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Picnic tips: guiltless, good food

May 25, 2011 By Lori Drummond, RD, LD Leave a Comment

The following article from RD411.com is a great overview of how to enjoy healthy AND enjoyable food this summer as you entertain, or simply want a great meal for yourself or your family.

By Jason Machowsky (MS, RD, CSCS)

Memorial Day, Fourth of July, Labor Day, family reunions, and picnics with family and friends all bring to mind a great tradition—barbecues. Grilling and barbecues are an excellent way to kick-start a healthy spring and summer by making a few adjustments to the typical fare of hamburgers, hot dogs, mayonnaise-soaked salads, and chips.  Before lighting that fire and tying on your “Kiss the Cook” apron, consider these healthful tips for guiltless grilling.

Marinate leaner cuts of meat for more flavor with less fat. When going down the meat aisle deciding what to grill, forego the traditional idea of hot dogs and hamburgers for affordable, leaner cuts of meat.

The following cuts are leaner than 95% lean ground beef:
    * Eye of round roast
    * Top round steak
    * Bottom round roast
    * Top sirloin steak
    * Round tip roast

A few other options, which are slightly higher in fat and calories but packed with flavor, include:

    * Flank steak
    * Tri-tip roasts

Of course skinless chicken breast and turkey breast are great options as well.  Try using this honey-based or Worcestershire-based marinade for beef or poultry, courtesy of AllRecipes.com.

Replace excess fat with a dash of spice and creativity
If you still want some good, old-fashioned burgers, consider going with 95% lean meat (beef or turkey) and adding different ingredients and spices to provide flavor without the fat.

Options include:

    * Ground cherry or prune pulp (ground up cherries or prunes)
    * Tomato products
    * Mashed avocado
    * Egg whites with some bread crumbs and vegetables

Restaurants have found replacing up to one fourth of the ground beef with cherry or prune pulp maintains the flavor, texture, and moisture of the burger, while adding valuable nutrients and lowering the fat.

Great vegetables and spices to use when making your own burgers include:

    * Chiles
    * Onions
    * Garlic
    * Pepper
    * Rosemary

You can use almost any spice. Consider making Thai, Indian, or Mediterranean burgers, or your own homemade black bean veggie burgers recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com.

Know that grills are for more than meat
Fish and vegetables are fantastic, healthy options for the grill. You can cook heartier fish, such as salmon or tuna, directly on the grill or cook more tender fish, such as tilapia, sole, or catfish, in an aluminum foil packet with a good spicy rub or lots of aromatics, such as herbs, lemon, or
orange.

Here are a few great recipe ideas, courtesy of AllRecipes.com:
Grilled Salmon
Halibut With Zesty Peach Salsa
Grilled Tilapia With Mango Salsa
Marinated Tuna Steak

The natural sweetness and flavors that come from grilled vegetables are unmatched. Besides corn, here are some other great vegetables that you can grill with just a light brush of your favorite oil, balsamic vinegar, and spices:

    * Eggplant
    * Red, yellow, and orange peppers
    * Red onion
    * Portobello mushrooms (you can make mushroom “burgers”)
    * Sliced sweet potatoes (really good)
    * Zucchini
    * Sliced beets
    * Endive

Choose better toppings
Adding cheese, bacon, mayonnaise, ketchup, and fried onions can practically double the calories and more than double the fat of your average burger and bun.

Here are some healthy substitutions to keep the flavor and texture of popular burger toppings, but without the added calories and fat:

    * Use lots of fresh vegetables, such as crispy lettuce, juicy tomatoes, and flavorful red onion
    * Add some spice to your burger with mustard or jalapeños
    * Try using avocados, which will give you some healthy fats along with a creamy consistency similar to cheese
    * Consider using more flavorful cheeses, such as sharp cheddar or aged Parmesan, so you can get more flavor with less cheese, as well as fewer calories and less fat
    * Replace bacon with Canadian bacon to save about 100 calories and 9 grams of fat/ounce, according to CalorieKing.com
    * Serve some warm toppings, such as caramelized onions, mushrooms, or spinach cooked in a little bit of butter or olive oil

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Filed Under: Shop/cook Tagged With: diets, Shop/cook

Seven myths about veggies

June 11, 2010 By Lori Drummond, RD, LD Leave a Comment

   I came across this informative blog designed for those who are planet conscience and, thus, this well-written article about some veggie myths that need debunking. Find out what you shouldn’t be believin’ and what you should.  It is well worth passing on to those who have those everyday questions I hear so frequently.  Special thanks to the author, Lori Bongiorno, an environmental journalist who shares green-living tips for Yahoo, Green!  –  Lori

.

   (June 1, 2010)  –  Is it healthier to eat raw veggies or to cook them? Is fresh broccoli more nutritious than frozen? Is eating iceberg lettuce a waste of time?

 You may be surprised by the answers to these seemingly simple questions. In fact, there are several misconceptions when it comes to vegetables. The one universal truth is that most of us could be eating more of them.

As summer approaches, we have more vegetable choices than at any other time of year. Here’s a guide to what’s fact and what’s fiction when it comes to eating your veggies.

 Myth: Fresh vegetables are more nutritious than frozen

Fact: Studies show that sometimes you can get more nutrients from frozen veggies, depending on variety and how old the vegetables at your supermarket are. That’s because produce starts losing nutrient quality as soon as it’s picked.

Frozen vegetables are flash-frozen right after harvest so they are preserved at their peak of freshness when they are most nutritious. Your best bet in terms of taste, nutrition, and the environment is still local in-season produce.  When that’s not an option frozen can be a better choice (from a nutrient standpoint) than spinach that takes two weeks to reach your table.    

Myth: Cooked veggies are less nutritious than raw

Fact: It depends on the vegetable. “Cooking destroys some nutrients, but it releases others,” says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat. It destroys vitamin C and folic acid, according to Nestle, which is why it’s not a great idea to cook oranges.

On the other hand, she says, cooking releases vitamin A and the nutrients in fiber and makes them easier to digest. It’s also easier for your body to absorb more lycopene, a cancer-fighting antioxidant, in cooked tomato sauce than from raw tomatoes.

Steam or roast veggies instead of boiling, which leaches out water-soluble vitamins into the cooking water. [Read more...]

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Filed Under: Shop/cook Tagged With: Education, Shop/cook, Vegetables

Healthy eating begins with healthy shopping

May 20, 2010 By Lori Drummond, RD, LD Leave a Comment

You can’t eat well at home if you don’t shop well at the grocery or produce market. Here is a public television program that offers simple, easily remembered tips for wise shopping. Apply these basic principles and your health will likely improve.

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Filed Under: Shop/cook Tagged With: Fruit, Nutrition, Shop/cook

Produce pesticides linked to ADHD

May 18, 2010 By Lori Drummond, RD, LD Leave a Comment

Always wash produce

(HealthDay News) — New research suggests that exposure to high levels of organophosphate pesticides, commonly found on berries, celery and other produce, could raise the odds for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children.

At this point, though, there is no evidence that pesticide exposure can actually cause ADHD, stated the authors of a paper appearing in the June issue of Pediatrics.

Certainly parents and children shouldn’t swear off fruits and veggies, said study lead author Maryse Bouchard, an adjunct researcher in the department of environmental and occupational health at the University of Montreal and at Sainte-Justine University Hospital Centre. However, “I think it’s safe to say that we should as much as possible reduce our exposure to pesticides,” she said.

That would meaning going organic, buying at farmers’ markets and washing fruits and vegetables thoroughly before consuming them, she said.

“I always encourage my families to embrace healthy lifestyles in general,” agreed Dr. Nakia Scott, clinical assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral science at Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine and a child psychiatrist with Lone Star Circle of Care. “I think it’s much more important that they’re eating fruits, vegetables, nuts and grains instead of sodas and fast foods and I’m not saying that they’re not going to eat any produce because it might contain pesticides.”

Previous research has shown an association between both prenatal and postnatal organophosphate exposure and developmental problems in young children.

But most prior studies have focused on excessive rather than average exposure to organophosphates.

“Organophosphates are one of the most widely used pesticides in agriculture to protect crops and fruits and vegetables,” Bouchard noted. “For children, the major source of exposure would be the diet — fruits and vegetables in particular.”

In their study, Bouchard and her colleagues analyzed data on pesticide exposure and ADHD in more than 1,100 American children aged 8 to 15.
Children with higher pesticide levels in their urine were more likely to have ADHD, the team found.

“The analysis showed that the higher the level of exposure [as measured by metabolites in the urine], the higher the odds of having ADHD,” Bouchard added.

Just how might pesticides harm brain development? According to the authors, high doses of organophosphates may inhibit acetylcholinesterase, a nervous system enzyme. Lower doses of the pesticide may affect different growth factors and neurotransmitters.
The findings, if replicated, may provide another clue into the causes of ADHD, a condition which affects three to seven percent of school-aged children, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“We do have a fair amount of evidence about other causes of ADHD,” Scott said. “We know that ADHD is a highly heritable disorder. At least one-third of fathers who have had ADHD in their youth have a child with ADHD.”

“There are also prenatal risks such as tobacco exposure and alcohol exposure,” she added. “There’s also a possibility that children who are exposed to high levels of lead prior to the age of six may develop ADHD.”

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Filed Under: Shop/cook Tagged With: Fruit, Nutrition, pesticides, Vegetables

Nutrition labels sometimes err

May 16, 2010 By Lori Drummond, RD, LD Leave a Comment

 

The Food and Drug Administration is moving toward a more active role in seeing that packaged food consumers have accurate, adequate nutrition labels to guide purchasing decisions.

Please read this article by Andrea Thompson of LiveScience.com – FDA cracks down on defective nutrition labels

If you’d be willing to participate in a simple, 10-question study about how consumers evaluate nutrition labels, please click this link to provide contact information and we’ll send you the survey form.

Thanks for making a difference in your world.

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Filed Under: Digestion, Education, Shop/cook Tagged With: Clinical nutrition, Shop/cook
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