How much do you really need? America as a whole has increased portions.  We aren’t just seeing it in restaurants, we are seeing it at home – from the size of your plates to the way food is packaged says “eat more, eat more!”  We need to be aware now more than ever to tune into our internal body cues to tell us when to stop eating.  Here are some helpful tips to navigate everyday eating!

Key tips to help measure portion sizes:

3 oz. meat = deck of cards

1 tsp oil = quarter

1 cup raw veggies = lightbulb

1 medium fresh fruit – tennis ball

1 bagel/roll = 6 oz. can tuna

1 serving cheese = 2 dice

TIPS for Eating out to conquer distorted portions:

1. Skip Appetizers

2. When ordering salad - ask for dressing on the side, order vinegar based dressing, be aware that the more add-ons the more calories

3. Plan ahead - look at menu online

4. Don’t drink your calories – we tend to forget that drinks contain added calories! Avoid soda, alcohol etc. 

5. If you need dessert split with a group

6.  See less, eat less – avoid feeling you need to clean your plate by initially packing some of your meal in a to-go container

Above all, remember to tune in to when YOU are both hungry or full.  Your body knows what it needs and doesn’t the challenging part is listening!

Water, of course, is the best beverage option. It delivers everything the body needs with zero calories. But for some tastes, plain water is just too plain—and it may be unrealistic to ask everyone to kick the sugar-water habit overnight. We must instead work to retrain the American palate away from sweet drinks.

Liven up water choices without added calories of juice/sports/high-sugar drinks:

-       Add a dash of 100% Fruit Juice to your seltzer water

-       Fresh Fruit Coolers – Mix Ice, sparkling water, and fresh/frozen fruit in a blender

-       Infused water – Add Fresh Fruit to your ice cold water to keep on hand as a healthy alternative to a pitcher of lemonade

• Sliced citrus fruits or zest ( orange, peach, lemon/lime slices )
• Peeled, sliced fresh Ginger, Cucumber or Mint

Always be Concious: Food and Beverage manufacturers try to “hide” their sugar’s to appeal as a low-calorie drink.  Spotting added sugar on the food label requires some detective work.  All ingredients are listed in descending order by weight;  So, the placement of added sugar on the ingredient list will indicate how much sugar your drink contains.  Try and skip products that have added sugars at the top or sprinkled throughout the list.

Here are some of the names for added sugar that show up on food labels:

Agave Nectar

Cane crystals

Cane sugar

Corn sweetener

Crystalline Fructose

Dextrose

Evaporated cane juice

Fructose

Fruit Juice Concentrates

Glucose

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Honey, Invert Sugar

Maltose

Malt Syrup

Raw Sugar

Syrup

Sucrose.

Sometimes it can be a challenge to introduce new veggies to your table.  It takes consistency, variety, cooking methods and patience.  Everyone needs to try something 15 times before their tongue decides if it likes it or not.  In the process of adding new ingredients to your plate here are some helpful ways to increase the nutritional value of the ones you already have:

Add veggies to your…

-       Pasta Sauce – shred carrots, zucchini, red pepper, mushrooms and add to your average tomato sauce to serve over pasta

-       Lasagna – spinach, broccoli, bell peppers, zucchini, carrots

-       Chili and meat loaf (chop/dice peppers, onion, carrot, cabbage)

-       Hamburger: Puree cooked squash and carrots or finely chop mushrooms/peppers/onion to add small amounts to ground beef/turkey

-       Stir-Fry – add as many vegetables to chicken/beef/seafood

-       Muffins/quick breads (grated carrots, zucchini, mashed squash, sweet potatoes)

-       Soup – sneak leftover vegetables into your favorite soup (mushroom, celery, peppers, onions, etc.)

-       Burrito/Fajitas – Use wraps to hide all that is inside – mash up beans to spread with sautéed vegetables and cheese. Heat for a disguised “fast-food burrito”

-       Frittata/Omelet – spinach, tomato, onion, mushroom, olives,

-       Melt cheese on top of vegetables before serving

• Broccoli and cheese
• Homemade pizza

-       Dips – use celery/carrots/pepper slices to dip into

-       Salsa – add extra bell peppers/onions to use for spicing up any combination of foods

Remember, not all vegetables have to be served bland and alone … spice them up by adding fun new spices, marinades, and by throwing into any combination of foods! You will be surprised where you can hide and get in your extra serving of veggies! Enjoy!

A trip to the grocery store can be a headache when trying to meet an end budget while trying to replace cheap processed foods for fresh produce and nutrient dense foods.  Keep in mind that while in the moment a “dollar box deal” of pop-tarts seems a quick fix, these foods will end up leaving you unsatisfied and eating MORE, thus spending more;  Not only will cost creep up on you this way, but in the long run the cost of medical bills from unhealthy food trumps the small increase in your weekly grocery cart.

For your current grocery visits you CAN meet that end budget!

Most Importantly - Use what you ALREADY have*** The Average family wastes about 14% of food bought, approx. $500/year (15% from food unopened and still within its expiration date). Avoid making a trip to the store! You can create a variety of meals from what you already have even if it means creating a recipe of your own!  Sometimes it’s easier to just stop at the store and buy new items to make dishes we are already familiar with versus stepping outside the box. However, if we use what we have it usually leads to savings and less food wasted.  http://www.myfridgefood.com/ is a helpful website to come up with your own meal from what you already have!

Remember to always Make a Plan. List everything in your kitchen before going to the store and sit down to try and make a menu for the week.  Once you have a list of what is only necessary, stick to it! Just because something is on sale does not give you reason to buy it. Always shop around and check circulars to compare prices.  Buy foods in season, they will be freshest and cheapest option.  Grow your own – Not only will you be saving money and eating the freshest option available, but you will be helping eliminate your carbon footprint as well.  Also Freeze berries and veggies when they are cheapest and in season to use for the future.

Happy Shopping!

A top motivator to buy organic or even just from your local farms or gardens is to avoid pesticides!  Pesticides are made to destroy living organisms so it’s no surprise that it can be harmful to our health.  Pesticides found in many everyday foods can cause birth defects, nerve damage, hormone disruption and cancer just to name a few.  Keep in mind, children face the greatest risk of these harmful substances because their organs are still developing.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the safety of pesticides used in the US and determines limits on chemicals left on food sold to consumers.   However, the current standards don’t do enough to protect our health.  Washing and Peeling Fruits and Vegetables reduce pesticides but does not eliminate them because chemicals are absorbed within the produce.

The health benefits of eating our fruits and vegetables are a top priority but we want to be conscious of the risk of pesticide residues on our produce.  The EPA has just released their “Dirty Dozen” and “Clean Fifteen”, which provide the most and least contaminated fruits and veggies.  You can reduce your exposure to these harmful chemicals by choosing organic or from your local farms based on the helpful lists below:

Dirty Dozen: Buy these organic or try to buy from local farm

Apples

Celery

Strawberries

Peaches

Spinach

Nectarines (imported)

Grapes (imported)

Sweet Bell Peppers

Potatoes

Blueberries (domestic)

Lettuce

Kale/Collard Greens

Clean Fifteen: Lowest in pesticides

Onions

Sweet Corn

Pineapples

Avocado

Asparagus

Sweet Peas

Mangoes

Eggplant

Cantaloupe (domestic)

Kiwi

Cabbage

Watermelon

Sweet Potatoes

Grapefruit

Mushrooms

[Check out http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/list/ for the full list posted by the EPA]

What else can I do?

Washing and Peeling Fruits and Vegetables reduce pesticides but does not eliminate them because chemicals are absorbed within the produce.

RECIPE

1 ½ cups dry almonds (replace or mix 1/2 with whatever nut you like)
1 ½ cup dates
¼ teaspoon almond/vanilla extract
½ cups dried cherries or raisins (optional)

Sesame seeds/coconut (optional to roll balls in after)

In a food processor outfitted with an “S” blade, or a heavy duty blender, process almonds  until coarsely ground. Add the dates and extract and process until mixture sticks together. Add the cherries or raisins and pulse to mix.
Form the mixture into tablespoon size balls and optional to roll in sesame seeds/powdered almonds/coconut etc.

ENJOY =)

The first answer is…PLANNING!
-        Ask questions – “What is going to be on the menu?”, “Can I bring something?”
-        Plan your food for the day around what you plan to eat at the event.
-        Use lean proteins, vegetables and fruits whenever possible to displace calories beforehand.

The second answer is…MORE IS BEST!
-        More Fruits and Vegetables
-        More Physical Activity

Don’t want to PLAN? Every season, I like to give you some insight to the challenges that exist around seasonal eating. Look at the example below and see what can happen when you don’t plan ahead and wind up eating impulsively.

Typical High Calorie/Fat Barbecue            Better Barbecue
hot dog w/bun             320cals                     grilled chicken  6oz           240cals
cheeseburger 4oz         560                           shrimp kabob 6oz             150
sausage 4oz                 500                           grilled vegetables 1 cup     40
potato salad 1c             300                           corn on the cob                 70
macaroni salad 1c        350                           garden salad 3 cups          75
potato chips 2oz           300                           low cal dressing 2Tbsp      35
brownie                        500                           fruit salad 1 cup                 75
wine cooler                  240                           diet snapple                         0
beer 2                          300 lite beer 2                          200
Total:                   3,370 calories              Total:                885 calories

Goals for March:

1. Add a piece of fruit to breakfast
2. Add 1-2 cups of vegetables to lunch
3. Schedule a 10 minute appoinment for a walk at lunch
4. Make one new recipe from www.DeliciousLivingNutrition.com
5. Find 2 cereals that have less than 5 grams of sugar and more than 3 grams of fiber
6. Download a list of the local farmers markets at www.ediblesouthshore.com
7. Register for my FREE conference call on March 24th at 7pm for a Q & A session with me.
8. Write a 3-day food log and email it to me
9. Cook Quinoa and use it for 3 different meals in one week
10. Identify your most challenging time of day. Are there any connections between that time or food and your food history?
11. Traveling Nutrition – come up with 3 staple foods that could be brought with you while traveling. Send them to me.
12. Listen to Radio Brunch on Sundays at 11:05am on 1530 am or live at www.HomeTownTalkRadio.com.
13. Come to my Shop Healthy Be Healthy Shopping Tour at The Market in Pinehills in Plymouth tonight at 6pm. Cost is $10.
14. Start a Garden this spring or a few tomato plants.
15. Obtain the results of your last cholesterol panel. Identify any possible improvements.

I look forward to hearing from everyone. I hope everyone has a healthy month filled with new thoughts about nutrition and YOU. Again, it’s all about YOU. : )

Many toddler’s go through a behavorial development stage that involves wanting control of a situation, which in many cases, inconveniently takes place at mealtimes. So, the number one tip for parents, is to focus on being consisent and frequent with introducing new foods without having too much influence with their own food preferences. Let kids explore and find out for themselves after trying a new food 15 times.

Resistant or restricted eaters may have an underlying cause for fear or anxiety during mealtime, such as, oral dysfunction or sensory issues. Some ways to sense if your child may be a restricted eater are if they have only 3-20 foods they will eat, the foods are similar in texture or color, prefer foods that are easiest to chew, or the majority of food choices are processed carbohydrates like pizza, mac and cheese, grilled cheese, etc. Then, check with your Pediatrician and schedule an appointment with a specialist for a treatment plan and most importantly, support! Suzanne can be contacted at www.yourpathwaystohealing.com.

NUTRITION NUGGETS for Parents:

1. Be a good role model – don’t make faces at particular foods that may influence your child’s choice.
2. Providing well-balanced meals for your children is the priority, so focus on the nutritional value of the food.
3. Set Goals that are realistic – start with one bite.
4. Be consistant, firm and don’t give up – everyone is trying.
5. Give them choices of proteins and fibers (apple or pear – cheese stick or PB)
6. Promote healthy weight gain and growth through nutrition – Increase healthy fats and encourage extra bites of protein.
7. Don’t rush meals
8.  Introduce and reintroduce essential foods for overall health and well-being – they have to try a food 15 times before their tongue can decide if it likes it.
9. Take a trip to the produce section of the supermarket with kids.
10. Have kids learn more about where our food comes from – Laurie Amberman at Soule Homestead is holding workshops for kids over February vacation.
11. Include them with cooking – invite everyone to be a part of dinner.

Cooking for Kids with Nicole Cormier, RD, LDN

1.   Incorporate 30 minutes of exercise on Thanksgiving morning. (most yoga studios are having classes)
2.   Bring a vegetable dish – hold half the butter
3.   Socialize not appetize (my new word for standing directly in front of an appetizer pretending your listening while you munch mindlessly)
4.   Have Pellegrino with some frozen fruit in your hand at all times
5.   Fill your plate with the lower calorie vegetables first, then the turkey. (not the stuffed mushrooms first)
6.   Ask a group to go for a 10 minute walk after dinner
7.   Buy containers at the $ store to send leftovers home
8.   Plan for the next day: what will you have for breakfast, snacks, lunch, and dinner?
9.   Find out if anyone else is also watching their choices this season (you never know when you’ll find more
      support)
10. Make an appointment to see YOUR DIETITIAN after Thanksgiving.

NUTRITION NUGGET:
Low-calorie dessert: Apple Spice Cake – 1 box of Spice Cake Mix, 1 can of Pumpkin, 2 peeled and chopped apples. Mix together, add 1 cup of water and bake as directed on the box. This one hasn’t failed me yet!

"I will be mindful on Thanksgiving this year."