Food = Life

Snack Idea: Cheese & Pear Toast

2012-01-03T14:20:00.004-05:00

Fruit and cheese is one of my favorite combinations!

I just made this as a quick snack/small meal:

One ripe pear, thinly sliced
Low-fat cheddar cheese (I like Cabot)
Whole grain bread, 1 or 2 slices

Layer cheese and pear slices on bread, then pop it in the toaster oven for approximately 5 minutes.

Yum! Of course, now i'm thinking that pear could be a great addition to grilled cheese - and less watery than tomato slices...

Pie!

2011-12-26T13:52:00.002-05:00

Pie before

I can't believe it's been almost one year since I last made apple pie. I use a sweet ginger crust, which is very easy to work with (you can't overmix it - very useful for creating lattice because you can re-roll it as many times as you need).

Pie after!

Still Growing

2011-12-01T21:51:00.001-05:00

I just popped into the backyard to toss a mushy pumpkin into the compost bin when I discovered our broccoli is still growing! Exciting - especially considering that I'm in NY and it snowed at the end of October...

This reminds me to spread the word about Winter Sun Farms winter CSA. I just joined for the second year, because I loved it so much last season - fresh frozen local produce all winter, and fresh eggs too! Check out their website to see if they are in your area.

How are you celebrating Food Day?

2011-10-12T12:21:00.002-04:00

Monday, October 24th is the very first annual Food Day! Food Day seeks to raise awareness of issues pertaining to food and to bring people together, "to push for healthy, affordable food produced in a sustainable, humane way." The holiday was founded by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (nutrition advocacy organization and publisher of the fantastic Nutrition Action Healthletter).

The 6 goals of Food Day are as follows:

1. Reduce diet-related disease by promoting safe, healthy foods

2. Support sustainable farms & limit subsidies to big agribusiness

3. Expand access to food and alleviate hunger

4. Protect the environment & animals by reforming factory farms

5. Promote health by curbing junk-food marketing to kids

6. Support fair conditions for food and farm workers

Sound good? Great! So, What can you do to celebrate Food Day? Anything pertaining to real food - it's up to you! Organize a healthy dinner with friends, teach someone a new vegetable recipe. Check out this page for more ideas.

Purslane Salad (with beets and tomatoes)

2011-08-04T23:12:00.003-04:00

This week I decided to pick up some purslane while at the farmers' market near my office. Too bad I didn't do this a few weeks ago, before I pulled up (and threw out) a ton of purslane growing in my vegetable garden! At the time I didn't realize what it was. Purslane is a weed, you see, and well, that being the case, I'm sure it will invade my garden again soon enough.

I've also been hearing the buzz about purslane being high in alpha-linolenic acid (an omega-3 fatty acid), and while the nutrient database I use at work (NDSR 2011) says the n-3 content is no higher than that of spinach, this study says otherwise. In either case, it's packed with other nutrients - and just plain delicious.

I made a purslane salad with beets and tomatoes, dressed with basil-infused olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper. So simple...and next time I'll think twice before tossing out those weeds.

Banana Bread with a Boost

2011-07-17T21:07:00.005-04:00

I love banana bread! This afternoon I decided to play around with a new recipe. While baking is more precise than cooking, you can still tweak recipes and end up with delicious - and healthful - baked goods.

I started looking at this recipe from the Food Network and this recipe from Allrecipes.com. I mostly followed the Food Network version, but made several substitutions to eliminate saturated fat, boost protein and add omega-3 fatty acids:

Instead of 8 tablespoons of butter, I used 5 1/2 tablespoons of canola oil.

Instead of 2 cups all-purpose flour, I used:

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1/2 cup ground flaxseeds

Instead of 1 cup white granulated sugar, I used 3/4 cup brown sugar (less sugar but more flavor).

I also used less than the 1 teaspoon salt called for by the recipe - probably around 1/2 tsp.

The result? Yum! - delicious, hearty, moist.

Garden 2011

2011-07-10T14:56:00.001-04:00

This is the second year of our garden. We planted slightly less, but I think we will end up producing more edible vegetables (last year we were not able to eat much of the cabbage or broccoli due to whitefly infestation).

This year we have 6 tomato plants. The two plants to the far left and far right sides I found spontaneously growing in the main garden bed and transplanted. I'm not sure what variety of tomato they are - I guess it will be a surprise!

In the main garden bed we have eggplant, cucumbers, bush beans (which have already started producing!), zucchini (that's the huge one in the center) and broccoli. We also planted spinach seeds, but they didn't do so well - we'll see if they come back but I'm not going to count on it.

I really wanted to plant swiss chard as well, but never got around to it. I may start some in a large pot to have well into the fall.

Inaccurate Nutrient Calculations (and statements) are Everywhere

2011-07-06T23:36:00.007-04:00

Lately, I've been reading several articles about the national restaurant menu labeling legislation passed in March and the abundance of professional opportunities expected to arise in the upcoming months. Specifically, I'm referring to Section 4205 of H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act, which mandates that restaurants and food vendors with more than 20 locations make calorie and nutrient information readily available to consumers. (What, you haven't read the whole bill?)

It's abundantly clear to me that menu calculations must be conducted by someone with both nutrition and culinary expertise. Let me provide an example:

Last week, I received nutrition information from a vendor to use in my calculations of a patient's food record (this vendor supplies certain types of meals to the hospital). Here's the info I was sent for one meal (fish and mixed vegetables):

350 calories

3.5g total fat
116.20 calories from fat
5.90g total carbohydrate
31.40g total protein

What's wrong with this picture? Well, let's start with the basics: fat has 9 calories per gram, protein and carbohydrate each have 4 calories per gram. Clearly, the item above must have more than 3.5g of fat if the fat is contributing 116.2 calories (116.2/9 = 12.9 g of total fat is more likely to be the case). However, if you multiply all the macronutrients (fat, carb, protein) by their calories, I still don't end up with 350 total calories:

Goodbye Pyramid, Hello Plate

2011-06-02T21:29:00.003-04:00

The Food Pyramid is dead, but don't mourn it - I certainly don't! Especially the most recent (indecipherable) vertically-striped version...

Today, the USDA introduced its new symbol to accompany the 2010 Dietary Guidelines: MyPlate. (wow, that makes so much sense - we eat on plates!)

I like the visual of MyPlate much better than MyPyramid. It's very similar to the visual I draw when teaching the plate method of healthy eating. Overall, MyPlate is definitely an improvement. However, I'm not sure how I feel about the dairy being stuck out there in right field - it seems too much like an afterthought.

Also, Marion Nestle points out in her recent blog post, protein is a nutrient, not a food. Today, my nutrition director, Dr. Wahida Karmally, observed that many people think they are only eating protein when consuming meat; they don't know they are eating fat and cholesterol too. Calling that section of the plate "protein" seems to reinforce this misconception - not to mention there's plenty of protein in dairy (just go for low-fat and non-fat varieties, of course!).

So, what do you think?

Interview: The Small Change Diet

2011-04-13T21:27:00.001-04:00

My book review and interview with Keri Gans, MS, RD, CDN, author of The Small Change Diet, is featured as SuperKidsNutrition.com's Book of the Month!

I highly recommend this book to anyone struggling to make diet or lifestyle changes. The word "diet" doesn't really belong in the title. Check out the review and interview to find out why!

Happy National Nutrition Month!

2011-03-01T20:48:00.001-05:00

March is National Nutrition Month! This year's theme is "Eat Right with Color."

There are so many delicious colors to choose from! Tonight, I made Green Pizza (ok, there's a bit of red in there too).

Ingredients:

Frozen whole wheat pizza dough
Tomato sauce (homemade)
Low-fat mozzarella cheese
Frozen chopped kale
Chopped bell peppers
Ground flax seeds (added to the crust when rolling out)
Olive oil (to mist the baking sheet)

Yum! And, no, I did not slave away on this - I got home from work at 6:45 and we were eating it by 7:30pm. However, if you remember to put the dough in the fridge to defrost during the day (unlike me), you'll be eating in 30 minutes instead of 45.

Interview: Living Skinny in Fat Genes

2011-01-20T20:57:00.002-05:00

Check out my book review and interview with Dr. Felicia D. Stoler, author of Living Skinny in Fat Genes: The Healthy Way to Lose Weight and Feel Great - SuperKidsNutrition.com's featured Book of the Month!

Winter CSA

2011-01-15T11:44:00.001-05:00

This year my husband and I joined the Wintersun Farms winter CSA for the New York City area. We've had 2 pickups so far, and I am truly loving it! (If you are not familiar with CSAs, this post has some info). Each month we receive frozen vegetables and eggs from Hudson Valley farms. Last week we received:

Chopped Kale (12 oz)
Raspberries (6 oz)
Crushed Tomatoes (24 oz)
Pureed Butternut Squash (16 oz)
Broccoli Florets (12 oz)
Edamame (12 oz)
Fresh Pea Shoots
Eggs (1 dozen)

In December we received:

Green Beans (12 oz)
Blueberries (8 oz)
Crushed Tomatoes (24 oz)
Pureed Butternut Squash (16 oz)
Diced Bell Peppers (12 oz)
Corn (16 oz)
Fresh Pea Shoots
Eggs (1 dozen)

I can't wait to make butternut squash soup and more tomato sauce...already ate most of the kale. It was delicious with minimal seasoning - just a tad of salt, pepper and garlic powder. I am waiting for inspiration for how to use the raspberries and blueberries - such a treat this time of year!
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Playing video games can be good for kids...

2011-01-02T22:54:00.011-05:00

...if they're playing the right ones, that is! For a while now, I've followed the research on video games developed to increase physical activity (ironic, isn't it?) and fruit, vegetable and water intake among adolescents.

For a full recap, you'll have to read my masters' thesis, but for now, let's focus on two of my favorites: Escape from Diab and Nanoswarm: Invasion from Inner space. The latest research on these two games will be published in the January 2011 issue of American Journal of Preventive Medicine, but you can read the abstract online: Video Game Play, Child Diet, and Physical Activity Behavior Change: A Randomized Clinical Trial by Baranowski et al.

Hot Chocolate + Blizzard = Happy

2010-12-27T00:07:00.014-05:00

Ah, there's nothing better than a rich cup of hot chocolate on a cold winter's night...when there's approximately a foot of snow outside...and more to come!

I steer clear of powdered hot chocolate mixes. Most have dismally small amounts of protein (about 2g) and calcium (43mg), are full of added sugar and, well, they're just not chocolatey enough for me! I usually make my own hot chocolate, which is just quick and convenient as a mix - and much more nutrient-dense.

Here's my favorite recipe for hot chocolate:
Read more »

Rouge Tomate: Nutritious and Delicious!

2010-12-13T00:20:00.003-05:00

Yesterday, I took my mom out for lunch at Rouge Tomate for her birthday. What an exquisite dining experience! My interest in Rouge Tomate was first piqued by a nutrition career panel I attended last winter. One member of the panel was Natalia Hancock, RD, culinary nutritionist for Rouge Tomate. A restaurant with a nutritionist on staff? Yes, it's true! Check out Rouge Tomate's philosophy to learn more.

First, the setting:

Looking down to the lower level.

Main level.

Lower level.

Alpha-Carotene, Beta's not-so-little sister?

2010-12-04T21:38:00.010-05:00

Just before Thanksgiving, I came across this article published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. In short, the authors analyzed data from 15,318 adults who participated in NHANES, and followed them over a 14-year period. Carotenes are antioxidants, and it has been hypothesized that they may lower risk for cancer and cardiovascular disease. In this case, the authors discovered that those adults with the highest blood concentration of alpha-carotene had the lowest risk of death from all causes - yes, this includes cancer and CVD.

Now, while this is quite intriguing, please note that it is an association, which does not establish cause and effect. Still, this article highlights something I often explain: that nutrients cannot replace food.

Read more »

The Food Safety Modernization Act

2010-11-29T23:00:00.000-05:00

Congress is voting tonight on the The Food Safety Modernization Act. Among other things, the bill would actually give the FDA the power to issue food recalls (did you know that although the FDA is responsible for 80% of the nation's food supply, it cannot issue mandatory recalls of contaminated food?)

Here's an interesting NY Times opinion piece by Eric Schlosser and Michael Pollan on the bill. I am very curious to see what new tomorrow brings!

Probiotics in Ice Cream?

2010-11-02T11:36:00.004-04:00

I just came across an article in the Journal of Dairy Science about the formulation of probiotic, prebiotic and synbiotic ice cream. Apparently the bacteria remained viable after storage and met the "minimum required to achieve probiotic effects." More information may be found here. This article disturbs me, but before I continue, some definitions:

Probiotic refers to live microorganisms thought to be healthy for the host organism (in this case, humans).
Prebiotic refers to substances that support the growth or activity of probiotics.
Synbiotic refers to substances or foods containing both probiotics and prebiotics.

Read more »

I'm a contributing editor at SuperKidsNutrition.com!

2010-10-30T10:33:00.001-04:00

I just joined SuperKidsNutrition.com as a contributing editor! Check out my bio and the other editors here. Some info about the site below:

"SuperKids Nutrition Inc. was founded in August 2006 by Melissa Halas-Liang, MA, RD, CDE to save the world one healthy food at a time^TM. The SuperKids Nutrition team represents a diverse, nationally recognized group of Registered Dietitians and nutrition professionals who specialize in childhood, school and family nutrition. SuperKids Nutrition is recognized and listed by the USDA and state board educational sites as a credible nutrition education resource providing nutrition content, parent Q and A and resources on over 10,000 school websites across 23 states. The SuperKids Nutrition website, books and other educational resources are available to parents, teachers, and healthcare professionals looking for tools and information on eating healthfully and raising a healthy family. To learn more, "visit http://www.superkidsnutrition.com/

Last chance to support my walk to fight Diabetes!

2010-10-21T09:23:00.002-04:00

On October 24th - this Sunday! - I am walking and raising funds for the American Diabetes Association's signature fundraising walk, Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes. Every step I take and every dollar I raise will make a difference in the lives of 23.6 million Americans living with diabetes. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.

No matter how small or large, your donation will help us Stop Diabetes.

Visit my page to make a donation today!

What's Missing in Soy Cheese?

2010-10-15T22:19:00.013-04:00

Today at work, soy cheese came up in two different conversations. I soon realized that I'm not sure how it measures up nutritionally to low-fat milk cheese. It's not something I would usually compare side-by-side, but in this case my patient was asking simply because she likes the taste of soy cheese (not because she couldn't eat dairy cheese). Soy milk is full of high-quality protein, so surely the same is true of soy cheese, right? Read on...

Here's what a quick search turned up.

Tofutti Soy Cheese Slices
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil is the 2nd ingredient (trans-fat alert!!) And that's quite a dollop of sodium for one measly slice. Steer clear of this for sure.

1 slice (0.67oz) = 70 calories, 2g protein, 4g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 290mg sodium
http://www.tofutti.com/cheese-amer-lable.html
http://www.tofutti.com/cheese-mozz-lable.html

Vegan Gourmet
A bit better, but that's not a lot of protein. Hmm.

1 oz = 50 calories, 2g protein, 4g total fat, 0.5g saturated fat, 200mg sodium (no trans fats in ingredients list)
http://www.followyourheart.com/products.php?id=24
http://www.imearthkind.com/

Together we can Stop Diabetes. One step at a time.

2010-09-18T12:52:00.004-04:00

On October 24th, I am walking and raising funds for the American Diabetes Association's signature fundraising walk, Step Out: Walk to Fight Diabetes. Every step I take and every dollar I raise will make a difference in the lives of 23.6 million Americans living with diabetes. By making a donation on my behalf, you will be helping the Association provide community-based education programs, protect the rights of people with diabetes and fund critical research for a cure.

No matter how small or large, your donation will help us Stop Diabetes.

Visit my page to make a donation today! Read more »

Burger with a side of Statins?

2010-09-12T21:05:00.000-04:00

Someone please tell me this is a joke: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20691321

"Routine accessibility of statins in establishments providing unhealthy food might be a rational modern means to offset the cardiovascular risk. Fast food outlets already offer free condiments to supplement meals. A free statin-containing accompaniment would offer cardiovascular benefits, opposite to the effects of equally available salt, sugar, and high-fat condiments."

Um, right, not to mention that statins have side effects and may cause liver problems - everyone taking them must have their liver enzymes monitored to be sure they are safe...and what about varying levels of medication from day to day?

The Hundred Year Diet: The Interview

2010-09-07T22:01:00.000-04:00

Check out my book review and interview with Susan Yager, author of The Hundred Year Diet: America's Voracious Appetite for Losing Weight.