August 11, 2010
My cousin is a kindergarten teacher and started school on Monday! It’s hard to believe that summer is almost over and school is back in session. That means it’s time to gear up and think about school lunches… ideas that won’t break the bank, are nutritious and that your kids won’t trade.
Check out this month’s Family Circle recipe for Maple Bran Muffins. Drizzle with maple icing and serve for breakfast or a snack.
Try these five tips to pack a lunch your kids will keep and eat:
- For your sanity, think about cooking and preparing for the week to come on Sunday. Go over your schedule for the week and think about what you can fix ahead to make the week less hectic. Consider meals that will provide leftovers for lunch the next day. Kids love leftover pizza, lasagna and manicotti.
- Get your children involved in the kitchen with you and bake oatmeal or peanut butter cookies.Cut up fruit, make trail mix with nuts, soy nuts, pumpkin seeds, a mixture of their favorite dried fruit, and even add some mini chocolate chunks.
 Or try one of my several favorite mixes from Target’s Archer Farms line, Sunny Cranberry. Many of you know that I partner with Target as their nutrition & health expert and have come to rely on their Archer Farms products for my day-to-day meals and snacks.
- Kids love the power of choice so involve them in choosing from your healthy selections. Think about taking them to the grocery store at a time when you’re not rushed or tired…I know…when is that? You guide the decisions and choices but do allow them to pick an item or two.
This week on the podcast, Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine, joins me to talk more about lunches that will be keepers.
According to Family Circle, Meredith Corporation’s Motherboard surveyed moms and 84% were looking for new options to add to their children’s brown bag.
- Rethink the sandwich…switch from bologna with cheese on white bread. Try a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread…add a slice of low fat cheese or soy cheese.
Try whole-wheat tortillas or whole grain wraps as an alternative to bread and in addition to turkey, stuff with lean ham or beef and low-fat cheese, tuna, chicken, hummus or egg salad, and top with sliced veggies such as red peppers and cucumber. Peanut butter, almond butter or sunflower butter with banana or raisins works well too.
  Keep baskets in your pantry filled with healthy snack selections that your children like. Include whole-grain cereal bars (try blueberry almond flax), dried fruit such as cherries or blueberries, nuts, whole-grain crackers, peanut or almond butter, and pop-top cans or pouches of tuna.
Looking for a healthier chip alternative with less fat and calories? Margit suggests Pirate’s Booty as one option. Putting together a lunch is much easier when the choices are there.
For more ideas, listen to this week’s podcast.
Listen to this week’s podcast
July 14, 2010
 Ok, I admit it. I love ice cream. Do you? What better way to cool down in the summer than with an ice cold creamy frozen treat.
This week on the podcast Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine, and I talk about five ice cream treats that don’t have to be off limits even when you’re on a diet. Their favorites include:
- Breyers Smooth & Creamy Triple Chocolate Dip
- Weight Watchers Giant Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bar
- Klondike Vanilla & Chocolate Ice Cream Sandwiches
- Blue Bunny Strawberry Banana Frozen Yogurt
- The Skinny Cow Mint Ice Cream Sandwiches
Or spend an afternoon in the kitchen with your kids and make cookies such as oatmeal raisin. Then put light ice cream or frozen yogurt between two for your personal version of an ice cream sandwich.
Turn your kitchen into an ice cream parlor. A couple of Sundays ago, a girlfriend and her two young girls came over. We decided to turn the kitchen into an ice cream parlor. We took light vanilla bean ice cream and sliced it into small pieces on a cutting board. Next we had a selection of blueberries, strawberries, chopped walnuts and mini chocolate chips to choose from. The girls mixed them into the cut up ice cream.
Then we scooped the mixture into ice cream cones and drizzled with chocolate syrup. Do you think these were a hit? The kids had a blast choosing the items that they wanted to mix in and we loved saving a lot of money by making the cones at home. Give this a try…you’ll be the most popular Mom or Dad on the block.
Be sure and try this month’s recipe for Frozen Tiramisu from the Family Circle kitchens. By using coffee flavored frozen yogurt, instant coffee and chocolate sauce, per serving stats come in under 200 calories and five grams of fat per serving.
Happy summer!
Listen to this week’s podcast
June 16, 2010
According to the American Heart Association the average teen consumes about 34 teaspoons of sugar…or about 500 calories…in a typical day. It’s so easy to reach for snacks loaded with sugar and fat and empty when it comes to nutrition. With just a little planning, you can feed them well and feel good about it.
On the podcast this week, Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine joins me to share simple strategies for your kids’ snacks.
 Try these simple strategies from Family Circle’s July issue:
- Offer smart snacks. Choose options that override cravings for sweets such as peanut butter or almond butter and whole grain crackers or whole wheat bread. Try fun, prepacked freeze-dried fruit, trail mix or squeezable applesauce.
- Focus on fruit. Fruit contains natural sugar or fructose plus a load of vitamins, minerals and fiber. Summer is peak season for a lot of fresh fruit. Serve it with frozen yogurt or make parfaits with granola, fruit such as blueberries and your favorite yogurt. I like to use Greek yogurt and make parfaits for snacks and breakfast.
- Rethink drinks. Soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages are major culprits in over-the-top sugar consumption. Try mixing juice with sparkling water or seltzer, unsweetened tea, or try the lower-sugar fruit-juice-blend products. Don’t forget milk.
What simple strategies work for you? Tell me.
The Nutrition Facts label is very confusing when it comes to figuring out sugar intake. I hope that changes with the label update. For now, your simple strategy is to do the math so you know the amount of sugar in a product.
Determine calories from sugar: grams of sugar in a serving x 4 (4 calories/gram) = sugar calories
Teaspoons of sugar: grams of sugar per serving divided by 4 = teaspoons of sugar per serving
Remember that currently the Nutrition Facts label doesn’t separate out naturally occurring sugars such as fructose or lactose from the added sugars. You must go one step further and look at the ingredient label to see what sugars have been added.
In your body, sucrose which is sugar, molasses, honey, raw sugar, high fructose corn syrup or maple syrup are all sugars or sweeteners and the body doesn’t differentiate between them regardless of what the Internet scares tell you.
Each month Margit shares a recipe from the Family Circle kitchens and this month it’s a Berrylicious Shake. It’s quick and includes fresh blueberries which are in season now.
Listen to this week’s podcast
June 9, 2010
 Plastic baby bottles, plastic water bottles and plastic microwave containers…should you use them or not? What do you think? BPA is a hot button of controversy. Because consumer awareness of this potential health issue is growing, many manufacturers are producing BPA-free products.
If you want to reduce your exposure to BPA while the research and controversy continues, you can try these tips:
- Use plastics marked BPA-free or opt for stainless steel, glass or porcelain. Remember, you can always email or call the manufacturer if in doubt.
- To prevent BPA from seeping into food and liquids, wash plastics by hand instead of in the dishwasher even if the container says dishwasher safe.
- Also, forget about using plastics in the microwave and go with glass or porcelain that’s made especially for a microwave.
- This also includes plastic wrap for a cover…use glass, paper towel or wax paper as better alternatives.
- Try to avoid those white clamshell take-out containers. Both plastic wrap and these containers may contain other plastics that could be problematic too.
- Try to stay away from #7 on the bottom of containers in terms of recycling unless the items say BPA free.
- Choose glass or BPA free infant formula bottles.
- Select fresh or frozen foods over canned unless you find a manufacturer that uses an alternative. Also look for shelf stable cartons, pouches, bags and cups as alternatives to cans.
The chemical bisphenol-A or BPA is found in many reusable water bottles, some baby bottles, and clear plastic storage containers. Just to give you an idea, the lining of most canned food, pizza boxes, water pipes, eyeglasses, cell phones, shower curtains, DVDs, bicycle helmets, airplanes and even some dental sealants contain BPA.
BPA is a chemical used to make polycarbonate plastics which mimics or acts like the hormone estrogen and is referred to as an endocrine disrupting chemical. BPA can leach into food and drinks from cans, containers and bottles. A study published in Toxicology Letters (2008) found that hot liquids and food put into plastics containing BPA actually leached more of the chemical from the container into the food or liquid…up to 50 times more.
According to the American Chemistry Council, eleven regulatory bodies around the world have assessed the science on BPA and have determined that BPA is safe for use in food contact materials. However, use of BPA is definitely a controversial one. Animal studies have found that BPA is potentially linked to abnormal development of reproductive systems and precancerous lesions.
A report in the December 2009 issue of Consumer Reports Magazine found BPA in most all of 19 name-brand foods from canned soups and juice to tuna and green beans. BPA was even found in cans labeled “BPA-free”. The Consumers Union, the nonprofit publisher of Consumer Reports, has taken the position that manufacturer and government agencies should act to eliminate the use of BPA in all materials that come into contact with food.
These results stoke the fire as to how much BPA is safe to ingest and should BPA come into contact with food. According to medpagetoday.com, at the end of 2009 the FDA reversed its position and will budget $30 million for short and long term studies on the health risks associated with BPA particularly in infant food containers.
Listen to this week’s podcast
May 19, 2010
 In the June issue of Family Circle magazine Food Director and registered dietitian Regina Ragone offers up strategies to slim down for the pool and beach. Her key to success is taking a few minutes to think and plan ahead.
- For Work: find a lunch kit that works for you with washable and recyclable containers which are large enough for lunch and snacks. Packing your lunch saves money and puts you in control of what and how much you eat.
- The Beach: update your Mom’s recipes for tuna salad and egg salad using light mayonnaise and whole-wheat wraps. Add ice-cold summer fruits including watermelon, grapes and cherries along with low fat cheese.
- Road Trip: Regina talks about how the average gas station convenience store has her choosing between Twinkies, candy bars and potato chips. So she packs an insulated bag with single serve hummus and crackers, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes and 100-calorie packs of nuts along with easy-to-eat fruits like baby bananas and grapes.
 For more strategies, listen to this week’s podcast with my guest Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle magazine.
Thank you for your emails about trying on bathing suits and how you could relate to my college roommate’s comments. She made us laugh but also take a look at how we women are our own worst critics. Do you agree?
With bathing suit season rolling around, we’re focusing on day-to-day strategies to help you knock off the pounds. I’ve found that over time my greatest success with keeping my weight off comes from the way I live day in and day out…not from a crash diet. That’s why Regina’s strategies work. They give you the power to be in control and not food.
What changes have you made in the way you eat? Tell me about them.
Each month Margit shares a recipe from the Family Circle kitchens and this month it’s Lighter Potato Salad from Food Director Regina Ragone.
Less than 100 calories per serving and only three grams of fat, the horseradish along with fresh chives and scallions pump up the flavor factor of the potato salad. Enjoy!
Listen to this week’s podcast
May 12, 2010
 What is the one item of clothing women hate to shop for? A swim suit. My college roommate was in town last week and we were over at the beach. She was shopping for a swim suit and I wish you could have heard her comments. “I’ve got to lose this extra flab.” “This suit makes me look even fatter than I feel.” “Wow, is my butt really that wide?” “The flowers on this suit make me look like an extra-large arrangement.”
She had me laughing out loud but at the same time, we discussed how we women are our own worst critics. Isn’t that right ladies? We don’t need anyone else to point out our flaws when we try on a swim suit…we do that very nicely on our own. We would never hear a guy say…”Do my thighs look like cottage cheese?” or “Wow, my gut has really gotten big.”
If you want to drop a few pounds before you put on your swimsuit, take this quiz with me and let’s do some diet myth busting.
Here we go: Diet Myth or Diet Truth?
#1, True or False: You can lose weight if you eat grapefruit or drink/use vinegar?
FALSE: This myth is considered ‘food folklore’–wishful thinking for many people who have heard this faux promise for years. Unfortunately no food can directly “burn fat” nor “burn off the calories in a food”. If you lose weight because you eat grapefruit, it’s because you substitute this low calorie food for one in your diet that is likely much higher in calories and fat. Same for vinegar. You may substitute it in place of a much higher fat salad dressing for example and therefore cut significant calories.
This is not going to sound sexy or be the magic pill that we all wish we had but weight loss, bottom line, is about how much you eat day in and day out. I’m talking portion size and total calories plus how physically active you are.
Two huge factors have changed. Number one, we’ve become sedentary as a society. Remote controls, computers, cars, golf carts, etc. do all the work for us. Then consider that most of us don’t live where we can walk everywhere like in the European countries. Number two, portion sizes are obscene. Cookies are the size of small pizzas so we pack on the pounds like never before.
#2, True or False: You must stop eating at 7pm or you won’t lose weight?
FALSE: Calories do not count more in the evening. In terms of fat burning, a calorie is a calorie is a calorie, regardless of when it is eaten. The bottom line for weight loss is calories consumed against calories expended. Think about this.
Do you often skip breakfast or lunch or else eat very lightly all day? Are you so ravenous by the time you get home that you could eat the door off the refrigerator and have absolutely zero self control? Do you eat anything you can get your hands on and then fall asleep and never burn the calories off?
Research from The National Weight Control Registry shows that people who eat breakfast and throughout the day have less cravings at night and tend to eat much less after 7 pm.
Listen to this week’s podcast for more diet myths…busted.
Listen to this week’s podcast
April 21, 2010
Easy Snacks and Meals to Fuel Fitness
To fuel up for fitness, here are a couple of my favorite (and easy) breakfast/snack ideas courtesy of Family Circle magazine:
 Chocolate-Peanut Butter Oatmeal
½ cup rolled or quick oats made with 1 cup fat-free milk
1 tablespoon creamy natural peanut butter
2 teaspoons mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
I’m a self-proclaimed chocoholic so even this small amount of chocolate chips satisfies me.
- Apple & Nut Butter (snack)
1 medium apple, sliced and spread with two tablespoons almond butter
My breakfast version: I spread almond butter on whole grain toast, followed by the apple slices and a drizzle of honey. If you haven’t tried almond butter, it’s worth the extra expense as an alternative to peanut butter.
Try this 20-minute recipe from the Family Circle kitchens: Red snapper with gazpacho salsa
I hope spring is all around you…the weather is warming up, the birds are singing, and flowers are starting to bloom. I’m ready to take my workout…outdoors. How about you? I am a walker, especially on the weekends when I have more time to be outside.
For those of you who have listened to my podcast for a while, you know that Family Circle along with the American Heart Association sponsor the annual Start! Walking Challenge. You can find out more at familycircle.com/walk2010 or in the May issue. This month the focus is on walking and eating to lower cholesterol. You’ll find a very helpful mix-and-match meal plan.
 Margit Ragland, Health Director at Family Circle joins me on the podcast this week to talk about the Walking Challenge with a focus on cutting your cholesterol level in three ways:
- Keeping a cap on saturated fat that can raise your total and lousy LDL cholesterol levels while it shrinks your good cholesterol…HDL.
- Focusing on fiber, a nutrient that works like a sponge to help rid your body of cholesterol.
- Loading up on superstar foods that conquer cholesterol-like oats, nuts, beans, fish, soy, and even dark chocolate.
Listen to this week’s podcast
March 17, 2010
 Shaking salt from your diet is constantly in the news. But, I don’t want to lose the flavor of my food, do you? Did you know that approximately seventy five percent of the sodium in the American diet comes from the various sodium products added during processing? Incredible isn’t it? So get your label sleuth glasses on… it’s time to read the fine print! Reading labels is key to finding all the hidden sodium. There are a lot of us checking out food labels according to a 2009 survey by Mintel. Over 25% of people responding are always watching salt in their diet.
Check out the sodium level in some of these notorious sodium offenders as the level really does vary company to company:
- Sauces and salad dressings: consider making your own from a flavored balsamic vinegar and good olive oil
- Frozen and canned veggies
- Frozen entrees
- Fast foods
- Deli meats plus ham, hot dogs, sausage and bacon
- Soup
- Bouillon cubes
Because salt adds flavor to food, you might be wondering whether you’re going to miss all that added sodium. You’ll like this answer. Your taste buds will adapt after about 6-8 weeks of gradually cutting back on the amount of sodium that you consume.
More tips to shake the sodium but not the flavor in your diet:
- It’s all about fresh…start with fresh ingredients when at all possible. Bonus! When you eat more fruit and veggies, the additional potassium has a positive or lowering effect on blood pressure.
- Rethink your seasonings…pepper is great but try a wide variety of fresh and dried herbs/spices and delightful seasoning blends without added sodium. Use more lemon, lime and other citrus for flavor along with a variety of vinegars. Grow fresh herbs in pots to use in your dishes too.
- Rinse tuna, canned beans and canned veggies to lower the sodium content. Add your fresh herbs and spices to kick up the flavor.
What’s your favorite trick to shake the salt? Email me and I’ll share some of your tips in my podcast.
Listen to this week’s podcast
March 10, 2010
 Did you know that March is National Nutrition Month and today is Registered Dietitian Day? I want to give a shout out to Registered Dietitians. They are committed to improving the health of our communities and our country. As the nation’s food and nutrition experts, registered dietitians bring food and nutrition expertise to the table. Thank you for all that you do every day to provide accurate and usable nutrition information and to empower people to make smart decisions for their health.
Salt is quickly becoming the next trans fat. Which item do you think contains the most sodium? A Subway six inch oven roasted chicken sandwich or the serving of Subway roasted chicken noodle soup? If you guessed the soup, you’re correct. A serving of the soup is a mere 80 calories but a whopping 950 milligrams (mg) of sodium compared to the six inch chicken sandwich which contains 320 calories and 750 milligrams of sodium…still quite a high number. Here’s another chance. Which contains more sodium? A McDonald’s Big Mac or a large order of French fries? It’s the Big Mac with 1,040 milligrams of sodium (half the sodium you need for an entire day by the way and two thirds of the sodium people need as they get older or if they have high blood pressure). Compare the Big Mac to the French fries which contain 350 milligrams of sodium. Surprised? Many times you don’t taste the sodium added to the product the way you taste the salt on the outside.
Table salt is sodium chloride which means that it’s made up of part sodium and part chloride. But there are many other types of sodium or sodium products in food, particularly processed foods. As a general rule, the more processed a food item, the more sodium it will contain. You will see names such as the preservative sodium benzoate, or sodium bicarbonate which is baking soda, monosodium glutamate, a flavor enhancer or sodium nitrate/nitrite which are used as curing agents/preservatives in deli meats. It’s the total amount of sodium that you take in every day from both salt and all the other forms of sodium combined that affect your body. Sodium is measured in milligrams and designated as ‘mg’ on the Nutrition Facts food label. Any idea how much of your total sodium intake every day comes from the salt shaker? Most people get 25% or less of their total sodium intake from the salt shaker. The rest is added to food in the various sodium forms.
Listen to this week’s podcast
February 11, 2010
 Hi everyone! If you’ve been listening to me for a while, you know I’m a self-proclaimed chocolate lover. I’ve never met a chocolate that I don’t like. I adore dark chocolate and enjoy tasting a variety of flavor profiles. In fact, I just heard that Orlando is having The Festival of Chocolate in March presented by the Orlando Science Center. Have you attended a chocolate festival? Would you go again?
The news has been abuzz with the potential health benefits from eating chocolate so let’s get right to the source and find out. And who better to chat with than my guest on my podcast this week, Dr. Amy Preston from The Hershey Company.
 A registered dietitian and PhD, Dr. Amy Preston is a Senior Nutrition Scientist at The Hershey Company. Dr. Preston also currently holds an adjunct position within the Nutritional Sciences Department at The Pennsylvania State University. She has studied many different populations, including healthy participants, overweight/obese subjects as well as those at risk for cardiovascular disease. Now her focus is on chocolate and health. Dr. Preston updates you about the latest research on chocolate.
Some of the questions I ask Dr. Preston include:
- Would you break down the latest research on chocolate and heart health? What about chocolate’s effect on blood pressure?
- Do the levels of flavanols/antioxidants in chocolate vary?
- Does processing affect the flavanol/antioxidant content?
- How does this antioxidant content compare to other foods such as wine or blueberries? If I prefer hot chocolate to red wine, would I get similar benefits?
- Does percent Cacao on the label indicate the level of flavanols in a chocolate? What should we go by when choosing chocolate?
You’ll going to like the news about chocolate. If you’re looking for Valentine’s Day ideas, check out their website at Hersheys.com. You’ll find decadent Valentine’s Day recipes and all types of ideas for a chocolate covered February. Now I need my little dark chocolate fix for the day!
Listen to this week’s podcast
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