A New Spin on Healthy School Lunches

You may soon be preparing your child for school with new clothes and schools supplies, but let’s not forget to shop for healthy foods to feed your young ones. Whether they are headed to preschool this year or their senior year of high school, it is key to get your children the right nutrients so they can stay focused and energized throughout the school year.

With childhood obesity on the rise, it is time for parents to take control of their children’s food choices. Packing a lunch each day for your children is a great start. Packing a healthy lunch filled with lean proteins, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low fat dairy will ensure your child is getting the nutrition he or she needs without all the extra calories, sodium and fat.

Here are some ways you can spice up your child’s lunch (and even your own!) while also packing in the nutrients.

Ø  Think outside the box when it comes to preparing sandwiches. Switch up your bread products (and aim for at least 3 grams of fiber per serving!). Try whole grain pitas, bagels, Sandwich Thins, or whole grain tortillas instead of plain white bread. (Many products have whole grain white products for children who don’t like the grainer products).

Ø  Add vegetables by adding some to the “sandwich” On the side, pack some sliced tomato, cucumbers, spinach or lettuce or even some avocado.

Ø  Aim for a fruit and/or vegetables in every lunch. Cut up fruit or vegetables and add a fun dip such as yogurt for fruit or light ranch for vegetables.

Ø  Don’t forget to add in some calcium! Calcium is a much needed nutrient for growing children. Toss in a yogurt, string cheese stick, slice of cheese on a sandwich or better yet, a carton of low fat milk.

Ø  For a side item if needed, watch the extra calories in chips and junk food. Instead opt for pretzels, goldfish, baked chips or Sun chips.

Ø  Add in a sweet note by adding a low fat pudding, Jell-O, Fig Newton’s, graham crackers, or pretzels dipped in dark chocolate

And let’s not forget, sometimes it’s all in the packaging! Try this new spin on lunch boxes called, Laptop Lunches (www.laptoplunches.com). Each lunchbox comes with dishwasher safe, BPA free plastic containers to package your child’s lunch and side items. No plastic baggies needed!

Packing lunches can take some time but once you get in a routine, lunches should take no more than 10-15 of prep time the night before school. By packing your child a healthy lunch (and sometimes afterschool snack as well) you are ensuring your child is getting the right nutrients for his or her growth

Kelly Devine, MS, RD, CSSD, LDN, CPT

Don't Be a Statistic of Weight Regain and Relapse

Last month I had the honor of attending and presenting at the 2012 American Society for Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery annual meeting in San Diego, CA. There was emerging theme and sense of urgency in the field of bariatrics;  preventing and overcoming weight regain and relapse after bariatric surgery.  This is an area not regularly discussed, often shooed under the carpet and managed on a case by case basis.

At least once a week I receive an inquiry for revision surgery due to weight regain.  This concern is not solely related to gastric banding, but every single bariatric procedure available including gastric bypass and gastric sleeve.  In my opinion, the goal is not to wait for the patient to falter, but to aggressively prepare individuals for the road that lies ahead, identify barriers to success and nip relapse "in the bud" as soon as it starts to rear it's angry head. 

This week's support group will be focused on identifying symptoms of relapse, looking at barriers for success and developing a plan or strategy for preventing or overcoming relapse.  I hope to see you there.  Don't let yourself be a statistic of weight regain and relapse.

Monday 7/9/12 at 6 pm. 

Nursing Education Center

20201 S. Crawford Ave.

Olympia Fields, IL 60461

Cabbage Slaw with a Twist

As the summer weather rolled in this weekend, I am sure you started up the BBQ and maybe had some other summer favorites. Summer favorites, although light and refreshing, can come at a high calorie cost undermining all of your efforts to look good at the pool or beach. Cole slaw is often a staple of summer parties, but the typical dressing is mayonnaise and sugar. Yikes! One serving of typical coleslaw is 150-200 calories and 11 grams of fat. With a few ingredient tweaks you can still enjoy this refreshing summer salad while packing a nutritional punch. This one is sure to be a new party favorite.

Cabbage is a member of the Cruciferous family that also included broccoli, cauliflower, bok choy, arugula, collard greens, kale, and other similar green leafy vegetables.

Health Benefits of Cabbage:
Anti-inflammatory benefits
Cholesterol Reduction
Anti oxidant support
Cancer Prevention
Digestive health

Cabbage is used in cancer prevention research because of its high antioxidant, anti-inflammatory benefits, and many glucosinolates. Sinigrin is one of the glucosinolate found in cabbage that has been linked to research in cancer prevention, notably bladder, colon, and prostate cancers.

It is also high in nutrients such as vitamin C, fiber, potassium, vitamin K, and has no cholesterol. Another one of its redeeming qualities is being low in calories, making it a great addition for those trying to lose weight.

Cabbage Slaw with a twist
Ingredients:4 cups thinly shredded cabbage
1 small apple sliced thin strips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
1/2 of fresh squeezed lemon- can subsisted reconstituted lemon juice
Salt to taste
Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:
1. Slice your cabbage as thin as you can unless you use pre-packaged shredded cabbage.
2. Leaving the skin on, slice a small apple into thin slices. It looks even prettier if you can julienne the apple strips.
3. Mix cabbage, apple, walnuts, and dried cranberries in a large salad bowl.
Dress with 1 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and sprinkle of cayenne pepper to taste.
4. Mix thoroughly; you do not want patched of cayenne pepper only in a few bits.

Makes 8 servings: 75 calories, 4.2 g. fat, 9 g. carbohydrates, 1.1 g. protein
http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/
Written by: Alyssa Picone, Dietetic Intern

How to Fight Hunger Pains With Protein

By Holly Corbett of Prevention Magazine
Published October 21, 2011

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/20/how-to-fight-hunger-pains-with-protein/?test=faces#ixzz1bzi4Y5kw

Whether you’re packing on the pounds or simply want to maintain your current weight, adding more protein to your dish could be your slim-down secret weapon.

Past research has found that protein keeps you feeling full longer than either carbs or fat, so you can eat less and still be satiated.

A new study supports this idea: Researchers from the University of Sydney found that people who ate a diet of 10 percent protein reported feeling hungrier and ate 12 percent more calories throughout the day—mostly from mindless snacking—than those eating a 15 percent protein diet.

Researchers estimated that the extra calories eaten by participants on the lowest protein diet could add up to an extra 2.2 pounds of weight gain a month.

6 Grab and Go Proteins That Fill You Up

Protein is the building block of muscle, and more calories are required to maintain muscle than to preserve fat, which means muscle helps boosts your metabolism.

Bonus: Foods rich in protein are also filled with zinc and B vitamins, both of which strengthen your immune system to help ward off colds and flu. If you’re eating about 1800 calories a day and want to get 15 percent of your calories from protein, you should aim for about 68 grams of protein.

Here are three easy protein switches that up your protein intake for the same number of calories or less. Remember, you want to eat more protein—not calories!—to keep your waistline slim.

Diet Mistakes That Make You Fat

Instead of…1/2 cup granola with 1 cup berries (7 grams protein, 250 calories)Try…1/2 cup low-fat cottage cheese with 1 cup berries (15 grams protein, 131 calories)

Instead of…1 ¼ cup mashed potatoes (5 grams protein, 296 calories)
Try…1 ¼ cup vegetarian baked beans (15 grams protein, 295 calories)

Instead of…6-inch pancake sans butter or syrup (5 grams protein, 175 calories)
Try…1 cup low-fat plain yogurt with ½ cup apricots (13 grams protein, 186 calories)

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/10/20/how-to-fight-hunger-pains-with-protein/?test=faces#ixzz1bziD9rfD

Pastabilities from Nutrition Action

How to Find a Super Sauce: available at http://www.cspinet.org/nah/articles/pastabilities.html
by Jayne Hurley and Bonnie Liebman, September 2011PrintShare .

Quick. Cheap. Convenient. It’s no surprise that pasta is one of the most popular meals in homes (and at restaurants). That jar or tub of tomato, Alfredo, or pesto sauce is partly what makes pasta so easy. Yet picking a sauce can be anything but. Which has less salt? Less sugar? Little or no saturated fat? More flavor? Which claims on the label matter and which are just marketing blather? Here’s what you need to know.

Information compiled by Zahra Hassanali and Melissa Pryputniewicz.

1. Check the serving size.
Prego Heart Smart Ricotta Parmessan. Built-in cheese. Just missed an Honorable Mention.
The serving on Nutrition Facts labels is typically a half cup if it’s a red (tomato) sauce and a quarter cup if it’s an Alfredo or pesto. But watch out.

Companies like Le Grand, Sauces 'n Love, and Scarpetta use two level tablespoons (an eighth of a cup) for their pestos, and Whole Foods uses two tablespoons for its Mama’s Pesto and just one tablespoon for its 365 Basil Pesto. Seriously? One tablespoon?

Even a quarter or a half cup ain't much. Why are labels allowed to give calories, sodium, etc., for so little sauce? Because it only has to cover one cup of cooked pasta, which is the official serving. That’s the size of a baseball. It's more like a side dish than an entrée. Solution: add enough veggies to bump the volume up to main-dish territory.

2. Look for less salt.
Sodium is the Achilles’ heel of pasta sauces. Unless you find a no-salt-added brand that you like (we didn’t), that half-cup serving can get a rise out of your blood pressure. Sauces vary widely, as you can see from these typical sodium levels in some popular brands:

Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy Garlic & Onion. Thick and herby.
200-300 mg: Amy’s Organic Light in Sodium, Cucina Antica, Dell’Amore
300-400 mg: Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy, Muir Glen Organic, Prego Heart Smart, Prego Veggie Smart, Rao’s Homemade
400-500 mg: Classico, Colavita, Emeril’s, Prego, Ragú
500-600 mg: Amy's Organic, Barilla, Bertolli, Buitoni, Francesco Rinaldi, Hunt's, Newman's Own, Ragú Robusto
See the photos on this and the next page for the best-tasting Best Bites (no more than 300 mg of sodium in every half cup), Honorable Mentions (no more than 350 mg), and near misses. Better yet, make your own pasta sauce (see p. 15 for recipes).

3. Ignore vegetable claims.
"2 servings of veggies in every ½ cup of sauce!" boast Ragú’s Chunky tomato sauce labels. "More than 2 full servings of veggies," say Prego's Veggie Smart labels. "50% of your daily vegetable recommendation."

Dell'Amore Original Recipe. Complex. Seductive. Not your average tomato sauce.
Since each quarter cup of tomato purée or sauce is a serving of vegetables, according to the Food and Drug Administration, a half cup of just about any (mostly tomato) sauce would qualify as two servings. (Veggie Smart adds some sweet potato and carrot juice concentrates, which ups the vitamin A and boosts the vegetables above two servings.)

But you'd be better off not relying on a half cup of pasta sauce to supply two of the six daily servings of veggies (plus five servings of fruit) that the healthiest diets have. Not when you could feast on a broccoli-mushroom stir-fry or a spinach-artichoke-heart salad or a grilled vegetable kabob instead.

And don't bank on the lycopene in tomato sauce to lower prostate cancer risk. Recent studies have found no lower risk of prostate cancer-especially the aggressive type-in men who have higher blood levels of lycopene.

Classico Spicy Red Pepper. Not too spicy, with a pleasant sweet/tart balance.

4. Ignore "no sugar added" claims.
“No sugar added” is showing up on a growing list of sauce labels, from Bobby D’s, Cucina Antica, and Mario Batali to Patsy’s, Prego Veggie Smart, and Ragú Light. The less added sugar, the better. But a serving of most red sauces has only about 4 grams (one teaspoon) of added sugar, plus another 3 or 4 grams of sugar that occurs naturally in the tomatoes. If you have to choose between “no sugar added” and a lower-salt pasta sauce, go with less salt.

5. Don’t be swayed by “healthy” or “heart” claims."Fortified with DHA Omega 3," says the front of the Francesco Rinaldi ToBe Healthy label. Does that matter?

Rao's Homemade Arrabbiata. Fabulously spicy. Perfectly Balanced.
DHA is one of the two oils that give fish its healthy reputation (the other is EPA). If you don’t eat seafood and don’t want to take a DHA supplement, it's worth considering. But don't kid yourself. It would take just 1½ teaspoons of salmon to give you the 64 milligrams of DHA that are in a half cup of ToBe Healthy.

Prego Heart Smart also sounds special. It's low in fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and it has "more than a full serving of vegetables." But so do most other tomato-based pasta sauces.

Heart Smart’s best feature is its sodium (360 mg). You can find lower levels in fabulous premium sauces like Dell'Amore and Cucina Antica. But they’ll cost you two to three times as much.

6. Watch the saturated fat.
It doesn't matter if a pasta sauce has cheese or sausage or if it's bolognese (meat-based). As long as it’s red-and isn't a (creamy) vodka or rosa sauce-you shouldn’t have to worry about saturated fat.

Colavita Garden Style. Bright, fresh flavor with plenty of veggies..
Vodka, rosa, and Alfredo sauces, on the other hand, can have enough cream, cheese, and/or butter to do some damage. A half cup of vodka sauce, for example, ranges from a harmless 1½ grams of sat fat to 11 grams (half a day’s worth). Most fall between two and six grams. (Those at the lower end don't contain much cream.) Unfortunately, Colavita Vodka, the only one to earn an Honorable Mention, didn’t win any taste awards.

The saturated fat numbers on Alfredo labels look similar to the numbers on vodka labels: three to six grams per serving. But a serving of Alfredo sauce is a quarter cup, while a serving of vodka sauce is a half cup. So if you eat a half cup of Buitoni’s Alfredo, for example, you'll end up with 14 grams of sat fat and 280 calories. Pour it on a cup of pasta (200 calories), and it’s like eating a Quarter Pounder with Cheese. A half cup of Whole Foods refrigerated Alfredo sauce dumps 26 grams of sat fat-more than a day's worth-into your lap.

7. Go easy on the pesto.
A traditional pesto-made with basil, extra-virgin olive oil, pine nuts, Parmesan cheese, and garlic-packs 200 to 400 calories, 400 to 800 milligrams of sodium, and three to six grams of saturated fat in every quarter cup. While pesto's fat largely comes from heart healthy oils and nuts (exception: cream supplies most of the three grams of sat fat in Sauces 'n Love Pink Pesto), there’s little you-or your hips or blood pressure-can do about the calories and sodium. Tip: stretch your pesto by thinning it with a couple of tablespoons of the pasta cooking water. You'll use less...and it will coat the pasta better.

8. Don’t fall for extra-virgin olive oil claims.

Dell'Amore Artichoke & Capers. A subtle, satisfying, delicious sauce.
"Made with extra virgin olive oil," say the labels on many Newman’s Own pasta sauces. First of all, there's very little oil in jarred tomato sauce, so the kind of oil probably doesn’t matter. Second, some of the Newman’s Owns that make the claim-the Five Cheese, Marinara, Mushroom Marinara, and Roasted Garlic & Peppers, for example-have more soybean oil than olive oil. (In fact, they have more salt than olive oil.)

In contrast, Bertolli and Eden Organic use only olive oil. So do Amy's Organic, DeLallo, Dell'Amore, Gia Russa, Lucini, Mario Batali, Muir Glen Organic, Sauces 'n Love, Scarpetta, and Victoria. And none of their labels brag about it.

9. Pour your sauce over whole-grain pasta.

Mario Batali Tomato Basil. Quality tomatoes and fresh basil make for a winner.
A cup of white pasta is a decent source of protein (7 grams) and fiber (2½ grams). But whole wheat pasta beats white hands down. While it has no more protein, it delivers more fiber (6 grams per cup), magnesium, vitamin E, and zinc...and has a more interesting taste. And brands like Bionaturae Organic and Whole Foods 365 have found a way to make 100 percent whole wheat pasta that isn't gritty or gummy.

If you can't find those brands, look for Barilla Whole Grain, which is 51 percent whole wheat, or (grittier-tasting) Ronzoni Healthy Harvest Whole Grain, which is 54 percent whole wheat. (Kudos to Barilla for putting the percentage right on the front of the box. We had to call Ronzoni to find out.) Barilla wouldn't tell us what percentage of the grain in its Barilla Plus is whole. But it contains more semolina (refined wheat) than anything else.

If you're on a gluten-free diet, try one of Lundberg's Brown Rice Pastas.

10. Follow your taste buds, but don’t forget your pocketbook.
The two knockout pasta sauces—Rao's and Dell'Amore-are expensive ($7 to $10 a bottle) for a reason. They use the highest-quality ingredients, and they're simmered for far longer than most other sauces. But don't ignore the other brands pictured on pages 12 and 13. They're all worth a taste. You may find one you love...and save a bundle.
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This article is reprinted from the December issue of Nutrition Action Healthletter. To view the full content click below.

Mindless Eating: Losing Weight Without Thinking

August 5, 2011
Smaller plates, slimmer glasses, linked to weight loss success
http://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2011/08/losing-weight.aspx

WASHINGTON—Dieters may not need as much willpower as they think, if they make simple changes in their surroundings that can result in eating healthier without a second thought, said a consumer psychologist at the American Psychological Association’s 119th Annual Convention.

“Our homes are filled with hidden eating traps,” said Brian Wansink, PhD, who presented his findings and strategies for a healthier lifestyle in a plenary address entitled “Modifying the Food Environment: From Mindless Eating to Mindlessly Eating Better.”

“Most of us have too much chaos going on in our lives to consciously focus on every bite we eat, and then ask ourselves if we’re full. The secret is to change your environment so it works for you rather than against you,” Wansink said

Wansink identified several myths about eating behaviors as a way to explain why Americans, on average, have been getting fatter. “People don’t think that something as simple as the size of a bowl would influence how much an informed person eats,” he said.

However, several studies show exactly that, including Wansink’s study of 168 moviegoers, who ate either fresh or stale popcorn from different size containers. People ate 45 percent more fresh popcorn from extra-large containers than large ones and the people who were eating stale popcorn ate 34 percent more from the extra-large buckets than people eating fresh popcorn, according to the study.

They just don’t realize they’re doing it,” said Wansink. This strategy also applies to what we drink. His research found that people pour about 37 percent more liquid in short, wide glasses than in tall, skinny ones of the same volume.

Even a kid’s cereal bowl can be a trap, according to Wansink. One study showed children of different weights who were given a 16 ounce bowl were more likely to serve themselves twice as much cereal than children given an 8 ounce bowl.

Another myth, according to Wansink, is that people know when they are full and stop before they overeat. His Food and Brand Lab at Cornell University tested this by designing a “bottomless bowl.” They brought in 60 people for a free lunch and gave 22 ounce bowls of soup to half, while the other half unknowingly got 22 ounce bowls that were pressure-fed under the table and slowly refilled. The results: people with bottomless bowls ate 73 percent more than those with normal bowls, yet when asked, they didn’t realize they had eaten more. “The lesson is, don’t rely on your stomach to tell you when you’re full. It can lie,” Wansink said.

Simply being aware of such findings can help people make healthier choices, especially those who are already trying to eat healthier foods, according to Wansink. One of his studies showed that people lost up to two pounds a month after making several simple changes in their environment, including:

eating off salad plates instead of large dinner plates.
keeping unhealthy foods out of immediate line of sight and moving healthier foods to eye-level in the cupboard and refrigerator.
eating in the kitchen or dining room, not in front of the television.
“These simple strategies are far more likely to succeed than willpower alone. It’s easier to change your environment than to change your mind,” Wansink concluded.

Blog Series: The Pro's and Con's of Dietary Fat

2 of 6: Portion Size

One of the biggest mistakes when trying to lose or maintain weight is eating healthy foods but in large portions. Even healthy foods have calories. Through the years, one of the pitfalls I have observed is overconsumption of nuts, trail mixes, and seeds as meals or snacks. Reasons for choosing larger portions of these items are to increase protein intake and "they are healthy." But this is a misunderstanding.

¼ cup of trail mix = 170-230 calories. And who can eat just ¼ cup?
½ cup of shelled sunflower seeds = 375 calories

The only food category that can be consumed in unlimited quantities is non-starchy vegetables. The more vegetables, the better for you.

When consuming fat, it is important to choose the appropriate portion size to avoid excess calories that can lead to weight gain or a weight loss plateau. The following are each one serving of fat:

1 teaspoon: any oil, mayonnaise, butter, margarine

1 tablespoon: low fat margarine, low fat mayonnaise, regular sour cream, nut butters, regular salad dressing, cream cheese

2 tablespoons: Avocado, half & half/cream, reduced fat sour cream, reduced fat salad dressing, reduced fat cream cheese

6-10 nuts: Almond, cashew, walnut halves, peanuts, pecans
Tip: A serving of nuts will fit into a small mint tin. Try packing a portion of nuts to eat at work. Do not eat these items near an open bag where you can keep going back for more.

8 large olives

Be aware of foods that have hidden fats. Even if the fat is not visible, calories can add up quickly. These include pizza, ice cream, sweets, crackers, cake, cookies, chips, and microwave popcorn.

Tune in Monday 8/1 to learn about harmful saturated fats!

Decoding Meat & Dairy Product Labels

There is a lot of misconception in the marketplace regarding labels on meat and dairy products. What to do terms like "cage free," "natural," or "organic" mean? Below is a link from the Environmental Working Group demystifying label terms on dairy and meat products.

Decoding Meat + Dairy Product Labels - 2011 Meat Eaters Guide Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change + Health Environmental Working Group

Blog Series: The Pro’s and Con’s of Dietary Fat

Blog Series 1 of 6

It is wrongly assumed that the more fat in your diet the more fat on your body. Increased weight can only be achieved by overconsumption of calories. Each pound of body fat is about 3,500 calories. This equates to 12.3 Mc Donald’s 6-piece chicken nuggets! On the other hand, to burn one pound it would take a 200 pound individual, walking at 3.5 mph, 9.7 hours to burn 3500 calories.

Dietary fat contributes to weight gain or lack of weight loss due to it’s caloric density. Calories only come from fat, protein, carbohydrates and alcohol. Each has a different caloric density (calories/gram). Fat is the most dense, therefore overconsumption of high fat products significantly contributes to excess caloric intake and weight gain or a weight loss plateau.

Protein 4 cals/g
Carbohydrate 4 cals/g
Fat 9 cals/g
Alcohol 7 cals/g

It is extremely easy to over consume calories when fat is present in foods. A great example is the difference between peanut butter, apples and carrots. Each of the following is equal to 160 calories: 1.5 tbs peanut butter, 2 pieces of fruit or 3 cups of carrots. When fat is not present, you get a greater volume of food with fewer calories to help fill you up, contribute to satiety, and help with weight loss/maintenance.

The key takeaway is to consume high fat foods in moderation in the appropriate portion. The following foods are high in fat:

Nuts * seeds * trail mix * granola * oils * butters * Nut butters
Fried foods * desserts * restaurant dishes * ice cream * Avocado
Dark meat and poultry wtih skin * red meat * Dairy products
Sweets such as chocolate

Fat intake has far ranging effects on human health and disease. Not all dietary fat is created equal. Tune in every Monday for a new article in this 6 part blog series on dietary fat.

Eat Smart - 2011 Meat Eaters Guide to Climate Change and Health

The Environmental Working Group is leading they way to protect public health and the environment through the power of public information. They recently released a list of food groups and their impact on the environment and health. Look in each box to learn more about the healthiest food choices within the food group and look across to understand the environmental impact of the food group.

Eat Smart - 2011 Meat Eaters Guide Meat Eater's Guide to Climate Change + Health Environmental Working Group

Filling up on Fiber

The average American consumes 14 grams of dietary fiber a day, which is considerably less than the recommended level of 25-38 grams per day. The human gastrointestinal tract is 26 feet long. Fiber acts as a scrub brush to effectively rid toxic substances from the body, which otherwise may accumulate and cause health problems. Fiber normalizes bowel movements, lowers the risk of chronic disease, promotes a feeling of fullness, and helps regulates blood sugar. It is perhaps more important for a bariatric patients to consume adequate fiber because it can help alleviate constipation, which is a common nutritional complication.

Dietary fiber is found only in plant foods: fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains. Canned and frozen fruits and vegetables contain just as much fiber as raw ones. However, other types of processing may reduce fiber content. Drying and crushing, for example, destroy the water-holding qualities of fiber.

Top 10 Fiber-licious foods:

1. Split Peas
2. Lentils
3. Black Beans
4. Lima Beans
5. Turnip Greens
6. Artichokes
7. Brussel Sprouts
8. Broccoli
9. Raspberries
10. Apples

The key is to find ways to incorporate natural sources of fiber into your diet. This can be achieved by following the golden rule of “Protein and Produce” at each meal and choosing non-meat sources of protein such as legumes.

By: Jill Joseph, Dietetic Intern

Sugar- where is it and how can I avoid it?

Sugar is a popular additive that food manufactures can sneak into foods, oftentimes without our even knowing it. As well as those that are naturally occurring in fruit and dairy, sugar is commonly added to processed foods to prevent spoilage and improve flavor. The negative effects of sugar far outweigh the benefits. It is quickly metabolized by the body and does not contribute to a feeling of fullness, meaning we are hungry soon after eating. Sugar is a source of empty calories, providing no nutritional value, and promotes obesity and chronic disease.

Manufacturers are sneaky. You may be surprised to learn sugar may be lurking in ketchup, canned meats and fish, luncheon meats, and food seasoning. There are many different types of sugar, therefore it may be difficult to identify.

Here is a list of just a few popular names that “sugar” can assume:

• Ingredients ending in “-ose”
• Sucrose, Glucose, Fructose, Galactose, Dextrose, Lactose
• High Fructose Corn Syrup
• All types of syrup: Rice syrup, Corn syrup, Carob syrup, Maple syrup
• Brown sugar
• Dextran
• Fruit juice
• Honey
• Invert Sugar
• Malt
• Molasses
• Turbinado sugar

To decrease your sugar intake, check nutrition labels for the above words, and try and limit these from your diet. Choose items that have fewer than 5 ingredients listed on the label. This means they are more natural, and less processed than others. Limiting sugar can aid in weight loss, but more importantly, choosing minimally processed foods promotes overall health and long-term satiety and fullness.


By: Jill Joseph, Dietetic Intern

EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides | Environmental Working Group | EWG.org

The Environmental Working Group just released its 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce -- an update to the handy guide that helps you avoid the Dirty Dozen, conventional fruits and vegetables that are highest in pesticide residues -- and choose items from the Clean 15 list instead. Eat healthier and save money at the same time!

What's new? The popular apple is now at the top of the Dirty Dozen as the fruit or veggie highest in pesticides. And for the first time, cilantro is also on the list. Testing by federal scientists found 33 unapproved pesticides on 44 percent of the cilantro samples tested -- the highest percentage of unapproved pesticides recorded on any item since EWG started tracking the data in 1995. Mushrooms also make their first appearance on the Shopper's Guide as part of the Clean 15.


EWG's Shopper's Guide to Pesticides Environmental Working Group EWG.org

Pan Seared Salmon with Citrus Salsa

Healthy Cook
Click on the link for the Pan Seared Salmon with Citrus Salsa recipe and two other fish entrees.

Nutrition Action is one of the best sources of nutrition/health information that I have found. Subscriptions are affordable. You can also scan the archives for articles that may interest you.

Quick and Easy Salmon Marinade

I often get asked how to cook fish. Cooking fish can be intimidating and many worry it will smell fishy in the house. I have not found these assumptions to be true. I am not a fish cooking expert, but learned how to work with fish. It was easier than I imagined. I started with the marinade below and advanced into other varieties of fish. This marinade has been a mainstay of my kitchen.

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds salmon fillets
lemon pepper to taste
garlic powder to taste
salt to taste
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Directions
1. Season salmon fillets with lemon pepper, garlic powder, and salt.

2. In a small bowl, stir together soy sauce, brown sugar, water, and vegetable oil until sugar is dissolved. Place fish in a large resealable plastic bag with the soy sauce mixture, seal, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

3. Preheat grill for medium heat.

4. Lightly oil grill grate. Place salmon on the preheated grill, and discard marinade. Cook salmon for 6 to 8 minutes per side, or until the fish flakes easily with a fork. If the fish has skin, remove the skin before eating.

5. Be Creative. I have also used this marinade on chicken and beef/chicken/tuna kabobs. It flavors vegetables as well.

From allrecipes.com

The Learning Curve of Cooking

It never ceases to amaze me when I hear “I don’t cook.” If one does not cook, then one must eat out or piece together a meal of highly processed items that are typically microwavable. As I have mentioned before, to move forward one must abandon old ways of thinking and behaving. One of the definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting to get a different result. This same thought applies for weight loss and health. If one does not lose weight or become healthy by eating out every day before bariatric surgery, then one should not expect to lose or maintain a significant amount of weight after bariatric surgery.

I have to admit that I am no different than my clients. Cooking, preparing and planning are no easier for a dietitian than anybody else. It is falsely believed that a degree in dietetics absolves RDs from following the same guidelines. As many of you know, knowing does not imply doing. To do, one must take action by applying what is known.

After completing a masters degree, I had to recommit to eating out less by preparing healthy and delicious meals. Last Saturday afternoon, I dragged out a new cookbook, by a famous Food Network chef, and choose three new recipes to try. I assumed that the Food Network chef had fail-proof recipes, but I was wrong.

Anytime we try something new there is room for error, but we cannot let it drag us down. After spending money, time and effort on my new menu items, I was highly disappointed. Only 1 out of the 3 recipes I tried was actually good. The other two were HORRIBLE! I was disappointed, disheartened and upset. At least when you get food from your favorite restaurant you know it will taste good no matter how bad it is for you!

However, this cannot be an excuse to return to old habits. Even the best will fail. I am putting the cookbook back on half.com hoping to earn my money back to buy a new cookbook.

Cooking can be learned at any age. All you have to do is try. Over time it will get easier and tastier! Check the blog next Monday, 5/2, to learn tips on cooking, planning and grocery shopping.