What’s In Season: Peppers

August 29th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Nutrition News - (2 Comments)

Since peppers are in season it easy to buy a big bag of them, and make stuffed peppers. I found an excellent recipe for stuffed peppers at EatingWell.com, and modified it a little. They came out great! I made the peppers with provolone, turkey sausage, and Mrs. Dash chipotle pepper seasoning so that they had a more smoky flavor.

Nutrition Facts: Peppers are packed full of vitamin C and vitamin A (over 100% of the Daily Value), and are a good source of vitamin B6 (per 1 cup serving). Peppers contain the phytonutrients (aka chemicals that affect health) beta-carotene, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin (possibly beneficial to eyesight, lung health, heart health, cancer prevention).
*Just remember: wash your peppers very well, or buy organic peppers because they are on the top 12 list for produce with high levels of pesticides.

Smokin’ Stuffed Peppers
Ingredients:

  • 5-6 large bell peppers, tops cut off, seeded
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 2 TB. Mrs. Dash chipotle pepper seasoning
  • 1 TB. dried peppers, chopped (see picture right)
  • 15-16 ounces hot Italian turkey sausage links, removed from casings
  • 1 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
  • 1/2 cup green peas
  • 1 cup instant brown rice
  • 1 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 cup finely shredded smoked cheese, such as mozzarella, provolone or Gouda (best to use a mix of reduced fat mozzarella and provolone). Plus, 1/2 cup extra for topping.
the stuffing mixture

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 350.
  2. Place peppers cut-side down in a large microwave-safe dish. Fill the dish with 1/2 inch of water, cover and microwave on High until the peppers are just softened, 7 to 10 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the peppers to a roasting pan with sides (so the peppers do not fall down).
  3. Meanwhile, soften onions in a large nonstick skillet. Add sausage while on medium-high heat, breaking it up into small pieces with a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 5 minutes. Season with Mrs. Dash. Stir in broth, tomatoes, peas, dried peppers, and rice; increase heat to high and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the rice is softened but still moist, 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, until the rice absorbs the remaining liquid, about 5 minutes.
  4. Stir basil and half the cheese into the rice mixture. Divide the filling among the peppers, then top with the remaining cheese. Bake about 5 to10 minutes, then broil until the cheese is melted, 2 to 3 minutes.

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Owning It

August 28th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Blogging - (4 Comments)

Over the past few days there has been a lot of conversation about “owning it” in the health blogosphere. Rachel Wilkerson began the topic, and us Hollaback girls continued to discuss the importance of standing up for yourself and not being afraid to be yourself while blogging. We discussed the importance of honesty, loyalty, and individuality. Let’s face it–bloggers who have these qualities are ones that we respect.

So, what do I have to say on this topic? What do I “own”? 

  • I am a health nut some days, and don’t care what people think when they see me with my snack bag of carrots, or a few apples in my purse. Hey, you know what they say… An apple a day…
    I used to be afraid of displaying my healthy habits because people would always make comments. But, now, since I am a Dietitian, people pay me more respect for my food choices, and I am registered and licensed to be able to tell people what to eat!
  • I eat unhealthy food other days. I just don’t care. I love to eat some of my favorite foods every once and awhile (ice cream!). I may preach eat healthy food eat healthy food, but that doesn’t mean we have to eat that way 24/7. 
  • I stopped caring if people think of me as a skinny bitch. Sorry for my language (yes, I prefer to be conservative with my language). I am usually pretty quiet and calm, and that can be perceived as a bitchy attitude. Oh well. I try to be pleasant and friendly, but I guess some people just don’t see that (and yes, people who really know me don’t think of me this way).
  • I don’t care what people think of my blog, or my posts. Of course I love it when people say they enjoy my site.
    Sorry, I’m not sorry     if you read something you don’t like.

Well, I was a little afraid to write about this topic at first. I am a little late to write about the topic, but I think it’s a good thing for people to know where I am coming from :) A little insight into the blogger behind the blog.

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90 Calorie Apple Wheat Bran Muffins: Attempt #1

August 27th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

I am obsessed with the bran muffins at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant. They have the best texture. So, I am on a mission to re-create them. First, I tried a variation from Roni at GreenLiteBites (recipe for Apple Bran Muffins). I made a few modifications, and the muffins turned out great. Except they weren’t quite like the Sweet Tomatoes muffins. They need more airiness.

Apple Wheat Bran Muffins #1:
Ingredients (makes 12 small muffins or 8 medium size muffins):

  • 1 c whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 c wheat bran
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 tbsp molasses
  • 1/2 c nonfat milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1 large apple, peeled, cored, & diced
  • 1/4 C. oats for topping

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a muffin tin with nonstick spray.
2. Mix all the dry ingredients in one bowl. Mix all the wet ingredients in another bowl.
3. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Mix in apple pieces.
4. Spoon muffin batter into muffin tin. Top each unbaked muffin with a sprinkling of oats. Bake for about 15 minutes.

Nutrition Facts (12 muffins/Serving is 1 Muffin): 90 calories, 0g fat, 20g carb, 2.5g fiber, 3g protein.

Next time around, I think I need a small amount of fat to make the muffins more airy.

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Gnocchi Fail

August 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Recipes - (1 Comments)

I have been wanting to make gnocchi for a while because they have a delicious texture. Well… I should have watched a video about it first, and read multiple recipes. I used too much flour, didn’t cook the potatoes long enough, not enough flavor in the actual dough, and the texture just came out wrong. I guess I just was getting tired of the whole process because it takes quite a while from start to finish (and I was making a key lime pie and vodka sauce at the same time).
I will attempt it again, but not for a while. I found this video (below) that would have been good to watch before attempting gnocchi. I asked my Mom about gnocchi, and she says Italians pronounce it N’YO-k, with no EE on the end. I told her I think she’s wrong (because she messes up pronunciation with a lot of words, but she insisted that’s how Italians say it).

Gnocchi Nutrition Facts (per 1 C. plain): Approx. 250 calories, 3g fat, 45g carb, 3g fiber, 8g protein. Good source of vitamin C and iron.

Here are some healthy recipes I would try in the future:
Eating Well’s Gnocchi with Zucchini Ribbons & Parsley Brown Butter
Eating Well’s Skillet Gnocchi with Chard & White Beans
Shape Magazine’s Pumpkin Gnocchi
Cooking Light’s Gnocchi with Turkey Ragù
Food & Wine’s Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Apple Cider Sauce
Self Magazine’s Potato Gnocchi With Shrimp and Peas
 

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What Does a Dietitian Eat?

August 23rd, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Blogging - (2 Comments)

What do you eat? Just tell me some things that you eat. You must eat healthy.
As a dietitian, this is among the top questions I get asked. People must think that if they eat like me they will become healthy. What I always want to tell people is that health is individualized. Just because you eat like me does not mean you will become healthy (my diet is not perfect!). Maybe people think that if they eat like me they will lose weight. Now, this is also not true because I likely eat too many calories for the average weight loss dieter (the person losing weight needs a calorie deficit while I need calories for weight maintenance).
Just to satisfy the curiosity and questions of others I will let you in on a typical day of food.

Breakfast:
1 C. Black Coffee
1.5-2 C. Bran Flakes OR 1-2 Slices Whole Wheat Toast with 2 TB. Peanut Butter
1 C. Skim Milk
Snack: Yogurt
Lunch:
1-2 C. Carrots/Raw Veggies/Salad with 1/2 C. Red. Fat Cottage Cheese OR 1/4 C. Hummus OR 2 TB. Dressing (or, sometimes a small sandwich)
1 C. Fruit (strawberries/grapes/orange/melon)
3 TB. Nuts (peanuts or almonds)
Triscuits or Granola Bar (sometimes)
Snack: Apple
Dinner: Varies. Completely different most nights. Sometimes I go out for dinner. Most popular veggie is 1-1.5 C. broccoli with cheese or a salad. I don’t eat much red meat (maybe 4 times per year). Usually chicken, fish, ground turkey, or no meat, and I cook with olive oil. Carbohydrate is usually a bread or starchy vegetable (do not cook many rices, or pastas). As you can tell from past posts, sometimes I am not super healthy for dinner. I like to cook new things, and try new foods. Although I do try to make healthy modifications (reducing fat and salt, choosing whole grains, and including more veggies).
Snack (somedays): Varies. Light ice cream, fudgesicles, yogurt, nectarines, clementines, graham cracker goldfish, flavored seltzer. Tonight I had key lime pie!

Here is an example of my breakfast one day while on vacation in Costa Rica. I chose about 1/2 my plate full of fruit, 1 Costa Rican peach yogurt, and the other 1/2 of my plate was various (sugary, white flour) pastries to try (which I just tried a bite or two of each pastry). My thought: “if I have all these fancy pastries available to try, why not!”. And then of course I went back up to the breakfast buffet to try an egg dish.
The most important point here is that to have a healthy diet you have to be OK with choosing foods that you truly enjoy, in moderation (and learning what in moderation means). I wanted to know what plantain chips, guava, and torta chilena tasted like.
So, as a Dietitian, I live by eating “healthy” 85% of the time, and 15% is probably not so “healthy”. 

Caramel-filled duck/swan that I tried and almost spit out because it was so overwhelmingly sweet.

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Best Chicken Ever

August 22nd, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review | Recipes - (0 Comments)

When traveling to Costa Rica with my family this summer, we stopped by possibly the best restaurant in Costa Rica, Lemon Zest. A few of us ordered “the chicken” dish (they only have a few select items on their menu, and with good reason–they are perfected). Not knowing what to expect from this small little American family-run restaurant, we were pleasantly surprised with our meal.
The chicken came with some pretty red cabbage that looked like purple flowers (can’t really tell with this picture). It was lightly breaded with a balsamic reduction, and topped with tomatoes, red onions, basil, and mozzarella.

So far my Mom, my sister (who doesn’t cook complicated meals–that says something), and I (with my boyfriend’s culinary assistance) all tried to re-create this dish because it was so delicious. I may have come closest to the original, but can not get my chicken to be as tender and juicy (any hints or suggestions are welcome!).

Lemon Zest Famous Chicken Recipe Re-Creation:
Ingredients:

  • 1/2 Head red cabbage, cut
  • 1/2 Red onion, sliced
  • 4 Red tomatoes, sliced
  • 1/4 C. Fresh basil
  • 6 oz. Fresh mozzarella (can be reduced fat), sliced
  • 1 C. Balsamic vinegar
  • 2 TB. Sugar
  • 1 TB. Chopped garlic
  • 1 tsp. Lemon zest plus juice of 1/2 lemon
  • 6 Kalamata olives pitted and finely chopped
  • 1 TB Dried oregano
  • 1/4 C. Olive oil (for cooking)
  • 1 C. Panko bread crumbs
  • 1 Egg
  • 1.5 lbs. Boneless skinless chicken breast
  • Salt and pepper

Directions:
1. Bring balsamic vinegar to a simmer in a medium saute pan. Reduce about 10 minutes. Fumes from vinegar will be potent, so you may need to leave the kitchen while the balsamic reduces.
2. Add garlic, sugar, lemon zest and juice, oregano, chopped olives, and 1 tomato (diced) to the balsamic reduction. Continue to simmer while chicken is prepared, about 5 minutes.
3. Heat a large saute to medium-high with olive oil. Pound chicken so that it is equal thickness throughout. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Bread chicken by dipping in egg (that has been beaten), and then panko bread crumbs. Place breaded chicken in saute pan, and cook on both sides about 4 minutes until golden brown.
4. Once the balsamic reduction has thickened, decrease the temperature to low.
5. In a medium baking dish, place the cooked chicken. Top with balsamic reduction, red onions, tomato slices, basil leaves, and mozzarella. Add red cabbage slices around the chicken. Bake at 350 for about 7-10 minutes until cheese is melted, and chicken reaches 165.

My 14 year old brother with his cool shades at the restaurant.

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McDonald’s Fruit Smoothies: Skip or Sip?

August 16th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review - (0 Comments)

McDonald’s has two new creations: wild berry and strawberry banana smoothies. I was immediately skeptical when they advertised real fruit smoothies. My first thought: “nice try making a drink with real fruit, but adding in sugars and syrups”. My second thought was that McDonald’s was just trying to follow the new health trends by producing a beverage that appears to be a healthy choice. So, let’s find out the real story and break down the facts…

Small (12 oz.) Strawberry Banana: 210 calories, 0.5g fat, 49g carb, 2g fiber, 44g sugar, 2g protein
Small (12 oz.) Wild Berry: Similar, except 3g fiber
The smoothies are sold in medium (16 oz.) and large (22 oz.) as well.
Ingredients for Wild Berry Smoothie:
Strawberry puree, water, sugar, blackberry puree, blueberry puree, concentrated pineapple juice, concentrated apple juice, contains less than 1% of the following: cellulose powder, xanthan gum, colored with fruit and vegetable juice, natural (botanical source) and artificial flavors, pectin, citric acid.
Low Fat Yogurt: Cultured Grade A reduced fat milk, sugar, whey protein concentrate, fructose, corn starch, kosher gelatin. Contains active yogurt cultures. 
Exchanges: 3.5 Carbohydrates
Conclusion: These McDonald’s smoothies can actually be incorporated into a healthy diet. I would not choose these smoothies if you are trying to lose weight because they do have some added sugars. For weight loss it would be better to eat the whole fruit (which has more fiber, vitamins/minerals, better satiety) than to drink it. Though the small smoothie does have 44g sugar, much of it comes from natural fruit sugars (fructose), and natural milk sugars (lactose). Again, it is always better to eat your fruit than to drink it.

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Fitness Cereal

August 11th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Food Review - (5 Comments)

Fitness Cereal? Seriously? It’s as if Nestle is advertising when you eat their cereal you will become fit. You can’t find this cereal in the US; I saw it in Costa Rica. I just think it is funny to find the different products in other countries that promote health. It even comes with a DVD so that you can belly dance your way to a flat belly! Funny. It’s actually not a bad idea for products in the US. If every cereal we bought had a workout DVD, maybe Americans would have more motivation to workout (and not be so overweight). Just an idea.
The cereal happens to be about 100 calories, 0.7g fat, 25g carbohydrate, 3g fiber, 4g sugar, 3g protein.

Remember 3 guidelines when buying cereal:

  • Choose a whole grain cereal (whole grain wheat/bran/oats should be the first ingredient on the ingredient list)
  • 5g or less of sugar
  • 5g or more of fiber

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DANISH

August 9th, 2010 | Posted by Nicole in Blogging | Food Review - (0 Comments)

Danish=sugary, fatty, barely edible food in the health world. But, as an inside joke danish=laugh-out-loud hilariousness.

Danish is traditionally the pastry of Denmark.
When passing by the bakery isle in the grocery store, my sister imagined an overweight person eating a danish with a grumbling deep voice. Similar to the kid in the movie, Matilda (below), who eats chocolate cake.
So, we had this joke about eating a danish. And what does my Dad go do? Buy a huge danish from Costco.
This looks gross. I don’t see how anyone can really buy this from Costco unless it was as a joke like we did. But, I guess it sells. Otherwise, Costco would not produce it.
As you can see, the danish is mostly made from flour, sugar, milk/cream, eggs, and whatever the filling is (mainly high fructose corn syrup). The danish still has a bunch of artificial ingredients and fillers. 
My sister
Danish Nutrition Facts: Each ounce of pastry would be about 100 calories. A typical danish (3 oz.) is about 300 calories, and about 18g fat.
**Keep in mind a danish from Starbuck’s or a specialty store will cost you about 440 calories and over 30g fat! Yikes!

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