Category Archives: Food

Well, hello HelloFresh!

Dietitian, Food, health, health goals, Healthy Diet, HelloFresh, meal delivery, , , ,

This meal delivery box could not have arrived at a better time. My hubs and I had just gotten back from an out-of-state trip with an 11-hour travel day the day before this box showed up on my doorstep. Dinner plans? Nope! Time to get to the grocery store yet? Nope! Hungry after working a full-day? Yep! Wanting something healthy to eat after enjoying vacation food? Yep!

I mean, did you see the rhubarb pie!?

It took all the effort I had to shoot the video of opening the box as I just wanted to dig in and get to cooking a meal for dinner; but I wanted you to have the first-timer experience just like I was about to have. So, this. This is what it is like to open up your first meal delivery box. You’re welcome! 


Looks like fun, right?

If you want your own box of delicious food, you can Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off! This is a great deal and you won’t find this high of a discount without this affiliate link!

Opening the box, you will see recipe cards that give your eyes a little feast of deliciousness as there is a full page beautiful picture of the plated meal on one side and step-by-step (only 6 steps!) directions with pictures on the back. The cards also tell you what other supplies you will need to make the meal (pans, colander, olive oil, etc.), lists the ingredients in the box, and has a cooking tip. Oh, and they can send wines that pair with the meals. That’s on the to-check-out list! For those of you who do food math, there is also full nutriiton information for each meal.

The next layer contained the ingredient boxes, which were separated from the recipe cards by paper (shopping bag consistency) filled with padding. The three ingredient boxes were nestled together – thank goodness for the holes to help pull them out although I’m sure they were for freshness – and they were clearly labeled with the recipe names. These boxes are compact and I put them right into our counter-depth fridge where they took up surprisingly little room! (Note: It looks like these boxes have been replaced with paper bags – more recycle friendly!).

The last layer was the proteins (meats) which were separated from the ingredient boxes by cardboard and two huge ice packs. Seriously, these ice packs are amaze-balls! Hubs travels by car for work and usually takes a cooler to bring healthy travel/hotel room food and we are keeping these for his cooler! Bonus!!

As a dietitian, I had some concerns about meal delivery and food safety. The box arrived around 3pm but I waited until 6pm to bring it inside as many of you probably don’t work from home so won’t have the luxury of bringing the box indoors when it arrives. Did I mention I live in Florida? And we are already in the 90-degrees summer temps? So, the box had its fair share of HOT before I grabbed it and pulled it into my air-conditioned house. The food was still cold, the meats were still cold, and the ice-packs were still frozen solid with little condensation because very little melting. Food safety concerns gone.

Follow my blog because I made the first meal the same night I opened the box and will soon be posting a video and blog on the Zesty Crusted Catfish over Cilantro Jasmine Rice and Roasted Broccoli!! 

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. This is #sponsored and I was so impressed that I have joined their #affiliate program. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

Here’s that amazing 50% off deal link again – Get Cooking Today With HelloFresh And Get 50% Off!

HelloFresh Meal Delivery Box Arrives

Meal Delivery? You Betcha!

Dietitian, Food, health, health goals, Healthy Diet, HelloFresh, meal delivery, meal planning, , , , ,

As a practicing dietitian and health coach, I’ve talked to many people over the past six years about how to use food to improve health. People want to eat well and to eat healthy food – but they won’t give up flavor, enjoyment, convenience, or pay too much for that healthy food. I get it. Me too! As I’ve said before (What is This Non-Diet Stuff Anyway?) one of my few food rules is: Never eat something you don’t like! And my professional goal is “Heart Healthy Nutrition Made Easy” as it says in my web site header!

We all know that more meals should be made at home if we want to focus on our health and less meals should come from eating out whether it’s a sit-down, a fast-casual, or a fast-food restaurant. But… after my clients tell me they know this, they follow that up with how they don’t have the time… they don’t know what to make… or they don’t think they have the skills to cook if it involves more than heating something up.

Enter meal delivery services.

HelloFresh Meal Delivery Box Arrives
HelloFresh Meal Delivery Box Arrives

A few clients have told me about some meal services they have used and how it helps them with eating healthy a few times a week. I get so excited for them finding a solution that works in their lives… but I never thought about using a meal delivery service myself. I mean, after all, I’m the “food and nutrition expert,” which means I’m supposed to be able to do it all myself. Sure, in theory, absolutely. (See my ASPIRE strategy for meal planning). But I also work, have a husband I would like to spend more time with, have some hobbies I enjoy, and well, sometimes just don’t have the energy to meal plan, shop, prep, and cook! Sometimes, like you, I just want an evening (or three) to lounge on the couch after a long day, sitting with my hubs and my dogs, and enjoying a nice glass of cold white wine. Why, yes, prosecco would be great, thanks!

So, I went to the Today’s Dietitian Symposium in May and found myself live-tweeting from the education sessions with another dietitian who has the same last name! How cool is this?! I decided we must meet and we did get a chance to say hello and have a quick chat. Turns out the other Lewis RD works with HelloFresh and she gave me information which led to me getting a free HelloFresh delivery box. (Being an RD comes with all kinds of food perks!). I was excited to try it out and, as I’m learning about adding video to my blog, I thought this would be a great way to share my experience with everyone.

Setting up for video - it's a labor of love people!
Setting up for video – it’s a labor of love people!

I was so impressed with the delivery, the ease of making the meals, the convenience, and the level of deliciousness that I became an continue in this relationship. I’ll be posting those blogs/videos very soon and should be posting about one a month going forward. 

You don’t have the time? These recipes take about 30 minutes to make!

You don’t know what to make? Trust me you will be drooling when you look at some of their recipes!

You don’t think you have the skills to make a healthy meal? The step-by-step directions (with pictures yo!) take out all the guess work. In fact, these are a great tool to help you build your cooking skills and confidence that you – yes you – can get a beautiful, healthy, and delicious meal on the table!

Let me know if you have any questions or feel free to comment below!

HelloFresh provided a Meal Delivery Box containing three meals to me free of charge. As always, all opinions in my reviews are mine and I if love it or hate it, I’ll let you know.

 

 

Rhubarb

Baking, Dessert, Dietitian, Farm to table, Food, , , , , ,

I am on my way home from NY State and had my very first experience with rhubarb this past weekend. It is ah-mah-zing! It is a vegetable that is used for a pie, which is typically a fruit’s job. I’ve heard of it (cue Prairie Home Companion Rhubarb Pie Song) but had never had an opportunity to try it before. When my family said they had a rhubarb plant in their garden that needed harvesting, my little dietitian brain lit up at getting to experience a brand-new-to-me vegetable experience from farm to table. This veggie is an exquisite combination of sweet and tangy sour and it is my newest love. Raw to cooked – delicious! Here is the journey in pictures. Enjoy!

If Hunger is the Problem, Food is the Solution

Diet, Dietitian, Food, hunger, Snacks, weight loss, , , , , , ,

Yesterday I was so hungry. I wanted to snack my way through my afternoon. I am working on weight loss so how much I eat is a factor. I try to eat enough food to fuel my body without eating more than I need at any one time.

Here’s the question – a person is working on weight loss and is hungry in the afternoon, what should they do?

Some common answers might be:

  • Ignore it, the hunger will pass
  • Drink a huge amount of water to fill up your stomach
  • Eat a snack pack bag of carrots (low calorie) or a boiled egg (protein) and then stop
  • Give up, go off the diet, feel bad, pledge to start again tomorrow

I’ve heard all these answers in practice and they don’t address the problem in a realistic way. There is a mindful eating saying that if hunger isn’t the problem, food isn’t the solution. (Read that again). So true and if I were bored or pissed off, then food wouldn’t be what I needed. However… I was hungry!

Isn’t the flip side of that saying: If hunger is the problem, then food is the solution?

Here’s the thing, our bodies are not steady-state machines in terms of how much energy (calories) they need each day because we don’t ask our bodies to do the same things every day AND all those inside workings are different day-to-day (immune responses, stress, etc.).

Some days, I may not need much food; my hunger will be low and I should take advantage and eat less if weight loss is my goal. As long as I ensure adequate nutrition that is – please don’t eat less than your BMR!

Other days, I may need more food (energy) and my body will let me know it’s hungry and so I should… well, according to the answers above… I should ignore that and eat by my plan. I should deprive myself, tell myself I’m a failure if I eat in response to hunger, fight through it because weight loss is hard and this is expected. I should basically spend the afternoon fighting a mental war between my body and mind.

Um, no. Why be so unkind to yourself?

Here’s the question again – a person is working on weight loss and is hungry in the afternoon, what should they do?

Eat.

Simple. Easy. Honoring your body and loving yourself.

First, check in and make sure the hunger physiological. If it is, then FEED YOUR BODY!

Here’s how this dietitian handled a ravenous appetite:

  • A handful of fresh cherries and about a cup of fresh blackberries. Wait. Still hungry.
  • Add protein. A fresh apple with a little tub (3/4 oz. or a heaping Tbsp.) of peanut butter. Wait. Still hungry.
  • Add protein / healthy fat. Pecans, Just under an ounce. Wait Still hungry. Are you kidding me body???
  • Bring out those carbohydrates. A Flatout with 1 Tbsp. of light olive oil butter, a sprinkle of Splenda, cinnamon. Wait. Finally satiation! No more hunger!

I added nearly 600 calories in snacks yesterday and that put my total calories up a little higher than usual. So what? I ate to satisfy my hunger! Nutritious choices = more food! Choosing a convenience crispy-crunchy or chocolately snack would not have satisfied my hunger. I instead made nutritious choices and got to eat a whole lot until I felt satisfied.

Are you shaking your head at me and saying: I bet you put on weight by giving in to your cravings and eating all that food. Nope. I weigh in every morning and I’m up 0.2 lbs this morning, which is 100% water-not-weight variation. If in doubt, see my last post: Weight Loss: A Long and Winding Road.

The moral of my story is – feed yourself when you are hungry and do it with healthful choices.

(Image for blog from: https://memegenerator.net/)

Another Study on Splenda: Mice, Cancer, and Ridiculous Advice

Dietitian, Food, research, splenda, sugar, , , , ,

I just came across a blog titled Splenda Possibly Linked to Cancer, New Study Finds. I use Splenda. Daily. So I checked this out. Turns out the study was released in January, six months ago; but it was worth investigating since if it popped up in my Facebook feed, it was probably popping up in others.

In short – mouse study, blood cancers (leukemia), high doses equivalent to 10 cans of soda a day in people, and the CSPI, which has a lovely tool to rate foods, has changed its status to “avoid.

There is a link to the journal article in the blog which give a little more detail for consideration.

  1. The mice started being exposed prenatally. Chances are many little ones probably are also exposed during this stage if their moms use Splenda so let’s move on.
  1. Cancers only manifest in male mice. This is a place to pause. Why only in males? Assuming we can we extrapolate these results out to humans (possibly but not a definite), then do they apply to females? Are only males at risk? This is something that needs more investigation!
  1. The mice were given multiple doses measured in parts per million (ppm). The male mice developed cancer at doses of 2,000 and 16,000 ppm but NOT at 0, 500, or 8,000 ppm. Okay, let’s pause again. If Splenda is the reason for the cancers, we would expect that the higher the dose, the more cancers. So why yes-cancer at 2,000 ppm, but no-cancer at 8,000 ppm, and then yes-cancer again at 16,000 ppm. This is an unexpected result which needs more investigation!

So, file this study away under the developing story of Splenda but this is not the type of study that will lead to a blanket-statement and declare that all people must avoid Splenda! Well, except for the CSPI I guess.

Oh, and I can’t forget my favorite part – the ridiculous part – where the CSPI president is quoted as pointing out “that consuming too much regular sugar carries a higher risk of diabetes, heart disease and obesity than the cancer risk posed by artificial sweeteners.” Yet his organization now says to AVOID Splenda and CUT BACK on sugar.

So… let me see if I understand. Yes there is a high risk of big-bads from regular sugar versus low risk of big-bads from alternative sweeteners; soooo avoid the thing with the lower risk? What??? Makes sense to me (NOT!).

I routinely talk to my patients with type 2 diabetes and explain this exact thing. The chances that you will have negative health outcomes (high blood sugar) by using real sugars is pretty much a given unless the dose (amount) and meal composition (what do you eat it with) are pretty well designed. Having high blood sugar over the long-term can have some pretty devastating results (kidney disease, losing toes and vision). Compare that to the chances that you will get cancer from using alternative sweeteners, which is pretty low (unless you are downing a LOT of the stuff!).

What surprises me is that many people choose sugar over the alternatives. Thanks documentary-makers and media celebrities for ruining sugar’s reputation. To be clear, I don’t promote using a LOT of the natural OR the fake stuff – I promote letting your taste buds adjust to LESS sweet flavor in food and using very LITTLE of whichever one you choose.

Good news – it is YOUR decision what to choose.

Me? I’m sticking with my Splenda for now. What about you?

Meal Plan Yumminess

Diet, Dietitian, Food, health, Healthy Diet, meal plan, meal planning, Recipe, , , , , , ,

It’s been a while since I posted a meal plan and I’m back with a delicious week of meals to share with you. I’ve been faithfully planning and prepping and have started to get a little bored with the same old meals. This week, I added a few new recipes.

Do as much prep as you can over the weekend. I chop omelet veggies, make overnight oats, boil eggs (last 5 days if they don’t crack!), make mason jar salads, and do whatever else I can to prepare ahead of time. Notice this week is heavier in cooking the first few days but then relies on leftovers to get through the week.

Not listed is a Chocolate Chia Pudding dessert I’ll be making when I sign off from here because chocolate. Yum.

Sunday: 

B – Egg white omelet made with egg whites, shredded cheddar/jack, onions, mushrooms, and spinach served with a piece of toast with olive oil butter. TIP: Do your breakfast prep for the week by chopping onions and mushrooms that have been cleaned with a paper towel (no water!) and storing in mason jars – you still have to cook; but the chopping is the time-consuming part so this saves time in the morning!

L – White Bean Caprese Salad (added chopped raw videlia onions) served on spinach/romaine lettuce.

D – Baked tofu (press, cube, toss with Italian salad dressing and bake) mixed with zucchini carpaccio (pictured with this blog). Note to self: invest in a mandolin.

S – Boiled egg; cucumbers and Zesty Carrot Hummus – you seriously must try this! DELISH!

Monday:

B – omelet with toast

L – Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Strawberry Cucumber Salad (with balsamic glaze – yes please!) and (Chicken) Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats. 

S – Apple with Laughing Cow Cheese

Tuesday:

B – Overnight Oats (were prepped over weekend so easy breezy breakfast) with a sliced banana.

L – Leftover White Bean Caprese Salad on lettuce/spinach

D – Leftover Sausage Boats and Strawberry Cucumber Salad

S – Kefir and blackberries

Wednesday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Baked fish, steamer vegetables, quinoa

S – Egg salad (egg, mayo) with carrots

Thursday:

B – Overnight Oats with banana

L – Mason Jar Salad (prepped over weekend) with a boiled egg and blue cheese crumbles

D – Fish Bowls (leftover fish, quinoa, chipotle, jalapeno, veggies, sour cream – whatever is on hand and needs to be eaten but with a Mexican twist).

S – Apple with carrot hummus

Friday:

B – Omelet with toast

L – Leftover Loaded Sweet Potato

D – Turkey burgers (tomato, lettuce, red onion, avocado, cheese) and fries (yes – the splurge meal happens for me too!)

S – Kefir and blackberries

Saturday: 

B – Overnight Oats

L – Mason Jar Salad with tuna packet (buffalo tuna is so yum).

D – Turkey Burger Bowls (chopped burger, lettuce, tomato, pickles, blue cheese and the rest of the chopped food that needs to be eaten!

S – Carrots with carrot hummus

Thanks for the inspiration as always to Clean Eating Magazine (just the recipes please people, not the articles! Food is NOT “clean” or “dirty” unless of course, it needs to be washed), SkinnyTaste (easy, low calorie, and crazy good recipes) and this week to my new find, Minimalist Baker.

Let me know if you try any recipes this week and if you like the Meal Plan posts!

Overnight Oats

Dietitian, Food, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, meal planning, oatmeal recipe, overnight oats, Recipe, , , , , , ,

“Getting what you want is simple, but not easy.” – Mel Robbins.

I believe this is true when applied to nutrition. I think many of us know WHAT to do – nutrition is really simple once you get away from the hype of the media and uneducated bloggers. We just struggle with ACTUALLY DOING IT – it isn’t easy!

To further my mission of “heart healthy nutrition made easy,” I bring you a way to fit a healthy breakfast into your meal planning. I love the ease of the week when I take the time to do meal preparation on the weekends. In fact, my husband and I have only eaten out about 8 times since the year began five months ago. That was not our goal; but is a happy unanticipated consequence of having a plan in place.

One of the best perks of meal prep is having a hot breakfast for very little work. I’ve been accomplishing this with overnight oats and with pre-chopped vegetables for omelets or “scrambles” if I’m in a hurry. Mason jars are AMAZING for keeping my chopped onion and mushrooms (cleaned with a paper towel, not water) fresh through the week!

However, in my work with my patients lately, I have been hard pressed to find an overnight oats recipe online that works for all of my patients – especially those working on blood sugar control. Once you add oats, dairy, and fruit together, you’ve got a small jar carbohydrate delight that is just an overload for the morning meal.

Note – carbohydrates are NOT bad. Carbohydrates are AWESOME! However, many people tend to eat tooooo many of them. So, please DO NOT ban or severely limit carbohydrates; but many of us could do with reigning in our portion sizes a bit.

Without further ado – my basic overnight oats recipe is below. This serving provides 215 calories and 30 grams of carbohydrates per jar. Feel free to add more fruit and nuts and other assorted yumminess to fit your needs and preferences.

Oh and by the way, Mel Robbins 20 minute video is so worth the time!

Click the recipe title for a printer-friendly version!

Simple-Overnight-Oats

Serves one

Ingredients

1/3 cup of old-fashioned or quick cooking plain oats

2/3 cup of unsweetened almond milk

1 tablespoon of chia seeds

1 Tablespoon peanut butter powder (no sugar added)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

  1.  Put all ingredients into a Mason jar or other container and stir to combine.
  2. Store in refrigerator at least overnight (can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in fridge!)

To serve: This can be eaten cold or hot (microwave 1-2 minutes but do NOT microwave in a plastic container).

Nutrition per serving (entire recipe): 215 calories, 8 grams fat, 7 grams unsaturated fats, 1 gram saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 0 milligrams cholesterol, 165 milligrams sodium, 30 grams carbohydrates, 10 grams fiber, 8 grams protein.

NOTES:

The chia seeds act as a thickener (in addition to be a great heart healthy food!) but they are expensive so you can try leaving them out or substituting ground flaxseed.

For those counting carbohydrates to manage blood sugar:  Don’t forget to add your carb grams for any fruit or sweeteners you add!

Bag Full of Heart Healthy Foods

No More Excuses for Fast Food!

Diet, Dietitian, Fast Food, Food, Healthy Diet, Lunch, meal plan, Snacks, , , , , ,

I get it. You’re busy, you’re tired, you don’t have time for meal planning, grocery shopping, meal prepping. You think your only option is that fast food drive through or the quick convenience restaurants.

I completely disagree.

We are ALL busy, tired, and don’t have free time to do all that planning and preparation. You have no less hours in your days that anyone else. You have chosen how to prioritize your time and to what and whom you give your time and effort. I’m not trying to make you feel any certain way but I can already hear your reasons that it’s not your choice and there is nothing you can do to change it.

Perhaps that is true for some people. I’ve been a caretaker for a family member going through a multiple year crisis and I found myself not taking care of myself at first. After devoting all my energy to care-taking, I realized I needed to take care of me too and I found a way to fit it in. (Anyone else ever walked the parking garage stairs and levels at a hospital? Yep, me too).

The thing is – we pay for our choices one way or the other. We pay in dollars and health when we routinely eat most choices available for a quick lunch (and we save time and effort). We pay in time and effort spent every evening or in a block of time on the weekends to meal plan, shop, and cook dinner (and we save our health and dollars). You get to decide which is more important for you in this moment.

The good news is that YOU have the power to shift your schedule and priorities. Maybe not completely; but I challenge you to find ONE SMALL THING over which you have control and can make a change.

Trust me – you’ll feel better if you do. 🙂

So, to help you realize that you DO have some control to choose something simple – like a healthier lunch or snacks – I bring you my “I’m-starving-and-have-nothing-to-eat-for-lunch” list for the grocery store. These are grab-and-go meals and snacks that you can choose instead of a fast food meal. (Spoiler alert – that fast food salad likely has more calories and less nutrition than the bacon cheeseburger).

  • Lunch?
    • Tuna (or salmon packet or packaged grilled chicken strips) mixed into prepared green salad (from produce section) with dressing of your choice
    • 1 whole wheat roll with sliced meat and cheese (all from the deli so you get only what you need!) plus a mustard packet and box of high-fiber crackers
      • Bonus – now you’ve got crackers to stash at your desk for snack-time!
    • Sushi roll with edamame (if store has this option)
    • Diced fruit and nuts on cottage cheese (major yum!)
  • Going back to the office?
    • Frozen dinner and steamer bag of vegetables (no sauces please)
    • Can of low-sodium soup plus green salad (from produce section) with dressing
  • Snacks?
    • Cheese stick with those crackers you stashed in your desk
    • Chopped fruit from produce section with a handful of nuts
    • Yogurt with Grape Nuts (really, don’t spend money on “granola” or “trail mix” as Grape Nuts give you the crunch without added sugar or ridiculous price!)
    • Apple with peanut butter (single packs are now sold! Try the natural no-sugar-added kind)

Oh, and do yourself one more favor and just grab a simple, cold, refreshing bottle of water (or fill up your bottle!) on your way out of the store.

Tell me  your other ideas and tricks for eating healthy when crunched for time?

 

Spiralized Sweet Potato

Happy New Meal Planning!

Diet, Food, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, meal plan, meal planning, Recipe, , , , ,

I returned to work today and the majority of people are focusing on meal planning as their current focus with their renewed enthusiasm of a new year. Meal planning and preparing foods ahead of time is a wonderful way to have a successful week in terms of meeting your nutrition goals. Two quotes come to mind:

  1. Ben Franklin is purported to have said: He who fails to plan, plans to fail.
  2. Mel Robbins kind of said (forgive me Mel, I paraphrase your Ted talk): You can have anything you want – it’s simple; but it’s not easy.

By the way, I really encourage you to invest 20 minutes in watching Mel’s Ted talk. I watch it every time I need a  motivation boost.

In the interest of helping others who struggle with meal planning, I decided to share my meal plan for this week and links to recipes where possible. I warn you though, this takes time and effort. Expect to spend a good 4 hours in the kitchen… but then relax because your food for the week is DONE!

Sunday:

B = egg white omelet with mushrooms, onions, spinach, shredded cheddar cheese(veggies chopped on Sunday for the week), L = green salad (veggies chopped on Sunday for the week) with Asian Sesame dressing with chicken salad (canned chicken, olive oil mayonnaise, red onion, celery, red grapes, black pepper); Zesty Lime Shrimp and Avocado over brown rice, vegetable soup (garlic, onion, tomato, zucchini, low sodium chicken broth, black pepper, red pepper flakes, basil).

Monday:

B = overnight oats (made for week) with oatmeal, unsweetened almond milk, chia seeds, peanut butter powder, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and vanilla extract with banana sliced into it in the morning, L = Zesty Lime Shrimp on romaine, D = Mexican Sweet Potato Casserole, broccoli, Snacks = yogurt, crackers.

Tuesday:

B = omelet, L = tofu sandwich (chipotle baked tofu, lettuce tomato, whole wheat bread), vegetable soup, D = Mexican Sweet Potato Casserole, brussels sprouts.

Wednesday:

B = omelet, L = green salad with chicken salad, vegetable soup, D = pork chop, edamame pesto pasta (copied from a recipe book so can’t link sorry!) with grape tomatoes, sauteed squash and mushrooms.

Thursday:

B = oatmeal, L = tofu sandwich, vegetable soup, D = pork chop, leftover pasta, green salad.

Friday:

B = omelet, L = green salad with chicken salad, D = Mexican Sweet Potato Casserole (from frozen), broccoli.

Saturday:

B = omelet, L = sandwich, crackers, D = a leftovers meal with whatever remains!

My snacks aren’t planned day by day but they include celery/carrots with hummus or peanut butter; yogurt with grape nuts; or crackers with cheese.

I hope this helps!

 

 

Ready for the Focus on Five media interview

Focus On Five for Heart Healthy Lunches that Stay Fresh

Dietitian, Food, Healthy Diet, Heart Healthy, Lunch, , , , , , , , ,

There is nothing more disappointing than taking the time to pack a heart healthy lunch and finding it a soggy mess by lunchtime. Last month, I shared my tips to pack a heart healthy lunch that will stay fresh until it’s time to eat on First Coast Living, a local new show (video since taken down unfortunately).

Ready for the Focus on Five media interview

My segment was inspired by an article that stated that even the 40% of children who are bringing lunches from home still fell short nutritionally. The 626 children (3rd-4th graders) had too many sweet and salty pre-packaged foods and too little fruits, vegetables, and dairy foods. Only 27% of the lunches had even three of the five food groups! More than half (59%) contained sandwiches. Armed with this information, I set out to find tips for improving the nutrition in our lunches without sacrificing on the yummy-factor.

The basics of a heart-healthy lunch are to (1) stock up on fiber and color by including whole fruits, vegetables, plant proteins, and whole grains, (2) keep the sodium and saturated/trans fats low by turning away from packaged or processed foods as well as high-fat meats and dairy foods, and (3) pack enough food to keep you satisfied and energized throughout the day.

My tips are simple – “focus on five” and plan/prepare ahead!

Focus on Five

Aim for all five food groups in your lunch bag!

  • A small amount of lean meats, a boiled egg, or plant proteins (beans, nuts, seeds) to get your protein, iron, and B12 (in animal products)
  • A small amount of whole grains (bread, crackers, etc.) for carbohydrates, fiber, and energy
  • Load up on whole fruits and vegetables (or ones packaged without added sugar or salt) for vitamins, minerals, and fiber
  • Include some reduced fat dairy foods (milk, cheese, yogurt) for calcium and vitamin D

Aim for at least five colors!

The trick with this tip is that in order to get five or more colors we have to turn to fruits and vegetables… because, yes, skittles do not count! Different colors have different vitamins, minerals, and phytochemicals (those wonderful little plant compounds that we are learning do so much for our health). If you eat the same colors every day, you may be missing out on some key nutrients.

Plan/Prep in Advance

Use the Focus on Five strategy to figure out what you will pack during the upcoming week and get your shopping done.

When you get home, do any chopping and washing as well as portioning out foods before you put them away. If you spend one hour chopping vegetables and portioning crackers into single serving baggies, you are well-positioned to meet your health goals during the week when our prep-time is typically more limited.

Pack lunches (and your pre-chopped foods) in a way that keeps them fresh. Mason jars are one of the best things I’ve found for maintaining freshness because the seal on these jars is air-tight. I showcased three options on the segment: a mason jar salad, a bento box, and a deconstructed sandwich. The trick to keeping your lunch fresh is layering! Always layer your dressing (if a salad) on the bottom and then the foods that will hold up to the dressing.  Carrots are a good choice because they can sit in dressing for days without changing. Next, layer your wet ingredients (tomato, cucumber, lettuce). Always make sure your lettuce is nowhere near the dressing or it will wilt. Finally layer your proteins, cheese, and (if a sandwich) bread on top. I have used lettuce on Friday that I rinsed, spun, and chopped on Sunday. This picture is the salad I made for the segment on Sunday, which I ate on Thursday!

Mason Jar Salad - one week later!
Mason Jar Salad – one week later!

Just be mindful of food safety and if it looks wilty, wet, or is mushy – toss it!

The Difference?

I compared my bento box to a very popular pre-packaged lunch any my bento box has 26% fewer calories, 33% less saturated fat, and 3 times more fiber for $0.87 less per meal.

I also compared my salad to a popular sandwich and salad restaurant and my salad had 44% fewer calories, 65% less total fat, 63% less sodium, and 150% more fiber!

Following these tips will save you time, ease the pressure on your wallet, and greatly improve the healthfulness of your delicious and easy lunches.

What other tips do you have to share?