Breakfast of Champions

Growing up everyday for breakfast I typically had a bowl of cereal. These cereals typically consisted of Wheaties, Life or Special K Strawberry. Unlike most kids who had Fruit Loops everyday I stuck with my three staple cereals. On special days and Saturday mornings, my dad would make his one-of-a-kind chocolate chip pancakes! These were my favorite mornings and I could not wait to get out of bed. Yes you are probably thinking that these are not the most nutritious component, however they are my absolute favorite!  Going back to my cereal, I still enjoy a big bowl of cereal with some almond milk for breakfast or a snack. However, I would say that it does not always fill me up enough to last to lunch.  Cereal is not a breakfast I would like to recommend to receive daily nutrients, but there are a few cereals that hold a little nutritional value. When looking through the cereal aisle at the store there are a few things that I always look for:
- At least 5g of Fiber
- No saturated fat
- Less than 8g of sugar
- Serving size and calories per serving
- Calcium fortified is a bonus

Limiting sugar in cereals will lead you to a more bland cereal, however add some raisins or fruit and it will automatically add natural sugar and many nutrients.

Wheaties (3/4 cup)
- 99 kcal
- 0g saturated fat
- 3g fiber
- 4g sugar
- 2% calcium

Life (3/4 cup)
- 199 kcal
- 0g saturated fat
- 2g fiber
- 6g sugar
- 11% calcium

Special K Red Berries (1 cup)
- 110 kcal
- 0g saturated fat
- 3g fiber
- 9g sugar
- 35% Vitamin C and 45% Iron

Fruit Loops (1 cup)
- 110 kcal
- 0.5g saturated fat
- 3g fiber
- 12g sugar

Raisin Bran (1 cup)
- 190 kcal
- 0.2g saturated fat
- 6.5g fiber
- 17.6g sugar
- 3% calcium

These are just a few cereals that I have enjoyed growing up, but I challenge you to read the nutrition labels and see the sugar, fiber and calorie intake you are receiving from your morning breakfast. Try adding fruit to a low-sugar cereal or choose some whole foods (i.e. eggs, fruit, toast, peanut butter) and just maybe you will find yourself not starving and waiting until noon to pull out that lunch. Instead I hope you find energy to fuel you all the way to your lunch break!

Sweet Strawberry Time

Last weekend some of the interns and I went strawberry picking right outside downtown Memphis! I absolutely love strawberries and what better way to get some vitamin C from fresh berries with some vitamin D from being outside! I did find myself this week a little "pink in the face" with strawberries... Sunday through Wednesday I tried to incorporate them into every meal.  Needless to say I had to take a small break from them for a meal or two.  However, I would highly recommend going strawberry picking (or any fruit picking for that matter)! It is a great outdoor activity and you will benefit from healthy fruit packed with many vitamins.

So, what to do with all the strawberries? That has been what I have been asking myself all week! I have come up with a few fun options to add them to a meal and recipes that I cannot wait to make with the fresh berries!

Ways I used my strawberries:
- Strawberry/banana smoothie
- Strawberries with cottage cheese
- Yogurt parfait fruit and granola
- Salad with strawberries, feta cheese and raspberry vinaigrette dressing
- Strawberry lemonade

Strawberry Recipes:
- Strawberry shortcake (my aunt has a delicious recipe that I may just have to share at some point on here)
- Fresh strawberry pie
- Strawberry syrup with homemade oatmeal pancakes
- Strawberry cake - This recipe looks absolutely amazing! This is a must try recipe!

http://www.jasonandshawnda.com/foodiebride/archives/1088

Farmer's Market Saturday!

How do you start off your Saturday morning??

Well this morning I had an opportunity to run in the inaugural Crop Hop Farmer's Market 5k race. It was a lot of fun and what better way to start off the morning sponsoring the local farmer's.  Two other dietetic interns joined me in this morning endeavor, which made it that much more enjoyable. We definitely took advantage of the free bandanas to help dress the part! The race was beautiful as we ran along river and through historic downtown Memphis...the perfect way to start my Saturday!

Afterwards, we walked through the local Farmer's Market and were overwhelmed by all the different fresh produce vendors. There is nothing like cooking with produce straight from the farm itself! I ended up bringing home some fresh greens, sugar-free homemade granola and some individual-sized sweet potatoes! It was hard not to stop at every booth and want to get something different - I definitely had to limit myself! We tried some amazing sweet pralines that would be hard to set down after opening the bag - so unfortunately I had to decline those for today's adventure however one of these weeks I may just have to give in.

Most cities have their own local farmer's market - even if it is small I would highly recommend grabbing some fresh greens, vegetables and other unique/fun ingredients to incorporate into this weeks dinner menu! It will mix up the normal menu and add some nutrients along with variety! Enjoy and relax on this beautiful Saturday!

To eat or not to eat nutrition bars...

Over the last year I have been extremely intrigued by nutrition/protein bars and whether or not they can stand their own for a meal replacement and/or snack.  Typically I say whole food is ideal since the food itself will contain many nutrients and offer the best health benefits. Breakfast tends to be one of my favorite meals of the day and since it is important to get metabolism going then I never skip! There are many options for breakfast that  offer better overall nutrition compared to a processed bar.  Some of these whole food breakfast items may include oatmeal, toast with peanut butter, yogurt with fruit and eggs to name a few.

Since I also have occasional days when I might be running a little behind and need an "on-the-go" breakfast I decided to give one a try. After spending 30 minutes in the grocery store, more specifically the nutrition bar aisle I decided to go with a Luna bar.

Flavors I tried                         (Calories, protein, sugar, saturated fat)
- Peanut Butter Cookie           (180 kcal, 9 grams, 11 grams, 2 grams)
- S'mores                                (180 kcal, 9 grams, 13 grams, 2.5 grams)
- Peanut Honey Pretzel          (190 kcal, 9 grams, 11 grams, 2.5 grams)
- Iced Oatmeal Cookie           (180 kcal, 9 grams, 13 grams, 2 grams)
- Chocolate Dipped Coconut (190 kcal, 9 grams, 11 grams, 4 grams)
- Vanilla Almond                   (190 kcal, 10 grams, 11 grams, 2 grams)

I have to say for flavor that Vanilla Almond and Peanut butter Cookie are my favorite. The vanilla almond bar also has 10 grams of protein and only 2 grams of saturated fat. When looking for bars, these were four of the main nutrition facts that I looked at. I am still in the process of comparing them to other nutrition bars, but so far these are my personal favorite.