May 30, 2023. Around the World in 80 Ways, eating very, very well all the Way. 80 recipes based on traditional healthy cuisines around the globe. From places and times that never heard of diabetes, overweight/obesity and cardiovascular disease epidemics. These very different places had very different diets. But they all have two things in common: no highly processed foods and very low daily glycemic loads.

With Love From Spain: Warm Catalan Spinach Salad

What’s so great about the spinach in Barcelona? They make it with raisins and pine nuts. It’s delicious. The strong, slightly bitter flavor of the dark green leaves combines with the bright sweetness of the raisins and mild, nutty sweetness of the pine nuts to make one of those perfect flavor combinations you’ve never tasted. Unless you’ve had a Catalan spinach dish.

This one is warm. And very aromatic from a little bit of good olive oil and shallot. And its Glycemic Load is nearly zero. Here’s why this matters.

The World’s Greatest Hits
No deprivation diet here. Just a focus on better, low glycemic calories. Because all calories are not created equal. No weird food. Just the most loved meals around. The tasty, satisfying stuff. Bon voyage. Bon profit!

The goal: a full-day Glycemic Load of less than 80.

Cost-Benefit Analysis
$2 for a warm and surprisingly flavorful main course salad. Less if you substitute pistachios for the unusually expensive pine nuts. Either Way, a big load of Vitamins A and C.

Let’s Do The Math
Less than 30 minutes to walk off all 140 calories in a main course serving. Less than 15 to walk off all 70 in a side serving.

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is. Buy your vegetables from a farmer. “In 2006, 19 cents of every dollar spent on U.S.-grown food went to the farmer …” (USDA Economic Research Service. The other 81 cents? Marketing and transportation. Find a Farmers Market and buy some great summer spinach. It’s abundant and cheap and at its seasonal flavor peak.