The Taste of Summer

I love summer for a bunch of reasons: flexible schedule with my kids, living outside, longer days.  But most of all, I love the taste of summer.  I love eating tomatoes with flavor, being a watermelon and raspberry junkie and I love how fresh produce deliciously infiltrates every meal and occasion.  Not only do all these fresh fruits and vegetables please our bodies, but our palates as well.  So whether it means being creative with your neighbors bumper crop of zucchini, eating straight of your backyard garden or hitting the local farmer's market, be sure to taste summer.  Here are a few of the ways I love tasting summer: 

My 4th of July dinner plate: local corn on the cob, caprese salad, crusty baguette, zucchini chips with watermelon and blackberries for dessert.

One of my all-time favorite desserts - a bowl full of raspberries sprinkled with mini, dark, chocolate chips.  Double Yum!

On my sister's night to cook she made a family favorite - Cambodian tacos.

No better time than summer to teach kids how to cook - especially with fresh produce.  My son and nephew made a main-dish salad as part of their Iron Chef (cousin edition) competition.

The winners with their appetizer, entree and dessert.

My daughter and niece were very close runners-up.  Produce figured into each of their courses.

Food Swaps & Other Healthful Tweaks

So many people fear eating healthy because they think that they'll have to throw all their favorite foods and meals out the window.  Not so.  With a little substitution and swapping, you can still enjoy delicious and festive food-occasions (and you won't miss those calories one bit). 

Here are some easy food-swap examples:

• swap salsa for the chip or veggie dip
• swap veggies & dip for the chips & dip
• swap a green salad for the macaroni salad
• swap fresh fruit for the frog-eye salad
• swap angel food cupcakes for regular cupcakes
• swap water bottles in the cooler for cans of pop

More food substitutions on my Studio 5 segment: http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=56&sid=26056999

It's Ice Cream Season. . . Re-think Your Toppings

By swapping frozen yogurt for regular ice cream, homemade chocolate syrup for store-bought hot fudge sauce, and berries macerated (fancy name for tossed with ahead of time to get all juicy and yummy) in honey, you save 180 calories that one ice cream sundae! 

Homemade Chocolate syrup:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

dash salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

In a saucepan, whisk together the cocoa and sugar.  Add the water and salt, whisking over medium heat until boiling.  Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from heat and add the vanilla extract.  Store in refrigerator. 

Makes approximately 2 cups (16 servings)

Serving size: 2 Tbsp.  60 calories, 1.8 g fiber,  12.6 g sugar

5 Tips For A Healthy 4th

The 4th of July is no exception to the food-centric holiday rule.  This is a good thing, since food fills not only a nutritional, but a cultural and celebratory need as well.  But there are ways to up the enjoyment of your feast without upping empty calories.  Here are 5 tips to keep your 4th festive, but not fattening:

1. Leave the chips at home.  Finger foods and dip-able foods are great - just swap out the chips in favor of a veggie tray. Baby carrots, sugar snap peas and grape tomatoes require no prep time at all. (Turning them into a volcanic island scene however, does.) 
   
   
2. Whip up the dip yourself.  Pre-made dips are high in fat, sodium and sometimes sugar.  A healthier option is to whip up the dip yourself with some greek yogurt, a little canola mayo, garlic, onion powder, smoked paprika, dash of cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. 
3. Be beverage aware.  Remember you can always drink calories faster than you can eat them, so choose your beverage wisely.  Make ice-water or water bottles your go-to instead of a cooler full of soda pop.  I personally would rather chew my calories than sip them.
4. Pack in the plants.  This summer holiday is perfectly suited for a produce-rich meal.  Make salads and veggie or fruit side dishes the highlight of your picnic table. 
   
   This holiday may just be the easiest time to get 9 servings of fruits and veggies in.  Watermelon, peas, nectarines, strawberries, blueberries, fresh greens, beans and tomatoes can all take center stage this time of year.  
5. Make fruit your dessert.  Whether it is a fruit topped cheesecake, chocolate dipped strawberries
    
   or fruit filled waffle cones, make fruit a part of your dessert tradition. 
   

Car-Stables Snacks to Keep You Out of the Drive-thru

I recently did a segment on Studio 5 about car-stable staples.  http://studio5.ksl.com/?nid=56&sid=25772808
Here is the recipe for the car-mix that I like.  It is simple, healthful, and won't go stale on you for quite a while so you can leave it in your glove box and forget about it for a week or two. 

Long-Lasting Car Snack Mix

1 cup nuts
1 cup dried fruit (I like a mix of dried berries)
2 cups unsweetened cereal

Makes 8  1/2-cup servings
Calories: 150
Protein: 4 g
Fiber: 5 g

Eating Carb-Smart

Hating on carbs has been a popular nutrition fad for the past few years.  Low-carb diets however, have not proved to be the long-term health solution that America needs.  In order to understand what kind and how much carbohydrate we need, we have to keep a few things in mind:

1.    Not all carbohydrates are created equal.   There is a big difference in the nutrition of carbohydrates found in a glazed donut compared to the carbohydrates found in whole-grain pasta.  The more complex the carbohydrates (whole grains, starchy vegetables, legumes, etc.) the more health benefits they provide since complex, unrefined carbohydrate sources provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.  Refined carbohydrates (sugars and refined flours) lose a lot of those nutrients through the refining process.

2.    Carbohydrates are not nutritional villains.  Everyone’s body runs on carbohydrates.  In the absence of carbohydrates in the diet, our bodies will work hard to convert proteins and fats into a usable fuel source (glucose).  So in order for our bodies to function the way they were designed, we need a balanced intake of carbohydrates. 

3.    Excess and hidden sugars are really what we need to watch out for.  Processed, packaged and restaurant foods are notoriously high in hidden sugars.  Cookies, candy and soda pop aren’t the only hideouts for sugar.  Condiments (barbeque sauce, creamy salad dressings, marinades), yogurts, juices and breakfast cereals all contain more sugar than you might think.

So how does one limit the amount of processed or refined carbohydrates in favor of the more complex?

·      Don’t drink your sugar – go for water.

·      Go whole grain – aim for 3 servings of whole grain per day. 

·      Check breakfast cereal labels – 5 grams of sugar or less per serving is great.

·      Use condiments as they were intended – sparingly (ketchup is not a vegetable serving).

·      Swap out creamy salad dressings for olive oil and vinegar based  dressings.

·      Cut the croutons and top your salad with nuts, seeds, or roasted chickpeas.

·      Try a square of bittersweet chocolate for dessert instead of milk chocolate. (up to ½ as much sugar in bittersweet compared with milk chocolate)

·      Go with corn instead of flour tortillas (corn tortillas are whole grain with 60 calories, 13 g. carbohydrate vs. flour tortillas 150 calories, 25 g carbohydrate).

·      Eat out less often.

http://studio5.ksl.com/index.php?nid=56&sid=25566178 

Smart Salad Toppers: Roasted Garbanzo Beans

Summer is a great salad-eating season, but don't fall into the rut of topping every salad with croutons.  Try using toasted nuts, pumpkin seeds, or try this recipe for roasted garbanzo beans. 

Toss together 5 ingredients, bake and enjoy!

High in fiber, folate and protein - garbanzo beans or chickpeas are nutrient dense and tasty as well!

Roasted Garbanzo Bean Salad Toppers:

Ingredients

1 can reduced sodium garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
Dash ground chipotle pepper
Pinch salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Drain rinse and pat dry one can of reduced salt garbanzo beans. In a medium-sized bowl, toss with 1 tsp. olive oil, 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, dash of ground chipotle pepper and a pinch of salt. Spread out garbanzo beans in a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes, stir, then bake an additional 15 minutes or until golden and crisp. Serves 9 (2 Tbsp. serving size)

Serving Size: Makes 9 2-Tbsp. servings

Number of Servings: 9

Nutrition Information

Calories: 55
Total fat: 1 g
Total carbohydrates: 9 g
Fiber: 2 g
Protein: 2 g
Sodium: 55 mg