Happy New Year to you! Thank you for reading and sharing my blog. I appreciate you, your comments, and look forward to this year together. I like the beginning of a New Year. For me, it’s a time to review and renew. I’m one of those who likes to take an up close and personal look at my life, where I’m going and what needs to be tweaked…and believe me…there’s always a lot of tweaking to be done.
I’m sure your schedule is like mine…pretty jammed every day. Well, I’m trying to take a little better care of my health, particularly the way I eat. I know, I’m a registered dietitian but I’m human too with a long list of things that need to be done everyday and never enough time. Sound familiar? So I’m looking at real world, everyday ways that I can eat better and improve my health and I want to share them with you.
Joining me on the podcast to discuss test kitchen tips for a healthy new you is Regina Ragone, registered dietitian and Food Director at Family Circlemagazine. She was part of a food trend survey for Hunter PR and their results found that in 2012, 67% of Americans will make food-related resolutions. Do you agree? Do you plan to make food-related changes/tweaks?
Regina shared ways that the Family Circle test kitchens are working to produce healthier recipes:
Lowering the sodium in their recipes. Family Circle uses ingredients like no-salt or low-salt tomatoes and adds back in a little sea salt for more punch. Regina suggests making sure your dried spices are not old! I’m definitely more aware of sodium and grow fresh herbs in small pots outside my door including rosemary, oregano, chives, and sage. Once you start using herbs and spices it’s easy to cut the salt and not go back. Plus your taste buds adapt.
Incorporating more whole grain products like quinoa and wheat berries to bulk things up without adding fat. There are really good blends/mixes available now. Newly popular whole grain products can be a little pricey so watch for sales and coupons. Use them in place of meat for a meatless Monday dish. I like the products by truRoots…they carry a wide variety of organic whole grains and lentils such as quinoa, green lentils and brown rice.
Add great condiments like good balsamic vinegar (Regina loves Lucini’s fig), mustards and honey… all help perk up the flavor of food.
Want more information? Listen to this week’s podcast below.
It’s so hot here in Florida that I want to use my herbs before the summer heat bakes them. I have a bumper crop of basil so decided to make fresh pesto to use on pizza instead of traditional tomato sauce.
Martha Stewart has a simple recipe that I like and have adapted in different ways based on the nuts and cheeses that I have on hand. Typically I also use more basil and less olive oil.
Basically pesto is a finely blended combination of pine nuts, fresh basil leaves, Parmesan and/or Romano cheeses, garlic and good quality olive oil. The word pesto means ‘pounded’ or ‘crushed’.
All of the ingredients except the olive oil go into the food processor, which you process until finely chopped. The oil is then slowly poured thru the food tube with the processor running to blend the oil with the other ingredients. That’s it.
I have used walnuts and pistachios or a mixture of both in place of pine nuts, which produces a robust and flavorful pesto.
Toast your nuts of choice for more intense flavor. This is easy to do. Just place them in a skillet on the stove over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn and be sure to stir or toss a few times. If you want to toast nuts in the micro or the oven, check out these tips from The University of Nebraska.
Basil is one of the easy-to-grow herbs and production overflows in the summer. Give basil morning sun, afternoon shade, and don’t let it dry out. I grow basil in a pot so it’s easy to move around to shady spots.
If you don’t want to grow your own, look for fresh cut basil at farmers’ markets and in the grocery most of the year. The leaves should be bright green and not wilting. Place the stems in water and top with a plastic bag or wrap basil in paper towel and put in a plastic bag. Either way, keep basil in the fridge and it will last about a week.
Once you make fresh pesto, it keeps for about 4-5 days so plan to use it in several ways. You can press plastic wrap on the top of the pesto to help retain the beautiful green color and then store it in the fridge.
Use the basil pesto as the base for your pizza…it’s fabulous. But also toss it with pasta and roasted veggies. I roast purple onion, yellow squash and grape tomatoes while I cook whole grain pasta and then toss both with the basil pesto. Delicious and so easy! What’s your favorite way to use pesto?
Want more on pesto? Listen to this week’s podcast below.
Have you heard blueberries or pomegranate referred to as a superfruit? I’ve seen claims on packages saying the item, typically a fruit, contains the highest level of antioxidants as compared to all other fruits. Is this a big deal?
Here’s what you need to know. One measure of the level of antioxidants is the ORAC score, which stands for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity. If you look at the ORAC scores, you would notice that many fruits, vegetables and spices are very close in their antioxidant content and thus score. That’s why it’s very hard to make a claim that one fruit is superior to another when the ORAC scores are so close.
The term ‘variety’ is smart when it comes to the food you eat. Because fruits, vegetables and spices have a variety of phytonutrients or plant antioxidants, when you mix it up or consume a variety of foods, you’re getting the benefit of a broad spectrum of nutrients.
Don’t miss this. A major reason that food surpasses individual supplements is that the antioxidants in food work together synergistically for the body’s good such as the players on a basketball team.
Seven All-Star Foods to add to your diet instead of take away.
1. Pistachios: only nut with significant amounts of the phytonutrients lutein/zeaxanthin which are good for your eyes; 30 pistachios = 100 calories; also a source of B6, copper, and potassium.
I make a quick salad with greens, fresh sections of oranges and grapefruits and top with pistachios, a little lemon olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
2. Pumpkin: yes, I’m talking about canned pumpkin. Keep in the pantry as a staple. A source of beta-carotene and fiber, use pumpkin to make breakfast muffins and breads. I use pumpkin in smoothies with low fat vanilla frozen yogurt and cinnamon.
3. Kiwifruit: loaded with vitamin C and potassium; yes the little black seeds are totally edible.
4. Avocado: source of vitamin E, fiber and healthier monounsaturated fat. Use in place of salad dressing or mayo on a sandwich…very creamy.
5-6. Spices, Cinnamon and oregano: surprisingly high in antioxidants. Add cinnamon, which contains the mineral manganese to oatmeal and bread/muffin batters. Sprinkle on coffee or hot chocolate. Try oregano on pizza and in lasagna and manicotti.
7. Canned tomatoes: source of the phytonutrients lycopene, vitamin C and potassium; cooked tomatoes release their lycopene for enhanced absorption in the body.
Does the herb guarana pack the same caffeine punch as coffee? Guarana, pronounced gwa-rah-na, is an herb from South America and is very popular as a stimulant in energy drinks with names such as Pit bull, Pimp juice,Rip It, Venom and Cocaine Energy Drink whose website says ‘it tastes like a fireball, a carbonated atomic fireball!’.
When I say caffeine, what’s the first thing you think about? Coffee? Maybe tea or chocolate? Like tea, coffee, and chocolate, guarana contains compounds in the caffeine family including theobromine and theophylline.
Caffeine is known to:
help treat migraine headaches
fight fatigue
help improve mental function
Most of the proposed uses of guarana fall into line with these effects of caffeine although some scientists suggest there are other compounds in guarana that may have similar effects but the research currently doesn’t exist.
If you take a look at the majority of energy drinks and other products with caffeine, you may find guarana added along with stimulants like ginseng. When a caffeine containing product is enhanced with the herbal guarana you have a potential caffeine double whammy…that may or may not be fine for your body.
For someone who is caffeine sensitive or not use to caffeine, the effects of guarana by itself or added to the caffeine in coffee, energy drinks or other products may not be pleasant and could be dangerous:
The heart rate and blood pressure jump up
Feelings of panic and anxiety can set in at any age
It’s hard to sleep
Heartburn, gastritis
Disturbances in heart rhythm
A typical dose of guarana supplies 50 mg of caffeine about half the amount in a cup of coffee. However, take a look at the label of most products containing guarana and the amount will not be listed. If you want to find out, check the website of the company who makes the product and look for the ingredient disclosure.
Young children, pregnant or nursing women, or people with heart disease or taking the medications we just discussed should not use guarana. So Moms, be aware of what your children drink, especially if they play sports of any type. Energy drinks are handed out like water but the effects are nowhere near the same.
Shaking salt from your diet is constantly in the news. But, I don’t want to lose the flavor of my food, do you? Did you know that approximately seventy five percent of the sodium in the American diet comes from the various sodium products added during processing? Incredible isn’t it? So get your label sleuth glasses on… it’s time to read the fine print! Reading labels is key to finding all the hidden sodium. There are a lot of us checking out food labels according to a 2009 survey by Mintel. Over 25% of people responding are always watching salt in their diet.
Check out the sodium level in some of these notorious sodium offenders as the level really does vary company to company:
Sauces and salad dressings: consider making your own from a flavored balsamic vinegar and good olive oil
Frozen and canned veggies
Frozen entrees
Fast foods
Deli meats plus ham, hot dogs, sausage and bacon
Soup
Bouillon cubes
Because salt adds flavor to food, you might be wondering whether you’re going to miss all that added sodium. You’ll like this answer. Your taste buds will adapt after about 6-8 weeks of gradually cutting back on the amount of sodium that you consume.
More tips to shake the sodium but not the flavor in your diet:
It’s all about fresh…start with fresh ingredients when at all possible. Bonus! When you eat more fruit and veggies, the additional potassium has a positive or lowering effect on blood pressure.
Rethink your seasonings…pepper is great but try a wide variety of fresh and dried herbs/spices and delightful seasoning blends without added sodium. Use more lemon, lime and other citrus for flavor along with a variety of vinegars. Grow fresh herbs in pots to use in your dishes too.
Rinse tuna, canned beans and canned veggies to lower the sodium content. Add your fresh herbs and spices to kick up the flavor.
What’s your favorite trick to shake the salt? Email me and I’ll share some of your tips in my podcast.
Can drinking water be cool? You bet it can when it’s infused with fruit, vegetables and herbs to create extraordinary thirst-quenching beverages. How does Blueberry Twist sound or Honeydew-Mint Mist? My guest on this week’s podcast is Brian Preston-Campbell author of the new book Cool Waters, 50 Refreshing, Healthy, Homemade Thirst Quenchers. Brian is a professional food stylist and former chef who graduated from the Culinary Institute of America. He has brought his talent for food styling to ad campaigns for companies such a Starbucks and Godiva.
The photographs are delicious as are the recipes which are caffeine free with no added sugar. You can enjoy your refreshing beverage while keeping down the calories you consume. A terrific feature is that each recipe has food pairings listed at the bottom. Useful and fun, the food pairings help you put together quick menu ideas.
One of my favorite recipes is ‘Squirt of Citrus’ which is just as it sounds…the ingredients include the juice from a fresh orange, lime, lemon and grapefruit. Be sure and check out the Nutrition& Health Center at WDBO.com for a few of Brian’s recipes.
One of the big trends in food is the move away from processed foods with chemical additives to more natural foods. Since there is no legal food definition for the word natural, let say it’s a movement back to foods closer to the way they exist in nature. This trend is true for sweeteners as well. There are many new sweeteners on the market as you notice every time you go to the grocery store. Let’s take a quick look at two ….agave nectar and stevia. Google and you’ll find loads of information but many times the hype is full of misinformation versus evidence-based science. Here’s the lowdown on these two sweeteners so you can separate fact from fiction.
Agave nectar also called agave syrup is a sweetener from the Mexican cactus. You will find it in all types of food products ranging from nutrition bars to drinks and desserts. It’s one of 2009’s trendy flavors and a trendy sugar alternative frequently used in cocktails. Agave has been touted for its delicate taste and is popular with chefs for use in desserts as well as to sweeten teas and health drinks. It’s one more choice to be included among honey, maple syrup, sugar and high fructose corn syrup.
Is agave better for you than any other sweetener such as sugar, maple syrup or honey? Agave is promoted as a low glycemic alterative for diabetics. Is it? If you’re diabetic or have friends or family members who are, you don’t want to miss this. Here’s why. Agave and sugar have approximately the same number of calories….about 16 per teaspoon. Agave is sweeter than sugar so you could save a few calories by the amount you use. Sugar is technically called sucrose which is composed of 50% fructose and 50% glucose when it is broken down in the body. Agave varies in its fructose content with a range from 55% up to 90%. It all depends on the processing method used which can affect the fructose content. Agave nectar with 55% fructose is about the same as high fructose corn syrup so there would be no benefit in agave at 55% fructose over sugar, high fructose corn syrup or honey from the standpoint of composition, only taste and personal preference.
The reason you hear …theoretically… agave nectar touted as safer for diabetics is that a higher fructose composition typically doesn’t cause dangerous spikes in blood glucose. Currently, we don’t have clinical studies as to agave’s safety in diabetes. Unless there is a label stating the exact percentage of fructose in the agave nectar, it can range as we just talked about from 55% up. So if you are diabetic, your blood glucose may or may not be spiked…all depending on how much fructose is in the particular agave product consumed and your particular case of diabetes. Plus fructose sweeteners may increase blood triglycerides if you have diabetes so be sure and discuss this with your health care provider.
Stevia falls into the noncaloric sweetener category. Stevia extract comes from the Stevia rebaudiana plant, an herb native to Central and South America. Stevia is 200-300 times sweeter than sugar with a slightly bitter aftertaste depending on the plant components used. This bitter aftertaste is the reason you may find stevia blended with other ingredients.
For example, some stevia products are often blended or ‘cut’ with a sugar alcohol called erythritol found naturally in vegetables and fruit so the product is less sweet than pure stevia. Erythritol is not metabolized or absorbed so it doesn’t spike blood glucose levels or cause the gas or bloating of some sugar alcohols like sorbitol or mannitol. Most of the products work well for people with diabetes but it’s smart to read the label and see what stevia is blended with and if the product has calories. Expect to see stevia used as a sweetener in many products and sold as a tabletop sweetener under various names.
Stevia and agave are just two of the many new sweeteners on the market. If you have diabetes, be sure and check the labels closely before you make a decision on which ones to try.
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back in a little sea salt for more punch. Regina suggests making sure your dried spices are not old! I’m definitely more aware of sodium and grow fresh herbs in small pots outside my door including rosemary, oregano, chives, and sage. Once you start using herbs and spices it’s easy to cut the salt and not go back. Plus your taste buds adapt.
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