Food | Lesley James MD

May 5, 2022May 6, 2022

Cook your way to a healthy lifestyle.

One of the things that I find really constructive to creating a healthy lifestyle is cooking. Becoming familiar with cooking meals allows you to feed yourself with exactly what specifically your body needs. Feeling comfortable enough with making substitutions in recipes so that they better nourish yourself is an essential step to achieving overall wellness. Additionally, by cooking at home rather than eating out, you can ideally reduce the amount of processed foods you are eating. Eliminating as many processed foods from your diet as possible is another crucial step to a healthier lifestyle. Also, I think it’s really important to cook and eat food that you actually like. Sometimes eating healthy can feel like a sacrifice, like you have to cut out foods that you really like, and lose joy in eating. By cooking, you can learn to make the delicious dishes that you want, and realize that healthy food is actually really tasty!

April 18, 2022May 5, 2022

Elevated Levels of Heavy Metals are Common and Concerning

For the past decade I have monitored patients for heavy metals, specifically lead and mercury. I find elevated levels on a weekly basis and, sadly, these results no longer surprise me.

February 14, 2022February 16, 2022

Salt: How Much is Too Much?

Recently I was surprised when a patient who was newly diagnosed with hypertension (high blood pressure) mentioned that she had not been advised to cut back on salt, even after consulting with a nutritionist. This is concerning, as, according to the CDC, it is estimated that 90 percent of Americans ages 2 years and above consume too much salt (sodium), and that 2.5 million deaths around the world could be prevented if our salt consumption was reduced to meet the levels recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO).

January 26, 2021January 26, 2021

Gut-Wrenching Facts about Processed Foods

Most nutrition experts agree on a fundamental belief made famous by author Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mainly plants.” Pollan’s writings reflect that “food” refers to real, unprocessed food, and that what Americans buy in supermarkets and consume is, for the most part, far from real.

September 25, 2020October 5, 2020

Seasonal eating; shift your diet to reflect the bounty of nature’s harvest

As we enter the autumn season, it’s a great time to start thinking about shifting our diets to reflect the bounty of nature’s harvest available in the fall. By focusing on seasonal eating, we can become more in tune with nature, with our body’s’ needs, and on doing what’s best for the environment.

July 29, 2020October 7, 2020

Gardening a Healthy Hobby

As a lifelong and passionate gardener, it pleases me that my hobby provides not only joy, but substantial health benefits.

July 16, 2020July 16, 2020

Fertility and Preconception Planning

If you’re a woman thinking about starting a family or actively trying, it can be a strange time. After spending your whole adult life trying not to get pregnant, it can seem as if once you start trying things will go off without a hitch-and they often do. But when it comes to optimizing your and your future baby’s health, it can be a bit more complicated than ditching the birth control and taking a prenatal.

March 24, 2020July 16, 2020

Maintaining a Healthy Immune System During the Ongoing Threat of COVID-19

With the recent and ongoing threat of COVID-19, we are reading more than ever about the immune system, its function, and its failures. And while it would be a hopeful prospect to improve upon a normal and/or healthy immune system, there is little to no evidence that we can take supplements or drink juices to make it work more efficiently. In short, “immune-boosting” is not a possibility.

The good news is that we can make changes in our daily lives to maintain a normal immune response. Here are a few ways that we can keep our system strong.

August 21, 2019July 16, 2020

Surgical Success: Implementing Nutritional “Prehab”

A crucial element of my prehabilitation regimen was nutrition. While I have always been committed to a nourishing diet of clean protein, healthy fats, and an abundance of vegetables, as my surgery approached I decided to research the ways in which my body would be best prepared for the experience.

May 11, 2017May 11, 2017

Spicy Carrot Hummus Recipe

Nothing can match up to the flavor of homemade.

Hummus, or any bean-based dip, can be a great thing to have on hand for a quick snack or to add flavor, texture and plant-based protein to any dish. It’s tempting to always grab the grocery store version—but when you have a little time, nothing can match up to the flavor of homemade.

A scoop on top of a salad, a smear on a sandwich or veggie burger, added to warm pasta for a quick, creamy finish. It’s so versatile, simple and delicious. This version adds carrots for sweetness and added nutrition, and a kick of spice for balance. Not a fan of spicy food or it doesn’t sit well with you? Simple remove the pepper. This recipe is a template that can be easily modified based on your tastes. Enjoy!

Spicy Carrot Hummus

4-5 cloves garlic
4-5 carrots, peeled, thickly sliced
Extra virgin olive oil
1 can organic chickpeas, not drained
2 heaping tbsp tahini
Juice from 1 large lemon
1 tsp ground cumin
Large pinch sea salt
1 tablespoon (or more) harissa or a pinch of cayenne

Preheat oven to 425°. Place garlic in the center of a square of foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap foil to make a tightly sealed packet. Place on a baking sheet. Peel and slice carrots and toss with a drizzle of evoo and a sprinkle of salt. Roast until carrots are very tender and garlic is fragrant, 40 minutes or so. Let sit until cool enough to handle. This step can be done a day ahead if necessary.

Process roasted carrots, chickpeas (and their liquid), tahini, lemon juice, garlic, harissa or cayenne, salt, and cumin in a food processor until mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. With the motor running, stream in 2 Tbsp. oil, then continue to process until hummus is very light and creamy, about 1 minute longer. Taste and season with salt, if needed. Add more harissa to make hummus spicier, if desired, then process to incorporate, just a few seconds longer.

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