I am constantly trying to create and find healthy and quick recipes that my kids will eat between baseball games and gymnastics and basketball and dance…you get me.  Well, last night before baseball we created another winner that I want to share with you –

Turkey and Sweet Potato Tacos

Pre-cooked white turkey breast (or if you have the time, cook it yourself)

Sweet potatoes

Whole wheat/low fat tortillas

Start the sweet potatoes in the microwave — cook for 10 minutes or until they are soft.  Meanwhile, cut turkey into strips and heat (stick in microwave with the sweet potatoes for the last 3 minutes of cooking).  Put tortillas between two humid paper towels and heat for about 20 seconds, depending on your microwave.  Once everything is heated, cut open sweet potatoes and mash the insides with a fork (no skins). Then put the mashed sweet potato and cooked turkey in the tortilla.  Add a glass of low-fat or non-fat milk and you have a great meal.  My family loved it.

Tags: baby fat diet, health, healthy recipes, nutrition, weight loss

Do you ever eat when you’re not hungry? I’m guessing the answer is yes; I know I have. There are lots of emotions that can lead to eating - sadness, boredom, anger, even happiness. When we feel especially emotional, chances are our eating is a reaction to the feeling. One key to getting emotional eating under control is by getting in tune with our hunger.  A hunger and fullness scale is a good tool to use to clue in to whether our eating is out of physiological need or emotional reaction. The scale is from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning you are so hungry you feel faint and can’t think straight and 10 meaning you’re so stuffed you feel sick to your stomach and could throw up. We want to live somewhere between a 2, 3, hungry but not starving, and a 5, 6, satisfied but not overly full.  Every time you’re about to reach for something to eat, ask yourself what number you are on the scale from 0-10. If you’re not a 2 or 3, do something else to busy yourself rather than eat.  Go for a walk, write an email, call a friend, hop on an exercise bike, scrapbook, read, etc. If you are truly hungry, than go ahead and eat, but keep distractions to a minimum and focus on the food. Think about the taste of the food, what it smells like, the texture, the last time you ate that same food, what memories it invokes. Becoming a mindful eater will help you greatly in your weight loss efforts because it slows down your eating. Plus, you will really enjoy your food more when you truly taste it.

Tags: emotional eating, hunger, hunger fullness scale, mindful eating, Mindless Eating

While snacks are sometimes demonized in weight loss efforts, research actually shows that eating small amounts more often is a good weight loss technique. The key is making sure the snacks are well balanced, portion controlled and pre planned into your eating pattern.  For example, a few high fiber crackers with thin slices of reduced fat cheese gives you fiber and protein, two nutrients that help fill you up, while portioning out on a plate to make sure you don’t overeat. Fruit and yogurt is another good combo or some sugar snap peas and baby carrots with hummus. Remember to portion out onto a plate so you don’t have more than one serving. In an eating pattern with three meals of 400-500 calories, two snacks per day of around 150 calories will keep your blood sugar and mood more even while still promoting weight loss, especially if you are doing some physical activity.  Bottomline: snacks are a dieters friend, just make sure you plan them and pre portion. Oh, and never eat snacks in front of the tube, studies show this is weight loss disaster.

Tags: portion control, snacks, weight loss

Have you been watching the winter Olympics in Vancouver? Thanks to my ultra-sports enthusiast 6 year old, I have. In addition to the always entertaining snowboarders and ice skaters, we’ve watched women’s ice hockey, downhill skiing and even the biathlon (who knew combining archery and cross-country skiing makes an Olympic sport?). Last weekend, while watching the U.S. vs China women’s hockey match they talked about a mom of two on the team. Doing a little research, I found out there are a number of U.S. athletes competing in skiing, curling and even the skeleton (that bobsled looking thing), that are also moms. Wow! That’s inspiration. I immediately got off the couch and headed to my treadmill to run a few miles while watching the rest of the hockey match. If these women can find time to be moms and Olympic athletes, surely we can find some time in the day to exercise our bodies.

By the way, my favorite thing about these women is that they have real bodies, with curves and all. Goes to show that you definitely don’t have to be a size 2 to be healthy, just fit at whatever size you are. Rock on!

Tags: exercise, fitness, moms, Vancouver Olympics, winter Olympics, women, women's ice hockey

For one of my healthy cooking classes in Houston, TX, I am covering the topic of how to eat healthfully at your favorite restaurants and am helping attendees prepare a quick, healthful and yummy recipe for dinner. I want to share some of what we cover in class with you.  So, below are some smart and healthy alternatives for eating at Mexican restaurants (adapted from our book, The Baby Fat Diet) as well the sweet potato chicken recipe.

It’s easy to eat too many calories, fat and salt when you dine out.  Most restaurants want to provide great value with big portions and tasty food, and so, end up adding a lot of extra fat and salt.  Here are some easy ways to save calories when eating out at a Mexican restaurant.

Instead of chips eat three corn tortillas and dip in salsa

Stay away from cream and cheese sauces and stick with pico de gallo and salsa - you can also add extra flavor to your food with Ranchero beans or black beans.

Eat whole beans instead of re-fried

drink water

Example meal -

1 Chicken Fajita (load with veggies)

1/2 cup Mexican rice

1/2 cup black beans

510 calories, 11 g fat, 4 g sat fat

Sweet Potato Chicken Nuggets (or strips) Recipe

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into strips or chunks

1 cup whole wheat bread crumbs

1/2 cup wheat germ

1/2 tsp onion powder, 1/2 tsp paprika, 1/2 tsp garlic salt

2 medium sized sweet potatoes

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 Tbsp olive oil

non-stick cooking spray

Start by making holes in sweet potatoes with fork and cook in microwave until tender (depending on your microwave about 10-15 minutes, check after 10 minutes).  While sweet potatoes are cooking, cut chicken and place to the side.  Next, mix bread crumbs, wheat germ, onion powder, paprika, and garlic salt in large zip lock bag.  Once sweet potatoes are done cooking, take off skin and mash flesh in bowl and add egg, stir together.  Dip chicken pieces in sweet potato and egg mixture then put chicken pieces into zip lock bag, close and shake until pieces are covered with ingredients.  Spray nonstick skillet, add olive oil and when hot add coated chicken pieces.  Cook until golden (about 4-5 minutes) and then turn pieces and cook until cooked all the way through.  Optional - serve with ketchup for the little ones and make a side of black beans and salad.

Tags: baby fat diet, eating out, healthy cooking, healthy recipes, losing weight

Having a pang for an afternoon snack? One that can fill you up, but isn’t too high in fat and calories? Pop some popcorn. Half a bag of light microwave popcorn only has 120 calories and is packed with fill-your-tummy fiber (5 grams). In fact, popcorn is a whole grain. After all, you’re eating the whole kernal. Sometimes I forget about popcorn when I need a salty, crunchy snack. We so often reach for pretzels or chips, right? Today I enjoyed my popcorn and a cup of tea at 3:30. Whole grains and antioxidants, now that’s a power packed snack.

Tags: fiber, popcorn, salty snack, whole grains

Here’s an article in US News & World Report and a little plug for my profession, the registered dietitian. If you want to work one on one with someone to better your health this year, make sure they have some credentials and education behind their name. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist or the latest term, a health coach, but not everyone can call themselves a dietitian. For that, you need to have completed an undergraduate degree in nutrition as well as a yearlong clinical internship and sit for an exam. We also have required ongoing education to maintain the credential.  It always irks me when I see self-professed “nutritionists” doling out advice under the guise that they have extensive education in the field, when in fact there may be no formal education on nutrition at all. A lot of what I hear from these people is not backed by science and may even be dangerous. 

Bottomline: Do seek out nutrition guidance and better your health and weight this year. Proactive, preventive healthcare is the wave of the future. Make sure the person you work with is educated and certified in the field: do your homework and make sure your “nutritionist” or “health coach” did his as well!

Tags: dietitian, health coach, nutritionist, registered dietitian, US News & World Report

Nearly a quarter of Americans eat together at home less than 3 times a week.  17% of teens report that they never eat family meals. Combine this with the fact that 20% of teens say they eat fast food every day or nearly every day and you can see we’re heading down a road to long term health consequences. Do your part to reverse this trend by making family meals a priority in your household. Studies show that eating at home with your family leads to better eating and better attitudes.

Benefits of Family Meals include:

·         higher intakes of fiber, calcium, folate, iron, vitamins B6, B12, C and E and lower intakes of saturated and trans fat as a percentage of energy

·         higher intakes of fruits and vegetables

·         healthy eating patterns later in life

·         better grades at school

·         happier teens

·         healthier habits for teens

We all know it can be a challenge to get a meal on the table some days, especially as kids participate in sports, gymnastics, dance, club activities, and more. But, clearly it’s worth the effort, for your kids social and emotional well-being as well as nutritionally.  Here are some of my tactics so my family can eat together most nights of the week: 

• Grocery shopping is 90% of the battle for me; I shop once a week and buy enough lean protein foods, produce and bread to last the week as well as filling the cart with certain staples that will last longer, such as canned beans, frozen veggie burgers, whole grain pasta and brown rice.
• I have go-to recipes that take about 15 minutes to prepare. Ground turkey tacos, pasta with chicken and veggies, stir fry shrimp and rice are some in my regular rotation.
• I plan the vegetables first. To make sure we all get in our veggie servings - dinner is often the only time of day my kids and husband eat vegetables so I have to pack them in! - I fill half of everyone’s plate with veggies first. Eli likes red peppers and tomatoes, Oliver wants carrots, Harris and I have salad or another green vegetable. By cutting up all the veggies at once and filling our plates it not only saves time but putting them on the plates first means I use more of the plate and leave less room for starch and protein, which we should have in smaller quantities. Note: no matter what the main entree is, we always fill the plate with veggies first. If there are veggies in the main entree, bonus!
• On days when either my husband or I will be out in the evening, one of us sits down to dinner with the kids. Sometimes I’ll have just my salad with them and then eat the other parts of the meal later with him. If one of the kids has an activity, we’ll eat in shifts; my husband will have an early dinner with the younger kids and I’ll eat later with the other one or vice versa.

The bottom line: eating family meals together as often as possible to share conversation and model healthy behaviors is well worth the effort. Just a little thinking and planning ahead and it can be done!     

Tags: benefits of family meals, eat at home, healthy eating

Just read some interesting stats on the number of times each month that the average American “does the drive-thru.”  Half of Americans visit drive-thrus at least twice per month; nearly a third drive-thru every week. FYI…the survey was commissioned by Taco Bell.

No surprise to any of us moms, but 30 percent of people say that having kids in the car is their reason for choosing the drive-thru option.  I can count on one hand the number of times I’d gone through a drive-thru before having kids - not having to tote 3 kids into a restaurant is my ONLY reason for going through the drive-thru.  I will say I don’t drive-thru very often, maybe once every couple of months because I just don’t really like the food you can get nor is it very healthy.  Well, maybe til now. 

Taco Bell has an ad campaign called the drive-thru diet with a woman who lost 54 pounds (the Taco Bell version of Jared, I guess) eating certain items at Taco Bell made Fresco, which uses tomato salsa instead of cheese and sauce. This lowers the fat and calories.

What do I, as a dietitian, think about this diet? Not something I’d want to do nor advocate as a permanent lifestyle change. The sodium is still sky high and you’d get more fiber and nutrients making your own tacos and burritos at home using whole wheat tortillas and added veggies. However, on a crazy day when you need to drive-thru, the Taco Bell Fresco menu items are a better option than a burger and fries. Just don’t make it a whole diet plan.  Eating less processed, home cooking, full of fruits, veggies, whole grains, lean proteins, (and love), is still a healthier way to shed weight.

Tags: fast food, processed food, taco bell diet, weight loss

Do you reach for chocolate when you are stressed or overwhelmed? Your body might be trying to self medicate.  A study that published this past December shows chocolate might help decrease your body’s reaction to stress.  In the study, the participants were fed a dark chocolate bar (40 grams) for two weeks.  They found that cortisol (a stress hormone) was decreased.  You may have heard or seen the word “cortisol” recently — it is heavily covered by the media as a contributor to belly fat, headaches, cardiovascular health, blood sugar control, etc - all of the symptoms related to stress.  More research is needed to better understand the effects and if less chocolate will do the trick.   For now, we know that chocolate is a good thing, and bonus, it might help control the release of cortisol.  Here are some additional healthy ways to help deal with stress, the release of cortisol and the symptoms related to stress.

Eat foods that release the feel good hormone serotonin — eat your whole grains and fruit

Exercise, even if you only have 10 minutes — go for a walk, do some stretching, jump rope, shoot baskets with the kids, play chase and time yourself if you are short on time

Enjoy your chocolate in moderation – sit down, without distraction and truly savor a few squares of darker chocolate (at least 45% cocoa)

Practice deep breathing – when you inhale, fill your belly first, then your chest, then exhale and release the air from your chest first, then down to your belly

Find some favorite yoga poses – go to a yoga class regularly, if you do not have time, find some poses you like and do them throughout the day

Meditate – when you are stressed, practice your deep breathing and close your eyes for 10 minutes and focus on a beautiful scene.

Tags: baby fat diet, chocolate, health, nutrition, stress, Valentine's Day