‘Tis the season to overindulge
November 28, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
With the introduction of Thanksgiving we officially kicked off the season of indulgence. My weakness has always been dessert and this Thanksgiving proved no different with multiple pies to choose from (my personal favorite being pumpkin with a ginger snap crust). Once we have polished off all of the Thanksgiving leftovers I felt a strong desire for a meal that did not make me feel like I needed to increase my pants size. So, it was destiny when I turned the page in our newspaper and stumbled upon this vegetable soup recipe by Ellie Krieger, a fellow RD, who just happens to be one of my favorite food professionals. This soup provided just the right nourishment to the soul along with a healthy dose of protein from the chickpeas. I highly recommend “indulging” in the soup.
Image source: bakingdom
Weekly Wisdom – Avoid food products that contain more than 5 ingredients
November 27, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
The more ingredients in a packaged food, the more highly processed it is
- a long list of recipe ingredients is fine
- some products boast deceptively about their short ingredients list, i.e., Hagen Dazs five is still ice cream; 3 ingredient Tostitos are still corn chips!
Source: Michael Pollen, Food Rules
A new twist for an old tradition
November 26, 2012
Denise Simmons, Corporate Chef
I’ve written before about my family’s food traditions…they’ve been around longer than I have, and offer great comfort during the holidays.
One of the best traditions this time of year is the cranberry relish. It’s very simple-grind fresh, raw cranberries with a whole orange; add sugar & walnuts. That’s it-couldn’t be simpler, or more delicious. My folks usually make a giant batch at thanksgiving, and freeze it for use throughout the year.
This year, I took a couple bags home, and decided since cranberries are so good for me, I’d try some new ways to eat them. This morning for breakfast I mixed pink grapefruit sections, orange sections, cranberry relish & strawberry yogurt together, then added a little granola on top for crunch & whole grains. It was fantastic! One of the tastiest fruit/yogurt parfaits I’ve ever had.
I wonder how the relish would work in place of jelly on a bagel? Tomorrows breakfast adventure…
Weekly Wisdom – 4 habits most predictive of weight loss & maintenance – part 2
November 20, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
- Make your meals: People who eat out frequently are more likely to be overweight. We eat more calories, no matter the restaurant choice.
- Keep tabs on your weight: Weighing yourself regularly & keeping tabs on your exercise habits makes your more apt to “win at losing.”
Source: AppetiteforHealth
Trash Talk – Campus campaign
November 20, 2012
Becky Tweedy, Assistant to the President
Campus Campaign
Pens – Use refillable pens. Refills cost as little as $1 each, almost the same as disposables. Pens are rarely recycled. Every year we discard 1.6 billion pens. Placed end to end, they would stretch more than 150,000 miles – from LA to Tokyo more than 25 times!
Textbooks – buy used and sell back, or rent and return. About $10 billion worth of textbooks – K through college – are sold each year. Recycling just 1 percent of these books would save enough to send more than 4000 students to a 4-year public college.
Paper – use both sides; recycle. By far the biggest form of waste that comes from schools, it is also a great opportunity! Every ton (220,000 sheets) of paper that is recycled saves approximately 17 trees! The average school tosses 38 tons of paper per year…
Think about it!
Will you take a small step to help?
Source: The Green Book
Taste more to eat less this thanksgiving!
November 15, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
Though you wouldn't know it by walking in a retail store, Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Personally this holiday happens to be one of my favorites as it involves two things I love...food and family. What could be better then feasting on delicious food in the company of those you love. Of course, sometimes we can get carried away with the feasting. Do a Google search for average calories on Google and you get estimate anywhere from 3000-4500 calories, more than most of our calorie budgets. That said, enjoying your Thanksgiving meal does not have to been a dietary disaster. Since many of us will be traveling for the holiday, we will not have control over what food is served, but we can control the portions we eat. I will never forget the Thanksgiving holiday I spent at my sister-in-laws where I ate so much food I spent the rest of the night groaning about my aching belly (what a way to end a great meal). Thankfully, with the exclusion of that year, I have managed to control my portions and convince myself that the less I eat the more there will be for leftovers the next day (my favorite part).
If you happen to be the cook this Thanksgiving Day check out this from Cooking Light "What the Thanksgiving Cook Nibbled", very insightful.
Happy Thanksgiving!
December Recipe: Lace Cookies
Lace Cookies
makes 12 dozen
2c - old fashioned oats (not instant)
2c - sugar
1c - butter, melted
6T - flour
1/2t - salt
1/2t - baking powder
1t - vanilla
2 - eggs
- Preheat oven to 350°
- Mix ingredients in order listed. Cool in refrigerator overnight
- Line cookie sheet with non-stick release foil4. Drop 1/2t balls on cookie sheets, about 15 per pan, 2” apart (will spread)
- Bake 7 minutes or until lightly browned around the edges
- Let cool on a rack before removing from the pan
Serve with whipped cream, chocolate mousse or melted chocolate, fresh berries.
Weekly Wisdom – 4 habits most predictive of weight loss & maintenance – part 1
November 13, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
- Eat 3 square meals a day: Eat breakfast, lunch & dinner to keep energy levels & hormones stable. Skipping meals, (3-4 hours without food)can make you crave high calorie foods / “junk” foods
- Limit TV watching & screen time: limited time in front of the tube = leaner physique, less “junk” food
Source: AppetiteforHealth
Weekly Wisdom – Food Rules: Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top 3 ingredients
November 5, 2012
Sherri Meyer, MG Registered Dietitian,
Food Rules: Avoid food products that have some form of sugar (or sweetener) listed among the top 3 ingredients
- Labels list ingredients by weight…products with more sugar than any other ingredient is too much.
- Complicated? There are over 40 sugars used in processed foods…check the label.
- “Sugar is sugar” Organic sugar is sugar.
Source: Michael Pollen Food Rules
Rattlesnakes
November 5, 2012
Denise Simmons, Corporate Chef
Southwestern cuisine has gained significant popularity the past few years. We’ve had tex-mex (think Taco Bell) for many years, but I’m talking about a more authentic type of food, mixing southern US & Mexican cuisines to form a style unique to Arizona, New Mexico & southern California. I was born in Phoenix, AZ, so I was raised on tacos & chile rellenos, the way most American kids were raised on burgers & fries.
One of my favorite dishes has always been pinto beans. Dried beans, sorted carefully to pick out any bad beans or pebbles that may have gotten into them during harvesting. Slow cooked-all day-with lots of fresh garlic & onions. Occasionally some hatch chiles added for extra pizzazz. My folks have been
getting an amazing variety of pintos from my aunt & uncle in Colorado, where they’re grown (the beans, not my aunt & uncle..). The Colorado beans are smaller & a bit sweeter than the beans I remember from childhood.
I was at the Whole Foods grocery store in Charlottesville last week, and was pleasantly surprised to learn of a relatively new variety (a hybrid) of pintos called Rattlesnake Beans. I fell for the name alone, so definitely had to get some & see how they measure up! I cooked a small batch last week-just in time for taco Friday with my folks (a long standing family tradition!). They’re smaller than even the Colorado pintos, and a good bit sweeter & creamier as well. They cook up a bit darker-they almost look like a small red kidney bean. They were delicious, but I think we’ll be sticking with the Colorado pintos…it has a little bit to do with flavor, but I think more to do with tradition…
