When I make granola I add almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, sesame, and flax, all healthy . . . if a bit fattening. Try different kinds of nuts and see which you like the best. They are often more affordable bought in bulk at health food stores but be sure there is a high turnover, they can get stale quickly.

Nuts are healthy, nuts are bad for you. Nuts are a superfood, nuts are fattening. It’s all true.

Mussels could be considered the pasta of the bivalve mollusk world. They are cheap, versatile, and easy to cook. Last night I had them in coconut broth with lemongrass and lime wedges served alongside. Tonight a friend is going to prepare them in a Thai green curry sauce. They are abundant in many parts of world and particularly revered in Belgium and France, where they are served with French fries as moules et frites.

I eat a lot more vegetables and whole grains than meat. If I were to sit down and analyze my diet, it would almost seem vegetarian. Nutrition is important to me, but I don’t obsess about foods, fats, cholesterol, mercury, carbohydrates, acai (Oprah’s miracle fruit!), corn syrup, tapeworms, sugar, blue and orange fruits, lead in my ancient crockery, or anything else that 90 percent of the people I know worry about.