Healthy cooking tips, recipes, food facts and more from a Registered Dietitian!
Archive for May, 2008
Summer Time – 25 Healthy Snacks for the Young (& Young at Heart)
May 31st
It’s Summer Time!!!! Fix yourself some delicious (and healthy) snacks while you’re hanging out for the summer!
1. Peel a banana and dip it in yogurt. Roll in crushed cereal and freeze.
2. Spread celery sticks with peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese. Top with raisins. Enjoy your “ants on a log.”
3. Stuff a whole-grain pita pocket with ricotta cheese and Granny Smith apple slices. Add a dash of cinnamon.
4. Mix together ready-to-eat cereal, dried fruit and nuts in a sandwich bag for an on-the-go snack.
5. Smear a scoop of frozen yogurt on two graham crackers and add sliced banana to make a yummy sandwich.
6. Top low-fat vanilla yogurt with crunchy granola and sprinkle with blueberries.
7. Microwave a small baked potato. Top with reduced-fat cheddar cheese and salsa.
8. Make snack kabobs. Put cubes of low-fat cheese and grapes on pretzel sticks.
9. Toast a whole grain waffle and top with low-fat yogurt and sliced peaches.
10. Spread peanut butter on apple slices.
11. Blend low-fat milk, frozen strawberries and a banana for thirty seconds for a delicious smoothie.
12. Make a mini-sandwich with tuna or egg salad on a dinner roll.
13. Sprinkle grated Monterey Jack cheese over a corn tortilla; fold in half and microwave for twenty seconds. Top with salsa.
14. Toss dried cranberries and chopped walnuts in instant oatmeal.
15. Mix together peanut butter and cornflakes in a bowl. Shape into balls and roll in crushed graham crackers.
16. Microwave a cup of tomato or vegetable soup and enjoy with whole grain crackers.
17. Fill a waffle cone with cut-up fruit and top with low-fat vanilla yogurt.
18. Sprinkle grated Parmesan Cheese on hot popcorn.
19. Banana Split: Top a banana with low-fat vanilla and strawberry frozen yogurt. Sprinkle with your favorite whole-grain cereal.
20. Sandwich Cut-Outs: Make a sandwich on whole grain bread. Cut out your favorite shape using a big cookie cutter. Eat the fun shape and the edges, too!
21. Spread mustard on a flour tortilla. Top with a slice of turkey or ham, low-fat cheese and lettuce. Then roll it up.
22. Mini Pizza: Toast an English muffin, drizzle with pizza sauce and sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella cheese.
23. Rocky Road: Break a graham cracker into bite-size pieces. Add to low-fat chocolate pudding along with a few miniature marshmallows.
24. Inside-Out Sandwich: Spread mustard on a slice of deli turkey. Wrap around a sesame breadstick.
25.Parfait: Layer vanilla yogurt and mandarin oranges or blueberries in a tall glass. Top with a sprinkle of granola.
Tips from the American Dietetic Association
(3 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...Need More Snooze Time?
May 30th
We all know that not getting enough sleep can leave you feeling poorly and decrease your mental function, but according to this month’s Today’s Dietitian magazine, lack of sleep or poor sleep quality is a leading factor in many chronic illnesses. Numerous studies have linked not having enough sleep or having a condition that decreases sleep quality (such as obstructive sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome) with many chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and insulin resistance. In turn, having diabetes or being obese contributes to poor sleep quality and sleep apnea, further complicating the situation.
Our bodies were made to require 8-10 hours of sleep each night (varies with age and between persons) but the average American gets little more than 6 1/2 hours each night. It’s hard to predict what this degree of sleep deprivation may lead to in the long run, since 100 years ago the average person got 1 1/2 hours more sleep than the average person today.
So, get in bed a little earlier tonight and enjoy a full night’s rest – to your health!
Information from: Today’s Dietitian Magazine, May 2008 issue
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...How Good Does Your Food LOOK?
May 29th
If you want your kids to eat veggies, they’ve got to at least LOOK good. If you’ve got company coming, how can you make them be WOWed by your dinner? This month’s Today’s Diet and Nutrition magazine had a great article on “The Art of Plating” about how to make your food look as great as it tastes! Here are some suggestions I found helpful:
- “Proper plating helps portion control” – When you’re trying to eat healthfully, you can more easily eat smaller portions if the food looks really pretty.
- “You don’t need to be an artist to create an artful plate” – Have fun with making your food look good. Play with the food by putting it on your plate in different orders, layers, or color styles. Vary height, color, and texture.
- “Resist the temptation to load the plate” – White space is good: it draws your eye toward what is on the plate (and it decreases your portions).
- Don’t be afraid of white plates – Many famous chefs use white dishes to plate their food because it draws attention away from the plate and onto their food (this tip goes for disposable plates as well – why not make your quick-fix dinner look like a masterpiece?).
You can use these same tips for making pretty dishes of food. Simply adding color with herb sprigs, parsley, paprika, lemons, etc can brighten up your dish.
Tips from: Today’s Diet & Nutrition Magazine, May/June 2008 issue
(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Orange Angel Food Cake Dessert
May 28th
I made this delicious and easy recipe for our family this past Sunday. It tasted delicious and offered a nice summer treat.
1 Angel Food cake, prepared (can buy one or make one)
1 package (0.3 ounces) sugar-free orange gelatin
3/4 cup boiling water
1/2 cup cold water
1 1/2 cups fat-free milk
1 package (1 ounce) sugar-free instant vanilla pudding mix
1 teaspoon orange extract
1 carton (8 ounces) fat-free whipped topping, thawed
1 medium-sized navel orange, halved and sliced
Slice cake into 2 inch slices. Layer in bottom of ungreased 9X13-inch pan. Poke holes in cake slices using a meat fork. Dissolve gelatin in boiling water, then stir in cold water. Slowly pour over cake in pan. Chill until set.
In a bowl, whisk together milk and pudding mix for 2 minutes. Whisk in extract. Let stand about 2 minutes, until soft-set. Fold in whipped topping and spread over cake.
Garnish with orange slices. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serves 15
Adapted from: Taste of Home
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Chew on This
May 24th
Chew On This
It’s a well known fact that chewing on sugar-free gum can help freshen your breath and prevent dental caries, but did you know that chewing gum can also help you lose weight?
Research is showing that when people chew gum before a snack they eat around 30-40 calories less at the snack than those who do not chew gum before their snacks.
Chewing gum also often takes the place of high calorie snacks. Many times we eat because we are bored. If you can chew gum instead of snacking on chips or other high calorie foods, you’ll decrease the amount of calories you eat.
Chewing gum has also been shown to relieve stress and tension levels and keep you focused. Chewing increases blood supply to the brain, and some people wonder whether it can actually increase your ability to learn and retain information.
Also, chewing gum burns about 11 calories per hour, so chew on!
Information obtained from: The American Dietetic Association
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...
