Eat This, Not That

So, you skip the homemade dinner and opt to go out to eat. But what do you choose?! Although what is available to you may not always be the healthiest, some choices are better than others.  Now, on to eat this, not that!

Restaurants

Applebee's
Eat This: Grilled Cajun Lime Tilapia
               310 calories, 6g fat, 0g saturated fat, 1,250mg sodium
Not That: Grilled Steak Caesar Salad
               1,295 calories, 82g fat, 26g saturated fat, 2,199mg sodium


Burger King
Eat This: Croissan'wich Egg and Cheese
              300 calories, 17g fat, 6g saturated fat, 740mg sodium
Not That: Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Biscuit
               530 calories, 37g fat, 12g saturated fat, 1,490mg sodium


Chick-fil-A
Eat This: Chargrilled Chicken Sandwich
              270 calories, 3.5g fat, 1g saturated fat, 940mg sodium
Not That: Chicken Caesar Cool Wrap
               480 calories, 16g fat, 6g saturated fat, 1,640mg sodium  




Dunkin' Donuts
Eat This: Ham Egg and Cheese English Muffin
              310 calories, 10g fat, 5g saturated fat, 1,270mg sodium
Not That: Multigrain Bagel
               500 calories, 15g fat, 7g saturated fat, 930mg sodium



Olive Garden
Eat This: Chicken Giardino
              448 calories, 11g fat, 1,670mg sodium
Not That: Stuffed Chicken Marsala
               1,315 calories, 86g fat, 2,550mg sodium



Outback Steakhouse
Eat This: Prime Minister's Prime Rib
              730 calories, 39g fat, 65g carbohydrates
Not That: Ayers Rock Strip Steak
               1,450 calories, 85g fat, 87g carbohydrates



P.F. Chang's
Eat This: Ginger Chicken and Broccoli
              660 calories, 26g fat, 3.5g saturated fat, 45g carbohydrates
Not That: Kung Pao Chicken
               1,240 calories, 80g fat, 10g saturated fat, 58g carbohydrates


Ruby Tuesday
Eat This: 7 oz Top Sirloin
              464 calories, 24g fat
Not That: Turkey Burger
              1,171 calories, 58g fat

Additional Swaps and Tips

Muffins
-Look at the paper they are sitting on. A dark stain means they are loaded with fat.

Movie Theaters
Eat This: Popcorn (10 cups)
              550 calories, 31g fat, 5g saturated fat, 972mg sodium
Not That: Nachos (6-8 nachos with cheese)
               608 calories, 34g fat, 14g saturated fat, 1,736mg sodium



Yogurt
Eat This: Dannon Light and Fit Strawberry Yogurt
              60 calories, 0g fat, 0g saturated fat, 90mg sodium, 7g sugar
Not That: Dannon Fruit on the Bottom Strawberry Banana
              150 calories, 1.5g fat, 1g saturated fat, 95mg sodium, 26g sugar

When eating out, remember, it is not always about the calories. It is also important to consider the protein, fat, and carbohydrate content of the meal. Stay tuned for an "Eat This, Not That" supermarket edition!



Zinczenko D. Eat this not that. New York, NY. 2008. 

Snacking and Healthy Eating on the Go

Scenario 1: From the minute you get up in the morning, you are running like crazy, whether it is with your job, your family, your hobbies, or all of the above. You may have just enough time to grab breakfast in the morning. If not, your stomach is grumbling leading to the perfect setting for that salty, fatty, not-so-good snack. Scenario 2: You don't eat all morning and before you know it, your stuffing cold leftovers into your mouth at the fridge. Scenario 3: You experience both scenarios mentioned before, depending on the day.

Whatever your scenario may be, here are simple tips and recipes to help you curb the cravings and snack healthy!

Let's start off with a brain buster question. Are 100-calorie pack snacks "healthy?" Truth is, no. They are basically 100 calories worth of carbohydrates. Since simple carbohydrates turn into sugar in your body, they are basically 100 calories worth of sugar. While they are better than eating chips out of the bag and help with portion control, they are no match for the endless possibilities of healthy snacks.

Tips for Healthy Snacking
1. Design your snacks like mini-meals. Include protein, fat, and healthy carbohydrates.
2. Resist the urge to snack when you are bored or stressed. Try going for a walk or reading a book to get your mind off of food.
3. Don't snack in front of the TV. This leads to mindless eating and lack of portion control.
4. If you are one to eat from the chip/pretzel bag, take out a serving and put the rest away in the cabinet.
5. Make snacking interesting! Try something new and different (like macadamia nuts or avocado slices).

Tips for Snacking On-The-Go
1. Pack your snack the night before, or at the beginning of the week. If you are making non-perishable items (trail mix or homemade granola bars) portion out a serving so they are easy to grab on the way out.
2. Remember to read the nutrition label. Sugar should not be one of the first 4 ingredients!
3. Choose high-fiber snacks like fruits and vegetables to keep your fuller for longer.
4. Stash carrots, peanut butter, and crackers in your bag or desk drawer so you always have healthy food nearby.
5. If the vending machine is all you have as an option, opt for nuts (protein and fat) or a lower sodium food.

Simple Snacks for Home or On-The-Go
-bananas dipped in yogurt, rolled in nuts, and frozen
-bananas dipped in peanut butter and frozen
-apples and peanut/almond butter
-apples and cheese
-trail mix with dried fruit, nuts, popcorn, etc
-hummus (mashed chick peas, olive oil, garlic) and vegetables
-avocado deviled eggs (hard boiled eggs, yolks mashed with avocado and spices)
-smoothie made with protein powder or peanut butter
-mini sandwich with tuna or egg salad
-yogurt with blueberries and granola

Hopefully, these tips help you to curb those cravings and snack healthy. Happy snacking!

How to Read a Nutrition Label

"Heart healthy!" "Low fat!" Confused on how to read a nutrition label? Well, you have come to the right place!

Why should you read a label anyway? For starters, it helps you determine the nutritional content of the product. It is also helpful for those with food allergies or intolerances. Reading the nutrition label helps you to see how the food fits into your overall diet.

One of the first things you want to look at when reading a nutrition label is the serving size. Many people consume over the amount suggested. You want to note the size of a single serving and how many servings are in the product. If you are doubling the serving size, you will need to double everything listed on the food label. For example, 20g of carbohydrates would then be 40g of carbohydrates.

As you look further down the label, you will see calories, calories from fat, total fat (includes saturated, trans, monounsaturated, and polyunsaturated fats), cholesterol, sodium, potassium, carbohydrates (includes fiber, sugars, and other carbohydrates), protein, vitamins, and minerals. To the right of these nutrients, you will see "% Daily Value." This is shown to see how the food fits into your overall diet. If a product says it has 5% of the daily value, it is considered a low source. 10% of the daily value is a good source and 20% or more of the daily value, it is considered a high source.

"Other carbohydrates" refers to the amount of starch in the product. Some products do not list "other carbohydrates." This number is found by subtracting both sugar and fiber from the total carbohydrates.

In general, you want to keep cholesterol, sodium, fat (trans and saturated), and added sugars low. Ingredients are listed in order from the greatest amount to the least. If sugar is one of the first 4 ingredients, toss the product aside and opt for something else. Sugars add calories with little to no nutritional value. You want to focus on foods that offer high amounts of mono and polyunsaturated fats, potassium, protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Labeling Terms and Tips
-"No" or "Zero" trans fat means that a product must have less than .5g per serving of trans fat.
-When a product says "lean" it means that total fat must be less than 10g and saturated fat must be less than 4.5g.
-A product that says "calorie free" has less than 5 calories per serving.
-"Low calorie" means that the product has less than 40 calories per serving.
-Fruit drink usually just has a lot of added sugar, little to no real fruit, and no fiber. Skip it and opt for a piece of fruit instead.
-"Sugar-free" or "fat-free" does not mean the product is low calorie or that has a high nutrient value. Most of the fat-free products just substitute sugar to make the product palatable.

Hopefully, this has helped you to see that reading a nutrition label is not as hard as it may seem. Just a few final tips: the fewer ingredients, the better and if you can't pronounce most of the ingredients, you might want to opt for something else.

How to Preserve Nutrients in Cooking

Raw or cooked vegetables? Microwaved or steamed? Does it make a difference? Actually, the method of cooking does affect different types of vegetables in both a positive and negative way. For example, when cooking tomatoes, the bioavailablity of Lycopene (a carotenoid with antioxidant properties) is increased; however, the amount of Vitamin C decreases.

Microwaving
There is a lot of debating going on over microwaving vs. using a conventional oven. Some say microwaving is the devil because of nutrient loss and cancer causing properties. Some nutrients are broken down when they are exposed to heat. So, is microwaving better than cooking vegetables in a convention oven? Since both use heat to cook, and microwaving takes a shorter amount of time to cook food, it is a slightly better option than cooking in the oven.

Frying
Frying is probably one of the worst ways to cook your vegetables. The heat is so high that almost all nutrients are immediately destroyed.  Frying also causes the release of free radicals, which are detrimental to your health.

Boiling
Boiling is probably the second worst way to cook your vegetables, unless you plan on using the remaining broth. When you boil vegetables, all the nutrients leak out into the water. Since many people do not save the water from the vegetables, you are not getting the benefits of the cancer fighting properties they hold.

Steaming
Steaming is the gold standard for cooking vegetables. Steaming helps to retain the nutritional value of your vegetables. Some key things to remember when steaming are: don't use too much water (1/2 cup is usually good) and don't overcook (5-7 minutes is usually good for most vegetables).

Raw Food 
Just to clarify, I am only speaking about eating certain foods raw, like vegetables, not the raw food diet, where a person will only eat raw foods (no meats, fish, etc). Studies have shown that both raw and cooked vegetable consumption are inversely related to epithelial cancers, lung cancer, and breast cancer; however, these relationships may be stronger for raw vegetables than cooked vegetables.

Degradation of Vitamins & Minerals
Once vegetables are picked, their vitamin and mineral content begin to degrade. To slow this process, most vegetables should be refrigerated until they are used.  Also, many vitamins are easily destroyed by oxygen. In order to minimize nutrient loss, cut vegetables should be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator. Just to keep in mind, after about 24 hours in the fridge, cooked vegetables will lose 1/4 of their Vitamin C content. Vitamin C is the most likely vitamin to be lost in cooking. It is very sensitive to heat, air, and water. To minimize nutrient loss, cook in as little water as possible.


The bottom line is, whether you are eating your vegetables raw or cooked, at least you are consuming vegetables!

Fun Fruit and Vegetable Facts

Did you know that banana trees are not trees? The banana plant is actually a giant herb. Today's blog features fun facts about different fruits and vegetables!

Avocados
-One avocado tree can produce up to 400 avocados a year! 
-Avocados are a good source of Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, folate, and fiber. They are also high in Vitamin E.

Strawberries
-Ever wonder how many seeds were on your strawberry? On average, there are 200!
-Strawberries are not truly a berry, despite their name. 
-Strawberries are a good source Vitamin C, potassium, and fiber.

Kiwi
-Kiwi can be used as a meat tenderizer. Cut the fruit in half, rub over meat, and leave for 10-15 minutes. 
-The brown fuzzy skin is edible!
-Kiwi are a good source of Vitamin C and E, potassium, and fiber.

Cranberries
-Native to North America. They were deemed the name "cranberry" because the flowers resemble cranes.

Broccoli
-The name broccoli comes from the Latin word brachium, which means "branch" or "arm"
-Broccoli is a good source of Vitamin A, folate, iron, calcium, and fiber.
-Ounce for ounce, Broccoli has more vitamin C than an orange and as much calcium as a glass of milk.

Nectarine
-The nectarine is actually a subspecies of peach that lacks the gene for fuzz. 

Cabbage

-Cabbage needs to be kept cold in order to retain its Vitamin C.

Carrots

-Pick carrots that are dark orange in color (more beta-carotene).

-Carrots are a good source of fiber, beta-carotene, and Vitamin A.

Tomatoes

-They are technically a fruit; however, they are prepared and eaten like vegetables.

-The French used to refer to the tomato as the "apple of love."

-Tomatoes are a good source of Vitamin A and C. 

Apples

-Ever wonder why apples float? They are good for apple bobbing games because they are 25% air!

Pineapples

-You can speed up the ripening of a pineapple by standing it upside down (on the leafy end).

EXTRA Food Facts

-In ancient Greece and Rome, fava beans were used in voting; a white bean was used to cast a yes vote, and a black bean for no. 

-Pinch your nose and eat an onion, apple, and potato. They will all taste sweet. The difference in flavor is caused by their smell.

Monounsaturated Vs. Polyunsaturated Fats

In my last blog, Saturated Fat Vs. Trans Fat, I talked about the unhealthy fats in our diet. As I stated before, you need fat in your diet! Fat is necessary for brain development, insulation, cushion of organs, and absorption of fat-soluble vitamins (Vitamins A, E, D, K).

The two main healthy fats are monounsaturated (MUFAs) and polyunsaturated fats (PUFAS).  MUFAs and PUFAs are found in a variety of foods and oils and are typically liquid at room temperature. Studies have shown that eating foods rich in MUFAs and PUFAs improve blood cholesterol levels, decrease your risk of heart disease, and benefit insulin levels and blood sugar control (helpful for Type 2 Diabetes).

Polyunsaturated fats are further broken down into two categories: omega-6 and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-6 and omega-3 are essential fats because our bodies need them but cannot make them. Omega-6 and omega-3 EFAs are important for brain function and normal growth and development.

Humans evolved on a diet with a ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (EFA) of 1 to 1. In the typically Western diet, the ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 EFAs is about 15 to 1. This excessive consumption of omega-6 EFAs has lead to the promotion of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and inflammatory diseases. Studies have shown that an increase of omega-3 EFAs will suppress these negative effects. Omega-3s have also been found to decrease the risk of coronary artery disease, lower blood pressure, decrease triglyceride levels, reduce blood clotting, reduce symptoms of depression, protect against memory loss, ease arthritis, and boost immunity.

Food Sources of Monounsaturated Fats
-Olive, canola, peanut, sesame, and sunflower oils
-Avocados
-Peanut butter
-Nuts and seeds

Food Sources of Polyunsaturated Fats
-Corn, safflower, soy, nut, and cottonseed oils
-Nuts and seeds
-Fatty fish (trout, herring, salmon, tuna) (Omega-3s)
-Flaxseeds (Omega-3s)

The American Heart Association recommends eating fish at least 2 times per week. If you are unable to consume enough omega-3 EFAs from your diet, you should consider a fish-oil supplement. In general, aim for a supplement between 500 and 3,000mg of EPA/DHA. For maximum absorption, take your supplement with food.

Recipes and Cooking Ideas
-Sauté onions with eggs and avocado.
-Substitue flax seed oil for another cooking oil.
-Try a slice of avocado on a sandwich or make guacamole.
-Substitute ground nuts in place of breadcrumbs.
-See my peanut butter ball recipe for a way to incorporate flax seed in your diet!



References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909
http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/omega-3/HB00087/METHOD=print
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/natural/993.html

Saturated Fat Vs. Trans Fat

Fats have certainly gotten a bad rap in the past few years. The new health craze has pushed for even more low-fat products.  But then again, some fats are good. This back and forth on fat sure makes it hard for consumers to know what to eat. Yes, you do need fat in your diet. It is essential for hormones, insulation, and protection of your organs from damage. The truth is that you do not need as much fat as you think. Also, the quality of the fat you eat is important. I am just going to focus on the two major harmful fats, Trans fat and Saturated fat. The healthy fats, Monounsaturated and Polyunsaturated, will be covered later. 

What Are Saturated Fats?
Saturated fats are mainly found in animal products and are typically solid at room temperature. Their chemical makeup consists of carbon atoms that are saturated with hydrogen atoms (hence the name "saturated" fat). The American Heart Association recommends limiting your intake of saturated fats to less than 7% of total calories. If you are consuming a 2,000 calorie per day diet, your intake of saturated fat would be less than 16 grams. 

Where Do You Find Saturated Fats in Foods?
Saturated fats occur naturally in many foods. Some examples include fatty beef, pork, and poultry with skin. Saturated fat is also found in butter, cheese, ice cream, and other dairy products made from whole or 2% milk. Many baked and fried foods contain high levels of saturated fats. 

Why Are Saturated Fats Harmful?

Saturated fat raises total blood cholesterol and LDL (bad) cholesterol levels. This increases your risk of heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that saturated fat may also increase your risk of developing type 2 diabetes. 

What Are Trans Fats?
Trans fats are made during food processing through the partial hydrogenation of unsaturated fats. Hydrogenation basically means that hydrogen atoms are added to the carbon atoms. This process creates a product that is less likely to spoil, which increases the shelf-life of many foods. The American Heart Association recommends limiting your trans fat intake to less than 1% of your total calories. If you are consuming a 2,000 calorie per day diet, your intake of trans fat would be less than 2 grams. 

Where Do You Find Trans Fats?
Trans fat is found mainly in processed foods. Examples include cookies, crackers, cakes, some stick margarines, fried foods (donuts, French fries), chips, candy, and frozen dinners. When reading nutrition labels, look for the words "partially hydrogenated" in the ingredient list. Any oil that is partially hydrogenated is a trans fat. Be aware of the "0 Trans Fat" products. The FDA allows that phrase to be on any product with .5 grams of trans fat per serving. Since many people do not stick to serving sizes, they may be consuming more trans fat than they think. 

Why Are Trans Fats Harmful?
Trans fats raises your LDL (bad) cholesterol and lowers your HDL (good) cholesterol, a double whammy! Trans fats increase your risk of developing heart disease and stroke. Trans fat also increases blood triglyceride levels, which leads to hardening of the arteries (atherosclerosis). Studies have also shown that trans fat increases inflammation by damaging the cells lining your blood vessels. 

Tips for Lowering Saturated and Trans Fat

1. Eat a balanced diet rich in fruits and vegetables (no trans/saturated fat!).

2. Choose leaner cuts of meat and trim visible fat before cooking.

3. Remove the skin from chicken, turkey, and other poultry.

4. Drink low-fat or skim milk rather than whole or 2%. You will still be getting the same amount of calcium.

6. Decrease your intake of fast food. Many fast food restaurants still use partially hydrogenated oils for frying. 

7. Consume monounsaturated fat (olive oil) and polyunsaturated fat (soybean, sunflower oil).

Remember, not all fat is bad. You need fat in your diet! Also, be aware of the low-fat products. These so-called-healthy products simply swap saturated and trans fat for sugar. When in doubt, it is better to opt for a little fat over a lot of sugar.