Whole Food Kitchen

Let's talk pantry staples and how joy can be a powerful motivator for change

Welcome to the Michelle Seguin MD newsletter! A newsletter about thoughts on health and wellness from a doctor-gardener. I’m Dr. Michelle and this week we’re beginning a 3 part series on building your own whole food-based kitchen. In part 1, we will be focusing on pantry staples.

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Hello friends,

I’m happy to be back with you all after a longer than anticipated break. It felt good to ease into the new year and pause a bit longer. We all need this from time to time and I’m grateful for the seasons which often guide these shifts in my life. This edition of the newsletter kicks off a 3 part series on building your own whole food-based kitchen. The first topic, pantry staples, is one that comes up often online and in clinic. I hope you enjoy it and I’d love to hear how you are building your own whole food-based kitchen—so please comment, share, and reach out!

Yours in health,

Dr. Michelle

A peek into my whole food-based pantry

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Let’s Build a Whole Food-Based Kitchen - Pantry Staples

“Everything has to start somewhere. And as long as we nurture them, they can grow beyond anything we thought possible.”—T.J. Klune

Can you think back to a moment in your life which was the beginning of something special? Maybe you started a new job, a new relationship, or moved into a new home. Some beginnings are more easily defined in the moment and others are recognized through the gift of hindsight.

My journey into the food as medicine world began when these two books arrived on my doorstep in 2016. I didn’t know it at the time, but as I reflect on my journey I can see it clear as day. I had recently graduated from residency, started my first job as an attending in a busy family medicine practice, and yearned for a better way to care for myself and my patients. The kitchen, and garden to follow, were where my journey began.

The genesis of my whole food cooking library circa 2016

To better understand nutrition, I needed to learn how food was prepared, which then led me upstream to how food is grown. This may come as a surprise to some, but most U.S. doctors only receive about 20 hours of nutrition education throughout all of our medical training. The bulk of that time is focused on nutrition management in hospital settings (tube feedings, IV nutrition, etc.) and not practical applications such as preparing, cooking, storing, or growing whole foods. To that end, I began researching cookbooks to help me expand my knowledge base and skills in the kitchen.

“People are fed by the food industry, which pays no attention to health,

and are treated by the health industry, which pays no attention to food.”—Wendell Berry

I remember when I first cozied up with these books on a rainy weekend in August. We met my in-laws in Grand Marais, MI for a kayaking adventure at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. The rainy weather thwarted our paddling plans (twice in fact), but also made way for a Saturday whole food immersion in a 100+ yr old beachside house with no cable. It felt like I had discovered a whole new world with the turn of each page. Amaranth, millet, miso, and farro were no longer foreign words to me from that day forward.

Over the next few years, I slowly transitioned out products in our pantry and replaced with whole food ingredients. I explored what was available in the bulk food sections of our local grocery stores and co-op. Once I became comfortable with a new ingredient, I moved onto the next. Some people do well with a “clean sweep” method, but I chose the gradual approach (my modus operandi for most things in life). Both have their pros/cons and it’s important to consider those preferences when implementing lifestyle changes.

Now onto the good part…below you’ll find a top 10 list of my favorite whole food-based pantry staples. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but a great starting place.

Rx for Whole Food-Based Pantry

• Rolled Oats - This was one of the first swaps I made from instant oatmeal to old fashioned rolled oats. Rolled oats can be used in baking, homemade granola, or old fashioned oatmeal porridge. I especially love the flavor and texture of Meadowlark Farm’s raw rolled oats (note: the raw oats must be stored in the freezer, but the baked granola is shelf stable).

• Dried & Canned Beans - I cannot count the number of times canned and dried beans have helped me pull a meal together and boost my plant-based protein intake. Black beans, red kidney beans, cannellini beans, and chickpeas are my go-to canned beans. I typically also have 1-2 bags of Meadowlark Farm’s dried cranberry beans and eclipse black beans on hand in addition to the heirloom varieties I grow and save (i.e. King of the Early, Logan Giants, Good Mother Stollard, etc.).

• Rice - We keep a few different varieties on hand including short-grain brown rice (lower glycemic index than white rice), forbidden black rice (contains health-promoting blue-purple anthocyanins), and manoomin/wild rice (a culturally significant food here in the Upper Midwest and the only grain native to North America).

• Nuts & Nut Butters - As

  Amy Chaplin
  shared, “a whole-food pantry isn’t complete without a good variety of nuts and seeds”. I wholeheartedly agree and typically stock walnuts, sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, and raw cashews. Cream-Nut Smooth Peanut Butter is my absolute favorite with only 2 ingredients—peanuts and sea salt.

• Flax & Chia - Flax and chia seeds are wonderful sources of anti-inflammatory omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. Chia pudding with nut milk, cocoa powder, and fresh berries is a tasty, sweet treat. Minnesotan grown golden flax from Meadowlark Farm is a regular add-in to my summer breakfast smoothies.

• Dried Fruit - Dried fruit, in moderation, can be so versatile in whole food cooking for both sweet and savory dishes. Consider Michigan-grown Montmorency cherries in garden salads and baked scones, golden raisins in tangy chutneys, and dates as a sweetener in homemade nut milk.

• Lentils - We keep red and french green lentils on hand for soup season as well as a quick, weeknight curried lentil dinner. Another great source of plant-based protein and fiber which is great for digestion and blood sugar balance.

• Popcorn - My husband is a big fan of popcorn, so it’s a regular snack in our rotation. He alternates between air popped and stovetop, which works well since our microwave died in residency and we opted not to replace it, lol.

• Corn Grits - Grits made their way into our life just as the Lowcountry found its way into our hearts. From shrimp and grits, to grits and greens, and onto baked grit cakes topped with grilled vegetables, think of it as a blank canvas for your seasonal vegetables. We love the stone ground grits from Marsh Hen Mill.

• Millet - This is the latest addition to our whole food-based pantry thanks to a helpful conversation with a local acupuncturist who recommended exploring savory, warming breakfasts in the winter months. Another excellent fast-cooking, gluten-free pseudograin is buckwheat (check out this link for my spiced pear buckwheat porridge recipe). Millet and buckwheat are considered pseudograins as they are actually seeds with grain-like nutritional profiles (and even higher protein content).

Disclaimer: All products listed here are those that I purchase and support. I have no financial ties to products shared in this publication.

Recommend Reading for Whole Food-Based Pantry:

Why You Shouldn’t Cut out Whole Grains by

Annie Fenn, MD

- You may have noticed quite a few whole grains on my list and that’s because grains (in their whole or minimally processed forms) are part of a traditional, healthful dietary pattern. In this newsletter, Dr. Annie dives into the research surrounding the health benefits of whole grains including brain health, heart health, and gut health to name just a few.

“For thousands of years, ancient people cultivated grains from common grasses which contain nutrients essential for human development, vitality, and prevention of disease.”

—Paul Pitchford, Healing with Whole Foods

Journal Club - Mindset Matters

I recently came across this article as part of my required Lifestyle Medicine continuing education. It instantly reminded me of the lessons learned from my experience implementing a produce prescription program. Mindset matters and research shows that an appeal mindset (i.e. fun, joyful, delicious, tasty) leads to greater engagement in health behaviors compared to a health focused mindset (i.e. meeting daily guidelines, focusing solely on the health benefits).

While I wholeheartedly believe that “knowledge is power” and love to teach about the health benefits of foods, it’s the JOY and the TASTE that draw people in!

This paper investigated 3 separate studies on this topic to identify common themes:

Study 1: Examined how mindsets about physical activity and healthy eating relate to current and future health behaviors. Finding: Holding more appealing mindsets about health behaviors predicts subsequent physical activity and healthy eating

Study 2: Compared the effects of appeal-focused and health-focused interventions in an actual fitness class on physical activity and class engagement. Finding: Targeting appeal mindsets led to greater participation in fitness classes than emphasizing importance of meeting activity guidelines

Study 3: Designed nutrition education classes that emphasized either the appeal or the importance of fruits and vegetables (F/V) for health and its effects on mindsets about healthy eating and actual F/V consumption. Finding: Interventions targeting appeal mindset increased in-class f/v selection more than emphasizing the importance of eating nutritious foods

My takeaway: The next time you are considering a lifestyle change, why not explore the ways that you can make it fun AND how it can benefit your physical, mental, and emotional well-being? Sounds like a win-win to me!

Read the Paper: Can Exercising and Eating Healthy Be Fun and Indulgent Instead of Boring and Depriving? Targeting Mindsets About the Process of Engaging in Healthy Behaviors. Front. Psychol., 05 October 2021.

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In the Media

Below you’ll find my latest podcast interview on the Functional Fertility podcast! I had the pleasure of joining host, Dr. Kalea Wattles, to discuss the profound health benefit of gardening and its connection to fertility. This conversation is unlike any other I’ve discussed and one that is dear to my heart. Our discussion unfolds around the parallels between tending to a garden and caring for one’s health, emphasizing lessons in resilience, hope, and renewal. Thank you, Dr. Kalea, for this wonderful opportunity and heartfelt conversation!

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A Piece of My Mind

The title of this segment is a riff on the popular JAMA series, which often highlights the joys, challenges, and hidden truths of practicing medicine in the modern era. Both are enjoyable, yet mine may be a bit more lighthearted.

• What I’m reading: The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl This book will tug at the heart strings of home gardeners and nature lovers alike. Renkl’s weekly essays feature backyard observations and follow the arc of the seasons. The insights and reflections encourage the reader to slow down and take notice to Nature’s wisdom in daily life.

• What I’m excited to try: This season’s seed orders are beginning to trickle in and one new-to-me variety I’m excited to try this year comes from Fruition Seeds. The Mermaid’s Aurora variety is a cross between collards and cabbage that yields colorful, anthocyanin-rich greens of which 50% are heading and 50% are leafy.

• What I’m cooking: I’m always on the hunt for nutritious, quick weeknight meals. Orzo with prawns, tomato and marinated feta by Yotam Ottolenghi fits the bill. While not exactly seasonal, it’s a great way to use up canned garden tomatoes…or at least that’s what we do.

• What I’m listening to: I really enjoyed, 5 Ways To Tend to Yourself In January, of

  Through The Seasons with Megan Gilger
  podcast. This episode focuses on seasonal self-care strategies for the winter months including tendencies to preserve warmth and savor the slowness of the season.

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This newsletter is a work in progress and your feedback is valuable to me. If there are topics of interest or columns you’d like featured, please connect with me and/or leave a comment. Thanks for being here!

Yours in health,

Dr. Michelle

P.S. If you are enjoying this newsletter, I’d love if you’d share it with a home cook, gardener, and/or nature lover in your life!

In Case You Missed It:

Here are my most recent Substack sharings:

1. In Defense of Winter: Winter walks, soup season suggestions, and a cookbook round-up.

2. The Science of Gratitude: Along with my seasonal picks for your holiday table

3. Spiced Pear Buckwheat Porridge: A seasonal, warming breakfast, reader requests, and a nature-based mindful moment

The contents of this newsletter are for informational purposes only and are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.  Always seek the advice of your physician or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.