Sit Down, Slow Down, and Unplug

I saw this photo by Suspended Coffees on Facebook (link below) and it reminded me of one of my mantras.
Suspended Coffees

Sit down, slow down and unplug.  If every day we made it a priority to do those three things when we ate, we would actually be able to:

1. Taste and enjoy our food, thereby receiving more nutrition from food that appeals to us.  (The science behind this is called the cephalic phase of digestion and basically when we eat food that is appetizing to us, we absorb more nutrients such as iron from that food as compared to food that doesn't appeal or engage our senses.)
2. Give time for our bodies to register fullness or satiety.  When we slow down, we actually eat less and achieve a more comfortable level of fullness.
3. When we remove distractions and focus on food and company or conversation, we are much less likely to over eat, and more likely to find satisfaction in our eating experience.
4. And lastly, it's just good manners.
 

So when you are about to eat something - consider my three simple pieces of advice: sit down, slow down and unplug - and find real enjoyment in food.

Resolve to Re-work Your Recipes

Healthful eating doesn't require giving up your favorite flavors or recipes.  Rather, take a look at your favorites, standbys and go-to recipes and see if there are ways you can improve the nutrition without sacrificing the flavor you love.  To give you an example, here is a example of a recipe re-work:

Original recipe:
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup whole milk
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk chocolate chips

Directions: Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg.  Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with applesauce to creamed mixture.  Mix in oats and chocolate chips.  Fill 12 muffin papers 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

Re-worked recipe (green indicates changes made):
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Muffins
1/4 cup canola oil, margarine or butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg (can substitute 2 egg whites)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp. ground flaxseed
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce (can use skim milk)
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips or bittersweet chocolate chips

Directions: Cream butter and sugar, beat in egg.  Combine dry ingredients and add alternately with applesauce to creamed mixture.  Mix in oats and chocolate chips.  Fill 12 muffin papers 3/4 full.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes.

The reworked recipe is lower in fat, calories and sugar yet higher in fiber.  Swapping unsweetened applesauce for whole milk reduces the fat and makes for a wonderfully moist muffin.  If you don't care for a moister texture, stick with skim milk.  I also added a little cinnamon because I love how the flavor approximates an oatmeal chocolate chip cookie. 

Keep an eye out for ways to add fiber, fruits, veggies and whole grains to your recipes while keeping fat and sugar content in check and you'll soon be a whiz at recipe modification.  

3 Positive New Year's Nutrition Resolutions

When you think about making new years resolutions, diet and exercise often top the list.  If you think about the way you make exercise resolutions you don’t focus on what not to do “I won’t sit on the couch as much, I won’t be a sedentary lounge-about” instead you make goals that add positive change “I will go to the gym 3 days a week or I will train for a race”.  However when it comes to diet, we often focus on the negative: “I will give up chocolate or sugar, or I will cut out carbs”.  Instead it would be much more productive, sustainable and enjoyable to focus on positive change to add in to our diet.  

Fresh Living Segment 

3 things to add into your diet to get the most bang for your buck:

• Drink 64 oz water daily - naturally crowds out soda or other less nutritious beverages (water bottle display)

• Eat 9 fruits & veggies/day - naturally crowds out convenience, high calorie foods (produce display)

• Add a few meatless meals to your weekly menu - helps increase the fruit and veggie intake, higher fiber, lower saturated fat = heart healthy/weight management friendly (beans, nuts, soy display)

Notice there is nothing hear about eliminating foods - even convenience, dessert or fast foods.  But if you really commit to adding in the healthy components of nutrition, the fun/play foods will recede back into the cameo role they should be playing in your diet. These changes keep you from feeling deprived, and is much easier to maintain longer than the second week of January, instead they become life-long habits that can improve how you feel now and increase healthy longevity.

Tasty Party-Fare Makeovers

I love appetizers, dips and noshables as much as the next guy, but that doesn't mean I go hog-wild and offer my family and friends an artery-blocking buffet.  Here are some links to my favorite made-over recipes that are so tasty you don't miss the original:

•  Spinach Artichoke Dip This recipe from Cooking Light is a real crowd pleaser.  Instead of the reduced fat cream cheese - try Greek Cream Cheese (cream cheese made from greek yogurt).  Serve with some whole grain pita chips or my favorite: Triscuits.
• Chocolate Cherry Chunk Meringues This isn't necessarily a makeover recipe, but I wanted to include it as a good substitute for Christmas cookies or calorie-laden desserts.  Plus, I'm a sucker for chocolate, cherry and meringues!
• Mushroom Polenta Canapes I love, love, love this appetizer!  It is fairly simple - but adds a lot of flavor and wow-factor to your party.  Plus it's low fat, decent fiber content make it a great savory substitution for any fried, battered, pie-crust-filled appetizer you pick up at the store.
• Spring Rolls At 100 calories per serving - these beat the pants off of any fried egg roll.  Consider letting your guests help with the assembly - as it makes it more fun and efficient.  
• Hot Bean & Cheese Dip Instead of going with a nacho-cheese dip for your southwest flavor-fix, try this recipe.  Loaded with fiber and lower in calories and sodium than store-bought ones.  Serve with veggies or whole grain chips.  
• Sweet Chipotle Snack Mix Instead of putting out the candy dish - set this mix out.  Such as tasty flavor combination - enjoying healthy nuts and seeds never tasted so good.
• Water  No this isn't a link . . . no recipe needed.  The best makeover for cocktails or party beverages is to not drink your calories.  You might want to provide some fun garnishes for the glasses:  Freeze cranberries on a skewer to use as a substitute for ice.  Lemon, lime and blood orange slices make a gorgeous garnish for the ultimate calorie free beverage.  

I had a makeover request for a buffalo chicken dip recipe.  While there are some variations in the different recipes out there - some of the constant ingredients involve cream cheese, sour cream and cheese.  So here are my tips to lighten it without losing it's flavor identity:  Go with a mix of reduced fat and fat free cream cheese (or greek cream cheese), swap out the sour cream for nonfat greek yogurt and go with a strong-flavored cheese but less.  For example: instead of using 2 cups of cheddar or colby jack cheese, use 1 cup sharp cheddar.  And if it calls for blue cheese - the flavor is strong enough that a little goes a long way, so the quantity is usually fairly modest.  Serve with celery and keep in mind that it is all about balancing portions.  Have some, but don't make a dip appetizer your entire meal.

Don't forget to set out plenty of fruit and veggie trays - and enjoy noshing on them the next day or two.  Have a healthy, festive and merry Christmas!

Christmas Cookies & Insurance Premiums

At a glance you may think that I've lost it.  Christmas cookies and insurance premiums may seem to have nothing in common, but hear me out.  At this time of year plates, boxes and bags of treats, cookies and goodies start showing up on our doorsteps.  Family, friends and neighbors (as well as ourselves) are busy baking this time of year.  Yet, we are trying to keep things in balance and not end the year with a extra pounds and the blood pressure that goes with it.  So what is the first line of defense against these holiday confections?  The break room at work.  Might seem like a good solution, but think it through a bit.  Now you can nosh at home and at work - and probably with greater variety since everyone else brings their treats to work as well.  Does this mean you should never share with co-workers?  Of course not, but don't make the office your dumping ground for mediocre calories.  We all get bored or tired at work, and a trip to the break room for a random cookie becomes just the ticket. . . to poor health that is.  Here are some alternative options:

• Be selective - if you don't LOVE it, chuck it.
• Be generous - with commercially wrapped items, donate them to a food bank.
• Be patient - if it is your all-time favorite, freeze it and portion it out slowly over time.
• Be thoughtful - always express appreciation for the effort and craftsmanship put into the offer, but be thoughtful of your co-workers and don't sabotage their healthy habits.

Remember that being gracious doesn't mean you have to consume every crumb.  Think about the health of your co-workers - if not from personal consideration, them from the effect that all those co-workers' extra pounds and ensuing health problems will have on your insurance premiums.

Winter Eating: Accentuate the Positive

I'm a big believer that good health comes from seeking out and choosing to focus on the positive - and I don't just the effects of your attitude or mood.  When it comes to good nutrition and healthful eating, if we sought out more positive, nourishing foods the empty-calorie, less-healthful foods would fall away into their proper place of "once-in-a-while" or "play" foods.
Often at this time of year, folks get downright touchy when it comes to food.  There is a lot of hype about how unhealthy holiday eating is and how much weight gain is inevitable. . . Nonsense! Stop focusing on the negative, defeatist view of food this time of year and start embracing all that is healthful, delicious and nourishing.  If we could stop agonizing over and guiltily replaying every bite of dip, chip or candy that goes into our mouths and instead made it our focus and goal to eat healthy, in-season produce, not only would we have a freer, lighter attitude, but the scale would most likely follow that same direction.  So in the spirit of ignoring the negative and focusing only on the positive, I'm dropping the "don'ts" and providing only "dos".

• Pack in the Pomegranates

  
  Pomegranates are not only tasty (and thanks to youtube - a snap to seed), but they are packed with fiber and vitamins C, K, folate and potassium.  Top a toss salad with these edible jewels, mix into a fruit salad, or sit down with a bowl and spoon.

• Go Nuts

  
   Nuts are a good idea any time of the year, but they seem to make regular appearances at party and festive occasions.  So enjoy all that fiber, vitamin E, magnesium, iron, calcium, protein and heart-healthy fat.  Studies indicate that people trying to lose weight have greater success when they include nuts into their daily diet.

• Remember Root & Orange Veggies

  
  Roots and squash are in-season and the ultimate comfort food on a cold, wintry day.  Whether you go for oven roasted carrots and parsnips with garlic and rosemary, or a steaming bowl of butternut soup - these veggies provide fiber, vitamins A & C, plus lots of antioxidants such as carotenoids.  Also, winter squash contains pectin which reduces inflammation.  So while their saturated colors are a feast for the eyes, the nutrients are a feast for your body. 

• An Apple a Day

   
  There are so many varieties and ways to incorporate apples into our diet this time of year.  Sliced apples work great in salads, on grilled cheese, or sauteed over french toast. Apples are packed with antioxidants and fiber - particularly pectin - which help reduce inflammation, risk of heart disease, cancer and help maintain a healthy weight.  So make it a goal to eat an apple a day.  

• Keep Citrus in Circulation

  
   We all know that citrus is a great source of vitamin C, but aside from boosting our immune system.  However, citrus does much more than that.  Hesperidin is a flavonoid found in citrus that improves cholesterol and triglyceride levels and protect against heart disease.  Limonoids are antioxidants found in this tangy fruits that protect against many types of cancer.  Plus, since citrus is high in fiber and water, it makes it a natural weight management superstar.
  
  Make December and the rest of the winter season a time for "dos" not "don'ts" and enjoy the health that comes from better nutrition and less stress.

Chill Out! Freezer Meals & Strategies to Make Cooking a Snap

After blogging about the freeze-able breakfast burritos, I've received requests for more freezer meals and ideas.  I love that folks are wanting to do more in-home cooking and eating!  So let me start by giving a few freeze-worthy ideas to make meals easier.  Watch out for future blogs on specific frozen meal recipes.

Breakfast
Problem:  I'm a real breakfast-lover, but find I don't have the time in the morning to prepare some of my favorite breakfast foods so I end up grabbing a granola bar or cold cereal.
Solution: Put breakfast on your dinner menu then cook extra.  Some great breakfast foods that freeze well are pancakes (I prefer to reheat them in the toaster), french toast (toaster reheat as well - gives a little crispness to the edge so it isn't so soggy) and crepes.  Make sure that when you freeze these foods, you do so in small single serving bags.  This keeps you from having to chip off a single pancake from the solid lumpy stack.  Zip-top sandwich style bags work great for this - toss a couple pancakes, slices of french toast, or folded crepes in and stack in your freezer.  Nothing jazzes up a Tuesday morning like a hot breakfast.  You can toss them in the microwave for a few seconds to thaw, then finish in the toaster (with the exception of crepes - they heat quickly in the microwave, top with a little homemade jam (another freezer staple), add a glass of milk and a banana and you're good to go!
Another option is hot cereal - this freezes well when cooked so whether you go for steel-cut oats, teff or wheat berries, cook up a batch then freeze in single-serving, microwavable containers.  A minute or two on high and you've got a stick-to-your-ribs breakfast without waiting 30 minutes for the grain to cook.

Lunch
Problem: I crave a hot lunch, but don't have the time to cook in the middle of the day.
Solution: I always recommend leftovers for lunch.  Not only does it give you a hot lunch that is more likely to be a good balance of grain, veggies and protein, but it also reduces food waste and cost.  However, if you're not big on traditional leftovers - think hot sandwiches, quesadillas and burritos.  No, I'm not talking about the cheap burritos you lived on in college. Again, using dinner as the ideal prep time, try making a few extra grilled cheese & ham sandwiches.  They defrost well in the microwave, then finish them in a toaster or a few seconds in a grill pan.  This will crisp up the outside nicely while the microwave helps get the inside delectably hot.  Try something a bit more exciting, like a little chipotle, monterrey jack and some grilled onions and peppers for a southwestern twist on the classic grilled cheese.  There's also my favorite - caprese grilled cheese - fresh mozzarella, slice of tomato and plenty of basil.  Same theory applies to quesadillas - add in some black beans, a little salsa or maybe some shredded pork or chicken.  A few seconds in the microwave and a quick flip in a hot skillet or grill pan and you're set to go.  Burritos follow the same plan as the breakfast burritos in the previous post.  When you put them on your dinner menu, make sure you have enough leftover to wrap up some refried beans, pepper jack cheese, smoky salsa and maybe some sauteed corn and onions.  Perhaps you'd rather go with a more southern style - mash up a can of baked beans, add some shredded bbq pork and a little cheddar cheese, fold up burrito style, wrap in foil and freeze.  A couple minutes in the microwave and you've got a burrito a good sight tastier than those college standbys.

Dinner:
Problem: I want to serve my family more home-cooked meals and less take-out and processed foods, but I simply don't have the time or energy to spend 1-2 hours in food prep after work. 
Solution: Make the freezer and the crockpot your friend.  Ok, I'll save crockpotting for another day, but simply having some things prepped and in the freezer make pulling dinner together a snap.  Here are a few things I love having in my freezer for that last minute dinner plan:

• Browned, ground beef.  Buy it on sale, take 30-45 minutes on a weekend and brown it all up.  I freeze mine in 1 cup quantities (about 1/3 pound).  Then I can pull it out and after 1 minute in the microwave I can toss it into spaghetti sauce, add taco seasoning for taco night, or layer it with frozen veggies and use my Sunday leftovers of mashed potatoes and gravy to pull together a quick shepherd pie.  (Microwaving each component as you go and layering them hot cuts the baking time down to less than half.)  Sloppy joes take mere minutes when the hamburger is browned and ready.
• Shredded pork, beef and chicken.  Crockpots come in very hand here.  Having a few different meat options makes it easy to pull together enchiladas, taco salads, exotic salads (like teriyaki pork, black bean and mango) and hot sandwiches. 
• Never make just one.  At any given time I have lasagne, chicken pot pie, shepherds pie, enchiladas and sloppy joes in the freezer.  I always make two and freeze one, while making sure to write the cooking instructions on the foil so that my kids can easily pull it out and get dinner going if I find that I'm running a little late.  

If you've got some good bread in the freezer, some cooked meat, frozen veggies, and shredded cheese - you can pull together a myriad of meals from as many cuisine types without the long cooking/prepping time.  The key (as it is with everything successful in life) is planning it out in advance and taking some time on a weekend or evening to get your building blocks in place, then put your menu down on paper.  After all, decision making takes up a large chunk of meal prep time as well.  Good luck and good eating!