Healthy eating helped save Ann Ogden’s life. Cooking and teaching others how to cook now gives her life meaning. T: 5 Ways To Get Through The Holidays Clean And Sober

When Ann’s second bout with cancer forced her to endure months and months of agonizing chemotherapy and radiation treatments, she would lie on her bed, “like a beached whale, too tired to read, too tired to watch TV, too tired to sleep,” and most definitely too tired to drag herself out of bed to fix herself something to eat, to prepare food that she required to live, food that she needed to help heal her body, food that she couldn’t savor anymore, her taste buds deadened by the chemo.

One day, however, when she felt more like her old self again (she had some good days) and was just too bored with doing nothing, she got up and made her way to the kitchen and started to cook. She began to take advantage of the good days by cooking up a storm and squirreling away meals in the freezer for the bad days she knew weren’t quite over; the bad days when she wouldn’t have the energy to do anything that required effort.

From that moment on Ann hasn’t stopped slicing, dicing, sautéing and baking some tasty dish or other. Over time, Ann’s passion for food evolved into a new career and gave her life fresh purpose.

Today, Ann’s non-profit organization CookForYourLife! offers free classes to cancer survivors, teaching them about healthy food, how to cook for themselves, and how they can take back some control of their lives by learning simple kitchen skills. She takes students on field trips into farmers’ markets and supermarkets; she conducts round table discussions about nutrition; she helps people plan food budgets, stock pantries, and plan dinner parties. She is currently involved as a co-investigator on a food behavioral study with Columbia University, funded by NIH/NCI.

Mostly what Ann does is share her love for food and her passion for cooking with those who want – or need – to improve their eating habits, without missing out on the feast. Enjoy her healthy holiday recipes here and find more on her website.

Sweet potatoes, winter squash and golden beets: a literally golden group of vegetables that we never really take proper advantage of even though they crop up every Holiday! Here are a couple of simple savory recipes that bring out the natural sweetness of these vegetables. The sweet potato soufflé makes a fluffy spoon-bread side for the turkey when baked in a gratin dish, or, if you use a high sided soufflé dish, a rather spectacular supper. It also debunks the “soufflés are difficult” myth. And the squash is simply roasted with golden beets to make a delicious, beautiful salad that can go with just about anything.

On a health note, both sweet potatoes and winter squash are bursting with Vitamins A and C. Winter squash is also rich in potassium, manganese and omega 3 fatty acids, while sweet potatoes have B vitamins and iron. The beets add folates, iron and magnesium to the mix. And they taste good. Enjoy!

Mint sauce adds a special and somewhat unusual flavor to this salad of roasted beets and squash, with the sharp taste of the minty vinegar dressing offsetting the sweetness of the roasted vegetables. It’s delicious, good for you and the perfect side dish to accompany any holiday dinner.

Note: If your beets come with leaves, don’t throw them away, cook them like spinach and add them to the salad.

Serves 4-6

3 medium golden beets (2 large) peeled and cut into a ½” dice

1 small winter squash, (1 butternut or 2 acorn), peeled and cut into a ½” dice

2 tablespoons sliced almonds

1 tablespoon chopped mint

3/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon organic brown sugar or 1 teaspoon maple syrup

sea salt

Pre-heat the oven to 400°F

Pile everything onto a large serving plate, drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with the toasted almonds. Serve warm or at room temperature.

SOUFFLÉD SWEET POTATO WITH LIME & CILANTRO
This soufflé is more homey than most of the confections that one associates with the name. It makes a perfect light supper with a salad, or a great side dish for a holiday feast. If you want a “ta da!” moment, bake it in a traditional soufflé dish for extra height. (If you don’t have a soufflé dish, look for a dish with high straight sides to bake it in. You can add a couple more egg whites for even more height.) If you want it less dramatic, as a side with the Thanksgiving turkey, bake it in a shallower gratin dish and it will come out more like a spoon bread. Either way, it tastes delicious!

Serves 4-6 as a side

Tip: bring the eggs to room temperature for the best results.

2 large sweet potatoes (about 1½ lbs)

3 eggs, separated

3-4 tablespoons butter

¼ cup milk or soy milk or as needed

2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro

1 pinch cream of tartar

juice of 1 lime

salt to taste