Spice up Boring Salads

Summer is the season of salads. Salads are considered a high volume food because they provide a lot of nutrients without a lot of calories. Barbara Rolls, PhD, has published many journal articles and books related to the study of hunger and obesity. Her book Volumetric Eating Plan focuses on tips and techniques for feeling fuller on fewer calories. Eating salads before a meal is one such way to do this. In 2004 she published a study that showed that women who had eaten a low-energy dense salad (high volume of food, but low in calories) ate 7-12% fewer calories at the meal that followed. Not all salads are created equal however. They also tested high-energy-dense salads that had a higher calorie/fat dressing, more of the dressing and more cheese. Women who ate those salads increased their intake by 8-17%! Using smart strategies when making salads is therefore highly important if you are watching your waistline.



With all that said, I can still hear a few of you out there saying "salads get boring". I hear ya! Spicing up a salad can be a simple as adding one or two new ingredients each week or adding a little bit more texture here and there. Here are a few things to think about when looking to make a low-energy-dense salad that isn't boring!



-Start with a base of a few different lettuce varieties. There is crisp head lettuce like iceberg or bibb that provides a little crunch. Then you have your romaine, deep green leaves full of nutrients like vitamin A, K and C. Don't forget to add a little red leaf lettuce in there because, the more color the better. Remember that different colors bring different phyotonutrients to your plate.

-Add tons of veggies! Top your base of lettuce with as many different color veggies as you can. Get tired of the same combo each week? Mix it up. Sometimes put on red tomatoes for your red, other days put on red peppers or instead of white onion, add zip with red onion.

-Let there be fruit. If you haven't started yet, today is the day to try adding fruit to your salad bowl. There are no real rules for what works and what doesn't. Try fresh or even canned if you don't have any fresh on hand. I personally like strawberries, blueberries, mandarin oranges, pear and apple the best, but you can get creative and add fruits like kiwi, cantaloupe, grapes, whatever your heart desires. Just go for color and flavor and you can't go wrong. If you decide to add dried fruits like cranberries, raisins or apricots, make sure to keep your portions in check. Those are a food that fall into the high-energy-dense category (water has been extracted so you get to eat less of them than the original version)

-Limit high calorie extras-You don't have to avoid these add on's because they are part of the way to jazz up a salad and prevent boredom, but do try to limit them because they are just the type of ingredients that lead to 700-900 calorie salads!

• Dried fruits
• Feta cheese-1 oz = 75 calories, 6 grams of fat
• Olives - 5 olives (kalamata pitted-my fav) 45 calories, 4.5 grams of fat
• blue cheese-1 oz = 100 calories, 8.2 grams of fat
• Walnut pieces- 1 oz = 190, 18 grams of fat
• Sunflower seeds - 2 tbsp = 103 calories, 9 grams fat
• Croutons - 130 calories, 5 grams of fat

Here is a link to Whole Foods which has some great salad ideas:

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/list_salad.html

7-Day Goals: Try measuring out a few of your salad ingredients. A dash of walnuts here may have turned into way more than 1 oz worth or your little bit of blue cheese may have morphed into a much bigger calorie punch than you intended. Get creative with your salad today!

~K

Using Your Garden

Our garden is flourishing! Our tomatoes are just starting to ripen on the vine which gets our creative cooking juices going. Gardening can be fulfilling for so many reasons and it can also help save some money on vegetables from the store. A new article this week by the AP highlights the hidden dangers that may sneak up on the novice gardener. It stemmed from a mix up by a celebrity chef who mistakenly recommended a toxic herb that had a similar name as a non-toxic herb. Not his finest recipe! The beauty of herbs is that many do in fact have medicinal qualities. Likewise, they may also contain toxic substances as well, especially if eaten in large quantities or if combined with certain medications. Here are a few examples they cited:

• Garden Pea is non-toxic, but the sweet pea planted for it's beautiful scent is toxic if consumed.


• Potatoes have toxic glycoalkalaoids throughout their stems and in the tuber itself. Ever leave a potato on the windowsill in the sun for a while? You will notice that it turns green. This is a concentration of those toxins and a warning that they potato is no longer edible. Fried green potatoes should not be on the menu. Throw away a potato if it is green.


• Leaves of the tomato plan, avocado, horse radish and rhubarb are toxic, so do not attempt to get creative with these greens.


• Nutmeg in large quantities can lead to nausea, vomiting and even hallucinations according to this article. I now understand where my banana bread went horribly wrong one year.

So if you are thinking of producing your own vegetable garden, do it, but make sure you know what you are planting and how to use them. This link has a lot of different useful tips: http://www.gardenguides.com/

Below are some pictures of the foods from our garden that we recently used in a Friday night Italian feast! In white are the foods that came right from the garden.

Appetizers: Jalapenos, cheddar (50% light Cabot-my favorite), cucumbers and dill, tomatoes and basil drizzled with olive oil.

Main Course: Chicken Parmesan with homemade tomato sauce, oregano, basil, parsley. Dipping sauce of olive oil, garlic, garden spices.

Handy tip: Here is a link to a neat article in fine cooking for Cutting a Chiffonade of Basil. You will look like a pro and it saves time. http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/articles/cutting-chiffonade-basil.aspx

They also have a great link to facts about growing basil. Basil is one of my favorite herbs. It adds so much flavor to so many meals. http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/dtSearch/searchResultsPlantGuide.aspx?searchfor=basil&channel=plantguide&page=1

Cutting calories in the dish below: we used low-fat cheese and portion control on this meal! Our plates were filled with 3 oz of chicken (looks like the palm of your hand or a deck of cards) and 1/2 cup-1 cup pasta. The rest of our plates were filled with veggies in the form of a salad.

7-Day Goals: Try to find a way to use fresh vegetables this week. If you do not have your own garden, try to find a farmstand or simply get them from your local grocer. Use your imagination and try to find a creative way to fill 1/2 your plate with veggies.

~K

Perfect Portions

Nutrition experts often have varied opinions on which "diet" is best. One thing that we can all agree on however, is that which ever "diet", whether it be high protein/low-carb, Mediterranean, vegetarian, western or prudent, portions matter.

Over the years our portions have been distorted. Today portions are bigger than ever which has a direct correlation with widening waistlines. A few examples are listed below. Take a guess and then scroll down to the end of today's message and see if you are an ace at deciphering proper portions:

• Bagel-20 years ago the average bagel was 3 inches in diameter and 140 calories. Today the average bagel is _________ and ________calories.
• Spaghetti and meatballs-20 yrs ago it was 1 cup spaghetti and 3 small meatballs for 500 calories. Today it is _______and_______calories.
• Muffins-20 years ago the average muffin was 1.5 oz and 210 calories. Today the average muffin is _______and________calories.
• Caesar Salads-20 years ago it was 1 1/2 cups and 390 calories. Today the average Caesar salad is ________and_________calories.

Check out the National Heart Lung and Blood Institutes "Portion Distortion" quizzes for more examples.

So how can you guesstimate proper portions? You can use your hands as a visual aid or visualize common objects.

• 1.5 oz of cheese = 4 stacked dice
• 1 slice of bread = cassette tape
• 3 oz of meat = deck of cards or the palm of your hand
• 1 cup pasta = a baseball or your fist
• 1 pancake = a DVD
• 1/4 cup of raisins = size of a hard boiled egg
• 1 medium fruit = size of your fist
• 2 tbsp peanut butter = ping pong ball size

A few of my new favorite gadgets to help with portions are the Fit n' Fresh containers found at http://www.fit-fresh.com/. You can get them at Target. They have little removable ice packs and the little plastic containers have measurements on the side so that you can keep your snacks in proper portions during your preparation and packing. They fit together neatly so you can just pack it up and go. I have the salad container and the breakfast container.

Answers to the portion distortion questions above:

• Bagel- today it is 6 inches and 350 calories
• Spaghetti and meatballs-today it is 2 cups and 3 large meatballs (that is still probably underestimating based on what some restaurants serve), but on average this brings it to 1,025 calories. That is 525 calories more than 20 years ago.
• Muffins-today 5 oz, 500 calories, an additional 310 calories.
• Caesar salads-3 cups, 790 calories, an additional 400 calories.

7-Day Goals: Take a peak at your portions? How do they rate? Is there a way that you can cut back in a few places here and there? Based on the info above you can see that it really can add up.

~K

Most Popular Lunch Item

So a few posts ago we talked about lunches. What is the most popular bagged lunch you ask? PB&J! Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches still top the charts for favorite lunch item, even into adulthood. Oh but peanut butter is so fattening you say, but I say, not so if you make sure to eat it in moderation. Everything in moderation! 1 tbsp will do.
There is still room for this food in our diet and now there are so many delectable nut butter choices, you can't help but dabble in them.

The most popular side dish in bagged lunches? Fruit

What about a combination of the two? The same old peanut butter and jelly can get really old really fast. Here are some ways to tempt your palate and boost the nutritional content of this old stand by as well:

• 100% fruit spreads-make sure that you aren't choosing a highly processed jam or jelly. Look for an option that contains 100% fruit or says "all fruit spread". Make sure you flip it over and read the ingredients however because sometimes front labeling on foods can be quite deceptive. If you look at the first few ingredients you should NOT see things like sugar, high fructose corn syrup, juice syrup. I like Polaner All Fruit myself and St. Dalfour is good as well. Others I know swear by Trader Joes.
• Vary your fruit spread flavors-I really like the Apricot flavor fruit spread from Polaner. Other flavors, beyond grape like you most likely stuck with as a kid, include orange marmalade, black cherry, peach and boysenberry. Give a few a whirl!
• Step away from the peanut-Why not try some almond butter instead? At Whole Foods you can actually use the grinder machine to pour in fresh almonds and grind them right there in the store. It doesn't get any fresher than that! No added ingredients or preservatives. It comes out delicious. Not near a whole foods? Try one of the natural nut butters like "Teddy's". These natural nut butters take a little getting used to, but they do not contain added hydrogenated oils, so they are in fact worth it.
• Fruit it up-Add some fruit right into the sandwich for an extra daily serving. Banana slices or even mashed banana work really well and you boost the potassium content of the sandwich. Apple slices or applesauce work as well. Also think outside the box by adding raisins, dried cranberries or pear slices.
• Honey-A little drizzle of honey turns the average pb&j into a delectable little treat.
• Add some fiber-sprinkle a little ground flax seed to add a little fiber, omega-3 and flavor.
• Drop the white bread-Start with a nice wheat bread or even use a pita or whole wheat wrap instead.
• Add some heat-Toasting or grilling your pb&j is also another way to enhance the flavor.
• Nutella-For the off chance that you maybe just need a little pick me up because you are feeling blue, a light spread of Nutella over your layer of pb or almond butter works wonders. I speak from experience. For those of you that do not know, Nutella is a hazelnut spread. It isn't what I would call a "health food" or something I would recommend you eat daily, but a light spread of it here and there is like a little treat!

Just a few ideas to get you started on being more creative with America's favorite sandwich.

7-Day Goals: Ask yourself "how can I reinvent some of my "favorite meals" or snacks by trying new flavors?

~K

Envirosax-Reusable Grocery Bags

I have just purchased some reusable grocery bags that I am excited about! I will report back on their quality after I get them and start using them. They are so cute though, so I figured I would pass along the link:

http://www.envirosax.com/



~K

Berry Treat

I love quick little desserts because, I admit it, I have a sweet tooth! We recently went berry picking. We were able to pick raspberries right off the vine. It was great. Upon first glance it appeared that there weren't too many left that were in good enough condition to pick and fill a whole pint with, but after a little searching we soon found a technique that left our basket overflowing with deliciousness! If you crouched down low enough, practically under the bush, you would find the berries that were easily overlooked. We filled our basket and headed back to the Big Apple barn where we also purchased blueberries that looked too perfect to pass up!

What to do with all of these berries I wondered? Then I remembered a fun little recipe I had seen on Robin Miller's show on Food Network that involved probably 10 minutes time total from start to finish....my kind of recipe! The recipe calls for wonton wrappers which you wouldn't necessarily picture as a dessert, but once baked and sprinkled with confectionery sugar, there traditional uses all but fade from your memory!

Here is the recipe:

Berry Napoleons with Sugared Wonton Wrappers 2006, Robin Miller

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

12 wonton wrappers

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup whipped topping or whipped cream (or nondairy topping)

1 cup raspberries, blackberries or sliced strawberries, or any berry combination

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

Mint to garnish, if desired

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Coat a large baking sheet with cooking spray.

Arrange wonton wrappers on prepared baking sheet and spray the surface with cooking spray. Sprinkle sugar over wontons.

Bake 5 minutes, until golden brown.

Remove wontons from oven and arrange 4 on a serving platter (or individual dessert dishes). Top each wonton with 2 tablespoons whipped topping and then 2 tablespoons berries.

Top with second wonton wrapper.

Repeat layers (whipped topping, berries, wonton wrapper). S

ift confectioners' sugar over top layer. Serve immediately.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/robin-miller/berry-napoleons-with-sugared-wonton-wrappers-recipe/index.html

~Now a little about some of the ingredients.

Wonton Wrappers: You usually find these in the produce area in the grocery store (unless you are at a specialty store). Look near the fresh spices or near the lettuce heads..if all else fails ask for help! Here is an example of a brand that you may find at your local store: Nasoya, 8 wrappers = 160 calories, 0.5 grams of fat! Wowza.

Raspberries: These are a good source of vitamin C, vitamin K, magnesium, fiber and manganese.

Blueberries: These are a good source of vitamin K, vitamin C, fiber and manganese.

These are such a nice little summer treat. Next time I will take a picture, because they look so beautiful. You most likely could do a variety of modifications of this recipe. I will have to try a few and report back, but in my mind I see this also being something you could swap out puddings for the one layer of the whipped topping. I could also see making a little lemon meringue and layering that as well. Umm!

7-Day Goals:

Add sweetness to your day today using fruit! Ask yourself, "is there a way today that I could try to include fruit at all three meals today or at least at 2 meals and one snack?" Try replacing a dessert this week with fresh fruit instead.

~K

Lotsa Lemon Yogurt

If you are looking for a delicious little treat that doesn't break the calorie bank I suggest Stoneyfield Farms fat free organic yogurt in the Lotsa Lemon flavor. I love to take this yogurt, put it in a pretty container (if I am at home!) and put add a few chocolate shavings over the top. It it so delicious! Adding raspberries or blueberries on top is also a great way to simultaneously boost the flavor and nutritional content. Yogurt contains live active bacteria that keeps your gastrointestinal tract healthy. It is also a great way to get your calcium in, especially for those people who do not enjoy sitting down for a full glass of milk. Calcium recommendations for those aged 19-50 are 1000 mg/day or 3 servings per day (1 serving = 8 oz milk or 1 cup of yogurt or 1.5 oz of cheese). Choose low-fat or non-fat dairy whenever possible.



I also found this recipe on an online recipe center that I have not tried yet, but will plan to do so and report back. It is easy enough and will make fruit just a little more interesting!

Title: Lemon Yogurt Fruit Dip

Yield: 1 -3/4 Cups

Ingredients

1 8-oz container lemon yogurt

1 8-oz container sour cream

1 ts ginger

1 tb honey

1/2 ts grated fresh lemon peel

1/2 ts lemon juice

InstructionsIn small bowl, combine all ingredients; blend well. Cover; refrigerate 1 to2 hours to blend flavors. (To keep apple, pear or banana slices fromturning brown, slice these fruits last. Toss the slices with orange orgrapefruit juice or dip them in 1 quart cold water mixed with 3 tablespoonsof lemon juice). The dip can be made a day ahead of time; cover andrefrigerate it.Serve dip with assorted fresh fruit such as whole strawberries, pineapplechunks, seedless grapes, melon wedges and apple, pear or banana slices.Garnish the dip with lemon slices or curls of lemon peel.

Nutrition info: Serving size is 1 tablespoon which equals 30 calories; 2gtotal fat, saturated 1g; cholesterol 4mg; sodium 10mg; total carb 2g.Dietary exchanges: 1/2 fat

Source: Pillsbury Classic Cookbooks: _Easiest-Ever Holiday Meals_; Dec1996.