moderation and as part of an overall healthy diet, red wine in particular is good for us.

To quote a summary from a "Today" show web posting:

"Thanks to its alcohol content and non-alcoholic phytochemicals (natural occuring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers, and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's Disease."

Red wine has the added benefit of containing high concentrations of the powerful heart-protective antioxident resveratol. However, some experts point out that tests of the effects of resveratol have so far been conducted on animals, not humans, so we can't extrapolate too much from the results.

The other cautionary note has to do with moderation. More than one glass of red wine a day for women or two for men might be counter-productive. In other words, it's probably better to have none than to go over that amount. I personally think that's a bummer, since I'm going to want that second glass, doggone it. (But not a third, if that's any consolation.)

And of course, one of my healthy foodie rules to live by is "Minimize liquid calories," so that weight control is another reason to take it easy on wine consumption.

Forge your own path through the land of alcohol, and good luck!