Welcome! Today is the day I officially launch my Web site. (Wow that was a long time ago!)
To celebrate the occasion, I have just posted a cooking demonstration showing you how to make “mom’s homemade salsa” which makes a great snack or can be used in other recipes. You can find the video on my “Cooking Videos” page or on my YouTube page which is linked from the “Follow Me On…” page.
Please help me spread the word by sharing my site with others. I welcome all feedback so let me know if I help you with “nutrition made easy.”
If you missed my segment on First Coast Living, you can watch me talk about Veggies in Desserts by choosing the tab for Food (click the right arrow to see more tabs) and then scrolling to Wednesday September 26th UNF Nutrition.
I showcased three desserts during this segment: Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes (see previous blog post), Eggplant Chocolate Chip Muffins, and Black Bean Brownies. As I mentioned, none of these recipes were my creation and you can find them at these links:
Americans do not eat enough vegetables. The recommended amount for generally healthy adults is 2-3 cups per day and data shows we are eating 1.5-1.8 cups/day (2004 NHANES)! Sneaking vegetables into desserts can help us to baby-step our way towards the recommended daily amount – remember, it’s still dessert so it won’t get you all the way there!
2. Use vegetables to increase the nutritional content of your favorite desserts by reducing calories and fat, increasing fiber, and adding vitamins.
3. Methods (not covered in segment)
If using a puree, replace half of the fat with the puree. If it’s a liquid fat (oil) use 3/4 the amount that you are replacing and if it’s a solid fat (butter), use 1/2 the amount you are replacing. Reduce the oven temperature or check sooner than the recipe calls for or it might over-bake.
If using chopped vegetables, some have a high water content so you may need to reduce the other liquids in the recipe.
Now, on to my favorite of the three recipes – the eggplant chocolate chip muffins!
Start by making sure you have all the ingredients you will need on hand.
Ingredients for Eggplant Chocolate Chip Muffins
Next, figure out how to chop that eggplant! Here’s a suggestion, start by cutting into smaller sections with straight edges so the vegetable will sit flat when you start chopping.
How to Chop Eggplant
Now, peel the eggplant. Honestly, when I make my second batch of these muffins today (yes, they are that good!) I will not peel the eggplant and see how that goes… but the recipe called for peeling, so I did.
How to Chop Eggplant
Finally, chop the section in half (again to give you a flat edge for safer chopping) and make smaller and smaller cuts. These pictures show going from the whole section, to half the section, to slices, to matchsticks, to a small chop.
How to Chop Eggplant
How to Chop EggplantHow to Chop EggplantHow to Chop EggplantHow to Chop EggplantFinally – Chopped Eggplant!
Moving on to the other ingredients, you will end up with four bowls of goodies. Top left is the flour mixture, top right is the butter mixture, bottom left is the chocolate chips, and bottom right is the chopped eggplant.
Ingredients Ready to Mix
The beautiful thing about making muffins is that it is so easy! Simply make a well in your flour mixture (dry ingredients) and add your liquid ingredients. Be careful how much mixing you do! Gluten develops quickly once liquid is added to flour so you want to mix as LITTLE as possible while still combining the ingredients so there are NO DRY SPOTS of flour. Then fold in the extras (chips and eggplant) and mix just enough to distribute those extras throughout the batter. The mixture should be lumpy!
The Perfect Muffin Batter is LUMPY!
This recipe yields 24 muffins. Here they are before going in the oven
Muffins Ready for Baking
And after! YUM!
Eggplant Chocolate Chip Muffins
Compared to store-bought chocolate chip muffins, these have 50 less calories, 4 grams less fat, double the fiber, and we’ve added vitamins A and C.
Did you know it’s “Fruits and Veggies – More Matters” month?
I’m doing a media spot this month and decided to focus on sneaking in more vegetables by using them to create desserts. My first adventure in the kitchen was red velvet cupcakes made with beets. I’m happy to report no red stains anywhere in my kitchen from the beets!
The recipe is from: http://www.dominosugar.com/recipe/beet-red-velvet-cake-7560 with no alterations. I did add store-bought cream cheese icing because making these cupcakes – which is more like making cake than muffins – was enough for one day.
Lab coat, check. Hair back, check. Hands washed, check. All ingredients on hand and measured, check. And we are ready to go!
Ready to Bake!
Step 1: Cream sugar and butter. Note that a husband with strong hands is helpful for this step!
Creaming Butter and Sugar is Easiest with a Fork
Step 2: Add eggs
Egg in Creamed Butter and Sugar
Other bowls of goodness ready. Note that if you don’t have a sifter, you can use a wire mesh strainer. I did this and it sifted beautifully. Top left: flour mixture. Top right: sugar, butter, eggs mixture. Bottom left: buttermilk mixture. Bottom right: pureed beets – pretty!
Ingredients for Red Velvet Beet Cupcakes Ready for Mixing!
Once mixed together = big bowl of batter and a wooden spoon that will probably always be slightly reddish…
Red Velvet Beet Cupcake Batter
The recipe does indeed make 24 cupcakes
Ready to go in the oven
These have a nice moistness and grain but are not as red as conventional red velvet cake (even with sneaking a few drops of red food coloring in the batter…shhh!)
Cooked Cupcake – Look at that Grain!!
And the final product with the icing, which I will be bringing into work tomorrow to share!
Red Velvet Beet Cupcake with Icing
These are husband-approved, so you know they must be good, and they sneak in a vegetable that many people dislike in it’s pure form. Simply by making the vegetable into a puree, you can add beets to your diet! Next is the nutrition information as compared to a store-bought mix for red velvet cupcakes. The rows in pink are where the biggest nutritional changes are seen.
I interned and now work part-time with a private practice that specializes in eating disorders. We all have that voice inside our heads that sends us positive and negative messages about our bodies, our food intake, our ability to control these things. Eating disorders, like any psychological illnesses, are normal thought patterns taken to the extreme. Those with eating disorders battle with that voice in their heads and that voice begins to win.
I have also worked briefly at a bariatric surgeon’s office who specialized in lapband surgery. I had ethical issues with his post-surgery diet so it wasn’t a good fit. In the time I worked there, however, I saw another form of disordered eating in both the pre- and post-surgery patients.
Both of these populations had lost touch with or flat out ignored their body’s hunger and satiety cues and I, in no way, endorse this.
If you are hungry, eat. If you are not hungry, don’t eat.
Yes, that is simplistic and much easier said than done; but that’s the premise for a healthy relationship with food.
I also do not believe in “dieting” per se. The research shows time and time again that dieting does not work. No matter the method (low carb, low fat, high protein, shakes, meal plans, or simple calorie restriction), the weight comes off (duh), the dieting stops, and the weight comes back on. The diet mentality is not effective.
One can go “off” a diet and therein lies the problem.
I’ll step off my soapbox now to share a recipe and picture. I’m working on my food photography skills. Here is a version of a recipe I found in Clean Eating Magazine.
Quinoa Bowl: 1/2 cup quinoa, 1/2 cup rinsed black beans, 7 grape tomatoes halved, chopped red onion to taste, 1/4 avocado chopped, red wine vinegar to taste, lime juice, and cilantro. YUM!
March is National Nutrition Month and what better way to celebrate than with a plateful of colors?
The Academy of Nurtition and Dietetics’s (formerly theAmerican Dietetic Association) theme for the 2011 National Nutrition Month is “eat right with color” to emphasize the importance of choosing a variety of foods to promote optimal health. Since different colors of food contain different types of nutrients, incorporating a variety colors provides a wide range of nutrients that our bodies need to function at their best.
Other guidelines for healthy eating include:
Enjoy 2-3 servings of fruit every day. These provide many vitamins and minerals in the form of phytochemicals along with fiber. Eat the skins when you can! Fresh fruits make a great snack food, frozen fruits add thickness to homemade smoothies, and fruits can be pureed to use in place of fats in baking.
Sneak in 5-7 servings of vegetables every day. It’s important to eat vegetables from all five categories – dark green, orange/deep yellow, starchy, legumes (peas and beans), and others such as onions, mushrooms, tomatoes, okra, green beans, and cucumbers. Vegetables provide many nutrients and fiber. Pile vegetables on sandwiches, add to sauces and frozen entrees, and puree to add to soups. Just be sure to not add on calorie-laden sauces!
Aim for making half of your grain selections whole. Whole grains provide fiber and carbohydrates necessary for energy and brain power. Replace processed, refined, white products with whole grain products when choosing rice, pasta, and bread. Not all brands taste the same, so don’t give up if you don’t like the first one you try.
Lean meats and dairy are good choices for protein. Proteins are the building blocks of our bodies; they are the basis for our enzymes and hormones and build muscle that enables us to move. Proteins are typically high in fat. The healthiest options are to choose lean cuts of meat, to remove visible fat and grease when cooking, and to look for low-fat or non-fat dairy products.
Last but not least are the fats. Fats are a major component of our cell membranes, they provide padding for our internal organs, and they help with absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins. Just be sure to choose the healthier mono- and poly-unsaturated fats found in avocado, almonds, walnuts, fatty fish, and canola, safflower, or olive oils.
Fill your plate with a variety of colors while following the above guidelines and you are taking a big step towards good health.
By the way… March 9th is Registered Dietitian Day. Have you hugged your RD lately?
My name is Alexia Lewis and I am a Registered and Licensed Dietitian.
To learn more about me and what I hope to accomplish with this Web site, please take a look at the “About Me” page, the “Media” page, and read some of my posts.
I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing and sharing my ideas about nutrition!
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