What I Ate: Work Day Edition

Eating delicious and nutritious can get a little challenging when it comes to the work week. But is it possible? Yes indeed! It does take a little extra thought and planning, but with a little prep the night before, you can be successful! Now for your reading and viewing pleasure, I will share my work day food picks and pics.

Breakfast: Peanut butter banana smoothie

-8 oz soymilk

-1 giant ripe banana (leave it to Coscto to harvest produce from Jumbo Mario World)

-1 T peanut butter (unsweetened)

-ice

Sorry the picture is a little blurry- I was driving. Yes, I know that's a no-no!

Mid-morning snack: Homemade granola bar

All credit goes to Minimalist Baker. These only contain agave, roasted unsalted almonds (I roasted my own), almond butter, rolled oats, and dates. My husband said, "You really hyped these up over the phone so I had my doubts, but oh my gosh!". Score! They are the best granola bars I have ever eaten in my life, and no sugar, just agave! 

Here's the recipe: minimalistbaker.com/healthy-5-ingredient-granola-bars/

 

*Disclaimer: This was my first attempt at making them, and I didn't press and freeze them long enough so they were falling apart. Whatever- I ate it up with a spoon in my office like a dang bowl of ice cream.

Lunch: Black bean burger with a mixed salad and chips

-Morningstar black bean burger patty (oven baked the night before)

-1 cup mixed greens

-1/4 yellow bell pepper, sliced

-1/4 orange bell pepper, sliced

-1/4 avocado, cubed

-1/2 tomato, sliced

- 1 T olive oil

-splash of balsamic vinegar

-a heaping handful of tortilla chips (whole foods 365 brand)

I normally would have brought a peice of whole wheat bread instead of the chips, but we were out and didn't have time to bake more last night. Oh well. It was still yummy. And I turned out to be too full for the chips, so I saved them for a pick-me-up around 2 in the afternoon! 

Afternoon treat: A handful of chocolate chips

-about 2 T chocolate chips

Afternoon snack: Mango and blueberries with roasted sea salt and rosemary almonds 

-probably 3/4 a whole mango, cut into pieces 

-1/2 cup blueberries

-a handful of roasted almonds (roasted them myself with a little olive oil, a dash of sea salt, and fresh rosemary from my amateur garden)

Dinner: Leftover Chipotle rice bowl with added Brussels sprouts 

-1/2 the rice bowl I ate for dinner last night, which included brown rice, black beans, chicken, roasted vegetables, a couple different salsas, some sour cream, an extra dose or two of lettuce, some fresh squeezed lime and some green Tabasco sauce 

-leftover Brussels sprouts (probably 1 cup) from dinner two nights ago (roasted and tossed with salt, pepper, olive oil, balsamic, and a little honey)

As you can see, there's plenty of fruits and vegetables, some whole grains, lean proteins (and beans!), a good dose of calcium from non-dairy milk (since I don't have much if any dairy due to my sensitivity), and of course some treats.

So are any of these magic diet foods? Nope. But altogether they provide a balanced, reasonable daily intake that is bursting with colors and flavors.

Until next time! 

Jessica

What I Ate in a Day

I can talk the talk, but can I walk the walk? I thought it might be useful to see how I put the MyPlate info into action in real life. This was what I ate in one day. I was home for the day. It's pretty typical for me, especially if I'm incorporating leftovers from last night's dinner for lunch. 

Breakfast: Almond milk banana spinach smoothie

-8 oz almond milk

-1 T almond butter

-1 medium banana

-1 c spinach 

-*a bit of agave if banana isn't super ripe

-ice cubes

Mid-morning snack: Quinoa Chips and a fruit strip

-20 BBQ quinoa chips (not to be a weirdo, but that's the serving size with a whopping 8 g of protein for only 130 calories, Simply 7 brand)

-1 pomegranate fruit strip (simply balanced brand from Target) 

Lunch: Roasted chicken with BBQ sauce, butternut squash, broccoli and a slice of homemade bread

-About 3-4 oz roasted chicken (Rotisserie style roasted chicken, recipe on Pinterest! killer good)

-About 1 T Trader Joe's Carolina Gold BBQ sauce

-1 cup steamed broccoli (Costco's organic frozen)

- 1/2 cup butternut squash (steamed and then tossed with a modest pat of butter, maple syrup and cinnamon)

-one slice of homemade (William Sonoma Bread Machine) light whole wheat bread with a little butter

 Afternoon snack: a pear and a spoonful of almond butter

-1 small pear

-1 T almond butter (unsweetened)

Dinner: Baked garam masala chicken thigh, sweet potato, brown rice and a small salad 

-1 3-4 oz chicken thigh, baked with some olive oil, lemon and garam masala spice

- 1/2 cup steamed brown rice, topped with pepper and a squeeze of lemon

-1/2 sweet potato, plain 

-salad: 1 cup lettuce, 1/2 tomato (sliced), fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, a splash of olive oil and squirt of lemon 

Not pictured: The fistful or two of Goldfish and several fistfuls of chocolate chips I popped in my mouth throughout the day as I chased my toddler around the house!

Just so you know, I eat something sweet every day, usually more than once! I'm not kidding. This day we were out of our homemade chocolate chip oatmeal cookies that we bake religiously. So, sadly, the chocolate chips had to do. 

Stay tuned for my next post, which will be very soon to follow, in which I will share another day of meals and snacks,this time for a work day! 

Thanks for reading!

Jessica

Basic Building Blocks of a Healthy Diet

Hey, remember this?

It’s the food guide pyramid! Do we use this anymore? Nope! Why not?  I remember looking at the base, which was grains, and thinking, “I can mostly eat grains. Got it. Let’s do this!”. I think a lot of people felt that way. So throughout the course of the past several years, the USDA has developed a different food guide that demonstrates how better to balance your diet. It’s called….

MyPlate

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/about.html

Without even knowing anything else about it, you know this much: you better start eating more fruits and vegetables. I like that. The basic breakdown is ½ your plate should be fruits and vegetables, ¼ should be grains, ¼ should be protein. And a serving of dairy on the side.

Let’s take a closer look at the recommendations from each of the 5 food groups:               

Fruit

-Any fruit, or 100% fruit juice (fresh, canned, frozen, dried)

    -Recommended servings/ day for adults : 1 ½ - 2 cups

Vegetables

- Any vegetable, or 100% vegetable juice (raw, cooked, fresh, frozen, canned, or dried/ dehydrated)

    -Recommended servings/ day for adults: 2-3 cups overall

-dark green: 1 ½- 2 cups/ week

-starchy: 4-6 cups/ week

-red and orange: 4-6 cups/ week

-beans and peas (legumes, also part of the protein group): 1-2 cups/ week

-other vegetables: 3 ½ - 5 cups/ week

Grains

-Whole- the entire grain kernel (bran, germ and endosperm). Ex.: whole wheat flour, bulgar/ cracked wheat, oatmeal, whole cornmeal, brown rice.

-Refined- milled, or processed, removing the bran and germ (for finer texture and longer shelf life), and therefore losing dietary fiber, iron and many B vitamins. Ex: white flour, de-germed cornmeal, white bread, white rice.

-Recommended servings/ day for adults: 5-8 oz

Protein

-Meat (lean/ low-fat), poultry (lean/ low-fat), seafood (at least 8 oz/ week is recommended for most adults excluding vegetarians and those who are allergic), beans and peas (also counts as a vegetable), eggs, processed soy products, nuts, seeds.

    -Recommended servings/ day for adults: 5-6 ½ oz equivalents (1 oz = 7g protein, roughly)

Dairy

-Not on plate, milk (cow or soy), yogurt, cheese, milk-based desserts (um...)

    -Recommended servings/ day for adults: 3 cups

*Oils

-Not on plate, from plants and fish, canola, corn, cottonseed, olive, safflower, soybean, sunflower, walnut, sesame, and some foods with naturally occurring oils such as nuts, olives, fish and avocados, mayonnaise, some salad dressings, soft margarine (with no transfat) and some solid fats (saturated fats) derived from plates such as coconut oil, palm oil and palm kernel oil. Solid fats (solid at room temperature) should make up a much small portion of this subgroup and usually come from animals. Includes butter, milk fat, beef fat, chicken fat, pork fat, stick margarine, shortening, partially hydrogenated oil.

    -No recommendations given for daily amounts

What I like about it:

-Balance, balance, balance. How many times have you seen people at mealtimes with plates made up of ½ meat and ½ grains or starches like rice, pasta or potatoes (burger and fries, my friends)? And maybe 1 tablespoon of vegetables? MyPlate demonstrates how to achieve balance. For most this means scaling back on grains and making room for more vegetables and fruits.

-Protein: Most people don’t have to be forced to eat protein. In fact, many probably overdo it. Now this is a general guide. Specific protein needs can be calculated and personalized for each individual (that’s the type of stuff I do) based on age, weight, height, gender and activity level, not to mention health conditions. That said, you might be surprised to find that you don’t need as much protein at each meal as you probably thought you did- in general. For example, a piece of chicken breast or fish the size of a deck of cards is about 3 oz, which provides 21 g of protein. These big huge chicken breasts injected with hormones that you often see at the grocery store…. uh, not 3 oz. Try 6- 8 oz or more.

-The website. It’s full of interactive tools and charts and tables that you can use to find out how to tailor this and eat appropriate portion sizes for children age 2 and up, teenagers, and adults, both young and old, male and female. And much more- portion sizes, food lists in each group, etc.. Take a look at it. It’s very informative and useful.

What I don’t like about it:

-Dairy group: Not exactly necessary (I have a dairy sensitivity, so I have to skip it myself). Could be protein group too though that’s never mentioned. This is emphasized primarily for calcium and vitamin D content. Also, I don’t drink 8 oz of milk at breakfast, lunch and dinner (gag, I don’t love milk like that). Side note: desserts as a serving of dairy? Hmmm.

-Vegetable group: You’re telling me to eat more starchy vegetables than dark green? That’s silly, and the message it’s sending is that white potatoes are a better choice than spinach or kale. Disagree.

-Grains: Makes it seem as though including refined/ processed grains is totally just as fine as eating whole grains. I’m all about balance, but if you ask me, refined grains should be a treat like dessert and not be a regular staple of any healthy meal.

-Oils: Again, while I’m all about balance, I think they’re making a sneaky defence for saturated fats and cholesterol, like there’s a minimum requirement for optimal health. Also, this section is a little overloaded and unclear to me.

-No mention of water as a most-important beverage and daily necessity. Makes it look like you just need to drink milk for thirst. 

-To me, this is meant to model lunch and dinner, not breakfast. And how about snacks?

-If you have diabetes, your plate should look more like this instead to ensure consistent and controlled carbohydrate intake at meals (more on this later): 

Now, here’s another plate model I recently discovered. It follows a similar pattern as MyPlate, with some variation, some of which address qualms I had.

Healthy Eating Plate (Harvard School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School)

http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate-vs-usda-myplate/

Vegetables- The more and the greater variety, the better. Excludes potatoes and french fries.

Fruits- Eat plenty of fruits of all colors.

Whole grains- Eat a variety of whole grains, limit refined grains. (Boom.)

Healthy proteins- Choose fish, poultry, beans, nuts, limit red meat and cheese, avoid bacon, cold cuts and other processed meats. (Good point, will cut down on sodium tremendously.)

Healthy oils (not on plate)- Use healthy oils (like olive and canola oils), for cooking, on salad, and at the table. Limit butter. Avoid transfat. (Nailed it.)

Water (not on plate)- Drink water, tea or coffee (ideally without sugar), limit milk/ dairy to 1-2 servings/ day, juice to 1 small glass/ day, avoid sugary drinks.

I like this overall message very much. If you visit the website you will see more of the reasons behind the recommendations. This is not USDA funded. They mention things the USDA will not be telling the general public any time soon (not all USDA collaborators are dietitians, and that’s all I’m gonna say about that for now). For example, limiting fruit juice and sugary beverages to cut down on risk for obesity and diabetes, and limiting dairy to 1-2 servings/ day to cut down on risk of certain cancers.

SO, this is a lot of information, I know. Just try to take note of the big picture: balance. And don’t sweat little details just yet. Don’t you worry, I’m going to break this down even further for you in future posts. Just marinate on this for now!

Thanks for reading, and for the tremendously positive feedback on my first entry, and the blog in general! I am so happy to share. Stay tuned for more…

Jessica

Diet 101: The Dietitian Difference

Nutrition used to be so simple when we were kids.  You had cereal and milk for breakfast. A sandwich for lunch, with fruit, chips, or a cookie. At dinner you just needed to clean your plate. Sound familiar?

I remember when it got complicated for me. I was 13 years old. I stepped on the scale and was shocked to see I had gained 20 pounds in a year!  That seemed like way too much. So naturally I became very interested in nutrition. I launched a teenager’s search for a healthier diet- via books, magazines, the internet (1998’s internet, mind you), and a general survey of my peers. The first diet I tried was low-fat, followed by Atkins, south beach, vegan, vegetarian, sugar-free, detox, high fiber, fruit fasts- you name it, I bet you I’ve tried it. I even visited an esthetician who insisted I drink 12 cups of water per day- everyone should! Huh?!  When I saw that nutrition was a major at the college I was interested in, it was a no-brainer.

Alright, this brings me to an important subject: how to identify a “nutrition expert”. Do an internet search on “nutrition” or “diet” and you will find nothing less than an avalanche of information. So what now? How can you sift the right from the wrong? Sound advice backed by scientific research vs. hyped-up opinion? Well, take a closer look at who or where the advice is coming from. Did you realize that many people who identify themselves as “nutritionists” have no formal education, training, or certification to go along with that? Hmm.

Ok, so who are the nutrition experts? Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs). Hey, that’s me! And guess why? They spend a minimum of 4 years studying the particulars every food item you can imagine, nutrition for different populations and cultures, food service management, nutritional biochemistry and metabolism, chemistries and biologies of all kinds, anatomy and physiology, and medical nutrition therapy…. are you bored yet?  But, that’s not all. On top of that, RDNs go through a separate internship program averaging one year in length where they get hands-on training in the fields of clinical nutrition, food service management, health and wellness, community nutrition, and the list goes on. Throughout this entire process, the emphasis is on practicing nutrition utilizing ever-advancing medical and nutritional research. After completing this rigorous program, they must pass the nationally recognized registration exam. Then, and only then, are they nutrition experts!

Why is all this training necessary? The fact of the matter is food is medicine, really. Just as a doctor doesn’t give every patient he or she sees the same type or amount of medication regardless of medical condition or symptoms, there is no one diet a dietitian would prescribe to fit all. Think of a dietitian as a mathematician with nutrition numbers- that’s the best way I can describe it. Medical and nutritional research has established practice guidelines for RDNs, and they use formulas to calculate individual’s needs for calories, proteins, carbohydrates, fats, fluids, and even vitamins and minerals that are specific to each age group, gender and medical condition. Too much or too little of any of these nutrients can lead to very serious health problems- especially in individuals who are at risk due to underlying medical conditions.  So that’s at the heart of what a dietitian does!

Now, I have to be honest- armed with all this nutrition knowledge can make you a little weird about food! Ok, really weird. RDNs are notorious for being nervous, over-analytical eaters. I once took an aerobics class alongside one who afterwards popped opened a tiny tupperware bowl of steamed broccoli and savored it like it was a chocolate bar (uh… ?!). I too was a nervous eater at first! But several things have changed that. One, I married a guy’s guy who in our first year of marriage tried to overhaul my fruit and veggie-heavy shopping carts with mounds of soda, meats, and cheeses… he has lovingly met me in the middle since (alright, alright, I basically won that battle)! But he taught me a lesson in enjoying sinfully delicious foods I used to ban- in moderation of course! Second, I took an awesome class on Gastronomy- the pleasures of eating- that reminded me of all the beautiful feelings and sensations that go along with indulging in really delicious food. Third, I had a baby, which has made me realize that eating healthy when you’re utterly exhausted, pressed for time, have an insatiable appetite (hello pregnancy and lactation!), and can’t really think straight is TOUGH! Bottom line- I LOVE food. I think about it all day. I do love my veggies and fruits quite a bit. But also, dark chocolate and salt and vinegar chips are kind of my boyfriends.

So, all that said, I am here to help! Do I have some magic diet tricks up my sleeve? Not exactly. But I can help you see things as a dietitian does, one subject at a time, to help you make informed decisions about what and how you eat. It is my plan/ hope to uncover nutrition myths, share recipes I love (probably some sinful ones thrown in for good measure), help you navigate grocery stores better, share quick run-downs on specific nutrition subjects, and keep you up-to-date with interesting emerging research. And probably other stuff too! Most will probably be general nutrition guidance. If you have any specific medical conditions (ie. high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, heart disease, etc.) or questions, please do not hesitate to email me! I am also available for one-on-one counseling in person or via telephone/ internet.

Thank you for reading! Stay tuned…..

Jessica