The Diet Dish

So Long, Farewell

2010-04-30T05:26:00.000-07:00

It brings me sadness to write this post, but there comes a time when all good things come to an end. This is my last blog post for The Diet Dish on Healthline in it's current state.

The good news is that Healthline is making major improvements and is getting a facelift and complete makeover. They are reorganizing the site and the current health expert blog section is going away.

Don't fret, though--I am not going anywhere! I will be writing articles and assisting with nutrition and healthy lifestyle content on Healthline. They are still working out how they will have blogs and input from health experts, so hopefully I will be back to writing regular blog posts in no time.

In the meantime, visit Healthline.com often to see the new content and articles and the improvements they are making over the next few weeks to months.

You can also keep up with me at www.dietdiva.net and becoming a Facebook fan and following me on Twitter.

You can also read my other blog on www.eatbetteramerica.com

Thank you so much for reading my posts over the past 3 years! It has been a pleasure sharing my passion for eating nutritious and tasty food while improving health and performance. I look forward to new ways to continue to connect with you!

Tara Gidus, RD

New Breakfast on the Block

2010-04-29T07:51:00.000-07:00

Subway is known for a quick and healthy (easy on the sauces) option for lunch or dinner, but they have just launched a breakfast menu that is equally healthy and fresh.

One of the things that I personally love about Subway is the ability to customize your sandwich. I am fairly specific (rather than calling myself picky) with what I want on my sandwich. I love that they have spinach, tomatoes, and peppers that can significantly boost the nutritional value of my lunch.

The breakfast options they have developed are great. Most people don't get enough protein at breakfast and find that they are hungry too soon mid-morning. Eggs are an excellent way to get high quality protein, and pairing the egg with the light english muffin helps to control calories. You can get it on a flatbread or sub roll, but the light muffin is by far the lower calorie option.

If you are watching your cholesterol, you can get any of the sandwiches made with egg whites only. You can top your egg sandwich with veggies or sauces to make it just how you like it. Add apple slices or yogurt, and enjoy a cup of coffee or cup of milk or orange juice and you are set!

Nutritional breakdown:
Egg White and Cheese Muffin Melt: 140 calories, 3.5 g fat, 12 g protein, 18 g carb (5 g fiber)
Egg and Cheese Muffin Melt: 170 calories, 6 g fat, 13 g protein, 18 g carb (5 g fiber)

Western Egg White Muffin Melt: 160 calories, 4 g fat, 15 g protein, 19 g carb (6 g fiber)
Western Muffin Melt: 180 calories, 7 g fat, 15 g protein, 19 g carb (6 g fiber)

They also have other varieties and you can customize! YEA for a fast food breakfast sandwich with less than 200 calories!

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Eat With Good Form

2010-04-26T07:51:00.000-07:00

When you watch a diver or figure skater compete, you comment on what good form they have. The slide into the water or across with ice with grace and fluidity. Lifting weights requires you to have proper form to prevent injury.

Have you ever thought about your eating form? I saw an article in the Seattle Times recently that made me really think about how we eat can affect our digestion and our ultimately our waistline.

My 5 Tips for Eating With Good Form

Location, location, location. Eat at the kitchen or dining room table only. When we eat at our desks, in the car, in front of the tube, or walking around the house, we are not being fully conscious and aware of the food going in to our mouths.
Slow down. If you gulp down your calories in a matter of seconds, your body doesn't have time to signal to your brain that it is full and you end up overeating. You may also be gulping more air when you eat quickly which can lead to digestive dilemmas like gas. Slowing down also allows you to chew your food well. Drink water throughout the meal to aid in digestion.
Enjoy the scenery. Engage with others at the table in conversation. Talk about your plans for the day at breakfast time or the best parts of your day at the dinner table. Eating should be enjoyable and relaxing, and part of that is socializing with family and friends.
Take small bites and small portions. Eating from smaller plates leads to eating less at the meal. Taking smaller bites allows you to enjoy fewer calories at one time but still get the flavor of the food.
Bridge your hunger. Have small snacks between meals so that you are not ravenously hungry when you get to your meals which leads to eating too much and too quickly.

Earth Day: Go Green

2010-04-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Earth Day is already in it's 40th year! It is so great that we have a day commemorated to celebration our beautiful and precious planet.

What can you do to eat well to protect the earth?

Get some good tips in my two favorite "green" books:

Go Green Get Lean by Kate Geagan, RD
This book is an awesome resource with actionable tips for how to reduce your carbon footprint with your food choices.

Big Green Cookbook by Jackie Newgent, RD
Tasty recipes--all of which take less than 20 minutes to prepare! The book contains hundreds of clever, environmentally friendly cooking tips along with the recipes.

Environmentally friendly cookware:
ScanPan is eco-friendly cookware that cooks like stainless steel but is nonstick. It is made from 100% recycled aluminum and is 100% PFOA free (common toxin found in nonstick pans). You can find them at Sur La Table stores or on Amazon or scanpancookware.com

Reduce consumption of meat:
Switching from meat to vegetarian 1 day per week saves the equivalent of driving 1,160 miles per year. If every American did that, 1.7 billion gallons of gasoline would be saved (stats courtesy of Go Green Get Lean). Become a flexitarian if you aren't ready to go vegetarian.

Support companies with "green" practices:
Healthy Choice All Natural line has no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. The trays they use are made with post-consumer recycled plastic. Con Agra will eliminate about 8 Million pounds of plastic from going into landfills by using these recycled trays (equivalent to 128 Million water bottles).

Commit to reduce your own waste:
Use a glass for water when at work or home instead of water bottles. Purchase a reusable water bottle when on the go. Jackie Newgent, RD, author of Big Green Cookbook, told me that she limits herself to 2 plastic water bottles per year. She saves her purchase of them for emergency situations when she really needs water and has no other option. Imagine if we all made the same pledge to ourselves...the money we would save and waste we would prevent!

Check out my segment from this morning's episode of The Daily Buzz:

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Can the FDA Limit Salt in Foods?

2010-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

Salt is everywhere in our food. Even foods you don't realize contain salt have a bunch added to it. In fact, according to research published by the American College of Nutrition, most (77%) of the sodium in our diets comes from salt in processed foods. Only 12% is naturally occurring in food and a very small amount is added at the table (6%) or during cooking (5%).

The obvious answer to lowering sodium intake in this country is to go after the processed food. And the FDA is going to do just that. The FDA is going to work with food companies and health experts to gradually cut sodium out of the American diet over the next few years. The exact details as to how much is yet to be determined, but it appears as if they are going to set a limit on the amount of salt allowed in processed food.

Many food companies such as General Mills, Kraft, ConAgra, Campbell, PepsiCo, and more have made great strides in reformulating their foods to reduce sodium.

Why sodium?
An editorial in the Annals of Internal Medicine last month discusses the health impact of a high sodium diet on cardiovascular disease as well as the economic impact of those diseases.

I am curious to see how food companies respond to the challenge and how their food scientists and chefs will rise up to meet it with reduced sodium food that still tastes great! Our palates are so used to high sodium that this indeed is a huge undertaking.

What Can You Cook on a Food Stamp Budget

2010-04-16T13:34:00.001-07:00

This is the exact task posed to 2 chefs and a food magazine editor: feed a family of 4 for 7 days, 3 meals a day, on a food stamp budget. A family of four has a Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as food stamps) budget of $68.88 for the week. In all fairness, food stamps are not intended to provide all food, it is a supplemental program to supplement food dollars for a family.

Read the entire article to find out how the chefs did with this tight budget. All of them bought food that was not processed or packaged and stuck to raw ingredients. These chefs obviously know exactly what to do with these raw ingredients, but unfortunately many people don't know how to cook.

5 Tips for cooking on a tight budget:

Use leftovers creatively. Food wasted is money wasted.
Purchase in bulk---but only if you will use all of it before it goes bad.
Learn how to cook so you don't have to rely on as many convenience foods.
Eat more beans and less meat. Beans are protein and much less expensive than meat.
Watch the sales and clip coupons! Go online to find coupons for your favorite foods.

Why Eat Soy?

2010-04-14T14:09:00.000-07:00

April is Soyfoods Month (yes, there is a month for everything!), so what better time to talk about soy!

Why eat it?
Weight management: Many soy foods are lower in calories than their meat counterpart. For example, my fave soy sausage (Lightlife Italian sausage) is only 140 calories with 7 grams of fat and 1 gram saturated fat and a regular Italian sausage is 290 calories, 22 grams of fat and 8 grams saturated fat. Soy is good quality protein, so it helps to keep you satisfied for longer. Soy foods are particularly good when made with whole soy.

Heart Health: Soy foods are good for the heart because they are low in fat, saturated fat, and contain no cholesterol. The FDA has an approved health claim that a diet containing 25 grams of soy protein when combined with a low fat diet may help reduce cholesterol levels.

Cancer: A growing body of research is proving that eating soy is protective against breast cancer, especially when eaten during childhood and adolescence. The American Cancer Society recommends that women who already have had breast cancer can still safely consume soy up to three servings per day.

Reducing meat: Become a vegetarian or flexitarian and reduce the amount of meat you eat. Choose meat alternatives made from soy instead of eating meat. Soy is a "green" food that is better for the planet, too!

How Do I Eat Soy?
So many different ways to eat soy exist. Here are just a few ideas.

Soy Milk (My fave is Silk)
Soy Cheese
Edamame (green soybean)
Soy Bars (my fave is SOYJOY)
Soy meat alternatives (burgers, sausages, pepperoni, turkey, etc)
Tofu
Soy Nuts
Soy Yogurt
Soy Crisps (my fave is Glenny's)
Soy Nut Butter
Soy Frozen Dairy Dessert (sub for ice cream)

For more info, check out www.soyfoodsmonth.org!

PS. SOYJOY is coming out with a new flavor: Blueberry! They are fab!

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Pop-tastic!

2010-04-13T09:47:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that I am a big fan of popchips. I have written about them before and I just read an article in USA Today about the CEO of popchips, Keith Belling. He is completely dedicated to building the popchips brand, and in just over 2 years popchips has gained quite a following!

My favorite flavor is the BBQ and my son Basil always asks for the "red popchips" as they are his favorite flavor as well. I have heard rumblings that there is a jalapeno flavor coming out soon and I can't wait!

Popchips are the next generation potato chips that are not baked or fried, but popped when heat and pressure are applied. They are made very much like rice cakes, but taste so much better!

Nutritionally, they have no trans fat or cholesterol and most flavors have no saturated fat (only sour cream and onion and cheddar have very small amounts). Heart healthy snacking!

Have you tried popchips? Leave a comment and let me know what you think!

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Less Sleep = More Weight

2010-04-12T18:54:00.000-07:00

If you are night owl and can't seem to get yourself to bed at night, starving your body of the sleep it requires, you may be in for another unpleasant side effect: weight gain.

Quite a few studies in the past have connected sleeping fewer hours to higher body mass index (BMI). A new study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition actually looked at normal-weight people and the effects of less sleep on the body.

The men studied followed their normal eating, drinking, activity, and sleep routine for 2 days. Then they were instructed to get 8 hours one night and 4 hours the next night.

After getting 4 hours of sleep, the men ate 22% more calories than when they had a full 8 hours of sleep. They made up for these calories at breakfast and at dinner, but not at lunch. In fact, these men ate about 560 more calories on average. That is about the same number of calories as in a Big Mac!

The increase in calories doesn't necessarily happen in the extra hours that someone is awake, either. We often compensate with more calories throughout the day, not just in the wee hours of the night.

When you look at statistics, we as a society have been getting less sleep and of course we all know that we keep getting fatter. Coincidence? Many researchers don't think so.

Sleep has to many benefits and not getting enough can wreak havoc on our bodies in numerous ways we don't even know like disrupting our hormones that control appetite and promote fat storage in the body.

With that said, I am heading to bed! Gotta get my zzzzzzzzzz's!

New Tasty Food Find for Young Kids

2010-04-10T05:27:00.000-07:00

I wrote recently about raising adventurous, non-picky eaters. Getting kids to eat the right kinds of food is a constant challenge!

My two year old loves fruit snacks, so I was thrilled when I found some organic fruit snacks. These snacks are Tasty brand and are vegan (no gelatin), gluten free, and don't have any artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives. They are also certified organic. I opened up a package of these little fruit snacks with my two year old Basil the other day and he gobbled them up so quickly and asked for a second package!

The fruit snacks have 100% of the Vitamin C for the day and have a bit less sugar than other fruit snacks on the market.

Tasty brand also has some frozen organic baby food. I noticed on their website that they even have recipes that include the baby food in adult recipes, too! And why not: you can add the pureed fruits or vegetables to recipes to boost the nutritional value and reduce fat in some common recipes.

It is so good to see new companies supporting the creation of healthy foods for our kids!
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Calories Posted at Most Chain Restaurants

2010-04-06T18:51:00.000-07:00

Did you realize that somewhere in the depths of the health care bill that was just signed was something that will impact if you order a Big Mac?

In the new health care bill there is a new requirement that all chain restaurants with over 20 stores have to post calories on the menu board. This has already been law in NYC and California, but according to this bill it will be law everywhere in the US. In addition, vending machines also have to label food items so that people can make informed choices as they are perusing the choices through the glass window.

When these laws first surfaced, the restaurants were opposed. After all, seeing that a scone has over 500 calories may influence someone's decision and often times not purchase high calorie treats. However, now that cities and states are requiring various forms of this law, the restaurants are in favor of a national standard for the required information.

We have seen packaged food with required food labels for years, so why not our restaurant food? It is estimated that half of the money we spend on food is spent on food outside of the home, so knowing how many calories are in these foods are helpful for people trying to prevent their waistline from expanding (or to lose a little).

Some people think this is just government being Big Brother, dictating now what we eat. They are not telling you that you can't have it--simply how many calories you are taking in if you choose to eat it.

Good For Me, Bad for You

2010-04-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

When I saw this study in the Journal of Consumer Research I thought immediately of myself. The study found that people choose healthier foods for themselves than when they are choosing for others. This is so interesting to me and struck a cord a bit too close to home.

When left on my own, I eat pretty darn healthy most of the time (we all know about my sweet tooth as the exception). But when I am cooking for others or even shopping for my own family, I often cook or purchase foods that aren't as healthy as what I am eating! Why? I am a people pleaser. I want food to taste really good, and let's face it: sometimes more cheese, salt, or oil makes it taste better.

This study had people choose 4 items out of 16 listed for themselves and then choose 4 items for a friend. When choosing for themselves, they chose healthy items like raisins, celery, and Cheerios. However, when they chose for others, they picked out things like cookies, chocolate, donuts, and ice cream.

I do this when it comes to feeding my own family more than I would like to admit. I will purchase the cereal or crackers that I know my son or husband will eat vs what is the healthiest choice. This happens when I bring pot luck dishes as well. You would think that the dietitian would bring the healthiest dish to the party. Not the case. I often get asked to bring a dessert because of my good dessert-making reputation.

Now that I saw this study, I am going to re-commit myself to bringing healthier dishes and to be the example that I should be as a healthy eater. If no one eats them, at least I will! I just picked out this zucchini, edamame, and tomato vegetable dish to bring to Easter Sunday dinner instead of a cheesy vegetable casserole. It's a start! (oh, and I am also bringing cheesy scalloped potatoes--LOL!)

I feel like I just went to confession. Who needs therapy when you can blog your secrets?

It's a Food Revolution!

2010-03-31T18:30:00.000-07:00

Did you see Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last Friday on ABC? If you missed it, you can watch the first two episodes here.

The gist of the show is that Jamie, a trained chef from England who single handedly changed school food in England, goes in to the most unhealthy (fattest) city in America: Huntington, WV. In the first two episodes he went into the elementary school to attempt to change the way they are eating. He also worked with one individual family with 3 kids who are all overweight and on their way to serious health problems.

Here are a few highlights:

Jamie buried one family's deep fat fryer in their backyard. This deep fat fryer was used at least once a day in the family's home. She made her kids homemade donuts for breakfast!
Jamie showed some kids how chicken nuggets are made and they still wanted to eat them.
In a first grade class, not one kid could tell Jamie the name of various vegetables: tomatoes, eggplant, cauliflower, or even a potato. They did not know that a potato was what french fries were made out of.
The lunch ladies were resistant to Jamie's fresh way of cooking and don't think the kids will eat that food vs the pizza and chicken nuggets and french fries they are used to.
The head of the school lunch made Jamie serve bread with his meal of brown rice, chicken, and salad because the USDA requirement is that there are two servings of starch required at each lunch.

It is amazing to me that we (health professionals and parents) have been talking about changing the food that is served for years. Yet one English chef comes in to do a reality show and now people are talking about it and appalled at what is happening in schools. Bravo for Ryan Secrest (Exec Producer) and Jamie Oliver for the impact they have been able to make in just these first 2 episodes.

I can't wait to see more. So far in the series Jamie has had a lot of resistance and many in the town is not happy about his presence. I can't wait to see how he turns it around. I know one episode coming up showcases super sized caskets for obese people who have died and cannot fit into a regular casket. Talk about shocking!

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution shows things about food in American homes and schools that are alarming and shocking. He is not trying to embarrass anyone or exploit anyone. He honestly cares about the health and well being of people and it is evident by how he is putting so much incredible time and effort into this town and show. I can't wait to see the outcome--both for Huntington and the ripple effect this show is bound to have!

Eat Eggs for Easter

2010-03-29T13:14:00.000-07:00

What better time of the year to eat eggs than for Easter? Easter is one of my favorite times of the year. Bring on the eggs!

Not too long ago eggs were shunned because we thought they were bad for the heart. But medicine and research has evolved and we now know that eggs are not so bad--and in fact they are quite good! Read more here about the egg and cholesterol myth.

Eggs are good for:

Weight management: The protein in eggs helps to keep you satisfied and research studies show that eggs eaten that the start of the day help to reduce daily caloric intake for the day.
Eye health: Egg yolks contain lutein and zeaxanthin, both of which may help reduce risk of cataracts and age related macular degeneration.
Pregnancy: Eggs contain choline which helps prevent birth defects as well as promotes brain and memory development in infants. The protein, iron, and folic acid are also great for pregnant women!
Muscle repair: The protein and 13 essential nutrients that eggs contain are vital to building and repairing muscles and tissues.
Brain function: Choline is good for brains of any age, and eggs are one of the best sources!

One large egg only has 70 calories and 6 grams of protein!

Plan on a strata or quiche for your Easter Brunch, and make sure you have the ever-popular Deviled Eggs!

Did you know (facts courtesy of www.incredibleegg.org)?

Yolk color depends on the plant pigments in the hens’ feed. Natural yellow-orange substances, such as marigold petals, may be added to light-colored feed to enhance color. Artificial colors are not permitted.
Most eggs are laid between 7 and 11 a.m. A hen requires about 24 to 26 hours to produce an egg. After the egg is laid, the hen starts all over again about 30 minutes later.
You can scramble, fry and poach eggs in the microwave. But you can’t cook an egg in its shell in the microwave. The steam builds up so rapidly that the egg can’t ‘exhale’ it fast enough and the egg may explode.
To ‘go green’, you can dye all-natural eggs with natural things from the kitchen. You can use fruits, vegetables and their peels and juices, herbs and spices and even coffee to decorate your Easter eggs. If you have a garden, you can put eggshells in your compost

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My Two Year Old Eats Octopus

2010-03-27T03:23:00.000-07:00

I recently wrote a post about feeding kids and creating healthy eaters. I have to do a follow up on this post with a book I found recently on the subject.

The title alone will hook you: My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus : Raising Children Who Love to Eat Everything. The author, Nancy Tringali Piho, starts the book telling a story about being on vacation with her husband and two year old and ordering ceviche of calamari, octopus, and shrimp. People at nearby tables were shocked that her son was eating it and that he said, "Mmmmm! Octopus!"

Nancy's approach is a no excuses kind of style. She doesn't believe in hiding vegetables in food to get your kids to eat them. They should know they are eating them!

The book's goal is simple: Don't accept that your child is a "picky eater." Instead, create a good eater whose "pickiness does not dictate what or where everyone else must eat, and who do not require the preparation of a separate meal every time you leave the house." I think every parent wants that!

I have always been a big believer that the first time you become a short order cook (make your child something separate from what the rest of the family is eating because you think he or she won't eat it) is the first time you create a culture where the child dictates what, where, and when they will choose to eat. That is how picky eaters are born. Role modeling and introducing the right foods at the right times are instrumental in assisting a child in the very important task of not only feeding them, but creating lifelong habits around food.

One of my favorite parts of this book is the last bit of each chapter. She ends it with "What I've Learned" This is simply advice from Nancy as a mother who has been in the trenches of creating children who embrace food instead of dictating what they won't eat.

BRAVO for My Two-Year-Old Eats Octopus! If you desire a child who is adventurous, or even just not picky, pick up a copy of this book. You can change the way your child eats for the rest of their life! Pretty powerful stuff, if you ask me.

Check out www.mytwoyearoldeatsoctopus.com for more details on the book!

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He Likes It! Mickey Likes It!

2010-03-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

Remember that old Life cereal commercial? Mickey is trying Life cereal and his brothers can't believe he is actually eating it? He Likes It! Mickey Likes It!

How do we get our kids to eat healthy food---and actually enjoy it? My 2 year old Basil loves broccoli and we actually have to limit how much broccoli he eats because he will eat broccoli and nothing else for dinner! Good problem to have, right?

I often hear parents tell me that their kids will "only eat hot dogs, chicken nuggets, pizza, and mac and cheese." So their kids will starve unless they get these 4 foods? What happens if the only option for dinner is salmon, asparagus and wild rice? Will their kids choose to not eat anything? Sometimes that is the case and it is really hard to be willing to let your kids go to bed hungry, but it is a battle of wills.

If you give in and become a short order cook and cook one thing for every member of the family based on their preferences, your kids will never learn to eat a variety of foods. Basil eats the exact same things my husband and I eat for dinner. We don't make special meals for him--he eats what is served or he doesn't eat. He has only gone to bed hungry once because he refused the meal.

Raise healthy eaters

Involve kids in meal planning. Ask them to find a recipe in a cookbook or online that looks interesting to them.
Go grocery shopping with your kids. If they can be a part of shopping and picking out the cereal they want or the fruit they want they are more likely to eat it.
Offer healthy foods. This sounds like a no-brainer, but often we assume kids won't like certain foods and we don't even try to offer it to them. They may surprise you!
Get them into the kitchen with you and explain what you are doing. Learning to cook is an important life skill for boys AND girls!
Eat your veggies with a smile. If they see you turn up your nose, they will also have a bad attitude and not want want to eat certain foods. Smile while you chew those yummy brussel sprouts!

What's The Big "D" Deal?

2010-03-22T11:02:00.000-07:00

What is all the fuss about Vitamin D? Doctors are starting to routinely test for Vitamin D now, but why do we need to care about it?

Intro to Vitamin D

Vitamin D is dubbed the "sunshine vitamin" because we can get it from sunshine (if the UV light is strong enough, we aren't wearing sunscreen, and we have major body parts exposed to the sun for 10-15 minutes).
We used to think Vitamin D was just a way to prevent rickets and soft bones. It does help bones absorb calcium.
Recent evidence is linking low levels of Vitamin D to all kinds of diseases and disorders: diabetes, cancer, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, weak immune systems, and more.
The current Daily Value (DV) on a food label is set at 400 IU for Vitamin D. The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine is expected to raise the recommended level in May, 2010.

Food Sources
Cod liver oil: 1,360 IU (but be careful about overdosing on Vitamin A)
Salmon, 3 oz cooked: 794 IU
Mushrooms exposed to UV light, 3 oz: 400 IU
Mackerel, 3 oz cooked: 388
Tuna, canned in water, drained, 3 oz: 154 IU
Milk, (any fat content) Vitamin D fortified, 8 oz: 115-124 IU
Yogurt, fortified with 20% of DV for Vitamin D: 80 IU
Egg, yolk, 1 large: 25 IU
Cheese, 1 oz: 6 IU

Supplements
It is difficult to get 400 IU of Vitamin D daily, let alone more. Supplements are a great option. Look for it in the form of Vitamin D3.

Most multivitamins have 400 IU. Some scientists are recommending everyone take 2000 IU daily, and they recommend taking more if you have been tested as deficient. Of course, check with your doctor if you are unsure of how much to take.

Did you know?

Vitamin D is actually a hormone but it has been classified as a fat soluble vitamin.
It is estimated that 80% of adults and 73% of children have deficient or insufficient blood levels of Vitamin D.
You can find out your Vitamin D status with a simple blood test. Your doctor can order it or you can get it yourself here!
It takes about 1000 IU to raise your blood value about 10 ug/dl.

Truth in Packaging: Translating Food Label Terms

2010-03-19T14:33:00.000-07:00

Are you completely confused when it comes to reading food labels? What exactly does natural mean? What exactly is unprocessed food vs processed food?

Let's look at some terms and decifer their meanings. Thanks to the American Dietetic Association for assisting in the definitions!

Natural
Neither the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) nor the US Dept of Agriculture (USDA) have a formal definition. The FDA has a policy that says: FDA has no objected to the use of the term on food labels provided it is used in a manner that is truthful and not misleading and the product does not contain added color, artificial flavors, or synthetic substances. Use of the term "natural" is not permitted in a product's ingredient list, with the exception of the phrase "natural flavorings."

Processed vs Unprocessed
Processed refers to food that has undergone a change of character. For example: raw nuts are unprocessed but roasted nuts are processed. Edamame (green soybean) is unprocessed vs tofu is processed. Get this: Fresh raw spinach is unprocessed but cut, prewashed spinach is processed. My take on this is that the word processed is not a bad word: It could just mean cooked or cleaned!

Local
A locovore is someone who eats food grown or produced locally. What is "local?" We don't really have a definition of that: is it 5 miles or 500 miles from your home?

Whole
Again, no regulatory definition. Whole foods generally mean that they have not been processed or refined and do not have added ingredients. Think fresh fruits and veggies, milk, meat, fish, etc.

Organic
Organic does have specific definitions by the USDA. Organic meat, poultry, eggs, and dairy come from animals given no antibiotics or growth hormones. Organic plant foods have not been grown with conventional pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, bioengineering, or ionizing radiation. The government sends out inspectors who certify farms as organic.

100% Organic: Means that product is made completely of organic ingredients. Gets the organic seal.
Organic: Contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Gets the organic seal
Made with Organic Ingredients: Have at least 70% of the ingredients as organic. Does not get organic seal but can say "made with organic ingredients."

Nutrition Made Easy

2010-03-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

I am celebrating National Nutrition Month the entire month of March. This is about as exciting as it gets for us in the nutrition world.

People think eating right has to be difficult or that everything healthy has to taste like cardboard. Not true!

Need more fruits and veggies? You can start your day with 2 servings of fruit in just an 8 ounce glass of 100% orange juice. You get a full day's supply of Vitamin C, as much potassium as a medium banana, and a good source of folate and thiamin. It is a great deal for 120 calories. And right now Tropicana has a great program going with their Juicy Rewards. Just go to Tropicana.com and enter in the code on the container and you can save on things to keep the family active like running shoes or trips to the zoo.

Need to reduce saturated fat? Make a simple substitution of soft spread margarin es like Promise or I Can't Believe It's Not Butter for butter. These spreads have 70-75% less saturated fat, no hydrogenated oil which means no trans fat, and they are made from healthy oils like soybean and canola oil.

I found this recipe for Cranberry Cereal Bars on PromiseHealthyHeart.com that I made and they were fantastic! They are like a Rice Krispie treat made healthier! I used Wheaties for the whole grain cereal. Mmm...delicious.

Are your teens looking for a healthy after school snack or meal? Do you need lunch or dinner to be quick? Check out Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers. They have a new Mediterranean line that is to die for! The Steamers line from Healthy Choice is quite innovative--they have a tray that holds the pasta, rice, potatoes, meat, and veggies and uses steam to cook them with the sauce underneath. You pour the sauce on top when you transfer the food to a plate. The Mediterranean line has whole grain pasta and tasty sauces.

To see more, watch this clip of me on The Daily Buzz yesterday!

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Is Fresh Better Than Canned or Frozen?

2010-03-15T18:21:00.000-07:00

While fresh fruits and vegetables are good, they often sit in my crisper drawer and rot. The biggest food cost is when food is wasted and not eaten. That is why I love frozen vegetables so much. They can sit in my freezer for weeks or months, just waiting for their chance to debut and get microwaved for dinner.

Am I sacrificing good nutrition for those frozen veggies instead of getting fresh? Not at all.

First let me point out that any way you will get them, eating your fruits and veggies is a good idea. Research supports that frozen and canned fruits and veggies can be just as healthy as fresh. And sometimes they are actually healthier. When they are picked at their peak of of ripeness, they are also at their peak of nutritional value. Fruits and veggies that are going to be frozen or canned are picked by the company at their peak of flavor and nutritional quality.

A few tips when choosing which frozen and canned to get:

Avoid fruits canned or frozen in syrups or with added sugar. Look for packed in it's own juice or if it says unsweetened.
Look for varieties that have no salt added or are reduced in sodium.
Choose veggies with no sauce or made with a low-fat sauce.
Dried fruit can also be a great option but look for those without added sugar.

Check out this new video from the American Dietetic Association for more tips on canned and frozen produce.

Panera to Add Calories on Menu Board

2010-03-11T13:15:00.000-08:00

Panera Bread restaurant announced yesterday that they will post all calorie information on their menu boards by the end of the year. This will make Panera the first national chain to voluntarily post information on menu boards across the country. They expect all locations to have this accomplished by the end of 2010.

They already have their nutrition information posted on their website. There is a downloadable 7 page pdf of the nutrition facts.

I love Panera's Black Bean soup (110 calories in 8 oz cup) and their salads are fantastic. I keep hearing radio ads for the new Mediterranean Salmon Salad but I have not made it over there yet. Has anyone tried it? Is it as good as the description on the radio? I just looked up the nutritionals and it has 480 calories which is not bad (that is the full salad). I forsee a half salmon salad and cup of black bean soup in my near future for a total of 350 calories. That is a tasty mix for 350 calories!

The scones, bagels, cookies, and other tasty pastry treats are another story...make sure you read carefully before ordering to control your calories. My favorite cinnamon crunch bagel is 370 calories...without the cream cheese!

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Nutrition from the Ground Up

2010-03-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

March is National Nutrition Month and this year's theme is "Nutrition from the Ground Up."

Toby Smithson, RD, a spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association gives the following tips:

Focus on fruits and veggies. Most people aren't getting enough fruits and veggies. Smithson recommends adding a serving to one meal each day and increase it every few weeks. Just simply adding fruits and veggies is important--regardless of whether they are fresh, frozen, or canned.
Look locally. Farmer's markets are a great way to get local produce and support local farmers, too.
Make calories count. Food is not "good" or "bad." Some have higher nutritional value than others, but all food can fit into a healthy diet. Look at food for what it contains that is good for you instead of focusing on the bad stuff. To find out how many calories you need, Smithson recommends going to www.mypyramid.gov
Test your taste buds. Try something new--a new grain like quinoa that you have not tried before or try fish in a different way. If you hate vegetables, try new ways of incorporating them into dishes. The internet is full of great recipes, so try a new one each week and expand your eating horizons!
Trick yourself with treats. She says that we shouldn't deprive ourselves. Yogurt, fruit, trail mix, and nuts all make great snacks.

If you love to read, check out the American Dietetic Association's recommended nutrition reading list. It isn't just books but newsletters and websites, too!

Also check out www.eatright.org anytime of the year for great nutrition tips you can use right away!

Nutrition Quiz

2010-03-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

I started a quiz in yesterday's post and I know you could barely sleep last night, anxious for the answers, right?

True or False: Calories eaten at night are more fattening. FALSE. It doesn't matter what time of the day that you overeat, your body will just store the excess. The problem with eating at night is that most people eat foods that are high in calories and their portions are too big. I recommend having a small 100-150 calorie snack an hour before bed.
True or False: Eating an extra 100 calories per day can cause a 10 pound weight gain in a year. TRUE. Do the math: If you eat 100 calories more every day that is 36,500 calories over 365 days. Divide that by 3,500 calories (to equal a pound of fat) and you will get 10.4 pounds. That is how easily weight comes on. Depressed? The opposite is also true: Cut out 100 calories each day and you may lose 10 pounds this year!
True or False: Olive oil has fewer calories than butter or margarine. FALSE. A Tablespoon of olive oil has 120 calories and butter and margarine have 100 calories in one Tablespoon. Olive oil is monounsaturated fat, which is better for your heart than butter but be careful about how much you are using...a tablespoon isn't as big as you may think!
True or False: Carbs cause weight gain. FALSE. Carbs themselves do not cause you to gain weight. Eating too many calories from any source (carbs, protein, fat, or alcohol) can pack on the pounds.
True or False: Fad diets work. TRUE. Disclaimer: Fad diets work in the short term for a lot of people. But if you are looking for lasting lifestyle change, lose the fad and change your habits for good!

Do Carbs Make You Fat?

2010-03-02T06:00:00.000-08:00

It is National Nutrition Month--time for Registered Dietitians everywhere to bask in our glory of sharing nutritional wisdom with the world for 30 days (because we are really just sitting around eating bon bons the other 335 days of the year).

In the spirit of sharing nutrition wisdom, let's test your nutritional intelligence. Do you know the answer to these 5 True/False questions? You have a 50/50 chance of getting it right!

True or False: Calories eaten at night are more fattening.
True or False: Eating an extra 100 calories per day will cause a 10 pound weight gain over a year.
True or False: Olive oil has fewer calories than butter or margarine.
True or False: Carbs cause weight gain.
True or False: Fad diets (like Atkins, South Beach, etc.) work.

Come back tomorrow for the answers or just click on the video below to watch me spill the beans on The Daily Buzz!

Is Raw Milk Better for You?

2010-02-26T12:55:00.000-08:00

My mother grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin and she talks about drinking truly fresh milk, right after milking the cows. The taste, she says, is wonderful and unlike any other milk you can get today. Back then, she wouldn't drink the milk at school because it had been pasteurized and she didn't like the taste.

A renewed debate has started up again about allowing raw milk to be sold commercially. Currently, the sale of raw milk is prohibited in 23 states. The reason? Raw milk is not pasteurized, and safety experts say it is unsafe. The FDA and CDC recommend only pasteurized milk because of the risk of E. coli, listeria, and salmonella in milk. The CDC cites reported illnesses of 1,007 and 2 deaths from raw milk between 1998 and May of 2005.

Proponents of raw milk say the pasteurization of milk kills important enzymes and destroys nutrients. I wasn't sure about these claims so I looked up the National Dairy Council's stance on raw milk. They say in their Raw Milk Fact Sheet that there isn't any "scientific evidence to suggest that there is any meaningful difference in the nutritional value of pasteurized and unpasteurized milk." Also, Vitamin D is not added to raw milk, but it is added to pasteurized milk.

Pasteurization 101
Milk is heated to a temp of at least 161 degrees Fahrenheit for more than 15 seconds and then rapidly cooled.

My opinion: If there is not a nutritional difference, I am going to go with the one that has had bad bacteria killed off. Sounds safer to me. Why take the chance?