How exciting that the USDA has reformulated the food icon that is to guide Americans to a healthier future. The U.S. Dietary Guidelines used to be pictured as a pyramid. At the time when the Food Guide Pyramid was developed, the idea of a pyramid stressed what should be the foundation of one’s diet – that of grains, fruits and vegetables and then build on that. It seemed like a good message but somehow most Americans couldn’t translate that into their everyday eating pattern.
It just wasn’t a good visual as to how much of each food group you should eat and that’s what it all comes down to. To ask people to weigh and measure everything in their busy lives is asking too much. But understanding portion control will make such a major difference in reaching healthier serving sizes. That’s why the USDA’s “My Plate” is a great change in how we get people to make better choices.
I absolutely love the concept. As a dietitian, it’s something I’ve been doing for years with clients, showing them how to divide up their plate. But now to have it as a public image means more people can be reached with its powerful messages. To learn more about eating healthy and using the new plate icon, visit www.choosemyplate.gov.
When you serve yourself on that plate, keep some space between the various foods. It’s known as “white space” on a brochure. In fact, most children don’t like different foods touching each other. They’d be happier being served on a picnic plate that is intentionally divided.
You might want to get such a plate to help everyone in the family adhere to the new USDA “My Plate”.
So What Does the Plate Tell Us?
Notice how half the plate is filled with fruits and vegetables? That tells you that at least half of what you eat in a meal should consist of produce. (By the way, if you want to serve your fruit in a separate dish for dessert, that’s fine. This icon is only to impress upon you that fruit can be part of that half of your meal.)
For you meat lovers, seeing that only about 1/4 of the plate should be protein may be a disappointment. People don’t realize that there is protein in everything we eat, from vegetables to grains to dairy. So you don’t have to rely on meat or poultry or seafood as your only source of protein.
Then there is the grains’ part of the plate. Try to make those whole grains whenever you can. Instead of white rice make it brown rice. Try such whole grains as whole wheat pasta, bulgur wheat, rye or wheat berries. They have so much more character than refined grains with their nutty flavor.
Then there is dairy. It doesn’t have to be a glass of milk. It could be yogurt or cheese. Try to make those skim or low-fat choices. The idea is to make your calories count. Drinking milk is a much better choice than drinking sugary beverages. And if you’re thirsty, drink good old water with a twist of lemon or lime for interest.
The idea is to not only to eat healthier amounts but just to eat healthier. That means choosing lower calorie, lower fat options when you can. Watch the amount of salt in the food you eat.
Even though “My Plate” doesn’t say anything about exercise, if you’re going to be the healthiest you can be, exercise or physical activity must be a part of it. This is all about both balance on the plate and balance in your life.
Visit www.spinarecipe.com where you can play the slot machine for healthy recipes and spin for healthy ingredients.
Tags: food guide pyramid, U.S. Dietary Guidelines, USDA My Plate, www.choosemyplate.gov
With summer on its way, bring on the iced beverages. But don’t put just any old ice cube in your drink. Fancy it up a bit with pieces of fruit in the ice. Of course, it means you’ll have to go the old-fashioned way of making ice cubes in a tray rather than depending upon your automatic ice maker in your refrigerator. It’s no big-deal. Just drop whatever fruit you like in the tray, fill with water and freeze.
Another idea so your ice doesn’t water your drink down is to freeze some of the beverage in the ice cube tray.
In fact, combine the ideas and drop a piece of fruit in the ice tray. Cover with your beverage and freeze.
Stay cool this summer!
Visit www.spinarecipe.com to play the slot machine for recipes and spin the wheels to select different ingredients. It’s the ultimate decision maker.
Tags: fruit ice cubes, iced beverages
I just read something very interesting about mushrooms and vitamin D. You probably already know that mushrooms are normally grown in dark places. In France, they’re often grown in caves. It’s a great moist environment for them. Most people don’t think of mushrooms as being a good source of vitamin D. However, as it turns out, if mushrooms are exposed to sufficient UV light exposure, they synthesize vitamin D.
That’s sounds eerily like what happens with humans. When you’re out in the sun, vitamin D is produced in the skin. That vitamin D then travels through the bloodstream to the liver where it is converted to prohormone calcidiol. However, at this point it’s still not available to do you much good. A quick trip to the kidneys converts calcidiol to calcitriol, the active form of vitamin D.
Mushrooms work pretty much the same way (except they don’t have the liver or kidneys for conversion). The conversion happens in the mushrooms’ cells. So, when trying to increase your vitamin D intake, consider eating mushrooms. No matter whether you eat them raw or cooked, all that healthy vitamin D is availalbe to you. A bonus is the fact that mushrooms offer you fiber, as well.
Other dietary sources of vitamin D include:[
Fatty fish species, such as:
-
- Catfish, 85 g (3 oz) provides 425 IU (5 IU/g)
- Salmon, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz) provides 360 IU (3.6 IU/g)
- Macherel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), 345 IU (3.45 IU/g)
- Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 50 g (1.75 oz), 250 IU (5 IU/g)
- Tuna, canned in oil, 100 g (3.5 oz), 235 IU (2.35 IU/g)
- Eel, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), 200 IU (2.00 IU/g)
- A whole egg provides 20 IU if egg weighs 60 g (0.33 IU/g)
- Beef liver, cooked, 100 g (3.5 oz), provides 15 IU (0.15 IU/g)
- UV-irradiated mushrooms and UV-irradiated yeast are the only vegan sources of vitamin D from food stuffs. A 100g portion provides: (regular) 14 IU (0.14 IU/g), (exposed to UV) 500 IU (5 IU/g). Both yeast and mushroom materials, when irradiated with UV, produce vitamin D2, but it is not known whether the D2 is biologically fully equivalent to the D3 vitamin in humans.
The new reference intakes for vitamin D are (assuming no sun exposure):
- 1–70 years of age: 600 IU/day (15 μg equivalent)
- 71+ years of age: 800 IU/day
- Pregnant/lactating: 600 IU/day
On November 30, 2010, the Institute of Medicine concluded that there was enough evidence from research studies to support the benefits of vitamin D in relationship to bone health and osteoporosis but that was all. Right now more scientists are looking to see if there is a relationship of vitamin D levels and cancer, heart disease, and a host of other conditions. The long forgotten vitamin seems to be having a comeback.
Data from Wikipedia.
Also, check out http://www.montereymushrooms.com/mushroomswithD.htm for more information.
Visit www.spinarecipe.com to play the slot machine for recipes and ingredients. Have fun!
Tags: cancer, fiber, heart disease, mushrooms, osteoporosis, vitamin D
There are some places in the United States that are now warm enough to be getting out the grilling equipment. Some of us in the northern states may have to wait a bit longer. But when Mother Nature finally gives the okay, don your aprons, grab your tongs, and learn to grill smart.
What’s your favorite meat to grill? Hamburger? Hot dogs? Chicken? Ribs? Steak? Fish?
No matter what you choose to grill, there are things you need to know. Cooking meat, poultry or fish at high temperatures, which is what happens on a barbecue, can cause the formation of two cancer-causing compounds: heterocyclic amines (HCAs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These are heavy hitters when it comes to possibly damaging your DNA and increasing your risk for colon cancer. I’m not saying give up grilling. I know that I wouldn’t want to. But there are things we can do that can help lessen the risks.
- Grill slow. That means lowering the temperature at which you cook your meat. Instead of grilling your meat right over the coals, push the coals to the side of the barbecue and barbecue your meat in the center of the grill. What you’re trying to avoid are the juices from the meat dripping onto the coals, which increases the carcinogens.
- Cut off the fat. Avoid the searing of meat from flames by cutting off visible fat.
- Marinate the meat. Using a marinade of vinegar or lemon juice and herbs has many advantages. (By the way, you can just as well use your favorite vinaigrette. Whatever you use, place the meat in the refrigerator while it marinates. It should only require about one hour. Marinating meat too long can make the meat mushy.) First, by marinating the meat, you’re adding delicious flavors. It also does a great job in tenderizing the meat. And for some reason, it helps reduce the formation of HCAs.
- Partially precook your meat. For some this works well when they like their meat medium rare or well done. By doing a bit of precooking in the oven, the time the meat is exposed to high heat is reduced and hopefully, helps reduce the production of HCAs and PAHs.
- Add some veggies and fruits to the grill. Vegetables and fruits are a great source of antioxidants, just what the doctor ordered when it comes to helping reduce the risk of cancer. You don’t have to worry about their creating those nasty HCAs and PAHs, so load them on. If you don’t consider yourself a vegetable eater, once you’ve had grilled vegetables, you may change your tune.
Even for those of you who aren’t fish eaters, you’ll find yourself licking your chops when you’ve barbecued fish. For some reason, grilling seems to remove the fishy flavor you often find with fish, especially fish that wasn’t just caught. Because most fish break down easily on the grill, consider getting a grill pan for fish.
For more delicious ideas and recipes, visit www.spinarecip.com where you can play the slot machine for recipes and ingredients.
Tags: charring, coals, colon cancer, HCAs, heterocyclic amines, marinating meat, PAHs, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
While I try to keep this blog for all things healthy and tasty, I just had to share a bit of knowledge I learned when I was recently in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Tarpon Springs is a town settled by Greek deep sea sponge divers. It seems almost every store in town is selling sponges.
Sponges are marine animals. Often the sponges you buy have been cut up from a larger sponge. However, in this one shop, the sponge was about two feet across and the owner felt badly about destroying such a gem. Many of the smaller sponges are just immature marine animals.
The interesting part about a discussion of sponges is what the shopkeeper shared with me about “loofah” sponges.
He told me we really shouldn’t call them sponges at all. That’s because, (get this), they are really the fruit of a plant. They’re related to the cucumber. They’re allowed to grow very long and then dried, after which they’re cut into manageable sizes.
Actually, this posting was about food after all!
Visit www.spinarecipe.com to play the slot machine for recipes and ingredients.
Tags: cucumber, loofah sponge, sponges
How many times have you bought a loaf of bread and knowing you wouldn’t get it all eaten in 2-3 days when it would start to get stale, you ended up by freezing it? Then, when you took it out of the freezer you found it tasted just like the plastic wrap is was stored in.
Here’s the answer to your dilemma. Put your bread first in a paper bag. Then put it in the plastic bag. No more plastic tasting bread.
www.spinarecipe.com – The Ultimate Recipe Decision-Maker: Play the slot machine for recipes and ingredients.
Tags: fresh bread, how to keep bread fresh, stale bread, wrapping bread
Your stomach is growling and you find yourself headed off to the kitchen to satisfy the beast that lies within. What do you reach for first? And, by the way, once you’ve eaten whatever it is you choose, how will you know you’ve had enough?
Appetite tells your body to start eating. Satiety tells your body to stop. Satiety is the result of messages being sent to your brain that food has been procured and eaten. There’s a way to trick your brain into thinking that it’s satisfied sooner, that the tank is finally full.
Try these ideas and see how it works for you:
1. Choose strongly scented foods. The more intense the food smell, it seems the faster we are satisfied. Blue cheese anyone?
2. Eat foods that contain a lot of water. Choosing foods that are high in fiber and water makes you feel fuller faster. For example, when eating the same number of calories of raisins compared to grapes, you would tend to eat more raisins to reach the same satisifed state as eating grapes. You might want to consider starting your meal with some broth so you eat less of the entree. And don’t think that drinking soda or alcohol can stand in for the liquid discussed here. They just don’t send the same signals to the brain. (Your body is a lot smarter than you are!)
3. Make sure each meal contains protein. It’s the protein that will keep you satisfied the longest. First, it takes some time for protein to be digested and metabolized, which is a good thing. It also doesn’t spike your blood sugar. Spikes in blood sugar brought on by eating simple carbohydrates will lead to a spike in insulin. A spike in your insulin leads to a quick drop in blood sugar. The result – you’re hungry again quite quickly. Protein doesn’t cause this problem.
4. Go for the spicy. Adding hot spices, chiles, and peppers seems to stimulate appetite-suppressing hormones in the gut. Besides satisfying you more easily, it seems to keep hunger at bay longer. A bonus is that spicy ingredients help burn more calories.
Check out www.spinarecipe.com – the Ultimate Recipe Decision-Maker
Tags: appetite, high water foods, hunger, Protein, satiety, spicy foods
“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!”
Alka-Seltzer
 |
Visit www.spinarecipe.com Play the slot machine to select recipes and spin for ingredients. Have fun! |
Tags: company slogans
Of the following, which is or are the most common household food safety problems? Check below for answer(s):
- Hand-washing: Lack of hand-washing, especially after handling raw foods.
- Cross-contamination: This can happen when you handle raw meats, not wash your hands and then work with other foods. It can also happen when you use the same cutting board to cut both raw meat and produce and not wash the board in between.
- Cooling cooked food: Leaving cooked food out on the counter longer than 2 hours, not wanting to put hot food in your refrigerator.
- Thawing frozen food: Leaving frozen food out on the counter to thaw rather than defrosting in the refrigerator.
- Cooking meat: Not using a thermometer to be sure the meat is done, especially with chicken and pork.
- Raw eggs or meat: Eating these foods without cooking them means possibly eating hazardous bacteria.
Answer:
All of the above.
3. People often think that if they put hot food in their refrigerator, they’ll heat up surrounding food so they leave their cooked food out to cool. Modern refrigerators have an air circulating system that can more than adequately keep the other foods cold. Just don’t put your any of your refrigerated items on top of the hot food since that will affect the temperature of the already chilled food.
4. If you need to thaw something quickly, use your microwave oven rather than taking the food out too long in advance and just letting it sit on the counter until needed.
|
Visit www.spinarecipe.com Play the slot machine to select recipes and spin for ingredients. Have fun! |
Tags: chilling food, cross-contamination, food safety, hand washing, raw eggs
