My Lunch Plate

So today marks day five of eating the same lunch…

• Turkey sandwich on wheat bread
• Vegetables and yogurt cucumber dip (only 60 calories for 2 T)
• Apple
• 7-10 wheat thins or pretzels

 

Despite the fact that I love this nutritious meal and feel full after I finish eating, I am kind of tired of the same old meal every day. With this being said, I thought I would take some time to brainstorm today to help “spice” up the lunch menu!

• Cottage Cheese with tomatoes and pepper
• Pita chips/bread with humus and vegetables
• Grilled chicken with a spinach salad
• Pasta salad with vegetables and light dressing
• Leftovers from dinner the night before
• Grilled cheese with soup
• Yogurt parfait with fruit and small handful of almonds

Feel free to share any fun lunch ideas that you may have! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

A Cup of Calories

Eggnog, peppermint mochas and gingerbread lattes! They are everywhere! These tasteful beverages are filled with flavor, holiday fun and…. calories. The word that haunts us all. So how do you get around the excess calories in these festive drinks? Can we afford to spend 300-400 calories on a tasteful holiday beverage? It was not until three years ago that I ventured out to try these beverages that I might go as far to say taste like “Christmas in a cup!” So that leaves me and many others with the question of how to go about enjoying these drinks in moderation as well as dodging the excess calories…

Let’s take a look at the calories in your cup…

(Drinks are calculated in 16 oz portions with skim milk.)

• Eggnog: 343 calories
• Peppermint Mocha: 330 calories, 8 g fat, 60 g CHO
• Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha: 440 calories, 10 g fat, 75 g CHO
• Hot Chocolate: 290 calories, 9 gram of fat, 47 g CHO
• White Hot Chocolate: 420 calories, 12 grams of fat, 62 g CHO
• Eggnog Latte: 460 kcals, 21 g fat, 53 g CHO

Now let’s look at some alternative ways to fill that cup with fewer calories…

•  Club soda: 0 calories
• Mixed drinks with diet soda: ~130 calories
•  Glass of red wine: 150 calories
• “Diet” Hot Chocolate (Swiss): 25 calories
• Apple Cider: 120 calories
• Skinny flavored Latte: 130 calories, 0 g fat, 19 g CHO
• Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte: 210 calories, 0 g fat, 40 g CHO
• Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino Light: 150 calories, 1 g fat, 30 g CHO

Now it’s your turn to shock your friends and party guests with fun-filled, healthier beverage options. Meanwhile I will enjoy the skinny peppermint mocha that awaits me…for only 130 calories! Happy Holidays!

Low-fat Eggnog

Ingredients:

-          6 cups 1% milk

-          1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

-          2 large eggs

-          2/3 cup sugar

-          2 T all-purpose flour

-          ¼ teaspoon salt

-          ¼ cup brandy, bourbon or rum (optional)

-          2 teaspoons vanilla extract

-          ¼ cup light whipping cream

Directions:

-          Brink milk and nutmeg to a simmer in a saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally.

-          Whisk eggs, sugar, flour and salt in a large bowl until smooth. Whisking constantly, gradually add hot milk; return mixture to saucepan.

-          Cook the eggnog over very low heat, stirring constantly, until thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, 10 to 15 minutes. (Temperature must reach 160°F; do not let eggnog come to a simmer.) Remove from the heat and pour through a fine-meshed sieve into a bowl.

-          Whisk in brandy (or bourbon or rum) and vanilla. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the eggnog and refrigerate until chilled, for at least 8 hours or overnight.

-          Just before serving, add cream to eggnog. Ladle into cups and serve garnished with more grated nutmeg.

Nutrition: 142 calories, 4 g fat

Recipe adapted from eatingwell.com.

"Party Pounds"

First and foremost I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! This time of year is my absolute favorite due to the fun activities and many festive parties! With that being said… this holiday season I have a total (as of this moment) of six Christmas parties within two weeks! Now don’t get me wrong, I love this time with friends while we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and spend time with one another. However, with these parties one problem always poses a threat: those tempting desserts leading to those extra holiday pounds. Like many of you, I have a huge sweet tooth which is a slight problem during this time of the year. Not only do I have a problem resisting the sweet table at parties, but baking is one of my all time favorite hobbies! So since I am past the obstacle of the “freshman fifteen” I am again approached with the next hurdle of what I call “party pounds”.

From my few years of schooling and the start of my career in nutrition I have accumulated some holiday tips that I am writing down and posting to follow this holiday season. These have helped me dodge those extra pounds from previous Christmas parties and activities and I am hoping it will help again this year. My hope is that sharing these may inspire you to stay healthy while enjoying your holiday season!

• Eat a small snack before attending the party (it will help from overeating at the party)
• Sip on a glass of water throughout the duration of the party
• Stand away from the food table to prevent grazing (grazing will add up unwanted calories!)
• Sample small amounts of a variety of foods and wait for 20 minutes before going back for seconds
• Focus your attention on your friends and company rather than the food table
• Choose more fruits and vegetables since they are lower in calories and nutrient-rich
• Take a walk with friends and family after a holiday meal for some fresh air and exercise
•  Choose your beverages wisely. Many holiday drinks are full of calories.
• When shopping, pack your own snack to save money and calories
• Trail mix
• Nuts/Seeds
• Popcorn
• Yogurt
• Granola bar
• Vegetables
• Dried/fresh fruit
• Park far away from the store when you are holiday shopping to get some extra exercise

This small list will hopefully give you some healthy tips to follow for this holiday season. Maybe it will even help you jumpstart those New Year’s resolutions for 2013! Stay tuned in the next couple days for some healthy drinks that you can surprise your guests and friends with at your next party. Have a Merry Christmas!

Natural or Organic … There is a difference!

A recent trip to the farmers market along with my weekly grocery store trips has left me faced with the conundrum of whether to go natural or organic. Does that apple that is rich in vitamin A, beta-carotene and fiber matter when choosing between organic or non-organic? In the “natural/health” section of the grocery store, should I buy the natural or organic choices of my favorite snacks? With a little reading and research I have started to build my personal conclusion behind this subject matter.

Natural foods are those that are minimally processed with no additional hormones, antibiotics, sweeteners, food colors or flavorings added. Natural foods are not recognized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). With this being said, natural foods do not have strict regulations to follow. Determining if the food is natural depends on the process of how the food is made. One example would be High Fructose Corn Syrup, which has drawn a lot of attention in the field of nutrition. According to a letter from the Food and Drug Administration in 2008, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) can be considered natural if it does not come in contact with the enzymes used during processing. Therefore, if you are trying to avoid HFCS then natural foods may be something to reconsider. However, with much controversy concerning HFCS, it may be worth your time to think about…Are the products containing HFCS and those not containing HFCS similar when broken down and digested in the body? Just leaving you with some food for thought!

Organic foods however do follow strict guidelines and are defined by uniform, federal regulations. When the food bears the label “organic” then the food was made following practices defined by the US Department of Agriculture. With organic on a label the food does not contain toxic, pesticides, GMOs, antibiotics or artificial growth hormones.  Foods that are produced organically are grown by rotating crops, planting cover crops, releasing beneficial insects and adding plant wastes to the soil. The livestock on the organic soil are fed organic feed, hay and pasture.  Organic vs. non-organic is a continued topic of discussion among many individuals, specifically with the focus on what foods are beneficial to eat organically. There are some nutritional benefits that have been noted through research concerning organic foods. A study on strawberries showed that antioxidants, substances that may help protect cells from damage and possibly help reduce the risk of cancer, are found higher in organic foods. Other studies focusing on fruits have found increased nutrients when they are organically produced. Look for the USDA Organic seal to ensure you are consuming a 95%-100% organically produced food.

Back to the grocery store trips and filling my shopping cart, or need I say “buggy” since I am currently residing in Tennessee, my conclusion sways my food choices toward organic. There are foods that I do not purchase organically, however when given the option of commercially produced foods or organically produced I will pick the foods bearing the USDA organic label.

References and Research

Reganold JP, Andrews PK, Reeve JR, Carpenter-Boggs L, Schadt CW, et al. (2010) Fruit and Soil Quality of Organic and Conventional Strawberry Agroecosystems. PLoS ONE 5(9): e12346. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0012346

Wang, S. Y., Chen, C. T., Sciarappa, W., Wang, C. Y., & Camp, M. J.,(2008). Fruit quality, antioxidant capacity, and flavonoid content of organically and conventionally grown Blueberries. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 56 (14), 5788–5794. Available on-line at: http://pubs.acs.org/doi/full/10.1021/jf703775r

Benbrook CM, Zhao X, Yanez J, Davies N, and Andrews P. New evidence confirms the nutritional superiority of plant-based organic foods. The Organic Center Report. March 2008. Available at: http://www.organic-center.org/reportfiles/NutrientContentReport.pdf/.

Butler G et al., Fat compostion of organic and conventional retail milk in northeast England. Journal of Dairy Science. 201 94:24-36.

http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Business/HFCS-is-natural-says-FDA-in-a-letter

http://www.stonyfield.com/why-organic/organic-defined

Make Your School Lunch Creative and Filled with Nutrients

Make Your School Lunch Creative and Filled with Nutrients

What do you typically pack for lunch? Do you find yourself packing the same lunch every single day or bored with your lunch options and need to change it up? There are many different ways to add fun foods to your brown paper bag to add  variety and plenty of nutrients to enjoy during the day.  It is important to pack foods that are healthy and will give you energy.  Find recipes and other healthy eating tips at http://www.eatright.org/kids/ to give you more ideas for packing lunches. Here a few simple steps and ideas in order to pack a tasteful and nutritious lunch:

·       Let your child help you pack his/her lunch. This will introduce them to foods that are healthy and they will enjoy their lunch the next day knowing that they helped to prepare it.

·       Find a reusable and fun colored Tupperware container to use that your kids will enjoy, as well as, eliminating the use of plastic sandwich bags

·       Packing  your kids lunch will allow for them to have more time to actually eat during lunch time. Most kids have around 20 minutes to eat lunch, so provide them with easy to eat and easy to open packages to save time.

·       Fill their lunch box with small foods that are easy for the kids to handle as well as fun to eat.  For instance, pack the ingredients for a sandwich and let the child put together his/her own sandwich to add some fun to lunch time.

·       Finish up by packing something fun: a sticker, small note, small cookie wrapped in plastic with a ribbon, fruit on a stick, dessert cut into a playful shape.

·       Do not forget the drink to top off the meal. Send water, low-fat milk to add some calcium or 100% fruit juice. Avoid the sweetened beverages that contain excess sugar as well as any soda. According to Registered Dietitians, Mary Mullin and Jo Ellen Shield, sweet soft drinks provide essentially no key nutrients and are sweetened with either sugar or high-fructose corn syrup. Excess sugar has been thought to be a link to the rising obesity rates, however there is no scientific evidence to prove this at this time.  The following article further discusses choosing appropriate beverages for children. http://www.eatright.org/kids/article.aspx?id=6442468566&term=%20beverages

·       Lunch box ideas:

o      Turkey sandwich cut into squares, baby carrots, peel and grapes

o      Peanut butter and jelly tortilla wraps, peach, homemade snack mix (dried fruits, unsalted nuts and pretzels, baked crackers)

o      Turkey wrap or sandwich cut up into pieces, small handful goldfish, small handful pretzels, raisins, strawberries

o      Grilled chicken strips, 5 whole-grain crackers, 3 slices cheese, mixed fruit (grapes and peaches), small salad with tomatoes

o      Pasta salad with vegetables, apple, salad

o      6 small sushi bites, strawberries, snack peas

o      Meat and cheese slices, pasta mixed with pesto, crunchy vegetable sticks, mixed fruit