Small Changes to Lose Weight without "Dieting"

Diet?  What does that mean to you?  For many, it means depriving yourself of "bad" foods, limiting intake so you feel hungry all the time, and most of all short-term because you could never sustain it.  Your "diet" should be the way you eat on a normal basis, something that creates the lifestyle you want to live.  As the saying goes, "You are what you eat."  That is why key to long-term success is to make a full lifestyle change that will sustain you and your family no matter how busy your schedule becomes or what other challenges you face.  Here are some small but important lifestyle changes that you can implement to begin living a healthier lifestyle and lose some weight.

Take Your Time
Reinvent yourself as a slow eater, even if it means setting a timer for 20 minutes and "enjoying" your meal until the timer goes off.  This is one of the top habits for slimming down without a complicated diet plan.  Paced meals offer great pleasure from smaller portions and trigger the body's fullness hormones.  Wolfing your food down in a hurry blocks those signals and causes overeating.

Sleep More, Weigh Less
Sleeping an extra hour a night could help a person drop 14 pounds in a year, according to a University of Michigan researcher who ran the numbers for a 2,500 calorie per day intake.  His scenario shows that when sleep replaces idle activities - and usual mindless snacking - you can effortlessly cut calories by 6%.  Results would vary for each person, but sleep may help in another way, too.  There's evidence that getting too little sleep revs up your appetite making you uncommonly hungry.

Serve More, Eat More Veggies

Serve three vegetables with dinner tonight, instead of just one, and you will eat more without really trying.  Greater variety tricks people into eating more food - and eating more fruits and vegetables is a great way to lose weight.  The high fiber and water content fills you up with fewer calories.  Cook them with a little olive oil or no added fat and season them with lemon, pepper, fresh herbs and as little salt as necessary, rather than drowning their goodness in high-fat sauces or dressings.

Go for Whole Grains
Whole grains such as brown rice, barley, oats, buckwheat, and whole wheat also belong in your healthy waight loss strategy.  They help fill you up and stay full longer with fewer calories and may improve your cholesterol profile, too.

Skip the Bacon
Pass on those two strips of bacon at breakfast or in your sandwich at lunch time.  The simple move saves you about 100 calories, which can add up to a 10 pound weight loss over a year.  Other sandwich fixings can replace the flavor with fewer calories.  Think about tomato slices, banana peppers, roasted red bell peppers, grainy mustard, or a light spread of herb goat cheese.

Build a Better Slice of Pizza

Choose vegetable toppings for pizza instead of meat and you will shave 100 calories from your meal.  Other calorie-saving tricks:  go light on the cheese or use reduced-fat cheese and choose a thin, bread-like crust made with just a touch of olive oil.

Cut Back on Sugar
Replace one sugary drink like regular soda with water or a zero-calorie seltzer and you will avoid 10 teaspoons of sugar.  Add lemon, lime, cucumber, mint, or frozen strawberries for flavor and fun.  The liquid sugar in soda (High Fructose Corn Syrup) appears to bypass the body's fullness cues.  One study compared an extra 450 calories per day from jelly beans vs. soda.  The candy eaters unconsciously ate fewer calories overall, but not so with the soda drinkers.  They gained 2.5 pounds in four weeks.

Limit Alcohol

When an occasion includes alcohol, follow the first drink with a nonalcoholic, low-calorie beverage like sparkling water instead of moving directly to another cocktail, beer, or glass of wine.  Alcohol has more calories per gram (7) than carbohydrates (4) or protein (4).  It can also loosen your resolve, leading you to mindlessly inhale chips, nuts, and other foods you would normally limit.

Go for Green Tea
Drinking green tea may also be a good weight loss strategy.  Some studies suggest that it can rev up the body's calorie-burning engine temporarily, possibly through the action of phytochemicals called catechins.  At the very least you will get a refreshing drink without tons of calories.

Eat at Home
Eat home-cooked meals at least five days a week to live like a thin person.  A Consumer Reports survey found this was a top habit of "successful losers."  Sound daunting?  Cooking may be easier than you think.  Shorcut foods can make for quick meals, such as pre-chopped lean beef for fajitas, washed lettuce, pre-cut veggies, canned beans, cooked chicken strips, or grilled deli salmon.

Catch the "Eating Pause"
Most people have a natural "eating pause," when they drop the fork for a couple of minutes.  Watch for this moment and don't take another bite.  Clean your plate and enjoy the conversation.  This is the quiet signal that you are full, but not stuffed.  Most people miss it.

Get Food Portions Right
The top habit of slim people is to stick with modest food portions at every meal, five days a week or more.  "Always slim" people do it and successful losers do it, too, according to Consumer Reports survey.  After measuring portions a few times, it can become automatic.  Make it easier with small "snack" packs and by keeping serving dishes off the table at meal time.

Go Meatless More Often
Eating vegetarian meals more often is a slimming habit, according to WebMD's "recipe doctor," Elaine Magee, MPH, RD.  Vegetarians weigh up to 20% less than meat eaters.  While there are several reasons for this, legumes play an important role.  Bean burgers, lentil soup, and other tasty legume-based foods are simply packed with fiber.  Most Americans get only half of this important nutrient, which fills you up with fewer calories.

Burn an Extra 100 Calories
Lose 10 pounds in a year without dieting by burning an extra 100 calories every day.  Try one of these activities:

Walk 1 mile, about 20 minutes.
Pull weeds or plant flowers for 20 minutes
Mow the lawn for 20 minutes
Clean house for 30 minutes
Jog for 10 minutes

Resource:  WebMD

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
Stuffed pork tenderloin sounds pretty complicated right?  Well, Here is a quick and easy way to make a stuffed pork tenderloin, beef tenderloin or even stuffed chicken breast.  The part that makes stuffed dishes complicated and very messy is the pounding.  By using this cutting method, you save the time and mess and have a very fancy looking dish on the table any night of the week.

To prepare a pork tenderloin or beef tenderloin, place tenderloin on cutting board.  Hold the knife blade flat, so it's parallel to the board, make a lengthwise cut into the side of the tenderloin one-third of the way down from the top, stopping short of the opposite edge so that the flaps remain attached.  Rotate the tenderloin 180 degrees.  Still holding the knife parallel to the cutting board, make a lengthwise cut into the side opposite the original cut, starting two-thirds of the way down from the top of the tenderloin and taking care not to cut all the way through.  Open up the 2 cuts so you have a large rectangle of meat.  Use the heel of your hand to gently flatten the meat to about 1/2 in thick.

Place a thin layer of filling on the flattened tenderloin, leaving a 1-inch border. Possible fillings include two pieces of prociutto and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese or thinly slice ham swiss cheese or even spinach and goat cheese.  Caramalized onions and blue cheese would be a delicious stuffing for a beef tenderloin.  The options are endless, use your imagination.

Starting with a long side, roll up the tenderloin so the stuffing is in a spiral pattern; then tie the roast at 2-inch intervals with kitchen string.

Before searing and roasting, lightly brush with olive oil and rub with a mixture of herbs, minced garlic and salt and pepper.

Heat about 1 1/2 t olive oil in saute pan on high.  Sear all sides of the tenderloin and then place in a 450 degree oven until the internal temperature reaches 145 degrees.  Pork tenderloin will take about 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, cover loosely with foil and let rest for 5 minutes before removing kitchen string and slicing.

A chicken breast can be prepared similarly, by slicing only one time half-way down, without cutting all the way through.  open the breast and flatten before filling.

Here's to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!

An Adult Workout While You PLAY Like a Kid

Do you remember that feeling you got as a child as you rode your bike down the street or ran as fast as you could - freedom, exhileration and FUN!  Physical activity is crucial to a healthy lifestyle, yet as a adults we have decided that it is about as much fun as going to the dentist.  Not something want to do, but HAVE to do.  Your right, we do have to do it, but there is nothing that says it cannot be fun.

At lunch with a good friend yesterday, she said, "one of the best parts of having kids, was getting to act like a kid."  I think we need to focus on acting like kids a lot more.  This weekend we had the slip 'n slide and mini pool set-up in the backyard and my inner child could not contain herself.  Before I knew it, I was running and flinging my body onto the wet yellow plastic with reckless abandon.  It was so much fun that I had to do it a few more times before realizing that I already had bruises on my knees and I was going to be sore the next day.  Bruises and soreness aside, man it was so much fun!  My kids and nephews continued to slip 'n slide and jump in and out of the pool without noticing that they had been MOVING for hours.  That is the key - have so much FUN moving, that you don't realize that you are actually exercising!

We all ideally need to get MOVING for a hour a day, but there is nothing that says that you have to run on the boring treadmill or eliptical machine for a hour straight everyday.  In fact, short bursts of physical activity, such as running relay races, playing chase, or a vigorous game of hide-and-seek have proven to be just as good for you as moderate continuous exercise.  With all of the technology available for us today, it is easier and easier for us and our kids to sit in front of the tv, computer or video game instead of getting out and having some fun and getting physical.  This is a chance for you and your kids to have some fun and for you to set an example of what an active life looks and feels like.  So, come on let's get out and PLAY!

SUMMER/SPRING FUN
Slip 'n Slide
Softball/baseball
Flag football
Relay races
Game of tag or keep-away

Jumping rope
Silly obstacle course races
Bike riding in the neighborhood
Hide-and-seek
Frisbee at the park
Hula Hoop
Dancing to your favorite tunes
Pushing trucks around in the backyard
Being a horse for your kids to ride on (hard on the knees but very fun)
Playing on the jungle gym (monkey bars, climbing wall, see-saw)
Night exploring walk
Gardening
Building sand castles at the beach
Playing in the waves at the beach

FALL/WINTER FUN
Buiding a snowman
Digging tunnels in the snow
Sledding down hills (and walking back up)
Flag football
Silly obstacle course races
Game of tag or keep-away
Relay races
Hide-and-seek
Dancing to your favorite tunes
Night exploring walks
Shoveling snow

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
Hopefully before or after this quick and easy dinner you can get out and PLAY a little before starting the bedtime routine.  This is just a basic recipe, your imagination is the only thing that will limit the variety of toppings for these pizzas.

Quick Veggie Pita Pizza
Servings:  4

4 Whole Grain Pitas
Bottled Marinara Sauce (low sugar, sodium and no High Fructose Corn Syrup)
Sweet Bell Pepper (any color) cut into thin strips
Button mushrooms, thinly sliced
Fresh baby spinach
Tomatoe, thinly sliced
1/2 cup Low-moisture, part-skim mozzerela cheese, shredded
1/4 cup Feta cheese, goat cheese or Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 425 degree F or grill to about 350 degrees F.  On each pita bread, spoon on some marinara sauce and spread, leaving about an inch around the edge.  Add a layer of spinach leaves and then top with thinly sliced bell peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes.  Top pizza with cheese and place on sheet pan in the oven or directly on the grill for 10 to 15 minutes until pita is crisp, vegetables tender and cheese is melted. 

If you are using larger vegetables like broccoli, caulifower, eggplant, onions, etc., brush them with olive oil or your favorite vinaigrette and roast, grill or saute briefly until tender before adding to pizza.  You could substitute pesto for the marinara sauce and use any type of vegetables, herbs, and cheese that you like.

This is a fun recipe to make with your kids.  Allow them to add their own sauce, choose from a variety of vegetables and top lightly with cheese.  They will be especially excited to eat it if they got to make it!

Here's to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!

Good for You and Good for the Earth

Celebrating Earth Day 2011: A Billion Acts of Green

In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to share some tips on how you can improve your health while improving the health of our planet at the same time.  This is your chance to be one in a billion acts of green.  We can no longer sit back and ignore the importance of taking care of our environment.  We are what we eat, and the quality of the food we eat and the air we breathe is directly related to the health of our planet.  If not for yourself, get focused on protecting our environment for the sake of your children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. 

If you have not seen the movie "Wall-E", you should definitely take the opportunity to sit down and watch it with you kids on Earth Day.  I caught in on our DVR one day without really knowing what it was about.  I later watched it with Will and found that it was a fantastic way to have great conversation about the importance of taking care of our Earth as well as the importance of eating healthy food and being physically active.  Wow - that was a lot of important lessons in one little movie.


According to an article in Science Daily, "an estimated 19% of total energy used in the US is taken up in the production and supply of food."  In the US alone, food consumption is projected to increase by as much as 20% by the year 2020.  Here are some very important steps to improving and preserving this wonderful planet that takes such good care of us.

Eat Local
According to the USDA, a food is considered local if the distance that it was grown or produced is within 400 miles of your home.  By choosing foods locally grown you choose to support a sustainable, dynamic food system where farmers benefit by receiving a fair price for their goods, local communities thrive and consumers are provided with healthy food and a better future.

Understand How Food is Packaged, Shipped and Prepared
Food travels an average of 1,500 miles from ground to table.  The current systems of food transportation are not supportive of the environment.  The US food system uses a great amount of energy and 20% of this energy goes toward food production, while 80% is used for processing, transport, refrigeration, and preparation.

Excessive packaging of goods is currently putting a strain on the environment because so much trash is ending up in the landfills.  Trees are being cut, factories are consuming power, and toxic dyes are used to create eye catching advertising.  If everyone decided to prepare, cook, and eat at home more often, the abundant fossil fuel use would decrease dramatically.  I know that those individually packaged snack foods and drinks are so easy and tempting when you have have children or when you want to control your portion size.  It is important to control portion size, but there is a way to do it and protect the environment.  Purchase larger containers of snacks and put them in reuseable snack cups or bags.  Same goes for mini drinks.  Pour a smaller serving size into a reusable cup or sports bottle and make a positive impact one snack at a time.

Support Clean Air
Shipping our food long distance and processing it contributes to air and water pollution.  Importing foods by air burns an excessive amount of fuel.  Air freight generates 10 to 30 times as much carbon emissions per mile as trucking.

Shop Farmers Markets

Farmers travel no more than a 50 mile radius to and from their farmers market.  The amount of food they carry and sell is approximately 5 times more energy efficient than foods which were hauled to your local grocery store.  Choose foods from your local market or thosethat arrive from a local community Supported Agriculture (CSA).  Fortunately for all of us, there are more farmers markets and co-ops popping up everyday.  To make it easier for you to find and visit these venues, here are some links for farmers markets and co-ops in the Houston area as well as a link to finding a farmers market near you.

Houston Co-op    http://www.rawfullyorganic.com/
Houston Co-op    http://www.centralcityco-op.com/
Finding Markets, Restaurants, etc. in your area    http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?pd=Home

Eat Organic

Organic foods have grown in popularity.  A multi-article review in the Alternative Therapies journal compared nutritional content of organic vs. non-organic foods.  Results showed that organic food was found to have "higher protein quality, higher levels of vitamin C and higher mineral levels."

According to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, organic foods contain more antioxidant-rich flavonoids than conventionally grown foods.  Organic food typically requires 30 -50% less energy use and less waste production compared to typical farming practices.  Organic farms release less synthetic pesticides into the environment and sustain diverse ecosystems.  While organic food does tend to be a bit more expensive, you can save some money by purchasing through a local co-op.  When you consider the toll on the environment, I am sure that conventionally grown foods are more costly.  Besides, you can either pay for it now in the cost of better quality food or later in the cost of medical care.

Eat Less Processed
Processed foods require more energy to produce and more packaging than do whole foods.  Processed foods may contain xenobiotics.  Xenobiotics include pesticides, herbicides, bisphenol A, surfactants (which are used in food packaging, household chemicals and industrial chemicals), PCBs and dioxins, and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, and cadmium.  They are found in our food, our water, and our air.  Once in our body, they are not easily broken down and can lead to many illnesses resulting from DNA damage.

Choose Sustainable Foods
Buy in bulk.  Most markets offer bins of bulk grains (flour, rice, pasta), snacks (crackers, nuts, chocolate) and liquids (oil, vinegar, honey).  Bring a reusable container to collect these items for your pantry.

Eat Low on the Food Chain

Eat mostly plants and support "Meatless Monday."  This may be the single most effective way for individuals to lower their food-climate impact.  Researchers estimate that adopting one "meatless day" per week, we can reduce greenhouse emissions by 51%!!!  Wow, now that is positive impact that every family can have immediately.  Check out "What's For Dinner" at the bottom of the blog for a great meatless meal - a great way to celebrate Earth Day 2011.

Choose Grass-fed Beef
Orgainic meat, eggs, and dairy products from pasture-raised animals are healthy protein alternatives.  Compared with commercial products, they provide you with healthy, anti-inflammatory fats.  They are rich in antioxidants and they are free from added hormones and antibiotics

Animals that thrive on a foraged diet require much less fossil fuel than a CAFO diet of corn and soy.  Pasture-raised animals do their own fertilizing and harvesting.  Confined animals who are fed grain crops may be consuming some fossil fuel-based fertilizers or those which contain pesticides.

Choose Small Fish
Ocean fisheries around the world are now fearful of the intense over-fishing, pollution and habitat destruction.  Some species of fish are on the brink of extinction.  These fish play roles in complex ecosystems and their removal may affect ocean life in ways that we don't yet even understand.  Choose fish that are smaller than your dinner plate more often.

Brown Bag It
Bring your lunch to work and store foods in reusable containers vs. plastic bags.  Plastic packages are manufactured using oil and therefore are responsible for creating over 24,000 tons of greenhouse gas every year.  Avoid using plastic sandwich bags, foil or cellophane.  Bring your own silverware and glassware rather than the plastic silverware or cups from the cafeteria.  About one-third of the waste in the US consists of plastic packaging.  If you do have to use plastic, don't forget to recycle - an easy step we can all take today.

Carry Reusable Water Bottles Filled with Filtered Water

Drinking filtered water removes many dangerous contaminants.  Drinking filtered water is a more economical practice than drinking bottled water.  The type of plastic in which water is usually sold holds a plastic description of #1 - this is recommended for one time use only.  Instead, choosing a reusable water bottle and fill it with your own filtered water from your home to keep many single-use bottles our of the landfill.

Compost

Composting is a process through which microorganisms break down organic matter (kitchen vegetable scraps, yard waste, lawn clippings) and convert it into soil.  Through this cycle, waste materials can become healthy, nutrient rich soil, which is perfect for replenishing your garden and potted plants.  We recently begain composting, and just like many years ago when we began recycling, it is an empowering process.  Besides the fact that we have very little actual trash these days, I feel like we are making a difference in the environment in multiple ways.  Using vegetable scraps to make enriching organic compost for my garden, which allows us to grow more beautiful and healthy organic produce, which allows us to spend less money on produce elsewhere and less damage to the environment transporting the produce that we would have needed - WIN, WIN, WIN!!!  If you want some help in getting started on composting let me know.  I have an extremely handy husband who built my compost bin, and for a small fee, he just might coach your through it or even build it for you.  There are also many great compost bins available for purchase.

Eat at Green Restaurants
Log on to the GRA Association before deciding on your next dinner out.  The organization's goal was to help restaurants get certified as "green" as simply and effectively as possible.  To do this, the restaurant has to meet certain environment standards, such as basic green improvements, consulting, certification, and green public relations.

As you can see, there are many small things that we all can do everyday to live more gently on this earth.  Making healthy choices close to home facilitates understanding about how and where your food is produced and shipped.  We must address the issue of environmental damage now, before we find ourselves on the "Wall-E" earth.

HAPPY EARTH DAY!

Resource:  Green Nutrition for the Planet by Chrissy Wellington M.S., C.N.S., L.D.N., C.P.T.


WHAT'S FOR DINNER?
I wanted to share a meatless dish to support "Meatless Mondays" or any other day of the week for that matter.  By incorporating filling meatless items such as beans, whole grains and dense vegetables like sweet potatoes into your diet, you won't even miss the meat.  This combination of ingredients may look a bit strange to you, but trust me it is delicious!

Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Servings:  4 - 8

1-15 oz. can of Hatch Green Chile Enchilada Sauce
8 oz. Low-fat or fat-free sour cream
8 Whole grain tortillas
1/4 to 1/2 Cup Cheddar or Monterey Jack Cheese, shredded (optional)
Low-fat or fat-free cream cheese
1-15 oz. Can black beans, rinsed and drained
3-4 Cloves of garlic, minced
Juice from 1 large lime (roll lime on the counter before cutting for more juice)
2 Heaping cups of cooked sweet potato, smashed a bit but still chunky (you can cook sweet potatoes in microwave loosely wrapped in a towel until tender, start with 5 to 8 minutes)
1/2 cup roasted green chiles (I used only one roasted green chile to keep it from being too hot for the kids)
1 t Ground cumin
1/2 t Chili powder
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T Fresh cilantro, chopped

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13" baking dish with olive oil or cooking spray.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk green chile sauce with sour cream and set aside.  In a seperate bowl, combine black beans with minced garlic and lime juice.  Toss to coat and set aside.  In a third bowl, combine the peeled and lightly smashed sweet potatoes with the chopped green chiles; add the spices and season with salt and pepper.

Pour a 1/4 cup of the sour cream green chile sauce into the bottom of the 9x13" pan and spread to cover dish.  Inside of each tortilla, spread a little cream cheese down the middle.  On top of cream cheese, spread 1/8 of the sweet potato mixture.  Top with 1/8 of the black bean mixture.  Roll tortilla and place seam side down in the dish on top of sauce.  After all enchiladas are rolled and in the dish, top with rest of sauce.  If you like, top with a sprinkle of shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until the enchiladas are hot and the sauce is bubbling around the edges.

Here's to Fresh, Fast, and Fantastic Food!

The Joy of a "Kitchen Sink" Salad

I had a different topic scheduled for today, however I just threw together the most amazing "kitchen sink" salad and decided that I just had to share my thoughts...  I do have to give credit where credit is due.  My sister-in-law, Leah, is the queen of "kitchen sink" salads and was my inspiration to branch out from my normal salad ingredients.  In fact, she even makes sandwiches with leftover salad - salad sandwiches.  Add your leftover salad to a whole grain pita or tortilla and you have a fast, fresh and delicious lunch with lots of crunch.

"Kitchen Sink" Salad???
You know the saying, "everything but the kitchen sink", well that is the kind of salad I am talking about.  There are so many things in your fridge, pantry and freezer that you may not even imagine putting into a salad.  Obviously we want to stay away from lots of added sugar, salt and saturated fat, but beyond that the sky is the limit. 


Let me share with you what I had today:
A mix of dark green leaf lettuce, swiss chard (including the beautiful red stems), edemame, carrots cut into ribbons, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, a can of tuna in spring water, sprinkle of crumbled blue cheese, sprinkle of chopped walnuts, a little coarse sea salt and lots of freshly ground black pepper and my favorite dressing "Garlic Expressions - Classic Vinaigrette".

The Joy of a salad like this is that you get a different flavor combination, texture and most importantly mix of nutrients each time.


Salad in a Flash
I often hear people say that they don't like making salads at home because it takes too much time.  It truly can be a lunch, dinner or side dish in a flash with these tips:

• Keep a wide variety of easy to add, no-prep ingredients on hand like grape tomatoes, canned beans (drain and rinse first), chopped walnuts (store in freezer), pre-washed and boxed/bagged lettuce.  Steam a bag of edemame and store in the fridge for salads and a great addition to your kids lunch box as well.
• Make a larger portion than you need for one meal, but not more than you can eat in a few days.  I make a big salad as a side for a dinner (some basic ingredients like cucumbers, carrots, tomatoes and edameme) and then use that as my base for multiple lunch salads or even a dinner later in the week.  You can add other ingredients for specific themes like black beans, roasted red peppers and fajita chicken.
• Buy pre-chopped fresh vegetables and fruit.
• Purchase some store-bought dressings that are low in sugar and don't have any high-fructose corn syrup or trans fat.  A fresh dressing is a nice addition, but may not be practical every time. 

Let Your Imagination Run Wild

There really is no limit to the ingredients you can add to a salad, and don't limit yourself to items that you KNOW you like.  Branch out and try some new things, you just might surprise yourself.

Here is a laundry list of ingredients to add to your "kitchen sink" salad; it is only the tip of the iceberg.  Comment to this blog if you have other great salad ingredients.

• Variety of lettuce (don't limit yourself to romaine or iceberg)
• Spinach
• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Cabbage
• Bok choy
• Fresh herbs (basil, cilantro, lavender, etc.)

• Avocado
• Tomatoes
• Cucumbers
• Bell Peppers (all colors)
• Onions
• Green beans (blanched or fresh)
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Asparagus (blanched and chopped)
• Sprouts
• Edemame
• Artichoke hearts
• Corn 
• Jicama
• Radish
• Broccoli
• Cauliflower
• Squash
• Celery
• Sugar snap peas
• Hot peppers

• Kiwi

• Strawberries
• Blueberries
• Blackberries
• Raspberries
• Oranges
• Grapefruit
• Pomegranite
• Apples
• Pears
• Grapes
• Pineapple
• Melon
• Papaya
• Mango
• Bananas

• Tuna (canned in spring water, grilled, broiled, etc.)
• Chicken (grilled, poached, roasted, etc.)
• Beef
• Salmon
• Smoked salmon
• Turkey breast
• Tofu
• Any flavorful leftover lean protein

• Nuts
• Pasta/Noodles (preferrably whole grain)
• Low-fat croutons
• Dried fruit
• Flax Seed
• Intensely flavored cheeses (blue cheese, Parmesan, sharp cheddar, etc.)
• Hard-boiled egg
• Olive oil

• Vinegar
• Citrus juice
• Thinned hummus

I hope this has inspired you to be a little adventurous on your next trip to the market.  If you have been contemplating joining a co-op but don't know how you would use all of the produce, or don't want to deal with the unknown variety, hopefully this will get you to give it a shot.  I am inspired each time I pick-up my box of delicious goodies.

Here is to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!

Soy: Magic Bean or Tragic Bean?

As with Tuesday's blog, today's topic of soy is also one that causes a great deal of discussion and controversy.  There have been many studies and of course many articles from both sides promoting and refuting those studies.  I wanted to share this article from Denise Faye, which again I believe looks at both sides of the discussion and concludes as I have, that moderation in all things is the key.  Soy is a great choice to add some quality protein to your diet, but over doing it could definitely cause some problems.

This just in: Soy prevents cancer. Soy lowers "bad" cholesterol. Soy prevents osteoporosis. Hooray! Bring on the tofu!

Wait! More breaking news: Soy suppresses thyroid function. Soy hinders testosterone. Soy causes cancer. Oh, no! Looks like it's back to beef burgers for me.

Welcome to the food wars. On one side, big business tells us what to eat. On the other side, watchdog groups tell us we're being poisoned. From the wings, the media screams about the battle at the top of its lungs. In the middle stands our poor diet, constantly scrutinized. Sooner or later, everything we eat is either branded the next superfood fad or the devil incarnate. Every now and then, a food comes along that gets to be both. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you soy.

Then and now

The soybean, which comes from East Asia, made its way to the United States in 1804. Through the 1930s, its primary use was as livestock feed. But in the last 70 years, things have changed. America is now the world's foremost soybean producer, and from an economical standpoint, soybeans are one of the world's most important legumes.

In much the same way one of America's other big crops, corn, has found its way into just about every packaged food in the country in the form of high-fructose corn syrup, the food industry has come up with all kinds of inventive uses for soy. It's used to make paints, glues, bug sprays, and food. And we're not just talking tofu here. From soy milk to cereals to protein bars to meat substitutes, the stuff is everywhere.

The good news and the bad news

Because the soybean is such an economic powerhouse, it's often in the spotlight. The FDA states that soy is a "complete protein," meaning that it's just as good as meat, eggs, and dairy in fulfilling your amino acid needs. Is this true, or has the soybean lobby just leaned on the FDA to say that? And what of the "miracle food" claims—are they true?

Of course, these positive claims are followed by crusaders who are attempting to bring down the soy monolith. How can these opposing claims also be true? After all, scientific studies are infallible, right?

Not so much. It's an incredibly difficult topic to get the straight dope on, and an incredibly easy topic to manipulate. So trying as best as possible not to buy into any hype, let's take a look at soy.

The Asian argument

The first argument out from the pro-soy lobby is, "Look at Asia! They've been eating soy for centuries and they're super-healthy!"

Generalizations aside, this is true, except Asian cultures don't go all Coneheads on the stuff, consuming vast quantities. A 1990 study from Cornell University concluded that the average Chinese diet consisted of between 0 and 58 grams of soy a day, with the average being 13 grams—or about half an ounce.

In much the same way that the French can pull off eating creamy cheeses and chocolate and remain thin, the secret to eating anything, healthy or decadent, is moderation.

Protein

Above and beyond any claims that soy is a miracle cure for anything, it's important to remember that its primary function in most people's diets is to provide a lean, meat-free protein. How well does it do this? According to the Food and Agriculture Organization and World Health Organization (FAO/WHO), it does just fine.

In 1989, the FAO/WHO developed the Protein Digestibility Corrected Amino Acid Score, a method of measuring protein values in human nutrition. Eggs, milk, and soy all score a 1.0, the best possible. Beef scores .92 and peanuts score .52.

So purely from a macronutrient standpoint, soy looks to be good stuff. Yet for some reason we seem determined to ruin it. Sure, the protein is still there in soy sausage or fake bacon or faux chicken, but now there's also sodium, plus the huge laundry list of chemicals it took to morph the soy into resembling the food it's trying to imitate or replace. A tolerable soy burger has 230 milligrams of sodium—10 percent of the recommended daily allowance. An even saltier option, like the 2.5-ounce Boca Burger^® All American Classic, has 500 milligrams. By way of comparison, a 2.5-ounce beef patty only has about 55 milligrams of sodium.

So if you're looking for protein, stick to soybeans, tofu, and soy milk and leave the meat substitutes alone.

Omega-3s

Soybeans are also one of the very few nonanimal sources (along with flax and canola) of omega-3 fatty acids, which help the body with brain function, as well as growth and development. So especially for vegetarians, consuming soy to get your omega-3s is worth considering.

Fermentation celebration

There's also a school of thought that believes fermented soy, such as that found in miso, natto, tempeh, and pickled tofu, is nutritionally superior to unfermented soy. Notable research includes a 2010 study out of the Korean Food Research Institutes showing that fermented soy has positive effects in combating type 2 diabetes. However, the notion that fermented soy is more easily digestible than regular soy is unfounded. If you want to include fermented soy—much of which can be an acquired taste—in your diet, that's great, but choosing to choke down a bowl of natto instead of a bowl of edamame isn't going to be that much more healthful, so don't do it if you don't want to.

Miracles and scares

Most of soy's miracle claims and scares are based on rather flimsy studies. For example, a study in the Archives of Internal Medicine showed that among 24,403 postmenopausal Chinese women, those who ate soy-heavy diets had a 37 percent lower risk of broken bones. That's good news until you look at the findings in a cultural context, as the watchdog group the Center for Science in the Public Interest pointed out in their newsletter, Nutrition Action. American women consume considerably more dairy than Chinese women, which has a huge influence on their relative bone strength. Furthermore, according to the University of Washington Medical Center, Caucasian women are historically more prone to hip fractures than Asian women, so the CSPI study is pretty much moot.

As for studies indicating that soy can lower LDL or "bad" cholesterol levels, a 2005 review sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research Quality showed that to see a measly 3 percent reduction in LDL, one had to eat a pound of tofu a day.

As for the scares, the much-ballyhooed 1985 USDA Trypsin Inhibitor Study showed that rats on a primarily soy diet had an increased risk of pancreatic cancer. It's all really scary until you learn that a rat's pancreas has a sensitivity to dietary protease inhibitors, a substance in soy that inhibits digestion of proteins. Humans have no such sensitivity. In other words, rat pancreases and human pancreases are different enough to call the study into question.

As you can see, for every source that seems to support one side of the pro-soy/anti-soy debate, there seems to be an equal and opposite source that refutes its claims.

Isoflavone of the month

One thing everyone agrees on is that soy is loaded with isoflavones, an organic compound that is thought by some experts to be an important element in helping to fight cancer. There have been studies that suggest the isoflavones in soy may help prevent prostate cancer, hot flashes, osteoporosis, and brain aging. So why not consume as many isoflavones as you can? Well, there's also a downside.

Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen, a plant-produced chemical that acts like estrogen when introduced into animals' bodies. Although studies in 2001 and 2006 suggest that women with a high risk of breast cancer should be mindful about the amount of soy they consume, a study presented at the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida, in April 2011, which compiled data from 18,000 women diagnosed with invasive breast cancer, found no difference in terms of recurrence and death between women who consumed a lot of soy and women who consumed very little. If anything, those who consumed greater amounts of soy had, statistically, an insignificantly lower risk either of recurrence or of succumbing to their disease.

There are also several studies that suggest it's a bad idea to give infants soy formula because of the isoflavones—but before anyone freaks out, there are also several studies that say soy formula isn't a problem at all.

How much is too much?

Before giving up on soy completely because you just can't be bothered with the data, consider this alternative: moderation. The Center for Science in the Public Interest suggests limiting soy consumption so you ingest about 50 to 70 milligrams of isoflavones a day. That's one or two cups of soy milk or 6 to 9 ounces of tofu. That should be enough to tap the benefits without overdoing it.

But also keep in mind that because the soy industry has become so huge in the United States, food manufacturers can acquire it cheaply, so they're looking to find ways of using it in as many different products as possible. Whenever you're buying some kind of processed food, make sure to read the ingredients. You're probably eating more soy than you realize.

Even if there weren't concerns about soy, the amounts I just specified—one to two cups of soy milk or 6 to 9 ounces of tofu per day—would still be good numbers to shoot for. Regardless of whether or not a food is the miracle nutrient of the moment, eating excessive amounts of anything is pretty much never a good idea. If you focus on one thing too much, you're neglecting a myriad of other important nutrients—the balance of which will make for great health.

A GREAT SCHOOL LUNCH

Soy can be a great addition to any lunch box, especially in the form of edemame.  This is actually one of Will and Grayson's favorite vegetables.  If you buy the bag of organic edameme, you can pour and entire bag into a Corning Ware type bowl with a lid, add a couple tablespoons of water and cook for about 6 minutes.  Just add a dash of salt and they are ready to serve.  Edameme are also a great addition to to a box of Mac 'n Cheese.  In fact, given the protien content of soy, this makes a great meal if you are using whole grain pasta, and it contains real cheese without addatives and preservatives.  I just warm it up and pop it in a thermos and they get a delicious, healthy and warm lunch.  Include some fresh strawberries or an orange in the box and you have a power lunch sure to get your little one through the afternoon.

Here's to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!

The Facts on Dairy

To Drink or Not to Drink

With so much conflicting information available on dairy, I have spent a great deal of time making sure that I understand the perspectives and facts of both sides.  This article "The Down-Low on Dairy" by Steve Edwards is very balanced and heavy on the facts.  As with everything else in our house, we consume dairy in moderation as a positive addition to our healthy balanced diet.  I hope this information will help you make an educated decision for your family.

Milk: Does it really do a body good? Most of us are familiar with this advertising catchphrase. It's also one of the most parodied slogans in history. A quick headline search reveals a slew of send-ups, ranging from sarcastically simple "Milk: It does a body bad" to the even more straightforward "MilkSucks.com." Whether or not we should consume dairy products is one of the most common dietary issues in the news, yet there still doesn't seem to be a definitive answer. Let's take a look at the pros and cons of dairy and hopefully help you shed a little light on whether or not you want it as a part of your diet.

Conclusion

I didn't accidentally paste the end of the article into the second paragraph; I just thought it would be best to get this out of the way right up front. Whether or not humans should consume dairy—specifically cow's milk and all its byproducts—is, as you might surmise from the intro, a volatile issue. Opinions tend to be black or white and served up with heaping scoops of passion. But passion tends to come from emotion, not science, and a lot of dairy lore seems to be based on anecdotal conjecture rather than investigation and analysis.

This doesn't mean that there's no science involved in the debate—far from it. A search of the National Library of Medicine shows that more than 25,000 studies have been done on dairy, apparently none of which can give us any sort of consensus on its health effects in humans. What all these studies do show is that dairy products are neither going to kill us nor help us live forever. We can consume them and be healthy, but we also don't need to consume them to be healthy.

 Dairy can be a fine addition to one's diet, but that doesn't mean it's right for your diet. You certainly don't need as much as the National Dairy Council recommends, but dairy also needn't be vilified more than any other type of food. As with most foods these days, there are issues, particularly when it comes to the way humankind seems compelled to continually "improve" them. But there are also individual considerations that should be assessed, and this article will address them.

The Bottom Line

In keeping with our reordered approach to the dairy story, let's look at the most simple aspect of dairy: its nutrient profile. Of course, this varies according to product, but most dairy-based foods are a good source of protein. Some, like yogurt and milk, have carbohydrates. And in their natural states, all dairy products contain fat and are great sources of enzymes. Most dairy products, especially those with the fat removed, would appear to be a fine source of nutrition.

There is little reputable science to dispute that the dairy proteins casein and whey have excellent biological value profiles. Dairy fats are generally unhealthy, have high percentages of saturated fats, and should be limited in a healthy diet. But some dairy fats, mainly from certain cheeses, contain enzymes that make them a potentially beneficial part of a healthy diet, if consumed in moderation. Dairy's carbohydrate source, lactose, has been the subject of a lot of scrutiny, but appears to be fine for most people, especially in its natural form. As we go on, we'll examine the potential benefits and pitfalls of dairy consumption.

The Issues

Too much fat. As stated above, dairy products contain a lot of fat. Your diet should consist of around 20 to 35 percent fat, but very little of this should come from animal sources. The anti-dairy movement claims an association between consuming dairy and heart disease as a reason to steer clear, but it makes little sense to single out dairy as opposed to, say, meat—or pretty much anything you can buy at your corner 7-Eleven^®. Most dairy products are available in low- or no-fat options where the fat is reduced or removed. Anyone for whom dairy products provide a major percentage of their daily calorie intake should definitely switch from full-fat to reduced-fat or nonfat dairy products. There are some concerns regarding protein-to-fat ratio and calcium utilization, though—read on.

Aren't most of us lactose intolerant? Some people have problems digesting dairy products, which can lead to an unpleasant gastric condition usually referred to as lactose intolerance. The exact definition of lactose intolerance, as well as its specific details, remain under debate, but the condition appears to result from the pasteurization of dairy products, which kills the enzymes that aid the body's digestion process. Milk and yogurt in raw form don't seem to cause lactose intolerance. Regardless, the numbers here are skewed; anti-dairy pundits will often claim that the percentage of people who suffer from lactose intolerance is actually a majority of the population. Other studies seem to peg the number at closer to 20 percent. One constant is that those from cultures who have historically consumed a lot of dairy are not affected as much as those who aren't

Lactose intolerance isn't a dangerous condition, but it can cause considerable discomfort. If you do suffer from the condition, you might be interested to know that millions (if not billions) of people worldwide are perfectly healthy without consuming any dairy at all. Just be wary of replacing all the dairy in your diet with any other single food source, especially soy. Many dairy substitutes are soy based, and too much soy in your diet can be problematic. (Check back for Thursday's blog called "Soy: Magic Bean or Tragic Bean?".)

Does dairy cause a loss or gain of calcium? This is one of the more interesting controversies. The dairy industry champions itself as a leading provider of calcium. The anti-dairy folks say that exactly the opposite is true. Which (if either) is right?

The pro side is simple: They say dairy products contain a lot of calcium, and numerous studies show the importance of calcium in our diets. The con side is more complex. Some science suggests that the high protein-to-fat ratio of nonfat dairy sources, along with an abundance of vitamin A, somehow reduces the body's ability to utilize calcium. This isn't exactly confirmed by the said studies, which actually showed "no decrease in instances of osteoporosis."

Does dairy cause osteoporosis? This is a fairly common claim cited by a wide variety of Internet sources. Most of these sources cite rather dated research, including a Harvard study published in the American Journal of Public Health way back in 1997, which claimed a correlation between female milk drinkers and hip fractures. However, newer research, such as a study in the April 2011 issue of the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, found no connection at all between dairy consumption and hip fractures.

While neither study bodes well for the dairy lobby, it seems a bit odd to make any assumptions based on one dietary staple, considering that the largest piece of this puzzle is being left out altogether: exercise. In the last couple of decades, caloric increase across the U.S. has risen only around 3 percent, whereas the amount of exercise we get has dropped a whopping 20 to 25 percent. When you consider that the primary reason elderly people break their hips in routine falls is due to loss of muscle that protects the bones, it doesn't take a MENSA member to suspect that lack of exercise might be a culprit.

Dairy helps you burn body fat. From the flip side of weird science came a 2003 study out of the University of Tennessee that got a lot of publicity; it showed that those who consumed dairy products lost more body fat than those who supplemented with other types of calcium. But before you decide that yogurt should suffice for all of your calcium needs, consider that the study didn't involve an even playing field. The subjects were on a reduced-calorie diet and the dairy group was given twice the amount of calcium the supplement group received. The study was funded by Yoplait^®; feel free to draw your own conclusions.

Regardless, two conclusions you could draw are that calcium is beneficial to your diet, and that you can use the type of calcium you get from dairy products to satisfy your body's need for calcium.

Dairy causes cancer. Much of the concern over dairy and its potential to cause cancer comes from the book The China Study by T. Collin Campbell. In it, Campbell cites studies in which casein protein caused tumors in rats. While this is valid research, it needs to be taken with a grain of salt, given that humans and rodents have very different physiologies and these studies administered massive, concentrated amounts of the substance—far more than a human would ever consume in a day.

Dairy is filled with hormones. This is a major, well-documented issue involving how our nation's dairy cows are raised. The FDA assures us that dairy farmers are only allowed to "dope" cows with safe drugs. Many people and organizations disagree with this statement. This is a subject that is too broad to cover adequately in one short article. It's a debate that colors nearly every food-related decision most people make. It's important to know that on the subject of dairy, we do have choices. We can choose organic options, or buy our dairy products from a local farm or someone we know.

Which is better: raw or pasteurized? Nearly all pro-pasteurization literature comes from the National Dairy Council or U.S. regulatory agencies. On the other side, there's a passel of independent information that cites the virtues of raw dairy products.

Dairy, in its raw form, is healthier (provided it comes from healthy cows). In fact, most raw-dairy advocates claim that lactose intolerance is a nonissue for consumers of raw dairy products because the lactose in these items is broken down by the enzyme lactase, which is killed during pasteurization process—a process raw dairy products don't go through. Another issue is that cows aren't always healthy. When cows are unhealthy, it's common for deadly bacteria, including E. coli, to show up in the dairy products produced from their milk. Since pasteurization kills both bad and good bacteria while preserving much of the nutrient value, it's championed as the better alternative by government agencies charged with safeguarding public health—and promoting dairy consumption.

Is organic better? Again, nearly all of the anti-organic literature comes from the National Dairy Council or U.S. regulatory agencies. This is, of course, because it's their job to ensure us that all dairy is healthy and safe to begin with. And again, there are plenty of studies supporting organic as being preferable.

The verdict can again come down to some common sense. Organic standards require that cows live in better conditions and eat better food. We know that when we live better and eat healthier food, we are healthier. We can suppose that this is also true about cows. The next assumption would be that eating food produced by a healthier organism would be healthier. If this makes sense, it's logical to conclude that organic is better.

All of that discussion about dairy products made me hungry.  I think I will go have a little plain non-fat yogurt with fresh berries and a sprinkle of my favorite low-sugar, low-fat granola.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?

Tonight is gymnastics night and we had to have some quick and easy.  To make tonight a easy dinner night, I roasted a pan of veggies last night while I was making our pesto salmon and roasted green beans.  I let them roast while I was cooking dinner as well as while we ate, so they had great color and especially sweet flavor.  Tonight's dinner took only as long as it takes to cook the pasta -- 10 minutes and on the table...

Roasted Vegetable Pasta Primavera

Servings: 8

1 lb. whole grain pasta

1 jar organic marinara sauce, low sugar and low sodium

4 small zucchini squash, sliced

4 small yellow squash, sliced

1 red onion, cut into small pieces

1-8 oz. contain of button or cremini mushrooms, slice in half

1 red bell pepper, cut into small pieces

Drilzzle of olive oil

Coarse sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste

Fresh Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Combine vegetables on sheet pan and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Roast until vegetables are tender and begin to caramalize.  Cook pasta according to package directions.  While you drain pasta in colander, add marinara sauce and vegetables to pasta pot and heat.  Add pasta and toss.  Serve with a sprinkle of fresh Parmesan cheese.

Here's to fresh, fast, and fantastic food!