Motivation Monday

It's Monday people! It's a new week - let's get motivated!

I know this may sound hard to believe, but even dietitians need help getting - and staying - motivated. It's no easy task, especially this time of year. Whether you're trying to eat healthier, exercise more, or lose a few pounds, there are always a variety of convenience excuses tempting you to forget about your health goals.

Of course, the holiday season brings new temptations to the table (pun totally intended!) and forces you to make a choice - stick with your goal? Or dive head-first into the candy bowl? Before you pick option B, let me share a few things that motivate me to make better health choices each day.

1. Having energy.
• You feel more energized when you eat healthy. Period.
2. Building confidence.
• Making even just one healthy choice can lead to another because it gives you confidence to know you CAN do it!
3. Setting an example.
• When I think of my family and how much I want them to live healthy lives, it reminds me take the initiative and set a good example.

There are so many more good reasons to eat well and stay active; improving your immune system, and preventing chronic diseases like high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Sure, a lot of people try to eat healthy primarily to lose weight or prevent gaining weight. And certainly, maintaining a healthy weight is important. But by switching your focus to overall health and well-being (as opposed to the numbers on a scale), you are more likely to stick with your healthy lifestyle choices long term.

Truth is, each person is unique and has their own set of motivations. What motivates you?

Parmesan-Garlic Biscuits

Have I told you how much I love Pinterest? Seriously, I'm completely addicted.

But unlike a normal addiction, I try to use my Pinterest obsession for good.  That is, good food. For example, I found this Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit recipe on Pinterest. Looks good. Had to try it.

For me, biscuits are the ultimate comfort food. They remind me of my Grammy, who also loved biscuits and taught me how to make them. I remember visiting her house and being so excited to get in the kitchen and help her make her famous buttermilk biscuits. To my Grammy, the most important tool for a good biscuit is a pastry blender. This handy tool allows you to easily "cut" the butter into the flour mixture so the biscuit bakes up fluffy and flaky. Granted I had to change a few things from her original recipe since it called for ingredients like "crisco", but nonetheless, whenever I make them I think of her. 

Last night, I further adapted Grammy's biscuit recipe to include garlic and cheese - two of my favorite ingredients on the planet. I made them last night for dinner and paired it with a bowl of savory pot roast. The combination was amazing, comforting and begged me to sit at the table for a few more minutes indulging in the deliciousness.

Here is the recipe I used (Adapted from the recipe mentioned above and my Grammy's).

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of flour
• 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter, cubed
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup milk

Preparation:

Heat oven to 475 F. Stir flour, baking powder, salt, and garlic powder together. Add parmesan cheese and cubed butter. Using a pastry blender, cut butter into flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs. Make a well in the center and add milk. Mix briefly until combined. Dough should be a bit sticky. On a floured surface, knead dough about 30 seconds. Roll dough out and using a biscuit cutter (or your hands!), form 2 inch biscuits and place onto lightly greased baking sheet (I use Pam). Bake for 10-13 minutes until golden brown. Serves 4. 

Meat: Well Done

Last weekend my hubby and I enjoyed a great date night. There was chatting, drinking and of course eating. Unfortunately, what I ate didn't sit so well with me and I ended up sick the whole next day! No. Fun. I spent much of the day lying in bed racking my dietitian brain as to the source of food poisoning....was it the undercooked egg on my salad? The New York Steak? Truth is, I won't know for sure. But I do know that it was likely due to a food temperature issue. 

As a dietitian who cooks for her family and works in a skilled nursing facility (i.e. nursing home), I know that food temperatures are super important to protect my family and the residents I work with. Cooking food to the proper temperature reduces the amount of nasty bacteria that can cause food poisoning.

At the skilled nursing facility, I spend a fair amount of time surveying the kitchen, making sure all the food is cooked to the correct temperatures to ensure the elderly residents are served food that is safe to eat. At home, I know that children are at greater risk for food poisoning, so I make sure to prepare food safely.

The temperature zone that bacteria grows the best is 41-135 degrees Farenheit and is known in Food Safety Nerd-land as the "Danger Zone". Okay, there's no Food Safety Nerd-land (except the one in my head)....but there really is something called the temperature "Danger Zone".

The only way you can know for sure if your meat is done is to check the temperature. In my Safe Cooking 101 post, I encouraged buying a meat thermometer. Have you got one yet? They're so handy!

Another plus to cooking foods to the correct temperature is that - in the case of meat products -  they're juicy and tender. Chicken doesn't deserve to be served dry!

The pictures I took show you the minimum cooking temperatures for chicken, fish and cooked vegetables, but for a complete reference, check out this guide from foodsafety.gov

I say all this because healthy food isn't healthy unless it's safe to eat. Happy - and safe - cooking!

Date Nights and Grocery Budgets

Yay for date night!

My husband and I had a great date night this weekend. Great food and great conversation reminded me again why I married my sweetie. With a toddler at home, date nights don't happen too often around here so we certainly enjoy them when they come around. Here we are on our last date night at a Thai restaurant, don't we look happy?

This time, we ate at a delicious steakhouse with the. most. amazing. onion rings on the planet. Yes, I ate onion rings. It's date night, people! We also had other yummy things like new york strip steak, hamburger "slider" (really the size of a normal burger, but called a slider), and warm spinach salad with goat cheese. Amazing.

Eating out at a fancy steakhouse also reminded me why we usually eat at home....it's not cheap!
As much as I love food, I have to admit it can get expensive. Even eating at home is costly if not well planned. I am always looking for ways to stay within our grocery budget and thankfully another dietitian has dedicated an entire blog to the topic. The Budget Dietitian shares her simple tricks for slashing your grocery budget. Seriously, she feeds her family for about $75/week. She has my attention!

On a less-then-ideal note, that wonderful date night dinner ended up giving me food poisoning. Naturally, this would happen as we rarely eat out! What?! Anyway, this unfortunate event reminded me how important food safety is and that I clearly need another blog post on that topic! More on that next time :)

Have a wonderful week!

A Dietitian's Plate

If a dietitian came to your house for dinner, would it make you a little nervous? Would you worry whether the meal you prepared was nutritious enough? I'm pretty sure this happens most times I eat at other people's houses for dinner and I'm SORRY! For the record, if I ever come to your house for dinner, don't be nervous. I eat real food and I don't judge. No worries.

On to real food....

So what does a dietitian eat for dinner? Sure, I can spout all the "eat this, not that" mumbo jumbo, but what does a dietitian actually eat? Even though I believe that all foods fit into a healthy diet, there are certain foods I chose to eat regularly and others I save for special occasions. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy sweets and junk foods like the best of them, but if I eat them everyday, two things happen: 1) my thighs expand and 2) I don't get enough vitamins and minerals. No good. 

This is what I ate for dinner tonight: 4 oz baked talapia in lemon-garlic sauce, 2/3 cup apple-walnut rice pilaf and 1 cup steamed broccoli. Yes, I measure. I do this so I don't get halfway through my dinner and think "hmmm, how much did I just eat?" and then continue to eat 2 more helpings.

Since I know my portions, I can just estimate most of the time, but occasionally I still pull out the measuring cups. Measuring your food (or simply paying attention to how much you're eating) is helpful to bring awareness to how much food you're consuming and how much your body actually needs. It also allows you to slow down, savor your food and enjoy your meal.

Also, I dish out food for my husband, my son and I in the kitchen. By not having extra food sitting on the dinner table, it prevents reaching for seconds if we're really not hungry. Plus, it helps us connect with each other and pay attention to our internal signals of satiation (the feeling of fullness). Because your body needs time to start digesting food to realize it's "full", try to wait about 15 minutes after eating before going back for more.

Happy and healthy eating!

Pumpkin-Banana Muffins

I love Fall. It's the perfect excuse to drink hot chocolate, wear comfy sweaters and wrap yourself in a cozy blanket. Too bad it's been about 90 degrees here and that blanket was replaced with an ever-so-thin bedsheet. Still, it's September and Fall is begging me to bake something with pumpkin or apple regardless of this crazy weather. 

In our house, most baked goods fall into the "rarely" category because they are high in sugar and calories. So, naturally I had to find ways to make healthier versions of our favorite treats so we could enjoy them a bit more often. My secret weapon? Fruit purees!

Pumpkin and other such fruit purees (like apple, banana or sweet potato) are great for adding to baked goods because it gives a moist texture and natural sweetness without adding fat. Plus, they're loaded with fiber, antioxidants and vitamins to keep your body healthy.

Today I combined my two favorite Fall-things: pumpkin spice cake and banana bread. I used pumpkin and banana puree, cut the sugar a bit and added ground flax seed for extra fiber and heart-healthy fats. 

It turned out so yummy, I had to share. I baked the mix in a muffin tin so I could store them in the freezer and pull them out the night before for a quick breakfast or mid-day snack. These are really yummy with a spread of reduced-fat cream cheese or even peanut butter. 

Here is the recipe I used:

Adapted from Pumpkin Spice Bread

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup mashed ripe bananas

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup ground flax seed meal

1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice 

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix pumpkin, banana, oil, sugar, eggs and vanilla until blended. In a separate bowl, mix remaining ingredients. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour mixture into muffin cups and bake for 20-25 minutes. 

A bonus of making muffins is the instant no-brainer portion control. So do like I did today: brew a cup of coffee, have one yummy muffin and enjoy the tastes of Fall. Happy eating!

Eat Local

This week my son and I went apple picking at a local farm near our house. The apple picking was fun, but my son preferred simply eating the apples and petting the dog.

Eating locally grown or produced food is a real hot-ticket item in the media. But is all the hype based on truth? In a word, yes.

Once harvested, produce begins to lose it's nutritive value. So, from a nutritional perspective, locally grown produce is healthier mainly because it travels less time from the farm to your dinner table.  

Buying local produce (and other foods produced locally or regionally) is a great idea, but there can be barriers such as accessibility or limited funds. Thankfully, many grocery stores now offer local produce, which is convenient but often costly .

If you simply can't afford or are unable to buy all local produce, you're not alone. Try to buy at least some of your produce as local as possible (that can mean in your town, in your state or in the country).

Here are some tips for finding local produce and other foods at a price you can afford:

• If available, join a CSA (community supported agriculture) program to receive a weekly box of local (and often organic) produce at an affordable price.
• Shop sales and stock up when prices are low.
• Buy in season
• Purchase items in bulk and freeze for use throughout the year.

All this to say that fruits and vegetables are healthy in any form; frozen, dried, canned, etc. Barring they're not drenched in added salt or sugar, frozen, dried or canned varieties are both convenient and nutritious options.

The take home point is that priority #1 should be eating enough fruits and vegetables (think: quantity). The #2 priority is eating locally grown produce (think: quality).