Make Lunchtime Interesting Again! Healthy And Delicious Ideas To Take To Work

I don’t know about you, but I always get stuck in a routine for work. I make the same old lunches, week in, week out. And I think it’s the same for a lot of people. After all, it can be a challenge to think of new ideas that will rock your world. And at the same time, will keep you healthy and full until dinner. Therefore, here are some healthy and delicious ideas to make lunchtime enjoyable again.

Go for a berry and chicken salad

A salad is often a healthy choice if you are looking for something tasty for your lunch. But a plain chicken salad can get boring after a few days. To make it more interesting, you should add some type of fruit. Some juicy berries will tickle your taste buds and give the salad some extra flavor. And as well as this, it helps you achieve your five-a-day which is always a bonus! You can find some great recipes for berry and chicken salad on http://www.womenshealthmag.com/food/lunch-ideas/slide/3. And remember it can be any berry you like; strawberries are a top choice as they make it tastier and are full of antioxidants!

Make a sweet potato and orange soup

A lot of people stick to boring tomato or chicken noodle soup for work. After all, it’s easy to make, and it’s warming during the colder months. But after a few weeks of tomato or chicken noodle soup, it can be rather dull. Not only this, but you are missing out on a chance to have more nutrients during the day. After all, you can add plenty of fruit and vegetables to soup. Therefore, it’s time to be more adventurous with your soup. You should consider going for something a lot more exciting such as a sweet potato and orange combination. Not only will it taste amazing, but they are such healthy essentials you should add to your day. In fact, sweet potato is a superfood which can help us to live longer! If you struggle to chop it up, you might want to look into getting a santoku knife. That way, you can quickly prepare the ingredients ready for the soup! You can find them on sites similar to http://www.cutitfine.com/santoku-knife-reviews/. And remember to get plenty of containers out when you are making the soup. After all, you can freeze them and then just take them out when you need to!

10 Surprising Foods with Health Benefits

If you are anything like me, you are alway on the lookout for foods which are going to pack a punch. The fact is, it can be all too easy to get into the old routines of eating. Part of the problem for many people is that they have forgotten how to branch out. This might sometimes be because they don’t think that those other foods can really bring any benefit. Often, however, it is the case that foods provide you with many benefits which you don’t necessarily consider. Often, common everyday foods which we overlook are actually packed full of goodness. At other times, they simply provide a little boost which you might not have been aware of. In this article, we are going to take a look at some surprising health benefits of various foods. Hopefully, this will encourage you to bring in a little more variety into your diet. Let’s take a look.

Image Source

Chocolate

We all know that chocolate is delicious, but those who are nutritionally minded will usually shun it from their everyday diet. It’s true that you don’t want to include too much chocolate in your diet, of course. However, that doesn’t mean that it is all bad news. In fact, chocolate does have a couple of positive points which are worth considering. Dark chocolate in particular has the advantage of being full of antioxidants, while this is less true of milk or white chocolate. It is also good for your circulation, so long as you keep the amount down to a minimum. And if that wasn’t enough, it has been shown to reduce the risk of stroke. What’s more, taken in the right quantities, it can actually reduce your cholesterol as well. It’s starting to look like chocolate just might be your best friend!

Popcorn

This one might seem a little shocking, but bear in mind that we are talking here about popcorn without the added salt and sugar. Cinema popcorn is unlikely to be any good for you at all. But take away the toppings and you are left with a surprisingly healthy snack. Plain popcorn includes whole grain, fiber and antioxidants, and as such is likely to work wonders on your system. Next time you are looking for a snack, popcorn is likely to be a much more healthy alternative to crisps, for example. What’s more, it also happens to be cheap when bought in bulk wholesale. This is a whole new side to popcorn which we just haven’t seen before. Of course, as with anything, there is such a thing as overdoing it. But for the occasional snack, you could do much worse than grabbing some plain popcorn.

Image Source

The Honest Dietitian's 2016 Commuter Food Favorites

Featuring My Favorite Commuter Foods

I drive a lot. I made the choice to go for my PhD and since I am a parent and had no intentions of moving my kids away from their friends and schools, this means I have a 3 hour round-trip commute to school between 1-4 days per week (depending on the semester). Couple that in with a full-time job as a clinical nutrition manager for three of those years...I have been busy. There is no doubt that a crazy schedule like this can sure make a person Hangry if they are not careful. And, since a lot of my commute is on the beautiful I-40, there have been many a times when I have been stuck in traffic for hours due to car accidents, fires, and so on. The worst was when I was leaving campus in time to make it home for my husband's delicious Fodmap friendly taco dip when I hit a standstill on I-40 with no possible way to exit to an alternative route. It was over 90 degrees outside and I had no water (I always carry a refillable bottle but it was empty), no food...and almost two hours later when we started to move, I had a raging migraine. That was the last time I have ever traveled without an emergency snack. Sometimes my schedule has been so packed that the only real "free" time I have had in a day has been the time I am in my car driving to the next scheduled event. I have found that I need to have 3 different types of foods to make my days and commutes the best they can be. I am also making this list with the very true assumption (for me) that there is not going to be appropriate access to a microwave to heat up any food. Here they are:

• Commuter Food Number One: Foods that will get me through my scheduled meal times when I do not have a lunchbox with an ice pack. This is the good 'ole "I'm running so behind that I am going to throw a bunch of food into a plastic bag" situation. Even as a mostly Type A personality, I can't plan for everything to go smoothly so this does happen more often than I like.

GoMacro Thrive Bars & Protein Bars.
I love these bars. My favorite flavors are the Caramel Coconut Thrive Bar & the Protein Pleasure Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bar. GoMacro makes really great products. I just noticed they have a sampler pack, so if you haven' tried these before- I highly recommend them. 


Barney Butters Almond Butter Snack Packs.
These butters are perfect to have on hand and with the large variety of choices, you are definitely going to find a flavor that you love. My favorite flavors are the Vanilla Espresso, Honey Flax, Cocoa Coconut, and the Bare Smooth Almond Butter. I literally have one of these snack packs in my purse at all time. Buy them here.

You will love these almond butters!

Artisans Organics Single Serving Squeeze Packs.
To be honest, I might be in love with the cashew nut butter. It is so incredibly creamy and delicious, I just love it so much. They also make squeeze packs for pecan butter, walnut butter, coconut butter, and so on. You will see me using their coconut butter & unbelievable cocoa spreads in some future recipes. Get your squeeze packs here.

Glutino Crackers.
You have to have something to put all of those delicious butters on! I like the original, cheddar, and sea salt crackers by Glutino. They are gluten-free but have a great consistency and are strong crackers to take on the road. The original crackers with the cashew nut butter and an orange, washed down with some chocolate coconut water is my pre-workout snack on my busy driving days. Give Glutino crackers a try!

Your Mouth Says A Lot About Your Health! Tips for Keeping a Healthy Smile

Looking healthy and happy isn’t just what is on the inside, it’s how you perceive yourself on the outside. People can say a lot about how they feel based on what they wear or how they are wearing it. I remember when I took my first organic chemistry class and I asked my professor if he had any advice for the first exam and he said "Dress the part. Come in here looking like the professional you want to be and own it." At the time, I thought it was odd, but I did it anyways and maybe it did help. I came to my exam business casual instead of shorts and flip-flops and felt confident, happy, and healthy. But sometimes it’s just having a clean bright smile that’s enough to make someone think how happy and healthy you truly are. Your mouth says a lot about your health. You don’t need to be reaching for the whitening kits or having teeth replaced just yet. It’s easy to get a healthy smile by just changing a few habits and ensuring you have good dental care. With that in mind, I thought I would share some top tips to help you maintain that perfect natural smile.

Sourced image

Keep up with a regular brushing routine

Brushing your teeth is something we possibly take for granted. We might not even think about the whole process that forms part of our morning or evening routine. But regular brushing for a decent amount of time is proven to reduce plaque and keep those teeth pearly white. Our teeth and mouths get put under a lot of pressure, and more food and drink these days has the power to harm or stain our teeth. So ensuring you keep on top of brushing will be the key to ensuring your mouth stays healthy and happy. The natural way. And many dental professionals have told me that you cannot brush too often, but you can brush too hard! So make sure to keep the pressure soft.

Make Healthy Asian Food A Diet Staple With These Cooking Tips

Since the western world has been introduced to eastern cuisine, it seems we simply can't get enough of it. Curries, broths, noodles, you name it - we serve it. Of course, it barely compares to the authentic cuisine made by the professionals themselves. But, it is becoming a more and more common fixture in the everyday person's home due to the exciting, spicy flavours and interesting ingredients. The problem is that not many people know how to cook this kind of food in a healthy way. So many of us rely on canned sauces for our Indian curries or Chinese stir fries - many of which are full of chemicals and additives. We also skip many of the traditional vegetables that are used in these dishes, preferring to use ones that are familiar to us. There's nothing wrong with this, of course, but we could be missing out on not only amazing flavors but heaps of brilliant nutrients too. My entire relationship with food was changed once I started shopping at the local Asian grocery store. It has been amazing and exciting. If you think that Asian food is unhealthy and should only be had as a treat, then get ready to think again with these healthy cooking tips.

Image source

Authentic Indian curries

Curry is one of the most popular dishes in the whole world is curry. Although not known by that term in its homeland of India, there are still hundreds of different varieties that we westerners would all class as 'curry'. They differ so greatly depending on the region they come from. For example, the creamy Kerala cuisine varies greatly from the spicier Punjabi cuisine. In order to cook traditional, authentic Indian food, you must have authentic ingredients. Where we use oil or butter, Indian cuisine typically uses ghee. This is a kind of clarified butter high in vitamins A and E. If you are still concerned about the health factor of some of your Indian dishes, why not try simply cutting down on rice and naan? Many authentic Indian recipes are actually vegetarian, so bulk out your curries with chickpeas and lentils to save on carbs. Tandoori grilling is also a healthier way to cook your Indian cuisine and it tastes good too.

Nutrition tips to keep your immune system tough through the flu & winter season

While we all have a good idea that what we eat affects how we feel. It can be easy to forget that before the pharmaceutical industry, our medicines came from natural sources.

At the time a lot of these things were consumed as food or drink, and we can still receive the benefits of imbibing them now. Read on to find out what they are.

Vitamin C

There are plenty of things that contain a good dose of Vitamins C like carrots and bell peppers. But did you know that Brussel Sprouts also have lots too?

Image here

Well, if you are a sprout fan, then you should definitely start eating them on more than just your Christmas dinner. This is because getting enough Vitamin C can help boost your immunity to disease. It acts as a natural antibiotic killing off harmful bacteria in your system. I love grilling Brussel sprouts but in the winter, I often steam them.

Antioxidants

We hear a lot about antioxidant and free radicals these days but does anyone known what they actually are? Well, free radicals are the nasty things that our cells produce when they take in and use oxygen.

These can be harmful your systems so we don't want too many of them hanging around in our body. That is where antioxidants come in.

As we don't want too many oxidants or free radicals in our system eating foods like sweet potatoes and oysters are a good idea. They release molecules that attached to the free radicals making sure that they don't get reabsorbed by the body and cause harm. Oysters are also high in magnesium & zinc, which help boost immunity.

Image link

So You're More Active...What's Next?

Most of us have had some fitness aims or goals over the years. And most of us know how hard it can be to achieve them. Some people find it easier to scale things back a bit and concentrate on one thing at a time. You might try increasing the number of steps you walk or try being a little more active at lunch time. Increasing your activity is certainly one of the best ways to improve your fitness and tone up a little. But what comes next?

Health and fitness go hand in hand. It’s worth considering how you can also improve your health now you’ve made those big steps toward fitness. Walking is one of those activities that can help you become more active and make you healthier. It’s not just your physical health you need to consider. Your mental and emotional health are just as important. Walking can help calm your mind, and you’ll feel emotionally well by taking in the fresh air and beautiful surroundings.

This picture is from Flickr.com

Health is Wealth Toolkit: Addressing & Eliminating Food Guilt

One strategy in both weight management and healthy lifestyle modification that does not get enough attention is the concept of addressing and eliminating guilty eating. Have you ever felt guilty about eating a meal before it has even been served to you? Do you feel bad whenever you eat something sweet, like a donut of piece of cake? Do you eat food that tastes bad to you because it’s “healthy”?

We know that training of behaviors is possible (Pavlov’s dog for example) and sometimes we develop behavior patterns that are completely unintentional. When you are happy and eating, your body saves that information as something that brings you pleasure & positive things happen down to the cellular level in your body. When you are sad/guilty and eating, your body saves this information as something that is negative and negative things happen in your body (such as increased cortisol).

Breast Cancer Nutrition Awareness featuring GoMacro

October is breast cancer awareness month and I'd like to introduce you to Go Macro. GoMacro is a family-owned vegan food company that was started by a mother-daughter duo on their organic family farm. They have two different lines of products- MacroBars and Thrive. In honor of their co-founders breast cancer recovery, they have released a special “give-back bar” that donates 10% its proceeds to the Keep a Breast Foundation. I love this bar because it touches on some important nutritional concepts (antioxidants, fiber, plant-based). Learn more about the awesome Keep a Breast Foundation here. Let us get brought up to speed on some breast cancer stats:

According to Breastcancer.org, here are some recent statistics on breast cancer in the United States (source here): 

• In 2016, there are more than 2.8 million women with a history of breast cancer in the U.S. This includes women currently being treated and women who have finished treatment.
• About 85% of breast cancers occur in women who have no family history of breast cancer. These occur due to genetic mutations that happen as a result of the aging process and life in general, rather than inherited mutations.
• Besides skin cancer, breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer among American women. In 2016, it's estimated that just under 30% of newly diagnosed cancers in women will be breast cancers.
• About 1 in 8 U.S. women (about 12%) will develop invasive breast cancer over the course of her lifetime.

Amelia, Breast Cancer Survivor & her daughter: Co-founders of GoMacro

Here’s the thing, no matter what illness or disease a person may become afflicted with in life, they can fight it better if they have been following a healthy lifestyle beforehand. Being an overweight woman is a risk factor for developing breast cancer, possibly because the more the fat cells grow, the more estrogen is produced from the fat cells. That production of excess estrogen can signal breast cell growth, which in turn increases the risk of developing breast cancer.

What can you do from a nutritional point of view?

Raisin French Toast Protein Breakfast Bakes

I had never heard of a french toast flavored protein powder until I had the opportunity to try some of the Primera French Toast Protein Powder and I am sure glad I did! First of all, this line of protein powder is different because it is a hydrolyzed protein powder which uses an egg white & whey blend (hydrolyzed: this means it is fast digesting). Secondly, I am around a lot of researchers who are doing work with egg protein and its amazing impact on satiation (feeling full) which could be a great strategy for weight management, but I have also learned that the whey & egg protein blend is also looking very promising in the research world- in respect to fat tissue breakdown and muscle protein synthesis. Lastly, but certainly not least, was the joyful smell of these baking in the oven. It was unbelievably delightful. My husband ate these this morning for breakfast and loved them.

Fodmap Sweet Potato & Parsnip Cakes

I have always loved sweet potatoes.  We often try to eat low-FODMAP foods because both my husband and I have happier GI tracts when we do. I had some parsnips that I needed to use and thought I would try out some Fodmap Friendly Sweet Potato & Parsnip cakes to accompany my balsamic herb-encrusted salmon and really enjoyed what came together. I know that olive oil has a high smoke point (around 405 degrees F) but on medium heat I was seeing a bit of smoke coming from the oil, so I just turned the heat down a number (from 6 to 5 on my stovetop) and didn't have as much burning the second time around. 

Sweet potato & parsnip cakes make a great side dish!

Ingredients: 

2 large sweet potatoes (baked at 350 degrees F in foil for 45 minutes & then peeled and mashed*) 

2 parsnips (peeled and chopped) 

1 egg

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

~5 TBSP olive oil

Health is Wealth Toolkit- Tracking Your Intake

One of the most useful tools for someone who is looking at making improvements to their current diet is to keep an accurate record of what they are actually eating. I can’t tell you how many times I have been tracking my diet and found that I was not getting enough Calcium, Vitamin A, and especially Potassium in my diet. I value variety in my diet and am always trying new recipes and dishes, but not everyone is like me. When working with clients who want to lose weight, 99.9% of the time they have already tried some type of calorie-restricting diet that has major deficiencies in important vitamins and minerals. There really is no reason for this! Granted, there are many, many factors that play into a person’s ability to lose weight but there are many nutrient-dense foods that one can incorporate into their diet that promote more than healthy weight loss. Nutrient-dense foods can prevent and treat many nutrition-related chronic diseases such as heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and so on. (Not familiar with the term nutrient-dense foods? Nutrient-dense foods are foods that have a lot of nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, but not a lot of calories. Think of fruits, vegetables, or complex carbohydrates like quinoa, oatmeal, and beans/lentils)

Is Magnesium the answer to preventing migraines?

I have been a migraine sufferer for over twenty years. Anyone who has experience with migraines knows that over time you can get better at identifying the triggers for these debilitating and painful headaches, but sometimes they just happen for what seems like no reason at all. I was having some horrible allergies a couple of years ago and decided to go to an allergist and have the skin-prick allergy testing done. Afterwards when the allergist was reviewing my results with me, he asked me “do you suffer from migraines” and I said “yes”. He then circled a recommendation on my instructions form that stated: 500mg Magnesium Oxide BID (BID- twice a day in medical terminology). Then, he circled some additional recommendations for some expensive pillows, air purifier, etc., which I really did not need and sent me on my way with about four different medication prescriptions that I really did not need either.

The Honest Dietitian's 2016 Favorites: Japanese Giant Red Mustard Greens

Chop up these Japanese Giant Red Mustard Greens to sauté as a side dish.

Not all greens are created equal. Growing up in Michigan, I did not have a lot of exposure to cooking greens as much as I have now that I live in the south.  I have always been a huge fan of Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds, especially their seed collections which helped me a lot when I moved south because the growing season is so different & wonderful. This year I planted Japanese Giant Red Mustard Greens and they easily became my favorite greens ever. The description on the seed package said "Strong Almost Garlic Like Mustard Flavor". The seeds grew strong and beautiful plants and at first bite, they had me hooked. To me, the flavor of the greens hinted more towards horseradish. We have used the greens in so many ways:

Sports Nutrition Tips: Eating on the Road

I recall not so long ago when I was at a weightlifting meet with my husband and the hanger had set in. He was coaching a couple of athletes and competing and I wasn’t going to miss any of it because, to be honest, I find the sport to be incredibly exciting and when either him or his athletes are lifting, I like to imagine that I am an amateur sports photographer with my iPhone. At this particular meet, there were no food vendors and really no good time between athletes to head out to find food. The meet sessions started to go long and soon I found myself cranky and eating a bag of Skittles from the lonesome vending machine nearby. I started to wonder how many other people were as ill prepared as I was and even more importantly, how many of those people were the athletes competing in the meet? As a coach, athlete, friend, family member, or fan, the necessity of meal planning on the road is essential to keep everyone happy.  Eating on the road usually ends up in one of the Three H’s:  Happy, Hurting, or Hangry. 

Summertime is here!

SO incredibly excited that I have actually have a little bit of a break this summer before starting the last (fingers crossed!) year of my PhD dissertation work. I have done quite a bit of writing this year, so I will be sharing some information on sports nutrition topics, migraines and nutrition, as well as some good cooking & food recipes.  Looking forward to hearing your thoughts and hoping you like the blogs "face lift". Cheers to a great summer! And chances are if you don't hear from me for a few days, it is because I am in my own personal oasis:

Budget-Friendly Hamburger Lentil Vegetable Soup

This is a delicious & simple & very inexpensive recipe that you can make as your main dish chocked full of fiber and nutrients!  I'll be surprised if you pay over $10.00 for all of these ingredients. When I was interning at the health department before I became a Registered Dietitian, one of the coolest things I saw was a recipe sheet for people who received WIC benefits but didn't know what to do with the food they were getting.  With this recipe, Mom's were able to put together a nutritious meal using the dried lentils, carrots, and tomato juice they were receiving.  I put this together in a pot for some of the WIC clients to sample and it was a huge hit.  One of my favorite days of my internship.  I still make it often because it FREEZES so well (I always double the recipe because of this) and I vary between adding hamburger and eating it without any meat.

 I hope you enjoy! Makes 6 Servings

2014 Favorites Part Two

Best Cookbook- Eat Vegan on $4 a Day by Ellen Jaffe Jones.  I am not a vegan, however the recipes in this book are outstanding.  I was attracted originally to the budget-friendly approach to eating healthy, and although it can be quite an investment for ingredients up front, the book does a great job breaking down the general cost per serving for the recipes.  The recipes are fantastic.  My favorites are the recipes for tabouli, tempeh-broccoli sauté, hummus, potato pancakes, and my absolute favorite---Coconut "Ice Cream" made with frozen bananas.  Here's a link to more info about this book which would make a great gift for those people you know who love food:  Eat Vegan on $4 a Day

Tzatziki Sauce Recipe featuring Chobani Greek Yogurt

Last night was a huge win in my family.  I successfully got my husband and both of my children to happily eat Falafel Pitas!  The secret to my success was in the Tzatziki Sauce made with Chobani Greek Yogurt.  Here is the recipe I made (and loved):

• 1 cup of Chobani's Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt
• 1 TBSP finely chopped garlic
• 1 TBSP fresh dill, finely chopped
• 1/4 cup of chopped cucumber

Mix it up and chill it for at least a half of an hour before serving.  You can put this stuff on anything!  Veggies, sandwiches, Falafel Pitas, plain pitas, etc.  ENJOY!!!

Homemade Oven Sweet Potato Fries

I have been looking at 3 sweet potatoes in my kitchen for a few days.  Originally, I had planned to bake them whole, but then was inspired to try out some homemade sweet potato fries!  It was super easy to do and the entire family loved them.  Sweet Potatoes are high in Beta-Carotene, which can be converted to Vitamin A in your body & has shown to be protective against cancers, along with reducing the rate of heart disease.  Here is what I did:

• I took my 3 sweet potatoes and cut them into strips.  I found that the more traditional "french fry" shape baked the best in the oven.  The thicker cut strips were borderline soggy.
• I brushed the sweet potatoes with about 3 TBSP of an olive oil/canola oil blend.
• I then added 1 TBSP of garlic salt, 2 TBSP of oregano, & shook it all up in this container:

• Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and place your sweet potato fries evenly on a non-stick pan.
• Cook for 15 minutes and flip them over.  Then, cook for 15 more minutes.
• Take them out of the oven and enjoy them!  My 3 medium sweet potatoes could feed 4-6 people with no problem.  YUM!!!!