Her niece is a vegetarian who sometimes eats meat or fish. It works and it’s healthy

My wonderful niece Drue recently cooked a week of delicious vegetarian meals for our family and left me with two interesting thoughts on nutrition.

I don’t need to emphasize how hot it is here and most everywhere else. And during these simmering times, we tend to eat lighter foods. Drue made a root vegetable casserole that is usually associated with cooler weather. Seasoned with pepper, turmeric and paprika, it had a bit of a kick. It was delicious and perfectly paired with brown rice. And it seemed just fine for summer.

The beets, carrots, celery, red onion and potatoes provided most every vitamin and mineral we needed for the day. Beets have powerful anti-inflammatory properties so I was happy they were included in most of her dishes.

There is research supporting hot food during hot times. When you eat hot food, particularly with hot spices, you sweat. When that sweat evaporates, it cools the body down. So hot foods can be cooling if you are in lower humidity with bare skin that allows for sweat to evaporate.

That describes the scene that was around our dining room table. My niece found this delicious recipe and many more on an app called Mealime. I downloaded the app and the recipes look quick, easy and delicious.

While enjoying our tasty vegetarian meals, Drue told us about the delicious brisket she had in Austin. Me being the curious dietitian, I asked about her style of food choices.

She describes herself as diet fluid. She is primarily vegetarian but when she wants brisket, fish, or chicken, she will order and savor it. She doesn’t put the good/bad labels on foods or diets. You could also call this eating without labels, guilt-free eating or using common sense.

Food is our primary source of nutrients and plant foods are the base of health-promoting nutrition. No matter what you call it, you can’t go wrong if 75-80% of your intake is harvested from the earth.

Sheah Rarback MS, RDN is a registered dietitian nutritionist in private practice in Miami. srarback@hotmail.com