Super Snack Ideas

I get asked about healthy snack ideas all the time! So here they are! These could be good go-to snacks, or good add-ins to your lunches. 

Fruits: banana, apple, nectarine, peach, fruit cup, sliced melon, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, applesauce cup with cinnamon (or those squeeze packets that make you feel like your eating astronaut food!)

Veggies: carrots, sliced peppers, sliced zucchini, cucumber, grape tomatoes, broccoli. You could do raw veggies, or set aside some time on Sunday to roast some veggies to throw into lunches or in with dinner for later in the week. 

Want to dip? 

Start with what to dip: 

Tortilla chips, pretzels, any of the above veggies, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Pita (chips or bread)

Choose what kind of dip:

Dip any of the above veggies in hummus, salsa, lite ranch, guacamole (wholly guacamole makes 100 calories packs), Annie's has a great line of lite dressings (Goddess and the Italian are my favorites), peanut butter, almond butter

Other Snack Ideas:

Whole grain goldfish

Yogurt and fruit

Yogurt and granola or crunchy cereal

Yogurt and chia seeds

Pudding cup

Shelf-stable chocolate milk or regular milk

Cheese and crackers

Crackers and hummus

String cheese

Granola bar (Luna, Clif, Kind, Lara are all good kinds)

Trail mix (make your own with a variety of nuts, dried fruit and maybe a few chocolate chips)

Any kind of nut (walnuts, pistachios, almonds, cashews, peanuts, brazil nuts)

Popcorn (watch the added butter and salt though)

Hard-boiled eggs

Frozen waffle topped with ricotta and jelly

Going with the cheese and cracker theme? Here's some good "appetizer" type ideas:

• Sweet Potato and Roasted Sweet Onion Triscuits with Laughing Cow cream cheese and pomegranate seeds on top

• Cracked Black Pepper and Sea Salt Triscuits with Nutella and strawberry slices on top

• Wheat Thins with peanut butter and banana slices on top, maybe even add a chocolate chip

• Sweet Potato and Roasted Sweet Onion Triscuits with Laughing Cow cream cheese and mandarin orange slice on top

Food Dyes

You know how so many cereals, candies, and just our food in general can be so brightly colored? Artificial food dyes! No, they aren't coloring or flavoring much of our food with natural ingredients. Why do manufacturers put them in our food, well, ever heard of the saying, "We eat with our eyes?" This is why. It's sad, but true. The food dyes make it more eye appealing, who wants to eat dull-colored M & M's? Hopefully after reading my post, you won't care if our food were a little more dull-colored.

There are many artificial colors, I will outline some of them below. Many of them are used in poor nutritional value foods. However, you would be surprised what they are used in, Life cereal, Quaker Oatmeal Squares- two seemingly "healthy" cereals, both have artificial colors in them. Many artificial colors are petroleum-based and are made from synthetic chemicals. There is a petition out to get the FDA to ban the used artificial colors in the U.S. Here's the link if you would like to sign it: http://www.cspinet.org/fooddyes/

The use of artificial colors is banned across Europe, so why are they still legal here in America?

Types of artificial food dyes:

Red 40

The most widely used food dye, there have been many studies on this dye, but many of them were flawed. The FDA has acknowledged problems with the dye, but doesn't say the evidence was substantial enough. 

Red 3

There is "convincing" evidence that this dye caused tumors in animal studies. It was going to be banned from the market, however the maraschino cherry companies fought for it to stay-it was the main dye used to color their cherries. Since then, the Red 3 dye has been replaced with the Red 40 dye in the cherries. Red 3 is still being used in cake icings, gum, and fruit roll-ups.

Yellow 5

Known for causing "allergy-like hypersensitivity reactions", and can cause misbehavior and hyperactivity in children. Also, it may contain cancer-causing agents. 

Blue 2
In some animal studies, shown to cause cancer, but was not conclusive. The FDA ruled it as safe.

For the full descriptions on these food dyes and more, here's the link:
http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm#blue1
Scroll down to where it describes all of the food dyes. 

These are just some of the food dyes that our used in the U.S. market today. I encourage you to click on the link above and read more about them. Reading through all of the descriptions of the food dyes, I found a common denominator, it seems like they all (or most of them) have had studies, that they caused cancer or some adverse effect, but the FDA has ruled that there is no harm. Really? Why is the FDA alright with having ingredients in our food supply that could possibly, in some way, shape, or form cause cancer? Please educate yourself on this topic and read those ingredient lists, you'll be shocked what has food dyes in it! 

Many restaurants and companies are starting to work on taking out the food dyes in their products (Panera, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, General Mills) and are replacing with natural colors. These include paprika, turmeric, annatto, beet root red, and many more. If you notice one of your favorite foods or restaurants are using artificial food dyes, write to to company and ask them to take them out. If enough people speak up and demand that these are taken out of our food, the food industry will listen!

Fat, Doesn't Necessarily Equal Fat

You know this word, "fat"? We use it in so many ways, to describe someone or something, also known as the adipose tissue in our bodies, and the many different types of fat in our food (trans fat, saturated fat, monounsaturated fat and polyunsaturated fat). But does fat in our daily meals always mean that we will, in turn, become fat? Not necessarily. Let's talk about the good-for-you fats and how to incorporate them into our everyday meals. 

Monounsaturated fat: Can help to improve cholesterol levels and reduce risk of heart disease. 

What Foods?
Nuts: sprinkle nuts over top a salad with cheese and chopped fruit.

Olive oil: replace all cooking fats (butter, lard) with olive oil. Make sure to measure 1 tbsp. at a time, it's easy to go overboard when we're in the kitchen pretending to be Rachel Ray. 

Avocado: make an ALT sandwich (avocado, lettuce and tomato)....yum!

Peanut butter: stir peanut butter and banana into your morning oatmeal.


Polyunsaturated fat: Omega-3 fatty acids are a type of polyunsaturated fat. These may help lower cholesterol levels in improve the risk of heart disease as well. 

What Foods?
Fatty fish (salmon, mackerel, albacore tuna, lake trout): Have salmon broiled or pan fried for dinner, or grab a to-go pack of canned salmon (found next to canned tuna) and place atop a salad, or enjoy with crackers. 

Walnuts: sprinkle atop oatmeal, salad, or mix into your favorite homemade bread recipe. 

Chia seeds: mix with yogurt or make your own chia pudding!

Flax seeds: need to be ground in some way to release their benefits, put in smoothie and the blender will do it for you.

Some eggs (check the label): Remember our ALT sandwich idea from above? Make it an EALT sandwich, (egg, avocado, lettuce, tomato), just pan fry an egg and place on top. 

Losing/gaining weight is much more than calories in vs. calories out, but the answer is not cutting out fat either. If you cut out fat entirely, what are you replacing it with? Most likely refined carbohydrates and sugar, and this has shown to not be any better. So, add a little good-for-you fat in every day and enjoy it!!

References:

http://www.eatright.org/resource/food/nutrition/dietary-guidelines-and-myplate/choose-healthy-fats
http://www.eatright.org/resource/health/weight-loss/tips-for-weight-loss/want-to-get-lean-eat-fat

I'll Just Have a Taste...

Well, the holiday season is officially upon us. Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I am sure that many of you will be having festive gatherings surrounded by family, friends, and FOOD! This time of year can be hard for many of us who are striving to loose weight or at least maintain it. I feel your pain! A very large amount of the calories taken in at these holiday parties are from appetizers or items that we only eat a little of. We always say, "I'll just have a taste." However, those little "tastes" can add up in calories very quickly.

I came up with a list of common appetizers that are normally set out during holiday parties to snack on. I then used Calorieking.com to research how many calories are in each of these items--the catch, the serving size is only 1-2 oz per item. This is to show how much "just a taste" can add up to be a very large amount of calories that are consumed before we've even touched the main meal!! This is going to be a huge eye opener and will hopefully help you to be more conscious of grazing before the main meal is served. **Note: 1 oz = 1/8 cup, 2 oz = 1/4 cup.

Peanut M & M's (28 pieces) - 144 cal

Mixed Nuts (1 oz.) -168 cal

Cheese (2 oz.) & Crackers (8) - 354 cal

Egg Nog (2 oz.) - 86 cal

Cheese Log (2 oz.) & Crackers (8) - 308 cal

Deviled Eggs (1/2 egg) - 64 cal

Queso Dip (2 oz.) & Crackers (8) - 208 cal

Spinach Dip (2 oz.) & Crackers (8) - 317 cal

Sugar Cookie (1 whole cookie) - 130 cal

Chocolate Kisses (3) - 67 cal

Peanut Butter Cup-snack size (1) - 90 cal

Mashed Potatoes (2 oz.) -64 cal

Cranberry Sauce (1 oz.) -43 cal

Pumpkin Pie (1 oz.) - 58 cal 

GRAND TOTAL: 2101 calories!! That's a day's worth of calories just in "tasting". This doesn't count your main meal or any other meals for the day! 

So, here's how to help cut these "tasting" calories down:

• Try to stay away from the appetizer table. While mingling among family and friends, try to go into other rooms where the food is not.

• Focus on eating the main meal only.

• If you really want something from the appetizer table, include it on your plate during the main meal. If you are able to see the amount that you are eating of that item on your plate, along with your other food in the meal, you are more likely to only eat that amount. If you are just standing at the appetizer table in conversation, dipping chips into the cheese dip, after X-amount of chips, you have no idea how much you just ate. You would probably be very surprised with how many of those chips you ended up eating!

• Indulge, but don't "over" indulge. Enjoy your favorite foods this time of year, but don't over do it.

• Try to prioritize what you would like to eat. If sugar cookies are your absolute favorite, then go ahead and have one, but if the cranberry sauce isn't really essential to your meal, then skip it.

Enjoy this time of year, it truly is wonderful! I hope this helps :)

A More Healthful (& Vegetarian) Thanksgiving

Save the Turkeys!

I decided it was essential to do a blog post regarding this subject to not only give tips and ideas on how to save calories in many of the classic Thanksgiving dishes, but also for my vegetarian friends out there. This post will include all recipes that are compliant with vegetarian eating. If vegetarianism isn't your thing, don’t leave yet. These recipes/ideas are going to keep with classic Thanksgiving recipes, just with a more healthful twist.

The reason I decided it was necessary to write this post was because, this is my husband and I’s first year together being vegetarian (I have been in the past, but this is his first year without the Turkey-which is HUGE! He was a meat lover to the bone, up until this past summer!) Anyway, I was searching online for vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes and they were all super fancy and complicated….I just couldn't fathom making some of the recipes I found, too many ingredients, and honestly, too many WEIRD ingredients. Why does vegetarianism have to be so complicated? Well, it doesn't! In this post I will simply be taking many of the traditional Thanksgiving recipes and just tweaking them to be vegetarian and a little healthier. Because, let’s face it, even though I want my Thanksgiving meal to be healthier and vegetarian, I still want it to have all of the tradition and classics on the table, not some crazy gravy or salad with ingredients I can’t even pronounce! Below I just briefly go through the classic Thanksgiving recipes, giving the recipe that I would recommend. Many of these recipes have been modified and include the link to the original recipe below each.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Starting with my favorite! Here is the recipe that I am making this year. **Note: If you can’t find vegan marshmallows are your local grocery store, you can always leave them out.

4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
2 tablespoons butter (I used Brummel & Brown vegetable oil spread-made with nonfat yogurt, this stuff is awesome, tastes just like butter with half the calories!!)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:

4 tbsp butter (or Brummel & Brown)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cups chopped pecans (optional)

1 cup vegan marshmallows

Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 2 quart casserole dish with nonstick spray. Peel and then boil sweet potatoes until tender.  Mash the sweet potatoes with the butter until smooth. Add the vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. Pour into casserole dish. Next, mix the topping ingredients together until well-combined. Sprinkle topping mixture over the casserole and bake for approx. 50 minutes, checking it every so often. Sprinkle vegan marshmallows over top, put back into oven until golden.


For the original recipe see: http://ohsheglows.com/2009/11/24/this-aint-grandmas-sweet-potato-casserole/#ixzz3JHU1wE8g

Stuffing

Here is a great stuffing recipe that really highlights some wonderful veggies and spices. For the bread used, try a mixture of the breads listed below, it’s great to have a variety of whole grain breads.

10 cups 1/2 inch bread cubes from 1 lb firm whole wheat, rye, or pumpernickel bread

2 Tbsp + 1 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced fresh garlic (2 - 3 cloves)

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 1/2 cups finely chopped celery

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dried rubbed sage leaf

1 tsp dried thyme leaf

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 - 3 cups vegetable stock (low sodium or homemade)

Directions: Preheat oven to 400°F. Oil a large shallow casserole dish. Toast bread cubes in a large baking sheet in the oven until golden brown. Set aside in a large bowl. Turn oven down to 350°F. Heat 2 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Sauté onions, garlic, celery, and carrots until soft. Using a rubber spatula, transfer the veggie mixture to the bowl of bread crumbs. Add parsley, sage, thyme, and pepper. Optional: Drizzle 1 Tbsp olive oil into the mixture. Stir until everything is well mixed. Add 2 cups vegetable stock, and stir until it is absorbed. Add more stock as needed so that the mixture is moist and clumping together, but not soggy. Bake in a covered shallow casserole or baking dish for 25 minutes. Optional: Uncover and bake another 15 minutes to form a crusty top.

For the original recipe see: http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/vegetarian-recipes/vegan-stuffing.php

Cranberry Sauce 

This is my favorite dish to make for Thanksgiving, simply because it’s the easiest and least time consuming. However, cranberry sauce is kind of hard to make healthy, so there still is some sugar, but I replaced some of it with honey. Another idea to give your cranberry sauce a little twist is to add ½ cup of blueberries in it. Yum!

1 (10-ounce) package fresh cranberries

1 cup water

½ cup sugar, or more to taste

¼ cup honey

1 3-inch orange rind strip

¼  cup fresh orange juice (about ½  large orange)

3 whole cloves (or about ¼ tsp. of ground cloves)

1 cinnamon stick

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, turn heat to low and simmer for 20 minutes, until cranberries pop and mixture thickens. Remove the cinnamon stick with a slotted spoon, transfer to a bowl; refrigerate until ready to use.

Mashed Potatoes 

One of the classics and doesn't need much work. You could add a little butter or light sour cream to taste, but keep in mind; if you are using gravy on top it isn't necessary to add the extra calories since the gravy will add a lot of the flavor.

3 pounds peeled Yukon gold potatoes, quartered

2/3 cup fat-free milk

2/3 cup (5 ounces) light cream cheese

8 tbsp chives

Directions: Place potatoes in a Dutch oven, and cover with water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain. Return potatoes to pan; add the milk. Mash the potato mixture with a potato masher to desired consistency. Add the cheese, and stir just until blended.

Veggie Gravy 

Gravy is normally made with the pan drippings from the turkey, so making veggie gravy is a no brainer for vegetarians. For this recipe you could make your own vegetable broth or use low sodium store bought broth. Obviously, the homemade broth would be better, but on Thanksgiving I wouldn't blame you (or myself) for going the store bought route. FYI, I didn't really change the recipe that much, it was good the way it was.

½ cup vegetable oil (or olive oil)

1/3 cup chopped onion

5 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup flour

4 tsp. nutritional yeast

4 tbsp light soy sauce

2 cups vegetable broth

½ tsp dried sage

¼ tsp black pepper

Directions: Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in flour, nutritional yeast, and soy sauce to form a smooth paste. Gradually whisk in the broth, season with sage and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, stirring constantly, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until thickened.

For the original recipe see: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/vegetarian-gravy/

**Note: In this recipe you are making a roux, if you have never made one it can be tricky to get it smooth without lumps. Here is a video of how to make a white cheese sauce from Gordon Ramsay, but instead of adding the milk and cheese you’ll be adding vegetable broth and all the other great ingredients! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VlMtbX-0ABA

Green Bean Casserole

Let's put some greens on the plate! I wanted to keep this recipe very similar to the traditional, but cut out much of the sodium and some fat. I did this by using fresh green beans (instead of canned), the "healthy request" cream of mushroom soup, and replacing the french fried onions with slivered almonds. Almonds not only provide a little protein in the mix, but also our healthy fats. Enjoy!

1 can Campbell's Healthy Request cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup skim milk

1 dash black pepper-to taste

4 cups fresh green beans

1 cup slivered almonds

Stir the soup, milk, black pepper, green beans and 1/2 cup almonds in a 1 1/2-quart casserole. Bake at 350°F for 25 minutes or until the bean mixture is hot and bubbling.  Stir and sprinkle with the remaining almonds. Bake for 5 minutes or until the almonds are golden brown.

Deep-dish Pumpkin Pie

Time for dessert! This is my absolute favorite pumpkin pie recipe to make at the holidays. Keep in mind this is still a dessert, however I did make some adjustments so it’s a little better choice than that store bought pumpkin pie with a normal pie crust. This recipe uses a crumb crust, which is generally a better option than a normal pie crust due to a lesser amount of fat used in the recipe. Also, this recipe uses a spring form pan, if you don’t have one they are very cheap to buy, or you can always use a regular pie tin.

Crust:

1 pkg. graham crackers (1/2 of a whole box)

3 T. sugar

1 T. powder hazelnut creamer

½ cup melted butter (or Brummel & Brown)

Filling:

1 pkg. 1/3-less fat cream cheese

1 small can pumpkin puree

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

¾ cup half-n-half

2 T. hazelnut creamer

1 t. allspice

Directions:

Crust: Pulse all crust ingredients together in food processor or blender until graham crackers are crumbs. Pour into spring form pan, use hands to press flat onto the bottom and up the sides of the pan (deep-dish style!). You can use a drinking glass to help press against the sides of the pan.  

Filling: With an electric mixer, beat the pumpkin and cream cheese first, then add brown sugar. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well. Then mix in half-n-half, creamer, and all spice. Pour onto crust and bake at 350°F for about 35-40 mins, until pie is no longer liquid-like. When you take it out, it should be more firm. Enjoy!!

Shopping on a Budget

Who says that eating a healthful diet needs to be expensive? Not me! Here are some simple changes you can make to your shopping routine to help save those pennies.

Fruits and Veggies:

Shop seasonally. When buying fresh fruits and veggies, shoot for what is in season. They will not only be cheaper, but they will taste better too.

Buy all forms. A lot of people think you need to only eat fresh fruits and vegetables, but frozen, canned, and dried fruits and vegetables all count! For frozen, skip the pre-sauced vegetables, and get the plain vegetables and then add your own seasonings at home. Frozen fruit is great for smoothies or to stir into a yogurt parfait. For canned vegetables, look for “no salt added”, “low sodium” or “reduced sodium”, check the label and compare which brands would be the lowest. For canned fruit, look for fruit in 100% fruit juice or water, rather than syrup.  

Protein:

Cut protein. Meat is one of the more expensive sections in the grocery store. If you’re a meat-lover on a budget, try adding only half of the protein required in your recipe. This way you still get the meat you love, but you've doubled the meals that you’ll get out of it.

Try beans. Replacing meat with beans, peas, peanut butter or nuts can be a great way to still get the essential nutrients that protein provides, but also helps to save the bank. Meatless Mondays are a great idea to incorporate one day per week, where a different protein option is tried.

Grains:

Buy in bulk. Shoot for whole grains, and buy them in the larger portions, rather than prepackaged options (ie. Rice mixes, pasta mixes, pre-portioned oatmeal, etc).

Buy the store brand. By choosing the store brand, rather than the name brand, can save a lot of money. Whole grains in the store brand will normally be the same price as the more refined grains.

Dairy:

Compare unit prices. This goes for any of the food groups, but one good example is comparing pre-shredded cheese to block cheese. Compare the unit price on each. The unit price will normally be found on the price tag and it will say “unit price”. This gives you the price of the item per unit (units could be price per ounces or price per pound), so the lower the unit price, the better deal.

General Money Saving Tips:

Make a list. Plan your weekly/monthly menu ahead of time. If you have a plan ahead of time, you are more likely to buy only what is on your list, rather than making those decisions in the store at the last minute. You will also be more likely to eat the food you bought at home if you planned to buy it.

Buy the quantity you know you need. You can buy extra of food items that can be stored in the pantry or freezer, but don’t buy extra if it might spoil. There is nothing that makes me angrier than throwing away food!

Pay attention at check out. Make sure everything is ringing up correctly so there are no surprises when you hear the total. Watch to see that items that were marked on sale are coming up at their proper price.

Use coupons. Sign up for emails and text messages through your grocery store. If you have a smart phone, many grocers have their coupons through an app that you can download on your phone. Not only saving money, but saving trees too!

Sweet Onion Dip

Hi there! I found this recipe through pinterest, and knew I had to try it! I made the original recipe first, then I made a few simple changes in order to make it just a little healthier. This recipe is so simple and easy, and is hardly any prep work at all. The recipes below only serve 6 people, so just double everything right from the start so you won't have the extra silken tofu leftover. Also, you'll want to double it because it will be gone in 10 mins if you don't. I made this for a few parties recently and each time I wished I would have doubled or tripled the recipe because it was gone that fast! Enjoy the great taste and less calories!! 

Original Sweet Onion Dip Recipe

1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, very softened
1 cup mayonnaise 
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 T freshly cracked black pepper

Nutrition Per Serving: 281 calories, 22 g fat, 10 g carb, 9 g protein

New & Improved Sweet Onion Recipe

1/2 (8-oz) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese, very softened
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1/2 container silken tofu
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1 cup diced sweet onion
1 T freshly cracked black pepper

Nutrition Per Serving: 173 calories, 12 g fat, 7 g carb, 10 g protein

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, mayo, Parmesan, onion and pepper. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Spread the mixture into a 6-inch baking dish or small oven-safe dish. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes until ingredients are melted together and crust is bubbly and golden brown. The darker brown the crust, the better the flavors. Serve hot with your favorite bread or crackers.